Government on Friday, 23 December 2022 gazetted the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill.
The Bill, which has become known as the Patriotic Bill, seeks to punish Zimbabweans for alleged crimes such as treason and “wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”.
Those found guilty will lose citizenship or be barred from voting and holding public office. Part of the Bill reads:
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Any citizen or permanent resident of Zimbabwe (hereinafter in this section called “the accused”) who, within or outside Zimbabwe actively partakes… in any meeting whose object the accused knows or has reasonable grounds for believing involves….military or other armed intervention in Zimbabwe…subverting, upsetting, overthrowing or overturning the constitutional government in Zimbabwe; shall be guilty of wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe and liable to— (i) the same penalties as for treason, in a case referred to in paragraph (a); or (ii) the same penalties as for subverting the constitutional government.
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The Bill has been condemned by civil society organisations and opposition political parties saying it is an attempt by the ZANU PF-led government to silence critics. Reads the Bill:
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A termination of the citizenship of the convicted person, if the convicted person is a citizen by registration or a dual citizen…prohibition from being registered as a voter or voting at an election for a period of at least five years, but not exceeding 15 years.
Prohibition from filling a public office for a period of at least five years but not exceeding 15 years, and, if he or she holds any such office, the convicting court may declare that that office shall be vacated by the convicted person from the date of his or her conviction, unless the tenure of the public office in question is regulated exclusively by or in terms of the constitution.
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Another controversial Bill, the Private Voluntary Organisations Act Amendment Bill is in the final stages of parliamentary approval. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/thestandard/news/article/200005507/mnangagwa-rolls-out-another-draconian-law">The Standard</a>

Pindula News

"Patriotic Bill" Gazetted

The Government seeks to bar healthcare workers from engaging in industrial action for more than 72 hours in a week by amending the Health Services Act.
The Health Services Amendment Bill has provisions for compulsory arbitration when the Government and health workers’ representatives disagree and negotiations reach an impasse.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi presented the speech for the second reading of the Bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday as Vice President and Health and Child Care Minister Constantino Chiwenga is out of the country on official business in Indonesia.
The Second Reading is when the responsible minister for a particular Bill gives the reasons for the proposed law. Said Chiwenga:
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We as Government highly value our public health service workers but they are not the only public service workers we have to care for.
They, like other workers in the public sector, are entitled to decent working conditions and Government will never stop hearing their reasonable grievances about their material well-being but we must balance the aspiration with the reality that in any state, the delivery of affordable public health service is a basic public health good that cannot be withdrawn from our people because of a labour dispute.
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Chiwenga added that the Health Services Amendment Bill will make health service an essential service which prohibits healthcare workers from going on strike like other workers. He said:
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We are not yet a high middle-income country but our training facilities for health service workers are very good and they are frequently sought after by other countries.
Accordingly, the Bill will declare that health service to be an essential service.
This means that the service cannot be withdrawn by ordinary methods of industrial action.
Instead Madam Speaker, negotiations must be undertaken leading to compulsory arbitration if there is a deadlock between the parties.
At most withdrawal of services during collective job action cannot exceed 72 hours in any week.
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<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/05/full-blown-teachers-strike-looms/">The Herald</a></h4>

Bill Curtails Healthcare Workers' Right To Go On Strike

Media lobby groups have expressed concern over the potential abuse of the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill by the government to stifle people’s right to information.
The Bill was passed by the Senate without debate on Wednesday and now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s assent to become law.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe director Tabani Moyo said his organisation made several recommendations to unbundle the Bill which were ignored. He said:
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We are concerned as Misa Zimbabwe with the pro-security approach towards Cyber Security Bill and in our submissions, which tally with the contributions from the public consultative meetings, there were issues, specific recommendations, that they need to unbundle that Bill so that it does not lump complex issues together. They are lumping electronic transactions, cybersecurity and data protection.
Secondly, we were concerned about the issue of creating a monster institution, where Potraz [Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe] became the horse of Potraz itself, data security centre, authority, there is a cybersecurity crime centre and so forth.
This compromises the security of data and creates massive surveillance in society. The issue of remote logging keys, the issue of our failure to feel the whistleblowing protection, among other things.
Those issues, we were still pushing them back and advising the Lower House to attend to those issues that have been raised by the public as reflected in the portfolio commit report on what the public had recommended.
The public had recommended exactly what I said, unbundle them, and do not merge these institutions, the cybersecurity centre, data authority and Potraz. Keep them separate so that you don’t make people’s data vulnerable.
Of course, the cybersecurity centre is a military arm and you cannot lump it together with Potraz because it has access to the back end of mobile network operators which have conventional data for everyone in the country.
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Moyo said he hopes that the Bill that has been passed reacts to the need to have a pro-human rights approach toward the regulation of cyberspace.
Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe executive director Loughty Dube had this to say:
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The Cyber Security Bill has contentious issues that need extensive debate. The Bill, in its present state, is an assault on citizens’ right to information. It is unfortunate that the State will hide behind security to deny the citizens their right to information.
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The law is more dangerous to journalism where sources, often protected by the law, will no longer be able to give information knowing they are being snooped at.
Once signed into law, it will regulate the use of the internet and social media activities to curb computer crimes such as the spreading of pornographic content, and other internet-related fraudulent activities.
It will prescribe a 10-year sentence for hate speech at a time when some Zimbabweans have, in the past, been arraigned before the courts for denigrating the President.
This is happening when My Freedom of Information Campaign, aimed at increasing awareness on the Freedom of Information Act for vulnerable groups, especially women, girls as well as female journalists, and journalists.
The campaign was initiated by Women and girls’ rights organisation, Tag a Life International (TaLI), in partnership with Fojo Media Institute, Identities Media TV and the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.

Media lobby groups are worried about a new law called the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill. They think the government might use it to control information and spy on people. The groups wanted the law to be changed, but the Senate passed it quickly. The new law could make it harder for journalists to protect their sources and may punish people who use the internet in the wrong way. Some people are worried about losing their freedom of speech. The law will also regulate what people can do online and could give harsh punishments for certain crimes.

Media Lobby Groups Raise Concern Over Cybersecurity Bill

The Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill sailed through Senate without debate on Wednesday and now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s assent to become law.
The Bill, if passed into law, will regulate the use of the internet and social media activities to curb computer crimes such as the spreading of pornographic content, and other internet-related fraudulent activities.
Unlike senators, who were quiet and did not debate the Bill during its Committee Reading Stage on Wednesday, there was heated debate in the National Assembly on the philosophy of the Bill after MPs said it removed certain human rights.
The Bill was criticised on the grounds that it violates fundamental rights such as the right to privacy, the right to freedom of speech and the right to access to information.
Some of the arguments by MPs in the National Assembly were that the new law would remove the right to protect one’s health information.
Media lobby groups, such as the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe and the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, have immediately expressed concern over the potential abuse of the piece of legislation by the government to stifle people’s right to information.
However, Chegutu East MP Webster Shamu (ZANU PF), among others, welcomed the new law, saying it would deal with cyber threats that affect governments, individuals and organisations.
Speaking recently during the Second Reading Stage of the Bill in the National Assembly, Shamu said:
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Zimbabwe’s war on cybercrime is an aspect that should not be taken lightly. We have to be wary of the technological advantage that can make us lose track of the sovereignty of this nation.
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Opposition MPs felt that the law was being crafted to silence divergent views.
They said there was a need for an independent body to regulate internet services as government-controlled bodies could take orders from the Executive.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/07/senate-passes-cyber-security-bill-without-debate/">NewsDay</a></h4>

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