Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) senior journalist Blessed Mhlanga has revealed that three individuals armed with pistols visited his office on Monday morning, searching for him.
Mhlanga, who was not at the office at the time, also received a call from the ZRP Law and Order Section, inviting him to discuss an undisclosed matter. He posted on X:
<blockquote>
It’s not a laughing matter at all. Three persons armed with pistols came to my office this morning looking for me. They did not say why they needed me. Then minutes later, I got a call inviting me to Law and Order. I will be presenting myself to the police with my lawyers tomorrow.
</blockquote>
Earlier this month, Mhlanga was summoned to Harare Central Police Station by the ZRP Law and Order Section.
Concerned about the police’s intentions, Mhlanga attended the station accompanied by MISA Zimbabwe’s External Legal Counsel, Chris Mhike.
It was later revealed that the police wanted to discuss the status of a six-year-old case involving former Deputy Finance Minister Terrence Mukupe.
The summons followed Mhlanga’s interview with ZANU PF Central Committee member and war veteran Blessed Geza, who had been making critical remarks about President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In the interview, Geza accused Mnangagwa of corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and failing to address the country’s economic challenges, while calling for his resignation.
On Saturday, HStv, part of the AMH group and run by Mhlanga, posted a statement on X, quoting Geza as saying that he was safe, not arrested, nor in hiding. Geza was quoted as saying:
<blockquote>
We are ready to bring change and no amount of threats and lies will derail the struggle. The signal is coming.
</blockquote>

Pindula News

Three armed men went to a journalist's office looking for him. The journalist was not there, but later got a call from the police to come discuss something. The journalist had been called by the police before about an interview he did. In the interview, someone criticized the President and called for his resignation. The journalist's TV station later said the person was safe. The journalist will go to the police with his lawyers. The person being interviewed said they are ready for change despite threats.

Three Armed Men Storm NewsDay Journalist's Office

Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) senior journalist Blessed Mhlanga was summoned to Harare Central Police Station on Monday by the ZRP Law and Order Section to discuss an undisclosed matter.
Mhlanga visited the station with MISA Zimbabwe’s External Legal Counsel, Chris Mhike, due to concerns about the intentions of the police.
It was later revealed that the police wanted to discuss the status of a six-year-old case against former deputy Finance minister Terrence Mukupe. Said Mhike:
<blockquote>
We were astonished to arrive at the police station to be informed, after some dilly-dallying by officers in attendance at the station, that police only wanted to establish the status of Mhlanga’s very old case against Terrence Mukupe, Zimbabwe’s former deputy finance minister.
</blockquote>
Mhike said that in the old case, Mukupe was accused of assaulting the journalist in a radio studio during a live political debate in May 2018.
Mukupe was also accused of taking a phone belonging to Mhlanga’s wife.
This incident led to both criminal and civil legal proceedings initiated by Mhlanga against Mukupe. 
The civil matter was resolved in June 2018 when a Harare Magistrate ordered Mukupe to return the phone to its owner.
A few months later, the criminal cases between the parties were also terminated through mutual agreement. Added Mhike:
<blockquote>
It is therefore extremely odd to hear of the police digging up a case that terminated more than six years ago.
The police were notified about the termination of the criminal, as well as the civil proceedings in the Mukupe cases, at the material time.
There was therefore no good reason for the Police to summon the journalist Mhlanga to the police station today. This behaviour amounts to harassment of the press.
</blockquote>
Mhlanga was allowed to leave, and Mhike urged the police to refrain from disturbing Mhlanga’s journalistic endeavours, as well as those of any other journalist working in Zimbabwe.
Mhlanga’s arrest followed his interview with ZANU PF Central Committee member and War Veteran Blessed Geza, who has been making critical comments about President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In the interview, Geza accused Mnangagwa of corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and failing to address the country’s economic challenges, while calling for his resignation.

A journalist named Blessed Mhlanga was called by the police to talk about a case that happened six years ago. The case was about an ex-deputy minister who allegedly assaulted Mhlanga during a radio debate. The case was closed in 2018, but the police wanted to know what happened. Mhlanga's lawyer said it was strange for the police to bring up an old case. The lawyer also said the police shouldn't bother journalists and let them do their work. Mhlanga was allowed to leave, and his lawyer asked the police not to disturb journalists in Zimbabwe.

ZRP Summons Prominent Journalist Over A Case Closed Six Years Ago

Prominent Mozambican journalist João Chamusse was found dead outside his residence on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo, in what is believed to be a case of murder, reported <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/15/prominent-mozambican-journalist-murdered//">africanews</a>.
Chamusse was allegedly attacked by unidentified assailants, with neighbours claiming to have heard his desperate cries for help during the early hours of Thursday.
He was later found with a head wound, with a machete and gardening hoe close to the corpse.
Chamusse was the co-owner and editor of Ponto por Ponto, a privately owned online weekly newspaper, and he was an influential figure known for contributing critical commentary on the government via a local TV station.
The newspaper stated that its editorial director fell prey to a “knife-related murder.”
In response to this tragic incident, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday urged authorities in Mozambique to thoroughly investigate the alleged murder.
Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, in Nairobi, said:
<blockquote>
CPJ is deeply disturbed by the killing of prominent Mozambican journalist João Chamusse, and we extend our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Mozambican authorities should urgently and credibly investigate Chamusse’s killing and its motive, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
</blockquote>
Previously, Chamusse co-founded the weekly Canal de Moçambique newspaper and worked as a reporter at the Metical newspaper edited by journalist Carlos Cardoso, who was murdered for his journalism in 2000.
Africa has witnessed instances of journalists being targeted and murdered for their work.
These acts of violence can have a chilling effect on journalism and suppress the truth, impacting society as a whole.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Prominent Mozambican Journalist João Chamusse Murdered

ZANU PF members reportedly assaulted a Bulawayo-based journalist and damaged her phone on Monday.
<a href="https://cite.org.zw/byo-journalist-assaulted-by-zanu-pf-members/">CITE</a> reported that the journalist, Annahstacia Ndlovu, who writes for Voice of America (VOA), was covering clashes at the Fifth Avenue market where ZANU PF members were chasing away vendors who are not card-carrying members from their vending bays.
She said she and other freelance journalists were at the Bulawayo Media Centre when they received an alert from informal traders from the market about the skirmishes. She said:
<blockquote>
After receiving word on the violence, I with other journalists namely, Tuso Pamenus, Lungelo Ndlovu and Simbarashe Muparangada rushed to the market to see and capture what was happening there.
</blockquote>
Ndlovu said while she was interviewing the affected vendors, the ZANU PF members returned and accosted her demanding that she stops recording. She said:
<blockquote>
Luckily enough, I captured them in the video as they approached us. Those ZANU PF men told me not to take the video and asked me who I was.
I introduced myself as a journalist but they ordered me to delete the video I had taken.
They pushed me to their vehicle while assaulting me as their other accomplices ran away.
I asked them why they were beating me but they didn’t answer as they took away my mobile phone.
</blockquote>
She said she recognised the individuals who attacked her and that she had reported the incident to the police.
Ndlovu was in Gweru the previous day, on Sunday, covering the CCC rally at Mkoba Stadium and still had footage of the event on her phone.
She said after her assailants went through the footage, they accused her of being “Chamisa’s person” and deleted some videos.
The journalist said her attackers did not destroy the phone, but her other phone, an iPhone fell to the ground and was damaged.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZANU PF Members Assault Journalist

A senior photojournalist with H-Metro, Takawira Dapi was on Wednesday evening robbed of his cash and valuables at gunpoint.
Dapi told <a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/h-metro-journalist-robbed-at-gunpoint/">H-Metro</a> that he boarded a Mercedes Benz along Charter Road on his way home to Glen Norah. Dapi said:
<blockquote>
I just left Herald House around 11 PM going to where I normally get my transport along Charter Road.
When I got there, I saw some private cars which were loading but there was no car going to Glen Norah.
Within minutes, a Mercedes Benz arrived calling for Glen Norah passengers and it was being loaded by touts.
Immediately after I got in, someone entered using the other door.
There were now four of us and the car left.
On our way, after the flyover, as we were approaching ZBC, the passenger in the front seat suddenly pointed a gun at me. He demanded money by force.
He also ordered me to look downwards before the other ‘passenger,’ who was sitting next to me, forced me to lie down.
They asked if I had seen them and they also asked me the type of their car but I had to think quickly.
I lied that it was a Toyota Wish and that I didn’t see the number plates, they asked my name and I told them.
We moved to a place where there was no noise, the car stopped, and they searched everywhere and took everything, except my BP tablets, and glasses.
One of the guys ordered me out of the car, I was then dropped at St Mary’s School in Mbare.
I was then accompanied by a Good Samaritan in Mbare where I met a female dancehall artist Ninja Lispy who took me to Star FM.
I lost my phone and cash to these thieves.
</blockquote>
Police have repeatedly urged members of the public to desist from boarding pirate taxis (mushikashika) or using their vehicles as pirate taxis as they risk being robbed.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

H-Metro Photojournalist Robbed By "Mushikashika" Crew

Suspected members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and ruling ZANU PF activists reportedly assaulted senior journalist Godwin Mangudya while he was covering the ruling party’s Central Committee elections.
Mangudya was assaulted in the Harare suburb of Kuwadzana on 8 October 2022, according to <a href="https://zimbabwe.misa.org/media_violations/journalist-assaulted-and-forced-to-delete-footage-at-zanu-pf-meeting/">MISA Zimbabwe</a>.
Mangudya alerted MISA Zimbabwe that he was assaulted despite formally identifying himself and producing his press card.
He said he was detained for more than an hour, while the ZANU PF activists continuously demanded to further assault him.
CIO officers and ZANU PF security personnel reportedly confiscated Mangudya’s mobile phones and reset the gadgets resulting in him losing both his personal and work-related information.
On Friday, during a press briefing at the ZANU PF Headquarters in Harare, addressed by both the party’s Spokesperson, Christopher Mutsvangwa, and Political Commissar, Mike Bimha, the ruling party invited members of the media to cover its activities countrywide.

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