12 journalists reported to the ZUJ Head Office in Harare that they had been barred from attending the event.
They claimed that the President's security guards had a hostile attitude towards them and accused the journalists of arriving late to the event.
Efforts made by the Mashonaland West ZUJ provincial secretary Paul Pindani to secure access to the event for private media journalists were unsuccessful and only state-controlled media organisations were allowed to cover the event.
"By turning away journalists from covering a State event, the President's security team deprived media workers an opportunity to generate income for their families.
The most affected would be freelance and community media journalists, who have already suffered a big impact on their income due to the Covid-19 crisis", Dongozi added.
