Zimbabwean-born Al Jazeera reporter Haru Mutasa has castigated Zimbabwe’s main political parties, the ruling ZANU PF, and the opposition MDC for their aversion to journalists.
Writing on microblogging site Twitter, Mutasa contrasted the two parties with South Africa’s ANC which does not bother members of the Fourth Estate. She wrote:
Did a piece to camera outside the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg, no issues, no one bothered us.
In Harare, you have to ask for permission and even if you get a yes, there will be someone who tries to stop you filming the building.
It’s exhausting working in Zimbabwe
Try filming the Zanu PF building in Zimbabwe without permission …… see the trouble you will face. And it’s just a building. The ANC in South Africa won’t bother journalists, they want media coverage good or bad, Zanu PF wow… no comment.
Even outside the opposition MDC headquarters in Harare you are harassed by their security
#Zimbabwe is something else … frustrating.
More: @harumutasa