Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Dr Tafataona Mahoso has been appointed the CEO of Zimbabwe's new Media Commission, despite having vied for the Chairmanship of the same body, losing out to Godfrey Majonga. Mahoso is known as the "Media Hangman " because he ran the previous Media and Information Commission which presided over teh closure of several newspapers in Zimbabwe as well as the banning of several journalists from practising their craft. Harare, Zimbabwe, 29 May 2010 If proof was needed that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T are just passengers in the so-called Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe, then it was provided this last week by the appointment of Dr Tafataona Mahoso as the Chief Executive Officer of the new Zimbabwe Media Commission, which was supposed to usher in a new era of media plurality and democracy in Zimbabwe. Mahoso is accused by his detractors of being a "media hangman"in his previous incarnation as Chairman of the now defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC), which pr...

Morgan Tsvangirai embraces another "dishonest partner": The Prime Minister was congratulating newly sworn-in Vice President John Nkomo at State House last week. Today, he had reason to smile as Mugabe finally announced the names I leaked on this blog on October 5 this year. Harare, Zimbabwe, 22 October 2009 On October 5 this year (2009), I published here the list of Zimbabwe Media Commission appointees as agreed that day between Mugabe and Tsvangirai during their Monday meeting of that week in an article entitled: Scoop! - Zimbabwe Media Commission Names Released - Massive Victory For Tsvangirai. The list that I published on October 5 2009 was: Godfrey Majonga (former ZBC newsreader) Matthew Takaona, former President of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and an ardent supporter of Morgan Tsvangirai Henry Muradzikwa, who is also in the Tsvangirai camp Chris Mutsvangwa of ZANU PF, a former ambassador to China Chris Mhike Hussain Sibanda A Mrs Nyati, whose first name I could not...

President Robert Mugabe and newly sworn-in Vice-president John Nkomo in Harare yesterday, December 14 2009. ZANU PF has now been exposed to be directly responsible for media licences despite the existence of  the Inclusive Government and Morgan Tsvangirai in that government. It means that we are still operating under a one-party state in all but name. This new information also confirms the fact that it is highly unlikely that ZANU PF and Mugabe will move to licence new media (newspapers and radio stations) before the next elections Harare, Zimbabwe, 15 December 2009 1I got something of a shock yesterday when I was told by a reliable source that no licence for a radio station in Zimbabwe will be issued without the OK being given by the ZANU PF Politburo. ZANU PF is Mugabe's party and, as the source put it: "You must understand that ZANU PF is very sensitive when it comes to the media. They have been burnt before and now they are extremely careful about the airwaves and the medi...

Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe's Finance Minister, holds up the briefcase containing the 2010 National Budget last Wednesday at parliament. Biti is now being accused by ZANU PF of underfunding or denying funding to critical areas of reform, such as media. Mugabe's party has now found a new voice on sanctions, with the Zimbabwean dictator due to tell South African facilitators today that sanctions are the real reason why reform can not be implemented and that not even the MDC-T Minister of Finance, who should be funding these reforms, is also finding it tough-going with the "sanctions" in place. Harare, Zimbabwe, 08 December 2009 The Finance Minister of Zimbabwe, Tendai Biti, has frozen media hangman Tafataona Mahoso and his new Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe out of the National Budget, a revelation that also explains why Mugabe is now so virulently anti-Biti that he wants him reassigned or fired by Morgan Tsvangirai. Mahoso has requested US$156 000 but only got US$39 000 f...

Man of the moment: Morgan Tsvangirai has now got massive concessions from Mugabe on the Zimbabwe Media Commission. The new Commissioners, announced here for the first time are largely MDC. Of course, it's quid pro quo for Shamu's appointments, but still a victory for Tsvangirai all the same Harare, Zimbabwe, 05 October 2009 Impeccable sources have just confirmed that Morgan Tsvangirai has won a massive victory during his meeting with Robert "The Solution" Mugabe today at State House in Harare. Mugabe has finally agreed to the appointment of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, which replaces the body that was headed by Tafataona Mahoso, who is now Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. Mugabe will announce the Chairman of the new Zimbabwe Media Commission, which will licence newspapers, later on, but the full list of Commissioners agreed between Mugabe and Tsvangirai today is as follows: Godfrey Majonga (former ZBC newsreader) Matthew Takaona, former President ...

It appears Tafataona Mahoso (above), the bane of journalists in Zimbabwe wll bounce back, after Parliament handed the process of selecting new Commissioners to Mugabe Harare, Zimbabwe, 04 August 2009 ZANU PF has scuttled a crucial part of media reform in Zimbabwe. The party has managed to get the selection process for Commissioners to sit on the board of a new Media Commission abandoned. A recruitment company that did the job is now being "shadowy" by the State media. It had not been identified. It emerges that ZANU PF complained that they were outnumbered on the interviewing panel and they claim this led to ZANU PF favourites doing very badly. With this, all pretence that the "civil service is non-partisan" flies out of the window. ZANU PF is openly admitting that it wants people sympathetic to its cause and its politics to be the majority on that Board. The solution parliament came up with was to ensure that this happens: they have forwarded ALL the names to The S...

Premature celebration? Mr Mbanga, whose paper has grown immensely in quality since it was criticised a few years back by The Sunday Times of South Africa for being an opposition equivalent of the notorious Herald (It was Andrew Donaldson at the SA paper who made the review), should give serious thought to how he protects his consignment of newspapers coming into Zimbabwe in light of the moves being made to deny foreign-based papers the freedom granted them by Biti's Mid-Term Fiscal Policy. Read on... A day after Tendai Biti made it known in Cabinet that he would be scrapping duty completely on foreign owned and foreign-based newspapers, The Solution and his cronies hatched a plot to frustrate what they clearly see as a threat to their supremacy in terms of information dissemination and propaganda in Zimbabwe. A "Task Force" has already been put in place, led by two of the people who nearly killed Nelson Chamisa at Harare International Airport a couple of years back. Chami...

The"Rt Honourable Prime Minister" (as Mugabe prefers to address Tsvangirai in public now) seen here at the press ocnference where he announced that media was reformed on January 11. George Charamba, Mugabe's spokesman, has since told the world that the Rt Hon. PM was talking nonsense and journalists still needed to be accredited and registered A poll conducted by the Wits University and the Institute for the Advancement of Jornalism finds that the majority of respondents think that Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai's Unity Government are not sincere about media reform. The poll, published here , finds that 42.9% of respondents think that "moves towards media reform in Zimbabwe are a cynical attempt by the new unity government to fool the world" . Another 22% say the moves are doomed to fail. Only 28.8% think the moves "are a hopeful sign". This comes in response to Tsvangirai telling a press conference where he announced his capitulation to Mugabe on Pe...