Download - Media Institute of Southern Africa

State of the media in Southern Africa 2002
2002
Mozambique).
Oguti’s co-accused, a driver from
Mozambique, is still at large. The
driver is said to have driven Oguti’s
vehicle into Zimbabwe, while Oguti
himself is said to have entered Zimbabwe
through an illegal entry point in
the mountains.
On February 26, Mubvuta indicated
that Oguti would be charged with “entry
by evasion” and would also be declared
a prohibited immigrant. He is
expected to be deported shortly after
his transfer to Harare prison.
It is still not clear if Oguti entered
Zimbabwe with the intent to perform
media-related work. He had apparently
told police and immigration officials
that he was merely visiting.
UPDATE
DATE: 2002-03-12
INSTITUTION(S): BBC
VIOLATION(S): Censored
Zimbabwean Minister of State for
Information and Publicity Jonathan
Moyo has warned that the BBC could
be permanently banned from reporting
from Zimbabwe.
Addressing local and foreign journalists
in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second
largest city, on March 8, 2002,
Moyo said he had information that
some BBC reporters had entered the
country. “There is a large and divergent
media in the country, with over 500
journalists, but we are dismayed with
reports from the BBC, who are boasting
that some of its journalists have
sneaked into the country,” said Moyo.
Moyo said that the BBC reporters’
conduct was illegal and demonstrated
why his department refused accreditation
to the BBC to cover the recent
200 So This Is Democracy?
presidential elections.
In reference to Pierre Schori, the
head of the European observer mission
that left Zimbabwe before the elections,
Moyo said “the BBC would not
succeed where Schori failed.” He
added that “those BBC people are not
better than terrorists and that is why
they do not deserve to be here.”
“Those elements, if caught, might
take long to go back to their home
country and they are not even ashamed
as they are boasting about it. In fact
they have compromised their working
in Zimbabwe for a temporary moment
that might not have been permanent,”
said Moyo.
The Department of Information and
Publicity said that two BBC correspondents,
John Sweeney and Fergal
Keane, also entered the country in February
and spent two weeks in the
Matabeleland region, investigating the
violence that gripped the region after
independence.
The Zimbabwean government refused
accreditation to the BBC and
many other international media organisations
on allegations of biased reporting.
According to the Department of
Information and Publicity, over 580
foreign journalists were accredited to
cover the elections. This figure could
not be independently verified. The department
has also threatened to find all
foreign journalists who are working
“illegally” in Zimbabwe.
ALERT
DATE: 2002-03-18
INSTITUTION(S): Media in Zimbabwe
VIOLATION(S): Legislation
President Robert Mugabe signed