Zimbabwe journalists to seek clarity on ruling

The independent Daily News has again been closed

Journalists from the Daily News, Zimbabwe's independent newspaper, will go to court today to seek clarification on a Supreme Court order, which banned reporters from working without media accreditation. Gugulethu Moyo, the newspaper's legal advisor, said an urgent application would be filed in the High Court to seek an order to determine the rights of journalists.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that it was a criminal offence for a journalist to practice in Zimbabwe without official accreditation from a government-appointed media commission. It endorsed legislation tightening government control over the media, ruling the laws did not violate free speech.

The ruling meant that journalists would have to get permission from Jonathan Moyo, the Information Minister, to work as independent journalists, by means of accreditation.

Peta Thornycroft, the SABC correspondent in Zimbabwe, said the Daily News's journalists would today seek assurance that they would not be arrested if they went to work while the media commission decided on whether they would be registered. They were refused registration last year.

According to the court ruling, working as journalist without permission from the information minister would result in a stiff prison sentence.