OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT (as amended at 31 December 2004) (a) approaches, inspects, passes over or is in the vicinity of or enters any prohibited place; or (b) makes any model or document which is calculated to be or which might or is intended to be useful, directly or indirectly, to an enemy; or (c) obtains, collects, records, publishes or communicates to any person— (i) any secret official code or password; or (ii) any model, article, document or other information which is calculated to be or which might or is intended to be useful, directly or indirectly, to an enemy; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty-five years. Force or any other body or organization appointed or established by the Government for the purpose of assisting in the preservation of the security of Zimbabwe; and (b) publishes or communicates such model, article, document or information to any person in any manner or for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Zimbabwe; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. (3) Any person who receives any secret official code or password or any model, article, document or information, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe, at the time when he receives it, that the code, password, model, article, document or information is communicated to him in contravention of this Act, shall, unless he proves that the communication thereof to him was against his wish, be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. 4 Prohibition of communication of certain information (1) Any person who has in his possession or under his control any secret official code or password or any model, article, document or information which— (a) relates to or is used in a prohibited place or relates to any thing in a prohibited place; or (b) has been made or obtained in contravention of this Act; or (c) has been entrusted in confidence to him by a person holding an office in the service of the State; or (d) he has obtained or to which he has had access owing to his position as a person who holds or has held office in the service of the State or as a person who holds or has held a contract made on behalf of the State or a contract the performance of which in whole or in part is carried out in a prohibited place or as a person who is or has been employed under a person who holds or has held such an office or contract; and who— (i) communicates such code, password, model, article, document or information to any person, other than a person to whom he is authorized to communicate it or a person to whom it is in the interests of Zimbabwe his duty to communicate it; or (ii) uses such information in any manner or for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Zimbabwe; or (iii) retains such model, article or document in his possession or under his control when he has no right to retain it or when it is contrary to his duty to retain it, or fails to comply with any directions issued by lawful authority with regard to the return or disposal thereof; or (iv) fails to take proper care of or so conducts himself as to endanger the safety of such model, article, document, code, password or information; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. (1a) For the avoidance of doubt it is declared that subsection (1) shall not apply to the disclosure in accordance with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act [Chapter 10:27] of any document or information by a person who, being the head of a public body as defined in that Act, has lawfu access to the document or information. (2) Any person who— (a) has in his possession or under his control any model, article, document or information which relates to— (i) munitions of war or any military matter; or (ii) the preservation of the security of Zimbabwe or the maintenance of law and order by the Police 5 Certain acts prejudicial to safety or interests of Zimbabwe prohibited (1) Any person who for the purpose of gaining or assisting any other person to gain admission to a prohibited place or for any other purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Zimbabwe— (a) without lawful authority, uses or wears any military, air force, police or other official uniform of Zimbabwe or any uniform so closely resembling the same as to be calculated to deceive or falsely represents himself to be a person who is or has been entitled to use or wear any such uniform; or (b) orally or in writing in any declaration or application or in any document signed by him or on his behalf knowingly makes any false statement or omits any relevant fact; or (c) forges, alters or tampers with any passport or any official pass, permit, certificate, licence or other document, hereinafter in this section referred to as an official document, or uses or has in his possession any forged, altered or irregular official document; or (d) impersonates or falsely represents himself to be a person holding, or in the employment of a person holding, office in the service of the State or to be or not to be a person to whom an official document or a secret official code or password has been duly issued or communicated or, with intent to obtain an official document or any secret official code or password, whether for himself or for any other person, knowingly makes any false statement; or (e) uses or has in his possession or under his control without lawful authority any official die, seal or stamp of Zimbabwe or any die, seal or stamp so closely resembling any such official die, seal or stamp as to be calculated to deceive or counterfeits any such official die, seal or stamp or uses or has in his possession or under his control any such counterfeited die, seal or stamp; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level twelve or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. (2) Any person who— (a) retains for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Zimbabwe any official document, whether 159 [Chapter 11:09]