Tinashe Sithole

THE introduction of the controversial “Patriotic Act” in Zimbabwe will contribute to the erosion of political and civil liberties in a country that has been in the grip of one political party since independence in 1980.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the new act, officially called the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Act, 2023, into law on 14 July. His government said the law was indispensable to holding accountable those who jeopardised national interests. It allows for monitoring and suppressing political organisations and journalists who are critical of the government.

It carries harsh sentences, including death, for acts the government deems to be “unpatriotic”.

Such a law, in a country with a history of abuses of individual freedoms, will further undermine the right to freedom of expression enshrined in the constitution.

I have researched post-liberation Zimbabwe’s political economy and noted how the ruling Zanu-PF party has become conflated