Five people from Buhera died recently from the cholera outbreak putting the national death toll at 54, a Cabinet minister has said. The majority of the deceased were mainly from Harare’s Glen View and Budiriro suburbs.

Speaking during a cholera medicine handover ceremony held in Harare on Friday, Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo said there was need to ensure that people were vaccinated to control the spread of cholera.

“We were stagnant at 49 deaths and suddenly five people died in Buhera,” he said.

“This has brought our numbers to a total of 54 deaths in Zimbabwe. I want to encourage everyone to be vaccinated so that we can be able to prevent a new wave of cholera. The vaccination is safe, Members of Parliament and the Senate led by example and the majority were vaccinated against cholera. The first phase of the oral cholera vaccine was launched on October 3, and on the first day we had a coverage of 11 percent and the last day we had a coverage of 74 percent and a total of 147 males and 165 females were vaccinated.”

TWO Gwanda-based police officers, who were accused of fatally assaulting a drunken prison officer for refusing to be taken to a police holding cell for detention have been acquitted by the High Court.

Tinofara Moyo (38) and Admire Matsveru (34) both stationed at Gwanda Police Station appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva facing murder charges in connection with the death of Johannes Moyo (33), a prison officer who was also stationed in Gwanda.

Justice Takuva acquitted the two cops following an application for discharge at the close of the State case by their lawyer Mr Simbarashe Chivaura of Mashayamombe and Company Attorneys.

The State, which was represented by Mrs Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda, conceded.

The judge ruled that there was no evidence linking the two cops to the murder after the only key State witness, Lovemore Tsvaki, backtracked from his warned and cautioned statement.

Tsvaki turned hostile against the State while testifying in court.

“It is trite at law that the State could not rely on the evidence of its witness who has been declared hostile. It’s unfortunate because the State failed to lead any other evidence and as courts our duty is to ensure that justice is done,” said Justice Takuva.

He said there was no evidence upon which the accused persons could be convicted. “Our hands are tied because no essential physical elements were established. Accordingly, both accused persons are found not guilty of murder and acquitted,” ruled the judge.

Tsvaki in his evidence said he was forced to sign his warned and cautioned statement by detectives amid threats.

He told the court that the post mortem report was falsified, arguing that the initial document showed that Johannes died as a result of injuries sustained following an accident.

Tsvaki, who is also a police officer, said the accused persons did not assault the deceased at any given time.

Prosecuting, Ms Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda said on January 9 in 2010 at about 10PM, Johannes was picked up by police after he was found lying on the side of the road with his bicycle.

He was taken to Gwanda Police Station where he was supposed to be detained overnight for his own safety.

The court heard that the deceased was drunk to an extent that he struggled to either talk or walk and police had to assist him.

After Johannes was booked for overnight detention, he was handed over to Tinofara and Matsveru who escorted him to the holding cells.

While being taken to the holding cells, the deceased protested and wrestled with the two police officers.

The two police officers allegedly assaulted Johannes before they tripped him. They allegedly went on to trample on him as he lay helplessly on the floor.

The following morning Johannes started complaining of pain and he was rushed to Gwanda Provincial Hospital where he died on admission due to injuries sustained during the assault.

A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of the two cops.

According to a post mortem report, the cause of death was due to multiple ribs fracture, perforated right lung and hypovolemic shock.

State Media

A 20-YEAR-OLD Gwanda man stoned his elder brother to death for refusing to accompany him to the town’s central business district (CBD.)

Londani Sibanda of Copthal Block in Colleen Bawn area was not asked to plead when he appeared before Gwanda magistrate, Ms Nomagugu Ncube facing allegations of murdering 26-year-old Sandiso Sibanda.

Londani was remanded in custody to October 25.

Prosecuting, Mr Takunda Mafudze said Londani attacked his brother on October 3 and he died five days later while admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital.

“Londani was at home with his brother Sandiso Sibanda on October 3 and he asked him to accompany him to the Gwanda CBD to run some errands.

Sandiso refused and a misunderstanding ensued between them.

“Londani retrieved a stone and struck his brother on the head several times leaving him severely injured before fleeing from the scene. Sandiso was rushed to Mpilo Hospital where he died on 8 October. The matter was reported to the police and Londani was arrested on the following day,” said Mr Mafudze.

State Media

THE trial dates have been set for former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s son, Siqokoqela and his wife, Nomagugu who are facing charges of hijacking Choppies retail business and “looting” more than $80 000 in cash and goods from the outlets countrywide without board approval.

Siqokoqela Mphoko (40) who is a director of Nanavac Investments (Private) Limited, a local partner for the Botswana-registered Choppies Distribution Centre (Proprietary) Limited is facing 170 counts of fraud and theft involving more than $50 000.

Nomagugu (36) is facing 49 counts of extortion after she allegedly ordered supermarket managers to unlawfully dispense over $30 000 cash from their point of sale machines after threatening them with either deportation or dismissal.

The couple, of Hillside suburb, is out of custody on $200 bail each. As part of the bail conditions, the two were ordered not to interfere with State witnesses.

They appeared separately before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Adelaide Mbeure last Friday.

Siqokoqela was remanded to Wednesday for trial with Nomagugu’s trial starting two days later.

Siqokoqela, who is a shareholder in the retail business and a non executive director, is accused of abusing his power to “loot” cash realised from sales at different supermarkets and replacing it with transfers.

Prosecuting, Mr Nkathazo Dlodlo said between July last year and June this year, Siqokoqela proceeded to various Choppies supermarkets where he allegedly demanded varying amounts of cash, goods and services for various purposes from the employees without approval from the board.

“The accused person deceived the employees into believing that he was the one at the helm of Choppies Zimbabwe and had authority to demand or collect anything he wanted from the business. He also told the employees that he had the authority to collect goods on a credit facility, which was a misrepresentation,” said Mr Dlodlo.

The court heard that on different occasions, Siqokoqela collected cash, groceries and an assortment of building material and ordered personnel from the finance department not to deduct the money from his salary.

“There were occasions when he also misrepresented that he intended to replace the money through swiping from Point of Sale (POS) machines,” said Mr Dlodlo.

In papers before the court, Siqokoqela by virtue of being a non-executive director was entitled to a monthly gross salary of $10 000, company vehicle, fuel, telephone allowance and 3,53 percent of profit after tax as dividend at the end of each year.

Although he was not supposed to be directly involved in the day to day operations of the company, Siqokoqela allegedly masqueraded as the owner of the company in Zimbabwe and even threatened to either dismiss or deport employees of Indian origin for defying his orders.

The matter came to light in May 2018 when the Botswana based Choppies group chief executive officer, Mr Ottapathu Ramachandran discovered that there were a series of financial imbalances while going through the company management accounting books.

It was discovered that the company was prejudiced of $51 945,53. The matter was reported to the police and investigations were conducted leading to Siqokoqela’s arrest and nothing was recovered.

Nomagugu allegedly bulldozed various Choppies outlets in Bulawayo and demanded cash. She allegedly ordered 15 Choppies Supermarket managers in Bulawayo to unlawfully dispense more than $30 000 cash from their POS machines.

The court heard that between June 13 and 29 this year, Nomagugu went to the complainants, some of whom are Indians, and demanded cash during which she also threatened to either get them fired or deported if they refused to comply.

The court heard that as a result of the threats, the complainants acceded to the accused person’s demands.

“The accused person derived the advantage of easily accessing cash which is hard to come by, their conduct resulted in loss for Nanavac Investments in that being a retail business, the company’s outlets rely heavily on cash to pay critical suppliers, including arranging for foreign payments with local banks,” said Mr Dlodlo.

She would then swipe the equivalent of the money she received using different bank cards. The cash unlawfully collected by Nomagugu from the 15 shops amounts to $30 230. The money was looted on different occasions from Choppies shops in Bulawayo’s city central business district, Luveve, Pumula East, Entumbane, Bellevue, Nkulumane and Lobengula suburbs.

The Mphokos are being represented by Professor Welshman Ncube of Mathonsi Law Chambers.

By Jane Mlambo| ZimEye brings our valued viewers and readers LIVE updates of the planned National Shutdown to push government to address the economic meltdown currently gripping the country as well as the newly gazetted 2% tax on all mobile money transactions.

REFRESH THIS PAGE FOR THE LIVE COVERAGE.

State Media Report|Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is recovering well at a South African hospital where he is receiving thorough medical attention on the effects of the Bulawayo bombing incident in June, Government said on Sunday.

The bombing incident affected VP Chiwenga and his wife Mary, alongside Vice President Kembo Mohadi and several Government officials and security personnel.

Since the incident happened at the height of the July 30 harmonised elections campaign, VP Chiwenga could not receive thorough medical attention as he soldiered on to complete the campaign process.

Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, who is also the Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, said that VP Chiwenga was in good health and expected back in the country sometime this week.

He said President Mnangagwa had been communicating with Chiwenga and his wife on a daily basis from the time he flew out of the country last week.

Remarks by Charamba come in the wake of speculative reports on social media that VP Chiwenga’s health had deteriorated and that he was in bad shape.

“Alongside VP Mohadi, Mai (Oppah) Muchinguri-Kashiri, General Engelbert Rugeje, Mabel Chinomona and scores of other security personnel, General Chiwenga and his family were affected by the White City bombing incident,” he said.

“It happened in the middle of elections so it was not possible for him to go for a thorough medical examination. After the elections, we had pressure of forming a new Government and again he couldn’t go out for that examination.

“His wife, as you may be aware, went for medical treatment alongside other officials. A decision was then taken that now that elections are behind us, and also that the new Government has been constituted, the General should now go for a thorough medical examination.

“So he flew out last Tuesday alongside his wife who was also due for a review in South Africa where they then went for medical checks. And in the case of the wife, it was a review. Apart from the White City Stadium injury, the General was injured towards ceasefire in the Chiduku area in Hwedza and for a long time he had a bullet lodged in his lung.

“There is that historical problem he already had over and above what happened at White City Stadium. That then made it urgent for him to then get that thorough medical attention I am talking about.”

Charamba continued: “Happily, the review has been done both for the General and his wife. The President has been constantly talking to the couple on a daily basis.

“Equally, I also spoke to them this morning (yesterday) and besides they went with Dr John Mangwiro who is the Health and Child Care Deputy Minister just to ensure that there is a Government medical official in attendance. Both General Chiwenga and Amai Chiwenga are in good health.

“They have been cleared except for some little problems that were detected and have since been treated.

“The VP is very well and when I chatted with him he ended up barking orders to me in respect of Kanyemba projects and in respect of Bulawayo Kraal project in Binga.

“I said to him vakuru chimboteereraika muviri and he said no, no Charamba. He also told me of the plans he has because he was telling me that by harvest time this coming season we should never have any difficulties with cooking oil.

“So, uppermost on his mind are projects which are meant to revamp our irrigation infrastructure. Barring the unforeseen, we expect the couple back into the country sometime this week.”

State Media

In a case of comparison between fraudster Wicknell Chivayo (cleared after stealing over $5 mln) and the Mphoko family, the trial dates have been set for former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s son, Siqokoqela and his wife, Nomagugu who are facing charges of hijacking Choppies retail business and “looting” more than $80 000 in cash and goods from the outlets countrywide without board approval.

In Chivayo’s case, the latter obtained a straight payment of over $5 million, also without approval and without a bank guarantee; the money meant to develop electricity in Matebeleland South, which he squandered on cars, shoes and expensive foreign trips.

Siqokoqela Mphoko (40) who is a director of Nanavac Investments (Private) Limited, a local partner for the Botswana-registered Choppies Distribution Centre (Proprietary) Limited is facing 170 counts of fraud and theft involving more than $50 000.

Nomagugu (36) is facing 49 counts of extortion after she allegedly ordered supermarket managers to unlawfully dispense over $30 000 cash from their point of sale machines after threatening them with either deportation or dismissal.

The couple, of Hillside suburb, is out of custody on $200 bail each. As part of the bail conditions, the two were ordered not to interfere with State witnesses.

They appeared separately before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Adelaide Mbeure last Friday.
Siqokoqela was remanded to Wednesday for trial with Nomagugu’s trial starting two days later.
Siqokoqela, who is a shareholder in the retail business and a non executive director, is accused of abusing his power to “loot” cash realised from sales at different supermarkets and replacing it with transfers.

Prosecuting, Mr Nkathazo Dlodlo said between July last year and June this year, Siqokoqela proceeded to various Choppies supermarkets where he allegedly demanded varying amounts of cash, goods and services for various purposes from the employees without approval from the board.

“The accused person deceived the employees into believing that he was the one at the helm of Choppies Zimbabwe and had authority to demand or collect anything he wanted from the business. He also told the employees that he had the authority to collect goods on a credit facility, which was a misrepresentation,” said Mr Dlodlo.

The court heard that on different occasions, Siqokoqela collected cash, groceries and an assortment of building material and ordered personnel from the finance department not to deduct the money from his salary.

“There were occasions when he also misrepresented that he intended to replace the money through swiping from Point of Sale (POS) machines,” said Mr Dlodlo.

In papers before the court, Siqokoqela by virtue of being a non-executive director was entitled to a monthly gross salary of $10 000, company vehicle, fuel, telephone allowance and 3,53 percent of profit after tax as dividend at the end of each year.

Although he was not supposed to be directly involved in the day to day operations of the company, Siqokoqela allegedly masqueraded as the owner of the company in Zimbabwe and even threatened to either dismiss or deport employees of Indian origin for defying his orders.

The matter came to light in May 2018 when the Botswana based Choppies group chief executive officer, Mr Ottapathu Ramachandran discovered that there were a series of financial imbalances while going through the company management accounting books.

It was discovered that the company was prejudiced of $51 945,53. The matter was reported to the police and investigations were conducted leading to Siqokoqela’s arrest and nothing was recovered.

Nomagugu allegedly bulldozed various Choppies outlets in Bulawayo and demanded cash. She allegedly ordered 15 Choppies Supermarket managers in Bulawayo to unlawfully dispense more than $30 000 cash from their POS machines.

The court heard that between June 13 and 29 this year, Nomagugu went to the complainants, some of whom are Indians, and demanded cash during which she also threatened to either get them fired or deported if they refused to comply.

The court heard that as a result of the threats, the complainants acceded to the accused person’s demands.

“The accused person derived the advantage of easily accessing cash which is hard to come by, their conduct resulted in loss for Nanavac Investments in that being a retail business, the company’s outlets rely heavily on cash to pay critical suppliers, including arranging for foreign payments with local banks,” said Mr Dlodlo.

She would then swipe the equivalent of the money she received using different bank cards. The cash unlawfully collected by Nomagugu from the 15 shops amounts to $30 230. The money was looted on different occasions from Choppies shops in Bulawayo’s city central business district, Luveve, Pumula East, Entumbane, Bellevue, Nkulumane and Lobengula suburbs.

The Mphokos are being represented by Professor Welshman Ncube of Mathonsi Law Chambers. -additional reporting state media

ZANU PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa has assured the nation that no one will lose their money in banks as Government continues to work flat out to protect consumers through defending wage values and securing their savings.

In the first instalment of his new weekly column in our sister paper, The Sunday Mail, Mnangagwa said Government is in the process of putting mechanisms in place to protect earnings and savings both in local and foreign currency, including $9 billion in real-time gross settlement (RTGS) deposits.

“Government continues to work flat out to protect consumers, defend wage values and secure savings. This includes the $9 billion in RTGS deposits in our banks. We are already putting in place legally enforceable measures to protect such earnings and savings, whether in local or foreign currency. No one will lose their money,” he said in the column published yesterday.

Mnangagwa urged the nation to embrace the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), saying there were pains to be borne and sacrifices to be made before things start looking up for the ordinary man in the street.

TSP, which was recently presented by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, is a sound fiscal adjustment policy aimed at enhancing the country’s economic growth and development.

“We must all gird for belt-tightening measures, leaders and ordinary citizens alike. No one is immune to the sacrifices that are necessary to stabilise the economy. Those of us in leadership across all sectors of our economy must show the way through even bigger sacrifices,” he said.
Lately, Mnangagwa, said, Government has announced a raft of monetary and fiscal measures which the markets are digesting daily for business decisions.

He said the Second Republic is committed to addressing the issue of instability in prices.
“This process has triggered initial dis-equilibria in the economy, which have shown by way of instability in prices. I am fully conscious of this and remain committed to ensure that we stabilise things in the shortest possible time. Equally, I am aware that information must continue to flow to the citizenry so that there is an appreciation of the direction we are taking, the course we must walk and the sacrifices to be made, and for how long,” he said.

Mnangagwa reiterated that there was no need for people to panic in light of the prevailing economic situation.

“Temporary pressures must not blind us to the major gains we have made and continue to make on the economic front. Let us keep our focus on things that matter and on what needs to be urgently done. Our Vision 2030 expresses our aspiration to upper middle-income status with a per capita income of US$3 500. The economy whose growth rate this year has been revised upwards from 4,5 percent to 6 percent confirms that the aspiration is achievable and our Transitional Stabilisation Programme, which is already underway, seeks to do just that,” he said.

Mnangagwa is also targeting illegal currency trading and related illicit financial activities through new measures that would be employed.

It is also understood that Mnangagwa last week summoned his security cluster and discussed the matter, paving way for the imminent arrests of high-profile figures suspected of masterminding black market activities.

Last week there was a sudden spike in black market currency trading that saw the bond note trading as low as 1:6 to the US dollar at some point, resulting in a sharp increase in prices of basic commodities at retail outlets and panic buying of fuel prompting long queues at service stations.

However, the parallel market rates have since plunged after Government guaranteed the 1:1 convertibility value of RTGS balances to the United States dollar as well as availability of the greenback for Nostro foreign currency accounts.

Mnangagwa is leading an aggressive realignment of the country’s economy through introducing far-reaching reforms and re-engaging the international community.
Mnangagwa has on many occasions emphasised that economic revival and growth are at the centre of his Government’s agenda. -state media

Terrence Mawawa|The MDC Alliance has expressed dismay at the appointment of Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa to the National Building Society Board.

Below is the MDC Alliance statement: The MDC is irked by the decision to appoint Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa to the National
Building Society Board.

Just like any other form of corruption, nepotism has no place in a democratic society. We have made
the point of a total failure to break from the past by the regime.

In previous arrangements, we witnessed appointments of President Mugabe’s kins and folk
to influential positions including the appointment of both Bona Mugabe and her husband to state institutions.

The MDC in the SMART document argues that combating corruption and parastatal reform are part of reshaping the state institutions in an endevour to create a modern functional state.

We are of the view that the NBS must be concentrating on a radical housing program specifically for Development and Urbanisation of
Rural Areas (DURA).

Appointing a Mnangagwa to the board will not help this cause. As a NSSA-owned bank, a clear appointment procedure must be used and appointments must be made public.

In our SMART document we suggest public interviews for appointments of this level.We also restate that NSSA reform is imperative to ensure the commercial section brings back profits to the core business of paying out pensions, we find this kind of corruption to be an impediment.
More importantly institutions meant to combat corruption must investigate these kinds of decisions.

The Judiciary, National Prosecuting Authority, Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Anti-Corruption Commission must be strengthened and their
independence guaranteed in line with reforms outlined in President Chamisa’s five point plan.
MDC: Change that Delivers! Jacob MafumeMDC National .

New Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza is ringing changes at the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), going against advice he got from his predecessor Joram Gumbo who is now heading the Energy ministry.

While Gumbo had defended the Zinara board led by Wilfred Ramwi, which stands accused of refusing to act on a litany of allegations contained in an audit report by Grant Thornton, Matiza went on to fire the board regardless.

Gumbo had also argued that far from concealing the alleged rot at Zinara, the period covered by the audit was before the appointment of the Ramwi-led board.

Matiza’s deputy, Fortune Chasi, who was tasked by the Transport minister to clean up the mess at Zinara told the Daily News that while Gumbo was entitled to his opinion, his boss had the final say on issues under his portfolio.

“It is not true that the audit only focused on the previous board led by Albert Mugabe because its mandate was not limited to that so it was realised in the report  that the new board members had their own issues,” Chasi said.

Asked if the two ministers had a proper hand-over, take-over, Chasi said while that was done, Matiza still has the right to use his discretionary powers.

“That (hand-over and take-over) does not mean that the minister is no longer independent to see things his own way and take necessary decisions that we feel will make us achieve the vision of the president to ensure efficiency in these parastatals as well as good  corporate governance,” Chasi said.

Gumbo stands accused of trying to protect a certain clique of executives at Zinara from being suspended while persecuting its chief executive officer, Nancy Masiyiwa, whose future at the parastatal hangs in the balance.

The fired board is now under fire for dropping charges against senior management at Zinara who had been suspended by Masiyiwa namely Simon Taranhike, Precious Murove, Peter Boterere and Shadreck Mutengabadza who are accused of sourcing foreign currency on the black market without approval.

The board also allegedly refused to act on the damaging audit report.

-Daily News

Jane Mlambo| Think tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) has called upon government to pay attention to the issues raised by the European Union Observation Mission, insisting that the new administration must “change attitude on electoral reforms.”

The EU Observation team yesterday presented its final report on the 2018 election highlighting a plethora of electoral irregularities which could have been avoided if the government had paid attention to the statements of the local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

Tawanda Chimhini, the ERC executive director, said its high time government changes its behavior on reforms.

“Now that the same things that we as ERC and others have said before have now been repeated by credible election groups who watched the 2018 elections at the invitation of Zimbabwean authorities, it is expected that the new administration’s attitude towards electoral reforms must change,” Chimhini said.

Chimhini bemoaned lack of political will to implement reforms by authorities.
“Sadly attempts to compel election authorities to adopt the necessary changes to improve elections in the past have fallen on deaf ears and have largely been ignored,” the ERC boss said.

The ERC executive director said authorities must walk the talk than just promising.

“The review done on the election by the EU suggests that going forward, it is no longer enough to base re-engagement efforts on mere rhetoric alone. It is no longer enough to just talk without acting,” he said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa had promised the nation and the world that Zimbabwe would have free, fair and credible elections on July 30 a test that he failed.

Chimhini said Zimbabwe must be prepared to move away from the current method of running elections for it to be accepted and appreciated internationally.

“This therefore suggests that re-engagement efforts at the international level must be accompanied by substantive changes in our democratic culture at a domestic level which is exhibited and not just said,” Chimhini said.

Chimhini said any re-engagement efforts that are devoid of addressing the electoral inadequacies which are now obvious to all “will be nothing but hot air”.

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC has resolved to join the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the rest of the suffering citizens in protesting against the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.

The resolution was made during the MDC’s urgent national executive committee meeting that was held at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said yesterday that following the ZCTU action on Thursday that saw the State arresting the labour leaders to stop protests against the new two percent tax, the opposition party felt the need to “stand in solidarity with the people”.

“It was resolved by the national executive that we should show that we are with the people during this tough time, so we must join them in demonstrating against a government that is clearly clueless on how they can extricate the country out of the economic quagmire,” Mafume said.

Several trade union activists including ZCTU president Peter Mutasa and secretary-general Japhet Moyo were arrested for attempting to demonstrate against the proposed two cents per dollar transaction tax.

The tax that was gazetted on Friday comes at a time the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe reintroduced foreign currency accounts throwing the bond note into turmoil, hence sky-rocketing of prices as fears of 2008 when hyperinflation reached 500 billion percent grip the public.

Mafume said his party which will celebrate its 19th anniversary on October 27 cannot afford to fold its arms while the people were suffering.

“People have come to a point where they are saying enough is enough, hence the ZCTU action which we commend and will complement very soon after we meet all the stakeholders to come up with a convenient date.

“We have also been consulting our structures and they have signalled that they have had enough so we will stand with them in solidarity as dictated by the Constitution which provides for the right to demonstrate,” he said.

Mafume also revealed that the party will now go ahead with its anniversary celebrations that they abandoned last month following a government ban on public gatherings in the aftermath of a recent cholera outbreak that claimed several lives.

“We will have our celebrations here in Harare at Gwanzura Stadium because we have realised the police hypocrisy when they banned our event yet at the same time they let Zanu PF go ahead.

“They have allowed church gatherings that attract bigger crowds to go ahead, so we have said they should allow us to also do our activities or we will defy their ban, that is the point we have reached. We have since notified them of our intention to have our anniversary on October 27 but we have not yet received their response,” he said.

Pressed to say if the party will go ahead with its previous plans to inaugurate Chamisa as the people’s president to show their disdain for President Emmerson Mnangagwa whom they view as illegitimate after allegedly rigging his way to power in the July 30 elections, Mafume said that would be discovered on the day.

“We call upon all Zimbabweans to come and join us in our celebrations and get to know what is on the agenda when they come,” he said.

Last month, police proscribed the MDC anniversary celebration for the second time in less than a week claiming the ban on public gatherings occasioned by the cholera outbreak still subsisted.

Curiously, said the MDC, Zanu PF held a number of inter-district meetings across the country the same weekend despite the purported police ban.

Earlier, the police had given the MDC the green light to hold its rally but made a volte-face after realising that it may provide a fertile ground for the spread of the highly-infectious disease.

The main country’s main opposition called off its plans to hold a mock inauguration to name Chamisa as the country’s president.

The MDC Alliance had planned to hold the mock inauguration alongside its anniversary event to highlight its claims that Chamisa — and not Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu PF party — was the rightful winner of the hard-fought presidential election.

This came after Chamisa had filed a petition at the Constitutional Court claiming that he had won the presidential election by 60 percent, while stating mathematical inconsistencies which he said if corrected would have reduced Mnangagwa’s tally to below 50 percent.

Despite the court dismissing his application with costs, Chamisa still insists that the ballot was rigged.

Government had threatened at the time that Chamisa would be arrested if he proceeded to swear himself in as president during the 19th anniversary celebrations.

DailyNews

South Africa is ready to assist Zimbabwe, although the latter is still to approach Pretoria for any assistance.

Lindiwe Sisulu, South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation minister, said the northern neighbour ‘‘cannot go to Zimbabwe and say; ‘here is a bag of whatever and you will have it’ as international relations depend on reciprocity”.

“It’s a country that we regard as a friend and we would like stability there and we would like the economic reforms to succeed there,” she said.

Sisulu made the comments as Zimbabwe grapples with economic challenges.

While the neighbouring governments have in the past opened dialogue and set agreements to regularise a mutual relationship in several aspects, Zimbabwe has not approached Pretoria for assistance to stabilise the economy.

Debate on the adoption of the rand as currency to stabilise the economy dominated Parliament this week.

This was preceded by the revelation by Hatfield parliamentarian, Tapiwa Mashakada on Tuesday that Zimbabweans are currently living in extreme poverty with 79 percent of the population surviving on less than $1,25 a day and a per capita income of less than $500.

A strong recommendation of the adoption of the rand to stabilise the economy has been seen as a more viable way by analysts; hence South Africa’s offer may be a doorway for new economic opportunities if considered.

In a heated debate on the issue, Mashakada said in order to bring some sanity to the financial and liquidity situation there was need for totally scrapping the bond note and strengthening the regime of multiple currencies.

“You need to choose a currency in the basket which is commonly available and in this case I propose that we adopt the rand as our currency,” said Mashakada.

This was seconded by former Finance minister Tendai Biti, who explained that Zimbabwe’s economy is in a serious state of malaise and the rand was a good option in the interim.

-Daily News

New Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza is ringing changes at the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), going against advice he got from his predecessor Joram Gumbo who is now heading the Energy ministry.

While Gumbo had defended the Zinara board led by Wilfred Ramwi, which stands accused of refusing to act on a litany of allegations contained in an audit report by Grant Thornton, Matiza went on to fire the board regardless.

Gumbo had also argued that far from concealing the alleged rot at Zinara, the period covered by the audit was before the appointment of the Ramwi-led board.

Matiza’s deputy, Fortune Chasi, who was tasked by the Transport minister to clean up the mess at Zinara told the Daily News that while Gumbo was entitled to his opinion, his boss had the final say on issues under his portfolio.

“It is not true that the audit only focused on the previous board led by Albert Mugabe because its mandate was not limited to that so it was realised in the report  that the new board members had their own issues,” Chasi said.

Asked if the two ministers had a proper hand-over, take-over, Chasi said while that was done, Matiza still has the right to use his discretionary powers.

“That (hand-over and take-over) does not mean that the minister is no longer independent to see things his own way and take necessary decisions that we feel will make us achieve the vision of the president to ensure efficiency in these parastatals as well as good  corporate governance,” Chasi said.

Gumbo stands accused of trying to protect a certain clique of executives at Zinara from being suspended while persecuting its chief executive officer, Nancy Masiyiwa, whose future at the parastatal hangs in the balance.

The fired board is now under fire for dropping charges against senior management at Zinara who had been suspended by Masiyiwa namely Simon Taranhike, Precious Murove, Peter Boterere and Shadreck Mutengabadza who are accused of sourcing foreign currency on the black market without approval.

The board also allegedly refused to act on the damaging audit report.

-Daily News

Press Statement|The MDC is irked by the decision to appoint Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa on the National Building Society Board.
Just like any other form of corruption, nepotism has no place in a Democratic society. We have made the point of a total failure to break from the past by the regime.

In previous arrangements, we witnessed appointments of President Mugabe’s kins and folk into influential positions including the appointment of both Bona Mugabe and her husband to state institutions.

The MDC in the SMART document argued then, as we do now, that combating corruption and parastatal reform is part of rethinking the state in an endevour to create a modern functional state.

We are of the view that the NBS must be concentrating on a radical housing program specifically for Development and Urbanisation of Rural Areas (DURA).

Appointing a Mnangagwa to the board will not help this cause. As a NSSA-owned bank, a clear appointment criteria must be used and appointments must be made public.

In our SMART document we suggest public interviews for appointments of this level.

We also restate that NSSA reform is imperative to ensure the commercial section brings back profits to the core business of paying out pensions, we find this kind of corruption to be an impediment.

More importantly institutions meant to combat corruption must investigate these kinds of decisions.

The Judiciary, National Prosecuting Authority, Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Anti-Corruption Commission must be strengthened and their independence guaranteed in line with reforms outlined in President Chamisa’s five point plan.

MDC: Change that Delivers!
Jacob Mafume
MDC National Spokesperson

Correspondent|Former vice-president Joice Mujuru insists her National People’s Party (NPP) is not crumbling even after she was deserted by her top lieutenants following a dismal performance during the July 30 harmonised elections.

Mujuru said the party would soldier on despite the mass desertions and “everything is by God’s plan”.

“We are moving. Everything is by God’s plan. It is their democratic right, I am happy for them and wish them very well in their future political life,” she said.

Her new secretary general, Crispen Karanda, said the NPP was here to stay.

“We are going nowhere. we are still alive and very much alive,” said Karanda, who replaced Gift Nyandoro, Mujuru’s long-time aide who left the party soon after the election.

Former Zanu PF politburo member and ex-Energy minister Dzikamai Mavhaire was one of the most high- profile NPP leaders who left and joined the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa recently.

Mujuru contested her first presidential election as an opposition leader after putting together a coalition of fringe parties that constituted the People’s Rainbow Coalition (PRC), but came out severely bruised.

She fared badly in the polls won by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, her former fierce rival in Zanu PF.

Mujuru was fired from government in 2014 after allegations that she was plotting to topple the president Robert Mugabe.

However, the 94-year-old former ruler apologised to his ex-deputy after he was overthrown in a coup last year.

Mugabe said he was misled when he fired Mujuru.

Bulawayo businessman and Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi will donate his monthly salary during his tenure in Government to under-privileged people in Bulawayo.

Modi is the only Zanu-PF candidate who won a parliamentary seat in Bulawayo’s 12 constituencies. He was elected MP for Bulawayo South during the July harmonised elections.

In an interview with with state media Modi said the monthly donation is the least he can do for the people of Bulawayo, whom he credits for his success.

“I am a successful businessman because of the people of Bulawayo. I am a Member of Parliament because of the people of Bulawayo and I was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce because I am a Member of Parliament, so I am a Minister because of the people of Bulawayo. While I can thank them all through words, I am compelled to show my gratitude by helping the under-privileged in our city. Therefore, I am making an undertaking to donate my entire salary every month to the needy. I will not touch or use a cent from that money. It will go to the poor, especially the children whom I love so much. I will also give to women, orphans, the elderly and people living with disabilities.”

The philanthropist said his humble monthly donation is an effort to contribute towards the national cause.

“The Government wants to eradicate poverty. I believe that the effort should start at the household level, at the grassroots, going up. I am in touch with the grassroots, I know what our people want as my lifestyle is not far removed from those of the electorate.

“However, I must hastily add that I am not going to help the people of Bulawayo South only but the people of Bulawayo, the city. I don’t care where you are from; if I have the opportunity to assist you, I will assist you. I know what it feels like to be poor. I have the emotional intelligence and the empathy that enables me to walk in the shoes of the underprivileged.”

Meanwhile, Modi, in partnership with Smile Africa, an NGO that helps the underprivileged, donated 1 260 packets of rice mixed with soya to more than 150 children at Sidojiwe Hostels in Belmont on Saturday.

“I partnered with Smile Africa to source food for the children of Sidojiwe because I believe it is time to work as a cohesive unit and make a coordinated effort to help the people of Bulawayo, instead of separate entities making individual efforts. Sidojiwe is in my constituency and as much as I want to help everyone who needs help, I cannot do it alone. That is why I am working with those who are willing to work with me to bring relief to our people,” he said.

Albert Mavunga, the founder and chairperson of Smile Africa, said they had decided to work with Modi as he is a prominent humanitarian.

“The Deputy Minister has been giving to the poor for over two decades now and he has been doing so from his pocket. Smile Africa saw it necessary to seek him out and to partner him because we believe we can do more together. This donation is just the first of many that we will be doing together,” said Mavunga.

State Media

ZANU PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa will meet Russia’s President Vladmir Putin early next year, as he continues his engagement and re-engagement drive that is calculated to integrate Zimbabwe into the global family of nations and spur growth as part of the vision to create an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

In August this year, his deputy Gen. Constantino Chiwenga was in Moscow as Mnangagwa’s special envoy, to relay a message to the Kremlin.

Writing for state owned Sunday Mail in his inaugural column, Mnangagwa said his charm offensive on the sidelines of this year’s United Nations General Assembly had yielded a “solid stock of goodwill”.

That goodwill, he said, had helped Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube make significant headway on an arrears clearance deal with creditors last week.

“As I write, our delegation led by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, is in Bali, Indonesia, where it is meeting development partners and creditors. This initiative, which is a continuation of our engagement and re-engagement policy, has elicited good responses from IFIs and development partners,” said Mnangagwa.

“The numerous contacts I made on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gave our country a solid stock of goodwill which our delegation in Bali has fully exploited. Key countries which include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, the EU bloc and even the United States of America, have responded favourably to our engagement overtures, and have welcomed our debt-settlement plan for the US$5,6 billion we owe IFIs and the Paris Club, and our Transitional Stabilisation Plan which we will now fully implement.

“The People’s Republic of China continues to support us both bilaterally and internationally, including by way of private sector investments which continue to enhance national capacity.

‘‘Early next year, I am set to meet President Putin in Russia to explore ways to enhance our co-operation,” he said.

Last week, Prof Ncube announced that the IMF and World Bank had endorsed Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance plan and two-year Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP).

The African Development Bank, EU, France, UK, USA, Australia, Netherlands and South Africa also expressed their support.

The TSP will guide the country’s economic thrust through to December 2020.

Zimbabwe arrears currently stand at $5,6 billion, which are spilt into $2,2 billion (multilateral creditors), $2,7 billion (Paris Club) and $700 million (non-Paris Club $700 million).

Prof Ncube told The Sunday Mail last week that next month Government would engage two specific sponsors who are G7 members to secure bridging finance required to clear arrears with multilateral creditors. The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Government will engage the G7 as a bloc and also two specific creditors within G7, as potential sponsors. I have already told the two potential sponsors that I will be approaching them at the end of November,” Prof Ncube said.

In a speech at Chatham House — an international affairs think-tank in London — last Monday, Prof Ncube said the plan was likely to be “adhoc” and “custom-made”.

“In the end the arrears plan for Zimbabwe will be adhoc; it will be custom-made.

‘‘I think it will be similar to the Myanmar one, where Japan was the sponsor, so even for us, we need a sponsor to make this happen, then cajole the rest of the club for debt restructure,” he said.

Myanmar, which was saddled by a debt of $11 billion, met the Paris Club on January 25, 2013 and the latter agreed to cancel half of the arrears in two stages and rescheduled the rest over 15 years, with a seven-year grace period.

Norway cancelled all the $534 million owed to it, while Japan cancelled more than $3 billion.

The Japan Bank for International Co-operation extended $500 million to help clear arrears to the Asian Development Bank.- state media

Government expects the fuel situation to normalise this week after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe increased weekly allocations for imports for the second time this year to over $30 million. This follows a huge increase in demand for fuel, and rising international oil prices.

Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo told the state media yesterday that retailers were taking delivery of bulk fuel bought via a $41 million RBZ facility. Government has also relaxed regulations to allow bulk fuel to be transported at night, and given the National Oil Infrastructure Company the green light to load fuel around the clock.

“We have enough fuel in bond at Masasa and Mabvuku. There is no need to panic, the country will not go dry. The challenge we have is that of rising oil prices on the international market, which is something we have no control over and it is something that caught us unaware.

“You are also aware that the RBZ raised its weekly allocation for fuel from $10 million to $20 million earlier this year as a result of increasing demand and the skyrocketing prices of the commodity on international market,” said Min Gumbo.

“What we have done is that officials from my Ministry have been negotiating with the RBZ to increase the allocation further to between $30 million to $35 million a week.

“During the meeting I had with officials from the oil industry on Friday, we agreed that an allocation of around $30 million to $35 million will meet demand and meet the gap caused by the international prices. We are happy that the RBZ has taken our recommendation and will do so,” he said.

Dr Gumbo said letters of credit from the $41 million drawdown started reflecting on Friday.
“The other challenge is that when the RBZ released the $41 million for fuel imports, this was done through letters of credit and it takes between three and four days for the LCs to start reflecting at the suppliers’ side.

“So by yesterday (Friday), most of the LCs began maturing and deliveries commenced. The situation is now stabilising in spite of the continued panic buying, but as the LCs continue to mature, deliveries will continue as well and within three days we could be back to normal. But as long as people hoard the product, the situation may drag for a few more days.”
Government, he said, did not want to increase fuel prices despite increases on international markets.
Prices are pegged at $1,31 for diesel and $1,41 for petrol.

He added: “We are aware of some companies that are demanding US dollars payment for fuel; that should stop.

“We now have teams from (Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority) and (Zimbabwe Republic Police) who are carrying out impromptu checks to see which service stations are selling only in US dollars.

“The public should report such illegal activities and the law will take its course. It is Government that is providing them with foreign currency for the fuel and it is not the fuel dealers who are sourcing the forex. Mobile money and swiping are legal ways of tendering in Zimbabwe.”

Zanu PF legislator Dexter Nduna on Thursday told a court how he lost R535,000 to Genius Kadungure and Wicknell Chivayo in an elaborate con in 2012.

Nduna said he had been blacklisted by banks after borrowing money to buy mining equipment which he thought he was supplying to Marange Resources in Chiadzwa.

In reality, a court heard, he had fallen victim to a swindle masterminded by the two men, famous for flaunting their wealth online.

“My business was doing well. But now the banks don’t trust me because I could not pay back the loan as planned. They brought me down,” the Chegutu West MP told.

Kadungure and Chivayo are accused of defrauding Nduna and another man, Evon Gatawa, in separate incidents.

They posed as procurement agents of Marange Diamonds, it is alleged. They asked Nduna and Gatawa to supply some mining equipment, but before doing so, they had created fictitious companies registered in South Africa complete with bank accounts, websites and landline numbers.

Nduna and Gatawa, magistrate Morgen Nemadire heard, were then advised that Marange Diamonds’ recommended supplier was the companies the duo had registered.

“The profit margin convinced me,” Nduna said. “The profit was above 50 percent. I had $65,000 which translated to R335,000 on me so I wasn’t worried to use it.

“I thought I was dealing with genuine people because all the communication emails were captioned, ‘Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me’.

“When the parcel was delivered later, I realised I had been duped. It struck me like lightning coming in three dimensions (sic).”

He only reported the fraud two years later, both in Zimbabwe and in South Africa.

He said the ABSA bank account of Always on Pumps had been quickly closed, the website taken down and the phones were no longer going through.

Nduna also told court that after reporting the swindle, Kadungure had called him saying Chivayo was the one who stole his money.

“He (Kadungure) confessed having stolen money from Gatawa, but said he did not take my money.”

On Tuesday, Kadungure admitted in court that he had received R500,000 from Chivayo through a third party, a foreign currency dealer only named as D. Kabwebwe, but insisted he did not know that it was stolen.

Kabwebwe said Kadungure had called her looking for R500,000 in South Africa intending to buy wholesale gas. Kadungure had the equivalent amount in United States dollars in Zimbabwe.

She testified that she knew Chivayo had money in South Africa, and called him to arrange the exchange. Kadungure, she told court, had later called her fuming that she had given him stolen money.

Gatawa, meanwhile, testified that Kadungure had approached him and promised to pay him $50,000 so that he would drop charges, but he had only paid $20,000. Kadungure said he only agreed to pay to make the charges go away.

Kadungure, represented by Jonathan Samukange, is shifting the blame to Chivayo, who is represented by Advocate Lewis Uriri. Chivayo says he is ignorant of the alleged transactions and no evidence has been presented so far linking him to a crime.

-ZimLive

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has expressed concern over continued reports of violent clashes in the artisanal mining sector in Matabeleland South Province amid revelations that some are motivated by tribal undertones.

On Monday the 8th of September, 28 year old Ndodana Ncube of Nyamandlovu was brutally murdered while five others were seriously injured at Vova Mine in Gwanda during violent clashes over gold claims.

While the increase in such incidents is a cause for concern, it is the ethnic dimension of the conflicts that has seen the NPRC descends on Gwanda yesterday to investigate the matter and proffer solutions.

Chairperson of the commission Retired Judge Selo Nare who identified the source of the conflict as based on control of resources between locals and fortunes seekers from other regions, recommended the formalisation of the mining sector.

“The challenge as we here it is the invasion of mining areas by people from as far as Gokwe and Kwekwe who come into areas that have been pegged by locals and start elbowing them out. I believe everyone should benefit from resources in Zimbabwe but we must do it in a polite way and proper way.

“It also worrying that certain remarks were said by arrival group of miners who visited that area which are tribal and very disturbing as especially at a time when we are trying to heal our nation,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance Church Convergence on Peace director Reverend Useni Sibanda concurred on the need to urgently deal with the unresolved issue of land and mining rights in the province adding the policy on devolution power will be the answer to the long standing problem.

“It is important to make local people not feel like other people are coming to take their local resources because I think that is an issue of conflict. But what is also important is formalising the artisanal miners, formalise the process of getting people who are involved in mining to have proper documentation. It also points to the issues of devolution which is central because it will be part of national healing because it’s saying to the people, how do you have access to your own resources,” he said.

The NPRC which also announced plans to launch its strategic plan in the coming week said they will be visiting communities in Matabeleland and Midlands to engage them on pre-post independence conflicts with a view to heal and reconcile the nation.

The meeting was also attended by the Provincial Minister of State for Matabeleland South Province Cde Abednico Ncube, representatives of the Human Rights Commission and members of the Joint Operations Command.

Zbc News online

A GANG of eleven miners have been arrested for killing a man in a mine claim conflict in Vhovha, Gwanda.

The gang, whose members come from Mberengwa, Masvingo, Gokwe and Gwanda, were armed with logs, machetes, axes and stones when they attacked Ndodana Ncube at Mascot Mine on Monday.

Samson Chihombodo (35), Tererai Guri (32), Tinomuvonga Zhou (31), Melusi Dube (29), Tinashe Mutasa (23), Tinashe Muengedzwo (28), Praise Gondwe (25), Joseph Tshuma (31), Learnmore Makonese (24), Comfort Ncube (30) and Prosper Nyoni (25) were not asked to plead when they appeared before Gwanda provincial magistrate, Mr Maphios Ncube, facing murder charges.

They were all remanded in custody to October 24.

Prosecuting, Miss Keneiloe Nare said the gang attacked Ncube on October 8 at around 8AM.

“The accused persons who are all gold panners at Vhovha Mine teamed up and went to Mascot Mine while armed with logs, machetes, axes and stones in search of Ndodana Ncube and his workmates over an outstanding tribal conflict.

“Upon arrival at Mascot Mine, the gang didn’t find anyone as Ncube and his workmates had fled into the bushes. The gang pursued Ncube and his workmates.

“They attacked him with the weapons and he died on the spot. The matter was reported to the police who carried out investigations leading to the arrest of the 11 men,’’ said Miss Nare.

The gang also left several of Ncube’s workmates severely injured during the attack. Two of the victims are admitted to the Gwanda Provincial Hospital, three others were referred to Mpilo Hospital while several others were treated and discharged.

In separate interviews, two victims who are admitted to the Gwanda Provincial Hospital said the altercation was a result of a tribal conflict over who should operate from Vhovha mine.

By Paul Nyathi|Lloyd Boniface Kobekile Moyo who is accused of shooting dead a Harare parking marshal will plead not guilty to murder and raise self defence as the motive behind his shooting of the man.

Moyo, 24, appeared before Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba on Thursday and was remanded in custody to October 26 for bail hearing.

His lawyer Oliver Marwa told journalists outside the courts that they will present overwhelming evidence that Lloyd Moyo acted in self defense after being chased for 200 meters by a group of marauding touts before he even drew his licenced firearm.

The case as presented by prosecutors had stripped the crime of all the political connotations which emerged in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Witnesses who spoke on the sidelines of the shooting incident indicated that the fiasco started after he refused to pay for the parking, saying the rank marshals had no authority from the Harare City Council, and this had quickly turned into a row over some ZANU PF political gear which was spotted on the back seat of his car.

Prosecutors in court said that Kobekile parked his vehicle at the corner of Angwa and Nkwame Nkurumah Avenue before he proceeded to the Deeds Office nearby.

He left his two sisters, Takudzwa Mugabe and Lorraine Kobekile, in the vehicle.

Mwakapira, who was a rank marshal, then arrived and challenged Kobekile’s sisters, telling them they had parked in parking bays he controlled.

When Kobekile returned, a row ensued and he was attacked by Mwakapira and his colleagues, said the prosecutors.

Mwakapira and his crew allegedly broke the window of the Kobekile’s vehicle, stuffed some cardboard boxes inside and set it on fire.

“The accused tried to escape but the deceased and his friends continued to attack him with stones and iron bars,” said Sebastin Mutizirwa for the prosecution.

It is alleged that Kobekile ran away along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue towards First Street with a mob giving chase. According to the state, he fired three warning shots from his AG Brevet pistol before shooting Mwakapira in the head. The victim died on the spot.

Kobekile’s lawyer, Oliver Marwa, told court that the state made an error by writing down his charge as murder.

Marwa complained that his client was facing a lesser charge of culpable homicide because he had acted in self defence. He gave notice to take the issue up at the High Court where he will apply for bail.

A MAN (26) was killed by three suspected gold panners in Esigodini after he tried to protect his fiancé from indecent assault, putting an end to their dream wedding that was set for December.

Nkosi Ndlela was in the company of his wife-to-be, whose name was not revealed by his family, on Thursday at around 8PM when the incident occurred.

Ndlela left home as he normally did to wait for his fiancé at the bus stop as she was coming home from work. As they walked home, the gold panners started proposing to her and fondling her and Ndlela was killed while trying to protect her.

His fiancé’s brother, Mr McKenzie Mlauzi, was also stabbed a few hours later and is battling for life at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) after tipping off police on the whereabouts of the suspects who are all still at large.

Matabeleland South Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident.

“I can confirm that we are dealing with a murder case which occurred in Esigodini, Habane Township. The matter is under investigation,” said Chief Inspector Ndebele.

The deceased’s elder brother, Mr Mzondiwa Ndlela said his brother had died a painful death yet he lived all his life a peaceful man. “His wife was called by some gold panners who were drinking at the shops.

They started shouting obscenities at her and were proposing love to her in his presence. He asked them to stop as she was his wife and they started assaulting her. He tried to stop them but they turned on him and started assaulting him. She begged them to stop and not to kill him when they told him that they would kill him.

“However, one of them struck him on the thigh with an axe and he started bleeding profusely. They stoned him and left him for dead.

“He died on admission to United Bulawayo Hospitals,” said a visibly heartbroken Mr Ndlela.
“He was very quiet. He was taking care of our 89 year old father. Our mother is late. Life will be very difficult for us. He was the second last born child in our family and he was preparing to formalise marital relations with his in-laws.”

He said the deceased was set to wed in December. A Chronicle news crew visited Esigodini yesterday and spoke to some residents.

One of the mourners at the funeral wake said they now fear for their lives due to gang violence from gold panners. “It is very dangerous because we now fear for our lives. Our children can no longer play outside and we have to take our daughters to school and back because it is just not safe anymore,” said Mrs Concillia Ncube.

“I was born here and inherited this house from my parents but the place has just become inhabitable. I’m planning to sell it and go and live in Bulawayo or Gwanda. Esigodini is just a place of lawlessness now,” said another resident who identified himself as Mr Nkomo.

Other residents called for transfers of police and judicial officers, saying they no longer had faith in them as they allegedly “protect” some known violent criminals.
Residents held a meeting yesterday afternoon and shared sentiments that violent gold panners should be evicted from their area.

They called for the intervention of the Zimbabwe National Army into the frequent gold wars caused by the panners.

Gangsterism is rampant in the mining area, with a number of locals being forced out of their homes due to unbearable violence.-state media

By Paul Nyathi|Sources at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) report that the commission has finalised a criminal docket for the former Vice President, Phelekezela Mphoko, and will hand it over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for prosecution within the next few days.

“We have completed a docket and soon NPA will commence prosecution over his (Mphoko) abuse of office and corruption charges,” the source said.

Mphoko faces arrest for defeating the course of justice after he abused his power as the then acting president and released the Ex- Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) acting chief executive officer Moses Juma and non-executive director Davison Norupiri from police custody in 2016.

Juma and Norupiri had been arrested by ZACC on allegations of defrauding the parastatal of US$1,3 million.

“Once NPA is done then Mphoko will be picked up for questioning,” the source said.

“We have a strong case against him because he interfered with the investigations and arrests of the culprits during his days in government.

Besides allegations of criminal abuse of office ZACC is also investigating Mphoko over the US$20 000 fuel coupons which he allegedly sold to the black market in Bulawayo.

The coupons were tracked back to Mphoko after ZACC investigated the source of the ZINARA coupons in 2016.

Government sources this week said Zimbabwe is likely to witness an increase of high profile corruption cases being prosecuted after the formation of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

The unit is reportedly poring through tons of documentary evidence which could be used to prosecute cases of grand corruption, with some bigwigs facing arraignment before the courts. The crack unit was established by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to improve efficiency in prosecuting graft cases.

Mphoko joins a growing list of former powerful figures who are facing criminal charges. Former cabinet Ministers Saviour Kasukuwere and Walter Chidhakwa appeared in court this week, while another, Samuel Undenge was convicted.

M&T

Correspondent|The Zhombe man who shot dead a suspected tout in Harare CBD over a parking altercation will spend the next two weeks behind bars after Harare Magistrate, Victoria Mashamba denied him bail.

Lloyd Boniface Kobekile Moyo (24) will be back in court on the 26th of October.

Circumstances surrounding the matter are that Lloyd Boniface Moyo shot dead the now deceased following an altercation over parking dispute at the intersection of First Street and Kwame Nkrumah Avenue.

According to the state, Lloyd parked his Subaru car along Angwa Street, leaving his two sisters inside.

The now deceased who is a parking marshall reportedly came and started questioning the sisters why their car was at his parking lot without his knowledge.

The court also heard that the now deceased demanded the removal of the car from the parking point and then ganged up with his colleagues who were now tearing cardboard boxes and put them into the accused’s car and set it on fire.

Lloyd Boniface Moyo tried to escape but the now deceased and his friends attacked him with stones resulting in him allegedly pulling out his 6.35mm AG Brevetto pistol and fired three warning shots in the air before aiming at the now deceased.

Lloyd appeared in court with a visibly swollen face and blackened eye from injuries he sustained from the parking touts. He also had his head heavily bandaged.

Prosecutor Sebastian Mutizirwa appeared on behalf of the state while Rusinahama Tendai and Marwe Oliver represented the accused person.

Lloyd’s family has mining interests in Kadoma, Venice Mine and Chakari. He has provided an Avondale address to the courts.

Zm Zim

Violence on Thursday reared its ugly head again in Esigodini and one man was reportedly stabbed to death while a losing MDC Alliance council contestant is fighting for dear life in hospital after a bloody fight with gold panners who are reportedly linked to ZANU-PF.

It is alleged the deceased was escorting his girlfriend home (Habane) from work and the fight erupted as he was trying to protect her from being bullied and abused by a notorious gang of gold panners.

According to the source that preferred anonymity, the losing MDC Alliance council contestant Mr McKenzie Mlauzi allegedly got stabbed after giving a statement and helping police identify the culprits.

“McKenzie got stabbed after helping the police and giving a statement. It happened that as the police turned to ask other people about the incident, the same group that stabbed the deceased attacked him. The shocking part is at that time police had not gone far. It’s so hard here, we don’t know what is becoming of our people, they are not moved by taking a life,” he said.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the murder.

“I received a report on the murder that happened at Esigodini but I haven’t received full details of the incident,” he said.

State Media

VIDEO BELOW

VIDEO BELOW

A CLEANSING ceremony turned horribly wrong when a self-proclaimed witch-hunter commonly known as a tsikamutanda died when he allegedly ran out of magical powers leading him to being bitten by a “possessed” snake he was getting rid of.

The shocking incident happened at village head Mafuriranwa’s homestead in Gokwe in the Midlands Province where a cleansing ceremony was being conducted.

Although Midlands’s provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the tragic incident she, however, didn’t substantiate reports that the tsikamutanda, Kudakwashe Mushonga, died while conducting a cleansing ceremony.

“I can confirm that we are investigating a case of sudden death involving a man from Gokwe who died after being bitten by a snake,” said Insp Mukwende.

Meanwhile, according to reports gathered by B-Metro village head Mafuriranwa engaged the services of Mushonga claiming his family was being tormented by some mystical creatures.

It is alleged that before the exorcism a family member narrated what was happening to their household.

“They revealed that a ‘possessed’ snake was causing havoc at the homestead. Dressed in his robes the tsikamutanda entered one of the bedroom huts where he removed some items which he claimed were also juju tormenting the family.

“After sometime he went back into the bedroom hut and captured a snake measuring about one metre under a bed which he said was also troubling the family. While holding the huge snake, the tsikamutanda struggled with it for sometime before he became powerless.

“The reptile then went on to bite him three times on the hand and thumb. Moments after the bites the tsikamutanda became unconscious,” said a source from the area adding that people were devastated by the incident.

Mushonga reportedly died upon admission at Gokwe District Hospital.

The source said there was commotion as people ran for cover when the tsikamutanda was struggling with the huge reptile.

Chief Nemangwe whose jurisdiction, village head Mafuriranwa’s homestead falls under also confirmed the shocking incident.

“It was a tragically unlucky accident and we have since summoned the village head where the cleansing ceremony was being conducted to explain what happened on the fateful day,” said Chief Nemangwe.

Source: State Media

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to release three leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) from Gweru citing lack of evidence.

Moses Gwaunza was arrested in a
midnight raid at his home on Thursday while Charles Chikozho, the ZCTU Administrator in Gweru and Bernard Sibanda, the ZCTU’s District
Secretary were arrested in the early hours of Friday. The trio was charged with participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence,
breaches of the peace or bigotry as defined in section 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
However, after reviewing the case, prosecutors from the NPA ordered the police to release all three men and to proceed by way of summons
because there was no evidence linking the man to a crime. The three were represented by Takashinga Pamacheche of the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).