On February 4, 2026, Pellagia Mupurwa, a journalist with Zimbo Live, was arrested and detained under Zimbabwe’s cybercrime law, which sanctions “transmitting false messages with the intent to cause harm” with up to five years in prison. The complainant, businessman Steven Mutumhe, accused Mupurwa of defamation after she interviewed residents in Budiriro who claimed that he had forcibly acquired property in the area. Zimbo Live was forced to take down the article after law enforcement threatened Mupurwa. IPI reviewed the WhatsApp messages sent to Mupurwa by a police officer, which included messages such as “we are hunting you”.
Zimbo Live released a statement apologising for ‘any distress or inconvenience’ caused by the publication of the interview, and for circulating the interview without including Mutumhe’s response, despite the newspaper’s efforts to contact him for a reply. On 6 February, Mutumhe withdrew the charges against Mupurwa.
“While IPI welcomes the withdrawal of the charges, they should never have been instituted in the first place. Mupurwa was rightfully performing her journalistic duties by providing the public a crucial avenue to discuss an issue of concern and should not be punished for it,” Dr Marystella Simiyu, IPI’s Africa Senior Legal Advocacy Officer, said. “The harassment and detention of Mupurwa reinforce the risks cybercrime laws pose to journalistic work in Africa and globally. ”
In a further unfortunate development, Mupurwa suffered a medical emergency while in detention that led to her hospitalisation. At the time of writing this statement, she was still admitted.
Transmitting false messages with the intention to cause harm is criminalised under Section 164(C) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (amended by the Cyber and Data Protection Act, 2021) and carries a fine and/or an imprisonment term of not more than five years.
In February 2025, journalist Blessed Mhlanga was charged under the same amendments for allegedly publishing inciteful messages after he interviewed a critic of President Mnangagwa. He was released on bail over two months later; his trial is scheduled to continue on February 9, 2026.
Governments, and especially authoritarian regimes, are increasingly exploiting vague and disproportionate cybercrime provisions to curtail independent journalism. Section 164(C) undermines free expression and press freedom, and effectively reintroduces criminal defamation, which was ruled unconstitutional in Zimbabwe in 2014. IPI calls on Zimbabwe to amend its cybercrime legislation to align with regional and international laws and standards.