MIRROR REPORTER

MASVINGO – The Mirror Chivhu correspondent Theresa Zibowa has filed a Police report against an overzealous Chivhu General Hospital Rehabilitation Technician who broke her phone during the discharge of her duties at the hospital yesterday.
She filed the case against Andrew Sasha Mapfudza under CR25/05/24.
Mapfudza grabbed Theresa’s phone and threw it on a concrete block as she was recording the transfer of injured Mutero High School students from Chivhu Hospital to Chitungwiza Hospital.
Zibowa introduced herself to the hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Gift Tafadzwa Munjanja before discharging her duties.
She said Mapfudza simply walked up to her, grabbed the phone and threw it on a concrete blocks before scolding and demanding she leave the hospital.
Mupfudza said Theresa didn’t have permission to record inside the hospital and what he did is therefore justified although he is just a junior officer.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chairperson Golden Maunganidze condemned the behavior by the technician. He said reporters are not criminals and should be treated with respect.
“Reporters are not criminals and should be treated with respect. We urge other parties to double verify with media houses and the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) whether one is an accredited journalist or is bogus. We condemn people who take it upon themselves to break equipment which journalists depend on.
“We urge the Police to intervene when such gadgets are vandalized by overzealous individuals. We also call upon the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to timeously complete its accreditation outreach program, we are halfway into the year and ZMC has not completed its accreditation of journalists,” he said.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president George Maponga said journalism is enshrined and protected by the constitution and any attempts to stifle the profession should be strongly condemned.
“ZUJ condemns in the strongest terms rogue behavior by the technician. We want to remind and any other likeminded characters that journalism is not a crime. It is protected and enshrined in the constitution. The Mirror is a duly accredited newspaper operating in the confines of the law and has done a lot as speaking truth to those in power.
“We find it outrageous and shocking that an official at a public institution as a hospital would bar a journalist from carrying out his work. We urge law enforcement agents to investigate the matter and this should serve as a deterrent to everyone. We also urge the MCZ to conduct stakeholder consentise workshops,” he said.