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'Sky News' crew jailed in Zimbabwe
By Lindie Whiz
THREE South African men arrested on a Zimbabwean highway and found in
possession of “illegal” television equipment bearing logo
of Britain’s Sky television were jailed
for six months each on Monday.
The men were intercepted at a police roadblock in Mbalabala, about 60km south of Bulawayo. They told police they had been hired to take the equipment to Johannesburg.
Bernet Hasani Sono, 34, Resemate Boy Chauke, 46, and Simon Maodi alias Musimani, 38, had pleaded guilty to contravening Section 33 (1) of the Postal and Telecommunications Act, Chapter 12.03, before Matabeleland provincial magistrate, John Masimba, last Thursday.
Sono and Musimani were given a further six weeks in jail for breaking immigration laws.
The passing of sentence had to be postponed to the afternoon on Monday after prison authorities failed to bring remand prisoners to court due to fuel problems. The prosecution team, led by Walter Bongani Dube of the Attorney General’s Office, had to make alternative transport arrangements for the trio.
Last Friday, Masimba indicated that although their sentences were ready he was unable to hand them down after Dube applied for the forfeiture of the motor vehicle and the broadcasting equipment -- includingt a satellite dish, a computer with the Sky logo and video tapes -- recovered following the men’s arrest.
Dube said since it was agreed the vehicle did not belong to the three men and that the equipment recovered in the motor vehicle was not theirs, the court could not return any of the property to them.
On Monday, the magistrate granted the prosecutor’s application for the forfeiture of the motor vehicle and all the broadcasting equipment.
In passing sentence, the magistrate noted that the three men were not journalists “but had in their possession broadcasting equipment”. Mere possession, said Masimba, was an offence.
The magistrate further heard that Sono and Musimani failed to present themselves to the immigration authorities when they entered through the Beitbridge border post – a sure sign, he said, that they were bent on breaking the laws of the country.
Masimba told the men before sentencing: “This country is not a banana republic. It has laws, which must be observed and respected by both its citizens and foreigners.
“The country would be sending a wrong signal if it treats leniently persons who sneak into the country and commit an offence and are caught on their way out. It should be clear to everyone who allows himself to be used in the commission of an offence under the pretext of being hired that they must be equally prepared to face the consequences.”
He added that the men took a risk and “must now face the music”.
Addressing the court on special circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence, the men’s lawyer, Tawengwa Hara, had submitted that the vehicle in which the trio was driving had been hired from Sono’s employers.
He further argued that the men were not aware what was contained in the boxes that they intended to take out of the country and that the broadcasting equipment was not theirs. Hara had urged the magistrate to impose a financial penalty.
The magistrate, however, found that the men knew what was in the boxes as the statement of agreed facts, which was not challenged, showed that one of the boxes was closed but not locked.
Sky News is just one of dozen other foreign TV networks banned from covering Zimbabwe’s March 29 elections. But the TV station did manage to get some of its reporters on Zimbabwean soil, ignoring warnings by the Zimbabwe government.
Last Friday, Sky News’ Johannesburg bureau chief Dan Williams said the men were not Sky News staff. “We are investigating the matter,” he said, declining further comment.
But after the men's sentencing, the broadcaster issued a statement, saying: "We deplore the harsh sentence given to the South African drivers. We will be appealing this and put our trust in the Zimbabwean justice system."
The network has been criticised for failing to take sufficient precautions to protect the drivers and others who helped it, given the government's hostility to foreign news organisations.
Zimbabwean prosecutors say Sono and Musimani entered Zimbabwe at 6AM on Friday last week through the Beitbridge border post without valid travelling documents and failed to present themselves to the immigration authorities.
On the same day, the pair, now in the company of Chauke, was driving along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road towards Beitbridge enroute to South Africa when they encountered a roadblock mounted by police and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officers just after 5PM.
While the police were carrying out their routine checks, they saw some boxes loaded in the motor vehicle. One of the police officers opened one of the boxes, which was closed but not locked, and discovered that it contained some broadcasting and communication equipment, prosecutors said.
The men failed to give a satisfactory explanation to the possession of the equipment leading to their arrest.
The men led police to Number 13, Bessborough Road, Belmont, in Bulawayo where they had picked up the equipment. The premises are owned by Craig Markram Edy of Hillside, Bulawayo.
Edy has been arrested and will appear in court on Friday this week. Masimba granted him $40 billion bail with strict reporting conditions, but the prosecutor invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act which means Edy cannot be admitted to bail until Dube has made an appeal against the court’s decision to grant him bail.
On Masimba’s terms, Edy had been expected to report twice a week to Hillside Police.
Edy, 42, has not
been formally charged.
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