By A Correspondent- Chiredzi commercial farmer, Tony Renato Sarpo (55), who was last year slapped with a 10month prison sentence for theft of trust property, has been freed after his sentence was quashed by the High Court last week.

Sarpo was in June last year convicted and sentenced by Chiredzi magistrate Geraldine Mutsoto for stealing 40 wheelbarrows belonging to Matabeleland Engineering.

Four months were, however, suspended on condition that he paid a $300 fine and a further six months were suspended on condition that he paid $8 800 restitution by July 31, 2020.

Sarpo appealed the ruling at the High Court which last week ruled in his favour and set aside the sentence.

“The appeal be and hereby upheld. The conviction of the accused be and is hereby quashed and the sentence set aside. The accused be and is hereby found not guilty,” the High Court ruled.

Sarpo has scored several victories against Matabeleland Engineering.

In one of the cases he was convicted in February last year by Harare magistrate Nyasha Vitorini for stealing a Toyota Hilux single cab truck valued at $10 000 also belonging to Matabeleland Engineering.

David Wayne Williams, one of the co-directors of Matabeleland Engineering trading as Yagden Engineering, told the court that Sarpo refused to return company documents, assets, receipt books, vehicles, vehicle registration books, accounts books and other assets following his resignation on June 2, 2016.

Sarpo, who was executive director and a shareholder in the firm, held on to the vehicle and sold it to Intrachem through Harris Auto, Harare.

Vitorini sentenced him to 12 months in prison, of which six months were conditionally set aside. Six months were suspended on condition that he restituted the complainant and performed 210 hours of community service.

Sarpo, however, appealed both conviction and sentence at the High Court and was acquitted.

By A Correspondent- Lawyers for the 9 armed robbers Mussa Taj Abudul and others have finished submitting their mitigations before magistrate Barbara Mateko.

The state has also finished its submissions.

At 15:00hrs they will be back in court for sentencing.

The development comes after the notorious nine, who’ve been on a spate of armed robberies, were found guilty of the alleged robberies.

The nine who appeared before magistrate Mateko at Harare magistrates court in court 5 for judgment for illegally possessing firearm and ammunition have been found guilty and remanded for tomorrow for mitigation and sentencing.

Their lawyer Mrs Concillia Maheya was absent.

The nine include: Mussa Taj Abudul, Tapiwa Mangoma, Liberty Mupamhanga and 6 others. M

agistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko in convicting the nine said it was clear that they were acting in common purpose when they were arrested.

The nine were arrested in Beitbridge in August 2020 following a tip-off.

By A Correspondent- Teachers at Mangwande Primary School in Lower Gweru have reportedly deserted the learning institution for security reasons after machete gangs terrorised the area since July 2018.

As a result, the school is now left with five teachers out of a staff complement of 14.

NewsDay gathered that the teachers fled after a female colleague was assaulted and gang-raped by five machete wielding youths as her three minor children watched. The machete gang then force-marched the head to the school cash vault which they failed to break.

They then ransacked other teachers’ houses and stole various items.

Two members of the gang were later arrested and jailed for 37 years each.

A parent with a child at Mangwande School, Thomson Moyo said children in Grade Four and Grade Six had not been attending classes for the whole of last term.

“It’s disheartening that our children are failing to learn due to shortages of teachers mainly caused by desertions because of machete gang terror,” Moyo said.

“From information we have gathered, the teachers were saying they fear for their lives.”

Another parent, Esnath Mlalazi said following the robbery at the school three years ago, teachers deserted their staff cottages before they left the school in successive years.

“They started by deserting the school staff houses, saying they feared for their lives before they went on to transfer from the school in successive years,” she said.

Midlands provincial education director Robson Machimbira was non-committal when NewsDay contacted him for comment. He only said the robberies were reported.

“That case was reported to the police,”Machimbira said.

However, last year while addressing a meeting organised by churches, Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Larry Mavima said there was need to decisively deal with the machete gangs.

He called on stakeholders to join hands with police and put an end to machete gangs, whom he said had become “warlords” with “potential to start civil wars”.

By A Correspondent- A well known Harare lawyer, Charles Chinyama is facing imminent de-registration after being found guilty of six counts of unethical conduct for fleecing clients of money running into thousands of United States dollars, plunging the name of the learned profession into disrepute.

Chinyama, a senior partner at Chinyama and Partners Legal Practitioners, is just one of many attorneys fleecing large sums from their clients, given the number of lawyers that have so far been deleted from the practicing lawyers registry.

His conviction early this month comes after the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) hauled the lawyer before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (LPDT) on seven counts of improper conduct.

He was accused of a string of charges  including acting in an improper and unseemly manner by having a ‘questionable’ relationship with a client who was the estranged wife of the complainant in the course of divorce proceedings between the couple.

Chinyama also failed to account to client (two counts) and to properly perform a client’s mandate and taking advantage of such client, failure to issue receipts and to account for funds held in trust, and placing himself in a position of conflict with client’s interests.

In addition, Chinyama failed to issue receipts and to account for funds held in trust and failing to account for debts recovered on client’s behalf; and raising a false bill for legal fees and forging an acknowledgment of debt by client in support of legal action against such client for recover of fees.

After a fully contested hearing, the LPDT found him guilty of six counts and absolved him of the seventh charge.

In one of the counts involving complainant Zhou Haixi, the disciplinary authority found that Haixi engaged  the services of Chinyama and deposited US$70 000 into the trust account that he operated.

When Haixi  wrote to the respondent on 29 July 2016 enquiring on the status of the funds, there was no response.

Chinyama was also instructed to recover debts in the sums of US$20 000 and US$4 000 on two separate occasions.

Despite having recovered the debts, the lawyer failed to account for the amounts. Instead, Chinyama then billed Haixi  for US$132 790, which bill was contested by the complainant.

Both the LSZ and Chinyama have since been directed to make submissions before the LPDT on aggravation and mitigation.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Desperate to become husband and wife, a Chipinge couple reportedly connived to murder the woman’s daughter (4) from her previous marriage.

Langton Sithole (30) of Charurwa Village and Violet Chabvukwa (36) of Chikwanda Village under Chief Mutema were recently arrested for the murder of Blessing Mabhejo.

The love-birds reportedly sought to conceal evidence by faking a drowning accident.

Last week they appeared before Chipinge magistrate, Mrs Elizabeth Hanzi facing murder charges.

They were not asked to plead, remanded in custody to June 17 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

It is alleged that Sithole’s family could not bless his union with Chabvukwa due to the four-year-old girl.

Prosecuting, Mr Thulani Zondwayo said: “Sithole and Chabvukwa were about to settle down as a couple, but the former’s family refused to bless their union due to the child Chabvukwa had from her previous marriage.”

Mr Zondwayo said on May 30, the lovers took the girl to a nearby dam and murdered her.

“Sithole said while at the dam wall, he pinned the girl to the ground and suffocated her to death with a plastic container.
“After accomplishing their mission, Sithole removed the girl’s top garment and placed her body on the banks of the dam before going away,” said Mr Zondwayo.

However, police detectives led by Detective Assistant Inspector Emmerson Ziki, Detective Sergeant Kasora and Detective Sergeant Antonio received a tip-off and attended the crime scene.

They discovered that only half of Blessing’s body was submerged in water, an indication that there was foul play.
Investigations led to Sithole and Chabvukwa’s arrest.

According to the State papers gleaned by The Manica Post, Sithole admitted that he killed the young girl.

“I admit to the charges levelled against me. I was in love with Violet (Chabukwa) who is the mother of the now deceased. I told Violet that we could not marry each other as my parents would not allow me to marry a woman with a child from a previous marriage.

“On May 30, I connived to kill Blessing. I went to the dam first and sat on the dam wall. Violet then came with the deceased and sat close to me while holding the baby closely.

“I took an empty peanut butter container and covered both the nose and the mouth of the now deceased until she suffocated and passed away. I then took a towel which was in my possession and gave it to Violet so that she could wipe the blood that was coming from Blessing’s nose.

“We removed the Blessing’s top garment and placed her body at the edge of the dam while her legs were submerged in the water,” said Sithole.

-manicapost

By A Correspondent- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) yesterday escalated plans to punish “outliers” including listed milling giant, National Foods, which it said were “abusing” foreign currency acquired through the auction system.

The central bank named 18 companies which allegedly abused the foreign currency auction system under the recently promulgated Statutory Instrument (SI) 127 of 2021.

SI 127 of 2021 prohibits business operators from charging above the official exchange rate and empowers authorities to punish those that refuse to accept the Zimbabwe dollar for local transactions.

Food processing giant, National Foods, Georgia Petroleum, AfricaSteel and several fuel companies were among the errant businesses said to be abusing the forex facility.

SI 127 of 2021 imposes fines of up to $1 million on firms found guilty of manipulating the auction system and abusing foreign currency.

According to the SI, companies are liable for a fine of $50 000 or its equivalent in foreign currency for refusing to take payment in local currency at the official exchange rate.

Firms will be fined $5 million for supplying false information to their banks when applying for foreign currency at the RBZ auction.

A $50 000 penalty will also be levied on anyone selling goods at a rate above the official exchange rate and the same fine applies to companies that issue Zimdollar receipts for goods sold in United States dollars.

In a statement, RBZ governor John Mangudya said the Financial Intelligence Unit and the central bank’s Exchange Control Division conducted an investigation on business entities defying SI 127 of 2021 and named 18 companies as culprits.

“RBZ wishes to advise members of the public that over the past weeks it has engaged a number of business associations and entities to discuss the modalities for compliance with SI 127 of 2021,” Mangudya said.

“The bank would like to express its appreciation to the business community for valuable feedback during engagements which have culminated in business’ clearer understanding of the essence of SI 127.

“The bank (RBZ) has a duty of care to ensure that the significant progress that the economy made since the introduction of the foreign exchange auction system in June 2020 continues on an unabated positive trajectory while at the same time protecting consumers and fostering compliance to engender fair play in the economy.”

The central bank boss added: “It is against these noble objectives that SI 127 was put in place to provide for penalties against errant entities that were at the forefront of abusing the foreign ex-change auction system to the detriment of the stability of the economy.

“After investigations by the Financial Intelligence Unit and the bank’s ex-change control division, the entities list-ed hereunder which were abusing the foreign exchange auction system shall be dealt with in accordance with SI 127.

“Going forward and in line with the recommendations from the business community on the need to continue to enhance stability in the economy, the bank’s efforts to foster compliance in terms of SI 127 shall be limited to outliers that wantonly abuse the foreign ex-change auction system, exchange rate manipulation and non-compliance with anti-money laundering rules and regulations.

“The bank’s focus on these key areas coupled with business reality check self-discipline, self-monitoring and per review will sustain inflation and exchange rate stability.”

The reforms under SI 127 of 2021 triggered a wave of price hikes in Zimbabwe and United States dollar terms, as terrified firms raced to protect their interests.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has called on authorities to immediately scrap the SI. The CZI said fear among business-es was that while government’s intentions were noble, the unintended con-sequences would be dire.

“The immediate impact of applying the SI would be that US dollar prices will be hiked so as to result in the same Zimbabwe dollar price prevailing prior to the SI.

“This means an immediate spike in US dollar inflation, a component of our blended inflation rate,” CZI said.

“Companies have been relying on local US dollar sales to generate the bulk of foreign currency used to sustain operations.

“Use of the auction rate would result in consumers converting their US dollars to Zimbabwe dollars on the parallel market prior to purchasing, a practice already rampant outside the major retail chains such as Pick n Pay, OK and Bon Marche. This will deprive companies of what has become their main source of foreign currency.”

-Newsday

Press Statement
16 June 2021

ZLHR STATEMENT ON THE DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD

ON the Day of the African Child, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) encourages the public to join the rest of the continent in celebrating African children.

The Day of the African Child was established by the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. On this day, students marched in protest against the poor quality of education they were receiving
under the apartheid regime and they wanted to defend their right to be taught in their own languages.

The Day of the African Child is also meant to serve as an opportunity to celebrate African children and reflect upon the steps that can be taken in order address the problems that they face.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that plague African children. In Zimbabwe, the number of child marriages that occurred during the national lockdown imposed by government to curtail the spread of COVID-19 increased at an alarming rate as confirmed by government early this year. The harsh economic impact of the lockdown left many parents desperate, which led them to marry off their children in exchange for money or other goods.

Unfortunately, some parents also opted to marry off their children to reduce the strain on the household income. Children remain the worst-affected parties in the illegal practice of child marriages in Zimbabwe. In addition, the practice disproportionately affects the
girl child and this makes the goal of gender equality difficult to achieve. Children are often saddled with enormous responsibilities in the marriages and these responsibilities limit their ability to fully develop to their full potential, like other children who do not
shoulder such burdens.

Moreover, children in child marriages are often subject to abuse in the marriages and teen pregnancies which are potentially detrimental to their health or even lethal in some cases.

Apart from the scourge of child marriages, African children have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 impact on education. In general, African children lack basic resources that are present in many schools across the globe but they particularly lack access to information, communication and technology (ICT) resources that are essential to continue educational activities due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased reliance on virtual learning during national lockdowns across the globe excluded many African children who could not afford to purchase the devices and internet access that was required to access the virtual resources.

This led to the exclusion of many children from the benefit of advancing their education. The lack of access to these virtual resources by African children also threatens to widen the inequality gap between African states and the rest of the world. Policy makers are urged to prioritise the education of African children by ensuring that they have greater access to ICT services.

On this Day of the African Child ZLHR calls upon:

•       All members of the public to celebrate African children;

•       Community leaders and civil society to foster dialogue with children in order to effectively address the challenges they face;

•       Policymakers to accelerate programmes that are meant to uplift the welfare of African children.

ENDS

By A Correspondent- A bus terminus tout was killed, allegedly by a bus crew, early Wednesday in Harare.

The body of the unnamed man was still at the 4th Street bus terminus at 7AM as police interviewed witnesses.

A witness at the scene told ZimLive by phone: “He was stabbed in the chest during a fight over passengers at around 5AM. He was tussling with a C.A.G Travellers Coaches bus crew.”

The witness said the C.A.G bus had left for Mutare after the incident.

The dead man’s body was covered with a purple blanket as police canvassed the area for witnesses.

Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was yet to get a report of the incident.

Touts at bus terminus often engage in nasty fights over passengers. Some travellers have lost property or been roughed up by the touts who often drag them – against their will – to a particular bus

By A Correspondent- Teboho Tsotetsi, the decuplets father has blocked donations for the babies as he can’t locate his wife and the babies since last week when she allegedly gave birth.

In a police statement on Saturday – in support of a missing person inquiry – Tsotetsi told the police he was concerned about Gosiame Thamara Sithole’s whereabouts and her safety since she told him he was not allowed to see his decuplets due to Covid-19 regulations.

Speaking to Pretoria News after submitting the statement, Tsotetsi said in a WhatsApp message:

_I appreciate the financial support that we have been getting from members of the public, but I also would like to appeal to the public to stop making money deposits into our accounts until members of the community have seen the babies._

He said he had seen his heavily pregnant wife for the last time on 7 June, Sunday night when he accompanied her to the Esangweni Clinic in Tembisa, after she complained about labour pains.

Almost a week after Sithole repeatedly failed to tell him where she was, Tsotetsi said he gave the police a statement in support of their inquiry on Saturday.

The inquiry came after Tsotetsi’s family members opened a missing person case at the Tembisa South police station on Thursday.

In his statement, Tsotetsi said Sithole informed him that she was initially at Mediclinic Medforum Hospital before she requested to be moved to the lodge facilities of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH).

He said he sent her a WhatsApp message informing her that he was being harassed by the police who are investigating a case of a missing person because her whereabouts are unknown. Further reads the message:

_I had been tracked by the police, and If they get hold of me I will be arrested as I am a suspect now because I am the last person to see you. I really needed to see you but my priority is our safety. Please forward me your picture and the pictures of our babies._

Sithole reportedly said she was at Tshwane District Hospital, Dr Savage Road, Pretoria.

-IOL

The family of Ronald Mukumbira, a man who died following brutal assault – allegedly by MDC-T Vice President Elias Mudzuri – Wednesday morning left the body of the deceased at Mudzuri’s home.

The body was left on a verandah at Mudzuri’s home in the Four Miles area of Zaka at 6 AM this morning.

The 23-year-old died on June 10, three days after he was brutally assaulted at Mudzuri’s Duriro Pub & Grill in Harare’s Workington industrial area, allegedly over missing pool table balls, which Mukumbira was accused of stealing.

After he was treated and discharged from Sally Mugabe Hospital, Mukumbira allegedly told his mother, Netsai Mukumbira, that he had been attacked by the former Harare mayor, his brother Leonard Mudzuri and other unnamed men.

Speaking to ZimLive by phone, Netsai said:

_We took the body to the Mudzuri homestead this morning. There were people at the homestead, they watched through the curtains. We left the body by the verandah, and we wait and see what they do with it._

_Dumped at doorstep … The body of Ronald Mukumbira was delivered to the Mudzuri home by scotch-cart early Wednesday.

The Mukumbira family is angry that police have not arrested Mudzuri, and their mood was not lifted by a post-mortem report which did not link the assault to the death. According to the victim’s mother, the pathologist wrote that “police to investigate._

The family fears that police are unable to arrest Mudzuri because of his and his party’s links to the ruling Zanu PF party, which is associated with impunity.

Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told ZimLive that Mukumbira’s death is still under investigation.

By A Correspondent- Studio 263 actress Chipo Bizure, has been dragged to the courts by her boyfriend’s wife.

Bizure is girlfriend to the complainant Fortunate Mapfumo’s husband. The court heard that on June 8 at around 2am, Bizure went to Mapfumo’s place of residence in Avonlea and started to ring the intercom demanding to see her boyfriend Sugar Chagonda who is Mapfumo’s husband who was inside the house.

After being told that she must return in the morning, Bizure started blowing her car horn and banging the gate and when she discovered that the gate was not locked, she went inside and destroyed two bar stools that were on the veranda.

Upon hearing the noise, Mapfumo and her son went out and Bizure ran outside and locked herself in the car and was hooting at the gate till 5:30 am.

Bizure yesterday changed her plea and said she only hooted once and broke the bar stools by mistake not intentionally as alleged by the State and is willing to compensate Mapfumo.

The court heard that at around 6:30am when Mapfumo was about to go to work she saw Bizure parked at the gate blocking the way and she refused to remove her car saying one of the tyres had been deflated by Mapfumo’s gardener which prompted her to call the police leading to Bizure’s arrest.

On the other hand, Mapfumo also appeared in the same court accused of unreasonable disposal of household effects which falls under the Domestic Violence Act in which her husband Sugar Chagonda accused her of depriving him access to his cell phones.

The court told the State that the allegations were not supporting the charge and the State was prompted to withdraw charges against her before plea.

The State told the court that they will summon her when they decide to try her on theft charges after getting authority to prosecute from the Prosecutor General.

By A Correspondent- Investigations into police Commissioner Erasmus Makodza, accused of corruptly abusing his post or concealing from the police the business dealings of his girlfriend on a police farm in Mashonaland East are almost complete and his trial has been set for next month.

The State led by Mrs Netsai Mushayabasa set July 27 as the trial date for Makodza.

Makodza today appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje.

-State media

Tinashe Sambiri|Well-placed government sources have pointed out that the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa and Douglas Mwonzora are secretly planning to form a Government of National Unity and push elections to 2025.

This, according to the sources, is a gimmick calculated to frustrate voters assuming they would be tired of waiting for elections by 2025.

The MDC Alliance Namibia has released a statement on the plot by Mwonzora and Mnangagwa to form a “counterfeit” inclusive government.

Read full statement below:

No to postponement of harmonised elections and the creation of a fake Government of National Unity, Mdc Alliance Namibia slams Mwonzora.

16 June 2021

There is a clandestine nefarious plot by the desperate Zanupf regime and power-hungry Mwonzora to push the much awaited harmonised elections further than 2023 according to their mouthpiece,The Daily News.

Rapacious Mwonzora Douglas Togarasei on Friday revealed to The Standard that he had gone to State House to pay a courtesy call on Mr Mnangagwa. Mdc Alliance Namibia believes that Zanupf is exploiting State institutions such as the State House , the courts ,the police, soldiers and state agents to aid Mdc -T in its bid to position itself as the main opposition party in Zimbabwe so that they can strengthen their sadist intention to forge an Anti-poor government that make it easy for Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to postpone elections.

The judicially-constructed MdcT leader said he would not take in the Polad meetings as he preferred a broader dialogue to resolve Zimbabwe’s multiple political and economic problems. What perturbes social democrats and few party officials is the lack of transparency especially when you are representing Constitutional Democracy. Mwonzora visited his Zanupf counterpart without the knowledge of the people he purports to represent. This unpacks the greedy nature of a stomach politicians in the leadership of this Zanupf backed political outfit.

One of the anonymous member of their party said, “We are all asking ourselves what was really so important about this meeting , which was kept away from everyone”. This lack of transparency is not characteristic of a Social Democrat but a dictatorship and authoritarian masquerading as a democratic leader.

Moreover, “We suspect there is a holy alliance going on here and parallel arrangements are coming”, the official revealed.

This is the incontrovertible evidence to prove that Mwonzora is now a certified Zanupf surrogate who is ready to do anything to derail the freedom train. The plot to sabotage the will of the people must be confronted with equal varlour, mettle and nerve. Trying to postpone elections through a counterfeit GNU is not only beyond nonsense but also devilish, evil and satanic. Social democrats should peacefully and democratically pent up their fury resisting the selfish interests of two monocrats who are planning to suspend our 2013 constitution. It has become visibly clear that Mwonzora is being condomised by the regime to perpetuate the toiling of the unsuspecting masses. There is no need to conceal a democratic fight from the owners of the struggle.

Furthermore, something could be really fishy here because social democracy exists publicly. Mwonzora tried his pathological lies saying he was directed by the MdcT National Executive Council to pursue dialogue for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe. What mesmerized Social Transformers in was that the constitution of his party calls for transparency and accountability of leadership. No hidden agendas in a Constitutional Democracy. We shall work tirelessly to defend the Constitution that allows us to have elections after every five years. Mwonzora is a Zanupf puppet who is being manipulate the international community. That shall be resisted with equal measure.

Moreso, Mwonzora is the reason why Mr Mnangagwa declared our peace-loving party ,Mdc Alliance led by President Advocate Nelson Chamisa a terrorist organisation. This is a futile attempt by Zanupf to just the pre-trial detentions, arbitrary arrests, torture, abductions, forced disappearances and illegal convictions of the Mdc Alliance leaders and activists. We are quite cognisant of their ploy to postpone elections and push them further than 2023, a move that will be resisted by all Zimbabweans across the globe. Mwonzora and his masters must know voting is a civil responsibility. We shall fulfill our revolutionary mandate to vote for complete.

In a nutshell, Mr Mnangagwa and Mr Mwonzora intend to take people for granted. They are afraid of the #CitizensConvergenceForChange and the panic to contest with our brave astute leadership in 2023 is now a mammoth task since social democrats are now available for the #Agenda2021. Zimbweans are not victims of national consciousness, they are politically and economically conscious of what should be done. Ours is a fight for socio-economic transformation. We are not stomach politicians who pretend to be social democrats so that they can feed their anticipating bellies.

Mdc Alliance Namibia is geared to win Zimbabwe for complete change. Mr Mnangagwa and Mr Mwonzora must commence to respect the people of Zimbabwe through adhering to the People’s Constitution. #NoToPostponentOfHarmonisedElections.

6MillionVotersin2023

MdcAllianceIsNotATerroristOrganisation

ZanupfMustGo

Mdc-TMustFall

FreeCdeMako

FreePrisonersOfConscience

ReformAgenda

GovtAgenda

GlobalAgenda

WeDemandNewLeaders

Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya

By A Correspondent- Studio 263 actress Chipo Bizure, has been dragged to the courts by her boyfriend’s wife.

Bizure is girlfriend to the complainant Fortunate Mapfumo’s husband. The court heard that on June 8 at around 2am, Bizure went to Mapfumo’s place of residence in Avonlea and started to ring the intercom demanding to see her boyfriend Sugar Chagonda who is Mapfumo’s husband who was inside the house.

After being told that she must return in the morning, Bizure started blowing her car horn and banging the gate and when she discovered that the gate was not locked, she went inside and destroyed two bar stools that were on the veranda.

Upon hearing the noise, Mapfumo and her son went out and Bizure ran outside and locked herself in the car and was hooting at the gate till 5:30 am.

Bizure yesterday changed her plea and said she only hooted once and broke the bar stools by mistake not intentionally as alleged by the State and is willing to compensate Mapfumo.

The court heard that at around 6:30am when Mapfumo was about to go to work she saw Bizure parked at the gate blocking the way and she refused to remove her car saying one of the tyres had been deflated by Mapfumo’s gardener which prompted her to call the police leading to Bizure’s arrest.

On the other hand, Mapfumo also appeared in the same court accused of unreasonable disposal of household effects which falls under the Domestic Violence Act in which her husband Sugar Chagonda accused her of depriving him access to his cell phones.

The court told the State that the allegations were not supporting the charge and the State was prompted to withdraw charges against her before plea.

The State told the court that they will summon her when they decide to try her on theft charges after getting authority to prosecute from the Prosecutor General.

-H-Metro

By A Correspondent-A Correspondent- Beitbridge Woman lost US$10 000 to two armed robbers who masqueraded as buyers of a vehicle she was selling after she offered them overnight accommodation.

Matabeleland South acting provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Thabani Mkhwananzi confirmed the incident which occurred last Monday in Mapolovele Village.

He said Ms Prisca Muleya (33) and her husband had placed an advert on various WhatsApp groups for the sale of their vehicle and the two men arrived at their home under the pretext of buying the vehicle.

“I can confirm that we recorded a robbery case which occurred in Mapolovele Village in Beitbridge. Ms Muleya and her husband advertised that they were selling a car on various WhatsApp groups. The two suspects arrived at the home under the pretext of buying the vehicle and only found her. She invited the two men to wait for her husband who further delayed to return until it was night.

“Ms Muleya then offered the two men a place to sleep. During the night they budged into her bedroom while she was asleep and demanded cash while armed with a pistol. They took US$10 000 and fled into the night. Her husband returned home a few hours later and they reported the matter to the police,” he said.

Asst Insp Mkhwananzi said investigations were underway and appealed to members of the public with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact the police.

He urged members of the public to desist from keeping large sums of money in their homes.

“As police we urge people to desist from keeping large sums of money in their homes as they will be putting their lives at risk. People should also be careful of strangers and not trust them. Members of the public should also be careful about who they tell sensitive information such as the valuables they have,” he said.

-State media

By A Correspondent- Harare could now be safe after the court has convicted nine notorious armed robbers responsible for a spate of robberies around the country.

Musa Taj Abdul, Liberty Mupamhanga, Prince Makodza, Godfrey Mupamhanga, Charles Lundu, Rudolph Kanhanga, Innocent Jairos, Tapiwa Mangoma and Carrington Marasha were convicted after a full trial.
The nine had denied the charges when they appeared before magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko.

They were arrested in Beitbridge in August last year following a tip-off.
The nine are also facing other armed robbery cases which are still pending at the court.

Mr Oscar Madhume and Mrs Francesca Mukumbiri appeared for the State.
Mrs Mateko in convicting the nine said it was clear that they acting in common purpose when they were arrested.

-State media

By A Correspondent- Nine notorious armed robbers responsible for a spate of robberies around the country have been convicted of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Musa Taj Abdul, Liberty Mupamhanga, Prince Makodza, Godfrey Mupamhanga, Charles Lundu, Rudolph Kanhanga, Innocent Jairos, Tapiwa Mangoma and Carrington Marasha were convicted after a full trial.
The nine had denied the charges when they appeared before magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko.

They were arrested in Beitbridge in August last year following a tip-off.
The nine are also facing other armed robbery cases which are still pending at the court.

Mr Oscar Madhume and Mrs Francesca Mukumbiri appeared for the State.
Mrs Mateko in convicting the nine said it was clear that they acting in common purpose when they were arrested.

-State media

By A Correspondent-Zanu PF has hijacked the funeral of five Chagweda family members of Gutu who perished in a road accident along the Chivhu-Roy highway last Saturday morning.

The family members namely, Francis Chagweda (33) who was the driver, Lloyd Chagweda (31), Viola Chagweda (35), Mavis Chagweda (61) all of Chidyamakuni Village in Chiwara and Eneres Said of Chiweshe died on the spot after a Toyota Wish they were traveling in was involved in a head-on collision with an Inter Africa bus.

They were traveling to Chiwara from Harare for a family function when disaster struck.

Gutu Senator Lovemore Matuke and Gutu South National Assembly representative Pupurai Togarepi have since taken control of all the burial arrangement of the deceased.

By A Correspondent-Government, through the national Civil Protection Unit has granted state assistance for the burial of five Chagweda family members of Gutu who perished in a road accident along the Chivhu-Roy highway last Saturday morning.

The family members namely, Francis Chagweda (33) who was the driver, Lloyd Chagweda (31), Viola Chagweda (35), Mavis Chagweda (61) all of Chidyamakuni Village in Chiwara and Eneres Said of Chiweshe died on the spot after a Toyota Wish they were traveling in was involved in a head on collision with an Inter Africa bus.

They were traveling to Chiwara from Harare for a family function when disaster struck.

Gutu Civil Protection Unit chair and district development co-ordinator Ms Chiedza Tafirei said the deceased will get a state assisted burial.
Ms Tafirei said all the deceased except Said would be buried at Chidyamakuni Village tomorrow while the latter would be buried in Chiweshe.

The Civil Protection Unit had chipped in with $50 000 towards meeting the funeral expenses of the five deceased.

Besides the cash, the State had also chipped in with rice and cooking oil among other foodstuffs for the funeral.

Gutu Senator Cde Lovemore Matuke and Gutu South National Assembly representative Cde Pupurai Togarepi also donated foodstuffs towards the funeral.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s statistical agency has said marginalised parts of the country such as Tsholotsho will be treated as special areas during the population census to ensure every citizen is counted.

This was revealed by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) director-general Taguma Mahonde during a tour of Tsholotsho district on Sunday.

The main inhabitants of Tsholotsho district are the San, who are generally known as nomadic.

Mahonde said they had already begun preparations for the population census, starting with a field mapping exercise in Tsholotsho.

Government last week announced that the population census would commence in April 2022, with results expected in August the same year.

The population census is expected to pave way for delimitation of new constituencies.

A field mapping exercise is carried out at the pre-enumeration stage of the population and housing census.

“The San are nomadic and, therefore, such areas should be treated as special case areas to ensure that no one is left behind and everyone is enumerated. So we want to make sure that when it comes to census time, the San people are enumerated,” Mahonde told journalists.

“We want to make sure that every province has been allocated an enumeration area. An enumeration area is one which leads us to drawing an enumeration map. This is a systematic way we use to make sure there is no over-counting or undercounting.”

A field mapping exercise involves the subdivision of the country into small census geographic units called enumeration areas.

A population and housing census is undertaken every 10 years in terms of the Census and Statistics Act.

ZimStat said it would, for the first time, attempt to estimate the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora to meet the data needs of policymakers.

Latest data shows that the country’s population is estimated to have grown to 15,8 million in 2019 from 13,4 million in 2012, and is projected to be around 17 million by the next census in 2022.

The 2022 survey will be the fifth since the country’s independence from Britain in 1980.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- The president of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM), Reverend Amon Madawo has approached the High Court seeking to bar Reverend Cossam Chiangwa from using the name AFM of Zimbabwe, its logo and symbols as it may mislead congregants.

Following a recent Supreme Court ruling on the AFM leadership crisis case, Chiangwa who rejected the ruling formed the AFM of Zimbabwe which has symbols that are slightly different from those of AFM in Zimbabwe.

The Supreme Court ordered Chiangwa to stop using the AFM name and to return all the properties that belong to the latter.

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Australia Province donated cash to Tungamirai Madzokere and Last Maengahama on Monday.

Madzokere and Maengahama spent nearly 10 years in jail for a crime they did not commit.

MDC Alliance Secretary for Welfare, Maureen Kademaunga commended well-wishers in Zimbabwe and abroad for supporting Maengahama and Madzokere financially…

“Thank you Zimbabwe for the continued outpouring of love and solidarity to our Cdes
@LastMaengahama
and Clr Madzokere.

Today we say tinotenda to
@mdczimbabwe
Australia province for a cash donation towards their immediate needs as they reintegrate into society. God bless you.

I was delighted to see my brother back at his workplace where his wife Mrs Maingehama has managed to keep their family business going under very difficult circumstances.

Reintegration is a process and both Last Maengahama and Clr Madzokere are so thankful for all the support & solidarity they are receiving from Zimbabweans at large as they rebuild their lives,” Kademaunga said in a statement.

Tinashe Sambiri|Well-placed government sources have pointed out that the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa and Douglas Mwonzora are secretly planning to form a Government of National Unity and push elections to 2025.

This, according to the sources, is a gimmick calculated to frustrate voters assuming they would be tired of waiting for elections by 2025.

The MDC Alliance Namibia has released a statement on the plot by Mwonzora and Mnangagwa to form a “counterfeit” inclusive government.

Read full statement below:

No to postponement of harmonised elections and the creation of a fake Government of National Unity, Mdc Alliance Namibia slams Mwonzora.

16 June 2021

There is a clandestine nefarious plot by the desperate Zanupf regime and power-hungry Mwonzora to push the much awaited harmonised elections further than 2023 according to their mouthpiece,The Daily News.

Rapacious Mwonzora Douglas Togarasei on Friday revealed to The Standard that he had gone to State House to pay a courtesy call on Mr Mnangagwa. Mdc Alliance Namibia believes that Zanupf is exploiting State institutions such as the State House , the courts ,the police, soldiers and state agents to aid Mdc -T in its bid to position itself as the main opposition party in Zimbabwe so that they can strengthen their sadist intention to forge an Anti-poor government that make it easy for Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to postpone elections.

The judicially-constructed MdcT leader said he would not take in the Polad meetings as he preferred a broader dialogue to resolve Zimbabwe’s multiple political and economic problems. What perturbes social democrats and few party officials is the lack of transparency especially when you are representing Constitutional Democracy. Mwonzora visited his Zanupf counterpart without the knowledge of the people he purports to represent. This unpacks the greedy nature of a stomach politicians in the leadership of this Zanupf backed political outfit.

One of the anonymous member of their party said, “We are all asking ourselves what was really so important about this meeting , which was kept away from everyone”. This lack of transparency is not characteristic of a Social Democrat but a dictatorship and authoritarian masquerading as a democratic leader.

Moreover, “We suspect there is a holy alliance going on here and parallel arrangements are coming”, the official revealed.

This is the incontrovertible evidence to prove that Mwonzora is now a certified Zanupf surrogate who is ready to do anything to derail the freedom train. The plot to sabotage the will of the people must be confronted with equal varlour, mettle and nerve. Trying to postpone elections through a counterfeit GNU is not only beyond nonsense but also devilish, evil and satanic. Social democrats should peacefully and democratically pent up their fury resisting the selfish interests of two monocrats who are planning to suspend our 2013 constitution. It has become visibly clear that Mwonzora is being condomised by the regime to perpetuate the toiling of the unsuspecting masses. There is no need to conceal a democratic fight from the owners of the struggle.

Furthermore, something could be really fishy here because social democracy exists publicly. Mwonzora tried his pathological lies saying he was directed by the MdcT National Executive Council to pursue dialogue for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe. What mesmerized Social Transformers in was that the constitution of his party calls for transparency and accountability of leadership. No hidden agendas in a Constitutional Democracy. We shall work tirelessly to defend the Constitution that allows us to have elections after every five years. Mwonzora is a Zanupf puppet who is being manipulate the international community. That shall be resisted with equal measure.

Moreso, Mwonzora is the reason why Mr Mnangagwa declared our peace-loving party ,Mdc Alliance led by President Advocate Nelson Chamisa a terrorist organisation. This is a futile attempt by Zanupf to just the pre-trial detentions, arbitrary arrests, torture, abductions, forced disappearances and illegal convictions of the Mdc Alliance leaders and activists. We are quite cognisant of their ploy to postpone elections and push them further than 2023, a move that will be resisted by all Zimbabweans across the globe. Mwonzora and his masters must know voting is a civil responsibility. We shall fulfill our revolutionary mandate to vote for complete.

In a nutshell, Mr Mnangagwa and Mr Mwonzora intend to take people for granted. They are afraid of the #CitizensConvergenceForChange and the panic to contest with our brave astute leadership in 2023 is now a mammoth task since social democrats are now available for the #Agenda2021. Zimbweans are not victims of national consciousness, they are politically and economically conscious of what should be done. Ours is a fight for socio-economic transformation. We are not stomach politicians who pretend to be social democrats so that they can feed their anticipating bellies.

Mdc Alliance Namibia is geared to win Zimbabwe for complete change. Mr Mnangagwa and Mr Mwonzora must commence to respect the people of Zimbabwe through adhering to the People’s Constitution. #NoToPostponentOfHarmonisedElections.

6MillionVotersin2023

MdcAllianceIsNotATerroristOrganisation

ZanupfMustGo

Mdc-TMustFall

FreeCdeMako

FreePrisonersOfConscience

ReformAgenda

GovtAgenda

GlobalAgenda

WeDemandNewLeaders

Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya

MDC Alliance Bulawayo youths have passed a vote of no confidence in the provincial chairperson of the party’s main wing, James Sithole, accusing him of hobnobbing with the rival MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora.

Party provincial youth chairperson Tinashe Kambarami claimed Sithole had facilitated the “unconstitutional” recall of elected party MPs and councillors by Mwonzora’s faction.

“As a provincial youth assembly, we came up with a position saying we can no longer be chaired by James Sithole in Bulawayo. The reason being we cannot spearhead the agenda of removing

Zanu-PF when we are not even clear if he is with us or with other people,” Kambarami said.

“You understand the dichotomy of the politics in our country. We all know the difference between Zanu-PF and MDC Alliance, not the other MDC that Zanu-PF has created which is the other extension branch which they call opposition. We are the genuine next alternative government as the MDC Alliance.

“Our duty as an assembly is to protect the party from internal and external forces that would want to fight our agenda. So, we are very clear that the issue we want the public to know is that we no longer want to be chaired by Sithole.”

He alleged that quite a number of other party members were conflicted and were working with Sithole.

“We had a meeting about three weeks ago, where Sithole tried to remove some of our leaders. All these issues show you that there is an agenda driven from somewhere,” Kambarami said.

Contacted for comment, Sithole said he was not aware of the allegations raised against him.

“I am not aware of that. Can you bear with me as I cannot comment on something I know nothing about it,” he said.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent | The notorious 9 armed robbers who’ve been on a spate of armed robberies, have been found guilty.

The 9 who appeared before magistrate Mateko at Harare magistrates court in court 5 for judgement for illegally possessing firearm and ammunition have been found guilty and remanded for tomorrow for mitigation and sentencing.

Their lawyer Mrs Concillia Maheya was absent.

The 9 include: Mussa Taj Abudul, Tapiwa Mangoma, Liberty Mupamhanga and 6 others.

Magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko in convicting the nine said it was clear that they acting in common purpose when they were arrested.

The 9 were arrested in Beitbridge in August 2020 following a tip-off.

The 27-year-old Gutu man, famed for wearing regalia that made him appear like a ghost before going on a robbery spree has been jailed for three years.

Norman Chagwiza of Mutsambiwa village under Chief Gutu, became an instant sensation for the wrong reasons after it emerged that he robbed people dressed in a white and black costume that made him appear like a ghost.

Chagwiza was last week jailed by Gutui Magistrate Mr Madhlenkosi Ndlovu on his own plea of guilty.

Mr Ndlovu initially caged him for four years before conditionally suspending 12 months for good behavior.

The agreed facts are that on May 13 this year, Chagwiza dressed in his ghost apparel went to Elizabeth Chipika’s homestead in the same village at around 1am.

Upon arrival, Chagwiza, who was armed with a machete threatened Chipika and cowed her before robbing her of  wallet containing an undisclosed amount of money.

The State alleges Chipika submitted to Chagwiza’s demands after being retried by his scary apparel.

On Africa Day,Chagwiza went to Thomas Chivhura’s homesteader night and used a ladder to ascent to the roof of his bedroom house.

He was dressed in the same ghost constume and tried to remove a solar system that was there.

Lucky ran out for Chagwiza after Chivhura head some movements on his roof and came out to investigate.

Realizing that he had been discovered,Chagwiza disembarked from the roof and fled. Chivhura teamed up with neighbours and gave chase.

They apprehended him and upon further investigations established that he used the “ghost” suit to instil fear in his victims and hide his identity. He was handed over to police.

Mr Bati Bati appeared for the state.

-State Media

By A Correspondent-A Tsholotsho man who used an okapi knife to fatally stab his girlfriend’s husband who had confronted him over the love affair has been sentenced to six years in jail for culpable homicide.

Nkosikhona Ngwenya (20) of Vala Line in Tsholotsho stabbed Blonde Ncube who was 32 last year as the two were walking home from a social soccer match in Nemane area.

The two were neighbours.
Ncube confronted Ngwenya accusing him of having an affair with his wife resulting in a fight and Ngwenya stabbed Ncube.

Ngwenya who was represented by Mr Njabulo Ndlovu of Mhaka Attorneys pro deo, pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa who is on circuit in Hwange.

The judge slapped Ngwenya with six years in jail before suspending two years on condition of good behaviour.

Ngwenya will serve an effective four years.
Prosecuting, Ms Memory Munsaka said Ngwenya fled from the scene after killing Ncube and the okapi knife he used was recovered from a blair toilet after his arrest.

“On September 9, 2020 at 7PM, the accused and deceased were on their way home from Godweni grounds where there was a soccer match. The two had a misunderstanding over the fact that the deceased accused Ngwenya of having an affair with his wife. The deceased assaulted the accused with a knobkerrie on the head and pushed him to the ground before sitting on him,” said the prosecutor.

The court was told that Ngwenya drew an okapi knife from his pocket and stabbed Ncube once on the chest.

Ncube’s body was found the following morning and villagers apprehended Ngwenya after they identified him by his footprints.

A report was made to the police who arrested him.

-State media

By A Correspondent- Morgenster Teacher’s College has ceased all learning activities and put under lockdown after 63 students at the institution tested positive for Covid-19.

The infected students are in quarantine at the institution amid fears more might be infected with the virus.

Masvingo Covid-19 provincial taskforce spokesperson Mr Rodgers Irimayi today disclosed that all learning activities had been suspended at Morgenster.

Mr Irimai said the teacher-training institution was now a quarantine facility noting that save for very few cases, the majority of the infected students were asymptomatic.

Morgenster becomes the second institution of higher learning in Masvingo to temporarily halt operations after Bondolfi Teacher’s College suffered the same fate last month.

The institution was put under localised lockdown with movements in and out of the precincts restricted.

All the students at Bondolfi who were infected have since recovered and gone to their homes.

-State media

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF is said to have authorised the eviction of over 400 newly-resettled farmers in Maganga near Marondera, last week to pave way for the return of the farm’s original owner, Hunyani Estate.

The farmers were evicted by the Messenger of Court, who, armed with a court order, forcibly removed and dumped their property along the Harare-Mutare railway line.

One of the evicted farmers, Sphiwe Siyawamwaya, told NewsDay that they are now living in the open. He said: We woke up to realise that we were surrounded by riot police in the company of a Messenger of Court telling us to leave.

They ferried our goods including our crops and dumped us here. We do not have anywhere to go. We are told that this land belongs to Hunyani Estate. In 2017, officials from the Lands ministry told us that they will allocate 200 hectares of land to us, but today it is another story.

Life is hard for us here, considering that we are living in the open. ZANU PF Marondera district secretary for lands, Richmore Chikore said they were aware of the crisis.

Reports suggest that Zanu PF held a meeting on Sunday where the Marondera evictions were discussed.

 NewsDay could not get a comment from Marondera district development co-coordinator Clement Masawi as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The Maganga area is in ward 23, about 20km east of Marondera town. The area is located in the tourism-rich area where the Benard Mizeki shrine and Tsindi Ruins are located.

Source – Pindula New

By A Correspondent- Over 400 newly-resettled farmers in Maganga near Marondera, were last week evicted to pave way for the return of the farm’s original owner, Hunyani Estate.

The farmers were evicted by the Messenger of Court, who, armed with a court order, forcibly removed and dumped their property along the Harare-Mutare railway line.

One of the evicted farmers, Sphiwe Siyawamwaya, told NewsDay that they are now living in the open. He said: We woke up to realise that we were surrounded by riot police in the company of a Messenger of Court telling us to leave.

They ferried our goods including our crops and dumped us here. We do not have anywhere to go. We are told that this land belongs to Hunyani Estate. In 2017, officials from the Lands ministry told us that they will allocate 200 hectares of land to us, but today it is another story.

Life is hard for us here, considering that we are living in the open. ZANU PF Marondera district secretary for lands, Richmore Chikore said they were aware of the crisis.

Reports suggest that Zanu PF held a meeting on Sunday where the Marondera evictions were discussed. NewsDay could not get a comment from Marondera district development co-coordinator Clement Masawi as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The Maganga area is in ward 23, about 20km east of Marondera town. The area is located in the tourism-rich area where the Benard Mizeki shrine and Tsindi Ruins are located.

Source – Pindula New

By A Correspondent- A 29-year-old-man from Nuli area in Beitbridge has been jailed for an effective three years for ripping open a fellow villager’s stomach with a knife.

Hardlife Phumani Mbedzi who resides under Chief Matibe is accused of trying to kill Promotion Ndou (27) as punishment for stopping him from fighting another man on New Year’s Day.

Mbedzi stabbed Ndou at Nuli Business Centre on the neck and stomach living his intestines protruding.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder on Friday, but Beitbridge Regional Magistrate Ms Sthembiso Ndebele convicted him on the strength of the State’s evidence.

The accused was left with three years effective to serve when the magistrate conditionally suspended one year from the 4-year-jail-term for five years.

Prosecuting, Ms Tsitsi Mtukwa said on New Year’s Day, Mbedzi got into a fight with another man at Nuli Business Centre and was restrained by Ndou.

She said at around 3 am on the following day, the accused approached the complainant and asked him to accompany him to the toilets behind one of the shops.

Upon getting to a secluded area behind the shops, Mbedzi pulled out a knife and told Ndou he was punishing him for being a Good Samaritan.
He then stabbed the complainant on the neck and stomach leaving his intestines protruding and disappeared into the darkness leaving his victim unconscious.

Ndou was found by a passerby who rushed him to a local clinic, where he was further referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for treatment.

The matter was reported to the police who arrested Mbedzi while hiding in a bushy area close to his homestead.

-State media

By A Correspondent- A 42 year old woman from Rufaro Resettlement Area under Chief Zimuto allegedly collapsed and died soon after receiving a prophecy at a Madzibaba shrine.

Eustina Mudavanhu was pronounced dead on arrival at Masvingo Provincial Hospital after she had collapsed at Madzibaba Garai’s shrine in Zimuto.

Surprisingly, the man of the cloth had just predicted that Mudavanhu was in good health and that she was going to prosper in life.

Mudavanhu’s daughter, Lucky Mavenga, told  TellZim that her mother was on her way to Masvingo town when she decided to pass through the shrine but collapsed and died after the church service. Mavenga said:

_My mother was fit and had even insisted that we walk to town but later decided to pass through the shrine._

_After we attended the church service she received a prophecy from Madzibaba Garai that she was ok and was going to prosper in life. After the church service, she asked for water and I gave her. I then went to fetch food and while I was away, she collapsed and died._

Mudavanhu was later rushed to the hospital where the doctor confirmed that she had died.

By A Correspondent- The government has spoken on the alleged seizure of a farm that is allegedly co-owned by Siphosami Malunga (an international human rights lawyer), Zephaniah Dhlamini (the director of the National University of Science and Technology’s (Nust) Applied Genetics Testing Centre), and Charles Moyo.

The government said the repossessed farm in Matabeleland North does not belong to the Osisa director Malunga and his two partners but was compulsorily acquired under the Land Reform Programme in 2004 from a white farmer.

The Herald reports that Malunga and his partners later bought a shadowy company that claimed to own the farm but did not have exclusive ownership of the land in question since it had been acquired by the Government almost two decades before.

Matabeleland North Province Minister of State Hon Richard Moyo said told the state-run publication that there was no seizure of black-owned farms adding that Malunga and his partners can benefit from the largesse if they do not own land elsewhere. He said:

_The farm in question belonged to white farmers by the name of Swindells. When Government compulsorily acquired land in the 2000s we did not immediately resettle people because there was a black man by the name of Eddie Warambwa who claimed to have bought the farm from the white man. It was only after his death that we realised that he was a front of the white man and measures were taken to repossess the land, there is no victimisation here._

_Maybe Mr Malunga and his partners bought assets on the farm but certainly not the land as it belongs to Government. We are in the process of allocating the land and those who were on the farm will benefit just as any other Zimbabwean if they do not have another piece of land elsewhere._

This comes as This comes after Malunga had claimed that the farm belongs to him and his colleagues vowing to fight back.

Tinashe Sambiri|Every citizen has a role to play in exposing rigging of elections, MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa has said.

President Chamisa was responding to award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono’s tweet on how elections are rigged by the Zanu PF regime.

“Thank you
@daddyhope
for the great work.

You are on point. We’re working 24/7 to address past mistakes and fix the gaps.

As citizens, we each must play a role to defeat cheating and rigging. Fellow Zimbabweans,Your country needs you. Change is in your hands. Play your part!”

Below is Hopewell Chin’ono’s tweet:

By A Correspondent | The MDC Alliance Youth Assembly in Bulawayo held a press conference Monday afternoon where many in the leadership announced they a vote of no confidence in youth chairperson, James Sithole.

Sithole is accused of attending meetings, and below were some of the talking points in the speech by Deputy Mayor, Tinashe Kambarami:

– We no longer want to be chaired by James Sithole

– He is acting illegally, outside the parameters of the Party constitution.

– He has presided over the unconstitutional removal of members from Party structures.

– He is in social media groups that are loyal to Douglas Mwonzora.

He found it difficult to stand firm with the Party when we needed him the most.

He has failed to stand with us.

The youth has come up with a position that we can not be chaired by James Sithole in Bulawayo

We want to be led by someone who is clear as to where he stands.

We are MDC-A the genuine and next alternative government of Zimbabwe and will not brook nonsense from the other MDC which has been formed by Zanu PF.

As a province we can no longer be chaired by James Sithole