MEDIA ALERT

26 OCTOBER 2002

STATE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER DECLARES CHIMANIMANI A NO GO AREA.

Joseph Mwale, a member of the Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organization
(CIO) has declared Chimanimani, a plantation and farming region east of
Zimbabwe a no go area for the private media. The move has forced a private
company, Radar Holdings, which was planning a media tour of its plantations
that were gutted by fire to shelve the tour.

Radar Holdings, which owns several plantations in the area was planning an
aerial media tour of its plantations to show the extent of the damage that
was done by a raging fire that occurred on 25 September. Illegal settlers
are believed to have set 14 000 hectares of pine and gum trees on fire at
they prepared their pieces of land.
Border Timbers limited (BTL), the subsidiary company that manages the
plantations confirmed to the Zimbabwe Independent that the tour was
cancelled for security reasons.
"Mwale denied permission for the flight on allegations that it would bring
in private media reporters who would report negatively on the situation,"
said John Gadzikwa the Managing Director of BTL.
"He warned us that if the tour went ahead it would do so at the risk of the
passengers aboard. We had no option but to shelve the tour," said Gadzikwa.

Background

Mwale is a notorious CIO agent who was implicated in the 2000 murder of
opposition activists Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya. Although the High
Court has directed that the Attorney General indict Mwale nothing has
happened to date. He was instrumental in the arrest and detention of Peta
Thornycroft a correspondent for the British Daily Telegraph On 27 March 2002
in Chimanimani. BTL reports that it lost millions worth of US dollars in the
fire that gutted the trees (9 Billion Zimbabwe dollars).
END

Rashweat Mukundu
Research and Information Officer
MISA-Zimbabwe
221 Fife Ave
Box HR 8113
Harare
Zimbabwe

Phone: 00 263 4 721 841, 735 441-2
Cell : 00 263 4 011 602 685
E mail: [email protected]