Zimbabwe Editor Accused of Writing Falsehoods

The editor of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ bi-weekly newspaper was arrested Thursday on charges of writing falsehoods, the labor body said Thursday. The ZCTU said Ben Madzimure, editor of The Worker newspaper, was arrested after allegedly confronting police officers who were harassing a female foreign currency dealer in Harare.

The police are believed to have initially accused him of obstructing the course of justice.

“He was immediately arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station where police are now accusing him for writing falsehoods,” the ZCTU said in a statement.

ZCTU lawyers were Thursday frantically trying to secure the release of the editor who becomes the second senior scribe from the labor-run publication to be arrested in the past year.

Bright Chibvuri was convicted in May of practicing journalism without accreditation and ordered to pay a fine or spend time in jail.

Chibvuri was accused and charged with contravening a section of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act which criminalizes practicing journalism without accreditation from the Media and Information Commission.

Chibvuri is appealing to the High Court against both the conviction and the sentence.

Source African Press Agency

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