Zimbabwe: State broadcaster suspends employees for leaking information

Three employees with the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), O’brien Rwafa, Jacob Phiri and Freedom Moyo, were last week suspended for 10 days after being accused of leaking information on a government directive to stop covering government ministers who are members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Rwafa, Phiri and Moyo who are employed as news editor, chief producer and bulletins manager respectively were suspended on full salaries pending investigations and ordered to surrender ZBC property.  

According to the weekly Standard newspaper in its edition of 8-14 November 2009, ZBH Chief Executive Happison Muchechetere refused to comment on the suspensions. Muchechetere was, however, reported as having earlier informed managers at the state broadcaster that all stories involving ministers from the MDC should be taken off air.

The investigations were so intense to the extent that the ZBH management board reportedly went as far as approaching a mobile cellphone operator enquiring on the number of phone calls done by the suspended managers in question.

Background   

According to the privately owned Zimbabwe Standard, ZBC Chief Executive Happison Muchechetere told the state broadcaster’s senior editors about the directive on 23 October 2009. This came in the wake of the then decision on 16 October 2009 by Tsvangirai and his MDC-T to partially withdraw from the inclusive government until the resolution of outstanding issues that have not been fulfilled in terms of the Global Political Agreement signed by Zanu PF, MDC-M and Tsvangirai’s party. 

- November 10, 2009 by MISA

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Source: www.misa.org (received via email alert on 12.11.2009)