By Delicious Mathuthu
Harare, Zimbabwe – On February 24, 2025, Alpha Media Holdings’ Heart and Soul Television (HStv) Senior Reporter and Presenter, Blessed Mhlanga, was arrested in Harare, charged with transmitting data messages inciting violence based on interviews with war veteran Blessed Geza.
The arrest, under the Cyber and Data Protection Act, Section 164 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform), has drawn sharp criticism from high-profile figures and media groups, raising concerns about press freedom in Zimbabwe.
Blessed Mhlanga, known for his impactful journalism, is not new to arrests as he faced previous detentions in 2020 and 2022 while discharging his duties.
On 21 February 2025, the Zimbabwe Republic Police called for information on the whereabouts of Mhlanga, who responded saying he was not in hiding but not feeling well.
Yesterday, 24 February 2025, Mhlanga presented himself to the police in Harare, and subsequently arrested and detained.
His latest arrest follows interviews with war veteran, Blessed Geza, also a Zanu PF Central Committee member, in January and February, who is opposing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s potential term extension to 2030.
Geza’s statements, broadcast by one of Alpha Media’s HStv programmes anchored by Mhlanga, have allegedly fueled political controversy in the country, leading to Mhlanga’s legal troubles.
Mhlanga, represented by lawyer Chris Mhike from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), is expected to appear in court today, February 25, 2025.
Trevor Ncube, Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings, strongly condemned the arrest.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the arrest and detention of Blessed Mhlanga today.
“Dhara is spending the night in police custody accused of ‘transmission of data message inciting violence or damage to property.’
“This follows Heart and Soul Television’s broadcast of an interview with Blessed Geza,” Ncube said.
“Mhlanga is a principled and courageous journalist, and this arrest is nothing but brazen harassment and intimidation,” he said.
Another award winning journalist and rights activist, Hopewell Chin’ono, who has been a victim of the Zimbabwean justice system, said the arrest was a cowardly act by the government.
“The detention of Blessed Mhlanga is a cowardly act by the Zimbabwean government.
“Arresting journalists for practicing journalism is a clear sign of a regime that lacks confidence in its mandate! It’s clear that the government is using covert tactics to distract from this issue,” Chin’ono said.
Zimbabwe National Editor’s Forum (ZINEF), Chairperson, Dumisani Muleya, expressed deep concern over the arrest, saying the organisation stands with Mhlanga and government should create a safe environment for journalists to operate.
“The arrest of journalist Blessed Mhlanga is disturbing and concerning. We urge the government to create a safe and conducive working environment for journalists to operate without fear of harassment or intimidation.
“We stand in firm solidarity with Mhlanga, his family, and colleagues, and will continue to advocate for the protection of journalists’ rights and the promotion of press freedom,” Muleya said.
The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) also criticized the arrest, calling it, “an act of cowardice, unacceptable in a democracy that permits the practice of journalism as a constitutional right to free expression.”
MAZ also demanded respect for constitutional rights to free expression and media, opposing policies that offend the rights.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has also condemned the arrest.
Amnesty International said the “arbitrary detention” of Mhlanga is a “brazen attack on press freedom.”
Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè, said journalists should be allowed to carry out their professional duties without fear, and authorities should not abuse the criminal justice system to muzzle journalists.
“Amnesty International condemns the arrest and detention of Blessed Mhlanga solely for peacefully exercising his human rights and carrying out his professional duties.
“Authorities must immediately release Blessed Mhlanga and drop all charges against him. Journalism is not a crime and media practitioners should be able to discharge their professional duties without fear of reprisals. This travesty of justice must stop,” Farisè said.
“Authorities must stop misusing the criminal justice system to silence journalists and clamp down on the right to freedom of expression and independent media.
“A free, uncensored and unhindered press is essential to ensure the right to freedom of expression and other human rights,” she added.
Mhlanga’s arrest, despite recent government commitments to media freedom, including a police and media action plan, and meetings held between journalists and police across the country facilitated by MISA-Zimbabwe, and assurances from President Mnangagwa, brings up a pattern of harassment against journalists.
On Mhlanga’s previous frictions with the police, Veritas Zimbabwe in one of its Court Monitoring Series says, “Blessed Mhlanga had been arrested on the 7th of May 2022 in Chitungwiza. At the time, he had been filming a documentary on the access to water.
“Whilst doing so, he recorded the arrest of opposition MP, Job Sikhala. The police then ordered Mhlanga to desist from recording.
“Mhlanga then notified the police that he is a journalist but the police went on to allegedly punch him, smash his phone to the ground and arrest him.
“There was a nearby bystander, one Moses Hakata, who tried to stop the assault by the police but was soon arrested as well. At the time, Mhlanga had not been working alone.
“His co-worker Chengeto Chidi went up to him to get car keys from him. As she did this, she too was arrested,” Veritas reports.
