Standard And Financial Gazette Under Fire For Defaming Mugabe's
Reporting by NewZimbabwe
(UK)
The Standard Newspaper and the Financial Gazette have been accused by President Robert Mugabe's official spokesman of defaming the 82-year-old leader and his wife, Grace.
In a statement on Thursday,this week Presidential Spokesman George Charamba accused privately-owned Standard newspaper and the Financial Gazette of defaming the President and his wife in two unrelated stories on the duo.The Standard reported Sunday that Agriculture Minister Joseph Made was involved in the diversion of State resources to facilitate agricultural production on three farms linked to President Mugabe's family.The paper, quoting unnamed Zanu PF officials, said Made had ordered staff from the state-run Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) to move to the three farms to provide "agricultural expertise".In a report Thursday, the Financial Gazette said First Lady Grace Mugabe had ordered the Harare City Council to allocate two stands to two gospel musicians who are regulars at State House functions, Mercy Mutsvene and Fungisai Mashavave.Charamba sought to dismiss both stories as a fabrication, and demanded that the two papers should apologise. He, however, did admit that Arda officials were on the three farms, two linked to Mugabe and one confirmed as his."Both reports are false and unfounded, and seem motivated by a malicious desire to besmirch the First Family," Charamba railed. "This cannot be allowed to go on in the name of journalism, or of the freedoms it claims for itself as a profession."At no point has she (Grace) sought to influence allocation of stands to the two artists mentioned, who in any event should be able to access residential stands in their own right, both as citizens of Zimbabwe and as residents of the city."She thus decries any defamatory suggestions linking her to the alleged allocations."Mugabe's wordsmith did, however, admit that Arda officials had been deployed at Gushungo Farm, formerly Foyle Dairy Farm, Iron Mask and Mugabe's Highfield Farm in Norton.Charamba said there was nothing irregular with Arda officials assisting a "needy farmer", since it was part of its mission.Charamba said: "The relationship between Arda and the First Family is a typical one between the parastatal and any new, needy farmer. The First Family enlisted Arda's expertise in its general cropping programmes and in identifying competent managers to underpin its farming activities."Such persons to have been identified with the assistance of Arda have joined the First Family as its full employees."The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Joseph Made, himself an agricultural expert has, as and when he has found free time, freely assisted the First Family in certain specialised agricultural activities and areas."This expression of goodwill on his part is neither untoward nor a crime. It will continue to come the First Family way for as long as the minister has the free time and will to give it."In both false reports, as indeed in any piece of journalism, common sense and decency bids respectable and responsible newspapers to first seek clarification from the affected party before rushing to publish."The First Family and the Office of the President and Cabinet expect no less from the two papers involved in these two malicious cases."No comment could be obtained from both newspapers last night.The relationship between the President, his family and the media is a strained one following the closure of several critical newspapers, including the top selling privately-owned Daily News.A government-appointed media regulatory body, the Media and Information Commission, has been accused of wrecking The Daily News' chances of getting back to the news stands by taking instructions from ministers not to re-register the paper.