in a law enforcement agency, or interfere with, disrupt or interrupt any essential service 85 commits an offence under section 15 and is liable to a maximum fine of level ten and/or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years. An offence under section 16 is punishable by a fine not exceeding level six and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year. 132. Part III of the POSA 86 deals with offences against public order. Under section 17, any person who, acting with other persons, “forcibly 87 disturbs the peace, security or order of the public or any section of the public or invades the rights of other people, intending such disturbance or invasion or realizing that there is a risk or possibility that such disturbance or invasion may occur”, is guilty of public violence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 12 and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years. Section 36 of the Criminal Law Act is to the same effect. Pursuant to section 19 of the POSA, a gathering resulting in riots, disorder and intolerance is punishable by a fine not exceeding level ten and/or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years. Section 37 of the Criminal Law Act punishes the same acts of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry with a fine not exceeding level ten and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years. 88 Additionally, section 41 of the Criminal Law Act punishes a person who intentionally engages in disorderly or riotous conduct or uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaves in a threatening, abusive or insulting manner, intending to or realizing the possibility of provoking a breach of the peace with a fine not exceeding level five and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. Section 46 of the Criminal Law Act punishes criminal nuisance (e.g. acts such as encumbrance or obstruction of the free passage along any street, road, thoroughfare, sidewalk or pavement; shouting or screaming in a public place to the annoyance of the public; throwing any property from any place; and use of any means which are likely materially to interfere with the ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the public or any section of the public) by a fine not exceeding level five and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. 133. Part IV of the POSA concerns public gatherings, defined under section 2, so as to include processions, public demonstrations and meetings. Sections 23 and 24 place an obligation on organizations to appoint conveners and authorized officers, in the case of processions and public demonstrations, and responsible officers, in the case of public meetings, who are responsible for giving notice of the public gathering. A failure to give notice of a gathering constitutes an offence and is punishable by a fine not exceeding level 12 and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year. Section 26 provides for consultations and/or negotiations between a regulating authority and a convener or an authorized officer, if necessary, on amendment of notices and conditions with respect to public gatherings so as to avoid public 85 The POSA defines an “essential service” as a service relating to the generation, supply or distribution of electricity, fuel and water, fire service, health, hospital or ambulance service, communications, transport and any other service or occupation the interruption of which would endanger the life, health or safety of the whole or a part of the population and which the minister may declare by statutory instrument to be an essential service. 86 Also contains provisions punishing the acts of throwing articles at persons, motor vehicles, etc. (section 18, equivalent to section 38 of the Criminal Law), assaulting or resisting peace officer (section 20), undermining police authority (section 21) and intimidation (section 22). 87 Note that section 36 of the Criminal Law Act also adds “and to a serious extent”. 88 According to section 19 of the POSA and section 37 of the Criminal Law Act, the offence is committed by a person who, acting together with one or more other persons in any place or at any meeting, forcibly disturbs the peace, security or order of the public or any section of the public or invades the rights of other people, intending to cause such disturbance or invasion or realizing that there is a risk or possibility that such disturbance or invasion may occur. Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3 45