Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, has shocked many after he decided to stop reporting on a documentary called Gold Mafia by Al Jazeera for his own safety.
The documentary exposes gold smuggling operations in Zimbabwe.
In a Twitter Mr Chin’ono said spokesperson, George Charamba, stated that the safety of those who keep reporting on the Al Jazeera documentary was at stake. He said:
Ladies and Gentlemen, After these continued threats from the office against journalists reporting on the Al Jazeera investigation findings, I won’t be reporting on this story for my own safety. He has made clear the consequences if we continue
In an article published by Pindula News earlier, Charamba said the documentary is defamatory, therefore, journalists must desist from quoting it. He said:
FRIENDLY ADVICE TO ALL RECKLESS JOURNALISTS: Al-Jazeera is not a court of law before whose claims impart privileges to defamatory utterances. It is merely some weaponised channel. If you are reckless enough to repeat what its phoney documentary defamatorily says, hoping to plead:
“I heard/saw it on Al Jazeera”, you will be sorry for yourself. Do not for once think there is no grit to act against reckless, defamatory and politically motivated journalism. Faceless Twitter names egging you on will not be a factor when brickbats come. Be warned!
Al Jazeera released the first episode of the documentary titled Gold Mafia on Thursday last week.
The documentary implicates a number of prominent individuals in the gold smuggling scandal. These include Henrietta Rushwaya, Uebert Angel , Simon Rudland, Lamkesh Pattni
