A report published by the state media and recycled on social forum websites claiming that MDC Legal Secretary has reportedly broken ranks with his boss, Welshman Ncube by blasting the SADC appeal move for which a special summit is being held today Saturday in Maputo, is unverified.
A recording of the alleged speech by Coltart who is also the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, was still not available at the time of writing after it emerged the state media have in the past 3 years been launching personality attacks on key MDC leaders.
The state media on Friday night reported claiming that Coltart the day before criticised his boss Welshman Ncube and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai due to their mission to Maputo where they are taking their pre-election concerns amid revelations that ZANU PF is ignoring crucial reforms such as media and security sector transformation.

A comment from Coltart was expected this weekend after the news articles were published on Friday night. An MDC member who declined being named, told ZimEye that David Coltart was the last person who could have made such utterances.
“I have serious concerns on that article. Do they have a recording of it? I know of a certainty that David has been victim of the state media machinery in recent years.
According to the Herald, Coltart said the habit of taking domestic disputes to SADC, which the MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is fond of, was embarrassing.
“We are a sovereign country and I am a proud Zimbabwean. I do not believe that as a nation we should be guided by any outside country in solving our problems,” Coltart is recorded as having stated.
“It is not worthwhile to be running to Sadc all the time. The irony of it is that when we take our problems to them, we attract criticism and embarrass ourselves.”
The Herald article continued to claim (though without lifting a single quotation of the exact words) Coltart allegedly said that although SADC was the facilitator to the Global Political Agreement, the onus was on Zimbabweans to determine their destiny, also acknowledging that Robert Mugabe acted according to law, according o the Herald.
Mr Coltart, however, noted that there was room for parties to go back to the Constitutional Court, not Sadc, to argue their case citing reasons why they feel July 31 was not feasible, it is claimed.
“I am not one of those who say we should ignore the Constitutional Court ruling because it is binding. I also do not criticise the content of the ruling.
“The correct procedure in my view would be to go back to the Constitutional Court and say it would be difficult to comply with the ruling,” further read the Herald article ascribing words to Coltart.
It was last night speculated that Coltart’s words are a deviation from the official party line and a breaking away from his own boss Welshman Ncube who together with Tsvangirai reacted in anger at the Contitutional Court ruling development which has seen Robert Mugabe rush to prepare the nation for looming elections.
More to follow…

 – No single published academic paper visible
 – REVEALED: Dr Chovava’s compromising relationship with Chiyangwa (Upcoming)
The president of the so called St Linus University (SLU) based in the impoverished Philippines, which has dished out controversial doctorate degrees to Zimbabwean businessmen Phillip Chiyangwa and James Makamba, managed only 4 O’ Levels, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
In this series of exclusive investigations, ZimEye reveals the shameful compromising relationship between the so called “Dr” Chovava, and Phillip Chiyangwa  and in this issue, that “Dr” Pythias Chovava only managed 4 O’Levels and in 1990 could only become a cashier.
 
How did a cashier who once had no ordinary level education rise to the position of president of a University and get to possess a PhD  without a single trace of his written works?
“Dr” Chovava served tables as a cashier at the National Tyres company at Cripps Road, in Harare’s Graniteside industrial area in the 90s.
This revelation comes as this publication queried to him why he himself claims to have a PhD certificate and yet does not have a single visible published paper, a standard norm in the world of doctoral academics.
The only published document that has been identified to date is a mere one page list of persons by a dodgy UK hosted website, named as Institute of Professional Finance Managers which does not have a single contact number. One of Chovava’s credentials cite this makeshift organisation which claims accreditation of so called professionals.
There is no contact number on the IPFM website, and records in the registrar of domains reveal two phone numbers which are not valid phone numbers. The makeshift website which created using free open source software Joomlah, contains unstructured street English. One of the lines on the site read:
“We are regularly out on the web. When we find a great site we list it here for you to enjoy.”
Chovava’s credentials are believed to be evasive as they do not disclose what they exactly are. They read: “Dr Pythias Chenjerayi Chovava BSc MBA PhD ACEA AFCA CPFM FIPFM MDSTI Executor and Judicial Manager (Registered)”

Mr Chovava has since been asked to prove these credentials. 
When contacted numerous times, Chovava’s cellphone number was automatically diverting to a South African number which also did not go through to be answered.
It was only after a text message was sent to the Zim number that Chovava within seconds replied with the message:
“Who is this now?”
It was at that time that instantly his phone stopped diverting to South Africa and he answered the call only to hang up after being told it was a media inquiry.
When however questioned in January by the Daily News paper concerning his awarding of Phillip Chiyangwa, Chovava suggested he even had backing even from the army in the Phillippines.
“I am a graduate of the same institution with a PhD and I was there last April with three Zimbabwean students who were graduating.
“So popular is the institution that when I was there, security was provided by the Philippino army.
“Registration with the Hague Convention was to internationalise the transnational arm of the college so that its certificates are accepted worldwide.
I am a pastor and would not be involved in anything dubious,” said Chovava.
Photographs of the graduation ceremony officiated by Chovava when he granted James Makamba a PhD this month,  show noone else but a handful Zimbabweans who are members of the controversial Chiyangwa formed Affirmative Action Group.
Already Chovava has admitted that St Linus University (SLU) is a registered company in the tiny Dominica island, and not the Phillippines where he is operating it from. ZimEye hereby warns Zimbabweans to stay away from the so called Linus University institution until Chovava comes into the open about his credentials and his so called university.
Watch this space for Part 2 of this exclusive expose’ which shall reveal the compromising relationship between Chovava and Phillip Chiyangwa.

The MP for Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya was on Friday arrested in Mutare by the Law And Order Section department of the local police.
Exact reasons for the arrest were not clear at the time of writing.
By 4PM Muchauraya’s cellphone was still not reachable since the arrest several hours earlier.
Muchauraya is being charged with the alleged murder of former MDC-T MP, John Nyamande.

He is also facing charges of allegedly threatening to kill aspiring legislator contending for the same constituency he currently serves, the former veteran journalist Geoff Nyarota. Recently however Muchauraya’s house was attacked by unknown assailants on the 24th April.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai received shock news on Thursday afternoon when a (SADC)Southern African Development Community official announced through a Chinese news agency the cancellation of an emergency SADC the premier had together with other major opposition parties called for a challenge of the Supreme Court ruling compelling the government to hold elections before the 31st July.
According to the Chinese Xinhua news agency, SADC confirmed Thursday that the special summit on Zimbabwe’s upcoming elections scheduled on June 9 in Maputo, Mozambique, has been cancelled.
An official from SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao’s office who identified herself as Dorcas reportedly told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the summit would not go ahead as scheduled.
“It won’t take place on the 9th. I cannot give you reasons but it won’t take place on the 9th. That’s all I can tell you,” she said.
SADC has not yet released an official statement.
The planned summit was supposed to discuss Zimbabwe’s elections, in particular the recent supreme court ruling on the holding of elections, as well as possible funding.
While a statement from Tsvangirai’s office was not ready at the time of writing, Professor Welshman Ncube’s deputy spokesman Kurauone Chiwayi said they had been officially informed of the cancellation.
Said Chihwayi:
“We are very much aware of the cancelled because we have been officially advised. The MDC intends to take the issue of the roadmap,reforms and electoral act amendments to SADC, Zimbabweans should not read much into the constitutional court ruling; elections will take place in Zimbabwe this year but there is need to agree on reforms such as security sector, media and electoral reforms. The MDC will press SADC on the need to fully implement the agreed roadmap first before we go to elections. Zimbabweans should except a bruising battle in Maputo. Professor Welshman Ncube will take the interests of the majority to SADC before we go to elections,” he said.
President Robert Mugabe last week said that he would comply with a Constitutional Court ruling that elections should be held by July 31.
The cash-strapped government is also expected to get aid from the regional bloc to fund the electoral process. The government says it needs at least 100 million U.S. dollars to go to the polls.

(Harare)Hundreds of people are reportedly turning out to Zimbabwe’s 29th newly formed party, the United Movement For Democracy Party (UMD) which this year nominated prominent businessman Mutumwa Mawere to be its leader.

Up to 250 people converged in Mabvuku on Saturday at the weekend.
In the picture party coordinator Ashiri Mawere addresses the crowd in a community hall.
He told ZimEye soon after the rally:
“The crowd is growing,” he said.
We meet with the disabled and widows of the area and the level of unemployment, poor housing, and healthcare is sad.”
Mawere said that the 250 figure does not include the leadership.
Mawere`s UMD party which was started at the end of December last year, hopes to become the next big name in Zimbabwean politics to challenge Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mutumwa Mawere who has accepted the nomination stated however that the party was not started by him as claimed in some media circles.

War is brewing faster in the file and rank of Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court over a recent judgement instructing President Robert Mugabe to hold elections no later than 31st July 2013, and a judge sitting on the 9 panel quorum that presided over the latter verdict on Friday, has come out into the public slamming his own colleagues.
Two judges Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba, and Justice Bharat Patel on Friday had already dissented.

Justice Luke Malaba was later quoted in public labelling the judgement illogical. His words were nakedly printed expressing extreme displeasure. Justice Malaba said the decision “defied logic” in finding Mugabe was in breach of his constitutional responsibilities although” at the same time authorizing him to continue acting unlawfully” by proclaiming a July date.
“That is a very dangerous principle and has no basis in law. The principle of the rule of law just does not permit such an approach,” said Malaba who is known for previously granting bail to MDC-T supporters controversially accused of murdering Glen View police officer Petros Mutedza in 2011.
Malaba’s words came after the 9 member panel in Zimbabwe’s highest court ruled that Robert Mugabe and his  government must conduct elections before the 31st July 2013 failure which they would be in breach of the constitution.
But how can such a decision be reached while at the same time the Supreme Court is ruling that Mugabe is in breach of his constitutional responsibilities, Justice Malaba questioned.
Malaba said that Zimbabwe’s elections can be held even four months later after the dissolution of parliament during a time when also the electorate are being prepared before voting so that they can have a meaningful contribution to the electoral process.
It is illogical to conduct elections soon after dissolution and in the time frame now given, as this would affect the electorates’ constitutional rights, contented Malaba.
Malaba went ahead to state in proverbial language openly ridiculing the decision by saying that he cannot be fooled by it.
“I …refuse to have wool cast over the inner eye of my mind on this matter,” said Malaba.
Malaba’s statements come after Zimbabwe’s judiciary was slammed for being allegedly controlled by the presidency, something which the country’s Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa denies. Chinamasa told ZimEye recently that all such allegations are “damn lies,” and should be dismissed with contempt.
 

Zimbabwe has an independent judiciary contrary to what critics claim, Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa says.
Mr Chinamasa told ZimEye in an exclusive interview that claims that the country’s judges are controlled by President Robert Mugabe, are false.
“That is damn lies,” said Chinamasa. He continued:
“…and should be dismissed with the contempt those allegations deserve. We have a very independent judiciary which comes to conclusions on the basis the merits of of cases and allegations, and facts presented before them.
“That of course has no basis at all,” he said.
Chinamasa comments came barely a few weeks before the supreme court ruled that Zimbabwe must hold elections before the end of July 2013, a verdict the MDC-T party says was purely political and the supreme court does not have a mandate to set an election date. Tsvangirai’s spkesman Luke Tamborinyoka said the Supreme Court judges had over-stretched their mandate.
But some news readers have argued to the contrary, stating against the MDC-T position that section 158 is very specific on the timing of elections and that the Supreme Court merely acted on the basis of written stipulations.
Wrote one ZimEye news reader:
(1)

A general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than—
(a)
thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period specified in section 143;
(b)
where Parliament has passed resolutions to dissolve in terms of section 143
(2), ninety days after the passing of the last such resolution; or
(c)
where Parliament is dissolved in terms of section 109
(4) or (5) following a vote of no confidence, ninety days after the dissolution.
(2)
General elections to local authorities must take place concurrently with
presidential and parliamentary general elections.

Harare:There was outrage in Harare over a supreme court ruling that yesterday declared that Zimbabwe should hold elections within the upcoming 8 weeks’ time.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku yesterday ordered President Robert Mugabe to proclaim election date and hold elections before 31 July.
“The 1st respondent is ordered and directed to proclaim dares for Presidential, General and election governing bodies in terms of section 58(1) of the constitution, which election should take place by not later 31 July 2013,” Justice Chiweshe ruled on Friday.
Zanu PF has been demanding immediate elections  following the end of the current Parliament on June 29, while the MDC formations state that a four-month delay is constitutionally possible.

The MDC formations have been calling for an adjustment to allow implementation of further reforms. These reforms include key matters such as security sector concerns which the MDCs have complained about saying that Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF would stand at an unfair advantage against them.
Last week the court reserved judgement on the case in which the controversial director of the Centre for Elections and Democracy in Southern Africa Jealousy Mawarire, was sought that President Robert Mugabe should announce elections date before June 29.

Mawarire in his court papers argued that with the looming of the expiry of the life of parliament come the 29th of June 2013, read against the inaction in the part of his excellence the President in so far as proclaiming the dates for the holding of elections is concerned was going to lead to a very distinct possibility that beyond the 31st of June the country was going to be running effectively by decree because they will be no parliament. The country needs U$130 million to hold polls.
But Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai dismissed the supreme court ruling saying the court had no power to set an election date adding also that the judges had “overstepped their mandate.”
Said Tsvangirai through his spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka.
“The Supreme Court has no power whatsoever to set an election date. In the true spirit of separation of powers, an election date remains a political process in which the executive has a role to play…
“There is clear evidence that there are some within the executive who wish to circumvent the consultative role in the GPA and the share responsibility enshrined therein to pronounce an election date under the cloak of judicial authority.
“An election date is the responsibility of the executive, which has not shown that it has failed to announce such a date. SADC and the people of Zimbabwe know that an election date is a result of political pronouncements in which the judiciary has no role to play.
“The Principals have a consultative mechanism that would ensure that a date is proclaimed following an agreement by all parties. This is what SADC, the AU and the people of Zimbabwe expect, not a date set up under the cover of the judiciary without a mechanism to ensure to that issues of the election environment and reforms are addressed.”

Warnings have gone out to people in Leicestershire communities that it may be best to stay out of Leicester City Centre and the surrounding areas on Saturday 1 June. Leicester English Defence League who it is believed hold extreme racial prejudices, have called a march in the city centre this Saturday, 1 June at 10am.
Their intention is to march from the High Street, past the Clock Tower and up to Victoria Park located in London Road. They have stated that their reasons for calling this march is to ‘pay their respects’ to murdered soldier Lee Rigby. Many however will not be pacified by this but instead will hold this apparent intention with a dubious regard. EDL is infamously renowned for their far right views, which some would suggest are blatantly fascist. EDL claims to be a human rights oriented group that aims to promote the peaceful protest against Islamist extremism. Many however would suggest that the EDL are nothing more than Islamaphobics attempting to legitimise their hatred. Despite their suggested peaceful cause the EDL appears to attract far right extremists of their own, as has been seen in the past by their demonstrations turning violent. On Monday, many EDL supporters were seen paying their respects by making Nazi salutes at the Centaph in London. The armed forces charity Help for Heroes last week publicly distanced itself from the EDL –refusing to take a £3,000 donation from the organisation.
In Leicester Unite Against Fascism, local trade unionists, faith groups and community groups will join together in a peaceful show of unity by protesting the presence of EDL in their city by meeting at the Clock Tower at 9am on Saturday morning and making it known once again that any intolerance, religious or otherwise is unwelcome in their city. This is not the first time the EDL has visited the city of Leicester, which is renowned for being multicultural. They descended upon the city of Leicester on the 4th February 2012, however the police force and local communities came together and took a stand for unity. Although there were several incidents of violence it was greatly controlled. For those living or intending to visit the Leicester City area, please be pre-warned. For further information please contact your local police stations and local community police officers. ZimEye is in discussions with Leicestershire Constabulary and will keep our valued readers informed.

“When your heart is open to nature, nature responds with the same,” says Zimbabwe’s Environment and Tourism Minister, Francis Nhema in the below photo snapped at one of the country’s top eye-catching nature conservancies. As he arrives with his guide, he is immediately mobbed by a group of massive gigantic elephants who appear to be continuously conversing with him.
PHOTO:

The family of the late CIO Deputy  General, Elias Kanengoni has received a lump sum tax reprieve from government, ZimEye can reveal, in a development which further shows how the Zimbabwean government has to date lost millions of dollars in money that could have been collected and utilised in crucial service delivery for the nation at large.

This comes soon after the late Mr Kanengoni was granted the status of national hero. Such a status attracts, among other benefits, a whopping tax reprieve that benefits the estate handsomely. In addition to government aid in funeral expenses that include feeding mourners, the government stands to lose  uncollected amounts on duty as the estates of all persons declared national heroes are given automatic tax exemption. Such a development has seen government failing to collect billions of dollars over the past 20 years as the supposed duty funds are never touched. For instance, the estate of heroes like the late Retired Army General Solomon Mujuru (speculated into billions), would normally add value to government coffers through millions of precious but idle money supposed to be estate duty and taxes. Unfortunately, the politicians who are normally wealthy through land, cash and other assets emerging through their political careers, rule from the grave and are shielded from scrutiny by ZANU PF-initiated but legislated policy that makes their estates remain unaffected by duty and taxes.
In terms of section 3 of the National Heroes Act Chapter 10:16. of Zimbabwe, once a person  s designated as a hero,  their estate is exempt from estate duty.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was not snubbed by the African Union as has been claimed by the Herald newspaper, the latest evidence from various consultations reveal.
On Saturday the state media’s reporter Caesar Zvayi claimed that Tsvangirai was blocked by the African Union. The article also named an NGO which was rather the one snubbed by the body. The Herald article failed to disclose when and how the allegedly AU did this thing while the journalist on the story also failing to interview sources, if any.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Andrew Mtetwa has revealed that contrary to the Herald journo’s claims, he was actually expecting Mr Tsvangirai but Tsvangirai suddenly went quiet on Friday, confirming explanations given by the PM’s office.
The PM’s Minister of State, Jameson Timba travelled to Ethiopia, a development which confirmed there was no snub at all as alleged.
PM Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai rather cancelled his trip because his wife was not feeling well: “He was supposed to travel to Addis Ababa today, but cancelled the trip because his wife (Ms Elizabeth Macheka) is not feeling well,” said Tamborinyoka.
He added: “Ours is a unique situation where there is shared power. All the principals were invited by the AU and this matter was discussed during the principals meeting and they agreed they should all go. The AU are guarantors of this power-sharing deal and that is the reason why the principals agreed that all of them were supposed to attend the celebrations.”
A party insider further revealed there was no snub at all and there was no basis whatsoever for the Herald article: “It is not procedural for me to do so but I can tell you that what the paper is saying is not true. We were actually at the airport yesterday when we aborted the trip on account of sudden illness in the PM’s family. As a caring family man he prioritised he did what any responsible father would do. The PM and the President even agreed at the principals meeting on Monday that given the character of our GNU all principals should attend the Jubilee celebrations and this is why DPM Mutambara traveled with the President. For security reasons you can’t put the President and the PM on the same aircraft. To also rebut the claims of a snub, the PM’s advance party led by Minister Timba is actually in Addis right now, attending the celebrations because they had travelled a day earlier. The idea that the PM was snubbed is nothing short of propaganda and a smear campaign against Tsvangirai which even the President castigated just a few days ago,” he said

The South Africa based Mthwakazi Liberation Front separatist group on Monday issued a threat for armed war to the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe, declaring a 90 day ultimatum failure which they claim they will pursue among others, military action to achieve their objectives.
Writing directly to the British monarchy, the organisation’s spokesman David Magagula said failure to comply with their requests would attract imminent war after 90 days.
The MLF has to date been seeking to slice Zimbabwe into two equal halves to represent what it claims were the original historic mappings of the country in the late 1800s. The result of that slicing would result in the creation of a second country named as ‘Mthwakazi’ which is exactly half the size of the present day Zimbabwe plateau.
“We will wait not more than three months before assuming that non response entitles us to take this matter the way we see fit,” the group’s correspondence statement read.
The full letter read:

I write on behalf of the people of Matabeleland (Mthwakazi), a Kingdom destroyed by Her Majesty’s forces under the banner of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1894. This is the third time we seek audience with Her Majesty on the restoration of the kingdom of Matabeleland (Mthwakazi State).
In our last correspondence, you directed us to the Zimbabwean government. We have since engaged the Zimbabwean government on this crucial matter and we got the harshest of the replies from Robert Mugabe, the sitting President in the binary arrangement (whereby Matabeleland and Mashonaland were bundled into one country without the consent of the subjects into Rhodesia then and Zimbabwe today) which you created in a Whites only referendum of 1923.
From the onset, we had refused to be directed to our second colonisers, Zimbabwe because it is not Zimbabwe that bundled the two separate states but Britain immediately after the conquest in the Anglo –Ndebele war of 1894. From that time till 1980, successive governments in Rhodesia took turns to misrule our people by use of the stringent Matabeleland Order in Council of 1896 which is still in force today and adequately enforced by the government of Robert Mugabe. To us, this means that Britain handed us and our state over to Zimbabwe at decolonisation in 1980 to perpetuate our oppression, an illegal arrangement again to the detriment of our nations’ welfare and prosperity.
We have resolved that we write You this letter once more before we drag You and the British government to the International Court of Justice (ICCJ) and to the United nations (UN), a move we are serious contemplating right now.
We regret to have resolved to take such a stance and we add that this is the last peaceful means that we the people of Mthwakazi will do before we engage the occupying regime otherwise, in the not so distant a future. We have sufficient evidence to push Your State and government to its knees while we prepare to settle the issue militarily with the obdurate Zimbabwean government.
Your urgent response and action on this matter is paramount. We will wait not more than three months before assuming that non response entitles us to take this matter the way we see fit.
Yours faithfully
[subscribe2]

President Robert Mugabe is today officiating scheduled to launch Zimbabwe’s Food and Nutrition Security Policy under the auspicies of the United Nations, UNICEF agency.
President Mugabe will address delegates today at the Harare International Conference Centre (H.I.C.C), Rainbow Towers, 1 Pennefather Ave, at 1PM.
UNICEF representative, Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano will also speak at the function.
Zimbabwe has in the past 13 years suffered acute levels of hunger caused by various factors including climate changes, and economic challenges. Some economists state that the effects of president Mugabe’s land reform program are largely to blame for the countries woes.

(Leicester)Violent thugs who caused mayhem at the just ended Jah Prayzah show in Leicester, UK are being investigated by the local police and could end up in court soon in a development that might soon see Zimbabwean music shows being banned in the area because of the violence which caused the ambulance services to attend to casualties.
The full list of the marauding thugs is being compiled by the Leicestershire Police who are determined to execute justice on the unscrupulous individuals who beat up several innocent fans at the show during a commotion where others threatened to assault the visiting singer for failing to play for the full duration of the show as promised.
The list of names submitted to the police include a controversial Manchester disk jokey, Simbarashe Nyanhanga (also known as Cde DJ SimbaRashe) who took personal interest interrupting an inquiry with the promoters for the violence 2 days after the horrific incident as he made futile claims that no one was assaulted.
As he interrupted our reporter, Nyanhanga claimed our article which yet contained the full colour video expose was wrong. He rudely charged in full view of onlookers saying the violence did not take place and that we should have not published the story: “That article you published was wrong. Why on earth did you publish it? I was there myself and what you wrote did not happen at all, 50 percent of what you wrote is false,” he claimed.
He even said that no-one was beaten up:
“Akarohwa ndiani – Who was beaten up as you claim?”,he said.
“Your video was completely irrelevant,” he added.

He was immediately challenged to point to a single example of his allegations. But on lookers who included fans, journalists and other disk jokeys were however stunned when Nyanhanga became tight lipped failing to provide a valid pointer to support his claims.  Nyanhanga’s actions denied the promoter and the artist to issue a recorded explanation to valued fans.
Nyanhanga even claimed to belong to Diamond Studios, Jah Prayzah’s recording company and promoters, as he attempted to justify his behaviour. But when contacted for comment, Diamond Studios’ boss Mr Steady Munyukwi dismissed Nyanhanga’s claims saying he is not even known in Diamond Studios.
“He neither works for nor with Diamond Studios”, said  Munyukwi.
“If there is anyone who should be complaining, it would have to be me,” Munyukwi clarified.
Fans have been assured that the violent thugs will not be allowed access to future shows.
Nyanhanga is not new to controversy and last year he personally hijacked a Miss Zimbabwe UK pageant which ended up not taking place for the year 2012.
ZimEye can reveal that Leicestershire police are investigating the damning violence in which several fans were brutally beaten up and subsequently caused Jah Prayzah to leave the premises in full speed. Cops were as of yesterday carefully examining video footage and performing their criminal investigations.
More to  follow…
VIDEO:

There was shock last week after ZANU PF’s secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, rubbished news that liberation war army general Josiah Magama Tongogara’s elder brother, Michael died a week before. Mutasa with his denials, has since triggered a series of shifting inconsitent explanations for ZANU PF’s shocking failure to honour the Tongogara family.
Michael Tongogara (a liberation war cadre) could not have died, Mr Didymus Mutasa told ZimEye as he dismissed the yet verified reports that Tongogara passed on and was, two weeks ago, buried in Mt Darwin’s Chesa area.
When asked by ZimEye why his party failed to attend the funeral despite Mr Michael Tongogara’s status as a liberation war, and a ZANU PF party icon since the 70s, Mr Mutasa dismissed the news widely reported last week.
He replied:
“Michael (ani?) Michael who?

“Ah, hatimbozivi kuti akafa ba isu – We do not know at all that Tongogara died.
“Hatimbozivi kuti akafa isu.
“Hazviite ka pachivanhu chedu kuti munhu ofa munhu momuregerera ….. – It cannot happen in our culture that we neglect a person after he has died.
“But ku Mt Darwin aienderei mukoma waTongogara? – But in Mt Darwin what had Tongo’s brother gone there to do?
“Handiti anogara ku Masvingo neku nhingirikini uku, kuSelukwe?…. Zvino varikuti akandoradzikwa kuMt Darwin kuna ani ko?
“So the story may just be fake really,” said Mr Mutasa.
Mutasa’s statement comes after ZANU PF’s spokesperson Rugare Gumbo also dismissed the same story saying he did not know at all that Mr Tongogara had passed on.
According to the Standard paper’s Jennifer Dube, Michael died a bitter man and he complained that Zanu PF and Tongo’s former comrades in arms had neglected the family left behind by the Zanla chief who died in a mysterious accident on December 26 1979, a few months before independence.
But the party is reported as having actually deliberately snubbed his burial and reports suggest that President Robert Mugabe’s group actually took an intentional stance ignoring the Tongogara family because of standing political grudges against them which date back to the 70s.
Michael Tongogara has lived in the Chesa area since the early 1980s when he was resettled there and until the time of his death, continued as a party loyale. Despite the party bosses stating that they do not know him, he however for several years featured in ZANU PF’s own media during several lenghty interviews for which he was largely regarded as a spokesman of the fami;y.

One of Zimbabwe’s most prominent property, insurance personality and businessman, Mr Paul Mkondo has died.  He was 68.
Mkondo died on Thursday afternoon at the Avenues Clinic after battling with cancer for  a brief period. The cancer had been diagnosed three weeks earlier.
Many Zimbabweans of the seventies and eighties generation will remember him for his radio commercials on life insurance. He broke the ground and set pace as one of the early Zimbabweans to make it into the insurance industry at a broader scale. His name became a household one through his entertaining and appealing insurance program, “Mari Nehupenyu Hwevanhu” which used to be aired on the then Radio 2 from 1970 to 1989.
“Hama itai cent cent, Kana usina mari hauna shamwari” ( Please contribute a penny a time because if you are broke, friends run away) were part of his commercial song of an early morning brief talk show that covered the advantages of having life insurance. The company that he worked for, Southampton did not disappoint either. Many working class people felt persuaded to buy insurance and the company grew in leaps and bounds.
Mkondo’s son Nhamo confirmed the death, adding that funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.
At the time of his death he was the owner of PMA real Estate Agent, Paul Mkondo Insurance Brokers and Paul Mkondo Life Assurance. He was also the vice president of the Real Estate Council of Zimbabwe and the chairman of Danhiko project whose Patron is the First lady Amai Grace Mugabe. He is survived by two sons, two daughters and seven grand children.
Mr. Mkondo is survived by his wife and four children and mourners are gathered at Number 184 Marimba Park, in Harare.

Chaotic scenes at Jah Prayzah’s UK Leicester Show as angry fans exchange blows and threaten Jah Prayzah.
Click Video below to watch what you missed out!!!

HARARE: Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s new political advisor, Alex Magaisa’s personal driver died in a tragic car accident last week during the course of business.
Mr. Edmore Munyoro (36), adored and respected by many, lost his life in a car accident as he ran an errand by himself last week in Bhora.
At the time of writing, details were sketchy as Dr Alex Magaisa got busy with his schedule and funeral arrangements just after he announced the sad news on Wednesday.
It was also not clear exactly where the accident occurred, at the time of writing.

The vehicle designated to Mr Magaisa had just been released from mechanical service where engine check-ups and fitness were performed. A surprise wheel problem developed after that service triggering the accident that killed Eddie Magaisa, current reports state.
Moments later, in a gripping encomium on his Facebook wall reflecting what could have been a mark of farewell moments with a close family member, Dr. Magaisa wrote, “As we drove to Bulawayo last week, Tuesday, Bla Eddie and I were reminiscing…talking about the good old days; little did we both know that we were reminding ourselves of the beautiful memories for the last time together. We spoke about one old song [by James Chimombe] we used to love, lyrics so apt with the benefit of hindsight: Vaitiona tiri tose vachandibvunza; ko mumwe aripiko? (Those who used to see us share lighter moments as a duet will question my loneliness in your absence). We laid him to rest yesterday. Blah Eddie … kundisiya ndiri ndega …(how could you leave me alone),” said Magaisa.
Eddie who was laid to rest on Wednesday, the very day he was supposed to turn 36 (May 1) has been described by Magaisa as, “a fine gentleman; a loyal man who stood by me through and through from the time we herded cattle together. He can never be replaced. He was not just my personal driver. He was everything.”

A shocking report has been submitted by the MDC-T in Manicaland stating that the party’s spokesman for the province, Pishai Muchauraya’s house was attacked and ‘destroyed’ last night. Muchauraya is currently facing charges of allegedly threatening kill aspiring legislator Geoff Nyarota.
We have re-published the report as it is in its unedited form.
Below is the report with photographs submitted to ZimEye Thursday afternoon:
18 window panes for Hon Pishai Muchauraya’s house in ward 26, Makoni South were last night destroyed by unidentified people who are still at large for unknown reasons.
A police report has already been made to Nyazura police station and the RRB Number is 1610645.
Peter Chituriro, ward 26 secretary who stays at the house fled for his life semi naked, wearing only his undergarments, at midnight when he heard some people strongly hammering the house with hard things, suspectedly stones.

“It was around midnight when I suddenly heard some people hammering the wall so hard that I sensed danger and quickly woke up. Upon opening the door I realised scores of people had already surrounded the house and I quickly ran away. One of them chased me but could not catch up with me,” he said.
Upon return, few hours later, in company of several other neighbouring villagers, he discovered that all the window panes amounting to 18 had been destroyed. It was clear, that the window panes were stoned as several stones were found in and around the house.
He said he is convinced that these people are not strangers and their intention was simply to destroy and not to loot or steal anything.
“When I fled, I left the door wide open and my phone on the bed but nothing was stolen. That’s a clear indication that these people’s intention was not to steal but to simply destroy. These are purely acts of an enemy,” he said.
In a statement, Hon Muchauraya said he is not intimidated by vain efforts of Nyarota to outwit him in the upcoming party primary elections for Makoni South parliamentary seat.
“I am not intimidated by these barbaric acts of cowards. I will not give room to Zanu pf and any other enemy,” he said.
The district organising secretary said this is purely not about MDC anymore.
“We have a rally tomorrow at Gwangwadza, in this very same area and already posters put around Nyarota’s business centre have been torn off. This is purely not about contesting or MDC anymore. Ever since the formation of the party, we have never witnessed this, not even from Zanu pf. We used to host our rallies but not even one day did Zanu pf tear off our posters. This all started after aspiring applicants submitted their CV’s to contest against Hon Muchauraya,” he said.
No arrests have been made and investigations are currently underway.
This follows Hon Muchauraya’s appearance in court yesterday at Rotten Row Magistrate court in Harare, over alleged death threats charges against Nyarota.
The trial however kicked off on Tuesday and is expected to continue again next week, after the case was remanded to 30 April 2013.
Hon Muchaurya, who is out on $100 bail, is also accused of threatening to kill Nyarota’s aunt Sophia Chibayambuya, who took to the stand as the state’s first witness. Hon Muchauraya denies both charges.
Hon Muchauraya and Nyarota are expected to square off in the party primaries for the Makoni South constituency that are to be held sometime next month.
The state has lined up three witnesses. Nyarota is expected to testify next week on Tuesday.
In his sworn affidavit to the police, Nyarota said that on February 28th he received death threats from a caller who was using a private number. Nyarota said he “recognised” the voice of Muchauraya.
The case took a twist on Wednesday, when police charged him again with the murder of the late parliamentarian, John Nyamande.
The police admitted they don’t have any evidence linking Muchauraya to the death of Nyamande but told him they will proceed with the case by way of summons.
Muchauraya, the MDC-T spokesman for Manicaland province was however made to sign a warned and cautioned statement at the Harare central police station on Wednesday.
The man he is accused of killing, Nyamande was the MDC-T MP for Makoni Central, who died in a horrific car crash in November 2009 near Ruwa that left his Isuzu KB vehicle a mangled wreck.
The 57 year-old Nyamande was killed instantly when his car collided with a stationary truck that was partially parked off the Harare-Marondera highway.
After the crash, police who attended the scene of the accident told Nyamande’s best friend, Hebson Makuvise (Zimbabwe’s current ambassador to Germany) that the MP died after suffering multiple broken bones as well as severe head and chest injuries.
MDC strongly condemns such barbaric acts that are meant only to divide the party ahead of the general elections scheduled for late this year.

Four weeks after reports claimed that Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa ‘brought violence to London’, investigations into the alleged act have found that there was no such violence apart from a possible verbal exchange during a conversation, if any such exist.
It was claimed by the London based SW Radio Africa that Chinamasa physically lunged at the MP for Vauxhaul, Kate Hoey an incident the radio website also claimed was a ‘fight’. In the article titled: ‘Chinamasa brings ZANU PF ‘violence’ to London’, the radio station’s reporter said “Nobody knows exactly what triggered the fight, but sources told SW Radio Africa that the incident happened as soon as Hoey went over to greet Chinamasa.” The story was subsequently republished by the weekly Standard paper which carried the screaming headline: “Chinamasa in near fist fight in the UK.”

It was claimed that Chinamasa was separated by ambassador Gabriel Machinga from hurting Hoey.
But ambassador Machinga has said no such thing happened, “I did not have the labour of separating the two because there was no incident where I met both of them at once. I met Kate after she had already greeted Chinamasa. When they exchanged their greetings I was not there. If such an incident occurred Kate would have told me, and Chinamasa would done the same.”
Furthermore when ZimEye contacted Kate Hoey herself, she refused to comment any further only replying with the below written response.
She had been asked:
“Our reporters have been trying to reach you since last week to inquire on the alleged incident to do with Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. It is reported that Mr Chinamasa attempted to assault you on Monday last week. We would like to report on this incident seeing there have been ifferent unclear reports on it.”
Below is all that Kate Hoey said when she was asked to comment on the alleged incident.
“I really have nothing more to say on this. In the scale of the intimidation and violence being perpetrated on ordinary Zimbabweans by Zanu PF thugs, Chinamasa’s belligerent behaviour in a public place would be seen as mild ! The fact that he reacted so angrily when I mentioned Beatrice Metatwa’s arrest maybe shows how he realises he is out of kilter with international opinion. I was not surprised at his behaviour. It is entirely in keeping with what I would expect of ZANU PF – Kate.”
In the event that this incident really took place, it is believed CCTV footage would have been released seeing the severity of the alleged behaviour. Great Britan has the most CCTV devices in the world with over 4.2 million cameras. This would be if the room had cameras which is highly likely as ZimEye has been told the meeting actually occured in a cocktail bar. Most of the UK’s bars have fitted active CCTV devices, a common police requirement for safety and vitual policing.
Meanwhile Hoey has remained controversial after she a few months ago ignited feelings of repulsion for Rhodesian injustice when she called for the UK government to recognise the Viscount 1979 bombings by ZIPRA, a motion she raised in parliament before millions of Zimbabweans moved to condemen her actions.

Many attendants at the just-ended Zim Achievers Awards in London on Saturday took umbrage at the British meals served there saying they rather preferred traditional Zimbabwe menus to the soft European sandwiches and related delicacies. Such concerns attracted a backlash from the ZAA’s Chief Executive of the function who responded with a diatribe prescribing the disgruntled to “go home and eat all the sadza they want”.
Among those who complained was one of the United Kingdom’s top medical experts, Dr Ted Nyatanga, a loyal fan of the Zim Achievers Awards function for several years, who forwarding his suggestions hinted that in future, the function could be improved through diverse African foods served on the menu.
“It would be great to have traditional foods because we are Zimbabweans. Why shouldn’t we have Zimbabwean dishes like sadza on the menu?,” he asked.
Some people also stated that attendants should have been given the opportunity to choose what they wanted to eat.
Another woman who preferred anonymity but only after emotionally offloading her discontent, protested, “If you’re catering for African people, you must be mindful of their eating habits and preferences. Kundipa mashizha inini, haazivi kuti ndiri Shumba here ini? – How can he feed me with tree leaves(vegetables). Doesn’t he know that I belong to the meat-loving lion totem?,” she stated.
“Because you are selling everything Zimbabwean to the British community, food should also be part of the package. The only aspect they tried best was the singing of the national anthem,” she added.
Another elderly woman sitting at the entrance also shouted saying sadza would have been better. “This is all dry roasted unflavoured plain chicken with a few drops of sauce on the side, half a strawberry and cream with a teaspoon of spinach, and we call it a special function? What a joke,” she protested.
 
“That’s why its prestigious”
The various requests however attracted equal heat from the ZAA boss, Conrad Mwanza who said that the function was a prestigious once in year do that came with classic foods to meet diverse community needs. Any person requiring sadza was free to dash home and have it.
“No you know how I will answer that (sic)Even on a national basis, we eat sadza at home. So you can have sadza at home and then come here and have something different once in a while.” He added:
“That’s why it’s prestigious. Some people say we have it at home. So I am saying look let’s do something different, you know; once in a year. Let’s appease ourselves to a service. If you want to have sadza go home and eat all you want. But once in a while let’s taste our host’s food”
Several hundreds of people thronged the ZAA annual function at the Gloucester Hotel in central London on Saturday and the function’s conference centre was swarmed with Zimbabweans from various walks of life. Others even came from as far as Zimbabwe, Madagascar, South Africa and the United States.

Hopes by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his party to engage and create a united coalition with professor Welshman Ncube against Robert Mugabe before the upcoming elections have been shattered.
This comes after it was revealed MDC-T claims that there have been talks in progress for the objective, are false and have neither substance nor basis.
It was last week upheld that Tsvangirai and his party are likely to be just desperate for a coalition with Professor Welshman Ncube.
This came after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai landed in the United Kingdom last week, and key MDC-T members on micro blogging website Twitter began circulating claims that there were talks in progress and there would now be a united front against Robert Mugabe in the upcoming national elections. A top MDC-T blogger, named as ‘Benjamin Chitate’ on the sidelines of events also took to the networks to attack Professor Welshman Ncube claiming that he was “the stumbling block to any efforts to unite the two parties…”
But Professor Welshman Ncube has since dismissed the claims by Tsvangirai’s men as completely false. His deputy spokesman, Kurauone Chihwayi told ZimEye on Thursday there have been no talks with Tsvangirai’s party since 2008.
“I can safely tell you that no talks are taking place and none of us is secretly or publicly talking to MDC-T. The talks died in 2008 and they are still dead. We have our life and they have their own;

“We have nothing in common. We are not desperate for Tsvangirai. No talks at all, formal or informal.”
This is not the first time rumours have been randomly ignited in Tsvangirai’s party claiming Ncube Is engaging in talks with them.
It also comes at a time when several other analysts speculated that Ncube should join Tsvangirai in order to effectively remove Mugabe. One analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya wrote an article claiming: “Tsvangirai-Ncube coalition will bury Mugabe.”
“Professor Welshman Ncube particularly and other democratic forces in general could critically determine whether or not Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai emerges victorious in Zimbabwe’s forthcoming watershed polls,” wrote Ruhanya
Zimbabwe is due to hold elections sometime after May and analysts have said the country is likely heading towards another government of national unity which might see Tsvangirai wielding a lesser role than he is at present following credibility losses.

The horrific incident in which a woman was run over and killed by a kombi driver at Harare’s Copacabana terminus on Wednesday occured merely because the named police officer had moved to smash the driver’s windscreen, witnesses have said.
The accident which was clearly avoidable saw masses in the Copacabana area flooding the terminus area to attack and punish the cop who was only saved by a passing soldier, witnesses have told ZimEye.  More on this story- Harare Woman Killed By a Speeding Kombi at Terminus
One witness has narrated his recollection of the incident.
‘Mapurisa akasvika kombi ichitakura saka vaida kupxanya screen sezvavanogara vachiita(The cops arrived when the kombi was loading passenegers and were about the smash the windscreen as they always do).
Mutyaiiri paakaona izvi akabva avhunduka ndokurova mota zvinepower achitiza ndopaakasvikodhuma amai vaye vachibva vafira ipapo. (The driver upon noticing this was suddenly going to happen, in shock accelerated and immediately ran over the woman resulting in her dying at the scene.)

Vanhu vakatanga kurwisa mupurisa vachiti ndiye ane mhosva. (People who saw the incident began to attack the cop saying he is the one who caused the accident).
Mupurisa akatozonunurwa nemusoja akapfuura nepo . Handina kukwanisa kutora mufananidzo sezvo zvinhu zvakandityisawo. (The cop was only saved by a passing soldier. I failed to take any photos as the whole fracas was so scary.)’
Police spokesperson, Inspector Luckmore Chakanza has confirmed the accident but said the commuter omnibus hit the woman and then fled from the scene before he was apprehended.
More on this story- Harare Woman Killed By a Speeding Kombi at Terminus

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has flown to  Nairobi to attend the inauguration of newly-elected Kenyan leader, while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai headed to the United Kingdom.
Mugabe who travelled with his wife Grace was met at the Nairobi Airport by Zimbabwean Ambassador to Kenya, Cde Kelebert Nkomani and several Kenyan government officials, according to the state media.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai flew to the United Kingdom at the same time on what is believed to be private business. He was interviewed on national broadcaster BBC on Monday. Photos –

 
 
 
 

The matter involving PM Morgan Tsvangirai’s designate to the ministry of Justice, Obert Gutu who recently threatened to murder a woman he had earlier promised to assist  has taken a twist with him seeking help from the heavens.
Gutu who recently admitted threatening to kill a woman he had promised a government scholarship facility, hinted he was seeking God’s help.
“I consider this matter closed.I am neither vindictive nor vengeful. I have done nothing wrong and I put my fate in the Almighty God,” he said in a message to one of our editors.
In the interview in which he was further exposed last Wednesday morning, Gutu sounded desultory before a ZimEye editor as he mentioned that he was  submitting stories to this publication without charging a penny, a deflective statement mentioned in the heat of pressing issues before him. The interview ended up stretching more than 15 minutes as the deputy Justice Minister continued to dilute the theme of the conversation.
Gutu who has been involved in an extra marital affair with the woman, has now begun claiming that he is being politically victimised and the agenda is meant to even tarnish the image of his MDC-T party. He even claimed that the allegations labeled against him were the clandestine work of the intelligence agents. ZimEye will in the coming few days disclose more revelations on the minister’s questionable conduct as a public office bearer.
More to follow…. Other stories on this sequel
EXCLUSIVE: Tsvangirai Minister Obert Gutu’s Death Threats, Sex Scandal   ; 
Top MDC-T Minister Issues Death Threats on Woman

In this exclusive sequel, ZimEye reveals the death threats issued by Zimbabwe’s deputy minister of Justice, Obert Chaurura Gutu on a woman (name withheld) he took advantage of and obtained sexual gratification from after promising her government funds as scholarship for tertiary education.
Two of the death threats’ full text received last Wednesday read:
“You destroy me, consider yourself DEAD! And I am damn serious!                                                         (0747Hours Wednesday)
If I don’t get you, I wl get your mom and your kids! I am an orphan and I don’t fear death! ”      (0751Hours Wednesday)
Another message received from Minister Gutu’s phone at 0852Hrs on the same day reads:
“I know where you mom& kids stay! I am not as nice as I may look!’
Following a report on the death threats issued last week Minister Gutu has begun claiming that this matter is not true and is only a political smear campaign against him and his MDC-T party. He has simultaneously embarked on an unjustified Facebook response personally directed against an Editor of this publication.
This latest development seems bizarre as analyzed from the mixed responses and reactions by the Minister regarding the issue, moreso given the exact verbatim of the threats as associated with the Minister’s personal mobile phone number that ZimEye called back to check and verify the owner who emerged as the Minister answering the phone. Once the phone was confirmed, the Minister was initially speechless and tried hard to distance himself from the threats but the link was so bold and obvious that a denial was simply absurd and unreasonable.
Speaking to ZimEye last week, the Minister stated that he had to issue the threats because the lady was trying to extort money from her during the affair. Such an explanation sounded remote and far-fetched given the reasoning capacity and professional calling of the Justice Minister, leaving the broken affair as the most probable reason for the animosity. Resultantly, the latest outburst has escalated the issue into greater heights as a trigger has been created to expose the basis of the threats by the Minister.

Instead of the Minister apologizing for the threats that have been confirmed through his mobile phone number text message, he has assumed an accusatory role to silence ZimEye, hence adding more insult to the violated lady and starting an unnecessary fight with ZimEye. Such misconduct has generally been interpreted by the ZimEye Editorial team as resembling a blatant attempt to cover up the unbecoming behavior by a supposedly respectable politician who is a lawyer, a father, a married man and a Minister of Justice. Many would wonder why a Minister of Justice who is married would bear such wild prurience and also behave like a street thug, issuing such unsettling and outrageous death threats to a defenseless lady that he dated under a false pretense to bring her scholarships.
In fear of further potential reports, the Minister has now embarked on a ridiculous damage-control mode. He has started slapdash and unfounded accusations through which he has labeled one of the ZimEye Editors an agent on a mission to destroy the MDC. To quote the exact verbatim, the Minister has written back through Facebook,
“…I will never admit to doing something that I didn’t do. More particularly, I will not apologize to you or anyone else for that matter. You can proceed with your malicious and slanderous campaign against me but then one thing is clear, you will NEVER succeed to destroy both myself as an individual and the MDC as an institution. My investigations have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have a very strong connection with certain political and intelligence organs that are determined to tarnish the image of the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.”
The words follow his earlier message after the death threats were broached by ZimEye. Having been caught red-handed through the text message generated from his mobile phone, the Minister gave a weak response using the words,
“I consider this matter closed. I am neither vindictive nor vengeful. I have done nothing wrong and I put my fate in the Almighty God.”
With that weak defense, the facts remain clear as follows: The Minister, dated a lady and promised her scholarships that he never delivered. He issued threats after sexually taking advantage of a lady who hinted on plans to make a public outcry over the abuse. As we write, the named lady has had her phone line inundated with threatening calls just to bug and scare her following the first report by ZimEye. In light of all facts pointing to the Minister’s unbecoming conduct, his only scapegoat now has been to embark on a smear campaign against ZimEye. This paper reported the facts as reported and used the confirmed text message that threatened the complainant. Many will recall that this Deputy Minister of Justice has in the past written extensively through online publications pointing fingers at corrupt officials and the need for social justice and equity in wealth distribution. This is the very man looked unto for hope and guidance by many as a Minister of Justice. Now that he has been caught on the wrong side of the law, he decides to switch on a smear campaign. The truth remains that, he corruptly dated a lady when he was married. He promised scholarships that he never delivered. He sexually took advantage of this lady who opened up to him hoping to get the scholarships. With that he raises extortion as a lame defense instead of apologizing to the unfortunate lady who now lives in fear because the Minister has the potential to even hire thugs in crime-infested South Africa to harm the lady since he knows her whereabouts.
The conclusion is that Minister Gutu, and not ZimEye, is the one tarnishing the image of the MDC-T because he has failed to live to the “party of excellence” mantra. He can’t publicly misbehave and blame the complainant and the media. Our duty as ZimEye is to report social injustice, development, progress and any news of interest so that Zimbabwe remains seized with news on developmental issues affecting her. We report facts and will never campaign for any political party because we are independent, neither are we sponsored by an political outfit. Among the Zimbabwean political players, whoever is found on the wrong side of history or ethics will be truthfully exposed because these figures as leaders remain publicly-accountable to Zimbabwean masses. Minister Gutu is not an exception in this case. Our statement is simple: Mr. Gutu together with all others who breach ethics using political tickets and platforms will not be handled with velvet gloves by the media once they flout ethics. As a politician and a public figure, it’s either one reforms or perishes with a self-made concoction.
More to follow…

Click to watch full interview: BBC
Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has defended the country’s land re-distribution program and confessed ignorance on the amount of land President Robert Mugabe and wife Grace currently own.

Speaking on BBC’s HARDtalk on April 4 the Justice Minister said that land re-distribution program is not complete yet and the acquired land is earmarked for indigenous blacks only and not ‘indigenous whites’ as it is colour sensitive.
BBC HARDtalk presenter Allan Sukur pressed the Justice minister on the issue of land being distributed on  racial lines and failing to recognize whites as Zimbabwean people but the Justice minister unequivocally stressed that indigenous applied to blacks only and that land redistribution is a necessity that has to be completed on racial lines to put right a previous racial injustice in the distributing of land.
Minister Chinamasa said when it comes to land redistribution the notion that “justice is colour blind” does not apply .
“When it comes to the question of land, as you know ownership was racial for over a century and blacks were not allowed to own land. It was racial skewed to whites and in attacking the land question you would be perceived as attacking race,”said Chinamasa.
Chinamasa who defended the land program and his position as a benefactor of an 800 Hectare farm grabbed from Richard Yates, a white farmer, who now lives in Australia, failed to give detail on the number of farms owned by Mugabe and Grace despite a government call on restricting multiple farm ownership. Chinamasa himself admitted to owning 600Hectares.
When asked if he agreed with war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda’s statement ‘that it is illogical for individuals in my country to own excessive amounts of land’, Chinamasa said, ‘Yes, I agree’. When asked how much land president Mugabe and his wife and family owned, the honourable minister replied, “To be honest I don’t know, but…..but… for most of the land that he occupies ..for instance they are running foundations for children.”
It  was revealed that Robert Mugabe owns 16,000hectares of land. The minister was caught defenseless and when it was put to him that a few individuals have managed to amass huge tracts of land he accused the British of not questioning a similar status quo when the land was in the hands of a few whites.
“Listen you were not complaining in those years when 15 million (hectares) was owned by those 4 000 whites,” said the defenseless and pointless minister  as he failed to justify the excess land owned by President Mugabe and his inner circle. Mr Chinamasa revealed that 11million hectares was acquired for land redistribution. Allan Sukur pointed out that of this 11million hectares, close to 6million hectares is owned by just 2000 individuals aligned to Zanu-PF.
Chinamasa accused Britain of deliberately twisting a genuine land disagreement  between the two countries into a human rights abuses issue to tarnish the image of Zimbabwe into to pursue and effect a “regime change agenda” in Zimbabwe.
“Basically our quarrel with the British was on land issue, but they mis-characterised it as human rights violation in order to give us a bad name,”said Chinamasa.
 
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A top Morgan Tsvangirai minister who presides over the Justice Ministry, Obert Chaurura Gutu, has issued death threats on a woman, ZimEye can reveal in a damning expose that further threatens the integrity of the MDC-T party as a true democracy movement.
A launched report in possession of  ZimEye by a certain lady from Zimbabwe, (name withheld) has revealed not only shocking but also embarrassing conduct by  the Zimbabwe Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Gutu who has threatened the woman with “unspecified consequences” in the event that she lets out the information regarding their alleged affair to the public.
Per text messages shown to ZimEye, the Minister’s words were harsh and spoke of brute violence, that may have been meant to instil fear and discomfort in the young lady. The woman speaking to ZimEye on Wednesday expressed fear that her mother may be killed by the top politician.
“Can he really hurt my family?,” she asked ZimEye editors this morning(Wednesday) almost in tears.
For the woman’s safety and dignity, ZimEye has requested the minister to keep her identity private, failure which relevant laws may be used against him.

When contacted by ZimEye, the not so honourable Senator Gutu who is  a lawyer by profession, at first attempted a denial of having issued the death threats, but would within the same conversation later confess doing the highly detestable thing. (Watch this space for the full expose).
Per report launched with ZimEye, Gutu who is a former ZimEye columnist issued the death threats in which he said that he will make sure that something really bad happens either to the girlfriend and in case the Minister’s hired boys (presumed) fail to get hold of the girlfriend, then he will make sure he assigns the same henchmen(presumed) to go for the girlfriend’s immediate family members to perform  acts of retribution.
He indicated that the horror, pain and suffering to be visited on the girlfriend’s family members should be bad enough to bring enough and lasting misery and suffering to the girlfriend and her family members.
Such a scandal emerges in the dying heat of the Minister’s boss PM Tsvangirai who in the last two years has faced embarrassing allegations and public complaints against him due to his sexual affair habits on rare prurient interests that led him to father a number of women who later emerged with claims for child support. Such conduct has led Professor Jonathan Moyo to describe the PM as a man who thinks with his zip.
 
COMMENTARY:
The Gutu scandal also shoots the MDC-T in the foot in that this is the very political party that masquerades as the party of excellence and has been famous for listing the wrongs in ZANU PF through an array of allegations from corruption to immorality. In the past Minister Gutu has written extensively in the media preaching justice and equal opportunity, free speech and human rights. He has demonstrated so much enthusiasm in his dream for Africa where he hopes for respect of humanity and equality in wealth enjoyment. Such emerging allegations, if proven to be true, could establish the biggest case of hypocrisy in Zimbabwe after independence in 1980. This is also the very time when many in his MDC-T have had a good appetite to label ZANU PF leaders as a corrupt bunch whose senior ministers’ names dominated the divorce registry at the High Court of Zimbabwe last year as they went for younger wives. With such allegations on the door steps of Minister Gutu whose camp has been playing the role of ‘Saints’, that means there is a lot going on behind the scenes in Zimbabwe.

Several MDC-T supporters have been assaulted in the past few days since last week Monday, ZimEye has been told.
The below latest photos display a few of these men and women after they were attacked by suspected ZANU PF supporters just outside Chisumbanje.

Manicaland MP Pishai Muchauraya told ZimEye they were being treated at Rusape General hospital on Saturday.
More to follow…

 

An absurdly shocking accident in Rotten Row, Harare reportedly occurred last Friday when a kombi driver was allegedly handcuffed and forced by a cop to drive while handcuffed thereby causing a dreadful accident. The accident was foreseeable in the case and the overzealous cops simply wanted to punish the driver for some traffic offences. Instead of doing the right thing to take him to the station using lawful means, they ended up creating a dangerous mess.
The traffic police officers’ names have not been released and no other signs of reprimand in terms of  the Police Act have been released as yet.
Zimbabwe’s Police Spokesperson Charity Charamba has been approached on diverse occasions for a comment following the shocking incident in Rotten Row but has been ducking the media through some excuses just to let the issue die down. Normally she is apt with answers when the conditions are favorable to her in-tray. Now that the police is on the spotlight on professional negligence, she is like a phantom and will not allow anyone pin her down to the answers on why police acted so negligently and also what will happen to them and the damaged cars and the injured people in the accident.
Speaking to ZimEye, a Constable Moyo noted that, “In matters like this, even the Police Commissioner General should emerge from his office and assure the public of the Police Service Charter details, while also explaining the true nature of events that happened and any possible consequences pending on the police officers. This is the very time that these police officers should be placed on administrative leave pending full investigations. Unfortunately, the ZRP has continually lost credibility and is more into bribe demands as they chase kombi drivers at the expense of all other community services and crime stopping. Now the kombi drivers operate in full fear because once they refuse to be police ATMs, they are victimized.”
According Newsday reporters, the commuter omnibus was involved in an accident after he was forced to drive with handcuffs by a policeman along Rotten Row in Harare on Friday. He failed to negotiate the gears and keep control of the vehicle thereby coming into a crash with other vehicles. A number of vehicles were inevitably damaged in the process.

Mrs Charamba was contacted twice on Tuesday and could not comment as she stated that she was driving.
At the second contact, she noted that she was not aware of the incident and would need more time to check with the police files if any such incident ever occurred.
“I have just been driving and have only just arrived back [in] Harare. Please give me time to check at the station,” she told ZimEye.
By close of business on Wednesday, she had not replied to the inquiries.
On Thursday one of our reporters made a follow up and upon him identifying himself, the phone was cut off abruptly. ZimEye will inform our valued readers of any developments on the matter.
This alleged incident has since brought the reputation of the ZRP into further disarray because many citizens continue to cry foul on the ethics of the police force. Many demand bribes openly and the consequences for such gross acts of misconduct have remained unknown. The same incident of police abuse revives hair-raising memories of the tragic event by South Africa Police when they handcuffed and dragged a Mozambican national behind a police truck killing him. The ZRP could risk descending into a lawlessness if their negligence and partisanship is not timely checked and trimmed.

Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister and member of the tripartite team meeting heads of various EU, and other nations in London yesterday, Patrick Chinamasa, indicated that the United Kingdom and its allies should forget about monitoring elections for Zimbabwe as the country will not allow them.
In a charged up moment at the House of Commons on Tuesday, Chinamasa brought the meeting to a halt when he said that Britain and the US were already compromised since they had a premeditated agenda against ZANU PF.
Before coming to Zimbabwe, they had already concluded the election outcome, he said.
He said they were not objective: “the British and their allies which include the United States of America, the white commonwealth countries which imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe will not be allowed  to come to observe the elections; this is because they are not neutral forces they have shown hostility against Zimbabwe. They are partisan and so they are not objective…,” he said, (Watch this space for the full video).

MDC representative in the tripartite Priscilla Misihairabwi confirmed to ZimEye how Chinamasa froze the meeting as he forwarded his concerns at  “regime change strategies and Britain, US premeditated political bias against Zimbabwe.”
Chinamasa’s concerns come directly after former British foreign secretary David Miliband recently leaked intelligence information on the former colonial power’s foreign policy since 1991.
The Foreign Secretary at the end of 2011, revealed that Britain has for two decades been attempting various means to remove Robert Mugabe which however failed.
“Every British government in the last 20 years has scratched its head on what to do about Mugabe…Sanctions don’t work. Pressure doesn’t work. Enticement doesn’t work,” he said, as he mentioned that greater attention should now be directed towards Mugabe as the former British colony draws closer to elections.
That statement has embarassed British politicians leaving the new UK coalition government to pursue what may be new methods of engagement with Zimbabwe.
A comunique of objectives which leaked to the media reveals a  sudden change in foreign policy towards Zimbabwe.
Meeting minutes of the Friends of Zimbabwe, 2013 meeting on Tuesday excluded Chinamasa’s comments.Friends of Zimbabwe (FOZ), an organisation started by the diplomatic service of the European Union’s European External Action Service (EEAS), met on Tuesday March 26, in London to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Zimbabwe. FOZ had representatives from the following countries: The United States of America, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Australia in attendance.
(Watch this space for the full video. More to follow…).

Nine MDC members together with a BBC news crew were this afternoon assaulted by suspected Zanu PF supporters at Nenyere Flats in Mbare, Harare.
The nine were assaulted while putting up MDC posters encouraging people to vote yes tomorrow in the referendum on the new Constitution.
A BBC news crew that was in Mbare filming preparations for the referendum was also assaulted and their filming equipment damaged by the same attackers.
The MDC-T members were seeking medical attention at the time of writing.
However, when they made a report at Matapi Police Station, the police officers at the station refused to accept their complaints saying they should first go and remove the MDC-T shirts they were wearing, the party complained.
A SADC observer team in Zimbabwe for the referendum is reported later visiting the MDC-T members and strongly condemning the rowdy behaviour exhibited by the attackers.

The MDC-T party has been on a nationwide campaign for a yes vote for the constitution but has been castgated for its efforts to support the draft paper which is believed rather retains executive powers of the presidency.
The party stated in a statement:
“However, all is set for the referendum on the new Constitution and the MDC is confident that the people of Zimbabwe will vote yes tomorrow in preparation for free and fair elections that will be held this year and which the MDC will resoundingly win and bring real change to the people of Zimbabwe.”

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – A former MDC-T Chairman for Michigan, Nehemiah Muzamhindo, a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan and citizen of Zimbabwe, has admitted to stinking fraud stretching into close to a million dollars in funds belonging to children’s charity, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (“WKKF”).
The admission comes as it was discovered Mr Muzamhindo created fake business solely to receive payment from fraudulent invoices submitted to the foundation and the invoices were created to represent work for the foundation’s charitable activities in Africa.
He admitted federal money laundering and income tax charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ellen Carmody, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles announced today. Joining Miles in the announcement were Scott Collins, Special Agent in Charge of the Diplomatic Security Service (“DSS”) and Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Muzamhindo faces a maximum sentence of 23 years in prison; an order of restitution and criminal fines, and deportation. Sentencing, which will be conducted by U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff, has not yet been scheduled.
Muzamhindo was investigated by federal agents in 2008 for his role in a scheme to obtain fraudulent U.S. passports. While conducting a search warrant on his home, agents discovered evidence that Muzamhindo had received large wire transfers from bank accounts held by the Kellogg Foundation in the Republic of South Africa. WKKF has its headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan and is one of the world’s largest children’s charities. The investigation ultimately determined that Muzamhindo was part of a fraudulent scheme to submit bogus invoices for payment to WKKF, which paid members of the scheme approximately $800,000 between 2006 and 2008 before learning that it was being swindled.
By pleading guilty to a federal money laundering charge, Muzamhindo admitted to being part of the scheme, and to wiring roughly half of the fraudulent funds back to Africa, where one of his accomplices lived. He also admitted that he had filed false income tax returns during 2006 and 2008 because he did not report any of the money he received from WKKF during those years.
U.S. Attorney Miles commented that “The positive result in this case is directly attributable to the dedicated and coordinated efforts of federal law enforcement, beginning with the Diplomatic Security Service uncovering Muzamhindo’s scheme in the course of an unrelated passport fraud investigation. Their diligence prevented the loss of even more money meant to help disadvantaged children. Then agents of the IRS worked to have Muzamhindo held accountable for his attempt to cheat on his taxes, reinforcing the message that swindlers will be held accountable for the full measure of their deceit in this district.”
“The worldwide presence and investigative capabilities of the Diplomatic Security Service enabled us to pull all of the pieces together – uncovering the connections to South Africa; allowing DS agents to compile the evidence that assisted the prosecution team to accepting Muzamhindo’s guilty plea,” said Scott Collins, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Diplomatic Security Service. “Our Detroit Resident Office led our investigation and worked collaboratively with the IRS and U.S. Attorney’s Office. DSS takes very seriously our charge to protect the integrity of the U.S. passport and visa. Those who fraudulently acquire U.S. travel documents often do so in order to commit other crimes.”
Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation added that Muzamhindo’s crime was worse than many typical fraud cases: “He diverted money intended for children for his own greedy purposes.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey and was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation and of the Diplomatic Security Service.

Several companies and persons engaging in unscrupulous and or questionable activities have been exposed into the open. ZimEye today takes a peep at the first exclusive draft list of investigative pieces this publication dug out bringing relief, and sometimes even compensation to affected parties.
Fearless and determined ZimEye journalists risked their lives penetrating into areas and territories they could have lost their souls in. Anything could have happened. ZimEye has since been nominated for the prestigious Zim Achievers Awards.
Below is the first draft list of both companies and persons exposed.
 
Fake Cargo Businessman, Bonnie Nembaware:  The UK based businessman, operated a cargo enterprise which failed several customers swindling them of more than £100 000 in goods they paid for to be sent to Zimbabwe not knowing the valuables would actually vanish into thin air.
Mr Nembaware even claimed that he smuggles any type goods into Zimbabwe without being noticed:” Put anything dead or alive,” he would declare.
The backyard company went on an escapade preying upon poor Zimbabweans in the diaspora. ‘No no no no, it happens all the time…we keep referring customers to Mr Nembaware ‘ the businessman’s secretary finally admitted before ZimEye following several audits stretching beyond two weeks.
After having been disgraced, Mr Nembaware went underground, and then after 10 months re-surfaced in another part of London this time as a travel agent, before being once again exposed by ZimEye and customers who had been robbed of their money were quickly refunded.
 
Aon Insurance Zimbabwe: This company’s directors attempted to forge hefty salary rewards on the same day when they also cancelled junior staff’s bonuses. The managing director, Susan Mutangadura claimed the company was making losses so they would not pay staff ther annual bonuses at the end of 2012.
Following the ZimEye investigation which stretched from Africa across the atlantic ocean all the way up to the US, Aon Zimbabwe’s director immediately cancelled the shady arrangement, and junior staff were quickly called into a reconciliation meeting in which it was announced that management had now changed their minds.
Other unscrupulous activites were exposed by this publication, up until the US parent company finally decided to pull out of Zimbabwe, having operated in the country for more than 50 years to date. Soon after this, the controversial managing director Susan Mutangadura was kicked out of office.
 
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Australia, Jaqueline Zwambila: Zwambila, a dodgy Zimbabwe government official who reportedly stripped naked before embassy staff members and afterwards managed to sue an Australian newspaper, of sums up to 60,000 dollars suggesting and claiming that they had reported a false story. She also threatened to sue any news print which would report on her reported abuse of an MDC-T worker, who was her butler. It was only when ZimEye challenged her false claims that the world began to know of the development which could have remained buried forever. following the ZimEye article Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe, and Deputy VP Arthur Mutambara, held an emergency meeting to discuss Zwambila.
There were also claims that Zwambila posseses a university degree and is now finalising her masters joint. A senior MDC-T member, Cephas Mazhange, defending her claimed that the highly controversial envoy has got a university degree and is now studying for a masters degree in International Relations. He stated:
“There we go again, the reporter forgot to write that Ambassador Zwambila is actually doing a Master Degree in International Relations. She already has a first degree. What is it that you have against Ambassador Zwambila. If she had committed any crime, there is no way Mugabe would have let her off the hook. Stupid reporting, whoever this reporter is.”
It was only when ZimEye tracked down the woman’s records in Australia that the world finally discovered through ZimEye that she does not have single degree certificate.
Zimbabweans immediately began to wonder how and why she was promoted to the high position of ambassador when there are at present several MDC-T officials jobless in Harare who have both powerful educational credentials as well as credible moral track records.
 
Millionaire Businessman Billy Rautenbach: Rautenbach, presided over a dangerous and chaotically planned 600million dollar ethanol-fuel plant which he used his connections to deprive poor villagers of their ancestral homelands and the villagers had “their relatives’ graves, schools, and clinics” destroyed to pave way for the plant which local environmentalists have however now found, has caused damage to the ecosystem.
Before any other news print had ventured, ZimEye carried out fearless exposure of the project’s ineptitude and incapacity to meet its expectations. ZimEye became unpopular at the time. But it was only late in 2012 when both government and Mr Rautenbach himself finally came to realise the project was a dreadful mistake, and to save face, Rautenbach agreed to handover some shareholding to the government. Even after obtaining greater government support, Rautenbach’s plant as at March 2013 has remained a mere pale elephant which has even failed to make money by exporting the fuel. Read the full reports on this news portal.
 
 
 
 
Dodgy Cargo businessman, Fungwa Mawarire: The exercise to expose fraudsters hit an all-time high mark when a dodgy shipping service businessman, Fungwa Mawarire was exposed through complaints of goods paid for but never

delivered in Zimbabwe. Many shared similar sentiments and concerns and the man was never heard of again in the business circles following two detailed  ZimEye articles. Before this, he had disappointed several people who include Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi’s family.
 
 
 
 
Macheso dodgy promoter, Derrick Chisora:
This Zimbabwean boxer fared well on the international scene as he participated in several crowd-pulling matches becoming the pride of both Britain and Zimbabwe. But little did the world know who Chisora is until ZimEye fearlessly exposed him for his threatening behaviour before top maestro musician and singer Alick Macheso while being interviewed by ZimEye senior journo Eugene Majuru. His last tantrum was at the museve star’s concert where he appeared drunk and caused mayhem collecting all gate-takings before proper accounting procedures were done. Many news houses across the world were bullied into silence after being threatened with lawsuit by Chisora. It was only when ZimEye broke the story with exclusive evidence that his rapturous ego was crushed suddenly.
 
 
Church Swindler, fake businessman Richard Semba:
Richard Semba of Richard Freight caused much sorrow in Oxford and London where he obtained both payment and goods worth thousands of pounds and in the way also swindled a poor church of their assets which he had promised to deliver in Zimbabwe. ZimEye managed to track down many of the goods which included vehicles to Namibia under the keep of a Walvis Bay based company, where customers finally managed to identify their valuables
 
More to follow…

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The town of Kariba which experienced a vivid attack of a woman who was killed while having sex last week, encountered another shocking incident on Saturday when a man was brutally attacked by a crocodile while fishing.
The man, a Zimbabwe Tourism Authority worker, was attacked by the dangerous reptile while catching fish in Lake Kariba.
His attack follows that of a man and woman who were preyed on by lions while in intimacy a few days before.

He was hospitalised and was receiving treatment at the local hospital at the time of writing. The lucky man, was attacked on the hand and thigh. A resident told ZimEye the man was lucky to be alive after seeing the nature of wounds he received from the reptile.
Kariba town has been living in fear and terror following the attacks and a virtual curfew is now being observed since Wednesday last week.

Three menacing lions which killed a woman having sex in Kariba this week have finally been captured and killed.
Below are photos of two of the lions killed today.
One of the cats’ intestines were splashed out and brought into the open in a killing only typical of revenge on the animals which terrified the whole Kariba and surrounding communities.

A lioness and two “sub adult” cubs between two and three years old were baited into traps and given lethal injections, the wildlife department announced.
More to follow…

The incident in which a woman was killed while having sex in the resort town of Kariba took a twist yesterday when a wildlife national parks ranger ran bezerk and shot his own colleague while seeking to revenge on two lions they suspected were the ones which killed the woman and a ‘second boyfriend’.
Loud gun shots were heard yesterday when national parks trackers saw two lions and when they wanted to shoot noticed another one coming out of the thickets whích wanted to attack and during that process accidentaly shot a colleague on the leg who was rushed to the hospital.
The incident occurred around 7 pm.
 

The ranger whose name has remained anonymous, was swiftly rushed to Kariba Central Hospital.
He was still being treated at the time of writing.
The parks rangers have been on high alert since yesterday after a pride of lions mauled to death two people on the shores of Lake Kariba. The NPWA has officially confirmed that a woman was found dead and her boyfriend escaped. They also stated that another man’s corpse was found around the area. Marauding-lions kill 2 in Zimbabwe; Resort town on alert after two killed by lions.
Despite the accident, rangers have vowed to continue the search for the dangerous lions which killed the two while they were making love.

ZRP officers in Highfields yesterday broke up Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from holding a constitution awareness rally in the Highfields surbub, which is where Robert Mugabe once held a keynote come-back rally before the historic 1980 elections.
Morgan Tsvangirai who was scheduled to hold a rally, had obtained official permission to hold the meeting.
But senior MDC cadres have complained that despite receiving clearance from the police, the police swooped in to block the premier.
Highfields is historically considered a Mugabe stronghold since it is the birthplace of Mugabe’s a key rally held upon his return from exile before the iconic 1980 elections.

“So our professional and non-partisan police decided to stop the PM’s Highfields constitution rally this evening. Notwithstanding the fact that notification was given and received,” said a senior MDC cadre on Tuesday night.
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka reported stating that around 40 heavily armed riot police arrived at public meeting about a proposed new constitution in a Harare township on Tuesday evening and ordered the audience to leave before the prime minister arrived.
Tamborinyoka said the officers claimed the debate had not been authorised, although – all public meetings have to be cleared by the police by law.
“It is a campaign for a constitution that both parties are supporting. We have the same message. Imagine during the election campaign when we have differing messages,” he said.
Tsvangirai himself tweeted on Tuesday night: “Riot police have just disrupted a community meeting I was due to address. Their actions today show that the leopard has not changed colours,” he said.
The blocking of Tsvangirai’s rally comes after the police in Harare embarked on a massive snatching of radio receivers from civilians, which devices they claimed are banned communication gadgets.
Several Zimbabwean human rights organisations slammed the police move with some politicians threatening to openly defy the law enforcement agents arguing that there is nothing illegal in the possessing of radio receivers.
Both Morgan Tsvangirai MDC-T and MDC Welshman Ncube politicians issued fiery protest messages boodly defying the police actions.
MDC Welshman Ncube secretary general Priscila Misihairabwi-Mushonga told thousands of supporters in Gwanda that the ban on radios was in violation of the constitution which allowed people to listen to whatever they wanted to listen to.
“I have the little radios here, if the cops want to arrest me they can come. It’s a right for everybody to listen to information that they want. Surely how can we have a situation where when you touch a radio you are arrested. If I had more of them I would have given you and see if they arrest us all and take us to jail,” said Mushonga.
An official in Tsvangirai’s office Jameson Timba who is also minister of state, also issued a statement dismissing the police.

The family of Chistpower Maisiri the 12 year old who was brutally burnt to death by suspected ZANU PF arsonists, was comforted by the MDC-T top leadership yesterday, just as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai firmly hinted on threats to boycott elections unless an immediate end to violence against MDC-T supporters was implemented.
Tsvangirai accused President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party for last week’s brutal killing of 12 year old Christpower.
He complained that his party supporters were being targeted for terrorist action by ZANU PF ahead of elections.

Tsvangirai said Christpower’s death marked “a defining time in the  struggle for change in the country”, insisting  that “never again should  violence be tolerated at any level”.
Tsvangirai, together with his wife, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, and other leaders who included Gender Affairs Deputy Minister Jessie Majome attended Christpower’s burial in Headlands yesterday.
Soon afterwards, Minister Majome narrated at length the ordeal the Maisiri family has endured since the bloody 2008 elections.

Below was her statement: “My heart goes out to Christpower’s mother who was brutally raped in the run-up to the Presidential election run-off in 2008. She is one of the bravest, most courageous and determined democracy activists I know.
“She is the one who inspires other survivors of the 2008 Presidential run off rapes from Mt. Darwin, Buhera, Nyanga, Epworth etc to stay strong, and hopeful. When I asked her to share her story of succeeding with the prosecution and conviction of her assailant Lovemore Manenji now serving a 65 yr jail term, in order to encourage others by showing that justice is achievable within our lifetimes, she graciously agreed and did so with a resolve and strength that pierced my heart.
“Now, to be robbed of her son in the same way, is the most  unkind cuts of all! I can only pray that justice, no longer possible in his lifetime will be done, and that the Holy Spirit itself comforts her and her husband Christwish in a way no human can. May his dear soul rest in peace. May Zimbabwe know peace.
More Photos:

Smellen Chiyangwa, a female nurse in Britain’s Kent area, who reportedly stole drugs from a hospital where she was employed, has been axed from the profession.
An investigation has established that Miss Chiyangwa regularly swiped opiates and anti-depressants from drug cabinets at the 40-bed Burrswood Christian Hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Miss Chiyangwa was dismissed from the hospital following her admission that she had taken codeine phosphate and diazepam tablets from the hospital drug stocks last year, records seen by ZimEye reveal.
Other charges against Miss Chiyangwa are those of several medication errors reportedly committed by her:
“It is alleged that there were a series of incidents on 29 May 2010 involving poor patient care of Patient A by Miss Chiyangwa. In particular she failed to sign drug charts relating to the administering of medication to him, she administered out of date IV fluids to him, she failed to ensure observations were recorded and that a fluid chart relating to him was completed. On 7 June 2010 it is alleged she administered Warfarin to patient A when it had not been prescribed. A disciplinary hearing was held on 24 June 2010, at which it is alleged that Miss Chiyangwa admitted all the allegations as described in the hospital letter to her dated 29 June 2010. She was, in any event, issued with a formal verbal warning. Additionally she was required to carry out supervised work, and undergo training and mentoring activities to ensure that her work practices were safe. These requirements were completed successfully and her formal warning expired after six months.”
Miss Chiyangwa began employment at the Burrswood Christian Hospital, Kent (the hospital), on 23 February 2009 as a grade E(ii) nurse. She was promoted to a Grade F(i) nurse on 22 November 2009, two years before her dismissal in January last year. Burrswood is a 40-bed private hospital providing respite care, palliative care and rehabilitation physiotherapy.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s acceptance speech at the occasion of his receipt of an Honorary Doctorate from Sun Moon University, Seoul South Korea.
23rd February 2013
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Sun Moon University does me a great honour in conferring upon me this honorary doctorate. It therefore gives me great pleasure to be the recipient of this honorary degree.
I accept this honorary degree as a great honour, not only for myself, but for the entirety of the people of Zimbabwe as well.
To be the person that I am today is not simply down to luck or individual effort but it is because of the people around me. Where I come from, we live by the basic ideal of Ubuntu or Hunhu, which essentially says, “I am because you are”. It is a basic principle which encapsulates the African spirit that one’s humanity is inextricably connected to the other’s humanity. It is the foundational principle of building a decent society and confirms the dignity and worth of every human being, regardless of their station in life.
Without the work and efforts of the people of Zimbabwe, I would not be standing here, awaiting receipt of this prestigious honour. This recognition is therefore their award – indeed, our award, and I am a mere agent receiving it on their behalf.
As a national leader in Zimbabwe as well as the leader of a democratic movement and the largest political party in the country, I indeed feel deeply honoured by this great recognition and reception you have given me today.
As a country, we have seen our fair share of challenges during the course of our history. For more than a decade, the beautiful name of our country became soiled and has been in the news for the wrong reasons. I must pay tribute to the people of Zimbabwe, who have been patient, resilient and persistent in their pursuit of the good cause of democratic governance.
Words cannot express enough of my personal gratitude to the people of Zimbabwe who have stood by me and the party that I lead, the Movement for Democratic Change, through years of great challenges.
We have stood steadfast by our principle to pursue our cause of democratic reform through peaceful and non-violent means.
Where others in similar circumstances might have been forced to use forceful means and violence, we have remained true to our word, believing that peaceful means are the ultimate agents of sustainable transformation.
I mention this because I know that one of the great values of this University is peace. In preaching and spreading the gospel of peace, the Founding Father of this University and the Universal Peace Federation, Rev Dr Sun Myung Moon, left a great legacy for the world.
In Zimbabwe, we are in the final stages of writing a new Constitution, which, we hope, will shape and transform the political culture of our country. It has taken long to achieve this goal but we are pleased that we have managed to persuade even our political opponents that constitutional reform is critical to the democratisation and development of our country.
We believe, through this new covenant between the political leaders and the people of Zimbabwe, that where there was lawlessness, there will be the Rule of Law and that where there was violence, there will be peace.
We hope to move away from a culture of impunity to a culture of constitutionalism; where political leaders, institutions and governmental power are limited by law; indeed, where the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people are respected and protected.
I have read and understand that the founding ideal of Sun Moon University to be “Love for God, People and Nation”.
I understand that this ideal is the foundation for the ultimate goals of education in Korea, namely, to construct one’s character, to raise the quality of the democratic citizen, to pursue a humane life, to contribute to developing a democratic country and to realise ideals of human prosperity.
I find this ideal hugely inspirational. To say, “Love God, Love Humanity and Love Your Country” is to inspire people to build a culture of service to humanity and The Almighty. I wish to carry these words back to Zimbabwe, for they carry great wisdom that will inspire us as we begin the work of rejuvenating our country after years of political, social and economic challenges.
We have already made it clear in our new Constitution, that not only the state but every person, including corporate institutions must promote national unity, peace and stability.
The state is also required to take all practical measures to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people. Citizens have a duty to be loyal to the country and to observe and respect the constitution and its ideals.
For the first time in our history, in addition to civil and political rights, the socio-economic rights are protected under the constitution. These include the rights to education, health care, shelter, safe environment, food and water. We recognise these rights because their realisation protects and enhances basic human dignity which is fundamental for the happiness of individuals and society at large.
We aspire to build a society in which the basic ideal and objective of public administration is to selflessly serve the people.
We want to raise children who appreciate the goodness of service to the public and to the nation; people who appreciate that in all their endeavours, what is fundamental is to give more to others as opposed to merely expecting more and more from others.
I believe most sincerely, that power should not be individualised but rather, that power should be institutionalised. Only when we create credible and responsible institutions can we cultivate a culture of good governance and accountability.
This is why we have ensured that the new constitution articulates the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances between arms of the state and its institutions. It also explains why we have an entire chapter dedicated to principles of public administration and leadership.
Finally, I am most humbled by the honour that has been bestowed upon me and the people of Zimbabwe. I come from a society which places high value on education and naturally, I am pleased when my own work to serve the country and its people get recognised by institutions of higher learning in countries around the world. It gives us hope that our efforts as a people are not in vain.
Such recognition says to us that the entire universe is conspiring to assist us in the realisation of our destiny. I am grateful to the people of Korea for their kindness and support shown through the conferment of this honour.
I remain greatly inspired people like Reverend Dr Sun Myung Moon, whose work and life across continents continue to impact positively on the lives of millions of others in the world.
Once again, I am most humbled by the gesture that has been shown to me and to the people of Zimbabwe by the award of this prestigious honour.
Thank you
M.R. Tsvangirai
Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe

There were no miracles at the prophet Makandiwa UK conference last night as the man instead prayed saying people should return on Friday promising that signs and wonders would follow his prayer. Journalists were also barred from using their cameras as they were told that even photographing the prophet himself would breach data protection laws.
Conference delegates left the room gripped in faith and expectation as Makandiwa announced that he is not a man of talk but of demonstration of the spirit and power.

Makandiwa Donates £100 000 to UK church
Thousands thronged the RCCG Jubilee church hall outside Manchester city on Thursday where Makandiwa also announced he is donating £100 000 pounds to the church which is hosting him. The meeting continues into the weekend. ZimEye  will keep our readers informed. More to follow…

Cabinet Ministers from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party, who include Minister of State, Jameson Timba, have rubbished police action this week which has seen law enforcement agents seizing radio receivers across the country.
A police spokeswoman issued a warning saying that it is against the law to possess what she called illegal communication devices and “specially designed radios.” She accused unnamed groups of distributing the devices to spread hate speech and political influence as the country heads towards elections. But Mr. Jameson Timba said the police action does not make sense.
“It is inconceivable that police can purportedly ban radio receivers. The only radios that require licensing before use are two-way radio communicators not receivers. This is paranoia,” he said.
He said he would defy the police order and would actually be distributing the radio receivers all the more:

“I will be distributing free radio receivers to all those who cherish democracy and the free flow of information every Friday until they is change in our beloved country,” he said.
The police warning came after several raids were carried out in February as the police seized hundreds of multi-band radios from an MDC-T MP, and smaller numbers of radios from non-governmental organizations.
Timba was joined by Home Affairs Co-Minister Theresa Makone who also said there was nothing illegal about people owning radio receivers. Mrs. Makone said that unless the devices in question are radio transmitters, not receivers, authorities should return the devices to their owners.
“Political parties and well-wishers are well within their rights to give radios to people who cannot afford them” she was quoted by VOA.
Zimbabwe’s IT and Communications minister, was quoted by SW Radio Africa calling the police action an ‘empty ban’ as he added: “It’s laughable, ridiculous and misconceived. There is no way you can put effective ban on the hearing of people. You cannot put an effective ban on the ability of people to talk.”
Chamisa said it is bizarre that it is being said by an institution that is supposed to observe the rule of law in the country. The minister said there is no government policy or any law that can be used by the police to enforce such a ban.
“It’s a poisonous development that would make the plebiscite environment very un-conducive.” Chamisa added.

Herald Reporter| PRESIDENT ROBERT Mugabe yesterday said God had charged him to serve Zimbabwe and pledged to carry on the “divine task” without backtracking.
Mugabe made the remark at State House at a party to celebrate his 89th birthday organised by staff from his office.
President Mugabe turns 89 today.
“In my small way, this is the task the Lord might have wanted me to fulfil among my people and as I carry the burden of fulfilling it, it being a divine task, I read it as a bidding of God. A commandment that this is how you serve your nation,” President Mugabe said.
He added: “The bidding says you move forward ever. Do not retrace when you are right. No backward movement when you are right. Your principles must be well defined. If they are those principles meant to enhance your people so they fit on the great neighbourhood, then there is no retreating. Principles become sacred.”

President Mugabe thanked God for reaching 89 years.
“It is He, our Creator, who is responsible for the fact that I am 89, and true when you get to that stage you cannot avoid thinking that yesterday when I was younger we were many. Some have dropped off. Where are they gone?
“The Lord has chosen that they go. The Lord has chosen that I remain. Why is it that all my friends are gone and my relatives are gone and I continue to linger on? It is not my choice. It is His choice. Painful choice. As you move from stage to stage, there is a kind of loneliness and solitude around you because of the loss of friends, loss of relatives and of very dear ones.
“You say to yourself that is life. That is how He who has made us, wants us to sustain life. He destroys here and constructs there. That is it, and we continue to live,” he said.
President Mugabe said God gives people life so that they fulfil objectives and enables them to make the most apt choices.
“And the choice that we make is that we shall live to serve others as indeed we serve ourselves, our nation and our country. The Lord wants us to be Zimbabweans in their own country with right of ownership over our own resources with abilities and capabilities to defend those rights against those who want to encroach on them,” he said.
President Mugabe thanked staff in his office, the security forces, the media and everyone who has been supportive of his leadership.
To staff in his office, he said: “Let us continue to be that united. If you are not united as the engine, we make all kind of disjointed noises and the engine will not be able to pull. We should be able to pull, pull and pull ourselves so that we pull the nation. It is a joy to work with you, to work with people with confidence in you,” he said.
President Mugabe applauded the intelligence and security services for performing “a wonderful work” in exposing activities of the enemy and taking the necessary preventive measures.
Chief Secretary to the Presidency and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, speaking on behalf of staff in the President’s Office, said they were honoured to be among a few Zimbabweans to work with President Mugabe.
“We continue to draw inspiration from your enduring legacy,” he said.
Staff in the President’s Office showered the Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces with gifts.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono has given President Mugabe 89 cows as gifts to mark his birthday. Dr Gono had pledged to give President Mugabe a beast on each of his brithdays, the President noted.
The celebrations saw distinguished singer Shingisai Suluma serenading the First Family and guests with gospel songs.
Her performance yesterday followed a special request by President Mugabe during celebrations to mark his birthday in Mutare last year that Mai Suluma play him the song Munongondichengeta (nanhasi).
While Mai Suluma remained in Zimbabwe after the Christmas Holidays, his husband and family flew into the country from the US on Tuesday night for the celebrations.
President Mugabe praised Mai Suluma and her band for the highly spiritual songs.
“Shungu yakabuda kwaMutare yekuti vandiimbire rwumbo urworwo rwokuti mwari anondichengeta. Tinotenda nokuti anotichengeta kana paripapi urimwana wake achikuda panotsvedza, panotyisa, pangave pane mhepo inovhuvhuta zvakadii ichitora vamwe inokusiya. Dzimbo dzavo dzakadzama. Matendero haasi okungo pfugama uchiti baba vedu varikudenga tinokutendai. Ivo vanechipo chokuti zvibve zvatapira zvikurukuru,” President Mugabe said.
He said it was a rare calibre of musicians in the mould of Mai Suluma.
“Mazwi avanawo orutendo kunamwari abva apinda mumoyo medu ngatianzwisise. Rudo rwavo ndinorutenda zvikurukuru. Ndinoti kwavari chokwadi mandiitavo kuti ndive mumwe wenyu.
“I want to express my very deep and most sincere gratitude for the message that she has relayed through her well composed songs. Four of them one after another all carrying that spiritual message that it is he our creator who is responsible for the fact that I am 89,” President Mugabe said.
Mai Suluma said she was honoured to be invited to perform at the special occasion.
Meanwhile, President Mugabe had earlier met Bishops of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa at State House.
The President briefed the bishops from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Swaziland and South Africa on political developments in Zimbabwe from the 2008 harmonised elections, formation of the inclusive Government and the Constitution-making process.
He told the bishops the political situation in Zimbabwe was calm guaranteeing the holding of peaceful elections this year.
Speaking through Archbishop Liborius Nashenda of Namibia, the bishops commended President Mugabe for taking a stand against political violence.
They said the church was ready to co-operate with other concerned citizens in stopping intimidation of voters.
The bishops noted that the illegal Western sanctions were harmful to Zimbabwe and must be removed.

MDC not in coalition talks with MDC-T
As Zimbabwe heads towards elections speculated for June this year, the MDC led by Prof Welshman Ncube has dismissed with contempt rumours circulating which claimed that the party is currently in coalition talks with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T formation.
The party in a statement stated that the rumours circulating are mere lies. The party’s statement reads:
“We wish to state unequivocally and with finality that the MDC is not engaged with MDC -T in any talks to do with coalition, pact or unification now or in the near future and no amount of lies, coercion or fabrication of the truth will make that happen,” said the party’s spkesperson Nhlanhla Dube.
He continued:
“It is our hope that this final clarification will put to rest the often annoying and pushy attempts through public pontification for a coalition of any shape, form or type by those who want an MDC -T success at our and the people’s expense.
“This for us is a critical time in our pursuit of electoral success and those who think they can distract our impetus in working diligently towards a successful election outcome should now know that the game is up, our determination to succeed on the basis of principle, truth and non-prostitution of our cardinal values of democratic change where the masses are free to choose from a multiple of political parties their own leader remains unflinching and undeterred. This for us is the very cornerstone of democracy.

“It has become crystal clear that due to feelings of inadequacy in some quarters, certain elements have switched to panic mode and are thus agitating for the so called coalition, which will never happen. History knows that we have tried this route before, history also records that we went on a limb in attempting to find common ground with the MDC -T in 2008, history further remembers that we came out of that attempt the worse for wear, hence to us that was a lesson well learnt.
“We stand guided by the resolutions made at our last elective party congress that we will visit every village, homestead, growth point, farm, town, climb every mountain and cross every river to explain our policies to Zimbabweans and seek their vote and mandate. We have grown from being part of a political party to THE political party. We are emboldened by the reality that since the last elections, we have grown bigger and better and meaner.”

The European Union is set for a special meeting to determine the future of the bloc’s sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and members of his inner circle on February 18, ZimEye can reveal.
This comes after the state media’s Herald newspaper claimed that the EU would lift sanctions in a month’s time .
Shortly following publishing by the Herald, the EU was attacked by the London based Zim Vigil who blasted the bloc for the suspected actions viewed to be in favour of Robert Mugabe despite the said deteriorating political situation in the country.
But the EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Del Ariccia has since issued caution against making presumptions attributed to the bloc as he told ZimEye in an exclusive interview that Zimbabwe sanctions are to be debated, decided, and a decision communicated following a crucial February 18 meeting. Until then, he said, it will be out of taste to write and publish mere assumptions crafted by anti-Mugabe organisations such as The Zim Vigil.
He hinted what the Herald published was actually 6 months old stale news.
The article published in the Herald, corresponds to the council resolutions of July 23rd 2012, ambassador Del Arricia said.
“What I told the journalist were the council resolutions and nothing more than that,” he said.
He also added declaring the exact date the decision will be made:

The EU imposed what they term “targeted” sanctions against Zimbabwean persons linked to president Robert Mugabe more than ten years ago citing gross human rights abuses and allegations of electoral fraud. Although some people have been dropped from the list in recent years, several others including companies remain classified under the targeted measures.

The Zimbabwean woman who was found strangled in Canada, is daughter to the former police chief Henry Mkurazhizha, ZimEye has been told.
Reliable sources told this publication Miss Caroline Mkurazhizha is daughter to the famous police boss.
Caroline was found killed in a Toronto house a few days ago, and an 18 year old man has been arrested following the shocking death. She has been identified as Nyumwai Caroline Mkurazhizha, 23, of Zimbabwe.
A post-mortem exam has determined the cause of death to be manual strangulation which has resulted in the man, Mohamed Adam Bharwani, of Toronto, being charged with first-degree murder.
Police Commissioner Henry Mkurazhizha was at the helm of the Zimbabwe Republic Police from independence to the early nineties. Many will remember him for his powerful leadership skills during the transition phase as the country acquired independence from colonial rule.
 

(Harare) There was drama yesterday when Zanu PF Chief and Senator, Nematombo absconded the Senate Chamber during presentation of the draft Constitution, crept out of parliament house and stole into a nearby bar where he drunk himself into a stupor before falling into a long deep sleep.
Chief Nematombo who is lord over the Hurungwe area, chose to soak himself in ice-cold Castle larger while parliamentarians were busy debating the draft constitution document.
The photo below was taken yesterday during a Senate session at 1446hrs and the chief in deep sleep still failed to wake up.
“Munotambudzireiko madzishe?( Why do you trouble the Chiefs?) ZveLegislature hazvisi zvavo izvi. (This legislature business is not for them) They must just remain custodians of our culture & have sufficient rest, ” said Zaka West MP Festus Dumbu.

“With the value given to the Copac Draft presentation to Parliament, one would expect every legislator to take Parliament seriously than soaking yourself in beer at a Parliament bar during the course of a session,” said Mr Dumbu.
Chief Nematombo was recently in the media for presiding over a trial where a woman was allegedly caught red-handed having sexual relations with her son-in-law.
Government Benefits
Zimbabwe’s chiefs, who are paid US$300 allowances monthly and drive goverment-issued cars, in addition to the growing wealth they accumulate in court penalties, recently demanded guns, and diplomatic passports from government. They weild enough power to arbitrarily try cases and charge whatsoever they deem is fit for an offense.

A London based protest group, the Zimbabwe Vigil has criticized the European Union for its said ‘recent actions’ which may soon result in sanctions (also known as restrictive measures) against President Robert Mugabe and members of his inner circle of power, being suspended.
The criticism comes after the state media horn-blew a report stating that the EU is now set to lift sanctions following a credible referendum. The criticism comes despite revelations that the Zimbabwe report is a mere exaggeration since ambassador Aldo Dell’ Ariccia’s words were nothing new but had been already communicated 7 months ago by the EU.
The state media last week reported stating that there were now hopes that EU would lift sanctions following  a credible referendum, “The EU stated that a peaceful and credible constitutional referendum would justify a suspension of the majority of all restrictive measures,” he said, adding: “In this context, the recent agreement on the Constitution draft is a welcome step in that direction,” Ambassador Aldo Dell’ Ariccia was quoted as stating.
Soon afterwards, the London based Zim Vigil blasted the EU calling on it to wait for real reforms in Zimbabwe before they consider lifting the targeted restrictive ‘sanctions’ in place against the Mugabe regime. Dennis Benton from the London based pressure group the Zimbabwe Vigil was on Monday quoted by SW Radio Africa stating that Europe’s position is suspicious. He said the “EU seems desperate to engage with Zimbabwe on any terms,” saying it is no accident that European officials paint the Zim situation with a “positive gloss.”
“They are desperately keen to get rid of sanctions and vie with the Chinese in terms of commercial interests,” Benton said.
The Vigil has for years been pressuring the EU to stand by its restrictive ‘sanctions’ until there is evidence of real change, and Benton said that this should include waiting until after an election. He said international observers and real reforms need to be evident before there is even talk of lifting the measures. Benton’s words follow those of US Ambassador David Bruce Wharton who has voiced concern about the presence of government troops across the country and a campaign of intimidation against civil rights advocates by ZANU PF. “We are concerned by the deployment of Zimbabwe Defence Forces throughout the country on nominal ‘administrative service’ duty who may seek to influence how community will vote,” he was quoted by the Sunday Mail newspaper.
But a Council Conclusions on Zimbabwe – Europa on the 23rd July 2012, communique reveals that there is nothing knew in the EU envoy’s words. The communique which reveals that the EU had already contemplated and communicated the same words in July 2012, reads is part:
The EU is encouraged by the progress that is being made in implementing the Global Political Agreement (GPA) by the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Zimbabwe. It welcomes the constructive dialogue that has been established in the process of EU re engagement with all parties in the GNU, including through the meeting in May this year between High Representative Ashton and the members of the Zimbabwe Ministerial Reengagement Committee. The EU welcomes the continued commitment of SADC to support the implementation of the GPA, as expressed at the recent extraordinary SADC Summit in Luanda….The steps taken by the GNU to improve the freedom and prosperity of the Zimbabwean people justify the immediate suspension of the measures hitherto applied under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement. This will allow the EU to work directly with the GNU to develop new assistance programmes for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe that would come on stream under the next European Development Fund.
Huddersfield top lecturer and political commentator, Nkululeko Sibanda has however said that there appears to be desperation on the EU’s position to lift sanctions.
“As  a matter of fact the EU is impatient to lift the sanctions on Zimbabwe necessarily because the main parties are arguing ….that the sanctions are no longer necessary or effective in achieving democracy in the country. And therefore it would seem to me though that they are looking for an excuse. Which raises an excuse to remove them. It raises the question as to whether or not all along they saw them as an effective tool for promoting democracy at all, rather than just a political gimmick on their side.  It certainly raises eyebrows as to why a mere referendum would be seen as important in determining democracy in Zimbabwe…,” he told ZimEye.
Ambassador Dell Arricia has however said that Zimbabweans should wait for a February 18 summit when the EU will sit to debate democracy issues and any possibility of lifting sanctions.

(Harare)The recent development which saw President Robert Mugabe’s son leaving school saw a new twist on Monday when the school opened up to the media for the first time.
A secretary in St Georges school’s headmasters office told ZimEye in an exclusive interview that it is true that Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe is indeed no longer a student at the prestigious school.
But the headmaster’s secretary used the word ‘voluntarily’ to describe the nature of the withdrawal:
“Bellarmine was not expelled. He voluntarily withdrew from the school himself,” she said.
When our reporter asked further information about the withdrawal in particular the reports of clashes between him and authorities, she however refused to comment.
“That has got nothing to do with the press or anyone else, but Bellarmine himself,” she said.

The internet was awash at the weekend following Chatunga’s ejection from the prestigious school with sources being quoted stating that he had been expelled but the school sought to avoid the possible political implications of the news leaking to the media. One ZimEye reader however claimed that a sports teacher had clashed with the young man leading to the fracas.

Does water in a borehole explode? A revolutionary automated borehole providing clean water for hundreds of people in Harare’s Marlborough surbub was destroyed and ripped open, and the local police refused to perform further investigations claiming that it had rather burst mysteriously.
The borehole had been installed by Harare West MP Jessie Majome using the Constituency Development Funds allocated for her work, and according to reports was found destroyed after residents had been told it is unwelcome because it had been drilled “by an MDC MP.”

Picture 1 is residents using the CDF funded automated borehole at Chichera Plot which was supplying water to at least 400 households. Picture 2 and 3 show the 5000 litre tank vandalised, in the dead of night shortly after residents were warned that the borehole was unwelcome because it had been drilled “by an MDC MP”.
Marlborough police closed the docket saying the cold water tank “exploded” despite having been supplied with suspects’ names. The case reference was CR26/04/12

More to follow…

The ZimRights director Okay Machisa, who was yesterday granted bail, appeared in court again today (Wednesday) morning for the main hearing for which he is being charged for allegedly producing fake voter registration certificates.
Machisa appeared before Magistrate Mahwe at Rotten Row Court Wednesday as per a 16th January decision when he was denied bail before the same court. In the 16th Jan hearing the magistrate court remanded him in custody to today the 30th January.
He was subsequently denied bail with state claiming that he was a flight risk.
However with the bail being passed yesterday, Machisa was dragged back to court again today for this hearing which has now been postponed to the 20th February.
Machisa is being pursued by the state on allegations of manufacturing fake voter registration certificates and yesterday emerged victorious against the government after High Court judge Justice Felistus Chatukuta ruled in his favour granting him bail. More to follow…

The London based anti-Robert Mugabe activist Martin Chinyanga has plans to sue a British pub, Yates following an incident he alleges subjected him to racial ill-treatment. That was after he was ‘physically manhandled’ and busted away from a London pub by security men at the weekend.
A visibly emotionally-charged up Chinyanga who attempted to enter the Yates pub in London’s Leicester Square, was denied entry by bouncers according to a released video footage covering an incident in which he says he was physically assaulted.
He maintains that it was because of his skin colour that he was denied entry and he is going to sue for discrimination.
Three other black people in the footage are seen alleging they were also denied entry. One of the women is heard asking, ‘why is he shouting?’ as Chinyanga emotionally and repeatedly screamed at bouncer guards at the pub’s doors.
He has admitted to a police fine of £80 for public disorder after he shouted the word ‘stupid’ in anger even at one of the alleged victims. Chinyanga however said he will be pursuing charges of racism ‘since several other black-skinned people were also denied entry’: “The British Government is allowing white supremacists and apartheid(sic) in their streets, by not understanding(sic) the meaning of racism….” says Chinyanga who has appealed to the mayor of London.
VIDEO:

The case involving the disputed will of a wealthy dead man Mr Innocent Katsiga, took another twist on Tuesday morning when a clerk employed by Wintertons Legal Practitioners, Bongani Machirori, who is notorious for twisting information and assuming a personal interest in this matter, failed to turn up for a scheduled teleconference arranged by her boss. The teleconference was meant to probe the issues raised through her conduct in handling the estate of the deceased. Such issues have triggered an outcry from concerned family members of the deceased.
The Katsiga estate case on queue at the High Court, has seen senior partners of Wintertons Legal Practitioners play shuttle cock as they try to dodge answering raised issues on the matter, opting to pass them on to their clerk Bongani Machirori to whom all the issues in this case have been delegated.

One of Zimbabwe’s oldest law firms based in Harare, Wintertons Legal Practitioners, has been fingered and reported to authorities on a case involving the forgery of the will document of the late, Mr Innocent Katsiga whose assets reportedly worth millions of dollars remains mysterious under their control.
To date Wintertons have avoided answering questions on the whereabouts of the late Mr Katsiga’s original will, only referring our reporter to an employee in the firm who is not a lawyer, one Bongani Machirori. Senior lawyers of the firm have refused to respond to questions with secretaries referring this publication to the said Mrs. Machirori.

When contacted by phone, Machirori further fanned the flame of controversy as she refused to answer and referred our reporter back to her bosses.
“I am an employee. I cannot answer questions,” she told our reporter.
Despite Wintertons’ Pichanick being named as Executor, the case was delegated to Machirori, the firm’s clerk, ZimEye can reveal.
“The original will is with the Master Of The High Court,” she stated. But efforts to get the original will through the Master have been futile.
“Can you phone our office numbers. I am not the right person to talk to,” she said contradicting her own bosses who had referred our reporter to her as the one handling the matter.
When asked about details of the distribution of the estate and in particular the assets and liabilities account, she replied:
“Who is concerned about that?”
“I cannot answer questions., ” she reiterated.
But when contacted by this paper on Monday, the firm’s senior partner Alwyn Pichanick, said he knows nothing of the matter and only Machirori knows better. “I don’t know anything about it I am afraid,” he said. Surprisingly, Mr. Pichanick is the named Executor in the controversial will yet he referred our reporter to the law firm’s clerk.
“Our estates are handled by Bongani Machirori,” he added
A High court lawsuit on the late Mr Innocent Katsiga’s will that has three vividly different signatures of the same deceased person covering the single determining will document, has been opened. Sasha Katsiga, 9, the deceased’s son, who was kicked out of his father’s house two days after his father’s burial by the other customary law wife of deceased, has been living in a rented dilapidated single room with his biological mother  despite his father’s estate having houses, flats, assets and cash worth millions which include considerable cash stashed in UK bank accounts, is the main complainant in the case.
Sasha who attends Hartman House and rides public transport to school has been inconvenienced as his father’s estate proceeds remain not fully and openly accounted for to the satisfaction of his welfare and needs. Matching interim relief has not been available through Wintertons. His sibling who also attends the same school, Hartman House, and lives at the Gunhill house still enjoys the same quality of life he enjoyed prior to his father’s death. His father left a fleet of cars and yet Sasha has been given an immobile decrepit vehicle that needs costly mechanical repairs. He receives a paltry $400 to use for his upkeep per month through the High Court guardian’s fund. To date, a copy of the original will, reportedly left in the custody of Wintertons  has, despite inquiries by interested family members, not been made available to surviving family members either through Wintertons or Master of the High Court.
 
“With this puzzle in my brother’s estate and this secrecy shrouding the estate proceedings, in case this file gets closed without proper accounting, the welfare of the kids will be my responsibility. To date we don’t know what’s going on in this estate. As of last week some assets had not been added to the file. I suspect these white law firms are using black folks as their front to milk deceased estates. That’s why Pichanick is referring everyone to Machirori who boasts of having worked in the Master’s office in the High Court at Harare for years. When I spoke to her over the phone she claimed that she knows the Master, some judges and people in high places and we were wasting our time as this matter would be heading nowhere. Is this the way the legal system in Zimbabwe now works? I would be surprised if this is the first or last estate with such controversy. I would appeal to all parties prejudiced by Wintertons on related matters to step forward for possible class action” Said Victoria Katsiga, the deceased’s sister.
In terms of the Administration of Estates Act, the original copy of the will should be in the hands of the Master of High Court and the Executor of the estate. To date, only photocopies have been furnished without any leads to the whereabouts of the original copy of the will. This has raised many questions in the estate.
Despite efforts by Gutu and Chikowero law firm who are representing Sasha Katsiga and surviving siblings demanding transparency to establish the true book value of estate assets, or at the least to secure meaningful interim relief and transport for Sasha, Wintertons have flatly refused to cooperate or share any information with anyone. Per information supplied to ZimEye, even the UK account details have remained undisclosed.
This case  is reportedly suspicious in that a certain Mrs. Nwadu, who signed the will as a witness, occupies one of the deceased estate properties and also works for Wintertons which is unethical according to standards. The only clue remains the deathbed wish by the late Innocent Katsiga to surviving siblings to have all assets handled on open table together with values through Wintertons. Today, estate values and all transactions have remained a secret. Almost two years later, the assets administration remain a puzzle and the case is about to be closed and the estate finalised.
This story is the 2nd in a series of articles on Wintertons law firm Money, and Estate Scandal.

(LONDON) A female Zimbabwean nurse who let an alcoholic patient die in her hospital bed after saying she did not care if she ‘drank herself to death’ has been kicked out of the profession.
Zvichandiitei Chombo allowed a female patient to leave the ward unattended to down a bottle of vodka in March 2008, an investigation has found.
While she was away colleagues Joy Cameron and shift co-ordinator Anota Quadri made false records claiming they had carried out 15-minute observations, the panel found.
When she saw patient A in an intoxicated state, Ms Chombo reportedly said:
‘She can drink herself to death. I do not care.’
When the female patient died, the coroner ruled that she died as a result of alcohol intoxication and aspiration pneumonia.
“there is a degree of established fact…that Patient A was highly intoxicated and died as a result of aspirating her own vomit and high alcohol levels. The coroner found that Patient A died as a result of alcohol intoxication and aspiration pneumonia. The verdict was accidental death contributed by neglect. The circumstances of the neglect being that having consumed alcohol in a toxic and lethal quantity her need for medical assessment and attention on the evening of 24 March 2008 was not recognised at the time,” the tribunal found.
The investigation hearings were held between September last year stretching into the second week of January 2013.

The United Nations has joined the chorus of statements from local NGOs to speak out against persecution of political and social activists in Zimbabwe.
This came as 59 community organistions known as CSOs (Community Service Organisations) teamed up in Harare following the incarceration of human rights leader Okay Machisa who this week appeared in court in leg chains after which he was denied bail and remanded in custody to January 30. The CSOs spoke out against what they said are arbitrary arrests of activists adding that there is a betrayal of justice in Zimbabwe.
“The primary goal of launching this onslaught is simply meant to criminalize the work of civil society, discredit it and showcase civil society as unpatriotic and devoid of national interest.
“This discourse, which has been peddled by some elements in the state and other political parties seems to have gathered
momentum and has now been turned into action by deliberately and subtly intimidating and harassing CSO activists and the Human Rights Lawyers who defend them, based on trumped up charges or for simply doing their job. This relentless assault on CSO’s and accusing them of several misdemeanors is to suggest to the public the existence of a wide-ranging conspiracy targeting the stability of the country and
to paint civil society organisations as a danger to State security.
“As Civil Society we unequivocally reject all the insinuations and willful misrepresentations of our legitimate work…” the statement read in part.
The NGOs were joined by the United Nations in Geneva who also condemned what it described as a crackdown against civil society groups.
“We condemn recent attacks against human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, including arbitrary arrests, intimidation and harassment… We’re concerned about the crackdown on non-governmental organizations and dissenting voices seen as critical of President Robert Mugabe’s rule,” U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Friday.
Mugabe, 88, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, promised in December to fight like a “wounded beast” in order to stay in power.

Zimbabweans will reject Mugabe?
An online activist spoke out against Mugabe Friday afternoon:  “Mugabe is going to turn 89 in February next Month and will become one of the oldest political candidates to contest an election. Zimbabwe will reject him at the ballot box. The inability to change its leadership will almost certainly condemn ZANU PF to political history.
Zimbabweans cannot invest their future into an 89 year-old candidate and this is a quandary for ZANU-PF and a huge problem for Mugabe and this is not opposition driven, it is self inflicted,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has a bitter past.”
A top Zimbabwe MP aspirant, Elliot Pfebve, also weighed in to say that Zimbabwe has a bitter past but parties should now engage in constructive nation building.
Said Pfebve: “The news that the principals have agreed on the COPAC constitution draft, should be applauded as the epitome of Zimbabwean political maturity. The COPAC draft is not the perfect document for a prosperous Zimbabwe but it is the start of a journey of hope and stability.
“I hope that all parties,  ZANU (PF), MDC-T and MDC-N will respect their signatures even way after the ink has dried up. It must be made clear that as Zimbabweans we are no enemies of each other but a rich nation of divergent views, which make us what we are, a proud nation.
“Any party that will democratically win the 2013 harmonised election must not stoop low into retribution but unite the nation without witch hunting; any eye for an eye can only lead to a blind nation.
“Mindful of the fact that we have a bitter past, let us redefine our sovereignty based on mutual respect, where the weak is protected and the strong is just,” he said.

Zimbabwe Vice President John Landa Nkomo, has died, ZimEye can reveal.
VP Nkomo’s death was announced on Thursday morning.
ZANU PF Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa told ZimEye the HON Nkomo has died.
“It is true, vashaikwa,” he said on Thursday afternoon.
He had battled cancer for several years.
Following his passing away, the United States embassy became the first foreign mission to issue a statement of condolence.
The embassy said it:
“expresses its condolences to the family and the people of Zimbabwe on the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo. Whether as a teacher, a politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant, Vice President Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and prosperity. As a leader of PF ZAPU and ZANU-PF, Mr. Nkomo played an important role in shaping the course of Zimbabwean history. May he rest in peace.
More to follow…

A Harare Central prison guard, Ronald Gurajena, who was reported to his bosses for a number of allegations including stealing prisoners’ food, selling it, getting drunk on the proceeds, and then opening up his trousers to underwear level, was set up by his girl friend, ZimEye can reliably reveal.
ZimEye possesses exclusive evidence revealing that Ms Roselyn Mehlomakulu who claimed that Mr Gurajena on Christmas day stole food belonging to prisoners, sold them, and within an hour quickly became drunk from the beer he bought from the proceeds, is actually an ex-girlfriend of Gurajena’s.
She has denied ever being in love with Gurajena.
Her claims against Mr Gurajena included gay stunt-apparent photos snapped of her boyfriend standing exposing his underwear while somewhat ‘affectionately’ holding another man during a beer binge she alleged was made possible through stolen prisoners’ food stuffs.

The photographer was actually Ms Mehlomakulu herself, ZimEye can however reveal. Mehlomakulu who is based in South Africa had been visiting her then lover at the just ended Christmas holiday period.
But Mehlomakulu said she was only visiting a neighbour at the time of the incident, was not related to Gurajena at all when she says that she witnessed several prisoners being made to carry food stuffs from inside the prison to hand them at Mr Gurajena’s house. Further investigations carried out by ZimEye  however reveal that Mehlomakulu was in fact phycially present in Gurajena’s house at the time of the incident and was also the very photographer of the footage that has been circulating on the internet to date.
The photographs and video footage do not contain any prisoners as alleged and Mehlomakulu herself has admitted she has no evidence whatsoever of the alleged theft of prisoners handouts.
But she still insisted:
“I saw it myself”
“All this took place inside the prison baracks at Newlands Prison on the 25th December 2012 and I saw it myself”, said Ms Mehlomakulu of the incident which however she only reported two weeks later.
She claimed she was concerned about the welfare of prisoners and was morally disgusted by the alleged abuse in the department which however ZimEye has been told Gurajena does not even work in.
“Prison Guard Gurajena stole donated foods – like peanut butter, rice and cooking oil,” she alleged.
“The items were taken from the storerooms; I saw prisoners knocking the door saying: Sheff, we have come with your stuff, said Mehlomakulu.
She added:
“At this time it was around past 5PM and all this occurred inside the Newlands barracks.
Gurajena had a friend (name withheld) who was seen doing the same thing and drinking beer soon afterwards, she alleged at the time.
“I saw them myself, two prisoners leaving the prison…
“This Ronald started selling the dovi at around past 6. They must be stopped from doing this. This food has been donated to prisoners”, said Mehlomakulu.
Soon after reporting the case to bosses Mehlomakulu was quick to inform ZimEye that Gorejena was being investigated by his seniors at work.
She even told ZimEye she is going to stand in court to testify against Gurajena for the alleged theft of prisoners’ handouts. It was however not clear if a police case had been opened or not.
 
A tight love affair for several months
But recorded messages and undeniable, verified Facebook sms reveal that Mehlomakulu had a gripping love affair for several months and regularly referred to Gurajena as ‘honey’, ‘darling’ and sometimes as ‘Baba Vemwana'(father of my child).
On one note she even communicated telling him that she does not want him to suffer and would without failure support him financially. In another message she told him she was promtly sending him money from South Africa.
Mehlomakulu said to be 39 years, six years older than her ex-boyfriend who is 33, brought strong liquour from South Africa which intoxicated the prison guard to the point of stripping, during a function which was actually her birthday, Gurajena has said.
 
A drowning whale
To claim that Gurajena stole prisoners’ handouts merely based on the fact that he got drunk and also failing to provide the evidence, would have been slanderous. Mr Gorejena is generally known as a drowning whale by friends who identify him as a man of the bottle, and on his Facebook profile are present several images of him affectionately holding the container of indulgence.
 
Could have lost job by now
Gurajena would have lost his job by now had it not been for the trail of undeniable evidence proving existence of the love affair. When confronted with the evidence, Mehlomakulu at first denied but within a few minutes finally succumbed and crept into silence confirming her deliberate malice.

The United States embassy in Zimbabwe has fingered president Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party for the disturbance, Wednesday, which resulted in the ambassador Bruce Wharton failing to officiate his planned meeting with Mutare residents.
In a statement, the embassy expressed disappointment as it stated that ZANU PF activists were not interested in discussion but went ahead to block the US envoy’s meeting.
Mutare has been the talk of Zimbabwean politics lately with ZANU PF several times wrestling the control of the city from the MDC-T party who hold the mayoral mandate and last year Local Government and National Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo suspended the MDC-T mayor Brian James under circumstances currently under scrutiny of the courts. Most Mutarians have expressed their dislike for president Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and the recent events of the suspending of the mayor have seemed to increase MDC-T support which according to analysts rose stronger when president Robert Mugabe forcibly displaced the villagers of nearby Chiadzwa diamond fields.
The US embassy statement read:
‘In response to the protests today, January 16, which prevented Ambassador Wharton from engaging in a dialogue with the citizens of Manicaland at the Turner Memorial Library in Mutare, the U.S. Embassy releases the following statement:
‘While the U.S. values the right to peaceful protest, and notes it as a critical element of democracy, we regret that the roughly 130 ZANU-PF protestors were not interested in a conversation.  Ambassador Wharton spent about 15-20 minutes listening to their messages – written on placards, and verbal – but was met with no opportunity for constructive conversation.
‘The U.S. Ambassador recognizes the critical need to work together to build a way forward but believes that this must begin with a respectful sharing of ideas.

‘Ambassador Wharton is on his first visit to Manicaland with a schedule that includes visits to USAID projects and meetings with businesspeople, academics, local authorities, and citizens.  Please find attached the remarks that Ambassador Wharton was planning to give at the Turner Memorial Library public event.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Wharton has communicated his prepared remarks for the planned Food for Thought session at the Turner Memorial Library American Corner in Mutare.
A comment from ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo could not be obtained at the time of writing.

Police in Harare were left in broad-daylight disgrace after a human rights activist Stendrick Zvorwadza was acquitted by the court as the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence amid flimsy investigations. Zvorwadza was incarcerated for 6 whole days in Harare as police officers frantically attempted to charge him for hurling insults at police at a station.
The activist who is the vice chairman of the Restoration of Human Rights, ROHR-Zimbabwe organisation, appeared before a Harare magistrate court yesterday after languishing in police detention for a consecutive 6 days.
He was arrested on the 9th of January last week and charged under Section 41b of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 arising from the alleged use of improper language at the police station with the intention of disturbing public peace. Zimbabwe’s Attorney General however dismissed the police case as he criticised the investigations for lacking substance.
It was not clear what police were claiming he uttered.

Police however allege that he used what they term improper language at the police station with the intention of disturbing public peace. However Zvorwadza’s representative from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, a Mr Mutangi has said that the treatment by the police is not proportionate with the allegation itself.
There were high suspicions yesterday that Zvorwadza is being punished for expressing his disappointment to law enforcement authorities for failing to resolve a pending case that remains in police hands for long. Zvorwadza has told his legal representative that he believes he is being persecuted for threatening to expose a top police boss who is allegedly covering up for a Chinese national who risk facing the wrath of the law. ‘The matters borders on a fierce precedent of sponsored impunity and undermining of the rule of law by ‘untouchable elite,’ A ROHR Zimbabwe statement reads.
Mr Mutangi from the ZLHR has maintained that, under normal circumstances a person charged with the same charge could be expected to pay a minor fine. The prolonged detention and infringement of rights on the handling of Zvorwadza’s case is a clear sign that there are parties with ulterior motives within the police force, reads the statement. More to follow…

(Leeds, UK)The inquest into the death of an elderly  Zimbabwean teacher Mr Jijita opened on Wednesday, ZimEye can reveal.
Mr Jijita died following a fatal fall from the Woodhouse Bridge in Leeds’ Inner Ring road on Saturday the 29th December.
Police have concluded their findings and handed the relevant files to the Leeds coroner.

A coroner’s office employee told ZimEye it may be too early to declare that Mr Jijita’s death was suicide since the coroner is to make the final determination at the end of the inquest.
More too follow…

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s assigned Deputy Minister for Justice, Obert Gutu’s legal firm is under scrutiny for dealing negligently with a lawsuit involving the welfare of a surviving minor and child of a businessman, Mr Innocent Katsiga who died in 2011. The Gutu & Chikowero legal firm failed to perform an urgent chamber application for Mr Katsiga’s 9 year old child to secure his best interests through adequate interim relief. This is something Gutu’s boss Tsvangirai achieved several times last year as he fought his way out of multiple love affairs.
Obert Gutu’s law firm, Gutu and Chikowero were handling the case of a High court lawsuit on the late Mr Innocent Katsiga’s will which has three vividly different signatures of the same deceased person on the single determining will document. Coincidentally the same signatures negatively affect Sasha Katsiga, 9, who is currently renting a Rhodesian style boy skie cottage house despite his father’s estate having houses, flats, assets and cash stretching beyond USD2 million which include up to £900 000 stashed in UK bank accounts.
Other children are Manfred and Reynolds, also minors from another woman. Both mothers were customary wives of the deceased.
Gutu’s senior partner Benjamin Chikowero admitted that the signature is questionable as it appears in three different forms.
But Minister Obert Gutu’s firm failed to perform a simple High Court chamber application for a school going minor, (who is robbed through the forged will) something Gutu’s own boss Morgan Tsvangirai managed to do last year as he secured several urgent chamber applications in less than two weeks while fighting his way out of his multiple love affairs past several lovers, Leocardia Karimatsenga, a named South African mistress, and his new wife Elizabeth Macheka.
 
“No urgency in the matter”
Gutu’s senior partner Mr. Benjamin Chikowero even refused to do a chamber application stating that: “An urgent application at this point in time would not stand any chance of success.”
He even stated that there is no urgency in the matter:
“There is no sense of urgency. This matter is already before the courts by the way of summons…”
He said that an urgent application would not succeed:

“An urgent application at this point in time will not succeed,” he said.
 
Sasha Katsiga would however have been kicked out of school if ZimEye had not intervened last week when the Master’s Office of High Court at Harare, between Saturday and Sunday, miraculously surfaced saying they would finally transfer school fee funds to his mother from the Guardian’s fund by Thursday (meaning yesterday).
 
Original will still missing
The culprits in the case are named as the Harare based Wintertons Legal firm who have refused to avail a copy of the original will, ZimEye can reveal. ZimEye will in the next few days expose deeper details on the firm’s dodgy dealings especially in this issue that has left a minor prejudiced to such an extent.
 
The wherabouts of the original will remain a puzzle to date and Wintertons, as the named Executors, have refused to produce it besides earlier promises and undertakings to do so.
 
 
Allocation of Assets questionable
The allocation of assets as noted in the “will” has also raised several questions because:
1(a). According to family members, Innocent Katsiga loved his children equally and the disparities in the estate’s minor children have raised a red flag on the sidelining of Sasha Katsiga to suffer in an Estate where his father left such wealth that now mainly benefits Sasha’s siblings and their mother.
 
2. The “will” has deliberately created a puzzle by naming just bank names in England without any other details such as branches and amounts, leaving more work to the surviving family members to sort the puzzle. If the will was drawn by a professional lawyer, all details could have been on the table. Close to a million British pounds were reportedly stashed in those bank accounts and Wintertons have remained mum on the issue.
 
3. Some portions of the will have incomplete calculations on shares of assets allocated and some are more than 100% shares in one asset as some are e.g. 40% to minor child A . 40% to minor child B and the rest is unnamed and unidentified. A diligent and qualified lawyer handling such an estate would have easily picked up and identified the disparities way ahead of the lodging of papers.
 
4. A considerable portion of assets have been left out of the “will” for example a housing property in Borrowdale and the on-going business operations left by the deceased.
 
5. Besides openly-aired grievances to have these issues ironed out through legal channels, Wintertons, acting through their Mr. Pichanick have not moved an inch as Mr. Pichanik has not been available all the time and now the issue is closed.
 
Gutu who is a former ZimEye columnist has been finger-pointed for the failure to settle the matter on time despite requests to him in his official capcity as a Justice Minister. A family member has told ZimEye she was told by a High Court clerk:
“Gutu and Chikowero did not do a professional job on the case, they knew what they could have done e.g. file for interim relief for the child, place a caveat on properties (to prevent any transactons over them) through a court order, fight for their clients.”
When contacted, Mr Gutu said he was not handling the case himself having left legal practice when he entered government service some years ago.
This story is the first in a series of articles on Wintertons law firm Money, and Estate Scandal.

(Bradford, UK) Shepherd Yuda, a former Harare prison guard currently based in England where he sought refuge amid fear and controversy, plans to return to Zimbabwe to contest for the upcoming elections in 2013. Many will remember Yuda when he made headlines after exposing Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF alleged vote-rigging activities during the tightly-contested 2008 elections.
Yuda confirmed to ZimEye that as an MDC-T member who has served the party from his days as a prison guard between 1995 and 2008 when he fled the country, he now aspires to be an MP in Hurungwe East. He has been longing to occupy the prestigious legislators’ post in his home town. He is among he various named individuals on the 2013 return train home carrying a squad list of UK aspiring diaspora returnees hoping to join politics.
The former government sentry is from Hurungwe East and will be contesting on Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement For Democratic Change  ticket in his place of birth. He told ZimEye, “The MDC leadership in Harare are earnestly waiting for my return.”
Yuda also ruled out any fears of possible torture or harassment by Mugabe’s henchmen as retaliation for exposing bad governance and corruption. He made headlines when he embarrassed President Mugabe through an organised, recorded and exposed vote rigging activity that went viral in the  media in 2008. The same election for Zimbabwe Presidency resulted in a run off after Morgan Tsvangirai came too close to lick the horns of power that year.
“I am not afraid of Mugabe at all and I am beyond confident that I will win”, said Yuda adding that he had been invited by the party to represent them in Hurungwe East where his folks are yearning for his return and victory is assured.

“Kunodiwa ini mubarirwa, mukuriri wemumusha umu ndozivakuti mose modei,” said Yuda. Meaning (My people need me as a son of the local soil because they know I already know what they want and no one else can serve them well enough)
Yuda’s disgruntlement with Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party dates back to his days in 1999 at the formation of the MDC-T party. A few years later, he was accused of bombing the daily news printing press machine, an accusation he remains bitter about as it was unfounded and malicious. The charges were dropped after the state failed to prove the charges.
Yuda becomes the 9th person joining the list of surprise aspiring MPs mostly from the diaspora. Other aspirants include former Zimbabwe Mirror scribe Grace Kwinjeh (MDC-T), ex-journo, publisher and Makonde MP Kindness Paradza (Zanu PF), ex-ZBC reporter former ZBC DJs Eric Knight and Ezra Sibanda (both MDC-T), ex-ZBC announcer James Maridadi (MDC-T) and former Daily News News editor Luke Tamborinyoka (MDC-T).
2013 is speculated to be ‘an interesting election year’ because of the diversity of fielded candidates and the injection of new players into the political field from both ZANU PF, the various MDC parties and ZAPU

(Leeds)The body of a Zimbabwean teacher, Mr Washington Jitita who reportedly jumped to his death from a bridge in the city, is still stuck in the United Kingdom undergoing procedural checks.
Mr Jijita’s body is still undergoing checks by the coroner, witnesses have told this publication. The late Jijita died last Saturday night following a fatal fall at the vehicle-busy Woodhouse Lane bridge outside the Leeds Metropolitan University.
ZimEye also visited the deceased’s home on Friday and found people were still meeting, praying and consoling the family.
Our editors were told the post mortem is still to be conducted and so the body which should have left for Zimbabwe on Thursday, remains with authorities.
 
False information passed to the public
It has emerged that the public were fed with false information when they were told that Mr Jijita had been run over by a vehicle. Other reports last weekend even claimed he had been hit and run over by a bus while crossing the road.
But police concluding their reports on the very same night, declared that the death was not suspicious. Damages to the Toyota Avansis at the scene strongly suggest that Mr Jijita fell from above the bridge onto the moving vehicle causing severe damage to the car.

One of the mourners emotional told ZimEye she was disappointed that people had been given false information blaming the falsification on a named church pastor.
“Pastor (name withheld) was preaching to people claiming that he had been run over. I approached his wife and confronted her telling to stop misleading people,” she said.
 
Six children instead
ZimEye has been reliably informed that Mr Jijita’s children number up to 6, and reports that claimed he had only 3 were misleading. Two children are from an earlier marriage, while four others come from the second relationship. More to follow …
 
 

(Leeds, UK)A Zimbabwean man who was found dead under the vehicle-busy Woodhouse Lane bridge in Leeds on Saturday night, and has been identified as Mr Washington Jijita, a respected Zimbabwean, also a  former teacher, actually jumped over a bridge into an open motorway, friends have said.
These statements came as it was announced that police are not treating the death as suspicious.
Leeds’ Ring road was shut for several hours after Mr Jijita reportedly jumped to his death on top of a passing car causing a massive traffic jam in the road. Several friends soon afterwards telephoned each other speculating on the accident on Saturday night. One aggrieved former student of Mr Jijita’s told ZimEye of the fatal incident.

The accident which has not been treated as suspicious, occurred at around 7.50pm on Saturday the 29th December.
The driver was badly injured and had to be rushed to Leeds General Infirmary hospital for treatment.
Use these pastors
During the funeral proceedings on Monday evening, an assigned preacher shocked the multitude of gathered family members and attendants when he emphasised the phrase: “wherever (his spirit) he is” referring to Mr Jijita a contrast to what most funeral preachers do when they culturally state without doubt that the deceased has gone to heaven. He was insinuating that what folks had seen was incredible enough to warrant a fresh twist of events into the issue. The death was sudden, unexpected, ill-timed and uncalled for, friends of the Jijitas told ZimEye.

“It better to try than not to,” the preacher at the funeral said.
It is better to listen to God than to people. That is why we have pastors here. Let us use them,” he said in a message which lasted 40 minutes.
 
Facebook profile.
On Mr Jijita’s Facebook profile, were present various photos of him affectionately standing together and holding his second wife. But his wife’s Facebook profile did not state that she is married and neither was there a single photo of them standing side by side as on the husband’s portal.
Mr Jijita’s first wife is in Zimbabwe and the woman he was living with in the UK was a second spouse.
He leaves behind two wives and several children from both relationships.
His body will be flown to Zimbabwe for burial according to announcements made at the service.
 
Suicide cases
Suicide rates in Leeds are one of the highest in England and have risen since 2004. Local data suggests the highest suicide rate is in the 35 – 64 age range.

The United States Ambassador David Bruce Wharton has dismissed a recent story that stated a secret meeting with two unnamed ZANU PF officials.
“Nothing secret about it,” Wharton said of the meeting.
“I also met with journalists, leaders of MDC-T, students, politicians, business people, and civil society leaders. If your reporters would like an interview with me or someone else from the US embassy, please have them contact our press and public affairs office,” he told ZimEye.
Wharton had announced meeting two ZANU PF officials last week Thursday.

“On the 27th (December) I had a breakfast meeting with two Zanu PF stalwarts. Very smart, progressive patriots interested in looking ahead, not backwards,” he said without naming the officials which triggered several comments as various analysts hinted that the ZANU PF officials cannot be trusted.

A former Zimbabwean teacher, Mr. Washington Jijita died in a suspected car accident in Leeds that has left the Yorkshire community both shocked and baffled.
Mr Jijita was found dead at a bridge near Leeds Met University close to the city centre in an accident police are yet to communicate their findings on.

A man who represented himself as a former student of Mr Jijita’s said the deceased was a well respectable teacher who after arriving in the UK decided to enrol at Leeds University for further education.
He is survived by his wife and three children plus two other children from his first marriage.
Mourners are gathered at the family’s home in Gipton where a service will be held Monday evening at 6PM. More to follow…

Bulawayo- Plans by political parties to form a coalition to remove long time ruler Robert Mugabe, hit a snag Saturday when the MDC led by Industry and Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube dismissed them.
Ncube’s MDC formation dismissed the reports stating a possible coalition with the Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC formation as “wishfull thinking “.
Before this time, speculation had been rife that Ncube’s MDC party would unite with Morgan Tsvangirai’s formation under the latter’s name together with Mavambo Kusile Dawn and MDC-99.

“As a party we are not hunting for political partners to fight Zanu pf,the issue of a grand coalition could be a good idea but not easily achievable because we tried it with the MDC-T in 2008 but they refused,”said Mushoriwa who is also a former member of parlianent for Dzivaresekwa constituency under a united MDC ticket.
He described speculation by some sections of the media about a possible coalition as nothing but wishfull thinking.
Mushoriwa said his party will stand by its congress resolution to invade every village and every corner of Zimbabwe in preparation for elections.
“However the MDC doors are still open for serious political parties who believe in collective action towards the creation of a just and fair Zimbabwe,”he said.
A founder member of the united MDC Senator David Coltart who is currently the Legal and Constitutional affairs secretary in the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube was widely quoted in the media saying there is need for unity “to fight a common enemy”.
Coltart who is also minister of education arts sport and culture said”we should strive to agree on an electoral pact so that we do not split the vote as happened in 2008.”
The MDC led by prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai has since announced that it will soon embark on the controversial candidate verification exercise instead of holding primary elections.
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ZIMBABWE’s multiple political parties are planning to form a grand coalition to topple Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party before the upcoming elections in scheduled in March 2013.
Influential figures from all key parties have voiced their intentions to rally behind one single banner to remove long time ruler Robert Mugabe.
Speculation is rife for a possible united front by Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube’s MDC and Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) against a sitting dictatorship post every election.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora quoted by Newsday said: “The position of the MDC is that it welcomes co-operation and unity of purpose of all progressive democratic forces for the purpose of the removal of dictatorship. It, therefore, has always co-operated with other political parties.
“The decision of what form of co-operation it will be will have to be made by members of the MDC itself. Our leadership would be guided by the decision of the national standing committee, national executive, national council, the provincial executive, district executive and ward executive. All leaders will have to make that decision.”

Mwonzora said: “Gone are the days of having little political fiefdoms and it’s time to have one strong candidate who has realistic chances of dislodging the dictatorship especially one who has defeated Mugabe before.”
The MDC camp also indicated it supported a grand coalition although it remained sceptical of Tsvangirai’s commitment to the deal.
A senior member of the MDC, David Coltart, yesterday said the 2008 election was lost because of split votes hence there was need for unity to “fight a common enemy”.
“This is probably the best that we can have. In 2008, elections were lost because of votes that were split,” Coltart said.
“(Welshman) Ncube and I are not in fact at odds on this issue. Both of us agree that in an ideal world, we should have a single united opposition against Zanu PF, but we both recognise that that is well-nigh impossible. In the circumstances, we should strive to agree on an electoral pact so that we do not split the vote as happened in 2008.
“We both know this will be very difficult and if there is any disagreement between us it is in how we rate the chances of obtaining an electoral pact. He (Ncube) is very pessimistic that this is possible whereas whilst I am also fairly pessimistic, I think it is still possible. My views in this regard should not be taken as any fundamental disagreement between us or any loss of faith by me in his leadership.”
A political peer on the Mthwakazi Junction website, Thulani Nkala has also called for unity which it is now speculated Dumiso Dabengwa’s ZAPU will unite with Welshman Ncube’s MDC party:
The old adage “united we stand and divided we fall” has been said again and again, but now it has never been so relevant to the political situation obtaining on the ground in Mthwakazi than now. We have recently seen an alarming mushrooming of different pressure groups and political parties in Mthwakazi and indeed a contestation of who is who in the region among political pretenders and established politicians in the region. As a multi-party democracy adherent, I welcome the multiplicity of the parties in the region while at the same time I am of the view that this large number of parties is derailing the struggle and the uplifting of the lives of the peoples of the region. It is not because they are many, but it is because of a lack of proper co-ordination and unity of purpose among these parties. All political and non-political organizations in Mthwakazi should seek to work on common issues that bind and unite them and the people of the region.
 
Grey areas still present
Despite the strong support for a united front, concern was raised by others that there should be controls since they do not trust Morgan Tsvangirai.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai can slip into intimacy with Robert Mugabe at any time, Welshman Ncube’s MDC vice chairman Langelihle Khoza told ZimEye.
“Mr Tsvangirai has very little reason to oppose Mugabe because he has not suffered anything from Mugabe’s irons hands while other people such
as Ncube have several areas of discontent with Mugabe such as Gukurahundi and other perpetrations,” he said.
MDC99 leader Job Sikhala also voiced added concern: “It’s good, but there is no one who should be automatically imposed on the people. It needs negotiation.
“It’s true the common enemy is Zanu PF and people want to work together to obtain democracy in Zimbabwe. It’s obvious we all want to see Mugabe’s back.”
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The notorious leader of the War Veterans association Jabulani Sibanda has embarked on an intensive terror campaign in Manicaland threatening villagers with war if they do not vote for Zanu PF, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
More than 400 village headmen were yesterday (Thursday) summoned to a Sabhuku’s meeting in Rusape which they had been falsely told would be a special community summit to officiate crucial villagers’ concerns.
It was only upon arriving that the headmen were surprised to find ZANU PF strongman the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and the party’s Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa, the Chisumbanje Green Fuel company Billy Rautenbach’s anchorman Basil Nyabadza, flanked by the infamous Jabulani Sibanda leading proceedings at the meeting.
The gathering was summoned by Chief Makoni who is the community-head over the entire area.
All the food consumed by 400 people at the meeting including beef from a slaughtered bull was donated by Basil Nyabadza who has been dishonorable for dishing out thousands of hectares of farmlands to Billy Reutenbach ( a Zanu PF ally) through a violent displacement of defenceless poor villagers in the process. While Zanu PF is strongly against the white community, Reutenbach has remained a top ally for all seasons and seems to call the shots at his convenience.
In the meeting, Didymus Mutasa issued a directive to Chief Makoni to ensure that every headmen should immediately document all villagers from the age 13 to 36.
“I don’t know what he intends to do with the list”, ZANU PF officials present at the meeting told ZimEye.
He actually told them :”Masabhuku ndimi makatidyisa last time, saka this time toda kukuisai patight.” – You headmen triggered our loss last time, so this time we are pushing you into a tight corner, Mutasa said.
He then tasked Chief Makoni that he must make sure every village head has a documented list of villagers aged 13 to 36 years who must be fully documented.
The headmen however soon replied pleading that the task was too insurmountable for them.  In response, the ZANU PF delegation ordered that stationery be bought to facilitate the operation as every person would be audited to see which party he or she may have voted for. Any findings from that audit could then bring consequences.
It is speculated that the documented villagers could be employed as foot soldiers at election time.
 
Enters Jabulani Sibanda
Jabulani Sibanda soon then took centre stage and began to issue threats that any headman who does not coordinate ZANU PF votes in the upcoming elections will be expelled. Stuttering in broken Shona, Sibanda who spoke for a longer time than the rest told the Sabhukus that they will be expelled from the ancestral posting if they do not follow instructions to force villagers to vote for ZANU PF.
Zvedzinza hazvina basa, we can still remove you at any time, Sibanda threatened the headmen.
They were also told that their lives would be made difficult  – in a direct reference to violence which has left many of the headmen disturbed. Many of the headmen have revealed their fears but voiced concern that their lives would be in danger if they were discovered.

2012 could be Zimbabwe’s most controversial year in the nation’s history. In this article we feature some of the controversies and interesting news leads the nation and its peoples experienced.”
ZIMBABWE: Remembering 2012
ZimEye Special Highlights for 2012.
International Politics

• President Barak Obama won in the USA
• President Sata made headlines through his out of taste jokes at the SADC as he “kissed” Mugabe whom he called sekuru while ridiculing other Zimbabwe GPA leaders like Ncube and Tsvangirai
• President Zuma won in South Africa
• Julius Malema continued with controversy and his relations with Jacob Zuma reached the lowest ebb as Malema fought hard to discredit Zuma’s presidency using youth platforms. He also made various visits to Zimbabwe to garner support and solidarity. In the U.K he was not able to travel because of visa restrictions, and when he was later allowed entry, his glorious fame was shortlived. He attempted to orchestrate  Zuma’s downfall through a mass campaign which however turned bitter resulting in criminal investigations being opened. As Zuma won re-election, the loquacious Malema repented and sought re-entry into the ANC youth leadership as a reformed person.

Zimbabwe Politics
Arthur Mutambara
He continued to seek political relevance after parting ways with Welshman Ncube through an election in party structures. His Deputy PM role was heavily challenged and questioned by the public especially as he appeared to be “protected” by President Mugabe in major meetings and appearances. Welshman Ncube continued to fight using diplomatic channels, the courts and press as he saw no need for Mutambara to be in the GNU tripartite when he had no electoral mandate to be there. At a SADC meeting in Maputo, even President Mugabe who wanted to defend Mutambara’s status had his ego pruned as the SADC leaders failed to notice the continued relevance of Mutambara after the re-defined political structures in MDC-N. Ncube continued to assert that Mutambara had lost an in-house election for leadership, had acknowledged it and therefore had no standing as an MDC-N leader before the GNU.
 
Morgan Tsvangirai
His presence and struggle to rule Zimbabwe took a more defined shape as he used internet technology to reach out to diverse folks. He continued to be relevant and conspicuous in Zimbabwe politics as the only possible major threat to Zanu PF. Despite his intermittent vacillations, he still remained the best opposition party on site and had the potential to rule Zimbabwe. The PM drew considerable controversy with the Leocadia Karimatsenga “marriage” and the subsequent divorce. After that he went on to marry Elizabeth Macheka and the wedding was melodramatic as it had objections that roped in the High Court and many public interest groups. Finally the issue was settled out of court in the last quarter of the year and the PM went back to his political business.
 
Welshman Ncube
His MDC-N had a fair share of praises especially after it penetrated some remote Matabeleland areas and donated some agriculture inputs and blankets. The gesture Ncube did irked other political leaders who were left with no option but to criticize him and then start doing the same project a few months later to win the hearts of the electorate. Along the way he was accused of improperly awarding a tender for the operations at ZISCO but those pointing at him quickly had their allegations fizzled out as they later learnt that the tender procedure had gone through parliament for approval. The Ncube-led MDC continued to fight for the Deputy PM seat with Arthur Mutambara after Mutambara lost an in-house election. Surprisingly, President Mugabe continued to gang up with Tsvangirai of the MDC-T to frustrate Ncube’s bid into the DPM seat.
 
Mthwakazi Freedom Liberation Platform
This political group continued to assert its need to break away for independence from the Zimbabwe territory as it claimed that it had been left out in the quay as progress and development was benefitting Mashonaland under Mugabe and his cronies at the expense of Matabeleland. Acting through Paul Siwela as the Secretary General and other leaders, Mthwakazi continued to air its concerns, grievances and the need to pursue the cessationist agenda. In December 2012, Mthwakazi revealed its flag and the symbol of the flag colors. By December the party had some internal squabbles leading to splinter groups attributed to alleged infiltration by the CIO agents.
 
Job Sikhala
He continued to issue controversial statements and making fun of ZANU PF leadership as well as the MDC T that he saw as an emerging duplicate of ZANU PF. He kept arguing that he had better solutions for the economy than any other leader on the election menu. President Mugabe acknowledged Sikhala as one of those lost sons who could be forgiven and empathized with for his wayward thoughts. Some critics viewed him as a vibrant student leader who needed more time to earn credit to lead national politics.
 
Simba Makoni
He went on with his agenda to salvage the situation in Zimbabwe as he held meetings in the UK and in Zimbabwe. While many perceived him as a potentially great leader, some critics demanded that he be a bit more serious through public outreach programs so that he could be more visible. Some suggested that his party focuses more on all political parties on the field rather than dedicate the MKD energy against the MDC-T.
 
Commerce

• TN Holdings led by Tawanda Nyambira acquired Oliver Chidhawu’s Pelhams Furniture stores.
• Out of the diamond exports of US$563 million by October, only US$43 million had been remitted to treasury and the government was slow in designing the Diamond Legal Framework.Zimbabwe became the state with the lowest inflation rate in SADC at 2,99%.  This could be triggered by a laid back industry.

 

• Indigenisation continued to take strides as more companies complied with the ownership ratios.

 

• As an unprecedented gesture of appreciation by Zanu PF after countless complaints by the Korekore for being taken for a ride by the party, the indigenization program arranged by word of mouth for PPC’s subsidiary Portland Holdings to invest at least US$200 million towards construction of a new cement plant in Rushinga, Mashonaland Central. This was the first ever in 32 years to have something feasible come on paper to the down-trodden Korekore folks in the region from Zanu PF. 2013 would be a test phase to see if this could actually happen.
• Former Murray & Roberts (M&R) Zimbabwe CEO Canada Malunga, Paddy Zhanda, a South African executive Sam Sithole, and Michael McCulloch acquirde M&R Zimbabwe through Zumbani Capital hat bought a 47% stake.

 

• The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe raised minimum capital requirements for banks to US$100 million as a security measure to protect depositors’ funds

 

• Tawanda Nyambirai relinquished his chairmanship of Econet Holdings and his bank was merged into Econet.

Social
PM Morgan Tsvangirai married his sweetheart Elizabeth Macheka amid controversy that saw them in and out of courts as Leocardia Karimatsenga sought to block the marriage proceedings from being consummated.
Munyaradzi Kereke, RBZ governor Gideon Gono’s adviser, is fired from the central bank and made loud noise to and from town alleging that he helped Dr. Gideon Gono in writing assignments for Gono’s PhD program as he threatened to call for the nullification of his credentials.
Obituaries

• Businessman Sam Levy of the Sam Levy Village died at 82
• Minister Stan Mudenge
• Adam “Adamski” Ndlovu
• Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sesio Moyo died of heart attack

Accolades
1. Outstanding Reader/Independent Commentator: Bla Miki, Tete Vane Shanje Havakuri & Jumpdaki
2. Outstanding Free Lance Contributors: Herbet Mugwagwa and Farai Mamina
3. Most controversial subscriber: Tendai Tagarira
4. The best Breaking News Issue: The Prince Edward Form One Pupil’s Death
5. Successful Investigations: Aon Zimbabwe Insurance Issue
6. Story of the Year: PM/ Leocardia Karimatsenga Marriage Scandal
7. Political Commentary of the Year: COPAC wikileaks issues and blame games
8. National Scandal of the Year:  The ZIFA Soccer Scandal
9. Most controversial freelance contributor: Fanuel Nsingo
 
Personal Shout Outs
· Fungwa Mawarire…exposed for defrauding folks shipping goods to Zimbabwe from the U.K
· Derrick Chisora Mayhem at Macheso
Controversial Issues

• Indigenization and Empowerment Debates
• Chiyadzwa Diamond Issues…blessings or a curse?
• Sanctions Issues and their impact on Zimbabwean economy
• The Wedza Political Party Leader Mr. Dzinemunhenzva
• The MDC 29 facing murder allegations
• Chipangano violence issues and related public outcry

Most Covered/ Controversial Cabinet Ministers
Saviour Kasukuwere: Indigenization garnered more controversy and analysis as various interpretations of the word came under review. The same theme became Zanu PF’s trump card at the December Conference. The issue was interesting in that at times folks at times had faith in the program but at times became skeptical as enough was not being done to empower people at grassroots levels. Some viewed indigenization as a Zanu PF program to weaken existing industries and fatten Zanu PF top brass as the perishable crumbs of the deal were distributed to gullible grassroots folks.
Ignatius Chombo : Drew much controversy over allegations of excessive interference in the administration of urban councils.
David Coltart: Won considerable accolades for his e-learning programs across the nation as well as his countless efforts to secure more academic materials for school pupils.
Obert Mpofu : He drew considerable controversy as Minister of Mines. After allegations that he bought a bank and also owned some considerable part of Victoria Falls, his name made headlines in various channels. He also was vocal in finding diamond markets as he had a hard time explaining the alleged disappearance of the $2 billion diamond revenue. Finally he simply challenged anyone to prove the funds went missing.
Jonathan Moyo: 2012 could have been the most silent year of this normally vocal MP. His 2012 efforts focused more on writing articles that analyzed and caricatured the conduct of PM Morgan Tsvangirai. By doing so, he shared the platform with George Charamba as they hit a common target to their pleasure and satisfaction.
Emmerson Mnangagwa: He invoked controversy when he sued a publication over allegations that he was aspiring to be the President of Zimbabwe. 2012 was a year that saw him intermittently refute his dire political ambitions for Presidency as he alluded to the in-house ranks to determine the next one in line for leadership roles.
Page Turners

• Madzore  was released and vowed to keep fighting
• Anglican-Kunonga Supreme Court case gave a ruling unpalatable to Kunonga
• Manhood Sangoma Fraudsters in Botswana were arrested and dragged to court

UK Showbiz Visiting Stars

• Tuku
• Macheso
• Tembalami
• Mukanya

International
London Olympics brought glamor and fun to the UK
Prince William Wedding was everything
Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Diamond Jubilee and Prince Charles delivered a great speech
Prince Harry was video-taped in a birthday suit in Las Vegas
Whitney Houston Died in a hotel. The death came 24 hours before her return performance at a pre-Grammy gala and Tyler Perry assisted with funeral arrangements. Many celebrities thronged the New Jersey funeral that Bobby Brown failed to witness as he came with more guests than could be accommodated on the seats in the church service and he left in protest. Some took it for a publicity stunt.
Lindsey Lohan charge with theft in LA and assault in New York
Jennifer Lopez “J Lo” joined the American Idol
Apple came up with the iPhone 5 and more than 5 million phones were sold in 3 days from September 21-24.
Kim Kardashian became the most searched celebrity after her short marriage with Kris Humphreys of New Jersey Nets
President Obama was –re-elected into office for the second term amid one of the most interesting elections in the USA
Video of the Year:
Gangnam Style made history as it became the world’s most searched and popular video sang in a non-English language.
Social Buzz
Philip Chiyangwa
He drew attention after he pledged millions of dollars at the University of Zimbabwe to re-boost the ailing institution but ironically faced considerable embarrassment as his workforce complained of non-payment of wages in the heat of that pledge. He also lost the capacity to be a ZANU PF leader in Mashonaland West  where he hoped to get back to his old leadership role. He wound up with a controversial honorary Doctorate  conferred to him by St Linus International University headquartered in the Dominican Republic.
 
Zimbabwe Dress Code
For the first time, the dress code of Zimbabwe was put on a spotlight. The picture on which Elizabeth Macheka was putting on a Sari as Minister Biti was putting on a Nigerian hat drew global laughter and mockery as Zimbabwe commentators pointed to Zimbabwe having issues with defining a cultural dress code and a fixed direction. After the commentaries, Elizabeth Macheka was never seen again in the sari, neither was Minister Biti even seen in the media with the Nigerian attire. Later in November, PM Tsvangirai’s Tommy Hilfiger long-sleeve shirt (blue, red and white) was at times confused with the British or US flag and some concerned observers or fashion police questioned too as to why he could dress on the national flag colors of a different sovereignty when he had his own. Unfortunately, no one brought that to his attention and many chose to wait for 2013.
 
Hooker Disappears with Govt. Documents
A headmaster lost public exam papers to a hooker after failing to pay her overnight dues. While the headmaster had entrusted the papers at the front desk of a motel, the disgruntled hooker crooked the front desk person to release the documents and she escaped with them to offset non-payment for overnight sexual favors tendered to the headmaster. The case drew lots of interest and scrutiny but died a natural death after the court system took over.
 
Derrick Chisora
This Zimbabwean boxer fared well on the international scene as he participated in crowd-pulling matches. His only weakness that drew negative publicity was his public misconduct. His last tantrum was at the museve star, Alick Macheso concert where he appeared drunk and caused mayhem on the stage. At the same event he also collected gate-takings before proper accounting procedures were done. As one of the sponsors to the show, Chisora drew sobering public scorn that triggered his team to threaten a journalist to pull down a You Tube video pertaining to his hooligan-style dispositions.
 
Dr. Munyaradzi Kereke
He drew controversy over allegations that he wrote a PhD thesis for Gideon Gono the Reserve bank Governor. After that he kept on trading brick bats with Gono and a lot of other issues arose as he complained of being denied a license to operate a medical Clinic in Mt. Pleasant. He also traded insults with various other folks including Minister Tendai Biti. Finally one of his team members faced forgery allegations over a medical report produced from Parirenyatwa Hospital and was found guilty. Kereke then ran a hoax as he alleged that his family had gone missing and could have been kidnapped.  The issue had a lid over it when Zimbabweans made a public outcry that “loquacious” Kereke should check his mental capacity with psychiatrists because he seemed to be fighting against too many people.
 
 
Car Prices in Zimbabwe
Many commentators continued to question the out-of-this-world values placed on cars when bought on government tenders in Zimbabwe. Any car price was quoted at three times the real price for a brand new one and many readers commented as they were left wondering as to whether the exorbitance could be a sign of greed or a justification of public fraud in inflating prices to enable pocket of the residue.
 
Fraudsters Exposed
The exercise to expose fraudsters hit an all-time high mark when a shipping service fraudster was exposed through complaints of goods paid for but never delivered in Zimbabwe. Many shared similar sentiments and concerns and the man was never heard of again in the business circles.
 Other Interesting Events

• The rare Zimbabwe National Bird flew to Chiweshe
• Mai Chisamba disputed an alleged affair with Archbishop Kunonga
• The Bulawayo water project was obstructed by mermaids
• Kunonga men had sex in church buildings
• Lady Gaga was blocked from performing in South Africa as folks protested her alleged satanism and weird conduct
• John Nkomo death rumors swept through online publications and were quickly withdrawn with countless apologies.
• Bill Gates visited Zimbabwe to do safari hunting
• Tsvangirai travelled to the DNC Convention in the USA and to Kenya to address a convetion for Odinga’s party
• Mudede accused NGOs of planting ghost voters on the roll
• More people continued to be arrested for insulting President Mugabe
• Zimbabwe lost 20 000 teachers through brain drain triggered by low pay and poor conditions of service
• Dhewa’s son Peter Moyo faced theft charges
• Bill Wharton from Texas became the new US Envoy to Zimbabwe to replace Charles Ray
• Deportations of UK based Zimbabweans escalated in 2012
• The UK-based ZimVigil Continued to hold protests in conjunction with the ROHR

 
Religious
Archbishop Nolbert Kunonga
He had a “noisy” year with the media and the Anglican people of Zimbabwe. Having ran a reign of terror that was marked by covetousness and greed on church properties, the Supreme Court toned down his ego when it announced in November 2012 that Kunonga should leave Anglican properties and surrender all assets to the church because he had become a dissident. Some sources alleged that President Mugabe had prescribed Kunonga’s downfall because when Kunonga failed to appeal to the church to rally behind ZANU PF using a polished and civilized manner, Kunonga became wild and pursued personal interests as he ruined the image of ZANU PF. His downfall could have been the most embarrassing incident in 2012. To further decimate Kunonga’s remaining pride, by December, one of his followers, one Kunyongana, broke away from the Kunonga faction as interests differed.
 

We at ZimEye wish you all a booming 2013.

Special thanks to our loyal followers, readers and supporters. We have managed to get this far because of the wide readership that we have enjoyed. In this milestone, we must acknowledge the relevance of you, our stakeholders, including those who have endorsed, sponsored and supported us with independent contributions, news alerts, opinions, analyses, advertisements, press releases, and tips. We must also acknowledge that the political situation in Zimbabwe has kept the citizenry and the political leaders on their toes as hot debates and emotional brickbats have been traded through reader comments. In that exchange of ideas, ZimEye has enjoyed an informed platform where the truth has at times hit home. At times innuendos of truth have been spiced up with sarcasm, satire and humor. All that blend of information has kept our readers fired up and keen to read more. We thank you.
 

Mthwakazi National Party (MNP) information secretary, Mr. Velempini Ndlovu speaks to ZimEye
Velempini Ndlovu is MNP’s Secretary for Information And Publicity.
 
INTERVIEW:
Q1.Who is MNP?
NDLOVU:Mthwakazi National Party (MNP) is a social democratic revolutionary political party in Mthwakazi (modern day Matabeleland and Midlands regions of Zimbabwe) which peacefully and democratically campaigns for the independence of Mthwakazi from Zimbabwe. The broad mission of Mthwakazi National Party (MNP)is to make the restoration of the sovereignty of the state of Mthwakazi a reality through democratic and non-violent means. We want Mthwakazi to reclaim her status as a sovereign and independent state among the international family of nations.
At MNP we also believe that Mthwakazi’s quest for independence must be underpinned by a deliberate programme of action that will ensure that Mthwakazi’s political, economic, social and cultural space is occupied and controlled by the Mthwakazi people themselves through pro-Mthwakazi independence institutions. It was founded in early 2012.
Our top party leadership includes the President Mrs Patricia Ncube Tshabalala, Vice President Dzikamani Mncendisi T. Hou, Secretary General Mr Ngqabutho Dhlamini, National Chairperson Mr Mduduzi Khaye, Treasurer General Mr Khumbulani Ngwenya, Deputy Secretary General Mr Ndawo Khumalo, Deputy National Chairperson Ms. Jinesi Thoko Fatch_Ngubo , Deputy Treasurer-Gener­­al Mr Partson Moyo, National Organising Secretary Mr Cainos Kainos Nkolomi, Womens’s Wing President Ms Siphathisiwe Ndlovu, Youth Wing President Mr Thandolwenkosi Dube, myself and many others.
Q2 Is MNP a party or a mere pressure group?
NDLOVU: As I said before, MNP is a lawful democratic party which actively campaigns for Mthwakazi independence through the redemption of Mthwakazi’s political , economic , social and cultural space.
Q3 How well and represented is MNP membership?

NDLOVU: MNP has a growing and diverse membership throughout Mthwakazi (Matabeland a& Midlands) and in the diaspora. This is fact that is even apparent from the numbers of people who attend our public meetings all over Mthwakazi. The people of Mthwakazi are now alive to the historic need to recover the political , economic and cultural space they lost to the discriminatory Zimbabwean system thanks to the imperfection decolonization of Matabeleland at Lancaster House in 1979, the Gukurahundi Genocide, the treacherous Unity Accord between ZANU PF and PF ZAPU of 1987, relentless economic marginalization­­ and looting of their resources, and cultural terrorism , and ultimately independence. The people of Mthwakazi now understand that they have a right to make their own decisions over their own affairs and resources , and determine their collective destiny under the leadership and guidance of MNP. Gone are the days when people would fall prey to the cheap ZANU PF propaganda that the people of Mthwakazi of Mthwakazi are Zimbabweans. Mthwakazi people are not and will never be Zimbabweans and Mthwakazi will never be Zimbabwe.
Q4 – Do you also blame CIO that they were responsible for the splits in
the MLF movement. Do you suppose Paul Siwela (leader of MLO) has been
influenced by the CIO? In your view could he also be aligned to the CIO?
NDLOVU: MNP is a new party that was formed in early 2012. Contrary to a myth that has been widely peddled in the media I must state clearly and for the record that we did not split from any party.
Of course when our party was formed it did attract a lot of people from all walks of life including from other political parties.
On the issue of the allegations that the CIOs were responsible for the splits in MLF I must profess ignorance. We can neither speak on behalf of MLF or the CIO as we are not privy to their internal issues or modus operandi. Perhaps you must contact these two groups and find out more about the allegations.
Of course I have known Mr Paul Siwela as a giant of the various struggles that the people of Mthwakazi are engaged in against the oppressive Zimbabwean regime and I therefore find any suggestion that he is aligned to the CIO not only weird but childish.
Q5 – Next year are you uniting with and supporting Welshman Ncube?
NDLOVU: No , we are not uniting with Ncube’s MDC. We are going to contest local government, parliamentary and Senatorial seats in Mthwakazi as MNP. For the record there is nothing common between us and Welshman Ncube’s MDC that can necessitate the need for such unity. We are a Mthwakazi nationalist party and they are Zimbabwe nationalists; we are engaged on a campaign for Mthwakazi independence and they want Mthwakazi to remain a mere region under Zimbabwe. That’s too wide an ideological gap to even warrant any suggestion of a pact between MNP and the MDC.
Q6 – Why do you not support:
– Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC?
NDLOVU: Why should we? We are a pro-Mthwakazi independence political party that looks out for the interests of Mthwakazi people and as such we have only support ourselves and not rival parties like the MDC-T. More importantly I must remind you of the fact that MNP and the MDC-T have nothing in common. We are a proudly Mthwakazi political party that seeks to attain the ideal of the right to self-determinat­­ion through Mthwakazi independence and they are a Zimbabwe nationalist political party that is opposed to the view that Mthwakazi independence will be the ultimate guarantee to the Mthwakazi people’s right to self-determinat­­ion. Surely , to align ourselves to a political party that does not believe that the Mthwakazi people’s right to self-determinat­­ion is an essential ingredient to the principles of democracy will be a great betrayal to the people of Mthwakazi and to what departed heroes like Mkwati Ncube, Prince Nyamande KaLobhengula, Chief Khayisa Ndiweni, Mgandane Dlodlo Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo and many others stood for.
Q7 – Why do you not support:
– Dumiso Dabengwa’s ZAPU?
NDLOVU: Dumiso Dabengwa’s party is a Zimbabwe nationalist party that opposes Mthwakazi independence and MNP is a Mthwakazi nationalist party that campaigns for Mthwakazi independence. That makes the two like oil and water and as such there is no ideological , strategic or moral justification for any alliance with ZAPU[subscribe2]

The Kenyan government is currently under fire from human rights activists for its role in the events leading to the death of a Zimbabwean woman Agnes Nemakonde who passed away after Kenyan immigration officials received her from United Kingdom Border Agency officials at Nairobi international airport in February.
 
Nemakonde spent several months sleeping in toilets, and other places, deported by five different countries the UK, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa and later returning to Kenya she subsequently died while incarcerated in a Kenyan prison.
 
On Saturday, diasporans in London launched a campaign against the British and Kenyan governments for their alleged role in the events which led to Nemakonde’s death.
 
Zimbabwean activists coordinated by members of the protest organisation Zim Vigil, and Martin Chinyanga’s ‘Diaspora Feels It’ group descended on the Zimbabwean embassy to lay flowers together with their protest cards following Nemakonde’s death.
 

“We need answers as to why Agnes Nemakonde was accepted to land in Kenya without proved documents and why you did not deport her back to Britain. As a result Agnes later died in your ruthless handling of foreign citizens,” Chinyanga wrote to the UK government.

A statement from Amnesty International’s  Kenya wing is expected in the upcoming few days after an official said the powerful group would look into the matter.

Photos:

“All Mugabe wants from the British is respect.”

ZIMBABWE’s President Robert Mugabe has a deep love for the British people, and all he has wanted from them is respect says the late author and legendary journalist Heidi Holland.

In what could be a revealing interview, the Holland who was the last white journalist to hold an exclusive interview with Robert Mugabe, suggests that Mugabe’s relationship with the British government was only sustained by what she calls ‘respect’.

She even appears to suggest that Mugabe held the British royal family like his own family.

Says Holland,

“…its a fascinating insight that all this goodness was possible from this same man because he felt reassured and he felt respected and if you look at Mugabe today what he is howling up for all the time for years now is for British respect; that’s what he wants.

“And its such an irony because underneath this publicly expressed hatred of the British, is a deep love for the British. When I talked to him at state house he nearly cried when I mentioned the British royal family; he really got tears in his eyes and he talked about the Queen and how she had stayed with him at various times at state house and her sister had come, and her mother had come and her children had come.

“And he talked about them as a family that he was friendly with,” she says.

Heidi Holland’s interview clip is from the documentary film by Kevin Harris, titled: “Zimbabwe – Past the post … on a dark horse”.

Holland is author of the book, “My dinner with Mugabe” and in this interview segment talks about President Robert Mugabe’s relationship with Lord & Lady Soames, the Royal Family and his conflicted, torn & bitter yet ironically also sweet struggle with the British. Holland was a white Zimbabwean who grew up in the country went to Ellis Robins school in Mabelreign, Harare and then worked for Illustrated Life Rhodesia, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and The Guardian. She was also the author of Dinner with Mugabe, an account of her meetings with Robert Mugabe stretching from Rhodesian times up to 2007 when she met him for the last time. Since that meeting with Mugabe in 2007, the president has not entertained any other white journalist at Zimbabwe’s state house to date.

VIDEO:

ZIMBABWE’s Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede has claimed that NGOs are tampering with the voters roll to create a picture that the document has been inflated by Mr. Mudede’s ZANU PF party.
Mudede (pictured-right) expressed ‘concern’ over the involvement of some human rights non-governmental organisations in the production of fake voter registration certificates. His statements came at a time when he also revealed a mysterious 300,000 voters had died since 2008, which figure is coincidentally the same as the one reported by the 2008 election judge, Justice George Chiweshe. The figure caused an election run off for the presidential poll which resulted in Mugabe contender Morgan Tsvangirai failing to secure a win.

The RG told journalists in Harare that the development is an attempt by some NGOs to discredit Zimbabwe’s voter’s roll and the country’s electoral system.

Since the year 2000, and several reports being published about mysterious ghost voters on the voters roll, which situation was verified as true, this is the first time in history that the Registrar General has pointed fingers at NGOs.
Mudede said such NGOs were aimed at creating political instability. The RG has in the past openly confessed his allegiance to President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.
“This will result in lack of faith by the public in the existing voters’ roll and electoral system”, he said.
“Worth noting is the fact that free and fair election is a much wider term in assessing elections. It covers a lot of issues, inter alia serious irregularities in the actual conduct of elections, voter registration and the voters’ roll itself.
“Anything that goes wrong will result in the losing parties or candidates taking political or legal action over the cited irregularities,” he added.
The RG said losing candidates and political parties would produce the counterfeit voter registration certificates to the international community as proof of alleged rigging.
“These counterfeits are a recipe for confusion to the voting public resulting in misinterpretation of the electoral process,” he said.
Mudede’s accusations come as four ZimRights officials were arrested on charges of allegedly manufacturing counterfeit copies of registration certificates. The community workers are yet to be tried for the alleged crime.
Soon after Mudede’s press statement, the state-owned media subsequently reported claiming that the AG had ‘revealed’ that the said NGOs are indeed tempering with the voters’ roll that they would have purchased from the RG’s office.
According to the law, anyone is allowed to request for a copy of the voters’ roll from the RG.
He said the detractors are also seeking to delay the holding of the forthcoming election by peddling falsehoods that there has to be a new voters’ roll and tarnishing the image of the RG with a view to have the voters’ roll done by themselves.
They allegedly tried to discredit the voters’ roll by manufacturing counterfeit copies of the certificate of registration as a voter which they would complete with false names of alleged registered voters. “Some NGOs have embarked on a campaign to deliberately discredit the national voters’ roll by abusing their access to the national voters’ roll,” said Mr Mudede.
“The law allows anyone to request for a copy of the voters roll and this provision in turn avails voters’ rolls to NGOs who in fact are conduits of external forces who have ulterior motives.”
“Some NGOs have embarked on a campaign to deliberately discredit the national voters’ roll by abusing their access to the national voters’ roll,” said Mr Mudede.
“The law allows anyone to request for a copy of the voters roll and this provision in turn avails voters’ rolls to NGOs who in fact are conduits of external forces who have ulterior motives,” he added.
The ZRP Officer Commanding Harare province, present at the press conference, Senior Assistant Commissioner Clement Munoriarwa said tampering with the voters roll has serious repercussions.
 
Different figures
The state media reported a different figure from what Mudede had stated at the press conference. The visual broadcaster, ZBC reported 5 500 355, while the Herald newspaper carried 89000 more reporting it as 5, 589 355. Mudede however officially announced the figure as 5, 589 355. It was not clear why ZBC had reported a different figure from what was stated by the AG.
 
Mysterious 300,000 voters die
5, 934 768 people voted in the 2008 general polls, but however the number has since dropped to slightly over 5, 5  million, Mr Mudede said yesterday. The difference which is 300, 000 conincidentally is the same figure which caused presidential contender Morgan Tsvangirai to fail to secure a win against Robert Mugabe following the 2008 presidential elections.

A separatist pressure group formed for the purpose of seceding as well as partitioning  Zimbabwe to form a second country under the name Mthwakazi, has been destroyed by bitter power struggles and in-house fighting.  Senior party members are accusing each other of having links to CIO attachments that have caused the decimation of a once-promising political entity.
ZimEye can reveal that even senior leader Paul Siwela who has been imprisoned and persecuted on several times by state agents for his views, has also been labelled a CIO agent by quarters within the group. Per his revelations to  ZimEye, he was told, ‘You are a CIO agent who influenced us to leave MLF and form MLO(Matebeleland Liberation Organisation).”
The Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) organisation which had backing across Matebeleland communities has now been disbanded and scattered with at least (3) three new splinter organisations having been formed after the internal squabbles. The three organisations formed from the fray are MNP, MLO, and the old MLF group.
The MLF’s spokesman David Magagula told ZimEye that CIO agents were responsible for its split.
 

Magagula even suggested that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party is a CIO organization that strives to keep itself afloat by any means.
 
“The CIO were behind the split of MLF and responsible for the formation of these splinter movements. Members used do not necessarily have to be agents or members of CIO themselves. Most are ignorant that they are being used by the Zimbabwean CIO through deliberate acts of destabilization.
 
“MNP was specifically formed to derail the MDC led by W. Ncube in Mthwakazi. The plot is to confuse the Mthwakazi Electorate into believing that by voting MNP they would be voting for Mthwakazi.
 
“The result would be loss to MDC and maintain MDC-T in Mthwakazi and further entrench the suffering of masses through company and factory closures and continued denial of basic utilities and amenities such as water and electricity.
 
“Yet those Mthwakazians used are so oblivious of all these because they are blinded by sheer promises of luxury cars, money, diamonds and land. In the case of MLO and Mr Siwela in particular, the motivation into the game plan was steered by frustration and power hunger.
 
“When the Zimbabwe Intelligence picked that there was discontent and frustrations in the rank and file of MLF they hunted the disgruntled and those very hungry for power were used. There were created and fabricated stories about MLF leadership and those with a proven record of jumping from one political band wagon to the other were grouped together and sorted .The one with the most or who has changed parties was compromised,” Magagula said.
 
While MLO is led by Mr. Paul Siwela, it was not clear who is leading the third splinter formation, MNP. The senior executives who have remained under the old MLF were also not disclosed.
 
At the time of writing, a statement from MNP was awaited.

ZIMBABWE’S Minister of information and publicity Webster Shamu was yesterday humiliated by hundreds of music revellers at the Unity Gala held in Gokwe. That was after he made futile attempts to get them to chant Zanu PF-centric political slogans that would also denounce the MDC-T party.
The Unity Gala graced by several musicians including Sulumani Chimbetu, and Peter Moyo, was a celebration of the 1987 Unity Accord and stretched from Friday night up to the late hours of Sunday afternoon.
The fans booed the Zanu PF political commissar together with his entourage, and went to the point of switching off lights several times, after the ZANU PF party group arrived on the stage chanting their party slogans, much to the displeasure of music lovers.

Shamu had denounced the MDC-T party at the gala ironically set aside to celebrate the unity of Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation, the weekly Standard reports.
Only a few revellers that were near the stage exuberantly pumped their fists into the air while others, in open defiance, raised open palms in a gesture of their support for the MDC-T, according to the paper’s reporters Blessed Mhlanga and Tawanda Marwizi.
In order to reduce the bitter embarassment, Shamu then attempted a few slogans in support of Dynamos.
“Pamberi neDembare, neDembare yedu,” said Shamu as he attempted to calm away the jeers from fans.
In a face-saving attempt to avoid the brunt of the shame on the Information Minister, the event organiser Victor Mutambudzi blamed the switching off of lights on what he termed ‘a minor fault caused by lightning’. He also denied that the event was turned into a Zanu PF rally saying the people heartily welcomed all the officials in attendance of the event. (The Standard / Additional reporting ZimEye)

A leading UK based charity organisation, Pens for Kids UK has donated donated stationary items to underprivileged children in Zimbabwe.
At least 128 000 pens, pencils and other education items have already been boxed up waiting to be shipped to Zimbabwe for some of the country’s under- privileged school institutions.

Speaking on the occasion of the donation at the weekend, ROHR Zimbabwe UK coordinator Mr. Paradzai Mapfumo told ZimEye the items are destined for several institutions including Mbuya Nehanda Children’s Home, Chinamano Primary School and some schools in Glen View South.
“We are still identifying needy benefiaries in all provinces both Rural and Urban,” said Mapfumo.

 
 
 

THE ZIMBABWEAN government has claimed that a mermaid is blocking the completion of Bulawayo’s Mtshabezi Dam works which are needed for the city’s water supplies.
Technicians from South Africa and Zimbabwe working on the project at Mtshabezi dam are said to have technically failed to connect the generators to water pumps a situation that has led to local and national government officials suggesting a traditional ritual be performed to appease the mermaid and spirits.
It has been claimed the mermaid is stopping the connection of generators at the dam, thereby delaying the much needed supply of water to Bulawayo which should have commenced in October.
The Minister of Water Resources Management and Development, Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo has before (in Mutare and Gokwe) called upon witch doctors to perform rites at dams in Mashonaland in order to

These were circumstances in Mashonaland and until this month there had been no incidences requiring witch doctors in Matebeleland.
Sipepa Nkomo’s personal assistant, Mr Butholezwe Nyathi, on Monday said holding a traditional ceremony for the Mtshabezi Dam might be the only option left.
“We will not dismiss the councillors’ suggestion. If you remember, we had a similar problem at Gokwe Dam in the Midlands where the problem seemed technical but could not be solved. We had to brew beer to appease the spirits and it worked,” said Mr Nyathi.
He said experts from a South African company, FG Wilson, local technicians from AC Controls and an independent Zimbabwean expert were on site grappling with the problem of connecting the generators.
“The problem is in running the three generators concurrently in a synchronised manner. We thought water would be connected in October but now we are adopting a wait and see attitude. We are not promising anything at any date, but we will issue a statement when it is appropriate,” he said.
Initially, technicians tried to connect two generators to power pumps, but one of the generators would switch off when the pumps were started.
A bigger generator was brought to the site on 13 November and it also failed to do the job.
The generator was sent to South Africa for remodelling two weeks ago and it is still failing to power the pumps.

Technicians are now working at connecting all three generators.
Contacted for comment the president of the International Traditional Healers Association, who is also the vice-president of the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council (TMPC), Mr David Mhabinyana Ngwenya, said Mtshabezi water would never reach Bulawayo if the rites were not performed.
“There are people who died while the pipeline was being constructed. An appeasement ceremony should be organised by chiefs in the area before progress can be made,” said Mr Ngwenya.
He said elders should go to Dula, Maswabi, Jabu and Zhilo, traditional sites around the dam, to perform the rites, before going to Njelele Shrine in Matobo District to complete the ceremony.
He said a water guardian, in the form of a mermaid could also be the cause for the confusion among the experts.
“They should get old women in the area to perform some rites and give the guardian due respect for things to start moving,” he said.
Renowned historian Mr Pathisa Nyathi, said traditional rites were likely to assist in piping water to Bulawayo.
The late Cabinet Minister, Dr Herbert Ushewokunze, once suggested that the dam should be named Mwanakuridza, because he believed there was a mermaid in the water.
He said traditional rites should be performed at the site, but the idea was met with stiff resistance by people from the region, who believed the Mtshabezi project was a waste of time.
The people believed that the national Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, viewed as the permanent solution to Bulawayo’s water problems, should be pursued instead.
It would not be the first time the Ministry has performed traditional appeasement rites to complete a dam project, as it has been done in Gokwe, and at Osborne Dam in Mutare.
It was believed mermaids were preventing the connection of pumps and Dr Sipepa Nkomo told a Senate committee that traditional chiefs would perform rituals to appease mermaids believed to inhabit reservoirs.
Bulawayo’s water crisis continues to deepen as two of the five supply dams, Umzingwane and Upper Ncema have been decommissioned.
The decommissioning of two more, Inyankuni and Lower Ncema is imminent, which would leave the city relying on Insiza Dam and boreholes at Nyamandlovu Aquifer.
Mtshabezi Dam is expected to supply about 17 000 cubic metres of water to Bulawayo everyday and is expected to reduce water shedding by a day.
A water crisis committee meeting has been scheduled to discuss the water situation in the city today in the council chambers. ZimEye/ Chronicle

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party has reacted with fury at a recent Herald news article claimed Tsvangirai conducted a meeting in Bindura at a time when the PM was out of the country visiting Kenya.
The Herald article published yesterday claimed that Tsvangirai had held a crisis meeting in Bindura where according to the Herald, ‘some MDC-T executive members, who were plotting unseat Mr Tsvangirai through the Constitution-making process, were irked by the involvement of the principals in the process. This prompted Mr Tsvangirai, through his spokesperson Mr William Bango, to tell his lieutenants that principals have always been part of the Constitution-making process through the management committee which is not a provision of the GPA,’ the article in yesterday’s Herald newspaper stated.
But the MDC-T party has issued a statement proving that Tsvangirai was not even in the country during the time of the said meeting.
The party castigated the Herald saying it is pursuing a mere ZANU PF agenda as it misinforms readers publishing falsehoods in order to tarnish the MDC-T party. It blasted the Herald for “blatant yellow journalism and gross misinformation.”
The statement read in part:
The MDC is appalled by the blatant yellow journalism and gross misinformation in the Herald of today (11/12/12) that the MDC National Executive met in Bindura at the weekend purportedly to clear internal problems over the role of principals in the Constitution making process.
For the record, no such meeting by the Executive took place in Bindura since the President was out of the country on a visit to Kenya on official business.
Secondly there has never been any internal problem regarding the issue alluded to in the Herald to warrant an Executive meeting.
The MDC implores the Zanu PF mouthpiece, the Herald and its journalists, to verify their stories first before publishing. The unprofessional conduct as exuded by the Herald is certainly not consistent with ethics guiding the conduct of journalists and is therefore unacceptable.
The good thing about the people of Zimbabwe is that they will never be swayed by Zanu PF or their propaganda mouthpieces into believing their lies. Zimbabweans have soared way above petty politicking and have diverted their attention to the real issues of pushing for a new constitution to be nationally adopted.
Tsvangirai was at the time of the said meeting visiting Kenya and decided to cut short his trip after hearing of news that Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone’s daughter had died of suicide. It was only then that Tsvangirai returned

ZimEye Interviews Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) spokesman David Magagula on their organisation’s mission and strategies. Magagula who is based in South Africa currently serves as the Publicity Secretary for the organisation.
The MLF is seeking secession from Zimbabwe and to form its own nation.
________________________________________________________
Q1 (a)- Who is D Magagula? What is your significance or role in the MLF agenda?
MAGAGULA: David Magagula is a member of MLF and at the moment is the Information and Publicity Secretary who is the Spokesperson of the organisation. His significance is his membership just like any other member. In MLF the Organisation comes first and individuals later.In principle and policy there is no individual more significant than the organisation in MLF.Other wise D Magagula is just an ordinary poor and humble man.
(b) Is MLF a party or just a pressure group?
MAGAGULA: MLF is a Liberation movement just like MPLA; ANC;FRELIMO; ZAPU and ZANU during the time of struggles to liberate Angola ,South Africa,and Zimbabwe. MLF is fighting for the liberation of Mthwakazi.
(c) How many people subscribe to the MLF movement/party?
(d) Will MLF support a move to appoint VP Joice Mujuru as a new president of Zimbabwe assuming Robert Mugabe decides to hand over to her soon?
MAGAGULA:Everybody born in Mthwakazi subscribes to the idea of Mthwakazi Independence. The only variations are how,when and to whom one is speaking. Some Mthwakazians in the Zanupf politibereu support MLF but cannot afford to be openly heard saying so. In MDC-T Mthwakazians support MLF but because of the benefits of belonging to MDC-T they would rather be quite or rather denounce us for the benefits. The general population of today,s Midlands,Matabeleland South and North support MLF.Our Reseach Teams reveal that in places like Gwelu,Gokwe,Silobela,Zhombe,Kwekwe,Mbelengwa, Tshabane ,and sections of Masvingo people say they would rather live in Mthwakazi than Zimbabwe and are fully behind MLF. To this end MLF challenges anyone thinking otherwise to subject the so called ares to a referendum. d)MLF has no business with Zimbabwe. Whether Mrs Mujuru or Mrs Donkey is Vice President or President after Mugabe that has nothing to do with Mthwakazi. Actually MLF does not interfere in the internal matters of a neighbouring country-Zimbabwe is Mthwakazi neighbour to the North East. The only concern is that Zimbabwe gives us our Independence as she is the one currently colonizing and oppressing us(Mthwakazi).
 
Q2 – The USA might be disintegrating through secession soon after the opening of several petitions drafted against Barak Obama’s leadership. The same seems to be happening in neighbouring Zambia. Does your organisation support these motions?
MAGAGULA:Yes. MLF supports all secessionist movements globally. We believe Democracy is only achieved when a people decide to be part of another by their own choice and not by cohesion and or conquest as the case is with Mthwakazi and Zimbabwe.
Q3 – Who are these organisations MLF, MLO, MNP, and do you know who is representing them?
MAGAGULA:MLF is not in a position to explain other formations. MLF believe they have their own mechanisms to define and explain themselves and MLF does not need to do so for them or on their behalf. MLF’s objective is to liberate Mthwakazi and not to explain or define other organisations. Its mission is to separate Mthwakazi from Zimbabwe thereby affording Mthwakazi citizens to determine their Political, Economic and Social destiny.
Q4 – Which of these do you belong to?
MAGAGULA: I belong to MLF.
Q5 – You have said that the CIO are responsible for the splits in your MLF movement. Do you suppose Paul Siwela (leader of MLO) has been influenced by the CIO? In your view could he also be aligned to the CIO?
MAGAGULA:The CIO were behind the split of MLF and responsible for the formation of these splinter movements. Members used do not necessarily have to be agents or members of CIO themselves. Most are ignorant that they are being used by the Zimbabwean CIO. MNP was specifically formed to derail the MDC led by W. Ncube in Mthwakazi. The plot is to confuse the Mthwakazi Electorate into believing that by voting MNP they would be voting for Mthwakazi.The result would be loss to MDC and maintain MDC-T in Mthwakazi and further entrench the suffering of masses through company and factory closures and continued denial of basics such as water and electricity.Yet those Mthwakazians used are so oblivious of all these because they are blinde by sheer promises of luxury cars,money,diamonds and land. In the case of MLO and Mr Siwela in Particular,the game plan was based on frustration and power hunger. When the Zimbabwe Intelligence picked that there was discontent and frustrations in the rank and file of MLF they hunted the disgruntled and those very hungry for power and used them. There were created and fabricated stories about MLF leadership and those with a proven record of jumping from one political band wagon to the other were grouped together and sorted .The one with the most or who has changed the parties was maneuvered to the top leadership. What came first was the organisation and members followed later.
Q6 – Next year are you uniting with and supporting Welshman Ncube?
Q7 – Why do you not support:
– Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC?
MAGAGULA:MLF will not join MDC next year or any other time. MLF does not take part in elections let alone Zimbabwean elections. However MLF will stand guard that no Mthwakazian is forced or cohesed to vote for any party of no their choice. While MLF does not take part in Zimbabwean election it respects the democratic right of every Mthwakazian to choose whether to vote or not. 1)MLF does not support MDC-T for several reasons and chief among them being that it is viewed as an extension of Zanupf and it is foreign to Mthwakazi and as such does not have Mthwakazi issues at heart. 2)MLF was not formed to support other organisation but was formed to champion the struggle for Mthwakazi- a job being done exceptionally very well so far. 3)MLF views MDC-T in the same light with Zanupf and Tsvangirai as being worse than Mugabe because he has an added arsenal of sexually abusing women and should he not be contained Mthwakazi risks a generation of big headed children from this bull.
Q8 – Why do you not support:
– Dumiso Dabengwa’s ZAPU?
MAGAGULA:MLF has nothing against DD.(Dumiso Dabengwa. In fact Dabengwa is highly respected as a liberator and hero and avery important Mthwakazi leader. Zapu is not supported by MLF simply for their Devolution stance while MLF calls for total independence of Mthwakazi.I t is MLF’s sincere hope that Zapu and MDC find a working formula and subdue Zimbabwean Parties from Mthwakazi once and for all.

The Kenyan nation is holding national elections in March 2013, it has emerged.
Coincidentally March 2013 is President Robert Mugabe’s projection for Zimbabwe’s national elections as well, despite objections raised by the two MDC parties.
Kenya, like Zimbabwe has also been working on a new constitution which they finalised and canonised in 2010. The two countries also share similarities in that they have two main opposing parties headed by young revolutionaries who are contesting with die-hard elderly politicians.
General elections will be held in Kenya on 4 March 2013 and the polls will be conducted to elect the President, Senators, County Governors, Members of Parliament, Civic Wards and Women County Representatives.
These elections in Kenya would be the first elections held under the new constitution, which was passed during the 2010 referendum. They will also be the first general elections run by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Due to the terms of the new constitution it could also be the first presidential election in Kenya where the candidates face a second round run-off between the first and the second if no-one achieves a stipulated majority in the first round or if the winner does not get 25% of the votes in at least half of the counties.

(Shropshire, UK)A 40-year-old Zimbabwean man who was part of a cheque scam described in court as sophisticated, has joined the roll of registered criminals in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Simba Lawrence, jailed for two years, was found guilty of ganging up with two friends in their 20s to take part in erasing the details on cheques allowing them to be rewritten for their own use.
Shrewsbury Crown Court Tuesday heard that Lawrence’s gang would then fill the cheques in with new details before withdrawing the money a few hours later.
Cheques totalling £5,332.37 were paid in by the gang on December 18, 2009.
The court heard that the gang began their activities across Shropshire in 2009 according to Mr Daniel White, who was prosecuting.
Police investigations found that the gang targeted Lloyds TSB banks since that bank unlike others, allows people to withdraw paid-in cheques on the same day, Mr White said.
Card readers and bank cards were found in the gang’s van, the court heard.
Lawrence’s solicitor said the Zimbabwean is no longer legally allowed to work in the UK and so was struggling financially. He said: “He’s embarked on this because of his issues.”
Lawrence has admitted four charges of converting criminal property conspiracy to convert criminal property, possessing 13 bank cards and possessing 24 bank cards.

(Bulawayo) A security guard was caught allegedly sexually pleasuring himself on a dog in Burnside suburb.
The guard, identified as Mr Fanuel Piki, was allegedly seen by a gardener on Wednesday having a nice time with the “big dog”.
The gardener, Mr Prince Moyo, allegedly alerted his employer, and a report was made at Hillside Police Station.
The incident was confirmed by deputy Bulawayo police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu last week Wednesday, according to the state media.
Sources close to the case alleged that it was not the first time Mr Piki had had sex with the dog.
“We heard rumours that he was doing it sometime in June. The rumours were difficult to believe, but with the latest development, it becomes credible that he has been doing it for some time. We heard that he would tie it up before having sex with it. We also heard that the gardener was attracted by the dog’s continuous howling when he stumbled on the incident,” said one of the sources.
Another source said Mr Piki had been suspended from work as the police and his employer carried out investigations into the incident.
However, in an interview, Mr Piki denied the allegations.
“These are all lies being spread by the gardener. I keep the clock in and out book at the premises and he is always late. He made up the story because I have given him several warnings and recently told him I would tell the boss that he is often late,” said Mr Piki.

He said the ploy to get him fired would not work as he is innocent.
Contacted for comment, his employer said he had nothing to say.
“That is a case for the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). I really have nothing to say about the matter, if it indeed happened. If you insist on a comment, I will ask someone to get in touch with you,” said the employer.
His human resources manager then called this reporter and said the matter was being handled by the police.
“It would be premature for me to say anything before police conclude their investigations,” said the manager.
“We are handling a case of alleged bestiality that happened in Burnside on 21 November,” he said.

Anglican worshippers who rebelled against the church to follow outcast Bishop Nolbert Kunonga are begging to be re-admitted into influential church positions, ZimEye can reveal.
ZimEye can reveal that several Anglican parishioners who fled with the violent Kunonga, have requested forgiveness, just as the legitimate Anglican church was seen successfully taking back properties Kunonga seized 5 years ago. This comes after the Supreme Court last week ordered Kunonga to hand over all church properties in his possession, ending a five-year fierce battle that began after Kunonga pulled out of the Church Province of Central Africa (CPCA) and formed his own church, the Church Province of Zimbabwe, but seized CPCA properties.
Former rebel believers in Harare have since developments last week asked to be re-admitted into the prestigious Vabvuwi group, a development which has led to loyal church folk voicing that they must go back to level zero and be taken as entire new converts for several years before they can be trusted.

“On the return from Exile Service for Vabvuwi in Harare, at St Michael’s Mbare, Reverend William Nyapokoto admitted into the Vabvuwi Guild, 32 new members. And in the morning today, Chairman Forbes Muganhu asked on the way forward in terms of re-admitting the Vabvuwi members who went out of the CPCA with the ex-communicated Dr Nolbert Kunonga. Vamwe vakati ngavapihwe mukana wekuteera kwe makore anoita maviri kana matatu vasati vagamuchirwa ngekuti they will be treated as new members who have to be ‘re-baptised and confirmed.’ What is the way to go in your own view in dealing with all those that were ex-communicated together with Kunonga?,” the CPCA announced in a statement.
A discussion opened by Mr. Titus Zvomuya on social networks was responded to by Mr. Suchmore Sambiri Mutete quoting from a parable of the lost son in the book Luke. Said Mr. Mutete:
“I feel when all is said and done lets read this Luke 15:11-32 New International Version (NIV) The Parable of the Lost Son vs . 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’Moral of this is kana mufudzi vemakwayi aka ona gwai  rake ranga rarasika (does he say haacharida nekuti it was lost NO he will take the found sheep with joy’
Another congregant, Mr. Archford Musodza, stated however that the required theological ramifications have to be fulfiled before the believers are re-admitted:
“The Diocesan leadership will have to discuss this and consider all theological ramifications towards readmission of those excommunicated and the time they have to take before such is done. The Church leadership has to come up with a standard both for laity as well as clergy who were excommunicated,” he said.
 
DISCUSSION:
One congregant Mr. Tatenda Chitofiri stated that the church should rather forgive the rebels: “As CPCA we should forgive them. Judgemnt ndeya Mwari(Judgement is God’s)”
But forgiveness can only come after repentence argues Mr Archford Musodza: “Forgiveness comes after repentance and within our church liturgy and laws, all that is provided for. However blanket forgiveness can drag the Diocese into serious problems in the future. God will judge them but our church should ensure that its not endangered by such people.”

Forgiveness but no post
A general consensus among believers is however to follow the guidance of Bishop Chad Gandiya who has said that those willing to come back are free to do so. However they do not occupy any influential post.
“Well, I think the issue of re-admission of these ladies and guys who had clinged onto the tail of Dr Kunonga, the Bishop ‘Chad’ soon after the determination by Supreme Court clearly stated that those willing to come back are free to do so. However they do not occupy any post and for the clergy they come in as ordinary persons. The issue of the sacraments i.e. Baptism and Confirmation he was also straight to the point. Members who received the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation before the Dr’s withdrawal from the Province they do not need to be baptised and confirmed again because they received legitimate sacraments. Those who received which ever sacrament thereafter is not recognised as genuine and legitimate sacraments, they need to gor through the whole process before they become full members again but without any portfolio,” stated a leading churchman.
 
Kunonga files Court Injuction
Meanwhile, as the discussion continued, Bishop Kunonga last week filed a court injunction to stop the eviction of his followers who have been occupying the properties he illegally seized and a decision is expected in the High Court today (Tuesday).

There was confusion in the Bishop Chad Gandiya led Anglican church on Sunday after Police at Bonda in Manicaland arrested CPCA Church wardens together with Reverend Mukome who are not aligned to the disgraced Bishop Nolbert Kunonga.
Following the Anglican CPCA church’s recent Supreme Court victory over Bishop Kunonga, and several peaceful and police assisted evictions, the CPCA issued a statement stating that local Bishop Julius Makoni was yesterday shocked to hear that legitimate wardens were arrested by the Police after entering the church premises.
The CPCA in November won a Supreme Court ruling which gave it powers to take back all properties seized by the ex-communicated Bishop Kunonga who had previously used his ZANU PF party to organise police and state powers against the church stating he was the legitimate leader after founding his own grouping named as the Anglican Church Province of Zimbabwe.
Following skirmishes in the past seven days in which Police were seen gladly assisting CPCA across the country to repossess the church properties, the church yesterday (Sunday) however reported the opposite:

“Police in Bonda today arrested Anglican Manicaland CPCA Church wardens and Reverend Mukome for allegedly illegally entering their Church building at Bonda Mission,” the CPCA reported ina  statement.
“Bishop Julius Makoni had held a very successful church service at Bonda, and at the time of the arrest, he had already left for Mutare. Bishop Makoni is unsure why the police have done this because last week in Mutare they had peaceful services in their church buildings at Mufudzi Wakanaka and St Agnes Chikanga.
May the Church continue to pray for a peaceful transition in the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland, where the ex-communicated Elson Jakazi, like Harare’s Dr Nolbert Kunonga, mounting serious obstacles in our way to freedom of worship, ” the statement read.

Artisan Studios caught in the fiery storm

Meanwhile, a local studio for musicians, ARTISAN Studios which was renting space in the prestigious CBD Harare cathedral, was last week in a limbo having been evicted by the CPCA.
Reports state that the development enforced by the police, will see several musicians billed for recordings being negatively affected by the eviction. The local paper, Newsday reported that the studio once regarded as the best venue for rehearsing by musicians from other stables, a reputation which saw Artisan Studios booking artistes for rehearsals, is now seeking alternative accomodation.
Allan Dzobo, the director of the studio, said they were yet to find alternative accommodation.
“We are in the process of finding a new place, but we still have to engage the authorities since we have leases.
“For the meantime, I cannot really say where we are going, but as we settle the matter we will be advising our clients of our new location,” he said.
 
Small disturbances in Harare
Despite the incidences in Manicaland, there weas however little resistance and less difficulty in the church’s Harare diocese. Bishop Chad Gandiya’s spokesperson, mr. Precious Shumba issued a statement that mass was conducted peacefully in several buildings across Harare apart from Glen View where riot police were called in to quell dissent against legitimate parisioners.
“This weekend we have not witnessed any cases of violence and church services were conducted peacefully. The evictions are also going on peacefully with people moving out without any resistance. Tomorrow (today) we will be looking at other areas where there is some resistance,” said Mr. Shumba.