“Rules for thee but not for me,” is the way of life in Zimbabwe. We cannot go through all the stuff that was criminalised over the years only for the elite to openly flaunt said immoral laws.
I will never forget when trading currencies, or even holding forex was a punishable offence. All while our local currency was in a freefall and the politicians prohibiting us from protecting ourselves from currency devaluation were the biggest currency traders in the market.
The same seems to be happening with Starlink. The Zimbabwean govt has a history of trying to suppress the flow of information and satellite technology has always irked them. There was a time when simple DStv satellite dishes could get you arrested. Crazy times.
We’re back to our old ways. Starlink satellites are illegal to use and the law is solid on that. Most of us don’t like this status quo but the law is the law. Maybe we should fight harder to influence the laws that are passed on our behalf going forward.
That said, we would swallow that pill more easily if we all got to play by the same rules. Alas, the Starlink rule is for us and not for some.
Zimpapers and ZBC using Starlink?
Both Zimpapers (responsible for The Herald, Sunday Mail etc) and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) are state-controlled. They don’t play by the same rules, apparently.
We talked about how ZBC looks to be using Starlink:
Is that Starlink which @ZBCNewsonline is now using?
— Takunda MandurađżđŒ (@takumandura) August 14, 2023
@begottensun@Techzim @misazimbabwe @daddyhope @ZimMediaReview pic.twitter.com/GOEMR3Eh4G
We have heard from a number of people that it is indeed Starlink that they are using. They also say even Zimpapers is using Starlink as well. We have been unable to verify these claims but it sounds plausible.
NewsHawks on its part says it was told by an authoritative govt source that both Zimpapers and ZBC are using Starlink. When we combine that with the reports we have received, it starts to sound true.
Then when you see the following image which has been circulating on social media, you can’t help but conclude that it’s definitely true.
That looks like a Starlink kit atop the Hearld House in Harare. I know, it could be something else, Starlink is not the first company to use a flat-panel satellite dish. However, Starlink’s design is somewhat unique and both images above seem to show theirs.
So, I think we can be certain that Zimpapers and ZBC are using Starlink whilst the rest of us are not allowed to.
Illegal or kosher?
Potraz was quick to snitch and the Police all too eager to arrest the Chinese miners all the way in Guruve for Starlink use when atop the Herald House and on ZBC vans zipping about town are Starlink kits.
The question then becomes, are the authorities blind to this or is it all above board? See, there are 2 ways you can get to legally use Starlink in Zimbabwe – the service is licensed to operate here or you get approval from Potraz.
The National Prosecuting Authority told us that the Chinese miners were fined for “willfully possessing and or operating a radio station without a license or authorisation from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).”
So, it could be that Zimpapers and ZBC have authority from Potraz to use Starlink. So, their use would not be illegal as many have claimed. It would be unfair, a textbook case of favouritism but it would be above board.
Is it any surprise then that many people are disregarding the law here and proceeding to import and use Starlink in Zimbabwe? What’s so special about ZBC and Zimpapers that only they get to enjoy Elon Musk’s internet?
We saw similar behaviour back when satellite dishes were illegal to own back in the noughties. Zimbos defiantly imported their DStv, Wiztech and other kits and proceeded to watch better television than the ridiculous propaganda that the ZBC was shoving down our throats.
The ban on forex trading was likewise ignored by the otherwise law-abiding Zimbos. The govt really needs to represent its people in times like these. The people they are supposed to be serving are trying to tell them that they don’t approve of their policies.
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What’s your take?