South African actress and activist Pearl Thusi’s trip to Zimbabwe along with several other journalists from around the Southern African Development Community (SADC) reportedly funded by a controversial businessman Zunaid Moti for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s propaganda purposes ahead of Zimbabwe’s harmonised general elections has been seen as the highest level of lack of moral compass on the part of the celebrity and unethical journalism for the accompanying reporters.
Thusi along with other South Africans in 2020 were the pioneers of the hashtag, #ZimbabweLivesMatter which was embraced by advocacy networks, celebrities and politicians in Zimbabwe, South Africa and across the world to pile pressure on Mnangagwa’s regime to end human rights abuses and maladministration.
She has, however, shocked the whole region by her decision to join “unethical and mercenary” journalists on a tour of Zimbabwe reportedly meant to cleanse Mnangagwa’s image while disregarding the challenges facing the ordinary Zimbabweans.
Some sources are alleging that the flamboyant trip is being funded by Zunaid Moti is the owner of the Moti Group, a conglomerate with a diverse international portfolio including mining, property development and aviation.
Moti is believed to be a very close ally of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga with huge interest in Zimbabwe’s vast lithium deposits.
Analysts are saying that it is unethical for journalists and immoral for a respected celebrity like Thusi, to be paid by elites to paint a beautiful picture of Zimbabwe when millions are languishing in poverty.
Thusi and other South African journalists who are on the trip, come from a country where millions of Zimbabweans are living, most of them illegally due to the deplorable socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Instead of continuing to challenge the Zanu-PF government which is responsible for the suffering of Zimbabweans after having been in power for more than 40 years, Thusi and her team of “mercenary” journalists have been blasted for endorsing Mnangagwa by accepted to be paraded at the State House while wearing his unpopular scarf.
Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono made several tweets saying it was embarrassing for the well-known celebrity and reporters to be bribed in order to say positive things about Mnangagwa’s regime.
“If you are a journalist and you receive money from someone other than your employer to report a story, you are a mercenary, a client journalist!
“It is unethical, it is unprofessional, and all the news organisations churning out this propaganda are shameless and have no self respect!
“A client journalist is a journalist who sees his job as decorating and legitimising power, and talking the language of power rather than challenging power, [and] running stories which make power accountable.
“I never thought that I would see mercenary journalism paid for by a well known crooked businessman in the middle of an election campaign.
“These men and women have no shame at all, shameless charlatans,” Chin’ono said.
Zambian opposition United Party for National Development spokesperson Joseph Kalimbwe accused the hired journalists of working against SADC’s democratic agenda.
“The hired Southern African journalists wearing scarfs with faces of one man. I said it, comrades went on attack. These journalists are against the SADC democratic agenda. Let it be known folks, you’ll never defeat the democratic agenda in Southern Africa; we’ll fight you back,” he said.
