Zimbabwe’s Parliament has approved a contentious new law that criminalises acts that endanger “the sovereignty and national interest” of the southern African country.
The new law was enacted just hours after the government announced nationwide elections on August 23rd.
The new law, according to critics, kills free expression.
A lawmaker from the ruling Zanu-PF party, told parliament that the new law aimed to encourage Zimbabweans to be “patriotic”.
The bill is the latest in a series of moves that critics say are aimed at shutting down dissenting voices in the run up to the elections.
Njabulo Ncube is the National Coordinator for the Zimbabwe Editors Forum:
The national coordinator stated, “They want to be seen as 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.”
Eighty-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017 after a military-led coup, is seeking a second term in August.
His main challenger is Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor, who leads the recently formed CCC party.
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