Minister defends Zimbabwe’s ‘repressive’ security law




S. B Moyo
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS Minister Sibusiso Moyo has defended government’s controversial Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) he says was taken from the dictates of the national constitution.

Moyo was addressing delegates at a recent Global Sharpers Forum in Harare.

“Let me also comment about MOPA, we have done the right thing for this country,” Moyo said.

“MOPA replaced POSA and it being guided by the 2013 Constitution and one of the major issues is what time and who authorises the deployment of the military.

“Secondly, who regulates what sort of mutineers or anything should be carried or by the military.

“We just plagiarised exactly what is in the 2013 Constitution and we said that is what we are going to put because anything else was going to going to be ultra vires the constitution.

“So, a lot of people have been saying ‘it’s (MOPA) too hard’ this and that but the reality of the matter is that it is exactly in terms of the constitution.

“Unless we change the Constitution, but I know some quarters are very uncomfortable with the amendments of the constitution, but these are some of the issues raised without critical analysis.”

The Maintenance of Peace and Order Act replaced the controversial Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which critics said it was worse than the notorious South African apartheid laws.

Out of the 23 in POSA the Bill retains 20 Clauses as they are word for word. – Newzim