WHEN I attended the Harare Polytechnic I was excited that I would be a journalist. Having seen Ruben Barwe and Joseph Madimba on TV, I thought one day I would hold that microphone and report on the goings-on in Zimbabwe and sit in that “Madimba Chair” and read prime time news, or do a Shingirai “Virimayi” Tungwarara and quiz political leaders on the policies in the country.
I managed to do at least one of these things: to become a journalist, but because of the meagre salaries journalists get in the country, I preferred to freelance. At least that way I could get to choose what to write, when to write and hopefully how much money I would make out of what I write.
My colleagues in the fraternity will tell you that life has been one hell of a ride: writing for online publications, Western press and some abusive bloggers I am not at liberty to mention here. I have often felt that, despite many of my colleagues in the profession sensationalising stories to capture the headlines, I wanted to deliver timely, precise and accurate news. And I guess in many respects I have managed to do just that and am proud of my record. I have been detained several times, but released with no charges. I have to admit that I never felt it necessary to carry an accreditation card, at least given by the Media and Information Commission. (MIC) because as long as I was not working for the state media I would be treated the same wherever I went.
In that respect, you could call me a protest journalist. But, that has never compromised my approach to journalism - a profeesion that I love and respect. My stories have been truthful, accurate (at least from my point of view) and unbiased.
The changes taking place in our country gave me hope that the profession I have contributed so much to could now transform into a respectable one and we would finally do our job in peace and without too much interference. The media and information laws passed by the former Information Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo have severely constricted our work and thwarted most of our efforts in informing the public about the goings on in the country.
After the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Zanu PF and the two formations of the MDC, many of us journalists felt optimistic that the terrain in which we operate was finally going to change, and the signs, incremental as they are, are that things could be moving in the right direction. The minor changes made to AIPPA and POSA laws are a step in the right direction although they are inadequate – at least someone somewhere is in agreement that there were excesses in the original legislation.
Events this week, however, gave me a new fright. I always boasted that I knew a few people in the MDC party who understood my plight as a journalist and was sure that I would practise safely as a journalist in a new Zimbabwe – led by the MDC, who together with myself and others, were champions in the fight for media freedom and access to information.
On Wednesday, there was a scheduled press conference that the two MDC formations had called for to announce that they were pulling out of the power-sharing arrangement until a mediator was appointed, at least that was what the original briefing and conference call indicated. The grapevine was full of speculation as to what exactly would transpire. The conference was to be held at the Strathaven residence of the Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai and was to be addressed by the two MDC leaders, Tsvangirai and Deputy PM-Designate, Professor Arthur Mutambara.
Most of you now know that the press conference did not take place because of some disagreements over Cabinet posts between the two formations of the opposition MDC. I am not privy to what exactly transpired, but that is what we all found out at the end, when the two leaders, despite the media having waited at the residence for almost two hours, failed to appear nor to inform us what was going on. We all later had to trickle away with no official position from the leadership. Again the few journalists who had access to the "inaccessible new leadership” of the future Zimbabwe informed us that the press conference was no more.
But that is not the crux of my story.
Getting to the conference, i.e. through the gates of PM-Designate Morgan Tsvangirai’s house was no easy task and it was reflective of what we could expect in the future.
Several of us, despite waiting outside the gates for close to two hours, were barred by Tsvangirai's security guards from entering the premises because we failed to produce accreditation cards from the Media and Information Commission (MIC) – a Commission the opposition party has deemed illegal in the past and criticized for curtailing the functions of journalists and the independence of journalists in doing their work.
We wondered: How could they quickly adopt laws they criticised only a few weeks ago, or months ago, before the signing of the power-sharing arrangement? Anyone who ‘googles’ the MDC in relation to the media laws in the country would find chunks of paragraphs criticizing the MIC for its “treatment of journalists”. The spokesmen of the two MDCs are on record criticizing the harsh treatment of journalists and the MIC tops the list all the time.
Tsvangirai's guards, bodyguards or whatever we decide to call them, claimed that there were instructions from the "top" not to allow in journalists without the MIC accreditation cards. We wondered what the top was. Many Western journalists who do not carry MIC accreditation cards were allowed in. ("At least they looked authentic." We wondered if this is what Tsvangirai's guards thought.) We wondered whether they had instructions from the Chairman of the MIC, Tafataona Mahoso or the Minister of Information or the President of Zimbabwe. To many of us these individuals signify “the top”. Otherwise, who else or what else was "the top"? We then wondered how media in the “new Zimbabwe” would be like under the Prime Ministership and Deputy Prime Ministership of Tsvangirai and Mutambara respectively! Perhaps it would be business-as-usual or even worse.
At that point Professor Jonathan Moyo came to my mind. As someone who was championing democracy in Zimbabwe before he was made Information Minister, his record is not a rosy one and one that Zimbabweans would like to be reminded of. The infamous Moyo introduced many of the laws we are fighting today and brought the Ministry of Information into disrepute. I guess the public is gullible and always believes politicians when they say they have the interests of the people at heart. The manhandling we endured under Tsvangirai’s guards is reminiscent of a pre-MoU Zimbabwe where the media was muzzled and did not practise freely in certain parts of the country – treatment which the MDC said was also fighting against.
We were pushed and shoved and the MDC officials who were there never came to our rescue.
It was a relief to then hear that the press conference had been cancelled. We would not miss anything after all.
All our efforts in supporting the MDC over the years proved fruitless. The sign-o’-the-times is not a good one and the “new Zimbabwe” might not be turn out to be what we expected under the leadership of these “new men”.
Welcome to the new Zimbabwe!
[Tendai Nyatanga is the pseudonym of a Zimbabwe Guardian reporter in Harare.]
Mhofeti • pasizw@yahoo.co.uk Subject: Objectivity please Omuhle Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:32:35 • Omuhle, how is the article misleading when you actually confirm everything that the author wrote. The author says he has been in the same struggle with MDC over certain reforms that they wanted to see in the media section and he's surprised that given the chance they seem not able walk the talk. In your comment you didn't point out how the author is misleading readers.
Omuhle • n/a Subject: n/a Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:20:22 • You guys can say what you want, the point remains there are some people claiming to be journos who just appeared from no where and a decision was taken to root/weed them out. If journos had been told in advance to bring their media cards we know very well the CIO woild have gone to Mahoso and got the cards.
I'm not contradicting myself and I am not condoning the manhandling of the journos. I think it was quite clear to the journos (if we can call them that) who were turned away. These guys vangavajhaira kungopinda into MDC fnuctions and pretend to be journos. The bodyguards asked for accreditation and they were relaxed about it and thought they could push the guards around by simply saying tiritese. Hatina kutora accreditation coz nyaya yacho munoiziva. There's this notion that everyone covering MDC functions is a sympathiser. Not true. Some are the proverbial wolves in sheeps clothing. The guys were thinking the guards would just laugh it off and so when they were told not to enter they decided to get shirty with the guards and ofc ourse the guards responded accordingly. The guys could have simply waited for Chamisa who came over and got a few guys in (the real journos who don't have accreditation but are practising journos we see all the times) But the guys thought MDC is weak and we can push the guards aroudn coz if they manhandle us they are violent like ZANU PF so let's have hoviyo. It's hard to explain if you weren't there and if you don't have an open mind about the motive behind this MDC move.
N/A • Morgan Subject: N/A Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:44:01 • Zimbabweans need to grasp that Britain firmly controls Tsvangirai. He cannot cross the road unless Britain and the BBC tell him to look left and then look right before he crosses. Mutambara is his own man. Britain and her BBC cannot predict what he will say. If Morgan cannot persuade Mutambara to say what Britain and her state broadcaster want him to say for the sake of the soundbite the news conference will not take place. Morgan only ever does what Britain tells him to and absolutely nothing else. He promised control of our resources to Britain in return for all the financial favours he has received. Until and unless he hands those resources to his benefactors Zimbabwes misery will continue. Sanctions will never ever be lifted. they were never intended to be lifted.
na. • na. Subject: Omuhle is a Security Guard? Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:51:29 • if you were there Omuhle, are you another journo? are you accredited, just like Muckraker? or were you one of the MT's security guards on duty that day? this would appear to be the case eh.
na. • na Subject: PRESS CONFERANCE Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:47:06 • Perhaps this presss conferance was organised as the one when Biti told the world they had won? we will never knw.
all we know is that either way it was a shambollox all over agen. God give us all strength.
is this another 10- years of MDC leading us by the nose until sanctions are lifted. the world is financially folding in on itself and no one is cares one iota about little old Zimbabwe. does the D in MDC stnd for decade? you know, 10 more years.
N/A • N/A Subject: Media Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:36:00 • Omuhle- You are rather contradicting yourself here. Either you agree with this notion of freedom of the press where any journalist even those who don't support the MDC are allowed to attend MDC briefings. You can't choose who attends or who doesn't attend your briefings. The MDC is a political party that should stand up to scrutiny.What the above contributor wants to know is why the MDC is using the same tactics for handling journalists that it has criticised in the past. Since you are claiming that you were at the scene can you confirm the following : Were these journalists manhandled byTsvangirai's guards then? Why did the MDC top officials not intervene? Surely if they had done so it would have shown that they are talking the talk and walking the walk as avowed democrats. Were the Western journalists (without the MIC cards) allowed to get inside? Who was the intended audience for this MDC briefing? Was it the Western audience or your own Zim electorate? Which audience is more important to the MDC the Western or Zim? Do you think MDC 's actions can be construed as discrimination against its own Zim journalists?
N/A • N/A Subject: N/A Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:58:43 • Shefu OMuhle, munenge munongo rota CIO pose pose pamuri. This guy is pointing out what he thinks the media will be like under the new dispensation. Instead of rushing to blame the CIO, its important to acknowledge good points, then find a way of correcting errors that will have been made. If a press conference was called,it should have been announced that to be eligible to cover, bring your MIC accreditation.CIO vana venyu-musango vatuketuke pese pese we need them even imi shefu Omuhle mukaiswa panyanga,tinotoona moda kuti vave pedyo pedyo.
Just address the issues raised by adequately preparing for future press conferences-also moregawo kufunga kuti anything white is milk. Mumwe mukaka wemukondekonde-poison chaiyo.Kana musati maziva izvozvo,you are not yet ready to lead. Munoisa makwai ose mukati me shumba.
Omuhle • n/a Subject: n/a Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:49:28 • Do not mislead people. I was there and I can tell the truth. The journalists turned away were those who have not been seen before. There was infiltration by CIO's and a decision was taken to use the MIC issued cards as a barometer of who is a true journo. It is true that some were let in without the said cards and these are tried and rtusted journos who have followed the MDC everywhere including rallies, where they were always beaten up along with MDC supporters, by ZANU PF militia.
The funny thing is we know those guys turned away and I can guarantee you the next time a press conference is called they will display the MIC cards mysterioulsy. This is a sign they went back to their CIO bosses who called Mahoso on their behalf and got the cards printed for the agents.
It is all detailed. Print this comment or not, the story will be published any day now of this infiltration.
SUBMITYOUROPINION
Please make sure you fill in all sections for your post to be submitted. Use n/a if not submitting details. The submission code below is case-sensitive. Also make sure you get confirmation that your comment has been submitted.
