The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has gone to the High Court to challenge a law that is being used to crush freedom. This law is the so-called Private Voluntary Organisations Act, known as the PVO Act. While it was created to manage NGOs and charities, the regime is now twisting it into a weapon. It is no longer about regulation. It is about control. It is about punishing people who care.
The lawyers are clear. This law is dangerous. It is being abused. It is making it nearly impossible for NGOs to register or operate. It threatens people with punishment for simply trying to help the poor. It criminalises charity. That is not law. That is tyranny.
This law attacks the very foundation of human rights. It limits freedom of speech. It blocks the right to meet. It takes away the ability to form organisations. It even interferes with property ownership. And all this power is placed in the hands of one minister who can shut down any organisation without proper reason. There are no clear rules. No checks. No justice. Just raw power dressed up as legislation.
In the court papers, the lawyers are asking for multiple sections of this law to be struck down. They point to section 4 as too vague. They warn that section 9 gives the Registrar unchecked power to cancel registrations without oversight. There is no appeals process. No fairness. No balance. Just decisions that cannot be questioned.
This law goes even further. It says NGOs must reapply for approval every time they make any changes to their work. That is a trap. It is not about order. It is about control. And then there is the worst part. The Minister can remove charity leaders and install government-approved trustees. That is not oversight. That is a takeover. That is the death of independence and the end of trust.
The message is simple. If the government does not like your work, it can destroy your organisation. This is how dictatorships work. Not democracies.
The lawyers also raised a warning. Zimbabwe receives millions every year in international aid. That money helps the most vulnerable. It provides food. It brings education. It supports health clinics. If NGOs are driven out, those lifelines will disappear. It will not hurt the politicians. It will hurt the people. The children. The sick. The poor. The very ones who need help the most.
This fight is not just about legal documents. It is about real lives. It is about protecting the right to care. It is about refusing to let the regime punish kindness. The lawyers want the court to strike out sections 4, 5, 6, 9, 13A, 14 and 21. They say these parts go against the Constitution. They are right.
Zimbabwe must choose between control and compassion. Between fear and freedom. When the law is used to silence those who help, then we have reached a very dark place. But we can still turn back. We can still resist. We can still fight for what is right.
We must stand with the defenders of justice. We must support those who dare to speak up. Because if charity becomes a crime, then loving your neighbour becomes dangerous. And when that day comes, none of us are safe.
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