UPDATE – At 6pm, police sprayed LIVE canon water on workers. The situation appeared to have cooled down at the time of writing.
Below were the scenes at TM Hyper in Bulawayo where police rushed in against an angry crowd. The supermarket was forced to close doors in protest over claims that local contract employees jobs were terminated in favour of those from other regions – video credit: Mduduzi Mathuthu
By Own Correspondent| There is raging debate on social media regarding the heroes status of the two Presidential aides who died at Mpilo hospital following the White City Stadium bombing incident in Bulawayo.
Below are some of the views shared on both Facebook and Twitter.
Brighton Jackson Zenda: Give to these guys national heroes status for sacrificing their lives for the entire leadership.
Their families must receive president’s salaries forever.
All of their Family members to be employed and be given diplomatic statuses.
Kevin Du Boil: Thank God you not our leader.
Asher Asherman Mapuranga: Heroes for what?
Mai Elcy: mazita avo where not even mentioned pa ztv .kureva havana kukosha.hero status my foot.vakafa vari pabasa,mayb havasi ma zanu fut.ngatingoti nematambudziko,zvimwe izvo hazvife zvakaitika,zviroto.
MDC Mwenezi District Chapter says Zanu PF is desperate to divert the electorate’ s attention by creating a false sense of despondency.
Below is a statement from MDC Mwenezi District Chapter:
What happened in Bulawayo was just a staged
thing.Zimbabwe’s security sector is intact and nothing like that can just
happen.
If it was genuine,ED could have been
hiding by now but to our surprise,ED and bleechy
Chiwenga are still walking freely.
A meeting was conducted between ED ,Chiwenga and other Top security chiefs.
ED wanted to kill Chamisa but
Chiwenga told him that ‘you can’t just kill Chamisa so easily,it will cause great chaos’.
So they came up with a plan and agreed that chaos should happen within Zanu PF.
This whole thing was dramatised.
If you watch that video several times ,you can see that Chiwenga delayed walking from the stage because he was aware of their
plot.
ZANU PF has realised that it’s not easy to rig this election.
The Joice Mujuru led National People’s Party (NPP) has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to apologise for the atrocities that occurred before the June 2008 Presidential Election Rerun.
In a statement issued in honour of thousands of opposition supporters who were brutally killed by suspected state security agents, NPP Spokesperson Jeffryson Chitando yesterday said Mnangagwa and his henchmen must apologise for the atrocities.
” Every peace loving Zimbabwean must remember that June 2008 is the day when Zanu PF declared a one man race that was won by Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabweans must understand and remember that Zanu PF killed hundreds of peace loving Zimbabweans under the slogan 27 June VaMugabe muhofisi,” said Chitando.
“The 2008 bloody campaign was led by Zimbabwe National Army officers who are currently leading this country as if they are saints.
These people led a bloody campaign to retain Mugabe’s power.
Chiwenga , Shiri,Moyo,Rugeje and Mnangagwa can preach peace today but they must understand that hundreds of Zimbabweans lost relatives as they protected Mugabe’s rule,” added Chitando.
Own Correspondent|Human rights defenders have expressed concern at the escalating cases of political violence and intimidation of perceived Zanu PF opponents before the harmonized elections.
Several opposition activists have been targeted by the Zanu PF regime as the nation braces for the coming crucial polls pitting Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa against young MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa.
Opposition activists Sazini Chaya, Arnold Batirai- Dube, Godfrey Kurauone and Beulah Maguru have been victimized by the regime over the past month.
Known members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization abducted and illegally held MDC Alliance Youth Assembly member Panashe Chaya and three opposition activists on Sunday.
The four were abducted in the Zimunya area, Manicaland Province.
A few days ago Chaya was also arrested for allegedly plotting to remove Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa from power.
According to the MDC Alliance, the four were bundled into an unmarked Isuzu vehicle by men brandishing guns.
The MDC Alliance has also strongly condemned the persecution of its members by Zanu PF.
“Chaya and three opposition activists were bundled into an unmarked vehicle by CIO agents who blindfolded them. They were then driven to a secluded place where they were illegally held and questioned.
The State security agents accused Chaya and his team of influencing local villagers to vote for President Chamisa. Zanu PF is afraid of the coming elections and its members have resorted to violence in a bid to cow us into submission.
We are worried about the harassment of our members by the system. We have received cases of harassment and intimidation of our members countryside,” MDC Alliance said in a statement.
After illegally holding them, the CIO agents dumped the four at a roadside on Monday morning in the same area.
Chaya sustained head injuries and had fresh bruises on his face, arm and legs after the attack.
Chaya was targeted because he presented a foreign ID (a Canadian drivers license) to identify himself after a ‘random’ traffic stop by the police.
“Chaya did not stay long in hospital as he was afraid the Zanu PF agents would come after him,” a source told ZimEye.com.
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly organising secretary Morgan Ncube described the abduction and torture of opposition members as barbaric and unacceptable.
Ncube also urged the international community to reprimand Zanu PF over the harassment of opposition members.
“We have received information about the harassment of our Youth Assembly member Panashe Chaya and his colleagues by the Zanu PF regime.
Actually there are several reports of our members who are being terrorized by the regime.
In this era, stone age political tactics do not work.
We have learnt that the new dispensation is actually a continuation of the old order. Nothing has changed,” said Ncube.
Mnangagwa promised that under his so called new dispensation he would uphold the rule of law and abide by the fundamental principles of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
However, in typical crocodile behaviour, Mnangagwa is doing the exact opposite.
The Zanu PF leader faces stiff competition from President Chamisa in the coming polls.
Panashe Chaya
More…..
MDC USA Backs Chamisa
Terrence Mawawa
The MDC USA Branch has issued a statement indicating its unwavering support for party president Nelson Chamisa.
“For the record, the former vice president of the MDC T, Thokozani Khupe, was expelled from the party on March 23 2018 following the resolution of the MDC-T National Council.
In addition, the former MDC-T USA executive led by Den Moyo was also disbanded and expelled,” said Zvidzai Ruzvidzo, the MDC USA Chairperson.
“It is on record that they refused to recognize Advocate Nelson Chamisa as the President of the MDC T.
The decisions of National Council of the MDC T were based on Articles 16 and 18 of the MDC ‘T’ Constitution of 2014.
By the authority and permission of the National Leadership, the current Executive of the MDC T USA was formed on April 8, 2018.
The new Provincial Executive and MDC ‘T’ members in USA disassociate themselves from Dr. Khupe’s alleged Congress on April 21, 2018.
We call on our members and well wishers to continue with their support for the MDC T led by Advocate Chamisa.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new envoy to the UK was yesterday officially accepted by Queen Elizabeth II. This was all amid complaints by political activists who said that this is a betrayal against democracy. ZimEye hears from the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organisation who staged the demonstration
Massive spaghetti roads were fully on plan for Zimbabwe more than 59 years ago. The below shows the whole infrastructure mapped for Charter Road in Harare:
By Own Correspondent|The country’s elections body, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has submitted to opposition pressure amid revelations that they have released a copy of the new biometric voters’ roll (BVR) complete with pictures to the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.
Jameson Timba, who is Chamisa’s Chief Elections Agent confirmed the development to a local publication yesterday saying the release of a complete voters roll was a reflection that the ZEC “finally saw sense”.
“The ZEC chair finally sees sense, that it is the person’s vote which is a secret not his or her face. She will now issue a PDF BVR voters’ roll,” he said.
Early this week, ZEC boss, Justice Priscilla Chigumba told journalists that the organisation could not give to political parties a voters roll with pictures for security reasons.
“Following threats by some unscrupulous individuals to track down our registered voters door-to-door, the commission would like to advise that on legal advice, decided not to issue the roll with photographs in an effort to protect voters,” said Chigumba.
However, ZEC Acting Chief Elections Officer Utolile Silaigwana last Thursday contradicted his boss saying the voters’ pictures had been removed because it was not possible to issue out the roll with pictures in an analysable format.
“Further it is important for stakeholders to note that such roll is printed in PDF format and as such is not analysable and searchable as envisaged by the law. However, this does not mean that the commission is under any constraint to provide any person who requests for it in that format a copy,” he said.
“Those who wish to get a copy of the PDF voters’ roll containing voters’ photographs are free to approach the commission with their own external computer hard drives where such rolls will be downloaded,” he said.
MDC Alliance principal Tendai Biti said the confusion served to show that the commissioners were not in control of the commission and demanded that the BVR roll with pictures must be searchable and analysable.
“The current electoral management body is ranked as the most subjective, most biased and most incompetent in the history of elections in Zimbabwe.
Above all this is a body that lies and is reinventing the word lie. This body must be disbanded forthwith. They should simply comply with the law, it (voters’ roll) should be searchable and analysable,” he said.
The Elections Resource Centre accused ZEC of changing goalposts in order to riggle out of its legal obligations.
“The fact that these issues are being raised now after questions were raised about what was issued suggests scrounging for excuses on the part of the election administration body,” ERC said.-Newsday.
By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa this morning (Thursday) left for Tanzania on a two-day State visit following the invitation of his Tanzanian counterpart, President Dr John Magufuli.
Mnangagwa was seen off at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, senior Government officials and several service chiefs.
Zimbabwe and Tanzania enjoy strong bilateral relations dating back to the liberation struggle in the 1960s.
By Own Correspondent| Three suspects involved in spate of highway robberies along the Chegutu- Bulawayo highway have been arrested.
The trio who specialised in highway robberies within Mashonaland West province were allegedly driving a Silver Honda Fit registration number ACT 3420.
They were arrested by Chegutu Criminal Investigation Department on Wednesday afternoon.
It is alleged that the trio would pretend to be good Samaritans offering transport to travellers along the highway before robbing their victims of their cash or goods.
However, following the spate of highway thefts, police set up a trap for the gang. Their luck ran out on Wednesday when they were intercepted by alert security details.
Further investigations revealed that the trio were in possession of a school date stamp belonging to Dzingure Primary School which they could not account for.
Further searches revealed a plasma television which they admitted they had robbed from a ‘passenger’ who had hired their car from Chegutu to Zvimba.
Mashonaland West Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Clemency Mabgweazara confirmed the incident calling on members of the public who have been robbed to visit Chegutu police station.
“We are appealing to members of the public who have been robbed to go to Chegutu to help us identify several goods that these suspects looted from unsuspecting victims of highway robberies,” said Mabgweazara.
By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba has deactivated his Twitter account citing online abuse.
The Twitter handle, which was only a few days old was deactivated and is no longer functional.
Charamba said while he had been encouraged to open the social media account by his colleagues, he realised that it was not worth his time since he was constantly on the receiving end of abuse.
The handle @GeorgeCharamba sent the following message before shutting down,
“Thank you all for the engagements. I had a few good conversations but it was mostly abusive replies. I’ve always been sceptical about Twitter but was encouraged to join by fellow Cdes. I’ve however come to the conclusion that it’s not worth my time. Handle will shut in next 2hrs.”
However citizens responded to the tweet challenging Charamba not to quit “unless he belonged to the thin skinned”.
@matigary words "This is a Hard Hat Area" not for the thin skin
— Baba Besa (People Affairs) (@JimaloZwitter) June 27, 2018
You thought it's writing in those Zimpapers where your readers can't write back? Here the feedback is instant!
Cde Charamba why are you exiting so early? Yo don't have to respond to everything. Besides You should use the platform to even make gvt pronouncements. Your boss has been able to stand the heart of this platform. Overtime you will know who to engage and who to ignore or block.
Below is the list of ZimDancehall Summit 2018 Panelists:
PANEL 1:
THE FOUNDATION & CURRENT SITUATION
1. Oliver Gullyview General – Dj / Record label
2. Etherton B _ MC /Radio Dj
3. Dr-Clarence _ Producer
4. Nigel Pfunde _ Arts Journalist
5. Fantan Chillspot _ Dj / Producer
6. Freeman _ Artist
7. Oscar Pambuka _ Awards organiser
8. Ricky FireMoto _ Artist
9. Sniper Storm
Online Participants > King Alfred, Lady 2 G (UK)
PANEL 2:
CREATING AN INDUSTRY
1. Mono Mukundu – producer / music expert
2. Benjamin Nyandoro _ Arts, Marketing, events specialist & artists’ manager
3. Nutty O Di Bwoy_ Artist
4. Nono Chikambi (OyosMusic)_ Content distribution & marketing
5. Dee Nosh Zimbabwe _ Promoter
6. Edith WeUtonga _ Zimbabwe Musicians Union
7. Chishamiso Musariri _ Creative Consultant
8. Djmbale Mbale _ Radio Dj
9. Marcus Gora __(Mokoomba)Artist Manager
10. Online Participants > Tawanda Kampira (online music distributor) (UK), Mad Minox (Dj & Online distributor) (Canada)
PANEL 3:
SOCIAL IMPACT & THE FUTURE
1. Jah Bless _ artist
2. Tman Mount Zion _ Producer
3. Dadza D _ Artist
4. Dj Tshila _ Radio Dj
5. Lady B _ Artist
6. Sylvia Vassilatos _ Reggae activist/Journalist
7. Abisha Palmer _ Radio / Sound System Dj
8. Merciless Zimbabwe_ Radio Dj
9. Online Participants > Empress Eve ZW (USA)
EVENT DETAILS :Thur 28 June 2018
Zimbabwe College of Music
9am-4pm / Free
#ZimDancehallSummit
Oxfam is a global movement of people who won’t live with the injustice of poverty. Together we save and rebuild lives in disasters. We help people build better lives for themselves. We speak out on the big issues that keep people poor, like inequality, discrimination against women and climate change, and we won’t stop until every person on the planet can live without poverty. In Zimbabwe, Oxfam work spans across women’s rights, sustainable food systems, policy & advocacy work as well as responding to humanitarian crisis as part of the Southern African region family. This work is made possible by committed people working in the various functions that make up the country program (Programs, Programs Support, Business Services and Human Resources). The Zimbabwe Country Programme is looking for qualified staff to fill the following positions:
Regional Women’s Rights and Gender Justice Coordinator (C1 Grade) INT4554
About The Position: The Regional Women’s Rights and Gender Justice Coordinator will work closely with the Regional Connectors and country programme staff to catalyse the growth and development of the Women’s Rights and Gender Justice programme and ensure gender mainstreaming across other programmes. The position also provides leadership and effective coordination in developing and delivering on related policy influencing initiatives while participating in resource mobilisation in line with Oxfam in Zimbabwe’s Programmatic Strategic Framework 2016 – 2020.
This position will be responsible for leading the development and delivery of a sound Women’s Rights and Gender Justice programme, in line with the Country Strategy to leverage evidence gathered through humanitarian and development work for influencing work (policy, campaigning and advocacy) working with partners and networks. Provide and share regular analysis on political and programme developments from a gender lens. Establish and maintain functional relationships with policy makers, government officials, political parties, civil society, development partners and other interest groups who can either be targets or alliance partners of our gender related advocacy and influencing work. The Women’s rights Justice and Gender Programme Coordinator, over and above the responsibilities described herein, is part of the first line of Oxfam responders in the event of a CAT 1 or CAT 2 humanitarian crisis being declared, therefore can be assigned to support and/or lead the response as part of our imperative to saving lives while ensuring commitments to donors and beneficiaries on ongoing work.
What We Are Looking For:
Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Social Sciences or relevant qualification
Minimum 3 of years working experience in similar post at a regional level
Experience of building alliances, networking around gender issues and delivering impact advocacy on women’s rights
Proven experience in designing and implementing advocacy strategies and campaigns on gender justice and women’s rights
The role of the Disaster Risk Reduction Officer is to assist in developing strategies to manage emergency response and early recovery projects and to assess and build capacity of communities in the Matobo district to better prepare and respond to emergencies. The incumbent’s responsibilities will include, complement and support the Humanitarian disaster risk management and humanitarian strategy development and implementation, developing links between Oxfam’s short-term humanitarian and longer term development work in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction, lead on needs and impact assessments.
What We Are Looking For:
A Bachelor’s degree in Disaster Management, Development Studies or Natural Sciences,
Minimum of 3 years field experience in disaster risk management, emergency and development programme management
A good understanding of relevant humanitarian and disaster risk management policy issues
International NGO experience will be an added advantage
Clean Class 4 Drivers Licence
Please follow below the link for more information about the role:
Deadline for Application is Monday 9 July 2018.LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Geographic Information Systems Officer (D2 Grade) INT4557
The Geographic Information Systems Officer will be part of the Humanitarian team, responsible for designing and implementing suitable and scalable geographic information systems data platforms and formulation of hazard maps. Incumbent will also be responsible for map generation and hazard map generation for Matobo district.
What We Are Looking For:
A BSc degree in Geographic Information Systems and Earth Observation/Geography, Surveying/Earth Sciences, Natural Science and/or Environmental Management
Minimum of 3 years’ work experience in a similar role
Experience in hazard mapping and remote sensing
Prior international NGO experience will be an added advantage
Clean Class 4 Drivers Licence
Please follow below the link for more information about the role.
Deadline for Application is Monday 9 July 2018.LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
NB: These are all national posts and are only open to individuals with the right to reside and work in Zimbabwe. We particularly encourage applications from people living with HIV/AIDS, people with disabilities, women and previously disadvantaged groups.
ALL APPLICATIONS TO BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE OXFAM WEBSITE
NB: OXFAM DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF RECRUITMENT, OR FOR ACCESSING ADVERTS, INTERVIEWS OR TRAVEL.
Oxfam is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those that are suitable to work within our values are recruited to work for us. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks.
Please contact HR for more information on 04-369 603 ext 102 or 136
By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday sent messages of condolences to the families of his two security aides, who died due to injuries sustained during a bomb explosion that occurred at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
The blast, which occurred just as President Mnangagwa was leaving the podium left more than 45 people injured including some senior party cadres including Vice President Kembo Mohadi.
Mnangagwa who escaped the explosion unhurt described the attack as a cowardly act of terror.
Said Mnangagwa in a statement:
“This cowardly terrorist attack at a public political meeting was indiscriminate and calculated to achieve a bloodbath which is hard to fathom.
Above all, it sought to subvert the will of the people of Zimbabwe by attempting to destabilise the ongoing electoral programme, which our entire nation wishes to see unfold in an environment of perfect peace, all for a free, fair and credible electoral outcome, which we have pledged to ourselves and to the rest of the world.
These merchants of terror must not be allowed to succeed or to stop the march of democracy, economic recovery and national progress which our people deserve.”
President Mnangagwa revealed that the government would meet all funeral and burial expenses, as well as medical costs for the more than 40 people who were also injured in the explosion.
The statement comes amid revelations by the State security agencies that they had not yet established the source of the explosion, with the stadium still sealed off.
“The investigations are still ongoing, and no arrests have been made,” National Police Spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said.
The ZRP has also issued a statement appealing to members of the public to assist them solve the mystery behind the explosion which mostly believe was an assassination attempt on the country’s first citizen.
An undisclosed reward is being offered to anyone who can lead to the apprehension of the perpetrators of the act which claimed two lives and left dozens others injured and maimed for life.
In a related development, a funeral parade for one of the deceased aides, Sergeant Kudakwashe Mugunzva was held at the Presidential Guard Barracks in Dzivarasekwa on Wednesday morning. Mugunzva is survived by wife Prisca and four children.
“If you are intelligent of course which you are not, do you need to be told twice that President ED had another busy schedule in Harare where he later appeared with delegations of investors? Did he just disappear and never to be seen? Can he be in 2 different places at the same time? Even Christ a known living holy ghost never appeared in more than one place at the same time. President ED pfeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” – George Chinyande
By Paul Nyathi|Brazil avoided a shock result that had earlier seen Germany being knocked out of the World Cup by defeating Serbia to finish top of Group E and book a last-16 tie against Mexico.
They did so with the sort of occasionally dazzling performance that suggests they are growing into a tournament that they are one of the favourites to win, as they put behind them their slow start in Russia.
Paulinho had deservedly put Brazil in front with a deft finish after a brilliant run from deep saw him convert Philippe Coutinho’s through ball in the first half.
Tite’s team had to protect a slender lead for a shaky 15-minute period at the start of the second half as Serbia went all out for the win they then needed.
But Aleksandar Mitrovic found an opposition defender when he should have scored and saw another header saved by the unconvincing Alisson.
And once Thiago Silva extended Brazil’s advantage with an unmarked header from a corner, Tite’s side regained a measure of composure and went close to a third on numerous occasions.
Serbia may feel aggrieved the second was not ruled out by VAR for a push on Mitrovic by Miranda as the corner came in but they were outplayed overall.
The result ended their hopes of qualifying from the group stage for the first time, while Brazil now head to Samara, where their last-16 tie will take place on Monday, as group winners having topped Group E over Switzerland on goal difference.
The below undated video has surfaced of a supposed army battalion singing in the Shona language, “kana tasimudzana kubva paInyanga tichava nhoroondo,” the words which were interpreted to mean contrasting opposites which depend on which swing of reading a listener wishes to take.
South Korea star player celebrates late winner against Germany
By Paul Nyathi|Germany had progressed past the group stage of the World Cup sixteen times in a row, but booked themselves a premature exit this year after losing to South Korea in stoppage time.
Kim Young-gwon sealed their fate with a 94th minute goal, which was initially disallowed as off-side but a VAR decision saw the decision overturned as the ball came off Niklas Süle.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min then added insult to injury scoring a 96th minute second Korean goal. Though South Korea do not go through to the knock-out stages, the win is the first in their history against Germany.
The opening half saw a much-changed German side, with former talisman Thomas Muller starting on the bench, performing with a lack of quality that has defined their tournament. In the second half the world champions were better and had plenty of attacking chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
South Korea’s goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo was dominant throughout, in particular denying Leon Goretzka a 48th-minute header which was on its way to the bottom left corner if not for the keeper’s quick hands. Centre-back Mats Hummels missed an open goal header in the 86th minute in what was Germany’s best chance to grab a winner.
The result meant that Mexico survive and will progress to the last-16 despite their 3-0 loss to Sweden, who go through as the group winners.
” By now we should have concluded on the arrests but ZBC has failed us, they had all the cameras,” said a source who is close to the investigations.- READ MORE….
What is this? Barwe having some lighter moments na ED after the explosion. How come ED is so calm and relaxed ? Thought he wld go underground a bit. Ummm pic.twitter.com/dWYMGApHwV
By Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa says that he does not fit the characteristics of his nickname “Ngwena” for crocodile, describing himself as soft as wool.
Asked in an interview by the BBC if his nickname crocodile (Ngwena) portrayed his character as similar to that of the reptile, which is patient and ruthless, Mnangagwa described himself as soft as wool,a Christian and family person.
He said people should look at what he was currently doing for the country, not what the old dispensation, which he was also part of, did.
“You have read so much bad publicity by my enemies, which has sunk into you. I don’t blame you, but as we relate more you’ll discover that those people were wrong.
“The people of Zimbabwe should believe what I am doing not the perceptions they have. In the past we had traffic roadblocks all over, but I’ve removed all those. We have also opened political space, which has seen the country having 133 political parties. This is factual, not a perception,” said President Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa made the passionate plea in an interview with the BBC’s Fegarl Keane on Tuesday in which he said members of the G40 cabal were behind his attempted assassination at Bulawayo’s White City Stadium last Saturday.
“My hunch without evidence is that the people who are aggrieved by the new dispensation are the G40. That’s a logical and reasonable conclusion one may make but we have to wait for evidence to be brought forward and we pin down the responsible persons and the reasons why they did it.
“I think this is a political action by some people aggrieved by the current democratic dispensation in the country,” said President Mnangagwa.
Asked whether he trusted Mrs Mugabe, the President said: “On what basis would I trust somebody who was used by a cabal to say things which had no basis at all? I have sympathy for her because in my view she was politically immature and easily used as a tool by those who wanted to get at me.”
President Mnangagwa said there would be no countrywide security clampdown and elections scheduled for next month will go ahead in a free and fair manner.
“There’s no need for us to say there would be a security clampdown or putting the country into security alert. This is a criminal activity, which doesn’t bring any dent to the stability and the law and order of our country.
“However, we must make sure the population is protected and we hunt down these criminals. It is only after apprehending them that we will assess the extent to which the network spreads,” said President Mnangagwa.
In the region, he added, Zimbabwe was the most stable country in terms of law and order and foreign investors had no reason to worry.
“Foreign investors are still safe and there is no reason for anybody to worry about an incident at a rally,” he said.
ZANU PF’s Zvishavane-Ngezi sitting legislator, John Holder (pictured) has come under fire for allegedly locking up a communal toilet following his defeat in the party primary elections.
Holder, who had personally sourced funds to refurbish the toilet in Maglas suburb, lost to Mezweni Mpofu in the recent primary elections which were marred by allegations of vote rigging and intimidation.
Residents claimed that Holder locked up the toilet soon after completing the refurbishments, promising to reopen it after winning the primaries.
“The sitting MP, John Holder, who is about to finish his term in Parliament, refurbished this communal toilet, painted it and then locked it, saying he will unlock after the party primaries,” said a resident who declined to be named.
“He, however, lost the primaries and is nowhere to be seen. After going for weeks locked, people had to break the lock a few days ago to start using the toilet,” a source from Zvishavane said.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Holder claimed the toilet remained closed because of the water challenges faced by the asbestos mining town.
“It is true, I refurbished the toilet for $7 000, and after that I handed it over to the authorities, who are the mine in Zvishavane. They locked it, because of water shortages we are having here and they feared it will block if there is no water,” Holder said.
The outgoing legislator insisted that he did not lose the primary elections, claiming some of his ballot papers were later found dumped in a nearby river.
“Yes, I participated in the primaries, but I cannot say I was defeated. I, however, remain Zanu PF to the core,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Sylvia Utete-Masango has fired all teachers who are running for political office.
Utete said all these must resign in line with the Constitution which prohibits civil servants from being office-bearers in any political party.
The Outgoing Nash president Mr Johnson Madhuku is challenging the Bikita East seat on a Zanu-PF ticket. Utete-Masango said, “Some of your colleagues have already gone through the Nomination Court.
“According to the Public Service Commission (PSC), once your name has gone through the Nomination Court you have resigned. Therefore, as far as government is concerned, you are no longer a civil servant.
“I have a database by province for those that have gone in as councillors and MPs. There is quite a number of colleagues that actually succeeded at the Nomination Court.
“And we want to wish them well so that they succeed in their new journey. But what I am saying is if you are Councillor, MP or Senator, you are no longer a civil servant. So those that haven’t submitted their names to the ministry should do so such that the ministry does the rest of the process with the PSC.”
By Paul Nyathi|In probably the biggest bungling by the country’s biggest opposition party, the MDC Alliance has failed to field a candidate in the country’s usually most contested parliamentary seat in Mbare, Harare.
In the list of parliamentary candidates gazetted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Wednesday, the opposition coalition is missing in three House of Assembly seats while it has more than one candidate in fourteen constituencies.
The MDC Alliance is a coalition of seven opposition parties including the MDCT arguably the biggest opposition party in the country.
The coalition failed to field candidates in Mbare, Insiza North and Hurungwe East constituencies.
MDC Alliance spokesperson Professor Welshman Ncube said it was “too late to rectify” the problem in relation to the 14 constituencies that have two candidates from the Alliance.
He said supporters needed to be persuaded to vote for one of the two candidates.
“It’s too late to rectify by withdrawing anyone at this stage because the period for withdrawal has expired,” Prof Ncube said. “The only way we can mitigate the difficulty is by getting one candidate to withdraw in the sense of both campaigning and working with the other candidate so that the voters know who the candidate is.
“Otherwise even if they withdraw now their names will still appear on the ballot paper. That is the reality of the situation. We have to just accept that in those 14 constituencies the ballot paper will have two candidates for the alliance.”
“We have been doing rallies almost every day,” he said. “We have not found time to have a meeting where everyone will be present. We are only going to meet next week on Tuesday, but that (double candidates) will not necessarily be the agenda because there is nothing now that can be done about it.”
In Bulawayo South, MDC Alliance is fielding Francis Mangwendeza and Kunashe Muchemwa, while in Harare South Shadreck Mashayamombe and Samuel Saurombe will represent the coalition.
In Mabvuku Tafara, James Maridadi will represent the alliance on the same ballot with James Chidhakwa.
The MDC Alliance will have two candidates in Mazowe North — namely Stephen Muchenje and Mcumillan Ndlovu.
The same situation subsists in Mazowe South where Gamuchirai Chakwera and Gift Chimanikire will represent the pact, while in Mazowe West, the alliance has Thamarie Chimanzi and Rorana Muchihwa as its candidates.
In Muzarabani North, Takawira Kagura and Larence Mushori will represent the coalition and in Bikita East, MDC Alliance will have Bonface Mudzingwa and Jacob Ngarivhume as candidates.
The MDC Alliance has two candidates in Gutu Central — namely Ernest Mandigo and Zvovuno Musoni, while in Gutu North, the pact will field Juniel Manyere and Edmore Maramwidze.
In Gutu West, the alliance candidates competing against each other are Stanely Manguma and Knowledge Mupini.
Another double nomination by the alliance is in Masvingo South where Justin Makota and Lovemore Matongo will be candidates.
In Zaka West, two alliance candidates Festus Dumbu and William Zivenge will be on the ballot paper, while Luke Tamborinyoka and Clifford Nhamburo will contest in Goromonzi West on an MDC Alliance ticket.
In the local government elections, the opposition Alliance failed to field candidates in 46 wards that have since been won by Zanu-PF uncontested.
MDC Alliance has also fielded double candidates in several wards for the council elections.
ZANU PF supporters waiting in vain for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to address them in Hwange
By Paul Nyathi|The ruling ZANU PF has issued contradicting statements on why President Emmerson Mnangagwa failed to attend his own campaign rally in Hwange on Wednesday.
After presiding over the ground breaking ceremony of the Hwange Thermal Power Station phase 7 and 8 expansion ground breaking ceremony in the mining town, Mnangagwa strangely left the town in a hurry while his party supporters were still gathering at the nearby Wankie Stadium waiting for him to address them.
Speaking in an interview with state media after the aborted rally, Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba said Mnangagwa was never slotted to address a rally in Hwange.
“The President was never slotted to address a rally in Hwange today. He went in to simply ground-break for Hwange 7 and 8 and then rush back to Harare to meet two trade delegations that are in the country and of course to prepare for tomorrow’s fixture,” said Charamba.
“As a matter of fact we do have a date with Matabeleland North which will be announced in due course,” said Mr Charamba.
Earlier on, the party chairman for Matabeleland North province Richard Moyo told media that the president was not going to address the rally as he had to rush back to Harare for some pressing commitments.
The party United Kingdom chairman
Nick Mangwana meantime also sent a Twitter message that President Mnangagwa was not going to be addressing the rally in Hwange but instead was rushing out to attend a ZNCC AGM in Victoria Falls.
President Mnangagwa last weekend escaped death by a whisker when a bomb exploded on his path as he left a similar campaign rally in Bulawayo.
Critics have claimed that Mnangagwa may have called off his Hwange address for security reasons.
Police in Gwanda have banned the carrying of dangerous weapons in public places for three months as these have been used to commit serious crimes in the district.
The dangerous weapons include catapults, machetes, knobkerries, swords, knives, spears and daggers and any traditional weapons.
The ban which started on the 15th of June ends on the 15 September 2018.
ZRP Officer Commanding Gwanda District Chief Superintendent Enock Sibanda said the prohibition order which is in terms of section 14(1) of the Public Order and Security Act Chapter 11:7 follows concern over the use of these dangerous weapons to commit crimes such as murder and assault.
Chief Superintendent Sibanda said most of these crimes have taken place in mining areas and public drinking spots.
“As a regulatory authority, I am banning the carrying and selling in a public place of offensive weapons, which are likely to cause public disorder and breach of peace and this ban covers areas in Gwanda policing districts,” said Chief Superintendent Sibanda.
Police have since plastered posters at various public places to raise awareness about the ban.
Those found guilty of the offence are liable to a fine or imprisonment for six months or both.
Meanwhile, police have urged all political parties to uphold peace and display tolerance before, during and after the general elections.
“I also implore political parties during this campaign period to carry out campaigns peacefully without violence because the police will not take lightly form of violence,” he added.
According to the police, Gwanda district has not recorded any politically-motivated cases violence.
In a show of commitment to a violent free election, 20 presidential aspirants in the July 30 elections signed a peace pledge this Tuesday.
By Paul Nyathi|The ZANU PF parliamentary candidate for Norton Constituency who is also the Special Advisor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Christopher Mutsvangwa has declared that the upcoming national elections are a mere formality.
In a widely condemned Twitter posting on Wednesday, Mutsvangwa declares that whatever happens at the elections his party leader Mnangagwa will emerge the winner in the elections.
Wrote Mutsvangwa in bold:
ZIMBABWE 2018 ELECTION: I CAN CONFIRM THAT THE ELECTION IS JUST A FORMALITY ED IS GOING TO WIN. HOWEVER WE ARE NOT GOING TO LEAVE ANYONE BEHIND ALL PARTIES ACCORDING TO THEIR % CONTRIBUTION WILL BE GIVEN POSITION IN THE GVT, SOME IN CRITICAL AREAS. I FEEL SORRY FOR SOME ALLIANCE
By Farai D Hove|The state broadsheet media has explained through its own version why President Emmerson Mnangagwa bunked his stadium rally in Hwange this afternoon.
In the below tweet, the state media said it was all because of “his busy schedule.” FULL TEXT:
#InCaseYouMissedIt A rally that was expected to be addressed by @edmnangagwa at the Colliery Stadium earlier today was postponed to a later date due to his busy schedule. He had earlier officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station. pic.twitter.com/N8C1ppu8Yj
— The Herald Zimbabwe (@HeraldZimbabwe) June 27, 2018
The country’ s main opposition party, MDC has released a statement in honour of activists who were allegedly murdered by state security agents before the bloody June 27 2008 Presidential Election Rerun.
Below is the statement that has been released by the party’ s Veteran Activists Association(VAAA):
It is with a heavy heart that we recall the victims of the struggle on this day,the 27th of June.It surely has not been an easy road.
A bunch of selfish individuals maimed and killed innocent citizens.
The horrific scenes of the past two decades have surely put a lasting dent on this once prosperous country.
It goes against the tenets of civilization as Zimbabwe is known as a nation with violent leaders, who are supposed to act in line with the world’s best practices of promoting peace,harmony and tolerance.
Morgan Tsvangirai house was turned into a refugee camp with people coming from different areas,fleeing ZANU PF militias,during the rerun.
It was state sponsored terrorism against the masses.People were murdered and some lost their limbs,houses and livestock.
By Own Correspondent| Self exiled former cabinet minister and G40 Faction member Professor Jonathan Moyo has claimed that at least 40 percent of weapons which were confiscated from the police and the central intelligence organisation during the November 2017 military take over dubbed “Operation Restore Legacy” are still unaccounted for.
Moyo made the sensational claims on his Twitter handle where he alleged:
“An untold and deadly footnote to the 15 November coup is that soldiers randomly and illegally confiscated weapons and ammunition from other security agents or agencies of State; i.e the CIO and ZRP whose armoury was emptied. The problem is that some 40% of this remains unaccounted for!
The possibility of criminal or terrorist use of weapons and ammunition randomly and illegally confiscated by soldiers in the 15 November coup, poses a clear and present danger in Zimbabwe and the SADC region. The tacit approval of the 2017 coup by SADC & AU has exacerbated that danger!”
By Sofia Mapuranga| Two Zimbabwean choral groups have for the first time qualified for World Choir Games set to be held in Tshwane, South Africa.
The groups, Choice Children’s Choir and Note2etoN Choir will participate in the choral festival set to be held from 3- 13 July 2018.
The Choice Children’s Choir is a Harare choir with children from a total of 8 schools that are both government and privately run.
Note2etoN on the other hand is an adult community choral group composed of people with a common passion for contemporary choral music. The choir seeks to promote positive societal values and norms using music and bringing together the community thus promoting healing as well as cultural exchange.
“The Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in partnership with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe are rendering national support to the two choral groups to represent Zimbabwe at the higher level,” said Cathrine Mthombeni, the National Arts Council Acting Communications and Marketing Manager.
She said the World Choir Games are a bi-annual international choral festival in which choirs from different parts of the world congregate to sing and compete together.
“This year, is the 10th Anniversary of the World Choir Games and for the first time, the competitions are being held in Africa,” she said.
Mtombeni revealed that the games are based on the Olympic ideals, which aim to peacefully unify people and nations connected by song in a fair connection.
The participation of both choirs is an opportunity to participate, contribute, enhance vocal skills and experience the enthusiasm of singing together.
At the World Choir Games the Choice Children’s Choir will participate in the Mixed Children’s Choirs category 2 and Friendship Concert while Note2etoN Choir will compete in category 9 of Mixed Choirs and category 27 for Scenic Folklore.
Mthombeni revealed that the send off ceremony for the choirs will be held on Saturday 30 June at Reps Theatre.
As part of the selection process for The Choice Children’s Choir, children went through an audition process in August last year. Over a hundred children auditioned to join the choir and 46 were selected who were the best singers and showed the most potential. These children have been rehearsing weekly for the last 10 months in preparation for the international festival.
The two choirs had a series of performances at the annual National Institute of Allied Arts Eisteddfod. This year Choice Children’s Choir performed with some particularly challenging classes with choristers who were much older than them and excelled.
In 2016 Note2etoN took part in the National Eisteddfod and attained Honours and won the Rotary Trophy for Contemporary Ethnic and Traditional Category.
The name “Choice Children’s Choir” was birthed after the realisation that each child in the choir auditioned to be part of the choir and was chosen for his or her particular talent. The name is also influenced by the fact that each child made a personal choice and commitment to be a part of the choir.
“Its mission is to take Zimbabwean Voices to the global stage.
The group hopes to take the Zimbabwean light and talent and share it with the World,” said Mthombeni.
By A Correspondent| As the ongoing World Cup continues, the exiled Prof Jonathan Moyo on Wednesday dropped a bombshell political idiom.
He wrote on his portal, “my hunch without evidence is that Zimbabwe will win the FIFA World Cup 2018 currently underway in Russia!”
He wrote this as he entered his second day of narrating his reasons for supporting MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.
Russia is the nation the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba traveled to in a journey that drew controversy as this was during that nation’s national elections. Below was the tweet:
By Own Correspondent| HWANGE- President Emmerson Mnangagwa did not show up to address his own rally at Hwange Colliery stadium on Wednesday afternoon ZimEye.com can exclusive reveal.
Mnangagwa left hundreds of people stranded after he ‘aborted’ the rally citing ‘pressing commitments in Harare.’ One of our sources revealed that hundreds of people were waiting for the president who did not show up at the scheduled rally.
‘The President came here for official ground- breaking ceremony and commissioning of ZPC stages 7 and 8 at Hwange colliery. The function was graced by several dignitaries from the Chinese embassy, Government ministers among others.
‘Soon after the commissioning of the $1.5 billion injection project from China, the general public was left stranded as the President did not show up at the stadium where local leadership said he was due to address the communities here,’ said a local businessman who declined to be named.
Several sources including police officers, teachers in the area confirmed that President ED was due to address the rally but did not show up.
‘It is true that President ED was scheduled to address the rally at the stadium but he never came,’ added one of our sources at the mining town.
Officially commissioning the project under Sino-Hydro project Mnangagwa said the supply of sustainable power is critical for sustainable development and modern economy.
“Electricity is key to revival of our industries. With adequate power, hunger shall never again visit Zimbabwe. Government is incurring a huge import bill, hence increasing internal power generation capacity is critical,” said Mnangagwa.
He noted that the Hwange Unit 7 and 8 expansion project comes after the commissioning of the Kariba South Hydro Power Project in March this year, which added 300mw to the national grid, adding that this project signals the government’s resolve to develop the country.
‘Government stands ready to facilitate foreign investment. Local companies must be engaged in joint ventures and partnerships,’ he added.
Mnangagwa challenged business to seek mutually beneficial and sustainable development in the communities they operate in.
He added that the project will create 3000 jobs, including in downstream industries, urging ZESA to give priority to the local people.
He commended strong bilateral ties between Zimbabwe and China.
“Our cooperation with the people of China has reached another level and strategic scope of partnership,” he said.
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe remain safe for business investment besides the weekend bomb explosion at a Zanu PF rally in Bulawayo.
By Farai D Hove| Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has announced that a new currency is on plan to be introduced so to ease the cash crisis.
VP Chiwenga made the comments at his rally function in Mataga Growth Point, Mberengwa.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Chiwenga said the cash crisis will soon be over as government is planning on “introducing a local currency and stiff penalties to curb money laundering.”
He did not go into details to reveal its name and the specific timing.
He was still speaking at the time of writing.
– The rally continues – REFRESH THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES
MDC Zimbabwe says: #Remembering June 27 2008 victims.
Today we remember fellow comrades who lost their lives in the 2008 Zanu PF state sponsored political violence. Never again shall the people of Zimbabwe be exposed to such cruelty.
Writes Hardlife Mudzingwa: “Today 27 June is a day that reminds us of the effects of a corrupt and rotten political culture.
Whilst people live to tell a story, some today have vivid memories of the agony they went through. Will have 3 incidents to narrate in memory of 27 June 2008.
1) My mom’s form of livelihood was looted under the guise of “protecting Zimbabwean sovereignty”. Zanu-pf youths came during the night and took all the road runners and pigeons that my mom kept for us to enjoy. Under the “Command Element” of Major Svosve who had been deployed to our rural area under Operation Maguta, youths were instructed to collect food in the same manner that comrades did it during the war. My own young brother was forced to flee the area wearing a dress like a woman. I have not stated this as a water activist but let me do so today: I WILL NEVER CELEBRATE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN POLITICS INCLUDING THE SO-CALLED “OPERATION RESTORE LEGACY”. I lost relatives and friends because of Command Elements and military involvement in politics.
2) A touching story is that of a friend of mine whom i visited during era of GNU in Uzumba. He invited me to tell a secret. In exchange with life Zanu-pf youths told his two wives to satisfy their sexual desires at the base. They raped these two women everyday @the base. Some of the people involved are part of the “NEW DISPENSATION”. One guy was forced to sit on a hole with a cobra inside. Full details of these cases are contained in a document entitled “THE ANATOMY OF TERROR”.
3) Personally i was not spared in Glen View North. People working in CSO sector were labelled “agents of regime change” pushing Must Must Go mission. Surprisingly the same military pushed for Mugabe Ouster in November 2017 and our current government is wining and dining with the same British Government that was labelled evil and devilish. I was bashed by army @ the gate of Glen View 8 Primary School. Thanks to the Counselling & Services Unit for providing free medical services including the plaster on my left arm.
By Talent Gondo| Serious fissures rock the MDC Alliance supporters in Zengeza East over the candidature of Job Sikhala, amid allegations that he was imposed on the electorate as a strategy by Nelson Chamisa stalwarts to eliminate all those suspected to be aligned to Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora.
Sikhala’s candidature has seen the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Simon Chidhakwa filing nomination papers to contest as an independent candidate in the July 30 polls, a development likely to cost the Alliance the seat.
Chidhakwa an aggrieved member of Chamisa’s party said party supporters endorsed his candidature and they were working with him in his campaign.
He however claimed that the party’s primary elections had been rigged in favour of Sikhala adding that the party leadership was behind the divisions rocking the party through the imposition of candidates.
“I feel betrayed by what transpired. I think it was a well-calculated plan meant to get rid of us. I have always questioned why Sikhala would seek to contest in Zengeza West instead of St Mary’s Constituency which he has represented before.
The primary elections were also marred by irregularities. The party leadership went back on its promise that we would be protected from contestation. I was tasked to go and campaign in rural areas where the party does not have representation only to receive calls from colleagues who told me that they had been asked to hold primary elections in my constituency. Even if you look at the results, you will see that Sikhala got votes which were more than our registered members in certain Wards,” said Chidhakwa.
He said recent calls by the party’s national chairperson, Morgen Komichi urging those who registered as independent candidates to withdraw their candidature was an attempt to legitimize illegal processes.
Party sources alleged that the decision to replace Chidhakwa was because he was loyal to party secretary, Douglas Mwonzora.
“People such as Chidhakwa supported Mwonzora during the 2014 party congress held but they should not be penalized for that especially if we claim to be a democratic party. Sikhala was imposed on Zengeza West and that has divided the party because some members prefer to work with Chidhakwa,” said a source.
A party insider claimed that the MDC Alliance campaign machinery had been weakened after Chidhakwa was elbowed out.
“The move is quite suicidal considering the fact that Chidhakwa commands a lot of respect and support in the constituency. There are many party members who are not happy with the endorsement of Sikhala. The fact that he had to abandon St Mary’s Constituency to contest in Zengeza West certainly points to a ploy to get rid of Chidhakwa and that could prove costly,” added the insider.
There was also an outcry in Chitungwiza after some incumbent MPs, Unganai Tarusenga (St Mary’s) and Godfrey Sithole (Chitungwiza North) were confirmed as candidates without going through primaries.
Tarusenga refuted allegations that he was imposed while Sithole was not reachable for comment.
The MDC-T secretary for Chitungwiza, Lloyd Damba confirmed that a number of losing candidates had decided to contest as independents but expressed optimism that the MDC Alliance would win.
Special footage crucial to expose the criminals behind the bombing is missing
By Ndaba Nhuku | Military intelligence and some senior government officials have fingered top ZBC team leader, Reuben Barwe for failing his duty and task at the fateful Bulawayo White City stadium rally last Saturday. This also comes at a time when journalists named Barwe as an alleged G40 implant, (see tweets below) and publisher Trevor Ncube also denounced him.
Special footage crucial to expose the criminals behind the bombing of president Emmerson Mnangagwa is missing, while there were more than 5 digital cameras pointed at all angles during the rally function running into the hot few minutes into the explosion. – CONTINUE READING
rueben barwe , Judith makwanya etc should have been retired when the new dispensation took over, their reporting was pro Mugabe
But during the last 8 seconds, footage was somewhat switched off, it has emerged and the only cameras left milling their task were casting onto the social networking website, Facebook’s streaming servers. More disappointment has emerged after it was noted that the core irises were all pointed at the stage area and none was tilted towards the spot where the bomber carried their act.
As the bomb exploded during the last 10 seconds, where was the melodious man, the great who is well know for screaming his own name, Reuuuuuuuben? He was nowhere to be seen, only to resurface on camera at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s state house residence where he was filmed repeating statements journalists have said were clear leading statements attempting to push the Head Of State to blame the people of Matebeleland for the bombing incident. The below is what he said:
The LIVE footage that is only available, one of two, shows a grenade look-alike object clearly flying in human hand swung motion towards the area where Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was about to disembark.
” By now we should have concluded on the arrests but ZBC has failed us, they had all the cameras,” said a source who is close to the investigations.
What is this? Barwe having some lighter moments na ED after the explosion. How come ED is so calm and relaxed ? Thought he wld go underground a bit. Ummm pic.twitter.com/dWYMGApHwV
I have over the last 4 days battled getting Barwe to respond but his phone is failing.
Meanwhile calls have continued rising calling for him to be disciplined with journalist and senior media practitioners slammed him for behaving like a tribalist shortly after the bombing.
How do we make student lawyers ?⚖️ in ?? aware of wildlife law?
Prisca Daka & Moses Mutemiri's story:
-Lawyer, ecologist -Worked with communities traumatised by croc, carnivore attacks -Work with uni students to make them aware of law before they start their careers @SOFApic.twitter.com/LxA6oIqJiR
By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) spokesperson Douglas Mahiya has revealed that his organisation suspected that the White City Stadium bombing incident was an inside job engineered by members of the G40 faction who remained in government and top party structures following the ouster of former President Robert Mugabe on November 17 last year.
Mahiya singled out the G40 faction as topping the list of suspects calling on the law enforcement agents to hunt the perpetrators of the heinous attack and bring them to justice.
Said Mahiya: “War veterans demand that the culprits be brought to book. The evil political machinations of G40 and enemies of the Zimbabwean revolution cannot be ruled out as suspects. We also don’t rule out the evil acts as an inside job, time will tell.”
He said while the association condemned the attack, they wanted police to release information on the attacks.
“The ZNLWVA condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric, cowardly acts of terrorism in the Bulawayo bombing. War veterans will always remember this and continue to demand more information and that our national security will go to the bottom of the matter,” he said.
Zanu Pf Youth wing also confirmed that it was highly likely that the G40 faction was behind the attack adding that the grouping did not like President Emmerson Mnangagwa because he was a straightforward person.
Said Pupurai Togarepi, Zanu Pf Secretary for Youth Affairs:
“So as war veterans are saying and as any other Zimbabwean will think, maybe it could be those elements who used to enjoy things that they can’t enjoy now because we have a straight forward President. So they may be tempted to kill him to create instability. I can’t give you the list of my suspects, it’s so long, but I am hurt.”
The youth league leader however did not disclose any names but indicated that it could have been an inside job which involved people around Mnangagwa.
He called on his charges to provide a human shield to the party’s top leadership adding that it was the duty of the youths to defend the revolution.
“The terrain features have changed so has our approach going forward. We are not going to tolerate behaviour that is suspicious, from today onwards. As the youth league, we stand to defend the revolution, to defend our leadership … from now onwards we offer ourselves as a human shield, to our President, to our leadership to the people of Zimbabwe.
We know they are targeting our President, they want to maim, kill him, but that will mean disaster for our future as the youth. So from today onwards, all members of the youth league are called upon to defend the President, and we will defend him with our lives in all circumstances, wherever he is we shall be, and when he falls and if he is to be killed by anybody, that person should kill all of us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 43rd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) got underway in Luanda with Angolan President Joao Lourenco denouncing suspected bomb attacks at White City Stadium.
Officially opening the SADC PF Plenary Session on Monday, Lourenco said the attack was “cowardly, criminal and undemocratic”.
Lourenco said the attacks in Bulawayo and Addis Ababa Ethiopia — where Prime Minister Abiy was addressing supporters in Meskel Square when an explosion ripped through the crowd killing two people, and leaving 156 injured — were meant to undermine efforts that are ongoing toward holding democratic elections, particularly in Zimbabwe.
The Chinese government also issued a statement condemning the attack.
“The Chinese government strongly condemns the political violence perpetuated at the White City Stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and wishes to express its sincere condolences to the relatives of the deceased,” said the Chinese government in a statement.
“China sincerely hopes that the forthcoming harmonised elections in Zimbabwe will be held in a smooth and peaceful manner and Zimbabwe will continuously maintain stability and achieve continued development and prosperity.”-Newsday.
By Dorrothy Moyo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been quoted making the clearest indication of who he suspects the Bulawayo bomb attacker to be.
Mnangagwa indicated that the person is a ZANU PF insider.
Mnangagwa was quoted by the BBC saying, “I don’t know whether it was one individual – I would think it is broader than one person.
“I would think this is a political action by some aggrieved persons… On what basis would I trust someone (Grace) who was used by a cabal to say things that had no basis.”
By Farai D Hove | Following a highly controversial survey which claims that ZANU PF bombed itself on Saturday, top Mnangagwa aides have blamed the attack on their own comrades.
Yesterday a large host of both named and unknown sources (those requesting anonymity) said they blame insiders for carrying out the White City stadium attack.
While a senior source said “the attack was clearly carried out by an expert in ammunition and ballistic technology,” another said, ” the timing and how it was all done shows this was someone very close.”
Mnangagwa himself told the BBC, “I don’t know whether it was one individual – I would think it is broader than one person. I would think this is a political action by some aggrieved persons… On what basis would I trust someone (Grace) who was used by a cabal to say things that had no basis.”
Youth League Secretary Pupurai Togarepi said his own list of suspects was endless.
Said Togarepi: “As any other Zimbabwean would think, maybe it could be those elements who used to enjoy those things they can’t enjoy now because we have a straightforward president so they may be tempted to killing. To kill the people of Zimbabwe to create that instability. So there are people out there and what could motivate them? So anyone I can tell you the list of might suspects (sic – suspicions) is so long because …. (sic.) But I am hurt to tell you the truth, that we have a man who is preaching peace, who is preaching development, who wants to see Zimbabweans united, and there are people out there who would want him dead; you don’t understand; you know it’s painful. But then this is not for Zanu PF. This is for all political parties, all religious groupings. This is something that is attacking the culture that we have known for a long time in Zimbabwe of peace. We have characters who would want to create instability in this country and we as Zimbabweans, not only the security services sector, but all Zimbabweans must stand up and say we don’t want this, this is foreign, and can’t be part of our lives, we can’t live in fear, in a country that is as free as Zimbabwe; because there is somebody with selfish ends; that we should stop and it can only be stopped by Zimbabweans, no one else. Thank you.”
Meanwhile the below survey was done by the popular Trends SADC organisation on their Twitter handle. For reliability, a strict IP filter was used to ensure only real human beings participate. The findings blamed both ZANU PF and military elements for the bomb blast that could have easily killed Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his wife, (although other analysts have claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was also targeted. ALSO READ – Nonsense – Stop Lying That You Didn’t See The Grenade Thrower!Below were the details:
By Paul Nyathi|The ruling ZANU PF party is basking in glory of an early election lead after winning 46 local government election wards uncontested.
With 123 political parties registering to contest elections with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, it came as a shock to many when all the opposition parties including the main opposition MDC Alliance failed to field candidates in the 46 wards.
Zanu-PF spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo said the head start showed that the party meant business.
“This is a sign that Zanu-PF is a mass party and is everywhere while other parties are sprinkled here and there,” he said.
“We must take heed that this foretells what is going to happen during the elections. This is because Zanu-PF is a party with history, which liberated this country from the yoke of colonialism. Despite the hardships the country has gone through by the way of imposition of sanctions after the execution of our land reform programme, the party remained resilient and has moved on and indeed has very clear policies and programmes which are in sync with the people’s aspirations.”
Khaya Moyo added: “There is no doubt that the new dispensation has indeed opened another chapter which gives hope to the people under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa.”
Association of Rural District Councils president Dr Killer Zivhu said Zanu-PF was driving a lot of developmental projects in rural areas and opposition parties would not win any ward.
“The majority of Zimbabweans are in the rural areas,” he said.
“They are the ones who fought the liberation war and they understand what independence is and why it should be protected.
“This means they understand why Zanu-PF should continue in power. There is no violence and intimidation and the revolutionary party is winning uncontested and this shows that it is a people’s party. Moreover, there are a lot of improvements and developments taking place in rural areas. People feel they have to give President Mnangagwa more years to drive them to prosperity.”
Political analyst Mr Tafadzwa Mugwadi said failure by opposition parties to field candidates in some wards showed that Zanu-PF was the only national party.
“It can contest any post in every part of the country while all other parties are quasi-sectarian movements that are urban-oriented instead of being national,” he said.
“Equally, it is clear that Zanu-PF and its presidential candidate are poised for a clear and indisputable victory because they have a foothold in 46 wards where opposition presence is patchy. That is why some opposition parties are throwing spanners in the works in a desperate attempt to solicit for sympathies ahead an imminent defeat. Strategically, the opposition has failed to coordinate themselves ahead of the elections because they have no presence across the length and breadth of the country.”
TEN pupils from the Presbyterian Church-run John Tallach Secondary School on the outskirts of Bulawayo have been sent home after they were allegedly caught having a sex party at the headmaster’s house.
The headmaster’s son is said to have got wind of the fact that his father was in Bulawayo for business and managed to get his house keys before organising friends to host the orgy on Saturday night.
Five pairs of pupils in Forms 3 and 4 allegedly spent the night at the residence before alert matrons realised that some girls were missing from their hostels.
Matabeleland North Provincial Education Director Mr Jabulani Mpofu confirmed the incident and said investigations were underway.
“I can confirm that we received a report in which 10 pupils have been sent to bring their parents for a disciplinary hearing after they were caught engaging in some sexual activities at an illegal party. They gained entry into the headmaster’s house in his absence,” he said.
Mr Mpofu said he could not give more details as investigations were in progress.
“We agreed that they be sent home to bring parents so I hope to be in a better position to give further details after we engage the parents on the matter,” he said.
Members of staff who spoke on condition of anonymity said the pupils were busted after “a lot of noise” emanated from the headmaster’s house.
A teacher at the school, which is located in Ingwenya communal area – about 40 km from Bulawayo - is said to have gone to investigate and caught them in the act.
The school deputy headmistress, Ms Norma Mclean, declined to comment on the matter as it was being handled by the Ministry of Education.
“Please contact the PED for all your questions as he is the one handling the matter. Those are still allegations and I am not at liberty to speak to the Press,” she said.
The Chronicle visited the school yesterday and members of staff who spoke to this newspaper said the pupils were likely to be expelled.
The headmaster, Mr Bonakele Ncube, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to Press.
Members of staff said the pupils involved are a nuisance at the school and had received a number of punishments and detentions for various offences prior to the weekend incident.
PRESS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO MEDIA REPORTS ON VOTERS ROLL
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission wishes to respond to media reports that the voters’ roll issued to stakeholders is fake. The Commission is saddened by such allegations which in its opinion are meant to cause alarm and despondency among the generality of the Zimbabwean populace. ZEC calls upon all stakeholders to conduct themselves in a responsible manner which is consistent with nation-building.
Section 20 (2) of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] provides that a voters roll shall specify in relation to each registered voter, the voter’s first and last names, date of birth, national registration number and sex as well as the place where the voter ordinarily resides. The voters roll issued to stakeholders contains the above information as required by the law. The law in section 21 (7) further requires ZEC to issue a voters roll that is searchable and analysable but tamper-proof. ZEC is issuing a roll which can be analysed and searched by age, name, national registration number and residential address in conformity with the law.
Allegations that the voters roll is fake because it does not contain voters photographs are regrettable. While section 9 of the Electoral (Voter Registration) Regulations, 2013 Statutory Instrument 85 of 2017 provides for the Chief Elections Officer to compile a voters roll for each polling area showing in relation to each voter the voters photograph in addition to the information provided in section 20 (2) of the Electoral Act aforementioned, it is pertinent to note that the voters’ roll referred to in section 9 of the Regulations alluded to by the stakeholders in the print media particularly the Newsday of 22 June 2018 relates to a polling station voters roll. This is the roll that will be printed and distributed to each polling station for purposes of polling on 30 July 2018 which will not be in its consolidated form as that issued to stakeholders.
Further, it is also important for stakeholders to note that such roll is printed in PDF format and as such it is not analysable and searchable as envisaged by the law. However, this does not mean that the Commission is under any constraint to provide any person who requests for it in that format a copy. Note, however, that this is not the roll that is envisaged by the law (section 21(7)) to be provided to stakeholders but ZEC is willing to make it available. Those who wish to get a copy of the PDF voters roll containing voters’ photographs are free to approach the Commission with their own external computer hard drives where such roll will be downloaded on.
As the country prepared for the upcoming elections, the state media reports how Zanu-PF has reportedly won 46 wards in various local councils unopposed as opposition political parties failed to field candidates.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), in terms of Section 125 (4) of the Electoral Act, yesterday published names of candidates nominated to stand in local government elections.
Zanu-PF won in 19 wards uncontested in Mashonaland Central province, 13 in Midlands, nine in Mashonaland East and four in Matabeleland South as well as another ward in Matabeleland North.
Zanu-PF spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo was quoted by the Herald saying the wins show that they are a mass party which is everywhere. He said: “this is a sign that Zanu-PF is a mass party and is everywhere while other parties are sprinkled here and there.
“We must take heed that this foretells what is going to happen during the elections.
“This is because Zanu-PF is a party with history, which liberated this country from the yoke of colonialism.
“Despite the hardships the country has gone through by the way of imposition of sanctions after the execution of our land reform programme, the party remained resilient and has moved on and indeed has very clear policies and programmes which are in sync with the people’s aspirations.”
1/24 Words alone can't convey the profound pain & crushing feeling arising from the barbaric #ZanuPFBomb in which precious lives were lost & scores injured in Bulawayo. May God bless the victims & favour their families & loved ones as they come to terms with the tragic atrocity! pic.twitter.com/bFqRsRn3Jg
2/24 Given the 15 Nov 2017 military coup dubbed "Operation Restore Legacy", & that General Chiwenga, who led the coup, says the operation is running till July 30 poll, it's mandatory for #Sadc & #AU to investigate the #ZanuPFBomb; as #FBI is doing with grenade attack in Ethiopia! pic.twitter.com/HcvJwIB8CS
3/24 It would be irrational, irresponsible & tragic for #Sadc, #AU & #UN to isolate the #ZanuPFBomb from the 15 Nov military coup or to treat it as a local matter for internal investigation. Claims that the Nov coup was non violent are oxymoronic. Coups are by definition violent!
4/24 Experience around the world has shown that coups beget coups. Unless when they're cured by pivotal regional intervention, as happens in West Africa through #ECOWAS, coups in Africa generate a self-propelling spiral of violence, which creates an underlying culture of fear!
5/24 Since 15 Nov, #Zim has remained in a coup mode. ZanuPF has used the threat of military violence as an axe hanging over the nation. Zimbabweans know of deaths, injuries, torture, internal & external displacement of people, property destruction & looting but no accountability! pic.twitter.com/YMNtIi9wyE
5/24 Since 15 Nov, #Zim has remained in a coup mode. ZanuPF has used the threat of military violence as an axe hanging over the nation. Zimbabweans know of deaths, injuries, torture, internal & external displacement of people, property destruction & looting but no accountability! pic.twitter.com/YMNtIi9wyE
6/24 An untold & deadly footnote to the 15 Nov coup is that soldiers randomly & illegally confiscated weapons & ammunition from other security agents or agencies of State; i.e; the CIO & ZRP whose armoury was emptied. The problem is that some 40% of this remains unaccounted for!
7/24 The possibility of criminal or terrorist use of weapons & ammunition randomly & illegally confiscated by soldiers in the 15 Nov coup, poses a clear & present danger in Zimbabwe & the Sadc region. The tacit approval of the 2017 coup by #Sadc & #AU has exacerbated that danger!
8/24 While it would be prejudicial & irresponsible to draw any conclusions about what happened & who was responsible for the #ZanuPFBomb, outside the findings of an internationally credible investigation involving #Sadc & #AU, some facts around the explosion invite questions!
9/24 *Why was ZRP conspicuous by its absence? *Will all weapons confiscated in the coup be recovered? *Will VIPs who behaved like they knew something was about to happen be arrested? *Any links re past reports of grenade at Chiwenga's house & fatal shootings at Mnangagwa's house?
10/24 Since Nov coup Govt, Army & ZanuPF officials have openly threatened military violence, if ZanuPF loses July poll, with no legal penalties. And 5,000 plain clothed soldiers are embedded in polling station communities, with voters rolls to intimidate villagers to vote ZanuPF! pic.twitter.com/efEXo56uSo
11/24 The bomb tragedy smacks of an inside job, over "internally unresolved leadership contestation". Charamba who speaks more for Chiwenga than for Mnangagwa, said as much; stating that the target was more the electoral process than Mnangagwa who apparently wanted a poll delay! pic.twitter.com/2KgQYef5j0
12/24 Two odd behaviors point to the view that Mnangagwa wanted a poll delay; fearing defeat on 30 July: (a) his rush to rule out a state of emergency or election postponement when nobody had asked for either; & (b) his freudian slip that elections are in 6 months on 31 December! pic.twitter.com/o1y5VkJJWm
13/24 Mnangagwa's delayed gazetting of Chiwenga's duties till two weeks ago & Chiwenga's refusal to vacate CDF's office for PV Sibanda are bad signs. After the coup, prospects of resolving internal leadership contestation are between slim & none; as the gun now dictates politics!
14/24 The #ZanuPFBomb is a tragic reminder that the coup govt can't be trusted to oversee free, fair & credible elections. The coup is still in progress; dictated by the violence & impunity that haved dogged Zimbabwe since 1980 & now posing an existential threat to the country!
15/24 Ideologically, since Zimbabwe faces an existential threat; with a self-indulgent military clique seeking to capture the Republic using tanks, bullets, grenades & bombs to justify that capture, the people should democratically rise up & assert their sovereignty at the polls!
16/24 Led by Chiwenga & Mnangagwa, the military coup has been long coming; first with barbaric March 2007 bashing of the late Tsvangirai; 2008 poll coup; 2011 assassination of Solomon Mujuru; 2014 expulsion of Joice Mujuru; 2015 kidnap & murder of Itai Dzamara & 15 Nov 2017 coup!
17/24 Victims of the coup from 2007 have been the people, across political & factional divides. This reality has made them to converge & assert their sovereignty. Since 1980, sovereignty has been asserted by the clique behind the coup in the name of ZanuPF, embedded in the State! pic.twitter.com/IOMh1ynEcM
18/24 Conventional wisdom holds that there are 5 goals of development: economic growth, equity, democracy, stability & sovereignty. The first four are impossible to attain without the fifth as an expression not of a clique but of the people. The coup cabal has corrupted all five!
19/24 It's a falsfication of history to stage a coup & run an election campaign to "Restore Legacy"; nearly 40 years after Independence. What & whose legacy? The DNA of the coup cabal is that violence dictates politics: one must fit "their ZanuPF" to live & if not; you must die! pic.twitter.com/TPfIFRwNbS
20/24 With about 40 years of Uhuru; 64% of the electorate aged between 18 & 49 years; it cant be right for Mnangagwa who's been in politics for 60 years; Chief Architect & Enforcer of the First Republic for 38 years to even offer himself to lead the Second Republic. It's a shame! pic.twitter.com/KYi8ug7wOt
21/24 In 1994 I had a strategy-changing chat in Nairobi with Ibbo Mandaza. I was frustrated the one-party state debate was won in books & lost in politics. ZanuPF opted for de facto over de jure one party rule. One needed a "Yeltsin" to reform it from within. Still I was wrong!
22/24 I knew in 1994 from the one party state debate that ZanuPF could not be reformed from outside its ranks. I've learnt the hard way that it can't be reformed from within, either. The DNA of ZanuPF stockholders is violence. For example, ED's gukurahundi was a planned genocide! pic.twitter.com/0tR1FV8GFj
23/24 Because the violence-based ZanuPF is now led by Mnangagwa who's been in politics for 60 years; with Chiwenga–the coup leader & three of his Army Commanders now in cabinet & politburo, it means AK47s & grenades are ruling the roost. The coup cabal has no popular support! pic.twitter.com/LHoQp9K1wY
24/24 So, #Zim can only break from the 1980-2018 cycle of violence of the First Republic by rejecting Mnangagwa, the architect of that violence for 38 years. The Second Republic needs a fresh start with a new generational leader: #NelsonChamisa!#HandeyiKwekwe#KwekweHimJuly30pic.twitter.com/sEWRn1vtss
The MV Lifeline, the latest migrant boat stranded in the Mediterranean, has reportedly been refused entry into Malta. Will Europe be able to resolve its refugee crisis? https://t.co/jBNicKGR9Ypic.twitter.com/LQUssjVAv7
By Dorrothy Moyo| An old video has surfaced of former First Lady Grace Mugabe predicting the using of soldiers to go carry out a bombing.
Grace Mugabe was at the time, busy, on one of her loud rants, when she was filmed while on the podium declaring, “this serious issue of you arranging with soldiers to go carry out a bombing, it will not work.”
The development comes after experts sounded out saying the Bulawayo explosion was carried out by trained security personnel.
Zimbabweans on Tuesday took the video (below) to mean Mrs Mugabe accurately predicted the Saturday bombing incident.
A Bulawayo woman is demanding lobola before giving her daughter’s ex-lover custody of his child.
Mrs Josephine Zulu approached the Maintenance Court demanding $90 from Ancelecious Kanjala for the upkeep of her grandson aged 12 years old.
The woman’s daughter, who is Kanjala’s ex-lover, now resides in South Africa. “He impregnated my daughter. Since 2006 when the child was born I have stayed with the child.
“My daughter is in South Africa and she left her child in my care. He has contributed nothing financially towards the child’s upkeep,” she said.
“Right now the child’s school is suing me for $800 school fees arrears. Where will I get that kind of money? I gathered that he is working in Dubai. I am demanding $90 for the upkeep of my grandson.”
Kanjala offered $50 for the upkeep of his son.
He said he was unemployed and when he demanded custody of the child, Mrs Zulu demanded lobola.
“I have been giving my mother money to pay for the child’s school fees, the receipts are there at the school.
“I am unemployed. I only went to Dubai to look for a job and I came back because I didn’t manage to find the job. I will try and raise $50 for the upkeep of my son. I told her to give me custody of the child but she demanded I should pay lobola.
“In other words I will be marrying her daughter,” he said. Bulawayo magistrate Mr Usheunesu Matova ordered Kanjala to pay $70 for the upkeep of his son.-state media
The Zanu-PF Youth League leadership yesterday pledged to act as a human shield for their leader, Emmerson Mnangangwa following what the state media says was an alleged assassination attempt on his life in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Speaking during his press conference streamed LIVE on ZimEye.com, youth leader, Pupurai Togarepi responded to questions on who his suspects are.
He gave the below full response:
FULL TEXT: As any other Zimbabwean would think, maybe it could be those elements who used to enjoy those things they can’t enjoy now because we have a straightforward president so they may be tempted to killing. To kill the people of Zimbabwe to create that instability. So there are people out there and what could motivate them? So anyone I can tell you the list of might suspects (sic – suspicions) is so long because …. (sic.) But I am hurt to tell you the truth, that we have a man who is preaching peace, who is preaching development, who wants to see Zimbabweans united, and there are people out there who would want him dead; you don’t understand; you know it’s painful. But then this is not for Zanu PF. This is for all political parties, all religious groupings. This is something that is attacking the culture that we have known for a long time in Zimbabwe of peace. We have characters who would want to create instability in this country and we as Zimbabweans, not only the security services sector, but all Zimbabweans must stand up and say we don’t want this, this is foreign, and can’t be part of our lives, we can’t live in fear, in a country that is as free as Zimbabwe; because there is somebody with selfish ends; that we should stop and it can only be stopped by Zimbabweans, no one else. Thank you.
Meanwhile, two of those who were injured have since died. Further, the revolutionary party’s youth wing said it was organising a peace march in Harare on a date to be announced, condemning the terrorist attack.
They said they would want to see the culprits apprehended and made to account for their actions.
He said “an injury to one was an injury to all”. “From now onwards, we offer ourselves as a human shield to our President, to the leadership and to the people of Zimbabwe. We know that they are targeting our President, they want to kill him,” he said.
“We call upon all the youth in Zimbabwe to be vigilant. All members of the youth league are called upon to defend the President and we will defend him with our lives in all circumstances. Wherever he is, we shall be and when he falls if he is to be killed by anybody, that person must kill all of us.
“The security forces have their own duty to protect the President and we also have a duty to defend the revolution. A terrorist attack disturbs the trajectory of our country hence we have to be active.”
Togarepi urged the youths to report any suspicious movements or behaviour to the police saying Zimbabwe was under attack from messengers of darkness.
“Terrorism cannot be condoned by right-minded Zimbabweans therefore any suspicious behaviour must be reported to the authorities. The terrain features have changed and so our approach has completely changed going forward. We are not going to tolerate behaviour that is suspicious.
“As the Youth League, we stand to defend our revolution, to defend our President and the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Our security forces are the best in the world, they will dig deep and unveil this puzzle, we want these people to have their day in court and pay for their sins. We demand that they be hunted down together with their sponsors.”
The youth league boss further said he had his own suspects but was going to let the security agents do their job.
“Despite the President showing leadership, love for everybody and reconciliation, he allowed everybody to be in his or her position for the country to move forward,” he said.
“As any other Zimbabwean would think, maybe it could have been those elements who used to enjoy things that they can’t enjoy now because we have a straight forward President, so they may be tempted to kill him to create instability. I cannot tell you the list of my suspicion it is so long.
“We have a man who is preaching peace, development, who wants to see Zimbabweans united but there are people out there who would want to see him dead. It is painful.”
The press conference was attended by senior members of the Youth League.-state media/additional reporting
swift action…ZANU PF wields axeEmmerson Mnangagwa’s party administration has expelled four members who decided to stand as independent National Assembly candidates in the July 30 harmonised elections.
Zanu-PF Midlands chairperson Mackenzie Ncube confirmed the development, saying the party had failed to find common ground with the members.
The four are Tsikadzashe Nemato (Gokwe Kana), Johannes Marise (Gokwe Mafungautsi), Jossinia Maupa (Kwekwe Central) and Dorothy Mhangami (Gokwe Central), as well as a number of councillors around the province whose number could not be ascertained.
“We were left with no option, but to generate an expulsion letter after we tried to engage them to no avail,” he said.
“We engaged Mhangami, but she remained adamant that she wanted to stand as an independent. So our options were limited on that one.” Ncube said the letters were yet to be distributed, but said the party was working on distributing modalities.
He said some agreed to withdraw their candidature, but could not make it before the ZEC deadline. “We agreed with some candidates for withdrawal, but we could not beat the ZEC deadline to process the withdrawals before Friday,” said Ncube.
“We have some that had agreed to withdraw their candidature and to support the sole candidate, but unfortunately ZEC had already closed the doors.”
Ncube said the party would continue engaging both the members and ZEC in trying to make the withdrawals possible. He warned some independent candidates against imitating the ruling party’s colours on their regalia and posters. “It was happening, especially in Gokwe South, where some where even putting President Mnangagwa’s face on their regalia,” said Ncube.
“We frown upon that, and it is totally disallowed.”
We urge party supporters to vote for the candidates that where elected by people through a peaceful primary election held about a month ago.
Zanu-PF candidates for the constituencies are Victor Matemadanda (Gokwe Central), Owen Ncube (Gokwe Kana), Kandros Mugabe (Kwekwe Central) and Tawanda Karikoga (Gokwe Mafungautsi). -state media
Presidential spokesman George Charamba’s statement saying that the bombing incident on Saturday was caused by an unresolved leadership issue inside the zanu PF party, caused a storm in Tuesday. Others took it to mean that there is some secret soon to be discovered concerning the motive for the attack on Saturday. Below were some discussions on Twitter concerning this:
For the first time Charamba has shed some light in the precarious corridors of power within ZANU PF. Unfortunately, innocent souls were caught in the crossfire.
Old Mutual Zimbabwe has relisted on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) as a part of a broader group strategy to focus its business in Africa.
Yesterday, Old Mutual Plc’s shares were suspended from the UK Official list and from trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities, and from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and had already been suspended on the Malawi Stock Exchange as it moved its primary listing from London to Johannesburg.
Today the group announced it has completed its primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with secondary listings on the London, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe stock exchanges. Old Mutual Zimbabwe has since commenced trading on the ZSE.
“The key difference between our previous listing as Old Mutual Plc in London and our primary listing as Old Mutual Ltd in Africa is that capital from our shareholders will be focused on African businesses and invested in growth opportunities present in African markets we operate in,” said Old Mutual Zimbabwe.
Officiating at the relisting event this morning, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Old Mutual’s new thrust was in line with Government’s economic agenda.
“The decision to anchor in Zimbabwe and Africa is the very same agenda that Government has been driving. The country’s development will be underpinned by both foreign and domestic investment in various economic sectors. We are glad Old Mutual is tangibly leading the way and showing that Zimbabwe is Open for business,” he said.
In March 2016, the group agreed to separate its four businesses into independent, stand-alone companies – the ‘Managed Separation’ – driven by the need to reduce costs and ensure efficient funding for its constituent companies.
In terms of the Managed Separation, the US-based Old Mutual Asset Management (OMAM) was sold, while the United Kingdom-based Old Mutual Wealth was rebranded as Quilter Plc and is now listed on the London Stock Exchange – with a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The wealth management company was spun off Old Mutual Plc – a financial holding company that sold 165 million Quilter shares for around 231, 1 million pounds ($306, 4 million).
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee last night approved bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) to up-end the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (ZIDERA). The new document sets forth the steps Zimbabwe needs to take to have sanctions lifted. The new level states that elections are not enough in determining a reformed government.
Senator Flake announced saying, “the upcoming elections are a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Zimbabwe to move forward after decades of autocratic rule.
“The ZDERA Amendment Act reinforces that if the Government of Zimbabwe is serious about bringing change to its people, starting with free and fair elections, it will find a willing partner in the U.S.
“This legislation reflects our sincere hope that Zimbabwe makes a transition to a peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous nation. A free, fair, and credible election is a necessary, but insufficient step to increased levels and areas of cooperation with the United States.
“Zimbabwe’s leaders must also commit to a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in order to reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. We look forward to the fulfillment of the commitments President Mnangagwa has made to the people of Zimbabwe to pursue broader political and economic reform, and to a deeper partnership between the United States and Zimbabwe as sufficient progress is made on these necessary reforms.”
Glen View 8 complex was Tuesday evening gutted by fire whose source has not yet been established.
This is not the first time that the Complex popularly known as “Kumasofa” has been reduced to ashes by a raging inferno.
In July 2015, the furniture complex went up in smoke destroying property worth thousands of dollars, a development which destroyed the livelihoods of the entrepreneurs operating from the industrial hub, the majority of whom are Zanu Pf affiliated.
I learnt with a heavy heart of the death yesterday of our two brave security officers who succumbed to injuries sustained following last Saturday’s terror attack at White City Stadium, in Bulawayo. This cowardly terrorist attack at a public political meeting was indiscriminate and calculated to achieve a bloodbath which is hard to fathom. Above all, it sought to subvert the will of the people of Zimbabwe by attempting to destabilise the ongoing electoral programme which our entire nation wishes to see unfold in an environment of perfect peace, all for a free, fair and credible electoral outcome which we have pledged to ourselves and to the rest of the world.
Today Zimbabwe mourns this needless loss of her two brave sons whose lives have been lost in the line of duty. We mourn with their heartbroken families who now have to bury their otherwise fit beloved ones, except for this heinous act. I urge all Zimbabweans to stand by these bereaved families who need every support from all of us during this very sad and difficult hour. Government has already taken a decision to assist these families by meeting all funeral and burial expenses as we send off the two deceased officers.
While we await results of investigations which are underway, the best tribute we can give to the late departed, and the grieving families is by standing together as a nation to empathetically denounce violence and terrorism of any kind and form, and of course by committing ourselves to peaceful, free and fair elections, which we are determined to see taking place next month.
These merchants of terror must never be allowed to succeed, let alone stop the march of democracy, economic recovery and national progress which our people deserve.
On behalf of the party, ZANU-PF, Government, my family and on my own behalf, I tender my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased officers. As I do so, I wish all those caught up in the terror attack speedy recovery. Government is already taking comprehensive steps and measures to ensure that peace endures in our whole nation.
By Own Correspondent| The Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) has fired 62 officers over corruptly issuing provisional drivers licences to failed applicants, the parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development has revealed.
In a report on the operations of Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and VID, the committee also revealed that the officers were caught issuing certificates of fitness to non-roadworthy vehicles and provisional driver’s licences corruptly.
“The Committee was informed that during the last five years, from 2013 to 2017 and partially 2018, 62 officers were caught on the wrong side of the law.
“The said officers were caught issuing certificates of competence to non-deserving applicants, caught issuing learner licences to failed applicants and issuing certificates of fitness to non-roadworthy vehicles,” the report said.
According to the report, these officers were caught using VID internal control systems because members of the public have not been reporting any cases of being asked for bribes.
“The Chief Vehicle Inspector pointed out that the issue of corruption is complicated, but VID tried to put in place systems to minimise corruption,” read the report.
“Those caught on the wrong side of the law are discharged from service and will not be employed again in the Public Service.”
Corruption at VID, vehicles with defects, speeding and bad roads have been cited as the major cause of traffic deaths across the country.
The Zimbabwe driver’s licence is internationally-recognised but has been losing its lustre due to wanton corruption in the issuance of the document, which is adversely damaging its reputation.
The committee said they were told by VID director Joseph Pedzapasi that his officers are getting poor salaries.
“VID officers are given targets or what is called employee contribution to the organisation.
“He (Pedzapasi) explained that one officer can bring something like between $10 000 and $15 000 per month to the organisation and if you look at the recognition for that effort, that person is paid $400 per month.
“As a result, there is an imbalance in terms of equity. This is where some of the corruption maybe coming from.
“The VID chief inspector explained that they have put measures such as toll free numbers where those people who have been asked to pay a bribe in order to pass can use to report and have also put notices at all depots informing members of the public to call whenever they have been asked for a bribe.
“The Committee raised concern over some vehicles which get involved in accidents within a week of being issued with a certificate of fitness.
“Pedzapasi explained that they realised that some operators are not honest
By A Correspondent| 10 pupils at John Tellach High School were caught allegedly having an immoral party inside their headmaster’s house.
The pupils have since been expelled.
John Tallach High School is a boarding school in Ingwenya.
It has over 600 pupils of which about 50 live locally. It is located in a rural community 40 km outside Bulawayo. Its academic record: in 2013 it had a 96.15% ‘O’ level pass rate coming top in Matabeleland and taking 4th place nationally.
The school’s headmaster is Mr B Ncube’s house was used for the s*x party, an impeccable school report states. The report was revealed by Mat North Provincial Education Director, Jabulani Mpofu.
The pupils cannot be named for legal and ethical reasons.
Khama Billiat says he is looking forward to making history at Soweto Giants Kaizer Chiefs.
The 27-year-old joined the Soweto giants on a free transfer from Mamelodi Sundowns, signing a three-year contract.
Billiat tweeted thanking Amakhosi for giving him an opportunity to be part of the squad.
“Thank God for the grace new club @KaizerChiefs new dreams thanks to Amakhosi for this opportunity, looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
The Warriors winger will play alongside fellow countryman Willard Katsande who has been at the club since 2011. Defender Teenage Hadebe who arrived at Chiefs last year is also another Zimbabwean at the club.
The High Court of Zimbabwe has nullified the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’ s decision to disqualify an aspiring opposition councillor.
ZEC had disqualified aspiring candidate for ward 15 in Zvishavane, Kudzai Gengere claiming his documents indicated he was from Zambia. ZEC proceeded to declare that Zanu PF candidate Mziyavo Simango had won the seat uncontested.
Justice Mawadze presided over the matter.The Judge reversed the ZEC ruling and indicated that Gengere had the right to participate in the July 30 polls.
ZEC representatives conceded they made a glaring oversight of facts and passed an erroneous ruling.
By Own Correspondent| The MDC T faction led by Dr Thokozani Khupe is accusing the MDC Alliance of politically motivated violence following the assault of one of its members in Braeside, Harare.
Linda Masarira
The assault case was reported today (Tuesday) under RRB 3579025 by one Tawanda Mutize from the MDC T led by Dr Khupe.
MDC T Spokesperson Linda Masarira confirmed the development alleging that Mutize suffered bruises after he was attacked by “nerrorists” meaning people who support MDC Alliance President, Nelson Chamisa.
” They were told that this is a Murisi Zwizwai territory and noone else is allowed to campaign in Braeside,” said Masarira adding that she was campaigning with a team of 36 people.
“We split into groups of 3 people and six in one street. I was in the other street when this happened,” she said.
“Yesterday we put posters at Braeside shops and today when we came back to finish our campaign in Braeside 3, they had been pulled down.”
Poseidon Tsautsau, who was with Mutize when he was assaulted said his colleague was assaulted by MDC Alliance supporters who confirmed that only Zwizwai should be allowed to campaign in the area.
“The people that assaulted him said only Zwizwai was allowed to campaign in Braeside and they attacked him using fists,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday afternoon spoke for the first time following the death of two intelligence officers who were killed in the bomb blast on Saturday. FULL TEXT:
.
I learnt with a heavy heart of the death yesterday of our two brave security officers who succumbed to injuries sustained following last Saturday’s terror attack at White City Stadium, in Bulawayo. This cowardly terrorist attack at a public political meeting was indiscriminate and calculated to achieve a bloodbath which is hard to fathom. Above all, it sought to subvert the will of the people of who is killed in the bomb blast on Saturday Zimbabwe by attempting to destabilise the ongoing electoral programme which our entire nation wishes to see unfold in an environment of perfect peace, all for a free, fair and credible electoral outcome which we have pledged to ourselves and to the rest of the world.
Today Zimbabwe mourns this needless loss of her two brave sons whose lives have been lost in the line of duty. We mourn with their heartbroken families who now have to bury their otherwise fit beloved ones, except for this heinous act. I urge all Zimbabweans to stand by these bereaved families who need every support from all of us during this very sad and difficult hour. Government has already taken a decision to assist these families by meeting all funeral and burial expenses as we send off the two deceased officers.
While we await results of investigations which are underway, the best tribute we can give to the late departed, and the grieving families is by standing together as a nation to empathetically denounce violence and terrorism of any kind and form, and of course by committing ourselves to peaceful, free and fair elections, which we are determined to see taking place next month.
These merchants of terror must never be allowed to succeed, let alone stop the march of democracy, economic recovery and national progress which our people deserve.
On behalf of the party, ZANU-PF, Government, my family and on my own behalf, I tender my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased officers. As I do so, I wish all those caught up in the terror attack speedy recovery. Government is already taking comprehensive steps and measures to ensure that peace endures in our whole nation.
Teachers across the country have widely condemned threats of violence from a Zanu PF Youth League member.
The Zanu PF youth member who identified himself as Sayi yesterday threatened to kill teachers aligned to the opposition.
In an audio clip that was uploaded on various social media platforms, Sayi of Zaka Central Constituency said ruling party youths had been incensed by the White City Stadium bombing incident.
Teachers who spoke to ZimEye. com yesterday described Sayi’ s remarks as unfortunate and disturbing.
“This is a gimmick meant to intimidate teachers in rural areas.However such a redundant political manoeuvre will not stop the wave of change,”said a Zaka based primary school teacher.
” The sentiments reflect typical Zanu PF mentality. The ruling party is desperate to cow teachers into submission, ” said a student teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Various platforms for the teachers and school heads also condemned Sayi’ s remarks.
By Own Correspondent| Secretary for Youths Affairs in Zanu Pf, Pupurai Togarepi has hinted that the people behind the bombing incident in Bulawayo are people who used to enjoy life under former President Robert Mugabe adding that these elements are responsible for the assassination attempt on a “straight forward President, Emmerson Mnangagwa”.
Addressing journalists at the party’s headquarters in the capital Harare this morning, Togarepi said as the youth wing of the party, they were disturbed by the elements behind the bombing incident bent on creating instability and terrorism in a peaceful country like Zimbabwe.
Below is the text of Togarepi’s statement:
“Following the incident at White City stadium, the youths are greatly disturbed by the attack on our party leadership especially our President Emmerson Mnangagwa. As any other Zimbabwean would think, maybe it could be those elements who used to enjoy those things they can’t enjoy now because we have a straightforward president.
These elements may be tempted to killing. To kill the people of Zimbabwe to create that instability. So there are people out there and what could motivate them? So anyone I can tell you the list of might suspect’s (sic – suspicions) is so long because …. (sic.).
But I am hurt to tell you the truth, that we have a man who is preaching peace, who is preaching development, who wants to see Zimbabweans united, and there are people out there who would want him dead.
You don’t understand; you know it’s painful. But then this is not for Zanu PF. This is for all political parties, all religious groupings. This is something that is attacking the culture that we have known for a long time in Zimbabwe of peace.
We have characters who would want to create instability in this country and we as Zimbabweans, not only the Security Services sector, but all Zimbabweans must stand up and say we don’t want this, this is foreign, and can’t be part of our lives.
We can’t live in fear, in a country that is as free as Zimbabwe; because there is somebody with selfish ends; that we should stop and it can only be stopped by Zimbabweans, no one else. Thank you.”
With only five weeks before the harmonised elections, the Voters’ Roll is still fraught with irregularities, according to the country’ s main opposition party, MDC.
In a Facebook message yesterday the party said:”
That voters’ roll is littered with ghost voters.
Giving us a voters’ roll with no physical features defeats the
whole purpose of BVR. The constitution is clear about BVR but ZEC continues to disregard it.
This election must be stopped or we will find ourselves in a bottomless pit.We know what happened in 2013 and its going to happen once again if nothing is done.
The top leadership must show us the way.”
Thousands of Zimbabwean citizens are deeply sceptical of the electronic voter registration verification process.
There are fears that there might be widespread rigging due to loopholes within the electronic voter registration verification process.
However according to Zimbabwe Elections 2018, the process is secure and reliance.
Below is Zimbabwe Election 2010′ s statement:
Zimbabwe Election 2018-
We are pleased to announce that you can now check your details on the Final Voters Roll on our website.
We apologize for the delay. We would like to encourage all our followers to check their details (even if you did not register).
This checking will help
us to audit the voters roll.When you check your details, you will be asked if the details are correct or not. Our website will also check for duplicates on your ID number, as well as all others who are registered at your address.
We would like to encourage everyone to check details for relatives in rural areas who do not have access to the internet.
To check your details, go to our website and click
Voters Roll, or click the link below:
http://www.zimelection.com/votersroll.html
Zimbabwe Election 2018
zimelection.com.
By Own Correspondent| A Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) spy accused of carrying a gun to events officiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been denied bail and is currently battling for life in prison after he was diagnosed of liver cancer.
Guthrie Chirodzero through his defence lawyer Rumbidzai Venge approached Harare magistrate Yeukai Chigodora seeking bail for the second time arguing that times and the circumstances have changed.
He told the court on Monday that prison authorities were also refusing him permission to visit his preferred doctor and seek medical attention.
However, the magistrate trashed his application saying the lawyer had not proven that circumstances have changed.
This becomes the fifth time his freedom bid flops.
By Paul Nyathi|People’s Rainbow Coalition (PRC) leader, Dr Joice Mujuru dumped her own party’s rally and rushed to attend to ZANU PF top officials who were injured after a bomb was detonated at the ruling party rally in Bulawayo.
Mujuru was earmarked to give a key note address at the PRC rally in Victoria Falls but failed to make it as she was reported to have rushed to Bulawayo following the bomb blast.
Her party Deputy President Samuel Sipepa Nkomo was left to face the angry and disappointed party supporters at the extremely lowly attended rally.
In what critics described as a demonstration of the dwindling supporters’ base and clear of lack of confidence in the Mujuru led opposition party, the supposed star rally in the resort town was an eventual monumental flop.
Dr Mujuru arrived in the resort town on Saturday but could not show up at Chinotimba Stadium, much to the disappointment of the few supporters who turned up.
Addressing supporters, Sipepa Nkomo, whose speech was constantly interjected by the ‘where is Mujuru?’ chants from the crowd, failed to justify his boss’s absence and told the angry supporters that the party leader had to attend to an emergency which occurred following the blast at a Zanu PF rally at White City Stadium Bulawayo on Saturday.
“There was an emergency she had to deal with. Remember there was a disaster in Bulawayo and she had to go and see some people who were affected. I want to promise you that she will come and see you in future,” he said.
PRC National Organiser, Mr Dzikamai Mavhaire, who also struggled to explain his boss’s no show, encouraged the party supporters to go and to exercise their constitutional right and vote during the forthcoming elections even if it means voting for MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.
“If things change, police officers can salute Dr Mujuru or Chamisa, what is wrong with that? If it means we need to unite to deal with Zanu PF, let it be so all we don’t want is a Zanu PF led government.
The PRC officials, who told their party supporters of their resolve to push for devolution of power, also said the party has what it takes to dislodge Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance during the forthcoming harmonised elections.
By Dorrothy Moyo| The list of suspects in the bonding of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rally on Saturday is very long, the ZANU PF Youth has said.
Speaking during his press conference streamed live on ZimEye.com, Togarepi responded to questions on who his suspects are.
He gave the below full response:
Said Togarepi: As any other Zimbabwean would think, maybe it could be those elements who used to enjoy those things they can’t enjoy now because we have a straightforward president so they may be tempted to killing. To kill the people of Zimbabwe to create that instability. So there are people out there and what could motivate them? So anyone I can tell you the list of might suspects (sic – suspicions) is so long because …. (sic.) But I am hurt to tell you the truth, that we have a man who is preaching peace, who is preaching development, who wants to see Zimbabweans united, and there are people out there who would want him dead; you don’t understand; you know it’s painful. But then this is not for Zanu PF. This is for all political parties, all religious groupings. This is something that is attacking the culture that we have known for a long time in Zimbabwe of peace. We have characters who would want to create instability in this country and we as Zimbabweans, not only the security services sector, but all Zimbabweans must stand up and say we don’t want this, this is foreign, and can’t be part of our lives, we can’t live in fear, in a country that is as free as Zimbabwe; because there is somebody with selfish ends; that we should stop and it can only be stopped by Zimbabweans, no one else. Thank you.
By Own Correspondent| THE ZANU PF Youth League held its presser Tuesday morning in Harare and the leader, Pupurai Togarepi said the youths stand by President Emmerson Mnangagwa who he said the attackers hoped they would bring down.
Togarepi began by saying:
“Welcome members of the Press. We are here to issue a statement following happenings in Bulawayo White City stadium where suspect bomb attack on our leadership and members of a party occurred.
“From our point at Zanu PF Youth League, we are attached and we are not happy. We are sorry to members whose lives were taken by this unfortunate event. Our statement goes- who is behind the terrorist attack on a president and our leadership? Why this attack on our freedoms and Peace?
“Who is attacking the Zimbabwe people? Definitely it is somebody who is not Zimbabwean. Are you aware you the perpetrator of this thing, the consequences of such an attack; have you looked around the world where such attacks have happened ?”
When quizzed over the suspects of the bombing, Togarepi replied saying, the list of suspects is very long. WATCH HIM SPEAK BELOW:
By Dorrothy Moyo| Harare based dentist, Dr Francis Danha was this morning arrested for calling for ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) Chairperson Priscilla Chigumba’s removal.
This is not the first time Dr Danha who is the leader of the 1980 Freedom Movement has done this and last week he disrupted a ZEC political parties’ meeting in Harare.
LIVE commotion as the man was kicked out of the building…
ZRP cops have kicked out a man who humiliated ZEC Chairperson Priscilla Chigumba. The man, seen in the picture being pushed out, screamed out saying “I will never be addressed by madam Chigumba.”
LIVE commotion as the man was kicked out of the building…
“When they want to poison each other they go to Matebeleland and when they want to fire each other they go to Matebeleland and when they want to bomb each other they go to Matebeleland….Zanu pf uum ?” – UNKNOWN AUTHOR
By Dorrothy Moyo|The Afrobarometer thinktank has presented controversial survey findings that claim that Zimbabwean youths are less likely to vote in the upcoming elections. ZimEye reveals the full report below.
The survey comes after the same organisation earlier this month presented findings that claim that Nelson Chamisa will obtain a paltry 31% of the votes. This was challenged by another survey carried by ZimEye using a larger population sample and which shows thatt Chamisa will win with an 81% scoop. SEE THE COMPARISON BELOW –
The ZimEye results were from a large sample of 2,700 local Zimbabweans aged 25 to 65 during the online survey carried by ZimEye.com last month. To ensure reliability, a strict IP filter was used to ensure that participants are defined by their geographical IP address; a second IP filter was used to prevent duplications and ensure that only human beings vote.
Below were the results:
Whilst more than eight in 10 Zimbabweans (82%) say they are both registered and likely to vote in the upcoming elections, young and urban residents trail their older and rural counterparts in readiness to vote, Afrobarometer’s national survey suggests.
Despite the enthusiasm they have displayed at political party rallies, as of late April/early May urban residents and youth were less likely than rural and older residents to say they were registered and likely to vote, according to survey findings from the Mass Public Opinion Institute, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, and Afrobarometer.
Harare and Bulawayo had smaller proportions of registered and likely voters than other provinces. READ THE REPORT HERE
By Ndaba Nhuku| In this piece, I present raw facts on grenade throwing. One day, the truth will come out. See the full tutorial by experts on WikiHow –
IS IT POSSIBLE TO THROW A GRENADE AND NOT BE CAUGHT?
Locate your target before you ready your grenade. Unlike firearms, there’s no way to “point” a grenade at your enemies so that is selectively deals to damage to them — grenades will indiscriminately hit anything, friend or foe, that’s within their blast radius. For this reason, it’s extra-important to know where your enemy is before you pull the pin. Don’t even grab your grenade until you’ve identified an enemy position you intend to strike — you do not want to be caught with a live grenade and have nowhere to throw it.
Note, however, that, in combat situations, you can expose yourself to enemy fire if you spend too much time peeking out of your cover and trying to locate your enemy. This requires you to delicately balance your need to locate your target with your need to protect yourself. Many sources recommend against spending more than just a second or two looking for your enemy.
2
Grab your grenade in your throwing hand. When you’ve found a target and you’re ready to throw, grab your grenade in the hand you usually use for throwing. Grip the grenade in the palm of your hand with the pull ring pointing up. Use your thumb to put steady pressure on the safety lever — the large, square, metal lever running from the top down the side of the grenade.
Don’t let up your pressure on the lever until you’re ready to throw. The lever holds a small but very important part of the grenade called the striker in place — if you relax your grip on the lever after you pull the pin (this is called “milking” the grenade), it’s possible for the striker to rotate and strike the fuse while the grenade is still in your hand. Because this can easily be deadly, it’s important to get in the habit of keeping steady pressure on the lever at all times before throwing.
3
Pull the pin with your non-throwing hand. Grip the ring on the side of the lever mechanism by slipping a finger through it and remove it with a pulling, twisting motion. The safety clip holding the lever in place should fall off of the grenade. Note that, contrary to the portrayal of grenades in movies and on TV, their fuses aren’t necessarily lit when you pull the pin. Rather, this happens when you release the lever and the striker is able to ignite the fuse, so keep pressure on the lever until you throw.
4
Throw with an overhand motion. Hand grenades can be thrown naturally — the same way you might throw a baseball.[4] To throw, plant your feet about shoulder-width apart, put a slight bend in your knees, cock your arm back, and hurl the grenade over your head as you take a strong step forward. Your arm should pass next to your ear and you should twist slightly at the hips. Let the grenade roll out of your fingertips as it leaves your hand.
For the greatest distance and accuracy when throwing, follow through with your throwing motion. That is, after the grenade leaves your hand, let your arm continue its natural path downward and continue to twist slightly at the hips.
5
Take cover! Use the time available before the grenade explodes to protect yourself. Crouch, kneel, or lie prone behind any available cover to protect yourself from shrapnel. Keep in mind that in the types of situations in which you’re likely to use a hand grenade, you’ll probably want to be wary not just of the explosion of the grenade, but also of the possibility of enemy fire, so waste no time at all taking cover.
If no cover is available, flatten yourself against the ground and orient yourself toward the coming explosion. This minimizes your profile, presenting less of your body area to potentially deadly shrapnel.[5]
Once the grenade is in the air, it’s (literally and figuratively) out of your hands. Without pressure from your hand to hold the safety lever in place, its spring will push it up and away from the grenade, allowing the striker to ignite the fuse. For many grenades, at this point, you’ll have about four to five seconds before the grenade detonates. However, this can vary depending on the type of grenade you’re using or, rarely, whether your fuse is defective.
2
Throwing from Kneeling Position
1
Face sideways toward your target. Often, in combat situations, you won’t have the luxury of being able to throw grenades from the standing position. For instance, if you’re pinned down behind cover by enemy fire, you won’t want to expose your upper body by standing up to throw. Luckily, it’s also possible to throw grenades from positions that minimize your exposure to the enemy.
To throw a grenade from a kneeling position, start by getting in the proper stance. Bend your knees to lower yourself near to the ground, then turn your body ninety degrees away from the direction you intend to throw so that your throwing shoulder is facing away from your target. It’s hard to get the same sort of throwing power in the kneeling position that you’d get while standing, so turning to side is a smart choice because it allows you to throw across your body, maximizing your power.
2
Drop your non-throwing leg and put your throwing leg behind you. Bend your non-throwing leg and press it into the ground in front of you so that your knee is pointing toward your target. At the same time, stretch your throwing leg back behind you so that the side of your boot makes contact with the ground. Keep your throwing leg straight and locked for maximum stability.[6]
Keep in mind that the kneeling stance you use to throw grenades is not the same as the typical kneeling stance you may use in ordinary noncombat situations (like when you need to pick something up off the floor). This modified stance gives added stability and support while throwing that you can’t get by simply lowering one knee to the floor directly beneath you and bending the other in front of you.
3
Extend your non-throwing hand toward the target. Arm the grenade against your chest by pulling the pin and holding down the lever. As you cock your throwing arm back, stretch your other arm toward your target with your fingers extended and your thumb against the side of your hand. Keep your non-throwing arm at a slightly raised angle (about 45o). If you’re positioning your arm correctly, you should look somewhat like you’re flexing like a bodybuilder.
As mentioned above, the kneeling stance doesn’t have as much throwing power as the standing stance. Extending your non-throwing arm in this way allows you to gain extra leverage in your follow-through, slightly increasing your throwing force.
4
Throw with an overhand motion and follow through. Launch the grenade over your head, bringing your arm past your ear and twisting at the hips as you throw. For added power, push off with your throwing leg, which should still be firmly planted against the ground behind you.
Don’t forget to take cover! Get as low as possible behind the sturdiest cover available. As always, if no cover is available, press yourself prone against the ground and face the direction of the blast.
3
Throwing from Prone Position
1
Lie on your back as you remove the pin. Of all the hand grenade throwing positions, the prone stance typically offers the least power, distance, and accuracy, so, when other throwing stances are possible, they’re usually preferable. However, in situations where you’re pinned behind very low cover, you may not want to risk exposing yourself to enemy fire by taking the time to rise to a kneeling position when you throw. In these cases, throwing from prone may be the only way to strike the enemy without putting yourself in mortal danger.
To begin, lie on your back behind your cover. You should be lying parallel to the action with your throwing arm positioned away from your target. This allows you easily grip and arm the grenade against your chest and also gives you the best possible view of the conditions around you so that you can react as necessary.
2
Cock your throwing leg back and ready the grenade to throw. Bend your throwing leg at a 90o angle, keeping it in contact with your other knee. Brace the side of your boot against the ground. As in the kneeling stance, this will give you added stability and power while throwing.
Simultaneously, arm the grenade by pulling the pin and depressing the lever. Cock your throwing arm next to your ear and get ready to throw.
3
Throw the grenade across your body with a rolling motion. To throw the grenade, push off with your throwing foot and roll yourself toward your target as you launch the grenade across your body. Follow through with this motion. If needed, you can even roll all the way over. Keep your head and body low as you throw, however — the primary advantage of the prone stance is that it minimizes your exposure to enemy fire, so stay low to maintain this advantage.
If you can, you may also want to use your non-throwing hand to grab any object in front of you for extra leverage.
4
Take cover. Since you’re already lying in the prone position, you won’t need to “get low” after you release the grenade. You should, however, make sure that you’re behind any available cover. As mentioned above, if there’s no cover available, you’ll want to orient yourself in the direction of the blast to minimize the profile area that you expose to shrapnel.
It bears mentioning that, even with proper form, you’ll have a very difficult time getting the same sort of throwing distance from the prone position as you might from the kneeling and (especially) the standing position. Because the grenade is likely to be closer to you when it explodes, it’s even more important to protect yourself after throwing.
4
Throwing Live Grenades Safely
1
Pick the correct grenade for your job. Hand grenades come in a huge variety of forms. Some are made for inflicting casualties on the enemy, others for merely stunning or subduing them non-lethally, and still others for inflicting damage on non-human targets. It’s extremely important to be aware of the type of grenade you’re throwing (and how it’s used) before you throw it — if you use the wrong grenade, the results can be disastrous. Below are a few of the most common grenade types:[7]
Fragmentation grenades: Produces many small pieces of shrapnel upon detonation. Usually considered lethal to non-armored targets at close ranges with rapidly decreasing effectiveness at longer ranges. Shrapnel can penetrate soft barriers like wood, plaster, and tin, but not usually cinder blocks, sandbags, and armor.
Concussion grenades: Creates an explosion with extreme concussive force. This concussive effect is amplified in enclosed environments, making it useful in urban areas and bunkers, fortified enclosures, and so on. Can also be used for improvised demolition.
Incendiary grenades: Produces extremely high-temperature flames. Can set fire to flammable structures, destroy equipment and weapons, and even penetrate armored vehicles in certain situations.
Smoke grenades: Produces either white or colored smoke. Usually used to conceal infantry or light vehicle movement or to make positions visible to friendly forces.
Stun grenades: Sometimes called “flashbangs”, these produce a deafening bang and a bright flash, momentarily disorienting targets in the room.
Riot control grenades: Usually loaded with teargas, rubber pellets, or other nonlethal deterrents, these grenades are meant to disperse and subdue crowds without causing mortal injuries.
2
Know the lethal range of your grenade. Grenades can easily cause friendly fire casualties if they detonate too close to you or friendly forces, so it’s extremely important to know what ranges are considered “safe” and which are not. Even if you’re well outside of your grenade’s lethal range, you’ll want to take cover before it detonates. Though rare, it’s possible for a grenade to send shrapnel, debris, or concussive blasts beyond its designated lethal range, so don’t expose yourself to these dangers needlessly.
For fragmentation grenades, ranges within 15-20 meters (50-65 feet) are generally considered to produce casualties. While shrapnel can potentially fly as far as 60 meters (about 200 feet), the speed of the shrapnel decreases rapidly with distance, making casualties at these ranges are rare.[8]
Concussion grenades have much smaller ranges on open terrain — usually just a few meters. However, in enclosed areas, their killing power is greatly amplified. In these situations, it’s best to entirely remove yourself from the bunker, enclosure, etc. before throwing the grenade in.
Other grenades have much more limited damaging ranges. An incendiary grenade is usually lethal only if you come into contact with its flames, find yourself trapped in a burning building, or suffocate on its smoke in an enclosed area. Smoke grenades can cause burns at extremely close ranges but aren’t usually considered lethal. Stun and riot control grenades are explicitly designed to be nonlethal, though rare accidents can result in fatalities.[9]
3
Take extreme care when “cooking off” your grenade. Since grenades have a timed fuse, it’s theoretically possible for an enemy target to pick up the grenade and throw it back at you. To avoid this, some soldiers use a technique called “cooking off” their grenade — intentionally holding it for a short time before throwing it to shorten or eliminate the amount of time that the enemy has to throw it back. To cook off a grenade, pull the pin, release the lever, count to “one one thousand” or “two one thousand,” then throw. Most combat grenades have a four or five second fuse, so don’t cook off your grenade for more than one or two seconds unless you’re positive its fuse is longer.
Note that this technique is also sometimes used to increase a grenade’s effectiveness against bunkers or other fortified emplacements — in these cases, having the grenade explode in the air above the target can be preferable to having it explode on the ground.
Note also that many former Soviet Union grenades have a slightly shorter fuse than American grenades — often about three to four seconds.
4
Avoid throwing grenades up stairs or hills. When throwing any grenade, lethal or non-lethal, it’s important to remember that the grenade can roll. Thus, if it lands on a slope, it may roll away from your target or, worse, roll back toward you. For this reason, it’s generally a bad idea to through grenades onto sloped surfaces, especially up inclines that you’re at the bottom of.[10]
If you absolutely have to throw a grenade uphill, try cooking it off beforehand and giving it a high arc so that it explodes in the air above your target or else has little time to roll back towards you.
5
Know the effectiveness of your cover. Taking cover before a grenade detonates can literally make the difference between life and death, especially if you’re within its lethal range. Putting physical barriers between yourself and the detonating grenade is almost always a good idea (except for smoke grenades, for obvious reasons). However, not all forms of cover are equal when it comes to grenades. For your personal safety, it’s important to understand the difference between “good” and “bad” cover before you throw your first grenade.
The shrapnel from fragmentation grenades can penetrate wood, plaster, glass, furniture, and thin layers of metal, especially at short ranges. On the other hand, thicker, heavier materials like sandbags, cinder blocks, stone, and thick metal can usually block shrapnel — the thicker, the better.
Note that the shockwave from a concussion grenade can travel long distances through enclosed spaces (even around corners). Thus, in bunkers, tight corridors, and other enclosed spaces, cover may not offer protection from concussion grenades.
While incendiary grenades have a short effective range, they can burn at temperatures of over 2,200o C (almost 4,000o F).[11] This is hot enough to melt through steel, so distance, not cover, is essential for protecting yourself against these grenades.
By A Correspondent| A highly controversial survey claims that ZANU PF bombed itself on Saturday.
The survey was done by the popular Trends SADC organisation on their Twitter handle. For reliability, a strict IP filter was used to ensure only real human beings participate. The findings blamed both ZANU PF and military elements for the bomb blast that could have easily killed Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his wife, (although other analysts have claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was also targeted. ALSO READ – Nonsense – Stop Lying That You Didn’t See The Grenade Thrower!Below were the details:
Dear Mr Chamisa. I am a member of the military intelligence based in Harare. I wish to bring to your attention what happened in Bulawayo on Saturday. This is a planned operation targeting you young man.
In Bulawayo we were instructed to miss the target but in your case we will not miss the target. The idea is to appear as if there is now terrorism in Zimbabwe. There is absolutely no terrorism in Zimbabwe but our bosses are afraid of elections. Their situation is further worsened by Jonso who is exposing their rigging strategies.
Remember the failed Mabhinya strategy? We shelved the strategy after people exposed us through what’s app.
I decided to warn you because of we, the military intelligence are tired of being used. After removing Mugabe when we followed up our payment , the boss said ‘kana ukainda kumaricho kunorima nema donkey chii chinobhadharwa? Idonkey here kana kuti muridzi wedonkey?’
We call ourselves Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans . More exposure to come
By Ndaba Nhuku| Someone somewhere saw it all at White City stadium on Saturday. Are you telling me that the people who were standing next to the grenade thrower were blind not to see him? Really?
Even inside a church meeting, not everyone closes their eyes, but this was an open rally 5 metres from a whole Head of State. In that crowd that included various security agents and the masses, no-one saw the individual raise his arm, swing his arm, and throw a grenade towards guarded leaders?
EVERYONE was blind to see someone standing among themselves throwing a grenade? It’s not like a sharp shooter on top of some roof attempted a Kennedy on Chiwenga and Mnangagwa. Come on guys, let’s use common sense. Stand next to friends in a crowded place and raise your arm just to scratch your head and see how many people will look at your direction!!! And imagine throwing a grenade! You have to raise your hand and really swing your arm for the thing to go far! And no-one saw that in that crowd swimming with security agents? You are crazy to believe that nonsense.
My common sense tells me the person was apprehended, but most likely, deliberately silenced forever!
One day, the truth will come out.
How to Throw a Hand Grenade
Throwing from Standing Position
Locate your target before you ready your grenade. Unlike firearms, there’s no way to “point” a grenade at your enemies so that is selectively deals to damage to them — grenades will indiscriminately hit anything, friend or foe, that’s within their blast radius. For this reason, it’s extra-important to know where your enemy is before you pull the pin. Don’t even grab your grenade until you’ve identified an enemy position you intend to strike — you do not want to be caught with a live grenade and have nowhere to throw it.
Note, however, that, in combat situations, you can expose yourself to enemy fire if you spend too much time peeking out of your cover and trying to locate your enemy. This requires you to delicately balance your need to locate your target with your need to protect yourself. Many sources recommend against spending more than just a second or two looking for your enemy.
2
Grab your grenade in your throwing hand. When you’ve found a target and you’re ready to throw, grab your grenade in the hand you usually use for throwing. Grip the grenade in the palm of your hand with the pull ring pointing up. Use your thumb to put steady pressure on the safety lever — the large, square, metal lever running from the top down the side of the grenade.
Don’t let up your pressure on the lever until you’re ready to throw. The lever holds a small but very important part of the grenade called the striker in place — if you relax your grip on the lever after you pull the pin (this is called “milking” the grenade), it’s possible for the striker to rotate and strike the fuse while the grenade is still in your hand. Because this can easily be deadly, it’s important to get in the habit of keeping steady pressure on the lever at all times before throwing.
3
Pull the pin with your non-throwing hand. Grip the ring on the side of the lever mechanism by slipping a finger through it and remove it with a pulling, twisting motion. The safety clip holding the lever in place should fall off of the grenade. Note that, contrary to the portrayal of grenades in movies and on TV, their fuses aren’t necessarily lit when you pull the pin. Rather, this happens when you release the lever and the striker is able to ignite the fuse, so keep pressure on the lever until you throw.
4
Throw with an overhand motion. Hand grenades can be thrown naturally — the same way you might throw a baseball.[4] To throw, plant your feet about shoulder-width apart, put a slight bend in your knees, cock your arm back, and hurl the grenade over your head as you take a strong step forward. Your arm should pass next to your ear and you should twist slightly at the hips. Let the grenade roll out of your fingertips as it leaves your hand.
For the greatest distance and accuracy when throwing, follow through with your throwing motion. That is, after the grenade leaves your hand, let your arm continue its natural path downward and continue to twist slightly at the hips.
5
Take cover! Use the time available before the grenade explodes to protect yourself. Crouch, kneel, or lie prone behind any available cover to protect yourself from shrapnel. Keep in mind that in the types of situations in which you’re likely to use a hand grenade, you’ll probably want to be wary not just of the explosion of the grenade, but also of the possibility of enemy fire, so waste no time at all taking cover.
If no cover is available, flatten yourself against the ground and orient yourself toward the coming explosion. This minimizes your profile, presenting less of your body area to potentially deadly shrapnel.[5]
Once the grenade is in the air, it’s (literally and figuratively) out of your hands. Without pressure from your hand to hold the safety lever in place, its spring will push it up and away from the grenade, allowing the striker to ignite the fuse. For many grenades, at this point, you’ll have about four to five seconds before the grenade detonates. However, this can vary depending on the type of grenade you’re using or, rarely, whether your fuse is defective.
2
Throwing from Kneeling Position
1
Face sideways toward your target. Often, in combat situations, you won’t have the luxury of being able to throw grenades from the standing position. For instance, if you’re pinned down behind cover by enemy fire, you won’t want to expose your upper body by standing up to throw. Luckily, it’s also possible to throw grenades from positions that minimize your exposure to the enemy.
To throw a grenade from a kneeling position, start by getting in the proper stance. Bend your knees to lower yourself near to the ground, then turn your body ninety degrees away from the direction you intend to throw so that your throwing shoulder is facing away from your target. It’s hard to get the same sort of throwing power in the kneeling position that you’d get while standing, so turning to side is a smart choice because it allows you to throw across your body, maximizing your power.
2
Drop your non-throwing leg and put your throwing leg behind you. Bend your non-throwing leg and press it into the ground in front of you so that your knee is pointing toward your target. At the same time, stretch your throwing leg back behind you so that the side of your boot makes contact with the ground. Keep your throwing leg straight and locked for maximum stability.[6]
Keep in mind that the kneeling stance you use to throw grenades is not the same as the typical kneeling stance you may use in ordinary noncombat situations (like when you need to pick something up off the floor). This modified stance gives added stability and support while throwing that you can’t get by simply lowering one knee to the floor directly beneath you and bending the other in front of you.
3
Extend your non-throwing hand toward the target. Arm the grenade against your chest by pulling the pin and holding down the lever. As you cock your throwing arm back, stretch your other arm toward your target with your fingers extended and your thumb against the side of your hand. Keep your non-throwing arm at a slightly raised angle (about 45o). If you’re positioning your arm correctly, you should look somewhat like you’re flexing like a bodybuilder.
As mentioned above, the kneeling stance doesn’t have as much throwing power as the standing stance. Extending your non-throwing arm in this way allows you to gain extra leverage in your follow-through, slightly increasing your throwing force.
4
Throw with an overhand motion and follow through. Launch the grenade over your head, bringing your arm past your ear and twisting at the hips as you throw. For added power, push off with your throwing leg, which should still be firmly planted against the ground behind you.
Don’t forget to take cover! Get as low as possible behind the sturdiest cover available. As always, if no cover is available, press yourself prone against the ground and face the direction of the blast.
3
Throwing from Prone Position
1
Lie on your back as you remove the pin. Of all the hand grenade throwing positions, the prone stance typically offers the least power, distance, and accuracy, so, when other throwing stances are possible, they’re usually preferable. However, in situations where you’re pinned behind very low cover, you may not want to risk exposing yourself to enemy fire by taking the time to rise to a kneeling position when you throw. In these cases, throwing from prone may be the only way to strike the enemy without putting yourself in mortal danger.
To begin, lie on your back behind your cover. You should be lying parallel to the action with your throwing arm positioned away from your target. This allows you easily grip and arm the grenade against your chest and also gives you the best possible view of the conditions around you so that you can react as necessary.
2
Cock your throwing leg back and ready the grenade to throw. Bend your throwing leg at a 90o angle, keeping it in contact with your other knee. Brace the side of your boot against the ground. As in the kneeling stance, this will give you added stability and power while throwing.
Simultaneously, arm the grenade by pulling the pin and depressing the lever. Cock your throwing arm next to your ear and get ready to throw.
3
Throw the grenade across your body with a rolling motion. To throw the grenade, push off with your throwing foot and roll yourself toward your target as you launch the grenade across your body. Follow through with this motion. If needed, you can even roll all the way over. Keep your head and body low as you throw, however — the primary advantage of the prone stance is that it minimizes your exposure to enemy fire, so stay low to maintain this advantage.
If you can, you may also want to use your non-throwing hand to grab any object in front of you for extra leverage.
4
Take cover. Since you’re already lying in the prone position, you won’t need to “get low” after you release the grenade. You should, however, make sure that you’re behind any available cover. As mentioned above, if there’s no cover available, you’ll want to orient yourself in the direction of the blast to minimize the profile area that you expose to shrapnel.
It bears mentioning that, even with proper form, you’ll have a very difficult time getting the same sort of throwing distance from the prone position as you might from the kneeling and (especially) the standing position. Because the grenade is likely to be closer to you when it explodes, it’s even more important to protect yourself after throwing.
4
Throwing Live Grenades Safely
1
Pick the correct grenade for your job. Hand grenades come in a huge variety of forms. Some are made for inflicting casualties on the enemy, others for merely stunning or subduing them non-lethally, and still others for inflicting damage on non-human targets. It’s extremely important to be aware of the type of grenade you’re throwing (and how it’s used) before you throw it — if you use the wrong grenade, the results can be disastrous. Below are a few of the most common grenade types:[7]
Fragmentation grenades: Produces many small pieces of shrapnel upon detonation. Usually considered lethal to non-armored targets at close ranges with rapidly decreasing effectiveness at longer ranges. Shrapnel can penetrate soft barriers like wood, plaster, and tin, but not usually cinder blocks, sandbags, and armor.
Concussion grenades: Creates an explosion with extreme concussive force. This concussive effect is amplified in enclosed environments, making it useful in urban areas and bunkers, fortified enclosures, and so on. Can also be used for improvised demolition.
Incendiary grenades: Produces extremely high-temperature flames. Can set fire to flammable structures, destroy equipment and weapons, and even penetrate armored vehicles in certain situations.
Smoke grenades: Produces either white or colored smoke. Usually used to conceal infantry or light vehicle movement or to make positions visible to friendly forces.
Stun grenades: Sometimes called “flashbangs”, these produce a deafening bang and a bright flash, momentarily disorienting targets in the room.
Riot control grenades: Usually loaded with teargas, rubber pellets, or other nonlethal deterrents, these grenades are meant to disperse and subdue crowds without causing mortal injuries.
2
Know the lethal range of your grenade. Grenades can easily cause friendly fire casualties if they detonate too close to you or friendly forces, so it’s extremely important to know what ranges are considered “safe” and which are not. Even if you’re well outside of your grenade’s lethal range, you’ll want to take cover before it detonates. Though rare, it’s possible for a grenade to send shrapnel, debris, or concussive blasts beyond its designated lethal range, so don’t expose yourself to these dangers needlessly.
For fragmentation grenades, ranges within 15-20 meters (50-65 feet) are generally considered to produce casualties. While shrapnel can potentially fly as far as 60 meters (about 200 feet), the speed of the shrapnel decreases rapidly with distance, making casualties at these ranges are rare.[8]
Concussion grenades have much smaller ranges on open terrain — usually just a few meters. However, in enclosed areas, their killing power is greatly amplified. In these situations, it’s best to entirely remove yourself from the bunker, enclosure, etc. before throwing the grenade in.
Other grenades have much more limited damaging ranges. An incendiary grenade is usually lethal only if you come into contact with its flames, find yourself trapped in a burning building, or suffocate on its smoke in an enclosed area. Smoke grenades can cause burns at extremely close ranges but aren’t usually considered lethal. Stun and riot control grenades are explicitly designed to be nonlethal, though rare accidents can result in fatalities.[9]
3
Take extreme care when “cooking off” your grenade. Since grenades have a timed fuse, it’s theoretically possible for an enemy target to pick up the grenade and throw it back at you. To avoid this, some soldiers use a technique called “cooking off” their grenade — intentionally holding it for a short time before throwing it to shorten or eliminate the amount of time that the enemy has to throw it back. To cook off a grenade, pull the pin, release the lever, count to “one one thousand” or “two one thousand,” then throw. Most combat grenades have a four or five second fuse, so don’t cook off your grenade for more than one or two seconds unless you’re positive its fuse is longer.
Note that this technique is also sometimes used to increase a grenade’s effectiveness against bunkers or other fortified emplacements — in these cases, having the grenade explode in the air above the target can be preferable to having it explode on the ground.
Note also that many former Soviet Union grenades have a slightly shorter fuse than American grenades — often about three to four seconds.
4
Avoid throwing grenades up stairs or hills. When throwing any grenade, lethal or non-lethal, it’s important to remember that the grenade can roll. Thus, if it lands on a slope, it may roll away from your target or, worse, roll back toward you. For this reason, it’s generally a bad idea to through grenades onto sloped surfaces, especially up inclines that you’re at the bottom of.[10]
If you absolutely have to throw a grenade uphill, try cooking it off beforehand and giving it a high arc so that it explodes in the air above your target or else has little time to roll back towards you.
5
Know the effectiveness of your cover. Taking cover before a grenade detonates can literally make the difference between life and death, especially if you’re within its lethal range. Putting physical barriers between yourself and the detonating grenade is almost always a good idea (except for smoke grenades, for obvious reasons). However, not all forms of cover are equal when it comes to grenades. For your personal safety, it’s important to understand the difference between “good” and “bad” cover before you throw your first grenade.
The shrapnel from fragmentation grenades can penetrate wood, plaster, glass, furniture, and thin layers of metal, especially at short ranges. On the other hand, thicker, heavier materials like sandbags, cinder blocks, stone, and thick metal can usually block shrapnel — the thicker, the better.
Note that the shockwave from a concussion grenade can travel long distances through enclosed spaces (even around corners). Thus, in bunkers, tight corridors, and other enclosed spaces, cover may not offer protection from concussion grenades.
While incendiary grenades have a short effective range, they can burn at temperatures of over 2,200o C (almost 4,000o F).[11] This is hot enough to melt through steel, so distance, not cover, is essential for protecting yourself against these grenades.
By Paul Nyathi|Hardly a week after an assassination attempt which the state broadcaster the ZBC blamed on people from Matabeleland region, President Emmerson Mnangagwa will on Wednesday return to the region to address a campaign rally in Hwange Matabeleleland North province.
Mnangagwa escaped death by a whisker when a bomb was thrown at him as he made his way out of a similar campaign rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday afternoon.
He will address the rally in Hwange soon after presiding over a ground-breaking ceremony at the Zimbabwe Power Company expansion project.
The ground-breaking ceremony will be held at ZPC power station in the morning while the Zanu-PF rally has been set for Hwange Colliery Stadium in the afternoon.
Zesa has donated 5 000 litres of fuel.
Water will be provided through bowsers at the venues as the coal mining town faces critical water challenges.