Attacks on journalists hinders investigative reporting

The media in Zimbabwe has been criticized for not doing enough to investigate the alleged killings of 15 opposition MDC supporters since the March 29 controversial polls.
The MDC claims 15 of its supporters have been murdered by Zanu PF activists with the help of the army and other security organs and has announced what it said were the names of the victims of the politically – motivated violence.
Such claims deserve serious and investigative media attention. However, it appears most media are no treating the matter with the seriousness it should be accorded.
While the local media may appear to have not taken such grave claims seriously it is important to note that the current political environment does not allow the media to operate freely and collect information without any hindrances.
Journalists, especially those from the privately owned media, have not been able to operate freely since the March 29 polls. Several have been beaten up, arrested, harassed and tortured by security agents.
Journalists in Zimbabwe continue to be subject to attacks and arbitrary arrests since Zimbabweans went to the polls more than three weeks ago, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International PEN and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
"This media crackdown is a calculated attack on journalists who have revealed what appears to be the loss of the elections by the ruling party," says IFJ.
This, no doubt, has resulted in journalists from the private media falling to get access to information relating to the state-sponsored violence which the ruling party does not want the international community to know.
The state media has capitalized on the failure by the private media to access vital information relating to the violence. The ZBC, The Herald and The Sunday Mail have conveniently ignored acts of violence against opposition activists. Instead, the state media has blamed the MDC for the violence without giving any evidence to support their claims.

Where is Tsvangirai?

The whereabouts of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, continue to be a subject of speculation both in the media and at social gatherings across the country.
Tsvangirai was reported to be shuttling between Botswana and South Africa meeting political players from both the region and abroad in a bid to find a quick solution to the political stalemate in Zimbabwe.
However, while Tsvangirai’s various diplomatic initiatives were widely covered by the media both local and international, there were little or no attempts by the local media to follow up on reports that the MDC leader was afraid of coming back home.
Tsvangirai was reported to have told the international media he was afraid of returning home.
"It is no use going back to Zimbabwe and becoming captive. Then you are not effective. What can you do?" he told a Canadian newspaper.
"Do you want a dead hero?" he said suggesting his life could be endangered should he return home now.
He said he would rather mobilize international support against Mugabe first before retuning home.
Tsvangirai’s comments come in the wake of an upsurge of politically motivated violence targeted at MDC supporters. The violence campaign has been blamed on the army and other security organs, war veterans and Zanu PF activists.
The campaign of violence, called Operation Makavhoterapapi ("Where did you put your cross?") has spread across country where opposition support surged in the March 29 election.
Tsvangirai also told the international media they were rogue elements within Mugabe’s government who could put the law into their own hands and possibly harm him. “There are rogue elements there who might take the law into their own hands,” Tsvangirai told the Associated Press.
Tsvangirai has been a victim of violent attacks by rogue elements. In 1997, while he was still leader of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), he was attacked by a group of unknown thugs while he was in his office. He sustained serious injuries as a result of the attack. His assailants were never arrested.
But, notwithstanding such dangers, Tsvangirai has insisted he will return home saying: “I’ll go back. It’s just that I’ve work to do.”
Then, there are also strong fears Tsvangirai may be arrested for “committing an act of treason” after the state-owned Herald newspaper published what it purported to be a letter by Tsvangirai begging for British military intervention, and a reply from Gordon Brown. The British embassy in Harare denounced the alleged letter from the British Prime Minister as a "forgery", saying: "No such letter or wider correspondence exists." But Patrick Chinamasa, said the opposition leader had behaved "treasonably", and there was no doubting the consequences. Tsvangirai has been charged with treason before and was acquitted.

Allegations, allegations, allegations and bias

General Observation

Focus continues to be on the media’s coverage of developments emanating from the prolonged delay in the release of the results of the presidential elections of March 29 2008. This apparent state of crisis continues to expose the local media’s weakness with regard to objectivity, truthfulness and being informative a defined under tenets of the journalistic profession.

Where is Morgan Tsvangirai?

Considerable time has passed ever since the Movement for democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai left the country. Varying versions of speculation on his exact whereabouts and circumstances continue to appear in the media.

While stories suggest that he is out on an innocent diplomatic initiative to seek support for democratic change in the walk of yet to be announced outcome of the presidential election, others have suggested that he has joined the multitude of Zimbabweans seeking asylum throughout the world.

The Zimbabwe Independent (17-24 April, 2008) carried a story claiming that the MDC leader would return next week, but Tsvangirai never showed up throwing the nation into yet another spate of anxiety, (No Follow Up was Made)
Now, the wait is on many fronts. While Zimbabweans still wait for the presidential results, they also wait the coming back of one of the country’s key political players. Maybe the media needs to do more to clear this multi – levels of anxiety.

The on-going state of violence

In its lead story, The Standard (20-26 April, 2008) carried a story headlined, MDC claims 10 killed. The story carried apparent reference to the violence that has characterized the post election period. This is a particularly sad development that warrants serious and investigative media attention. It, however, appears that most local media are not treating this unfortunate development in the manner they should. The state-controlled media, ZBC, The Herald, have chosen to stick to the propaganda brief, ignoring the reports on political violence. Going through copies of The Herald for the past week, one may as well be forgiven for believing President Thabo Mbeki’s assertions of there being ‘no crisis in Zimbabwe’. Other media including Voice of America’s Studio 7, online publications and privately owned newspapers have largely chosen to depend on political party accounts in their coverage of unfolding political developments particularly in rural areas. There is need for more investigative coverage at this crucial moment.

Chinamasa’ unending propaganda song

Once again The Herald, (April 22, 2008) gave Patrick Chinamasa, one of Zanu PF’s losing parliamentary candidates unlimited space to vent out unsubstantiated political claims. Where are the winning voices?
In the story, Chinamasa alleges that there is no violence in the country and that the MDC rigged the elections. Ironically, Chinamasa also alleges that the MDC is perpetrating violence in order to justify international intervention. This story was laden with bias, monumental inconsistencies and serous allegations from a public official; yet The Herald never bothered to get the MDC side of story.
However, The Independent in its edition of April 25 to May 1 2008 struck the required balance on the same issue by quoting Chinamasa and MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa.

Women silenced during independence celebration

THE coverage of the commemoration of Zimbabwe’s National independence lacked balance in all aspects. While there was a clear gender balance other stakeholders were clearly ignored by the State media.
The absence of the female voice during the commemorations can be linked to the outcome of the 29 March polls at which women that represented the face of the struggle for independence lost.
Oppah Muchinguri, who over the years organized women to actively participate at national events (although in a very partisan manner), fell by the wayside, leaving nobody to stand up for the women during the commemorations.
While there was evident exclusion of the female voice during the Independence Day commemorations stakeholders such as opposition parties were not only sidelined but denounced as enemies attempting to “reverse gains of independence”.
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara issued independence commemoration statements which were ignored by the State media. Only online publications carried the statements.
The commemorations were concentrated on President Mugabe who seized the opportunity to attack his political opponents such as Tsvangirai and leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States.
Coverage of Mugabe’s fiery speech overshadowed every other person who participated during the Independence Day commemorations.
The media coverage of the commemorations predictable as it also reserved acres of space for Mugabe ahead of any other person.

Coverage of women politician fizzled out after polls

THE coverage of women on the socio-political arena appears to have lost steam after the controversial March 29 harmonized polls.
This is largely because women who had been thrust on the foe of women empowerment lost power and authority in the poll.
Individuals such as Oppah Muchinguri, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Shuvai Mahofa were seen as torch bearers of the crusade for women empowerment in Zimbabwe. But when they lost the elections no one seem to have taken over the torch from these women. As a result the media both state and private appear not to have an alternative voice for women in the absence of Muchinguri, Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Mahofa.
Fanny Chirisa, the Women in Politics programmes officer, agrees saying: “Those that were vocal over women issues have been voted. They are no longer in Parliament.”
But Chirisa said hope was not lost because the women who managed to get elected in the March 29 elections had not yet been given an opportunity to prove themselves. “We should not rule out those that were elected because they have not yet been given an opportunity.” But while Chirisa is optimistic that the new women MPs will successfully take the torch from those that fell by the wayside the State media appear to have already taken a hostile stance towards those that were elected on an MDC-T ticket.
Coverage of their activities has been largely derogative.
A good examples the coverage of the case of Lynette Karenyi, the MDC-T MP elect for Chimanimani West, who is alleged to have forged signatures from villagers so as to secure her nomination.

The Sunday Mail misleads the nation

WHILE The Sunday Mail opportunistically used President Thabo Mbeki’s infamous comments that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe indicators on the ground were pointing to the contrary.

While the weekly was portraying a positive picture about events in Zimbabwe there was an upsurge of politically motivated violence targeted at MDC -Tsvangirai supporters. Supporters of the MDC-T announced 10 of their supporters had been murdered in the process.

The violence, which has swept throughout the country, has been widely blamed on the army, other security agents, war veterans and Zanu PF youths.

Thousands of MDC-T supporters have been displaced after their houses were set on fire. Others fled the violence that has left hundreds seriously injured.
Offices of the MDC-T have been literally turned into refugee processing centres with thousands of displaced people camping there. (See above picture of MDC-T supporters camped at the party's offices in Mutare after their houses were burnt in Mutasa South)

Senior army officers, war veterans and Zanu PF activists have set up bases in most parts of the countryside in MDC-T strongholds and are conducting “political re-orientation programmes for the masses”.

More than 5 500 Zimbabweans are reported to have crossed into Mozambique, possibly fleeing from the violence.
Mozambican government officials confirmed there is an unprecedented influx of Zimbabweans crossing into the neighboring country.

"There is a massive exodus of Zimbabweans getting inside Mozambique," Boste Marizane, told journalists in Manica Town, about 25 km east of Mutare. Marizane is an immigration officer based at the Machipanda Border Post.

"What is happening is that these days there are lots of people crossing to Mozambique who don't return" Marizane said.

He said a day after the polls 348 Zimbabwean crossed into Mozambique but only 40 returned home. The trend was continuing daily, Marizane said.

Police in this shanty town say in a bid to deter a wave of refuge claims the Mozambican government was not giving asylum status to anyone because Zimbabwe “is not at war”.

Police spokesperson in Manica Pedro Jemusse said, "There is a surge of Zimbabweans coming in and we are monitoring the situation."

The Media and the Crisis that others choose not to see or hear about

General Observation
Focus continues to be on the post 29 March political developments, which have thus far led to the hosting of a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Extra-Ordinary summit by President Mwanawasa in Lusaka, Zambia on 12 April, 2008. A critical look at the way the media reported on the media points to a situation in which objectivity, fairness and balanced reporting was compromised and with it, a gender sensitive and conscious coverage of electoral and national issues was lost. The state controlled media has clearly taken the editorial stance of attacking the main opposition political party as well as to increasingly harp on about imperialism without verifying facts and sources. The private media has attempted a much more balanced view but as stated above, it has been overwhelmed with political developments around the announcement of results, SADC and the incidences of politically motivated violence. In both instances, the reporting and reportage content did not take into adequate consideration the representation of women’s voices and gender/gender sensitive reporting.
On the Coverage of the Statements by President Thabo Mbeki on Zimbabwe.
President Thabo Mbeki made headlines in both local and international media when he pronounced that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe in the wake of the SADC extra ordinary summit on Zimbabwe held on 12 April, 2008. The Sunday Mail of 13 April 2008 opportunistically used President Mbeki’s statements to come up with a headline story that was virtually propagandistic in nature. Without considering political and socio-economic indicators on the ground, the Sunday Mail seems to suggest that President Mbeki is the ultimate authority in defining the political, social and economic situation in Zimbabwe. One wonders what the paper thinks about our shops’ empty shelves, the ballooning of the number of Zimbabwe’s economic refugees around the world, the ever escalating inflation and a host of other indicators that point to a deepening crisis. In any case, why should we depend on a foreign head of state to inform us of what is going on in our country? Why did the Sunday Mail choose not to include the voices of ordinary women and men of Zimbabwe in its story? It can only be assumed that it was because of the need by those is control of this state weekly to misinform and misrepresent facts for politically partisan purposes.
On the coverage of female politicians.
20 women won 33.3% out of 60 contested Senatorial seats while 30 women won 14. 3 % out of the total number of 210 House of Assembly seats. Thus there is need for these women to be accorded fair coverage in the media inorder for people to keep abreast of their activities. However stories such as the one reported in the Herald of 17 April 2008 of Lynette Karenyi, the MDC-T Member of House of Assembly–elect for Chimanimani West who is facing charges of allegedly forging four signatures of villagers so as to secure her nomination with the Electoral Court is a major drawback in the women’s struggle for recognition in the political arena.
On the Coverage of Political Violence.
The state controlled media has not given any coverage to issues concerning the current spate of political violence that has been occurring during this electoral period.The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) issued a statement that confirmed the torture and maiming of a mother and daughter from one rural area that has received no coverage in the state media or parts of the private print media. It has however received coverage in internet based publications and Short Wave radio stations that cover Zimbabwe.
On the Coverage of the National Economy
Presently inflation figures have soared by over 100% since the last official figures released by the Central Statistical Office. With this economic meltdown women have emerged to be the hardest hit. Households are falling apart with women and young girls bearing the brunt of economic environment and yet this has received limited media coverage from the media. The narratives that are emerging are no longer about the livelihoods of the people and the ordinary voices of Zimbabwean citizens, especially, mothers, daughters and sons are rarely heard or seen in the print or electronic media.
On the Coverage of National Independence Commemorations.
The media coverage of the commemoration of Zimbabwe’s National independence has sorely lacked a fair and balanced gender dimension of what the liberation struggle meant for all the people of Zimbabwe. Instead,the adverts as well as the news stories that have been carried in the state controlled media have been extremely partisan and in favour of the ruling establishment’s understanding of our national history. Women’s voices have been few and far between with greater prominence having been given to mainly ‘male’ war veterans to narrate their experiences of the struggle or the historic significance of the township of Highfields in Harare.

Where are the people's voices?

General observation

With the people of Zimbabwe still to know the results of the March 29 presidential election, the country remains in a momentous state of anxiety and confusion .As the fourth estate, the media is ideally expected to provide information that may help extricate the citizenry from its state of confusion. The media is also expected to be a critical public sphere platform through which the people can air their views on how best the nation can be brought out of the current state of darkness.

Adding to the confusion

Instead of providing light as to the current goings on, some media seem to be adding to the confusion by continuing as extensions of political party propaganda machinery. For instance the Herald and ZTV seem to be embracing the Zanu Pf’s discourse of ostensibly protecting the nation from “imperialists” who wanted to overthrow our independence through the recent elections.

These outlets are however, simply getting it from the mouths of spin doctors like Jabulani Sibanda and Patrick Chinamasa, without exposing them to analytical scrutiny. Where exactly is the imperialist’s hand in what the people of Zimbabwe said through the March 29 elections? We are still to get a clear and logical answer from ZTV and the Herald.


Tsvangirai begs for VP post

This was the headline in the Herald of 9 April 2008 .The story constituted a butchering of journalistic ethics. We were told of Ian Makone, Joe Mtizwa and Elton Mangoma going to beg for the post on behalf of Tsvangirai. But the MDC side of the story was never given the prominence it deserved.

About the run off

The state controlled media continue to bombard us with stories on the run off .what is striking is that journalists from this section of the media continue to ignore the critical question from every other Zimbabwean: why a rerun before the election results is out? By the way is it a rerun or run off? The media must clear us of the confusion.

Where are the people?

In their stories on the current state of affairs ,most media are forgetting the ordinary men and women in the street .In the story headlined,” Accept defeat :Mugabe told” ,the Standard of 6 -12 April 2008 ,mainly quotes analysts and experts .The voices of ordinary Zimbabweans are largely missing .This is the trend in most media .The voices of the commoners are largely ignored .Yet every Zimbabwean has a stake in deciding how we should proceed from the current state of inertia. It is high time that the media be the public sphere that it must be.