Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law a Bill that will punish citizens who are deemed unpatriotic and those who advocate for sanctions against the country.

President Mnangagwa’s decision to put his signature on the Criminal (Codification and Reform) Bill, widely known as the Patriotic Bill, on Friday was immediately condemned by Western countries as draconian.

According to the new law, anyone found guilty of "wilfully damaging the national sovereignty and interests of the country shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 12 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or both."

Read: Zimbabwe to punish 'unpatriotic' citizens

The United States' Africa Bureau of African Affairs said the new law called into question President Mnangagwa’s commitment to free elections.

Zimbabwe will hold general elections on August 23 amid concerns about a shrinking democratic space.

“The newly signed Patriotic Bill in Zimbabwe imperils constitutional rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, calling into question government’s commitment to hold free and fair elections,” the Bureau  said on Twitter.

The US is one of the countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe two decades ago over alleged human rights violations and electoral fraud.

Washington has been critical of President Mnangagwa’s slow pace of reforms following  a military coup that toppled the late Robert Mugabe in 2017.

The European Union (EU) and other western embassies in Harare  said the new law will infringe on freedoms of association and assembly.

 “The new legislation subverts these constitutional rights, undercuts Zimbabwe’s international re-engagement efforts, and is bad for business," the US embassy said.

The EU said the new law sent  a "political signal in the opposite direction" about Zimbabwe's willingness to end its international isolation.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom embassy in Harare said, “parts of the new legislation have serious implications for Zimbabweans’ ability to exercise (their) rights without fear and for the Zimbabwe government’s efforts at international re-engagement."

Musa Kika, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Executive Director, said the law was a serious onslaught on democracy.

Read: Mnangagwa accused of turning Zimbabwe into 'authoritarian state'

"The so-called Patriot Act is perhaps the most unfortunate law reform development to occur in Zimbabwe since independence,” Dr Kika said.

“It takes extraordinary indifference, recklessness, aversion to development, and intolerance to sign this kind of law.

“It will come to hurt those who pushed and signed this law at the end of the day.

The main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change said President Mnangagwa was trying to use the law to stop his opponents from campaigning ahead of the elections.

“President Mnangagwa is not even ashamed to sign into law this Bill while people are campaigning," CCC spokesperson Felix Mafa said.

“He is trying to curtail our movement and freedom to campaign. 

"The elections will be disputed because this law is a manifestation of dictatorship.”

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiCZ), which represents over 40 civil society organisations, said the law will compromise the credibility of the elections.

Read: Zimbabwe rights groups, opposition furious over signed patriotic bill

"Essentially, this new law is yet another threat to the ability of citizens to engage in open political discourse and to participate freely in the electoral process,” CiCZ said in a statement.

“This will without doubt undermine the inclusivity and fairness of the entire electoral process and ultimately compromise the overall legitimacy of the August 23 elections.”

Nick Mangwana, the government spokesperson, accused  western  countries  of interfering in  Zimbabwe' affairs.

“When Britain passed its Public Order Act, Zimbabwe kept a respectful silence,” Mr Mangwana said on Twitter.

“We don’t run our country according to the whims of a former colonial power, but the will of the Zimbabwean people as expressed through their elected representatives.

“We call for any neo-colonial nostalgia to be purged through the correct psychological therapies.”

President Mnangagwa, who is seeking a second and final term in office, is facing a stiff challenge from CCC leader Nelson Chamisa in next month’s polls.

The 80 year-old leader narrowly beat Mr Chamisa in the disputed 2018 elections for his first full term.