MASVINGO – Mutonho Mutonho, an aspiring Zanu PF candidate for Gutu West who was disqualified by his party for campaigning before time has declared that he is going independent.

He told The Mirror that he was wrongfully charged and is contesting the seat as he enjoys immense support in Gutu West, one of the ruling party’s strongholds.
Gutu West is a predominantly resettlement area. Mutonho however, said he remains a Zanu PF member and is campaigning for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Party gurus are adamant that incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) and deputy youth league secretary John Paradza is the party’s candidate. Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa is yet to announce its candidate for the constituency.
“I am contesting as an independent candidate. I support President Emmerson Mnangagwa and I am campaigning for the party on all positions. I was wrongfully charged and yet I have the support of the people,” said Mutonho.

He was handed the suspension letter a day after submitting his curriculum vitae (CV) at the party office on March 12, 2023. He said he was only handed the letter after requesting for it.
The letter had come from the party’s national disciplinary committee on February 9, 2023. Party provincial chairperson Rabson Mavhenyengwa signed the same document on February 17, 2023.

Zanu PF Masvingo spokesperson Pepukai Chiwewe told The Mirror that Mutonho was found guilty.

“The vetting of CVs is done in Harare by the National Electorate Directory (NED) chaired by Mike Bimha.

Mutonho was charged with indiscipline and is barred from holding any position for two years. I am sure he was served with the letter when the verdict came out,” said Chiwewe…Masvingo Mirror

By A Correspondent

CCC MP for Chitungwiza South Hon M Mavhunga has donated property to St Aidant’s Primary School.

According to Hon Mavhunga, the initiative to purchase the property is part of his CDF programme.

“Today ,we were at St Aidant’s primary school were we handed over 53 desks and 53 chairs, courtesy of CDF balance left from durawall project.

Thanks to the school administration, Seke South administration and our coordinators for accepting this positive gesture,” said Hon Mavhunga.

CHIKOMBA-President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday expects to commission Chivhu Dam in Chivhu, Mashonaland East Province.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Dr John Bhasera, confirmed the development in an interview with The Mirror.

“President Mnangagwa will Thursday commission Chivhu Dam in Mashonaland East province.

“The dam is going to supply water to Chivhu town and provide irrigation water for surrounding communities. 

“The dam project is expected to add value to the Chivhu community through irrigation and fish farming,” he said. …Masvingo Mirror

A 35-year-old Mvurwi man has been jailed seven years for bashing his best friend to death for joking about bǝdding his wife.

High Court Judge Munamato Mutevedzi handed Mike Foya the lenient sentence after taking into consideration he committed the heinous crime after being provoked.

Four years of his sentence were set aside on condition that he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

The incident took place on October 9 last year.

Court heard during trial that Foya and his friend, Innocent Chawira were coming from a beer drink.

The two were so intoxicated that they had difficulties finding their way home.

In jest, Chawira boasted that he was in l0ve with Foya’s wife, igniting an argument that degenerated into a physical fight.

“The boastful friend was beaten and left for dead. He indeed was found dead the next day,” reads court papers.

During trial, Foya pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide as defined in section 49 of the Criminal Law Code.

Prosecution accepted his limited plea.

Foya submitted that he did not pay regard to the degree of force he applied when he assaulted his friend.

He said he did not pay regard to the fact that the part of the deceased’s body he targeted for the blow was delicate.

Justice Mutevedzi conceded his arguments were acceptable.

“Given the above evidence, we are satisfied that the acceptance by prosecution of the accused’s plea of guilty to the lesser charge is an informed decision.

“Against that background, the accused person is found not guilty and is acquitted of the charge of murder.

“He is found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide as defined in s49 of the Criminal Law Code.

“The accused stands convicted of the offence of culpable homicide. He killed his friend in a drunken brawl.

“He is 31 years old. Counsel who represented him urged the court to take into account that he is indeed a youthful offender.

“This court has accepted in the past that the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 in s20 accords the status of youth on any person between the ages of 15 and 35 years.”

Mutevedzi considered that Foya did not waste the court’s time and was a family man.

“The accused pleaded guilty to the charge. Needless to say, pleas of guilty are valuable to the expeditious resolution of criminal cases.

“Criminal trials particularly in this court are often a prolonged battle with extended hours being expended in the maze of seeking the truth.

“In that process huge amounts of material resources are needed for the payment of witness expenses.

“An accused who pleads guilty must therefore be rewarded for the savings which he/she brings to the administration of justice.

“Whether it was intended to be a prank or it was reality nobody will really know. If it was a prank, it unfortunately went horribly wrong.

“The court equally accepts that the accused acted out of provocation by the deceased who taunted him for having an extra mɑrital ɑffɑir with his wife.

“As if that was not enough, the deceased went on to assault the accused who then retaliated and killed him. The deceased was therefore the initial aggressor.

“The situation was compounded by the fact that the accused was intoxicated. He simply lost it as a result.”

The judge also considered that Foya has been in jail since his arrest last year.

— ZimLive

Mrs. Zodwa Dabengwa, the widow of national hero and liberation pioneer Dumiso Dabengwa, passed away.

Mrs. Dabengwa passed away from cancer in UK yesterday.

The president of the Zapu, Mr. Sibangilizwe Nkomo, stated that he was also informed of Mrs. Dabengwa’s passing through their party structures in the United Kingdom.

“I’ve just been in communication with our party chairperson in London, who without shedding more light revealed that Mrs Dabengwa has passed on. I also don’t have detailed information on the issue and we will continue to wait for more information from those based in the UK,” said Mr Nkomo.

Posting on the social media platform Twitter, political analyst and a family friend Dr Ibbo Mandaza wrote:

“Sad news. Our sister, Zodwa Dabengwa has just passed away in London after a long battle with cancer. A brave and great woman, Dumiso’s spouse, Comrade, and mother to Nombulelo and her siblings.”

Dabengwa passed away in 2019 at the age of 79 while travelling from India to Zimbabwe for medical treatment.

In Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North, he was buried at his rural home after being honoured as a national hero.

Imagine consuming 2 kilogrammes of sadza or rice, 2 kilogrammes of meat, six pints of lacto, one litre of juice and two litres of water just for lunch or supper? This in addition to 30 eggs, 2 loaves of bread plus beans and bacon for breakfast.

That’s the daily eating routine of 36-year-old Arnold Zikhali, affectionately known as “Strongman”, who has turned into an overnight celebrity after videos of his weird eating habits went viral on social media with many questioning his financial muscle and stomach capacity.

Zikhali weighs 146 kilogrammes.

“I was born like this, that’s why I was given the name DDF – Don’t Disappoint Food. So, up to today I eat food, I don’t even have a favourite foot I just eat food,” Strongman says.

Zikhali attributes his huge appetite to his hobby which involves pulling wagons, haulage trucks and vehicles on straps.

“For me to be able to eat large quantities of food like I do it’s because of the work that I do. Have you ever seen a person pulling 2 buses, a train wagon 54 tonnes? It’s me alone, so which means I am abnormal, I eat this daily 15 boiled eggs – 15 fried, beans, a lot and right now I am already hungry. When I pulled the 54 tonne wagon my body was stressed. This happens every time I pull something heavy, so when I eat, my body will be recovering. I work with fat, more food, more fat, more power. Now I want to pull a plane, Air Zimbabwe weighing 543 tonnes. So for the mean time I need to eat more so that my body gains more energy.”

But then who cooks for him and does the man lead a normal life?

“I have no wife, but I have my friend Knowledge and his wife cooks for me she knows that I eat a lot. Right now, I am financially down but when the finances pick up, I will have a wife. I have a girlfriend and she has accepted me for who I am I do visit my relatives and whenever I do visit them I find my food well prepared because they know my eating habits,” Strongman adds.

According to calculations done by the ZBC News crew, his breakfast alone costs an average US$25 and the question on everyone’s lips is who funds it?

“I have never calculated how much I use on food because I don’t want to be stressed but my friend and my manager helps me whenever I am financially down and chip in with money for food. I have never gone without food, as you can see I have many friends so in the meantime they assist. 2 kgs sadza or rice 2 kgs meat 6 pints of lacto,” he says.

Zikhali’s daily eating habits have also baffled scientists.

Nutritionist, Ms Tafadzwa Zhawari explains, “In this case, it’s something that has speculation and it’s something that someone is saying not saying that its true or its false, but as a nutritionist and as a scientist, I would recommend that we carry out a study to really make him a cohort that we follow, follow his eating patterns everyday and also measure the energy that he is expending and understand how it’s happening that he is eating all this food that he is claiming to eat and he is still healthy. He is not obese he looks okay, he is physically fit, so we really need to understand what is it that is behind all this.”

Zikhali’s is also full of intrigue as the man claims that he has never fallen sick in his entire 36-year life journey.

However, true to the dictates of nature every man yearns for companionship with the only missing link in his life being a wife.

But he has got that covered too once he becomes financially stable.

One person died while another is trapped at a mine at Christian campsite in Umzingwane.

Rescue operations have been ongoing since last night, with How Mine rescue team leading the mission.

A traditional healer allegedly had sex with his wife inside their kitchen hut while a guy who brought a sangoma for a healing session at his home was told to wait outside by the healer.
You read that correctly; a guy from Jarichari Village in Gokwe South, under Chief Njelele, was told to wait outside their cooking hut while the sangoma was having sex with his wife.

The shocking incident occurred on March 15 at around 10 a.m., when the woman, whose name is being withheld out of respect for her morals, and her ill husband sought the advice of the local sangoma, Zedias Zemba (46), of Shonhai Village, Chief Chireya in Gokwe North.

Zemba reportedly advised the couple to do the healing session in their home after consulting with them.

After agreeing, the woman brought Zemba to her house along with her ailing husband. He was accompanied by Anesu Emmanuel Moyo, his assistant.

Zemba arrived at their location and commanded the woman and her husband to go inside their kitchen hut.

While still inside, Zemba gave the woman’s husband instructions to visit a nearby road intersection and gather some soil, which he claimed he intended to use in the cleaning procedure.

In addition, Zemba told his aide to remain outside the kitchen hut while he remained inside with the woman to watch for the woman’s husband’s return.

Zemba allegedly pulled the woman down while they were in the cooking hut. She allegedly experienced sexual contact with him under duress.

The woman’s husband apparently arrived earlier than anticipated, and Zemba’s helper stopped him from going to the kitchen hut by telling him that Zemba would call him after he was finished with his wife. He reportedly obliged.

After performing the deed, Zemba unlocked the door and invited his coworker and the woman’s husband inside.

When the woman eventually told Zemba’s other assistant about her experience, the situation came to light.

After receiving advice to contact the police, Zemba was apprehended.

Since then, Zemba has made an appearance before Gokwe magistrate Honest Musiyiwa on a rape charge.

He wasn’t asked to enter a plea and was kept in detention until June 20. The State’s representative was Malvern Nzombe.

Police have also publicly warned women to be aware of rapist prophets and sangomas after receiving several allegations of women being reportedly assaulted during healing sessions.

After being caught trying to have sex with a married woman during a healing session at his shrine last week, a self-described prophet from Kwekwe fled completely nude.

According to reports, after being exposed by the woman’s husband, the prophet, who can only be identified as Chikandamina and is currently on the run from the Amaveni area, fled in his birthday suit.

The headmaster of Gwindingwi Secondary School, Mr. Stanford Tsindikwa, was discovered dead close to Rusape Dam in a strange incident in Makoni.

A fortnight ago, Mr. Tsindikwa was reported missing after he allegedly made multiple calls and texted his wife about his plan to end his life.

Inspector Norbert Muzondo, a spokesman for the Manicaland Provincial Police, verified the incident and stated that inquiries are ongoing.

“On May 29, Mr Tsindikwa left his Mabvazuva home in Rusape, proceeding to his workplace at Gwindingwi Secondary School. He later sent suicidal text messages to his wife, Ms Concern Mandiyaba.

“He did not return home that day. A search was conducted to no avail. On May 31, Mr Martin Shiridzinomwa of Magamba suburb discovered Mr Tsindikwa lying dead near Rusape Dam.

“A report was made to the police and they attended the scene. No injuries were noted. The body was conveyed to Rusape General Hospital for post-mortem. Investigations are underway,” said Inspector Muzondo.

Makoni District Schools Inspector, Mr George Chidhakwa said Mr Tsindikwa was having domestic problems, resulting in him being absent from work for the greater part of this term.

“I understand that he had some domestic problems. He was not regularly attending work this term due to marital issues,” said Mr Chidhakwa.- state media

One person died while another is trapped at a mine at Christian campsite in Umzingwane.

Rescue operations have been ongoing since last night, with How Mine rescue team leading the mission.

CHIKOMBA-President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday expects to commission Chivhu Dam in Chivhu, Mashonaland East Province.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Dr John Bhasera, confirmed the development in an interview with The Mirror.

“President Mnangagwa will Thursday commission Chivhu Dam in Mashonaland East province.

“The dam is going to supply water to Chivhu town and provide irrigation water for surrounding communities. 

“The dam project is expected to add value to the Chivhu community through irrigation and fish farming,” he said. …Masvingo Mirror

14 June 2023

DEAR Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

Re: One Year Under Arbitrary Detention in My Oppressor’s Prison

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

The 14th of June 2023 marks the end of one full twelve-month cycle of my incarceration. It also marks the beginning of another cycle.

I do not know how many more twelve-month cycles I shall endure in this dungeon. Only my oppressors know. I do not care at all.

They can confine my physical being, but they can never confine my spirit. My resolve remains unshaken. I have not lost hope.

I will never lose hope. I do not hope for justice in my own matters. Oppressors never serve justice. Oppressors have no shame.

I have hope, that one day, the spirit of Moreblessing Ali will finally find rest and be at peace. I have hope that one day the family of Moreblessing will be comforted.

I have hope that one day, Zimbabwe will be counted among the family of progressive and democratic nations. The oppressor’s reign is nigh.

For it is darkest when dawn draws near. Whenever the drum beats the loudest, it is about to burst.

My Arrest and Detention

The story of my arrest has been told countless times. My detractors have yarned so many tales and woven so many versions of why I was arrested and remain in detention.

They have invented the biggest lie to cover their shame for jailing an innocent man. Lies have short legs. They claim that I violated a bail condition. What nonsense!

If I did, what has stopped them from holding an inquiry in accordance with the law, to establish whether any bail condition was violated or not?

What has stopped them, from bail treatment in that matter in accordance with the law? They have not done so. They cannot do so! For, no bail condition was ever violated!

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide friends, it has often been said that there are two sides to every story.

Today I tell you that there are always three or more sides to any story. Oppressors have their own carefully crafted narrative that they harp on about.

The victims have their narrative that is seldom spoken about. The world has its own narrative. The world narrative can never be uniform.

It is either based on objectivity or driven by sheer prejudice and bias. I choose not to write my own story. I choose not to share my own narrative.

I choose to leave it to posterity to judge me. I can only ask one thing of posterity; that when you do write of these events, as Othello [The Moor of Venice] beseeched in his dying speech, speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.

I am but just a lawyer, jailed for representing his client’s interests and seeking justice for his murdered client’s family. I am an opposition lawmaker, jailed for criticizing the brutalities of the ruling regime.

I am a simple farmer, who seeks not only to produce crops but, tend to the Zimbabwean fields to produce prosperity, justice, freedom and equality for all, not for the elite alone. This is the only crime that I know, and the only crime I accept as having committed.

The Allegations Against Me

I am facing a myriad of allegations. None of them hold any substance. I am no stranger to contrived allegations bearing no substance. I have been arrested over 68 times now.

Hitherto, I had never been convicted of any of the allegations brought to bear against me. When I raised this in one of my bail applications, I was accused of boasting that I had never been convicted for any of those offences and this was used as a pretext to deny me bail.

I was not boasting. I was merely presenting facts as they stood. My oppressors felt hard hit, and they orchestrated a false conviction to blemish my hitherto untainted record.

That conviction is as strange as the allegations were. They said I obstructed the course of justice. They said I did so by recording and posting a video.

They said the utterances in that video diverted police attention from pursuing their suspect to pursuing Zanu PF members.

All their witnesses were police officers! None of them had evidence that I recorded any video. None of them had evidence that I posted any video.

None of them could prove that I uttered any of the alleged statements. None of them proved that the police actually pursued any member of Zanu PF following the alleged utterances. None of them could prove that the murder suspect was not in fact aligned with Zanu PF.

Nonetheless, they convicted me. They did not need any evidence. They only needed to send a message.

Unfortunately for them, I am hard of hearing if they want me to hear that there will be no justice for a slain woman, callously murdered in cold blood in the most horrendous fashion possible.

Their message will never reach my ears. They need to seek a new audience. The only message I am getting, and capable of getting, is to never tire of toiling for justice and freedom. It will come one day. The night is always long, but the morning will always bring joy.

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends, when shame deserts a people, they behave in a strange way.

My oppressors have no shame. They have no face. They have no trace of ubuntu in them – BUT – their days are numbered. For nothing lasts forever under the sun.

I am facing yet more allegations. I wish I could speak about them in better detail – but the matters are still pending in court.

While the choreographed outcome is plain for all to see, I will abide by higher wisdom and refrain from commenting on matters that are still to be concluded.

I reiterate my innocence – but my innocence is clearly not enough to save me from the clutches of my oppressor’s jaws.

I will abide by the belief that my oppressors are just like sandpaper, they will hurt and bruise me for the time being, but they will leave me polished and brighter as they become worthless, and worn out.

The Motivation for the Current Epistle

This epistle comes after a long time without me communicating with you. In that long period of non-communication, I have been hearing all the wonderful things you have been doing for me and my family. I stand in awe of the love and support that you have shown. I appreciate you all.

You have shown me the true meaning of love and solidarity. You have stood by me during a very long and trying period.

You have not forsaken me. You have not deserted me. You have refused to pander to the whims of the oppressor. You have done so out of love. You have sacrificed a lot on my account.

You have made me appreciate once again that solidarity is a universal principle shared by a people with a common love.

It developed over centuries to fight against injustices perpetrated upon the innocent and those standing for a just cause.

Doing nothing in the face of injustice is treachery to the human conscience. You have refused to betray the true human conscience.

Thank you Dearest Zimbabweans. Thank you Regional and Worldwide Friends!

I hear all about your implacable solidarity. God is watching these injustices. In His good time, He will restore what the locusts are eating.

My Reassurance

Let me reassure you, I will stand with the people even if it costs my freedom. I will stand with the people even if it costs my professional and political career.

I will stand with the people even if it costs my blood. No one should be mistaken to think otherwise.

The dumb and punitive attempts by the authors of my misery to divide us through my persecution will not deliver their anticipated results.

Chain me all you want. It won’t work. It will not work. I will neither tire nor slumber. I will never waive from speaking against injustice. I come from the people. I am one with the people. I will die with the people!

My Prison Conditions

There are hundreds of people who have visited me at my oppressor’s prison. They were left in shock and disbelief at the level of maltreatment that I go through. I am always shackled in chains like a terrorist even when I am shuffled to meet my visitors.

At one point the prison authorities failed to unlock the chains. They struggled in vain for over an hour. They had to call people from the armory who had to use a hammer and chisel, putting my leg on the hard cemented surface and started pounding on the leg irons until they broke.

My left leg sustained serious injuries and got swollen for weeks and when it started healing, my skin was peeling off. This is the kind of torture I am going through on a daily basis, it’s been a full 365 out of 365 days now.

At one point, I requested the Minister of Justice, Ziyambi Ziyambi, as the administrator of the Prisons Act to conduct a prison visit. He did not come. He is unbothered. I wanted to raise a few simple questions to him.

Why was I being ill-treated like this under his care?
Was he deriving satisfaction at the treatment prisoners, particularly political prisoners in Zimbabwe receive?
Why am I being inflicted with pain on a daily basis?
Why am I always shackled in chains?
I have received information and intelligence about his intimate, active and direct involvement in all my cases.

I would have wanted to ask him in person to confirm or rebut these. I also wanted to know whether this most gruesome torture of exposing me, to inhuman and degrading treatment gives them full satisfaction of sadism.

He did not bother to come. He refused to be answerable to the people. I am told the people of Zvimba recently reminded him of who the true master is – the people – kudos to them for voting out a tyrant. More tyrants will fall by the wayside if they refuse to respect and honor the people.

Shackling someone in chains because of being opposed to them is an anathema in the 21st century. In Zimbabwe, they still practice it, 43 years after independence!

Let them keep me in this prison for as long as they wish. They cannot mute the fundamental human rights issues arising out of my detention.

I have written to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda to have the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Senate Committee on Human Rights to come and see the shackling administered on me on a daily basis.

I have also requested the International Red Cross Society and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to visit me and witness for themselves, the pain I am going through, the chains of torture I am shackled with.

My question, dear friends and Zimbabweans, am I the biggest criminal in Zimbabwe to be treated worse than a terrorist?

New Cause for Concern

While shackled in solitary confinement, I received information that there are some university students who have been arrested on my account and are being denied bail. University students!

They have been deprived of the opportunity to write their examinations. Their right to education hangs at peril.

All this is on account of what is alleged against them. They are alleged to have called for my release!

This was done through some graffiti calling for my release which was allegedly spray painted on the walls of some buildings in Harare’s Central Business District.

That graffiti has been termed malicious damage to property! For that, at least six university students are languishing in jail.

All of them have been arrested, simply because they are part of the University of Zimbabwe Student Representative Council or Executive Members of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union [ZINASU].

It has become that dangerous in Zimbabwe to call for my release. The full wrath of the State machinery will descend upon you.

It would appear that the CID Law and Order Section no longer has any work to do except monitor social media handles to ascertain what either I or people sympathetic to me say and follow this up with arrests, malicious charges and refusal of bail.

That section of the police must simply be renamed the Job Sikhala and Sympathizers’ Arrest and Detention Police Department.

Shame on them. Shame on those who rob students of their future by depriving them of their education.

Shame on those whose thirst for vengeance makes them know no boundaries and target university students. I pray for the release of these students. They have a future. They are the future.

Keep the Prayers Coming

To those who pray for me without ceasing, I say thank you. Thank you all for remembering me in your prayers.

Nothing surpasses your supplications to the Almighty. Your prayers are being heard. Your prayers shall be answered much to the shame of my oppressors. Keep your prayers coming. Keep them flowing.

History has taught us that, the world awakened to the Jewish Holocaust, though long after Hitler had massacred 6 million Jews.

The world came to the rescue when nearly a million innocent civilians, mainly of Tutsi origin had already been murdered in Rwanda.

The world is now a global village. It has always been. We have always been one people. The response may take longer, but it will come.

Many casualties may be experienced before the response comes, but it will come. Never lose hope.

Their silence on Moreblessing Ali’s murderers

I am today treated as the biggest criminal in Zimbabwe. You have constantly heard about my perceived crimes all year round.

I have been brought to trial and am defending my innocence – BUT – I ask you today: What became of Moreblessing Ali’s murderer?

They tell us he confessed to his crime and made indications on how he killed and dismembered her. They have all the evidence they want, including a confession.

They have made this public knowledge – BUT – what became of his trial? They arrested him on 16 June 2022 according to the information they made publicly available. Barely four days after my own incarceration.

How far have they gone with his matter? Where are they? Why are they silent about it for a year now? Why are they obsessed with Job Sikhala and his perceived sympathizers?

Why should they rush to court and manufacture a conviction based on video clips shared on social entertainment sites like WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube – platforms created for social entertainment – and ignore the evidence of what they tell us to be a voluntary confession about the most gruesome murder of a woman in our lifetime? This is the criminal justice we have here in Zimbabwe, dear friends.

A criminal justice system where you are told that downloading a video from YouTube is the same as creating, generating, or originating the video.

It is public knowledge that I will never be granted bail. It is public knowledge that anyone arrested for showing or suspected of showing sympathy with me will never be granted bail.

It is common knowledge that the cases against me are choreographed by hidden hands meting out their political vendetta against me.

My heart bleeds at the nasty turn our criminal justice system is taking. We used to be a pride among the nations.

Jurisprudence from Zimbabwe was quoted in many foreign jurisdictions in praise. We have now become a laughing stock and are being quoted for purposes of ridicule.

This too, shall pass. We shall once again be the torchbearers of an independent and progressive justice delivery system.

Appreciation of Legal Team

I am deeply indebted to my legal team for the excellent services they render. I am grateful for the privilege of having been represented by Zimbabwe’s finest legal minds in the form of Advocate Eric Matinenga, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Beatrice Mtetwa, Alec Muchadehama, Harrison Nkomo, Blessing Nyamaropa, Jeremiah Bamu, Obey Shava, Tinomuda Shoko, Doug Coltart, Rutendo Muchenje, Paul Mutsatsa, Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo, Anna Muchena, Marian Tafadzwa Nyaruwanga and many other talented legal minds that have been part of my legal travails over the years.

I am also greatly indebted to my international team of lawyers, led by Bob Amsterdam and Maya Dagan for the sterling work they have done in representing me in line with the mandate I bestowed upon them.

There are no sufficient superlatives that I can muster to thank my lawyers for their outstanding and splendid service to me, during the most difficult journey of my life.

Many may not know that the services they have rendered are largely without compensation. Many may not know of the many sacrifices they have made on my account.

Many may not know how they have lost better-paying clients as they continued, on an almost daily basis, to render me legal representation, most times without getting any form of compensation at all.

Your dedication and fine representation leaves me speechless and draws tears down my cheeks. I salute you, and the love that you have bestowed on one of your own in this profession.

The burden of my children being orphaned during my lifetime, the challenges and difficulties I face while I am in my oppressors prison is too heavy to bear.

You have never complained for a second in all these months of your dedicated service in my cases. I thank you.

I am a witness to your great performance in court, tearing apart the lies and falsehoods of my oppressors as was done by other lawyers in the past such as George Bizos, Herbert Chitepo, Vernon Derange and Bram Fischer among others.

In victory you have many friends but in failure you are an orphan. Friends flock to you in their multitudes when your sun shines on you and during your prosperity, but when trouble visits you, it comes with an exodus of friends.

Only those who stand with you in truth will continue standing by your side. Hypocrisy is part of human nature and it is a shame without bounce. My long stay in Chikurubi Maximum Prison has helped to sift the genuine from the hypocrites.

Looking into the Future

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

Despite the circumstances I am currently in, we must always look into the future. We must never be defined by our situations, but define ourselves in every situation.

We are together in the agonies of this moment. There is no fruitful journey that ever came easily in the history of mankind.

The bread that we enjoy is baked in a very hot oven. The diamonds, rubies, gold and other minerals that give us wealth are produced through blood and sweat.

The challenges may seem insurmountable but be assured nowhere in life have tears and sorrows of many have gone unanswered.

Our nation shall be a home of happiness where all of us shall enjoy the fruits in it in equality and fairness. They may plan to kill us, but it will not end well for the murderers.

Elections in Zimbabwe are beckoning. I yearn that they be free and fair. I pray that they be peaceful. Your time is at hand dear Zimbabweans.

The time to vote for change. As Citizens we made a pact for change. We must remain true to the cause. I urge you to go and vote in your numbers.

I urge you to vote for the Citizens’ Coalition for Change. I urge you to restore Zimbabwe’s lost pride through your vote.

We cannot endure another five years of soaring inflation. We cannot endure another five years of economic instability.

We cannot endure another five years of injustice and oppression. We cannot endure another five years of what the oppressors in Zanu PF are only capable of offering – FAILURE. We are the jewel of Africa. We cannot allow ZANU PF to make us a failed state.

Salutations and Farewell

Dearest Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

My travails are being chronicled. I have been chronicling each and every abuse I ever experienced at the hands of my oppressors.

I am trying, in those chronicles, as much as is humanely possible, not to be too subjective and present on the first part, an entirely undiluted record of the proceedings against me, and where necessary, infuse my own commentary.

I plead with all of you to read it and come to your own conclusions. Read and decide for yourselves. You shall have the opportunity to read all the details of my travails.

Let me leave you for now. Let me leave with you with an extract of Nelson Mandela’s speech at the Rivonia Trial, which has largely moulded my philosophical outlook despite my travails: –

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

I love you all! Please pray for me and pray for a better Zimbabwe!

VOTE FOR THE CITIZENS COALITION FOR CHANGE

Yours, in chains

Job Wiwa Sikhala

I Am Ready To Die For Truth – Sikhala

14 June 2023

DEAR Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

Re: One Year Under Arbitrary Detention in My Oppressor’s Prison

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

The 14th of June 2023 marks the end of one full twelve-month cycle of my incarceration. It also marks the beginning of another cycle.

I do not know how many more twelve-month cycles I shall endure in this dungeon. Only my oppressors know. I do not care at all.

They can confine my physical being, but they can never confine my spirit. My resolve remains unshaken. I have not lost hope.

I will never lose hope. I do not hope for justice in my own matters. Oppressors never serve justice. Oppressors have no shame.

I have hope, that one day, the spirit of Moreblessing Ali will finally find rest and be at peace. I have hope that one day the family of Moreblessing will be comforted.

I have hope that one day, Zimbabwe will be counted among the family of progressive and democratic nations. The oppressor’s reign is nigh.

For it is darkest when dawn draws near. Whenever the drum beats the loudest, it is about to burst.

My Arrest and Detention

The story of my arrest has been told countless times. My detractors have yarned so many tales and woven so many versions of why I was arrested and remain in detention.

They have invented the biggest lie to cover their shame for jailing an innocent man. Lies have short legs. They claim that I violated a bail condition. What nonsense!

If I did, what has stopped them from holding an inquiry in accordance with the law, to establish whether any bail condition was violated or not?

What has stopped them, from bail treatment in that matter in accordance with the law? They have not done so. They cannot do so! For, no bail condition was ever violated!

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide friends, it has often been said that there are two sides to every story.

Today I tell you that there are always three or more sides to any story. Oppressors have their own carefully crafted narrative that they harp on about.

The victims have their narrative that is seldom spoken about. The world has its own narrative. The world narrative can never be uniform.

It is either based on objectivity or driven by sheer prejudice and bias. I choose not to write my own story. I choose not to share my own narrative.

I choose to leave it to posterity to judge me. I can only ask one thing of posterity; that when you do write of these events, as Othello [The Moor of Venice] beseeched in his dying speech, speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.

I am but just a lawyer, jailed for representing his client’s interests and seeking justice for his murdered client’s family. I am an opposition lawmaker, jailed for criticizing the brutalities of the ruling regime.

I am a simple farmer, who seeks not only to produce crops but, tend to the Zimbabwean fields to produce prosperity, justice, freedom and equality for all, not for the elite alone. This is the only crime that I know, and the only crime I accept as having committed.

The Allegations Against Me

I am facing a myriad of allegations. None of them hold any substance. I am no stranger to contrived allegations bearing no substance. I have been arrested over 68 times now.

Hitherto, I had never been convicted of any of the allegations brought to bear against me. When I raised this in one of my bail applications, I was accused of boasting that I had never been convicted for any of those offences and this was used as a pretext to deny me bail.

I was not boasting. I was merely presenting facts as they stood. My oppressors felt hard hit, and they orchestrated a false conviction to blemish my hitherto untainted record.

That conviction is as strange as the allegations were. They said I obstructed the course of justice. They said I did so by recording and posting a video.

They said the utterances in that video diverted police attention from pursuing their suspect to pursuing Zanu PF members.

All their witnesses were police officers! None of them had evidence that I recorded any video. None of them had evidence that I posted any video.

None of them could prove that I uttered any of the alleged statements. None of them proved that the police actually pursued any member of Zanu PF following the alleged utterances. None of them could prove that the murder suspect was not in fact aligned with Zanu PF.

Nonetheless, they convicted me. They did not need any evidence. They only needed to send a message.

Unfortunately for them, I am hard of hearing if they want me to hear that there will be no justice for a slain woman, callously murdered in cold blood in the most horrendous fashion possible.

Their message will never reach my ears. They need to seek a new audience. The only message I am getting, and capable of getting, is to never tire of toiling for justice and freedom. It will come one day. The night is always long, but the morning will always bring joy.

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends, when shame deserts a people, they behave in a strange way.

My oppressors have no shame. They have no face. They have no trace of ubuntu in them – BUT – their days are numbered. For nothing lasts forever under the sun.

I am facing yet more allegations. I wish I could speak about them in better detail – but the matters are still pending in court.

While the choreographed outcome is plain for all to see, I will abide by higher wisdom and refrain from commenting on matters that are still to be concluded.

I reiterate my innocence – but my innocence is clearly not enough to save me from the clutches of my oppressor’s jaws.

I will abide by the belief that my oppressors are just like sandpaper, they will hurt and bruise me for the time being, but they will leave me polished and brighter as they become worthless, and worn out.

The Motivation for the Current Epistle

This epistle comes after a long time without me communicating with you. In that long period of non-communication, I have been hearing all the wonderful things you have been doing for me and my family. I stand in awe of the love and support that you have shown. I appreciate you all.

You have shown me the true meaning of love and solidarity. You have stood by me during a very long and trying period.

You have not forsaken me. You have not deserted me. You have refused to pander to the whims of the oppressor. You have done so out of love. You have sacrificed a lot on my account.

You have made me appreciate once again that solidarity is a universal principle shared by a people with a common love.

It developed over centuries to fight against injustices perpetrated upon the innocent and those standing for a just cause.

Doing nothing in the face of injustice is treachery to the human conscience. You have refused to betray the true human conscience.

Thank you Dearest Zimbabweans. Thank you Regional and Worldwide Friends!

I hear all about your implacable solidarity. God is watching these injustices. In His good time, He will restore what the locusts are eating.

My Reassurance

Let me reassure you, I will stand with the people even if it costs my freedom. I will stand with the people even if it costs my professional and political career.

I will stand with the people even if it costs my blood. No one should be mistaken to think otherwise.

The dumb and punitive attempts by the authors of my misery to divide us through my persecution will not deliver their anticipated results.

Chain me all you want. It won’t work. It will not work. I will neither tire nor slumber. I will never waive from speaking against injustice. I come from the people. I am one with the people. I will die with the people!

My Prison Conditions

There are hundreds of people who have visited me at my oppressor’s prison. They were left in shock and disbelief at the level of maltreatment that I go through. I am always shackled in chains like a terrorist even when I am shuffled to meet my visitors.

At one point the prison authorities failed to unlock the chains. They struggled in vain for over an hour. They had to call people from the armory who had to use a hammer and chisel, putting my leg on the hard cemented surface and started pounding on the leg irons until they broke.

My left leg sustained serious injuries and got swollen for weeks and when it started healing, my skin was peeling off. This is the kind of torture I am going through on a daily basis, it’s been a full 365 out of 365 days now.

At one point, I requested the Minister of Justice, Ziyambi Ziyambi, as the administrator of the Prisons Act to conduct a prison visit. He did not come. He is unbothered. I wanted to raise a few simple questions to him.

Why was I being ill-treated like this under his care?
Was he deriving satisfaction at the treatment prisoners, particularly political prisoners in Zimbabwe receive?
Why am I being inflicted with pain on a daily basis?
Why am I always shackled in chains?
I have received information and intelligence about his intimate, active and direct involvement in all my cases.

I would have wanted to ask him in person to confirm or rebut these. I also wanted to know whether this most gruesome torture of exposing me, to inhuman and degrading treatment gives them full satisfaction of sadism.

He did not bother to come. He refused to be answerable to the people. I am told the people of Zvimba recently reminded him of who the true master is – the people – kudos to them for voting out a tyrant. More tyrants will fall by the wayside if they refuse to respect and honor the people.

Shackling someone in chains because of being opposed to them is an anathema in the 21st century. In Zimbabwe, they still practice it, 43 years after independence!

Let them keep me in this prison for as long as they wish. They cannot mute the fundamental human rights issues arising out of my detention.

I have written to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda to have the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Senate Committee on Human Rights to come and see the shackling administered on me on a daily basis.

I have also requested the International Red Cross Society and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to visit me and witness for themselves, the pain I am going through, the chains of torture I am shackled with.

My question, dear friends and Zimbabweans, am I the biggest criminal in Zimbabwe to be treated worse than a terrorist?

New Cause for Concern

While shackled in solitary confinement, I received information that there are some university students who have been arrested on my account and are being denied bail. University students!

They have been deprived of the opportunity to write their examinations. Their right to education hangs at peril.

All this is on account of what is alleged against them. They are alleged to have called for my release!

This was done through some graffiti calling for my release which was allegedly spray painted on the walls of some buildings in Harare’s Central Business District.

That graffiti has been termed malicious damage to property! For that, at least six university students are languishing in jail.

All of them have been arrested, simply because they are part of the University of Zimbabwe Student Representative Council or Executive Members of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union [ZINASU].

It has become that dangerous in Zimbabwe to call for my release. The full wrath of the State machinery will descend upon you.

It would appear that the CID Law and Order Section no longer has any work to do except monitor social media handles to ascertain what either I or people sympathetic to me say and follow this up with arrests, malicious charges and refusal of bail.

That section of the police must simply be renamed the Job Sikhala and Sympathizers’ Arrest and Detention Police Department.

Shame on them. Shame on those who rob students of their future by depriving them of their education.

Shame on those whose thirst for vengeance makes them know no boundaries and target university students. I pray for the release of these students. They have a future. They are the future.

Keep the Prayers Coming

To those who pray for me without ceasing, I say thank you. Thank you all for remembering me in your prayers.

Nothing surpasses your supplications to the Almighty. Your prayers are being heard. Your prayers shall be answered much to the shame of my oppressors. Keep your prayers coming. Keep them flowing.

History has taught us that, the world awakened to the Jewish Holocaust, though long after Hitler had massacred 6 million Jews.

The world came to the rescue when nearly a million innocent civilians, mainly of Tutsi origin had already been murdered in Rwanda.

The world is now a global village. It has always been. We have always been one people. The response may take longer, but it will come.

Many casualties may be experienced before the response comes, but it will come. Never lose hope.

Their silence on Moreblessing Ali’s murderers

I am today treated as the biggest criminal in Zimbabwe. You have constantly heard about my perceived crimes all year round.

I have been brought to trial and am defending my innocence – BUT – I ask you today: What became of Moreblessing Ali’s murderer?

They tell us he confessed to his crime and made indications on how he killed and dismembered her. They have all the evidence they want, including a confession.

They have made this public knowledge – BUT – what became of his trial? They arrested him on 16 June 2022 according to the information they made publicly available. Barely four days after my own incarceration.

How far have they gone with his matter? Where are they? Why are they silent about it for a year now? Why are they obsessed with Job Sikhala and his perceived sympathizers?

Why should they rush to court and manufacture a conviction based on video clips shared on social entertainment sites like WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube – platforms created for social entertainment – and ignore the evidence of what they tell us to be a voluntary confession about the most gruesome murder of a woman in our lifetime? This is the criminal justice we have here in Zimbabwe, dear friends.

A criminal justice system where you are told that downloading a video from YouTube is the same as creating, generating, or originating the video.

It is public knowledge that I will never be granted bail. It is public knowledge that anyone arrested for showing or suspected of showing sympathy with me will never be granted bail.

It is common knowledge that the cases against me are choreographed by hidden hands meting out their political vendetta against me.

My heart bleeds at the nasty turn our criminal justice system is taking. We used to be a pride among the nations.

Jurisprudence from Zimbabwe was quoted in many foreign jurisdictions in praise. We have now become a laughing stock and are being quoted for purposes of ridicule.

This too, shall pass. We shall once again be the torchbearers of an independent and progressive justice delivery system.

Appreciation of Legal Team

I am deeply indebted to my legal team for the excellent services they render. I am grateful for the privilege of having been represented by Zimbabwe’s finest legal minds in the form of Advocate Eric Matinenga, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Beatrice Mtetwa, Alec Muchadehama, Harrison Nkomo, Blessing Nyamaropa, Jeremiah Bamu, Obey Shava, Tinomuda Shoko, Doug Coltart, Rutendo Muchenje, Paul Mutsatsa, Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo, Anna Muchena, Marian Tafadzwa Nyaruwanga and many other talented legal minds that have been part of my legal travails over the years.

I am also greatly indebted to my international team of lawyers, led by Bob Amsterdam and Maya Dagan for the sterling work they have done in representing me in line with the mandate I bestowed upon them.

There are no sufficient superlatives that I can muster to thank my lawyers for their outstanding and splendid service to me, during the most difficult journey of my life.

Many may not know that the services they have rendered are largely without compensation. Many may not know of the many sacrifices they have made on my account.

Many may not know how they have lost better-paying clients as they continued, on an almost daily basis, to render me legal representation, most times without getting any form of compensation at all.

Your dedication and fine representation leaves me speechless and draws tears down my cheeks. I salute you, and the love that you have bestowed on one of your own in this profession.

The burden of my children being orphaned during my lifetime, the challenges and difficulties I face while I am in my oppressors prison is too heavy to bear.

You have never complained for a second in all these months of your dedicated service in my cases. I thank you.

I am a witness to your great performance in court, tearing apart the lies and falsehoods of my oppressors as was done by other lawyers in the past such as George Bizos, Herbert Chitepo, Vernon Derange and Bram Fischer among others.

In victory you have many friends but in failure you are an orphan. Friends flock to you in their multitudes when your sun shines on you and during your prosperity, but when trouble visits you, it comes with an exodus of friends.

Only those who stand with you in truth will continue standing by your side. Hypocrisy is part of human nature and it is a shame without bounce. My long stay in Chikurubi Maximum Prison has helped to sift the genuine from the hypocrites.

Looking into the Future

My dear Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

Despite the circumstances I am currently in, we must always look into the future. We must never be defined by our situations, but define ourselves in every situation.

We are together in the agonies of this moment. There is no fruitful journey that ever came easily in the history of mankind.

The bread that we enjoy is baked in a very hot oven. The diamonds, rubies, gold and other minerals that give us wealth are produced through blood and sweat.

The challenges may seem insurmountable but be assured nowhere in life have tears and sorrows of many have gone unanswered.

Our nation shall be a home of happiness where all of us shall enjoy the fruits in it in equality and fairness. They may plan to kill us, but it will not end well for the murderers.

Elections in Zimbabwe are beckoning. I yearn that they be free and fair. I pray that they be peaceful. Your time is at hand dear Zimbabweans.

The time to vote for change. As Citizens we made a pact for change. We must remain true to the cause. I urge you to go and vote in your numbers.

I urge you to vote for the Citizens’ Coalition for Change. I urge you to restore Zimbabwe’s lost pride through your vote.

We cannot endure another five years of soaring inflation. We cannot endure another five years of economic instability.

We cannot endure another five years of injustice and oppression. We cannot endure another five years of what the oppressors in Zanu PF are only capable of offering – FAILURE. We are the jewel of Africa. We cannot allow ZANU PF to make us a failed state.

Salutations and Farewell

Dearest Zimbabweans, Regional and Worldwide Friends!

My travails are being chronicled. I have been chronicling each and every abuse I ever experienced at the hands of my oppressors.

I am trying, in those chronicles, as much as is humanely possible, not to be too subjective and present on the first part, an entirely undiluted record of the proceedings against me, and where necessary, infuse my own commentary.

I plead with all of you to read it and come to your own conclusions. Read and decide for yourselves. You shall have the opportunity to read all the details of my travails.

Let me leave you for now. Let me leave with you with an extract of Nelson Mandela’s speech at the Rivonia Trial, which has largely moulded my philosophical outlook despite my travails: –

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

I love you all! Please pray for me and pray for a better Zimbabwe!

VOTE FOR THE CITIZENS COALITION FOR CHANGE

Yours, in chains

Job Wiwa Sikhala

Today( Wednesday) marks 1 year for Hon Job Wiwa Sikhala while in pre-trial detention.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) & The International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (1966) categorise pre-trial detention as a gross human rights violation
Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Parliament of Zimbabwe Open Parly ZW Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission…Heal Zimbabwe Trust

Today( Wednesday) marks 1 year for Hon Job Wiwa Sikhala while in pre-trial detention.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) & The International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (1966) categorise pre-trial detention as a gross human rights violation
Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Parliament of Zimbabwe Open Parly ZW Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission…Heal Zimbabwe Trust

MASVINGO – CCC prospective candidate for Ward 38, Andersen Singende who was ordered to pay four cattle as damages for defaming an outgoing Zanu PF councillor for the same Ward is appealing against Chief Gutu’s judgment.

Singende was found guilty of defaming Takawira Chezhira, who was allegedly caught red-handed with Privilege Vanda, a woman married to Tungamirai Havana of Zvinowanda Village near Gutu Mission. Singende was also ordered to make a public apology to the councillor.

Three cattle are for defaming Chezhira, and one will go to Vanda.
The allegations were that Chezhira was caught with Vanda in a bush behind the woman’s homestead.

Efforts by The Mirror to get comments from a lot of people discussing the matter, which went viral on social media, were fruitless.
Singende confirmed to The Mirror that he has since engaged lawyers and is supposed to get LC4 judgment forms from Chief Gutu so that his legal representatives can file an appeal.

According to court papers, Singende allegedly defamed the councillor by spreading information about the adultery case. He was accused by four other people who were eventually allowed to go scot-free.
Singende is, however, yet to get the LC4 forms from Chief Gutu.
Chief Gutu’s secretary Kenneth Mupambavatyi told The Mirror that Singende will get the LC4 forms after they are signed by the Chief. He said that the chief was busy and the forms will be ready by tomorrow, Wednesday.
He, however, said that Singende angered the chief by allegedly being arrogant.
“The chief is busy at the moment and Singende will get the forms once they are signed. The chief was also angered by Singende in court,” said Mupambavatyi.
“I was supposed to meet my lawyer to begin the appeal process. I need the LC4 forms for the process of justice to take place,” said Sindenge. – Masvingo Mirror

There are fears that if the Patriotic Bill is passed into law it will open floodgates to gross violations of human rights. The penalties provided by the Bill range from loss of citizenship, to denial of the right to vote and the death penalty.

Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said the Patriotic Bill signals a crackdown on rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

He went on to say the Bill is self-evident weaponization of the law to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and public participation in the watershed elections slated for August 23 this year.

The Senate passed the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022, commonly referred to as the ‘Patriotic Bill’, which criminalizes “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” on June 7, 2023. The also criminalizes those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country.

“The Bill’s deliberately vague and overly broad provisions on damaging Zimbabwe’s interest and sovereignty, including by calling for economic sanctions, flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations. All laws must be defined precisely, allowing people to know exactly which acts will make them criminally liable.

“The Bill, if passed into law, could give authorities greater powers to unduly restrict human rights, and worryingly, it would allow for imposing the death penalty against those perceived as being critical of the Government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistle-blowers. We are deeply concerned that the Bill adds to the existing plethora of offences punishable by death in Zimbabwe.

“We call upon the President to reject this bill. The Government of Zimbabwe must urgently ensure that it abides by its obligations under international human rights law,” said Mwangoya…Masvingo Mirror

A 35-year-old Mvurwi man has been jailed seven years for bashing his best friend to death for joking about bǝdding his wife.

High Court Judge Munamato Mutevedzi handed Mike Foya the lenient sentence after taking into consideration he committed the heinous crime after being provoked.

Four years of his sentence were set aside on condition that he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

The incident took place on October 9 last year.

Court heard during trial that Foya and his friend, Innocent Chawira were coming from a beer drink.

The two were so intoxicated that they had difficulties finding their way home.

In jest, Chawira boasted that he was in l0ve with Foya’s wife, igniting an argument that degenerated into a physical fight.

“The boastful friend was beaten and left for dead. He indeed was found dead the next day,” reads court papers.

During trial, Foya pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide as defined in section 49 of the Criminal Law Code.

Prosecution accepted his limited plea.

Foya submitted that he did not pay regard to the degree of force he applied when he assaulted his friend.

He said he did not pay regard to the fact that the part of the deceased’s body he targeted for the blow was delicate.

Justice Mutevedzi conceded his arguments were acceptable.

“Given the above evidence, we are satisfied that the acceptance by prosecution of the accused’s plea of guilty to the lesser charge is an informed decision.

“Against that background, the accused person is found not guilty and is acquitted of the charge of murder.

“He is found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide as defined in s49 of the Criminal Law Code.

“The accused stands convicted of the offence of culpable homicide. He killed his friend in a drunken brawl.

“He is 31 years old. Counsel who represented him urged the court to take into account that he is indeed a youthful offender.

“This court has accepted in the past that the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 in s20 accords the status of youth on any person between the ages of 15 and 35 years.”

Mutevedzi considered that Foya did not waste the court’s time and was a family man.

“The accused pleaded guilty to the charge. Needless to say, pleas of guilty are valuable to the expeditious resolution of criminal cases.

“Criminal trials particularly in this court are often a prolonged battle with extended hours being expended in the maze of seeking the truth.

“In that process huge amounts of material resources are needed for the payment of witness expenses.

“An accused who pleads guilty must therefore be rewarded for the savings which he/she brings to the administration of justice.

“Whether it was intended to be a prank or it was reality nobody will really know. If it was a prank, it unfortunately went horribly wrong.

“The court equally accepts that the accused acted out of provocation by the deceased who taunted him for having an extra mɑrital ɑffɑir with his wife.

“As if that was not enough, the deceased went on to assault the accused who then retaliated and killed him. The deceased was therefore the initial aggressor.

“The situation was compounded by the fact that the accused was intoxicated. He simply lost it as a result.”

The judge also considered that Foya has been in jail since his arrest last year.

— ZimLive

A man has been arrested and charged after throwing stones at a pedestrian in Harare, Zimbabwe, seriously injuring him.

The accused, named Gerald Zhuwawo, appeared before a court where he was denied bail and put behind bars until his next hearing.

According to reports, the incident happened on Sunday along one of the city’s main streets. Zhuwawo, who was standing on the sidewalk, picked up a stone and threw it at the victim, missing. He then threw a second stone that hit the victim on the forehead.

The victim fell to the ground bleeding heavily. A Good Samaritan named Tichaona Mtisi went to help the injured man and promptly reported the attack to police. Mtisi then assisted officers in apprehending Zhuwawo.

The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.- My Zimbabwe News

We have received reports of threats and violence against our members in various areas, including Gokwe, Nyika Growth Point in Bikita, Shurugwi, and many others, carried out by Zanu PF thugs. As we deploy peace ambassadors to these areas, we urge citizens to stand together against these acts of banditry by documenting and taking photos of perpetrators. This can help to provide evidence of their actions and bring them to justice. We encourage everyone to report such incidents to the police and keep case numbers for future reference.

Some of the members identified and documented include Tichaona Mandebvu, Zanu PF youth chairman in Bikita, Daniel Nhatiso, Zanu PF Bikita West candidate, and Court Zevezayi, Bikita East.

We implore all citizens to continue documenting these instances of violence and reporting them to the authorities. Let us work together to ensure that justice is served, and perpetrators of violence are brought to book.

ThisTime

We have received reports of threats and violence against our members in various areas, including Gokwe, Nyika Growth Point in Bikita, Shurugwi, and many others, carried out by Zanu PF thugs. As we deploy peace ambassadors to these areas, we urge citizens to stand together against these acts of banditry by documenting and taking photos of perpetrators. This can help to provide evidence of their actions and bring them to justice. We encourage everyone to report such incidents to the police and keep case numbers for future reference.

Some of the members identified and documented include Tichaona Mandebvu, Zanu PF youth chairman in Bikita, Daniel Nhatiso, Zanu PF Bikita West candidate, and Court Zevezayi, Bikita East.

We implore all citizens to continue documenting these instances of violence and reporting them to the authorities. Let us work together to ensure that justice is served, and perpetrators of violence are brought to book.

ThisTime

Due to Marry Mubaiwa’s poor health, the trial in which she is accused of attempting to kill her then-ex-husband Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was postponed for the second time Wednesday.
In South Africa, Mubaiwa is accused of trying to assassinate Vice President Chiwenga by turning off the hospital’s life support system and smuggling him out of the medical ward.

Beatrice Mtetwa, Mubaiwa’s attorney, informed the court that her client was unfit for trial and requested another adjournment.

“Mubaiwa has had an operation on both feet. She is connected to some draining equipment to drain the liquids from her feet. We have had problems in that the power point in the court is not working and her drainage is not working,” she said. Ms Mtetwa said Mubaiwa needed time to recover and was on heavy medication.

Prosecutor Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti did not oppose the application adding that Mubaiwa faced challenges to get to the court room.

“We came to court prepared to proceed. However, I am alive to the fact that the court started late because there were challenges getting the accused to the courtroom. Unfortunately she does not have a wheelchair and we had to request for the elevator that is used by the chief magistrate. I also saw the medical tubes that are connected to the accused. I would not be opposed to a short postponement of this matter,” he said.

Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka postponed the matter to June 26 taking into consideration that Mtetwa had another case at Supreme Court that she had to attend. The State will summon its fourth witness Major Nyoni in the present criminal trial.- state media

Transform Jacob Ngarivhume, the president of Zimbabwe, will continue to pursue his appeal against a public violence conviction and a three-year prison sentence while incarcerated after the High Court denied his request for bail pending appeal.
The lawmaker is contesting his conviction and punishment for inciting public violence after calling for people to use force or take part in an illegal rally in July 2020 via Twitter postings.

He applied for bail awaiting appeal at the High Court, but Justice Benjamin Chikowero denied the request. The judge determined that the appeal against the conviction has no chance of success. Even though Ngarivhume had a chance of winning his case, the judge nevertheless predicted that he would spend a sizable amount of time behind bars.

“This is not a matter where the imposition of bail conditions is decisive,” Justice Chikowero said. “The applicant is likely to be ordered to serve a custodial sentence on appeal.”

In this regard, the judge believed that Ngarivhume’s admission to bail jeopardised the interests of justice since he might jump bail out of dread of being locked up again.

He claimed that it was in the best interests of the legal system for him to pursue his appeal while he was still in prison. Therefore, the request for bail pending an appeal against the verdict and punishment is denied by this statement.

Ngarivhume had posted on Twitter, and the trial magistrate had determined that the posts’ content satisfied the charge’s requirements.

Ngarivhume first admitted to posting the tweets while under arrest, but he later claimed his remarks were protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause. He had maintained later in court that the Twitter handle was never really his.

Judge Feresi Chakanyuka of Harare decided that the prosecution had established its case against Ngarivhume in her decision.

The court declared that the State had established that Ngarivhume had intended to or actually desired to provoke the public to engage in violent and destructive behaviour through his conduct. She concluded that the only way to effectively deter future violent perpetrators would be through an effective prison sentence.

Because the accused had to be sentenced in line with the law and precedent after being found guilty of inciting members of the public to commit a crime, Mrs. Chakanyuka was led by the country’s criminal laws in making her decision.

The court was informed during the trial that Ngarivhume posted a number of messages on Twitter while in the heart of Harare in an effort to persuade many people to take part in acts of public violence or to attend a gathering that would disturb the peace.

In a few of the messages, Ngarivhume claimed that as part of his attempts to mobilise people, he had met with and consulted with other stakeholders, including Mr. Ian Makone, Dr. Shingi Munyeza, Mr. Elton Mangoma, and Mr. Godfrey Tsenengamu.-state media

Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala endures state-sponsored incarceration for 365 days : CCC Namibia cobra-headed!

14 JUNE 2023.

Today marks the 365th day since the vibrant, pragmatic, and organic Hon Job Saro Sikhala was arbitrarily arrested in Harare on concocted charges. Since the 14th of June 2022, Wiwa has endured state repression caged at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison for crimes he did not commit. CCC Namibia supposes that Hon Sikhala is a prisoner of conscience who is a certified victim of law fare. His alleged crime was the attempt to speak for the vulnerable members of the national democratic revolution.

Hon Job Saro Sikhala was illegally imprisoned for representing the deceased CCC activist, Moreblessing Ali who was butchered in cold blood by a renowned ZANU PF thug, Pius Jamba Mukandi. Representing clients as lawyers has been criminalized in the motherland which is a dark stain on constitutional democracy. It is one’s constitutional right to represent victims of injustice!

Today, CCC Namibia is mourning over the stillbirth of democracy in Zimbabwe. It is hard to believe that an innocent lawmaker has been denied bail for 365 days! We call upon the captured judiciary to respect the supreme law of the land which furnishes citizens with the right to bail until proven guilty by a competent court of law. Apart from being a diligent lawmaker, Wiwa is also an officer of the court who deserves the freedom and justice enshrined in the Constitution. We shall continue to demand his unconditional and immediate release from the hellhole of Chikurubi.

What perturbs CCC Namibia is that those involved in the looting and smuggling of our precious minerals as exhibited in the recently published Gold Mafia documentary are walking with impunity! This level of selective application of the law must be resisted with equal measure. We have seen with great fury and disappointment the perpetual jailing of innocent citizens at the expense of corrupters and looters who are aligned with the clueless Harare regime. The desperate cabal should allow residents to condemn the gross abuse of fundamental basic human rights.

It hypnotizes the general populace to witness the long pretrial detention of Hon Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala and other political activists on account of their alternative politics barely two (2) months before the historic watershed elections. This is a sure symbol of the rigged and unfair impending elections. A few days before the nomination court, Wiwa is still tortured by ZANU-PF, this is a clear denial of his political right to represent Zengeza West in the August House. CCC Namibia denounces this persecution by prosecution ahead of the harmonized elections.

The disgruntled district urges citizens to vote for President Advocate Nelson Chamisa and the entire CCC candidates for a New Great Zimbabwe on the 23rd of August. ZANU PF has dismally failed to restore dignity in courts and the police force. They have captured all state institutions including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) that has refused to avail the electronic voters roll just 2 months before the plebiscite. We call for free, fair, credible, and unfettered elections so that Zimbabweans can peacefully remove a cabal that has started our beloved country down the slopes of hyperinflation. President is the only panacea for socio-economic transformation in Zimbabwe.

Let’s rise in astronomical numbers to remove authoritarianism on the 23rd of August. We should dedicate our victory to the political prisoner, Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. There is also a need to put political and diplomatic pressure on the satanic regime to unconditionally free Wiwa and all political prisoners. Citizens should peacefully pent up their outrage demanding freedom, justice, and equality. The bereaved Ali family deserves justice! Remember, the gruesomely murdered Moreblessing Ali is not yet buried since May 2022. May her dear soul fight until justice is administered.

CCC Namibia applauds CCC UK for its consistency and determination to expose the regime globally through successive demonstrations and petitions against the continued incarceration of Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. Today, the vibrant assembly is going to protest outside the British Parliament pilling pressure on the international community to intervene in the abuse of power by ZANU-PF manifesting through the judiciary capture. We urge all progressive citizens to emulate the pragmatic branch in the UK so that freedom, justice, and equality can be delivered. Thank you change champions in Britain for the competent solidarity. CCC Namibia salutes you!

FreeJobSaroWiwaSikhala

JusticeForMoreblessingAli

JusticeForTheNyatsime38

FreeZinasu5

FreeJacob

VoteForChange

FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

CCC Namibia Rundu Branch
Interim Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya

Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala endures state-sponsored incarceration for 365 days : CCC Namibia cobra-headed!

14 JUNE 2023.

Today marks the 365th day since the vibrant, pragmatic, and organic Hon Job Saro Sikhala was arbitrarily arrested in Harare on concocted charges. Since the 14th of June 2022, Wiwa has endured state repression caged at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison for crimes he did not commit. CCC Namibia supposes that Hon Sikhala is a prisoner of conscience who is a certified victim of law fare. His alleged crime was the attempt to speak for the vulnerable members of the national democratic revolution.

Hon Job Saro Sikhala was illegally imprisoned for representing the deceased CCC activist, Moreblessing Ali who was butchered in cold blood by a renowned ZANU PF thug, Pius Jamba Mukandi. Representing clients as lawyers has been criminalized in the motherland which is a dark stain on constitutional democracy. It is one’s constitutional right to represent victims of injustice!

Today, CCC Namibia is mourning over the stillbirth of democracy in Zimbabwe. It is hard to believe that an innocent lawmaker has been denied bail for 365 days! We call upon the captured judiciary to respect the supreme law of the land which furnishes citizens with the right to bail until proven guilty by a competent court of law. Apart from being a diligent lawmaker, Wiwa is also an officer of the court who deserves the freedom and justice enshrined in the Constitution. We shall continue to demand his unconditional and immediate release from the hellhole of Chikurubi.

What perturbs CCC Namibia is that those involved in the looting and smuggling of our precious minerals as exhibited in the recently published Gold Mafia documentary are walking with impunity! This level of selective application of the law must be resisted with equal measure. We have seen with great fury and disappointment the perpetual jailing of innocent citizens at the expense of corrupters and looters who are aligned with the clueless Harare regime. The desperate cabal should allow residents to condemn the gross abuse of fundamental basic human rights.

It hypnotizes the general populace to witness the long pretrial detention of Hon Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala and other political activists on account of their alternative politics barely two (2) months before the historic watershed elections. This is a sure symbol of the rigged and unfair impending elections. A few days before the nomination court, Wiwa is still tortured by ZANU-PF, this is a clear denial of his political right to represent Zengeza West in the August House. CCC Namibia denounces this persecution by prosecution ahead of the harmonized elections.

The disgruntled district urges citizens to vote for President Advocate Nelson Chamisa and the entire CCC candidates for a New Great Zimbabwe on the 23rd of August. ZANU PF has dismally failed to restore dignity in courts and the police force. They have captured all state institutions including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) that has refused to avail the electronic voters roll just 2 months before the plebiscite. We call for free, fair, credible, and unfettered elections so that Zimbabweans can peacefully remove a cabal that has started our beloved country down the slopes of hyperinflation. President is the only panacea for socio-economic transformation in Zimbabwe.

Let’s rise in astronomical numbers to remove authoritarianism on the 23rd of August. We should dedicate our victory to the political prisoner, Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. There is also a need to put political and diplomatic pressure on the satanic regime to unconditionally free Wiwa and all political prisoners. Citizens should peacefully pent up their outrage demanding freedom, justice, and equality. The bereaved Ali family deserves justice! Remember, the gruesomely murdered Moreblessing Ali is not yet buried since May 2022. May her dear soul fight until justice is administered.

CCC Namibia applauds CCC UK for its consistency and determination to expose the regime globally through successive demonstrations and petitions against the continued incarceration of Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. Today, the vibrant assembly is going to protest outside the British Parliament pilling pressure on the international community to intervene in the abuse of power by ZANU-PF manifesting through the judiciary capture. We urge all progressive citizens to emulate the pragmatic branch in the UK so that freedom, justice, and equality can be delivered. Thank you change champions in Britain for the competent solidarity. CCC Namibia salutes you!

FreeJobSaroWiwaSikhala

JusticeForMoreblessingAli

JusticeForTheNyatsime38

FreeZinasu5

FreeJacob

VoteForChange

FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

CCC Namibia Rundu Branch
Interim Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya

A man has been arrested and charged after throwing stones at a pedestrian in Harare, Zimbabwe, seriously injuring him.

The accused, named Gerald Zhuwawo, appeared before a court where he was denied bail and put behind bars until his next hearing.

According to reports, the incident happened on Sunday along one of the city’s main streets. Zhuwawo, who was standing on the sidewalk, picked up a stone and threw it at the victim, missing. He then threw a second stone that hit the victim on the forehead.

The victim fell to the ground bleeding heavily. A Good Samaritan named Tichaona Mtisi went to help the injured man and promptly reported the attack to police. Mtisi then assisted officers in apprehending Zhuwawo.

The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.- My Zimbabwe News

MASVINGO – CCC prospective candidate for Ward 38, Andersen Singende who was ordered to pay four cattle as damages for defaming an outgoing Zanu PF councillor for the same Ward is appealing against Chief Gutu’s judgment.

Singende was found guilty of defaming Takawira Chezhira, who was allegedly caught red-handed with Privilege Vanda, a woman married to Tungamirai Havana of Zvinowanda Village near Gutu Mission. Singende was also ordered to make a public apology to the councillor.

Three cattle are for defaming Chezhira, and one will go to Vanda.
The allegations were that Chezhira was caught with Vanda in a bush behind the woman’s homestead.

Efforts by The Mirror to get comments from a lot of people discussing the matter, which went viral on social media, were fruitless.
Singende confirmed to The Mirror that he has since engaged lawyers and is supposed to get LC4 judgment forms from Chief Gutu so that his legal representatives can file an appeal.

According to court papers, Singende allegedly defamed the councillor by spreading information about the adultery case. He was accused by four other people who were eventually allowed to go scot-free.
Singende is, however, yet to get the LC4 forms from Chief Gutu.
Chief Gutu’s secretary Kenneth Mupambavatyi told The Mirror that Singende will get the LC4 forms after they are signed by the Chief. He said that the chief was busy and the forms will be ready by tomorrow, Wednesday.
He, however, said that Singende angered the chief by allegedly being arrogant.
“The chief is busy at the moment and Singende will get the forms once they are signed. The chief was also angered by Singende in court,” said Mupambavatyi.
“I was supposed to meet my lawyer to begin the appeal process. I need the LC4 forms for the process of justice to take place,” said Sindenge. – Masvingo Mirror

Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala endures state-sponsored incarceration for 365 days : CCC Namibia cobra-headed!

14 JUNE 2023.

Today marks the 365th day since the vibrant, pragmatic, and organic Hon Job Saro Sikhala was arbitrarily arrested in Harare on concocted charges. Since the 14th of June 2022, Wiwa has endured state repression caged at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison for crimes he did not commit. CCC Namibia supposes that Hon Sikhala is a prisoner of conscience who is a certified victim of law fare. His alleged crime was the attempt to speak for the vulnerable members of the national democratic revolution.

Hon Job Saro Sikhala was illegally imprisoned for representing the deceased CCC activist, Moreblessing Ali who was butchered in cold blood by a renowned ZANU PF thug, Pius Jamba Mukandi. Representing clients as lawyers has been criminalized in the motherland which is a dark stain on constitutional democracy. It is one’s constitutional right to represent victims of injustice!

Today, CCC Namibia is mourning over the stillbirth of democracy in Zimbabwe. It is hard to believe that an innocent lawmaker has been denied bail for 365 days! We call upon the captured judiciary to respect the supreme law of the land which furnishes citizens with the right to bail until proven guilty by a competent court of law. Apart from being a diligent lawmaker, Wiwa is also an officer of the court who deserves the freedom and justice enshrined in the Constitution. We shall continue to demand his unconditional and immediate release from the hellhole of Chikurubi.

What perturbs CCC Namibia is that those involved in the looting and smuggling of our precious minerals as exhibited in the recently published Gold Mafia documentary are walking with impunity! This level of selective application of the law must be resisted with equal measure. We have seen with great fury and disappointment the perpetual jailing of innocent citizens at the expense of corrupters and looters who are aligned with the clueless Harare regime. The desperate cabal should allow residents to condemn the gross abuse of fundamental basic human rights.

It hypnotizes the general populace to witness the long pretrial detention of Hon Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala and other political activists on account of their alternative politics barely two (2) months before the historic watershed elections. This is a sure symbol of the rigged and unfair impending elections. A few days before the nomination court, Wiwa is still tortured by ZANU-PF, this is a clear denial of his political right to represent Zengeza West in the August House. CCC Namibia denounces this persecution by prosecution ahead of the harmonized elections.

The disgruntled district urges citizens to vote for President Advocate Nelson Chamisa and the entire CCC candidates for a New Great Zimbabwe on the 23rd of August. ZANU PF has dismally failed to restore dignity in courts and the police force. They have captured all state institutions including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) that has refused to avail the electronic voters roll just 2 months before the plebiscite. We call for free, fair, credible, and unfettered elections so that Zimbabweans can peacefully remove a cabal that has started our beloved country down the slopes of hyperinflation. President is the only panacea for socio-economic transformation in Zimbabwe.

Let’s rise in astronomical numbers to remove authoritarianism on the 23rd of August. We should dedicate our victory to the political prisoner, Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. There is also a need to put political and diplomatic pressure on the satanic regime to unconditionally free Wiwa and all political prisoners. Citizens should peacefully pent up their outrage demanding freedom, justice, and equality. The bereaved Ali family deserves justice! Remember, the gruesomely murdered Moreblessing Ali is not yet buried since May 2022. May her dear soul fight until justice is administered.

CCC Namibia applauds CCC UK for its consistency and determination to expose the regime globally through successive demonstrations and petitions against the continued incarceration of Job Saro Wiwa Sikhala. Today, the vibrant assembly is going to protest outside the British Parliament pilling pressure on the international community to intervene in the abuse of power by ZANU-PF manifesting through the judiciary capture. We urge all progressive citizens to emulate the pragmatic branch in the UK so that freedom, justice, and equality can be delivered. Thank you change champions in Britain for the competent solidarity. CCC Namibia salutes you!

FreeJobSaroWiwaSikhala

JusticeForMoreblessingAli

JusticeForTheNyatsime38

FreeZinasu5

FreeJacob

VoteForChange

FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

CCC Namibia Rundu Branch
Interim Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya

Zanu PF will officially launch its 2023 election manifesto in Chipinge, Manicaland Province next week, the party’s National Political Commissar, Cde Mike Bimha, has said.

Briefing the media after yesterday’s Politburo meeting in Harare, Cde Bimha said Zanu PF as a revolutionary and democratic party will continue to seek broad-based development and economic emancipation of the people founded on unshakable principles that uphold justice and equity for all.

He said the essence of Zanu PF`s ideological thrust is the establishment of a sustained society firmly based on its historical, cultural and social experience and to create conditions for economic independence, prosperity and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation.

“We are now in the campaign period and Zanu PF will launch its campaign manifesto in Manicaland Province, Chipinge District next week at a day to be announced,” Cde Bimha said.

He said the healing and reconciliation process is ongoing around the provinces, while the training and deployment of polling agents is also taking place.

The Politburo, Cde Bimha said, also received a report on the finalisation of the rankings relating to senators as well as members of the women’s quota.

He said the Politburo also endorsed the President’s call for peaceful campaigns.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa has appointed a veteran of the liberation struggle, Cde Enock Sibanda, to the Elders’ Council.

-State Media

Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has demanded the summoning of Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to parliament to explain how he bestowed unbudgeted US$400,000 pay-outs to each of the country’s judges.

Speaking in parliament Tuesday, Mliswa also said the current information vacuum surrounding the controversial windfall portrayed a bunch of looters out of the current Zimbabwe administration.

Zimbabwe’s judges, widely expected to play a big part in determining election related disputes in the next few months, were awarded the unsolicited fortune by the Emmerson Mnangagwa led government as housing loans.

Reports said the jurists were neither required to sign loan agreement forms nor was there any attempt to gauge if they could afford to reimburse the public resource.
The princely bonus awarded to the bench follows similar payments of US$350,000 awarded to Central Intelligence Organisation directors, US$500,000 given to ministers, deputies (US$350,000) and US$40,000 to MPs.

Mliswa said Ncube should also explain where the housing loans that were awarded to ministers also came from since the tranche was not budgeted for and was awarded without parliament’s approval.

“Where and how did the US$400,000 come about? The US$350,000 for the executive was it in the blue book? I can stand and say the one for MPS was in the blue book.

“People now believe that we are on a plundering exercise. So, it is important for the minister of finance to come to this house and explain where the $400,000 came from; the $350,000 and even our $40,000 so that these institutions maintain their integrity and dignity,” he said.

Mliswa said MPs also needed to know when their outstanding US$30,000 vehicle allowances would be paid now that their term was nearing an end.

“We got US$50,000. We are owed US$30,000 from the money that was in the blue book; when is that money going to come?

“I do not want to pretend as if I am begging for it; it is our money,” he said.

Also speaking in the national assembly, Kuwadzana East MP Charlton Hwende said Ncube must also come and explain how he planned to remedy the continued erosion of civil servants’ wages within the current pricing disorder.

“Mthuli does not have time to come here and give us a ministerial statement but he is always in Cowdray Park campaigning.

“Yesterday, the army and police got paid the same salary they got in May when the exchange rate was ZWL$900: US$1 and now its ZW$7,000: US$1.

“A Kuwadzana Sergeant got ZWL$68,920. It is enough to buy one full chicken and 1kg of beef,” he said.

Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure said Ncube has been deliberately skipping parliament for three weeks now.

“This is now the third week since the issue of a ministerial statement was raised. There is no civil servant today who can send a child to hospital with the pay they are getting.”

Responding to MPs’ queries, acting speaker Tatenda Mavetera said: “I will ask the clerk of parliament to remind him.”

-ZimLive

There are fears that if the Patriotic Bill is passed into law it will open floodgates to gross violations of human rights. The penalties provided by the Bill range from loss of citizenship, to denial of the right to vote and the death penalty.

Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said the Patriotic Bill signals a crackdown on rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

He went on to say the Bill is self-evident weaponization of the law to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and public participation in the watershed elections slated for August 23 this year.

The Senate passed the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022, commonly referred to as the ‘Patriotic Bill’, which criminalizes “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” on June 7, 2023. The also criminalizes those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country.

“The Bill’s deliberately vague and overly broad provisions on damaging Zimbabwe’s interest and sovereignty, including by calling for economic sanctions, flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations. All laws must be defined precisely, allowing people to know exactly which acts will make them criminally liable.

“The Bill, if passed into law, could give authorities greater powers to unduly restrict human rights, and worryingly, it would allow for imposing the death penalty against those perceived as being critical of the Government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistle-blowers. We are deeply concerned that the Bill adds to the existing plethora of offences punishable by death in Zimbabwe.

“We call upon the President to reject this bill. The Government of Zimbabwe must urgently ensure that it abides by its obligations under international human rights law,” said Mwangoya…Masvingo Mirror

President E.D. Mnangagwa

I recall our first meetings with Churches and Church leaders soon after our Independence. Rhodesian propaganda had painted freedom fighters darker than the devil. We were a godless lot, blue-dyed communists associated with all manner of devilry.

This Rhodesian narrative would be repeated daily and unremittingly, until a large part of the Rhodesian populace — both black and white — began to believe these blood-curdling propaganda stories mischaracterising us.

By contrast, white Rhodesia beatified itself as holy, carefully cultivating a self-image of a God-fearing civilisation created by a selfless generation of “Founders” who had come from afar, to redeem and Christianise a benighted race inhabiting a “Dark Continent”. Until the white man came, Africa was a continent living outside history; lived as a continent filled by a race which did not know God! This was the colonial narrative.

When Ian Douglas Smith declared his Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), he claimed that he had “struck a blow for Christianity”, thus depicting UDI as Christian. The Anglican Church – the Church of the Settler Rhodesian State – was dutifully in tow, lending holiness to such apostate claims. That way, a colonial project by a foreign occupying power was characterised as Christian, and for the good and elevation of us Africans.

Colonialism was, thus, a God-send, not some racially oppressive system of foreign invasion and occupation.

The Church and State are inseparable

Rhodesia described itself as the last bulwark against “the black and red peril”. The “black peril” was represented by us Africans who threatened to overwhelm white civilisation through our overwhelming numbers, and by our culture described as rank heathenism.

The “red peril” represented communism whose diligent agents were “terrorists”, in this case our freedom fighters. These terrorists, so Rhodesian propaganda claimed, had been trained and “misled” by evil, foreign communist hailing from countries like the then Soviet Union, China and other progressive countries drawn from the Eastern Bloc, which supported our Liberation Struggle.

The communists had used their vile propaganda of communism to mislead an otherwise “happy” African populace grateful to be under British settler colonial rule!

Ogres of a godless creed

As events would have it, in the 1980 elections, we the so-called communist terrorists had now won a Commonwealth-supervised election, and had won it by a landslide. As a result, we had assumed the reins of Government in an independent Zimbabwe! The Patriotic Front, led by our late President, then as Prime Minister, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe, and Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, had to meet clerics, most of them raised on the staple of vile Rhodesian propaganda, in order to allay their deeply ingrained and held fears of us.

Only a handful of Church leaders, mostly Jesuits, had met with us as the Patriotic Front in Zambia, at the height of the Struggle. Those knew our humanity denied us by Rhodesian propaganda, and understood our cause which Rhodesia mischaracterised as foreign and communist-inspired. But these clerics were in the minority.

You also had a few missionaries who led rural parishes and, thus, had interacted with, and become exposed to, our freedom fighters operating in liberated and semi-liberated zones. Those, too, knew us and even supported our cause. Otherwise the rest of the erstwhile Rhodesian Church was led by religious figures who viewed us as ogres; figures whose view of us neatly fitted within the terrible persona created of us by Rhodesian propaganda.

I remember that in one of those early meetings, all clerics – to the person – voiced disquiet over our choice of ideology of Marxist-Leninism, which they characterised as a godless creed. They were disgusted that we, the agents of that terrible creed, had won elections, and taken over Government. We needed complete redemption! Could we not, the clerics opined, drop this godless creed for Christianity, of course, under their tutelage as Church leaders?

Healing wounds of colonialism

About the same time, our Ministry of Education, then headed by Dr Dzingai Mutumbuka, was transforming the curriculum to make our education more suited to the needs and values of a free Zimbabwe. Dr Mutumbuka worked with leading educationist-comrades like Dr Fay Chung and Sister Dr Janice Macloughlin. These comrades had developed curricula for our wartime schools. They now sought to adapt it to the needs of a free Zimbabwe, under the ZIMFEB Programme. Again, this raised more anxieties for the Church. From early colonial times, the Rhodesian Church had heavily invested in African Education; it ran the majority of schools for Africans in the country, right through to our Independence. Any changes to the curriculum, more so done by people long mischaracterised as proponents of communism – in their view a godless creed – was extremely disquieting to them.

After a long presentation by Church leaders – one by one and each representing a denomination – the message was stark and clear: our avowed ideology of Marxist-Leninism was unacceptable to the Church! When our turn came, the then Prime Minister, Cde R.G. Mugabe, rose to respond. He gave a long lesson in history, covering colonialism and the racial inequities it created, and the Liberation Struggle which that colonial rule triggered.

Later, he closed in on the issue of our choice of the ideology of Marxist-Leninism, expatiating what he understood it to mean. He also justified the Patriotic Front’s choice of it as an appropriate ideological framework for a post-Independent Zimbabwe as it sought to heal the wounds of a long colonialism, and in its quest to develop the country on egalitarian principles. He also drew parallels and similarities between our ideology and the values espoused by Africans under African communalism.

At the end of this long lecture to the clerics, he said: “We all came through Churches, to the number; we were raised by different denominations of the Christian Church, all of us in positions of leadership. I myself was raised by the Jesuits. We are practising Christians, practised Christianity even as we waged the Armed Liberation Struggle.

Ours was a just war, itself a notion developed by the Church.”

What followed next was dramatic. Cde Mugabe dipped his hands into his pocket and fished out a worn-out rosary.

He said: “This rosary has been with me throughout the war. It guided my faith and prayers daily; it still does to this day; will do so, right to my last days in this life!”

You can imagine the utter consternation from his audience at the sight of a worn-out rosary. The audience included the late Archbishop Patrick Chakaipa! Looking at the stunned clerics, the then Prime Minister declared: “If, as you say, Marxist-Leninism is godless, I say here and now: Give it a God!” That intervention changed relations between the State and the Church, laying a firm foundation to a partnership which endures to this day.

God-fearing leadership

Our struggle was led by a leadership raised by the Church. That Struggle was a just one. The State to emerge from it — the First Republic — was a God-fearing one. Its successor, the Second Republic, is God-fearing, and is built on values espoused by the Church. Our interaction with various denominations of the Zimbabwean Church is routine, and is predicated on a firm belief in a complementary partnership of State and Church. I cannot count the number of times I have held meetings with Church leaders; or even the many Church meetings I have attended and addressed, across denominations.

Last week was a turning point in this enduring relationship. As I addressed congregants at the historic Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, I told my God-fearing audience that our twin mantras of “Nyika inotongwa nevene vayo” and “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” were incomplete, and fell short of the Holy Trinity at the heart of the Church, namely, that of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To complete that Trinity, we needed something spiritual added. I then declared: “Nyika inonamatirwa nevene vayo!”

This new mantra we have added to our other two mantras, to form a credo of the Second Republic, comes from the heart. It is deeply held. All our politics, our policies and our programmes remain incomplete and unfulfilling until and unless we give them God.

My meeting with Church leaders of our country and, as happened late last week, from our region are meant to ensure that our politics are rooted in God. This is vital as our nation goes for polls. I continue to call on our Church leaders to pray for peaceful elections: before, during and after those elections. We should never tire of sermonising for peace in our land; indeed, praying for peace for our land; pray in our national languages and through our idioms, in our hearts and minds. God will hear us.

Divine favour

We develop our country using God-given resources. Looking at mineral resources we have discovered and are exploiting since the Second Republic, there is no doubt our nation enjoys divine favour. From a paltry US$2,5 billion turnover in mining before this New Dispensation, our mining sector is peeping the US$20 billion-mark, in the five short years we have subsisted as the Second Republic.

This is unprecedented. We continue to discover more minerals, no doubt through divine guidance.

The same salutary results show in most sectors, including in agriculture and in tourism. Both draw from our God-given resources, once more echoing the need to ensure we put God at the heart of our development.

Late last week, I received an utterly lifting progress report from Driefontain Mission. Our Catholic Church has embraced our mantra of Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, and has started applying it in the Church. Through an investment vehicle the Catholic Church has dubbed Stella Mundi, it has embarked on an ambitious agricultural and value-addition programme, which the Church envisages will be rolled out to cover the whole country. The Bishops, led by Archbishop Ndlovu, have used the Church farm at Driefontain to tease out this new concept. As at last week, they had planted over 200 hectares of wheat, under seven centre pivots. More hectarage is being planted as I write. I thank the Catholic Church leaders for this salutary venture.

What is even more significant is that the funds the Church had mobilised for the project from well-wishers overseas were impounded by some Western country which has imposed sanctions on our country! They did not give up.

They approached Government and, together, we worked out a funding package for the whole project. Now it has taken off, and is set to expand and scale-up in intervening seasons. In due course, the Church will stand on its own.

The Catholic Church story is the story of our economy and of our country.

Looking inward

They say we should never waste a good crisis. As a nation, we have decided a bad crisis wrought by sanctions should be made good by us looking inward, and by us mobilising our own God-given resources. The lesson from Driefontain shows and demonstrates a lifting symbiosis between the three mantras we have coined for ourselves; and how, through them, we invent an enduring framework for a new partnership between the State and the Church. Both institutions, after all, serve the same person created in the image of God.

Nyika Inotongwa, igovakwa nekunamatirwa nevene vayo!
https://zbcnews.co.zw/2023/06/11/10485/

Cash-strapped Redcliff Municipality has said that it will only bill citizens for services and commodities in US dollars beginning July 1, 2023, however debtors will have the option of paying in local currency at the current interbank rate.
In light of the economy’s hyperinflation, it claimed that the action was taken to cushion itself. Gilson Chakauya, the town clerk, informed stakeholders and citizens in a public notice that any outstanding debts will also be converted to US dollars and charged interest at a rate of 150% annually.

“All bills for goods and services shall be generated in United States Dollars with effect from 1st July 2023. All non-billable like plan approval fees, fines, water and sewer connections etc shall be charged in United States dollars and stakeholders are encouraged to pay in USD,” he said.

But Chakauya said the town’s approved 2023 budget would remain unchanged, despite the currency changes.

CHIREDZI-Magistrate Diana Musiyiwa is tomorrow presiding over the trial of a Chiredzi man accused of siphoning 600 litres of diesel from an Econet booster at Chambuta on Thursday.

Try Dhakise Chirove of 855 Warth Road initially appeared before Magistrate Musiyiwa on Saturday. His alleged accomplices are still at large.

Circumstances are that on the day around 2 am, Owen Manjengwa, a Police officer stationed at Chambuta Police Station, heard noises from the booster 100 metres away. 

He investigated and saw Chirove and his accomplices who fled the scene. The thieves allegedly left 24 X 25 containers filled with diesel hidden in a bush. The thieves drove off and left their loot…Masvingo Mirror

Tinashe Sambiri

The CCC vice President Hon Tendai Biti has called for the immediate resignation of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Hon Biti also slammed Mr Mnangagwa for intimidating business owners.

Said Hon Biti in a statement:
“An economy can never be run by threats of force , duress & countless notices, decrees & proclamations.

This bankrupt lot never learns from history .

We have been here before & force never worked . Do the right thing , RESIGN !!!”

CHIREDZI-Magistrate Diana Musiyiwa is tomorrow presiding over the trial of a Chiredzi man accused of siphoning 600 litres of diesel from an Econet booster at Chambuta on Thursday.

Try Dhakise Chirove of 855 Warth Road initially appeared before Magistrate Musiyiwa on Saturday. His alleged accomplices are still at large.

Circumstances are that on the day around 2 am, Owen Manjengwa, a Police officer stationed at Chambuta Police Station, heard noises from the booster 100 metres away. 

He investigated and saw Chirove and his accomplices who fled the scene. The thieves allegedly left 24 X 25 containers filled with diesel hidden in a bush. The thieves drove off and left their loot…Masvingo Mirror

There are fears that if the Patriotic Bill is passed into law it will open floodgates to gross violations of human rights. The penalties provided by the Bill range from loss of citizenship, to denial of the right to vote and the death penalty.

Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said the Patriotic Bill signals a crackdown on rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

He went on to say the Bill is self-evident weaponization of the law to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and public participation in the watershed elections slated for August 23 this year.

The Senate passed the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022, commonly referred to as the ‘Patriotic Bill’, which criminalizes “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” on June 7, 2023. The also criminalizes those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country.

“The Bill’s deliberately vague and overly broad provisions on damaging Zimbabwe’s interest and sovereignty, including by calling for economic sanctions, flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations. All laws must be defined precisely, allowing people to know exactly which acts will make them criminally liable.

“The Bill, if passed into law, could give authorities greater powers to unduly restrict human rights, and worryingly, it would allow for imposing the death penalty against those perceived as being critical of the Government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistle-blowers. We are deeply concerned that the Bill adds to the existing plethora of offences punishable by death in Zimbabwe.

“We call upon the President to reject this bill. The Government of Zimbabwe must urgently ensure that it abides by its obligations under international human rights law,” said Mwangoya…Masvingo Mirror

Former Zanu PF youth leader and founder of the Front for Economic Emancipation of Zimbabwe (FEEZ), Godfrey Tsenengamu has accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of letting down Zimbabweans and other individuals who put their heads on the block for him to succeed the late former President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa ascended to power through a November 17, 2017 military coup which toppled Mugabe.

Speaking during an interview with Alpha Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube on the platform In Conversation with Trevor, Tsenengamu said at the time he believed Mnangagwa was the only top party leader with capacity to end high-profile corruption in the country.

“I was clear from the time Mai (Joice) Mujuru went down saying I think the one who is going to be the next president was Emmerson Mnangagwa and it was a taboo to say that,” he said.

“Where I was coming from in Mashonaland Central there were a lot of fights that were going on within Zanu PF, the maZezurus versus the Karangas, so naturally I was not expected to be siding with the Zezurus.

“When I was looking at Mnangagwa, I was not seeing a Karanga. I was seeing somebody with the potential of become a national leader, so I did not subscribe to this notion of tribal supremacy as it was happening in Zanu PF.

“I got myself suspended because I had used the church platform to bring Mnangagwa at Gora to the late VaWimbo. By then the provincial gurus had said Mnangagwa should not come to Mashonaland Central. I thought that Mnangagwa deserved to be given a chance to prove what he had said that he was a better leader and I was looking at him as somebody who was very loyal for some time to the then President Robert Mugabe and I thought that he had learnt a number of things from the way Mugabe did his things, what he did right and what he did wrong.

“I also thought that maybe he was going to be the bridge between the old madhalas (guard) and the young people coming as a transitional leader. In my mind, I would say that if Mugabe steps down, Mnangagwa would come in and after him I had two options between Saviour Kasukuwere and Walter Mzembi.”

In 2020, Tsenengamu was suspended together with Zanu PF youth secretary Lewis Matutu for indiscipline after they named Kuda Tagwirei, Tafadzwa Musarara and Billy Rautenbach as having captured State institutions.

He said that was when he realised that the Mnangagwa he vouched for pre-November 2017 and the one who got into office where two different people.

“From our engagements pre-November 2017, he would appear like someone who was sincere and when he got into power I expected that he was going to keep his word, he was going to do as we had been discussing before he got into power.

“When I realised that this was not happening, at first I thought that those who were around him were the problem, but I said, no we are going into the same trap or scenario like we did with Mugabe when we thought that he himself was okay, only those who were surrounding him were the problem.

“But I said no, these people who are surrounding Mnangagwa did not come from heaven, he appointed them and he is comfortable working with them, he is pushing through his agenda and whatever that he seeks to do through them,” he added.

Tsenengamu launched the FEEZ party in 2021.

Mnangagwa’s government has attracted criticism from politicians and analysts who have described it as incompetent, corrupt and authoritarian.

Recently, Mnangagwa and his family were implicated in a gold smuggling and money laundering scam exposed in the documentary, Gold Mafia, aired by Al Jazeera.