By Dennis Rekayi
African Path
July 21, 2007
http://www.africanpath.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=1634
Harare - A media watchdog in Zimbabwe says the coverage of the alleged adultery case involving Archbishop Pius Ncube of the Bulawayo Archdiocese by the State media is an affront to ethical journalism.
The Zimbabwe Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the reportage was unfair and unbalanced.
"The coverage of the purported revelations
and 'scoop' by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC), The Chronicle and The Herald are an affront to ethical journalism and the principle of fair and balanced reporting especially as the matter is before the courts and therefore subjudice," said Loughty Dube, Misa-Zimbabwe chairman in a statement.
"The state media has embarked on a parallel 'legal process' and persecution of the Archbishop an act which should be condemned as unacceptable from any media that intends to be respected and believed by society."
Dube said the state media coverage of this case reinforces concerns that the state media are used as political weapons against perceived enemies of Zimbabwe's ruling elite.
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| Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube. |
"The showing of graphic pictures of the alleged moments of intimacy of parties allegedly involved in this matter smack of an agenda far beyond normal journalistic reporting," the Misa-Zimbabwe chairman said.
"The pictures which the state media claims prove the case against Archbishop Ncube are not only disrespectful of the legal processes underway but show a hidden agenda to tarnish the respected reputation and image of the Archbishop once and for all."
He added: "MISA-Zimbabwe expresses outrage at the disrespect and demeaning manner in which ZBC interviewed the alleged woman in this case. Laying siege and shoving microphones in front of people and asking personal questions on HIV-AIDS among others go on to show the sensationalism upon which this matter was built and handled."
Dube said MISA-Zimbabwe was reliably informed that questions to Archbishop Ncube started flowing from state media journalists who descended on Bulawayo for the 'kill' well before the court papers were served on him.
"This confirms fears that the state media, ZBC, The Chronicle and The Herald are at the forefront of being abused by security agents in wars against perceived enemies of the ruling elite. Graphic pictures shown by The Chronicle on Tuesday 17 July and Wednesday 18 July should be condemned out rightly as they are not only in bad taste but prove nothing beyond the agenda of embarrassing Archbishop Ncube and disrespecting the courts."
He said the Archbishop case was yet another clear example of the abuse of the state media by those in power for political gains.
"It is reminiscent of the murder case of war veteran Cain Nkala in 2002 in which the security agents colluded with the state media to tarnish the alleged perpetrators of the murder well before the court case. Zimbabwe was shocked that after mounting such 'evidence' against the 'perpetrators' the courts found the accused innocent. It is this regard that MISA-Zimbabwe calls upon the state media to return to the fundamentals of the profession, introspect on their operations and serve society better."
He said MISA-Zimbabwe calls for the respect of the right to privacy of the parties involved in this matter.
Government-owned Herald and Chronicle newspapers ran the photos under the headlines "Pius Ncube Shamed" and "Pius in Sex Scandal." Several photos showed a man identified by newspapers as Ncube removing his clothes and lying in bed with a woman.
The two dailies said the photos were from a security camera hidden in Ncube's bedroom in Bulawayo by a private investigator hired by Onesimus Sibanda, who is suing Ncube for allegedly having a two-year sexual affair with his wife, Rosemary Sibanda.
The publication of the pictures followed an alleged confession by the woman on state television on Monday. Rosemary claimed she had an affair with the clergyman because she needed financial support.
She said she got into the relationship with Ncube, an Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Bulawayo, after she had encountered hardships. Onesimus had abandoned her for another woman, she said.
On Monday, Onesmus filed a $20 billion lawsuit against Ncube with the Bulawayo High Court. Rosemary is a secretary at one of the Roman Catholic churches' branches in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city.
She said she did not earn enough from her secretarial job at the church.
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