ZIMBABAWE TANZANIA INTRODUCTION Zimbabwe has been in a process of trying to implement its new Constitution, enacted in 2013. Very little has been done to synchronise access to information laws with the new Constitution. Out of the 159 laws aligned with the Constitution, none of these have been access to information laws. There have been a lot of threats to members of the media during the time of this study. Government also announced a Cyber Crime Bill to curb what it said is ‘Cyber terrorism’ but the government is responding to a recent spate of civil disobedience led by #ThisFlag, an online campaign relying on Facebook to convey its messages. The campaign aims to mobilise citizens to hold the government of Zimbabwe accountable for the “poverty, corruption, and injustice that plague” Zimbabwe. On 6 July, the day that both the online movement and teachers unions announced that there will be a mass strike, the Whatsapp platform mysteriously went down and could only work when VPN software was installed. This suggested that the platform had been deliberately shut down by network operators under the orders of government. Whatsapp was the main platform conveying messages of the strike alongside pictures and videos of violence that was occurring in the country. The attempt was an effort by government to stifle access to information by closing down some social media platforms. One anonymous internet group responded by attacking government websites. Credit to government for quickly putting the websites up again. For example, the Ministry of Finance which we studied in this research had its website hacked but it was up again in no time. Early in the year, state media journalists were arrested for writing an investigative story on elephant poaching involving high ranking police officers. Police proceeded to arrest the two journalists and their editor, demanding to know where they had accessed their information. The matter is still before the courts but it highlighted how accessing information in Zimbabwe has been made a taboo by those who are in authority. Earlier on, other journalists running an online publication were arrested and questioned by the police over the bombing of President Robert Mugabe’s dairy farm. The journalists were interrogated on where they had obtained the information. Only recently, another journalist, Richard Chidza was summoned by police to disclose his sources on a ‘treasonous’ communiqué reportedly authored by war veterans in Zimbabwe. Generally, the access to information and freedom of the media situation in the country has deteriorated in the last few months, with threats against journalists by government and political leaders increasing. Threats to ban social media have also been made, with military leaders publicly denouncing social media. The police brutally attacked at least five journalists, including a BBC journalist who was covering a protest. There has been a pattern of violating the Constitution. Under the Constitution the following rights are explicitly guaranteed: 61 Freedom of expression and freedom of the media (1) Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes— (a) freedom to seek, receive and communicate ideas and other information; (b) freedom of artistic expression and scientific research and creativity; and (c) academic freedom. (2) Every person is entitled to freedom of the media, which freedom includes protection of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources of information. (3) Broadcasting and other electronic media of communication have freedom of establishment, subject only to State licensing procedures that— (a) are necessary to regulate the airwaves and other forms of signal distribution; and (b) are independent of control by government or by political or commercial interests. (4) All State-owned media of communication must— (a) be free to determine independently the editorial content of their broadcasts or other communications; (b) be impartial; and (c) afford fair opportunity for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions. (5) Freedom of expression and freedom of the media do not include— (a) incitement to violence; (b) advocacy of hatred or hate speech; (c) malicious injury to a person’s reputation or dignity; or (d) malicious or unwarranted breach of a person’s right to privacy. 62 Access to information (1) Every Zimbabwean citizen or permanent resident, including the Zimbabwean media, has the right of access to any information held by the State or by any institution or agency of government at every level, in so far as the information is required in the interests of public accountability. (2) Every person, including the Zimbabwean media, has the right of access to any information held by any person, including the State, in so far as the information is required for the exercise or protection of a right. (3) Every person has a right to the correction of information, or the deletion of untrue, erroneous or misleading information, which is held by the State or any institution or agency of the government at any level, and which relates to that person. (4) Legislation must be enacted to give effect to this right, but may restrict access to information in the interests of defence, public security or professional confidentiality, to the extent that the restriction is fair, reasonable, necessary and justifiable in a democratic society based on openness, justice, human dignity, equality and freedom. There still exists subsidiary legislation that is clearly inconsistent with these new provisions. Notable among such laws is the Official Secrets Act 1970, which makes it difficult for citizens 103