State of the media in Southern Africa - 2004 Matava was picked up from his offices and taken to the Gweru Central police station where he endured nine hours of questioning before he was released at about 4.45 pm. The police recorded his warned and cautioned statement and said they would notify him of when he would appear in court by way of summons. On September 18, 2004, the weekly “Midlands News” published a story which said Msipa would be retiring from the government at the end of the year. Msipa is denying reports of his alleged retirement plans. • ALERT Date: October 15, 2004 Persons/Institutions: Desmond Kwande Violation(s): Detained On October 15 2004, “Daily Mirror” photojournalist Desmond Kwande was arrested outside the High Court Buildings in Harare, just after the acquittal of opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on treason charges. Kwande was on his way to the “Daily Mirror” offices when he was stopped by members of the riot police who demanded he handover his camera for “vetting”. Kwande was bundled into a police open truck and driven to Harare Central police station around noon. • ALERT Date: November 24, 2004 Persons/Institutions: BBC, The Times, Telegraph, Sun, Mirror Violation(s): Expelled BBC journalists and several others working for British newspapers have been banned from covering England’s cricket tour of one-day internationals which begins in Harare on Friday, November 26. According to an AFP report, on November 24, 2004, the decision to deny 13 of the 36 visa requests from British media outlets was made on political grounds. Journalists from “The Times”, “Telegraph”, “Sun”, “Mirror”, and their Sunday editions, also had their applications turned down by the government. Under the controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), all foreign journalists should apply for accreditation at least a month before their planned visit to Zimbabwe. So This Is Democracy? 2004 153 Media Institute of Southern Africa