At Last!, Econet Brings MasterCard Debit Card to Zimbabwe

Zisco Workers No Pay Since 2014, Essar Deal Hangs in Balance


Workers at troubled former steel giant Ziscosteel received only a fraction of their December salaries as the company struggles to generate revenue to meet its monthly costs, amid growing doubts over the Essar takeover, which was expected to restore it as one of Africa’s biggest steelworks, The Source has established.
Zimbabwe’s failure to consummate the Ziscosteel takeover four years after signing with Essar has raised serious questions about the government’s attitude to foreign investment.
Essar, the African unit of India’s Essar Group in November 2010 agreed to buy 54 percent in Ziscosteel in a deal worth $750 million, with the government keeping 36 percent and minority investors 10 percent.
But the reopening of the steelmaker, now called NewZim Steel, has been held up by squabbles between the partners over ownership of mineral claims and the company’s legacy debt.
Last May, Essar said it would build a new 500,000 tonne steel plant at Ziscosteel for $650 million in two years after government agreed to transfer 80 percent of the rights to the conglomerate.
Under the original agreement Essar was supposed to inherit the company’s foreign debt which amounted to $300 million and to share the domestic debt, which amounted to $72 million based on the shareholding structure.
As of February last year, Ziscosteel’s arrears to its workers and domestic creditors had risen to $200 million after the state failed to meet its end of the deal.
Government claims it is still finalising implementation of the plan and has announced many false starts.
“There is nothing going on here, we are struggling. The situation is now even worse,” an official who declined to be named told The Source on Tuesday.
Another source said the company was struggling to pay workers and settling utility bills with the little revenue being generated from the sale of slag, pool iron and pool steel not enough to meet recurrent expenditure.
“Workers were paid (13 percent) of their December salaries last year,” said the official, adding that at times it took the company between two to three months to pay workers.
The lowest paid employees at the steel firm which employs 1,800 people earn between $80 and $200 per month.
Contacted for comment, the company’s group chief executive, Alex Gowo declined to comment on the matter.
However, the official said the company’s income from sale of its sundry “fluctuated” and this made it difficult to make monthly payments, particularly wages.
One of its major customers is Sino Zimbabwe which buys slag.
A tonne of slag costs around $11 per tonne while pool iron sales for between $110 and $160 per tonne, according to the official.
“We are just fighting with our creditors every day,” the official said.
The company, which facilitates water and electricity supplies to the Redcliff community, has the burden to pay for maintenance and security costs to ensure service is maintained.
“Whether there is production or not at Zisco, security still has to be maintained for 24 hours for the water and electricity supplies that are channelled through Zisco,” said the official.

Macheso Probed By Police Over Assault


Sungura musician Alick Macheso was yesterday summoned to Harare Central Police Station where police wanted to question him in connection with allegations that he is inciting his fans to bash photojournalists at his concerts.
Macheso was said to be in Muzarabani for a humanitarian assignment, but has been decreed to report to Harare Central Police Station on Thursday. Assistant commissioner Crispen Makedenge, the officer commanding CID
Law and Order Division, was said to be handling the matter.
He referred the Daily News to Police General Headquarter but efforts to obtain comment from there were futile. William Tsandukwa, who manages the musician’s band, breathed fire against journalists, claiming they had an agenda to destroy the band.
Macheso has been fuming since imprudent photographs of him and his female fans were published in a local daily. At a show last weekend, the musician reportedly complained that the pictures could lead people to jump to the wrong conclusion that he had amorous ties with the women.

Sex With ‘Own Father’, Woman Caught In A Fix

A Bulawayo woman has been caught in a fix after becoming intimate with her own father in law.
Sibusisiwe Sibanda fell in love with her father-in-law resulting in the pair moving in together. Ndebele culture regards one’s father in law, their own parent.
The father-in-law is widowed while the woman also lost her husband. The daughter-in-law Sibusisiwe Sibanda, moved out of her lodgings in Emakhandeni suburb to stay with her father in-law-cum-lover David Mwale in Njube suburb.
However, the two’s relationship was discovered after Mwale took one of his tenants Dorothy Nyathi as his live-in girlfriend much to the anger of Sibanda who had seen herself as his wife.
The two women — Nyathi and Sibanda — who are staying in the same house are reportedly fighting for Mwale’s attention.
So nasty is the bedroom war that Nyathi who apparently is overwhelmed by jealousy after suspecting that Mwale was allegedly clocking more hours in Sibanda’s bedroom last week approached the Bulawayo Civil Court seeking a restraining order against her claiming she was disturbing her relationship with Mwale.
At the court she made some stunning disclosures to the effect that Sibanda was madly in love with her father-in-law.
She said spirited efforts to evict her from the house have dismally failed as she was always receiving support from Mwale.
“I am married to David Mwale and we have been living peacefully until 2011 when Sibusisiwe moved in. She is subjecting us to harassment. Despite the fact that we live in the same house she does not talk to me. She is doing whatever she wants in the house without consulting me.
“Whenever I finish cooking for my husband she rushes to take the food to serve him. She is saying my husband is also her husband. I didn’t want to say this before the court but because of anger I am now revealing it. She is madly in love with my husband who is also her father-in-law. Really it’s a shame. The relationship started after the death of
her husband Isaac some years back. I want her to move out of the house since what she is doing is taboo,” said Nyathi.
In response Sibanda refuted Nyathi’s allegations maintaining that she would not move out of the house as long as Mwale “loves”
her as her only daughter in-law.
“Nyathi is not telling the truth. She is not married to
Mwale, she is just a live-in girlfriend who came as a tenant. She does not have
the right to evict me from the house since it does not belong to her. I am
staying there with the blessings of my father-in-law who said I should not go
anywhere,” she said.
Presiding magistrate Evelyne Mashavakure who however,
seemed to have been shocked by the revelations postponed the matter and said he wanted to hear Mwale’s side of the
story. b metro

Mugabe Dead, Buried In Weeks’ Time – Another Prophet


Barely one month after one prophet claimed President Robert Mugabe is dying this year, a renowned Malawian prophet has said that Mugabe will die in less than 46 weeks’ time.
The Maravi Post newspaper reports Apostle Kenneth Eagle saying he “spoke to an angel” who spoke in clear words of Mugabe’s imminent exit from human life.
Kenneth Eagle of the Holy Tabernacle Ministries in the Lukuni township of Lilongwe, said he was just doing his job as watchman quoting Amos 3 v 7 which says “The Lord will not do a thing without revealing it to his seers”.
[ALSO READ -PROPHECY: Mugabe’s Exact Death Date, and Grace Mugabe’s Shocking Doom ]

Apostle Kenneth Eagle
Apostle Kenneth Eagle

Early January another prophet Austin Liabunya predicted Mugabe’s demise saying it was only “a matter of months” before the veteran tyrant died.
Liabunya also predicted that Hakainde Hichilema was going to be elected Zambian president in this month’s election. However Hichilema lost the poll to Edgar Lungu who has proved to be Mugabe’s ally.
But Eagle made a correct prediction with regards the Zambian elections.
On Zimbabwe, Eagle said it “is not far before the flag is pulled down for some days” adding that Mugabe will “go straight to Hell if he will not confess Jesus as his personal saviour”.
The prophet said in a vision he saw the “AU flag pulled down as a symbol of honour to their beloved leader” and the African presidents shouting “viva viva” as they trouped into Zimbabwe.
Eagle said the angel told him that “this must come to pass soon and pray that it will not happen in a festive season” before he saw “a better nation with much of economy fruitfulness”.
Eagle’s prophecy comes after Mugabe, who was recently elected the African Union chair fell as he stepped down from the podium in what many saw as an indicator that the strongman was indeed living on borrowed time.

Police Beat Up Churchmen, Women


ANTI-RIOT police yesterday descended at Maleme Ranch in Matopo and severely beat up villagers who had gathered for a prayer meeting on the farm.
The villagers were against the acquisition of the ranch by an official from the office of the president, Rodney Mashingaidze. The locals had at the weekend resolved to hold two days of prayer to stop the acquisition of the farm which belonged to a white farmer, David Cunningham.
The prayers were supposed to continue yesterday, but all hell broke loose when baton-wielding riot police descended on villagers and beat them up for allegedly trying to stop the farm acquisition.
Chief Malaki Masuku confirmed receiving reports that locals had been assaulted by the police.
“Yes, I have a report that my people are being beaten up by the riot police for holding peace prayers at Shalom campsite,” he said.
This follows reports that Mashingaidze on Friday led a group of 16 people from outside the region, who pitched tents around the ranch and ordered farm workers to stop their routine tasks at the farm.
A foreman was arrested and taken to Kezi.
Unconfirmed reports claimed Cunningham had been taken to the local police station.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele said he was not aware of the matter.
Local chiefs had been vehemently opposed to the acquisition and approached Provincial Affairs minister Abedinico Ncube, who has so far been indifferent to their pleas.
In response to the chiefs’ pleas, war veterans’ leader Chris Mutsvangwa warned traditional leaders in the province to stop meddling in land issues, but to stick to their mandate of safeguarding traditional values.
Mutsvangwa, who is minister in charge of the welfare of the former freedom fighters, said this while addressing hundreds of war veterans at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic, Gwanda, on Saturday.
“We respect our chiefs, but you should stop meddling in land issues, as it is not your mandate to do so. Concentrate on tradition,” he said. “Land is a revolutionary issue. We went to war because of land.”
Matabeleland South Senator Chief Nyangazonke and other chiefs challenged land officials to explain how Maleme Ranch was allocated to Mashingaidze without their approval. But Mutsvangwa said the chiefs were not mandated to allocate land.
War vets secretary-general Victor Matemadanda added the chiefs where working in cahoots with the provincial administrator Midard Khumalo, district administrators and land officials, who he said should be fired for engaging in corruption.
“Matabeleland South has the worst case of land corruption in the country and this is disgusting,” he said. “Traditional leaders, provincial administrator, district administrators and lands officials are involved in illegal dealings and we will have them fired.” southern eye

Teacher Fondles Teenager’s Breast


A 50-YEAR-OLD Chitungwiza male teacher who allegedly summoned a female student to his office where he hugged and kissed her and fondled her breast, appeared in court yesterday charged with indecent assault.
Cornelious Muradzi, a teacher at Genius College, however, denied the charge when he appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Lazarus Murendo. He was granted $50 bail and remanded to tomorrow for continuation of trial.
It is alleged that on February 5 at around 7:20am, the 17-year-old complainant was in class when Muradzi came to conduct a Shona lesson. The court heard that Muradzi asked the complainant why she had failed to come to school the previous day. He then summoned her to his office so that they could discuss the issue.
Prosecutor Norman Koropi told the court that as they were in the office, the complainant was overcome with emotion while explaining herself and Muradzi allegedly drew closer, hugged and kissed her and fondled her breast in a purported bid to console her.
The complainant immediately stormed out of the office and informed a janitor at the college, leading to Muradzi’s arrest. newsday

Manhood Erection Dodgy Concoction Shakes Harare


Harare’s avenues area has been flooded with a dodgy penis erection concoction which vendors are making brisk business from selling the medicine to motorists intending to hire the services of sex workers.
Avenues area is notorious for harbouring sex workers who solicit for sex from males passing by.
The vendors said they were getting most of their sales from ‘big’ people who drive top of range vehicles in town who hire services from sex workers.
The concoctions which vendors call ‘coffee’ are found in small sachets and cost   $2.50 each.
They also said the ‘coffee’ which is taken with soft drinks or beer instantly triggers erection which could last for more than 30 minutes.
ZimEye.com caught up with some female vendors trading the ‘coffee’ at Fife Avenue, and Montague shopping centres who said they were making big business.
“I sell not more than 15 packets of the product every day and most of my clients are those big bosses who drive top of range vehicles .Some of them even call me when they want to product, “said a middle aged woman who operates from Five Avenue shopping centre.
“I get most of my sales in the evening along the avenues from high profile business people who will be hunting for sex here. They can even offer double of the amount we charge because they will not be having time to wait for change”, another lady operating along Fife Avenue and Third Street near the former Bira bar garden now ZimCafe said.
A local Medical practitioner Ruzvidzo Pawarara said there are health dangers associated with taking any medication from unauthorized sources.
“What makes these medicines dangerous is that we do not know whether they are genuine or not. Their origins are not even known let alone their expiring dates. We have a number of cases where people  have developed other complications after taking these concoctions  and we urge people to visit their doctors if they have any problem including erection as in this case we  are talking about than buying concoctions from vendors”, he advised.
The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association said people should desist from buying concoctions from street vendors as this may damage their health.
“Yes there are tried and tested medicines which we have been traditionally using to boast sexual reproductive organs but people should not buy them from the streets. Medicines should only be obtained from medically approved dealers and not from the pavements,”Prince Mutandi Sibanda, ZINATHA secretary for education and culture told ZimEye.com .
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa could not be reached for comment yesterday.

MDC Renewal Team launches Face to Face campaign

The MDC Renewal Team Members of Parliament (MPs) and party members from that Harare structures members today launched a “Face to Face” campaign in the central business district (CBD).

The Face to Face campaign is a gives the MDC Renewal Team a platform to meet and hear the views and the` problems facing the people in various areas.
Among the MPs who were on campaign were the MDC Secretary General, Hon. Tendai Biti, Dzivaresekwa MP, Hon. Solomon Madzore, Kambuzuma MP, Hon. Willias Madzimure, Gwanda chairperson, Hon. Watchy Sibanda, Pelandaba-Mpopoma MP, Bekithemba Nyathi, Tsholotsho North MP, Hon. Roselene Nkomo, the MDC Treasurer General, Mr. Elton Mangoma and party spokesperson, Jacob Mafume.
The tour started from Samora Machel Avenue and they walked down Chinhoyi Street up to Market Square.

Business came to a standstill as the vendors, shoppers and city workers mobbed the MDC Renewal Team leadership.
The leadership heard from the residents of Harare that were desperate and wanted an immediate solution to the economic, political and social crises that Zimbabwe is going through.
The leadership was told that they were educated men and women but were failing to get jobs and had been left with no option but to resort to selling anything and everything.
Most of the people that the leadership interacted with were informal traders who said there major worry was lack of proper vending facilities and harassment from the police. They also appealed to the leadership to intervene and stop the Harare City Council from chasing them away from the vending sites.
The party leadership promised that they would use all relevant and proper channels to ensure that the poor people of Zimbabwe live normal lives.
Renew Today for a Better Tomorrow!!!

 

Jonathan Moyo Crushes Into Tsvangirai

Media and Information Minister Prof. Jonathan Moyo has crushed into MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s anti social media tirade by opportunely laying into the opposition leader’s capital misfortunes.
Moyo on Monday worked himself out to cast a democratic face by campaigning for the right for citizens to utilise social media to as he said “improve their lives.”
This came at a time when Tsvangirai was battling to damage control himself out having last month slapped his party members with a ban on using Whatsapp and other social media forums to express their political views.

Wrote Moyo:
Like everyone else, I think social media are really cool as digital platforms and I acknowledge their amazing power in facilitating interactive communication beyond the boundaries of space and time and in ways that can improve lives and livelihoods. But of course every cool thing has its limits and that is particularly true of technological products.
In any event, there are some fundamental questions whose answers still remain elusive about the space and use of social media in human civilisation. The abuse of social media witnessed in fake revolutions such as the so-called Arab Spring coupled with the vulnerabilities of these media to cybercrime should give society enough reasons to be inquisitive about the virtues of social media.

Otherwise the bottom line that you can ignore to your own peril is that social media have become so ubiquitous and so pervasive that it is no longer possible to be relevant in any human endeavour without using them. Those who don’t use social media in one way or another and those who want to ban their use are doomed. And so it is that while I still strongly believe in the epistemological proposition that nothing beats human speech as an expression of rational communication, I have decided to not only follow social media but to also for the first time participate in them as an active contributor.
As such, I have decided to open Twitter (@ProfJNMoyo) and Facebook accounts (https://www.facebook.com/ProfJonathanNMoyo) from today and I intend to use these accounts like nobody’s business. Those phoneys out there who have been running fake social media accounts in my name should take note that their criminal game is up.
My decision to be active on Twitter and Facebook, which I had previously vowed never to use in a thousand years, has been influenced by my recent appointment by President Mugabe to head Zanu-PF’s Department of Science and Technology which has combined very nicely with a long standing push from my kids whose lives revolve around social media. Let’s get started!

 

$670 000 Poured for Unemployed Graduates to Be Looted

A lumpsum $670,000 poured out by government for unemployed graduates is set to disappear, it has emerged.
Sources say there is no framework set up by government for the funds to be accounted for. This money was set out clearly to assist graduates but government has no way of controlling it’s disbursement, a source in the Ministry of Finance said.
As at Monday it was revealed Teritary Education Minister Oppah Muchinguri does not yet have an available policy and procedure for the disbursement of the funds. This became clear when upon requesting a copy of the document ministry officials confessed that it dfoes not exist.  “There is no such a document, why don’t you call on Wednesday morning,” a woman who identified herself as the Minister’s Secretary said.
Government last week announced in the State Media it has set aside $670 000 from Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) to fund projects for unemployed graduates, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking in Harare last Thursday at an event organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union, (ZICOSU), Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister Oppah Muchinguri said through a programme called Graduate Entrepreneurship and Employment Promotion Programme (GEEPP), the money would be used to fund projects for the unemployed graduates, teaching them to be self-reliant and innovative.
Minister Muchinguri said the programme will cascade to all provinces, and in order to mobilise additional resources, she will create linkages with external partners by exploiting bilateral and multilateral agreements already in place.
“President Mugabe noted that the number of unemployed graduates on our streets was increasing. My ministry responded by deliberately resuscitating the Graduate Entrepreneurship and Employment Promotion Programme,” Muchinguri  said.

Bulawayo Lawyer Faces $46 000 Lawsuit

One of the senior partners at a leading Bulawayo law firm, Cheda and Partners, Mlamuli Ncube, is being sued for $46,500 by a city businessman after he was allegedly implicated in a bungled sale of a house.The deal also involved a bogus estate agent, Charles Mawire, 34, who sold the property for $60,000 and allegedly issued fake title deeds to the businessman.
According to the summons issued at the Bulawayo High Court on February 2, Ncube was cited as the first defendant while Cheda and Partners is the second defendant. The businessman, Bernard Muntanga, is the plaintiff.
“Wherefore plaintiff claim payment of $46,500 jointly and severally with one paying the other to be absolved, being money due and payable to the plaintiff, the sum being owed by the first defendant who was acting within the course and scope of employment under the employ of second defendant in the abortive sale of House Number 8 Glenwood Road, Woodlands in Bulawayo,” said Muntanga through his lawyer, David Mhiribidi of Mutuso, Taruvinga and Mhiribidi Attorneys.
In the court papers, Muntanga is accusing Ncube and Cheda and Partners of failing to honour their agreement to settle the debt whose deadline was January 31, 2015.
“First defendant duly admitted liability of this sum in an acknowledgement of debt signed on December 10, 2014 wherein he had undertaken to pay the said sum on or before January 31, 2015, but failed and/or neglected to do so,” he said.
Muntanga is also claiming a collection commission fee in terms of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) by-laws, an interest thereon at prescribed rate per annum and the cost of suit.
Ncube has up to Thursday to enter an appearance to defend at the office of the Registrar of High Court.
Mawire of Mpopoma Flats has since appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze facing a fraud charge and operating as an illegal practitioner.
Cheda and Partners has since been placed under voluntary curatorship by order of the Bulawayo High Court. Ncube and his partner, Sindiso Shepherd Mazibisa have since voluntarily agreed to surrender their practising certificates to the LSZ pending forensic audit of the law firm’s trust account. LSZ has appointed Advocate Perpetua Dube as the curator of the law firm until March 31 when the curatorship expires.
The latest development comes at a time when a third of the lawyers practising in Zimbabwe are being investigated by LSZ for various cases of fraud and corruption which they committed throughout the course of last year.
There were 1,240 registered lawyers in 2014, but almost 400 of them are under investigation, putting a dent on the profession for which honesty is a cardinal rule.

Spot Fines Are Illegal, Judge Rules

The collection of spot fines from motorists by the police and the impounding of their vehicles if they fail to pay up is illegal and must be stopped forthwith, a High Court Judge has said.
Officially opening the 2015 Masvingo High Court Legal Year yesterday, Justice Francis Bere said there was neither a legal framework nor any law which either compelled a motorist to pay a spot fine or which empowered police to impound someone’s vehicle.
He said Section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07), which is often cited on the matter, did not give police officers powers to force a motorist to pay a spot fine.
Justice Bere said spot fines and their retention by the police needed to be clarified as the matter has caused a lot of debate.
“It has been reported extensively in the media that these collections by the police are meant to meet the force’s pressing operational needs,’’ he said.
“I fully understand the predicament the Home Affairs Ministry finds itself in, but it occurs to me that currently there is no legal framework justifying the manner in which these collections are being done.
“There is no law which compels a motorist to deposit a fine with the police if he desires to challenge the alleged offence, but it looks like the motorists are being forced to pay these fines on our public roads irrespective of their attitude to the charges.
“Any attempt to refuse to pay is met by threats to have the vehicle impounded by the police.’’
Justice Bere decried the continuous flouting of legislation that governs the collection and retention of spot fines, a development he said was affecting the force’s ability to fully execute its core business.
“The Section (356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, Chapter 9:07) compels the police to forthwith transmit all the documentation to do with the payment of spot fines to the court for confirmation by a magistrate,” he said.
“All these provisions of the law are being flouted, with everyone watching helplessly whilst this illegality continues. There may be no problems with the police operating as an extension of Treasury, but if that is what is desired, then the legal framework must be put in place to support such kind of a development.’’
Justice Bere said the police were “cursed” if it was true that the force was superintending co-ordinate collection of “security fees” to give commuter omnibus drivers free passage at roadblocks.
“Quite often, one hears of more illegal collections which are being made by the police,” he said.
“There is talk of well co-ordinated collections of security fees on our public roads, particularly from commuter omnibuses, which fees are meant to give commuters free and unhindered passage at police roadblocks.
“If this is true, then the department (police) is surely cursed. How can a nation continue to condone such malpractices which create a breeding ground for corrupt tendencies?
“We talk of determination for the need to rid this country of corruption. How can we achieve this when we allow our police officers to conduct themselves in such a corrupt manner? My view is that all these issues must be seriously looked at and corrective action be taken without further delays.”
Justice Bere said it was crucial for the police to jealously guard its repution as an international brand by fully and fairly playing its role in the justice delivery system.
Turning to the contentious issue of the death penalty, Justice Bere said there was urgent need to align certain laws with the provisions of the new Constitution to avoid confusion.
He said some High Court judges strongly believed that there should be no imposition of the death penalty at the moment until a new law that defines aggravating circumstances was created.
During the circuit of the High Court in Masvingo, Justice Bere will hear 11 murder cases. – State Media

City Town Clerk $63,000 Per Month

The Harare Municipality Town Clerk has a pocket-dip of $63,000 available for his personal use every month, it has emerged. The Harare Residents Trusts writes revealing the shocking salary discrepancies in the council.

The Harare City Council has 16 grades of employees with Grade One being the Town Clerk, reportedly earning US$21 000 in monthly salary and allowances, excluding vehicles, housing, cellphone and workshops.
On top of this the City of Harare gives workers in Grades 1- 3 school fees assistance for a maximum of three children per year, each child receiving the equivalent of one month’s salary and allowances.
Following this approach, the Town Clerk on paper would be entitled to school fees allowance of US$63 000 if he has three children in school.
The HRT now reveals what each of the grades is entitled to from the coffers of the Harare City Council. We only reveal the minimum figures revealed.
Those in Grades 1-3
Grade Two (six employees)- each earns US $19 073.16
Grade Three (2 employees)- each earning US$13 622.50
Grade Four (32 workers)- each earning US $10 048.25.
Those in Grade Four are entitled to US$18 000 school fees every year if they produce invoices and birth certificates of their children.
Grade Five (28 workers)- each getting US$2 778.21
Grade Six (44 workers)- each earning US$2 387.23
Grade Seven (101 workers)- each getting US$2 126.57
Grade Eight (267 workers)- each getting US $1 848.14
Grade Nine (920 workers)- each earning US$1655.17
Grade 10 (439 workers)- each earning US $1 186.22
Grade 11 (1761 workers)- each takes US $997.62
Grade 12 (874 workers)- each earning US $821.78
Grade 13 (873 workers)- each earning US $683.40
Grade 14 (735 workers)- each earning US $560.97
Grade 15/16 (1 587 workers)- each getting US$472.36
The figures in the number of employees reflects the official figures after their rationalisation exercise. Before the rationalisation there were 44 workers in Grade 4 but have been reduced to 32 while there are now two employees in Grade Three from five.
These allowances exclude the other payments given to them, including vehicles, cellphones, housing and their attending of workshops. The HRT continues to investigate.

Chinamasa Slaps Amplats With $10 Million a Year Tax Bill

Zimbabwe’s new 15 percent export tax on raw platinum, which was introduced (by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa) earlier than expected in January, will cost Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) about $10 million a year, Chief Executive Chris Griffith said.
“We are talking very, very strongly with the government at the moment and we have explained the impact on the company,” Griffith said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town.
“The impact is about $10 million (in lost earnings) but in a mine that has just been investing and putting capital in and that needs to start making money back because we have been investing very heavily in building houses too. Those things will stop, many of the programmes (will stop).”
Zimbabwe’s government first proposed the tax on unrefined platinum in 2013, in an effort to push mining companies to process the metal domestically. Late last year however it said it would postpone it until January 2017 to give miners time to build the smelting and refining plants.
But the government’s finance bill, which was published on January 9, proposed its introduction from January 1, causing concern among Amplats, the world’s largest platinum producer, and others that operate in the country.
Amplats owns Unki Mine near Shurugwi in central Zimbabwe, the third largest platinum producer in the country.
The mine’s milled tonnage output for the fourth quarter to December marginally dropped to 412,000 tonnes from 414,000 tonnes in the prior period.

Biti Pins Zimbabwe’s Hopes on A Grand Coalition

MDC Renewal Team secretary general, Tendai Biti, has described a grand coalition of Zimbabwe’s opposition political parties as the “only solution” to the country’s social, economic and political problems.
He said this while addressing Mutare residents at Joppa Hall in Chikanga suburb on Saturday.
His party has announced that it is re-uniting with the MDC party led by Welshman Ncube ahead of a planned launch of their United Movement for Democratic Change (UMDC) on March 1 2015 I Bulawayo.
It is not clear if the grand coalition Biti wants would include Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T.
“We are working with other political parties to build a grand coalition. A lot of work is happening. We have to work together to build this coalition,” Biti said.
He bemoaned the industrial decline in the border city of Mutare which used to be a bustling commercial zone.
“Mutare is now a ghost town, a pale shadow of its former glory. There were big companies here like Mutare Border Timbers, Mutare Board and Paper and Quest Motors, but now you cannot talk about that to the young generation without having to explain yourself why these companies are no longer there.
“At one stage in 1995, wealth in Mutare, alone was more than the wealth of the whole of Mozambique in terms of the GDP but now the city is now a scary centre of poverty,” Biti said.
He said the continuous economic decline as well as infrastructure deterioration in Mutare demonstrated Zanu (PF)’s cluelessness on how to remedy the situation.
“As the MDC Renewal Team, we will not leave the people suffering like. That is why we are offering the solution,” he said.
He said the economic challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe had resulted in many people living in squalid housing as they cannot afford decent housing, a situation he said was not conducive for raising families.
“The national constitution talks about the right to human dignity, that dignity has been taken away from men and women of Zimbabwe because they can no longer play their role of providing for their families including buying basic items like bread and milk,” Biti said. -TheZimbabwean

Grace Enraged By Mugabe Fall, Causes CIO Probe

First Lady Grace Mugabe is furious over her husband’s fall and is reported to have caused the suspension of bodyguards now blamed for Mugabe’s sudden disgrace last Wednesday.
A worried First Lady, Grace Mugabe, is said to be apoplectic about the alleged poor planning and response by President Robert Mugabe’s aides when the nonagenarian fell at the Harare International Airport last Wednesday.
Sources told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that so angry was Grace — whom Mugabe has said is recuperating from a minor operation in Singapore — that she had allegedly demanded the heads of all the implicated people to roll, including those of some security details.
“She was raving mad when she heard of the incident and felt that his aides and security team were negligent in this unfortunate issue. “As any spouse would do, she is clearly fearful that things could have turned really nasty on the day given the president’s age and state of health, and is thus keen to see that this is never repeated.
“This is one of the reasons why petrified government officials and State media have gone into overdrive to try and play down the incident, and to abuse anyone who has shone a negative spotlight on the incident,” one of the sources said.
Another source claimed that Grace’s anger emanated from the fact that Mugabe’s aides had seemingly not planned the airport rally and podium arrangements well, as well as the fact that security details had allegedly taken too long to react to the nonagenarian’s fall.
“She is angry because President Mugabe’s staff knew very well that he has difficulty walking, especially climbing and walking down steps, but did not appear to have factored this in at the airport.
“And when he tumbled over, the security team appears to have been taken unawares, which calls into question their alertness,” the second source said.
The increasingly frail Mugabe fell after he had just finished addressing his supporters after returning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he took over the rotating ceremonial chairmanship of the African Union.
Although he appeared unhurt after the nasty incident — which occurred in full view of gathered bigwigs, Zanu PF rank and file members and journalists — it triggered visible panic among senior government officials and security chiefs, who all scrambled to try and help him get on his feet and to ensure that he was alright.
It apparently did not also assist Grace’s mood that photographs and video evidence of the fall had leaked on the Internet almost immediately after the incident, and despite
assurances that the secret service had confiscated and destroyed all images that had been captured by the private media.
This had created suspicions about the source of the images and whether State media or Zanu PF officials and members had been complicit in the damaging leaks that made global news.
Aggressive security personnel moved promptly to force gathered photojournalists, including a crew from the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday, to delete their prized pictures of the fall.
“There is a witch hunt as we speak to sniff out the sources of the leaks, amid reports that Amai wants those responsible to be severely punished.
“You must remember how allergic she is to these kinds of intrusions as exemplified by her negative reaction to a pesky photographer in the Far East a few years ago,” another source said.
It is understood that the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) is now conducting an internal review to determine the facts around the president’s fall, although it is not known when this is expected to be completed — with the results expected to guide any security adjustments and personnel actions that may be necessary to ensure the health and safety of the First Family.
Meanwhile, other sources claim that there are efforts to get respected former African heads of States such as Thabo Mbeki and ailing former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda to persuade Grace — the self-evident power behind the throne — to let Mugabe retire owing to his failing health and advanced age.
“It’s Grace who holds the cards and has the final decision if Mugabe is to retire, but no one is very optimistic given Grace’s behaviour,” one of the sources said. daily news

Tsvangirai Banning Whatsapp, Facebook: “But No He Did Not Do It”, Says Obert Gutu

MDC-T Spokesman Obert Gutu writes denying his boss Morgan Tsvangirai’s recent ban of Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter use. He did not do it, Obert Gutu says against the backdrop of a full letter penned by Mr Tavangirai in person which saysbthe contrary.
By Obert Gutu:
The MDC is a social democratic party whose main ethos and principles are benchmarked on tolerance, love, empathy, peace and harmony. As a party of excellence, the MDC deeply values, respects and upholds fundamental and basic human rights particularly freedom of expression and freedom of association. We would like to put the record straight that President Morgan Tsvangirai has not banned party members from using social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc. President Morgan Tsvangirai is a champion of democracy and free speech and indeed; his track record as the country’s most popular politician speaks for itself.
Throughout his political activism, President Tsvangirai has personally championed the cause for the opening up of both the public and private media space to enable all Zimbabweans to freely articulate and propagate their political and other views.
As a voluntary association, the MDC is bound by certain rules and regulations. Indeed, all voluntary associations the world over (including churches and business associations); have to abide by a certain code of conduct in order to achieve stability, unity and cohesion. MDC members are a disciplined group of cadres who very much appreciate the need to use social media platforms for the purpose of maintaining and promoting party discipline, unity and cohesion. The insinuation that party members are no longer allowed to use social media is thus palpably false misleading, preposterous and malicious.
Party members are free to use social media in accordance with the guidelines and standards that are being set up by the party leadership. Social media platforms should not be abused to promote hatred, division, gossiping and rumour -mongering. These guidelines are being made available to all party members who would like to use social media platforms to communicate amongst themselves. Should there be any doubt as to what these guidelines are, my office is more than willing and able to assist any party members who are keen to activate their social media platforms.
The MDC is a beacon of hope for all progressive and democratic – minded Zimbabweans and as such ; the party will do everything within its power to ensure that freedom of expression and freedom of association are not only respected but that they are also jealously guarded and protected.
MDC: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
Obert Chaurura Gutu
MDC National Spokesperson

MDC A Junk Yard – Misihairabwi Mushonga


Welshman Ncube led MDC want out Secretary General Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga has described the party she has fallen out of love with as a junk yard.
In a Facebook update, Misihairabwi Mushonga lamented at belonging to the Ncube led MDC as being sore to belong to a junk yard with an “ouch!!’ Mushonga said this responding to a letter written to the editor of The Daily News of February 7 by a G S Maphosa of Gweru calling on the longtime politician to resign from the party or face forced removal by party members.
In her damning statement Misihairabwi Mushonga challenged the party members to push her out of the party quickly to allow the party to “march to State House fast riding on donkeys”. Over the last weeks Mushonga has come out trailblazing against party President Professor Welshman Ncube who she has described as being difficult to work with.
“Just saw the letter in the Daily News, ouch it’s sore to be in junk yard, and am so waiting to be pushed out, no one is indispensable the sooner you do it the faster you march to statehouse riding on donkeys,” reads Misihairabwi Mushonga’s posting.
In the letter to the editor, Maphosa challenged Mushonga to leave the party immediately as her media statements make it clear that she is no longer an asset in the party. Maphosa claims that the departure of Mushonga from the party will be celebrated by members of the party as “good riddance of bad rubbish.”
“Priscilla is a good example of a person who has outlived her usefulness at a great party that she has always tried to destroy from within,” wrote Maphosa.
“As supporters of the party we will celebrate the departure of this deflated figure within our organisation. Her departure will obviously be seen as good riddance of bad rubbish and will give a new lease of life to the party,” said the letter.
In her response Mushonga challenged the party members to continue writing about her as it revealed to her that a lot more people in the party not only dislike her but hate her.
“…please keep writing it is so gratifying to know that that they are so many of you that really genuinely not just dislike me but hate me, Aluta continua I so await for the next installment . happy hating,” writes Mushonga.
Commenting further, Misihairabwi Mushonga challenges the members of the MDC to push her out of the party quickly and in style if her removal from the party would give party members peace of mind and what she calls “better satisfying sex”.
“If abusing me puts more money in their pockets, more peace, more joy and better satisfying sex more power to them if people are having lighter chests, lower blood pressure, if it helps you to write about me, I am more than happy to have more healthier people so write please write and when you are ready for the final push do it with style I can’t wait!”
Maphosa meanwhile in his letter warned party members siding with Misihairabwi Mushonga that no one will ever be allowed to be bigger than the party. Maphosa accused Mushonga of working with a cohort known as the “gang of four” which must disband urgently or face being exposed.
“The gang of four should disband now or risk being exposed.”
“Party members following this sellouts should be advised to stop it before their cover is blown. Party members thinking Priscilla Misihairabwi will one day be president of the MDC should wake up and smell the coffee. We are fed up with Misihairabwi,” reads the letter.
In her response Mushonga called on party members backing her “cause” to help those fighting for her removal to speed up the process.
“I don’t mind those that think that the revolution will be achieved by pushing me out the sooner they do it the faster we all can leave happily ever after, so let’s encourage them they may be the saviours we were looking for, they must know something we don’t know, that our
problems would just go as soon as this evil person Priscilla is banished please let’s support their cause,” she wrote.
“I hear them they genuinely believe they lives would be much better if it
wasn’t for me they may be right it might actually get better but the sooner they act instead of issuing threats the better it’s been two years, is it not time to deal with this woman who has brought so much misery and pain for a a whole party let alone a nation,” challenged Mushonga.
Meanwhile sources within the party revealed to the media that the Matebeleland South Province Standing Committee of the party was meeting in Gwanda yesterday to pass a recommendation to party’s National Standing Committee to dismiss Misihairabwi Mushonga from the party and recall her from parliament where she represents the province as a member of Muzingwane District. Efforts to get an update on the outcome of the meeting are still underway.

Zimbabweans Linked to $270 Million Stashed in HSBC Foreign Bank Accounts – REPORT


An international banking giant, HSBC, made huge profits by allegedly engaging in shady deals of over $270 million with some Zimbabwean citizens seven years ago, in the process, disadvantaging the poor southern African nation of the much-needed foreign currency, documents in Studio7’s possession have revealed.
These secret documents, obtained from the French newspaper, Le Monde, by the renowned International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a Washington-based journalist organization with members from more than 65 countries, including Zimbabwe, cover bank accounts up to 2007 said to have allegedly belonged to 198 clients connected to Zimbabwe by birth, or residence, amounting to $272 million.
The account records also show that HSBC in 2006/7 had accounts holding about $102 billion deposited by individuals and companies from 203 nations, Zimbabwe included.
The dealings between HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm show what some banking experts in Washington, who requested not to be identified, described as “illegal behavior by the bank, especially in hiding millions of dollars from tax authorities the world over.”
TOP LIST
Topping the list of individuals from Zimbabwe are politicians, doctors, business people, farmers, sports people and what the document refers to as “housewives”, though further investigations by Studio7 reveal that some of these so-called ‘housewives’ are directors of private companies and trusts.
The documents reveal that some of the political figures include former Zanu PF senator, Aguy Clement Georgias, who owns Trinity Engineering and a trucking company; the late Zanu PF youth boss and Zimbabwe Air Force commander, Air Marshal Josiah Tungamirayi; cricketer, Stuart David Robertson; businessman, Frederick Mutanda, chairman of Caps Holdings and the Patel family, among others.
Mukanda did not answer his phone, and Robertson was not reachable.
Georgias, whose account is now listed in the documents as closed, was added on the European Union (EU) sanctions list in April 2007, following his appointment as economic development deputy minister by President Robert Mugabe. He was removed from the sanctions list in February 2011.
The controversial politician took the EU to court claiming 6 million euros in loss of business after he was denied entry into Britain in 2007. But the EU’s general court rejected his application.
Georgias did not answer his phone when Studio 7 contacted him for comment.
MONEY WITHDRAWALS
According to documents in Studio 7’s possession, clients allegedly traveled to Geneva to withdraw huge sums of money, and in some cases, some of them were said to have been advised by HSBC on how to take a range of measures to avoid paying taxes in their home countries.
For example, on January 27, 2005 a Zimbabwean client (name supplied) met HSBC staff in Cape Town and was advised on how to take $500,000 in cash to support his son’s credit card request. The son had to emigrate to California to supervise property investments there by the client.
These internal discussions between the bank and clients will be made available tomorrow, including the amounts each individual had with the bank.
Reacting to reports of these alleged transactions, former finance minister, Tendai Biti, told VOA Studio 7 the suspected offshore banking by Zimbabweans indicate that the money did not come from a legal source. “One cannot send money outside Zimbabwe without the central bank knowing. At the time the transactions were made, the Zimbabwean laws were very strict when it comes to foreign exchange.”
Biti, who is a corporate lawyer, said the economy was on its knees when the transactions were made. “Most foreign currency was bought on the parallel market and it was difficult to trace it. Although there is no law that stops Zimbabweans from opening bank accounts in other countries, the law requires all residents to declare interest earned when filing tax returns.”
HSBC RESPONSE
In response to ICIJ inquiry, HSBC, with head office in London and offices in 74 countries and territories in six continents, admitted that its compliance culture and standard of due diligence in its Swiss private bank, as well as the industry in general, were significantly lower than they are today.
HSBC added that it had taken significant steps over the past several years to implement reforms and exit clients who did not meet strict new HSBC standards, including those where it had concerns in relation to tax compliance.
The bank further said, “As a result of this repositioning, HSBC’s Swiss private bank has reduced its client base by almost 70% since 2007.”
Asked for comment, a former senior government official who requested anonymity said, “Every truthful person knows that the hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe was not just the result of money printing pinned on former central bank governor, Dr. Gideon Gono’s door, but was also caused by a lack of foreign currency in Zimbabwe to buy raw material inputs for improved capacity utilization by the private sector.”
The official, who is a Zanu PF member, said any form of externalization of foreign currency into any foreign bank worldwide was a direct attack on the Zimbabwe’s economy.
MORE FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS
The official said the amount revealed in the Swiss account of HSBC was a tiny fraction of the estimated $4,5 billion in Zimbabwean money allegedly stashed in other banks in Switzerland, and almost up to $3 billion stashed in South Africa, Virgin and Cayman Islands, in offshore tax havens like Guernsey, Mauritius, Seychelles, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and Dubai.
“Zimbabwean people and business operators are some of the most unpatriotic and crafty people on this planet when it comes to economic patriotism and the monetary love for their country. Given the chance, they would sell the country and stash the money very very far away from Zimbabwe itself,” said the official.
Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, was not immediately available for comment. Gono’s number was not reachable.
HSBC 1,9 BILLION FINE
HSBC was fined $1,9 billion in 2012 by the US’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for allowing drug cartels to launder hundreds of millions of ill-gotten dollars through its US operations.
Ray Choto is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists working with other ICIJ members on the HSBC scandal.
-VOA

Female Vets Want Sex Compensation


ZANU PF bigwigs and ex-Zanla commanders who fought in the war of liberation, have been fingered in the case of rampant sexual abuse of female combatants who now demand compensation for their suffering.
Ex-women freedom fighters said comments attributed to Zanu PF Politburo member and war veteran Oppah Muchinguri, accusing former Vice-President Joice Mujuru of forcing young women to sleep with male combatants during the liberation struggle, have all but confirmed the shenanigans by “chefs”.
The women said the admission gives them a fresh opportunity to demand compensation for their suffering.
The war veterans said all along their claims for compensation for the abuse they suffered during the liberation struggle were suppressed by their colleagues in “higher offices,” who were now accusing each other of perpetrating the crime.
Muchinguri was quoted by The Sunday Mail a few weeks ago as saying: “When Joice came back from Zambia, in fact she did not undergo any form of training.
“A few days after she joined us in Mozambique, Joice physically assaulted me. I, Cde Duri and Cde Chitsotso, resisted sleeping with the likes of Cde [Didymus] Mutasa, Cde Bhombandiani and I was whipped for that. Imagine, Joice was there!
“We want you to understand how young female soldiers suffered as Joice engineered all these abuses.”
But Muchinguri denied Saturday ever making such allegations.
“I never said that. What I said was recorded and it is not correct that I said she [Mujuru] did that,” she told The Standard.
Mujuru, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, married her husband, the late former army commander General Solomon Mujuru in Mozambique. A number of other Zanla commanders and Zanu PF officials, among them Mutasa, also married women combatants.
Outspoken former female freedom fighter and Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD) president Margaret Dongo said what Muchinguri said was a tip of the iceberg as a lot was still to be revealed.
“The truth of the matter has not yet been told….abuses of female ex-freedom fighters were so high and sophisticated that they deserve to be paid damages,” said Dongo.
Another ex-combatant and prolific writer, Freedom Nyamubaya said the abuse of female combatants was a very sensitive matter.
“The issue of abused former female combatants by chefs is a hot potato. I talked about it in most of my books and poems,” said Nyamubaya.
Among Nyamubaya works, the poem, For Suzana is irresistible for its gentle narration of ordeals of a woman who sacrifices her life to train and carry arms for freedom before suffering humiliation through rape when her body becomes a “church for high-ranking monks to relieve their stress”.
Another female ex-combatant who only wanted to be identified as Chapwititi (her Chimurenga name), said it was sad to note that Muchinguri accused Mujuru when she knew very well that both of them were survivors (victims).
“It is very sad that Muchinguri can accuse Teurai [Mujuru] when she is aware that both of them are victims,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“We had tasked them to raise the issue once we were back but they forgot, probably because of the comfort they were now enjoying.”
A Chinhoyi-based single parent and female war veteran agreed, saying most of her colleagues in the struggle were abused despite their positions.
She said most of them failed to get married because most ordinary people did not understand them or feared their past.
“Most of us were abused including those in higher positions by these chefs during the war of liberation and we agreed while in Mozambique that we would push for compensation back home,” said the ex-freedom fighter.
“But after independence the women in higher offices including Muchinguri and Mujuru dragged their feet saying it was disrespectful to our leaders…zvino chaipa chii? [what has gone wrong?]”
But their male counterparts said sex among ex-combatants was consensual even with the povo (civilians).
 – Article originally published in The Standard

ZIFA’s Cuthbert Dube Crushed Under The Hammer

Zimbabwe Football Association’s (Zifa) Human Resources (HR) practices have been put into question as the association continues to battle against a ballooning debt that now stands at $6 million.
On Friday, Zifa president Cuthbert Dube was visited by the Deputy Sherriff as they wanted to attach property at his Old Alexandria Park home.
The court bailiffs were wielding a writ of execution after the association failed to pay Pandhari Lodge the sum of $281 985.
Earlier this year, Zifa’s property was auctioned off to pay an outstanding debt to former communications officer Nicky Dhlamini-Moyo, who was sacked under unclear circumstances back in 2012.
Initial the Labour Court had granted Dhlamini-Moyo an award of $10 000 but the Zifa secretariat did not act on the instruction.
This resulted in the former communications officer’s award rise to almost $100 000 in interests.
Another pressing HR matter at the hands of the association is the money owed to former Warriors coach Norman Mapeza, who was suspended in March 2012 for his involvement in the Asiagate match-fixing scandal.
Although there was not enough evidence to warrant Mapeza’s suspension, Zifa went ahead and appointed Rahman Gumbo while the former still had a running contract with them.
The Labour Court ruled in favour of the former Zimbabwe captain and Zifa now owe him an approximately $245 000 in salary and benefits.
Former Zifa employees Harriet Samukange (personal assistant to chief executive officer), Tafirenyika Chitsungo (Accounts officer), Christopher Emmanuel (Admin officer) and Munyaradzi Siwatsi (finance and administration manager), who all voluntarily retired in August 2011 took the association to the Labour Court where they also granted an award of $100 000.
Former Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet, who was deported for not having a work permit, is also still owed an excess of $150 000.
Another former Warriors coach Charles Mhlauri is owed $18 000 after he gave the association a ‘loan’.
Volunteers who helped during the 2011 Cosafa Women’s Championships hosted by Zimbabwe are still owed $180 000 in unpaid allowances.
The association also lost its case against former director of administration, Lazarus Mhurushomana and was ordered to pay him $35 000 by the Labour Court.
There are many other former Zifa employees who were shown the exit door from the association who have all won their cases at the Labour Court.
Zifa also owes its employees as sum of $260 000 in unpaid salaries dating back to many months from last year.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is also owed $160 000 in unpaid Pay As You Earn taxes collected from the Zifa employees.
All these labour related cases contribute a chunk of the $6 million debt that is threatening to grind Zifa to a halt.
Labour lawyer Rodgers Matsikidze of Matsikidze and Mucheche Law Chambers said the recruitment policy at Zifa was the major stumbling block.
“I think there are a number of issues at play at Zifa. In relation to coaches, if you employ a coach you need to know whether that person s suitable for the job,” Matsikidze told the Daily News on Sunday.
“It does not make sense to employ a coach and then two months later you are firing that person. What it means is that something is wrong with your recruitment policy. Such a recruitment policy is poor.
“If you look at the other employees who are not necessary coaches you need proper advice on how long you are engaging such people.
“At an organisation such like Zifa you need to put the supporting staff on contract-based terms. Our Zimbabwean law allows employing people on one-year contracts and so forth what is not allowed is the casualisation of staff whereby you give people on one-month roving contracts.”
The Harare lawyer also criticised the way Zifa handle their internal disciplinary hearing which has resulted in a high number of cases they have lost at the Labour Court.
“When it comes to the number of cases they have lost at the Labour Court it just shows that there is poor human resources at Zifa,” he said.
“I doubt if they have a person who is responsible for Human Resources and if they have such a person they should be fired like yesterday.
“This whole thing goes back to the management which in this effect is the Chief executive of the organisation. He’s responsible to the day-to-day running of the organisation but is sleeping on duty when such issues are arising.
“This is what you get when you have a malfunctioning board because there is no one to put in place policies and make sure that these policies are being implemented.” -Daily News

Mugabe Fall: 28 CIOs Slapped with Suspension

A record 28 CIO bodyguards have been suspended from work over Mugabe’s embarrassing fall last Wednesday.
Sources within the intelligence organisation reveal that the security men are being probed for either causing or at the least allowing Mr Mugabe to fall on himself.
The guards could even be charged for allowing the incident to occur, another source said.
“They could be charged for remaining immobilised as His Excellency tripped and fell …” they said.
The full list of names of the suspended could not be ascertained at the time of writing.
Mugabe after returning from Ethiopia on Wednesday fell after descending a staircase just after addressing people at the Harare International Airport. He had been addressing people bussed in from Harare’s High Density surbubs brought in to welcome and celebrate his elevation at the African Union summit.
The incident has seen several people blamed for it including expelled Vice President Joice Mujuru’s faction the State Media claimed supplied the carpet on which Mugabe landed his feet on Wednesday. READ MORE – Mujuru Faction Caused Airport Fall – Herald Editor

Mnangagwa Forges 3 Court Cases to Arrest Didymus Mutasa

Presidential heir apparent Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction has muted a record three criminal charges against ousted Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa, which may land Mutasa in prison in a matter of days.
The dramatic bill of charges include allegations that Mutasa,a Mujuru ally, looted $200,000 from a community project in Manicaland. He is also accused of dishing out farms to said “girlfriends”. It was claimed that one of the charges has been in the courts since 2004, but beyond a verbal claim by a ZANU PF militant, there was no evidence presented of supporting court papers to validate those claims. The below was the article by the Jonathan Moyo run State Media:

Disgraced former Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa allegedly looted development funds and assets of two schools in Nyanga, and converted the money to personal use.
The case is before the courts and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has opened its own investigations.
Nyafaru primary and secondary schools were constructed after independence on land President Mugabe gave the Tangwena people in appreciation for their help when he crossed into Mozambique in 1975 to prosecute the liberation struggle.
Mutasa is the director of Nyafaru Development Company (NDC) which oversees the running of the schools.
He and NDC chair Pearson Kasu allegedly grabbed four vehicles, including an ambulance, donated to the community.
Mutasa, it is alleged, also took at least 400 head of cattle from the Tangwena people and has over the years tried to take over their land.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora said: “The matter is before the courts. We cannot, at the moment, give the exact amounts that are alleged to have been looted. However, a report will be complete in the coming week.”
Nyafaru Secondary School Development Committee legal representative Mr Amon Toto said the case has been in the courts since 2004.
He alleges that Mutasa interfered with the school’s financial administration and took money for personal expenses.
In papers filed at the High Court, the school development committee wants Mutasa and his company barred from interfering further.
NDC, the Ministry of Education and Mutasa are respondents.
The papers read, in part, “On the other hand, the first respondent (NDC) through its officials have done everything in their power to derail development of the school including vandalising the school property through the thugs that they have been sponsoring.
“Establishing a bar selling alcohol within the premises of the school. In one instance, 72 window panes were broken by one of the agents of the officials of the first respondent.
“Despite the resolution of September 16, 2004, the first and third (Mutasa) respondents have been trying to disturb the smooth operations of the two schools in various ways.”
SDC chair Mr Nhamo Nyagondora said Mutasa and Kasu allegedly took 20 percent of school funds intermittently.
“We have since dragged Cde Mutasa to the courts so that NDC will be excluded from handling the schools’ affairs.
‘‘Cde Mutasa and his company are failing to explain to us the whereabouts of a tractor, an ambulance, two Land-Rovers and a five-tonne truck.
“He is also failing to account for the 400 cattle.
‘‘We are urging the relevant authorities to intervene so that Cde Mutasa is removed from being part of the Tangwena community. We have since told education officers that were dispatched from Harare how the NDC management was siphoning school funds for their personal use. We have failed to construct two classrooms as a result of this interference.”
Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Mandi Chimene said: “We have met representatives from the Tangwena community who alleged that Cde Mutasa and his team were taking school funds for their personal use.
“Our office is going to visit the Nyafaru community and carry out an audit with the aid of education officers so that we establish the exact amount of money that is alleged to have been looted by the parties involved.”

Mugabe Jet Crash Accident Risk Shoots 90%

The risk of President Robert Mugabe’s flights being compromised  by an unexpected plane accident has risen to more than 85%.
An aviation-watch consortium has drawn up statistics showing a sharp ascending rise in plane crash risk to levels worse than 65 years ago in 1950 when aviation technology was still primitive.
This has become so especially for those who fly across Asian skies where President Mugabe frequents for medical treatment.
“Aircraft passing through Asian airspace must take utmost precaution as the risk has risen to 90%”, said David Cohen, of the AVS organisation.

The highest ever number of fatalities was in 1972. In 1950 the number was lower than 700, but in 2014, it went past the 50 marker.
 
Cohen however added that the risk is now high for flights to Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore where President Mugabe flies, “Pilots should research well every time before taking into the skies for the number of danger spots in the oceanic territories has risen.”

SFG Insurance Boss Diverts $300,000

The former chief executive of the now defunct SFG Insurance firm, Charles Madziva is facing allegations of diverting over $300,000 meant for settling a claim by a client.
Madziva was interrogated at the High Court on Wednesday at the instigation of one of SFG’s major creditors, Cloudy Nyakonda, a farmer who had insured his tobacco crop during the 2011/12 season.
An arbitrator awarded him $610,000 in 2013 after he lost his crop but SFG failed to pay the money despite successfully claiming part of it from its reinsurer, the court heard.
During cross examination by Nyakonda’s lawyer Unity Sakhe of Kantor and Immerman, the court heard that Nyakonda had not been given money prior to the liquidation.
“SFG must account for the amount it received from the reinsurer’s claim. For that reason he (farmer) felt an enquiry had to be heard in terms of what transpired,” he said.
In his response, Madziva said he was aware of the judgement and that SFG had indeed received some payment from the reinsurer.
“Proceeds were paid to SFG because putting in place a reinsurer is a protection measure,” he said, adding  that the “funds were to be paid to the client.”
Madziva said SFG had received $305,000 which was supposed to be paid to the client but noted that “discretion of disbursement was purely an SFG responsibility.”
“You received $300,000 from the reinsurers in April 2013, up until time of placement of SFG into liquidation, SFG has not paid this amount to Mr Nyakonda. He has not received a cent from the arbitration award. What happened to that money?” asked Sakhe.
In response Madziva said: “SFG had discretion to use it while waiting for recapitalisation.”
This prompted Sakhe to ask for specifics on how the money was used, to which Madziva maintained that it had been used “purely for the business of SFG.”
“You were CEO of SFG, surely you can tell the court what happened to the money,” responded Sakhe.
“It was to do with keeping SFG going while waiting for injection of capital by shareholders. I was summoned to appear here on short notice,” said Madziva, claiming that he did not have the information readily available.
Sakhe continued with is interrogation: “In your recollection, given the handsome amount of $300,000 what could it have been used for. Was it used to pay salaries, buy vehicles?”
Madziva admitted that the money had also been used to pay salaries, but declined that it was used to pay packages or buy vehicles.
“Yes, part of it could have paid salaries and other claims,” he said.
Sakhe wanted to know what Madziva was paid since he declined that he was a director of the company.
“Like all other employees, I received what was owed,” he said.
Pressed to reveal the figure, Madziva said he did not have the information.
Sakhe said the interrogation would continue and would make a formal request for some company documents he wanted to have sight of.
SFG Insurance licence was cancelled by the Insurance and Pension Commission last year due to bankruptcy after the regulator increased the minimum capital threshold for insurance companies from $300,000 to $2 million.
In 2012, the company recorded huge losses to high claims and operational expenses. As a result, the company became insolvent with a negative capital of $1,7 million as a September 30 of that year.
The company, which was placed under liquidation in October 2013 has assets worth $2 million while its liabilities total $3,6 million.

High Court Rules RBZ Can Trash Interfin Bank

The High Court has approved an application by the Reserve Bank to liquidate Interfin Bank after it failed to secure fresh investment and appointed the Depositors Protection Corporation (DPC) as the provisional liquidator.
Interfin had been under the management of a curator since June 2011 after it was found not to be in a safe and sound financial position. During that time, up to 12 potential investors were considered  but none of them were successful.
The central bank warned last December that it would not extend the bank’s curatorship period which lapsed at the end of last year.
“Take notice that on Wednesday the 28th day of January, 2015 the High Court at Harare, issued an order for the provisional liquidation of Interfin Bank Limited, and the Depositors Protection Corporation has been appointed provisional liquidator of the company,” read a notice in the Government Gazette.

United Arab Emirate Investors Flee as Zanu PF Mobs Violently Disrupt $45m Business Complex Ceremony

ROWDY Zanu rowdy youths yesterday blocked investors from the United Arab Emirates who want to pour in $45 million to build the Shawasha multi-purpose business complex in Mbare, forcing Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo to postpone the ground-breaking ceremony.
The Zanu PF supporters — led by the councillor for ward 4 Martin Matinyanya and Mbare Chimurenga Choir — threatened to manhandle the investors, council officials and town clerk Tendai Mahachi for “invading” their open space without their knowledge.
The investors were visibly scared and shocked at the behaviour of the Zanu PF youths who, after Mahachi announced the postponement of the ground-breaking event, thronged the tent pitched for the guests. They ordered the investors and other invited guests out while baying for the blood of MDC-T councillors who were inside the tent.
Jaffer Krisht, the investor was visibly shaken when he came to meet councillors and Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni at Town House. He even threatened to pull out of the deal citing the rowdy behaviour of the youths that he described as “scary”.
Krisht said the incident was an embarrassment to him and diplomats present from other countries. He said he was also seeking the intervention of government ministers on the matter.
Tents had been pitched and tables displayed while people waited for Chombo, but Matinyanya threatened to call his youths to beat up everyone present.
Mahachi was at pains to convince the Mbare councillor and his group to calm down amid chants of: “We don’t want white people here. We will beat you up if you don’t leave. MDC-T councillors must leave this place now.”
Chombo was the guest of honour and an unidentified woman who had brought his speech was chased away by the swelling crowd.
“You did not tell me about this and my people are even shocked why you are here. Can you please leave this place because if you don’t, people will run here?” threatened Matinyanya.
The incident shocked Manyenyeni, business committee chairperson Herbert Gomba, chairman of the housing and community development committee Charles Nyatsuro, Iranian diplomats present and President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Leo Mugabe, who was also in attendance.
After several minutes of trying to engage the Zanu PF youths, Mahachi, who was subjected to verbal attacks at the scene, made an announcement saying the minister could not make it because he had been summoned by his boss (Mugabe). But it was clear that Mahachi and other officials had decided to call off the event because of the chaos.
The project — which will see more than 5 000 market stalls erected for small businesses together with banks, retail outlets and recreational facilities — is envisaged to create more than 10 000 jobs upon completion.
Gomba said it was unfortunate that the council drive to create employment was being hindered by Zanu PF officials in Mbare.
Deputy mayor Councillor Thomas Muzuva, who was also present, said it was sad Zanu PF youths had resorted to such violence in resisting development.
“They scuttled the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation $15 million project and now this. They can choose between development and no development. They will never stop the project. That will never happen,” he said.
Mbare is a political hotspot. There are several Zanu PF militias in the populous suburb notably Chipangano which used to cause terror, beating up political opponents, intimidating thousands of jobless people and extorting money from those surviving on markets- NGRACE MANSION TAKES SHAPE IN SEA OF POVERTY
7 February 2015 14:55
FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe’s empire built with the help of her husband President Robert Mugabe is fast taking shape, with her new mansion in Mazowe nearing completion at a time she is pushing hard to seize the nearby Manzou farm to set up a private game park at the expense of thousands of villagers who have been living there since the turn of the millennium.
The opulent double-storey mansion on Mapfeni farm should be finished soon as roofing has been completed, leaving the fitting of windows among minor finishings that remain.Mapfeni, which stretches from Mazowe Hotel to Mazowe High School along the Old Mazowe Road, is opposite to Grace’s orphanage and the Amai Mugabe Junior School in Mazowe. Grace evicted close to 300 families to acquire it in 2012.
Upon completion, the new “Gracelands” mansion will be part of Grace’s list of residences which include the imposing “blue roof” that is the First Family’s private residence in the upmarket Borrowdale Brooke suburb in Harare.
The Mugabes also reportedly have overseas residences, which include the hotly-disputed Hong Kong villa where their daughter, Bona, stayed during her student days at a university in that country.
Named after American rock ’n roll music legend Elvis Presley’s mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, the original “Gracelands” mansion was built in Borrowdale a few years after Grace’s 1996 wedding to Mugabe, reportedly at a cost of £500 000 from funds meant for low-cost housing units for civil servants.
The three-storey palace was later sold for an estimated £2,5 million profit to the Libyan government then under the late Muammar Gaddafi.
In addition, the Mugabes have a state-of-the-art dairy farm as well as an orphanage and school in the area. They have also reportedly accumulated as many as 16 farms, some of which were grabbed from prominent individuals and companies like High Court Judge Ben Hlatshwayo, and agro-producer Interfresh respectively.
However, it is the new mansion in Mazowe which appears to be the centre-piece of the ever-expanding Grace Empire in the scenic heartland of Mashonaland Central province — the home area of Grace’s nemesis, former Vice-President Joice Mujuru who was fired by Mugabe at the instigation of his wife who later inadvertently revealed that the conflict was over personal and family interests.
She was fired on allegations of plotting Mugabe’s ouster and even assassination, along with several ministers and senior Zanu PF officials, although Grace indicated Mujuru had actually threatened to evict her from Mazowe if she took over from Mugabe.
The Mazowe mansion can also be seen from Manzou farm which is constantly in the news as the latest frontier of Grace’s greedy seizure of more land, as she has fought since 2011 to evict thousands of villagers so that she can establish a game park.
It is not difficult to see why Grace covets the farm, which welcomes the visitor with picturesque scenery of rolling mountains and a lush green maize crop perched on the mountain slopes.
Tall, hardy Musasa and Mopani trees as well as creepers huddle close together on the slopes but at certain vantage points the sun streams through the leaves to allow a ravishingly beautiful view of the sun-baked Mazowe dam, the mansion as well as the school and orphanage not far below.
According to government sources, the dam could soon be providing water to the mansion and other structures around as pipes have been laid out to connect it.
From those commanding heights of the mountain even the two-metre high security wall surrounding the mansion cannot deny a probing eye from feasting on the lush green lawns, swimming pool and underground parking facilities that complement the double storey mansion.
Roofing is now complete leaving just windows to be fitted, suggesting that it may not be long before the occupants move in.
From closer range, however, all the Zimbabwe Independent news crew could see during a visit there on Wednesday was the entrance to the residence, which was heavily guarded by army, police and plain clothes security officers. Two granite block conical towers similar to the Great Zimbabwe towers stand either side of the gate. But from other vantage positions the view is clearer.
There is no telling how far Grace will go in expanding her empire even at the cost of ordinary people’s livelihoods. She remains mercilessly determined to evict thousands of villagers at Manzou farm to make way for her game park and only a High Court order is presently holding her back.
The disturbance of relocated Zebras has, however, not stopped some villagers like Makufa Moyo (57 years old), Jason Mvumbi (35) and Chipo Lakanya (39) from defiantly hanging in there in the forlorn hope they may be allowed to stay on permanently.
But such is Grace’s steely determination which flies in the face of government’s stated one-person-one farm policy that was torn to piece by her family as it amassed up to 16 farms.
Grace has angrily lashed out in public at former deputy Justice minister and current Mazowe South MP Fortune Chasi, accusing him of opposing her bid to acquire more land in Mazowe. Viable enterprises have not been spared as the First Lady grabbed Mazowe Citrus Estate last year, taking over 800 hectares of land belonging to Interfresh.
The land grabs have left Interfresh precariously on the verge of collapse, while investors were scurrying for cover fearing their money would sink.Interfresh had total land holdings of 3 800 hectares but Grace has taken 870 hectares (23%), leaving Interfresh with 2 930 hectares (77%).
Yet it seems Grace has no intentions to stop expanding her empire
“The land is no longer sufficient to sustain the projects the First Lady has on her sleeves,” Mashonaland Central Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Martin Dinha said at the official opening of the Amai Mugabe Junior School last year. “We are working on the papers to stretch the land so that she can have more land to do her projects.” NewsDay

Zanu PF youths Wage War on Kombis

[codepeople-html5-media-player id=1] Zanu PF youths yesterday staged a demonstration at the Mbudzi roundabout in Harare after a party supporter was allegedly killed by a kombi crew on Wednesday.
Blaring car horns, the supporters invaded the roundabout singing revolutionary songs and threatening kombis.
Godwin Gomwe, Zanu PF Harare youth chair, said kombi crews should treat passengers with respect.
“Kombi crews should know that they are ferrying passengers and not sacks of maize,” Gomwe fumed.
“So they must respect passengers and treat them in a dignified manner because they are the source of their income.
“What happened is a tragedy and as a party, we lost a dedicated cadre.”
Zanu PF Harare youth league vice chair Edson Takataka blamed the police for kombis’ wayward behaviour.
“This must come to an end,” he said. “We are not just talking about our deceased cadre only, but all those who have suffered at the hands of these reckless and careless people.
“Police should do their work and enforce the law. We are having all these problems because our law enforcement agencies are sleeping on duty.”
Tapiwa Chibvunza, Zanu PF secretary for administration for Ushewokunze district, was allegedly killed on Wednesday by a kombi driver and a conductor. He was travelling from Harare International Airport to Hopley.
The kombi had been hired to ferry Zanu PF supporters to the airport to welcome President Robert Mugabe and on their way back to Hopley, a dispute between Zanu PF supporters and the kombi crew erupted.
This led to the kombi crew allegedly fatally beating Chibvunza with an iron bar.

Mugabe Must Take Action On Mliswa


Controversial ZANU PF legislator Temba Mliswa abused President Robert Mugabe’s name to illegally grab businessman Paul Westwood’s  company. Westwood today writes to President Mugabe reminding him to take action on Mliswa for this.
 
 – His Excellency President Mugabe; Take Action On Temba Mliswa – 
This is very important as Temba Mliswa wrongfully and illegally seized my company on December 18 2009 claiming he had “authorisation” from his Excellency.
I know this is not true and you DO NOT like people using your name in vain for self gain.
My MP wrote to you and I humbly ask for your divine intervention Gushungo. Zimbabwe needs FDI and what happened to me was wrong, immoral, and illegal. My partner was a Pastor from the church and his wife was running the finance department. I called for a forensic audit which is why Temba Peter Mliswa was called in. They claim a “Banda Trust” was formed, but as of February 2010 no “Banda Trust” ever existed! Mliswa threatened to rape my wife and kidnap my 2 boys (who are Catholic) and threatened me with death.
Minister Didymus Mutasa has distanced himself from his own nephew as he knows the type of character he is. The whole world know my story.
I know you DO NOT stand for corruption and illegal activities so I humbly ask and pray I receive compensation from Temba Mliswa.
My company was Zimbabwe’s Number One Choice in manufacturing and Mliswa destroyed it over night. Some workers had been there from the time of it’s inception in the 90’s. New potential investors want to believe the same thing will not happen to them so Temba Mliswa must be held accountable for his own actions for what he did. This is not about race, or the West but about an investment which I made in good faith in Zimbabwe and created employment only to lose the entire lot to Temba’s personal greed.
I sincerely ask that as a man of God and President your wisdom and knowledge is applied here and hope and pray you help my family and I.
Paul Westwood

Mugabe Can Be Removed Silently Today


AILING President Robert Mugabe can be removed from power quietly anytime from now after it emerged parliamentarians have super powers to vote to unseat him. This emerged as appetite grew from within ZANU PF to give him a rest and avoid any further abuse of Zimbabwe’s liberation icon.
Not only can parliament do this but any Zimbabwean citizen can approach the High Court who can session even at the weekend to rule on Mugabe’s capacity to lead the country.
This came as opposition MPs began warming up to possible unity with disgruntled Zanu PF MPs in a move aimed at impeaching President Robert Mugabe who they argue is now incapacitated and unable to continue at the helm given his advanced age and ill-health.
The move, according to MPs interviewed yesterday, was now necessary particularly coming after Mugabe fell at Harare International Airport upon arrival from Addis Ababa where he was made Africa Union chairman.
MDC Renewal Team spokesperson Jacob Mafume said it was now the duty of current MPs to consider the move and ensure Mugabe is “saved” from the “abuse” by Zanu PF for wanting to keep him in power at that age.“I do believe we have maintained that State House is not an old people’s home and we should find other places to accommodate him and if Parliament is toothless in that regard, someone can approach the High Court to seek that Mugabe be checked medically if he is still fit to be on the job,” Mafume said.
“We see now there has been lapse in concentration on his part and we should understand that old age is illness humanity can’t cure.”Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya said given immediate past experiences where Mugabe’s lapse in concentration has been exposed, this could be the time for Parliament to act.Chikwinya’s argument was raised from three separate instances where the President showed signs of old age and lapse in concentration observers attributed to old age.
The first one was when Mugabe said Tsvangirai won the 2008 elections by 73% while addressing war veterans in Harare during the December Zanu PF congress.He also chanted “pasi neZanu PF” during the Zanu congress just after revealing that the First Lady Grace, was now controlling him even at home.
The debate was also ignited earlier this year with fears expressed by Mashonaland Central Zanu PF chairman Dickson Mafios whosaid that all MPs aligned to fired former Vice-President Mujuru should be recalled from Parliament amid fears they would gang up with opposition counterparts to impeach Mugabe.
“There are also rumours that they want to impeach President Mugabe if they unite with the MDC-T. So, right now we are not sure if their allegiance is towards the President and how loyal they are to government,” he said.The MDC-T has 91 seats in House of Assembly and Senate while Zanu PF has 234. But Zanu PF fears that more than 100 of its PF MPs were aligned to Mujuru and could form an alliance with MDC formations. Newsday/additional reporting.

Chunga Looks to Win for Castle

Chunga wants new signings
7 February 2015 12:25
HARARE – Buffaloes coach Moses Chunga is confident his side will complete a number of deals to boost his squad ahead of the 2015 Castle Premiership season.
The Mutare side fought against relegation for most parts of last year and only survived the chop on the last day of the season.
Chunga, who is known for his bias towards recruiting young players, was rewarded for saving the side from relegation after his contract was extended by one more year.
The nomadic coach’s mandate now is to develop Buffaloes into a competitive side that plays without the threat of relegation hovering over their head all season long.
“We are definitely going to buy a couple of new players,” Chunga told Daily News yesterday.
“For now I can’t reveal who the players are and where they are coming from, but all I can say is that we will definitely sign new players even if they have to come from outside the country.
“Last season was a difficult year for us and we don’t want to be in the same situation. We have already started our preparations.
“We don’t want to put ourselves under unnecessary pressure. What I can say for now is we want to play good football this year and so far so good; the signs are good.
“I am sure by next week we will be able to unveil new players.”
Chunga has already started by reshuffling his technical team. He brought former Dynamos and CAPS United midfielder Joseph Takaringofa as his new assistant coach.
Takaringofa replaces Timothy Masachi, who was sacked by Chunga earlier this year.
Chunga is also making frantic efforts to retain the services of veteran key midfielder Tafadzwa Mombeshora, who is reportedly on his way out of the team.
Mombeshora has been linked with a move to How Mine, who have already snapped up defender Moses Gutu. – DailyNews

Bulawayo Mayor Snubs Residents over ‘Dodgy’ Prepaid Water Metres


Faced with allegations of corruptly  contracting for the controversial Prepaid Water Metre gadgets, Bulawayo’s Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo yesterday snubbed residents and their associations after he had assured them that he was going to address their concerns.
The residents who last year successfully staged a demo, against the city council’s moves to install prepaid water metres, are now baying for the city father’s blood.
The mayor had also promised to address Bulawayo journalists before he once again abruptly cancelled the presser at the eleventh hour, thereby causing confusion, as more than 30 media practitioners had gathered for the Mayor’s address.
Bulawayo Press club chairman and Senior Journalist Pamenus Tuso complained, “I am disappointed by the mayor’s actions after we had prepared the event for more than two weeks. He even did not want to send a representative to stand in for him.”
Residents associations and civic organisations had also gathered at the press club to be addressed by the honourable mayor, who did not turn up.
Also in attendance were Roderick Fayayo, of the Bulawayo Progressive Residence Associations (BUPRA) and Jenny Williams of WOZA, who were representing the16 organisations that demonstrated against the council’s prepaid water metres.
Bulawayo residents have since resorted to fight the Council who they are accusing of trying to hide through prepaid water metres. “The council are now revealing their highest level of corruption, after they failed to address the community on the importance of the use of the gadget,” said Nonthando Ncube of Bulawayo residence Association.
“The Mayor has a private corrupt business, which he has corruptly entered into with some Harare guys. He has been evasive since the speculation of this deal has been doing the rounds in the council chambers. The Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo and some few corrupt councillors close to him have since coerced other community leaders into accepting his idea and passed a resolution without the concern of Bulawayo people,” said Tshabangu Dlodlo, a residents association committee member.
Asked to comment on why he cancelled the presser and also snubbing the residents, the mayor councillor Martin Moyo refused to shed light, referring this journalist to the City Council public Relations office for answers.

Man Misses Death Saved By Dogs

A man was attacked by a leopard and escaped with severe injuries while he was searching for donkeys in a bushy area. Gift Moyo,24 from Dombodema area in Bulilima said the animal surprisingly pounced on him from a tree on Wednesday at around 7AM.
His seven dogs came to his rescue as they fought and drove the leopard away before the big spotted cat could cause more damage. Moyo was alone in the forest and was left bleeding from his wounds,but he managed to walk back home resting several times on the way.
He described how the animal scratched him with its paws on the head and then sunk its teeth into his left arm.
Moyo said despite the agonizing pain, he held onto the leopard’s paw and grabbed its ear in a bid to stop the vicious animal.
“I left home on Wednesday morning and headed for Sibantubanye Farm which is about 10 kilometres away in search of my donkeys.
Along the way, my seven dogs which were ahead of me started barking and growling. When Icaught up with them I could not see anything as the path was clear,” said Moyo.
He continued with his journey and after walking a few metres he heard a tree branch snap above his head.
Moyo said he then heard a growl and he was searching for the source of the strange sound, the leopard jumped to the ground.
“I was shocked and before I could recover, the leopard jumped onto my head and scratched me,grabbed me by the left arm and I fell down. The animal maintained its grip,” said Moyo.
He said he held onto the leopard’s ear and left paw as the animal continued to growl while trying to reach for his neck.
Moyo said his dogs rushed to his help and attacked the animal which quickly fled from the scene.
He said he remained on the ground for a couple of minutes as he was bleeding.
“I was in much pain but I knew that I had to get up and go back home. I staggered towards a nearby stream and washed some of the blood off my body to avoid attracting other wild animals.
I struggled to get home because I had to walk about 10 kilometres. On the way, I would stop to rest under tree shades occasionally because of the pain,” said Moyo.
Moyo was rushed to Dombodema Clinic where his wounds were sutured,and he said his two fingers were still numb as a result of the attack.
The village head, Bowel Sibanda said incidents of animal attacks on humans were not common in the area but there were isolated cases of attacks on livestock.
“People are still shocked by the incident but we hope that we will not experience a similar case again. We have advised people to exercise caution while travelling through bushy areas,” Sibanda said.

Another Setback For Cuthbert Dube

Things seens to be falling apart for ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube who suffered yet another humiliation yesterday when his personal property worth about US$281 000 was attached over a debt in which he offered himself as guarantor in a matter where the association owes Pandhari Lodge hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The country’s under-fire football controlling body enjoyed the hospitality and services at Pandhari Lodge in Harare between February 2 and September 30, 2013, but did not settle the debt.
Dube then undertook to settle the debt, hence his citation in court proceedings as a defendant.
The Sheriff of Zimbabwe, Mcdoff Madhega, yesterday morning stormed Dube’s double-storey Groombridge mansion with a fleet of trucks to ferry movable property, but removal was temporarily halted after the ZIFA president’s lawyers sought extension of repayment period by 10 days.
There was drama at Number 7 Crighton Road, in Groombridge, as the security guards at Dube’s mansion house locked up the gate to bar the Sheriff from entering the premises.
Madhega’s team then parked a seven-tonne truck in front of the gate to make sure no vehicles or any other property would be moved out of the premises.
The Sheriff called a locksmith to assist his team to forcibly break into the yard but a woman, believed to be Dube’s wife, arrived with the news of the lawyers’ request.
Madhega and his two officers entered the premises to meet Dube who had locked himself inside to prevent the removal of the property. They spent more than an hour inside the premises before coming out to call off the mission.
The property attached include five vehicles:
Toyota Land Cruiser (AAD 1368)
Land Rover Discovery (AAQ 3270)
Mercedes Benz S600 (ACO 0649)
Mercedes Benz ML (AAC 1979)
Mini Cooper (ACM 2807)
The sheriff also attached household property including:
5 x refrigerators
5 x plasma television sets
6x sets of leather sofas
1x black massaging chair
kitchen tables and chairs
dish washers
microwaves and many others
The property was attached on the strength of a court order issued by Justice Lavender Makoni on January 21 this year.
The order reads:
“It is ordered that the application for summary judgment be and is hereby granted. The respondents (ZIFA and Dr Dube) shall pay to the applicant (Pandhari Lodge), jointly or severally the one paying the other, to be absolved the sum of US$268 435,57 together with interest at the prescribed rate of 5 percent per annum from the date of summons (October 24, 2013) to the date of full and final payment . . .”
The Herald had sight of a copy of the letter from Scanlen and Holderness that sought the postponement of the removal of property.
The lawyers stated that Dube had negotiated with Pandhari Lodge for an extension of the period in which money should be raised to clear the debt.
“The debtor has negotiated for a longer period of payment with the creditor.
“Accordingly, we have instructions to request that you (sheriff) postpone removal of the goods attached for a period of 10 days to enable the debtor to settle, failing which you may proceed with removal,” reads part of the letter.
ZIFA chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, also appeared at Dube’s house yesterday in a Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, but refused to talk to the media.
Dube, through his security team, also refused to entertain the journalists preferring to talk on the phone but he was unreachable.
The ZIFA president has come under increasing pressure, in recent weeks, to quit with a number of stakeholders concerned that the game has not gained in value since he took over as the leader of domestic football.
This week, former Premier Soccer League chairman, Tapiwa Matangaidze, who is now the MP (Zanu-PF) for Shurugwi South constituency, issued a chilling warning that there was a danger ZIFA could be liquidated. He was also very critical of the way Dube has been running domestic football for the past five years.
“The media has been at pains chronicling ZIFA and Cuthbert Dube’s recorded failure in running our football,” Matangaidze wrote in a piece published in The Herald.
“The football people which Dube is quoted as choosing to call ‘people of the streets’, have in unison called for his graceful resignation.
“What is not in dispute, and can never be, is that — under his stewardship — Zimbabwean football has sunk to an all-time low.
“Do I hear somebody saying ‘Thank you but no thank you to Mr Dube?’
“The so-called ‘people from the street’ hope that one day sanity will prevail and ZIFA will turn a new leaf.
“ZIFA, with a debt overhang of $6 million, is insolvent. Recently we have read of attempts to spin the figure to US$4 million. Regardless, the Association is insolvent.
ZIFA’s continued financial transactions with other organisations, and companies in this country, clearly exposes those firms and entities.
However,should one,two or several of ZIFA’s creditos call for its liquidation,and the appointmentof a judicial manager in the interim,surely this can never be misconstrued to be government intervention.
ZIFA’s creditors have a right at law to be protected by the country’s judiciary system.
The creditors gave a service to ZIFA in good faith and in a normal business transaction. The creditors have a right to be paid. Our laws, just like laws in other countries, are very clear on creditor/debtor relationships.
As things stand, ZIFA simply has no capacity to pay off its debts.”
Matangaidze said time was running out for ZIFA.
“If ZIFA has well-wishers, locally and internationally, Mr Dube included, who can settle the debts, then by all means, let it be done quickly, failing which I humbly submit the following for the football community’s debate:
(a) That at least one of ZIFA’s creditors petition the courts for its compulsory liquidation and the appointment of a Judicial Manager
(b) The Judicial Manager, so appointed, should engage FIFA in pursuing options to fund and reconstruct ZIFA
(c) That ZIFA Board members and Councillors be appraised of the implications of specification with regards to the people at the helm of liquidated organisations.”
Interestingly, ZIFA have more than $700 000, which could not be accounted for by their auditors, a sensitive subject that remains a huge talking point, despite Mashingaidze’s spirited attempts for the case to die a natural death.
THE ZIFA Assembly took their board to task over the audit report which unearthed financial irregularities of about $1 million.
The audit showed that in the financial year ending December 2013, total liabilities exceeded assets by $4 792 748.
It was, however, the $744 635 which the auditors noted was unaccounted for in the 2011 report which sparked a lot of concern among the councillors.
Expenditure, without supporting documentation, was unearthed.
“Included in the consolidated financial statements are direct match expenses amounting to $1 291 636 and we were not able to obtain appropriate and sufficient supporting documentation or confirmations from third parties,” reads the statement from the auditors.
“We were not able to obtain appropriate audit evidence in relation to the association’s recorded accounts payables amounting to $744 635 of the $781 588 recorded in the consolidated financial statements, over which there was no system of internal control on which we could rely for the purpose of audit.” -herald

Ordinary Level Results Out

Zimbabwe School Examinations Council November 2014 Ordinary Level results are out,and the pass rate risen by more than 10 percent to 30,85 percent as compared to 2013 overall percentage which was 20,72.
Zimsec director Mr Esau Nhandara said in a statement yesterday that the results have been dispatched to the examination council’s regional offices and candidates should start collecting them on Monday.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the examiners and all the Zimsec staff members who worked tirelessly throughout the setting, managing and marking processes to the point where we now have analyses and results to give to the nation,” he said.
Mr Nhandara pointed out tha the leakage in the Mathematics and English papers had no impact in influencing the pass rate in the two papers if their pass rate is compared to last year.
“Zimsec is pleased to note the seemingly low impact the leakages of the Mathematics and English papers has had on the candidates’ overall pass rate. It is notable that the performance of candidates in the papers that were re-sat was comparable to the November 2013 results.”
Mr Nhandara said there was an increase in the number of candidates who sat for the November 2014 examinations compared to the previous year.
“The total number of candidates examined in the November 2014 ‘O’ Level examination session was 316 003. Of these, 86 308 were female school candidates and 77 545 were female private candidates. The total number of male school candidates was 99 999 and 52 151 were male private candidates.”
Mr Nhandara said the performance of school candidates was better compared to private candidates.
An analysis of the results shows that boys performed better than girls in the examinations.
“The performance of male school candidates (27,23 percent) in the examinations was better than that of female school candidates (18,76 percent),” Mr Nhandara said.
“This is consistent with the 2013 results which showed that male candidates (27,41 percent) out-performed female school candidates (18,51 percent).”
High pass rates were recorded in Literature in English (82,54 percent), Physics (89,08 percent) , Statistics (77,96 percent), Additional Mathematics (calculator version) (79,62 percnet), Home Management (82,46 percent) and Computer Studies (78,43 percent). -herald

Sex Fiend Pius Ncube Escapes to Hwange.


Former Archbishop and anti-Mugabe clergyman Pius Ncube, has escaped out of public life to live in the green bushes of Hwange, ZimEye.com can reveal.
Pius Ncube, who was in 2007 humiliated by Robert Mugabe when the latter filmed a sex tape of him with a married woman, has sifted himself out of public life. He was caught on camera flesh to flesh with his secretary who was someone’s wife.
However despite the scandal, Ncube is still serving as priest in the Catholic church but at a lower rank. ZimEye.com can reveal.
He is now serving as an Auxiliary Bishop, an official told ZimEye.com in an exclusive interview.
He is serving at Mariste Mission, Dete, Hwange.
What his scandal occurred in 2007, Ncube was recalled to the Vatican where he was stripped of his Bishoprick. It was there that the church chose to retain him as a priest showing the institution forgave him.
One priest has defended Ncube saying he should be forgiven, “I think it is possible(to forgive and restore him), I don’t think if Jesus could forgive a thief at the cross with him and say today you will be with me in paradise, no sin is big enough and cannot be forgiven by God. I mean he can still do that, I don’t see that being an impediment but definitely it was a big blow, even for him as a person. I knew Archbishop Pius Ncube even before he became a bishop. Really he was an exemplary man, what happened in this case is very difficult to tell, and that is why I said, all of us, I don’t think I am immune to that.

Mphoko Mnangagwa Legality Queried

CONTROVERSY surrounds the legal status of Vice-Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko after it emerged this week that Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku was prepared to preside over their swearing-in ceremony in December last year in line with what he believes is his constitutional duty.
This comes as it also surfaced that senior government and Zanu PF officials approached Mnangagwa, also Justice minister and a lawyer by training, after he was sworn-in alerting him to the potential illegality.
Government officials say Chidyausiku was shocked that Mugabe swore-in the VPs at State House on December 12, shortly after firing former vice-president Joice Mujuru and several ministers aligned to her faction in the ruling Zanu PF party following a hotly-contested succession battle leading to its controversial congress in December.
Officials told the Zimbabwe Independent this week Chidyausiku delayed or cancelled a business trip to India at the material time to preside over the swearing-in ceremony believing that in terms of the law it was his constitutional duty to do so, as mandated by Section 94 of the constitution.
Section 94 states: “Persons elected as President and Vice-Presidents assume office when they take, before the Chief Justice or the next most senior judge available, the oaths of President and Vice President respectively in the forms set out in the Third Schedule… ”
Some senior government officials who attended the swearing-in ceremony were uncomfortable as they were also convinced Chidyausiku should have overseen the ceremony and pointed it out to Mnangagwa later, hoping the anomaly would be corrected in due course.
The controversial issue continues to generate debate in political and legal circles, with some insisting the two VPs are illegally in office by virtue of they were sworn-in.
Some lawyers, however, argue that the constitution is vague in that grey area concerning the swearing-in of the VPs. They say Section 94 of the constitution only deals with “elected” VPs whereas Mnangagwa and Mphoko were appointed, not elected after Zanu PF amended its constitution to give the party leader wide and discretionary powers to appoint all senior officials.
Despite that Chidyausiku seems to have been convinced it was his deputy to swear-in the VPs, Law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe Professor Lovemore Madhuku said Mugabe was within his rights as “the section applies to those elected and not those appointed by the president”.
“I think the clause is not yet in force,” he said.
Section 92 (2) of the constitution, which deals with the election of the president and VPs, reads:
“Every candidate for election as president must nominate two persons to stand for election jointly with him or her as vice-presidents, and must designate one of those persons as his or her candidate for first vice-president and the other as his or her candidate for second vice-president.”
The clause was, however, parked for 10 years in the sixth schedule of the new constitution and would only come into effect in 2023. The sixth schedule also empowers the president to appoint deputies but does not state the person who should swear them into office.
UK-based law lecturer at the University of Kent, Dr Alex Magaisa says given that the constitution is unclear on how appointed VPs are sworn-in, it would still fall “within the bounds of constitutionality” if either the Chief Justice or the President presided over the ceremony.
“The first is that this was illegal, since the new constitution requires that the Vice- Presidents must be sworn in by the Chief Justice or in his absence, the next most senior judge. This is in accordance with Section 94,” he said.
Magaisa, however, said an ordinary meaning of that clause would suggest that it only applies where the Vice-Presidents are elected.
“There would have been no reason to refer to them as ‘elected’ if that was not important. The implication of all this is that where Vice-Presidents are appointed, this provision would not apply,” he said.
It would be “desirable” for the VPs to be sworn-in by the Chief Justice but it would not be unlawful not to do so, he added.
Magaisa noted that Section 97 of the constitution provides for the removal of a Vice-President, while Section 101 deals with how a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency is filled. Section 101 stipulates that when a vacancy arises and the first VP is elevated to the presidency, a new second VP would have to be appointed.
“However, there is no specific provision in the constitution providing for how such an appointed Vice-President is to be sworn into office. In other words, while section 94 deals with the swearing-in of ‘elected’ Vice-Presidents which must be administered by the Chief Justice, there is no equivalent provision which deals with the swearing-in of an ‘appointed’ Vice-President, where that Vice-President is replacing an elected Vice-President in terms of section 101(1)(c) or section 101(2)(b),” noted Magaisa.
He said Mugabe could have presided over the swearing-in ceremony on the basis of the “little-used but quite powerful section 342 of the constitution”. This provision relates to the exercise of powers conferred under the constitution.
It states, in the relevant part (Section 342(3)), that, where a power, jurisdiction or right is conferred by this constitution, any other powers or rights that are reasonably necessary or incidental to its exercise are impliedly conferred as well.
This means that if a public authority has been given power under the constitution to do something that authority would be entitled to exercise any other powers or rights that reasonably flow from its exercise. – Standard

Mother Throws Daughter Into Deep Well To Please Lover

A single mother from Gokwe who threw her year-old daughter into a deep well to please her lover who had promised to marry her, has been sentenced to 21years in prison by the High Court.Talent Bango, 23, of Horomba Village, Chief Njelele, Gokwe South, threw her infant Tanaka Simbaza into a deep well on August 24, in 2013 and she drowned.
The toddler’s body was found floating in the well four days later. Justice Lawrence Kamocha of the Bulawayo High Court, sitting on circuit in Gweru, found Bango who was pregnant from her lover when she committed the crime, guilty of murder with actual intent.
He sentenced her to 21 years in prison.
State prosecutor, Tafadzwa Mupariwa, in aggravation said Bango had committed the crime to please her boyfriend who had promised to marry her if she got rid of her two children.
It was the State case that on the day in question, Bango took her daughter to the well and threw her inside and went back home as if nothing had happened.
When asked by fellow villagers where her baby was, Bango lied that she had been taken by some relatives to Kadoma. However, four days later, the body of baby Simbaza was found floating in the well and a report was made to the police leading to Bango’s arrest.
The toddler’s body was retrieved and taken for post-mortem whose results indicated that she had died from asphyxia and bronchoaspiration due to drowning.
In another case, Justice Kamocha sentenced a 42-year-old Mberengwa man to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide. Todzai Murindi Moyo of Mbulawa village, Chief Mahlebadza, Mberengwa was convicted of causing the death of his cousin, Avis Zivevekwa, 55, on June 4, 2008.
Justice Kamocha described Moyo as a lucky man since his matter was classified between murder with constructive intent and culpable homicide. “You are lucky that the State agreed to a lesser charge of culpable homicide. Your matter is on the border between constructive intent and culpable homicide,” he said.
It was the State case that on June 4, 2008, Moyo struck Zivevekwa once on the head and once on the arm with a log after accusing him of having an affair with his wife.
Zivevekwa was conveyed to Mavorovondo clinic before he was referred to Harare Hospital where he died on June 14. chronicle

Grace Mugabe Battling for Life In Hospital – REPORT

First Lady, Grace Mugabe’s appendectomy operation in Singapore last month did not go well, resulting in her alleged admittance into intensive care, as doctors are now reportedly battling to save her life, a report by a UK based website says.
The West Midlands based ‘Telescope News’ tabloid claims according to it’s ‘findings, Mrs Mugabe could also be suffering from septicemia, as her real medical problems remain a mystery.
 
Singapore based sources said: “there is not much information here either, but what we have heard is that Mugabe’s wife was admitted into ICU in January, and she is in a critical condition.”
 
“Furthermore, grapevine has it that she is suffering from septicemia, or blood poisoning.”
 
The source remained unverified at the time of writing.
Meanwhile another report states the contrary, that Mrs Mugabe is not suffering from any disease at all, but went low after being involved in a bitter altercation with her husband over her husband’s alleged ex- lover Oppah Muchinguri whose daughter Mugabe has mysteriously added to his will. While particular report could not be verified, it could be ascertained that Mugabe sometime in the 1980s made a mysterious donation to Mrs Muchinguri in the form of a gigantic house in the posh Mt Pleasant area. The donation was made via a sale for a paltry $1 which was advertised in the Herald newspaper.

Headmistress, Teacher Caught Beating Each Other Up

PUPILS at Baobab Primary School in Victoria Falls were on Tuesday treated to free drama after the school head, Grace Ndlovu, was allegedly involved in a fistfight with a male teacher on the school grounds for reasons which could not be ascertained yesterday.
The drama started unfolding at around 10am when the school head, Grace — wife of former Victoria Falls town council chamber secretary Phillip Ndlovu — picked up a quarrel with a Grade Three teacher only identified as Chakazero.
After some moments of shouting and arguing, the row degenerated into a fistfight in the presence of other school teachers.
“It happened so fast and pupils were peeping through the windows,” one of the teachers revealed.
“They had to be restrained by Mr Sibanda, who teaches Grade Sevens after they had exchanged some blows.
“The school head is said to be rough to members of staff.
“They always complain about her conduct, as she is said to be a bully and short-tempered.”
The source said after the pair had been restrained from pummelling each other further, Ndlovu retreated to her office, while Chakazero left the school premises for an unknown destination.
Chakazero reported for duty the following day, but yesterday it was reported that the headmistress did not show up.
Efforts to get a comment from the two were fruitless.
This is not the first time that the school head has been involved in a fistfight as she was in March 2014 arraigned before the courts for allegedly assaulting her husband’s lover, Sithembile Ncube.
The two had exchanged harsh words and Grace struck Ncube twice on the head with a fist.
Her husband restrained them.-SouthernEye

BREAKING NEWS: Another Policeman’s Toyota-Granvia Kills 1 Person

Another Toyota Granvia Commuter omnibus belonging to a cop has crashed in Gwanda killing one person on the spot while injuring several others.
The omnibus traveling from Bulawayo to Gwanda with 11 passengers on board, burst a rear tyre a few meters from Mtshabezi turn off on the Bulawayo Gwanda Highway 25 kilometers from Gwanda town. According to witnesses the vehicle burst the left rear tyre and overturned landing on its left side about 150 meters away from the point where the tyre burst.
One person who was seated on the front passenger seat was thrown out of the vehicle as it overturned hit the hard surface outside head first and died on the spot. The other passengers who were in the vehicle survived the accident with minor injuries and were rushed to near by Gwanda Hospital. According to hospital authorities most of them were treated for minor injuries and discharged while a few were still under going trauma therapy.
One of the survivors of the accident blamed the tyre burst on the high temperatures in the area during the day. The survivor refused to be drawn to a conclusion that the driver was over speeding which some witnesses claimed to have been the case. According to the survivor the driver was driving at a fairly comfortable speed all the way from Bulawayo but was unfortunate to fail to control the vehicle after the tyre burst.
“I don’t want to unnecessarily put the blame on the driver, he tried the best he could to control the vehicle after the tyre burst but failed. He was not at all speeding as he was already slowing down to drop off some people at Mtshabezi turn off bus stop,” he said.
The Toyota Granvia vehicle continues to be involved in a number of fatal accidents on the country’s roads mainly due to tyre bursts and high speed. Several times the government has threatened to remove the vehicle from the roads as a public transport vehicle but nothing concrete has ever come out of it.
Information supplied by some sources also indicates that the vehicle belonged to a senior police officer in Gwanda and was in the habit of not adhering to rules at the taxi ranks as it was often seen loading passengers from unauthorised pick up points. The sources claim that the tyre burst may have been caused by the fact that the vehicle was never stopping to rest and join the que like all other vehicles but would jostle to make quick trips back to make more money. The government has in the meantime banned police officers from owning public transport vehicles to curb corruption on the roads.

BREAKING NEWS Another Accident: 6 Killed As Kombi Overturns, Policeman’s Hand In Bloody Amputation

Six (6) people including the driver were confirmed dead on the spot when a Commuter Omni-bus (Kombi) they were travelling in -burst its rear tyre and rolled several times before it landed by its roof.
More than 10 survivors including a Police Constable- whose left arm was viciously amputated, were badly injured and were taken to a nearby rural health centre – Kondo Clinic.

The accident occurred Thursday afternoon at around 12:30pm along the Checheche – Tanganda road near Middle Sabi. The road is tarred but just like all other roads country wide. It is littered with numerous making driving very difficult. This coupled with a scotching sun and blistering heat being experienced in this part of the country, could have contributed much to the tyre burst.
We also heard that the driver was speeding and most of these ex-Japanese cars are known for being poorly serviced.

Mum Causes Daughter (5) To Be Raped For Bus Fare

A Bikita woman who was desperate to get money to go and look for a job in South Africa, has been arrested after she allegedly allowed her boyfriend to have sex with her and her five-year-old daughter in turns.
Nyaradzo Maungwa (29) of Duma Suburb, Nyika Growth Point allegedly watched her daughter crying out in pain as her boyfriend only identified as Spencer raped her after the two had just also had sex.Maungwa was arrested by Police details at Nyika Growth Point on Saturday.
She appeared before Bikita Resident Magistrate Bishard Chineka and was remanded out of custody to allow Police to find the alleged rapist.She would be called to court by way of summons.
Maungwa wanted to travel to South Africa but had no money. She approached Spencer seeking bus fare. Spencer promised to give her the money on condition that they slept together.
The two agreed and sometime in October last year, Spencer came to Maungwa’s home and the two had sex. Spencer was not satisfied to the extent that he paid little money to Maungwa. Maungwa complained that the money was not enough for the trip and Spencer then suggested that he could pay more on condition he was allowed to have sex with Maungwa’s five-year-old daughter.
Maungwa agreed and summoned her daughter who was then raped by Spencer while she watched. Maungwa ignored the daughter’s pleas as she suffered pain. She was then given the money and went to South Africa.The matter came to light after the child told neighbours about the rape. The neighbours then told teachers at the school where the child was in grade zero. School authorities then took the matter to the Department of Social Welfare who later made a police report.
Maungwa was told by her brother that Police had opened a docket on the matter and it was then that she came and tried to take her daughter back to South Africa in a bid to conceal the crime but was arrested soon after arrival. mirror

MDC Reshuffles Youth Leadership

MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE YOUTH ASSEMBLY Press Statement:
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has with immediate effect reshuffled its National Youth Executive Committee (NYEC) pursuant of the following:
To maintain equal representation of all the party’s twelve (12) political provinces
To ensure that gender quotas prescribed by Section 5.11 of the party Constitution are maintained
To ensure that the youth age limit of thirty five (35) years is maintained in line with the party Constitution, the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the African Youth Charter and other international instruments
To prepare the Youth Assembly for the inevitable unification of the two MDC formations as agreed on 26 November 2014.
EQUAL REPRESENTATION OF PROVINCES
The new National Youth Executive Committee comprises of twenty four (24) members. Each of the party’s twelve (12) political provinces has two representatives. This is a very important matter which has been maintained at all times.
GENDER EQUITY
Section 5.11 of the MDC Constitution prescribes that at least eight (8) of the twenty four (24) NYEC members should be Female. The 3rd National Congress of the MDC held in January 2011 had failed to achieve this threshold with only six (6) of the NYEC members being Female. This reshuffle increases the number of Female representatives to eleven (11)
YOUTH AGE LIMIT
Section 5.11 of the MDC Constitution also declares that membership of the Youth Assembly shall be open to persons between the ages of fourteen (14) and thirty five (35). Between our 3rd National Congress in January 2011 and August 2014, a number of National Youth Executive Members seized to be youth. They thus collectively requested that they be excused from the Assembly hence opening up leadership opportunities for the next generation. This was an unusual gesture especially in a country led by a nonagenarian. We congratulate them for that heroic act and pledge to support them in their future endeavours within the movement. Their departure reduced the average age in the NYEC from thirty two (32) to twenty six (26).
PREPARING FOR UNIFICATION
The reshuffled NYEC is thus tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the unification process happens with maximum youth participation and the overall outcome defines a new narrative for youth activism in Zimbabwe.
The reshuffled NYEC is as follows;
 Chairperson
Gideon Mandaza
Mash East
Dep. Chairperson
Ntobeko Nkomazana
Mat North
Secretary
Discent Bajila
Mat South
Dep. Secretary
Cecilia Chimbiri
Mash Central
Treasurer
Godwin Masiya
Masvingo
Deputy Treasurer
Cathrine Tsuro
Mid North
Secretary for Organizing
Shephard Dube
Bulawayo
Dep. Sec for Organizing
Collen Maruva
Mash West
Secretary for Recruitment
Isher Chibweve
Masvingo
Dep. Sec for Recruitment
Daniel Kaitano
Manicaland
Secretary for Mobilization
Thokozani Sileya
Mat North
Dep. Sec for Mobilization
Tsitsi Katuruza
Manicaland
Secretary for Media, Info & Publicity
Brighton Makunike
Harare
Dep. Sec for Media, Info & Publicity
Ntombiyesizwe Ncube
Mat South
Secretary for Defence & Security
Prosper Mlambo
Chitungwiza
Dep. Sec for Defence & Security
Timothy Mugari
Mash Central
Secretary for Gender Affairs
Minenhle Gumede
Bulawayo
Dep. Sec for Gender Affairs
Lorraine Sibanda
Mid South
Secretary for Legal Affairs
Partson Chibura
Chitungwiza
Dep Sec Legal Affairs
Onias Mushore
Mid North
Secretary For International Relations and Ext Structs
Francis Mufambi
Harare
Dep Sec International Relations and Ext Strucs
Clara Uyauya
Mash West
Secretary for Training & Political Education
Florence Fungai Marimbire
Mid South
Dep.Sec for Training & Political Education
Gift Kurupati
Mash East 
STATEMENT ISSUED BY- Discent C Bajila (MDC Youth Assembly Secretary General

BREAKING NEWS: Accident Kills 5

At least five people died on the spot while other passengers were injured this afternoon when a commuter omnibus burst a rear tyre and overturned twice along the Tanganda-Ngundu highway.
The injured were rushed to Chipinge District Hospital. The number of the injured could, however, not be established. According to eye witnesses, the driver was speeding resulting in loss of control when the car burst its rear tyre. Police are investigating the cause if the accident. More details to follow… – Chronicle

Africa to Benefit from Mugabe’s Leadership |OPINION

A German Philosopher of the 18th century, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, might have influenced the mindset of the west up to date. He never accepted that Africans are capable of being captains of their destiny.
Hegel believed that Africans were trapped in a continent of perpetual childhood. In his own words, he superciliously remarked that Africa was a “gold land compressed within itself –the land of childhood which is lying beyond the day of self conscious history and is enveloped in the dark mantle of the night.”
This flawed belief was also to be shared by the likes of the former apartheid South African President, Pieter Willem Botha who claimed: “Intellectually, we are superior to the Blacks; that has been proved beyond the any reasonable doubt over the years.”
The outrageous statements by the two racists are a microcosm of the contemporary western mentality. Thus, the west believes that Africans should be chaperoned in every human activity they partake.
Events that unfolded prior and during the recent African Union 24th Summit in Addis Ababa reflected this mentality. The West vigorously attempted to influence the election of the AU chairperson. They determinedly tried to oppose the unanimous choice of Africa.
The ‘big brothers’ cunningly tried to leverage on the financial support they extend to AU. It is not always the case that the one who pays the piper calls the tune. Africa has come out of the so-called childhood and has defied the time-honoured adage.
If Hegel and the like-minded racists were alive, they could have been shocked to death on Friday as Africa proved beyond any reasonable doubt that it is not trapped in perpetual childhood.
Although the West calls President Mugabe all sorts of names, in Africa he remains a hero, statesman, role model, Pan-Africanist, great teacher, revolutionary, diplomat and father of Africa.
Africa knows what is best for itself. In President Robert Mugabe, Africa sees hope. Africa wants to tap from the wisdom and wealth of experience accumulated by the revolutionary icon over the years. He was there when the AU, then the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was founded in 1963. In his acceptance speech, the Zimbabwean leader took the younger heads of state down memory lane.
“More than five decades ago, I had the unique privilege, as a representative of Zanu, a liberation movement then, to attend the historic occasion of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 here in Addis Ababa. It was indeed a momentous occasion at which Africa decisively took destiny into its own hands,” President Mugabe told the delegates who appeared more like his students.
Thus, electing President Mugabe as the AU Chairman, Africa was spot on, for it had increasingly become imperative for the bloc to go back to its founding principles. An alignment with the founding principles, of course needs someone with a first-hand experience. None other than the Zimbabwean leader has such familiarity.
In electing President Mugabe, it is, therefore, time for the continent to enjoy dividends. The man is not a newcomer to the office. He was the Chairman of the bloc, OAU then, in 1997-8. Hence, he knows every corner of the bloc and he can assertively locate where AU began to deviate from its founding principles.
In President Mugabe, Africa is set to benefit from his tried and tested leadership. The AU theme for this year centres on the empowerment of women. President Mugabe’s government has already done a lot in this regard. There is a fully-fledged ministry of woman affairs, gender and community development that deals with gender equity.
Even the revolutionary party has a standalone wing (the women’s league) that looks at women issues. Therefore, the issue of woman empowerment is at the heart of the revolutionary icon. The empowerment of women will not be a hurdle for him as he already has a successful template.
One of AU’s objectives is to promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples. President Mugabe fairs exceptionally well in this regard. He has raised the living standards of the people of Zimbabwe through the land reform programme and other affirmative policies like the indigenisation and economic empowerment act.
It is through this vast experience that he has already realised that the funding structure of the league was not sustainable. AU only gets 28% of its half a billion operational budget from member states and it has to source an additional US$750million for peacekeeping.
This leaves the funding gap being filled by the West, especially the United States, European Union, World Bank, China and Turkey among others. If member states implement the flurry of taxes proposed at the Summit, AU will begin the journey to self-reliance.
Life should go on for AU even when the West withholds balance of payment support and humanitarian aid. After all, the Western funding mostly goes towards peacekeeping operations in wars that they (West) would have ignited.
It was agreed at the Summit that member states should charge US$10 on air tickets and US$2 levies on night spent in a hotel. These taxes are projected to raise US$730million per year. About US$1.6 billion is expected to be raised through sms where half a cent is to be levied on every sms exchanges. By 2016, Africa is expected to fund its operations to the tune of 65%.
Once Africa is capable of meeting its financial requirements, it will be equipped with the clout to challenge the Western hegemony. Even the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, agreed that dependence on foreign funding is a profound handicap and an impediment to the continent’s momentum.
It is obvious some people are bound to complain that these taxes will affect tourism. When former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, proposed these taxes in 2013, there was a huge outcry especially from the tourism players who thought the levies would make tourism very expensive.
At times one has to sacrifice first to enjoy great benefits later. One handicap with the taxes proposal is that it will be implemented on a voluntary basis. In some member states, business calls the shots and such taxes are bound to be resisted.
The AU can model its funding structure along that of the European Union, which gets most of its revenue indirectly by payment from treasuries of member states. One way they do it is through import duties on goods brought into the EU, which member states collect and channel directly to the bloc.
There is also an EU charge levied on Value Added Tax (VAT) in each member state. The largest contribution to EU funding comes from a levy (less than 2%) on the Gross National Income (GNI) of each member state.
Once AU introduces such revenue sources, it will be self-sufficient. Africa will no longer look for the Western goodwill to solve its challenges such as Ebola, terrorism, floods and other catastrophes.
Therefore, Zimbabweans should bury their political prejudices and support one of their own for landing such a prestigious position. Zimbabweans must grab the opportunities that come with the holding of that position and make full use of it in order to benefit the country and the entire continent. They must be proud that their own able president will control Africa’s key leadership institutions.
People like Cde Didymus Mutasa must learn a lesson from what happened at the AU Summit. While Cde Mutasa thought African heads of state would take action against President Mugabe, they instead passed a vote of confidence in his leadership and subsequently gave him an early birthday present.
Tafara Shumba, Harare

Mugabe to Fly East for Another Op

Mugabe to go East for another op
President Robert Mugabe’s prostate cancer reportedly needs constant attention and he is likely to return to Singapore for follow-up treatment in February.
Sources from his office who declined to be named said Mugabe was advised to return for the operation by his foreign doctors. When he returned from the Far East after more than a month away, Mugabe told supporters at the Harare International Airport that his wife Grace had undergone an appendicitis operation and had remained behind to recuperate.
“It is true that the First Lady underwent an operation but information we have received shows that it was not as big as the president claimed. Instead, it is him who had a major operation for prostate cancer and he is supposed to go back to Singapore.
“He is likely to go back very soon and the First Lady had to remain behind so that it would look as though President Mugabe would be going there to check on her. She could have returned to Zimbabwe with him if she wanted because her own condition is not that serious,” said one of the sources. Mugabe will turn 91 on February 21 and is already displaying signs of advanced age as his speech has become slurred and confused, he suffers loss of memory and has difficulty in maintaining balance. Last year, he made several verbal slips, among them remarking that Morgan Tsvangirai had won the 2008 elections by 74 percent, denouncing his own party and telling former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda that he was ruling under duress.
His personal aides are on high alert whenever he appears in public, moving swiftly towards him whenever he shows signs of losing balance.
The sources said the president was receiving combined therapy that included radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. “We hear that the prostate cancer is spreading to other parts of the body and his doctors say that cannot be stopped but remedied through constant treatment. Some local and foreign doctors also attend to him here (in Zimbabwe) frequently.
“The treatment includes routines that strengthen his bladder so that he can control the passage of urine. The president is suffering from back-aches and cannot sit in an upright position for long. He is always shifting in his chair,” said another source.
George Charamba, Mugabe’s personal spokesperson and permanent secretary in the information ministry, has dismissed reports that Mugabe underwent a major operation while on annual holiday in the Far East. – The Zimbabwean

Mujuru Faction Caused Airport Fall – Herald Editor

Patrick Zhuwao
Patrick Zhuwao

HARARE – Fired former VP Joyce Mujuru and her allies have been fingered in the fall of President Mugabe at Harare Airport yesterday, sources close to the camp revealed last night.
 
By Caesar Zvayi (Herald Editor)
 
The shamed former VP and her colleagues have been linked to a company which manufactured the wooden stairs President Mugabe trod and fell from yesterday.
 
It is believed that the sub-standard wooden stairs were designed to subside once the president reached the top of the stairs so that he could fall and be embarrassed and enhance their regime change agenda as demand by the West.
 
A carpenter who made the stairs told The Herald on condition of anonymity that MDC -T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was also involved in the plan to embarass President Mugabe so that the whole world would say he is now old although evidence shows President is still as fit as a fiddle.
 
The plan however backfired spectacularly when President Mugabe instead of falling went on to show some silky Michael Jackson moves as he was about to fall as expected.
 
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is believed to have supplied the rotten timber used to make the staircase, whilst Dr Mujuru and her cabal hired the carpenter from Siyaso in Mbare.
 
Britain and her allies supplied weak nails and glue to make the substandard stairs to the podium.
 
It is also believed that fired Zanu PF secretary of Administration Cde Didymus Mutasa then poured Gamatox on the weak completed structure to further weaken it hoping for maximum damage to the President.
 
Political analysts Patrick Zhuwao of the Zhuwawo Institute last night said the plot to assassinate had been foiled by the landing skills of the President.
 
Meanwhile war Veterans leader Ambassador Cde Chris Mutsvangwa hailed the president as a hero for surviving this latest assasination attempt.
 
Meanwhile, Broadcasting services Minister Jonathan Moyo said if anyone didn’t believe that The staircase was a weapon to assasinate the president then he is “the Pope”. – The Herald

Late VP Nkomo’o Assets Attached

The executor of the late Vice-President John Landa Nkomo’s estate has appealed against the attachment of the deceased’s bus to settle wages arrears at Astra Building Company, which the politician owned.
Christopher Dube-Banda, a legal representative, who is the executor of the estate, filed the appeal at the Bulawayo High Court recently.
The matter is yet to be set down for hearing. Sometime in December 2013, the Messenger of Court served a writ of execution, seized and attached a Mercedes Benz bus which was in the possession of Astra Building Centre.
This was in accordance with an arbitral award obtained in November 2013 for the payment by Nkomo’s Astra Building Centre of salary arrears.
Dube-Banda, the executor, however, holds that the property seized belongs to the estate of the late vice-president and not to Astra Building Centre.
In the notice of appeal, the executor notes that the court erred by holding that the late Nkomo was the managing director of the Astra Building Centre without evidence.
“The court a quo erred by holding that relevant documentary evidence demonstrates that the vehicle in question belongs to Astra Building Centre when the best evidence placed before court in form of the vehicle registration book shows that the vehicle is registered in the name of the late John Landa Nkomo,” stated the notice.
The salary dispute dates back as far as 2012, when there were reports that Nkomo’s Nathi Investments Group of companies had failed to pay workers, with some owed in excess of five months’ salary.
Nathi Investments Group that comprised of Astra Building Centre, Downtown Spar and Daguiar Tyres, all in Bulawayo and Kirton Farms, was owned and chaired by the late vice-president.
The group reportedly had over 180 workers. Prominent lawyer, Samuel Mulaudzi is representing the disgruntled workers. Zimbabwe Mail

WATCH: Scorpions, Mosquitos Sting Chingwizi Villagers To Death, Uproar


Tormented villagers in Zimbabwe’s southern province of Masvingo are succumbing to death owing to the fatalness of scorpion stings and an outbreak of diarrhea and malaria, it has emerged.
In February last year, the government displaced 20 000 villagers who used to reside in Tokwe Mukorsi and moved them to arid land at Chingwizi transit camp, due to massive floods, which critics and experts say could have been avoided.
 
Some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in Chingwizi told journalists in Harare on Tuesday at the launch of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that several people including children were dying owing to poisonous scorpions stings.
Apart from the scorpion bites, the IDPs said people were dying from diseases such as malaria and diarrhea.
“The conditions that we are living in are uninhabitable. Hunger and diseases such as malaria and diarrhea and scorpions bites are causing deaths. Please rescue us by taking us out of where we are living,” said Vanisai Muzenda, who recently survived a scorpion bite.
One of the flood victims, Admire Mashenjere told journalists that one of her relatives Susan Chikosi had succumbed to death after suffering a scorpion bite.
Kenneth Hlavano, a retired soldier and a flood victim living in Chingwizi bemoaned poor sanitation facilities and food shortages which have been forcing children to drop out of school.
In its 57 page report entitled Homeless, Landless and Destitute-The Plight of Zimbabwe’s Tokwe-Mukorsi Flood Victims, the HRW held the government accountable for the saddening plight of the flood victims who have not been given alternative land to build houses and grow their crops.
“The Zimbabwean government has stopped at nothing to coerce 20,000 flood victims to accept a resettlement package that provides labor for a government project, but leaves the flood victims utterly destitute,” said Dewa Mavhinga, the southern Africa senior researcher at HRW.
Mavhinga implored the government to immediately give the victims adequate aid without conditions and compensate them fairly for their losses.
In December, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) rescued 26 of the IDPs who were arrested in August and charged with committing public violence. The 26 were acquitted at the close of the State case after undergoing trial for allegedly assaulting police officers during a protest staged last August at the transit camp against the relocation of medical facilities.
Only four out of 30 villagers who were arrested and tortured by the police were found guilty of committing public violence. However, their lawyers from ZLHR have appealed against both conviction and the harsh sentence which the country’s leading defence group has described as a “shocker”. – RadioVop

Mliswa Finally Released On Bail

Temba Mliswa
Temba Mliswa

Hurungwe West legislator Temba Mliswa, who is facing charges of stealing eight firearms from a farm in Mhangura, was yesterday released on a US$200 bail. Mliswa appeared in a packed courtroom at the Chinhoyi Magistrates Court and was ordered to reside at his Borrowdale home until the matter is finalised and not to interfere with witnesses.
He was ordered to surrender his passport to the Clerk of Court.
Chinhoyi provincial magistrate Mr Ignatius Mugova dismissed the State’s reasons for pre-trial incarceration for the former Zanu-PF Mashonaland West chairman as “uncompelling”.
“Liberty is a right that must not be interfered with,” he said.
“The State’s attitude in opposing bail is very relevant, but not decisive in this matter. Bail cannot be denied simply because the State opposes it.”
Mr Mugova said assertions that Mliswa would interfere with star witness Standfind Mashiri, who is his employee at Spring Farm, were “imagined”.
This, he said, is because investigating officer Detective Assistant Inspector Masimba Mputa conceded in his evidence that Mashiri only co-operated after being instructed by Mliswa.
Prosecutor Herald Matura opposed bail on grounds that if released, Mliswa would cause Mashiri to disappear.
But Mr Mugova said Mliswa had offered to stay in Harare for up to six months without setting foot at Spring Farm.
Mr Matura said the other reason Mliswa was not supposed to get bail was because scientific investigations were still under way at the CID Ballistics unit, a point dismissed by Mr Mugova who said police should investigate first before making an arrest.
Mr Matura later welcomed the court’s ruling, saying investigations were almost complete and the State will be ready to proceed to trial.
Mliswa was remanded to February 18.
Mliswa’s defence team led by Mr Charles Chinyama assisted by Mr Musindo Hungwe had applied for his release on bail, saying he was not a flight risk and would not interfere with witnesses. – Herald

Lightning Strikes 11 Yr Old Girl Dead

Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police leave Gampu Primary School with the body of the child who was struck by lightning at the school premises in Bulawayo yesterday (Picture by Obey Sibanda)
Oswell Moyo and Marvelous Moyo
A GRADE 6 pupil died yesterday after being struck by lightning while walking to a dustbin within the school grounds.
Tragic Sandra Netsanza, 11, who had just helped clean up a classroom at Gampu Primary School in Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb, was carrying a dust pan heading to a waste bin with classmates when lightning struck at around 1PM, witnesses said.
A teacher, who was among the first people to find young Sandra’s body, told The Chronicle: “It was around 1PM after the lunch bell had rung. Sandra and her classmates had been sweeping their class and they were going to dispose of the rubbish.
“It was drizzling at the time after heavy rains earlier. Suddenly, we were jolted by screams and we rushed to find Sandra already dead, apparently struck by lightning. Her mates that she was walking with were spared though.
“It was slightly strange really, because there is a tall tree just metres from where she fell. Were we not taught that lightning strikes the tallest object? It’s sad really, many thought it was African science (witchcraft).”
When our news crew arrived at the school shortly after 4PM, Sandra’s distraught schoolmates were struggling to comprehend what had just happened, dozens of parents rushed to the school to pick up their children.
Her relatives, who are members of a church sect known as Vapostori, had also arrived. Emotions ran high as they manhandled a news crew from another newspaper and threatened our photographer. Dressed in their white gowns, they also threatened witnesses from talking to journalists.
Police took more than three hours to arrive at the school, finally removing Sandra’s body from the scene after 5PM. By then, a large crowd had gathered.
Her body was placed in a silver metallic coffin which was loaded onto the back of an open-top police truck.
On Monday, six children and an adult were killed when lightning struck two huts in Mugwinyi Village in Bikita.
The dead have been identified as Marian Nebvuma, 32, Fadzai Chenjerai, 11, Gloria Chenjerai, 5, Odrey Masunda, 4, Esther Muchakagara, 5, Claudia Mugwinyi, 4 and Crywind Mugwinyi, 6.
Meanwhile, a Grade 6 pupil at Marvel Primary School pupil in Filabusi collapsed during an athletics practise session and later died after efforts to revive her failed.
The 12-year-old girl, identified as Mercy Chizema, collapsed in the school’s sports field on Monday at around 2.30PM.
A teacher said: “After running for a distance of about 400m, she fell to the ground. The training teacher attended to her and later called other teachers to the scene.
“Everyone thought she had fainted. Efforts were made to resuscitate her but to no avail. She was quickly rushed to Filabusi District Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival,” said the source.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele said: “We received a report of a female juvenile who collapsed at the school grounds and was certified dead upon arrival at the hospital. No foul play is suspected.” – SouthernEye

Gibson Mazikana to Remain In Jail: Emily Munemo Murder Trial

The murder trial of the spouse of 41-year-old mum of two Emily Munemo slain in cold blood last week Friday, has seen the deceased’s spouse Shonhiwa Gibson Mazikana being remanded in custody.
Mazikana appeared in court at 10 am Wednesday accused of stabbing Emily to death in her house in London. He is accused of killing the mum-of-two, Emily Munemo, in Collingwood Road on Friday (January 30).
Munemo was found with stab wounds at around 11am. Paramedics were unable to save the 41-year-old’s life and she died at 12.22pm.
Th accused appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with murder, where his case was sent to the Old Bailey.
His brother, a 35-year-old, was detained by police at the weekend after Gibson went missing.
Mazikana, of Reid Close,Hayes, is now due to appear at the central criminal court for a bail hearing on February 18.

MORE PICTURES: Mugabe Collapses Again As ZANU PF Denies

Barely a week after his ambulance dash to an undisclosed medical facility before flying out to the AU summit, Zimbabwe’s nonagenarian President Robert Mugabe collapsed this afternoon upon arrival from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Previous leaks of diplomatic cables have alleged Mugabe survives on artificial boosters and pills to keep him upright are administered to add a facial resonance to his outlook. The medication is allegedly treatment for an advanced form of cancer.
‎Journalists who witnessed the fall were immediately besieged by Mugabe’s security forces who ordered them to delete the pictures and footage.
‎Terrified journos who spoke on condition of anonymity described a disturbing scene as they underwent interrogation at airport
‎Many journalists deleted the footage of the fall of the nonagenarian Head of state on pain of death. However , in what must be frightfully humiliating for Mugabe’s security apparatus, a brave journalist managed to whatsapp the pictures before deleting them.
‎ZANU PF bigwigs who witnessed the fall did not make any attempt to break Mugabe’s fall. Instead security personnel swiftly picked up the temporarily invalid Mugabe and rushed him into his armoured Mercedes ZIM1which was about five paces from the staircase.

 

Adding insult to minor injury, the pictures of a falling Mugabe have been widely circulated ‎internationally.
‎Mugabe’s fall created a major stir in social media networks with one commentator tweeting “Gushaz bites the dust!”
His spokesperson George Charamba refused to comment when we contacted him for comment.
But on its Twitter portal, ZANU(PF) wrote “Please don’t allow rumours and lies, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe did not fall. He was doing a bounce like the kids do,”
The fall comes after fractious negotiations with the African Union saw Mugabe appointed chair of the body with many member states vetoing ‎his appointment on the grounds of his physical capacity.

BREAKING NEWS:Mugabe Crashes Down Stairs In A Sudden Fall

AFP – PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE ,90, fell down a staircase on Wednesday as he walked off a podium after addressing supporters at Harare International Airport, an AFP corrrespondent said.
He had just returned from Ethiopia where he took over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union.
Africa’s oldest leader, who turns 91 later this month, had concluded his homecoming speech when he tumbled to his knees on a short flight of stairs in an incident witnessed by journalists and hundreds of supporters.
He was quickly helped up by aides and walked to a waiting car.
Mugabe took over the post of African Union chair on Friday, replacing Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
The former liberation war hero is Africa’s third-longest serving leader.

Chombo Wants to Remove Mugabe – REPORT

As Zanu PF’s gladiatorial factional and succession wars continue to fester, party structures in President Robert Mugabe’s Zvimba home area have made sensational claims that newly-appointed secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo is among the people allegedly plotting to oust the long-ruling nonagenarian from power.
As a result, they want Mugabe to fire the Local Government minister forthwith, as they claim that Chombo is a key member of the hounded party faction allegedly led by former vice president Joice Mujuru.
The damning allegations are contained in a letter that is in possession of the Daily News, that was addressed to quarrelsome First Lady Grace Mugabe and former Zanu PF Women’s League boss Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri ahead of Zanu PF’s damp squib “elective” congress that was held in Harare in early December last year.
Although the Zvimba party members were emphatic in their claims that Chombo worked hand in glove with the decapitated Mujuru faction, no action has been taken against the controversial minister — who has since been elevated by Mugabe to the influential party position of secretary for administration.
But the public surfacing of the letter could set the cat among the pigeons, particularly given the growing talk that Zanu PF’s hardliners who worked together to decimate the Mujuru camp are now wrangling furiously among themselves, primarily for the spoils of their bloody victory.
The letter was undersigned by Zvimba District members of the party’s youth and women’s league structures, and alleged that Chombo only ditched the Mujuru team at the 11th hour after he saw that the faction would be annihilated ahead of the disputed congress.
“We are happy and were happy when we found out that Amai Dr Grace Mugabe is revealing all the culprits who are corrupt, anti-the-First Family and bhora musango (vote against Mugabe) faction.
“We believe our member of Parliament (MP) Ignatius Chombo imbwa nyoro chaiyo. Vanoruma vachifuridzira (Chombo pretends to be nice but is dangerous),” reads part of the letter.
“We salute you for taking the bull by the horns, by exposing all those who are linked to bhora musango, corruption, the assassination (sic) of our President. We are registering our support for the good work you are doing by exposing all the culprits associated with bhora musango,” it added.
The Zvimba supporters who want Chombo out went on to list other former top heavyweights — most of whom have since been purged from the ruling party — as co-conspirators in the anti-Mugabe plot.
“We believe that honourable Ignatius Chombo is very much linked with corruption, with those planning to assassinate the President and bhora musango teams,” their letter added.
Efforts to contact Chombo yesterday to solicit his comment were not successful, while Muchinguri’s phone was picked up by a person who only identified herself as her secretary and who promised to call back, but to no avail.
Similar efforts to talk to party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo did not bear fruit.
Among the allegations that they made, the Zvimba party structures also claimed that Chombo had invited Mujuru to a rally in the constituency in the run-up to the country’s disputed 2013 elections.
“During the 2013 campaigns he (Chombo) had two rallies in our constituency which he invited Joice Mujuru, Simon Khaya Moyo, Walter Chidakwa, Dzikamai Mavhaire.
“How can he be separated or distanced from the (ex) VP Mujuru faction?
“As if this was not enough, he invited the same at Yomba Mafuta and Simon Khaya Moyo was the guest speaker,” their letter went on.
According to the aggrieved party supporters, former war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda also actively campaigned for Chombo in the run-up to the disputed elections.
“Some of our comrades in Zvimba namely Sigudu, Makusha and Mai Mutyavaviri from Katawa District, were beaten during the 2013 campaign because they were found putting on regalia with the President on it (sic), the news got into (Chombo’s) ears but he never sympathised with them.
“This is anti-First Family at its best.
“Constitutionally, we voted him out during the primary 2013 elections, but because of his association with Zanu PF chairperson Simon Khaya Moyo and political commissar Webster Shamu, he was declared the winner,” claims the letter.
“We are women and youth league members of Zvimba District and would like to seek clarification on how our MP is not linked (ostensibly to Mujuru). We are against those teams 100 percent hence we need him also cleared if he is clean.
“Of late, after the exposure of these corrupt (sic), the bhora musango and the assassins, Hon. Ignatius Chombo has crossed the floor unnoticed,” It added.
Chombo is viewed as a controversial Zanu PF heavyweight who rose from humble beginnings in the 1990s to become one of the wealthiest and biggest land owners in the country, after being appointed to the post of minister of Local Government.
Court records during his high profile divorce case showed that Chombo owns land and houses in many towns of Zimbabwe.
Analysts said yesterday that the letter could open a can of worms and shake Zanu PF to its core as any allegation that any of the party’s members are anti-Mugabe and Grace is career limiting. – DailyNews

Two Die as Parirenyatwa Denies Them Treatment After Attending Magaya Church Service

Two people died after they were denied treatment at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare on Sunday.
The two’s health deteriorated while attending a church service at the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries led by Walter Magaya, and were first rushed to West End hospital but were referred to Parirenyatwa hospital where authorities refused to admit them.
West End hospital authorities said the two, a 45-year old male who was diabetic and a 17-year old girl who was asthmatic, could not be admitted at the hospital, which they say was already full when they arrived.
“The 120-bed hospital was full but the staff managed to stabilise the patients and offered emergency care before transferring them to Parirenyatwa hospital,” said Dr Margret Maulana, the West End hospital Chief Executive.
Authorities at Parirenyatwa hospital however refused to admit the two patients, claiming that the hospital’s policy does not allow them to take patients referred from elsewhere. 
Head Accidents and Emergency Unit at Parirenyatwa hospital, Dr Monika Schlaak admitted that the hospital is sometimes forced to turn away patients due to capacity challenges.
The hospital’s Casualty Department has a memo dated 26th January 2015 clearly instructing staff members not to accept patients from private hospitals and Harare Central hospital. 
The memo also further instructs that all patients who choose Parirenyatwa hospital as their first point of care must be assisted even when beds are not available.
Meanwhile, the attitudes of staff members towards patients at public hospitals, as witnessed by the shuttling of the two patients between Parirenyatwa and West End hospitals, have raised an outcry while private hospitals have been accused of milking patients before dumping them at government hospitals once their coffers dry up.
Experts say there is need for a rethink on Zimbabwe’s health delivery system.
A hospital is expected to be a place of peace and serenity, but many a patient dread paying a visit at a public hospital some of them which have become notorious for harassing patients or neglecting them till they die.
Some people in urban areas prefer to go to mission hospitals in the rural areas where they testify they are treated with dignity. 
But what is it that mission hospitals are doing that public health institutions are failing?
For experts, the current situation where tertiary referral institutions such as Parirenyatwa, United Bulawayo Hospitals, Mpilo and Harare Central hospitals cater for the bulk of the population is unsustainable and needs a relook. 
“Polyclinics must be upgraded to hospital status to lessen the burden on public health institutions,” said Itai Rusike, the Director of the Community Working Group on Health.
“The government must closely monitor and regulate private health institutions as some are profiteering and dumping patients on public hospitals once they exhaust their money,” said Dr Vivek Solanki, the Director at Borrowdale Trauma Centre.
As Zimbabwe’s population continues growing, experts believe government should embark on a more robust initiative to ensure the emergence of more public hospitals, and polyclinics staffed by adequate personnel.
-ZBC

Make Better Life Decisions Every Time

IMFP ZE1
If you do not make a choice, it means you have made a choice!’
From the moment one wakes up until the end of the day, a person makes thousands of decisions. Some of the decisions are critical, others are not. Some decisions have short term impact and other have long term influence. The bottom line is, better decision making can improve our lives and make things better.
Everyone would expect people who are consistently unsuccessful to have learned from their mistakes and be more careful in decision making. But you will be surprised how untrue this is. I have met such people. On the contrary successful people are very careful when making decisions, after all that’s why they are successful.
How do you make your decisions?
Here are six points that can make your life easier when making better decisions:

  1. What Do You Want? What Is Your Goal? Check you motives and your conscience. Know yourself and your decision. If you don’t know what you want and you don’t understand the reason for making your decision, it’s not going to go well.
  2. Gather Some Information. Find information about the processes and the outcomes. Learn from others. Find someone who has successfully made the decision, and ask them how they went about it. Ask a lot questions as you seek their opinion and listen to their experience. If the person giving you ‘advice’ stands to benefit from your positive choice, it means that the so called ‘advice’ may not the real truth but the person’s interest. Seek a second opinion from an independent source or person.
  3. Identify The Possible Alternatives And Evaluate Them. As you reflect on the alternatives ask yourself ‘Does this option reflect my values and what I stand for?’ Determine the worst-case scenario for each option and the remedial actions that may be require of things goes wrong. Work out the short term and long term effect of each option.
  4. Take Time. Never Be Hurried Into A Decision. If possible do as I do, sleep on it. Let your emotions cool down before making the final choice. Pray about it. Leaving your intuition alone to work on a problem after feeding it properly is the most valuable tool for making hard decisions.
  5. Select The Best Alternative After First Ranking Them On Order Of The Best Option To The Worst. Remember no matter how brilliant your plan A is, if things don’t go well you will go to plan B. So make sure your plan B is perfect and sound, ready to be kicked on. You do not want to fall on something that cannot hold you. This is what separates the winners and the losers. Successful people always have a great plan B, because most often it is the one that eventually delivers.
  6. Do It! Execute The Decision As Planned. As you go, evaluate the results and make amendments to the plan to redirect the course to avoid drifting or to increase output. Remember that there is not perfect plan. Results also depend on how you execute the plan.

Better to make a bad decision quickly than none at all.
You have the choice
Yes, you have the choice. You control your life, not your past, not your environment or your family. Do not choose to be an average. Choose to be brilliant. Economic or social or political challenges always come and go, since Bible times, but in every season there are always a few people who shine above the rest. Choose to be one of the few.
If you enjoyed this article, share it with your most favourite friends!
Please share your thoughts, ideas and comments below!
© Copyright 2014 by It’s My Footprint, www.itsmyfootprint.com/blog.

FULL FACE PICTURES: CIO Agent Burnt To Death In Fake Car Accident

The below is are full face pictures of one of the two CIO agents burnt to death in a fake accident in Chiredzi on Friday night. The two’s BMW which hit a small tree, was not only burnt beyond recognition, but was ripped apart in ways only synonymous with bomb explosions – READ MORE- WARNING: Horror as Young CIOs Are Burnt Beyond Recognition in Fake Accident

– READ MORE- WARNING: Horror as Young CIOs Are Burnt Beyond Recognition in Fake Accident

BREAKING NEWS: Gibson Mazikana Appears In Court, Charged With Emily Munemo’s Murder

Charged with murder... Gibson Mazikana
Charged with murder… Gibson Mazikana

Detectives investigating the death of the UK based mother of two Emily Munemo killed last Friday morning, have charged Gibson Mazikana, 41, of Reid Close, Hayes, with her murder.
He is appearing before Uxbridge magistrates today (Wednesday).
The case is being heard at 10am in Court 1.
Meanwhile a woman who claims to be Mazikana’s first wife has been contacting reporters saying she wants to present her side of the story. She however failed to appear at court this morning it is expected she will eventually appear at the Coroner’s hearing due in a few weeks.
ZimEye will keep our valued readers informed as events unravel.

Minister Mohadi Named In Another Land Grabbing Scandal

A window from Beitbridge has opened up about her hellish existence since Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi made moves to take over her land.
Soforia Ndou thought her world had come crashing down when her husband died, but it was only the beginning of her worst nightmare as the Mohadi family eyed her land.
Ndou, whose husband James Muleya — a war veteran — died in 2005, last week told Southern Eye that her life had become unbearable because of the Mohadis.
“I am living in hell because of Mohadi,” she said, tearfully.
“When my husband was still alive I didn’t have all these problems.
“They only started when he died in 2005. I think the minister saw that I could not stand up to him since I am now a widow.”
Ndou said she has lost two beasts to Mohadi after his workers allegedly rounded them together with his, which he had let into her plot.
“I can’t track them to his plot because it’s a no-go area for us,” she said.
“His workers rounded up two of my cattle when they were taking back his cattle to his farm.
“All efforts to get them have been fruitless.”
Ndou could not hold back her tears as she felt there was nothing she could do since Mohadi is a powerful man.
Ndou said Mohadi had built a structure on his land, extending into her plot and had not removed his fence around her plot despite being ordered to do so by the High Court in Bulawayo.
Mohadi has for years been embroiled in a battle with farmers at Jopembe block, who accuse him of trying to grab their land forcefully.
Villagers claim Mohadi wants to allocate the land to his son, Campbell (Jr).
Contacted for comment, Mohadi said he did not share a boundary with Ndou.
“I don’t have a boundary with her (Ndou), but my son Campbell (Jr) is the one who was given land adjacent to hers,” he said.
“The dispute over that land has been ongoing as Ndou failed to develop her land.”
The minister accused the woman and other villagers of trying to tarnish his image because he was a prominent person.
“It could be that maybe my fence is broken and the cattle stray into my farm, but there is no way I can take her cattle because I have almost 800 cattle,” he said.
“I will check with my manager on what’s happening at the plot.”
Ndou’s lamentations come barely a week after complaints came from another villager, MacMillan Mbedzi, son of a war veteran — Given Mbedzi — who Mohadi is trying to evict.
The Mbedzis said Mohadi built a house on their plot next to where they wanted to build their own and the house has since been roofed.
The Mohadis’ actions were in direct defiance of a High Court order issued three years ago, compelling them to remove a security fence they erected around the villagers’ plots.
They were ordered not to interfere with the villagers’ operations.
This was after four villagers — Mbedzi, Ndou, Aifheli Nare and Kumbirai Ncube — won a High Court case against the Mohadis over ownership of the land.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha in February 2012 ordered Mohadi, his wife Tambudzani, son Campbell and two of their farm employees to remove the illegal fence from the disputed land with immediate effect and at their own expense.
But the Zanu PF minister’s family defied the order, while police, who fall under Mohadi’s ministry, declined to accompany the Deputy Sheriff to pull down the fence.-southern eye

Lightning Claims 7 Lives In Bikita

Six children and an adult were killed when lightning struck two huts on Monday afternoon in Bikita. The incident occurred at Mugwinyi Village under Chief Mazungunye.
The deceased have been identified as Marian Nebvuma (32), Fadzai Chenjerai (11), Gloria Chenjerai (5), Odrey Masunda (4), Esther Muchakagara (5), Claudia Mugwinyi (4) and Crywind Mugwinyi (6).
Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba yesterday confirmed the incident.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms the death of seven people after being struck by a bolt of lightning at Mugwinyi Village, Chief Mazungunye area, Bikita.
“Circumstances are that February 2, 2015 at about 4:30pm, Marian Nebvuma (32) was in her thatched bedroom hut while all the other deceased were in a thatched kitchen hut.
“A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the bedroom and kitchen huts at Nebvuma’s homestead. All the occupants in the two huts died on the spot,” she said.
Snr Asst Comm Charamba said the bodies of the deceased were taken to Silveira Mission Mortuary.
Meanwhile, police in Harare yesterday said they had located the person who was reportedly missing and no major incidents were recorded following the floods caused by heavy rains that pounded Harare on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba yesterday said they identified the driver as Nichodimus Ndlovu (51) of number 17815 Stoneridge in Harare.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police would like to advice that the owner of the Toyota Corolla Reg ACK5001 was located,” she said.
“Ndlovu was driving his car along Heaney Road when he noticed that his car was being swept away by the floods.”
In an interview during a Joint Operation Command (JOC) tour of some of the areas that were flooded in the city, the Officer Commanding Harare province Senior Assistant Commissioner Shadreck Mubaiwa, urged people to avoid crossing flooded rivers and bridges. “So far we have accounted for all the persons that had been reported to be missing and there is no loss of life. We want to urge people not to cross flooded rivers as they risk their lives,” he said.
He said they had noted that some of the motorists were not patient during the heavy rains on Sunday since they attempted to drive through some of the flooded roads and bridges.
Snr Asst Comm Mubaiwa, who was accompanied by members from the JOC and Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs Miriam Chikukwa, visited areas in Cold Comfort and Mabelreign.
Chikukwa said she had noted that some of the people in Cold Comfort were allocated stands by the Harare City Council on wetlands.
“I would like to urge the Harare City Council officials to ensure that before they allocate stands to people they should do thorough checks. We cannot stop the rains but at least we should have preventive measures,” she said. She said some of the people living in the area were allocated stands by the city council while others were given by housing cooperatives. Chikukwa urged people to avoid stream bank cultivation.
On Sunday, one person reportedly went missing along Bulawayo Road near Cold Comfort while several others were rescued from inside and on top of their vehicles following floods caused by heavy rains that pounded the capital.
Other people were marooned at different points and were forced to wait for many hours for the water to subside.
Several houses in Mabelreign, Ashdown Park, Westlea and Tynwald were also affected by rising water levels while several people were rescued.-herald

Judge Faces Sack For Defending Prophet Who Baptised Mnangagwa

A Bulawayo Judge has been caught up in a bizarre incident after he stood up to defend a cult leader in a full-page newspaper advert. Bulawayo Labour Court Judge Mercy Moya-Matshanga, in the advert, claimed Reverend Tititi Moyo – believed to be a prophet by followers – was a “true man of God” as she fought newspaper claims that he was a “Satanist”.
Justice Moya-Matshanga – once criticised by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku for lacking a basic understanding of court procedures – sought to “set the record straight” about what she claimed were malicious falsehoods being peddled about Rev Moyo.
The judge went on to sign off as “The Honourable Mercy Moya-Matshanga (Mrs) – Judge of the Labour Court of Zimbabwe”. Her husband, Michael Moya-Matshanga, appended his signature below hers, saying, ‘I agree’.
“Just as his master Jesus was persecuted, the right reverend and prophet was also accused of falsehoods and has been arrested before. I have known him for 30 years now. He has preached this message without fear despite treachery, persecutions, trials and tribulations,” the judge said in an advert placed in the Southern Eye.
Justice Matshanga described how she and her husband had witnessed “heavenly healing powers” through Rev Moyo, adding that the prophet baptised the Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“The VP was drenched in water upon conclusion of the baptism while the prophet was completely dry. On being asked by the VP why he was dry, the prophet told him that it was the VP who was being baptised not him,” she stated.
But some lawyers and a fellow judge yesterday said Justice Matshanga had tried to use her position as a judge of the Labour Court to import importance to her statement.
One lawyer, who cannot be named for professional reasons, said last night: “There’s nothing wrong with the article because that’s what she believes, but there’s everything wrong with the signing.
“It’s totally unethical and unprofessional for her to include her designation because it has nothing to do with the article.
“One would think the letter has been written on behalf of the Labour Court. It also gives an impression that people are being forced to believe in this so-called prophet because he has managed to convince influential people such as judges.”
The lawyer added that such kind of behaviour was unacceptable in a democratic society.
“Judges who are well-mannered, sufficiently trained and ethical don’t do such things. It’s unacceptable in a democratic society that we’re living in.
“We can’t allow people to take advantage of their respected offices to mislead the society. The co-signing with her husband makes it worse because it’s as if it’s a judgement on appeal.”
A High Court judge, also speaking on condition he was not named, yesterday said Justice Matshanga’s conduct amounted to a “sackable offence”.
“She is brazenly abusing her position as a judge to legitimise her faith conviction. The law, like science, deals in facts not make-believe sentimentalities. What she’s doing here is very clear, it’s a deliberate attempt to put a legitimising stamp on this ‘prophet’. She is a religious zealot, not a judge. This is a sackable offence,” the judge said.
Another veteran lawyer, however, watered down the allegations and said there was nothing wrong with Justice Matshanga’s letter because it does not compromise the discharge of her duties. “Judges are only not allowed to join political parties because they might not be impartial when conducting their duties, but they’re free to join churches of their choice,” he said.
“If the letter is clear that she’s representing herself and members of the church, there’s nothing wrong. The fact that she’s a judge doesn’t count.”
Justice Matshanga, who is not new to controvesy, was dressed down during interviews for Supreme Court promotion in July last year by Chief Justice Chidyausiku for failing to distinguish between a “court application” and a “court action”.
Chidyausiku said: “How do you expect to scrutinise judgements from experienced High Court judges if you don’t know elementary things such as rules of that court?
“Do you think you’re qualified to be a Supreme Court judge? Who do you expect to teach you?”
In a “court application”, there is no material dispute of fact and judges deliver verdicts based on papers brought to court, while in a “court action” there is material dispute of facts and witnesses can be brought and a litigant is allowed to bring further evidence.-chronicle

NRZ Go On Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

Workers at struggling National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) have downed tools in protest at going for nine months without salaries, but officials say there is no money to pay them.
The workers and representatives from the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Railway Workers Union (ZARWU) sat outside at the company’s provincial offices demanding to be addressed by management.
They said the parastatal has been paying them 20 percent of their salaries, between $40 and $80 per month, depending on their grades.
Andrew Bakasa, who heads the NRZ’s eastern region operations, refused to address the workers, referring them to the head office in Bulawayo.
NRZ public relations manager, Fanuel Masikati, told The Source on Tuesday that the company has been facing challenges in paying its workers but said the current challenges were beyond their control.
“Like any other company now, we have challenges with salaries especially at the beginning of the year and also the fact that companies that we work with have not yet opened,” Masikati told The Source.
“Generally, business is slow during the beginning of the year coupled by the current economic environment. All these factors affect us in settling salaries.”
The stricken parastatal is currently transporting six million tonnes of goods per annum, out of 80 million tonnes the system was designed for, due to a depressed market and reduced capacity. In 2013, it moved 3,6 million tonnes of goods against a target of 6 million tonnes. Comparatively, in 1998, the NRZ moved 18 million tonnes.
It is saddled with a $144 million debt raked up since dollarisation in 2009 and registered a $17 million deficit in the first five months of 2014, generating $44 million revenue against $61 million expenditure.
Government has said it was negotiating with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) for a loan of up to $700 million to fund NRZ’s rehabilitation.-The Source

Gye Nyame To Auction Company’s Diamonds To Cover Administration Costs

The judicial manager of the now defunct diamond mine, Gye Nyame Resources says he is awaiting approval from the mines ministry to enable him to auction the company’s diamonds later this month and pay off mounting administration costs.
Gye Nyame Resources, a joint venture between the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and Bill Minerals, represented by Ghanaian businessman William Ato Essien, had its licence revoked last year due to insolvency and failure to adhere to environmental requirements.
The company, which was granted mining concessions in Marange in 2011, was placed under provisional liquidation on March 26 last year at the behest of some creditors and final judicial management on June 25 of the same year.
Since it had not yet been granted with a licence, its only diamond parcel, estimated to be around 2,000 carats has been sitting at ZMDC since mid last year.
Judicial manager Winsley Militala of Petwin Executor and Trust told The Source on Tuesday that he received a letter from ZMDC last week informing him that he needed to seek authority from the mines ministry to dispose of the parcel at the next international auction later this month.
“They (ZMDC) are prepared to help us sell it but authority must first be granted by the permanent secretary in ministry of mines. We have already written to the ministry and we are now waiting for the response,” he said.
ZMDC acting general manager, Wilson Chinzou told The Source last week that valuations were being done on the parcel.
Militala said the money would go towards administration costs that have been mounting while the company awaits investment.
“I have hordes of administration costs to settle and I need to sell that parcel as soon as possible. We are now waiting for the letter from the ministry,” he said, adding that ZMDC had warned him that there were preparations that needed to be done before the sell, hence the need to secure authority ahead of time.
The insolvent mine, whose assets are estimated to be worth $6,6 million, owes creditors $13,5 million of which $5 million is owed to Ecobank through a loan borrowed by one of the shareholders, Bill Minerals at the inception of the project.
Earlier this month, creditors voted in favour of a $20 million capital injection by Damo Resources pending regulatory and other approvals.
As part of the arrangement, creditors agreed to defer payment of liabilities by 12 to 36 months pending recapitalisation and resumption of operations at the mine.
Creditors further agreed to convert debts to preference shares where a special purpose vehicle would be created to carry out mining exploratory work and related mine development.
Gye Nyame came under the spotlight last year when President Robert Mugabe accused former ZMDC chairman, Godwills Masimirembwa, of soliciting a bribe worth $6 million from the company’s Ghanaian investors.
It is alleged that the Ghanaian investor injected only $8 million out of an agreed $110 million into the business, with further claims that no due diligence was carried out to ascertain his company’s financial capabilities.-The Source

Church Ladies Bash Each Other over Pastor’s Manhood


Pumula South’s Zvita Zvezwi Church service has been turned into a bloody battle field, as three senior church women fought for the Bishop’s manhood. The two exchanged blows as they were accusing each other of ‘taking my man’.
The Bishop is a polygamist with two wives already, but is still going after new women who he targets and is said to “never miss”.
The development has seen many speak who include senior elder Makuchete speaking as the church Bishop and pastor’s reputation was left to burn.
Some of them even openly vocalised that the women are after the “pastor’s manhood.”
According to the Bishop’s second wife, who was at the church service, the three were secretly going out with the church founder, without the knowledge of other congregants who had a torrid time in trying to settle the battle that went into the late hours of the church service.
“Inzwa zvako mwanangu, usanditora pikicha, nokuti ndiri kuda kukutaurira zvese. Zvakare ndinokumbirawo usanyora mazita edu nokuti sangano redu ringafa. Chihure chawanda mumachechi, zvokuti zvinoshamisa. Vakadzi ava imhunza musha chaidzo. Kurwira here murume wangu ini ndiripo.- Please don’t photograph me, as I am going to tell you everything. I also beg you my son not to mention our names as this will destroy our church, as you know adultery is now rife in a number of churches. I am hurt that these two fellow church members are fighting for my husband during my presence,” she complained.
The two senior elders who were at the scene, and identified themselves as Elder Makuchete and Elder Donga, told ZimEye.com that the two women were exposing their illicit love affair with the Bishop, who begged to remain anonymous. “It’s true that they slept with our Bishop with the intention of becoming part of his family. It is unfortunate that they were not formerly introduced to each other, as this was still in the process,” said Elder Donga.
His sentiments concurred with those of another Elder Makuchete, who appeared dejected and uninterested by the incident that exposed the church to the press. “I think you have been coming across these stories my son, please do not over mention this in your paper, because one day it will be in your church as well. This is true that our fellow congregants fought in the name of love, mentioning the Bishop’s manhood,” he said.
Efforts to get comment from the Bishop were fruitless, as he was said to be unprepared to talk to the press by the time of publishing and was said to be locked in a meeting with his family members.

Mugabe Must Be Freed to Roam Around Anywhere In Europe – Khaya Moyo

President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party has rubbished the lifting of an EU travel ban on the new Africa Union chairman, Mugabe, saying it is inconsequential.
ZANU PF is demanding that Mugabe must be freed to roam around anywhere he wills in Europe.
Commenting on the adjustments to the restrictive measures, Zanu-PF spokesman Simon Khaya-Moyo said the EU has moved to avert a major confrontation with Africa by lifting the ban.
This would have meant Mugabe, who is also chairman of the Southern African Development Community, would fail to travel to Europe on AU business.
Khaya-Moyo complained saying that the EU should allow Mugabe to roam anywhere in Europe.
“The illegal sanctions imposed on President Mugabe by the EU were so done in his capacity as President and Head of State of Zimbabwe and not as chairperson of the African Union.
“The announcement is inconsequential. Our position as Zanu-PF remains that all sanctions imposed on President Mugabe as Head of State and citizen of Zimbabwe be removed unconditionally. Any effort to hoodwink the continent is futile.”
Mugabe assumed the AU chairmanship at the continental body’s summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week, replacing Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. He will hold the position for the next year.
The EU sanctions have been modified over the years. From an initial blacklist of over 100 government officials and companies who were targeted, only President Mugabe and the First Lady, Grace, remain.
Information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo believes Britain is desperate to surrender the yoke of sanctions “which it has carried awkwardly”, and “might just have found an easy way out”.
“It appears the EU, obviously influenced by Britain, has gone ahead of everything and everyone and made President Mugabe’s travel to Europe a non-issue,” he said last night.
In 2011, Moyo said Britain was struggling to find a way of lifting the sanctions on Zimbabwe and President Mugabe without appearing to be conceding defeat.
“The British problem,” he said, “is that they behave like a drunkard who climbed a tree overnight then woke up naked and couldn’t get down.”
Zimbabwe, he went on, was “prepared to give them a ladder, and a blanket, but it’s up to them whether they climb down at night, or during the day.”
Yesterday, Prof Moyo said President Mugabe’s new role as chair of the African Union had provided the EU with “a ladder and some clothes to dress up and come down”.

EU Removes Mugabe Travel Ban

AP| THE European Union is easing its travel ban on Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, while he serves as chairman of the African Union for the next year.
EU spokesperson Catherine Ray said Tuesday (Feb 3) that the “ban will be lifted when he is traveling under his African Union chairmanship capacity”.
The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 over abuses linked to national elections, banning travel in Europe and freezing the assets of dozens of officials and business representatives.
The measures have been gradually lifted in recent years to encourage reform but the 90-year-old Zimbabwean leader and his wife Grace remain on the EU blacklist.
The role of rotating AU chairman is largely ceremonial. AP

Boy, 19, In Hot Soup for Fondling Girlfriend

A PLUMTREE magistrate yesterday warned and discharged a 19-year-old teenager who fondled his Form Three girlfriend that he had to wait until he was married in order to have sexual intercourse.
Armstrong Majazi of Osabeni, Mangwe district, kissed and fondled the pupil while they were on their way from church. The girl told her mother who called in the police.
“As you can see, this girl is still young, that’s why after fondling her and kissing her she went on to tell her mother. If she was mature enough, she would’ve kept what you had done a secret,” Gideon Ruvetsa told Majazi.
“I suggest that you wait for her to mature first and then you can start fondling her. It’s obvious that after fondling you might do other things that mature lovers do and you’ll have to wait for that.”
Majazi had pleaded guilty to fondling a young person. He told the court that he saw no problem with his actions as they were in love. He also said the 15-year-old girl appeared pleased by his actions as she looked excited each time he held her.
Prosecuting, Clemence Shawarira said on January 25, Majazi and the girl bumped into her mother, Janet Hadebe, 48. The girl fled.
Shawarira said Hadebe later questioned her daughter on her relationship with Majazi and she confessed that he was her boyfriend. She also opened up on the kissing and fondling.
Police were called.

WARNING: Horror as Young CIOs Are Burnt Beyond Recognition in Fake Accident


Updated: CIO Agents finally buried at Warren Hills cemetery on Monday afternoon.

Two young members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization were on Friday burnt beyond recognition after the vehicle they were traveling in was involved in suspicious accident that has left tongues wagging along the Chiredzi-Ngundu road.

The two who were in their early 30s, Tawedzengwa Shumba, and his colleague only identified as ” Zipra” were heading to Chiredzi when they met their fate.

 
CIO official sources claim that they were visiting ‘their farm’ when the so called accident occurred.
They were driving Shumba’s blue BMW vehicle which was not only burnt beyond recognition but the vehicle’s body also severally ripped apart in ways systematic with a bomb explosion.
Chikara and Shumba used to spend idle time at the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services’ Mashonaland East province head offices bar situated at the civil court (corner 4th street and Kwame Nkuruma).
One of Chikara’s friends who declined to be named told ZimEye.com that the two departed Harare Friday afternoon to Chiredzi.
“I saw them the very day and they told me that they were heading to their farm in Chiredzi. They were supposed to return the following day because Chikara had left his wife in hospital where she was in labour,” said the friend.
He continued, “I was surprised by the sad news that they had died and I am as told that Chikara’s wife  gave  birth to a baby girl on that fateful evening ”.
Due to the nature their bodies were burnt up, the official cause of the accident had not been established at the time of writing and it is believed that the two could have been killed while on an assignment for no reason beyond mere rivalry. Sources within the organisation have told ZimEye the notorious organisation eliminates anyone suspected of leaking information to the public.
“It’s possible that something  could have happened because from all the years I did not  hear Shumba and Zipra talking about farming and it only emerged that day that they had gone to their farm,” added the friend.
Zipra was known for being vocal at the bar and was also a strong international soccer fan. Chikara on the other hand displayed a critiquing personality in the media because of his journalistic background. He was trained as a journalist at Harare Polytechnic while at the same time working in the CIO. Speculation has been rife that he was targeted by work rivals.
He used to spend time arguing with journalists on various topics at the bar.
The two were buried at Warren Hills cemetary yesterday afternoon.

Mutasa: I Regret My Time In Government

Expelled Secretary for Administration and Security, Didymus Mutasa has said he regrets his time in government. Mutasa made these strong comments in a wide ranging interview with the South African Mail and Guardian paper.
When asked “do you regret any policies during the time you were in government?,” Mutasa was quick to admit saying, “iDIDYMUS-MUTASA750n a way, yes. We have taken away people’s land and we are not making good use of those farms. When you see how many Zimbabweans are in South Africa, it’s millions. What are they going there for? It’s work. We draw up fantastic blueprints but with no money to achieve them. It makes me very sad. I have always wondered about our Look East policy that confines Zimbabwe to Russia and China. You then see how faulty some of our policies are. You never think about them clearly and they are given to you in a memorandum and when you meet your Cabinet and politburo colleagues to discuss them, you are told there is no time and we move to other issues.”
FULL INTERVIEW:
Dydmus Mutasa Speaks to the South African Mail & Guardian
Didymus Mutasa, the embattled former minister in the Zimbabwe presidency and the ruling Zanu PF’s former secretary
for administration, has staked his lifelong career in the party in a high-stakes bid to get his job back.
Mutasa (79), who has been with Zanu PF for more than 40 years, is taking the party to court in an effort to get the decision taken at its congress in December to remove him reversed. He was subsequently fired from government and accused of trying to assassinate President Robert Mugabe and former vice-president Joice Mujuru, who was also dismissed from the government and
party.
Mugabe described Mutasa last week as a “fool” for taking him on.
Mutasa (DM) last week spoke to the Mail & Guardian (M&G).
M&G: Zanu-PF appears to be at  crossroads. Do you believe the courts will resolve this?
DM: I believe so, particularly if the courts concede to our request that the party should go back to the position where it was in August 2014. My own position is that there is nothing that I will gain personally from this process, except to bring back legality to the party.
What we are doing is for the benefit of young people, who do not want to be led by a group of gangsters who simply come up one day and tell lies and say to the president: “You are going to be killed” – and this is what this group is preparing to do. We feel that is evil and must be resisted.
We said the Ian Smith regime was evil, was illegal and we went to war on it. But we are not calling for war. We are just calling for reason. They told lies about the former vice-president and we have said: “Please prove it.”
M&G: They said that I wanted to kill the President together with the former vice-president. I said: “Well, I am the head of our security services and I am employed to look after him so how
could I turn around to murder him?”
It is unheard of and, as a matter of fact, that is why we are asking that he [Mugabe] remains the head of both conflicting groups and we discuss with him and we will be able to show him
how this other group has misled him.
You recently wrote to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the African Union (AU). Will they involve themselves in the internal politics of Zanu-PF?
DM: When you do anything you don’t immediately think or talk
about how successful it will be. We are trying to eliminate all
possible reasons why our case might not succeed. We have come to the realisation of what could be done and what the potential of this country is, and this is why we are trying to mend our bicycle because it is broken down and we
want, after mending it, to ride it into the future.
As you can see, I am an old man and I gain nothing personally from all this. But I have got children and grandchildren who must live happily in the country of their birth and that is the main reason why we have got to pursue this case.
M&G: Is internal dialogue not a better option?
DM: Yes it is. When the president arrived last week he had to say what he did about me. I don’t mind that, but if he thinks that I am a fool then he must have been working with a fool very closely for the past 35 years, because I started working with him in prison right up to now.
The reason he gave me high posts in government was because he trusted me and suddenly, if he says this man is a fool, then they will say why has he not seen it before?
Why did you not present your grievances directly to Mugabe, whom you were known to have a close relationship with?
DM: At that time [before the December congress] it was impossible. There was so much violence [and] many people who
wanted to go to the illegal congress were barred from going there. A number of chairmen of provinces had been removed
and so the mood was very difficult . . .
I tried to discuss it with him personally but he was determined to go ahead, and he said: “This is none of my business.
This is a matter … being done by the women’s league and I have no hand
in it, and Mutasa you must understand.”
M&G: Should the courts not rule in your favour, what will you
do?
DM: We have got to sit down and look at what is possible. You see, this matter does not affect Zimbabwe alone.
It affects the whole of Sadc because Zimbabwe is one component of the Sadc and I do not believe that all these other
heads of state that we sent our letter to will just sit back and do nothing. Our letter to the Sadc was addressed to the president of Zimbabwe because he is the chairman of Sadc and that way I
thought we killed two birds with one stone.
I am waiting for a response to that letter and if he wants to publicise it, that is fine; if he wants it to be between the two of us, that is fine. You can’t dismiss [me] simply by saying we don’t want to take our matters out of the country. We must
understand we are living in a global village.
M&G: What will you do if you are fired from Zanu PF?
DM: I’ll do nothing and that is what they want. I’ll still live like I am living now, but I think that those people who will fire me will have a very bad conscience for the rest of their lives.
M&G: You speak of ‘we’ yet you are a lone voice. Why are the others supporting you namelessly?
DM: They should speak for themselves – I do not like to speak for them. I speak on behalf of people from my constituency, as
an MP. Nobody has ever said we want to see who these people are that you talk on behalf of in Parliament. Therefore, I am
talking on behalf of all Zimbabweans who feel something wrong
has been done.
M&G: In your statement earlier this month you spoke of “a dictatorship” in Zanu PF. Who is the architect of this
dictatorship?
DM: It’s people who have advised our President: Emmerson Mnangagwa (Vice-President), Ignatius Chombo (Local
Government minister), Saviour Kasukuwere (Environment minister), Jonathan Moyo (Information minister) and Patrick Zhuwao (Mugabe’s nephew). Those are the group of people who
have formed a dictatorship.
If this country went to war to achieve one man one vote, why should we spoil that? I am saying to other people: “Can you see what is happening to Zimbabwe and can you help us sort it out?”
M&G: President Mugabe turns 91 next month. Is he still the best
person to lead Zanu PF?
DM: At the moment he is our constitutionally elected leader. The
process of having another leader, I believe, should be done
lawfully in terms of the Zanu PF constitution, which was thrown
out.
Once that process is taken into account, then members of Zanu PF are given the right to choose their leader and not to have them imposed by the president.
Mugabe is a very good and fine gentleman. He is going to leave
somebody else and that’s our fear – that that somebody he
leaves behind will not be as good as he is and our country will
go to the dogs.
If the people say we want Mnangagwa then he has got to be
brought in properly and not be imposed on us.
M&G: Will Zanu PF pay the price of being divided in the 2018
polls?
DM: I hope not. This is why we are doing what we are to cleanse
our party.
M&G: Do you regret any policies during the time you were in
government?
DM: In a way, yes. We have taken away people’s land and we are
not making good use of those farms. When you see how many
Zimbabweans are in South Africa, it’s millions. What are they
going there for? It’s work. We draw up fantastic blueprints but
with no money to achieve them. It makes me very sad.
I have always wondered about our Look East policy that confines
Zimbabwe to Russia and China. You then see how faulty some of
our policies are. You never think about them clearly and they are
given to you in a memorandum and when you meet your Cabinet
and politburo colleagues to discuss them, you are told there is
no time and we move to other issues.
M&G: You are now an ordinary card-carrying Zanu PF member.
How do you feel?
DM: I am an ordinary person and I am very happy to be just that,
because that is where I started. My wife said that it is very good
that I have been placed where I am now because I would have
been in an untenable position. I agree with her, and I am quite
happy.
M&G: How do you spend your days?
DM: I spend the day with my wife. We talk. She is very prayerful.
Since we got married in 1970, we have never spent this long
[periods] together. In a way it is probably a prayer being
answered now. I find it a wonderful opportunity, first of all to
relax, rest and then to be able to pursue our objectives [for] our
country and our party.
M&G: Do you feel betrayed by your fellow comrades?
DM: Very much so, particularly by the group that is now calling
the shots. If you were to speak about each one of them, you
would find that they [have] skeletons in their cupboards. I
suppose that is why they do not want to have [an] open
dialogue with us.
M&G: Why does Zanu PF appear not to have a succession plan?
DM: It is inbuilt in our Zanu PF constitution. The unfortunate
thing is that the leaders are not given [restrictions on] how long
they may stay in office. In other countries, you become president
of either the party or government for a specified time. Our
constitution is very silent and I believe that it is because of the
respect that we have for our president.
M&G: Will Zanu PF remain stable if Mugabe passes on?
DM: If there is a leader after Mugabe who truly has the desires
and concerns of the ordinary man at heart, I have no doubt that
people will rally behind that person and restore our country to
where it must be.
M&G: As Mugabe’s confidante and one of the last few remaining
leaders from his generation, what legacy does he want to leave?
DM: He has a wonderful legacy. He doesn’t want it to be
compared [to] that of Nelson Mandela because he thinks that
Mandela did not really push to the end. Which is the difference
between the two because Mandela only intended to stop
apartheid. He [Mandela] didn’t want to interfere with what was
going on in South Africa’s economy.
Mugabe’s legacy may come to an end if he doesn’t handle our
cases well. I have lots of respect for him still. When you look
back to his statement of reconciliation after the war, when he
said, “Let us now turn our swords into ploughshares”, that was
wonderful.
He has openly challenged the United Nations [for]
democratising its institutions, and openly attacked Britain and
the United States in the UN. I feel wonderfully impressed by
that.
But it is our party that it has got to democratise itself. You can’t
demand other institutions to be democratised when yours is not
of the same position.
M&G: Is your longstanding relationship with Mugabe now over?
DM: No. In my heart he is still my man. I saw him in prison and
we lived together so right up to now; he is still my man. There is
really nothing wrong between us, he says that I am a fool – fine,
that is his own view. How can I be a fool just suddenly, since
yesterday? I don’t think he means it.
M&G: Was it a fatal mistake for Mujuru to remain silent when
Grace Mugabe attacked her?
DM: I feel for her very much and agree that she should not have
been silent. I think she is probably doing something quietly
through the courts. I don’t know really.
She is a real freedom fighter. She is a very different character
from [higher education minister] Oppah Muchinguri. I suppose it
is because of those differences that she was selected first as
vice-president, and not Muchinguri.
M&G: Is there bad blood between Mujuru and Muchinguri?
DM: Well, yes and no. Yes because Oppah has gone out openly criticising Mujuru, and she has done absolutely nothing in response. People think that is really good, and that is what a married woman should do (unfortunately her husband passed
on).
But she is a typical Shona woman. I admire her and I think she is
a great woman.
Zanu PF is now seized with infighting, rather than addressing
the bread and butter challenges faced by ordinary Zimbabweans.
When you are organised
correctly and your people understand what you are trying to do,
then surely there will be plenty of bread and butter. But at the
present moment, if I may be honest, there is no bread or butter
in this country.
For the rural people their bread comes from the growing of
mealies and when you go around you don’t find much [of it].
Then you realise that these people will have to kneel down
somewhere to beg for their bread and butter. If you have got
any conscience at all, you feel absolutely sad, very sad.

Catholic ex Priest Sires Kids With Wife’s Sister

The former Roman Catholic priest who was recently ordered to pay $80 maintenance for a child he sired while still serving, also sired two other children with his wife’s sister during the same period.
Roman Catholic church priests pledge to celibacy, but it emerged at the Harare Civil Court last week that not only did Mathew Jonga, who was based in Guruve, break the cardinal rule by marrying, he went on to sire two children with his wife’s sister.
Jonga was recently ordered to pay $80 per month for the upkeep of a child he had with wife Emma Mutaka. It was revealed that Jonga sired two other children with Mutaka’s sister Trinity (54) after he went to court applying for custody of the seven-year daughter he had with Mutaka.
“I came to know that Jonga was in love with my elder sister Trinity only last week after I caught him in her house,” said Mutaka. She told magistrate Ms Ruth Kamangira that Jonga secretly sired two children with Trinity and they were now living as husband and wife.
“My sister is an evil person,” said Mutaka. “How could she sleep with my husband and have children behind my back?” Mutaka said Trinity had been avoiding her over the past years because she was sleeping with Jonga.
She said Jonga was applying for custody of their child to shield himself from paying maintenance. In his application, Jonga accused Mutaka of being a bad mother, saying she was disturbing the child’s education.
“She is not a good mother to take care of the minor child because she is in the habit of taking her away from school and insulting her with vulgar words,” he said. Jonga accused Mutaka of being in the habit of threatening to commit suicide, but Ms Kamangira dismissed his application due to lack of merit.
“The court is of the view that the applicant is trying to run away from paying maintenance for his child,” she said. Ms Kamangira said Mutaka was a good and hard working mother considering that she was the one who had been taking care of the child since birth.
“As a hair dresser, she managed to take care of the child while you were still serving as a priest, which clearly indicates that she is a good mother and is able to take proper care of the child,” she said. herald

Mliswa to Remain Jailed

Former Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman and Hurungwe West legislator Temba Mliswa appeared in court yesterday facing charges of theft after several types of rifles were found at his farm.
Mliswa will know if he will be granted bail today after his application could not be concluded yesterday. Mliswa, who was arrested on Saturday, appeared before Chinhoyi magistrate Mr Ignatius Mugova facing theft charges under Section 113 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Prosecutor Mr Herald Matura preferred theft charges against Mliswa involving eight different rifles found at his farm.
The schedule of firearms presented to the court showed that there was a 303 rifle, Patrone .22 rifle, Kal .22 I.F.B rifle, BSA 7.57mm rifle, K217.62mm rifle, .458 Witworth Express rifle, Vanguard 12 Bore shotgun and a 12 Bore double barrel shotgun.
Mr Matura said Mliswa stole the eight firearms from Summerhill Farm in Mhangura belonging to then owner Mr Myles Walter Hall sometime in 2007.
He allegedly stashed the firearms in a trench at his disused Spring Farm fowl run. Mr Matura opposed bail on the grounds that Mliswa could interfere with witnesses since one of them was his worker at the farm.
He said the police needed to recover five other firearms at Mliswa’s farm, while time was needed to send the recovered firearms to the Ballistics Unit for testing to see if they had not been used to commit a crime.
Mliswa’s lawyer Mr Musindo Hungwe, assisted by Mr Charles Chinyama, rubbished the State’s claims, saying his client was not being charged under the Firearms Act, but was up for theft.
“The case is manifestly weak as the arms in question were recovered,” he said. “So, which other firearms is the State talking about when it is clear that the other firearms are registered in the accused’s name?”
Mr Musindo said there was nothing in the State’s papers to show how the crime was committed, while also dismissing the case for not having a complainant.
“The State is crying more than the bereaved because there is nowhere we see Mr Myles Hall reporting to the police,” he said.
Mr Musindo said with property worth a net value of US$3,5 million, among other valuables, and being a legislator, Mliswa was not a flight risk who should be released on bail under conditions set by the court.
After the defence submissions, the State called investigating officer Detective Sergeant Masimba Mputa to give reasons why Mliswa should not be granted bail. Magistrate Mr Mugova remanded the matter to today on the grounds the courts were closing for the day. Herald

Mphoko Comes Face To Face With Joshua Nkomo at ARDA Farm

Tomato canning equipment and other machinery sourced by the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo soon after independence is lying idle at the ARDA Balu estate in Umguza.
This was exposed when Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko visited the estate over the weekend and came face to face with the Agriculture And Rural Development Authority (ARDA)’s incompetency.
Balu estate, owned by ARDA is in a state of dilapidation with the state of the art equipment sourced by the late Dr Nkomo decomposing.
It is also not clear what happened to the over 500 dairy cows that were at the estate.
He described the state of affairs at the estate as tantamount to sabotaging the land reform programme and questioned the ARDA board and management’s commitment to duty.
The equipment includes storage tanks, piping material, farming equipment such as tractors and combine harvesters.
Dr Nkomo`s vision was to have local farmers grow tomatoes and have them canned at the estate.
So sorry was the situation at the estate that not even a single manager was at hand to give answers.
Efforts to get a comment from ARDA board chairman were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered before it became unreachable.

BREAKING NEWS: Emily Munemo Murder – Husband Gibson Mazikana Arrested

Finally arrested... Gibson Mazikana
Finally arrested… Gibson Mazikana

The murder case of slain mother of two Emily Mazikana killed in cold blood on Friday morning(not Saturday as reported in the British media), has seen husband Gibson Mazikana finally being arrested.
 
Mazikana, 42, was arrested on Monday night after being tracked down in the same Hillingdon town area.
 
ZimEye.com can exclusively reveal Mazikana is now in handcuffs after police officers launched a manhunt for him on Monday. He had been on the run since Friday morning.
 
The announcement of his arrest exclusively covered by ZimEye.com was made at 8.40 pm.
Investigators told family members in the presence of ZimEye.com on Monday night at about 8.40pm they had a few minutes ago, taken Mazikana into their custody after picking him up from an undisclosed location in Hillingdon.
 
Earlier before they had assured the family they would soon swoop in on him. We will do all that is legally within our means to track and arrest him, investigating officer Craig Bradley said two hours earlier shortly before apprehending him.
 
Emily Munemo was stabbed twice while in her house  leading to her death two hours later on Friday, just before Mazikana took a runner.
 
On the same day, Friday the 30th January, Mazikana previously convicted of assaulting a police officer, was due to be sentenced for the latter crime and instead absconded court. It was during that time that Ms Munemo was found stabbed, bleeding profusely and later dying two hours afterwards.
A postmortem is now to be conducted on Tuesday afternoon 2pm.
ZimEye.com will keep our valued readers informed as events unravel.

Emily Munemo Murder LATEST Update: Gibson Mazikana Wanted

WANTED: Gibson Mazikana
WANTED: Gibson Mazikana

Detectives investigating the murder of a woman in Hillingdon on Friday, 30 January, have named a man they would like to speak to in connection with the investigation.
Officers have released an image of Gibson Mazikana, 41 (04.10.1973), who was last seen on Friday, 30 January at about 22:40hrs at South Ruislip train station, where it is believed he boarded a London-bound train.
Mazikana is also wanted for failing to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 30 January, where he was due to be sentenced, following a conviction for actual bodily harm on a police officer.
Police were called at approximately 11:00hrs on Friday, 30 January, to reports of a woman injured at an address in Collingwood Road, Hillingdon.
She was found suffering stab injuries – she subsequently died at 12:22hrs.
Although formal identification has not taken place they are satisfied the deceased is Emily Munemo, 42 (18.12.72) of Collingwood Road, Hillingdon. Next of kin are aware.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 2 February, at Fulham Mortuary.
Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Piscopo, Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC), said: “I am appealing directly to Gibson Mazikana, to contact the incident room so that we can speak to him in connection with Ms Munemo’s murder.
“I would also appeal to anyone who knows him and his current whereabouts to call the police. I would like to reassure any callers that they will treated with the utmost sensitivity.”
Police asking the public to call 999 should they see Mazikana and not approach him.
Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8345 3775 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
+ A man, aged 35, was arrested in Hayes on Friday, 30 January on suspicion of murder. He has since been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in mid-March.

Lesotho Prime Minister’s Body Guards Shot, One Person Dead

Two bodyguards tasked with protecting Lesotho’s Prime Minister Tom Thabane were shot and wounded on Sunday and a bystander killed in the crossfire, five months after a failed putsch in the tiny African kingdom.
Both the injured men were soldiers who had tipped off Thabane about the planned August 2014 coup when the military attacked several police installations and the Prime Minister’s residence, killing one police officer, the adviser said.
“The two guards went against their own men that day, absolutely,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggesting that Sunday’s assault could be linked to the failed coup.
The shootings outside the gates of the Royal Palace of Lesotho King Letsie III also comes four weeks before national elections in the impoverished country of two million which is surrounded by South Africa.
The bodyguards were not accompanying the Prime Minister at the time.
“We’re still trying to figure out the motives.
“My gut-feeling is that what’s happening now is to frustrate the election process,” the adviser added.
Lesotho’s February 28 elections are being held more than two years early in order to restore stability following the August 30 coup attempt.
On the morning of the attempt, Thabane was tipped off about the plan and fled to safety across the nearby border into neighbouring South Africa before his official residence was raised by soldiers.
The failed putsch exposed friction between the Lesotho military and the police, pushing the country to the brink of a full blown conflict.
Though tensions have eased, police say they are still investigating recent claims that foreign “mercenaries” entered Lesotho to assassinate Thabane and other leaders.
The army, however, is still seen by many as being behind the August putsch.
In October 2014, South Africa’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa helped broker a political agreement that re-opened parliament for the first time since June and pushed the polls forward.

Emily Munemo Murder: Hubby Relatives Invoke the Ghost of Learnmore Jongwe

London – Investigations into the death of mother of two, the late Emily Munemo who was found stabbed on Saturday morning, have taken a twist with relatives of her estranged husband invoking the ghost of the late MDC-T Spokesman Learnmore Jongwe.
ZimEye.com held exclusive interviews with relatives on Sunday night into the wee hours of Monday morning as kins told this publication this is “a classical tragedy” that should be judged moderately as they suggested that hubby Gibson Mazikana should be forgiven for allegedly bludgeoning his wife to death.
They invoked the name and spirit of the late Learnmore Jongwe saying the murder of Ms Munemo should “be viewed under the prism of the Jongwe case”. Learnmore Jongwe, the outspoken MDC-T Spokesman, killed his wife with a kitchen knife later claiming that he had discovered her engaging in an illicit affair. He died in prison while awaiting trial a death relatives say was caused by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party officials they claim poisoned him to death.

Murdered Emily Munemo
Murdered Emily Munemo

It is reported that on Saturday morning Gibson rushed to his 35 year old brother’s house in Grays where he changed his clothes. One source who can only be referred to as LN, told this reporter, “He went to Munya’s house soon after [CENSORED WORDS DUE TO POLICE CASE] where he changed his clothes and then left. He swiftly left and that is why his brother Munya was arrested after they thought he was the older brother.”
They also said that Munyaradzi Mazikana withdrew from his bank account
£1,000 at once on the same day in what has been alleged to have been vital cash to assist his brother to flee.
The above family source also revealed to ZimEye that the Mazikanas are cousins to the late dreaded Defence Minister Movern Mahachi who was military boss during the DRC war in the 90s.
At present Mazikana is on the run and police are appealing for information on his whereabouts.
Before Emily’s death, Mazikana had been under a restraint order to stay away from his wife.
Meanwhile, ZimEye.com can exclusively reveal that Emily is a former classmate of Girl Child Network founder Betty Makoni.
ZimEye is in London and will update our valued readers as events unravel the truth of how and why Ms Munemo was murdered on Saturday morning.
EXCLUSIVE_investigative-articles-exclusive-3

Auxillia Mnangagwa a CIO Jukwa Deployed by Mugabe to Monitor Own Husband

Vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife Auxillia has been exposed as a key member of Robert Mugabe’s dreaded secret police, the CIO, sent by the dictator to monitor her husband.
High-level sources told Now Daily that Auxillia Mnangagwa was deployed by Mugabe to monitor Mnangagwa at a time when the former state security minister was thought to pose a threat to the dictator. She remained in the shadows until Mnangagwa’s ‘real’ wife, national hero Josiah Tongogara’s sister, died recently.
Sources confirmed that as recently as 2013, Auxillia Mnangagwa was passing damaging information about her husband to Mugabe.
“Ngwena doesnt trust Auxillia and she only became visible after his first wife died. He knows she is a plant and her job is to pass information about him to Gushungo’s people. We know that she is the one who told him about Ngwena’s many girlfriends and children. Gushungo used the information to discredit Ngwena as a womaniser before the 2013 elections,” said a Mnangagwa family source.
A Herald interview published Saturday pointedly made no reference to when Auxillia Mnangagwa had married the vice president or how many children they had. However, she claimed to have joined the CIO in 1992 when Mnangagwa was its de facto head. She said she got an elite post disguised as a ‘security officer’ at the Sheraton hotel, now Rainbow Towers. She claims to have resigned in 1997. However, former state security minister Sidney Sekeramayi revealed recently that CIO spooks served the organisation for life and were not allowed to resign. Auxillia Mnangagwa was deployed to the University of Zimbabwe but fled the institution at the height of student unrest in 1999 after her cover was blown. She claims there was ‘political instability’ then. She then went underground in Switzerland. – Now Daily

Tsvangirai Bounces Back as Large Crowds Welcome Him


MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has over the past few weeks been “visiting” suburbs in Harare where Zanu PF is known to be perpetrating violence in what analysts say could be a bid to reinvent himself.
Since losing the election to President Robert Mugabe, all has not been well for MDC-T with the party facing the second split in 10 years after former secretary-general Tendai Biti and deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma left to form their own party.
In three of his visits, in Budiriro, Hopley Farm and Epworth, Tsvangirai has proved that he still has the support of the people despite losing to Zanu PF’s Mugabe in the last election that he claims were rigged.
On all these visits, Tsvangirai exposed the amount of fear caused by Zanu PF in suburbs.
The MDC-T leader also came face-to-face with the poverty the people are grappling with. In Epworth, he expressed shock at the huge number of young people that came to attend his rallies during working hours when they should be at work.
“The question that I ask is: What is this whole group of people doing here on a weekday when you are supposed to be at work?” Tsvangirai asked rhetorically.
His message remained the same, however, throughout most of his visits, that Mugabe’s time to rule Zimbabwe was over and that he must now go.
“Zanu PF has failed. We now need a new direction that comes with the MDC programme,” Tsvangirai said.
In Budiriro, Tsvangirai attracted huge followers who chanted his name as he toured the markets past a Zanu PF terror base where he was verbally abused by Zanu PF youths.
From there, he went to Hopley Farm, a disorderly settlement on the southern periphery of Harare.
There, he questioned medical staff at a local clinic over allegations that they discriminated against known MDC-T supporters.
His latest visit was in Epworth where he addressed party supporters whom he urged to remain strong and continue working for change, which he said was definitely coming and in a peaceful manner.
Tsvangirai’s tours have, however, sparked debate over their usefulness, given that he had lost a lot of political mileage since his defeat in polls by Mugabe in the 2013 elections.
Political analyst Takura Zhangazha said that like any politician, Tsvangirai was right to engage the poor people who were in the majority, but said it was not enough to engage in “meet the people tours” without a clear message and plan.
The Standard

Mwonzora Trial for Theft Goes Ahead

MDC-T Secretary-General Douglas Mwonzora, who is facing a theft of trust property charge involving $15 000 has been set for March 3 this year.
Mwonzora is jointly accused with his legal partner Joseph Terera (44). The prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that in 2012, Mr Justin Matenda, who is a project manager at a local mining firm, obtained a $200 000 loan from Ecobank that was supposed to be repaid within one year.
Matenda failed to pay back the money, resulting in him being sued by Ecobank in July 2014. The court was told that an agreement was signed between Ecobank and Mr Matenda under which the latter would pay $15 000 a month for 12 months.
Mr Matenda was represented by Tendai Toto from Mwonzora and Associates law firm, in which Terera is a partner. Toto allegedly told Mr Matenda that all payments were to be done through the law firm’s Barclays Bank account.
On August 5, Mr Matenda deposited an initial $15 000 into that account, which had Terera and Mwonzora as signatories. The court heard that Mr Matenda continued to receive letters from Ecobank indicating that they had not received the money as per their agreement.
Investigations revealed that the money had allegedly been withdrawn by Terera and Mwonzora, who converted it to their own use.

Tuku and Munya Mataruse in US Gig Explosion

Upcoming Pakare Paye Arts Centre guitar prodigy, Munya Mataruse, has expressed his excitement at being asked to join Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi on his latest tour of the United States and Canada.
African musical giant Tuku’s seven stop tour will take him and his band to venues in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in the US and Ontario in Canada.
Tuku and his band, accompanied by Mataruse, arrived in the United States on Wednesday and are now in Hanover, New Hampshire where their first show was set for Thursday, January 29.
Tuku opened the Norton-based Pakare Paye Centre in 2004 as a way of giving back to the community and contributing to the growth of the music industry in Zimbabwe.
Speaking about the addition of Mataruse to the tour Tuku said that it was important for people in whatever industry they were to reach out and help the young. “It’s the natural thing to do, we must use our experience and knowledge to assist those who are coming up behind us, those who will push on after us.”
An excited Mataruse, speaking just before he boarded the plane en route to the US said that this would be a learning experience for him. “I am looking forward to using this trip to learn how Tuku and his management organise tours. It will also be a big platform to introduce my music to some of his fans.”
Mataruse has received great reviews from arts critics during his formative years. In 2011, Newsday, writing about him said, “Without doubt one can easily conclude that he is not only a true protégé of Oliver Mtukudzi but a star in his own making.” Then two years ago, in 2013, the Herald wrote of the young musician, “He is now a journeyman ready to take the world on his own.” But even as early as 2010, critics had picked out Mataruse’s magic, with the Zimbo Jam raving about one of his shows in Norton in December that year.
Mataruse was born in Norton on January 2, 1988. He attended Chiedza Primary School in Norton before going to St Joseph High School in Zaka, Masvingo.
It was while he was at primary school that his musicality blossomed. He started singing in 1996 and joined the school marimba band. In 2005 he signed up to Pakare Paye and started playing the guitar, receiving lessons from Poda Muriwa, the late Sam Mtukudzi and Tuku himself.
He has since shared the stage with top acts from Zimbabwe and beyond its borders, including Suluman Chimbetu, Alick Macheso, Kunle Ayo (Nigeria), Eric Wainana (Kenya) and Ray Phiri (South Africa). His most precious and memorable moments on stage though, have been those he has shared with his famous mentor.

Fifa Fires Warning at Zimbabwe

THE WORLD soccer governing body, Fifa yesterday issued a chilling warning to Zimbabwe and revealed that the country could face severe sanctions and be ostracised from the global football family should government press ahead with threats to dissolve the ZIFA board.
Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga last week piled on the pressure on troubled ZIFA when she told Parliament that her ministry was considering disbanding the association’s leadership regardless of the consequences that would see Fifa ban Zimbabwe.
In her response, during a question and answer session in the National Assembly, Kanengoni-Malinga said Government was not happy with the way the game was being run in the country.
“It is true that as a ministry we are not happy with the way ZIFA is running football affairs,” Kanengoni-Malinga said.
“In terms of Fifa regulations, we should not be seen interfering. Our view as Government is that it is better that we are suspended as a country as we clean up the mess at ZIFA.
“When we complete serving the suspension, we will return to international football at a time when we would have strengthened our systems. We will not be the first country to be suspended; that has been done to other countries after they felt that it was better to intervene to strengthen their football,” Kanengoni-Malinga said.
Malinga then repeated her call at a press conference a day later, insisting that ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube needed to resign or risk having the government invoking the “necessary measures including the dissolution of his board as parts of measures to clean up the domestic game”.
The Deputy Minister’s remarks drew widespread media coverage and Fifa indicated that their attention had been drawn by those widely publicised threats.
In their reaction over the weekend Fifa warned that they would not hesitate to ban Zimbabwe from international football.
Fifa, who had earlier on Friday indicated that they were monitoring the situation at ZIFA, also warned that a suspension of Zimbabwe would mean that none of the countries that are affiliated to the world body would be allowed to entertain contact with the nation.
The Fifa warning was contained in a letter which the world body’s secretary-general Jerome Valcke wrote to Dube following the reports and was copied to the Confederation of African Football.
Valcke also asked the ZIFA president to furnish the world body with a report on the situation in the domestic game with the Fifa Number Two man outlining the nature of the sanctions that would be imposed on Zimbabwe in the event that the association’s leadership was disbanded.
“We have learnt from media reports that the Zimbabwean authorities have supposedly discussed the possibility to disband the board of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA)
“Should the allegations prove to be true, we would like to remind you that according to articles 13 and 17 of the Fifa statutes, ZIFA has to manage its affairs independently and with no influence by any third parties. Failure to do so would be considered as a violation of the FIFA statutes and ZIFA would be subject to sanctions, including a suspension.
‘‘In addition, the suspension would only be lifted once the status quo would be restored.
“Lastly, a suspension would mean that all FIFA member associations would not entertain sporting contacts with ZIFA and that ZIFA would not benefit from any program or financial assistance from Fifa and CAF.
“We thank you to inform the interested parties accordingly and to provide us with a report on the situation as soon as possible,’’ wrote Valcke.
This also comes as the Sport and Recreation Commission board led by acting chairman Edward Siwela and which included members Aisha Tsimba, Dave Ellman-Brown, Jessie Nyakatawa, and Miriam Mushayi met with the entire ZIFA board at the instigation of the Ministry on Saturday.
Siwela told the media that ZIFA were saddled with a funding problem and that his Commission was also assessing the situation in the association’s board which has been characterized by cracks that have also drawn the ire of Kanengoni-Malinga.
ZIFA chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said yesterday that Dube would first meet with the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa and Malinga to present to them Valcke’s letter and its implications.
“Fifa want a report from ZIFA on what is going on because they picked the issue from the media reports and they also want us to officially advise the authorities of the Fifa position on the matter.
“So the ZIFA president will take the letter to the Minister. It must be remembered that the last time that the country was ostracised from international football was in 1965 in the Rhodesia era when the country failed to comply with Fifa demands for non-racial discrimination in football.
“In this case we will be inviting sanctions on ourselves if Fifa were to ban Zimbabwe,’’ Mashingaidze said.
However it is the threats issued by Valcke in his letter that is also set to torch debate among stakeholders on whether it is wise or not for Zimbabwe to disband the ZIFA board and take the risk of being banned by Fifa or to find ways to whip the leadership into line without violating the world body’s statutes.
A ban on Zimbabwe and loss of contact with all Fifa affiliates would also mean that Zimbabwe would not take part in any of the activities that come under the auspices of the African Union’s protocols with Fifa and CAF.
The AU for which Zimbabwe has just assumed leadership following the election of President Robert Mugabe to chair the umbrella body last Friday, has such protocols like the Memorandum of Understanding to use the universal appeal of football as a platform to advocate and promote social change in Africa, through such initiatives as the “Make Peace Happen Campaign’’, which was signed in Addis Ababa on June 14, 2012.
Fifa have also been helping in Somalia where football was previously outlawed under Al Shaabab reign until the African Union troops and the Somali National Army secured vast regions in the country, flushing out extremists and re-igniting among other things Somalis appetite for football. Other than regaining its flavour across the horn of Africa country, football is keeping thousands of youths away from crime in Somalia with the transforming the lives of young people in a country where majority of them are targeted by the Al Shabaab and forced into terrorist activities. – State Media

BREAKING NEWS- Temba Mliswa Arrested

Former Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman and Hurungwe West legislator, Temba Mliswa has been arrested for illegal possession of fire arms.
Mliswa was picked up by police at his Karoi farm homestead and is said to have been arrested for possessing six unregistered fire arms, according to the State Media.
Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the arrest.
He has against his name charges of illegally grabbing businessman Paul Westwood’s motor vehicle business under the pretence of indigenisation.
During Grace Mugabe’s meet the people campaigns last year, Mliswa stood out against the First Family as he defended expelled War veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda.
Mliswa was at the time of writing still detained at the Chinhoyi Central Police Station.

UK Penis Enlargement Convicted Killer Next Door to Murdered Zim Woman

A British man who engaged in a botched penis enlargement and is a murder convict, is direct neighbour to Ms Emily Munemo who was found stabbed on Saturday morning.
The man Michael Wenham, was jailed this week for killing a prostitute after a botched penis enlargement, according to the UK Daily Mail paper.
A police spokesman confirmed inquiries were still ongoing, but it is not believed the attack was linked to Wenham’s trial.
Police forensic teams dressed in white overalls were yesterday seen at Ms Munemo’s £305,000 two storey house where she was found stabbed on Saturday morning.
Company director and health worker Emily Munemo set up Muney Ltd in October 2012 and ran the business from her home, where she had lived in 2008.
Within hours of Ms Munemo’s death, her neighbour Michael Wenham was jailed for gruesomely murdering young prostitute Karolina Nowikiewicz. – Daily Mail

Michael Wenham (pictured) murdered the young prostitute as he was struggling to cope with a botched penis enlargement surgery
Michael Wenham (pictured) murdered the young prostitute as he was struggling to cope with a botched penis enlargement surgery

Sex With Client N’anga Gets Impregnated

A GWANDA woman has been granted a peace order against her husband’s pregnant lover who is a traditional healer and has been harassing her.
Margaret Chihono of Zindere Resettlement in Gwanda District told magistrate Mr Arafat Kozanai that her husband’s lover, Fungai Mhuri, was disturbing peace at her homestead.
The court heard that Mhuri, who has been staying at Chihono’s homestead since February last year, had been impregnated by her client, Peter Chihono.
“I’m legally married to Peter but now he is engaged in an adulterous relationship with the respondent (Mhuri). I no longer have peace at my homestead and I am living in fear because of death threats I get from my husband and her lover despite that I am always unwell.
“I want Mhuri out of my homestead because she is causing me great distress. She insults me even in the presence of my husband but he does nothing to stop her. I have been degraded as a wife,” said Chihono.
However, Mhuri denied threatening or insulting Chihono. She said her stay at the homestead and relationship with Chihono’s husband, Peter, had been done with the applicant’s blessings.
“When I came to their homestead, the applicant was ill, she could not do any work and I am the one who was helping her out. She is the one who even told me that her husband, Peter, had failed to satisfy her sexual needs.
“We then agreed that I engage in a sexual relationship with her husband. I did not know that the two are legally married,” Mhuri said.
Mr Kozanai said Mhuri should never insult or threaten Chihono. Mhuri was also ordered to vacate Chihono’s homestead.
Chihono was also granted a protection order against her abusive husband who also threatened to kill her.
She said Peter had on several occasions threatened to stab her to death with a spear, allegations which he dismissed as false. sunday news

Beating Up Children Is Satanic and Causes Violence – Teachers

Zimbabwe has become divided on corporal punishment with many teachers ruling it it out as Satanic and a practice that creates a culture of violence in the community.
But other parents and educationists say the recent ban on corporal punishment exposes children to unbecoming behaviour as they ride on the legal cover.

Report by the Standard

Recently, High Court judge, Justice Esther Muremba ruled that it was unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, to use corporal punishment on children. She was making reference to a case of a 15-year-old boy who had been found guilty of sexually molesting a 14-year-old female neighbour and had been sentenced to canning.
Justice Muremba ruled that the new constitution had no room for the “cruel” act which has been described by international humanitarian organisations as barbaric and ancient.
But educationists and some parents feel that the law took away from them the ability to shape their children into good responsible citizens.
“This is so wrong. Even the Bible says ‘spare the rod and you spoil the child’,” said Belinda Musa from Belvedere.
Although all of her children are grown up, Musa says she always used the rod if it was necessary and she is quite happy with what became of her children.
“Dialogue is for a certain age group but when they are too young the rod will fix it and as they grow up they will learn the dos and don’ts,” she said.
A vendor along Seke Road in Harare said if teachers could no longer discipline children, performance grades would slump.
“Our children need that kind of correction and if teachers are not permitted to use a bit of force, the children will not work hard,” she said.
An exploratory study of corporal punishment by Teachers in Zimbabwean Schools titled Issues and Challenges and written by Almon Shumba, Amasa Philip Ndofirepi, and Martin Musengi, says teachers play an important role as educators and disciplinarians.
“To assume their responsibilities, teachers sometimes resort to the use of physical punishment,” the authors observed.
This however is in sharp contrast with international laws on child protection, posing a great challenge to teachers.
Legal expert Alex Magaisa said Zimbabwe was signatory to most of the international laws that do not allow corporal punishment.
“In the old constitution corporal punishment was allowed as an exception but did not have the same protection that is offered by the new provision in the new constitution which is now an absolute right,” he said.
Teachers’ unions are however divided on the ruling with some advocating for the ban while others want it rescinded.
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said corporal punishment perpetuated a culture of violence.
He called on teachers to instead resort to alternative disciplinary measures which were not degrading.
However, the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has called for the revoking of the law.
In a petition to President Robert Mugabe, PTUZ secretary general Raymond Majongwe charged that “outright removal of corporal punishment from schools will definitely turn them into jungles”.
“We don’t support the battering of learners but we’re saying keeping corporal punishment hanging in schools, at times without even applying it, has helped to maintain some measure of discipline,” part of the letter read.
The use of physical punishment to chastise wayward children is mostly used by those parents who subscribed to the notion that the act would mould the young men and women into better citizens.
Section 53 of the constitution however states that, “no person may be subjected to physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment”.
Section 86 (3)(c) states that no law may limit the following rights enshrined in this chapter and no person may violate them, the right not to be tortured or subjected to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. – Standard

IN PICTURES: Mutoko Dodgy Toilet Building Finally Demolished

Business almost came to a standstill at Mutoko Growth Point as venders jostled to witness a council grader which moved to demolish an “illegal structure.”
This happened late afternoon Friday. (continue reading)
[gallery size=”tb_large” ids=”131107,131106,131104,131105,131103,131102″
The structure(building), which is near completion used to serve Mutoko bus terminus as the councils public toilets.
Former senator Jacob and a Mr Mushonga, a politician as well are said to have entered into a fraudulent deal with officials of Mutoko Rural District Council to turn the disused toilet building into “corner shops” at a time the community or terminus does not have proper public toilets. It was during the intervention of the council’s Chief Security Officer a Mr Ganyiwa, that the grader’s operator drove away from the crowd.
Mutoko RDC executive has been mostly criticised for maladministration, haphazard stand allocation and poor service delivery at the expense of rate payers.
The building was finally razed to the ground at around 1500hrs Saturday (pic).

I Can Smell My Own Flesh Rotting Inside Me But I Will Not Go to Hospital


“I would rather sit at home and wait to die in pain from these chronic headaches as I cannot afford medical fees that Mpilo Central Hospital is demanding. I would rather save for a decent burial.”
These are the heart-rending words of 56-year-old Ms Zondie Moyo of Lobengula in Bulawayo who for the past two years has been failing to secure at least $500 that is needed for a CT scan. She has perennial headaches and pus oozes from her nose as the pain intensifies.
Ms Moyo’s problems started in 2013 when she developed a headache and she assumed it would soon fade away. “I started getting serious headaches in 2013 and I dismissed them as just normal headaches but I realised they were getting worse each day. I tried getting tablets for pain but the situation didn’t change,” said Ms Moyo.
“As time moved when the headaches would come they would be accompanied by pus oozing out of my nose and I visited the hospital where I was told to go for an X-ray of the head.”
Ms Moyo then went to Mpilo Central Hospital where she was told she needed to do a CT scan of the head so as to ascertain the cause of the headaches and the pus. She was told that the scan would cost $500.
Ms Moyo told the Sunday News that her condition was tantamount to torture as she could smell rotten meat with every breath.
“Right now the smell inside my mouth and nose is that of rotten meat. I can taste it in my mouth and I always want to vomit because the smell is so awful. It is then accompanied by thick pus that flows out, something inside my head is rotting and I am worried,” she said.
Ms Moyo said one of her neighbours never used to understand her condition until one day she called her to see for herself.
“I asked my neighbour if she was strong enough to take a look at the pus that comes out of my nose and she agreed. After seeing everything she was then convinced that I have a serious problem that needs attention,” she said.
She said people seldom understand when she tells them she has pus oozing out of her nose when she is attacked by a chronic headache. She said it was especially worse when she swallowed the pus that flowed into her throat.
“It is so nauseating when I swallow it. I once decided to start taking umdombo (snuff) so that my nose would run and the pus flows out but this hasn’t worked at all,” she said.
To add on to Ms Moyo’s problems is the fact that no one is employed at her home.
“No one is employed here, some of my children stay here and they do not work so it is difficult to feed them, again my husband died over 20 years ago so no one can assist me. I also stay with my daughter-in-law who has a young baby,” she said.
She said it was very difficult to put food on the table or even purchase medicines. Ms Moyo has over the months been trying to nurse some fruit trees and sell them to eke out a living. She also said she was hoping to get cow hides for resale.
“I asked someone who stays at Fatima Mission to collect some cow hides for me so that I can sell them. I hear the market is there so I am hoping I will get some so that I can feed the family and also buy medicines,” she said.
A part of Ms Moyo femininity has been robbed from her as she cannot do the duties usually performed by a mother.
“I cannot bend on the sink and wash dishes, clothes or even clean the house because my head aches all the time and when I bend it just gets worse. When I do get the strength, I sit on the floor and wash dishes and ask my daughter-in-law to finish off,” she sobbed.
The challenge faced by Ms Moyo is not unique to her alone as thousands of people in the city are failing to access health care due to the unavailability and also high costs of services. Most health services are beyond the reach of the average person, making several people resorting to living with their untreated chronic illnesses.
Services such as kidney dialysis, CT scanning, chemotherapy just to name a few, are very expensive for many people coupled with the fact that a majority of the citizens are not on medical aid meaning that they have to pay cash for services.
In Bulawayo CT scans are available in private practices at high costs with some going for as much $1 000. Many Government hospitals have obsolete machinery that is supposed to service the general public at a subsidised cost.
“Right now I can safely wait for death because I have no clue when I will be able to do a scan to ascertain the problem. I thought I could negotiate for treatment then I pay later but this has failed,” she lamented.
A local doctor said Ms Moyo might have a type of brain tumor that is cancerous and could be rotting from inside, hence the foul smelling pus that comes out of her nose regularly. sunday news

I Don’t Care About The West – Mugabe

Addis Ababa – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday shrugged off concerns that his appointment as new African Union chair would harm relations between the pan-African bloc and the West.
“What the West will say or do is not my business,” Mugabe told a news conference at the close of two-day African Union summit held in the Ethiopian capital
“My business is to ensure the decisions we take here are implemented. My concern is on uplifting the life of our people, giving them something that will raise their standard of living,” he said.
“For more that 10 years I have been under sanctions, my country has been sanctions. If they want to continue it’s up to them but these sanctions are wrong,” the president said.
“If Europe comes in the spirit to cooperate and not the spirit to control us and control our ways, they will be very welcome,” he added.
Mugabe, Africa’s oldest president at 90, took over the rotating post of African Union chair on Friday, replacing Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
Mugabe, a former liberation war hero who is Africa’s third-longest serving leader, is viewed with deep respect by many on the continent.
But he is also subject to travel bans from both the United States and European Union in protest over political violence and intimidation.
Last year Mugabe boycotted an EU-Africa Summit in Brussels after he was given a rare invitation – but his wife was still denied a visa.
Mugabe also spoke on his attitude towards the empowerment of women.
“We are different,” he told reporters. “There are certain things men can do and that women can’t do. And there are things women can do that men cannot do. You can’t bear babies in your tummy, can you? Even the gay ones cannot.”
“But what we have done in Zimbabwe is that our women can become ministers, judges, farmers, pilots. We have three pilots,” he added.
– AFP

Sex With Own Girlfriend’s Brother, Man Catches Wife Screaming

A Mberengwa businessman tried to kill himself after he caught his wife in bed with his girlfriend’s brother.
The businessman reportedly attempted suicide by drinking cyanide. The incident happened last Saturday and the businessman, who later recuperated at Mberengwa Hospital operates at Neta Business Centre.
The heartbroken businessman caught his wife busy between the sheets after a tip off from his girlfriend that his wife was having an extra marital affair with her brother.
After being busted, the wife reportedly showed no signs of remorse when she allegedly begged for another session from her boyfriend in the presence of her husband as punishment for sexually starving her.
The wife accused her husband of disturbing her as she was having the best sex of her life.
“For a two-timing man I think it was a bad turn which deserves another when he found his wife in bed with his girlfriend’s brother. From the look of things, it was the small house who tipped him that his wife was going out with her brother.
“The move was probably meant to have him divorce his wife so that she could move in with him as the two are madly in love. After being tipped of his wife’s illicit relationship he quickly rushed home. Upon arrival he could not believe his eyes when he found the lovebirds busy making love on their matrimonial bed.
“In a bid to probably fix her philandering husband, she asked her boyfriend to have another session in the presence of the businessman claiming that he was sexually starving her. This did not go down well with the businessman who quickly took cyanide in a bid to kill himself,” said a source who chose to remain anonymous.
The source further said after the embarrassing incident, the businessman was no longer a common sight at the business centre as his younger brother was now running the show.
After allegedly messing up her marital bliss, the businessman’s wife is believed to have fled to South Africa. b metro

BREAKING NEWS: Mother of Two Emily Munemo Killed in UK


Tragedy struck  the UK based Zimbabwean community on Saturday morning when mother of two Emily Munemo was found murdered at her house in Grays, Essex.
 
Emily, a devout Christian and catholic, was found dead reportedly from stabbing in her house.
 
Details were sketchy at the time of writing and mourners are heading to her mother’s house in Surrey.
 
Emily was a graduate from the prestigious Oxford Brookes University and she and her family had recently moved to a new house.
 
More to follow….
 
 
 
 
 

Simba Mhere Killed in Car Accident


Johannesburg – Television presenter Simbarashe “Simba” Mhere died in a car accident near OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday, the SABC reported.
SABC’s SAfm News reported that the Top Billing presenter was killed in the early hours of the morning.
Lorraine Maisel, from Mhere’s publicity company, paid tribute to 31-year-old Mhere, Sapa reported.
“He was going places. I saw him on Thursday… Simba was a gentle, kind and loving person,” Maisel told the broadcaster.
According to his profile on the Top Billing website, Mhere was born in Zimbabwe and moved to Johannesburg as a baby. He attended Randpark High School and studied at the University of Johannesburg. He won the Top Billing Presenter Search in 2010.
Breaking news: Simba Mhere died in a car accident in the early hours of this morning in Johannesburg. #SABCnews
— SAfm news (@SAfmnews)

FIFA Assesses Zimbabwe Situation

World football governing body Fifa is “assessing” the situation in Zimbabwe following recent threats by the Government to dissolve the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) board led by the embattled president Cuthbert Dube.
On Wednesday, deputy Sports minister Tabeth Kanengoni-Malinga told parliamentarians that Government was on the verge of sacking Dube and his entire executive and risk the full wrath of Fifa.
Fifa outlaws external interference in the affairs of its affiliate members, and such action attracts a ban for at least five years.
“We are not happy with Zifa and what is happening there,” Kanengoni-Malinga told the august House.
“Fifa is saying we must not interfere in football matters or we risk being suspended. Government is saying if it is suspension let us be suspended.  We are going to remove the people who are ruining our football.”
Kanengoni-Malinga continued her onslaught against Dube on Thursday when she reiterated her threats, saying Dube’s sacking was imminent.
Fifa were not giving much away when contacted by the Daily News yesterday.
“Fifa is in contact with Zifa to assess the situation. We have no further comment at this stage,” a Fifa spokesperson told the Daily News yesterday.
In the event that the government goes ahead and disbands the current Zifa board, Fifa will ban the country from all forms of international football.
Article 13, par. 1 and article 17, par. 1 of the Fifa Statutes obliges member associations to manage their affairs independently and with no influence from third parties. The suspension will only be removed once the elected board is reinstated.
During the period of suspension, Zifa may not be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, or in friendly matches.
In addition, neither Zifa nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any Fifa or Caf development programmes, courses or training during the suspension period.
However, according to Kanengoni-Malinga, it would be necessary for Zimbabwe to go under such isolation while rebuilding.
“We can be suspended by Fifa, but we would have done the right thing and we shall do that too and we are going to see changes in our football,” she said.
Dube, who is serving his second term after re-election in March last year, has been accused of failing to act after Zifa’s debt ballooned from $700 000 to $6 million during his time in office.
Zimbabwe’s national team has failed to qualify for three successive Africa Cup of Nations finals and the 2014 Fifa World Cup during Dube’s reign. – DailyNews

Former MDC Spokesman Joins ZANU PF

Harare Times : Former Welshman Ncube led MDC Youth Spokesperson Khumbulani Malinga is one of the MDC members who recently joined ZANU PF. He joined ZANU PF last Sunday at Davies Hall were Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko was addressing party supporters.
The Harare Times had a telephonic interview with Mr Malinga and below is the unedited version of the interview.
HT: Mr Malinga, why did you leave the MDC ?
KM: There are number of reasons that led me to leave the MDC train but i will restrict myself to two.
I left the MDC after realizing that the Party did not fully pursue the fundamentals of democracy that it claimed to pursue. You will reckon for example how cadres were accused tried and sentenced in their absence during the post election witch-hunt. I can cite a lot of examples.
The other reason is that like any other relationship when its irreparable you cant force it.
I realised that the party was reneging from its pursuit of a free and just zimbabwe but was full of pretenders to the throne whose only pre occupation was using the name of the people for self satisfaction and personal aggrandizement.
Q. Why did you join zanu pf?
A. After a close interaction with Cdes in Zanu PF Youth like Cde Leo Nyoni and Bright Matonga I realized that inunu esihlala sisethuselwa ngayo is indeed a fairy tail. I realized that my vision for myself and this country resonate with the aspirations of ZANU PF. I realized that the economic turnaround is at the heart of the party and they have practical solutions that they are progressively implementing.
As a Nationalist myself who wants to have a positive role to play in the development of this country i realized that i am better of in the revolutionary and ruling party than spending my energy away opposing for the sake of opposing as is the nature and culture of MDCs.
Q. People say Dr Qhubani Moyo recruited you to ZANU PF is it true?
A. Hahaha my brother in Ndebele we say lapho okulokufa kulomthakathi (where there is death there is witchcraft). People do not want to accept things as they are they look for conspiracy everywhere.
As i said earlier my close interaction with cdes in ZANU PF and my desire to positively contribute in national development made me to join the Revolutionary and Ruling Party.
May I hasten to say Dr Moyo is a brother to me and an inspiration with the Great works he has done for young people and he is among a few other brothers I consult on a number of social and political direction.
Q. Do you want to contest elections under a ZANU PF Ticket in future?
A. You see my brother what i have learnt in ZANU PF is the cardinal rule of discipline and Cadre deployment.
I will accept any corner that the Party feels i can effectively contribute for the greater good of the Movement and the country.
Q. On a parting shot what are your views on the purging and looming split of ZANU PF
A. The Party has officials mandated to pronounce Party Position.
Q. Thank for your time Cde Malinga
A. Thank you for having me.