The Financial Gazette, one of Zimbabwe’s remaining independently owned newspapers, is in turmoil after several of the paper’s top journalists tendered in their resignations.

The Financial Gazette

The newspaper’s News Editor, Rangirarai Mberi tendered his resignation letter and left the paper early this month. Sources at the paper revealed to The Zimbabwe Gazette that Mberi, a top-notch Financial Journalist who was impounded by the paper from The Standard some years back, will be joining Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe’s biggest telecommunications company.

The sources added that Mberi felt frustrated after sharp differences emerged with the paper’s editorial systems under acting editor, Hama Saburi, who took over the reigns at the paper following the sacking of Sunsleey Chamunorwa early last year.

The newspaper’s senior business reporter, Kumbirai Mafunda – currently in Germany attending a course – is also reported to have resigned.

Mafunda, one of the country’s best “all round journalists” with a bias towards finance reporting, “has been considering quitting the paper for some time now and appears to have finally decided to leave the paper,” said a source at the paper.

Clemence Manyukwe, a senior political reporter is also mulling resigning from the paper, a close associate of his said.

Most of the journalists at the Financial Gazette are foreign correspondents of leading news websites and even the editorial chiefs are also reported to be involved in the business of stringing for foreign news publications.

Particularly hit has been the paper’s Business section as The Financial Gazette now has just one business reporter, Shame Makoshori and the paper’s Business Editor, Dumisani Ndlela.

Ndlela, who last year had fallout with Mafunda and Chris Muronzi owing to his editing tenets when he joined the paper, is a former Business Editor of The Zimbabwe Independent.

Muronzi, another top of the range mining and business reporter was also dismissed by Saburi from paper last year.

Saburi, whose official company vehicle was badly damaged early this year after it bumped against an electricity post, also dismissed Tawanda Karombo who had joined the paper as a student journalist from Harare Polytechnic.

Chris Gumunyu, the paper’s cross-cutting assistant editor who also helped with the sub-editing division has also since left the paper “in search of greener pastures”.

Journalists that have left or been fired from the paper in the past two or so years include Nelson Banya, Rangarirai Mberi, Nkululeko Sibanda, Kumbirai Mafunda, Tawanda Karombo, Chris Muronzi, Chris Gumunyu and Felix Njini while Zhean Gwaze, a female journalist with the paper passed on early this year.

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