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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has urged the High Court to throw out Dr Dish Pvt Limited’s challenge against cancellation of its content distribution licence, saying the authority acted in terms of the law.

Dr Dish, which lost its licence on August 22 this year, is battling to nullify BAZ’s decision through an urgent chamber application at the High Court.

Justice Charles Hungwe will hear the matter today (Friday) in his chambers.

Dr Dish was a holder of a licence to specifically provide My TV Africa (Dubai) channels to Zimbabwean viewers, but it struggled to pay the required fees for years.

It also reached a point of failing to provide the service until BAZ issued a notice of intention to cancel the licence in October last year.

Without making an application to amend its licence in terms of the law, Dr Dish partnered Econet Media Mauritius and advertised Kwese TV channels and the sale of satellite decoders at Econet shops.

BAZ then cancelled the licence after picking up the violation of the law by Dr Dish.

Responding to the urgent chamber application, BAZ, through its lawyers TH Chitapi & Associates argued that its actions were aboveboard and that the court should dismiss the request.

BAZ chief executive Mr Obert Muganyura deposed an affidavit arguing that Dr Dish was trying to sneak in Kwese TV channels when it was not mentioned in the licence.

“As will more fully appear from Clause 1 of Part B of the Schedule containing the terms and conditions to which the licence was subject, the technical standard and service, which applicant was licensed to provide was the My TV Africa content.

“Applicant (in the High Court case) has never sought and has never been granted an amendment to clause 1 to provide Econet Media Mauritius Kwese TV content in lieu of My TV Africa,” he said.

Mr Muganyura said a letter of notification by Dr Dish was not a proper application for amendment as required by the Broadcasting Services Act.

“Instead, applicant has sought to smuggle and sneak in an amendment to clause 1 by proceeding to notify first respondent of changes under Section 17 of the Act through a letter dated August 18 2017.

“I aver that the applicant’s notification in terms of Section 17 of the Act cannot on a proper interpretation of that section, as read with Section 15 in particular,properly have the effect of amending the licence.

“This would be absurd as it would effectively make section 15, which provides for application for amendment of licence redundant,” reads the affidavit.

BAZ dismissed as false claims by Dr Dish that Econet was being punished for not partnering Zimpapers and ZBC.

“By its own admission, the contention that applicant’s licence was cancelled to force Econent Media Mauritius and Kwese TV to conclude agreements with other Government related entities, specifically Zimpapers and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is speculative.

“I aver that no merit can be put on such a speculative conclusion. “Further, and in any event, first respondent does not regulate negotiations between entities and is not privy to the purported intended transactions that were the subject of the negotiations,” said Mr Muganyura.

It was argued that DR Dish had approached the wrong court.

The Administrative Court, according to BAZ, was the best court to handle the case.

BAZ also argued that Dr Dish contradicted itself citing Mr Muganyura in his personal capacity for allegedly acting without authority when his employer is also being sued in the same case.

The relief being sought, BAZ argued, was incompetent and bad at law and that the matter was not urgent.