Maravi

(HERALD) Police warn media from making false reports

Police warn media from making false reports
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 00:00
Herald Reporter

POLICE have urged the media to desist from misrepresenting facts and misleading the public by making false reports. This follows the publication of a story in the Daily News last Friday claiming that an MDC-T activist Albert Vhiriri was killed as a result of political violence.

The paper claimed Vhiriri was found in his room in Glen View with wounds on his face and body. In a statement yesterday, police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said full post-mortem showed that Vhiriri's death was natural.

"Contrary to a front page report in the Daily News of Friday November 18, 2011 alleging that an MDC official aged about 60 years was killed as a result of political violence, police investigations carried out so far and the results of a full post-mortem examination by a pathologist indicate that Albert Vhiriri's cause of death was cerebral vascular accident due to hypertension and bruises on the body were consistent with falling," he said.

"It is in the public interest for some sections of the media to put facts in their correct perspective, avoid unnecessary politicisation of straightforward issues and speculation which has no basis so that readers are not misled."

In that regard, Chief Supt Mandipaka said, police were treating Vhiriri's death as a result of natural causes with "no foul play."

The MDC-T information department had also issued a statement claiming that their official had been murdered.

Labels: JOURNALISM, MEDIA

posted by MrK @ 4:12 PM