The Guardian‘s correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, was put on trial in Harare on Wednesday accused of publishing a false story in a test case for the state’s restrictive media laws. If convicted he could face up to two years in prison.
Meldrum (50), an United States citizen who has lived in Zimbabwe since 1980, pleaded not guilty to knowingly publishing false information without verifying the facts. The state prosecutor, Thembani Mpofu, said Meldrum had been charged under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act because he had abused journalistic privilege by publishing falsehoods.
The story that led to the prosecution was printed in The Guardian in April. It reported claims in an independent local newspaper, the Daily News, that Brandina Tadyanemhandu (53), a mother of eight, had been decapitated in front of several of her children by supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party near Karoi, north-west of Harare. The story was carried by a number of British papers and international news agencies.
The account was confirmed, at the time, by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). But doubts have since been raised about the credibility of the woman’s husband and the MDC has admitted it fears he tricked the party.
The only prosecution witness to appear on Wednesday was Julia Musopero, who, the court was told, was the sister of the dead woman. Musopero said Tadyanemhandu had died of Aids in Seke several weeks before the Daily News reported her alleged beheading.
She said the dead woman’s boyfriend, who identified himself to the Daily News as Enos Tadyanemhandu, was in fact George Nyadzayo.
Meldrum’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, told the court the prosecution had not proved that Tadyanemhandu was the woman referred to in the article, nor that there was any case to answer. The police had not initially responded to inquiries and the main source of the report, the husband, had still not been questioned, she said.
Meldrum, a permanent resident, is the first of 12 journalists arrested under the new laws to face trial. The trial continued on Thursday.