Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE has been ranked 106 out of 180 countries on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, a new report shows, signalling that it is still a long way for journalists to work unhindered.
While Zimbabwe was up 10 places from 2024, it is only ahead of three Sadc member States – Lesotho (107), Madagascar (113) and DRC (133), according to an Afrobarometer report.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance and quality of life.
In its latest report, Afrobarometer said while access to information had improved and self-censorship had decreased since late former President Robert Mugabe was toppled in 2017, activists say President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has stepped up attacks on media freedom since 2023.
“Critics argue that the Criminal Law Amendment Act (also known as the Patriot Act), which became law in 2023, is designed to restrict media freedom,” the report said.
“The act grants authorities the right to criminalise anything seen to be ‘wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe’ (Amnesty International, 2025).
“Activists see the recent arrest of journalist Blessed Mhlanga as an example of the threat posed by the new law. In February 2025, Mhlanga was charged with ‘transmitting data messages that incite violence and damage to property’ after an interview he conducted with Blessed Geza, a liberation war veteran and central committee member of the ruling Zanu-PF, in which Geza criticised the President (Amnesty International Zimbabwe, 2025).”
According to the report, another journalist Watson Munyaka died in March after being thrown from a moving vehicle in what is suspected to have been a targeted attack.
“Munyaka was part of a cohort of independent investigative journalists who founded Dug Up, an initiative working to expose corruption and crime.
“Days before Munyaka’s death, Dug Up had published a report highlighting tensions within the ruling party, particularly between Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
“Recent Afrobarometer survey findings show that two-thirds of Zimbabweans think the media should act as a watchdog over the government, investigating and reporting on government mistakes and corruption.”
It said a similar proportion valued media freedom and rejected the notion that the government should be able to prevent publications it disapproves of.
“But citizens are divided on whether media freedom exists in practice in their country. Importantly, a majority of Zimbabweans report feeling free to say what they think and a few make use of this freedom to engage with traditional or social media to express their views,” the report read.
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