The editor of The Herald, Tichaona Zindoga, has been criticised for deliberately publishing an inaccurate story on the arrest of Bulawayo based journalist, Zenzele Ndebele.
The Herald carried a story titled “Activist takes grenades to State House, nabbed” which claimed that Zenzele was found in possession of items that looked like grenades and that they could have been chemical weapons. Zanzele ad in fact been arrested for being found in possession o used tear gas canisters. Zenzele was acquitted today by a magistrate who remarked that “It beats logic that a USED canister and an empty cartridge could be defined as DANGEROUS WEAPONS if weapons at all”
Several individuals and entities have criticised Zindoga as editor of the paper for publishing the story:
A lot can said about @caesarzvayi‘s failures as @HeraldZimbabwe editor before, during & since the November 2017 coup; but it must be said that he was no where near the trash-levels of the SCUMS that are now editing the @HeraldZimbabwe & who are behind this CRIMINAL headline! – Jonathan Moyo
This is how state media is reporting
@zenzele’s arrest. “Grenades” “Chemical weapons” “Said to be a journalist” Shameful.#FreeZenzele – Zim Media Review
Consider this, they got the story from The Chronicle and went on to mutilate it. The Chronicle which was there says nothing about grenades and chemical weapons. Shameful! – Mduduzi Mathuthu
But Tich, is it difficult as a journalist to report factually, that the man had spent tear smoke canisters, collected from previous protests? The canisters are standard police issue, were fired by police & spent. Who in the world wld consider them a security threat? Are they IED? It becomes clear from this elementary failure that the object is to manufacture political capital. Anyway, the court has dismissed all charges against
@zenzele Ndebele. Both the possession of offensive weapon and criminal nuisance. The charges were a nuisance, so was Herald story – Chofamba
Zenzele has said that he will be suing the paper for defamation.