Cablegate: Media Report Reporter Arrested Under Aippa; Harare

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 001591

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT REPORTER ARRESTED UNDER AIPPA; HARARE

Independent "Daily News" reporter, Chris Gande, was on
July 4 charged under the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) for allegedly writing a
false story. Gande becomes the 13th reporter to be charged
under the Act, enacted in March this year. Last week the
"Daily News" carried an article by Gande in which he
reported that the government had "snubbed" the family of
the late vice-president Joshua Nkomo by "neither inviting
nor informing them" of the preparations for a state-funded
commemorative gala in his honor. Gande is standing by his
story as a true reflection of what Nkomo's eldest daughter,
Thandi, told him in an interview on the eve of the memorial
revelry held in Mutare. Johanna MaFuyana, Nkomo's widow,
attended the gala that was televised live on June 29. She
was, however, flown to Mutare on a military helicopter on
the day the "Daily News" story was published (June 28).

SULLIVAN

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