Zimbabwe’s senate has passed the Patriotic Bill, which opens the way for the harshest of crackdowns on freedom of expression and free association in SA’s brutalised neighbour. All that remains now is for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to sign the bill into law.
There is little doubt he will do just that. A general election is coming up on August 23; the economy is in meltdown; surveys earlier this year showed the opposition would win if there were a free and fair election. Mnangagwa and his party are clearly determined to prevent that.
The bill criminalises “wilfully injuring the sovereign national interest of Zimbabwe”, with sanctions including the death penalty for anyone meeting in support of sanctions against the country. Its deliberate vagueness will enable the government to suppress opposition politicians, journalists, academics, activists and anyone else who says anything it does not like.
It is just one more human rights abuse on a continent which also recently saw vicious new anti-LGBTQ legislation by Uganda’s government.
SA’s democracy boasts a progressive constitution and bill of rights. It claims to be a leader in Africa. Yet it has remained silent on these blatant abuses of human rights by its neighbours. That is not on.
The government must speak up for human rights on the continent. It must take up violations with its neighbours. It must refuse to endorse elections rigged as Zimbabwe’s clearly will be. Unless we defend our constitution fiercely, it will be just a piece of paper, as Zimbabwe’s is.
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