By Own Correspondent| Two people were seriously injured when two commuter omnibuses were involved in an accident near Zindoga shopping centre along Beatrice road in Harare.

Details of the accident, which occurred near Prophet Walter Magaya’s PHD ministries were still sketchy with sources claiming that no-one died on the spot.

Below are pictures of the two vehicles:

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

The State has revived a case in which controversial businessmen Wicknell Chivayo and Genius Kadungure are being charged for allegedly defrauding two local businessmen about six years ago.

Police only brought Chivayo to court yesterday and no indications were made as to when Kadungure would appear before the same court.

He was given bail on the same terms as those imposed on his previous case in which he is being accused of defrauding the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC).

The State is alleging that sometime in November 2012, Chivayo connived with Kadungure to create a fictitious company named Transco Civil Engineering, purportedly based in neighbouring South Africa.

It is being alleged that they proceeded to open an ABSA bank account. The State claims that they also opened an e-mail account [email protected] purporting to be doing business for Marange Diamonds, which is one of the companies that used to operate in Chiadzwa, in Marange.

It is said that they rented space at Hetzner (Private) Limited in South Africa.

Chivayo and Kadungure then contacted the complainant, whose name was not revealed in court, pretending to be the chief buyers at Marange Resources, looking for mining pumps.

They reportedly gave the complainant an order to supply 10 T-90 Transco-Flo Helical Rotor pumps and referred him to Transco knowing that it was a fictitious company.

The complainant then sent his brother, Enock Gatawa and ZAR446 900 was deposited into Transco’s ABSA account and a further ZAR300 000 later that day.

After transferring the money, Gatawa contacted Transco and was told to go back to Zimbabwe and wait for delivery of the pumps from DHL in three days.

To his surprise, Gatawa got a parcel that had cell-phone chargers and realised that they had been swindled.

Kadungure used ZAR500 000 to buy gas and another ZAR500 000 was transferred into the account of Edward Teka. Chivayo and Kadungure converted ZAR1 046 890 to their own use. The complainant in the second case is Dexter Nduna, the Member of Parliament for Chegutu West constituency.

Using the same modus operandi, it is alleged by the State that Kadungure and Chivayo opened an ABSA bank account under the name Always on Pumps (Private) Limited.

They then approached Nduna claiming they were looking for mining pumps. Nduna was given an order for 20 T-90 Transco-Flo Helical Rotor pumps before being referred to Always on Pumps, which was purported to be a reputable supplier.

He lost ZAR535 000 in the deal as Chivayo and Kadungure became evasive. Meanwhile, Chivayo was on Friday accused of flouting his bail conditions by not reporting to the police as ordered by the court in a pending fraud case involving $5 million allegedly swindled from ZPC.

Detective sergeant Enock Tapasi told the court Chivayo was ordered by the court to report every Monday and Friday at CID Commercials Crimes Unit but did not do so last Monday. Tapasi said his bail should be revoked as a result.

Chivayo responded that he was turned away by an unidentified female police officer who told him that there was no one at the station because it was Heroes Day.

However, the State argued that Chivayo was not being honest because other people reported to the police that same day. The court’s ruling will be passed on Monday.

DailyNews

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has adjusted its presidential election results by slightly reducing incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s win by over 4,000 votes.

In opposing papers filed at the Constitutional Court to challenge a petition submitted by the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance seeking invalidate Mnangagwa’s victory, ZEC reduced the figures by 0.1 percent.

ZEC reduced Mnangagwa’s win from 50.8 percent to 50.6 percent, noting that some polling stations were counted twice due to a data capture error.

“After the correction of the observed errors … Nelson Chamisa gained 4,483 votes representing a change of 0.1 percent of the announced results whilst Emmerson Mnangagwa’s votes reduced by 4,453 votes representing a 0.8 percent of the announced results.”

“Overall the final computations do not alter significantly the announced 2018 presidential results.”

The corrected figures altered Chamisa’s final results to 44.39 instead of the 44.3 announced by ZEC a few days after the July 30 presidential poll.

Chamisa claims that he garnered 60 percent of the votes cast and Mnangagwa had less than the required 50 plus one vote.

He is challenging the results in court hoping that the Constitutional Court will declare him the winner of the poll, declare Mnangagwa unduly elected and nullify the results of the election.

The court may make any decision it sees fit as prescribed in Zimbabwe’s constitution, including ordering a re-run.

ZEC, which is among several entities and individuals cited as respondents in the MDC Alliance court petition, said even with the mistake, the president-elect has met the fifty-percent plus threshold required to win the poll.

The ruling Zanu PF party has filed opposing papers, arguing that the case should be thrown out of the Constitutional Court as it was allegedly submitted outside the time frame stipulated in Zimbabwe’s constitution.

Twenty-two people contested the presidential poll, which the MDC Alliance claims was fraught with irregularities, including vote rigging in favor of Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party.

VOA

Peta Thornycroft recently interviewed Zimbabwean President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House in Harare. Below is an extract of the hard hitting interview.

PT: Who gave the army the order to go into the city on August 1?

EM: I consulted the commissioner-general of police and he indicated to me that in terms of the law, the commissioner of police can contact his counterpart who commands the local unit to give him immediate support while the process is ongoing.

The entire country was in a jovial mood. No-one expected the violence that happened so suddenly. The police were taken by surprise. They were deployed country-wide, covering the election process, so suddenly the small unit (left in Harare) could not control what was happening: In terms of the law, police are allowed to summon assistance to bring order.

We regret what happened thereafter and since then. This should not happen again. We are instituting a commission of inquiry and to give it more flavour and transparency we are bringing people in from abroad.

I have one name from SA, one from the UK to consider with three names to join us to look at the matter. The inquiry will begin immediately after the inauguration.

PT: You have made such an effort to rebuild the party and now this tragedy after peaceful elections.

EM: Fortunately I am not doing it alone, I am doing it with my team, we all agree that Zimbabwe must change. We must have a different image from the isolationist posture of the past. Zimbabwe must embrace the international community totally and we are doing everything possible for political reform. For us again to relate and to cooperate with the international community and international business.

PT: There is one photograph shown in the media of a soldier shooting and another soldier stepping forward and stopping him on August 1. What are your views on that?

EM: I have not seen that picture.

PT: It’s a shocking picture. Why hasn’t he been arrested?

EM: Orders have been given about all those people who took the law into their own hands, whether it was police or others who take the law into their own hands. I also don’t want to pre-empt the outcomes of the commission I am instituting.

PT: Human rights groups say there are 150 cases of unconstitutional violence since August 1. Do you agree?

EM: Let me assure you, the best thing to do is get the list of 150 cases and pass it onto us. This is fake news and it’s flying left right and centre.

We were told (of these cases) by Philippe van Damme, the EU ambassador here, and we took him to task and said let’s go around all the hospitals in Harare and see if there is any record of people in hospitals. He had to later apologise as this was not true.

PT: Human rights groups have details of those cases.

EM: Be wary of Zimbabwe human rights groups. They have an agenda. They have always been against the government. They have not changed their minds, they have not shifted their mindset to become democratic but that will take time.

We must deal with facts and not any speculation. Whatever you hear try to check and I think the police will be able to assist you in checking.

PT: Human rights people are desperately looking for the Commissioner of Police.

EM: So why would they come to you – the journalists? Let them go to the commissioner, he is in the country, he is in town…before they make such statements, let them verify these issues with the right authorities. That’s what should be done.

PT: MDC Alliance MP Tendai Biti fled the country and went to Zambia. There was a warrant for his arrest.

EM: What I saw on TV, was that statement issued by the police, that they wanted him to come to Harare Central Police station to clarify certain issues. This has been on the radio. If he was really innocent and had not done anything, he should have quickly gone to Harare police station and stated the issues he wanted to clear. Why did he skip the country?

We’ve also had some discussion with some of the observers. We had set up a call centre where they allegedly received calls from people saying they were threatened here and there. We asked for the addresses of those people threatened in order to investigate.

PT: But many people are fearful nowadays… especially when they see people in uniform.

EM: I have not received information from my party or from the general public or from any citizen saying I am fearful. Never, never.

You will see the police walking in uniform. It is legitimate, it’s allowed by the law. You will see soldiers in their trucks. They are not on a mission to intimidate.

Our police and our army they are very friendly, we have defence forces week, where they go around building clinics. building schools to show the army and the public are in good relations.

So this fake news about our people..that they are afraid of the army.

PT: How will Zimbabwe now move along after these terrible turn of events?

EM: We will continue preaching peace, peace, unity, unity, love, love to our people, it is a culture and we want its roots to go deeper and deeper.

The good will always prevail over evil. Yes, we have people who peddle evil, but what is correct will prevail.

PT: Were you surprised at the election results only .8 percent above 50 percent. (To avoid a run off the winner must have 50% +1.)

EM: We have 133 political parties. Of the 133, 54 political parties were participating in the elections and 22 were bidding for the office of president…all 22 were fighting me, and I am so proud that I beat not only the 22 but the entire 54.

And I got 2.4 million votes against 2,1 million….. 22 political parties and I beat them all.

PT: The MDC Alliance has gone to court to challenge your victory. What are your views?

EM: I am not privy to their thinking.

As a government we have not interfered with the process of the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission), we are staying aloof, we allow the law to take its course. This is my attitude.

And we are already moving the trajectory of growth, so what will happen will be the continuation of the trajectory of growth, we are going to be out there with more focus, more energy, to make sure that in the course of business, Zimbabwe needs to become more competitive, so that we can again catch up with the rest of the developing countries ahead of us.

PT: Will the Mugabe family have some of their many farms taken away?

EM: It’s not a question of voluntary giving up, but about complying with the policy.

I am still receiving evidence of what the (former) first family had. When that process is complete they will select one farm and the rest will be given elsewhere.

We have the land commission, and this is one of the matters they are seized with attending to.

It’s not on the basis of the family, (one family, one farm). It is on the basis of government policy. There are so many others families who have more than one farm. It must all be governed by the size of the farm.

PT: Is there anything you regret in your life?

EM: I don’t think I regret anything. I have no other life I know except politics from when I was 17. I never worked for anyone but the people and the party. I don’t regret I chose that life. At the end of the day, I did what I did for my country.

PT: Will the new truth commission you signed into law, to deal with thousands of murders of opposition supporters from the 80s, get enough money to operate properly?

EM: When they (commission officials) want money, they don’t go to journalists… let them come to me. You must first ask them, did you go to the president?

PT: What do you say about those massacres, known as Gukuruhundi, following independence?

EM: Well, our former President (Mugabe) described it and said it was a ‘moment of madness’.

That’s how he described that event. I have said we can’t live in the past, and that should never again happen in our country. Let us be a family and forge ahead, whatever wrongs we regret and they should never again visit our country. I second the position taken by our former president – a moment of madness.

PT: In Mugabe’s statements to the press before the elections, he said he never trusted you.

EM: I trusted him to the end and it’s only now that I’ve learnt he doesn’t trust me. We shared the deepest issues together.

PT: Mugabe has talked about you and Dan Stannard, the former Rhodesian head of security who later became head of Zimbabwe’s security about some of the activities you got up to. What is your thought on this?

EM: During the era of independence some South Africans and Selous Scouts (Rhodesian soldiers) were going to blow up heads of state and Prince Charles, Indira Gandhi, at Rufaro Stadium.

They brought in some Sam 7 missiles, and the person who alerted us was Dan Stannard. We removed them. Even Claymore Mines were put in Rufaro grounds and this is why Stannard got an award. I think it is his (Mugabe’s) old age, that he has forgotten.

He said I was a Rhodesian spy? Old age is bad if his mind twists that way.

Why would he work with me for 54 years if I was a Rhodesian spy? Rubbish and nonsense this is.

PT: What about the immediate post-independence period of instability in the country.

EM: I should give credit for how we handled matters post-independence. The president, prime minister (Mugabe) back then espoused national reconciliation.

We had some whites who went out to reverse our gains but we were able to outmanoeuvre them and establish peace.

At the time there were a lot of bandits and dissidents killing people in Matabeleland North, the Midlands. I am happy that at the end of the day reconciliation won because it was not an easy task to marry three armies which had different orientations.

PT: What about violence against the MDC post-2000? Many were killed and jailed and none have been prosecuted for those crimes.

EM: You can go back to the police and find out who was not charged. Go to the police and ask what happened to those cases.

Anyone who committed a crime the police would have had a duty to arrest, them.

PT: What about the G40 faction within Zanu PF that has been loyal to Mugabe… what happened to them?

EM: I have never been a member of G40. I don’t know what they are planning or not planning. I hear from security that they continuously tweet. They continuously make statements.

To me. I am looking forward to the future. There is no reason for living in the past. We must all preach peace and unite our people even those who were antagonistic. We are Zimbabweans and come together.

PT: Returning to the shooting in Harare on August 1. Who gave the order to the army because General Valerio Sibanda says he did not give the order?

EM: I have replied to this. You are so repetitive…

This is typical like Mugabe.

We walked together for 54 years and he didn’t trust me.

No one gave orders …there is this perception and it is disjointed. I explained, the army has a strict command structure, I am the commander-in-chief and matters are handled according to the process.

Independent Foreign Service

Paul Nyathi|Lawyers representing MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa on Saturday managed to meet the court deadline to file answering affidavits and heads of arguments at the Constitutional Court on the challenge against Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election victory.

The President-elect’s lawyers will also file their final papers on Monday ahead of a sitting of the full nine-judge Constitutional Court bench on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists after filing the papers, MDC Alliance legal representative Sylvester Hashiti said:

“We have filed our detailed heads of arguments addressing all points of all that they (Mnangagwa’s legal team) raised. We have also filed replying affidavits to reply to what their purported experts have said.”

Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Paul Mangwana said they would file their opposing papers on Monday as instructed by the Constitutional Court.

“Our main line of argument is that their application is attempting to substitute votes that were cast through a scientific formula which they are positing. Elections are won and lost on the basis of votes. You don’t determine an electoral output through some scientific formulas. At law we have the best evidence and in this case, the best evidence in this case comes from the ballots.”

Mangwana said they would also argue for the case to be dismissed on a technicality over late submissions, before the merits of the case are heard. He said the MDC-Alliance failed to serve President Mnangagwa on time, something Hashiti disputes.

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By Paul Nyathi|MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has mourned the sudden death of former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan.

Chamisa expresses deep sadness at the death of Annan who was in the country just a few days ago to mediate on the impasse in the aftermath of the national elections held at the end of last month.

Wrote Chamisa on his Twitter account:

Deeply saddened by the sudden passing of the iconic Kofi Annan whom I met a few days ago. A rare breed of diplomat; soft spoken but unshakeably firm. He had great love for world peace & democracy. A believer in Zimbabwe & its people. Go well son of Africa, Champion of the world!

“In terms of the Law the fake result 50.8% announced by Chigumba is final. Now that she has revised her result twice where is the ZRP?,” asks the MP for Kuwadzana Chalton Hwende.

In terms of the Law the fake result 50.8% announced by Chigumba is final. Now that she has revised her result twice where is the ZRP pic.twitter.com/NuvssyeXhI

— Chalton Hwende (@hwende) August 18, 2018

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Press Statement|It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness. His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.

Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world. During his distinguished career and leadership of the United Nations he was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights and the rule of law.

After stepping down from the United Nations, he continued to work tirelessly in the cause of peace through his chairmanship of the Kofi Annan Foundation and as chair of The Elders, the group founded by Nelson Mandela. He was an inspiration to young and old alike.

Kofi Annan was a son of Ghana and felt a special responsibility towards Africa. He was particularly committed to African development and deeply engaged in many initiatives, including his chairmanship of the Africa Progress Panel and his early leadership of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy. He selflessly placed others first, radiating genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did. He will be greatly missed by so many around the world, as well as his staff at the Foundation and his many former colleagues in the United Nations system. He will remain in our hearts forever.

The family kindly requests privacy at this time of mourning. Arrangements to celebrate his remarkable life will be announced later.

CHIEF Justice Luke Malaba has given MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa a deadline of 12 noon Saturday to file his answering affidavit in support of his petition to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) challenging the results of the July 30 election won by President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Justice Malaba issued the order in his chambers on Thursday as the court’s nine judges prepare to determine the highly contested matter on Wednesday next week.

“The applicant (Chamisa) is to file and serve the answering affidavit simultaneously with heads of argument on the respondents (Mnangagwa and 21 other losing presidential candidates, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and its chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba) by no later than 12 noon on Saturday August 18, 2018,” the order read.

“The respondents are to file and serve heads of argument by no later than 10am on Monday August 20, 2018. (4):- The respondents who are all within their dies induciae (time limit) are free to file and serve their documents in the matter. (5):- All documents referred to herein are to be served by the Sheriff and (6):- Consolidation of the record is to be attended to by the Registrar at 11 am on Monday August 20, 2018. All parties are expected to attend.”

The MDC Alliance leader petitioned the court seeking nullification of the presidential votes, claiming he garnered 2 674 032 votes against Mnangagwa’s 2 008 639.

In his founding affidavit, Chamisa claims that about 700 000 votes remained unaccounted for and as such the results declaring Mnangagwa winner of the presidential elections were dubious.

“The votes announced by Zec however, give a total depending on whether one considers the announcement or that on the CD, some 4 775 640 and 4 774 878 respectively. That means from the results announced by Zec, more than 700 000 votes cannot be accounted for. Obviously, that huge figure materially affects the outcome of the election,” he said.

The youthful leader also alleges there were a number of irregularities, which included double counting of votes and embarrassing mathematical errors which were significant to affect the outcome of the poll.

Chamisa claims he was robbed of a win through mathematical errors by Zec.

But Mnangagwa dismissed the opposition leader’s averment, saying his victory was based on his preparedness and the will of the electorate.

In his founding affidavit, Mnangagwa said Chamisa’s application was not bona fide, but simply meant to delay his inauguration and to also find an opportunity to make political statements in court.

Chigumba also dismissed Chamisa’s victory claim, arguing that the electoral body had carried out its mandate according to law and that its findings and decision in favour of Mnangagwa was final.

In his founding affidavit through his lawyers, Charles Nyika and Tawanda Kanengoni, Justice Chigumba said the electoral body followed all the processes as provided for in the electoral law, relating to collation, verification and announcement of presidential election results.

Chigumba also said “the hacking of the electronic voters’ roll that the electoral commission affords to the public has resulted in a denting of the credibility of the voters’ roll…”.

“There is no basis for the allegation that the provision of sample ballot papers, which was done for every political party contesting the election, created fertile ground for rigging through ballot swapping and stuffing,” she said.

“Thee sample ballots are clearly marked “sample” how such a ballot could be swapped and pass for the actual ballots used in the election is again not explained by the applicant. Further still, the counting process at the close of the poll is witnessed by polling agents and election observers, if any instances of sample ballots having found their way into the ballot boxes, as the applicant alleges, existed, surely the thousands of polling agents and scored of election observers across the country would have picked that up during the count.”

Chigumba also dismissed claims that polling stations disappeared on the polling day and challenged Chamisa to state the names of the said stations.

“No polling station disappeared on the polling day. The applicant does not state the names of the polling stations that he alleges to have disappeared on the polling day.

“No polling stations were created on the polling day. 1HRDC and 2HRDC that the applicant cites as examples of created polling stations are in fact not polling stations. The former stands for ward 1 Hurungwe Rural District Council and the latter stands for ward 2 Hurungwe Rural District Council,” Chigumba said.

NewsDay

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa reportedly gathered the MDC-T national executive after the general elections and tabled a motion for a congress set for next year.

Chamisa is challenging the result of the presidential election in which President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission earlier this month. The Constitutional Court is set to hear the matter on August 22, with parties in the process of finalising responses but focus now seems to be slowly moving onto internal politics within his opposition party.

“At the national executive meeting held following the elections, the president (Chamisa) indicated that the party would go to congress next year. There was no objection because this is a constitutional requirement at the expiry of the five years following the last congress.

“This is an elaborate process that begins with the lower structures up to the nomination of the top leadership before the national congress which is likely to be around October next year,” NewsDay heard.

Party spokesperson Tabitha Khumalo said while she did not attend the meeting, there was no reason for Chamisa to have made the announcement “because it’s a given issue.”

“This is a constitutional issue that we hold a congress every five years and an extraordinary congress in between as and when there is reason for this. I did not attend the meeting but I do not see reason why he would have made such a proposal,” Khumalo said, referring questions to Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda.

Sibanda earlier in the day had promised to inquire with his principal promising to provide answers but had not responded by the time of going to print.

MDC-T national organising secretary Amos Chibaya confirmed that indeed Chamisa had tabled the motion.

“Yes the president just mentioned it in passing but for now we are all focused on the national election that we won. It is no longer an alliance issue but a national matter that should concern all Zimbabweans. The congress will come and it’s a constitutional issue that is not in question,” Chibaya said.

Chamisa came to power following the death of MDC-T founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai in February this year, triggering a vicious internal leadership fight that ripped the opposition movement apart.

Then co-vice-president Thokozani Khupe fought Chamisa for the top job but the youthful former MP prevailed, leading to a split that analysts argue could have cost the latter’s chances of winning last month’s presidential race.

While Khupe demanded an extraordinary congress, Chamisa rejected this arguing it was a side-show meant to distract the opposition party from the important business of a then pending general election.

Reports have emerged of jostling for positions with secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora seen as a possible challenger for the party’s leadership. Mwonzora prevailed over Chamisa during a vicious scrap for the position of party chief administrator at the 2014 congress. However, the former Nyanga North MP has kept his cards close to his chest and has in the past few weeks been forced to sue the media for linking him to a plot to oust Chamisa.

According to the reports, the plot against Chamisa “is premised on two pillars” to blame the presidential candidate and the alliance for failing to deal with double nominations, which allowed Zanu PF to get a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and personal campaign blundering.

To add to the plot, returning former secretary-general Tendai Biti is reportedly also angling to lead the opposition in Parliament given Chamisa, if the defeat is confirmed, will be out in the cold while Mwonzora will be confined to the Senate.

Newsday

By Own Correspondent| The Harare City Council is set to demolish all illegal structures including residential properties in a move aimed at bringing sanity to the city.

The city fathers said the imminent demolitions had been necessitated by the influx of land invasions by people claiming political clout.

Said the HCC:

Harare City Council is moving to demolish all illegal structures on recently invaded land. There has been an influx of land invasions by people claiming political clout. Council is buoyed by Government support… https://t.co/ialC8ZXVXs

— City of Harare (@cohsunshinecity) August 16, 2018

THE opposition MDC Alliance has found itself in a spot of bother over what promises to be a contentious process in the selection of mayors and council chairpersons, with Harare proving to be a political banana skin.

Opposition leader and presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa set up an 18-member committee to interview prospective candidates to lead the 23 urban and two rural councils won by his pre-election coalition.

The team led by former Mufakose MP, Paurina Mupariwa and included residents’ associations, local government experts and senior MDC Alliance members had a torrid time to pick who should lead the municipalities the party has majority in.

As usual, Harare and Bulawayo will headline debate on how the opposition performs in the next five years in the run up to the 2023 elections.

Party secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora confirmed that the committee had completed its work.

“We have set up a committee and invited prospective candidates, who want to be selected as mayors or council chairpersons to apply. For Harare, we interviewed five candidates, while Bulawayo we had 14 people applying as prospective mayors,” Mwonzora said.

“We now await the formal composition of the councils and the process of selecting the mayors or council chairpersons according to procedure. As a party, we have done our homework and have people with both capacity and integrity to run local authorities for the benefit of our people.”

While Mwonzora said he was not at liberty to discuss names of interviewed candidates, sources said businessperson Ian Makone will lead the cast of those vying to lead Harare. Others interviewed include Enock Mupamaonde, People’s Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Mafume, Herbert Gomba and one (Budiriro ward 33 councillor-elect) Kunashe.

Representing residents, Combined Harare Residents Association chairperson, Simbarashe Moyo said they participated in the process and were hopeful that councillors will elect the best from list the panel recommended.

“We made our recommendations as the panel and we are hopeful the party will do justice by allowing the best candidate to lead these council’s. We looked at experience, ability to turn-around cities and their respective towns as well as being able to engage the residents. We made our recommendations to the party for a final decision on all 23 urban councils and two rural local authorities,” Moyo said.

NewsDay Weekender understands that Makone has a BSc in Economics and a Masters in Research, while Mupamaonde did business studies and has an MBA and Mafume holds a law degree as well as a masters. Third-term councillor Gomba has a social science first degree and a masters in policy and governance.

“Initially, it seems the party was ready to give the job to Makone because they thought he would automatically be the best qualified. But now it seems all candidates are equally qualified, presenting the party with a ‘positive’ headache,” a source said. There have been muted protests from Bulawayo, some bordering on ethnic divisions, amid claims most of the elected councillors on the MDC Alliance ticket were “Shona speakers”.

But Mwonzora defended the work of the committee and the party’s decision to conduct interviews.

“We have a very professional process that is open and fair to all. Our aim is not to select people on the basis of their origin, but on competence,” he said.

NewsDay

A self-proclaimed prophet blew the cover on police constable Dingumuzi Ncube (35), who has since been arrested for theft of gold worth nearly $1 million from an armoury at Plumtree Police Station in Matabeleland South Province.

Ncube had consulted the prophet in a bid to be prayed for so that he could have powers to evade arrest.

He gave the prophet 8kg of the gold as a thank you. After arresting Ncube following the tip-off from the prophet, police have since launched a manhunt for a senior officer in connection with the theft of the gold.

Sources said the prophet was approached by Ncube on Thursday, a day after it was discovered that the gold was missing.

The stolen gold weighing 28,5kg worth more than $970 000, was being kept as an exhibit at the station since September 2015.

The gold was recovered by members of the Police Border Control and Minerals Unit, who intercepted a man at Plumtree Border Post as he allegedly attempted to smuggle it into Botswana.

Police chief national spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed Ncube’s arrest. She said another police officer suspected to be involved in the theft was on the run.

Snr Asst Comm Charamba said she could not give details on the matter as that would jeopardise investigations.

“I can confirm that a police officer has been arrested in connection with the theft of 28,5kg of gold at Plumtree Police Station,” she said.

“The suspect is assisting police with investigations and unfortunately at the moment I can’t give more information as this will jeopardise investigations.”

Ncube, according to sources, had allegedly bought three brand new vehicles, a Quantum, a Toyota Wish and a Toyota Regius.

The sources said police have since recovered $37 000 and 3kgs of gold following Ncube’s arrest. The theft of the gold was discovered on Wednesday at around 11am by officers who were on duty.

State media

By Paul Nyathi|A family in Harare has revealed to ZimEye.com that it is on the brink of losing its home over a debt it incurred when they invested funds into one of Prophet Walter Magaya’s investment schemes.

The family claims to have invested an undisclosed huge amount of money into Yadah Connect a financial scheme run by Magaya in March 2017 hoping to get a quick return on the investment but have to date not received anything including the principal investment.

“We invested in mining yadah connect last year 2017 march and were told after 6 months we will get our profits. Up to now we have not yet received a cent,” said a family member who would not be named.

“All along we have been patient because the factory was being built and buying of machines. The factory was officially opened this year in feb and in march we were suppose to get our 40% prfits but suprisingly up to now noone has received money. we are now worried because there is no communication at all with Yadah connect.”

“Now,we want our money back they are telling us stories. they said if we want refunds write a letter and submit with orignal receipts and we did that but to no avail. We have been to their offices several times but what we get are insult and funny stories,” said the family member.

Contacted for a comment, an official at the PHD Ministries church that runs the scheme said that Magaya is set to meet with all the investors on August 25 where all issues around the delays in getting their returns will be solved.

The family however said that they can not wait until that date as they will be having no where to stay.

This has unleashed a new wave of suspicions, tensions and instability in the security establishment as the internal political power struggles in the Mnangagwa government continue to manifest themselves in various ways.

The move comes amid escalating tensions between Mnangagwa and his ambitious deputy, retired army commander General Constantino Chiwenga who, as the Zimbabwe Independent reported last week, is manoeuvring to position himself to wrest power from his boss. Security forces are critical to the intensifying battle between the two and their militarised factions.

Those who were fired from the CIO From yesterday for allegedly being too close to former CIO director-general Happyton Bonyongwe, who is also former Justice minister, and Mugabe include director-counter intelligence, Musafare Nyamudahondo, director-technical department Charles Hwekwete and director-economics Jimias Madzingira.

“There was an internal circular written on Wednesday which announced that three directors have been dismissed, while two were redeployed from the external branch to the security department, and from security to administration,” an intelligence source said.

“Nyamudahondo, Hwekwete and Madzingira are now out. The first two are said to be close to the Mugabe family and Bonyongwe respectively, while the third one is Bonyongwe’s brother-in-law as he is the brother to his wife Willia Bonyongwe née Madzingira. Hwekwete worked with Bonyongwe in the army.”

Bonyongwe was linked to the Zanu PF G40 faction which was crushed in the military coup last November, although he originally belonged to the late retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru’s ruling party factional group. Mujuru is believed to have been killed in the Mugabe succession battles. Mugabe supported G40, which was led by his wife Grace.

Since new CIO director-general Isaac Moyo came in December after the coup, there have been repeated purges and changes in the intelligence service. Before his appointment, Moyo had been Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa. Intelligence sources say Mnangagwa and his allies, including Moyo, are determined to weed out G40 remnants in the security sector, government and Zanu PF in a bid to ensure loyalty and trust in state institutions and their political organisation.

In February, Mnangagwa initiated the biggest purge of CIO officers when he fired 17 senior operatives for allegedly being loyal to Mugabe.

Among those dismissed at the beginning of the year were director-security Albert Ngulube, director-external Andrew Muzonzini, Kizito Gweshe deputy director counter intelligence and Tadzingaira Tachivei, assistant director counter intelligence, who was recently arrested over alleged links to Mugabe, the former president’s aide de camp Wonder Nyakurima and many others. Zimbabwe Independent

VIDEO LOADING BELOW ….

ACCIDENT or ASSASSINATION? ZEC Boss’ Sudden Death Was Caused By What?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) August 16, 2018

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has suspended from office the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Professor Levi Nyagura (pictured) who is facing charges of criminal abuse of office.

Professor Nyagura (72) is accused of facilitating the awarding of a ‘fake’ PhD degree to former First Lady Grace Mugabe.

IN a letter signed by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr. Misheck Sibanda and dated Thursday 16 August 2018, Nyagura is suspended with immediate effect and with full benefits pending the finalisation of his case.

Reads the letter: “The suspension is in terms of section 340 (1) (f) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, read together with section 28 of the Interpretation Act and is with immediate effect with full benefits.”

Nyagura was arrested in February 2018 arrested for alleged criminal abuse of office for his role in the awarding of the degree to the former first lady. Harare magistrate Tilda Mazhande was told Nyagura single-handedly accepted the wife of former president Robert Mugabe’s application to study for the PhD without the knowledge of the UZ’s sociology department.

Prosecutor Oscar Madhume said in 2011 Nyagura approved Ntombizodwa G Marufu (Grace’s maiden name) application without the knowledge and recommendations of the departmental board and faculty of higher degrees committee in violation of UZ quality assurance guidelines and benchmark.

He said during the same period, Nyagura appointed Professor Claude Mararike and Professor Chaneta to supervise Grace without the knowledge and approval of the department.

Nyagura is accused of usurping the powers of the UZ senate by single-handedly appointing examiners for Mugabe’s research in violation of the UZ Act chapter 25:16 and Ordinance 1998/99.

Nyagura allegedly led supervisors and examiners to Mugabe’s Mazowe orphanage, where the defence oral examination was purportedly done without the knowledge and approval of the academic committee while in actual fact the examination is supposed to be done at the UZ premises.

The prosecution alleged that during the same year, Nyagura recommended to Mugabe that Grace should be awarded the PhD.

This was allegedly done without the knowledge of the UZ council and academic committee.

The sociology department distanced itself from both the candidate and awarding of the degree as it was done without their knowledge. Prosecutors said Grace did not meet the minimum requirements to study for the degree.

Nyagura, who is represented by advocate Lewis Uriri, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded to March 5 on $200 bail.

As part of his bail conditions, Nyagura was ordered not to interfere with State witnesses who include lecturers.

Newsday

Veritus Publication|Remedies Open to Dissatisfied National Assembly and Local Council Candidates

Challenges to National Assembly and local authority election results are matters for the Electoral Court alone. If an unsuccessful candidate believes that he or she should have won, or that the election in the constituency/ward was so flawed that it should be nullified and re-run, that candidate has a limited choice of remedies:

a request to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] for a recount where the only complaint is that votes were miscounted
Note: the time for making such a request has passed so it will not be dealt with in this bulletin

an election petition to the Electoral Court in the case of other complaints.
In both cases, there are strict time-limits to be observed and procedures to be followed, and failure may result in rejection. Time-limits are particularly important: our courts have held that time-limits in electoral cases cannot be extended.

Election Petitions to Electoral Court

14-day deadline for lodging election petition

An election petition challenging the election of a member of the National Assembly in a general election must be lodged with the Electoral Court within 14 days after the declaration of the results for the last constituency in the election.

An election petition challenging the election of a councillor in a general election must be lodged with the Electoral Court within 14 days after the declaration of the results for the last ward of the local authority concerned.

This is the effect of section 168(2) of the Electoral Act.

Who can lodge an election petition?

Only an unsuccessful candidate for the parliamentary or council seat concerned may lodge an election petition [Electoral Act, section 167]. Political parties and members of the public cannot do so.

On what grounds can an election petition be based?

Section 167 of the Electoral Act allows an election petition to complain that the election was not valid “by reason of want of qualification, disqualification, electoral malpractice, irregularity or any other cause whatsoever”. This is very widely phrased but the circumstances in which the Electoral Court can set aside an election are more limited, as will be pointed out later in this bulletin.

There is a definition of electoral malpractice in section 4 of the Electoral Act:

“electoral malpractice” means an intimidatory practice, corrupt practice, illegal practice or other offence in terms of Part XX [of the Act]

Intimidatory practices include intimidating people to vote for a particular candidate or not to vote, or compelling people to attend political meetings or other events; taking anyone’s identity documents to obstruct voting; and [a very recent addition to the list by the Electoral Amendment Act, 6/2018] persuading or attempting to persuade people that it will be possible to discover who they have voted for in an election
Corrupt practices include bribery, using undue influence to induce people to vote or not to vote, and impersonating voters or casting more than one vote in an election
Illegal practices include preventing the holding of lawful political meetings; destroying, defacing or removing political posters; conducting political activities within 300 metres of a polling station on polling day; obstructing voters from voting either at a polling station or on their way to or from a polling station.
Service of notice on successful candidate

Within 10 days after a petition is lodged, written notice of it must be served on the person whose election is challenged, either on him or her in person or by leaving it at his or her usual or last known dwelling or place of business [section 169 of the Electoral Act]. In previous elections many petitions were summarily dismissed for being served late or at the headquarters of the successful candidate’s political party.

Petitioner must give security for the respondent’s costs

Within seven days after lodging an election petition the petitioner must give security for the respondent’s costs. The amount of security is fixed by the Registrar of the court and, according to section 168 of the Electoral Act, must be not less than an amount prescribed by ZEC in terms of section 192 of the Act after consultation with the Chief Justice. It can be more than this sum but this can only be fixed by the Registrar of the Electoral court

The amount prescribed in section 28 of the Electoral Regulations is US $500. Six days ago the Chief Justice issued a Practice Direction in which he announced that the prescribed amount was now to be US $2 000 for National Assembly election petitions and US $1 000 for local authority petitions. The Practice Direction is probably illegal because the amounts have not been prescribed in regulations made by ZEC under section 192 of the Electoral Act, as they should have been. In any event the Direction probably does not apply to current petitions because section 157(5) of the Constitution states that changes to laws relating to elections do not apply to an election once it has been called. Whatever its validity the timing of the Practice Direction – issued just before election petitions are due to be lodged – is most unfortunate.

Procedure and evidence

The procedure to be followed in election petitions is laid down in section 171 of the Electoral Act and, for any matter not specifically covered in that section, is the same as the procedure for court applications under the High Court Rules.

The Electoral (Applications, Appeals and Petitions) Rules, 1995 (SI 74A/1995) should be complied with as well. Although they were made before the current Electoral Act was enacted, a judge of the Electoral Court in 2013 decided that they remained in force, and his judgment was followed in subsequent cases. The judgment is available on the Veritas website [link]. Veritas lobbied the Minister of Justice to update and simplify the procedural rules early this year. But this was not done.

Electoral Court’s Limited Power to Set Aside Election

Although the Electoral Act allows an election petition to seek the setting aside of an election “for any … cause whatsoever”, the Electoral Act makes it clear that not every malpractice will result in an election result being changed:

Under section 155 of the Act, the Electoral Court can set aside an election on the ground of electoral malpractice only if it was committed with the knowledge or consent of the successful candidate or his or her agents, and if the malpractice was such as to have materially affected the outcome of the election.
Section 156 of the Act reinforces this by stating that if malpractices were committed by a candidate’s agents, but neither the candidate nor his or her chief election agent sanctioned them and took reasonable precautions to prevent them, and if the malpractices were trivial, unimportant and limited, then the election cannot be set aside.
Under section 177 of the Act, the Electoral Court can set aside an election on the ground of mistake or non-compliance with the Act only if:
the election was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Act, and
the mistake or non-compliance affected the result of the election.
It is for the petitioner, of course, to prove both these things.

Despite what is said in the Electoral Act, the Constitution may have expanded the grounds on which elections can be set aside. Sections 155 and 156 of the Constitution lay down principles by which elections must be conducted. Section 67 gives citizens the right to free, fair and regular elections. Elections which are not free or fair, or which violate the principles laid down in the Constitution, are arguably not elections for the purpose of the Constitution and are void no matter what the Electoral Act may say. This was the line adopted by the Supreme Court of Kenya in a constitutional case decided last year. It is to be hoped that our courts may adopt a similar approach.

Time Limits for Deciding Election Petitions

Every election petition must be decided by the Electoral Court within six months of its presentation [Electoral Act, section 182].

Appeals against Electoral Court decisions

The Electoral Court’s decision on a question of fact is final and is not subject to appeal. But its decision on questions of law may be taken on appeal to the Supreme Court [Electoral Act, section 172].

An appeal to the Supreme Court must be decided within three months of the lodging of the appeal [this period was reduced from the previous six months by the Electoral Amendment Act, 6/2018].

The new section 182(3) of the Electoral Act empowers the Judge President of the High Court and the Chief Justice to give directions as to the filing of documents and the hearing of evidence, to ensure that the Electoral Court and Supreme Court meet these time-limits for deciding petitions and appeals.

The Electoral Court and its judges

The Electoral Court is a division of the High Court [Electoral Act, section 161(1) as enacted by the recent Electoral Amendment Act, 6/2018]. Its judges are High Court judges assigned by the Chief Justice.

Note: For the purposes of the recent general election, the Chief Justice appointed all 35 High Court judges, including Judge President Chiweshe, to be judges of the Electoral Court from the 8th June to the 31st December 2018: see General Notice 390/2018 [link]. So there will be Electoral Court judges available to hear election petitions lodged at any of the four seats of the High Court – Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mutare.

An Electoral Court judge may sit alone, or in a particular case ask for the assistance of two assessors appointed by the Registrar of the Electoral Court from a panel of at least ten persons compiled by the Chief Justice and the Judge President. One of the two assessors in any case must be a woman [an amendment made by the Electoral Amendment Act, 6/2018]. Assessors are advisory only, meaning that – unlike assessors in High Court criminal trials – they have no say in the court’s decision.

Importance of Using an Updated Version of the Electoral Act

It will have been obvious to everyone reading this bulletin that anyone involved in bringing an election petition should use an updated version of the Electoral Act that includes the amendments made by the Electoral Amendment Act, 6/2018. An updated version of the Act is available for downloading on the Veritas website [link].

By Paul Nyathi|A police constable has been arrested while a manhunt for a senior officer has been launched in connection with the case in which gold worth nearly $1 million vanished from an armoury at Plumtree Police Station in Matabeleland South Province, as investigations intensify.

The gold, weighing 28,5kg worth over $970 000, was being kept as an exhibit at the station since September 2015. The yellow metal was being kept at the police station after Border Control and Minerals Unit intercepted it at Plumtree Border Post from a man who sought to smuggle it into Botswana.

The unknown suspect tore khaki paper in which the gold was wrapped and stole all of it, leaving the papers in a bucket in the armoury.

Police sources have confirmed that a police constable (name being withheld) has since been arrested in connection with the case and is assisting police with investigations.

More to follow…

By Paul Nyathi|Mystery surrounds Plumtree Police Station on how gold worth close to a million dollars and two fire arms vanished from the armoury at the police station.

ZimEye.com has been provided with a police outline of what could have happened to the gold with indications that the keys to the armoury were mysteriously duplicated.

The full outline by the police reads as follows:

MEMORANDUM
TO : COORDINATOR MBCU MAT SOUTH .
FROM : MBCU PLUMTREE
MEMO : /18
DATED : 15 AUGUST 2018

MBCU PLUMTREE

Amnesty International’s new leader said Wednesday his first act is writing to Zimbabwe’s next president about the disappearance of activist Itai Dzamara: “Whoever leads the new government must move to undo the injustices of the past.”

Kumi Naidoo, a South African-born former anti-apartheid activist, took office as secretary general of the London-based rights group on Wednesday. His focus on Dzamara, who was abducted by suspected state agents in 2015 under Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe, puts further pressure on the government of President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former enforcer, to acknowledge past abuses.

Dzamara is the highest-profile activist to go missing under Mugabe’s 37-year rule, which was marred by the Matabeleland massacre of thousands of people in the 1980s by a North Korea-trained military brigade, harsh repression against the opposition and sometimes violent land seizures from white farmers. The southern African nation eventually became an international pariah.

Last week President Donald Trump signed a law tightening the requirements Zimbabwe must meet for the lifting of U.S. sanctions, which include ordering an inquiry into the disappearance of Dzamara and other rights activists. It was a setback for Mnangagwa, who has tried to recast himself as a reformer since taking over after Mugabe’s military-enforced resignation in November. Mnangagwa himself remains under U.S. sanctions.

Instead of addressing the abuses of the past, however, Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to let “bygones be bygones” and move on from the repressive era during which, at different times, he held the posts of minister of state security, defense and justice.

The 94-year-old Mugabe last month dismissed Dzamara as “that character” and denied knowing of his fate.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba on Wednesday said an investigation into the disappearance was still under way: “We will tell you if we make any progress.”

Dzamara, a former newspaper reporter, was abducted when he was having a shave at a barbershop near his home. Two days before that, he told a rally organized by then-opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that Zimbabweans should rebel against Mugabe.

Patson Dzamara, the activist’s brother, was assaulted and arrested by state security agents after protesting the kidnapping by raising a placard in front of Mugabe when he was still president.

On Wednesday he tweeted that it was “humbling” that Amnesty International’s new leader decided to speak up for his brother in his first act in office. He was not optimistic, however.

“It is important for the international community to continue piling the pressure but we are not holding much hope that this government will be able to provide us with answers,” he said.

“The people who are in government now, including President Mnangagwa, were in government when Itai was abducted. We didn’t receive much help then and we have not received any help now.”

Associated Press

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won re-election with 67 percent of the vote in a run-off against opposition rival Soumaila Cisse, the Ministry of Territorial Administration said on Thursday.

The victory hands Keita a second five-year term in the mostly desert West African country where militant violence and claims of fraud by the opposition marred the poll. Keita now faces the giant task of lifting Mali out of a spiral of Islamist and ethnic violence in the centre and north where attacks worsened in the months leading up to the vote despite the presence of UN and French troops.

Threats by jihadist militants forced nearly 500 polling stations – about two percent of the total – to stay closed during Sunday’s run-off, the government said.

One election official was killed in northern Niafunke, in Timbuktu region.

It also meant voter turnout of over 2.7 million people was a muted 34 percent of the electorate.

Cisse has accused the Keita’s campaign of ballot stuffing and tweaking electoral rolls to secure the win, accusations Keita denies.

Despite the bitter rhetoric leading up to Thursday’s results, however, the streets of Bamako and other main cities remained calm this week. The country exports gold and cotton.— Reuters.

LOSING Zanu PF council candidates in Beitbridge have blamed the enactment of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, which banned the importation of certain basic goods, for their defeat in the July 30 harmonised elections.

Zanu PF performed dismally against the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance, which swept clean the six Local Government seats in the border town.

MDC Alliance, led by national youth organising secretary Morgan Ncube, who is tipped to become Beitbridge mayor, will now be in full control of Zimbabwe’s youngest, but strategic municipality.

Incidentally, it is the first and only municipality approved and signed for by President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa after he took over from former President Robert Mugabe after a military intervention in November last year.

On July 1, 2016, government gazetted SI64 of 2016, meant to boost domestic production by protecting local industries from perceived unfair competition from cheap imports.

SI64/2016 resulted in the removal of 43 products from the Open General Import Licence, but drew criticism from Zimbabwe’s neighbours, who claimed that the instrument had adversely affected their economies and violated the Southern Africa Development Community Protocol on Trade, which seeks to promote free trade among member states.

At home, ordinary citizens felt it protected big chefs who accessed licenses and imported the same banned goods and sold them to the poor at exorbitant and exploitative prices.

Economists said the policy, while being a noble idea, needed to be complemented by increased local production through addressing the supply side constraints and other key production enablers.

Beitbridge, with a population of approximately 60 000, who rely on cross-border trading activities, was worst hit.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, for fear of being labelled as undermining the government’s policies, some Zanu PF members pointed at SI64/2016 as the main cause of their political misery.

“It took away the livelihood of many people in this town and even yonder. We have no industries and people here survive on border post-related activities, most of which ended with the introduction of that nasty policy,” one Zanu PF member said.

“It does not mean that all Beitbridge residents lived on buying and selling. Others cleared goods for those who imported. Others were just porters. The long and short of it is people hinged their livelihood on the imports of most goods banned by that legislation,” the member said.

On July 1, 2016, violent demonstrations against SI64/2016 rocked Beitbridge town, but later spread like a veld fire to other towns.

Millions of dollars worth of goods, a State warehouse, Beitbridge Municipality vehicles and infrastructure, including traffic lights were destroyed in the demonstrations, which resulted in a blockage of the border by sympathisers on the South African side a week before.

The violent demonstrations caught police napping, culminating in the entire 600 police officers and cleaners at Beitbridge being transferred from the border town for alleged dereliction of duty.

Scores of people later arrested for the violent protests were acquitted for lack of evidence.

“That was not a good sign. It is when powers that be should have gone back to the drawing board to look at what had caused that in a town that had never before taken such action,” another losing candidate said.

“We have now paid dearly for that. It is sad we are no longer in charge of the face of Zimbabwe, which Beitbridge is.”

Beitbridge, the busiest inland port in sub-Saharan Africa, handles the bulk of imports into Zimbabwe.

Besides, landlocked nations in the region use the post to relay goods to their respective destinations owing to its direct link to South African ports.

Beitbridge is the only direct official surface link between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The losing Zanu PF members have a common feeling that going forward, their party has to revise that instrument and put bread back on people’s tables.

“We must realise this was one stronghold of the ruling party which has been snatched. From here, it will spread into our rural areas unless serious measures are taken,” another member said.

NewsDay

By A Correspondent|ZIMBABWE Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba has indicated that she was ready for a legal showdown with MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, where she will shoot down the vote rigging allegations levelled against her.

Chamisa, in his recent presidential petition to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt), accused the Chigumba-led Zec of vote-rigging in favour of Zanu PF candidate President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa.

But Chigumba, in her response to Chamisa’s challenge, dismissed as “unsubstantiated” claims that Zec rigged the July 30 polls in Mnangagwa’s favour.

Chamisa approached the ConCourt last Friday, seeking to challenge Mnangagwa’s election victory, citing massive vote-rigging. The matter has been set down for hearing on August 22.

Chigumba accused Chamisa of failing to provide the electoral body with relevant documents to enable her office to properly respond to the application.

“Further still, the applicant’s (Chamisa’s) founding affidavit refers, in several instances, to compact discs (CD) that are said to be attached to the application. No such compact discs were served at the 23rd respondent (Zec) offices either on August 10, or 11, 2018 … it is these absent compact discs and separate bundle of evidence that the applicant avers contain the source material used …” Chigumba said.

In her founding affidavit through her lawyers, Charles Nyika and Tawanda Kanengoni, Chigumba said the electoral body followed due processes as provided for in the Electoral Act, especially on issues relating to collation, verification and announcement of presidential election results.

“The process as provided for in the electoral law relating to collation, verification and announcement of presidential election results was followed by the electoral commission as I have illustrated herein above. Any mathematical error that may have occurred in the process is neither gross nor sufficient to overturn the outcome of the presidential election and thus cannot ground the vacation of the declaration I made in terms of section 110(3)(f)(ii) of the electoral Act,” she said.

“I have, in my (Chigumba) deposition thus far, shown that not only were the original V11 and V23 forms used in the collation and verification of presidential election results at the national command centre, but also that the applicant (Chamisa)’s election agents were involved in that process and were given, upon request, access to any V11 and V23 forms for purposes of verification.”

Chigumba further claimed that Chamisa’s calculations pertaining to the total voter population for purposes of the 2018 general election were wrong.

“The applicant’s (Chamisa) calculations are wrong; the total voter population for purposes of the 2018 general election was 5 695 936 and not 5 659 583 as indicated by the applicant. The previously announced number before polling day had been 5 695 706, which figure was adjusted by the addition of 230 voters who had been registered on a BVR kit in Chegutu, Mashonaland West province, prior to the cut-off date for the 2018 general election, but had not been uploaded into the database,” she said.

Turning to the opposition’s claims that there were over 700 000 unaccounted for votes, Chigumba said Chamisa had also gotten his mathematical calculations wrong.

“… the 700 000 votes that the applicant alleges are unaccounted for are directly resultant upon the use of 72% as the final voter turnout in the presidential election and not the correct 85,1%. Furthermore, the figure that the applicant comes up with, 4 032 000, as 72% of the total voter population includes, by necessary implication, every vote that would be cast in a presidential poll including votes that would, on the count, be deemed to be invalid for one reason or another. The figures he indicates as the total votes cast from the announced results, 4 775 640, and from the data on the electoral commission’s CD, 4 774 878, both reflect the total valid votes cast in terms of the announcements and the data on the CD,” Chigumba said.

“The 4 032 000 on the one hand and the 4 775 640 and 4 774 878 on the other are thus totals representing two different kinds of things the former including every valid and invalid vote and the latter only the valid votes. The applicant then proceeds to subtract, in turn, the two elements of the latter category of votes from the former category of votes thus yielding in each instance the 700 000 alleged unaccounted votes without taking account, in that computation, of the difference between the two things he has subtracted from each other.”

Chigumba also said the process of collation and verification of the presidential results was done transparently, while Chamisa’s agents, Morgen Komichi and Jameson Timba “had full access to the results collation”.

“The collation of the results of some polling stations twice was a data capture error whose extent has no material effect on the results of the presidential election. After correction of the double entries the first respondent (Mnangagwa) still meets the statutory thresholds of 50% plus 1,” she said adding: “… the process of collation and verification of the presidential results was done transparently, and the applicant’s agents Mr Morgen Komichi and Jameson Timba had full access to the results collation at the electoral commission’s national command centre.

“As already averred Mr Timba during this process, had occasion to request V11 and V23 forms for several constituencies, he examined those forms and made whatever notes he wished to make, he did not raise any queries with respect to those V11 or V23s … the provisions of section 110 of the Electoral Act are such that the absence of any candidate or his/her election agent does not stop the process prescribed in that section from proceeding to its conclusion.”

Commenting on the V11 and V23 forms impasse, Chigumba said every political party had access to the forms as and when they requested for them but castigated Chamisa for sourcing V11 forms information on social media.

“Applicant also alludes to having sourced the V11 forms from social media, suffice to remind him that a v11 form is obtained through the provision of section 64(1) (d1) of the Electoral Act. The authenticity of his source of data is thus in doubt,” she said.

“As I have already averred, over the two day period, the applicant’s agents had unlimited access to all the original V11 and V23 forms relating to the presidential election and had the opportunity, at their discretion, to make notes from those V11 and V23 forms or to raise any queries with the electoral commission officials where they had problems with the information that was on the V11 and V23s being used by the electoral commission versus what they had through their own election agents from various polling
stations.

“Surely, if the applicant had polling agents at the unidentified polling stations he alleges did not have returns affixed, those agents would have been given V11 forms before the return for the polling station is affixed in terms of the law. The applicant does not in this context present his V11 forms and contends that the V11 forms that the electoral commission has are different from what he has …”

The Zec boss further said Chamisa did not indicate at which polling stations he alleges the election returns were not affixed and neither did he explain as to whether he had polling agents stationed at such polling stations, and if so, why no affidavits have been deposed to by such agents in support of his averments that 21% of polling stations were not affixed in terms of the law.

“Having made the allegations the applicant was enjoined to prove it in his founding papers; he has failed to do so … the conclusion made by the applicant, from this bare allegation, is that the electoral commission rigged the presidential election with no evidence furnished and no explanation given as to how the alleged rigging is said to have taken place,” she said.

“An application in motion proceedings ought to make out his full case in his founding affidavit and if, as he has done herein, he makes bald and unsubstantiated allegations, his application cannot possibly succeed.”

She urged the ConCourt to dismiss Chamisa’s application on the basis that it had not been filed in terms of section 93 of the Constitution as read with the ConCourt rules, 2016.
“No valid application has been filed by the applicant challenging the election of the first respondent to the office of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, in terms of section 93 of the Constitution as read with the ConCourt rules, 2016,” the Zec chair said.

“In terms of section 93(1) of the Constitution, a challenge to the validity of an election to the office of the President is instituted by way of a petition or application lodged with the ConCourt within seven days after the date of the declaration of the results of the election. Being a period prescribed by statute, the seven-day provided by section 93(1) of the Constitution are reckoned with the inclusion of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The time for lodging a petition in terms of section 93(1) thus expired on the 10th of August 2018.”

“… Being peremptorily limited to the period of seven days after the declaration of the result of the election, any filing and/or service that is done outside that timeframe is, accordingly, invalid with the correlative effect of rendering the entire application fatally and incurably defective.”

Commenting on the alleged disappearance of polling stations on the polling date, Chigumba said: “No polling station disappeared on the polling day. The applicant does not state the names of the polling stations that he alleges to have disappeared on the polling day. No polling stations were created on the polling day. 1HRDC and 2HRDC that the applicant cites as examples of created polling stations are in fact not polling stations. The former stands for ward 1 Hurungwe Rural District Council and the latter stands for ward 2 Hurungwe Rural District Council.”

The party’s secretary general, Mr Douglas Mwonzora yesterday said they have requested that the presidential election challenge court case be broadcast LIVE.

Chief Justice Luke Malaba told MDC Alliance lawyers to make the application before the full Constitution Court bench. Mwonzora told the state media: “Our lawyers have made a request (for live broadcast) to the Chief Justice because this is a matter of national and international importance.

“They made a request to the Chief Justice that it is in the interest of the people of Zimbabwe, so that they are able to follow the process. The Chief Justice then said they will have to make that application before the full the bench. For me it is good for transparency.”

The June 2018 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Advanced Level results are out and centre heads will start collecting them from Zimsec regional offices on Monday.

Zimsec board chairman Professor Eddie Mwenje made the announcement in a statement yesterday.

“The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Board and Management would like to advise the nation of the release of the June 2018 Zimsec Advanced Level results,” he said.

“Centre heads will be able to collect results for their respective schools or centres from our regional offices from Monday, 20 August 2018.”

Prof Mwenje said the candidates recorded a 76,59 percent pass rate. “The total number of candidates who sat for the June 2018 A-Level examination was 8 577, as compared to 4 668 in June 2017, an increase of 83,74 percent.

“The number of candidates who obtained a Grade E or better was 6 569. This gives a percentage pass rate of 76,59.”

The number of candidates who sat for two or more subjects was 4 894, which is 57 percent of the total candidature of 8 577, while in 2017 the total number was 2 130, which was 42,52 percent.

According to Zimsec, the majority of the candidates wrote one subject, while just one candidate sat for five subjects.

School candidates who registered for two or more subjects were 1 473 and 1 077 obtained Grade E in two or more subjects, which translates to a percentage pass rate of 73,12. Private candidates who registered for two or more subjects were 3 421 and 1 605 obtained Grade E in two or more subjects, which translates to a percentage pass rate of 46,92.

Prof Mwenje said more private candidates registered for the examinations than school candidates.

There were 3 360 school candidates and 5 217 private candidates.

Prof Mwenje said this year’s A-level June examination session had eight candidates in three special needs categories, while the June 2017 session had no special needs candidates.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to all those who were involved in the June 2018 examinations process,” he said.

“Zimsec hereby takes this opportunity to wish all the candidates the best of luck in their future studies and endeavours.”