# Zimbabwe

Government actions against journalists in Zimbabwe

[RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index). World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 is the freest.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Zimbabwe is in Eastern Africa, Africa. The record holds 2 incidents in which the government of Zimbabwe, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Insult and defamation laws: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZW&tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws
- [Licensing and closure of outlets: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZW&tactic=outlet_licensing), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing
- [Secrets and espionage laws: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZW&tactic=secrets_and_espionage_laws), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/secrets_and_espionage_laws

## Heads of government at the time

- [Emmerson Mnangagwa: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/emmerson-mnangagwa)
- [Robert Mugabe: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/robert-mugabe)

## Incidents by year

### 2023

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| July 14, 2023 | [Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact) | [Secrets and espionage laws](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/secrets_and_espionage_laws) | Punish | [Emmerson Mnangagwa](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/emmerson-mnangagwa) | Sustained (July 14, 2023) |

### 2002

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| March 15, 2002 | [Zimbabwe enacts a law requiring all journalists and media houses to hold government licenses](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing) | [Licensing and closure of outlets](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/outlet_licensing) | Pressure | [Robert Mugabe](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/robert-mugabe) | Unknown |

Ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. Timeline: https://thewaronnews.com/timeline/country/zw.

Download incidents in Zimbabwe. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.