Mahoso bounces back to take charge of ZMC secretariat

By Tichaona Sibanda
5 May 2010

The country’s reviled media henchman, Tafataona Mahoso, has been appointed chief executive officer of the secretariat of the new Zimbabwe Media Commission.

The controversial and vitriolic former chairman of the Media and Information Commission (MIC) will run the ZMC secretariat which will receive and process applications from journalists and media houses seeking registration with the body.

He was replaced as the MIC chairman in 2008, when a High court judge determined that he was unfit to perform his duties because he was politically biased. Late last year Mahoso was controversially appointed to chair the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) but Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai declared the appointment null and avoid.

His latest appointment to head the ZMC secretariat has attracted mixed reactions from journalists, civil groups and human rights activists. Foster Dongozi, the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, said they were very uncomfortable with Mahoso’s appointment to the ZMC.

‘He’s the reason why so many journalists in Zimbabwe are out of employment. To bring him back is like rubbing salt into a wound because the mayhem he caused to scribes is still fresh in many people’s minds,’ Dongozi said.

During his period as chairman of the MIC, Mahoso presided over the closure of at least four newspapers, the deportation of several foreign correspondents and the arbitrary arrest, detention and malicious prosecution of hundreds of local journalists, editors and publishers.

The ZMC is chaired by Godfrey Majonga, a former broadcaster. It has defended Mahoso’s appointment saying that he will not be responsible for the actual registration and licensing of journalists and newspapers.

ZMC commissioner Chris Mhike said decision makers at the ZMC are the nine commissioners appointed by the inclusive government two months ago. He said Mahoso’s new job will be implementing the decisions of the commissioners.

Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutumbara formed the unity government and promised a raft of reforms, including freeing up the media by allowing more players.

But more than a year after the coalition was formed, state newspapers and sole government broadcaster ZBC still dominate the country’s media.

Mugabe’s former ruling regime used stringent media laws to police the media industry, forcing several newspapers, including the popular Daily News, to close in 2003. Zimbabwe currently has three private weekly newspapers, but no private daily.

Controls over radio and television have been even stricter. Zimbabwe’s only independent radio station, Capital Radio, was closed after 6 days in 2000, by the direct intervention of Mugabe – plus a bit of help from Jonathon Moyo.