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*Mnangagwa Worse Than Mugabe On Human Rights - ZDI*

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The Zimbabwe Democratic Institute (ZDI), a human rights watchdog, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has a worse track record in constricting civic space ahead of general elections, compared to that of his predecessor, the late former president Robert Mugabe.

More than 200 Statutory Instruments have been promulgated since 2017, when Mnangagwa replaced Mugabe following a popular military coup, to date.

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According to the ZDI report titled: Civic Space Contestation Ahead of 2023, Mnangagwa has perpetuated Mugabe’s culture of stifling civic space. Part of the report reads:

> The government under President Mnangagwa has presented a lot of amendments and legislation including the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 1 and 2, the Patriotic Bill, Cyber and Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Private Voluntary Organisations Bill (PVO) Bill.

> This shows that Mnangagwa is walking in the footsteps of his predecessor, the former president Robert Mugabe. The Cyber and Data Protection Act is the latest law to threaten online freedom.

> The Act is most likely to be used as a way to stifle the efforts of journalists, online activists and pressure groups in tracking down, monitoring and reporting malpractices prior and during the 2023 elections.

ZDI says it made an analysis of the civic space between 2014-2021 by contrasting Mugabe’s final four years in power ahead of the 2018 elections, and Mnangagwa’s initial four years into power ahead of the 2023 elections.

The report says the findings showed a two percent increase in the civic space and state freedom during Mnangagwa’s first year in power, compared to Mugabe in 2014.

However, 2019 saw a 13% decline in state freedom from 44% in 2014 under Mugabe to 31% in 2019, which was also Mnangagwa’s second year in power.

The following year — 2020 — saw a hostile environment, with civic liberties at 32% under Mugabe in 2016 and 29% under Mnangagwa in 2020.

In 2021, there was a 12.5% deterioration of state freedom of the public sphere during President Mnangagwa’s tenure in office, compared to 14.29% under Mugabe in 2021. | The NewsHawks

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