Zim editor shot in Johannesburg

JOHANNESBURG – The editor of an independent Zimbabwean news service based in South Africa was in serious condition after being shot in Johannesburg, his deputy editor said yesterday.

ZimOnline said three assailants approached Abel Mutsakani as he parked his car at his home in western Johannesburg on Monday night. One of the three pulled a gun and shot Mutsakani, rupturing his lung and leaving a bullet lodged near his heart.”He is in a serious but stable condition,” said deputy editor Abel Chapatarongo.South Africa is notorious for its violent crime, with 19 202 murders and 20 142 attempted murders reported by police last year.Armed robberies and carjackings are common, with Johannesburg being one of the worst hit cities.ZimOnline said the motive for the attack was unclear as the assailants fled without stealing anything.Johannesburg police have opened an attempted murder investigation.Mutsakani was the managing editor of Zimbabwe’s best-selling daily newspaper, The Daily News, when it was banned in September 2003 under Zimbabwe’s tough media laws.Mutsakani moved to Johannesburg and set up ZimOnline with fellow Zimbabwean journalists, providing often-critical coverage of the social and economic meltdown and political repression in Zimbabwe, where most of the remaining media is state-controlled.Scores of journalists have been arrested, threatened and assaulted since sweeping media curbs were enforced in 2003.One independent journalist died after allegedly being abducted and assaulted and a second suffered a broken finger and other injuries after being beaten in police custody in the wake of a clampdown on pro-democracy activists earlier this year.A freelance television cameraman, Edward Chikombo, was found murdered after he went missing from his Harare home on March 29, although there was no evidence to prove that authorities were behind his death.Nampa-APOne of the three pulled a gun and shot Mutsakani, rupturing his lung and leaving a bullet lodged near his heart.”He is in a serious but stable condition,” said deputy editor Abel Chapatarongo.South Africa is notorious for its violent crime, with 19 202 murders and 20 142 attempted murders reported by police last year.Armed robberies and carjackings are common, with Johannesburg being one of the worst hit cities.ZimOnline said the motive for the attack was unclear as the assailants fled without stealing anything.Johannesburg police have opened an attempted murder investigation.Mutsakani was the managing editor of Zimbabwe’s best-selling daily newspaper, The Daily News, when it was banned in September 2003 under Zimbabwe’s tough media laws.Mutsakani moved to Johannesburg and set up ZimOnline with fellow Zimbabwean journalists, providing often-critical coverage of the social and economic meltdown and political repression in Zimbabwe, where most of the remaining media is state-controlled.Scores of journalists have been arrested, threatened and assaulted since sweeping media curbs were enforced in 2003.One independent journalist died after allegedly being abducted and assaulted and a second suffered a broken finger and other injuries after being beaten in police custody in the wake of a clampdown on pro-democracy activists earlier this year.A freelance television cameraman, Edward Chikombo, was found murdered after he went missing from his Harare home on March 29, although there was no evidence to prove that authorities were behind his death.Nampa-AP