BY NYAMUKONDIWA FIDELITY WITH all due respect, movement exemption letters often demanded by security officers at roadblocks and checkpoints are not a legal requirement. Put differently, there is no law in Zimbabwe mandating a person to produce the so-called exemption letter to a police officer at a roadblock. A few days ago, I was stopped at a police roadblock and a certain police officer ordered me to produce a “movement exemption letter”. I produced one that was stamped at a local police station. After a thorough examination of the document, the officer informed me that I could not pass through because the “letter” I was using had expired in 2020. To avoid arguing, I just pleaded with her and fortunately, she allowed me to pass through. The purpose of the national lockdown and curfew is to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic which has so far infected more than 34 000 Zimbabweans and claimed close to 1 400 lives. Had it not been for the strict enforcement of lockdown regulations, the numbers could have been worse. It is, therefore, not the object of this editorial to jeopardise nor obstruct the proper enforcement of lockdown regulations. It simply seeks to set the record straight in so far as the law regarding lockdown exemptions is concerned. For starters, there are three arms of the government, the Legislature, the  Executive and the Judiciary. The Legislature consisting of Parliament and the President is the organ responsible for making laws. Parliament may, however, assign particular ministers to make Statutory Instruments (SIs). For it to have a force of law, an SI must be published in the Government gazette. Parliament, through the Public Health Act, Chapter 15:17, delegated to the Health and Child Care minister, to enact SIs on public health matters. It is on this background that several SIs have been made and gazetted to restrict movement of people during the national lockdown. The Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) (Consolidation and Amendment) Order, 2020, better known as SI 200 of 2020 and also referred to as the principal order consolidates the several lockdown orders that were made in the year 2020. All the basic Lockdown dos and don’ts are contained therein. On January 2 2021, SI 10 of 2021 was gazetted to make amendments to the principal order. The ongoing lockdown and curfew measures are in terms of SI 200 of 2020 as amended by SI 42 of 2021 gazetted on February 15 2021. The principal order confines all persons in their homes during the lockdown period. It, however, mentions several classes of persons exempted from confinement. Exempted persons are allowed to leave their homes for specified purposes. Nowhere in the principal order nor in any other lockdown SI is it stated that exempted persons must be in possession of the so-called movement exemption letters. All that is required is to wear a face mask and observe the social distancing rule in public places. The principal order provides that if found outside their homes by an enforcement officer, t