A Zimbabwe journalist who wrote an article this month claiming the country’s police chief was unwell, has been sentenced to three months in jail under the Police Act, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Reporter Tawanda Majoni, a former policeman, was employed by the private Daily Mirror newspaper before retiring from the police, which is technically an offence, said his lawyer.
”He was convicted by a disciplinary court in terms of the Police Act,” the lawyer Johannes Tomana said. The reporter was also fined 500 Zimbabwe dollars ($9).
On September 9 Majoni wrote an article in the Daily Mirror’s first edition alleging that Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri was unhealthy and unfit for duty.
The article was immediately dismissed as untrue. Majoni was arrested and questioned a few days later by police before being charged under the Police Act and ordered to appear before a police hearing.
”The sentence is harsh under the circumstances,” said Tomana, adding that his client had appealed against both the conviction and sentence.
He said the state also alleged Majoni gathered information for the article before he had been properly retired from the police on September 4 and this was said to be ”in conflict with his being an officer.”
”We think they have erred,” added Tomana.
President Robert Mugabe’s government has been criticised both in Zimbabwe and abroad for its alleged harassment of journalists who are critical of the state.
Under tough press laws introduced this year, publishing false information is punishable by a stiff fine, a prison sentence, or both. – Sapa-AFP