Security services raid Zimbabwean radio station

By Lance Guma
15 December 2005

A Zimbabwean news website Zim-Daily reports that Central Intelligence operatives raided the Harare offices of Voice of the People (VOP), an independent radio station that broadcasts in the country via a Radio Netherlands transmitter in Madagascar. The website reports that officers frisked the offices of the station before confiscating tapes and files. Five security operatives raided the station Thursday asking for John Masuku, the station manager.

Its reported they produced a search warrant which according to witnesses stated that the CIO had reason to believe Masuku was in possession of subversive materials and that the warrant empowered them to search the offices. After a search of the offices they recorded the details of the stations seven employees. Government recently started jamming the shortwave transmissions of the station soon after SWRA switched to medium wave following persistent jamming of its own signal.

In 2002 VOP’s offices were completely destroyed by a bomb blast, which destroyed the station’s production facilities. This followed threats by government officials on the operations of private radio stations.
SWRA will bring you more details on this story as it develops.