HEADS are rolling at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) over a video of President Emmerson Mnangagwa which appeared on the 8pm
news bulletin sometime in April, where he told the nation that the
controversial Drax International had donated US$60 million worth of medical
stuff for the fight against COVID-19.
Cameraman Stan Marodza, who took the video clip and was
accused by Information ministry permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana of
sneaking it onto the main news bulletin, has been suspended. Mangwana also
accused Marodza of selling the video to Delish Nguwaya, the man at the centre
of the US$60 million procurement scandal that has sucked in Mnangagwa’s family.
Nguwaya is currently battling to secure bail after he was
arrested early this month over the scandal. Health minister Obadiah Moyo was
last week arrested over the same case, but is out after being granted $50 000
bail.
In a letter dated June 19, the director of news and current
affairs Gilbert Nyambabvu, instructed the ZBC human resources and
administration director to charge Marodza with gross misconduct which could
lead to dismissal.
“Following preliminary investigations, I am of the opinion
that cameraman S Marodza committed gross misconduct in violation of section
11:25 of the ZBC employment code of conduct,” reads the letter in part.
The video allegedly embarrassed Mnangagwa and his family
after they claimed that they had no links to Drax International or its
representative Nguwaya, yet the clip shows the president standing next to
Nguwaya and announcing a donation of US$60 million which he said came after he
personally appealed to the company.
Nyambabvu, instead accuses Marodza of using the video clip,
which has poor sound quality despite his bosses instructing otherwise.
“Upon returning to Pockets Hill, the reporter Abigail Tembo
debriefed the news editor who consulted with the director of news and current
affairs and it was decided that the US$60 million donation must be excluded
from the reporter’s story due to poor audio,” Nyambabvu alleged.
Three days later, Marodza is alleged to have smuggled the
story into the 8pm news as the top story, although paper trail shows that the
story was cleared by a Wadzanai Mombera and Effort Magoso — the news bulletin
manager before being aired.
Before Marodza’s suspension without pay, Mangwana had used
his social media account to allege the cameraman had sold the footage to
Nguwaya.
Contrary to Nyambabvu’s allegations that the audio was of
poor sound quality, Mangwana said the clip was banned after it turned out the
president had been misled into believing that a donation of US$60 million had
been made to government.
The First Family has vainly tried to dissociate itself with
Nguwaya despite appearing in several pictures with them. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment