Mugabe signs law setting five years in jail for critics

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Basildon Peta: I could be jailed for writing this article

President Robert Mugabe has signed into law a draconian Bill allowing him to use extreme measures to silence opponents ahead of a crunch presidential ballot in March.

The clampdown came as the British Government said Zimbabwe should be suspended from the 54-nation Commonwealth and accused Mr Mugabe, in the strongest terms yet, of preparing to rig presidential polls to extend his 22-year rule.

Tony Blair told the Commons: "We totally deplore what is happening in Zimbabwe.The actions of Mugabe ... are a disgrace – a disgrace to his own country [which] badly affect the reputation of the whole of southern Africa."

Although Mr Mugabe's government postponed for the fourth time a controversial media Bill that will all but eliminate freedom of speech in Zimbabwe, the passage into law of the public order Bill yesterday leaves many Zimbabweans facing death, life imprisonment or severe jail terms for speaking out against the President.

From yesterday, the Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) makes it mandatory for all Zimbabweans over 16 to carry identity cards. This is despite Zimbabwe's dismissed chief justice, Anthony Gubbay, ruling that such a law was unconstitutional in 2000. Anyone failing to produce ID at the request of a police officer will spend six months in jail. Foreigners who fail to produce their passports will also be liable.

The POSB prescribes a death sentence or life imprisonment for anyone accused of involvement in or assisting in "insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism". Section 16 of the law punishes publication of any information ridiculing the President with a one-year jail term and a hefty fine.

It also prescribes a one-year jail term for anyone who makes or publishes "any abusive, indecent, obscene or false statement about or concerning the President or an acting President, whether in respect of his person or his office". Lawyers said yesterday that the clauses protecting the President were so vague and broad that even publication of cartoons of Mr Mugabe could land a cartoonist in jail.

The law also sets a five-year jail term for any person inside or outside Zimbabwe who publishes "false statements prejudicial to the state".

The section prohibits the publication of information which, among other things, adversely affects the defence or economic interests of Zimbabwe and undermines public confidence in a law enforcement agency. Again, lawyers say this section is so broad and vague that it will affect journalists who write anything the government might deem hostile.

The law makes it virtually impossible for the opposition or any other legitimate group to hold rallies or demonstrations; the police can now ban any public gathering. As Zimbabwe heads for the crucial presidential election in March, this provision makes it impossible for the opposition to campaign. Mr Mugabe's militias have already been disrupting opposition rallies with impunity.

Patrick Chinamasa, the Justice Minister, said passage of the separate but equally controversial media Bill had been delayed because a parliamentary legal committee was still assessing amendments. "The parliamentary legal committee has requested more time to give consideration to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill," he said.

The media law has been rejected by a number of ruling Zanu-PF MPs, who see it hurting Zimbabwe's reputation internationally. The rebellious MPs, however, have little option when it eventually comes to a vote. Analysts dismissed the amendments under discussion as cosmetic.