GMC calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Faith Zaba, editor of The Zimbabwe Independent, who was arrested and detained on July 1, 2025, on allegations of undermining the authority of the President.
The charge reportedly relates to a satirical column “Muckraker” according to her lawyer.
The detention of Zaba, one of Zimbabwe’s most respected female editors sends a chilling message to the entire media community and undermines the fundamental pillars of democratic society.
Her arrest is particularly significant given her status as one of the few women editors in the country.
This action sends a chilling message to women journalists and reinforces barriers to women’s participation in media leadership.
“Women journalists already face unique challenges and risks in their professional work and the targeting of a prominent female editor for exercising her professional duties represents a serious setback for women’s rights and media freedom” said GMC National Director Patience Zirima.
The charges against Faith Zaba appear to be based on provisions that have been previously challenged in Zimbabwe’s courts.
The Constitutional Court has previously ruled that sections of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act criminalizing the undermining of the authority of the President are unconstitutional, finding that they violate the right to freedom of expression protected under the Constitution.
Significantly, the court previously found that such provisions have “a serious inhibiting effect on the exercise of the right to freely criticize public institutions in the performance of their functions” and that “the chilling effect of the disproportionate threat of the period of the maximum penalty of imprisonment to which a person convicted of the offence is liable harms the operations of a free media.”
The arrest and detention of Faith Zaba violates Constitutional provisions which protect the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the media. We therefore call for:
1. The immediate and unconditional release of Faith Zaba
2. Dropping all charges related to Zaba’s professional work as a journalist
3. A commitment from the government of Zimbabwe and its agencies to respect constitutional rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the media
#FreeFaith
#Journalismisnotacrime
