Trevor Ncube

Ncube was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Ncube holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economic History from the University of Zimbabwe.[2] He was a teacher at Pumula High School in the early 1980s.

In 1989 Trevor Ncube became assistant editor at The Financial Gazette and was named its executive editor in 1991.[2][3]

In 2002, Ncube became the owner of the Mail & Guardian[2] He currently publishes South Africa's Mail & Guardian weekly newspaper, part of The Guardian group of newspapers and in Zimbabwe, sister publications The Zimbabwe Independent, The Sunday Standard and NewsDay.

On 10 December 2005, Trevor Ncube had his passport taken away by Mugabe's government, in the first application of restrictive press freedom laws.[4] The passport was later returned after the seizure was exposed to be illegal.[5] The government of Zimbabwe tried again, unsuccessfully, to strip him of his citizenship on the basis that his father was born in Zambia. The attempt was seen by many as an attempt to close his newspapers which are highly critical of the government of Zimbabwe's President Mugabe.[6][7] Zimbabwean law does not allow foreigners to own newspapers. As a result of the political crisis, journalists fled the country, and Ncube moved to South Africa.[8]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation blacklisted critics of Mugabe and Zimbabwe's government—a list which included Trevor Ncube. The information came out of a report from a Pretoria-appointed commission of inquiry.[9] Later, a South African court—the South Gauteng High Court—ruled that Snuki Zikalala, SABC managing director, in overseeing the news operation had acted in the interests of South African President Thabo Mbeki and manipulated news about Zimbabwe, including the silencing of critics.[10]

• 1994—Trevor Ncube was named Zimbabwean Editor of the Year.[2]
• 2007—International Publishers Association Freedom Prize Award[11]
• 2008—German Africa Award. The German Africa Foundation presented Ncube for his dedication for press freedom, human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe and the whole of Southern Africa.[12]
• 2010—Kenya Nation Media Group Life Achievement Award[11]
• 2012—MISA Press Freedom Award. The Media Institute of Southern Africa awarded Ncube its annual award "for his role in providing Zimbabweans with alternative platforms for critical, alternative views on social, economic and political issues."[13]
• Ncube was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2014.[14]