The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, Weekly Media Review 2010-36

The disruption of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee’s outreach consultative meetings in Harare, which vindicated concerns by civil society over the credibility of Zimbabwe’s constitutional reforms, was the focal point of the media’s coverage of the controversial consultative outreach programme.

While the state-run media were reluctant to disclose the political affiliation of the perpetrators, the private media identified them as ZANU PF supporters and indicated that most of the incidents occurred in the presence of the police, who reportedly took little action.

Calls by the country’s two main political parties for Zimbabwe to hold elections next year as a way of resolving the country’s protracted political deadlock also made headlines in all the media. So did speeches by senior ZANU PF officials at various church platforms urging Zimbabweans to support their party’s policies, such as land reform and indigenization and oppose the inclusion of gay rights in the new constitution. Fig. 1 illustrates this.

 

Fig 1: Popular stories in the media

Media	Constitutional reforms	Government activities	ZANU      PF campaigns	Human rights
Public Media	36	37	78	11
Private Media	41	64	8	47
Total	77	101	86	58

 

State media hide source of Copac violence

All the media widely covered the disruption of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (Copac)’s outreach consultative meetings in Harare, Chitungwiza and Epworth over the weekend and the subsequent condemnation of the action by the country’s main political parties.

While the government-controlled media masked the political affiliation of the perpetrators and quoted the ZANU PF arm of Copac and the police downplaying the incidents, the private media disclosed th at ZANU PF supporters had forced meetings to be abandoned in suburbs such as Mbare, Budiriro, Glen View and Greystone Park.

Instead of investigating the scale and implications of the violence, The Herald (20/9) quoted Copac co-chairman Paul Mangwana describing the incidents as “mere skirmishes”, which were not sufficiently significant to derail the constitutional reform process. He said even if the 76 meetings penciled for Harare and Bulawayo were not considered, this would not threaten the constitutional reform programme, as “5,500 meetings had been held countrywide”. Mangwana told ZTV (20/9, 8pm) that the violence, which left at least five people injured in Mbare, had led to only 13 meetings being abandoned. He blamed delays by Copac teams to arrive at meeting venues on time.

The Herald, which must have had reporters at the scenes of tension in the capital, simply restricted itself (20/9) to passively quoting police spokesperson Andrew Phiri saying the police could not “apportion blame on anyone or any political party until we are through with our investigations” . ZTV (20/9, 8pm) fared no better. It limited itself to comments by another police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena, that only three people had been arrested in connection with the violence. Such reliance on “official” statements graphically illustrates the lack of freedom the ZANU PF-controlled state media have in reporting the truth of events – even in the capital.

Apart from the violence, the government and the private media reported logistical and administrative problems, which either delayed the start of some meetings in Harare and Bulawayo or caused them to be abandoned .

The private media highlighted the scale and repercussions of the violence and other administrative problems.

Their reports included incidents of racial abuse and intimidation of white participants in the Harare suburbs of Mt Pleasant and Greystone Park (NewsDay & Daily News, 20/9).

The private media viewed these problems as having vindicated the contention by analysts and civic organizations that Zimbabwe’s constitutional reform efforts were flawed and undemocratic.

The private media identified those responsible for the violence as mostly ZANU PF supporters, some of whom appeared to have had been bused from rural areas, giving the impression that the violence might have been sponsored (NewsDay, 20/9).The private daily cited as evidence the fact that the violence appeared to be “premeditated” with perfect and “consistent execution”. Its editorial argued that the violence also confirmed ZANU PF’s credentials as a “retrogressive” and “intolerant” political party. Apart from warning that the violence had given Zimbabweans a clue to what could happen next year if elections are to be held, the editorial emphasized that the violence was also a “major indictment” on the national reconciliation programme.

 

Private media lead election debate

The government media continued to ignore the ongoing debate over Zimbabwe’s ability to hold elections next year, which gathered momentum following statements by the country’s two major coalition party leaders that fresh national election were the answer to Zimbabwe’s political deadlock.

The private media quoted analysts and captains of industry questioning the wisdom of holding elections despite evidence of the parties’ failure to institute far-reaching political and electoral reforms in line with the Global Political Agreement (GPA), in a week in which the coalition government celebrated its second anniversary (SW Radio Africa, The Financial Gazette & Zimbabwe Independent, 13, 16 & 17/9). These commentators also argued that the parties had also missed an opportunity to formulate reforms necessary for the holding of democratic elections following their failure to meet within the last SADC deadline, which expired during the week (SW Radio Africa, the Gazette & Independent, 14, 16 & 17/9).

NewsDay & ZimDaily (16 & 17/9) quoted Prime Minister Tsvangirai saying there was “no better time” to hold elections than next year “as the country was now stable” while addressing an investor conference on Zimbabwe in South Africa.

The Zimbabwean On Sunday (19/9) questioned Tsvangirai’s claims at the same event that President Mugabe was “committed” to the power -sharing agreement and the holding of free and fair elections, citing ZANU PF’s reluctance to reform and ongoing political violence.

The Standard (19/9) viewed Tsvangirai’s comments as equivalent to “praising” Mugabe, which could “alienate” Tsvangirai from the majority of Zimbabweans who, it said, had suffered from decades of Mugabe’s misrule.

Ironically, Tsvangirai’s conciliatory statements came in a week in which ZANU PF’s secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa declared that the MDC-T leader would “never be allowed to rule Zimbabwe even if he was to win” the next election. He was officiating at an agricultural field day in Zaka (SW Radio Africa, ZimDaily & NewsDay, 16 & 18/9).

Mutasa made the remarks in reference to a recent opinion poll by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) indicating that Tsvangirai was likely to win the election. He said: “Who is Tsvangirai? He will never rule this country. Never, ever! How can we let the country be ruled by sell -outs? He will only do so over our dead bodies. If we go for the polls and he defeats Mugabe, ZANU PF and the people of Zimbabwe will not allow that” .

ZANU PF charms the Church

MMPZ has observed an upsurge of stories in all the media about ZANU PF officials attending religious congregations and urging worshippers to support their party’s policies on various national issues, including land and indigenization, and respect for Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and national sovereignty.

Out of the 78 stories on this topic that appeared in the government media between August 19 and19 September  2010   of them were based on speeches by ZANU PF
officials actually attending various religious congregations around the country.

Although most of these reports indicated that the campaign was part of ZANU PF’s crusade to mobilize Zimbabweans to support its views on the new constitution, none of them questioned whether it could be part of a wider campaign to woo voters ahead of possible elections next year .

In one report, The Sunday Mail (12/9) quoted ZANU PF’s political commissar, Webster Shamu, urging the Church to “denounce neo -colonialism and uphold the aspirations of the those that fought for the liberation of the country” while addressing a gathering of an independent African apostolic sect in Mazowe. In another The Herald (13/9) quoted Vice-President Joice Mujuru urging religious groups to “always bear in mind that there are many sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for freedom of worship” while addressing members of the apostolic and Zion sects in Harare. The same day, Radio Zimbabwe (13/9, 6am) quoted ZANU PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo praising the church for “producing quality leaders” in the form of President Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo and Joice Mujuru while addressing members of the Salvation Army in Harare.

Although the private media paid less attention to this crusade, the did quote political commentators speculating that the campaign appeared to be a marketing strategy by ZANU PF ahead of elections (The Zimbabwean On Sunday, 19/9).

Rights abuses on the increase

The media recorded 24 fresh incidents of violence [government media (11) and private media (13)], a 100 percent increase from last week’s figure.

Twenty (83%) of the incidents emanated from Copac’s outreach consultative meetings, especially in Harare, Epworth and Chitungwiza.

Among them were:

Clashes between ZANU PF and MDC-T supporters in Mbare, Budiririo, Glen View, Dzvivarasekwa, Greystone Park, Epworth and Chitungwiza, leading to the disruption of Copac meetings in these areas (NewsDay & The Herald, 20 & 21/9 & ZTV, ZTV (20/9, 8pm).

The cancellation of other constitutional outreach meetings in Manicaland due to violence (SW Radio Africa, 15/9).

Invasion of a farm in Chakari by suspected MDC-T supporters (The Herald, 14/9) The burning of a farm belonging to white commercial farmer, Catherine Jouineau­Meredith, in Chegutu by suspected ZANU PF supporters (SW Radio Africa & Zimbabwean On Sunday, 16 & 19/9), and

The alleged assault of a ZAPU activist, Edmore Munenekwa, and his workmate by ZANU PF supporters in Bulawayo for siding with their white boss, Gary Fury, who was resisting the seizure of his.

 

LOUDEST VOICES

ZANU PF politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was the most quoted individual in the public media.

He was accessed for comment 10 times, mostly urging Zimbabwe to oppose the inclusion of gay rights in a new constitution and to defend the gains of independence. Copac co-chairpersons, Douglas Mwonzora and Paul Mangwana, (eight times each) came second, while Vice-President Joice Mujuru (six times) came third.

Mwonzora and Mangwana spoke about a wave of violence, which disrupted Copac’s constitutional outreach meetings in Harare, as well as other logistical problems that affected meet ings in Bulawayo. Mujuru was heard promoting ZANU PF values while addressing churches in Mbare.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (16 times) topped the bill in the private media.

He mostly appeared praising President Mugabe and claimed that Zimbabwe’s political situation had improved, making it possible to hold credible elections next year. MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa (eight) and Copac co-chairpersons Edward Mkhosi, Mwonzora and Mangwana (six times each) followed. Chamisa was heard accusing ZANU PF of dragging its feet over the implementation of the GPA. Mkhosi, Mwonzora and Mangwana talked about problems bedeviling the constitutional outreach programme, in particular political violence.

 

WHAT THEY SAID..... 

“The people in Mbare gathered from about 9 o’clock in the morning until the afternoon and as a result, there was lots of tension, uneasiness and anxiety. That’s why I went there to explain to them that in fact It was our own error. It was not the crowd, which caused the problem..”  Copac co-chairman Paul Mangwana attributing the violence to poor planning by Copac (ZTV, 20/9, 8pm).

He (President Mugabe) is committed to this transition, once that transition is done, he is committed to ensure that we have a peaceful election” - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (The Zimbabwe On Sunday, 19/9).

“Churches must teach people to be masters of their own destiny. They should uphold our cultural beliefs and teach people to be independent” ZANU PF political commissar Webster Shamu addressing members of an African apostolic sect in Mazowe (The Sunday Mail, 12/9).

“The nation is on a path towards healing and peace. This needless violence is both a reminder of the dark past and a threat to a bright future..” Tsvangirai condemning the violence that broke out in Harare during the weekend (Daily News, 20/9).

The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, 9 Knight Bruce Road, Milton Park, Harare, Tel: 2634741816/778115, E-mail: monitors@mmpz.org.zw

Feel free to write to MMPZ. We may not able to respond to everything but we will look at each message. For previous MMPZ reports, and more information about the Project, please visit our website at www.mmpz.org

 

September 24, 2010 by MMPZ, Monday 13 September 2010 – 19 September 2010  

.................

  Source: www.mmpz.org (received via email 24.09.2010)