For some, it was the only transfer of power they\u2019d ever witnessed. For others, it provided relief from Mugabe\u2019s three decades of autocracy \u2014 a period marked by a struggling economy, massive corruption and the stifling of dissent.<\/p>\n
When Emmerson Mnangagwa \u2014 Mugabe\u2019s vice president and longtime ally \u2014 took over as president, he pledged to tackle the country\u2019s endemic problems and said free expression would be \u201cindispensable\u201d in the \u201cnew Zimbabwe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many journalists felt optimistic. Including freelancer Hopewell Chin\u2019ono.<\/p>\n
But Mnangagwa\u2019s leadership has turned out to be not much of a departure from the Mugabe era. And Chin\u2019ono has gone from voicing support for the new president\u2019s plans \u2014 to being his prisoner.<\/p>\n
The government has been trying to silence reporters like Chin\u2019ono, who report on high-level corruption: imprisoning them, imposing social media restrictions including a proposed cybercrime bill, and dispelling dissent, journalists and activists say.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s part of a larger trend globally that gained traction in Africa, where leaders have called for \u201cproactive\u201d responses to tackle false news and what they see as an abuse of social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was so much pain [in Zimbabwe] for so long that people really did want to believe there could be change,\u201d\u202fsaid Janet Heard, a South African journalist who was a fellow alongside Chin\u2019ono at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. \u201cIt was a real wake-up call when Hopewell was arrested. I got a hell of a shock.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Ludicrous\u2019 arrest<\/p>\n
On Oct. 26, Chin\u2019ono tweeted about the arrest of Zimbabwe politician Henrietta Rushwaya, who was accused of trying to smuggle gold out of the country.<\/p>\n
\nHenrietta Rushwaya who is reported to be close to the National Prosecution Authority boss is being brought to court tomorrow after being arrested with 6kgs of gold.<\/p>\n
My NPA sources tell me that the NPA\u2019s position is that bail is not opposed!<\/p>\n
The real criminals get bail always. pic.twitter.com\/L48yVOUTde<\/a><\/p>\n
— Hopewell Chin\u2019ono (@daddyhope) October 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n