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Zim editor, journos arrested
10/01/2004 18:26 - (SA)
Harare - Police arrested the editor of Zimbabwe's leading independent weekly newspaper on Saturday and two of his journalists after the paper allegedly insulted President Robert Mugabe, the editor's lawyer said.
Iden Wetherell of the Zimbabwe Independent, a respected business and political weekly, was expected to be charged with criminal defamation of Mugabe, said their lawyer Linda Cook.
The paper reported on Friday that Mugabe commandeered one of the heavily indebted national airline's wide-bodied jets for a vacation with his family and a small party of aides in Asia.
Cook said Wetherell, 55, was arrested at his Harare home and taken to the main Harare police station. She said reporters Dumisani Muleya and Vincent Kahiya were arrested later and police were looking for a third Independent reporter, Itai Dzamera.
Headed "Mugabe grabs plane for Far East holiday", the report said many passengers booked on the Boeing 767's scheduled flights to London were stranded in Harare while alternative flight arrangements were being made.
Mugabe has taken several vacations in Southeast Asia with his young wife and children since he and other ruling party leaders were barred from visiting Europe and the United States under visa restrictions imposed after disputed presidential elections in 2002.
Independent election observers said the polls, narrowly won by Mugabe, were swayed by political violence, corruption and vote rigging.
Mugabe was in Indonesia on Wednesday and paid a courtesy call on President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo described the Independent's report as "blasphemous", the state Herald reported Saturday.
Moyo, who is also acting transport minister, denied Mugabe personally phoned Air Zimbabwe, as implied in the report, but did not deny the airplane was diverted from its regular schedules for more than five days.
Moyo said "this was not the first time the paper has written lies that are blasphemous and disrespectful of the president".
Last month, the paper reported Mugabe took an airliner for nine days for a UN meeting in Geneva and a visit to Egypt, forcing the national airline to charter another jet for more than US$1m.
Mugabe does not have his own presidential jet and has often thrown the national carrier's schedules into disarray by commandeering its planes.
Moyo said Wetherell and his two reporters faced up to two years' imprisonment for allegedly defaming Mugabe.
Meanwhile, police in Harare on Saturday continued to defy a High Court order issued on Friday to allow the only independent daily newspaper, banned in September, to resume publication.
Police blocked entry to the Daily News offices and printing plant for a second day.
- SAPA
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