Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) convenor Tendai Biti and programmes director Morgan Ncube were arrested on Saturday, 21 March, in Mutare for allegedly breaching the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) by failing to notify police about their meeting. CDF said the event was a private meeting.
CDF National Spokesperson Jacob Rukweza said Biti and Ncube are being represented by lawyer Chris Ndlovu.
They are currently held at Mutare Central Police Station and are expected to appear in court for their initial hearing on Monday, 23 March 2026. Said Rukweza:
“As CDF, we insist that our convener and programs director have not violated any law, the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act specifically excludes private meetings from the jurisdiction of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“If Tendai Biti, Morgan Ncube and the CDF in general have committed any crime, it would be a crime of bravely leading the campaign against the amendment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe under the Amendment Bill No. 3 and saying no to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2030 agenda.
“We demand the immediate release of our arrested leaders and urge Zimbabweans to show up in solidarity as they appear in court.”
Under Section 7 of MOPA, the requirement to notify the police only applies to public gatherings. A meeting is generally considered private—and therefore exempt from notification—if it takes place in a private home, a private office, or a rented hall that isn’t open to the general public during the event.
Attendance that is limited to a specific group, such as a board meeting, a family function, or a closed-door political caucus, also counts as private, meaning police notification isn’t required.
The police, acting as the “Regulating Authority,” don’t technically have the power to ban a meeting outright. Instead, they can issue a prohibition order, but only on specific legal grounds.
Section 8 of MOPA makes it clear that a Regulating Authority may only move to stop a gathering if there are reasonable grounds to believe the event will seriously disrupt public order, pose a credible threat of violence or a riotous situation, block essential transport routes, or potentially cause injury to people or damage to property and infrastructure.
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