Harare,  - Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings Chief Executive Officer Happison Muchechetere has branded his female journalists who are complaining to have been sexually abused by senior managers as “prostitutes”.

  Muchechetere said in a telephone interview with Radio VOP that the allegations by ZBC female employees alleging to have been sexually abused were unfounded and malicious.

“...those ladies who are telling you those stories are prostitutes and they are here for that business. I do not care. If  they were genuinely sexually abused they should  have approached the Public Relations  and Human Resources Departments that  handles complaints before talking to the  media. We have proper channels of dealing with such issues," he said. “I am not interested in commenting onrumours you can write that to your rumour mongering publications, which want to disturb our digitisation programme” said Muchechetere.

The ZBC chief recently barred female employees from wearing miniskirts, a move meant to reduce the risk of sexual abuse by their male counterparts.

Although Muchechetere was trying to protect his senior managers, sources within the station’s Human Resources Department said a board of enquiry had been set to probe the allegations.

Tarzan Mandizvidza, News and Current Affairs Manager and O'Brian Rwafa( Reporters manager) were said to be some  of the many managers under investigation by the Broadcasting  station's Human Resources Department headed byBenania Shumba, over sex  scandals.

 Rwafa is accused of impregnating a student intern, while several complaints have also been raised against Mandizvidza who  two years ago divorced his wife in order to co-habitate with his then current affairs production assistant.

Last week the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMZ) called for the setting up of an independent commission of enquiry to investigate the alleged sex scandals at ZBC, saying the organisation which represents female media workers in the country, had received numerous reports of cases of sexual abuse at ZBC.

Meanwhile Zimbabwe Tourism Authority boss and former top ranking military officer, Karikoga Kaseke on Tuesday threatened a journalist with unspecified action before chasing him out of the press conference he was addressing for asking him what the country was doing to woo the British tourists back into the country.

Freelance journalist John Chimunhu had to leave the press conference early as Kaseke had made it clear that he could pounce on the journalist.

“I begin to question your level of education for asking that question, you cannot win a war against me simply because you are a journalist. If you start a war with me you will not win it for I will be the winner,” said the fuming Kaseke who also branded Chimunhu a British journalist.

 Chimunhu had asked why Britain which contributed 48.5 percent of tourists coming to Zimbabwe, had been accorded only 27 of the 155 free tickets to theShanyai tourism showcase. The specially invited buyers are expected to bring direct business to the country through firm bookings for the Christmas season while they are in Zimbabwe.

 ZTA chairman Shingi Munyeza said recently that despite the poor relations that existed before, Zimbabwe had to move forward and embrace the Europeans as they contributed significantly to the country’s tourism.

Kaseke is not new to verbal assaulting journalists as he early this year called a Standard Newspaper female  reporter “a whore”after she  asked  him critical questions.

By Radio VOP