DAILY NEWS EDITOR GEOFF NYAROTA ARRESTED

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 >