As a general rule, the purpose of a fine as a form of sentencing is the retribution, rehabilitation, reform and re-integration into society of an accused person. In Zimbabwe an individual, who is convicted of a minor offence or where the circumstances of their case warrants it, the court may sentence the said accused person to a fine, which must be a real option and must not be excessive[1]. Such fine must be imposed in such a way that it fits the accused person to the extent that he can afford to pay the fine, and where necessary, the accused person must be given time to pay or be afforded the chance to pay the fine in instalments[2]. In instances where the accused person is a company, it has been the norm in our courts that a fine is imposed on a company it being a juristic person that cannot be incarcerated.


It is important to take note that in Zimbabwe fines may be imposed either as a sentence upon conviction of an accused person arraigned before a court, facing a particular charge as articulated above, or as an admission of guilt, payable at the scene of crime or at a police station. The latter is known as a spot fine. These spot fines may be charged in respect of offences regulated by particular Acts of Parliament or statutory regulations. These may include traffic offences, minor offences or environmental law offences such as water pollution. For instance, section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07] empowers police officers to accept and receive on behalf of the State, an admission of guilt fine (spot fine), for minor offences which upon conviction call for a fine not exceeding level 3. This means that police officers in terms of this section, can give an arrested person the option to admit that they committed a minor offence and pay a minimal fine at the scene of crime or at the police station. Similarly Statutory Instrument 10 of 2007[3], empowers Environmental Management Agency (EMA) officers to charge a spot fine not exceeding level 14, for failing to adhere to or comply with hazardous waste management regulations. However, the most common spot fine in Zimbabwe relates to traffic offences.


It is trite that all fines, whether they are imposed by a court of law upon sentencing or are imposed as spot fines, they are governed by a standard scale as regulated by the First Schedule (sections 2(1) and section 280) to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23][4]. This standard scale has been amended several times due to, among others, the change of the legal currency and the inflation that has occurred after the adoption of the RTGS dollar as the legal currency of Zimbabwe.


The first amendment occurred in 2009 upon dollarization (that is to say, the use of the US dollar as the legal currency of Zimbabwe), with the coming into effect of Act 3 of 2009. This amendment changed level 3 fine from ZWD1 000.00 to USD20.00, and level 14 being the maximum fine from ZWD250 000.00 to USD5 000.00. Before the adoption of the RTGS dollar as the legal currency of Zimbabwe, the standard scale was amended and increased by Act 2 of 2017, which repealed Act 3 of 2009. An outcry of the revised spot fine from USD20 to USD30, made a wave during this time, with citizens showing mixed thoughts regarding the reason behind the increase of the standard scale. During this period, roadblocks were mushrooming across the nation and it appeared as though the police had influenced the alleged increase in the spot fine. Whilst citizens complained about the fine increase being exorbitant, EMA bemoaned the leniency of level 14 at USD5 000.00, which was the maximum fine according to the standard scale at the time. Contrary to Zimbabwe, during the same period, other countries such as the United Kingdom were fining offending companies, who breached environmental laws in sums between an equivalent of USD2 0833.33 and USD520 833.33[5]. In 2020 EMA advocated for restoration of penalties for breaching environmental laws in Zimbabwe, citing that the standard scale was not enough to punish the offences[6]. Needless to say, EMA has always complained about this maximum penalty fine, which is imposed upon conviction of offending companies for the environmental offences, most particularly water pollution[7], of not being commensurate with the effect of pollution to the environment and our ecosystem.


This brings us to the most recent amendment published as Statutory Instrument 25 of 2021[8], which puts level 3 at the equivalent of USD60.92 and level 14 at the equivalent of USD19 493.17. For the first time after several amendments to the standard scale, the standard scale has almost trebled in value. Will this new standard scale be more deterrent than the previous scales, with the highest scale before the current amendment being the recently repealed standard scale published as Statutory Instrument 272 of 2020[9], and the least valued scale being a repealed standard scale published as S.I. 209 of 2019[10]. These standard scales placed level 14 at an equivalent of USD9 795.52 and USD2 012.07, respectively. This is because, although the standard scale should be realistic, it should also deter would be offenders from engaging in criminal activities that may result in them being fined. Failure to pay a fine always comes with an alternative to serve a specific jail term[11].

[1] State versus Kunesu & Ors 1993 (2) ZLR 253 (H)

[2] R versus Peti & Ors 1966 RLR 591

[3] See Section 37(1) of the Environmental Management (Hazardous Waste Management) Regulations, 2007

[4] Section 280 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]

[5] The Guardian, 30 January 2017, Companies pay more than 1.5Pounds for breaching environmental laws, Available at www.theguradian.com Accessed on 27 January 2020

[6] The Herald, 12 November 2020, EMA favours restoration to replace insignificant fines, Available at www.herald.co.zw Accessed on 27 January 2021

[7] See section 57(1) of the Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27]

[8] Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2021

[9] Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2020

[10] Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2019

[11] See State versus Shariwa 2003 (1) ZLR 314 (H), See also State versus Gumede 2003 (1) ZLR 408 (HB)