AMH now within Mnangagwa’s reach

The largest independent newspaper group in Zimbabwe, Alpha Media Holdings is now within Emmerson Mnangagwa's reach after the president's son-in-law, Gerald Mlotshwa (married to Farai) acquired shares in the media conglomerate.

The prominent lawyer has already named Brenda Kamoto from his law firm Titan Law as his representative on the AMH board. The Trevor Ncube-controlled AMH who are the publishers of NewsDay, The Zimbabwe Independent, and The Standard, released a statement on Thursday confirming shareholder changes but did not mention the prominent lawyer by name.

Mlotshwa first got involved with AMH in 2019 when he sponsored Ncube’s talk show, In Conversation With Trevor — a series of candid and insightful engagements.

It is not yet clear how the shareholder changes, which AMH was keeping under wraps, will affect the company’s editorial policy at a time private media organizations are being captured by the state. Senior staff at AMH however said editorial changes would be subtle such that readers may not see them. The senior journalist said:

“If there are any changes, it may be limited to the media house failing to hold Mnangagwa and his family to account, while remaining robust when it comes to ministers, government ministries, and other senior government officials. Even as things stand now, it’s rare to find articles criticizing Mnangagwa and his family.”

With Mlotshwa now formally involved as a shareholder, it would be even more difficult for AMH to criticize Mnangagwa or expose his shortcomings — meaning it would be hard to break the chains of media capture. The private media in Zimbabwe is now largely captured by Mnangagwa’s cronies or Zanu PF agents.

Media capture is a form of Press control through a series of premeditated steps taken by governments and powerful interest groups, which undermines the ability of journalism to serve the public good. These include taking over regulatory control, state-owned media operations, public advertising/ marketing, and politically linked ownership of private media.