Content creators petition High Court
ONLINE content creators have petitioned the High Court to bar the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) from proceeding with the accreditation of journalists before the commission addresses stakeholder concerns pertaining to the proposed categorisation of media personnel.
The content creators, under the banner of the Zimbabwe Online Content Creators Trust (ZOCCT) filed an urgent application at the High Court yesterday seeking a delay to the onset of the accreditation process.
This follows a notice published by the ZMC setting the new parameters, described by stakeholders as discriminatory, to be followed in the accreditation process of media practitioners.
Government officials have often been accused of sidelining private media on government events.
Under the proposed new approach, the ZMC has issued different accreditation cards to six different media categories including mainstream journalists, foreign media personnel cleared by the government, online media practitioners running online news channels; content producers, photographers and media practitioners in the film sector.
However, the content creators, in their application filed by Richard Dhaka of Matizanadzo and Warhurst Legal Practitioners, contended that the actions of the ZMC had no legal basis because there was no law that provided for the discriminatory accreditation process.
Dhaka, in his certificate of urgency, said: “I have read the applicant’s founding affidavit and accompanying documents which are attached to the application and I certify that the application is urgent, in that the forthcoming accreditation process by the ZMC is scheduled to proceed on the basis of categories that are not provided for at law and the apprehension on discrimination expressed by the applicant is reasonable particularly considering some of the recent experiences of the applicant’s members.”
Dhaka added that there were discussions going on between the ZMC and stakeholders on the way forward regarding the contentious accreditation process. He said hurrying the matter would render the discussions useless.
The applicant’s lawyer said given that the ZMC was determined to proceed with the accreditation process despite misgivings by stakeholders on the process itself and its intended outcomes, it was imperative that the court weighs in and protect the media industry.