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Netsianda was covering a meeting between the party leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and the Bulawayo business community.
Mr Tsvangirai, who is in Bulawayo on a two-day visit to try and control factionalism that has rocked his party, is holding a series of meetings with different organisations in a bid to improve his waning support base.
“I covered Mr Tsvangirai’s meeting with civic organisations at the Bulawayo Agenda offices in the morning. I then went to the Bulawayo Club in the afternoon with other journalists to cover his second meeting with the business community,” said Netsianda.
“Just before the meeting ended I was approached by two men who accused me of gate-crushing into the event. They told me that the Chronicle was not invited to the meeting and took me to a separate room where they snatched my notebook and mobile phone.
“They deleted some of my recordings from the phone and took away my notebook before letting me go.”
He said the two men left the building and drove off without giving him his notebook.
Last month, Mr Tsvangirai threatened to close media organisations that do not toe his party’s line should he win the forthcoming harmonised elections.
“You cannot have a newspaper with six articles saying Tsvangirai this and Tsvangirai that. Every day! Regai vakadaro. But musi umwe gava richadambura musungo. (Let them continue one day it will catch up with them). That kind of a media has no future in a democratic Zimbabwe.
“I want to tell you this. Muchadya izvozvo (You will reap what you sow),” said Mr Tsvangirai who was addressing delegates at his party’s policy conference last month.
He also told his supporters in Chiredzi recently that his battle was no longer with Zanu-PF, but with The Herald, which he accused of writing damning articles about him.
Online Reporter