Two Zimbabweans and a non-governmental organization have filed a High Court application seeking to declare some provisions of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act 2023 as unconstitutional.
The applicants - Valentine Maponga, Paidamoyo Muzulu and Firinne Trust Trading as Veritas – want the court to declare Section 22A of the law as an infringement on people’s rights and freedoms.
In their application they also argue that the death penalty related to crimes committed under Section 22A of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act should be repealed. The respondents are the Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Parliament of Zimbabwe.
According to the applicants, “willfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” in this section is vague and designed to instill fear in Zimbabweans.
“… Sections 22A (2) and (3) are an infringement of the right to a fair public trial as protected by Section 69(1) and sections 58 and 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe … The penalty provisions of section 22A are an infringement of the right to a fair and impartial trial as provided by Section 69(1) and section 69(3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as well as the right to equal protection and benefit of the law codified under section 56(1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.”
They argue that the death penalty imposed in Section 20(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act on the basis of violating the law are a breach of the rights of Zimbabweans.
The law states that a person who is convicted of breaching Section 22A (2) shall be guilty of willfully damaging the sovereignty of Zimbabwe and be sentenced to death.
Under the law, Zimbabweans are barred from engaging foreigners on national issues without state approval. Its unlawful for them to discuss sanctions and related matters with foreign government representatives or just foreigners.
Justice secretary Virginia Mabhiza said she has not yet received papers challenging some provisions of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
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