Zimbabwean music legend Thomas Mapfumo has been given a piece of land to build a home by a South African chief.
The 76-year-old United States-based singer sent a message of gratitude to chief Livhuwani Matsila of Matsila village outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo Province, South Africa, for offering him a piece of land.
“Mukanya”, as he is affectionately known, has resolved to relocate to South Africa, according to SABC News.
In his message to the South African traditional leader, Mapfumo, who has been vocal against the ZANU PF-led Government, said:
I thank you very much for the land you gave me and I feel honoured. I want to say thank you so much for making me part of your people really I appreciate it.
Chief Livhuwani Matsila said Mapfumo’s residence in his area will be a source of inspiration for young musicians. He said:
We felt that we should have a place of residence here at Matsila village just to honour him and his family for the contribution he has made to promoting African culture and music.
His international exposure will surely benefit our young ones in terms of participating in culture and music, his status internationally is a symbol that Africa can achieve greater objectives.
Mapfumo has been living in Canada and the United States after his relationship with the ZANU PF-led Government turned sour.- SABC News
By-South African celebrity Kelly Khumalo has been implicated in the murder case of Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa.
The Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was gunned down at the home of Khumalo’s mother on 26 October 2014.
Defence advocate Malesela Teffo said Wednesday that the same witness alleges that the revolver fired by Khumalo was brought to the Vosloorus home of Khumalo’s mother by Longwe Twala, who was dating Khumalo’s sister at the time.
This was revealed during the cross-examination of the first state witness, a policeman, Sergeant Thabo Mosia, who handled forensics after the shooting on 26 October 2014. Teffo said to Mosia:
A witness will testify that Meyiwa was allegedly shot by Nonhlanhla Kelly Khumalo by mistake.
The same witness will further testify that the weapon used came with Longwe Twala and the firearm is a revolver.
In response, Sergeant Mosia said he had no comment on the assertions.
The lawyer said the witness would also allege that removing Meyiwa from the crime scene by taking him to the hospital was intended to hide evidence. He said:
All efforts were made to avoid the relatives and the friends or people known to Senzo, in particular, that day as he was supposed to attend a birthday party of his friend.
They were avoiding Pirates players coming to that house. Instead, they deemed it fit for them to go visit Senzo at the hospital.
Khumalo, her sister, their mother Ntombi, Twala and Meyiwa’s friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala were all at the home when Meyiwa was shot.
The shooting was originally described as a scuffle with robbers.
Five suspects were arrested in October 2020 in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The suspects are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli.
They have been charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
With the denial of hero status for Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s late Secretary, the 2 grenade attack attempts against the VP in 2018, coupled with yhe recent suspicious statements by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxillia to Simba Chikanza over Chiwenga’s life last month, it is now all too clear that war has broken out between the two November-coup-accomplices.
The ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa is unsettled by his deputy Constantino Chiwenga’s military network, to the point of denying Chiwenga’s own late secretary, national hero status.
Further pointers are evident in a recent videocall interview engagement of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxillia with the ZimEye news network, during which she suspiciously dodged commenting concerning Chiwenga’s affairs.
The death of Retired Major General Godfrey Chanakira has further exposed the rift between Mnangagwa and his deputy Chiwenga.
After initially denying Chanakira national hero status by simply offering a State-assisted funeral, Mnangagwa later made an embarrassing U-turn and accorded him the highest honour for heroes.
Chanakira, who succumbed to a heart ailment, was the permanent secretary in VP Chiwenga’s office.
Mnangagwa’s initial decision surprised the military command and many in the country because it was against the norm, whereby high ranking soldiers are normally accorded hero status.
Sources claimed that Mnangagwa was miffed that Chiwenga had jumped the gun by prematurely bestowing, ahead of him, the national hero status on the decorated former soldier when he went to pay his condolences to the family.
“His works, in service of his country, are there for all of us to see. He is a national hero. But we have internal processes in the party that we have to follow and a meeting will soon be held, that could be tomorrow or a day after, to see which honour is most consistent with his work,” Chiwenga said when he visited the family.
Hours later, deputy presidential spokesperson Regis Chikowore announced that Mnangagwa had directed that the late army general be accorded a State-assisted funeral.
Mnangagwa later buckled under internal pressure following murmurs of disapproval in the corridors of power and the military command, sources said.
Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda confirmed that the national hero status decision was reached after further consultations.
“The late Chanakira (Rtd), whose Chimurenga name was comrade Garikai Musavengana, who had been granted a State-assisted funeral, has now been declared a national hero following further consultations,” he said in a statement.
Although the hero status should be a national issue, Zanu PF has over the years monopolised the National Heroes Acre, where its members have been exclusively buried.
The late former President Robert Mugabe went as far as telling the opposition and other critics to construct their own Heroes Acre if not satisfied with the status quo.
Observers say Mnangagwa has been consolidating his power base by either retiring army commanders who were central to his ascendancy to power, or by posting them outside the country.
“Mnangagwa wanted to show Chiwenga who is the real boss by denying Chanakira hero status. The mere fact that Chiwenga has maintained close relations with his former colleagues in the army is making the President uneasy,” political analyst Pardon Taodzera said.
Differences between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga emerged after the November 2017 coup over several issues such as key appointments, including Cabinet posts and Mnangagwa’s tenure.
Chanakira, alongside other five generals Thando Madzvamuse, Evaristo Dzihwema, Chancellor Diye, Gerald Gwinji and Mike Nicholas Sango, were retired soon after Mnangagwa ascended to power following the coup.
Other commanders, who were a vital cog of the coup and were retired, include Zimbabwe National Army chief-of-staff, the late retired Lieutenant-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who was posted to Mozambique, and former head of presidential guard, Ansleem Sanyatwe, who is now ambassador to Tanzania.– Newsday/additional reporting
State Media – Patients admitted to Premier Service Claybank Hospital in Gweru have gone for two days without getting medical care as more than 200 nurses, doctors, and health support staff at the upmarket health care centre have downed tools.
The medical personnel and support staff have been on strike since Monday demanding a salary increment and payment of allowances in United States dollars.
Premier Service Claybank Hospital popularly known as Claybank Hospital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI).
PSMI is Zimbabwe’s largest private network of diversified medical service provision centres.
The major source of income that pays PSMI staff salaries are subscriptions to Premier Medical Aid Society (PSMAS), which are paid in local currency.
The striking health workers in interviews yesterday said patients are being turned away because of a shortage of protective clothing, basic medicine, and low morale among staff members.
They said they are being paid in local currency for both salary and allowances.
They alleged that the theatre is down, adding that no operations are taking place at the health institution thereby disadvantaging the patients.
“Moral is just too low at this hospital. You will find that operation procedures are not being carried out as the theatre is down and there are no technicians to operate machines. We have downed tools to protest against the deteriorating working conditions and failure by the employer to pay us salaries on time, as well as non-payment of Covid-19 allowances which civil servants are receiving,” said a nurse on condition of anonymity.
In a statement yesterday, PSMI confirmed that the health personnel and support staff at the health institution had downed tools.
Working capital gaps continue to affect the operations of the hospital, and indeed, PSMI as a whole. Because of the gaps that exist between the costs of providing services and the revenue inflows, we will continue to face challenges in areas like remuneration and conditions of service.
“We acknowledge that the negative working capital gap at PSMI has resulted in business disruptions which includes intermittent closure of some facilities as a result of a delayed payment of premise and practitioner licences, practitioner cover, rentals and rates, supply of water and backup power,” read a statement from PSMI.
PSMI said management is working with employees’ representatives to find a lasting solution to the matters they have raised.
“The management is working with staff representatives to establish a meeting of minds on how we can continue to provide services in the current situation as service delivery remains a priority as does staff welfare. The movement of our funding cycle has led directly to the delays in salary dates.
“The concerns of our staff are valid, and we have had a backlog of payments of staff benefits which we have begun to settle, but the gap remains and at the current rate, it will take a while longer to get up to date. We are confident that once all stakeholder engagements are completed and our situation improves, we will once again be an employer of choice,” read the statement.
The major source of income that pays staff salaries, read the statement, are subscriptions to PSMAS, which are paid in local currency.
“It would be impossible, at this point, to pay salaries in USD as we do not have the revenue base to sustain this request. Our current forex receipts are minimal and are directed towards items such as stocks where they constitute a small percentage of the requirements. We remain optimistic that once the internal processes and verification on the part of our funders have been completed, they will make the remittances which will go a long way in addressing the majority of issues raised here.”
Three weeks ago, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, said the Government was committing additional financial resources on a monthly basis to ensure the viability of (PSMAS) and PSMI to deliver on their core mandate.
He said the funds are targeted to retire the debt to PSMI and other third-party service providers.
VP Chiwenga said the financial support will extend to PSMI to pay its workforce and procure adequate medical drugs consistently.- Chronicle
Mohamed Salah could join one of Liverpool’s rivals in the English Premier League if he fails to agree to new terms at Anfield.
The Egyptian winger has a year left on his contract with the Reds and talks for a new deal have slowed in the past months.
The last meeting between the two parties happened in December when the EPL club made their latest offer which was rejected by the player’s representatives.
Despite the negotiations stalling at the moment, Salah has committed to Jurgen Klopp’s side for the 2022-23 campaign but the 29-year-old’s future beyond that date is uncertain.
According to The Athletic, the Egypt international would rather remain in the EPL than move overseas when his deal at Anfield expires – putting Liverpool’s rivals on red alert.
The publication further claims that EPL golden boot winner, however, is open to signing a two-year extension and is not after the security of a four-year deal.
Salah is believed to be happy at Liverpool and the club position has never changed in that they want to retain him.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA | Armed robbery is one of the most unpopular and traumatising crimes in contemporary Zimbabwe society. It has to do with the unlawful utilization of any form of arms to forcefully deprive innocent people of their legitimate possessions; it is therefore a crime against the Zimbabwean citizens. If not dealt with sternly armed robbers have the potential of overthrowing the government.
Armed robbery is a serious crime and can permanently traumatize its victims, both physically and psychologically. It tends to receive considerable media attention when it occurs, and it carries longer prison terms than other forms of robbery such as simple robbery (i.e., theft without a dangerous weapon). Armed robbery is typically motivated by the desire to obtain money.
Whatever the motivation, the act is classified as a violent crime, because armed robberies can result in injury and sometimes death to victims.
Armed robbers are disproportionately young males who are clearly opportunistic in their selection of easy targets. Armed robbery may occur on the street—where unsuspecting individuals are held up at gunpoint—or in a commercial establishment such as a convenience store or a bank.
Armed robbery has continued to permeate the society despite every concerted effort made by both the people and the state to combat it. Thus, this social milieu poses serious security and development challenges to the state and the society at large. That, until certain drastic measures were taken, armed robbery and perhaps other social vices will continue to permeate the society. Such steps include provision of adequate social infrastructures, equitable distribution of resources among the citizens, supporting good governance, creation of more jobs and poverty eradication among many others above being very tough on armed robbers.
In the past year there has been a steady but alarming increase of serious crime in Bulawayo, and Harare ranging from house breaking, theft by criminals armed with dangerous weapons to those armed with firearms.
There are several reported cases of a women being molested raped or killed.
The prevalence of armed robbery in Zimbabwe is fast becoming an epidemic. It is being blamed on the dwindling economic fortunes of majority and the widening gap between the affluent and the poor in our society leading to violent crimes especially armed robbery. In Zimbabwe at present, no place is safe from the ravages of the armed robbers. They attack homes, offices, shops, restaurants and churches to rob, rape, maim and kill. They operate at the banks with dynamites, strike at filling stations and swoop on victims at traffic jams. The security situation in Zimbabwe today is so appalling that armed robbers operate on a daily basis, leaving sorrow, tears and blood in their trail. Armed robbers no longer operate only at night they also operate brazenly in broad daylight. Brigandage has become the order of the day. The robbers operate in large numbers sometimes as much as 20 persons with sophisticated arms and accessories that will facilitate their operation like gas cylinders, wielding tools, hammer, powerful beam lights and explosives for blowing up safes. The robbers have expanded their armory to the use of biological materials including powder which they blow to hypnotize and make their victims and security agents who might threaten them go to sleep while they carry out their operations.
Travellers on the highway are equally unsafe. Commuter commercial luxury buses especially in the night are hijacked, taken to the bush, and the passengers robbed, raped and the bus burnt in some cases. Many have lost their lives and property worth millions of dollars has been stolen. Homes of the big and small have been invaded; even embassies have not been spared. Prominent Zimbabweans have been murdered in cold blood.
This situation coupled with some other inadequacies has earned the country several unsavory descriptions.
Zimbabwe will soon be called a country in “descent into the dark,” a “country beset with insecurity across the land,” and a “failed state.
Violent crime committed by individual criminals and gangs, as well as by some persons wearing police and military uniforms, is a problem throughout the country, especially at night. Home invasions remain a serious threat, with armed robbers accessing even guarded compounds by scaling perimeter walls; following, or tailgating, residents or visitors arriving by car into the compound; subduing guards and gaining entry into homes or apartments. Law enforcement authorities usually respond swiftly but they do not have resources.
It should be seriously noted that this widespread occurrence of armed robbery and kidnapping in Zimbabwe, has the potential to destabilize the peace and security of the Zimbabwean people; upset economic activities, discourage both foreigners and indigenes from investing; disrupt industry and economic development and progress, and lead to greater unemployment, and in general, to the restriction of governance. The above security situation should bother any serious minded government. This scenario must highlight security as one of our top priorities in this administration’s priority.
There is no amount of poverty which justifies robbery. It should be noted that an unfriendly security climate precludes both external and internal investment into the nation.
The government must focus on the offence of armed robbery as it affects the security of the nation Zimbabwe.
The trauma of criminals pauncing in the dead of the night must be excrutiating to agonised individuals and families. These are innocent families making an honest living.
If strong action is not taken the whole country will be overrun by these armed criminals.
In these times of peace the army special tactics team must be deployed to track and eliminate the robbers.
Surely No amount of poverty can justify criminality, let alone robbery. In fact, clearly it is evident that this robbery, as any, is motivated by greed.
Items stolen range from money to laptops televisions and any electric gadgets.
It is believed that a considerable number of the robbers are descending from South Africa, Zimbabweans illegal immigrants in that country cross back to Zimbabwe armed with guns. These are the same mulcontents whose abhorrent criminality is causing problems and the hate of Zimbabweans in that country.
There are some who are in zimbabwe who run this cruel business of armed robbery from within the country.
Crime has a multiplicity of dynamics. These include the impact on the individual, on the community and on productivity.
Criminality is a phenomenon that is escalatory. It starts as low-level misdemeanours by little louts, developing into a full-fledged criminal enterprise. Its escalatory nature reaches alarming scale when it translates into national security threats. How does this happen?
From each escalatory stage, crime strengths the callousness and audacity of criminals. By the same measure it destroys the confidence of the communities while creating lawlessness and communities of chaos.
Criminality is an infectous malady and spreads as fast as wildfire. Criminality is a serious challenge to investment, job creation and economic recovery. This is particularly so with armed robbery. No sane people would like to invest in a criminal infested nation. Businesses will close down for security reasons.
The presence of marauding criminals in any community is not just a neighbouhood pain, it is a direct challenge to state authority. This makes of a dangerous threat to the stability and sovereignty of s nation.
Cities may not be the only areas affected but it does seem to be suffering the brunt of armed robbers. This situation needs to be addressed now and ruthlessly so. The police Homicide section must be empowered and financed. They must be given powers to neutralise the threat wherever it is.
We cannot afford a situation of lawlessness where illegal guns rule. We have to act for innocent people who are suffering now. By acting now and rooting out all forms of crime, particularly armed criminality, we will avert a grave distabilisation and national security threat that is fast brewing.
We may be resource constrained now but we have to throw everything, otherwise we will have to tackle 500 plus dangerously armed criminals hitting everything from citizens to government installations.
These criminals are certainly using people’s houses as training ground and rehersals for an eventual state challenge. As stated above, there is always a natural progression of criminality from petty crime to national security threat. This progression is before our very own eyes.
Lets not forget that Armed robbery, simply refers to a process that involve forcefully deprivation of some innocent individuals of their lawful belongings by an armed individual or group of individuals without recourse to the law. This act in itself is an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the victim and the criminal law which attracts serious sanctions. It is one of the rising features of crime in the country today. The perpetual occurrence of it despites official proscription is mindboggling. This calls for serious concern of the authorities and other stake holders in peace and security management. Victims of armed robbery usually suffer certain tremendous negative social and economic consequences.
Armed robbery is now common in every part of the country although it is more prevalent in Bulawayo and Harare than any other part of the country. Every class of people is a potential target even though the highly placed in the society are more vulnerable. The problem has successfully imposed a culture and atmosphere of fear, mistrust, and violence in the country.
Like many other crimes in Zimbabwe armed robbery has not been given the desired attention by government yet it is a national security threat. For decades now, law abiding Zimbabweans have continuously suffered in the hands of armed bandits. However, the malicious impact of persistent occurrences of armed robbery on national security and development constitute serious challenges.
Armed robbery is a social menace that persistently continues to retard the development of the Zimbabwean society. armed robbery is associated with insecurity of lives and properties, loss of human resources, reduction of the level of development, unemployment, poverty, permanent disability on the victims and wastage of state resources on security agents. It is recommended that government should increase the number of well-trained police and provide them with modern equipment. More so, all Zimbabweans should volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of suspected armed robbers to the police.
Armed robbery is a social problem that continued to undermine the progress of society.
Armed robbery is thus a determinant of social factors such as social mobility, culture conflict, economic competition, social stratification as well as the distribution of wealth in the society.
Whatever may be the cause of armed robbery and whatever nature or form or shape it may assume armed robbery is antisocial behaviour that leaves negative effects on the society and its members. A single crime, may alter the existence of a particular family and as families become weak and filled with tension and chaos, society is injured and social life is threatened.
One of the enormous effects of armed robbery is that of insecurity of lives and properties. In various robbery incidences, innocents’ citizens are killed, maimed to suffer while one’s livelong savings and sweat are lost within a twinkle of an eye.
A successful robbery entails the direct loss of property on an individual. Such property is transferred from the rightful owner to another Person. Most violent crime also leads to the loss of productivity through the incapacity of the victims. Most of the victims of violent crimes are incapacitated, thereby denying the society of their contribution to the output of the nation.
Another significant effect of armed robbery is on the reduction of the rate or level of development. As a result of high prevalence incidences of armed robbery People are always in a perpetual state of fear because of constant robbery attacks. Thus, many foreign investors are afraid of committing their resources to operate in industries that would have employed many millions of the unemployed Zimbabweans. This consequently retards the development of the society.
In addition, armed robbery causes unemployment because robbing of industries and other government establishments (companies) results to retrenchment of workers because of the inability to pay workers salary.
Armed robbery increases the level of poverty. For instance, in a situation where armed robbers killed the breadwinner of the family. The robbers will subject the whole family into poverty (absolute poverty) and thus increase the level of poverty in the society.
There is also the social cost dimension. People no longer go out at specific periods to interact and carry out social activities/functions. Every body becomes suspicious of one another. In a society where everyone is suspicious of each other, where movement is restricted for the fear of criminal victimization, there can be no meaningful development and progress. there is also a physical cost dimension to incidences of violent crimes. Robbery and kidnap could result to death or permanent disability of the victim.
It is clear that armed robbery is hazardous and holds many negative effects on individuals, families and the society as a whole. There is an agent need for the government to take a decisive step to tackle the problem of armed robbery and other related criminal activities across the country.
To the criminals, do not under estimate Zimbabwe. Your days are numbered.
A witness due to testify in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial will allege that the footballer was shot by mistake by his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo, the high court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.
Senzo… file pic – credit Agencies
Defence advocate Malesela Teffo said the same witness alleges that the revolver fired by Khumalo was brought to the Vosloorus home of Khumalo’s mother by Longwe Twala, who had been dating the singer’s sister Zandi.
This emerged during cross-examination of the first state witness Sgt Thabo Mosia, who handled forensics after the shooting on October 26 2014.
“A witness will testify that Meyiwa was allegedly shot by Nonhlanhla Kelly Khumalo by mistake. The same witness will further testify that the weapon used came with Longwe Twala and the firearm is a revolver,” Teffo said to Mosia.
The policeman said he had no comment on the assertions.
Teffo said the witness would also allege that removing Meyiwa from the crime scene [the house] by taking him to hospital was intended to conceal the circumstances in which he had been shot.
“All efforts were made to avoid the relatives and the friends or people known to Senzo, in particular that day as he was supposed to attend a birthday party of his friend. They were avoiding Pirates players to come to that house. Instead they deemed it fit for them to go visit Senzo at the hospital,” said Teffo.
Khumalo, her sister, their mother Ntombi, Twala and Meyiwa’s friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala were all at the home when the former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was shot in what was originally described as a scuffle with robbers.
Five suspects were arrested in October 2020 in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli have been charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
By- African National Congress (ANC) chairperson Gwede Mantashe has defended Zimbabweans and urged South Africans not to identify criminals by their nationality.
Speaking to News24 in Victoria Falls on Saturday, Mantashe, who is also South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, said crime knows no nationality. He said:
I always make the point at home and I will make it here: if a national from Zimbabwe commits a crime, he’s not a Zimbabwean, he’s a criminal. You must deal with criminals, not Zimbabweans, that’s my attitude.
… We have Zimbabweans from all walks of life in South Africa, they are in universities, they are in various institutions, they are CEOs of companies.
When people commit crimes in South Africa, they are not Zimbabweans, they are criminals.
When South Africans commit crimes in Zimbabwe, they are criminals.
On 6 April 2022, a Zimbabwean, Elvis Nyathi, was killed by vigilantes in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, for not having a passport.
Some South Africans blame foreigners for criminal conduct in their communities.
Mantashe admitted that his compatriots have a penchant for taking the law into their own hands. He said:
If you commit a crime in a community, the anger of the community would be informed by the extent of the crime.
Everybody who is doing the right thing in South Africa is safe.
Mantashe was in Zimbabwe to attend a meeting about the revival of the Pan African Minerals Development Corporation, a mining entity that brings together the governments of SA, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.
Zimbabwean music legend Thomas Mapfumo has been given a piece of land to build a home by a South African chief.
The 76-year-old United States-based singer sent a message of gratitude to chief Livhuwani Matsila of Matsila village outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo Province, South Africa, for offering him a piece of land.
“Mukanya”, as he is affectionately known, has resolved to relocate to South Africa, according to SABC News.
In his message to the South African traditional leader, Mapfumo, who has been vocal against the ZANU PF-led Government, said:
I thank you very much for the land you gave me and I feel honoured. I want to say thank you so much for making me part of your people really I appreciate it.
Chief Livhuwani Matsila said Mapfumo’s residence in his area will be a source of inspiration for young musicians. He said:
We felt that we should have a place of residence here at Matsila village just to honour him and his family for the contribution he has made to promoting African culture and music.
His international exposure will surely benefit our young ones in terms of participating in culture and music, his status internationally is a symbol that Africa can achieve greater objectives.
Mapfumo has been living in Canada and the United States after his relationship with the ZANU PF-led Government turned sour.- SABC News
By A Correspondent- A 45 year old man from Umfazimithi Village 4 in Umguza district, under Village head Gift Mulawuzi is in trouble after he allegedly raped his former girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter.
The man (name withheld to protect the minor) pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and rape charges when he appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga on Monday.
Malunga remanded him in custody to Wednesday for ruling.
The State alleges that sometime in December last year, the 12-year-old girl went to fetch water from a well in Umfazimithi Village 4.
She met the accused on her way home, who fondled her breasts.
The juvenile went home and reported the matter to her aunt, who confronted the accused and reprimanded him. The accused allegedly promised not to do it again.
But after that same month, the juvenile was left home with her four-year-old sibling after the aunt went to a nearby village to buy building material.
The accused reportedly arrived at the girl’s home to do construction work. He then requested the girl to help him carry bags of cement from a hut to the construction site.
The girl agreed and when they got into the hut, the accused allegedly tripped the juvenile to the ground and raped her.
He threatened to kill her if she disclosed the matter, and promised to give the juvenile some money.
However, she disclosed the rape to her mother in Bulawayo, who made a police report, leading to the arrest of the accused.
In his defence, the rapist claimed that the charges were being falsely levelled against him due to a grudge he had with the juvenile’s mother who he claimed was a former girlfriend.
Tinashe Sambiri|CCC is ready to form the next government, President Nelson Chamisa has said.
President Chamisa made the remarks in Kwekwe while addressing thousands of CCC supporters at the weekend.
According to President Chamisa, Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF will not win the coming polls despite attempts to rig the outcome of the plebiscite.
“What I want to tell you today is that Zanu PF is gone, Mr Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
We will defeat Mr Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party in 2023.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
All citizens are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same.
The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections.
If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government,” said President Chamisa.
The ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa is unsettled by his deputy Constantino Chiwenga’s military network, to the point of denying Chiwenga’s own late secretary, national hero status.
Further pointers are evident in a recent videocall interview engagement of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxillia with the ZimEye news network, during which she suspiciously dodged commenting concerning Chiwenga’s affairs.
The death of Retired Major General Godfrey Chanakira has further exposed the rift between Mnangagwa and his deputy Chiwenga.
After initially denying Chanakira national hero status by simply offering a State-assisted funeral, Mnangagwa later made an embarrassing U-turn and accorded him the highest honour for heroes.
Chanakira, who succumbed to a heart ailment, was the permanent secretary in VP Chiwenga’s office.
Mnangagwa’s initial decision surprised the military command and many in the country because it was against the norm, whereby high ranking soldiers are normally accorded hero status.
Sources claimed that Mnangagwa was miffed that Chiwenga had jumped the gun by prematurely bestowing, ahead of him, the national hero status on the decorated former soldier when he went to pay his condolences to the family.
“His works, in service of his country, are there for all of us to see. He is a national hero. But we have internal processes in the party that we have to follow and a meeting will soon be held, that could be tomorrow or a day after, to see which honour is most consistent with his work,” Chiwenga said when he visited the family.
Hours later, deputy presidential spokesperson Regis Chikowore announced that Mnangagwa had directed that the late army general be accorded a State-assisted funeral.
Mnangagwa later buckled under internal pressure following murmurs of disapproval in the corridors of power and the military command, sources said.
Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda confirmed that the national hero status decision was reached after further consultations.
“The late Chanakira (Rtd), whose Chimurenga name was comrade Garikai Musavengana, who had been granted a State-assisted funeral, has now been declared a national hero following further consultations,” he said in a statement.
Although the hero status should be a national issue, Zanu PF has over the years monopolised the National Heroes Acre, where its members have been exclusively buried.
The late former President Robert Mugabe went as far as telling the opposition and other critics to construct their own Heroes Acre if not satisfied with the status quo.
Observers say Mnangagwa has been consolidating his power base by either retiring army commanders who were central to his ascendancy to power, or by posting them outside the country.
“Mnangagwa wanted to show Chiwenga who is the real boss by denying Chanakira hero status. The mere fact that Chiwenga has maintained close relations with his former colleagues in the army is making the President uneasy,” political analyst Pardon Taodzera said.
Differences between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga emerged after the November 2017 coup over several issues such as key appointments, including Cabinet posts and Mnangagwa’s tenure.
Chanakira, alongside other five generals Thando Madzvamuse, Evaristo Dzihwema, Chancellor Diye, Gerald Gwinji and Mike Nicholas Sango, were retired soon after Mnangagwa ascended to power following the coup.
Other commanders, who were a vital cog of the coup and were retired, include Zimbabwe National Army chief-of-staff, the late retired Lieutenant-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who was posted to Mozambique, and former head of presidential guard, Ansleem Sanyatwe, who is now ambassador to Tanzania.– Newsday/additional reporting
Tinashe Sambiri|CCC is ready to form the next government, President Nelson Chamisa has said.
President Chamisa made the remarks in Kwekwe while addressing thousands of CCC supporters at the weekend.
According to President Chamisa, Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF will not win the coming polls despite attempts to rig the outcome of the plebiscite.
“What I want to tell you today is that Zanu PF is gone, Mr Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
We will defeat Mr Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party in 2023.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
All citizens are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same.
The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections.
If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government,” said President Chamisa.
UNCERTAINTY has clouded the MDC Alliance congress scheduled for next month, with party president Douglas Mwonzora reportedly dithering on the dates.
Mwonzora told journalists at a Press conference in the capital last month that he would announce the congress dates the following day, but has been mum since then.
Sources within the party yesterday told NewsDay that Mwonzora is quiet about the congress fearing a strong challenge from chairman Morgen Komichi, vice-president Elias Mudzuri and member Norest Marara.
The party’s standing committee reportedly proposed July 2 for the congress, but Mwonzora refused to give the nod.
Mwonzora is also being accused of replacing finance director Todd Mapiringe with his close friend Robert Mandeya, a move that has raised eyebrows in the party.
“Mwonzora said there will not be any nominations before the congress. He fears that if there is going to be a nomination exercise, he might even fail to get a single nomination,” a party source revealed.
“There is a push within the party that Mwonzora must be contested at congress, but he is influencing party youths to insult other potential candidates on social media platforms.”
The source also said after Mwonzora’s electoral loss during the March 26 by-elections, some party members wanted to remove him from the presidency.
“We believe Mwonzora is now after money, because politically he is down. We are surprised that after our standing committee meeting we proposed the July 2 date, but he flatly refused for no apparent reason. He also shot down the July 23-24 date. Mwonzora is using his position to override some decisions which he believes do not benefit him,” the source said.
MDC-A spokesperson Witness Dube, however, quashed the allegations, describing them as malicious.
“As you are aware people will say anything and those are malicious allegations. We are going to announce the congress date very soon. Today (yesterday) we are hosting a standing committee meeting where we are going to deliberate on various issues, including the election dates,” Dube said. – Newsday
The ZRP has noted with concern a video of a person dressed in a police uniform circulating on social media.
The person is seen squatting on the road while eating a white substance that has fallen to the ground.
The person later stands up and staggers around with yet to be identified members of the public recording and passing comments. The person is appearing to be drunk.
The Police are conducting investigations into the matter with a view to identifying the culprit and taking action.- ZRP
By-The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed a plane crash that occurred in Harare on Tuesday, 31 May 2022. Police said a 52-year-old foreign national died when his one-seater maroon aircraft crashed at Charles Prince Airport. ZRP said: The ZRP confirms the death of a foreign national (52) in a plane crash that occurred on 31/05/22 at Charles Prince Airport in Harare, where a one-seater maroon aircraft, ZUXAX crashed.
The pilot was doing rehearsals in preparation for an Air Rally competition in South Africa scheduled for 01/06/21 and was coming from Kenya where another Air Rally competition was held on 28/05/22.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nils Flaatten of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team confirmed the accident. Said Flaatten: It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
On 25 September 2018, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addressed Zimbabweans based in the United States of America on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and promised that Government was working on mechanisms to ensure that they can vote from their domiciled countries in the 2023 harmonized elections.
JACOB MUDENDA caught on camera in Belgrade, Serbia. Pic Credit: Simba Chikanza
It is not publicly known what preparations have been made so far following the announcements by President Mnangagwa, apart from the contents of a 2019 in which Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi reported that an international study was to be commissioned to determine whether Zimbabweans could vote from their domiciled countries in future elections.
The next official statement on the diaspora vote has attracted brickbats from colleagues within Zanu PF was by the Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda who told parliamentarians at a workshop on electoral reforms organized by the Zimbabwe Electoral Network (ZESN) that the Electoral Act and the Constitution needed to be amended to allow the Diaspora vote. However, Government Official, who is not supposed to dabble in partisan politics and some Zanu PF parliamentarians are up in arms with Advocate Mudenda for giving precise details as to what has to be done to fulfill President Mnangagwa’s promise to the Zimbabwean citizens living abroad.
One then questions the sincerity of the President and the Minister of Justice in their pronouncement about the diaspora vote. Were they grandstanding to mislead the international community that Zimbabwe was a constitutional democracy? It sounds like they were. But why did George Charamba and the Zanu PF officials who threatened Advocate Mudenda not equally attack President Mnangagwa and the Justice Minister who announced plans to work towards enabling the diaspora vote before Advocate Mudenda? Is it because he comes from Matebeleland?
Advocate Mudenda should never be intimidated by the evil intentions of Goerge Charamba and some misguided Zanu PF members of parliament and officials. He must do whatever he can in his capacity as Speaker of Parliament to ensure that Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora are accorded their right to vote. We are with you all the way, Advocate Mudenda.
I call upon the South African Development Community, the African Union, and the United Nations to seriously consider advising the Government of Zimbabwe to take the diaspora vote seriously. Other African countries are allowing their citizens living abroad to vote, and Zimbabweans living abroad deserve the same.
Finally, Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are encouraged to demand their right to vote from the Zimbabwean Government. They contribute significantly to the economy, and they need to be accorded their right but should claim it if the irresponsible authorities deny them.
By- CCC President Nelson Chamisa said the Emerson Mnangagwa led government should pack its bags and prepare to leave the statehouse.
Chamisa said after July next year, Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF would be the opposition.
Chamisa made the remarks in Kwekwe while addressing thousands of CCC supporters at the weekend.
He said this would be so because Zanu PF will not win the coming polls despite attempts to rig the outcome of the plebiscite. “What I want to tell you today is that Zanu PF is gone, Mr Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition. Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change. We will defeat Mr Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party in 2023. Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change. All citizens are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same. The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections. If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government,” said President Chamisa.
By- A South African chief has celebrated exiled Zimbabwean music legend Thomas Mapfumo and given him a piece of land to build a home.
The 76-year-old United States-based singer sent a message of gratitude to chief Livhuwani Matsila of Matsila village outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo Province, South Africa, for offering him a piece of land.
“Mukanya”, as he is affectionately known, has resolved to relocate to South Africa, according to SABC News.
In his message to the South African traditional leader, Mapfumo, who has been vocal against the ZANU PF-led Government, said:
I thank you very much for the land you gave me and I feel honoured. I want to say thank you so much for making me part of your people really I appreciate it.
Chief Livhuwani Matsila said Mapfumo’s residence in his area will be a source of inspiration for young musicians. He said:
We felt that we should have a place of residence here at Matsila village just to honour him and his family for the contribution he has made to promoting African culture and music.
His international exposure will surely benefit our young ones in terms of participating in culture and music, his status internationally is a symbol that Africa can achieve greater objectives.
Mapfumo has been living in Canada and the United States after his relationship with the ZANU PF-led Government turned sour.
By- The High Court this week interdicted Local Government Minister July Moyo from suspending the Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume.
This means that Mafume, who is senior member of the Nelson Chamisa led CCC should return and take charge of the Town House.
Justice Joseph Mafusire made the order Tuesday when he said Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo should forthwith stop interfering with Mafume’s work at Town House.
Moyo has suspended Mafume several times as a councillor on allegations of gross misconduct, gross incompetence, and willful violation of the law.
He has also, on several occasions, replaced Mafume with Stewart Mutizwa of the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Justice Mafusire has ordered Moyo not to suspend Mafume again on the same or similar allegations as in his letters of suspension of December 2020, January 2021, September 2021, and December 2021. The judge also ruled that the decision to suspend Mafume is a nullity and set it aside. Mafume was represented by Tonderai Bhatasara of ZLHR, who in January filed an application for review of Moyo’s decision to suspend him as Ward 17 Councillor.
By-South African celebrity Kelly Khumalo has been implicated in the murder case of Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa.
The Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper was gunned down at the home of Khumalo’s mother on 26 October 2014.
Defence advocate Malesela Teffo said the same witness alleges that the revolver fired by Khumalo was brought to the Vosloorus home of Khumalo’s mother by Longwe Twala, who was dating Khumalo’s sister at the time.
This was revealed during the cross-examination of the first state witness, a policeman, Sergeant Thabo Mosia, who handled forensics after the shooting on 26 October 2014. Teffo said to Mosia:
A witness will testify that Meyiwa was allegedly shot by Nonhlanhla Kelly Khumalo by mistake.
The same witness will further testify that the weapon used came with Longwe Twala and the firearm is a revolver.
In response, Sergeant Mosia said he had no comment on the assertions.
The lawyer said the witness would also allege that removing Meyiwa from the crime scene by taking him to the hospital was intended to hide evidence. He said:
All efforts were made to avoid the relatives and the friends or people known to Senzo, in particular, that day as he was supposed to attend a birthday party of his friend.
They were avoiding Pirates players coming to that house. Instead, they deemed it fit for them to go visit Senzo at the hospital.
Khumalo, her sister, their mother Ntombi, Twala and Meyiwa’s friends Mthokozisi Twala and Tumelo Madlala were all at the home when Meyiwa was shot.
The shooting was originally described as a scuffle with robbers.
Five suspects were arrested in October 2020 in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The suspects are Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Mncube, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli.
They have been charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of firearms without a licence and possession of ammunition.
By- A South African pilot was killed at Harare’s Charles Prince Airport.
The accident occurred on Tuesday evening during an aerobatics display known as “Formation Aerobatics”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nils Flaatten of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team named the deceased pilot as Mark Sampson. Read the statement: It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
By- The opposition CCC leader Nelson Chamisa claims that the army is prepared to dump President Emmerson Mnangagwa and support him if he wins the 2023 presidential election.
Chamisa made the remarks while addressing CCC supporters during a thank you rally for CCC Kwekwe MP Judith Tobaiwa, on Sunday. He said:
What I want to tell you today is that Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
Civil servants are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same. The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections. If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government. In November 2017, the military seized power from then-President Robert Mugabe and handed over the reins to Mnangagwa whom he had fired a few weeks before the coup.
It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
Wigan Athletic captain Tendayi Darikwa turned down the latest Warriors call up, fuelling speculation he might be next national team player to retire from international football.
The former Notingham Forest right back last played for Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifier against Ghana in Cape Coast last year in September.
This publication has it on good authority that Darikwa was one of the players called to play in the upcoming Afcon qualifiers before it was confirmed Zimbabwe would not take part, and he turned down the invitation.
National Teams General Manager Wellington Mpandare admitted that it will be very difficult to have Darikwa back in the Warriors fold.
“It will take a lot of convincing to have him back,” he told Soccer24.
“Tendayi was never happy with the Zifa board because of false promises before and during Egypt Afcon tournament. When he came for the game Ghana he thought things had improved. That’s when he told me that he was not going to report for national duty as long as these people were in charge and I have messages to that effect.
“With all this confusion Tendayi and most players feel the suspended Zifa people should just resign to save our football if ever they love our country and football. There is a lot of untold stories that transpired within the camp and one day I will say it all. A lot of staff has been kept between the players and me for professional reasons but soon it will be time to say it all,” added Mpandare.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Nyasa Big Bullets coach Kalistso Pasuwa has achieved a double milestone in the Malawian Super League (MSL) after maintaining a twelve-match undefeated since the start of the 2022 season.
The Zimbabwean has surpassed his personal best after picking the most number of points inside the first fifteen games of the campaign.
Sunday’s 3-1 win against Silver Strikes saw Bullets moving to thirty-two points. The team won ten matches and drew twice in their first twelve ties this term and are the current log leaders.
The three-time MSL title winning gaffer, who joined Nyasa in 2018 and took charge of his first full term in the following year, recorded twenty-nine points at the midway point of the 2019 and 2021/22 seasons.
Pasuwa is also enjoying his longest undefeated start to the MSL season since his arrival in Malawi.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Tinashe Sambiri|CCC is ready to form the next government, President Nelson Chamisa has said.
President Chamisa made the remarks in Kwekwe while addressing thousands of CCC supporters at the weekend.
According to President Chamisa, Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF will not win the coming polls despite attempts to rig the outcome of the plebiscite.
“What I want to tell you today is that Zanu PF is gone, Mr Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
We will defeat Mr Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party in 2023.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
All citizens are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same.
The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections.
If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government,” said President Chamisa.
Tinashe Sambiri|CCC is ready to form the next government, President Nelson Chamisa has said.
President Chamisa made the remarks in Kwekwe while addressing thousands of CCC supporters at the weekend.
According to President Chamisa, Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF will not win the coming polls despite attempts to rig the outcome of the plebiscite.
“What I want to tell you today is that Zanu PF is gone, Mr Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
We will defeat Mr Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party in 2023.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
All citizens are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same.
The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections.
If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government,” said President Chamisa.
It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
By A Correspondent- Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) president Nelson Chamisa told his supporters that he is now targeting ZANU PF strongest province Mashonaland Central as change is imminent.
Addressing party supporters in Kwekwe on Sunday Chamisa said people in other provinces like Matebeleland and Manicaland they are calling for change and focus is now on Mashonaland Central province.
“We are preparing for the next government, ZANU PF no longer stands a chance in provinces like Matebeleland and Manicaland,our focus is now in Mashonaland Central,” Chamisa said.
“Change is imminent , change is coming!”
CCC vice President Tendai Biti was recently in Mashonaland Central meeting their supporters and urging them to preach the message of change.
However, ZANU PF Mazowe Disttrict hijacked a memorial service of the late Shelton Zongoro which both parties claim to be theirs.
Chamisa who was scheduled to be a guest of honour had to cancel his visit afterr ZANU PF Mazowe District Coordinating Committee leadership took over the event.
By A Correspondent- The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has warned farmers and producers of controlled grain such as maize, soybeans, wheat and barley that selling their produce to any buyer other than GMB is an offence.
In a statement on Wednesday, 1 June 2022, GMB chief executive officer Rockie Mutenha said all farmers or producers of controlled grains are required to deliver products to any nearest GMB depot. He said:
Farmers/producers who intend to retain a portion of the product for farm feed or another commercial usage shall apply for exemption from GMB.
No one is allowed to sell or buy maize and any controlled product other than through GMB unless one is a bona fide contractor registered with the Agricultural Marketing Authority of Zimbabwe (AMA).
Mutenha also said that all farmers, producers and contractors are required to apply for a movement permit if they want to move their grain from one area to another. Said Mutenha:
Trading in controlled products (buying or selling) without the authority of the GMB is an offence.
All stores, millers, stock feeders and any other users of controlled products are required to register with the GMB before engaging in such business
By A Correspondent- The Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the custodian of the country’s grain reserves, indefinitely suspended grain allocations to millers for unclear reasons, reported NewsDay.
The publication quoted players in the grain industry on Tuesday as saying GMB reduced maize allocations to millers from 100% to 75% in February and further cut them to 50% last month.
A miller who wanted to remain anonymous was quoted as saying:
We have gone for more than six weeks without an allocation. We are getting supplies every four weeks.
We used to apply and get allocations each month, then submit returns around mid-month. We started getting 75% three months ago, then last month, it went down to 50%.
On Friday last week, we made payments and waited for allocations, but everything just stopped.
They didn’t give us any reasons, but we are told by people at GMB that they want to increase the maize producer price in order to attract deliveries because the $75 000 is now very low.
We are also told stocks are running out and it’s obviously true and that’s why they allowed us to import freely.
A top executive with one of the country’s major millers who preferred anonymity said:
Things were normal and I can confirm the allocations were just stopped and we don’t really know why. I wouldn’t want to lie, but we can only speculate.
Another senior official with a top milling firm told NewsDay that authorities should allow millers to access foreign currency at the RBZ auction. Said the official:
The question for us major millers is that we move huge volumes and our shareholders will be worried about this scenario, where you import maize in US dollars and then you don’t know if you are allowed to sell in US dollars to recover your money without having to then go to the black market and risk huge exchange rate losses.
It would be better if they allowed us to go on the auction like what oil expressers are doing.
Grain is in short supply due to inadequate rainfall in the 2021/22 season as well as the withholding of produce by farmers who want more cash for their harvest.
GMB increased the maize producer by 50% to $75 000 per tonne and the government said it would be paying 30% in US dollars and the rest in local currency.
However, farmers immediately demanded a 50% US dollar payment for their grain.
By A Correspondent- Traditional healers have urged Zimbabweans to work hard rather than resort to bizarre rituals such as selling their toes to get rich.
This follows social media reports that people are selling their toes to ritualists for thousands of United States dollars.zaz
A well-known n’anga (sangoma), Sekuru Banda, said the consequences of sacrificing one’s body parts are dire. He said:
Yes, it’s possible but these are ritual sacrifices which we don’t encourage.
Even if one is assured to get the cash instantly, after selling their toe, the danger in this is what follows.
In my many years of practice, I have met people who were offering their body parts as sacrifices, but I declined because I know the consequences.
Our people must learn to work with their hands and God will bless their sweat.
They should go to school, get skills and earn a good living rather than believing in short-cuts.
Another traditional healer, Sekuru Kafera, concurred with Sekuru Banda and urged people to avoid ritual sacrifices. He said:
Our law of practice doesn’t allow us to accept anything in exchange for such sacrifices, this is pure witchcraft and blood will be spilt.
Anyone who is encouraging people to either offer their toes or buy the toes must be arrested because if they are left doing this openly, they will even demand human sacrifices.
The Government should act on such people who are openly granting such sacrifices to members of the public.
Another traditional healer who chose to remain anonymous claimed sacrifices may give one wealth for some time but the occult will keep demanding more and more from the beneficiary. Said the traditional healer:
No one affords the demands of a sacrifice because once you accept the cash, it means you are connected to the cult.
More money will come, but as you enjoy it, the cult will ask for more until you lose your loved ones.-BMetro
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube yesterday claimed that the Zimbabwe dollar was in short supply while insisting that speculative behaviour was distorting the value of the local currency.
“The Zimbabwean dollar is in short supply. If you got 0% growth in the money supply, then this currency is not in abundance, but actually in short supply. So, what is driving the exchange rate is speculative behaviour in some of the monopolies,” Ncube said at a post-Cabinet briefing question-and-answer session.
He made the remarks after the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStat) last week announced that the country’s year-on-year inflation had shot to 131,7% up from 96,4% in April.
Former Finance minister Tendai Biti, in an interview with Alpha Media Holdings’ HStv talk show last week, said government was living beyond its means, and printing money to fund infrastructure development projects.
But Ncube rubbished the claims yesterday.
“The government has taken steps to make sure that in its financing of necessary infrastructure development, it does not contribute to exchange rate volatility, indeed, on inflation acceleration,” Ncube said.
“We have taken two critical steps. One is to pay contractors using the foreign formula, 50% in US dollars and 50% in Zimbabwe dollars.
“We have taken those actions and we have a committee between Treasury and the central bank which is called the liquidity committee, which manages the liquidity situation in the entire economy.”
Government has also eased control on the official exchange rate, allowing it to converge with an interbank rate, but has since spiked to $308:US$1 as of yesterday.
By A Correspondent- Chief Nhalanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni has lamented a captured judiciary which he said is now more of a political player in Zimbabwean politics because of its conduct against political opponents.
In a tweet Wednesday, Chief Ndiweni accused the magistrates courts of meddling in politics by detaining MRP members in custody for defending their party leader despite the High Court granting them bail.
He said:
“The magistrates courts have been and are political. There are Nine members of MRP in jail this morning for defending their party Leader Mqondisi Moyo. Yet these nine had been given bail by the High Court before for this matter. Now a Magistrate remands them into custody.
The magistrates courts have been and are political. There are Nine members of MRP in jail this morning for defending their party Leader Mqondisi Moyo. Yet these nine had been given bail by the High Court before for this matter. Now a Magistrate remands them into custody.
— Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni (@FelixNdiweni) June 1, 2022
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has warned of a cold front which is expected to move across Zimbabwe from today up to Saturday, with Bulawayo set to record a low of 6 degrees Celsius today.
Principal meteorologist James Ngoma said people must keep warm as temperatures will be cold, windy and cloudy until Saturday.
He added that the cold weather is expected to become more severe in the coming three weeks.
Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, Masvingo and parts of Manicaland provinces are expected to experience severe cold weather.
By A Correspondent| Rampant smuggling of cheap imports including blankets at the country’s ports of entry is threatening the revival of local companies who have in the past few years recorded a steady rise in industrial capacity.
Confederations of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) recently boasted that local industrial capacity had for the first time in over two decades gone above 50 percent but this is now being threatened by rampant smuggling that has seen over 150 000 being arrested at all ports of entry into Zimbabwe since January 2021.
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has previously told the media that Zimbabwe was losing billions annually to smuggling while bemoaning rampant corruption at the ports of entry. “We are investigating the Zimra officials and the law enforcement agents at the borders to find out how those buses are actually bypassing the regulations at the border. In some of the buses, you find out that it is only the driver and the conductor, there are no passengers in there. It is now the buses being used to carry contraband into South Africa,” she said. Matanda Moyo’s remarks followed the impounding of nine buses after they were found with various items imported from South Africa including blankets and groceries.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) President Denford Mutashu also complained over corruption at the ports of entry saying it is threatening the country’s economic revival efforts. Mutashu called for an inter-ministerial task force to look into rampant smuggling of cheap imports into the country.
“The growing informalisation has also necessitated smuggling by providing a safe haven locally. Government should set up an interministerial task force comprising various departments from industry, commerce and private sector players,” he said.
One of the biggest blankets manufacturers, Waverley Blankets is concerned that if untamed, smuggling could scuttle their revival efforts.
A Waverley Blankets representative Raymond Huni, previously told a CZI meeting that, smuggling was hurting their operations as they could not compete with smuggled blankets brought into the country as they were competing on an uneven playing field.
At one time Zimra was approached to engage people form the textile industry to monitor the borders, as textile industry believes that with their expert knowledge, they can better detect the various textile products being smuggled into the country. Textile industries though their body ZITMA are still waiting for a response to their request.
“It (smuggling) is killing our business. Right now, at Waverley Blankets, we could employ over 2 000 people but currently we have just over 1200 employees. The winter season, which is our peak period, is not going as well as we thought it was going to be. This is due to unfair competition from smugglers and those not fiscalised, selling only in foreign currency so that they can avoid declaring their sales to Zimra and avoid adding VAT to their price. This enables them to sell at a cheaper price.” Huni said.
Millions of Zimbabweans will go hungry as the country faces a severe grain shortage.
A poor rainfall season and hoarding of maize by farmers demanding payment in United States dollars have exacerbated an already dire situation.
Information at hand indicates that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the custodian of the country’s grain reserves, was last Friday forced to indefinitely suspend grain allocations to millers for unclear reasons.
But players in the market told NewsDay that they have it on good authority that the country’s grain stocks are running out and government could be forced to raise grain producer prices to persuade farmers to deliver their grain to GMB depots.
Some farmers in the country have been hoarding grain, while others are selling it on the black market for US dollars.
Zimbabwe’s maize producer price went up by 50% to $75 000 per tonne and government said it would be paying 30% in US dollars and the rest in local currency.
Farmers immediately demanded a 50% US dollar payment for their grain.
Players in the grain industry yesterday told NewsDay that GMB slashed maize allocations to millers from 100% to 75% in February, and further cut them to 50% last month.
“We have gone for more than six weeks without an allocation. We are getting supplies every four weeks,” a miller, who preferred not to be named, said.
“We used to apply and get allocations each month, then submit returns around mid-month. We started getting 75% three months ago, then last month, it went down to 50%. On Friday last week, we had made payments and waited for allocations, but everything just stopped.
“They didn’t give us any reasons, but we are told by people at GMB that they want to increase the maize producer price in order to attract deliveries because the $75 000 is now very low. We are also told stocks are running out and it’s obviously true and that’s why they allowed us to import freely,” the miller said.
Major millers have since confirmed that GMB abruptly suspended allocations on Friday without giving any reasons.
“Things were normal and I can confirm the allocations were just stopped and we don’t really know why. I wouldn’t want to lie, but we can only speculate,” a top executive with one of the country’s major millers said yesterday.
“The question for us major millers is that we move huge volumes and our shareholders will be worried about this scenario, where you import maize in US dollars and then you don’t know if you are allowed to sell in US dollars to recover your money without having to then go to the black market and risk huge exchange rate losses. It would be better if they allowed us to go on the auction like what oil expressers are doing,” added another senior official with a top milling firm.
Farmers said maize production in the just-ended season was largely below average across the country.
As a result, government swiftly moved in to mitigate hunger by opening the borders for registered millers to import maize using free funds.
Recently, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe indicated that private players in the industry had been given the greenlight by government to import 400 000 tonnes of maize worth US$100 million this year using free funds.
Use of free funds is expected to see maize and maize meal prices skyrocketing given that some players have no access to affordable foreign currency on the government auction platform.
There are now fears that a majority of Zimbabweans, who earn below the poverty datum line of $120 000 for a family of six, might not be able to afford the staple mealie-meal.
World Food Programme reports have suggested that 5,4 million Zimbabweans in urban and rural areas face food insecurity this year.
As farmers hoard grain, government has resorted to using police and the army to stop grain side marketing, with all impounded maize sent to GMB silos.
Zimbabwe requires 2,2 million tonnes of maize annually, 1,8 million of which are for human consumption and the balance for stockfeeds.
Efforts to get an official comment from GMB were fruitless, and it had not responded to NewsDay’s questions at the time of going to print.
“I was in a meeting and I saw your questions just now. Let me get back to you,” GMB spokesperson Joseph Katete said.
Later, his mobile phone was unreachable.
Attempts to get an official comment from Lands and Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka and his deputy Vangelis Haritatos were also fruitless.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Bulawayo province has dismissed claims that former MDC-T President Thokozani Khupe donated offices to the Nelson Chamisa-led opposition party.
We reported that: “The office has since been changed from the former MDC red colours to the CCC yellow colours. The late Morgan Tsvangirai deputy (Khupe) recently joined CCC party and has been active in mobilising structures across Matabeleland. CCC vice-president Professor Welshman Ncube was instrumental in recruiting Khupe to the party.”
But CCC Bulawayo spokesperson Swithern Chirowodza said the Bulawayo offices were never owned by Khupe.
“To the best of our knowledge the CCC Bulawayo party offices (Gertrude Mthombeni House) was never even for a mere second owned by Khupe. These are lies meant to spark divisions in the party,” Chirowodza said.
“These malicious and divisive reports are meant to spark tension, sully reputations to cause CCC Bulawayo to focus not on Zanu-PF, but internal fights. The beautiful yellow facelift and refurbished front pavement is the voluntary work of pastor Obert Manduna and CCC Bulawayo Youth chairman Tinashe Kambarami. This laudable work was completed on May 8, a day before the CCC Bulawayo provincial assembly meeting.
“We should never miss an opportunity to thank all those loyal and steadfast comrades who held fort when Douglas Mwonzora (MDC Alliance leader) and Khupe worked hard to capture the MDC-T, subvert the vote of Zimbabweans, seize the Political Parties Finance Act funds and impose their cronies in Parliament,” he added.
The developments come as Khupe is vigorously campaigning for CCC in Matabeleland.
This is despite that CCC Bulawayo province vowed that it would not work with her, saying they do not trust her after she worked with Mwonzora to destabilise the then MDC Alliance, resulting in the party then led by Chamisa, losing its headquarters and finances.
1/2 Police in Harare are investigating a case of rape which occurred on 30/05/22 at around 2100 hours along Highglen road near Marimba New Stands.
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) June 1, 2022
2/2 The suspect raped the complainant in a Toyota Hilux twin cab vehicle after giving her a lift from Mutare to Harare. Anyone with information to contact any nearest Police Station. #notorape.
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) June 1, 2022
By A Correspondent- A newly born baby was found dead, with a part of the leg missing, at a Glen View dumpsite, giving residents a huge scare.
The corpse, which was in a decomposing state, was found near Mataure Shopping Centre.
Harare provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Luckson Chakanza, confirmed the case.
“Police are investigating a case of a baby, who was found in a decomposing state at a dumping site, in Glen View 1.
“Circumstances are that a newly-born baby was found, wrapped in plastic, by a boy who was disposing of waste at that same dumpsite.
He then reported the matter to the police who then took the corpse to Harare Hospital for postmortem,” said Insp Chakanza.
The police have urged the public to report any leads to the case.
Glen View residents said they were still in shock following the incident.
“It’s so sad that God gave someone a child and then she decided to throw him/her away in that manner while others are going through a lot to get one,” said one resident, only identified as Mai Mumu.
“Garbage is not being collected so it is easier for someone to dumb anything, especially a child, like that.” H Metro
By A Correspondent| A delegation of cabinet ministers including Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa and her deputy Kindness Paradza, Deputy Energy minister Mike Madiro and Deputy Transport minister Magna Mudyiwa on Monday visited the Pomona dumpsite in Hatcliffe for purposes of sanitizing a deal that has been widely condemned as bad for City of Harare.
Mutsvangwa said the Pomona model will be replicated in other cities while Acting City of Harare Mayor Councillor Mutizwa lied between her teeth that they will pay US$22 000 per year to dump their waste.
Watch video below where Mutsvangwa hailed the Pomona deal as good while labelling those who are poking holes into the contract as detractors.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has instituted investigations after a video of a police officer eating something like yoghurt that had spilled onto the ground went viral.
ZRP says it hopes to identify the culprit and take appropriate action.
ZRP says:
The ZRP has noted with concern a video of a person dressed in police uniform circulating on the social media.
The person is seen squatting on the road while eating a white substance that has fallen to the ground.
The person later stands up and staggers around with yet to be identified member of the public recording and passing comments.
The person is appearing to be drunk.
The Police are conducting investigations into the matter with a view of identifying the culprit & taking action.
2/2 The suspect who was a passenger in the vehicle, drove away the complainant’s vehicle, after the complainant had stopped to pick two females at Village 10 Chipimbi bus stop in Chiredzi. The complainant had left the key on the ignition.
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) June 1, 2022
A South African pilot was killed at Harare’s Charles Prince Airport on Tuesday evening during an aerobatics display known as “Formation Aerobatics”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nils Flaatten of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team named the deceased pilot as Mark Sampson.
Read the statement:
It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa.
The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to ZimLive, the plane spun several times and then veered out of control when the pilot levelled up and tried to make a climb.
It then crashed nose-first in front of spectators who initially assumed it was all part of the show. Said a witness:
They were virtually at the end of their display when the tragic accident happened, killing the pilot.
By A Correspondent- High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire has dismissed an application by lawyer and writer Petina Gappah, who is seeking further particulars in a case she is facing a US$1 million defamation lawsuit.
Opposition politician Fadzayi Mahere is suing Gappah for defamation of character.
In her declaration, Mahere said Gappah published a series of tweets on her handle @VascoDaGappah accusing her of corruptly enrolling at the University of Zimbabwe and the Cambridge University and also attempting to seduce Gappah’s boyfriend at some point.
But Gappah filed a High Court application seeking some documents which she said were critical to support her case.
Gappah wanted proof of her communication with Mahere in September 2009 on Facebook Messenger in which the latter allegedly sought help with her application to Cambridge University.
She also wants communication on the same platform in which Mahere allegedly asked intrusive questions about the status of her relationship with her son’s father.
She demanded the release of Mahere’s official documents pertaining to her employment in The Hague in 2009, their communication in August 2016 in which she turned down an offer to meet for lunch.
She also demanded Mahere’s curriculum vitae she circulated as part of her Yellow Campaign in 2018 in which she claimed to have worked for an international trade consultancy in Geneva, Switzerland.
But Mafusire dismissed her request saying the trial should proceed.
“In essence, her lengthy document seems to be a hybrid, constituting a notice of exception, heads of argument and closing submissions, particularly as it seeks, in some portions, to comment on the evidence to be led at the trial. This is manifestly irregular,” Justice Mafusire ruled.
“The conduct of the defendant in mounting the application to compel further discovery and in filing a lengthy, but baseless objection cannot be justified … the application under HC 3178/21 to compel further discovery is hereby dismissed with costs,” the judge added.-Newsday
By- African National Congress (ANC) chairperson Gwede Mantashe has defended Zimbabweans and urged South Africans not to identify criminals by their nationality.
Speaking to News24 in Victoria Falls on Saturday, Mantashe, who is also South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, said crime knows no nationality. He said:
I always make the point at home and I will make it here: if a national from Zimbabwe commits a crime, he’s not a Zimbabwean, he’s a criminal. You must deal with criminals, not Zimbabweans, that’s my attitude.
… We have Zimbabweans from all walks of life in South Africa, they are in universities, they are in various institutions, they are CEOs of companies.
When people commit crimes in South Africa, they are not Zimbabweans, they are criminals.
When South Africans commit crimes in Zimbabwe, they are criminals.
On 6 April 2022, a Zimbabwean, Elvis Nyathi, was killed by vigilantes in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, for not having a passport.
Some South Africans blame foreigners for criminal conduct in their communities.
Mantashe admitted that his compatriots have a penchant for taking the law into their own hands. He said:
If you commit a crime in a community, the anger of the community would be informed by the extent of the crime.
Everybody who is doing the right thing in South Africa is safe.
Mantashe was in Zimbabwe to attend a meeting about the revival of the Pan African Minerals Development Corporation, a mining entity that brings together the governments of SA, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.
By A Correspondent- A 46 year old Harare man has appeared in court after he allegedly robbed a school in Waterfalls of US$120 000.
The suspect, Goodwell Mapininga, appeared before magistrate Yeukai Dzuda charged with robbery and money laundering.
He allegedly attacked a security guard who was manning the school premises before breaking into the cash office.
Mapininga was investigated after he started living a lavish lifestyle. He went on a spending spree, buying motor vehicles allegedly from the proceeds of crime.
In another armed robbery case, three suspects allegedly pounced on a Chitungwiza family and got away with US$44 000.
Rashid Adam Chipanga (29), Joseph Makoni (27) and 34-year-old Tawanda Gau appeared in court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody.
They were advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
Meanwhile, police in Marondera are investigating a robbery case which occurred on 30 May 2022 at Ruvimbo location, Marondera, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) posted on Twitter.
Police said the complainant (44) was using a Honda Fit vehicle, AEG 3554 as a taxi and was hired from Marondera Bus terminus to Ruvimbo location by one of the suspects.
Upon arrival at Ruvimbo, two other suspects joined the first suspect and attacked the complainant with iron bars before putting him in the boot.
The suspects stole the vehicle, clothes, cellphone and US$100 cash before dumping the complainant at March Farm in Marondera.
By- The opposition CCC leader Nelson Chamisa claims that the army is prepared to dump President Emmerson Mnangagwa and support him if he wins the 2023 presidential election.
Chamisa made the remarks while addressing CCC supporters during a thank you rally for CCC Kwekwe MP Judith Tobaiwa, on Sunday. He said:
What I want to tell you today is that Mnangagwa is gone. Come 2023, we will be the ruling party while ZANU PF will be the opposition.
Everywhere we are going in the country, people are speaking about change.
Change is on the horizon and the country is ready for change.
Civil servants are saying I must take the reigns of power. The students, ordinary citizens, and the army are saying the same. The army is prepared to ditch Mnangagwa in the coming elections. If we are to have an election today, I will have more support from the army than Mnangagwa. We are preparing for the next government. In November 2017, the military seized power from then-President Robert Mugabe and handed over the reins to Mnangagwa whom he had fired a few weeks before the coup. Meanwhile, Chamisa said his party will force ZANU PF to implement electoral reforms to ensure that there is no rigging in the 2023 elections.
By- A South African pilot was killed at Harare’s Charles Prince Airport on Tuesday evening during an aerobatics display known as “Formation Aerobatics”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nils Flaatten of the Marksmen Aerobatic Team named the deceased pilot as Mark Sampson. Read the statement: It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that today, the MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM were on the return leg of a roundabout trip from Cape Town to Nairobi, where the team had performed a successful aerobatic formation display at the Kenyan Défense Force (KDF) Museum Airshow, held in conjunction with the Aero Club of East Africa. The MARKSMEN AEROBATIC TEAM is devastated and we are currently working with the Zimbabwean authorities.
By- An AFM pastor has resisted eviction and rushed to pitch a tent at the church.
Reverend Alexio Gomani of the Cossam Chiangwa Apostolic Faith Mission ofZimbabwe (AFM) pitched a tent attached to Nyaure Apostolic Faith in Zimbabwe Assembly.
Gomani is protesting the Supreme Court ruling granted last year, in favour of the Amon Madawo-led reformist faction of the AFM church.
A villager from Shumba Village who spoke to H-Metro said they expect men of the cloth to be exemplary. He said:
We are not happy with what Reverend Gomani is trying to teach our community.
He was evicted, according to law, but he went on to erect a tent attached to the church building, from where he was ordered to vacate sometime last year.
Conducting church services at the premises, where other people will be inside for another service, is wrong.
Whatever he will be teaching, or sharing in the name of God, is discord to us.
We are appealing to Reverend Chiangwa to address or guide Rev Gomani accordingly.
As a community, we expect church members to fight crime, and preach peace and true leadership for community development.
Meanwhile, another Chiyangwa-linked pastor, Reverend Albert Chabvuta was recently ordered by the High Court to vacate the Tynwald AFM Assembly premises.
Chabvuta allegedly clashed with the assembly caretaker following the ruling. The matter is pending at Harare Magistrates’ Court.
By A Correspondent- President of a newly launched political party Parere Kunyenzura has told President Emmerson Mnangagwa that his days are numbered and his reign was coming to an end.
Kunyenzura said because God had put Mnangagwa on a measuring scale and found him wanting, he was ending his reign as the leader of Zimbabwe and ushering in a new leadership.
Addressing the media at the launch of his political party in Harare, Kunyenzura said Mnangagwa’s kingdom had been given to his neighbour just like in the days of Saul when the kingdom of Israel was given to his neighbour David.
We publish below the full text of the statement by Kunyenzura:
26 May 2022 Press Conference
Who we are
We are a newly formed political party called the Zimbabwe Transformative Party. We are not a puppet of the West, as some would like to accuse others of, neither are we of the East, to whom the accusers would like to incline, but we are a puppet of God, and in God we do believe.
Our slogan
Baba: Ndimi muchatimiririra kupinda mu Canaan. Asi chivimbiso chatitambudza.
Kanda vote yako: Pamuchinjikwa ipapo. Pamupostori ipapo. Pagemenzi ipapo.
Phosa i vote yakho: Esiphambanweni khonapho. Kumpostoli khonapho. Kugemesi khonapho.
What we stand for
A leadership in Government that is driven by the fear of the Lord.
A commitment to economic recovery and the betterment of the living standards of Zimbabwe’s citizenry.
Accountability of the Government about its revenue and expenditure, including, but not limited to, mineral revenue.
General accountability of the Government to the electorate.
Observation of the rule of law by the Government.
Observation of property rights by the Government.
A commitment to the upholding of human rights as enshrined in sections 44 to 87 of our Constitution.
Taming corruption in deed and in word.
Political tolerance to divergent views and constructive criticism and being open to reason, knowing quite well that correct ideas come from the people and that no one has a monopoly of knowledge.
Depolarization of Zimbabwe’s citizenry and her political landscape.
Infrastructural development, both soft and hard infrastructure; that includes the rehabilitation of our road networks.
Improving the country’s health delivery system.
Improving and steadying the country’s supply of energy.
Improving the country’s education system.
In summary, we are here to implement transformative or life-changing approaches to the system of governance. Changes that are lasting; changes that are marked; changes that eventually lead to individual, social, religious and economic systems to re-vision and introspect themselves.
President Parere Kunyenzura
Problem definition
If a problem is wrongly defined, there is a tendency to proffer wrong solutions to that particular problem. For example, when Mugabe was forced to resign, behind the scenes, through a military coup, every Zimbabwean was fooled and mobilised into believing that Mugabe was the problem.
The solution to that “problem” was the ascendancy of Mr Mnangagwa. But look, we have more and deeper problems now than we had with Mugabe, and there are more criminals surrounding the President now than there were surrounding Mugabe. Do not forget that teachers and the generality of civil servants were earning around US$540 per month when Mugabe was there, and what are they earning now?
What about the War Veterans pensions; and all pensions in general? What are civil servants getting in retirement packages and gratuities? So, Mugabe was not the problem, but the whole system of political governance, of which he was party to. If he alone was the problem, then by removing him, we could definitely have solved the problem, and by now we should have been flying on planet Mars! Alas; we are now in the abyss—and a self-inflicted one for that matter!
So, what then is our problem as Zimbabweans? The problem that Zimbabwe as a country faces today is that of a leadership that does not fear God. This type of leadership only pays lip service to their allegiance to the Almighty. In typical Pharisaic behaviour, they proclaim at the top of their voices that they are God-fearing; and even go on to attend worship assemblies and crusades by the day, yet under the cover of darkness they violate God’s moral law with impunity. Some of them have the temerity or audacity to violate God’s laws even during the daytime. If their assertion is true that they are God-fearing, then Zimbabweans pause to ask:
What became of Herbert Wiltshire Chitepo who perished on 18 March 1975?
What became of Josiah Magama Tongogara who perished on 26 December 1979?
What became of over 20,000 people who perished in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces between 3 January 1983 and 22 December 1987 during the Gukurahundi era? Is hatred a trademark of being Godly? Isn’t ethnicity [whether Ndebele, Tonga, Shona or Venda]; only tongue deep, in much the same way as colour [whether black or white]; is only skin deep?
Are we not all descendants of one ancestral couple; Adam and Eve? Isn’t the whole universe full of descendants of the eight people who came out of Noah’s Ark— Noah, his three sons Shem, Japheth and Ham and their four wives? So where is this hatred coming from? Are we not all one people?
Are we not all relatives of one another? Do we not share one ancestry? Will God not be happy in seeing the perpetrators of such heinous, monstrous, iniquitous and callous acts repenting of their sins? Shall not every one of us one day stand before the judgement seat of God, in order that each one of us receives what is due for what one would have done in the body, whether good or evil? [2 Cor. 5:10].
Shall not each one of us give an account of himself to God? [Rom. 14:12]. Shall not each one of us be judged, whether great or small, in accordance with what one would have done on earth when one was still alive? [Rev. 20:12-13].
Other questions which Zimbabweans pause to ask are: What became of Tonderai Ndira who perished between 13 and 22 May 2008 during the bloody election runoff?
What became of Solomon Mujuru who was burnt beyond recognition on that fateful night of 15 August 2011, a hero dying immediately after celebrating Heroes and Defence Forces days?
What became of Itai Dzamara who was abducted on the morning of 9 March 2015 and disappeared outright; who then was campaigning that the failed Mugabe must step down?
Is a revolution that eats its own people; including eating those who are party to the revolution, a Godly revolution?
If God’s sixth commandment says, “You shall not murder” [Exod. 20:13: ESV]; do leaders who are God-fearing go on and shed blood?Were not people killed like insects on the streets of Harare by the army on 1 August 2018, when they were agitated by the delay in the announcement of the presidential election results, as they were demanding the immediate release of the same; following the 30 July 2018 harmonised elections?
Were Zimbabweans not killed again in mid January 2019 when they were protesting about the 150% increase in the price of fuel, along with the increasing levels of poverty, the poor state of the economy and the general decline in the standards of living?
Can our dear President of the Republic of Zimbabwe purport not to know what exactly transpired on these events that led to the death of civilians on the street of Harare? Does not section 213, subsections 1 and 2, of our Constitution, state that only the President, as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, has the power to authorise the deployment of the Defence Forces and to determine the operational use of the same? Then if anything goes amiss in this deployment, is he not answerable to the citizenry for the outcome of the deployment?
Were our Parliamentarians not equally culpable, for according to section 214 of the Constitution, when the Defence Forces are deployed in Zimbabwe to assist in the maintenance of public order; the President must cause Parliament to be informed, promptly and in appropriate detail, of the reasons for their deployment as well as informing Parliament of the place where they are deployed?
So if Parliament was not informed by the President, then what did the Parliamentarians do? Sit and watch? Shouldn’t they have resigned en masse if their conscience is clear, and if their parliamentary authority was undermined with impunity by the head of state and government? Ladies and gentlemen,
God shall one day ask questions, by which he will demand answers! It is never too late at this juncture to come in the open and repent! God is eagerly looking forward to seeing this repentance.
President Parere Kunyenzura
Thus given the foregoing, our problem in Zimbabwe today is entrusting in positions of authority political leaders who do not fear the Lord. They are a god unto themselves. This set of a leadership does not know God.
They are a leadership that is insensitive to the plight of the generality of Zimbabweans; a leadership that is indifferent to the needs of the people, a leadership that is inward-looking, a leadership that is self aggrandising and a leadership that lacks empathy.
This type of leadership is sinful. Lest we forget, if anyone knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, is sin [James 4:17]. So a good number of our leaders are sinful today in that they know that people are starving due to the meagre wages they earn; they know that people are dying due to lack of medication and proper staffing levels in public hospitals; they know that many basics like transport, food, shelter and education are beyond the reach of many Zimbabweans, but they fail to redress or remedy the situation. Therefore, if leaders know the right thing that needs to be done, but they ignore or fail to do it; they are definitely sinning against God.
Thus given our definition of the problem at hand, the following are, therefore, not the problems, but they are mere symptoms of the problem. They are the results of a problem. They flow naturally from the problem. They are the economy’s direct response to the problem.
Symptoms of the problem
High levels of unemployment that hovers at over 90%, including university and college graduates who have never known formal employment; with some having graduated almost 20 years ago. Venturing into informal sector or entrepreneurship should be an option, and not mandatorily induced by circumstances.
A meltdown of economic activity.
High interest rates and the cost of borrowing.
Hyperinflationary environment. According to Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at John Hopkins University, Zimbabwe has the highest rate of inflation in the world which is pegged at 244% followed by Lebanon’s official rate of inflation which is pegged at 208.13%. This makes our currency a worthless currency. Its highest denomination cannot even buy a half loaf of bread as of now, yet according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency [ZimStat], the country’s year-on-year inflation was 96.4% as of April 2022.
Acute foreign currency shortages in spite of the three-tier exchange rates [i.e. interbank rate, auction rate and parallel market rate].
High government expenditure, with a huge appetite for borrowing; resulting in high levels of both domestic and external debt. Zimbabwe’s external debt, at US$10.5 billion in 2020, stood at 86% of Gross Domestic Product according to the IMF. This debt is owed to the international financial institutions including the Paris Club, African Development Bank, and the World Bank.
Deteriorating living standards; with over 80% of the population living below the national poverty datum line, making Zimbabwe the 22nd poorest country in the world [World Bank]. The majority of Zimbabweans are living on less than US$1.90 per day, which is the international poverty rate according to the UN Human Development Index.
Low life expectancy. The average life expectancy was as follows in 2021: Zimbabwe 61.63 years; South Africa 64.62; Egypt 72.22 years; Botswana 69.55 years; Namibia 64.12 and Zambia 64.12 years. [World Bank 2019].
Failure to observe the rule of law.
Failure to observe property rights.
A poor operating environment for business; despite professing the ease with which business is done in Zimbabwe.
Wages which are tantamount to slavery earnings; especially for government workers.
A proliferation of roads that are riddled with potholes, or should I say “dish” holes.
A poor health delivery system where basics like bandages and painkillers are hardly available; with health professionals miserably remunerated. In SA, a junior doctor earns an average salary of about R48 000; which is the equivalent of about US $3 402 per month. In other regional countries, the figures are: Namibia US3 120. Botswana US1 518. Lesotho US $1 500. Swaziland US$1 500. In Zimbabwe, they earn peanuts; that’s why they are behaving like monkeys, for the old adage goes, “Pay them peanuts, and they will behave like monkeys”. They are constantly and rightfully making noises about adjusting their remuneration levels in line with the cost of living.
A nation living under incessant power outages.
A nation that is highly polarized.
A politically intolerant system of governance; and the labelling of any dissenting voice as sell-outs.
A political environment that is characterised by political violence and blood-letting, with lip profession to the upholding of the sanctity of life.
Massive looting and plundering of state resources.
Exponential levels of corruption that go unchecked; with lip profession to taming it.
A miscarriage of justice, especially for opposition political players.
High crime rate, some of which is precipitated by poor conditions of service, especially for government employees.
Regular resurgence of medieval diseases such as cholera and typhoid, mainly due to contaminated water and the general unhygienic living conditions.
Uncollected garbage, yet most residents religiously pay their bills monthly, and having urban settlements that go for almost 10 years without tape water—Mabvuku and Tafara come to mind, under the nose of a Local Government Minister; which central government so often shifts the blame to the opposition.
An average teacher-pupil ratio of 1:60; in this day and age. I was in grade 1 in 1981 and 1:60 was the ratio then, soon after the war. Now about 42 years down the line, it is still the same; if not worse in some public schools.
A country flooded with land barons most of whom, if not all of them, are politically connected; depriving innocent citizens of their hard earned cash.
Repressive media laws such as the pending Patriotic Bill and the Private Voluntary Organisation Amendment Bill [PVO]. The Patriotic Bill seeks to criminalise acts that campaign against Zimbabwe, including, but not limited to, advocacy for the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe, private correspondence with foreign governments or any officer or agent thereof. A patriot cannot be created by legislation, but rather patriotism ought to be an intrinsic feeling of appreciation of the good socio-economic welfare of the country, and not as a result of a mandatory and repressive legislation. The PVO Bill that was subjected to community-based public hearings across the country; exposes the intention of the Zimbabwean government to provide itself with a legal tool to control and eventually silence civil society. If enacted, it will be a threat to the freedom of association, in sharp contrast to what is enshrined in section 58 of the Constitution.
In fact, the list is inexhaustible.
Thus given the above plethora of symptoms, Zimbabweans need a new page; a new beginning and a new approach to governance. Leaders should morph up into new creatures that are fearful of the Lord God. They need to undergo transformation. Leaders should be good stewards of God’s people.
True wisdom begins when people begin to fear the Lord. The psalmist hammered the point home when he said, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practise it have a good understanding. [Ps.111:10; ESV]. Solomon adds, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” [Prov.1:7; ESV].
Again he says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” [Prov. 9:10; ESV]. Thus the quest for wisdom begins when a man begins to fear God. Consequently, intellectualism outside of God is being non-intellectual. What then does it mean to fear God? To fear God is not to be afraid of him. To fear God is to obey him, to respect him, and to live in accordance with the dictates of his commandments.
submission to the Lord is critical to the attainment of real understanding. Thus wise counsel comes from the Lord Jesus Christ; for he is the Wonderful Counsellor [Isaiah 9:6]. If one disobeys him, one will never know real peace. All things will fall apart under one’s nose if one disobeys God.
Thus leaders need the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD [Isaiah 11:2]; all of which are the hallmarks of our Lord Jesus Christ. The book of James caps it all when it says , “…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” [James 3:17-18; ESV].
So wisdom from God is pure, peace-loving, not violent [gentle], willing to listen to sensible or logical thinking, willing to forgive those towards whom one has the power to punish or harm, full of good produce, unbiased and free from pretence or deceit.
Can anyone deliver Zimbabweans from bondage except God?
Now given our current problem and its corresponding symptoms, where can Zimbabweans turn to? Who can save them? Is it the West? Not really! Can it be the East? Not really too. Nobody can save Zimbabweans from their predicament altogether.Absolutely no one, except the Lord Almighty! God is the only one hope remaining. He is that one hope that has never failed to save humanity in its entire history.
Under such trying times, Zimbabweans have never ceased crying to God their Maker. We would like to salute all Zimbabweans for their resilience and tenacity under these very difficult circumstances. Everyone has suffered including even most veterans of the armed struggle. No one has been spared.
They have suffered in the hands of their taskmasters. They have suffered in the hands of those in positions of political leadership. Is God deaf and dumb? By no means! God does not keep quiet when his creation is being tormented. God will fight in his people’s corner. He will fight on behalf of the Zimbabweans.
As a reminder, no single Zimbabwean has title deeds to the land of Zimbabwe. The whole universe is God’s creation. So no one has entitlement to Zimbabwe, including those in ZANU PF. It is God who created and allocated the various geographical regions to people upon which to live.[Acts17:26]. Therefore, every Zimbabwean is a stakeholder to the motherland called Zimbabwe.
Now, we would like to assure our fellow country men and women, that the true God towards whom you directed your prayers day and night, is not dump and deaf, neither does he sleep. God does not enter into the voice mail mode. Thus, this true God has sent us, to deliver Zimbabweans from the jaws of a monster, and this monster, unequivocally, is the ZANU PF political leadership and its administration.
We are not delusional; nor are we suffering from any hallucination. We are simply putting on record what is in the mind of God. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not our project, but God’s, in much the same way as the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian bondage was not Moses’ or Aaron’s project, but God’s.
We are not hiding from anyone the fact that God has truly heard the prayers of Zimbabwe’s citizenry and has thus sent us as executors of his plan. We are his vessels who are ready to execute this plan on his behalf. He is the author of this project.
When God called Moses, he said to him, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey,……
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” God said, “But I will be with you…” [Exod. 3:7-12: ESV].
Even if God is omnipresent, that is, even if he is available at all places at the same time, for he is in heaven, his dwelling place, as he is on earth, he “descended” from heaven in a special way to deliver his people from the Egyptian bondage.
Zimbabwe today is comparable to the Egypt of yesteryear. Zimbabwe’s citizens are living in the yesteryear “land of Goshen in Egypt”; where oppression was the order of the day. Zimbabweans can no longer breathe. Democratic space has been squeezed by an authoritarian, totalitarian, autocratic, despotic and tyrannical political system of the ruling elite.
Her citizens have been oppressed and abused left, right and centre. Her political leaders were supposed to be good stewards and shepherds of God’s people. However, to our surprise, today’s political leaders have cannibalized God’s people and consequently, they have scattered them. Cannibalized them?
Yes, because as of now, a lot of Zimbabweans have perished in the hands of those who are supposed to look after and care for them. Some have been abducted and disappeared outright. There has been continued and systematic subjugation of the will of the people.
Scatter them? Yes, because over four million Zimbabweans are now livingin the diaspora, some as political refugees fleeing from political persecution, while others have fled the country as economic refugees looking for greener pastures because political leaders have committed economic genocide of exponential proportions.
Thus Zimbabweans have been crying for a very long period of time, and God has heard their cry, and has responded due to his abundant grace. Therefore, we have been sent by God as the Moses of today.
Political hurdles will stand in our way, but God will prevail
In directing us to take this political route, God is not oblivious to the fact that this journey will not be a stroll in the park. We have no illusions whatsoever about the troubles that are lurking ahead of us. God did not promise us that the journey will be trouble-free. Far be it. However, what he promised us is that even under trying times; he will not leave us alone as orphans.
He will always be with us; just as he promised his disciples that he would be with them always right up to the end of age [Matt. 28:20]. God is quite cognisant of the bumpy political road that lies ahead of us, and of the political hurdles that besiege this racing track. We are, therefore, fully aware of the political terrain on which we have now begun to tread. Notwithstanding these challenges, let us hasten to say that we are tempted to remind people that we have never seen or heard of a man or woman, in the entire history of mankind, who has waged a war against the Almighty and prevailed.
Absolutely no one! Just as God promised Moses that he will be with him, he indeed promised us that he will not leave us alone in this project. When a man’s actions are in conflict with God’s commandments, we will endeavour not to please man, the creature, but to please God, the Creator. As ambassadors of the Gospel of Christ, we do not trust in chariots and horses of war, but in the name of the Lord [Ps. 20:7].
Even if some of us may perish along the way, the resolve within us will not be extinguished; for we are prepared to endure on this route, and we will endure up to the end [Heb. 3:14]. We will suffer together with Christ in this project, in order that we may also be glorified with him when he returns [Rom. 8:17].
Our position on other main political parties
We acknowledge the role played by the MDC group and their mutable variants, especially from the days of its founding and iconic president, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai; for the democratic struggle that they have undertaken for almost 23 years now. Their efforts are quite cherished.
However, they have been in the dugout, they have been in the trenches for far too long. In fact, their struggle has been longer than the ZANU PF’s struggle itself of 17 years [1963-1980]. Zimbabweans are tired and desperate. Tired? Yes; because they have fought this war for over two decades now. Desperate?
Yes; because they are not quite sure if ever their landslide voting patterns will ever translate into them getting the power they so vigorously have been fighting for. Mugabe, by his own admission, said in one of their meetings that Morgan Tsvangirai had clobbered ZANU PF in the then Presidential election by winning 74% of the votes, only to be “corrected” by those in attendance to the effect that it was 47% of the votes and not 74. I hadn’t heard Mugabe as truthful as this before—a very honest statement from the geriatric! Very truthful indeed! So one is tempted to conclude that the MDC have been winning since the 2002 Presidential elections, but they have not been ruling.
On the contrary, we are here, in the name of God, to wrap up this struggle. We are here, in the name of God, to bring this chapter to its closure. We are here, in the name of God to bring it to its logical conclusion.
We also acknowledge the role played by the original and true cadres of the armed struggle, both in ZANU PF and PF ZAPU. They put up a brave and bitter armed struggle that culminated in the attainment of our independence that was epitomized by the raising of our Zimbabwean flag on 18 April 1980, ending a colonial system that officially had stretched from the midnight of 12/13 September 1890 when the Union Jack was raised on our soil; in the then Salisbury.
This legacy by the veterans of the armed struggle cannot be underestimated, neither can we downplay it. Their cause was, is and will still continue to be a well cherished cause. As Zimbabweans, we do not deny our indebtedness to this worthy cause, for which a lot of blood was shed. We salute all the gallant fighters of the armed struggle—both living and departed. However, this rich legacy has gradually been eroded by the shenanigans of the ZANU PF political actors, on whom they had bestowed the trust to lead Zimbabwe’s citizenry.
This rich legacy has wrongly been used as a license to maim people, as a licence to butcher and kill people; as a licence to pay a blind eye to the rule of law, as a licence to disrespect property rights, as a licence to pay a blind eye to revenue accountability and the general accountability of those in Government to the electorate, as a licence to loot and plunder national resources with impunity, as a licence to pay a blind eye to the violation of human rights, as a licence to suffocate media and journalistic space, as a licence to squash democratic space; as a licence to embark on political intolerance, and as a licence to violate the Constitution willy-nilly and to the whims and caprices of the ruling elite.
God forbid! All these vices are quite in sharp contrast to the ethos, values, cause and ideological thrust of the armed struggle. Today’s political actors in the ruling party have abused the trust and power which was vested in them by the stalwarts of the armed struggle. Not surprisingly, everyone is crying, including these stalwarts of the armed struggle because of the self-centredness of those upon whom they entrusted the stewardship of the country.
Our position on land
One of the key triggers of nationalism in Zimbabwe that subsequently led to the taking up of arms was the unjustifiable dispossession of the natives of their land and other resources without compensation. Section 72 of the 2013 Constitution; subsection 7; paragraphs (a) and (b); is quite explicit about this fact. Hence, according to section 72, subsection 3, paragraphs (a) and (b); and section 295, subsection 3, subject to section 295 subsections 1 and 2 of the same Constitution, no compensation is payable in respect of its acquisition, except compensation for improvements effected on the land before its acquisition, and no court may entertain any such application, for according to section 72 subsection 3 paragraph (c) of the Constitution, the acquisition may not be challenged on the ground that it was discriminatory in contravention of section 56 of the Constitution.
Thus Statutory Instrument 62 of 2020 was also promulgated with the same spirit of compensating such farmers only for improvements effected on their farms. Note that all “agricultural land” as defined by section 72 subsection 4; paragraphs (a) and (b) of the Constitution continues to be vested in the State, and no compensation is payable in respect of its acquisition except for improvements effected on it before its acquisition.
Historically, successive segregationist pieces of legislation were enacted that paved the way for inequalities in land ownership in Zimbabwe between whites and blacks. This philosophy of moving blacks off their land began immediately after the 1893 War of Dispossession which saw the defeat of the Ndebele. It continued for the next 84 years through to 1977.
It was a dual process of alienation [taking land from the original and rightful owners] and moving the original Zimbabwean inhabitants to less fertile and less well-watered Tribal Trust Lands or Native Reserves. From 1893 to 1977, there were seven Land Commissions that were set up by the settler authority to deal specifically with the land question, for example, the 1894 Land Commission, the 1902 Land Commission, the 1914 Land Commission and the 1925-26 Morris-Brown or the Carter Commission.
Thus the first land commission was set up in 1894 which specifically dealt with the aftermath of the defeat of the Ndebele. As a result of this defeat; the British South African Company [BSAC] claimed ownership of all land occupied by the Ndebele. Since the Ndebele, by right of conquest, had dominated most parts of Zimbabwe, this means that the white settlers, by extension, resultantly claimed the ownership of all land in Zimbabwe.
The 1894 Commission recommended the creation of “reservations/reserve areas” for the displaced Ndebele; and in 1895, two reserves namely Gwai and Shangani were established in a dry, semi-arid region hundreds of miles north of the centre of the Ndebele kingdom. In making such evictions, the Land Commission was not concerned about the economic and social well-being of the displaced people.
No wonder why the forced removal of the Ndebele to Gwai and Shangani as well as the hardships of living in that harsh environment, were among the primary causes of the 1896 Ndebele rebellion that culminated into the 1896-7 First Chimurenga/Umvekela, that became a national war.
The Carter Commission of 1926 recommended the segregation of all land on a virtually permanent basis between Blacks and Whites. The attitude of the Carter Commission is summarised in the following quote from their Report, “Until the Native [Black person] has advanced very much further on the path of civilisation, it is better that the points of contact between the two races should be reduced.”
Therefore, based on the Carter Commission’s Report, the need to divide the land between Blacks and Whites brought about the Land Apportionment Act of 1930. Hence, the division of the land as a result of the Land Apportionment Act produced the following outcomes in land ownership: Whites 51% of the land; Native Reserves 22%;Native Purchase Areas 7.8%; Forest Area 0.6%; Undetermined land 0.1%; Unassigned land 18.5%. Due to the Land Apportionment Act, about 1.5% of the population [whites], owned 51% of the land, while 98.5% of the population [blacks]; owned only 29.8% of the land.
As a consequence of this and subsequent Acts, the best land, for example along the Highveld was allocated to whites. Along the Highveld, temperatures were good and the rainfall pattern good too. On the other hand; the Native Reserves where ecologically fragile. These Reserves had poor agricultural soils, had erratic rainfall patterns and unfavourable climatic conditions.
They were also not quite suitable even for grazing. They were also “buffer zones” for wild animals like pigs, baboons and monkeys which fed on and destroyed their field crops, not forgetting lions and hyenas that preyed on their livestock. Note that the Land Apportionment Act made it illegal for Africans to purchase land outside of the established Native Purchase Areas.
Then there was the Native Land Husbandry Act of 1951, which was amended in 1969; which was enacted to achieve the following: regulate conservation measures; ensure good farming practices; relate the stocking levels of each area to its carrying capacity; allocate grazing rights to individuals; redistribute arable land into compact and economic units; and to register each individual’s holding of the land.
Do not forget that by this time, blacks were already overcrowded in what was called the Native Reserves or the Tribal Trust Land as a result of earlier pieces of legislation such as the Land Apportionment Act. This made the native areas become high population density homelands.
Then the Land Tenure Act No. 54/69, as amended in 1977; was another segregationist law that superseded the Land Apportionment Act. Its purpose was to ensure that each race would have its own area. Thus the interests of each race was to be paramount in its area and no race could own or occupy land in the area of the other race, except by permit, which permit was issued or refused by a Minister of Government, who was white. So these two Acts, namely the Land Apportionment Act and the Land Tenure Act; were not different in intention or effect. They were practically the same.
Let us not forget that by 1891, before Southern Rhodesia was established as a territory [Responsible Government was in 1923]; there were about 1,500 whites residing in the country. This number grew phenomenally especially after the Second World War which ended on 2 September 1945.
This number grew to about 75,000 by the end of 1945. In the decade 1945 to 1955, the white population doubled to 150, 000. So, in bid to cater for this ever growing population due to immigration, during this decade, over 100,000 farming black people had to be forcibly evicted and resettled away from the farmland that had been designated by whites, for white ownership. The white population in Zimbabwe continued to grow and it reached a peak of 300,000 in 1975-6; representing about 8% of the population.
Note that after the war in 1980, the land ownership imbalances where such that about 70% of arable land was in the hands of about 220 000 white people [with about 4 500 farmers amongst them]; while about 7.2 million black Zimbabweans [with close to 800 000 farmers amongst them]; directly or indirectly shared and depended on the remaining 30% of arable land. This imbalance was despite the fact that even by the early 1970s, total blacks outnumbered total whites by a ratio of 22:1.
Not surprisingly, due to the imbalances in land ownership that was engineered by successive pieces of segregationist legislation, the land question was the bedrock upon which a bitter and protracted armed struggle was premised. Land was the prime goal of King Lobengula’s War of dispossession as he fought the British encroachment in his dwelling area in 1893-4. Land was the principal grievance for the Ndebele and Shona uprising in the period 1896-7.
Land was also the overriding grievance that triggered the Second Chimurenga. Land was the fundamental grievance too that caused the Third Chimurenga. In all these wars, the objective of the wars was to right a historical wrong. Thus the land question was a primary cause of each and every Chimurenga/umvekela that was fought in Zimbabwe.
Given the foregoing, it would, therefore, be quite myopic for anyone to wish that blacks would once again be “moved off” their land, from which land they were originally evicted by colonial settlers without compensation. Never lose sight also of the fact that even well before the segregationist pieces of legislation were enacted, blacks were systematically being marginalised by the colonial settlers.
Thus in an effort to correct the historical wrong or the land ownership imbalances, there came the 1985 Land Acquisition Act. It gave a policy framework for land redistribution exercise by identifying and assessing farming areas that were not being efficiently utilized; determining the fair price for compensating the current owners of the underutilized land, which owners were primarily Europeans, and selecting rural dwellers that would be provided farming areas in the resettlement zones.
Then soon after the expiration of the 1980-1990 willing buyer-willing seller clause of the Lancaster House Agreement, came the 1992 Compulsory Land Acquisition Act. It sought to compulsorily acquire land. This Act was amended in 2000 [Fast Track Land Reform]; and further amended in 2005 to put all non-urban and non-communal land under state ownership.
The land redistribution exercise was meant to give back to the blacks their God-given inheritance; the land. Do not lose sight of the fact that the mainstay of the Zimbabwean economy has been and is land, upon which agriculture is based.
Notwithstanding the above facts, we do not condone the violent manner in which whites were removed from the land. We also do not condone a system of greed whereby the ruling elite eventually became multiple farm owners. In this regard, a rationalization of the land is needed and will be carried out. Zimbabwe should stick to the principle of one man one farm, in much the same way the veterans of the armed struggle advocated for a one man one vote.
Non-productive farms should be downsized and reallocated to those with competency in farming, because farming is and should be viewed as a business. White farmers who are still willing to cohabitate, farm and live symbiotically with black Zimbabweans should also not be left out in the rationalization exercise. They should also be allocated a piece of land on which to farm and earn a living, for land is a vital factor of production; that was given to humanity by God.
Our position on sanctions
Sanctions are a resultant child of ZANU PF’s maladministration. They are an illegitimate child born by ZANU PF from their shenanigans out of wedlock. Notwithstanding this fact, sanctions are not good for our people. They hurt the ordinary man on the street the most. They hit hardest the less privileged members of our society. It is true that they were enacted as targeted sanctions, for they were meant to target certain individuals and organisations with associations to such individuals.
However, when the assets of such targeted individuals were frozen, some of these individuals, if not all, entered into the mode of wrong compensatory behaviour. They wrongly responded by increasing their marginal propensity to loot and plunder national resources. To illustrate my point, for example, when a person’s US$1 billion was frozen; the person in question would loot first US$1 billion to cover the gap.
Then, he would also loot an additional US$1 billion as a “safety net” or as an “insurance sum”; ‘just in case’. The net effect is that the national assets are cleaned up. Therefore, it would not be surprising to find that there are no drugs in hospitals, let alone basics like bandages and painkillers. Given this background, the net loser was not the targeted politician, but the net loser became the ordinary man on the street who was meant to benefit from the embezzled national resources. No wonder why even if a loaf of bread costs US$100, these targeted individuals are so filthy rich that they can afford to buy several loaves of bread per day for the rest of their lives. Thus the response by the West of imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe was off the mark, it missed the target because it ended up hitting hardest the unintended target.
Please note that the “sanctions mantra” has been used rhetorically by the ruling party as a scapegoat for poor economic performance. Sanctions should never be used as a cover up for maladministration. The “sanctions mantra” is simply empty rhetoric and it is hyperbolic. People should not lose sight of the fact that as soon as Ian Douglas Smith announced a Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, Southern Rhodesia was immediately slapped with an economic embargo by virtually all countries, save for apartheid South Africa and until 1974, Portugal.
The sanctions stretched for 14 solid years up to their revocation in December 1979 during the ceasefire period, when Southern Rhodesia had reverted to become a British Colony during the Lancaster House Talks. Please take note that despite the fact that Smith was fighting a bitter war to repel the gallantly ZANLA and ZIPRA combatants; Southern Rhodesia went on to post some budget surpluses in some of the years in the 1970s. As if that was not enough, sanctions gave the Rhodesian manufacturing sector a major stimulus. These sanctions obliged Rhodesian industries to diversify and create many import substitution undertakings to compensate for the loss of traditional sources of imports. The processing of local raw materials also increased rapidly.
Major growth industries included steel and steel products, heavy equipment, transportation equipment, ferrochrome, textiles and food processing. Thus the economy of Southern Rhodesian sustained international sanctions for over a decade following UDI under a very tough guerrilla war situation. As if that was not enough, in 1980, when the Union Jack was lowered and the Zimbabwean flag was moved in the opposite direction, the cross rate of the British Pound to the Rhodesian Pound was almost 1:1.The Unites States dollar, now the envy of many Zimbabweans was a pale shadow in strength to the Rhodesian dollar. The rand and the pula, we did not even look at them.
Hence, Smith was operating under a worse economic embargo than we are witnessing today, yet his economy grew phenomenally. From the aforesaid, we can authoritatively conclude that the current administration is merely using sanctions as a cover up for poor economic performance and deteriorating living standards. Sanctions have been used as a scapegoat for poor economic performance in much the same way as the Russo-Ukrainian war is now blamed for a spate of price increases in Zimbabwe, even if we know quite well that Russia illegally invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and by then, we were already in a hyperinflationary environment.
We are not denying the fact that exogenous factors like the war in Ukraine is contributing to the death of a child called Zimbabwe. They are playing a part. However, this child was already in the intensive care unit well before 24 February 2022. Therefore, the harm was triggered by endogenous factors, whilst the exogenous factors are merely finishing off the child.
Is funding Zimbabwe’s major handicap? Why is it that some of the richest nations in terms of natural resource endowment rank among the poorest?
Funding is not Zimbabwe’s major setback, but political will is. Political will, which is the determination of political actors to say and do things that will produce a desired outcome, is the main handicap. Put differently, in our context, political will is the extent to which key political decision-makers are committed to supporting a particular policy solution to a particular problem.
Thus political will exists when a sufficient set of decision-makers with a common understanding of a particular problem on the formal agenda, is committed to supporting a commonly perceived, potentially effective policy solution. If political will is non-existent, it does not follow suit that richer countries in terms of natural resource endowment automatically become richer countries economically. Look at Zimbabwe as an example. She is home to over 60 minerals, only 10 of which are actively being mined.
Zimbabwe has also the second highest grade of chromium ore in the world after South Africa, amounting to about 12 billion tonnes, which is about 12% of the global total. As if that is not enough, Zimbabwe has also the third largest deposits of platinum ore after South Africa and Russia, amounting to 6.83% of the global total. The Great Dyke is home to vast mineral resources, yet Zimbabwe is the 22nd poorest nation in the world. Lest we forget, in Chiadzwa, one simply needed a pick and a shovel, unlike the diamond mines in Kimberley; South Africa; where one needs to dig 20 km deep in order to get these gems. Who benefited from the discovery of these gems in Chiadzwa? Did the Chiadzwa diamonds benefit the generality of Zimbabweans? The answer is in the negative.
Let us also look at the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the richest country in the world in terms of natural resource endowment. It has over 1,000 minerals, and has a surface area equivalent to that of Western Europe, and the second largest rainforest in the world; with untapped deposits of raw materials amounting to US$24 trillion; yet the DRC is the 17th poorest country in the world according to the United Nations Human Development Index [2019 Report].
According to the World Bank, DRC has the 3rd largest population of poor people globally. In 2018, it was estimated that 73% of the Congolese population, equalling about 60 million people, lived on less than US$1.90 a day, which US$1.90 is the international poverty rate. Therefore, almost 14% or one out of seven people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa lives in DRC.
Let us contrast the above with Japan, for example. Japan, one of the most highly developed countries in the world, has virtually no natural resources like gas, oil, gold, coal, copper and iron. It largely depends on imported raw materials and energy. Do not forget that its nuclear power plants were closed some years ago due to incessant earth quakes and tsunamis. Japan is the largest importer of liquefied natural gas and coal, and the second largest importer of oil in the world, yet she ranks as one of the most developed economies.
Other than agricultural land, of which only 20% of total land is suitable for cultivation, and its fisheries; Japan has negligible mineral resources under her seabed. Note also that 40% of her total forests are planted forests. Despite all these setbacks, Japan ranks among the highly developed countries on planet earth. So to have or not to have natural resources is not the main determinant of economic prosperity/wealth/funding, neither is it the main determinant of poverty/human welfare.
So it is not simply a question of funding or of having a lot of assets or natural resources that triggers a country towards economic prosperity and economic independence. It is more to do with the political will to harness and appropriate the resources in question for the betterment of everyone’s living standards. Why, for example, is it that a good number of billionaires in the world today rise up like islands in a sea of poverty in poor third world countries? We should look no further than the unchecked access to the looting and plundering of state resources for our answer!
Hence, our problem in the developing world is not to do with funding or resources, but the mismanagement of the funds or resources is symptomatic of the problem. Leaders who do not fear God are the problem. How can we explain why Japan, which does not have a significant mineral resource, is an advanced economy? Human capital is not the only factor, for this can be acquired by Africa too, for example, through partnerships and knowledge transfers.
The answer is greed political leaders who are not made to account for their actions. These political leaders craft agreements with foreign investors, not for the benefit of their counties, but for the betterment of their families at the expense of their nation. This obviously shrouds the political will to advance their economies, since national benefits or resources become like private fiefdoms, which are meant to feed their families and friends at the expense of the rest of the populace.
No wonder why as Africans, we are always holding a begging bowl in our hands, yet Africa has a rich endowment in natural resources. These leaders do not exploit and appropriate the resources for the advancement of everyone’s living standards, but for their personal gain largely.
By failing to honour God, Belshazzar engineered his own downfall
When Belshazzar, son and successor to King Nebuchadnezzar was feasting and celebrating, he ordered that the utensils that his father had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem during his conquest of the same, be brought in before him at the party. He and his lords, his wives and his concubines put wine in them and drank the wine; and he praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but he did not honour the true God in whose hand was his breadth. Then as he drank the wine, a hand that came from the presence of God wrote on the wall in front of him. The inscription read: MENE MENE TEKEL and PARSIN. The interpretation, as revealed by God to Daniel was that:
MENE: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
PARSIN/PERES: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
This scenario is analogous to our Zimbabwean situation today. We have a similar message to the political leadership of the ruling party in government, that is, the administration of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Cde ED Mnangagwa. The message is that:
God has numbered the days of your rule and brought it to an end.
You have been put on a measuring scale by God and found wanting.
Consequently, your kingdom has been given to your neighbour by God. Like in the days of Saul, God did not hide from Saul the fact that he had given the kingdom of Israel to his neighbour, David [1 Sam.28:17]. The reason why God rejected Saul was that Saul was the first to reject God. Reciprocally, God too rejected Saul. Hence, God told King Saul through the prophet Samuel, “…For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel” [1 Sam. 15:26]. Similarly, even today, God has also not hidden the fact that he has given the kingdom of Zimbabwe to your neighbour; a David. This fate has been sealed. This fate is irrevocable. This fate is un-appealable, for God’s case has no appeal. God is a Supreme Court in himself.
To avoid ambiguity, this David is not coming from the MDC group, with their various mutations that encompass the CCC brand, just in case some fanatics in this division may start to prematurely celebrate; neither is this successor David coming from within the ZANU PF stable. What I am saying is the mind of God; and it will happen irrespective of the amount of resistance or opposing force. Should I hide the fact that God has appointed me the David? By no means! Certainly not! If I do, I would be a liar like most of them, which is sin. God did not even hide this fact from King Saul.
Last but not least, I urge my sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers in the Security Services of Zimbabwe [the Defence Forces, the Police Service, the Intelligence Services and the Prisons and Correctional Service]; that they should remain apolitical as per section 208 subsections 2 and 3 of our Constitution. This is purely a political contest; and politics should be left to civilian rule.
A better Zimbabwe will be better for everyone, including you too. Lest I be misquoted and be charged with either treason or subversive speech; let me put it on record that we do not seek to overthrow the government through undemocratic and unconstitutional means. That is not Godly, and more so, we do not subscribe to that sort of philosophy. Our hands cannot kill even a cockroach. Our overriding principle is that we will get into power through the ballot box, democratically.
Like a dove, I come in peace and in peace I sign off.
By- CCC deputy chairman Job Sikhala has been angered by a police statement issued following the abduction of his party member.
Police Tuesday issued a statement absolving a Zanu PF activist, Pius Jambo, who abducted CCC supporter Moreblessing Ali in Beatrice.
Below is what Sikhala posted in response to the ZRP statement:
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working for hand in glove to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime. There are several pending reports and cases before the
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working hand in gloves to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime. There are several pending reports and cases before the pic.twitter.com/kamPGaUmSH
— HON Job Wiwa Sikhala (@JobSikhala1) May 30, 2022
The ZRP has noted with concern a video of a person dressed in a police uniform circulating on social media.
The person is seen squatting on the road while eating a white substance that has fallen to the ground.
The person later stands up and staggers around with yet to be identified members of the public recording and passing comments. The person is appearing to be drunk.
The Police are conducting investigations into the matter with a view to identifying the culprit and taking action.- ZRP
Top whistleblower and forensic scientist Shepherd Yuda comments saying, basically everything except Reserve Bank, Joina City building and the Nehanda Statue was built by Ian Smith.
Ian Smith was NOT PERFECT, but so far he is the best leader Zimbabwe has ever had.
We are still using Ian Smith:
roads,
dams,
trains,
May His Lovely Soul Rest in Peace.
You set a high bar. Sadly Zimbabweans know this is true: chiefly because of the oppression, abductions , poor economy, inflation, the killings, lack of opportunities for many, pensions eroded twice in 20yrs , poor road infrastructure, no investment in alternative trains.
A woman from Gweru’s Senga suburb allegedly borrowed a baby from her friend, which she used to claim US$1 800 from her ex-husband.
Naume Chitsa of Nehosho area in Senga suburb in Gweru has since appeared before Gweru magistrate Beaulity Dube facing one count of fraud.
She pleaded not guilty and was remanded to 15 June on free bail.
Chitsa allegedly borrowed a baby boy from a friend and lied that her ex-husband Kevin Dube was the father. Dube paid US$1 800 for the child’s upkeep.
Prosecuting, Thando Sibangani Dube said that on 19 April 2018, Dube and Chitsa got married for about a month and separated over the issue of pregnancy.
At the end of January 2019, Chitsa advised Dube that she had given birth to a baby boy and he should come to see his child.
It was further alleged that from that day onwards Dube was supporting the baby financially. Dube, however, was doubting the paternity of the child.
In April 2022, Dube allegedly phoned his mother and asked her to meet with Chitsa so that she could have an opportunity to see her grandchild.
The court heard that after seeing the baby, Dube’s mother advised him to take the child for DNA tests if he wanted to be sure he was the father.
Dube then stopped giving financial support to Chitsa, prompting his ex-wife to approach the Civil Courts for a maintenance payment.
Dube was summoned to appear in court as a respondent for maintenance but before the trial date arrived, he was tipped off that he was not the biological father of the child.
The court heard that Dube received a phone call from one Confidence Chikamhi who is Chitsa’s friend who advised him that he had been misled into believing that he had a son with her.
Chikamhi told Dube that the child used to claim maintenance by Chitsa was hers. Chitsa and Dube met in court on 5 May.
Chitsa brought the child to court and Chikamhi was called as a witness. The child went to Chikamhi who told the court that she was the mother of the child.
Chitsa was arrested and the matter was transferred to the criminal courts for prosecution. -Chronicle
The Zanu PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxillia pleaded repeatedly for 21 times in the space of 14 minutes, asking not to be cursed. This was during her interview with Simba Chikanza 2 weeks ago. She used the same phrases she once used before a soldier she believes could end her life one day. WATCH THE FOOTAGE BELOW (from 1:14:00)
More than 21 times in under 14min, Auxillia Mnangagwa pleads: "don't curse me Chikanza, don't curse me" pic.twitter.com/wIhd1vRgIP
By- Two armed robbers have pounced on a local Bulawayo shop and got away with over US$13 000 and R8 000.
The robbers hit Hamara fruit and vegetable supermarket located along Fife street between 3rd and 4th avenue in Bulawayo.
The incident occurred around 9 AM on Monday, 30 May 2022.
According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the total value of cash taken was US$ 13 242, R8 892, and ZWL$5 840. ZRP spokesperson in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Inspector Abednico Ncube, said the two suspects entered the supermarket armed with pistols and ordered everyone to lie down on the ground. He said the suspects grabbed an employee and pointed a gun at his head and demanded money.
The employee led the suspects to an office where they kept the money and ordered the safe to be opened. Said Inspector Ncube: The complainant two complied and gave them cash amounting to over US$11000 plus over R6000 and over ZW$5000. They proceeded to another office where there was a safe and ordered complainant two to open the safe and she complied and took US$210. Insp Ncube said the suspects started kicking another employee on his belly, demanding keys to the manager’s safe. Another employee was forced to open the safe but it was empty. Added Inspector Ncube: The accused persons then went back to the tills where they collected more cash from the three tills amounting to US$1 150 and R2 000 and left the scene. The employees later filed a report at ZRP, Bulawayo Central, and the police attended the scene. Meanwhile, Inspector Ncube exhorted businesses not to keep large sums of money on their premises.
He also commended the four employees for complying with the armed robbers’ instructions as this prevented the loss of lives. CITE
The ZRP has noted with concern a video of a person dressed in a police uniform circulating on social media.
The person is seen squatting on the road while eating a white substance that has fallen to the ground.
The person later stands up and staggers around with yet to be identified members of the public recording and passing comments. The person is appearing to be drunk.
The Police are conducting investigations into the matter with a view to identifying the culprit and taking action.- ZRP
By Farai D Hove | Govt Permanent Secretary Ndabaningi Mangwana yesterday alleged that the missing CCC activist, Moreblessing
Ali was kidnapped by a lover.
Denial… Nick Mangwana
The suspected kidnapper is more than 20 years younger than the victim. Pius Jamba is 24, and the victim is 46 years old.
Mangwana tweeted saying that Ali’s disappearance was a case of domestic violence.
“So, some bitter jilted boyfriend drags his girlfriend into some dark alley in a clear case of domestic violence. Shouldn’t our campaign be about domestic violence rather than political violence or politically-motivated abductions where they actually don’t exist?” he posted.
Moreblessing’s brother,
Washington scoffed at the suggestion, saying there is no way his cousin would have affair with someone who is the age of her own son. He, speaking with ZimEye, also questioned how the police only published a statement following a ZimEye interview with the co accused, Simba Chisango, who is a top ZANUPF official for the Nyatsime area.
Further commenting, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) said it had dispatched its own team to investigate the matter.
“The cases of enforced disappearance are serious issues,” ZimRights national director, Dzikamai Bere said.
By- President Emerson Mnangagwa has responded to calls by the Parliament pushing him to replace the fired former Vice President, Kembo Mohadi.
Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba has said such Members of Parliament were “ignorant”.
Charamba told NewsDay that Mnangagwa would make the appointment in his own time. Said Charamba: It is a prerogative of the President to decide when to appoint a minister or a Vice-President. Do you think you can force us to do something we don’t want to do? At what point does Parliament make decisions for the Executive? How does the Legislature force the hand of the Executive? On what basis?
Parliament is out of order; they have no reason compelling appointments which are a prerogative of the President. It is not their duty and they must keep off and know their terms. It’s straightforward, they are ignorant. Last month, Magwegwe MP Anele Ndebele (MDC Alliance) raised a matter of privilege in the National Assembly, requesting to know when a second Vice President would be appointed in the spirit of the 1987 Unity Accord. The Unity Accord created two Vice President posts one from the former PF ZAPU party which was led by the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo and the other from ZANU PF.
Former ZANU PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman, Temba Mliswa, who is Norton MP (Independent) has also called for the appointment of a second VP, saying the people of Matabeleland were being deprived of representation. The post has been vacant since February last year when Kembo Mohadi resigned amid revelations that he was involved in a love affair with a married female staffer in his office.
Tinashe Sambiri| Hard-hitting CCC deputy chairperson Hon Job Sikhala has blasted ZRP boss Paul Nyathi for protecting Zanu PF hooligans who abducted Moreblessing Ali.
Sikhala has described Paul Nyathi’s statement as “bull crap.”
The fearless politician wrote on his Twitter blog saying:
Paul Nyathi your crap statement absolving Simba Chisango from the violence that happened to Moreblessing Ali shld be informed by the report right on your desk by 1 of his victims.
My case number CR 73/05/22. The attack was on 15/05/22. Reported on 16/05/22. Jeche Precious is my name…
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working hand in gloves to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime.
This is embarrassing and a clear demonstration that u protect perpetrators of violence. It is a pathetic lie to suggest that it was a love affair conflict when it was clear political violence. We live and stay here in Chitungwiza. Hatiudzirwe. Don’t lie to the nation.
Apprehend the culprits and let them show us where Mobby is. This statement should be known to the world that the Zimbabwe police trivialize the violence perpetrated against opposition figures and protect the warlords of ZANU PF.
This is the picture of Pius Jambo, half brother to Simba Chisango who is alleged to be behind the attack of Moreblessing Ali and responsible for her disappearance.
Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens’ Coalition for Change has accused the Zimbabwe Republic Police of failing to take a firm position on the abduction of Moreblessing Ali.
The ZRP has released a statement literally defending Zanu PF bosses implicated in the abduction of Moreblessing.
In a statement, CCC called for the immediate release of Moreblessing.
WE CONDEMN THE ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF MOREBLESSING ALI
Ms Moreblessing Ali (47 years of age) is a strong member of the Citizens’ Coalition for Change who is a community leader in Ward 21, Chitungwiza North. She is the mother of two children and has been involved in various community-building activities.
On the night of the 24th of May 2022, it is reported by an eyewitness who knows Moreblessing Ali well that she was seized and forcibly shoved into a motor vehicle by Pius Jambo who is a member of Zanu PF. It is alleged that he is the half-brother of Simba Chisango, who is a Zanu PF leader in the Nyatsime area. They are both known for using violence and terror in the community.
Moreblessing Ali’s family was informed of the enforced disappearance on the 25th of May 2022 whereupon an official police report was made at Makoni Police Station by the CCC. The team that had been deployed to handle the police report and assist with investigations on behalf of the movement was subsequently referred to DisPol Mashonaland East where a further report was made under reference number 5048384.
On Saturday, the 28th of May 2022, a team of hundreds of citizens led by CCC MPs, councillors and community leaders conducted a search party for Moreblessing Ali throughout the Nyatsime area. Regrettably, the search was not successful. Continued contact with the Police has revealed that the chief suspect, Pius Jambo, is also on the run for other criminal offences. According to information in the possession of the CCC investigation team, Jambo is allegedly facing charges of murder and fraud. Today, further investigations have revealed that chief suspect, Jambo, is in hiding in Hurungwe.
A team has been dispatched to conduct a further search for him there while the investigation into the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali continue.
We condemn the continued disregard of the rule of law by Zanu PF, the flagrant use of violence, the abuse of fundamental human rights and the escalation of political violence against our members.
Zanu PF has a long record of using enforced disappearances as a tool to spread terror with society. The insecurity and fear generated by these despicable acts is not limited to close relatives but also affects communities beyond that which is directly affected. The examples of Rai Dzamara, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, to mention a few, prove this beyond any doubt. Enforced disappearances have no place in a constitutional democracy.
We call for the Zimbabwe Republic Police to honour their constitutional mandate set out in section 219 of the Constitution to protect and secure the lives of all Zimbabweans and investigate this matter in a non-partisan manner. We call upon any person who has knowledge about the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali to get in touch with Hon Godfrey Sithole (CCC) on 0774558997 or any leader of the CCC to ensure that Moreblessing Ali is found and returned safely to her family.
The harmful impact of the tobacco industry on the environment is vast and growing adding unnecessary pressure to our planet’s already scarce resources and fragile ecosystems.
Tobacco kills over 8 million people every year and destroys our environment, further harming human health, through the cultivation, production, distribution, consumption, and post-consumer waste.
Make the tobacco industry clean up their mess The tobacco industry is making profit by destroying the environment and needs to be held accountable for the environmental destruction and made to pay for the waste and damages, including to recover the cost of collecting these wastes.
Tobacco growing, manufacturing and use poison our water, soil, beaches and city streets with chemicals, toxic waste, cigarette butts, including microplastics, and e-cigarette waste. Don’t fall for the tobacco industry’s attempt to try and distract from its environmental harms by greenwashing their products through donations to sustainability initiatives and reporting on environmental “standards” they often set themselves.
Governments and policy makers should support tobacco farmers to switch to alternative, more sustainable livelihoods to reduce the environmental impact of tobacco growing, curing and manufacturing while continue to implement tobacco control measures.
A-18 year old woman today appeared before Harare magistrates Yeukai Dzuda facing allegations of attempting to murder her husband’s lover Nomsa Kubikira.
Patricia Gwanyamwanya allegedly attempted to murder her husband’s lover after discovering the illicit affair. She was remanded in custody to June 16 for trial date.
Allegations were that on May 28 this year at Jecha in Epworth, the accused poured boiling cooking oil on her husband’ s lover Kubikira after she discovered that she was in a relationship with her husband.
Kubikira sustained serious injuries on her body and was admitted at Sally Mugabe Hospital for medical attention.
By- An AFM pastor has been evicted and pitched a tent at the church.
Reverend Alexio Gomani of the Cossam Chiangwa Apostolic Faith Mission ofZimbabwe (AFM) pitched a tent attached to Nyaure Apostolic Faith in Zimbabwe Assembly.
Gomani is protesting the Supreme Court ruling granted last year, in favour of the Amon Madawo-led reformist faction of the AFM church.
A villager from Shumba Village who spoke to H-Metro said they expect men of the cloth to be exemplary. He said:
We are not happy with what Reverend Gomani is trying to teach our community.
He was evicted, according to law, but he went on to erect a tent attached to the church building, from where he was ordered to vacate sometime last year.
Conducting church services at the premises, where other people will be inside for another service, is wrong.
Whatever he will be teaching, or sharing in the name of God, is discord to us.
We are appealing to Reverend Chiangwa to address or guide Rev Gomani accordingly.
As a community, we expect church members to fight crime, and preach peace and true leadership for community development.
Meanwhile, another Chiyangwa-linked pastor, Reverend Albert Chabvuta was recently ordered by the High Court to vacate the Tynwald AFM Assembly premises.
Chabvuta allegedly clashed with the assembly caretaker following the ruling. The matter is pending at Harare Magistrates’ Court.
By- CCC deputy chairman Job Sikhala has been angered by a police statement issued following the abduction of his party member.
Police Tuesday issued a statement absolving a Zanu PF activist, Pius Jambo, who abducted CCC supporter Moreblessing Ali in Beatrice.
Below is what Sikhala posted in response to the ZRP statement:
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working for hand in glove to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime. There are several pending reports and cases before the
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working hand in gloves to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime. There are several pending reports and cases before the pic.twitter.com/kamPGaUmSH
— HON Job Wiwa Sikhala (@JobSikhala1) May 30, 2022
By- The High Court has interdicted Local Government Minister July Moyo from suspending the Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume.
Justice Joseph Mafusire on Tuesday ordered Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo not to interfere with Mafume’s work at Town House.
Moyo has suspended Mafume several times as a councillor on allegations of gross misconduct, gross incompetence, and willful violation of the law. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Justice Mafusire has ordered Moyo not to suspend Mafume again on the same or similar allegations as in his letters of suspension of December 2020, January 2021, September 2021, and December 2021. The judge also ruled that the decision to suspend Mafume is a nullity and set it aside. Mafume was represented by Tonderai Bhatasara of ZLHR, who in January filed an application for review of Moyo’s decision to suspend him as Ward 17 Councillor.
By- The High Court has interdicted Local Government Minister July Moyo from suspending the Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume.
Justice Joseph Mafusire on Tuesday ordered Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo not to interfere with Mafume’s work at Town House.
Moyo has suspended Mafume several times as a councillor on allegations of gross misconduct, gross incompetence, and willful violation of the law.
He has also, on several occasions, replaced Mafume with Stewart Mutizwa of the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Justice Mafusire has ordered Moyo not to suspend Mafume again on the same or similar allegations as in his letters of suspension of December 2020, January 2021, September 2021, and December 2021. The judge also ruled that the decision to suspend Mafume is a nullity and set it aside. Mafume was represented by Tonderai Bhatasara of ZLHR, who in January filed an application for review of Moyo’s decision to suspend him as Ward 17 Councillor.
By- The High Court has ruled that Jacob Mafume should not be suspended from his Harare mayoral position.
Justice Joseph Mafusire on Tuesday ordered Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo not to interfere with Mafume’s work at Town House.
Moyo has suspended Mafume several times as a councillor on allegations of gross misconduct, gross incompetence, and willful violation of the law. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Justice Mafusire has ordered Moyo not to suspend Mafume again on the same or similar allegations as in his letters of suspension of December 2020, January 2021, September 2021, and December 2021. The judge also ruled that the decision to suspend Mafume is a nullity and set it aside. Mafume was represented by Tonderai Bhatasara of ZLHR, who in January filed an application for review of Moyo’s decision to suspend him as Ward 17 Councillor.
Argentine ace Lionel Messi believes Karim Benzema fully deserves the 2021/22 Ballon d’Or, after his remarkable season with Real Madrid.
Benzema scored top scored in both La Liga and the Champions League with 27 and 15 goals respectively, and Los Blancos won both competitions.
He scored hattricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Messi, who won the Ballon d’Or last year, says Benzema deserves the prestigious accolade.
“There are no doubts, it’s very clear that Benzema had a spectacular year and ended up victorious in the Champions League,” Messi said on Argentine television.
“He was fundamental in all the matches from the round of 16 onwards. I think there is no doubt this year.,” he added.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
The harmful impact of the tobacco industry on the environment is vast and growing adding unnecessary pressure to our planet’s already scarce resources and fragile ecosystems.
Tobacco kills over 8 million people every year and destroys our environment, further harming human health, through the cultivation, production, distribution, consumption, and post-consumer waste.
Make the tobacco industry clean up their mess The tobacco industry is making profit by destroying the environment and needs to be held accountable for the environmental destruction and made to pay for the waste and damages, including to recover the cost of collecting these wastes.
Tobacco growing, manufacturing and use poison our water, soil, beaches and city streets with chemicals, toxic waste, cigarette butts, including microplastics, and e-cigarette waste. Don’t fall for the tobacco industry’s attempt to try and distract from its environmental harms by greenwashing their products through donations to sustainability initiatives and reporting on environmental “standards” they often set themselves.
Governments and policy makers should support tobacco farmers to switch to alternative, more sustainable livelihoods to reduce the environmental impact of tobacco growing, curing and manufacturing while continue to implement tobacco control measures.
Tinashe Sambiri| Hard-hitting CCC deputy chairperson Hon Job Sikhala has blasted ZRP boss Paul Nyathi for protecting Zanu PF hooligans who abducted Moreblessing Ali.
Sikhala has described Paul Nyathi’s statement as “bull crap.”
The fearless politician wrote on Twitter:
Paul Nyathi your crap statement absolving Simba Chisango from the violence that happened to Moreblessing Ali shld be informed by the report right on your desk by 1 of his victims.
My case number CR 73/05/22. The attack was on 15/05/22. Reported on 16/05/22. Jeche Precious is my name…
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working hand in gloves to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime.
This is embarrassing and a clear demonstration that u protect perpetrators of violence. It is a pathetic lie to suggest that it was a love affair conflict when it was clear political violence. We live and stay here in Chitungwiza. Hatiudzirwe. Don’t lie to the nation.
Apprehend the culprits and let them show us where Mobby is. This statement should be known to the world that the Zimbabwe police trivialize the violence perpetrated against opposition figures and protect the warlords of ZANU PF.
This is the picture of Pius Jambo, half brother to Simba Chisango who is alleged to be behind the attack of Moreblessing Ali and responsible for her disappearance.
Tinashe Sambiri| Hard-hitting CCC deputy chairperson Hon Job Sikhala has blasted ZRP boss Paul Nyathi for protecting Zanu PF hooligans who abducted Moreblessing Ali.
Sikhala has described Paul Nyathi’s statement as “bull crap.”
The fearless politician wrote on Twitter:
Paul Nyathi your crap statement absolving Simba Chisango from the violence that happened to Moreblessing Ali shld be informed by the report right on your desk by 1 of his victims.
My case number CR 73/05/22. The attack was on 15/05/22. Reported on 16/05/22. Jeche Precious is my name…
This is complete bull crap Paul Nyathi. Pius Jamba is a well known ZANU PF thug here in Chitungwiza. He is half brother to Simba Chisango and they have been working hand in gloves to terrorise innocent citizens in Nyatsime.
This is embarrassing and a clear demonstration that u protect perpetrators of violence. It is a pathetic lie to suggest that it was a love affair conflict when it was clear political violence. We live and stay here in Chitungwiza. Hatiudzirwe. Don’t lie to the nation.
Apprehend the culprits and let them show us where Mobby is. This statement should be known to the world that the Zimbabwe police trivialize the violence perpetrated against opposition figures and protect the warlords of ZANU PF.
This is the picture of Pius Jambo, half brother to Simba Chisango who is alleged to be behind the attack of Moreblessing Ali and responsible for her disappearance.
Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens’ Coalition for Change has accused the Zimbabwe Republic Police of failing to take a firm position on the abduction of Moreblessing Ali.
The ZRP has released a statement literally defending Zanu PF bosses implicated in the abduction of Moreblessing.
In a statement, CCC called for the immediate release of Moreblessing.
WE CONDEMN THE ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF MOREBLESSING ALI
Ms Moreblessing Ali (47 years of age) is a strong member of the Citizens’ Coalition for Change who is a community leader in Ward 21, Chitungwiza North. She is the mother of two children and has been involved in various community-building activities.
On the night of the 24th of May 2022, it is reported by an eyewitness who knows Moreblessing Ali well that she was seized and forcibly shoved into a motor vehicle by Pius Jambo who is a member of Zanu PF. It is alleged that he is the half-brother of Simba Chisango, who is a Zanu PF leader in the Nyatsime area. They are both known for using violence and terror in the community.
Moreblessing Ali’s family was informed of the enforced disappearance on the 25th of May 2022 whereupon an official police report was made at Makoni Police Station by the CCC. The team that had been deployed to handle the police report and assist with investigations on behalf of the movement was subsequently referred to DisPol Mashonaland East where a further report was made under reference number 5048384.
On Saturday, the 28th of May 2022, a team of hundreds of citizens led by CCC MPs, councillors and community leaders conducted a search party for Moreblessing Ali throughout the Nyatsime area. Regrettably, the search was not successful. Continued contact with the Police has revealed that the chief suspect, Pius Jambo, is also on the run for other criminal offences. According to information in the possession of the CCC investigation team, Jambo is allegedly facing charges of murder and fraud. Today, further investigations have revealed that chief suspect, Jambo, is in hiding in Hurungwe.
A team has been dispatched to conduct a further search for him there while the investigation into the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali continue.
We condemn the continued disregard of the rule of law by Zanu PF, the flagrant use of violence, the abuse of fundamental human rights and the escalation of political violence against our members.
Zanu PF has a long record of using enforced disappearances as a tool to spread terror with society. The insecurity and fear generated by these despicable acts is not limited to close relatives but also affects communities beyond that which is directly affected. The examples of Rai Dzamara, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, to mention a few, prove this beyond any doubt. Enforced disappearances have no place in a constitutional democracy.
We call for the Zimbabwe Republic Police to honour their constitutional mandate set out in section 219 of the Constitution to protect and secure the lives of all Zimbabweans and investigate this matter in a non-partisan manner. We call upon any person who has knowledge about the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali to get in touch with Hon Godfrey Sithole (CCC) on 0774558997 or any leader of the CCC to ensure that Moreblessing Ali is found and returned safely to her family.
Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens’ Coalition for Change has accused the Zimbabwe Republic Police of failing to take a firm position on the abduction of Moreblessing Ali.
The ZRP has released a statement literally defending Zanu PF bosses implicated in the abduction of Moreblessing.
In a statement, CCC called for the immediate release of Moreblessing.
WE CONDEMN THE ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF MOREBLESSING ALI
Ms Moreblessing Ali (47 years of age) is a strong member of the Citizens’ Coalition for Change who is a community leader in Ward 21, Chitungwiza North. She is the mother of two children and has been involved in various community-building activities.
On the night of the 24th of May 2022, it is reported by an eyewitness who knows Moreblessing Ali well that she was seized and forcibly shoved into a motor vehicle by Pius Jambo who is a member of Zanu PF. It is alleged that he is the half-brother of Simba Chisango, who is a Zanu PF leader in the Nyatsime area. They are both known for using violence and terror in the community.
Moreblessing Ali’s family was informed of the enforced disappearance on the 25th of May 2022 whereupon an official police report was made at Makoni Police Station by the CCC. The team that had been deployed to handle the police report and assist with investigations on behalf of the movement was subsequently referred to DisPol Mashonaland East where a further report was made under reference number 5048384.
On Saturday, the 28th of May 2022, a team of hundreds of citizens led by CCC MPs, councillors and community leaders conducted a search party for Moreblessing Ali throughout the Nyatsime area. Regrettably, the search was not successful. Continued contact with the Police has revealed that the chief suspect, Pius Jambo, is also on the run for other criminal offences. According to information in the possession of the CCC investigation team, Jambo is allegedly facing charges of murder and fraud. Today, further investigations have revealed that chief suspect, Jambo, is in hiding in Hurungwe.
A team has been dispatched to conduct a further search for him there while the investigation into the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali continue.
We condemn the continued disregard of the rule of law by Zanu PF, the flagrant use of violence, the abuse of fundamental human rights and the escalation of political violence against our members.
Zanu PF has a long record of using enforced disappearances as a tool to spread terror with society. The insecurity and fear generated by these despicable acts is not limited to close relatives but also affects communities beyond that which is directly affected. The examples of Rai Dzamara, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, to mention a few, prove this beyond any doubt. Enforced disappearances have no place in a constitutional democracy.
We call for the Zimbabwe Republic Police to honour their constitutional mandate set out in section 219 of the Constitution to protect and secure the lives of all Zimbabweans and investigate this matter in a non-partisan manner. We call upon any person who has knowledge about the whereabouts of Moreblessing Ali to get in touch with Hon Godfrey Sithole (CCC) on 0774558997 or any leader of the CCC to ensure that Moreblessing Ali is found and returned safely to her family.
