MISA-Zimbabwe concerned about government threats against the media
MISA-Zimbabwe concerned about government threats against the media
WINDHOEK, Namibia, 13 October 2015 / PRN Africa / -- MISA-Zimbabwe notes with great concern statements by the permanent secretary for Media, Information and Broadcasting Services George Charamba threatening stern legislation to deal with the media, barely a month after President Robert Mugabe made similar remarks.
Charamba's statements in an interview with the state-controlled weekly, The Sunday Mail , laid bare hideous intentions to muzzle the private media from reporting on the goings-on in the ruling Zanu PF, which is reportedly riddled with factionalism.
In the interview, he denied the existence of factionalism within Zanu PF, casting the subject as a creation of the private media. Charamba's discordant and strident denialism came barely three days after First Lady Grace Mugabe warned factionalists within the party of dire consequences if they did not change their ways.
The First Lady even threatened to name party officials who lead factions. President Mugabe also alluded to the same upon his recent return from the United Nations General Assembly. In keeping with its professional and lawful duty to inform, educate and entertain, the media reported and quoted verbatim the President and First Lady's comments on factionalism within Zanu PF.
War Veterans Minister Chris Mutsvangwa is also on record threatening to deal with Zanu PF's alleged Generation 40 faction. Harsh exchanges are also evident on Twitter where senior Zanu PF officials publicly excoriate and demean each other in defence of their respective factions. These are just but a few examples of Zanu PF officials confirming the divisions in the party rooted in succession politics.
MISA-Zimbabwe therefore dismisses Charamba's remarks as ill-advised and smacking of intentions to stall and scuttle the outstanding alignment of the country's media laws with the constitutional provisions that explicitly guarantee media freedom, freedom of expression and citizens' right to access to information.
In this digital information age, no amount of undemocratic legislative control will refract the reality on the ground. Nor will it stop unflattering information about Zanu PF, government and indeed any other political parties, filtering into the public domain.
As a member of the international community and state party to several instruments on human rights, the government is duty-bound to ensure the promotion and protection of citizens' liberties, including media freedom, however irritated they are by the media.
The country's constitution also imposes this obligation on government.
Section 61 of the constitution explicitly guarantees media freedom and clearly outlines a narrow scope within which this right could be limited, in line with international best practice which recognise that freedom of expression is not absolute. None of this supports the basis for Charamba's suggested legislative controls.
In addition, Section 2 of the Constitution stresses the supremacy of the constitution. It states that: This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.
It further states that: The obligations imposed by this Constitution are binding on every person, natural or juristic, including the State and all executive, legislative and judicial institutuions and agencies of government at every level, and must be fulfilled by them.
As MISA-Zimbabwe has repeatedly noted, there are civil means through which those aggrieved by the media can seek remedies. Resorting to tyrannical measures will not only help confirm observations that the country has complete disregard for rule of law, but prioritises rule by law to give dictatorial tendencies some veneer of legal legitimacy.
MISA-Zimbabwe urges government, the media, parliamentarians and the generality of Zimbabwean citizens to uphold the sanctity of the constitution and ensure that the civil liberties contained therein are not only symbolic but a living reality.
Only then can the country become a true constitutional democracy.
SOURCE Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
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