The appointment of Charles Mungasa as acting chief executive of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is a blatant reinforcement of ZANU PF’s grip on state media. It is a decision that strips away any remaining illusion that ZBC serves the public. Mungasa is not a neutral figure. He is a senior ZANU PF operative within the party’s Youth League and formerly served on the ZBC board. Now, he steps into the top job at a time when Zimbabweans are starved of independent and credible news.
ZBC is supposed to be a public broadcaster but what we are witnessing is the steady transformation of this institution into an echo chamber for ruling party propaganda. Mungasa’s political ties run deep. He is the ZANU PF Masvingo provincial Youth League secretary for administration and a trusted foot soldier of the regime. His elevation is not just a reshuffle. It is a signal. ZANU PF is tightening its control over every lever of communication that reaches the masses.
The new acting CEO replaces Assael Machakata, who himself was a stand-in after the suspension and later resignation of Adelaide Chikunguru. These changes are not just internal HR matters. They are part of a wider political game plan. The ZBC board is chaired by Helliate Rushwaya, a niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The family tree leads directly to the power center. This is how state capture works. It is subtle on the surface but dangerously effective underneath. Control the narrative. Control the nation.
The phenomenon of media capture is not new but it is growing in sophistication. In Zimbabwe it manifests through politically appointed boards, editorial interference and skewed advertising allocations. ZANU PF ensures that state and even some private media houses toe the line by using public funds to reward loyalty and punish dissent. The result is a media landscape where real journalism is suffocated by press statements and staged interviews.
What makes ZBC particularly vulnerable is its structural design. It is not built to resist political pressure. Its leadership is politically appointed and its operational culture has been shaped over decades to accommodate the ruling party’s interests. Editorial independence is impossible under such circumstances. ZBC no longer reports to the people. It reports to the party.
This has dangerous consequences. Journalism at its core is about public service. It should inform citizens truthfully, challenge those in power and act as a mirror to society. But when media outlets are captured and weaponized, they become tools of deception. They feed the people half-truths and silence dissenting voices. In a democracy this is dangerous. In a country like Zimbabwe where elections are already compromised it is deadly.
The further erosion of press freedom at ZBC is a tragedy for a country in desperate need of transparency. As Zimbabweans face economic hardship, political repression and social decay, a strong independent media could be a force for justice. But that dream is being crushed. Mungasa’s appointment is not just about one man. It is about a system that has decided that truth is a threat.
We are left with a broadcaster that has lost its way. ZBC now dances to the tune of the same political masters it should be scrutinizing. The public loses. Democracy loses. And the country drifts further into a media desert where propaganda is king and truth is hunted down like a criminal.
The people of Zimbabwe deserve better than this. They deserve a media that speaks for them not for the party in power. Until we reclaim institutions like ZBC from the claws of ZANU PF the struggle for a truly free Zimbabwe remains far from over.
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