A 41-year old Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) official stationed at Beitbridge Border Post has been dragged to court for stealing goods which had been confiscated by the revenue authority from a suspected smuggler.

Owen Chiparausha of 2704 Dulivhadzimo in the border town is no stranger to crime as he was recently released from prison on bail pending appeal after he had been jailed for an effective 15 years on charges of raping a 23-year-old customs clearing agent from Beitbridge in January last year.

He was not asked to plead to theft charges when he appeared before Mr Trevor Nyatsanza.
Chiparausha was remanded to 10 October on $150 bail pending trial. Prosecuting, Miss Nomathemba Sayi told the court that Chiparausha was deployed to the State warehouse within the border. She said his duties among others included accounting for confiscated goods.

The court heard that on September 15 at around 9AM, Chiparausha was charged with conveying intercepted goods to the State warehouse for safe keeping. Miss Sayi said Chiparausha connived with a work mate, Dumisani Dube, who is still at large and stole an assortment of goods comprising mainly bathing soap and washing powder.

The goods were laden in a Zimra T-35 truck and moved to a State warehouse near the Southgate (departures). Miss Sayi said instead of taking the contraband to the warehouse, the duo offloaded part of the goods worth $508 into another vehicle.

The court heard they took the loot to a local lodge for safe keeping.
The anomaly was discovered by one of their superiors when he made a follow up.

He reported to the police leading to the recovery of the goods and Chiparausha’s arrest. – state media

Twelve Zimbabweans – one man and 11 women – face the death sentence in China, unless President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government moves with speed to operationalise a prisoners’ exchange programme with the Asian economic giant, the Daily News has been told.

China has a mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking cases and has executed several foreigners under the country’s tough anti-drug laws.

Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Commissioner-General, Paradzayi Zimondi, told the Daily News in an exclusive interview yesterday that he had learnt of the distressing news of the 12 Zimbabweans after visiting China last week.

He said prisoners’ exchange programmes – such as the one agreed with China – involved the movement of imprisoned nationals to their countries of origin.

“We have operational regional prisoners’ exchange programmes with countries like Mozambique and Zambia.

“But with the Chinese exchange programme, it will take the ministers of Justice of the two countries to come up with the requisite legislation that will facilitate the exchange of prisoners from Zimbabwe to China and vice versa,” Zimondi said.

It was his hope that the Zimbabweans incarcerated in China would be deported in time – provided the Justice ministry moved quickly to finalise the legal framework to operationalise the prisoners’ exchange programme.

Zimondi also said that there were currently no Chinese nationals in local prisons.

“We have no Chinese in our prisons. I was in China last week. They told us that they have 12 Zimbabweans – 11 women and one man. All of them are drug-related offenders.

“It (Zimondi’s visit) was a study tour meant to facilitate the exchange of notes and to learn from their (China’s) prisons practices. This was not my first such visit, as I have also been to England and to Denmark,” Zimondi said.

Many Zimbabweans have in recent years been busted overseas while trying to smuggle drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy pills.

In 2017, a woman was also arrested at Harare International Airport with 3,8 kilogrammes of cocaine with a street value of $304 000.

The woman, Beauty Mutashu, was later sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was convicted of the offence.

Daily News

Statement on the International Day of Peace
– via Heal Zimbabwe Trust

Heal Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating International Day of Peace. The commemorations this year are running under the theme, “The Right to Peace-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70”. The theme for this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides among many rights, the right to freedom from torture and access to justice. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an elaborate document that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th December 1948 in Paris.

In his message on this an historic day, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, underscored the need for all nations to uphold the provisions enunciated in the UDHR.”“It is time all nations and all people live up to the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human race. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that landmark document.” he said.

Article 5 of the African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights highlights that, “Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited”. Such a provision compels member states like Zimbabwe to cultivate a culture of upholding the fundamental human rights and freedoms such as freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Chapter 232 of the constitution of Zimbabwe establishes Independent Commissions particularly the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) whose mandate as enunciated in Section 252 (b) is to “develop and implement programmes to promote national healing, unity and cohesion in Zimbabwe and the peaceful resolution of disputes”.

Heal Zimbabwe commends the NPRC for embarking on national consultative meetings that sought to engage stakeholders on issues of national healing and reconciliation in the past, in fact, the critical need for a comprehensive healing and reconciliation process remains urgent.The snail’s pace with which the NPRC is carrying out its constitutional mandate such as ensuring post -conflict justice, healing and reconciliation is not only worrying but frustrating given that the nation is in dire need of healing and reconciliation. It is Heal Zimbabwe’s view that by now, NPRC would have commenced in earnest tackling key reconciliation issues such as Gukurahundi and the 2008 violence among others.

On the occasion of the International Day of Peace, Heal Zimbabwe implores the NPRC to urgently address reconciliation issues that were raised by stakeholders during consultative meetings earlier this year. Added to this, the NPRC must swiftly move in to tackle contentious reconciliation issues such as Gukurahundi in compliance with Section 252 (c) of the constitution that stipulates that the NPRC must “bring about national reconciliation by encouraging people to tell the truth about the past and facilitating the making of amends and the provision of justice.”

Source: Heal Zimbabwe

A Zimbabwean national, who robbed and murdered his 53-year-old Pringle Bay employer to fulfil his dreams of becoming a Cape Town rapper with an album, has been sentenced to 37 years imprisonment.

Martin Ncube 22, last month pleaded guilty to killing Farah Thompson in her Hangklip Road home by smashing her head with a blunt object and strangling and suffocating her by covering her mouth and nose with 10 scarves.

He further robbed her of her bank cards, laptop, tablet and BMW X3 vehicle with the car’s registration papers.

The incident occurred on August 13 last year.

Western Cape High Court Judge Monde Samela handed down the sentencing yesterday.

“You didn’t appreciate the good gesture the deceased showed you, taking you in as family, not knowing she was harbouring an aggressive evil person.

“You tied her with 10 scarves around her face and neck and a wrapped a transparent packaging tape around her body. She surely had a painful death,” said judge Samela.

Judge Samela said Thompson wasn’t armed and the cause of death was a result of a combination of her head injuries, strangulation and or smothering.

“The court has to take into consideration the seriousness of the crime, interest of society and victim as well as the accused’s personal circumstances.

“The accused’s personal circumstances are outweighed by the aggravating circumstances,” said Judge Samela.

Thompson’s husband, Roger Thompson, said he was disappointed with the sentence. He said the family had hoped Ncube would get life imprisonment.

In his plea explanation, Ncube said on the day of the murder he had only planned to rob Thompson.

He dragged her to the toilet and took out sellotape from his work backpack which had his tools. He brought a chain and chair and tied her to the chair before he proceeded to rob her.

“The reason why I decided to rob the deceased is because I had dreams of becoming a rap artist in Cape Town and have my own album,” he concluded.

IOL

NEWLY-MINTED Finance minister Mthuli Ncube this week set sail for the United States, together with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, for the United Nations General Assembly in New York where he will engage potential funders and investors on the sidelines of the gathering, but in his race for a rescue package he faces steeplechase-like hurdles.

From New York, Ncube will come back to Harare before travelling to London for a business conference where he will use the opportunity to meet British authorities, investors and likely funders.

Ncube has one mission uppermost in his mind: to get fresh funding for Zimbabwe.

This comes as he and his fellow ministers have been given cabinet-stipulated key performance indicators contained in a confidential government document exclusively obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent this week.

Ncube has been mandated by Mnangagwa’s government to come up with a repayment plan for an US$18 billion debt as well as arrears and to secure offshore lines of credit or fresh funding for the liquidity-starved economy.

He has also been tasked with ending the liquidity crunch and cash shortages which have paralysed the economy, finding a lasting monetary solution to the bond note challenge with the aim of restoring business confidence and ending speculative hoarding of cash. He also has to stop the multi-tier pricing system.

Ncube is further assigned to stabilise the country’s inflation, attract foreign direct investment to ensure economic growth and job creation.

He also has to cut runaway government spending and the resultant fiscal deficit. Government ran a massive US$1,4 billion budget deficit in the half of 2018.

The minister’s other tasks include improving exports to generate foreign currency and building reserves as well as incentivising producers and investors by reducing the cost of doing business.

Zimbabwe’s reconstruction hope lies in getting fresh funding from international lenders, but most of them remain reluctant to resume funding in the absence of substantive political and economic reforms.

As a result, Zimbabwe, which historically relied on international institutions and traditional bilateral creditors, is now relying more heavily on non-traditional lenders — from bond investors, foreign commercial banks, commodity traders, to creditor countries outside the Paris Club.

Source: The Independent

From A Correspondent|A teacher at St John’s College, a private high school for boys in Harare on Friday morning shocked school authorities and students when he declared at the school assembly that he is gay.

Neal Novelmeier said he had made the decision to declare his sexuality in the hope that it would “curb homophobic behaviour” at the school.

“I simply feel and believe that as an educator I will be able to better address and advance this issue if I am prepared to be fully open and transparent about it myself,” he said in a letter to parents.

Novelmeier, who teaches the Upper Sixth class, said a number of former students who “gain the confidence after school to pursue their chosen orientation” had told him that during their time at the school they had experienced “intolerance, intimidation and homophobia.”

He added: “I felt increasingly troubled by the fact that we as an institution have never openly dealt with trying to curb homophobic behaviour and, equally, failed to provide a safe learning environment for students who may identify as being gay or bisexual to truly flourish and feel accepted.

Both the headmaster, Cavaliere Corrado Trinci, and his deputy Andrew Sakala and Charles N. Msipa, the chairman of the school’s board of governors gave unprecedented support to the teacher.

“It suffices for Mr Sakala and I to say that this college campus is a place where diversity is embraced and a safe and caring environmewnt is provided for all persons regardless of race, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, abilities or disabilities or any other real or perceived ‘difference’,” Trinci said in a letter to the parents.

Hovelmeier said he had received “overwhelming levels of support” from the students and staff after his disclosure”, for which he was “heartened and grateful”.

By Paul Nyathi|Long fuel queues have emerged in the second capital city of Bulawayo amid reports that most fuel stations have run out of the commodity.

Reports further indicate that public transport operators have doubled their fairs from 50c per trip to $1 per trip as fuel is now being sourced from black market dealers who are selling at almost double the regulated price.

The few fuel stations that have fuel are also demanding only cash with Bond Notes charging higher than US Dollar payments.

Reserve Bank governor John Mangudya this week dispelled information that the country is destined for a major fuel shortage to unavailability of foreign currency.

By Paul Nyathi|Reports from the capital indicate that #tajamuka social movement leader Promise Mkhwananzi was arrested late Friday afternoon by a heavily armed combination of police and army details.

ZimEye.com sources who witnessed the abduction or arrest, said Mkhwananzi was picked up at the media centre in Harare shortly after giving a press statement on the harassment of vendors by the police and the soldiers in Harare that led to violent clashes between the two parties on Thursday.

On the same day Mkhwananzi reported on his social media platforms that he had been summoned by police after the clashes between security forces and the vendors.

Speaking at the press conference, Mkhwananzi told reporters that he was going to be handing himself to the police in the company of his lawyers on Monday not aware that the police were actually minutes away from taking him away.

It is not yet clear what he is being charged with nor where the police took him too. ZimEye.com is keeping watch on the matter.

Violence has reportedly broken out at preacher Talent Chiwenga’s meeting in the capital city, Harare.

ZimEye is bringing the LIVE coverage at 7.15pm – REFRESH THIS PAGE TO WATCH BELOW:

Violence has reportedly broken out at preacher Talent Chiwenga’s meeting in the capital city, Harare.

ZimEye is bringing the LIVE coverage at 7.15pm – REFRESH THIS PAGE TO WATCH BELOW:

Jane Mlambo| The National Patriotic Front (NPF) has issued a strongly worded statement lashing out at Ambrose Mutinhiri who appeared in the media today claiming the movement had disbanded and retraced roots back to Zanu PF.

According to Jealousy Mawarire who signed the NPF statement, Mutinhiri had no jurisdiction nor powers to convene a meeting and pass resolution on behalf of the party since he was recalled from his position as President.

“The NPF founding Executive Committee on June 07 2018, net in Harare and resolved to recall Mr Mutinhiri from his position as interim president of the party and that decision was communicated at a press conference attended by the party Chairperson Hon Eunice Sandi Moyo, Secretary General Shadreck Mashayamombe, National Political Commissar, Jeppy Jaboon …

“On 13 July 2018, the party formally communicated its position to recall Mr Mutinhiri in a letter copied to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chief Election Officer, Utoile Silaigwana,” said Mawarire.

He added that they are not surprised that Mutinhiri after meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the disbanding of the party saying NPF takes his rumblings as coming from a clueless individual induced to make such claims by a few pieces of silver he was promised by Zanu PF.

Jane Mlambo| A Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer has been dragged before the Harare Magistrate’s court for assaulting his wife after she served him matemba for dinner.

Pension Nyahanda who is a senior ZRP officer appeared before Magistrate Tilda Mazhande and was remanded out of custody on $50 bail.

According to the state, represented by Devoted Nyagano and Talkmore Muganhiri, the crime took place on the 15th of September 2018 when the accused came back from work and was served sadza with matemba by the complainant, his wife.

This did not go down well with the accused who started to shout at the complainant accusing her of eating meat in his absence.
He started assaulting her with an electric cable until she sought refuge outside the house.

The accused will be back in court on the 4th of October for routine remand.

-263Chat

Vendors in Kwekwe have come up with new tactics, selling their wares from bags while others throng street pavements holding banners advertising their products as the local authority intensifies its blitz on vending.

Kwekwe City Council launched a blitz on street vendors and backyard food outlets last week, confiscating wares in an effort to fight the cholera and typhoid outbreak that has rocked some parts of the country killing over 30 people.

Kwekwe is yet to record a single case of typhoid and cholera and the city fathers are working towards moving the vendors out of the streets.

A snap survey by state media in Kwekwe’s central business district established that vendors had moved away from traditional way of spreading out their wares in the open for prospective customers to see but were now hiding their goods in shops and cars while they stand on pavements soliciting for clients using advertising banners. The same cases, as witnessed in the city’s heavily congested long distance bus terminus, food vendors play hide and seek with municipal police moving around soliciting for clients before collecting the food items from their hiding points.

Vendors interviewed said they have been losing their wares to the municipal police and were now using new methods to do business.

They said the local authority should create modern vending stalls and relocate them before they try to move them out of the streets.

“I have been eking out a living from the streets, selling my stuff here for years but the city council bosses just wake up and decided to chase me away from my source of income. It’s ridiculous, we will not be moved but continue to play the cat and mouse game with them.

“They should instead provide us with vending stalls than just trying to drive us away,” said one of the vendors, Mrs Gloria Madziva.

State Media

ZimEye will be livestreaming a press conference by Tajamuka/Sesjikile campaign.

Below is the notice to the presser:

*Dear All*

You are cordially invited to a Press Conference today, *Friday 21 September 2018*, to be addressed by #Tajamuka Sisjikile campaign. Details of the press conference are as follows:

*Agenda:* Issuing a statement on current skirmishes between the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and vendors in Harare CBD

*Date & Time*: Friday, 21 September 2018 at 1400hrs

*Venue*: Media Centre, 2nd Floor Bothwell House, 66 Jason Moyo Avenue, cnr. First Street/Jason Moyo Avenue.

Refresh this page for updates.

Jane Mlambo|A Gutu magistrate has ordered a local man to undergo a mental examination after he dug up his father’s grave and took the remains which he kept in his house.

Court heard that 46-year-old Moses Zuva’s father died two decades ago.

Prosecutors say that on September 13 this year, Zuva went to the grave and dug up the remains of the late Haurovi Mafuva.

In court he told magistrate Victor Mohamandi he exhumed the remains because he wanted to live with his father.
He further claimed that his father had instructed him to exhume his remains and bury them somewhere else.

The bizarre incident came to light after one of his elder brothers, Paul Zuva visited the family’s homestead and discovered that the grave had been tempered with.

Upon being questioned Hove admitted tempering with the grave and told his older brother that he had raised their father from the dead.

Paul later noticed that his younger brother had human bones in his bedroom and notified the police leading to the latter’s arrest.
Argatha Gabriel prosecuted.
-Newzimbabwe.com

Jane Mlambo| The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has hinted that the nation might experience further increase in bread prices due to serious drought in Europe and tariff wars between Russia and America which have seen the two giant suppliers cutting down wheat exports.

According to the GMAZ chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara the price of bread will likely go up due to low supply of wheat on the international market.

“I can’t speak on behalf of bakeries but we have a serious drought in Europe, heat waves in some parts of America, we have Elnino currently affecting the northern hemisphere and it’s going to start visiting us in the next 90 days as we enter into our season.

“The impact of that the immediate victim is agriculture Germany has actually stopped exports and it is now importing, Russia because of the geo politics, the tariff wars between Russia and America we have seen them cutting down their exports.

“What it does is that it limits the supply of wheat on the international market and when supply lowers prices goes up so we are experiencing one of the waste or rather the highest prices,” said Musarara.

He added that they are importing rice and salt in anticipation of increased demand during the festive season though he was quick to highlight that foreign currency challenges had delayed the process.

“We have already put in place orders for rice and salt supply agreements for festive season, we are kind of late, we must have enough rice, salt and wheat fir the entire festive season.

“But because of the foreign currency nostro challenges that we are facing, we are operating on monthly basis which is not good for food security and in the event that we have a logistic movement from the sea up to Harare it affects supply into the market,” he said.

-263Chat

Jane Mlambo| Captains of industry have urged the government to cut on the number of state universities, saying some of them are adding no value to the economy.

Industry representatives who attended a Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) Business Leaders Conference here recently expressed concern at the quality of graduates coming from the country’s institutions of higher learning.

They said some graduates are ‘useless’ to the industry as they are out of sync with their trades and thus become a burden to the employer.

Speaking at the SAZ 5th conference Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Chris Mugaga said some universities were adding no value to the economy.

“In terms of the education sector, there are too many state universities in the country,” he said.

“Let’s reduce them and also change the curriculum because a majority of them concentrate of social sciences when the country requires engineers.”

Participants at the conference challenged the education sector to embrace international standards in order to produce competitive graduates.

“The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology is the foundation of ideas hence should be the centre of research and development,” said one conference delegate.

“The challenge is that students that join the industry don’t properly meet requirements in terms of holistic work.

“Institutions of higher learning should embrace world standards so as not to produce half-baked graduates.”
-Newzimbabwe.com

A SUSPECTED Peruvian drug trafficker has been arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport after he was found in possession of over a kilogramme of cocaine worth $91 520.

Wilmer Taruzona Aro (32) was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa who remanded him in custody to October 6 for bail application.

The State sought a long remand for Aro before bail application to allow it to seek a Spanish interpreter after the accused advised the court that he did not understand English.

The State also wants to verify his criminal record with Interpol, Harare, as they suspected Aro to be an international criminal who traffics drugs from country to country as evidenced by his passport which has stamps from a source country of hard drugs, Brazil.

It is the State’s case that detectives from Drugs and Narcotics, stationed at the airport, received information that a male Peruvian national was coming from Brazil aboard United Arab Emirates flight number EK 713.

The State alleges that Aro was suspected to be in possession of dangerous drugs. As the flight landed at around 5pm, Aro went through verification with Immigration before picking his two suitcases and headed for the green route exit point where he was intercepted by detectives.

It is alleged searches were conducted by detectives, who discovered a whitish substance concealed in the holes of Aro’s suitcases’ handle rails.

A field test analysis was carried out on the whitish substance and it tested positive to cocaine, with a weight of 1,144 kilogrammes and a street value of $91 520.

Francisca Mukumbiri appeared for the State.

NewsDay

Jane Mlambo| Spokesperson of the National Patriotic Front (NPF), Jealousy Mawarire has dismissed rival faction leader, Ambrose Mutinhiri who yesterday announced his decision to disband the party to re-join the ruling Zanu PF saying he was nolonger part of the former President Robert Mugabe backed movement after he failed to rise to the challenge.

NPF split into two camps prior to the July 30 harmonised elections with Mawarire and other members appointing Eunice Sandi Moyo as Acting President while Mutinhiri remained with the other group.
In a series of Twitter posts, Mawarire said NPF recalled Mutinhiri after he failed to lead the party adding that he is free to continue working with Zanu PF.

The National Patriotic Front (NPF) is run by a 38 member National Executive Committee, which recalled Ambrose Mutinhiri and made a resolution to appoint Hon Eunice Sandi Moyo as Acting President. That NEC has not made a resolution to disband the NPF or join Zanu-PF. pic.twitter.com/XuxXQFqf0l

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Mutinhiri, as an individual, and Zanu-PF project during the elections, is free to continue working for Zanu-PF and shld not purport to be dissolving a party whose NEC he never chaired. The NPF is a people's movement and will remain a permanent feature of Zim politics.

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Mutinhiri shld enjoy the small trinkets he was promised by @edmnangagwa when they met & stop pretending like he was still the leader of NPF. It's on record that the Party recalled him & didn't support his gimmicks when he tried, and failed dismally, to run for the presidency pic.twitter.com/wrgIzHqUOm

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Jane Mlambo| Marondera police have arrested three suspected robbers linked to a spate of car thefts recorded in Mashonaland East province over the past two months.

Vincent Chikasha (19), Lawrence Marimbizhike (32) and Alfred Dzobo, all of Goromonzi who allegedly targeted pirate taxi drivers, were arrested after they were found in possession of two stolen vehicles.

Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the arrests, saying investigations were in progress to verify if the suspects were not linked to other vehicle theft cases.

“As police we urge pirate taxi drivers to be on alert when hired by strangers,” he said.

According to police, on July 29, Kudakwashe Maliseni of Goromonzi was operating a pirate taxi at Majuru business centre when he was approached by the three accused who allegedly hired him to drive them to Valley Grower’s Farm for a ‘funeral.’

It is reported that upon approaching Cyclone Acturus Farm, one of the suspects pulled a knife and stabbed Maliseni several times, dragged him out of his vehicle and sped off.

However, on August 9, Maliseni received information that his vehicle had been spotted at Majuru business centre but with different registration number plates fixed on it.

He tipped police detectives who arrested Marimbizhike and Chikasha.

The pair then implicated Dzobo who was also arrested.
-Newsday

By Paul Nyathi|MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has held talks with elected party councillors who opted to vote for Mayors and Deputy Mayors who were not prescribed by the party.

On Tuesday, he met councillors from Victoria Falls where the party preferred mayoral candidate councillor Margaret Varley was replaced by Somvelo Dlamini and on Thursday he met Bulawayo councillors where councillor Tinashe Kambarami was voted in instead of Malandu Ncube as directed by the party.

Chamisa’s spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda confirmed the meetings indicating that Chamisa or his representatives would be meeting more councillors next week.

Dr Sibanda said that it was only proper for Chamisa to dialogue with the councillors if they don’t toe the party line.

“The president will necessarily whip all councillors that don’t follow party directions and if there are those who have done that they will be whipped, yes. He has the right to do that. They have to follow the party’s instructions as required by the party’s constitution. The smooth running of the councils is very important.

“The long and short of it, just as the case in any political party, any representative sent by the party to represent it in Government must be willing to implement the party’s policies. All councillors are being told and all councillors know that they have to follow the party’s policies because that is what the people voted for.

“The council (meetings) agenda is about the 100 day plan. He was also whipping the councillors as he should just to make sure that they are following the party’s priorities. The electorate will be questioning the party when things don’t go right. There is nothing out of the ordinary. He will be meeting councillors from everywhere next week. He was meeting councillors from Bulawayo today (Wednesday).”

Chamisa has held similar meetings with councillors from Masvingo and Chegutu who were also charged for defying the party directives on the mayoral candidates.

Jane Mlambo| The Ambrose Mutinhiri-led National Patriotic Front has disbanded and its officials are rejoining Zanu-PF after realising that the events that led to the removal of the Robert Mugabe-led government in November last year were in the best interests of the country.

“We the founders, leaders and supporters of the NPF hereby inform the nation of Zimbabwe that the NPF has disbanded with immediate effect from September 19, 2018,” Brigadier-General (Retired) Mutinhiri said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The main reason for disbanding the party is that NPF has outlived its purpose. NPF was formed as a response to the events and circumstances of November 2017 that led to the removal of the previous Government of Zimbabwe and in our opinion we perceived it to be a threat to national security and stability.”

Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mutinhiri said they had re-considered their position and decided to rejoin the ruling party in its drive to rebuild Zimbabwe.

“However, after careful considerations and deliberations our party came to the conclusion that the November 2017 events were in the best interest of Zimbabwe as a nation. To that end, the existence of the NPF is no longer necessary. “As such we deem it expedient and appropriate to disband NPF and also to join and support the Zanu-PF party and Government in its endeavour to build a better Zimbabwe for all unity and loving and progressive Zimbabwe,” he added.
-State Media

A PROPHET from Bulawayo appeared in court yesterday for allegedly raping a pregnant woman who had visited him for consultation.

Wilson Thabe (52) who resides at Robert Sinyoka pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Crispen Mberewere.

He was remanded in custody to October 3 for commencement of trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa said sometime in May this year, the complainant (19) fell ill and approached the healer for assistance.

The court heard that the complainant was assisted with prayers and returned to her home in Umguza on the same day.

Mr Manyiwa said on May 12, Thabe visited the complainant’s place of residence to check if she was getting any better and ministered prayers to complete the healing.

The court heard that after prayers, Thabe did not return to his home and was given a hut to spend the night.

“During the same night, Thabe sneaked into the complainant’s hut and gave her holy water to sprinkle,” said the prosecutor.

The court heard that when the complainant retired to bed, Thabe allegedly joined her before raping the woman three times without protection.

“Thabe went back to his house on the following day at around 8AM,” said Mr Manyiwa. The complainant told the court: “On May 19, l slept with my husband and he felt something different which made him ask if l had slept with anyone else.”

The court heard that the complainant revealed to her husband that Thabe raped her.

They then reported the matter to the police leading to Thabe’s arrest.

State Media

Staff Reporter|The Zimbabwean authorities must bolster the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the country’s post-election killings if victims’ families have any hope of obtaining truth, justice and reparations, Amnesty International said after the swearing in of the commissioners on Wednesday.

The organization is also concerned about the independence and impartiality of the Commission, which includes a presidential candidate in the 30 July elections, who has criticized opposition parties challenging the results of the vote, and an academic, who has publicly expressed her support for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). Commissioners with strong ties or support of ZANU-PF may compromise the independence and impartiality of the investigation and expose it to external interference.

“Zimbabweans deserve to know what happened in the bloody aftermath of the elections, including who shot six people dead, who gave the command to shoot and who was responsible for the deployment of soldiers. But as the Commission of Inquiry’s mandate stands right now, they may never know,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa.

“The authorities must show that this Commission is not a fig leaf intended to cover the human rights violations and abuses committed in the aftermath of the election. The first step is to broaden the Commission’s mandate to investigate violations and abuses committed by all parties involved.”

An MDC-T activist based in Mutare was yesterday slapped with a six-month jail term for threatening to torch 25 houses belonging to Zanu PF supporters soon after the July 30 elections.

James Oswell Chitere was also facing a charge of arson, but Mutare magistrate Tendai Mahwe ruled there was no evidence linking him to the latest offence.

Mahwe, however, said Chitere violated the Electoral Act by threatening a political opponent and sentenced him to six months in jail.

The magistrate, however, suspended two months of the sentence on condition of good behaviour.

On August 2, the complainant’s daughter Linnet Kagweda (22), who is a Zanu PF supporter, met Chitere while on her way to Watsomba business centre.

Chitere confronted her with the intention of showing him videos of MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa, but Kagweda refused to entertain him.

The convict threatened to burn Kagweda’s home, after labelling her a Zanu PF supporter.

Kagweda later informed her mother Raviro Kagweda (56) about Chitere’s threats after their hut was set ablaze that same day.

All the property in the hut was reduced to ashes.

Newsday

THE MDC Alliance leadership has instructed provincial structures of coalition partners to begin the integration process bringing their membership under one roof, a process that could see some members losing their positions and causing tensions in the party.

This comes after MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa recently announced the appointment of MDC leader Welshman Ncube and MDC-T chairperson Morgen Komichi as his deputies and former PDP leader Tendai Biti as deputy national chair as the coalition starts morphing into one political party.

The MDC Alliance brings together seven opposition parties — MDC-T, MDC, PDP, Transform Zimbabwe, ZimPF, Zanu-Ndonga and Multi-Racial Democrats.

In an interview, Ncube confirmed the provincial structures of the seven parties to the MDC Alliance have been ordered to begin the painstaking process of integrating.

“What is happening is that we are integrating; we are integrating the parties which are in the alliance. All the seven parties in the alliance have passed resolutions to authorise the integration of all the parties in the alliance,” he said.

“The provincial leadership has been instructed to meet and say how do you integrate, how do you bring together at provincial, district and ward level, the leaders of the seven political parties into the Alliance?,” Ncube told Southern Eye on Wednesday.

The exercise is likely to stoke tensions and horse-trading among the leadership in the provincial structures to ensure they keep their positions after Ncube admitted some were likely to lose their positions.

“There are obviously people who will not have space to be integrated at provincial level, they will then have to be integrated at district level, and those who have no space at district level will have to be integrated at ward level, while everyone eventually integrated at branch level because the branches can be as many as there are members,” Ncube said.

“Anyone who has not found any space at national, provincial, district and ward level will ultimately find space at the branch level. So everyone will ultimately be integrated.

That is in terms of the structures. Then there is membership, people who are just card-carrying members, they automatically then become members of the MDC Alliance by virtue of being a member of one of the seven parties.”

Ncube admitted the process will not be uniform as the negotiations will be determined by the political dynamics and political party presence in each province.

“In Bulawayo, for example, you might find that there are three parties, the MDC-T, MDC and PDP with a full leadership and those will be integrating. The same runs true in many provinces,” said Ncube.

Southern Eye

Scores of stakeholders drawn mainly from the motoring public and sections of the commuting public have raised concern over their non-consultation by the Chitungwiza municipality on the Unit C-junction traffic light project. The stakeholders have recently been frequenting the Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERA) offices urging the Association to facilitate that there is dialogue between the local authority and the related stakeholders.

Some stakeholders are of the view that a traffic circle popularly known as a roundabout could have been a better solution in addressing matters connected to traffic jam, unruly conduct by some motorists and general traffic mayhem associated with this busy intersection. The demonstration traffic light by Solarlux Solutions Company could have been a strategic intervention had the local authority sought the opinions of the motoring and commuting public before the trial-run phase.

The Chitungwiza pilot project by Solarlux Solutions Company comes at a time after the same company was ordered to remove a similar demonstration traffic light at the corner of Masotsha Ndlovu and First Avenue in the Waterfalls area in Harare. The company was ordered to remove the traffic lights owing to an absence of prior feasibility studies and lack of stakeholder engagement as the case in Chitungwiza.

CAMERA calls on the Chitungwiza municipality and Solarlux Solutions Company to engage related stakeholders who are directly affected by such a development. Some of these stakeholders include the motoring public, commuters and residents among others. Several Chitungwiza residents interviewed on the traffic lights matter indicated that the areas that are in critical need for traffic lights are along Harare-Chitungwiza highway adjacent to St Mary’s police station and at the intersection of Tilcor road and Chitungwiza-Machipisa highway.

Source: Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERA)

Jane Mlambo| Police yesterday refused to open a docket in a case in which a Harare resident, Alice Kasinamunda sought to file criminal charges against City of Harare officials implicated in attempts to swindle Econet Wireless by inflating figures of goods procured towards combating the cholera outbreak.

According to Community Water Alliance (CWA), an organization behind the move, Kasinamunda was referred from one officer to another, in a manner that is clearly meant to frustrate her.

“Out of the six police officers to which Alice was referred, not even one of them accepted opening a docket.

Instead of getting assistance Alice had to endure unnecessary questions like: are you a council employee? and are you a worker at Econet?. They were ready to interrogate her on what is your interest,” noted CWA.

The organization noted that Kasinamunda’s case warranted action by the Zimbabwe Republic Police as it clearly demonstrated that there is a primafacie case, there is a reasonable suspicion that the accused persons committed the crime.

CWA condemned City of Harare for its move to suspend despite there being enough evidence to prosecute the accused.

”The action by the Local Authority to suspend the accused, shows reasonable suspicion.

“This case has evidence that the court can rely upon. Although there is dispute on whether the charge of gloves was inflated to $65, there is evidence that it was pegged above $30 instead of a mere $3. Receipts to that effect are there. The actions by the accused show a clear case of fraud, which is a crime. These facts make CWA believe that Alice had a case that the state should have acted upon,” added CWA.

“Alice Kasinamunda’s treatment casts doubt on the commitment of the Executive ( the police being part of the Executive Arm of the State) to fight graft. It places in jeopardy even any policy pronouncement by councilors to fight graft,” further noted CWA.

Jane Mlambo| Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has called on workers to resist the ‘barbaric actions of the state’ of chasing vendors from Harare CBD saying government does not understand the difficulties citizens are through.

Posting on Twitter today, ZCTU questioned the logic behind government’s decision to chase vendors from the streets considering that they will be fending for their families.

A Government that does not understand the difficulties citizens are going through, will not develop the country. If vendors are chased away from their sources of livelihood, how will all the affected families survive? All workers must resist this barbaric actions of the state.

— ZCTU – Zimbabwe (@ZctuZimbabwe) September 20, 2018

Police have been engaged in running battles with vendors who are resisting being displaced due to the cholera outbreak that has so far claimed the lives of 32 people including under fives.

By Paul Nyathi|The Harare City Council has appointed Engineer Hosea Abraham Chisango as the substantive town clerk with immediate effect. Chisango had been acting town clerk since last year.

In April 2016 James Mushore was appointed as town clerk only to be suspended after two weeks in office by (then) Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere. The minister claimed that the council had gone against appointment procedures.

Kasukuwere later clashed with the council again after he blocked the appointment of MDC legislator Tapiwa Mashakada despite the fact that he came out tops in interviews for the town clerk job.

Watch Mayor Herbert Gomba announce the appointment of the town clerk.

Jane Mlambo| The ghost of the G40 faction has continued to haunt the ruling Zanu PF with party supporters in Manicaland yesterday storming the provincial headquarters in Mutare, demanding the election of a new executive to replace the current one led by Mike Madiro.

Placard-wielding demonstrators accused Madiro’s provincial executive of fanning divisions by suspending perceived rivals.
Some of the placards read: “We don’t want imposition of candidates,” “No to imposition of party leadership”, “We want the current leadership to be dissolved. Why sacrificing party members?”

Several party members, including former provincial vice-chairperson Joseph Mujati and Prosper Sithole, who is political commissar in Chipinge, were recently slapped with prohibition orders.

The duo, alongside several others, yesterday underwent disciplinary hearings led by Zanu PF provincial vice-chairperson, Dorothy Mabika.

Mabika, who was also reportedly imposed by Madiro, was humiliated as party supporters stormed the hearings and started singing protest songs.

The visibly shaken Mabika watched in despair as the supporters openly told her that she was imposed by Madiro and, therefore, illegitimate.

One of the demonstrators, Aphia Ingresi, who is the Zanu PF Headlands constituency youth chairperson, said they were being victimised by Madiro, claiming that he was responsible for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s poor showing in the province in the July 30 poll.

Despite Zanu PF winning 19 parliamentary seats out of the 26 available in the province, Mnangagwa lost in the presidential elections to MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.
“We are worried that Madiro is no longer popular in the province. He imposed himself and he later imposed his deputy, Dorothy Mabika,” he said.

“He was responsible for the loss of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the province, and if this is not addressed, things are going to get worse.”
-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| Renowned traditional healer Kamwelo Banda popularly known as Sekuru Banda has joined the fight against cholera and pledged support to those impacted by the pandemic.

In a rare show of love and compassion, Sekuru Banda took time off his busy schedule where he often meets his legion of clients who come with various problems and ailments to visit the sick at Glenview Polyclinic Cholera Treatment Centre.

“It is not something we often get every day to be visited by a person of the calibre of Sekuru Banda whom we know to be a very busy man. This visit on a hospital bed, especially from a stranger, should be applauded because it gives us hope for life despite being diagnosed with cholera. I know he is a popular traditional healer and what he has done to me and other families is a huge show of compassion and philanthropy and for that I am very grateful,” said a middle-aged man who identified himself as Charles to protect patient confidentiality.

Apart from assuring the bed-ridden that they would walk out of the treatment centre strong and energetic, Sekuru Banda donated an assortment of hygienic stuff to the sick and their families.

On Wednesday 19 September 2018, Sekuru Banda bought hygienic ware to more than 100 families in Glenview, which is the epicentre of the cholera pandemic. Each of the families received an assortment of groceries like cooking oil, sugar, rice, maize meal and toiletries like soap, water disinfectants, washing powder, detergents and toilet paper.

He capped the donation by visiting the sick at Glenview Polyclinic after which he led reporters and other members of the corporate world to the Nyamweda family where he commiserated with the bereaved following the death of Jane Mandaza Nyamweda who succumbed to cholera a fortnight ago.

Titus Nyamweda, brother to the late Jane, thanked Sekuru Banda for his philanthropic heart and compassionate gesture of his love to his family and the whole of the Glenview community.

“I don’t have words to aptly describe how grateful I am to Sekuru Banda. It is not easy for an individual to subtract from the little he gets and come to help us in this magnitude.

The donation he gave us will go a long way in protecting other family members from contracting the deadly cholera. We urge other corporates and well-wishers to follow in the footsteps of Sekuru Banda so that we can have a healthy society,” Titus Nyamweda said.
-Spiked