Zimbabwe’s Restrictive Media Environment
The reality in Zimbabwe stands in stark contrast to constitutional guarantees. The media
environment is marked by restrictions, hostility, and outright attacks on journalists. Historical
and recent cases illustrate this troubling pattern. In 2015, journalist and political activist Itai
Dzamara was abducted in Harare and has not been seen since, a chilling reminder of the dangers
faced by those who challenge authority. In 2013, Paul Pindani was abducted and assaulted by
unknown assailants after covering politically sensitive stories. More recently, Richard Muponde,
a senior political reporter, was attacked in the course of his work.
In 2025 alone, the Zimbabwe Peace Project documented a total number of 101 human rights
violations against freedom of expression affecting 3390 people.
These incidents demonstrate a recurring pattern; journalists who attempt to hold authorities
accountable are often silenced through violence, intimidation, or harassment. Such attacks not
only traumatize individuals involved but also create a chilling effect within the broader
profession. Young journalists hesitate to join the field, while those already in the profession may
avoid covering critical issues for fear of reprisals.
Impunity for crimes against journalists sets a dangerous precedent. It gives perpetrators the
leeway to continue treating journalists as easy targets, knowing there will be no consequences.
Instead of offering protection, the state has doubled down with questionable laws that shrink the
space for media to operate.
The laws are not about justice, they are about control. In many cases, convictions are never
secured. Some statutes have been on the books for years without a single conviction. Their real
function is to intimidate; arrest journalists, hold them in lengthy pre-trial detentions, and exhaust
them into silence.
The hostility of Zimbabwe’s media environment has been long evident in the way the State
weaponized criminal law against journalists. In 2009, Zimbabwean Independent editor Vincent
Kahiya and reporter Constantine Chimakure were arrested under section 31(1)(b) of the Criminal
Code after publishing an article that exposed the role of police and intelligence officers in the
abduction and torture of opposition activists. Although their reporting relied on court documents,
they were detained overnight, dragged through courts, and kept on remand while section 31 of
the Criminal Code was referred to the Supreme Court.
Similarly in 2011 Standard Editor Nevanji Madanhire, Patience Nyangove and Loud
Ramakgapola were charged with criminal defamation under section 69 for publishing a story
about the arrest of a government minister. Later the same year Madanhire was arrested alongside
reporter Nqaba Matshazi over another investigative piece, spending a night in police cells and