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A CARDINAL rule in journalism enjoins media practitioners to double check and verify facts before going to print and this is done to ensure that they remain credible and publish information that is beyond reproach. Of late, Zimbabwe has witnessed a glut of speculative articles particularly in the private media concerning the so-called threat posed by the re-entry into mainstream politics by former Vice President Joice Mujuru under the banner of her People First project and reports of secret talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC formations. When former VP Mujuru published a two-page statement in two privately owned dailies outlining her group’s manifesto and declaring her ambitions to contest the 2018 general elections, the private media went into overdrive and sought to project her in Messianic fashion as the future leader of Zimbabwe.
Suddenly, their darling MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai was old news and Mujuru was the only person capable of taking President Robert Mugabe head on. Acres and acres of space were devoted to raising the profile of the former VP with Tsvangirai being cajoled to join forces with Mujuru in a coalition that would shake Zanu-PF to the core. In some of the agenda setting and sensationalised articles, Mujuru was said to have set the cat among the pigeons and rattled Cde Mugabe to the extent that the revolutionary leader was scared of his former protégé.
Speaking at a luncheon following the official opening of Parliament last week, President Mugabe took a swipe at irresponsible reporting and castigated the private media for publishing falsehoods and seeking to prop up Mujuru. “The journalism we’re experiencing is not the journalism we expect. If we begin to take control now, rigid control, people shouldn’t then cry foul,” he said.
The President’s remarks followed a flurry of stories insinuating that he was afraid of taking on his former deputy in the political ring. At the weekend, the privately owned NewsDay newspaper claimed senior Zanu-PF officials were engaged in secret talks with MDC-T and MDC functionaries in Ghana and Kenya to find ways of turning around the economy.
The “talks” were reported to be centred on the need to create another inclusive government and a third round was scheduled for Victoria Falls this week. According to the newspaper, the move was tailored to scuttle the possibility of MDC-T and Mujuru’s People First outfit amalgamating. Zanu-PF secretary for Transport Cde Oppah Muchinguri and Deputy Secretary for Administration Cde July Moyo were said to have represented the party at the “talks”.
Cde Muchinguri has laughed off the report while the party’s spokesman Cde Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday dismissed the suggestion as fiction. He said the ruling party’s ideology differed from that of the opposition and there was no way they could work together again. “I want to emphatically state that there are no secret talks occurring anywhere between Zanu-PF and the MDC formations,” said Cde Khaya-Moyo. “The absurdity of the fabrications is that they claim that the so-called talks have already been held in Ghana, Kenya and the next one being in Victoria Falls. These must be dismissed with the contempt they deserve”.
He said it was disturbing that the privately-owned media were now fond of cooking negative stories about Zanu-PF with the sole intention of soiling its image and the majority of the stories targeted President Mugabe, First Lady Cde Grace Mugabe and other senior party and government officials. “Constructive criticism is permissible because the Constitution provides for freedom of expression and association. However, it doesn’t provide for anarchy and chaotic false reports.
“We see alarming headlines that have become daily bread with the contents lacking any form of veracity,” said Cde Khaya Moyo. The two MDC formations have also dismissed the reported “talks” raising eyebrows as to the intentions of the authors of the story. We hold no brief for the private media but we believe publication of baseless articles with no basis in truth taints the image of the profession. We will never advocate for a clampdown on the media but call for responsible journalism that builds the nation instead of destroying it.
In this vein, we totally agree with President Mugabe’s call for the media to exercise restraint. “We would want freedom, we want people to make money. You might not share my politics and I might not share your politics, but it doesn’t mean we’re enemies. You may criticise me where I go wrong, sure, but don’t give me sins I haven’t committed; offences I haven’t committed; actions I haven’t done and thoughts I haven’t entertained in my mind.
“Let us, wherever we’re employed do our best. Even if you’re journalists, tell the truth and don’t live on lies …That’s very poor journalism,” Cde Mugabe said last week.
Online Reporter