Chairperson
Alec Muchadehama
Alec Muchadehama is a practicing lawyer specialising in civil rights, labour law, constitutional law, criminal law and media law. He is also a partner at Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni legal practioners and a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe. He has won numerous Human Rights awards locally and internationally. Mr. Muchadehama is a board member at the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADR) as well as at Belvedere Technical Teachers College. He holds a B.L. (HONS) L.L.B and MBA degrees from the University of Zimbabwe.
Vice- Chairperson
Chris Chinaka
Cris Chinaka has over two decades of work at Reuters International News Service where he has been the agency’s chief correspondent in Zimbabwe since 1995. He also has over 30 years experience in journalism and is one of Reuters’ most experienced reporters in Africa. Mr Chinaka is also involved in journalism mentoring and media training projects in Zimbabwe and in the Southern African region. He has been a board member of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) since its formation in 2007 and has served on its training committee since. He also chairs the board of trustees of the Media Centre (of Zimbabwe) and the board of trustees of The Source, an independent business and financial news agency project in Zimbabwe.
Chairperson -Media Complaints Committee
George Smith
Justice Smith is a legal consultant. He holds BA and LIB degrees from the University of Cape Town. He was appointed Attorney General in the office of the Southern Rhodesia in 1964. In 1974, he was appointed director of Legal Drafting and in 1977 he became the Solicitor general. He was awarded the Independence Commemorative Decoration and Commander of the Legion of Merit in 1971.In 1979 he became the secretary to the Prime Minister (Muzorewa) and Cabinet of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. In 1980, he became the secretary to the Prime Minister (now President Mugabe) and Cabinet of Zimbabwe. He has also worked as a judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe.
He is currently the chairman of the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS).and the chairman of the National Blood Transfusion Service and the Epilepsy Support foundation Trust. He is also a board member at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Chairperson -Media Ethics Committee
Tapfuma Machakaire
Mr. Tapfuma Machakaire is a media consultant. He graduated from Zimbabwe Institute of Mass Commendations in Harare, class of 1982. He was also a fellow of the Internal Professional Programme Cable News Network (CNN) in 1992. He has worked as a reporter for the Sunday News in Bulawayo and a producer for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). Machakaire is also a stringer for various private publications in Zimbabwe. In 1988 to 1998 he was the Secretary General for the Zimbabwe Union of Journalist. He also served in the MISA-Zimbabwe Board from 2008 to 2010. He is currently the Chairman in the panel of judges of the National Journalistic and Media Awards (NJAMA), a position he has occupied since 2005.
BOARD MEMBERS
Choice Damiso
Advocate Damiso is a lecturer in the department of Public Law at the University of Zimbabwe. She has extensive experience in legal advice, research, training and administration. She holds a Master of Laws degree in Public and International Law, a Master of Laws degree in Women’s Law, a Post graduate diploma in Public Management and a Bachelors degree in Law.
Advocate Damiso is the former chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association. She has also written and published on human rights, women’s law and public international law matters.
Tawanda Majoni
Tawanda Majoni is a seasoned journalist and has held senior newsroom positions locally and in the Southern African region. He is also a freelance journalist who has corresponded for numerous reputable international publications. Mr Majoni has extensive experience in public relations, marketing and media consultancy and is a human rights and democracy activist. He holds several academic and professional qualifications that include: MA in Philosophy; BA Honours in Philosophy; two diplomas, one in Journalism and the other in Communications and a Diploma in Marketing. He is also a board member of A Big Family Zimbabwe, a charitable organization promoting computer-based skills and communication in Zimbabwean schools.
Raphael Khumalo
Raphael Khumalo is the group chief executive officer of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), the holding company of Zimind Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, Munn Marketing (1992) Pvt Ltd and Strand MultiPrint (Pvt) Ltd. Raphael served for thirteen years with Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Ltd, where he held positions of finance manager and later divisional general manager. He has written a number of papers on the independent media in the country. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the National University of Lesotho and an MBA from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).He has written a number of papers on independent media in the country. In 2007, Mr Khumalo was elected to serve on the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe board and subsequently its management committee.
Davison Maruziva
Davison S Maruziva sits on the Board of the VMCZ as a representative of the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum (ZINEF).He heads the Magazine Division of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH). His career in journalism spans more than three decades. He studied Journalism at The City University, London, before working for The Lancashire Evening Post & Chronicle in Wigan. He has also worked with the Herald, the Sunday Mail and the Chronicle. He became the founding deputy editor of The Daily News from 1998 to 2002. In 2004, he joined The Standard as its deputy editor and a year later he was appointed editor of the newspaper. In 2010 he became the head of the newly created AMH magazine’s business unit. Maruziva has won several media awards, including the Reuters editor of the year award.
Precious Chakasikwa
Precious Chakasikwa is a Legal Practioner and partner at Kantor and Immerman. She holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Zimbabwe and a higher national diploma in Marketing. Ms Chakasikwa is the Chairperson of the Population Services International Zimbabwe (PSI Zim) and the Vice Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
She is also a member of the Women’s University in Africa Steering committee, a board member at the National Aids Council and a trustee at the Law Society of Zimbabwe Compensation Fund. Ms Chakasikwa is also a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the Estate Administrators Association Zimbabwe.
Davis Guzha
Daves Guzha is a prominent Zimbabwean artist with a long and distinguished career on both stage and screen. Mr Guzha is an icon in the Zimbabwean creative space. He has 26 years experience in the theatre and film industry, working as an actor, director, producer, administrator and social justice activist. Mr Guzha has starred in more than 50 plays and over a dozen films and has produced and directed numerous plays, films and TV series. He is the founding artistic Director of Rooftop Promotions, an arts organisation which promotes and develops artistic initiatives. In 1995, Guzha designed the ethos and style of Zimbabwe’s penultimate theatre venue, “Theatre in the Park”. Daves Guzha is also the Regional Coordinating Director of the Artists Trust of Southern Africa .
Father Oskar Wermter
Father Oskar Wermter is a parish priest and superior at St Peter’s Mbare. He was ordained as a catholic priest in Berlin in 1972. He has also been a freelance writer since 1987. In 1998 he became the chairman of Shungu Dzevana Trust (Aids orphans).In 2002 he became the social communications secretary of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and the editor of the Catholic Church News and Crossroads. In 2003 he became the assistant priest in St Peter’s Mbare and the director of the Jesuit Communications. He has worked as a part time communications teacher at Arrupe College, Jesuit School of Philosophy and Humanities. Father Oskar Wermter became the editor of the Mukai-Vukani Jesuit Journal for Zimbabwe in 2008.
REV. DR. Sebastian Bakare
Rev Sebastian Bakare was ordained as a priest in Lusaka in 1963. He has worked as a Diacose education officer in the diacose of Zambia. He has also worked in Germany first as a teacher for religious education in high school. He holds an M.A. degree in Theology from the Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, USA.He is a former Secretary for Urban and Rural Mission with Zimbabwe Council of Churches as well as part-time Anglican Chaplain and lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. He is the vice chairperson of the Board of Governors and a consultant for the Global Education Programme, Germany. In 2008, he won the Per Anger award from the Swedish government. He has also won the Doctor of Divinity honoris causa, General Theology Seminary, New York, USA.
Edna Machirori
Mrs Edna Machirori is a lifelong journalist and a keen columnist for various publications. She is the first black woman in Zimbabwe to be appointed News editor of a mainstream newspaper, The Chronicle and subsequently the first black woman to edit a mainstream weekly newspaper, the Sunday News. She has also worked in the Ecumenical movement under the Zimbabwean Christian Council were she edited a quarterly magazine in the early 1980s. Mrs Machirori is also a keen Human rights advocate. She holds a degree in communications from the United States of America.
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