20 years in jail for making 'abusive, indecent or obscene statement' about Mugabe

20 years in jail for making 'abusive, indecent or obscene statement' about Mugabe

The new law will prevent us from publishing photographs of President Mugabe like this one

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By Peta Thornycroft

ZIMBABWE is poised to introduce draconian laws to silence its critics, both at home and abroad, who face 20 years in jail if they "publish or communicate a falsehood".

Opposition members have condemned the measures as "the most fascist legislation this country has known". The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill, went through its second parliamentary reading last week despite a multi-party report from the legal committee which described parts of it as "unconstitutional".

One clause in the new bill makes it an offence for any citizen, either in Zimbabwe or outside the country to make an "abusive, indecent or obscene statement" about President Robert Mugabe, "even if it is a true statement", according to shadow legal affairs minister David Coltart.

It is the latest in a series of harsh security laws. Media legislation, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, was toughened up earlier this month to provide a jail sentence of up to two years for journalists found practising without accreditation.

David Coltart, legal secretary of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said: "The section relating to crimes against the state in this bill embodies the most fascist legislation this country has known, far worse than the most draconian laws passed by the Smith regime. The sentence of up to 20 years amounts to a death sentence in Zimbabwe's prisons."

The latest law, which comes among a rush of new Bills, ahead of elections next March, makes it an offence to publish or communicate "to any other person a statement which is wholly or materially false with the intention of realising that there is a real risk of inciting or promoting public disorder or public violence or endangering public safety or, adversely affecting the defence and economic interests of Zimbabwe: or undermining public confidence in a law enforcement agency, the Prison Service or the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe; or interfering with, disrupting or interrupting any essential service," that person "shall be guilty of publishing or communicating a false statement prejudicial to the State and liable to a fine up to or exceeding level 14 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years or both."

Critics have condemned the slack phrasing of the bill. "The question of what is a falsehood will depend on which judge hears the case," said Beatrice Mtetwa, a human rights lawyer.

Mr Coltart said one clause in the new bill also makes it an offence for any citizen, either in Zimbabwe or outside the country to make an "abusive, indecent or obscene statement" about President Robert Mugabe, "even if it is a true statement", he said.

One of the most outspoken critics of Zimbabwe's political and humanitarian crisis, Archbishop Pius Ncube, head of the Roman Catholic Church in the second city, Bulawayo, said: "So they are going to stop us saying anything, even outside of Zimbabwe, even stop us writing a book?

"The truth must be told about the evil things they do. We cannot be quiet." Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister, who drafted most of the new laws, was unavailable for comment.
Daily Telegraph
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