Mabasa Sasa

Mabasa Sasa is a Zimbabwean journalist and former Zimbabwe Newspapers Group’s head of content syndication and Sunday Mail editor.

Career

Mabasa Sasa was a one time editor of the Southern Times in Namibia and also served as deputy editor of The Herald under Caesar Zvayi.

Sasa was removed as editor of The Sunday Mail in December 2018 after his ally George Charamba was removed as permanent secretary. The post of head of content syndication did not exist before Sasa was appointed.

Accident and Resignation

Sasa appeared before a Zimpapers disciplinary hearing for supplying false information to the police after wrecking a company vehicle while driving without a licence sometime in 2018.

The insurance company refused to repair the vehicle after discovering Sasa was not licenced to drive. Sasa opted to resign rather than to be fired. He resigned in June 2019 and made the announcement via Twitter. Sasa tweeted a YouTube video of Frank Sinatra belting his hit tune ‘My Way’. ^[1]

Arrest

Mabasa Sasa, investigations editor Brian Chitemba and reporter Tinashe Farawo were arrested in November 2015 following the publication of a story in The Sunday Mail which alleged that a syndicate comprising police officers, Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers and Asians was behind the latest spate of elephant killings in Hwange National Park.

The three were detained at Harare Central Police Station. The three were arrested for allegedly publishing falsehoods as police claimed they inquired at all police stations and found no reports of police investigating their members for alleged involvement in poaching activities.

The story, headlined Top Cop fingered in poaching saga, alleged that one of the suspects under active investigation was an assistant commissioner in the police force and that several others had been arrested in connection with the killing of 22 elephants. The Sunday Mail further reported that the syndicate has allegedly killed around 55 elephants for their ivory tusks since early 2015.^[2]