By Dorrothy Moyo| A wild rumour continued to swell early Wednesday morning that there has been gunfire near Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri’s house, against an atmosphere of silence by the country’s police spokesperons.

The report also claimed there is a fire at his Greystone Park house.

But Chihuri was today listed on the schedule of delegates at the official ceremony for the renaming of KGVI Barracks.

The phones of Police Spokesman Commissioner Charity Charamba and her colleague Paul Nyathi were both not reachable. Further attempts to get details from other officers were neither fruitful. ZimEye.com will continue to investigate while we check with Commissioner Chihuri himself – ZimEye

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SPEECH LOADING – refresh to listen

1030: The state media updates have ended

1023: President Mnangagwa is now being accompanied by Commander Defence Forces General Constantino Chiwenga to the Saluting Dais where he will take his last salute.

1020: Amai Tongogara is now on the podium and says today is the biggest day of her life. She speaks of her gratitude at having the barracks renamed in honour of her late husband.

“As Zimbabweans, we hold our heads high in pride of our nation, its government and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces who guard this history,”

She says a momentous occasion like this cannot happen overnight and has been in the pipeline for a long time.

She finishes her address.

1015: “In concluding my remarks I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the nation, the Tongogara family and other families as well as my apologies for the delay in recognising our heroes,”

He ends by calling for unity in enabling the regeneration of Zimbabwe.

1012: His Excellency asks the children to stand up and says “as you can see the names show that they were given by a man at war,”

1011: President Mnangagwa says there’s no doubt that the name Tongogara is associated with Zimbabwe’s liberation. He displayed true resistance against the Rhodesian forces and showed commitment to the liberation cause.

1008: ”It not possible to exhaust all the good works the late general did. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is now introducing public lectures through which they’ll share the history of the country’s road to liberation so as to avoid the pitfalls of yesterday,”

1007: ”The renaming of our institutions goes a long way in preserving our nation’s history that we will bequeath to future generations. We should never ever forget the role played by the rest of the late gallant sons and daughters in liberating the country and as such the renaming of these containments should not appear as if it’s erasing the exploits of other cadres who are too many to mention,”

1001: President Mnangagwa says Tongarara was one of the greatest military strategists who went for his initial training in 1965 before going for further training in 1967 in China. He was heavily involved in the recruitment of ZANLA cadres in Zambia.

PLEASE NOTE DUE TO NETWORK CHALLENGES ONSITE WE WILL BE POSTING IMAGES WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE

0949: President Mnangagwa is now on the podium

0940: President Mnangagwa has unveiled the plaque.

0937: Minister Mohadi has now invited President Mnangagwa to unveil the plaque.  Tongogara’s widow Amai Angeline Tongogara and children who include Hondo, Conrad, Tichafa, Bvumai, Granger and Nyaradzo are in attendance.

0932: He says he is humbled by an occasion which was long overdue and that breaks from the shackles that tied them to the country’s colonial past. Minister Mohadi says Tongogara was his commander and friend whom he met and worked with in Zambia when Mohadi joined the struggle in 1971. He says Tongarara was above party politics who didn’t know of Zanu or Zapu. Mohadi says this is one of the most important days of his life and feels humbled to be part of the Tongogara family. He says he felt he had been in the wilderness and is now home. He says it is his singular privilege and honour, which he has never been given before, to invite President Mnangagwa to come unveil the plaque.

0929: Minister of Defence, Security and War Veterans Kembo Mohadi is now on the podium.

0915: Major General Douglas Nyikayaramba spoke of the immense role played by the  Tongogara in the liberation of the country.

0900: Army barracks countrywide will officially be renamed today, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa presiding over the main event at King George VI Barracks in Harare, which has since been renamed after late national Hero Josiah Magama Tongogara. All other army barracks will now bear the names of national heroes.

State Media – Eight Nyanga farmers perished in a road accident on their way from collecting agricultural inputs last Friday. The accident happened barely 100 metres from the collection point at Kute Business Centre.

A 28-months-old baby, Rosemary Ropafadzo died on the spot, the driver, Samuel Aaron Mandikuwadza, who died on admission at Nyanga District Hospital. Six others, whose conditions were critical died at Mutare Provincial Hospital. They were all from Ward 14, under Chief Saunyama’s area.

They were aboard a Toyo-Ace truck, belonging to the late Mandikuwadza. The farmers had collected seed maize and fertiliser under the Presidential Inputs Scheme at Kute Business Centre (Dodzo). The accident occurred at the 60km peg along the Nyanga-Ruwangwe Road.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, confirmed the accident. He revealed the names of five deceased person from the eight — Rosemary Ropafadzo (28 months), of Nyamukupe Village, Aaron Samuel Mandikuwadza (56), of Hamunakwadi Village, Aquiline Mafuwo (62), of Samvenge Village, Annatoria Maritinya and Joyce Mumhanyi — all under Chief Saunyama’s area.

Insp Kakohwa could not release the names of the three others who died on Monday at Mutare Provincial Hospital as their next of kin had not been notified. The eight succumbed to head, chest and neck injuries. Seven others survived with minor to moderate injuries.

“The truck was travelling towards Ruwangwe and was involved in an accident at the 60km peg when Mandikuwadza lost control of the vehicle and veered off the road to the left, overturned once and landed on its left side.

“A 28-months-old baby Rosemary died on the spot, and Mandikuwadza died on admission at Nyanga District Hospital. The other victims were later transferred to Mutare Provincial Hospital for further treatment and later died,” Insp Kakohwa.

Nyanga Rural District Council chairperson, Councillor Moses Gutu, said the tragedy had plunged the district into mourning. Cllr Gutu said most of the victims were breadwinners.

“All the deceased were from Ward 14 and you can imagine the extent of the pain. These people were farmers who met their fate while trying to fend for their families. Their families have lost breadwinners, and it is unfortunate,” said Cllr Gutu.

“We buried the first five in their respective villages on Sunday, and sadly on Monday we received sad news from Cllr Mutsiwawo (Ward 14) that three other victims had died at Mutare Provincial Hospital. This exacerbated our pain.

“We do not know if the accident was caused by a defect on the vehicle or was just a design by God. I visited the scene and the accident happened on a straight and clear stretch that is less than 100m from the collection point (Kute Business Centre). You would not expect such an impact just after take-off,” said Cllr Gutu.

He thanked Nyanga South legislator, Cde Supa Mandiwanzira, for assisting the bereaved families. – state media

Terrence Mawawa, Buhera| A self styled prophet who inserted his manhood into a minor’s private parts under the guise of exorcising demons, was last week dragged to court for the offence.

Victor Chiminya(33), appeared before Magistrate Livingstone Chipadza facing rape charges.

He allegedly raped the minor on two different occasions.

Chiminya is a self confessed prophet at Sangano RaJehova Apostolic Church.

The 15- year- old girl was doing Form Two at Ndongwe Secondary School at the time she was raped.

According to facts of the State Case, Chiminya went to the place where the minor stayed with her guardians and claimed she was being tormented by demons.

He further said the demons would be exorcised through sexual intercourse. He then raped her. The incident happened on March 12, 2017.

On May 14, 2017, Chiminya raped the minor at Chimanye Homestead where he was conducting healing sessions.

Chiminya however accused his detractors of framing him.

Trial will continue next week.

By Acie Lumumba| Effective December 1, 2017 I, Acie Lumumba W.G. Mutumanje, returned to ZANU PF as an active member.

The reasons for my resignation on May 19, 2016, no longer apply: the party has forcefully and credibly begun the process of reforming itself, and the ruling party is now in the unique position to drive positive change in Zimbabwe, as enunciated by its new leader.
As before, I will remain focused on youth empowerment, and will continue to promote political participation of the young people in the political and reform processes.
There is no greater task before our generation than waging a war against self induced poverty. True empowerment is in removing barriers of entry for all Zimbabwean people as they pursue their various versions of prosperity.

The events of the recent weeks have united the country in a common purpose. We have a chance to overcome our differences and focus on critical reforms that deliver prosperity to our nation. In my lifetime I have never experienced a moment when the world gave us so much good will to hold our hand as we pick ourselves up to join the global community. I am motivated by window of opportunity to set our country on a pathway to recovery, I wish to be a part of that process. I recognize with great honor the comradery extended to me by opposition movements in our quest for a ZIMBABWE fir for all who live in it. I have a new and deep found r espect for the work they all do. I will continue to fight for that sacred idea.

Head Bowed

A.L.W.G.M Citizen

MDC-T legislator Eddie Cross who almost got into trouble with his party after stating that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not be able to contest next year’s elections because of his failing health now says the MDC-T leader is the best candidate to beat Emmerson Mnangagwa in next year’s elections.

Cross says the honeymoon is over for Mnangagwa because he made a tactical error in appointing a cabinet which is “just a collection of the old, corrupt and incompetent people who created the present economic shambles in the first place”.

By doing so, Cross says, Mnangagwa has thrown the opposition a lifeline.

“For me, the even bigger question is, can we get our act together and pick up this rope and pull ourselves into our real future?

“We need to sort out our leadership, only Morgan Tsvangirai has the national support required to defeat Zanu-PF, he needs support and help to do so, and he needs it NOW.

“People have got to get off the fences they are sitting on and help us finish what we started in the past fortnight.”- The Zimbabwean

A Zambian haulage truck driver whose vehicle was burnt to a shell on Saturday night has said he narrowly cheated death as the truck caught fire soon after he retired to bed in it.

Mr Siachamba Kantini (25), who is employed by Shaan Carriers, a Zambian company, is one of the scores of truck drivers who had parked along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo road near Victoria Falls Truck Stop waiting for clearance to cross the border.

Mr Kantini refuted claims making rounds on social media that the truck horse caught fire due to a gas stove he was using to cook his supper.

“I went to Hwange during the day to collect some documents which they wanted at the border. It’s not true that I was cooking when the fire broke out. Instead I had my supper in Hwange and when I came back I went into the horse to sleep. Suddenly I smelt smoke and as I was trying to figure out what was happening the whole horse was on fire,” he said.

Mr Kantini, who lost all his belongings including travel documents and paperwork for the truck and clearance for the load he was carrying, said he suspects that the truck had an electrical fault.

The fire brigade attended to the scene although they could not give details about findings from the scene.

Officer Commanding Victoria Falls District, Chief Superintendent Jairos Chiwona said: “I can confirm there is a truck that caught fire on Saturday. We are not sure what caused it. No foul play is suspected for now and we stand guided by the fire experts on what could have caused the accident.”

Other drivers who spoke to a Chronicle news crew at the scene on Sunday morning expressed concern about delays by border officials to clear them.

“Such incidents are bound to happen especially when we camp for a week. As it is we’ve been here for the past three days waiting for clearance but nothing seems to be happening. We end up spending all our pocket money,” said one driver on condition of anonymity.

Zimbabwe and Zambia governments launched a joint Kaza Uni visa where travellers and truckers have to be cleared at one point to reduce time spent at the border.

However, there have been concerns that border authorities on the Zimbabwean side are generally slow in clearing travellers and as such travellers are not enjoying the benefits of the Uni visa.- state media

Former War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube has sensationally claimed that he personally mobilised disgruntled Zanu PF youths and war veterans to boo former First Lady Grace Mugabe during the ill-fated Bulawayo Presidential youth interface rally last month, where ex-President Robert Mugabe lost his temper and publicly announced plans to drop the axe on his then deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

He was on his way to the Gombakomba area in Mutare South constituency, where an unnamed war veteran had passed on.

“I want to tell you this for the first time. I was the one who organised that booing on the First Lady. I organised some war veterans and youths in Bulawayo and agreed that if she starts to insult the party leadership and members, they would then boo her. And it worked,” Dube said.

“I had not seen him (Mugabe) angry like that. He was very angry about that (booing). But I must say this heckling gave an insight of what was to come. She lacked respect for the party elders and her verbal insults were now becoming uncontrollable and we thought that should end. She lacked respect for the party’s core values and we said no to that and, as you can see, now she has fallen down.”

During the rally, a group of ruling party youths led by Magura Charumbira disrupted Grace’s speech, as they continuously heckled her, denouncing her as “too junior” before breaking into a mocking song Into Oyenzayo Siyayizonda (We don’t like what you are doing).

A visibly incensed Mugabe later took to the podium and unleashed venom at Mnangagwa, accusing him of engineering the heckling.

“We are denigrated and insulted in the name of Mnangagwa. Did I make a mistake in appointing him as my deputy? If I made a mistake by appointing Mnangagwa, tell me. I will drop him as early as tomorrow,” he threatened.

Two days later, Mnangagwa was sacked from the party and government, before Mugabe succumbed to military and public pressure and resigned two weeks later, as Parliament also moved in to impeach him.- Newsday

The fall of Zimbabwe’s long-serving president, Robert Mugabe, appears to have given hope to sacked former Zanu PF stalwarts who are now retracing their footsteps back to the former liberation movement.

There is renewed hope among the former Zanu PF senior officials since the appointment of  Emmerson Mnangagwa as first secretary.

Barely a week after former Masvingo provincial affairs minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti signalled his intention to rejoin Zanu PF, another ex –official, Claudius Makova, has written a letter seeking re-admission into the party.

And this is at the expense of the troubled Zimbabwe People First which was formed after Mugabe hounded several officials from Zanu PF on untested allegations of wanting to topple him in the run-up to the party’s December 2014 congress.

In a letter addressed to Zanu PF’s deputy secretary for administration July Moyo, Makova said now that Mugabe is out of the picture he feels at ease to rejoin the ruling party that is now led by Mnangagwa.

“The removal of the G40 cabal and the removal of one centre of power from Zanu PF give me enough confidence to revert to my party and continue to fight for the total emancipation of our people in our people-driven party Zanu PF.

“My motivation is to remain a servant of the people in a party that I have served for the greater part of my life,” said Makova.

The outspoken politician along with Bhasikiti attended a Zanu PF Masvingo provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting over the weekend.

The two politicians have stood together in the last three years jumping from one political party to another, but never really fitting in.

Zanu PF Masvingo province spokesperson Ronald Ndava confirmed that Makova and Bhasikiti attended a PCC meeting.

“We were with them. As an executive we are going to sit down and discuss the way forward, but we are a big family. A committee will sit down and decide what we can do. It will be a collective decision,” Ndava told the Daily News.

One of the founding elders of the ZPF and former Cabinet minister in Mugabe’s government — Didymus Mutasa who was also sacked from Zanu PF in the run up to December 2014 congress — said it was time that both Makova and Bhasikiti found  a permanent home.

“Now that there is freedom in Zimbabwe let them do as they please, but let them not jump from one party to another. They jumped from (the then ZPF led by Joice) Mujuru and then came to us and they jumped from us to join the (Zimbabwe People First led by Agrippa) Mutambara, now they are going back to Zanu PF. It’s very funny,” said Mutasa.

Makova and Bhasikiti’s days in the political wilderness were largely because they had fallen out of favour with Mugabe, whose long political career came to an end on November 21 when he resigned ahead of an impeachment by Parliament.

Along with Bhasikiti, Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, Makova parted ways with Mujuru early this year and retained the name of the party that they formed after a bitter expulsion from Zanu PF.

It was not long before ZPF split again in the middle and Makova and Bhasikiti dumped Mutasa and Gumbo to follow retired brigadier general Mutambara, who kept the name ZPF.

History repeated itself again as the two politicians crossed swords with Mutambara over a leadership raw.

“I have already resigned from ZPF where I was now serving as the secretary-general of the party. I find no reason to be serving in any other party when Zanu PF has reverted to its original ideals by the “operation restore legacy,” said Bhasikiti as he seeks to rejoin longtime comrades at Zanu PF.

Just like Bhasikiti, Makova in his letter to Mutasa and Gumbo said the two co-leaders of ZPF should seriously consider closing shop and returning home to Zanu PF.

“It was my great expectation that we should have collectively closed shop or disbanded our party ZPF and go back to Zanu PF where we originally all belong,” said Makova.- Daily News

HARARE – The two former army chiefs who landed Cabinet appointments last week have promised fireworks in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new government.

In what came as surprise appointments for many, Air Marshal Perrance Shiri of the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) and Zimbabwe National Army Major General Sibusiso Moyo were part of the 22-member Cabinet unveiled on Thursday by Mnangagwa.

Shiri is the new minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement while Moyo was appointed minister of Foreign Affairs.

Both generals played an instrumental role in the deposal of Mugabe in an operation launched by the military last month.

In separate interviews after taking oath of office at State House yesterday, the former military top dogs said they would take radical departures in their respective portfolios from that of the previous administration overseen by ex-president, Robert Mugabe.

Shiri said he would introduce a fresh land audit to weed out incompetent farmers as a precursor to bringing stability in the agriculture sector.

He would also ensure farmers have security to their land to make the resource bankable.

“It is not going to be business as usual. I know there are some land disputes and we want to make sure that we end disputes on land,” said Shiri.

“We also have the land tenure issue. It has to be resolved and clearly defined. We are also going to have another land audit to establish who is on which land. All land has to be fully utilised,” he said.

Shiri also vowed to press on with the Command Agriculture programme, which he oversaw as chairperson of the implementation taskforce during his tenure as the AFZ boss.

“The programme will actually be increased. We realise that we contribute immensely towards the country’s GDP, wealth creation and foreign currency earnings. We will just have to live up to the expectation of the nation in that respect.

“There is a slight difference in that last year, I was leading the technical implementation team, but now I am the minister responsible for Command Agriculture and all other aspects to do with agriculture,” he said.

GDP is an acronym for Gross Domestic Product, which refers to the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year.

Shiri’s views resonate with those of Mnangagwa who, during his swearing-in ceremony about two weeks ago, promised to reform the agriculture sector.

While Shiri was more open and spoke freely, Moyo appeared a little averse and gave a terse response when asked what would be his main objectives as Foreign Affairs minister.

Also appearing to read from the same script as Mnangagwa, who has promised to open Zimbabwe for business and re-engage with the Western countries from which Zimbabwe has been alienated for close to 20 years, Moyo simply said: “My thrust will be economic diplomacy and transitional diplomacy.”

When asked to clarify what he meant, he said: “It’s a win-win situation,” and refused to entertain further questions.

Meanwhile Shiri, who was Moyo’s senior in military rankings, said there was nothing wrong with former military chiefs participating in politics.

“Who said military people should never be politicians? When I was in the military, I was under the ministry of Defence which is part of government. I am a Zimbabwean, I have got every right to participate in the country’s politics,” he charged.

Mnangagwa has been under fire from critics, who questioned the inclusion of army generals in his Cabinet.

The fiercest criticism came from exiled former Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo — an unapologetic Mnangagwa faultfinder — who claimed recently that Mnangagwa was a puppet president of the army.

In one of his tweets, Moyo said while Mnangagwa was Zimbabwe’s de jure (rightful) president, commander of the defence forces, Constantino Chiwenga was the de facto (not necessarily by legal right) president.

Chiwenga is the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

A total of 22 newly-appointed Cabinet ministers took their oath of office before Mnangagwa, followed by 10 provincial affairs ministers, most of whom were retained from the Mugabe era.

A total of 11 deputy ministers were also sworn in.

Reinstated Prosecutor-General Ray Goba also took oath of office.

Goba was initially fired by Mugabe before he could be sworn in but was brought back by Mnangagwa last week after the High Court had given him reprieve.- Daily News

Former Primary and Education minister Lazarus Dokora has said he gave it his best despite public distrust while his predecessor Paul Mavima believes Dokora was “hugely misunderstood.”

Dokora along with Christopher Mutsvangwa and Clever Nyathi had made it into Cabinet last week only for their appointments to be rescinded two days later.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa quickly moved to drop them from his Cabinet upon realising that he had overlooked the number of non-constituency legislators he could appoint to be ministers.

Had Dokora not been chopped, it would have been a continuation of his tenure which begun in 2013.

Dokora had previously told the Daily News that “the name calling, the attention drawing by persons or even the agenda setting by media,” had not left him dismayed.

“In itself it has actually assisted the education sector in making sure that everybody pays attention to the processes that are underway in the ministry,” he said.

“At the beginning I kept saying ‘no I am not changing (anything), we need to tweak, we are good at knowledge form but we need skills and value…so ultimately everyone appreciates that you can’t continue to produce kids who are dysfunctional in their own economy. It doesn’t make logical or rational sense.”

Dokora is fully aware that many of his pronouncements have set him on a collision course with stakeholders in the education sector but his successor would like to see him being remembered in good light.

“He was a hard worker, that work ethic is what I learnt from him. A lot of people misunderstood him. He was a visionary. He knew where he wanted to take the new curriculum,” Mavima told the Daily News yesterday.

The introduction of the national pledge which critics said was an attempt to indoctrinate children set Dokora on a collision course with many.

His pronouncements on condoms and scripture union did little to instil trust in the masses who failed to understand his methods.

And when he scraped off monetary incentives for teachers and banned extra lessons, his subordinates were quick to call him Dofora  (daft one) which did not appear to extinguish the passion with which he went about his business.

However, Mavima said yesterday that there is no going back on the new curriculum and the national pledge.

Mavima said his ministry would soon carry out an assessment of the new curriculum with a view to improve the strategy of its implementation.

“We are going to do a process evaluation, see where we are going wrong and alter where it’s needed change course. We are not going to go back and say we don’t want to do Stem, we can’t go back and say we don’t want to promote entrepreneurship, promote critical thinking, patriotism.

“We can’t go back and say we don’t want to promote nationalism and national identity among our learners. We want learners who come out proud to be Zimbabwean. So all these issues are not a matter of discussion. What is matter of discussion is that is this syllabus offering exactly what we want? And these are matters we are going to evaluate before the end of the year.”- Daily News

Home Affairs and Culture Minister Obert Mpofu has pledged to address the large number of roadblocks and corruption in the police force.

In an interview with the state-controlled Herald newspaper soon after he was sworn in on Monday, Mpofu noted that many people are complaining about roadblocks and corruption in the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

He is quoted as saying he will deal with these issues that have been raised by motorists over the years.

“This is the first assignment I want to deal with. I have received a lot of complaints about the behaviour of some of our officers and I am going to address that. This is a people’s police force and it has to abide by the expectations of the people, at the same time maintaining law and order.”

Some people claim that police normally ask for bribes at various roadblocks, a situation that has compromised their status in modern Zimbabwe.

At times the ZRP officers manning roadblocks, some of them not sanctioned by the police force, demand spot fines even if this was outlawed.

Police are currently patrolling the streets in Zimbabwe in conjunction with members of the Zimbabwe Defence Force in what has been termed Operation Restore Order.

The Zimbabwe Defence Force staged a coup resulting in the removal of Robert Mugabe from power.

He has been replaced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.- VOA

A Gokwe man has been slapped with an 18 month jail sentence for faking his son’s death and attempting to defraud Ecosure Funeral Cover of $12 000 in accident insurance cover.

Nicholas Madziva (47) of Magama Village under Chief Nemangwe in Gokwe South was convicted on his own plea of guilty to one count of fraud by Gokwe resident magistrate Mr Christopher Maturure.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison but six months were suspended for five years on condition he is not within the period convicted of a similar offence.

The remaining 12 months were further suspended on condition Madziva performs 420 hours of community service at Sunganai Secondary School in Gokwe South.

For the State, Mr Tineyi Tirigo told the court that on April 4 Madziva, who is a policy holder on Ecosure funeral cover, hatched a plan to defraud the company and claimed funeral assistance alleging that his son had died in a road traffic accident.

Mr Tirigo said Madziva claimed normal cover assured of $ 2 000 and an extra $10 000 of accidental cover.

The court heard that as a matter of procedure, Ecosure commenced the verification process after Madziva submitted his claim forms.

Mr Tirigo said it was discovered that Madziva’s son whom he had claimed to have died in an accident was alive. The matter was then reported to the police leading to Madziva’s arrest.
The claim made by Madziva was potentially prejudicial to the complainant to the sum of $12 000.

In a related incident, a 31 –year- old man from Gokwe has been sentenced to eight months in prison after he was convicted of attempting to defraud Ecosure Funeral Cover of $1000 after faking his mother’s death.

Knowledge Mponderi of Mponderi Village under Chief Chireya in Gokwe North was also convicted by Mr Maturure and was sentenced to eight months of which three months were
suspended on condition of good behaviour.

Another five months were suspended on condition Mponderi performs 175 hours of community service at Gwebo Primary School in his area.

Mr Tirigo told the court that on September 17 Mponderi, who is a policy holder on Ecosure Funeral Cover, hatched a plan to defraud the company and claimed funeral assistance alleging that his mother had died.

Mponderi claimed funeral assistance of $1 000. When Ecosure conducted their own investigations, they discovered that Mponderi’s mother was alive.

The matter was reported to the police leading to Mponderi’s arrest.- state media

Mnangagwa Is God Given / Or Army Given, WHAT'S THE TRUTH?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 4, 2017

“Why are the mistakes coming up now when Mnangagwa has taken over?”

Outcry as media repeatedly fails to spell an IsiNdebele word (SEE PICTURES)

By Paul Nyathi| A huge outcry has come up in Matabeleland after various media houses and government departments failed to correctly spell the IsiNdebele word “Amhlophe” in messages congratulating President Emerson Mnangagwa on his inauguration.

A ZimEye.com reader from Bulawayo Nkululeko Moyo expressed unhappiness at the number of times the various media houses continued on wrongly spelling the word which he described as an act of deliberate negligence.

“Mistakes do happen and people spell words wrongly maybe as a misprint but if the error is repeated up to ten times and more it can no longer be taken as a typing error,” he said.

Moyo said they had been discussing the continuous wrongly spelling of what he called the simplest and most used IsiNdebele word in Zimbabwe and they all concluded that it was arrogance on the part of the publishers.

According to Moyo, incorrect spelling of the word is having a huge impact on President Mnangagwa’s brand among the people of the region.

“It’s not the first time congratulatory messages are being made in the newspapers, during Mugabe’s era there was never such a mistake,” he said.

“Why are the mistakes coming up now when Mnangagwa has taken over? Is he instructing them to incorrectly spell the word?” he fumed.

Efforts by ZimEye.com to speak to the editor of one of the publishers were unsuccessful but a junior member of staff at the media house indicated that the advertisements came from the companies sending the message as written and the paper could not be in a position to edit them.

It was not possible to obtain a comment from the President’s office.

As a standing committee member, Mr Job Sikhala confirmed there were of a truth overtures from the army to MDC members last month – that the military run government approached some of his colleagues in the middle of the night with the intention of isolating Tsvangirai by offering some MDC-T cabinet positions, Presidential adviser Christopher Mutsvangwa yesterday hit back at suggestions by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai that he was never approached to form a coalition Cabinet. Mutsvangwa reiterated that Mr Tsvangirai blocked his deputies and Mr Tendai Biti from joining the Cabinet because of their disloyalty to the embattled opposition leader. He was responding to Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman Mr Luke Tamborinyoka’s outburst, denying assertions his boss was approached to allow his legislators take up Cabinet posts in the new dispensation.

“One cannot run away from the fact that the fate that befell Tendai Biti and a clutch of MDC deputies is a salutary reminder to the peril of disloyalty to Morgan Tsvangirai,” said Mutsvangwa. Only a public disowning of this menacing sword of Damocles by MT himself would have helped the process of inclusivity forward.” Mutsvangwa said a golden opportunity availed itself at the two million march when the war veterans invited him (Tsvangirai) at the Zimbabwe Grounds which he attended.

https://youtu.be/9C2gaTBMcaQ?t=7m31s

“For political safety of prospective Cabinet candidates from the opposition, President Mnangagwa had to be prudent in testing the waters of inclusivity in an atmosphere where opposition stalwarts sought a national unity government instead,” said Mutsvangwa. After all enough deputies of the Eighth Parliament had paid the high prices of breaching the draconian provisions that militate against perceived party discipline. You can also count myself and the spiteful loss of the Norton constituency seat. That is why it was that much easier for the new President to reach out to the politically unencumbered figures from academia and business.”

Mr Tamborinyoka was quoted in privately owned media scoffing at Mutsvangwa’s claims that the MDC-T leader turned down an offer to form a coalition Cabinet, demanding that he be included in the presidium. He described Mutsvangwa’s statement as “dales and typical of a government used to misrepresent facts”.

Mr Tamborinyoka said President Mnangagwa never approached Mr Tsvangirai who was open to such an arrangement, hoping it would create an environment for implementing reforms which could lead to credible elections next year. – state media/additional reporting

The driver of the Vic Falls truck which was burnt down and whose images circulated Sunday morning, is safe.

The truck went into flames on Saturday night.

Mr Siachamba Kantini (25), who is employed by Shaan Carriers, a Zambian company, is one of the scores of truck drivers who had parked along the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo road near Victoria Falls Truck Stop waiting for clearance to cross the border.

The truck was loaded with coal and only the horse was burnt.

Mr Kantini refuted claims making rounds on social media that the truck horse caught fire due to a gas stove he was using to cook his supper.

“I went to Hwange during the day to collect some documents which they wanted at the border. It’s not true that I was cooking when the fire broke out. Instead I had my supper in Hwange and when I came back I went into the horse to sleep. Suddenly I smelt smoke and as I was trying to figure out what was happening the whole horse was on fire,” he said.

Mr Kantini, who lost all his belongings including travel documents and paperwork for the truck and clearance for the load he was carrying, said he suspects that the truck had an electrical fault.

The fire brigade attended to the scene although they could not give details about findings from the scene.

Officer Commanding Victoria Falls District, Chief Superintendent Jairos Chiwona said: “I can confirm there is a truck that caught fire on Saturday. We are not sure what caused it. No foul play is suspected for now and we stand guided by the fire experts on what could have caused the accident.” – state media

Harare City Council has urged residents to avoid drinking borehole water as it may be contaminated. This came out at last week’s full council meeting.

Councillors are however, split with some complaining that borehole water is dirty, while others say it meets World Health Organisation standards. Acting town clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube said residents needed to stop relying on borehole water as it has not been tested.

“We assure residents that our water is safe. Residents should desist from going to boreholes because some of them have contaminated water. We had to decommission some boreholes, especially at Matapi flats,” she said.

She said the city had taken measures to ensure the supply of clean water to residents.

“We have about $8 million in our budget for pipe replacement next year. This year work has started and is progressing well. We start in areas that are really bad and we need to replace three-quarters. We expect the pace to increase next year,” she said.

According to Mrs Ncube, the city was losing a lot of money buying chemicals to purify water, and this was unsustainable.

“The cost of treating water is very high because the water is contaminated. We should reduce the rate of water contamination. There is also contamination from industries, urban agriculture and we are looking at new chemicals that can be used to clean the water. We are carrying out trials and may reduce the number of chemicals from eight to three,” she said.

Some councillors urged urban farmers to produce crops organically to reduce contamination of ground water with chemical residue. Director of Water Engineer Hosiah Chisango said there were complaints over the quality of water, but tests and investigations at the treatment works and at various taps indicated that the water was within WHO guidelines, with the exception of colour in some areas.

“We had to increase dosage of chemicals to deal with algae. Our water remains safe; monitoring and testing has increased to ensure it remains safe,” he said.

This year, council embarked on reservoir cleaning to ensure supply of clean water. Marimba, Kambanji, Kopje and Bluff Hill reservoirs have been cleaned, while work is in progress on Mutiny and Ridge Road reservoirs. The exercise is expected to continue into 2018 and beyond.

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| Despite being tormented continually by former President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace, Zanu PF Masvingo Provincial Chairperson, Ezra Chadzamira reflected fervent passion for the deposed nonagenarian.

Chadzamira made an embarrassing blunder yesterday when he told party members to rally behind Mugabe in next year’s crucial elections. He openly declared that Robert Mugabe is contesting in the upcoming 2018 elections, shortly before correcting himself – AUDIO STREAMING shortly – refresh to listen.

Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, is seen standing a good chance of being elevated straight from the barracks to become one of the two vice presidents at Zanu PF’s extraordinary congress scheduled for this month, the Daily News claims.

The development comes after Mnangagwa’s special advisor, Chris Mutsvangwa stated that the Zimbabwean military is the best in the world.

The report states that Chiwenga is set to top Emmerson Mnangagwa’s list, which includes former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi, ex-War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube; Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo; minister of Defence, Security and War Veterans Kembo Mohadi and Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda.

Said Mutsvangwa at the weekend, “we condemn any fingerpointing at our illustrious army. Stay away from fingerpointing at our army. It is the best in the world…”

“We want to say we stand by our army. It is a competent and professional army. It intervened in a judicious and peaceful manner to arrest a situation which could have made this country go off the cliff.”

After Mnangagwa and his Team Lacoste faction made a dramatic comeback — riding on the military’s intervention in Zanu PF’s internal politics last month — Phelekezela Mphoko, who was the other vice president, became part of the collateral damage targeting key members of the rival Generation 40 faction.

The party’s constitution entitles Mnangagwa to appoint the two vice presidents, the national chairperson, heads of the politburo and its committee members and the deputies to the heads of departments.

Mnangagwa has found himself in a fix over who to appoint as his deputies.

Chiwenga is seen topping the list, which includes former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi, ex-War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube; Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo; minister of Defence, Security and War Veterans Kembo Mohadi and Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda.

Mnangagwa also finds himself with the need to appease the feminine folk displeased by his recent Cabinet appointments which only had four women out of 22 Cabinet ministers.

The ruling party’s women’s league has recently been clamouring for the restoration of the quota system in the presidium. It would therefore be interesting to see if Mnangagwa would budge, in which case he might have to pick from some of the seasoned female heavyweights such as Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Edna Madzongwe, Eunice Sandi-Moyo and Angeline Masuku, among others.

Analysts told the Daily News that it will not be surprising that Chiwenga could secure one of the vice presidents’ post after the army chief played a pivotal role in a military operation, which toppled Mugabe and ushered in Mnangagwa.

The appointment of air marshal Perrance Shiri and Major General Sibusiso Moyo into Mnangagwa’s first Cabinet have largely been interpreted as his show of gratitude to the military for clearing his way to State House.

As such, he might reward Chiwenga with the vice presidency.

Social commentator, Rashweat Mukundu, believes there is a high possibility that Chiwenga will emerge as vice president at the congress.

“He is raising a wave of popularity not only in Zanu PF but nationally and Zanu PF may look at him as an asset come the 2018 elections,” said Mukundu.

Political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme, said with the inclusion of generals Moyo and Shiri as ministers, common sense can be that generals (Philip) Sibanda and Chiwenga will be VPs.

“They can’t have their juniors be ministers when they are out,” said Saungweme.

“As you know, ministers are senior to commanders in hierarchy and command structure. But it seems Ngwena wants these to be elected at their congress this month as opposed to appointing.

“He can appoint them as VPs anyway if he wants without any legal issues. By the way Chiwenga and Sibanda also meet the Zanu PF equation for VPs as they represent Zipra and Zanla as well as the Ndebele-Shona balance the party has always done for VPs.

“They can’t let others eat from their coup sweat. Mnangagwa’s Cabinet showed us that it was prize-giving season for the boys involved in a coup that include war vets, military and other Lacoste members.

“Chiwenga and Sibanda can’t lead a coup to let others eat or for them to remain stagnant. Chiwenga and Sibanda VPs is a possibility,” opined Saungweme.

Political analyst, McDonald Lewanika, said it was very possible that Chiwenga will be the vice president or one of them.

“To all intents and purposes, the post is the commander Defence Forces’ for the taking, and if he wants it there will be no dark horses. But if it’s not something he wants, then others who may be worth considering in the spirit of the Cabinet already set and bridging the divide in Zanu PF, would be colonel Tshinga Dube, and Sydney Sekeramayi.

“Madzongwe was once touted as potential VP but the fact that this was initially to replace ED this may make her consideration a tough sale, as is Sekeramayi’s.

“It is unlikely that ED will step out of Zanu PF for the VP pick, the only danger that is there is that if Congress is allowed to choose a VP for ED that vice president as a product of congress election rather Mnangagwa’s appointee will be a very powerful if not dangerous VP.

“On the bright side it would also assist in checking ED’s power as he will have as second in command, another popularly elected member,” said Lewanika.

Another analyst, Eldred Masunungure said it would be unwise for Mnangagwa to appoint Chiwenga to the position of vice president as it would endorse the notion that the military are effectively calling the shots.

“I think it will be imprudent for Chiwenga to be appointed VP at this stage. It will become abundantly evident that ZDF is being rewarded for the cardinal role it played in the ascendency of the incumbent president.

“We all know the president was fired from Zanu PF; he was in the wilderness politically and physically after he fled to South Africa. He was rehabilitated courtesy of the military intervention.

“(Now) the military has already been rewarded with two Cabinet posts which I think is adequate. He needs to ensure that the military is unified as an institution and is not unduly fractured… So if he is thinking about it (appointing Chiwenga as VP) it will be imprudent and unwise maybe in a new term,” said Masunungure.

Masunungure did not rule out the politics of ethnicity which remain a pivotal variable in the politics of Zimbabwe.

He said by this token Mnangagwa may not need to look to Mashonaland Central or Mashonaland East for a VP as many may think they already had their share.

“Frankly he would need to think about the traditional source in Matabeleland by virtue of the unity accord. Perhaps (Kembo) Mohadi could be a serious candidate for Matabeleland and then outside Matabeleland he would need to think of the women quota.

“As it is Muchinguri is a serious candidate. She is female, a war veteran and comes from province that has never had a VP. So he can kill several birds with one stone,” Masunungure said.

There have, however, been some voices that have been calling on Mnangagwa to appoint the most senior pre-Unity Accord Zapu official, Dumiso Dabengwa despite the fact that he now leads his own party.

These include Mnangagwa’s own special advisor, Chris Mutsvangwa, who recently told a press conference that Dabengwa should be one of the vice presidents.

Mutsvangwa argued that this would help the country’s liberation movement.- Daily News

“Did they say the American government is a military junta? These are double standards. We condemn any fingerpointing at our illustrious army. Stay away from fingerpointing at our army. It is the best in the world…” 

“We want to say we stand by our army. It is a competent and professional army. It intervened in a judicious and peaceful manner to arrest a situation which could have made this country go off the cliff.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa ‘s special adviser Chris Mutsvangwa at the weekend cautioned while saying it is not fair to criticise the president on his cabinet choices. Mutsvangwa also condemned the opposition party MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai for being critical of the man before he has been given a chance to prove himself while saying Mnangagwa was open to the idea of including MDC politicians in his cabinet.

ALSO LISTEN TO MUTSVANGWA AND TSVANGIRAI SPEAKING ON THE MATTER BELOW –

https://youtu.be/9C2gaTBMcaQ

“We cannot have a country of people without any purpose because the economy is not providing them with opportunities which they want. The focus of the President, immediately, is how to revive this economy. That is where his attention is focused on,” he said.

He said the sacrifices of all people – past and present – in the liberation movements were not only for the flag, a leader or party, but to develop a prosperous country.

The current focus was to develop the country into the best destination for business in the world, which in turn would grow the economy and better livelihoods, he said.

“The route which we have taken is the route of wealth, the route of money, prosperity and building a model African country, which no other African has ever done. The route of having an economy that grows at a rate of 10, 15, 20 percent per annum for the next 10 to 20 years,” said  Mutsvangwa.

The country will witness the construction of skyscrapers and highways anchored on judicious exploitation of the country’s mineral wealth.

He said smelting plants would be set up along the Great Dyke to contribute to the country’s economy through production of steel.

The opposition,  Mutsvangwa said, had not raised a finger when G40 was taking root in the country, only to find their voice to criticise the new administration. G40 is a group of politicians reportedly fronted by the former First Lady Grace Mugabe to fight then Vice President Mnangagwa.

Turning to the new Cabinet, Mutsvangwa said the President had reached out to the opposition, but MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai insisted on seconding people of his choice.

The war veterans leader said  Mnangagwa, who is fulfilling ZANU-PF’s mandate, had identified people in the opposition he thought he could work with.

Mr Tsvangirai, however, proposed his own list.

“In setting up Government, President Mnangagwa is using the mandate that former president  Mugabe got in 2013. He has not secured his own. He is waiting for his own mandate in 2018,” said  Mutsvangwa.

“He (President Mnangagwa) said he wanted some people from the MDC to assist him as the person who has the mandate, but the MDC, through their leader Tsvangirai, turned around and said he wanted to give him people of his choice.”

This, he said, scuppered plans to co-opt people into Government from the opposition as they were threatened with expulsion.

The move to include the opposition was informed by the unity shown when thousands of Zimbabweans across the political, racial and ethnic divide marched in support of the intervention of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces which forced then President, Mugabe, to resign.

Blocking President Mnangagwa from selecting people of his choice proved to be the deal breaker, said  Mutsvangwa.

“To block someone with a mandate to fish from the opposition ranks to form Government when you lost in 2013 was too much. They were intruding on the mandate of the President,” said  Mutsvangwa.

As a result, he said, some sections of the media had changed stance and started vilifying President Mnangagwa as a failure when he spent only a week in office.

Added  Mutsvangwa: “I am saying this because all the papers have started attacking the new President. He is being judged in 37 hours more than someone who has been in power for 37 years.”

Mutsvangwa also said President Mnangagwa, as a lawyer, was following the law by appointing people who were elected into Parliament, with latitude of no more than five people from outside to include in his Cabinet.

His ability to satisfy the various interests in the party, Mutsvangwa said, was also governed by existing structures. He called on people to mobilise for prospective candidates that can make a difference in Government.

He said the inclusion of military personnel in Government was common in the West and America.

“The choice of the President to include members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is his prerogative, moreso when they are loyal, patriotic and competent. There is no law in the world which says generals cannot be found in Cabinet.

“We even start with American statecraft. President (Donald) Trump has generals in his cabinet and they do not make an issue out of it. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”

For example, General John Francis Kelly, is currently White House Chief of Staff in President Trump’s administration.

Another retired United States general, Michael Flynn, served briefly as National Security Advisor to President Trump.

There are only two military personnel – Air Marshal Perrance Shiri (Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Resettlement) and Major-General Sibusiso Moyo (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister) – in President Mnangagwa’s 22-member Cabinet.

“Did they say the American government is a military junta? These are double standards. We condemn any fingerpointing at our illustrious army. Stay away from fingerpointing at our army. It is the best in the world,” he said.

“We want to say we stand by our army. It is a competent and professional army. It intervened in a judicious and peaceful manner to arrest a situation which could have made this country go off the cliff.”

Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading to the fatal accident that claimed the life of prominent Harare lawyer, Edmore Jori in the early hours of Saturday.

The accident is understood to have taken place near the Women’s University in Mt Pleasant as he drove towards Greencroft.

It is not clear whether Jori lost control of his ML and hit another car, crashed against a pole or he fell asleep under the influence of alcohol and lost control of the vehicle as the police report on the accident was not immediately available.

All things being equal, Jori will be laid to rest in his rural home of Buhera today.

At the time of his death, Jori was with Wintertons Legal Practitioners in the capital having joined them in 2002. He had been a partner since 2005 and headed law firm’s Energy, Infrastructure and Natural Resources Department.

Profiling Jori, Wintertons said he had:

“…developed a niche market, having handled numerous Power Generation, Transmission and related transactions in this increasingly competitive sector since the Government adopted the deliberate policy of opening up space for private players.”

His areas of specialisation included transactions relating to Mining, Infrastructure Development, Public – Private Sector Partnerships, Information, Communication and Technology, Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking, Bilateral and Syndicated Finance, together with Property transactions and complex commercial litigation.

But while the legal fraternity, family and friends were plunged into mourning, the intrusive social media was awash with theories on what might have led to the fatal accident.

All the theories featured Jori’s lover and trendy Harare businesswoman, Michelle Kawome.

H-Metro could not get hold of Michelle to give her side of her story as her phone was under the care of a close friend, Chipo.

People who knew Jori as Michelle’s lover were visiting her home to convey their condolence messages and offer moral support while the bulk of mourners were at his Greystone Park home from where his body left for Buhera.

Understandably, Chipo said Michelle was not in a good place to do an interview as she was still grieving.

“I am sorry Michelle cannot talk to you about that issue. She is still grieving, Eddie is not even buried yet and makutoda kunyora nezvazvo.

“I know you are doing a job but don’t you have heart to do a story whilst she is still grieving?

“You can write whatever you want from social media, I don’t think she will be able to talk to you,” said Chipo.

It also emerged that Michelle had been forced to deactivate her Facebook account on Saturday as people started posting messages incriminating her.

THE THEORIES

***What is agreed is that the two were at Pariah State before moving to Pabloz where award-winning South African house wheel-spinner, DJ Shimza was performing.

***What is also agreed is that Michelle and Jori were using different cars.

***What is also agreed is that as they left Pabloz, Michelle drove in front.

THE POPULAR THEORY
This unconfirmed theory is popular on social media where everyone claims to have inside information even when overseas.

It is said they had a misunderstanding in the nightclub and Michelle stormed out of the bar while Eddie followed her and this developed into a car chase leading to the fatal crash. Under this theory, Michelle was to blame for the tragic accident.

SECOND THEORY
Jori and Michelle’s relationship had become solid and he was providing funding for her clothing business and this enabled her to travel to places like China for stock. Jori took Michelle from dealer, Roland Muchegwa, who is popularly known in social circles as Uncle Roland. Michelle and Uncle Roland have two children together.

This resulted in numerous clashes between Uncle Roland and Jori. At one stage, Jori was attacked with an empty beer bottle at a nightspot while the other clash ended up at Rotten Row courts. In between the clashes between the men, Uncle Roland would brutally attack Michelle over her move. Even at the time of Jori’s death, Uncle Roland was still bitter, FOUR years after Michelle left him.

It is understood that Uncle Roland’s desire to ruin Michelle’s love life actually solidified her affair with Jori who then did all he could to ensure that she was comfortable. The theory even claims that Jori’s wife had accepted Michelle’s presence in their life and as such, their man would even spend nights at Michelle’s home.

Consistent with this theory, it is claimed that Michelle and Jori were in good books as they left Borrowdale and had agreed to use their separate cars to her home. Michelle would use the rear-view mirror to see if Jori was following. She however, lost him near the Women University and made a U-turn only to be met by the tragic crash. Michelle was among the first people at the scene of the accident. This theory clears Michelle of causing the accident.

THIRD THEORY
With Uncle Roland having been in Harare last week, there were those that wanted to implicate him in the accident suggesting that he had followed Jori. However, H-Metro can confirm that Uncle Roland is in South Africa where he went last week on Wednesday. He is now based there although he comes to Harare often.- H-Metro

“I go honourably with my head high after 10 years of illustrious service and dedication to my country…”

HARARE – Walter Mzembi was the last Foreign Affairs minister to serve under former president Robert Mugabe.

Although his tenure was brief, for it was during his stint that the Mugabe’s regime fell, it was an event-packed period that has not been recorded.

Our News Editor Gift Phiri had an opportunity to hear these events from the horse’s mouth. Below are excerpts of the interview:

Walter Mzembi

Q: Where were you when the military tanks rolled into Harare? What was your reaction?

A: Before I respond to your questions, let me hasten to say the “first casualty of conflict is truth”. I am hoping this interview can lay to rest the many falsehoods and fake news that have been generated and disseminated around my name and whereabouts in the most recent past, amounting to hate speech! Thank you for the opportunity to set the record straight. Now back to your first question, we were of course in bed at that wee hour but had been kept wide awake by anxiety over the statement by the military and its implications and also queries from the region on what was going on, remember on the night in question I had missed a flight to South Africa, where I had been granted an appointment with the South African Foreign Affairs minister in Pretoria in the morning of the 15th and later a meeting with President (Jacob) Zuma at 6pm in Cape Town as part of my regional diplomatic tour but also as the ex-president’s special envoy. I had just completed a similar assignment in Zambia the previous day, where I had met both the Foreign Affairs minister and President Lungu. So my colleagues in the region were equally anxious. As to our reaction as a family, we stayed on, and only moved into a hotel around 6am, as we were now responding to various messages on the insecurity of Cabinet ministers getting to us from various sources.

Q: Some people suggest you took sanctuary in the Cuban Embassy. Is this correct?

A: We never were visited by the military contrary to falsehoods peddled by social media, and some of my colleagues in government who have been authoritatively peddling lies about my whereabouts and supposed fugitive status. I never left Zimbabwe nor sought sanctuary anywhere including the Cuban Embassy as asserted by some. My immigration and passport records can confirm this, including checking with the said embassies that are clearly irritated by these falsehoods. It’s just malice!

Q: So where did you go?

A: I went to a hotel, and after two days was back at my residence.

Q: Why do you think you were expelled from Zanu PF?

A: Retaliatory action from my colleagues. Remember we were clearly split into two factions. The one with the upper hand expels the other! Those expelling others had been expelled the previous week or so, some childish game of sorts hence the intervention by the military who are stockholders of this party.

Q: In hindsight do you think you did the right thing ?

A: None of us is more righteous than the other, I hope one day there can be an honest stocktaking of actions, and a genuine attempt to heal the party. We have no other home outside Zanu PF, so expelling individuals is not the solution for a mature party such as Zanu PF. You sit down in the true spirit of “Operation Restore Legacy” , and examine the conflict points including generational and ideological misunderstandings and mend the fences, not just physically but mentally.

Q: What do you make of the process used to oust the president?

A: It was unfortunate, what started as a struggle within a struggle of a liberation movement was hijacked by civil society and others and we were unable on our own to sort things out without inviting other interests. Now they talk of going for the kill, and here they refer to Zanu PF, we have to pause and sort things on our own going forward, and “clearly an eye for an eye left the world blind”. This is my cautionary statement to the party.

Q: Do you believe the ex-president was ousted through a coup? Some are calling it a democratic military coup, which seems like an oxymoron.

A: He denied it himself that it was a coup and instructed me in the diplomatic solution I was championing to communicate that to Sadc. Our courts also adjudged that it wasn’t a coup. So it wasn’t a coup but a military arbitration in a party in which the military are stockholders. Don’t look for it anywhere, nor try it elsewhere, you will not find a precedent. It was made in Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans.

Q: You were suspected of being a member of the so-called G40. Is it a correct assertion?

A: No I wasn’t a member of G40 as you know it or as it’s characterised now. I spent my last two years detached from local politics until after the UNWTO General Assembly in Chengndu, China this last September. So my drama in local politics is two months old, with the results you know now.

Q: Do you buy the argument that the ex-first lady had usurped the authority of the ex-president and there were plans afoot to impose a dynasty?

A: That can only be answered by the former president himself.

Q: Have you spoken to the ex-president or former first lady after November the 21st?

A: Yes

Q: Your expulsion also deprived you of a Cabinet post. You have since been replaced by your predecessor who has become your successor. Your comment?

A: No deployment is permanent. The president must be allowed space to choose his own Foreign minister, it’s his prerogative! And we serve at his pleasure. It’s a very sensitive portfolio, requiring absolute trust, and when you are in there you are the last in terms of loyalty to ship out hence my hanging on until “D” Day. I am sure even the new president respects and admires my loyalty, he needs a lot more principled people around him, that’s my prayer.

Q: Would you accept a Cabinet post in President Mnangagwa’s administration?

A: Am I ready to work and contribute in any capacity including as a private citizen? So the answer is yes, that notwithstanding Zimbabwe needs all hands on the deck private and public and it should not just be about Cabinet posts, there are people who have been contributing to the well being of Zimbabwe beyond measure as Private Citizens, in business, academia, religion etc. There is life beyond these deployments, so I will lend my absolute support regardless of nomination for Cabinet and in whatever role.

Q: You have interacted in Cabinet with the new President, what type of man is he?

A: Pragmatic, shrewd and maybe reserved bordering on aloofness, but he certainly has bottled up ideas and refreshing thoughts that are only coming out now, which is natural for an astute politician who was reserving his best for future use and avoiding policy clashes!

Q: Do you think he will revive this shrinking economy?

A: He will lead the revival of the economy only to the extent that we all support him. He has said all the right things so far and is on track. He is carrying the cross as our leader but he needs all of us to achieve his vision and mission for a prosperous Zimbabwe.

Q: Zanu PF has recalled five MPs. Are you confident of retaining your seat?

A: I am ready to surrender my seat if it unites the party more going forward provided its done procedurally. An election is in the horizon and I am not sure what is served by taking away my seat from the electors in Masvingo South Constituency purely out of a decision of a central committee that may be completely disconnected to grassroots feelings on the same. They just sit here in Harare and decide for the people without consulting them.

Q: You went to the National Assembly on Wednesday, and reports suggest you shook hands with the new First Lady. Why did you do that?

A: She is the first lady of Zimbabwe and the shadow of the president inside the House of Assembly. Secondly, circumstances had not permitted me to pay my respects and courtesies nor attend the inauguration ceremony, so it was the cultural and normal thing to do. I am still on standby to extend my congratulations to the president himself too.

Q: Are you pursuing a future in politics?

A: President Mnangagwa was an avid supporter of my UNWTO Campaign, politics cannot only be constituency representative and/ or Executive deployment, both of which I am reconsidering going forward. I am yet to meet my constituency to sound them out on this, but if it’s not Zanu PF representation as predicated by my expulsion from the party, it’s time for a sabbatical. I will lend my support to any Zanu PF cadre nominated by the Party and I hope they can support me in my private life trajectory as well.

Q: There were claims by some war veterans that during the talks between H.E and the generals you acted as the ex-president’s special envoy ostensibly to mobilise regional support for him to dig in. What happened?

A: No, quite to the contrary the traditional itinerary of a new Foreign minister kicks off with regional courtesy calls, starting with Sadc and its dean who happens to be minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane of South Africa, then it follows the hierarchy of the Sadc Troika which was very relevant at the time, Angola as chair, Zambia, vice chair and Tanzania. The special envoy status is a coveted one, because it allows the visiting minister to engage the host president and share his foreign policy thrust at the highest level in addition to any message one may be delivering at the time from the Head of State. It’s time for a political sabbatical, says Mzembi. So you are not privy to the contents of the special message but should be ready to appraise the host president of issues that may be prompted by him during interaction. So my diplomatic tour was overtaken by events and ostensibly even the special messages because I never embarked on the rest of the tour after Zambia.

Q: You visited Zambia during that interregnum, what was the purpose of your visit?

A: Same objectives as alluded to already, but I came back from Zambia on the evening of the 13th of November, and the mix up of my whereabouts kicked off from there, notwithstanding the fact that I attended the Cabinet session of November 14. Even the reassurance message given to President Lungu that all was well was also overtaken by events thereafter. There was a very naughty string of fake news that sought to bring the integrity of our meeting and President Lungu’s position on Zimbabwe into disrepute. I am glad he shamed the purveyors of these falsehoods by bringing a high powered delegation of three presidents to the inauguration, two of them past Presidents. It was the highest expression of endorsement of President Mnangagwa seen in Zambia as their son too because of shared family links dating back to the liberation struggle. As vice president, he was recently the guest of honour to the class of 1975 law school celebrations , which he was part of at UNZA.

Q: President Lungu later despatched ex-president Kaunda to Harare to lean on the old man. Were you involved in that shuttle diplomacy?

A: We were pleasantly interrupted from a lengthy conversation with former president Mugabe when President Kaunda telephoned announcing his arrival , and he just exclaimed “Oh KK “, and indicated he would call me back. Of course, I was constantly in touch with both the Foreign Affairs minister and President Lungu. It was their own decision. On my earlier visit I had sought to see ex-president Kaunda which I have done before regardless of deployment, because he is my mentor having been partly educated in Zambia myself too. In 2015, he was the Guest of Honour at my firstborn son Komba’s wedding in Lusaka.

Q: To what extent where you involved in the talks?

A: I was in the loop on the Sadc diplomatic solution, and the point person with regards to communication with ex-president Mugabe and the region, and would consult him frequently on direction and vice versa. This in hindsight seemed disconnected to the local mediation effort. The diplomatic solution to be communicated by presidents Zuma and Lourenco of Angola was to deliver the same outcome as the people have now in President Mnangagwa except that it was a sequential one, starting with our Congress endorsing him for presidency of the party in December, and reappointment to vice president in government and then president Mugabe hand holding him to elections in 2018. It was a solution in the interest of healing relations between the two of them and inside the party which has been raven by expulsions and counter expulsions. The mediators are presiding over sister liberation movements and had no interest in an implosion of Zanu PF, contrary to the indifference which was coming from civil society and other political parties who were assisting the  demise of our party in the name of the “Mugabe must go”  mantra . .There is contagion effect on the Region if one of liberation parties is under siege.

Q: When did you sign off as Foreign minister. There are claims you stood with Mugabe, to the end until he capitulated, why and how?

A: Given the diplomatic networking role not known to many, I am sure you appreciate the need for my professional conduct at the time, and why it was necessary to abstain from processes that were taking place in the party and in Parliament, they would have clearly conflicted my role in this whole saga. I chose to stand on principle and the rest is history. All this coordination and mediation work with Sadc happened from my home office, not the Cuban Embassy or any other country as shared at press conferences by comrades who were trying to cash in on my whereabouts and perceived demise for their own sinister interests. I played my anticipated diplomatic role diligently to the end and I do not feel it was an exercise in circumventing a people’s will at all. I go honourably with my head high after 10 years of illustrious service and dedication to my country, and president and I have no regrets in being the last man standing. I was observing my oath of loyalty consistent with the seniority of the office I was holding.

Q: Your final word?

A: Hail the new President, His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa! It is time to move on for everyone, time for healing, for forgiveness, time to love, to smile, to laugh , time to live. As in 1980, let’s turn our swords into ploughshares. Let bygones be bygones!- Daily News

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sworn in cabinet ministers and ministers of state this morning  at the State House.

Iconic Zimbabwe entreprenuer and businessman Strive Masiyiwa poked fun at ousted president Mugabe during a recent interview is which he was discussing overcoming his business obstacles in Zimbabwe.

Norton MP Temba Mliswa lampooned former Agriculture minister Joseph Made saying during his tenure he spent time managing former President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace’s farms instead of inspecting government agricultural projects at different institutions in the country.

Mliswa was contributing to debate on a motion on a report by the Christopher Chitindi-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture on command agriculture and agricultural colleges on Thursday when he alleged that agricultural colleges failed to perform because they were not properly supported or funded.

“Government had become dysfunctional, and how do you run agricultural training institutions without a board? Made spent time at his farm instead of him spending time doing his ministerial mandate,” Mliswa said.

“All he did was to go to Gushungo Dairies with foreigners, showing them Mazowe with the former First Lady Grace (Mugabe), but we never saw him going to tertiary institutions. I think his job was to work for the First Family,” he said.

Mliswa said if command agriculture is to succeed, then every Zimbabwean regardless of colour or political affiliation should benefit and get inputs from the programme.

While presenting the committee report, Chitindi said farmers had experienced problems such as late distribution of inputs, while others had to travel long distances to collect their inputs.

“For example, Norton farmers collected their inputs from Chegutu, while Umzingwane farmers collected inputs from Filabusi and Gwanda.

“There was also a negative perception on command agriculture with one ward in Kwekwe, where only three people took up the programme, while others said they feared joining it because of the consequences that will be meted by the military if they failed to deliver,” he said.

Chitindi said the name “command” had negative connotations to farmers, who thought that it was a military programme.

Southerton MP, Gift Chimanikire (MDC-T) said there is need for farmer training before people are given huge tracts of land to do farming.

He said the ruling party should desist from selective distribution of farm inputs, where opposition supporters were excluded from the presidential input scheme or command agriculture.

Uzumba MP, Simbaneuta Mudarikwa (Zanu PF) said there is need to ensure fertilisers and herbicides are affordable. He said it is imperative for the government to come up with a policy to ensure supermarkets get their vegetable supplies from local farmers.

Kuwadzana East MP, Nelson Chamisa (MDC-T) said if Zimbabwe is to improve in farming and restore its lost glory as the bread basket of Africa, there is need to mechanise even peasant farming so that rural farmers use modern equipment to also increase their yields. Newsday

Staff Reporter| ThisFlag pastor Evan Mawarire yesterday responded to criticism by people who have alleged that he has received money from President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mawarire was reacting on his article that has his full recorded announcement to Zimbabweans which was published on ZimEye.com. He had submitted his recorded speech late Friday night during the time when Zimbabweans were grovelling in anger against Emmerson Mnangagwa. The article did not have either mention or inference of the alleged Mnangagwa connection, but Mawarire wrote out his new rebuttal saying he has not received any resources from Mnangagwa.

“I remain committed through my own resources to standing up for what is right for Zimbabwe,” he wrote.

Many Zimbabweans feel that contrary to Mawarire’S claims, Mnangagwa as a President is nothing different from the former Head Of State Mugabe for the nation and the removal of Mugabe was just purely a cosmetic Lacoste faction affair which was accomplished by the army for their own agenda and purposes, nothing to with the povo. The povo were only used for a plastic demonstration to sanitize the coup last month. But Mawarire addresses the general public claiming that they are the ones who removed Mugabe and installed the Emmerson Mnangagwa led government.

“…How dare we believe in every voice that was raised… kushaiwa hope(sleep), after we have been able to change the government and build something new, they said we couldn’t do anything wrong, but we proved them wrong…,” says Mawarire in the below –

https://youtu.be/F6CiYDGlPlU?t=4m12s

State Media – Newly-appointed Cabinet ministers will take their oath of office before President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House in Harare today. President Mnangagwa last week announced a 22-member Cabinet to run Government business until harmonised elections next year.

In a statement on Saturday, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, said the swearing-in ceremony starts at 9am.

“Cabinet ministers are invited to State House for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 0900hrs, 4th December, 2017,” reads the statement.

The invitation was also extended to Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Deputy Ministers.

However, there have been adjustments to the original list of Cabinet ministers that was announced on Thursday last week in order “to ensure compliance with the Constitution and considerations of gender, demography and special needs”.

Cde Lazarus Dokora, who had been appointed Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, was dropped and replaced by his former deputy, Professor Paul Mavima.
Goromonzi West legislator Mrs Petronella Kagonye becomes the new Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, taking over from Professor Clever Nyathi, who becomes Special Advisor on National Peace and Reconciliation.

Mrs Kagonye was formerly the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development before she was fired in December 2014.
President Mnangagwa also brought in two other special advisors to the President — Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa and Cde Joshua Teke Malinga (Disability Issues).

Cde Victor Matemadanda, who was initially designated as Deputy Minister for Defence, Security and War Veterans, has been reassigned to lead the ZANU-PF commissariat.

He replaces the sacked Mr Saviour Kasukuwere. Similarly, Cde Pupurai Togarepi will no longer be taking up the post of Deputy Minister for Women and Youth Affairs but will concentrate on his role as ZANU-PF Secretary for Youth Affairs, a position that was previously held by the embattled Kudzanayi Chipanga.

Some of the ministers-designate did not represent parliamentary constituencies as required under Section 104(3) of the Constitution.

These are Air Marshal Perrance Shiri, Cde July Moyo, Major-General Sibusiso Moyo, Ambassador Mutsvangwa, Prof Amon Murwira, Mr Winston Chitando, Cde Matemadanda, Professor Clever Nyathi and Cde Pupurai Togarepi.

Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba highlighted last week that President Mnangagwa was alive to the constitutional requirement for him to appoint only up to five Cabinet ministers from outside Parliament.

The new team will have its work cut out as it needs to deal with the current economic challenges.

The 2018 National Budget, which is expected to be presented by Finance and Economic Planning Minister Mr Patrick Chinamasa, is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.

In his inauguration speech on November 24, President Mnangagwa said the country’s economic recovery would be predicated on agricultural performance.

“Our economic policy will be predicated on agriculture, which is the mainstay, and on creating conditions for an investment-led economic recovery that puts a premium on job creation.

“Key choices will have to be made to attract foreign direct investment to tackle high levels of unemployment while transforming our economy towards the tertiary,” he said.

Already, Government has given an ultimatum to individuals and corporates who externalised money and other assets to bring them back.
The amnesty will run until February 28.-state media

The humiliated former Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo has written to President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaking among other things about job prospects.

Chombo wrote a short letter to Mnangagwa saying he wises to serve him in any capacity he deems fit.

“I saw your inauguration as the second Executive President of the Republic of Zimbabwe with pride and contentment, especially after the goings on in both the party and Government during the last six weeks.

“I wish I could attend but I couldn’t because I am in hospital for some health problems that doctors are attending to. I missed all recently held meetings because I was away, learning some few hard lessons.

“I wish to heartily congratulate you for your elevation to the position of President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, as well as the First Secretary of our beloved revolutionary party Zanu-PF,” he said.

Chombo continued saying he will support Mnangagwa.

“May God give you strength and guidance as you lead us into the future. You have my full support and loyalty in equal measure as I served the former President R.G. Mugabe during his tenure in office.

“I am available to serve you in any capacity as you deem fit. Once again, I wish you all the greatest good and may God bless you ever more,” he said. – state media