THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has refused to accredit top human rights defender, Musa Kika, to observe the August 23 general elections.
Kika, who was the executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum for the past four years until the end of last month, had been included on the list of the Forum’s election observer team.
However, his name was missing from those the electoral body cleared.
Kika is known for trying to block Chief Justice Luke Malaba from being reappointed to the post after the expiry of his term.
Malaba benefited from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s extension of the Chief Justice’s term of office, but Kika argued that Malaba could not be a beneficiary since he was the incumbent.
Mnangagwa permitted an additional five years after senior judges turn 70 if they proved they were in good health.
The High Court ruled in favour of Kika before the ruling was overturned after a Zanu PF activist, Marx Mupungu, approached the Constitutional Court challenging the High Court ruling.
The ruling was then overturned by a three-member bench, giving the then-embattled Malaba a new lease of life.
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Meanwhile, a group of Bulawayo-based lawyers has expressed alarm over deliberate disinformation and misinformation to confuse voters in the lead up to next week’s general elections.
Abammeli Human Rights Lawyers Network, in a report titled The power of truth combating misinformation during Zimbabwe’s electoral period, said misinformation posed a severe threat to democracy.
“Misinformation has become an unfortunate global trend, impacting elections worldwide and Zimbabwe is not immune to this threat, and it is vital to understand its risks,” they said.
“Misleading news, fabricated rumours, and distorted facts can confuse voters, erode trust in democratic processes, and undermine the foundation of our nation.”
The lawyers called for the need to fight misinformation to promote transparency, accountability and the credibility of the upcoming polls.
“Fact-checking is an essential weapon against the onslaught of misinformation, as responsible citizens, we must diligently scrutinise the information we encounter, assessing its validity and reliability,” they said.
“By engaging in critical thinking and fact-checking, we can safeguard our electoral processes from being manipulated by false narratives.”
They added: “Misinformation can cloud our judgment and discourage us from engaging in the electoral process, by equipping ourselves with accurate, fact-checked information; we can confidently cast our votes, ensuring a prosperous and egalitarian Zimbabwe.”
“By empowering ourselves with accurate information fact-checking diligently, and exercising our constitutional right to vote, we can collectively safeguard our democracy.”
