Chapter 2 of the Constitution sets out the national objectives of good governance: - to adopt measures to expose, “combat and eradicate all forms of corruption and abuse of power by those holding political and public offices.” In its Declaration of Rights, the Constitution in Chapter 4 gives the State and every person, including juristic persons, and every institution and agency of the government at every level” the duty to “respect, protect, promote and fulfill the rights and freedoms set out in the Constitution. The Declaration of Human Rights in the Constitution further outlines the right to human dignity for all, right to personal security which includes right to “freedom from all forms of violence from public or private sources”, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and afford the rights of arrested persons to be treated humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity. The same chapter prescribes that the interpretation of the Declaration of Human Rights “must consider international law and all treaties and conventions to which Zimbabwe is a party”. Legislation governing the police in Zimbabwe The Constitution of Zimbabwe does not give the police and army personnel free reign in maintaining order in the country. Section 206(3)(a) of the Constitution notes that the police force must show the utmost respect for “the fundamental rights and freedoms and the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution. The Police Act³² of Zimbabwe establishes and regulates the police. Section 19 of the Act describes the power and duties of the members of the police as follows: Every Regular Force member may exercise such powers and shall perform such duties as are by law conferred or imposed on a Regular Force member and, subject to any other law, he shall obey all lawful directions in respect of the execution of his office which he may from time to time receive. The Police Act – Fit for purpose or part of the problem? The Police Act has several sections which could be strengthened. For example, the Act is vague on the kind of duties that are unlawful and does not refer to any other law to give examples of unlawful acts by a member of the police force. However, the Police Act stipulates that every member of the force must only obey all lawful directions in line with his or her office. This can be interpreted to mean that a police officer can disobey unlawful directions from his or her superiors. Furthermore, the Police Act sets out disciplinary measures for members of the police force who contravene the Act or those who disobey lawful orders under the Act. It also gives measures for the trial of members for an offence under the jurisdiction of a court or tribunal. It also gives powers to the Commissioner General to confirm convictions and sentence, alter, quash, or reduce sentence. This provision is problematic because it gives too much power to the head of the police with regards how ³² ZWE-1995-L-41991. 16 Anti-Impunity Report