Mugabe henchmen threaten to shoot journalists

IDEN WETHERELL, ZIMBABWE INDEPENDENT EDITOR

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By newzimbabwe.com staff/Zim Independent
19/12/03
ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe's henchmen have threatened to "shoot everyone" at The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper - one of two of the last remaining independent papers in Zimbabwe.

The chilling message to "shoot" the journalists was delivered by telephone to one of the paper's reporters after the officials were named in a corruption case involving illegal gold trade.

The editor of the Zimbabwe Independent, Iden Wetherell said: "We will not be silenced by Zanu PF officials threatening us through government mouthpieces like the Herald. If they had a grievance against this newspaper they should have informed us through their lawyers. Instead, one of the two named as taking legal action against us, George Makombe, phoned our newsroom on December 8 and threatened our reporters."

Makombe told reporter Blessing Zulu: "I will come to that paper and shoot everyone. I will make sure that the paper is closed."

Two Kwekwe Zanu PF officials announced to the official Herald newspaper that they had each filed a $300 million lawsuit against The Zimbabwe Independent for publishing a story claiming they were used as fronts by Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa in illegal gold dealings.

Makombe denied that he was a Zanu PF official. He then called news editor Vincent Kahiya who referred him to reporter Shakeman Mugari who had co-authored the story with Zulu.

After a few minutes Mugari handed the phone back to Kahiya saying Makombe was threatening him.

Makombe told Kahiya that he had never spoken to Mugari on Wednesday, December 3, a day before the story was compiled. He said he was in Masvingo at the time preparing for the Zanu PF conference. Mugari has a record of their conversation on December 3.

Makombe asked Kahiya where Mugari lived and how old he was. He said he had liberated this country and had spent years in the bush "dodging bullets".

"I liberated this country," said Makombe. "You are lucky that I am in Kwekwe. If I was in Harare I was going to come there and shoot everybody. How old is that young man? Does he know that I can destroy him completely? I can inflict violence on him," he said.

Kahiya reminded Makombe that he was making threats on the phone, which was an offence, to which Makombe replied the story in the paper was a bigger offence.

He said that MDC Kwekwe MP Blessing Chebundo had passed on the information to the Independent because his party had lost the Kwekwe mayoral election in October.

"You have to ask yourself why Chebundo lives in Kadoma when he is the MP for Kwekwe," said Makombe. "I chased him out of Kwekwe. You can ask him. He knows all about me and the terror I can cause," he said.

In the Independent's report of December 5, Mines minister Edward Chindori-Chininga said the three men named had not been authorised to issue gold licences. "Those three officials are illegal and their syndicates are also illegal," he told this paper. Mnangagwa denied any involvement - The Zimbabwe Independent
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