| Trevor Vusumuzi Ncube | |
| Birth Date: | 9 September 1962 |
| Citizenship: | Zimbabwe |
| Alma Mater: | Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economic History from the University of Zimbabwe |
| Occupation: | Entrepreneur |
Trevor Vusumuzi Ncube is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur and newspaper publisher now living in South Africa and publishing in both countries. As an editor and publisher, he was a critical voice in media of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his government.[1]
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. He then went to work as a journalist, then editor and ultimately newspaper publisher by end of the 1990s.
In 1989 Trevor Ncube became assistant editor at The Financial Gazette and was named its executive editor in 1991.[2] [3]
Ncube was the main shareholder of the Mail & Guardian from 2002 until 2017. Trevor Ncube is also the host, producer and owner of in conversation with Trevor podcast published primarily on YouTube. The podcast is one of Zimbabwe's best podcasts; interviewing different professionals who have made it in their respective fields. Trevor Ncube was part of Emmerson Mnangagwa's advisers after the controversial 2018 so called second republic. The Mnangagwa administration denied Trevor Ncube a TV license notwithstanding that he was close to Mnangagwa, even having ED's son-in-law as a business partner. He seems to have quietly dropped from the PAC.
He is known for his skepticism or some sort of animosity towards Morgan Tsvangirai, the founding MDC leader and subsequently Nelson Chamisa. He has frequently clashed with Nelson Chamisa's supporters on Twitter. Trevor Ncube has always been an eager proponent of third way, a reference to having another political player other than Zanupf or MDC/ CCC.
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]