Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has filed a petition at the High Court, seeking to have certain provisions of the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Act declared unconstitutional and set aside.
The organisation argues that the law unjustly criminalises legitimate development and human rights work, and imposes excessive regulation on private voluntary organisations (PVOs).
The PVO Amendment Act, which was signed into law to strengthen oversight, aims to enhance the regulation, transparency, and accountability of PVOs.
The government maintains that the legislation is necessary to prevent the abuse of charitable organisations for illicit activities, including money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Under the new law, the definition of PVOs has been expanded to include trusts and other legal entities.
It also requires any PVO receiving external funding to register to ensure financial transparency.
The Minister of Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare is granted powers to designate certain PVOs as high-risk and monitor their activities.
ZLHR, in an application filed with the Harare High Court on 16 May 2025, contends that the Act, enacted and gazetted on 11 April 2025, violates the rights of its members.
The organisation, which operates as an independent legal entity, says the amendments represent a serious infringement on constitutional freedoms.
In a statement, ZLHR said the changes introduced by the Act amount to unconstitutional over-regulation and criminalisation of legitimate charitable, developmental, and human rights work. The ZLHR said:
The provisions of the PVO Amendment Act, ZLHR argues, overreach by violating the freedom of assembly and association guaranteed under section 58(1) of the Constitution, the freedom of expression under section 61 of the Constitution, the right to administrative justice guaranteed under section 68(1) and (2) of the Constitution, the right to a fair hearing under section 69(1), (2) and (3) of the Constitution and section 71 of the Constitution, which provides for property rights. ZLHR further argues that the impugned provisions of the PVO Amendment Act, are badly drafted and contain arbitrary powers and over-regulation of PVOs.
ZLHR argues that the PVO Amendment Act grants excessive and arbitrary power to the Minister and the Registrar, allowing for undue executive interference in the internal operations of private voluntary organisations.
According to the organisation, the contested provisions effectively empower the Executive to control PVOs and to deregister those it disfavors, often on vague and unjustified grounds.
ZLHR is asking the High Court to declare several sections of the amended Act unconstitutional. Specifically, ZLHR seeks an order of constitutional invalidity for section 4; section 5, as read with section 9(5); section 6; section 13A; section 14; and section 21 of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act, as amended by the PVO Amendment Act.
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