THE Vagrancy Act, a law that criminalises homelessness and empowers police to arrest people living on the streets, is colonial, violates the Constitution and should be repealed, a legislator has said.
Speaking at a meeting hosted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) in Harare yesterday, where the human rights watchdog is pushing for the repeal of the Vagrancy Act, Highfield legislator Donald Mavhudzi vowed to take the matter to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, of which he is a member.
He said the law was promulgated in the colonial era to control the urban population and for social control.
“This is not a law that we need in an independent Zimbabwe,” Mavhudzi said.
ZimRights director Dzikamai Bere also highlighted the need to replace the law with one that addresses the root causes of homelessness.
“Instead of arresting homelessness, the government is focusing on arresting the homeless. We met over 100 homeless people and many shared stories of being arrested or assaulted by the police for simply being on the streets,” Bere said.
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He also shared the story of Kuda, a young man living on the streets of Harare, who has been instrumental in connecting ZimRights with other homeless people.
“Kuda helped us to navigate the streets, showing us where the homeless hide to avoid arrest. We heard heartbreaking stories from these individuals, which underscores the need for this law to be repealed,” Bere said.
According to ZimRights, the Vagrancy Act [Chapter 10:25] defines a vagrant as any person with no settled or fixed place of abode or means of support, who wanders from place to place and maintains themselves by begging or through dishonest or disreputable means.
The Act empowers police officers to arrest without a warrant anyone they reasonably suspect to be a vagrant.
Furthermore, it criminalises any person who assists or encourages vagrancy.
Since July this year, ZimRights has been advocating the repeal of the Act, petitioning Parliament and lodging a Constitutional Court application against the law. Bere highlighted that ZimRights has taken tangible steps to address the needs of the homeless by donating blankets, food and clothing as part of its ongoing campaign.
“When the winter started this year, we launched the Blankets and Loaves campaign, distributing essentials to those living on the streets of Harare and Chitungwiza,” Bere said.
Participants at the meeting included members of the community who work directly with homeless individuals.
“Our government knows that we have orphaned children. Instead of helping, they leave those children to fend for themselves, with no option but to live on the streets or beg,” one participant said.
Added another: “People retire, but their pensions have devalued so much that they cannot invest in businesses and end up begging on the streets. We need real solutions.”
Another participant raised concern about how women are disproportionately affected by the Vagrancy Act, noting that “most vendors are women and they have serious problems with our social protection programmes in Zimbabwe”.
“Through the national budget consultations, we can advocate for allocating more resources to social protection programmes in the country,” the participant said.
ZimRights is pushing for the repeal of the Vagrancy Act, emphasising the need for a more humane approach to addressing homelessness in Zimbabwe.
“We must address the root causes of homelessness, not criminalise those who are already vulnerable,” Bere said.