Zimbabwean parliament passes 'controversial' Patriotic Bill

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) – The Zimbabwean parliament has passed a "controversial" Patriotic Bill that criminalizes any citizen who meets with foreign diplomats or foreign government functionaries in terms of association, assembly, and speech.

The ruling Zimbabwe Africa National Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) party used its parliamentary majority to pass the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, 2022, also known as the Patriotic Bill late Wednesday evening, which many see as contradicting President Emmerson Mnangagwa's promise to expand freedoms.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate, which is also dominated by Zanu-PF, before Mnangagwa signs it into law, which will criminalize any citizen who meets with foreign diplomats or foreign country officials in terms of association, assembly, and speech.

If signed into law, the National Prosecuting Authority will be authorized to initiate criminal prosecution against anyone who, at its discretion, is undermining the country or using false statements to paint a negative picture of the country to foreign governments.

Anyone found in violation of the new law, according to the bill, will be arrested and imprisoned.

During a debate on the bill, before it was passed in parliament, Zanu-PF legislator Joseph Chinotimba said, "We cannot allow individuals to speak negatively about their own country. This Bill must become law."

The law comes as the Southern African country prepares to go to the general elections on Aug. 23.

However, long before it was passed, analysts in the country argued that vague laws are a hallmark of authoritarian states that use them to keep people under repression.