Zimbabwe: Legal Discussions With Vengai Madzima - Forced Rehabilitation for Drug Offenders in Zimbabwe

13 February 2025
New Zimbabwe (London)
interview

NewZimbabwe.com has invited Mr. Vengai Madzima, the Senior Partner at Madzima Chidyausiku Museta Legal Practitioners (MCM Legal) to discuss with us legal issues that affect Zimbabweans. The discussions are of a general nature and those seeking specific legal advice should contact their lawyer.

Reporter: Welcome back Mr. Madzima, this week we want to discuss what parents or guardians can do when faced with children on drugs who require rehabilitation. What are the general requirements to qualify for rehabilitation?

VM: Thank you

It is necessary to start by stating that rehabilitation comes in two forms, voluntary or involuntary. Though voluntary rehabilitation is uncommon because it presupposes that the drug user has accepted he or she has a problem he or she wants to solve, which is normally halfway down the road to recovery, it also makes the process easier for the guardians or family members and the drug user to ensure he is placed in rehabilitation.

The common position is the drug user will be in denial of the fact that they may need rehabilitation. The drug user, in most instances, does not think that they have a drug problem.

Secondly, the requirements differ for 25-year-old drug users who are legally independent and children below the age of majority.

Reporter: You are correct to raise those points, let us start with the qualification for rehabilitation for adults or 25-year-old children.

VM: The test to qualify for rehabilitation as an adult drug offender, is the same test that is used for mental disorder. The drug user must pose a danger to themselves and/ or others or that they have lost complete ability to take care of themselves due to a psychological impairment. This may be exhibited by a complete failure to maintain hygiene, eat or even worse, suicidal thoughts.

The common thing however is that these drug offenders normally start committing petty crimes, especially in the home. Parents hardly report these because they recognize that their child is under some form of sickness.

The alternative is that the petty crimes are reported to the police creating a criminal record, this criminal route is available for inebriates who have committed offences as a result of habitual intoxication. The courts may view this history of crimes committed as a result of intoxication and order rehabilitation.

Reporter: Should a guardian or family be of the mind that the drug user qualifies for rehabilitation, what can they do?

VM: It is critical to understand that our constitution guarantees every person's freedom and that the freedom should not be arbitrarily taken from them. It follows therefore that the rehabilitation process must be sanctioned by the courts who weigh whether it is just to place the drug user in rehabilitation.

An order to place a person in forced rehabilitation is issued by a Magistrate who considers, among other alternatives, whether a person should be placed in forced rehabilitation after reviewing medical certification from two practitioners, one of whom must be a psychiatrist or government medical officer.

The Magistrate also considers whether the medical evidence meets the statutory threshold of mental disorder and imposes measures that are commensurate with the action imposed.

Reporter: What if the drug user/addict is causing harm to himself, is there another quicker option to rehabilitation that is not through criminal courts?

VM: Our law permits emergency detention for 72 hours on the basis of a single medical practitioner's certification where there is imminent harm to the patient. The medical practitioner will be required to present a report to the Magistrate within 24 hours for the Magistrate to decide whether the detention can be extended via a reception order.

A failure to obtain the authority from the Magistrate within 72 hours renders the detention unlawful and the drug user qualifies for immediate release.

Reporter: Does the same apply to child offenders?

VM: With children, guardians must demonstrate that the rehabilitation is necessary, in the best interest of the child and is the least restrictive on the child by giving examples of prior interventions.

The opinion of the child matters, especially those above 16, their opinions are considered. The starting point is the wariness of the judiciary to separate the child from its environment of love and care. The proposed rehabilitation is not supposed to disturb a stable environment, the educational needs of the child et cetera.

The main difference between adult forced rehabilitation and that for children is that the guardian or parent plays a critical role in determining whether forced rehabilitation should occur

Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Madzima we have to end here, because of our time.

VM: Thank you.

You can contact Vengai Madzima at vengai@mcmlegal.co.zw or at www.mcmlegal.co.zw

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

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