Zimbabwe is under a co-ordinated media attack, state-owned Herald newspaper reports a day after President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he was “appalled” by an attack by security officials on a protester that was featured in a British TV station.
by BBC
The report by Sky News showed a handcuffed man being pulled away from a van by a soldier and at least one police officer.
He is then seen being repeatedly beaten around the head by one of the officials
The Herald says that the Zimbabwean authorities are worried about “surreptitious reporting by Sky News and company”.
It alleges that a Western embassy is working with two local newspapers to besmirch the country.
The paper criticised the Sky News report saying it was “manufacturing” stories about police brutality.
It also accused the journalist who reported the story of not having accreditation to work in the country.
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“We have checked our records and we have not cleared anyone from Sky for accreditation,” Information Minister Nick Mangwana.
He added that John Sparks, Sky News’ Africa correspondent, had not sought the government’s comment on the story.
“Their report was not balanced because they did not give the police or army a chance to respond – that is if they were in the country at all,” Mr Mangwana said.
There has been widespread criticism of the way security forces have handled protests that broke out a fortnight ago following a more than doubling in fuel prices.