By Marshall Bwanya
Harare – A Chinese cartel has been implicated in the recent summons of Information for Development Trust (IDT), director Tawanda Majoni by the CID Law and Order Section at Harare Central Police Station.
This incident is the latest in a series of events that suggest an attempt to silence investigative journalists and curtail press freedom.
Last week on Thursday, Majoni was summoned by the CID Law and Order Section to a meeting with the police department’s Officer-in-Charge, Chief Superintendent Michael Chiodza.
The meeting, however, finally took place on Tuesday morning with Majoni accompanied by his lawyer, Godwin Giya and Chiodza in the company of Detective Inspector Victor Mukohwa, who is in charge of Criminal Investigations.
In the one-hour meeting Chiodza indicated that they had not prepared any charges against Majoni yet but needed clarification on an X post that Majoni’s organisation had posted on 3 May 2024.
The post referenced Majoni’s remarks at a World Press Freedom Day commemoration in Bulawayo, urging delegates to advocate for laws promoting press freedom.
Notably, the complaint filed against Majoni included a printout with words written in Chinese (Mandarin), raising concerns about foreign influence.
This incident follows previous attempts by Chinese nationals in January to discredit IDT, including false claims that the organization was unregistered and operating illegally.
Majoni in January was summoned by the Police Internal Security and Intelligence unit (PISI) based on the complaint that later proved false that the IDT was not a registered organization.
IDT has consistently exposed human rights and environmental violations by Chinese mining companies in Zimbabwe through research and articles.
A 2023 study by IDT, “Purses and Curses: Impact of Chinese Mining on Local Communities in Zimbabwe,” highlighted the devastating consequences of Chinese mining operations, including environmental degradation, human rights abuses, and cultural degradation.
The study implicated five Chinese companies and Zanu PF officials in these violations.
Key findings of the study exposed how five companies/ Chengxi Mining (Pvt) Ltd, AfroChine Smelting (Pvt) Ltd, Dore Green Customs Milling, STC Mine Cyanide Chemical (Pvt) Ltd and Ming Chang Sino Africa (Pvt) Ltd left a devastating trail of environmental degradation, human rights abuses, and cultural degradation that will negatively affect future generations.
In June 2023, IDT funded an investigative article published by NewZimbabwe.com that exposed the shocking working conditions at the Chinese-owned Arcadia Mine in Goromonzi.
The article revealed that two local workers tragically died due to unsafe practices.
It went on to detail the abysmal sanitation facilities, including overflowing makeshift toilets and a new block lacking privacy, where stalls were lined up facing each other without any dividers.
These conditions forced workers to resort to using the bush.
IDT, in a statement, linked these deplorable human rights and environmental violations, and unsafe working conditions, which their funding helped expose, to Majoni’s recent harassment.
They suggested that a Chinese cartel, potentially connected to the companies, may be attempting to influence law enforcement agencies to silence critics.
“We are disturbed by what seems to be a prolonged attempt by some people to try and influence our security forces to persecute bona fide investigative journalists like Majoni,” read parts of the IDT statement.
“This concern arises from the fact that in the complaint that had been shared with the Law and Order section relating to the X post was a print-out containing an old internet-based picture of Majoni.
“The print-out had words written in Chinese.
“This is disturbing considering that some Chinese nationals have in the past made similar but baseless complaints to the Police Internal Security and Intelligence unit (PISI), resulting in Majoni being summoned by this section in January this year,” added the statement.
IDT went on to say: “Our investigations have since revealed that the Chinese nationals misrepresented to the police that IDT was unregistered and we were forced to produce our proof of registration when Majoni was summoned by PISI.
“Over the years, IDT has supported numerous media investigations into foreign investments, Chinese projects included,” read parts of the statement.
The events surrounding Majoni’s questioning highlight the ongoing tension between the need for a free press and potential attempts to curtail investigative journalism, particularly when it scrutinizes powerful foreign interests.
