Two South African journalists, working for private television network ETV, were erroneously arrested last Friday afternoon along the Limpopo Bridge border post for allegedly straying into Zimbabwean territory.

They were, however, freed the following day, without any charges pressed against them.

The two journalists, Tumaole Mohlaodi (28) and cameraman Elelwani Rampfumedzi (30), were arrested at about 14:00 along the bridge, about 50 metres near the demarcation line that separates Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The two were released on Saturday, after police officers from South Africa and Zimbabwe had watched the footage on their video camera and realized that there was nothing sinister.

Zimbabwean national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the arrest, adding that the two journalists were nabbed while filming events happening on the Zimbabwean side. “The two journalists were filming people which, according to Zimbabwean law, is practising journalism,” he said.

Under the country’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), it is a crime to practice journalism without any accreditation by the Media and Information Commission (MIC).

In confirming the arrests, the officer commanding police in Beit Bridge district, Chief Supt Nicholas Mawere, said the two were detained at the Beit Bridge police station, where they spent a night in the cells.

“When our officers spotted the two South African journalists with cameras along the Limpopo Bridge, they eventually suspected that they were filming events happening on the Zimbabwean side of the border, resulting in our arresting them and subsequently confiscating their camera and note books,” he said.

Mawere said they released the duo, following joint investigations with their South African counterparts and no charges were laid against the two journalists. “We actually watched a video from their cassettes and found that there was nothing sinister about it as they were in fact working on a different story and in our investigations we also established that the journalists were arrested on no man’s land,” he said.

“We sat down as a joint operation command (South Africa and Zimbabwe) manning the boundary area and agreed to release them without any charges”. Mawere warned, however, that the police would not tolerate mischievous actions by unaccredited foreign journalists operating along the border area, saying such people risked being arrested.

Meanwhile, Mohlaodi and Rampfumedzi were all smiles soon after they were released from the cells. They both expressed gratitude over the manner in which the matter was handled.

“I can’t believe that I am a free man. As far as I am concerned, this is part of the learning process and certainly that was a good experience for us,” said Rampfumedzi. In the past weeks, Zimbabwe has been a big story with a number of international journalists and media houses scrambling to get the story first hand.

The arrest came barely a month after three other South African journalists employed by Britain´s Sky News television channel were arrested on a Zimbabwean highway. Bernet Hasani Sono (34), Resemate Boy Chauke (46), and Simon Maodi alias Musimani (38) were jailed for six months each. They pleaded guilty to contravening Section 33 (1) of the Postal and Telecommunications Act, Chapter 12.03.

Police intercepted the three at a roadblock in Mbalabala, about 60km south of Bulawayo. They told police they had been hired to take the equipment to Johannesburg by a Zimbabwean businessman. The three were not journalists, but had in their possession broadcasting equipment.