The charred remains of the delivery truck ambushed on Saturday 24 May 2008 while carrying the Zimbabwean on Sunday across the border from South Africa. Photo: The Zimbabwean

Pressure is mounting on media in Zimbabwe as President Mugabe is taking new measures to control the media in an attempt to win the re-election on 27 June

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his regime is said to be waging an all out war on media in an allegedly impossible battle to win the second round of the general election in Zimbabwe planned to take place on 27 June 2008.

After the election on 29 March in which Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF Party was defeated by the opposition, national as well as international media continue to publish reports documenting the violent public punishments exercised by government-controlled units against opposition voters in villages around the country.

Raphael Khumalo, Chief Executive of the Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard, who is a member of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, which is an independent initiative supported by IMS, explained the situation in an interview with IMS:

- In the run up to the harmonised presidential and parliamentary elections held on the 29^th March, opposition candidates had relatively easy access to state controlled media upon payment of agreed fees and as stipulated in the Electoral Act. This included airtime on radio and TV, which are all state-controlled as well as coverage in the daily newspapers that are also state-controlled.

The ruling party has attributed its loss in part to the fact that the opposition got access to the public channels of communication. Thus in the presidential election run off ZANU-PF will ensure that the opposition is prevented from accessing all state controlled media in particular radio which is easily accessible by rural voters, says Raphael Khumalo.

How worse can it get?

According to the Zimbabwe Independent, the minister for Information and Publicity, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu reportedly told the Bulawayo Press Club that the government was planning to tighten controls on the media.

In light of the difficulties already facing Zimbabwean media which has forced many media practitioners to take refuge in neighbouring South Africa, from where they report and have newspapers sent up in the truckloads, it may seem difficult for the outsider to see how the situation for media could possibly worsen?

Yes it will get worse. The ruling party will use all means fair or foul. They see it as a war, says Raphael Khumalo referring to the well-documented beatings up of people in rural areas as well as disappearances of perceived opposition party supporters.

Rising number of assaults against media

Lately, national as well as international press monitors have recorded a growing number of incidents concerning the press.

On Saturday 24 May, a truck loaded with 60,000 copies of the Zimbabwean On Sunday, a newspaper produced by exiled Zimbabwean media practitioners in South Africa and shipped by truck to Zimbabwe every week, was stopped and torched by unidentified persons.

One of the most recent cases of assaults against a media practitioner concerned the editor of The Standard, Davison Maruziva. He was arrested on 8 May on allegations of publishing an opinion article by MDC leader Arthur Mutambara that was deemed prejudicial to the state. According to the Zimbabwe Independent, the opinion article concerned the delayed release of the results of the general election held in Zimbabwe on 29 March this year.

Earlier, The Standard published several photos of people who had allegedly been beaten and tortured. After visiting the police station where Maruziva was held to argue his release, Raphael Khumalo says he got the clear impression, that the arrest was an act of punishment:

- In the meeting we had between our lawyers and the officer commanding Harare district, Law and Order section we pointed out to him that the allegations against the editor had no chance of success in court. As the officers were not willing to divulge reasons why they would not release Maruziva, it became clear to us that the decision to hold him in the cells overnight had come from higher authorities and was a clear case of the police meting out punishment, says Raphael Khumalo.

According to Raphael Khumalo, Davison Maruziva was released the next day after appearing before a magistrate, paying ten billion Zimbabwean dollars bail and ordered to report on Mondays to the police. (One United States dollar is equivalent to four hundred and thirty million Zimbabwean dollars). The case was due to be heard on the 23^rd May but was later moved to the 5^th June where trial will then be expected to commence.

- In any event if past cases are anything to go by, this one will go nowhere as it is unfounded. But of course the case will achieve its intended purpose as the editor will think twice before publishing something in the future even though he is determined to follow his conscience and professional instinct, rather than submitting to self-censorship, says Raphael Khumalo.

Media: this is the end of it all

He suggests that President Mugabe is right in fearing his term is coming to an end explaining that the Zimbabwe Independent recently reported that the country's inflation rate had reached 100 000 000% (one million per cent) whilst the government controlled Herald reported the exchange rate to the United States dollar to be between Z$408 million to Z$498 million.

Similarly, the weekly Sunday Mail this week reported that parents of children at some boarding schools were being asked to pay 220 billion Zimbabwean dollars in addition to the fees already paid as the schools could no longer afford looking after children due to the rising cost of living .

- The situation on the ground is extremely bad as people are having great difficulty in making ends meet. In the face of extreme shortages of basic commodities and rising prices of goods and services, the ruling party is promising more of the same. It is clear to everybody that the current policies are not going to make people's lives any better and that if anything things are going from bad to worse. This is why the ruling party is pulling out all resources to win the 27 June election using whatever means are at its disposal, Raphael Khumalo says.

He explains that among the media there is a growing perception that the election will be the end of it all.

- This is why, says Raphael Khumalo, media have a huge responsibility to report as independently as they can - it will be critical for the independent media to pass this test.

As far as the state-controlled media is concerned, Raphael Khumalo is of the opinion, that the coming month will be a do or die battle, as they will put everything aside to devote all their energy, space and time in support of the incumbent President.