Ofcom silent over fate of suspended online safety director

More than four months after she was suspended as online safety director for Ofcom, the broadcasting regulatory body, Fadzai Madzingira’s fate remains a mystery.

Days after the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October last year, Madzingira was active on her Instagram account, with posts and re-posts which appeared to be anti-Israeli in sentiment.

She is said to have “liked” a post from Black Lives Matter UK, which was critical of the British government for deploying Royal Navy ships to support Israel in the Gaza conflict. The post said: “As if it wasn’t bad enough already, the UK is also set to participate in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians. Shame on this vile colonial alliance. #freepalestine.”

The Guido Fawkes political site published a screenshot of an apparent posting Madzingira made on her Instagram Stories account, in which she commented on “the targeting of Palestinians”, and appeared to liken Israel’s actions to genocide. In another post, Madzingira allegedly liked a post calling Israel and the UK “a vile colonial alliance.”

After Jewish News approached Ofcom in mid-October, the organisation said: “Having reviewed these comments we’ve suspended this colleague, pending further investigation.”

Madzingira, who was only appointed to the Ofcom role last May, describes herself as a “Zimbabwean, a Black feminist, a student of decolonisation and a deep believer of liberty for all”, saying she has “one hope” before posting a Palestinian flag emoji.

But four months on from the suspension, Ofcom was unable to say more than that its investigation was “still ongoing”. Madzingira’s name only appears on Ofcom’s website in relation to her original appointment to the online safety position. A spokesman said that “as this is a personnel matter we are unable to provide details while the investigation remains ongoing”.