ZANU PF YOUTH LEADER APPOINTED AS ZBC CHIEF, RAISING MEDIA FREEDOM CONCERNS

In a big change for Zimbabwe’s state media, Charles Mungasa, a top member of the Zanu PF Youth League, is now the acting chief executive of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). This move shows how politics is becoming even more involved in an organization that should be unbiased and serve the public.

Charles Mungasa knows ZBC well, having been a board member before this role. He is also the secretary for administration of the Zanu PF Masvingo provincial Youth League. The strong control of Zanu PF over ZBC is also shown by the ZBC board leader, Helliate Rushwaya, who is President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s niece.

Mungasa takes over from Assael Machakata, who was the former finance director and an interim leader after the suspension and resignation of Adelaide Chikunguru. This change in leadership at ZBC highlights a worrying trend of media capture, where governments and powerful groups control media to serve their own purposes, hurting journalistic independence and integrity.

Media capture in state-owned entities happens in different ways. These include controlling regulations, making media operations political, and using public advertising money to influence media coverage. In Zimbabwe, this strategy also includes political ownership of private media outlets, a tactic that is becoming more common.

At ZBC, political interference is not just a theory. The way the corporation is structured and managed makes it easy for politics to influence it. This is clear in how leaders are appointed and how editorial decisions are made based on politics rather than journalistic principles.

The effects of this capture are significant. Journalism is supposed to serve the public by providing unbiased reporting that informs, educates, and empowers people. But when media outlets become tools of political parties or interest groups, they fail in this mission. Losing journalistic independence not only weakens the media’s role as a watchdog but also lowers the quality of information available to the public.

In Zimbabwe, where the media is already under pressure, having political figures in charge of the national broadcaster could make media freedom worse. This is especially concerning in a country where having access to different and independent sources of information is vital for democracy and accountability.

With Charles Mungasa leading ZBC, the chances for unbiased reporting look bleak. This situation is a strong reminder of the weak state of press freedom in Zimbabwe. It also raises questions about what this means for governance and democracy in a country where the media is seen as a political tool rather than a source of truth.

The ongoing capture of ZBC by political interests not only hurts the broadcaster’s credibility but also shows how state media can be manipulated. As the line between government interests and journalistic integrity gets blurrier, the hope for an independent public broadcaster in Zimbabwe seems unlikely. The situation at ZBC is a clear example of how media capture can destroy the basic principles of journalism, leaving behind a weaker institution that cannot do its important job in society.