COURTENEY LAW BLOGSPOT

A Lockdown arrest for publishing “fake” news: Legal Ramifications and a case of Human Rights Abuse. May 2020 Courteney T Mukoyi There is a widely circulated Charge Sheet of a man arrested for publishing “fake” news about Lockdown Extension. The man is being accused of “publishing or communicating a false statement prejudicial to the state” in terms of Section 31 of the Criminal Law Code. One does not need to be a legal puritan to notice that the charge points to a fishing expedition by the State, which we all hope that will lead to a catch of frogs.  A reading of both the facts and the law also shows that either the facts or the law or both suffer from lack of focus and particularity. The Charge Sheet states that the accused person (Lovemore) published a Press Statement document purported to be issued and signed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa headlined “ EXTENSION OF LOCKDOWN PERIOD BY 13 DAYS ONLY”. The accused person is said to have disseminated the false press statement...