Reject ‘Patriotic Bill’, Amnesty International tells ED

BUSINESS REPORTER

Global human rights campaigners Amnesty International has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa not to sign into law the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022 as it signals a “disturbing crack down” on Zimbabweans’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

The Bill, also known as the “Patriotic Bill” and which sailed through the Senate this week, criminalises “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”.

The Bill awaits President Mnangagwa’s assent to become law.

“We call upon the President to reject this bill. The government of Zimbabwe must urgently ensure that it abides by its obligations under international human rights law,” said Flavia Mwangovya (pictured), Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa.

She said the weaponisation of the law is a “desperate and patent move to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and to public participation in elections due in August this year”.

.The Bill’s deliberately vague and overly broad provisions on damaging Zimbabwe’s interest and sovereignty, including by calling for economic sanctions, flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations, Mwangovya said, adding that all laws must be defined precisely, allowing people to know exactly which acts will make them criminally liable.

“The Bill, if passed into law, could give authorities greater powers to unduly restrict human rights, and worryingly, it would allow for imposing the death penalty against those perceived as being critical of the government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistle-blowers. We are deeply concerned that the Bill adds to the existing plethora of offences punishable by death in Zimbabwe,” she said.

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