International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by Zimbabwe in 1991, safeguards the right to freedom of expression in Article 19, which provides that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” and “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory, explicitly protects the right to freedom of expression in Article 9, which states that “every individual shall have the right to receive information” and “to express and disseminate his opinions within the law.”

Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013 unequivocally guarantees the right to freedom of expression, stating that “every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes… freedom to seek, receive and communicate ideas and opinions”

Does it then follow that journalists are safe, and why then are there rampant arrests of journalists in Zimbabwe? The legal framework governing journalism in Zimbabwe includes several laws that ostensibly protect press freedom but are often misused to suppress dissent.

Some borrowed aspects of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act contain provisions that can be interpreted broadly to criminalize journalistic activities deemed unfavourable by authorities. These laws create an environment where journalists operate under constant threat of legal repercussions.

The Zimbabwean government’s penchant for utilizing specious allegations, such as “publishing false information” or “inciting violence,” to effect the wrongful and arbitrary detention of journalists has been a pervasive phenomenon over the past decade.

This pernicious practice constitutes a blatant infringement of the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the right to liberty and security of the person, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The case of Hopewell Chin’ono, who was repeatedly detained on spurious charges of communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the State for exposing government corruption, exemplifies the measures employed to stifle critical reporting and dissenting voices.

The widespread condemnation of Chin’ono’s detentions by human rights organizations globally underscores the grave risks faced by journalists who dare to challenge official narratives.

For the past two decades, the lexicon of treason, sedition, incitement to violence, and dissemination of false information has been ubiquitously invoked to stifle journalistic freedom and dissenting voices.

It is axiomatic that every journalist must be cognisant of the perilous landscape they navigate, wherein deviation from the norm is oftentimes conflated with perfidy.

The chilling effect of this paradigm is exemplified by the myriad of journalists who, despite their desire to provide comprehensive coverage of the Geza issue, are intimidated into self-censorship.

The spectre of prosecution for putative offences such as “supporting insurrection” or “subversion” hangs precariously over their heads, effectively muzzling their freedom of expression and quashing their journalistic integrity.

In a putative democracy such as Zimbabwe, where the sacrosanct provisions of the Constitution guarantee the inviolability of fundamental rights and freedoms, the liberty of journalists to articulate their sentiments and opine on pertinent issues ought to be untrammelled by the machinations of censorship and the panopticon-esque surveillance apparatus, which insidiously seeks to extort conformity and submission.

By Gaylord Munemo (Emergency Response Specialist)