The editor of ZimOnline, an independent Zimbabwe news agency based in South Africa, was shot and seriously wounded this week in Johannesburg, its deputy editor said on Thursday, reports M&G Online

The attack on Abel Mutsakani occurred Monday night as he arrived at his Johannesburg home, Abel Chapatarongo told Reuters. He said that three men were involved in the shooting, which left Mutsakani with a ruptured lung.

"He is in a stable condition, but the doctors say they can't remove the bullet because it is lodged near the heart," Chapatarongo said. The attackers fled without stealing anything after Mutsakani's wife triggered the house alarm, he added.

A police spokesperson on Thursday confirmed the shooting.

Daniel Molokela, spokesperson for ZimOnline, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday that they were treating the incident as a robbery, "but we are not sure of the type of people who are targeting him", he added.

"It's not possible to verify whether it was one of these typical criminal things in Johannesburg or if it was more than that," he said. "But we understand the political context of his job as a displaced journalist working for an alternate news voice on Zimbabwe."

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