Zim People First has been hit by 2 more senior resignations.

Mujuru who yesterday expelled 7 key members of her decision making committee, and was early this morning rejected by Mr. Sylvester Nguni, has now been deserted by two others.

Founding members Cougan Matanhire and Prosper Gavanga have in the last few minutes written to Mrs Mujuru telling her they are with immediate effect walking away. Wrote Gavanga who was the party’s Deputy Youth Chairperson, “…I have lost hope in you for a better Zimbabwe and now considering the future … ”

Matanhire wrote his own letter saying, “After careful self- introspection and soul searching I have decided to tender my resignation from the Party of my own volition.”

Meanwhile, ZimEye is reliably told two separate National Council meetings are slated for this afternoon with Mujuru conducting her own at her private residence in Chisipite. She has however garnered support from 9 out of 10 provinces meaning she will likely win over the attempt to wrestle the party from her hands.

More to follow…

The arrest of self-proclaimed pastor Evan Mawarire should be applauded because it is in line with the country’s Constitution which emphasises on the rule of law, a Cabinet Minister has said. This came after British ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Catriona Laing voiced concerns that Mawarire’s arrest was unconstitutional. She also criticised the cyber crime law that is being drafted by Government.

WARRING factions in the ruling party are burning the midnight oil to gain control of the 365 off-road vehicles and 10 buses acquired by ZANU-PF last year at a cost of about US$20 million in order to resource their proxies as they prepare for the ultimate battle in the race to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

The Financial Gazette can report that the succession wrangles between Generation 40 (G40) and Team Lacoste — the two factions in ZANU-PF — have shifted towards the allocation of party resources with strategic portfolios such as that for administration, finance and transport taking the centre stage.
As the 2018 elections draw closer, there is a strong feeling within the factions that whoever would gain control of Parliament and local authorities between them stands a good chance of swinging the succession pendulum in their favour.

Because most of the ZANU-PF cadres are thin on funding after nearly two decades of an economic recession, strategists on both sides of the factional divide have reasoned that the best way to oil their respective machineries would be to direct party resources towards their proxies so that they can mobilise supporters on the ground.

Both camps are now busy identifying candidates to take part in party primaries for the National Assembly and local authorities to be held early next year. Presently, there are manoeuvres among the key power brokers in ZANU-PF to ensure that their preferred candidates win the primaries so that they could be allocated party vehicles for use in advancing their factional agendas.
Thirty of the vehicles were dispatched to the party’s 10 provinces last month for allocation to chairpersons of the party’s three wings — the main wing, the Women’s League and the Youth League.
Each wing leader will be issued with a car to allow them to move around their provinces, conducting party business.

Provinces will get a bus each for use to transport party officials and supporters.
More vehicles would be given to those who would have emerged victorious in the party’s primary elections for both Parliament and local authorities.

As soon as the cars arrived in the provinces, pandemonium broke out in Masvingo and the Midlands provinces — bastions of support for Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom Team Lacoste would want to succeed the incumbent who is now in the twilight of his political career.
President Mugabe turns 93 on February 21.

Team Lacoste kicked out Amasa Nenjana from the provincial chair of Masvingo last week and recalled Ezra Chadzamira while they brought in former deputy provincial chairman, Daniel Mackenzie Ncube to replace Joram Gumbo as head of the Midlands province.

Former Midlands chairman, Kizito Chivamba, who was suspended early last year, was prevented from resuming his duties because he was unwell.
Team Lacoste had lost control of Masvingo and the Midlands to their G40 rivals, but they have since regained them.
The faction is now plotting ways of smuggling back Joel Biggie Matiza in Mashonaland East province but could face a tricky situation because the camp could easily be overwhelmed by G40 there.
Team Lacoste members are also believed to be gunning for co-opted provincial Youth and Women’s League chairpersons, Nobert Ndaarombe and Veronica Makonese, respectively.
Still, G40 has an upper hand in most provinces and organs of the party where it succeeded in stampeding Mnangagwa’s allies out over the last two years.
To even things out, Team Lacoste is calling for elections in provinces that do not have substantive chairpersons for all the three wings although it is highly unlikely that there could be fresh elections, especially given G40’s vehement resistance.

ZANU-PF national secretary for transport, Oppah Muchinguri, said she had not received reports of squabbles over the vehicles.
“The cars are being distributed according to guidelines set out by the Politburo. We follow those guidelines and nothing else. If there are problems related to their use in the provinces, then we are yet to hear about them,” she said.

According to the guidelines, the vehicles will be handed over to the Provincial Executive Committee, which will then make respective allocations.
Nenjana refused to respond to questions when contacted by the Financial Gazette last Friday, shouting: “That has nothing to do with you,” over the phone.
When asked if it is true that the vehicles were at the centre of the catfight in Masvingo, Ndaarombe simply said: “Yes, the circumstances are not clear.”
He refused to say anything more, referring further questions to provincial political commissar, Jeppy Jaboon.
Jaboon, who is linked to G40, said he was not personally involved in the vehicles duel.
“It’s some of my colleagues (who are fighting for cars). I am still using the one which was issued to me during the 2013 election campaign. I can use that to access my constituency and do my commissariat work,” said the Bikita South Member of Parliament.
Makonese could not be reached for comment.
Politburo member and Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister, Shuvai Mahofa, who was publicly accused by Nenjana, Makonese and Ndaarombe of instigating the former’s removal along with Psychomotor Minister, Josiah Hungwe, refused to entertain the Financial Gazette.
“I don’t want to talk to newspapers,” she said before terminating the call.
Hungwe was not responding to calls on his mobile phone this week.
Jorum Gumbo, the most senior ZANU-PF member in the Midlands province, said while it was possible that there could have been fights over control of the vehicles, such reports did not play a part in the province’s decision to co-opt Mackenzie Ncube.
Gumbo, believed to be one of those in Mnangagwa’s inner circle, was acting as Midlands chair until last Saturday. He was asked to act after the province resisted Tapiwa Matangaidze’s troubled interim chairmanship.
“I was acting chairman of the province when the Politburo cleared Chivamba and the other two chairmen (Chadzamira and Matiza). By virtue of the fact that they were cleared, we were given an opportunity to do what we could do as a province. We were free to choose the leadership we wanted and it was unanimously agreed that Ncube must take over and that is totally in order and not in violation of anything so I do not know why people should start making up stories. It is purely on this basis that the province arrived at that decision,” Gumbo said.
Mackenzie Ncube was not responding to calls on his mobile phone this week. He also did not respond to messages sent to him.

Parliament had to be adjourned last week Wednesday during the second reading of the Finance Bill because Members of Parliament, who were present, could not constitute a quorum for the debate to proceed, the Financial Gazette can report.

On December 8, 2016, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa presented before Parliament the National Budget for the current year that now needs to be debated in the National Assembly before it is either adopted, amended or discarded.

Last week, Chinamasa tabled the Finance Bill for the second reading, but Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, was forced to adjourn sitting after the majority of the legislators absconded.
This was the second time that debate on the Finance Bill had to be aborted for lack of quorum.
Parliament needs a quorum of at least 70 of the country’s 270 legislators to be present.
The incident has sparked heated debate about the attitudes of MPs towards the business of the august House.

A major characteristic of the parliamentary sessions has been the prevalence of empty seats as most MPs prefer to do their private businesses when the house would be in session.
Some of the lawmakers have become notorious for showing up just to register their availability before hastily retreating from Parliament building to conduct their personal business.
As a result, Parliament has not been effective in the discharge of its legislative and oversight functions, with critics accusing the assembly for having been reduced by the Executive branch of the State to a mere rubberstamp.

In the debate that ensued following last week’s poor turnout, it was alleged that MPs were using parliamentary time to moonlight in order to make ends meet.

It was argued that just like the rest of the country’s citizens, whom they are supposed to represent in Parliament, lawmakers have been equally affected by the prevailing economic hardships and are now using every trick in the book to survive.

It emerged during the discussions that some of them were using vehicles allocated to them under a Parliamentary scheme to ferry passengers in order to earn an extra dollar, while the business of the assembly was suffering. Mudenda believes, however, that their absenteeism was a result of indiscipline because the business of Parliament was not being taken seriously.

Kuwadzana East MP, Nelson Chamisa, argued otherwise, saying circumstances were forcing legislators into moonlighting. “I think it will be very difficult, Honourable Speaker, Sir, for you to come to the conclusion that absence is on account of indiscipline and their absence is on account of mere dereliction of responsibility of duty,” said Chamisa.

“I know you are not an exception, Honourable Speaker, Sir. You also leave this Parliament from time to time because you have to find a way to survive. Your chair, Honourable Speaker Sir, has not been given the dignity it deserves by government. The dignity that has to give it the comfort and security of that office and we are really worried about that. It is an issue you may need to take due cognisance (of),” he concluded.

In response, Mudenda took exception to inferences that he was also moonlighting.
He said: “This is not a Chamber to advance populism. Your first calling is your duty to Parliament and not moonlighting. Let us protect the Constitution and create time for other things. That is why I sit in my office and wait until debate is completed, I do not go out moonlighting,” Mudenda said.
Chinamasa cautioned MPs who skipped parliamentary sittings to avoid justifying their corrupt activities on the basis that they were underfunded.

“If you justify corruption because we are not funded, who are we going to oversee and who will be taken seriously? We just come here, collect our coupons and go wherever and at the end of the day, the truth of the matter is, if we follow them, they are not going anywhere,” said Chinamasa.
“Some MPs are now pooling their resources together and are resorting to using one vehicle to travel to Harare and back before reselling their fuel coupons on the black market.”
Uzumba MP, Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, said legislators’ vehicles were now recognisable along the country’s highways as pirate taxis.

“Their cars are always overloaded because they are saying they want to make ends meet. I have a picture in my phone of an Honourable Member’s Ford Ranger that was overloaded. His mind is now full of poverty. Whenever he sees people, he wants to carry them,” Mudarikwa said.
Legislators receives US$75 per sitting and an average of 120 litres for those travelling between Bulawayo and Harare.

MPs from outside Harare also get accommodation and meals during parliamentary business.
Concerned by the continued absence of MPs from Parliament, the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST) has since called on Treasury to urgently review their conditions of service.
SAPST director, John Makamure, said: “MPs conditions of service must improve significantly because of the important law making, oversight and representative roles that they play. Their conditions of service are currently pathetic.”

Businessman Ray Kaukonde is set to take over the Zim People First party, state media sources say.

FULL TEXT: A Zimbabwe People First faction said to be against a coalition with MDC-T has reportedly picked businessman Mr Ray Kaukonde to take over the party leadership from Dr Joice Mujuru, citing irreconcilable differences. Although Mr Kaukonde, who was expelled from zanu-pf alongside Dr Mujuru in 2014 for plotting to against President Mugabe, last night laughed off the claims, The Herald is reliably informed that the faction that is fronted by ZimPF founding member Mr Didymus Mutasa wanted to announce him as the interim leader at the party headquarters yesterday.

Sources said Dr Mujuru caught wind of the plot and pre-empted it by expelling Mr Mutasa and his group before the announcement.

Another ZimPF elder who was expelled by Dr Mujuru, Mr Rugare Gumbo confirmed the plot at a Press conference in Harare yesterday when he said: “I know there have been accusations that (Mr) Kaukonde wants to take over as president, Gumbo wants to take over, Mutasa and Dongo, whatever.

“I want to assure you that as the elders, we don’t want to continue leading this organisation.

“Some of us have been leaders since our Chimurenga days and way before that. And we can’t continue. What we want is to try the right guy who can bring change and hope to the people of Zimbabwe.”

In an interview last night, Mr Kaukonde said: “Mazondisekesa. I think zveyoung leader I agree with them, but I am not young. Ndachembera ini. I have so much to do and on the issue of leadership, I have played my part. Ndakaitawo pangu. Kwave kudawo vadiki vanotakurawo zvinhu zvacho because at one point you go to civilian life and move forward.”

Mr Kaukonde said Mr Mutasa and Mr Gumbo would be the best to talk to over that matter.

The Herald is also informed that there was also a simmering wave of discontentment among senior party members over Dr Mujuru’s leadership style that reached a boiling point three days ago over coalition talks.

Mr Gumbo, reports say, clashed with Dr Mujuru after he said: “We will never have a coalition with “chematama”, referring to MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai. Sources said Mr Gumbo’s remarks irked Dr Mujuru who had all, but agreed to form a coalition with Mr Tsvangirai before next year’s elections.

Another bone of contention that led to the disintegration of the party, was the resolution to reassign Mr Dzikamai Mavhaire from the steering committee of the party.

It is alleged that after a resolution was passed to reassign him, Dr Mujuru overturned it and retained Mr Mavhaire in the steering committee. Further, Dr Mujuru is also said to have clashed with the party’s interim executive of the issue of vice presidency.

Another senior ZimPF member who was expelled by Dr Mujuru, Dr Margaret Dongo said the executive had agreed that the party should have one vice president, but Dr Mujuru insisted on having two deputies. Dr Dongo said their reasoning was that the country’s economy was too small to have two vice presidents.

All members of the Mutasa faction yesterday took turns to lambast Dr Mujuru saying her gross incompetence was the major source of their differences. They accused Dr Mujuru of being dictatorial and having deviated from the party’s founding principles.

Mr Mutasa said: “What sort of a leader is she that we should go and bow down to her when in fact, we are the ones who made her that leader? There is no reason for that. In fact, we are thoroughly fed up with her leadership.”

Mr Kudakwashe Bhasikiti weighed in saying: “I am not surprised by the purported expulsion, because, in our steering committee, I pointed in her face that now I am losing confidence in your leadership.

“You are demonstrating, beyond doubt, that you are incapable of leading this important mass party. Why? Because you deviating from the founding principles we have laid for this party. You wake up and come to meetings and announce things that were not discussed, announce things which are contrary to our founding principles and principles of the party.

“How do you want us to have confidence in your leadership when you are now exhibiting the one centre-of-power we ran away from Zanu-PF?” Retired Colonel Claudious Makova was blunt, saying it would be an understatement to describe Dr Mujuru as an incompetent leader.

“Last week, we had a steering committee meeting and I told her that if things remained as they are now, party haisimuke iyi,” he said. “The party is not happy because we did not know where we are going with her leadership. She surrounds herself with vanhu vanoera Zhou. Zvino isu tinoera Shoko, where do we come in?

“Yes, we see (President) Mugabe there and Mai Mujuru as his vice. What we did not know is that she is ignorant. Havana chavanoziva. From day one, it will be an understatement to say she was incompetent. Akaenda kuChatham House and while addressing people, she answered her phone. Can you say that she is a leader? Who answers the phone while addressing dignitaries?”

Mr Munacho Mutezo said: “We are a party that believes in democracy. She does not take counsel from the elders who asked her to lead the party.”

Dr Dongo added “I am not surprised, because her style of operation leaves a lot to be desired. I have tried to be diplomatic as Margaret. I am a no-nonsense person, but I am failing to hold on to my diplomacy. To be honest, she has been unprofessional and disrespectful.”

Mr Lucky Kandemiri said he tendered his resignation from the party last month citing lack of capacity from the party leadership.

Staff Reporter| Hell has broken loose on People First leader Joice Mujuru following her firing of 7 senior members of her party yesterday.

As an additional senior party cadre exited Mujuru’s party through a snap resignation this morning, there are now two National Executive committee meetings today: One at Mujuru’s private residence and one at the party offices. The first one will be conducted by Mujuru with her remainder of followers while the other will be conducted by the expelled elders, Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo, Margaret Dongo and others.

Feelers from the ground indicate to ZimEye that overnight businessman Ray Kaukonde has obtained the backing of the Gumbo faction to lead it.

ZimEye is reliably told youths are set to demonstrate denouncing Mujuru at designated places today. More to follow as events unravel.

By Sydney Barson| Hundreds of MDC- T youths in South Africa last week gathered to encourage each other to come home and add their names in the Biometric Voters Roll as they are truly convinced that the diaspora vote remains a mirage.

Capturing biometric data technologically limits possible duplication and improve the identification of voters during voting.

Addressing MDC T structures in South Africa this past weekend, Kunashe Muchemwa – Mdc t National Youth Assembly Secretary for Elections said under the new election scenario, everyone has to restart registration formalities.

“The coming in of Biometric Voters Roll (BRV) which our party MDC T advocated for means that all of us are no longer registered voters because the old manual voters role has been deleted paving way for this new electronic way of doing things.

For now both voter registration and voting will happen in Zimbabwe because ZANU PF having more than two thirds in parliament has refused to align the constitution and to allow diaspora voting hence every one is encouraged to come to Zimbabwe and register when voter registration commences in a month or so.” Said Muchemwa.

BVR means that no more voting using voter registration slips, it means that ZANU cannot abuse dead people’s IDs when voting, it means no more multiple voting among others things.

“Its our opportunity, its our time. Hence lets mobilize as many people as possible to come and register so that we- can vote out this monster which has made many of you to live like refugees in a foregn land.

The President Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai our one and only hope is handling coalition talks and we believe in his wisdom hence we will follow everything he will put pen to paper.

Those who doubt him can go and consult Professor Welshman Ncube and many others who have fallen by the wayside. We have got the numbers, we have got the energy lets mobilise the young and elderly people for this very important exercise.” Muchemwa said.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is undertaking a mapping process of demarcating polling stations and one can only vote at a polling station were their address has been allocated.

Meanwhile ZEC has appealed to all people aged 18 and above to participate in the exercise being held in each province as follows:
Harare 18/01 – 27/01/17
Manicaland 29/01 – 13/02/17
Mashonaland East 14/02 – 28/02/17
Mashonaland Central 01/03 – 15/03/17
Mashonaland West 15/03 – 29/03/17
Masvingo 29/01 – 14/02/17
Matabeleland South 15/02 – 27/02/17
Matabeleland North 28/02 – 17/03/17
Bulawayo 18/03 – 24/03/17
Midlands 25/03 – 04/04/17

By Sydney Barson| The late Roman Catholic Mutare Diocese vicar Bishop Patrick Mutume who passed away Wednesday, has been described as a true fighter for justice and human dignity who brokered talks between President Robert Mugabe and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

He was 73.

Mutume was the auxiliary Bishop of Mutare working alongside Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa.

“I have had the privilege since last October of meeting with Sekuru Mutume to help him record his memoirs. Since mid-January we were meeting every Tuesday. Yesterday (Tuesday) I got there and he said he was too tired for the interview, so we postponed.

During these interviews I tried to find out what was the central belief that drove him to make social justice the core focus of his ministry. I discovered that it was very very simple: If something is wrong you can’t just sit and watch, you have to do something to fix it. That was his personal calling and mission – to set right what is wrong. He said that mission” said Rev Shirley De wolf of Old Mutare.

Mutume has been applauded for uniting Protestants, Evangelicals, Pentecostals and African initiated churches in the formation of Churches In Manicaland, a loose coalition of churches reflecting on the role of the Church in society.

“Being a Catholic Bishop, many would expect him to be strictly orthodox but he has been an open clergy to all.
Bishop Mutume has been an image of what the gospel of Christ teaches us “That they may all be one” he has been that example of a Catholic Bishop who would gather around him, Protestants, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, African initiated churches and many others from the wide spectrum of the Christian faith.” Said Rev Lloyd Nyarota of the United Methodist Church.

“The thought that humbles many is all about a humble faithful Bishop. Bishop Mutume lived up to the expectation of being sekuru. Most of us as young and naive minister found a place to learn, to be mentored, to be guided and to get wisdom in Bishop Mutume.”

“He had that deep love for the people, love for his country a patriot and a revolutionary. Bishop Mutume stood for justice, equality, human rights and human dignity.

This is a bishop who stood for what was right in the fact colonialism, Rhodesian oppression and struggled with the people all the way to Independence Day. ” Nyarota added.

When the situation in the country deteriorated to its lowest level in 2000 Bishop Mutume was one who could not sit and watch hence the founding of Churches in Manicaland.

He was also a leader among the three bishops from Manicaland who facilitated dialogue between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.

“Bishop Mutume was a man of ACTION. He asked about what we were going to do and when, all the time an issue that needed a response.” said Rev Masango Matimura of the United Baptist Church.

Speaking from the USA where he is currently studying Rev Ngoni Mukarakate said Manicaland has lost a true fighter for justice and a fearless father to all.

Said Mukarakate, “His love and belief in developing leaders was so apparent in the way he contacted himself with pastors and lay people from all walks of life.”

There will be a funeral Mass in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Mutare on Friday and the burial will take place on Saturday at Triashill near Nyanga.

Meanwhile mourners are gathered at number 14 Pasteur Drive, Hospital Hill, Mutare.

A 41-YEAR-OLD Wedza prophetess has been taken to court charged with culpable homicide after a pregnant villager died at her shrine soon after giving birth.

Marondera magistrate, Arnold Maburo yesterday heard that Prisca Bvekwa, of Musandu village, acted as a midwife for Esnath Sengamayi, leading to the latter’s death a few hours later.

The court heard that Bvekwa, popularly known as Madzimai Prisca, had no formal midwifery qualifications.

She was remanded out of custody pending an inquest over her alleged negligence and would be summoned to court once the investigations are complete.

According to court papers, Sengamayi visited Bvekwa’s shrine at St Barnabas on January 3 this year seeking divine assistance over her pregnancy, which was now in full term.

Three days later, Sengamayi gave birth to a baby boy with the help of the accused person and two other unidentified women. She, however, developed post-natal complications and died three hours later.

The following day, Sengamayi’s husband, Tendai Kwesu, reported the matter at Mukamba Police Station, whose officers attended the scene and ferried the body to the Rusape General Hospital mortuary for an autopsy.

On January 9, the autopsy was done by one Nyafesa and the results showed that Sengamayi had died of post-partum haemorrhage, leading to Bvekwa’s arrest.

Rumbidzai Katsande represented the State. – Newsday

THE Dumiso Dabengwa-led Zapu has told Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko, to shut up and stop making disparaging remarks about an opposition party he deserted at the height of the liberation struggle in 1976 to join Zanu.

Zapu deputy spokesperson , Iphithule Maphosa, said Mphoko, who at the weekend described the party as “fake”, labelled the VP a war deserter, who was now singing for his supper to remain relevant in faction-ridden Zanu PF.

Mphoko on Saturday accused Dabengwa of causing confusion and giving the impression that PF Zapu had abandoned the Unity Accord signed in 1987 with Zanu to end the Gukurahundi massacres in Midlands and Matabeleland provinces.

The Unity Accord resulted in the formation of Zanu PF, however, Dabengwa and other former PF Zapu leaders maintain the Unity Accord is no longer in existence after they quit Zanu PF in 2008 to revive their party, saying they were frustrated in the ruling party.

But, Mphoko angered Zapu members on Saturday when he labelled the party as fake.

“Zapu is on record as acknowledging the unfortunate circumstances that our erstwhile comrade Mphoko finds himself in, being pressured to speak on behalf of a party, which he deserted at the front,” Maphosa said.

“As far as Zapu is concerned, Mphoko was missing in action after disappearing from Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa) in Mozambique in 1976, while on assignment until he resurfaced as a Zanu nominee to the CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation] at independence. That action coupled with his desertion, from the front disqualified him from Zapu membership.

“Mphoko is not a member of Zapu. He joined Zanu in 1976 and has neither the mandate nor legitimacy to speak on behalf of Zapu.

“He represents the interests of those sell-outs, who chose to remain in Zanu when Zapu pulled out of the Unity Accord for well-documented reasons. Zapu takes exception to such misleading hallucinations from Mphoko. As a compassionate organisation, we, however, pity him. The poor man has no option but to sing and satisfy his master for him to feed his family.” – Newsday

Terrence Mawawa, Chiredzi| A Chiredzi man brutally murdered his brother who pushed their parents to the ground following an altercation.

Edward Muchini(24) of Village 2,Chiwichabeture Triangle assaulted his brother James Muchini(26) several times with a sharp object until the latter died on the spot.

The matter was heard by Masvingo High Court Judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze last week.

Facts were that Edward intervened in a heated argument between James and their parents-Tinarwo Muchini(father) and Josephine Mada(mother).

The couple wanted to stop James from yoking the cattle since he intended to plough his field. In a fit of rage, James pushed the parents to ground and Edward became angry.

Edward charged towards James, wielding a wooden hoe handle and hit his brother several times on the back until he fell to the ground.

James then woke up and attempted to run away but Edward hit him on the head.

Despite efforts by the two brothers’ parents to restrain James from assaulting his brother,the former continued to hit his brother with the wooden hoe handle.

The father, Tinarwo Muchini reported the matter to the police.

Representing the state, Batanai Matose indicated that Edward intentionally killed his brother. It was also revealed Edward did not show remorse after killing his brother.

Edward will be sentenced on February 11,2017.

…

….

A HEADMAN has been arrested in Tsholotsho for extortion, unlawful entry and theft while his accomplice, a self-proclaimed witch-hunter, is on the run.

Police arrested Headman Christopher Ziyabangwe of Mavava area under Chief Magama on Monday morning.

Nkulu Mpofu (40), who is a tsikamutanda, is still at large.

The duo allegedly demanded $40 from Mr Mbulala Ncube after he failed to attend a cleansing ceremony that was held by Mpofu at the headman’s homestead early this year.

Mpofu allegedly told villagers in October last year that Mr Ncube’s wife was a witch.

It is illegal in Zimbabwe to call someone a witch.

A villager, Mr Mandla Godlwayo, said the two broke into Mr Ncube’s homestead in Hewu Village.

He said the duo stole traditional regalia belonging to Mr Ncube’s wife and burnt it after saying the woman was a witch.

The incident occurred last year in October.

“They took his wife’s personal belongings which included some clothes and horns. The woman is a traditional healer whom we have known for many years.

She has assisted many people in the community but today this tsikamutanda labels her a witch.

“Mrs Ncube has not been feeling well since that day and was ferried to her parents’ home where she is being treated,” Mr Godlwayo said.

He said sometime in January, Headman Ziyabangwe hosted a cleansing ceremony with tsikamutandas at his homestead.

“Mr Ncube among other villagers didn’t attend the function. The headman summoned Mr Ncube to his court for failing to attend the ceremony. He was fined $40 for that alleged crime but he didn’t pay it saying he didn’t have the money,” said Mr Godlwayo.

Last Thursday, Headman Ziyabangwe sent a messenger to attach some property at Mr Ncube’s home for disrespecting his orders by not reporting to court.

“Mr Ncube failed to pay. The headman and tsikamutanda decided to attach his property.

“They broke into his homestead and took some property which included garden tools. Mr Ncube reported the two to police and Ziyabangwe was arrested,” said Mr Godlwayo.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Eglon Nkala said he was not aware of the incident.

Recently, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Christopher Mushohwe said the Government does not condone witch-hunting practices that have become rampant countrywide.

This came after police noted with concern, rampant extortion on members of the public by self-styled prophets and tsikamutandas.

Dr Mushohwe said such activities were criminal, fraudulent and extortionist.

He said Cabinet had noted with regret and concern that a significant part of traditional leaders including chiefs, headmen and village heads are by commission or omission condoning this “evil, primitive, extortionist and illegal practice that is condemned by our national laws”.

Dr Mushohwe said the Government was calling upon anyone who might have fallen victim to the witch-hunters to report the matter to the law enforcement agencies so that the culprits could be brought to book and compensation paid.

In October last year, Tsholotsho chiefs clashed over self-proclaimed witch-hunters who were allegedly causing havoc in the district.

Matabeleland North Senator, Chief Gampu, said villagers had petitioned him demanding the removal of “the daylight robbers” from the district. – State Media

ARMED robbers brandishing pistols and an AK47 rifle raided two service stations in Bulawayo, fired a shot at one of them before getting away with cash in the wee hours of yesterday morning.

In the first robbery three men armed with pistols got away with airtime recharge cards and cash worth $1 260 and two cellphones at Zuva Service Station in Woodlands suburb.

One man slinging an AK47 rifle robbed attendants of about $150 and a cellphone at a Total Service Station at the corner of 10th Avenue and Robert Mugabe Way in the city centre.

Zuva Service Station was robbed at around 1AM while Total Service Station was hit around 3AM.

Both are 24-hour service stations.

At Zuva Service Station the gunmen ransacked a till at the kiosk, took two cellphones and $60 from one of the workers

“They also took packets of cigarettes which were on the shelf, airtime recharge cards worth about $1 000 and $200 cash,” said a source.

After that they force marched a security guard, Mr Byron Sithole (45), a till operator Mr Black Mutanga (31) and a petrol attendant, Mr Jonathan Mwanandimai (33) into a storeroom.

Source at the service station said the gunmen frisked the workers before demanding to be led to a safe.

“One of the two robbers armed with pistols threatened to shoot them if they made noise. Once inside the storeroom, the robbers demanded cash. They said they wanted to be shown the safe containing the day’s takings from both the kiosk and fuel sales but there was no safe,” said a source.

The robbers who probably were infuriated when they failed to locate the safe, locked the workers in the storeroom and fled.

After about five minutes, the trio called for help from the gas attendant who resides at the backyard of the service station.

Mr Methuseli Sibanda, the attendant, came to their rescue, and called the owner of the service station who reported the robbery to the police.

At Total Service Station, the lone gunman demanded cash from a petrol attendant.

On seeing the rifle, the attendant fled into the manager’s office and locked himself inside.

The robber who wore a sweater with a hood that covered his face, ordered him to open the door.

When the attendant failed to comply, the gunslinger fired a shot through a glass door and the bullet ricocheted off a wall.

Total Service Station Manager, Mr Amos Nhapi said: “The attendant whose name I won’t disclose pressed the panic button. He then opened the door,” said Mr Nhapi.

He said the unidentified robber took one step into the office and demanded cash.

“The robber then ordered the attendant to hand over his cell phone and cash. After receiving $154 and cell phone, the robber stepped out, removed his hood and disappeared into the dark. The robbery was however, captured on Closed Circuit Television,” said Mr Nhapi.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango was not immediately available for comment. – State Media

The Zanu PF Mashonaland East provincial executive has summoned Energy Mutodi — an avowed Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa ally — to appear before a disciplinary committee.

The musician-cum-politician faces a slew of charges, including undermining congress resolutions.

He stands accused of going against the party’s December 2016 Masvingo annual congress resolution to declare President Robert Mugabe Zanu PF’s 2018 election presidential candidate.

Over the past weeks, Mutodi has been very vocal on the need for the party to hold an extraordinary congress to replace soon-to-be 93 years old Mugabe ahead of the polls.

Zanu PF’s Mashonaland East province acting secretary for administration, David Musabayana, has since written to Mutodi ordering him to appear before a disciplinary committee on March 3, 2017.

According to the February 4, 2017 letter, Mutodi is accused of disloyalty, failure to strengthen, promote and defend the party as well as bringing it into disrepute.

“The hearing is to consider and discuss disciplinary allegations of misconduct charges that follow: undermining the authority and powers of the National People’s Conference to declare the president of the party elected at the Congress as the State presidential candidate of the party as outlined in the Zanu PF Constitution of 2014, Article 6 on membership section 33 (3),” the letter read.

“If you are found guilty of the allegations . . . then we may recommend disciplinary sanctions up to and including suspension and cancellation of your Zanu PF membership,” Musabayana said.

Mutodi was also barred from carrying out any activities for and on behalf of the party, until finalisation of his disciplinary case.

“You are also prohibited immediately from holding any party post or engage in party meetings pending the outcome of your disciplinary hearing pencilled for the 3rd of March 2017,” he said.

“Your failure to respect the prohibition order or attempts to disregard the same may be deemed to be an act of insubordination and the relevant sections of the 2014 Zanu PF constitution will be invoked,” Musabayana said.

Contacted for comment on the current political developments pertaining to the disciplinary hearing, Mutodi refused to comment, saying the matter was still before a disciplinary panel and was therefore sub judice.

Zanu PF is currently embroiled in serious factional fights pitting Generation 40 (G40) and Team Lacoste.

Mutodi, together with some war veterans, are largely seen as Team Lacoste members and have been calling for Mugabe to step down to make way for Mnangagwa while those in the rival G40 camp are fighting tooth and nail to block the Midlands godfather’s ascendancy.

Following these calls, Zanu PF youth leader Kudzanai Chipanga described all those calling for Mugabe to step down as day-dreamers, declaring Zanu PF youths’ intention to even take up arms to defend the nonagenarian leader who turns 93 this month.

A top Zanu PF official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was highly likely that Mutodi would be expelled and the hearing was just a mere formality.

“The decision has already been made. The issue is to silence all the voices asking for the retirement of Mugabe. It’s very unfortunate that the party has failed to accommodate the young who, for obvious reasons, see themselves disadvantaged by the nonagenarian’s destructive policies,” the official said, adding that the G40 was aimed at eliminating all Mnangagwa’s perceived sympathisers from the party. –  Daily News

A gruesome murder has left residents of Emganwini’s suburb in Bulawayo on the edge after a woman was found in a pool of blood yesterday (Tuesday) morning with allegations that his son chopped her to death during a domestic dispute.

A dark cloud is hanging over Emganwini Island in Bulawayo as residents and family members are trying to come to terms with the gruesome murder of Sphiwe Shumba who was found dead in her bedroom.

The deceased who was 53 died yesterday morning due to suspected injuries sustained from an attack allegedly by her son Nelson Mwandisangudza Junior, 24, who is currently alleged to be on the run.

Rudo Gwenzi an aunt to the deceased said Shumba called her in the morning pleading with her to come and resolve problems between her and her son Nelson only to arrive and discover Shumba in a pool of blood.

Efforts to get a comment from the police on the alleged murder case were fruitless.

Relatives who spoke to the ZBC News off camera also allege the son had drug abuse problems which at one time saw him being admitted at Ingutsheni Hospital for rehabilitation. – State Media

Fellow Builders.

It is with great sadness that our interim President of ZimPF has decided to wash her underwear in public by firing founding members of our beloved party. Thats sad in the sense that firing is a dictatorial tendency mainly associated with ZanuPf and Mugabe. Is she Zanu?

A leader is a unifier not a divider. Yes maybe the elders were wrong in some of the views they shared but truth be told the Party had diverted from the real fundermentals that led to its formation.
One centre of power , hero-worship, name-praise-singing,face of the party gimmick to mention but a few really showed that we were diverting.

The party was beginning to run away from the the first Draft Constitution which only needed to be amended to the third Draft which saved the interests of a few greedy individuals.
She is always a saint. Isnt she? Promoting a one centre of Power.

Builders lets follow the real People First not leaders first or Mujuru first.

I would advise all members subscribed to ZIMPF that ZIMPF is our home and lets remain loyal to the Party and let those who decide to leave the Party by way of expelling our founding elders go their own way. ZIMPF is our home.

Tinotenda VaGumbo naVaMutasa.

ZimPF Manicaland

Internationally-acclaimed musician Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi has been forced to cancel his United States of America tour, after being denied a visa at the US Embassy in Harare as his shows coincide with a summit of musicians from Sudan, Somalia, and Libya – countries whose citizens have been barred from visiting the US by President Donald Trump.

Successive US presidents, namely George W Bush and most recently Barrack Obama and now Trump have always treated Zimbabwe as a rogue state with no democracy while accusing President Robert Mugabe of running his government autocratically. They also accused Mugabe of cheating his way into State House.

Bush in particular placed Zimbabwe among rogue states like Iran and refused to recognise Mugabe as president of the country, saying all the elections held since 2000 were flawed.

While Tuku’s manager, Sam Mataure, said he was unaware why his boss had been denied a visa, US Embassy sources told the Daily News that Tuku’s show was going to coincide with a planned show by musicians from Somalia, Sudan and Libya – three of the countries affected by Trump’s ban which he issued through an executive order.

The American tour by Zimbabwe’s most renowned and internationally-recognised cultural ambassador has been cancelled or rescheduled because of the visa issue.

Tuku has been to the US several times before and the denial of his visa has surprised many.

Despite having huge support, the musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and Unicef goodwill ambassador for southern Africa, failed  to qualify for the P-1 class visa, traditionally given to acts who can prove they have been “internationally recognised” for a “sustained and substantial” amount of time.

The US Embassy in Harare declined to comment on the matter.

“Officially we do not comment on individual visa cases, it’s illegal,” embassy spokesperson David McGuire said.

Tuku said in a Facebook post yesterday: “Tuku Music and Sadza.com regrettably inform you that the . . . Mtukudzi shows scheduled for Friday 10 and Saturday 11 February 2017 in Seattle and Ontario, respectively, have been postponed to May 2017.

“There has been a delay in the issuance of visas to the artistes due to the new travel restrictions in the US.”

This comes as the US Justice Department was facing off with opponents in a federal appeals court yesterday over the fate of Trump’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, his most controversial act since taking office last month.

Tuku said: “The new dates will be posted in the next few weeks.”

Mataure told the Daily News that they are re-applying for the visa.

“We have postponed the dates so that we can have adequate time to re-apply for another visa. We are going there with a full band,” he said.

The weekend concerts were not Mtukudzi’s first acts in the US. He has performed there several times.

Last year, Tuku launched his latest album Ehe! Kani Nhai Yahwe, adding to his more than 60 albums since he started his artistic journey around 1977.

A father of five children and two grandchildren, he has been conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Ethno-Musicology and Choreography by the Great Zimbabwe University. – Daily News

A youth worker in France is in hospital after he was raped by a police officer using a baton stick.

Other officers stood and watched. Theo (22)who has had surgery and now has to pass out waste using a colostomy bag revealed that he was stopped by the officers who went on to throw racist insults at him while they beat him. Along the line, one of the officers drove his baton into Theo’s anal opening causing him to fall face down.

“I had no strength left. It was as if my body had left myself. I thought I was going to die,” Theo said.

Afterward, they told him to sit down, but he was too weak to comply and they teargassed him and hit him on the head to make him comply. Eventually, he was handcuffed and put into the police car where he was spat on, insulted and beaten on his private parts. It was only when he got to the station that one of the officers saw his injury and arranged for him to be taken to the hospital.

There is a CCTV footage in circulation that allegedly shows four officers as they attack him, one of them forcing his baton into Theo’s anus after they stopped him in the street during an identity check. As at Monday, bloodstains were still visible where the alleged attack happened.

The police officer has denied this and argued that Theo’s injury was an accident, in which his tracksuit bottoms fell down and the baton penetrated him. A lawyer for the officer also said that ‘the blow had been carried out in a totally involuntary manner, without his being aware of any injury.’

One officer was charged with aggravated rape and three others were charged with aggravated assault. All have been suspended from their positions and face trial.

Meanwhile, there have been riots every night since the alleged rape, with the police station vandalized and hundreds of people joining marches calling for justice.

One of the 18 prisoners who escaped from Gerald Estate Center for Illegal Immigrants in Botswana last month, has died.

Gerald Estates Station Commander, Superintendent Edward Leposo told Gabz Fm news that Charlotte Ndlovu, died last week Thursday at Nyangabgwe referral hospital.

Ndlovu was remanded in custody for murder.

The late Ndlovu was one of the 8 prison escapees who have since been recaptured.

Leposo highlighted that the process of repatriating Ndlovu’s body back to Zimbabwe is ongoing. – Agencies

ZIMBABWE PEOPLE FIRST (Zim PF) – PRESS STATEMENT

It is sad and unfortunate that Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru has decided to take the unprecedented decision of purportedly expelling founding elders Cde D.N.E Mutasa, Cde R. Gumbo, Cde Bhasikiti, Cde M.T.A Mutezo, Cde Margret Dongo the Head of Women’s Wing, Cde Kandemiri, Head of Youth wing, among others, from the party we formed, Zimbabwe People First (Zim PF) and which we appointed her to lead.

We are not surprised by her irrational and emotional decision purporting to have expelled us.

What we do not understand is that Cde Mujuru would take such a drastic measure while we were in the process of trying to resolve challenges facing the party as an example specifically the issue of implementing the decision of the Steering Committee to re assign Dzikamai Mavhaire from the National Mobilisation. In fact at the time she held the press conference, we were waiting for her at the party offices as she had told us that we should wait for her since she was at the trauma center. The purpose of the meeting was to resolve these challenges only to be surprised that, she was holding a press conference at her house, not the party office, to purportedly expel us.

Needless to say this is not in line with the draft ZIM PF Constitution and the values of the Party. She has no right to expel us. Cde Mujuru was in fact appointed by us the founders of the Party to lead the party as an Interim President.

Further to that it was agreed as one of our founding principles that we do not believe in expelling people but we can relieve them of their position if they demonstrate incompetency, ineffectiveness and irresponsibility as we did to Dzikamai Mavhaire.

We are fully aware that the decision Mujuru made was based on advice from crooks, relatives, the Nzous and corrupt cronies some of whom are fugitives from justice. However as a democratic party we shall be consulting the party with regards to the decision she has taken to purportedly expel us. We want to inform the people of Zimbabwe and the party membership and stakeholders that the party remains intact. It is our hope that those who want change in Zimbabwe should continue to support the cause of Zimbabwe People First (Zim PF).

Cde D N.E Mutasa

Cde R.E.N Gumbo

8 February 2017

Pastor Light Monyeki has apparently taken a lead from nyaope smokers and been mixing Rattex with water and offering it to his congregants claiming it is for “nourishment and healing”.

On Sunday‚ in photos posted on Grace Living Hope Ministries’ Facebook page‚ Monyeki “demonstrates power of faith by causing congregants to drink Rattex”.Monyeki held the plastic bottle aloft and then declared “life from above upon the water mixed with Rattex; and spoke nourishment unto bodies and healing unto the sick”.

After he was the first to partake‚ “a multitude of congregants voluntarily ran to the front to have a drink of the deadly poison”.

Nyaope is a highly addictive drug made from a range of ingredients from low-grade heroin‚ dagga‚ rat poison and detergents containing chlorine and ammonia.

Attempts to obtain comment from Grace Living Hope Ministries were unsuccessful at the time of publication. – Agencies

…..

…
Ray Nkosi | Former Vice President Joice Mujuru, this morning fired fellow war veteran Margaret Dongo from the Zim People First party.

Dongo was not immediately available for comment. Dongo left Zanu PF after falling out with President Robert Mugabe, whose close associates in leadership she once famously called, ‘Mugabe’s Wives’ who just work to his bidding. Dongo then won Harare South Constituency as an independent candidate against all odds, after Zanu PF unleashed all its machinery against her.

She went on to form her own Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD) which soon split after sexual scandals and leadership wrangles.

After a brief silence Dongo made a come back to politics, emerging as Mujuru’s chairperson for women in the Zim People First. Is this the end for the outspoken politician? More to follow…

Below is Mujuru’s statement; 

Fellow Citizens, we meet at this important juncture in our revolutionary journey as Zimbabwe People First. We are all aware of the mammoth task we face in democratising and liberating this country from the oppressive Zanu PF Regime.

We are equally aware of the desperate efforts by the Zanu PF Regime to ensure that Zimbabwe People First fails on its mandate to be the next Government. Without equivocation, it is on public record that Mugabe has boasted that there shall be ZimPF one, two and so on.

As anticipated, the regime is desperate because of the exponential growth of our party and the fact that the party is firmly rooted on ensuring that the ideals of the revolution return to the citizenry.

As a Party, we have decided to take stern measures against elements determined to stall the progress that the party has been making. As a result we have decided to eject some of the colleagues and comrades we thought would stand with the People’s cause but have chosen to be agents of the regime. All sorts of tricks, ranging from coup d’état and sophisticated infiltration, have taken centre stage with a view to delaying the People’s cause of unequivocal liberation.

Having done extensive consultation within the rank and file of the Party and also in my capacity as the President of the Party with the executive authority to ensure its wellbeing, I hereby announce the expulsion of the following members from Zimbabwe people First Party with immediate effect:
1. Rugare Enock Ngidi Gumbo
2. Didymus N. E. Mutasa
3. Margaret Dongo
4. Kudakwashe Bhasikiti-Chuma
5. Luckson Kandemiri
6. Munacho Mutezo
7. Cloudious Makova

We assure Zimbabweans that more heads are going to roll in this revolutionary cleansing exercise. We remain committed to the democratisation of Zimbabwe. We remain committed to a coalition of progressive opposition forces to fight and remove Zanu PF from office.
Above all, we remain committed to liberating Zimbabweans in totality.
May God Bless Zimbabwe,
I thank you.

Joice Mujuru

…
..

Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo violated the rules of the Constitutional Court when he filed his challenge against arrest and the apex court has deferred the hearing to allow him to comply.

The nine-member bench noticed that Prof Moyo’s lawyers failed to properly paginate the record as required by the rules of the court.

It was found that the minister’s lawyers did not bind the papers in breach of another rule of the court.

To that end, the court indefinitely postponed the matter to allow the minister to put his house in order.

Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba, however, ordered Minister Moyo to pay wasted costs.

“By consent, the application is postponed sine die (indefinitely) and the applicant to pay wasted costs in respect of the fourth respondent,” ruled Justice Malaba.

A bid by Minister Moyo’s lawyers to justify their error by accusing the registrar of the court of allowing them to file the haphazard application hit a brick wall. – State Media

FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe is reportedly “plotting” to contest for the Harare South parliamentary seat in next year’s general elections, which could open the way for her to be considered for a Cabinet post, it has been learnt.

Initial reports had indicated that the Zanu PF women’s league chairperson was eyeing Harare East or Mazowe, but it seems she has settled for Harare South, currently held by fellow party member, Shadreck Mashayamombe.

“She has made indications that she wants Harare South and the current MP has already been advised to ‘look for another constituency’,” a Zanu PF insider, who declined to be named, said.

“The First Lady’s people are already on the ground in the constituency.”

Harare South constituency is largely an informal settlement, where various Zanu PF officials are often seen fighting for land.

The ruling party has used housing co-operatives in the area as conduits to hold on to the constituency for over a decade now.

Contacted for comment, Mashayamombe dismissed the reports, saying: “We have not been approached as a province regarding that issue. I am hearing it from you.”

Grace’s ally and Zanu PF women’s league treasurer, Sarah Mahoka, also scoffed at the suggestions.

“People should find better things to do with their time than to continue with a smear campaign against the First Lady,” she said.

“She is a national leader and would not want to stoop that low to be an MP. What would she gain from that?

“I do not even have to consult her, but I can assure you it is not going to happen. She will not reduce herself to be an MP.”

However, sources close to the developments insisted the First Lady would represent Zanu PF in next year’s general elections.

“It’s a done deal. Well, nobody is going to stop her if she really wants and that is the way we have accepted it. We are still waiting for official communication though,” a provincial leader, who declined to be identified, said.

The First Lady, with the backing of a faction known as G40, is locked in a bitter tussle for power with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as senior figures in the ruling party look beyond President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 in two weeks.

Zanu PF youth league leader, Kudzai Chipanga, seemed to indicate that, while the First Lady had gone quiet, she was still a contender.

“It is not secret that the youth league and the women’s league work closely together, hence, we will have no problem with supporting a woman to any position of the party, including the Presidency, as long as it is done according to the dictates of the Zanu PF constitution and, like I have said, that person must carry the name Mugabe,” he was quoted as having said. – Newsday

By Joice Mujuru| Fellow Citizens, we meet at this important juncture in our revolutionary journey as Zimbabwe People First. We are all aware of the mammoth task we face in democratising and liberating this country from the oppressive Zanu PF Regime.

We are equally aware of the desperate efforts by the Zanu PF Regime to ensure that Zimbabwe People First fails on its mandate to be the next Government. Without equivocation, it is on public record that Mugabe has boasted that there shall be ZimPF one, two and so on.

As anticipated, the regime is desperate because of the exponential growth of our party and the fact that the party is firmly rooted on ensuring that the ideals of the revolution return to the citizenry.

As a Party, we have decided to take stern measures against elements determined to stall the progress that the party has been making. As a result we have decided to eject some of the colleagues and comrades we thought would stand with the People’s cause but have chosen to be agents of the regime. All sorts of tricks, ranging from coup d’état and sophisticated infiltration, have taken centre stage with a view to delaying the People’s cause of unequivocal liberation.

Having done extensive consultation within the rank and file of the Party and also in my capacity as the President of the Party with the executive authority to ensure its wellbeing, I hereby announce the expulsion of the following members from Zimbabwe people First Party with immediate effect:
1. Rugare Enock Ngidi Gumbo
2. Didymus N. E. Mutasa
3. Margaret Dongo
4. Kudakwashe Bhasikiti-Chuma
5. Luckson Kandemiri
6. Munacho Mutezo
7. Cloudious Makova

We assure Zimbabweans that more heads are going to roll in this revolutionary cleansing exercise. We remain committed to the democratisation of Zimbabwe. We remain committed to a coalition of progressive opposition forces to fight and remove Zanu PF from office.
Above all, we remain committed to liberating Zimbabweans in totality.
May God Bless Zimbabwe,
I thank you.

Joice Mujuru

By Staff Reporter | Norton Town Council on Wednesday morning pounced on vendors who were selling food stuffs in front of the OK supermarket in the town.

This comes after at the weekend, Norton Member of Parliament, Temba Mliswa, threatened to fire the entire local authority’s top leadership for incompetence.

Mliswa charged that the council was failing to evict vendors selling food stuffs in line with the government’s anti-typhoid ministerial directive.

Norton council bosses had indicated that these were some pro-Zanu PF groupings who were proving to be untouchable.

Standard Chartered’s Zimbabwe-based unit has cancelled the use of Visa cards outside the country as Zimbabwe continues to grapple with dollar shortages.

In a notice published in a local newspaper, Standard Chartered said the bank has cancelled the use of its Visa cards outside Zimbabwe with immediate effect.The bank explained the action has been taken to “ensure best use of the increasingly scarce foreign currency resources which is disbursed in line with the priority list issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) if and when available”.

Foreign currency shortages forced the RBZ to come up with a priority list meant to “promote efficient utilisation of foreign exchange and to re-orient import demand towards productive uses”. The list guides banks in the distribution of foreign currency towards competing demands.

Standard Chartered however said the ban is not outright, as clients who wish to use their cards outside Zimbabwe may apply for special consideration 72 hours prior to their departure.

“Customers are requested to submit evidence of all the expected expenses to be incurred whilst travelling outside the country.”

Zimbabwe has been experiencing foreign currency shortages and as at November 2016, balances at nostro accounts were at $163.4m while cash in bank vaults only amounted to $232m.

The RBZ said the country requires at least $450m in nostro accounts, while University of Zimbabwe economics lecturer Ashok Chakravat said the country needs in excess of $900m in cash to curb the liquidity crisis. – Fin24

Throngs of protesters descended on Robert Mugabe’s embassy in London to complain about the incarceration of Pastor Evan Mawarire. Tinotenda Mrewa and Newman Richards speak in the below video:

TRAILBLAZING social activist and cleric, Evan Mawarire has been nominated for the prestigious 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.

This came as Mawarire’s bail appeal hearing at the High Court failed to take off yesterday, as the State and defence counsels haggled over procedural irregularities.

Mawarire, leader of the #ThisFlag campaign, leads a cast which also includes Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurdish journalist, who documents the life of indefinitely-interned Australian asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea; China’s Wang Liming, a famed political cartoonist known as Rebel Pepper; Ildar Dadin, an imprisoned Russian opposition activist, who became the first person convicted under the country’s public assembly law; Daptar, a Dagestani initiative tackling women’s issues like female genital mutilation; and Serbia’s Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK).

A 29-YEAR-OLD Zvishavane man, who assaulted a member of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) before robbing him of his service pistol was yesterday jailed to 28 months for the offence.

Noel Kurura of Tangwe village in Zvishavane and an accomplice, Tapiwa Gundu, who is still at large, assaulted Kudakwashe Mazura before robbing him of his gun after the latter, had offered them a lift to the mining town.

Zvishavane magistrate, Shepherd Munjanja convicted Kurura of robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Prosecutor, Amos Ncube told the court that on November 8 last year at around 2pm, Mazura was driving along Zvishavane-Gweru road, when he offered a lift to Kurura and Gundu at the Unki mine turn off.

A 50-YEAR-OLD Harare man was yesterday jailed for 18 years after he “tested” his purportedly dysfunctional manhood on a six-year-old girl from his neighbourhood.

The rape occurred on Sunday at a farming settlement close to the city.

The rapist was jailed on his own plea of guilty to raping a Grade One pupil when he appeared before Harare magistrate Themba Kuwanda.

The court suspended six years of the sentence on condition of good behaviour.

During mitigation, the man told the court that he committed the offence to check if his manhood was now functional after he was alledgedly bewitched by his estranged wife in 1999.

“Your worship, I was bewitched by my ex-wife when we separated in 1999 and since that period to now, I only had sexual intercourse four times and I wanted to see if my erectile dysfunction had been healed,” he said, before magistrate Kuwanda told him he should have hired a sex worker instead of causing irreparable physical and psychological damage to a toddler.

The court heard that on Sunday, the infant was sent by her father to collect a grass cutter at the rapist’s residence, where she was eventually raped.

The girl’s parents reported the matter and a medical report produced in court confirmed sexual penetration.

Valerie Ngoma appeared for the State. – Newsday

MINES deputy minister Fred Moyo has reportedly defied an order from his ministry to vacate a lucrative gold mine in Masvingo province.

Moyo is linked to a mining interest, Tambanashe Enterprises, which has been fighting for control of Lennox Mine for several years against Two Flags Trading despite the latter having won the ownership row.

According to documents, Moyo’s mining interests were previously under Larmona Enterprises before they were transferred to Tambanashe Enterprises.

In a letter dated January 24 this year, Masvingo acting provincial mines director, an S Mpindiwa, ordered Moyo to pull out of the disputed mine.

“Following our letter dated January 19, 2017, which notified you of our intention to cancel your certificate of registration, please be advised that mining operations and allied activities on the mining locations are, hereby, suspended with immediate effect,” Mpindiwa said.

The letter was copied to Mines minister Walter Chidakwa and ministry secretary, Francis Gudyanga.

Two Flags Trading bought the mine in 2003 from Reedbuck Investments through the liquidator, Robert Michael McIndoe, before Moyo’ firm claimed ownership of the same mine.

In 2007, the ownership wrangle was brought before the High Court in Bulawayo, where Moyo was cited as the second respondent.

Justice Nicholas Ndou ruled in favour of Two Flags Trading and ordered Moyo to stay off the property or face jail.

The court also ordered Moyo and Larmona Enterprises to pay Z$2 000 000 for each day they spent at the mine.

But, in an interview yesterday, Tambanashe Enterprises general manager, Edgar Mashindi, disputed allegations that they were mining illegally.

“This issue has already been settled and the Mines ministry, police and any other sector have been barred from visiting the mine. You need to be on the ground to see the exact picture and not those orders you are referring to,” he said. – Newsday

You’re out of God’s covenant if you don’t give $77 – Makandiwa

Staff Reporter| UFIC founder Emmanuel Makandiwa says people cannot have a relationship with God unless they give money. The preacher in December announced through his spokesman, Prime Kufa that any adult who fails to give out at least $77 has been left out of God’s covenant. The seed demand was in 7s beginning with 77$, $770, $7700, and $77000.

Weeks later, Makandiwa would come out announcing that anyone who does not agree with his demand can leave his church.

The development has drawn public anger with some saying due to the national economy, why does the preacher not ask for “7 cents, 7 rand, 7 bond?.”

Another observer said, “Why does the devil do this? why lying to our King Jesus Christ. making people misinterpret the bible. This is absolutely ridiculous.

“I believe one day we shall make the devil lose the battle, which he seems winning at the moment. making people misinterpret the bible, lying to the almighty king Jesus what he does not do.

“Honestly Jesus never used to make any one pay for any deliverance or blessing during his time.

He was so loving he healed thousands of people fed them without making them pay. But what the devil is doing to these pastors is beyond ridicule, unbelievable.

I feel very sorry for people who going to pay these moneys, so sorry.”

A ZESA power substation in Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb caught fire yesterday causing power outages in some parts of the city.

Two electricity transformers were destroyed in the inferno, an official said. Zesa Southern Region general manager Engineer Lovemore Chinaka said they were investigating the matter.

“It’s too early, people are yet to go to the scene and establish what happened,” said Eng Chinaka.
Bulawayo City Council’s fire and ambulance department assisted to put out the inferno.
Acting Bulawayo chief fire officer Mr Edward Phiri said the fire started when Zesa technicians were working at the site.

“They were working when a short circuit occurred resulting in two transformers in the substation catching fire. The substation has 16 transformers all together. “Fortunately no one was injured in the process,” said Mr Phiri.

He said the emergency department was conducting its own investigations on the cause of the fire.

“They may have said the fire was caused by a short circuit in the transformers but we need to do our investigations that give us satisfaction on the matter,” Mr Phiri said.
Some parts of the city experienced power outages following the fire incident that occurred at around 12PM. – state media

#ThisFlag pastor Evan Mawarire who was arrested by authorities last week after arriving in Zimbabwe, has made it into the shortlist for the Google sponsored 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.

Mawarire is sitting at the top of the list with 3 others: an Iranian Kurdish journalist covering his life as an interned Australian asylum seeker, one of China’s most notorious political cartoonists, and an imprisoned Russian human rights activist.

Drawn from more than 400 crowdsourced nominations, the shortlist celebrates artists, writers, journalists and campaigners overcoming censorship and fighting for freedom of expression against immense obstacles. Many of the 16 shortlisted nominees are regularly targeted by authorities or by criminal and extremist groups for their work: some face regular death threats, others criminal prosecution or exile.

“The creativity and bravery of the shortlist nominees in challenging restrictions on freedom of expression reminds us that a small act — from a picture to a poem — can have a big impact. Our nominees have faced severe penalties for standing up for their beliefs. These awards recognise their courage and commitment to free speech,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of campaigning nonprofit Index on Censorship.

Awards are offered in four categories: arts, campaigning, digital activism and journalism.

Nominees include Pastor Evan Mawarire whose frustration with Zimbabwe’s government led him to the #ThisFlag campaign; Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurdish journalist who documents the life of indefinitely-interned Australian asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea; China’s Wang Liming, better known as Rebel Pepper, a political cartoonist who lampoons the country’s leaders; Ildar Dadin, an imprisoned Russian opposition activist, who became the first person convicted under the country’s public assembly law; Daptar, a Dagestani initiative tackling women’s issues like female genital mutilation that are rarely discussed publicly in the country; and Serbia’s Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), which was founded by a group of journalists to combat pervasive corruption and organised crime.

Other nominees include Hungary’s Two-tail Dog Party, a group of satirists who parody the country’s political discourse; Honduran LGBT rights organisation Arcoiris, which has had six activists murdered in the past year for providing support to the LGBT community  and lobbying the country’s government; Luaty Beirão, a rapper from Angola, who uses his music to unmask the country’s political corruption; and Maldives Independent, a website involved in revealing endemic corruption at the highest levels in the country despite repeated intimidation.

Judges for this year’s awards, now in its 17th year, are Harry Potter actor Noma Dumezweni, Hillsborough lawyer Caiolfhionn Gallagher, former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, designer Anab Jain and music producer Stephen Budd.

Dumezweni, who plays Hermione in the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was shortlisted earlier this year for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress. Speaking about the importance of the Index Awards she said: “Freedom of expression is essential to help challenge our perception of the world”.

Winners, who will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on 19 April, become Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows and are given support for their work, including training in areas such as advocacy and communications.

“The GreatFire team works anonymously and independently but after we were awarded a fellowship from Index it felt like we had real world colleagues. Index helped us make improvements to our overall operations, consulted with us on strategy and were always there for us, through the good times and the pain,” Charlie Smith of GreatFire, 2016 Freedom of Expression Awards Digital Activism Fellow.

This year, the Freedom of Expression Awards are being supported by sponsors including SAGE Publishing, Google, Vodafone, media partner CNN, VICE News, Doughty Street Chambers, Psiphon and Gorkana. Illustrations of the nominees were created by Sebastián Bravo Guerrero.

A ZESA power substation in Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb caught fire yesterday causing power outages in some parts of the city.

Two electricity transformers were destroyed in the inferno, an official said.

Zesa Southern Region general manager Engineer Lovemore Chinaka said they were investigating the matter.

“It’s too early, people are yet to go to the scene and establish what happened,” said Eng Chinaka.

Bulawayo City Council’s fire and ambulance department assisted to put out the inferno.

Acting Bulawayo chief fire officer Mr Edward Phiri said the fire started when Zesa technicians were working at the site.

“They were working when a short circuit occurred resulting in two transformers in the substation catching fire. The substation has 16 transformers all together. “Fortunately no one was injured in the process,” said Mr Phiri.

He said the emergency department was conducting its own investigations on the cause of the fire.

“They may have said the fire was caused by a short circuit in the transformers but we need to do our investigations that give us satisfaction on the matter,” Mr Phiri said.

Some parts of the city experienced power outages following the fire incident that occurred at around 12PM. – State Media

Zanu PF Buhera West MP Oliver Mandipaka has asked Parliament to give rural legislators at least two cars, arguing that most of the lawmakers become destitute following expiry of their terms.

The former police spokesperson said the welfare of parliamentarians “must be taken seriously”.

He told the House of Assembly last week that “… members who represent constituencies deep down in the rural areas and, I am one of them . . . have bad roads to the extent that at the expiry of the five year term, I will be having no Ford Ranger at all”.

“We cannot be destitute after leaving this Parliament. So we pray that the budget for this august House is going to be raised so that we are catered for,” Mandipaka said.

“So all it means is that if perhaps we get two or more vehicles, we will be able to access rugged terrains,” he said.

Currently, Parliament gives MPs a choice of one off-road vehicle between a Ford Everest and a Ranger.

Mandipaka’s demands come as Parliament filed summons against six former legislators who left without servicing their vehicle loans.

Former Zanu PF chief whip, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti (Mwenezi East) and ex-Energy minister Dzikamai Mavhaire (Masvingo Central), are among those targeted for the action.

In summons filed at the High Court last month, Parliament seeks to recover a total of $258 809 in unpaid vehicle loans advanced to the legislators during their terms of office.

MPs earn $800 and have a sitting allowance of $75.
“After the expiry of five years, perhaps I might not be coming back into Parliament, I will be able to look good to the constituents, look good to the people, because we want to continue portraying a positive image of the Parliament,” he said.

Mandipaka said parliamentarians should this year get their Constituency Development Funds (CDF) — a cash pay-out aimed at the promotion of community-driven development.

In his 2017 National Budget, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa reinstated a $50 000 vote for each constituency, saying the cash would be allocated under Parliament pending the promulgation of the necessary legislation to govern the fund.

The paucity of the regulation framework of the fund — first introduced during the fragile inclusive government and suspended in 2013 — was the reason why the fund was held in abeyance for all these years.

Some unscrupulous MPs across the political divide took advantage of the regulatory loopholes in the fund to pillage the CDF, which they converted to their own use.

“I pray that for this financial year, MPs should get their CDF. Why do I say so?
“The impression that is created by people who we represent is that we have everything.  Even the budget, they think it is within our control.

“So in other words, I am supporting the debate by (Mabvuku Tafara MDFC MP James) Maridadi that the welfare of MPs should be taken seriously, especially this financial year because it is important for MPs to be catered for so that they discharge their duties in earnest.”

Mandipaka said there was an impression created that Parliament was less important than the executive.

“That is a misnomer. I want to strongly believe that what the executive does, what the Judiciary does and what Parliament does, these things are equally very important for the smooth running of the nation and so when it comes to the welfare of members of this august House, we want to seriously take a re-look and say, are we giving enough to members for their sustenance?” he asked.

“Are we providing enough for honourable members so that they are able to conduct their day-to-day duties in various constituencies?” – Daily News

Government has established a new computerised system that will detect criminals and motorists who have not paid for vehicle licences at roadblocks and toll gates, Home Affairs Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo has said. Dr Chombo said since last week, trial runs were being held to check the compatibility of the technology. “We have come up with a system where if one comes across any road block, the car is scanned by the equipment and it reveals the full status of that car in terms of ownership, registration and fines which may be due and so on,” said Dr Chombo while speaking in Parliament.

“Someone who may be found on the wrong side is apprehended on the roadblock. On the other hand, when you pass through a toll gate, the police officer will scan your vehicle and it will reveal all the details of the car and the owner of the vehicle.

“We are now computerised and we are assured that thieves will be arrested. However, good citizens will be able to go through these road blocks without hassles.” Dr Chombo said the new technology was also able to record the money paid at road blocks.

“The machine is able to identify the police officer on a road block and the amount of money paid,” he said. “It also enables the collection of funds for Zimbabwe National Road Administration and the local authorities and the computerised system transfers the money to respective institutions.” – State Media

Zimbabwe’s crippling cash shortage has left a black hole in the financial system that’s crushing the rest of the economy.

“We deposit the cash and it becomes theoretical, ephemeral,” Mohamed Salam, who owns several small stores selling building supplies in Harare, the capital, said in an interview. “My bank balance says it’s there, but it isn’t. I can make payments electronically to local suppliers, but I can’t pay foreign suppliers.”

The liquidity squeeze has left companies unable to pay their workers in cash and foreign suppliers, driving many out of business, and added to the ranks of more than 3 million people who’ve become economic exiles. The economy probably shrank 0.3 percent last year and is set to contract 2.5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency eight years ago and adopted mainly the dollar, initially halting hyperinflation. Now, with a floundering economy and a strong dollar stoking imports and curtailing exports, banknotes have virtually disappeared, prompting the central bank to order private lenders to cap customer cash withdrawals at $150 a week. While the Reserve Bank estimates about $4 billion is circulating in the economy, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries President Busisa Moyo says the amount may be as little as $100 million, about a quarter of what he believes is needed.

“The economy is in what could turn into a death spiral,” Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who studied the advent of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, said in an e-mailed response to questions. He blamed the government of President Robert Mugabe, 92, for being “so incompetent and corrupt and prone to making bad economic policies.”

A dearth of foreign exchange forced brewer Delta Corp. Ltd., almost 23 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, and telecommunications company Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd., the nation’s two biggest businesses, to suspend dividends and halt payments to foreign suppliers late last year. Both companies said they don’t foresee any operational disruptions. Econet shareholders agreed to a company plan to raise $130 million in foreign currency.

A number of retailers and other businesses are offering big discounts to cash-paying customers and limit the amounts they can charge on credit cards or refuse to accept them altogether.

“The country has run out of money and we have completely lost the ability to pay for imports,” said John Robertson, an independent economist in Harare. “This comes against a backdrop of falling productivity as companies fail to access vital inputs because there’s no foreign currency to pay for them. As long as government continues to do things that discourage both local and foreign investment into the productive sector, the situation can only get worse.”

The economy has halved in size since 2000, when militants backed by Mugabe seized white-owned farms, crippling agricultural output and exports. The government also deterred investment by enacting laws aimed at forcing some companies operating in the country to have majority black ownership and issuing conflicting messages on how they will be implemented.

In a bid to ease the banknote shortage and discourage cash hoarding, the government began distributing so-called bond notes in November, with about $88 million of the dollar-linked securities issued so far out of a planned $200 million that are backed by a loan from the African Export-Import Bank. While banks and most large retailers accept the proxy currency, many small stores, informal traders and taxi drivers won’t, or price them at as little as 70 percent of their dollar face value.

Hanke, who’s also director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Washington, D.C.-based Cato Institute, said the decision to issue the bond notes was a disaster.

“Zimbabwe is no longer a pure dollarised system, but a mixed system, one that is bound to fail,” he said. “More bond notes will only add fuel to the demand for hoarding of what is viewed as being the superior currency and store of value in Zimbabwe, the U.S. dollar. As the issuance of bond notes increases in response to the hoarding frenzy, the premium on dollar notes to bond notes will widen and so will the distortions in the economy.” bloomberg

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange says investigations into the conduct of its chief executive Alban Chirume will not be restricted to the Econet Wireless Zimbabwe debacle but will spread into other unprocedural and unethical conduct allegedly committed by him over a period of time.This comes after the ZSE board sent Mr Chirume on forced leave pending investigations mainly emanating from the debacle into Econet’s $130 rights issue which exposed the disconnect between the exchange’s board and its management. The disconnect saw Econet glide over a regulatory directive. However, cases against Mr Chirume have been building up and The Herald Business has been at the forefront in exposing some of them. Chairman Caroline Sandura said ZSE would not prolong the investigations and will assess the concerns raised accordingly.

“The investigations into the conduct of the chief executive will not be prolonged. We just want to look into possible areas of misconduct.”

Well placed sources say the issue of Econet was just a trigger as Mr Chirume already had pending cases which the board was looking into. As previously reported by this publication, Mr Chirume was at fault when Meikles was un-procedurally suspended from the ZSE.

There are also allegations on how he terminated the website contract with local company Big Law and other various occasions where he is said to have overrode the regulator and the board.

The ZSE board had raised concern over certain technical issues which it wanted Econet to address. But the telecommunications company proceeded with the EGM, arguing the initial approval made the Committee of the ZSE, a competent authority had not been withdrawn.

Reports say the initial approvals were allegedly done by Mr Chirume who disregarded concerns raised by the Listing Committee which is chaired by Mr Bart Mswaka.

Mr Chirume said the ZSE’s role was not to approve transactions but to ensure that the company provides all the required disclosures per the ZSE’s Listings Requirements to enable shareholders to make informed decisions on transactions presented to them.

He said the approval of the circular by the ZSE was not an opinion on the transaction as the issues raised were the Exchange Control matters, which were beyond the purview of the ZSE.

“You will rightfully note that the transaction should be approved by the shareholders first before an Exchange Control approval is granted. In addition, the ZSE resolved that Econet applies for an Exchange Control blanket approval which has been disclosed in the circular.

“We believe that any further questions should be directed to the company proposing the transaction,” said Mr Chirume.

Stockbrokers who spoke to The Herald Business yesterday welcomed the move to investigate the CEO.

“It is something that we expected (action against the CEO). I do not want to rush to make a conclusion but I think the board’s decision should have been respected. This is not good for our market and we don’t want such a thing to happen,” said one stockbroker who requested not to be named.

Another stockbroker said the board should take its time to clear the mess and take action against any party found guilty.

“By taking the decision, they must have strong suspicion that there are problems and we need that to be investigated thoroughly,” said the broker. – State Media

People criticising #Pastor Evan Mawarire saying he is a CIO agent simply because lawyer Fadzayi Mahere shot a video with the preacher while under police custody, are mistaken, analysts say. If Mahere and Mawarire are CIOs, then dancehall singer, Soul Jah Love is also an intelligence agent because he was also once snapped while in police custody.

But some argue against the blanket.

One Herbert Chikosi says “I think the biggest suspicion was impugned by Fadzai when she got excited and shot those selfies in political communication it was a serious dent both to Pastor E’s credibility considering panosungwa vanhu maphone haabvumirwe, we are in a struggle and mirages can be real roads.”

Another critic, Francis Madhanzi also added saying, “the zimbos that I know will never be fooled, coerced or manipulated to support this so called pastor. A CIO who masquerades as a revolutionist.”

But Arnold Chamunogwa charged asking, “Is Souljah Love a CIO because of his photos when he was arrested?”

Pictures of Soul Jah Love incarcerated at a police station show the singer hand-smashing a ZRP cop during that serious time.

US commentator, Wellington Mahohoma says people are making allegations that Pastor Evan is a CIO operative simply because one of his lawyers, Fadzayi Mahere, shot a video whilst in company of state agents and police officers.”

He continued, “I say in ‘the company of’ because he was still to be charged. He was even polite to allow the thugs to cuff him.

“More worrying is that some of these comments are coming from prominent human rights defenders. It makes me wonder, how then can we defend when we do not know the basic rights as defined and guaranteed by our constitution.

“We have normalized the abnormal, legitimized the illegitimate and continue to accept barbaric criminal activities of the regime. Its not surprising that we have those advocating and promoting #HumanRights in Zimbabwe end up begging and applying for police clearances.

“You see those who claim to know the constitution bribing for their freedom at roadblocks. Those who promote freedom of speech are quick to close spaces for those with different views.

“Living the constitution under this regime is a difficult task which however remains the only option out of this mess.

“Let us do what we preach, above all let us understand the word -constitution- before we preach. #FreePastorEvan #ThisFlag #Tajamuka.”

HIGH Court Judge Justice Clement Phiri on Tuesday 07 February 2017 postponed the hearing on a bail application filed by Pastor Evan Mawarire to Wednesday 08 February 2017 to allow the State to respond to the clergyman’s freedom bid.

The High Court was initially set to hear Pastor Mawarire’s bail application on Tuesday 07 February 2017 after his lawyer Harrison Nkomo of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights filed the application on Monday 06 February 2017.

But Justice Phiri on Tuesday 07 February 2017 deferred hearing of the bail application to Wednesday 08 February 2017 to allow the State represented by Edmore Nyazamba and Tapiwa Kasema of the National Prosecuting Authority to file their response.

In his application, Pastor Mawarire asked the High Court to allow him to pay $100 in bail money, to surrender his passport and to report to Zimbabwe Republic Police officers once a week on Fridays until the matter is finalised.

Pastor Mawarire argued that there is no risk that he will abscond or commit other offences if granted bail.

The clergyman had to petition the High Court for admission to bail after Harare Magistrate Elisha Singano on Friday 03 February 2017 remanded him in custody after he dismissed an application filed by his lawyer challenging his placement on remand.

Nkomo had asked Magistrate Singano to release the clergyman after challenging the State’s request to place him on remand. In his application, Nkomo argued that the arrest and detention of the clergyman was illegal, unlawful and violated his constitutional rights. He also argued that the charges pressed against Pastor Mawarire did not amount to an offence.

But Magistrate Singano dismissed Pastor Mawarire’s application and remanded him in custody to 17 February 2017. The Magistrate advised Pastor Mawarire’s lawyer to approach the High Court for the determination of bail.

Pastor Mawarire was arrested on Wednesday 01 February 2017 by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers upon his return to the country and charged with subverting a constitutional government as defined in Section 22 (2) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

On Thursday 02 February 2017, the ZRP officers added more woes to Pastor Mawarire after they charged him with insulting the national flag in contravention of Section 6 of the Flag of Zimbabwe Act Chapter 10:10 and inciting public violence as defined in Section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23. – ZLHR

PARENTS whose children learn at Seventh Day Adventist-run Solusi High School are up in arms with the school’s administration after a boarding master severely assaulted some Form One pupils resulting in five being hospitalised.

School officials are said to have been protecting the man at the centre of the storm — Mr Methuseli Ncube — as there have been complaints in the past, but no action was taken against him.

During visiting day to the school on Sunday, some parents found their children nursing injuries and when the pupils were interrogated they opened up on the abuse for various alleged misdemeanours.

Angry parents told the state media that school and church officials were reluctant to act on Mr Ncube.

The pupils were allegedly assaulted on different dates since schools opened last month and the latest incident occurred some time last week.

A source said Form Six pupils recorded Mr Ncube beating up one of the pupils.

The state media could not get the voice recording but tracked one of the hospitalised boys at a local hospital who narrated his ordeal.

He revealed that pupils were severely assaulted after delaying to go to the dining hall to eat.
The schoolboy said on the day, Mr Ncube beat them up using a thick stick.

“This was not the first time that he beat us up like that. He clamps our heads tightly between his legs and then bashes us with a log, a stick, fists or anything that he can get hold of. Most of the times, he insults us with obscenities, even referring to our parents’ private parts. He even boasts that no one can do anything to him because he claims he is untouchable. If it was up to me I would just transfer from this school. It is even making me hate my childhood church,” said the boy in-between sobs, as he narrated his story.

One of the parents who approached the state media said when she found her child nursing wounds on Sunday, she immediately decided to withdraw him from the school. She described Mr Ncube’s conduct as inhumane and brutal for someone working at a Christian school.

“I just had to withdraw my son from Solusi in peace. I am not happy about the treatment that children are being subjected to. This is not what Solusi used to be like during our days.

“As a parent imagine how traumatising it is to get to your child’s school for visiting day and you find him in such a terrible state. We actually had to take our kid immediately to hospital as he was even struggling to speak, that is how bad it was,” said the mother who preferred to be anonymous.

Investigations revealed that this is not the first time that Mr Ncube, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, has been in the eye of the storm.

In 2015 a visiting team comprising senior school officials, auditors and senior church officials recommended to the School Development Committee that the school effectively bans corporal punishment.

Contacted for comment the SDC’s chairperson, identified as Mr Tshalimane said:
“I am not at the school right now. Actually I am in Plumtree hence I don’t know what you are talking about. Besides I was at the school on Sunday and I did not hear anything to that effect. Call me tomorrow (today) maybe I might have a comment for you.”

The school head, Mr Phanson Tshuma said he was not allowed to talk to the media.
However, a senior official at the school, who preferred anonymity fearing victimisation confirmed the matter.

“Honestly, that issue is there. Every time there is an SDC meeting the matter is raised but it seems the church is comfortable with Mr Ncube’s conduct, for some of us we cannot do anything because it might seem like we have a vendetta against him,” said the official.
Zimbabwe Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists communications official, Mr Nkosilathi Khumalo referred all questions to the executive director Southern Zimbabwe
conference, Mr Thabiso Sibanda.

A woman who answered Mr Sibanda’s phone said he would be in a position to talk after 45 minutes. When later called, she said it was impossible to talk to Mr Sibanda as he had other pressing matters.

“We have other commitments,” she said. -state media

AN inmate who escaped from Tsholotsho Prison has been re-arrested after villagers apprehended him at his sister’s home in Nyamandlovu.

Champion Sibanda (19) of Village 3 in Nyamandlovu had been jailed for 36 months for unlawful entry and theft and was due to be released in November 2018.
He escaped from prison last week on Thursday.

Villagers ambushed him on Sunday following a tip-off from his sister and handed him over to the police. Chief Deli said Sibanda was sold out by his sister.

“His sister informed other villagers that Sibanda was back at her home and was hiding. Sibanda’s sister had been warned earlier by police not to hide the culprit if ever he came to seek refuge at her home. Upon his arrival at his sister’s home in village 2, she notified neighbours who engaged others and they ambushed him at night,” he said.

The chief said the inmate was sent back to prison. “Bad apples should be removed from good ones and criminals should be uprooted from society.

“When villagers caught him, they called police to come and pick him up and he was taken to Tsholotsho police station where he was sent back to prison,” he said. A source close to investigations said Sibanda escaped while he was working outside the prison with nine other inmates.

“Ten inmates were working in the prison’s field which is about a kilometre away from the prison. The inmates were under the guard of two male prison officers when Sibanda fled,” he said.

“It is suspected he walked to Nyamandlovu through the bush.”

Join ZimEye right now as we put pressure on Education Minister Lazarus Dokora on the resignation blow-up, his chaotic, tedious school curriculum, his documented looting of school fees, and his continuous failure to pay teachers’ salaries. The program starts in 10 minutes’ time LIVE VIDEO LOADING… .

Transport ministry permanent secretary, Munesu Munodawafa was yesterday taken to task by MPs to justify the various financial donations made by his ministry towards President Robert Mugabe’s birthday bashes.

Members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts sought to know why ministries and their parastatals always made a beehive to donate towards Mugabe’s birthday celebrations at a time most of them were struggling to stay afloat.

But, Munodawafa defended the advertisements and donations saying: “If it is a State or national event, the donation is done within the confines of good corporate governance and good corporate social responsibility. To the best of my knowledge, we have confined ourselves to national events. The Office of the President is a national institution.”

The committee also grilled Munodawafa for failing to submit payment vouchers worth $608 478 for the Harare-Mutare Road when government auditors requested the documents.

In her 2014 report, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri noted that Treasury released $400 378 for the Harare-Mutate Road project, but the money was diverted to pay outstanding invoices for other road projects, which were not catered for in the 2014 National Budget.

The unbudgeted-for projects that were financed were the Harare-Masvingo Road ($199 785), Shamva-Bindura ($58 965), Harare-Gweru ($54 473), Makuti reseal unit ($45 027) and Manyame Bridge ($41 790).

Munodawafa said while the Harare-Mutare Road project was ongoing, there were some long outstanding ones that had not been paid for since 2012 and had attracted litigation to the extent that the ministry took funds from the Harare-Mutare Road construction to pay the debts.

He was also taken to task for buying an eco-roads soil stabiliser to strengthen dust roads at a cost of $320 000 without going to tender.

Munodawafa conceded that his ministry erred and apologised to the committee, but said the stabiliser procured was used for research purposes.

The committee also heard that in 2013, the Department of Roads illegally paid out $97 630 bonuses to contract workers, but Munodawafa said most of the transactions were made before he became secretary in the ministry. – Newsday

Terrence Mawawa, Shurugwi | A self-proclaimed prophet, Jefias Nyika forcibly had sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl after her mother took her to the prophet’s house. The woman took her daughter to Nyika’s house and sat at the door as the prophet raped her daughter.

The woman, identified as Chingweshe took her daughter to Nyika’s house to thank him for the spiritual work he had done for the family. Facts according to the State were that on January 12, Chingweshe took her daughter to Nyika ‘s house at around 10 pm.

The ‘prophet’ then had sex with the girl as the mother sat at the doorstep. On the following day the minor’s relatives heard what had transpired and reported the matter to the police leading to Chingweshe and Nyika’s arrest. The woman is being charged with enticing the minor into sexual intercourse while Nyika is being charged with contravening Chapter 9:23 (Criminal Law and Codification Act-having sex with a minor).

Human Rights groups, who spoke to ZimEye.com have expressed concern at the increase in cases of child sexual abuse in the name of religious acts. Mary Saidi a Masvingo based human rights activist said the trend was sad and unfortunate. “We have learnt of the increase in child sexual abuse cases with sadness.We call on stakeholders to come together to eradicate the abuse of underage girls.We strongly condemn the abuse of underage girls,”said Saidi.

A 24-year-old Ruwa man who was arrested on allegations of forging academic documents appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts last Thursday and was remanded to March 1 on $100 bail.

Tatenda Munetsi appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa facing charges of possessing articles for criminal use.

It is alleged that Munetsi, of 2554 Chinamaropa Road in Ruwa, operates a printing, photocopying and binding business at Eland Shopping Centre in Ruwa where the offences took place.

The court heard that on January 31 this year, police received a tip-off to the effect that Munetsi was producing fake academic certificates in Ruwa.
Acting on the tip-off, police detectives went to the said shopping centre and a search was carried and various items, including fake Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Ordinary Level certificates in the names of Emmalance Pabwe, Bridget V. Ziki and Yunicorn Fungai Jakata, were recovered.

It is further alleged that a fake Msasa Industrial Training College certificate in the name of Fanuel W. Lloyd, eight fake Zimbabwe Special Air Service certificates in the name of Corporal Kevin Sikosana and a Dell computer used by Munetsi to produce the fake certificates were also recovered from his business premises.

Prosecutor Miss Audrey Chogumaira told the court that the certificates were verified with the relevant authorities who confirmed that they were not authentic. – state media

ZESA Holdings is in the process of mobilising funding to whittle down its debt to South Africa’s Eskom after the value of power imports under a Government guarantee reached the limit of 500 million rand.The situation has presented challenges for ZESA, which has been struggling to make foreign payments due to the foreign currency situation in Zimbabwe.

When ZESA agreed on the power import deal with Eskom, it initially had to pay about $7 million upfront per month, before negotiating a more flexible weekly installment (or around $1.7 million) as foreign currency became elusive.

“ZESA is looking at ways of raising funding. The funding is meant to support operations, but will have a component for repaying the debt to Eskom. The problem (with the Eskom debt) is that ZESA is not getting enough foreign currency allocations from RBZ,” a source said.

Attempts to get official comment from ZESA were not successful at the time of going to print, but sources privy to the developments confirmed that the power utility was working flat out to clear the debt to Eskom.

Clearing or reducing the debt would leave ZESA with latitude to continue to receive power from Eskom in terms of the guarantee extended by Government, without having to pay for the imports upfront.

In fact, Eskom demanded the Government guarantee after noting that Zesa Holdings was struggling to keep pace with the debt arising from the power it was getting from its South African counterpart.

Highly placed sources told The Herald that the power utility had come up with a proposal on how it intends to pay off the debt to Eskom, about $35 million. The funds sought would cover other areas of operations.

ZESA has a non-firm agreement with Eskom in terms of which it can import up to 300 megawatts, depending on the situation in South Africa, mean Eskom may not export if local demand is too high.

Sources said, however, that Zesa has since submitted a debt clearance proposal to Eskom, while at the same time working on mobilizing funding through various unnamed means to clear the debt.

As Zesa struggled to make foreign payments and the debt to Eskom ballooned and exceeded the guarantee provided by Government, Eskom is said to have expressed reservations to the extent that it, allegedly, once contemplated cutting supplies to Zimbabwe.

Secretary for Energy and Power Development Patson Mbiriri recently indicated that Eskom was no longer insisting “on its pound of flesh”, in terms of which ZESA would have to pay first before getting the power. But he pointed out that the power utility pays upfront as and when it has the funding ready for such an option. – State Media

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) last week failed to take prisoners to court in Harare citing fuel shortages, at a time that prominent Pastor Evan Mawarire is due to appear in court.

Another Pastor Phillip Mugadza failed to appear in court apparently because there was no fuel.

The state media reports that the whole of last week, the court had to deal with cases of suspects who are out of custody.The “prisoners no-show” saga continued yesterday as suspects were again remanded in absentia. ZPCS spokesperson Superintendent Priscilla Mtembo said the ZPCS did not have adequate fuel to sustain its operations.

“We get our funds from the Government, hence we are working on the process this week so that we rectify the issue as soon as possible,” she said.

“We are aware of the delays that have been going on at the courts countrywide due to failure to bring prisoners to courts. Right now, we are in the process of procuring fuel and we believe the situation will return to normal soon,” she said.

In addition, Supt Mtembo said the vehicles which ferry suspects from prison cells to courts were also being serviced.

“We only have three vehicles for Harare courts – one for Harare Remand, Chikurubi Female and Chikurubi Maximum – and they are all off the road,” she said.

It was not clear how prison officers at the courts were going to transport prisoners to remand prison who appeared in court for their initial remand hearing and were denied bail.
In some courts, prosecutors were advising police officers to take back suspects to police holding cells.

Relatives of suspects held at Harare Central Remand Prison milled around the courts anticipating to see their beloved ones, but to no avail as they were in no-show.
The fuel crisis has severely affected the justice delivery service, with both victims of crime and suspects being denied their day in court.

This also creates a huge case backlog. A court official who preferred anonymity said the ZPCS should act fast and rectify the problems to avoid case backlogs.
“Something urgent should be done because some pending cases will be delayed hence, more backlog,” she said.

“It is holding us back and this will also have an impact on the overflow of prisoners at remand because they will continue piling up, while waiting their trials and rulings,” she said. – State Media

A SELF-proclaimed tsikamutanda from Gweru confessed to killing more than 100 people using marine spirits  he claims to have acquired from the underground world.

This comes after 46-year-old Musiyiwa Denhere of Mkoba 20 decided to repent from his evil ways by joining a local Pentecostal church.

Instead of his life getting better, it has since turned for the worst as the marine spirits which he used to work under are now demanding that he compensates them by sacrificing his three-year-old son or wife.

“I started practising as a tsikamutanda in 1989. I have been healing people with incurable diseases. I also used to assist some of my clients by killing their enemies. I would kill by lightning, accident, sudden death, BP or any other disease. I have killed more than 100 people using the powers l got from the marine spirits. Due to my works, six wives left me and that is when l decided that I have had enough of the life of darkness,” said Denhere.

“Things have turned for the worst since the day I repented. The marine spirits are haunting me day and night demanding that I sacrifice my son for the bond to be broken. After refusing to sacrifice my family, a thundering voice told me to destroy all the property that I acquired through the marine spirits. I had no option but to obey since the spirits had said that if I fail to comply I will die,” he added.

At Denhere’s home remnants of his destroyed property were all over when B-Metro arrived for the interview.

“After being attacked day and night by the spirits, I went back to the prophet who helped me to repent in search of deliverance but he is not willing to help. He keeps telling me that he is busy. I am therefore appealing to all the members of the public especially pastors who can help me deal with this nightmare,” said Denhere. – State Media

Zimbabwe is a stable country but its peace is being threatened by a sustained regime change agenda sponsored by the West that seeks to counter the successful land reform programme initiated by the Government at the turn of the millennium, Defence Minister Dr Sidney Sekeramayi has said.

He said this yesterday while addressing military officers attending Joint Command and Staff Course Number 30 in Harare on Zimbabwe’s defence policy.

“The major threat to Zimbabwe’s peaceful existence is the Western sponsored regime change agenda that has been strengthened by their opposition to our land reform programme which forms an integral feature of the Government’s policy and is in line with the ethos of the liberation struggle,” he said.

“The basic inspiration that we must regain is control over our God-given land both in terms of governance and also in terms of the use of the resources.

This has, obviously as we all know, led to an unrelenting attack on us by the West.
“The objective of the regime change agenda orchestrated by the West, led by the United Kingdom and the USA, is economic destabilisation through illegal economic sanctions, psychological information  warfare, inclusive political interference, diplomatic isolation and socio-cultural intrusion.

“There is no doubt that their ultimate objective is to cause economic hardship among the population so that they result in frustration, poverty and push them into revolt against the Government. Indeed people have been pushed into revolting against their governments.”
Dr Sekeramayi applauded Zimbabweans for shunning such unconstitutional deception.

He said the country’s economic blueprint — Zim-Asset — was aimed at transforming and empowering ordinary citizens economically.

“Zim-Asset was crafted for the purpose of guiding Government ministries and Zimbabweans in achieving sustainable development and social equity through indigenisation, empowerment, and that employment creation can be propelled by judicious exploitation of the country’s resources,” he said.

He outlined the four clusters under Zim-Asset saying they were the machinery that would enable the country to achieve economic growth.

Dr Sekeramayi said Zimbabwe pursued a non-aggressive and non-hostile defence policy.
As such, he said the country would not interfere in the affairs of other countries.
“Zimbabwe’s defence policy prioritises the country’s domestic stability and prevention of external aggression,” he said.

Zimbabwe always exhausted cardinal diplomatic principles of handling disputes with other countries and that had seen the country enjoying peace for the past 37 years.

“The country’s defence policy resonates with the country’s Look East policy which has enabled Zimbabwe Defence Forces to establish cordial relations with many armed forces with friendly countries in Asia and the Far East and has derived innumerable benefits from such relations. Zimbabwe subscribes to treaties, conventions and actions aimed at arms control.”

He said Zimbabwe does not aspire to develop any weapon of mass destruction, adding that the country had also participated in many peace-keeping missions across the globe. State Media

THE mother of a man who was shot dead, allegedly by his friend and buried in Hillside in Bulawayo yesterday expressed shock at the death of her son at the hands, of a person she said was like a family member.

Ms Patricia Danha said she was still trying to come to terms with the loss of her son Cyprian Kudzurunga (28) who was allegedly shot by his friend Rodney Tongai Jindu (25) of Glengarry last week on Sunday.

Jindu is thought to have killed Kudzurunga of Queens Park East before burying the body in a shallow grave at a vacant residential stand in Hillside.

The suspect then allegedly sent a text message to Ms Danha pretending to be her son who was suddenly leaving the country.

Ms Danha described her son, who was the chairperson for the Young Adults Association at the St Andrew’s Parish Roman Catholic Church in Queens Park East, as a man of sober habits.

“Tongai grew up in my hands and I’m sure there’s no corner that he doesn’t know in my house. He played with my son from childhood as we were once neighbours here in Queens Park. With the way they were so close, I cannot believe he then had the guts to kill him in such a gruesome way.

“Even after his family moved to Glengarry, he always came here to see my son and even though he had since stopped coming to church they were still close,” she said.

Ms Danha said she could not tell the motive behind the murder.

Jindu allegedly stole his friend’s laptop and cellphone which he sold in the city centre.

He was arrested last Friday after he gave inconsistent statements to the police. Jindu allegedly later confessed to killing his friend and led police to the shallow grave and the body was exhumed on Saturday.

A post mortem result seen by The Chronicle says Kudzurunga was fatally hit by two bullets, one in the head and the other one in the chest.

Ms Danha said her son was not a violent person who did not deserve to die in a violent manner.

She said on the fateful day, Jindu picked up her son from home.

“Jindu picked up my son right at this home and even requested that he brings along his laptop as he wanted to work on something. When he didn’t return home until 8 PM I sent him a message on WhatsApp checking on him as that was unlike him.

“He said they were driving around and when I tried his phone again at around 10PM, it was no longer reachable. I decided to phone the friend who said he had last seen him at around 4PM,” she said.

“I made a report with police for a missing person the following morning before I proceeded to search around at other police stations, if he could have been arrested.

“I checked with Hillside Police, Central Police and Nkulumane Police if probably they had any information on Cyprian but there was nothing,” she said.

Ms Danha said she phoned Jindu who shockingly sounded surprised that her son was still not home.

“After phoning him that morning, I received an SMS from Cyprian’s mobile number saying he was leaving the country.  The message read ‘I’m very sorry mama, I committed a crime and CID police is looking for me saka ndatiza (So I have run away). I’m heading towards Beitbridge now, leaving the country.’”

It later emerged, she claimed, that Jindu was in fact the one who sent the message to his victim’s mother.

Ms Danha said: “I immediately tried to phone back but the call was cut off. I sent back a message, pleading with him to come back home as running away was not the solution. I didn’t ask what he had done but simply begged him to come back home.

“To my shock, when I called Jindu, he equally sounded sympathetic and worried that Cyprian was not back home.”

She said on Tuesday she got a message from one of Kudzurunga’s friends saying her son had sent him an SMS saying he was travelling to Harare.

“Because of confusion and stress, this prompted me to go to look for him although family had confirmed he wasn’t there. I left on Wednesday and on Friday I received word that he had been killed,” said Ms Danha.

Police yesterday said investigations were continuing.

A source close to the investigations claimed that on the day of the murder, the two spent close to seven hours drinking alcohol at Jindu’s house.

On their way to Jindu’s place, the two bought a bottle of brandy which they drank. After 10 PM Kudzurunga then decided to walk home using a footpath linking Glengarry and Queens Park East. Jindu offered to escort him and allegedly killed him along the way. – State Media

The Law Society of Zimbabwe has also waded into the Chief Justice appointment legal battle, requesting to be admitted as a friend of the court, challenging Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The development comes hot on the heels of a similar application by Harare lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.

In its application, the Law Society of Zimbabwe contends that it must be admitted on the basis that it is a regulatory body for the local legal profession.

The Law Society of Zimbabwe also views the matter as of much public interest and the court’s ruling on the same will have significant consequences for the constitution which shall be binding for years to come.

In a related development, Romeo Zibani through his legal representative, Jonathan Samukange last week Thursday wrote to the Registrar of the Supreme Court acknowledging not having filed heads of argument in the appeal lodged by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in which the commission is challenging the order by Justice Charles Hungwe which barred the holding of the public interviews last year.

Samukange said he genuinely believes the matter was not properly set down and the whole process is tainted.

He challenges the assertion by Addington Chinake, who represents the JSC that the Registrar of the Supreme Court has no power to remove a matter from the roll once it has been set.

Samukange added that he is of the view that the current appeal has not yet been referred to judges of the Supreme Court and therefore they are not yet seized with the matter.

He maintained that the registrar has the power to set any matter down for hearing and consequently to remove it from the roll.

The JSC could not however be drawn to comment on the contentious issue of whether the appeal has been taken up by any judges and if it is likely to proceed on the 13th of February. – State Media

A 32-year-old police officer allegedly picked a stone and a metal hoe, threatening to attack his colleagues after they arrested him for driving without a licence.

Luckmore Mandevere appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Tilda Mazhande facing charges of driving without a valid driver’s licence and threats of violence.

He was remanded on bail.

The prosecutor Mrs Devoted Nyagano-Gwashavanhu alleged that on December 9 last year at around 1pm, Mandevere was driving a red Toyota Raum registration number ACF 2426 into Dzivarasekwa police station in Harare.

The court heard that two police assistant inspectors and three sergeants saw Mandevere driving the vehicle.

He was asked to show his driver’s licence by his five superiors and failed to produce one.

He was subsequently arrested.

Verifications at the Central Vehicle Registry proved that Mandevere was not a holder of a driver’s licence.

It is alleged that on Unity Day last year, Mandevere was spotted driving the same vehicle along Robert Mugabe Road in Dzivarasekwa, but was arrested when he was now driving along Gunyana Road in the same suburb.

After being advised that he was under arrest, it is alleged that Mandevere disembarked and picked up a stone.

He tried to attack his colleague, Timothy Sibanda, with the stone, but he was overpowered and was arrested.

The court heard that in the charge office at Dzivarasekwa police station, Mandevere picked a metal hoe and threatened to strike another police officer, Arthur Kanyoka. – State Media

The Minister of State for Masvingo Province, Shuvai Mahofa is furious after a thriving Chiredzi Crocodile farm was invaded by a Zanu PF youth who claims to be armed with an offer letter.

The farm rears 17 000 crocodiles and employs 60 people and the invasion is putting the jobs at stake. The farm is also a major foreign currency earner with almost all products from it including crocodile skins exported.

A senior Government official who declined to be named said that the Minister met the directors of the crocodile project, Jeffrey Sommer and Stanford Gwanzura at her offices in Masvingo on Monday and promised to deal with the issue as a matter of urgency.

It is understood that the Minister has called for a Provincial Lands Committee meeting to be held before the end of this week.

Efforts to get a comment from Mahofa were fruitless.
The official said Mahofa questioned how the offer letter was issued in the first place.

Crocodile Farm Manager Wilson Gondo confirmed that his bosses met Mahofa on Monday. He also said the Provincial Lands Officer Tendai Mumera visited the farm last week and said efforts to locate the source of Gilbert Nyasha`s offer letter came to nought meaning the offer letter is not known in the province.

“I can confirm that my bosses Jeffrey Sommer and Stanley Gwanzura met Minister Mahofa on Monday after she summoned them to hear their side of the story regarding our project. According to them, the meeting was positive since Mahofa promised to solve the issue so that our operations will not be disturbed” said Gondo.

Nyasha who is a Zaka youth came to the farm which has 17000 crocodiles on January 1, this year armed with a 2012 offer letter and told the farm manager that he wanted them to move out since they are on his land. The farm is protected under BIPPA since its initial owners, the Sommer brothers are from Germany. – Mirror

Staff Reporter | Norbert Chikerema who is charged with murdering his wife Gillian Zvomuya, was missing from Court today.

The case was last Thursday lifted from magistrates court level up to the Crown Court.

Now today, a large crowd thronged the Birmingham Crown Court in the morning baying to see Mr Chikerema and hear more on the case, but more-so to hear what Mr Chikerema’s pleading is.

Chikerema however did not turn up due to an arrangement for him to speak in camera from prison, a court clerk explained to us saying.

More disappointment came however when it further emerged the video link system was not working. There was thus no pleading today.

The case is now to be heard on the 20th March and the final trial will be on the 31st July.

Media, Information and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Thokozile Mathuthu says she was worried ZBC-TV has failed to cover debates within the Senate adding she will follow up the snub with the public broadcaster.

She had been asked during a question and answer session in the upper house on Thursday if it was government policy for the public broadcaster to cover the lower house only, at the expense of the Senate.

“We do not see coverage of the Senate on ZTV,” said Senator Keresensia Chabuka in a question directed at Mathuthu.

“We expect to be covered and be visible in this august House because the people who elected us need to see us debating.

“We only see the National Assembly on ZTV. Does this mean that we are not as powerful as the National Assembly or we are not representing the people?”

In her response, Mathuthu said it was nowhere in the country’s laws for ZBC to confine their broadcasts to debates in the lower house leaving out the Senate.

“It is not in the statutes of this country that this House should not be covered by media at all,” Mathuthu said.

“I am also worried because I would also like to appear on television. May the Honourable Members in this distinguished House allow me to take this matter further?

“When I came in, I thought I saw a lady with a camera coming here so I am equally surprised that our House is not receiving due attention, which we are entitled to as legislators. So, I will definitely take it up with the Hon. Minister and the CEO of ZBC, Mr. Mavhura.”

ZBC-TV often makes live coverage during parliament’s Wednesday sessions when cabinet ministers come to the august house to respond to questions from backbenchers.

Zimbabwe’s Senate is often ridiculed and described a retirement home as it comprises older politicians who have apparently lost enthusiasm to debate issues.

This is different from the lower house which is first to debate laws and often sees robust debate among opposing MPs.

Laws passed by the lower house often pass through the upper house with little or no alterations, earning the upper house the unenviable status of a virtual rubberstamping institution. Radio VOP