Categories: Stories

When religious beliefs clash with journalism principles- The background

Prophecy is one of the cornerstones of our church but my journalism gut feeling, at times, made me question the prophecy. I was not supposed to. But, I could not help it. Mugabe had just won a six-year term that would see him in office up to 2008. Bush and Howard were facing elections the following year. Blair was going to the polls in 2005.

Mugabe was facing a crucial party congress in 2004 at which everyone expected him to step down at least from the party but he had to remain Head of State until 2008. He could not hand over power to his deputy, or someone else. The country’s constitution did not allow this. Anyone who took over from Mugabe, if not elected, could only act as president for 90 days after which he or she had to call an election.

The problem was that Mugabe had also become very unpopular. His worst enemy was the economy. It was in shambles. The country had no fuel, no cash, and no food.

Full story

(26 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Britain says amendment of the Zimbabwean Constitution is a sovereign, legislative matter for Zimbabwe to decide

Britain says amendment of the Zimbabwe constitution is a sovereign, legislative matter for Zimbabwe to…

March 24, 2026

Who started the war?

It is now 47 years since I wrote the short story below for a South…

March 4, 2026

Zimbabwe 2026 monetary policy statement at a glance

Zimbabwe has released its 2026 monetary policy statement in which it seeks to stabilise its…

March 1, 2026

Was Chombo Mugabe’s number two?

Far from it, on paper that is. Ignatius Chombo was one of the longest serving…

February 6, 2026

Zimbabwe’s 2026 citizen’s budget

Zimbabwe on Thursday announced a ZiG290.9 billion budget with revenue expected to be ZiG287.6 billion,…

November 30, 2025

IMF says Zimbabwe’s economic recovery in 2025 is stronger than previously anticipated

The International Monetary Fund says Zimbabwe’s economic recovery in 2025 is stronger than previously anticipated…

November 8, 2025