ZANU-PF forces “Snooping” Bill through parliament

By Tererai Karimakwenda
June 13, 2007

The ruling party used its majority in parliament on Tuesday to push for more oppressive legislation, this time forcing a second reading of The Interception of Communications Bill. After a heated parliamentary debate, 31 ZANU-PF legislators voted for the second reading and 18 from the MDC voted against it. The proposed Bill seeks to establish regulations that would empower certain government officials to issue orders to intercept private communications. Critics have described it as the “snooping” Bill, claiming government would use the new law to target its perceived political enemies.

Opposition chief whip Innocent Gonese said they fought hard against this Bill, because there is no justification for it in Zimbabwe. But with a majority in parliament, ZANU-PF MPs forced a third reading on Wednesday. The Bill now requires Senate approval and Robert Mugabe’s signature to become law. Gonese said some ruling party MPs voted for it to protect their positions and interests because ZANU-PF has a patronage system. Others ignore their reservations in order to entrench their power.

Transport and Communications Minister Christopher Mushohwe told parliamentarians that the interception of communications was necessary because advancements in information technology posed a threat to national security. He referred to countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa, saying they had similar statutes. But Gonese dismissed this saying the United States and Britain had terror bombings. They also require a judicial court to review the interception orders before they are approved.

The proposed Bill seeks to establish an interception of communication monitoring centre and would require telecommunication providers to install hardware and software to allow interception. Officials allowed to apply for the interception of communications include the chief of defence intelligence, director-general of the President’s department of national security, the Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Commissioner General. And in Zimbabwe, all these are government appointed officials.