Public Order and Security Act (Zimbabwe)

The Public Order and Security Act (POSA) is a piece of legislation introduced in Zimbabwe in 2002 by a ZANU-PF dominated parliament. The act was amended in 2007 and repealed in 2018, after being replaced by the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.

Jonathan Moyo is reported as having been one of the chief architects of the act, as he served as the Minister of Information and Publicity. Moyo has denied such an accusation citing the fact he has never held office in the relevant ministry (law and order legislations come from the Ministry of Home Affairs). Other individuals allegedly involved in the bill's passage include President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa, and John Landa Nkomo.

Many regard POSA as an act that helped Robert Mugabe consolidate his power. The law gave untold powers to the police, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and enabled them to squash political dissent at a large scale.

POSA has since been applied against demonstrations by the government. On 1 August 2018 the law was invoked, resulting in the army fatally shooting protesters against alleged rigging of the Zimbabwean general election, 2018. Although the law has since been repealed, its main provisions were retained and incorporated into the 2019 Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.

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