A US journalist, who had been given 24 hours to leave Zimbabwe moments after being acquitted of breaching tough new media legislation, was this morning granted a one-day reprieve by a High Court judge.
Mr Andrew Meldrum, (50), who is the Zimbabwe correspondent of The Guardianof London and who has also reported regularly for The Irish Times,was yesterday ordered by immigration officials to leave the country after a magistrate's court found him not guilty of publishing falsehoods.
The extension to his deportation order, which is now set to expire at 3 p.m. (Irish time) tomorrow, was granted by High Court judge Anele Matika.
Mr Meldrum's lawyer, Ms Beatrice Mtetwa filed an urgent appeal yesterday to have the deportation order suspended to give her time to challenge its constitutionality.
Under Zimbabwe's immigration regulations the government can remove a person's residence permit at will. Mr Meldrum has been resident in the southern African country for more than 20 years.
AFP