“Malawi’s Constitutional Court has taken a monumental step towards protecting press freedom and affirmed that criticism and dissent are essential to democracy by ruling criminal defamation to be unconstitutional,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in Nairobi. “Authorities should immediately comply with the judgment, and other laws that may unduly restrict the work of journalists must also be reformed.” 

In a unanimous decision, three constitutional court justices ruled that the defamation law was a “disproportionate and unjustifiable limitation on constitutional freedom,” according to a summary of the judgment reviewed by CPJ.

The ruling follows social media influencer and activist Joshua Chisa Mbele’s 2022 legal challenge of criminal defamation charges for his remarks about a military official.

In its decision, the court ordered that no further prosecutions on criminal defamation charges be brought under the law.

The Malawian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa and other civil society organizations urged the government not to appeal the ruling and to reform other laws that restrict free expression. Section 60 of Malawi’s penal code criminalizes publishing false news, with penalties of fines or up to two years in jail, and the 2016 Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act makes unauthorized transmitting data or information punishable by a fine of 2,000,000 Malawian kwacha (USD $1,153) and a 5-year imprisonment. 

In 2022, Malawi amended its Protected Flag, Emblems, and Names Act of 1967, to decriminalize insults against the president but retained prison time for those convicted of insults to flags or protected emblems.

Malawi Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda did not respond to CPJ’s calls or text messages for comment on the court’s decision.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

On May 16, in Mozambique’s central Zambézia province, about 10 private security guards assaulted and threatened STV reporter Jorge Marcos and camera operator Verson Paulo at a Renamo opposition party event, according to the two journalists, a statement by the Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and video footage of the incident reviewed by CPJ.

The police were also there but did nothing, Marcos said, and Paulo added that his camera was damaged in the incident.

Marcos said that the private security officers also yelled insults and accused them of working for Venâncio Mondlane, a challenger to presidential hopeful Ossumo Momade, leader of the opposition Renamo party, in October’s election.

Three private security officers interrupted TV Sucesso reporter Ernesto Martinho and camera operator Valdo Massingue during a May 5 live report from a school in the capital of Maputo, where the ruling Frelimo party was holding a congress to elect its next presidential candidate, according to the MISA statement and the journalists, who spoke to CPJ.

Frelimo has governed the country and nominated all of its presidents since the country became independent in 1975. Its current president, Filipe Nyusi, is term-limited and will leave office after the upcoming national election.

The private security officers expelled both journalists from the school grounds, told Martinho that he was banned from covering the event, and threatened to also ban all TV Sucesso journalists. Martinho said that a security officer briefly confiscated his microphone, and Valdo said that security personnel also tried to confiscate his camera.

“Mozambique’s October 2024 elections will be pivotal, and political parties must not be allowed to dictate what information reaches the public domain by harassing and intimidating journalists,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “Mozambican authorities, as well as the leadership of the Frelimo and Renamo parties, must hold those responsible to account for attacks on at least five journalists covering election-related events.”

On March 28, journalist Atanázio Amade was arrested while he was covering the voter registration process in the northern Nampula province, after a Frelimo party official alleged that the journalist did not have the proper credentials to be present, according to the journalist who spoke to CPJ and the MISA statement.

Amade, who works with the community radio Ehale, said that he was taken to a local station where the national police’s district commander Américo Francisco, and directors with Mozambique’s Information and National Security Service (SISE) and the Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), forced him to delete footage of voters waiting in long queues to register and told him that he “was infringing the law and committing fraud because he was monitoring the electoral registration without special authorization.” Amade said he did not know the names of the SISE and SERNIC directors.

Renamo spokesperson José Manteigas and Frelimo spokesperson Ludmila Maguni did not respond to CPJ’s phone calls or messages. Rosa Chaúque, spokesperson of the police in Nampula told CPJ via phone that she would look into the incident involving Amade and get back to CPJ. Chaúque did not answer several subsequent calls or messages.

Emina Tsimine, spokesperson for Sernic, told CPJ via message app that Amade did not identify himself before taking photos at the registry posts and that electoral posts have “heightened levels of security.” She added that Sernic and SISE “merely made the journalist aware of the need to identify himself to avoid these situations” and that both police forces took 20 minutes to speak to him to ascertain his identity, not being responsible for the journalist being held for five hours.

SISE representatives could not be reached for comment.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On May 16, in Mozambique’s central Zambézia province, about 10 private security guards assaulted and threatened STV reporter Jorge Marcos and camera operator Verson Paulo at a Renamo opposition party event, according to the two journalists, a statement by the Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and video footage of the incident reviewed by CPJ.

The police were also there but did nothing, Marcos said, and Paulo added that his camera was damaged in the incident.

Marcos said that the private security officers also yelled insults and accused them of working for Venâncio Mondlane, a challenger to presidential hopeful Ossumo Momade, leader of the opposition Renamo party, in October’s election.

Three private security officers interrupted TV Sucesso reporter Ernesto Martinho and camera operator Valdo Massingue during a May 5 live report from a school in the capital of Maputo, where the ruling Frelimo party was holding a congress to elect its next presidential candidate, according to the MISA statement and the journalists, who spoke to CPJ.

Frelimo has governed the country and nominated all of its presidents since the country became independent in 1975. Its current president, Filipe Nyusi, is term-limited and will leave office after the upcoming national election.

The private security officers expelled both journalists from the school grounds, told Martinho that he was banned from covering the event, and threatened to also ban all TV Sucesso journalists. Martinho said that a security officer briefly confiscated his microphone, and Valdo said that security personnel also tried to confiscate his camera.

“Mozambique’s October 2024 elections will be pivotal, and political parties must not be allowed to dictate what information reaches the public domain by harassing and intimidating journalists,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “Mozambican authorities, as well as the leadership of the Frelimo and Renamo parties, must hold those responsible to account for attacks on at least five journalists covering election-related events.”

On March 28, journalist Atanázio Amade was arrested while he was covering the voter registration process in the northern Nampula province, after a Frelimo party official alleged that the journalist did not have the proper credentials to be present, according to the journalist who spoke to CPJ and the MISA statement.

Amade, who works with the community radio Ehale, said that he was taken to a local station where the national police’s district commander Américo Francisco, and directors with Mozambique’s Information and National Security Service (SISE) and the Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), forced him to delete footage of voters waiting in long queues to register and told him that he “was infringing the law and committing fraud because he was monitoring the electoral registration without special authorization.” Amade said he did not know the names of the SISE and SERNIC directors.

Renamo spokesperson José Manteigas and Frelimo spokesperson Ludmila Maguni did not respond to CPJ’s phone calls or messages. Rosa Chaúque, spokesperson of the police in Nampula told CPJ via phone that she would look into the incident involving Amade and get back to CPJ. Chaúque did not answer several subsequent calls or messages.

Emina Tsimine, spokesperson for Sernic, told CPJ via message app that Amade did not identify himself before taking photos at the registry posts and that electoral posts have “heightened levels of security.” She added that Sernic and SISE “merely made the journalist aware of the need to identify himself to avoid these situations” and that both police forces took 20 minutes to speak to him to ascertain his identity, not being responsible for the journalist being held for five hours.

SISE representatives could not be reached for comment.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The seizures took place largely at MBC offices in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu following a complaint by MBC’s management about the creation of a “fake” Facebook page bearing the corporation’s name and logo, which the outlet had not approved, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the journalists, and police search warrants reviewed by CPJ. The complaint accused the 14 journalists of “spamming,” which carries a maximum penalty of two million Malawian kwacha (about US$1,190) and imprisonment for five years under section 91 of Malawi’s Electronic Transactions and Cybersecurity Act.

As of March 8, police returned three laptops and nine phones to the journalists, according to a journalist who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The journalist, whose phone has been returned, is concerned that the device has been compromised while in police custody and will no longer use it.

Another journalist, who also spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, said some MBC colleagues received email notifications about attempts to log into their Instagram and X accounts while their devices were in police custody.

Malawi police spokesperson Peter Kalaya told CPJ in a late February 2024 phone interview that the police investigation was being conducted in response to a legitimate complaint, and police had obtained a warrant before seizing and searching the devices. 

“The investigation is not targeting journalists, it is targeting people who we suspect to be responsible” for the Facebook page, Kalaya said, but he declined to explain how the police had determined which individuals were suspects. 

“We have a forensics laboratory and sometimes we use other institutions’ forensic laboratories,” Kalaya told CPJ, but declined to give specifics about the technologies used to search the journalists’ devices. “Our search in the gadgets is going to be restricted to those apps that we believe or that we suspect were used in the commission of the crime,” Kalaya told CPJ, adding that the journalists whose devices had been seized should trust the professionalism of the investigating officers. “Why should a police officer go to contacts, to [the] photo gallery when what he is looking for is not there, or if he does not suspect it will be there?” he said.

In January 2024, the local Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ-Malawi) reported that Malawian authorities had obtained the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED), a powerful technology designed to access and extract information from electronic devices and sold by the Israel-based company Cellebrite. The Malawi police sought to further expand its investigative capacity with similar tools, according to the report. In response to CPJ’s questions about which tools, including those sold by Cellebrite, police used to search the devices of MBC journalists, Kalaya declined to give specifics.

CPJ has previously documented the use of Cellebrite’s UFED by police in Botswana to search journalists’ phones and has raised the issue of privacy concerns when law enforcement seizes devices and has access to such technology. 

MBC director general George Kasakula declined to comment until the police investigation into the alleged spamming concludes at an unknown date.

On February 15, five police officers looking for Greyson Chapita, MBC’s suspended controller of news and programs, arrived at his daughter’s home. The officers told family members there to call Chapita and tell him that his daughter was sick to lure him there, the journalist told CPJ, adding that his family obliged, and he arrived shortly after. Once Chapita arrived, police officers told him that he was a suspect in a murder and requested to search his phone and laptop, but he initially refused.

Chapita told the officers that he would not comply until he verified that they were police officers, and he went with them to the local police station to confirm their identities. Once confirmed by a senior officer, Chapita returned with them to his home, where the officers showed him the same warrant citing MBC management’s complaint, and he opened his laptop and entered his password, he told CPJ. The officers then looked through his Facebook account for 30 minutes without further explanation as Chapita watched.

“[T]hey checked my Facebook account and took screenshots. They made me sign a document showing that they searched my laptop and did not find anything, so they didn’t take it. They couldn’t see my phone because it is not a smartphone,” the journalist added.

When asked about the police officers’ tactics used to summon Chapita and search his computer, Kalaya told CPJ that he could not comment on the specifics of the incident, but he said the journalist could file a complaint. 

“What I can assure you is that our investigators are very professional and whatever they are doing is very professional,” Kalaya said.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a public address on February 17 in the provincial capital of Pemba, Tauabo accused journalists of striking “deals” with terrorists and being “in sync with terrorists,” according to media reports. Tauabo also alleged that journalists’ views had been influenced and “formatted by terrorists,” and he claimed that this undue influence had led to coverage of the region with an “imprint of evil,” according to those same reports. Tauabo, who warned the media “not to create a situation” with their reports, did not name any specific journalist or media outlet.

In a February 16 radio interview, Sidónio José, administrator of Quissanga district in Cabo Delgado, accused journalists of “fabricating false news about terrorism to traumatize communities,” without naming a specific journalist or news outlet, according to a news report by the private news site Integrity Magazine and a statement by the Mozambican chapter of the press rights group, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

Since 2017, Cabo Delgado has been the at the center of an insurgency in which thousands have been killed and at least a million people displaced, amid fighting between militants affiliated with the Islamic State and state forces backed by troops from other countries in the region. After three months of calm, a new wave of attacks between late December 2023 and February 2024 forced over 70,000 people to flee their homes in Cabo Delgado, according to reports by United Nations agencies, the media and Human Rights Watch.

“It is alarming that officials in Cabo Delgado are issuing threats against the media and making inflammatory comments about journalists who already face high levels of risk covering the insurgency in Cabo Delgado,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo from Nairobi. “Officials in Cabo Delgado should withdraw recent comments accusing journalists of colluding with terrorists and desist from intimidating the media. Mozambican authorities should instead support the timely and independent journalism that the public needs to make crucial decisions amid a new wave of attacks.”

A journalist based in Cabo Delgado, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, said authorities rarely provide timely information or respond to journalistic queries about the conflict, creating a “vacuum of official information that feeds disinformation about the security situation in the region.”

Another journalist, who also asked not to be named for safety concerns, told CPJ that “the narrative of blaming journalists for the difficulty in combating insurgency is the same that led to arrests and the disappearance of a journalist in Cabo Delgado.”

Since 2019, CPJ has documented the arrest of at least two journalists in Cabo Delgado on terrorism allegations. In 2020, radio journalist Ibraimo Mbaruco disappeared in Cabo Delgado, after texting a colleague that he was “surrounded by soldiers.” Authorities have yet to provide a credible account of his whereabouts.

CPJ’s repeated calls to Tauabo went unanswered. An email sent to the governor returned an error message. When CPJ contacted José via messaging app, he declined to comment, saying “only the defense institutions could speak about the delicate situation in the region.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a public address on February 17 in the provincial capital of Pemba, Tauabo accused journalists of striking “deals” with terrorists and being “in sync with terrorists,” according to media reports. Tauabo also alleged that journalists’ views had been influenced and “formatted by terrorists,” and he claimed that this undue influence had led to coverage of the region with an “imprint of evil,” according to those same reports. Tauabo, who warned the media “not to create a situation” with their reports, did not name any specific journalist or media outlet.

In a February 16 radio interview, Sidónio José, administrator of Quissanga district in Cabo Delgado, accused journalists of “fabricating false news about terrorism to traumatize communities,” without naming a specific journalist or news outlet, according to a news report by the private news site Integrity Magazine and a statement by the Mozambican chapter of the press rights group, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

Since 2017, Cabo Delgado has been the at the center of an insurgency in which thousands have been killed and at least a million people displaced, amid fighting between militants affiliated with the Islamic State and state forces backed by troops from other countries in the region. After three months of calm, a new wave of attacks between late December 2023 and February 2024 forced over 70,000 people to flee their homes in Cabo Delgado, according to reports by United Nations agencies, the media and Human Rights Watch.

“It is alarming that officials in Cabo Delgado are issuing threats against the media and making inflammatory comments about journalists who already face high levels of risk covering the insurgency in Cabo Delgado,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo from Nairobi. “Officials in Cabo Delgado should withdraw recent comments accusing journalists of colluding with terrorists and desist from intimidating the media. Mozambican authorities should instead support the timely and independent journalism that the public needs to make crucial decisions amid a new wave of attacks.”

A journalist based in Cabo Delgado, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, said authorities rarely provide timely information or respond to journalistic queries about the conflict, creating a “vacuum of official information that feeds disinformation about the security situation in the region.”

Another journalist, who also asked not to be named for safety concerns, told CPJ that “the narrative of blaming journalists for the difficulty in combating insurgency is the same that led to arrests and the disappearance of a journalist in Cabo Delgado.”

Since 2019, CPJ has documented the arrest of at least two journalists in Cabo Delgado on terrorism allegations. In 2020, radio journalist Ibraimo Mbaruco disappeared in Cabo Delgado, after texting a colleague that he was “surrounded by soldiers.” Authorities have yet to provide a credible account of his whereabouts.

CPJ’s repeated calls to Tauabo went unanswered. An email sent to the governor returned an error message. When CPJ contacted José via messaging app, he declined to comment, saying “only the defense institutions could speak about the delicate situation in the region.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The unwanted publication of personal information online—known as doxxing—is an increasingly common form of digital harassment of the press.

On November 23, 2023, Botswana’s Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Beauty Morukana Manake, published screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation with Ramasia, in which the journalist’s phone number was visible, on her Facebook page, which has over 63,000 followers, according to Ramasia, who spoke to CPJ, a statement by the Botswana chapter of the press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and CPJ’s review.

Ramasia is a freelance reporter who covers politics, health, and other news for a variety of local outlets.

On February 1, 2024, the post was still live and contained screenshots of Manake’s conversation with Ramasia, who asked Manake for comment on allegations that she was “abusing” her office, including by arriving late at events.

In the screenshots, Manake said the allegations were baseless and part of a “witch-hunt.” Manake also said that she had been “abused and weaponized by people using the media for their selfish ‘political gains.’”

Ramasia told CPJ that he had called Manake, asking her to conceal his identity or delete the post, and that she had requested an apology, which the journalist declined to give.

Manake told CPJ that she felt unfairly treated by the journalist and accused Ramasia of deliberately attempting to tarnish her image. 

On December 19, 2023, Madibelatlhopo, a group that campaigns against election rigging and is affiliated with the opposition party Umbrella for Democratic Change, published Dihutso’s phone number on its Facebook page, which has over 10,000 followers, according to MISA, CPJ’s review, and Dihutso, who spoke to CPJ. 

Dihutso’s phone number was included in a series of screenshots showing a WhatsApp exchange in which Dihutso, a reporter with the privately owned Duma FM, sought comment from Madibelatlhopo’s spokesperson, Michael Keakopa, about the group’s registration as a private company and its shareholding.

As of February 1, 2024, the Facebook post was still live, along with commentary suggesting that Dihutso was an intelligence agent and a member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party. Facebook commentators also accused him of being “naive and malicious” and claimed that Duma FM was founded on the “proceeds of crime.”

MISA said “indiscriminate sharing of [the journalists’] personal data” contravened their right to privacy under Botswana’s constitution and its Data Protection Act, and created “a hostile environment” for reporting.

Under the country’s data protection law, a person who processes sensitive personal data without permission is guilty of an offense and is liable to a fine not exceeding 500,000 pula (USD$36,500) and/or up to nine years imprisonment.

In a statement, the Botswana Editors Forum said Madibelathlopo’s comments were an “attempt to discredit or attack journalists for simply practicing their trade.”

Dihutso told CPJ he had reported the post containing his phone number to Facebook.

In response to CPJ’s request for comment via messaging app in early January, Keakopa accused a CPJ staff member of being connected to Botswana intelligence, said “I’m going to publish this conversation for Batswana to know what I discuss with so called journalists just as I did with that other pseudo,” and told the staff member to “never send me stupid messages again.” Keakopa did not respond to subsequent queries from CPJ.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Around 2:30 p.m. on August 25, Chalika, a reporter with privately owned Kasupe Radio, was photographing a scuffle between rival fans at Bingu National Stadium in the capital Lilongwe when he was approached by at least 15 people wearing merchandise of the Silver Strikers Football Club, one of the country’s top super league soccer clubs, according to Chalika, news reports, and a statement by the Malawi chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa. 

The supporters demanded he delete the photographs, and when he refused and gave his camera to a colleague who immediately left, they began punching and kicking Chalika all over his body, the journalist told CPJ.

Nearby police officers rescued Chalika from the crowd, Chalika said, adding that he had not filed a case with police on advice from his lawyer, who is drafting papers to sue the club for damages. Chalika was treated at a local hospital for bruises and a sprained ankle. 

“The Football Association of Malawi, as the national governing body of football, must ensure that it is not seen as condoning any violence on or outside the football pitch, especially when fans assault members of the press,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in Durban, South Africa. “There is precedent worldwide for soccer clubs to be held responsible for their fans’ conduct, including the deduction of league points, and Malawian football authorities must act accordingly.”

In their statement, MISA demanded disciplinary action against the club’s supporters who attacked Chalika and against head coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh, who called several questions asked by reporters at a post-match press conference “stupid.” 

A Silver Strikers media officer told CPJ via messaging app that MISA “handled the issue” but declined to comment further.

CPJ’s calls and messages to Gomezgani Zakazaka, the Football Association of Malawi’s communications and competitions manager, did not receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Monday, July 17, in Bulawayo’s central business district, a group of people wearing regalia of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, or ZANU-PF, slapped Annahstacia Ndlovu, a correspondent for U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America, across her face and punched her when she refused to delete a recording and photographs of their skirmish with vendors at a vegetable market in the city, according to news reports, a statement by the Zimbabwean chapter of the press freedom group the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Members of the same group also slapped Tuso, a freelance journalist who is also chairperson of the Bulawayo Media Center, and Lungelo Ndlovu, a Reuters correspondent who is not related to Annahstacia Ndlovu, according to both journalists, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

“Zimbabwean authorities should speedily investigate the assaults of journalists Annahstacia Ndlovu, Pamenus Tuso, and Lungelo Ndlovu, and bring all those responsible to justice,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Journalists must be free to report without fear of attack, and those who prevent them from working must face immediate consequences, especially as there is heightened concern about journalist safety ahead of the August 23 general election.” 

The journalists told CPJ that ZANU-PF supporters had ordered vendors to show proof of their support for the ruling party at their central business district office ahead of the August elections or risk losing trading space at the market. When the vendors refused, the supporters beat them up and told them that they were not allowed to trade at the market. 

Annahstacia Ndlovu told CPJ that she and the other reporters were interviewing vendors about the skirmish with ZANU-PF supporters when one of the supporters ordered her to delete her footage. After she refused and identified herself as a member of the press, that man, aided by other supporters, slapped her across the face and punched her body. A woman confiscated her phone and deleted footage and photographs before handing it back, Ndlovu said, adding that her other phone fell to the ground during the assault and was damaged.

“The ringleader assaulted me several times, while others were even touching my breasts,” she said. “They beat me all over the body. My face is swollen.”

The journalist reported the attack to the Bulawayo Central Police station, where a case was opened for investigation, she said. According to a medical report reviewed by CPJ, Annahstacia Ndlovu sustained “serious injuries” to her eyes and a swollen right hip. The injuries presented a “potential danger to life” and the likelihood of a “permanent disability,” according to the report.

Lungelo Ndlovu told CPJ that the attackers also slapped him and ordered to him to delete footage, but he managed to flee to safety.

“They demanded I identify myself, which I did, and then they said [to] delete footage and some guy slapped me on the face. I didn’t see that coming. I couldn’t think of anything at that point, I had to run away,” Ndlovu said, adding that he had not deleted his footage.

Tuso said he was slapped on the cheek but was not injured, saying, “They wanted to confiscate my camera, but I had to run away and hide it.”

ZANU-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa and his deputy, Michael Bhima, did not respond to CPJ’s repeated texts and phone calls seeking comment.

When reached via messaging app, Bulawayo Central Police spokesperson Abedinco Ncube referred CPJ to Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi. CPJ called and texted Nyathi, but did not receive any reply.

Earlier this month, CPJ condemned the Zimbabwe’s legislature’s passage of the so-called “Patriot Bill,” which threatens the rights to freedom of expression and media freedom in the country.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

Chissale was denied access to a lawyer and family for the first four days of his detention and both his phones were confiscated and searched, according to the journalist, who said he was in Balama to arrange accommodation ahead of next year’s municipal election for Renamo, the opposition party for whom he sometimes works and planned to run as a municipal election candidate. Chissale also took photos, reported, and published Pinnacle News articles while in Cabo Delgado.

After a public outcry, including fears of Chissale’s enforced disappearance, Gilroy Fazenda, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Cabo Delgado, on November 3 accused Chissale of alleged terrorism and gathering information for terrorism purposes, crimes that carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, according to audio of a press conference reviewed by CPJ. Fazenda added that Chissale identified himself as a journalist by using expired accreditation and that police officers were not sure he was one.

That evening, a Balama district court judge ordered that Chissale be provisionally released after finding that there wasn’t a strong enough case to keep him in detention and said that the journalist should answer to a lesser charge under Article 344 (3) of the penal code that outlaws professionals, including journalists, from working without a proper license or accreditation, according to lawyer, Augusto Messariamba, another MISA statement, and media reports. Messariamba told CPJ that Chissale was released on November 4, after providing proof of his identity and residence.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle after his release, Chissale said he had gone to Balama in anticipation of next year’s municipal election and he hoped to help Renamo. He said that police reacted the way they did because he was an opposition party supporter “and even more so being a journalist.” 

He said in the interview that after his arrest, police went to his boarding house to check his journalist credentials. “They didn’t like the presence of the journalist” and the mention of Renamo, he said.

Balama government administrator Edson Lima told CPJ via messaging app that he became aware of the journalist’s detention after Fazenda’s statement and that Chissale’s “was an isolated case as Balama is a safe place for journalists.”

In August 2022, Chissale told CPJ that he feared for his life after a ruling party Frelimo member, Bellya Nota, had accused him of terrorism, harassed him, and threatened him on a social media group supportive of President Filipe Nyusi between June and August 2020.

On November 3, Nota posted on that group celebrating Chissale’s arrest stating, “justice might take long but it doesn’t fail.” The post reviewed by CPJ was later deleted. 

Chissale filed a defamation complaint against Nota in early 2021 and the case was later transferred to Mozambique’s capital Maputo and is pending review by a local court.  

Nota did not reply to a request for comment by CPJ on a number provided by Nota’s lawyer, Chomar Amiise. Amiise told CPJ he could not comment on the defamation complaint.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“The increasing cases of violence against journalists in Zimbabwe is becoming a serious source of concern and must be strongly condemned,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Press freedom violations and the rising impunity for crimes against journalists should not be tolerated as the country prepares for a general election in 2023.”

Between Thursday, October 6, and Monday, October 10, five journalists were assaulted, briefly detained, and prevented from covering events by police, ZANU-PF activists, and suspected government agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO):

• On Thursday, October 6, in Mbare, a suburb south of the capital Harare, police assaulted NewsDay reporter Moreblessings Nyoni after he was found taking pictures of Harare City Council employees demolishing vending stalls and residential structures, the journalist and news reports said. According to the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app, police asked for his press card before assaulting him using batons, leaving him with a swollen arm and painful buttocks. “I showed them my press card, but they said, ‘It’s fake. You are a sellout,’” the journalist said.

• On Saturday, October 8, in Harare’s Kuwadzana neighborhood, ZANU-PF members and people believed to be members of the CIO assaulted Voice of America correspondent Godwin Mangudya and forced him to delete footage captured at the ruling party’s central committee elections, according to the journalist who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, news reports, and the Zimbabwean chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). Mangudya was held for over an hour and his personal and work-related data was wiped from his devices before they were returned, the journalist and MISA statement said. 

• On Sunday, October 9, around 1 p.m. in Masvingo, about 183 miles (294 kilometers) south of capital Harare, ZANU-PF security officers barred NewsDay journalist Desmond Chingarande from covering the central committee elections, which were held at Masvingo Teachers’ College, according to the journalist, a news report and MISA’s Zimbabwean chapter. Chingarande told CPJ via messaging app he was informed that NewsDay reporters were not being allowed in. Other journalists from state broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation were granted access to the event, he added.

• On Monday, October 10, in Mbare, police assaulted Dunmore Mundai and Gadaffi Wells, journalists from Alpha Media Holdings’ HStv, according to the journalists who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, news reports, a MISA statement, and the International Federation of Journalists. The two were in the area filming a documentary when they captured an exchange between police and vendors from ruling ZANU-PF and opposition Citizens Coalition for Change over vendors’ market stands, the journalists and MISA statement said. Mundai and Wells were only released after identifying themselves as journalists despite having news cameras, the journalists said.

CPJ did not get any response from phone calls and repeated queries sent via messaging app to ZANU-PF information director Tafadzwa Mugwadi and police spokesperson Paul Nyathi.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Around midmorning on September 29, police detectives went to Chizuzu’s office in the central business district of the capital Harare, where they informed him that he was under arrest, but did not disclose why, the journalist told CPJ via messaging app.

A few minutes later, Chizuzu was taken to Harare Central Police Station, where police informed him that Moses Chunga and Eric Aisam, Dynamos Football Club board members, opened a case against him for allegedly transmitting false messages, the journalist said.

Chizuzu, who mostly publishes stories on Facebook, was charged with transmitting false data messages intending to cause harm, in violation of Section 164C of the Data Protection Act, which amends the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, and his mobile phone and an iPad were confiscated, according to the journalist, a news report and the Zimbabwe chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa.

Authorities released Chizuzu after documenting a warning statement and told him that he would soon be required to appear in court, the journalist said. His devices remain in police custody for “further investigations,” Chizuzu said.

“Zimbabwean police must immediately drop the charges against journalist Hope Chizuzu, immediately return the journalist’s electronic devices, and stop the abuse of the country’s cyber security laws to silence journalists,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Chizuzu has become the latest victim of the country’s draconian cyber laws which are inimical to press freedom as Zimbabweans head to the polls next year.”

Chizuzu is the third journalist to be arrested in Zimbabwe over alleged violations of a cybercrime law since the Data Protection Act was enacted in 2021. (On August 2, 2022, police in Zimbabwe arrested Alpha Media Holdings journalists Widsom Mdzungairi and Desmond Chingarande on charges of transmitting “false data intending to cause harm.”) If convicted of transmitting false data messages, Chizuzu could face a fine of 70,000 Zimbabwean dollars (US$193) and up to five years in prison.

“The new cyber laws are being abused by those who are against the corruption fight … Even the (complainants’) statement to police failed to provide the claimed falsehoods,” Chizuzu said, questioning the police’s authority to arrest him and take possession of his devices.

CPJ was unable to reach Chunga and Aisam by phone and they did not respond to a request for comment sent via messaging app. Dynamos club spokesperson Eric Mvududu also did not respond to a request for comment sent via messaging app.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The City TV report, which aired on August 7, featured local youth who wanted Elizabeth Goma, a Kasama district commissioner, to leave her position.

Around 9 p.m. on August 7, after the report aired, Goma called Chanda and said the journalist’s report had started “a war” that he “would not end” and accused Chanda of having disseminated “falsehoods,” according to a recording of the call. Chanda responded by reminding Goma that he contacted her for comment before the story aired, but Goma repeated that the journalist had started “a war.” Goma added that she considered Chanda a “son” and said the journalist had been “unfair,” before the line disconnected.

Separately, around 10 a.m. on August 8, Paul Mulenga, chairperson of a UPND youth league in Northern Province, where Kasama is the provincial capital, phoned Chanda in relation to the same broadcast and, in the local Bemba language, said “life is short” and that he would send political operatives to “sort out” the journalist, according to a recording of that call. Mulenga asked Chanda why City TV broadcast the story without notifying him and told the journalist not to report anything about the UPND. Then two other party officials also on the call—Moses Kanyanta, deputy provincial youth chairman, and Doreen Namuchenje, provincial women’s chairperson—repeated the threats.

Chanda told CPJ in a recent interview via messaging app that he has continued to work as a journalist but remained concerned that the UPND would send agents to harm him.

CPJ’s repeated calls to Goma, Mulenga, Namuchenje, and Kanyanta rang unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Around 2 p.m. on September 11, in Chinhoyi, a city about 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of the capital of Harare, a CCC security agent denied Muchenje, a reporter for privately owned website NewsHawks, access to the Gadzema stadium to cover a rally held by party leader Nelson Chamisa, according to news reports, statements by the Zimbabwe chapter of the regional press freedom group, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA),  the International Federation of Journalists, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Muchenje told CPJ that a security agent outside the stadium refused to allow her in despite her producing her press pass, which was supposed to grant access to the event. When Muchenje tried to move past and enter the stadium, the agent grabbed and pulled her hair, and threw her to the ground, she said. A second agent joined after Muchenje fell to the ground.

When a driver for another journalist sought to intervene, the agent who attacked her defended his actions, saying that Muchenje had been “disrespectful,” the journalist said, adding that CCC supporters watched but did not intervene during the attack.

The attack lasted several minutes before the agents allowed Muchenje to stand, but one held her by her belt, she said. She was released when Stanley Gama, a former editor of the Daily News who recognized Muchenje, intervened and persuaded the agents to let her go, Gama tweeted and told CPJ via messaging app.

“Zimbabwe’s authorities should transparently investigate and hold accountable the security personnel responsible for attacking journalist Ruvimbo Muchenje,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, in Nairobi. “Journalists should not be unduly denied access to events of public interest and are too often harassed, attacked, or arrested simply for doing their job.”

Separately on the same day, Voice of America reporter Nunurai Jena was similarly denied entry to the stadium to cover the rally and harassed by coalition security personnel, according to media reports.

Coalition spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere told CPJ over the phone that the incidents involving the journalists at the stadium were “unfortunate” and the party had apologized. Muchenje said she had received an apology via messaging app, but CPJ could not confirm whether Jena had received an apology. CPJ tried to reach Jena via messaging apps and phone calls but received no response.

Mahere also promised to ensure the safety of all journalists who cover the coalition’s rallies, Mahere and a Bulawayo24 report said.

Zimbabwe’s information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, condemned the incidents in a statement, saying attacks on female journalists “border on gender-based violence,” according to news reports and a copy of the statement posted on Twitter.

For years, there have been incidents of repeated harassment, arrest, and detention of journalists in Zimbabwe, including in March, when a member of Chamisa’s security detail attacked journalist Courage Dutiro for photographing a party member at a rally.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The reporters assaulted are:

• Chelsea Mashayaombe, a reporter for online newspaper Zimbabwe Daily
• Pellagia Mpurwa, a reporter for online magazine Technomag
• Tongai Mwenje, managing editor of news website SportBrief
• Toneo Rutsito, editor of Technomag

Around 12:30 p.m. on August 25, the journalists were injured after they filmed a convoy of 20 vehicles of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, according to news reports, a statement by the Zimbabwean chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), tweets by Rutsito and the Young Journalists Association of Zimbabwe, and Mwenje, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. The vehicles were blockading a road ahead of a rally by Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in the Chitekete business district in the town of Gokwe in central Midlands province. 

About 10 ZANU-PF supporters, some of whom wore party regalia, punched and kicked the journalists all over their bodies and ordered them to delete their photos and videos, Mwenje told CPJ. The journalists complied and the supporters confiscated Rutsito’s two cellphones, camera, and car key. 

“Zimbabwean authorities must investigate and hold those responsible to account for Thursday’s brutal assault of four journalists in Gokwe, and ensure that the press can report freely without fear of attack, especially with the country set to hold national elections next year,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Impunity for crimes against journalists remains high in Zimbabwe, and it is time that authorities arrest and prosecute those who believe that it is open season on the press.”

All the journalists sustained bruises and suffered subsequent body pain, Mwenje told CPJ, adding that during the assault he fell and knocked his head against the pavement, cutting his forehead. Rutsito broke a tooth and Mpurwa, who suffers from asthma, has a suspected leg fracture and had to be resuscitated after losing consciousness. 

The journalists received medical treatment at a clinic in Chitekete, Mwenje told CPJ, and filed a complaint at Chitekete police station.   

When asked for comment, Tafadzwa Mugwadi, ZANU-PF’s director of information, replied  “rubbish,” and ignored further questions sent via WhatsApp.  CPJ calls and text messages to Paul Nyathi, police spokesperson, and WhatsApp messages to Chris Mutsvangwa, ZANU-PF spokesperson, did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

The event marked the opening of a health center at the Marondera Female Prison in Marondera, east of the capital city of Harare, which was funded by the state-owned TelOne telecommunications company through Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope charity foundation, according to those sources.

TelOne invited the four reporters from privately owned outlets—Julia Ndlela of the newspaper NewsDay, Lovejoy Mtongwiza from the news website 263Chat, Pelagia Mupurwa of the online broadcaster TechMagTV, and Aaron Ufumeli of the news website NewsHawk—to cover the opening, but Mnangagwa’s spokesperson John Manzongo blocked them, saying the first lady only wanted to allow coverage by state-owned media outlets, according to those news reports, Ndela and Mtongwiza, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and a statement by the nonprofit trade group Zimbabwe Online Content Creators, which CPJ reviewed.

Two uniformed prison officials prevented the journalists from covering the event and denied their requests to photograph it, ordering them to stay away from the state-media journalists who were allowed to cover it, according to those sources.

A TelOne official told the journalists that Manzongo would call the police if they did not leave, prompting them to leave the scene, according to Ndela and Mtongwiza.

“What is surprising is that we can cover the president without any problems, but it’s becoming hard to cover any event with the first lady,” Ndlela told CPJ. 

Previously, on January 21, Manzongo warned then-NewsDay journalist Moses Matenga, photographer Hilary Maradzinka, and three other journalists against publishing anything related to the first lady and her charity work in the city of Mazowe, according to Matenga and the Content Creators Association statement.

“We were told not to write anything to avoid trouble,” Matenga said.

CPJ called and texted Manzongo and Kudzai Dumbo, another of Manzongo’s spokespeople, but did not receive any replies.

When CPJ called Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokesperson superintendent Meya Khanyezi, the line abruptly disconnected when CPJ asked for comment. CPJ repeatedly called back but the line was busy.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, police officers assaulted Yotamu while he was filming an altercation between taxi drivers and parking attendants in the central business district of the capital, Harare, according to the journalist and his lawyer Shamiso Dhlakama, both of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging app, multiple local media reports, a Facebook post by the Zimbabwe chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa, and a statement by the local Young Journalists Association, which CPJ reviewed. 

A group of five officers ordered Yotamu to stop filming, hand over his phone, and give them his password; when he refused, the officers tried to grab his phone, knocking it to the ground and damaging it, and then beat Yotamu with truncheons all over his body, according to those sources. Yotamu told CPJ that he identified himself as a journalist multiple times during the incident, and the attack only stopped when a fellow officer told them not to beat journalists. 

The officers brought Yotamu to the Harare Central Police Station and indicated he would be released without charge after his lawyer intervened, Yotamu and Dhlakama told CPJ. However, authorities reversed course soon after and charged the journalist with disorderly conduct and undermining the authority of the police, they said.

“Again, police in Zimbabwe are assaulting and arresting journalists for simply doing their jobs. Freelance journalist Anyway Yotamu is their latest victim, and prosecutors must drop the spurious charges against him,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in Durban, South Africa. “It is high time that Zimbabwean authorities ensure that police officers end their attacks on journalists. Maintaining law and order is not a license to abuse power.” 

Yotamu sustained injuries to his knee from the beating, for which he received medical treatment, the journalist and Dhlakama told CPJ. 

Yotamu is a freelance contributor to online publications, including Harare Times and Spiked Media.

If convicted of disorderly conduct, he could face a fine of 30,000 Zimbabwean dollars (US$83) and six months imprisonment; undermining the authority of the police carries up to two years imprisonment and a fine of 120,000 Zimbabwean dollars (US$332), according to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and schedule of fines.

Yotamu is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday, he and his lawyer told CPJ.

Zimbabwe police spokesperson Paul Nyathi told CPJ by phone that he was unaware of Yotamu’s arrest and subsequent charges.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On June 4, Zimbabwean Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe sent a text message to Sithole threatening legal action after the freelance journalist published two articles about alleged corruption concerning Kazembe’s constituency, according to Sithole, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, screenshots of the text message reviewed by CPJ, and a report by news website Bulawayo 24 News. Sithole’s articles were published by Bulawayo 24 News and led to the suspension of several local officials. 

On June 5, a man who identified himself as political activist Isheanesu Dzimbiti called and threatened to assault Sithole in retaliation for the same articles, according to multiple news reports, a statement by the Zimbabwean chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, and a recording of the call reviewed by CPJ.

CPJ called and sent text messages to Kazembe and Dzimbiti but did not receive a reply. 

“Reported threats of physical harm to freelance journalist Simbarashe Sithole must be thoroughly investigated by police and the alleged perpetrators prosecuted,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from Cape Town. “With tensions high ahead of next year’s election, it is important for authorities to send a clear message that they will not condone intimidation and harassment of journalists and police will protect the right of journalists to work safely.”

Sithole filed a report at the police station in Mvurwi town, approximately 100 kilometers (57 miles) north of the capital Harare, on June 7 against Dzimbiti, according to those sources. Sithole told the police and CPJ that he fears for his life following the threats.

The case was transferred to police in the central town of Bindura for investigation, and Sithole gave a second statement on June 13, according to the journalist and news reports. On June 21, police asked Sithole to provide them with his cell phone, so they could extract the call recording, which he declined to do.

“These guys are frustrating me because they cannot say [why] they haven’t summoned the suspect for the past two weeks, and now they want my phone,” Sithole told CPJ. “That’s too much…Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Zimbabwe police spokesperson Paul Nyathi told CPJ via phone call that Sithole’s matter was “ably being handled” at a regional level in Bindura.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On June 3, the amendment bill was sent to Nyusi for assent, António Boene, the chairman of the National Assembly’s Commission on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, told CPJ via messaging app. 

The bill, which was passed by parliament on May 19, seeks to amend Mozambique’s 2018 anti-terror law, including an overly broad clause that would penalize anyone who publicly reproduces false statements relating to terrorist acts with a prison term of between two and eight years, according to media reports and a statement by the Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

“Reproducing statements is, after all, one of the hallmarks of journalism,” said Misa-Mozambique in the statement.

The government has argued that the amendments are necessary in order to strengthen the legal framework for the fight against terrorism because of an ongoing insurgency and terrorist attacks in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, according to a report by the Mozambican state news agency (AIM) and a government document, reviewed by CPJ, that was introduced in the National Assembly in March 2022.

“Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi must not sign the anti-terror amendment bill into law, but should instead return it to the National Assembly to correct the defects and ensure that reporting on the insurgency in Cabo Delgado is not criminalized or censored,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Members of parliament have already watered down other controversial clauses in the bill, but the president must ensure they go a step further to protect media freedom and the public’s right to information, instead of trying to control the narrative in Mozambique’s ongoing fight against terrorism.”

On May 18, the National Assembly approved the first reading of the anti-terror amendment bill, which included a controversial clause stating that anyone intentionally spreading information about a terrorist act, if they know the information to be false, can be punished with a prison term of eight to 12 years, according to media reports and CPJ’s review of the bill.

The bill also included prison terms of between 12 and 16 years for anyone who publishes “classified information” about terrorism, according to the AIM report and the draft legislation, reviewed by CPJ.

In a May 17 statement ahead of the first reading of the bill, MISA-Mozambique urged parliament to amend those clauses, saying they threatened press freedom. It said that criminalizing the publication of classified information punished journalists and ordinary citizens, rather than the officials who failed in their duty to safeguard state secrets. The organization also objected to the false information clause, arguing that the wording was ambiguous and had the potential to be applied arbitrarily.

In the bill’s second reading on May 19, the National Assembly’s Commission on Constitutional and Legal Affairs watered down those two clauses by criminalizing the divulging of classified information by public servants only, rather than citizens in general. It also lowered the prison term to between two to eight years for violating the false information clause, according to the AIM report.

Boene said these amendments were approved and the bill was forwarded to the  president on June 3 to be signed into law.

Ernesto Saúl, MISA-Mozambique’s program manager, told CPJ in a messaging app call that despite the National Assembly’s efforts to amend some of the clauses, the proposed law could still jeopardize the practice of journalism, particularly by punishing anyone who publicly reproduced statements about acts of terrorism. 

“We just have to remember that the government has denied terrorist acts in Cabo Delgado for months after the first reports, and many journalists were at the time accused of spreading lies, so the government can very well use this to silence coverage altogether,” said Saúl.

Moreover, journalists may publish news about plans of imminent attacks that could easily be considered false news by the government, said Saúl.

Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Center for Democracy and Development, a local human rights group, told CPJ via messaging app that the bill was aimed at closing down civic space and was intended to punish and threaten anyone who even discussed terrorism. “It limits the scope of work of the civil society and of journalists, a tendency of the government that was already visible and is a serious setback for the human rights gains that Mozambicans had fought for,” he said.

Emília Moiane, director of the Mozambican government’s information office, told CPJ by phone that she did not believe that the proposed law would violate the right to press freedom, as one of the principles of journalism was to publish only the truth.   

“We believe journalists follow this principle. Terrorism is not a subject to talk about without certainty,” said Moiane, who was not able to say when the president was expected to sign the bill into law.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Around 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, in Masvingo, about 182 miles (290 kilometers) south of the capital Harare, Courage Dutiro, a journalist for the privately owned newspaper TellZim, was covering an opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) election rally when Thokozile Muchuchuti, one of the party’s candidates, reportedly collapsed, according to Dutiro, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, a tweet by TellZim, and a statement from the Zimbabwe chapter of the regional press freedom body Media Institute of Southern Africa.

When Dutiro began taking photos, a member of the security detail of CCC leader Nelson Chamisa slapped the journalist and physically manhandled him to try and prevent him from shooting pictures, according to those same sources. Chamisa was rescued by CCC deputy spokesperson Ositalosi Siziba, who witnessed the assault and intervened, Dutiro said.

“We urge the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change and other political parties participating in this weekend’s election and beyond to champion press freedom and ensure that members of the press are not harmed,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from New York. “A free flow of information and unfettered access is key to holding credible elections and any attempt to interfere with or stop journalists from doing their jobs must be condemned and action taken to ensure it does not happen again.”

The assault on Dutiro comes just six days before the long-awaited March 26 by-election, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and will fill 133 National Assembly and several local authority seats across Zimbabwe that were declared vacant after a recall of members of Parliament and councilors by the opposition MDC-T party, according to media reports.

“It’s not the CCC way,” CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere told CPJ via messaging app, adding that she and her team were not aware of the assault on Dutiro and that the rally “went on peacefully.” Mahere also said, “We will get to the bottom of this” to ensure the safety and freedom of journalists is never compromised at their rallies, adding that, “We value the work of journalists, as they’re key partners in sharing our message.”

Before the journalist left the rally, the bodyguard offered what Dutiro described as a half-hearted apology, saying it was up to the journalist to accept or not.

Later that day, Dutiro reported the assault to police at Rujeko station in Masvingo, Sergeant Joseph Poterai told CPJ by phone. Poterai referred CPJ to police spokesperson Paul Nyathi for further questions; Nyathi did not immediately respond to repeated phone calls.

The next day, Dutiro was treated at Masvingo General Hospital for a swollen right lower eyelid and other “slight” injuries consistent with being hit with a “blunt object,” according to medical records CPJ reviewed.

CPJ called Siziba and sent a request for comment via messaging app but did not immediately receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.