Zimbabwe CIO director's relative assault pregnant woman

Media rights groups have expressed their shock and condemnation after a journalist, who is 6 months pregnant, was assaulted by a man who boasted about being related to a director of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), SWRadio reports.

Paidamowo Chipunza, who works for the state controlled Herald newspaper, was assaulted while covering a news story at Harare Central Hospital. She was attacked by a student nurse, Ignatius Zuze, who punched her in the stomach and slapped her. Zuze also turned on Herald photographer Innocent Makawa and damaged his camera.

Zuze was arrested for assault and property damage and according to the Herald he admitted assaulting the journalists, saying they had photographed him without his consent. On why he had attacked a pregnant woman, he reportedly said: "We are equal. That is what they call gender equality. She is just like anyone else."

According to media watchdog, MISA-Zimbabwe, Zuze boasted that nothing would happen to him as his uncle was a CIO director and that the journalists were going to lose their jobs.

MISA-Zimbabwe said on Friday that it condemns the assault of the journalists and "finds it galling that the assailant could not restrain himself from attacking a pregnant woman."

"This underlines some of the extra-legal hindrances to free journalism enterprise. These violations of media freedom have been engendered by a culture of impunity where several cases involving attacks on journalists especially those working for the independent media by political party activists, have largely been ignored by the authorities," MISA-Zimbabwe said.

This attack on the Herald journalists comes as there has been an apparent concerted effort by ZANU PF to clamp down on the independent media, by harassing vendors and destroying papers. This week ZANU PF supporters destroyed copies of the privately owned NewsDay newspapers and harassed its vendors, ahead of ZANU PF's 'anti-sanctions' rally.

No action has been taken against the culprits or those accused of similar attacks in recent weeks. MISA-Zimbabwe also said that no progress has been reported on investigations into the burning of a car carrying copies of the privately-owned Zimbabwean in 2008, the bombings of The Daily News offices in 2000, its printing press in 2001 and Radio VOP offices in 2002.

"The police's prompt response to attacks on The Herald journalists and their seeming failure to act on a catalogue of similar cases involving the private media only casts them as partisan and selectively enforcing the law," MISA-Zimbabwe said.

The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) meanwhile has also strongly condemned the attack and harassment of the two Herald journalists, and expressed concern about "increased attacks on media personnel."

VMCZ Director Takura Zhangazha told SW Radio Africa that "those obstructing the work of journalists and destroying media products are working to seek to deny the constitutionally enshrined right of the people of Zimbabwe to receive and impart information."

"We are appealing to society at large to refrain from attacking journalists and destroying media products. We further urge that members of the public allow journalists to do their job freely and without harassment or any forms of attack," Zhangazha said.