HARARE – Two Zimbabwean journalists have been arrested over a story that claimed members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) received their annual bonuses secretly.
NewsDay Deputy Editor, Nqaba Matshazi and reporter Xolisani Ncube were being held in police custody on Thursday following their arrest.
The state is charging them with “Communicating or publishing false statements prejudicial to the State.” The two are expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday NewsDay reported that the government had last year quietly paid CIO operatives their annual bonuses, “yet postponed, several times, paying the salaries of civil servants, only releasing the payments yesterday (Tuesday), a development that is likely to spark a rebuke from other public sector workers.”
According to the report “the CIO received their December salaries on December 21 and their bonuses 10 days later.”
When the paper sought comment from State Security minister Kembo Mohadi, he declined to comment saying: “That is an operational issue that I cannot discuss with you.”
