Zimbabwe’s sole daily newspaper outside ruling party control on Tuesday failed to publish for the tenth successive day, following the departure of its award-winning founder-editor, Geoffrey Nyarota, in a management row many believe has deep political overtones.
Since its launch in 1999 the Daily News has been the cornerstone of emergent civil society and the challenge to President Robert Mugabe’s increasingly autocratic 23 year rule.
In January 201 its presses were blown up in a military style operation, within hours of it being described by Information Minister Jonathan Moyo as ”an enemy of the state”, but it managed to sustain publication using contract printers.
Nyarota (52) editor in chief of the Daily News, has been at loggerheads with executive chairman of its proprietors, Sam Nkomo, since Nkomo took over from Muchadeyi Masunda earlier this year.
Nkomo is a close relative of John Nkomo, chairman of Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and minister without portfolio in Mugabe’s cabinet. Nyarota’s deputy, Davison Maruziva, refused to take over the editorship said sources at the troubled newspaper, and resigned in sympathy with Nyarota.
The two men have worked closely together since the 1980s when Nyarota was fired as editor of the Bulawayo Chronicle after exposing the Willowgate scandal, in which ministers deal corruptly in state- assembled vehicles.
Assistant editor Bill Saidi, a veteran Zimbabwean journalist, has also been sidelined, the sources said. In a statement to the government daily, The Herald, Nkomo announced the dismissal of Nyarota and his replacement by John Gambamba, former editor of the government-controlled weekly The Manica Post.
Nkomo alleges Nyarota took the side of staff who struck for 15% pay increases in the face of current 175,5% inflation.
The government last week extended its freeze on prices to include that of newspapers. Nyarota allegedly agreed to give the strikers advances of their salaries.
Mugabe’s state media have been exultant over the virtual demise of what they described as ”the opposition mouthpiece”, alleging Nyarota had ”all along been unpopular with staff for vilifying President Mugabe and the government while ignoring workers’ concerns”.
It claimed that the numerous international awards Nyarota has received for courageous journalism were for news stories later proved to be false.
Sources at the Daily News said Gambanga hoped to bring out an edition on Tuesday but it has so far failed to appear. – Sapa-DPA