The standards of public safety, public order, economic interest, public health and contrary to the interests of defence have been abused and applied to censor artistic expression. These grounds have been criticized for being blatantly vague, more particularly because the Act does not offer any definitions of these phrases. This approach in legislative drafting is contrary to the findings in the Chavunduka case, namely, that a law that restricts freedom of expression, and by extension, freedom of artistic expression, must do so clearly so that those who are affected by it are able to couch their conduct to conform to those legal requirements. Artists have testified to the dilemma they face in terms of dealing with standards of censorship in Zimbabwe. They stated that any subject matter making the theme of any song, play or writing, even dealing with social issues, has the possibility of being linked to government action, hence it may attract reprisals in the form of censorship. Arts activist Tongai Makawa (Aka Outspoken) of Magamba Trust notes, ‘all topics are controversial in Zimbabwe because if you are tackling any societal ill or problem there is always a way of tracing back to government or political situation even though you are tackling things of a social nature.’ Ambiguity in censorship legislation is against the standards of limitation contemplated by article 19 of the ICCPR. Explaining the nature and extent of limitations, the Shaheed Report emphasizes the need for clarity and particularity when introducing limitations.55 There must be a clear distinction between expression that violates criminal or civil law with the former (criminal sanctions) being the last resort. It then follows that the vagueness of the framework for standards of art as well as lack of transparency in their enforcement cannot pass the constitutional and international law requirements for them to be acceptable in a democratic society. It is important therefore to have the responsible minister enact regulations to the Censorship Act or amendments that bring in definitions to these unclear provisions to enable artists not only to conform their works of art to it, but 55 See Shaheed Report, para. 31. 44 | P a g e