Nyarota and Mbanga arrested

Daily News editor Geoff Nyarota and his former business partner Wilf Mbanga were arrested for allegedly flouting investment laws and exchange control regulations when they obtained the operating licence to launch the newspaper in 1998.

Police said the two had been picked up on allegations of fraud or alternatively contravening section 40 of the Zimbabwe Investment Centre Act by supplying false information in an effort to obtain an operating licence.

The Daily News said the arrests were caused by a clerical error made by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in documents related to the newspaper’s articles of incorporation.

The paper said the company inadvertently referred to a company named Motley Investments (Private) Limited as the company that was to change its name to Associated Newspapers Zimbabwe (Private) Limited.

The correct name of the company was Motley Trading (Private) Limited, the company initially founded-by Nyarota and Mbanga.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE3353, DAILY NEWS EDITOR GEOFF NYAROTA ARRESTED

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

091052Z Nov 01

UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ5839

PAGE 01       HARARE 03353 091135Z

ACTION INR-00

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   AF-00   A-00     ACQ-00   CIAE-00 INL-00

DODE-00 DS-00   UTED-00 VC-00   TEDE-00 L-00     VCE-00

NSAE-00 TEST-00 USIE-00 IIP-00   DSCC-00 DRL-02   NFAT-00

SAS-00     /002W

——————3C348D 091135Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0248

INFO NSC WASHDC

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS HARARE 003353

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX, ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR SCHLACHTER, AF/P,

INR/R/MR, NSC FOR ]ENDAYI FRAZER

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM

SUBJECT: DAILY NEWS EDITOR GEOFF NYAROTA ARRESTED

¶1. GEOFF NYAROTA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE PRIVATELY OWNED

DAILV “THE DAILY NEWS,” AND HIS FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER

WILF MBANGA WERE ARRESTED ON NOVEMBER 8. DETECTIVES

FROM THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT ARRESTED

BOTH MEN AT THEIR HOMES AT 0600 HOURS. THE TWO WERE

PICKED UP FOR INTERROGATION FOLLOWINQ ALLEOATIONS,

CARRIED LN THE QOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILY “THE

HERALD,”THAT THEY FLOUTED INVESTMENT LAWS AND EXCHANGE

CONTROL REGULATIONS WHEN THEY OBTAINED AN OPERATING

LICENSE TO LAUNCH “THE DAILY NEWS” IN 1998. NYAROTA

AND MBANGA WERE DETAINED OVERNIOHT AT RHODESVLLLE

POLICE STATION IN HARARE. ACCORDING TO A POLICE

SPOKESMAN, THE TWO WERE PICKED UP ON “ALLEQATIONS OF

FRAUD OR ALTERNATIVELY CONTRAVENLNG SECTION 40 OF THE

ZIMBABWE INVESTMENT CENTER ACT BY SUPPLYING FALSE

INFORMATION IN AN EFFORT TO OBTAIN AN OPERATING

LICENSE.”

¶2. THE NOVEMBER 9 EDITION OF THE “DAILY NEWS” CARRIED A

FRONT-PAGE STORY ON THE ARRESTS, STATING THAT THE

ARRESTS WERE CAUSED BY A CLERICAL ERROR MADE BY

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS IN DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE

NEWSPAPER’S ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION. ACCORDING TO

STAFF AT THE “DAILY NEWS,” PRLCE WATERHOUSE-PREPARED

DOCUMENTS INADVERTENTLY REFERRED TO A COMPANY NAMED

MOTLEY INVESTMENTS (PRIVATE) LIMITED AS THE COMPANY

THAT WAS TO CHANGE ITS NAME TO ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS

.   ZIMBABWE (PRIVATE) LIMITED. THE CORRECT NAME OF THE

COMPANY WAS MOTLEY TRADINQ (PRIVATE) LIMITED, THE

COMPANY INITIALLY FOUNDED-BY NYAROTA AND MBANGA.

¶3. AS OF 0800 ON NOVEMBER 9, NYAROTA AND MBAN9A WERE ST

IN POLICE CUSTODY AT A SUBURBAN HARARE POLICE STATION

ACCORDING TO NYAROTA’S SECRETARY, WHO VISITED THE TWO

THIS MORNLNG AT THE POLICE STATLON, THEY BOTH LOOKED

FINE AND LN LIGH SPIRITS. THE PAPER’S DEPUTY EDITOR

CHARACTERIZED THE ARRESTS AS “DURE POLITICA,

HARASSMENT” AND SAID IT SHOWED.BOTH THE SUCCESS OF TH

UNCLASSIFIED

PAGE 03       HARARE 03353 091135Z

“DAILY NEWS” AND THE “GOVERNMENT’S FEAR OF ALTERNATIV

POINTS OF VIEW.”

SULLIVAN

UNCLASSIFIED

>

(23 VIEWS)