Resist, Reject and Report Violence, #RRRV2023
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Major Highlights
The government gazetted the Electoral Amendment Bill and proposed changes which sought to
amend the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13]. The Bill also provides for the incorporation of the youth
quota in the National Assembly, the women's quota in local authorities and seeks to disqualify
previously convicted persons from contesting in elections, among others. The Bill addresses
nominal and administrative reforms while ignoring pertinent reforms that may directly affect
the transparency and credibility of elections in Zimbabwe. The Bill ignores the call for
meaningful electoral reforms, which include strengthening the independence of the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC), and transparent procedures for procurement, designing, printing
and distributing ballot papers, among others.
On 2 November, the world commemorated International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against
Journalists. Crimes against journalists have escalated and are likely to increase as the country
heads towards the 2023 general elections. In 2022 over 20 journalists were harassed,
assaulted and arrested while reporting. Privately owned Media Houses such as NewsDay were
barred from covering the Zanu PF Congress and the President's State of the Nation Address
(SONA). Journalists remain crucial stakeholders in disseminating information in the nation,
thus the need to address media polarisation before the 2023 elections.
On 22 November, Zimbabwe's Cabinet approved the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Amendment Bill to insert clauses of the Patriotic Bill as presented by Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Amendment Bill enhances the provisions of the Criminal Law Code in matters relating to the
country's sovereignty by criminalizing conduct that undermines Zimbabwe's sovereignty,
dignity, independence and national interests. The move further shrinks democratic space in
the country, violating the Constitution by criminalizing freedoms of speech, expression and
association.
On 21 November, 34 Apostolic sect congregants led by opposition Zimbabwe Transformative
Party (ZTP) leader Kanyenzura Parere who were on trial facing charges of staging an antigovernment protest, were fined ZWL12,000 each after spending nearly five months in remand
prison. They were arrested in July and charged with criminal nuisance as defined in section 46
of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for singing a gospel hymn, "Emmanuel
tisunungureiwo tanzwa nenhamo," loosely translated ‘Emmanuel we rely on you to save use
before we perish as a result of growing poverty’, a song deemed to be against the government.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project
Monthly Monitoring Report
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