via RadioVop Zimbabwe – No Zim Law Against Owning Radio Receivers – ZACRAS 25 February 2014
The Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (Zacras) has condemned the continued suppression of media in Zimbabwe following the summoning by the courts of Radio Dialogue production manager Zenzele Ndebele to answer charges of contravening broadcasting laws.
Ndebele is being summoned for the second time in less than 12 months after his initial arrest on 1 March last year after a police raid on the station’s premises that led to the seizure of 180 radio sets.The case never took off.Ndebele is now expected to appear before a Bulawayo magistrate on 6 March facing allegations of contravening the broadcasting laws.
“It must be noted that the confiscated radios are ordinary Frequency Modulation (FM)/Short Wave(SW)/Amplitude Modulation(AM) receivers that have absolutely no transmitting capacity but are merely idle receivers. There is no law in Zimbabwe that is against the ownership of such radios,” Zacras said in a statement.
The organisation said it expected government to be supportive of media diversity and pluralism as well as promote people’s right to access of information and freedom of expression.”The move to summon anyone trying to help increase people’s choice is worrisome and deeply troubling.
“As a mother-body of community radios, we believe alternative sources of information apart from the state broadcaster are indispensable in a vibrant democracy as they contribute significantly to the modernization of society,” Zacras said.
“Several civic organisations and human rights activists were last year arrested for contravening broadcasting laws after police announced a ban on the possession of shortwave radio receivers, saying they were being used to communicate hate speech.”Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster, the ZBC, has a near monopoly over the airwaves.
There is demand among listeners and many human rights organisations for other viewpoints.”Zacras said right to receive and impart information and ideas is enshrined in Section 61 of the current constitution as a vital component of citizens’ right to freedom of expression.
COMMENTS
Unfortunately there is a need for serious media regulations in Zimbabwe to protect the public from propaganda and irresponsible journalists.
The false media reports that people must remove money from banks as the currency will change back to the zim dollar is just one of many examples that caused cash shortages prior to Christmas inconveniencing ,many so that one journalist may get a propaganda payment from outside Zimbabwe – a terrorist age of economic sabotage which journalist organisations have yet to deal with. Moyo is not the right minister to do this as he seems intimidated by the press, we need someone who simply slaps them in jail.
Idiot!!!!
Apolitical one day the government will steal everybody’s good dollars and replace they with worthless rubbish printed by themselves and people are right to worry about this and journalists have a duty to warn people of the possibility. It has happened before a number of times.
The only economic sabotage being done is by the ZANU government which controls all local radio station for the purposes of disseminating lies and propaganda.
The airwaves must be freed and there must be a diversity of views.
ZBC is a dead loss
The economic sabotage in Zimbabwe is huge, Zesa is really bad, managers have been intimidated to stop producing power – remember we know where your family live and you will lose your pension have been common threats go to Harare power station and ask employees. ignorance or political protectionism will not help the nation or our children’s future. No journalist will report this because they don’t get propaganda bucks and are not responsible.
Whatever your political affiliation deliberate acts that affect the economy and us all should be despised not protected by idiots because they supported that political party or are personally involved as a propaganda journalist and think they are clever destroying their children’s future.
What would you call false reporting that caused a run on banks. uhm uhm
economic sabotage!
Apolitical or is it “A Political Arse”?
no its JR arse
@apolotical …. panhinginikiri pamai vako. idiot..
don’t look in the mirror and call people what you see
Solution apo, confiscate all radios and TV sets from people’s home s,at least we know there will be no public money wasted at ZBC. Ooooooh God bless you.
The Magistrates in cases like this must let the case be tried in accordance with the law. If there is no law against these radios(which we know there is none) they must swiftly acquit. If they don’t they will be breaking the law and they will stand accountable. People had better start believing that records and evidence are being compiled by other people of interest and they will come out when this regime falls. Those that think they will just disappear into the wood work have another thought coming. I would like to urge people on this website to ignore people like Apolitical. If you challenge him you give him a platform. Let him keep on with his silly comments and he will soon disappear like the snake he is.
Its fortunate that one person stands up for progress and doesn’t turn a blind eye to those journalists who cause suffering to people simply because they want a fast buck and are irresponsible.
It would help if you woke up and realized the direction journalists have taken and the need to bring them in line with world media ethics prior to relaxing any laws