Summary
The current wave of urban violence received prominent
coverage in the electronic media as well as in the
private press although interpretations varied significantly
in both these media. The state media has been careful
to present the war veterans activities as legitimate forms
of labour arbitration while the private press has
chronicled allegations of threats, intimidations and
attacks levelled against the war veterans in their
arbitrations. However, the labour reports were
supplanted by reports of Minister and MP Border Gezi’s
death as the week closed. Television news coverage
allocated 31 minutes and 35 seconds to Gezi’s death
out of the 2 hours 33 minutes of bulletins from Saturday
to Sunday night. That is 20 percent of its news airtime
was allocated to the Gezi’s death.

1. On-going political violence
The media continued to take sides in reporting political
violence (war veterans labour arbitrations included).
Reports were therefore accordingly slanted. MMPZ
statistics of sources used in these reports reflect the
biases.

The Herald (Total reports = 3)

Voices

Government = 1(17%)
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 1 (17%)
Zanu PF = 0
MDC = 1 (17%)
Unnamed = 1 (17%)
Alternative = 0
Foreign Diplomatic = 0
War Vets = 0
Professional = 2 (32%)

The Daily News (Total reports 9)

Voices

Government = 0
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 0
Zanu PF = 0
MDC = 0
Unnamed = 2 (17%)
Alternative = 1 (8%)
Foreign Diplomatic = 2 (17)
War Vets = 2 (17%)
Professional = 5 (42%)

The Zimbabwe Independent (Total reports 4)

Voices

Government = 2 (22%)
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 1 (11%)
Zanu PF = 1 (11%)
MDC = 0
Alternative = 0
Foreign Diplomatic = 0
War Vets = 4 (44%)
Professional = 1 (11%)

The Standard (Total reports 1)

Voices

Government = 0
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 1 (25%)
Zanu PF = 1 (25%)
MDC = 0
Alternative = 1(25%)
Foreign Diplomatic = 0
War Vets = 0
Professional = 1 (25%)

The Financial Gazette (Total reports 5)

Voices

Government = 2(15%)
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 1 (8%)
Zanu PF = 0
MDC = 1 (17%)
Alternative = 8(62%)
Foreign Diplomatic = 1 (8%)
War Vets = 1 (8%)
Professional = 0

Radio 1/3 (Total reports 7)

Voices

Government = 2 (15%)
Zimbabwe Republic Police = 0
Zanu PF = 2 (15%)
MDC = 0
Unnamed = 4 (32%)
Alternative = 3 (23%)
Foreign Diplomatic = 0
War Vets = 2 (15%)
Professional = 0

Radio 2/4 (Total reports 4)

Voices

Government = 1(33%)
Zimbabwe Republic Police =0
Zanu PF = 1 (33%)
MDC = 0
Alternative = 0
Foreign Diplomatic = 0
War Vets = 0
Professional = 1 (33%)

Television (Total reports 10)

Voices

Government = 1(5%)
Zanu PF = 11 (52%)
MDC = 1 (17%)
Alternative = 3 (15%)
Professional = 3 (15%)

Note: Professional voices represent employers or
company officials.

Both ZBC television and The Daily News carried the
bulk of the stories on the arbitrations and other political
violence. Sources quoted on ZBC were 52% Zanu PF
war veterans. The business and professional sources
included one Zvimba district employer who thanked the
war veterans for resolving his company’s labour dispute
(April 23 Nhau/Indaba and 8pm television). ZBC also
allowed its airwaves to be used as a conduit to refute
reports published elsewhere. For example reports aired
on Television April 26 8pm and Radio 2/4 April 27 6am
quoted Zimbabwe High Commissioner to South Africa
Simon Khaya Moyo who labeled as false, South African
press reports that war veterans had invaded South
African companies. Radio 2/4 followed the item with
another in which war veterans denied that they had
invaded Zimbabwe-based South African companies.

Television did air dissenting voices quoting Minister
Nkosana Moyo who said that the attempts by war
veterans to solve labour disputes could scare investors.
(8pm April 28.)

The Chronicle, The Sunday Mail, The Sunday News
and The Zimbabwe Mirror ignored the on-going
violence. The Herald’s coverage was also unimpressive
and its coverage limited to incidents in which the MDC
was implicated in political violence. Its headlines read:
MDC member allegedly orders party supporters to
assault policemen (The Herald 27/04) and Lecturer
Mujajati faces public violence charge (The Herald
25/04).
The Herald also gleefully reported (The Sunday Mail,
April 29 carried a cartoon version) that villagers in
Tsholotsho had detained MDC Vice President Gibson
Sibanda. MDC denied the incident.

Most of the private press’s stories on political violence
suggested that MDC supporters and sympathisers were
on the receiving end, while Zanu PF supporters and the
war veterans were the perpetrators.
Coverage concentrated on the impact of the arbitrations
on business including reports that one dental clinic had
decided to close down after making a $7 million payout
to former employees. (The Daily News, April 26).

Unlike the state controlled media, the private press
regards the war veterans’ actions in the cities as a “…
sinister scheme orchestrated from the highest office in
the land to dislodge the MDC from its urban power
base ahead of next year’s elections”.
The Zimbabwe Independent (April 27) reported that
“ZANU PF has hatched a plan to hijack Workers’ Day
celebrations and oust the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions national executive as the battle for
control of the labour movement intensifies”.
The electronic media on the other hand reported without
interpretation Zanu PF’s Chris Pasipamire’s statement
that Zanu PF would be sitting at ZCTU’s high table
during the May Day celebration (April 27 Nhau/Indaba
and 8pm and Radio 2/4 1pm).

Chiwewe/Hunzvi VS the foreign missions
The private press gave prolific coverage to alleged
threats against NGO’s and foreign missions.
The Financial Gazette (April 26) carried a front-page
article, which extensively quoted war veterans’ leader
Chenjerai Hunzvi threatening to target foreign missions
and non-governmental organisations suspected of
funding the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change. The Daily News (April 27) reported that foreign
diplomats had met to assess and review personal
security following the threats made by the war veterans.
This charge was denied on ZBC report quoting a United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) statement
(April 28 6am-8am Radio 1/3).

The following day’s Daily News April 28 quoted
Secretary for Foreign Affairs Willard Chiwewe saying
that government would not guarantee the security of
foreign agencies against “agents or sympathisers” of
political parties. The article also quoted the EU head of
delegation expressing concern over the looting by
suspected war veterans of food aid worth $1 million
donated to victims of Cyclone Eline.
None of this was reported in the state-controlled press.
The electronic media quoted Chiwewe warning some
humanitarian personnel against furthering political goals
of one political party against another. (Radio April 28
6am-8am and television April 26 8pm.)

ZBC television was at pains to give airtime to Chenjerai
Hunzvi to deny a Financial Gazette story in which he
was alleged to have said that war veterans might raid
embassies. Hunzvi described the story as “cooked up”.
The report was unbalanced due to the fact that there was
no comment from The Financial Gazette (April 28 8pm).

(iii) Electoral Challenges
The major news on the electoral challenges was that
MDC president was back in the running for Parliament
after challenging his defeat in June 2000 elections. The
partiality of the state-controlled media in this report was
reflected when it billed item using Zanu PF responses to
the court decision rather than the news of the court ruling
itself. (April 26 8pm all stations).
The opposition’s Morgan Tsvangirai was given about 10
seconds of airtime against a 70 seconds news item
given to Minister Moyo’s response in which he said that
the ruling highlighted the independence of the judiciary
adding that the people would vote Zanu PF in the rerun
(also on April 27 radio 1/3 6am and 1pm bulletins). Vice
President Muzenda also retained his seat after the
challenge was withdrawn (television 8pm April 23 and
Radio 2/4 April 24 6am).
Similarly the news that challenge to Francis Nhema’s
Shurugwi seat had been dismissed and that Olivia
Muchena’s Mutoko South seat would have to be
recontested was lengthy four minute piece in which only
Zanu PF was quoted (April 27 8pm on all stations).

Both sides of the press managed to provide
straightforward court reports quoting Judge Devittie at
length.
Responses to the rulings were accessed mostly from
ZANU PF officials in the state media while the private
press accessed responses from the MDC.
The Herald (27/04) extensively quoted Minister Moyo
reacting to the High Court nullification of two election
results while The Daily News (April 27) quoted
Tsvangirai.

The headlines in these papers reflect their partiality in
the coverage of the electoral petitions.
Nhema retains Shurugwi seat, Muchena’s
election nullified (The Herald 28/04)
Minister loses Mutoko seat (The Daily News
28/04)

The state-controlled media coverage gave prominence
to ZANU PF court victories while underplayed the
implications of the court losses. The private press gave
prominence to MDC wins.

2. International Bar Association (IBA) Report
After completely rubbishing the IBA report even before it
came out, the state media’s response to the report was
predictable.
The Standard (22/04) was first with the news, borrowing
from a British newspaper to whom the IBA document
was leaked.
The state-controlled media condemned the report from
the outset saying that it lacked credibility. (International
jurists findings dismissed The Herald, April 24) - relying
heavily on government opinions, to the exclusion of other
interested parties and/or alternative opinion.
The private press supported the findings of the report
but merely regurgitated the contents of the report without
soliciting adequate and informed local opinion and/or
evidence.
The Herald (24/04) carried Minister Jonathan Moyo’s
dismissal of the report (also Radio 1/3 6am-8am) and
ran a comment which called the report “contemptuous”
and part of the international conspiracy to discredit
Zimbabwe “for threatening the economic interests of
these countries’ white kith and kin”.
The same issue reproduced the executive summary of
the IBA report.
The Financial Gazette (26/04) also carried a news
article quoting the report and a full text of the executive
summary of the report.
The Daily News (26/04) quoted the president of the Law
Society of Zimbabwe urging the Minister of Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa to
help end attacks on lawyers and police officers. In
another article, the Daily News merely regurgitated
contents of the report.
Only the Zimbabwe Independent (27/04) substantiated
the findings of the IBA, quoting police who
acknowledged that no progress has been made on
investigations into politically motivated murders.

3. Media Freedom of Expression Bill
Secrecy has remained over the contents of the Freedom
of Information Bill, which according to the newsreader
will now be called the Freedom of Expression Bill (April
28 8pm television). In the report Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo revealed that Bill would include a 75%
local content quota for the media.

ENDS