Threat to bomb the Daily News newspaper

By Gift Phiri

HARARE – Business ground to a halt at the Daily News yesterday after a violent, seemingly deranged woman stormed the popular newspaper’s offices threatening to kill journalists, bomb the paper’s premises and influence the forced closure of the paper again — as happened in September 2003.

The vile, self-proclaimed Zanu PF supporter and fanatic follower of President Robert Mugabe — who was later unmasked as Shiela Mutsenhu or Sweswe — gained access into the paper’s offices in Central Harare under false pretences, as someone who had a story she wanted published in the paper.

Once inside the newsroom, the nasty, medium-built woman launched a sudden, unexpected and vitriolic attack on the paper threatening to unleash the might of Mugabe and Zanu PF supporters on the paper to beat up and kill reporters as well as bomb the paper’s offices.

She, shamelessly and in front of male staff, urinated in the company’s reception area when she eventually left the Daily News’s premises saying she was under instructions from her Zanu PF bosses to relieve herself in the newspaper premises.

Her storming of the Daily News’s offices came two days after the paper’s editors were summoned, together with their counterparts from other independent media, by Information minister Webster Shamu where he expressed concern over the coverage of stories surrounding the octogenarian leader’s health.

Shamu promised the editors more access to the President.

It also follows recent disturbing events in which copies of the Daily News have been burnt by known Zanu PF officials and supporters, while the paper has been “banned” by supporters of the former ruling party in areas such as Mutoko, Murehwa and Nyazura.

Sweswe, who boasted about her close association with some Zanu PF bigwigs known to be hostile to the Daily News (names withheld on legal advice) accused the paper yesterday of writing “negative stories” about Mugabe’s health woes and supporting gays.

Her claimed close connection to senior Zanu PF leaders could not be verified yesterday.

Relating how it all began, security personnel said they had let Sweswe through to reception after she “sweetly and persuasively” made them believe that she had a political “scoop” (major story) that she wanted to give to reporters.

From there, she was handed to Thelma Chikwanha, the Daily News Deputy News Editor, who led her into the newsroom’s interviewing cubicle. It was at this point that Sweswe stunned everyone and started shouting at the top of her voice, hurling unprintable insults.

Dressed in a black top and a pair of khaki-brown trousers, she claimed that she had been sent by Mugabe and Zanu PF and warned, ominously, that she had a massive backup of thugs.

She demanded to know why the paper wrote about Mugabe’s illness and why it supported gay rights — going further to threaten that she would “make sure” that the Daily News would be banned again.

The company’s CCTV footage also showed her grabbing a document from the interview cubicle and hiding it in her pants.

The woman also accused the Daily News reporters of being sell-outs asking menacingly: “Unombonzi Goko naMasvingise ndeupi ndimbomurova, ndimbomuratidza kuti kunorohwa vanhu. (Where is Goko and Masvingise, show me I want to beat them up).”

Chris Goko is the Daily News’s Executive Deputy Editor, while Wonai Masvingise is a reporter. “Hamunyari kutengesa nyika. Tuma jean twakasakara. (Are you not ashamed of selling out your country, with your worn out jeans?),” she yelled madly.

She went further to threaten to kill the Daily News journalists and to detonate a bomb at the offices. “Munofira mahara vapfana. Tsvangirai? (You will die for nothing. You want to die for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai?)”.

Efforts by security to either calm her down or order her out only served to agitate her further and to cause her to make more threats in the name of Mugabe and Zanu PF.

“What if I have a bomb. Your bouncer will not eject me from here,” she screamed, going on to make her perplexing comment about the Daily News backing gay rights.

“How can a normal person support homosexuality, to have another man proposing to another man, to say I love you!”

This is, of course, despite the fact that Zanu PF and former information minister Jonathan Moyo helped to craft the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa), which recognises gay rights. Zanu PF MPs vigorously supported the passing of the Act in Parliament and Mugabe was hoodwinked into signing it into law.

“Zvere, zvere… famba kunge une confidence. Ndimi maPrime Minister tongai tione. Zvekujaidzwa izvo. Kufamba kunge munhu anotsika mazai.

(Walk like you are confident. You are the Prime Minister. Rule, let’s see. You have been given too much leeway. Why are you walking like someone who is stepping on eggs),” she screamed at a petrified reporter who had tried to surreptitiously walk out of the newsroom.

“I want to see this Chris Goko. He is playing games. If I knew where you all stayed, I would come to your homes and beat you up in front of your wives one by one,” she threatened further.

“Mbudzi kudya mufenje hufana nyina. Ndinotodza baba vangu vaMugabe. (Like father like son, I take after my father Mugabe),” she yelled.

“Nharo dzangu ndedza baba vangu vaMugabe (I am argumentative, I take after my father Mugabe).”

“Rinobva mustreet bepa iri (It will be off the news stalls this paper),” she warned. “Handityi vanhu pakadai. (I am not scared of anyone when it comes to this.),” she said, warning that it was a matter of time before this happened.

The unpleasant incident reminded Daily News staff of many similar incidents before the bombing of the newspaper’s printing presses by suspected State agents in 2001, as well as the paper’s forced and unjust closure in September 2003.

The paper only came back in late March 2011 — after a seven-year battle in the courts. One reporter said yesterday that many strange people had visited the Daily News before its printing press was bombed and the newspaper shut down later, issuing threats to staff.

The paper was also bombed hours after Moyo threatened to silence the Daily News once and for all.

Stanley Gama, the paper’s Group Editor, said Sweswe/Mutsenhu’s violent conduct, unwelcome visit and threats was a kind of cowardly, and barbaric aggression towards the Daily News by people purporting to be supporters of Mugabe and Zanu PF was sadly becoming all-too-familiar.

“Being the top and most influential newspaper in the country, we have now come to expect such thuggery and intimidation from certain predictable quarters. While it is sad, it is the reality.

In this case, this mad woman boasted openly that she had been sent by some Zanu PF ministers to intimidate and threaten us.

“What makes us believe that these poor, but violent messengers are sent by these political bigwigs is that the party and people in whose name these imbeciles act have never condemned or dissociated themselves from these primitive acts.

“All this notwithstanding, let me assure these imbeciles that we will continue to tell it like it is and that we will not be intimidated.”

“What we have done in this case, as we always do in such similar cases is to record everything and to report the matters to the police. If anything happens to our staff, vendors and suppliers, we will not just hold these goons and minions responsible, we will also hold their party and paymasters, whom we know, responsible,” Gama said.

The woman was widely condemned on facebook yesterday. Former deputy news editor of the Daily News Pedzisai Ruhanya said: “ That person is no lunatic. It’s actually a well-organised ploy by the intelligence system, to get into the newsroom, see how its set up before they do the damage.

“During our days, before the newspaper offices and printing machine were bombed such elements visited the offices but in no time there was mayhem. Don’t take that for granted, take measures.

“I am shocked you think it’s a lunatic, how many ordinary lunatics know where newspapers run their affairs. We are dealing with a criminal cabal,” said Ruhanya. Police are investigating yesterday’s case. Daily News