A Zvimba based Ministry of Information official, Johannes Kachikuli has been arrested for sexually assaulting a female journalist.
Kachikuli, who is the Zvimba District Information Officer, has also been suspended from his post as Vice Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) Chinhoyi chapter.
According to the state media, the indecent assault charges against Kachikuli were filed at Chinhoyi Central Police Station under crime report number 64/5/16.
Kachikuli (46) is alleged to have sexually assaulted an intern during a media tour in Karoi, where he is alleged to have held her by the waist and tried to be intimate with her.
The case has since been referred to Karoi for further investigations.
Kachikuli, who was allegedly drunk, demanded to be intimate with the journalism intern in exchange for beer.
Journalists from Chinhoyi and Zanu PF Women’s League Secretary for Gender,  Jennifer Mhlanga have condemned the abuse of journalism interns, saying female journalists should be respected.
Walter Nyamukondiwa of the Herald newspaper has since been elected ZUJ Vice Chairperson Chinhoyi Chapter following Kachikuli’s suspension.