A contentious new law that makes offences against “the sovereignty and national interest” of Zimbabwe was approved by the country’s parliament.
A few hours after the administration scheduled the August 23 national elections, the new law was passed. According to critics, the new law stifles free speech.
“What they are criminalizing is differing opinion against Zanu-PF and different opinion from Mnangagwa himself, who is a presidential candidate for Zanu-PF and this happens at the edge of an election showing without any doubt that the envelope of reform is being done by Zanu, contrary to what they put particularly in the international community, that they are reforming”, said Ostallos Siziba, National Deputy Spokesperson for the opposition’s CCC party.
The new rule, according to a Zanu-PF lawmaker, aims to incentivize “patriotism” among Zimbabweans.
The legislation is the most recent in a line of actions that critics claim attempt to silence dissenting voices in the run-up to the elections. The Zimbabwe Editors Forum’s national coordinator is Njabulo Ncube.
“They want to be seen to be hardliners so they want this law to try and put fear in the hearts of the electorate, the hearts of the opposition by using this bad law which is coming on the eve of an election”, said the national coordinator.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over as president from Robert Mugabe in 2017 following a military-backed coup, is running for reelection in august. He is 80 years old.
Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor who is the leader of the freshly founded CCC party, is his biggest rival.
