𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗔𝗖𝗧?

Hopewell Chin’ono proposes creating a government in exile

I have heard a number of people saying that Hopewell should be arrested and charged under the Patriotic Act (Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Act, 2022) because he allegedly wants to create a “Government in Exile.”

I am not sure where the Patriotic Act applies here, considering that Hopewell clearly articulated his intentions, which were:

1. He wanted to open a discussion on forming a diaspora-organized institution that could lobby inside and outside Zimbabwe, to pressure the Zimbabwean government for political reforms and better service delivery.

2. He also mentioned that the organization would collaborate with stakeholders to provide healthcare and other basic services to Zim government. Albeit, I questioned his sincerity, considering that he strongly supported the sanctions that deprived citizens of these very services.

3. Additionally, he suggested that this was a SUGGESTION and the organization could be named “Government in Exile,” but the decision on what it should be called, the structure and nature of the organization, would be reached by a collective of those who join the movement.

4. More so, he clearly stated that it would not be a political party, but rather a pressure group that could sue, as the group would seek to sue the Zimbabwean government in international courts to pressure for political reforms in Zimbabwe.

Yes, he played with words to create the impression that he is creating a government in exile, but ultimately, the law is about intent, and I don’t think Hopewell explicitly expressed an intention to form a government in exile. I believe he deliberately created that impression with the name, but this was designed for shock value and to subliminally position his pressure group as a more radical alternative to Chamisa, in order to gain the support of Chamisa’s followers.

I do admit, however, that his opening statement was deceptively phrased to make it sound as though Zimbabweans cannot oppose the government from within the country. Yet, further in his presentation, he admitted that for over four years, he has opposed Zimbabwe in various international forums, social media, and the media, while living in Zimbabwe, and no one has arrested him since his first arrest.

He also said that not all ZANU PF officials were bad because many, including ministers, were the ones giving him information to expose corruption.

Nevertheless, I don’t think there are grounds for Hopewell to be successfully prosecuted under the Patriotic Act or for trying to subvert the government or orchestrating its overthrow through a civil society organization that he is suggesting be called "Government in Exile."

Why is it important for me to raise this issue? I raise it because, as the person who proposed the Patriotic Act, I would not like it to be abused to persecute those who oppose the government, as this would give an otherwise great law a bad name.

Secondly, we are trying to rebrand and reposition Zimbabwe, so we want to distance the country from the stigma of using laws to persecute opposing voices.

As intended, this law must be used to stop Zimbabweans from meeting with foreign actors and lying about conditions in Zimbabwe to solicit sanctions against the country or to advocate for the invasion or overthrow of the government.

It must also discourage Zimbabweans from lying about the country to foreigners to deter investment or to solicit actions that compromises Zimbabwe’s national security or image.

Any use of this law outside the spirit in which it was proposed and created, is likely to marginalize the efficacy of an otherwise good law similar to those in leading nations, and damage the image of the nation.

It goes without saying that if the law is abused, it also risks seeing those who proposed it and those who drafted it, potentially being placed under illegal sanctions or arrested in foreign countries for repression.