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Zimb
abwean police yesterday charged an executive and a reporter of
a Zimbabwean weekly over a story alleging President Robert Mugabe
"grabbed" a plane from the national airline for a holiday in Asia,
the publication's news editor said.
Vincent Kahiya, news editor of the Zimbabwe Independent, said that
general manager Raphael Khumalo and reporter Itai Dzamara had been
charged with criminal defamation and were due to appear in court
today.
He said the two were held for more than five hours at Harare
central police.
Police had earlier charged Kahiya, editor Iden Wetherell and
reporter Dumisani Muleya with criminally defaming Mugabe by
reporting that he had commandeered a wide-bodied Boeing 767-200 Air
Zimbabwe aircraft to "ferry him around the Far East".
They were released Monday, but Kahiya said police on Tuesday
summoned Khumalo and Dzamara.
"It was agreed they would report to the police today (Wednesday),"
Kahiya said.
"They did in the company of our laywer and were charged under the
same law of criminal defamation as us".
Wetherell said the newspaper stood by the story.
The government is denying that Mugabe personally called for the
plane. – Sapa-AFP.