By Murray Williams
"The sickest thing I have ever heard," is how Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo describes the bombing charge against photographer Obed Zilwa by Zimbabwean police.
"There's no way that anyone who knows him can can doubt his innocence," Mfeketo said yesterday. "The freedom of the press is so important. I see this as tampering with that freedom. We are confident he's going to be proved innocent.
"We would like to see a speedy process in resolving the matter so that Obed can come back to his family," the mayor said.
Police arrested Zilwa on Wednesday as a suspect in the bombing of The Daily News, an anti-government newspaper. The newspaper was bombed last Saturday and Zilwa was the first photographer to reach the scene.
On Sunday, Zilwa was released into his lawyer's custody until 8am on Tuesday, when the attorney-general's office will make a decision on whether to lay charges against him or let him go.
South African Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said on Saturday that officials from the South African High Commission in Harare had formally protested against Zilwa's continued detention.
Cape Town's political leaders were on Friday united in their demand for Zilwa to be freed immediately and the Zimbabwean consulate in Cape Town was plastered with petitions and placards by protesting journalists demanding Mr Zilwa's release.
About 100 reporters, photographers and cameramen gathered at the consulate as Zimbabwean diplomats shut themselves in the building, refusing to receive a petition or answer the telephone.
Although police said the protest was illegal, they allowed journalists to remain on the premises and a policeman helped a reporter tape a placard onto a consulate window.
Zilwa's colleague, Alvin Andrews from Associated Press TV, told the gathering that the arrest was a ploy by the Zimbabwean government to divert attention from the real issue: coverage of the violence in the country.
"We knew sooner or later they would clamp down on the foreign media," Andrews said.
Motorists passing the consulate on De Waal Drive responded to an appeal by placard-bearing protesters to: "Hoot for Obed Zilwa".
Other placards read: "Thabo Wake Up. Obed is in Jail", "Photos not Bombs", "Obed's Canon shoots only film", "Why jail the messenger?" and "Obed shoots pictures not bullets".
Photographs of Zilwa were taped to the consulate flag pole and windows, while a South African flag was hoisted.
Western Cape premier Gerald Morkel said he fully supported the media's protest. Western Cape ANC leader Ebrahim Rasool said Zilwa's arrest "boggles the mind".
"We know Obed as a dedicated and fearless journalist of absolute integrity," Rasool said. "His commitment to democracy and investigative journalism are beyond question. I cannot begin to even seriously consider his possible involvement in the bombing of a newspaper's office. At a time when the press have a duty to report on the crisis facing Zimbabwe, a climate in which all journalists can do their work should exist."
Saleem Mowzer, chairman of the City of Cape Town executive committee said: "As the City of Cape Town, we call for his immediate and unconditional release.
"We cannot believe that Obed has been detained for this kind of criminal act and we deplore it. This matter needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency."
Mowzer said the city council had spoken to representatives of the national government to insist that they intervene, and this was being done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chris Whitfield, acting editor of Cape Argus, said: "All of us at the Cape Argus are extremely distressed at the apparent charging of our well-loved and respected colleague of many years, Obed Zilwa.
"Sitting here many hundreds of kilometres away from Harare, we obviously cannot be fully acquainted with the facts of the case. However, the idea that a proven professional like Obed could be involved in anything of this nature is preposterous to us. It seems, rather, that he has become a victim of Zimbabwe's political machinations. We can only hope that his innocence is established without delay and that we can soon welcome him home as a free man," Whitfield said.
Democratic Party leader Tony Leon said Zilwa's detention confirmed Mugabe's international reputation as a "rogue" in charge of a "bandit country". He said Zilwa's arrest was "yet another nail in the coffin of Zimbabwe's human rights record".