Toneo Toneo says bodyguards tied to Joachim Chivhayo beat him up as he covered the funeral for the Chivhayo family. He's the CEO of a tech media outlet and its editor-in-chief, and he was livestreaming near the procession when it went down.
Things got messy at the family home first. Toneo rolled up there with his crew just to grab updates on the funeral schedule, and he hit up Herbert Chivhayo, the family's spokesman.
Herbert's call was to brief a bunch of reporters at once. That's why Toneo looped in people from a few other outlets for a presser at the house.
And then G6 showed up. That's what people call Joachim Chivhayo, and Toneo says he got in his face and told him to quit recording. Herbert pushed back on that, though, and said the cameras could keep going with nobody messing with the coverage.
Once the presser wrapped, the reporters drove out to the funeral parlor where the bodies were. But the ride back is where things got ugly.
Somewhere on Gletwin Road, G6 allegedly started yelling at the press crew. Next thing, some white SUV cut them off, and three security guys hopped out. Toneo says they hit him with closed fists and open-palm slaps for about 20 seconds, then climbed back in and left.
The injuries are rough. His bottom teeth got knocked loose, one eye swelled up, and his jaw is in serious pain.
Cops at Highlands Police Station have his case logged as RRB 6847154. His lawyer is helping him push it, and he wants the authorities to dig into it properly and make sure whoever did this actually answers for it.
Toneo isn't backing off reporting, by the way. His whole stance is that nobody covering a story should get punched or scared off just for filming what happens and putting it out there. Funerals deserve respect, sure, but he says that's never an excuse to lay hands on reporters.
Kind of random, but he also gave a nod to DJ Ollah, another journo he says he's always had a good working vibe with.
Reporter safety at touchy public events is getting a lot of attention because of this. Still, it's all allegations at this point, and nothing against these guys has been proven.
Things got messy at the family home first. Toneo rolled up there with his crew just to grab updates on the funeral schedule, and he hit up Herbert Chivhayo, the family's spokesman.
Herbert's call was to brief a bunch of reporters at once. That's why Toneo looped in people from a few other outlets for a presser at the house.
And then G6 showed up. That's what people call Joachim Chivhayo, and Toneo says he got in his face and told him to quit recording. Herbert pushed back on that, though, and said the cameras could keep going with nobody messing with the coverage.
Once the presser wrapped, the reporters drove out to the funeral parlor where the bodies were. But the ride back is where things got ugly.
Somewhere on Gletwin Road, G6 allegedly started yelling at the press crew. Next thing, some white SUV cut them off, and three security guys hopped out. Toneo says they hit him with closed fists and open-palm slaps for about 20 seconds, then climbed back in and left.
The injuries are rough. His bottom teeth got knocked loose, one eye swelled up, and his jaw is in serious pain.
Cops at Highlands Police Station have his case logged as RRB 6847154. His lawyer is helping him push it, and he wants the authorities to dig into it properly and make sure whoever did this actually answers for it.
Toneo isn't backing off reporting, by the way. His whole stance is that nobody covering a story should get punched or scared off just for filming what happens and putting it out there. Funerals deserve respect, sure, but he says that's never an excuse to lay hands on reporters.
Kind of random, but he also gave a nod to DJ Ollah, another journo he says he's always had a good working vibe with.
Reporter safety at touchy public events is getting a lot of attention because of this. Still, it's all allegations at this point, and nothing against these guys has been proven.
