"You Will Die For Nothing", Binga Journalist Threatened For Exposing Chinese Firm
A Binga based journalist, Mujopeni Mudimba, has allegedly been receiving death threats from unknown people after he wrote a story about the displacement of villagers by a Chinese miner in the district.
The Chinese company has been granted authority by the government to mine coal in that area.
Mudimba was reportedly threatened over a story he wrote on the eviction of villagers in Ward 12 by the Chinese company.
The journalist works for the recently licensed local community radio station, Twasumbuka Community Radio.
According to the station manager, Bbaido Ndhlovu, Mudimba was threatened by an unknown person, who called him twice using a private number.
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The unknown caller reportedly warned Mudimba that he would rot in jail and also “die for nothing” if he continues writing stories relating to the evictions.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa Zimbabwe) on Tuesday condemned the harassment of the journalist. It said:
Misa Zimbabwe strongly condemns any forms of media violations including threats and harassment of journalists.
Journalists should be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to media freedom without fear
Through its watchdog role, the media is allowed to voice and disseminate information on the concerns of communities in which they operate.
Misa Zimbabwe, therefore, urges any persons aggrieved with a story published by any media institution or media practitioner, to approach the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe or the Zimbabwe Media Commission for adjudication and redress.
This is happening amid the My Freedom of Information campaign launched in Zimbabwe last year by Tag a Life International (TaLI), in partnership with Fojo Media Institute, Identities Media TV and the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services to raise awareness on the Freedom of Information Act for vulnerable groups and journalists.
