Zimbabwe’s Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, recently spoke on <a class="MarkdownLink_linkifiedLink__KxC9G">Newzroom Afrika</a> about the state of the country’s economy and the recently passed <a class="MarkdownLink_linkifiedLink__KxC9G">Criminal Law</a> (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, also known as the Patriotic Bill.
During the interview, the minister appeared to have difficulty explaining the details of the bill and what it entails. Watch the video below for more:
<div class="wp-video" style="width: 640px;">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" controls="controls" height="360" id="video-259276-1" preload="metadata" width="640"><source src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mutsvangwa-PB.mp4?_=1" type="video/mp4"/><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mutsvangwa-PB.mp4">https://news.pindula.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mutsvangwa-PB.mp4</a></video></div>
The bill seeks to amend the country’s <a class="MarkdownLink_linkifiedLink__KxC9G">criminal code</a> and introduce <a class="MarkdownLink_linkifiedLink__KxC9G">new</a> offences related to undermining the authority of the government, among other things. 
The Bill makes it a crime to participate in any meeting where sanctions or trade boycotts against Zimbabwe are considered or planned, regardless of whether the sanctions are targeted or general.
Similarly, it is a crime to attend a meeting where there is talk of military intervention or the overthrow of the constitutional government in Zimbabwe.
If someone raises these issues at a meeting and you then promote or encourage them, you may be charged with a crime, even if you did not know the agenda beforehand. Punishments for offenders are not specified in the Bill.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

Pindula News

WATCH: Information Minister Mutsvangwa Speaks On Patriotic Bill

The government of <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> has, through Statutory Instrument 14A of 2023, announced a new standard scale of fines. 
In the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2023, seen by Pindula News, the government said offence level 1 needs US$5 while level 14, the highest level, needs US$5 000. Reads the notice:
<blockquote>
IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has, in terms of section 280(7) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], made the following notice:—
1. This notice may be cited as the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2023.
2. The First Schedule to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], is repealed and substituted by the following—
“First Schedule (Sections 2(1) and 280) 
<h2>STANDARD SCALE OF FINE</h2>
Level ………………………………. Monetary amount (US$)
1 ……………………………………………………….. 5 
2 ……………………………………………………….. 15 
3 ……………………………………………………….. 30 
4 ……………………………………………………….. 100 
5 ……………………………………………………….. 200 
6 ……………………………………………………….. 300 
7 ……………………………………………………….. 400 
8 ……………………………………………………….. 500 
9 ……………………………………………………….. 600 
10 ……………………………………………………… 700 
11 ………………………………………………………. 1 000 
12 ………………………………………………………. 2 000 
13 ………………………………………………………. 3 000 
14 ………………………………………………………. 5 000.
3. The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2021, published in Statutory Instrument 209 of 2021, is hereby repealed.
4. The fines in the Schedule are expressed in United States dollars but payable in the equivalent Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing 
interbank rate.
</blockquote>
<h2><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Full List: New Standard Scale of Fines

The government of <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> has, through Statutory Instrument 14A of 2023, announced a new standard scale of fines. 
In the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2023, seen by Pindula News, the government said offence level 1 needs US$5 while level 14, the highest level, needs US$5 000. Reads the notice:
<blockquote>
IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has, in terms of section 280(7) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], made the following notice:—
1. This notice may be cited as the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2023.
2. The First Schedule to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], is repealed and substituted by the following—
“First Schedule (Sections 2(1) and 280) 
<h2>STANDARD SCALE OF FINE</h2>
Level ………………………………. Monetary amount (US$)
1 ……………………………………………………….. 5
2 ……………………………………………………….. 15
3 ……………………………………………………….. 30
4 ……………………………………………………….. 100
5 ……………………………………………………….. 200
6 ……………………………………………………….. 300
7 ……………………………………………………….. 400
8 ……………………………………………………….. 500
9 ……………………………………………………….. 600
10 ……………………………………………………… 700
11 ………………………………………………………. 1 000
12 ………………………………………………………. 2 000
13 ………………………………………………………. 3 000
14 ………………………………………………………. 5 000.
3. The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2021, published in Statutory Instrument 209 of 2021, is hereby repealed.
4. The fines in the Schedule are expressed in United States dollars but payable in the equivalent Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing
interbank rate.
</blockquote>
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Cabinet has approved amendments to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act to introduce stiff penalties for perpetrators of sexual violence with those convicted of rape or aggravated indecent assault now facing minimum mandatory 15-year jail terms.
Rapists will be sentenced to life imprisonment or “any definite period of imprisonment of not less than 15 years”, <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/mandatory-15-year-jail-terms-for-rapists">The Sunday Mail</a> reported citing the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill. Reads the Bill:
<blockquote>
Section 65 (“Rape”) (4) of the principal Act is amended by the repeal of paragraph (b) and the substitution of – (b) he knows that she has not consented to it or realises that there is a real risk or possibility that she may not have consented to it; shall be guilty of rape and liable to – if the crime was committed in aggravating circumstances, to life imprisonment or any definite period of imprisonment of not less than fifteen years; or if there are no aggravating circumstances, to life imprisonment or imprisonment for a period of not more than 15 years.
For the avoidance of doubt if — the crime was committed in aggravating circumstances as described in Section 65 (2), the convicted person shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or any definite period of imprisonment of not less than fifteen years; or there are no aggravating circumstances, to life imprisonment or imprisonment for a period of not more than 15 years.
</blockquote>
Authorities initially considered much stiffer mandatory penalties of up to 60 years but settled on a mandatory sentence less severe than those imposed on murderers.
Presently, the criminal code does not provide for a mandatory sentence for rape or aggravated indecent assault, which is defined as the sexual penetration of a victim, including men, without consent.
The development comes after the release of report on rape which indicates that an average of 22 women filed rape cases daily between January 2020 and December 2021.
Police also claim more than 16 000 cases of rape were reported in the two years to December 2021, with 7 377 and 8 715 women reporting in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act considers performing sexual or anal intercourse with a female person without her consent as rape.
As part of the ongoing reform programme, the authorities are considering raising the statute of limitations — the time limit for filing charges against an alleged offender — for sexual offences to 40 years.
Section 23 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act presently sets the prescriptive period for reporting offences such as rape at 20 years.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care chairperson, Dr Ruth Labode, welcomed the proposed amendments. She said:
<blockquote>
It is a welcome move, but we need to ensure that girls can access contraceptives, and we must not allow a nine-year-old to carry a pregnancy to full term. Such pregnancies must be terminated.
</blockquote>
The Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum acting director (programmes development and fundraising manager), Dr Thando Makubaza, said deterrent penalties will send a clear message to would-be offenders.
Ten years is the minimum mandatory sentence for rape in the SADC region.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Cabinet Approves Minimum Mandatory 15-year Jail Term For Rape Convicts

Amendments to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which were approved by Cabinet last Tuesday are set to introduce tough penalties for citizens found guilty of harming the country’s national interests.
Citizens who would invite a military attack on Zimbabwe from a hostile foreign government through private correspondence will face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Those who campaign for economic sanctions and trade restrictions would be liable to imprisonment for a period of up to five years.
According to the proposed new law, citizens who actively encourage sanctions on Zimbabwe would be barred from voting, registering as voters, and holding public office for up to 15 years. Reads the Bill’s memorandum:
<blockquote>
Our Constitutional order of Zimbabwe that is based on parliamentary democracy affords many avenues for aggrieved citizens to redress their wrongs, including against the State.
It is therefore improper for citizens and residents of Zimbabwe to implement measures that undermine our sovereignty, dignity and independence as a nation. This (new) clause will criminalise such conduct.
</blockquote>
According to the Bill, any citizen or permanent resident of Zimbabwe who actively participates in meetings whose object involves imposing sanctions or trade embargo against Zimbabwe shall be guilty of wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe. It reads:
<blockquote>
Upon conviction, the courts can impose a fine not exceeding level 10 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or both; additionally or alternatively on the motion of the prosecutor, to any one or more of the following, if the offence is attended by aggravating circumstances — termination of the citizenship of the convicted person, if the convicted person is a citizen by registration or a dual citizen: Provided that the convicting court shall not impose this penalty if it would effectively render the convicted person stateless; cancellation of the permanent resident status of the convicted person, if the convicted person is a permanent resident; or prohibition from being registered as a voter or voting at an election for a period of at least five years but not exceeding fifteen years.
</blockquote>
The Bill also says those convicted of actively encouraging sanctions will be prohibited:
<blockquote>
… from filling a public office for a period of at least five years but not exceeding fifteen (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.
</blockquote>
If the amendments are passed into law, Zimbabwean citizens who call for military or other armed intervention in Zimbabwe by a foreign government will face the death penalty. It reads:
<blockquote>
Any citizen or permanent resident of Zimbabwe who, within or outside Zimbabwe, actively partakes (whether himself or herself or through an agent, and whether on his or her own initiative or at the invitation of the foreign government concerned or any of its agents, proxies or entities) in any meeting whose object the accused knows or has reasonable grounds for believing involves the consideration of or the planning for – military or other armed intervention in Zimbabwe by the foreign government concerned or another foreign government, or by any of their agents, proxies or entities; or subverting, upsetting, overthrowing or overturning constitutional government in Zimbabwe; shall be guilty of wilfully damaging the national interest of Zimbabwe and liable to — the same penalties as for treason; or the same penalties as for subverting constitutional government, in a case referred to in paragraph (b).
</blockquote>
ZANU PF director for information and publicity, Tafadzwa Mugwadi, welcomed the Bill, saying “national interests are sacrosanct to all Zimbabweans, notwithstanding their differences, political or otherwise.” | <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/jail-no-voting-rights-for-the-unpatriotic">The Sunday Mail</a>

Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Latest News

Latest Jobs