Edward Chikombo

Edward Chikombo, born in 1942 or 1943 [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/08/news/zimbabwe.php "Zimbabwe's government responds with violence"] , "International Herald Tribune", April 8, 2007] , was a Zimbabwean journalist, who, until 2002, worked as a cameraman for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). [ [http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/07/world/fg-briefs7.1 "Journalist’s death probed as murder"] , "Los Angeles Times", April 7, 2007] He was murdered in late March 2007.

Chikombo is believed to have sent to foreign media images of police brutality against supports of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), including images of Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai lying in hospital after one such beating on March 11. On March 29, Chikombo was abducted from his home. According to "The Independent",:"His captors drove a silver pick-up truck of the same make used in numerous similar abductions during a sustained three-week terror campaign targeting government opponents." [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/zimbabwe-journalist-murdered-over-leaked-tsvangirai-pictures-443267.html "Zimbabwe journalist murdered 'over leaked Tsvangirai pictures'"] , "The Independent", April 4, 2007]

Chikombo's body was discovered a few days later. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/world/africa/08zimbabwe.html?pagewanted=print "In Zimbabwe, Mugabe Critics Face Beatings"] , "New York Times", April 8, 2007]

The murder sparked an outcry from international media [ [http://www.wan-press.org/print.php3?id_article=14300 "La presse mondiale, réunie au Cap, condamne la répression au Zimbabwe"] , World Association of Newspapers, June 5, 2007] and the International Federation of Journalists. [ [http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-condemns-callous-murder-of-journalist-in-zimbabwe- "IFJ Condemns Callous Murder of Journalist in Zimbabwe"] , International Federation of Journalists, April 5, 2007]

The murderers were not identified, but foreign media linked the killing to an "escalation of the government's campaign of violence and intimidation". [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/zimbabwe-journalist-murdered-over-leaked-tsvangirai-pictures-443267.html "Zimbabwe journalist murdered 'over leaked Tsvangirai pictures'"] , "The Independent", April 4, 2007] Chikombo's death in 2007 foreshadowed the killings of (reportedly) over eighty MDC supporters during the Zimbabwean presidential election in 2008 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7478757.stm "UN 'regrets' Zimbabwe election"] , BBC, June 28, 2008] - including Gibson Nyandoro and Tonderai Ndira.

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