For example, the draft Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Bill’s main focus is to consolidate
cyber-related offences with due regard to the Constitution’s Declaration of Rights as well as
the public and national interest. Furthermore, the Cybersecurity Committee to be established
when this draft Bill is gazetted into law, has a mandate to produce annual reports on how
national cyber security initiatives/activities impact on fundamental rights such as the right to
privacy and freedom of expression.
However, as Zimbabwe inches closer to the 2018 general elections, a gap is emerging
between the proposed cyber security policies and the government’s actual intentions. One
example of this discrepancy came in the wake of remarks by presidential spokesperson
George Charamba in clarifying the role of the Ministry on 10 October 2017.
Charamba was quoted saying:
“… ndiyo riva redu kubata makonzo aya anoita mischief using cyber space [this is the trap to
catch mischievous mice) …..This is coming against the background of the abuse that we saw
not too far back on social media, where the social media then causes some kind of
excitement to the country, not on the basis of fact, but generation of copy which is in fact
calculated to trigger a sense of panic in the economy, and that in itself suggests that it is
indeed a major threat to State security.”
Charamba also revealed how now former president Mugabe had drawn lessons on
controlling cyberspace from countries such as Russia, China and “the Koreans.” This is a
chilling admission given the fact that these three nations are notorious for clamping down
on online rights and freedoms, with China going as far as setting up its own parallel internet
network from the rest of the global internet.
While officially opening the Nkulumane Community Information Centre in Bulawayo on 4
November 2017 Mugabe said:
“We have set up the Cyber Security Ministry to build our own cyber systems to defend
ourselves from cybercrime. We are aware that there are some people who use the internet
to fight us and implement what they say is regime change.
“This is not a first, actually some nations are at an advanced stage in controlling this social
media, which is why we thought that Minister Chinamasa as a lawyer can help in controlling
our cyber space.”

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