Mhlanga had
been summoned by the law and order section and he was accompanied by Misa
Zimbabwe's external legal counsel Chris Mhike.
In a
statement, Mhike said the police wanted
to discuss the status of a six-year-old case against former deputy Finance
minister Terrence Mukupe.
"We were
astonished to arrive at the police station to be informed, after some
dilly-dallying by officers in attendance at the station, that police only
wanted to establish the status of Mhlanga's very old case against Terrence
Mukupe, Zimbabwe's former deputy finance minister."
The case in
question dates back to May 2018, when Mukupe allegedly assaulted Mhlanga during
a live political debate and took away a phone belonging to Mhlanga's wife.
Mhike
highlighted that both criminal and civil proceedings were instituted, but the
civil matter was resolved in June 2018, and the criminal cases were terminated
through mutual agreement a few months later.
He emphasised
that the police had been notified about the termination of the proceedings at
the time, making it unclear why Mhlanga was summoned.
"It is
therefore extremely odd to hear of the police digging up a case that was
terminated more than six years ago. The police were notified about the
termination of the criminal, as well as the civil proceedings in the Mukupe
cases, at the material time. There was therefore no good reason for the Police
to summon the journalist Mhlanga to the police station today. This behavior
amounts to harassment of the press," he said.
Mhike condemned
the move as "harassment of the press" as he urged the authorities to
refrain from disturbing the journalistic endeavours. Newsday
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