BULAWAYO – Amnesty International said it was “deeply concerned” and “disturbed” after Zimbabwe’s parliament passed the so-called Patriotic Bill, which could see government critics jailed or sentenced to death for meeting foreign government officials.
The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022, the official name for the draft law, sailed through the Senate this week and now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s signature before it becomes law.
Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, in a statement Friday said the criminalisation of “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” as stated in the Bill is a ploy by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime to suppress rivals ahead of general elections on August 23, 2023.
“The passing of the ‘Patriotic Bill’ by the Senate is deeply concerning and signals a disturbing crackdown on Zimbabweans’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” Mwangovya said in a statement Friday.
“The weaponisation of the law is a desperate and patent move to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and to public participation in elections due in August this year.”
Mwangovya said the Bill was not clear and needed to be unpacked for Zimbabweans to understand.
“The Bill’s deliberately vague and overly broad provisions on damaging Zimbabwe’s national interest and sovereignty, including by calling for economic sanctions, flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations.
“All laws must be defined precisely, allowing people to know exactly which acts will make them criminally liable.”
Mwangovya also raised concerns that those who violate the Bill might subjected to capital punishment.
“The Bill, if passed into law, could give authorities greater powers to unduly restrict human rights, and worryingly, it would allow for imposing the death penalty against those perceived as being critical of the government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistle-blowers.
“We are deeply concerned that the Bill adds to the existing plethora of offences punishable by death in Zimbabwe.
“We call upon the president to reject this bill. The government of Zimbabwe must urgently ensure that it abides by its obligations under international human rights law.”
The Bill was published in the Government Gazette on December 23, 2022. It was passed by the National Assembly on May 31, 2023, and sailed through Senate on June 7, 2023.
