Staff Reporter
ACT-SA Zimbabwe has called on Parliament to strengthen the proposed Whistleblower and Witness Protection Bill, saying legislation must ensure that people who report corruption, abuse of office and human rights violations are protected from reprisals.
In a public statement marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, ACT-SA Zimbabwe country director Munyaradzi Bidi said the Whistleblower and Witness Protection Bill [H.B. 4, 2026] presented an opportunity to strengthen the protection of whistleblowers and witnesses.
Bidi said protection should go beyond safeguarding whistleblowers against dismissal or other forms of retaliation to ensuring their safety and whereabouts could be accounted for.
“The Bill before Parliament is a historic opportunity: if properly enforced, it would deepen Zimbabwe’s democratic credentials, consolidate good governance and improve the prospects of successful prosecution of corrupt actors,” said Bidi.
He called for the establishment of an independent and adequately resourced protection authority, saying it should be insulated from institutions that may be the subject of complaints.
Bidi also called for mandatory and time-bound investigations whenever the whereabouts or safety of a protected person becomes uncertain.
He further urged the criminalisation of conduct by State agents who conceal the fate or whereabouts of people in their custody.
Bidi said the proposed legislation should also be aligned with constitutional protections relating to enforced disappearances.
He cited Section 50(7)(a) of the Constitution, which provides for a person with reasonable grounds to believe that another person is being subjected to enforced disappearance to approach a court for an order of habeas corpus.
“On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we remember that silence has a price and that speaking the truth should never cost a person their freedom or their life,” said Bidi.
He urged Parliament to ensure that the proposed law meets what he described as the constitutional standard under Section 50(7)(a).
“ACT-SA calls on Parliament to ensure the Bill meets the constitutional standard set by section 50(7)(a) — so that no Zimbabwean who tells the truth is ever made to disappear,” he said.
ACT-SA said Zimbabwe had experienced disappearances during the liberation struggle and in the post-independence period, arguing that the protection of whistleblowers and witnesses should form part of broader efforts to strengthen accountability and good governance.
