It is evident that a dated law like criminal defamation is being used to override newer and progressive laws.(1) LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS As mentioned before, the promise made by President Emerson Mnangagwa to institute legal reforms has to a certain extent been carried out but has then been nullified by the subsequent reintroduction of contentious clauses through new pieces of legislation. While the repeal of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public Order and Security Act provided a triumphant moment, it was a short-lived celebration as the government swiftly introduced the Freedom of Information Act and the Zimbabwe Media Commission Act which brought in aspects that once again introduce restrictions instead of enhancing the work of the media or making information more accessible. For instance, at the end of 2021, the government enacted the Cyber and Data Protection Act, which reintroduces the criminalisation of the publication of false information despite the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe having previously discarded it as having a chilling effect on exercising the right to freedom of expression.(2) The Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill, which has been passed by parliament and now awaits President Mnangagwa’s signature, threatens the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. It also provides the government with extensive powers to interfere in the governance and activities of civil society organisations without substantive justification.(3) The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, together with fellow special rapporteurs had previously written to the Parliament of Zimbabwe imploring it not to pass the law as it would severely narrow civic space in the country.(4) MEDIA PLURALISM AND DIVERSITY Independence of the media remains a challenge considering that the government controls the majority of the mainstream news platforms, while businesspeople and politicians aligned to the state also own and control a significant number of the licensed media outlets. This in turn has resulted in a media landscape that lacks diversity of opinion and has compromised the media’s capacity to ensure transparency or to hold the government and the corporate accountable for their actions.(5) Zimbabwe moved towards attaining the threetier system of broadcasting as aspired to in the Windhoek Declaration. The government has licensed 14 community broadcasting stations, with six stations having been launched. Failure to transform the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation into a truly public service broadcaster means Zimbabwe continues to fall short of having a true three-tier system of broadcasting. The drawback is that in what appears to be a dramatically changing landscape, which gives the appearance of being broadened, actually remains a controlled space, as these licences have been awarded through the lens of political affiliation. Zimbabwe’s media space continues to lack diversity regarding the participation and representation of marginalised groups. Women, youth and sexual minorities have struggled to find space in the local media. While women play a pivotal role in the development of Zimbabwe’s media landscape, their contribution has gone unrecognised as they are excluded from leadership and decision making positions. MEDIA INDEPENDENCE Zimbabwe’s mainstream media industry is largely controlled by the government through the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). ZBC runs the only terrestrial television station in the country, a situation that has been prevailing for 43 years since the country gained its independence. The state broadcaster also runs six radio stations, which have the widest reach in the country. Six more terrestrial television stations were 67