Two editors sacked in Zimbabwe newspaper purge

HARARE - The Zimbabwean government has sacked the editors of the two largest state-controlled newspapers as it intensifies a campaign to gag the media ahead of presidential elections next year.

Ray Mungosi, editor of The Herald daily newspaper, and Funny Mushava, editor of the Sunday Mail, are now negotiating exit packages, after they were forced out of their jobs today.

The firing of the two editors follows a similar sacking 10 days ago of Tommy Sithole, the chairperson of Zimbabwe Newspapers, which publishes the two titles and four others, after his refusal to implement a government directive to fire editors perceived not to have been toeing the government line.

Sithole particularly refused to implement the directive by Information Minister Jonathan Moyo to remove Mungoshi and Mushava from the two key Zimpapers titles and reshuffle others in a bid to improve the Zimbabwe government's battered image.

The government is expected to announce new appointees to The Herald and Sunday Mail editorships either on Thursday or Friday.

Mungoshi and Mushava were appointed eight months ago to succeed two of their predecessors who were also fired for not toeing the government line.