Cabinet has announced saying political parties will be placed under a uniform code of conduct, hate speech should be banned and campaigning against Zimbabwe criminalised.

Cabinet has approved the recommendations, but there are parliamentary processes to follow to effect any legal changes, starting with a presentation by committee chairman Vice President Kembo Mohadi to Parliament.

Speaking after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni, standing in for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, said Cabinet adopted recommendations from the Cabinet Committee on National Peace and Reconciliation.
Highlights of the recommendations, she said, included:
That legislation and a code of conduct will be put in place to regulate the operations and conduct of all political parties;
That campaigning against one’s country shall be legislated at law and criminalised;

That existing laws shall be strengthened to include elements that foster tolerance, equality and social cohesion among Zimbabweans as well as prohibit hate speech by public officials, media houses and citizens in public spaces and social, print and electronic media platforms,
That the public should be educated on the security services’ complaints handling and feedback mechanisms.

In the past, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association has called for the enactment of laws that bar anyone calling for sanctions and economic sabotage from contesting elections in the country and make it a serious crime.

Minister Nyoni said the Witness Protection Bill will soon be expedited and that historians will be resourced to document inclusive story lines that reframe and capture narratives about Zimbabwe’s history.