Posted on 08/31/2002 3:26:26 AM PDT by Clive
PRIVATE radio station, Voice of the People (VOP) has been silenced by a powerful bomb blast that completely destroyed its offices in Harare's Milton Park in the small hours of yesterday.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was quick to associate the bombing with conspirators bent on tarnishing the image of the country ahead of President Mugabe's participation at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.
VOP offices at 32 Van Praagh Avenue were completely destroyed in the inferno and virtually everything in the office incinerated.
A woman who stays at the premises but asked not to be named said three men armed with guns approached the security guard on duty at the offices around 1am and told him to leave.
"An explosive device was then hurled into the building through a window," the woman said. "The building was extensively damaged and the roof blown up, but no one was injured as the last person left the office just a few hours before the attack."
VOP chairperson Dr Faith Ndebele said they had lost everything that was in the building. "We are yet to do an audit of the exact amount," she said.
The bombing comes barely two months after the police raided the premises in search of "broadcasting equipment". Bvudzijena said evidence gathered so far pointed to a conspiracy theory.
"We are exploring several possible angles," said Bvudzijena. "The statement from the security guard is not consistent and we have to interview him again."
Bvudzijena said they could not rule out the possibility that this was a calculated move to tarnish Zimbabwe's image.
"The timing of the bombing raises suspicion because the coincidence with the Earth Summit in South Africa is rather puzzling," he said.
"There are many people who are against the land reform programme and will stop at nothing, even using military means."
Five members of Criminal Investigations Department searched the offices of Amani Trust and took away documents belonging to the non-governmental organisation.
VOP was formed in 2000 before the parliamentary election and was recently working with SW Africa Radio which broadcasts in Shona and Ndebele from the United Kingdom. After the presidential election the two focused on health issues such as HIV/Aids.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) condemned the bombing and urged the police to act professionally.
"Although the police have begun investigations which we believe might lead to arrest of the culprits, past examples of investigations of attacks on media establishments are not encouraging at all," Misa said.
This is so with reference to the bombing of the Daily News offices and printing press in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The bombing of VOP offices is the fourth on a media organisation within a space of three years.
Misa-Zimbabwe said the attacks were being committed against a background of an already bad media environment.
"The attacks on media establishments are without doubt meant to silence the media and ultimately the whole society," Misa said.
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) also condemned the attack.
"The bombing is a blow to Zimbabweans' constitutionally- guaranteed right to freedom of expression and to receive and disseminate information unhindered. This further erodes the nation's democratic aspirations," said MMPZ in a statement.
Police yesterday raided the offices of a local NGO, Amani Trust, and arrested a senior official accused of giving the press information which allegedly tarnished the image of the government.
Bvudzijena said Amani Trust's interview with the Telegraph claiming that war veterans raped girls between 11 and 12 years was another attempt to taint the government.
"There are reports in the Telegraph to the effect that Zanu PF militia and war veterans raped girls aged between 11 and 12 years old and this emanated from Amani Trust," said Bvudzijena.
He confirmed they had arrested a trustee of Amani Trust, Dr Frances Lovemore and that they were also looking for the director, Tony Reeler.
Can't tarnish the image of The Leftist Peoples' Paradise of Zimbabwe any more than Mugabe has already done. And that bomb... yeah, it was Germany's enemies who torched the Reichstag, too.
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