Copies of the privately owned daily Newsday were reportedly torn in Harare on 2 March 2011 by suspected Zanu PF youths on their way to an anti-sanctions campaign launched by President Robert Mugabe.
The youths tore copies of the newspaper in the central business district accusing it of publishing lies.
Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) chief executive Raphael Khumalo said he was extremely disappointed by the behaviour of the youths and blamed police inaction to deal with such violent behaviour.
“This is not the first time that we have lost newspapers when these gatherings occur and it is uncalled for that we continue to suffer when the police are there to maintain law and order. “These young people need jobs and if they were employed they would not be easily manipulated to do (sic) such nefarious acts,” said Khumalo.
In a related development, copies of The Masvingo Mirror were reportedly banned from Jerera Growth point in Masvingo Province.
MISA-Zimbabwe position
MISA-Zimbabwe views these developments as serious attacks on media freedom and the citizens’ right to access diverse information, views and opinions. We urge the authorities to condemn these violations against citizens’ right to access to information more so in the context of Article 19 of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which binds the three signatory parties to uphold the right to freedom of expression and communication.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) should also investigate these violations as mandated in terms of Constitutional Amendment No 19 and urge the police to deal with these acts of wanton lawlessness. MISA