MEDIA STUDIES
The press isn't free in Mr Mugabe's country but it's freer than in Mr Ian Smith's
STEPHEN GLOVER
AHarare I am spending a few days in Zim- babwe, I thought it might be a good idea to write about the state of the press here. When the editor of this magazine expressed his doubts as to whether his readers would be interested, I reminded him that 20 years ago more column inches were devoted in British newspapers to Rhodesia than to any other country save America and the Soviet Union. The Daily Telegraph used judicious- ly to weigh the merits of Bishop Abel Muzorewa or the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole as though they were household names for its readers — which they were. Articles about Rhodesia by Richard West often graced the pages of this magazine. I don't believe that what obsessed us 20 years ago has been so soon forgotten.
Harare seems strangely untouched by the years. Though there are some swanky new buildings (the famous Meikles Hotel is much expanded) it remains the same quiet city, with its wide, tree-lined roads. Some of the street names have changed — Manica Road West has become Robert Mugabe Avenue; Kings Crescent is Julius Nyerere Avenue — but many carry the old colonial names. My hotel is in Baker Avenue. Things still work pretty well, for Africa, though the telephone system has become hopeless. Often you ring a correct number to be told by a recorded message — a matronly, bossy white Rhodesian voice — that you have misdialled.
The press isn't free. What did you expect? But it is a lot freer than it was in Ian Smith's day. The old, unrepentant Ian Smith is quite often interviewed, and cheer- fully pours manure over Robert Mugabe and his government. Nothing ever happens to him. For all his sins, President Mugabe had not yet gone as far as Mr Smith did when Rhodesia declared UDI on 11 November 1965. The following day the Rhodesia Herald had many white spaces; the Governor-General's notice of dismissal to Mr Smith and his government was blanked out. For several months, until they came up with a better system, zealous cen- sors would take a chisel to the metal type if they didn't like an article. Readers of the Herald had a lot of fun guessing the missing words.
Mr Mugabe certainly can be touchy. Last year he took exception to a piece in the Financial Gazette which claimed that he had been secretly married to a beautiful young woman called Grace. In fact this was probably not true; the 72-year-old Mr Mugabe has subsequently tied the knot with Grace, but at that time was merely liv- ing with her, the first Mrs Mugabe having died. The editor of the Gazette, Trevor Ncube, spent a weekend in the cells and received a small fine. It was not, by African standards, a particularly harsh punishment.
Mr Ncube, who is something of a thorn in Mr Mugabe's and the government's side, now edits a recently launched weekly news- paper called the Zimbabwean Independent. It does not give Mr Mugabe an easy time. The paper has run stories about the Presi- dent's fondness for commandeering Air Zimbabwe jets and flying off with Grace for long weekends in Rome or Jamaica. More recently, the paper had alleged that £350,000 of public finds have been diverted to build a mansion for 'First Lady Grace Mugabe' in a Harare suburb. Grace clearly has a great deal of potential, and one feels that in time she may become something of an international figure. Although the gov- ernment has a batch of draconian anti- press laws left over from colonial days, it has not acted — yet — against the Zimbab- wean Independent, possibly because it is too small to worry about.
Such stories are unlikely to appear in the government-controlled Herald or its sister paper, the Sunday Mail. Though not cravenly pro-government, they do not for- get who butters their bread. Over the past few days, the Mail has been at the centre of a rather amusing story concerning its man- aging director, Dr Simba Makoni. Dr Makoni, who is an ally of the whites and of the business community, decided to sus- pend the newspaper's editor, Charles Chik- erema. He has done this once before. On this occasion, Mr Chikererna, who is a cousin of Mr Mugabe, as well as one of very few self-proclaimed Stalinists in Zim- 'I thought this was a costume drama.' babwe and a friend of Fidel Castro, did not take kindly to his suspension. The matter was discussed by the Cabinet, and a majori- ty decided that Mr Chikerema should be reinstated. It was the turn of Dr Makoni to be suspended, probably permanently. Needless to say, only the barest outlines of this story have appeared in the govern- ment-controlled media.
But it will no doubt be explained in the non-government press. This country does not have as many new independent titles as there are in some African countries. Tanza- nia, for example, has over 100. But the Zimbabwean Independent in particular seems very good. What is needed is a daily competitor to the Herald. The Daily Gazette ;tried but went bust. The Herald sells 130,000 copies a day, which is a lot in Africa. Although the paper is competently produced, its respectful attitude towards the government is probably resented by many readers. It must be vulnerable to a well-financed rival. Perhaps Dr Tony O'Reilly, the Heinz boss and newspaper tycoon, should think of starting a title here. He is pretty friendly with Mr Mugabe. My impression is that there are a lot of good Zimbabwean journalists available. Neither Ian Smith's long reign, nor Mr Mugabe's, has killed the traditions of a free press.
Three weeks ago (16 November) I criti- cised Rosie Boycott, the new editor of the Independent on Sunday, for publishing a long and merciless excerpt from the sex film Crash. Now she has soared in my esti- mation by appointing Stephen Fay as her deputy. It is the second time that Mr Fay has held this office.
In his Guardian diary, Matthew Norman writes that Mr Fay fell foul of some female journalists during his previous tenure. He also notes that Ms Boycott is a famous fem- inist. As a colleague of Mr Fay's at the time, I can set the record straight. There was a silly scrap, but I know that those involved, as well as all the other journalists on the paper, revered him for the extraor- dinary pains he took with other writers' copy — particularly young writers. He is the arch practitioner of that now almost forgotten skill, which he learnt at the old Sunday Times, of telling the week's main story in a lucid and unprolix way. This is one reason why his appointment to his old job is so inspired.
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