CIRCUMVENTING THE CONSTITUTION THROUGH AUTHORITARIAN LEGALISM
1. Introduction If you are not in Zimbabwe’s entertainment circles, you would be unfamiliar with Vusumuzi (Vusa) Moyo, the sound engineer that Samanyanga trusted for all his live shows. He is highly regarded in the music industry. On 2 August 2024, he was hauled off an airplane on his way to the African Philanthropy Conference in Victoria Falls together with activists Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, and Samuel Gwenzi. They face charges of disorderly conduct in a public place, and their bail application was denied on 16 August 2024. These four join scores of detainees, ranging from Jameson Timba to Jacob Ngarivhume, who were arrested ahead of the SADC Summit on charges related to organizing, or participating in, an unlawful gathering. This clampdown is at odds with the 2013 Constitution's liberal approach to rights and freedoms. In this post, I explain how these arrests are in pursuit of authoritarian legalism, a strategy that uses law enforcement to circumvent the Constitution.