MP says no room for ‘media hangmen’ in new commission

By Alex Bell
16 June 2009

The Chair of the Parliamentary select committee on the media on Monday made a verbal stand against the inclusion of ‘media hangmen’ in the Zimbabwe Information Commission, saying the government will not allow the likes of Jonathan Moyo or Tafataona Mahoso to be involved.

Tongai Matutu, the urban legislator in Masvingo, told a news briefing that Moyo and Mahoso are responsible for the dire state that Zimbabwean media is in because of their records of stifling media freedom. He told journalists there would be no place for either of them on the new media regulatory board.

Moyo, who is the controversial former Minister of Information and Publicity, was the architect of the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). He presided over the closure of independent newspapers such as The Daily News and The Tribune through the now defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC), which in turn was headed by Mahoso.

“We are not going to allow media hangmen to find themselves on the new commission,” said Matutu.
“The likes of Moyo and Mahoso will not be considered for any post because they are responsible for the mess in which we are,” he added.

The High Court has already ruled that the MIC is now null and void, but in a sign that media reform is still a long way off in Zimbabwe, a group of journalists were turned away from the opening of the Comesa summit earlier this month. The four, who won a landmark case against the government on the legality of the MIC, were refused entry to the event for not having accreditation, despite the High Court order declaring the MIC illegal being granted two days before.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Harare on Saturday for a concert aimed at raising awareness about the importance of freedom of expression and freeing the airwaves in Zimbabwe. The event was hosted by the Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe chapter (MISA Zimbabwe) in conjunction with Artists for Democracy in Zimbabwe Trust (ADZ Trust), Savanna Trust and Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights. The ‘Free Our Airwaves’ concert was attended by more than 500 people who came together under the theme: ‘freedom of expression + access to information = people empowerment.’

During the event ADZ Trust national Coordinator, Felix Machiridza, called on the inclusive government to open the airwaves and allow community radio stations to operate so as to allow ‘diverging and converging views to gain access in the media.’ Machiridza emphasised the need to have an alternative voice in the media and he highlighted that Zimbabweans are tired of being exposed to what he referred to as the ‘one and only media choice,’ which is the ZBC.