Enraged journalists walked out of a Press conference called by Steward bank legal representative and former Econet chairman Tawanda Nyambirai after he refused to apologise for the raiding of business news agency, The Source, on Thursday by Econet Wireless.
By Phyllis Mbanje
As pressure continues to pile on the country’s largest mobile telecommunications company, Econet, over its decision, the company yesterday reportedly also suspended 10 senior managers for allegedly committing various misdemeanours.
Matters came to a head at a hastily called Press conference at a local hotel when Nyambirai of Mtetwa & Nyambirai Legal Practitioners started reading his statement without proffering an apology for the raid on The Source by Econet Wireless IT experts who were accompanied by the deputy sheriff, their lawyer and police.
Their mission was to search and seize documents believed to have been used in two stories that were published online by the business news agency. Nyambirai tried in vain to calm the scribes and read his statement without apologising, but his stance was met with the full wrath of the fourth estate who would have none of that.
He again lamely tried to read his statement, saying some confidential documents had been stolen and landed in the hands of some journalists.
“We went to court and obtained the order and we were acting in line with provisions of the said order. We also have rights,” Nyambirai claimed.
But his explanation only courted the ire of the scribes who insisted on the apology and production of a police report of the “stolen” documents. The Press conference abruptly ended after the deadlock and the over 20 journalists from various media houses walked out.
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Some put on gags to show their disgust at attempts by Econet to suppress Press freedom, while others held out placards denouncing the action. Businessman Strive Masiyiwa is a significant shareholder in Econet which also controls Steward Bank.
The Source is an associate of the United Kingdom-based Thomson Reuters and was set up a few years ago with the assistance of the Dutch-based European Centre for Journalism.
The raid has been strongly condemned by media and human rights activists and the social media was yesterday awash with comments from the public who were equally piqued.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)-Zimbabwe Chapter chairperson Kumbirai Mafunda said the walkout was a protest over violation of Press freedom which was the “lifeblood” of democracy.
“We sent out a message and it has been received loud and clear. We do not expect such conduct in a democratic society,” Mafunda said.
The Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (Zacras) chairperson Gift Mambipiri accused Econet and Steward bank of acting like bullies. “It should be condemned in the strongest terms, especially when we have clear constitutional provisions. Econet has behaved like gorillas in a cage,” he said.
“Their bullish tactics have always been hidden behind their commercial success.”
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary-general Foster Dongozi said the raid was uncalled for and infringed on the right of the media. “The media is protected by the Constitution which has provisions on their freedom of expression. We will not allow anyone to rob us of that,” he said. On the social media platforms, the public were merciless in their attack on Econet with some dredging the battle that Masiyiwa had when he was trying to obtain his operating licence.
One James Bond commented: “It is utterly disgusting that Strive Masiyiwa, who was aided in a big way by the media to get his operating licence in 1997, has now turned against the same media on whose shoulders he rode. It is really sad that he is now using his immense wealth to attack a right that sits at that heart of democracy without which, he wouldn’t be so fabulously rich.”
Yesterday, Econet Wireless suspended 10 managers for as yet unknown reasons in the biggest internal crackdown on staffers within the country’s largest mobile operator.
NewsDay was told yesterday that the suspended staffers included senior managers (names supplied), among others. Officials said the suspensions were effective yesterday.
Econet chief executive officer Douglas Mboweni requested written questions promising to respond once in receipt of the inquiries from NewsDay. He later sent an SMS saying he was in a meeting and would return the call. He had not done so by the time of going to print last night. The suspensions cap a hectic week for the mobile telecommunications operator.
