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| Africa: Southern | |
| Zimbabwe Editor, 2 Journalists Arrested | |
| 2004-01-11 | |
| Police arrested the editor of Zimbabwe’s leading independent weekly and two of his reporters Saturday after the paper allegedly insulted President Robert Mugabe in a story about his vacation, the editor’s lawyer said. Jailed for telling the truth, were they? Iden Wetherell of the Zimbabwe Independent, a respected business and political weekly, was expected to be charged with criminal defamation of Mugabe, said lawyer Linda Cook. Guess I’d better not set foot in Bob-land then. The paper reported in Friday’s edition that Mugabe commandeered one of the heavily indebted national airline’s jets for an Asian vacation with his family and a small party of aides. The report, "Mugabe grabs plane for Far East holiday," said many passengers booked on the Boeing 767’s flights to London were stranded in Harare while alternative arrangements were made. That’s our Bob! Cook said Wetherell, 55, was arrested at his Harare home and taken to the city’s main police station. Reporters Dumisani Muleya and Vincent Kahiya were arrested later and police were looking for a third Independent reporter, Itai Dzamera, she said. Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who also is acting transport minister, said Wetherell and the two reporters faced up to two years’ imprisonment for defaming Mugabe, the state Herald reported Saturday. "This was not the first time the paper has written lies that are blasphemous and disrespectful of the president," Moyo said.
With all the shoddy maintenance found in African airlines, why couldn’t Bob have picked the right plane? Mugabe does not have his own presidential jet and has often thrown the national carrier’s schedules into disarray by commandeering its planes. Last month, the paper reported Mugabe took an airliner for nine days for a trip to a United Nations meeting in Geneva and a visit to Egypt, forcing the national airline to charter another jet for more than $1 million. Why should Bob have his own jet? He can just take one when he wants it. Meanwhile, police Saturday blocked entry to the offices and printing plant of the country’s only independent daily newspaper for a second day, defying a High Court order issued Friday to allow The Daily News to resume publication. The government has ignored three similar orders since police shut down the paper Sept. 12. I’m sure the world’s leading newspapers will be all over this in support of the brave people in Bob-land. Since its launch in 1999, The Daily News has been a platform for government criticism. The state controls the country’s two other dailies, and the only television and radio stations. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Good Heavens SH are you suggesting we Bean Bob? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-11 5:56:20 PM |
| #2 RC, before we pitch Bob the high hard one, it would be nice to know who is standing in the on-deck circle. I know that his VP just died and the MDU doesn't appear to have a lot of guns, which are usually a prerequisite for regime change. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-11 11:34:46 AM |
| #1 "This was not the first time the paper has written lies that are blasphemous and disrespectful of the president," That word is a particularly bad sign. What a pity the civilized world hasn't the balls to simply kill Mugabe and save Zimbabwe a lot of pain. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-1-11 9:17:42 AM |