Zimbabwean police arrested Nevanji Madanhire, editor of the Sunday Standard newspaper, the paper’s owner said today, the second journalist from the weekly to be detained this month.
“Nevanji Madanhire is in police custody in Harare," Trevor Ncube said by phone from Sun City in South Africa.
The arrest follows the detention of Standard reporter Nqobani Ndlovu on Nov. 17. Ndlovu was released 10 days later on orders from Zimbabwe’s High Court on $100 bail. Both arrests were made over a story, written by Ndlovu, alleging irregularities in police recruitment, Ncube said.
“The police haven’t disputed the veracity of the Standard story and last week a High Court judge said the police’s action was a waste of the court’s time,” Ncube said. “We are concerned about this continued harassment of journalists.”
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said he was “not yet aware” of the arrest of any journalists when Bloomberg News called seeking comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.
