Tinashe Sambiri| Citizens’ Coalition For Change leader President Nelson Chamisa has said there is a special package that will offered to veterans of the liberation struggle.

President Chamisa has also said pensioners deserve decent allowances.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Chamisa described POLAD as Mr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s pet project.

THE FOG HAS CLEARED IN ZIMBABWE

Advocate Nelson Chamisa

At the beginning of last year, I wrote an article in which I promised that “the fog will soon clear”.

That article appeared at a time when the movement was facing adverse circumstances. It was a message of reassurance to the millions of people who believed in us; people that had stood with us in times of great adversity. I knew that many of our supporters were anxious and worried. I wanted everyone to know that we were calm and still in control.

I was never in doubt that we would overcome the state-sponsored machinations against us. As a man of faith, I believed that the obstacles being placed in our way were merely testing our resolve and that we would come out stronger. As everyone now knows, the fog has now cleared.

Back in 2020, our movement became a target of a deliberate and systematic attack by the authoritarianism and tyranny. Our oppressors had realised that we were not for sale at any price. Their efforts to co-opt or neutralise us through vehicles like Mr Mnangagwa’s pet project Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) had failed.

It therefore created and supported a surrogate unit made up of old comrades who had turned rogue. This reactionary outfit, the ailing red party , was instrumentalised by the oppressors to drive us into extinction.

Operating in cahoots with each other, they went on a spree of firing our legitimately elected representatives in parliament and local authorities. They grabbed headquarters. The oppressors diverted our income under the political parties financing legislation, giving it to its surrogate. They even went after our name.

Although they misappropriated these material possessions, they did not realise that they were meaningless without the soul of the party. And the soul of the movement is vested in the citizens.

The best victories in war are won without fighting. They wanted a brawl over these things, but we chose peace and walked away. Some thought not fighting was a weakness on our part. They did not understand that we were playing the long game, rooted in the citizens. We were going to trust the court of public opinion.

On 24 January 2022, much to the surprise of our detractors, we delivered a new baby, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and in an instant, we painted the entire nation yellow.

What happened over the next few weeks is now part of historical legend and will be told in fireside tales for generations to come. We are grateful to the citizens for keeping the faith. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with great love and affection. It was as if this Citizens movement had been in existence for decades. It was and is a humbling experience.

If anyone was ever in doubt, the campaign rallies across the country confirmed that the fog had cleared. The surrogate organisation had been created to cause division and confusion. The oppressor wanted to create the impression that the opposition was divided. The aim was to suffocate and immobilise us.

Unfortunately, the gullible among us almost bought the ruse. We told them that the fog would clear, but while many understood us, some remained doubtful.

They were taken in by the false narratives that were already consigning us to the margins, suggesting that we were finished. They now know that they were fatally wrong.

The results of the just ended by-elections have put all those doubts to bed. We won 19 out of the 28 seats that were on offer. That’s 67,9% or more than two thirds majority of the available seats. We also won 75/120 of all the contested seats in local authorities. The outcome could not have been more emphatic and convincing. We won against all odds including under very controversial conduct and blatant partisanship by the ZEC.

Starting from nothing and operating on a shoe-string budget, we defeated and humiliated our older rivals. The by-elections were dubbed a mini-general election and we won that mini-general election in style.

The scale of our performance is best seen from the perspective that the surrogate party that the regime had promoted over the past 2 years at our expense got absolutely nothing in these by-elections. It did not win a single seat, indeed, not even a single polling station. This is a unit that had fired MPs and councillors claiming the seats belonged to it. But when the by-elections came, it got nothing. The by-elections confirmed the scale of its insignificance on the political landscape.

When I said the fog would soon clear, I meant that there would be no more confusion as to the state of the opposition. No serious observer of Zimbabwean politics can legitimately say today that the opposition is divided. Such a claim would be insincere. What is true is that there was an attempt to divide the opposition, but it ended in dismal failure. The citizens refused to be divided.

They had a clear choice in these by-elections between the CCC and ZANU PF. They chose the CCC and with that, made an emphatic political statement that clears any confusion.

However, we do not take this victory for granted. Neither will we bask in the glory of the victory and forget to draw lessons from the by-elections experience.

We learned a lot from the by-elections, not least the fact that we continue to operate in an authoritarian environment. We won the by-elections not because the election was free and fair but because by sheer force of will and faith, we overcame repressive and unfair conditions.

Our victory does not mean acceptance that elections have become free and fair, no or that we have full confidence in the elections referee, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, no. It fortifies our faith that even when faced with unfair impediments, it is still possible to overcome and succeed.

We will continue to fight for electoral reforms so that our elections can be free, fair and credible. The by-elections demonstrated severe weaknesses with the voters’ roll, which prevented many voters from exercising their right to vote as they were turned away at polling stations. We also witnessed the recurring problem of assisted voting, a facility that is abused to coerce citizens into voting against their wishes, especially in rural areas.

The regulatory authorities applied the law selectively, banning several of our rallies while allowing our competitors free passage. The Oppressor unleashed political violence which regrettably caused the death of one of our members, Mboneni Ncube and injuries to scores of citizens. The state broadcaster and newspapers continued with their biased approach in favour of the regime and against us. We saw the Zanupf party candidates engaging in vote buying which is contrary to the Electoral Law.

Despite this litany of unfair and repressive measures and practices, the will of the people prevailed. This is an important signal for the future, an indication that with the best will in the world, it is possible to overcome obstacles and succeed. However, at just 35% of the eligible voters, we also learned that the voter turnout was poor, and it may have cost us in the marginal seats. It goes without saying that to defeat authoritarianism, citizens must vote in large numbers, win big and defend the vote in large numbers. I know that by-elections traditionally draw fewer voters, but considering our circumstances, we do not have the luxury of ignoring elections. We must overcome voter apathy in 2023.

However, to be eligible to vote, citizens must register to vote. Therefore, the critical call right now is for citizens to go out and register to vote. I make this call especially to the young people of Zimbabwe. It is your future that is at stake but right now it is being decided by older generations. You cannot outsource decisions regarding your future to the older generations.

I know that young people complain that they do not have national Identity cards. Please use the opportunity that will be availed by the Registrar General’s national ID registration blitz. Voter registration itself is a continuous process, but there will be a mobile voter registration exercise in April. Please take advantage of it and make yourself eligible to vote in 2023.

I would like to thank everyone in the CCC who contributed to our success. There were many foot soldiers both at home and abroad. I was particularly pleased and humbled by the great fund-raising efforts both at home and in the Diaspora. To our Diaspora community, you may not be here with us physically, but your contributions to the struggle are making a huge footprint in our political landscape.

I was pleased to see that we fielded polling agents at all polling centres and that communities rallied around them, providing food and comfort during those many long hours keeping an eye on the process. With committed eyes and ears on the ground, our chances are enhanced.

I know that while we performed very well in urban areas, there are concerns over the rural areas. We are going to work very hard over the next months to enhance our fortunes countrywide and our performance at the next elections. It is a myth that rural areas belong to Zanupf . We know it is a myth because the we have won in various provinces with many rural constituencies before and we are going win again. We are committed to building a stronger and mutually enriching relationship with citizens in rural areas just as we have established a long-lasting relationship with the urban communities.

Now that the by-elections are over and we have made our political statement, over the next few months we will be focusing on building our party structures across the country and building a robust leadership machinery that will take us through to the 2023 elections. We commend those who have been elected to carry out their mandates with the seriousness they deserve. The citizens have corrected the democratic anomaly that was caused by the Oppressors and their surrogates over the past 2 years. Our mantra is Citizens at the centre. Citizens first in everything, including policy making, law making and all decision making.

As a Citizens movement, the coaches of our train are many and open to everyone. There is no first class or economy class. We have no chefs. Everyone is equal. We have space for the young and elderly, for workers, farmers, artisanal miners, and big business. There is room for veterans of all struggles, those who fought valiantly to establish nationhood, those who defended national interests in Mozambique and those who carried out regional mandate in the DRC.

They and our pensioners who serve the country with distinction should not be living in poverty. We as a Citizens movement (CCC) have a comprehensive package for them.

I said the fog would clear and now it has. However, the fact that the fog has cleared is not the end. We can now see more clearly where we want to go. With the pretenders out of the way, we must now work hard to make sure that we deliver victory in 2023. The by-elections victory has demonstrated that even when the odds are against us, we can still prevail, and we are confident that we shall prevail.  

We won this by-elections against all odds and we will seal our victory in 2023. We win in large numbers. Let’s do it. Let’s finish it. Let’s win big.CCC is the next government of Zimbabwe.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa- Change Champion, Citizens Coalition for Change

By-Zanu PF legislators have blocked Harare East legislator Tendai Biti (CCC) from contributing to a motion under discussion in the National Assembly.

Biti was trying to make a contribution on the importance of gold reserves to Zimbabwe’s economy when ZANU PF legislators drowned his contribution by booing and heckling him. They shouted in one accord:

Gara pasi. Hautaure chinhu muno. Wakaunza masanctions muZimbabwe and now you want to lecture us. Gara pasi iwe (Take your seat, you are the one who brought economic sanctions on Zimbabwe through your western friends. We are not going to let you speak about our economy. Sit down).

ZANU PF accuses Biti and other CCC senior members of begging Western countries to impose economic sanctions on the country.

Meanwhile, both CCC and MDC Alliance MPs stood behind Biti, with some of them asking National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda (ZANU PF) to intervene. Harare Central MP Murisi Zwizwai (CCC) said:

Speaker, this is unfair. The Hon. Member is not protected. Why are you not restricting Zanu PF members from all this? Why are allowing this anarchy?

I represent my constituency. Do you want us to collapse this parliament? Why are you allowing ZANU PF to do this?

We are equally elected to this parliament. Respect Speaker imi vanhu veZANU PF.

When Mudenda finally brought order to the House and allowed Biti to speak, the CCC co-deputy president said:

I was elected by people in my constituency. I have the right to represent them.

I represent those people who elected me to this House.

More: NewZimbabwe.com

By-Villagers in Maramba-Pfungwe, a traditional ZANU PF stronghold in Mashonaland East Province are unhappy with the slow progress in the rehabilitation of the Murewa-Madichecha road which began several years ago.

The villagers expressed their frustration over the lack of progress on the road during a visit to the area by the Transport and Infrastructure Development parliamentary portfolio committee.

A female villager told the Members of Parliament that the Government is ignoring the road which has resulted in the underdevelopment of the area. She said:

We thought by this time we would be enjoying travelling along this road like any other citizen.

The truth is nothing is being done at all to upgrade this Madichecha road. The bridges are a disaster.

Since 1980 when we attained independence there has been no meaningful road rehabilitation in this area.

We have been seeing contractors being dispatched here on the pretext of upgrading the road but there is no progress at all.

The villagers are asking why the government which they voted for is failing to honour them. We will remove the MPs from power thinking that they are failing.

But the truth is that the government is ignoring this road which is crucial to us.

Maramba-Pfungwe MP Tichaona Karimazondo (ZANU PF) told the parliamentarians that Madichecha road last got attention in 1990.

Transport Portfolio committee chairperson Oscar Gorerino said Government officials have been lying that progress is being made yet there is nothing on the ground. Said Gorerino:

The reports that we get in parliament from the Transport Ministry indicate that this bridge is completed, they lie to the President that there is positive progress on this road.

We have come here to witness it so that we see who is lying – the government officials or you the villagers.

We will see who is responsible for this delay, this is the same thing in Mukumbura, there is no progress at all as compared to the reports we get.

Headman Tsiga from Maramba Ward 16 urged the government to investigate the contractors and make them account for the disbursements.

More: NewsDay

By- Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya (CCC) has challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to disband terror groups in Kwekwe, particularly Al-Shabaab which has allegedly committed numerous acts of violence in the Midlands city over the years.

Chikwinya claimed that the ZANU PF-linked terror groups commit politically-motivated violence with impunity and the police have no power to arrest their members.

During the run-up to the 26 March by-elections, Mboneni Ncube, a CCC member, was stabbed to death during a rally in Mbizo by suspected members of a ZANU PF-linked terror group. Speaking to The NewsHawks, Chikwinya:

We have fought a brutal fight, a very unrepentant violent system anchored on the violent antics of the Al-Shabaab crew. It is well known and protected by senior ZANU PF officials.

Since 1999, we have documented a number of people who have been murdered and tortured. The murders continue with the latest one being that of Mboneni Ncube.

The tortures continue with the individuals identified as perpetrators receiving impunity and even if they are partially arrested, they are quickly released from prison and come back to continue the atrocities.

The police cannot do much as long as their hands remain tied like this and as long as these people get protection from these senior officials.

Chikwinya said as long as Mnangagwa is involved in politics in Kwekwe, the terror groups will continue to have impunity. He added:

We know the guys involved and if you walk around Kwekwe and ask who the Al-Shabaab people are, they will tell you.

The Ncube murder perpetrators are known and the witnesses are now being threatened.

Now they can’t speak and they are trying to distort the whole story by threatening witnesses.

The next thing they will begin to blame CCC to say it was stage-managed and perhaps they will arrest people from CCC and manufacture witnesses. We are not ruling that out.

For it to come to an end, we have to remove the influence of Mnangagwa and former State Security minister Owen Ncube from politics around Kwekwe and that will bring peace to Kwekwe.

As long as these individuals are there, the perpetrators will continue to have a home where they can launch these attacks.

Meanwhile, suspected ZANU PF activists who allegedly murdered Ncube recently kidnapped his sister, Judith Ncube, and threatened to kill her if she continued demanding answers into Mboneni’s murder.

Mboneni was stabbed twice with a spear at a CCC rally held at Mbizo shopping centre and died on admission to Kwekwe Central Hospital.

More: The NewsHawks

By-Villagers in Maramba-Pfungwe, a traditional ZANU PF stronghold in Mashonaland East Province are unhappy with the slow progress in the rehabilitation of the Murewa-Madichecha road which began several years ago.

The villagers expressed their frustration over the lack of progress on the road during a visit to the area by the Transport and Infrastructure Development parliamentary portfolio committee.

A female villager told the Members of Parliament that the Government is ignoring the road which has resulted in the underdevelopment of the area. She said:

We thought by this time we would be enjoying travelling along this road like any other citizen.

The truth is nothing is being done at all to upgrade this Madichecha road. The bridges are a disaster.

Since 1980 when we attained independence there has been no meaningful road rehabilitation in this area.

We have been seeing contractors being dispatched here on the pretext of upgrading the road but there is no progress at all.

The villagers are asking why the government which they voted for is failing to honour them. We will remove the MPs from power thinking that they are failing.

But the truth is that the government is ignoring this road which is crucial to us.

Maramba-Pfungwe MP Tichaona Karimazondo (ZANU PF) told the parliamentarians that Madichecha road last got attention in 1990.

Transport Portfolio committee chairperson Oscar Gorerino said Government officials have been lying that progress is being made yet there is nothing on the ground. Said Gorerino:

The reports that we get in parliament from the Transport Ministry indicate that this bridge is completed, they lie to the President that there is positive progress on this road.

We have come here to witness it so that we see who is lying – the government officials or you the villagers.

We will see who is responsible for this delay, this is the same thing in Mukumbura, there is no progress at all as compared to the reports we get.

Headman Tsiga from Maramba Ward 16 urged the government to investigate the contractors and make them account for the disbursements.

More: NewsDay

By-At least 253 people have been killed in flooding in South Africa.

According to an SA local news site Eye Witness News the floods have also left thousands homeless. 

The epicenter of the flooding is in the city of Durban in Kwazulu Natal province, on the country’s east coast, where a state of emergency was declared.  

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the scene on Wednesday, where thousands are displaced amid heavy damage to infrastructure and homes. 

The death toll spiked sharply from a previous figures of 59 dead.

“As of late last night, we had received something close to 253 bodies in our two different mortuaries,” Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, the provincial health chief, told eNCA television.

Asked to confirm the number for Durban’s municipality, known as eThekwini, she said: “253 in eThekwini last night.”

Flooding is not unfamiliar to Kwazulu Natal and Durban, with up to 70 people killed in extreme weather there three years ago. 

Tinashe Sambiri| Citizens’ Coalition For Change leader President Nelson Chamisa has said there is a special package that will offered to veterans of the liberation struggle.

President Chamisa has also said pensioners deserve decent allowances.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Chamisa described POLAD as Mr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s pet project.

THE FOG HAS CLEARED IN ZIMBABWE

Advocate Nelson Chamisa

At the beginning of last year, I wrote an article in which I promised that “the fog will soon clear”.

That article appeared at a time when the movement was facing adverse circumstances. It was a message of reassurance to the millions of people who believed in us; people that had stood with us in times of great adversity. I knew that many of our supporters were anxious and worried. I wanted everyone to know that we were calm and still in control.

I was never in doubt that we would overcome the state-sponsored machinations against us. As a man of faith, I believed that the obstacles being placed in our way were merely testing our resolve and that we would come out stronger. As everyone now knows, the fog has now cleared.

Back in 2020, our movement became a target of a deliberate and systematic attack by the authoritarianism and tyranny. Our oppressors had realised that we were not for sale at any price. Their efforts to co-opt or neutralise us through vehicles like Mr Mnangagwa’s pet project Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) had failed.

It therefore created and supported a surrogate unit made up of old comrades who had turned rogue. This reactionary outfit, the ailing red party , was instrumentalised by the oppressors to drive us into extinction.

Operating in cahoots with each other, they went on a spree of firing our legitimately elected representatives in parliament and local authorities. They grabbed headquarters. The oppressors diverted our income under the political parties financing legislation, giving it to its surrogate. They even went after our name.

Although they misappropriated these material possessions, they did not realise that they were meaningless without the soul of the party. And the soul of the movement is vested in the citizens.

The best victories in war are won without fighting. They wanted a brawl over these things, but we chose peace and walked away. Some thought not fighting was a weakness on our part. They did not understand that we were playing the long game, rooted in the citizens. We were going to trust the court of public opinion.

On 24 January 2022, much to the surprise of our detractors, we delivered a new baby, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and in an instant, we painted the entire nation yellow.

What happened over the next few weeks is now part of historical legend and will be told in fireside tales for generations to come. We are grateful to the citizens for keeping the faith. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with great love and affection. It was as if this Citizens movement had been in existence for decades. It was and is a humbling experience.

If anyone was ever in doubt, the campaign rallies across the country confirmed that the fog had cleared. The surrogate organisation had been created to cause division and confusion. The oppressor wanted to create the impression that the opposition was divided. The aim was to suffocate and immobilise us.

Unfortunately, the gullible among us almost bought the ruse. We told them that the fog would clear, but while many understood us, some remained doubtful.

They were taken in by the false narratives that were already consigning us to the margins, suggesting that we were finished. They now know that they were fatally wrong.

The results of the just ended by-elections have put all those doubts to bed. We won 19 out of the 28 seats that were on offer. That’s 67,9% or more than two thirds majority of the available seats. We also won 75/120 of all the contested seats in local authorities. The outcome could not have been more emphatic and convincing. We won against all odds including under very controversial conduct and blatant partisanship by the ZEC.

Starting from nothing and operating on a shoe-string budget, we defeated and humiliated our older rivals. The by-elections were dubbed a mini-general election and we won that mini-general election in style.

The scale of our performance is best seen from the perspective that the surrogate party that the regime had promoted over the past 2 years at our expense got absolutely nothing in these by-elections. It did not win a single seat, indeed, not even a single polling station. This is a unit that had fired MPs and councillors claiming the seats belonged to it. But when the by-elections came, it got nothing. The by-elections confirmed the scale of its insignificance on the political landscape.

When I said the fog would soon clear, I meant that there would be no more confusion as to the state of the opposition. No serious observer of Zimbabwean politics can legitimately say today that the opposition is divided. Such a claim would be insincere. What is true is that there was an attempt to divide the opposition, but it ended in dismal failure. The citizens refused to be divided.

They had a clear choice in these by-elections between the CCC and ZANU PF. They chose the CCC and with that, made an emphatic political statement that clears any confusion.

However, we do not take this victory for granted. Neither will we bask in the glory of the victory and forget to draw lessons from the by-elections experience.

We learned a lot from the by-elections, not least the fact that we continue to operate in an authoritarian environment. We won the by-elections not because the election was free and fair but because by sheer force of will and faith, we overcame repressive and unfair conditions.

Our victory does not mean acceptance that elections have become free and fair, no or that we have full confidence in the elections referee, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, no. It fortifies our faith that even when faced with unfair impediments, it is still possible to overcome and succeed.

We will continue to fight for electoral reforms so that our elections can be free, fair and credible. The by-elections demonstrated severe weaknesses with the voters’ roll, which prevented many voters from exercising their right to vote as they were turned away at polling stations. We also witnessed the recurring problem of assisted voting, a facility that is abused to coerce citizens into voting against their wishes, especially in rural areas.

The regulatory authorities applied the law selectively, banning several of our rallies while allowing our competitors free passage. The Oppressor unleashed political violence which regrettably caused the death of one of our members, Mboneni Ncube and injuries to scores of citizens. The state broadcaster and newspapers continued with their biased approach in favour of the regime and against us. We saw the Zanupf party candidates engaging in vote buying which is contrary to the Electoral Law.

Despite this litany of unfair and repressive measures and practices, the will of the people prevailed. This is an important signal for the future, an indication that with the best will in the world, it is possible to overcome obstacles and succeed. However, at just 35% of the eligible voters, we also learned that the voter turnout was poor, and it may have cost us in the marginal seats. It goes without saying that to defeat authoritarianism, citizens must vote in large numbers, win big and defend the vote in large numbers. I know that by-elections traditionally draw fewer voters, but considering our circumstances, we do not have the luxury of ignoring elections. We must overcome voter apathy in 2023.

However, to be eligible to vote, citizens must register to vote. Therefore, the critical call right now is for citizens to go out and register to vote. I make this call especially to the young people of Zimbabwe. It is your future that is at stake but right now it is being decided by older generations. You cannot outsource decisions regarding your future to the older generations.

I know that young people complain that they do not have national Identity cards. Please use the opportunity that will be availed by the Registrar General’s national ID registration blitz. Voter registration itself is a continuous process, but there will be a mobile voter registration exercise in April. Please take advantage of it and make yourself eligible to vote in 2023.

I would like to thank everyone in the CCC who contributed to our success. There were many foot soldiers both at home and abroad. I was particularly pleased and humbled by the great fund-raising efforts both at home and in the Diaspora. To our Diaspora community, you may not be here with us physically, but your contributions to the struggle are making a huge footprint in our political landscape.

I was pleased to see that we fielded polling agents at all polling centres and that communities rallied around them, providing food and comfort during those many long hours keeping an eye on the process. With committed eyes and ears on the ground, our chances are enhanced.

I know that while we performed very well in urban areas, there are concerns over the rural areas. We are going to work very hard over the next months to enhance our fortunes countrywide and our performance at the next elections. It is a myth that rural areas belong to Zanupf . We know it is a myth because the we have won in various provinces with many rural constituencies before and we are going win again. We are committed to building a stronger and mutually enriching relationship with citizens in rural areas just as we have established a long-lasting relationship with the urban communities.

Now that the by-elections are over and we have made our political statement, over the next few months we will be focusing on building our party structures across the country and building a robust leadership machinery that will take us through to the 2023 elections. We commend those who have been elected to carry out their mandates with the seriousness they deserve. The citizens have corrected the democratic anomaly that was caused by the Oppressors and their surrogates over the past 2 years. Our mantra is Citizens at the centre. Citizens first in everything, including policy making, law making and all decision making.

As a Citizens movement, the coaches of our train are many and open to everyone. There is no first class or economy class. We have no chefs. Everyone is equal. We have space for the young and elderly, for workers, farmers, artisanal miners, and big business. There is room for veterans of all struggles, those who fought valiantly to establish nationhood, those who defended national interests in Mozambique and those who carried out regional mandate in the DRC.

They and our pensioners who serve the country with distinction should not be living in poverty. We as a Citizens movement (CCC) have a comprehensive package for them.

I said the fog would clear and now it has. However, the fact that the fog has cleared is not the end. We can now see more clearly where we want to go. With the pretenders out of the way, we must now work hard to make sure that we deliver victory in 2023. The by-elections victory has demonstrated that even when the odds are against us, we can still prevail, and we are confident that we shall prevail.  

We won this by-elections against all odds and we will seal our victory in 2023. We win in large numbers. Let’s do it. Let’s finish it. Let’s win big.CCC is the next government of Zimbabwe.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa- Change Champion, Citizens Coalition for Change

THE FOG HAS CLEARED IN ZIMBABWE

Advocate Nelson Chamisa

At the beginning of last year, I wrote an article in which I promised that “the fog will soon clear”.

That article appeared at a time when the movement was facing adverse circumstances. It was a message of reassurance to the millions of people who believed in us; people that had stood with us in times of great adversity. I knew that many of our supporters were anxious and worried. I wanted everyone to know that we were calm and still in control.

I was never in doubt that we would overcome the state-sponsored machinations against us. As a man of faith, I believed that the obstacles being placed in our way were merely testing our resolve and that we would come out stronger. As everyone now knows, the fog has now cleared.

Back in 2020, our movement became a target of a deliberate and systematic attack by the authoritarianism and tyranny. Our oppressors had realised that we were not for sale at any price. Their efforts to co-opt or neutralise us through vehicles like Mr Mnangagwa’s pet project Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) had failed.

It therefore created and supported a surrogate unit made up of old comrades who had turned rogue. This reactionary outfit, the ailing red party , was instrumentalised by the oppressors to drive us into extinction.

Operating in cahoots with each other, they went on a spree of firing our legitimately elected representatives in parliament and local authorities. They grabbed headquarters. The oppressors diverted our income under the political parties financing legislation, giving it to its surrogate. They even went after our name.

Although they misappropriated these material possessions, they did not realise that they were meaningless without the soul of the party. And the soul of the movement is vested in the citizens.

The best victories in war are won without fighting. They wanted a brawl over these things, but we chose peace and walked away. Some thought not fighting was a weakness on our part. They did not understand that we were playing the long game, rooted in the citizens. We were going to trust the court of public opinion.

On 24 January 2022, much to the surprise of our detractors, we delivered a new baby, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) and in an instant, we painted the entire nation yellow.

What happened over the next few weeks is now part of historical legend and will be told in fireside tales for generations to come. We are grateful to the citizens for keeping the faith. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with great love and affection. It was as if this Citizens movement had been in existence for decades. It was and is a humbling experience.

If anyone was ever in doubt, the campaign rallies across the country confirmed that the fog had cleared. The surrogate organisation had been created to cause division and confusion. The oppressor wanted to create the impression that the opposition was divided. The aim was to suffocate and immobilise us.

Unfortunately, the gullible among us almost bought the ruse. We told them that the fog would clear, but while many understood us, some remained doubtful.

They were taken in by the false narratives that were already consigning us to the margins, suggesting that we were finished. They now know that they were fatally wrong.

The results of the just ended by-elections have put all those doubts to bed. We won 19 out of the 28 seats that were on offer. That’s 67,9% or more than two thirds majority of the available seats. We also won 75/120 of all the contested seats in local authorities. The outcome could not have been more emphatic and convincing. We won against all odds including under very controversial conduct and blatant partisanship by the ZEC.

Starting from nothing and operating on a shoe-string budget, we defeated and humiliated our older rivals. The by-elections were dubbed a mini-general election and we won that mini-general election in style.

The scale of our performance is best seen from the perspective that the surrogate party that the regime had promoted over the past 2 years at our expense got absolutely nothing in these by-elections. It did not win a single seat, indeed, not even a single polling station. This is a unit that had fired MPs and councillors claiming the seats belonged to it. But when the by-elections came, it got nothing. The by-elections confirmed the scale of its insignificance on the political landscape.

When I said the fog would soon clear, I meant that there would be no more confusion as to the state of the opposition. No serious observer of Zimbabwean politics can legitimately say today that the opposition is divided. Such a claim would be insincere. What is true is that there was an attempt to divide the opposition, but it ended in dismal failure. The citizens refused to be divided.

They had a clear choice in these by-elections between the CCC and ZANU PF. They chose the CCC and with that, made an emphatic political statement that clears any confusion.

However, we do not take this victory for granted. Neither will we bask in the glory of the victory and forget to draw lessons from the by-elections experience.

We learned a lot from the by-elections, not least the fact that we continue to operate in an authoritarian environment. We won the by-elections not because the election was free and fair but because by sheer force of will and faith, we overcame repressive and unfair conditions.

Our victory does not mean acceptance that elections have become free and fair, no or that we have full confidence in the elections referee, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, no. It fortifies our faith that even when faced with unfair impediments, it is still possible to overcome and succeed.

We will continue to fight for electoral reforms so that our elections can be free, fair and credible. The by-elections demonstrated severe weaknesses with the voters’ roll, which prevented many voters from exercising their right to vote as they were turned away at polling stations. We also witnessed the recurring problem of assisted voting, a facility that is abused to coerce citizens into voting against their wishes, especially in rural areas.

The regulatory authorities applied the law selectively, banning several of our rallies while allowing our competitors free passage. The Oppressor unleashed political violence which regrettably caused the death of one of our members, Mboneni Ncube and injuries to scores of citizens. The state broadcaster and newspapers continued with their biased approach in favour of the regime and against us. We saw the Zanupf party candidates engaging in vote buying which is contrary to the Electoral Law.

Despite this litany of unfair and repressive measures and practices, the will of the people prevailed. This is an important signal for the future, an indication that with the best will in the world, it is possible to overcome obstacles and succeed. However, at just 35% of the eligible voters, we also learned that the voter turnout was poor, and it may have cost us in the marginal seats. It goes without saying that to defeat authoritarianism, citizens must vote in large numbers, win big and defend the vote in large numbers. I know that by-elections traditionally draw fewer voters, but considering our circumstances, we do not have the luxury of ignoring elections. We must overcome voter apathy in 2023.

However, to be eligible to vote, citizens must register to vote. Therefore, the critical call right now is for citizens to go out and register to vote. I make this call especially to the young people of Zimbabwe. It is your future that is at stake but right now it is being decided by older generations. You cannot outsource decisions regarding your future to the older generations.

I know that young people complain that they do not have national Identity cards. Please use the opportunity that will be availed by the Registrar General’s national ID registration blitz. Voter registration itself is a continuous process, but there will be a mobile voter registration exercise in April. Please take advantage of it and make yourself eligible to vote in 2023.

I would like to thank everyone in the CCC who contributed to our success. There were many foot soldiers both at home and abroad. I was particularly pleased and humbled by the great fund-raising efforts both at home and in the Diaspora. To our Diaspora community, you may not be here with us physically, but your contributions to the struggle are making a huge footprint in our political landscape.

I was pleased to see that we fielded polling agents at all polling centres and that communities rallied around them, providing food and comfort during those many long hours keeping an eye on the process. With committed eyes and ears on the ground, our chances are enhanced.

I know that while we performed very well in urban areas, there are concerns over the rural areas. We are going to work very hard over the next months to enhance our fortunes countrywide and our performance at the next elections. It is a myth that rural areas belong to Zanupf . We know it is a myth because the we have won in various provinces with many rural constituencies before and we are going win again. We are committed to building a stronger and mutually enriching relationship with citizens in rural areas just as we have established a long-lasting relationship with the urban communities.

Now that the by-elections are over and we have made our political statement, over the next few months we will be focusing on building our party structures across the country and building a robust leadership machinery that will take us through to the 2023 elections. We commend those who have been elected to carry out their mandates with the seriousness they deserve. The citizens have corrected the democratic anomaly that was caused by the Oppressors and their surrogates over the past 2 years. Our mantra is Citizens at the centre. Citizens first in everything, including policy making, law making and all decision making.

As a Citizens movement, the coaches of our train are many and open to everyone. There is no first class or economy class. We have no chefs. Everyone is equal. We have space for the young and elderly, for workers, farmers, artisanal miners, and big business. There is room for veterans of all struggles, those who fought valiantly to establish nationhood, those who defended national interests in Mozambique and those who carried out regional mandate in the DRC.

They and our pensioners who serve the country with distinction should not be living in poverty. We as a Citizens movement (CCC) have a comprehensive package for them.

I said the fog would clear and now it has. However, the fact that the fog has cleared is not the end. We can now see more clearly where we want to go. With the pretenders out of the way, we must now work hard to make sure that we deliver victory in 2023. The by-elections victory has demonstrated that even when the odds are against us, we can still prevail, and we are confident that we shall prevail.  

We won this by-elections against all odds and we will seal our victory in 2023. We win in large numbers. Let’s do it. Let’s finish it. Let’s win big.CCC is the next government of Zimbabwe.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa- Change Champion, Citizens Coalition for Change

By- A Beitbridge villager Knowledge Sibanda has been shot and injured by a soldier as he was driving near the now-defunct River Ranch Diamond Mine.

When police officers attended the scene, the soldier’s colleagues allegedly chased them away and destroyed evidence.

The incident happened last Thursday.

National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he can only get finer details about the issue on Monday.

“If you can call me tomorrow I might have details. At the moment I don’t have much,” Nyathi said.

“They fired at me and hit my car nine times. They had not even attempted to stop me, when I passed by they just started opening fire. When police based at Makakavhule Clinic tried to attend to the scene, the soldiers chased them away,” Sibanda told NewsDay.

“I was grazed by a bullet in the head, but I do not have serious injuries. These people (soldiers) are causing a lot of problems in our village, and we have no protection because they are a law unto themselves. You should have seen how they humiliated the police,” he said.

Confusion is reigning supreme in Beitbridge where an operation against smuggling has been on-going, and has resulted in people beaten up or dying in the hands of law enforcement agents.

In December last year, police detective Sergeant Sikhelele Ncube told the court that a tout called Abel Gumbo who operated at the border town was shot by the police in Lutumba in May this year after he was mistaken for an armed robber.

Gumbo whose family is yet to get justice was shot dead by a policeman who was part of a team deployed in an operation against smuggling. Newsday

By A Correspondent- The uncompleted Civil Registry Department building in Harare has become a danger to employees and visitors as it has developed cracks in some places.

The construction of the building started in 1997 and it was set to be commissioned in the year 2000 but is yet to be completed due to a lack of funds. Said Dzimati:

This was revealed by the Director of Public Works in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mike Dzimati, on Monday.https://zero.pindula.co.zw/market/featured/?limit=4

He was speaking during a hearing on the state of government-funded projects around the country by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs Monday. Said Dzimati:

The building construction commenced in 1997 but we have had challenges. The building has water leakages; the elevators do not function; it has cracks and we are worried about the safety of employees.

We want to complete the project. The construction of the building should have been completed by May 2000. Energy Private Company was contacted to do the work in a fix and supply agreement.

Due to delays in funds disbursement, the physical structure of the building was completed in 2003 but due to material price escalation, material shortages and brain drain, the project stalled between 2004 and 2008.

The government underfunded the project which initially was overpriced to US$23 million but was reduced to US$4 million, then revised to US$9,6 million after negotiations with the contractor.

Delays by the Treasury in making payments led to more delays in the completion of the physical structure.

This was worsened by a lack of trust in contractors who refused to use their own resources to fund the project.

The building has no certificate of occupation or commission.

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs chairperson, who is also Umzingwane legislator, Levi Mayihlome (ZANU PF), urged the government to do projects that can be funded.-newzimbabwe

By A Correspondent- Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiCZ) has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of failing to level the political playing field.

“The conduct of the election management body (Zec), has seen it largely unable to deliver its mandate in a fair and non-partisan manner. Zec has failed to be a fair referee. Access to State-controlled media has remained the preserve of the ruling party Zanu-PF in the elections,” CiCZ said in a recent report.

“The Electoral Code of Conduct remains weak in addressing some fundamental structural shortcomings of elections, notably violence, corruption and the abuse of State resources in favour of the ruling party.”

CiCZ also said police weighed in heavily to further skew the electoral playing field by showing bias.

“The by-elections of March 26 were widely seen as a dress rehearsal for the harmonised national elections in 2023. However, given the grossly unfair environment that prevailed during the recently held elections, all indications are that the 2023 elections will likely be held under an even more strenuous environment, moving further away from regional norms as well as national parameters for free and fair elections,” it said.

The CiCZ report said the skewed political playing field violated the country’s Constitution, Sadc principles and guidelines, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

Last month, the country held by-elections to fill 28 vacant National Assembly seats and 122 local authority seats.  The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) bagged 19 National Assembly seats while Zanu-PF got nine, and CCC got 75 council seats while Zanu-PF bagged 47.

During the campaign period, Zanu-PF at times resorted to violence resulting in a Kwekwe CCC supporter Mboneni Ncube being killed.

In another report, the Citizens in Action Southern Africa (Ciasa) explored implications of the by-election on the Political Parties Financing and Quota System Representation, saying the manner in which political financing is being implemented is questionable after the newly-formed CCC party won a sizeable number of seats, but did notbenefit from the funds.

They also called for the country’s laws to have scope for party candidate lists to demonstrate proportional representation.

“However, at this juncture, there seems to be no room for CCC to second women candidates for proportional representation,” the Ciasa report read.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Dynamos benefactor Kuda Tagwirei has laughed off reports that he is angling to take over the club, insisting that he is only helping the Harare football giants to reclaim their former glory.

Through his Sakunda Holdings, Tagwirei last year splashed over US$5 million in sponsorship to Dynamos and Highlanders.

There has been a lot of skepticism around his gesture, with some suggesting that the businessman wants to take over the club, which is currently embroiled in an ownership
wrangle.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over a house to Agnes Shaya, the wife of the late Dynamos football legend George Shaya, Tagwirei scoffed at the reports.

“I can’t be seen trying to take over Dynamos. No, that will not happen,” he said.

Tagwirei has been involved in negotiations to bring sanity to the DeMbare’s boardroom squabbles where current board chairperson Benard Marriot-Lusengo is fighting the recently elected board of trustees led by Enerst Kamba.

“We want to make sure that the ownership structure is done properly, according to the Dynamos constitution. The real owners of the club will own the team. We are bringing the warring parties together. We want them to be united and speak the same language. They are the owners, our job is to bring them to the table so that they can work together,” Tagwirei said.

“I want to see all the (current and) former players from Enerst Kamba, Moses Chunga to Bill Antonio, being part of the Dynamos family. What I want to do is unite them.”

A legal battle is in progress at Dynamos after club legends and former players met last month and reconstituted the electoral college and elected Kamba to lead a new board of trustees under the 1963 constitution.

Marriot-Lusengo has dismissed Kamba’s board and continues to run the club.

“We are not going to take anything from them. What we are doing is to help them in any way we can. When we are done resolving the ownership wrangle, we will go to the next stage where we will call upon other stakeholders including the supporters to be part and be involved with Dynamos. We want them to be members of the club by way of subscriptions,” Tagwirei said.

“Then, obviously, we want supporters to attend Dynamos matches in numbers. We all know things are not good with our football. Whenever Dynamos is not doing well, everything football in the country suffers.”

Tagwirei promised to continue pouring resources into the club as well as helping its former players financially.

The handover of the house was in fulfilment of a pledge his company made in September last year to buy Shaya a house worth US$120 000.

Agnes couldn’t contain her emotions and constantly broke down during the ceremony which was attended by close family members, including George’s brothers.

Other football legends Moses Chunga (Dynamos) and Madinda Ndlovu (Highlanders) have also been honoured with houses worth US$90 000 each by Sakunda Holdings while some former players have received US$500 each.

Shaya’s house is located in Madokero Estates.

Although Agnes was given a US$120 000 purse, she chose a three-bedroomed house worth US$100 000. She used the remainder to pay conveyance fees, and to install water and electricity systems at her new house.

Tagwirei said he decided to honour Shaya, who died in August last year, as a way of appreciating him for the part he played in developing football in the country.

The Harare businessman gave Agnes an open cheque to buy furniture of her choice for the house.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Citizens are still struggling to access national identity (ID) documents and birth certificates despite government launching a national mobile registration exercise last week.

The situation is affecting those who wish to register to vote in the 2023 general elections.

NewsDay visited some of the registration centres in Harare and witnessed chaotic scenes, with hundreds of people, including students who had converged to access the identity documents, failing to get them.

The blitz started on April 1 and is expected to end on September 30 this year. Government said it was targeting to issue two million IDs and birth certificates during the blitz.

During the numerous COVID-19 lockdowns, the Registrar-General’s Office was offering limited services.

Margaret Murebasekwa, a 45-year-old woman, said she lost her ID last year and has been struggling to get a new one.

“We came here at Budiriro Community Hall at around 4am, but we were not attended to yet. I’m number 300. The queues are not moving as some are disregarding the queues,” Murebasekwa said at mid-morning.

Kelvin Chirombo, a Form 4 pupil, said: “I have been struggling to apply for an ID for the past three days now. It is needed at school in order for me to register for examinations. The process is just too slow.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to ensure more people get registered to vote, electoral watchdogs are now offering free transport to ferry potential voters to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) voter registration centres.

Elections Resource Centre (ERC) legal and advocacy officer Takunda Tsunga said citizens should book in advance in order for them to be ferried to the registration centres.

“The ERC has a shuttle service that takes citizens to and from their nearest registration centre; citizens simply call our toll free line on 08080219 to book to be taken there.  We also have mobilisation activities where we are partnering with lifestyle events to reach out to youths,” Tsunga said.

Project Vote 263 chairperson Allan Chipoyi said: “Zec has done nothing in making sure that people are aware of the blitz. If we make any mistake, we might end up having fewer people who get registered to vote than the first blitz. So we are doing our best to boost the morale of people and spread awareness, especially in areas like Epworth, St Mary’s and Harare South where there are a lot of people who didn’t register to vote.”

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Private medical players under the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (MDPPAZ) banner have asked President Emmerson Mnangagwa to expedite issuance of land to their members.

In August last year, Mnangagwa pledged to allocate land to medical practitioners in private practice drawn from the country’s 10 provinces.

MDPPAZ has close to 372 medical practitioners set to benefit from the scheme.

Letters addressed to provincial affairs ministers, Lands and Agriculture secretary John Bhasera urged them to offer land to members of the MDPPZA.

However, little has been done on the ground with regards to the issuance of land to private medical players, which has compelled MDPPZA president Johannes Marisa to write to Mnangagwa.

“Practitioners have stood tall and with resilience and bravery, especially during the time of COVID-19 peaks. We declare our allegiance to you and the government and support all your endeavours to steer the economy forward,” Marisa said.

“As you recall, we applied for land via your respected offices in July 2021 and on August 16, 2021, your office responded by penning a request to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement ministry to consider land allocation to the medical practitioners. It was all joy among the medical practitioners as news filtered through all media houses that President Mnangagwa had allocated land to medical practitioners.”

Marisa said MDPPAZ has received great co-operation from Mashonaland East and Masvingo provinces.

However, MDPPAZ members who applied for land in Mashonaland Central province were told to join a long waiting list of more than 26 000 people, Marisa said.

He said the scenario was the same in Mashonaland West province where the authorities are yet to identify land for the private medical practitioners, while there was little progress in the Midlands, Matabeleland North and South provinces.

“We are confident that you [President Mnangagwa] will surely assist us further as we appreciate you as a man of action. We are trying to avoid the demoralisation of our members at this juncture when we are putting all our efforts to support you,” he
said.

MDPPAZ secretary-general Cletos Masiya urged members of the organisation to utilise the land that they would have applied for and to avoid taking huge tracts of land which would not be unutilised.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has admitted its books were in a mess when the Auditor-General (AG) Mildred Chiri audited them in 2019.

In her 2020 audit of Zacc accounts, Chiri revealed that the anti-graft body failed to account for millions of United States dollars between 2012 and 2019.

In a statement yesterday, Zacc spokesperson John Makamure said: “The Commission takes note of the issues raised in the Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s report stating that the commission failed to furnish her office with supporting documentation for payment of goods and services, and other substantial disbursements. The commission would like to state that it is currently studying the document and will issue a comprehensive statement in due course.”

Makamure admitted that Zacc’s books for the period 2012 to 2019 were not in order owing to legacy issues.

He said since the appointment of the Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo-led Zacc, they had worked tirelessly to enhance professionalism and transparency at the commission.

“The commission has introduced a new culture of conducting business guided by robust standard operating procedures, regulatory frameworks and internal policies and procedure manuals,” the statement read.

In her audit report, Chiri revealed that in 2012 and 2013 Zacc failed to produce supporting documents, supplier statements and invoices for transactions amounting to US$2 417 374 and US$814 841.

“In 2017 there were no supporting documents availed to validate expenditure and payables amounting to US$2 064 864 and US$474 138 respectively presented in the financial statements. I was, therefore, unable to perform alternative procedures to obtain assurance as to the accuracy and completeness of these balances,” Chiri said.

Meanwhile, Chiri yesterday told participants at a media engagement workshop in Nyanga that the AG’s office will introduce vernacular summaries of audit reports, starting with Ndebele and Shona for easy understanding by citizens.

“My office has plans to introduce vernacular summaries of the reports. We intend to start with Ndebele and Shona versions and hope to increase the dialects with time,” Chiri said.

She said the media had assisted her office to reach out to millions of people, some of them in remote areas through unravelling inadequacies, excesses and lack of compliance in audits.

“Audit reports by nature point out anomalies in an organisation which mainly impinge on financial resources. However, that does not mean that there are no positive developments and success stories in that entity,” Chiri said.

“The audit report only gives half the story. The other half can be obtained from the organisation or ministry itself. Therefore, assessing the overall performance of a public entity using the findings of the AG’s report alone would be myopic and incomplete,” she said.

She said the role of her office was to promote public sector transparency and accountability through auditing accounts of ministries, State enterprises and local authorities.

“If audit recommendations are implemented, the positive difference that is expected in citizens’ lives will be realised,” Chiri added.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- High Court judge, Justice Davison Foroma has slapped a guard at a Kuwadzana car park, Felix Muteve with a 20 year jail term after he fatally assaulted a drunkard who trespassed at the car park suspecting that he was a thief.

Muteve was being jointly charged with the murder of one Jemias Bangu together with four others on July 2, 2016 at Sam Marange’s car park in Kuwadzana.

The other four were discharged.

The court heard that Muteve assaulted the deceased with a blank object and an umbrella stick.

According to the state, Muteve was asked to guard Marange’s car park on July 1, 2016 as Marange wanted to go to his other car park in Kuwadzana Extension, and he agreed.

Muteve was released around 11pm after Marange returned, but he went on to sleep in a bus that was parked.

The court heard that around 1am and 2am, the witness heard someone screaming that he had seen a thief. When they went to check they discovered that the thief was actually a drunk.

It was heard that when the suspected thief was explaining to the witness, Muteve started to assault the deceased.

He was restrained against doing so by several people who were at the scene but he continued assaulting him and continued for several hours.

In the morning, Muteve was asked to the now deceased to the police station where he influenced other witnesses to lie to the police.

In convicting him, Justice Foroma ruled that the evidence given by the pathologist in the post mortem showed that the deceased made his last attempt to escape but was re-captured and brought back to the fire place at Marange’s Car Park.

“The court believes that the injuries to the deceased’s limbs must have been caused after deceased’s recapture and that these injuries must have been caused by more than one assailant. The brain oedema and haematoma on the frontal left parietal area must have been caused by the accused’s reckless assault of the deceased on the head as testified,” Foroma ruled.

“The deceased’s limbs were fractured and such fractures must have been inflicted after his recapture when he was attempting to escape from further assaults at the fire place at Sam Marange’s car park.”

The deceased died from the wounds sustained. He had fractured limbs.

Justice Foroma said he will take into account the three years of pre-trial incarceration that Muteve had served.

“This however did not warrant the deceased being brutally assaulted. Once the deceased had been captured initially his captors ought to have taken him to police immediately or at the very least inform the police that they had caught a thief in the car park so that police would arrange to collect him. The decision by the offender to deal with the deceased without alerting the police amounts to the proverbial “taking the law into their own hands” which this court will not condone,” Foroma ruled.

The judge said human life is sacrosanct and cannot be replaced, adding that a 20 year sentence will send the correct message to the offender and like-minded people.-newsday

By A Correspondent- A Gokwe headmaster based at Nyaradza Primary School, who is said to have a tendency of bullying teachers and villagers, is allegedly still working as a civil servant yet he is now a ward 19 Zanu-PF councillor.

Enock Chevedza is supposed to have relinquished his position as school head in line with government policy which stipulates that civil servants who enter politics must resign. Chevedza, however, has continued working as a school head four years after he was elected councillor.

Section 200(4) of the Constitution prohibits civil servants from occupying political office.

A villager from ward 19 who refused to be named alleged that Chevedza was using his Zanu-PF post to bully teachers.

“The Nyaradza Primary School headmaster was elected ward 19 councillor on a Zanu-PF ticket. He is victimising teachers using his political position. Every teacher is now afraid of him, and some are resigning,” the villager said.

Other villagers said he should either resign from politics or the civil service.

Investigations by NewsDay revealed that Chevedza was failing to separate school business from politics and was threatening teachers who failed to show allegiance to the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Chevedza also uses the school premises as a venue for Zanu-PF events.

Timothy Sibanda, a teacher at the school who is also the Midlands chairperson for the Educators Union of Zimbabwe told NewsDay that Chevedza initiated the cessation of his salary.

“I have gone for more than a year without a salary. The councillor is unfairly treating teachers who are not aligned to him. I had my salary ceased last April after he used his political muscle to block due processes,” Sibanda said.

During the just ended March 26 by-elections, Chevedza campaigned for Gokwe Zanu-PF candidates.

He is accused of threatening villagers telling them that they will not receive food aid and agricultural inputs if Zanu-PF loses.

Efforts to get a comment from Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro were fruitless as his phone went unanswered.  Efforts to also get a comment from Chevedza were in vain.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said civil servants should be non-partisan.-Newsday

“Civil servants are cleared by the Public Service Commission to contest elections and are expected to resign when they secure victory,” Masaraure said.

In Chikomba, two rural district council employees were in 2018 ejected from council after they won the elections, but did not resign from council.

“Partisan civil servants have a track record of abusing their authority and they have discriminatory tendencies.  Civil servants are allowed to enjoy the right to vote and be voted for, but must resign as soon as they secure partisan office,” Masaraure said.

By A Correspondent- A Zimbabwean teenage girl who was placed at a “safe centre” by Botswana police after her mother was arrested for illegal entry into the country reportedly disappeared from custody.

Reports from Botswana suggest that Natalie Gurumani (13) went missing from police custody on March 15.

Her mother, Charity Gurumani, did not find her at the centre when she went to fetch her after she was released.

Gurumani, who returned to Botswana legally on March 13 to look for her child, is now appealing for information on her whereabouts from the public.

It is alleged that Natalie was taken away from Gurumani’s aunt, Janet Kabelo, by Botswana police after her mother had gone job-hunting.

“It later turned out that Gurumani was arrested by the police and deported back to her home country, Zimbabwe, for unlawfully remaining in Botswana. While Gurumani was still sorting out her passport in Zimbabwe, social workers and the police took her daughter from Kabelo to place her in a secret safe shelter,” media reports from Botswana said.

When she returned a month later, the girl was missing, and Gurumani was instead charged with child negligence and detained.

It is alleged that the social workers who took the child away had a court order.

Officer Commanding N03, Theriso Thatayotlhe confirmed to Botswana media that Natalie was missing and the case was reported at Tlokweng Police Station.-newsday

By A Correspondent- Government yesterday said it would not lift COVID-19 restrictions, which include wearing of masks and a ban on big gatherings, to help control the spread of the pandemic ahead of the Easter holidays.

Neighbouring Botswana has detected new Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. The first Omicron variant was first detected in Botswana in November last year and has since spread across the globe and mutated in the process into other variants.

During a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday in Harare, Health acting minister Paul Mavima said government had resolved not to lift the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations, which include wearing of masks, social distancing and gatherings limited to 100 people.

“The resolution that we came up with today is that there is no relaxation whatsoever on the existing provisions to contain COVID-19,” he said.

“Everything remains as is despite the success that we have seen in terms of containment of COVID-19. There is a potential for an increase in COVID-19 cases during the Easter celebrations and also the cold weather, which can fuel the spread of COVID-19 and government is saying no relaxation of COVID-19.

We continue being on watch and make sure that we observe those protocols which include sanitisation, social distancing and also vaccination. There is nothing that has changed. We need to strengthen the awareness campaigns to promote the ongoing vaccination so that our people are protected.”

Several African countries have, however, eased COVID-19 regulations which include mandatory testing at ports of entries. Ghana recently ended its mandatory requirement to wear face masks in public.

Last month, Kenya lifted COVID-19 restrictions, which included a ban on large indoor gatherings such as those for religious services and a requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for air travel passengers.

President Emmerson Mnanagwa urged citizens to remain vigilant in light of the new variants detected in Botswana.

“Let us not lower our guard. COVID-19 remains a national threat to our well-being,” he tweeted.

“Social distance, mask up, sanitise, get tested regularly and get vaccinated, including a booster. A healthy nation is key to Zimbabwe attaining its aspirations.”

-newsday

By A Correspondent- A Rusape man, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for having sexual relations with a minor, has started a church while serving his sentence at Harare Central Prison.

Robson Bonde (32), told H-Metro that his imprisonment opened a way for him to repent and transform his life for the better.

Bonde, who was convicted five years ago, said he has since acquired a certificate in Theology and a Class 3 carpentry certificate while in prison. He said:

I started my own church here called ‘New Word of God Apostolic Church’ and I have quite a number of followers. I hope when I get out I will be able to continue with the ministry.

In this prison I believe I have gained more than I lost, I became a Christian in this place and even studied theology, now I am a pastor.

Bonde is one of the inmates who have benefitted from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service education programme. He added:

When I was in Rusape, my hometown, I was uneducated, so here I studied my Grade One to Seven, and I began my carpentry course.

I passed three subjects – joinery, cabinet making and carpentry – and I got my carpentry Class 3 certificate. I am proud of myself.

I know that when I go back home I have somewhere to start my life, which will be better than before my conviction.

Bonde was arrested after the parents of the minor girl that he was dating discovered the affair and reported him to the police.

By A Correspondent- The Government has directed universities and colleges as well as other tertiary education institutions to close from 18 to 30 April.

The Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (Zimstat) will be conducting the national population census during the period and the closure of institutions of higher learning will ensure the enumeration of students in their usual households.

The Government has also urged churches to desist from holding gatherings during the period so that church members are enumerated.

This was announced by the Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, during a post-cabinet media briefing in Harare on Tuesday. He said:

To avoid collective or institutional households, Cabinet advises the nation that all institutions of higher learning will be closed from 18 to 30 April 2022.

Closure of the institutions will pave the way for the enumeration of students in their usual households.

Church members are similarly encouraged to be at their places of residence between 18 and 30 April to allow the smooth conduct of the census.

Muswere also said the preparations for the 2022 Population and Housing Census are on track, with Levels 1 and 2 training having been completed in March 2022.

He revealed that the bulk of the personnel is drawn from the teaching fraternity, youth and other civil servants from the security sector.

By-The owners of the chopper which crashed and killed its pilot in Mhondoro on Sunday have spoken out.

The R44 helicopter crashed in Lothin Farm popularly known as kwaJojo in Mhondoro-Chivero area last Sunday killing Captain Peter Chirimuuta (33).

Owners of the helicopter, who pleaded for anonymity said they had been in possession of the R44 helicopter for more than a year now.

The owners said when it crashed it was on its way from Kwekwe where it took off at 12:05 pm and was expected to land in Harare at 1pm.

“The helicopter had no previous mechanical or technical issues. When it crashed I was actually waiting for it at Charles Prince Airport so that I could take the pilot home. As of the cause of the accident, everything so far is still under investigation,” said the owners.
A day before the tragic event, the late Captain Chirimuuta had flown comedienne Felistas Murata popularly known as Mai TT to her wedding venue.
President of the Employers Association for Tours and Safari Operations Mr Clement Mukwasi said they were saddened by the death of the pilot.

“We are actually very shocked and concerned about the accident involving the death of the pilot.
“Loss of life is always tragic. We are however, waiting for the authorities to get to the bottom of the matter,” he said.
The firm operates charter flights from its bases in Victoria Falls and Harare where it hires out its aircraft to different destinations across the country.
When The Herald visited the accident scene on Monday, the wreckage of the helicopter was still in the mountain where it crashed, a stone’s throw away from a homestead.
Two police officers were guarding the wreckage, with some pieces from the wings seen hanging on a tree about 10 metres away.
An eyewitness, Mr Musekiwa Mapunde said: “It seemed as if the pilot wanted to fly past trees in the mountain but failed, resulting in the helicopter hitting a tree branch and within seconds, we heard a loud bang.”

By- President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be in Binga, Matabeleland North, today on an offensive post-March by-election visit after losing the constituency to Citizens Coalition for Change.

According to the state media, Mnangagwa will be officially commissioning and handing over the Binga-Kariba fishing rigs to the local community.

Mnangagwa during his pre-March by-election r visit to the district, at a star rally at Siabuwa Business Centre, promised to give local chiefs some fishing boats.

By- Former MDC-T members have expressed their readiness to contest for any position in CCC after the party’s leaders said the political organisation is a new entity and accommodates everyone.

The secretary-general of the MDC-T faction formerly led by Thokozani Khupe, Nomvula Mguni on Monday told Southern Eye that the opposition should focus on uniting people. Said Mguni:

No one can stop what happened on Saturday because it is for the people. Everyone needs change and we will contest any positions that will come up within CCC.

We have been told that this is a new party and that we are starting afresh. People are the ones who elect others into positions.

On Saturday Khupe declared that she is now a CCC member after she attended a meeting addressed by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa at Bulawayo’s McDonalds Hall in Makokoba.

Some CCC Bulawayo provincial leaders have announced that they are not keen to work with Khupe.

However, Southern Eye reported CCC sources as saying Khupe was welcomed by members of the opposition party as she sat with the crowds.

Chamisa on Saturday told his members that his party will soon convene an elective congress to choose its leaders.

It is, however, not clear if former MDC-T members will be allowed to contest for positions at the envisaged CCC elective congress.

More: NewsDay

 By- President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s business front man Kuda Tagwireyi has officially handed over a house to Agnes Shaya, the wife of the late Dynamos football legend George Shaya.

Tangwirei made the promise to give a house to Shaya’s widow in September last year, a month after the death of the football legend.

Tagwirei officially handed over the house in his capacity Sakunda Holdings’ chief executive officer.

He handed over the house to Shaya’s widow Agnes this Tuesday.

The house is located in the gated community of Madokero Estates west of Harare’s central business district.

Sakunda Holdings had asked Agnes to select a house with a value of US$120 000 but she chose the three-bedroomed house worth US$100 000.

She decided to deduct some of the money towards conveyance fees, and water and electricity systems.

Tagwirei said he decided to honour Shaya in appreciation of the part he played in developing football in the country.

He also gave Agnes an open cheque to buy furniture of her choice for the house.

Meanwhile, Sakunda Holdings has also honoured other football legends Moses Chunga (Dynamos) and Madinda Ndlovu (Highlanders).

Chunga and Ndlovu were each given houses worth US$90 000 by the same company.

More: NewsDay

By- DStv premiership, Supersport United has fired former Warriors defender Kaitano Tembo.

The Zimbabwean will leave with immediate effect and his assistant Andre Arendse takes over until the end of the 2021/22 season.
A statement released by Supersport United Football club read:

SuperSport United and Head Coach Kaitano Tembo have reached a mutual agreement to part ways, with Assistant Coach Andre Arendse appointed to the position for the remainder of the current PSL season.
Tembo has served the club for 23 years, first as a player in 1999 before moving into a coaching role, serving as an assistant to Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter and Eric Tinkler and then taking over as Head Coach in 2018.
During his time as coach, Tembo reached two MTN8 Cup Finals, winning his maiden trophy against Highlands Park in 2019.

Tembo has been a loyal servant of the club and was instrumental in drafting young players from the club’s academy system into the first team squad.
SSU chief executive officer Stan Matthews thanked Tembo for the role he played at the club first as a player and later as a coach. Said, Matthews:
Kaitano is the epitome of the dedicated club man. Very few players transition into coaching at the same club where they played.
We want to thank Kaitano for the many years that he served SuperSport United in various capacities.
It is never easy parting ways but as a true servant, Kaitano has always placed the interests of the club above that of individuals.
We are grateful for the role he has played at the club both as a player and coach.
Former Warriors defender Kaitano Tembo has been relieved of his duties as head coach by DStv premiership club Supersport United.
The Zimbabwean will leave with immediate effect and his assistant Andre Arendse takes over until the end of the 2021/22 season. A statement released by Supersport United Football club read:
SuperSport United and Head Coach Kaitano Tembo have reached a mutual agreement to part ways, with Assistant Coach Andre Arendse appointed to the position for the remainder of the current PSL season.
Tembo has served the club for 23 years, first as a player in 1999 before moving into a coaching role, serving as an assistant to Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter and Eric Tinkler and then taking over as Head Coach in 2018.
During his time as coach, Tembo reached two MTN8 Cup Finals, winning his maiden trophy against Highlands Park in 2019.

Tembo has been a loyal servant of the club and was instrumental in drafting young players from the club’s academy system into the first team squad.
SSU chief executive officer Stan Matthews thanked Tembo for the role he played at the club first as a player and later as a coach. Said, Matthews:
Kaitano is the epitome of the dedicated club man. Very few players transition into coaching at the same club where they played.
We want to thank Kaitano for the many years that he served SuperSport United in various capacities.
It is never easy parting ways but as a true servant, Kaitano has always placed the interests of the club above that of individuals.
We are grateful for the role he has played at the club both as a player and coach.
Former Warriors defender Kaitano Tembo has been relieved of his duties as head coach by DStv premiership club Supersport United.
The Zimbabwean will leave with immediate effect and his assistant Andre Arendse takes over until the end of the 2021/22 season. A statement released by Supersport United Football club read:
SuperSport United and Head Coach Kaitano Tembo have reached a mutual agreement to part ways, with Assistant Coach Andre Arendse appointed to the position for the remainder of the current PSL season.
Tembo has served the club for 23 years, first as a player in 1999 before moving into a coaching role, serving as an assistant to Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter and Eric Tinkler and then taking over as Head Coach in 2018.
During his time as coach, Tembo reached two MTN8 Cup Finals, winning his maiden trophy against Highlands Park in 2019.

Tembo has been a loyal servant of the club and was instrumental in drafting young players from the club’s academy system into the first team squad.
SSU chief executive officer Stan Matthews thanked Tembo for the role he played at the club first as a player and later as a coach. Said, Matthews:
Kaitano is the epitome of the dedicated club man. Very few players transition into coaching at the same club where they played.
We want to thank Kaitano for the many years that he served SuperSport United in various capacities.
It is never easy parting ways but as a true servant, Kaitano has always placed the interests of the club above that of individuals.
We are grateful for the role he has played at the club both as a player and coach.

By- Former MDC-T members have expressed their readiness to contest for any position in CCC after the party’s leaders said the political organisation is a new entity and accommodates everyone.

The secretary-general of the MDC-T faction formerly led by Thokozani Khupe, Nomvula Mguni on Monday told Southern Eye that the opposition should focus on uniting people. Said Mguni:

No one can stop what happened on Saturday because it is for the people. Everyone needs change and we will contest any positions that will come up within CCC.

We have been told that this is a new party and that we are starting afresh. People are the ones who elect others into positions.

On Saturday Khupe declared that she is now a CCC member after she attended a meeting addressed by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa at Bulawayo’s McDonalds Hall in Makokoba.

Some CCC Bulawayo provincial leaders have announced that they are not keen to work with Khupe.

However, Southern Eye reported CCC sources as saying Khupe was welcomed by members of the opposition party as she sat with the crowds.

Chamisa on Saturday told his members that his party will soon convene an elective congress to choose its leaders.

It is, however, not clear if former MDC-T members will be allowed to contest for positions at the envisaged CCC elective congress.

More: NewsDay

By- A Beitbridge villager Knowledge Sibanda has been shot and injured by a soldier as he was driving near the now-defunct River Ranch Diamond Mine.

When police officers attended the scene, the soldier’s colleagues allegedly chased them away and destroyed evidence.

The incident happened last Thursday.

National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he can only get finer details about the issue on Monday.

“If you can call me tomorrow I might have details. At the moment I don’t have much,” Nyathi said.
“They fired at me and hit my car nine times. They had not even attempted to stop me, when I passed by they just started opening fire. When police based at Makakavhule Clinic tried to attend to the scene, the soldiers chased them away,” Sibanda told NewsDay.
“I was grazed by a bullet in the head, but I do not have serious injuries. These people (soldiers) are causing a lot of problems in our village, and we have no protection because they are a law unto themselves. You should have seen how they humiliated the police,” he said.
Confusion is reigning supreme in Beitbridge where an operation against smuggling has been on-going, and has resulted in people beaten up or dying in the hands of law enforcement agents.
In December last year, police detective Sergeant Sikhelele Ncube told the court that a tout called Abel Gumbo who operated at the border town was shot by the police in Lutumba in May this year after he was mistaken for an armed robber.
Gumbo whose family is yet to get justice was shot dead by a policeman who was part of a team deployed in an operation against smuggling. Newsday

Tinashe Sambiri|President Nelson Chamisa has called for the immediate intervention of SADC in the escalating political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans are fleeing the country to seek greener pastures in neighbouring countries and beyond due to the deepening socio-economic crisis.

Zimbabweans are facing persecution in Diepsloot, South Africa as a result of the economic quagmire in the country.

Watch video below:

https://fb.watch/ckUofpF0b9/

By- Former MDC-T legislator Blessing Chebundo has reportedly lost respect among President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s supporters in Kwekwe after the ZANU PF candidates for Kwekwe Central (John Mapurazi) and Mbizo (Vongai Mupereri) were defeated by CCC candidates in the 26 March by-elections.

Chebundo had promised Mnangagwa that he will use his vast influence in former MDC structures to deliver the two urban seats to ZANU PF.

ZANU PF lost to Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo) and Judith Tobaiwa (Kwekwe Central) despite Chebundo’s promises to the ruling party. Speaking in an interview before the by-elections, Chebundo said:

Over 1 000 people defected from the opposition to join ZANU PF in Kwekwe. It is because these people had seen that ZANU PF is the only party that is going to take us to Canaan.

There is no way the opposition is going to win Mbizo and Kwekwe, I declare that I am taking Kwekwe Central to its rightful owners, which is ZANU PF.

I have no doubt that ZANU PF has what it takes and has a chance to win both Kwekwe Central and Mbizo.

I am going to work and make sure that we achieve what we target, to have those two seats going back to ZANU PF.

It’s the confidence that is making me say that and also looking at the kind of individuals fielded by the opposition and when I assess them l don’t see that they have the stamina to defeat ZANU PF.

Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya (CCC) said Chebundo has no influence within the opposition party.

He said Chebundo is seeking protection from ZANU PF officials after he broke the law.

More: The NewsHawks

By- South African musician Kelly Khumalo has left local comedian and social-lite, Mai TT bankrupt.

Khumalo was invited to perform at Mai TT’s wedding on Saturday and gobbled the larger part of her so-called US$100 000 budget.

Posting on her Facebook page this Tuesday, Mai TT said having Khumalo at her wedding is one of the things she will cherish forever. She wrote:

One of the expensive things at our wedding was bringing Kelly Khumalo here. It was worth it at the end of the day as it was my daughters’ dream just to hug her.

I’m also a huge fan of hers, I fell in love with her on Empini. Dear Kelly, you left us bankrupt, but it’s ok sisi, it was worth it.

Having you grace our wedding is a memory we will cherish. Thank you.

Mai TT also explained why she invited the award-winning South African songtress to perform at her wedding. She said:

We were not just looking for entertainment but we were telling a story through our wedding, that is why we had this powerful vocal goddess on our wedding.

She reasonates with my life in so many ways but still she Rises. One of the strongest woman I know and respect.

More: Pindula News

By- CCC President Nelson Chamisa has promised a good living for all citizens, should he win the next year’s elections.

Posting on his Twitter page Tuesday, Chamisa said he had solutions to the two decades-long economic and social turmoil Zimbabwe is experiencing.

  “We are ready! We will deliver Transformation, Dignity, Opportunity & Prosperity. I feel it. I know it and I sense it. A New Great Zimbabwe is loading…Fellow Citizens,#RegisterToVoteZW,” posted Chamisa.

By- The Nelson Chamisa led CCC has embarked on a nationwide rural mobilisation exercise code-named Mugwazo, as the newly-formed party tries to make inroads in areas considered Zanu PF strongholds.

In an interview with NewsDay on Monday, CCC interim secretary for rural mobilisation, Happymore Chidziva, said senior party leaders have been to Murewa, Mutoko and Uzumba in Mashonaland East Province. Said Chidziva:

We have launched a massive recruitment and mobilisation exercise called Mugwazo. We are meeting ordinary citizens in rural areas.

This is a nationwide programme where we are mobilising people to register to vote and recruiting them to the CCC party.

We are targeting every district in Zimbabwe. Right now, I am in Hwedza together with leaders from Mashonaland East, Charlton Hwende (interim CCC secretary-general) and Murisi Zwizai (Harare Central MP).

We have been distributing fliers. Chamisa has highlighted the need to amplify the CCC rural strategy and stressed that CCC’s major thrust would be to grow the rural vote, with an immediate inundation strategy of rural areas to mobilise youths to register to vote.

ZANU PF thrives on intimidation and instils fear in rural folks. The party has been winning elections through coercion.

We are telling rural folks that their vote is a secret and if they really want their lives to be improved, they should join CCC.

Meanwhile, ZANU PF director for information Tafadzwa Mugwadi said the ruling party is not bothered by what opposition political parties do. Said Mugwadi:

We are not going to lose sleep over what MDC or CCC does. We are the governing party. Our focus is on winning the elections in 2023.

Our focus is to fulfil the promises we made to our people. Our focus is to improve the lives of ordinary people in Zimbabwe.

More: NewsDay

By- At least 40 people (20) are reported dead and scores are missing following heavy rains and flooding in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province.

This was confirmed by Kwazulu Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, this afternoon.

He said police had not yet reached some areas and therefore the number of casualties may rise as the day progresses.

He urged residents to stay indoors and avoid crossing flooded bridges if they need to leave home. 

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has forecasted more rainfall for most of Tuesday. SAWS said in a notice:

A Cut-Off Low-pressure system is situated over the eastern parts of the country and a surface low is to the east along the KZN coast, advecting low-level moisture and resulting in scattered showers and rain over the south-eastern parts of KZN tomorrow (today).

Significant amounts of rainfall have already been received in most places along the south coast and more rain is still expected to fall tonight and tomorrow.

The soil is already saturated and some drainage systems are already full, so widespread flooding can be expected to continue tonight into tomorrow over the south-eastern parts of KZN.

By- The helicopter that crashed after flying comedienne Mai TT, real name Felistas Murata, to her wedding venue in Harare on Saturday, could have been affected by bad weather.

 The accident claimed the pilot who has since been identified as Captain Peter Chirimuuta.

The helicopter crashed in Mhondoro while Captain Chirimuuta was flying back to Harare from Kwekwe.

Captain Chirimuuta worked for Chikopokopo Helicopters. He was alone at the time of the incident.

Zivanai Chakwenya, one of the engineers of the helicopter who had worked together in Captain Chirimuuta’s other weekend flights, said the crash could have been caused by bad weather.

The client, which the helicopter had gone to pick up in Kwekwe on the ill-fated return flight, is said to have decided to come to Harare by road. Said Chakwenya:

I am yet to believe the death of my workmate and friend.

The crash could have been caused by bad weather considering that the helicopter crashed away from the intended route.

Flying from Kwekwe could not lead to a crash on the Mhondoro side but bad weather could have forced him to keep the safest route.

We spent the better part of Saturday together when he dropped Mai TT at her wedding held in Chisipite.

From there, we took another client to Macheke, where we had fun with our client.

His trip to Kwekwe is the only one I did not accompany him and, hey, I have been badly affected considering that he was still young and was expecting to join his family in Hwedza for the Easter Holidays.

A Chikopokopo Helicopters official, only identified as Lloyd, told H-Metro that investigations to establish the cause of the crash have commenced. He said:

We are yet to receive information on what exactly happened.

Captain Chirimuuta had gone to pick up our client but the client changed his mind and he returned alone.

The Civil Aviation team and the police have since begun investigating the cause of the crash and details will be released.

Mourners are gathered at Chirimuuta’s home in Glen View 7.

Captain Chirimuuta is survived by his wife and two children.

More: H-Metro

By A Correspondent | The CCC party duo, Joana Mamombe and Cecillia Chimbiri apeeared in Court 14 on Wednesday at Rotten Row. The Defense Counsel filed an Application for the Recusal of the Presiding Magistrate, Faith Mushure. The outline emanates from the jurist’s ‘biased attitude and Conflict of interest against the Accused’s Rights as prescribed in Chapter 4 Section 69 of our Constitution.’

The accused’s Defense Counsel in no uncertain described and explicitly expressed the conflict of interest, prejudice, bias and the complete disregard of sections 68 snd 69 under chapter 4. The violation of Rights is on Record and as herein mentioned is biased.

Therefore if a judicial Officer is not biased, should just Recuse self. There is no need for antagonism and refusal to recuse oneself for non-partisan and fair justice.

The current magistrate, has fast-tracked the trial case under protest from the accused persons in an unconstitutional manner without lawyers being given copies of trial records.

Tinashe Sambiri|Suspected government agents abducted a member of President Nelson Chamisa’s Citizens’ Coalition For Change.

This happened less than 48 hours after President Chamisa’s visit to Masvingo.

Government agents are desperate to counter President Chamisa’s activities across the country.

On Tuesday morning, CCC’s Denford Ngadziore wrote on Twitter:

“Alert alert! Am receiving disturbing report this hour 0200hrs that our change champion SG Gwarazimba for Masvingo West has been forcibly abducted at his home by a group of unknown people.
Lets make noice about it.”

In a statement Media Centre Masvingo said:

“CCC interim SG for Msv West Denson Gwarazimba allegedly adbucted by unknown assailants suspected at around 2am at his Village 12 homestead in Mushandike area.

His abduction comes after a visit by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa in Msv town over the weekend.”

Tinashe Sambiri|President Nelson Chamisa has called for the immediate intervention of SADC in the escalating political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans are fleeing the country to seek greener pastures in neighbouring countries and beyond due to the deepening socio-economic crisis.

Zimbabweans are facing persecution in Diepsloot, South Africa as a result of the economic quagmire in the country.

Watch video below:

https://fb.watch/ckUofpF0b9/

We’ve seen reports misrepresenting our support of an independent press. Our training aims to strengthen independent media in Zimbabwe. An impartial, professional, and free press is key to all democracies. #journalismisnotacrime pic.twitter.com/7neGMZsdhJ

— U.S. Embassy Zimbabwe (@USEmbZim) April 12, 2022

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) has been urged to train its commuter omnibus staff who joined its franchise in customer care as most of them are discourteous to  passengers and break road rules.

The Government took advantage of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 to ban private commuter omnibuses (commonly known as kombis), which had become a menace to both the travelling public and other road users.

After banning the kombis, the Government invited operators who still wanted to continue with the business to join the Zupco franchise where they would follow stipulated safety and other road regulations.

The move has since seen sanity returning to the public transport sector while also contributing immensely to the fight against Covid-19 through compliance with preventive protocols.

However, some of the kombi crews have maintained their crude behaviour, both towards commuters and on the road.

Commuters interviewed by New Ziana urged Zupco to train its kombi staff in public relations and to monitor them strictly to ensure they reformed.

“They are still the same, rough and lawless,” said Jeffrey Mafukeni from Glen View in Harare.

“Sometimes they get to the rank and park, the drivers recline their seats and sleep while the conductors go out to buy food or they start counting their takings. After a while they start their buses and drive off without any passengers, leaving dejected commuters in the long queues. I do not think they are supervised,” he added

Commuters also accused some of the kombi staff of contributing to the spread of Covid-19 by not complying with the government directive to sanitise passengers before they boarded, insisting that they wear face masks, and that they did so correctly.

The Government instructed Zupco to ensure its staff hand sanitised passengers before they boarded as well as disinfected buses after a certain number of trips.

“Some of the drivers and conductors do not wear face masks and if they do, they will be lowering them below the chin,” said Patience Mutevhani from Kuwadzana.

A motorist from Mufakose who only identified himself as Aaron said the former private kombi crews were tarnishing the image of Zupco as they took their old ways to the public transporter.

Contacted for comment, Zupco acting managing director Everisto Madangwa said the company would consider re-training its commuter omnibus staff in customer care.

“When they joined us, everyone was subjected to training in public relations. It is critical to train them again,” he said.

Madangwa said Zupco would also increase supervision of its commuter omnibus staff, both at the ranks and on the road.

The Second Republic has prioritised the revival of ZUPCO as a strategy to introduce an efficient and affordable public transport system.

Over the years commuters have been suffering at the hands of private operators following the collapse of Zupco largely due to mismanagement and lack of capitalisation.

By A Correspondent- The Zanu-PF national youth conference slated for next month has reportedly renewed rivalry between factions aligned to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga.

The two leaders are said to be at loggerheads over who should occupy the influential deputy secretary for youth affairs post.

Fireworks are expected at the May 4 to 8 Zanu-PF elective youth conference, eight years after the ruling party last held such a conference.

Various youth posts are up for grabs, including that of deputy secretary for youth affairs.

Mnangagwa is set to appoint someone to the secretary for youth affairs post, who sits in the politburo.

Zanu-PF sources yesterday told NewsDay that Mnangagwa and Chiwenga were divided over who to endorse for the deputy youth secretary post.

Chiwenga reportedly supports Gutu North MP John Paradza for the powerful position, while Mnangagwa reportedly wants a candidate who has the aptitude to challenge Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party president Nelson Chamisa.

“The youth league is no longer vibrant as it used to be, and we are aware that President Mnangagwa and his deputy Chiwenga are divided over which candidate should occupy the deputy secretary for youth affairs post. Chiwenga is fully backing Paradza, while Mnangagwa is sweating over the position, and so they are divided at the moment,” a party source told NewsDay.

“Mnangagwa wants someone who can mobilise youths like the former youth leader Kudzanayi Chipanga, and someone who can challenge CCC leader Chamisa. Paradza is not that bad, but he does not have the required charisma, and so let’s wait and see.

“We are just waiting for a signal from Mnangagwa on what is going to be the next move.”

Other candidates reportedly eyeing top positions in the youth league, are the late former President Robert Mugabe’s son, Robert Jnr.

Businessman Danmore Mambondiyani is reportedly also eyeing a top youth position.

The youth organ is set to play a key role in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

Zanu-PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu yesterday dismissed the alleged divisions between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga. He said the party was united.

“There is nothing like that at all and this is not true. People always want to wish bad things on our presidents.  Zanu-PF is a united party, and a revolutionary party. I spoke about it recently saying that there are no fissures between our Presidents and there won’t be any,” Mpofu said.

Zanu-PF acting secretary for youth affairs Tendai Chirau said preparations for the youth conference were going on well. “We are also going to hold provincial conferences,” he said.-newsday

By A Correspondent- Four members of a Seventh Day Adventist Church music group died after a vehicle they were travelling on, veered off the road and overturned in Mawabeni along Gwanda road of Saturday.

The 17-member Gospel Symphony was heading to Gwanda for worship on Saturday morning when the accident occurred leaving 13 members injured.

Three of the four died on the spot while one of them later died at Esigodini Hospital. The injured group members are receiving medical attention at Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals.

Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident yesterday urging drivers to be cautious on the road to avoid unnecessary loss of life.

“I can confirm that three people died on the spot while 13 others were injured when a vehicle lost control and veered of the road and overturned around 9AM on Saturday.

On board, there were members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church on their way to Gwanda for a church programme,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

“Those who died on the spot include Corleenah   Ncube (36), Sithembelenkosini Mutemachani (52) and Egnes Majazi (38) all from Nkulumane suburb in Bulawayo.”

He said police are conducting investigations and are yet to get details about the fourth death. The fourth member who died has been identified as Mayibongwe Phiri also from Nkulumane.

The Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Services also attended the scene and injured passengers had already been ferried to the hospital by private motor vehicles.

“The brigade found the vehicle having veered off the road and uprooted several  trees before landing on its side. All injured persons had been removed to hospital by private motor vehicles.

Two male adults believed to be church mates were found guarding the wreckage. The brigade observed that all the people including the injured were already removed from the vehicle by members of the public before the brigade arrival.

There were blood stains in and outside the vehicle which indicated some injuries to the passengers. No persons were trapped,” said chief fire officer Linos Phiri.

Chronicle caught up with one of the surviving group members Mrs Luvuno Dlamini who said the tragic incident was the most traumatic the group ever had to deal with.

“All I remember hearing is that a bus was trying to overtake us and our driver tried to avoid side swiping and then next thing we were rolling.

We are in pain and still recovering but we cannot get over the tragedy that befell our sisters and brother who lost their lives while doing God’s work. We pray for healing especially for the families who lost their loved ones,” she said.

The executive secretary of the South Zimbabwe Conference of the SDA church in charge of Nkulumane church where the music group is registered Pastor Sindiso Mpofu relayed his condolences to the affected families saying the four were dedicated ministers of the gospel.

“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share with you the news that four members of our church lost their lives on the 9th of April 2022, after being involved in a car accident along the Bulawayo to Beitbridge highway at Mawabeni.

“These were dedicated members of a singing group Gospel Symphony and they leave behind a legacy that will long-serve to inspire and empower us to continue to work for The Lord Jesus Christ until He comes,” said Ps Mpofu.

“We continue to pray for the speedy recovery of the injured who are still receiving medical attention. Our deepest condolences go out to their families, friends and the church at large.”-statemedia

By A Correspondent- A 33 year old Harare bogus lawyer appeared before magistrate Yeukai Dzuda facing four counts of contempt of court charges and contravening the Legal Practitioners Act.

Beaven Chipunza was remanded out of custody to April 20 for trial date after being granted $15 000 bail.

It is alleged that on March 31 this year at around 10 00 hours, Chipunza appeared before Norton magistrate Christina Nyandoro masquerading as a lawyer representing Shamiso Koroka who had been charged with Unlawful Possession of Dangerous Drugs after she was arrested while in possession of Crystal Meth.

Chipunza identified himself in court as Koroka’s lawyer, but he failed to produce his practising certificate.

On April 7 this year, at around 1140 hours, Chipunza also appeared at the Norton Magistrates Court, in a case which was presided over by Takunda Chipeta where he also claimed that he was representing Koroka as her lawyer.

He was asked to produce his practising certificate but he failed to do so.  Chipunza masqueraded as a lawyer on two other counts.

It was later observed that he had no practising certificate which led to his arrest.

Anesu Chirenje prosecuted.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- A Chegutu man allegedly murdered his partner in cold blood, just 13 days after they started living together.

Simon Jackson (45) of Zvamano Village under Chief Nherera in Mhondoro, Chegutu had taken the now deceased, Tsitsi Socha, as his wife though the couple had not yet done the required customary rituals when the alleged murder happened.

Simon had a misunderstanding with his wife on 13 March, accusing her of infidelity before her disappearance.

Tsitsi’s highly decomposing body was found on 26 March being eaten by dogs after pulling it from a 50-centimetre shallow grave.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson in Mashonaland West Province, Inspector Margaret Chitove, confirmed the murder.

She said police have since launched a manhunt for Simon whom they suspect of killing his wife.

Insp Chitove said Jackson only filed a missing person’s report on 17 March after being pushed to do so by the deceased’s sisters Susan and Tarisai Socha from the same village.

Jackson’s brother Edison Makaure (48) from the same village, discovered that he was missing on 20 March and filed a report at Mubaira police station.

On 26 March, Makaure discovered the body being eaten by dogs in his brother’s field.

Tsitsi’s body was positively identified by her two sisters through the clothes she was wearing.-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Conmen dealing in fake United States dollars were last Thursday forced to flee in a getaway vehicle in Karoi, which they later dumped during a chase by the police.

The fraudsters are still on the run after they duped a Karoi resident, Brenda Nachi (42) of her US$20 after they bought some toiletries from her using the fake currency.

They had given her a fake US$100.00 note and received US$80 change from her.

Nachi made a police report resulting in the chase around 8.00pm on Thursday evening.

The suspects were driving a white Toyota Mark X with registration numbers AFI 7454.

Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Inspector Margaret Chitove confirmed the incident saying investigations were underway.

‘‘The unknown accused persons used fake US dollar notes to buy a few items and were given change. The unknown accused persons forged their vehicle number plate by using a yellow reflector and black insulating tape to cover the letter ‘I’ so that it reads as letter ‘H’,” Chitove said.

She said after the chase by the police, the robbers abandoned their getaway vehicle where police found a machete, a sjambok and a home- made big sharp knife.

A pair of number plates with registration numbers AFA 5494 was recovered in the vehicle.

The suspects have been targeting the Karoi farming town for the past two years using the same operation, and were getting away with it until last Thursday when luck ran out of them.-newsday

By A Correspondent- Three Zimbabwean men are in Botswana’s remand prison to answer robbery and rape charges.

Desmond Khupe (19), Lucky Dube, (23) and Calvin Maphosa (43), who are all illegal migrants, were not asked to plead to the charges when they appeared before Francistown magistrate Game Mooketsi.

The trio also faces another charge of entering Botswana through illegal entry points.

But Mooketsi recused herself from the matter, saying she knew some of the complainants.

Mooketsi then remanded them to Tuesday so that the matter can be tried by another magistrate.

The court was told that the trio, together with five other persons, who are still at large, on March 28 raped two women at or near Chadibe, about 25km west of Francistown.

It is alleged that on the same day the three used violence to obtain from their victims P350, property worth P13 720 and clothes and mobile phones of different brands worth P11 100.

They allegedly used catapults, knives and machetes to threaten their victims.

In court, prosecutor Janet Mothowakgosi said an application for the pleas of the accused persons should be reserved as the investigating officer was not available, adding that investigations were still at an initial stage.

In his plea for freedom, Khupe asked for tests to be done on the rape victims, adding that he would like to see them as he did not recall anything.

Dube’s defence was that on the day on which he is alleged to have committed the offence, he was in Zimbabwe and only arrived in Botswana on March 30.

Maphosa said he did not know the first accused, adding that he only arrived in Botswana last Wednesday with Dube.-newsday

By A Correspondent- Fears abound that more Zimbabweans living in neighbouring South Africa are in danger as Operation Dudula has spread to Durban and other areas.

Operation Dudula is a fast-rising anti-African immigrant sentiment in South Africa where there are frantic efforts to chase away foreigners, particularly Zimbabweans.

Last week, a Zimbabwean man Elvis Nyathi who was stoned and burned to death in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, became the latest victim of the xenophobic violence.

Reports yesterday by South African television station eNCA indicated that Operation Dudula was extending its branches to other South African provinces with its first launch being in KwaZulu Natal.

The eNCA further alleged that the delay in its spread to other provinces had been due to the arrest of its (Dudula) leader Lux Nhlanhla and the resistance by South African police to have the operation continue.

There are also reports that South African Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has accused the Zimbabwean army for fuelling the migrant crisis in the neighbouring country by allowing illegal crossings.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday told NewsDay that any member of the security sector who engages in corruption would be brought to book.

https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-1808990247913755&output=html&h=280&slotname=7632241627&adk=2580078309&adf=1513479931&pi=t.ma~as.7632241627&w=728&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1649744342&rafmt=1&psa=1&format=728×280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbulawayo24.com%2Findex-id-news-sc-local-byo-217798.html&fwr=0&fwrattr=true&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMC4wIiwieDg2IiwiIiwiMTAwLjAuNDg5Ni43NSIsW10sbnVsbCxudWxsLCI2NCIsW1siIE5vdCBBO0JyYW5kIiwiOTkuMC4wLjAiXSxbIkNocm9taXVtIiwiMTAwLjAuNDg5Ni43NSJdLFsiR29vZ2xlIENocm9tZSIsIjEwMC4wLjQ4OTYuNzUiXV0sZmFsc2Vd&dt=1649744342543&bpp=3&bdt=156&idt=354&shv=r20220406&mjsv=m202203300101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D125c818f8ca4ee47-22a78e5086a70006%3AT%3D1618326493%3ART%3D1618326493%3AS%3DALNI_MZpsCGWD26RJWsDIj7vy8tsJB0zXA&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1083x280%2C160x600%2C728x280&nras=1&correlator=1368895594373&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1623260446.1618326493&ga_sid=1649743905&ga_hid=2116903961&ga_fc=1&u_tz=120&u_his=4&u_h=720&u_w=1280&u_ah=680&u_aw=1280&u_cd=24&u_sd=1.5&dmc=8&adx=165&ady=1899&biw=1263&bih=552&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=44759875%2C44759926%2C44759837%2C44760474%2C31065342&oid=2&pvsid=3087223243305517&pem=471&tmod=1581534745&uas=0&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fbulawayo24.com%2Findex-id-news-sc-local-byo-217800.html&eae=0&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1280%2C0%2C1280%2C680%2C1280%2C552&vis=1&rsz=o%7Co%7CeEbr%7C&abl=NS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=5&uci=a!5&btvi=2&fsb=1&xpc=1QN414OP0z&p=https%3A//bulawayo24.com&dtd=367“The security services categorically state that any member who engages in corruption will be arrested without fear or favour as shown in a recent incident where 17 members were arrested and arraigned before the courts,” Nyathi said.

Political analysts said the spread of Operation Dudula to other provinces in South Africa was worrying.

“Our countrymen can only be safe if vigilante groups like Dudula are immediately disbanded. The SA government and the SA police (SAP) cannot continue to condone the wanton abuse of rights,” said analyst Rejoice Ngwenya.

“What this really means is that we now also have a right to wage war against anything South African in Zimbabwe. If the South Africans don’t value our lives, why should we value our business co-operation? South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in denial and his high sounding rhetoric counts for nothing until he directly confronts Dudula as another loss of life cannot be tolerated.”

Another Analyst Vivid Gwede said “Operation Dudula and its attendant fallout of xenophobic violence are inexcusable on the part of the people and government of South Africa. Equally, there should be reflection in the whole of Sadc on how to deal with historical inequalities in South Africa, poor economic performance and political problems in countries like Zimbabwe and the challenges of scarce economic opportunity and migration.”

Analyst Alexandra Rusero said:  “The violence in SA points out the moral decadence of the African National Congress which cannot be pointed out or pinned on any government or nationality. ANC officials are now behaving like an opposition party yet they are a government with the responsibility to protect all citizens, not particularly South African citizens.”-newsday

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed a helicopter crash that occurred in the Mhondoro area on Sunday afternoon, killing the pilot on the spot.

The helicopter came down in Lothin Farm popularly known as kwaJojo in Mhondoro-Chivero, less than 100 metres from a homestead.

ZRP national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi on Monday said the deceased pilot was flying a private R44 helicopter.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to The Herald said the helicopter was flying low from the Mupfure River direction, heading towards Harare, before it crashed on a mountain. Musekiwa Mapunde said:

It seemed as if the pilot wanted to fly past trees in the mountain but failed, resulting in the helicopter hitting a tree branch and within seconds, we heard a loud bang.

The sound of the helicopter was just like that of small planes. I then rushed from my homestead as the helicopter had crashed near my neighbour’s compound.

We then discovered that the helicopter had crashed with wreckage all over the place, we tried to save the life of the pilot, but it was too late as he was dead.

Within minutes, a neighbourhood officer arrived and managed to get in touch with the police who then attended the scene.

Another eyewitness, Elson Mangani, whose homestead is the nearest to the crash scene, said he could tell the plane was flying low by its sound. He said:

I was inside my house and only heard the sound of the helicopter which was clear that it was flying low.

I was not taken aback since planes usually pass through the area. There was my son outside who witnessed the plane crashing and shouted while seeking protection.

At that moment I then rushed outside only to witness pieces of the helicopter hanging on trees in the mountain and its sound when crashing.

Reports indicate that the private helicopter was the same plane that ferried comedienne Mai TT to her wedding in Chisipite, Harare on Saturday.

By A Correspondent- Former MDC-T members have announced that they will contest for any position that might arise in the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party after its leaders said it is a new outfit in which everyone is starting afresh.

MDC-T secretary-general Nomvula Mguni yesterday told Southern Eye that opposition leaders must concentrate on uniting people instead of dividing them.

Her party leader Thokozani Khupe declared herself a member of the CCC party on Saturday and attended a meeting addressed by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa. Khupe sat in the crowd at Bulawayo’s McDonalds Hall in Makokoba.

The CCC Bulawayo provincial leadership has announced that it is not keen to work with Khupe.

No one can stop what happened on Saturday because it is for the people.  Everyone needs change and we will contest any positions that will come up within CCC.  We have been told that this is a new party and that we are starting afresh.  People are the ones who elect others into positions,” Mguni said.

She said the opposition should concentrate on uniting people.

Sources said Khupe was now an ordinary card-carrying member of CCC party.

On Saturday, she was reportedly welcomed by members of the opposition party as she sat with the crowds.

Meanwhile, Chamisa on Saturday told his members that his party will soon convene an elective congress to choose its leaders.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- The rate of school pregnancies during the just ended Covid 19 lockdown period is shocking with at least five schools getting an average of 20 pr_egnant girls each.

Zvishavane District AIDS Coordinator, Dennis Jaravani told a stakeholders meeting held at White hospital nurse’s boardroom two weeks ago that Mabasa Secondary under Chief Masunda recorded the highest number of pre_gnancies with 23 dropping out of school.

Dambudzo Secondary School under Chief Mapanzure sits at number two with 22 pregnant pupils.

Chivizina High school under Chief Mazvihwa had 20 girls and is number 3; number 4 is Chenhunguru Secondary School under Chief Masunda with 18 girls and on number 5 are two schools, Ngomeyebani Secondary School under Chief Masunda and Korogwe under Chief Mupakami which are both tied at 17 pre_gnancies.

On number 7 is Rubweruchena under Chief Mazvihwa which had 16 pregnant pupils and Mandava High in Zvishavane Urban reported 14 pregnancies. Zvishavane High had the least with only 2 pupils getting pregnant.

A Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education report in the hands of The Mirror says there was a total of 231 teenager pregnancies in Zvishavane District and the majority are from rural schools.

“Teenage pr_egnancies is one of the key challenges we faced during the period under review and there is need to engage the Ministry of Education for a programme to avert such in future “, he said.

Zimbabwe National Network for People Living with HIV (ZNNPt) focal person Tracy Manjengwa said there is need to educate the girl child on pregnancies.

“Girls are having sex to prove to their partners that they love them. They are also having s_x for material things. They should be taught that love is not all about s_x “, she said.

-Masvingo Mirror

By Robert Mukondiwa- Exactly two years ago I lost this awesome soul to breast cancer which had spread to the lungs. April 11 of 2020.

It was a particularly painful loss not because she is my best friend and mother but for so many other reasons.

At the very top is the fact that we had a diagnosis that shocked doctors. Mom was living in the rurals and but had self-diagnosed and the doctor said it was one of the earliest detections he had ever seen.

And for a rural woman to frequently self-test impressed him.So they say early detection saves lives? Not in Zimbabwe. We took her for a mastectomy and had the breast removed in little time.

There was hardly equipment but I suppose my joy came from the doctors and Parirenyatwa staff who under tough conditions were ever pleasant, loving and helpful. Then she had to go for chemotherapy. That was painful as I could hardly afford it. But my workmates would always help. Michelle Hakata was my boss and Robin Chaibva my bestie who would always help. I could say 3 quarters of the chemo was footed by Michelle.

Then we needed radiotherapy. And that ‘machine came into play’.For the entire four years she never got ONE single session. Nor ONE. Mom would get the bus from Muzarabani and all the time she would have to cancel because every time the machine was down. She was then told to try going to Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo.

Yes; 206 kilometres from Muzarabani to Harare and an additional 500 give or take to Bulawayo. But we could squeeze that in because Bulawayo is home and we have family there. What about other Zimbabweans who couldn’t afford that?

Well anyway, when we planned that, the machine in Mpilo also broke down. So, we had to go for option 3 which was get her to South Africa for sessions then bring her back home after that. She needed a passport. I don’t need to explain what that means to any Zimbabwean.

And so, a few years later the cancer returned and it was belligerently mad. And so began our three-month journey to losing her. In and out of Parirenytatwa. Squealing as she got punctured with little anaesthetic in order to drain her flooded lungs. Having her look at her arms as they became thin and emaciated and say: “Robby mwanangu, pachine hupenyu ipapa?” But I’d always try and cheer her up.

Then one day I had her back at home and brought her a wheelchair as she could not walk easily. It was a Thursday. I looked at her during lunch break. I had moved out of home as I was working and didn’t want to risk giving her other diseases since Covid had just set in. I told myself I didn’t want to see her like that again. I skipped visiting her on the Friday.She wasn’t in pain but she was losing the battle.

Then on the Saturday. I got the call. I broke down. I’ve never recovered. I’ve hardly ever written exactly what happened those weeks. And those four years. I’ve actually decided to write this without any emotion because had I put in the emotion I’d have made a LOT of enemies and called out a lot of idiots.

When you talk about cancer machines and treatment you are talking about statistics. I’m not. I’m talking about the woman in the ward oppose moms who died and we had to lie to mom that she had been transferred so I wouldn’t upset her. That women was 34.

Or My workmate the lovely Sihle Mkondo who was my mom’s support system. Sihle died a year and a half after mother. Or little Ernest. Aged 13. He was in the ward with my mom who he called gogo. He called me Robbie. I thought with my greying beard he would called me mukoma. No such luck. I was Robbie. He went on to die aged 14 a year after mom and a few months before Sihle.

When I went to see him last he was lying in the same bed my mother had died in. and the next day my muzukuru Maud called me and said “We have lost the battle.” At 14 we had lost Ernest. I went to the hospital and saw him lying in the side ward where my mother used to stay. I talked to him. To his corpse. Held his forehead. Told him he was loved and that he had rested. You know what? The previous day when I last saw him, I had told Maud “Ernest is dying either tonight or tomorrow morning. I don’t want to see him in pain so only call me when he has rested.”

When you start accepting death like that know that things are no longer normal. So go ahead. Argue back and forth about the state of cancer equipment and treatment in Zimbabwe. Defend as much as you will. Just know that where I am I am not only praying for cancer radiotherapy machines in Zimbabwe. I am praying that even the mother of the fool who is playing with such issues never gets to get cancer and experience the pain I went through.

When I see people touting themselves as cancer ambassadors what-what I just look and say forgive these fools. With cancer, this is personal. What I can promise you though is look out for a book on the five-year battle I had with cancer alongside mom, Sihle and Ernest. Perhaps a go fund me to tell the REAL story of such fights and not mickey mouse tall tales?

To some of you, this is defending your territory and scoring debate points.To me it is reliving my fight with my best friend. Senzeni. It has been two years. You are loved.

By the way-nanhasi mushini wakafa mhamha. Nanhasi mushini wakafa! (Teary so I will end here…for now!) Maud Highlyfavoured Jaya

By A Correspondent- A Zimbabwean national living in South Africa was injured in an alleged attack two weeks ago by locals in Capetown’s Breadasdorp settlement.

Immanuel Zinja told VOA Zimbabwe that he wants to return to Zimbabwe as his property was looted, leaving him and his pregnant wife almost destitute.

He said he was attacked by protesters armed with axes and machetes and suffered deep cuts on his head and had to be hospitalized.

The South Africans accuse foreign nationals of taking their jobs and fueling crime. Said Zinja:

All our property was looted while I was in the hospital. When my wife Letwin (Mupfugami) went to check on some baby clothing she had bought for the child she is expecting, she found the house empty.

We have been living in South Africa since 2014. So, all the property we were buying to take back home was stolen. We have nothing except the clothes on our backs.

Zinja’s wife said she learnt about her husband’s attack on a local WhatsApp group in which she is a member. She said:

I nearly passed out when I read a message on the WhatsApp group concerning my husband whose name was mentioned.

Indications were that he was either dead or still alive. I tried to call him but he was not responding to my calls.

I ended up calling his boss who informed me that he had been badly hurt and had some deep cuts from an axe on his head but was still alive and had been taken to a local hospital.

When I got to the hospital, he could not recognize me and had to be taken for surgery at a hospital that specializes in serious injuries.

Letwin quit her job as a farm labourer in order to look after her unwell husband. She advised fellow Zimbabwean immigrants to be alert as they can be attacked at any time. She said:

I advise Zimbabweans who are in unsafe areas to send all their property home as they risk losing everything like us.

We have nothing but worked in South Africa for a long time.

We must now rely on well-wishers so that we can return home. This is a sad situation and has stripped us of all our dignity.

Those interested in assisting us can contact my husband on WhatsApp number +27642173467.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Zimbabwean immigrant, Elvis Nyathi, was extorted of R50, assaulted and burnt in the street in Diepsloot last week on Wednesday.

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged South Africans to stop taking the law into their hands by attacking undocumented foreigners.