JOURNALIST Michael Magoronga, who writes for the State-owned
Herald and
Chronicle newspapers from the Midlands Province, was on 25 January 2021 arrested by police in the Midlands town of Kwekwe who accused him of using an expired Zimbabwe Media Commission-issued accreditation card.
Magoronga was arrested while taking pictures in the city centre as part of a story that he is working on.
He was detained for more than an hour at Kwekwe Central Police Station and later released without charges after the police said they had confirmed that journalists are still allowed to use the expired 2019 accreditation cards.
Media watchdog MISA Zimbabwe said it notes with concern that Magoronga’s arrest comes after police in Kwekwe assured journalists they would not be arrested over the expired accreditation cards.