South African journalist arrested and detained at ‘undisclosed location’
Mzilikazi wa Afrika, a journalist for South African newspaper the Sunday Times, was arrested at the paper’s headquarters earlier today for possession of a letter, which police claim to be “a fraudulent letter of resignation” from premier of the Mpumalanga region, David Dabede Mabuza, to South African President Jacob Zuma.
The Sunday Times reports on the arrest via its Times Live website:
Wa Afrika was seized by police who became involved in a screaming match with senior editors about whether photographers could take pictures.
TheTimes editor Ray Hartley, adds in a blog post:
I am deeply concerned at the fact that a journalist can be arrested and held at an undisclosed location in a country where the rule of law ought to apply.
He was arrested by a large number of policemen in an operation which was clearly designed to intimidate and I can only conclude that this was the true motive for what took place today.
The Times used Twitter to help break the story of Wa Afrika’s arrest, including posting a picture of his empty desk:
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