Other individuals allegedly involved in the bill's passage include President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa, and John Landa Nkomo.
On 1 August 2018 the law was invoked,[3] resulting in the army fatally shooting protesters against alleged rigging of the Zimbabwean general election, 2018.
A Human Rights Report was issued by the U.S Department of State in the wake of the 2018 Zimbabwean uprising that occurred as a result of the general election that took place in July of 2018.
Members of the public and international community pointed to inconsistencies in the voter roll, and with fears that the election would provide legitimacy to the 2017 coup.
The Act was further invoked to prevent political dissidents from holding public events that could oppose the positions of the majority ZANU-PF government.
The process to amend POSA came to head in November in 2019, when the law was replaced by a new piece of legislation, known as the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.
While the Act repealed many provisions of POSA, it maintained its purpose of setting limitations on public demonstrations and gathering, effectively regulating citizens' ability to engage in free speech.
[12] The Maintenance of Peace and Order Act is simply a new iteration of POSA that poses new challenges to freedom of speech within Zimbabwe, and has seen a new wave of criticism since its passage and implementation in 2019.