TWO police officers from Masvingo tortured a man to death after he had won a fight against one of them following a row over a fake $5 note. Brian Magama, 34, and Isaac Kachena, whose age was not given in court, severely beat up Luckson Muringani of Chivhiko Village under Chief Sengwe for the whole night at Chibwedziva police base in 2010.
Muringani later died in hospital after sustaining a fractured skull during the prolonged assault. Kachena is on the run.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Susan Mavhangira on Friday heard how the duo used truncheons and kicked and punched Muringani for more than 10 hours.
Justice Mavhangira is back in Masvingo on circuit to clear outstanding High court cases.
Magama had pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder but Justice Mavhangira, sitting with assessors Samuel Mutomba and Joseph Mushuku, convicted him due to overwhelming evidence.
Sentencing him to 16 years in prison for murder with actual intent, Justice Mavhangira said it was clear that Magama and Kachena intended to kill Muringani.
“The fact that you tortured a defenceless person for the whole night brazenly shows your hard heartedness.
“Being a police officer is never a passport for depriving a person of liberty and life. You’re held responsible for tarnishing the image of the police service. You could’ve used the law to bring him before the court in place of torturing him to death,” she said.
Justice Mavhangira said while the court would not lose sight of Magama’ young age when he committed the offence (he was 28-years-old), it had a duty to protect the sanctity of life.
“You committed a serious crime of spilling blood. You deserve a deterrent sentence that will send a clear message to other police officers not to take the law in their own hands.
“There is no law which gives you powers to kill suspects,” she said.
In his defence, Magama, who was represented pro deo by Frank Chirairo, argued that Muringani might have fallen off a moving vehicle days after the assault and possibly smashed his head, leading to his death.
The prosecutor, Elson Chavarika, said sometime in March 2010, Magama and Kachena tortured Muringani to death after accusing him of assaulting Kachena over a counterfeit $5 note.
Muringani died six days after the assault at Chiredzi Hospital.
“Sometime in March 2010, the fugitive, Kachena, had a misunderstanding with Muringani over a fake $5 which degenerated into a fist fight. Muringani emerged victorious. Kachena and Magama decided to take revenge on Muringani several weeks later, on April 17,” said Chavarika.
The court heard that the two police officers approached Muringani and dragged him out of a bottle store where he was relaxing with friends.
“The two force-marched Muringani to Chibwedziva Police Base where they took turns to brutally assault him with truncheons,” said the prosecutor.
“They kicked, punched and slapped him all over his body the whole night until the following morning.”
In the morning, Chavarika said, Muringani fainted and the two revived him by pouring cold water on him. He said the police officers continued beating Muringani after realising he had regained consciousness.
Chavarika said the cops released Muringani when they were about to knock off but he complained of pain and dizziness.
The court heard how family members rushed Muringani to Chibwedziva Clinic.
Due to his deteriorating condition, the nurses at the clinic referred him to Chiredzi Hospital where he was attended by a doctor on April 20 and discharged the same day.
“Muringani was discharged and went home but his condition didn’t improve after which he was taken back to Chiredzi Hospital where he died on admission,” Chavarika said.
A post-mortem report produced in court showed that he died from a fractured skull sustained during the torture.

By Terrence Mawawa  Chivi| A self proclaimed  prophet here ordered five men to dig a grave last week claiming he had been shown a vision of a lot of cash stashed behind human bones.
In an incident that has left the local villagers stunned, Mavhuma Farai Madzivire and his four friends were instructed by a local prophet to go and exhume the bones to extract cash from the grave. Madzivire was accompanied by Claudius Mafudza, Tazviona Hove, Edward Siziba and Innocent Mpofu.
Masvingo Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula confirmed the incident to ZimEye.com.
The five are being charged with the violation of a grave .
After being instructed by the prophet, Madzivire and his four friends went to the graveyard in Madyira Village and began to dig one of the graves belonging to Madzivire’s grandfather. The prophet told him he had seen in a vision a lot of money stashed in the grave.
Two villagers caught the man digging the grave and alerted other villagers leading to the arrest of the five men who were taken to Ngundu Police Station.
Due to the current economic challenges many people are flocking to prophets and spiritists seeking divine assistance and some have been forced to do sinister things in a desperate bid to amass wealth.
The prophet has since disappeared from Madyira village following the tension sparked by the incident.
Although the prophet’s name could not be established, it is understood he is a member of the Johane Masowe Apostolic sect.
Self proclaimed prophets have also been widely criticised for diverting the essence of the gospel all for their gain in the wake of the current socio-economic challenges.

A man and his 30-year old wife have appeared in court after the husband allegedly raped a four-year-old relative backed by the wife who stood by him during the attack.
The 4 year old baby has been found with an STI.
The woman stood guard as her Botswana-based husband raped the child, the court heard.
The woman and her husband appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe last week facing rape charges.
They were remanded in custody to February 24.
Mr Mahwe advised the couple to seek bail at the High Court.
The woman lives in Esigodini.
Prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa told the court that the offence was unearthed by the victim’s grandmother after she noticed that the girl’s genitals were bruised.
The girl was also discharging yellow fluids.
The victim opened up on the assault upon interrogation.
The matter was reported to the police.
A medical report confirmed the assault.-State Media

Below is the latest update at 1650Hours following the bomb scare at Holiday Inn, Harare: Click here to READ the background story

Five teams of army and CIO agents have cleared all floors of the Holiday Inn hotel.
Nothing has been reported to have been found in the building ever since the alert was raised two hours ago. The two callers who raised the bomb-alert have been identified by their accent to be of both American and Jewish origin.
A hotel staffer 10 minutes ago told ZimEye.com she was confident of the way the army are handling everything. “I am confident they are doing their job well, you know are boys don’t mess about,” she said.
Sideline afforts are being made to also ascertain the callers’ exact identity so that the investigation can be satiated.
Meanwhile guests and staffers are still outside waiting for an update. READ MORE .  More to follow on ZimEye.com

FORMER vice-president Joice Mujuru believes her successor Emmerson Mnangagwa is tasting his own medicine after First Lady Grace Mugabe turned on the Midlands strongman on Friday, accusing him of plotting against her husband.
Grace accused Mnangagwa of a plethora of things, including linking him to an alleged plot to kill her son — Chatunga — and the recent attempt “to bomb” her Gushungo Dairy in Mazowe.
She has threatened to reveal more information allegedly exposing the so-called plot against Mugabe.The setting for the attacks against Mnangagwa — a rally in Mazowe South — and the language laced with innuendos and hate speech had a striking similarity to Grace’s unrestrained attacks on Mujuru in 2014.
Mujuru, who on Friday registered her own political party — Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) — said she does not feel any pity for Mnangagwa.The VP is believed to have been one of the architects of Mujuru’s demise after years of jostling for control of Zanu PF with the war veteran.
“I have no advice that I would give him,” Mujuru told The Standard. “They were together when lies were peddled against me and many in the party, so he is just having the same treatment that I got and they are tasting their own medicine.
“They knew that all that was being said about me were lies, but they believed it; that is when I realised that a huge disaster was imminent in Zanu PF because the leadership allowed it [my persecution] to happen.
“I decided to keep quiet and watch the party disintegrate.”
She added: “I don’t feel pity for him and anyone there at all! That is what they wanted.”
Mujuru said Mnangagwa was welcome to join ZPF party, but on condition that he starts from grassroots.
Mnangagwa took over from Mujuru in December 2014 after she was kicked out of the party on allegations of plotting to kill Mugabe through consulting witch-doctors, among other accusations.
She denied the allegations and challenged Mugabe to prove the claims in court. At the time, Mujuru described the charges as politicking by those who wanted power at all cost.
War Veterans minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, a key Mnangagwa ally, was also singled out for a tongue lashing by a visibly angry Grace on Friday.
Zanu PF is divided into two distinct factions, with one backing Mnangagwa and another G40 which reportedly has the backing of the First Lady.
Mujuru said the chaos in Zanu PF was a sign of a failed leadership but vowed never to return to the ruling party as she was not fully committed to ZPF.
“That is what they wanted (destruction of Zanu PF) because the leadership allowed it to happen,” she said. When everything is done, the party will be launched and we will let you know,” she said.
In her parting shot, Mujuru said Mnangagwa would not qualify for a top post at ZPF.
“He will have to go to his province that is where he will be entertained not at our position (national),” she said.
Like Mnangagwa, Mujuru was at one time being tipped to succeed Mugabe who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

Barely a day after she threatened she “will kick” everyone who does not listen to her, First Lady Grace Mugabe Grace has had her G40 faction push out three provincial chairpersons.
Zanu-PF Political Commissar Saviour Kusukuwere yesterday announced the suspension of three provincial chairpersons for alleged disobedience and inciting insolence.
Kizito Chivamba (Midlands), Ezra Chadzamira (Masvingo) and Joel Biggie Matiza (Mashonaland East) were suspended and are under investigation.
In the interim, Kasukuwere said, Tapuwa Matangaidze (provincial secretary for administration) takes charge of Midlands, while Mashonaland East deputy chair Bernard Makokove replaces Matiza.
However, the Midlands leadership has disputed the major allegations leading to Chivamba’s suspension.
And Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association executive members who received no-confidence votes along with their leader Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa on Friday also maintained their ouster was “null and void”.
At a Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial co-ordinating committee meeting in Lupane, Kasukuwere said errant party members would be dismissed.
Among those present were Zanu-PF politburo members Professor Jonathan Moyo, Dr Obert Mpofu, Cain Mathema and Patrick Zhuwawo; and Matabeleland North provincial chair Richard Moyo and Central Committee member Clifford Sibanda.
Kasukuwere said, “We have suspended Chivamba because he was no longer coming for meetings. Secondly, he blocked members of the Women’s League from coming to Harare to welcome the President. He also went to the Press, making statements that undermine (the party) leadership.
“The same with Matiza in Mashonaland East … He was harassing women there and we have said to him ‘enough’. He came for the meeting, but made sure there was pressure on women not to attend that meeting.
“In Masvingo, Ezra Chadzamira had the same problems, and we have told him to step aside. We can’t have insolence in the party; such arrogance and disrespect for leadership.”
He said Zanu-PF was well-prepared to thwart elements fanning instability and attempting insurgency against President Mugabe.
“We know there are people who wear clothes with President Mugabe’s picture and sing his praises in the afternoon, but turn against him at night. They caucus at night, telling each other that the President must leave office. You think we don’t see you?
“You make our President your legitimate target and think that we will just stand there and watch? That won’t happen … If you want to destroy yourself in Zanu-PF, go against a man called RGM. If you want to be finished, plot against him.
“We know some people go to a house in Kwekwe where they are told all sorts of things and think that we don’t know. You must know that whatever you say in the cover of darkness, we will always know about it. If you are called for a private (meeting), refuse. Hold formal meetings such as this one where there are minutes which can be referred to in future.”
He added that the party would not rescind no-confidence votes. “Some are now saying let’s sit down and review the votes of no confidence; let’s go for a hearing. We have some who are lawyers who say, ‘No, let’s have a meeting and have natural justice’.State Media

A body of a man from Mt Darwin was discovered, his head was battered and his left ear missing. This was one of the most horrific murder cases recorded by the police recently.
Edmore Mwedziwendira (43) of Chibaya Village, Chief Nembire in Mt Darwin had a deep cut on the neck and a deformed skull. The police have since apprehended three suspects.
The chilling murder is one of the disturbing cases that the police have cracked in recent weeks, as the force moves to clamp down human killers.
The police said murder cases had shot up to as high as 12 cases per week between December and January. However, such cases are now on the decrease.
Giving an update on homicide cases to The Sunday Mail last week, National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said the police had apprehended Mwedziwendira’s suspected killers within three days.
“After their arrest; Tinashe Nyarunge, Kilford Mutimure and Takesure Chiunza confessed to the crime and are in police custody awaiting trial in April,” she said.
‘‘The deceased (Edmore Mwedziwendira) was the owner of Mwedziwendira Shop at Chikwira Business Centre. On the day in question, he and his son, Tatenda Mwedziwendira, closed the shop and they retired to bed in their respective bedrooms.
“Later on, Tatenda proceeded to the deceased’s bedroom and discovered that the door was locked from outside. Tatenda force opened the door and noticed some blood stains on the floor.
“He reported the matter to the police and they attended the scene.
“Police conducted a search and found the body of the deceased lying in a grave yard about ninety metres from the shop.
“The police observed that the deceased had a deep cut on the neck and a deformed skull. The left ear was missing and the head was completely skinned.”
In their confession, the trio said the killing was part of a ritual process and implicated a Harare prominent woman.
“However, their statements about the woman were not corroborating so we were not able to ascertain her whereabouts,” Snr Asst Comm Charamba said.
In another disturbing homicide case that took place in the wee hours of last Friday morning, a soldier based at Inkomo Barracks axed his wife to death following a domestic dispute.
Snr Asst Comm Charamba said police were finalising investigations on the case.
“On 12 February 2016 at around 0130 hours, complainant Rudo Mandizha had a misunderstanding with her husband Maxwell Nyamuri at Mandaza village, Mubaira, Mhondoro.
“The husband is a soldier stationed at Inkomo Barracks. ‘The complainant screamed for help and this awakened neighbours who went to investigate and found the house ablaze,” she said.
“The accused had struck the complainant with an axe before setting the house ablaze. The three children were nowhere to be found.
‘‘Police are still finalising investigations and more details will follow.” In yet another appalling murder case in Mhondoro, Simbarashe Munakamwe of Suku Village, Chief Mangwende in Murewa stabbed a 15-year-old secondary school pupil at Chitemerere Secondary School.
Munakamwe, who is in police custody, stabbed the juvenile after she had rejected his love proposal.
Snr Asst Comm Charamba also urged members of the public to be wary of armed robbers.
Last week, three unknown men pounced on Engen Service Station in Chitungwiza, physically assaulted three fuel attendants — Elias Tekenende, Melody Romosi and Tendai Mafala — before getting away with valuables and US$705 in cash. – State Media

In a bizarre incident, an eight-year-old boy from Marange shot and killed his friend (7) with a home-made rifle last Saturday.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, confirmed the incident which happened at Village 15B, Mt Zuma.
He said the incident happened after Paul Changadzo (56) came back home from Mutandanda Range where he was hunting with a home-made rifle.
“Upon arrival, he headed straight to the cattle kraal to milk his cow. He left the gun hanging on a pole which was near the kraal.
“The now late seven-year-old boy came together with his eight-year-old friend who grabbed the firearm.
“He shot the seven-year-old boy on the right shoulder. He died on the spot,” said Insp Kakohwa
Changadzo rushed to check upon hearing the gun shot and found the boy lying down dead.
He made a report at Odzi Police Station.  The police attended the scene and recovered the firearm.

As hunger looms and drought worsens in Zimbabwe, most Zimbabweans are crossing over into neighbouring Zambia to buy mealie-meal.
One of the Zambian newspapers, The Post reported that Zimbabweans are now being blamed for the shortages of mealie-meal in the resort town of Livingstone, as they are buying the commodity in bulk.
“A check at the Victoria Falls bus station found many Zimbabweans and Zambia loading bags of mealie-meal into minibuses and taxis destined for Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls,” the paper reported on Wednesday.
“A taxi driver, who operates between the Zambia and Zimbabwe border, said an average of 40 to 50 Zambians and Zimbabweans hire him every day to transport mealie-meal across the border to the Zimbabwean side.”
He said most Zambians were now engaging in barter trade with Zimbabweans where they exchanged the sought-after commodity for basics.
“We have many of our (Zimbabwean) friends coming in every day to buy mealie-meal. We also have many Zambians, especially those that cycle, crossing over with bags of mealie-meal and returning with cooking oil, fruit juice, sugar and rice, which are relatively cheaper in Zimbabwe than in our Zambian shops,” the taxi driver was quoted saying.
A spokesperson for the opposition Rainbow Party, Paul Sensele, said there was a looming mealie-meal shortage in Livingstone because of the influx of Zimbabweans.
“We are destined for a shortage of mealie-meal in Livingstone if the trend remains the same,” he told The Post. “However, our friends are also human and they need to eat just like us, but the problem is the millers are not meeting the demand for the commodity.”
Zimbabwe this week appealed for help to raise $1,5 billion to feed at least three million people until the next harvest, citing massive crop failure due to drought.
The country usually imports maize from Zambia, which accommodated many white commercial farmers that were displaced by Zimbabwe’s violent land reform programme spearheaded by President Robert Mugabe at the turn of the millennium.
However, this year, the entire southern African region is facing maize shortages due to drought and the Livingstone mealie-meal supplies may soon dry up for starving Zimbabweans.

In the picture below is provincial Minister Martin Dinha kneeling before First Lady Grace Mugabe in a worshipping posture at her Chiweshe rally in the fields belonging to the late First Chimurenga witch doctor Nehanda Nyakasikana yesterday. The ZANU PF Women’s League says Grace is the reincarnation of the dead Nehanda’s spirit.

Grace is flanked by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko (left) and other officials.

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko says his counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa is not President Robert Mugabe’s successor in the wait as has been assumed.

Grace Mugabe yesterday attacked War Veterans Minister Chris Mutsvangwa calling him a “despicable” man for claiming that Higher Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo’s father was in fact the late nationalist, Ndabaningi Sithole.
She said this without naming him, but giving away enough for her audience at a rally in Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central to know who she was referring to. The First Lady said Mutsvangwa thought of himself as a super war veteran who is above everyone else.
During a very public verbal war with Prof Moyo over the last month, Mutsvangwa first claimed the Tsholotsho North MP was Sithole’s nephew, and later revised his story to say he was in fact Sithole’s biological son.
Grace Mugabe said: “There’s nothing as despicable as insulting people by questioning their paternity. It’s not nice at all. What if we told you that the children you think are yours aren’t really yours?”

The First Lady said there had been a push in the party to tarnish Prof Moyo’s name so much so when she spoke at the Zanu-PF headquarters last Wednesday urging leaders not to insult each other, an official newspaper had reported the next day that she had warned Prof Moyo to stop abusing fellow Zanu-PF officials on social media where he is active on Twitter (@ProfJNMoyo).
“Jonathan, were you just shouting at people without provocation? Are you mad?” Grace said, turning to Prof Moyo. “Jonathan isn’t crazy that he would just start shouting at people. Such an intelligent person can’t be crazy. He shouts at those who shout at him.
“You then begin to see who’s controlling the paper. Some journalists are taking money to write these things.”
A push to ban Zanu PF officials from using social media came to grief at the Politburo last Wednesday after Prof Moyo and other officials said it was not just social media open to abuse but “all forms of media”, including newspapers.
Prof Moyo joined Twitter on February 9 last year after being appointed Zanu-PF’s secretary for science and technology. In the 12 months, he has gained nearly 46,000 followers — a phenomenal feat. Zimbabwe’s most followed Twitter accounts took longer to rack up such numbers — David Coltart’s current 50,000 were built up since December 2008, Trevor Ncube’s 46,000 since March 2009, Kirsty Coventry’s 41,000 since July 2010 and Saviour Kasukuwere’s 38,000 since April 2010.
Introducing Prof Moyo at the rally in Chiweshe yesterday, Kasukuwere — who is Zanu-PF’s national commissar — joked: “Twitter is his job. It’s part of his role as technology minister. We’ve some people who want to stop this man from going to work.” – state media

ZANU PF youth icon Fidelis Fengu has been appointed preacher Sisonke Ndlovu’s spokesman.
The preacher who is UK based Uebert Angel’s “spiritual son,” in an official announcement said “due to the ever increasing demand and growth of ministry work it has become necesary to extend the work accordingly
“It is therefore with great joy and much relief that we unveil our ministry spokesperson Fidelis Fengu.
“He takes the reigns on all official communications and will hereon be known as our INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON for Living God Ministries International.
“Any official liason with the ministry or the prophet shall henceforth be known to the public through him.
“He brings in a wealth of experience in public relations and people management and we believe God will guide us going forward.
Congratulations Fidelis welcome to the team.”
 

I am writing to you today a message from my heart which though painful is best that I write you . The purpose of this message is that you may know some important truths about my life which to the present date I thought best to keep private for the sake of the work that God has been doing in your and other people’s lives through me. During the past two or so years I have however prayerfully made decisions about my life and future which for the same reasons make it necessary for me to now appraise you  of my situation.

 
Well over ten years ago I and Dr R.F. Wutawunashe separated and stopped living as husband and wife. This was for reason of differences which because of who I am to you before God it would not be fair or right for me to make you the judge of . At that time I prayerfully decided that though I had come to this place of differences with her, our personal human differences should not be allowed to end the work which God was doing through me, and also through her. For this reason I continued to leave her free to pursue her calling to lift up women in the context of the African Revival. I continually sought the Lord in prayer for direction in my marital future.
 
In 2013 I increasingly felt that the direction God was giving me after years of prayer concerning this situation was to officially end my marriage . I received direction that the Lord would supernaturally bring Dr R. F. Wutawunashe to me and that I must minister to her and impart what God had put in me for her before this parting. This happened in July 2013 at the Botswana Convention . Among other things the Spirit indicated here that her ministry to women came not through me but direct from the Lord and would now spread not as an in house Family of God Church work, but as an independent ministry which would touch women across church, social and political lines. Some time after this event , I met her and made it clear to her that to my spiritual understanding, this event heralded our imminent and urgent official parting. I had also indicated that it would be best for her ministry to operate independently, which in any case it had been doing. It was during this season also that I saw clearly that my future involved a new marriage .
 
It is now imperative that you know that my marriage is coming to an official end after over ten years of separation, but without recrimination. I want you to know that in this entire period I strove to faithfully minister to you all that the Lord gave me for you, and that though this change has come to my life, I humbly desire to continue ministering to you all that God gives me for you. I also want you to know that as soon as it is legally permissible, I am persuaded that I should end the season of these past ten years or more by getting married sooner rather than later.
 
I ask your forgiveness that as a father I should fail you in this critical area of life. Yet, by the grace of God, I am also persuaded that it is best that I live and walk according to my realities,  in truth. I pray that after this knowledge of my state the Lord will help you to make the right decision, as is your right, concerning continuing with me. Yet I hasten to emphasise that I desire to continue ministering to your life as the Lord grants me grace.
 
Not surprisingly, there may  arise many versions and speculations, but I ask you that should there be in your circle sincere children of God, you share with them what I have said to you, for it is the truth.
 
 
God’s Servant for you
Apostle Andrew Wutawunashe

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| The Province’s leading referral centre, Masvingo Provincial Hospital is facing a severe shortage of essential drugs, triggering a high mortality rate at the government run health centre.
The worst affected departments include casualty, chronic illness and children’s wards respectively. Asthmatic patients have not been receiving treatment for the past few months because the nebuliser machine developed a fault and had since not been maintained . Sources at the hospital told ZimEye.com yesterday there was a sharp increase in the mortality rate among infants and patients referred to the casualty section due to the critical shortage of essential medicine.
“The situation here is terrible because we are recording an uncharacteristically high mortality rate especially in the paeds(children’s) wards as a result of drug shortages. The casualty section is also hard hit by the dearth of medicine. We are also struggling to supply drugs for asthmatic patients. Workers here are frustrated by the fact that they are watching helplessly as patients succumb to treatable ailments,”said a senior staff member at the government hospital.
Provincial Medical Director for Masvingo Dr Amadeus Shamu confirmed there was a shortage of drugs at the province’s largest referral centre. “There is a critical shortage of drugs at Masvingo hospital and all our hospitals across the province. I will make further enquiries at the hospital,”said Dr Shamu. The state of government hospitals in the country has endangered the lives of patients.
Many people now opt to take their relatives to private hospitals despite the high admission costs.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is considering a cabinet reshuffle which government and party insiders say is informed by the need to calm stormy relations within the party as well as read the riot act to warring factions that have taken their factional fights to the public sphere in an unprecedented fashion.
Mugabe, who is said to be under pressure from Zanu PF’s two major factions has to walk a fine line between balancing the interests of the opposing fronts and sending out a clear warning that their public spats which have been played out on social and mainstream media will no longer be tolerated.
The succession fight pits Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his loyalists against a group of young Turks known as Generation 40 (G40). The group, whose most vocal members are Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo, Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao, reportedly has the support of First Lady Grace Mugabe and Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko.
“His Excellency has to walk the tight rope to achieve and maintain a balance between the competing interests of the two factions with each seeking to have its opponents kicked out,” one government source said, adding that: “The Mnangagwa group wants a number of ministers kicked out but their major target is Jonathan Moyo. The G40 group, on the other hand, wants (War Veterans minister Christopher) Mutsvangwa to get the boot. There is already a G40-induced vote of no confidence on Mutsvangwa by the Mashonaland West executive, so the push is real.”
If Mugabe buckles to pressure, and reshuffles his cabinet or drops some ministers, it will be the third time since he controversially won elections in 2013. In 2014, he reshuffled his cabinet after axing former vice-president Joice Mujuru and her allies over untested allegations of plotting his ouster and assassination.
In his last reshuffle in September last year, Mugabe, under pressure from the Mnangagwa faction moved Moyo from the information ministry to the Higher Education ministry. The Mnangagwa camp felt Moyo was abusing the media to attack and denigrate the vice-president.
“There is also a push from the G40 side that Mugabe drops his spokesperson George Charamba, whom they feel is firmly in support Mnangagwa. That is the reason why Sarah Mahoka (Women’s League secretary for finance) openly asked the president to confirm whether Charamba was speaking on his behalf when he attacked senior government officials for allegedly fighting Mnangagwa,” said the official.
Charamba however denied Mugabe is contemplating a reshuffle, saying “there will be no cabinet reshuffle”. independent

A judge dismissed a bid by two contractors on Monday to stop their trial for criminal negligence over a building collapse at a Nigerian megachurch that killed 116 worshippers, most of them South Africans.

Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbola Fatiregun challenged their prosecution over the tragedy at pastor TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos in September 2014.
Judge Lateef Lawal-Akapo, dismissed the defendants’ appeal for the case to be dismissed, saying in the Lagos High Court it had “no merit”.
Both are due to appear with Joshua on February 18 to be charged, despite another legal challenge from the popular televangelist and preacher.
Joshua repeatedly refused to give evidence at an earlier coroner’s inquest, despite multiple court summonses.
He suggested the collapse was caused by a mysterious “hovering” aircraft seen over the building before the tragedy.
The coroner attributed the collapse to the unauthorised addition of extra floors to the guesthouse on the sprawling church compound. – AFP

Zanu PF’s Young Turks, who are known as the Generation 40 (G40) group, backed by Grace Mugabe, demonstrated beyond doubt yesterday that they currently have the upper hand in their brutal ruling party slugfest with the faction linked to embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
And very ominously for the Midlands godfather and his Zanu PF allies, Mugabe also all but endorsed demands by the party’s women’s league for a return of the quota system, that is set to see the nonagenarian appointing a woman as one of his two deputies this year.
Addressing Zanu PF supporters in Harare yesterday — the majority of whom were G40 and women’s league members — ahead of the brawling ruling party’s keenly-watched politburo meeting, Mugabe emphasised the importance of the women’s league to the former liberation movement, and how it had a deserved history of always getting what it wanted.
This followed concerns by the forthright women’s league secretary for finance, Sarah Mahoka, who bemoaned the fact that there were elements in the party who were accusing the league of plotting against Mnangagwa because they were demanding that one of their own be elevated to the presidium.
She also claimed that Mnangagwa’s allies in the Midlands province had allegedly harassed the league’s members and blocked buses that had been hired to ferry the women to yesterday’s gathering in the capital, to thank Mugabe for his “achievements” during his tenure as African Union chairperson.
“Zvisinei nezvipingaidzo zvamunosangana nazvo apo neapo, maitiro amaita musangano uno maratidza varume kuti mada kuita chiro munobuda shudhu (With the way you have organised this meeting, you have demonstrated to men that when you want something you go for it as a united, determined force).
“We are sorry that some women who were coming for this meeting were beaten up and that is wrong. We do not tolerate that in the party.
“Even at the provincial level there are rules … and it is those people who must be sanctioned for their behaviour. So, commissar will have to know kuti ndekupi nekupi kwaitwa izvozvo (who has been responsible for the anarchy),” Mugabe said.
The nonagenarian spoke in the wake of the women’s league resolution at the party’s annual conference last December that one of Mugabe’s two deputies should be a woman, and that this must happen in 2016.
Speaking ahead of Mugabe, Mahoka — who was the runaway star of the pre-politburo show — lashed The Herald newspaper for “lying”, savaged Information permanent secretary George Charamba for his factional politics, and panned senior party officials who she said were disrespectful of the First Lady Grace Mugabe.
She also reiterated the league’s challenge to Mnangagwa earlier this week to publicly declare his interest in succeeding Mugabe, in the light of the campaign for him by his allies.
Mahoka added that Mnangagwa’s seeming reluctance to distance himself from the claims that he wanted Mugabe to step down ahead of the 2018 national elections gave the impression that those campaigning for him had his blessings.
“The VP is my brother and today we are asking you to reprimand people abusing your name. Do not behave like a duck that looks down while its children are being eaten. Stand up and say something like what VP Mphoko has done.
“I will say it publicly because I am not afraid to say so, although I know that I am now a target … tinoona vana vakapfeka ma T-shirts akanzi Team Lacoste (we see youths wearing T-shirts with the Team Lacoste label) and so if you want to be president tell us.
“We also want to know president if you are the one who sent George Charamba to attack Cabinet ministers that you appointed, because he said he was speaking on your behalf,” Mahoka said, as Mnangagwa watched stone-faced.
Responding to this, Mugabe said he expected the party’s leadership to act responsibly and respect women, whom he described as the cornerstone of the ruling party.
“Tisina women’s league chokwadi hatikunde kana election kana kuhwina, saka hamusi vanhu vekutsvinyirwa kwete (Without women we would not win a single election, so we must treat you with respect).
“Mai Mahoka vangobata bata apo neapo asi tazvinzwa zvavanga vachitaura. (Mahoka has just touched on many things and we all got the gist of what she was saying).
“We need to look at the reasons why the people are complaining against us. We must talk about it so we can see. If the foundation is not well laid imba inodhirika (the house will fall). It will be affected by ants.

Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo yesterday slammed belligerent Information permanent secretary George Charamba on ZiFM Stereo, after the commercial radio station that is owned by ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira granted him a right of reply to Charamba’s invective of last week.
In the explosive interview, Moyo panned Charamba roundly, suggesting that his former aide was overstepping his mandate as President Robert Mugabe’s press secretary.
Yesterday’s interview came after ZiFM Stereo pulled out of an earlier interview that it had granted Moyo to discuss a government scholarship programme in which the State plans to pay full school and boarding fees for all students in public schools who register for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects this year.
Stem is being promoted as a key part of Zimbabwe’s long-term human capital development project.
The irate Moyo suggested then that political machinations had been behind the station’s last-minute decision to decline to host him after it aired Charamba’s controversial interview last week, in which the presidential spokesperson denigrated Moyo and other perceived opponents of embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
ZiFM Stereo strongly denied that it had “blacked out” Moyo, leading to the station interviewing him yesterday.
Moyo refuted Charamba’s claims that he had used his interview with the station last week to communicate Mugabe’s deep-seated concerns about Zanu PF factionalism.
“There is a certain decorum associated with the office of the president. He (Charamba) was angry, as if someone had snatched his girlfriend or owed him money,” the sharp-tongued Moyo said, criticising Charamba’s tone in his interview.
The clash between Moyo and Charamba comes as the ruling Zanu PF’s factional and succession wars are getting nastier and more confused by the day, amid growing frustration by the party’s Young Turks known as the Generation 40 group — who are opposed to Mnangagwa — that they are being blacked out by State media and other mass media outlets linked to senior party officials.-DailyNews

Following the idea that Zanu PF has been asking for donations in a bid to raise cash for the President’s birthday party, the MDC-T has a different idea. Organising secretary, Abednico Bhebhe, has urged President Robert Mugabe to turn his 92nd birthday celebrations into a charity event, visit hospitals and the needy, as his leadership has left the majority of the population impoverished.
Bhebhe made the remarks yesterday as preparations for Mugabe’s birthday bash, slated for Masvingo province this month, gather momentum, with ruling party youths targeting to raise $800 000 for the party.
“The $800 000 should be spent on worthy causes like replacing dilapidated equipment for hospitals or just buy food for starving people,” said the Nkayi South legislator.
“There is no reason to spend all this money celebrating a birthday for someone who, with all due respect, should no longer be President because he is too old for the job.
“Instead of blowing money, which is needed elsewhere, Mugabe should spend the day visiting hospitals and other needy areas of our country. Thereafter, he should use the day to announce his resignation.”
Bhebhe queried what Mugabe was celebrating, as the country’s fortunes had deteriorated with him at the helm.
“What exactly is Mugabe celebrating when the roads in cities are now littered with potholes, when millions of people go for days without proper meals, when the economy is on a free fall, when thousands are losing jobs?
“Even the most powerful man in the world, United States President Barack Obama, celebrates his birthday, but surely it will not be turned into a national event, as is the case in Zimbabwe, a poor nation,” he said.
This came as Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president, Takavafira Zhou, claimed that an estimated 15 000 teachers in Masvingo had been ordered to make financial contributions towards the celebrations.
“We have been inundated with calls and reports from teachers from all over the province saying they are being intimidated and forced to pay $5 to $7 depending with the districts. Those who refuse are facing threats of violence come election time,” Zhou said.
But, Zanu PF provincial chairperson Ezra Chadzamira denied the allegations.
“No, no, no, that is not true. We do not seek donations from poor people,” he said.
However, one teacher from Bikita claimed they had been approached and succumbed to the request out of fear.
“We had no option but to pay. They threatened to mobilise demonstrations to evict us from the school,” the teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said.
Zhou said it was extortion to force the teachers, who were yet to get last year’s bonus, to fund a private party function. “It should not be mandatory to donate towards the President’s party,” he said.
Zhou said his union will soon petition Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora over the issue. – state media

In a bid to stop the online squabbles, insults and accusations among it’s members, Zanu-PF has given its members a warning that they should desist from using social media to communicate party issues saying anyone who defies this directive will be dealt with in line with the party’s rules.
The members have also been ordered to only use conventional media on party business with authorisation.
This comes in the wake of hyper-tweeting by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo, attacking fellow Cabinet ministers and Politburo members as well as issuing veiled threats on journalists on social media.
This came out of the party’s first Politburo meeting for 2016 held in Harare yesterday.
Speaking to journalists after over 10 hours of intense and frank discussions at the party headquarters, Zanu-PF secretary for Information and Publicity Mr Simon Khaya Moyo said the party also reiterated that it had one centre of power in President Mugabe who is the only elected leader at congress.
“Expressing oneself through the Press, including the use of social media must stop with immediate effect,” said Moyo.
“Leadership calls for responsibility and not for rumour-mongering and insults. The party has structures and procedures to be religiously adhered to. The party is not run through the Press, so we are not allowing any member of the party at whatever level to run the party through the Press. We must maintain and safeguard our party principles and we must never lose focus so said the President.
“We must always exercise introspection and check within yourself whether what you are saying is based on any facts. In life, there is always room for compromise should you have any differences.

Grace Mugabe has urged Zanu PF leaders to spend their energy on meeting the promises the party made in the July 2013 elections and less on pointless quarrels.
The First Lady, speaking to over 10,000 supporters who met outside the Zanu-PF headquarters to congratulate President Mugabe on his successful stewardship of the African Union during 2015, said the Politburo – which was meeting last night – should be focusing on issues of improving livelihoods instead of being pre-occupied with disciplinary issues.
“I always say as Zanu-PF, we got an upper hand now and the people know that it’s the party representing them and working to fulfil their needs,” she said.
“So what’s all this fighting for? Why are you doing that? You stop it, all of you! We don’t want that. Don’t appear as if you want to create friction between the President and those he chose to work with. If you see us quiet, don’t think we’re foolish, we’re watching you.
“It appears some of you went to school to learn about obscenities only. Just abusing others, to show that you’ve a better vocabulary than the next person. You think as women we’re not able to shout at each other? We’re capable, but we know it doesn’t bring food to the table. If you’re educated, your talk and behaviour should reflect that. Respect those who respect you.”
Higher Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo and War Veterans Minister Chris Mutsvangwa have been trading harsh words in the media, the dispute centred on what the former says is an attempt by the latter to rush President Mugabe out of power and ease in Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mutsvangwa, meanwhile, accuses the former university lecturer of being a divisive and destructive force in Zanu-PF.
“Right now, the rains have not been coming and that’s what we should focus on. If there’s peace, the leadership will be able to work without any hindrance and you think with all these petty fights it is possible?” sked Mrs Mugabe.

“Vice Presidents Mnangagwa and Mphoko are forced to take their attentions from looking for grain to feed the people to deal with petty fights. You want the Politburo to always sit and talk about petty issues?
“We need progressive things, not to have disciplinary issues year in and year out. We want to talk about serious issues and I think those doing that should be told to shut their mouths because they’re distracting Zimbabwe. We’ve work before us, as we made promises to the people during the 2013 harmonised elections and that’s what we should deliver.”
She said most infighting was being done by male figures in the party and as the mother of the party, she would not hesitate to reprimand them.
The Women’s League said the show of support yesterday was also designed to send a solidarity message to the First Family after four men tried to bomb their private business, Gushungo Dairy, in Mazowe. One of the men has been jailed for nine years after police foiled the January 29 plot.
The First Lady said the individuals behind the plot had demonstrated that they were also prepared to bring harm to the First Family, beyond bombing their private business.
“It means you even want to kill my children. We can’t have a Zimbabwe like that,” she said.
She said in the face of the illegal sanctions imposed by the West, Zimbabweans should have a unity of purpose and work for the development of the country.
She also urged journalists to report responsibly, saying negative reports would never take Zimbabwe anywhere.
“This is our country and all these negative stories are heard all over and if instability is to come, it doesn’t affect me alone but you’ll be also included. You might write your paper but it will not be bought because the purchasing power would have diminished.
“Let’s be patriotic despite our political affiliations. Let’s write stories which don’t drive away investor.” – state media

A woman from Mvuma has appeared before a magistrate and given 280 hours of community service after being convicted of having sexual intercourse with a minor.
But the sentence has raised mixed feelings in the community with some saying she should have been given a stronger punishment.
19 year- old Beauty Madzinga is also HIV positive.
Beauty was also jointly charged with her colleague Patience Majoni, also 19,  for allegedly performing an indecent act with a young person.
The two women from Mashayavhudzi suburb in Mvuma called two boys who were passing by their home and told them they were looking for someone to have sex with.
They allegedly ordered the two boys to unzip their trousers and display their manhood before selecting one boy and took him into a room. Once inside it is alleged Beauty Madzinga had sex with the boy.
The other boy witnessed the act as he was peeping through the window and reported it to his grandmother who in turn alerted the complainant’s grandmother.
Meanwhile, the sentence imposed by Mvuma magistrate Ms Vimbai Makora has sparked anger among the community who feel the two offenders should have been given a jail term.
Experts, however, say the lenient verdict is not unreasonable given the circumstances in which the crime was committed.
Beauty had sexual intercourse with a young person with his consent although the law says someone aged 15 is incapable of consenting.

A MARRIED man from Bulawayo has appeared in court for allegedly raping a prostitute he had hired for a one night stand in Magwegwe suburb.
Mthokozisi Nkomo, 28, of Old Pumula, told Provincial Magistrate Abednico Ndebele that he never raped the alleged prostitute (name withheld) of Magwegwe North suburb.
He was not asked to plead and remanded in custody to yesterday for bail hearing.
Nkomo said the woman was only trying to fix him for failing to pay for the rendered sex services after they slept together on Saturday.
“I never raped her. She is trying to fix me for failing to pay $5 for the night I spent having sex with her. I met her at a bar where I had been drinking. She suggested we go to her place after I told her that we could not go to mine because my wife was around,” said Nkomo.
“When I woke up in the morning, I went through my wallet and realised that it was empty. I don’t know what happened to the money which was inside the wallet since I cannot remember what transpired due to my drunken state. “And because of that I failed to pay her.”
Prosecuting, Mufaro Mageza told the court that on February 6 at around 10PM, the woman met Nkomo in Old Pumula near a clinic while she was on her way home in Magwegwe North.
“The accused person asked the complainant were she was going and she told him. He also said he was heading in the same direction and the two proceeded to walk together.
“After walking for a short distance, the accused pulled the complainant’s hair and ordered her to remove her underwear and to bend holding the clinic fence,” said Mageza.
“The accused person dropped his pants to knee level and had sexual intercourse with the complainant once without using protection and without her consent.”
The prosecutor said the woman pursued Nkomo after he left following the alleged rape.
“The complainant secretly followed the accused person and was able to get his place of residence. She then proceeded to make a police report at a Pumula police station leading to the arrest of the accused,” said Mageza.
The prosecutor said Moyo was referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals and a medical report can be produced in court as an exhibit.

Vice President Phelekezela Mpoko has snubbed a National Healing meeting which was organised by the civil society, because of the ongoing Politburo meeting.
Mphoko was supposed to address the meeting at 7pm at Monomotapa hotel but failed to pitch up.
The politburo meeting was said to be on by 8pm when ZimEye.com sought to confirm why Mpoko failed to attend.
Attendants at the civil society meeting struggled into the meeting as a result.

The future of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, War Veterans minister Chris Mutsvangwa and Presidential spokesperson George Charamba is hanging in the balance following the endorsement by President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday of the G-40 project, ZimEye.com reveals.
Mutsvangwa and Charamba who belong to Team Lacoste are campaigning for Vice President Mnangagwa to succeed President Robert Mugabe and had planned to block Higher and Tertiary Education minister Professor Jonathan Moyo who leads G-40 from attending the party’s heated Politburo meeting.
G-40 which comprises Moyo, Indigenisation minister Patrick Zhuwao and Local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere wants Grace Mugabe to be the next President.
But the G-40 on Wednesday successfully mobilised party youths and women from different provinces who humiliated Team Lacoste and managed to convince Mugabe.
The pro-Grace  faction got an endorsement from Mugabe when he was addressing the hired crowd.
Team Lacoste was first roasted by Hurungwe East legislator Sarah Mahoka ( G-40)  before President Mugabe endorsed the faction.
Mahoka in her speech lambasted Vice President Mnangagwa and Charamba who she accused of plotting to topple Mugabe.
“We must toe the party line .The party line is to be strong and united. We heard what Mahoka said. She talked about a lot of things mixing things but we heard her,” Mugabe nailed Mnangagwa.
The aging leader said team Lacoste was going to be investigated.
“Provincial Committees will deal with those that have stopped others from coming,” Mugabe said amid reports that Team Lacoste had blocked people from some provinces who were invited by the G-40 to come “congratulate” him for successfully completing his term as the AU chair.

Highfield East MP Erick Murai (MDC-T) and 11 of the 13 suspects arrested last November on charges of public violence, yesterday walked out of the Mbare Magistrates’ Court free after they were acquitted at the end of the State case.
But, presiding magistrate Shelly Zvenyika, however, ordered two of the suspects to be put to their defence on the basis that they were fingered by the first State witness in the commission of the offence.
Zvenyika said in light of the acquitted suspects, the State had failed to prove a case against them beyond reasonable doubt.
The court remanded the pair to Friday next week when they are expected to be put to their defence.
In her judgment, Zvenyika also said the State should have proved that each and every suspect had participated in the commission of the crime.
She further noted that the State did not bring anyone to give evidence that the activists had damaged their house on the day in question. Allegations against the 14 activists were that on November 8 last year, they attended an unsanctioned rally and pelted police officers with stones.
The court heard on November 2 last year, one Trouble Hasha, applied for permission at Mbare Police Station to hold a rally at Kazembe Rising Stars Primary School in Hopley, but the regulating authority did not approve of it. But, on the day in question, the activists proceeded to gather at the school with other MDC-T supporters, Murai included, dressed in their party regalia and upon being dispersed by the police, they turned violent, leading to their arrest.- state media

The Ordinary Level results for November 2015 are out and have since been dispatched to regional offices ready for collection.
Candidates who sat for this examination will be able to collect results from their respective schools or centres starting from tomorrow.
In a statement today, ZIMSEC Director Mr Esau Nhandara said there had been an increase in the pass rate for November 2015 compared to the previous year.

“The total number of candidates who sat for the November 2015 O Level examination was 310 917. School candidates wrote five or more subjects were 156 418 and 43 581 obtained Grade C or better in five or more subjects, producing a 27. 76 percent pass rate.
“There is an increase in the pass rate from 2014 to 2015 of 5. 48 percent.
“Private candidates who wrote five or more subjects were 23 235 and 2 791 obtained Grade C or better in five or more subjects, which also translates into a percentage pass rate of 12. 01,” he said.- State Media

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| Villagers in Bikita were shocked to the core when a local woman was caught stark naked performing rituals at a neighbour’s doorstep last week.
In a suspected case of witchcraft in Matonhodze village, Spiwe Chaitwa was caught naked at Cornelius Chikunda’s hut moving around while stark naked. The nude Chaitwa was spotted around 3am by one Godfrey Tabvaneyi a local villager who had woken up to go for prayers. Chaitwa was spotted attempting to place some concoctions at the doorstep of Chikunda’s hut. Chikunda’s wife said she was alerted by Tabvaneyi that there was a nude woman loitering in her yard and she woke up and informed other villagers. “The incident is very strange and we suspect the woman was performing rituals at our doorstep. We are still in a state of shock.
The woman spent more than two hours in our yard and we had to inform the police from Bikita who whisked her away,” said a shocked Chengeto. Masvingo Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said they were informed the woman was mentally challenged. However villagers in the area claimed Chaitwa got divorced because of witchcraft .
In Zimbabwe it is prohibited to accuse someone of being involved in witchcraft and Chaitwa’s case has left the local community bemused.

Well known Mnangagwa-rite and ZANU PF Secretary for Administration Ignatius Chombo has insisted that Wednesday’s politburo meeting is going to discuss Professor Jonathan Moyo’s use of social media website Twitter.
Chombo who last week first revealed his intention to raise the thorny matter, told the State Media the meeting will run according to schedule contrary to media speculations. He said that the abuse of social media by some party members was cause for concern and will be up for discussion at the Politburo meeting on Wednesday.
Chombo told the State Media “no amount of agenda setting” from the media will change how the Politburo operates.

A prominent Gwanda businessman died in a horrific road accident about 10km outside the town at about mid morning today.
The businessman whose name is being withheld until his next of kin have been notified, died following a head on collision with a vehicle believed to be owned by another Gwanda business-woman around Sindhi Ranch on the Bulawayo – Gwanda highway.
Details on the accident were still sketchy at the time of writing…
More to follow…

The family of the abducted Itai Dzamara says they are going to mobilize masses and stage  some street protests which would force  government to search and bring back Itai.
Addressing Journalists during a prayer meeting which they held to mark 11 months of Itai Dzamara’s disappearance in Harare  on Tuesday Patson Dzamara ,brother to Itai said they will continue fighting until government brings back their missing family member.
“These people who are busy defecating on our future have already expended their lives and it is now our future that they are messing up with. So it is our responsibility as young people and we encourage you to   join us especially on the 9^th of March,” he said.
“We want numbers as we march throughout the city and congregate for the launch the documentary which celebrates the life of Itai who above all we consider a hero,” he said.
Patson said: “We do not mind whatever happened and whether we are going to see him or not, he is an idea or he represents an idea whose time has come, so as a people we are going to augment that through our celebration of his life”.
He said they are still optimistic that one day they will reunite with their brother.
“As a family we consult and nothing has registered to that effect although on the surface everything points towards the fact that he is no more but we do believe that our God will do something and one day we are going to be reunited with Itai, and we still have hope”.
 

A Binga rapist will be forever thankful to a dentist after the latter saved him from an imminent long jail term.
Artwell Munsaka of Sinampani Village in Binga was dragged before Binga magistrate court facing one count of statutory rape after having had sexual intercourse with a 15 year old girl.
Munsaka admitted to having intercourse with the under-age girl but the court could not immediately establish his age for sentencing.
Munsaka who did not have an identity document nor a birth certificate had to be sent to a specialist dentist to determine his age. The man’s body-build is one of a man in the mid twenties.
The dentist reported that tests revealed that at the time of the offence in September last year Munsaka could have been between the age of 15 and 17 of which the court took the lesser and considered him a juvenile.
The area magistrate resultantly opposed the state’s move for a mandatory minimum nine years imprisonment for statutory rape by an adult. Munsaka was consequently sentenced to a wholly suspended two year jail term and ordered to be given six canes with a medium whip.
The canning was to be administered by the Prisons and Correctional Services at Binga Prison within 24 hours of sentencing.

IN a bizarre case, an 18-year-old Murehwa man is alleged to have raped his brother’s wife throughout the night after sneaking into the woman’s blankets while masquerading as her husband.
The incident, which left the villagers shocked, is alleged to have occurred on July 4, 2013, when the suspect was staying at the same homestead with his brother’s wife while the woman’s husband was away in Harare.
On the day in question, it is alleged the teenager told his brother’s wife that he intended to attend an all-night prayer elsewhere, but had received a call from his brother who said he was arriving late that night from Harare.
The teenager further told his brother’s wife he had been instructed to tell her to leave the door open in case he arrived late.
“At around 9pm to 10pm, the accused person went to the window of the bedroom where the complainant was sleeping and knocked as if he was the complainant’s husband and the woman unlocked the door presuming it was her husband,” the State papers read.
The State alleges when the teenager entered the bedroom, the woman got out to relieve herself and when she returned she found the suspect already in the blankets and the two started chatting in the dark and the teenager was speaking in a low voice.
“When they were discussing, the accused person, who knew about the sour relationship that existed between the woman and her husband, apologised for neglecting her when she eloped to him. After a while, the complainant got into the same blankets and had sexual intercourse with the woman throughout the night,” the State alleges.
The following morning, the woman was allegedly shocked when she noticed the teenager’s clothes on the chair and when she uncovered the person who was in the blankets, she realised she had been duped and had spent the night with the suspect.
The woman rushed to the village head and reported her ordeal, but when the suspect was questioned, he denied the allegations, saying he had spent the night at an all-night prayer.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to his arrest.
The suspect last week appeared at the High Court seeking bail, but his application was deferred to next week. newsday

The government has warned the schools that it is against the law to reject the South African Rand and Botswana Pula as legal tender for the payment of school fees.
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora told Senators last week that the South African rand was one of the currencies in the basket of currencies adopted by the government as legal tender in 2009.
He was responding to a question from Beitbridge Senator Tambudzani Mohadi (Zanu-PF) who wanted to know what the government was doing about school heads who turned away pupils who wanted to pay school fees in South African rand and Botswana pula.
Sen Mohadi said many pupils in her area were not going to school after authorities rejected the South African rand.
“It’s true that she asked this question before and I did respond to it to say that if there are instances where this practice of turning down what’s a legal tender in this country in the multi-currency regime, if any of our institutions are turning down acceptance of this legal tender, those schools should be reported through our system. I’m quite happy to receive the list from the Honourable Member and we’ll take action,” said Minister Dokora.

Many trading institutions have over the past months been rejecting the South African rand which has been depreciating rapidly in value against the United States dollar.
Most shops and individuals have since stopped using the rand to settle debts preferring the green back.
Most Zimbabweans in the southern part of the country like Matabeleland deal mainly in the rand owing to their proximity to Pretoria.
Responding to another question, Minister Dokora said his ministry had an elaborate plan in its new curriculum to promote the learning of Science and Mathematics.
He was responding to a question from Disabled Representative Senator Nyamayabo Mashavakure who wanted to know if the government would take the promotion of Science and Mathematics from Advanced Level to Ordinary Level as well.
Sen Mashavakure asked what the government was doing to deter a temptation by teachers to discourage the learning of sciences so as to secure high pass rates.
“Our plan to promote Science, Mathematics and technical vocational subjects is in the new curriculum. It begins at level one — from the infants right up to A-Level.
“What we know is that of our children since 2013 to 2015, we can give you a number of children who’ve gone through the curriculum that we currently have,” he said.
Minister Dokora said most pupils were registering good passes at Advanced Level. – State Media

Terrence Mawawa | Masvingo Tourism minister and Masvingo South MP Walter Mzembi has dumped his farm near Stop Over bar,5km out of the city of Masvingo and workers at the farm claim the Zanu PF heavyweight has dismally failed to maintain the property .
The farm which has big fowl runs in it and wide space for growing vegetables now lies desolate since Mzembi has virtually neglected the property. The state of Mzembi’s farm is contrary to claims by the government that the land grab exercise proved to be a resounding success. Ironically Mzembi nearly invaded a poultry producing farm last year but he was thwarted by Masvingo State Minister Shuvai Ben Mahofa albeit along factional lines.
Workers at the vast property now spend most of their time drinking opaque beer and playing draught . “We spend much of the time drinking opaque beer and playing draught because we have nothing to do here .There is no activity at the farm and the minister hardly comes here .We are worried about our future at the farm,”said a worker who chose not to be named.
Mzembi angrily said he bought the farm as a gift for his son and the property had nothing to do with the public. Workers at the farm however said Mzembi ,who owns several other farms,grabbed the property during the controversial land reform programme many believe brought the country’s ecomony into the current abyss. The controversial minister has openly attributed his political survival to his udoubted loyalty to Mugabe although he is strongly linked to the G40 camp.

A Pumula South man has been sentenced to perform community service after he was found guilty of bedding his 13-year-old cousin.
The man who is 19 years old, was initially facing rape charges, but was convicted of sleeping with a minor after the court established that the girl consented.
Regional magistrate Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze said: “You are therefore sentenced to 24 months in prison of which six months are suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. The remainder will be suspended on condition that you performs 526 hours of community service.”
Prosecuting, Concilia Ncube, told the court that the man pounced on his Grade Seven cousin on January 23.
“The girl left the house and went to play with her young sister and brother just outside their gate. As they were about to start playing, her cousin followed them out of the house and grabbed the girl and closed her mouth, pushing her back into the house,” said Ncube.
“He took her to the sitting room and laid her on the sofa, undressed her and raped the girl once. After the act, the man threatened to assault his cousin if she told their domestic worker of the incident and went away.”
The court heard that after a few days, the girl confided in the domestic worker who made a police report and took the girl to hospital for medical attention.
A medical report was produced which was used in court and the man was arrested.State Media

Health Minister David Parirenyatwa says Zimbabwe will continue to train nurses for export.
Dr Parirenyatwa was speaking to the State Media soon after holding a meeting with the visiting South Sudan Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Dr John Gai Yoah at his offices at Kaguvi Building in Harare this Monday morning.
Zimbabwe and South Sudan share cordial relations that have seen the South Sudanese government requesting help from Zimbabwe in different fields to rebuild the former war ravaged country which attained its independence in July 2011 after a referendum in which 99 percent of the people voted for secession from Sudan.
“Zimbabwe is ready to assist Africa’s newest country with personnel for the health sector in terms of training and provision of doctors, nurses and other experts to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the countries,” Minister Parirenyatwa said
The South Sudanese minister is in Zimbabwe to sign a memorandum of understanding with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Professor Jonathan Moyo for the implementation of a similar arrangement in the education sector.
Meanwhile, Dr Parirenyatwa has warned Zimbabweans planning to travel to South America to guard against mosquito bites and ensure safe sex as precautionary measures against the Zika virus.
Zika virus outbreak has been declared a public health concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Minister Parirenyatwa concurred with WHO country representative to Zimbabwe, Dr David Okello that there is no need to impose travel bans on people going to Brazil but warned those travelling to any part of South America to must protect themselves against mosquito bites.
Zika virus is caused by the Aedes mosquito which was first discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda.

Ousted Welshman Ncube led MDC Secretary General Moses Mzila Ndlovu has accused Ncube of single handedly destroying the once promising opposition political party.
Talking to ZimEye.com after the party standing committee ruled to remove him from the position of Secretary General, Mzila Ndlovu said that he was not at all worried about his removal from the Secretary General position and was even quitting the party as long as it remained under the leadership of Professor Ncube.
The former freedom fighter accused Ncube of lacking strategy to fight against ZANU PF and also surrounding himself with political failures who never challenged him. Mzila also echoed sentiments of dictatorship tendencies by Ncube as raised by several other MDC leaders who have quit the party since Ncube took over from Arthur Mutambara.
The veteran opposition politician would not disclose to the. media where he is heading after quitting the MDC, only saying he is leaving options open to people who are serious about taking over state power from ZANU PF not those who have tried several times and failed due to ideological bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, sources within the MDC claim that several more members particularly from Bulawayo and Matabeleland South will this week be receiving letters advising them of their dismissal from the party. Most of those to be dismissed are accused of having links with Joice Mujuru’s new political party. Some will be dismissed for raising a purge against Welshman Ncube who the provinces recently sent a petition demanding that he steps down.

The Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) has suspended four insurers and an insurance broker from issuing or renewing insurance policies due to unsound finances and unethical business conduct.
“Excellence Insurance Company (Private) Limited is under suspension as its financial position was unsound, as was Global Insurance Company (Private) Limited,” Ipec said adding that the suspensions were issued in terms of section 5 (a) of the Insurance Act (Chapter 24:07).
The other insurers barred from issuing or renewing policies include KMFS Insurance Company (Private) Limited and New Reinsurance Company (Private) Limited on the basis of unsound finances.
According to the commission, short-term insurance companies are required to have a minimum capital requirement of $1,5 million but Excellence had $250 000 by end of June last year while others had varying amounts less than $1 million in the six months to June 2015.
Navistar Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited was placed under suspension for unethical business conduct.
According to Ipec, all clients who had already purchased or renewed policies with the five firms are free to launch claims with the insurers.
“In the event that some members of the public have already purchased or renewed policies with the above mentioned companies, please note that these companies remain liable to honour claims arising from the same policies… any refusal to pay should be reported to the Ipec,” the watchdog said.
In his 2015 National Budget, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa expressed the need for an upward review of the minimum capital requirements for the insurance sector to improve underwriting capacity and contain insurance business within the country.
To match this, the Treasury chief increased the minimum capital requirements for both life and non-life reinsurers in his 2015 Mid-term Fiscal Policy Review Statement.
The proposed hike is to be effected by December 31, 2016.
Chinamasa hiked the minimum threshold for short term insurers from $1,5 million to $2,5 million, from $2 million to $5 million for life assurers and pegged the minimum capital requirement for funeral assurers at $2,5 million from $1,5 million.
Chinamasa also proposed to introduce a raft of measures that included the review of qualifying assets for calculation of prescribed assets as well as deterrent penalties which include cancellation of operating licences
The Treasury chief ordered Ipec to, in the first quarter of 2016; review the qualifying assets for minimum capital requirements to improve asset quality.
The performance of the insurance and pension sector has largely remained depressed owing to low economic activity, legacy issues emanating from the conversion of insurance and pension policies from Zimbabwe dollar to US dollar values and liquidity challenges, among others.
Presently, the draft Bills for the insurance and pension industry are being finalised, taking into account stakeholders’ inputs.
The Bills include the Insurance and Pension Commission Bill, Pensions and Provident Funds Bill, and the Insurance Bill and are expected to be presented in the August House in the first quarter of 2016. daily news

The Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe is demanding for the arrest of some state actors and Zanu PF officials accused of violating media freedoms.
The media freedom lobby made the demands in its 2015 state of the media report it produced last week.
Among the state actors accused of violating media freedom in the 25 violations MISA-Zimbabwe recorded in 2015 is President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and their spokesperson George Charamba.
The violations were mainly in the form of threats and unlawful arrests, and emanated from Zanu PF factional fights.
“The country’s leadership should exercise restraint as threats to deal with the media have potential to trigger extra-legal violation of media freedom by political activists,” said part of the report.
“Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and the responsible authorities should investigate and bring to account the culprits involved in the assaults of journalists more so where complaints and reports are filed against members of his force”.
MISA-Zimbabwe said although state media Journalists were also victims of media freedom violations the private media was the worst affected.
“This speaks volumes on the lack of willingness to embrace and practice constitutionalism on the part of senior government and Zanu PF officials and other non-state actors.
In one of the case President Mugabe and the Charamba threatened to clamp down on the private media for stories on leakages of the party’s meetings including Cabinet deliberations.
Other cases involved the “unlawful” arrests or assaults by the police of journalists conducting their lawful professional duties.

Scores of women married to employees of Duration Gold’s Vumbachikwe Mine in Gwanda on Saturday stripped naked demonstrating against the new management imposed by the new owners.
The angry and uncontrollable women complained that their husbands have not been paid their salaries for a whole year to date – since January 2015 and the working conditions at the mine have deteriorated since the venture was taken over by Duration Gold, a foreign owned mining conglomerate.
The women cited that their main cause to demonstrate against the company was that their husbands always come home stressed and fail to fulfil their conjugal duties due to the difficult working conditions at the mine.
One woman who only identified herself as MaPhiri told ZimEye.com that her husband has not been able to do his bedroom duties for the last six months because he is always stressed and hungry as the little salary advances the company gives to the workers is not enough to cover their domestic needs. “How would I honestly expect a hungry, stressed and tired man to do anything in the bedroom?” she fumed.
“The bosses come here driving in big vehicles with big tummies and take all the money from the company and go and eat and enjoy with their wives while we remain starved here,” she added.
The women who staged their act at the main entrance to the company’s administration offices, raised their dresses exposing torn underwear claiming that their husband could not even afford to buy them the underwear because of non payment. They sang very derogative songs inviting mine managers to come and quench their sexual desires as their husbands are failing due to stress.
ZimEye.com last week exclusively reported that the workers at the mine were not happy with Duration Gold who they accused of racism and gross and unfair labour practices. The workers claimed that since the company took over the mine from previous owners Forbes and Thompson the new owners had changed the entire mine management and employed new staff which was failing to run the venture.
The workers further claimed that every time they raised complaints against the company, the owners openly told them that nothing will ever be done to them as they are “very big friends” with Kasukuwere from his days as Indigenisation Minister and so are “protected”. The company’s indigenisation status has remained unclear for a long time.
Senior staff at the mine refused to talk to the media or attend to the demonstrating women who had to be dispersed by heavily armed anti riot police from the support unit in Bulawayo five hours into the demonstration.
The women went back to their homes threatening that they will lock their husbands in doors and make sure they don’t terrier for duty until they have been paid their outstanding salaries.
Vumbachikwe mine is one of the biggest gold producing mines in the country and has been posting good profits over the years.

The Piermont Town Council in New Hampshire in the United States of America, through Dr Rev Edward Matuvhunye, former President of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe, donated fire fighters’ uniforms, gumboots, tools and chemicals to Chipinge Town Council last week Friday the 29th January 2016. The handover coincided with the celebrations of the belated Chipinge Town Council Cheer Fund.
 
Addressing hundreds of people who had thronged Chipinge Gaza Hall, Rev Matuvhunye, who

was the guest of honour for the belated Chipinge Cheer Fund, held to mobilise resources to help orphans, said he was gripped by the needs and problems of Chipinge District Town Council, and so thought of mobilising resources to help the council meet its mandated targets.
“As bona fide leader in Chipinge and Church leader, I am working and negotiating with the leadership of Piermont Town for fire fighter vehicles, ambulances and (also) the possibilities for a twinning program,” said Matuvhunye.
He challenged well wishers to pull resources together for the benefit of the needy. “I encouraged all bona-fide and friends of Chipinge to mobilize resources from wherever they are in order to improve their home town and district. I am also exploring possibilities of raising funds to address drought relief, climate change mitigation and adaptation.”
 
Commenting on Dr Matuvhunye’s resourcefulness and act of benevolence, Mrs Malati , the Chipinge Town Secretary, said she was “humbled by the support of Dr Rev Matuvhunye and partners from New Hampshire for stretching the hand of friendship and love to help the Chipinge Town Council.”
 
Mrs Malati thanked Rev Matuvhunye, who is pursuing PhD studies in the US, as well as partners from that country for the support rendered.
 
Councillor Mathias Gurai praised and commended efforts of development agents who envision to improve Chipinge district.
 
The handover was attended by Chipinge town councillors, representatives of parliament,’ MP Machingura, the local DA, business community bosses, traditional leaders, government departments, churches, and a large crowd from the local community.

87 farmers who were allocated land under the fast track agrarian reform programme at Greenland farm in Beatrice are facing eviction14 years after being given land.
The farmers, who have thriving maize and tobacco crops, are appealing to the government to intervene after they were served with eviction letters by the Permanent Secretary for Lands and Rural Resettlement.
The farmers are genuine holders of A1 offer letters and have built houses since they were resettled in 2002.
To them, the eviction might be an illegal act and all they pray for is for the government to intervene.
Others feel that allowing such evictions to take place almost a decade and half after the land reform will leave all resettled farmers in the country exposed to eviction at any given time.
A landmark ruling made by High Court judge, Justice Francis Bere in 2013 in a similar case outlawed the unilateral withdrawal of offer letters by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement.
Justice Bere cited that if offer letters would be withdrawn unilaterally by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement, it would make almost every citizen of Zimbabwe who benefited under the land reform vulnerable. – State Media

Zanu PF politburo member and Higher Education Minister, Jonathan Moyo has blown open snippets of the background to his public row with President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba, and his relationship with vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa. He in the below interview reveals Charamba’s secret past saying it is likely what has caused the man to attack him. He told the weekly Standard while addressing allegations that he is working to destroy the ruling party from within.
Question: In your opinion, what could have motivated George Charamba’s attacks against you and those perceived to be opposed to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa?
Answer: I don’t have an opinion about this. I have information. Loads of it. While Charamba’s scurrilous political attack on me and other Cabinet ministers perceived to be opposed to what they allege is Vice-President Mnangagwa’s succession path went viral after his long interview on ZiFM radio and after The Herald reproduced a verbatim script of that interview two weeks ago, in fact Charamba had been on my case over VP Mnangagwa’s succession for a very long time.
To make a very long story short, things started turning ugly between Charamba and me and his fellow successionists out there in May 2015 when BBC HardTalk broadcast an interview with me in which I poured cold water on the ambitions of successionists by saying President Robert Mugabe had not appointed his vice-presidents so they could succeed him, but so they could assist him to implement the policy programmes he pledged to the nation in the 2013 elections, which he won resoundingly.
I also said in that interview that questions whether the First Lady, Dr Amai Grace Mugabe, was a future leader were ridiculous because she’s already a leader today not least as secretary for the women’s league, which is a senior national leadership position in the ruling party. I later learnt, something which is now common cause that the BBC HardTalk interview did not go down well with successionists.
The most disappointing reaction came from Charamba. Remember, I was then Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services where he was as he still is permanent secretary. Soon after my BBC HardTalk interview, Charamba started throwing administrative spanners into my ministerial work either by instructing officers not to do this or that for the minister or by holding up paperwork or by running a whisper campaign with State media journalists and officials who administer parastatals under the ministry to say to them, “the minister has fallen out of favour with the system”, and things like that.
He tried anything and everything to derail my campaign programme in Tsholotsho for the June 2015 by-election which had been running well until the BBC HardTalk interview. There are witnesses to this, many, who are waiting for their day in the sun to tell their story. In the week of the June 2015 by-election Charamba travelled with President Mugabe’s delegation to two working visits that were close to each other, one overseas and the other to South Africa.
Charamba used those programmes to deep-throat the State journalists assigned with the delegations with a rumour that I was going to be dropped from Cabinet, allegedly because I had contested in the by-elections without the president’s permission and that by winning the by-election I had expelled myself from my position as a Cabinet minister. Again, there are witnesses to this, especially but not only in the media.
A week after I was sworn in as MP for Tsholotsho North following the June 2015 by-election, and a few days after Charamba’s return from his assignment with the President in South Africa, I noticed that he had taken into avoiding me altogether and yet it is a fiduciary requirement for the permanent secretary and minister to work together as public officials entrusted by the president and enjoined by the law to serve the public.
And so I took it upon myself to go to his office to greet him and to find out what was going on as I was hearing a lot of disturbing things.
When I got into his office, he appeared to have been taken by surprise, perhaps for the reason that he had taken the view that we no longer had anything to do with one another since he had already told State journalists that I had fallen out of favour with the “system”. My effort to engage him in the pleasantries of greeting each other failed. There were no smiles. No usual courtesies.
Charamba gave me an arrogantly officious and dismissive look and said, “Minister, what is going on?” About what? I asked him. “With you, minister”, he thundered.
Remember I was seeing him for the first time since recording a historic win for the party in the Tsholotsho by-election. He did not use the opportunity to first congratulate me on that victory, or to say anything about the fact that the party had won all 16 or so by-elections nationwide on the day. He just wanted to huff and puff about what he was convinced was going wrong with me.
So I reminded him I was not aware of anything wrong because I had put all my time and effort in my by-election campaign in Tsholotsho and I was not aware of what had been happening elsewhere, especially in Harare. “Minister, minister”, shouted Charamba. “I am very, very worried.
“The commanders have been asking me what’s going on with you and the whole system is concerned about you minister”.
He said. “I’m being asked a lot of hard questions about the BBC interview. Who organised it? How did they come here? Things would have been okay if the interview had ended there, but then it was transcribed and the script was published in The Herald.
“They want to know who did that because it is only done for the president and nobody else”. By the way, remember this was coming from the same Charamba who only two weeks ago had more than an hour of his venomous ZiFM radio interview against at least three Cabinet ministers, including myself, transcribed and published by The Herald verbatim. But that’s a digression.
Then Charamba said, “Minister, the system does not trust you at all. Now the commanders are angry with me. they are saying why am I not stopping you. It’s like, it’s my job to stop you”. “Stop me from what?” I asked Charamba agitatedly.
“Stop you from doing what you are doing minister and you know what you are doing”.
When Charamba realised that I was getting very frustrated and even annoyed with his narrative, he then said, “Minister, the system is asking if Moyo is not supporting VP Mnangagwa to succeed, so who then is he supporting? Why is he trying to prevent VP Mnangagwa? That makes him dangerous and he must be stopped.”
At that point I lost my cool and told Charamba that whoever wants me to support VP Mnangagwa to succeed President Mugabe should go to hell and I don’t care what anyone is going to do to me because of that.
I reminded Charamba of 2004 and told him I was not going to be part of Tsholotsho 2 in Harare and that Joice Mujuru was not removed for her successionist plots in order to replace her with VP Mnangagwa to pursue his own successionist programme against President Mugabe.
Noticing that I was getting agitated and angry, Charamba then tried to cool things down by saying, “I hear you minister but nobody is going to believe what you are saying. Nobody in the system believes you”.
That was my last conversation with Charamba in the Information ministry. I’ve kept a record of it because I realised as soon as we started talking that he was up to something big and no good. A week or so after that conversation I related my encounter with Charamba to his deputy, Regis Chikowore and made it clear to Chikowore that I was not going to allow successionists to intimidate me into supporting their scheme to succeed the president.
The conversation with Chiko-wore happened a week after I had been advised that the Attorney-General, Prince Machaya had advised that the legal effect of my winning the June 2015 Tsholotsho by-election and my taking oath as a Member of Parliament was that I had technically resigned from my Cabinet post by operation of the law and that I could no longer attend Cabinet.
What followed thereafter is in the public domain, save for the fact that Charamba and other successionists used that period to trade all sorts of self-indulgent stories about my fate.
First, they said I was out of Cabinet for good. Then when the president appointed me to my current post, they said I had been demoted.
I chuckled over the demotion jibe because I moved from a ministry whose annual budget (check the blue book) is about $3 million to one with a budget of over $600 million in de facto terms, let alone the fact that the ministry I’m currently serving is the one that plans and develops the human capital skills for the entire economy.
The untold story is that my situation in the Information ministry became impossible after my BBC HardTalk interview. I was very grateful when the president reshuffled me from there.
But Charamba has remained on my case on behalf of successionists. Only last Thursday he telephoned the acting CEO at ZBC just before News Hour at night and directed him to pull off STEM ads on ZBC television and ZBC radio stations. I understand he said he was doing this because the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education had complained about the ads and he wanted to show “who controls the media in Zimbabwe”.
Can you imagine that? A Permanent Secretary in Information ministry unilaterally sabotaging a government programme, by another ministry, that’s been well-received nationally beyond description. And doing so without reference to any administrative process.
No reference to his counterpart in our ministry. No reference to the Cabinet office. No reference to the ZBC board of governors. I don’t know if there was any reference to his own minister.
And this all because Charamba sees himself as an untouchable super successionist who allegedly has the blessing of VP Mnangagwa and is thus part of the “system” if not as the “system itself” and he believes he has the power to do anything by himself without reference to anyone or to any process in accordance with the operational framework of making and implementing government decisions. As a typical successionist, Charamba supports the president during the day and works against him at night.
Clearly, Charamba is no longer a fit and proper person to be Permanent Secretary in the Information ministry.
Question: What is your relationship with Mnangagwa, are you on speaking terms?
Answer: I recognise and respect him as one of two different but equal vice-presidents and second secretaries of our party and vice-presidents of our country appointed by the president to assist him to discharge his national mandate and constitutional responsibilities. I don’t know what talking terms are, but I definitely report to him in the discharge of part of my work as I also report to Vice-President Mphoko in similar light.
Question: In your response to accusations that you are part of a faction that is allegedly abusing the First Family’s name, you have said you learnt your lesson in 2004, what was that lesson?
Answer: I learnt that at all times, I must remain loyal to my appointing authority and forget the rest. Successionists then would say Pamberi naPresident Mugabe during the day and spend the cover of night plotting his ouster. That’s what they are doing now. Lots of daylight slogans in support of the president followed by a nightfall of unprecedented succession scheming. Loyalty is a 24-hour proposition, 24/7. It’s not a part-time job of the politics of appearances.
Question: In 2004 you were accused of working with a Zanu PF faction that was pushing for Mnangagwa’s elevation to the presidium but now you are said to be fighting him. What has changed?
Answer: I just told you that I learnt my lessons. It’s called political maturity and experience. I’m not fighting anyone. I’m just making sure that I do not again put myself in a political situation that is in conflict with my president as my appointing authority. I shared this position publicly in a Sunday Mail interview soon after my re-admission to the party and election into the central committee at the 5th Congress in December 2009. We have the position of one centre of power in our party’s constitution. I drafted that position as I drafted all the key amendments to our party’s constitution for the 6th Congress in December 2014 and I did that under VP Mnangagwa.
Question: War Veterans minister Chris Mutsvangwa has accused you of, trying to divide Zanu PF…. What is your response?
Let the situation on the ground speak for itself about that.
Question: What is your response to Mutsvangwa’s claims that you are related to the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and that you could be fighting his wars?
My late friend Professor Masipula Sithole must be laughing in heaven about that comical allegation. If there was the slightest truth to it, he would not have gone to heaven without saying it. Not Masipula. But of course I believe I am related to every Zimbabwean. That’s where I get my Zimbabweanness.
Question: Your critics often accuse you of working to destroy Zanu PF from within, what is your reaction to such claims?
Answer: The overwhelming majority of Zanu PF members know better. I’m in the politburo and Cabinet not because I smuggled myself there but because the president appointed me to serve in both organs as he knows better than the critics you are talking about.
Question: Do you believe there is a media campaign to discredit you and if so what steps are you taking to stop that?
Answer: What I believe is not an issue. The situation on the ground speaks for itself.
Question: Zanu PF has previously accused the private media of concocting stories about factionalism in the ruling party? Do you now believe that there are camps in Zanu PF pulling in different directions?
Answer: Zanu PF was said to have two factions: Mujuru and Mnangagwa factions. The Mujuru faction met its fate in 2014 leaving the party with one faction. It would be wrong for the remaining faction to see itself as the chosen one when the right thing to do is for it to dissolve itself and support President Mugabe both during the day and at night.
Question: Do you have ambitions to lead Zanu PF as alleged by your detractors and are you a member of the so-called G40 faction?
Answer: I have never had an ambition or done anything based on or driven by the allegations of my detractors.
Question: Your constituency Tsholotsho North is one of the most affected by the current drought, do you have an idea of its impact and what has government done to cushion villagers?
Answer: You are right that Tsholotsho North is one of the constituencies most affected by the current drought and the impact on livelihoods and livestock is indescribable. But the status of “most affected” is becoming widespread in our nation. We are working on a range of options to keep hope alive. Cde Prisca Mupfumira, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, has done everything possible to ensure that vulnerable families in the constituency are cushioned. And Dr Joseph Made is assisting us to find a water solution since access to water is the vital need in a drought situation.

“President Robert Mugabe is now too ill for the Presidency”, the High Court is to pass its verdict on the matter.
The lawsuit was submitted by a Zimbabwean lawyer who is demanding that the country’s highest court must now order an investigation to determine Mugabe’s fitness to hold office.
This comes after a series of evidential bad health signs that prompted speculation about his health.
The papers filed by the lawyer, Tinomuda Chinoka say the Speaker of Parliament and the president of the senate must conduct the investigation.
“Having a president that may lack capacity to carry out the job threatens democracy, undermines the constitution and puts in jeopardy the very foundation, security and future of the nation,” read the papers filed with the Constitutional Court.
Chinoka listed a number of incidents casting doubt on Mugabe’s ability to rule, including his tumble on a red carpet at Harare International Airport in February 2015.
They also referred to a gaffe last year when he read the wrong speech at the opening of parliament.
“Any person with their mental alertness intact would have recognised a speech that they have read only three weeks previously,” said the papers.
Mugabe, who turns 92 later this month, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. His health has been the subject of speculation in recent years.
In January he returned from his annual month-long holiday during which rumours flared that he had collapsed and died in Asia. News24/Additional Reporting

Management at the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) has been accused of flouting tender procedures, mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.
Details obtained by the State Media indicate the parastatal’s woes could be due to gross mismanagement as the company fails to pay duty for 33 buses imported from China in May 2015 despite one of Zupco’s bank accounts holding US$680 282 as at January 26, 2016.
Documents at hand show that things came to a head on January 26, 2016 when Zupco failed to dispatch a single one of its 150 buses in Harare because “there was no fuel”. This led to the suspension without pay of divisional operations manager Mr Jonathan Chandaengerwa.
Mr Chandaengerwa declined to comment saying “the matter was before a Zupco disciplinary hearing committee”.
One the documents in our possession reads, “On (January 26, 2016) it was said there was no money to buy fuel for northern division buses yet US$520 282 was sitting in a recapitalisation account. The buses needed only a minimum of US$10 000 to get on the road.” Zupco’s policy is that 30 percent of gross revenue goes to the recapitalisation account daily.
Despite sitting on huge cash reserves, Zupco has failed to dispatch buses citing lack of fuel, and has 33 units grounded at its Belvedere, Harare yard after failing to pay import duty since May 2015.
Workers’ salaries have been delayed since July 2015, added a source.
Zupco’s top management is also accused of refurbishing at unjustifiable costs.
For instance, bus number FF41 was refurbished for US$38 000 when a new FAW engine costs around US$15 000.
And bus FF41 broke down after travelling just 12km. Zupco CEO Mr Clifford Muwoni said there was nothing amiss with the bus breaking down soon after refurbishment.
“Even a brand new bus can break down after five kilometres. It’s normal,” he said. “The buses were not grounded on January 26, 2016; we just reduced the number of buses because of low commuter numbers.”
However, Mr Muwoni wrote a letter to Mr Chandaengerwa on January 27, 2016 saying the company lost about US$10 000 in daily revenue while “passengers were left stranded because there were no buses”.
Mr Muwoni also dismissed as “nonsensical” allegations that Zupco was flouting tender procedures when buying buses, trucks and trailers.
The CEO has also been accused of nepotism after his son, Mr Kevin Muwoni, was appointed a divisional risk officer, raising questions among workers if Kevin would investigate allegations of wrongdoing against his father.
Mr Muwoni defended his son’s appointment saying: “Kevin has been with Zupco since 2007 so there is no nepotism. Nepotism is when someone is not qualified for the job.”- State Media