The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, 1900 to today

Incident

Zimbabwe: the High Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists under the media registration law

ZimbabweRSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

Zimbabwe's High Court ruled that Daily News journalists could not be accredited to work as reporters until their newspaper's publisher had itself been registered with the government's Media and Information Commission.1234

What happened

On May 12, 2005, a judge on Zimbabwe's High Court ruled that journalists at the Daily News could not receive individual accreditation to practice as reporters until the newspaper's publisher, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), had first been granted registration by the government's Media and Information Commission (MIC), the body created under AIPPA to register media outlets and license journalists. The ruling came during ANZ's long-running effort to reopen the paper, which police had shut in September 2003. At a hearing five days earlier, the MIC had requested additional documents from ANZ, and the company's lawyer said the commission had demanded information beyond what the law required. The Committee to Protect Journalists' executive director at the time, Ann Cooper, said the accreditation process amounted to a means of providing cover for a government campaign against the independent press, rather than a genuine licensing procedure.1234

The accreditation refusal stood as of the ruling; the Daily News did not reopen for several more years.1234

What reason was given

Stated justification

Not stated in the sources reviewed; the Media and Information Commission did not issue a public statement explaining the additional documents it requested from the newspaper's publisher.2

What changed for reporting

Daily News journalists remained unable to work as accredited reporters because the newspaper's publisher itself could not obtain registration, keeping Zimbabwe's largest independent paper off the newsstands.1

Timeline

2005

May 12, 2005
Zimbabwe: the High Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists under the media registration law

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Robert MugabeotherPresident of Zimbabwe

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
Daily Newsoutletaffected

Sources

  1. High Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalistsCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2005-05-12, reporting. Source record
  2. Attacks on the Press 2003: ZimbabweCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2004-03-11, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. The publisher's lawyer said the commission demanded information beyond what the law required of it.the commission had demanded information beyond the legal requirementsHigh Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2005-05-12.Claim 504, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. CPJ's then executive director said the accreditation process served to cover a government campaign against the independent press.a farce designed to provide cover for the government's campaign to crush the independent mediaHigh Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2005-05-12.Claim 505, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. The judge ruled that Daily News journalists could not be accredited until the paper's publisher itself was registered by the Media and Information Commission.until the newspaper had been granted registration by the government's Media and Information Commission (MIC)High Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2005-05-12.Claim 567, checked 2026-09-22.
  4. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act requires all journalists and media outlets to register with the Media and Information Commission.requires all journalists and media outlets to register with the MICHigh Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2005-05-12.Claim 568, checked 2026-09-22.