WELEAD in Zimbabwe Constitution awareness campaign

Youths in Zimbabwe have little knowledge of the Zimbabwean Constitution, as only three out of 34 youths confirmed having read it.

Participants to the Constitution Awareness workshop

Zimbabwe: On Friday, May 27, 2022, the WELEAD Team was in Glenorah B in Harare conducting a Constitution Awareness workshop with 34 young people.

Young people were taught about a variety of sections, with sections 20 & 7 and 63 receiving the most attention during the workshop.

Youths in Zimbabwe have little knowledge of the Zimbabwean Constitution, as only three out of 34 youths confirmed having read it.

Emmanuel Yaye was one of the participants who knew the most about the Constitution.

He expressed concern about the issue of amendments, stating that the majority of them were made during the lockdown when young people were struggling to obtain a few dollars for data.

"We have seen people trending with the hashtag #FreeSomeone after they have done legal and peaceful demonstrations," Yaye said, "so we begin to feel that some people are above the law."

Fear, according to young people, is a major factor driving them away from the Constitution.

Following the workshop, the majority of participants pleaded for more Constitution-related workshops, and they expressed concern for their peers who did not have the opportunity to attend such an informative session.

Interviews were conducted, and young people testified that the event had taught them a lot.

"Involve the Ministry of High and Tertiary Education in introducing a Constitution module, just like other mandatory modules," Tinotenda Mbamba said.

"We have graduates who know nothing about the Constitution," he added.

"The constitution has to be translated into native languages so that we can develop interest; I had to come here because my friends always want to learn something new every day, but now I am a changed person; I learned a lot from this gathering," Munotida Kapanda said.

"It is now our duty to protect the Constitution because we have discovered that the first pages of this living document state that 'we the people," Malvin Nyangaza said.

Some of the youth were given flyers to distribute to their friends about Zimbabwe's Constitution.