Geoffrey Nyarota, founder and former editor in chief of "The Daily News" in Zimbabwe, was awarded the 2002 Golden Pen of Freedom in recognition of his outstanding service to the cause of press freedom in the face of constant persecution.

He first started his career as a teacher because, "In colonial Rhodesia the only job open to educated Africans was teaching". When in 1978 "The Herald" began recruiting black trainees, however, Nyarota seized the opportunity and was hired.

In 1980, after Zimbabwe’s independence, Nyarota became editor of "The Chronicle", then Zimbabwe’s second-largest paper. During his tenure at "The Chronicle", the paper launched an investigation linking government officials to corruption. Four ministers eventually resigned; another committed suicide. As a result, Nyarota lost his own job.

In January 1990, he became editor of the "Financial Gazette" but again lost his job due to government pressure.

At this stage, Nyarota joined the Nordic SADC Journalism Center in Maputo, Mozambique where he tought journalism for two years before returning to Zimbabwe in 1997. His ambition was to start an independent newspaper to compete with the government-owned papers that dominated the news.

In 1999, Nyarota founded Zimbabwe’s first independent newspaper, "The Daily News". From the beginning, the newspaper was a victim of harassment by the authorities. Nyarota was arrested six times for brief periods and received two death threats. Nevertheless, "The Daily News" rose to become Zimbabwe’s most influential media outlet.

On 30 December, 2002, Nyarota was fired as editor-in-chief of The Daily News on what management said were administrative grounds. His dismissal came amid escalating efforts by President Robert Mugabe’s government to stifle independent media.

A few days after his dismissal, Nyarota fled to South Africa after police visited his home at midnight searching for him. In January 2003, Nyarota and his family sought refuge in the United States.

"The Daily News" was suspended by the government in September 2003.

UPDATE:

In January 2003, Nyarota was appointed a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where he continued his appointment through to May 2004. From August 2004 to September 2005, Nyarota will complete a research fellowship at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy at the JF Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.