NewsDay attack on Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga unjustified

The attack on the  Secretary General of the MDC Priscillar Misihairabwi Mushonga by Conway Tutani the Newsday Senior Sub editor and columnist on the Newsday of 4 November 2011 is totally unacceptable and unjustified. The attack arises from a newspaper article that falsely accuses Mushonga of not being sensitive to the illness of Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khuphe yet it is on public record that she has been genuinely sympathetic to Khuphe whom they have been in trenches together for a long time.

The Story that came out of the Chronicle has been proven to be a total fabrication and outright lies. In their own words the Chronicle have made an apology for their lie. In page two of the Thursday 4 Novemeber edition the Chronicle says: "In a story entitled MP calls for bedroom sanctions Published in the Chronicle of Tuesday November 2 2011 we quoted the MDC Secretary General as having blasted people of Matabeleland as lacking political ambition, We erroneously quoted her as saying 'something is wrong with the people from this region. Why do you always fight to become deputies to Shonas Look at Khuphe the MDC deputy president has lost all her hair fighting to be Tsvangirai's deputy "These words were never said by Mrs Misihairabwi Mushonga and we unreservedly apologise for the anguish and anxiety that might be caused by her." So even after the Chronicle in their own words have made such a retraction Tutani of the Newsday still wants to make a big issue out of a lie and thus promote alarm and despondency.

It is common cause that Tutani whose articles are limited in substance wants to behave like a guerrilla columnist attacking everyone left right and centre and denying them the right to a response. Such kind of abuse of Media space by people like Tutani flies in the face of the very struggles that Zimbabweans went to trenches for to ensure that we enjoy media freedom and plurality. If people like Tutani would pound on other Zimbabweans on his columns every Friday and fail to give them the space to respond where then is professionalism in their publications. Tutani should give himself time to think before putting pen to paper otherwise he is a big disgrace to the Newsday. I am surprised the Brian Mangwende an experienced editor who heads a national paper like the  Newsday will allow the newspaper to have a one way engagement.

I think it's time that he makes a self-introspection and realises that it does not help his paper to grow if he makes it a conveyor belt of one section of ideas and denies the other section. I am sure the owners of the paper will not be amused especially given the poor show on sales in the recent media survey. Trevor Ncube was all over the place explaining to the advertisers how distorted those figures were, I do sympathise with him but maybe he should also ask his editors how they are relating with the readers and how they treat their feedback.

I find it strange that Tutani has found it relevant to fuel a discussion over an issue that has been closed. That discussion never was as the people who initiated it have clearly apologised and retracted, so where is the story Mr Tatani? And Now Tutani wants to incite women groups to do something about nothing, if people have nothing to write they should not just fulfil a fixture. The writings that come to the public space should clearly be of value and based on facts and not this ranting by Tutani. People like Tutani and all other people who hate Mushonga for being resolute in her pronouncements that all regions should get equal share from the national cake thought they had for the first time caught Mushonga offside and thus wanted to use the allegations to crucify her for saying let all Zimbabweans have have equal share in the national resources. Tutani is pathetic to say the least and I challenge him to come out and his is in fact a danger to the media fraternity especially given his propensity to lie and writing without reasoning.

He is even more dangerous because he and his editor are notorious for denying other people the right to respond. It is embarrassing for any paper to talk about someone and not allow them a right to a response, it is further embarrassing if you are an editor to find people beginning to use alternative media to respond to you. It shows that you are suppressing debate like what happens in the Newsday. I challenged Tutani three weeks ago to publish an article that responded to an issues he raised on regionalism and up to now he has not.

All he could do was to send me an email trying to patronise me and playing a tribal card by telling me that he is of Nguniorigion and if you are Nguni so what? Is that a ticket to writing without reasoning. I ask Tutani where is my article and why are you not publishing it. The people want to know what we think about your writings. If you are  democratic as you want to project yourself to be then walk the talk and not be a coward.

Tutani who has not managed to raise even a single debate on national issues should know that it does not make him a star writer to try to make smoothing out of nothing. If the Chronicle have said there is no story on the issues about Mushonga, why does the Newsday want to make it an issue out of nothing .This sick writing by Tutani is really sick and no one should take it seriously. Voluntary Media Council, JOMIC and the Zimbabwe Media Commission are  definitely going to  receive a complaint from us about such irresponsible behaviour.

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Qhubani Moyo is the National Organising Secretary of the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube. He is contactable on qmoyo2000@yahoo.co.uk