×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

No room for corporate bullies

Opinion & Analysis
Zimbabwe on Thursday witnessed the worst development in the history of media freedom.

Zimbabwe on Thursday witnessed the worst development in the history of media freedom.

NewsDay Editorial

While in the past the onslaught had been perpetrated by government agents, this time, it was the country’s leading mobile operator — Econet Wireless and its banking unit Steward Bank — pouncing on a Zimbabwean news agency, The Source for merely doing its job.

The two companies seized the news agency’s equipment, after getting an order from the High Court, claiming they were looking for their confidential material used to publish some stories.

This was despite The Source approaching the courts challenging the order obtained by Econet and Steward Bank. One of the stories claimed Steward bank, a subsidiary of Econet Wireless, holds $30 million in government Treasury Bills. Another said Steward Bank would seize businessman Phillip Chiyangwa’s land to recover a $2 million debt. The raid was aimed at finding out what documents or information the journalists held about Econet and Steward Bank and where they got the information from.

The Source’s lawyer, Chris Mhike, challenged that Econet and Steward Bank’s behaviour violated freedom of expression and was an onslaught to media freedom.

Journalists yesterday responded by boycotting a Press briefing called by Steward Bank after the institution’s legal representative Tawanda Nyambirai refused to accede to journalists’ demands that he should apologise.

The actions of Econet and Steward Bank should be condemned with the contempt they deserve. The two companies should have found better ways of solving their dispute than seizing the equipment of the news agency, a behaviour which can be interpreted to imply an attempt to gag the media.

It should be known to them that journalists are protected by the law under Section 61 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe not to disclose their sources and have the right to publish all information viewed in the context of public interest.

It is sad that such a development comes at a time Zimbabweans are battling to have the criminal defamation laws repealed in order to ensure that the freedoms of expression enshrined in the supreme law of the land are fully realised.

It is very regrettable that Econet and Steward Bank seized the journalists’ laptops which do not only contain information about the two companies, but information on many other stories that have nothing to do with them. Interestingly, Econet did not dispute the accuracy of the stories. This shows that the Strive Masiyiwa-led telecommunications firm is geared to muzzle the Press from further publishing information on the leaked documents.

The country should stand and fight these practices as they would deny them the right to valuable information. We commend journalists for showing Nyambirai that they are united and ready to fight for their freedom from oppressive tendencies by both government and corporate bullies in the form of large corporates like Econet.

One of the cardinal rules of journalism is not to reveal the source of the stories. That rule is sacrosanct and has been in practice for ages.

Econet should put its house in order and ensure that “confidential” documents do not leak. Journalists have a role to play and no amount of tactics by corporate bullies and those that are against the free flow of information would succeed.