Zim court orders review of ban on daily newspaper

HARARE – A Zimbabwean court quashed a ban on a popular daily by a state media commission and ordered the body to review its decision to muzzle the newspaper under draconian media laws, a lawyer said.

The Daily News, known for its anti-government line, and its sister paper, The Daily News on Sunday, were closed down in September 2003 on charges they violated the media laws. The media commission has twice refused to grant it a licence despite a Supreme Court ruling in March last year that threw out the ban on the newspaper.”The High Court has set aside the decision of the Media and Information Commission to refuse to grant Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe a licence,” said lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu, representing the publishers.”Justice Rita Makarau also ordered the MIC to reconsider ANZ’s application for a licence to publish,” he told AFP.Lawyers for the newspaper had gone to court to challenge the decision of the media commission, arguing that the chairman of the body had refused to recuse himself from the case despite the Supreme Court ruling which found that he was was biased.The commission said the company breached media laws by among other things employing unaccredited journalists, failing to submit copies of its newspapers and employing a reporter convicted of criminal defamation.Mahlangu said ANZ’s application satisfied registration requirements but the media commission denied it a licence because of a previous breach of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.- Nampa-AFPThe media commission has twice refused to grant it a licence despite a Supreme Court ruling in March last year that threw out the ban on the newspaper.”The High Court has set aside the decision of the Media and Information Commission to refuse to grant Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe a licence,” said lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu, representing the publishers.”Justice Rita Makarau also ordered the MIC to reconsider ANZ’s application for a licence to publish,” he told AFP.Lawyers for the newspaper had gone to court to challenge the decision of the media commission, arguing that the chairman of the body had refused to recuse himself from the case despite the Supreme Court ruling which found that he was was biased.The commission said the company breached media laws by among other things employing unaccredited journalists, failing to submit copies of its newspapers and employing a reporter convicted of criminal defamation.Mahlangu said ANZ’s application satisfied registration requirements but the media commission denied it a licence because of a previous breach of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.- Nampa-AFP