Sanef welcomes Hopewell Chin’ono release but concerns remain

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has reacted to the release of Zimbabwean journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono – expressing concern over the lack of media freedom in the neighbouring country.

Chin’ono was arrested in July 2020 after he was accused of inciting public violence during anti-government protests which had flared up across the country.

He was released on bail by the High Court in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, 2 September 2020.

“What I saw back there validates the claims I have been making that money is being stolen by this government. The prison hospital has nothing, they couldn’t even check my high blood pressure. Looting of public funds and plundering of resources must stop”, he said outside court.

The forum said it stands by other Zimbabwean journalists in condemning injustices faced by members of the fraternity, both in the country and the rest of the continent.

“We welcome the release of Chin’ono but believe that this was an abusive move in the first place. All these spurious charges should be dropped against him with immediate effect. Further, we note the tremendous courage and resoluteness shown by Chin’ono upon his release from jail on Wednesday”, said SANEF chairperson Sbu Ngalwa.

Sanef: Ramaphosa needs to intervene

The group has called on the Zimbabwean government to allow journalists to do their work freely without fear and political hindrance.

“This especially as Zimbabwe has declared to Africa and the world that it is a democracy”, Ngalwa said.

Sanef has further called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the matter, in his capacity  current African Union (AU) Chairperson, saying 2020 had become a dark period for media freedom – something they say is concerning.

“We remain deeply concerned that 2020 has become a dark period for media freedom worldwide considering the increase in the number of journalists jailed in various countries since the beginning of lockdowns brought about by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic”, they added.

Chin’ono had exposed details surrounding COVID-19-related corruption to the tune of millions of dollars in the country, implicating a number of government officials.

His case has been postponed to 14 September 2020 and he intends speaking out about his experience in prison.

“I remain strong. The government made a mistake taking us in there because we only used to hear about it but now we know and we can write authoritatively about those things. They have removed me from Twitter, but now I will write from Facebook and also for local media sharing my experiences.”