Posted on April 9, 2010 | Category: Politics; Business, Sport
A Chronicle journalist based in Beitbridge was on Thursday morning detained
by police over an article that claimed that eight detectives fled for dear
life after an armed suspect opened fire at them.
Mashudu Netsianda, who is Chronicle Beitbridge office reporter was picked up
by two police officers for questioning over a story titled “Cops flee police
station as injiva opens fire”.
Police said the story was likely to place the country’s security at
risk.Netsianda wrote that on Sunday eight detectives fled for dear life from
Beitbridge Police Station “after an angry injiva they had arrested for
illegal possession of a firearm opened fire”.
Quoting sources, Netsianda said the detectives took the suspect who is now
on the run to the police station. However, the detectives failed to find the
gun but the suspect suddenly withdrew it from a bag and ordered the
detectives to lie down before he fled leaving his car.
One of the detectives, according to the story ” plunged into a pool of water
on a drainage system as he ran for dear life”.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Tafanana Dzirutwe told
Zicora that Netsianda was not in police custody.
“I am not aware of that. Infact Mashudu phoned me in the morning inquiring
on some story. So if there was anything wrong he would have told me so,”
said Insp Dzirutwe.
Dzirutwe said the journalist should not be arrested for carrying out his
duties ‘unless he/she had incriminated someone”.
However, Netsianda told Zicora that police wanted to charge him with
“placing the country’s security at risk”.
He said he was detained for more than an hour at the Law and Order Section
and a docket was opened for him.
“However, after the police officers consulted their bosses they told me that
they are dropping the charges. But they strongly told me that the language I
used was demeaning the police establishment.”
He was then released but now feels threatened by the police action.
Netsianda’s arrest comes hardly a week after three Harare-based reporters
where also quizzed by police.Last week two female journalists Feluna Nleya
and Jennifer Dube of the privately owned Standard weekly were questioned by
police from the Law and Order Section for exposing an alleged massive land
scandal involving the Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo and
business person Philip Chiyangwa.
The story was based on a 54-page report titled: Special Investigations
Committees report on City of Harare’s Land Sales, Leases and Exchanges from
the period October 2004 to December 2009. Earlier in the week, police had
summoned freelance journalist Stanley Gama over a related story published by
The Sunday Times of South Africa.
The harassment of the journalists comes hard on the heels of statements by
the Minister of Media, Information and Publicity Webster Shamu that
harassment of journalists should stop.
http://www.zicora.com
No comments:
Post a Comment