Zimbabwean cities are being fitted with artificial intelligence cameras capable of facial recognition, prompting warnings from legal experts that the country lacks specific laws authorising mass surveillance in public spaces.
The cameras, installed in street lights and parking zones in cities including Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare and Victoria Falls. They include automatic number-plate recognition and facial recognition technology.
The government says the rollout will improve road safety, help identify traffic offenders and support its Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan. But critics argue the legal foundation for mass data collection is missing.
Existing legislation, including the Urban Councils Act of 1995, allows for traffic management but does not explicitly authorise public space surveillance or biometric data collection. Section 57 of Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution protects the right to privacy.
Concerns have also been raised over Zimbabwe’s record of state surveillance against political opponents and human rights defenders.
Speaking on CITE’s daily current affairs programme, This Morning on Asakhe, Justice Court Foundation founding director Courteney Mukoyi said the technology raised constitutional concerns once it moved beyond ordinary traffic monitoring.
“AI traffic cameras become legally controversial when surveillance extends beyond what is necessary for rapid safety,” he said.
Continuous tracking, behavioural profiling and indefinite data retention, he warned, would fall foul of constitutional protections on privacy, dignity, freedom of movement, expression and association.
Mukoyi said any limitation of rights must be “lawful, necessary, reasonable and proportionate.”
“Using cameras to detect speeding at intersections may be proportionate, but using nationwide facial recognition to monitor people’s movements may then be disproportionate,” he said. “The state must use the least intrusive means available.”
He said unresolved questions remained over how the data would be stored, who would have access to it, and the terms of the agreements between the government and the Chinese suppliers.
“Citizens should not feel that every movement and any public activity that they are engaging in is being permanently monitored and recorded by the state,” Mukoyi said.
A participant on the programme, Champion John, questioned the practical case for the rollout, pointing to gaps in basic infrastructure.
“You need to have data centres that are going to store information, and that needs a lot of investment. Right now, the government has not done anything concerning roads,” he said. “Dictators are fascinated by technology not for the sake of improving people’s lives, but for the sake of control.”