Challenges and projections for MISA Zimbabwe gazing into the future
Ijoined MISA Zimbabwe in August 1997 as Information and Research Officer. The organisation was then in its infancy with only three people – the then director, the late Vincent Chikwari, Administrator, Annie Musodza, and myself. We made up the first Secretariat of the MISA Zimbabwe chapter.
The organisation was then sharing offices with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. With support from a vibrant board led by Geoff Nyarota and the MISA Regional Office, the MISA Zimbabwe entity, although small, established strong advocacy roots that shape the organisation today.
The organisation moved to New Africa Building and continued to grow in leaps and bounds. With limited resources, the three staff members showed dedication and resilience in the face of state harassment.
I recall Annie and myself walking the breadth of Harare to deliver invitation letters for the various workshops that MISA held. Many people and organisations did not have access to emails. Hence invitation letters were delivered in person.
As surprising as this sounds, the Internet was still novel, and we did not know how to use it effectively. I gave birth to my son in September 1998 and only spent three weeks on maternity leave as I had to return to work. Such was our dedication!
Three directors later (Vincent Chikwari, Dr Chifamba and Barney Mapondera), I became the first female national director of MISA Zimbabwe in 2000. I stayed in this position till my departure in July 2004.
Critical developments characterised the years between 1997 and 2004: the growth of the regional advocacy campaigns for freedom of expression, the building of local networks with organisations such as the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ), Zimbabwe National Editors Forum, and the Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe. This collaboration planted the seeds of the current Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ).
MISA Zimbabwe also joined forces with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) to establish the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), an entity to promote responsible journalism through monitoring and analysis of the news and current affairs output on domestic radio and television, and in the print media.
These were exciting times as we built beneficial coalitions nationally and regionally to entrench freedom of expression and media freedom. There were innovative campaigns, workshops, seminars, training programmes and marches.
Who can forget the famous silent march to Parliament in 2002?
The police pounced on the protesters and arrested several people. Thanks to the Media Defence Fund, which MISA Zimbabwe had set up, legal assistance was offered to all those detained.
Most of us went into hiding for some days after this event. Still, the spirit of solidarity kept us going in the face of growing authoritarianism and the promulgation of more draconian laws.
In the early 2000s, MISA-Zimbabwe was joined by energetic young people – Rashweat Mukundu, Takura Zhangazha, Wilbert Mandinde and Koliwe Nyoni. They brought innovative ideas to grow the organisation; the key one relates to decentralising the work of MISA Zimbabwe to 10 of the country’s provinces through the creation of Advocacy Committees.
The early MISA Zimbabwe story is not complete without recognising the role played by women. There was a time when the organisation was led by women – Reyhana Masters as Chairperson, Annie Musodza (and later Abigail Gamanya), and myself.
Reyhana’s conceptualising talents, Abigail’s fearless character, Annie’s administrative skills and my diplomatic approach led to outstanding achievements. One of the accomplishments that I am proud of was buying the MISA House at 84 McChlery Drive Eastlea, Harare, through a SIDA grant.
Another woman also played a key role here – Janah Ncube, who assisted us in preparing the proposal to funders. The SIDA grant also purchased the first MISA Zimbabwe car that came in a curious ruby pink! (nothing to do with the female power at the organisation!).
Our beloved and kindly driver, the now late Paul Zaru, stood out as he drove the pink car around Harare and the country. The MISA House also brought in Joseph Makiyi, who came in as Chef, but later morphed into several valuable roles. He became the cornerstone of MISA House.
I left MISA Zimbabwe in July 2004 with a heavy heart and passed the baton to Rashweat Mukundu, who became the youngest National Director at 26 years old. I knew that I was living the organisation in good hands, and as the years passed, MISA Zimbabwe grew from strength to strength.
Rashweat turned over the directorship to Takura Zhangazha, who brought deep thinking and heightened advocacy to the organisation. Takura passed on the (advocacy) role to Tabani Moyo, the resourceful director who has re-branded MISA Zimbabwe and placed it on the world map.
Under the leadership of these three young men, with the excellent assistance of Nyasha Nyakunu, then MISA Zimbabwe senior programmes officer, the organisation became adept at lobbying key stakeholders, notably the Parliament of Zimbabwe through its relevant Portfolio Committees.
Over the years, MISA Zimbabwe successfully lobbied for media reforms and gained big wins for media freedoms.
Key achievements include the adoption of progressive and explicit constitutional provisions on media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information as now provided for in the country’s 2013 Constitution, the partial opening of the broadcasting sector and the striking off of Section 96 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, which made defamation a criminal offence.
Looking to the future, freedom of expression NGOs such as MISA face challenging times as the communication eco-system keeps transforming. Advocacy issues within the ambit of digital rights and freedom of expression online include digital access, online content regulation, privacy and surveillance, misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms.
The implications of data and artificial intelligence-driven tools for media freedom and freedom of expression are also essential to consider.
While the introduction of AI-driven tools can create new opportunities for users to exercise their freedom of expression rights, automated filtering and sorting can also result in new digital inequalities and unequal opportunities for access to information.
While personal data has taken an increasing role in all of our lives, the ownership and control of this data are not just questions for people in the IT sector, but also for those interested in freedom of expression and human rights.