23/01/2026
ZIMBABWE: CYBER LAW IS NOW ENFORCEABLE 🇿🇼
The Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07] is now LAW.
Doing the following can land you in prison:
1️⃣ Accessing someone’s phone or computer without permission
Penalty: Up to 5 years imprisonment
2️⃣ Deleting, modifying, or interfering with someone’s data
Penalty: Up to 5 years imprisonment
3️⃣ Sharing or possessing “critical information” without authorisation
Penalty: Up to 15 years imprisonment
4️⃣ Recording private conversations, even if you are part of the conversation
Penalty: Up to 2 years imprisonment
5️⃣ Publishing false or misleading information
Penalty: Up to 2 years imprisonment
6️⃣ Being rude, vulgar, or humiliating online with intent
Penalty: Up to 2 years imprisonment
7️⃣ Disclosing cybercrime summons or police call-outs
Penalty: Up to 5 years imprisonment
8️⃣ Inciting ethnic divisions among citizens
Penalty: Life imprisonment
If you administer a WhatsApp group, Facebook group, page, or forum, you are expected to moderate content, stop unlawful posts and remove harmful or illegal material. “I didn’t know” is not a defence.