Journalists Gift Phiri and Tendai Mupazviriko have been at the receiving end of and the freelancer, former ZBC cameraman Edward Chikomba, was found beaten to death due to his dissident voice.

Today, the police refused to approve processions that were planned in all the provinces of Zimbabwe as journalists sought to expose their desperate plight. Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) asked for police permission to demonstrate in Harare but this was inevitably denied.

Zimbabwe is an increasingly dangerous and difficult place to report current affairs. Since the turn of the year, the closure of the many newspapers has had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of journalists. Titles such as the Daily News, the Daily Mirror, the Tribune and the Weekly Times have all had to stop publication due to financial crises and state intervention.

“The Zimbabwean government make no secret of silencing opponents of their rule. They recently admitted for the first time to jamming private and rural radio stations. It’s a deeply disappointing and worrying time for journalists in Zimbabwe” said Kathryn Llewellyn, Head of Campaigns for the campaigning organisation Action for Southern Africa.

There was a lengthy discussion at the House of Lords yesterday concerning the state of free press and the regulation of NGO work in Zimbabwe. The current regime was described as being “vile” and “ruthless””, while Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman identified that “an energetic and free press is a precondition for a healthy civil society” which is sadly the polar opposite to the current plight of the Zimbabwean media.