Muradzikwa was fired for reportedly defying ministerial orders to deny the opposition Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) favourable coverage in the run-up to the 29 March 2008 elections. He was relieved of his duties on 14 May 2008 for openly defying the Minister of Information and Publicity Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary George Charamba to deny positive radio and television publicity to the MDC. He was also reportedly accused of denying President Robert Mugabe favourable coverage. The minister is said to have also instructed the former ZBC boss to bar the MDC from flighting its election campaign material with the state-controlled broadcaster subsequent to the 27 June 2008 presidential election runoff. The instructions defied by Muradzikwa fly in the face of the SADC Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections which stress equal opportunities and full participation of the citizens in political processes. In terms of the guidelines on the conduct of democratic elections member states, Zimbabwe included, should adhere to the principles of freedom of association, political tolerance and affording all political parties equal and equitable access to the state broadcaster. In comments published by the weekly Zimbabwe Independent Muradzikwa, however, said: “There was no specific reason (as to) why I was fired. It’s only the part of the (dismissal) which says the shareholder had lost confidence in me that probably says something about the reasons of my dismissal. “I religiously stuck to the statutes governing our operations as a broadcaster as given in the amended Broadcasting Services Act. Nobody had the right to instruct me on how to act as this was outside the law. We made sure we stuck to the laws and I believe I was right in that approach.” Political Interference and Censorship It is trite to note that when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications in 2007, Muradzikwa told the committee that political interference and censorship of news reports is the order of the day at the state-controlled broadcaster. He further mentioned that ZBC was reporting on the “basis of deception” and that the Ministry of Information and Publicity should be clear on what is expected of the state broadcaster. The transformation of the ZBC into a truly independent public broadcaster as envisaged under the African Charter on Broadcasting will only be secured through the establishment of an independent broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory body to curb outside political interference. The current setup where the regulatory body, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) and ZBC board is answerable to the executive stands in the way of the desired transformation of the ZBC into a public broadcaster and enabler of free speech. ICTs and telecommunications With the advent of global advancements in ICTs which has ushered in digital citizen journalism and mobile reporting as new forms of citizen communication to share and exchange information on issues of interest, the need for an integrated telecommunications and broadcasting sector becomes even more imperative to entrench democracy and freedom of expression. This is more so given the appalling state of fixed and mobile telephone networks in Zimbabwe. 10