In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson, Charity Charamba hinted that they will be imposing a ban on specially designed radios that are not compatible with state-owned stations and other communication devices.
“We have information that some people or political parties are engaging in illegal activities, that is to say they are distributing illegal communicating devices to unsuspecting members of the public.
“We strongly believe that the intentions of such people are not holy but meant to create and sow seeds of disharmony within the country, especially now that the country is about to embark on the referendum and harmonised elections,” said Charamba.
The ZLHR said the move by the ZRP was an attack on freedom of expression and access to information.
In a statement released today, the ZLHR said: “ZLHR is deeply committed to freedom of expression and access to information. It is also our firm and unshakable belief that the police are the least expected to act outside the law considering that they are mandated in terms of Section 18 (1) to act lawfully and upholds the constitution.
“We refuse to be passive spectators of such blatant violations and impunity, and as such ZLHR is preparing to challenge this purported ban through the courts imminently.”
On another note, the ZLHR has laid responsibility for the crackdown on civic society organisations ahead of elections scheduled for this year on the Inclusive Government.
The ZLHR said politicians were paying more attention to electoral campaigns while the Global Political Agreement that gave birth to the Government of National Unity continues to be violated.
“There has been a resounding silence by the politicians who appear to be more pre-occupied with their electoral campaigns and power retention at the expense of undertakings laid out clearly in the Global Political Agreement-undertakings which continue to be broken, discarded and arrogantly ignored.
“They (GNU partners) have been either powerless to stop the attacks, directly or indirectly involved in the coordination and implementation of the attacks, or simply unconcerned with the challenges faced by those outside their ivory towers,” said the ZLHR.
The ZLHR said failure by the government to stop the persecution of civic society organisations would paint a negative picture of the pre-election environment in Zimbabwe.
Civic society organisations that have fallen victim to arrests and intimidations over the past months include the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Zimbabwe Election Support Network, ZimRights and the Counselling Services Unit.
Post published in: News