Police have charged journalist Wilson Maphosa with criminal nuisance after he was arrested on Wednesday while taking pictures of houses that had been allegedly burnt down by police at Roy Business Centre in Masvingo.
Although police were not immediately available for comment, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said in a media alert that police confiscated Maphosa’s camera and press accreditation card during the arrest.
Wezhira Community Radio station manager Micah Zinduru has since been called for questioning by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department in Masvingo in connection with the matter.
Maphosa works for the same community radio initiative.
The recent months have seen an increased police crackdown on journalists.
On Wednesday, Alpha Media Holdings online reporter Tapiwa Zivira was assaulted and detained for four hours by Harare police for recording a video of police beating up touts and bystanders during an operation to arraign touts in Harare’s central business district.
In August, The Zimbabwe Mail photographer Angela Jimu was beaten up while photographing an MDC-T protest and last month, another The Zimbabwe Mail online editor Privilege Musvanhiri was harassed and assaulted by municipal police officers while filming the harassment of vendors in Harare.
A Zimpapers photojournalist, Justin Mutenda, was also recently stripped naked by State intelligence operatives at Harare International Airport while covering the departure of the Bangladesh national cricket team from Zimbabwe.
