Zimbabwe is witnessing an increase in cybercrimes, resulting in the responsible authorities increasing education and awareness to rectify the situation.
The local telecommunications sector is regulated and supervised by a statutory board, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
One of POTRAZ’s key functions is to regulate cellular networks and Internet services, which are part of the country’s fastest-growing sectors.
Tsitsi Mariwo, POTRAZ director in the data protection unit, confirmed that Zimbabwe is witnessing an unprecedented increase in cybercrimes.
She highlighted that the authority was raising awareness on the issues and urged affected citizens to report crimes to law enforcement agencies.
“The cybercrimes are already consolidated in the country’s criminal code,” she explained. “The law is there, but what is required is implementation and more awareness.”
Mariwo revealed that POTRAZ is working with key stakeholders like the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to enforce laws related to cybercrimes; while calling for vigilance, the country is quickly drifting towards a digital economy.
“Zimbabwe is adopting global trends and has enacted the necessary legal frameworks to govern conduct in the digital space, especially on issues related to information and data transfer,” she explained.
Mariwo noted that the fast-growing digital economy has made digital governance frameworks very necessary to provide safeguards for engagement on the Internet.
She is hopeful that the cybersecurity measures that have been put in place will deter abuse and protect people’s personal information, which is often the target of cyber criminals.
Under the second phase of the National Development Strategy Two (NDS2), the Government of Zimbabwe will prioritize cybersecurity governance and operational readiness through the enforcement and implementation of laws and regulations governing cyber and data protection to create a robust legal framework.
“Institutions will be required to strengthen cyber-resilience, safeguard national data and maintain public trust in their digital operations, consistent with the provisions of the Cyber and Data Protection Act (Chapter 12:07),” Mariwo said.
Mariwo is also hopeful that the national ICT policy will promote confidence and security in the use of ICT and strengthen the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for cybersecurity and data protection, among other functions.
Cyber offenses on the rise
Komborerai Allan Manenji, POTRAZ’s advocacy and compliance manager, said Zimbabwe currently does not have a stand-alone cybercrimes Act, but cyber offenses are contained in the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 as amended by the Cyber and Data Protection Act (Chapter 12:07) of 2021.
Manenji said the absence of a stand-alone Act is posing a challenge in the prosecution of cybercrimes and his team has advised the authority on the need for a dedicated cybercrimes law.
Some of the common cyber offences, which Manenji said are occurring in the country, include hacking, unlawful acquisition of data, interference with data, interference with computer systems, misuse of data or devices, threatening messages, cyberbullying, transmission of false data, intimate images without consent, and child sexual abuse material.
Manenji said the offences can be charged under criminal codification.
He said the Southern African country’s laws must balance freedom of expression and cybercrime risks, adding that international cooperation is expanding in the bid to enforce the laws.
Manenji added that the cybercrime legislation is about protecting critical infrastructure, protecting children, ensuring privacy, preventing digital harm and ensuring responsible digital communication.
Zimbabwe Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Tatenda Mavetera, said cyberbullying is on the increase in the nation.
“Government is applying the necessary legal frameworks to arrest individuals contributing to the spreading of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news,” Mavetera said.
She said that the government is working actively to engage with the police, prosecutors and judges to enhance training and awareness on cybersecurity and to deal with cybercrimes.
Reasons for cybercrime surge
Commenting on why the country is witnessing a surge in cybercrimes, Mariwo said the use of digital platforms and rising Internet penetration is the major cause.
Mariwo said Zimbabwe’s Internet penetration rose exponentially over the last five to 10 years.
“So, cyberspace becomes a target for crime because most of the people are connected daily, either socially, financially, educationally, or even medically. Cybercriminals see an opportunity,” Mariwo said.
She explained that the Internet penetration rate in the country rose from 48.86% in 2015 to 82.87% in 2025.
Also in the same year range, according to Mariwo, the mobile Internet penetration rate rose from 46.7% to 80.58%, and the fiber penetration rate rose from 0.1% to 0.51%.
National response to common cyber incidents
POTRAZ Acting Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) and Enforcement Manager, Pride Mukumba, said the authority had put the response team in place to deal with common threats encountered.
Some of the threats Mukumba highlighted include unauthorized access, denial of service and security policy violations.
Evidence Mazhindu, working in the same department, said the Internet provides opportunities, some of which are hard to track, and people are running sophisticated scams daily.
Mazhindu said in Zimbabwe, the highest cyberbreaches or scams are witnessed in the transport and finance sectors due to the high volumes of transactions, based on surveys the authority had conducted.
He highlighted the crimes that are on the rise including cyber-bullying and business email compromises, which he said is becoming a major challenge in the country.
Other common threats highlighted by Mukumba include intrusion attempts involving failed or active efforts to break into a system with the aim of compromising integrity or stealing data.
He also mentioned malware infections involving the propagation of malicious software like viruses, ransomware, worms and spyware.
Zimbabwe’s government is engaging with the police, prosecutors and judges to enhance training and awareness on cybersecurity and to deal with cybercrimes. (Source: Image by DC Studio on Magnific)
Mukumba explained that the CIRT is a specialized group of security professionals responsible for identifying, managing and responding to computer security incidents in the country.
He said the team was established by POTRAZ to minimize the impact of security incidents, restore critical services rapidly and to prevent future occurrences through analysis.
The team also facilitates a coordinated ecosystem for national cyber resilience.
Key stakeholders comprising the team are drawn from organizations like law enforcement, professional bodies, telecom operators, Interpol, regulatory bodies, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), international agencies, industry associations and similar teams at the national and global levels.
Police tackle emerging cybercrime trends
In 2025, the CIRT reported that online fraud is the most common cybercrime in the country, as it constituted about 33% of cybercrimes in the country.
It was followed by cyber-bullying and hacking, both at 27%, while smishing (SMS phishing) made up about 13% of cybercrimes and theft made up 10%.
The ZRP’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) said that it is currently witnessing more cybercrimes and is enhancing cyberlaw enforcement with key stakeholders like POTRAZ.
The police said some of the cases include electronic pension diversion scams, which it said is on the increase.
The ZRP also said in some cases scammers replace bona fide pension beneficiaries’ credentials with those of unauthorized applicants, defrauding funds.
According to the police the scams are occurring mostly through collaboration with insiders in the pensions offices.
Other cases highlighted by the police include mobile malware abuses and deep fakes, where false AI-generated videos are created.
The police admitted it is battling to deal with cases where funds are converted into cryptocurrencies through sophisticated scams.
As a response to these cybercrimes, the police have set up a laboratory manned by experts to deal with rising cybercrimes.
According to the police, this has resulted in several convictions involving false transmission of messages meant to cause harm nationally.
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