A well-known Zimbabwean journalist was apprehended on Wednesday due to a satirical piece that criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa, an action that media organisations have condemned as yet another assault on freedom of expression.
Faith Zaba, editor of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, is the latest media professional to face legal action for an article that the government claimed undermined the authority of 82-year-old leader Mnangagwa.
According to prosecutors, Zaba, 55, published the article “When You Become Mafia State” in the muckraker section of the weekly tabloid.
Prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawu said, “The contents of the article are materially false and intended to provoke hostility among the citizens of Zimbabwe towards the president.”
A magistrate’s court in the capital city of Harare ordered Zaba to be held until Thursday, when a ruling on her bail will be made. Her attorney, Chris Mhike, expressed disappointment over her spending a second night in custody despite having health issues.
Rights advocates and media organisations have expressed their concerns that Zimbabwe, branded as a multi-party democracy, has intensified its crackdown on civil society in recent years, utilising the legal system to silence those who criticise the government.
A journalist who interviewed a government critic calling for Mnangagwa’s resignation was arrested in February and remained incarcerated for over 70 days, accused of inciting violence through his broadcast.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists stated that it was “deeply troubled by the criminalization of journalism” and demanded Zaba’s immediate release.
The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe supported this call, stating that the arrest illustrated how press freedom was “growing increasingly disrespected.”
Amnesty International remarked that this arrest is part of a broader trend of leveraging the judicial system to suppress a free press.
Zimbabwe is 106th out of 180 nations in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom rankings.
