Zimbabwe authorities yesterday prevented The Standard newspaper reporter Nqodani Ndlovu from leaving detention, overruling a court decision to grant him bail, media reports said.

Ndlovu was arrested in connection with a 14 November report alleging that the police force was allowing former war veterans and retired officers to take up senior posts without sitting for promotional examinations. War veterans are seen as being closely tied to President Robert Mugabe and the ruling party, ZANU-PF.

Ndlovu has been charged with defaming police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri and the Zimbabwean police force. If convicted, the journalist could face up to two years in prison. He is currently in custody in the southern town of Bulawayo, where he works, according to news reports.

The reporter was arrested on Wednesday 17 November after he turned himself in to police, who had repeatedly called his newspaper, AP reported at the time. A bail hearing scheduled for Friday was postponed until Monday, leaving the reporter in court custody over the weekend.  The reporter was granted bail on Monday, but police immediately blocked his release under a law that allows them to extend custody for another week.

Ndlovu’s case is the most recent among a spate of journalist harassment incidents in Zimbabwe. Earlier this month, journalists at the Zimbabwe Independent were reportedly questioned by police in connection with an article on electoral reforms, the newspaper reported. On 30 October, two freelance journalists were arrested at a constitutional discussion in the capital city of Harare, after a fight which ensued when reporters attempted to interview certain participants, the Media Institute for South Africa (MISA) reported.

Also in November, the Zimbabwean authorities announced that they had issued an arrest warrant for Wilf Mbanga, the London-based editor of The Zimbabwean newspaper. Mbanga is accused of “undermining” President Mugabe in a story about the 2008 murder of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) polling director Ignatius Mushangwe, reports said.

Mbanga denies that the story was published in his paper, and is quoted in The Zimbabwean as saying: “Instead of launching a manhunt for me in Zimbabwe, to soothe those egos I might have bruised, the [Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)] would best serve the nation by hunting for the murderers of Mushangwe. We expect ZRP to issue warrants of arrest for those who killed more than 200 people during the 2008 election period.”

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “The Zimbabwean government should cease arresting and intimidating journalists, especially ahead of the 2011 elections, when Zimbabweans should have access to diverse viewpoints. Journalists must be able to work without being intimidated and threatened, and without fearing that they will be arrested and criminally charged simply for doing their job.”