Staff Reporter| The US Senate was yesterday told to keep sanctions and punitive measures on ZANU PF in place until after 2018 elections.

Presenting before the panel, former Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the opposition movements will only advise the IMF and other institutions after assessing the conduct of the 2018 elections.

Biti spoke to a panel of senators saying the western world must only assist when reforms have been effected and acted upon by the Emmerson Mnangagwa regime.

He said, “if we are able to deliver as a country a free fair and legitimate election, in respect of which everyone accepts the results thereof and the provisions of the constitution spelt out in Section 2 of our constitution, the founding values of the constitution that deal with power transfer are respected and there is genuine power transfer in Zimbabwe, then quite clearly, there is an obligation in the international community to assist us particularly the third question where we have to engage the World Bank, the IMF and the Paris Club of lenders.”

Biti’s co panelist Dewa Mavhinga also added saying the US should push SADC, AU to insist on a roadmap for free elections, demanding domestic and international observers, and making sure outgoing ZEC boss Rita Makarau’s replacement is independent.

The development sparked a flame of fury inside ZANU PF’s Lacoste faction.

Terrence Mawawa, Chiredzi | Former President Robert Mugabe’ s security aide, Gilbert Nyasha has invaded Chiredzi Crocodile Farm, stalling expansion projects in the process.

Despite the fact that the government withdrew his offer letter, Mugabe’s security aide told managers at the farm he would not vacate the place.

According to officials at the farm, crocodile breeding contributes $ 3 million to the country’ s treasury per annum.

Crocodile Farm Manager, Wilson Gondo said plans to embark on an expansion programme were stalled by Nyasha’ s illegal occupation of the hfarm.

Although some sources claim Nyasha is a mere Zanu PF youth, officials at the farm have insisted he is a member of Mugabe’s security team.

“Our efforts to file a complaint at the High Court have not materialised.However we hope the new President will assist us,” said Gondo.

Masvingo State Minister Josaya Dunira Hungwe has also been briefed on the matter.

By Paul Nyathi | President Emerson Mnangagwa failed to preside over his first politburo meeting on Tuesday amidst reports of disharmony within the party’s top leadership.

Sources within the party told ZimEye.com that serious undisclosed divisions erupted within the party leadership shortly before the start of the meeting which was set for 10am on Tuesday.

The sources indicated that the wrangling within the party leadership continued behind closed doors until a notice was issued late afternoon effectively calling off the scheduled indaba.

“We can’t really say at this stage what the leaders were wrangling about but the debate was very hot and not conducive for the politburo to sit,” said the party sources.

The sources indicated that the politburo will be reconvened on Wednesday morning with calls for the postponement of the central committee to meet later on Thursday a day before the special congress on Friday.

Efforts to get a comment from party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo failed as he was also closed in the closed door deliberations.

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and other security services say they have noted with concern a disturbing trend from a few misguided members of the public, who are engaging in counter-productive acts of vengeful retribution against perceived political elements.

In a joint statement, ZDF director Public Relations Colonel Overson Mugwisi and ZRP spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said, there are individuals and groups who are continuing to organise unsanctioned retribution-related demonstration contrary to the spirit of the new political dispensation.

“Members of the public are warned against seeking the services of the ZDF to settle old personal scores taking advantage of the ongoing Operation Restore Legacy. Such cases are clearly a violation of the law,” read the statement.

They said there are also some malicious individuals abusing the social media to generate and circulate inflammatory content that potentially causes unnecessary alarm and despondency within the defence and security services “with the ultimate objective of disturbing the prevailing peace and stability in the country.”

“In this regard, members of the public are warned against such acts of political retribution targeting fellow Zimbabweans,” they said.

Colonel Mugwisi and Senior Assistant Commissioner Charamba said such conduct is prohibited as per His Excellency, the President’s inaugural speech of 24 November 2017.

They said investigations are underway as information has it that some impostors masquerading as ZDF members are creating some of the video footage that has been circulated on the social media.

Colonel Mugwisi and Senior Assistant Commissioner Charamba refuted false social media messages suggesting that the defence forces are planning to raid brothels, food vendors and related illegal ventures, saying the responsibility of law enforcement remains in the hands of the ZRP and local authorities enforcements systems.

“The general public is advised to be wary and expect more of these falsehoods peddled by individuals with malicious intentions,” they said.

The statement further said members of the defence forces deployed across the country are under strict instructions to remain vigilant and professional in the discharge of their duties during the ongoing operation and beyond.

The public has also been advised to report any untoward or suspicious behaviour by any member of the defence forces and other security services.- state media

Terrence Mawawa, Shurugwi |Scores of people have been killed in a fatal road accident in Shurugwi earlier in the morning today.

A commuter omnibus travelling from Mhandamabwe, Chivi to Gweru was involved in a head on collision with a small truck resulting in the death of several people.

ZimEye.com could not establish the exact number of people who perished in the crash. See pictures.

Pauline Phiri | Hardly two months ago Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Rita Makarau was firmly grounded as the country’s election boss with the full blessing of President Robert Mugabe before who she was captured kneeling.

Makarau in response to public outrage against her kneeling and the partisan posture it betrayed in a job that demands neutrality, could only give cultural reasons, not knowing the man she had idolised would soon be out of work.

The local Daily News reports that the shock resignation by Makarau a mere eight months before the country holds its make-or-break national elections next year — has cast a huge shadow on the eagerly-awaited polls, which a fearful opposition want to be monitored by international observers.

Makarau — also a respected Supreme Court judge and the secretary of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) — stunned the country on Friday when she abruptly resigned from her post without giving any reasons, amid a plethora of political conspiracies.

Well-placed sources at the Zec who spoke to the Daily News on Sunday yesterday also said Makarau’s unexpected departure had left a of lot of questions unanswered, as days before she quit she had been in jovial mood in meetings with stakeholders at the national elections management body.

“It appears as if she may have been pushed. Her email signalling her intention to resign came as a complete shock to us. It came after we had just had an important meeting with one of our stakeholders during the week, and there was no sign whatsoever that she was on her way out.

“In fact she was as calm and as cheerful as she always is. So, you can imagine our surprise when we received that email. It definitely suggested that she may have been pushed before she jumped.

“We are all trying to put the pieces together and make sense of everything, as her email never stated her reasons for that very sudden move,” one of the sources said.

New Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi confirmed Makarau’s resignation at the weekend and also said the Supreme Court judge had not given reasons for leaving the post.

In the meantime, her sudden departure has elicited myriad conspiracy theories, with the opposition and political analysts also warning that it is now “mandatory” that the international community watches over the 2018 polls which must be held by August next year.

It has also emerged that one of the opposition’s charges is that Makarau’s alleged forced resignation from Zec is meant to allow the current dominant faction in Zanu PF to “manipulate the vote” in its favour next year.

During the heights of the ugly factional brawling in the ruling party — which pitted the Generation 40 (G40) faction against the Team Lacoste camp, which was rooting for new President Emmerson Mnangagwa — Makarau was viewed favourably by the G40 group which wanted her to become the country’s chief justice after the late Godfrey Chidyausiku.

Matters came to a head during the interviews for that position when the two major Zanu PF factions fought ugly and open battles to have their preferred candidates take over from Chidyausiku.

In the end, Makarau came second to the country’s new CJ, Luke Malaba, while George Chiweshe — who was preferred by Team Lacoste pulled out of the selection process after it was challenged in the High Court.

Former deputy prime minister in Zimbabwe’s short-lived inclusive government, Arthur Mutambara, was among those who have claimed that Makarau may have been forced to resign from Zec due to factional interests in the ruling party.

“The electoral agenda should be to enable and facilitate free, fair and credible elections, and not settle Zanu PF factional disputes. The regime must reach out to civic society and the opposition parties and establish a clear and inclusive roadmap to free, fair and credible elections in 2018,” Mutambara said.

According to the Constitution, the head of Zec must be either a judge or a former judge, or a person who qualifies for appointment as a judge.

Professor of World Politics, Stephen Chan, said yesterday that the position of chairperson of Zec was pivotal, and required an appointment of the highest calibre and integrity.

“The international community will be looking to the elections as the clinching signal that Zimbabwe is climbing its way upwards to probity and transparency.

“If Zimbabwe wants to rejoin the Commonwealth and attract wider investment, there will have to be a Commonwealth Observer Group and, ideally, a European Observer Group, and they will scrutinise the Zec and its chair with attention to minute detail.

“The shortcomings of observer groups were exposed in Kenya, so they will arrive in Zimbabwe having upped their own game,” Chan told the Daily News On Sunday.

The country’s main opposition party, the MDC, said while it welcomed Makarau’s resignation, its suddenness was both a surprise and a concern.

“Rita Makarau’s resignation opens a can of worms. Why is she resigning just a few months before Election 2018?

“Has she been forced to resign? Was she pushing a factional agenda during her term of office as ZEC chairperson? Is she really her own person?” MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu queried.

Makarau’s resignation came as Zec, as well as local election observer groups, are intensifying their efforts to have millions of prospective voters register in the ongoing biometric voter registration (BVR) exercise, which is now approaching its final phase.

Zimbabwe is using the BVR system for registration for next year’s elections for the first time.

Zec is targeting seven million voters for the current BVR registration exercise — ahead of the much-awaited 2018 polls, which could see Mnangagwa facing a grand coalition of opposition parties in that plebiscite.

The opposition and civic groups have also been agitating for sweeping electoral reforms ahead of the crunch elections which they say must be held in an environment which doesn’t promote disputes like what happened during the 2008 and 2013 polls.

In the hotly-disputed 2008 elections, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat former president Robert Mugabe hands down.

However, the results of those polls were withheld for six long weeks by stunned authorities, amid widespread allegations of ballot tampering and fraud which were later revealed by former bigwigs of the ruling party.

Mugabe’s defeat was widely blamed on an internal rebellion which was said to have been led by officials loyal to former vice president Joice Mujuru and her late husband Solomon — a plot that came to be known as Bhora Musango.

In the ensuing sham presidential run-off, which authorities claimed was needed to determine the winner, Zanu PF apparatchiks engaged in a murderous orgy of violence in which hundreds of Tsvangirai’s supporters were killed in cold blood, forcing the former prime minister in the inclusive government to withdraw from the discredited race altogether.

Mugabe went on to stand in a widely-condemned one-man race in which he declared himself the winner.

However, Sadc and the rest of the international community would have none of it, forcing the nonagenarian to share power with Tsvangirai for five years, to prevent the country from imploding completely. – Daily News

Pauline Phiri | MDC Alliance leaders Tendai Biti and Nelson Chamisa are in the United States for a high level diplomatic offensive, in which they will brief politicians and bereaucrats on the political situation in Zimbabwe.

Chamisa is quoted on social media saying, “I’m with bro& Cde Biti on a vital global advocacy and diplomatic outreach.Our meetings are high level with the state department, Congress, Global business and US civil society.Our focus is repositioning opposition & global coalition for free and fair elections in 2018.”

It is also reported the Zimbabwe delegation will also meet President Donald Trump.

Ray Nkosi | In his last days in power ousted President Robert Mugabe managed to outsmart his rivals in the ruling Zanu PF party, causing them to opt for military action.

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces early November surreptiously seized power ending Mugabe’s almost four decades rule, with a senior minister coming out to reveal this was the only way smart Mugabe and his G-40 could be removed.

Local media reports that the newly-appointed Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Josaya Hungwe stunned party members during a Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting when he revealed that Team Lacoste faction had to use the army after they had been outsmarted by Generation 40 (G40) faction.

Hungwe added that the defeat by G40 was a clear indication that former president Robert Mugabe was smarter than his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The Masvingo Godfather revealed that the reason why the military ‘stepped in’ to elbow out Mugabe and the G40 faction was because Mnangagwa and Lacoste faction had completely failed.
Mugabe who has been under house arrest has for the first time been allowed to leave the country to seek medical treatment in the Far East. While Mugabe’s former spokesperson refused to comment on his trip, the local Newsday reports that,

Mugabe will make a stopover in Malaysia, where his daughter Bona is expecting a second child, before leaving for Singapore for his routine medical check-up. Sources revealed that the UM1 yesterday had a scheduled 20- hour flight.

The 93-year-old ex-leader’s former aide and now Mnangagwa’s spokesperson and Information ministry permanent secretary, George Charamba, could not give details, saying he was not in touch with Mugabe anymore.

https://youtu.be/UGl8aCKiJFs

“Tobaiwa AriKutibaya!

Zimbabwe’s “Grandpa” Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede is wearing out ZANU PF’s powerful legacy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been ‘told’ by ZANU PF UK Leader, Nick Mangwana.

In a full length bravely laid out article, Mangwana advises President Mnangagwa, “the public has a right to know for example about why Mr (Tobaiwa)Mudede is still in office when Austin Zvoma was dragged out screaming and kicking after reaching his retirement age?”

Part of the article published in the Herald Tuesday morning reads  – President Mnangagwa’s Government has started on a decent keel. They have been in power just for a few days, but let’s face it, this is a transitional Government and it has no honeymoon period. So the expectation of green shoots is immediate. The expectations which this Government dubbed as the New Era should not slide into another destructive frustration like happened after Independence. Everything now depends how governance will be managed.

Some of the governance pillars that should be there for all to see in order to keep the faith are that we should see more transparency. Decisions of this Government should be open to public scrutiny. The public has a right to know for example about why Mr (Tobaiwa)Mudede is still in office when Austin Zvoma was dragged out screaming and kicking after reaching his retirement age? The President said that he was ushering in a new democracy. We believed him, and we still believe him. One thing the people are expecting from their leader is that decisions made by his officials will not be self-serving. That regardless of their personal dogma or ideological leanings the will of the people should guide decisions. And there is no better cogent expression of that will except through the constitution.

When things are not happening the way they should happen, the media should be at liberty to beam the light on it. A self-serving government will always have a problem with that. But one for the people and by the people would simply expect people to report responsibly. That’s it. This is what transparency entails. One cannot talk of transparency without talking of corruption. Whenever there is corruption, people try to hide things and transparency becomes a threat. It is the first casualty. Once we are in that zone then citizens will start losing their rights.

This is why it is very important for this Government to be transparent and if there is any sign of abuse of power, it should be dealt with. In this regard, we have to confront any abuses of resources that happened in the past and in order to make sure it will not happen again.

One hopes that President Mnangagwa will never let his Government be held hostage to private interests. That is why there is an expectation of a new Disclosure Regime. One of the ills that made organised crime rife in Zimbabwe is the lack of full disclosure of the assets of public officials. This column has covered that way too many times, but as long as public officials’ assets are not fully disclosed this is not going away.

When the President said that he was ushering in a new democracy it was a clear confession that our democracy had shortcomings. There are gaps he wants to close. They don’t happen over night. They are not going to be easy because any rapid changes appear destabilising, but it will all settle down. If the President gets this right, he can only benefit from positive political consequences. This is why any positive change should be painted in a positive light in order to reinforce the benefits.

This changing of a political system and habits of old is the most challenging an incumbent leader can ever undertake, especially when elections are not far off. People have to bear with the leader if they don’t see a few things being changed yet or a few people from the old system still hanging around. In 1980, we had to keep the Rhodesians. This was meant for continuity and it will be meant for continuity. Transformation is a long drawn process because it’s an interaction of many facets of a system. In this we are saying people have to be patient. But it also takes courage from those in power. The Zimbabwean state is demanding a concerted effort from us all.

Only weak and vulnerable states are scared of reform. Ours is not and our democracy might have its shortcomings as said above, but it has an acceptable level of maturity. This was clearly on display in the smooth way our contentious succession was managed. It is that type of maturity, which must again be on display when we manage the essence of political power being subordinate to the law.

It was not that bad in the last dispensation. But when people started being hunted like animals for expressing political disapproval through booing, then it was clear that political power was now using the law to abuse citizens. That is a place a reformed system should never lead us to. This is why in his statement of the 21st of November, President Mnangagwa said that, “the destiny of our country is in the hands of our people.” He also said in an earlier statement of the 8th of November 2017 that the habit of expelling or suspending people for holding a different opinion was “idiotic”. This means that in the new dispensation it should not be perceived as rebellious or indiscipline” to have a different opinion.

This is not a small matter. It doesn’t afflict one party. It is in all parties in Zimbabwe. Every party of substance in our polity has expelled or suspended people for daring to differ in their views of things, how they are. This does not augur well for our burgeoning democracy. So those who think that the “new democracy” is about the behaviour of the Ruling Party should think again and not have such a restricted definition.

What needs reforming in Zimbabwe is the system and framework upon which our processes rest. It is also the culture that interacts with those systems. The latter is much more important because on paper our systems are not that bad. In most cases they clearly define conventions, policies and procedures. They define who has what power and where it ends. The problem is, we just end up accepting people taking liberties with power that they don’t have and the people readily accepting it. This happens in government, political parties as well as in the third sector. We should adopt a culture of Zero Tolerance to Usurpation of Power. When we stop seeing governance as only a requirement in the national space, but in every space where humans interact for a purpose then we can say that the New Era has taken us to the place where we need to be. If we don’t do that then we are leaving all the positives the President is leading on to be vulnerable to reversals.

We have an opportunity as a country to move from adversarial politics to a consensus orientation in which having power does not mean you can afford to ignore participatory decision making processes where they benefit the country. The opposition should not be ignored. The same applies to the civic society. The only advantage of being in power is that you can take the best ideas from everyone including your opposition and ignore what’s not symmetrical to your vision.

An economic system that does not work for all, but creates a wealthy oligarchy that despises the poor should also be reformed. These are attributes pervasive in our political system and it is a responsibility for all of us to support the President’s reform agenda.

By Dorrothy Moyo| The US discussion on Zimbabwe slated for this afternoon has been criticised by some Zimbabweans on why it excluded a government representative.

The list of panelists exclude the new Emmerson Mnangagwa led government and is comprised of only representatives from the opposition MDC Alliance and a well known government critic from the civic movements, Dewa Mavhinga.

Questioned one Chipiwa Zimbwa, “What’s the objective of this indaba really? None of these speakers are in government currently. Whatever they have to say will be based on personal opinions and speculation. Why not have a government representative who can speak to current government policy and priorities etc…,” she wrote on microblogging site Twitter.

Meanwhile the program layout is as below:

The Future of Zimbabwe

Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Presiding: Senator Flake

By Farai D Hove| The resolution for a female Vice President is still on ZANU PF’s agenda in the party’s upcoming congress and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has powers to appoint his deputies at his own discretion. This revelation emerged in details released through Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday. The issue of a female VP was promulgated by former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s agents early this year when the agenda was brought forward 2 years before its date, 2019.

Khaya Moyo told the state media the party will hold a Politburo meeting today which will signal the start of processes leading to the party’s Extraordinary Conference on Friday. About 6 000 delegates from the Zanu-PF’s 10 provinces are expected to attend.

Moyo told the state owned Herald today’s politburo meeting will be followed by a Central Committee meeting tomorrow. He said the one day event which will cost $3 million, is not an elective congress and it will seek to do the following:

– Confirming Mnangagwa as the First Secretary and President of the party.
– Endorsing him as the Zanu-PF Presidential candidate for the 2018 harmonised elections;
– Endorse Central Committee resolutions made on November 19 which include recalling of former First Secretary and President Robert Mugabe and confirmation of the expulsion of G40 cabal members who include ex-First Lady Grace Mugabe, Phelekezela Mphoko, Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere, Kudzanayi Chipanga, Mandi Chimene and Ignatius Chombo.
– The Central Committee meeting also resolved to improve the livelihood of war veterans and to reinstate District Coordinating Committees which had been abolished.

It was then revealed that Zanu-PF may choose to discuss the issue of a female Vice President which was raised during the Grace Mugabe era.

Khaya Moyo said Mnangagwa will appoint his deputies at his own discretion.

Ray Nkosi | Flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo, who was picked up by officers from Serious Fraud Squad at his residence yesterday morning has been freed.

Chivayo took to social media on instagram beaming in a LIVE video where he seems to be boasting about his latest jail escapade, his popularity and saying, ” I think I should run for President.”

“You make a $100 million usina kuvengwa nevanhu like this,” brags Chivayo.

Reports indicate that Chivayo’s company, Intratek Zimbabwe, was awarded a $200 million USD tender by Zimbabwe’s power utility company ZESA.

Chivayo was also awarded a further $73 million for the refurbishment of the Harare Power Station, $163 million for the restoration of the Munyati Power Station, and $248 million for the Gairezi Power project by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) — a subsidiary of Zesa Holdings.

An advance payment of $5 million was made to Chivayo for the Gwanda Solar project’s pre-commencement works, despite him not providing a performance guarantee as required by law.

Watch for more…

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo | Masvingo State Minister Josaya Dunira Hungwe is a man who is well known for his boot-licking traits.

At one point he said soldiers would be deployed to defend former President Robert Mugabe at all costs.

Last week Hungwe was at it again.He equated President Emmerson Mnangagwa to biblical character Nehemiah.

Hungwe also equated Zanu PF to Jerusalem and likened the G-40 Faction to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Responding to Hungwe’ s utterances, concerned church leaders said Hungwe’ s sentiments should not go unchallenged.

Several church leaders said Hungwe’ s blasphemous comments were very unfortunate.

“It is sad to note that politicians are abusing the bible to propagate their views.

Hungwe’ s line of argument is totally divorced from the biblical concept he used,” said a Masvingo based church leader.

“Hungwe must leave the pulpit to those who were ordained to preach.His comments are unfortunate.

He went out of the way in a bid to please his political masters, ” fumed another church leader.

Ray Nkosi | The European Union has lauded President Robert Mugabe’s standing down, as showing that “that he has listened to the people’s voices.”

In a diplomatically worded statement issued by the EU High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on the situation in Zimbabwe, the union said, ” It is important now that an inclusive dialogue is established that respects the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe for a more prosperous and democratic future, and which encourages the acceleration of key reforms.”

In an earlier statement the EU demands that there be reforms first leading to credible elections before funds are released to the new Zimbabwe regime. A point immediatley countered by now exiled Professor Jonathan Moyo who took to twitter to write, “The #EU says no significant new funding for Zimbabwe before credible elections. Ok. But the upfront hurdle to cure is that there can be no credible elections organised & conducted by an illegitimate government run by a Junta following a coup d’etat!”

By Staff Reporter| A Beitbridge male businessman has claimed that his bus was shot at by soldiers yesterday.

While the exact circumstances of the incident were sketchy, he presented the below pictures which show several bullet holes on the vehicle’s body.

“The passengers inside this bus could have easily been killed, ” commented an observer, Fanwell Dube Sunday night.

The incident is said to have happened near a roadblock and it is said the driver had tried to flee and while escaping soldiers decided to open fire on him. At the time of writing, there was no further evidence to prove that the attackers were truly soldiers.

Will he allow the diaspora vote?

By Farai D Hove| The new ZANU PF National Commissar Victor Matemadanda is passionate about the diaspora, it has been said.

The ZANU PF UK Chairman Nick Mangwana says Matemadanda is looking beyond Zimbabwe’s borders and there is a new approach in the party.

Writing on his Twitter portal Monday afternoon, Mangwana said, “Went for a briefing with the NPC Cde Victor “It Can’t” Matemadanda.

“His views are that the grassroots is the party. He is also passionate about the Diaspora & fully behind our resolutions.

“There is a new approach in the party. Back to grassroots.”

It was not clear at the time of writing if Matemadanda will allow diasporans to vote.

Went for a briefing with the NPC Cde Victor “It Can’t” Matemadanda. His views are that the grassroots is the party. He is also passionate about the Diaspora & fully behind our resolutions. There is a new approach in the party. Back to grassroots pic.twitter.com/loYI2ioXmm

— Nick mangwana (@nickmangwana) December 11, 2017

By Paul Nyathi | Walking around the streets of Harare there is an obvious confusion on the positioning of the National Flag.

Some premises are hoisting the flag at half-mast while others have taken the flag to the top.

National flags are put at half-mast when the country is going through a mourning period usually following the death of a high profile national figure.

Zimbabwe mourned the passing on of former Minister of Health Doctor Timoth Stamps who was declared a national hero and was interred at a private family ceremony on thursday last week.

Zimbabwean general regulations normally give the nation a mourning period up to the day of burial of the person declared to be mourned for.

Stamps’ private family ceremony may have left Zimbabweans confused if he had been buried yet or not so as to raise the flags high.

A security personnel at the Zimbabwe Open University Building in the CBD told ZimEye.com that he was told to fly the flags half way over a week ago and no one has told him to raise them and so will not change from the directive.

“That was the instruction I was given and I can’t change until I am told to change,” he said.

The confusion on the flag is so bad that even flags at the parliament buildings were not corresponding with those at the government offices across the road.

Efforts to get a comment from the Ministry of Information in Harare were fruitless.

A Gokwe-based Central Intelligence Officer (CIO) lured a 20-year-old woman into his bedroom where he tried to rape her before the victim bit his penis and escaped.

Nyamuchiwa attempted to rape the woman who had approached him seeking assistance to secure a place to train as a teacher as Mkoba Teacher’s College in Gweru.

Nyamuchiwa was last year convicted of attempted rape by a Gokwe magistrate who sentenced him to four years in jail of which one year was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

Bulawayo Justice Nicholas Mathonsi dismissed Nyamuchiwa’s appeal, saying it lacked merit.

The judge said the complainant’s evidence was consistent and demonstrated the absence of consent.

Justice Mathonsi said Nyamuchiwa abused his position as an officer in the President’s Office to victimise a desperate school leaver.

“This is a person who abused his position as an officer in the President’s Office and a member of Zanu-PF to victimise a simple rural school leaver desperate for a placement at a college. She was unsuspecting and genuinely believed that she could be assisted,” said the judge.

“Even the complainant’s mother entrusted the appellant who turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For betraying that trust the appellant deserved what was coming to him and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the sentence. In the result, the appeal is hereby dismissed in its entirety,” ruled Justice Mathonsi.

Nyamuchiwa, through his lawyers H. Tafa and Associates, said the evidence by State witnesses was not credible and full of inconsistencies.

In his grounds of appeal, Nyamuchiwa argued that the complainant seduced him because she was desperate to enrol at Mkoba Teacher’s College.

“Although I was meeting the complainant for the first time, she is the one who seduced me by sitting on my bed, removing her jacket and pushing her dress up seductively. Having been encouraged by the complainant’s actions, I requested to have sex with her and she agreed. Having helped her take off her clothes I asked her to perform oral sex on me and she complied,” said Nyamuchiwa.

Nyamuchiwa said after oral sex, the complainant’s phone rang and she spoke to her mother after which she announced that she had to leave.

The facts of the matter are that on July 12 last year, the complainant’s mother referred her daughter to the Zanu-PF district offices in Gokwe where she was to submit her application forms for enrolment at Mkoba Teacher’s College.

The complainant was given Nyamuchiwa’s phone number so that she could contact him. Upon arrival, the complainant found the office closed and she immediately phoned her mother who in turn contacted Nyamuchiwa to assist her daughter.

The complainant phoned Nyamuchiwa who offered to process her application. The court heard that Nyamuchiwa then lured the woman to his house. On arrival Nyamuchiwa immediately locked the door and attempted to have sex with the complainant.

Nyamuchiwa undressed complainant and threw her onto the bed before putting a condom while pinning her down.

The complainant wrestled with Nyamuchiwa during which she managed to bite his private parts resulting in the appellant releasing her.

The woman managed to escape and she contacted her mother about what transpired. A report was made to the police leading to Nyamuchiwa’s arrest.

Journalist Violet Gonda (VG) interviewed former Education minister David Coltart on the Hot Seat programme to understand President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Cabinet.
Coltart warned the government was going to be run by a civilian administration, which has just a thin veneer over a military junta.
He believes it’s going to be harder for Mnangagwa to fight an election than it was for Robert Mugabe, who had support in the rural areas, and explains why he disagrees with those who are calling for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to retire.
VG: Mr Coltart, first of all, your thoughts on this new cabinet?
DC: I’m very disappointed. I was prepared to give Emmerson Mnangagwa the benefit of doubt. I was encouraged by his statement that he issued just before he returned to Zimbabwe, and by much of his inauguration address.
I was also encouraged by some of the actions taken this week, and so, I had high expectations for this cabinet. I never expected him to appoint a government of national unity. I always felt there was insufficient time in the run-up to the elections, but I really hoped that he would reach out and get some good technocrats involved — use the five Cabinet posts reserved to him in terms of the Constitution to do that, and also perhaps to bring in some younger blood from within Zanu PF.
He’s failed to do that, although he’s brought in three technocrats; which is encouraging. The rest of the cabinet is made up of generally old men.
There is not a single person under the age of 40, there are only three women in a cabinet of 22, and he has brought in some hard-line military people including Perrance Shiri and Major General Sibusiso Moyo.
VG: Who are the biggest winners?
DC: Well the military, clearly, is behind this. This is the deal. He has put in the military in key positions. Major General Moyo is now the Foreign minister; he will play a critical role in the interaction between Zimbabwe and the African Union and Sadc.
Perence Shiri is now the minister of Lands and has got a very important role to play and then he has put some of the hardliners.
VG: Many fear that the military have captured the political space. You mentioned Major General Moyo who is now the Foreign Affairs minister. What does he need to do to turn things around because at the end of the day, people don’t know anything about him? Does he have a background in international relations? Or, is it going to be easy sailing for him because the West is eager to reengage with a reinvented Zanu PF?
DC: Well, I’m puzzled by President Mnangagwa’s appointment of Major General Moyo. I’ve got nothing against Major General Moyo. I don’t know him at all, but he does have a problematic past. He is mentioned in the 2002 UN report into the plundering of the Congo, he was then director general of Cozlec. he advised both Tremult and Oryx Natural Resources, which represented covert Zimbabwean military financial interest in negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC then.
He was also the person accused by civic groups of being in charge of violent military action against MDC members in the presidential run-off election in 2008 and of course, he was the face of the coup in the early hours of Wednesday November 15, when he appeared on ZTV.
So it’s a puzzling choice for Foreign minister because this is a man who is already known to the international community in a very bad way.
It may be that these allegations were false, but the UN enquiry into the DRC was comprised of competent people from a range of different countries, including Egypt and other countries and they came out with this damning report.
So, he is going to have to overcome that history in projecting Zimbabwe as a modern democratic nation state.
VG: Why do you think Emmerson Mnangagwa chose him? Was he stuck with these military people because he had to reward military people? And you mentioned Air Marshall Perence Shiri, who is now the Lands Minister. How significant is that?
DC: Well dealing with your first one, obviously I don’t know the thought process that President Mnangagwa went through in appointing Major General Moyo.
It does appear as if it is some way of payback to the military for their assistance, but that is a mere assumption. Major General Moyo may have attributes that President Mnangagwa’s aware of, that none of us are aware of.
It is puzzling. I would have thought that he would have chosen someone like Patrick Chinamasa who made quite a good connection in Washington; is viewed as a relatively moderate lawyer; who would have presented a better face for the nation.
Turning to your question regarding Air Marshall Perence Shiri, it is problematic. He was the Commander of the Fifth Brigade.
The North Korean trained Fifth Brigade in 1983.
And, although of course, he has been Commander of the Air Force for a long time, he had a relatively low profile. Now, he becomes a Minister of Lands. Land is obviously a key issue for President Mnangagwa, he referred to it in his inaugural address. He said that he wanted a new dispensation; that he wanted to pay compensation to farmers; and, in that role, Mr Shiri is going to have to have this international face.
He’s going to be the face of the nation in persuading the international community that the land question has been resolved.
So, it’s a curious choice. It doesn’t make sense to me. I would have thought that any number of ZANU PF ex Cabinet Minsters or Members of Parliament would have fitted that role better
VG: You say Patrick Chinamasa would have made a good appointment as Foreign Affairs minister. But, some would argue the only good appointment was returning Chinamasa as Finance Minister because of his experience in the previous Cabinet.
That right now he is the best person for this position and that his is the only position that matters right now because its all about the economy… about the money.
DC: Well, I actually take a contrary view because the reality is that whilst Tendai Biti, the former Finance minister, stabilised the economy. Under his tenure, as you know, the economy grew, bank deposits grew.
Since Patrick Chinamasa took office as Finance minister, there has been a run on bank deposits. He is the person responsible for this massive budget deficit, which has been funded by the issuance of Treasury Bills.
He is the person responsible for issuing Bond notes. So he, more than anyone else, must take responsibility for the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy.
I would have thought, if ever there was ever a position that needed a sound technocrat, someone like a Nkosana Moyo or a Simba Makoni, it was the Ministry of Finance.
So, I disagree with that. I don’t think it does inspire confidence in the public confidence in the Banking sector to have Patrick Chinamasa in that position.
VG: Who are the technocrats you mentioned earlier on? You said there are three technocrats at least in this Cabinet. Who are they?
DC: The three technocrats are Professor Amon Murwira, who is a University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Professor Clever Nyathi, who up until now has been working with the UNDP and Winston Chitando, who is Minister of Mines now, and up until his appointment was Chairman, and – I think, before that was Managing Director of Mimosa platinum Mines.
So those are good appointments, all three of those. I don’t know much about the two professors, but certainly Winston Chitando is respected in the mining sector and Mimosa Mines seems to have run well. So credit where credit is due, those are 3 good appointments.
VC: I understand that, by law, the President is only supposed to have appointed 5 non constituency members of parliament but in this case he has appointed at least 8. What can you say about this?
David: Well, he has 5 in terms of the Constitution. The Constitution also says that people can be appointed but then also have to take up seats in Parliament within a prescribed period of time, I think it’s within three months.
So, I presume that having got rid of the likes of Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere and others from Parliament, there are now by-elections coming up and I assume they get these people, these extra three people, to stand in the constituencies that are now vacant.
Violet: But what about the issue of Perence Shiri and Sibusiso Moyo? Have they been retired yet?
David: Well, the Constitution is very clear in that regard. The old constitution was not clear but the new Constitution is very clear that ministers cannot hold any other office on becoming ministers.
So, they are going to have to resign their commissions and end their service in the military. That of course goes across the board, for example, the technocrat; Winston Chitando will have to resign as chairman of Mimosa Mines because the Constitution is very clear now that when you are a cabinet minister, you cannot hold any other post.
ViG: What is Mnangagwa thinking of in terms of bringing in cabinet ministers, who for a long time have been described as useless in government. Why should Zimbabweans be convinced that these ministers will do things differently – namely Obert Mpofu, David Parirenyatwa, Supa Mandiwanzira and even Lazarus Dokora. What can you say about those appointments?
Dc: President Mnangagwa’s problem is that he’s restricted to current ZANU PF Members of Parliament. We’ve just discussed that you can appoint five outsiders.
So he was restricted to those people presently in parliament, and of course, given the way he’s been treated by the G40 faction this year – two assassination attempts on him – so he obviously is mistrustful of a lot of his parliamentary colleagues.
So that would have cut down; that would have narrowed; his options even further. So, to a certain extent I’m sympathetic for him because he has to deal with the team allocated to him. And, he doesn’t, to be frank, have much choice, other than to recycle many of these ministers who have not performed particularly well in the past.
Violet: So basically, what you are saying is that there are no new things that we can expect from these recycled ministers, and that there is a lack of skilled people in Zanu PF?
DC: Well, if you go through the list. As I say, Patrick Chinamasa has presided over the collapse of the economy in the last few years. Obert Mpofu was Minister of Mines when, according to none other than Robert Mugabe, the diamond sector was looted of $15 billion.
That came under his watch. He is now in charge of the Police, responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminals. So that doesn’t give one much confidence. My successor, Lazarus Dakora has courted a lot of controversy in the last four years.
I don’t think it’s really fair for me to comment beyond that regarding my own successor. But then, when you go through the rest of the list, there are very few people who I think the public will have confidence in. But, I reiterate, President Mnangagwa didn’t have much to choose from.
VG: Yes, but still, are we moving forward or we are stuck in the same place?
DC: I think that we are moving forward to the extent that we have prevented the emergence of a dynasty.
That was a very important development. My real fear was that Grace Mugabe would take over from Robert Mugabe and that would have been very negative.
However having said that having taken two steps forward, I think we’ve taken a step forward, I think that we’ve possibly taken two steps back, in that, this cabinet is heavily; clearly heavily; influenced by the military and that does not auger well for the future.
We need civilian government that the military must recognize its constitutional role, it should stay in the barracks and should not get involved in politics.
One other point in this regard, is that given this cabinet, I think that the
President is going to find it difficult to get the same support enjoyed by Robert Mugabe in Mashonaland East and West and Central Provinces.
In the depths of those rural areas I believe there is still a considerable amount of support for Robert Mugabe as an individual. I think many of those rural dwellers will battle to understand why Robert Mugabe was treated in this way.
And, I think the reality is that President Mnangagwa will only be assured of considerable support in two provinces, namely the Midlands and Masvingo.
I think he’s going to find it very difficult to get support with this cabinet in the metropolitan Provinces of Harare and Bulawayo, and I think he will battle in Matabeleland North and South Provinces.
And I doubt very much that he will manage to get the same number of votes in Mashonaland Central, East and West. And, traditionally, those Mashonaland provinces have formed the bulk of support for a Zanu PF presidential candidate.
Once they’ve done these numbers, I think they will realize that they are going to be hard pressed to win an election against a united Opposition.
Now, of course, at present, the Opposition is not united. I hope that now that we’ve seen, with great clarity, what President Mnangagwa’s attentions are, and that clarity in itself might encourage the opposition to unite, because, if we don’t, it seems to me, that going forward, effectively, our country is going to be run by a civilian administration which has just a thin veneer over a military junta.
VG: Critics of Emmerson Munangagwa still say that these appointments show that the new president is still in a factional mood. Given what you have said -that he had no choice but to pick some of these people from Parliament and the military? Do you think he is a progressive leader?
DC: President Mnangagwa’s history doesn’t give one much hope that he is a progressive person. My friends often describe me as a pathological optimist, so you’re going to have to excuse me for a while as I revert to my pathological optimism. And it’s by saying this, that I have been encouraged by some of Mnangagwa’s statements in the last couple of weeks.
I said it earlier, his statement from exile, just prior to coming back, was very positive. He said that Zanu PF could not do this alone and his inauguration address as well was very constructive in many different ways.
So I was expecting better of him in the appointment of this cabinet.
However, as we all know, politics is the art of the possible. And, he has had to deal with a party in which there are very high expectations.
He has had to deal with war veterans who feel that they have been minimized and rejected, and he’s had to try and balance all of these competing interests.
He also knows that this is an interim government, that he faces an election in July next year and he would have had some concerns that if he had brought in people from the Opposition, that it would have compromised his own ability to prepare for an election as the Zanu PF candidate.
So, in essence, what I’m saying is I’m not sure that this cabinet reflects what Emmerson Mnangagwa would have wanted to do had he had the power alone to do it.
I think that this Cabinet reflects the reality that he has to accommodate these different groups, who, at the end of the day, have seen him ascend to power. Without the military intervening in the way they did, without war veterans organizing that march in Harare on the 18th November, he would not have had the momentum to come back and to assume the Office of President.
And now, it’s payback time. He has had to accommodate people and it’s resulted in this very disappointing cabinet.
VG: And what about the issue of his human rights record and issues of corruption?
DC: Those are issues that he has to confront. I have also taken some hope from his children; he’s got some very nice children and those children can’t come out of a vacuum.
And I am also sad to say had taken hope from his own statements and I thought that he had turned over a new leaf.
This Cabinet has set people back, has set my own hopes for him back, and I think he is going to have a very difficult time of it now convincing Zimbabweans and the International Community, that he does intend to embrace democracy, to embrace the Constitution and take this nation forward.
Vg: You know a post shared by a Mr Bhajila, shared on social media, said: “With EDM as president while his wife is the Chirumanzi MP and now Chris Mutsvangwa is Information Minister while his wife Monica is Minister of State for Manicaland Province, the days of dynasties are far from over”. You mentioned that the Mugabe dynasty is now over, but what about this point that Mr Bajila is raising – is this a worrying development?
Dc: I did see that comment, and it is a valid one. I’m not sure that it counts as a dynasty; I don’t think that there is any change of President Mnangagwa’s wife becoming resident in future.
But, yes, it is a worrying development that you’ve got these families that have been bought into positions of great power. It’s a negative development, it’s not a dynasty at present, but it always of danger of developing into that and Zimbabweans have to guard against that.
VG: And with Chris Mutsvanga being made Minister of Information, are you hopeful that we will see media reforms sometime soon, or even before elections?
DC: As you know, Section 61 of the Constitution makes it very clear that the country should have an independent media and it makes it equally clear that state media must have an independent editorial policy and must allow a diversity of views. That hasn’t happened in the last 50 years. It hasn’t happened under the Rhodesian Front or under Robert Mugabe’s rule. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a pessimist in that regard. Zanu PF know that they are going to be in real trouble in the run up to this
election, even with the state of the opposition, and, it’s hard to imagine that they are now going to level the playing field to make things better for the Opposition and to enable the opposition to explain its policies to the public.
So, I don’t expect him to comply with the Constitution.
VG: On the issue of the new president offering a three month amnesty for people who illegally externalized money to return it back.
Will that apply also to those who are in government today, and, who is checking on issues of transparency and accountability?
DC: That is a critical question. We hope that when President Mnangagwa said that he was determined to tackle all people, it won’t just be Ignatius Chombo who faces corruption charges but that others, even some in this cabinet that he’s just appointed, should be investigated.
But unfortunately I fear that that even that pronouncement is all to do with factional politics within Zanu PF to justify the illegal actions taken by the military in this coup, rather than a determination to respect the rule of law and to ensure that all criminal elements are investigated and prosecuted.
When we see some of the people in this cabinet, who, for reasons of defamation laws, I can’t name specifically, but when we see them being investigated, we’ll know that this is a genuine drive to combat criminal elements in our society. But, until that happens, many of us will just be left with the impression that it’s to further a factional agenda.
VG: Many are quite critical of the Opposition right now, and many are saying the Opposition needs to reinvent itself if it wants to maintain relevance as Zanu PF is now on a serious charm offensive.
What do you make of calls for Morgan Tsvangirai to step down and help groom a successor for the 2018 elections, because people feel that with the way things are going, no one will be able to defeat Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018?
DC: Well, I think that was right prior to last night’s cabinet announcement. I think if Emmerson Mnangagwa had continued this charm offensive and had put in some more exciting people in cabinet, or even just putting people in different positions, as I mentioned with Minister Chinamasa. I think he would have been far more attractive to the electorate. So I don’t think he is as attractive today as he was yesterday because of this cabinet.
Turning to the nub of your question regarding Morgan Tsvangirai. You know, I think it’s unfair, at this stage, for us to be dictating to Morgan Tsvangirai what he should or shouldn’t do. He hasn’t been well and what we do know is that whatever position I might have adopted in the past regarding Morgan Tsvangirai, the fact remains that he is arguably still the most popular Opposition politician in this country.
And until there is someone who has similar charisma and similar political appeal to him it would be foolhardy – if, and this is a big if, – if he is still fit enough to run, to get someone else. Bear in mind that in the presidential election coming up the person has to get, in the first round, 50% plus one.
I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for President Mnangagwa to get that 50%. That will mean that whoever comes second, let’s assume that Mnangagwa gets 35 or even 40% and Morgan Tsvangirai gets 30% – you know, I’m speculating.
The point I’m simply making is that we will go into a runoff election which will compel the opposition to rally around one person, and it may be Morgan Tsvangirai, it maybe somebody else who gets a higher percentage of the vote.
But, just a conclusion on this point. I think all of us hope that Morgan Tsvangirai will get healthy again. He has bravely gone through this chemotherapy and operations. He is clearly weak at present, but people do recover, and that’s my prayer.
Forget about the politics now. He’s been a courageous person and I really pray that he does get healthy, whether he stands for office again or not. He deserves our respect and our support in that regard.
VG: Yes I’m sure many Zimbabweans would wish Mr Tsvangirai well. But do you honestly believe that the military will offer election victory to the opposition on a silver platter?
David: No, I don’t believe the military is going to offer election victory to the opposition on a platter, I think it is going to be incredibly difficult.
All I’m saying though is that it’s going to be harder for Emmerson Mnangagwa to fight an election than it was for Robert Mugabe to fight the elections in 2008 and 20013.
Robert Mugabe, for all his faults, was more respected country-wide than Emmerson Mnangagwa is amongst the rural vote. 70% of the population is in the rural area.
We mustn’t be fooled by the turn outs that Zanu PF would have us say were the turn outs in the cities, in Harare and Bulawayo, there are some Zanu PF MP’s trying to argue that they turned out in support of Emmerson Mnangagwa. They wanted Robert Mugabe gone.
That doesn’t translate necessarily into support for Emmerson Mnangagwa.
I concede that many of the unemployed young people don’t have close allegiances to the MDC. They want jobs.
That is what is critical, and if Emmerson Mnangagwa can deliver jobs to them in the next few months, then it may well be that those young people vote for Emmerson Mnangagwa, which would make it easier for him. But, I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for him, especially because of this cabinet.
Had he appointed people like Nkosana Moyo and Simba Makoni and others, who would have inspired not just Zimbabwean people but also our friends in the international community, I think that a lot more international support would have been forthcoming which, in turn, would have enabled him to create jobs and to give people hope.
I think that this Cabinet does just the reverse. It has depressed people domestically and it is going to make our international friends very cautious about supporting this administration.
Violet: Thank you very much David Coltart for speaking to us on the programme, Hotseat.
David: Thank you Violet
To contact the journalist email [email protected] or follow @violetgonda on twitter. See more at www.violetgonda.com

The defense attorney for Zimbabwe’s former finance minister and a top youth leader alleges they were tortured under military detention, and held illegally.

A court granted both men bail last week.

The military detained Zimbabwe’s former finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, and a former youth leader of the ruling Zanu PF party, Kudzanai Chipanga during last month’s military intervention in this southern African country.

Chombo is charged with fraud, corruption and abuse of office during former President Robert Mugabe’s administration. Chipanga is accused of causing disaffection among the country’s defense forces. Their arrest was carried out during an army blitz that targeted what it calls “criminals” who allegedly surrounded the country’s now deposed leader.

High Court judge Edith Mushore ordered the duo to be released on bail. Chombo was ordered to post $5,000 in bail money, to report to the police three times a day, and to surrender title deeds of his house as well as travel documents. He also is barred from the central bank and government offices where the offenses were allegedly committed.

Chipanga was ordered to post $500 as bail and to report to the police twice daily.

Their defense attorney, Lovemore Madhuku, says his clients should not have been arraigned in the first place because their detention was unconstitutional.

“The High Court criticized the magistrates’ court and said they were wrong to have denied these persons bail because they were very fit candidates for bail but the High Court did not just end there, it went further to say that those persons that had arrested them before they were taken by the police, that is the military, they had acted in an unlawful manner because they had gone beyond the 48 hour rule.”

Madhuku claims the army tortured his clients while they were in detention. “Very clearly so; they were actually tortured, torture is any form of pain that you inflict on a person with a view to want them to either do something in an unlawful manner so even blindfolding, keeping a person blindfolded for a minute, two minutes, three minutes when you are doing that against their will that’s torture, assaulting them when in custody that’s torture and as they were doing that they were trying to extract certain information from them.

Madhuku says his clients will seek compensation from the new government of Mugabe’s former deputy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“What next lawfully is that we first expect that the government will come and tell us that, ‘look, we were sorry we did this and here we are offering compensation.’ They must apologize to our clients and then offer to pay them compensation for the period of unlawful detention. But if they do not do that we will take them up on that issue at the same time we will take it into account when this matter is going to be taken up …”

Chombo and Chipanga are among the highest-profile former officials detained by the military since it acted last month. Both are linked to the Generation 40 faction of the ruling ZANU-PF party, which was close to both President Mugabe and his wife, Grace Mugabe.

Since he resigned on November 21^st, Mugabe has not been seen in public. Some of his allies reportedly have sought refuge in neighboring countries.- VOA

LIVEVIDEO report starting an hour’s time.

By Oluhle Sibanda| A City Liner bus traveling from Johannesburg went up in flames early this morning.

The incident happened at the 40km peg from Beitbridge. – CLICK ON THE SATELLITE MAP TO ZOOM IN – please note the map will update in 5 minutes.

At the time of writing, ZimEye was told by a source that there were no casualties. But the bus company issued caution saying investigations were still underway so they could not communicate anything at present.

“Oh yes the bus that caught fire earlier on (today).

“Basically that situation is still being investigated but so far we have not heard anything about anybody being hurt…the only that’s damaged is the coach,” a receptionist said Monday morning.

LIVEVIDEO report starting in an hour’s time.

By Staff Reporter| Barely hours after dodging an interview to answer for his dodgy $5million ZESA parastatal tender among other shady deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Wicknell Chivayo has been arrested, shortly after insulting ZimEye’s Simba Chikanza during a LIVE program on Saturday night.

His lawyer has confirmed Chivayo was taken away by security forces but could not tell whether it was police or military. To further confirm the arrest, attempts by ZimEye.com to reach Chivayo since last night were met with a brickwall as Chivayo’s phone was continuously switched off.

His lawyer Thabani Mpofu told the local Daily News Chivayo was arrested yesterday Sunday although he was not sure which police took him, ZRP or military. “At the moment I am still frantically trying to establish what happened. I thought by now I would have made headway, but nothing has come up yet,” he said.

Chivayo’s WhatsApp number showed he was last online around 5pm yesterday when ZimEye called him once again.

ZimEye.com is in the next few minutes offloading the tender document Chivayo reportedly stole from the ZANU PF headquarters and which he used to inflate figures.

Chivayo’s arrest is over the ZESA deals wherewith he obtained over half a billion dollars worth of tenders and moreover received a cash payment of $5million without a performance guarantee.

He was arrested within 24 hours of dodging ZimEye.com for answers.

https://youtu.be/ehMSgIgD_r4?t=2m52s

It was not clear at the time of writing where Chivayo is being held, and ZimEye will keep our valued readers and viewers updated. – THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY….

By Terrence Mawawa| ZRP Cops and army officers were yesterday arrested and detained in Chipinge over a bribery case.

The soldiers were manning a roadblock at Mashiri in Chipinge when they allegedly demanded cash from a senior army officer.

” The soldiers and police officers who were at a roadblock at Mashiri in Chipinge were arrested and detained at the army barracks yesterday.

An army colonel who was driving a commuter omnibus passed by and the cops and the soldiers demanded cash from him.

He then went to complain at 3 Brigade, leading to the arrest of the whole team,” said a police source in Chipinge.

This comes a few days after calls by the new government were made on public officers to desist from corruption.

MDC Alliance leader Morgan Tsvangirai is asking US President Donald Trump for assistance in dealing with President Emmerson Mnangagwa whose government has kept a tight lid on democratic reforms in the run up to next year’s elections.

Tsvangirai has sent off a three member delegation to Trump in Washington DC – part of a global campaign to exert international pressure on President Mnangagwa.

The development comes as the nation readies for the upcoming polls where Tsvangirai will face a military run party whose generals have before sworn that they will never salute him.

Tsvangirai’s three member delegation consists of MDC-T Vice President Nelson Chamisa, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Tendai Biti and MDC president Welshman Ncube, who doubles as MDC Alliance spokesperson.

The three left Harare yesterday for Ethiopia where they will go to the Africa Union Headquarters before proceeding to the US and Europe. MDC Alliance executive member Jameson Timba revealed the trip to local paper NewsDay.

“Those three leaders are on a diplomatic mission to apprise to the international community on developments in Zimbabwe, but most importantly to alert the international community of the need for free, credible and fair elections in Zimbabwe when it is time,” said Timba.

Below are more pictures from the tragic accident which occurred between Gweru and Shurugwi road when a Sprinter tried to overtake at a blind spot and collided with a Toyota Ipsum.

Zanu-PF’s new national political commissar, Victor Matemadanda says ZANU PF would have lost the upcoming 2018 elections if Robert Mugabe had remained party leader.

Matemadanda was quoted during a Zanu-PF Bulawayo inter-district meeting at its Davies Hall provincial headquarters.

“Zanu-PF was going to lose the 2018 elections had we continued with the former president as our candidate,” said Matemadanda.

He continued saying, “this is largely because he (Cde Mugabe) had allowed his wife (Mrs Grace Mugabe) working in cahoots with the professor of succession (Prof Jonathan Moyo) and that dangerous boy called Tyson (Mr Saviour Kasukuwere) to destroy the party from within.

“The aspirations of the liberation struggle which we fought for can now be achieved following Operation Restore Legacy. When we fight in a revolution we don’t fight for personal glory, but for everyone and this fight should benefit the party. We want discipline in the party.

Matemadanda, quoted by the state media, then promised to re-build its structures afresh starting at cell level.

In a case that might set a precedent, a Harare nurse was dismissed from St Anne’s Hospital after serving the institution for two years after her employer discovered out that she was HIV positive.

The development saw her sue the employer but later loose the case the Constitutional Court ruling that her rights were not violated.

She was diagnosed with HIV in 2003. At that time she was employed by Avenues Clinic but soon retired in 2006 due to deteriorating health.

She later applied for a job at St Anne’s Hospital after recovering in 2010 and was asked to disclose if she was suffering from any serious illness including HIV. It was at that point that she did not reveal her status.

She later suffered a stroke in 2012 when she was discovered to be HIV+ and after St Anne’s had ordered an investigation it was found out that she had contracted HIV years before and knew about it. The findings resulted in her dismissal.

The National Employment Council’s Appeals Committee ordered her reinstatement but St Anne’s challenged the decision at the Labour Court.

While St Anne’s challenge was pending, the woman filed an application directly at the Constitutional Court arguing that her right to privacy in terms of Section 57(e) of the Constitution had been violated by St Anne’s Hospital. However, Chief Justice Luke Malaba, sitting with eight other judges dismissed her application, saying no rights had been violated. – state media

State Media – Government has so far recovered $47,7 million from the loans it issued under the Command Agriculture Revolving Fund, which translates to 66 percent of its target of $72 million.
This comes amid reports that 10 000 farmers were still to deliver their maize to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Government has also collected $3,6 million from wheat farmers against a target of $8,8 million as at November 23. This was revealed by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa in his 2018 National Budget presentation last week.

Minister Chinamasa said a positive culture of honouring loan obligations was emerging among farmers who benefited from the empowerment support under the Command Agriculture Programme.

“In this regard, Command Agriculture Revolving Fund registering repayment receipts of $47,7 million in loan recoveries from farmers. This is against the anticipated target of $72 million.

“Out of the 50 000 farmers contracted to produce maize under Command Agriculture, 33 percent fully paid their loan obligations, with 22 percent having partially paid their obligations, while recoveries from others are being made as they deliver to the GMB.

“However, as at November 23 2017, about 10 053 contracted farmers had not made any maize deliveries to GMB, an indication that these were already defaulting on their 2017 debt obligations.”

Government has instituted measures to ensure recoveries from the farmers, with monitoring teams already deployed to follow up on those who were being made to acknowledge their debts for repayment next season.
To encourage farmers to continue paying back their debt obligations, all fully paid farmers were being prioritised in accessing inputs under the 2017-18 Command Agriculture programme.

“With regards to those farmers who have partially paid, as well as the new farmers, consideration to be contracted is based on a tight criteria which includes, among others, the need for a farmer to demonstrate capability to produce,” said Minister Chinamasa.

According to the budget, the absence of effective control and distribution mechanisms had meant that bogus farmers could access inputs through unscrupulous suppliers.
This also resulted in the abuse of fuel coupons, whose issuance was not commensurate to farmer requirements.

“Some of the potential risk areas have since been rectified, which has seen the logistics committee in consultation with private financing partners tightening the distribution and collection mechanisms for both fuel and other inputs,” said Minister Chinamasa.

“All participating farmers are now required to have their contract papers and release orders for inputs collection to be processed at district level. For those farmers required to collect inputs directly from inputs suppliers, Government officials have been stationed at inputs suppliers’ depots to clear and monitor collection of inputs by farmers.”

Minister Chinamasa said other potential leakages being plugged related to absence of validation processes over use of tillage vouchers and combine harvesters repairs and collusion between district Command Centre officials and some farmers that could result in inputs collections in excess of requirements determined by Agritex and ward officers.
Some farmers who would have benefited from Command Agriculture inputs supplies were being paid in full for grain delivered to the GMB, despite having loan obligations under the programme.

Government has thus moved in to plug potential leakages that could arise.
“In this regard, participating farmers are also required to complete the cost recovery Stop Order forms at the point of inputs collection,” said Minister Chinamasa. “Furthermore, plugging of potential leakages is extended to prevent some ward extension officers recommending farmers without farm or land offer letters to collect inputs, resulting in no recoveries.”

President Mnangagwa has always been on record warning those who abuse Command Agriculture inputs that Government will deal with them accordingly.

Command Agriculture, a brainchild of the Government, has rescued thousands of farmers
who would have failed to productively use their land owing to funding challenges.
Under the programme, farmers received inputs for free, but are expected to deliver five tonnes of maize each to the GMB.

The shock resignation by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Rita Makarau — a mere eight months before the country holds its make-or-break national elections next year — has cast a huge shadow on the eagerly-awaited polls, which a fearful opposition want to be monitored by international observers.

Makarau — also a respected Supreme Court judge and the secretary of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) — stunned the country on Friday when she abruptly resigned from her post without giving any reasons, amid a plethora of political conspiracies.

Well-placed sources at the Zec who spoke to the Daily News on Sunday yesterday also said Makarau’s unexpected departure had left a of lot of questions unanswered, as days before she quit she had been in jovial mood in meetings with stakeholders at the national elections management body.

“It appears as if she may have been pushed. Her email signalling her intention to resign came as a complete shock to us. It came after we had just had an important meeting with one of our stakeholders during the week, and there was no sign whatsoever that she was on her way out.

“In fact she was as calm and as cheerful as she always is. So, you can imagine our surprise when we received that email. It definitely suggested that she may have been pushed before she jumped.

“We are all trying to put the pieces together and make sense of everything, as her email never stated her reasons for that very sudden move,” one of the sources said.

New Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi confirmed Makarau’s resignation at the weekend and also said the Supreme Court judge had not given reasons for leaving the post.

In the meantime, her sudden departure has elicited myriad conspiracy theories, with the opposition and political analysts also warning that it is now “mandatory” that the international community watches over the 2018 polls which must be held by August next year.

It has also emerged that one of the opposition’s charges is that Makarau’s alleged forced resignation from Zec is meant to allow the current dominant faction in Zanu PF to “manipulate the vote” in its favour next year.

During the heights of the ugly factional brawling in the ruling party — which pitted the Generation 40 (G40) faction against the Team Lacoste camp, which was rooting for new President Emmerson Mnangagwa — Makarau was viewed favourably by the G40 group which wanted her to become the country’s chief justice after the late Godfrey Chidyausiku.

Matters came to a head during the interviews for that position when the two major Zanu PF factions fought ugly and open battles to have their preferred candidates take over from Chidyausiku.
In the end, Makarau came second to the country’s new CJ, Luke Malaba, while George Chiweshe — who was preferred by Team Lacoste pulled out of the selection process after it was challenged in the High Court.

Former deputy prime minister in Zimbabwe’s short-lived inclusive government, Arthur Mutambara, was among those who have claimed that Makarau may have been forced to resign from Zec due to factional interests in the ruling party.

“The electoral agenda should be to enable and facilitate free, fair and credible elections, and not settle Zanu PF factional disputes. The regime must reach out to civic society and the opposition parties and establish a clear and inclusive roadmap to free, fair and credible elections in 2018,” Mutambara said.
According to the Constitution, the head of Zec must be either a judge or a former judge, or a person who qualifies for appointment as a judge.

Professor of World Politics, Stephen Chan, said yesterday that the position of chairperson of Zec was pivotal, and required an appointment of the highest calibre and integrity.
“The international community will be looking to the elections as the clinching signal that Zimbabwe is climbing its way upwards to probity and transparency.

“If Zimbabwe wants to rejoin the Commonwealth and attract wider investment, there will have to be a Commonwealth Observer Group and, ideally, a European Observer Group, and they will scrutinise the Zec and its chair with attention to minute detail.

“The shortcomings of observer groups were exposed in Kenya, so they will arrive in Zimbabwe having upped their own game,” Chan told the Daily News On Sunday.

The country’s main opposition party, the MDC, said while it welcomed Makarau’s resignation, its suddenness was both a surprise and a concern.

“Rita Makarau’s resignation opens a can of worms. Why is she resigning just a few months before Election 2018?

“Has she been forced to resign? Was she pushing a factional agenda during her term of office as ZEC
chairperson? Is she really her own person?” MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu queried.
Makarau’s resignation came as Zec, as well as local election observer groups, are intensifying their efforts to have millions of prospective voters register in the ongoing biometric voter registration (BVR) exercise, which is now approaching its final phase.

Zimbabwe is using the BVR system for registration for next year’s elections for the first time.
Zec is targeting seven million voters for the current BVR registration exercise — ahead of the much-awaited 2018 polls, which could see Mnangagwa facing a grand coalition of opposition parties in that plebiscite.

The opposition and civic groups have also been agitating for sweeping electoral reforms ahead of the crunch elections which they say must be held in an environment which doesn’t promote disputes like what happened during the 2008 and 2013 polls.

In the hotly-disputed 2008 elections, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat former president Robert Mugabe hands down.

However, the results of those polls were withheld for six long weeks by stunned authorities, amid widespread allegations of ballot tampering and fraud which were later revealed by former bigwigs of the ruling party.

Mugabe’s defeat was widely blamed on an internal rebellion which was said to have been led by officials loyal to former vice president Joice Mujuru and her late husband Solomon — a plot that came to be known as Bhora Musango.

In the ensuing sham presidential run-off, which authorities claimed was needed to determine the winner, Zanu PF apparatchiks engaged in a murderous orgy of violence in which hundreds of Tsvangirai’s supporters were killed in cold blood, forcing the former prime minister in the inclusive government to withdraw from the discredited race altogether.

Mugabe went on to stand in a widely-condemned one-man race in which he declared himself the winner.

However, Sadc and the rest of the international community would have none of it, forcing the nonagenarian to share power with Tsvangirai for five years, to prevent the country from imploding completely.

https://youtu.be/fwDDOyezvXY

By Shiellah Sibanda| On Saturday the 9th of December MDC-T members came together with families and friends for a Christmas party. Around 80 people braved the bad weather and came to the fundraiser.

The sole reason for the party was to fundraise for the upcoming 2018 elections. The party started around 14:30pm and went on until around 23:30hrs with a lot of activities taking place.

Speaker after speaker they talked about the situation back home, noting how people celebrated when Mugabe resigned but that was not what the Zimbabweans wanted. Zimbabweans want a complete change of government. Therefore it is important that people get out and register to vote next year.

The chairman, Mr Tonderai Samanyanga emphasised that Mugabe is now gone as every body wanted him gone, but was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa who is more or less what Robert Mugabe is.

He said “Zimbabweans need a change and that change can only be seen when Zanu-PF is gone and that can only be achieved by voting for change next year.”

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| A Zimbabwe National Army officer wreaked havoc at a local bar and threatened to shoot a patron yesterday.

Two loud gunshots were fired by the soldier as he was being restrained.

Lance Corporal Albert Alifeyo of Four Brigade Intelligence Unit stormed the bar and had an altercation with one, Tendai Nguwo.

Alifeyo produced his service pistol and threatened to kill Nguwo. An official police memo titled, “UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM AT MODERN SPORT BAR, HILLSIDE, MASVINGO BY A ZIMBABWE NATIONAL ARMY MEMBER,” reads as follows:

This memo serves to put on record circumstances surrounding the above subject matter:-
ACCUSED PERSON
Albert Alifeyo Age – 29 years
NR : 79-127602-M-79
RES : House number 226 Chitepo Street, Pangolin, Masvingo
BUS : 4 Brigade Intelligence Company, Masvingo
Force number: 835044F
RANK : lance corporal
INFORMANT :

Tendai Nguwo Age – 22 years
NR : 22-173211-Q- 22
RES : House number [DETAILS REDACTED].
BUS : Not Employed
Phone : 0777 *** ***

CIRCUMSTANCES
On 8th day of December 2017, at around 2230 hours, accused was on his way home from work at Zimbabwe National Army 4 Brigade, Masvingo dressed in ZNA uniform and armed with a Makarov Service Pistol bearing serial number ZA 0283. Same got to Morden Sports Bar, Pangolin, Masvingo where he started drinking beer together with other unknown civilian people.

Whilst in the bar, the accused had an altercation with other patrons who were defending one known as Gono, a lunatic whom he suspected of smoking Dagga in the bar. In the process, the accused disturbed informant who was playing snooker.

When the informant tried to reason with him, the accused challenged him, took his beer and smashed it on the floor. A misunderstanding developed between the accused and informant.

One civilian patron offered to buy informant another pint of beer to replace the broken one, but the accused barred him from doing so and a misunderstanding ensued between the accused and informant.

Accused withdrew his afore-stated service pistol and threatened to kill the informant. The informant realised that the accused had produced a pistol and grabbed the accused’s arm to avoid being shot.

Both wrestled against each other for about twenty minutes and in the process the service pistol discharged two rounds. One discharged round hit the floor near the counter and the other one hit the wall beside the door.

In the process the accused got injured by the firearm on top of his left hand and he sustained two grazed wounds on the injured part.

However, the two continued struggling until informant called for rescue while still grabbing the accused’s hands firmly. Patrons who were around rescued him through holding the accused and disarmed him. A report was made at ZRP Chikato Police Station, and the accused was arrested and taken to that station.

INVESTIGATIONS
The scene was attended by ZRP Chikato, CID Masvingo and ZNA 4 Brigade members. Two spent pistol cartridges and one bullet head residue were recovered inside Morden Sports Bar, Pangolin, Masvingo.

Smears of accused’s blood were seen on the floor. Accused was ferried to Masvingo General Hospital under the heavy guard of the ZNA Military Police. His condition is stable.

You will be apprised of any new developments. ZRP Chikato RRB 3372530
DATE: 09/12/17
CID MASVINGO / CHIREDZI DISTRICT