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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
Police have guaranteed journalists of safety in the discharge of their duties before, during and after the upcoming 2023 harmonised elections as the two parties continue to deepen their cordial relations.
Media practitioners yesterday met with top police officers in the capital and aired their concerns pertaining to safety when reporting on public gatherings and political rallies at which some journalists have been harassed while others have been arrested.
Speaking at the interface, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the police and the media had one mandate to serve the public.
“To avoid situations where journalists come to us saying they have been harassed by police officers, we have district police officers commanding for various districts who you can engage,” he said.
“There is nothing that can stop you from approaching them. If they are not on the ground, they have an officer who will be in charge.
“When covering public gatherings you need to identify yourself with the police officers on the ground so that if there are any challenges, they can assist you.
“The police are not there to stop journalists from doing their jobs. We are there to facilitate your work. When it comes to public gatherings, assess the situation so that the police are able to distinguish between a demonstrator and a journalist.”
Ass Comm Nyathi said the police had to maintain law and order with journalists providing information to the public.
“Journalism is not done in privacy and when covering rallies and public events, you must notify the police so that they know a journalist is present and if something happens they can tell you to move aside and disperse people. If we can do that we can have a good relationship.
“For the police, our message has to get to the people and it gets to the people through the media so we need each other. Our duties are outlined in the Constitution and the media is the fourth estate. You play a part in the development of the country so we need to complement each other as we perform our different roles.”
He said since the advent of the Second Republic, police had embraced all houses, both in he public and private spheres.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary-general Perfect Hlongwane said there was a need for police officers to be trained in dealing with the media.
“After we realised that there was a surge of violence against journalists as we are going towards elections, we then decided to engage the police so they understand the way that we work and we understand how they work. That way we are going to form good relations with the police.
“We are training journalists throughout the country on safety and security as we are heading towards elections. We thought it was important for journalists to understand the security surrounding them.”
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter