By Gift Ostallos Siziba

At the centre of our National Democratic Project are the oppressed- the downtrodden.

Those are our people and they remain the central focus of the Agenda for Change.

Our objective is to transform the concrete realities of ordinary people.

What ever we do, at the end of our road and journey on this Mother Earth will be how CCC as led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa became a platform for men and women with a burning desire for genuine Change and Total Transformation.

Against all temptations, challenges and visible persecution we have remained true to these ideals and values of a freedom and to the Democracy Promise

Tinashe Sambiri| CCC champion Richard Pamire embarked on a pothole filling initiative in Kuwadzana, Harare on Saturday.

The hardworking CCC member is also spearheading a massive voter registration campaign in the area.

In a brief statement, Pamire said :

“Due to raining ndikuita pothole filling in Kuwadzana, ward 37( Our roads were damaged by heavy rains so I have decided to moot the pothole filling initiative).

I am using my own resources . I am happy with the support from the community. It is our mandate as citizens to make sure that our roads are decent and up to scratch.”

By-South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has announced that it would permanently implement load-shedding for the next two years.

Eskom chairperson, Mpho Makwana, said power cuts between Stages 2 and 3 are planned for the next two years.

Makwana said this will create “some predictability” and allow the power utility enough room to perform maintenance and increase the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) enough to put an end to load shedding within the next two years. Said Makwana:

The global average for EAF is about 86%. We’re looking to grow from our current 58% EAF to 70% in the next two years.

The planned journey to 70% is hoped to take place on the following timeline:

• 60% EAF — end-March 2023
• 65% EAF — end-March 2024
• 70% EAF — end-March 2025

The outgoing Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, said the possibility of Stage 8 load shedding is receding but an “inherent risk” remains. He said:

The possibility of stage 8 load-shedding is receding, which is comforting and positive.

However, there is always an inherent risk, and for that purpose, we have to protect our diesel reserves.

Eskom Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberholzer, said 43% of the utility’s electricity-generating units are currently offline due to breakdowns and planned maintenance. | My Broadband

By Gift Ostallos Siziba

At the centre of our National Democratic Project are the oppressed- the downtrodden.

Those are our people and they remain the central focus of the Agenda for Change.

Our objective is to transform the concrete realities of ordinary people.

What ever we do, at the end of our road and journey on this Mother Earth will be how CCC as led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa became a platform for men and women with a burning desire for genuine Change and Total Transformation.

Against all temptations, challenges and visible persecution we have remained true to these ideals and values of a freedom and to the Democracy Promise

By A Correspondent- Innscor Africa Limited has failed in its bid to interdict its competitor, Slice Distributors (Pvt) Ltd, also trading as Chicken Slice, for alleged trademark infringement in the High Court.

Chicken Inn filed an application at the High Court in 2019 seeking an interdict against Chicken Slice for using its trademark, “Luv” and its colours.

Chicken Inn argued that Chicken Slice had used “Luv” in its burger and grill logo.

The company also argued it has always used “Luv Dat Chicken” since 1987 before Chicken Slice started using “I Luv it” too on its burgers boxes.

The Innscor Africa Limited subsidiary further submitted that the resemblance of the trademark and colours confuses consumers of their products.

However, Chicken Slice rejected the accusations arguing that Chicken Inn doesn’t own exclusive rights to the tagline “luv”.

In her ruling, Justice Sylvia Chirawu-Mugomba said besides the word “luv”, the marks used are not similar and are used on the burger rather than the Chicken Slice logo. She said:

In my view, a national customer who encounters the products of the plaintiff and the first defendant is not likely to be confused by the difference between them.

Justice Chirawu-Mugomba noted that the evidence brought before the court by Chicken Inn was not sufficient as the similarities revealed through chats of clients do not represent the views of all customers. She said:

Apart from the contention that the Chicken Inn was established in 1987, reference to a university student thesis and a few social media chats, the plaintiff has not put anything else before the court that proves goodwill and reputation.

This cannot be by any stretch of the imagination taken as proving goodwill and reputation. As already indicated, this is a matter of fact.

The proof, being a pre-requisite for passing off, Chicken Inn has failed to prove that Chicken Slice passed off any of its products as those of the plaintiff.

Accordingly, the claim for passing off by the plaintiff against Chicken Slice fails. It is trite that costs are at the discretion of the court. I can perceive no reason why Chicken Inn should not be awarded costs.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwean activists have expressed shock following the assassination of Eswatini human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, who was the Chairperson of the MultiStakeholder Forum (MSF).

Maseko was allegedly shot dead at his home on Saturday 21 January in the evening.

He quoted Maseko’s wife, Tanele Maseko, as confirming the death of the prominent lawyer. She was quoted as saying:

It’s true, Thulani has been killed, bashaye waphola Nkhosi. Ubobuye ushaye kwanyalo kusenemaphoyisa.

According to Swaziland News, Maseko’s death came a few hours after King Mswati III warned those calling for democracy that his mercenaries would deal with them.

Hopewell Chin’ono tweeted:

The tragic assassination of Swazi human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko is a chilling reminder of how the Corrupt political elites are prepared to do anything to shut down pro-democracy voices.

He was shot yesterday in his home, all because he fought for democracy in Eswatini.

Deprose Muchena described Maseko’s assassination as cold-blooded murder. He tweeted:

Completely devastated after hearing news of the assassination of a dear friend & #Swaziland’s leading human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko.

He was gunned down in his home, sitting in his living room. This cold-blooded murder is a chilling reminder of what #Eswatini has become.

Elvis Mugari wrote:

I extend my sincere condolences to the Maseko family on the tragic passing of Thulani Maseko, a leading human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist who was shot dead yesterday evening at his house.

By A Correspondent-  South African woman will spend the next twenty years behind bars after she tried to sell an albino child to a traditional healer in Manguzi in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in KZN, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the woman approached the traditional healer, James Mthembu, in June 2016.

She allegedly told him that she could arrange for an 11-year-old albino child from her area that he could use for traditional medicine. Said Ramkisson-Kara:

In exchange, she wanted R100 000 and asked him to contact her if he wanted to see the boy.

Kara said Mthembu informed the local police and asked them to accompany him.

She said police thought the information could assist with a missing child case they were working on at the time.

Police, working with Mthembu set a trap for the woman resulting in her arrest. She was charged with attempted human trafficking. Said Kara:

In court, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Cyril Selepe led Mthembu’s evidence as well as that of the child’s mother and the police officers.

Selepe also submitted a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the child’s mother and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Mandisa Sikakane.

In her statement, the woman said that she has lived in fear ever since the offence. Her son was also fearful.

The woman said that following the incident she kept her child by her side, not allowing him to leave the yard.

She also said that she considers her child to be a gift and she loves him very much, however, she cannot forget how difficult it was to protect him, knowing that there were people who wanted to harm him.

The NPA explained that in sentencing the woman, the court declared her unfit to possess a firearm. Said Kara:

The court further ordered that a social worker go to the woman’s house and assess the situation regarding her own children.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in KZN, Advocate Elaine Zungu, welcomed adding she hoped the sentence would discourage criminals from killing people living with albinism for the purpose of traditional medicines. | IOL

By A Correspondent- Village heads from Ward 37 in Gutu Central constituency reportedly refused to receive 200 bags of Compound D fertiliser brought for distribution under the Presidential Inputs Scheme by the local councillor.

The Mirror reported that the distribution was supposed to happen at Tachi Business Center near Mukaro on Thursday but the lorry was forced to return with its load.

The local councillor, Gabriel Mapepa, confirmed the incident but accused “drunk youths” of disrupting the distribution process.

However, The Mirror reported sources as saying it was the village heads who came together and decided to refuse the fertiliser.

They said Mapepa had allocated more bags to his home which is called Chipangane B.

After the councillor had briefed the village heads about the distribution modalities, they allegedly refused to accept the fertiliser.

They came from the meeting and told the villagers to reject the fertiliser until the councillor brought the missing bags that had been allocated to Chipangane B.

According to The Mirror, Ward 37 is divided into two distribution centres, one at Tachi which is Chipangane A and another near Gutu Mission which is Chipangane B. Said Mapepa:

We stopped the distribution yesterday because some rowdy youths disrupted the meeting. It was not the village heads who rejected the inputs.

Mapepa reportedly distributed 290 bags to his home area and 200 to Tachi and four villagers were supposed to share a bag.

The councillor is accused of trying to woo voters in the upper part of the ward in areas around the Gutu mission which is occupied by the working class who largely support the opposition.

A disgruntled villager claimed that last year almost 20 bags of fertilizer from the Presidential input scheme disappeared and Mapepa failed to account for them. | The Mirror

By A Correspondent- The High Court has ordered the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) not to withhold students’ results on account of non-payment of tuition fees.

The UZ Students Representative Council (SRC) approached the courts challenging UZ’s decision to increase tuition fees in 2022.

UZ also restricted students’ access to the examination results via its online platform if they had not settled the arrears of tuition fees it had gazetted.

On Friday, 20 January, High Court judge, Justice Tawanda Chitapi, ordered UZ to release examination results to the concerned students and arrange a payment plan with them for outstanding fees.

Justice Chipato also froze the hike of fees by UZ pending the court case in which the students are arguing, through their lawyer Tendai Biti, that the increase was unconstitutional and unjustified. Said the judge:

Pending the delivery of judgment in Case No. HC 6194/22 reserved by Hon. Chitapi Jon 30 November 2022, the 1st respondent shall not enforce tuition fees set out in ordinance No. 63 dated 6 September 2022.

The 1st respondent is interdicted from withholding the release of results of the two applicants and other students represented by the 1st applicant on account of non-payment of the tuition fees set out in the ordinance.

The first applicant’s members and the second applicant shall however be required upon collection of their results to enter into payment arrangements with the first respondent in terms of which they undertake to pay the difference of the tuition fees set out in ordinance 63 and the previous semester fees levied before the ordinance. Each party bears its own cost.

UZ was cited as the first respondent with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary education as the second respondent. | NewZimbabwe.com

By A Correspondent- Jaison Muvevi, the ex-cop who gunned down three people in Wedza last week was a feared man in the police service sector, former colleagues have reportedly told one of his victims’ nephew.

Muvevi (42), a retired Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer was said to be well trained and not an easy person to attack during operations.

Officers who followed him in Chiduku, Rusape as he fled after committing the heinous crime allegedly told a nephew of the late Prophet Sirage (Crispen Kanerusine) from Zinzombe village that his records of excellence were known by many.

Muvevi was likened to the popular ex-detective Joseph Nemaisa who also shot and killed three armed men who were holding his family hostage at his Chadcombe home in December 2021.

Narrating the events leading to Muvevi’s disappearance into Mutare, the nephew only identified as (Rob) said he gave water to his uncle’s murderer unaware he had committed a heinous crime.

“I do not regret giving him water. It was my uncle who was fighting his killer in death and I think he also wanted Muvevi to be exposed as he tried to run away from the crime scene in Wedza,” said the nephew.

He went on, “Mukomana (Muvevi) was fleeing from police towards Chiduku driving his white sedan vehicle, Muvevi fired three shots at the officers who were in pursuit at Maruwani Bridge.

“He then fired another shot which hit the police vehicle and immediately reversed his vehicle before driving for about 500m, turning into a small foot path leading to my homestead.”

The nephew explained Muvevi then said, “Gogoi”

At this stage, the nephew alleged he was not aware of what had happened and he entertained his visitor.

“After greetings, Muvevi asked for some drinking water of which I gave him.

“He then inquired about gold mining areas and I showed him the area by just pointing at the mountains nearby. He also asked for matches and I called my son who brought a box and gave him.”

As the conversation continued, Muvevi allegedly told the nephew that he can identify gold when he sees it.

This is the time his phone vibrated.

“As he tried to get his phone from his jeans’ back pocket, I saw two pistols from his jean’s back pockets. I did not panic though I asked myself silently why he was carrying the pistols.

“I then noticed some blood stains on his other shoe. I then called my son and quickly excused myself but he was not bothered about it. I left him there walking towards the area I had pointed out to him as a potential gold mining place.”

When the nephew got home a few meters away from Muvevi, police arrived and asked him about Muvevi’s whereabouts.

“I did not know his name then and I told the police the person they wanted had just left my homestead showing them direction he took.

“As we ran towards the direction he took… we then spotted him coming out of the gorge.”

According to the nephew, he heard one of the officers saying: “let us retreat. We have known this guy for a long time. We know his records in the security sector so we cannot just confront him.”

“This is when I heard that my uncle had been shot dead by the man whom I had entertained a few minutes earlier. I was shocked.

“Muvevi disappeared abandoning his car and escaped on foot,” the nephew explained.

Meanwhile, Muvevi’s victims were all laid to rest this week.

Former Wedza officer -In-Charge Maxwell Hove was buried in his rural home, Mberengwa on Thursday while Crispen Kanerusine and 20-year-old Munashe Munjani were buried in their respective villages, Wedza.

Investigations into the murder cases are still in progress.

Muvevi appeared in court Friday charged with four murder charges and two attempted murder counts.

He is expected in court on February 6, 2023.

-NewZimbabwe

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has launched its first smart meters, a modern innovation meant to improve the electrical supply chain.

According to TechZim, the first Installation of these smart meters was done in Harare Polytechnic College and more rollouts are yet to follow according to ZETDC Commercial Director Engineer Katsande. The first rollout of these smart meters already started in Harare has a target of 2500 clients.

ZETDC stands to benefit a lot from these smart meters as they are an extension of ZETDC’s power monitoring and control system. All aspects of power being consumed at a customer’s site are visible to ZETDC. This data is then used to manage the grid more precisely.

In an article posted by Tech Zim, these smart meters have a more precise grid control, “So in the event of load shedding, they will be switching off a blanket area when they could have maybe switched off a few individuals.

With the meters on the customer premises being smart, it can allow ZETDC to execute load shedding for specific loads. So ZETDC can remotely switch off loads like air conditioning and geysers for a premise remotely and still provide power for more business-critical operations.”

Again these smart meters are reported to smarter power grids than the previous meters.

“Managing the grid is also made easier. Currently, ZETDC can manage the grid to the feeder level which is not really an efficient way to do so. With smart meters, the grid will get to a point where it can manage itself based on the load characteristics of the grid at any point in time.

The objective is to maintain a high level of uptime which is what smart grids enable. Beyond just the consumer side of the grid, smart grids enable multiple sources of power to be efficiently plugged into the grid.

That is if a solar farm exists, it will be utilized by the grid during the day and supplemented by thermal power stations. On overcast days, the grid will rely more on thermal and hydropower sources and it does this via software,” reports Tech Zim.

The project of rolling out these meters is reported to cost US$35 million and will be done in phases with a planned 12 770 meters to be installed. As stated the minimum capacity of these meters will be 200kVA which limits access to medium and large institutions.

By A Correspondent- A 65 year old Fort Rixon widow has so far lost more than 50 cattle as the dreaded theileriosis, commonly known as January disease, has ravaged through the area leaving peasants and small scale farmers wallowing in abject poverty.

Clr Jostinah Ndondo shows some dried meat at her home

The widow, who is Insiza District Ward 18 councillor, Jostinah Ndondo is not alone in the loss of her investment. Her neighbour, Mr Tadious Mhlanga (58) has so far lost 22 cattle to the tick borne disease, among a list of villagers who have lost varying numbers of cattle since the disease attacked the Matabeleland South district last month. The disease is common in the rainy season between December and March. The ward has so far recorded 262 deaths of cattle, according to the Department of Veterinary Services, although some deaths could not have been reported.

The disease is forcing farmers to sell their cattle at drastically low prices of US$100 to US$300. In good times, cattle in the area sell for between US$500 and US$800, depending on the size and breed. Since the disease outbreak, visitors are greeted by the smell of fresh meat at every homestead with dogs in the village no longer so keen on eating the carcasses.

Cattle buyers rush in to buy some of the cattle that have not yet succumbed to the disease

“I am at a loss for words. I have so far lost more than 50 cattle out of the 90 cattle I had. This is a cattle area but this disease is impoverishing us at a rate we never really ever thought. I had over 160 cattle but of course I sold some and invested in a tractor and other farming implements but then losing more than 50 is too much of a blow especially when you are not getting anything out of it. The challenge is that if the disease attacks your cattle, within three days they will be dead. There is no time to run around and look at what you can do. Besides, the disease looks like it can’t be cured, while very little can be done to prevent it completely,” said Mrs Ndondo.

She said almost every homestead had meat from cattle killed by the disease and no-one was buying from another, leaving villagers sometimes just letting their cattle be eaten by vultures. She added that it was fortunate that Village Four had electricity, a development that somehow mitigates the problem as they can store some of their meat fresh.

“These three deep freezers you see are full (of meat) while we are also busy drying some,” said Mrs Ndondo.

The cattle buyers in the area could not be drawn into commenting but two trucks were parked at the local PBS Shopping Centre with one already loaded with cattle. Some of the trucks were seen going around with a police officer assisting in clearing the cattle. At Mr Mhlanga’s homestead, the news crew was greeted by a sombre atmosphere uncharacteristic of rural homesteads. Mr Mhlanga lay deep in sleep at his veranda far from his usual work routine. The tragedy that befell him has left him with minimal energy and the zeal to go about his day-to-day chores.

“Even if we talk, will we bring back to life these cattle,” said a dejected Mr Mhlanga as he resignedly invited the news crew to his empty kraal.

“I settled here in the year 2000. I came here with only six cattle and I managed to grow my herd to 46. However, since 23 December to date I have lost 22 cattle due to the January disease and that is less than a month.

The cattle have just been dying, the herd boys would go to the grazing fields and come with reports that particular cows are sick while some would have died. At times you wake up to find that five are sick in the kraal and even if you try to dose or give them any medication it yields nothing as they would eventually die. Initially we would try and bury the carcass but as the number escalated, we couldn’t manage,” said Mr Mhlanga.

So intense has been the outbreak such that even the mere flying of vultures brings some pain and boredom to villagers.

Meanwhile, Matabeleland South Provincial Veterinary Director Dr Enart Mdlongwa said the Government was working tirelessly to ensure that farmers do not continue losing more cattle to the disease.

“The Government is doing a lot to curb the diseases. We have intensified the distribution of tick-grease with farmers receiving a kilogramme annually as well as dipping chemicals. Resources have been mobilized as well to ensure the rehabilitation of dip tanks in the areas,” said Dr Mdlongwa.

Dr Mdlongwa said the disease had no negative effect on human beings hence consuming the meat from cattle slaughtered after being observed to have been attacked by the disease was not harmful. The disease is suspected to have been imported by a farmer who moved in cattle irregularly from areas where it had been reported.

-SundayNews

By A Correspondent- Police in Muzarabani are up in arms with Energy Minister Zhemu Soda who is also Muzarabani North legislator. 

In a police document gleaned by Bulawayo24.com the police allege Soda wants farmers in Muzarabani  to buy and sell cattle without licences.

The document states that Soda called for a stock theft clearance meeting in Muzarabani on January 6 and the meeting was attended by local leaders, President’s office, Vetenary department and ZANU PF youths led by Emmerson Raradza.

“The agenda was of the meeting was a single one to look into  the cattle clearance process that has caused  suffering to cattle farmers,” reads part of the document.

The document further claims that Soda told one Guruve Supritendent Chiyangwa that he wanted local farmers in Muzarabani  to be allowed to buy and sell cattle without licences since most of them were unemployed.

Supritendent  Chiyangwa denied Soda’s suggestion  saying the cattle clearing process was an organisational process and he coud not change it himself.

However, Chief Hwata of Muzarabani together with Muzarabani District Development Coodinator John  Chihobo spoke highly of the police clearance process at the meeting.

Stock theft is rife in Muzarabani and Mbire districts.

 By A Correspondent- A 27 year old man from Chinhoyi was jailed for using a friend’s credentials and other personal documents to obtain employment as a store assistant.

Blessed Believe Juruvenge of Ruvimbo Phase 1, Chinhoyi appeared before Magistrate Batanai Madzingira facing fraud.

His actions were in violation of section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act chapter 9:23.

Juruvenge was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment but five months were conditionally suspended.

The complainant was Blessed Hosiah Musasa, who is a forklift operator at the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) Chinhoyi.

According to the prosecutor, Clever Nyapfani, sometime in July 2022, Juruvenge went to Musasa’s home and requested his curriculum vitae (CV), educational transcripts, driver’s license, and recommendation letter.

Juruvenge claimed there was a vacancy for a driver which had arisen at the butchery where he was working and would help Musasa get the job.

It was further heard Musasa gave the accused person his CV, Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates, Class Two driver’s licence and referral letter from Cottco as well as an original national identity card.

On July 22 last year, Juruvenge went to Greater Grace Groceries, where he misrepresented to proprietor Tongai Mhizha that he was actually Musasa and tendered copies of qualifications and ID.

Juruvenge received a job offer as a general hand through false representation up until his arrest at the beginning of this month.

On January 13, 2023, the complainant got a tip-off from a churchmate of Juruvenge’s shenanigans.

The matter was reported to the police leading to his arrest.

Police recovered Musassa’s documents that were used in the fraudulent job application.

By A Correspondent- A gardener from Bulawayo who lost four fingers when a hand grenade he was using as a key holder exploded on him is now appealing for assistance.

The man, Gidmore Kangwembe (47) who is admitted to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), said he can no longer fend for his family because of the injuries he sustained.

Kangwembe said he found the grenade on New Year’s Day when he was on a piece job in Burnside where he was tasked with cutting grass.

He said when he saw the grenade, he didn’t realise that it was a dangerous object. He said he used it as a key holder. Said Kangwembe:

It was on a Sunday and I went to this other yard for a piece job and I was with a friend of mine. While cutting grass I then picked this thing that I didn’t know.

I asked my friend what it was but he couldn’t provide an answer too. We both didn’t suspect that it could be dangerous.

I then took it and used it as my key holder up until Thursday at around 3 PM when I decided to check what exactly it was.

While still investigating to find out what it could be it exploded and shredded four fingers from my right hand.

Kangwembe, a father to four, fears his children were going to suffer as his job was the only source of income for his family. He said:

I am a father of four, my wife is not working. Now that I’m still in hospital no one is providing for my family and with the condition I am in right now I don’t know when I’m going to be discharged, let alone start working with one hand hence my appeal to well-wishers to help me and my family. Those willing to assist can contact us on 0777302874.

By A Correspondent- The love of staple food caused a 32-year-old man from Mapunga Farm, Bindura to nurse injurues after he was attacked by his step daughter over a sadza dispute.

The matter came to light at Bindura magistrates courts on Friday when the daughter, Jenny Sigauke appeared before magistrate Samantha Dhlamini.

The state led by Sheilla Maribha alleged on January 15, Shaini Chidodoma arrived home from a beer binge around 9pm.

He allegedly asked for his supper from his wife.

Sigauke reportedly started shouting at him using obscene words before retiring to her bedroom hut.

Chidodoma followed demanding to know the reason behind all the shouting he had received.

Unfortunately upon his arrival in her room, she struck him with an iron hoe twice on the head, once on the shoulder and once the arm.

He managed to escape from the scene but sustained deep cuts.

The matter continues on January  31.

Chidodoma then allegedly harassed her thereby infuriating Sigauke, his step daughter from her former marriage.

By A Correspondent- The Mozambican Ministry of Justice has banned, in the Central Province of Manica, a religious sect called “Johane Marange” for allegedly promoting child marriage and disrespecting health issues.

The church in question first emerged in neighbouring Zimbabwe, where it has a large following in Manicaland Province.

According to Albachir Macassar, the National Director of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, interviewed by Radio Mozambique, the Ministry has also banned some religious institutions with “obscure purposes” in the southern Province of Inhambane.

“To discipline some behaviour and excesses of certain religious denominations, a draft Law on Religious Freedom and Worship is under discussion to regulate the exercise of this activity in Mozambique”, the director said.

Macassar argues that the State should act, not to interfere in the exercise of the activities of religious groupings. but to direct and discipline them “and the new law will provide for the registration of a religious denomination with a minimum of 2,000 faithful, in contrast to the current law which recognizes any religious body with a minimum of 500 faithful.”

According to Macassar, for the establishment of a new church, by those who decide to leave an existing congregation, they must possess a letter of disaffiliation or recommendation, and their leaders must hold a certificate in theology.

“They must possess a letter of recommendation from the top leader of the previous religious grouping, attesting to their suitability to found another congregation”, he said.

Agencies

Human rights activist and journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, has announced that he has secured 50 dialysis machines for Zimbabwe from one of his contacts based in the United Kingdom.

Dialysis machines are artificial kidneys that perform most, but not all, kidney functions for patients with permanent or temporary renal failure.

According to an online source, the machines use hemodialysis to cleanse the blood and balance its constituents.

Posting on Twitter this Sunday, Chin’ono said he received a call from a Zimbabwean lady working for the British public health system, the National Health Service (NHS), saying she wants to give 50 dialysis machines to Zimbabwe. Said Chin’ono:

I got a phone call from a Zimbabwean lady working for the British @NHSEngland in Birmingham managing dialysis machines.

She has 50 machines that she wants to give to Zimbabwe.

Harare Council and other councils run by the opposition can get these machines to save our people.

Harare City Council has 12 Polyclinics that can be turned into part dialysis centers.

The council then only buys dialysis machine consumables, and Zimbabweans living with kidney disease can live normal lives again.

This requires competent councilors and mayors in cities.

Our people are dying yet these machines are affordable going for as little as USUS$8 000.

Chin’ono, a critic of the government, has over the past few years been exposing the rot in the country’s public health delivery system.

In 2020, he was arrested after he exposed the looting of public funds in the procurement of COVID-19 test kits and other medical sundries.

By A Correspondent- In a desperate attempt to placate key players in the electoral matrix ahead of the vital general elections later this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s financially precarious administration has handed senior Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) directors US$350 000 house loans each.

In order to uphold the status quo and protect the incumbent, general elections in Zimbabwe are frequently conducted by security forces in contravention of the law and the constitution.

Since the ruling party and the government are conflated, Zanu PF has dissolved into state institutions and structures that continue to support it in elections, particularly at the presidential election level.

The CIO plays a crucial role in important elections, which includes voter registration, preparing the voters’ list, conducting pre-polling surveys, embedding themselves in electoral bodies to monitor and influence processes, accreditation, and getting the results much earlier than everyone else for security reasons. They also make sure they decide on how to handle situations in a timely manner, especially if there is an unfavorable outcome.

The CIO collaborated with a renowned researcher from the University of Zimbabwe to develop election surveys, which were then falsely touted as the result of academic study to manipulate elections. This significant electoral scam was discovered by a local journalist in 2008.

In that situation, the CIO had created the report and provided it to the academic for him to claim as his own, forecasting a victory for the late president.

The first CIO draft report had actually shown Mugabe losing, but it was considered politically unacceptable and a new one was done giving him marginal victory over the late main opposition MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai.

As things turned out, Tsvangirai actually defeated Mugabe in the first round of polling with 47.87% (which many believed was suppressed to ensure a run-off) to 43.24%.

The CIO and other security forces have agents embedded in the whole electoral process, including at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), particularly at secretariat level. The Zec secretariat is headed by Utloile Silaigwana, who was in the army. He took over as chief elections officer from the late Lovemore Sekeramayi, a former top CIO officer.

“There is a windfall for CIO. Senior directors who are regarded as deputy ministerial level are getting US$350 000 as housing allowances. District Intelligence Officers and above will get ZW$3 000 000, while those below have been given ZW$1 000 000 backdated allowances,” a source said.

“Besides that, an internal confidential circular has been written, saying no one is resigning. The memo basically says even those who have reached retirement can stay on until further notice.

This is a desperate bid to stop officers from quitting as they have been doing due to poor conditions of service. It’s also about elections.”

The cash-strapped government has continued splurging cash despite an outcry from a large section of impoverished citizens after authorities lavished each minister with US$500 000 and deputy ministers US$350 000 in housing allowances.

The funds were unbudgeted for. Legislators were also allocated US$40 000 each in November last year, sparking a major outcry, especially against opposition MPs who were accused of joining the gravy train.

The loans totalled US$14 million for all the 350 legislators.

Also late last year, the government began installing solar panels at homes of more than 100 government officials, commissioners and service chiefs at the cost of US$14 000 per unit to cushion them from rolling nationwide power cuts lasting up to 18 hours.

This came after the Zambezi River Authority ordered the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority subsidiary to stop generating electricity at Lake Kariba.

ZPC exhausted its yearly water allocation. The installations were done at taxpayers’ expense.

Justifying the legislators’ allowances to The NewsHawks in December last year, the chairperson of the parliamentary welfare committee, Temba Mliswa, who is also Norton independent MP, said the allowances for ministers in particular were not budgeted for.

“Ministers got US$500 000 and deputy ministers US$350 000, but that was not budgeted for. MPs’ allowances were budgeted for. Besides the US$40 000, MPs also got US$50 000 for cars,” he said.

“We were supposed to get US$80 000, but we were given US$50 000. That means there is a balance of US$30 000. The accommodation issue for MPs is a serious matter that needs to be addressed.

“People must remember that for MPs this is not free money. These are loans guaranteed by our pensions. If you don’t pay back, you lose your pension. But for ministers, it’s a different story; that was not budgeted for.”

Opposition CCC president Nelson Chamisa however described the loans to legislators as a bribe, after which he slammed the government’s looting culture.

“Normally when they smear porridge around your mouth you will not have eaten and that is what has happened. Zanu PF people have been giving themselves a lot of money; ministers, deputy ministers. You go to the judiciary; you go to the other organs of the state; I will not mention, but, I have got all the details. You will be shocked to look at the money that they have been doling out and the trinkets that they have been giving,” Chamisa said.

“. . . but CCC were not supposed to drink from this poisoned chalice. They have joined the pioneer column, they have joined the gravy train and they have crossed the line. I told them that if you don’t act accordingly, you know what it means. The citizens are waiting for you and they are going to punish you and punish you heavily so that one is already catered for, I do not agree with it, I do not encourage it, I do not support it. I do not believe that people must be talking about their welfare when the nation is struggling, the way we are struggling.”

Chamisa added the funds could be diverted to the health sector, which is in dire straits.

“If you take US$40 000, I went to a hospital just this week, US$40 000 will do so much just to transform the outlook of our hospitals, in terms of linen, in terms of the beds that are broken. It’s a pathetic situation. The toilets are not functioning, there is nothing, not even boreholes, there is no water, but if you take US$40 000 it will do wonders just for a member of Parliament and for Parliament to then behave like it’s a bank or government has turned itself into a bank that is giving loans for me (it) defeats logic.”

-Newshawks

By A Correspondent- Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC-T is headed for another split after its deputy leader Elias Mudzuri said he would resist attempts to expel him from the party as part of intensifying power struggles.

Mudzuri, Norest Marara, Mashonaland West province chairperson Gift Konjana, Masvingo province chairperson John Nyika, US province chairperson Den Moyo, secretary for Education, Edwin Dzambara and national executive member Edwin Kakora were slapped with suspensions last week.

The former Harare mayor poured his heart out on Twitter and revealed that an MDC-T national council meeting held yesterday in Harare was meant to expel him from the party.

“I am reliably informed that today the illegitimate MDC national council will expel me from the party,” he said.,

How can a founder member be expelled for insisting that leaders must always be chosen by the base structures and not the elite and for merely chatting with customers at Duriro Bar.”

By-Eye-witnesses have started to narrate how Jaison Muvevi, a retired Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officer, gunned down three people in Hwedza last Friday.

  Muvevi is also said to have been a feared man in the police service sector as he was well-trained and not an easy person to attack during operations.

He has been likened to another former detective Joseph Nemaisa who single-handedly confronted five armed robbers who were holding his family hostage at his Chadcombe home in December 2021 and killed three of them while the other two ran away.

CID officers who were pursuing Muvevi from Hwedza where he shot dead three people and seriously injured another caught up with him in the Chiduku area of Rusape.

Narrating the events leading to Muvevi’s disappearance from Chiduku on Saturday, 14 January, a villager who is a nephew of the late Prophet Sirage (Crispen Kanerusine) who had been shot dead the previous day, said he gave the killer drinking water unaware that he killed his uncle.

Madzibaba Sirage’s nephew, only identified as (Rob) said he was shocked when he later learned that Muvevi had gunned down his uncle in Hwedza. He said:

I do not regret giving him water. It was my uncle who was fighting his killer in death and I think he also wanted Muvevi to be exposed as he tried to run away from the crime scene in Wedza.

Mukomana (Muvevi) was fleeing from police towards Chiduku driving his white sedan vehicle, Muvevi fired three shots at the officers who were in pursuit at Maruwani Bridge.

He then fired another shot which hit the police vehicle and immediately reversed his vehicle before driving for about 500m, turning into a small footpath leading to my homestead.

Rob said Muvevi then entered his homestead and entertained him unaware of what had happened. He said:

After greetings, Muvevi asked for some drinking water which I gave him.

He then inquired about gold mining areas and I showed him the area by just pointing at the mountains nearby.

He also asked for matches and I called my son who brought a box and gave him.

As Muvevi was explaining to the nephew that he can identify gold when he sees it, his phone vibrated. Said Madzibaba Sirage’s nephew:

As he tried to get his phone from his jeans’ back pocket, I saw two pistols from his jean’s back pockets.

I did not panic though I asked myself silently why he was carrying the pistols.

I then noticed some blood stains on his other shoe. I then called my son and quickly excused myself but he was not bothered about it.

I left him there walking towards the area I had pointed out to him as a potential gold mining place.

When the nephew got home a few meters away from Muvevi, police arrived and asked him about Muvevi’s whereabouts. He said:

I did not know his name then and I told the police the person they wanted had just left my homestead showing them the direction he took.

As we ran towards the direction he took… we then spotted him coming out of the gorge.

According to the slain prophet’s nephew, he heard one of the police officers saying:

Let us retreat. We have known this guy for a long time.

We know his records in the security sector so we cannot just confront him.

This is when I heard that my uncle had been shot dead by the man whom I had entertained a few minutes earlier. I was shocked.

Muvevi disappeared abandoning his car and escaped on foot.

Muvevi appeared in court on Friday charged with four murder charges and two attempted murder counts. He is expected in court on 6 February 2023. | NewZimbabwe.com

By- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has announced that they are investigating leads linking ex-detective Jaison Muvevi (42) to six other murder cases in and around Harare and Chitungwiza over the past three years.

Muvevi was arrested on Monday, 16 January for allegedly killing three people in Hwedza on 13 January.

His alleged victims were Chrispen Kanerusine (48) of Hwedza, Hwedza officer-in-charge Inspector Maxwell Hove (43) and 27-year-old Munashe Majani, who was a bartender at Ruzema Bottle Store, Mukamba Business Centre, Hwedza.

He has also been charged with the murder of Nyarai Round (33) of Domboshava.

On Friday, prosecutors added another murder charge after detectives investigating the Hwedza shootings established that Muvevi could have killed another man in Harare last year.

Muvevi is presently before the courts facing four murder charges and two attempted murder charges.

Police suspect the same weapon used by Muvevi during the shooting spree in Hwedza was the one used to fatally shoot Nyarai Round in Eastlea on 19 November 2022.

The Sunday Mail reported sources close to the investigations as saying that the weapon in question is said to have been linked to six other murders dating back to 2020.

Bullet casings obtained from the respective crime scenes as evidence have been sent for forensic ballistic analysis to ascertain whether they were discharged from Muvevi’s firearm.

ZRP spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the new development but did not give more details. He said:

We are looking at the possibility that Muvevi could have committed other cases using his firearm.

Right now, we are in the process of verifying with the ballistic analysis.

Remember, through the ballistic analysis, we managed to link him to the murder which happened on November 19 last year. We are certainly looking at that possibility.

Last week, Muvevi appeared before Harare magistrate Evelyn Mashavirakure and was remanded in custody to 6 February.

He was advised to approach the High Court for bail application. | The Sunday Mail

Tinashe Sambiri| CCC champion Richard Pamire embarked on a pothole filling initiative in Kuwadzana, Harare on Saturday.

The hardworking CCC member is also spearheading a massive voter registration campaign in the area.

In a brief statement, Pamire said :

“Due to raining ndikuita pothole filling in Kuwadzana, ward 37( Our roads were damaged by heavy rains so I have decided to moot the pothole filling initiative).

I am using my own resources . I am happy with the support from the community. It is our mandate as citizens to make sure that our roads are decent and up to scratch.”

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it will not comment on the request for the electronic voters roll until the Justice Luke Malaba led courts have made a ruling on the matter.

Following Team Pachedu’s accusations of manipulation, civic society organisations, as well as political parties, have requested access to the computerized voters’ roll.

However, in a Twitter post, the commission said:

The issue concerning availing the electronic voters roll to those who request it is before the courts or sub-judice hence the commission will not comment on that matter until there is a court determination’

The Election Resource Centre (ERC), a local watchdog, is among the organisations that tried in vain to get a copy of the voters’ roll.

ERC said without the voters’ roll, it will be impossible to know if the boundaries created by the delimitation process have followed the law and if indeed votes are equal.

Tinashe Sambiri| Zimbabweans shall celebrate victory from Zanu PF oppression after the 2023 polls, CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa has said.

According to the CCC leader, the Zanu PF regime cannot postpone the people’s victory.

Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new dispensation has dismally failed to transform the economy.

Zimbabweans are grappling with deepening political and economic woes.

On Thursday President Chamisa said in a statement:

“ONE DAY AND SOON, we will wake up to wild joyful celebrations and it will be so good, beautiful and wonderful in a New GREAT ZIMBABWE.

We will make the world headlines for winning against all odds.The euphoria will surpass the 1980 independence celebrations!Zimbabwe,get ready.”

He also paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

The legacy of Rev Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. is an inspiration for many in the struggle for dignity,equality,justice and freedom.May the world be free from all forms of oppression.A New Great Zimbabwe with freedom & justice for all shall be a befitting tribute to his great legacy.

Tinashe Sambiri| Zimbabweans shall celebrate victory from Zanu PF oppression after the 2023 polls, CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa has said.

According to the CCC leader, the Zanu PF regime cannot postpone the people’s victory.

Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new dispensation has dismally failed to transform the economy.

Zimbabweans are grappling with deepening political and economic woes.

On Thursday President Chamisa said in a statement:

“ONE DAY AND SOON, we will wake up to wild joyful celebrations and it will be so good, beautiful and wonderful in a New GREAT ZIMBABWE.

We will make the world headlines for winning against all odds.The euphoria will surpass the 1980 independence celebrations!Zimbabwe,get ready.”

He also paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

The legacy of Rev Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. is an inspiration for many in the struggle for dignity,equality,justice and freedom.May the world be free from all forms of oppression.A New Great Zimbabwe with freedom & justice for all shall be a befitting tribute to his great legacy.

Tinashe Sambiri| CCC youth taskforce spokesperson Stephen Sarkozy Chuma has openly challenged Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa to stop treating opposition members like second class citizens.

The tough-talking CCC youth leader on Thursday said Mr Mnangagwa would be removed from power.

Sarkozy declared:
“We can’t continue to live like we are second class citizens in our own country. ED is biting more than he can chew!

We only have one option- to remove him, to remove him and I repeat- to remove him.”

By-The Emmerson Mnangagwa government has reportedly given senior Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) directors US$350 000 housing loans each.

The Zanu PF government plants the secret police in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), where they assist the party in rigging elections.

The News Hawks reports citing an anonymous source saying that District Intelligence Officers will also be given backdated allowances. The source is quoted as saying:

There is a windfall for CIO. Senior directors who are regarded as deputy ministerial level are getting US$350 000 as housing allowances. District Intelligence Officers and above will get ZW$3 000 000, while those below have been given ZW$1 000 000 backdated allowances.

Besides that, an internal confidential circular has been written, saying no one is resigning. The memo basically says even those who have reached retirement can stay on until further notice.

This is a desperate bid to stop officers from quitting as they have been doing due to poor conditions of service. It’s also about elections.

The development comes barely months after reports that the cash-strapped government had given ministers US$500 000 and deputy ministers US$350 000 in housing allowances.

Members of Parliament were also allocated US$40 000 each in November last year, sparking a major outcry, especially against opposition MPs who were accused of joining the gravy train.

The loans totalled US$14 million for all 350 legislators.

Also late last year, the government began installing solar panels at the homes of more than 100 government officials, commissioners and service chiefs at the cost of US$14 000 per unit to cushion them from rolling nationwide power cuts lasting up to 18 hours.

Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa, said ministers’ loans were not budgeted for while MPs’ allowances were budgeted for. 

Besides the US$40 000, MPs also got US$50 000 for cars, instead of US$80 000 which means there is “a balance of US$30 000.”

Analysts believe the loans are a strategy by the ruling ZANU PF to influence the outcome of the national elections scheduled for this year.

For decades now, ZANU PF has been accused of using state security forces to retain power by intimidating the electorate or manipulating the electoral processes. 

The CIO and other security forces have agents in the whole electoral process, including at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), where the secretariat is headed by Utloile Silaigwana a former army officer. He took over as chief elections officer from the late Lovemore Sekeramayi, a former top CIO officer.

Tinashe Sambiri| Zimbabweans shall celebrate victory from Zanu PF oppression after the 2023 polls, CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa has said.

According to the CCC leader, the Zanu PF regime cannot postpone the people’s victory.

Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new dispensation has dismally failed to transform the economy.

Zimbabweans are grappling with deepening political and economic woes.

On Thursday President Chamisa said in a statement:

“ONE DAY AND SOON, we will wake up to wild joyful celebrations and it will be so good, beautiful and wonderful in a New GREAT ZIMBABWE.

We will make the world headlines for winning against all odds.The euphoria will surpass the 1980 independence celebrations!Zimbabwe,get ready.”

He also paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

The legacy of Rev Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. is an inspiration for many in the struggle for dignity,equality,justice and freedom.May the world be free from all forms of oppression.A New Great Zimbabwe with freedom & justice for all shall be a befitting tribute to his great legacy.

By Desmond Nleya | The current ‘great trek’ to the UK by most health professionals particularly the nurse aids have proved to be a death trap to most Zimbabwean women.

While the grass seems to be greener on the other side, revelations by ZimEye indicated modern slavery and serious manipulation where women are forced into marrying Nigerians and other nationals who use them to acquire documents in the UK.

Painfully, as alleged by some victims, Zimbabweans who own care homes are paid huge sums of money by Nigerians, to lure their relatives back home who will then be forced to be in a relationship with these conmen.

“People who own Care homes here are the ones acting as middlemen. They call their relatives back home and upon arrival, these relatives who are mostly women are given to Nigerians.

“Those Nigerians would have come to the UK using students visas and for them to acquire work visas, they take advantage of properly documented Zimbos who they quickly use to acquire proper documents. After having achieved this, the women would be dumped”, narrated one Zimbabwean known as Noma who is based in Manchester.

Apart from being made sex slaves, it has also been revealed by the Telegraph that some care workers are paid only half of their wages and are forced to live in squalor by unscrupulous middlemen who hold the other half of their wages.

“When you are working for an agency [in the UK], they pay you 50 per cent of your total salary,” said Jim Moyo*, who moved to the UK from Harare in November 2018 to work in a care home in Margate.

“You are getting paid £14 per hour, but then these guys will pay you £7.”He added that, once the tax was deducted, he was left with just £4 per hour for “rent, food and all sorts of expenses”.

“[The agency] tells you: ‘I paid for your accommodation, flights, visa, [I’m] your sponsor’. It’s like a hideous loan,” said Mr Moyo.

While Zimbabwe’s nurses have found work in Britain for years, hiring care workers is a new phenomenon, and experts told the Telegraph that a lucrative ecosystem of manipulation has been built around it.

“Exploitation does not start on arrival [in the UK],” said Hillary Musarurwa, a Zimbabwe-born social scientist in England.

“It starts during the application process [in Zimbabwe].

However regulation of these agencies is weak, and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) suggested that – although it is unacceptable that some overseas-based agencies are charging fees to place candidates with jobs in Britain – their hands are tied because the actors are not under UK jurisdiction.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it will not comment on the request for the electronic voters roll until the courts have made a ruling on the matter.

Following Team Pachedu’s accusations of manipulation, civic society organisations, as well as political parties, have requested access to the computerized voters’ roll.

However, in a Twitter post, the commission said:

The issue concerning availing the electronic voters roll to those who request it is before the courts or sub-judice hence the commission will not comment on that matter until there is a court determination’

The Election Resource Centre (ERC), a local watchdog, is among the organisations that tried in vain to get a copy of the voters’ roll.

ERC said without the voters’ roll, it will be impossible to know if the boundaries created by the delimitation process have followed the law and if indeed votes are equal.

By A Correspondent | Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube flew to the just ended World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with over 20 aides.

Minister Ncube was accompanied by two other Ministers (Foreign Affairs) Frederick Shava, and Sekesai Nzenza(Labour), and each Minister had 6 aides.

Among Mthuli Ncube’ contributions during plenary sessions was a proposal for governments to distribute seed to farmers as a social protection measure, the concept called Command Agriculture. Ncube was asked which countries anywhere in the world where this method works and he replied saying, Zimbabwe is the example.

Mthuli Ncube also boasted of banning lithium mining saying since Zimbabwe did this, 2 investors have approached within 3 days seeking to invest. VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

By-Former CID officer and murder suspect Jaison Muvevi allegedly killed another person in Harare.

NewZimbabwe reports that Muvevi allegedly shot an unidentified man in the head “for no apparent reason” on November 19, 2021, in the Eastlea neighbourhood of Harare.

The court was informed that Muvevi was with two unidentified men, while the deceased was with one Nyasha Eusen.

Following the victim’s death, it is claimed that Muvevi and his accomplices pushed Eusen into their Toyota Allion and drove to the Huruyadzo Shopping Center in Chitungwiza. Eusen later managed to escape. 

The court was also informed that Muvevi accidentally shot himself in the left elbow during the altercation.

Police found an x-ray report in his car he dumped following a shootout in the Hwedza area. 

Arrest:

Muvevi was arrested this week in Mozambique in connection with the murder of three people on 13 January 2023 in Hwedza.

It is alleged Muvevi arrived at Crispen Kanerusine’s shrine while in the company of one Shupikai Muvevi.

He was dressed in all black against the church’s doctrine and was given a white cloth to cover himself with.

The court was further told Muvevi sat with other worshipers as Kanerusine delivered his sermon.

Muvevi suddenly went to his vehicle which was parked close to the shrine and came back with an FN browning pistol which he used to shoot the preacher once in the head.

After learning about the event, the Officer in Charge of Wedza Police Station, Inspector Maxwell Hove, assembled his response team and went to the shrine to conduct an investigation.

They met Muvevi along the Wedza-Murambinda High Way and blocked his vehicle intending to confront him.

Muvevi then started firing at them, hitting Hove three times in his head and the officer died on the spot.

He also shot Constable Tendai Mugova in the stomach and on his pelvis.

Muvevi made a U-turn and drove towards Murambinda business centre where he shot and killed Munashe Munjani after a brief chat with him.

On January 14 Muvevi went to Mutare boys high school where he fired three shots but missed the second complainant who had refused to give him food. 

Muvevi then skipped the border and was arrested the following day in Mozambique.

-NewZimbabwe

By- A Bulawayo couple’s wedding almost became a nightmare after discovering that their wedding planner had sold them a dummy.

A wedding planner is generally described as a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client’s wedding.
Because weddings are significant events in people’s lives, couples are often willing to spend top dollar to ensure their weddings are well-organised.
It wasn’t the case for Tinashe Chihanya (29) and his-would-be bride Shifra Calder Chihanya (27).
Despite spending a significant amount of money for their dream day, the happy couple found out three days before the wedding that they had hired a ‘scammer’ for a wedding planner.
It almost ended in tears for the couple.
The venue, décor and catering teams had not been paid, despite assurances from the wedding planner– Mercy Chiurunga– that everything was going according to plan, says Chihanya.
“Sometime in June last year, as we were making preparations for our wedding, I stumbled on an advertisement on Facebook about a wedding planner named Mercy Chiurunga, who had posted impressive posts on décor and wedding works she had done for previous clients.
“I contacted her and we set up an appointment and she showed me some video clips of her previous work and I was very satisfied.
“Her prices were also affordable so I did not think twice about hiring her as our wedding planner,” Chihanya narrated to B-Metro.
Chihanya says he handed R20 000 to Chiurunga as a part payment for the venue, décor and catering over several months.
The balance would be paid a day after the wedding, according to an agreement that the client and service provider had entered into.
“I made the first deposit in July, the second in October and then the other payment in early December, a few weeks before the wedding day, and she brought invoices with a 3 December 2022 date stamp confirming that the venue had been secured.
“Three days before my wedding, I contacted the owner of the venue just to cross check if everything was in order but I was shocked to discover that my wedding planner had not booked the venue.
“In, fact another wedding was scheduled to be held at that same venue on the day of our wedding,” he said.
An infuriated Chihanya promptly contacted the wedding planner to get to the bottom of the thorny issue.
“She still insisted that she had paid for the venue and even sent fake receipts as proof of payment via her mobile phone. The owner of the venue then showed me the kind of receipts that they give their clients and they (receipts) were totally different from the ones I was shown by my wedding planner,” he added. It quickly dawned on the would-be-groom that he had been taken for a ride.
The scammer had been busted.
“I tried to meet her in person to sort out the issue but she was very evasive and due to the huge amount of pressure I was under, my relatives advised me to book another venue, find another décor and catering team so that the wedding could go on.
“To this day I still haven’t received my money from the wedding scammer as she has been making excuse after excuse,” said Chihanya.
The alleged wedding scammer disputed that she owed Chihanya R20 000 for services unrendered but acknowledged the two did enter into an agreement.
“Yes, I ended up failing to render my services due to circumstances that were beyond my control but I owe him US$650 not the R20 000 that he claims. I have a few clients who still owe me some money and as soon as they pay, I will also pay him.
“I’m an honest wedding planner who has dealt with many happy clients and I regret what happened to him,” she told this publication before terminating the call.
Efforts to get more clarity drew blanks as her mobile phone went unanswered. B Metro

By- Courts in Harare Friday jailed former ZBC Television presenter and news anchor Oscar Pambuka for six years for fraud.

Pambuka and former Highfield Member of Parliament Psychology Maziwisa were last year convicted of fraud and were supposed to go to jail for two years and six months each. Instead, “they disappeared,” The Herald reported.
Pambuka was this week convicted in another case of fraud and remanded in custody for sentencing, while Maziwisa has not been accounted for and is still on a warrant of arrest.
The courts activated Pambuka’s warrant of arrest following his conviction at Mbare magistrates’ court. He was yesterday brought before High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda for a default inquiry and was committed to prison.
Pambuka and Maziwisa were initially convicted of two counts of fraud and each sentenced to six years and five months in prison.
However, they will only serve two years and six months each after the rest of the term was conditionally suspended.
What happened:
i). They were fraudulently awarded a tender to do public relations work for ZESA Holdings by former Energy minister Samuel Undenge at a time the power utility had its own functional public relations department. ZESA’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), lost over US$12 000 in that deal.
ii). Pambuka attempted to defraud a Harare-based transporter of R36 000 after misrepresenting to him that he was Croco Motors director Mr Chingwena and wanted advance money to pay for shipment of his motor spare parts in South Africa. He was found guilty in this case on Wednesday.
Pambuka’s alleged accomplices, Ngonidzashe Mbauya and Elmore Mwenye, were cleared and acquitted of the charges.

By- Police have rescued a kidnapping victim was rescued in the Gauteng suburb of Mayfield, on the East Rand, during a predawn raid, Thursday.

Police arrested six men, including the owner of the house where the victim was held.

The business owner was kidnapped in the Johannesburg suburb of Jeppe nearly two weeks ago. He has been reunited with his family, police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said.

The wife of the homeowner told TimesLIVE Investigations she had no knowledge of the victim being in her home as she had been at a sangoma initiation school for six weeks.

The woman, who cannot be named as this would identify her husband, said she did not know her husband was allegedly part of a kidnapping syndicate. 

“He would come and visit me at the school to drop off money and food for my upkeep, but he never said anything to me. I am shocked and angry,” she said.

The Mayfield, East Rand, house where six men were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a businessman on January 7. The victim was kept here for several days before being rescued by police. 

Image: Tankiso Makhetha 

She was informed by a community member that police had raided her home. 

Neighbours interviewed by TimesLIVE Investigations on Thursday said the house had been a hub of activity in recent days with a variety of expensive vehicles pulling up regularly.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said they became suspicious of the activity because the owner of the house, who had moved there with his wife two years ago, did not own any vehicles.

According to the neighbour, the police surrounded the house at about 5am on Thursday.

Heavily armed officers scaled the walls and arrested five men inside the house without firing a shot.

When TimesLIVE Investigations arrived at the scene, six suspects were bound and sitting under a tree under police guard while officers gathered evidence at the property.

The businessman, who sources said was an Ethiopian national, was allegedly kidnapped from his vehicle after leaving his business in Jeppe on January 7. According to a source, his vehicle was found abandoned with the ignition still running after he was apparently forced off the road.

Twenty cellphones and three GPS tracking devices were seized, along with five vehicles. 

Image: SAPS 

Among the items seized by police were 20 cellphones and three GPS tracking units.

Police also seized five luxury vehicles, some of which are new:

• a Mercedes-Benz E350;
• a Mercedes-Benz A200;
• a 2023 Mini Cooper Countryman;
• a Toyota Urban Cruiser; and
• a BMW X4.

Mathe said a police contingent comprising various units, led by crime intelligence and organised crime members, had been conducting surveillance on the syndicate and have linked them to more than 16 cases of kidnappings in Gauteng where ransom demands were being made.

She said the team led by the special task force and hostage negotiators conducted operations at various addresses in Gauteng including Jeppe, Helderwyk, Brackenhurst and Daveyton before locating the victim. 

The suspects are expected to appear in court soon on charges of kidnapping and extortion. 

South African police and Interpol members arrested alleged transnational kidnapping kingpin Esmael Nangy earlier this month in Centurion, Gauteng. Nangy, a Mozambican national, is believed to form part of a large Mozambican syndicate behind some of South Africa’s kidnapping and extortion cases.

This piece was written in collaboration with the Henry Nxumalo Foundation.

TimesLIVE

By- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been fined for not wearing a seatbelt in a moving car while filming a social media video. 

Lancashire Police said it had issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of a fixed penalty.

No 10 said Mr Sunak “fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologised”, adding that he would pay the fine.

Passengers caught failing to wear a seat belt when one is available can be fined £100. 

This can increase to £500 if the case goes to court.

The prime minister was in Lancashire when the video was filmed, during a trip across the north of England.

The video – to promote the government’s latest round of “levelling up” spending– was posted on Mr Sunak’s Instagram account.

It is the second time Mr Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice while in government. 

Last April, he was fined along with Boris Johnson and wife Carrie for breaking Covid lockdown rules – by attending a birthday gathering for the then-prime minister in Downing Street in June 2020. 

‘Disregard for the rules’

Fixed penalty notices are a sanction for breaking the law, and mean a fine, which needs to be paid within 28 days, or contested. 

If someone chooses to contest the fine, the police will then review the case and decide whether to withdraw the fine or take the matter to court.

The Liberal Democrats said, in becoming the second ever serving prime minister to be fined by police, he had “shown the same disregard for the rules as Boris Johnson”.

Deputy Lib Dem leader Daisy Cooper said: “From partygate to seatbelt gate, these Conservative politicians are just taking the British people for fools. 

“Whilst they continue to behave as though it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else, this fine is a reminder that the Conservatives eventually get their comeuppance.”

But earlier Conservative MP for Blackpool South Scott Benton suggested Lancashire Police were wasting their time by looking into the incident.

“The vast majority of people would think that politically motivated complaints about a seatbelt are not good use of frontline resources,” he said. 

Passengers aged 14 and over are responsible for ensuring they wear a seat belt in cars, vans and other goods vehicles if one is fitted. Drivers are responsible for passengers under 14.

Exemptions include having a doctor’s certificate for a medical reason, or being in a vehicle used for a police, fire or other rescue service.

-BBC

COMMUNIQUE OF THE CSOs INDABA AHEAD OF ZIMBABWE’S 2023 ELECTIONS

January 17, 2023

On January 17, 2023, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) hosted a Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Indaba on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Delimitation Process and the general political environment ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The CSOs Indaba sought to interrogate the technical aspects of the 2023 general elections as well as the general political environment and implications on the credibility of the upcoming polls.

The CSOs Indaba noted the following;

1. Participants noted that while the ZEC delimitation process is fraught with irregularities and remains part of a broader scheme by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to rig elections in favour of the ruling party, ZANU PF, it remains part of a broader scheme to tilt the electoral environment in favour of ZANU PF
2. ZEC remains captured and continues to work as an appendage of ZANU PF and this points out to discredited elections in 2023. In some areas of the country, there has been a deliberate attempt to frustrate potential voters and a huge number of citizens remain disenfranchised
3. Electoral reforms remain a pipe dream in Zimbabwe with the country’s elections failing to meet guidelines of the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance. Zimbabwe is yet to implement recommendations from previous Electoral Observer Missions including recommendations of the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry relating to the conduct of credible elections. This points to yet another illegitimate election in 2023 
4. Zimbabwe continues to witness political violence which is being perpetrated by the ruling ZANU PF against the country’s major opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and this has created an uneven playing field with the State making concerted efforts to ban opposition events. Selective application of the law has resulted in ruling party activists perpetrating violence with impunity. Traditional leaders and war veterans continue to openly campaign for ZANU PF while threatening violence against the opposition against the dictates of the constitution
5. Ahead of the 2023 elections, the country continues to witness law fare against opposition activists while law enforcement agents continue to conduct themselves in a partisan manner and this continues to dent the credibility of the 2023 polls
6. The public media remains biased towards the ruling party and this again is against recommendations from previous Election Observer Missions
7. There is a deliberate attempt to undermine, underfund and capture the Independent Commissions which were created to support democracy in Zimbabwe. These include the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) and the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC). The role of these Commissions to contribute towards credible elections in 2023 has largely been compromised.
8. Issues around access to the voters’ roll point to a deliberate attempt to rig the 2023 elections and expose the collusion between ZEC and ZANU PF

Resolutions and Way Forward

• The CSOs Indaba noted that issues relating to the technical aspects and the general political environment point to yet another flawed election that will certainly fail the credibility test and thus result in yet another legitimacy crisis in Zimbabwe.

• Events currently obtaining on the ground point to yet another bloody election in 2023 and Zimbabwe is not prepared for free, fair and credible polls. There is a deliberate attempt by the State to entrench authoritarianism and move towards a one party state.

• In light of the above-mentioned challenges, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition shall continue with mobilization efforts at the grassroots level to empower citizens to demand free, fair and credible polls. This includes ensuring that citizens reject a flawed process with pre-determined outcomes.

• The Coalition shall intensify advocacy campaigns at the regional and international level and this also includes pushing for long-term observer missions ahead of the 2023 elections.

ENDS//

By-Diligent Kgosi Mampuru Prison guards foiled what correctional services suspects would have been a prisoner escape on Tuesday.
National prisons boss Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale said officials on a daily inspection of cells in the maximum prison’s unit A discovered that window grills in a cell had been hacked with a saw, and immediately reported their discovery.
The cell housed two Zimbabwean nationals sentenced in June and July to 17 and 14 years in prison.
Thobakgale said correctional services suspected that the two compromised the window grills to further their escape plot.
He said Emmanuel Muchandizwa is serving 17 years for robbery and being in the country illegally while Thembani Mudau is serving 14 years for housebreaking and robbery.
“I received an incident report – which we receive on a 15-minute interval – that two inmates in unit A, for maximum offenders, had comprised window bars.
“Our officials, who run standard operating procedures such as testing doors, bars and windows, found the damage that could have led to a potential escape.”
Thobakgale did not disagree that the window bars were cut overnight, but alluded to the possibility that wardens and a member of the public “using visitation hours” were party to the plot.
“The investigation would reveal more,” he said, adding that after the discovery of the cut bars “six blades were located” in the cell.

National prisons boss Makgothi Thobakgale and his officials visit Kgosi Mampuru prison on Wednesday.
He said the inmates confessed that the “contraband blades were planted in sneakers and brought in from outside”.
He said normally the inspection is by different officials on a shift basis.
“This is the reason why we sometimes witness escapes.”
He said some wardens had been caught assisting prisoners before and disciplined, often their employment was terminated.
“Some wardens do not carry out their duties, however, the officials that were on duty [on Tuesday] did what they were expected to do, which led to the discovery of the tampered-with infrastructure.”
He said that often visiting relatives aided prison escapes.
“Members of the public, families that come and visit are the ones that also comprise our security systems. We have found contraband such as saws buried in the soles of sneakers, which are items used for escapes, such as this incident.”
Thobakgale said the department would intensify inmate and visitor searches and appealed to visitors to allow this thorough search, and for patience.
He said the two inmates were being monitored post their attempted escape and further offences would be added to their criminal record.
“They are in prison for rehabilitation programmes and their sentence plans will be looked at again.”
He said a police investigation was underway to uncover what led to the potential escape and tampering with government infrastructure.
He said the correctional services would look at employing more warders as the inmate population increased.

“We have 156 000 inmates in our correctional centres, an increase from 151 000 in November 2022.”
He said correctional services processes were slow, but 3 000 officials were currently being recruited.
He said currently fewer than 40 000 officials manned prisons.
“Of the 40 000, a quarter is looking at challenges of escapes, so we need more capacity to be able to foil escapes.”
He said one of the problems at correctional services was infrastructure, but applauded the officials who foiled the potential escape for a job well done.

Pretoria Rekord

By- A group of angry ANC members in the Free State province has disrupted the party’s elective, forcing the halt of the registration process.

Provincial ANC interim provincial committee (IPC) spokesperson Oupa Khoabane said: “Registration for the conference has temporarily been suspended. Notification will be made once the time for resumption has been concluded.”

TimesLIVE previously reported that last year the Free State and Western Cape were the only two provinces that could not convene their conferences before the party’s national conference last month.

The countless delays in the Free State were credited to clashes between branches still beholden to former Free State strongman Ace Magashule and branches pushing the renewal agenda.

National executive committee member David Mahlobo said he was in a meeting dealing with the issues that had led to the temporary suspension of the conference.

Earlier on Friday, Mahlobo conceded that the lead-up to the conference had not been smooth.

“We know that the structures in this province had to be reconstituted from scratch from branch, regional and until this provincial level where we are at. We are satisfied by the work of the IPC that they have done in terms of putting interim committees in branches and all of these branches now have proper structures in place. But the road has not been smooth or easy,” he said.

“There are a number of instances in a number of regions where there are claims and allegations of parallel branches. The other allegation being made is the tampering with the delegates that are supposed to attend the conference.

“We need to indicate that there has been a credentials committee that the IPC has worked with, our team of officials in head office and NEC members including Dina Pule, Pinky Kekana and Mzwandile Masina. They have dealt with all the branches which had those issues and we are satisfied that these matters have been dealt with to our satisfaction.”

Mahlobo added: “We had planned that we would have done preregistration by yesterday [Thursday] and concluded our registration before lunch today before conference starts, but … there are issues of some people claiming they might have been excluded. But the leadership of the NEC, working with the IPC and regional leaders, are attending to those issues.”

He appealed for the conference to be allowed to continue without disruptions.

“We want comrades to avoid confrontation and conflict. Nobody is going to be left behind. Legitimate people who are supposed to attend conference will attend.”

TimesLIVE

By-Former ZBC Television presenter and news anchor Oscar Pambuka has been jailed for six years for fraud.

Pambuka and former Highfield Member of Parliament Psychology Maziwisa were last year convicted of fraud and were supposed to go to jail for two years and six months each but instead, “they disappeared,” The Herald reported.
Pambuka was this week convicted in another case of fraud and remanded in custody for sentencing while Maziwisa has not been accounted for and is still on a warrant of arrest.
The courts activated Pambuka’s warrant of arrest following his conviction at Mbare magistrates’ court. He was yesterday brought before High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda for a default inquiry and was committed to prison.
Pambuka and Maziwisa were initially convicted of two counts of fraud and each sentenced to six years and five months in prison.
However, they will only serve two years and six months each after the rest of the term was conditionally suspended.
What happened:
i). They were fraudulently awarded a tender to do public relations work for ZESA Holdings by former Energy minister Samuel Undenge at a time the power utility had its own functional public relations department. ZESA’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), lost over US$12 000 in that deal.
ii). Pambuka attempted to defraud a Harare-based transporter of R36 000 after misrepresenting to him that he was Croco Motors director Mr Chingwena and wanted advance money to pay for shipment of his motor spare parts in South Africa. He was found guilty in this case on Wednesday.
Pambuka’s alleged accomplices, Ngonidzashe Mbauya and Elmore Mwenye, were cleared and acquitted of the charges.

The Zimbabwe electronic commission has announced the dates for the 2023 elections.

The detail was revealed by ZEC’s Chairperson Priscilla Chigumba on Friday morning. She declared the dates while receiving Parliament’s delimitation report recommendations.

ZANU PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he will hand over his submissions next week.
“I am handing this report which I received yesterday from Parliament, they have gone further to compile debate in Parliament which will give you an insight into the report. These are only Parliament views, but I will present mine on Monday,” he said.

Justice Priscilla Chigumba said the commission will deliberate on the recommendations.

‘‘We will gather as a commission to look at all recommendations and look at those that we can accede to and those we can’t accede to and we will compile our own report for His Excellency, the President and state our reasons for acceding to some recommendations and not acceding to others. We are going to take a look at all recommendations. In terms of timelines, the next election is likely to be between 26 July and 24 August, so that means we ought to be able to gazette the final delimitation report sometime end of January or Mid-February,” she said.

Justice Chigumba explained the plus or minus 20 percent distribution on constituencies and wards.

“The constitution provides us with a mathematical formula to keep 210 constituencies. This is the first time that ZEC is delimitating wards as well, and the last time it was done by the local government. In order to delimit wards, the way which we interpret the constitution is that the plus or minus 20 percent is the discretion of the Commission,” she said.

According to the constitution, ZEC must hand over the final delimitation report to President Mnangagwa for gazetting six months before the elections.- state media/ additional reporting

By- Police have rescued a kidnapping victim was rescued in the Gauteng suburb of Mayfield, on the East Rand, during a predawn raid, Thursday.

Police arrested six men, including the owner of the house where the victim was held.

The business owner was kidnapped in the Johannesburg suburb of Jeppe nearly two weeks ago. He has been reunited with his family, police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said.

The wife of the homeowner told TimesLIVE Investigations she had no knowledge of the victim being in her home as she had been at a sangoma initiation school for six weeks.

The woman, who cannot be named as this would identify her husband, said she did not know her husband was allegedly part of a kidnapping syndicate. 

“He would come and visit me at the school to drop off money and food for my upkeep, but he never said anything to me. I am shocked and angry,” she said.

The Mayfield, East Rand, house where six men were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a businessman on January 7. The victim was kept here for several days before being rescued by police. 

She was informed by a community member that police had raided her home. 

Neighbours interviewed by TimesLIVE Investigations on Thursday said the house had been a hub of activity in recent days with a variety of expensive vehicles pulling up regularly.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said they became suspicious of the activity because the owner of the house, who had moved there with his wife two years ago, did not own any vehicles.

According to the neighbour, the police surrounded the house at about 5am on Thursday.

Heavily armed officers scaled the walls and arrested five men inside the house without firing a shot.

When TimesLIVE Investigations arrived at the scene, six suspects were bound and sitting under a tree under police guard while officers gathered evidence at the property.

The businessman, who sources said was an Ethiopian national, was allegedly kidnapped from his vehicle after leaving his business in Jeppe on January 7. According to a source, his vehicle was found abandoned with the ignition still running after he was apparently forced off the road.

Twenty cellphones and three GPS tracking devices were seized, along with five vehicles. 

Image: SAPS 

Among the items seized by police were 20 cellphones and three GPS tracking units.

Police also seized five luxury vehicles, some of which are new:

• a Mercedes-Benz E350;
• a Mercedes-Benz A200;
• a 2023 Mini Cooper Countryman;
• a Toyota Urban Cruiser; and
• a BMW X4.

Mathe said a police contingent comprising various units, led by crime intelligence and organised crime members, had been conducting surveillance on the syndicate and have linked them to more than 16 cases of kidnappings in Gauteng where ransom demands were being made.

She said the team led by the special task force and hostage negotiators conducted operations at various addresses in Gauteng including Jeppe, Helderwyk, Brackenhurst and Daveyton before locating the victim. 

The suspects are expected to appear in court soon on charges of kidnapping and extortion. 

South African police and Interpol members arrested alleged transnational kidnapping kingpin Esmael Nangy earlier this month in Centurion, Gauteng. Nangy, a Mozambican national, is believed to form part of a large Mozambican syndicate behind some of South Africa’s kidnapping and extortion cases.

This piece was written in collaboration with the Henry Nxumalo Foundation.

TimesLIVE