Is Media under siege?

A famous quote, widely attributed to author and journalist George Orwell, defines true journalism as an adversarial, truth-seeking, and investigative act that exposes hidden, inconvenient facts.

The statement “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations” remains popular with media practitioners and scholars.

Indeed, our role is to expose evil, rot and shine light in dark corners for we are not public relations officers but we stand for the public interest.

This naturally makes us enemies of the powerful and the corrupt who quack in their boots at the call of a journalist’s inquiry.

The rate at which members of the proverbial fourth estate are being nabbed by authorities mainly for violating the Cyber and Data Protection Act is reminiscent of the dark days where journalism was “criminalised” and its practice almost impossible.

Days of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) are quick to mind and the current season of arrests of journalists sends a chilling reminder and suspicion that the media is under siege, again.

AIPPA was enacted in 2002 and described by critics as a cornerstone of media repression in Zimbabwe, designed to silence dissenting voices and control the narrative in favour of the status quo.

It’s said to have created a hostile environment for independent journalism.

Journalists in the dock under the new law

Faith Zaba and Blessed Mhlanga from Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) were arrested last year for allegedly ‘transmitting data messages that incite violence or damage to property.”

This was after the late former Zanu PF Central Committee member and war veteran, Blessed Geza, appeared on their platform.

Pellagia Mupurwa, a journalist with Zimbo Live, was arrested and detained under the new cybercrime law, which sanctions “transmitting false messages with the intent to cause harm.”

Gideon Madzikatidze, a journalist with Bulawayo24 was arrested and charged under the same law. He remains in custody while his alleged accomplice Simba Sithole is reportedly on the run.

All these named journalists are before the courts and their matters are therefore sub judice. They could be guilty or innocent but the worry for now is the rate at which journalists are arrested.

Authorities are flashing the Cyber and Data Protection Act to effect these arrests.

Names have been created already to describe the law and they are synonymous with names used to describe AIPPA.

The law is retrogressive, demonic, archaic and therefore must be repealed, media rights campaigners say.

But what is the Cyber and Data Protection Act?

Authorities say the Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07], enacted in December 2021 and operationalized in 2022, is Zimbabwe’s primary legislation regulating digital privacy, data processing, and cybersecurity. It protects citizens’ personal data, establishes the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) as the Data Protection Authority, and criminalizes cybercrimes.

Its objective was to increase cyber security in order to build confidence and trust in the secure use of information and communication technologies by data controllers, their representatives and data subjects.

According to Section 164C of the Constitution, “any person who unlawfully and intentionally by means of a computer or information system makes available, broadcasts or distributes data to any other person concerning an identified or identifiable person knowing it to be false with intent to cause psychological or economic harm shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 10 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”

Fair objective it is but why the surge in arresting of journalists under the law?

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Director, Dr Tabani Moyo thinks the law is now being abused by those with agendas to criminalise journalism.

“The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) might have a position as regulator and enforcement agent of the Cyber and Data Protection Act which is aimed at tearing cyberbullying but what is problematic is the weaponization of the law to criminalise journalism,” Moyo said.

“It is in this regard that many journalists are now before the courts mainly for doing their work which is provided for by the constitution,” he added.

The law has implications for Zimbabwean authorities and contributes to poor quality of journalism.

Lawyer Chris Mhike, a trained journalist who has represented media actors legally, said the rise in arrests of journalists is worrying and compromises quality and the country’s global image.

“It’s unfortunate (that) our legislative framework has not been supportive of media freedom,” Mhike said. “We saw at the commencement of the current governmental dispensation that there was a launch of a media and legislative reform exercise. It has been the hope of many media freedom advocates that the process would result in the promulgation of media friendly laws and therefore the reduction of incidents of arrests of journalists or general harassment of members of the profession,” he added.

He said recent press freedom polls have ranked Zimbabwe “quiet lowly” and this eats into Zimbabwe’s global goodwill.

“In the most recent survey last year, Reporters Without Borders placed Zimbabwe at the position of 106 out of 180 countries that were assessed. That is quiet a low score which should concern all parties concerned and concerns the media industry in Zimbabwe in particular”

He said each time a journalist is arrested in this country, “the nation’s credibility as a democracy which respects media freedom is further depleted therefore it goes without say that the recent arrests of the journalists by the Zimbabwean authorities worsen our democratic credentials.”

Clearly, quality is low and arrest fears mount

“These arrests naturally yield a chilling effect on the practice of journalism in Zimbabwe. We have seen the intensification of self-censorship in multiple newsrooms and media organisations. That is the most unfortunate state of media practice in Zimbabwe today,” Mhike said.

Is POTRAZ the face of media attack?

The position articulated by Tsitsi Mariwo, Director of Data Protection at POTRAZ, may exonerate them on this.

“The Act was not enacted to silence journalists,” Mariwo said. “Its primary objective is to protect citizens’ personal data and promote responsible use of digital platforms.”

She noted that no journalist has been arrested under the Cyber and Data Protection Act since its promulgation, and that cases involving journalists have instead fallen under other existing statutes.

“If there are any issues with the Act, it’s not POTRAZ or the Ministry of ICT that deals with criminality, but rather the Ministry of Justice,” Mariwo said, clarifying the role of POTRAZ in regulating data protection and cybersecurity.

Mariwo explained that the Act contains provisions that recognize journalistic exemptions, particularly when personal data is processed in the public interest. She noted that responsible journalism, carried out ethically and within legal frameworks, remains protected under Zimbabwe’s constitutional guarantees.

“The law acknowledges the role of journalism in a democratic society,” she said. “Processing personal information for journalistic purposes is permissible where it is justified by public interest.”

The role of the media remains clear and so is the responsibility.

While pushing for media reforms, lets also be responsible as journalists

Defaming anyone is a no and not following the basic tenets of the profession that include objectivity, fairness, accuracy among others is uncalled for hence the need for journalists to be thorough.

A press card is no license to defame anyone and hide behind the commonly abused phrases “efforts to get a comment were fruitless” or “…was not reachable for comment.”

More needs to be done on our part as journalists to navigate this tricky scenario for indeed, journalism is not a crime nor is it a platform to harm.