By Staff Reporter
Hardly a week after the media commemorated World Press Freedom Day on May 3, a freelance journalist based at the Media Centre has been attacked while attempting to cover a full council meeting in Chitungwiza. This happened in full view of the Mayor and several Councillors who were opposing residents participation in the full council meeting despite the law permitting residents to attend full council meetings.
Philemon Jambaya was assaulted by Chitungwiza municipal police and Councillors who did not want their photographs taken at the full council public meeting. Journalists have a duty to inform citizens and expose corruption and it is unacceptable that journalists are still being persecuted for carrying out their normal duties.
The Chitungwiza Council has been resisting attempts by members of the public to attend these full council meetings as provided by the law and the attack on the journalist is part of those spirited efforts to block citizens from attending these meetings .
‘They treat these council meetings as top secret and today they wanted to discuss about how they would allocate each other stands and also approve allowances for workshops they have arranged to attend despite advise against this by the District Administrator’ said a former Councillor.
‘This is why there is fierce opposition for the media to come and cover such meetings’ he added.
Chitungwiza Residents Trust members revealed that they reported some MDC affiliated Councillors to their party but nothing has changed as the Councillors still resist ordinary citizens efforts to participate in the council meetings. This is worrying for a political party that claims to be an alternative to the ruling party.
This is despite the fact that the council Town Clerk gave the green-light for residents to attend full council meetings. The attack therefore only confirms the claims that the Councillors are determined to hide something from residents. It was a matter of a local government administration determined to keep the public from knowing about corruption or incompetency in the council.
Such arrogance by the council authorities runs parallel with the citizen’s rights of access to information especially concerning how local authorities are administered. The new constitution explicitly guarantees access to information to citizens and the media and these freedoms must be respected.
The Media Centre routinely dispatches journalists and citizen journalists to cover full council meetings and other community events in order to provide residents with key information on decisions that affect their everyday lives. What is worse is that the journalist was assaulted despite producing his press card and identifying
It is worrying that this act of intolerance to the media is being perpetrated at the lower tiers of government. The MDC-T party is supposed to take action against its Councillors who have displayed a complete disregard of the media and residents.
At least one journalist is killed monthly while performing their duties around the world and the attack on Jambaya is testament of the dangerous environment that journalists still work in.
It is not only the state that pauses a threat to media freedom but individuals and other institutions that are not necessarily controlled by central government.
As the country commemorates World press freedom day,the ministry of local government , MDC-T and ZANU PF must investigate and take action against those Councillors who have been resisting efforts by the media and residents to have access to full council meeting. It is this unreasonable determination to deny residents of the constitutional rights by council that led to unnecessary violence against a journalist going on with his normal duties.
Ends
