via CIO supplier gets TV licence The Zimbabwean 14 January 2015
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has issued a webcasting licence to a media group owned by a businessman who supplies ammunition to the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and army.
Harare businessman Peter Gwaza runs a media group called Ke Nako Media (Pvt) Ltd that applied for an internet based licence for a television licence in 2014. He also owns a security company and is reportedly well-connected in the army where he used to work.
In an advert in the Herald newspaper early last year, Ke Nako indicated that it had applied for a broadcasting services licence as a provider of internet-based television content and a webcasting server covering the whole of Zimbabwe online.
It gave its operating address as Number 11 Helm Road, Hillside in Harare. The company used to run a business weekly from that address, but the publication faced operational challenges and had downgraded to online publishing.
Internal staff confirmed that Ke Nako had been granted the licence by BAZ. It was not immediately clear when and how BAZ gave Ke Nako the licence as the process has not been publicised as required by application regulations.
At the time of going print, there was no response to questions emailed to BAZ.
In 2013, Ke Nako was controversially pronounced the legitimate owners of Parade magazine by the Controller of Patents, Trade Marks and Industrial Designs. The company was embroiled in a dispute with the Zimbabwe Publishing House (ZPH) which had plans to publish using the Parade name.
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