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As if the abduction and kidnapping of Itai Dzamara is not enough, the regime is at it again.
Yesterday around 1800hs in the evening, at a Total garage (Harare) – a stone’s throw from the Zanu PF national Headquarters there was an attempted abduction and kidnapping of the MDC T National Chairman Happymore “Bvondo” Chidziva.
Whilst filling up at the garage, Bvondo was with his driver and aide in a branded MDC T vehicle when a blue VW golf registration number ACA3738 pulled up with five menacingly armed soldiers who tried to abduct him trying to force him into their vehicle.
An altercation ensued which resulted in Bvondo sustaining multiple injuries to his body for which he received treatment at a private health facility in the capital.
Speaking through pain, Bvondo reiterated his commitment to the struggle for a new Zimbabwe, “Mugabe is simply trying to start an uprising. Why are innocent and law abiding citizens being provoked? The soldiers simply attacked me for driving a branded vehicle and they hauled the imprintables about President Tsvangirai. I appeal for calm and peace amongst the Youths as we will soon bring the dictatorship to its knees through peaceful and democratic mechanisms.”
MDC T Harare Province Youth Assembly Chairman Gorekore and his executive attended the scene where the attempted kidnapping of Chairman Bvondo happened. Addressing journalists, Harare Youth Spokesperson narrated the ordeal the movement and the assembly in particular is operating under, “We are under siege as the MDC T Youths. Our Youths are being brutalised on a daily basis. Since we held our star rally in Highfield, the regime is a state of panic, Dzamara was abducted, today the y wanted to assassinate Chairman Chidziva – Kambuzuma, St Mary’s – the violence is just too much.”
The MDC T Youth Assembly is on high alert; it seems the systematic , state sponsored and managed assassination plots against its leaders are now in full swing.
Brian Dube the National Youth Spokesperson has since released a statement bemoaning and condemning the uncivil and unstatemanlike behaviour of Mugabe and Mnangagwa.
The leaders of the Youth Assembly across Zimbabwe have expressed shock at the cowardly regime that now seems determined to exterminate influential members of the Assembly. Sekai “Mchaina” Marashe, the Midlands North Youth Chairperson had hard words for Mnangagwa whom she is sure is being these diabolical abductions and assassination plots, “Bvondo has done much for the Midlands and he led the emancipation of Kwekwe. Mnangagwa was left with an egg on the face hence he is now resorting to these brutal and cowardly gimmicks to silence our leader. Bvondo has over five million youths under his command and truly we will not fold our hands as the merchants of evil attempt to decimate the democratic brigade.”
In Matabeleland South, Youth Chairperson spoke from Matobo Tshatshani where the Youth Assembly is fighting on the side of the villagers who are in the process of being evicted by a CIO operative, Machemedze. “We are overwhelmed by the decaying and collapsing economic, social, political and judicial infrastructure in our beloved Zimbabwe. As I speak I am surrounded by villagers who are being made homeless by one settler who deems himself super – human and above mortal laws. A few days ago, we were entangled and busy with the villagers whose livelihood were disturbed and destroyed in a similar manner by agents of the same evil at Maleme. As the Youth Assembly, we remain grounded within the people and we are optimistic that President Tsvangirai will without fail unshackle our country from this rotten governance culture. The attack on Chairman Bvondo gives us the resolve to continue fighting. We give glory to God who failed the assassination plot.
There seems to be a spirited and highly mechanised and funded attempt to abduct and assassinate leading members of the MDC Tsvangirai especially the Youth Assembly. Popularity ranking for Dr. Morgan Tsvangirai has peaked and Mugabe and his cronies seem to have resorted to violence in a bid to cow Zimbabweans into submission. – MDC

Seven people escaped death by a whisker when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in collided with a train at a rail road intersection in Banket Tuesday morning.
The commuter bus was dragged for about 100 metres. The seven sustained injuries, four of them seriously and were rushed to Banket Hospital where they are admitted.
One of the casualties told the ZBC News the accident could have been a result of the commuter omnibus driver’s indecision.
The driver is reported to have first hesitated to cross the railway line before changing his mind in a moment.
Officer Commanding Police Makonde District Chief Superintendant Godfrey Moyo blamed the driver of the commuter omnibus for being reckless and negligent by failing to observe mandatory traffic regulations.
The commuter bus was travelling to Harare carrying seven passengers.
Road traffic regulations compel drivers of heavy vehicles and all passenger vehicles to stop at railway crossing whether the railway line is obsolete or not. – State Media

A Victoria Falls nurse allegedly ran amok destroying property before attempting to take her life by drinking poison after her husband brought home a second wife. The woman (name withheld) is lucky to be alive after she was quickly rushed to hospital.
“The incident has really shocked us. We didn’t expect her husband to do that worse still her attempt to take her on life. This all started when his parents visited and he came home with his girlfriend whom he introduced as his second wife.
This did not go down well with her resulting in her destroying property shouting that she was not going to accept the second wife,” said a source close to the development.
The incident has become talk of the town in Chinotimba as residents thronged the house to witness the altercation.
It is not yet clear what type of poison she took but the nurse has since been treated and discharged and returned home where she vowed never to accept her husband’s antics. Efforts to get a comment from the family drew a blank.b metro

We will do no harm to Robert Mugabe after he has retired this year, Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party has promised. The party on Tuesday announced immunity for the President saying that Mugabe can easily retire and needs not to worry about his welfare.
Below was the press statement delivered by the chief spokesman, Obert Gutu:
Speaking at the Kutama Centenary Celebrations in Zvimba on Sunday, March 22 2015, Robert Mugabe openly admitted that he is tired. As if that was not enough, he also stated that he was worried and overworked. The people of Zimbabwe are living in virtual political and socio-economic bondage as a direct result of the ruinous economic and political trajectory that Zimbabwe has taken over the past 35 years, with Mugabe at the helm. The old man is now 91 and clearly past his prime. Most certainly, Zimbabwe has no shortage of younger and more capable leaders who are able to take over from the ailing nonagenarian.
Robert Mugabe is not only the President of Zimbabwe after rigging himself back into power during the sham elections that were held on July 31, 2013. He is also the SADC and AU chairperson. Surely, it is tragic for Africa to burden the old man with such onerous responsibilities when he is in the sunset of his life. The MDC is hugely concerned by Robert Mugabe’s frequent absence from Zimbabwe.
Whilst the economy continues to nose-dive and the public health delivery system has literally gone to the dogs, we have a President who is now permanently domiciled aboard an Air Zimbabwe jet as he hops from one foreign destination to another. It is high time that Robert Mugabe is called to order. It’s either he chooses to enjoy his favourite past-time of flying around the globe or he stays put at State House in Harare and work very hard to ensure that Zimbabwe’s comatose economy is brought back to life. Mugabe cannot and indeed, he should not have it both ways.
While it is apparent that age has finally caught up with Robert Mugabe, the MDC would like to remind Mugabe that he is still free to take the statesman – like decision of immediately stepping down and retire to Gushungo Estates. The MDC is a civilised party of excellence that promises to do absolutely no harm to a 91 year old man who would have retired in order to save his country from continued economic decline and political paralysis.
Unlike the fascist and terroristic faction of Zanu PF that is led by Robert Mugabe, the MDC is a people – centred political organisation that will not persecute and harass Mugabe should he choose to immediately retire and retreat to Gushungo Estates.
Zimbabwe is at the cross-roads. The majority of the people are living in penury and grinding poverty. The current rain season has been erratic and it is now pretty obvious that millions of Zimbabweans will be in need of food relief starting from the end of May, 2015. The Zanu PF regime is totally bankrupt and is clearly unable to raise the money that now urgently required to import maize in order to avert massive starvation throughout the country.
The biggest challenge facing Zimbabwe today is the lack of political legitimacy. We have a renegade and insipidly corrupt regime that can only drive Zimbabwe into a socio-economic and political hell-hole.

The German government says it could  adopt the country’s debt and help her recover from the deteriorating economic situation if Harare implements the constitution it adopted two years ago. 
The new constitution guarantees fundamental rights, freedoms and democratic principles, which if implemented would result in citizens fully enjoying. 
Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and Sahel of the German Federal Foreign Office, Ambassador Schmidt who completes his two day visit to Zimbabwe on Tuesday, says his government stands ready to giving Zimbabwe financial assistance to revive its dwindling economy, if it implements the new charter. 
“Should the positive signals in the process of constitutional alignment and economic reform prove to be sustainable Germany is prepared to enter into an open dialogue with the Zimbabwean Government on ways out of the economic crisis, including the burdensome debt problem.
“I came to Harare in this spirit,” said Ambassador Schmidt. 
“A successful process of constitutional alignment as well as economic reform will also have positive impact on the improvement of Germany’s economic relationship with Zimbabwe. 
“Economic interaction needs legal protection, foreign investors in particular need guarantees and clarity concerning their investments,” he said. 
He said apart from guaranteeing foreign investments the new constitution benefits Zimbabwe citizens. 
“It’s a new departure for Zimbabwe which would protect individual dignity, grant democratic space and social rights which would see all citizens of Zimbabwe benefiting from a clear and transparent “rule of law” system protecting their political and economic rights”.

Mayor in near fist fight with workers leader as council fails to settle wages
The Mayor of cash strapped Municipality of Gwanda Councillor Knowledge Ndhlovu is reported to have resorted to a fist fight challenge with Municipal workers union leader Sipho Ndlovu in a meeting to address outstanding wages on Friday evening.
Reports from within the Municipal labour force claim that the Mayor walked over from the podium to the floor challenging the workers leader to a fist fight as talks on five month wages due to the workers were drawing to a deadlock. According to the sources, the Municipality made a settlement plan with the department of labour late last year to clear the outstanding wages by 28 February 2015.
 
As of close of business on the deadline date council had not paid the workers the outstanding wages. Following the failure by council to settle the wages, the workers union lodged a claim against council at the High Court demanding for the attachment of council movable properties to settle the bill.
 
On receiving the court order, council is said to have convened an urgent meeting with the entire council work force where the council offered the workers unserviced high density residential stands in lieu for the outstanding wages. The discussion over the settlement of wages using the stands got hot in the meeting as workers rejected the offer claiming that they can not accept unserviced stands which council valued at over $8000 each.
 
The workers claim that they not only rejected the stands because of the over valuation by council but they also claimed that they can not trust council to their offer as council has previously made a number of settlement offers which were never fulfilled. The workers further claimed that council was offering the stands as full payment of the wages regardless of how much each person was owed.
 
In two separate offer letters provided to the media, one employee is owed about $2400 while another is owed $4300 and both have been offered the same size stands valued at $8 340 with $6 000 said to be the cost of servicing the stands. The offer letters warn employees that if they failed to sign and bring the letters back to council by end of business on Monday 23 March the conclusion would be that the worker has accepted the offer. On the other hand there is no provision in the letters for those rejecting the offer which the workers described as tossing a coin with heads on both sides.
 
The sources claim that when the workers leader, Ndlovu, declined to accept the offer for stands on behalf of the workers telling council to send their offer to the High Court, Mayor Ndlovu lost his temper and threw insults at the workers leader challenging him to come for a fist fight if “he was trying to be difficult and playing MDC politics.” Sources claim that the mayor was so furious as he made his way down the podium pushing away fellow councillors who were trying to stop him. The mayor is said to have been blocked from reaching the workers leader only inches from throwing a blow at Ndlovu who remained adamant that the workers were not signing the offer letters and not withdrawing the case from the High Court.
 
In previous incidents the Municipality has tried to settle workers wage bill by food handouts whose source was not immediately clarified. The council also tried to lieu the wages by clearing Municipal Rates and Services taxes on workers when it emerged that very few council employees owned houses in the town.
 
A council official at the council main offices confirmed to the media that indeed council was trying to settle wages the unserviced stands. The official would not be drawn to confirm if the Mayor indeed wanted to fight the workers leader.

A  woman caused a scene in court as she demanded to be fleshly gratified from a local magistrate.
Tarisai  Nyamundaya, from Harare was in the Civil Court yesterday begging to be granted an order saying she was sexually-desperate and dying.
The court heard that Tarisai’s husband, Clemence Nyamundaya has been spending time away with girlfriends denying his wife her conjugal rights.
It was not clear if Tarisai is married according to chapter 37 of the Marriages Act.
But she insisted,  “I want this court to order my husband to come home and be intimate with me because I am dying for sex.” she said this causing the magistrate to brighten his countenance before the shocked small crowd in court.
Some have claimed that the magistrate’s flesh expanded to the point that he was dis-empowered and could only pass a ruling for counselling.
Tarisai emotionally pleaded with magistrate Mr Trevor Nyatsanza to stop Nyamundaya from visiting girlfriends and to attend to her saying ,“I also want the court to bar him from going to his girlfriend’s house so that he can  have sex with me like what he used to do when we got married.”
Nyamundaya was not in court.
Mr Nyatsanza dismissed Tarisai’s application saying this was a domestic case, and the court had no jurisdiction to give such orders. He advised Tarisai and her husband to go for counselling.

The popular United MDC, (UMDC) party comprising Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti formations, has reportedly crumbled.
The union has dissipated following the recall of 21 members of parliament from Biti’s Renewal Team after Morgan Tsvangirai succeeded in removing them from the august house.
The two formations shared similar political-genes having deserted leader Morgan Tsvangirai beginning with Welshman Ncube in 2005, and Tendai Biti nine years later, in 2014. It was hoped that the united front would forge new life into opposition politics after Morgan Tsvangirai’s reputation collapsed following the 2013 national elections.

MDC leader Welshman Ncube who has seen a rising exit of many senior members of his party, has rushed to plug the holes.
Ncube announced Monday he has made several appointments.
Below was his party’s press statement release .
Announcement Of New Appointments Of Portfolio Secretaries
The office of the President, on behalf of the Standing Committee wishes to announce that following recent resignations by some members of the National Executive the MDC National Standing committee has made the following appointments and changes;
 
Joshua Mhambi who was the deputy director of Planning, Strategy and Implementation has been reassigned to the position of Secretary for Information and Publicity  and will be deputized by Henry Chimbiri, who was formerly the Deputy Director of Policy and Research. Sibongile Mgijima has been moved from Deputy Secretary for Information and Publicity to be a member of the Standing Committee as Director of Policy and Research.
 
Prof. Welshman Ncube
President

President Robert Mugabe has been struck with a memory lapse risen into the disturbing fourth level on the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) scale(READ MORE -GDS) , yesterday Sunday as experts now reveal.
As not only his aides, but also he himself now admits his failing health, Mugabe addressing Kutama mission delegates yesterday, confidently vocalised that his late brother Michael was born 80 years later than his actual birth date.
Yesterday’s revealing development came weeks after the 91 year old, Head of State currently in charge of 15 Million human beings, made several other cognitive blunders including vehemently denouncing his own party saying, “Pasi ne ZANU PF,” and also stating that he lost to his political rival Morgan Tsvangirai by a shocking 73% margin.
“When we failed to, when Tsvangirai got 73 percent of the votes …”, he said before he was embarrassingly assisted by surrounding securocrats in December last year.
Speaking yesterday, Mugabe said, “Michael was born in 1999, then there was Rafael who was born in 1922, and my mother said he never lived long and he died of diarrhoea after six months. I was born in 1924,” he said.
Mugabe also said he was a worried and overworked old man and as a result have many sleepless nights.
According to dementia specialist Catherine E. Myers in her medical journal “Memory Loss and the Brain.” (READ MORE -GDS), patients at level 4 may also deny there is any problem with his/her memory even though it is evident to friends and family.. Other experts say the level Mugabe’s memory loss has reached is absolute.
Meanwhile, the frail-looking nonagenarian also told current and former students that he had arrived late for the event because he had only slept for two hours on Saturday night.
“I want to thank you all for coming. I was disjointed because we came back at midnight yesterday. I had two hours of sleep and … I have the habit that if I have something that worries my mind, my mind; sleeps on it and I constantly jump out of sleep and say is it not time, is it not time. That is why we were a bit late in coming to this function,” Mugabe said.
However, Mugabe — the world’s oldest President did not say what it was that was troubling him.
Among the issues disturbing Mugabe are the rising political tensions in his party, a worsening economy, a sick wife and his own failing health associated with old age.

FORMER vice-president Joice Mujuru says she bitterly feels President Robert Mugabe used her for years and later dumped her from her senior positions in Zanu PF and government after also loyally serving for 42 years, having started working for the ruling party in the middle of a fierce liberation war at a tender age of 17.
Mujuru — who has kept stoic silence after she was unceremoniously booted out of the Zanu PF presidium and state vice-presidency following turmoil which rocked the party ahead of its controversial congress last December — told the Zimbabwe Independent this week she feels betrayed by Mugabe because of how far back they came from and the way she was treated.
Mujuru also feels used and abused by Mugabe, his wife Grace and their supporters who have called her names and hounded her out of her positions amid a political storm and accusations of corruption as well as assassination plots she vehemently denies.
Speaking exclusively to the Independent, Mujuru said she and her husband the late retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru backed Mugabe and other senior party members who arrived in Mozambique from 1975 onwards from prison to intensify the liberation war against Ian Smith’s Rhodesian regime.
“We (together with Solomon, her late husband who was a retired army commander) and others were used as their ladder to the top and now we have been discarded like scrubs (cleaning items),” Mujuru said.
“But I don’t feel hurt by the persistent attacks directed at me by both President Mugabe and his wife because the person they are describing is not me. Actually, I feel embarrassed on their behalf because that is not the way I was brought up.”
Mujuru said she is, however, pained by the way Mugabe and others are treating her after her sacrifices to liberate the country and service in the government.
“I crossed into Mozambique in 1973 to join the war and people like President Mugabe, Edgar Tekere and Oppah Muchinguri later came in 1975 to find us at the front. Everyone knows this, including VaMugabe. The General (Mujuru) asked me to help people like Muchinguri because she did not want to be with us in the camps,” she said.
Despite that Mugabe ganged up with his wife and supporters to attack and abuse her at the height of Zanu PF’s vicious succession battle, Mujuru says she bears no grudge against them and those who ascended at her expense.
Mujuru was replaced as vice-president by Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. Her allies were ruthlessly purged from party structures and government. The witch-hunts continue unabated.
“I have no hard feelings about what they (Mugabe and others) did to be at the top. God made it so … God is the reason why even in pain I smile, in confusion I understand, in betrayal I trust and in fear I continue to fight,” Mujuru said.
Mujuru’s allies, former Zanu PF heavyweights Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, however, say Mugabe, Mnangagwa and others rose through blatant subversion of the party constitution and related processes. They are challenging the legality of the Zanu PF congress and its resolutions in court.
Asked what her future political plans are and if she would contest in the next presidential elections in 2018 since many in Zanu PF say she has a huge social base and following, Mujuru said: “Only God knows. I am not losing any sleep over that. Even President Mugabe always says that leaders come from the people.”
After joining the struggle as a teenager and later becoming a cabinet minister at Independence in 1980 until last year when she was unceremoniously fired under a litany of accusations, Mujuru says she did not deserve the brutal attacks and abuse she has been viciously subjected to.
When Mugabe and the likes of Tekere arrived in Mozambique in 1975, she was one of the combatants who helped them settle in amid serious resistance from senior Zanla High command figures led by Wilfred Mhanda.
Mujuru’s husband played a decisive role in enabling Mugabe to take control of Zanla troops and camps as well as the party which at the time was divided and locked in internal strife in an explosive way.
In his book, Dzino: Memories of a Freedom Fighter, Mhanda explicitly narrates how General Mujuru “sold out” so that Mugabe could take over.
“Without that historical ‘sell out’ in Beira, Mozambique, in January 1977, Mugabe and the old nationalist guard might have been relegated to the dustbin of history in favour of Machingura and his Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa) ‘revolutionaries’, hardly three years before Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980,” reads part of the book.
It was also General Mujuru’s intervention again in 1978 that saved the day not only for Mugabe and the old nationalist guard, but also for Zanla commander Josiah Tongogara. This was during the purported “coup” attempt led by Joseph Taderera which subsequently implicated the former Dare ReChimurenga members, namely Rugare Gumbo, Henry Hamadziripi and Kumbirai Kangai.
Mujuru says she feels seriously let down by Mugabe whom she did not only support in his ascendancy to the top, but also respected as a father figure and someone who helped her to rise from being a barely literate ex-combatant to a cabinet minister, and later vice-president before her ignominious expulsion.
Last year, Chrispen Mataire, a senior veteran of the liberation struggle who was part of Mhanda group that was barricaded in dungeons until Independence for opposing Mugabe, wrote in the Independent that by 1975 Mujuru was already third in command at Chibavava-Toronga camp where Mugabe and other officials were first introduced to the troops.
When Mugabe and Tekere arrived in Mozambique, they were initially quarantined because Zanla commanders and even the late Mozambican president Samora Machel were suspicious of them. Samora wanted senior Zanla commanders to take over the struggle like he did with Frelimo to become civilian leaders after Independence.
Upon her controversial entrance into mainstream politics during her countrywide “meet-the-people rallies” last year, Grace claimed, among other stinging allegations, Mujuru was corrupt, extorted companies and wanted to assassinate Mugabe.
However, Mujuru this week again intensely denied the allegations, saying they were false.
“I have nothing to do with all those companies. They are just being targeted for nothing. Zanu PF is chasing shadows and groping in the dark for anything they can use to attack and bring me down,” she said.
Mujuru says despite all the attacks, she remains loyal to Zanu PF as she served the party since she was a teenager and was ready to defend herself before its relevant structures or in any court of law so long as due process is followed.
Commenting her relations with Grace and Muchinguri, the main architects of her dramatic downfall, Mujuru said: “I have nothing in common with her (Grace),” adding, “Muchinguri knows the role I played in her life to be where she is.”
Asked what was happening on her alleged corruption investigations, Mujuru said only her accusers and indicters should be able to answer that.
“They (Mugabe and Zanu PF) should have an answer to that question. Why would they be scared of an ordinary, simple widow like me to whom they can say whatever they want when they want to?” she said. – Independent

MDC T President Morgan Tsvangirai today visited the Dzamara family in Glen View in commiseration with their plight following the abduction and disappearance of journalist-cum-activist, Itai Dzamara.
Tsvangirai met Dzamara’s brother, his mother, wife and children and told them the party stood in solidarity with them in this sad hour.
The MDC leader urged the family to continue to place their faith in God and narrated how he was abducted in almost similar circumstances and spent three weeks without anyone knowing of his whereabouts.
“I only resurfaced at a police station after three weeks of brutal torture and harassment,” said Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai later visited the barbershop where Dzamara was abducted, where his barber narrated how two men arrived in a car with a folded number plate.
He said they stormed the shop, identified themselves as police and accused Dzamara of stock-theft before they handcuffed him and bundled him into their car.
The MDC leader said it was ironic that the State was saying it was the MDC that abducted Dzamara when in fact; he was arrested by people who identified themselves as police. He said the MDC held the State culpable and responsible for the whole sordid saga.

MDC-T members in Mashonaland West Province have threatened to rally behind former Zanu PF provincial chairman Temba Mliswa and help him retain the Hurungwe West constituency in a by-election scheduled for June 10.
Mliswa, who was recently expelled from Zanu PF and Parliament alongside former Presidential Affairs minister Didymus Mutasa for taking President Robert Mugabe to court, wants to contest the by-election as an independent candidate.
He has also filed a court challenge seeking to block the by-elections.
MDC-T provincial organising-secretary Wilson Makanyaire said although his party had resolved to boycott the polls citing an uneven playing field, the province had agreed to back Mliswa in order to prevent Zanu PF from reclaiming the constituency.
Besides the MDC-T, war veterans and traditional leaders in Hurungwe West people have also vowed to stand by Mliswa in the by-election.
“I call upon all forces of reason to form a provincial political coalition to reject President Mugabe from his backyard. We must support the candidate who has an advantage over others against Zanu PF and in this case it is Mliswa,” Makanyaire said.
He blasted Zanu PF officials of unleashing a terror campaign in Hurungwe West ahead of the by-election.
“It’s sad that the expulsion of Mliswa has brought new terror as known innocent supporters known to be MDC-T and those who back Mliswa are being victimizsd,” he said.
Contacted for comment, MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu, however, said the party was still bound by its congress resolution not to participate in any elections before implementation of key electoral reforms.
“I talk on behalf of the party and the position of the last congress is very clear that we will not participate in future elections until and unless there are electoral amendments. Only the national council can overturn that . . . I don’t want to say my own thoughts in case I’m misunderstood.” Gutu said.
Mliswa said he could not comment on the matter as it was still before the courts. – Newsday

PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE is today blowing up an extra 70,000 litres of jet fuel as he flies away to Algeria.
The cost of the fuel is circa $1 per litre meaning Mugabe’s trip aside allowances will gobble close to $100,000.
On the trip Mugabe is taking with him a large team of intelligence and government agents.
The State Media has claimed that Algeria is paying for Mugabe’s visit.
A State Media apologetic stated at the weekend,  “State visits are considered to be the highest expression of friendly bilateral relations between two sovereign states and discussions centre on networking and developing economic, cultural and social links.
“At the end of a State visit, the foreign Head of State traditionally issues a formal invitation for a reciprocal State visit by the host.”
Mugabe and his delegation are visiting Algeria at the invitation of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the State Media report furthered.
Foreign Affairs permanent secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha yesterday confirmed the State visit, saying Zimbabwe and Algeria had a long history of co-operation in various fields including economic, political and education sectors.
“This State visit is in view of the strong political relations that we have with Algeria,” he said. “We have also been working together in education where we have students from here studying in Algeria.
“The economic co-operation needs to be enhanced by identifying other areas of working together and it is hoped that the State visit will give us an opportunity to enhance the economic co-operation.”
 

Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe is set for “MDC rebel” Tendai Biti’s Harare East constituency parliament seat, a report says.
Last week’s recall of 21 Biti’s Renewal Team MPs has created an opportunity for Grace who has never been in politics, to contest Harare East and Zanu PF officials Godwills Masimirembwa and the Godfrey Gomwe-led provincial youth wing — are eager to please the First Family having already started moves to usher Grace in.
 
Full Report by The Standard:

Zanu PF hawks have reportedly started pushing for First Lady Grace Mugabe to contest the Harare East constituency, formerly occupied by MDC Renewal secretary general Tendai Biti.
This comes amid predictions by analysts that the MDC-T dominance in urban seats was under threat as Zanu PF was working on grabbing the opposition seats following the recent dismissal from Parliament of 21 MDC Renewal MPs.
The Standard was told, the recall of 21 Renewal Team MPs has created room for Grace to contest Harare East and speculation is that she is amenable to the idea.
Zanu PF officials said the Godwills Masimirembwa-led Harare provincial executive and the Godfrey Gomwe-led provincial youth wing — eager to please the First Family — had already started moves to approach Grace to convince her to stand in Harare East.
Grace, who is the party’s Secretary for Women’s League, was now reportedly ready to become the Minister of Women’s Affairs, currently vacant after Oppah Muchinguri was moved to the Higher Education portfolio.
“We are being told the move to urge Grace to contest the Harare East seat is being pushed by Harare province. But on the other hand, we are also seeing the First couple’s own aides and a few other party heavyweights quietly toying with the idea of her contesting,” said a senior Zanu PF official.
“So at the moment it is not yet clear whose idea it is, whether it is Grace herself or other people bootlicking the First Family.”
Zanu PF national commissar Saviour Kasukuwere yesterday could neither confirm nor deny Grace’s interest in Harare East.
“Is that what you want to speculate? Anybody in the party can be a candidate anywhere,” Kasukuwere said curtly.
Masimirembwa also said the province had not started the identification of candidates yet.
“We don’t have candidates for the seats in Harare yet as we wait to get direction from the national leadership. We want their direction on the matter,” Masimirembwa said.
Grace’s candidature, insiders say, cannot be ruled out as speculation has been high since December that she would join her husband’s cabinet after her ascension into the politburo. However, her handicap has been her lack of a parliamentary seat which is a pre-requisite for one to be a minister under the Constitution.
Grace was last year endorsed as Zanu PF Women’s League boss after she was reportedly approached by the then outgoing Muchinguri executive and war collaborators. But it turned out that Grace herself, with the support of a few party hawks, engineered her political rise which coincided with the fall of former Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
The former VP was viciously attacked by Grace who accused her of corruption and of trying to topple Mugabe. The First Lady has rapidly grown to be the kingmaker in Zanu PF following her appointment as the Women’s League boss at the disputed December 6th national congress.
Other seats to be contested include Harare East, Kambuzuma, Kuwadzana, Glen View South, Dzivarasekwa and Highfield West.
Zanu PF officials yesterday said the party was determined to get all the seats in Harare and will leave no stone unturned to achieve this.
“If we managed to get Epworth, Mt Pleasant and Harare South in 2013, what can stop us now? We will get all the seats this time around,” said an official.
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One Response to Grace earmarked for Biti’s seat
pornstar March 22, 2015 at 5:41 pm #
The muroyi is already sitting on a toilet seat !!!!!!!
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United Family International Church’s Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa, has been caught in a $2 million scandal involving an illegal donation by the government to his church.
Makandiwa and two other churches, have been sucked into a US$2 million storm after receiving Government public viewing area (PVA) television screens in an unsanctioned donation.
Indications are that Government never approved the donation of 40 PVA television screens to UFIC, Celebration Church, Zimbabwe Christian Church and other organisations by the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry.
The ministry has come under scrutiny for its failure to capture receipt and disposal of the television screens in its master asset register.
In her 2013 audit report, Auditor-general Mrs Mildred Chisi said: “In 2010 the ministry bought 40 PVA television screens for US$2 million from China. PVA screens were meant to provide viewing for the public during the (Fifa Soccer) World Cup that was hosted by South Africa in 2010. The PVA screens were received well after the World Cup games. The ministry failed to record the PVA equipment in its master asset register.
“It would appear as if the ministry had no other plans for the screens after the World Cup games because it has since donated, without prior Treasury approval, some of the screens to churches for what was termed ‘religious tourism’, and other organisations.
“The State has not benefited financially from the current arrangement and I noted that there are no terms and conditions to ensure that the PVA screens are safeguarded from vandalism and abuse.” She recommended that the ministry immediately identify how the public can benefit from the PVA screens so that Government can recoup costs incurred in their purchase.
Responding to the Auditor-General’s findings, the ministry admitted it had not followed procedures in donating the screens to UFIC, ZCC Mbungo and Celebration Church.
“It is on that basis that churches such as UFIC, ZCC Mbungo and Celebration Church are key players in religious tourism. They receive an excess of 20 000 foreign visitors annually to their activities,” said the Tourism Ministry.
Both UFIC and ZCC confirmed receiving PVA screens as donations from the Tourism Ministry but would not give further details. UFIC spokesperson Pastor Prime Kufakunesu said the church got the screens in 2012 while ZCC spokesperson Mr Raymond Muringani said “we were given a PVA television screen by the Ministry of Tourism”.
Efforts to get a comment from Celebration Church were fruitless.

Parliament has instituted proceedings to force 22 former legislators to repay nearly US$800 000 advanced as vehicle loans during their short stint in the legislative assembly.
Twenty-one MDC-T MPs and one Zanu-PF legislator, Didymus Mutasa, were recently expelled from the House of Assembly and must pay back loans that would ordinarily have been serviced over the course of their five-year terms (2013-208).
Another expelled Zanu-PF MP, Themba Mliswa, was among a few legislators who turned down the US$35 000 per MP car loans extended to them last year.
The 21 ex-MPs from MDC-T were booted out of Parliament because they dumped their party and formed the United Movement for Democractic Change. The uncle-nephew pair of Mutasa and Mliswa was recalled from the House of Assembly after Zanu-PF expelled them from the party for fanning factionalist politics that sought to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from office.
Acting Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda told The Sunday Mail that the expelled parliamentarians should repay the loans.
“The majority of the legislators secured vehicles from that initiative and were supposed to pay back the money during the five-year tenure of the Parliament,” he said.
“When they secured the vehicles under this revolving fund, the legislators signed contracts which stated that they will pay back the money. We are now working on modalities on how these expelled legislators will pay back the money because on average each of the 22 parliamentarians owes us US$35 000. Necessary steps will be taken for us to recover the money since they are no longer in Parliament.”
MPs are yet to start servicing the loans because Parliament has been unable to consistently pay them their sitting allowances. The expelled 22 legislators benefited from a US$12 million deal Government secured with Croco Motors that saw 290 legislators purchase all-terrain vehicles at a ceiling price of US$35 000 per MP.
Parliament – through Treasury – undertook to pay Croco Motors over eight months while the legislators would repay through deductions from their sitting allowances.
Now administrators at Parliament are crafting measures to recover the money. -sunday mail

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced and promised the nation that despite the looming drought in the country,the government is ready to feed every household.
He said this to thousands of people at Women’s Day Commemorations in Mvuma yesterday citing, that Government has already put in place a plan to import supplementary grain to feed the nation.
Preliminary findings of an ongoing crop assessment show that at least 300 000 hectares of maize were affected by prolonged dry spells and cannot be salvaged.
Government has set up committees in all 10 provinces to harness resources towards averting hunger.
“Gore rino hongu, matunhu ekuno kusouth, mvura haina kunaya zvakanaka, asi kumatunhu ari kunorth vazhinji vari kukohwa. Asi sehurumende, tinenge takavheneka nyika yose. Tavakuziva matunhu ane chikafu chishoma uye tavakuziva kuchapinda nzara,” he said.
“Saka Hurumende inenge ichironga nechekare kuti matunhu iwayo apihwe chikafu, kusave kana nemhuri inofa nenzara. Structure yedu inoti chero pavillage, ward; panacouncillor kana mumwe munhu wedu we Zanu-PF anenge aripo. Uyezve, kune madepartment eHurumende arimo mumawards. Saka vari pasi ipapo vanokwanisa kuziva kuti pano pachava nenzara here kana kuti kwete.”
He also said: “Madzimambo ariko kumaruwa, nemaheadman, nemaSabhuku. Sabhuku anoziva kuti paagere ndiyani anenzara, voreporter kuna councillor kana District Administrator; iye DA osimudzira kuyenda kuna Provincial Administrator, chikafu chouya.
“Saka hapana anofa nenzara muZimbabwe; chikafu tinacho. Tine Strategic Grain Reserve yedu uye tiri kuunza chimwe chibage chekututsira pane zvatinazvo nechimwe chagara chiripo.”
VP Mnangagwa urged  Auxillia Mnangagwa – Zanu-PF’s candidate in the by-election scheduled for this Friday – to work hard and commended her for the developmental projects she has initiated in the constituency.
These projects include borehole drilling and school and clinic refurbishments.
“Zuva ranhasi ndichikusiirayi musikana uyu, Mamoyo … takafamba naye tese achinditsigira. Ndingati ini maitomuziva kudarika ini nekuti ini kazhinji ndaipiwa mabasa akawanda ndichinge ndichifamba kunze kwenyika kana kuHarare. Asi maprogrammes anga asingamire; ivo vachiita maprogrammes iwayo.”- sunday mail

An ex-ZRP cop and father of-three was arrested after having been caught with indecent videos of animal to human footage.
Clayton Chigoya who was found with videos of men having sex with large fish and eels was yesterday waiting to discover his fate.
Detectives swooped on the social worker’s home after receiving a tip-off he had received indecent images of children on his mobile phone.
A total of 19 electrical devices were seized including a damaged HTC phone which contained 404 videos on its memory card including seven portraying sex acts with animals.
Other examples of horrific pornography included two sexual scenes with children believed as be as young as three years old.
A jury at Reading Crown Court was told that the extreme pornographic videos portrayed various sex acts with animals including a horse, eels and a large fish.
Prosecuting, Russell Pine told the court two of the animal sex videos had also been forwarded on to other numbers from Chigoya’s phone.
Mr Pine added: “You were part of a group of people who had a similar interest in these sorts of videos weren’t you?
“Is it possible you watched them and thought they were a little interesting and maybe a little bizarre but no harm in it?”
Bald Chigoya, aged 47 years, denied five counts of possessing extreme pornographic images and two counts of possessing indecent images of children.
The father-of-three, of Gatwick Close, Slough, Berks., claimed that he had never seen any of the seven the videos, which were sent through WhatsApp messages.
However, he did admit he had previously watched animal porn films but blamed his faulty phone for receiving and sending messages he claimed he had no idea about.
He said: “They were sent on my WhatsApp. When I saw them, I deleted them but not on this particular phone we are talking about.
“I have never in my life requested any videos with animals. It is not because you want to watch it or request it, it is just sent around.”
However, the jury found Chigoya guilty of all of all seven counts following the three-day trial.
Chigoya, who was suspended from his job working with vulnerable adults and children as a social worker following his arrest, was released on bail to appear at the same court to be sentenced in May.-Express.co.uk

By Thulani Nkala
The tranquillity in the ZAPU ranks is finally paying huge dividends; today on the 21st March 2015 at ZAPU’s new offices in Bulawayo scores of the MDC Youths dumbed the MDC to join ZAPU.
“We have come back home, we have always known our true home, ZAPU is our true home, we are happy to be back home” said one of the MDC Youths who defected to ZAPU today.
ZAPU has for the past year consistently and painstakingly built its structures and ensured its visibility and this has slowly attracted new members, however, it had not yet attracted enmasse defections till today.
ZAPU has now successfully re-branded itself as a modern revolutionary Party, whose roots are firmly anchored in people power and people aspirations.
People are starting to believe the ZAPU proposition of a firm, unapologetic and uncompromising stance against the Mugabe regime.
“We have carefully calibrated the ZAPU unique proposition to meet the people’s needs, with our modernisation agenda and a huge number of people are warming up to our cause” Mr Christopher Maphosa said.
“It is not by coincidence that you now see large numbers of the people flooding our ranks, it was through deliberate strategic planning” said Mr Maphosa, who was clearly ecstatic due to the MDC Youths defections to ZAPU.
ZAPU is continuing with its activities, in the UK, will see the Party staging yet another demonstration at the Zimbabwean embassy on the 27th March, a third of its nature within a month.  
On the 2nd May 2015, the Party will hold its Annual General Meeting at a venue to be announced in the Midlands. The AGM is promising to be the most vibrant and lively gathering since the Party’s revival.

President Robert Mugabe was on Saturday digitally mocked as he appeared in the Namibian capital, Windwoek for that country’s Presidential inauguration.
Mugabe 91, who appeared alongside controversial Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, had a rushing cold mood cast against him from hundreds of Zimbabweans digitally hovering over the function. Zim citizens commenting closely, poured scorn as they pointed at how Mr Mugabe was conspicuous as the oldest human being in the stadium where Mr Hage Geingob was sworn in as Namibia’s new president.
The inauguration ceremony took place on the same day with the Independence celebrations on Saturday.
“Why can’t he see that he is the oldest human creature in the whole crowd?” wrote one only identified as Sibanda.
Others poured their comments in return echoing one and the same thing with others wishing that this could be Mugabe’s last ever Presidential inauguration.
“Zvatosvika kumagumo izvo this is Mugabe’s last – it is now coming to an end,” wrote a critic of Mugabe only identified as Matthew Kadota.
Meanwhile the new President Geingob (74), became the third president of Namibia in less than 25 years while Mugabe has single handedly hanged on since 1980.
Speaking soon after his inauguration, President Geingob said he will focus on poverty eradication, social inequalities, the economy and improved service delivery.
 
“People have high expectations. They want food, shelter and clothing. They want a leader to act quickly, thus the must challenges to be met.
 
“People cannot eat a constitution or democracy and our first priority is to declare war on poverty and inequality. We will have a brand new ministry. The ministry of poverty eradication,” Mr Geingob said.
Earlier, thousands of Namibians and dignitaries from different countries thronged the stadium, for the country’s independence silver jubilee.

A PENHALONGA MAN incarcerated at the Mutare Remand Prison bolted away from guards “like lightning,” as described.
The man has been slapped with an eight-month jail term after he tried to escape from Mutare Remand Prison. Dangarembize appeared before senior magistrate Mrs Sekai Chiundura facing charges of escaping from lawful custody.
Facts are that on the March 9, 2015 George Masamba, a prison officer at Mutare Remand Prison, was guarding Dangarembize, who was working in the garden with the other inmates.
The accused then suddenly started running and jumped over the fence. They gave chase and re-arrested him near Mutare Provincial Hospital. When asked why he had committed the offence Dangarembize said he was being abused by a certain prison officer who assaulted and gave him unreasonable loads of work.
Mrs Chiundura told him that he should have reported the case rather than try to escape. – State Media

Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni has boldly indicated that he wishes he was President Robert Mugabe.
Manyenyeni said ‘dictators’ like President Robert Mugabe, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo and Gideon Gono, were needed to run the affairs of the Harare city council, for service delivery to improve.
“I am talking about a more trusted version of Gideon Gono, a less political version of Jonathan Moyo. That type of personality provided they have the support of everybody. But that person should come out of the following: the Town Clerk, the mayor, the minister of Local Government and if necessary the state President,” Manyenyeni told residents in Harare last week.
“One of those four people should be sincere but powerful enough to call the shots and get the things right. I am happy to support that person whoever he is and I am also happy to be that person”.
Manyenyeni is under fire from residents who accuse him of failing to improve service delivery.
He however attributes his failure to political interference.
The Mayor recently said that there were a lot of political payers interfering with the affairs of the city of Harare.
Manyenyeni also said his Town Clerk, Tendai Mahachi was one of the stumbling blocks to the effective running of the city.
Mahachi, he said, ignores his (Manyenyeni) directives and rather consults with the Local Government Minister Ignatious Chombo.

Vicar General of t St Charles Lwanga in Manicaland Fr Fungai Chipiro says the church is investigating the case of a priest and a nun’s lurid sexual affair.
But he said that the church is not about to rush into any decisions based on media allegations. “As a diocese we are making our own ground investigations. Until we have concluded those investigations, these are just rumours,” he said in a telephone interview.
Father Taurai Saunyama (30) and Sister Rukudzo Rosemary Nyamugunduru (22) forgot their vows to be the dedicated spouses of Jesus Christ and turned to each other for some very human comfort.
The WhatsApp messages, they allegedly sent to each other, show that this is not a case of two innocents who had just been tempted and were in any way regretting the lapse, but a case of seasoned operators.
Sister Rukudzo blatantly relives memories that she intends to recreate as she says, “Musi wuye watakaenda kuChipinge ummmmm wakandigonera wena. U are sweetie. Manheru ndouya here?” -State Media

Higher Education and Tertiary Education and church pastor Oppah Muchinguri has been caught in a case of said ‘shocking’ spiritual nakedness when she variously abused police officers working on a case of an arrested ZANU PF official.
The case involves the local ZANU PF provincial secretary for youth who is guilty of operating a detested, said ‘sinful’ beerhall, beyond legal hours.
Muchinguri violated male police officers working on the case as she ordered the immediate release of the accused. 
Muchinguri’s pentecostal denomination views drinking or operating a beer outlet, a dreadful sin and the very pivot of spirital nakedness.
But under her lead, ZANU PF youths yesterday besieged Mutare Central Police Station demonstrating against the detention of one of their leaders, the local Newsday reports.
Getrude Mutandi, who is the Zanu PF Manicaland provincial youth secretary for finance, was arrested by police on Thursday night on allegations of operating her bottle store after hours.
Police raided the bottle store and rounded up revellers who were drinking beer including Mutandi, alleging that the bottle store had no licence to operate after stipulated hours.
Mutandi spent the night in police cells and remained detained for the better part of the day yesterday. She was released around 1500hrs without any charge following the intervention of politburo member Oppah Muchinguri who allegedly ordered her release.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Mandi Chimene also allegedly played a role by ordering the release of Mutandi. The youths, who were more than 50, camped outside the police station demanding the release of Mutandi.
Mutare District police chief, Chief Superintendent Winstone Muza, tried to address the youths, but failed to control them.
Muza said to the youths: “This is not a political meeting. Could you please disperse as we look into the matter? We should not come here to disturb peace.” Muza called for reinforcement from other police officers. More than 20 officers came and tried in vain to disperse the youths who were singing and chanting Zanu PF party slogans.
The youths stayed put at the police station and continued singing. They then called other youth members to come and besiege the police station.

A boy aged 17,appeared in court on Thursday after he allegedly had sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old girlfriend as her birthday present. Enoch Murahwa appeared before Mbare magistrate Anita Tshuma facing charges of sexual intercourse with a minor. Tshuma deferred the matter to today for sentence.
Allegations are that on Februray 20 this year, the girl visited Murahwa’s house.
The court heard that when the girl entered the living room, the maid left the room leaving the two alone.
It is the State’s case that Murahwa entered his mother’s bedroom and called the girl telling her that he wanted to give her a present as it was her birthday.
It is alleged that while in the bedroom, Murahwa started caressing the girl and the two ended up having sexual intercourse once.
The court was told that it was by consent.
However, on returning home the girl told her mother what had transpired and the two went to make a report to the police.
Meanwhile, another teenager appeared before Mbare magistrate Gladys Moyo facing similar charges after he allegedly had sexual intercourse with his 13-year-old girlfriend on different occasions.
Billy Makumbe, 19, pleaded guilty to the charge.
Allegations are that sometime between December 2014 and February this year, Makumbe and the girl were in a relationship.
The court heard that in December the two had sexual intercourse once.
It is alleged that in February the two again had consensual sex three times.
The matter only came to light when the girl’s mother noticed behavioural changes in her daughter.
Upon quizzing her, the girl then revealed to her mother that she had been having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend.
A report was made to the police. -chronicle

Nhlanhla Dube the spokes person for MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube announced that he had quit his position and resigned from the party. This is a hard blow to the party especially as it comes just a month after other two key figures ,the  secretary general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and vice chairman Frank Chamunorwa — resigned from their positions.
Dube cited the “callous abuse and character assassination” in the party which had “gravely affected my personal space” as the key reason why had had made the decision.
Dube, like Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Chamunorwa before him, feels Prof Ncube is surrounded by a group of acolytes who have convinced him that a “gang of four” — with party chairman Goodrich Chimbaira being the fourth — would not support him as leader of the United Movement for Democratic Change (UMDC), a new party to be formed through the merger of the MDC and MDC Renewal at a forthcoming joint congress.
Dube was disappointed Prof Ncube did not rein-in some of his supporters who have been launching personal attacks at the four senior officials.
He said in a letter to Prof Ncube, seen by The Chronicle: “I took the opportunity to speak to these unfortunate circumstances and misplaced political agenda at our last meeting of the national standing committee in Bulawayo. I opened myself up to scrutiny with the hope of initiating debate for purposes of transparently dealing with the allegations.
“Sadly there was no appetite to interrogate these matters then. This callous abuse and character assassination has in the meantime gravely affected my personal space. I’m thus unable to continue serving with a clear conscience amidst the contradictions at play.”
Dube said “a lot has been said and insinuated, but by far the most disappointing was the spurious accusation that I have been working covertly in an imaginary group of four members of the party’s leadership, organising a rebellion against your continued and future leadership of the party.”
He added: “No words can adequately describe my very deep disenchantment with the deeds of those people who I believed shared my passion and vision in our common struggle.”
He told Prof Ncube that he believed “taking a back step would allow the party to focus on its important work at hand without unnecessary contradictions and damaging suspicions of fragmentation within the leadership.”
Dube resigned on March 10, but waited until yesterday to make public his exit after Prof Ncube had asked him to wait until he had returned from the United Kingdom. In the interim, Dube spoke to a Prof Ncube emissary who could not talk him out of resigning from his post and quitting the party altogether.
Last night, Dube told The Chronicle that he was “taking a break from partisan politics”.
Before Misihairabwi-Mushonga quit last month, the MDC youth assembly wrote to Prof Ncube calling for her ouster after she described the opposition party as a “junkyard”.
The latest resignations to hit Prof Ncube’s MDC follow the damaging departures of Qhubani Moyo, the party’s former director of policy and research who is taking a sabbatical from politics, and former Bulawayo spokesperson, Edwin Ndlovu, who joined the MDC-T. -chronicle

A judge yeaterday ruled that the business of  police  impounding vehicles at roadblocks for failure to pay spot fines by drivers is “unlawful”. The ruling was made at  Bulawayo High Court by Justice Andrew Mutema as he ordered police to release a car they seized from former  MDC-T Lupane West MP Njabuliso Mguni, who had failed to pay a $50 spot fine.
Mguni challenged the seizure of the car through his lawyer, Lizwe Jamela, of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
The police Officer-in-Charge Traffic Section (Bulawayo District), the Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province and the Home Affairs Minister who were the respondents in this case did not oppose Mguni’s petition for an order declaring the police actions illegal.
“The conduct of the respondents be and hereby declared unlawful. The first respondent is hereby directed to release the impounded vehicle, a Toyota Carina registration number AAC4478 forthwith to the applicant upon production of the car’s registration book,” said Justice Mutema.
“In the event that there are any allegations against applicant or the vehicle, the respondents should follow the laid procedures in justice administration.”
Mguni’s brush with the police suggests the ZRP continues to violate a 2012 ruling by Justice Maphios Cheda of the Bulawayo High Court who held that police cannot insist on the payment of a spot fine by the roadside. The judge said motorists should be issued with a ticket to be paid within a reasonable time.
“The said ticket should give the motorist a reasonable time within which to pay the fine in accordance with their regulations, unless the said offender elects to pay the fine on the spot,” Justice Cheda said.
Justice Cheda said an exception could be made where the motorist was a foreigner or had no “acceptable identification which will in turn make it difficult for him/her to be traced in the event of a default in paying the fine.”
In his affidavit, Mguni stated that he was stopped at a roadblock by a police officer while driving along 6th Avenue in Bulawayo’ CBD on March 16. The vehicle belongs to one Thembile Moyo.
The police officer who stopped him advised him that his third number plate was tampered with and for that reason he should pay a $20 fine.
“I was advised that I should pay an additional fine of $20 for an alleged missing rear number plate light and a further $10 for alleged missing front reflectors. This gave a total of $50 in all,” Mguni said.
“I advised the police officer, who was addressing me, whose particulars are unknown to me, that I did not have the said money in my possession. I then requested a ticket to be issued against me so that I would be able to practise my lawful option as I was in no position to pay the fine so demanded.”
The former legislator said his request was dismissed by the officer, who insisted that the motor vehicle would be impounded until he paid the fine. -herald

MDC Renewal leader Tendai Biti has flashed signals suggesting that he is quitting politics.
Biti according to the Jonathan Moyo controlled State Media, appears to be considering life after politics following the expulsion of 21 Members of his faction, including himself, from Parliament this week. The 21 MPs were expelled at the instigation of the MDC-T led by Mr Morgan Tsvangirai for crossing the floor from the party on whose ticket they entered Parliament.
Mr Biti’s faction has indicated that it will challenge the decision in the courts. A member of his inner circle confided in The Herald, though, that Biti will not be heavily involved in the court challenge.
However, in an interview with The Herald at his Milton Park offices in Harare this week, Mr Biti appeared disillusioned with opposition politics and in particular, failure to coalesce to defeat Zanu-PF.
Clad in a dark grey suit that seemed to reflect his mood, palpable disillusionment ran through the responses of the usually loquacious Biti. “I have played my part as a Zimbabwean,” he said when challenged over his future.
“I have been in the trenches since my time at the University of Zimbabwe and played my part. I think that it is time that others played their part too, I have played mine.”
Asked whether that meant retiring from politics, the lawyer said, “I have not said that. I have just said I have played my part.” “The issue of the expulsion of the 21 members of Parliament is a tragedy for democratisation politics in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“It is also a tragedy for national politics. It is unprecedented in any part of the world that democratically elected members of Parliament can be eliminated as we saw on Tuesday.
“But the country will continue moving on and the challenge is how do we rescue and save our country?
“Just because 21 MPs were fired I don’t think we suddenly got US$40 billion in direct investment in the country. It won’t happen. So nobody except the forces of evil benefited from this. What it means is that unless we are able to focus on things that put bread on the table we are wasting time.”
Mr Biti described Mr Tsvangirai as having gone “way past his sell-by date” and surrounded by sycophants. The fiery opposition politician believes time has come for the transfiguration of national politics.
“We need to go beyond politics and craft a vision of Zimbabwean-hood because unless we do that, we are accelerating on auto-pilot to a position of oblivion, a position of nonentity,” said he.
“Zimbabwe’s politics is dominated by intolerance and by hatred.
“I shudder to open any newspaper because what you read there is hatred and vitriol and diatribe.
“But newspapers don’t create this, they are just a mirror image of the society that they are from — a reflection of what we have become, a miserable group of going-nowhere people stuck in hatred and bitterness.
“We need to convert these predatory and vicious cycles of exclusion into virtuous circles of inclusivity and that is the challenge and obligation on this generation.”

Government-owned Mbada Diamonds has started small-scale mining of conglomerate and kimberlitic diamonds as alluvial stones continue to dwindle, mines minister Walter Chidhakwa has said.
Marange diamond miners, who have been engaged in open cast operations, in 2013 said they had hit hard rock and that alluvial deposits were thinning out on their allocated concessions. They also said the deep seated conglomerate diamonds were not commercially viable.
“I went to Marange to see the exploration work that is being done by Mbada. They have started doing a bit of conglomerate (diamond mining) as well and also kimberlite. If they can do that, then that would take the company forward,” he told The Source on Friday.
He refused to give more details.
Last year, Mbada indicated that it was importing new state-of-the-art machinery to extract deep-seated conglomerate and kimberlitic diamonds.
Chidhakwa also said he had directed Mbada to re-engage its retrenched workers.
The company had reduced its workforce from approximately 1,800 to 500 due to low production as alluvial gems ran out.
“They said the low production forced them reduce their staffing levels. But my position was that once they have done exploration and discover more diamonds they can then reengage those people and take the company to a new level not based on alluvial diamonds only but a combination of all,” said Chidhakwa.
The minister has proposed to bring all diamond mining operations in the country under one firm in which the state will have a 50 percent shareholding.
Other miners in the Chiadzwa area include Marange Resources, Diamond Mining Company (DMC), Anjin, Jinan and Mbada Diamonds.
The proposal includes Murowa Diamond Mine near Zvishavane owned by global resources giant, Rio Tinto plc.

ZIMBABWE’S sky-scouring President Robert Mugabe has left for Windhoek, Namibia this Friday to attend the inauguration of President Hage Geingob. He has only just returned from Japan.
As usual he has taken with him a large entourage of hangers on. President Geingob is Namibia’s 3rd head of state after founding fathers Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba, both from the Ovambo people.
Namibia celebrates its independence Silver Jubilee on Saturday and the occasion coincides with the inauguration of the new president.
President elect Geingob received 87 percent of the total votes cast, romping to victory in the November 2014 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The winning percentage is the highest ever by SWAPO since independence.
Nine political parties took part in the presidential elections while 16 political parties participated in the National Assembly polls in which SWAPO got 80 percent.

ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa on Wednesday called on opposition parties to unite for future elections, saying he had learnt from the past that there was need to unite to defeat Zanu PF.
In an interview with Southern Eye during the official opening of the party’s new offices at corner Connaught Avenue and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street on Wednesday, Dabengwa said there was need to come together as a united front to oust Zanu PF .
 
“Zapu sent its proposal for a united front framed in 2012 and this was in cognisance of the 2013 elections, but unfortunately the opposition did not respond,” he said.
 
“We hope that this time, since they have learnt a lesson, they will be organised to make sure that they face whatever as a united front.
 
“We need to be a united front so that everybody has space and we are able to give opportunities of being represented,”
 
“Zapu is now in serious business.”
 
Dabengwa said united front would defeat Zanu PF hands down.
 
“We need to be a united front so that everybody has space and we are able to give opportunities of being represented,” he said.
 
His remarks came only 24 hours after the MDC-T caused the expulsion of 21 legislators for crossing to the MDC-Renewal, a sign that opposition parties were growing further apart.
 
Dabengwa said they would send emissaries to other parties to discuss forthcoming by-elections.
 
“We will have to discuss the issue of participating in the by-elections with members of relevant constituencies and we will also discuss it with opposition,” he said.
 
“This will make us catch up on issues to do with the united front.”
 

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has taken a step to sue President Robert Mugabe to stop all the country’s pending by-elections before the passage of necessary electoral laws, in conformity with Zimbabwe’s new Constitution.
Tsvangirai filed papers at the Constitutional Court on Monday accusing Mugabe of deliberately violating electoral laws.
Tsvangirai wants the courts to not only stop but nullify President Robert Mugabe’s by-election move.
In his lengthy application, Tsvangirai cited Mugabe as the key respondent in the matter, after the nonagenarian recently set March 27 as the date for by-elections in Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe and Mt Darwin West.
MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said in the application that the elections, which are now just a week away, could not be held as that would be a breach of the country’s new Constitution.
“There is no law which permits the holding of elections under electoral laws that are ultra vires the Constitution. The current Electoral Act without the necessary alignment with the supreme law of the land is incapable of enabling a free and credible election,” reads part of Mwonzora’s application.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which is the 1st respondent in the matter, has already established voter registration centres which the MDC contends is contradictory to its earlier position that it could not provide a voters’ roll because of the absence of enabling legislation.
“Curiously, 1st and 2nd respondents (Zec and Zec chairperson Rita Makarau) established voter registration centres even without the ‘robust and appropriate legislative intervention’ that was referred to by the 2nd respondent as recently as December 2014, as being a necessary precondition for the execution of credible voter registration and other electoral processes,” contends Mwonzora.
The other respondents in the matter are Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa (5th), registrar general Tobaiwa Mudede (3rd) and attorney general Prince Machaya (6th).
In 2014 Makarau argued that “an Act of Parliament must provide for the conduct of elections and referendums,” but in its submissions the MDC says “no such law as envisioned by the Constitution has been put in place”.
“If the alignment of laws is an ongoing process and if respondents are close to actualising the alignment of the Electoral Act with the Constitution, through a General Laws Amendment Bill, as soon as is promised in the opposing affidavit, then there surely can be no reason for the rush into the two illegal by-elections, and any other that the respondents may be planning,” Mwonzora says.
The MDC also argues that there is need to bridge the gap between the enabling act and the Constitution.
“It is difficult to understand why the 4th and 5th respondents (Mugabe and Mnangagwa) should on one hand indicate that the amendment of the Electoral Act to align it with the new Constitution is about to be completed, then on the other hand argue that the process is still far from being completed,” Mwonzora added.
He said the fact that the alignment of legislation with the Constitution was “a mammoth task which cannot be completed overnight”, could not be the justification for the conduct of illegitimate elections that were ultra vires the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The MDC further argued that holding elections with a defective constitution was a “self-aggrandisement exercise for the benefit of some of the respondents and their families”.
It also attached Makarau’s response to another application filed by Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa in December last year, where he was demanding the provision of a new voters’ roll.
In the response, Makarau said the amendments introduced by the Electoral Amendment Act were of no effect to some sections of the Electoral Act.
“Firstly, the first respondent (Zec) is given the role of adviser to Parliament with respect to proposed amendments to the electoral law. It is not given the power to dictate the content of any legislation that is eventually enacted by parliament.
“Secondly, parliament is only enjoined to consider the recommendations made by the first respondent. It is not mandated to accept them.
“Thirdly, the function of Parliament differs materially from the function of the first respondent and the former does not take direction from the latter in the execution of its mandate as it is Parliament that will remain accountable for any legislation that it passes,” she said.
Dabengwa, the leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu), filed his Electoral Court challenge demanding an electronic voters’ roll from the Zec last year.
The former Cabinet minister also demanded that the commission compiles a new voters’ roll and register in accordance with the country’s new Constitution.
In the application, Dabengwa, who is represented by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, cited Makarau, the electoral body itself, the chief elections officer and Mnangagwa as respondents.
Dabengwa, who stood as a presidential candidate for his party in the 2013 elections, said he had a right to act in the public interest in terms of the new Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The former Zanu PF politburo member said Zec should comply with five key provisions of the country’s Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He said according to the country’s new Constitution which, came into force on May 22, 2013, every citizen over the age of 18 had a right to vote.
However, he noted, since the new Constitution came into effect, the commission had not complied with its function to register voters on a continuous basis.
Dabengwa said without the registration of voters, there could not be an election in terms of the Electoral Act.
“I understand from articles in the press in September 2014, in relation to filling a vacancy in the Senate for Manicaland Province and the eligibility of (former Reserve Bank Governor) Gideon Gono to fill that vacancy that the commission claims that there is, at present, no legal framework for voter registration and that as a result nobody can be registered as voters,” he said.
The Zapu leader said it was Zec’s obligation to ensure continuous voter registration, in order to keep an up-to-date voters’ roll, which should be readily available to members of the public, upon meeting the necessary requirements.
“If, as the commission apparently now contends, it has no power in terms of the Electoral Law to register voters, this would inevitably lead to the dire conclusion that it is unable to carry out one of its most fundamental constitutional functions,” Dabengwa said.
Dabengwa further stated that it was not sufficient for the commission to take over and use the old voters’ roll from the registrar-general.
“It is incumbent on the commission to compile a completely new voters’ roll,” he said. – Daily News/ Additional Reporting

I will quit politics if MDC T contests by elections – Sikhala
Staff Reporter
MDC T National Executive Member Job “Wiwa” Sikhala has vowed he will quit politics if his party reverses its resolution not to contest any elections in the country until some unmentioned electoral reforms are put in place by government.
Taking a $100 bet and putting his political career on the table against prominent Zimbabwean writer Pettina Gappah on Facebook, Sikhala vowed that the MDC T will as a matter of principle not participate in the 17 by elections coming as a result of his party dismissing its Members of Parliament suspected to have defected from the party. Sikhala a former Harare legislator himself also discarded the perception that not only will the MDC T take part in the by elections but he will be one of the MDC T candidates.
Gappah and Sikhala have made their challenge open for members of the public to monitor.
Petina Gappah, writes, “I am asking my friends to share this post as widely as possible, for accountability. I have bet Job Wiwa Sikhala that not only will the MDC participate in the urban by elections, but Job himself will be a candidate. He says not only will the MDC NOT take part in the by-elections, he will RESIGN from politics if they do. If they take part, he owes me a 100
dollars and a resignation letter.”
Job Sikhala writes “I have also thrown my $100 on the betting basket. No one is going to be allowed to play around with our minds on this one…….don’t buy Petina Gappah ‘s poke on the MDC (T) nose. No one is contesting. If I am wrong on this one, I will resign from politics.”
The public has reacted with a wait and see interest on the matter. Several have warned Sikhala that his words will come back to haunt him.

A 31-YEAR-OLD man from Nketa in Bulawayo appeared in court facing physical abuse charges after he allegedly battered his wife when she demanded $1 to buy bread for their children.
Moses Mudadigwa (31) appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Tancy Chipumha Dube where he was charged for violating section 89 of the Domestic Violence Act.
He pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was remanded out of custody to tomorrow.
In his defence, Mudadigwa told the court that his wife challenged him in front of the children and that did not go down well with him.
“I do admit to the charges, but my wife provoked me by challenging me in front of my children to make it seem as if I am a bad father,” he said. “I had no right to beat her, but she was out of line.”
Prosecutor Busani Moyo told the court that on Sunday last week, Mudadigwa came home with a loaf of bread and his wife, Yvonne Toendepi, asked that he share it with their children.
Mudadigwa ignored his wife’s request and continued eating until his wife told him that they had not eaten anything since morning.
“I asked him to give the children bread, but he ate it all alone,” Toendepi said.
He reportedly finished the bread and went out for a while before returning in the afternoon.
The wife again approached him begging that he give them money for bread and he agreed.
He gave his eight-year-old daughter a dollar and instructed her to buy at Musarurwa shops, while her mother directed her to a nearby tuckshop.
Mudadigwa felt challenged and he grabbed the money from his daughter and went into the bedroom with it. Toendepi followed him, asking why he was acting in that manner.
However, the husband assaulted her and her screams attracted the attention of neighbours, who rescued her.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to Mudadigwa’s arrest.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, with two being suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence.
The remaining four months were suspended on condition he performs 420 hours of community service at West Commonage Police Station.-SouthernEye

Re:

• From Harvest House to their new offices at the Mazowe Animal Farm
• Whose idea was it to ditch the MDC’s fiery REDNESS to choose to sip cold Mazowe orange juice?

Dear Editor,
When Toendepi Shonhe and other MDC Renewal officials went to the Labour Court to sue the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T for “fair dismissal”, they knew very well that there was no dispute who was the real MDC-T between the Sekai Holland-led MDC Renewal and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led outfit. If they really believed that the Sekai Holland-led grouping was the genuine MDC-T, then they should have gone to court as they were already working for the same party. Interestingly, while they sued the Morgan Tsvangirai-led outfit, MDC Renewal also got a share of the money given to political parties under the Political Parties Finance Act. They should, therefore, have simply got their salary payment from that allocation. What they did not realise was that their action amounted to saying indirectly that there was no contest as to which group between the Tsvangirai-led MDC-T and the MDC Renewal was the legitimate MDC-T which is represented in parliament. Fortunately, the Labour Court realised the merits of their argument and in its ruling, confirmed that the Tsvangirai-led MDC-T was the legitimate MDC-T which had the right to recall parliamentarians and Senators. Their action only proves how greedy some of our politicians have become.
The Bitis and Shonhes went on and created their own logo, name and colours, and it was not a coincidence that the colour they chose was the Mazowe Crush colour. Wait a minute, was that really a coincidence? No, not at all, because they were wholesomely part and parcel of the insane Grace Mugabe Mazowe Crush movement.
Now that the Speaker of Parliament has made the right decision and approved the recall of the MDC Renewal parliamentarians, the work that all democratic forces in Zimbabwe should do is to push for electoral reforms. NOW, before the bye-elections for the vacant seats can be held. All MDC formations have said they will not participate in any elections until meaningful reforms to the electoral process have been made. I believe that such reforms are already contained in the new Constitution, so the work to democratise the electoral process has already begun in a way and only needs to be completed, a much easier task, I think, just that there is no political will on the part of Zanu PF. In any case, Zanu PF wouldn’t grant reforms that disadvantage them, so those calling for the reforms must fight for them.
I wouldn’t conclude my opinion piece without criticising those who have been blaming the MDC-T for giving away the seats to Zanu PF since the MDCs have vowed they will not contest in elections without reforms. All those who have said so have only been proving to the public that they are not prepared to fight for the same reforms to take place. Some of them actually hoped to enjoy salaries from parliament until the next general election.
My call is for everyone: Morgan Tsvangirai, Professor Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Dumiso Dabengwa, Sekai Holland, Civic Society and everyone else who cares about Zimbabwe, to put as much pressure as possible not only on Mugabe and Zanu PF, but on all institutions that can help bring about the reforms, including SADC and the African Union, to play their part in ensuring something positive happens before the by-elections to replace the recalled legislators. If you are genuinely fighting for positive change, you should be able to forget your petty political differences and work together only for the sake of reforms. Individual parties will contest the elections separately, or those that can form alliances or unite such as the current work in progress between the Professor Ncube led MDC and the Renewal Team can still exercise their constitutional rights to do so.
Philip Chiyangwa hit the nail on the head recently when he accused Zimbabweans for wanting to wait for ever. The time to strike is NOW. Do not expect to enjoy parliamentary benefits that you do not deserve just for the reason of not wanting to “donate” seats to Zanu PF.
Benjamin Chitate,
Gweru

A son of Zimbabwe’s first post-independence president, Canaan Sodindo Banana, says centralization of political power has devastated the southern African nation once regarded as one of the continent’s bread baskets.
Forty-eight year old Nathan Sipho Banana, who describes the State House where he grew up as an executive prison, says this sad development can only be reversed if Zimbabweans adopt a common national socio-economic vision.
Banana whose father was convicted of sodomy, further says this can be enhanced through accountability and transparency among the nation’s political leaders.
He speaks to Studio 7’s Gibbs Dube in this exclusive interview in which he also talks about his childhood and life after leaving the State House.
His father was convicted and jailed for sodomy. He pleaded not guilty of 11 charges of sodomy and related issues. – VOA

Expelled former Hurungwe West MP Themba Mliswa has laid into ZANU PF’s secretary for Administration Ignatius Chombo saying the latter abused his liberties in the party to execute his long standing grudge on him.
“Chombo abused the grace of both God and man and we shall see how far he goes because indulging with “grace” you cannot go far,” said Mliswa speaking to a friend last Thursday.
Adding fire to his outrage on Chombo, Mliswa told a weekly, boasting that he is preparing to embarrass Chombo now that by elections have been set for, and he will contest as an independent.
“I wouldn’t pick a fight I would lose. I have never lost an election in my life. I was the provincial secretary for lands which I won. Before that, I was provincial youth chairman. Then I won the district coordinating committee elections for Hurungwe and stood for parliamentary elections and won before I went on to win the provincial chairmanship. After the vote of no confidence, I stood for Central Committee elections and got the highest number of votes but was once again blocked. I can stand for any constituency in Hurungwe and win easily, he told the Financial Gazette.
Mliswa said Minister Ignatius Chombo was the reason he was expelled from the party.
“When talking about my downfall, you can never escape mentioning (Ignatius) Chombo. He clearly doesn’t like me and he sees me as a threat. Is it because I do not come from Mashonaland West, or that the chairmanship there is a preserve for the Zezurus and not for any other Zimbabwean? I then get confused and fail to understand the motive of the liberation war. He is a man who is used to usurping the powers of the provincial chairman and would want everyone to tow his line. He needed to be the centre of power in the province when the (party) constitution clearly states that the chairman is the centre of power. He was not happy with my work ethic because I wanted to do things constitutionally.
I will give it to Cde Chombo that I am glad he is there as secretary for administration. I did not understand how people like Cde (Webster) Shamu would say ‘chef’ to Chombo and yet, Cde Shamu was way too senior to him from a structural point of view; so I never understood why he would always say ‘chef’ to someone on number 16 on the national structure. Mai Madzongwe (Senate President, Edna Madzongwe) became a Politburo member earlier, but the two (Shamu and Chombo) would never want to refer to her as ‘chef’. That creates confusion, but if you are going to lead, you want clarity and I sought that clarity. I saw this confusion as the reason why many chairpersons in this province would be forced out. Chombo wants to put everyone in his palm. If you are not on his, you go, and for sure I was not on his side and I also went.
It is important to understand that while the party is supreme, it derives its supremacy from the people. So it’s equally important that the party hears from the people who I have worked with, what they think about all the allegations levelled against me. I intend to go back to the constituency and talk to the people. If they have resolved to have me stand, I will stand. The electorate must not be taken for granted or abused. When they decide to vote a person into office, they know what they are doing.
Mliswa said he was treated harshly by Zanu PF.
“I want to be heard. I feel that the decision to expel me was harsh, it was very harsh. We are young people and are bound to make mistakes. That should not warrant the highest organ (the Politburo) to sit down and expel me. There are people who have made mistakes bigger than mine but are still in the party. I did nothing wrong. You can’t expel me for disrupting meetings. Our (ZANU-PF’s) constitution is very clear on issues of dismissal.
Mliswa said he was not part of the Mujuru camp.
“That’s all lies. I don’t belong to anyone. I made myself in politics. So to say I belonged to the Mujuru faction is not true. What tells you I was? She was vice president of the party and country and people respected the office and not the individual. If someone can be expelled for that, then everyone who has worked with her when she was acting president, including the service chiefs who saluted her, must go. But that’s not the case. I know of no meeting I ever attended where it was discussed that the President must be toppled and Mai Mujuru must take over.”

Liberation hero and former Mozambican President Samora Machel’s widow, Graca, is in Harare for a grand women’s empowerment conference.
Graca who is also Nelson Mandela’s widow, will be addressing Zimbabweans tomorrow morning.
The function hosted by the Network of African Business Women’s forum, is being held at Meikles Hotel starting at 8am.
It is costing $50 per head.
More details below:

ZANU PF Information mic-cast Psychology Maziwisa and MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu fired shots at each other on Thursday with Gutu (who has a long history of retreating to using base ageism when pressured in a debate) calling the former a misguided missile and a ‘young man.’
He went on in bold print to utilise gheto insults such as “stupid” in describing Maziwisa.
The two had been debating with the public on the issue of President Robert Mugabe’s daughter Bona’s presence during the Japan governmental visit, something academics said the enraged Gutu should instead investigate so to raise real points of abuse such as if Bona’s hotel bill was paid for by government. But Gutu without mentioning any issue of such abuse, threw daggers at Maziwisa following the ZANU PF spkesperson’s ZTV interview in which he defended Bona’s presence in Japan.
Below was Gutu’s statement in full:
Many Zimbabweans do not even know the attention – seeking Psychology Maziwisa from a bar of soap. To millions of peace-loving and well-groomed patriots, this misguided and uncouth young man is nothing but just another brick in the wall.
It is extremely unfortunate that one Psychology Maziwiza characteristically attempts to spring up to the defence of the indefensible regarding one Bona Mugabe – Chikore’s State – funded jamboree to Japan. That a little-known political turncoat by the name Maziwisa takes advantage of the Zanu PF – controlled ZBC TV in order to launch a crude, primitive and malicious attack on the person of MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai just goes to show how low the fascist, faction – ridden and beleaguered Zanu PF regime can sink in desperately attempting to divert the people’s attention from the crumbling economy as well as the collapsing public health delivery system.
It is absolutely shocking and uncivilised for someone with such a dubious character and controversial personal lifestyle to denigrate the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe in such a crass and uncouth manner. This Maziwisa boy desperately needs expert psychiatric attention to help him cope with the hazards that come with leading a rather controversial lifestyle. Maziwisa has definitely taken leave of his senses. He needs every concerned Zimbabwean’s prayers to help him get rehabilitated back into mainstream and conventional society.
In a typical Mugabe hero-worshipping fashion, Maziwisa, a moral pervert himself, had nothing substantial to tell the nation to prove his point except to attack Morgan Tsvangirai’s personality with his foul and unmeasured diatribe.
Whilst it is common knowledge that the junior Zanu PF employee, working in the regime’s information department, is merely singing for his supper, he should be mindful that it is not in his best interest to throw stones when he knows that he, himself, is fully ensconced in a very transparent glass house!
For one Psychology Maziwisa to get stupidly carried away and abuse the public broadcaster to wantonly insult other citizens and the intelligence of the people of Zimbabwe, it would certainly attract dire consequences on his personality and character, not least his ominous and wayward identity.
The MDC takes great exception to the unfortunate and Stone-Age utterances that were made by the thoroughly misguided and hopelessly excitable junior spokesperson of the Weevils faction of the collapsing Zanu PF party. As a responsible and family – centred political party, the MDC will not succumb to the temptation of unmasking one Psychology Maziwisa’s rather unusual and controversial personal lifestyle. Suffice to reiterate that this young man should have some little bit of decency in both his public and private lives.
 
In response however, Maziwisa launched a direct attack on Gutu’s MDC-T party. Below was his statement:
“We have noticed with great pity the rather desperate attempt by Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party to make issue with Madam Bona Mugabe’s trip to Japan in which she accompanied her father, and our dearest leader, President Robert Mugabe.
Not only is this another sign of Mr. Tsvangirai’s pettiness, it’s a demonstration that he is clueless about what happens in the global political sphere, especially since there is no law (domestic or international) that precludes a head of state from travelling with his or her daughter on state visits.
While we don’t expect Mr. Tsvangirai to know this from personal experience because he has never been a head of state himself and is unlikely ever to become one in his lifetime, at least we reasonably expect that he should be acquainted with these basic facts because they are a matter of public record. It’s really not too much to ask from someone who has a well-known dream of one day becoming Zimbabwe’s head of state.
It is a matter of public record, for instance, that former US President Bill Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, not only attended incalculable state meetings and functions with her father, she in fact, when her mother was away campaigning, became the focal point at White House where she received several foreign dignitaries. Madam Bona Mugabe has not done anything nearly as much.
We refuse to buy into the narrative that for as long as it’s President Mugabe doing it- no matter how perfectly lawful it is, it’s wrong, but if it’s Bill Clinton doing it it’s cool. It’s a barbaric way of doing politics.
The fact of the matter is that Tsvangirai needs to mind his miserable political business. Isn’t it amazing that he has become so desperate for attention that he wants to generate headlines even with the pettiest of issues? It is a very sad situation indeed and a clear sign that Mr. Tsvangirai might just be beginning to see that his political career is drawing to an unhappy end.
At least President Mugabe is travelling abroad with his daughter. Tsvangirai has travelled on innumerable foreign missions with concubines, most of whom are young enough to be his daughters. If he sees glory in that, then shame on him.
He needs to shut up and concentrate on sharpening his leadership skills.
Make no mistake, we are not at all perturbed by this.
As far as we are concerned, Chimpanzees scream, dogs bark and Morgan Tsvangirai talks nonsense.”

The Environment, Climate and Water Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has saved top female journalist and Herald Business editor, Happiness Zengeni from being booted out of the Zimpapers stable for the publishing of an alarming and explosive story, ZimEye.comhas learnt.
The business section of The Herald on Tuesday published a revealing story headlined “February inflation points to a dying economy”.
The Herald editor Caesar Zvayi viewed the title as alarming and ordered Zengeni and her deputy, George Chisoko, to write detailed reports explaining how ‘such a screaming headline’ ended up being published.
Chisoko was subsequently suspended because he was the duty editor on that day.
Under normal circumstances the Editor, despite being absent is answerable for any editorial mistake published in a newspaper.
In December Zvayi, was sent on forced leave for publishing story headlined “Gono, Biti ties raise suspicion”.
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the story was based on “emotive and false assertions that smack of a hidden political agenda.”
In his defence Zvayi said he was not present when the story was published but he was sent home despite raising that excuse.
Highly placed sources within the publication’s editorial team have claimed to both the Minister and ZimEye.com that Zengeni was Kasukuwere’s girlfriend hence the survival. They accused the ZANU PF commissar saying he was in love with the female journo said to be “very attractive and beautiful” hence the unusual gesture.
“She (Zengeni) spent the rest of the day (Tuesday) under pressure from Zvayi for the story, and only to be rescued by Minister Kasukuwere. In fact the directive to suspend her and Chisoko came from the Ministry of Information but because the Minister in charge (Jonathan Moyo is a close ally of Kasukuwere the decision to fire her was then reversed and Chisoko was sacrificed,” said the source.
Zvayi confirmed Chisoko’s suspension saying his actions were meant to cause alarm and despondency.
“To this end, I am suspending you for the next two weeks on full pay with immediate effect. During this period, March 17 to April 3, you are not allowed to enter company premises”.said Zvayi in a letter he wrote to Chisoko and seen by ZimEye.com
Efforts to obtain a response comment from Minister Kasukuwere failed as his phone kept ringing without being answered.

One man died and two others were injured on Wednesday when an elevator fell several floors in a government building in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, according to a report.
ZBC TV reported that three technicians are understood to have been working on four old elevators at Chaminuka Building, where the spy agency — the Central Intelligence Organisation — has offices.
“An elevator car they were decommissioning accidentally fell,” the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) said in its main evening news bulletin.
Earlier unconfirmed reports said that the lift had fallen nine floors. This was not confirmed by the TV report.
“The three were taken to hospital, where one died. Medical personnel say the condition of the other two is stable,” the ZBC said.
Investigations are continuing.

In another farm wrangle, Zenzo Ntuliki a senior security official who sought to bar a commercial farmer Tim White from interfering with activities at the farm,  has lost as his application was dismissed by the Bulawayo High Court.
Justice Nokuthula dismissed an urgent chamber application by a senior intelligence officer who sought a provisional order to stop an Esigodini white commercial farmer from kicking him out of Avalon Farm in Umzingwane district.
In a similar case  recently, Rodney Mashingaidze, a district officer in the President’s Office, lost his case against a white commercial farmer, Peter Cunningham at Maleme Farm in Kezi District.
Ntuliki cited White, officer commanding police in Matabeleland South, Happymore Sigauke and the Sheriff of the High Court as respondents.
In her ruling, Justice Moyo said she did not dispute that Ntuliki was allocated the land after it was gazetted by government in 2003. She, however, ruled that the applicant did not follow the proper procedures in occupying the farm and subsequently dismissed his application.
“Applicant must wait for the law to take its course before creating urgency for himself. It would seem applicant failed in his bid to despoil first respondent (White). In my view, the applicant should have followed due process in seeking to occupy the farm rather than confronting the first respondent and advising him of his imminent take-over of the farm. He should have left it to the lands authorities to notify the respondent to vacate the farm and give him a reasonable period within which to leave,” said the judge.
Justice Moyo said the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement should have notified White of its decision to repossess the farm and allowed the concerned parties to be heard.
“It’s my considered view that the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement cannot allow a party to occupy land and then offer the same land to another without following the requirements of the rules of natural justice that demand that the one who understands has a right to remain in occupation, should be duly notified of the intention to take that right away, make representations if any, and a decision be taken subsequently after all the concerned parties have been heard,” said Justice Moyo.
“In my view, administrative decisions should be taken within the ambit of the law. For the applicant to have a well grounded fear that the first respondent wants to dispossess him of the farm or to disturb his effective control, applicant must have occupied the farm after following due process, which is not the case in this situation. I accordingly dismiss the application with costs,” ruled Justice Moyo.
In his founding affidavit, Ntuliki who is being represented by Cheda and Partners accuses White of blocking his workers from occupying Avalon Farm and refusing to vacate the property.
“This is an urgent chamber application for an interdict against White. I’m the legal holder of real and personal rights over an area of land known as Lot 2 of Lot 36 Essexvale also known as Avalon Farm in Esigodini. The farm was gazetted and acquired by the government in 2003 and it was subsequently offered to me in terms of the Agricultural Land Settlement Act in 2014,” said Ntuliki.
He argued that White has been refusing to vacate the farm despite having initially reached an agreement to leave on January 10, this year. Ntuli said he has an offer letter from the ministry.
“White was supposed to vacate the farm on 10 January, 2015, but he reneged on his word and my workers have been reduced to vagabonds as he is stopping them from moving in and they are now squatting in the bush,” said Ntuliki.
The state security official is also accusing the commercial farmer of endangering his livestock through illegal mining activities.
“The respondent is vandalising my irrigation equipment and he is also conducting illegal mining activities within the vicinity of the farm thus endangering my livestock due to massive environmental degradation as he is leaving large open pits, cyanide and mercury, which are dangerous chemicals. He is also polluting water sources on the farm,” said Ntuliki.
In his opposing papers, White said he has been in occupation of the 142 hectares farm since 1998 after he bought it from his family.
“Lot 2 of Lot 36 Essexvale commonly known as Avalon Farm was purchased by my family in 1988. It was held under a holding company PHW Farm (Pvt) Ltd. In 1998, I sold my town house and bought the farm from my family,” he said.
“I believe I’m in lawful occupation of the farm because I was granted a permit to remain in occupation of the farm by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement in 2007 and that permit was confirmed in writing,” said White.
He further argued that he had not been officially notified by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement to vacate the farm. – State Media

Zimbabwe Republic Police officers fired directly at prisoners who rioted at a high security jail in Harare last week, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa told parliament on Wednesday as he confirmed a ZimEye.com exclusive coverage of the brutal killings on the day. [READ MORE – Chikurubi Riot: 7 Prisoners Shot Dead as Mass Torture Begins;   ………...  Massive JailBreak, 1 Shot Dead as Fire Breaks Out at Chikurubi Maximum Prison ]
Mnangagwa contradicting the prison authorities’ spokesperson who claimed no gunshots were fired, said however officers fired live bullets onto the unarmed prisoners while also alleging that the disgraced former ZANU PF MP candidate and church pastor, Robert Gumbura convicted of rape, had masterminded the prison food riot.
He said the prisoners had “armed themselves” with pieces of wood and bricks and began attacking officers at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on Friday because they thought the police “[did] not have bullets”.
“When the officers felt that they were in serious danger that is when they fired and one inmate died in prison,” Mnangagwa said, contradicting earlier claims from a prisons spokesman that the first reported casualty was not shot but died in a stampede.
“Those who got wounded, one died the same day and the other three died later on. Altogether five have passed on,” he said.
“Two had climbed the roof to escape and that is why they were shot,” the vice-president, who is also justice minister, added.
He did not say whether the fifth victim died of gunshot wounds or from other injuries sustained during the chaos, which lasted three hours and was sparked by discontent over poor food.
The Prisons spokesperson had last week insisted that officers only used blanks.
Harare West MP Ms Jessie Majome (MDC-T) asked why Mnangagwa’s version was different from spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services, Elizabeth Banda-Karinda’s, who was quoted in the media saying inmates died during an ensuing stampede.
Mnangagwa responding, admitted that he “had read in the press” what was said, but added: “I am giving this house the report I have received as Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
“I have no doubt that the report… is the authentic and official report, not the one that is in the newspapers,” he added, in an official transcript of his speech.
Meanwhile ZimEye.com can reveal that the number of the shot prisoners is actually seven(7) and the prison authorities have been suppressing the figures since last Wednesday.
ZimEye/SAPA

[lightbox link=”http://www.zimeye.com/wp-content/live_images//2014/07/gumbura999.jpg” thumb=”http://www.zimeye.com/wp-content/live_images//2014/07/gumbura999.jpg” width=”250″ align=”right” title=”gumbura999″ frame=”true” icon=”image” caption=””]Jailed RMG Independent End Time Message leader Robert Martin Gumbura masterminded a foiled escape bid by prisoners at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, leading to the death of five inmates who were shot after ignoring warning shots by security details, Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday.
Responding to questions from legislators in the National Assembly, Mnangagwa said the inmates, most of them dangerous, initially thought that prison warders and other security details were not armed and proceeded to climb ceilings in a bid to escape.
When reinforcements fired warning shots, he said, the inmates thought the guns had no bullets resulting in shots being directed at them to stop the escape.
“They conspired to break away from prison. A group of a hundred were involved in this conspiracy, surprisingly also, Gumbura was chairing that conspiracy. They went into the kitchen and caused damage, breaking pipes, attacked prison warders and eight of them were injured. While that was happening the core group was climbing into the ceiling trying to escape. When reinforcement came they thought they had no bullets and attacked the officers.
“They (security teams) then fired into the air but they (inmates) said there is nothing in the guns. They then fired straight at them, that was when they retreated and order was restored. We have now enhanced security.”
Harare West MP Ms Jessie Majome (MDC-T) asked why Mnangagwa’s version was different from spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services, Elizabeth Banda-Karinda’s, who was quoted in the media saying inmates died during an ensuing stampede.
“It is true that I read what you said. But I am giving you a report I got. I have no doubt that the report is authentic and a formal report. I believe that what I said represents what happened,” said Mnangagwa.
On relish, he said the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority had since given prison authorities cooking oil confiscated at border posts for violating entry requirements to feed the inmates. – State Media

Tendai Biti press statement:
The Parliamentary ruling made on Tuesday, 17 March 2015 by the Senate President, Edna Madzongwe and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Jacob Mudenda and to purportedly expel 17 members of parliament and four senators marks a sad and tragic day for democracy in Zimbabwe.
It is a heavy blow to democracy and democratic agenda when the MDC Renewal Team is building a new narrative and that narrative is to provide the solution.
It is unprecedented anywhere in the history of democracy. Democracy is a very simple process as the people have a say on the issue of recalling an MP not a political party.
The sum total of the people who voted for the MPs in 2013 comes to 102 000 people. The expulsions are therefore undemocratic and not supported by the Constitution.
It is a reflection of naivety, a reflection of surrender by Morgan Tsvangirai as these spaces are going to be very difficult to recover.
Our erstwhile colleagues have now agreed to collude with the ruling party to reverse the gains that the democratic movement has made over the last 15 years.
Our lawyers are in the art of crafting court applications to challenge the ruling. There is no right of recall of an MP in the Constitution.
It is ironic that at a time when they are preaching their message of ‘big tent’ politics, they have seen it fit to cut the nose to spite the face by donating parliamentary seats to Zanu PF at a time when the Zimbabwean democratic opposition movement in Zimbabwe must be making efforts to close ranks and fight the Zanu PF dictatorship. It is a sad reality that they are now more Zanu PF than Zanu PF.
Zimbabwe’s economy is currently experiencing rapid decline and the citizens are suffering with poverty and deprivation on the rise.
The people are suffering and they are looking for a political alternative that gives them hope for a better future.
Zanu PF has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that it does not have a solution to the challenges we are currently facing. The people are looking up to the opposition to offer leadership and yet our colleagues choose to go to bed with Zanu PF to further erode the little democratic space we had occupied in Parliament following the grand electoral theft by Zanu PF in 2013.
While we respectfully differed with Tsvangirai and his colleagues on strategy and principles, we never imagined that they would one day collude with Zanu PF against the people’s democratic project.
The people of Zimbabwe expected that the few MPs from the MDC formations in Parliament would work together to bring sustainable solutions to the country’s challenges and we have no doubt that they are now disillusioned by Tsvangirai’s shenanigans with Zanu PF.
Further, the ruling by the Speaker yesterday is clearly part of a political strategy that has nothing to do with the law as it is unconstitutional. In making his ruling yesterday, the Speaker of the House of Assembly did not follow due process.
On two occasions last year, 8 May and 14 November, Mudenda ruled that there were two centres of power in the MDC-T and that the legitimacy of the party’s leadership had to be determined by a competent court of law.
The question now is what has made Mudenda change his earlier judgments when the courts have not made any ruling on the matter and the circumstances of the matter have not changed?
Regrettable as it is, it is now apparent from Tuesday’s judgment that there is now political incest between Zanu PF and Tsvangirai and his cohorts.
The actions of the Speaker of the House of Assembly are unconstitutional as the party that purports to have written to him does not exist and Mudenda has succeeded to be in the same bed with it.
Meanwhile, as the MDC Renewal Team, we will intensify our radical constitutional and democratic struggle and we assure Zimbabweans that Parliament or no Parliament, we will be executing the people’s democratic project on the streets and other legal platforms.
The MDC Renewal Team is guided by the Mandel resolutions of 26 April 2014. We will continue with the idea of pushing for the alignment of the country’s laws with the Constitution. We will push for genuine electoral reforms. We will push for the agenda of economic transformation. We will depart from the use hate language and impunity.
We will continue with the idea of the grand coalition of democrats, the national convergence. As genuine democrats, we are able to regroup and in 2018, we give the people of Zimbabwe a chance of undoing what Zanu PF has done for the past 35 years because we are in the correct.
In soccer they say the one with the ball is the one who is marked and the MDC Renewal Team is being marked because it is in control of the ball.

An international journal has published a photograph of a rare lightning strike over Zimbabwe taken by a Mutare resident last month. Dr Peter Lowenstein took the photo of the bolt, which is absolutely straight – unlike most lightning strikes which have a zigzag shape.

The journal Earthsky says the occurrence is very rare. “It was sheer luck to catch that bolt – surely a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. There were only three visible and audible strikes during that storm, many minutes apart,” said Lowenstein.
The strike is known as a positive cloud-ground (CG) strike. Apart from being much less common than normal negative lightning, positive lightning is very energetic with discharge currents exceeding 100,000 amperes (compared to less than 30,000 for negative strikes).
-zimbabwean

Following a harsh legal threat issued by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on Tuesday, to the University of Zimbabwe which had evicted students and closed the institution, UZ Vice Chancellor Levy Nyagura, Wednesday reversed the decision and reopened the college.
“Following an earlier statement issued yesterday advising students, members of the public, and indeed the University of Zimbabwe Community that the institution was going on recess until 24 March, 2015, I am happy to advise that urgent issues that needed immediate attention have now been resolved.
“Consequently lectures resumed today March 18, 2015 at 0800 hrs.
“Resident students should return to their hostels immediately and attend lecturers,”Nyagura said in a statement.
ZLHR on Tuesday, threatened Nyagura with legal action for giving students a short notice to vacate the University campus.
This was after the students had demonstrated against the striking lecturers and starvation.
Nyagura however attributed the reopening of the college to the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Oppah Muchinguri whom he said rescued the desperate situation.
Nonpayment of salaries of lecturers at the Masvingo’s Great Zimbabwe State University Midlands State University, and the UZ soused the riots.
 
 
 

Francis Mufambi, who has resigned from the Welshman Ncube-led MDC, has likened the opposition party president to the late Uganda authoritarian leader Idi Amin.
Mufambi, who was the party’s national youth secretary for international relations, told the Daily News that he was resigning from the party because it had deviated from its initial values and norms.
“I am actually sad that I am leaving the MDC but I have to do it after realising that we are creating a monster more than Idi Amin,” Mufambi said.
“The innocent are actually suffering, while the guilty are rejoicing.
“The president of the party (Ncube) is surrounded by a very dangerous and destructive cabal led by Edwin Mushoriwa and the president just accommodates them because they are people who sing for their supper and dance for sadza.”
Mufambi becomes the latest official to jump ship in the wake of the resignation by Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who was the organisation’s secretary-general and lately Nhlanhla Dube, the spokesperson.
Other officials that have left are Frank Chamunorwa, who was the vice national chairman.
Mufambi, who has also served in the international relations implementation committee of the United MDC, has been holding a senior position in the Ncube-led MDC since 2011.
“I am terminating my membership with the MDC,” he said.
“There are factional issues that I am not happy with. As one of the senior youth leaders, I was faced with a lot of blemishes and faults.
“If you are thought to be in Misihairabwi-Mushonga’s camp, you are treated like a leper. The way they treated Priscilla’s issue was unconstitutional.
“They said the presidency has accepted the resignation when in actual fact there is no organ called the presidency in the MDC.”
He said the party was condoning hate speech and other unconstitutional acts.
He added that there were other party members who had done a hatchet job of copying and pasting Zanu PF’s tactics in pursuit of power, adding that Misihairabwi-Mushonga was being treated in the same way former Vice President Joice Mujuru was treated in Zanu PF.
“This is the biggest castration of democratic order of our times. I will be happy to leave the organisation whose chances to win after such acts are between slim and none. It’s possible for my grandmother to be a goalkeeper for Dynamos than Welshman to be president of this country,” he said.
He said there was need for opposition parties to work together and have unity of purpose.
“There is ego among leaders. They are selfish. Most of them are running political parties to fund raise for their private projects. We can only talk of winning on the day that all opposition parties will come together and fight Zanu PF as a united force,” he said.
Mufambi said he was fighting for democracy in the country and had lost several of his relatives through Zanu PF’s iron-fisted actions.
“My mother was beaten by Zanu PF thugs, who caused her sickness, culminating into her death. There is need for a very radical programme of action characterised by mass action,” he said.
-DailyNews