Grand looting and fraud suspected at AMH …as non‑payment of workers’ salaries continues into 2026

Serious allegations of fraud, looting and financial mismanagement have emerged at Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), with workers claiming they have gone for more than a year without proper salaries while management continues to impose unilateral changes to contracts and benefits.


AMH owns NewsDay, The Standard, the Zimbabwe Independent, Southern Eye and the Heart & Soul radio and television platforms.

Workers say they went through the festive season without a cent and opened the 2026 school term unable to pay fees, rent or basic bills, while management “sees nothing wrong” with its continued failure to pay staff.

According to employees, the crisis goes beyond unpaid salaries. They allege that management has arbitrarily demoted staff and scrapped long‑standing benefits — including fuel allocations for senior staff and airtime allowances for all employees — without consultation or contractual amendments.

Workers fear that the scrapped benefits are being diverted for the personal gain of senior managers.

“We are not being paid, and on top of that our allowances and benefits were illegally scrapped. Some of us were entitled to fuel and airtime every month, and all this was suddenly removed. Who is taking our benefits? This is serious fraud,” said one concerned worker.

Another employee accused the company of deducting Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) subscription fees from salaries but failing to remit the money.

“We discovered this when submitting entries for the awards. The union told us AMH has not been remitting subscriptions. Yet every month the company deducts union dues. Is this not fraud?” the worker said.

Employees also revealed that many were forced to cancel their medical aid policies last year after being denied treatment because AMH had not paid service providers - despite payslips showing medical aid deductions.

“At some point I had to make a self‑payment after falling ill. The medical aid company told me my account was not up to date. If this is not fraud, what is it?” said another worker.

Staff members are now calling for independent forensic auditors to investigate AMH’s finances, saying some managers “are good candidates for prison”.

They dispute claims that the company is struggling, arguing that the alleged financial crisis is being manufactured to enable looting.

Earlier this month, workers received between US$50 and US$130 — amounts described as part‑payment for January 2025 salaries. Employees say the payments are almost uniform across grades because allowances that previously differentiated senior and junior staff were removed.

Workers have filed claims with an independent arbitrator in Harare and await a ruling.

Since last year, AMH has reportedly stopped issuing payslips, leaving employees unaware of their official salaries or deductions.

Reports circulating among staff allege that some top officials are building mansions despite the company’s claimed financial distress, raising further questions about the source of the funds.

Some workers say if the situation continues, they will push for AMH to be placed under judicial management, arguing that the current leadership has “totally failed” to run the company.