Mtetwa is especially famous because she defends local and international journalists. In 2003, for example, she got a court order, a formal statement from a court to stop the government from forcing "Guardian" reporter Andrew Meldrum to leave the country. She gave the order to security officials at Harare International Airport only minutes before Meldrum's plane left. She also helped reporters Toby Harnden and Julian Simmonds from London's "Sunday Telegraph" newspaper. They were arrested during the Zimbabwean April parliamentary election. The government said the reporters did not have official approval. The court said they were not guilty. In April 2008, she helped "New York Times" reporter Barry Bearak get out of jail. He was arrested for similar reasons. Mtetwa also defended many local journalists who were in jail before the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election.