By Derick Tsimba

Zimbabwe Media Commission has temporarily suspended accreditation of media practitioners for the year 2020 following a High Court interdict.

In a press statement, the Zimbabwe Media Commission said it was informing all its stakeholders that it had temporarily suspended the accreditation of media practitioners following a High Court Interdict obtained by the Zimbabwe Online Content Creators Trust (ZOCC).

“This notice serves to inform all stakeholders that the Zimbabwe Media Commission has temporarily suspended the accreditation of all media practitioners following a High Court Interdict obtained by the Zimbabwe Online Content Creators Trust (ZOCC). The High Court judgement interdicts the Commission from proceeding with the current accreditation framework that had introduced two additional categories for filmmakers and online content creators which in the past were accredited as journalists.

“It is in the spirit of upholding the Court judgement that the Commission has temporarily stopped accreditation of media practitioners. The Commission needs time to interpret and understand the judgement and its implications,” said the Commission.

Zimbabwe Media Commission also said it will soon meet with stakeholders to deliberate on the issue of accreditation of media practitioners.

“The Commission will soon be meeting with stakeholders to deliberate on the issue of accreditation of media practitioners. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the legal instrument providing for registration and accreditation, only provides for the accreditation of journalists who meet certain basic standards as contained in Statutory instrument 169C of 2002, Second Schedule (Section 2) and the requirements as per Form AP3 which is part of the schedule,” it said.

The Harare Post has learnt the Commission will soon issue a statement on the resumption of the accreditation process after meeting with stakeholders to look at the legal implications of the judgement.