PUBLIC STATEMENTS PREJUDICIAL TO THE STATE Chilling freedom of expression to the bone with a chilling offence: Case note on Chimakure & Others v Attorney-General 2013 (2) ZLR 466 (S) Geoffrey Feltoe and John Reid-Rowland Overview This case note examines the reasoning of the Supreme Court leading to its conclusion that s 31(a) (iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (the “Criminal Law Code”) is unconstitutional and therefore null and void. The note also looks at the implications of this ruling in respect of the rest of s 31 of the Criminal Law Code, as well as other provisions in the Code. Background to the Case Some human rights activists and some members of a political party were abducted from different places at different times, following a number of bomb explosions around Harare. The identities of the abductors and places where the abductees were taken were kept secret. No-one knew what had happened to the abductees. These abductions were widely reported in the media and the question of who had kidnapped the people concerned became a matter of public discussion. The law enforcement agencies claimed that they had no knowledge of who the abductors were and what their motive was. After 27 days, the victims appeared at various police stations in Harare and were later charged with various security crimes. Indictments, lists of witnesses and summaries of their evidence were served on them. The witnesses were all members of law enforcement agencies. The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper then published an article in which it stated that the AttorneyGeneral’s Office “... revealed the names of some members of the Central Intelligence Organisation