Laws on cards to curb cyber crime in Zimbabwe

Government is crafting cyber laws to regulate activities on social media in order to protect its citizens and the state from cyber crimes, a top government official said in parliament on Tuesday.

Cecilia Nyamutswa, Postal and Telecommunication Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director for legal services, told the parliamentary portfolio committee on Information Communication Technology that draft bills were ready and would soon be transmitted to the Attorney-General's office for legal direction and finalisation.

She said the bills would seek to regulate what is posted on social media as well as protect customers' privacy from invasion by hackers.

"But even if we were to come up with these laws, which are a step towards the protection of citizens and our cyber space, we will need to be a step ahead because technology is changing, so we will need to be on our toes ," she said.

Zimbabwe currently has no law that regulates the social media, and has been exposed to cyber terrorism and other computer-generated crimes such as hacking.

Nelson Chamisa, the committee chairperson, said this has resulted in the state struggling to deal with cases such as that of the Facebook's Baba Jukwa.