Zimbabwe: Freelance journalist summoned to appear in court

Freelance journalist Stanley Gama has been subpoenaed to appear in court on 6 May 2010 together with four journalists from the weekly Standard newspaper.

The journalists will be state witnesses in the criminal defamation case against Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and eight councillors on allegations of defaming businessman Philip Chiyangwa.

Gama’s lawyer Selby Hwacha confirmed to MISA-Zimbabwe that the police recorded a statement from his client at Harare Central Police Station on 27 April 2010. The case arises from the publication of a story published in The Sunday Times of South Africa exposing an alleged massive land scandal involving the Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo and Chiyangwa.

Background

Vincent Kahiya the Zimbabwe Independent editor- in- chief, Standard editor Nevanji Madanhire and reporters Feluna Nleya and Jennifer Dube will also be appearing in court following publication of a related story carried in the weekly’s edition of 28 March to 3 April 2010.

The story revealed that a special Harare council committee investigating the allocation of land had recommended that Chiyangwa should be arrested for alleged corruption.

The story was based on a 54-page report titled: Special Investigations Committees report on City of Harare’s Land Sales, Leases and Exchanges from the period October 2004 to December 2009.

The state alleges that the mayor and the councilors defamed Chiyangwa by leaking the report whose contents were published by the Standard and The Sunday Times of South Africa before it was debated by the full council.
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Reagan Malumo
Programme Specialist: Media Freedom Monitoring and Research
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht St
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek
Namibia
Phone: +264 61 232 975
Fax: +264 61 248 016
Mobile: +264 81 311 2626
Official Email: reagan@misa.org
Private Email: reagan32002@yahoo.com


- April 28, 2010 by MISA
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Source: www.misa.org (received via Email Alert on 28.04.2010)