Amnesty International blasts Patriotic Bill, says Zim’s sovereignty seriously injured

By Staff Writer

The Amnesty International has criticised the enactment of the Patriotic Bill describing the move as the deepest injury to the sovereignty and national interest amid fears the legislative piece will further erode human rights.

The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill, 2022, criminalizes anyone caught “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” and those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country.

 If passed, this law would open the door to violations of the human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

 Moreover, the penalties provided by the Bill range from loss of citizenship, to denial of the right to vote and the death penalty.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Flavia Mwangovya expressed grave concerns on the upcoming legal instrument.

“The “Patriotic Bill”, which criminalizes “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” and its subsequent nod by the Senate is deeply concerning and signals a disturbing crackdown on Zimbabweans’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

“The weaponization 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 global right group leader said.

 Mwangovya  said 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 amid calls for proper definition of the laws as opposed to current vagueness.

The rights group said if the Bill, if passed into law, it 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.

“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,” added Amnesty International.