President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime has provided brand-new off-road vehicles to journalists Zenzele Ndebele and Robert Tapfumaneyi, saying the support will strengthen efforts to document the experiences of Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans.
The announcement was made by the President’s spokesperson, George Charamba, who said the vehicles had been facilitated through the Office of the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet.
In a post on X, Charamba thanked the government for assisting the two journalists, saying they had previously relied on their own limited resources to carry out the work.
“Through the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, I formally thank His Excellency the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, and his Government for facilitating two Comrades: Zenzele Ndebele and Robert Tapfumaneyi do their work of recording the wartime experiences of our Freedom Fighters.
“Until now, the two comrades were using own sparse resources to do the work. Now Government has weighed in by giving them two brand new off-roaders so their work gets expanded and becomes much lighter. Thank you Comrades!!!!”
Ndebele, based in Bulawayo, is the founder and director of the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE), an organisation known for its investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking.
He has received international recognition for his work examining the Gukurahundi Massacres of the 1980s.
His relationship with the authorities has at times been contentious.
In March 2019, he was arrested after security officials discovered a used tear gas canister and a spent cartridge in his vehicle as he arrived for a meeting between President Mnangagwa and civil society organisations at State House in Bulawayo.
Ndebele maintained that he had collected the canister during a protest and forgotten it was in his vehicle.
His arrest prompted raids on his home and CITE offices and drew condemnation from international press freedom organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which called for the charges to be dropped.
The case was later dismissed by a Bulawayo magistrates’ court. Following the incident, Ndebele said he was subjected to surveillance, while CITE reported that state security agents attempted to recruit members of its staff as informants.
Beyond his journalism, Ndebele is a member of the Matabeleland Collective, a network of civil society organisations and churches advocating for issues including national healing, freedom of expression, devolution and the resolution of matters related to the Gukurahundi atrocities.
The second recipient, Robert Tapfumaneyi, is a producer and presenter with ZimNews Beat TV.
Tapfumaneyi has also experienced violence while performing his duties as a journalist. In January 2020, he was assaulted by security personnel affiliated with the then Movement for Democratic Change (MDC Alliance) after arriving to cover one of the party’s meetings in Harare.
According to his account, the confrontation began after he questioned the manner in which security officers searched journalists’ bags. He was subsequently denied entry, shoved to the ground and his camera was damaged during the altercation.
Senior MDC Alliance officials later apologised publicly for the incident and said an internal investigation had been launched, while promising those responsible would be held accountable.
Tapfumaneyi had previously been among a number of journalists detained during anti-government protests in 2016, amid growing concerns by local and international media freedom groups over attacks on reporters covering political demonstrations in Zimbabwe.
The government’s decision to provide vehicles to the two journalists comes as they continue work documenting the experiences of Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans, with officials saying the new transport will enable them to expand their coverage.
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