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LAW and order police officers yesterday pounced on Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ Central Region chairperson, Kudakwashe Munengiwa, and arrested him at his Gweru City Council office over last week’s demonstration against the imposition of a 2% per dollar tax imposed by government.

Munengiwa’s arrest brings to four the number of ZCTU leaders who have been arrested following the protest held in the city on October 12.

Gweru district ZCTU chairperson Moses Gwaunza was arrested at midnight after the protests, while district secretary Bernard Sibanda and central region officer Charles Chikozho were picked from their workplaces the following day.

They were, however, released without charge after prosecutors at the Gweru Magistrates’ Courts declined to prosecute them on the basis that the police case against them was weak.

“I can confirm that our regional chairperson, Munengiwa, has been arrested by police over the demonstration that we held last week. He was taken from his workplace at Town House. We regret the development because the same officers failed to find a strong case for the other three leaders of the union on the same case, but now they arrest another person. We went to see our chairman in detention and now we are organising lawyers to defend him,” ZCTU central region secretary Rabbecca Butau said.

She took a swipe at President Emmerson Mnangagwa, saying his administration was acting contrary to promises he made ahead of the July 30 elections.

“President Mnangagwa promised that he will uphold the constitutional provisions to the best of his ability when he took oath of office. But now, citizens, who are exercising their constitutional right to demonstrate, are being frustrated and arrested. President Mnangagwa also said he will have a listening government and provide servant leadership, but that is not what is happening. We urge the government to uphold citizens’ rights,” she said.

Munengiwa told Southern Eye that he wanted the police to take him to court.

“I am at the Law and Order section. I have been arrested over the peaceful demonstration that we held against the illegal 2% tax introduced by the regime. I am urging the police to take me to court immediately so that my innocence is quickly proven,” he said.

Midlands provincial acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende, however, said she was unaware of the arrest.

“I do not have facts on that matter. If I get them, I will, however, not be able to comment. I will just forward them to the national spokesperson (Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba) and then you can get a comment from her,” she said.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has insisted it executed its mandate satisfactorily in the July 30 elections despite criticism from mainly international observers who said the poll failed to meet international standards.

The EU Observer Mission (EUOM) raised a red flag over numerous issues regarding the conduct of elections, among them the independence of Zec and the fact that the results were not verifiable or traceable.

In an interview, Zec acting chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana blamed social media for creating ‘falsehoods’ against the commission.

“The European Union like any other observer group is entitled to its own views. Save for certain unsubstantiated allegations by the observer group, Zec believes that there are lessons to be learnt from any election,” Silaigwana said.

“The major lesson learnt is that political egos can affect the smooth administration of electoral processes. Further, as an electoral management body, we learnt that social media is a tool which can be used to distort reality by repeating misleading and untrue statements so many times that they take on the veneer of truth. The truth is that we conducted our elections in accordance with our laws. We met regional standards and were duly acknowledged to have done so.”

Silaigwana said the commission exercised full autonomy in the conduct of the elections as provided by the electoral laws and that from the preliminary reports received so far, the majority of observers gave credit to Zec for the manner in which it conducted the elections.

In its report, the EUOM raised a number of issues against the electoral mother body.

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” reads the report.

EUOM said the election management body became embroiled in a number of contentious issues, including the layout of the presidential ballot, modalities for printing and distributing ballots, poor procedures for confirming ballot security between printing and election day and the conduct of postal voting.

MDC-Alliance principal and Harare East legislator Mr Tendai Biti and former Zanu-PF youth leader Mr Jim Kunaka reportedly incited youths that attacked the Zanu-PF Harare Provincial Headquarters during post-election violence in Harare on August 1.

MDC-Alliance Epworth legislator Mr Ethrage Kureva is alleged to have paid the youths to take part in the demonstration and “grab the presidency” for Mr Nelson Chamisa.

Ms Stella Matsengarwodzi, a Zanu-PF Harare Province employee, implicated Messrs Biti and Kunaka while giving her testimony in the ongoing public hearings by the Commission of Inquiry into the political violence that rocked Harare after the July 30 harmonised elections.

Ms Matsengarwodzi said on the day the violence occurred, she saw, together with fellow workers at the provincial headquarters, a group of MDC-Alliance youths being addressed by Messrs Biti and Kunaka at a service station opposite their party offices.

“I saw Mr Tendai Biti and Jim Kunaka addressing the youths at the Engen Service Station that is situated just across from where our offices are.

“Just when they finished, the rowdy youths then charged towards our offices and started throwing stones shattering windowpanes at our offices in the process,” she said.

Ms Matsengarwodzi added that several cars belonging to the party and its employees were destroyed and begged the commission to visit their offices to ascertain the damage that was caused by the MDC-Alliance youths.

“The youths were armed with iron bars and machetes and destroyed property, including burning cars that were at the offices.

“The commission should come and see for itself what happened to our offices,” Ms Matsengarwodzi added.

Chairperson of the commission and former South African President Mr Kgalema Motlanthe said they would arrange to visit the Zanu-PF provincial headquarters to ascertain what transpired on the day.

“Thank you for the testimony. I will arrange for the commission to do an inspection in loco,” he said.

MDC Alliance member Mr Peter Makani alleged that Mr Kureva is of a violent disposition and had paid the youths to take part in the violent demonstration.

“The Epworth MP paid the youths $2 and instructed them to go and grab the presidency for Mr Chamisa,” he said.
“I know he (Mr Kureva) owns a gun and is generally a violent person.”

Another witness, Mr Adrian Munjere who is a cellphone vendor in the capital’s CBD said he saw the MDC-Alliance youths marching in town passing through Angwa Street close to where he sells his wares.

“The first group passed through were we sell our wares (formerly Ximex Mall) singing their party songs and I identified them because of the songs they were singing and their party regalia which was emblazoned with the face of their leader Mr Nelson Chamisa.

“We then sought refuge in the main Post Office but later got out because the owners of the premises were closing shop for the day,” he said.

Mr Munjere said MDC-Alliance youths then went to their party headquarters at Harvest House before returning after about 20 minutes.

He added that the crowd had grown in number while a Zimbabwe National Army vehicle with soldiers aboard had also arrived in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

“It was at that time that we were packing our wares that we heard gun shots and people started running in panic.

“I joined the crowd in fleeing from the directions the gun fire was coming from and realised later that I had been shot in the arm,” Mr Munjere said.

He has since been operated twice on the arm that was hit by a bullet.

The Commission was sworn in last month and is expected to produce its report next month.

The hearings continue today.

-State Media

The ongoing power outages that have ravaged Harare since Tuesday interrupted a Cabinet meeting, NewsDay has learnt.

Energy minister Joram Gumbo told NewsDay yesterday that he was aware of the prevailing power blackouts that have affected Harare residents.

“Zesa has made an announcement that there is a fault that happened. Even when we were in Cabinet, we experienced a power cut and we had to use a generator. You can get more information from the managers because these are operational issues. We have been experiencing these outages at home for the past two days,” Gumbo said.

In a statement yesterday, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said power cuts were due to a rainfall-induced technical fault that occurred on the bulk power supply line (132kV) from Dema to Coleford, consequently affecting the northern suburbs.

“During this rainy season, there is a high prevalence rate of electrical faults and in the interest of safety and efficient service delivery, the power utility advises consumers to always contact their nearest customer service centre for rectification of faults and should not interfere with electricity networks,” ZEDTC said.

The technical fault, according to ZEDTC, affected consumers in Greendale, Mandara, Chisipite, Highlands Park, Umwinsdale, Glenlorne, Chishawasha Hills, The Grange, Borrowdale, Gunhill, Hogerty Hill, Philadelphia, Hatcliffe, Mt Pleasant, Tafara Mabvuku, Epworth,Zimre Park, Ruwa, Mandlay Park, Letombo Park, Eastlea, Hillside and surrounding areas.

NewsDay, however, understands that apart from northern suburbs, western suburbs, such as Highfield, were also affected by the power outages.

ZESA Holdings spokesperson Fullard Gwasira said other parts of Harare were affected by power failure due to the short-circuiting of cable joints.

“We also have underground network, so if it rains, the water channels through the cable joints and this creates a short circuit. The heat that occurs during the year makes these joints deteriorate and when the rains come, they (joints) fail. Unfortunately, we cannot detect the deterioration early as the cable is underground,” he said.

The outages are happening at a time Munyati, Bulawayo and Harare power stations are not generating power, whereas Kariba Power Station gives out 774 megawatts (MW) and Hwange Power Station 376MW as of this Tuesday, according to the Zimbabwe Power Company.

Government in March commissioned two new power-generating units at Kariba South Power Station, which added 300MW to the national grid.

Zimbabwe imports 350MW a month from South Africa’s Eskom and 50MW from Mozambique.

The prevailing outages have invoked yesteryear’s sad memories of prolonged blackouts, where most suburbs were going for close to 24 hours without electricity, forcing residents to resort to alternative energy sources such as solar, liquified petroleum gas, wood and generators.

-Newsday

Government has decided to go it alone and dualise the Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Highway while talks with Chinese Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group Limited (Afecc) for the $2 billion tender continue, Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza said yesterday.

Matiza told NewsDay that government’s decision had been inspired by the need to not only keep jobs locally, but also the money.

“Cabinet decided that the Department of Roads immediately commences work on the road rehabilitation, while negotiations with a private partner continue. There is already $150 million raised through an Old Mutual bond that will help us kick-start works,” he said.

“Government has also decided that local construction companies with the requisite expertise will be engaged as sub-contractors. This decision means as a country struggling with foreign currency issues, we will keep the money in Zimbabwe as well as the jobs.”

Government, Matiza added, is also working at raising more funds for the road as well as others.

“We are already in the process of raising more money for the dualisation of this road and the rehabilitation of others,” the Transport minister said.

Initial estimates claimed the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway would cost a staggering $2 billion if a private partner was engaged, but this figure would come done to around $1,4 billion when the works are undertaken by government.

Afecc was stopped from mining diamonds in Manicaland by then President Robert Mugabe’s government in 2016 to allow for the consolidation of diamond operations in the area.

Afecc was jointly extracting diamonds in Chiadzwa with the military through fellow Chinese company Anjin Investments.
Matiza, however, said negotiations for a partnership with Afecc would continue until an agreement is reached.

“As regards Afecc, we will continue talking to them. As and when we reach an agreement, it means the scope of works would have been reduced. On the other hand, government is cognisant of the fact that this is a national project that our people want government to deliver,” he said.

“The rainy season is upon us and this road that has claimed so many lives is in a deplorable state. We cannot continue dithering. We cannot remain stuck in talks, while nothing happens on the ground. We must start work and start immediately.”

Reports in the past have claimed Afecc had already been awarded the tender following President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s visit to China during which he held talks with his counterpart, Xi Jinping.

The tender was initially awarded to Austrian firm Geiger International and its Chinese partner China Harbour Engineering Company (Chec) Ltd.

However, Geiger failed to raise the requiered money and the tender was cancelled amid reports the company had strong links with Mugabe and his family as well as a coterie of Cabinet ministers who had lined up to benefit from the deal.

-Newsday

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has outlawed section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act (Posa), which prohibits demonstrations without clearance from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), saying the piece of legislation is open to abuse by State machinery.

Justice Rita Makarau handed down the judgment yesterday in concurrence with the full ConCourt bench.

Civic groups and opposition parties have been calling for the repeal of the draconian law, alleging it was being used unfairly to thwart freedom of assembly as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Repealing of the section followed an application by the Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment (Dare), National Vendors’ Union of Zimbabwe (Navuz) chairperson Stendrick Zvorwadza, Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA) and National Election Reform Agenda (Nera) in May this year.

Section 27 of Posa stipulates that: “Temporary prohibition of holding public demonstrations within particular police districts can be made if a regulating authority for any area believes on reasonable grounds that there might be public disorder”.

But Justice Makarau said a despotic regulating authority could lawfully invoke these powers without end.

“In addition to failing to pass the test on fairness, necessity and reasonableness, there is another feature of section 27 of Posa that I find disturbing. It has no time frame or limitation as to the number of times the regulating authority can invoke the powers granted to him or her under the section,” Justice Makarau said.

“Thus, a despotic regulating authority could lawfully invoke these powers without end. This could be achieved by publishing notices prohibiting demonstrations back-to-back as long as each time the period of the ban is for one month or less. It, thus, has the potential of negating or nullifying the rights not only completely, but perpetually.

“On the basis of the foregoing, it is my finding that section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act (Chapter 11:17) is unconstitutional.”

However, Justice Makarau said section 175(6)(b) permits a court declaring a law to be inconsistent with the Constitution to suspend the declaration of invalidity to allow the competent authority to correct the defect.

“It is just and equitable in my view that the second and third respondents (Police Commissioner-General and Home Affairs minister) be allowed time to attend to the defects in section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act if they are so inclined,” she said.

“The question referred to this court by the Supreme Court is answered as follows: ‘Section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act is unconstitutional. The declaration of constitutional invalidity of section 27 of the Public Order and Security Act is suspended for six months from the date of this judgment. The matter is referred to the Supreme Court for the determination of the appeal. Each party shall bear its own costs.”

High Court judge Justice Priscilla Chigumba two years ago delivered a judgment saying the Judiciary authority is independent and must be allowed to operate without fear, favour, prejudice or interference as they operate in a democratic society.

She made the remarks as she delivered judgment in favour of Dare, Nera, Zvorwadza and CHRA, while issuing an order temporarily lifting the demonstration ban for seven days and ordering the police to follow the proper procedures required in coming up with a statutory instrument in order to enforce any ban.

Justice Chigumba’s remarks were made when the civic organisations approached the court seeking an order to suspend the operation of Statutory Instrument 101A of 2016, after Chief Superintendent Newbert Saunyama, in his capacity as the Officer Commanding Harare Central District, issued the order “purportedly” under Posa banning protests for two weeks.

Justice Chigumba then said the police’s conduct in the matter was not impartial and fair since the Posa procedure and requirements were not followed, adding the protestors’ rights were violated.

-Newsday

Paul Nyathi|While President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s commission of inquiry is only just beginning its mandate of finding out how the army ended up in the streets shooting at civilians, ZANU PF Umzingwane legislator Levi Mayihlome (Zanu PF) has vowed that he will unleash the army into on going small scale mining wars.

The retired brigadier-general, who also chairs the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and Defence, told mourners at the funeral of one of the victims on Tuesday that only the army’s intervention could deal with the violence involving gold panners.

“I have brought up this issue in Parliament, and I will focus on this ward until there is change. I will ensure that we bring the army to bring sanity to this area,” he said.

“We will not accept such lawlessness. Young men (gold panners) who come here to work, if you cannot live in peace with us, go back where you are coming from.”

Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele, however told Southern Eye that the alleged killings and violence were “being exaggerated” although a week hardly passes without reports of murder involving artisanal miners in Kwekwe, Kadoma, Esigodini and Gwanda.

“Some of these murder or violence will not be involving gold panners. There is now a trend where all cases of violence and murder, even at bottle stores, are blamed on gold panners, which will not be the case,” Ndebele said.

“It has been blown out of proportion, but I can assure you that the situation is under control and the police are doing everything possible to assure the people of their security.”

Esigodini residents who attended the burial of the one of the victims, Nkosizwile Ndlela, called on the authorities to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) have also been urged to investigate why reported cases gold panners’ wars were rampant in Matabeleland.

Bulawayo-based human rights activist Khumbulani Maphosa in a letter to the ZHRC and NPRC pleaded with the two organs to investigate why the killings and violence involving gold panners were rampant in Matabeleland.

“Section 44 of the constitution mandates that the State, every person, including juristic persons and every institution and agency of government at every level must respect, protest, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms of the people,” Maphosa said in a letter dated October 12.

“My concern is that State agencies have been failing to protect the Matabeleland artisanal miners from loss of life, violence and targeted discriminatory killings.”

FORMER House of Assembly member and MDC-T president Thokozani Khupe is suing Parliament for damages following her expulsion from the House after she was recalled by the Nelson Chamisa led MDC party in April this year.

Through her lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, Khupe told the full Constitutional (ConCourt) bench headed by Chief Justice Luke Malaba that the Chamisa-led MDC party violated its own constitution by recalling her, and as such Parliament ought not to have expelled her in the manner it did.

Madhuku made the submissions while responding to Justice Malaba’s question which sought to establish whether or not Khupe’s application before the court had not been overtaken by events of the July 2018 harmonised elections or if it was a moot case.

Khupe was recalled by the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC-T in April this year, after she lost a three-way power struggle that also involved another party deputy president, Elias Mudzuri, following the death of founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, in February this year.

The MDC-T’s national council appointed Chamisa acting party president and a disaffected Khupe branched off with her supporters to form her own MDC-T party.

Madhuku submitted that the application was not a moot case, but wanted the ConCourt to make a determination, given that his client was prejudiced of her benefits when she was “unceremoniously” expelled, adding she was mulling suing for damages.

“This is not a moot case, because if it is established that she was unconstitutionally expelled, she will be entitled to her benefits…she lost her benefits in terms of salary and allowances. She can sue for damages against the second respondent (Parliament) if it is established that she was not constitutionally removed,” Madhuku said.

But Madhuku’s submissions were challenged by Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who is representing the House of Assembly and its Speaker Jacob Mudenda. Mpofu urged the court to dismiss the application on the basis that there was no dispute to be resolved by the court.

“There is no dispute to be resolved in this matter and as such the court cannot deal with it. If the first applicant (Khupe) claims she unlawfully lost her seat in Parliament, she can bring her claim for damages to the High Court and not to seek pronouncement of this court. As far as the first and second respondent (Speaker of Parliament) is concerned, there is no dispute between the parties,” Mpofu said.

After all the parties presented their arguments, Justice Malaba, in concurrence with all the other judges, reserved judgment in the matter.

Khupe, who was an MDC-T Proportional Representation Member of Parliament, was expelled from the august house after Chamisa wrote to Mudenda that she no longer represented the opposition party’s interests.

NewsDay

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube has said resettled farmers will no longer get farm implements from government for free.

This comes after the dramatic failure of the Farm Mechanisation Scheme implemented by the government in 2007 targeted at the country’s newly-resettled farmers who were then helped with farm implements on a rent-to-buy basis.

The programme was riddled with corruption and the more than US$200 million pumped into the four-phase programme, did not produce any results.

A significant number of the senior political elites gave themselves irrigation equipment, brand new tractors, combine harvesters and other farming implements.

The loans were not returned and the MPs voted that they be written off.

Ncube said in his Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) that government does not wish to continue supporting farmers, saying there is now need for farmers to graduate from practices where the greater part of their requirements is provided for by the State.

“Movement towards a market-based supply and demand driven approach would be more efficient and sustainable, and also reducing the greater burden of reliance on the fiscus,” he said.

-Daily News

Two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) employees were yesterday sentenced to 36 months imprisonment each by a Harare magistrate after they were convicted of undercharging goods belonging to the wife of Energy minister Joram Gumbo, Eristinah, at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Tendai Hombiro and Moses Nyango, who pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal abuse of office, appeared before magistrate Hosea Mujaya.

However, Hombiro and Nyango will serve 27 months effective jail time after the magistrate suspended nine months on condition of good behaviour.

The duo denied the offence, saying Eristinah was trying to use her husband’s influence in government to get them convicted.

The court heard that on May 16 this year, Eristinah presented her declaration of duty form to Hombiro and Nyango, who were stationed at RGM International Airport national handling services, and they undercharged her duty by $1 447, as she was made to pay $489 instead of $1 936.

After noting that her duty was undercharged, Eristinah raised alarm to Gumbo, who then informed the Zimra management and ordered them to resolve the matter.

A second examination was carried out on the consignment and it was discovered that the duo had undercharged duty.

It was also discovered that on the same day, the duo met Loice Chakanyuka, who presented her airway bill and declaration form for her goods to be cleared.

The duo carried out physical examination on the consignment, which was coming from China under the name of Tapiwa.

An assessment of duty was made and a duty of $489 was made to be paid on receipt.

The goods, which included pants and headphones, were said to be weighing 80kg with a total value of $300.

The court heard that Hombiro and Nyango, who are public officers, intentionally omitted to weigh the consignment as per Zimra norm and the goods were re-examined and they found out that they were weighing 92kg.

Nancy Chandakaona appeared for the State.

NewsDay

Sport in general, and particularly gifted sports people, have been known to rouse feelings of national unity. In the process, they instil a sense of patriotism and pride in their countries. Good examples include George Weah, the soccer legend from Liberia now the president of his country and Imran Khan, the cricketing star from Pakistan, now its prime minister. Notable sports figures have managed, to some extent, to unify their troubled nations. In the process they have shown how powerful a force sport can be.

This salient observation has not escaped Zimbabwe’s newly elected president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. In a bid to restore and paper over the badly damaged relations between the governing Zanu-PF party and the country’s white community both inside and outside Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa has appointed the former swimming sensation, Kirsty Coventry as Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation.

The 35-year-old is a seven time Olympic medallist. She is the only African to break the 1:00 min barrier in the womens 100m backstroke. She also has the highest number of individual Olympic medals of all female swimmers in history.

But Coventry’s appointment is not where Mnangagwa ended. He also reached out to the flamboyant footballer, Bruce Grobbelaar, the former goalkeeper for the Zimbabwean national football team as well as British football club Liverpool whose nickname is “Jungleman”. In an interview he described Mnangagwa’s call which started with the president saying: “Hello, Jungleman, how are you?”

By wooing Coventry and Grobbelaar, Mnangagwa is clearly hoping to achieve a number of outcomes. The first is that he is hoping to repair the damaged relations between Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe’s white community. As a long shot, he might also be hoping that this will help normalise relations with the West which could, in turn, unblock much needed foreign direct investment.

Working with the hugely popular Coventry and equally liked Grobbelaar could also lure the young urban electorate back to Zanu-PF. They left the party in droves for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) when it was launched in 1999.

The history
When Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980 the country’s population stood at just over 7 million people. The white population was around 230 000. This began to decline steadily white Zimbabweans began to emigrate to countries such as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The exodus increased significantly after 2000, when the Zanu-PF government began embarking on violent land grabs that resulted in Zimbabwe’s economy going into meltdown.

The last census in 2012, put the number of white Zimbabweans at 28 000. This community has been very active and is still, to a limited extent, influential, in sectors such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing. Whites have also traditionally been active in sports such as cricket, rugby and swimming.

Zanu-PF’s fractured relationship with the white community dates back to Robert Mugabe’s rule. He presided over the breakdown in relations when he began implementing a violent land reform programme which ended up benefiting Zanu-PF members and chiefs.

But relations hadn’t always been bad between the party and white Zimbabweans. At the advent of independence, Mugabe famously pleaded with the white community:

And in 1980 Mugabe retained white Zimbabweans such as Ken Flower. Flower had been in charge of Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith’s intelligence services which had been accused of masterminding the assassination of some of Zimbabwe’s leading nationalists such as Herbert Chitepo and Jason Ziyapapa Moyo.

Mugabe also appointed white ministers such as Dennis Norman(agriculture) and advocate Chris Andersen (mines) to his first cabinet.

But this rosy relationship turned sour in 1999 when the white community rejected a draft national constitution that included a clause on redistributing the country’s most fertile land – the bulk of which was in the hands of around 4 000 White farmers – without compensation.

This set the scene for violent land seizures. This, in turn, resulted in sanctions being imposed on Zimbabwe by a number of Western nations. These only served to harden Mugabe’s resolve towards the white farmers. In a presidential election rally in 2002, he thundered:

Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man, our real enemy.

In the intervening years Zimbabwe’s political and economic landscapes have continued to deteriorate as the country became a pariah state and a basket case. This was largely because of the punishing ramifications of the sanctions and the corruption and ineptitude of the Mugabe regime.

Zimbabwe’s economic crisis reached its peak in 2008 when hyperinflation reached a stupendous 231 million percent, officially, even though leading inflation experts such as Steve Hanke estimate that the country’s inflation rate far exceeded the official figure.

Picking up the pieces
For his part, Mnangagwa has always cultivated good relations with white Zimbabweans. This goes back to the 1980s when he had cordial working relationships with people like Flower who were in intelligence.

In later years, Mnangagwa has been linked to a number of white business people in some of his business ventures.

In mending the relations with the white community by roping in Coventry and Grobbelaar, Mnangagwa might just have pulled off a masterstroke. He must be hoping it will eventually help extricate Zimbabwe from its economic quagmire.

The Conversation

Most pharmacies in and around the city have increased prices for medicines and they are not accepting any form of payment apart from United States dollars.

A survey conducted by state run The Herald revealed that most people who wanted to purchase medicines using medical aid, swipe and EcoCash were being turned away.

Most of the drugs such as Benlyn for flu were costing US$9, 4Cs US$6, Paracetamol US$1 while other drugs are selling for over US$300.

Comtrey antibiotic is now selling for $20, linctopent now costs $7 while the price of Cardura Oral drug, which is used in lowering high blood pressure in patients susceptible to strokes, heart attacks and kidney problems is now $30. The price of its alternative, Exforge, is now $25.

Quetiapine oral tablet, a prescription drug used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression is now costing US$300. Some private hospitals are still accepting medical aid but are “forcing” their patients to “top up” in US dollars.

Customers who spoke to The Herald castigated the increase in the prices of the drugs and the demand for payment in US dollars. “Where are we supposed to get US dollars to purchases drugs? The few pharmacies that are accepting EcoCash or swipe are ripping us off, for instance Benlyn for flu is pegged at 40 bond notes. This is unacceptable,” said one irate customer.

Another customer said she has been taking Phenobarbitone for almost 44 years and it now costs US$9 for a month supply.

“There is a time when I could get this drug for free from the hospital and it is also manufactured here in Zimbabwe. I can’t do without this drug and now it is expensive,” she said.

Phenobarbital, also known as Phenobarbitone or Phenobarb, is a medication recommended by the World Health Organisation for the treatment of certain types of epilepsy in developing countries. In the developed world it is commonly used to treat seizures in young children, while other medications are generally used in older children and adults.

At Corporate 24, a Harare family was made to pay US$20 for a drip because they are not accepting medical aid.
Last week, Government availed nearly US$7 million for the purchase of medicines, a development set to ease drug shortages and price distortions.

Some pharmacies were closed last week and those that remained open resorted to charging in US dollars while some increased their prices by up to 500 percent.

The worst affected were chronic patients whose conditions may worsen if they do not take their medication as prescribed by their medical practitioners.

In a statement, Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe president Mr Portifa Mwendera applauded Government for releasing the money and for investing in Natpharm, which will increase capacity to serve the local market and also export some drugs.

“The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo, has advised the industry that the RBZ has allocated US$6,7 million from a total requirement of US$29 million as of yesterday (October 11),” he said.

“The importers will advise us how much the availed foreign currency can unlock closed supplier accounts and also how much medicines will be availed in due course considering that the amount released so far is still not adequate to return to normalcy.”

Mr Mwendera said the organisation was in continuous engagement with the Health Ministry as more funds were required to restore normalcy in the sector.

“The cause of the current shortage of medicines and price distortions in private pharmacies has been mainly due to the unavailability of foreign currency required to fund importation of raw materials for local production and finished products,” he said.

Mr Mwendera said the society was happy that there was also an allocation to Natpharm to fund public sector supplies and to local manufacturers so that they can also increase capacity to serve the local and export markets.

“Considering the fairly long lead time that exists in the pharmaceutical supply chain, the society will want to urge the public to remain calm during this period which has been characterised by the closure of some pharmacies and price uncertainties,” he said.

Mr Mwendera urged pharmacists to continue trading in a way that is legal and ensures that their business remains viable.

State Media

By Paul Nyathi|The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) whose officials itself have been found involved in corrupt activities has urged members of the public to be wary of a group of criminals who are masquerading as their officers and extorting money from individuals in and around Harare.

The bogus officers, ZACC said were lying to their victims that they have incriminating evidence against them to get them to pay up.

ZACC said it was in the process of identifying some of the culprits. In a statement yesterday, ZACC deputy chairperson Dr Nannette Silukhuni urged members of the public to be wary of these bogus officers.

“What has come to our attention are disturbing reports of people who are masquerading as ZACC officials, purporting to have incriminating evidence against the unsuspecting individuals.

“These fake officers then instruct the client to send money through unscrupulous means in order to erase the files from our books,” she said.

She said it was important for members of the public to know that ZACC investigators carry official identification documents and that they use the official landline (369602/ 8 or 307065/ 7) for communication purposes.

Dr Silukhuni claimed that their investigators do not solicit for bribes.

THE Commission recently suspended four managers for allegedly engaging in corrupt activities at an agency set up to combat graft.

ZACC suspended Sukai Tongogara; General Manager Investigations, Christopher Chisango; General Manager Finance, Administration and Human Resources, Edwin Mubataripi; General Manager, Prevention and Advocacy and Gibson Mangwiro; Chief Accountant/Manager Finance.

The quartet was being linked to corrupt activities involving former ZACC chief executive Ngonidzashe Gumbo who was jailed for two years last year for defrauding the commission of $435 000 in a corrupt deal.

By Paul Nyathi|Former MDC legislature for Harare West Jessie Majome has been shortlisted in a list of eleven prominent lawyers to attend public interviews for the Prosecutor-General’s post.

The former prolific opposition parliamentarian was dismissed from the country’s biggest opposition the MDC when she contested as an independent candidate in the July elections.

The post fell vacant following the suspension and subsequent resignation of Advocate Ray Goba in July.

Critics have questioned Majome’s commitment to the opposition politics by applying for the job which the ruling ZANU PF has previously used to persecute opposition activists.

Other lawyers included on the shortlist is former High Court Judge Maphios Cheda, Acting Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi and Bulawayo lawyer Tavengwa Hara.

In a statement the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said the interviews will be held in public.

“The Judicial Service Commission wishes to advise the public that following invitation to members of the public and to His Excellency, the President, to nominate suitably qualified persons to be appointed to the position of Prosecutor General of Zimbabwe in terms of Section 259 as read with Section 180 (4) of the Constitution the Commission received 11 valid nominations.

“Starting at 9AM on Thursday November 1, 2018 at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, the Commission will conduct interviews in public of the following 11 candidates…,” read the statement.

Other shortlisted candidates are former deputy prosecutor general Mrs Florence Ziyambi, Law Society of Zimbabwe president Misheck Hogwe, lawyers Wendy Mangeya, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, Edmund Edios Marondedza and Calvin Tichaona Mantsebo and Ms Noria Mashumba.

Adv Goba was suspended on allegations of failing to prosecute high-profile cases, travelling abroad without Cabinet authority and use of abusive language, among other charges.

Two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) employees were yesterday sentenced to 36 months imprisonment each by a Harare magistrate after they were convicted of undercharging goods belonging to the wife of Energy minister Joram Gumbo, Eristinah, at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Tendai Hombiro and Moses Nyango, who pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal abuse of office, appeared before magistrate Hosea Mujaya.

However, Hombiro and Nyango will serve 27 months effective jail time after the magistrate suspended nine months on condition of good behaviour.

The duo denied the offence, saying Eristinah was trying to use her husband’s influence in government to get them convicted.

The court heard that on May 16 this year, Eristinah presented her declaration of duty form to Hombiro and Nyango, who were stationed at RGM International Airport national handling services, and they undercharged her duty by $1 447, as she was made to pay $489 instead of $1 936.

After noting that her duty was undercharged, Eristinah raised alarm to Gumbo, who then informed the Zimra management and ordered them to resolve the matter.

A second examination was carried out on the consignment and it was discovered that the duo had undercharged duty.

It was also discovered that on the same day, the duo met Loice Chakanyuka, who presented her airway bill and declaration form for her goods to be cleared.

The duo carried out physical examination on the consignment, which was coming from China under the name of Tapiwa.

An assessment of duty was made and a duty of $489 was made to be paid on receipt.

The goods, which included pants and headphones, were said to be weighing 80kg with a total value of $300.

The court heard that Hombiro and Nyango, who are public officers, intentionally omitted to weigh the consignment as per Zimra norm and the goods were re-examined and they found out that they were weighing 92kg.

The ZANU PF Murehwa North parliamentary candidate, Daniel Garwe, who dumped his wife for a girlfriend, has been slapped with a two month jail term.

He received a suspended two months imprisonment for resisting an order stopping him from stripping two farms in Harare and Mvuma, pending divorce at the higher court.

His estranged wife Ms Miriam Garwe had obtained a court order in June this year, stopping the legislator from taking or in any way disposing of any of the assets held under the family companies and family trust.

But in defiance, Garwe took away part of the matrimonial property, prompting the wife to file contempt of court charges against him.

Justice Silvia Chirawu-Mugomba heard the matter and found Garwe in contempt of court. She said Garwe deserved censure.

She did not hesitate to impose a 60-day imprisonment wholly suspended on condition that he complied with the court order.

“In the event that the respondent fails to comply forthwith with . . . the applicant (Miriam Lilieth) is entitled to lodge a complaint on oath with the registrar of this court, who shall upon receipts of such complaint, issue a warrant of committal against the respondent (Garwe) for him to serve the suspended sentence,” said Justice Chirawu-Mugomba.

At the hearing of the contempt of court charges, Garwe was challenged to prove that he was not in wilful defiance of the court order. The legislator claimed he could not comply with the court order on the grounds that he was busy with elections campaign in his constituency.

He had also requested to be given until August 1 to comply with court judgments. But Justice Chirawu-Mugomba noted that Garwe’s request ignored the fact that the court order required him to comply with the court decision forthwith.

“He has failed to show how the campaigning prevented him from complying with a court order,” she said.

“His attitude seems to be that of a person who seeks to be excused from complying with a court order simply because he was taking part in an election process.

“To allow such conduct would be tantamount to throwing spanners in the rule of law.”

The couple’s marriage is on the rocks, hence an action for divorce is pending in this court.

At the centre of the divorce is the issue of what constitutes assets of the spouses.

During the subsistence of their marriage, the couple conducted family businesses through and held family assets in family companies and family trust namely: Planet Building Contractors (Pvt) Ltd, Hastream Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Macheke Motors (Pvt) Ltd t/a Sebakwe Range Farm; Kudakawashe and Tafadzwa Garwe Family Trust.- additional reporting -state media

State Media – MDC-Alliance principal Tendai Biti’s attempt to have Harare Magistrate Mr Francis Mapfumo’s ruling denying the temporary release of his passport overturned, failed at the High Court yesterday.

Mr Mapfumo dismissed Biti’s application for the release of his passport on September 26 on the basis that he is a flight risk since he was arrested while attempting to flee the country.

High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewera, who dismissed Biti’s latest application, said he was in agreement with Mr Mapfumo’s judgment.

He, however, ruled that Biti will be removed from remand and given his passport back if he is not given a trial date on his next remand hearing.

Biti, through his lawyers — Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, Messrs Alec Muchadehama, Harrison Nkomo, Gift Mtisi and Denford Halimani — made an application for the release of his passport from September 26 to October 23 for him to attend counselling sessions for post-traumatic disorder in South Africa and a conference organised by Pan-African lawyers’ Union in Tunisia.

The State, represented by Mr Michael Reza, opposed the application, stating that there was no need for him to go for treatment in South Africa because he was invited for medical treatment yet he had not indicated that he was not well.

Biti is facing charges of inciting violence and contravening Section 66A (1) of the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13, which prohibits the unofficial or false declaration of election results.

He is alleged to have unlawfully declared opposition party leader Mr Nelson Chamisa as the winner in the presidential elections held on July 30.

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Correspondent|President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and wife Mary on Thursday following their return from South Africa last night.

The Chiwengas were in South Africa for the past two weeks where they were being treated for what Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet George Charamba said was illness and fatigue resulting from the White City bomb blast.

VP Chiwenga and wife landed at Manyame Airbase aboard a private aircraft on Tuesday.

Jane Mlambo| Controversial preacher, Walter Magaya’s spokesman, Oscar Pambuka today appeared on trial for allegedly looting public funds.

The ZBC Head of News and current affairs, Tazzen Mandizvidza today appeared as a state witness against the fellow journalist and television personality.

Mandizvidza told Harare Magistrate, Lazini Ncube that he was not aware of Pambuka’s involvement in a scam that prejudiced ZESA of tens of thousands of dollars.

“Such government diaries come through me and other journalistsbut it has to be proved or given a go ahead in the diary meeting.

“In this case that did not happen and ZBC was not given this diary by the accused persons nor their company, fruitful communications,” said Mandizvidza.

Pambuka was arrested together with former Member of Parliament for Highfield, Psychology Maziwisa.

The two are both owners of Fruitful Communications, a company hired by ZESA to offer public relations consultancy services.

The matter has already landed Former Energy Minister Samuel Undenge in jail after he was convicted of criminal abuse of office when he awarded the tender to Pambuka and Maziwisa.

Tawanda Borererwe represented the two accused persons in place of Mr Jonathan Samukange.

Jane Mlambo| A local anti graft lobby group, Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACTSA) has exposed the alleged involvement of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and other local banks in fueling the parallel foreign currency market, calling on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to decisively deal with those involved in order to end the illegal operations that has plunged the country into an economic crisis.

ACTSA director, Obert Chinhamo urged Mnangagwa to restore order in the financial sector as the situation risks degenerating into civil strife and mayhem.

“Who shall then guard the guard when the name such as RBZ itself is implicated in buying United States dollars from the black market?

“This underscores the urgent need for President Mnangagwa to quickly move in and restore order in the country lest we experience for the second time, the pain equal to what we experienced in 2008,” Chinhamo said.

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Jane Mlambo| ZBC Head of News and current affairs, Tazzen Mandizvidza today appeared as a state witness against fellow journalist and television personality Oscar Pambuka who is on trial for allegedly looting public funds.

Mandizvidza told Harare Magistrate, Lazini Ncube that he was not aware of Pambuka’s involvement in a scam that prejudiced ZESA of tens of thousands of dollars.

“Such government diaries come through me and other journalistsbut it has to be proved or given a go ahead in the diary meeting.

“In this case that did not happen and ZBC was not given this diary by the accused persons nor their company, fruitful communications,” said Mandizvidza.

Pambuka was arrested together with former Member of Parliament for Highfield, Psychology Maziwisa.

The two are both owners of Fruitful Communications, a company hired by ZESA to offer public relations consultancy services.

The matter has already landed Former Energy Minister Samuel Undenge in jail after he was convicted of criminal abuse of office when he awarded the tender to Pambuka and Maziwisa.

Tawanda Borererwe represented the two accused persons in place of Mr Jonathan Samukange.

By Paul Nyathi|Prominent youth activist Wellington Zindove who has been suffering from cancer for a long time is reported to have passed on in Harare on Wednesday afternoon.

Friends close to him revealed to ZimEye.com that the young activists who civil society recently ran a fundraising petition to raise funds for his treatment failed to recover from the cancer.

Zindove, popularly known as Zindi, was one of Zimbabwe’s vibrant youth empowerment advocates of the Youth Forum, was diagnosed with Cancer of The Colon.

His doctors had recommended that he undergoes chemotherapy as a matter of urgency. This process has multiple sessions which in total cost $32 000.

Wellington was an activist since his days at University of Zimbabwe 2000-2004 where he was a member of the Students Representative Council. In 2006 he helped form the Zimbabwe Youth Movement as a platform for activism related to issues affecting youths of Zimbabwe.

He later joined the Youth Forum where he has been a Coordinator. Among some of the projects he led are Peace-Building initiatives, Youth Empowerment initiatives and numerous capacity building programs in Zimbabwe.

Zindove was 39 years and left behind his wife and three children.

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MIDLANDS Provincial Affairs minister Larry Mavhima has expressed disappointment with Kwekwe mayor Angeline Kasipo’s failure to attend meetings to discuss issues affecting residents in the city.

At a meeting with Kwekwe journalists at the weekend, Mavhima urged the Kasipo-led council, which is faced with many challenges, to set aside inter-party conflicts and focus on service delivery.

“We had a meeting with local authorities last week and for some reason, the mayor of Kwekwe decided she had more important business to attend to, so she did not attend. I was not enthused by that because the mayor of Gweru was there and the chairperson of Zvishavane Town Council was also there and these are opposition-led municipalities,” he said.

“Let’s not take our political battles to the extent that they affect the ratepayers. When we call for meetings, we want to address issues that affect residents in our various communities. When we sit together, we are no longer partisan. We are now looking at it as elected officials or as civil servants employed by one government.”

Contacted for comment, Kasipo said she was in a meeting.

In a dispensation where the new government has made a commitment to establish provincial councils as dictated by the 2013 Constitution and the opposition MDC Alliance hoping to become more visible in them, Mavhima said that opposition-led councils should not consider themselves totally sovereign.

“Even as we go into devolution, we are still talking about one government, we are still a unitary State. We are not a federal state, we are a unitary State with one government, one President and one Parliament that disseminates information to provincial levels,” he said.

The opposition MDC Alliance won the majority of the urban councils in the July 30 elections, where the ruling Zanu PF party won an overwhelming majority in both presidential and parliamentary seats.

NewsDay

Correspondent|Former Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Muzarabani South, Edward Raradza has appeared before the court facing charges of theft of trust property worth over $10 milion.

Raradza (71) is jointly charged with Mathew Raradza (46) and Thomas Nherera (68) in a case where they are accused of stealing farming equipment worth millions of dollars from the Zimbabwe Farmers Development Company (ZFDC).

They appeared before Harare Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa and were remanded to October 30 on condition that they each pay $300 bail among other bail conditions.

It is the State’s case that that ZFDC was incorporated under the Companies Act as a limited Company on July 4 in 2005. ZFDC controlled a 55% stake in the company while Farmers World Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd held 45% shares.

The scope of ZFDC was to source agricultural equipment from China and sell to eligible farmers on a credit facility.

The court heard that each farmer was to make a deposit of 10% of the total amount of the equipment.

During the period extending from 2005 to 2010, ZFDC obtained agricultural equipment from China Exim Bank valued at $60 000.

Upon the receipt of the agricultural equipment, the three allegedly connived to steal equipment from ZFDC.

It is alleged that they took mining and agricultural equipment worth $9 741 286,79.

M&T

Correspondent|A 25-year-old man who was arrested after re-tweeting a post from a fake Priscilla Chigumba account has stated his wish to make an application to change his guilty plea.

Shadaya Tawona who is being charged with criminal insult after retweeting a message purportedly belonging to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chair Justice Priscilla Chigumba appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa.

Mugwagwa will on Thursday make a ruling on the application. Shadaya is represented by Zimbabwe Human Rights Lawyer Noble Chinhanu.

During their application they said; “We have noted that when the accused pleaded guilty, it was not put to him whether, the alleged retweet was from the complainant’s real account or a fake account.

“In the event that the retweet was from a legitimate account, then there is no offence to talk of, he would have simply repeated what Chigumba would have said and that is not an offence.

“He is no facing charges of creating the ‘fake’ account and tweeting anything under the guise that he is Chigumba, all he did was simply retweet what had been said and he did not edify the message.”

Prosecutor Francisca Mukumbiri opposed the application indicating that the defense council had not brought any reasonable reasons for changing the plea since Shadaya had allegedly pleaded guilty and had also apologized for the offence before court.

It is the State’s case that sometime in August, an unknown person created an account in the name of Chigumba, the complainant in the case.

In the same month, Shadaya allegedly retweeted an offensive message from the account. His conduct soiled Justice Chigumba’s dignity, it is alleged. Chigumba was allegedly alerted by a friend who came across the message on Twitter. She, however, denied having a twitter account.

Shadaya initially pleaded guilty indicating that he had been drunk when he retweeted the tweet.

M&T

“The soldier who shot my sister acted out of cruelty. My sister was not the type to protest”

"The soldier who shot my sister acted out of cruelty. My sister was not the type to protest" pic.twitter.com/DqcHtOZ1r2

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) October 17, 2018

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Business mogul Frank Buyanga’s property manager, who is on trial for perjury after claiming that he bought a property for $35 000 from his boss, has petitioned the High Court seeking a review of the trial proceedings, accusing the presiding magistrate of attempting to bolster the State’s case by adopting a wrong procedure.

Through his lawyers, Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, Bishop Jeche, who is also facing a charge of money laundering, filed an application for review at the High Court on October 16 and the matter is yet to be set down for hearing.

According to court papers, Jeche’s application came about after regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya allegedly allowed the State to conduct fresh investigations in the middle of the trial by calling new witnesses.

In his founding affidavit, Jeche said Mujaya overruled his objection when he sought to challenge the State’s intention to call three more witnesses despite the latter not having had their statements recorded and availed to him before he submitted his defence outline.

“This fact is even conceded by the first respondent (Mujaya), which directs that the State serves me with the full statements of the three new witnesses. When the defence outline was prepared on my instructions, it was on the basis of what was presented to me before trial. I gave my legal practitioners specific instructions relating to how to tackle the evidence of witnesses whose statements had been delivered to me. The discovered evidence did not include the statements of the three new witnesses,” he said.

Jeche further argues that the recording of new witness statements midway through the trial would give rise to collusion between the outstanding witnesses and those that have already been excused by the State, resulting in evidence being compromised to his detriment.

“It is common cause that I have already cross-examined two critical witnesses without the benefit of the new witnesses’ statements. I do not have the authority to recall them, neither am I in a position to amend my defence outline. This would result in an unfair trial as the first respondent had deliberately tilted the trial in favour of the State,” he said.

-Newsday

Correspondent| Police in Senga, Gweru, have arrested a male journalism student at the Midlands StateUniversity after he was caught in possession of a collection of female lingerie he allegedly stole from female students at the campus.

Prince Danda was arrested for theft on Monday while in possession of the panties which he allegedly used to satiate his own sexual desires.

According to a voice audio circulated on social media and allegedly belonging to him, Danda told police at Senga in Gweru that he would often sniff at the underwear to feel the female scent and be sexually aroused.

During those moments, he “admits”, he got the much desired female scent while imagining himself having sexual intercourse with the owners for his own sexual gratification.

Danda is due to appear in court soon and if convicted of the crime, he risks being thrown out of MSU for bringing the name of the top university into disrepute.