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Other articles in the RAP 21 Newsletter n° 31/2003:
The Business of Newspapers
Different Newspapers; Common problems
1/3 Publishers in Study Badly Equipped to Run a Newspaper
NEWS FROM THE MEDIA SCENE
Nigerian Police Wrists Slapped over Treatment of Journalist
PRESS FREEDOM
Alerts from the Continent
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Free Training Opportunity Offered to 10 African Political and Economic Journalists
AWARDS OPPORTUNITIES
The 2004 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, US$ 10,000 Prize
Opportunity for Ghanaian Journalists to Win Laptop Computer and Cash Prize
Innovation Reporting Awards Now Accepting Nominations
Newsletter n° 31

22.09.2003
PRESS FREEDOM

Court Orders Reopening of Zimbabwe’s Only Independent Daily

On September 18, the The Zimbabwe High Court ordered the reopening of the "Daily News", the country’s only independent daily. The newspaper had been shut since 12 September, when armed policemen raided the newspaper and ordered the staff to leave the its offices. According to reports, editor Nqobile Nyathi was told to report to Harare’s main police station.

The High Court has granted a "provisional order" in recognition of the "Daily News" urgent registration to the Media and Information Commission. The court order also means the police must leave the offices of the "Daily News" and return all confiscated equipment so the newspaper paper can resume publishing operations. The "Daily News" is reportedly preparing an emergency issue which will appear on newsstands as soon as possible. Daily News lawyer Adrian de Bourbon is arguing that the police had acted illegally because they had neither a warrant nor a court order to shut the offices and remove equipment.

The closure of the "Daily News" marked the first time since the 1960s that a newspaper had been banned in Zimbabwe.

Case History

The raid happened a day after Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ruled that the "Daily News" violated the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (AIPPA) Act by operating without a registration licence, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The AIPPA requires all media to register with the government-appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC). However, The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported that even if the "Daily News" registers with the MIC, it will not be allowed to operate. MIC chair Tafataona Mahoso said on 15 September that the newspaper will remain closed "indefinitely." It was also reported that the police detained three staff members, including the circulation manager, and that editor Nqobile Nyathi was told to report to Harare’s main police station.

On 16 and 17 September, police confiscated computers and other equipment from the offices of the newspaper. Over 100 pro-democracy activists protesting the closure of the paper were also arrested. Since its launch in 1999, the "Daily News" has been the target of two bomb attacks, and several of its journalists, including the former editor-in-chief Geoffrey Nyarota, have been arrested repeatedly.
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