Edward Chikombo

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Edward Chikombo (born 1942/43, murdered in March 2007) was a Zimbabwean journalist, who, until 2002, worked as a cameraman for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). He was murdered in late March 2007.

Background

Edward Chikombo was a cameraman with the government run ZBC until his departure from the broadcaster in 2002. He was working as an independent journalist at the time of his death.

Abduction and Death

Chikombo is believed to have sent to foreign media images of police brutality against supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), including images of the late opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai lying in hospital after one such beating on 11 March 2007. On 29 March Chikombo was abducted from his home by a group of armed men driving a 4x4 vehicle, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa, a regional journalist-rights organization.[1] It was reported that his captors drove a silver pick-up truck of the same make used in numerous similar abductions during a sustained three-week terror campaign targeting government opponents. Chikomo's body was discovered a few days later on March 31 2007 about 20 miles from his home in the Harare township of Glen View.[2]

The murder sparked an outcry from international media and the International Federation of Journalists. The murderers were not identified, but foreign media linked the killing to an "escalation of the government's campaign of violence and intimidation". Chikombo's death in 2007 foreshadowed the killings of (reportedly) over eighty MDC supporters during the Zimbabwean presidential election in 2008 - including Gibson Nyandoro and Tonderai Ndira.



References

  1. Michael Wines, [1], The New York Times, Published: 8 April, 2007, Accessed: 31 August, 2020
  2. [2], Los Angeles Times, Published: 7 April, 2007, Accessed: 31 August, 2020

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