Zimbabwe has been ranked at 130 out of 180 countries in 2021 compared to its ranking at 126 in 2020, new rankings by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) show. In the report, RSF said the rankings showed that the page had not been turned from the late former president Robert Mugabe’s era. The report, however, also notes some positive developments.

RSF noted that on assumption of office, President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to reinforce the pillars of democracy, including the media, which were harassed and gagged for 37 years under Mugabe.

“However, Mnangagwa was notorious for suppressing dissent when he was national security minister and his first steps with regard to press freedom have been marked more by promises than anything like the concrete progress for which those journalists had hoped,” RSF say.

On the positives, RSF said access to information has improved and selfcensorship has declined, but journalists are still often attacked or arrested.

“The blocking of social media at the start of 2019, when major protests against a fuel price hike were being organised, shows that the regime has not renounced the use of cyber-censorship to prevent information from circulating,” the report said.

“Hopes of journalistic renewal were further dampened in 2020 when Zimbabwe positioned itself between Nigeria and Uganda on the podium of Africa’s most repressive countries with regard to the coverage of the coronavirus crisis.”

The report noted the arrest of Hopewell Chin’ono, the journalist who played a role in exposing corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment. RSF noted that Chin’ono’s arrest and detention was a glaring symbol of government’s failure to turn the page on the years-long predatory behaviour towards press freedom.

It further said the security apparatus has not yet lost the habit of harassing journalists and acts of intimidation, verbal attacks and confiscation of equipment are all still standard practice.

“Extremely harsh media laws are still in effect and, when new laws have been adopted, their provisions are just as draconian as those they replaced,” RSF said.

Misa Zimbabwe