https://zimbabwe.misa.org

Cybersecurity and Cybercrime
Laws in the SADC Region

the Commissioner 5 or by the Director-General6 ,
in writing, may, upon confirmation by the court
and as soon as reasonably practicable to do so,
order for the preservation of data that has been
stored or processed by means of a computer or
computer system or any other information and
communication technology, where there are
reasonable grounds to believe that such data is
vulnerable to loss or modification”.

matters connected with or incidental to the
foregoing”. In general, the proposed law provides
a legal framework for the criminalisation of
computer and network related offences.

As far as search, access and seizure are concerned,
the Act outlines that, “Where a police officer,
or any person authorised by the Commissioner
or by the Director-General, in writing, has
reasonable grounds to believe that stored
data or information would be relevant for the
purposes of an investigation or the prosecution
of an offence, he or she may apply to a judicial
officer for the issue of an order to enter any
premises to access, search and seize such data
or information”. It also provides for real-time
collection of content and traffic data. However,
this may be done by when a police officer has
been granted permission by a judicial officer to
compel a service provider, “within its technical
capabilities, to— (i) effect such collection and
recording referred to in paragraph (a), or (ii)
assist the person making the application to effect
such collection and recording”.

Lesotho
Like Zimbabwe, Lesotho has also gazetted the
Computer Crime and Cyber Bill in 2020. The
objectives of the Bill is “to criminalise offences
against computers and network related crime;
to provide for investigation and collection of
evidence for computer and network related
crime; to provide for the admission of electronic
evidence for such offences, and to provide for

Building on the SADC and Commonwealth Model
Laws on cybercrime, the draft Bill defines key
terms such as computer system, access provider,
hinder, critical infrastructure, interception,
internet service provider, racist and xenophobic
material, traffic data, seize and so forth. The
Bill defines “computer system” or “information
system” as “a device or a group of inter-connected
or related devices, one or more of which, pursuant
to a program, performs automatic processing of
data or any other function”. Part two of the Bill
deals with criminal law provisions. Most of the
offences outlined in this section puts intention
at the centre of the commission of the offence.
For example, it stipulates that, any “person
who intentionally, without lawful excuse or
justification or in excess of a lawful excuse or
justification...” It criminalises offences such
as illegally accessing and remaining logged
into a computer system without lawful excuse
or justification, obstructing, interrupting or
interfering with the lawful use of computer
data and disclosing details of a cybercrime
investigation, data espionage, harassment, and
interception and system interference. However,
some of these offences are already addressed
in the Penal Code and the Communications Act
(section 44).
Like the AU, European Union and SADC Model
Laws, the draft Bill provides procedures to
determine jurisdiction over criminal offences.
In sections 25, the Bill enumerates that “the
courts in the Kingdom of Lesotho shall have
jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act or
any regulations made under it where an act or

5Commissioner of Police appointed by the President in terms of section 112 of the Constitution
6Director-General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime appointed by the President in terms of section 4 of the
Corruption and Economic Crime Act.

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Select target paragraph3