Itai Muzondo
GWERU: Do you want a free unmuzzled press in Zimbabwe? You might be on the wrong planet!
Sekuru Garisanai, I think I threatened to update you on the goings-on in Zimbabwe where I am serving the nation as a freelance journalist.
My erstwhile Comrades in arms have asked me to come and speak to and on behalf of the Young Journalists Association of Zimbabwe -YOJA in short, the same.
Press freedom!
I greet you Sekuru, yes, I should do it quickly before Joji grabs my pen right from my hand. If you had not known, he threatened Zimbabwean journalists with imprisonment if they continue to cover the ‘Gold Mafia’ exposé.
Forgive me this year, l have diverted a bit, and l will be a little more sombre than usual.
ASekuru, l am no longer sure what my government regards as press freedom anymore. I have received reports from Mhofu that in Bulawayo they are often barred from covering state functions. MISA has sent similar reports from Sunshine City.
It’s however both ways Sekuru. Hungwe here in Gweru has found it difficult to cover opposition diaries either. Entering Mkoba stadium for him while Nero addresses his charged Comrades has remained taboo.
I may say since we last talked, on the same day in 2022, the country has witnessed an increase in the number of violations against journalists. Media development agencies recorded numerous cases where journalists were assaulted, threatened, and harassed at political gatherings and rallies, while others were also barred from covering national events.
How my fellow Comrades however end up with stories amid being barred or scared away by tense atmospheres I don’t know.
It’s trench warfare for sure.
The uniformed forces. Amai vangu tsina iweeee!
Needless to say, I am vexed again. When we hold engagement meetings, especially with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), are they mere pretense,s or their resolutions are supposed to materialize?
Covering the Kwekwe incident where a school classroom block collapsed into a mining pit underneath was not a friendly match at all. Mhene can bear testimony.
“Sometimes I really wonder,” my high school headmaster would question every day he addressed us on assembly point, “is journalism a crime”?
The scene however reminded me of a trending picture where a female journalist, Ruvimbo Muchenje was caught on camera getting into a police truck, her crime being capturing moments.
Sad, the photographer who captured the moment breathed last recently; I would have wanted to know her perception of press freedom in Zimbabwe having covered such tense environs.
Oh yes, so sad Sekeuru, we have lost dear comrades in this trench warfare, not to the hands of the oppressor though but God’s time. You will be dearly missed Magumbo and Big T. Your contributions to the struggle are always be embedded in our hearts.
However, I would like to acknowledge that community radio stations have been registered of late. My trip to Ntepe-Manama Community Radio Station really broadened my scope on the need to facilitate access to information in rural Zimbabwe.
A community that used to rely on only on foreign currency but foreign airwaves now have a broadcaster that speaks their language and addresses their issues at large. Zvimwe zvinoda kutendwa!
Sustainability is however an issue government should take seriously lest these community initiatives become lapdogs!
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has also averagely made positive strides in as far as facilitating swift operations of the media in Zimbabwe. Capacity building programs in place and efficiency of the accreditation system, though they are yet to fully decentralize, improvements are notable.
Madhlira would also want to commend the government for repealing bad laws but notes with concern the continued preservation of clawback clauses that manifest in provisions of new laws.
This has made the repealing of repressive laws a multiplication-by-zero effect.
The Public Order and Security Act [POSA] was repealed but replaced with an almost identical Maintenance of Peace and Order Act. AIPPA was repealed, but the new regulations seek to maintain some of its odious clauses.
My mouth has been quite dry, however, since l first witnessed COVID arrests of journalists and activists who protested misuse of funds, now it is drier knowing we are closer to elections.
It is no secret that journalists were victims of the by-elections related to violence that erupted in Kwekwe and Gokwe respectively.
Is journalism a crime, I ask once again.
The tense situation has however made me stronger. When l realized that the povo’s mouthpiece is under siege, I packed my belongings and became a permanent resident in the journalism trenches.
As we join the world in commemorating World Press Freedom Day, which this year runs under the theme, Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a driver for all other human rights, I hope you agree with me Sekuru that lack of media freedom in Zimbabwe has resulted in rights of journalists and subsequently that of the general populace being pissed on without the decency of even calling it rain.
It is surely a situation where the strong prey on the weak.
I have not much to say anymore Sekuru, but also never mind sending me a ticket for I am quite occupied in this struggle of ensuring the establishment of a free press in Zimbabwe.
Yours Truly!