Zimpapers Logo

Herald Reporter
A blind prostitute allegedly teamed up with four men and assaulted a Sunday Mail journalist in Harare over a news article that appeared in the paper in 2012.

Tendai Chara was on Saturday morning assaulted by four men over an article titled ‘Blindness no barrier for sex worker’, that appeared in The Sunday Mail in January 2012. One of the suspected assailants was by yesterday afternoon being held at Kuwadzana Police Station with other suspected assailants still at large.

“I was at Kuwadzana 5 Shopping Centre when the blind sex worker, Melody Mutomba, whom I wrote about in 2012, approached me and asked me why I had written about her. She was accompanied by her sister Priscilla Pasuwa and four men.

“They manhandled and assaulted me using fists and empty beer bottles before I was rescued by police,” Chara, who sustained visible injuries, said.

Chara sustained bruises and cuts all over his body and a deep cut on the left hand. He was treated at Harare Central Hospital and discharged. A medical report which was signed by Dr Kapuya at Harare Central Hospital confirmed that Chara sustained moderate injuries.

According to Chara, the sex worker once threatened him with death in 2015. The case is being handled by Kuwadzana police.

Mr Foster Dongozi, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists condemned the attack.

“What happened on Saturday is a clear manifest of the poor safety, security and working conditions of journalists,” he said. “As ZUJ, we have always urged individuals, institutions and high profile people to desist from attacking journalists while doing their work.

“As a union, we are also hopeful that steps being taken by the Government to improve the safety and security of the journalists will bring to an end these outrages. We will allow the law to take its course.”