Harare journalists face charges

The paper has vowed to keep up the fight through the courts.

The entire editorial staff of the Daily News - Zimbabwe's only privately-owned daily newspaper - are to be charged for working without accreditation, say police.

The government has already shut down the newspaper, which is critical of President Robert Mugabe, for operating without a licence and charged four directors under strict media laws.

The Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), which published the Daily News, employed about 60 journalists.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said they also wanted to question ANZ board chairman Strive Masiyiwa, who lives in South Africa, "over his role in the illegal operations of the group".

The newspaper has been unable to publish since 12 September when police first sealed the offices.

Rejected

Under media laws, introduced after President Mugabe's election win in 2002, all newspapers and journalists must be registered with a state-appointed media commission.

But the newspaper's application for a licence from the Media and Information Commission was rejected on Friday for "failing to meet the requirements of the law".

The Daily News only applied some eight and a half months after the expiry of the deadline for registration. It said the media law was designed to stifle the press and initially refused to apply for accreditation.

Mugabe blames the West for the crisis in Zimbabwe

The commission ruled that the Daily News had been operating illegally and had also failed to supply the commission with free copies of the paper, as required under the new media law, it said.

Last week, a high court judge ruled that the Daily News should be allowed to resume operations.

"They never wanted to register us... These events challenge all of us to speak out and demand an end to such injustice", Mr Nkomo said on Saturday.

In a show of solidarity, the South African National Editors' Forum on Tuesday asked to meet South African Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to discuss concerns about what it said was media repression in Zimbabwe.

South Africa has been criticised for its policy of quiet diplomacy towards President Robert Mugabe, who blames the West for the crisis in Zimbabwe.