Banned Daily News journalist's trial opens

Banned Daily News journalist's trial opens

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By Staff Reporter

THE trial of a journalist from Zimbabwe's banned Daily News charged with practising journalism without a licence opened in Harare Thursday.

Kelvin Hamunyare Jakachira denied charges of breaching the country's tough media laws when he appeared before magistrate, Priscilla Chigumba.

He was remanded out of custody on free bail to 17 August this year when the magistrate will rule on a defence motion to throw out the charges against the newsman.

Jakachira is charged with breaching the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa). State lawyers say he worked as a journalist between January 1 and September 2003 without accreditation as required in terms of the Act.

Jakachira's lawyers contend that the journalist applied for a licence from the government-appointed media regulatory body -- the Media and Information Commission -- but never received a response.

"At no time during the relevant period did the MIC advise him or his employer of its determination of the application and he was therefore entitled to continue working as a journalist by virtue of the provisions of section 8 of Statutory Instrument 169C of 2002," a defence outline stated.

"He will further contend that at the relevant time, the Administrative Court determined that there was no lawfully constituted MIC to which media houses and journalists could apply for registration and accreditation and that it was impossible, therefore, to be lawfully accredited."

Jakachira's lawyers also argue that by ruling against the journalist, the magistrate would be overturning a High Court decision by Justice Yunus Omerjee who ruled in 2003 that the paper could continue operating after it had filed an application with the MIC.

Dr Tafataona Mahoso, the MIC chairman has however said the MIC turned down Jakachira's application, and that of other Daily News journalists.

The Daily News was banned in September 2003 after the paper failed to register in terms with the new Act.
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