CHANTEL TAKUDZWA ZAMBUKIRA
As the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day’s Zimbabwean journalists and media practitioners are still under gag and restraint.
This comes after complaints of harassment of journalists by supposed state machinery continue to prevail.
Many journalists from the private media are ever restrained or arrested for publishing bad apples of the government or the ruling party. Examples that come to mind are the arrests of award winning freelancer, Hopewell Chin’ono. Others who are not journalists have been arrested as well for expressing themselves, viz: novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga and Fadzai Makers, lawyer and Citizens Coalition for Change spokesperson.
Their crime: to speak against the government.
The many journalists that have made their mark in the world of Press are doing so by producing pro-government news.
This year’s theme says: “Shaping a future of Rights; Freedom of Expression as a Driver of All other Human Rights,”.
It is, therefore, impossible to relate to this theme in our country as freedom of expression will land a journo behind bars.
Inasmuch as there is media plurality in the country, the right of expression is somehow limited as one has to be aware of what to publish and what not to publish in fear of ruffling feathers.
An example sited by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) is of one media house thats was threatened of publishing falsehoods.
“And only last month, journalists from one media house were threatened (by a supposed government official on his twitter handle) with imprisonment for “reporting falsehoods” after the airing of the Gold Mafia documentary on Zimbabwe by a Quatari-based news outlet, Al-Jazeera,” ZUJ stated.
The ZUJ statement continues to say if journalism is compromised, then there is no freedom.
“When Journalism is compromised, human rights cannot be protected. A free media reporting on issues that interest the public and shapes their lives is a key building block of any rights respecting society.”
ZUJ also touched on sexual harassment of women media practitioners, it said, as long as female journalists are harassed there is no freedom to celebrate. The statement also took a jibe at the low remuneration of a journalists who are struggling to make ends meet.
“ZUJ recognizes the challenges still faced by women in the media industry. Reports of sexual harassment, mostly against female media practitioners continue to deter women advancement in the media industry.”
“The issue of salaries of journalists should be seriously looked into so that they are also given a living wage. Media practitioners across the board still earn peanuts which is a threat to the industry itself and its ability to play its role as the fourth estate of the realm.”
Therefore many solidarity messages came with more of lamentations than celebrating this day by practitioners in the media sector.
It is sad to note that some Political Parties who are speak of change in the media sector are the very ones who infringe on the rights of access to information by journalists.
Of late other institutions like the City Council have enjoined in the suppression of access to information as they do not respond to questions timeously.
Tapfuma Machakaire of Voluntary Media Council saw this day as a day a day where journalists should go back to the drawing board as he said, “it’s a day for journalists to reflect and introspect.”
ZUJ said in their statement, “Against this background, ZUJ urges all media organizations and stakeholders to work on implementing media policies that help achieve full and productive employment for all journalists in conditions of freedom, equity, security, human dignity and decent salaries.”
Meanwhile the main opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change national spokesperson Fadzai Mahere stated that their Government, if elected, will,
“…uphold the rights of freedom of expression and ensure all journalists are able to do their work without impediment,”
This statement is questionable as CCC, as well select on who receives their information and who doesn’t especially when asked questions pertaining their party.
The World freedom day which was a brainchild of UNESCO in 1991 was passed on the 20th of December 1993 by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) as a way of mitigating the attacks on journalists and media practitioners around the World.