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May the real WMDs stand up, Cde Jokonya!
By
Conrad Nyamutata
TICHAONA Jokonya,
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information and Publicity, is proving as
equal an enemy of the private press as his predecessor Jonathan Moyo.
His tasteless analogy recently of 'some journalists’ acting as 'weapons of mass destruction' (WMD) was the clearest testimony of the threat which is still faced by the tiny remnants of our private media.
When this former diplomat came into office, he invited representatives of the private media to try to “harmonise” relations with them. It makes one wonder if this gesture was not merely an attempt to mollycoddle the private media so he could earn kudos from his master for fire-fighting what is deemed to be an errant press.
In future, representatives of the private media ought to think twice about these evidently useless meetings. In reality, these “harmonisation” meetings could be nothing more than just attempts at “re-orientation”, to use Zanu PF parlance.
Remember, this is the same minister who, under his remit, customarily holds regular meetings with the State media editors and journalists to whip them into line. Are we to assume his message or motive would be any different when he meets editors and journalists from the private media?
Whatever the case, I am not in favour of these so-called harmonisation overtures. My model does not allow a great deal of harmony between the State and the media. In general, a good distance ought to be maintained between the two if the media is going to perform any meaningful service to the public.
The point is that the 'harmony model' - evident at the State media houses - would cause grievous bodily harm to democracy. In future, all private media should just have the courage to spurn such overtures. Unless they are guaranteed a frank, meaningful exchange and answers. Today's evidence, though, demonstrates the hollowness of such meetings. You need the proverbial long, wooden spoon when supping with the devil.
In dictatorships like our own, it becomes doubly fundamental for the media to bring the government to account. If the 'harmony' gets in the way of this duty, the media would become complicit and fail in this very critical function.
But pity our private media editors and journalists; these invitations are probably as good as summons. This 'classroom approach' is part of the Zanu PF intimidation strategy to stifle criticism. In the past, diplomats have been invited or summoned by the foreign ministry and 'lectured' on diplomatic etiquette.
Over the years, the rogue regime has earned its blood-dripping CV on an uncanny mix of extrajudicial and legal means in its desperate fight against its so-called enemies of the State. It has tacitly approved attacks on journalists, bombing of printing presses and has caused the charging of journalists with frivolous crimes under AIPPA in a sustained campaign of intimidation. And even now the insidious CIO element is securing newspapers. In an ill-advised strategy, the government started seizing passports of certain people, including journalists, recently. A few days ago, VOP journalists were arrested as part of this campaign against the media.
And a few weeks back, some Zanu PF officials accused Moyo - the erstwhile nemesis of the private media - of having served self-interests while in government. They questioned his unbundling of the ZBC, among other reforms. If it is time to question Moyo's legacy - and indeed it should be examined - they ought to conduct a wholesale post mortem of his devices, including AIPPA. I am sure the private media would be keen to be involved is such an exercise.
Jokonya had created the impression that the era of media repression was now behind us. You would have wanted to believe him then; he was, for a long time, at the United Nations, our international guardian of human rights. You would have thought he had learnt a few things there. Who would know better about the real weapons of mass destruction?
But I forget he was paid to defend the regime there, not to learn. At the end of the day, he is serving a vicious system.
Yet it is irresponsible, as it is cheap, to liken private media journalists in Zimbabwe to WMDs. Jokonya and company want a totally gullible and agreeable media in Zimbabwe. Any criticism or dissent makes one a weapon of foreign interests or a WMD. His was such a stupid utterance, especially when you consider that the regime he represents has blood on its hands. Without some convoluted theories, who did the media kill?
When Judgment day comes, the real murderers will have nowhere to hide, and evidence of political iniquity will point in a different direction; the Matabeleland massacres, the murder of the opposition members, invasion of farms by war veterans and murder of farmers, the shutting down of newspapers, intimidation of the judiciary, arrests of politicians and NGO activists, excesses of the Green bombers, among other human rights violations.
Now, Mr Jokonya,
may the real weapons of mass destruction please stand up.
Conrad Nyamutata is a former chief reporter for The Daily News.
He is now based in Leicester, UK. He can be contacted at nyamutata@yahoo.com
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