(MISA/IFEX) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has reportedly refused to sign the new Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) into law, apparently because it does not contain tough measures against the media. The bill has subsequently been referred back to parliament for amendment. A report carried in the “Financial Gazette” newspaper said that Mugabe had […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has reportedly refused to
sign the new Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) into law, apparently
because it does not contain tough measures against the media. The bill has
subsequently been referred back to parliament for amendment.
A report carried in the “Financial Gazette” newspaper said that Mugabe had
written to parliament on 8 and 9 June 1999 advising the speaker of
parliament that he was withholding his assent of the bill. In one letter,
the president reportedly said that the POSB had inadequacies in so far as it
dealt with the media, particularly in regards to the publication of stories
pertaining to the security of the country.
The POSB was approved by parliament last year and was meant to replace the
draconian Law and Order Maintenance Act, a law that was enacted two decades
before Zimbabwe’s independence. Media reports in April said that the
president had in fact signed the bill, although there was no clarity on when
it would be enacted. This is the first time that Mugabe has refused to sign
a bill already approved by parliament.
Background Information
The POSB, which has gone through several drafts over the past two years,
omits Section 50 of the old law, which prohibits publication of news likely
to cause “alarm, fear and despondency”.
Two journalists from the “Standard” newspaper, Mark Chavunduka and Ray
Choto, are currently charged under Section 50 of the old law. On 2 July,
they lodged a Supreme Court application challenging the constitutionality of
the law. Among their arguments contained in a memorandum to the ministry of
home affairs they say: “We find it extraordinary that we should have been
charged with a contravention of Section 50 (2) (a) of the Act, when its
successor and which, inter alia, is intended to repeal the Act, namely, the
Public Order and Security Bill which has actually reached the stage of
receiving presidential assent, does not contain any provisions made in
Section 50 of the Act” (see IFEX alert of 19 July 1999).
