By-Two motorists have lost their vehicles to armed robbers after offering them lifts in the last few days.
The first motorist lost his Toyota Vitz, US$20 cash and a Huawei cellphone to robbers on December 15.
Police say the suspects posed as genuine passengers, before turning against the Harare driver at around 8pm.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the robbery and warned people against offering lifts to strangers. Police are still looking for four armed robbers, including two women, who robbed a motorist of his Honda CRV vehicle, two cellphones and US$50 after being offered a lift in Harare on Monday night last week. The four robbers were offered a lift near Boka Auction Floors when they pretended to be going to Southlea Park in Harare, but along the way, the gang manhandled the driver before robbing him and dumped him. A report was then made to the police, who are still looking for the robbers.
The robbers struck at the Marirangwe turn-off along Masvingo road and stole from the 48-year-old man his Honda CRV vehicle registration number ACV 5783, two cellphones and a wallet containing US$50. Anyone who can help the police should contact any police station, said Asst Comm Nyathi. In a related incident, another man lost his car at the 165km peg along Harare-Bulawayo Road. The man, aged 49, lost a Honda Fit car, US$40, Infinite cellphone and some clothes to four unknown suspects whom he picked in Chinhoyi on the pretext they were going to Gweru. Investigations are in progress. Meanwhile, police in Matabeleland South are investigating a fatal hit and run road traffic accident which occurred on December 10, 2021 at 11.30pm at the 39km peg along Bulawayo-Plumtree Road where an unknown motorist ran over a woman pedestrian and did not stop. A black BMW motor vehicle mudguard was found at the scene. Anyone with information should contact any police station.
By- Police in Chegutu have arrested six suspected robbers in connection with several robberies, unlawful entry into premises and theft cases.
The crimes were committed over a period of several weeks spanning from November 2021 to 14 December 2021 in and around Chegutu.
Police have identified the suspects as Justice Mutero Mahoko (29), Norest Chin’ozho (29), Tichaona Chemhere (19) Gift Muvengwa (37), Leo Marecha Ndawana (22) and Harrison Wizilam (41). The ZRP said in a statement: The suspects used machetes and iron bars to force doors open before gaining entry into premises where they targeted television sets, cellphones, motor vehicles as well as cash, among other valuables. The arrest cleared eight cases of robbery and two cases of unlawful entry into premises and theft.
In a related incident, police confirmed the arrest of Tinaye Gumbo (21) for an armed robbery that occurred in Beitbridge on Saturday last week around 11 PM. Police said the suspect, together with his two accomplices only known as Kedha and Malume, attacked two complainants who entered the country through an illegal entry point near Beitbridge Prison.
The suspect was fished out by a Police dog in a nearby bush after the complainants had made a report.
By -Presidential spokesperson George Charamba is pushing for the arrest of the former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa on trumped-up corruption allegations.
the former ZCTU boss said in a statement: “It is political vengeance and persecution. Unfortunately, it is led and supported by Zanu PF enablers in ZCTU who seek to hoodwink workers into believing that this is a genuine concern. Firstly, the report to Zacc (Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission) was made just before the past ZCTU conference,” Mutasa said. “Zanu PF senior officials were already warning me of the impending audit and arrest. That is also why some publications were writing defamatory articles against me. In all the articles, they cited Zanu PF enablers within ZCTU despite their denials.” He said he had nothing to fear as the charges were trumped up and the whole thing was political persecution driven by vengeance. On December 9, presidential spokesperson, George Charamba warned that Mutasa would soon be caged over alleged “transgressions” and misuse of funds during his tenure at the helm of the ZCTU. Moyo said reports of his “imminent arrest” were given prominence last week towards the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition annual general meeting to harm his chances of getting nominated for the chairperson position. “This report was meant to be used to cause my arrest should the voting delegates’ numbers support my re-election. This would ensure I was removed from the conference processes and lose by default. This was put on hold when the other team realised that they could win. “Secondly, this report is meant to silence me against the regime or its backers in ZCTU.” Mutasa lost the ZCTU presidency in October to Florence Taruvinga, who became the first female president of the organisation since independence. Taruvinga works for Zesa as a technician and was ZCTU’s first vice-president. Valentine Chikosi and Nicholas Mazarura were elected first and second vice-presidents respectively, while Douglas Chiradza was elected as treasurer-general. Japhet Moyo remains the secretary-general. -Newsday
State Media – A Kezi man has left people in awe after cycling all the way from South Africa to Zimbabwe in two days.
Meli Ndlovu, who is based in South Africa, is a 40-year-old father of two who is cycling to raise awareness on Covid-19.
To embark on this gruelling journey, Ndlovu, an award-winning cyclist and cycling coach, left his wife and children in South Africa where he has been staying for the past 21 years.
on the track…Meli Ndlovu
He left Midrand in South Africa on Saturday at around 3am and reached Bulawayo yesterday at around 1pm.
A Chronicle news crew caught up with the cyclist who became popular on social media platforms as people shared his pictures and updates of his journey.
Meli The Cyclist, as he is widely known, has spoken to a number of people along the way, raising interest on Covid-19 issues.
He was amazed by how Zimbabweans are well aware of the pandemic and share stories on how they are surviving and overcoming.
“I am actually happy because the number of people that I met on the way had their masks on and most of them told me they were fully vaccinated,” Ndlovu said.
“My main emphasis was on the issue of social distancing. We are in the festive season and a number of my fellow Zimbabweans will be coming back home and there will be a lot of family gatherings. So, I think social distancing is one of the things that we really need to practice to avoid a spike in Covid-19 cases during the festive season.”
Ndlovu cycled a distance of just over 900km to get to Bulawayo.
“I cycled all the way and as much as it was a long distance it was not much of a challenge because I am used to cycling long distances. I usually cycle around 250km and I can’t spend two days without cycling,” he said.
“I was cycling at an average of 40km to 45km per hour on the South African side but I was ranging around 21 to 25km/hour after Beitbridge because of the damaged roads and I had to constantly give way to trucks.”
Ndlovu is using his advanced giant carbon fibre bike which he said has been very essential in competitions that he has won.
During his awareness journey, he faced challenges with motorists as they were not opening up enough space for the cyclist on the road.
“Motorists, especially truck drivers, were not giving me space to cycle and this slowed me down and I had to rely on the N1 lane to try and make up for the lost time,” he said.
“I did not have any challenges with the police in any of the two countries although South African police were questioning me on why I was not cycling in the face of oncoming traffic but I did not conform because I knew it was a dangerous thing to do,” he said.
Ndlovu is a member of a cycling team, TeamView, in Bedfordview South Africa and among the 70 members, he is the only black.
“I also cycle with Tembisa Cycling Club and we are about 20 members both South Africans and Zimbabweans and I have 20 medals from different cycling competitions,” he said.
The cyclist started cycling at an early age in his rural home in Goholi in Maphisa and this became a foundation for his cycling career.-Chronicle
A 22-year-old man living on the streets of Bulawayo has opened up on how the city’s “street kids” engage in male sex work for a living.
Talent*, a survivor of sexual abuse which started when he was a Grade Six pupil at a school in Gwanda where he was abused by his class teacher, says the ‘relationship’ marked the beginning of a journey that led to sex work which he is now trying to overcome.
The teacher was arrested but Talent absolved him and he was let off the hook.
Soon, he moved in with friends in a Bulawayo squatter camp after failing to stay with his sister at their family house in Makokoba suburb.
He said his mother was disappointed when she found out about his sexuality and a series of family meetings followed as the family tried to counsel him and convince him to stop.
“I started staying with friends and we would go to a local bar here where we fished for sex clients who would then take us to their homes or book a lodge to spend time with us,” he said.
“My clients were well paying people who would be gay or sometimes they would be married with wives at home.”
He said he is one of the few male sex workers who escaped HIV infection but became a victim of client brutality and harassment.
“A number of boys whom I worked with were treated for sexually transmitted infections. I just got lucky because most of the times we went for unprotected sex as it paid more than protected sex,” he said.
“Protected sex would get one something around two dollars to five dollars depending on the client while unprotected sex starts from five dollars and can go up to US$10. Sleepovers paid more but they were a rare occurrence.”
At the age of 22, Talent decided to speak to a counsellor from a local church that used to come and help them with food and other basic needs.
“Even during my days as a sex worker, there were days when I would sit down in a secluded place and cry because I was not able to believe the kind of a life I had chosen,” he said.
After 11 years of believing that he was attracted to men, Talent has developed hatred of his past life after he met a young lady at a local church and fell in love with her.
“I approached one of the sisters at church and asked for help so that I can be able to accept myself and move on because ever since I met the girl from church, I feel horrible and sometimes I get suicidal thoughts.”
A counsellor who spoke on condition of anonymity said there is great progress in Talent’s behaviour and spiritual life.
“When we first met him with other people living on the streets, he used to wear ladies’ clothes and put pieces of cloth and papers to make fake breasts and when we came in with projects that were gender specific, he was totally confused on which side he belonged to,” she said.
“I was surprised when he approached me and told me he didn’t like what he was doing and he needed help to overcome it.”
Talent believes that if his issue was treated with strictness when he was still young, he would not be where he is today.
“I was young when it all happened and I am not saying I blame anyone but I just feel like if my family had been strict with me and my decisions, I wasn’t going to go through the confusion and dilemma that I went through,” he said.
“I don’t like reflecting on my past life because I now believe I wasn’t myself, the thought of everything that I used to do really embarrasses me and sometimes I find it hard to accept myself.”
Police in Bulawayo have arrested a 35-year-old man who threatened to shoot a rival suitor in a dispute over a woman.
Archford Zhanje also attempted to run over his rival during an incident which took place in the Central Business District on Wednesday.
The rival suitor, who was not named by the police, was saved by members of the public.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident.
“Police in Bulawayo have arrested Zhanje for a case of pointing a firearm which occurred along Jason Moyo Street between Leopold Takawira Avenue and 8th Avenue,” Ncube said.
“On December 15 at 8pm, Zhanje called the complainant (name not supplied) to his car and asked him why he was communicating with his girlfriend.
“The complainant objected to the accusations.
“Zhanje raised his voice and tried to hit the complainant with open hands but the public intervened to stop the altercation.”
He said Zhanje went to his car and took a pistol and threatened to shoot the rival, but was restrained by members of the public.
He later attempted to run over the man before speeding off.
Zhanje was arrested at a hotel in Bulawayo and was found with a pellet gun.
“Investigations are in progress, police are urging members of the public to solve their problems amicably and never to make any threats worse still using anything purporting to be a firearm,’’ Ncube added. -Newsday
PRESS STATEMENT: Victor Kambanje was 32 years old and worked as a truck driver for TPC Tree and Plant Connection which ate owned by a Mr Jaque. He lived in Cosmo City suburb of Johannesburg City of Johannesburg, Gauteng South Africa.
Victor Kambanje
On 7th of December 2021 around 2am, four armed men came to the home he shared with his wife and their two children aged eight (8) and five (5). Victor was sleeping on the sofa and his wife was in the bedroom with their children. They forced their way inside the house by breaking the door. They pointed a gun at him and asked him to kneel down. They then pointed a gun at him and shot him from his anus. They asked for money and when he said he did not have any money in the house they took his wallet. They also took the television from the house before fleeing.
The police and ambulance were called but they did not come. A well wisher with a car took them to the hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The police have opened a docket and visited the house the following day to take statements and fingerprints but there has been no word from the police. Victor’s body is currently on it’s way to Marondera, Zimbabwe and his burial will most likely be on Saturday 18th of December 2021.
The motive of this murder is unknown although we suspect that it is part of the war against foreign drivers.
Victor who was his mother Florence Maboza’s only child, is survived by his wife Midia Chikomba and two children Christian (8) and Christable (5) Kambanje.
Anyone willing to assist the family can send funds via Ecocash to Florence Maboza +263 77 545 5307
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson on Sunday said he warned the late prominent human rights champion Dewa Mavhinga against coming to Zimbabwe.
Mavhinga died mysteriously two weeks ago in Johannesburg.
Addressing mourners at the burial of the veteran human rights defender in Hwirisha, Chikomba, President Chamisa narrated how he tried to stop Mavhinga from visiting Zimbabwe.
President Chamisa, quoted by NewsDay said:
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come.
He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique.
He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights.
It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker.
He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
President Chamisa also posted on Twitter:
In CHIKOMBA Hwirisha..Laying to rest a Hero and Democrat DEWA MAVHINGA. A leader par excellence.A solid family anchor.A community leader in development. A global icon. A human rights defender.A pillar & Cde in the struggle for freedom. An intellectual giant. RIP beloved brother.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson on Sunday said he warned the late prominent human rights champion Dewa Mavhinga against coming to Zimbabwe.
Mavhinga died mysteriously two weeks ago in Johannesburg.
Addressing mourners at the burial of the veteran human rights defender in Hwirisha, Chikomba, President Chamisa narrated how he tried to stop Mavhinga from visiting Zimbabwe.
President Chamisa, quoted by NewsDay said:
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come.
He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique.
He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights.
It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker.
He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
President Chamisa also posted on Twitter:
In CHIKOMBA Hwirisha..Laying to rest a Hero and Democrat DEWA MAVHINGA. A leader par excellence.A solid family anchor.A community leader in development. A global icon. A human rights defender.A pillar & Cde in the struggle for freedom. An intellectual giant. RIP beloved brother.
On 26 November 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern (VOC), on the basis of advice from WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution.
The variant has been given the name Omicron. Omicron variant is a highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations, including 26-32 in the spike protein, some of which are concerning and may be associated with humoral immune escape potential and higher transmissibility
As of 16 December 2021, the Omicron variant has been identified in 89 countries across all six WHO regions.
Current understanding of the Omicron variant will continue to evolve as more data becomes available.
The overall threat posed by Omicron largely depends on four key questions, including: (1) how transmissible the variant is; (2) how well vaccines and prior infection protect against infection, transmission, clinical disease and death; (3) how virulent the variant is compared to other variants; and (4) how populations understand these dynamics, perceive risk and follow control measures, including public health and social measures. Public health advice is based on current information and will be tailored as more evidence emerges around those key questions. There is consistent evidence that Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta. It is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time between 1.5–3 days. Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity and it remains uncertain to what extent the observed rapid growth rate can be attributed to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility or a combination of both. However, given current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace Delta where community transmission occurs. There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron. More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity. Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to rise, and given rapidly increasing case counts, it is possible that many healthcare systems may become quickly overwhelmed. Preliminary data suggest that there is a reduction in neutralizing titres against Omicron in those who have received a primary vaccination series or in those who have had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection , which may suggest a level of humoral immune evasion. There are still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron. Preliminary findings of vaccine effectiveness studies (test-negative design) were obtained from South Africa and England, the United Kingdom. Available preliminary data to be interpreted with caution as the designs may be subject to selection bias and the results are based on relatively small numbers. Results from England indicate a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for Omicron compared to Delta after two vaccine doses of either Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty or AstraZeneca-Vaxzevria vaccines. There was, however, higher effectiveness two weeks after a Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty booster, which was slightly lower or comparable to that against Delta. A non peer-reviewed study by South Africa researchers using private health insurance data reported reductions in vaccine effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty vaccine against infection, and to a lesser degree against hospitalization. Details about the methods or results were not available at the time of writing. The diagnostic accuracy of routinely used PCR and antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) assays does not appear to be impacted by Omicron. Most Omicron variant sequences reported include a deletion in the S gene, which can cause an S gene target failure (SGTF) in some PCR assays. Though a minority of publicly-shared sequences lack this deletion, SGTF can be used as a proxy marker to screen for Omicron. However, confirmation should be obtained by sequencing, as this deletion can also be found in other VOCs (e.g. Alpha and subsets of Gamma and Delta) circulating at low frequencies globally. Therapeutic interventions for the management of patients with severe or critical COVID-19 associated with the Omicron variant that target host responses (such as corticosteroids, and interleukin 6 receptor blockers) are expected to remain effective. However, preliminary data from preprint publications suggest that some of the monoclonal antibodies developed against SARS-CoV-2 may have decreased neutralization against Omicron. Monoclonal antibodies will need to be tested individually for their antigen binding and virus neutralization, and these studies should be prioritized To view previous versions of this technical brief, please see the links below. The current version of all WHO information products and publications is authoritative.
“The Hard Talk with Paddington Japa Japa, ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ Qualified Professional Zimbabwean Soccer Administrator !!!!”
SUBJECT;REVOKE YOUR ILLEGAL, UNLAWFUL, DISBANDMENT ORDER OF THE FELTON KAMAMBO LEAD ZIFA BOARD, AND LET ZIMBABWEANS ENJOY THEIR MOST BELOVED GAME,GERALD MHLOTSWA’S SRC BOARD STRONGLY WARNED.!!!!!
The President of one of Zimbabwe,s largest Civic Society Organization, (ZCEO) Zimbabwe Centre For Equal Opportunities,Former Caps United FC Public Relations Manager,One of the founding Members of Zimbabwe Women Soccer League (ZWSL),a former executive Member for Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association (ZNSSA),Qualified Level one Soccer Administrator and Seasoned Politician Mr Paddington Japa Japa has challenged the Sports and Recreation Commission Chairman Gerald Mhlotswa and his Board to reverse with immediate effect,their ill informed, misguided and foolish decision to Disband the Felton Kamambo lead ZIFA Board, with only four months remaining of their term of office. The term of Office of the current Zifa Board is expiring in March 2022, although Phillip Chiyangwa has got some issues pertaining to the length of his term of office, after his take over from Curthbert Dube. Mhlotswa a former Polo Association of Zimbabwe Chairman has displayed the highest level of failure in mastering and understanding Soccer Administration issues.Gerald Mhlotswa,a legal Practioner by profession is the current SRC Board Chairman who is Politically connected to the Mnangagwa Family, through his marriage to the President,s daughter. After years of doing nothing tangible for Sports in general in Zimbabwe, the Mhlotswa lead Board decided to create a piece of History through controversy by foolishly and idiotically disbanding the current ZIFA Board, whose outcome has got far reaching quenciquencies, that is inviting Banishment by FIFA of all Zimbabwean Senior and Junior, Men and Women,s National Soccer teams, from international competitions indefinitely.Whilst Mhlotswa who has got no experience at all in dealing with Soccer administrative issues, a former Chairman of Polo Association of Zimbabwe is better Placed in dealing with horse riding issues than soccer,we demand that he must stop messing up with the world,s most Beautiful Game, as enaunciated by Brazilian Soccer legend Adson Arantes Donacimento, better known as Pele.The clueless and direction less Gerald Mlotswa SRC Board wants to be seen to be doing something, after years of failing to achieve anything meaningful for Sports in the Country .All previous SRC Boards in Zimbabwe have got well documented historical evidence of failure in terms of Sports Administration, in the country, ever since attainment of Independence from 1980, up to date. Instead of SRC disbanding the ZIFA Board actually the Government must disband the SRC Board itself,for doing nothing in terms of Sports Development.For the Mhlotswa Administration to vent its anger at an innocent ZIFA Board, that has been working very hard under very difficult Circumstances,created by the harsh economic environment that has been brought about by the ever misfiring and corrupt Zanu PF Regime, lead by President Mnangagwa, is so surprising and a shame.
Surely what else does this helpless and clueless SRC Board expect from the Felton Kamambo Zifa Board, after they managed to qualify for the January 2022, Africa Nations Cup finals in Cameroun.SRC cannot accuse Kamambo,s Board for failing to qualify for the world Cup finals, in Quatar in 2024, because ever since Independence in 1980, no Zimbabwean National Soccer team has ever qualified for the World Cup Finals. Perfomance of all previous Zifa Boards that have ever held ZIFA office since 1980, is judged by Qualification of the National Soccer teams for AFCON after every two years.
The spurious accusations that have been levelled against Kamambo,s Zifa Board do not constitute commission of serious offence, that warrants disbandment.The SRC Board falsely accused the Zifa of financial misappropriation,an accusation that has been rebutted by the Magistrate Courts and Police Investigations. kamambo and his Board Members were recently exonerated by the courts after a full trial, if there was any true misappropriation of funds, then the Courts were suppose to find them guilty and convict them to jail sentence.Mhlostwa and his rag tag SRC gang also tried to mislead the Nation by falsely accusing the ZIFA Board Members of Sexual harassment of female referees, why is there not even one single Report with ZRP, by the alleged victims of the said sexual harassment, sexual harassment qualifies for criminal prosecution under the Criminal Law Code and reform Act, which means its all cooked up stories, in an attempt to tarnish the good images of the current ZIFA Board Members.
As Zimbabweans we cannot allow our Beautiful game of Soccer to be destroyed by a bunch of misguided SRC Board, who are using there political connections to ban innocent ZIFA Board Members.As ZCEO we are demanding for the immediate revocation of the SRC banishment order imposed on the Felton Kamambo ZIFA Board, and immediate reinstatement of the Board to their previous Status Quo. We cannot allow ourselves to be abused and taken advantage of by Gerald Mhlotswa, s Political connections with the first family. Failure to lift the illegal and unlawful ban of the ZIFA Board by the clueless bunch at SRC, means we shall be left with no option.As Zimbabweans who want to see our National Soccer team participating at AFCON Finals in January 2022, we shall apply for Permission under (MOPA) Maintenance of Public Order Act, to the Officer Commanding Harare Police District,for permission to demonstrate against those SRC Board Members, so that they can resign and leave office with immediate effect. Millions of Soccer loving Zimbabweans cannot be prejudiced of their constitutional right to watch their beloved National Soccer team playing at AFCON Finals in January 2022.Most of theose SRC Board Members have never played soccer since childhood, hence they understand little about Soccer Administration.
THE AUTHOR OF THIS WELL RESEARCHED ARTICLE PADDINGTON JAPA JAPA,IS A QUALIFIED LEVEL ONE SOCCER ADMINISTRATOR,ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF WOMEN SOCCER IN ZIMBABWE,FORMER CAPS UNITED PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER,MDCA NEC/NC MEMBER,EVANGELIST AND TEACHER OF GOD,S WORD,HOLDER OF BSC HONOURS PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE!!!!???????????????????????☘️?????????
By Staff Correspondent | ZimEye | As he faces arrest over failure to pay maintenance money since April this year, the COSAFA President, Phillip Chiyangwa has turned to abuse his 14 year old son threatening to imprison the lad to punish him for asking for school fees; and does he have such powers?
https://youtu.be/RDHaH0_svuU
In the leaked audio, which ZimEye transcribes below, he also announces he will get the mother arrested and killed the moment she lands in Zimbabwe.
Threatening own 14 year old child with violence and police arrest… Phillip Chiyangwa
The fees for two boys, the teen and his 8 year old brother have not been paid since April 2021, and after being requested, Chiyangwa begins abusing the boy, the latter who stands his ground against bricks of vulgarities and later on, the young man literally floors his 62 year old father.
During the abusive 10 minutes, Chiyangwa even labels his son a thief, over the lad’s request for the son’s Bluffhill house built wholly by the mother to be sold in order to pay fees.
(Chiyangwa who owns 72 properties across Zimbabwe, continues to quarrel with his son calling the lad and mother thieves while admitting his only investment is a paltry $5,000 for the land).
Below is a transcript of the leaked audio:
PC: You have committed a crime.
SON: Which crime?
PC: The one of selling the stand.
SON: That’s not a crime.
PC: If it’s not a crime wait until you find your mother in prison.
SON: Prison for what?
PC: Stealing a stand
SON: She didn’t steal a stand. And it’s not sold
PC: Oh okay, keep talking like that what was your desire to go to court? Why did you go to court to get a declaratory order on stand? Why would you and your mother spend so much energy?
SON: Right right but you don’t have the power you don’t have the power to arrest someone,
PC: I have reported this case.
SC: Pardon
PC: I’ve caught a thief.
SON: No.
PC: I caught a thief.
SON: No. My mother is not a thief
PC: That property is my property that one, until you’re 18.
SON: It’s in my name so legally it’s my property.
PC: All the powers about it it’s ownership is me.
PC:I am the only person who can say it can be sold not your mother. Your mother has got absolutely nothing to do with this property (Child’s mother is the one who built the house).
SON: But that property you didn’t build it; and you are not our guardian.
PC: All my children have got stands. You are not the only child and you are the worst of all my children, so all my children have got properties there; all my children have got properties there.
SON: And please we are not the worst don’t call us the worst. You are the most idiotic who calls me about stupid things concerning a mother.
PC: You are the worst ever child who should be calling me. If I had a way of stopping you from calling me that’s what I want. You see? And I’m sure it will come when you are 18 you will not be allowed to call me. In fact I will give a court order to ensure that you’re not allowed near me.
SON: Alright, but we are buying a house in SA and fees is not stupid.
PC: Yah, everything is idiotic, everything about yourselves, your mother has already walked away from this, I don’t know why you are back on this again, you know what I mean? When thieves are cornered; do you know what they do?
SON: What thieves are you talking about?
PC: You’re thieves.
SON: We are not thieves and don’t call us stupid, what kind of a father are you?
PC: I say bastards, you know. You should never call this number.
SON: We are not bastards don’t call us that.
PC: You’re are bastards,
SON: No we’re not.
PC: Yah, don’t call this number. Don’t call my number, yeah, what the fuck? I’m not your father, I don’t know you. Don’t call this number. Why would you call me?
SON: Ok so then if you’re not our father then stop going to court for custody.
PC: I am not asking for custody I’m not asking for anything; I just want you to fuck off, stay away from me but anyone who comes near me I will lock them, I will get them locked up, because you are thieves.
SON: We are not thieves what did we do?
PC: I am not going stop f me around. Don’t call me; stay away from me. Our peace is keep your border I keep my border. But don’t call. Don’t think of me, I don’t need you; I don’t need you I seriously don’t need you even when I am ill, what do I need you for? What do I need you for, you [FIRST NAME]
What for?
PC: Why would you seriously say I want my father, I want my father? Stay with your mother don’t call this number don’t ever scratch your phone and dial this number; do you hear? Phone your mother’s relatives stay there don’t call me. You hear? Stay there, don’t call me. You have no connection here to Chiyangwa himself.
Change your number; go with your mother to a lawyer there and change your surname. Don’t use my surname. I don’t want you to use my surname. I don’t want you to use my surname.
SON: Alright keep your borders there we’ll go to court for that.
PC: Exactly.
SON: We’ll use that to look after ourselves.
PC: We are in court already so don’t waste time the only thing that’s left is for your mother to be arrested. She was silly.
SON: Arrested for what?
PC: She’s sworn on an affidavit that she bought, where is the agreement letter signed with your mother?
SON: Yes, but I have been saying the property has not been sold.
PC: I said she wants to court to say she bought it. From who? She wants to go to court to say she bought it from who? Why would you lie yourself when I ask you and I say you called me you called me then when there is a record that you called, why would you say that you didn’t call me? Who called who today? Have I ever been looking for you? Why would you call me today. What for?
SON: There’s an agreement for the house, stop lying about the house.
PC: Why would you call me?
SON: We are just asking for fees that’s it. If you can pay my fees then mum can pay [YOUNG BROTHER -NAME WITHHELD’s fees.
PC: I don’t want to talk to you; your mother and I … we ended our relationship a long time ago. Your mother is your Guardian. Stop at your mother don’t call me please. You especially you I don’t want to talk to you. Especially you if you call you make it worse.
SON: You make it worse how?
PC: It’s because i don’t like you.
SON: The moment I know it’s you then I don’t like you I don’t need you; you are just this square of a person; I don’t need you; go on with your life to your mother.
SON: Okay, so if you are not our guardian, then she’s our guardian, so she can sell the house,
PC: When you left Zimbabwe going to South Africa did I give you a letter saying go to South Africa? To who?
SON: Okay but then you are not; you said you’re not our guardian. So she is our guardian so she can sell the house.
PC: Iwe (hey you) don’t say she can sell, she can sell, she can sell what belongs to her; Let her sell what belongs to her.
SON: But you’re not our Guardian yourself.
PC: May I say something: that’s very good, but she doesn’t own the land. Okay, so she can sell whatsoever she wants to sell, but she cannot sell my land.
SON: Okay then we will go on with our lives.
PC: Whatever I sweated for in my life is nothing to do with [CHILD’S MOTHER NAME WITHELD]
SON: But she built the house so it belongs to her.
PC: There is no house and nobody will hear your story; man you think I haven’t been there? You see?; You think I haven’t been there?
This is just plain down straight criminal your mother has paraded her life harassing me.
SON: She will never be arrested.
PC: Thank you very much so let her come here and demonstrate that she is around.
SON: Alright. But you said you you want to get her arrested you can’t arrest her for a lie because you are lying.
PC: So she is not selling the house, she lied that she bought the land, that’s up to her and me.
Yes Brian, you called me earlier? SIDE CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE ELSE… TRUNCATED.
PC: Iwe (hey you NAME WITHHELD) I have finished. You and your mother I don’t want to have anything to do with you you…
SON: Yeah, you can leave my mother alone now, it’s like you have a personal hate against someone who doesn’t even worry about you.
PC: Your mother and you are causing me problems your mother sent me audios, that are a record that she will not be in touch with me again until she is dead, eeh and so forth.
SON: She hasn’t been in touch with you though.
PC: I’ve got the audios, so you keep arguing with yourself I am simply asking you; Can you stop texting and contacting me.
SON: So then can you leave her alone, stop lying about her.
PC: I am not even, I never called you I never called her. You are the one entering my territory can you stop please, yeah. – ZimEye
By-Police in Kwekwe have for the past three months been stuck with the body of a man that was retrieved from the scene of a road traffic accident that happened along Gokwe-Kwekwe Road on 20 October 2021 at around 2:45 PM.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson for Midlands Province Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko told The Mirror that the deceased, believed to have been around 30 years of age at the time of his demise, had no identification documents on him.
He said that the body was found after a Honda Fit vehicle in which the deceased was travelling was involved in an accident at Tiger Reef Junction.
Inspector Mahoko said the deceased is dark in complexion, approximately 30 years, medium built and approximately 1.5 metres in height.
He was wearing a red t-shirt inscribed Manchester United, a black pair of jean trousers and black shoes when his body was discovered.
Inspector Mahoko appealed to people with a missing relative to come and identify the body at Kwekwe Mortuary. He said:
ZRP is concerned with the number of sudden death cases of people without identification particulars. It is suspected that the man is known as Alboy Ncube.
Members of the public missing a relative matching the description given above are advised to approach Kwekwe Traffic or the nearest Police station.
It is important to carry identification particulars at all times and a trusted person to know your movements.
By -Presidential spokesperson George Charamba is pushing for the arrest of the former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa on trumped-up corruption allegations.
the former ZCTU boss said in a statement: “It is political vengeance and persecution. Unfortunately, it is led and supported by Zanu PF enablers in ZCTU who seek to hoodwink workers into believing that this is a genuine concern. Firstly, the report to Zacc (Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission) was made just before the past ZCTU conference,” Mutasa said. “Zanu PF senior officials were already warning me of the impending audit and arrest. That is also why some publications were writing defamatory articles against me. In all the articles, they cited Zanu PF enablers within ZCTU despite their denials.” He said he had nothing to fear as the charges were trumped up and the whole thing was political persecution driven by vengeance. On December 9, presidential spokesperson, George Charamba warned that Mutasa would soon be caged over alleged “transgressions” and misuse of funds during his tenure at the helm of the ZCTU. Moyo said reports of his “imminent arrest” were given prominence last week towards the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition annual general meeting to harm his chances of getting nominated for the chairperson position. “This report was meant to be used to cause my arrest should the voting delegates’ numbers support my re-election. This would ensure I was removed from the conference processes and lose by default. This was put on hold when the other team realised that they could win. “Secondly, this report is meant to silence me against the regime or its backers in ZCTU.” Mutasa lost the ZCTU presidency in October to Florence Taruvinga, who became the first female president of the organisation since independence. Taruvinga works for Zesa as a technician and was ZCTU’s first vice-president. Valentine Chikosi and Nicholas Mazarura were elected first and second vice-presidents respectively, while Douglas Chiradza was elected as treasurer-general. Japhet Moyo remains the secretary-general. -Newsday
By-Parirenyatwa Hospital At least 436 workers from all departments at Zimbabwe’s largest medical centre, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, are in isolation after contracting Covid-19 while on duty; an official has said. Hospital spokesperson Linos Dhire said operations had been scaled down as a result of the situation.
“The rate of infections is quite higher at our institutions compared to previous waves, which is a reflection of incidences of Covid-19 in the community. “We have a significant number of staff members across all departments who are in isolation. “The infections are affecting service delivery in our hospital,” he said. Zimbabwe on Thursday recorded 4 247 Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths, pushing the national cumulative infections to 186 304. According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, active Covid-19 cases rose to 49 396. Over the past two weeks, the country recorded a 472 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases. This prompted the government to introduce a few changes to existing Covid-19 regulations including scaling down all government activities to 30 percent in response to the rising Covid-19 infections. – New Ziana
By A Correspondent- A South African pastor has used church money to gamble.
The 49-year-old pastor from Tsakane, Ekurhuleni is now looking for help.
His wife (45) said she supported him when he started to gamble as they were struggling financially.
“Church was closed and we were struggling financially. He bet on his phone and he sometimes won. He spoiled us whenever he won. I thought he would stop gambling when lockdown levels were lowered and churches were reopened, but he never did. He was enjoying it.” She said although her husband started to lose, he still continued to gamble. “He took the little money we got from the church and used it for gambling. He took the tithe and gambled with it. I don’t know how to get him to stop. We need prayers,” she said. She said they’ve been together for more than 15 years. “He’s always been a good man who doesn’t do bad, but Covid messed him up,” she said. She asked not to be photographed and to keep the church’s name anonymous as people are still going to church and paying tithes. The pastor told Daily Sun he has registered for counselling. “I will start in January. I can also see that this has gone out of hand. I want it to stop,” he said. He said if someone can help him beat this either with prayers or something else, they are welcome to. “I see that this is messing up my marriage. I will end up with no wife and no church. I started gambling when we had nothing as we couldn’t go to church, but now it’s in me. I can’t stop that easily, but I will work hard to beat it,” said the pastor. Bishop Vusumuzi Dlamini of Glory to the Lord Ministry said the pastor asked for prayers and confessed about his addiction. “We have a programme where we help people addicted to drugs, alcohol and other substances. We give them counselling and support. The pastor will join this programme starting in January. We have hope he will stop gambling when he’s done with the programme and people’s tithes will be safe,” he said. Daily Sun
By A Correspondent| Elderly people from Mabvuku Methodist Church were yesterday treated to an early Christmas when businessman and former Affirmative Action Group (AAG) president Chamu Chiwanza paid them a visit to assess their wellbeing and donated some goodies as has become his tradition.
Chiwanza donated an assortment of groceries to the elderly church members who were elated.
Addressing congregants Chiwanza urged people to respect and take good care of the old people.
“People especially those in business tend to take a negligent eye towards the elderly people who are vulnerable in the community.
“Festive season is a time to enjoy and be merry so I just used the limited resources I have to ensure that you have a merry Christmas.
“I grew up here and it’s part of my tradition to spoil the needy at this time of the year,” he said.
He said elderly people are the epitome of knowledge hence deserve respect.
He said besides groceries , business people must take the elderly for cancer screening and eye related diseases.
Speaking to this publication on the sidelines of the event, Chiwanza said he feels blessed and fulfilled.
“It has become part of my tradition that every year I find a place to donate to be it Mutare, Bulawayo or any town.
“This year 2021, I decided to come back to my home area in Mabvuku to give to the elderly buying them groceries and so forth, he said.
He added:”It’s part of our corporate social responsibility and most importantly it’s also part of me and what my heart just tells me that I need to give.
“The elderly are one of the most vulnerable constituent of our community and most business people tend to put a negligent eye on them and not recognise their needs.
“So well I just try to make their Christmas merry with the little that I can and I feel very blessed and fulfilled when I do that.
“Chiwanza is the founder and managing director of Cernic Group, an entity with intrest in various sectors of the economy.
By A Correspondent- Boxer Charles Manyuchi’s marriage is reportedly collapsing amid reports that the boxer is neglecting his family.
The WBC Silver Welterweight title holder’s marriage of nine years is, as a result, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Sources also allege that Manyuchi is no longer staying at his matrimonial home and is now coming to his house as a visitor. The issue reportedly now in the public domain in Chivhu. Contacted for comment, Manyuchi’s wife Rutendo Hove refused to dwell much on the case and referred all questions to Manyuchi. “Who gave you the details? I am not the right person to comment regarding that issue. Can you get in touch with Manyuchi? Although we have some issues it’s not easy for me to comment over it. “Ask the sources who gave you the details?” she said. The woman at the centre of the storm, identified as Chibaya, said when she became a manager Manyuchi and his wife were already having some problems. “When I came in as his manager their relationship was already in bad taste, not kuti kuuya kwangu caused all that. “She was feeling the pain trying to mend their marriage but she is trying to soil everyone’s reputation. “She wants to tarnish my reputation since he (Manyuchi) now has a female manager; I just don’t know. I don’t know why they are doing that. Thanks for contacting me,” she said. Manyuchi was evasive to give his side of the story but rather demanded to know the source. “If you have proof of everything you are saying go ahead baba. Send me the contacts and I see if they are the same with people you are saying gave you the story,” he said. Another source is alleging that the boxer squanders all his money willy-nilly. “Their child h
By-The Zimbabwe Republic Police has announced the arrest of six suspected armed robbers who pounced on a CAG bus and robbed its crew and passengers of over US$20 000.
The robbery occurred at around 6.30 PM along the Harare-Chirundu highway on Tuesday last week.
Police said the robbers are Justice Mutero Mahoko (29), Norest Chin’ozho (29), Tichaona Chemhere (19), Gift Muvengwa (37), Leo Marecha Ndawana (32), and Harrison Wizilam (41).
The police also said property worth ZW$856 095 was stolen, while the items valued at ZW$557 325 have been recovered.
By A Correspondent- A 28-year-old man who duped businessman Philip Chiyangwa’s Daughter, Cherish Natasha Chiyangwa, of £18 000 in a botched mining investment deal, was spared jail after the court ordered him to pay back the money.
Willard Munyaradzi Kachere was initially jailed for two years when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga. The two years were suspended on condition that he pays back US$14 000 on or before February 20 next year. Kachere had denied the charges, saying he never entered into any agreement with Cherish and that the money had not been sent to him, but to Jamie Farai Muswibe. He also disputed the amount involved. “She entered into a business transaction with Jamie Farai Muswibe wherein they shared all the risks, profits and losses associated with running a business enterprise,” said Kachere. Cherish, in her testimony, told the court that Kachere approached her seeking US$20 000 as capital which was to be invested in mining. She said Kachere promised her that they would earn US$2 000 in monthly profits. Mr Tapiwanashe Zvidzai, prosecuting, had it that sometime in April last year, Kachere approached Cherish saying he wanted partners to invest in the mining business. Kachere then told her that if she invested US$20 000 in the deal, they would get US$2 000 in profits every month. Cherish then engaged her business partner Muswibe, who then sent Kachere £18 310 through World Remit. Kachere received the money and later failed to give Cherish the promised monthly profits, which prompted Muswibe to return into the country to establish why he was failing to remit the profits as agreed. Muswibe then realised that Kachere had not used the money as agreed, which forced Cherish to lodge a complaint with the police.
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said they have arrested 1 361 397 2 820 countrywide for violating COVID-19 control measures since the imposition of the lockdown on 30 March.
Most of the arrests were made in central business districts of cities and towns where the police would arrest citizens for not wearing face masks.
Bars and bottle-store are also other places where the police arrest people accusing them of gathering.
By- Rowdy Zanu PF supporters in Chimanimani, at the weekend attacked the party’s Senator for Manicaland Province, Dorothy Mabika.
Her attack came barely a few weeks after the Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairperson Mike Madiro, who is also the Deputy Home Affairs Minister, was attacked by party youths.
Mabika is also Zanu PF Manicaland vice-chairperson.
She was elected Senator this year to fill the post left vacant following the passing on of Ellen Gwaradzimba, who was also the provincial minister early this year.
Speaking Sunday at a Zanu PF Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting at Marymount Teachers College, Madiro confirmed Mabika survived an attack as she drove past Chakohwa area in Chimanimani West constituency.
He was responding to a point raised by Central Committee member Esau Mupfumi, who called for party members to remain united during the provincial elections.
“Manicaland is united. It is no longer time to engage in quarrels or intimidate each other. Let us remain united as we walk through this journey (provincial elections) together,” Mupfumi said.
In response, Madiro said Mabika’s attack reaffirmed fears there were sellouts within the party who wanted to cause alarm and despondency.
“I think you are all aware that I was attacked last month and yesterday (Saturday) our vice-chairperson Mabika was attacked as well at Chakohwa,” Madiro confirmed.
“Her car was ambushed at a certain turn-off near Chakohwa. I don’t think someone deserves to lose life due to internal party elections.”
Mabika was not injured but failed to attend the PCC meeting Sunday.
Madiro, threatened the perpetrators of violence against party members, that they would soon face the full wrath of the law.
“I had to announce this whilst you are here boss (Engelbert Rugeje) because when I was attacked, I thought our members had learnt a lesson, but it is a fuss that our vice-chairperson was attacked again.”
Rugeje is a Zanu PF Politburo member.
Madiro added: “Those who are perpetrating this kind of violence should be warned that the law will soon catch up with you.”
Zanu PF provincial elections are expected to be held before December 31, and according to Rugeje he had received 288 curriculum vitaes from aspiring party members who are vying for positions within the main wing, women and youth leagues.
Tinashe Sambiri|Tough-talking MDC Alliance vice chairperson Hon Job Sikhala has said Zanu PF is a demonic party given its record of terrorising citizens.
Sikhala condemned the harassment of Chief Murinye by Zanu PF deputy president Constantino Chiwenga.
Chiwenga is accused of using raw military tactics in civilian politics.
“Leadership is not about being feared. A leader must be respected and not worshipped.
The moment you throw threats around & amplify how powerful u are, u must know u hv lost it.
A leader with people on his side respect the right of people to speak out.
ZANU PF is a demon party,” Hon Sikhala wrote on Twitter.
Tinashe Sambiri|Online rights group Team Pachedu has challenged the Zanu PF monopoly on Pfumvudza inputs.
Individuals thought to be against the Zanu PF regime are being denied farming inputs across the country.
In addition, Zanu PF is sidelining elected MDC Alliance councillors.
Read Team Pachedu’s statement below: We, the tax payers, are funding the Pfumvudza and the Presidential input schemes.
However, in areas where the local councillor is MDC, ZANU-PF shadow councillors are the ones who are given the inputs to distribute to ZANU-PF members only.
Chief Murinye is not a hero.
He violated Section 281 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which states that traditional leaders “must not be members of any political party and must not further the interests of any political party.
Highlanders coach Mandla Mpofu has blasted the match officials who took charge of their 1-0 defeat to Manica Diamonds on Sunday.
Bosso slumped to their second successive loss in the league, thanks to Tichaona Mabvura’s 8th minute goal from the spot.
The penalty come after Peter Mudhuwa handled inside the box.
Mpofu, however, feels the incident was too hash and influenced the outcome of the game.
“We could have won it but some people have denied us victory and chose to decide the result of the encounter.
“We are going back and make sure we start collecting maximum points. That is part of the game,” the gaffer said.
Despite not happy with the referee’s performance, Mpofu said he was impressed with how both teams played.
He added: “This was an exciting match apart from the result that we got. Both teams played some good football. It was exciting for me, to be honest.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Former Warriors and Dynamos midfield ace Justice Majabvi believes the national team can do well at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals, if they are focused and determined.
Norman Mapeza’s charges will step on Cameroonian soil for the 33rd edition of the biannual showpiece in which they are in Group B, alongside Senegal, Malawi and Guinea.
Progression to the group stages of the tournament has evaded the Warriors since their maiden appearance in Tunisia in 2004, but Majabvi believes all that can change, if the team is focussed on the challenge.
“Its a bit tough,” admitted Majabvi.
“Malawi are our neighbours, they are inspired and they really know what is Zimbabwean football is like, but we can still snatch a win. Guinea is tricky, we might need a more aggressive approach, as they can be a hard team to beat. Senegal are more of favourites, they have the quality in their team. Banking on high profile players in top European leagues, but we can surprise them if we are focused,” he said.
The Warriors are heading into AFCON on the back of a very disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign in which they finished bottom of Group G with only two points and Majabvi insists that was a missed opportunity to book a place at the global showpiece for the first time.
“It was dissappointing. I think we lacked maximum preparations towards the campaign and we as a country don’t look at the importance of the sport. That was probably one other chance to qualify for World Cup but it didnt go the way we wanted for the sake of how we treat those games,” he explained.
“We simply lack passion in these campaigns, we just fullfil fixtures. It must not be only players but everyone involved must do his her job in their area.”
It was also after the World Cup qualifying campaign that poster-boy Khama Billiat retired from international football after a glittering career spanning a decade and Majabvi says the nimble-footed winger’s decision is understandable, one which he also respects.
“Its a decision made, he feels done. Internationally, the boy did well for the nation in so many years. When its time its time.I personally respect his decision,” he said.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Dynamos returned to winning ways after edging out Cranbourne Bullets 1-0 in a rescheduled matchday three encounter played at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday.
The Glamour Boys lost their previous round tie in Triangle, and they needed a second-minute goal from Shadreck Nyahwa to register their second win of the season.
Nyahwa netted the effort with a tap-in from a close range off Albert Eonde’s cross.
Bill Antonio could have doubled the lead on the quarter-hour, but his shot from inside the box missed the target by inches.
Dynamos continued to make threats, and again, they were denied another golden opportunity when Juan Mutudza hit the post with five minutes to the break.
On the other end, Bullets were constantly kept at bay and never made any meaningful threat in the first half.
They tried to lift their pace in the second period and created a couple of attacks.
MacClint Namakhoma had the best chance for his side on minute 75 but fluffed the opportunity when he scooped his effort over from an unmissable position.
Dembare were also presented with another good chance a few moments later, but Stephen Chatikobo missed a sitter from a close range.
The scoreline remained unchanged, and Dynamos secured the victory.
At Sakubva, Highlanders slumped to their second successive defeat after losing 1-0 to Manica Diamonds.
Tichaona Mabvura scored the solitary goal from the spot in the 8th minute. The penalty came after Bosso’s Peter Mudhuwa handled inside the box.
The result lifted the Gem Boys to the top of the log with nine points, while Highlanders remained without a win and in the drop zone.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
By MDC Alliance | Armed riot Police have violently disrupted a Christmas Charity Event being hosted by President Nelson Chamisa at Zimbabwe Hall in Highfield this afternoon. No explanation has yet been given for the unlawful conduct by the Police.
Warriors captain Knowledge Musona will not be traveling to Zimbabwe to join his teammates when they commence preparations for AFCON 2021, and will instead meet up with them in Cameroon, Soccer24 has gathered.
The 31-year old, who is on the books of Saudi Arabian top-flight side Al Tai, will lead Zimbabwe at the continental showpiece, having done so in the last one in Egypt in 2019.
Norman Mapeza’s charges are expected to start preparations for the biannual spectacle in Harare on December 23, but Musona will not join his teammates.
Team Manager Wellington Mpandare revealed that Musona’s last game for Al Tai will be on the 31st of December, hence he will fly directly to Cameroon right after.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson on Sunday said he warned the late prominent human rights champion Dewa Mavhinga against coming to Zimbabwe.
Mavhinga died mysteriously two weeks ago in Johannesburg.
Addressing mourners at the burial of the veteran human rights defender in Hwirisha, Chikomba, President Chamisa narrated how he tried to stop Mavhinga from visiting Zimbabwe.
President Chamisa, quoted by NewsDay said:
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come.
He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique.
He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights.
It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker.
He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
President Chamisa also posted on Twitter:
In CHIKOMBA Hwirisha..Laying to rest a Hero and Democrat DEWA MAVHINGA. A leader par excellence.A solid family anchor.A community leader in development. A global icon. A human rights defender.A pillar & Cde in the struggle for freedom. An intellectual giant. RIP beloved brother.
Let’s not underestimate the impact that Rhodes has on the future of Zimbabwe* Rhode’s grave brings in a minimum of USD300,000 per year to Zimbabwe’s economy through his family connections around the world and those who want to follow in his footsteps.
This means over USD35,700,000 since his death 119 years ago.
Cecil John Rhodes’ grave
This is a dead man, we all have a history and he is a man who has a great history whether it’s good or bad it is part of Zimbabwe’s history and we can never erase it. There is no Zimbabwe without Cecil John Rhodes, like it or not the best we can do as a nation is make lots of money from those that worship him. For God’s sake it’s only a grave and this man will never rise again. Lets make money from it, lots and lots of money. The negativity of this exercise is disastrous, we have done the same to Former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and what guarantee is there that you will be buried in Zimbabwe and your grave will remain here. We are Africans and the wishes of a dead person are always respected. what has happened to our African culture and values who are we to defy a dead man’s wish. Let’s respect Rhodes and protect what he did and make flipping lots of money from his tourists.
By the way where is the grave of Lobengula, Chaminuka and even Shaka Zulu why are we not making money from them. Stop fighting the whiteman he is part of our history no matter what. Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson on Sunday said he warned the late prominent human rights champion Dewa Mavhinga against coming to Zimbabwe.
Mavhinga died mysteriously two weeks ago in Johannesburg.
Addressing mourners at the burial of the veteran human rights defender in Hwirisha, Chikomba, President Chamisa narrated how he tried to stop Mavhinga from visiting Zimbabwe.
President Chamisa, quoted by NewsDay said:
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come.
He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique.
He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights.
It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker.
He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
President Chamisa also posted on Twitter:
In CHIKOMBA Hwirisha..Laying to rest a Hero and Democrat DEWA MAVHINGA. A leader par excellence.A solid family anchor.A community leader in development. A global icon. A human rights defender.A pillar & Cde in the struggle for freedom. An intellectual giant. RIP beloved brother.
On 26 November 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern (VOC), on the basis of advice from WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution.
The variant has been given the name Omicron. Omicron variant is a highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations, including 26-32 in the spike protein, some of which are concerning and may be associated with humoral immune escape potential and higher transmissibility
As of 16 December 2021, the Omicron variant has been identified in 89 countries across all six WHO regions.
Current understanding of the Omicron variant will continue to evolve as more data becomes available.
The overall threat posed by Omicron largely depends on four key questions, including: (1) how transmissible the variant is; (2) how well vaccines and prior infection protect against infection, transmission, clinical disease and death; (3) how virulent the variant is compared to other variants; and (4) how populations understand these dynamics, perceive risk and follow control measures, including public health and social measures. Public health advice is based on current information and will be tailored as more evidence emerges around those key questions. There is consistent evidence that Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta. It is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time between 1.5–3 days. Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity and it remains uncertain to what extent the observed rapid growth rate can be attributed to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility or a combination of both. However, given current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace Delta where community transmission occurs. There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron. More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity. Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to rise, and given rapidly increasing case counts, it is possible that many healthcare systems may become quickly overwhelmed. Preliminary data suggest that there is a reduction in neutralizing titres against Omicron in those who have received a primary vaccination series or in those who have had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection , which may suggest a level of humoral immune evasion. There are still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron. Preliminary findings of vaccine effectiveness studies (test-negative design) were obtained from South Africa and England, the United Kingdom. Available preliminary data to be interpreted with caution as the designs may be subject to selection bias and the results are based on relatively small numbers. Results from England indicate a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for Omicron compared to Delta after two vaccine doses of either Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty or AstraZeneca-Vaxzevria vaccines. There was, however, higher effectiveness two weeks after a Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty booster, which was slightly lower or comparable to that against Delta. A non peer-reviewed study by South Africa researchers using private health insurance data reported reductions in vaccine effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech-Comirnaty vaccine against infection, and to a lesser degree against hospitalization. Details about the methods or results were not available at the time of writing. The diagnostic accuracy of routinely used PCR and antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) assays does not appear to be impacted by Omicron. Most Omicron variant sequences reported include a deletion in the S gene, which can cause an S gene target failure (SGTF) in some PCR assays. Though a minority of publicly-shared sequences lack this deletion, SGTF can be used as a proxy marker to screen for Omicron. However, confirmation should be obtained by sequencing, as this deletion can also be found in other VOCs (e.g. Alpha and subsets of Gamma and Delta) circulating at low frequencies globally. Therapeutic interventions for the management of patients with severe or critical COVID-19 associated with the Omicron variant that target host responses (such as corticosteroids, and interleukin 6 receptor blockers) are expected to remain effective. However, preliminary data from preprint publications suggest that some of the monoclonal antibodies developed against SARS-CoV-2 may have decreased neutralization against Omicron. Monoclonal antibodies will need to be tested individually for their antigen binding and virus neutralization, and these studies should be prioritized To view previous versions of this technical brief, please see the links below. The current version of all WHO information products and publications is authoritative.
Tinashe Sambiri|Tough-talking MDC Alliance vice chairperson Hon Job Sikhala has said Zanu PF is a demonic party given its record of terrorising citizens.
Sikhala condemned the harassment of Chief Murinye by Zanu PF deputy president Constantino Chiwenga.
Chiwenga is accused of using raw military tactics in civilian politics.
“Leadership is not about being feared. A leader must be respected and not worshipped.
The moment you throw threats around & amplify how powerful u are, u must know u hv lost it.
A leader with people on his side respect the right of people to speak out.
ZANU PF is a demon party,” Hon Sikhala wrote on Twitter.
By A Correspondent- A 20 year old Form 6 pupil at Churchill Boys High School was arrested for writing the Ordinary Level Shona examination for a friend whom he charged US$3.
Leon Chimufombo on Saturday appeared before Harare magistrate Noticia Shenje and was charged with contravening the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council Act and sitting, or attempting to present himself at an examination with the intention of impersonating another person.
He was jointly charged with Tanaka Mudorozi (18), who is the student that sought his services.
The duo was represented by Lucky Dube and was released on free bail to January 17.
The complainant, Zimsec, is represented by its security and loss control manager only identified as Nyabonde.
The State alleges that Mudozori gave his school uniform to Chimufombo so that he would be disguised as a Form 4 student and sit for the Zimsec Shona Paper 1, 2021 examination on his behalf.
The plot was exposed by an invigilator who noticed that Chimufombo was writing the exam for Mudzori since he knew the latter.
Chimufombo was arrested and he implicated Mudozori, who was also apprehended.
By A Correspondent- A leader of the Johanne Masowe Echishanu, Andby Makururu has pledged allegiance to the ruling Zanu-PF party, saying President Emmerson Mnangagwa was economically empowering members of his sect.
“I realised that if a person is poverty stricken, he or she will start to think to vote for the opposition party, but President Mnangagwa has always urged us to work hard,” Makururu told members of his sect at a prayer session.
He said members of his sect, one of the largest apostolic groupings in the country, would support Mnangagwa in the elections expected in 2023.
“All my church members are going to vote for Mnangagwa in 2023, and how I am going to do that, you can ask me. Poverty is the number one enemy, and so I am supporting my church members with poultry, bakery and other projects so that they can self-sustain,” he said.
“Mnangagwa has the country at heart and we are fully behind him. As church leaders, we are there to provide spiritual guidance to the President.”
Recently, Makururu launched a women’s empowerment programme under which women from the sect would get loans from the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank to start businesses
By A Correspondent- New political outfit, Freedom Alliance unveiled its leaders at a congress held at White City Stadium in Bulawayo at the weekend.
The congress ran on Friday and Saturday.
Public policy and development expert Samukele Hadebe was voted president, while former Peace and Reconciliation minister Moses Mzila Ndlovu, who is also the leader of Alliance for National Salvation (Ansa) is one of the deputy presidents.
Other deputy presidents are former Mthwakazi Republic Party vice-president Presia Ngulube and Senzeni Mpofu.
Nkayi businessman Mqondisi Ndebele was voted national chairperson, while Beauty Ndlovu will deputise him.
Njabulo Ngwenya was voted the secretary-general, Kauhelo Sebata is the senior deputy secretary-general, and Sipho Moyo was voted the deputy secretary for administration, and Nhlanhla Ncube clinched the deputy secretary-general (communications) post, and the treasurer-general is Nomathemba Ndebele.
Freedom Alliance was formed by different stakeholders in Matabeleland who include individual citizens, civic society members, political parties, the diaspora community and church organisations.
The outfit maintains that it was not a political party, adding that it sought to address governance and development imbalances that have affected Matabeleland region since independence through mobilising votes for people with the region’s interests at heart regardless of political affiliation ahead of the 2023 elections.
Ncube said the Freedom Alliance was formed soon after the Matabeleland people’s convention held from May 9 to 14 this year.
“It includes people from various walks of life, organisations and those from diverse cultural backgrounds who came together to form Freedom Alliance,” Ncube said.
He said their target voters were people from Matabeleland and Midlands regions.
“The alliance is not a political party; hence everyone retains their positions in their political parties. They remain members, but they become an alliance to harvest the efforts and energies to see the end of Matabeleland marginalisation, poverty, abuse and resource exploitation,” he said.
By A Correspondent- University of Kent law lecturer Alex Magaisa said that exiled former ZANU PF officials, the so-called G40 kingpins, have not changed and will still abuse power if given another chance.
Posting on the microblogging site, Twitter, Magaisa said the likes of Patrick Zhuwao and Jonathan Moyo are still as vile as they were during the Robert Mugabe era and behave as if they have title deeds to name-calling.
Magaisa was responding to Zhuwao, a nephew to the late former president Robert Mugabe, who had suggested that his latest BSR was a personal attack on Jonathan Moyo and other former G4O kingpins. Below is Magaisa’s post in its entirety:
[Patrick Zhuwao] you say I want to silence you and your friend, Prof Jonathan Moyo. I have no such power.
You silenced yourselves by the egregious abuse of power during your time in govt.
You lost the moral authority to speak on issues that you now claim to be champions of.
Check your friend’s record when he was Information Minister and how many journalists, media houses and citizens he mocked and silenced when he had the power to promote freedom.
Daily News press bombing, Capital Radio, ZBC journalists, foreign journalists like Andrew Meldrum.
You behaved like demigods as if power would not end. And I haven’t even mentioned the abuse of Morgan Tsvangirai, the name-calling and the disgusting, cruel and hurtful words when Itai Dzamara was abducted and caused to disappear in 2015 when you were all in government.
And even now, you both behave like you have title deeds to name-calling. I wanted to show that you have not changed, notwithstanding the pontification over the last 4 years of exile.
You’re still the same vile characters who revel in using uncouth language towards others.
You clearly haven’t come to terms with losing power. And your conduct in recent days confirms what I (and probably others) always suspected: that if given another chance in or near power you will be just as vile and dangerous as you were during the Mugabe regime.
The axe might forget, but the tree never does. It’s tough and traumatic to be in exile; to be unable to return home because kwakaberekera ngwena.
Humility is an underrated but beautiful thing. Respect the people that suffered abuse. Deal with the reality of the post-power phase.
Meanwhile, Zhuwao did not take Magaisa’s criticism lying down but sarcastically referred to the academic as “Mighty Professor Magaisa”. Said Zhuwao:
I don’t claim to be a champion of anything oh Mighty Professor [Alex Magaisa]. I only urged my colleagues to not give up politics because the ranks of the opposition are bereft of politically astute characters.
By A Correspondent- Bus operators are increasing security measures on their buses following a rise in armed robbery cases on buses.
Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation chairman Sam Nanhanga on Sunday said they were going to use metal detectors to prevent people with machetes or guns from boarding buses. Said Nanhanga:
We are going to have metal detectors to make sure that no persons with guns and other harmful metal objects board the bus.
Even if a person is just carrying a machete, they will be detected and will not be allowed to get into the bus.
From now, we are going to use those detecting gadgets because if we do not do that, we will be victims of robberies, especially during this festive season.
This is to ensure the safety of the passengers and the bus crews as well.
Buses have become easy targets for armed robbers who sometimes board buses pretending to be passengers while carrying dangerous weapons.
Last week on Tuesday evening, a gang of armed robbers pounced on a CAG Travellers Coaches bus at the 325km peg along the Harare-Chirundu highway.
The robbers, who have since been arrested, undressed all passengers before escaping with the clothes and more than US$20 000.
By A Correspondent- A twenty year old man from Kezi, Mtsuli Village under Chief Malaba, Matabeleland South province, committed suicide following a misunderstanding with his grandfather over an unspecified issue.
Indications are that after the argument, the now-deceased Ashton Ncube packed his clothes and left home by bicycle.
He hanged himself on a tree using a shoelace last Thursday.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena last Friday told Southern Eye that: “I can confirm that police in Matabeleland South are investigating a case of sudden death involving Ashton Ncube (20), who allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree using a shoelace on December 16 at around 10am following an alleged misunderstanding with his grandfather,” Mangena said.
She said on December 12, Ncube was berated by his grandfather over his behaviour, which did not go down well with him.
Mangena said Ncube’s body was discovered by villagers in a nearby bush.
The villagers informed his grandfather before reporting the matter to police.
“His body was transferred to St Joseph Hospital for post-mortem. We urge members of the public to consult third parties to resolve their differences. No problem is beyond solution,” she said.
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has apologised to its customers in Harare for a power outage that it blamed on underground cable faults.
In a public notice, ZETDC said the areas affected by the power outage are Overspill, Solani, Munyuki, Makomo, Kubatana Primary School area, Glenwood, Mabvuku, Tafara, New Ardbennie Industrial area, Sunshine Bazaar, Plymouth road and Simon Mazorodze road, Tynwald South, ZIMRE, Kuwadzana, Sawley Way, Admiral Tait road and Chinyika road, Gletwyn, parts of The Grange and Hayhill, Chitungwiza Unit L and the surrounding areas.
Power outages are common in Zimbabwe during the rain season, with the problem of load shedding worsened by trees falling on power lines, plunging households into darkness.
ZETDC has often been criticised by electricity users for its failure to respond timeously to faults.
By A Correspondent- A campaign to decriminalise sex work was last week launched in Bulawayo with the aim of lobbying policymakers to consider sex as a profession.
The campaign was launched by the Sexual Rights Centre (SRC) last week on Wednesday which emphasised that sex workers should speak with one voice in fighting for their rights.
SRC programmes co-ordinator Nombulelo Madonko yesterday told Southern Eye that they want sex work to be decriminalised.
“We are launching the decriminalisation of sex work in Zimbabwe strategy with the Zimbabwe Sex Workers Alliance. This launch will be held together with sex worker-led organisations to garner support towards crafting of policies to decriminalise their profession,” Madonko said.
“We will lobby other sex workers throughout the country to join the campaign through their provincial co-ordinators,” she said.
Madonko said sex workers would also drum up support from their counterparts in the rural areas.
“We are using the footprint of the provincial co-ordinators to speak to sex workers and capacitate them to ensure that we get their support. We want sex work to be decriminalised because the operating environment is not what it was about 10 years ago.
“We are thankful to the June 2015 Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling that correctly interpreted the law, which was being misused to arrest sex workers. After getting arrested, sex workers were charged for contravening council by-laws with crimes such as loitering and blocking pavements,” she said.
Madonko said the ConCourt ruling allowed sex workers to do their work freely at night on the streets without being arrested.
She said sex workers had encountered several other challenges including being assaulted, murdered by clients, adding that their body parts were being used for ritual purposes.
“I will refer to the most recent case where a sex worker was found dead in a hotel room and had the number 666 inscribed on her stomach. This is not the only case. There are a number of murder cases of sex workers that go unreported, but they come to our attention at SRC.”
She said sex work should be recognised like any other job, adding that sex workers should be respected and allowed to operate freely.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Bulawayo residents in Pumula North are living in fear due to heavy blasting works at a nearby Chinese quarry mine.
A Chinese firm, Haulin Quarry Mining Company is conducting quarry mining on the outskirts of Pumula North suburb near Pumula High School and Methodist village.
Residents expressed concern over the explosion and noise pollution emanating from the mining site.
They told Southern Eye that they felt the ground shaking from the blasting activities at the site.
Chairperson of the Unemployed Association and founder of the Pumula Leadership Forum Givemore Mangena said they were worried about the effects of the blasting that might lead to infrastructural damage.
“We are worried about our houses and the school.
“The noise is too much and it might demolish our houses and the school,” he said.
Mangena said residents were considering reporting the matter to the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) so that it demands an environmental impact assessment from the Chinese company, and to find out if the residents’ properties are safe.
The Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association executive council secretary for administration Thembelani Dube, said the effects of explosions were discussed by the residents and the director of Haulin Quarry Mining Company, Hau Haung.
He said the outcome of the meeting was that they would be a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the company and residents on the issue.
“A verbal agreement is not enough, a memorandum of understanding should legalise the company’s dealings in the community in case there are infrastructural damages.
“The affected people should be compensated in the event of a crisis,” he said.
Dube said Haung showed them that the company was properly documented.
He said Ema and council were also engaged on the possible effects of the Chinese company’s blasting activities.
“The positive issues outnumbered the negatives, hence Haung was allowed to operate.
“The company’s 10-year lease is set to expire in 2031,” he said.
Haung agreed to sign a MoU with residents, and assured them that the company will ensure that the blasting does not cause any damage to their houses.
“”I am sorry about the damage caused, it will never happen again.
“This blasting is not a long-term thing.
“I have also ordered the engineers to reduce the explosives,” Haung said.
Ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo could not immediately comment on the issue as she said she was in a meeting.
The noise pollution is affecting people in Pumula South and Magwegwe West which is 3km away.
By A Correspondent- Former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa has alleged that he was being persecuted by suspected Zanu-PF activists and that graft allegations against him were a plot by the ruling party to have him arrested.
In a statement, Mutasa said the government and Zanu-PF had engineered the corruption allegations.
“It is political vengeance and persecution. Unfortunately, it is led and supported by Zanu-PF enablers in ZCTU who seek to hoodwink workers into believing that this is a genuine concern. Firstly, the report to Zacc (Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission) was made just before the past ZCTU conference,” Mutasa said.
“Zanu-PF senior officials were already warning me of the impending audit and arrest. That is also why some publications were writing defamatory articles against me. In all the articles, they cited Zanu-PF enablers within ZCTU despite their denials.”
He said he had nothing to fear as the charges were trumped up and the whole thing was political persecution driven by vengeance.
On December 9, presidential spokesperson, George Charamba warned that Mutasa would soon be caged over alleged “transgressions” and misuse of funds during his tenure at the helm of the ZCTU.
Moyo said reports of his “imminent arrest” were given prominence last week towards the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition annual general meeting to harm his chances of getting nominated for the chairperson position.
“This report was meant to be used to cause my arrest should the voting delegates’ numbers support my re-election. This would ensure I was removed from the conference processes and lose by default. This was put on hold when the other team realised that they could win.
“Secondly, this report is meant to silence me against the regime or its backers in ZCTU.”
Mutasa lost the ZCTU presidency in October to Florence Taruvinga, who became the first female president of the organisation since independence.
Taruvinga works for Zesa as a technician and was ZCTU’s first vice-president.
Valentine Chikosi and Nicholas Mazarura were elected first and second vice-presidents respectively, while Douglas Chiradza was elected as treasurer-general.
Japhet Moyo remains the secretary-general.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has decried the plight of migrants in South Africa, whom it says were being denied healthcare among other necessities.
In a recent MSF’s Limpopo mobility survey report, it stated that denial of access to healthcare services in South Africa was common.
The report reveals a range of challenges faced by migrants on their journeys to and from South Africa, including high rates of sexual violence in border towns and communities, long stays in detention in South Africa for Zimbabweans, language barriers to healthcare access for central African migrants and more.
The report was released on Saturday in commemoration of the annual Migrants Day, which falls on December 18 each year.
The project co-ordinator for the MSF migration project in Beitbridge, Rinako Uenishi, urged authorities to assist migrants who face dehumanising challenges.
“Having arrived at these insights, we share our concerns with authorities to advocate for better migrant conditions,” Uenishi said.
“Our interviews revealed that many migrants spend protracted periods in detention facilities, a quarter of respondents had spent more than a year locked up, with limited access to healthcare and basic needs. This is a real problem, both from a medical and human rights perspective.”
The MSF survey found that respondents spent time in more than two facilities on average, with living conditions in police stations reported as being poorer than prisons and the Lindela Repatriation Centre.
Only 26% of the interviewees had been tested for HIV and 9,4% for tuberculosis, most in Lindela or prison.
It said in police stations, the rates are much lower.
“There are some reports of transactional sex and forced sex in certain facilities, yet respondents reported very poor access to condoms in detention, especially in Lindela,” Uenishi said.
MSF regional migration referent Vinayak Bhardwaj said: “Many of those whose papers expire before they are able to renew endure inhumane and often illegal conditions of arrest and detention prior to deportation, heightening the risks of contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Bhardwaj pointed out that the MSF team in Beitbridge reports an 80% positivity rate among returning residents who are tested for COVID-19 at the border.-newsday
Zanu PF youth member, Sybeth Musengezi, has vowed to maintain his case against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ascendency to the helm of the ruling party.
Musengezi alleges Mnangagwa illegally took power in 2017 from then-president Robert Mugabe following a military coup.
He approached the High Court in Bulawayo last month and filed an application asking the court to invalidate Mnangagwa’s alleged power grab.
Mnangagwa’s lawyers wrote to Musengezi last month demanding he withdraw the case, but he is having none of it.
In his application before the High Court, Musengezi said that the ZANU PF Central Committee appointed Mnangagwa as the party president and first secretary on 19 November 2017 in violation of the constitution.
He wants the decision by the Central Committee declared null and void. Musengezi said:
I realised that he is an illegal leader, he ascended to power in an illegal manner through the 19 November 2019 meeting which was held against the party constitution.
According to the party constitution the meeting that they purported to have held on19 November 2017 was not convened properly the person who superintended that meeting did not have the mandate as per the party constitution, only President Mugabe at that time could preside over that meeting in his absence.
Cde Mphoko Phelekezela who was the Vice President is the one who was supposed to take over in the event that President Mugabe is not available because Emmerson Mnangagwa had been expelled.
Mnangagwa was voted the president of Zimbabwe in 2018, less than a year after taking over from late president Robert Mugabe, who had ruled the country for37 years.
By A Correspondent- Exiled former ZANU PF officials accuse UK-based Zimbabwean constitutional law expert, Alex Magaisa of an unwarranted attack against them using his blog, The Big Saturday Read (BSR).
Former cabinet minister Patrick Zhuwawo, who now resides in South Africa said Magaisa’s latest BSR, titled “Post Power Syndrome”,
… appears to target [Jonathan Moyo] in particular but mentions [Saviour Kasukuwere] myself in a weak attempt to make the article appear to be a conceptual piece although it is an ad hominem attack on [Jonathan Moyo].
An “ad hominem” response is an argument or reaction directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
Zhuwao, Kasukuwere and Moyo were alleged members of Generation 40 (G40) a ZANU PF faction that was attempting to take control of the ruling party during the late former president Robert Mugabe’s twilight years.
In a tweet on Monday last week, Prof suggested that the MDC Alliance should channel the US$120 000 donated by party supporters to buy party president Nelson Chamisa an armoured vehicle to purchase offices and bicycles for polling agents for the 2023 elections.
Dai ndiri shiri ndai buda mudungeon mangu ndobhururuka ndodzokera kudheni; ende dai ndiri 2023 presidential candidate ndine USD120K, ndaitsvaga vashandi vanoshandira musangano wangu kana kuti ndaitenga office, kana mabhasikoro emapolling agents kumaward centres!
In his latest BSR published on 17 December, Magaisa argued that people who have been in power for a long time manifest what psychologists refer to as “post-power syndrome” when they leave office. He wrote:
Post-power syndrome is a condition that afflicts individuals who believe they have power or status in society long after they have left their positions of power.
Typically, an individual who used to hold a position of power and influence, whether in a company, organization, or the state, but now they no longer have it.
We may, for convenience, refer to this stage when they no longer have power as the post-power phase.
For individuals suffering the post-power syndrome, they will be physically out of power, but mentally, they will still be wielding power and influence.
Turning to former ZANU PF officials who lost cabinet posts after the November 2017 military coup, Magaisa said:
The coup swept them away, leaving them without power. Some had to flee into exile while others were thrown from pillar to post in the politicized criminal justice system.
The post-power phase has not been easy for them although each of them has handled it in different ways. Some like Professor Jonathan Moyo remain vocal in the political arena, while by contrast, former police boss Augustine Chihuri has been on mute since the coup.
Mandi Chimene is allegedly holed up in Mozambique while others like Saviour Kasukuwere and Patrick Zhuwao are living in South Africa.
Dr Ignatius Chombo, who was detained and tortured during the coup, has been dragged around the courts to no avail.
Posting on Twitter, Moyo seemingly criticised Magaisa’s analysis, describing it as “egregiously unscholarly” and “anti-intellectual”. Said Moyo:
Zizi risina nyanga rinotora a concept from a political science textbook for undergraduate freshmen; roghaya kuti better riyishandise as a psychoanalytic tool for a sophomoric composition about the dynamics of political power; to entertain and amuse legions of thoughtless trolls!
It’s egregiously unscholarly and therefore anti-intellectual to lift concepts from undergraduate textbooks and abuse them to pre-analytically describe political phenomena that one has not empirically researched; and for which there’s no baseline research done by other scholars!
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday told mourners at the burial of the late human rights activist, Dewa Mavhinga that he had warned him not to come back to Zimbabwe, a few days before he died.
Mavhinga, who was southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, succumbed to COVID-19 on December 6, in South Africa.
Chamisa at Dewa Mavhinga burial
The Human Rights Watch said Mavhinga had died a few days after he returned to Johannesburg from a research mission in Zimbabwe.
He was laid to rest yesterday at his rural home in Chivhu, where several senior opposition party members, civic society members, and human right activists were in attendance.
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come,”Chamisa said.
“He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique. He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights. It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker. He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
He also described Mavhinga as an intelligent cadre who was determined to fight rights abuse.
Mavhinga started his career in human rights as deputy co-ordinator at the forum’s International Liaison Office in London from April 2007 to April 2008. He then joined the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional office in South Africa before joining the Human Rights Watch.
He started as a senior researcher and advocate before being elevated to the position of director, a post he held until his death.
In 2012, Mavhinga co-founded the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute. He was also the founding chairperson of the Living Together Institute and also a board member for the Savanna Arts Trust Theatre Group. Newsday
News that VP Chiwenga threatened Chief Murinye is wrong and disturbing on every level. This is exactly how Mugabe operated, threatening all those who had divergent views. Leadership should listen to people & not threaten them. We are all under Chiefs. Politicians sandivo vene venyika.
There is freedom of expression which the Chiefs can also exercise and they speak on behalf of the people. They can’t be threatened over that. Chiefs were independent and apolitical but ZANU PF got them involved in politics yet when they press a divergent button you attack them.
You dragged them into politics so accept all versions of that involvement. We can’t be a country where people are afraid of expressing their views. Hatingarambe tichichikidzira vanhu. We can’t be a country known for abusing its people.
Some of us joined and pushed for the new dispensation because we felt that we would have a new narrative and a different governance system. You came up with the mantra the voice of the people is the voice of God. What has happened to that?
Chief Murinye should not retract what he said because it’s the truth. Let’s be tolerant of the truth. Mwari ndiye muridzi wenyika ino kwete imi. You cannot threaten us all for saying what is true. Hamusimi varidzi venyika.
If I had known that this is what the removal of Mugabe means then I would not have allowed myself to suffer imprisonment; go to foreign Gvts to lobby against their military intervention, stop SADC from sending troops etc. Let’s not forget who played which role.
When you are in power be humble, have equanimity, be magnanimous. Don’t abuse your power and bully those under you. Listen to the concerns of all, women, youths, war veterans, Chiefs, masvikiro, church leaders, etc then we know it’s the Zimbabwe that we want.
We have no desire to lead but simply need the leaders present to do things in the proper way. Leaders who push for our desires. I’m disappointed with all this. You, Hon VP, sacrificed for a better Zimbabwe but this is not the way to go about it.
You can’t be using that position to intimidate people. People should be free to greet you and laugh with you in the street not to fear you. Ushe madzoro and what goes around comes around.
By -A Chinese national is wanted by the police in connection with a child marriage case involving a 15-year-old Sanyati girl.
The girl is said to be from Ward 5, Chief Neuso in Sanyati district, Mashonaland West province.
Reports suggest that the victim (name withheld), was married off to the Chinese national and US$2 000 was paid to her parents as bride price on 26 November this year.
The Chinese national works as an engineer at Ringxin/Mambo Mine, the report further alleges.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident to NewsDay. He said:
As police, I can confirm that we have launched an investigation into the case. For now, we can’t comment any further despite the fact that we are still conducting investigations.
Police in Sanyati on Wednesday rescued the girl but her parents say the Chinese national is their son-in-law.
NewsDay reported sources as saying the Chinese nationals working at mines near Kadoma target young girls, mostly virgins, for marriage.
Poor families in the gold-rich area marry off their young daughters to Chinese men in an effort to make ends meet, one Tichaona Mapara observed.
The problem of child marriages is said to be rife in the three Mashonaland provinces.
“The Hard Talk with Paddington Japa Japa, ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ Qualified Professional Zimbabwean Soccer Administrator !!!!”
SUBJECT;REVOKE YOUR ILLEGAL, UNLAWFUL, DISBANDMENT ORDER OF THE FELTON KAMAMBO LEAD ZIFA BOARD, AND LET ZIMBABWEANS ENJOY THEIR MOST BELOVED GAME,GERALD MHLOTSWA’S SRC BOARD STRONGLY WARNED.!!!!!
The President of one of Zimbabwe,s largest Civic Society Organization, (ZCEO) Zimbabwe Centre For Equal Opportunities,Former Caps United FC Public Relations Manager,One of the founding Members of Zimbabwe Women Soccer League (ZWSL),a former executive Member for Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association (ZNSSA),Qualified Level one Soccer Administrator and Seasoned Politician Mr Paddington Japa Japa has challenged the Sports and Recreation Commission Chairman Gerald Mhlotswa and his Board to reverse with immediate effect,their ill informed, misguided and foolish decision to Disband the Felton Kamambo lead ZIFA Board, with only four months remaining of their term of office. The term of Office of the current Zifa Board is expiring in March 2022, although Phillip Chiyangwa has got some issues pertaining to the length of his term of office, after his take over from Curthbert Dube. Mhlotswa a former Polo Association of Zimbabwe Chairman has displayed the highest level of failure in mastering and understanding Soccer Administration issues.Gerald Mhlotswa,a legal Practioner by profession is the current SRC Board Chairman who is Politically connected to the Mnangagwa Family, through his marriage to the President,s daughter. After years of doing nothing tangible for Sports in general in Zimbabwe, the Mhlotswa lead Board decided to create a piece of History through controversy by foolishly and idiotically disbanding the current ZIFA Board, whose outcome has got far reaching quenciquencies, that is inviting Banishment by FIFA of all Zimbabwean Senior and Junior, Men and Women,s National Soccer teams, from international competitions indefinitely.Whilst Mhlotswa who has got no experience at all in dealing with Soccer administrative issues, a former Chairman of Polo Association of Zimbabwe is better Placed in dealing with horse riding issues than soccer,we demand that he must stop messing up with the world,s most Beautiful Game, as enaunciated by Brazilian Soccer legend Adson Arantes Donacimento, better known as Pele.The clueless and direction less Gerald Mlotswa SRC Board wants to be seen to be doing something, after years of failing to achieve anything meaningful for Sports in the Country .All previous SRC Boards in Zimbabwe have got well documented historical evidence of failure in terms of Sports Administration, in the country, ever since attainment of Independence from 1980, up to date. Instead of SRC disbanding the ZIFA Board actually the Government must disband the SRC Board itself,for doing nothing in terms of Sports Development.For the Mhlotswa Administration to vent its anger at an innocent ZIFA Board, that has been working very hard under very difficult Circumstances,created by the harsh economic environment that has been brought about by the ever misfiring and corrupt Zanu PF Regime, lead by President Mnangagwa, is so surprising and a shame.
Surely what else does this helpless and clueless SRC Board expect from the Felton Kamambo Zifa Board, after they managed to qualify for the January 2022, Africa Nations Cup finals in Cameroun.SRC cannot accuse Kamambo,s Board for failing to qualify for the world Cup finals, in Quatar in 2024, because ever since Independence in 1980, no Zimbabwean National Soccer team has ever qualified for the World Cup Finals. Perfomance of all previous Zifa Boards that have ever held ZIFA office since 1980, is judged by Qualification of the National Soccer teams for AFCON after every two years.
The spurious accusations that have been levelled against Kamambo,s Zifa Board do not constitute commission of serious offence, that warrants disbandment.The SRC Board falsely accused the Zifa of financial misappropriation,an accusation that has been rebutted by the Magistrate Courts and Police Investigations. kamambo and his Board Members were recently exonerated by the courts after a full trial, if there was any true misappropriation of funds, then the Courts were suppose to find them guilty and convict them to jail sentence.Mhlostwa and his rag tag SRC gang also tried to mislead the Nation by falsely accusing the ZIFA Board Members of Sexual harassment of female referees, why is there not even one single Report with ZRP, by the alleged victims of the said sexual harassment, sexual harassment qualifies for criminal prosecution under the Criminal Law Code and reform Act, which means its all cooked up stories, in an attempt to tarnish the good images of the current ZIFA Board Members.
As Zimbabweans we cannot allow our Beautiful game of Soccer to be destroyed by a bunch of misguided SRC Board, who are using there political connections to ban innocent ZIFA Board Members.As ZCEO we are demanding for the immediate revocation of the SRC banishment order imposed on the Felton Kamambo ZIFA Board, and immediate reinstatement of the Board to their previous Status Quo. We cannot allow ourselves to be abused and taken advantage of by Gerald Mhlotswa, s Political connections with the first family. Failure to lift the illegal and unlawful ban of the ZIFA Board by the clueless bunch at SRC, means we shall be left with no option.As Zimbabweans who want to see our National Soccer team participating at AFCON Finals in January 2022, we shall apply for Permission under (MOPA) Maintenance of Public Order Act, to the Officer Commanding Harare Police District,for permission to demonstrate against those SRC Board Members, so that they can resign and leave office with immediate effect. Millions of Soccer loving Zimbabweans cannot be prejudiced of their constitutional right to watch their beloved National Soccer team playing at AFCON Finals in January 2022.Most of theose SRC Board Members have never played soccer since childhood, hence they understand little about Soccer Administration.
THE AUTHOR OF THIS WELL RESEARCHED ARTICLE PADDINGTON JAPA JAPA,IS A QUALIFIED LEVEL ONE SOCCER ADMINISTRATOR,ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF WOMEN SOCCER IN ZIMBABWE,FORMER CAPS UNITED PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER,MDCA NEC/NC MEMBER,EVANGELIST AND TEACHER OF GOD,S WORD,HOLDER OF BSC HONOURS PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE!!!!???????????????????????☘️?????????
By A Correspondent- There was violence Sunday at Chinhoyi University of Technology during the Mashonaland West PCC meeting, which was turned into an electoral college to discuss the impending elections.
Zanu PF youths disrupted the meeting accusing the leadership of imposing candidates who would contest in the impending elections.
Zanu PF secretary for security, Lovemore Matuke, the guest, arrested the situation and called for peace.
“As a party, we castigate violence and hate speech,” said Cde Matuke.
“Our common enemy is the opposition, while we tussle for internal positions, it shouldn’t create a rift between party members. Our party is known for conducting peaceful elections.
“We anticipate that the election is going to be held in free and fair manner, while logistics have to be met prior to the election which will be conducted by officials from other provinces.
The recently elected district members will vote in the provincial elections.
“Provincial positions are open to the district, District Coordinating Committee (DCC), central committee and Politburo members. For central committee and Politburo members, they should first relinquish their positions before vying for the provincial positions.”
Matuke said there would be thorough verification of the applications by aspiring candidates.
Addressing the same gathering, Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity, Christopher Mutsvangwa said while the party was getting into provincial elections, the outcome was supposed to leave it stronger ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections where it eyes a resounding victory.
He said the party’s policies were in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, while a double-digit economy was achievable by next year.
Five candidates have successfully submitted their CVs for the provincial chairman post for Mashonaland West — acting chairman Cde Abia Mujere; outgoing youth chairman Vengai Musengi; Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka; Makonde DCC chairman Kindness Paradza and former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation chief executive and provincial war veterans league chairman Happison Muchechetere.
By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday told mourners at the burial of the late human rights activist, Dewa Mavhinga that he had warned him not to come back to Zimbabwe, a few days before he died.
Mavhinga, who was southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, succumbed to COVID-19 on December 6, in South Africa.
The Human Rights Watch said Mavhinga had died a few days after he returned to Johannesburg from a research mission in Zimbabwe.
He was laid to rest yesterday at his rural home in Chivhu, where several senior opposition party members, civic society members, and human right activists were in attendance.
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come,”Chamisa said.
“He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique. He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights. It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker. He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
He also described Mavhinga as an intelligent cadre who was determined to fight rights abuse.
Mavhinga started his career in human rights as deputy co-ordinator at the forum’s International Liaison Office in London from April 2007 to April 2008. He then joined the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional office in South Africa before joining the Human Rights Watch.
He started as a senior researcher and advocate before being elevated to the position of director, a post he held until his death.
In 2012, Mavhinga co-founded the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute. He was also the founding chairperson of the Living Together Institute and also a board member for the Savanna Arts Trust Theatre Group.
By A Correspondent- The Ministry of Health and Child Care has directed authorities in boarding schools to ensure that learners in isolation must remain in school until they are cleared to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Schools officially closed on Friday last week but COVID-19 positive pupils will only be allowed to go home after they are cleared by health authorities.
Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director, Dr Maphios Siamuchembu confirmed the development. He said:
As schools closed, those children who are in isolation because they have tested positive for COVID-19 remain in their current isolation facilities until the end of their isolation period.
My office regrets any inconvenience caused, but we cannot deliberately allow infected people to go around spreading the virus.
Recently, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director, Taungana Ndoro revealed that over 100 schools had recorded COVID-19 cases countrywide.
Some private schools closed before the 17th of December to prevent the spread of COVID-19 following the detection of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant.-statemedia
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has launched an investigation into a case where a 15-year-old girl from Kadoma was married off to a Chinese national and forced to drop out of school.
The victim (name withheld) of ward 5, Chief Neuso in Sanyati district, Mashonaland West province was reportedly married off to the Chinese national and US$2 000 was paid to her parents as lobola on November 26 this year.
The Chinese national allegedly works at Ringxin/Mambo Mine as an engineer.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident to NewsDay.
‘‘As police, I can confirm that we have launched an investigation into the case. For now, we can’t comment any further despite the fact that we are still conducting investigations,” Nyathi said.
On Wednesday, the police in Sanyati intervened and rescued the girl, although her parents are insisting that the Chinese national is their son-in-law.
Sources say the Chinese nationals working at mines near Kadoma target young girls, mostly virgins, for marriage.
One Tichaona Mapara said the problem was being fuelled by poverty among families that live in the gold-rich area.
‘‘Several parents of unmarried virgin girls are also eyeing these Chinese men to marry off their young girls in early forced marriages,” Mapara told NewsDay.
Areas such as Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West are the worst affected by child marriages.-newsday
By A Correspondent| Self exiled former ZANU PF politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo has fired shots at University of Kent law lecturer Alex Magaisa over his latest Big Saturday Read (BSR) edition where he tackled what he termed Post Power Syndrome.
In his BSR, Magaisa said post power syndrome is a situation where someone who once wielded power or influence upon losing may fail to get over the fact that the situation would have changed.
“Whether you were a headteacher, manager, sportsperson or government minister, or senior civil servant, we are all vulnerable to a post-power syndrome, believing that we have power and influence when we no longer have it; believing we are relevant when we have lost relevance. Psychologists say post-power syndrome manifests in anxiety and sometimes depression even when we do not see it,” said Magaisa in conclusion.
This may not have gone too well with Professor Moyo who felt it was in reference to his recent criticism of the opposition MDC Alliance and Nelson Chamisa over their approach to politics since their loss to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018.
Professor Moyo accused Magaisa of borrowing undergraduate concept to unpack what he termed sophomore composition.
He also labelled the people who were revving about Magaisa’s article for being thoughtless trolls.
“Zizi risina nyanga rinotora a concept from a political science textbook for undergraduate freshmen; roghaya kuti better riyishandise as a psychoanalytic tool for a sophomoric composition about the dynamics of political power; to entertain and amuse legions of thoughtless trolls,” said Prof Moyo.
By- The Government has declared Ntabazinduna Chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni a fugitive after a Bulawayo magistrate had issued a warrant of arrest against the outspoken traditional leader for allegedly violating his bail conditions.
On November 30 in 2019, Mnangagwa stripped of all Government benefits accruing to Chief Ndiweni.
The outspoken Chief was in August 2019 sentenced to effective 18 months in jail for what the state said, ordering 23 villagers to destroy property belonging to a family that he had banished from his area.
Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, Ndiweni, through his lawyer Mr Dumisani Dube of Mathonsi Law Chambers, appealed at the High Court challenging the verdict of the lower court and the matter is still pending. He was, however, later released by Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Thompson Mabhikwa on $500 bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence.
Chief Felix Ndiweni at the COP26 Climate Change Conference
The Chiefs Residence, Ntabazinduna, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
THE CHIEFS CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW
CHIEF NHLANHLAYAMANGWE NDIWENI
PRESIDENT EMMERSON MNANGAGWA MUST RESIGN
“Arrest warrant for £7. 50 “
As already stated Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni will Challenge the “ arrest warrant “ because it has no merit. The Chief is most keen that the appeal to the “ Damages to dry bushes court cases, for which he was incarcerated for and given an 18 month sentence , which has a total value of damages to property, of the sum of USD. 10.00 “ must be heard at the High Court. Since it has now been two years of waiting for such a simple straightforward case to be heard . And it is this case that has been used to try and issue an arrest warrant. An international arrest warrant for £ 8.50 What is Zimbabwe coming to. Once discharged from treatment from the hospital, here in the United Kingdom,, Chief Ndiweni will return to Zimbabwe, irrespective as to whether the “ arrest warrant “ is there or not. For the Chief has work to do in Zimbabwe.
We live in amazing and interesting times.
We observe a government in total disarray, lurching from one crisis into another crisis. However, what is abundantly clear to all Zimbabweans, both in the country and outside the country, is that our minority government is afraid of The Vote. They have exhausted so much time and energy, trying to change the subject onto other things, in fear of The Vote.
Our government is evidently afraid, very afraid of the Zimbabwean citizen.
Here is a quotation that is centuries old, yet describes the current government. It is taken from Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome “ The more corrupt the State , the more numerous the laws “. It is centuries old ,yet perfectly describes our government
in 2021. 1 There is no doubt that our legal system and judiciary have been state captured for sometime now. The Zimbabwean High Court judge, in her affidavit, when fighting against Chief Justice Malaba and Emmerson Mnangagawa, trying to keep her job as a judge, eloquently stated that “ The judiciary has been politically weaponised “. A damning indictment from within the system.
We find the very first ever “ Job description “ in the whole world, know to humankind , written in the scriptures. This job description is very , very short but powerful, even by to days standards. It is found in the old testament in the book of Exodus 18;21. Moses listens to his father in-law “ Jethro “, advising him that he should appoint leaders and judges amongst the nation. It says in the Good News Bible “ They must be God -fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed “. A one sentence job description, that cuts through, politics, status, wealth, ideology, indeed everything. This one statement defines a Magistrate or Judge. With no other description required. Not even whether they have a Law degree or legal experience.
As a result of political meddling within the judiciary, by the current government, we have fallen far short of living up to that biblical definition, of what is a magistrate or what is a judge. Political meddling on a daily basis by the current government of the day.
We read in the press about a Chief Ndiweni who has been issued with a warrant of arrest, for breaking bail conditions and wonder who that could be. Indeed we wonder what could possibly have gone wrong here, with the said Chief Ndiweni, for such an event to occur.
Low and behold as we read we realise that, that they are referring to Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni. With shock and horror, my goodness that is us ! Wonders will never cease to happen, as our good brothers in Nollywood, Nigeria, like to say.. Imaging that, Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni again !
On the day of the judgement of our case, the Chief had an eye operation at one of the eye surgeons in Bulawayo at midday. The eye condition was and continues to be serious, for he has had this condition for over 40 years now. By 6 pm the Chief and his subjects had been found guilty and taken to Khami Remand Prison, to await sentencing the following day. The eye was evidently puffed up, swollen and running with fluid, continuously. Photographs taken of the court proceedings show the Chief wearing dark glasses, the ordinary day light was too bright for his eyes.
It was clear that the chief was still suffering from the after effects of the operation, but he did the best with what little medication he had for it. The following day they returned to the magistrates court, where upon the Chief was given an 18 month sentence for damaging dry bushes with a value of USD 10. He was sent back to Khami to begin his sentence of 18 months. Still in extreme pain from the operation the previous day.
The case of the dry bushes, that had a value of USD 10, had been politically driven by the government from beginning to end.
The foot prints of Zanu PF were everywhere, in this matter. The foot steps of political corruption were all over it. The “ The unacceptable face of corruption in the country, Mr Obert Mpofu “, was deeply implicated. Indeed foot steps which will be addressed, when a proper government takes office, for corruption and misuse of public office. For “ Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done “, as stated by Lord Hewart, the then Lord Chief Justice of England. For it would not be right and proper, to allow those who have been engaging in corruption, within this current government, to get away without facing prosecution, since they would have unleashed untold sufferings upon countless individuals. As a country, that will have to be done, in order to draw a line under these terrible 41 years, that the people have been put through. It must be seen that crime does not pay, no matter how long it takes.
Whilst in Khami Prison the Chief’s condition continued to deteriorate. Indeed the inmates and prison guards, at the prison all did their very best, to assist with what ever they could. However the condition, required a proper medical environment with proper treatment . As any physician will concur that after care following any operation is vital. However that was not the case for the Chief. As a result the incarceration of the Chief, was responsible for the deterioration of his condition. Hence he suffered a personal detriment and a disadvantage as a result. For had he not been incarcerated, that deterioration would not have occurred. His medical record of his condition clearly shows this. A matter which will have to be addressed, through litigation in due course.
The Chiefs legal team lodged the appeal at the High Court, to obtain the Chiefs release from prison and also against the whole case. The judge sitting over the matter was very swift and indeed scathing, about this whole fabricated case and immediately ordered the release of the Chief and accepted the appeal for the whole case. The judges in his summation nearly quashed the whole original case about the dry bushes that had a value of USD 10, because it had no legal merit at all but held himself back, to allow due process.
The Chief was released that evening .
The following day in the morning the Chief went back to the eye doctor, who had operated on him, since the eye condition was now well advanced. After examining the Chief, the doctor referred the Chief in writing, back to his eye hospital in the United Kingdom, where he has been treated for over 20 years. Having had over the years, many procedures and operations there.
The Chief explained his condition to his legal team. The Chief showed them the medical referral from the Bulawayo doctor to the Hospital in The United Kingdom. They said that on such medical evidence, the Chief was entitled for medical treatment, even with the bail conditions that were there. Because the situation was evident and historical, spanning over twenty years duration. They advised that he should go immediately for the treatment. The legal team advised that they would also lease with the law enforcement agents where the Chief signs every Friday. The chief also went to sign on at Ntabazinduna police station. When everything was in place for him to go to the united Kingdom for the medical treatment, the Chief signed at the police station and also reminded them,
that he was going to the United Kingdom for treatment. The police also had sight of his medical referral and medical papers to that end. At the Police station there was no electricity or a photo coping machine, to copy these documents. The police said they would engage the Chiefs Legal team on this matter.
With respect to the Chief going to the United Kingdom for medical treatment, authority was given by the police and it was a collective decision by the government and the Chiefs legal team.
And so the Chief went to his hospital in the United Kingdom for treatment. Where on arrive at the Heathrow Airport, within two hours he was on the operating table .
Had additional permission been required ,the Chief would not have gone to the United Kingdom for treatment, until such authority was given.
Most of the media houses and press reported the Chief flying out for medical treatment in the United Kingdom, some one and a half years ago. However the chief has returned to Zimbabwe during this period for some four months. During which he resumed his regular Friday signing in at the police station. The collective decision still being up held by all, that it was right and proper that the Chief receive medical treatment in the United Kingdom.
This politically motivated warrant of arrest, seems to imply that the Chief somehow absconded in the dead of night, when the prison guards were fast asleep. The truth is indeed very clear . For in this story, the facts are that the prison guards opened the prison cell gate for the Chief, gave the Chief some tea and bread, gave the Chief a packed lunch, provided the Chief with a car and then enabled the Chief to get onto an aeroplane. And then today the prison guard is shouting “ PRISON BREAK
OUT ! , PRISON BREAK OUT !, THE CHIEF HAS ESCAPED !, THE CHIEF HAS
ESCAPED ! It is some what difficult to keep a straight face, when looking at these facts. It is as if one is looking at the cartoon film of Tom and Jerry ! The cat chasing the mouse round and round a table, whilst throwing tea spoons at the mouse.
To make matters worse, for those who are of the view that some crime has been committed, the following happens. The Chiefs mother, uMasuku passes away, within some months. It is widely reported in the press. The Chief flys back to Zimbabwe for the burial of his mother. The very first Friday he signs in at the police station. He meets all the local police there. During the funeral preparations, during the funeral and after the funeral, the chief is still signing in throughout. He works closely with the police and health workers, since covid is there, with respect to managing the crowds. During that period, the President of the Republic Of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambuzo Mnanagagwa, sends his condolences to the Chief about the passing away of his mother. It is widely reported in the press.
Which means that from the President down the whole government, they all knew that the Chief had returned from the United Kingdom, to come and bury his mother. Why was there no warrant of arrest issued out then, since they imply the Chief absconded in the dead of night.
To make matters even worse, for those that take the view that a crime has been committed by the Chief is this. The Chiefs legal team are known to the authorities. Why have they not worked with that legal team, if there were issues that needed addressing.
The covid restrictions stopped the Chief from being able to return to the United Kingdom for continuation of his treatment, for some months. He continues to sign in every Friday. The health workers come to the Chiefs Residence, to check the Chiefs sisters and the Chief, who also came with the Chief, from the United Kingdom. They are all given a clean bill of health for covid. The Chief under takes joint operations with the local police. Mostly transporting the police throughout Ntabazinduna, with respect to police work, since their motor cycle regularly breaks down, with engine problems or punchers. All the while signing in every Friday.
When the flying travel restrictions are lifted, the Chief once again informs his local police station, that he is returning to the United Kingdom to continue his treatment. The local police wish him a safe journey. The police inform the Chief that he will resume signing on Fridays when he returns. The Chief flys back to the United Kingdom to continue with his treatment . Once again he has informed the local police that he is returning to the United Kingdom and will not be there to sign on the Fridays. The police say that the Chief can resume signing in on Fridays, again, when he returns.
Whilst in the United Kingdom the Chief has spoken with Sargent Chisango on many occasions, with regard to matters in Ntabazinduna. Even with respect to the recent matter, where a local large lorry, ran over a school child. An accident, through no fault of the driver. The Chief worked together with Chisango, for both families on this matter. The Chief has also spoken to Senior officers at Mbembesi Police Station, with regard to a mzukhulu who was destroying property at the homestead . The Chief had also asked Chisango to attend the homestead, and see this damage to property belonging to local resident of Ntabazinduna. That matter is now a police case . On his next call to the police, they informed the Chief of what was happening, at the Chiefs residence. Indeed the Chiefs senior wife, wenhluNkhulu, also identified the police that attended the Chiefs homestead to see the damage. Pictures and videos were taken. The Chiefs senior wife had returned to Zimbabwe just for a few weeks, having come from the United Kingdom. She was there at the police station when the matter of the chicken sheds being damaged was being discussed. The Chief spoke to the officers on this occasion through her phone.
If there was a matter about the Chief absconding, why during so many occasions were they not brought to the Chief directly, or to his legal team. Or were the police and government also breaking the law with the Chief ?
The Chief has a phone and the police have the number.
The Chief has a Twitter and the police know it.
The Chief has a facebook and the police know it.
So after a year and a half, of the chief being in the United Kingdom for treatment ,some government political spin doctor, suddenly realises that the Chief is not in Zimbabwe.
But the problem for this political spin doctor is that the whole government knew , that the Chief was not Zimbabwe and they and the law enforcement agents, had been working with the Chief the entire time, having allowed the Chief to go for his treatment in the United Kingdom.
The law enforcement agents having given their consent for him to be in the United Kingdom.
Even the President of The Second Republic knew that the Chief was in the United Kingdom, for treatment. For he to saw Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, in videos and the media at 10 Downing Street, representing the Campaign for the 5.5 million plus Zimbabwean diaspora Vote. The last time a Constitutional Substantive Chief stepped on the steps of 10 Downing Street was in late 1979, at the Lancaster House Conference. During those historic days, the current crop of leaders in the government, were spectators far away from the main event, that gave birth to the modern day Zimbabwe. They were not there at the top table, where decisions were made. All of those who were there are now long departed. Even the convener of the conference, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, of Her Majesty’s government, is long departed. The chiefs that were present, those heady days , for our country were Chief Khayisa Ndiweni and Chief Jeremiah Chirau. Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe
Ndiweni repeated that event on the 2nd December 2021, as the next Chief from Zimbabwe to step on the steps of Downing street. It is historic because that is where the agreement happened at Lancaster House just around the corner, from 10 Downing Street. An important event for our country.
By the reaction of the current government and their spin doctors, it is evident that they were not pleased that the Zimbabwean Diaspora Vote, for the 5.5 million plus Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora, has reached this level. But then how else could these Zimbabwean citizens advance their desire to vote in Zimbabwean elections, from wherever they are in the world. The idea that they should all come back to Zimbabwe to Vote, is disrespectful to the Zimbabwean Diaspora, who have brought in over a USD One Billion every year to the country as remittances. The Zimbabwean diaspora have tried for over ten years to engage the government on this matter. The government repeatedly turned them down flat. The Zimbabwean diaspora have gone to the High Court and Regional Courts, seeking the diaspora vote. The government has still rejected them completely. The logical next step that a people are entitled to is to take such a matter to other international organisations, governments and regional bodies. So that diplomacy may be engaged to coheres, our stubborn government to do the right and honourable thing, for its citizens, in the diaspora. For one to take offence at the Chief leading on such an honourable campaign, is to show a lack of understanding about the very principle of democracy.
This whole matter about the “ arrest warrant “ is about politics and not about law.
Currently the Chief has not been discharged from treatment at the hospital, since the condition was advanced by his period at Khami Prison, straight after the eye surgery on the same day, in Bulawayo. There is a wealth of medical files and appointments covering the whole period the Chief has been in the United Kingdom.
Months and months on end going to the hospital once or twice a week.
6
To add to the slowness of the whole matter, the covid pandemic , removed medical staff from hospitals to work in frontline positions, administering the covid vaccines. Even some terminal cancer patients were not seen to during this period because of the need to vaccinate the general population against the covid pandemic. Tragically some critically ill patients passed away during this period. Indeed the covid pandemic is a once in a generation event, that has shock the world. Someone who does not appreciate such an event, is not serious and must be removed from public office if they hold such a position. Hence conditions like the Chief were treated slowly and are still being treated in that manner. Until the staff return full time to their chosen areas of work.
For the Chief, in this regard of his long standing medical condition, there are files and files , covering twenty years of treatment in this one specialist hospital.
However, that is not to say the Chief is thus too incapacitated to fulfil his responsibilities as a Chief. The Chief has continued to work with his responsibilities in Ntabazinduna. The Village Heads of Ntabazinduna are the first, in the country, to have Zoom meetings with their chief , thousands of miles away this year. There are so many developments that have happened for Ntabazinduna during this period. Ntabazinduna Communal Lands are now registered here in the international arena. Obtaining various partnerships, that are bringing development for Ntabazinduna, for their Clinics, schools, infrastructure, cash flow in the community, commercial agriculture, twining with other such areas in the world, twining with schools in the world, putting together enervative solar energy solutions for Ntabazinduna, student program for Ntabazinduna and many other low hanging fruits, that are about to be implemented. The most prominent of which is placing Ntabazinduna Communal Lands, in a position to internationally access funds and resources.
It is hoped that the current government would refrain, from hindering such possibilities for the people of Ntabazinduna and the country as a whole, in their respective rural areas. As they have done so, in the past ,with progressive ideas and attempts , that have not come from within the Ruling party. But rather to put the interests of the people first and allow such enervation and development. A wise government allows, supports and celebrates such developments, that even do not come from amongst their ranks, but will bask in the triumph of success, when it is achieved because it occurred on their watch. It occurred whilst they were the government. That is what clever and timeless politicians do, all around the world who are continuously re-elected.
For no organisation, or individual has a monopoly over knowledge. For we as a country have been trying it, the Ruling party way for over 41 years now and we have come to a stand still as a country. We are daily informed, about this and that which is being resuscitated for the country. But the bigger question is, who broke it in the first place, that it now requires to be fixed and resuscitated. We have only had the Ruling Party for 41 years. The finger of blame must point there, to the Ruling party. For even during the Government of National Unity , GNU, it was the Ruling party that was in charge and that was resident at State House. How is it that we have an International Airport that has broken radar, that hardly works ? We wonder what the international Aviation Authority say, about Zimbabwe in this regard.
To date we in Zimbabwe have been unfortunate in that good progress has been stopped, because it did not come from our government, but came from independent individuals or came from the opposition. We hope that has now changed and that the government will allow progress, for progress sake, irrespective from where it may come from. No government can control everything within its jurisdiction. Even the mighty authoritarian States like Russia and China, have failed in controlling absolutely everything in their countries.
However, with respect to Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni and his bail, no crime has been committed here at all. No bail condition have been broken here, since everyone was aware and agreed for Chief Ndiweni to receive treatment in the United Kingdom. As one cabinet member said to another, in our current government sometime ago, “ one would need to have the small brain the size of a rat, in the body of a big elephant , in order to build such a case “ . Indeed, very colourful language used by a well known current Zimbabwean politician.
Clearly the warrant of arrest will be legally challenged, since it has no merit.
Should medical treatment permit, the Chief would return to Ntabazinduna immediately. Whether the “ arrest warrant “ is still in place or not, for that is not an issue. What is at issue, is the legality of the “ arrest warrant “. For the Chief has far too many matters to deal with in Ntabazinduna and indeed all of his wishes and aspirations are there for his people. For there are now ways by which their daily lives can be improved, dramatically.
The chief is most keen that this issue of the “ arrest warrant “, means that the government is now finally willing for the Chiefs appeal, against the “ dry bushes that had a value of USD 10, case “, will now be heard by the High Court. The government has not wanted this appeal to be heard, since it knows the appeal will be successful and the case and conviction both quashed, within a few minutes in the High Court. It would be disingenuous on the part of the government, to advance the matter of the “ arrest warrant “, whilst they still have absolutely no intention, for the appeal to be heard in the High Court, for the “ case of the dry bushes that had a value of USD 10 “.
The government has employed delaying tactics, to keep the Chiefs bail conditions active indefinitely, by design.
The government is seeking to politically control the Chief by indefinitely keeping the bail conditions active.
The government hopes that the bail conditions for the Chief will control and hinder his daily work.
The government hope that the Chief’s bail conditions may be used to stop the Chief’s Campaign for the Human Right to Vote , for the 5.5 million plus Zimbabwean diaspora.
The government has for sometime goaded the Chief to break his bail conditions by transgressing upon them by design. An example of this provocation is the illegal settlements in Ntabazinduna, being advanced by the government.
The government is silent on the appeal case and does not want to talk about it.
The government does not want the embarrassment of loosing the appeal in the glare of the media.
The government finds it’s self cornered by this case, that with hindsight they should have not have allowed Obert Mpofu to fabricate on its behalf.
The government does not wish to afford the Chief, the opportunity to advance numerous litigations, as a result of loosing the Chiefs impending appeal, with respect to corruption and misuse of public office, by various individuals in the government. The facts for these litigations are there and only await the conclusion of the “ The case of the dry bushes that had a value of USD 10 “.
The government still holds to the idea of a Zanu PF, chief of Ntabazinduna. Even though that would be against the law and against the Constitution and against the Traditional Leaders Act. Not to mention that the people of Ntabazinduna do not accept such a Zanu PF Chief. For the current Chief has and continues to work with all political parties. To this end the Chief has hosted, all the political parties in his Homestead and on the Communal lands.
The public should once again view this matter as the government yet again not being truthful and abiding by the Rule of Law. But rather the government seeking to effect Rule By Law. Where the bastardised law is used to assault the innocent Zimbabwean citizen . A principle that is at odds with democracy.
The truth of the matter is that once again , here is political corruption at work. The government lashing out because it could not get it’s own way. The final realisation at last, that it is not a political island or a geographical island. That Zimbabwe as a country and government , must live amongst the brotherhood and sisterhood of nations. It cannot extricate it’s self from this international community, just because it wishes to effect bad legislation upon its citizens and subjugate them daily behind closed doors. In particular, that the Chiefs campaign for the 5.5 million Zimbabwean Diaspora vote will happen, whether it agrees to it or not. For through MyRight2Vote and other Zimbabwean organisations and the international arena, they will be facilitating an independent Zimbabwean diaspora Vote , parallel with the next elections when ever they are called. These parallel Zimbabwean diaspora elections will be independent of the Zimbabwean Election Commission , ZEC. They will be independent of the Zimbabwean government. But through international Hard Edged diplomacy, by the international arena, SADC, African Union, United Nations, towards the Zimbabwean government, will be thus effected. So the Zimbabwean diaspora parallel elections are vital, in order for the country to progress.
In the 2018 elections only 4.8 million people vote in total. At the very same time there were 5 million Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora who were denied the right, the Human Right to vote in the 2018 elections. To have another 5.5 million plus Zimbabwean citizens, independently voting in the next elections in 2030 would push the total number of citizens that could vote in those 2023 elections to well over the 10 million plus. This would make the 2023 elections the largest plebiscite in the history of the country.
It is not important what the current governments position is on the diaspora vote. The independent vote will go ahead and Hard Edged diplomacy, will coerce the current government to include the Zimbabwe Diaspora Vote in 2023. Of course, currently the government rejects the Zimbabwean diaspora Vote. However in 2023 they will have no choice but to accept fellow Zimbabweans having voted from across the globe. For just one day in politics is indeed a very long time. Time in which the impossible that is rejected, becomes the possible that is accepted.
The principle of the Zimbabwean Diaspora elections is already accepted by the world at large. For the day the Zimbabwean diaspora vote in those independent global elections, is the day that we all get the first properly elected government in Zimbabwe, in 41 years. It is evident that such words send shock waves through our government. For they have already said through their, then Acting Political Commissar Patrick Chinamasa, that they fear that their candidate, Emmerson Dunbudzo Mnangagawa would lose such an election, such a plebiscite. It is a rare thing to see our government openly acknowledge and accept defeat, within the public domain. That shows the importance of the independent parallel Zimbabwean diaspora Vote, that the Chief is leading.
As a Constitutional Substantive Chief, he is entitled to lead such a campaign and it is not at odds with his responsibilities as enshrined in the Traditional Leaders Act. For the ability for one to vote is a Human Right. A human Right is humanity. Humanity is ubuntu. Ubuntu is contained in the peoples customs and traditions. The very thing the chiefs are instructed in the Traditional Leaders Act to keep and protect the peoples customs, Traditions, practises and norms. We have come full circle. The Right, the Human Right to Vote for every single Zimbabwean on planet earth.
To date the preparations for the Zimbabwean diaspora Vote are making remarkable progress. No doubt this has reached our government. However, where the government goes wrong, is that it now is no longer about Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni when it comes to the Zimbabwean diaspora Vote. The Vote has grown wings of it’s own and can now fly, whether Chief Ndiweni is there or not. The box was opened and the will of the people, could no longer be restricted or contained as before. The international arena is not a closed confined space as within Zimbabwe. It cannot be contained and made to do “ X “ or to do “ Y “ , as is the case within the confines of Zimbabwe.
The current government has spent a great deal of time and resources closing down the democratic space in the country. We cannot remember the last time the “ proper “ opposition parties, were allowed to protest and march, as is their Constitutional Right.
Even the War Veterans, on anti-Sanctions day, tried to march and protest about the poor state of the country and how the current government was applying sanctions upon them, due the hardship of their daily lives . The elderly men and women, were rained down upon with baton charges and riot shields. Nurses trying to protest about being paid pea nuts, are baton charged , beaten up and arrested. Doctors trying to protest against working conditions, are bashed and beaten up until unconscious. When they come round, they are given a form to sign, saying that they are now being drafted into the health service, as military doctors. Military doctors who do not have the right to strike for wages and conditions. Teaches try to ask for more money, a living wage and not the pea nuts they are currently paid, when the government feels like it. They to are baton charged, beaten down, false charges fabricated against some, who are then arrested. Trade unions try to protest for their Unions and are baton charged and beaten up. Fabricated charges are quickly made up and some are arrested. Students try and campaign, they are baton charged arrested, some charged and detained.
We have a common thread that joins together all of these professions. The nurses, doctors, teachers, Trade Unions, Civic Organisations, Faith Groups, Students and some Chiefs and Traditional Leaders.
That common denominator is that some of us have been arrested, fabricated charges brought against us and detained.
Are we really, really expected to believe in the cold light of day, that all of these individuals in these professions are criminals Surely that would be to stretch the imagination somewhat.
It is now such a common occurrence, that it does no longer raise an eye brow any longer. It is something the common ordinary Zimbabwean citizen knows, that our government perpetrates such deeds against innocent people. That our government regularly breaks the law and shreds the 2013 Constitution. Where as to the really guilty criminals from the government they have a “ catch and release strategy “. This is where an individual from the government, is caught red handed by the public doing something illegal. Where that deed can no longer be hidden , from the general public. The said individual is arrested. Paraded in front of the media. Detained for a short while. And then under cover of darkness, mysteriously released, never to be caught again. “ Catch and release strategy “,
It is only the very, very few Ruling party members that are allowed to gather in a rally and clap hands for the resident at State House. But even they to have changed. Now they are paid USD 2 each, to go on the buses to clap for Mnangagwa, as we all saw at his welcome rally from the Climate Change
Conference. Times have indeed changed ! The Ruling party has to rent a crowed .
The Ruling party has a rally at the drop of a hat. The “ proper “ opposition, Trade Unions, Civic Organisations, Faith Groups and society in general, are not allowed to gather in large numbers.
The democratic space has been completely shut down by the government.
Preparations are now at an advanced stage for the coming elections.
The government has put all its eggs into one basket, which is the Rural vote. And in order to ensure that the vote is theirs, they are focusing on the Chiefs and Traditional leaders.
Hence the recent events and government out cry at the words spoken by
Chief Murinye of Masvingo. An uncle to President Emmerson Dumbuzo
Mnangagawa. He said , my child ED, you are surrounded by crocks, thieves, looters and corruption. Wherever I look I see mines operated by looters,businesses operated by crocks . People you are surrounded by in your government. If you do not sort this out you will not pass these elections coming. Paraphrased , words to that effect.
These words have created a storm in a tea cup.
The Chief was speaking at the end of a funeral as is customary. At this juncture the Chief will say some words of comfort to the bereaved family. Say some words to the gathered community. Say some words about local matters. And then say some words about broader matters ,that he sees, as the peoples leader in that jurisdiction. What Chief Murinye said was right and proper.
A chief should not, cannot, must not be, muzzled in order to please the government of the day. Anyone who clearly believes that they must be muzzled, does not understand the institution of Traditional Leaders and should be kept far away from them, until they read up about the institution and understand the institution. The institution does not belong to the government of the day. Far from it. It never has and will never be.
A chief is not paid a wage or a salary by the government. A chief is given an allowance by the government of the day. Which means that the government can choose to give the allowance this month and then ship the next three months, without giving anything to the chief. In doing this allowance, the government is making sure that the Chief is NOT a government employee. Therefore, they do not receive holiday pay or allowance, no sick pay , no widows pension and no pension. Taking into consideration that the institution of Traditional leaders is a unique institution that is hereditary, there is no education bursary for the Chiefs family, to ensure that at least there are academically educated Chiefs. Because the role of Chief, is evolving and has not remained static. So that it benefits the community with a Chief, that knows IT and many other modern administration skills. As a result their community will benefit greatly. There is no induction for Chiefs or protocol, ethics or etiquette training for new Chiefs or indeed refresher training for elder Chiefs.
An imaginary situation can be thus. On Monday morning we find a young man who is a loud mouth, emergency taxi conductor, being loud mouth and swearing as he goes along, propositioning every pretty young girl , he comes across during the day, in his taxi. By Sunday of that same week, he is being given the official robes of Chieftaincy, by Minister of Local government of Housing and Rural Development, July Moyo. One would fear, fear, fear for that community the young man has been made Chief of.
The possibility of such an occurrence is very, very, likely when the government of the day continues to meddle in the affairs of Traditional Leaders.
More so, as the current government continues to interfere with chieftain succession matters. For they are entering into an arena full of customs and traditions , like a bull in a china shop. The end result being a Chieftaincy Clan, being left in shock and trauma for decades, before they can rectify the situation. All because the government of the day, wished to install an individual who was a supporter of the government, a supporter of the Ruling party, a supporter of Zanu PF.
The war of liberation was also about our keepers of our customs, traditions, practises and norms, the Traditional Leaders, The Chiefs. Keeping them and protecting them. Not as we saw , The Vice President of The republic of Zimbabwe, shockingly, irresponsibility abusing Chief Murinye. Basically publicly threatening and intimidating and harassing Chief Murinye. What chance the Chiefs independence come the 2023 elections for Chief Murinye and his people. A people. A nation in it’s completeness.
There is no medical health policy or insurance in place. Bearing in mind that this individual , the chief, will never retire from being a Chief and will die as a chief. With age, the body does require a great deal of medical attention. In all probabilities, a young Chief will outlive a number of governments during their life time. In short , the chief really does not receive much from the government of the day. Aside from their allowance of about USD 250 a month equivalent in Bonds. An amount that can be consumed at one sitting at a good restaurant for lunch for four people . They may be given an attendance allowance for some meetings. Once again it is an allowance. At the complete whim of the government. Yes the Chiefs were give the 4 X 4 Isusu Twin Cabs. Once again a gift . Nothing that binds the Chief to the government of the day. Besides many Chiefs cannot afford to maintain the expensive cars, let alone buy a spare wheel for the car, should a tryer burst.
And so the government of the day is using these gifts to the Chiefs, as a debt of loyalty to the government. That the Chief must do the governments biding because they accepted one of their gifts. A 10kg bag of rice here. A 2 liter bottle of cooking oil here. Three bottles of orange squash here. Twenty litres of diesel there. The Chief is being kept living on a hand to mouth basis design by the current government.
And so to Chief Muriney of Masvingo. He does not own his allegiance or Chieftaincy to the government of the day. He is an ordinary individual that should be allowed to speak his mind. For within his jurisdiction amongst his subjects, he will have people who will support many different political parties. Should he align himself with a particular political party, how then will those people in his jurisdiction feel, who support different political parties, relate to him. And so the Chief must be neutral and independent.
Indeed the Constitution of Zimbabwe, in the Traditional Leaders Act does say that the Chiefs must not get involved in partisan politics.
The government of the day has found it difficult to adhere to the globally acceptable of good governance and democracy, that is the separation of powers within an administration. Each seperate institution being the check and balance to the other seperate institutions. Politicians seperate and on their own, Judges seperate and on their own, Law enforcement agents seperate and on their own, military seperate and on their own, Traditional Leaders seperate and on their own. Each is independent and operates under their own procedures and protocols. In government and democracy, these institutions balance off each other, so that The Rule of Law is maintained. Democracy.
The institutional of Traditional Leaders should have had a completely independent seperate ministerial portfolio headed by a Substantive Chief. The minister of women is a women. The minister of youth is a youth, the minister for people living with disabilities is also such a person and so on. Hence the minister for Traditional leaders and Chiefs should have been a Substantive Chief.
How does an office junior investigate and sit in judgment upon their senior. Is that really possible, normal and acceptable if we are serious about advancing the country ? Minister July Moyo is being asked to investigate Chief Murinye for conduct, as a result of what he said at the funeral.
July Moyo carries his own personal ID card / birth certificate. It says July Moyo, born such and such, date of birth, place of birth. Chief such and such.
Chief such and such
Chief such and such
Chief such and such
That means that July Moyo is under his Traditional Chief in rank.
July Moyo’s Chief can summon July Moyo
July Moyo is therefore junior to his Chief.
So then, how can July Moyo investigated the conduct of someone senior to him. It makes fore a nonsense when one looks at protocol.
A councillor is junior to a Chief
A member of parliament is junior to a Chief
A Minister is junior to a Chief
A Vice President is junior to a Chief
A President is only partially equal to a Chief
And when one looks at their respective job descriptions the clarity is even more
clear. Politicians are only elected for a given period . 14 A chief is chief for life. A minister and Vice President can only speak for the portfolios they are responsible for . A Chief can speak about everything day or night. Indeed a functioning institution of Traditional Leaders is the day facto opposition to the government, so that it may scrutinise legislation in the House of Senate, if the official opposition is some how in difficulty and not able to hold the government of the day to account. Hence, the discussion about Traditional Leaders is not just an academic discussion. But that it is vitally important debate that can only but enhance our democracy. For here in the run up to the elections of 2023. We see an attempt to pin down the institution of Traditional Leaders by the government and in particular the Ruling Party. This is classed as advance “ electoral fraud and vote rigging “. Here there is no need for “ V11 “ forms. Right before us, chiefs are being press ganged to ensure that their people in their respective areas vote for the Ruling Party. Totally contrary to the ideas and principles of a free and fair election process that should not be allowed in a Zimbabwe of 2021 – 2023.
It is for this reason that we are concerned at the attempt at intimidation and threat to Chief Murinye and Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni should be taken most seriously indeed.
As already stated Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni will Challenge the “ arrest warrant “ because it has no merit. The Chief is most keen that the appeal to the “ dry bushes with a total value of USD 10 , case “ must be heared at the High Court. Since it has been two years now. Once discharged from treatment from the hospital Chief Ndiweni will return to Zimbabwe, irrespective as to whether the “ arrest warrant “ is there or not. For the Chief has work to do in Zimbabwe.
By A Correspondent- There was violence Sunday at Chinhoyi University of Technology during the Mashonaland West PCC meeting, which was turned into an electoral college to discuss the impending elections.
Zanu PF youths disrupted the meeting accusing the leadership of imposing candidates who would contest in the impending elections.
Zanu PF secretary for security, Lovemore Matuke, the guest, arrested the situation and called for peace.
“As a party, we castigate violence and hate speech,” said Cde Matuke.
“Our common enemy is the opposition, while we tussle for internal positions, it shouldn’t create a rift between party members. Our party is known for conducting peaceful elections.
“We anticipate that the election is going to be held in free and fair manner, while logistics have to be met prior to the election which will be conducted by officials from other provinces.
The recently elected district members will vote in the provincial elections.
“Provincial positions are open to the district, District Coordinating Committee (DCC), central committee and Politburo members. For central committee and Politburo members, they should first relinquish their positions before vying for the provincial positions.”
Matuke said there would be thorough verification of the applications by aspiring candidates.
Addressing the same gathering, Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity, Christopher Mutsvangwa said while the party was getting into provincial elections, the outcome was supposed to leave it stronger ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections where it eyes a resounding victory.
He said the party’s policies were in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, while a double-digit economy was achievable by next year.
Five candidates have successfully submitted their CVs for the provincial chairman post for Mashonaland West — acting chairman Cde Abia Mujere; outgoing youth chairman Vengai Musengi; Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka; Makonde DCC chairman Kindness Paradza and former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation chief executive and provincial war veterans league chairman Happison Muchechetere.
By-Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, Sunday attended the burial of the late human rights activist, Dewa Mavhinga, at his rural Chivhu home.
Chamisa told mourners that he had warned him not to come back to Zimbabwe a few days before he died.
Mavhinga, who was southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, succumbed to COVID-19 on December 6, in South Africa. The Human Rights Watch said Mavhinga had died a few days after he returned to Johannesburg from a research mission in Zimbabwe. He was laid to rest yesterday at his rural home in Chivhu, where several senior opposition party members, civic society members, and human right activists were in attendance. “I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come,”Chamisa said. “He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique. He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights. It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker. He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.” He also described Mavhinga as an intelligent cadre who was determined to fight rights abuse. Mavhinga started his career in human rights as deputy co-ordinator at the forum’s International Liaison Office in London from April 2007 to April 2008. He then joined the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional office in South Africa before joining the Human Rights Watch.
He started as a senior researcher and advocate before being elevated to the position of director, a post he held until his death. In 2012, Mavhinga co-founded the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute. He was also the founding chairperson of the Living Together Institute and also a board member for the Savanna Arts Trust Theatre Group. Newsday
By A Correspondent- A Harare woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her husband over infidelity.
Below is the statement by the police: 1/2 Police in Hre are investigating a murder case occ. on 18/12/21 at 2200 hours. The victim, Farai Tsatse (39) had an altercation with his wife, Leoba Muzondo (35) over infidelity issues. In the process, the victim tried to assault the suspect with a half brick and missed her.
1/2 Police in Hre are investigating a murder case occ. on 18/12/21 at 2200 hours. The victim, Farai Tsatse (39) had an altercation with his wife, Leoba Muzondo (35) over infidelity issues. In the process, the victim tried to assault the suspect with a half brick and missed her.
By -A Chinese national is wanted by the police in connection with a child marriage case involving a 15-year-old Sanyati girl.
The girl is said to be from Ward 5, Chief Neuso in Sanyati district, Mashonaland West province.
Reports suggest that the victim (name withheld), was married off to the Chinese national and US$2 000 was paid to her parents as bride price on 26 November this year.
The Chinese national works as an engineer at Ringxin/Mambo Mine, the report further alleges.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident to NewsDay. He said:
As police, I can confirm that we have launched an investigation into the case. For now, we can’t comment any further despite the fact that we are still conducting investigations.
Police in Sanyati on Wednesday rescued the girl but her parents say the Chinese national is their son-in-law.
NewsDay reported sources as saying the Chinese nationals working at mines near Kadoma target young girls, mostly virgins, for marriage.
Poor families in the gold-rich area marry off their young daughters to Chinese men in an effort to make ends meet, one Tichaona Mapara observed.
The problem of child marriages is said to be rife in the three Mashonaland provinces.
By- Chief Murinye, has exposed the misuse of farming by powerful and connected politicians. In audio clips that have gone viral on social media, Chief Murinye, born Ephias Munodawafa, narrated how a 30-tonne haulage truck filled with Command Agriculture fertiliser from a top politician’s farm was transported from Masvingo, back to Harare for reselling on the black market. Chief Murinye said he alerted the police about the truck but no action was taken against the unnamed senior ZANU PF official. He said: Nothing ever happened regards that matter, not even a word about the truck. And you are saying hear no evil, see no evil, and know no evil? Kill me if you want, l died a long time ago.
The traditional leader unintentionally revealed how, as a chief, he has violated the Constitution by engaging in partisan politics. In his rants, Chief Murinye claimed he was loyal to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF and at one point he played a prominent role to help the ruling party win previous elections.
Murinye however, said he was saddened by the plunder of the country’s alluvial diamonds by a few individuals while the majority of the population wallows in poverty. He said; If you go to South Africa, they go nine kilometres down to dig for diamonds, while workers piggyback ice blocks because it would be hot. But, we were blessed with diamonds that we dug on the surfaces using hoes. Now show us or tell us where you stashed those diamonds? If l ask, you start labelling me an opposition MDC member or that l have rebelled. Who do you want to ask you? No, you never hear me talk with such a cheeky tongue, but if you see a python wriggling in the sand, and inching closer to humans ask yourself what it means.
The traditional leader apparently spoke in response to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who on Friday mocked him saying he made the rants under the influence of an illicit brew called Mutoriro. Chief Murinye had told a funeral wake last weekend that Mnangagwa risked losing the presidential election in 2023 or being overthrown in a coup if he failed to act against corrupt top Government and party officials.
Zanu PF youth member, Sybeth Musengezi, has vowed to maintain his case against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ascendency to the helm of the ruling party.
Musengezi alleges Mnangagwa illegally took power in 2017 from then-president Robert Mugabe following a military coup.
He approached the High Court in Bulawayo last month and filed an application asking the court to invalidate Mnangagwa’s alleged power grab.
Mnangagwa’s lawyers wrote to Musengezi last month demanding he withdraw the case, but he is having none of it.
In his application before the High Court, Musengezi said that the ZANU PF Central Committee appointed Mnangagwa as the party president and first secretary on 19 November 2017 in violation of the constitution.
He wants the decision by the Central Committee declared null and void. Musengezi said:
I realised that he is an illegal leader, he ascended to power in an illegal manner through the 19 November 2019 meeting which was held against the party constitution.
According to the party constitution the meeting that they purported to have held on19 November 2017 was not convened properly the person who superintended that meeting did not have the mandate as per the party constitution, only President Mugabe at that time could preside over that meeting in his absence.
Cde Mphoko Phelekezela who was the Vice President is the one who was supposed to take over in the event that President Mugabe is not available because Emmerson Mnangagwa had been expelled.
Mnangagwa was voted the president of Zimbabwe in 2018, less than a year after taking over from late president Robert Mugabe, who had ruled the country for37 years.
Tinashe Sambiri| President Nelson Chamisa’s documentary was launched last night in New York at the film forum.
Scores of Zimbabweans in America attended the historic launch.
Tawanda Dzvokora the MDC A chairperson for North America Province was among the guests alongside MDC A provincial and Branch leaders.
Dzvokora said: “We spoke to those who watched the documentary and they could not hold back their tears.
The film is a true reflection of what happened on August 1 2018. Innocent citizens were shot dead by the military acting on Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s directive.
August 1 is a black day for the nation.”
Mr Gwekwerere the district Chairperson under which NY falls flew from Florida to attend the event.
The film is emotive and most of the people who watched it cried- especially Zimbabweans who had to relive the August 1 2018 painful events.
One of the journalists who covered the August 1 killings, Obey Manaiti was at the film launch. He described the documentary as a true record of what happened.
Another MDC A official present at the event said: “The documentary is a must watch for every Zimbabwean.”
News that VP Chiwenga threatened Chief Murinye is wrong & disturbing on every level. This is exactly how Mugabe operated, threatening all those who had divergent views. Leadership should listen to people & not threaten them. We are all under Chiefs. Politicians sandivo vene venyika.
There is freedom of expression which the Chiefs can also exercise and they speak on behalf of the people. They can’t be threatened over that. Chiefs were independent and apolitical but ZANU PF got them involved in politics yet when they press a divergent button you attack them.
You dragged them into politics so accept all versions of that involvement. We can’t be a country where people are afraid of expressing their views. Hatingarambe tichichikidzira vanhu. We can’t be a country known for abusing its people.
Some of us joined and pushed for the new dispensation because we felt that we would have a new narrative and a different governance system. You came up with the mantra the voice of the people is the voice of God. What has happened to that?
Chief Murinye should not retract what he said because it’s the truth. Let’s be tolerant of the truth. Mwari ndiye muridzi wenyika ino kwete imi. You cannot threaten us all for saying what is true. Hamusimi varidzi venyika.
If I had known that this is what the removal of Mugabe means then I would not have allowed myself to suffer imprisonment; go to foreign Gvts to lobby against their military intervention, stop SADC from sending troops etc. Let’s not forget who played which role.
When you are in power be humble, have equanimity, be magnanimous. Don’t abuse your power and bully those under you. Listen to the concerns of all, women, youths, war veterans, Chiefs, masvikiro, church leaders, etc then we know it’s the Zimbabwe that we want.
We have no desire to lead but simply need the leaders present to do things in the proper way. Leaders who push for our desires. I’m disappointed with all this. You, Hon VP, sacrificed for a better Zimbabwe but this is not the way to go about it.
You can’t be using that position to intimidate people. People should be free to greet you and laugh with you in the street not to fear you. Ushe madzoro and what goes around comes around.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday told mourners at the burial of the late human rights activist, Dewa Mavhinga that he had warned him not to come back to Zimbabwe, a few days before he died.
Mavhinga, who was southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, succumbed to COVID-19 on December 6, in South Africa.
Chamisa at Dewa Mavhinga burial
The Human Rights Watch said Mavhinga had died a few days after he returned to Johannesburg from a research mission in Zimbabwe.
He was laid to rest yesterday at his rural home in Chivhu, where several senior opposition party members, civic society members, and human right activists were in attendance.
“I had told Dewa to defer his visit to Zimbabwe, but he insisted that he would come,”Chamisa said.
“He told me that he was in the southern region visiting other countries including Mozambique. He inquired why I was stopping him from coming to Zimbabwe. I also insisted that he should not come to Zimbabwe. About four weeks ago, we held a virtual meeting with Dewa and three others for over an hour planning the way forward on the 2023 elections. Dewa was a veteran, a stalwart, very resolute and a beast on fighting for human rights. It is not possible to become a human rights defender without a human rights attacker. He was a defender because our people are being attacked. We have been robbed as a country, as the whole world, as a generation.”
He also described Mavhinga as an intelligent cadre who was determined to fight rights abuse.
Mavhinga started his career in human rights as deputy co-ordinator at the forum’s International Liaison Office in London from April 2007 to April 2008. He then joined the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional office in South Africa before joining the Human Rights Watch.
He started as a senior researcher and advocate before being elevated to the position of director, a post he held until his death.
In 2012, Mavhinga co-founded the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute. He was also the founding chairperson of the Living Together Institute and also a board member for the Savanna Arts Trust Theatre Group. Newsday
Former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa has alleged that he was being persecuted by suspected Zanu PF activists and that graft allegations against him were a plot by the ruling party to have him arrested.
In a statement, Mutasa said the government and Zanu PF had engineered the corruption allegations.
“It is political vengeance and persecution. Unfortunately, it is led and supported by Zanu PF enablers in ZCTU who seek to hoodwink workers into believing that this is a genuine concern. Firstly, the report to Zacc (Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission) was made just before the past ZCTU conference,” Mutasa said.
ZCTU-President-Peter-Mutasa
“Zanu PF senior officials were already warning me of the impending audit and arrest. That is also why some publications were writing defamatory articles against me. In all the articles, they cited Zanu PF enablers within ZCTU despite their denials.”
He said he had nothing to fear as the charges were trumped up and the whole thing was political persecution driven by vengeance.
On December 9, presidential spokesperson, George Charamba warned that Mutasa would soon be caged over alleged “transgressions” and misuse of funds during his tenure at the helm of the ZCTU.
Moyo said reports of his “imminent arrest” were given prominence last week towards the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition annual general meeting to harm his chances of getting nominated for the chairperson position.
“This report was meant to be used to cause my arrest should the voting delegates’ numbers support my re-election. This would ensure I was removed from the conference processes and lose by default. This was put on hold when the other team realised that they could win.
“Secondly, this report is meant to silence me against the regime or its backers in ZCTU.”
Mutasa lost the ZCTU presidency in October to Florence Taruvinga, who became the first female president of the organisation since independence.
Taruvinga works for Zesa as a technician and was ZCTU’s first vice-president.
Valentine Chikosi and Nicholas Mazarura were elected first and second vice-presidents respectively, while Douglas Chiradza was elected as treasurer-general.
Japhet Moyo remains the secretary-general. -Newsday
Callisto Pasuwa has completed a domestic double in Malawi after his Nyasa Big Bullets side won the 2021 Airtel Top 8 Cup on Saturday.
Bullets overcame rivals Silver Strikers 5-4 on penalties after the game had ended 1-1 at ninety minutes.
The victory completes the Blantyre-based outfit’s dominance in the Malawian top-flight this season.
Nyasa recently won the league title, their third consecutive triumph under Pasuwa.
The Zimbabwean gaffer won his first title in his debut season in 2019 before leading the team to another league glory in the following season.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Pupils in boarding schools who tested positive for Covid-19 have remained quarantined at their various institutions of learning despite the closing of schools last Friday as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus in communities.
So far, more than 100 schools countrywide have been hit by new infections with some schools in Bulawayo having been affected.
Some private schools closed early to prevent the spread of Covid-19 following the outbreak of the Omicron variant which has spiked the fourth wave. Other schools ended up resorting to online learning in the run-up to the schools closing day last Friday.
The country has over the last two weeks seen a 472 percent surge in new Covid-19 cases.
The last genomic sequencing has linked all the cases to the highly transmissible new Omicron variant. As of Saturday, Zimbabwe had recorded 191 673 confirmed cases, including 135 755 recoveries and 4 782 deaths.
Recently, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director, Mr Taungana Ndoro revealed that over 100 schools had recorded Covid-19 cases countrywide.
The Education Ministry is working with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to contain the situation through enforcing the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
Ahead of the schools closing day last Friday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care directed health authorities in all the country’s provinces to ensure that all pupils at boarding schools who caught the virus must remain quarantined at their learning institutions as others went home for the holidays.
Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director, Dr Maphios Siamuchembu confirmed the development.
He said the Ministry of Health and Child Care directed school authorities to make sure that learners in isolation must remain in school until they are cleared to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“As schools closed, those children who are in isolation because they have tested positive for Covid-19 remain in their current isolation facilities until the end of their isolation period. My office regrets any inconvenience caused, but we cannot deliberately allow infected people to go around spreading the virus,” he said.
Dr Siamuchembu said the city has over 70 pupils affected by the directive.
He appealed to well-wishers to assist the affected schools with donations as their budgets were limited to keep and feed students beyond the closing day.
Dr Siamuchembu said one of the schools, Luveve High School does not have piped water and needs stakeholders’ support.
“I might as well take the opportunity to appeal to the Bulawayo community for assistance with resources for these pupils. The schools do not have a budget to keep and feed the pupils,” he said.
“Besides Luveve, another affected school is Townsend which has 66 girls and two cooks in quarantine.”
Dr Siamuchembu said well-wishers can approach the affected schools with donations.
Last Tuesday, President Mnangagwa extended the Covid-19 Level Two national lockdown by a further two weeks, citing the rapid rise in infections driven by the new Omicron variant.
The President also moderately tightened the lockdown by scaling down Government activities, enforcing masks for all private and public commuters and asking businesses to implement earlier festive season shutdowns than usual.
In her post Cabinet briefing last week, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government was concerned with the recent jump in daily Covid-19 infections.
The rise in Covid-19 infections comes at a time when Zimbabwe, among other nations, has started to record Omicron cases which the World Health Organisation (WHO) described as a variant of concern given its perceived risks.
To date, over four million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19, with 3 999 170 having received their first dose and 3 013 385 receiving their second dose as at Wednesday.
In November last year, more than 180 Covid-19 cases were recorded at John Tallach in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North, the highest that a single school has recorded since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe. -Chronicle
A GLOOMY festive season beckons for civil servants, the worst since 2008 according to unions representing State employees owing to low salaries amid a sharp rise in the prices of goods and services.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo said nurses did not enjoy the bonus after some were paid in local currency, while others lost large amounts to bank charges.
“Looking at the November bonus given to nurses, there is definitely nothing to celebrate because a significant number failed to access the bonus in forex,” Dongo said.
“As a result, even if they get their December salaries, they cannot afford to buy clothes and other goodies for their family to enjoy the festive season. Government should give nurses their December salaries in US dollars because we cannot count on the November bonus.”
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) appealed to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to consider reviewing teachers’ salaries with urgency.
“Civil servants are about to have the worst Christmas ever since 2008, and if salaries are not adjusted in January, it will be hell on earth,” PTUZ said in a statement.
“Mthuli Ncube, Public Service Commission, your employees are starving. $25 000-30 000 (salary earned) is a dog’s breakfast.”
Zimbabwe National Teachers Union Manuel Nyawo said adding to their misery is the struggle to raise tuition fees for the first term which begins on January 4.
“Our members remain very desperate. There is no realistic bonus to talk about. Prices have already gone up and the little income they got as bonus has already been spent on very few items,” Nyawo said.
“The disposable income is just an eyesore and we want to appeal to the employer to pay us more so we are able to join our parents in the rural areas and enjoy Christmas with them.
“Come January 2022 we need money for our children’s school fees as well as money for food and transport. The situation before us is very worrisome and action is needed on the part of the government.”
Civil servants are demanding United States dollar-denominated salaries but the government has consistently pleaded incapacity to pay them in foreign currency. – NewsDay
The Zimbabwe Republic Police urges the public to value the sanctity of human life, shun violence and respect the laws of the country.
Disputes, disagreements or any form of misunderstanding between relatives, friends, workmates or other members of the community should be resolved in a peaceful matter without resorting to the use of weapons to either injure or kill another person.
On 15th December 2021 in Gwanda, a team of four (4) unknown suspects believed to be illegal miners attacked Ephat Sibanda (30), Brian Moyo (31) and another male adult only known as “Shorty” with axes, iron bars and knobkerries all over their bodies after the victims had allegedly kidnapped and tormented, Prince (NFPK) and Faith Moyo who are said to be boyfriend and girlfriend.
The victims who were known machete-wielding gangsters in the area died due to the injuries sustained in the attack.
In another murder case on 17th December 2021, the Police arrested Mthokozisi Ndlovu (24), Petros Dube (38), Thabani Maphosa (40) and Graduate Ngwenya (23) all from Tsholotsho in connection with the murder of Good Ndlovu (44).
On 16th December 2021 at 1300 hours, the four (4) suspects who were practising as ‘Tsikamutandas’ kidnapped, assaulted and tortured the victim with logs and hot iron bars, forcing him to confess. The victim later died due to the injuries sustained.
Police in Manicaland are appealing for information that may lead to the arrest of Mike Zinyembe (27) of Chirengwa Village, Chief Chiduku, Rusape who attacked Nicholas Chirengwa (34) with stones twice on the head and the victim died on the spot.
The victim, who was a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, was in the company of two other witnesses intending to effect an arrest on the suspect on Stock Theft allegations. The suspect turned violent and attacked the victim. He then ran away.
In a suspected ritual murder, on 04th December 2021 at 1200 hours, Audrey Mufaro Murira (5) was playing with her friends when the suspect, Philmon Chikata, a male adult of Messengers Camp, Nyanga passed by.
Audrey Mufaro Murira followed the suspect calling him her friend. The suspect then took away the victim and disappeared.
Searches for the child were fruitless only for her remains to be found at the base of a mountain in an advanced stage of decomposition. The suspect has since been arrested and confessed to the brutal killing of the minor.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police will arrest all murder suspects and ensure that they face justice through the courts.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police urges the public to value the sanctity of human life, shun violence and respect the laws of the country.
Disputes, disagreements or any form of misunderstanding between relatives, friends, workmates or other members of the community should be resolved in a peaceful matter without resorting to the use of weapons to either injure or kill another person.
On 15th December 2021 in Gwanda, a team of four (4) unknown suspects believed to be illegal miners attacked Ephat Sibanda (30), Brian Moyo (31) and another male adult only known as “Shorty” with axes, iron bars and knobkerries all over their bodies after the victims had allegedly kidnapped and tormented, Prince (NFPK) and Faith Moyo who are said to be boyfriend and girlfriend.
The victims who were known machete-wielding gangsters in the area died due to the injuries sustained in the attack.
In another murder case on 17th December 2021, the Police arrested Mthokozisi Ndlovu (24), Petros Dube (38), Thabani Maphosa (40) and Graduate Ngwenya (23) all from Tsholotsho in connection with the murder of Good Ndlovu (44).
On 16th December 2021 at 1300 hours, the four (4) suspects who were practising as ‘Tsikamutandas’ kidnapped, assaulted and tortured the victim with logs and hot iron bars, forcing him to confess. The victim later died due to the injuries sustained.
Police in Manicaland are appealing for information that may lead to the arrest of Mike Zinyembe (27) of Chirengwa Village, Chief Chiduku, Rusape who attacked Nicholas Chirengwa (34) with stones twice on the head and the victim died on the spot.
The victim, who was a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, was in the company of two other witnesses intending to effect an arrest on the suspect on Stock Theft allegations. The suspect turned violent and attacked the victim. He then ran away.
In a suspected ritual murder, on 04th December 2021 at 1200 hours, Audrey Mufaro Murira (5) was playing with her friends when the suspect, Philmon Chikata, a male adult of Messengers Camp, Nyanga passed by.
Audrey Mufaro Murira followed the suspect calling him her friend. The suspect then took away the victim and disappeared.
Searches for the child were fruitless only for her remains to be found at the base of a mountain in an advanced stage of decomposition. The suspect has since been arrested and confessed to the brutal killing of the minor.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police will arrest all murder suspects and ensure that they face justice through the courts.
News that VP Chiwenga threatened Chief Murinye is wrong & disturbing on every level. This is exactly how Mugabe operated, threatening all those who had divergent views. Leadership should listen to people & not threaten them. We are all under Chiefs. Politicians sandivo vene venyika.
There is freedom of expression which the Chiefs can also exercise and they speak on behalf of the people. They can’t be threatened over that. Chiefs were independent and apolitical but ZANU PF got them involved in politics yet when they press a divergent button you attack them.
You dragged them into politics so accept all versions of that involvement. We can’t be a country where people are afraid of expressing their views. Hatingarambe tichichikidzira vanhu. We can’t be a country known for abusing its people.
Some of us joined and pushed for the new dispensation because we felt that we would have a new narrative and a different governance system. You came up with the mantra the voice of the people is the voice of God. What has happened to that?
Chief Murinye should not retract what he said because it’s the truth. Let’s be tolerant of the truth. Mwari ndiye muridzi wenyika ino kwete imi. You cannot threaten us all for saying what is true. Hamusimi varidzi venyika.
If I had known that this is what the removal of Mugabe means then I would not have allowed myself to suffer imprisonment; go to foreign Gvts to lobby against their military intervention, stop SADC from sending troops etc. Let’s not forget who played which role.
When you are in power be humble, have equanimity, be magnanimous. Don’t abuse your power and bully those under you. Listen to the concerns of all, women, youths, war veterans, Chiefs, masvikiro, church leaders, etc then we know it’s the Zimbabwe that we want.
We have no desire to lead but simply need the leaders present to do things in the proper way. Leaders who push for our desires. I’m disappointed with all this. You, Hon VP, sacrificed for a better Zimbabwe but this is not the way to go about it.
You can’t be using that position to intimidate people. People should be free to greet you and laugh with you in the street not to fear you. Ushe madzoro and what goes around comes around.
A GLOOMY festive season beckons for civil servants, the worst since 2008 according to unions representing State employees owing to low salaries amid a sharp rise in the prices of goods and services.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo said nurses did not enjoy the bonus after some were paid in local currency, while others lost large amounts to bank charges.
“Looking at the November bonus given to nurses, there is definitely nothing to celebrate because a significant number failed to access the bonus in forex,” Dongo said.
“As a result, even if they get their December salaries, they cannot afford to buy clothes and other goodies for their family to enjoy the festive season. Government should give nurses their December salaries in US dollars because we cannot count on the November bonus.”
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) appealed to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to consider reviewing teachers’ salaries with urgency.
“Civil servants are about to have the worst Christmas ever since 2008, and if salaries are not adjusted in January, it will be hell on earth,” PTUZ said in a statement.
“Mthuli Ncube, Public Service Commission, your employees are starving. $25 000-30 000 (salary earned) is a dog’s breakfast.”
Zimbabwe National Teachers Union Manuel Nyawo said adding to their misery is the struggle to raise tuition fees for the first term which begins on January 4.
“Our members remain very desperate. There is no realistic bonus to talk about. Prices have already gone up and the little income they got as bonus has already been spent on very few items,” Nyawo said.
“The disposable income is just an eyesore and we want to appeal to the employer to pay us more so we are able to join our parents in the rural areas and enjoy Christmas with them.
“Come January 2022 we need money for our children’s school fees as well as money for food and transport. The situation before us is very worrisome and action is needed on the part of the government.”
Civil servants are demanding United States dollar-denominated salaries but the government has consistently pleaded incapacity to pay them in foreign currency. – NewsDay
By Farai D Hove | The ZANU PF activist, Passion Java exposed himself publicly on Sunday when he hurled vulgarities at award winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono.
Java had at the time been exposed for purchasing YouTube views for Roki’s video. Java has since Thursday been using his Roki Josphat music video to compete against Gaffa President Winky D’s Happy Again, hit song.
Hitting back, Java who says he is a preacher, said, Chin’ono should stay away from the two musicians. PICTURE BELOW
By A Correspondent | Socialite and blogger Jean Gasho has said she is comfortable with her husband bedding other women.
Speaking exclusively to Women’s Rights Activist and Phumulani Director, Comfort Dondo, Gasho said she is generous with her man.
Gasho said, “I’m not a jealous person and even as a child I used to read about polygamy… I am an erotic writer so I like that… I’m a strange person, I’m not your normal everyday person I am kind of like, I am a writer; I see life from a different perspective..”
She then added suggesting that she calls her husband, a Ghanaian man, her Lord. She said “him and I we connected; I connected with the Lord, because with my master, because we have things in common and when it comes to polygamy, it’s something that I am very comfortable with and I’m not a jealous person.”
2-so him and I we connected I connected with the Lord, because with my master because we have things in common and when it comes to polygamy, it's something that I am very comfortable with and I'm not a jealous person; I'm a giver I'm a giver not a taker; that's why…
4-And they used to seek my blessing. And these women, don't forget, they are not Zimbabwean women; they are very private; they don't do like social media they just like their private life. They are like Asians…
She continued saying: I’m a giver I’m a giver not a taker; that’s why… I was just a giver, and even the wives, I bless, I literally bless them and I will say to my hubby; I’ll say to them just respect me, and don’t try to be spiteful. You can have him.
“And I do bless them, and even my lord used to say, you have to get her blessing. And they used to seek my blessing.
“And these women, don’t forget, they are not Zimbabwean women; they are very private; they don’t do like social media they just like their private life. They are like Asians…”
Jordan Zemura has reclaimed his berth in the Bournemouth first XI after recovering from an ankle injury.
The Zimbabwean spent two months on the sidelines, missing seven games on the way, after suffering the knock in the Cherries’ match against Reading in October.
He started training earlier in the month but was only included in the matchday squad ahead of today’s game.
He is the first XI to face Middlesbrough this afternoon and will make his fifteenth start of the English Championship season.
Kick-off is at 2:30 pm CAT and the match will be live on SuperSport TV.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Callisto Pasuwa has completed a domestic double in Malawi after his Nyasa Big Bullets side won the 2021 Airtel Top 8 Cup on Saturday.
Bullets overcame rivals Silver Strikers 5-4 on penalties after the game had ended 1-1 at ninety minutes.
The victory completes the Blantyre-based outfit’s dominance in the Malawian top-flight this season.
Nyasa recently won the league title, their third consecutive triumph under Pasuwa.
The Zimbabwean gaffer won his first title in his debut season in 2019 before leading the team to another league glory in the following season.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Tinashe Sambiri| President Nelson Chamisa’s documentary was launched last night in New York at the film forum.
Scores of Zimbabweans in America attended the historic launch.
Tawanda Dzvokora the MDC A chairperson for North America Province was among the guests alongside MDC A provincial and Branch leaders.
Dzvokora said: “We spoke to those who watched the documentary and they could not hold back their tears.
The film is a true reflection of what happened on August 1 2018. Innocent citizens were shot dead by the military acting on Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s directive.
August 1 is a black day for the nation.”
Mr Gwekwerere the district Chairperson under which NY falls flew from Florida to attend the event.
The film is emotive and most of the people who watched it cried- especially Zimbabweans who had to relive the August 1 2018 painful events.
One of the journalists who covered the August 1 killings, Obey Manaiti was at the film launch. He described the documentary as a true record of what happened.
Another MDC A official present at the event said: “The documentary is a must watch for every Zimbabwean.”
Tinashe Sambiri|Norton MP, Honourable Temba Mliswa has boldly challenged Zanu PF’s Constantino Chiwenga to stop intimidating traditional leaders.
Chiwenga on Friday claimed that Chief Murinye had gone out of the way after the latter publicly denounced corruption at a funeral in Masvingo.
Chiwenga threatened to “punish” Chief Murinye for his “wayward behaviour.”
Chief Murinye challenged Mnangagwa to deal with rampant corruption and looting of State resources by “individuals surrounding him.”
Mliswa said the new dispensation should desist from using former President Robert Mugabe’s political tactics to cow perceived foes into submission.
See statement below:
Full Thread: Mliswa Defends Chief Murinye
News that VP Chiwenga threatened Chief Murinye is wrong & disturbing on every level. This is exactly how Mugabe operated, threatening all those who had divergent views. Leadership should listen to people & not threaten them. We are all under Chiefs. Politicians sandivo vene venyika.
There is freedom of expression which the Chiefs can also exercise and they speak on behalf of the people. They can’t be threatened over that. Chiefs were independent and apolitical but ZANU PF got them involved in politics yet when they press a divergent button you attack them.
You dragged them into politics so accept all versions of that involvement. We can’t be a country where people are afraid of expressing their views. Hatingarambe tichichikidzira vanhu. We can’t be a country known for abusing its people.
Some of us joined and pushed for the new dispensation because we felt that we would have a new narrative and a different governance system. You came up with the mantra the voice of the people is the voice of God. What has happened to that?
Chief Murinye should not retract what he said because it’s the truth. Let’s be tolerant of the truth. Mwari ndiye muridzi wenyika ino kwete imi. You cannot threaten us all for saying what is true. Hamusimi varidzi venyika.
If I had known that this is what the removal of Mugabe means then I would not have allowed myself to suffer imprisonment; go to foreign Gvts to lobby against their military intervention, stop SADC from sending troops etc. Let’s not forget who played which role.
When you are in power be humble, have equanimity, be magnanimous. Don’t abuse your power and bully those under you. Listen to the concerns of all, women, youths, war veterans, Chiefs, masvikiro, church leaders, etc then we know it’s the Zimbabwe that we want.
We have no desire to lead but simply need the leaders present to do things in the proper way. Leaders who push for our desires. I’m disappointed with all this. You, Hon VP, sacrificed for a better Zimbabwe but this is not the way to go about it.
You can’t be using that position to intimidate people. People should be free to greet you and laugh with you in the street not to fear you. Ushe madzoro and what goes around comes around.
A GLOOMY festive season beckons for civil servants, the worst since 2008 according to unions representing State employees owing to low salaries amid a sharp rise in the prices of goods and services.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo said nurses did not enjoy the bonus after some were paid in local currency, while others lost large amounts to bank charges.
“Looking at the November bonus given to nurses, there is definitely nothing to celebrate because a significant number failed to access the bonus in forex,” Dongo said.
“As a result, even if they get their December salaries, they cannot afford to buy clothes and other goodies for their family to enjoy the festive season. Government should give nurses their December salaries in US dollars because we cannot count on the November bonus.”
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) appealed to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to consider reviewing teachers’ salaries with urgency.
“Civil servants are about to have the worst Christmas ever since 2008, and if salaries are not adjusted in January, it will be hell on earth,” PTUZ said in a statement.
“Mthuli Ncube, Public Service Commission, your employees are starving. $25 000-30 000 (salary earned) is a dog’s breakfast.”
Zimbabwe National Teachers Union Manuel Nyawo said adding to their misery is the struggle to raise tuition fees for the first term which begins on January 4.
“Our members remain very desperate. There is no realistic bonus to talk about. Prices have already gone up and the little income they got as bonus has already been spent on very few items,” Nyawo said.
“The disposable income is just an eyesore and we want to appeal to the employer to pay us more so we are able to join our parents in the rural areas and enjoy Christmas with them.
“Come January 2022 we need money for our children’s school fees as well as money for food and transport. The situation before us is very worrisome and action is needed on the part of the government.”
Civil servants are demanding United States dollar-denominated salaries but the government has consistently pleaded incapacity to pay them in foreign currency. – NewsDay
Tinashe Sambiri| President Nelson Chamisa’s documentary was launched last night in New York at the film forum.
Scores of Zimbabweans in America attended the historic launch.
Tawanda Dzvokora the MDC A chairperson for North America Province was among the guests alongside MDC A provincial and Branch leaders.
Dzvokora said: “We spoke to those who watched the documentary and they could not hold back their tears.
The film is a true reflection of what happened on August 1 2018. Innocent citizens were shot dead by the military acting on Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s directive.
August 1 is a black day for the nation.”
Mr Gwekwerere the district Chairperson under which NY falls flew from Florida to attend the event.
The film is emotive and most of the people who watched it cried- especially Zimbabweans who had to relive the August 1 2018 painful events.
One of the journalists who covered the August 1 killings, Obey Manaiti was at the film launch. He described the documentary as a true record of what happened.
Another MDC A official present at the event said: “The documentary is a must watch for every Zimbabwean.”
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwean government has – under unclear circumstances – frozen a multi-million diamond deal involving a London-listed British company, Vast Resources Plc, as the post-coup administration increasingly prefers non-western investments.
While the current administration headed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa looked eager to re-engage the United Kingdom and other western nations immediately after the 2017 military-assisted takeover from the late Robert Mugabe, relations soured after the general elections in late July 2018.
The UK had warmed up to the change of power from Mugabe, a long-time foe, and even expressed eagerness to have Zimbabwe readmitted into the Commonwealth, a club of mostly former British colonies.
But protests that took place on August 1, 2018 as election results were being announced and the army killed numerous citizens while clamping down on suspected anti-government activists disrupted Harare’s plans for international re-engagement as the administration was accused of gross human rights abuses.
Because of the resurgence in isolation by European governments and the United States, Harare is increasingly preferring investors from China, Russia, Belarus and a several fringe nations that the Mnangagwa government is more comfortable with.
Elbowed out
Investigations carried out in collaboration with Information for Development Trust-a non-profit outfit supporting the media to probe bad governance-show that the Zimbabwean government has shelved a joint venture agreement between Vast Resources and the state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) after frustrating the London-listed entity for nearly three years.
It has been established that the joint venture (JV) was supposed to have been set up through Katanga Mining Pvt Ltd, a partnership between Vast Resources and Chiadzwa Community Company (CCC) that was previously named Chiadzwa Mineral Resources (CMR) and represents the Marange local community in the vast diamond fields in Manicaland province.
Government was being represented by the Mines and Finance ministries, investigations revealed, while Vast Resources was fronted by its chief executive officer, Andrew Prelea, and the Marange community, by Chief Godfrey Marange as well as Chief Solomon Marange.
The traditional leaders were the face of CCC, which is the special purpose vehicle for Royal Chiadzwa Trust.
In its 2021 first quarter report, Vast Resources described the ZCDC partnership as a key development that would enable Katanga Mining to procure a special grant for the exploration and mining of diamonds in Marange, and it remained confident that a deal would be hammered out in due course.
The Zimbabwean government claimed that the deal between Katanga and ZCDC was sealed as far back as late 2019.
On October 13 2019, Winston Chitando, the Mines minister, said at a media briefing: “There will be an agreement, which will be signed towards the end of next week between Katanga and ZCDC.
“As government, we are obviously pleased.”
Katanga was formed on October 11 2019.
While no progress was registered towards the finalisation of the deal, investigations established, Vast Resources still went ahead and moblised financial resources to kick-start the project.
The company’s annual report for 2020 shows that it drew down its first US$7 million tranche from the Atlas Capital Markets facility on January 31 last year, as it anticipated the deal to sail through.
The real value of the planned investment could not be immediately confirmed.
But our follow-up on this matter established that, instead of the deal being finalised, the government froze the partnership between Katanga and ZCDC in 2020 but no communication was made to the concerned parties.
“We were advised by ZCDC that Katanga partnership is currently shelved,” said CMR chairperson, Newman Chiadzwa, whose community-run company, Royal Chiadzwa Trust, has a 20% stake in ZCDC through a community share ownership arrangement.
“We (Chiadzwa community) are shareholders in ZCDC but we don’t really know what is happening.
“I understand that the instructions (to shelve the deal) came from the ministry.
“That’s where most of the decisions are made,” he said.
Promises and lies
So far, the ministry of Mines has not offered a public explanation on why it made a U-turn on Vast, nor do the concerned suitors who this publication talked to know.
Vast’s Prelea, in a 2019 broadcast interview, indicated that government offered them a diamond concessions different from the one they had agreed.
But, according to him, Vast Resources agree to the unilateral changes as it was still keen on the diamond investment, a hope that it holds up to now, as shown in its first quarter report for 2021.
The sidelining of Vast Resources comes as the government is showing a soft spot for Russian and Chinese investors in the expansive diamonds fields.
In December 2018, through a video posted on the Information ministry Twitter handle, Chitando announced that Cabinet had adopted a new diamond policy that would see two private companies being allowed to explore and mine diamonds in Manicaland.
A month later, government revealed Anjin – a JV between the Zimbabwean army and Chinese company, Anhui – and Alrosa from Russia were those two private companies.
Five months down the line, Chitando announced during a radio interview that government had approved Russia’s Alrosa to partner ZCDC while Anjin had been allowed back into Marange.
It had been evicted by the late Mugabe for allegedly siphoning millions from Chiadzwa and its return, according to Polite Kambamura – who is Chitando’s deputy – was done to salvage Chinese interests in Zimbabwe.
Anjin went on to grab the most lucrative mining portal from ZCDC, forcing it to the brink of collapse.
Local media reports have already suggested that that Alrosa has since been awarded 40 diamond concessions under unclear circumstances but investigations show that the company has not made any meaningful production to date.
The responsible authorities were not forthcoming with information regarding the Katanga deal.
Chitando did not respond to questions despite acknowledgement of receipt, while Kambamura said “kindly refer to ZCDC for finer details.”
The ZCDC chief executive officer, Mark Mabhudhu, referred enquiries back to the parent ministry.
“As you may know quite well, this issue falls under the purview of our shareholder who is the ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
“You may direct questions to them for credible answers,” said Mabhudhu.
The Office of the President and Cabinet played an active role in a restricted bid for a US$5 million job to fix Zimbabwe’s troubled aviation air communication systems.
The bid was limited to Russian and Chinese suitors, and the China Harbour Engineering Company, landed the contract in May this year even though it is still to commence work, seven months after.
The World Bank blacklisted CHEC at one time over unprofessional conduct and the Chinese multi-national has a history of non-delivery in Africa, the Caribbean and other parts of the world.
A Spanish company, Indira Systems, won the bid for the job in 2017, but like Vast Resources, was mysteriously stopped and the bid subsequently restricted to Russia and China.
Centre for Research and Development executive director, James Mupfumi was concerned that the “decision of who should mine in Marange is based on the whims of the executive and not on issues of transparency and accountability in the mining sector.”
Advocacy groups like CRD have been pushing for the publication of the diamond policy that the government claims to have crafted, but remains a top secret.
“When they got into power they opted for the diamond policy document,” Mupfumi said.
“That policy document is not even a public document.
“If you phone the ministry of mines today, you won’t get that document.
“You are told it’s a paper that guides the minister but we don’t have it.
“So now we have a situation whereby the issue of who comes in to mine is decided on the whims of those in the executive.”
Parties involved in the Katanga/ZCDC partnership questioned why Russia’s Alrosa joint venture and Anjin’s re-admission did not take time to approve while the Katanga partnership involving British investors was put on hold.
Bitter-sweet past
Vast Resources has a bitter-sweet past with the Zimbabwean government.
It changed its name in 2014 from African Consolidated Resources (ACR), according to its 2015 annual report.
The UK based miner took control of a diamond licence in Marange in February 2006 but was kicked out eight months later after the executive drew up a shortlist of other foreign investors of choice.
Still known as ACR, Vast Resources dragged the government to the High Court in 2009 under case No. HC 1390/07 in a bid to regain control of its concession.
The High Court ruled in 2010 that there were irregularities in the acquisition and registration of the claims that ACR obtained.
The company was further dragged before the High Court for alleged fraud and unlawful acquisition of diamond claims.
Court records indicate that in 2018, Vast had to withdraw a pending court case against government, supposedly with the hope of being readmitted back to the Marange fields through a partnership with ZCDC.
Newman Chiadzwa has also had a sour relationship with the government.
In 2010, he was sentenced to five years in jail and fined US$132 764 for illegally possessing 43, 028 carats of diamonds after a long legal battle with the state, according to court records. He was released after serving 16 months.
The following year, though, Newman successfully sued the government to recover diamonds worth US$300 million that the state had forfeited during his arrest.
*This investigative story was produced with support from the US Public Diplomacy Section in Harare.-standard
By A Correspondent- A Bulawayo magistrate said landlords should stop the arbitrary eviction of their tenants as this violates the country’s laws.
Bulawayo Western Commonage resident magistrate Shepard Munjanja said this before granting a tenant protection order against his landlord last week.
The applicant, Eloff Ncube and the accused, Mduduzi Moyo of 8824 Pumula East appeared before magistrate Munjanja last week.
Ncube told the court that he was being harassed by his landlord into leaving his lodgings before the expiry of the three months’ notice that he had been verbally given. He said:
My landlord asked me to leave his house and we verbally agreed on three months’ notice which was effective from 15 October to 15 January next year.
But my landlord has now been harassing me to move before that date and even hired bouncers to force me to leave which is why I have come before the courts for reprieve.
Opposing Ncube’s application for a protection order against him, Moyo said his tenant was lying about his notice period. He said:
Ncube came to me desperate for accommodation telling me that his belongings were no longer safe and he needed a place to stay.
I gave him a place to stay and when I decided that it was time for him to leave, I gave him three months’ notice.
We had a verbal agreement on 29 August this year that he would be out by 29 November but he came to me and said he was having logistical difficulties and asked for a little more time which I granted him.
But now he is still there and is saying we agreed that he should move out by 15 January which is not true.
Munjanja however granted the protection order against Moyo and ordered him to allow his tenant to rundown his three-month notice while granting the latter a protection order against harassment.
He also advised Moyo to seek a court order before evicting his tenant ahead of the given three months notice. Said Munjanja:
I grant the order in favour of the applicant and advise you to seek a court order should he fail to leave by January 15.
Only through the courts can a tenant be evicted and I urge you and other landlords to bear this in mind.
By A Correspondent- Chief Murinye from Masvingo will face disciplinary action for his utterances last weekend attacking President Mnangagwa and hinting at an imaginary possible coup.
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga did not take kindly to the chief’s utterances and yesterday told the annual Chiefs’ Conference that such statements can only be said by a “drunk”.
“What we have seen in the past few days is never done,” he said. “Zvekuti munhu anosimuka otaura zvaanoda kuna paramount chief is never done. Zvinoitwa nemunhu anwa mutoriro. In this country it’s never done.
“We have one Munhumutapa (President Mnangagwa), we have one leader and it is that leader we give respect. It is that leader we show the entire nation what respect is all about.
So, what has been done by Chief Murinye is going to be investigated by the Minister of Local Government and the chiefs’ council and if found guilty, disciplinary action would be taken.
This is Zimbabwe. I thought I should say this, I respect Munhumutapa (President Mnangagwa) and no one touches him as long as I live.”
Zimbabwe Chiefs’ Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira distanced the traditional leaders from Chief Murinye’s utterances, saying they did not reflect their thinking.
“I want to tell the President that we are with you as an institution, what was said is an individual’s views and does not reflect the views of the institution, in fact, it’s the direct opposite of our views,” he said.
Earlier, Chief Charumbira had thanked the President for giving them audience to discuss issues affecting the country.
He said President Mnangagwa had restored the dignity of the institution of traditional leaders that was undermined by the colonial regime.
Chief Charumbira thanked the President for agreeing that chiefs change their official attire from the red robes and hat introduced by the colonial regime to new ones reflective of local customs and traditions
