Abusive phone calls and text messages to citizens and even politicians in Zimbabwe have been made via unregistered SIM cards, says the country’s telecommunications regulator.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) released a statement on Friday saying that it has noted an increase in the number of such incidents in the country.

The timing of the statement follows the rising popularity in Zimbabwe of a Facebook page called Baba Jukwa, which has leaked what it says is secret information about the country’s Zanu-PF party rigging the country’s just-concluded elections.

The Facebook page, which has over 300,000 followers, has also been publishing what it says are top Zanu-PF officials’ phone numbers.

The Potraz announcement has further come as debate regarding the results of the just-concluded election takes place in Zimbabwe and across the globe.

Election officials in the country on the weekend have announced an overwhelming victory for President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, while opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has alleged widespread fraud in the just-concluded polls.

It is amid these developments then that Potraz has threatened to clamp down on aggressive forms of telephonic communications in the country.

“Potraz, together with the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and the three mobile operators, Econet Wireless, Telecel Zimbabwe and Netone have noted with grave concern an upsurge in the number of offensive and abusive calls and text messages generated from unregistered SIM cards across all networks made and /or sent to citizens of Zimbabwe and members of the republic,” the statement has said.

“Members of the public are hereby advised that according to the Postal and Telecommunications Act Chapter 12:05, such acts are illegal and any person making such calls and/or sending such text messages, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period of six months or both the fine and imprisonment.

“Accordingly, members of the public are warned against buying or selling activated lines as, in the event that the line is abused, it is the registered subscriber who will be held account and answerable to any offences committed using the line,” says the statement.

Potraz has gone further to say that the country’s mobile operators have also been directed to “disconnect all unregistered subscribers with immediate” effect.

This statement from Potraz, though, comes after it emerged last week that the regulator has allegedly ordered the blocking of bulk SMS messages that are sent via international gateways to Zimbabweans.

The Kubatana Trust, which distributes civil society and human rights information, told ITWeb Africa last week that its bulk SMS messages in the country were banned leading up to the country’s elections.

Content of Kubatana messages have previously included local and international news headlines, as well as discussion forums for Zimbabweans.

The Kubatana Trust also said that this was the first time its messages have been blocked in the country.