Police ban explained

Section 2 of the SI states the prohibition—

“3. The Regulating Authority, believing on reasonable grounds that the powers conferred by section 26 of the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17] will not be sufficient to prevent public disorder being occasioned by the holding of processions or public demonstrations or any class thereof in the Harare Central Police District, hereby issues this Order prohibiting, for a period of two weeks from Friday, the 2nd September, 2016 to Friday, the 16th September, 2016, the holding of all public demonstrations in the Harare Central Police District.”

The order is made in terms of section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act [hereinafter referred to as “POSA”] by the Officer Commanding Harare Central Police District in his capacity as the regulating authority for the district.  [The full text of the Act is available via this link to the Veritas website.]

Contravention of the ban is an offence for both organisers and participants

Section 27(5) of POSA makes it an offence for anyone to organise or assist in organising or take part in or attend any procession or public demonstration held in contravention of the statutory instrument. The maximum penalty is a fine of $300, three hundred dollars, [level six] or one year’s imprisonment or both.

Definition of “public demonstration”

The term “public demonstration” is defined in section 2 of POSA as meaning—

“a procession, gathering or assembly in a public place of persons and additionally, or alternatively, of vehicles, where the gathering is in pursuit of a common purpose of demonstrating support for or opposition to, any person, matter or thing, whether or not the gathering is spontaneous or is confined to persons who are members of a particular organisation, association or other body or to persons who have been invited to attend.”

There is also a definition of “public place” which is relevant —

“any thoroughfare building, open space or other place of any description to which the public or any section of the public have access, whether on payment or otherwise and whether or not the right of admission thereto is reserved.”

Description of area affected by the ban

Section 2 of the SI describes the Harare Central Police District within which the ban applies. This area covers not only what would normally be understood as the Central Business District or CBD but also substantial areas of Gun Hill, Alexandra Park, Belgravia, Milton Park.  The description is of the area bounded by a series of named roads and portions of the NRZ railway line up to the Mukuvisi River—

“area bounded by Rekayi Tangwena Avenue, Coventry Road, Rotten Row, the National Railways of Zimbabwe line up to the Mukuvisi River, Enterprise Road, Churchill Road, Swan Drive, Cork Road, Sandringham Drive, Drummond Chaplin Street and Bishop Gaul Avenue”.

The description is far from perfect, which is regrettable in a document with such serious implications. For instance, Sandringham Drive should come before Cork Road; and Cork Road does not reach either Drummond Chaplin Street or Bishop Gaul Avenue.

 

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