Former Zanu PF Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson and now NPF Mash Central Chairperson, Dickson Mafios was yesterday arrested on allegations of inciting violence during last week’s stay away job action.
According to NPF Spokesperson, Jealousy Mawarire, Mafios was brought to court and was remanded out of custody to January 28 on $100 bail
.
A PROMINENT Gokwe businessman, Chengetanai Takawira (30), is among 18 suspects of public violence, who allegedly looted maize, food and groceries at Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and Choppies Supermarket in the Midlands town last week.
Chengetanai appeared before Gokwe magistrate Musaiona Shortgame for trial yesterday.
Takawira and his accomplices are being represented by lawyers Reginald Chidawanyika and Solomon Kangembeu.
However, the State witness and police officer, Ediriza Makanje, admitted in court that some of the accused persons were arrested on information supplied by third parties, which could not be proven.
The trial is continuing today.
Allegations are that on January 15 this year, the accused persons and their accomplices, who are still at large, went around the business centre ordering operators to close shops.
They allegedly proceeded to Choppies Supermarket and vandalised the closed circuit television and looted bread, beer and mealie meal.
The gang allegedly vandalised the Gokwe Town Council guardroom and some tuckshops around the terminus.
They also allegedly proceeded to the Zupco garage, destroyed the precast security wall and some asbestos sheets before threatening to burn two parked buses.
They allegedly later attacked a police base in the town and proceeded to the GMB depot, where they looted several bags of maize and loaded them into their vehicles.
It is alleged the accused persons vandalised and stole property worth $30 000. Michael Mhene represented the State.
Opposition MDC member, Blessing Toronga was yesterday afternoon abducted near Masimbi in Glen Norah by people riding an unmarked white Foton, his whereabouts are unknown.
This is according to the MDC party.
More details to follow…
By Own Correspondent| Pastor Evan Mawarire’s bail bid hit a snag after a High Court judge here deferred his ruling to Tuesday 29 January 2019.
Mawarire whose bail application last week at the Harare magistrates courts was denied was remanded in custody prompting his lawyer to approach the High Court for recourse.
Mawarire, has in the past led a national protest shutdown in 2016, is charged with subverting the government and inciting public violence. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
The past few days have seen a surge in allegations of state sponsored rape cases. Some of the women who were interviewed were followed, brutalized and arrested.
These point out to institutions of the state being turned rogue, creating a coalition against the citizen.
The MDC is disgusted by the use of rape as a weapon against women in an evil attempt to cower them from speaking out their discontent.
What kind of state rapes and sodomizes it’s people?
People who disappeared a few days ago, their bodies are being found deformed in mortuaries. The world must not watch while these violations continue. What is happening is already crimes against humanity by any definition and standard.
There is no mention of any investigation around these mass violations. With the numbers of reported violations including those attended to by NGOs and covered by the media, signs are that this can easily be a second Gukurahundi.
The madness must stop. This nation needs healing, its people need justice.
Behold the New. Change that delivers!
Dr Bekithemba Mpofu
Deputy National Spokesperson
By Own Correspondent| The late former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s ex-wife Apostle Locadia Karimatsenga has joined the rest of the country in mourning the late national hero Oliver Mtukudzi.
Mtukudzi, died from diabetes on Wednesday at Harare’s Avenues Clinic where he was admitted.
Posting on social media, Karimatsenga, who is now an Apostle said:
#OliverMtukudzi was an Icon, sent to us by God to give us comfort in times of joy and sorrow. He ministered Gods love and reminded us of the importance of maintaining peace and harmony amongst ourselves. As we mourn we celebrate the exemplary life of a true Hero who’s songs and message to humanity will forever remain engraved on our hearts. Rest In Glory Ambassador of Christ
By Own Correspondent|The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has joined the nation in mourning music icon and national hero Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
Mtukudzi died at the Avenues clinic after battling diabetes.
Said the ZEC:
“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission joins the Nation in mourning the music legend Dr Oliver Mutukudzi. May His Soul Rest in Peace.”
By Own Correspondent| One of the three prisoners who jumped off a moving prisons van from Chikurubi Maximum to Whawha Prison over two weeks ago before being captured in Lalapansi is battling for his life due to the injuries he sustained during his bid to escape.
The prisoner has been identified as Timothy Munhare (32) and is classified as a dangerous criminal. He is serving 37 years for robbery and carjacking. The two other prisoners who attempted to escape died from heir injuries.
Zimbabwe Prison Services Midlands/Masvingo spokesperson Jere Ruzive revealed that Munhare was captured in Lalapansi last Saturday and is battling for life at Gweru General Hospital. Said Ruzive:
The inmate was captured while hiding in a drainage pipe in Lalapansi. However, he has severe injuries that he is nursing. He broke his collar bone and he has problems with his back, neck and head. He probably landed dangerously after jumping from the moving truck.
Munhare is expected to appear in court once he has recovered to face more robbery charges.
By Own Correspondent| In a Registrar General’s Circular no 1 of 2019, the University of Zimbabwe has revealed that it is now charging its accomodation according to the prevailing commercial rates.
Below is the circular and the new accomodation fees:
By Own Correspondent|United Kingdom’s joint Minister of State at the Foreign Office and Department for International Development, Harriet Baldwin has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to ensure soldiers who raped women during a violent crackdown on protesters are brought to book.
Baldwin is also Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire.
She was reacting to a report by ITV News where a woman named Melody said she was raped by 2 soldiers whilst children watched.
Said Baldwin:
Sickened by @ITV reports that Zimbabwe’s security forces have raped civilians during their violent crackdown. Sexual violence is an atrocity and who is commanding these forces? The UK urges @edmnangagwa to ensure these perpetrators are brought to justice.
Correspondent|The late great Afro-jazz musician and national hero Oliver Mtukudzi will be buried at his rural Madziva home near Bindura on Sunday, sources close to the Tuku family have revealed.
Mtukudzi, who died on Wednesday at the avenues clinic in Harare, was declared a national hero, with the family having the liberty to choose where and when he will be laid to rest.
Announcing the conferment of national hero status on Oliver Mtukudzi at the Mtukudzi home in Norton Thursday, President Mnangagwa said the government will cover all funeral expenses.
He added that the Mtukudzi family will decide where and when Tuku will be buried.
A family source said: “Over the past few weeks, the family had come to terms with the reality that Tuku might lose his fight to diabetes. All burial scenarios seem to have been finalized while Tuku was alive, as there wasn’t that much debate or consultations regarding his final resting place.”
This was also confirmed by UK-based former Radio Zimbabwe DJ Ezra Tshisa Sibanda, who worked for a long time with Mtukudzi.
Sibanda, who for much of the week has been at the Mtukudzi home in Norton to pay his condolences, said Tuku confided to him some years back that he would want to be buried at Madziva.
Ezra Sibanda said: “Tuku once told me his wish was to be buried at his rural home in Madziva, 30km from Bindura, Mashonaland Central province.”
He added: “He told me a few weeks after the burial of his son Sam in 2010 who died in a horrifying accident & was buried at Warren Hills, Harare. I’m pleased his wishes have been respected and will be laid to rest in Madziva on Sunday!”
There had been speculation that Mtukudzi could be buried at Warren Hills where his son Sam was buried eight years ago.
Mtukudzi is not the first national hero to be buried somewhere other than the National Hroes’ Acre in Harare.
Recently, the founding Vice Chancellor of Nust, Professor Phineas Mogorosi Makhurane, was declared a national hero but the family preferred to have him laid to rest at the family home in Gungwe, Gwanda South.
Professor Makhurane was buried on December 8, 2018.
Paul Nyathi|Newly installed Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi collapsed on stage while giving his inaugural speech at Thursday’s ceremony.
He stunned the guests comprising local and international when he indicated midway his speech that he was not feeling well before going down on his knees.
He was rushed behind the stage and first-aid had to be administered to rescusitate him.
After twelve minutes of panic and worry, Thisekedi walked back to the stage to continue to finish delivering his speech.
His handlers blamed his known condition of hypertension and “a very tight bullet-proof vest” as the cause for the sudden collapse.
Thisekedi has been sworn-in after a disputed election held on 30th December 2018 in which many stake-holders including the powerful catholic church said his rival, Martin Fayula was the clear winner of the DRC presidency.
Kabila’s government snubbed mediation efforts by the African Union and the country’s Constitutional Court proceeded to announce Thsisekedi as winner.
Kabila also set inauguration plans in motion even when a Committee of African Presidents was expected in the Country.
A CASE in which former president Robert Mugabe lost US$150 000 to a relative and his employees has taken a new twist amid revelations that the workers stole close to US$1 million cash from the politician. The suspects — Constance Mugabe (50), Saymore Nheketwa (47), Andrew Mahumbe (37) and Johannes Mapurisa (50) — were arrested early this month for allegedly stealing US$150 000 from Mr Mugabe’s rural home in Zvimba.
According to updated court papers released yesterday, Mr Mugabe lost US$922 000 to the suspects whose case was remanded to February 7 this year by Chinhoyi Magistrate Mr Tawengwa Chibanda.
The prosecution led by Mrs Kessia Teveraishe alleges that in 2016, Mr Mugabe packed books in four briefcases. He took them to his library at his homestead in Zvimba.
Mr Mugabe included a black briefcase containing US$1 million. He gave his house keeper Constance the briefcase for safekeeping.
Mr Mugabe, the court heard, did not tell her what the briefcase contained.
On March 1, 2018, Mr Mugabe demanded the briefcase from Constance.
She allegedly professed ignorance about its whereabouts, but promised to look for it.
Mr Mugabe later ordered one of his employees, Mr Edson Jemwa, who is the group human resources manager at Gushungo Holdings, to look for the briefcase on January 6 this year.
He had received news on how the suspects were living luxuriously.
Mr Jemwa went to Mr Mugabe’s homestead in Zvimba, according to the State, where Constance led him to the recovery of one Amiet briefcase and another Blue Deisey Club briefcase at the former president’s summer house.
The black Polo Club briefcase was recovered from Mr Mugabe’s main bedroom.
A police report was made and the suspects were arrested.
The bags were taken to Mr Mugabe’s home in Harare without verifying contents with the suspects or the police.
Mr Mugabe, who was in Dubai, reportedly identified the black Polo Club briefcase as the one which went missing when he returned to Harare.
-State Media
By Jacob Ngarivhume| Today South African president Cyril Ramaphosa defined the Zimbabwean problem as a Sanctions problem. While he was asking for sanctions to be removed President Ramaphosa forgot to talk about the ZANU PF sanctions imposed on the Zimbabwean people. He forgot
1. To talk about the brutality being pepetrated by the Mnangagwa Regime. He forgot to talk about the systematic door to door campaign being conducted by the Zimbabwean military to brutalise and silence defenceless citizens. He forgot to talk about how many people Mnangagwa and his military have murdered since taking over from Mugabe. So far more than 18 people have been murdered since August 1.
2. He forgot to talk about the fact that although Mnangagwa’s government slogan is *”Zimbabwe is open for Business”*, ED’s govt has not passed any meaningful legislation to change the economic laws which have stifled foreign direct investment coming to Zimbabwe. The same economic laws which destroyed our economy are still there. How can Zimbabwe be open for business when its LAWS SCREAM ZIMBABWE IS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS?
3. He forgot to talk about the corruption sanctioned by ZANU PF in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has lost billions of dollars since 1980 from corruption. ZANU PF has managed to destroy every industry and can not account for billions generated from gold and diamond mining. CAN RAMPHOSA explain how Mnangwagwa is dealing with corruption in ZANU PF when ED is the center of that corruption
4. HE forgot to talk about the Black market being RUN by Mnangagwa’s friends and family in Zimbabwe
5. He forgot to talk about the fact that Zimbabwe continues to pillage its resources in exchange for more debt and weapons. He forgot to mention that ED just came back from Russia when he sold more of Zimbabwe’s minerals in exchange for advanced military technology. Why does Zimbabwe need more arms? So that ED can continue to conduct his war against the citizens.
6. Only last week the entire nation was plunged into an illegal internet shutdown by a mere overzealous minister, closing any prospects of the existence of a democratic space with freedom of expression and unfettered access to information.
The reason RAMAPHOSA and South Africa continue to block progressive forces in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa is because he is also part of the old dictatorship club that continue to benefit from corruption. People like Ramaphosa have betrayed everything that Nelson Mandela stood for which was political and economic freedom for all black Africans. He has now become the spokesperson for the SOUTHERN AFRICAN DICTATORSHIP CLUB which supports black-on-black oppression and white oppression when it serves their intersts. This breed of sellouts is only concerned with primitive accumulation to the detriment of our beloved continent! This must be fought with all means available!
Jacob Ngarivhume
*Transform Zimbabwe President*
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to rejoin former British colonies’ club, the Commonwealth, as part of his re-engagement efforts with the West, appears to have hit a snag after the ex-colonial masters raised a red flag this week over Harare’s ongoing brutal crackdown on protesters, including fatal shootings of at least 12 civilians last week.
Britain’s Commonwealth minister, Lord Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, warned that the ongoing reports of military brutality against unarmed civilians and opposition leaders were jeopardising Zimbabwe’s chances of being re-admitted into the elite club.
“Many saw during the (2018) Commonwealth summit, the government’s commitment to encourage, among other partners, the new Zimbabwe to come forward for membership. Clearly, the events that have unfolded recently put that into question — but, of course, it is a matter not for the UK, but for the Commonwealth as a whole,” Ahmad said.
Mnangagwa last year applied for Zimbabwe to re-join the Commonwealth and invited the bloc, which is made up of former British colonies, to send representatives to observe the July 30, 2018 polls, whose results have been disputed by the opposition Nelson Chamisa’s MDC party.
The Commonwealth observer mission also condemned the elections, saying they fell short of international best practice, but the British government had maintained a soft stance on Mnangagwa’s government, hoping for quick political and economic reforms despite the fatal shooting of six civilians in the August 1, 2018 post-election violence.
But latest developments have dampened chances of re-engagement, with most global powerhouses expressing concern over Zimbabwe’s regression to autocratic rule, as soldiers have taken over policing roles, manning roadblocks and maintaining order in major cities and towns.
The Donald Trump-led United States government has also condemned the government crackdown targeting members of opposition and civic society groups linked to last week’s violent fuel price hike protests.
To date, the crackdown has led to the arrest of over 1 000 people, among them five MDC legislators and labour leaders.
“The targeting and arbitrary arrests of political activists, civil society and labour leaders violates Zimbabwe’s Constitution and impedes the country’s progress,” the United States embassy in Harare said in a statement.
The US urged Zimbabwe to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights.
Harare’s central business district resembled a war zone yesterday as soldiers rounded up informal traders and anyone suspected of jay-walking and led them to Harare Central Police Station, where they were reportedly assaulted.
Mnangagwa, who is desperate to re-join the Commonwealth to unlock lines of credit to oil the country’s failing economy, indicated on his Twitter handle on Tuesday that he would deal with rogue State security agents accused of brutalising civilians.
He also committed to reach out to all political, church and civic leaders for dialogue to resolve the current political and economic logjam.
But his spokesperson, George Charamba, threw spanners on his boss’ re-engagement efforts on Wednesday declaring that government was not desperate to join the Commonwealth group.
“The sentiments on prospects of Zimbabwe rejoining the Commonwealth overlook a very basic fact, namely that it is the British government which wanted Zimbabwe back into the Commonwealth. We related positively to that indication because it coincided with our policy of re-engagement. If there is a second thought on the matter, so be it,” Charamba was quoted as saying.
Zimbabwe pulled out of the club in 2003 after former President Robert Mugabe’s fallout with the West over electoral fraud, human rights violations and the chaotic land reform programme.
Acting Foreign Affairs minister Cain Mathema could not be reached for comment as he was said to have accompanied Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the inauguration of Felix Tshisekedi as President.
State security agents on Wednesday reportedly raided the home of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) chairperson, Rashid Mahiya, and confiscated passports belonging to his wife and children.
“The State security agents stormed Mahiya’s home at around midnight and threatened further action against the family,” CiZC said in a statement.
“CiZC condemns the continued raids and abduction of civic society and opposition activists at a time the government of Zimbabwe is trying to mislead the international community that things have normalised in the country.”
Several activists, labour leaders and main opposition party members, who include #ThisFlag leader Evan Mawarire and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-general Japhet Moyo, were arrested by the police, while many have since been forced to go into hiding after receiving tip-offs that State agents were after them.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Zimbabwean Human Rights Association (ZimRights) called on government to end the human rights violations being perpetrated by security forces and to release detained protesters and civic society leaders.
“Zimbabwean authorities must immediately halt their increasing authoritarian practices in responding to citizens’ grievances on the worsening state of the economy and refrain from further excessive use of force against peaceful protesters,” both the FIDH and ZimRights said in a joint statement.
The organisations said thorough investigations must be carried out on human rights violations and perpetrators brought to account.
FIDH vice-president Arnold Tsunga said authoritarian rule was worrying, especially as it still exists in a government led by Mnangagwa, a successor to Robert Mugabe, who was toppled from power in November 2017 after nearly four decades of autocratic rule.
“Ahead of 30 July 2018 general elections, we advocated for a real democratic transition to be initiated, particularly by reversing the system of poor governance, corruption and serious abuses that marked the Mugabe era,” he said.
“It is very disturbing to see that malpractices and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters are still taking place.”
Scores of women from Harare’s Hopley area alleged they were raped by soldiers during the ongoing crackdown against opposition activists linked to last week’s protests against fuel price hikes which turned violent, resulting in the killing of 12 people by security forces.
In separate interviews from their Harare hideout, the women gave horrifying experiences at the hands of suspected soldiers.
This comes at a time when the military and the police have warned of rogue elements that were carrying out acts of terror in the name of the security forces.
“On January 17, soldiers were patrolling in our area. They usually come and they are familiar with people in the area,” one of the victims said.
“On that particular day during the night, I arrived home late and saw some soldiers near my house and they were in the maize field. They asked for certain people, but to my surprise, those were my children and sensing danger, I said they were not home.”
She said one the soldiers called her from a distance and she complied.
“He said I should do everything that he wants and he said he wanted to sleep with me. I didn’t refuse because I wanted to save my children. I, however, told him that I am HIV positive, but he said it didn’t matter so I complied.”
Another survivor, who confessed that she was a commercial sex worker, said she and a friend were coming from her night patrols at some drinking spot in Southlea Park when they met a group of soldiers.
She said the soldiers accused them of hiding riotous people and criminals at their houses.
The woman said they were ordered to lie on the ground and to their surprise, two soldiers took turns to rape them.
She said they were traumatised by what happened, but out of fear, they had to comply.
They implored the government to look into the matter and bring to book the perpetrators.
The Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (Walpe) condemned the rape and torture of women across the country between January 14 and 16 during the national shutdown.
“iTV news, an international credible news agency, released a hear-rending video of women narrating horror stories of how they were tortured, raped and psychologically tormented at the hands of soldiers,” Walpe said.
“Men and children were not spared of the violence that saw 12 people being shot dead by the army.”
The organisation demanded the arrest of soldiers and all security officers who committed torture, rape, murder, assault and robbery.
“Walpe further appeals to more women who were sexually assaulted during this period to come out and seek treatment, as most of them were subjected to unprotected sex, thus exposing them to sexually transmitted diseases,” Walpe said in a statement.
MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said such matters must not be swept under the carpet.
“The call, which has been made to investigate the conduct of security forces, must be done urgently. It also must be done in line with the recommendations of the Motlanthe Commission,” he said.
Human Rights Watch Southern Africa director Dewa Mavhinga said Zimbabwe had a vicious cycle of violence that needed to be broken.
“Zimbabwe has repetitive vicious cycles of violence because the government fails to ensure justice and accountability, and to punish those who commit abuses in the name of the State. The authorities must immediately investigate all reports of abuses and make sure no abuse goes unpunished,” he said.
-Newsday
The High Court will on Friday 25 January 2019 preside over
the hearing and determination of bail
applications filed by three pro-democracy campaigners and an opposition legislator, who were arrested last week
and charged with subverting constitutional
government.
The three pro-democracy campaigners and the MDC-Alliance party
legislator, namely Obert Masaraure, the
President of Amalgamated Teachers
Union of Zimbabwe, His Generation Church leader Pastor Evan Mawarire, Kumbirai Magorimbo and Hon. Settlement
Chikwinya, who are currently
detained in remand prison, were arrested last week by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers and charged with
subverting constitutional
government as defined in section 22 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, following
anti-government protests held across
the country.
In Harare, the High Court will hear the bail application for
Masaraure, Pastor Mawarire and Magorimbo, who
are represented by Tonderai
Bhatasara, Beatrice Mtetwa and Kudzayi Kadzere of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) while the High Court
in Masvingo will hear and make a
determination on Hon. Chikwinya’s application. Hon. Chikwinya is represented by Reginald Chidawanyika of
ZLHR.
Meanwhile, in Gwanda in Matabeleland South province and in
Bulawayo, the trial of prominent
pro-democracy campaigner Kukhanyakwenkosi Mkandla and several people, who were arrested last week and charged
with public violence after demonstrations held
over the country’s deteriorating
economic crisis, continues on Friday 25 January 2019.
The accused persons are represented by ZLHR lawyers Tanaka
Muganyi,
Advocate Perpetua Dube, Jonathan Tsvangirai,
Bruce Masamvu and Mehluli Dube.
In Mutare and Rusape, ZLHR lawyers Blessing Nyamaropa, Leonard
Chigadza, Passmore Nyakureba and Brian Majamanda
will be in court on Friday 25
January 2019 representing several people, who are currently on trial after they were arrested and charged for
allegedly committing public
violence and obstructing the free movement of goods and vehicles during the anti-government protests.
At Mbare Magistrates Court, the trial of several residents
from Southlea Park, Highfield and other high density suburbs
continues on Friday 25 January
2019. The Harare residents are represented by Gift Mtisi, Jeremiah Bamu, Tinashe Mundawarara, Webster
Jiti, Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and
Tinashe Takawira.
At Harare Magistrates Court and Chitungwiza Magistrates
Court, several people will stand
trial on Friday 25 January 2019 after they were arrested last week and early this week facing public
violence charges.
The accused persons are represented by Tonderai Bhatasara, Kudzayi Kadzere, Andrew Makoni, Paidamoyo Saurombe, Nontokozo
Dube-Tachiona, Kossam Ncube,
Idirashe Chikomba, Lizwe Jamela, Job Sikhala and Freddy Masarirevhu
By Own Correspondent|Five minors have been dragged to court facing theft charges.
The minors were allegedly part of a mob that looted during last week’s protests in Bulawayo.
The minors all from Emakhandeni suburb aged between six and 13 years appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Joseph Mabeza facing theft charges.
They were remanded out of custody to February 14 for trial.
The accused persons, who cannot be named for ethical reasons, were part of a mob that allegedly engaged in running battles with anti-riot police during the protests.
They allegedly broke into Apollo Shopping Centre in Emakhandeni suburb and looted groceries and 129 pool tokens.
The accused persons were arrested after police received a tip off from members of the public leading to the recovery of some of the stolen items.-StateMèdia
TWENTY-NINE primary schools in Matabeleland North Province recorded a zero percent pass rate in last year’s Grade Seven examinations, but there was an improvement in the overall provincial pass rate.
Last year the same number of schools recorded the zero pass rate but officials have said it’s not the same schools as some have improved.
Matabeleland North deputy director responsible for primary education, Mrs Beatrice Manjere said the low marks are attributed to teacher shortages and new schools without adequate materials.
“We have 29 schools that recorded zero percent pass rate. Same number as last year but different schools and some are new comers. We are going to thoroughly supervise these schools. We will be assisting them on how to handle multi grade teaching because with most of these schools they are small schools,” said Mrs Manjere.
She said some of the new schools have a staff complement of three teachers who have to teach all the grades.
“We have to staff develop them on multi grade teaching and equip them with some teaching strategies like early reading initiative which means encouraging pupils to have a culture of reading ,” said Mrs Manjere.
She said they were looking forward to more teachers in the recruitment exercise being undertaken by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. “The pass rate by subject for the province by subject is 30,4 percent and by units its 43 percent, an improvement from 2017 record of 37 percent. We are happy with the five percent increase and I think this could be attributed to the supervision visits which were made by the province to the districts and also by strategies in teaching such as early reading initiative,” said Mrs Manjere.
She said eight students scored five units and they are mainly from Hwange district.Mrs Manjere said the province has a total of 600 primary schools, and 563 of them had candidates sitting for the Grade Seven examinations.
Mrs Manjere said overall the province scored 41,82 percent pass rate in English, 41,82 percent in Mathematics, 71,41 percent in IsiNdebele; 38, 26 percent in
General Paper; 47,63 percent in Agriculture; 67,24 in percent Tonga; 92,98 percent in Shona and 71,3 percent in Nambya.
“In terms of Tonga we still have a shortage of teachers. We still need Tonga speaking teachers to teach Tonga,” said the deputy education director.
“For Tonga language which had a candidature of 3 980 pupils, 139 scored distinctions translating to a pass rate of 67 percent while 51 candidates sat for Shona, with four distinctions recorded translating to 92 percent pass rate,” said Mrs Manjere.
State Media
By Own Correspondent| Commuter omnibus operators in Bulawayo have agreed to reduce kombi fares across city routes from $2 to $1,50 with immediate effect.
Taxi association leaders who spoke to a local publication Thursday said they met Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube to discuss the fare issue and present their grievances.
Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Co-operation Chairperson Mr Atlas Moyo said they had agreed to reduce the taxi fare as a measure to meet halfway with commuters.
He said the fuel price hike had necessitated an increase in fares.
Said Moyo:
We met with the Minister, our leader in the province and we presented our grievances to her. We have since agreed on a downward review of the taxi fare to $1,50 from the $2 that has been charged ever since the new price of fuel was announced. We also need to feed our families and keep the vehicles fit to avoid road accidents. We are hoping for a better situation as time goes on.
Bulawayo City transit spokesperson Daniel Pondo said the new fares were not tallying with their expenses.
Expriccos taxis chairperson Mr Mpikelelo Khumalo yesterday said most operators would be unable to keep vehicles in shape due to high operational costs.-StateMedia
NINE cars were burnt to shells following an explosion at a vehicle workshop in the early hours of yesterday in Bulawayo’s Thorngrove suburb.
Police suspect foul play and investigations are underway.
The incident occurred at around 1AM at PJ Motoring Services and Spares Centre that specialises in servicing Mercedes Benz and BMW vehicles.
Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mr Richard Peterson said they were yet to determine the cause of the fire.
He said the fire brigade received a report at 0142hrs and they arrived at the scene at 0159hrs.
“Upon arrival, we found nine cars on fire at the workshop. We are investigating the actual cause of the fire,” said Mr Peterson.
Bulawayo deputy police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said an employee at a nearby company reported the incident to both the fire brigade and the police.
The employee also tried to contact the workshop owner, but he was not reachable.
“We are investigating an incident where there was an explosion at a motoring services and spares centre in Thorngrove suburb. The incident occurred in the early hours of today (yesterday).
“An employee at one of the premises in that area heard the explosion and saw a fire emanating from the mentioned place. Nine vehicles were burnt completely,” he said.
When The Chronicle visited the workshop yesterday, an employee, Mr Enock Kambubi, said they suspect that some people whom they evicted over failure to settle rentals were behind the incident.
“My boss informed me that he had received a phone call from police saying the premises had been gutted by fire. Our neighbours had tried to call him earlier but he missed their phone calls as he was asleep.
“We are still wondering who could have started the fire but we have potential suspects whom we can’t name here as this may jeopardise investigations,” said Mr Kambubi.
— State Media
THE case in which relatives of former President Robert Mugabe allegedly stole UD$150 000 cash from his rural home in Zvimba has taken a shocking twist, with Mr. Mugabe claiming his relatives actually stole close to US$1 million cash.
This came to light yesterday when Mugabe, through his lawyers, updated the court papers to reflect that he actually lost US$922,000 cash which was in a briefcase at his rural mansion.
The prosecution led by Mrs Kessia Teveraishe alleges that in 2016, Mugabe packed books in four briefcases. He took them to his library at his homestead in Zvimba.
Mugabe included a black polo briefcase containing US$1 million. He gave his house keeper Constance the briefcase for safekeeping.
Mugabe, the court heard, did not tell her what the briefcase contained.
On March 1, 2018, Mugabe demanded the briefcase from Constance.
She allegedly professed ignorance about its whereabouts but promised to look for it.
Mugabe later ordered one of his employees, Edson Jemwa, who is the group human resources manager at Gushungo Holdings, to look for the briefcase on January 6 this year. He had received news on how the suspects were living luxuriously.
Jemwa went to Mugabe’s homestead in Zvimba, according to the State, where Constance led him to the recovery of one Amiet briefcase and another Blue Deisey Club briefcase at the former President’s summer house.
The Black Polo Club briefcase was recovered from Mugabe’s main bedroom. A police report was made and the suspects were arrested.
The bags were taken to Mugabe’s home in Harare without verifying the contents with the suspects or the police.
Mugabe, who was in Dubai, reportedly identified the Black Polo Club bag as the one which went missing when he returned to Harare.
He discovered the bag now had US$78 000 instead of US$1m. The four were arrested.
During investigations, police discovered that Mapurisa, who was employed as a caretaker, bought a house for US$20 000 at Murombedzi Growth Point. He registered it in the name of his wife, Noticia Sibindi.
He also bought a Toyota Camry for US$6 800.
The vehicle was recovered by the police.
Nheketwa, another caretaker, allegedly bought a Honda Fit. It was also recovered.
The court also heard that Muhumbe, employed as a groundsman, bought a Honda CRV and registered it in his brother, Emmanuel’s name.
The vehicle was also recovered. Police also recovered US$42 800 from the suspects.
The suspects are out on $2,000 bail each.
The suspects – Constancia Mugabe (50), Johanne Mapurisa (50) and Saymore Nhetekwa (47), appeared before Chinhoyi magistrate Mr Felix Mawadze yesterday facing theft charges.
By Own Correspondent|At least 29 primary schools in Matabeleland North Province recorded a zero percent pass rate in last year’s Grade Seven examinations, a government official have revealed.
According to the official, there was however a 5% improvement in the overall provincial pass rate.
Matabeleland North deputy director responsible for primary education, Mrs Beatrice Manjere said the low marks are attributed to teacher shortages and new schools without adequate materials.
Said Manjere:
We have 29 schools that recorded zero percent pass rate. Same number as last year but different schools and some are new comers. We are going to thoroughly supervise these schools. We will be assisting them on how to handle multi grade teaching because with most of these schools they are small schools.
She said some of the new schools have a staff complement of three teachers who have to teach all the grades.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent|Harare Mayor Hebert Gomba has confirmed that council is consulting and proposing to name one of the roads in Harare or Harare gardens after the late national hero Oliver Mtukudzi.
Said Mayor Gomba:
It’s true city of Harare councilors are in consultation with management to name one of the road or Harare gardens as Mtukudzi st or Mtukudzi gardens….please note beyond this your council intends to honor other legends such as Thomas Mapfumo, George Shaya and Zex Manatsa
When I went to pay my and our council’s condolences to the family, I personally told Amai Daisy about our intentions,
By Ndaba Nhuku| They spend time on gossip. Talking about who has slept with who. Posting their naked bodies. Discussing others’ lives. Being cyber bullies to boost their rotten egos. Seeking funds for fake projects.
Lord help them, their silence over the issues affecting women over the last two weeks is shocking. Their silence about the rape committed by ZNA is shocking. This is how Gukurahundi happened with people pretending not to know or have heard about it.
If all women spoke strongly they would make change come. Sadly most are mere opportunists after lining their own pockets without care.
PRESS RELEASE BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS AND RECREATION ON THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF DR. OLIVER DAIRAI MTUKUDZI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Ministry of Youth. Sport, Arts and Recreation received with shock and sadness the passing on of a Zimbabwean music icon, a cultural ambassador par excellence, a mentor, a unifier, a social commentator and indeed an exemplary family man, Dr Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi. It is beyond doubt that the void he has left in the cultural and creative industries arena nationally and internationally will be difficult to fill.
The Ministry and its stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries have set in motion the process for the conferment of National Hero status on Dr Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. The request is premised on the tremendous work that Dr Mtukudzi accomplished over a long period of time in the arts sector, particularly music. Far and wide, his ‘Katakwe’ music positively impacted on the entire world.
In recognition of his heroic works in the development of Zimbabwean music in general, the Ministry put up an organising committee comprising of Ministry Officials, members of the Mtukudzi family, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. National Gallery of Zimbabwe, arts industry practitioners, music promoters and artists is being set up to spearhead all logistical arrangements for a Tuku Memorial Concert.
Ministry is organising a memorial music concert to celebrate the life of a legend and his achievements in music as well as bidding him an appropriate send off. In that vein, corporates who benefitted immensely from Dr Mtukudzi’s works through advertisements, promotion and marketing activities, among other commissioned works, are encouraged to come on board in making arrangements for the concert and his burial.
As of tomorrow Friday, the 26th of January, 2019, an appeal is being made to the womenfolk, who constitute a sizeable percentage of Tuku’s fan base to put on black attire including headdress in what is being dubbed “TUKU DHUKU”. Males are being encouraged to put on African shirts and head-dress, and should they choose formal attire it should be without a necktie.
Transport to ferry artists to Tuku’s homestead has been organised.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation has been humbled by the numerous efforts being carried out by various groups and individuals in celebrating the life and accomplishments of this larger than life and humble legend, Dr Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi.
May His Dear Soul Rest In Eternal Peace.
Correspondent|Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry has called on the nation to pay tribute to the late music icon Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi on Friday by wearing black or African attire.
The minister said that those who absolutely must wear formal clothing should do so without a tie.
As part of a statement confirming that Mtukudzi had been conferred with National Hero Status, Coventry said: “…As of tomorrow Friday, the 26th of January, 2019, an appeal is being made to the womenfolk, who constitute a sizeable percentage of Tuku’s fan base to put on black attire including headdress in what is being dubbed “TUKU DHUKU”. Males are being encouraged to put on African shirts and head-dress, and should they choose formal attire it should be without a necktie.”
Transport to ferry artists to Tuku’s homestead has been organised.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation has been humbled by the numerous efforts being carried out by various groups and individuals in celebrating the life and accomplishments of this larger than life and humble legend, Dr Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi.
By Own Correspondent|First lady Auxilia Mnangagwa offered her condolences to the late Oliver Mtukudzi’s family appreciating how the late icon’s music inspired Zimbabweans to freedom.
Amai Mnangagwa, who for the past two weeks was in a sabatical as soldiers unleashed violence against women and children following last week’s protest said Mtukudzi’ s musis was an inspiration not only for Zimbabweans but for generations to come.
She said:
Today, I paid my respects to the family of Zimbabwean national hero, Oliver Mtukudzi. His music has been an integral part of our lives. It inspired our people to freedom and I have no doubt it will continue to influence generations to come across our continent and beyond.
May he rest in peace, and I pray that Daisy and her family find comfort in the outpouring of love she is receiving from the people of Zimbabwe and beyond.
Amai Mnangagwa was in the company of Vice president Constantino Guvheya Dominic Chiwenga’s wife Mary among other senior government officials.
By Own Correspondent|Former President Robert Mugabe has revealed that he lost close to US$1 million cash to a relative and his employees.
The suspects, Constance Mugabe (50), Saymore Nheketwa (47), Andrew Mahumbe (37) and Johannes Mapurisa (50), were arrested early this month for allegedly stealing US$150 000 from Mr Mugabe’s rural home in Zvimba.
However, according to updated court papers released yesterday, Mugabe said he lost US$922 000 to the suspects whose case was remanded to February 7 this year by Chinhoyi Magistrate Mr Tawengwa Chibanda.
The court heard that in 2016, Mugabe packed books in four briefcases. He took them to his library at his homestead in Zvimba.
He included a black polo briefcase containing US$1 million. He gave his house keeper Constance the briefcase for safekeeping.
Mugabe did not tell her what the briefcase contained. On March 1, 2018, Mugabe demanded the briefcase from Constance who allegedly professed ignorance about its whereabouts but promised to look for it.
Mugabe later ordered one of his employees, Mr Edson Jemwa, who is the group human resources manager at Gushungo Holdings, to look for the briefcase on January 6 this year. Mugabe had received news on how the suspects were living luxuriously. Jemwa went to Zvimba and met Constance who led him to the recovery of one Amiet briefcase and another Blue Deisey Club briefcase at the former President’s summer house.
The Black Polo Club briefcase was recovered from Mr Mugabe’s main bedroom. A police report was made and the suspects were arrested.-
By Own Correspondent|Addressing mourners at the home of the late music icon and national hero Oliver Mtukudzi Thursday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa warned the Mtukudzi family against fights over the late Mtukudzi’s assets.
Mnangagwa who was speaking soon after declaring Oliver Mtukudzi a national hero, urged the deceased’s family members to prioritize addressing the widow, Daisy Mtukudzi’s needs ahead of inheritance gains.
Said Mnangagwa:
Tuku is gone, but we do not want to see the spirit of legion taking over, where people are mainly focused on which of the music legend’s assets they will inherit. We want domination of the spirit of God that persuades people to address the needs of the family that has been left behind.
Earlier in his speech, Mnangagwa said government will take responsibility of all of Tuku’s funeral costs.
He also said despite declaring Mtukudzi a national hero, his family will be given the liberty to preside over important decisions concerning the funeral.
By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has revealed that it is not feasible to hold free and fair elections for Wards 24 in Chitungwiza and Ward 28 in Bulawayo on the previously advertised date.
The elections body revealed that dates for council by-elections for Ward 24 in Chitungwiza and Ward 28 in Bulawayo that were scheduled to be held on Saturday and March 2 have therefore been changed due to unforeseen challenges.
ZEC Acting Chief Elections Officer Mr Utloile Silaigwana confirmed the changes and said they were were caused by unforeseen circumstances.
Said Silaigwana:
It is now not feasible to conduct free and fair by-elections in Ward 24 of Chitungwiza Municipality and Ward 28 of Bulawayo on the fixed days due to unforeseen circumstances. It is hereby notified in terms of Section 132 (1) of the Electoral Act that polling shall now take place in Ward 24 of Chitungwiza Municipality on 23 February 2019 from 7 am to 7 pm for the purpose of election of a councillor for the said ward. The candidates duly nominated following the close of sitting of the Nomination Court which sat on Wednesday, 7 December 2018 at the offices of the Town Clerk of Chitungwiza Municipality remain the same.
The candidates are Yotam Chagwada of the MDC-Alliance, Zanu-PF’s Mercy Guvamombe, Jane Makovere of MDC-T and Anderson Tsakeni of the NCA. For Bulawayo, the Nomination Court to select the candidates that was initially set to sit today will now sit on February 22, while the election will take place on March 30.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| In a report, the Mail and Telegraph alleges that Government spent close to $8 million United States Dollars on the purchase of weapons.
The development follows reports that Zimbabwe was running out of various weapons including tear gas, rubber bullets, helmets, among many other items.
A source who spoke to Mail and Telegraph said the weapons were purchased last week with funds released in two batches by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Revealed the source:
The first transaction of US$5,9 million was released last week Monday at the time Zimbabwe experienced a violent mass action as citizens and activists protested over rising cost of living. On Monday this week a balance of US$2 million was paid and the consignment is expected in the country in the next few weeks. The government is boosting its artillery and increase their state of preparedness in case of any unrest as the masses are becoming militant by the day. They want to maintain peace and tranquility in the country.
The weapons were reportedly bought from an arms company in Israel.
Efforts to get a comment from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya on Wednesday were futile as his mobile phone was switched off.-Mail and Telegraph
By Own Correspondent|Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is in Kinshasa for the inauguration of the DRC President-elect Felix Tshisekedi.
Tshisekedi is being sworn in as the President of the DRC, following his victory in the December 30 harmonised elections where he garnered 38 percent of the 60 million votes beating two other fierce contenders, Mr Martin Fayulu and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary from Kabila’s party.
Earlier, the Vice President was seen off in Harare by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, several cabinet ministers, service chiefs and senior government officials.
Chiwenga is accompanied by Acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema, senior government officials and DRC ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Mwanananga Mwawampanga.
The DRC election was marred with controversy. Not only was it delayed for two years, but reports indicate that the main opposition leaders such as Moise Katumbi were barred from running and thousands of voters were disenfranchised.
Moreover, the main losing presidential candidate cried foul over the manner in which the elections were held and accused the local electoral body of massive fraud.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| Dr Nkosana Moyo, President of the Alliance for People’s Agenda has called on President Emmeraon Mnangagwa’s administration to stop terrorising citizens and stifling the democratic space through the ongoing violent crackdown on civilians using state apparatus.
Moyo said while Mnangagwa’s calls for dialogue are welcome, it was disturbing that the police and army in Zimbabwe continued violating citizens’ rights through indiscriminate mass beatings.
Below is the full text of the statement:
APA’s STATEMENT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN ZIMBABWE
Thursday 24. January 2019
APA is dismayed at the mixed signals coming from the President. We welcomed his call, through his verified Twitter handle, for national dialogue in the national interest only for his spokesperson to disown those remarks. In the meantime, we continue to receive reports about indiscriminate mass beatings in Bulawayo by the authorities. While Minister Mthuli Ncube is sitting in Davos pretending that Zimbabwe is open for business, government is hard at work terrorizing the local population and stifling democratic space.
We strongly condemn these actions and call on the AU and SADC to pressure the government to respect the human rights of the citizens of Zimbabwe.
The government has scoffed at the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) report on the recent acts of terrorism instigated by the MDC Alliance, saying its contents blaming security forces for using excessive force to deal with the hooligans are unbalanced and leaves a lot to be desired.
In its findings on the aftermath of the 14th of January 2019 disturbances, the ZHRC commissioner Sheila Matindike acknowledged that there was a worrying degree of violence which left a trail of destruction on human life, police stations, shops looting and barricading of roads and infringing on other people’s rights.
However, the human rights body has maintained silence on that.
The government however poured cold water on the ZHRC report, with Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi describing the report as biased and offside on what really transpired
President Emmerson Mnangagwa denounced violence, calling for peace and dialogue amongst stakeholders.
The government analysis of the disturbances puts the blame on the MDC Alliance for abusing youths and working in cahoots with enemies of the state in their failed attempt to violently topple a constitutionally elected government.
-State Media
By Own Correspondent| The trial of former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law Simba Chikore has now been set for the 6th of February.
Chikore, who is facing charges of unlawfully detaining his subordinate at the Zimbabwe Airways, Bertha Zakeyo had initially been set for the 14th of December 2017 but failed to kick off and was postponed to 24 January (yesterday).
It is the state’s case that Chikore reportedly detained Zakeyo, Zimbabwe Airways legal head for two hours at the airline’s offices in June last year.
Chikore who was arrested seperately with his security guard Simbarashe Mutimbe will now be tried together after Harare Magistrate Elisha Singano ruled that they acted in the same purpose.
According to the state, Chikore allegedly wrote to Zakeyo, informing of her dismissal for holding unsanctioned meetings and leaking company secrets.
This appeared to have been the source of the conflict that resulted in Chikore taking the law into his own hands and detained Zakeyo.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s acting chief elections officer, Utoile Silaigwana, yesterday admitted that the electoral body did not invite chief election agents of political parties to verify last year’s July 30 election results as required by the law.
Silaigwana made the admission while testifying in the trial of MDC vice-chairperson Tendai Biti, who is facing charges of violating the Electoral Act by prematurely announcing the presidential results.
Biti’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa had asked the Zec boss if he invited the elections agents of various political parties when final results were announced.
“We did not invite the chief elections agents of various political parties when we formally announced the third and final results, which are now on our website. We only invited them when we announced the initial figure of 50,80%. On the next figure of 50,67% we also invited them to verify, but they were nowhere to be found,” Silaigwana said while testifying before Harare magistrate Gloria Takundwa.
He also admitted to releasing wrong results on two consecutive occasions, saying it was because of the country’s poor telecommunications network.
He struggled to explain why they announced three different figures of 50,59%, 50,67% and 50,80% for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory.
“I put it to you that Zec disowned what it posted outside polling stations, coming up with three different results. You are not producing this information and you are hiding it because it will not contradict the accused person,” Mtetwa said.
She further asked Silaigwana if he would dispute that Biti announced the results based on the collated figures from the polling stations around the country and that MDC leader Nelson Chamisa was ahead with 75%.
-Newsday
Julias Malema, leader of the outspoken South African opposition party Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) has come out guns blazing against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration over the recent military crackdown on civilians that left 12 people dead and hundreds injured.
Addressing a press conference before the launch of the party manifesto, Malema said Mnangagwa must know that unleashing soldiers on unarmed civilians is unacceptable and that the ruling party 76 year old leader has lost his respect.
“Anyone who unleashes soldiers on innocent unarmed people, you have declared those people an enemy of the state. You are a fool. You don’t deserve my respect. If I allow it to happen in Zimbabwe it will happen here in South Africa. It is unacceptable whether it is done by Mnangagwa whether it is done by Mugabe. It is unacceptable. Mnangagwa must know that. It is unacceptable to beat up people,” Malema said.
The former African National Congress (ANC) Youth League Secretary denounced the government’s move to shutdown internet, saying it was unacceptable and barbaric.
“To break cellphones of people. To shut down the internet. It is unacceptable. It is barbaric. In 2019 you have a leader who shuts down internet and shuts down social media? That is so backward,” Malema fumed.
Meanwhile, Malema threw a jibe at opposition MDC President Nelson Chamisa saying his movement did not agree with his ideological pathway.
-263Chat
Correspondent|Zanu-PF activist and social media personality Acie Lumumba has paid homage to Nelson Chamisa’s popularity after the youthful MDC leader got a rousing reception at the funeral of music legend Oliver Mtukudzi. Lumumba who was one of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s most vocal supporters in the runup to the 2018 elections conceded that Chamisa makes people feel good.
Writing on Twitter, Lumumba said,
Guys, @nelsonchamisa is loved by the people, ndabvuma zvangu??????. He gives people a real feel-good mojo. Great speech at #RIPTuku
MLISWA PAYS TRIBUTE TO TUKU
By Mluleki Ncube|Norton Member of Parliament Hon. Temba Mliswa says Norton has lost a gentle giant in music icon Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi, who passed away on Wednesday 23 January at Avenues Clinic.
Speaking to The Norton Times, Hon Mliswa chronicled the first impression he got when he paid a courtesy call on the icon during his 2016 by-election campaign.
“I went to see him at Pakare Paye. He received me well. I told him of my plans and my decision to stand in Norton. He just listened and did not say anything much. I understood………, Tuku was always skeptical of politicians, reason why he always steered clear of political events. With time, we clicked. Maybe the fact that we were both Methodists played a part, and, oh!….maybe our both being zodiac Virgos!”, said Hon Mliswa.
“I am of the Shumba totem. Tuku was of the Nzou totem, Samanyanga. My relationship to Tuku might well mirror that of the lion and elephant. The proverbial king of the jungle always humbles itself in the presence of the giant.
Even in my preferred norm as a loud and roaring lion in the political jungle, something always humbled me when this elephant was around”.
“My worry, or maybe joy, is that now that he is gone, those Nortonians who seemed not to understand him, even viewing him as aloof, with get to appreciate the respect one of their own commanded worldwide. Knowe will be a small place indeed. Such is the way of prophets. Never appreciated amongst their kin until death”.
“Towards this year’s elections, he told me he would be away on tour during the elections. I said ‘but Samanyanga, you promised to vote for me!?”………..to which he answered, ‘Shumba, there is no need for me to. Your works will cover for my absent vote. Victory is yours. Take that as my prophecy’. I believe it was.”
He said his relationship with the icon and his family grew so much in a short space of time, as illustrated by each side’s attendance at the other’s family occasions.
“Tuku helped me mourn and bury my father, while I, together with the people of Norton, hosted an event to honour Tuku after he was named in Africa’s Top Ten that same year. Pursuant to my lobbying for the government to give him a diplomatic passport in honour of the way he continued to put Zimbabwe on the global showbiz map, I invited my fellow legislators to tour Pakare Paye, which the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture did in 2017. Sadly, he has departed before that came to fruition”, he continued.
Hon Mliswa said he has high hopes that even as the nation mourns Tuku, the late icon’s legacy will be nurtured in all its manifestations.
“I know the family will be in safe hands of an able mother, Amai Daisy Mtukudzi. The Norton Town Council must really help make Pakare Paye a tourist attraction by extending rate concessions to the centre. That will go a long way in allowing the vision that Tuku had when setting up the place in Norton come to bear. I also encourage all the musicians he nurtured at Pakare Paye, the likes of Mbeu, to keep the torch burning. Our “Sekuru Vemusha” is gone, and, wherever he will rest, his rest will be peaceful in the knowledge that his mentorship was not in vain.”
“May I, on my own behalf, on behalf of my family and the Norton constituency at large, pass my condolences to Amai and the whole Mtukudzi family. Together, we mourn a gentle giant. May his soul rest in eternal peace”, he concluded.
MP LOBBIES FOR TUKU NATIONAL HERO STATUS
Meanwhile, Norton Member of Parliament Hon Temba Mliswa has pleaded with government to confer national hero status on the late music icon, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
In a letter to the Head of State, His Excellency ED Mnangagwa, Hon Mliswa cited Dr Mtukudzi’s documented contribution to the music, arts and culture industry in Zimbabwe dating to before independence.
Security agents have seized the passports of two minor daughters (6years and 7 months) of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Chairperson Rashid Mahiya as the Mnangagwa regime continues to harass his family over his whereabouts.
Human rights activist and Director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute confirmed the news in a twitter post this afternoon.
Zimbabwe security agents have seized the passports of two minor daughters (6years and 7 months) of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Chairperson Rashid Mahiya as the Mnangagwa regime continues to harass his family over his whereabouts.
Harare Magistrate Ruramai Chitumbura has postponed judgement in the case of MDC Alliance Chief Election Agent in the 2018 polls, Morgan Komichi which was expected today saying she was overwhelmed.
Magistrate Chitumbura told Komichi that the ruling will now be passed tomorrow, 25 January 2018.
However Komichi’s lawyer Obey Shava of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) requested for another date arguing that his client had other commitments on the given date, forcing Chitumbura to push the judgement to Monday 28 January.
Komichi is being accused of disturbing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, (ZEC) proceedings during the announcement of the 2018 presidential elections.
Komichi is denying the charges, demanding v11 forms to prove his case.
He also told the court that the alleged offence he is accused of happened during break time therefore did not interupt ZEC proceedings.
Michael Reza is appearing for the state.
-263Chat
The trial of former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law Simba Chikore on charges of unlawfully detaining his subordinate at the Zimbabwe Airways, Bertha Zakeyo has now been set for the 6th of February.
Chikore’s trial which had initially been set for the 14th of December failed to kick off and was postponed to 24 January (today).
Chikore who is married to Bona Mugabe is being charged with of unlawful detention of his employee at the Robert Mugabe International Airport.
It is the state’s case that Chikore reportedly detained Zakeyo, Zimbabwe Airways legal head for two hours at the airline’s offices in June.
Chikore who was arrested seperately with his security guard Simbarashe Mutimbe will now be tried together after Harare Magistrate Elisha Singano ruled that they acted in the same purpose.
According to the state, Chikore allegedly wrote to Zakeyo, informing of her dismissal for holding unsanctioned meetings and leaking company secrets.
This appeared to have been the source of the conflict that resulted in Chikore taking the law into his own hands and detained Zakeyo.
-263Chat
The late music legend, Dr Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi has been declared a national hero.
The declaration of national hero status to Dr Mtukudzi was announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa at Tuku’s home in Norton this evening where he had visited to pay his condolences to the Mtukudzi family.
The decision to declare Dr Mtukudzi a national hero was unanimous.
Burial arrangements will be announced in due course after consultations with family members.
Correspondent|PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson George Charamba has cautioned the nation against believing everything that is tweeted through President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s verified Twitter account.
Responding to journalists who were probing about the call for dialogue by President Mnangagwa, Charamba said, “Just when we were in there the President was drawing me to an attempt as it were putting words in his mouth using his twitter account. So do not always believe that which is coming through that account.”
When he landed in the country on Tuesday President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Twitter: “Likewise, violence or misconduct by our security forces is unacceptable and a betrayal of the new Zimbabwe. Chaos and insubordination will not be tolerated. Misconduct will be investigated. If required, heads will roll.”
The statement was received with jubilation by Zimbabweans all over the country who said perhaps the time to solve the Zimbabwean crisis has comes.
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was quick to point out that while he welcomes the call for dialogue Mnangagwa must first release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
By Paul Nyathi|Latest reports indicate that the ruling ZANU PF politburo has declared the late legendary musician Oliver Mutukudzi a national hero.
As of the time of publishing, funeral arrangements were yet to be advised, as soon as details are made aware, we shall publish them here.
Oliver Mtukudzi becomes the first musician to be declared a national hero.
This follows several calls by many to declare him a national hero.
Correspondent|Music Legend Thomas ”Mukanya” Mapfumo made profound remarks that the national hero’s status isn’t a privilege only awarded to the gun alone, whilst speaking on the death of his long-time friend, Oliver ”Tuku”.
In an interview conducted by the local tabloid H-Metro, on hearing the news of Tuku’s death yesterday, Mukanya said Tuku Samanyanga is a national hero and befitting the national hero’s status, pleading with the leadership to recognise his contribution to the industry’s arts industry.
”A national hero is not about the gun alone and I am hoping that leadership recognises his (Tuku) his contribution.”
The musical Maestro passed on yesterday afternoon at Avenues Clinic at the age of 66 after a long illness, which had forced him to cancel shows and had recently failed to attend the Coca-Cola music awards on Tuesday where he was to receive an honorary award.
His untimely death comes at a time when the country is coming from crippling strikes and protests that led to the death of 12 civilians and the injure of over 68 civilians at the hands of the military and police.
The world waits to see if President Mnangagwa’s will heed to the call to award the maestro the national hero’s status, as pressure is mounting, with Themba Mliswa also pleading with the president for the musician to be declared a nation hero.
Mapfumo went on to say that
”Zimbabwe music is poorer, this is a great loss to our generation, to the arts industry, to the country as a whole and even the region. Oliver has been a great ambassador for Zimbabwe and surely deserves national hero status for all he has done to the arts industry and preserving our culture as a country,” said Mapfumo.
By Own Correspondent|Former MP for Bulawayo South David Coltart does not believe that the people who ransacked shops and caused massive destruction in Bulawayo during #ShutdownZimbabwe protests last week were mere civilians.
In an interview with British broadcaster Sky News, Coltart said:
“I have seen the destruction of food outlets on an industrial scale.
Having represented the people of Bulawayo for many years, I cannot believe the people themselves would have done this because they would have harmed themselves.
Some 80% of food outlets in working-class areas were destroyed. The capacity of these businesses to open again was effectively ended.”
A resident of Bulawayo’s Nketa suburb called Clive narrated his ordeal at the hands of troops.
He said:
I met those guys. ‘Where you coming from?’ (they said).
I said ‘I am going home. It is after dark’.
(They said) lie down and then nine guys were hitting me. Baton sticks and everything. Come on, is this Zimbabwe?
Another resident of Bulawayo who spoke to Sky News gave his testimony of what transpired when he came face to face with the soldiers:
I was asking, ‘what did I do wrong?’ But they were continuously beating me and I don’t know what to do now because I am scared.
Correspondent|Former Vice President Joice Mujuru and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa were among those who thronged to the home of the late musician Oliver Mtukudzi to pay his last respects.
Chamisa said Mtukudzi is not a hero because he is dead but he was always a hero.
“That the people’s legend, Oliver Mtukudzi is a People’s hero is beyond deliberation.” Chamisa said. “For such a plain fact, we mere mortals can only acknowledge as we all hereby do. That he is a hero is not because he has passed on but because he always was, even before his final rest.”
“Rest in Peace Oliver Mtukudzi. Your songs touched millions not only in Zimbabwe but around the world. We mourn your untimely death and also celebrate your life achievement. A true son of the soil Samanyanga. I send my deepest condolences to the Mtukudzi family.” Mujuru wrote on Twitter.
By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has released a statement distancing the force from rogue elements masquarading as soldiers and brutalising and raping civilians calling on citizens to report such individuals to the military police.
Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore who is the Director Army Public Relations said in a statement:
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: ZIMBABWE MILITARY POLICE HOTLINES
The Zimbabwe National Army has noted with concern allegations of misconduct and acts of violence by people purporting to be members of the organisation.
The actions by these bogus elements have subsequently put the image of the organisation into disrepute.
In view of the foregoing, the ZNA would like to urge members of the public to report any acts of misconduct by anyone purporting to be a member of the organisation using the following Military Police hotline numbers:
a) 0712842318
b) 0786452155
ALPHIOS MAKOTORE
Lieutenant Colonel
Director Army Public Relations
The National Army Thursday afternoon released the below statement following the continued violence of military personnel on Zimbabweans during week. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces said that Zimbabweans must report fake soldiers to the Military Police. The development comes after Emmerson Mnangagwa himself officially said that soldiers have been insubordinate in the days since last week, Monday.
Below was the full text:
Attn: News Editor
Date: January 2019NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: ZIMBABWE MILITARY POLICE HOTLINES
The Zimbabwe National Army has noted with concern allegations of misconduct and acts of violence by people purporting to be members of the organisation. The actions by these bogus elements have subsequently put the image of the organisation into disrepute.
In view of the foregoing, the ZNA would like to urge members of the public to report any acts of misconduct by anyone purporting to be a member of the organisation using the following Military Police hotline numbers:
a) 0712842318
b) 0786452155
ALPHIOS MAKOTORE
Lieutenant Colonel
Director Army Public Relations
Wednesday 16 Januuary 2019
Councilor Crispen Dube (Ward 15, Chikanga-Dangamvura) was arrested at a roadblock on his way to town. Instead of being taken to a police station he was detained at 3 Brigade barracks together with other victims arrested in Sakubva n Chikanga who included Pastor Mautsi.
Same day in Mutasa Central, Ward 10 Councilor, Frank Chitembwe and 7 others were arrested along Jombe road in Mutasa Central and taken to Ruda Police Station at Hauna Growth Point where they spent the night before being moved the following morning to Mutasa Police station at DC Service Centre.
Thursday 17 January 2019
Soldiers brutalized Zimunya township residents in Ward 32, Mutare South Constituency in early morning raids (between 1-3am). They went to Robert Saunyama’s (Jack Roberts) house and beat up his two wives and kids after they failed to find Robert. They proceeded to his workshop where they harrassed his guards before they destroyed his Land Cruiser. Jack Roberts was our parliamentary candidate for Mutare South on 30 July. He is in hiding. The soldiers also went to Zimunya township’s (Ward 32) at Councilor Herbert Gonyora’s house. They beat him up together with his wife, blindfolded and took him to 3 Brigade barracks where he joined 30 other victims, from his count. In the morning he was swapped with Councilor Dube who had been kept in solitary confinement and he was kept alone where the beatings and interrogations continued.
Friday 18 Januuary 2019
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Passmore Nyakureba and Chris Ndlovu successfully got a court interdict compelling the army to release the detainees from 3 Brigade barracks. Councilors Crispen Dube and Herbert Gonyora, Pastor Mautsi and others were released without charge but needing medical attention.
On the same day in Mutasa Central, Councilor Frank Chitembwe and 7 others were granted $50 bail each. They were remanded out of custody to 1 February. Ranga Mubata of ZLHR represented them.
In Rusape, Makoni Central, 4 people were denied bail. They were represented by Leonard Chigadza of ZLHR.
Saturday 19 January 2019
Received no reports of harrassment
Sunday 20/Mon 21 Jan
More raids were carried out in Zimunya township beginning in the night of 20th into the early hours of 21st . Patrons who were watching football in the night clubs were beaten up n a door to door orgy ensued.
Tuesday 22 January 2019
Further raids in Zimunya township. More beatings by the army.
Summary
Arrests
Mutasa Central 8, out on bail
Makoni Central 4, denied bail
Mutare? 1, status unknown
Total 13
Army detention
Mutare South/Zimunya
Chikanga-Dangamvura
Mutare Central/Sakubva
Total +/-32
Beatings
Chikanga-Dangamvura +/-3
Zimunya +/- 70 (~20 with serious injuries).
Treatment
Trees for Life and CSU have provided support. 9 treated so far.
The struggle continues. The darkest hour is just before dawn.
Trevor JL Saruwaka
Manicaland Province
By Own Correspondent- MDC leaders and supporters are now living in fear amid revelations that state security agents have intensified hunting down and beating opposition party supporters in broad daylight.
The MDC’s information department in a statement said the party’s Youth Assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva became the latest victim after the security details visited his home and ransacked it while looking for him.
Said the party in a “Persecution News Alert”:
MDC Youth Assembly Chairperson Happymore Chidziv’s house has just been raided by suspected CIO, military intelligence operatives and drunk Zanu PF youths.
The team beat up everyone in the house, children included before they took a young man, Collen who is a son to one of the tenants who share the same house with Hon Chidziva
Epworth Member of Parliament, Hon Earthrige Kureva’s house was also ransacked by state security agents and police details who later left a message that he should report to the police station
The continued assault on MDC members of parliament and their families must stop.”
Dear Minister Oppah Muchinguri
I decided to write this open letter to you after failing to reach you on the phone about a critical issue which needs your your urgent attention as the Minister of Defence and a woman as well.
Women in Zimbabwe celebrated your appointment as the first woman Minister of defence with the hope that you would ensure the end of state sponsored brutality against women and sexual violation towards women by members of the security sector in Zimbabwe.
I have been following the events that have been unfolding in our country over the past week and a half with shock and disdain at how political parties can resort to political power contestation using innocent civilians to protest leading to government heavy handedness which led to injuries, death and in some cases rape.
It is despicable that government gave a go ahead to soldiers to inflict pain and untold suffering to innocent Zimbabweans who are struggling to make ends meet. We expect the government to listen to the voice of the people and stop this reign of terror on innocent Zimbabweans.
ZanuPF, in its electoral campaign trail promised a good life to the citizens of Zimbabwe and as a concerned citizen I am demanding that you as the Honorable Minister of Defence ensure that the Army protects the people of Zimbabwe. Our country is not at war and as a peace loving Zimbabwean, I am humbly requesting for the withdrawal of soldiers from the streets Harare back to the barracks where they belong.
Violence, state sponsored brutality and sexual assault will not resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, it is only worsening the trauma and further dividing the nation. Resorting to unconstitutional means to silent dissenting voices is a violation of the universal declaration of human rights. Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy and all organs of the state should comply to the constitutional provisions on protection of fundamental human rights.
It is barbaric, inhuman and disgusting that some soldiers have been raping women this day and age. This shows a lack of discipline in the rank and file of the army. I will not sit back and watch women’s dignity being taken away by some unruly elements within the army.
As the woman in charge, mother and sister, I expect you to ensure that all those soldiers who raped women are brought to book, arrested and serve their sentence for the gross violation of women’s bodies.
In November we joined the world in advocating for zero tolerance to gender based violence and two months down the line soldiers are violating women.
What I find more appalling, is how the government is trying to justify brutal and evil acts. The citizens have reasonable and genuine concerns which were unfortunately hijacked by power hungry politicians. The government should attend to the peoples concerns immediately instead of sending soldiers after them.
In conclusion, I demand accountability from your ministry. All those who used excessive force against unarmed Zimbabweans must be brought to book for prosecution expeditiously. Justice delayed is justice denied.
In anticipation of a favourable response, I remain.
Linda Tsungirirai Masarira
Pro-Development, Democracy and Gender Activist
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has sensationally claimed that he is the late music icon Oliver Mtukudzi number one fan.
Posting his condolences on Twitter, Ramaphosa who is currently in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Tuku fired up all of Africa with his music.
” Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of music legend & human rights activist Oliver Mtukudzi. He is immortalized through the contribution he made to the arts, with talent that fired up all of Africa. Deepest condolences to his loved ones. From his No. 1 fan in the whole world,” said Ramaphosa.
Mtukudzi’s death has shocked the rest of the world with high level people including Julias Malema, Raila Odinga and celebrated musicians all over the world have joined Zimbabwe in mourning the giant Tuku that has fallen.
VIEW PICTURES BELOW…
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube says he is hoping to secure $500 million in lines of credit at the World Economic Forum annual conference currently underway in Davos, Switzerland.
Zimbabwe is hard pressed for foreign currency and is unable
to pay suppliers resulting in fuel deliveries to the southern African nation
being cut off.
Long winding queues stretching for miles have become a common feature
throughout the country.
Just last week, the country was rocked by nationwide protests a day after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced an increase in the price of fuel from $1,45 to $3,11 a litre.
Mnangagwa had planned to travel to Davos but cancelled his trip at the last hour to deal with the crisis back home.
“We are looking everywhere. We are looking east, west and
everywhere where we think we can approach…while I am here I am hoping to
approach three private sector credit providers who are very keen to work with
us especially in providing fuel, in giving us a couple of credit lines up to
$500 million.
So we continue to source credit lines and this is normal,” Ncube said in an
interview with Bloomberg.
Ncube spent the better part of Tuesday being grilled on how he intended to attract investment, considering government’s heavy handed approach in dealing with the recent protests where security forces indiscriminately fired live rounds at civilians.
“My message in Davos is that we want to engage the international community and to fully engage with others. We cannot go it alone and we are also aware that Zimbabwe presents incredible opportunities foreign investment so we are availing these opportunities to them ranging from the privatisation opportunities in the telecoms sector, banking, and mining,” Ncube, he said.
“We are availing all these opportunities to investors and that is our message. Zimbabwe is open for business and we are serious about reforms but we can’t go it alone. We need the international community to support.”
Justice for Women Zimbabwe (JWZ) notes with concern the gross human rights violations by the Zimbabwe government and state security agents, particularly the rights of women. Zimbabwe last week saw the primitive descent on citizens by security forces following protests against the deteriorating socio-economic conditions and the announcement of the fuel price hike by the president. It is sad that the state following the August 1 shootings continues to unleash violence on citizens airing out genuine grievances, making women easy targets of the state sponsored violence.
The events that took place during the shutdown saw the use of live ammunition by the police and military leading to injuries and loss of life. Some women were sexually assaulted and forced to have unprotected sex with members of the security forces, whilst some are still in illegal detention to date. As such JWZ demands justice for the women who were killed, brutalized, illegally detained and sexually violated during the shutdown. It is the duty of the state to protect its citizens and ensure the realization of women’s rights but instead it is the state itself that is violating them.
If the Zimbabwe government is sincere about getting into a dialogue to move this country forward it should start by owning up to its actions, ensuring that perpetrators are brought to book starting with those of the August 1 shootings and also that women have a seat at the table of the dialogue.
May the souls of our sisters and all who died rest in peace.
Sports Reporter
Paul Nyathi|FORMER Highlanders Football Club defender Edward Dzowa has died.
The club confirmed on its twiter handle that Dzowa, father to former Highlanders and Caps United defender Mpumelelo, died on Tuesday.
“We have learnt with sadness the passing on of our Legend, former defender and coach Edward Dzowa who died early today at Mater Dei Hospital. He played for Highlanders in the 1970s and deputized James Nxumalo when Madinda Ndlovu was introduced into the first team in the late 1970s,” said the club on Tuesday.
Being Christened “Ace of troubles” was not just a mere fluke for the Highlanders legendary player who played a vital role in the Highlanders backline.
Highlanders and Wankie FC (now Hwange) legendary player Barry Daka watched Dzowa during his prime and describes him as an ace player.
“He was a dependable defender who was good both with ground and aerial balls but it’s unfortunate that during that time in the 70s matches were not recorded and were only covered in newspapers, if it was like now the youngsters could see how the yesteryear greats fared in their football careers,” he says.
Dzowa recently explained how he earned the moniker — Ace of troubles.
“It was after I had left a social team called Hot Tots FC in 1964 and joined Highlanders in 1965. Lawrence “Lofty”, Boet van As and I formed a tight defence and I used to give strikers headaches as I thwarted their moves, following that supporters began to call me Ace of troubles,” said the late Dzowa in one of his interviews.
He was a cheeky defender who even challenged referees when he deemed they had made a wrong decision.
“I used to stand my ground whenever I felt the referee had made a blunder because I did not want to be taken advantage of,” he reveals.
By Own Correspondent|Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has projected a positive outlook for the country’s economic trajectory.
In a report by the state broadcaster, the current reforms including fuel price increases are necessary for a new path of economic growth.
He explained to CNN’s Richard Quest recently that the violent protests witnessed in the country last week were unZimbabwean and will not derail the bold steps adopted by the government for economic turnaround.
Professor Ncube painted an optimistic outlook for the country that entails reduced inflationary pressures to under 10 percent by December this year, a commitment to clear arrears to multinational financiers that include the World Bank and the African Development Bbank, which will set a trajectory for enhanced growth in the country.-StateMedia
In Zimbabwe we say Wafa Wanaka. But this is a generic phrase normally used for one whose good works are hard to put together after he has gone. With Tuku, we say matipa matitorera. We were given and were later robbed. This was a man of many talents. Music that lasts is not easy to compose.
Fellow Zimbabweans, please join us mourn the departure of one of the best musicians we ever had in Zimbabwe. Oliver Mtukudzi was one of us. We started way back in the sixties in Harare and charted the same path for the same cause as we sang, entertained and educated from different platforms and at times from same platforms.
I will say that last year in 2018 when we joined hands on the stage at the Glamis Arena, little did we realize that we were doing our parting shots. Kwaive kuonekana. It was a night well spent with our fans as we sang and danced to celebrate a surprise twist of events in Zimbabwe. The rest of the history would unfold as we kept in touch and made efforts to strengthen our music and give hope to the people of Zimbabwe.
Today is a sad day. Tuku was a wonderful, kind hearted, selfless man who had the mind to care for others. I cry for a brother, friend, uncle, grand pa and sahwira. Oliver was a man of the people. He sang from the heart and he was candid as he expressed himself clearly. His fame rested on solid pride in his culture, his Ubuntu and his focus on what mattered most to his life. People. He found so much value in the people and spent so much time investing in various projects to make people stay focused and be together. At times he added his dance styles and sharp sense of humor to spice up his music. Many enjoyed his music which could be deemed classy and timeless. He sang for all times, generations and occasions and everyone was left with something to chew upon. That was Oliver for you.
Even as the son of the soil toiled by taking his music across the world from South Africa with Steve Dyer and many other musicians he collaborated with, to America and Europe, he never got too busy for his cultural values or his people. He had a big heart for his country. He sang well and stood for what he believed in. With lots of controversy surrounding some of his lyrics, he let people get the benefit of the doubt as he kept trudging on.
Today Samanyanga joins Sam Mtukudzi his dear son who left a few years ago. Mukorekore left a great katekwe foot print and big shoes that many budding musicians will find tough to fill. Not so many of our budding musicians will be able to cope with cultural balances and dynamics faced today. He just did that. He sang not to chase money but to create value in his convictions. Of course money followed his values and he created a steady life that many looked up to. With his Pakare Paye Arts Center, he built himself that legacy and sign post of Tuku music that will forever make his name memorable before many artists and fans.
Zororai murugare Nzou. Sarawega you sang. Tasara toga.
c/o Chimurenga Music Company
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga will today attend the inauguration of the President-elect of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, according to the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Twitter handle.
Tshisekedi who was a dark horse in the just ended DRC elections won a constitutional country challenge against his electoral victory filed by a rival opposition party.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba clarified that a picture of President Mnangagwa seemingly performing rituals was taken during his visit to a museum of human history in Kazakhstan.
The picture was went viral on social media after it was posted on Twitter by former G40 kingpin, Jonathan Moyo. However, Deputy Minister for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Energy Mutodi claimed that the picture was photoshopped. Charamba said there were attempts to paint Mnangagwa as an evil character.
Said Charamba: “All this is coming against the background of what we have seen as a concerted attack on the President in his personal capacity as well as the institution of Government.
“We are back to the days of black propaganda where falsehoods are peddled as news and fact but also an attempt to paint the President as an evil character. We saw how a picture of the President’s visit to a museum of human history in Kazakhstan was turned around to suggest that he was dabbling in voodooism. That’s typical black propaganda.”
-State Media
Harare Mayor, Councillor Herbert Gomba has revealed that his council is currently debating a decision to name Harare Gardens after the late music superstar and icon Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
Posting on Twitter, Gomba said;
Harare city councilors in serious discussions to name Harare gardens to Oliver Mtukudzi gardens, 3rd street to Morgan Tsvangirai street , what are your views as residents?
Commenting on Tweet, Zimbabweans suggested that the popular outing place be named Tuku Gardens.
“Sounds dope too I like it better than my version lol, it’s African and distinctive…Tuku gardens.” said one Twitter user Ntate Nare.
By Own Correspondent| Zanu Pf activists stormed and disrupted lessons when they demanded access to a classroom to hold their meeting in Guruve.
The incident happened at Nyamangore Secondary school on Tuesday and was confirmed by Guruve district schools inspector Pinias Dambuza.
Dambuza said:
I received the report from the school head, so I am planning to go on the ground to interview teachers, students and parents on the matter so as to give my superiors the correct version.
A teacher who spoke to a local publication on condition of anonymity said:
The officials came and demanded a classroom during learning hours, around noon, and since we were afraid of victimisation, the school head complied and lessons had to stop.
Fear gripped many of us since we were part of the schools that were forced to close during the fuel prices protests last week.
Meanwhile, A Zanu PF central committee member, Eleven Kambizi admitted that they requested to use a classroom at the school because it was raining.
He however disputed that the meeting disrupted lessons.
MONITORING REPORT IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 14 JANUARY TO 16 JANUARY 2019 “STAY AWAY” AND SUBSEQUENT DISTURBANCES
The mandate of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC/Commission) is to promote, protect and enforce human rights and fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe, and its establishment and functions are elaborated in Sections 232, 233, 242 and 243 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
In line with its mandate the ZHRC issued a press statement on the 16th of January 2019 highlighting the deteriorating economic and security situation in the country. Since then, the Commission has continued with its constitutional mandate to monitor the human rights situation in the country. This report is therefore an update following the monitoring undertaken from the 16th to the 21st of January 2019. Due to capacity and logistical constraints the ZHRC field monitoring teams only managed to visit places in and around Harare and Bulawayo. The Commission has now deployed teams to assess the human rights situation in other parts of the country. Specific areas that were visited during the just ended monitoring missions include; Kuwadzana, Glen View, Dzivarasekwa, Highfield, Hopley, Sunningdale, Mbare, Mabvuku, Tafara, Epworth, Chitungwiza, Domboshava in and around Harare and Entumbane, Emakhandeni, Nkulumane, Tshabalala, Cowdray Park, Nketa and Mpopoma in Bulawayo. In addition, the Commission monitored court proceedings at Mbare, Chitungwiza and Harare (Rotten Row) Magistrates Courts on bail applications by the alleged perpetrators of violence. Efforts to monitor and inspect places of detention, in particular Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Police Cells at Harare Central Police Station, where detainees were kept proved futile.
The ZHRC teams visited local police stations during the monitoring visits as the first port of call to get a brief on the situation. One of the Commission teams also sought to monitor and inspect the Harare Central Police Station and to interact with detained persons. Unfortunately, the police officers in charge did not seem to understand the mandate of the ZHRC and after referring the officers to different police officials, denied them the relevant information or entry into the holding cells. Interaction with human rights lawyers representing the accused persons revealed that the accused persons had been held for periods exceeding 48 hours and that juveniles were being mixed with adults in holding cells against international human rights law and standards. Unlike in other previous ZHRC engagements with the ZRP, the Police officers were not forthcoming with information and referred all questions to the Officer Commanding Harare Province, who over two days was said to be out of office in a series of meetings.
Interviews with residents in and around Harare revealed that on the 14th of January 2019 around 8 and 9 AM, several roads were barricaded by protesters using various objects. The protesters also burnt tyres on the roads to stop police vehicles from patrolling. The monitoring teams also observed evidence of barricades that had been mounted in the areas assessed such as burnt tarmacs and concrete slabs and stones that had been moved to the sides of the roads. Such acts are not only unlawful but a violation of several rights including the right to freedom of movement and as such are strongly condemned.
It was noted that a number of shops and properties were looted and damaged by protesters. At Makoni Police Station, the ZHRC noted that from the entrance the guardrooms of the police station had been set on fire and the windows had been broken by protesters. At least 6 cars and 3 buses in the yard of the police station were burnt. An additional 6 cars had been vandalized with most of the windscreens and windows shattered. The ZHRC monitors also visited Chitungwiza Town Centre and Mabvuku Complex where it was noted that there had been looting at Choppies Supermarkets and other shops. There was clear evidence of looting and destruction of property as the ZHRC observed broken window glasses and empty shops. At Mbudzi Roundabout in Hopley, it was noted that there was torching of a police base, police vehicles and a tollgate along Harare-Masvingo Road. Engagements conducted in Highfield at Machipisa shopping centre revealed that protesters vandalized and looted from shopping markets, Pick and Pay Supermarket, Machipisa and Zuva Service Station. In Bulawayo, the Commission observed that protesters vandalized and looted Choppies at Sokusile, 3 shops at Entumbane Complex, Total Service Station, Entumbane and shops at Chicken Corner, Tshabalala.
The ZHRC takes this opportunity to condemn in the strongest sense these acts of vandalism and wanton violation of human rights. These are criminal acts that shouldnever be experienced in a modern, democratic, and free society. The Commission therefore urges the law enforcement agents to properly investigate and bring to book all the criminal elements behind the violence and looting.
Complainants and witnesses who spoke to the ZHRC highlighted that armed soldiers and police visited their homes starting the evening of Monday 14 January 2019. They reported a heavy crackdown characterized by indiscriminate and severe beatings. The ZHRC also made home visits to some of those who were assaulted by the police and soldiers. It was noted that their modus operandi was the same in all the communities assessed by the Commission. They would arrive at people’s houses at night or in the early hours of the day and ask all men to go outside and lie on the ground. They would then beat up all the men, including boys as young as 11 years, and then ask them to run or arrest them. It was also noted that they targeted those who live in shared residences where there would be different families in one house with more than one male per house. They would also target men and boys who live in houses that are near areas where looting took place or where barricades were set up and just make dragnet arrests without investigating.
It was also stated that the police were letting loose their dogs to attack those whom they suspected to have caused mayhem. Some residents reported losing their valuables such as cell phones to the soldiers and the police during their searches of peoples’ homes and their property such as doors and windows were destroyed. Some members of the public highlighted that they were scared of reporting the cases to the police as the nearby police stations were barricaded by the army and they also feared that the police would victimize them. Others managed to make reports but were turned away. This implies that those requiring medical attention were/are unable to do so, as the medical facilities often request police reports before attending to them. This impacts on citizens’ right to health. Further a police report is required for many other purposes where a crime has allegedly been committed, for example, in order to make an insurance claim.
Of concern is the fact that arresting officials in most cases came during the night and refused to identify themselves. The fact that the accused persons ended up in police custody means that these were officers on duty but acting unlawfully and without following due process. The ZHRC therefore calls upon authorities to address this gap before more harm is done to society by criminal elements taking advantage of such actions.
In Bulawayo, due to heavy police and military presence in the areas visited, members of the public were uncomfortable speaking with the ZHRC.
Unfortunately the disturbances have led to a number of deaths of civilians and a police officer. Whilst the Commission’s investigations are still in progress some facts have since been verified. For example, a 22 year old young man, Tinashe Choto died as a result of gun shots and was buried on Saturday 19 January 2019. A post mortem report read to family members by the authorities confirmed the cause of death as gun shots. Eye witnesses confirmed that the young man was shot near Makoni Police station during a face-off between the protesters and law enforcement agents. This is what incensed the protesters leading to the attack of Makoni Police Station. At least 8 deaths have been reported to the Commission and mostly attributed to use of live ammunition.
Whilst the police officers in charge were not forthcoming with their side of the story, the verified facts raise a lot of questions around the crowd control capacity of the law enforcement agents. They seem to resort to use of brute, excessive and disproportionate force in most circumstances thereby causing avoidable loss of life and also worsening the situation.
The ZHRC noted from its media monitoring activities and complaints received that the Government is blaming the opposition and civil society leaders for the violent protests. The Commission received and verified reports that around the country, some Councillors and Members of Parliament of the MDC Alliance as well as civil society leaders in suburbs where the most damage to property occurred were either abducted or arrested from their homes. At one Councilor’s house, children who included a three year old girl narrated what had happened to their father. The three year old girl gave a vivid and moving account of the beatings and arrest of her father during the late hours of the night.
The ZHRC attended court hearings at Mbare, Chitungwiza and Rotten Row Magistrates Court and noted that a large number of accused persons were appearing before the Magistrates at different times. Although the cases where all the same, it was noted that bail hearings were split which process overwhelmed the judicial officers, the prosecution and the lawyers representing the accused persons. It was noted that juveniles were also arrested although they were eventually released into the custody of their parents by the courts. Some were said to have spent more than 48 hours in detention. The police during the bail hearings in Chitungwiza admitted that they had arrested primary school children, some as young as 11 years, although they were later released at the police stations. Almost all suspects above the age of 18 were denied bail on the basis of the nature of the offence and that some of the suspects were of no fixed abode. Accused persons that the ZHRC saw appeared in the same clothing that they had been arrested in and were foul smelling indicating that they had not been given access to bathing facilities. Some of them were already coming from Remand Prison and had been in the same clothes for more than four days. Some of the suspects had visible injuries and had not received medical attention, including a suspect at the Mbare Magistrate’s Court who had a broken arm and foot.
The findings reveal that in the aftermath of the 14th of January 2019 disturbances, armed and uniformed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police instigated systematic torture. The torture was organized in that they targeted men who stay near areas where barricades had been placed and near areas that were torched by protestors or looted. They also targeted shared homes where they would round up many men in one homestead. In some instances it was also noted that those aligned to the Movement for Democratic Change were also specifically targeted for example Members of Parliament, Councillors and other active members.
Torture was perpetrated through beating the men with baton sticks on their backs while they lay on the ground, including falanga, i.e. beating under the feet and beating them with open hands. It is acknowledged that property including a police station, police vehicles and shops were destroyed and vandalized/looted whilst barricades were placed on roads to stop people from going to work. This however did not justify torture of citizens by the security forces as the right to freedom from torture is one right that cannot be derogated from under any circumstances. The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe in the case of JESTINA MUKOKO v THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, Judgment No. SC 11/12 emphasized that “No exceptional circumstance such as the seriousness of the crime the person is suspected of having committed, or the danger he or she is believed to pose to national security can justify infliction of torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment”.
The amount of force, evidenced by the injuries sustained by some of the Complainants that were interviewed and the deaths that occurred which were supported by medical records reveal a case of Police Brutality. Police Brutality is defined as; “The use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force” means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation.”[ The Law Dictionary, available online at http://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-police-brutality] From the above definition it is clear that although “excessive force” is not subject to a precise definition, it is generally use of force beyond the force a reasonable and prudent law enforcement officer would use under the circumstances. Excessive force by law enforcement officers is a violation of a person’s rights. The unleashing of live bullets on demonstrators and falanga on some complainants are examples of excessive force that was used by the police amounting to Police Brutality often violating the right to life. Other methods of dispersing crowds such as tear gas, rubber bullets and water canisters could have been used rather than the use of live bullets which to any reasonable person have the potential of causing unnecessary deaths.
In addition, the ZHRC noted that the method of arrest and detention that was used by the police and soldiers amounted to arbitrary arrests and detention, a crackdown as opposed to law enforcement. Complainants informed the ZHRC of how they were taken from their homes at night on the basis that they were males. The dragnet method did not take into consideration whether one was truly connected to the alleged offence. It is the ZHRC’s strong view that police should properly investigate cases and only arrest people that have committed the alleged offences as opposed to indiscriminately rounding up citizens and taking them to courts without undertaking proper investigations.
The findings reveal that in the areas monitored the police and soldiers entered into the homes, premises and property of some of the Complainants in the middle of the night without their permission. Their doors were broken into and their windows and doors vandalized by the police and the soldiers. This violated their right to privacy which protects them from arbitrary searches of their homes and unlawful entry into their home, premises or property under section 57 of the Constitution.
The facts gathered from interviews held with communities reveal that the police and the soldiers indiscriminately targeted men in the residential areas merely due to proximity to the areas where barricades had been placed and shopping centres where looting and vandalism had taken place. Yet interviews with most stakeholders in the areas that were monitored revealed that those who had put barricades on the road on 14 January 2019 or those who led the looting did not even stay in the areas and most were unknown to the communities. To conclude that every men living close to the looted shops or barricaded roads were involved and to proceed to conduct door to door searches for and arrest them on this basis led to a violation of personal liberty of men who had not been involved in the incidents, including boys below the age of 18 years.
In the case of STAMBOLIE V COMMISSIONER OF POLICE 1989 (3) ZLR 287 (S) it was held that the onus is upon the person making the arrest to prove that the arrest was lawfully justified. Further it was held in the case of MUYAMBO V NGOMAIKARIRA AND OTHERS (HC 5195/09) [2011] ZWHHC 138 (07 JULY 2011) that;“In order to establish the lawfulness of an arrest without a warrant, the onus lies upon the[arresting authority] to show probable cause or reasonable suspicion. In exercising the power of arrest, he must act as an ordinary honest man would act, on suspicions which have a reasonable basis, and not merely on wild suspicion. The arrestor must act on such circumstances as would ordinarily lead a reasonable man to form the suspicion that the arrestee has committed an offence. It is not the function of the police to arrest at large and to use the interrogatory process in order to determine whom to charge. The deprivation of personal liberty is an odious interference and constitutes a serious infraction of fundamental rights, attracting an exemplary assessment of reparation”.
The use of military details who do not have arresting powers in the arrests also led to the violation of the right to liberty in respect of the men arrested. Interviewed citizens narrated how the police were accompanied by armed soldiers as they undertook the door to door raids. During a court hearing at the Chitungwiza Magistrate’s Court, a police officer admitted that they were accompanied by armed soldiers during the home raids and at one point interrogated an 8-year old girl who supposedly led them to some of the accused persons.
The Commission remains concerned about the continued use of the military in maintaining law and order in the country. After the events of 1 August 2018, it was to beexpected that the country would have learnt something and would in future do things differently. From reports received to date, indications are that more citizens have died during the current protests than those who died during the August 1 2018 protests. It is therefore disturbing to note that the deployment of the army in quelling civilian disturbances leads to loss of life and serious bodily injuries and other human rights violations, yet the Government continues to make such deployments.
The Constitution also provides for the rights of accused persons in section 70 which includes: the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty; the right to be informed promptly of the charge, in sufficient detail to enable them to answer it; the right to be given adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence and the right to remain silent; and the right not to testify or be compelled to give self-incriminating evidence. The ZHRC noted with concern that some of those arrested on 14 January 2019, had not appeared before a court within the required 48 hours. Lawyers representing accused persons complained that their clients were said to have been arrested on the 15th January 2019 to make it appear as if they had been taken to court within the confines of the law. Some of the relatives of detained juveniles who spoke to the ZHRC in Chitungwiza and Mbare, informed the ZHRC that they had been denied access to the detainees and access to information concerning the detainees, in breach of the Constitution.
The ZHRC will continue to monitor the situation in the country and provide updates to the country. The Commission will also continue to engage with various stakeholders with a view to ensuring the promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in the country.
THANK YOU
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Offices:
Harare: 144 Samora Machel Ave
Bulawayo: 49 JNM Nkomo Street (between 3rd and 4th Avenues)
Website: www.zhrc.org.zw Email: [email protected] Telephone Numbers
Harare Office (0242)703 617, 700705, 700710 Bulawayo Office (0292)64170-3
Mobile Hotline Numbers 0771 838 654/ 0771 838 655/ 0771 838 656
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services has revealed that the late music icon Dr Oliver Mtukudzi had been appointed on the yet to be announced ZBC board.
Posting on Twitter today, Mangwana said; “Devastated by the untimely departure of a fellow Samanyanga. Before his tragic death Dr Mtukudzi had agreed to be on the ZBC Board to be announced by Minister Mutsvangwa. We believed he was going to add insight & value on content and entertainment issues. RIP Zhou Samanyanga,”
Tuku passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 66 after succumbing to diabetes.
He leaves behind a music legacy that spans over three decades.
The government has scoffed at the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) report on the recent public protests against fuel price increases saying its contents blaming security forces for using excessive force to deal with the hooligans are unbalanced and leaves a lot to be desired.
In its findings on the aftermath of the 14th of January 2019 disturbances, the ZHRC commissioner Sheila Matindike acknowledged that there was a worrying degree of violence which left a trail of destruction of properties, police stations, shops looting and barricading of roads and infringing on other people’s rights and went on to condemn the heavy handedness by security forces that followed.
The government rejected the report, with Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi describing the report as biased and offside on what really transpired
The government analysis of the disturbances unwarrantedly puts the blame on the opposition MDC for orchestrating the protests that went off spontaneously around the country.
By Dr Brighton Chireka| Year after year people are abused and even get killed for demonstrating or criticising the government of Zimbabwe.
People keep asking as to why these abuses continue to happen in Zimbabwe. There has been terrible atrocities that took place in the early 80s and the world claimed that it did not know about it as it was not publicised.
Gukurahundi tragically happened during that time in our eyes and nothing was done about it and even today nothing has been done to address the atrocities that took place.
The internet was recently shut down and some of the rumours was that the Zimbabwean government did not want the atrocities taking place to be known by the international community.
What evidence is there that the international community does respond to our social media posts? In this article I am challenging ourselves to look at our strategies that we are using to highlight our problems .
Are we using the social media to the best of our advantage? Is it working ? If not what can we do? It is only a fool that keeps on doing the same thing and expect to get different results.
Many people have rightly now taken upon themselves to make sure that the international community is aware of the suffering happening in Zimbabwe.
The recent shutdown saw my inbox full of pictures that were disturbing to me and I cried and decided to take a picture of me crying. But after crying I reflected on the events that were happening and decided to “take action”.
I was disappointed and felt abused and let down by some people in our community. Some of the pictures and videos were not from Zimbabwe and some were not from the recent incident.
It is embarrassing to equip yourself with fake pictures or videos even if among those pictures you may have genuine pictures but the mere fact that some are fake makes your case very weak .
Let me share this fact that we know about fruits so that I drive my point home into our community. If you take a piece of rotten fruit and place it beside perfectly good fruit…what happens? The mold from the rotten fruit spreads over to the good fruit and both end up in bad condition.
So what happens when we mix fake pictures or videos with genuine ones? Well….they all sadly become fake!
Another point is the way we post the pictures about what is happening in zimbabwe. To me is like “facts to be known” rather than “ disaster happening that must be challenged and averted”
People post pictures of dead people but do not tell us about where it took place and when it happened and how those people were killed and why they were killed and why they are sharing the pictures.
We are shown pictures of people looting food in shops and then tortured but no one tells us how these people are oppressed and are not able to buy any food for their families.
People talk about the land but no one tells about how this land is being given on partisan lines and also how some of those who have the land are not fully utilising it. Also we are not told that some have a dozen of farms that they are not fully utilising. On the other we are not told of the success stories of some who are farming effectively and selling their produce to the international community.
I have just highlighted a few examples where the devil is in detail and lack of if makes you hopeless or come to wrong conclusions.
In short let us have balanced reporting and call a spade a spade and not sugar coat things or exaggerate our suffering. Our suffering is worse enough so it does not need any spicing!
Rather than only calling for the social media to be open we must also make a call to all users to use it wisely and stop circulating fake news . Fake news is used to discredit whatever truth that may be coming from our country.
I see very respectable people posting fake news without verifying and when the truth comes out they do not have the decency of apologising or correcting their mistakes . Failure to do that will be used by their opponents to discredit them . Each time they share something genuine we get reminded that they are not to be trusted because of their past postings.
A social media influencer is a leader and leaders can be social media influencers as well so both must safeguard their integrity if social media is to salvage any credibility.
Remember, we all have the power to affect our community or be effected by our community so sharing fake news is an own goal as it will not help the cause of those that are genuinely suffering.
May I conclude by saying to our leaders, journalists , social media influencers and everyone please let us have self censorship and not share unverified news or pictures.
The original source of the pictures should tell us the 5 Ws that is What is happening in the picture ? Where is it happening ? ,When did it happen? , how did you get hold of the picture and why are you sharing it ? Is it for information only or you want action to be taken to stop what is happening? Failure to do that then our social media sharing will be a road to Nowhere and our suffering will continue unabated and we will shed tears till we are dehydrated.
Cardiff City’s record new signing Emiliano Sala expressed concern about his plane shortly before the light aircraft disappeared over the Channel, according to an audio message sent to friends and relatives.
The Argentine football striker, signed on Saturday from French club Nantes for a reported fee of €17 million, was flying to Cardiff aboard the plane that disappeared from radar around 20 kilometres north of the island of Guernsey on Monday night.
“I’m on a plane that looks like it’s going to fall apart, and I’m leaving for Cardiff,” Sala said in a WhatsApp audio message carried by Argentine media. “If in an hour-and-a-half you have no news from me, I don’t know if they will send people to look for me, because they will not find me, you know. Dad, I’m so scared,” he added.
Sala is missing presumed dead after the single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft disappeared.
A 15-hour search on Tuesday covering a 3 000 square-kilometre area in the Channel spotted “a number of floating objects in the water”, Guernsey police said.
“We have found no signs of those on board. If they did land on the water, the chances of survival are at this stage, unfortunately, slim,” police said. The search was set to resume at sunrise yesterday. French civil aviation authorities had confirmed that 28-year-old Sala “was on board the plane”. It is thought there was one other passenger on the aircraft.
Police on Guernsey, which sits just off the north coast of France, said the pilot had requested to lower his altitude shortly before air traffic control in neighbouring Jersey lost contact with the plane. — AFP.
At least 1 100 people have so far been arrested over violent protests that rocked the country last week.
Statistics released by the police show that the suspects were arrested in all the 10 provinces, with Bulawayo topping the list with 441 arrests.
The suspects were arrested for looting, malicious damage to property, assault, public violence, obstruction of movement of traffic among other offences.
Two were arrested for murdering a policeman in Bulawayo.
Police chief spokesperson Commissioner Charity Charamba said the police were leaving no stone unturned in their bid to arrest all offenders in last week’s violent demonstrations.
“We will not rest until all the offenders who caused chaos last week are brought to book,” she said.
Comm Charamba said of the 441 people arrested in Bulawayo province, 118 were picked up for looting.
At least 382 of the suspects have since appeared in court on various charges. In Harare, 249 people were arrested with 247 of them appearing before the courts this week, while two minor children were released into the custody of their parents.
Midlands province recorded 201 arrests and 95 of them paid admission of guilt fines, 93 were remanded in custody while 13 were still in police custody.
Police arrested 121 in Mashonaland West province, of whom 75 were from Makonde, 14 from Hurungwe, 30 from Kadoma and two from Manyame.
In Mashonaland West, 49 have since paid admission of guilt fines. Manicaland recorded 30 arrests and the suspects have since appeared in court.
In Matabeleland North, 11 people were arrested with one having been sentenced to six months in prison for public violence.
Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central recorded 21 and 16 arrests respectively, while five were arrested in Matabeleland South and eight in Masvingo.
Comm Charamba said some looters were now dumping their loot for fear of being tracked by the police.
“Some are now dumping their loot for fear of being arrested. In Bulawayo, property was found dumped at a dumpsite by the suspects who feared arrest.
“This is a clear testimony that there are no dragnet arrests. People are being arrested for their offences,” she said.
Meanwhile, police have warned parents against roping in minors in protests after some hooligans used children below the age of majority as shields during violent demonstrations instigated by the MDC-Alliance last week.
In an interview, Comm Charamba said children were involved in looting, acts of arson and violence.
“Parents should not allow their children to participate in violence. In some cases, violent protestors would use children as human shields when they clashed with the security forces.
“Women would be placed on the second row while the violence architects, who appeared to be men, would be at the back.
“That is dangerous and is tantamount to exposing children to violence. It also destroys their future,” said Comm Charamba.
According to police statistics, at least four juveniles appeared in court in Mutare and Harare over offences committed during last week’s violent scenes.
However, Comm Charamba said out of respect of the children’s rights, the juvenile suspects had to be released into the custody of their parents when the adults were locked up in remand prison.
Two were released at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Monday while another pair of juveniles was granted bail in Mutare.
“We respect children’s rights and there was no abuse in the arrest of the juveniles. Unfortunately, our law does not exempt the juveniles from arrest. They had to be released into the custody of their parents,” she said.
The police said some women with babies strapped on their backs committed offences during the protests.
Video evidence, Comm Charamba said, showed some teenagers bragging over stealing alcohol.
“Some video clips circulating on social media show a teenager bragging over stealing Glenfiddich whisky from Choppies supermarket in Mabvuku.
“He will definitely be arrested for theft,” she said.
By Paul Nyathi|SUNGURA musician Alick Macheso expressed great concern in public over fellow musician Oliver ”Tuku” Mtukudzi’s ill health less than twenty four hours before the legendary musician passed on when he failed to attend the Coca-Cola awards ceremony because of his health on Tuesday.
The music icon was expected to receive his honorary award for his achievements at the ceremony held in the capital. The program director told the crowd that the music icon could not make it due to ill health.
His manager who was supposed to stand in his place was also reported to have rushed to Tuku’s residence for an emergency which was not revealed at that time.
Macheso who was awarded the best Sungura artiste of the year, emotionally bared his soul in front of the crowd and cameras and wished the then sick Tuku a speedy recovery.
” It’s unfortunate that he (Tuku) is not here with use today, I would have loved to be with him here today. I was touched when the Master of Ceremony announced that mdhara (Tuku) can’t make it here today. I wish him well, I know he wil be fine, of course it worries me to hear such news, but I know that it shall be well,” said a dejected Macheso.
“This is something disturbing, Samanyanga is an icon to all of us and his absence pains me a lot. He is the one who gives us direction and when he is not well, we all feel the pain. I wish him speedy recovery.
“Samanyanga ndicho chibaba chedu, he is an icon and his absence at this event pains us. All my prayers to him and his family at this time, I want to encourage Mai Samanyanga inguva yaMwari kana muti unozununguswa,” he said.
Macheso added in his heartwarming speech that human beings were fragile by design and that he was certain that it was a phase that was passing away. Macheso also commended Coca-Cola for honouring him and the award would lift Tuku’s spirits.
”They (Coca-Cola) have done so well to honour him, I am convinced that he will breathe some fresh air after hearing the news.”
Farewell Samanyanga: Tribute from Thomas Mukanya Mapfumo
IN Zimbabwe we say Wafa Wanaka. But this is a generic phrase normally used for one whose good works are hard to put together after he has gone. With Tuku, we say matipa matitorera. We were given and were later robbed. This was a man of many talents. Music that lasts is not easy to compose.
Fellow Zimbabweans, please join us in mourning the departure of one of the best musicians we ever had in Zimbabwe.
Oliver Mtukudzi was one of us. We started way back in the sixties in Harare and charted the same path for the same cause as we sang, entertained and educated from different platforms and at times from same platforms.
I will say that last year in 2018 when we joined hands on the stage at the Glamis Arena, little did we realise that we were doing our parting shots. Kwaive kuonekana.
It was a night well spent with our fans as we sang and danced to celebrate a surprise twist of events in Zimbabwe. The rest of the history would unfold as we kept in touch and made efforts to strengthen our music and give hope to the people of Zimbabwe.
Today is a sad day. Tuku was a wonderful, kind hearted, selfless man who had the mind to care for others. I cry for a brother, friend, uncle, grandpa and sahwira.
Oliver was a man of the people. He sang from the heart and he was candid as he expressed himself clearly. His fame rested on solid pride in his culture, his Ubuntu and his focus on what mattered most to his life; people.
He found so much value in the people and spent so much time investing in various projects to make people stay focused and be together. At times he added his dance styles and sharp sense of humour to spice up his music.
Many enjoyed his music which could be deemed classy and timeless. He sang for all times, generations and occasions and everyone was left with something to chew upon. That was Oliver for you.
Even as the son of the soil toiled by taking his music across the world from South Africa with Steve Dyer and many other musicians he collaborated with, to America and Europe, he never got too busy for his cultural values or his people.
He had a big heart for his country. He sang well and stood for what he believed in. With lots of controversy surrounding some of his lyrics, he let people get the benefit of the doubt as he kept trudging on.
Today Samanyanga joins Sam Mtukudzi his dear son who left a few years ago. Mukorekore left a great katekwe foot print and big shoes that many budding musicians will find tough to fill.
Not so many of our budding musicians will be able to cope with cultural balances and dynamics faced today. He just did that. He sang not to chase money but to create value in his convictions.
Of course money followed his values and he created a steady life that many looked up to. With his Pakare Paye Arts Center, he built himself that legacy and sign post of Tuku music that will forever make his name memorable before many artists and fans.
Zororai murugare Nzou. Sarawega you sang. Tasara toga.
By Edwin Mushoriwa
TRIBUTE TO THE PEOPLE OF DZIVARESEKWA
Greetings fellow residents and people of Dzivarasekwa.
We come to you today with a heavy heart as the nation grapples with horrific violence and gross human rights abuses that traumatised a number of people in Dzivaresekwa and other areas
More than 209 people in Dzivaresekwa constituency were severely beaten by people in military attire resulting in more than 87 of them seeking medical treatment.
These people in military attire wore masks to hide their faces during the day to enable them carry their heinous acts. They also smashed doors of people during the night leaving behind untold human suffering and destruction of property.
We identfied some of the people who have been perpetrating or aiding the perpetration of the violence and all will be exposed for nothing is hidden before God. They may inflict pain and cause us to shed tears for now but we stand guided by our faith in God who will demonstrate his power. Ref :
Exodus 13 ,14 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”
We witnessed brutal attacks on pregnant women and school children with broken legs, broken hands, broken ribs, swollen faces, swollen feet and deep wounds and bruises on their backs
We heard stories of people who were forced to roll in the sewage and on the road. We came across a lot of people who were traumatized by these horrific experiences and others who are now sleeping in the open for fear of being visited by these messengers of darkness during the night.
As if that was not enough, some of these people in our constituency who were injured were nabbed and beaten up at a medical Centre where they were receiving treatment before handed over to the police on trumped up charges for crimes they never committed.
As we grieve we know you are in solidarity with the injured and traumatised Zimbabweans.
Each and every one of us is not safe for none of us knows the time these angels of darkness may visit us. I was not spared the brutal attacks and trauma .
The behavior of these people in military attire has nothing to do with maintaining law and order in the constituency but purely criminal and abuse of innocent people.
We have competent police officers in this constituency that are capable of maintaining law and order.
Dzivaresekwa police officers have the capacity to investigate and apprehend suspects.
We do not believe that soldiers staying with us in Dzivaresekwa were part to these heinous crimes.
We have always been proud of our soldiers for their professionalism and as such we would want to believe that the people beating us are criminals in military attire masquerading as soldiers with a devilish intention to tarnish and bring the name of our army into disrepute.
In these trying times , we have however managed to remain united ,steadfast,resolute and focused .
We shall continue to exhibit ubuntu,unhu/humanity as we move forward as people of Dzivaresekwa.
As a legislstor for Dzivaresekwa Constituency i want to salute the brutalised and traumatised people of Dzivaresekwa for their courage,bravery and teamwork when they risked their lives to save the brutalised brothers and sisters.
We want to thank you all who assisted those who were injured. Special mention goes to the medical staff that saved lives by attending to the injured and the Lawyers that are representing the victims of violence from cooked up charges.
We also salute community leadership in Dzivarasekwa for the good work during this dark period.
We also want to thank those that are praying for recovery of the injured as well as peace in Zimbabwe.
May God bless you all.
We want to remind the forces of darkness especially those hiding behind their fingers that Violence, torture and abuse of people has no place in the Zimbabwe we want.
We beelieve that a better Zimbabwe is possible.
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER
Hon Edwin Mushoriwa
Member of Parliament
Dzivaresekwa Constituency
MDC-Alliance Member of Parliament for Chiwundura Livingstone Chiminya will spend another week in remand prison while police are searching for two witnesses who were supposed to testify in the case, but disappeared before doing so.
Regional magistrate Mrs Phathekile Msipa remanded Chiminya in custody to January 29 after the prosecutor Mr Talent Tadenyika made an application for postponement of the matter to allow the police to locate the two witnesses.
“The State is given a week to look for the witnesses so that it is allowed to present its case fully,” said Mrs Msipa.
“At the same time having the witnesses helps the accused so that he defends himself. We need to balance both sides and the accused is remanded in custody to January 29.”
This was after Superintendent Ntombizodwa Mashamba from Law and Order had earlier told the court that they were failing to locate the witnesses.
“On Thursday last week I sent a team to look for the witnesses after they had their statements recorded,” she said. “Over the weekend a team also went and failed to locate them.
“It appears they just left because of the current situation and their whereabouts are unknown. I believe when the situation returns to normal they might come back. I believe they might have been intimidated.”
Chiminya’s lawyer Mr Brian Dube opposed the proposal for postponement, saying his client, who is denying the charges, must be released without any conditions.
“The subject matter has nothing to do with Chiminya, but the State,” he said. “It is wrong and abusive for the State to act in this manner. There is no legal document to the fact that the matter can be postponed to allow the police to hunt for the said witnesses.
“If it was a serious case, the witnesses should have been produced in court.”
Meanwhile, the MP for Mkoba Amos Chibaya, who is also the MDC-Alliance organising secretary, appeared before provincial magistrate Ms Charity Maphosa for continuation of his case on charges of incitement to commit a crime.
Through his lawyer Mr Reginald Chidawanyika, Chibaya pleaded not guilty.
Two State witnesses that were supposed to testify in the matter were also missing and Ms Maphosa was still to rule on the defence application for dismissal of the case.
Chibaya and Chiminya, the court heard, allegedly held meetings at their respective houses in Mkoba 13 and Mkoba 14 respectively on January 13 and incited MDC-Alliance youths to go onto the streets of Gweru to prevent the general public from going to work.
State Media
VIDEO LOADING BELOW
We, in the Economic Emancipation Movement, send our heartfelt and revolutionary condolences on the passing of a musical tour of centuries, Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi. We wish comfort to the hearts of his family, relatives, friends, Zimbabweans, and the world in general.
In his famous work, Neria, Tuku already prepares us, and our hearts, on the passing of a husband, a lover. He extols the virtue of a strong heart in the hour of human loss to death. Tuku paints death as jealous, and calls on the widow to be strong in her heart, because God is with her.
We are Neria, the woman who has lost Tuku. We must receive the message of Tuku to Neria with open hearts, and allow strength in this hour of doubt, turmoil, and confusion.
The death of Tuku, like his life, is a rebuke to as all, never to lose heart, and never to give in to despondency. He falls when Zimbabwe, his lover and pride, is facing violent winds of social injustice. He falls when the ordinary, defenseless citizen, is facing gun carrying soldiers who seek to suppress a free human spirit. He falls in the hour when Hope is most urgent in the body politic of his people.
We call on Zimbabwe, like Tuku did with Neria, “don’t be disheartened, God is with you”. The winds of change are upon you, but they are here to make you, and not break you, don’t be disheartened.
We shall drink forever from Tuku’s musical genius, both as the people of the South, and as the world. We shall cherish his heritage and preserve it all the days of our lives.
The economic emancipation revolution salutes Tuku; we dig our flags in honour of his artistic prose and signature, knowing that he has not died, but multiplied.
May his soul rest in eternal and perfect peace.
ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Mbuyiserd Ndlori (National Spokesperson): 076 834 7308
Sixolise Gcilishe (National Communications Manager): 071 142 1663
BBC Feature|A government-appointed human rights group in Zimbabwe has accused soldiers of using “systematic torture” in a crackdown on protests.b
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission strongly criticised authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations.
Unrest broke out more than a week ago following a sharp rise in fuel prices.
A government spokesman defended the crackdown, telling the BBC: “When things get out of hand, a bit of firmness is needed.”
Reports have emerged of assaults allegedly carried out by the military in various parts of the capital, Harare.
Soldiers in Harare were seen beating a large group of minibus drivers on Tuesday.
The BBC’s Andrew Harding in Harare spoke to a man who said he and about 30 others had been rounded up and beaten by soldiers for “more than two hours”.
WThe continuing violence raises further questions about President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s control over the military, which helped bring him to power 14 months ago, our correspondent adds.
President Mnangagwa has promised that abuses against civilians will not be tolerated.
What has been alleged?
In a blunt statement, the commission said at least eight deaths had been reported since last week, “mostly attributed to use of live ammunition”.
“Armed and uniformed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police instigated systematic torture.”
It said the torture was “organised” in that security forces targeted men close to where barricades had been erected, and near areas torched by protesters or looted.
The commission detailed reports of security forces entering houses at night and making men, and even boys as young as 11, lie on the ground where they were then beaten.
“The deployment of the army in quelling civilian disturbances leads to loss of life and serious bodily injuries and other human rights violations, yet the government continues to make such deployments,” the statement said.
Other reports say at least 12 people have been killed and scores treated for gunshot injuries.
What is President Mnangagwa doing?
On Monday Mr Mnangagwa, 76, broke off a trip to Europe to deal with the continuing unrest.
He had been due to attend the Davos economic summit where he was expected to seek investment for Zimbabwe.
Back in Harare, he took to Twitter to urge all sides to work together to fix a broken economy.
President of Zimbabwe
✔
@edmnangagwa
Replying to @edmnangagwa
I invite leaders of all political parties as well as religious and civil leaders to set aside our differences and come together. What unites us is stronger than what could ever divide us. Let’s begin a national dialogue. Let’s put the economy first. Let’s put the people first 4/4
In a series of tweets, he said violence or misconduct by security forces was “unacceptable and a betrayal of the new Zimbabwe”, adding: “If required, heads will roll.”
How did the protests start?
Mr Mnangagwa announced a steep increase in the fuel price earlier this month.
The price rises were meant to tackle fuel shortages, but mean that Zimbabwe now has the most expensive fuel in the world, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
Many Zimbabweans, worn down by years of economic hardship, have suddenly found they cannot even afford the bus fare to work.
This led to angry protests in Harare and the south-western city of Bulawayo.
Ellen Ngwenia, a pre-school teacher in Epworth, told the BBC: “I’m not afraid to protest, because we are hungry.”
Her mother, the school’s headteacher, was killed in last week’s protests after being hit by an army truck.
Ms Ngwenia, who blames the government for her mother’s death, said “we will continue protesting until things [are] settled.”
Who does the government blame for the violence?
It accuses the opposition MDC party of using the protests for political means.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba said on Sunday: “The MDC leadership has been consistently pushing out the message that they will use violent street action to overturn the results of [last year’s] ballot.”
The opposition rejected a court ruling in August 2018 that confirmed President Mnangagwa had defeated MDC leader Nelson Chamisa
What has the opposition said?
The MDC said on Tuesday that five of its MPs had been detained and refused bail.
Party official Morgen Komichi dismissed Mr Mnangagwa’s announcement of an investigation into security forces, saying: “We don’t trust his word. We don’t regard him as an honest leader.”
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the umbrella group that called the protests, says its leader, Japhet Moyo, has also been arrested.
Mr Chamisa told the BBC there was “no justification whatsoever of having soldiers with live ammunition, with guns, machine guns, AK47 on the streets, beating up citizens”.
“People are being approached in their homes, they are being taken out of their homes with their families even if they are sleeping… a lot of people have been arrested for no apparent reason,” he said.
BBC World Service
UMD Statement : On the National Dialogue call by President Mnangangwa
The United Movement Devolution (UMD) welcomes the clarion call by the President of the Republic for a National Dialogue comprising of key stakeholders, to address the national crisis. Dialogue is an internationally recognised phenomenon used to resolve political disputes and disturbances of all shapes and forms. While ageed that national dialogue is inevitable, however, l remain skeptical about the sincerity of President Mnangangwa and his party.
The on going ZANU PF internal political discord and the anti-dialogue tone in their camp support, claims of my skepticism and insincerity on this national dialogue hullabaloo. What further complicate the entire process, is the fact that the Government and ZANU PF are on denial mode and never acknowledged that people have genuine concerns.
We acknowledge that the application of dialogue in many instances have resolved conflicts, ended wars and created political and economic agreements. In essence dialogue could be used as a tool to resolve Zimbabwe’s man-made political and economic national crises. However , it is critical at this juncture to interrogate the nature, form and objectives of the so-called national dialogue. Further, it must be remembered that ZANU PF has a history of dishonesty and can never be trusted at face value. Therefore, stakeholders are warned to proceed with caution as ZANU PF has a history of negotiating in bad faith as evident during Unity Accord of 1987 and GNU of 2009 whose terms of agreement in both instances favoured them.
Firstly, we need to interrogate and appreciate the history of the past national dialogues undertaken and the consequences thereof. Secondly, we need to insist on the transparency and clarity on the methodology from the incumbent government and facilitators of the proposed dialogue. Thirdly, stakeholders must, from the outset put key reform agenda items on the dialogue platform.
Top on the agenda should be the alignment of the 2013 new constitution of Zimbabwe and the subsequent implementation of the provisions of the constitution such as Devolution. The national dialogue should endeavour to address the ever declining political and economic situation in the country which has brought hardships and misery to ordinary citizens. It is prudent to note that the current economic policies pursued by the ZANU PF Regime are a threat to national security, stability and progress currently enjoyed by ordinary Zimbabweans.
The reckless and catastrophic leadership policy decisions are mostly anti-people and designed to further enrich the rich and the corporate world. For instance, the recent announcement by the Presidency on the increase of the fuel pump price shows that the Mnangangwa Regime doesn’t care about the welfare of the masses of this country.
Accordingly, a short term economic recovery strategy must be quickly adopted and implemented in order to cushion the working class, unemployed and general masses. The role of the security forces in maintaining peace, in particular, the militarisation of our government institutions need to be curtailed. In other words, the military forces must be ordered to return to the military barracks and let the Republic police do their constitutional mandate, to police the streets.
Also, the national dialogue must urgently tackle the issues of electoral reforms, good governance, legitimancy, corruption, human rights, rule of law and respect for property rights. If the national dialogue is to succeed, the principle of equality and geographical balance of stakeholders must be embraced. The national dialogue must guard against focusing on political parties’ interests, personalities and power contestation as that will seriously undermine the agenda of the dialogue. At all times, people must come first, therefore the resolution of their problems must occupy a central place in the proposed national dialogue.
AMANDLA EBANTWINI!
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
Hon Lovemore Moyo
UMD President
January 2019: Mukuru announced today that they are one of the first money transfer companies in South Africa to allow customers to use WhatsApp to initiate transactions. As a leading money transfer service in Southern Africa, Mukuru strives to be the most convenient, safe and reliable option for financially underserved customers living away from home to help them support their families and realise their dreams. The WhatsApp Business API integration adds immensely to the world class service Mukuru provides to customers.
“We have integrated with the WhatsApp Business API to allow our customers to both create money transfer orders as well as managing their account details” says Oliver O’Brien, Head of Strategy and Business Development at Mukuru. He added, “It has taken a few months, and being one of the first to market, the overall process of integration has been relatively smooth sailing.”
One of the many benefits is that the technology can work anywhere. Mukuru customers can be in any country in which the company operates and still interact with Mukuru via WhatsApp. The service is multilingual and has been translated into French, Shona, Ndebele, Chewa, Sesotho, and Portuguese. Customers can easily request to chat with an agent in their home language.
Mukuru prides itself in ensuring the safety of their customer transactions. WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption applies to all interactions, which means that even WhatsApp cannot see the contents of a user’s messages to Mukuru.
“The introduction of WhatsApp will not replace our existing methods of sending money, rather this is a new and innovative use of existing technology that helps to replace inefficiencies of the old (SMS/USSD).”said O’Brien.
Adding to Mukuru’s long list of industry firsts, the addition of the WhatsApp Business Solution simply allows the company to provide an even more convenient, safe and reliable service to their customers.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s acting chief elections officer, Utoile Silaigwana, yesterday admitted that the electoral body did not invite chief election agents of political parties to verify last year’s July 30 election results as required by the law.
Silaigwana made the admission while testifying in the trial of MDC vice-chairperson Tendai Biti, who is facing charges of violating the Electoral Act by prematurely announcing the presidential results.
Biti’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa had asked the Zec boss if he invited the elections agents of various political parties when final results were announced.
“We did not invite the chief elections agents of various political parties when we formally announced the third and final results, which are now on our website. We only invited them when we announced the initial figure of 50,80%. On the next figure of 50,67% we also invited them to verify, but they were nowhere to be found,” Silaigwana said while testifying before Harare magistrate Gloria Takundwa.
He also admitted to releasing wrong results on two consecutive occasions, saying it was because of the country’s poor telecommunications network.
He struggled to explain why they announced three different figures of 50,59%, 50,67% and 50,80% for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory.
“I put it to you that Zec disowned what it posted outside polling stations, coming up with three different results. You are not producing this information and you are hiding it because it will not contradict the accused person,” Mtetwa said.
She further asked Silaigwana if he would dispute that Biti announced the results based on the collated figures from the polling stations around the country and that MDC leader Nelson Chamisa was ahead with 75%.
Silaigwana said he could not dispute the assertion, but insisted that the presidential election results announced by Biti were incorrect and unofficial.
The Zec boss later became hostile and threatened to stop responding to some of Mtetwa’s questions, claiming it was now turning into an election petition, but Takundwa insisted that he answers to all questions put to him.
Silaigwana then told the court that he never investigated Biti’s claim that Chamisa won by 75% as at July 31 because it was unnecessary.
“It was not necessary to disprove his utterances because we were still collating the results from across the country,” Silaigwana said.
Tafadzwanashe Mpariwa and Jonathan Murombedzi appeared for the State.
NewsDay
THREE Bulawayo men who were part of a gang of hooligans that looted and burnt shops during last week’s violent protests, were yesterday sentenced to a combined seven years in jail.
Liberty Moyo (28), Clarence Mudavanhu (34) and Witness Ndlovu (42) appeared separately before Bulawayo regional magistrates Mr Trynos Utawashe and Mr Chrispen Mberewere facing public violence and theft charges.
Moyo and Mudavanhu were convicted of public violence and theft by Mr Utawashe while Ndlovu was convicted of theft by Mr Mberewere.
Moyo and Mudavanhu were sentenced to an effective two years in jail each after one year from their sentences was suspended for five years on condition that they do not within that period commit similar offences.
Ndlovu was sentenced to 12 months of which six months were conditionally suspended for five years.
Moyo and Mudavanhu were part of a mob that engaged in running battles with anti-riot police during violent protests.
They also broke into a shop in Nketa 6 suburb and looted goods.
Ndlovu was among a group of protesters who invaded TM Pick n Pay Supermarket in Cowdray Park and looted groceries.
In passing the sentence, Mr Utawashe condemned the actions of the accused persons, saying Zimbabwe is a peaceful country. He said those involved in violence and lawlessness should be incarcerated.
“The accused persons engaged in acts of violence and they deserve a custodial sentence. Zimbabwe is a peaceful country where violence should not be condoned. Lawlessness will not be tolerated. It is therefore the duty of courts to ensure that peace and tranquility prevail in the country through sending perpetrators of violence to jail,” ruled the magistrate.
Prosecutors said on January 15 at around midday, Moyo and Mudavanhu were part of a mob which went to China Shop in Nketa 6 suburb where they engaged in violent skirmishes with police who were trying to maintain law and order during the violent protests.
After outnumbering law enforcements agents, the accused persons broke into China Shop.
They stole an assortment of grocery items. They proceeded to a pharmacy in the same suburb and broke into the premises and stole drugs.
On the same day, Ndlovu who was also among a group of looters went to Cowdray Park TM Pick n Pay and stole groceries.
“During the violent demonstration the mob destroyed the entrance to the shops and gained entry before looting groceries,” said prosecutors.
The accused persons were arrested on January 20 after police received a tip off from members of the public leading to the recovery of some of the stolen items.
They were found with all the stolen groceries at their places of residence.
Police quizzed the accused persons and they failed to account for the groceries.
Meanwhile, 12 suspects who were part of a group that allegedly went to the Tshabalala house of Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial women’s league chairperson Eva Bitu and burnt three cars and destroyed the precast wall and broke windows, appeared in court yesterday.
Esther Mbewe (53), Fortune Masuku (29), Melusi Moyo (32), Josphat Ngulube (34), Marshal Mpofu (37), Lavenda Moyo (66), Thabisani Ngwenya (32), Otilia Sibanda (34) Angeline Mwemba (41), Minenhle Mahlangu (28), Mwale Chifufu (34) and Duduzile Amisi (39) appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Franklin Mkhwananzi facing public violence charges.
They were remanded in custody to January 28.
State Media
FUGITIVE politician Professor Jonathan Moyo, who was slapped with a $5 million defamation suit by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, has a case to answer and must face civil trial, the High Court has ruled.
Chiwenga is suing over a press statement issued by Prof Moyo in July 2017, insinuating that he did not earn his doctorate degree with the University of KwaZulu Natal, but instead, someone authored the thesis on his behalf in fulfilment of the programme.
Prof Moyo’s bid to avoid trial failed yesterday after Justice Thompson Mabhikwa threw out his application for exception with costs.
In the application, Prof Moyo had argued that Chiwenga’s summons and declaration were vague and embarrassing.
Justice Mabhikwa ruled that the claim was reasonable, clear and unambiguous.
He said Prof Moyo must defend himself in a civil trial.
“It is this court’s finding that anyone reading these documents (defendants’ papers included), cannot claim to be disillusioned as to what damages are claimed,” ruled Justice Mabhikwa.
“The claim is for defamation damages clearly as opposed to adultery damages, damages for loss of earnings or any other damages. The exception is dismissed with costs of suit. Defendant to file his plea within 10 days of receipt of this order.”
Wilson Manase and Mr Wellington Pasipanodya of Manase & Manase Legal Practitioners are representing Chiwenga while Chris Mhike of Artherstone & Cook is defending Prof Moyo.
Prof Moyo issued the statement on July 9, 2017 and it was published on various media platforms, portraying the VP as a dishonesty person who cheated to get the PhD qualification.
Part of the press statement deemed to be defamatory read: “Finally, I’m happy that Chiwenga wants pre and post-independence disclosures about who was who, who did what and so forth. That’s good. Meanwhile, I take that to mean he wants the disclosure of who contributed what to his doctorate and who really wrote his KZN PhD. Again, the Shona wisdom that kunyarara kurinani pane kutaura, (keeping quiet is better than talking) applies. #Handeitione.”
Chiwenga argues that the statement was highly defamatory of him and he is entitled to the damages.
The lawyers argued that the words were wrongful and that Prof Moyo only sought to soil his good name.
“The words in the context of the article are wrongful and defamatory per se of the plaintiff in that they were intended and understood by readers to mean that the plaintiff lacks integrity, is dishonesty, deceitful, and fraudulent in that he never made a contribution towards his post-graduate doctorate studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and that another person wrote the thesis as a fulfilment to his doctoral studies,” reads the plaintiff’s declaration.
Chiwenga contends that the same words can be taken to mean that he plagiarised and violated the research methods at the university, which is an act of misconduct.
“Apart from the defamatory statement was an intention to convey an innuendo that the plaintiff is in fact, dishonesty, deceitful and given the fraudulent behaviour, that his academic post-graduate Doctorate in Philosophy qualification from the University of KwaZulu-Natal is an academic fraud,” reads the declaration.
Chiwenga, who was the military boss, is a decorated liberation war hero held in high esteem locally and regionally, suffered severe damage to his reputation and moral standing, the lawyers argued.
To that end, the VP is claiming the $5 million plus interest. He is also seeking an order for costs on a punitive scale against Prof Moyo.
Prof Moyo’s press statement appeared in various publications like daily and weekly newspapers and other media platforms that are widely read world over.
The contents of the statement were quoted and published in The Herald, Chronicle, newzimbabwe.com, ZimEye.com and various social media platforms.
State Media
Paul Nyathi|PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa swore in undeserving Kumbirai Hodzi as the country’s substantive Prosecutor General at State House on Wednesday.
Hodzi, has been Acting PG since July 24 last year.
Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony, Hodzi said he was geared to escalate the fight against corruption through improving the quality of the dockets and prosecution.
Hodzi said quality investigations and prosecution of cases was key to ensure conviction of all those who are guilty of graft.
“We want to improve the quality of investigations, dockets and the prosecution of matters to ensure that the guilty are sent to jail,” said Hodzi.
He said his office had received corruption complaints against some magistrates and prosecutors.
“After what happened recently at Harare Magistrates Court, we received a number of complaints against magistrates and prosecutors. Investigations are already underway,” he said.
Hodzi vowed to unearth all the corruption cartels in the justice system which include lawyers, judicial officers and prosecutors.
Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi attended the ceremony.
Hodzi replaced Advocate Ray Goba, who resigned mid last year.
Prior to July 24, 2018, Hodzi was Deputy Attorney-General in charge of the Legal Advice Section since 2012.
The race for the substantive PG’s post had 10 candidates who were publicly interviewed in November last year.
Hodzi came seventh in the interviews and was not in the original list of names forwarded to the Presidium for appointment.
The other candidates were: Mrs Noria Mashumba, Mrs Florence Ziyambi, Ms Jessie Majome, Mrs Wendy Chingeya, Justice Maphios Cheda, Mr Misheck Hogwe,
Mr Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, Mr Edmund Marondedza and Mr Tichaona Mantsebo.
By Patrick Guramatunhu|”I invite leaders of all political parties as well as religious and civil leaders to set aside our differences and come together,” said President Mnangagwa via his Twitter account.
“What unites us is stronger than what could ever divide us. Let’s begin a national dialogue. Let’s put the economy first. Let’s put the people.”
The country’s economic and political crisis stems from the refusal by Zanu PF to accept that it has failed and allow the ordinary people to have a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
If we are going to be united then we must be united by truth, justice and common sense. We should be one in pledging our commitment to the freedoms and rights of all our citizen as stated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights notably the right to life and the right to a meaningful say in the governance of one’s country.
Article 21 of the UN Declaration states.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Zimbabwe is divided today and brother is harassing, beating and even killing fellow brothers and sisters for no other reason other than that the Zanu PF ruling elite will not accept the fundament reality that every Zimbabwean has a right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
Zanu PF has routinely rigged elections for the last 38 years with the political and economic consequences we see all round the country today, the total economic ruins and a nation cowing under a brutal dictatorship. The cup is full to overflow.
Mr Mnangagwa you and your Zanu PF junta have no mandate to govern Zimbabwe because you rigged last July’s elections. You are illegitimate!
It is not for you to call for national dialogue, it is for you to listen to the nation’s demand that you step down. “What unites us is stronger than what could ever divide us!” Your insatiable greed for power and wealth is what has divided this nation for the last 38 years. You have held this nation to ransom and this must now end!
Zanu PF must step down now before the regime drags the nation any deeper into this hell-on-earth Zanu PF landed us into!
What has divided this nation is Zanu PF’s insatiable greed for power and wealth and it cannot be allowed to continue to divide us hence the demand for the regime to step down without further ado.
Supreme Court judge Justice Francis Bere is under investigation over allegations of conflict of interest in a ruling he made in the more than $2 million consultancy dispute between Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Meikles Limited and Widefree Investments.
Widefree is linked to industrialist Mr Joseph Kanyekanye, a long standing client of Bere Brothers, a law firm founded by the judge.
Chief Justice Luke Malaba ordered investigations into alleged violation of judicial ethical conduct by Justice Bere after Meikles executive chairman Mr John Moxon filed a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that Justice Bere was conflicted in giving a ruling against Meikles under Case Number SC 503/18.
Chief Justice Malaba chairs the JSC.
Meikles, which entered into a consultancy agreement with Widefree Investments trading as Core Solutions in December 2013, lost the case both at the High Court and Supreme Court.
The obligation of the agreement was that Core Solutions would assist Meikles in recovering funds it was owed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Chief Justice Malaba acknowledged receipt of the complaint against Justice Bere, saying it raised issues relating to ethical conduct of the imputed judge and ordered investigations into his conduct.
“We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 20, 2018 addressed to Honourable Chief Justice, which has been referred to the Chief Justice for response,” read the letter dated September 28 2018 and signed by Ms Anita Tshuma, the registrar of the Constitutional and Supreme Court.
“The Chief Justice has requested us to inform you that your complaint raises issues relating to the ethical conduct of the judicial officer concerned, which will need to be investigated by the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.
“You will be advised of the outcome of the investigations once they have been completed.”
In a letter he wrote to Chief Justice Malaba in September last year, Mr Moxon said he had information of Mr Kanyekanye’s links with Justice Bere.
“Information, however, has come to my attention that gives rise to the suspicion that conditions under which our Supreme Court case was heard do not meet the very high standards of impartiality and integrity that are associated with that court,” he said.
He said information in the public domain showed that in 2013 when Kanyekanye appeared at Mutare magistrates’ courts on criminal charges he was represented by Bere Brothers.
Mr Moxon disclosed that Bere Brothers were advising Mr Kanyekanye’s Core Solutions in a dispute that the company had with the Government over payment of funds to their client, a South African-based company.
“This information is of serious concern to us at Meikles as it raises the question of impartiality of our courts in the Core Solutions matter,” he said.
“It is my understanding that judges when faced with matters where conflict of interest might be inferred such as the one cited are obliged to recuse themselves. In this instance, Justice Bere did not do so.”
Mr Moxon said he did not seek to cast aspersions against a judge of the Supreme Court, but in his view the relationship between Justice Bere and Bere Brothers was one that would have made it imperative for him not to be involved in a matter where Core Solutions was a party.
State Media
