In Brief

Owing to his writings and critical radio broadcasts, Whande was detained by the security and intelligence officials in 2004 in Zimbabwe. Because of his anti-Robert Mugabe writings, which were at the time appearing in newspapers outside of Zimbabwe, such as The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Mmegi (Botswana), he became a target of government operatives who kept him under surveillance, harassing and threatening him. Whande was forced to flee his homeland and went to Botswana where he was detained for a year before being granted political asylum in January 2006. He currently lives with his family in exile in Botswana where he is the Chief Sub Editor of The Sunday Standard and The Telegraph. Whande remains critical of Mugabe and continues to preach against Mugabe and ZANU-PF’s involvement in government. He writes a weekly column in the Sunday Standard and in Botswana's daily paper, Mmegi. Since 2008, Whande resumed his weekly broadcasts to Zimbabwe every Thursday, relayed through SWRadioAfrica in the UK. His popular radio programme, The Heart Of The Matter, with producer Mandisa Mundawarara, is one of the most listened to by Zimbabweans in and outside the country. He can be reached on tanowhande@yahoo.com