Harare – Zimbabwe’s highest court on Wednesday cancelled legislation that had allowed dozens of journalists to be arrested in recent years, declaring it unconstitutional.
Four local journalists and the Namibia-based Media Institute of Southern Africa had challenged the legislation, which had allowed journalists to be arrested on charges related to defamation.
There were alternative ways to raise concerns over eventual defamation, the institute argued.
The Constitutional Court agreed that the law contravened media freedom guaranteed by the constitution.
“In a struggle, any victory is worth celebrating,” said Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Zimbabwe director for the Media Institute of Southern Africa, which campaigns for media freedom.
But “we have more laws that we want struck off” to guarantee freedom of expression, he told dpa. “We will be in court again soon,” he vowed.
President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African country since 1980, has been accused of stifling criticism of his regime.
Source:News24 Photo credit Kumbirai Mafunda
