PRESS STATEMENT

Finally the state media in Zimbabwe got it right. In a rare display of professionalism that we last saw in the decades gone by, the Sunday News of the 19th of August 2007 in a story headlined “Porn peddlers abuse Sandra, Joyce” published what could be an own goal by the desperate government of President Robert Mugabe that has tried to tarnish the iconic and illustrious image of Archbishop Pius Ncube. Reporter Nothando Ndlovu wrote that the market has been flooded with fake pornographic pictures of celebrities Sandra Ndebele and Tinopona Katsande. The paper admits that Zimbabwe has legislation against the production and possession of pornographic material, irrespective of age. “Provisions of the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act Chapter 10:04 prohibit the possession of such material be it a
publication, picture, stature or record. It is considered indecent and obscene,” admits the paper in an article that nails its sister Zimpapers publications and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television who are not only in possession of such illegal pictures and publications on the alleged illicit affairs by Archbishop Ncube but have also published and displayed in violation of the said laws among others. Selective application of the law, the absence of the rule of law and violation of the laws of the country could not have been more brazen and opportunistc.
Said the papers on the depicted pornographic characters: “At first glance, one would mistake the woman clad in black as our own Sandra Ndebele but on the second glance it is definite that she is not the one. The pornographic material which is the copycat ‘Sandra’ stars is run for at least 20 to 25 minutes showing the woman with two different men. However, experts have said that although it was clear from the clips that the character was not Sandra they said it was possible to superimpose someone’s head on a body. Aaron Dhawa, a graphic designer with a local company, Graphic Arts, showed how this could be done and actually went on to demonstrate how a face could be pasted on another body that is not his.”
Yes it is doable, you can paste Archbishop Pius Ncube’s head on a naked body and pass it for something genuine. The state, through its Central Intelligence Organisation(CIO), had not only a clear motive to do so but also the technology for it. The state media did not investigate the matter because it wasn’t their case but that of the CIO. It had the CIO odor from start to finish. Hence government silence on the violation of the laws of the country by such publications.
A rare diligence by a journalist revealed what all of us have been saying, which is that by publishing and/or displaying pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others, the state media violated the laws of the country. But what is even more interesting is that the pornographic material itself may well be fake. And we want to allege that the state media did what it did on behalf of the Zimbabwean regime. They got the pictures from the CIO which directed them to publish them.


Armed with this “new discovery” the Sunday News then approached the Zimbabwe Republic Police for comment. The police through Assistant Inspector David Nyathi, Police Bulawayo Spokesperson said the police “were not aware that such soiled clips were in circulation but pointed out that being in possession of such material was a crime not only against the individual concerned but against the state”. The police called on all people with information that would enable them to smash the syndicate to come forwrd. “We are not aware of such an issue but I would like to draw our people’s attention because being in possession of such material(pornographic) is a crime, not only against the individual but against the state”.
This is hypocrisy of monumental proportions. The state media has not only published pornographic material of unprecedented nature but also continued to publish articles bragging about its possession of “tonnes” of pornographic material. Where are the police? Why double standards? Why selective enforcement of the law? Is the state media exempt from laws governing pornography? All of a sudden the police want to arrest and prosecute those who possess and distribute pornography! According to Assistant Inspector Nyathi the state media, by possessing and publishing pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others concerned, has committed a crime not only against the Archbishop and others concerned but also against the state. As the APN Solidarity Coalition we believe the Assistant Inspector had the correct interpretation of the law. We now wait for the police to take action against the state media for possessing and publishing pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others concerned.
In the light of the Sunday News story, the Archbishop Pius Ncube Solidarity Coalition demands:
· That the Media and Information Commission, Zimbabwe Republic Police and other law enforcement authorities immediately take fearless and concrete steps to punish the responsible media for the possession, publication, and display of pornographic material on what the alleged illicit love affairs by Archbishop Pius Ncube in violation of the laws of the country;
· That the Government of Zimbabwe immediately take steps to permanently end the selective application of laws.
The APN Solidarity Coalition believes that the Archbishop’s case demonstrates the manifest absence of an environment conducive for free and fair democratic elections. A climate of selective application of laws, smear campaigns against political opponents, concocted charges designed to silence dissenting voices together with a whole host of undemocratic laws like POSA and AIPPA can never be expected to produce a democratic election. Archbishop Ncube’s case and the role of the state in it and the subsequent publication of pornographic material on him and others and the brazen violation of their rights guaranteed under the laws of the country clearly demonstrates that Zimbabwe is far from being a democracy that many paid with their lives for. The Archbishop is being victimized for his stand on democratic institutions, values and principles. For the first time the Sunday News had it right: (a) laws governing pornography were violated by the state media when it published pornographic material on the Archbishop and others; (b) it is highly possible to create fake pictures of sexual nature using modern advances in technology.
Until proven guilty by a truly impartial and independent court discharging its mandate in accordance with international judicial practices and human rights instruments, the APN Solidarity Coalition will always hold that the Archbishop is innocent and is just being targeted in a smear campaign by the Zimbabwean government desperate to divert the attention of the people to trivia and silence democratic voices.