Opinion / Columnist
No one is above criticism - not even the President
04 Jul 2025 at 22:44hrs | Views
Democracy has always been too heavy a burden for weak, insecure leaders.
The recent arrest of The Zimbabwe Independent editor, Faith Zaba, on allegations of "undermining the authority of the president" for allowing the publication of a satirical column purportedly critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, marks yet another disturbing low in Zimbabwe's relentless crusade against press freedom and dissent.
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That such a seasoned journalist - renowned for her professionalism and restraint - can be dragged before the law over a piece of satire signals not only the paranoia consuming those in power, but also the extent to which repressive laws continue to be weaponized against citizens for simply expressing an opinion.
The arrest was made under Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which criminalizes "making any statement about or concerning the President with the intention or realising there is a real risk of undermining the authority of or insulting the President."
This provision, carried over from the days of Robert Mugabe, has become a tool of choice for a regime that appears allergic to scrutiny.
Its language is dangerously vague and overly broad, rendering almost any criticism - or even satire - liable for prosecution.
That a satirical column could provoke such a draconian response lays bare the fragility of leadership in Zimbabwe and the state's disturbing tendency to cloak fear in the garb of authority.
This law is blatantly unconstitutional.
The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe, which was widely celebrated for its progressive Bill of Rights, guarantees in Section 61 the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and communicate ideas and information.
It also guarantees freedom of the media and the right to artistic expression.
The constitutional court, in fact, already declared in 2014 that criminal defamation - a close cousin of this law - was unconstitutional.
Yet Section 33 persists, surviving as a legislative relic that flies in the face of both the letter and spirit of Zimbabwe's supreme law.
This is not the first time this repressive statute has been deployed.
Investigative journalist Hopewell Chin'ono has faced multiple arrests under similar charges, particularly for his social media posts that directly questioned the integrity of state officials.
In 2019, a man in Masvingo was arrested for allegedly saying that Mnangagwa would "die soon."
Before that, during the Mugabe era, several Zimbabweans were arrested under the same provision for even mildly critical remarks or jokes.
That this law continues to be enforced, even after the supposedly reformist New Dispensation took power, exposes the hollowness of the so-called Second Republic's democratic claims.
What this law effectively does is place the president above public scrutiny and criticism, which is entirely antithetical to the ideals of democracy.
In any functional democratic system, leaders are subject to the scrutiny of the public.
Citizens have a right - even a duty - to hold their leaders accountable through speech, protest, and yes, even satire.
When a president is shielded from criticism by criminal law, what results is not respect for authority but the cultivation of fear, silence, and tyranny.
To criminalize criticism is to criminalize thought.
It is to suppress the very political discourse upon which democracies depend.
The benefits of open criticism of leadership cannot be overstated.
It is through criticism that corruption is exposed, that policy errors are corrected, that those in power are reminded of their obligation to serve the people.
A nation where journalists, artists, or ordinary citizens can be arrested for expressing discontent is a nation in retreat - a country heading not toward progress but toward autocracy.
Criticism and dissent are oxygen to a vibrant society.
When a government suffocates these, it suffocates the promise of a better future.
Around the world, we are witnessing a deliberate movement away from such archaic laws.
In South Africa, a similar law criminalizing insults against the president was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2018, with the court ruling that it unjustifiably violated the right to freedom of expression.
Zambia repealed such statutes in 2016.
Kenya has taken similar steps.
Even where such laws persist, as in Thailand or Turkey, they have drawn widespread condemnation as tools of oppression.
In democratic societies like the United States, Canada, or the UK, criticism of leaders is not only tolerated - it is encouraged as a vital check on power.
That Zimbabwe still clings to such authoritarian statutes speaks volumes.
It reveals a government that fears its own people.
It reveals leadership that prefers silence to truth, flattery to accountability.
But more importantly, it reveals a fundamental disrespect for the very Constitution that this government claims to uphold.
The president is not a monarch.
He is not a deity.
He is a public servant. And public servants must answer to the public.
Zimbabweans must not accept this assault on their freedoms.
The law criminalizing "undermining the authority of the president" must be challenged - legally, politically, and socially.
Civil society groups must continue to support strategic litigation that targets the constitutionality of this law.
Legal watchdogs and media institutions must educate the public on their rights under the Constitution.
Parliamentarians who still possess a shred of conscience must push for the repeal of such repressive laws.
And citizens must never be cowed into silence.
For silence in the face of tyranny is complicity.
Faith Zaba's arrest is not just an attack on one journalist.
It is an attack on all Zimbabweans who believe in freedom.
It is an assault on the very principles that should define a democratic nation.
If we are to restore Zimbabwe to a place of dignity, truth, and accountability, then laws that punish expression must be torn down.
The pen must be freer than the sword.
And the president, like every citizen, must be subject to the rule of law - not protected by it.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
The recent arrest of The Zimbabwe Independent editor, Faith Zaba, on allegations of "undermining the authority of the president" for allowing the publication of a satirical column purportedly critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, marks yet another disturbing low in Zimbabwe's relentless crusade against press freedom and dissent.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
That such a seasoned journalist - renowned for her professionalism and restraint - can be dragged before the law over a piece of satire signals not only the paranoia consuming those in power, but also the extent to which repressive laws continue to be weaponized against citizens for simply expressing an opinion.
The arrest was made under Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which criminalizes "making any statement about or concerning the President with the intention or realising there is a real risk of undermining the authority of or insulting the President."
This provision, carried over from the days of Robert Mugabe, has become a tool of choice for a regime that appears allergic to scrutiny.
Its language is dangerously vague and overly broad, rendering almost any criticism - or even satire - liable for prosecution.
That a satirical column could provoke such a draconian response lays bare the fragility of leadership in Zimbabwe and the state's disturbing tendency to cloak fear in the garb of authority.
This law is blatantly unconstitutional.
The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe, which was widely celebrated for its progressive Bill of Rights, guarantees in Section 61 the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and communicate ideas and information.
It also guarantees freedom of the media and the right to artistic expression.
The constitutional court, in fact, already declared in 2014 that criminal defamation - a close cousin of this law - was unconstitutional.
Yet Section 33 persists, surviving as a legislative relic that flies in the face of both the letter and spirit of Zimbabwe's supreme law.
This is not the first time this repressive statute has been deployed.
Investigative journalist Hopewell Chin'ono has faced multiple arrests under similar charges, particularly for his social media posts that directly questioned the integrity of state officials.
In 2019, a man in Masvingo was arrested for allegedly saying that Mnangagwa would "die soon."
Before that, during the Mugabe era, several Zimbabweans were arrested under the same provision for even mildly critical remarks or jokes.
That this law continues to be enforced, even after the supposedly reformist New Dispensation took power, exposes the hollowness of the so-called Second Republic's democratic claims.
What this law effectively does is place the president above public scrutiny and criticism, which is entirely antithetical to the ideals of democracy.
In any functional democratic system, leaders are subject to the scrutiny of the public.
Citizens have a right - even a duty - to hold their leaders accountable through speech, protest, and yes, even satire.
When a president is shielded from criticism by criminal law, what results is not respect for authority but the cultivation of fear, silence, and tyranny.
To criminalize criticism is to criminalize thought.
It is to suppress the very political discourse upon which democracies depend.
The benefits of open criticism of leadership cannot be overstated.
It is through criticism that corruption is exposed, that policy errors are corrected, that those in power are reminded of their obligation to serve the people.
A nation where journalists, artists, or ordinary citizens can be arrested for expressing discontent is a nation in retreat - a country heading not toward progress but toward autocracy.
Criticism and dissent are oxygen to a vibrant society.
Around the world, we are witnessing a deliberate movement away from such archaic laws.
In South Africa, a similar law criminalizing insults against the president was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2018, with the court ruling that it unjustifiably violated the right to freedom of expression.
Zambia repealed such statutes in 2016.
Kenya has taken similar steps.
Even where such laws persist, as in Thailand or Turkey, they have drawn widespread condemnation as tools of oppression.
In democratic societies like the United States, Canada, or the UK, criticism of leaders is not only tolerated - it is encouraged as a vital check on power.
That Zimbabwe still clings to such authoritarian statutes speaks volumes.
It reveals a government that fears its own people.
It reveals leadership that prefers silence to truth, flattery to accountability.
But more importantly, it reveals a fundamental disrespect for the very Constitution that this government claims to uphold.
The president is not a monarch.
He is not a deity.
He is a public servant. And public servants must answer to the public.
Zimbabweans must not accept this assault on their freedoms.
The law criminalizing "undermining the authority of the president" must be challenged - legally, politically, and socially.
Civil society groups must continue to support strategic litigation that targets the constitutionality of this law.
Legal watchdogs and media institutions must educate the public on their rights under the Constitution.
Parliamentarians who still possess a shred of conscience must push for the repeal of such repressive laws.
And citizens must never be cowed into silence.
For silence in the face of tyranny is complicity.
Faith Zaba's arrest is not just an attack on one journalist.
It is an attack on all Zimbabweans who believe in freedom.
It is an assault on the very principles that should define a democratic nation.
If we are to restore Zimbabwe to a place of dignity, truth, and accountability, then laws that punish expression must be torn down.
The pen must be freer than the sword.
And the president, like every citizen, must be subject to the rule of law - not protected by it.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
Source - Tendai Ruben Mbofana
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