ZANU PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo has voiced out that former Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s hopes
to enter the senate are not closed at all as previously claimed by Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mr. Gumbo indicated to ZimEye that Mnangagwa is actually causing sabotage on Gono’s hopes for the senate.
Gumbo told ZimEye that following the politburo meeting on Tuesday, Mnangagwa was tasked to lead a committee that should engage the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission with a view of finding legal ways of ensuring Gono who as an unregistered candidate for the Buhera area does not qualify, is given access for the elevation.
Mnangagwa who is believed to be leading his own faction in the race to succeed President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday said that Gono’s chances for the senate were now sealed for good. This contradicted Rugare Gumbo’s position on the matter.
“I stand by my story. I am the party spokesperson and I stand by my statement (which is final),” Mr Gumbo told ZimEye on Thursday morning.
When asked if there are any prospects of Gideon Gono being raised to the contentious senatorial seat, he replied saying, “what we are saying is what I said that we are going to go along with chairperson Makarau’s position. But it is unfortunate because Mnangagwa is supposed to be chairing the committee tasked to look into the matter but he is doing the opposite of what he is supposed to do,” said Gumbo.
 
 
 
Herald Offside claims.
Gumbo also earlier dismissed claims in a Herald editorial claiming that he had gone offside in attacking the paper. He said that Mugabe is concerned over The Herald’s said “biased reportage”. President Mugabe has already blasted Minister of Information and Media Jonathan Moyo for washing the party’s dirty linen in public.
A source told ZimEye of the rebuke Mugabe felled into Jonathan Moyo, saying “yesterday after the cabinet meeting, the President approached Minister Moyo and asked him why he was victimizing Mliswa.In his words he said ‘why are you victimizing that boy?,’ a senior ZANU(PF) cabinet minister who sits in the politburo told ZimEye Wednesday. They continued,
“the president in our presence said the fight should stop forthwith but we do not know whether the ‘old man’ meant to forgive Mliswa or what because we are going to discuss his issue in the politburo meeting today,” they said.
 
Meanwhile, it emerged both Gideon Gono and Rugare Gumbo allegedly belong to the Joice Mujuru faction which is seeking to have her succeed President Robert Mugabe.

Pretoria – A train driver is feared dead in a sudden train mishap in Pretoria when the locomotive went off the rails while carrying commuters.
There was chaos and panic Thursday afternoon when the train derailed at Centurion in Pretoria, close to Sport Park station.
It was traveling from Johannesburg to Pretoria.
Although no passengers were injured, the driver’s condition was unknown at the time of writing.
Many Zimbabweans aboard the train, walked out in haste fleeing any possible secondary incident.

 

PART 1 – The Gokwe inferno which nearly razed down the CBZ bank building last month, was started by a Gokwe businessman with two accomplices while they were dabbling with deadly juju trying to get rich fast, an investigation has unearthed.
ZimEye on Thursday morning reveals how the named businessman casting fires trying to get rich fast had deadly concortions backfire on him. But the fire did not stop at him but flamed all the way to the nearby CBZ bank, destroying part of the property and leaving many jobless.
Properties adjoining the bank have since been reduced to rubble as a result. Read more Thursday morning on ZimEye.com

President Robert Mugabe Tuesday asked Information Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Jonathan Moyo to stop victimizing ZANU(PF) Mashonaland West provincial Chair Temba Mliswa.

Earthquakes are expected in the politburo today as ZANU PF politburo seeks a resolve to the Temba Mliswa and Gideo Gono duo headache. There have been heated calls for Mash West Chairman Temba Mliswa to be pubished for having disgraced several politburo heavyweeights who include Jonathan Moyo, Ignatius Chombo, President Robert Mugabe’s cousin Patrick Zhuwao, and the President himself. But Mugabe has come out in apparent support of Mliswa.
Moyo who is said to belong to the Mnangangwa camp, is accused of staging a media war against the Mujuru camp which Temba Mliswa publicly said he supports.
The Zanu PF politician on Monday punched at Zanu PF cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere labelling them “Gay Gangstars”.
He extended the gay description to politburo member and President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao.
“Yesterday after the cabinet meeting, the President approached Minister Moyo and asked him why he was victimizing Mliswa.In his words he said ‘why are you victimizing that boy?,’ a senior ZANU(PF) member who is a cabinet minister and also seats in the politburo told ZimEye in Harare Wednesday.
“The president in our presence said the fight should stop forthwith but we do not know whether the ‘old man’ meant to forgive Mliswa or what because we are going to discuss his issue in the politburo meeting today,” they said.

IN PICTURES: The large trench (gully) now threatening to destroy the local magistrate’s court is fast increasing. Chiefs (pictured) say a mermaid is angry with government and as a result is creating the gullies…  FULL STORY

A ferocious lioness kicknamed “Bloody Mary,” has caused a headache for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers after it escaped shortly after killing a man in Kariba last week, Thursday.

The beast together with two others caused trouble when they killed an employee of Somabula Safaris in Matusadonha.
The employee had at the time been docking his house boat at the lake.
The employee, name supplied, was killed by the three lionesses on the 4th of September . Matusadonha field station was immediately informed and went to attend the scene as one of the lionesses has a collar. Rangers tried to scare the predators by firing shots resulting in two of the three lionesses were being wounded.
After a laborious overnight search, two of the lionesses were later killed, but bloody Mary escaped. Bloody Mary was still being tracked down at the time of writing.
To date 5 people have been killed while 12 have been injured country-wide owing to human wildlife conflict. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has appealed to the public to respect the distance between themselves and wildlife and to always report the presence of wildlife in their areas to the local traditional leadership,the police or Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority offices.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has said it is going to continue to hold awareness campaign programmes with communities with view to minimizing human wildlife conflict cases while increasing public safety.

The MDC Renewal party has rushed to the rescue managing to help a woman who was abused by nurse practitioners at Old Mutare hospital.
The Renewal Team sent a donation of an expensive wheelchair together with medical supplies to Baisai’ Muchakache who was given injection the wrong way last month in July which botched up medical procedure caused her to be amputated as a result.
The party’s spokesman for Manicaland Pishai Muchauraya presented the donation earlier in the week to Miss Muchakache’s husband.
The family members are not MDC supporters and this gesture was only done to assist following the horrific incident, it has been reported.
Mr Muchauraya told ZimEye they will not stop there, but will go forward and assist the patient with referrals for legal help PICTURES:

A man was yesterday mauled by a lion while docking his boat.
The incident happened right at Lake Kariba’s shores while the man identified as Mr Mapfunde, was docking his vessel.
He was alone.
Details were sketchy at the time of writing but the man was the breadwinner in his family according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
Many people have been killed by crocodiles in the lake area in recent months and this incident is the first of its kind in 2014.
More to follow…

A Zimbabwean man has died in the UK’s city of Leicester.
Mr Bothwell Dlamini died of a short illness on Wednesday.
He died of multiple organ failure a condition said to be caused by severe bacterial infection.

An appeal has since been launched (published below) by friends and relatives.
Dear fellow Zimbabweans and well wishers. It is with great sadness that our brother and father Bothwell Dlamini passed away today Wednesday 27 th August 2014. We are planning to repatriate his body to his home land Chibuwe in Chipinge, Zimbabwe where he will be laid to rest. As such we kindly asking for your donations big and small to make this possible. L T Sithole Halifax acc 01814250 s / c 110516 For details of the arrangements. Could you please contact Bothwell Dhlamini’s aunt Thandazaini Lorraine Sithole (Chiororo) Sandra Vuso’s mum on 07916786407 also from Chibuwe in Chipinge or Mr Mungoshi on 07776169845 from Leicester. Prosper Mudamvanji Sabau 07446118050

The Eaglesvale High School saga which has led to the institution failing to pay workers, has caused consternation amid an official report ZimEye now exclusively reveals that $143,000 mysteriously disappeared from the school coffers.
According to the suspended headmaster, Mr Naison Tirivavi, the large sum of money disappeared after he had been removed and he only discovered when he returned to his job having himself torpedoed the suspension. He however was silent on any involvement of the police in investigating the disappearance of the money.
He told ZimEye during the week:
“In terms of the finances of the school in 2011 I was forced (into events that )then developed to (sic) last year, and when I came back, a sum of $143,000  was no where to be seen.
“And as from last year onwards the first case was built on the management board that was then suspended. They used a lot of money, and they made sure that the school is bankrupt, but we have managed to manage the cashflow up to now, and I don’t now who gave you the information that the workers were not going to be paid because our workers are going to be paid and in fact are among the best paid workers in the country. The other issue is Eaglesvale is not the most expensive , its actually the cheapest private school, and the figures by one of your commentators were wrong.
Eaglesvale doesn’t charge those. Eaglesvale charges very little”, said Tirivavi.
This article is the frist in a series on the school as events unravel over the Eaglesvale new leadership saga.

Broadcast Journalist Ezra Sibanda has dismissed reports that he is working with Transport Minister Obert Mpofu in the Skies FM radio project.
“I’m not running a radio station with Obert Mpofu. Chronicle created those lies,” Mr Sibanda told ZimEye on Monday.

In a recent story the state owned Chronicle ran a report alleging that Mr Sibanda is a director for the radio project being bankrolled by Transport Minister Obert Mpofu.
The paper quoted Sibanda speaking about his company’s prospects stating, “Skies FM — if granted this licence — will focus on news and current affairs, including mining, farming, business, sports as well as arts and culture. It will have something for everyone,”
“We want to make sure that people in the region are active participants on the national issues that affect them, and also give them a platform to air their views on those issues,” he said without at any point and in no way mentioning Minister Mpofu’s name.
Mr Sibanda was speaking shortly after offices he shares with his brother in Bulawayo were stormed by robbers who stole various valuables.

London – The late legendary TV presenter Alice Chavunduka’s brother, Walter,

was attacked at Ras Pombi’s show in Chingford at the end of July in an incident that has left UK residents shell shocked.
ZimEye can reveal that Mr Walter Chavunduka was wounded by a known UK thug in a mishap that has left him battling with just one eye. He has been told by medical experts there is no more hope for his left eye which was battered during the attack said to have been unprovoked.
A source told ZimEye of Chavunduka’s ordeal:
“It wasn’t even during the show (that the attack took place); the show had finished and we were out in the car park getting ready to go.”
It was when he was about to head to his car that the offender (name withheld) suddenly without cause approached him and struck him in the face, briefly becoming unconscious.
The attacker is said to be a man of Zim origin said to have just come out of prison on a charge of stabbing someone and also for drugging.
A Zimbabwean national, currently on an asylum claim has been named as the culprit who gouged Mr Chavunduka’s eye in the vicious attack whose motive is yet to be established.

Harare’s most prestigious private school and one of the most expensive in the country, Eaglesvale has gone bankrupt shortly after being taken over by a standing member of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party, Mr. Naison Tirivavi (the former headmaster) the school board had suspended for misappropriating school funds and assets, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
 

When the suspended headmaster mysteriously returned to work and fired the same board which was investigating him, the school which is owned by THE philanthropic Dutch Reformed Church, was then scrambled with assistance of ZANU PF officials, and finally seized early this year, ZimEye can reveal. This development is one of many in which institutions and businesses have come under the control of black Zimbabweans loyal to the ruling party. A dubious organisation based in Masvingo Mr Tirivavi calls The Reformed Church of Zimbabwe took over resulting in the school going bankrupt.
 
Mr Tirivavi announced this week that the school can no longer pay general workers their full wages and so he is looking to cut down on work hours. “As for August pay for instance, I don’t know if we will be able to pay and when,” Tirivavi said on Monday.
 
This was so despite the school charging amounts up to $3600 per student. The fee structure is as follows: boarding $3600, day high school $2300 and junior school $1450 per term.
 
After overturning his own suspension early this year, Tirivavi returned to work and conducted a ceremony where he announced the school was now indigenised and because the Dutch Reformed Church is of foreign origin.
 
When questioned for further details on the development and also on why the indigenisation ceremony was not officially published in the ordinary way, Mr Tirivavi refused to answer requesting rather to meet our reporter face to face at an undisclosed location: “Ko zvingaita here kuti tisangane muHarare titaure takatarisana zviso zvedu”, Tirivavi asked our reporter.
 
He said he has been reinstated after the seizure. The ceremony conducted attended by the controversial Local Government and National Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo, together with Education Minister Mr. Lazarus Dokora, also had Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa as an invited guest. READ MORE

A Herald story that states MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai only managed to scrap a little over £400 from his fundraising UK dinner is false and misleading, Mr Tsvangirai’s EU office has said.

“It is Herald at it again, the whole story is cooked up. There were in excess of 40 people who paid for dinner, the budgeted for subject to space. Each table had 8 people and there were 10 tables,” Mr. Tsvangirai’s ambassador to the EU Elliot Pfebve told ZimEye Wednesday morning.
The dinner was held in Birmingham last month and was charging £50 per head. ZimEye can reliably confirm that there were indeed more than 40 people in the hall. However attempts to photograph the dinner hall were fruitless as a Mugabe agent operating in the UK, Makusha Mugabe believed to be the source of the Herald story, blocked journos from doing their work. As a result of Makusha Mugabe’s meddling it has thus been speculated that the £400 figure reported by the Herald could represent net proceeds (after expenses) instead of actual collections.
The MDC UK & Ireland chairman, Tonderai Samanyanga also dismissed the report but refused to pass a comment. “The Herald can say whatever it wants but we are not worried and our struggle will still continue. The Dinner was an MDC internal function and it will remain that way. I cannot discuss any internal matters in the press,” he said.
 
The attendance for the main meeting which was before the dinner was 97. See pictures:

There was shock when a Harare based female TV presenter on the government owned broadcaster, ZBC, showed up dressed in male outfit.
Social networks were ablaze when the named presenter (pictured) conducted a program while robed in a man’s attire, black suit and tie.

One news reader wrote to ZimEye : Editor, we are told it is a crime to publicly practice homosexuality but here we are a news presenter working for the same anti gay government flashes onto the TV screen akapfeka nguwo dzemurume, zvirikumbofambaseyi shuwa?”
A Facebooker scoffed saying she was dressed like an undertaker.
Attempts to obtain a comment from ZBC’s public relations department were fruitless as their phone rang without being answered.
The broadcaster has in recent years fallen on a financial hard rock failing to pay workers’ salaries for up to six months. It has been speculated that ZBC staff are struggling to make ends meet after numerous journos were seen begging for private loans.
 

Lisa Taruvinga, Sandra Vhurande and Cecilia Tandi blast Robert Mugabe on the sidelines of Morgan Tsvangirai’s Birmingham rally. PICTURES BELOW:

Several passengers were injured and taken to the hospital following an accident involving a Kombi travelling from Babourfields and Mzilikazi township to the City Centre and a small car with two passengers at the corner of First Ave and Herbert Chitepo in Bulawayo this afternoon.
The driver of the small car failed to give way and collided with a Kombi full of passengers resulting in the Kombi veering off

the road and smashing into a durawall. The driver of the Kombi ran away leaving injured passengers struggling to come out of his Kombi. It is believed he
had no driver’s licence and appeared very young.
The Kombi driver wasn’t on the wrong but to run away from an accident is a serious crime. I believe it’s high time to go hard on Kombi owners who give young, inexperienced and unlicensed drivers to carry passengers. Simple confiscate their Kombis.

full story – Click Here to read

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife has said that all and any problems Tendai Biti and his Renewal MDC faction are having will be easily solved through a chat with her husband.
“Those who left the party who are now called The Renewal they must just talk with their leader”, Mai Tsvangirai said.
Liz Tsvangirai was speaking at a rally in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon shortly before her husband took to the podium. When Mr Tsvangirai rose he began by dismissing the Renewal Team as a pure ZANU PF project addding that Biti and his camp cannot be taken seriously at all.

“The Renewal was formed to defend ZANU PF that is all, said Tsvangirai.
He attacked Biti for allegedly taking ZANU PF bribes. “If you consumed ZANU PF money, wait and see, hayiende mahara,” said Tsvangirai. He continued, “when you took that money we were there together and now you want us take you seriously?”
On the issue of challenges against his character Mr Tsvangirai said Biti has no moral grounds to challenge him on issues of morality.
“If it was a question of character debate, lets do it; openly we do character debate. But you must know that you also have your own issues. If you live in a glass house. Handiti ndizvo?
Tsvangirai also added towards saying that Biti cannot be taken seriously.
“When people decide to leave the party, it is their democratic right to go and form their party, said Tsvangirai.
“You think we can take those people serious?,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s UK rally at the weekend brought an embarrassing supporter turnout after the MDC party allowed the appointment of a Mugabe agent as Tsvangirai’s public affairs and press officer three weeks before.

Makusha Mugabe, a former ZANU PF agent working in its media echelons, reportedly self appointed himself amid his own claims that Mr Tsvangirai had given him the influential post, at a time when members queried with Mr Tsvangirai how he is working to address infiltration by fake members.
Tsvangirai as  a result attracted a paltry 97 supporters to his rally becoming outnumbered by insignificant functions conducted by his own juniors who include Bulawayo South MP Thabitha Khumalo who has before gathered double what the MDC leader achieved at branch level. Empty chairs and open spaces were a prominent feature at the poorly attended Birmingham (entire UK & Ireland) rally supporters attended without charge. However at Thabitha Khumalo’s recent Oxford meeting in November, more than 200 people converged to the Oxford city small function which yet drew at least 170 people who further paid a £10 fee.
Mugabe was also visibly drunk throwing a pungent smell of alcohol during the function.

A senior official sitting close to Tsvangirai who declined being named told ZimEye Makusha Mugabe had however “self proclaimed himself Tsvangirai’s personal press officer” and had not been appointed by anyone at all.
“I can confirm to you that Makusha Mugabe was not appointed at all by the President,” the official said.
More reports to follow…

A woman was attacked and killed by a crocodile in lake Kariba on Monday, becoming the tenth person to die of such attacks in 2014.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in Nyamhunga.
The woman identified as Mrs Mbewe in her 50s, was fishing with half of her body in the lake’s waters when the reptile went after her. She was fishing with the water up to waste level at the time.

By Wednesday afternoon, National Parks and Wildlife were yet to find her body in the waters.
National Parks have issued a warning for people to desist from fishing while in Lake waters.

FULL STORY – Prince Harry Chooses 10 Zimbabwean Youths to Work as Media Champs –

Prince Harry once had a Zimbabwean girlfriend he almost married – today His Royal Highness has chosen ten Zim youths to work for him as media coordinators – Ten Zimbabwean youths have been selected to work with the fourth heir to the throne on his recently launched Invictus Games program for wounded soldiers.
The ten youths part of a larger group of 60 Londoners, have been roped in as social media champions who will publish the upcoming games slated for September this year, and were selected with the help of the Active Horizons and Citizens UK NGOs.
President Robert Mugabe has described the royal family as friendly to Zimbabweans, and in the picture below, the Prince poses for feature photos with three Zimbabweans prominently leading the sixty-strong group.

The prince met the group at Bethnal Green Academy in east London where he revealed that he hates micro-blogging website Twitter. “I really quite hate Twitter,” said Harry as he took opportunity to hit out at the website for what he sees as its ‘invasion’ of his privacy during an impromptu question and & answer session.
“The issue for myself and my family, put quite simply, is that it’s very hard for me to tweet about the Invictus Games and tweet about something that means a lot to me, whereas I at the same time really quite hate Twitter by the invasion of privacy. I think you all understand what I’m talking about,” he said.
The ten Zimbabwean youths have achieved various strides in their careers. Below are their profiles:
 
Cynthia Masiyiwa 
Cynthia Masiyiwa (22) program manager for Active Horizons a youth – led Charity Organisation a member of Citizens UK. Young Woman of the Year 2013 (Women on the Move Awards) and ZAA Young achiever of the year 2013 for her outstanding work in the community advocating for young people and migrants.
 
 
 
Tawanda Mukoko 
Tawanda is a Graduate from Bournemouth University and currently works as a Digital Project Manager for Flamingo Group. Tawanda has managed, set up and delivered innovative business platforms which directly impact communities globally. Tawanda is one of the co-founders of a young, award winning organisation which focuses on increasing the participation of young global citizens in nation building programmes in Zimbabwe.
 
 
 
Sibongile Mazivisa 
Sibongile is a student at Westminster Kingsway College, studying Government and Politics, English, History and Economics. She is also CEO of the college and as well as Student Governor, which means she is involved in the decision making of things that affect the college.
 
 
 
Chido Mukoko 
Currently at 6th form studying biology, chemistry, maths & business studies. Aspires to be a pharmacist. Mentored younger pupils in maths & Iooking to work for a company to tutor younger children.Volunteered for the Olympics & recently did volunteer work at an RSPCA store in Woking. Volunteered at a care home doing activities with the elderly
 
 
Ashley Tawodzera 
Ashley Tawodzera, is a graduate from the University of Zimbabwe, Bachelor degree in Nutrition. Wants to be a Public health nutritionist and help eradicate world hunger and malnutrion
 
 
 
Niclette Mutandwa
Niclette represents her college in different sports activities and other extra curricular activities. She has done different voluntary works but her most memorable is when she spent 10 weeks in Tanzania helping the community. Her most challenging experience was when she worked on a project with mature German students and had to go there for a week and present her final project. Through all this she has also managed to maintain A* grades in her college work. Niclette volunteered to work as a kit carer during the Paralympics and has also volunteered to help get primary school kids involved in different sports activities.
 
 
 
Passi Mbaya 
Passi is currently a student at Lesoco College and has just completed her health and social care level 3 course. This September  she will be going to do ‘Access to Nursing’. Passi is I’m one of the youth leaders at her church and I gets involved with various activities such as choir, bookshop, charity projects and many more.
 
 
 
Samantha Tapfumaneyi 
Samantha Tapfumaneyi (18) who goes by the name ( Samantha Allan ) is a freelance presenter wanting to follow in the footsteps of Oprah. She has worked with numerous companies, which has given her the opportunity to report at places such as Downing Street and interview celebrities at movie premiers. She’s also the founder of a new online youth broadcaster ( Samantha.Allan.Online TV) which seeks inspire,empower and entertain the young generation. Samantha is inspired by strong women who refused to be ignored whilst aspiring to be a strong voice & presence for her generation.
 
 
 
Benjamin Hamandishe 
Benjamin (19) has a strong balance of character and charisma. He aspires to study Political Science and International Relations at University of Birmingham this year. Serving the community is his top priority, and at whatever level or scale possible from street cleaning campaigns to charity, he loves to serve people. Benjamin’s passion also lies in music, particularly singing. One of the highlights in his career has been sharing the stage with world renowned and multi-award winning artist Donnie McClurkin in 2010. Having received advocacy training from Active Horizons, together with my intrigue in politics, he is determined to be an advocate for all who are facing any form of injustice in any part of the world, be it social, legal or political. Fashion styling, athletics long distance running and rugby are some of his other interests.
 
 
 
Nyasha Zaranyika
Nyasha is currently in her final year at Kingston University doing a Masters in Social Work. She has been working with young people in Maidstone with a local church since 2009. The role includes meeting weekly to discuss issues that affect young people such as bullying, peer pressure and self-love. Last year as part of her course she went to Mysore, India. The group she was with worked for Kiriya Pushpa, ChildFund. She had the opportunity to go to the slums and raise awareness of the importance of education, speaking against child labour and corporate punishment. She also spent a few days working with women that had been rescued after being trafficked and forced into prostitution. The experience was challenging but very rewarding for her. For the past couple of years she has worked in diverse roles with individuals at risk of harm. “Working with women who are in the criminal justice system but are on community orders made me see how stereotypical societal opinions impact the way people are treated and viewed. People stop seeing the person but see the vulnerability.” Says Nyasha, so for six months, from January she has worked for a Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults team in one of the London Boroughs. Working with this team affirmed the reasons why she decided to do social work, seeing a visible positive change in individuals’ lives which is gratifying. Her passion has always been to work with people in a way that is empowering and anti-oppressive.
 

An article on the ZimEye website on 11th July 2014  titled “OK Supermarket Forced to Close” referred to Mrs Chipo Mashingaidze, a former worker with the supermarket group.
We have since established that an employee of the company provided information and misleading representation that led to Mrs Mashingaidze’s name being printed in the article and words ascribed to her.
We apologise to Mrs Mashingaidze for any embarrassment caused.
We, therefore, wish to extend to Mrs Mashingaidze our sincerest apologies.

ZimEye this week launched a new interactive mobile website.
The website is built on the latest responsive technologies to improve user experiences. This development comes after the site now 6 years old needed a makeover.
ZimEye Editorial Moderators do hereby apologise for any inconvenience caused during this transitional period.

Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba has blasted former Daily News editor Geoff Nyarota.
Speaking on the sidelines of an interview concerning his criticism of the Media Commission headed by Nyarota, Honourable Chinotimba said he remains concerned that government money is allegedly being wasted on people like Nyarota at a time when MPs are not getting their allowances and orphans of war veterans are struggling with school fees.

“My question is still the same and that why is it that Professor Moyo is wasting money on Nyarota ‘s media commission while our children suffer,” said HON Chinotimba.
He added:
“Is he not the same person who destroyed the Daily News recently?,” he asked.
In January 2001 HON Chinotimba’s party ZANU PF presided over the bombing of Nyarota’s Daily News printing press at a time when Chinotimba’s predecessor Dr Chenjerai Hunzvi were vowing to put the paper out of business because of its radical anti-government investigative reportage. Nyarota who became jobless following the attacks, has since been appointed to the media commission which HON Chitotimba says is squandering government money at a time when MPs are not being paid… Read more ….

Below are pictures of the man who duped among many Army General Constantine Chiwenga’s wife and top musician Oliver Mtukudzi into accepting fake honorary doctorate awards. Read more
Makandiwa Duped in “Fake Doctorate Scandal”;   Tuku dressed in fake robes.

Buhera South MP HON Joseph Chinotimba has said that he does not hate either Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa or Information Minister Jonathan Moyo.
HON Chinotimba told ZimEye there is no factionalism in ZANU PF and his recent drilling of Professor Jonathan Moyo on the Zimbabwe Media Commission and alleged squandering of money had nothing to do with the alleged party factionalism.
INTERVIEW:
HON Chinotimba There is no faction in Zanu PF. I don’t have any person that I support except Robert Mugabe who is followed by Joice Mujuru; followed by Simon Khaya and followed by Didymus Mutasa going down in that order.
ZimEye: It is alleged that when you questioned Mr Johnathan Moyo about the Zimbabwe Media Commission you were pursuing a factional agenda.
HON Chinotimba: Do you think if things are not done in the right way I should not ask? Remember I understand my job and my role as an MP. As it is right now, the children of War Veterans are no receiving money from the ministry of Finance. …..sic.
I am asking Johnathan Moyo as a Minister of Zimbabwe not as an individual. I am a war Veteran who stands for the disadvantaged children and I am anti corruption. When I talk of corruption am asking why the country’s CEOs are given more money; What about those who are given $100?
And those who are working outside how much are they getting? I am fighting corruption.
ZimEye: Is there any hatred between you and Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa.?
HON Chinotimba There is no hatred at all. They are my leaders. Jonathan Moyo is my friend and I don’t hate anyone.

A UK based Zimbabwean man has succumbed to cancer in Manchester after a long battle.
Mr Tonderai Mamboininga (38), died on Saturday at Christies Hospital after a lengthy battle with the ailment. Mr Mamboininga, a divorcee, has left behind a ten year old daughter. His ex inlaws (reportedly the only next of kin in the UK), launched the below passionate statement to humbly appeal for financial assistance:

Hama neshamwari tawirwawo nedambudziko rinoda rubatsiro rwedu sevana veZimbabwe. Tonderai Mamboininga/Unendoro/Nyamasvisva akashaika musi wemugovera 28.06.14 kuChristies hospital Macclesfield aine makore 38 mushure mekunge arwara nelung cancer . asiya mwana musikana ane 10 years. Tinokumbirawo rubatsiro rwenyu kuti mutumbi wake uendeswe kumusha kuZimbabwe kundochengeterwa ikoko. Isu tiri masahwira ake, akanga akasiyana ne mudzimai (mai wemwana wake). Vabereki wake wari kumusha. Takaungana panhamba 16 Almond close Salford A6 5AT. Tiri kufunga kuti mutumbi uendeswe kumusha in few days to come.
Contact details 07403872688.
Bank details ..
Halifax
sort code 11 06 72
account 00649046 R Mutaki
OR
Santander
account 13716585
sort code 090127 C Croasdale.
Thank you

Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party went into celebration on Friday when the High Court ruled against Tendai Biti’s Renewal team faction obtaining an interim order to defer disciplinary action against Morgan Tsvangirai following the Mandel Training Centre National Council resolutions that suspended Tsvangirai in March.
The Mandel Training Centre Resolutions would have seen Tsvangirai being expelled this week and a renowned insider running the “Radio Chokwadi” Facebook page had already reported claiming that Tsvangirai would be expelled by Friday.
But the High Court granted a stay order in Tsvangirai’s favour which according to MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora ‘suspends the Mandel Training Centre resolutions,’ a claim which led to MDC members reporting that the Mandel Resolutions were been declared void. Justice Zhou however ruled that the Renewal Team must not implement any of the resolutions of their National Council meeting held at Mandel Training Centre in April this year, which suspended Mr. Tsvangirai and five other top officials, until a case brought by the Tsvangirai faction challenging the legality of that meeting is finalized by the court.
Mr Douglas Mwonzora who himself had also been suspended by Biti’s team, told ZimEye on Friday, “the determination (by the judge) is that the application we filed against Mangoma and others to suspend the resolutions of Mandel especially to bring certain leaders into disciplinary action (sic) has been granted, in other words the resolutions of Mandel have been suspended until the determination of a case that was brought challenging Mandel, brought by 130(sic) members of the National Council has been ruled on. So what that means is that pending that there is nothing that can be done in furtherance of Mandel,” said Mwonzora.
Renewal Spokesman Jacob Mafume commenting said ” It is not true, there is only an interim order to suspend the hearing,” he said confirming court records on the Friday hearing.
Political commentator Ndaba Nhuku wrote saying that Tsvangirai’s team committed suicide by going to court. Said Nhuku, “Tsvangirai through the party legal guru Douglas Mwonzora sought an INTERIM order for the postponement of disciplinary hearing against himself and others six pending finalisation of the pending court case. Justice Zhou has granted him an interim order to the effect that the court dispute must be completed first before disciplinary action. Thus the political and legal meaning of this judgement is that Tsvangirai has recognised the Mandel meeting and its resolutions; Secondly that Tsvangirai who has all along been refusing to be drawn into the legal battle with the Renewal team has now danced to the Renewal tune; Tsvangirai cannot proceed to do anything without court ruling for example, he cannot proceed with the issue of assets or recalling of MPs; Politically, Tsvangirai is reacting to Renewal.
“I will emphasise that what Tsvangirayi got is an Interim Order and that has drawn him into the game which, as is the norm with political court cases, will sometimes last for ten years or more, the entire Parliamentary life span. Meanwhile party cars and other moveable party properties will be absolute. Again, Tsvangirayi has finished himself by going to court.
I understand a comprehensive statement is being drafted by Prof Madhuku and Tendai Biti and will be released soon but in short, its victory for Renewal team,” said Nhuku.

Harare – Vivid signs of Harare’s fast aging trees, a gigantic Jacaranda tree fell onto a Chinese man’s car on Monday afternoon severely damaging his vehicle. [envira-gallery id=”110543″]
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The incident occurred at around 5PM (30 minutes ago) at corner Mazowe Street and Chinamano Avenue.
The old jacaranda tree suddenly fell onto the Chinese driven VW car, the Harare Resident’s Trust said. The huge tree fell onto the silver VW vehicle belonging to David, a Chinese national, who miraculously escaped unhurt, alongside his two-year old daughter.



The road was closed for traffic due to the sudden tree-fall.
The Precious Shumba led HRT, expressed concern saying people will die of the tree falls if the council does not do perform replacements.
“The Harare Residents Trust(HRT) has consistently advocated for the replacement of the old trees along our avenues before lives are lost,” the HRT said.

 

The MDC-T Renewal effort in the UK has been rubbished by MDC firebrand Chalton Hwende.
Commenting shortly after the launching of the Renewal Team in the United Kingdom, Mr Hwende who supports founding President Morgan Tsvangirai said: “This is non event a Dog’s breakfast, the individuals involved were at one time expelled or suspended for abuse of money from our UK structures. Forming structures by a political party is not even newsworthy because all small parties have got structures countrywide and in diaspora even ZAPU, ZUD, ZUM all have structures so we are not at all concerned.”
A meeting was conducted in Luton on Saturday afternoon where a number of key MDC members resolved to form a wing of the so called MDC renewal UK team who align themselves with “expelled” Secretary General Tendai Biti,deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma and Youth Leader Solomon Madzore.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s hold on power was further strained at the weekend when a team of MDC-T heavyweights joined hands to form the first rebel MDC-T offshoot in the United Kingdom, ZimEye can reveal.
The group who align themselves with those expelled by Morgan Tsvangirai in March this year, include among others former MDC UK chairman Ephraim Tapa, together with Tendai Biti’s brother, Stanford. Ephraim Tapa is influential among thousands of UK based citizens and albeit amid controversy, has a network of supporters throughout the United Kingdom through the ZimVigil organisation.
A preliminary meeting was convened on Saturday in the UK’s Luton town where the senior executives met.
The meeting was held two hours before a fundraising session of the Luton branch later held at 5PM.
A meeting briefer was expected at the time of writing.
Morgan Tsvangirai was on the 26th March suspended by the National Council convened by Secretary General Tendai Biti and several others who have since been labelled ‘rebels’ by Morgan Tsvangirai’s camp.
ZimEye has in recent years been key to reveal secret party launches which include that of ZANU PF in the UK last year.
More to follow…

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai remains suspended from the party since his booting announced on the 26th March this year, the rightful chairperson of the Renewal Team Sam Sipepa Nkomo has said.
Mr Nkomo said despite the Guardian Council fracas last week Thursday which saw Mrs Sekai Holland announcing that Tsvangirai’s presidency had been restored, the MDC leader is still to appear before a tribunal. Speaking to ZimEye at the weekend shortly after the debacle, Mr Nkomo said decisions made by the MDC-T National Council which suspended Tsvangirai on the 26th March, cannot be reversed by the Guardian Council. “Well as you know I didn’t attend the Guardian Council meeting, I refused myself(sic) The communication which came out of the Guardian Council meeting stated that the Guardian Council has nothing to do with the Mandel Training (National Council) meeting and constitutionally the guardian council is below the National Council and therefore it has has nothing to do with renewal team,” said Mr Nkomo.
He continued hinting that “still on this issue the fact that her (Sekai Holland’s) statement was ‘doctored’ by Mwonzora and Luke Tamborenyoka and that the true statement that was signed by 22 out of 24 members; this statement has nothing to do with the Mandel meeting. Obvious she she talks about (sic) she talks like a person who is trying to mediate between the renewal team and the Tsvangirai faction, and that’s why she said that the suspension of Mangoma and that of Tsvangirai were unconstitutional. She is trying to say both sides were wrong, let us talk, that’s what she is saying. So I don’t see anything that is strange. She was talking from a position of the Guardian Council.
But “the Guardian Council is below the National Council, and therefore what is said about the suspensions are off,” said Sipepa-Nkomo.
Mr Nkomo was speaking shortly after Guardian Council member Sekai Holland caused a stir in the MDC party having announced that all suspensions carried out this year are no longer binding, and these included that of Morgan Tsvangirai.

• Morgan Tsvangirai now the fully recognised MDC leader after he was suspended in March.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is now the fully recognised President of the party and his suspension is null and void, according to Sekai Holland, the 72 year old nominated chairperson of the MDC faction aligned to Secretary General Tendai Biti.

Following confusion about Mrs Holland, the latter who belongs to the Renewal Team, has reinstated Tsvangirai who was kicked out on the 26th March 2014 by a National Council resolution held at Mandel Training Centre in Harare.

In a statement issued after a spell of confusion on her political position in which she also claimed Morgan Tsvangirai’s aides on Thursday forced her to make a public statement disassociating herself from Tendai Biti, Mrs Holland ironically came out instead announcing among others that Morgan Tsvangirai’s suspension in March was illegal. This was at a time when it was thought she would rather have sought to re-establish her integrity reportedly tampered with by Tsvangirai’s aides Luke Tamborinyoka and Douglas Mwonzora as said on Thursday. Holland’s public declarations are set to cause future legal problems for Tendai Biti’s MDC faction since she is the recognised interim leader after she labelled Tsvangirai’s suspension “unconstitutional.” Her statement read in part:

“These Party factions have been acting unconstitutionally by claiming to have suspended each others’ leaders and there is talk of MPs and Senators being recalled from Parliament, thereby creating confusion and instability in the Party.

“The prospects of the MDC remaining a strong and viable opposition Party to strengthen our fragile democracy are being destroyed, potentially ensuring the corrupt and authoritarian rule of ZANU/PF for many more years to come.”
The Guardian Council resolutions communicated by Holland ignored treasurer general Elton Mangoma and secretary Tendai Biti who were expelled by Tsvangirai three weeks ago.
Holland’s statement is a direct contradiction of Tendai Biti’s public presser released on the 26th March where he said : “We no longer recognise Morgan Tsvangirai as leader of the MDC party” for violating the party’s founding principles and values. Before Holland’s statement, Tsvangirai had been due to be disciplined in a tribunal hearing this week.

Harare- A community icon and philanthropist Jabulani Charlie whose picture was erroneously flighted by the state owned Sunday Mail paper at the weekend, was on Wednesday attacked by a furious mob labeling him by the notorious Facebook activist, Baba Jukwa’s name.
Mr Charlie was saved at the last minute by a speeding kombi driving away from the spot he was at in Mbare yesterday morning.
Charlie’s photograph was published in the Sunday Mail at the weekend as a leading graphic on the Baba Jukwa scandal story in which the paper claimed that they were in possession of an email he allegedly sent to the faceless character. The email is said to have contained socialite Pokello Nare’s pornographic video with her then boyfriend Desmond Chideme (Stunner) a few years before. The video was however not published by Baba Jukwa.
The placing of the photograph lifted from his Facebook social portal in which the man was coincidentally wearing military-looking camouflage attire (albeit civilian) in the publication’s story, has since given a false impression that Charlie is the faceless character himself since Baba Jukwa has been associated with a group of ex-government servicemen called the Vapanduki group.
Charlie’s whereabouts were not known at the time of writing as friends said he had gone into hiding as a result of the threats on his life. He however has in recent years been seen hailed for notable sacrificial work for the community at large for no pay, and was recently in and out of the Chingwizi camp assisting the Tokwe0Mukosi flood victims.

A UK coroner has sparked fury after refusing to release the body of a Zimbabwean man who died on the 4th May, all because the suspected killer-driver has requested a second postmortem.
Following a fatal car accident that claimed the life of the man, Mr Kainos Mupungu, the suspect is now at large and on the run. Meanwhile, more than two weeks after the tragedy, the local UK coroner for Leicestershire has said the body will not be released until the suspect’s request is fulfilled. That action has caused immense grief to the anxious family amid challenges to foot the funeral bills for the long-awaited burial.
Mr Kainos Mupungu perished in the car accident on the 4th May in Leicester under suspicious circumstances.  A subsequent postmortem report confirmed that he had lost his life in the traffic accident. The driver and suspect in the crime said to have caused the accident, actually fled the scene, abandoning the man to die, reports say. “The coroner concluded that Kainos died of positional asphyxia. His body’s position closed in on him blocking airways and it was not any bleeding that killed him, ” a close relative has said.
The official postmortem was concluded less than 5 days after the accident, but the suspect allegedly fearing criminal charges, soon requested a second postmortem causing the continuous delays in releasing the body. Reports on Monday stated that the suspect (name withheld) is currently on the run, a situation which has made the coroner withhold the body from repatriation to Zimbabwe.
“The suspect is taking advantage of legal loopholes and has hired lawyers to force a second postmortem”, another family source told ZimEye.
“But is it not our right as the family to have his body in all this,”? the asked.
Zimbabwean funerals attract huge daily costs since relatives usually camp at the mourning place until the deceased is buried.
When contacted, both the coroner and the investigating officer refused to comment with just a police source saying in general that: “Suspects also have rights.”
The Mupungu family in Zimbabwe have been waiting for more than two weeks for the release of the loved one’s body, and to date thousands of dollars have been blown as they wait for their loved one’s body.
More to follow…

A highly disturbing video has emerged of Harare seven 19 year olds assaulting a female colleague, one of their own.
The video, recorded from a Harare avenues location, shows the seven teenagers ganging up to attack the helpless young women.
One of the attackers, a woman, is seen approaching the victim and accusing her of hurling insults at her. “You called me a prostitute did you not?” asks the second attacker after the first had swung a thick horse pipe on her.
Th second attacker is then seen punching and kicking the victim, while brutally pulling her hair several times.The victim begins to ask for mercy, but the unnamed attacker appears not moved as she continues to intensify the butchering.
Could these occurrences be a norm in Harare nowadays?  – This is because during the numerous oft times loud attacks, two adults pass by the same lane and they are seen ignoring the vivid commotion, despite the agony the victim is suffering.
The names of the attackers together with the victim were not known at the time of writing, and neither the identity of the youth recording the video.

– CLICK here to watch the video if the clip does not load directly –

VIDEO:

Morgan Tsvangirai is like “Jesus Christ riding on a donkey to Jerusalem and the donkey must stay with its master”  – these words were uttered by a forumist at the Mass Public Opinion discussion held on Friday as they referred to all who are advocating for the so called “renewal agenda.”
The meeting became thorny, and had to be called off when MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said that Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma are traitors. A report by the Daily News states that the meeting ended instead after spokesperson for the MDC faction led by Tendai Biti, Jacob Mafume had attacked Morgan Tsvangirai. Jacob Mafume spoke to ZimEye in an interview on Friday night answering to these allegations. Below was an excerpt of the interview:
Q: There have been reports that you had a forum meeting today which is claimed to have ended after you attacked (Morgan) Tsvangirai. I am trying to get facts on what really happened.
A: No no that’s not what happened. All of us had a presentation ready so we had Mwonzora to give a presentation. It was not an MDC meeting it was a Mass Public Opinion  meeting where I gave a presentation on the history of MDC up to now and where it should be going. As Mwonzora presented, he then attacked Mangoma and Biti personally. In my response he was saying they are sellouts they have sold out, they are responsible for the failures of the inclusive government and they are corrupt. My questions were simply on relation to that, of for instance saying they are sellouts: Who got $1.5m when everyone had boycotted government? Who had built a house that is big and has more toilets than constituencies while it’s only for one person. Then someone has alluded to the suggestion that Tsvangirai is Jesus riding on donkey into Jerusalem, but the donkey is mistaken (sic), if it goes on its own, and so will not be accepted. I said you have been complaining that Mugabe is riding us like donkeys, does this guy believe that we are donkeys which we are supposed to take him to Jerusalem?
We as the donkeys we refuse to go to Jerusalem and he would have to walk on his own and we can not allow a situation where other people see themselves as riding and others are donkeys. When we started this party it was a union of democrats, no rider and the ridden. This was the context of what happened, they had a hired crowd to echo anyone else who spoke except Mwonzora and to try and drown everything, that’s when I insisted that if I am to remain in this meeting I should be allowed to finish my speech, if I am not allowed to do so I’m going to walkout of that meeting together with the people who came with me. That’s why the reporter said I stood my ground to finish my speech”.
Q: You said Mwonzora has attacked Biti and Mangoma that they are sellouts, was there anything that he stated in terms of an attack? ”
A:” Yes he said they were the ones who had negotiated in bad faith setting up people to fail. They had given wrong advice to Tsvangirai and also when they got in they have been unfaithful in the execution of their duties. So I pointed out that those two were the best performing ministers of the inclusive government combined. Mangoma did wonderful work in energy and eradicated the fuel queues. Minister of finance Tendai Biti stabilised the economy and gave meaningful wages to the people and basically kick started an economy that had shut down. I also said these people have tried to prove their ways but they have been weighed down by the unfocused performance of their principals in terms of exercising his powers.”

A Zimbabwean journo who writes for The Zimbabwean paper has threatened to sue people who uploaded a Youtube video which publishes his name and documents said to link him to the notorious Baba Jukwa Facebook page.
The Youtube video released on Saturday lists Mr Mkhululi Chimoio as an alleged perpetrator behind the Facebook page. The evidence reportedly comes from a hacked GMail account the video‘s producers say contains the names of the those behind the page.
The person who uploaded the video was not known at the time of writing, while unverified reports stated that they are a CIO agent.

Chimoio revealed his intentions in a Facebook post on his wall saying that the persons had only downloaded his photos before linking them to the Facebook page.
He wrote, “It’s not surprising that some desperate fools can download my pics and use them in their funny YouTube and other social network wars. We will meet in a court of law, will teach you a lesson not to dare scandalise, character assassinate or drag my name into your own squabbles. This needs straight legal action for defamation of character and publishing false info about me.”
Meanwhile it was assumed that it is not the Baba Jukwa Facebook that has been hacked, but an email address said to link to the page.

Another child became second victim of suspected mother cruelty having been found dead in a sewage pit.
The deceased child(pictured) was discovered by school children in Harare on Thursday afternoon at around 1400Hrs. The body was found floating in the sewage overflow which is in High Glen road near Great Stride college, according to a ZimEye Citizen Reporter. Click below to view:   The incident comes shortly a mother in Victoria Falls beheaded her own child.



Police had not attended to the scene at the time of writing.

Fifteen (15) Zimbabweans who include a senior MDC-T leader are set to be deported out of the United Kingdom in the next 24 hours.
The Zimbos have already been issued with plane tickets, ZimEye can reveal.
They are currently housed at Colnbrook detention centre which is close to Heathrow international airport due to be flown to Zimbabwe Thursday at 8 pm aboard a Kenyan airways flight.
They include MDC-T Chairman for Croydon Branch, Bright Manjengwa who was detained on 11th April. The Home office has attempted to deport Mr Manjengwa three times without success.
An appeal raised for them states that at least £4500 in legal fees is required to save them from deportation. More to follow…

Harare residents were left furious on Wednesday when ZANU PF MP for Harare HON South Shadreck Mashayamombe fled a public parliamentary hearing called for by the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Portfolio Committee.
Mashayamombe was fingered for disrespecting the crowd of mothers and fathers who had assembled to discuss the Electoral Amendment Bill, at the Ambassador Hotel.
At the beginning seven MPs were present, but halfway through the meeting they started to trickle out forcing chairperson, Harare West legislator Jessie Majome, to call the meeting off. Mashayambombe and five others were labelled NIKUV MPs during the furor. “These are the very NIKUV MPs who call meetings and then they disappear,” one woman said in anger.
“He is irresponsible and lacks seriousness! He should be voted out in 2018,” said an equally furious man who had gathered at the hotel for the meeting.
Harare West MP Jessie Majome was forced to apologise as she remained the only legislator left to face the angry crowd.

– Newsday/ Additional Reporting.

A UK, Leeds based mother is appealing for help from fellow Zimbabweans following a fatal car accident that killed her son, 24-year-old Trust Nqobile Tshuma, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Mr. Trust Nqobile Tshuma was doing his final year at the University of Huddersfield.
Tshuma died when a Vauxhall Corsa he was traveling in collided with a boundary wall on the westbound Leeds Inner Ring Road, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A second casualty, a 23-year-old man who was also in the car, suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary.
Following the incident, police Constable Wayne Mason, of the police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “We are appealing for witnesses to this incident or anyone who saw the collision or the car just prior to the collision to contact myself at the Major Collision Enquiry Team on 101.”
The family has made an appeal for help from fellow Zimbabweans and any well wishers to help raise the money to repatriate the body to Zimbabwe. Contributions can be made to the Bank Account or at the listed address below.
 

THIS IS AN APPEAL TO ALL ZIMBABWEANS IN UK AND OTHER WELL WISHERS
It is with great sadness and sorrow that we have had a great tragedy in our Zimbabwean Family. 24 year old Trust Nqobile Tshuma was doing his last year at Huddersfield University. He got involved in a fatal car accident on Inner ring road A58 Leeds, West Yorkshire and unfortunately lost his life. The accident happened on Saturday morning of the 20th April 2014. We are therefore appealing to everyone wherever to help with anything in order to fund Trust’s burial. The little that any one can donate will make a big difference. Your contribution will be highly appreciated.  This is a very very sad and traumatic situation indeed.
MOURNERS ARE GATHERED AT:
34 Kepstorn Close
Leeds
LS5 3EL
ON BEHALF OF THE TSHUMA FAMILY WE ARE APPEALING TO YOU ALL WELL WISHERS TO ASSIST OUR FELLOW FAMILY MEMBERS WITH ANY LITTLE THAT YOU CAN CHIP IN.
PLEASE MAKE YOUR DONATIONS TO:
Miss E Tshuma
Santander Bank
S/C: 09-01-27
ACC: 44133315
Tel: 07578427410
REMEMBER EVERY LITTLE HELPS. YOUR £0.50, £1, £10, £20, £50, £100, £1000 WILL GO A LONG WAY.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR KINDNESS

The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai has been publicly criticized for producing and launching a music album with songs that replace the name of Jesus Christ with that of their leader Tsvangirai. Christian believers have taken umbrage at that conduct for they deem it blasphemous. In any case, they have argued that it is improper to mingle politics with religion.
The album is called Tsikamutanda.
The party this week launched the controversial album they recorded for fundraising purposes. It carries church songs that have been altered  into party morphs. The album contains church hits such as “Ndiye Jesu Wacho Anerudo” previously praising Creator. Now the same compilation is branded with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s name as the object of worship (See video). The video shows national spokesman and senior lawyer, Douglas Mwonzora featuring as a lead vocalist.

Bulawayo legislator Thabitha Khumalo has however spoken against the criticism made against the party as unfair since other political parties like ZANU PF have done the same in the past.
Noted below was a panel discussion conducted on Thursday soon after Miss Khumalo had complained. The discourse involved ZANU PF Chairman Nick Mangwana, Political Analyst Gracian Masiyiwa, and MDC UK chairperson Tonderai Samanyanga who added his contribution afterwards.
 
Thabitha Khumalo (MDC-T): It’s amazing how when as MDC we convert church songs to revolution songs we are accused of turning Tsvangirai into a mini God but when it is done by any other party, it’s okay. How sad. Anyway, nothing will dent our spirits as no-one can touch them, and victory is certain.
Nick Mangwana (ZANU PF): Oh well the first thing I would say is where is the evidence? And then the second thing is to see the context under which everything has been done. We are just about to approach Easter, and then you release a song in a community which is a predominantly Christian society(Zimbabwe), and you release that song which replaces Jesus with Tsvangirai after a couple months ago, when we witnessed the deification of Tsvangirai by (Nelson) Chamisa; I think we are going to a level somebody is going to be made a god soon. So in essence of what ZANU PF is alleged to have done, without putting a song there, I cannot comment, but here we have a song and to see clearly a distortion of Christianity, where Tsvangirai is actually made into a son of God, and I think its almost blasphemous (sic). That’s my position.
Simbarashe Chikanza(ZimEye): Mr Masiyiwa you are connected to the Christian community and you have been involved in opposition politics, what is your view on this Sir?
Gracian Masiyiwa: First of all I haven’t listened to the songs. But just answering from my knowledge of politics and my knowledge of religion as well, I agree with someone who says that ZANU PF has done this type of a thing before, during the liberation struggle, and in some way; But the fact that ZANU PF has done it before, doesn’t make it a good thing. In general I don’t think it is a wise thing to replace Jesus with someone else’s name. Care should have been taken:  – when seeing the religious songs I know they are impressive and the tunes and the melodies and the discourse around them are very easy to appeal to people’s minds but should we replace Jesus or God with someone else’s name? It is not good………
Simbarashe Chikanza: So are you all saying that there is no song that praises Robert Mugabe, taken from a church song? Are you saying this is something that only happened during the liberation era?
Gracian Masiyiwa: As a Christian society it is very easy to convert some religious songs into political. But it depends on how  we use them. But we cannot replace a name of a deity and put an individual’s name there such that credit goes to that person and not God .
Nick Mangwana:  Your question was whether there is a song out there, which praises Robert Mugabe? I am not aware. I am not saying there is none, but I simply am not aware. If you ask for my personal view, whoever does it is wrong. And we are celebrating the crucifixion of Jesus, and the redemption of the world, and at that point you release an album which tallies where Jesus is actually replaced by  Tsvangirai, which makes Tsvangirai the sacrificial lamb of God. I think it is actually blasphemous and I will maintain that. And my co-panelist has said, whether ZANU PF has done it, or whatever time they did it or allegedly, it doesn’t make it right. It is not right. …. In that case they are losing relevance and they are trying to gain Tsvangirai some relevance by doing this. Actually the lyrics of the song are Jesus Ndakamuona Nekurururama. Now everywhere there is Jesus, they are putting Tsvangirai.
Tonderai Samanyanga:   Songs can be transformed into anything. There are original songs that came about; Even in the church itself, there are some songs that have been transformed from somewhere. If you look today some church songs have already been sung in other organisations….When people form songs, they will be focusing at the directions of the day, and looking at the past directions. So it is not only in politics, even in the church people transform songs. So whether they are talking about replacing the Lord with Tsvangirai, no one would subscribe to that and I don’t see anything pertaining to that. During the war we did have songs which we sang for our leaders. We did have songs from the church which we sang taking them into our situation, and that is common. So for us to focus on that album which is coming out and make it an issue or a subject matter, myself I don’t think it is justified for those who are saying we have transformed church songs to glorify somebody. We are in a struggle and we have to look at what inspires us. If we are coming from a Biblical background, we are usually associated with the Biblical songs, and that’s why it is easy to do that. If we are coming from a liberation struggle we would see that there are songs that talk about the liberation struggle. You would see that there are songs that talk about our own tradition, where we petition the ancestors, those are the songs that transformed our struggle today; so I don’t see anything abnormal in all those things. But it’s only that some people feel so bad that they could be popular that they can sway the focus of the people when you are talking about somebody in a way that resonates with many people . That is why there are those critics.

In a development that has seen Chitungwiza Town Council sell land for residential purposes and dished out planning permission, the same council will now force hundreds of families onto the streets after abruptly issuing them with demolition orders.
Council who approved the building of the residential properties, has said these houses are not fit for purpose having been built on wetlands as is prohibited. This comes despite clear prior written planning permission having been passed by the same council.
One of the victims of the pending demolitions is an ex-soldier, one Mrs Chipato. She like many others was not aware of the demolition listing of their houses until the council announcement was made last week.
Mrs Chipato’s house has no street-number although having offer letters from the council, a development which stands to open a can of worms on corruption in the principality. She told ZimEye  in an exclusive interview: ” I have with me papers allowing me to build after I bought this land from the council. Why they now want to destroy my house I do not understand.”
A source told ZimEye on Tuesday, “the issue of corruption is rampant at Chitungwiza city council to the extent that a whole council was held at bay during the tenure of Tanyanyiwa to the extent of relegating housing issues to a certain conman Mabambe,”

“What is surprising is the collusion between council, former councilors and a certain former deputy mayor Mabamba.All these corrupt these corrupt dogs must be thrown in jail and keys thrown away,” they said.
DARE (Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment) party president, Mr. Gilbert Dzikiti told ZimEye: “The government has once again failed to serve its people and must resign en-mass or call for fresh elections as soon as possible.
“The crisis of governance extents to the GNU period and exposed lack of principled leadership in local council,” he said.
Mr Dzikiti added saying that council officials here deserve prison for these acts of selling unfit land for residential purposes.
“The rot in Chitungwiza Town Council calls for Chikurubi to be wide open and all former councilors and mayors from 2000 to be thrown in the jail and keys thrown away. Even dogs respect each other more than these people who turned Chitungwiza
into a sewage and waterless city.
“At the same colluded to sell unsuspecting people housing wetlands. It’s a crime against humanity and Chombo is complicit in those affairs as the responsible Minister from nineteen gochanhembe. The government cannot be Satanical as to render these people homeless without an alternative.
“It’s disgusting and the government officials must all resign and pave way for a progressive generation of leaders. The government is clueless on the on housing, water, economy,constitutionalism ,corruption and devoid of human empathy and common sense that tells you there is punishment for looting and thievery,” he said.
The DARE party has protested to government saying that the residents should be compensated before they are evicted.

Some policemen caused a scene in Harare when they disturbed Harare-West MP Jessie Majome demanding what may likely have been a bribe.
In what will now form part of her legal challenge against the ZANU PF controlled broadcaster, ZBC, the officers delayed the MP for close to thirty minutes while she was driving to work in Addington Lane in the morning. The cops then demanded to see her drivers’ licence before changing to a ZBC radio licence without checking what they had asked for in the first place; they charged her  for that alleged breach.
Miss Majome narrated her ordeal saying,

“Just this morning a good 30 minutes of mine was wasted by ZRP and ZBC along Addington Lane. They stopped me on the pretext that a police officer wanted to see my driver’s licence but he never bothered to come and see it. A ZBC licence inspector then pounced and demanded that I pay a $30 spot fine for not having a ZBC radio licence.
“I explained to him that as I do not support ZANU PF I have no intention of paying for it until ZBC abides by the Constitution and broadcasts in a non partisan and independent manner as per Section 61 (4) (a)and (b) of the Constitution. He demanded that I pay a $30 spot fine and I refused.
“I insisted on a ticket and eventually I got it. Here’s my trophy! I wish the Constitutional Court would hear my case on this soon.”

Meanwhile it emerged that indeed ZBC does not publish balanced views on its political coverage. In one story published Monday for instance on a parliamentary debate on the Electoral Amendment Bill, all political commentaries were carefully extracted from Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party. The story while claiming that “the Electoral Amendment Bill (HB7, 2013) has raised diverse views from several quarters as interested parties debate on the legislation’s implications,” would go ahead to quote only ZANU PF political analyst Psychology Maziwisa saying “calling for public hearings smacks of cheap politicking” after MDC-T Southerton legislator, Gift Chimanikire last week moved the motion which was shot down by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Cde Emmerson Munangagwa.

Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC faction announced Saturday its intention to expel members who refuse to pay the newly announced mandatory Underwriting Fees by the end of April 2014.
The party’s new deputy treasurer who replaced Elton Mangoma, Tapiwa Mashakada, told ZimEye any member who refuses to abide by the orders of paying the new underwriting fee should “find another home.”

Mashakada’s comments came after members complained about the fee and the “shady” method of collecting and submitting it which they said is unconstitutional since the whole purse will not be handled by the treasury, but be sent privately and directly to Mr Tsvangirai office mostly via the Western Union money transfer service. This the members said is a violation of the constitution.
Wrote Mashakada responding to the complaints:
“The MDC – T party should rightfully be resourced by its valuable general membership. Even a burial society is membership driven.
“What is crucial is that there should be accountability and transparency in the financial affairs of the party. Bona fide MDC -T should find no problem with following the pointed direction. After all, the party is a voluntary organization. Members who do not want to be bound by the rules and decisions of the party should simply find another home. The people’s project is poised to succeed”.
“Back home people are selling goats and chickens to support their party. I doubt that anyone who is questioning the decision of the National Council is serious. However, are alive to the fact that our detractors are panicking with this new innovation as they had putatively written the epitaph of MDC – T. This party is greater than individuals. All decisions are arrived by majority decision in the party’s decision making organs. The National Council has resolved to restore full provincial executive status to all Diasporan provincial assemblies. In between Congress the National Council has the loci standing to take decisions that further the interests of the party. These decisions will be taken to the Congress for ratification. So what we are doing is very constitutional. The people’ s struggle has now entered its final and decisive phase of its trajectory to push for fresh but free fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe before 2018.
Dr Tapiwa Mashakada

• Chombo tells Tokwe victims relocate to resettlement plot without food or compensation

• Govt actually has no land to resettle the victims

• Villagers told plough 1 hectare of land first before getting the next meal
  
• Govt fails to pay a paltry $3,664

There was drama when poor Tokwe Mukosi villagers living at Chingwizi camp, vowed to fry President Robert Mugabe alive yesterday when his Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo openly ignored their plight watching them go hungry and devastated while at the same time instructing them to go away.
Chombo’s instructions came as the 3000 survivors of a storm which destroyed 90% of all tent-shelters on Wednesday, were being ordered to work one hectare of land first before government gives them their next meal.

I have nine children and since the 11th March I have been given just 1kg of beans, a man in the video below narrated. “I sleep in the same tent with nine (9) children and since the 11th March I have been given just 1kg of beans for food. They have told me that if I want anything else I must first work on one hectare of land before I receive anything,” he said.
There was drama when in anger one woman openly said they are being forced to grow sugar-cane when they have no experience whatsoever of that business. “If it needs be we will remove Mugabe today,” the furious woman shouted.
 
No food, no compensation
But despite these concerns Minister Chombo said the victims should vacate the camp without any compensation, and the state owned Herald paper did not mention these complaints voiced by hundreds of victims who were also affected by the Wednesday storm. Minister Ignatius Chombo was yesterday however seen dismissing the devastated victims and telling them to vacate the camp with no compensation whatsoever.
He admitted government was failing to pay the families a paltry $3,664 per household saying this money would be paid when it has been found. The villagers should relocate and government will not provide any food for them, Chombo indicated.
“Every family will get its dues from Government once the funds have been mobilised and lack of compensation should not stop people from moving to permanent plots as there is a real high risk of outbreak of diseases such as typhoid because of overcrowding.
“We are going to give every family that has not been compensated a document acknowledging that they are owed money by Government. The amount owed was based on valuations done on their property will also be written on that document which should be produced for a family to get compensation when resources are eventually found,’’ he said.
Chombo warned that Government would not continue to provide food to families who resist moving to permanent plots.
This was after Chombo’s ministry claimed that some of the flood victims were now comfortable in the camp where they get free food handouts.
“Why should we continue to provide food to families who insist on staying in the camp when their plots to build permanent structures are ready? We should make it clear that food assistance will only be given to those families who agree to move to their permanent plots because, we need to de-congest Chingwizi temporary camp,’’ he said.
The minister stressed that Government wanted a modern resettlement model to be followed in settling the flood victims who should benefit from Tokwe-Mukosi Dam water.
Minister of State in Vice President Joice Mujuru’s Office Sylvester Nguni said it was important for the Tokwe-Mukosi relocation co-ordinating committee to ensure that genuine flood victims get plots for irrigation.
 
Government actually has no land to resettle the victims
But DARE party president Mr. Gilbert Dzikiti who visited the camp within hours of Chombo’s tour has found that government actually has no land to resettle the victims.
Mr Dzikiti told ZimEye : “Information on the events at Chingwizi says that the government actually has no land to resettle people. There are mainly two reasons to this:
1. The land down there has some mineral deposits (diamonds) and if ever people are settled there, they will have to be moved again to make way for mining activities.
2. The land was also earmarked for expansion of the ethanol project and the government has to agree with Billy on the terms of resettling people there. On Wednesday night there was a storm in the lowveld and information coming from there is that less than 10% of the tents survived the storms. The rest of the tents were torn including the ones covering food and medicines for the families at Chingwizi.
“We have been wondering whether the forced removal of people because of game parks was true and now information is suggesting the prevalence of diamonds at Tokwe Mukosi and Manzou in Mazoe.
“Why does the government need to beg an alleged thief like Billy Rautenbach as Temba Mliswa alleges? Why don’t the government compulsorily acquire the land for the national disaster?
“The people at Chingwizi have organised themselves but they do not have financial resources to go beyond what they can do at Chingwizi. Are we prepared to help these people, not only morally but financially and with our intellectual resources?,” said Dzikiti.

He added that:
“The local area MP is elusive and seems to have been gagged from speaking out on the issue of minerals and beneficiaries to the mines and share holders of both the game park and diamond concessions.”

The disgraced ZBC CEO Happison Muchechetere under investigation for allegedly defrauding the corporation of $900,000, is in a rush to sell some of his last remaining assets, ZimEye can reveal.
Muchechetere is currently selling  (3) three properties: a Borrowdale flash property, a half-built house in Ashdown Park going for $55,000, and a 400sq metre stand in Greendale being sold for just $6000.
A named agent hired by the suspended ZBC chief was spotted Friday going around Harare looking for potential buyers while refusing to disclose the Muchechetere identity. The agent was at pains trying to convince buyers that for instance the Ashdown Park property is in council approved shape.

DARE party president, the fiery Gilbert Dzikiti blasted the former ZBC boss on this development:
“We are saddened that  Mr Muchechetere is now disposing ill gotten gains from scandalous salary gate and the do called television van tender or purchase.” he said.
He added:
“As a party we have petitioned the president to capacitate a judicial or parliamentary commission to bring to closure the rot and greed which had manifested itself within the public sector parastatals and boards.
“The refusal of the president to accept a purported offer to resign from Mr George Charamba is not only retrogressive but damaging to the stature and office of the president.In light of these failures assets are being sold as a cover up to lavish outlandish lives which characterised the looting and grab of public resources at the expense of public delivery of service.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has begun collecting mandatory underwriting fees from all members.
The party becoming the first in the world to do this, was hit by a funding crisis after failing to get into power through the just ended disputed July elections.
His newly appointed interim deputy treasurer, Tapiwa Mashakada wrote to members in the diaspora telling them they must pay up £50 per person (those in leadership of whatever level), and £5 from every ordinary member.
Saying MDC-T is currently owed US$3 million by government, MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said the party was forced to come up with innovative ways of funding itself.
“The underwriting fee is meant to ensure that we sponsor ourselves as a party as government is refusing to fund us. The national executive received and deliberated the recommendations by our acting treasurer-general and it was agreed that legislators would contribute a certain sum,” he said.
“Similarly the party leadership from national to provincial and district levels will also contribute towards the party.
“The amounts will vary according to seniority. The membership is also being asked to contribute.”
The letter written by Mashakada and titled “PAYMENT Of CONTRIBUTIONS 2014” reads in part:
“You are hereby informed that the National Executive Committee at its meeting of 25th March 2014, resolved that party structures and members are supposed to pay underwriting fees as a way of fundraising for the Party.
“The National Executive resolved that the UK & Ireland Provincial and District Executive members pay UK Pounds E50.00 and ordinary members in the Province to pay (5 .00 underwriting fees to be paid as a once off amount by end of this month.
“May you also be notified that a monthly subscription for the UK & Ireland Province membership is (2, 00 per month f f 24 annually). The party can only be sustained to continue with the struggle by your worthy contributions.
“The money can be channeled to the party through Money Gram or Western Union to the attention of Edith Munyaka, President’s Office or contact the above email for any enquiries”

Confusion and panic reigned in the MDC-T party yesterday when Morgan Tsvangirai through party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora summarily expelled Deputy Treasurer General Elton Mangoma.
There was drama when Mwonzora stood in contradiction with Organising Secretary Nelson Chamisa who a few hours before had stated the contrary, that Mangoma would not be expelled.
Chamisa categorically told the Daily News that none of the party members fingered for creating confusion in the party, including those calling for Tsvangirai’s ouster, had been fired from the party.
He said Mangoma and eccentric Manicaland provincial spokesman Pishayi Muchauraya had only been suspended pending internal disciplinary processes.
“No one has been dismissed from the party. Mangoma’s matter is now at the disciplinary tribunal and the party is in the same mode as it has always been. We are focusing on real challenges that are affecting the people of Zimbabwe, the problems of a non-functioning economy and non-functioning government.
“This is not the time to mark the next man. We must mark the ball. We cannot afford own goals at this particular time. It is Zanu PF which says bhora mugedhi not us,” he said.
However Mwonzora issued a statement to the contrary saying a resolution had been passed “to initiate the process of expelling honourable Mangoma.”
“He will be notified of the decision and according to the constitution of the party, he will be given an opportunity to respond in writing,” said Mwonzora.
He added:
“We are putting a closure to this issue so that we can start to rebuild the party. Mangoma is being expelled for continuing to disgrace while facing disciplinary measures, so the national executive and the national council voted for this decision,
“He is not fired for the first case, but for continuing on transgression. I call it foolish bravely. I think he was wrongly advised legally and that could be his case.”
Mwonzora said the decision to act on Mangoma came as a result of later actions, “The national council, acting in terms of clause 5.11 of the constitution, decided to summarily expel Mr Mangoma from the party not for the offenses that are before the court but for the subsequent offenses that he did commit,” he said.
He added: “The national executive and the national council noted further that subsequent to the charges laid before him, Mr Mangoma continued with transgressions complained of, in particular, he continued going to the press denigrating the image of the party, holding parallel meetings in the party and fanning factionalism in relation to the new offenses he is said to have committed.”

A London based 23 year old Zimbabwean woman has begun turning the heat on police officers of all ranks daily, on issues of discrimination and fair treatment of citizens. If she had been in her home country, Cynthia Masiyiwa (pictured-right)could never had received such a chance to talk to for instance Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, let alone challenge him on his work – the London based Cynthia appeared on international BBC 1  TV quizzing London’s Met Police Commissioner Hogan Howe.

Cynthia’s job at the Citizens UK NGO, which she rose through the ranks doing, is to check on the police if they are treating suspects fairly on London’s streets, while also pulling young adults from street life into employment.
Years before the British police force has been blamed for numerous cases of alleged racism.
In the televised BBC discussion on the state of London’s streets, PC Howe’s face turned rigid and pale when Cynthia opened her mouth after other participants had threatened they would fry the police boss on police alleged abuses which began in the 1960s.
“The police must be held accountable for their actions on people and that is what we are here for,” said Cynthia in agreement with the others.
But we should not just attack the police every time, but also praise them, however, said Cynthia (who had begun on a fiery note) to the sudden relief of the Commissioner. She continued saying there are many “good things that police are actually doing that are not coming out. we’ve done so much work with Citizens UK and engaging police and across London we’ve got 600 city safe havens, a place where young people can run, or anybody in immediate danger can run to,” she said.

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A Harare bound PCJ Motorways bus travelling from Botswana to Harare overturned today at the 110 kilometre peg on the Bulawayo to Harare highway at 4am. Scores of people were injured with some said to have lost their limbs. There were no fatalities recorded on site. MORE PICTURES: Click here to view.
“We do not know what the driver encountered but there was no other vehicle nearby when the bus overturned,” said an unidentified female passenger who was bleeding from the ear.

A police officer said ambulances rushed seriously injured passengers to hospitals in Bulawayo. Some of the ambulances transported the injured to Gweru.
“We do not know how many were injured as the ambulances arrived before we got here,” said a police officer at the scene.
The accident scene was like a dirty dump site as the passengers’ luggage was strewn all over. There were big and ugly red patches of blood on the road that hinted at the ordeal the passengers went through.
The Shangani area is now a black spot for motorists and passengers. Last year a Pathfinder Bus overturned killing seven and injuring scores of passengers. Several fatal accidents have been witnessed in the same area before.

Zimbabwe’s Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, was last week approached by two key national figures, MDC parliamentarian Jessie Majome, and Tariro Tandi of the Plan International NGO, who are both seeking urgent government action on girl child abuse.
Zimbabwe’s heir apparent, is now under pressure to formulate laws, checks and procedures in line with the new constitution tackling girl child abuse.
Following the meeting with Mnangagwa, Jessie Majome detailed progress on her work saying, “Yesterday I teamed up with Tariro Tandi of Plan International, after I had sought and obtained audience with the Minister of Justice Hon. Emerson Mnangagwa to lobby him on concrete steps to end early, child and forced marriage. I’m fulfilling the commitment I made in Accra on 4 March -that Tari is holding, with the Ghana Parliament and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) to work harder on this issue.

“The Minister welcomed the initiative and invited us to submit the necessary law reform details. We’ll get right to it- amendments to align the law to the new Constitution to the Marriage Act i.e to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18, criminalize breaches, and the Education Act to define and strengthen the right to compulsory basic education.
“Thanks Bea Ton of Star FM and F B for linking me to the fantastic work of Plan International an Girls Not Brides on the same issue. We can only succeed when we partner. My motion in Parliament on action to end GBV includes ending early, child and forced marriages.
“I was encouraged to see Research & Advocacy Unit & Rumbidzai Dube’s field research on this.
“Let’s not tire until early, child and forced marriages and GBV disappear from our society.”

MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai has announced that the so called ‘fighting’ between him and a group of activists of which Secretary General Tendai Biti was alleged to be part of, calling for his ouster, has ended.
Biti believed alleged to be one of those orchestrating the ouster of Tsvangirai from the party’s helm was himself present at Tsvangirai’s press briefing.
He however did not state anything in support or disagreeing with Tsvangirai.
“After that frank heart-to heart session, we all unanimously agreed that our disagreements in the cockpit, while confirming our credentials as a democratic party, had needlessly diverted attention from the key issues affecting the people of Zimbabwe,” Tsvangirai announced.

The infighting became nasty when deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma was assaulted after writing a letter to Tsvangirai, urging him to step down following the party’s loss in last year’s harmonised elections.
Mangoma was subsequently suspended by party officials loyal to Tsvangirai who laid allegations that he had breached party protocols by allegedly communicating his concerns to the media.
Explaining Mangoma’s absence from the presser, Tsvangirai said:
“Mangoma is not here because the national council, the party’s supreme decision-making body outside Congress, has suspended him pending his appearance before an independent disciplinary tribunal. He is still very much one of us and he is innocent until proven guilty.”
Tsvangirai’s full statement was:
Today, I welcome all of you here at the party headquarters to announce a very significant political development.
On Friday last week, we met as the elected senior leaders of the party, the National Standing Committee. The meeting was a grueling five hours of honest and frank discussion on the developments in the party and in the country.
After that frank heart-to heart session, we all unanimously agreed that our disagreements in the cockpit, while confirming our credentials as a democratic party, had needlessly diverted attention from the key issues affecting the people of Zimbabwe. But we had realized it was important for us to sit down as the party leadership to openly discuss and sort out our issues.
I am proud to announce today that we have discussed our issues and there is now unprecedented harmony and unity of purpose in the MDC cockpit. We all agreed that we owed it to the members of the party and to the nation at large to discuss and resolve our matters so that we would be more effective in providing hope and a credible alternative to Zanu PF.
I can assure you that in those five-hours of no-holds barred discussions, we told each other the brutal but honest truth that will save this party and ensure the security of the faith and trust the people have bestowed on us.
After all, the last national executive meeting early this month recommended that the standing committee members should meet alone to discuss and iron out their issues in the cockpit. So we complied by having frank discussions with each other last week. I am happy to say that we have all found each other.
As you can see, we are the great team that we have always been since the people gave us the mandate to be at the helm of this party; a mandate given to us at the Congress in Bulawayo in 2011. We all agreed on the supremacy of Congress as the forum that makes and unmakes leaders in the MDC. We all agreed that the fixation with the MDC and specific individuals in the cockpit as if they were at the centre of the national crisis was both needless and unnecessary.While disagreements are necessary in a democracy, they have to be resolved. And we have just resolved ours.
The concept of dynamic contradictions drives our democracy as a party. As all of you saw, it is only in the MDC where one can finger-point at their leader or publicly declare their ambition. Ambition is not criminal in the MDC and the robust debate confirms the democratic credentials of this great people’s movement.
Mr Mangoma is not here because the national council, the party’s supreme decision-making body outside Congress, has suspended him pending his appearance before an independent disciplinary tribunal. He is still very much one of us and he is innocent until proven guilty. At the end of the day, we are a team and we will swim or sink together.
As a united leadership, we are bigger and better and we will able to confront the challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe.
We have created a big tent for everyone and I can restate here that no one already inside is moving out of the tent. This party is not splitting and as a leadership in our collective sense, we all know our responsibility to our membership and to the people of Zimbabwe. I have said it before that there are many who had mistaken the robust debate in this party as a sign of disintegration.
I can assure you that this party is alive and well. The rallies in the countryside that I have addressed, the latest being at Watsomba business centre in Mutasa district on Sunday, have shown that the ground remains solid and unshaken. The people still have unstinting faith and hope in the MDC and its leadership as the only alternative that will resolve the debilitating crisis facing the country.
Once again, we tear to shreds today the premature obituaries of this great movement that some of you had begun to write.
And once again today, we confound sceptics and put to shame the perception of the MDC as a party in turmoil and a movement in disintegration.
We have found each other in the cockpit. Our erstwhile friends in the struggle continue to come into the tent as we mount a united front against the real authors of the national crisis who are clueless on how to solve the problems facing the people. So we are coming together once again. We are bringing the spirit of 1999 in this big tent that continues to grow every day.
The crisis facing the people of Zimbabwe is greater than individual egos, unbridled ambitions and our disagreements in the cockpit.
The people have invested so much in this great movement. Only on Saturday at a rally at Tafara in Chipinge East, I saw a cheerful MDC cadre who lost a leg in the Zanu PF-led violence of 2008. But despite losing his leg, there was still a beaming smile and abundant hope planted on his face when I saw him on that sunny afternoon.
We will not let him down, together with many others across Zimbabwe who have suffered in this our tenacious struggle for positive change in the country. It is those people who continue to guide some of us in the national leadership of this struggle.
I want to conclude by reassuring the nation that the MDC leadership is determined more than ever to complete this journey of democratic change that we started in 1999. Now that all this over, we are concentrating on the important programmes of renergizing the base through the holding of rallies and public meetings throughout the country.
Ours is the people’s project and we are not losing focus on the important things such as preparing for the net election and being a credible alternative to this Zanu PF government that has dismally failed to deliver even on its election promises. The country is on its knees and we have a serious national crisis on our hands as a country. Now they cannot even ay government workers their salaries.
All of us in the cockpit are confident that the positive change, for which many Zimbabweans paid the ultimate price, will definitely be achieved well within our lifetime.
I thank You

A senior Zimbabwean historian who alone foretold the end of Rhodesia under Ian Smith, Diana Mitchell, has played the role of discouraging efforts by Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party and the faceless democracy activist Baba Jukwa, causing them to go back to the drawing board.
The red clad MDC supporters can even become as numerous as the sand of the sea, but they will be wasting their time to think that they can remove Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party through the ballot, according to Mitchell. They will never make it even using an Arab spring model attempted by the faceless Baba Jukwa campaign which up to the elections last year coordinated an effort labelled the Vapunduki movement.
Mitchell has a credible track-record as a historian and also being the first to canonise Zimbabwe’s liberation war heroes at a time when they were internationally regarded as terrorists at the peak of the war in the late 70s.
According to Mitchell, the red-clad MDC supporters enslaved themselves to wishful thinking when they thought they would be able to remove Robert Mugabe from power at the just ended national elections in July.
“Any Zimbabwean, at home and abroad could or should have predicted with absolute certainty that Robert Mugabe and his acolytes would never allow power to slip from their hands. One wonders if the masses of red-clad MDC supporters seen at rallies in the major cities truly believed that their visible numbers and their wishful thinking could somehow vanquish the old dictator. They have learned, once more, as we former `white liberals’ learned in our past, anti-Rhodesian Front struggles, that a `level playing field’ is the first requisite for electoral success in a developing country,” she said.
She added saying that Mugabe learnt from former Prime Minister Ian Smith how to effectively stay in power.
“Ian Smith taught Robert Mugabe that control of all the institutions of government – which included the incorporation of the national media – was all that was needed to ensure perpetual rule for the incumbent government. It was the horrific deaths among a relatively few civilians and a miniscule, white-led military, along with a lot of external support for African nationalist freedom fighters, which succeeded in overturning 88 years of white minority rule.
“Without weapons or powerful external support, how could free Zimbabweans in the MDC or its leadership have forgotten those lessons of the recent past? So recent are those lessons for now, Zimbabweans will cling to peace as a preferred option. The flames of the Arab Spring’s violent revolutions are not an attractive model for change right now.”
Last year the Baba Jukwa campaign coordinated an effort to organise the so called Vapanduki former civil servants with the hope of removing Robert Mugabe using an Arab spring model of protest move. True to Mitchell’s pediction, the initiative did not take off.

Signs that the party is getting stronger in the United Kingdom – President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party on Saturday hosted a historic conference in the second capital Birmingham city.
It is Birmingham that is remembered during the liberation war of independence for providing refuge to then senior ZANU PF emissary, Didymus Mutasa (now Presidential Affairs Minister) who lived there while mobilising resources and support for the ZANLA forces back home.
On Saturday, the party deliberately chose Birmingham to meet for a key consultative forum seeking to among other things see that its ZIMASSET economic program works.
Below was their press release following the meeting which attracted numerous members across the United Kingdom:

ZANU PF UK held a landmark Consultative Meeting and Business Forum in Birmingham on Saturday, the 15th of March at a packed venue. The meeting was hosted by the vibrant ZANU PF UK Birmingham Branch which is led by the Branch Chairman; Cde George Nhera.

The inclusive meeting, held under the theme “Making Zim Asset Work for You” drew Zimbabweans from various professional backgrounds across the UK, and the mixture combined to make the meeting vibrant and one hailed by those who attended as a great success.
ZANU PF UK has put it at the centre of its approach to combine business and politics. This comes from an appreciation that people don’t eat, dress or drive politics. Politics should be about the betterment of people’s lives and not the betterment of the life of the politician. It should be about self-sacrifice by the politician and not unjust enrichment. Therefore flowing from that philosophy Zanu PF-UK embarked on a programme to explain Zim Asset and make it simple enough for the enterprising mind to envision the opportunities that lie therein. Leading this initiative is the ZANU PF UK Science and Technology Secretary; Dr Samuel Chindaro, who gave another of his series of presentations on Zim Asset. Cde Moses Samasuwo, a local entrepreneur and Party Cadre also gave a presentation about the investment climate in Zimbabwe and outlined practical and technical steps about establishing a business in Zimbabwe.
 
Dr Chindaro gave a presentation covering the background of Zim Asset, and explained why this policy is different from previous policies in that it is based on exploiting the country’s abundant natural resources and its well-established human capital. He said that technology and the people are the key drivers of Zim Asset and gave examples of how technology can be a key to all the four main clusters and the sub-clusters. He blasted the imposition of sanctions on the President and his family calling it an absurd, unjustified, divide-and-rule tactic meant to split the Zimbabwe family and to hurt the country as a whole. He added that sanctions on the President are sanctions against the country and an attack on all Zimbabweans.
 
Dr Chindaro’s presentation combined very well with Cde Moses Samasuwo who gave a powerful presentation which included the 7 steps which one should take in order to establish a business in Zimbabwe. The 7 steps and associated advice will be made available on the ZANU PF UK website in the near future. Cde Samasuwo said a comprehensive investment guide on Zimbabwe which will outline the wide-range of opportunities available in Zimbabwe, would also be made available in the next three to six months.
 
The Secretary for Administration Cde Marshall Gore spoke about establishing a Chamber of Commerce to bridge the business information asymmetry between the UK and Zimbabwe.


ZANU PF UK Chairman Cde Nick Mangwana, who was chairing the meeting, gave a narrative of his personal experience about adapting and meeting challenges in order to succeed, grow and make a difference. He made an impassioned appeal to the diaspora community to come out of their comfort zones. He said that anyone who stays in their comfort zone will never grow. He said that breaking out of your comfort zone is doing something you have not done before, something which is anxiety invoking and is not risk neutral. He spoke against the spirit of entitlement and the loss of the Zimbabwean work ethic.
 
The Chairman’s message was supported by Cde Itai Choto, the ZANU PF UK Information and Publicity Secretary whose thrust was the branding of the Party. Cde Choto spoke about awareness of how the Party members engage with other people. He spoke against being aggressive and abusive and urged members to stay calm and polite when they engage in public fora such as social media and articulate the party’s position in a dignified manner. He implored cadres to go on a charm offensive rather than the bludgeoning of people with words. Cde Choto was credited with giving the meeting the level of publicity it had which had resulted in the overwhelming unprecedented attendance. There was consensus that Cde Choto continues to excel in his role as evidenced by the rapidly growing membership and visibility of the party in the UK. The Secretary for Security Cde Matunge called for maintenance of vigilance. He said that there is a need to remain aware that there will be an on -going attempt to infiltrate and disrupt the party in the UK.
 
The Women’s League Chairperson Cde Ruth Jabangwe spoke about the need for married women to maintain their cultural values despite the change in social setting. She said she hates seeing so many marriages breaking up due to the loss of cultural values, especially in the diaspora; a message which got a standing ovation from the male attendants!
 
The presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session which was open to the floor, for both question and answers. Issues ranging from the challenges the diaspora community face when opening businesses in Zimbabwe, the operation of ZANU PF UK, to the Issues of corruption were discussed. The forum noted with concern the level of dishonesty pervading our value system as a nation. There was consensus that corruption eradication should begin with individuals saying no to corruption.
 
Cde Tinomudaishe Chinyoka spoke passionately about corruption and noted the difficulties faced in all societies in eradicating “individual” corruption. He said that it was “institutional corruption” which is more damaging and should be tackled vigorously. Dr Chindaro noted that the current drive against corruption was initiated by the ZANU PF government and was included in the Party Manifesto, Zim Asset and the Party Resolutions from the 2013 Chinhoyi Conference. He implored individuals not to jump on the bandwagon by throwing around unfounded allegations.
 
A Party member who attended the Chinhoyi Conference, Cde Matongo, surprised Cde Nick Mangwana by informing him that he had listened to his landmark, ground-breaking address at the Conferenc. He commended the Chairman for the consistency in his message which resonated with his landmark, address to the Conference, and urged members to continue with their support.
 
Secretary for Commissariat, Cde Davison Chimenya saluted all the branches that were there. Among the branch members who attended were Cde Alfred Runyararo Benyera and Cde Table (South West England), Cde Mazala Bako (Coventry), Dr Agatha Benyera-Mararike (Kent). Cde George Nhera was the hosting Branch Chairman, supported by his team which included the Vice-Chairman Cde Chatindiara.
 
Zanu PF UK acknowledged the tasty complimentary culinary supply from the West Midlands women’s League led by Cde Gloria Chimbara. The Youth Chairman Cde Takunda Mangere, the Finance Secretary, Cde Eddie Mukutirwa were acknowledged for their unwavering support to the cause and the wisdom they bring to their portfolios.
 
The meeting was followed by a social event which allowed members to interact and network. This report would not be complete without mentioning the beautiful dancing and singing by Cde Bevan Pemhenayi which brought “morari” to the occasion. The meeting was closed by Cde Chatindiara the Vice Chairman for Birmingham.
 
Similar events are lined up during the course of the year and will be announced on the website and other media platforms.

Bulawayo – Thousands of people came out in embattled MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai’s support on Saturday.
What leadership-renewal advocates had hoped would be a watershed turnaround for the party’s history actually turned out to be a victory celebration for the MDC-T leader.
“Renewal or Rebels group they are wasting time the people are with President Morgan Tsvangirai,” said top Tsvangirai official and ally Charlton Hwende.
The development comes soon after some youths ran amok in the city spray painting party cars with graffiti calling for Tsvangirai’s removal, a mood before speculated would soon bring the MDC leader to his knees.
The exact comparative statistics of those in support of leadership renewal against those who support Tsvangirai could not be obtained at the time of writing.
PICTURES:

The Zimbabwean government which is failing to pay workers is on Friday to blow tens of thousand dollars on a second Mugabe birthday bash.
More than 4000 CIO agents and other civil servants are to attend the celebrations after the Public Service Commission requested to hold another party.
The Public Service Commission chairman, Dr Mariwanda Nzuwah, who leads all the commissions said the commissions requested to be afforded to celebrate Mugabe’s 90^th birthday in honour of the long road he has travelled in the leadership of his people and the vital role he played in delivering Zimbabwe’s political and economic freedom.

Nzuwah was quoted by the state media saying Mugabe should be honoured and thanked for his strong advocacy for black economic empowerment through ownership and exploitation of their national resources and called on youths to hold dear and protect their independence and sovereignty.
He revealed that similar celebrations will be held at the 10 provincial centres through the country with approximately 4 000 representatives from the commissions.
Staff associations and unions’ representatives of civil servants have also been invited for the celebrations.
Meanwhile, the state media reported that the starting time of the festivities has been moved back to 09:30am instead of the initially planned 12 noon.

 
Numerous riot police officers swarmed the MDC-T party’s Harvest House offices on Friday morning as the party convened a crucial National Council meeting meant to discuss a letter written by Deputy Treasurer Elton Mangoma.
Speculation was rife that Mangoma would be expelled from the party after preparatory minutes leaked stating that anyone who talks to the media is subject to disciplinary action. The statements were read to refer to Mangoma who early this year opened a discussion proposing that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai should consider resigning.

At the time of writing youths believed to be protesters were seen descending on the building.
Sources close to the meeting told ZimEye that Mr. Tsvangirai was plotting to suspend both Mangoma and Secretary General Tendai Biti.
Meanwhile a meeting was convened on Thursday and a source narrated the current heated tension saying,
“The intra-party war is getting tough. Whilst the going is getting tough the Tsvangirai faction is now ready to fire Elton Mangoma and more violence may be expected. Denford Ngadziore, Washington Gaga, Yvonne Musarurwa, James Chidhakwa, Stan Manyenga and Shackspear Mukoyi declared in a meeting of 30 people addressed at Harvest House on Thursday by Washington Gaga and Mupindu that Paul and Solomon Madzore, Elton Mangoma, Madzimure, Tapiwa Mashakada, Julius Magarangoma, Hlabangu, Munyanyi and many other provincial leaders are not going to attend the meeting because some of them are already suspended. Among the Tsvangirayi guys is a group of violent thugs meant to deal to with people like Ismael Kauzani and others,” the source said.

Canada has become the third Western nation to condemn MDC-T party violence following the United States, and Australian governments.
Canada’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Lisa Stadelbauer issued a statement on Tuesday against the ongoing violence and intimidation in Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party.
Despite denials by Morgan Tsvangirai that there is no violence in his party, Ambassador Stadelbauer spoke unequivocally stating it was clearly being engineered by political intolerance.
Stadelbauer made reference to the recent attacks on ‘political figures’ largely interpreted to be attacks on among others treasurer general Elton Mangoma, secretary general, Tendai Biti, and party cadre Promise Mukwananzi the only political figures in any Zimbabwean party attacked since the beginning of the year. Stadelbauer’s statement comes after Morgan Tsvangirai at the weekend claimed that there is no violence in his party, while at the same time though, intolerant youths under him were traveling around the country intimidating and attacking those deemed to be supporting a proposed motion to relieve Tsvangirai of the party presidency. A recording of some of the youths confirmed by the party shows a key Tsvangirai security aide, plotting violence on Mangoma. More MDC youths have also in recent weeks been threatening violence on anyone seen expressing doubts about Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai’s own spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka has stated that when Elton Mangoma was attacked also losing his spectacles, it was only his shirt taht was yanked by a youth, a statement that has encouraged the rowdy youths to continue intimidating colleagues.
“Canada is increasingly concerned by recent acts of violence against political figures in Zimbabwe,” said Stadelbauer.
She added:
“We call on all political parties to demonstrate leadership by taking resolute actions to speak out against violence and intimidation. This includes engaging in open dialogue and demonstrating respect for diversity of views.
“All Zimbabweans, including politicians and members of civil society have the fundamental right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Canada calls for these rights to be respected and adhered to. We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Tsvangirai has however in return blasted the Western envoys alleging that they are not saying the truth and they should not interfere in his party’s internal affairs.
 

The United States embassy has condemned the violence which erupted two weeks ago and resulted in among others MDC-T deputy treasurer general Elton Mangoma being attacked being attacked by a party mob. The attack resulted in Mangoma losing his spectacles as well, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman to date has said it was ‘only’ Mangoma’s shirt which was yanked.

The US embassy’s strongly worded statement which clearly states the violence occurred in Harare recently, was an apparent call on Tsvangirai to respect human rights, protect victims of violence, and to prevent future acts of internal party aggression in his party.

The statement read: “The U.S. Embassy has taken note of recent media reports on incidents of politically-motivated violence that have occurred in Harare.

“We condemn such acts of violence, which have no place in modern political discourse.  We enjoin all parties to respect the rule of law, freedom of assembly and the right to free speech, which should be the hallmarks of a modern, democratic Zimbabwe.  We call on all parties to protect victims of violence and to prevent future acts of violence.”

The US embassy statement comes as Morgan Tsvangirai was widely accused of failing to protect Mangoma during the attack on the 15th February. After the assault, Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman claimed Mangoma’s shirt was ‘only’ yanked by a youth while he was in a car. But numerous witnesses have revealed that Mangoma was attacked using brute force and he lost his spectacles which were smashed by the youths.  Two weeks later, Tsvangirai has remained mum on the attacks and has not mentioned a word on the destroyed spectacles.

The individuals who petrol bombed Tendai Biti’s house security wall, have been caught on camera.
The attackers were caught on cameras installed around the area which filmed the whole attack, ZimEye is reliably informed.
“We are studying the recordings right now as well as the vehicle used in the commission of the crime,” an officer close to the investigations told ZimEye on Tuesday morning.
The nature of the attack lacked sophistication and appeared ‘amateuriesh’, the attackers were clearly ‘inept’, a source close to the investigations commented.
The attack on Biti’s house came at a time when the MDC party’s unity was at its lowest ebb.
While there was specuation that Biti’s house was attacked by party insiders, party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora was quoted alleging the attackers are from Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.
“The attack bears the fingerprints of ZANU-PF,” he reportedly told the AFP news service.
“It is clear that this is the work of the enemies of the MDC who want to portray it as a violent party,” Mwonzora said.
Another statement was released by the party’s wing in Chegutu,
“This must be ZANU PF work, taking advantage of power wrangles in the party MDC-T. The possibility of staged managed incident is there,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, investigations into the attack were ongoing at the time of writing with police and forensic experts taking samples and statements among other things.

The MDC-T party’s  Secretary General Tendai Biti’s house was petrol bombed Monday night, ZimEye is informed.
The incident comes as calls for Tsvangirai to resign intensified amid numerous threats by a small group of youths voicing their desire to  assault deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma and Biti.
Details of what actually took place were still vague at the time of writing but the bomb disposal unit and army were present at the house.
The petrol bomb is said to have exploded near the security wall close to where the guard patrols from. It is believed the attack was meant for the guard house which is close to the gatepost.
The security guard however managed to escape the flames, ZimEye was told.
On top of the gatepost are clear marks of the flammable liquid where it was splashed before the flames started.

A family member confirmed of the development to ZimEye, “The house was petrol bombed last night. The attack comes just after some men came in an unregistered car asking the security guard numerous questions about Tendai  Biti where he is, and when he returns home” he said.
Attempts to reach Mr Biti himself were fruitless at the time of writing as his phone kept ringing without being answered. A comment from the investigating officers could not be obtained as well,as they were still in the process of gathering evidence.
Both Biti and Mangoma escaped an attack by marauding youths who were baying for their blood at Harvest House on Saturday 15th February. Both Biti and Mangoma had attended  a meeting sanctioned by Tsvangirai for national leaders, but which the MDC leader also invited ordinary party members to attend.
More to follow….

Below was a televised debate on internal newscaster Al Jazeera regarding Mugabe’s hold on power.
The discussion involved –
Obert Gutu: MDC Harare Province Spokesman.
Nick Mangwana: U.K. Chairman for Zanu PF.
Chofamba Sithole, Journalist and Former Editor of the Sunday Mirror in Zimbabwe.

Barely a few days after a group of white Zimbabwean lobbyists began a campaign to get western sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party dropped, another white Zimbabwean has added voice on the same contentious subject.
The Bulawayo based Steve Blomefield told ZimEye sanctions on Mugabe should be removed.
“I believe the sanctions should be dropped,” said Blomefield who is also locally referred to by the title ‘prophet’.
He added saying that he believes the recent July 2013 elections were not entirely a fraud.
“I am not pro-ZANU PF and stuff like that. But the elections, of course there was some crooking here and there, but not with the majority; I don’t believe the elections were totally fraudulent. There was some crookery(sic) here and there, but I believe that the people of Zimbabwe voted for ZANU PF, whether I like it or not they did. So we have to according to the Bible, submit to the government. It doesn’t mean that we agree with the government,” said Blomefield.

Blomefield’s comments come as chairman of a group of white Zimbabwean businessmen, Mathew Smith, said they want western countries to remove all the measures which he said were imposed on all Zimbabweans.
Smith is a hotelier and contract miner. His father Gary who is also a member of the group is the finance director of a transport and trucking business.
Mathew said his group believes that the targeted measures are hurting the country and Zimbabweans, and should be lifted unconditionally.
“We are forming this lobby group because the truth about Zimbabwe needs to be heard and for that truth to be heard it needs to be told from our perspective, especially as white Zimbabweans on whose behalf these damaging sanctions were supposedly imposed,” he said.
In a passionate speech delivered at a press briefing in Harare the leaders of the group denied that the motive behind the formation of the group is to protect their businesses from ZANU PF’s property grabs.
Matthew told the UK based SW Radio Africa on Tuesday, he has never felt the need to protect himself in his 33 years living in Zimbabwe, “and we are starting now because the time just feels right”.
He said the country has just had a “fantastic, peaceful, free and fair election and it is time that the citizens are freed from the sanctions yoke. Our interest is Zimbabwe and ordinary Zimbabweans”.

Analysis| There is a fundamental error in MDC-T Deputy Treasurer, Elton Mangoma’s proposal to replace Morgan Tsvangirai, UK based Chofamba Sithole, argues.
He continues:
This error lies in the perpetuation of a culture of personality politics which Mangoma ignores and yet is the singular pivot of any future change in Zimbabwean politics whichever party it is.
 
Mangoma recently wrote to Tsvangirai proposing three possible alternatives to a future MDC-T, which he said should not have Tsvangirai at the helm if the party is to make it in the next national election.
 
Writes Sithole:
“We have looked at how the MDC-T’s reaction to Mangoma’s proposal for leadership renewal fell short of what is expected of a democratic movement in terms of upholding the principle of free speech. Now, going into the substantive intervention itself, I’d like to point out what I see as a crucial error in Mangoma’s proposal, which connects with what we discussed in an earlier post.
“My main problem with it is that it endorses the culture of personality in our politics and as such proposes an inadequate solution – the replacement of one personality by another.
“Mangoma lays into Tsvangirai’s personal failures and weaknesses as a leader and in his private life. He does not have a go at Morgan on the basis of the policies that Morgan Tsvangirai has promoted and advocated for during the course of his leadership; nothing ideological or technical in respect of what Jonathan Moyo the academic calls “craft literacy” and “craft competence” stands out in Mangoma’s letter, perhaps because to have done so would have brought the same swift indictment on himself and his colleagues as part of their collective responsibility in steering the MDC ship.
 
“What would have worked more effectively, in my view, is a proposed policy agenda that shakes up the MDC’s direction and makes a break with the MDC under Tsvangirai. I would have loved to see what it is that these guys are proposing to do differently. The resonance of such a policy-driven agenda would have automatically taken care of the leadership question.
 
“What would have been lost and won is a battle of ideas, not personalities. As it is, these guys dived right into Morgan’s habitat – the ambit of personality politics. And like a fisherman who dives in after the biting fish at the end of his line, they are bound to become shark dinner.
“And Morgan is still pretty much the shark in the MDC pool of personal power, however badly battle-scarred he might be. It’s a sad scenario, but there you have it.
“If you look at Zanu as well, apart from knowing that its Mai Mujuru v Mnangagwa, what else do we know abt what those pple stand for? Thats the crucial question.
“So with respect to the leadership renewal agenda in the MDC, the removal of Tsvangirai is being promoted as the priority. But what about the ideas and thinking that has characterised the MDC thus far, will it stay? And what new udeas and approaches will come in? What are those ideas? For me it is troubling that we don’t know the answer to that from those that are saying Morgan must go.
“It is not enough to say its Biti or Mudzuri coming in after; it should be: henceforth the MDC will now drop this and that approach and promote this and that policy and agenda.”
“When Gordon wanted to take over from Tony in the UK, he was being supported by some that wanted a return to more traditional Labour policies. Blair wanted David Miliband to continue with the so called Blairite agenda of more markets and choices, more economic neoliberalism and less Keynesian approaches as favoured by the Labour traditionalists. So we had a debate here about the future direction of the Labour party.
“In the same vein, it would help if the Mangomas were to come out with a new policy agenda for the MDC informed by what they experienced as possible during their time in govt.
“And let them challenge Morgan to say that if he remained leader, what ideas would he bring? Then if nothing, it would expose Mirga Morgan as empty, and that wld undermine his credibility as leader without ever having to declare he must go. Or if they wish to declare that, it wld be much easier to do after exposing Morgan as empty of ideas.”

Harare’s most prestigious school, Eaglesvale has become indigenised by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party after the institution’s suspended headmaster (Mr. Naison Tirivavi)  mysteriously returned to work and fired the same board which was investigating him for allegedly misappropriating school assets.
The school owned by The Dutch Reformed Church, which was then scrambled with assistance of ZANU PF officials, was finally seized yesterday, ZimEye can reveal, in a development one of many in which institutions and businesses have in recent months come under the control of black Zimbabweans loyal to the ruling party. A board loyal to Mr Tirivavi has since taken over.
When questioned for further details on the development and also on why the indigenisation ceremony was not officially published in the ordinary way, Mr Tirivavi  refused to answer requesting rather to meet our reporter face to face at an undisclosed location: “Ko zvingaita here kuti tisangane muHarare titaure takatarisana zviso zvedu”, Tirivavi asked our reporter.
He says he has been reinstated after the seizure. A ceremony was conducted yesterday attended by the controversial Local Government and National Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo, together with Education Minister Mr. Lazarus Dokora. The program also had Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa as an invited guest.

The bitter wrangle for control of the school by Naison Tirivavi who used his ZANU PF connections, ended with that ceremony yesterday. Despite an on going Supreme Court challenge by the Dutch Reformed Church board, Mr Tirivavi declared that the school is now under ‘The Reformed Church of Zimbabwe’.
 
Investigations
The reasons surrounding Tirivavi’s suspension are to do with misconduct relating to handling school assets. Reports state that at one point Tirivavi as the head of the school purchased four(4) buses for from ZIMCO, and upon delivery of the vehicles, he was given two(2) more cars as a reward for being the best-buyer. It is alleged that Tirivavi then converted the two vehicles to his personal property leading to clashes with the school board. In the ensuing bad relations with the board, Tirivavi then sought to circumvent the problem by dismissing the board and replacing it with one made up of members from the Masvingo sect known as the Reformed Church of Zimbabwe.
The old board refused to go and filed for an application seeking to stop Tirivavi from accessing or withdrawing money from school accounts as it emerged that he began a spree of several cash withdrawals. A letter in ZimEye’s possession states that Tirivavi did not tell the truth when he claimed that the Dutch Reformed Church board was dissolved. It reads in part:
“Contrary to the suspended headmaster Mr Naison Tirivavi’s email dated 5th September 2013 wherein he is alleging that the High Court ruled in favour of the RCZ(Reformed Church of Zimbabwe), and that the board was dissolved, the truth is that the High Court did not declare the board dissolved but only dismissed the “TECHNICALITY” of the urgency of the matter. The board had applied for an urgent interdiction on the basis that money continues to be unlawfully withdrawn from the school. Unfortunately the court ruled that our application was not filed timeously.  The board is appealing to the Supreme Court for this matter to be resolved urgently,” it reads.
Tirivavi was this week labelled after the notorious expelled Anglican church archbishop Nolbert Kunonga who forcefully occupied Anglican Church properties three years ago.

Harare – More donors have ditched the MDC-T party in the last 24 months due to former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s soiled reputation, it has emerged.
These revelations come as Tsvangirai faced with increasing calls for his resignation, was planning a private party mini-congress to be held at his house. The mini-congress where Tsvangirai is planning to assemble provincial leaders to get them to endorse his presidency, will take place on the 15th February at his government bought Highlands residence. The congress likely on Saturday, will however take place at a time when the majority of standing committee members are complaining that with Tsvangirai at the helm, there will never be donor support ever.

One key western donor and MDC-T backer in 2012 said he would never support the party ever again. He said of the MDC-T party, “You have proved yourselves to be no better than Zanu. My support was total and an ambassador for you in the white British community but after what I witnessed Saturday I cannot support a party who even cheats at it’s own elections,” the businessman, Alan Fish said of Tsvangirai’s trusted emissaries Theresa Makone and Lovemore Moyo.
As Fish since that date been mobilising other funders to disregard Tsvangirai, it emerged more western donors have folded their hands to date.
According to a letter written by standing committee member Elton Mangoma, there is likely no way Tsvangirai will ever be trusted again. Mangoma expressed concern over the alleged misuse of party funds and questioned how he planned to clear his name if donors asked him to explain himself out. “How will we put closure to the question of misuse of funds, and ensure that our friends regain confidence that donations will be channelled to the people’s project going forward?” Mangoma queried.
“How will you answer the questions that we failed to care enough for our people and that we used our time in government for personal aggrandisement, personal wealth accumulation as symbolised by the current impasse on (Tsvangirai’s) Highlands residence?”
In separate interviews with senior MDC-T members conducted by the daily paper Newsday — a provincial chairman and executive member — it emerged that those opposed to Tsvangirai were gaining ground in convincing the grassroots that the party required leadership renewal.
“The fallout between Tsvangirai, Mangoma and Bennett is all about abuse of funds by the president. Why is he not speaking out on where he got the $300 000 he used to silence Lorcadia (ex-wife Karimatsenga-Tembo) and why is he gagging people from discussing pertinent party issues?” the sources asked.
“Donors are no longer giving money to the party because there is no accountability. Bennett had to deploy one of his workers to Harvest House to do the finances and was working under the organising secretary’s department to curb the leakages of party finances. Worse still, the donors are not giving money to the party before there is a way to account for it.”
A national executive member reportedly added: “My province is clear on what we now need. We need a leader with a clear vision, a new face with fresh ideas because honestly. Tsvangirai has nothing new to offer. People no longer have confidence in him.”

IN THE VIDEO: Two Harare men who were allegedly caught in the very act of stealing (6) six cellphones from pedestrians in Robert Mugabe road were mobbed and eventually arrested on Thursday afternoon. The incident occurred at about 1345hrs.

A story published by a UK radio station stating that the MDC-T’s Manicaland province is going to be dissolved has been dismissed as false and misleading.
In an official statement, the Manicaland province spokesman Pishai Muchauraya described the article as ‘shocking.’ The statement read in part:
“We have learnt with shock and dismay an article generated by SWRadio Africa that the Mdc Manicaland Provincial Executive is going to be dissolved. The report is not only false but misleading and mischievous with the intention of causing confusion to our faithful supporters who have braved 14 years of state brutality.
“We are investigating the origin and motive of the gossip. While as a party we strongly believe in freedom of expression and opinion, we also loudly condemn the peddling of falsehoods of that nature. We wish to correctly state that our provincial executive led by Julius Magarangoma is intact and not under any investigation by any superior organ of the party.
“It is sad to note such blatant and shameless falsehoods are being conveyed when the provincial executive is hosting the Party President Dr Tsvangirai from tuesday to Thursday next week.
“Whilst we are not demanding a retraction from the authors of the gossip, we strongly urge them to examine issues of journalistic hygiene in their newsroom.”

As if the severity of his case was not enough, the jailed pastor of the RMG End Time Message church, Robert Martin Gumbura, used porn in the courtroom where he was being tried for possession of pornography.
Gumbura who was being charged for both rape and possession of pornographic materials, brought in footage of himself stripped naked with one of the victims he was being charged with raping.
This outrageous act, caused Gumbura to crucify himself right before the magistrate.
The porn was taken into court as Gumbura was attempting to argue that it was consensual sex he had engaged in. However, this in effect became the straw that broke the camel’s back and sent Gumbura into prison for that very charge combined with the others.
A witness who cannot be named at present since Gumbura has launched an appeal said Gumbura nailed himself by bringing pornographic materials to court.
“This is clearly how Gumbura nailed himself,” the man said.
It was not clear at the time of writing if Gumbura had been advised by his lawyers Rekayi Maphosa and Emmanuel Samundombe to take this course of action.
The senior of Gumbura’s 11 wives, Queen Bunga, admitted the pornographic material (pictures of some of the wives taken in the nude) saying there was nothing wrong about the nude pictures of her colleagues since they were secured in a place where no other person had access to except themselves and their husband.
The nude pictures, she said, were taken for the purpose of testing a new printer that Gumbura had just bought.
“These are our personal pictures captured at the time when we were testing our new printing machine. We were photographing one another in the nude and having fun among ourselves, but they were not meant for publication,” the wives’ spokesperson, Bunga, said.
Gumbura was on Monday jailed for an effective 40 years after being found guilty of multiple rape charges also including possession of pornography. One of the rape charges is pending trial.

Harare – Zimbabwe’s Minister of Local Government Ignatious Chombo contradicted himself while speaking in riddles when he announced he had reversed the suspension of Harare Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi, ZimEye can reveal.
ZimEye which broke the story on Saturday morning before other media houses, can exclusively reveal what Chombo truly said of Harare mayor Manyenyeni which ‘has now led’ to him lifting the suspension.
Reporters have written saying that Chombo said Mayor Manyenyeni had accepted Mahachi’s apology. But this is not what Chombo actually said.
In the recording Chombo is heard clarifying his statement to mean “the mayor has accessed the apology,” and not necessarily accepted it.
Earlier however, Chombo had said:
“He(Mahachi) has explained to the Mayor and he has also apologized. The Mayor has accepted the apology and I was referee. ”
Manyenyeni then disputed with Chombo and insisting that the suspension had not been reversed.
In clarifying what he actually said Chombo then snooped in, “the mayor has accessed the apology,” said Chombo.
“Minister I beg to differ on that one. I think we need to engage further. I think lets capitalize on the good will that is existing so far and find a way forward but for now it would be remiss of me to accept that we have reversed that decision,” said Manyenyeni to Chombo.
Chombo then went ahead to further hint that what he is talking about is about Manyenyeni accessing the apology rather than accepting, as he said he had passed the decision already accessed by Manyenyeni and was only awaiting delivery of the written communication from the permanent secretary.
Chombo’s actions have attracted countrywide condemnation from people from all walks of life. He was also criticised by internet marketing protege Barbara Nyagomo who lashed out writing from her portal:
“Comrade Chombo reinstated the suspended Town Clerk of Harare who is on $37 000 per month DENG!,”  wrote Nyagomo. She added:
“I am thinking both Chombo and the Town Clerk must thoroughly be investigated for corruption and unexplained wealth accumulation.
Each day that passes the Govt is losing public support.Its a rot system who is going to police the police,politicians and lawmakers when they all support Kleptocracy and Lootcracy?”  RECORDING: 

The pastor and founder of the RMG End Time Message church, Robert Martin Gumbura has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Of these Gumbura will spend an effective 40 years with 10 years suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Passing sentence magistrate Hoseah Mujaya said  “The court must always strive to find a punishment which will fit both the crime and the offender. In this case, the accused was like a wolf in sheep’s cloth. The core-business of the church is to worship God not to sleep with girls and women and threatening them that misfortune would befall them.
“Pastors and deacons in this church must have been aware of the blasphemous teachings in their church and also the abuse of women but they chose to ignore what was happening. Teachings in church must be monitored internally and externally,” Mujaya went on to say.
Gumbura was last Friday convicted on 4 counts of rape and one count of possession of pornographic materials.
Gumbura who is currently 57years old will be 97years old upon his release in 2054.
Sex crazed, Gumbura has been referred to on social networks as “Rape Master Gumbura” in an obvious pun with the initials of the RMG church title.
Gumbura is on record as having  11 wives namely: Tafadzwa Makoni (52); Queen Bunga (45); Tecla Muzungwani (37); Chipo Mhlanga (34); Choice Neganje (32); Concilia Mukandawire (33); Amanda Mbanga (27); Amadias Mutakwa (32); Pretty Rushwaya (27); Pamela Mukandawire (27) and Bester Runyowa (24). The youngest wife, Besta Runyowa, will be 64years old in the release of her husband.
 

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo may save Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi but he cannot fire Harare’s mayor.
Under the new constitution, Chombo who by-passed the MDC mayor Gabriel Manyenyeni by reversing the suspension of Mahachi, does not have power to unilaterally expel any sitting mayor in ways he used to before July last year.
These revelations were made by top Harare lawyer and legislator for Harare West, Jessie Majome as she cited Section 278 of the new Constitution.
Said Majome:
“The sound of ZANU PF’s Chombo smashing the hopes of Harare residents and ratepayers for probity, transparency and good governance. ZANU PF’s Chombo is the Godfather of corruption – he’s just doing what he has always done best – before, during and after the inclusive government Chombo is highly specialized in defending and rewarding corrupt and incompetent ZANU PF appointed municipality executives. I know because in 2003 he unlawfully suspended and fired me from being the Chairperson of Hwange Local Board for suspending the corrupt CEO and refusing to obey his order to reinstate him, which he then did. I’m still waiting for Justice George Chiweshe to decide on my 2002 Bulawayo High Court urgent chamber application challenging that.
“I’m relieved that we enshrined Section 278 of the new Constitution which saves Mayor Bernard Gabriel Manyenyeni and elected councillors Charity Bango from being undemocratically fired by Chombo, or else there would already be a vacancy in the Mayor’s parlour and another in Ward 17 Mt. Pleasant.
“However what ZANU PF’s Chombo has done directly undermines Zimbabwe’s founding values and principles in Section 3 the Constitution i.e. good governance meaning transparency, justice, accountability, & responsiveness, and devolution of power, as well as Section 5 & the whole of Part 1 of Chapter 14 on Provincial & Local Government which devolve power to local authorities, which aims particularly to ‘give powers of local governance to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them.’ www.copac.org.zw
“What is particularly striking is that ZANU PF’s Chombo is trampling all over the national objectives in the Constitution which must guide him and all government levels in all decisions, particularly his duty in Section 9 (1) on Good governance ‘to develop efficiency, competence, accountability, transparency, personal integrity and financial probity in all institutions and agencies of government and every level and in particular…………..
(b) measures must be taken to expose, combat and eradicate all forms of corruption and abuse
of power by those holding political & public offices.’
“The Prosecutor General’s clay feet over these issues is also unconstitutional. The thing is, will Harare residents just stand by and allow Chombo to breach the Constitution at their expense? The Constitutional Court was created for these issues.
“I can see a very good court challenge even in administrative law because ZANU PF’s Chombo’s excuse is dishonest -it’s out of sync with the reason for Mahachi’s suspension that is, concealing salaries’ data from his employer, not for the diabolical salary levels as ZANU PF’s Chombo seems to be confessing and implicating himself in. Even the $13000 he claims is corrupt and outrageous!”

There was drama when the Minister of Local Government, Ignatius Chombo reversed the suspension of Harare City Council Clerk, Tendai Mahachi.
The development announced Saturday, within 48 hours of Mahachi having been suspended by the sitting mayor for his role in failing to provide the mayor with a full schedule of the local authority’s top management salaries.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo on Saturday used his political muscle and lifted the suspension of city of Harare town Clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi by the Harare Mayor Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni on Thursday over salary issues. The drama followed when Chombo claimed that mayor Manyenyeni who belongs to the MDC-T party had accepted Mahachi’s apology. This Manyenyeni disputed. (See audio)
Chombo and Manyenyeni however clashed in front of reporters at his government offices when the minister said they had agreed to reverse the suspension of Dr Mahachi.
Dr Mahachi was suspended when Dr Chombo was in Zambia for government business.
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The Harare Mayor on Thursday suspended for three months the city council’s city mayor Dr Tendai Mahachi for refusing to give the mayor a full schedule of top management local authority’s salaries.
The schedule was however revealed by the press and indicated that Dr Mahachi was earning $37 000 per month.
Clr Bernard Manyenyeni delivered a brief speech of his address to the media at town house Thursday.

MDC-T Organising Secretary, Nelson Chamisa, has dismissed floating rumours on social networks to the effect that he has a special and privileged business relationship with Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace who it is said he supplies Gushungo Dairy with all its transport logistics.
Reports claimed Chamisa (pictured-right) has a fleet of 45 haulage trucks that he allegedly imported while still ICT minister. The reports also claimed he did not pay import duty for the trucks.
Gushungo is controlled by President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace.
But Chamisa has fired back at the reports challenging those peddling the rumours to step forward with the evidence.
He told ZimEye in an interview on Tuesday, “This is coming from desperate people. I hear there are reports, that Chamisa has gone to such and such a country in the Diaspora to renovate his house and a lot of unsubstantiated claims. Some of them saying Chamisa is importing some haulage trucks and is appealing for a tax relief.
“You think Mugabe will be foolish to award a tender to an MDC official when in his party there are millions of business people who could get such a tender?
“Moreover the trucks which do business at Gushungo farms are very visible and can be verified by simply taking the number plates and go (sic) to the CVR for confirmation. This needs you journalists not to ask me but do (sic) your investigations and expose the truth.  You can even go to your sources in ZANU (PF) and if this is happening, I honestly believe they will be happy to give such information.
“I live a clean and honest life.
“I know where it is coming from and the reason is that I have stood firm in defense of our Party President Morgan Tsvangirai. I have done so not because I love him but for the defense of the struggle which we started and is yet to be completed.”
Mr Chamisa was forthcoming and  kindly took the time to  explain his position. Furthermore, he even invited ZimEye journalists to look over ownership of the trucks from an unbiased  third party perspective so as to ascertain the truthfulness of his statements.

Violence broke out at the MDC-T’s Harvest House building in Harare Tuesday evening when youths loyal to President Morgan Tsvangirai assaulted many others suspected of calling for the party leader to resign.
A number of ‘Tsvangirai youths’ (whose total number could not be ascertained at the time of writing) had bottles of whisky “Two Keys” brand bought for them by a senior MDC leader from Zaka (name withheld) before they began the violence.
The security team at the entrance had a long list of names of those to be attacked.
The youths began attacks later in the afternoon on two cadres said to be in support of senior standing committee member Elton Mangoma’s Thursday-official letter which seeks to retire Morgan Tsvangirai from executive control of the party.
The victims included Pardon Maengahama and Donald Chirunga, and a host of many others.
Maengahama was assaulted by one only known as Masimba and soon afterwards then by another man known as Lucky who is in the security department. Maengahama who has suffered bruises on his ribs and jaws has identified his attackers as Muzoda, jahwi, Masimba and Nerwande, all known ‘Tsvangirai militia’. It is alleged that that Sydney Masamvu, Dennis Murira and Piniel Denga have being buying beer for most the youths.
A conversation between two party heavyweights in possession of ZimEye has confirmed the practice of hiring youths and intoxicating them with alcohol for purposes of attacking opponents.
Reports were immediately filed at the Harare Central police station and the victims taken for medical assistance. Pardon Maengahama reported the matter which was recorded by Sgt Josphine Khumalo under police record IR 072914.
The violence has caused consternation in the party as the assaulted youths vowed they will not allow the bullying to continue.