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Journalists plead not guilty to defamation

    JOHANNESBURG

    Three Zimbabwean journalists pleaded not guilty in a Harare magistrate’s court on Wednesday to defaming members of a commission set up by President Robert Mugabe last year to revise the constitution, news reports said.

    The charges against Clive Wilson, Andrew Moyse and Chengetai Zvauya of the privately-owned newspaper, ‘The Standard’, stem from an article in February alleging that the draft constitution had been printed two months before the completion of a national survey. They face fines of up to 15,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US $400) each if convicted.

    The draft constitution was put to a referendum in February and soundly rejected, by 55 percent of voters. The story, which was later proved to be false, led to the resignation of acting editor Andrew Moyse and the publication of a retraction and an apology in the paper. The trial will resume on Thursday.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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