Veteran Journalist Dube Elected First Chair of Regional Press Body

By Tinomudaishe Muzanenhamo

Veteran Zimbabwean journalist Loughty Dube has been elected the inaugural chairperson of the newly formed Southern African Press Councils (SAPC), following the organisation’s official launch in Lusaka.

His election was confirmed at the body’s first general meeting on Thursday, which brought together press councils and media self-regulatory organisations from across the region.

The gathering is being seen as a significant step towards strengthening cooperation on media accountability, ethical journalism and press freedom in Southern Africa.

Dube will be deputised by Phathiswa Magopeni, executive director of the Press Council of South Africa alongside Mbongeni Mbingo who completes the organisation’s first leadership team.

SAPC was created after the adoption of the Zambia Declaration, a framework that outlines the body’s mandate to promote ethical journalism, strengthen independent media self-regulation and improve collaboration among press councils in the region.

Founding members include the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, the Media Ombudsman of Namibia, the Zambia Media Self-Regulation Council and the Media Council of Malawi among others.

In his acceptance speech, Dube said the organisation would prioritise strengthening media self-regulation and promoting high ethical standards across Southern Africa.

He added that SAPC’s vision aligns with Zimbabwe’s co-regulation framework which aims to balance statutory oversight with independent media accountability.

“The aim of SAPC is to strengthen self-regulation through ethical journalism,” he said, adding that the organisation would focus on building the structures needed to fulfil its mandate.

The formation of the regional body comes at a time of growing concern over misinformation, declining public trust in the media and increasing threats to press freedom.

Member organisations said collective action was needed to tackle these challenges and reinforce democratic values, transparency and accountability.

SAPC is also expected to engage with regional and continental institutions including the Southern African Development Community and the African Union as part of wider efforts to support media development and safeguard press freedom across the region.