Factsheet: When do you risk arrest under the Patriotic Bill?

What is in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment/Patriotic Bill?

Zimbabwe’s Lower House of Parliament passed the “Patriotic Bill” on May 31 which amends the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act to “criminalize the conduct of isolated citizens or groups who, for self-gain, co-operate or connive with hostile foreign governments to inflict suffering on Zimbabwean citizens and cause damage to national interests.”

In addition to clauses on patriotism, the Amendment Bill contains other provisions setting the minimum mandatory sentence for rape, an expansion of the definition of dangerous drugs and criminal abuse of office by public officers. The Bill which was passed by the National Assembly needs to be approved by the Senate — that is the Upper House of Parliament — and to be signed by the President to become a full law.

What does the proposed law say about engaging foreign governments?

Clause 2 of the Bill will insert a new section into the Code (section 22A), creating the crime of “wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”. The crime will be committed by a citizen or permanent resident of Zimbabwe who takes an active part in a meeting involving or convened by an agent of a foreign government, if the citizen or resident knows or has reason to believe that the object of the meeting is:

to consider or plan armed intervention in Zimbabwe by the foreign government, or
to subvert or overthrow the constitutional Zimbabwean government, or
to consider, implement or extend sanctions or a trade boycott against Zimbabwe, or against an individual or official if the sanctions or boycott affect a substantial section of the people of Zimbabwe.

What are the penalties for the above crimes?

The penalties for wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe will attract jail terms of between 10-20 years according to the object of the meeting. Participation in meetings whose objective is to subvert or overthrow the government will attract a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.

What does the Bill say about criminal abuse of public office?

Section 174 (“Criminal abuse of duty as a public officer”) of the principal Act which is amended by the repeal of subsection (1) says an officer shall be guilty of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer and liable to a fine not exceeding level thirteen or imprisonment for a period not exceeding fifteen years or both.

The officer shall be guilty or both if he or she does anything which he or she knows is contrary to or inconsistent with his or her duty as a public officer; or if he or she omits to do anything which he or she knows it is his or her duty to do; with the intention of conferring an undue or illegal benefit on someone else or of unfairly or illegally prejudicing someone else.

What are the fears?

The major fears are that these provisions will trample on basic civic rights and close the democratic space. It is the clauses on patriotism and criminal abuse of office that have triggered concerns due to their vagueness and potential to be misinterpreted to stifle freedom of expression.