Since May 2013, there have been three challenges to the constitutionality of section 33 of the Criminal Code before the Constitutional 16 Court, and all were dismissed without ventilation of the specific question of constitutionality. The 17 latest is a September 2017 decision of S v Rusike wherein the Court dodged the issue altogether, instead dealing with the conviction of the accused. A fourth challenge to the constitutionality of the provision was filed in the Constitutional Court in November 2017 by political activist Acie Lumumba. However, when the case was filed, the State withdrew the criminal case against Lumumba citing the precedence set in the Mwonzora case.18 The Constitutional Court challenge thus fell away. Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Space The government harassed NGOs it believed would expose abuses by government personnel or that opposed government policies, and it continued to use government-controlled media to disparage and attack human rights groups. State media reporting typically dismissed theefforts and recommendations of NGOs critical of government, accusing the NGOs of seeking regime change. Civil society organisations found the operating environment hostile. Despite organisations being registered with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social welfare, they found it difficult to operate in certain districts. Several District Administrators demanded Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with individual organisations for them to operate or run their programme in those districts. They demanded that names of the organisations’ official register with the CIO, and for background checks to be done. This happened in districts such as Gokwe and Murehwa, even though this had not been the case in preceding years. NGOs working on children and disability however reported that government was not as heavy-handed on them. This was because disability was not considered a threat, as were child-related matters. Specific Cases Ÿ In Chinhoyi, one organisation reported being questioned and warned by the CIO that if they did not cooperate in answering the CIO officers’ question, they would be blacklisted. One civil society practitioner reported an unidentified vehicle following him in Chinhoyi. Ÿ On 17 October the NPA declined, for lack of evidence, to prosecute Magamba Cultural Activist Network Trust for allegedly externalising foreign currency without authority from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). Magamba Cultural Activist Network Trust had been charged with externalisation after it allegedly transferred $10,450 from its local bank in Zimbabwe in 2014 to an international account without seeking authorisation from the RBZ. wife Sibongile Sarukato filed an urgent habeas corpus application seeking an order compelling the State to do all things necessary to determine his whereabouts including advertising on all State-run print and broadcast media. Sarukato however withdrew her application on 28 November after Piki managed to escape from his abductors around Mazowe area, Mashonaland Central province and returned to safety. Soon Abductions and Disappearances On 25 November 2018, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki was abducted by unknown mask-wearing people at around 1630 hours from his Waterfalls suburb residence in Harare and bundled into a car. Piki was scheduled to appear on 26 November before the Commission of Inquiry into the 2018 post-election violence. On 26 November, Piki’s 16. One such case is S v Mwonzora CCZ 7-2016. In this case Mwonzora’s conviction under section 33 of the Act was reversed, but the Court refused to entertain the challenge to the constitutionality of s 33(2)(a) of the Criminal Code, and this part of the application was dismissed. 17. CCZ 17-2017. 18. See note 48 above. 29 STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ZIMBABWE 2018