Harare, July 20 — Police in Zimbabwe on Monday stormed and broke into the home of Hopewell Chin’ono a top freelance journalist in the Zimbabwean capital Harare before they abducted him, this following another arrest earlier on of opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume for inciting public violence.
Ngarivhume is the coordinator of the Jul.31 scheduled anti-government protests while Chin’ono has reported intensively on the scourge of corruption blighting the Zimbabwean government.
Earlier on in the day as cops stormed his home, Chin’ono tweeted, ‘they are breaking into my home. Alert the world!’
Prior to his arrest, Ngarivhume had also taken to Twitter claiming that he was receiving death threats from persons sympathetic to the Zimbabwean government.
In arresting Chin’ono, detectives broke a glass door at his Harare home as they attempted to gain entry into the journalist’s house before they seized him while he was live-streaming the intrusion by the errant cops.
Later, Chin’ono was found at Harare Central Police Station despite the dramatic abduction.
Senator David Coltart of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance later took to Twitter writing, ‘I’ve just been informed by a reliable source that Hope is safe and that this is being done by one faction of the government, but it’s an action not supported by others in authority.’
Now, unbeknown to which faction of the government he belongs, upbeat about the journalist’s abduction, Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary for Information, Nick Mangwana also took to Twitter writing ‘there is no profession which is above the law. Journalists are not above the law. Lawyers are not above the law. Doctors and nurses are not above the law…’
In a statement, Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa said “the arrests of Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume are designed to intimidate and send a chilling message to journalists, whistleblowers, and activists who draw attention to matters of public interest in Zimbabwe.”