Bill Watch 44/2019
Amendments to the
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill
12 August 2019
BILL WATCH 44/2019
[12th August 2019]
Amendments Made to the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill
At a sitting that started on 8th August and ended at 4.10 am on 9th August the
National Assembly passed the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill with
amendments, most of which were intended to meet objections raised by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] in its adverse report on the Bill. [The
adverse report was outlined and discussed in Bill Watch 39/2019 of the 29th July
[link].] Following a summons by the President recalling the Senate from its current
recess, the Senate is now due to consider the amended Bill on Wednesday 14th
August, together with the Appropriation Supplementary (2019) Bill and the
Finance (No. 2) Bill.
This bulletin analyses the amendments which the National Assembly made to the
Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill.
Relevant Documents Available on the Veritas Website
Original Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill [link]
Joint Report on the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill by the Portfolio
Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services and the Thematic
Committee on Peace and Security [link]
Amendments to Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill made by the National
Assembly [link]
Annotated Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill indicating how the amendments
made fit into the text of the Bill [link].
The Amendments Made by the National Assembly
New Preamble:
A preamble was inserted in the Bill setting out the provisions of section 86 of the
Constitution, which allows laws to limit rights and freedoms guaranteed in the
Declaration of Rights. Presumably the preamble is intended to justify and explain
the limits the Bill will impose on freedoms to assemble, demonstrate and petition
Parliament.
Clause 4: Temporary prohibition of possession of weapons
This clause will give regulating authorities (senior police officers) power to ban for
up to three months the carrying of weapons in public. The clause was amended:
• to exclude traditional weapons from the list of weapons that can be banned
• to prohibit the renewal of a ban within a year after its expiry, unless a
magistrate has permitted the renewal
• to require bans to be communicated through traditional leaders in the areas
where they have been imposed