Shut Journalists to Shut Development!

The recent arrest and detention of the Sunday Mail Editor, Mabasa Sasa and his two journalists, over a story in which Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) top cop was implicated in the poaching of elephants in Hwange, is a sad development which can compromise the new dawn of the democratization process that was ushered in by the new constitution which is being celebrated for opening the media democratic space.

Media has a natural right to act independently as the watch-dog on the operations of society with the prime aim of checks and balances on the abuse of power and excesses, exposing corruption and scandals as well as anti-social activities in society.

In the execution of this critical responsibility, media practitioners are under mandatory prerogative responsibility to employ highest level of ethical conduct which includes the observation of objectivity, accuracy, truthfulness, fairness, factuality, reliability and credibility among other fundamental cardinal values.

This can be enhanced by ensuring that all human partners involved in the story are given due respect by affording them the right to reply to allegations, especially where criminality is fingered. Due diligence should be engaged to verify the validity and authenticity of all components that make up the story. This calls for the verification of all facts, especially with independent sources, before the ultimate publication of any story.

In doing so, the media contribute immensely in fighting vices that are bedeviling our society. In this vein, therefore, the media is an open source of crime intelligence where the law enforcement authorities can extrapolate some essential leads to investigation of crimes committed by some unscrupulous citizens in our society.

A good story out of investigative journalism works as a powerful foundation for the police to kick-start thorough interrogations, the circumstances and on those fingered to have committed crimes.

If this type of professional co-existence subsists between the ZRP and the media fraternity, certainly, our society will develop and realize the need to appreciate the roles of both partners in society. It seems unclear if the ZRP did due diligence to ascertain the truthfulness or falsity of the story which was published by the Sunday Mail this week, or they hastened to deflate the messenger that was delivering the golden message on matters that have a negative bearing on national interest.

In recent months over 100 jumbos were lost to illegal hunting. These elephants are part of the local wild life which is under threat by global poachers that are robbing us of our national heritage. Surely, it is every citizen's responsibility worry over the safety of our natural resources for they should benefit the rightful persons in a formal way, as opposed to fattening and lining pockets of criminals.

The Sunday Mail reporters were giving hints and possible basis upon which perpetrators of such high profile criminals can possibly be further investigated and get arrested for justice to take its course. Instead, the speed at which the police rushed to act, barely 24 hours after the publication of the story is suspicious.

The intentional violation of the constitutional rights of the reporters by ZRP which was demanding their sources of the news items without engaging into independent investigation is not accidental. On section 61 of the new constitution, it is quite explicitly stated that media in Zimbabwe should enjoy the unlimited freedom in its operations and journalists should keep their sources confidential.

The most ordinary citizen cannot be convinced that the police were acting in a veil of ignorance. They are the most conscious persons on the legal implications of their actions from a well informed point of view. Is the arrest of the Sunday Mail journalists, a case of mere harassment of journalists at the expense of covering the back of the potential criminal fingered in the article? It is equally interesting to note that, the police were the complainants as well as the law enforcement agents in this matter. Therefore, possibility of impartiality is cast in doubt as prejudice may be given more room.

It is high time that legal system should go back to the drawing board and have a re-look into the matter faced by the Sunday Mail crew. However, on the other hand, if the reporters deliberately violated the key ethics that drive the journalism profession, they should be charged for falsification and /or fabrication of information propelled by malice. Justice should prevail in all cases, while the police are also expected to clear themselves from possible ill-intentions in their actions.

The Zimbabwean society is currently grappling with gross corruption engulfing the public and private sector in our country; therefore, the media have a pivotal role to play by exposing the rotten elements in our society. If the guillotine is drawn out menacingly against the watchdogs, then the society is under siege, hence, ‘shut the journalists to shut development.'

While we should tolerate the autonomy and independence of the police force, they are also under constitutional mandatory obligation to act in a reasonable manner in order to boost confidence amongst citizens in the execution of their duties and responsibilities in society.

Media needs to be safe-guarded against its possible degeneration into lap-dog role in our society or we perish.