What was the charge?
Final Outcome? The film was on YouTube but was not screened in front of an
audience again.
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Conclusion
This report has established that censorship of works of art including foreign
ones has been in place in Zimbabwe since the beginning of the 20th century.
Since then the practice has been one of pre-censorship where authorities
demand access to works of art before the public has access. However, this is
not strictly the practice as in many cases artists are apprehended during
presentation of their works of art once the authorities judge the work to be
unpalatable to them.
Among the leading grounds for censorship, the political dimension has been
used to muzzle artists in Zimbabwe. The desire by politicians to eschew public
scrutiny has resulted in laws being enacted to criminalise utterances or
expressions that criticise the state and its leadership. These laws, including
those adopted to deal with censorship per se, continue to exist notwithstanding
the 2013 Constitution specifically protects artistic freedom.
Zimbabwe ratified key instruments to promote the protection of artistic
freedom. However, the ratification process in practice is ad hoc and deprives
stakeholders of any realistic opportunity to influence the process since it is
‘closed’ to public participation. Apparently, it entirely depends on interest at
stake from the perspective of government.
International instruments on artistic
freedom have been domesticated
wholesale through constitutional provisions. However, the challenge remains in
mobilising commitment on the part of government to offer protection that is
consistent with international and national legal principles. Art continues to be
restricted by the application of inappropriate grounds for limiting the freedom.
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