By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
VICTORIA FALLS – Zimbabwe is moving to criminalise the malicious creation and distribution of artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes as Government steps up efforts to combat emerging cyber threats that officials warn could undermine democracy, financial systems and public trust.
Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Tatenda Mavetera announced the proposed legal reforms while officially opening the 2026 ITU Inter-Regional CyberDrill for Africa and Arab States in Victoria Falls.
She said Zimbabwe would fast-track ratification and domestication of the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, commonly known as the Malabo Convention, while introducing laws targeting harmful uses of deepfake technology.
“We will ensure our legal framework explicitly criminalises the malicious creation and distribution of deepfakes, particularly those used for fraud, political manipulation and non-consensual intimate imagery,” Mavetera said.
She described deepfakes as one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity threats, warning that advances in artificial intelligence had made it increasingly difficult to distinguish between authentic and manipulated audio and video content.
“Cybersecurity is no longer just about confidentiality and integrity of systems; it is about the integrity of truth itself,” she said.
The minister warned that fake videos or voice recordings of public officials, financial regulators or community leaders could trigger serious political, economic and social consequences.
She also announced plans to establish a National Deepfake Detection and Public Media Literacy Taskforce before the end of the year.
The taskforce will bring together forensic technology experts, legal practitioners, media organisations and civil society to deploy deepfake detection technologies and lead a nationwide public awareness campaign under the theme “Pause. Verify. Share.”
“Our citizens, particularly in rural communities, must be empowered to question what they see and hear,” she said.
The initiative forms part of Zimbabwe’s broader National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2026–2030), launched in March this year, which also proposes the establishment of an AI-Cybersecurity Fusion Centre to harness artificial intelligence for cyber defence while managing its associated risks.
Mavetera said while AI offered opportunities to improve cybersecurity through real-time threat detection, criminals were increasingly using the same technology to develop sophisticated phishing attacks, malware and convincing fake content.
She urged countries across Africa and the Arab States to work together against cybercrime, saying digital threats ignored national borders.
“Africa cannot afford fragmented, disconnected responses to one borderless threat,” she said.
She called for greater regional cooperation through shared threat intelligence, harmonised cyber legislation and coordinated incident response to safeguard the continent’s growing digital economy.
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