CRIMINAL LAW (CODIFICATION AND REFORM AMENDMENT BILL)
PATRIOTIC BILL
ECLIPSE OF DEMOCRACY IN ZIMBABWE
The Upper House of Parliament (the Senate) on 4 June passed the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, often referred to as the
Patriotic Bill, a sign of the eclipse of democracy in Zimbabwe. The bill seeks to
amend the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], with the
addition of four clauses, three of which have been described as progressive
excluding Clause 2. Clause 3 will amend Section 65 of the Principal Act to
make 15 years the minimum required punishment for rape, in response to the
rise in crimes of sexual violence and rape. Clause 4 proposes to amend
Section 155 of the main Act’s definition of dangerous drugs to include
prepared opium, prepared cannabis resin, and a drug schedule. Clause 5
proposes to amend Section 174 of the main Act as the existing definition of
criminal abuse of office, as provided for in Section 174 (i), is fairly broad,
allowing public officials to be charged for honest mistakes made while doing
their duties. It is worrying to note that the proposed amendments to Clause 2
(3) says that , “Any citizen or permanent resident of Zimbabwe who, within or
outside Zimbabwe, intentionally partakes in any meeting, whose object or one
of whose objects the accused knows, or has reasonable grounds for believing
involves the consideration of or the planning for the implementation or
enlargement of sanctions or a trade boycott against Zimbabwe (whether those
sanctions or that boycott is untargeted or targets any individual or official, or
class of individuals or officials), but whose effects indiscriminately affect the
people of Zimbabwe as a whole, or any substantial section thereof shall be
guilty of wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe
and liable to a penalty that includes a fine not exceeding level twelve or
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or both.
ZPP fears that this clause will be used to criminalise the work of human rights
defenders, opposition supporters and pro-democracy campaigners. The Bill of
Rights in the constitution of Zimbabwe remains the guiding framework for
citizens engagement in political and electoral processes hence legislations
such as the Patriotic Bill have implications of suppressing citizens from
enjoying their rights freely without fear or intimidation. It is worrying that if the
Bill becomes law, the government will likely outlaw criticism from CSOs and
other developing partners which will be a step backwards from democracy in
Zimbabwe. The constitution of Zimbabwe has a clear legislative mandate for all
citizens including non-state actors hence it should remain the only guiding
governance framework for people to adhere to instead of repressive policies
and legislations. Credit is given to Veritas and Pindula for this article.
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