By A Correspondent- A Rusape-based police officer appeared in court on an attempted murder charge after he attacked a man with a machete inside a police station.

Constable Greenmore Rwambiwa (35) of ZRP Rusape Central attacked Tafadzwa Dzemunye with a machete at the Nyazura Police Station’s charge office in a bid to stop him from filing an assault complaint against him.

Rwambiwa appeared before Rusape magistrate, Rufaro Mangwiro last Wednesday. He was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody until 19 May.

The State led by Orripah Sagandira said as Dzemunye was inside the charge office filing assault charges against Rwambiwa, the latter attacked Dzemunye some more. Said Sagandira:

On May 1 while at Mega Market Complex in Nyazura, Rwambiwa followed the complainant who was on his way home and slapped him once on the face, blaming him for filing a case against a Constable Makumbo.

Dzemunye proceeded to Nyazura Police Station to file an assault report against Rwambiwa.

While the complainant was reporting the case, Rwambiwa arrived armed with a scissors carjack and a machete.

Rwambiwa charged at Dzemunye and hit him once on the right hand with the scissors carjack.

It is alleged that Rwambiwa also hit Dzemunye’s face four times with the flat side of a machete.

He then used the weapon’s sharp edges to strike the complainant thrice. Rwambiwa was represented by Leonard Chigadza of Chigadza and Associates.

-manicapost

By A Correspondent- Over 300 suspects were on Thursday rounded up around Beitbridge border post and highways leading to both the Zimbabwean and South African sides during an all-female operation by security forces dubbed “Basadi”.

Basadi refers to women in South Africa’s Sepedi language spoken in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces.

The simultaneous operation was conducted by female members of the police force and army from the two countries. It complements Zimbabwe’s operation, “No to cross-border crimes” and another in South Africa dubbed “Thatha Zonke” (Take everything).

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said strategic deployments were made at most crime hot spots, targeting various cross-border crimes, including stock theft, theft of telecommunication electrical batteries, and entry or exit by evasion, among others.

“We are not relenting in our quest to bring sanity along the border with South Africa, where some criminal elements want to turn into their playground,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

“We have resorted to collaborating with other security agents and our counterparts in South Africa to ensure that we don’t give the cross-border criminals breathing space.
“In the operation launched on Thursday, we managed to make cumulative arrests of 314 people.”

The suspects were arrested for possession of the stolen property, possession of illicit cigarettes, traffic offences and violating Covid-19 regulations, among others.

-online

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

https://youtu.be/igjFlbk9UpQ

The two matters were heard together because the substance is the same, one a chamber application and another an ordinary court application. Both applications were opposed.

………………………………

The court finds that section 328 (7) is applicable to all the judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts including to Malaba.

Justice Zhou – “In view of the decision that we hv reached, Hon Malaba ceased being a judge and CJ at 0000hrs on 15 May 2021.”

The court has made a finding that the effect of the new section 186 of the constitution is to extend the term/tenure.. it is a term limit clause and that it seeks to extend the time of office thus having an impact and can be read together with section 328(7).

The court finds that the effect of amendment to section 186 is to extend the term of office for the Chief Justice. This finding is crucial to the determination of this case.

There can be no question that Judges occupy a public office and therefore fall in the ambit of Section 328.

We draw particular attention to provisions of section 328 (7) as the matter hinges upon that. Sections of the Constitution must not be read in isolation but as a whole text.

Effect of amendment to 186 is to extend the term

Dealing with effect of amendments and requirements to amend s328

The court reads section 328 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Merits: Issue is interpretation of s186 of the Constitution as a result of section 13 of the Amendment.

Joinder and non-joinder of President, Parliament, Senate etc has no bearing on the issue.

The insinuation that the panel was composed of judges brought together for some other reason was a reckless submission by a legal practitioner who is an officer of this court.

Merits: Issue is interpretation of s186 of the Constitution as a result of section 13 of the Amendment.

Costs: Constitutional matter and court does not want to burden any litigant with costs.

The judges have just walked in. Justice Zhou announced they will deliver a summary of the judgement while the full will be delivered in due course.

BACKGROUND…

Points in limine were raised and one of them was that Justice Zhou J should recuse himself as he had an interest in the case.

Adv Magwaliba raised a point that the amendment prejudice High Court judges as it does not extend their age limit to 75 years as the case with Supreme and Constitutional Judges.

Court is now in session. Summary judgment to be handed down by Zhou J and Mushore J.

• Further updates by the Zimbabwe Young Lawyers Association

By A Correspondent- Former Health minister David Parirenyatwa has unsuccessfully applied for removal from remand for the umpteenth time.

Parirenyatwa is facing criminal abuse of office charges after he allegedly favoured Newman Madzikwa when he appointed him as National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) managing director, replacing Nancy Sifeku who had reached retirement age.

Parirenyatwa has been on remand for more than three years and his trial has been stalled for two years due to magistrate Elijah Makomo’s illness.

Prosecutor Brian Vito sought the postponement of the matter to May 26.

“You will note that the matter stalled due to the presiding magistrate who is on sick leave, but now, I communicated with him. He said he will be in court on May 26 for continuation of trial,” Vito said.

But Parirenyatwa’s lawyer, Innocent Chingarande challenged the postponement, saying the same reasons were given before to defer the trial.

“The matter had been stood down for Makomo to come to deal with it but it is now two years,” Chingarande said.

“The matter cannot be postponed because of an individual phone call. The accused person is a respected member of society. He has come to court for more than 10 postponements on the basis of assurance.

By A Correspondent- Zanu-PF MP for Chivi north Mathias Tongofa was on Thursday heckled during a youth summit held in Harare, with some of the participants accusing him of being “too old” to represent their interests in Parliament.

Tongofa (47), who is chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, is also former Youths deputy minister.

He was heckled at a regional summit organised by the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust to map the roadmap for youth’s involvement in civic matters

Youth groups demanded representation by young legislators who fully appreciated their concerns.

“Is the current Minister of Youth (Kirsty Coventry) still considered a youth according to the Constitution and you chair? Are you saying there are no able-bodied youths available to represent us?” queried policy analyst Glen Dhliwayo.

“If we have six young MPs, one of them should be leading the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youths.”

In response, Tongofa said:”My goal before my term comes to an end is to add value to the inclusion and visibility of youths. If anyone here does not see my value, I am also okay with it.”

Tongofa said as much as the youths were pushing for 50/50 representation, they were also supposed to take cognisance of the fact that they would not remain young forever.

“If you demand 50% and the women are also demanding 50% of representation, then what is left? You should also remember you will grow old and there will be no portion left for you to be represented in Parliament,” he said.

“You do not solve anything by being angry, power is retained through negotiation where we have to take whatever we can get from our elders.

“We need to find a way to come to the table, both the young and the elderly so that we learn from each other. Young people must remember they will also age with time.”

Youth further argued that the 10 seats reserved for young legislators were not enough considering that they constituted the bulk of the country’s voting population.

Seke-Chikomba MP Tatenda Mavetere (Zanu-PF) defended the election of older MPs to represent youth interests.

“Young people still need mentoring; there is no dismissal of the fact that there is a need for intergenerational dialogue to disseminate wisdom to the younger generation from the old.”

-newsday

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

The High Court has nullified Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s appointment by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa which was meant to start from today.

This was the ruling over two applications made on two different cases.

The two matters were heard together because the substance is the same, one a chamber application and another an ordinary court application. Both applications were opposed.

………………………………

The court finds that section 328 (7) is applicable to all the judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts including to Malaba.

Justice Zhou – “In view of the decision that we hv reached, Hon Malaba ceased being a judge and CJ at 0000hrs on 15 May 2021.”

The court has made a finding that the effect of the new section 186 of the constitution is to extend the term/tenure.. it is a term limit clause and that it seeks to extend the time of office thus having an impact and can be read together with section 328(7).

The court finds that the effect of amendment to section 186 is to extend the term of office for the Chief Justice. This finding is crucial to the determination of this case.

There can be no question that Judges occupy a public office and therefore fall in the ambit of Section 328.

We draw particular attention to provisions of section 328 (7) as the matter hinges upon that. Sections of the Constitution must not be read in isolation but as a whole text.

Effect of amendment to 186 is to extend the term

Dealing with effect of amendments and requirements to amend s328

The court reads section 328 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Merits: Issue is interpretation of s186 of the Constitution as a result of section 13 of the Amendment.

Joinder and non-joinder of President, Parliament, Senate etc has no bearing on the issue.

The insinuation that the panel was composed of judges brought together for some other reason was a reckless submission by a legal practitioner who is an officer of this court.

Merits: Issue is interpretation of s186 of the Constitution as a result of section 13 of the Amendment.

Costs: Constitutional matter and court does not want to burden any litigant with costs.

The judges have just walked in. Justice Zhou announced they will deliver a summary of the judgement while the full will be delivered in due course.

BACKGROUND…

Points in limine were raised and one of them was that Justice Zhou J should recuse himself as he had an interest in the case.

Adv Magwaliba raised a point that the amendment prejudice High Court judges as it does not extend their age limit to 75 years as the case with Supreme and Constitutional Judges.

Court is now in session. Summary judgment to be handed down by Zhou J and Mushore J.

• Further updates by the Zimbabwe Young Lawyers Association

By A Correspondent- Two men, suspected to be gold panners, ran amok axing eight people and killing one in the streets of Bulawayo’s Mabutweni high density suburb, in a gruesome orgy of violence over US$2.

Shepard Nhliziyo and Kholisani Nyathi indiscriminately hacked at anyone they met on Thursday night. They were apparently incensed after a woman they had sold cellphones to, failed to pay a US$2 balance.

It was a night of terror reminiscent of horror kingpins Jason and Freddy when they teamed up to terrorise residents of Springwood. Like the monsters in the 2003 Hollywood gooseflesher, the duo slashed at anyone they met leaving a trail of bloodied residents in their wake.

One of the victims was a woman, returning home from a church service. The oldest victim was 60 years and the youngest was 20. During the bloody spree, Nyathi chopped down the door at Gogo Josephine Moyo’s, who lives at a house opposite his accomplice Nhliziyo.

The duo lived together with four other accomplices. Nhliziyo has been arrested while Nyathi and the other four are still on the run. When a Chronicle news crew visited Mabutweni yesterday, residents were visibly shaken after witnessing the gruesome violence.

Yesterday, councillor for the area Frank Jabangwe was visiting the families of victims and most of them were speechless with shock. Blood splattered some scenes where the unprovoked attacks occurred. Probably one of the messiest scenes was at a community borehole, just metres away from the Mabutweni shops and youth centre.

Cllr Jabangwe urged police to act swiftly to catch the assailants.

“I think the challenge that we had was that the police were slow to react when the people who had been attacked reported the matter. They said there were no police officers at the nearby station and those at Pata Pata Bar told them that they weren’t deployed to Mabutweni. At the time the assailants were axing the people. Police could have apprehended them,” said Cllr Jabangwe.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association ward 13 chairperson Mr Methuseli Bhebhe who was with Cllr Jabangwe said they were in shock.

“We are shocked as the residents of this place. We have been moving around since morning visiting the victims in Mabutweni. There were about four households we saw. Two weeks ago we had a meeting with the police and spoke about these problems of crime in the neighbourhood,” said Mr Bhebhe.

Gogo Moyo said: “I had to lock myself in the house because he (Nyathi) threatened one of my grandchildren saying they wanted to kill them. This is because he thought that she told police of his whereabouts. He actually came into the house and beat her up and said if it wasn’t for my presence, he would have hacked her to death. When he left I locked myself inside, and that was the best decision because he returned armed with an axe and started hacking at the door,” said a visibly shaken Gogo Moyo.

According to police the attacks started at Mabutweni shopping centre. Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said eight people were attacked and confirmed that one had died from the injuries. She urged members of the public not to resort to violence to settle disputes.

Asst Insp Msebele said on Wednesday Nhliziyo sold two cell phones, a white Samsung Trend and a black KGTEL for US$14 to an unidentified woman from Njube, who sells firewood at Mabutweni Shopping Centre.

“Nhliziyo was paid US$11 and the balance of US$3 was supposed to be collected yesterday. However, on Thursday at around 5PM Nhliziyo returned and found the husband of the female vendor at the shops to collect his balance of US$3 and was paid US$1 and he left,” said Asst Insp Msebele.

At around 6PM Nhliziyo returned with four other men, demanding their cell phones back, Asst Insp Msebele said and that is when the violence started.

“The husband told them that the cell phones in question were with his wife who was not around. It is alleged that Nhliziyo then picked an axe which the husband used to chop firewood and threatened to axe him and at the same time Nyathi removed a small axe from his trousers and went on to slap the husband once in the face. He took to his heels with the gang in hot pursuit closely,” said Asst Inspector Msebele.

After failing to catch him, the duo rampaged through the suburb with axes injuring eight. The eight suffered various injuries on the head and were rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals for treatment.

Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, acting Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer, confirmed one of the victims, who cannot be named as next of kin are yet to be informed, had died.

“We had two people and unfortunately one of them has died. The other person is stable and recovering and undergoing investigations at the hospital.

“We are pained that people are losing their precious lives through senseless acts of axing each other. We would like to urge the public to resolve their problems amicably and not to resort to such extremes of unnecessary action that lead to the loss of life. The community must act together and involve elders,” said Prof Ngwenya.-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Three Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) examiners arrested for issuing provisional drivers’ licences to people who had failed were remanded in custody to Tuesday next week.

The trio was arrested by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) on Thursday. They face abuse of office charges.

According to Zacc, the trio issued 26 provisional licences to candidates who had failed exams.

Prosecutor Reginald Chawora opposed bail, saying they were likely to abscond since they faced serious charges.

They were identified as Musa Enesi, Obvious Vheremu and Alois Togarepi.

Their lawyers, Kudzai Choga of Choga and Associates and Unite Saize submitted that their clients were innocent until proven guilty.

Choga added that the State had “ambushed” them with written submissions.

“The three have places of residence and are not vagabonds. Does the State fear that Zimbabwe Republic Police or some of your investigating officers may tamper with submitted evidence by investigating officer who testified?” Choga asked.

Magistrate Godswill Mavenge rolled over the case to Tuesday next week for written submission by defence counsels.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Two returnees from India have tested positive for Covid-19. They were in a country grappling with a highly transmissible virus variant first detected in that country but is now spreading across the globe.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care yesterday said 25 new cases were reported on Thursday in Zimbabwe and two of the cases were of people who had returned from India. The cases from India were recorded as Covid-19 active cases in Zimbabwe went up to 623 on Thursday, up from 610 cases the previous day.

Following the deadly strain that has hit India, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the outbreak is reaching rural areas with great speed as infections crossed the 24 million mark.

Until late February, India was considered a success story, with experts surmising that declining infections might be due to the South Asian country’s warm climate, young inhabitants and high population density. However, now India is the epicenter of the pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it is reclassifying the highly contagious triple-mutant Covid variant spreading in India as a variant of concern, indicating that it’s become a global health threat. According to WHO a variant can be labeled as of concern if it has been shown to be more contagious and more deadly.

The strain has been found in Maharashtra, the second-most populous state in India, as well as a few other states in the country. The new wave of infections in Africa is thought to be partly associated with the emergence of some variants that are more transmissible.

Uganda was the first country on the continent to confirm the presence of a variant first identified in India late last year, in a sample taken from a traveller.

statemedia

By A Correspondent- A Harare woman who allegedly masquaraded as a lawyer and as Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga’s daughter, has been arrested after she defrauded a homeseeker of US$2 395.

Evelyn Matanga (29) was yesterday remanded in custody to July 28 by magistrate Dennis Mangosi, who advised her to approach the High Court for bail.

Allegations are that sometime in October last year, the complainant Hilda Ndoro was introduced by her daughter that Matanga was a lawyer and could facilitate acquisition of a residential stand in Damofalls.

It is alleged Ndoro then met Matanga in Harare central business district where the accused introduced herself as a lawyer. Matanga asked for US$2 800 for site plan, caveats fee, deeds and several amounts for the stand in question.

After receiving the money, she later supplied a forged receipt from the Department of the Surveyor-General. She paid $25 and forged the document to reflect US$350.

After receiving the forged receipts, the complainant became suspicious and asked to meet Matanga, who became evasive. A trap was set, leading to her arrest. The total value of prejudice is US$2 935 and nothing was recovered.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- A cartel with foreign and local players is invading chrome mining claims along the mineral-rich Great Dyke belt amid fears of a potential source of future machete wars.

It is understood that the cartel, which is said to be backed by powerful politicians, is using hostile means to invade and grab mines along the mineral-rich Great Dyke and smuggle the mineral either to China or South Africa.

A local publication reported a source as saying the cartel invades mining claims and extract for about two months and leave.

Said the source:

There is a cartel boasting of political backing that has been bombing people’s rich chrome claims especially along the Great Dyke.

The cartel consists of local and foreigners who after mining are accused of circumventing chrome selling procedures.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation secretary for external affairs Gift Karanda confirmed receiving reports of the rogue grouping, saying the cases are on the rise.

The publication, however, could not get a comment from Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando.

-BusinessConnect

By A Correspondent- MPs have implored government to fill vacant teaching posts in rural and marginalised areas to improve pass rates.

Rushinga MP Tendai Nyabani (Zanu-PF) while raising a motion on deployment of teachers, said the Labour and Social Welfare and Primary and Secondary ministries should work together to fill vacant positions in rural areas.

The motion came after most schools in the rural areas recorded poor pass rates which were as low as 3%.

Nyabani said there was need for strategic intervention in the deployment of teachers in rural areas where the staff turnover was high.

He said the staffing of teachers has a direct bearing on the performance of learners and also the access to education.

“Urgently consider benefits such as waiver of tuition fees for teachers with children in government schools and decentralise recruitment of teachers to the provinces and districts in line with the devolution policy so that locals benefit,” Nyabani said.

He said the way children in rural areas and those in urban areas are taught should be the same.

“In the rural areas, the working conditions are deplorable and when that person is in the rural area, he thinks of transferring to the urban area. It has been noted that schools in the rural areas have no teachers anymore. That is why I am raising this motion,” Nyabani said.

“My point of view is that, in such areas like Rushinga, we should have the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Primary and Secondary Education ministries based there so that they analyse how best they can give the right to education to those children.”

Nyabani added: “It pains me that when we come here, someone will say people in Rushinga are not learned, so they do not deserve to be given positions.”

“Government should recruit more teachers so that we will not have poor pass rates again in the rural areas. We do not want to see that continuing next year. I urge the government to recruit teachers. Let teachers be recruited at the district office.

“I implore this House to make sure that the ministry recruits teachers in rural areas. There is no nation that will progress without education,” he added.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo has suspended Victoria Falls Town Clerk Ronnie Dube saying this will help stabilise operations of the city and avoid scaring away tourists or investors pending finalisation of criminal allegations against him.

Dube was arrested last week on charges of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer before being released on $50 000 bail early this week. He continued executing his duties after his release following a resolution by councillors to reverse the suspension by the Mayor Councillor Somveli Dlamini a fortnight ago.

Minister Moyo visited the city on Thursday and implored councillors and management to work together for the benefit of the city, which he said is key to the Government’s economic growth trajectory.

“We want to bring sanity so that the city continues to work on a trajectory that will enhance the attraction of tourists. Given that the President came here to receive the Freedom of City and that he upgraded it from a municipality to a city and came here to demonstrate that this is the city where we want tourists to come by being vaccinated here, the city has now attained herd immunity,” said the Minister.

“Anything that the council will do that can jeopardise this thrust that Government has, I needed to nip it in the bud. So, once you have a Town Clerk of a city like this being investigated by the law courts then we have to stabilise the management and we have stabilised by saying there should be an acting Town Clerk while he (Town Clerk) is dealing with his issues.”

The Chamber Secretary Ms Kholwani Mangena will be acting Town Clerk. The city council has been under fire especially from residents who have been pushing for a review of the 2021 budget which they said was not pro-people.

Cllr Dlamini suspended Dube twice since last year, but fellow councillors on both occasions reversed the decision and reinstated the Town Clerk. Minister Moyo recently wrote to council ordering management to justify its desire to review the budget downwards. He said he visited Victoria Falls to encourage councillors and management “to work together as a team because they are professionals.”

“So that’s why I came to encourage the councillors to work together with officials who are remaining even if the Town Clerk is suspended to work very closely with each other and not wait for the Town Clerk who is not there,” said Minister Moyo.

On the budget issue, the Minister said Government will not dictate to council and encouraged the city fathers to find a win-win solution that will be beneficial to ratepayers and also enhance service delivery.

“I know that there are issues related to the budget process, people and business here are under pressure and we understand that. They will do a supplementary budget and look at all possibilities of how they can overcome the issues that people are raising.

“I am not going to be prescribing anything but I think that councillors and officials know the pressure that people have here. They want to survive and facilities want to survive too but the city must also survive so that it continues to attract tourists,” said Minister Moyo.

He said his visit was also to remind the local authority that Government is taking all its issues into cognisance which is why it has allocated $105 million for the city’s roads maintenance.

He said Government also sent independent engineers to look at the city’s water system following a directive by President Mnangagwa in December last year for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to hand over management rights to the city.

He said the idea is to ensure that the cost of water is reduced as this has been contentious for a long time in the city.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- A Jambezi-based school leaver, who made headlines in 2014 after she beheaded her one-month-old baby after a serious misunderstanding with her boyfriend, has finally opened up on the issue after eight years.

Lousinonh Siziba (29), who is housed at Mlondolozi Mental Institute, said her boyfriend was the cause of the depression that drove her to slay her baby. This saw her being regarded as a mental patient.

“The story of my life really affects me a lot because it was soon after completing my Ordinary Levels when I met this guy in Jambezi and we became friends for some time and later on we fell in love just like any other teenagers in the community. I really loved my boyfriend such that he convinced me that it was high time we started indulging in sex.

“I never objected to the idea. Little did I know that this move was going to cost me a lot in terms of my career and my freedom. I later discovered that I was pregnant and the moment I told my boyfriend about this issue it became the turning point of our relationship,”she said.

Siziba said soon after telling her boyfriend about the pregnancy, he told her that he had nothing to do with the pregnancy and this left her with all the responsibilities up to the point of giving birth.

“I started suffering from serious depression when my boyfriend dumped me for having fallen pregnant and his decision meant that I was now supposed to meet all the expenses that had to do with my pregnancy. This situation became even more difficult for me as I was a school leaver and I was not yet employed such that I could work and raise the money that was required.

“My grandmother, whom I was staying with, was no longer working so all these factors really got into my head such that I became a depressed person for more than 10 months and my family never realised how badly affected I was. This made it difficult for me to interact with anyone,”she said.

Siziba said she tried on several occasions to reach out to her now elusive boyfriend, but he did not entertain her, instead he resorted to insulting her with derogatory names as a way of pushing her away from him.

“I really wanted my child to be raised in a normal family set-up that has got a father and mother. So, I tried on several occasions to at least talk to my boyfriend over this issue, but he would not listen to me. Instead, he started insulting me in public, calling me names and I could not take that.

“So I told myself that I was going to raise my child single handedly, but the stress was really killing me during that time up to the point of giving birth without the support of the father,” she said.

Soon after giving birth she started having serious hallucinations for more than three weeks and she never shared the issue with anyone as she felt it was safer for her to keep most of the issues to herself.

“Soon after having given birth to my child, my family supported me, but I was being haunted by the fact that my child was going to be raised without a father which is something that I never dreamt of. This stress really affected me to the extent that I could hear and see funny visions.

“I never told my family about this issue and they thought everything was normal such that my grandmother would leave me and my younger sisters alone at home,”she said.

Siziba said on the day in question, the whole family had gone to the fields leaving her and the child at home. She started hallucinating and hearing voices instructing her to kill the child as it was causing her untold suffering.

“To be honest with you my brother, I still remember the whole process of how I killed my child, but the most painful part is I could not stop what I was doing. I remember taking a kitchen knife as I was in the kitchen and the defenceless child was on the floor.

“The voices instructed me to slit my child’s neck. My younger sister, who had gone to the well to fetch water, arrived and found me sitting in a pool of blood,”she said.

Siziba said after murdering her child, she never thought of running away or hiding the body as she thought her actions were justified. Instead, she was busy swatting flies that were all over the body of the child. Her younger sister screamed and alerted other villagers about the murder.

“My younger sister ran away screaming and that is how the villagers discovered that something was wrong.

“The issue was immediately reported to the police and after investigations were conducted, I was moved to Hwange, where my lawyers suggested that I be examined by two doctors. From the investigation by the two doctors it was discovered that I had depression and it was agreed that I be admitted to a mental institute,”she said.

Siziba said life at Mlondolozi Mental Institute was not easy for her as most people saw her as a baby killer, but with time they started having a totally different perception about her. This saw the inmate being offered medical counselling sessions to try and assist her quick mental recovery.

“I have been here for eight years and to be honest with you I can tell you that my first day here was not easy at all as most of the people thought I was a killer, but with time they got to understand me better.

“They gave me the medication that was recommended and at the same time I went through counselling sessions to help expedite my recovery and as we speak I am now part of the rehabilitation session at our station,”she said.

Siziba said in 2017 she got an opportunity to showcase her talents at Starbrite.

“I really enjoyed being part of the starbrite competitions that were held here in Bulawayo in 2017. From these competitions I gained a lot in terms of experience and exposure as I managed to go as far as the finals.

“This competition really boosted my confidence in the arts industry and as we speak today I have managed to get a role in a film called Crime and Strings and I hope very soon the drama will be on your screens,” she said.

Siziba said on Crime and Strings she would be featuring as Cosmas’ wife, who is five months pregnant. The couple is robbed at home and in the process she is accidentally shot dead by the robbers.

“The rehabilitation activities that I am exposed to are really helping me a lot in terms of reducing stress. This has assisted me in stabilising me from depression and I hope this is going to help me to fit well in the community once it’s recommended that I am now stable and ready to go back home.

“I sat for my Ordinary Level Mathematics examination in 2018 and I was able to get a C. I now have seven subjects at Ordinary Level. My aim now is to venture into Banking and Finance as a career,” she said.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday failed to officially open Ekusileni Medical Centre, with Bulawayo Metropolitan Affairs minister Judith Ncube saying the institution was still undergoing refurbishments.

Mnangagwa then ended up officially opening the United Bulawayo Hospital’s (UBH)’s Old Bartley’s Memorial Block (BMB) and free orthopaedic hospital.

Ekusileni Medical Centre, the brainchild of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, has remained closed since 2004, as governament keeps postponing its opening.

“They are putting final touches on refurbishment works,” said Ncube in an interview.

Ekusileni was closed in 2004 following revelations that it had outdated machinery and equipment. It was identified as a COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre in 2020 but its re-opening remains elusive.

Countless donations of financial and material resources by government, corporate and citizens alike have not helped matters as the institution remains closed despite government promises to ensure it opens its doors to the public. Deadlines have repeatedly been set and missed.

Health deputy minister John Mangwiro visited Ekusileni on Wednesday to assess progress on refurbishment works.

Mnangagwa said the decision by The Zimbabwe Orthopaedic Trust to provide capacity building and training in orthopaedics to UBH staff was to fill the manpower gap through specialised training. The BMB opened its doors to the public in December after it was identified as a COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre. With the opening of UBH’s BMB, Bulawayo now has three COVID-19 isolation and treatment centres – the Catholic-run Mater Dei and the Bulawayo City Council-owned Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital.

Thorngrove opened its doors to the public in January.

“The centre will improve access to specialist orthopaedic surgery and corrective care for children with conditions such as clubfoot, bowed legs, knock knees, rickets and cerebral palsy, among other health challenges. The centre will contribute to new standards in the provision of health care, through the improvement in the quality of services and introduction of new tertiary care services,” Mnangagwa said.

He added: “My administration disbursed a total of $133 million towards the renovating and upgrading of BMB into a COVID-19 isolation facility.

“Government remains indebted to the support the nation received from the private sector following the breakout of the pandemic in our jurisdiction, in February 2020.”

Mnangagwa said the provision of free surgeries to children with correctable disabilities enhances access to specialised medical care.

“Evangelism and counselling services will attend to the spiritual needs of patients and their guardians,” Mnangagwa said.

“These interventions help fight stigma and discrimination while restoring a sense of dignity and inclusion for beneficiaries of the facility.

“The virtues of humanity, love, care and empathy for the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the society must continue to be rooted and promoted in our communities.”

“I challenge other organisations and professionals both within the country and abroad in various medical specialist fields to also take up the challenge as we accelerate the modernisation of our health services sector.”-newsday

By A Correspondent- Vice President and health minister Constantino Chiwenga was furious after discovering that the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) had renamed its COVID-19 isolation centre to Arundel Hospital.

The isolation centre at the Bartley Memorial Block and the Bulawayo Orthopaedic Hospital were officially opened by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday.

Reports indicate that the official opening was delayed after Chiwenga ordered the removal of “Arundel Hospital” banners.

Chiwenga had arrived at the hospital ahead of Mnangagwa only to discover that Bartley Memorial Block signage had been splashed with the banners.

A source told ZimLive:

He was quite furious and told them to remove Arundel Hospital signage. He said it was a public hospital and wondered why it was carrying the name of a private institution in Harare.

Bulawayo residents were reportedly alarmed to see the Arundel Hospital signs going up, fearing that part of the UBH was being privatised.

With reporters watching, hospital officials scrambled to remove a sign which read ‘UBH ARUNDEL HOSPITAL EXTENSION’ which had been imposed on top of the building’s original name of Bartley Memorial Block.

Arundel Hospital is owned by Mnangagwa’s ally and millionaire financier Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who is on United States sanctions for “materially assisting senior Zimbabwean government officials involved in public corruption.”

Tagwirei, through his company Sakunda, took over the Arundel Clinic in Harare last year and converted it to an isolation centre for COVID-19 after allegedly spending over US$3 million revamping the facility and acquiring equipment.

By A Correspondent- The Nelson Chamisa led MDC Alliance has castigated the Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC-T legislators, for helping Zanu-PF to pass the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill 2 which they have labelled a setback to democracy in the country.

The bill which comes with the scrapping of the Chief Justice 70 years of age retirement cap, and the removal of public interviews for high court judges, was hastily signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa as part of the constitution.

In a press statement, MDC Alliance accused MDC-T MPs for helping the ruling party to thwart democracy.

The alliance condemned the amendment, saying the constitution of Zimbabwe was a people-driven constitution and it was a product of a broader reform agenda.

“MDC Alliance condemns the recent passing of Amendment Bill No2 through Parliament. The constitution of Zimbabwe is a people driven constitution, which is a product of a constitutional reform agenda that was driven by democratic forces in Zimbabwe of which the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) was part of it,” reads the statement.

The party also accused Zanu-PF of trying to consolidate power and failing to uphold the rule of law in the country, therefore the amendment was not necessary.

“The imminent amendments have nothing to do with enhancing the rights of people or improving on human rights and democracy, transparency and good governance. They are designed to entrench an imperial executive whose power is not adequately checked and balanced.

“In this case, any amendment must be necessary to strengthen our democracy, reasonably justifiable in a democratic society and ultimately geared towards promoting the rule of law, fundamental human rights, transparency, accountability and justice,” further reads the statement.

Mwonzora recently addressed members of the media in Harare, where he defended his legislators’ move of voting YES to the Bill, saying it had many progressive components which they couldn’t ignore.

“Those who voted YES were voting for the women’s quota, the youth quota, the quota of women in council and devolution. Those who voted No from our camp were voting no to the running mate and the judges’ clause. We think their behaviour was reasonable,” said Mwonzora.

The MDC-T leader has of late been labelled a Zanu-PF apologist after initiating a purge of recalls for MPs and Councillors who were aligned to Nelson Chamisa, giving the ruling party numerical advantage.

The amendment received only 22 objections which couldn’t stop it from sailing, with most of Mwonzora’s MPs voting in favour of the bill.-TellZim

By A Correspondent- The Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) has wrapped council for abetting corruption after reinstating two workers who were summarily dismissed for stealing a water storage tank last month.

BPRA called on city fathers to overturn the decision by the general purposes committee to reinstate the two employees dismissed for stealing a water storage tank from Kwezi training centre in Pelandaba suburb.

“We are writing this letter to officially lodge our objection on how the general purposes committee handled the issue of the stolen water storage tank from Kwezi Training Centre by two council employees.

“While the value of the item stolen might appear insignificant, it is our view that there is a genuine case of integrity violation, collusive practice by two council employees designed to achieve an improper purpose,” BPRA co-ordinator Emmanuel Ndlovu said in a letter addressed to mayor Solomon Mguni.

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Mguni were fruitless as he was not answering his mobile phone. Ndlovu said the council’s decision “amounts to abuse, which is theft, waste and improper use of council assets, either committed intentionally or through reckless disregard”.

He added: “The adverse result of this action is that it upholds a widespread and general belief that the BCC is a corrupt organisation and a home to corrupt cartels.

“The decision by the general purposes committee is promoting an unacceptable value system wherein becomes the haven of people accused of looting, theft and corruption.”

The water storage tank scandal came a few weeks after another council employee escaped with a written warning after allegedly misappropriating about 10 000 litres of diesel which was meant for road construction and other service delivery projects.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has launched a probe into allegations of corruption levelled against city fathers.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Presidential spokesperson George Charamba has for the first time opened up on the power struggles between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga.

Charamba opened up to NewsDay at the weekend when he was commenting about the implication in Zanu PF echelons of power following the scrapping of a running mate clause from the constitution.

This followed reports that Mnangagwa’s loyalists had railroaded several constitutional amendments, including striking off the presidential running mate clause to curtail Chiwenga’s succession ambitions.

Charamba, who is also Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), yesterday conceded to the Zanu PF information department that the running mate clause was “problematic” as it created a powerful and potentially disloyal Vice-President.

“I had a moment with the Vice-President and I said to him ‘congratulations Cde Vice-President, the Amendment No 2 went through. I then teased him and I said ‘except you were supposed to be the victim’ so he burst into laughter and then said, ‘they don’t know how happy the victim is. They don’t realise I am one person who was driving this thing behind the scenes,” Charamba claimed.

“So it was weeping crocodile tears on the part of the opposition to try and pitch their pseudo reactions to the running mate on the person of the Vice-President who was very happy to be driving it.”

He added: “You don’t create instability in the hierarchy of Zanu PF by wishing for it. You describe it when it occurs. I always enjoy those sponsored false narratives to say there is a tiff between the President and the Vice-President. I wish these people knew what I know.”
Chiwenga led the November 2017 military coup that ousted the late former President Robert Mugabe and ushered in Mnangagwa. Many view the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander as the power behind Mnangagwa’s throne.

There have, however, been reports of a growing rift between the two with allegations that Mnangagwa was decimating the military element in the ruling Zanu PF party to checkmate Chiwenga.

Charamba also revealed that the clause on running mates gave Mugabe headaches and Mnangagwa at some point engaged him intending to pull out of the Constitution-making process over the matter.

He said the running mate had proven to be problematic even in the United States, Kenya and Malawi.

“What it means essentially is your main candidate will then pick on an assistant, but both are incorporated in elections so the essence of a running mate lies in elective politics of a country. The two characters are subjected to a national vote which means the hierarchy between them is a matter of arbitrary party decision. Otherwise, in terms of processes, that birthed them, they are equal,” Charamba averred.

“What that does is it raises a grim possibility of disharmony in the body politic because essentially what you are saying is the President is elected by Zimbabweans,-President is also elected by the same Zimbabweans. You can even have a situation, and it has even happened in other jurisdictions where a Vice-President can actually get more votes than the President.”

He added: “So you are already building within your body politic a basis for conflict exacerbated by disagreements which are natural in the process of running the country.

“Also you are making number one (the President), ‘definitionally’ unable to appoint a number two (VP) because both are appointed by the voters. So that element of hierarchy is undermined.”

Charamba said Zanu PF has always been against the running mate clause and also disclosed that the late former Prime Minister and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not comfortable with the clause as well.

“I remember the ent President coming to the then President, the late Cde Robert Mugabe to say we have hit a deadlock in respect of the key issue of running mates, it goes against our own philosophy as Zanu PF.

We have reached the stage of make or break and we are reaching a stage where we break the draft constitution,” he said. Charamba said Mugabe allowed the clause to pass on the basis that it would be only implemented after 10 years.

-NewsDay

By A Correspondent- A senior Central Intelligence Organisation officer, Chamakandiona Nyahunda, has been arrested on suspicion of carrying more than 13kg of gold in 23 pieces worth US$783 000 through Robert Mugabe International Airport terminal on a route that avoided all security checks, thus abusing his position, and then handing the gold in the final waiting area to the person taking it South Africa.

That Zimbabwean, Tashinga Nyasha Masinire (33), was arrested on arrival in South Africa, after being caught carrying the gold at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and has already appeared in court in Gauteng and been remanded out of custody on R100 000 bail on charges of smuggling and possessing gold without a licence.

Following that arrest, and the realisation that there must have been a major breach of security at RGM International in Harare for someone to board a plane with more than 13kg of gold in their bag, a full investigation was launched. That resulted in Nyahunda’s arrest.

It is now alleged that Masinire walked through all required security checks at the RGM International without gold in his bags, and only loaded the gold in the smoking room in the final boarding area after meeting Nyahunda.

Nyahunda, also known as Vincent Moyo, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court yesterday charged with smuggling and criminal abuse of office. He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before Regional Magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje.

The State led by Mrs Netsai Mushayabasa opposed bail at Nyahunda’s hearing saying the police were still to account for other members of the suspected syndicate, which was described as complex and sophisticated and running a major smuggling operation.

The police investigating officer (IO), Bruno Chiketo summoned to give evidence, testified against Nyahunda during his bail application and said releasing him would jeopardise their investigations.

“The investigations are still in infancy and we are yet to visit several places and people. If granted bail he may interfere with the process.
We still want to establish the source of the gold and visit South Africa where an accomplice of the accused (Nyahunda) was arrested.

“We have a CCTV (closed-circuit television) recording showing how the accused (Nyahunda) aided his accomplices by circumventing security procedures at his workplace.

“Besides the recording, police have taken oral evidence from people who allegedly witnessed Nyahunda by-passing the security points.”
Added IO Chiketo: “We are dealing with a complicated syndicate involving a huge amount of gold and given that we have not fully accounted for the members of the syndicate, the country will continue losing millions of dollars through smuggling.”

Nyahunda is expected back in court on Monday for continuation of his bail application.

It is the State’s case that on Saturday last week, Nyahunda, who is attached to Aviation Ground Services at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, was on duty and was expected to inspect and clear goods for export.

That day, at around 9.46 am, Nyahunda was spotted entering the Departure Terminal wearing a jacket and a pair of trousers whose pockets were laden with heavy objects.

The allegations are that Nyahunda avoided the authorised entry route where there are scanners and metal detectors fixed at the strategic points and proceeded to the Arrivals Terminal.

The route he used is not allowed when getting into the terminal.
The court heard that on the same day just over an hour later at around 11 am, Masinire arrived at the airport driving a Ford Ranger (AEK3911) vehicle. He got out and the car was driven off by someone else who remained in the car.

Masinire then went through the clearing procedures with a light bag and later went to the duty-free shops waiting to board a South Africa bound flight which was due to depart at 1 pm.

Masinire allegedly went to the smoking-room at the waiting area holding a light bag where he was joined by Nyahunda, who was holding a black satchel which, according to the State, looked heavy on the CCTV footage.

After about two minutes, Nyahunda left the smoking room with his bag now looking lighter while Masinire’s appeared heavier.

-State media

By A Correspondent- A President Emmerson Mnangagwa Central Intelligence Organisation officer, Chamakandiona Nyahunda, has been arrested on suspicion of carrying more than 13kg of gold in 23 pieces worth US$783 000 through Robert Mugabe International Airport terminal on a route that avoided all security checks, thus abusing his position, and then handing the gold in the final waiting area to the person taking it South Africa.

That Zimbabwean, Tashinga Nyasha Masinire (33), was arrested on arrival in South Africa, after being caught carrying the gold at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and has already appeared in court in Gauteng and been remanded out of custody on R100 000 bail on charges of smuggling and possessing gold without a licence.

Following that arrest, and the realisation that there must have been a major breach of security at RGM International in Harare for someone to board a plane with more than 13kg of gold in their bag, a full investigation was launched. That resulted in Nyahunda’s arrest.

It is now alleged that Masinire walked through all required security checks at the RGM International without gold in his bags, and only loaded the gold in the smoking room in the final boarding area after meeting Nyahunda.

Nyahunda, also known as Vincent Moyo, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court yesterday charged with smuggling and criminal abuse of office. He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before Regional Magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje.

The State led by Mrs Netsai Mushayabasa opposed bail at Nyahunda’s hearing saying the police were still to account for other members of the suspected syndicate, which was described as complex and sophisticated and running a major smuggling operation.

The police investigating officer (IO), Bruno Chiketo summoned to give evidence, testified against Nyahunda during his bail application and said releasing him would jeopardise their investigations.

“The investigations are still in infancy and we are yet to visit several places and people. If granted bail he may interfere with the process.
We still want to establish the source of the gold and visit South Africa where an accomplice of the accused (Nyahunda) was arrested.

“We have a CCTV (closed-circuit television) recording showing how the accused (Nyahunda) aided his accomplices by circumventing security procedures at his workplace.

“Besides the recording, police have taken oral evidence from people who allegedly witnessed Nyahunda by-passing the security points.”
Added IO Chiketo: “We are dealing with a complicated syndicate involving a huge amount of gold and given that we have not fully accounted for the members of the syndicate, the country will continue losing millions of dollars through smuggling.”

Nyahunda is expected back in court on Monday for continuation of his bail application.

It is the State’s case that on Saturday last week, Nyahunda, who is attached to Aviation Ground Services at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, was on duty and was expected to inspect and clear goods for export.

That day, at around 9.46 am, Nyahunda was spotted entering the Departure Terminal wearing a jacket and a pair of trousers whose pockets were laden with heavy objects.

The allegations are that Nyahunda avoided the authorised entry route where there are scanners and metal detectors fixed at the strategic points and proceeded to the Arrivals Terminal.

The route he used is not allowed when getting into the terminal.
The court heard that on the same day just over an hour later at around 11 am, Masinire arrived at the airport driving a Ford Ranger (AEK3911) vehicle. He got out and the car was driven off by someone else who remained in the car.

Masinire then went through the clearing procedures with a light bag and later went to the duty-free shops waiting to board a South Africa bound flight which was due to depart at 1 pm.

Masinire allegedly went to the smoking-room at the waiting area holding a light bag where he was joined by Nyahunda, who was holding a black satchel which, according to the State, looked heavy on the CCTV footage.

After about two minutes, Nyahunda left the smoking room with his bag now looking lighter while Masinire’s appeared heavier.

By A correspondent– A Gutu Whiz kid, Tadiwanashe Ryan Emmanuel Mavetera (17) who got 20 straight O Level subjects in the November 2020 exams has decided to do 10 A level subjects in a development that could see him setting a new world academic record.

Chatting with The Mirror last week Mavetera said he was confident to pass all the 10 subjects.

After that, he will apply for a scholarship with Massachusetts University of Technology.

Mavetera who was at Ruya Adventist High School in Mt Darwin says he will do Pure Maths, Additional Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Crop Science, Agricultural Engineering, Accounts, Business Enterprise Skills and Computer Science at A-Level.

He said it was not the first time that he had been criticised for taking too many subjects. His teachers and classmates always criticised him for taking 20 O Level subjects.

Of the 20, a large number were self-taught including Additional Mathematics, Business and Enterprise Skills and Commerce.

He had 20 As’ in Mathematics, additional Mathematics, Combined Science, Physics, Chemistry, Agriculture, Biology, Sociology, Business and enterprise skills, Family and religious studies, PE, sports and mass displays, Principles of accounting, English Language, Heritage studies, Building technology and design, Commerce, Geography, Shona language, Computer science and History.

“I want to do Nuclear and Quantum Physics at university. I attribute my success to hard work and divine intervention,” said Mavetera.
He said that he is a disciplined student who adhered to a strict reading timetable during the lockdown. He said that the internet was also very useful to him.

“I worked hard and defied the odds; I faced a lot of criticism from some teachers and classmates over the number of subjects I was studying but I had faith in God.

Mavetera was born to Muchemwa Mavetera and Elizabeth Mavetera in 2004. His father works in the diaspora while his mother is a housewife. He has one sibling, a young brother Tawananyasha Mavetera who is doing Form 1 at Ruya Secondary School.

The Gutu Whizz kid did his primary education at Hamilton in South Africa before transferring to Ralph Junior school in Harare where he attained five units. He then enrolled at Ruya Adventist for his secondary education.

“I have been the overall best student across my classes since grade 1 but I faced difficulties with Shona and General paper when I moved South African to Zimbabwe.

“I am grateful to my parents, friends, Ruya Chaplin Pastor Utete and teachers who went the extra mile with me. My parents taught me to pray for wisdom when I was growing up. Hard work and divine intervention are my reasons for success,” said Mavetera.

By A Correspondent- There was chaos in Seke Unit A, Chitungwiza, Friday morning after people found a jackal roaming in the streets.

A Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) team eventually shot dead the jackal after they failed to capture the wild animal.

The jackal was seen in the morning by people going about their chores in Unit A and they quickly started chasing it and throwing stones.

It ran into a nearby house, and a large crowd gathered to try and see it.
The householder quickly phoned ZimParks and a team was sent to the area.

Chitugwiza Unit A resident, Mr Alfonse Mataruse (wearing a red cap) helps a ZimParks official carry and put into the car the carcass of a jackal killed in the town yesterday.

Narrating what happened, Mr Alfonce Mutengi said he heard a commotion from people chasing the animal.

“The timid animal then sought refuge in one of our rooms after one of our tenants left the door to his bedroom open. It hid under a bed and I went to investigate only to establish it was an unusual animal. It was quite timid obviously because of the noise and the attack it had been subjected to by members of the public,” said Mr Mutengi.

He locked the door and contacted Zimparks.

“They asked me to verify if indeed it was a jackal and told them it was. They then advised me to lock the door and wait for them. When they came here they tried to capture it but could not do so because they did not have a cage. One other problem was that they could not open fire given the crowd that had swelled and they decided to call the police so that they could control people while they deal with it,” said Mr Mutengi.
“They then went to get some police officers who managed to contain the crowd while they captured it. They shot it rather than attempting to capture it.”

Another resident, Mrs Veronica Mugutso said she was part of the crowd that chased the animal.

Chitugwiza Unit A resident, Mr Alfonse Mataruse (wearing a red cap) helps a ZimParks official carry and put into the car the carcass of a jackal killed in the town yesterday.

“What is strange is how the animal got into the middle of the residential area given that the nearest bushy area is near Chikwanha business centre which is about 5km away,” she said.

ZimParks spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said the shooting was routine. “We received reports and we responded. We treated it as one of the problem animals that is causing discomfort to human life. Our officers shot it and took it away. It is part of the wildlife and human conflict that we have to deal with,” said Mr Farawo.

However, Mr Mutengi felt that the incident cast a bad spell at their residence and when The Herald left the place he was busy administering some traditional muti to cast the bad spell associated with the coming of the animal.

“I was advised by neighbours that it could be a bad spell and am now using coarse salt and water as part of efforts to cast the bad spell that could be associated with the jackal,” he said.

The jackal will likely be tested for rabies infection.

By A Correspondent- Former Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara has rubbished the Daglous Mwonzora led MDC and endorsed MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa saying that it is the only legit opposition.

Mutambara was this week commenting on the recent constitutional amendment 2 which was passed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week after it sailed through the Senate with the assistance of Mwonzora’s senators.

“The MDC Alliance is the bona fide opposition party in Zimbabwe. It is the most popular political party in the country. Consequently, this party must show leadership,” he said.

“It must reach out to all opposition parties and their presidential candidates, for example, Nkosana Moyo, Lovemore Madhuku, Noah Manyika, and Jacob Ngarivhume. Negotiate with them and get their candidates off the ballot sheet.

“MDC Alliance must not be arrogant because of its strong and popular base. Neither should it be insecure towards high-quality presidential candidates like Dr Nkosana Moyo,” said Mutambara.

By A Correspondent- The First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa last Friday embarrassed former MDC Alliance senator Lilian Timveos, who is allegedly having an affair with his husband Emmerson after Timveos had gatecrashed her function.

Timveos who joined Zanu PF in February, suffered humiliation at a public function in Zvishavane after Auxillia denied her entry.

Timveos was made to wait outside the gates of the Jairos Jiri centre where Mrs Mnangagwa was officiating after she turned up without an invitation.

Timveos’s claims that she was a senator were openly disputed by Mrs Mnangagwa’s security personnel.

Timveos was eventually admitted but made to sit in the crowd, away from the top table.
When Auxillia introduced local dignitaries, Timveos was ignored.

Mnangagwa’s wife was investigating widespread claims that the former MDC Alliance deputy treasurer was having an affair with the president.

The sources said Timveos was in the process of divorcing her Cypriot husband Michael Timveos after being given a farm in Kwekwe and a house in Harare by Mnangagwa, a well known marriage wrecker.

By A Correspondent- Chief Zvimba, born Stanley Mhondoro, has thrown President Emmerson Mnangagwa after on Thursday he distanced himself from the plot to summon former First Lady Grace Mugabe to a traditional court to force the exhumation of the late former President Robert Mugabe’s remains

The summons was delivered to Mugabe’s posh Borrowdale residence in Harare on April 29 by top police officers in the company of an aide from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office. 

The summons was inviting Grace to Chief Zvimba’s traditional court to answer to charges of “improperly” burying Mugabe at his Kutama homestead in September 2019.

The State had wanted him to be interred at the National Heroes’ Acre, but the family stood its ground and buried him as per “his wish”.

“I know nothing about this issue (summons),” Chief Zvimba told NewsDay Thursday.

“I am hearing it only from inquiries coming from here and there. I know absolutely nothing about that.”

He added: “I have not seen anything and I have nothing to say on that because I am in the dark. I am not aware of anything.”

The summons was issued by the officer-in-charge Borrowdale Police Station, a chief inspector, an inspector, an assistant inspector, a messenger from Chief Zvimba’s court identified as Elvis Hundere and Jeremiah Moyo, from the President’s Office.

Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao accused Mnangagwa’s administration of sponsoring the attempt to have his uncle’s remains exhumed.

He cited the involvement of Moyo in delivering the summons at Mugabe’s Blue Roof mansion as a clear indication of Mnangagwa’s involvement in the matter.

Zhuwao told South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that the alleged attempt by the government to exhume Mugabe’s remains was motivated by a belief that the veteran leader was buried with a sceptre that has spiritual powers which enhances a leader’s ability to govern.

“We took a position as a family and that position was informed by President Mugabe’s wishes to be buried at his rural home and that is what we did,” Zhuwao told SABC on Wednesday.

He added: “The reason that he wants to exhume the mortal remains of President Mugabe is that he has been looking for a sceptre that he believes has the authority to be the leader of Zimbabwe.

“Mnangagwa, in my presence and the presence of two of my colleagues, has indicated that he believes they are 16 traditional leaders who will effectively anoint the person that will be able to effectively govern and rule Zimbabwe and he believes that President Mugabe had that sceptre.

“He believed the sceptre was buried with him.

“Why would an officer from his office deliver summons from a traditional leader? It is unheard of,” he said.

But Zanu PF and government officials took to Twitter to dismiss Zhuwao’s assertions as “childish” and “belittling to Mugabe”.

“The desperation to spread fake news reaches shocking milestones, inviting Zhuwao to lie that Mugabe was buried with something that President Mnangagwa wants in order to win elections in 2023,” Zanu PF director of information Tafadzwa Mugwadi said.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba also tweeted: “Hanzi sceptre pana VaMugabe! (We are told Mugabe has a sceptre!) Turning such an anti-feudal revolutionary into an anachronistic monarch! A bit of enlightenment helps, dear Zimbabweans! Kufananidza vaMugabe naEmperor Bokassa shuwa here? (likeneing Mugabe to Emperor Bokassa … really?). You think you are defending asekuru (your uncle)?

Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana also joined the fray, mocking Mugabe “for being buried” with a sceptre, which failed to resuscitate the economy.

Commuter buses and kombis plying rural routes including metered taxis operating in urban centres are allowed to operate without registering under the Zupco franchise or going through the Central Mechanical and Engineering Department (CMED) as long as they are licensed to operate.

Government decreed that all public transporters in urban centres should be registered under Zupco in order to bring sanity to the public transport sector.

Zupco registered buses and kombis have been able to enforce Covid-19 health protocols meant to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo made the clarification during last Wednesday’s National Assembly’s Question and Answer session in Parliament.

“Commuter omnibuses and buses which go to rural areas do not need to go to CMED or register with Zupco. If the Ministry gives them a licence to operate, that is what they use and nothing was disturbed,” he said.

“However, because in urban areas most of the places are tarred, this is where the mushika-shika or illegal operators flood creating chaos,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Government policy is holistic to the problems bedevilling the transport sector with his ministry not only focusing on urban areas but also helping in the rural areas.

“As a policy issue, we do not want people to have any disturbance and they should be ferried to and from their destination. Where commuter omnibuses could not reach, we have instructed that all these places be reached,” he said.

Minister Moyo said Government is buying more Zupco buses with the intention of reaching out to all areas in the country.

“Our intention as Zupco is to reach all areas. Those who operate in rural areas had come to us complaining saying Zupco is actually bringing the fares down and our answer was that there should be competition. Our intention is to help the people hence we want this competition to benefit them,” he said.

Minister Moyo said registering public transporters under Zupco has also helped in reducing accidents as drivers go through thorough fitness test.

He said CMED is well equipped to do all the vehicle inspections.

“If you look at the statistics of buses that have killed or injured people, you find that Zupco registered buses and kombis are few. The reason is that bus drivers under Zupco undergo fitness test,” he said.

Minister Moyo said this had helped in the reduction of accidents in the country.

“We were recording many accidents in urban areas because operators and their drivers were not following the rules and regulations with regard to providing public transport.”

He said vehicles that are designated as taxis are licensed differently from the other transport systems by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development and are allowed to operate.

“The taxis are not required to go through the Zupco way. They are designated as taxis and are licensed by the Ministry of Transport differently from the other transport systems and so, they are exempt,” he said.

Responding to a question by Zanu-PF Chegutu West Legislator Cde Dexter Nduna on whether there is a plan by Government to create a dedicated line on the country’s road infrastructure for public transport, Minister Moyo said:

“We have been planning about how movement should take place in the urban areas.

“In the past, we created these one-ways and we thought it would alleviate the situation but vehicles have increased hence the congestion on our roads during peak hours.”

He said at the moment it was not feasible to create public transport lanes as the country’s roads are narrow. 

-State Media

Tinashe Sambiri| As the Citizens Convergence for Change Programme continues to gather momentum, MDC Alliance leader, President Nelson Chamisa has urged citizens to register to vote in numbers.

In a short and precise statement, President Chamisa said:”2023 play your part, register to vote, big numbers can’t be rigged.”

The Zanu PF Varakashi team is fighting tooth and nail to discourage citizens from participating in the 2023 polls.

The cornered and clueless regime is keen to frustrate voters under the pretext that elections are insignificant in Zimbabwe, according to political observers.

“The notion that elections will not change anything is a gimmick calculated to frustrate urban voters,” observed one political analyst.

“Voter apathy is their trump card.They know that they have the numbers in the rural areas so they want to keep urban voters at bay,” added the analyst.

By A Correspondent- Former Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara has endorsed MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa and said his political outfit is the only legit opposition.

Mutambara was this week commenting on the recent constitutional amendment 2 which was passed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week after it sailed through the Senate with the assistance of Mwonzora’s senators.

“The MDC Alliance is the bona fide opposition party in Zimbabwe. It is the most popular political party in the country. Consequently, this party must show leadership,” he said.

“It must reach out to all opposition parties and their presidential candidates, for example, Nkosana Moyo, Lovemore Madhuku, Noah Manyika, and Jacob Ngarivhume. Negotiate with them and get their candidates off the ballot sheet.

“MDC Alliance must not be arrogant because of its strong and popular base. Neither should it be insecure towards high-quality presidential candidates like Dr Nkosana Moyo,” said Mutambara.

By A Correspondent- Former Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara said only mass protests would remove the ruling Zanu PF junta administration and called the civil society to mobilise people and protest.

Mutambara was this week commenting on the recent constitutional amendment 2 which was passed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week after it sailed through the Senate with the assistance of Mwonzora’s senators.

“The Zimbabwean dilemma requires all hands on deck; civil society, business, political parties and ordinary folks. No one is coming to save us but us,” he said.

“It is pie in the sky – just an unattainable dream. In the context of national polarization, induced by a military junta, it is highly unachievable.

“The arrogant and brazen constitutional amendments by an over-confident junta whose authority is derived from a coup d’état constitute an eloquent besmirching of any prospects for an NTA,” said Mutambara.

By A Correspondent- Chief Zvimba, born Stanley Mhondoro, yesterday distanced himself from the plot to summon former First Lady Grace Mugabe to a traditional court to force the exhumation of the late former President Robert Mugabe’s remains, adding an intriguing twist to the bizarre development.

The summons was delivered to Mugabe’s posh Borrowdale residence in Harare on April 29 by top police officers in the company of an aide from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office. 

The summons was inviting Grace to Chief Zvimba’s traditional court to answer to charges of “improperly” burying Mugabe at his Kutama homestead in September 2019.

The State had wanted him to be interred at the National Heroes’ Acre, but the family stood its ground and buried him as per “his wish”.

“I know nothing about this issue (summons),” Chief Zvimba told NewsDay yesterday.

“I am hearing it only from inquiries coming from here and there. I know absolutely nothing about that.”

He added: “I have not seen anything and I have nothing to say on that because I am in the dark. I am not aware of anything.”

The summons was issued by the officer-in-charge Borrowdale Police Station, a chief inspector, an inspector, an assistant inspector, a messenger from Chief Zvimba’s court identified as Elvis Hundere and Jeremiah Moyo, from the President’s Office.

Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao accused Mnangagwa’s administration of sponsoring the attempt to have his uncle’s remains exhumed.

He cited the involvement of Moyo in delivering the summons at Mugabe’s Blue Roof mansion as a clear indication of Mnangagwa’s involvement in the matter.

Zhuwao told South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that the alleged attempt by the government to exhume Mugabe’s remains was motivated by a belief that the veteran leader was buried with a sceptre that has spiritual powers which enhances a leader’s ability to govern.

“We took a position as a family and that position was informed by President Mugabe’s wishes to be buried at his rural home and that is what we did,” Zhuwao told SABC on Wednesday.

He added: “The reason that he wants to exhume the mortal remains of President Mugabe is that he has been looking for a sceptre that he believes has the authority to be the leader of Zimbabwe.

“Mnangagwa, in my presence and the presence of two of my colleagues, has indicated that he believes they are 16 traditional leaders who will effectively anoint the person that will be able to effectively govern and rule Zimbabwe and he believes that President Mugabe had that sceptre.

“He believed the sceptre was buried with him.

“Why would an officer from his office deliver summons from a traditional leader? It is unheard of,” he said.

-NewsDay

By A Correspondent- The government has threatened to de-register five schools run by the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland after the church decided to levy all Lower Six students a mission fund of US$900, The Manica Post can reveal.

The mission fund which is payable directly to the church has triggered an outcry from local communities, parents and stakeholders who described it as exorbitant, elitist and exclusionary. Manicaland Provincial Education Director (PED), Mr Edward Shumba on Monday instructed school heads at St Faith’s High, St David’s Bonda Girls’ High, St Mary’s Magdalene, St Augustine’s High and St Mathias’ Tsonzo to either stick to approved fees which should be paid on a pro-rata basis or stop enrolment of Form Five students.

However, principals at the schools insisted that the Lower Sixes can only be enrolled in compliance with set demands on school fees and mission fund. They defied the Government directive and continued demanding the US$900 and tuition fees ranging from $12 000 to $20 000, depending on the school.

Mr Shumba said if the church remains defiant, the schools will be de-registered or become trust schools.

“They think they can make any rules they want in their schools but that is illegal. This will get them in a heap of trouble. They must do away with the US$900 or stop enrolment. Their actions violate Section 21 of the Education Act which bars any responsible authority from charging school fees and levies other than those approved by the
Ministry.

“If they were as genuine as they claim, they should own up and admit their wrongdoing. The church is getting its 20 percent share from the school fees and it has no legal basis to insist on a mission fund of US$900. If they remain defiant, we will de-register them or as they argue, they can become trust schools and compete with other such schools. We will then withdraw our civil servants from there. It is either they are Government aided mission schools or strictly private, not both,” said Mr Shumba.

Mr Shumba disputed assertions that poor fees structures have resulted in schools’ poor infrastructure and failure to pay non-teaching staff.

“If the parents had agreed to the mission fund, then why are they complaining? The matter has been scaled to the ministerial level and the legal division is seized with it while the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has been engaged because those collecting the money are church officials who we have no authority over. It is illegal and criminal,” said Mr Shumba.

But Anglican Diocese registrar and lawyer, Mr Ashel Mutungura, argued that the diocese is allowed to charge the mission fund.

“All students entering diocesan boarding schools for the first time shall contribute towards the mission fund as agreed by the standing committee from time to time. This has been the case since 1981 when the Diocese of Manicaland was formed and those saying otherwise are enemies of progress.

“The church, through the standing committee, from time to time agrees on what is chargeable as mission fund. Nothing has changed other than how the fund is now being managed,” said Mr Mutungura.

Mr Mutungura said the church is using the money to improve infrastructure at its schools.

“In the past, this money was being used to buy food for border students. The church has to maintain its properties. We are using the mission fund to develop our properties.

“We have put up a new block at St Faith’s High School and dormitories at St David’s Bonda Girls’ High as well as St Anne’s Goto. If anything, we have done wonders using those funds,” said Mr Mutungira.

-Manica Post

By A Correspondent -The government has deployed police on roadblocks on all the country’s major roads who are impounding trucks seen carrying maize from farms and rural areas.

The government said they want all the maize to be delivered to the bankrupt Grain Marketing Board (GMB), which has a history of failing to pay farmers in time.

The state media reports that police officers have been deployed in roadblocks along major roads to “curb illegal” movement of grain.

The authoritarian regime has maintained a Statutory Instrument on controlled crops, such as maize and soya beans which restrict the movement of these grains.

GMB chief executive Mr Rockie Mutenha yesterday confirmed the development to the state media.

“We encourage beneficiaries of Pfumvudza to start delivering their crops,” he said.
All the 2,5 million beneficiaries of the Pfumvudza programme were urged to deliver the surplus to GMB.

“An individual is only allowed to ferry five bags of maize and three bags of soya beans for personal use. For larger quantities, individuals or corporates will be required to have a valid movement permit issued by the GMB.
“The police and authorised persons shall enforce provisions of the GMB Act. The GMB deploys inspectors to act as authorised persons,” said Mutenha.

By A Correspondent -The bankrupt Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has unleashed the police on farmers who are harvesting their maize to force them to deliver grain to its silos.

The state media reports that police officers have been deployed in roadblocks along major roads to “curb illegal” movement of grain.

The authoritarian regime has maintained a Statutory Instrument on controlled crops, such as maize and soya beans which restrict the movement of these grains.

GMB chief executive Mr Rockie Mutenha yesterday confirmed the development to the state media.

“We encourage beneficiaries of Pfumvudza to start delivering their crops,” he said.
All the 2,5 million beneficiaries of the Pfumvudza programme were urged to deliver the surplus to GMB.

“An individual is only allowed to ferry five bags of maize and three bags of soya beans for personal use. For larger quantities, individuals or corporates will be required to have a valid movement permit issued by the GMB.
“The police and authorised persons shall enforce provisions of the GMB Act. The GMB deploys inspectors to act as authorised persons,” said Mutenha.

By A Correspondent- The Jailed 39-year-old Bindura paedophile has several previous convictions.

Kwaramasa Kwaramasa, sexually assaulted seven girls aged between five and 12 years was yesterday sentenced to 55 years in jail by a Bindura magistrate.

Kwaramasa pleaded guilty to the charges and Bindura magistrate Mr Lungile Ncube sentenced him to 10 years on each of the five counts of rape, and five years on attempted rape, before suspending 10 years.

In passing sentence, Mr Ncube considered that Kwaramasa was not a first offender and was pardoned during this year’s Presidential amnesty.
He told the court that he does not know what caused him to commit the crimes.

Kwaramasa lured all the girls into secluded bushy areas after asking them for directions to various places in Bindura, before raping them.

Prosecutor Mrs Gossy Mutambu said on May 6 at around 9 am, a nine-year-old girl was playing by the roadside with her eight-year-old friend when Kwaramasa approached them asking for directions to Garati gold panning site.

He offered a dollar for the assistance, and the nine-year-old agreed and walked the man towards the Garati site while her friend returned home.
Upon reaching a grassy area, Kwaramasa ordered the minor to sit down and he sexually assaulted her. He fled the scene and the minor walked back home and revealed the matter to her mother.

On March 5, a seven-year-old minor who was coming from a school with her two friends aged three and four met Kwaramasa who held her hand and asked to be shown the way to Ran Mine.

She instructed her friends to go home and agreed to accompany the man. After approaching a secluded bushy area, Kwaramasa raped the girl and escorted her towards her home after the act.

The matter only came to light on March 15 when the minor started discharging a whitish substance and revealed the sexual assault.

On April 23 at around 2 pm, Kwaramasa met a 12-year-old who was coming from school with her friend and started chasing them.

He caught the 12-year-old and carried her to a grassy area where he raped her and fled.

The minor proceeded home and advised her guardian who reported the attack to the police.

Using the same method, Kwaramasa raped several other girls

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa used one of his aids, a CIO to summon the former First Lady Grace Mugabe to a traditional court to force the exhumation of the late former President Robert Mugabe’s remains.

This came out after Thursday, Chief Zvimba, born Stanley Mhondoro, had distanced himself from the plot to summon Grace to his court.

The summons was delivered to Mugabe’s posh Borrowdale residence in Harare on April 29 by top police officers in the company of an aide from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office.

The summons was issued by the officer-in-charge Borrowdale Police Station, a chief inspector, an inspector, an assistant inspector, a messenger from Chief Zvimba’s court identified as Elvis Hundere and Jeremiah Moyo, from the President’s Office.

 The summon was inviting Grace to Chief Zvimba’s traditional court to answer to charges of “improperly” burying Mugabe at his Kutama homestead in September 2019.

The State had wanted him to be interred at the National Heroes Acre, but the family stood its ground and buried him as per “his wish”.

“I know nothing about this issue (summons),” Chief Zvimba told NewsDay yesterday.

“I am hearing it only from inquiries coming from here and there. I know absolutely nothing about that.”

He added: “I have not seen anything and I have nothing to say on that because I am in the dark. I am not aware of anything.”

Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao accused Mnangagwa’s administration of sponsoring the attempt to have his uncle’s remains exhumed.

He cited the involvement of Moyo in delivering the summons at Mugabe’s Blue Roof mansion as a clear indication of Mnangagwa’s involvement in the matter.

Zhuwao told South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that the alleged attempt by the government to exhume Mugabe’s remains was motivated by a belief that the veteran leader was buried with a sceptre that has spiritual powers which enhances a leader’s ability to govern.

“We took a position as a family and that position was informed by President Mugabe’s wishes to be buried at his rural home and that is what we did,” Zhuwao told SABC on Wednesday.

He added: “The reason that he wants to exhume the mortal remains of President Mugabe is that he has been looking for a sceptre that he believes has the authority to be a leader of Zimbabwe.

“Mnangagwa, in my presence and in the presence of two of my colleagues, has indicated that he believes they are 16 traditional leaders who will effectively anoint the person that will be able to effectively govern and rule Zimbabwe and he believes that President Mugabe had that sceptre.

“He believed the sceptre was buried with him.

“Why would an officer from his office deliver summons from a traditional leader? It is unheard of,” he said.

But Zanu PF and government officials took to Twitter to dismiss Zhuwao’s assertions as “childish” and “belittling to Mugabe”.

“The desperation to spread fake news reaches shocking milestones, inviting Zhuwao to lie that Mugabe was buried with something that President Mnangagwa wants to win elections in 2023,” Zanu PF director of information Tafadzwa Mugwadi said.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba also tweeted: “Hanzi sceptre pana VaMugabe! (We are told Mugabe has a sceptre!) Turning such an anti-feudal revolutionary into an anachronistic monarch! A bit of enlightenment helps, dear Zimbabweans! Kufananidza vaMugabe naEmperor Bokassa shuwa here? (likeneing Mugabe to Emperor Bokassa … really?). Do you think you are defending asekuru (your uncle)?

Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana also joined the fray, mocking Mugabe “for being buried” with a sceptre, which failed to resuscitate the economy.

By A Correspondent- Chief Zvimba, born Stanley Mhondoro, has distanced himself from the plot to summon former First Lady Grace Mugabe to a traditional court to force the exhumation of the late former President Robert Mugabe’s remains, adding an intriguing twist to the bizarre development.

The summons was delivered to Mugabe’s posh Borrowdale residence in Harare on April 29 by top police officers in the company of an aide from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office.

 The summons was inviting Grace to Chief Zvimba’s traditional court to answer to charges of “improperly” burying Mugabe at his Kutama homestead in September 2019.

The State had wanted him to be interred at the National Heroes Acre, but the family stood its ground and buried him as per “his wish”.

“I know nothing about this issue (summons),” Chief Zvimba told NewsDay yesterday.

“I am hearing it only from inquiries coming from here and there. I know absolutely nothing about that.”

He added: “I have not seen anything and I have nothing to say on that because I am in the dark. I am not aware of anything.”

The summons was issued by the officer-in-charge Borrowdale Police Station, a chief inspector, an inspector, an assistant inspector, a messenger from Chief Zvimba’s court identified as Elvis Hundere and Jeremiah Moyo, from the President’s Office.

Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao accused Mnangagwa’s administration of sponsoring the attempt to have his uncle’s remains exhumed.

He cited the involvement of Moyo in delivering the summons at Mugabe’s Blue Roof mansion as a clear indication of Mnangagwa’s involvement in the matter.

Zhuwao told South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that the alleged attempt by the government to exhume Mugabe’s remains was motivated by a belief that the veteran leader was buried with a sceptre that has spiritual powers which enhances a leader’s ability to govern.

“We took a position as a family and that position was informed by President Mugabe’s wishes to be buried at his rural home and that is what we did,” Zhuwao told SABC on Wednesday.

He added: “The reason that he wants to exhume the mortal remains of President Mugabe is that he has been looking for a sceptre that he believes has the authority to be a leader of Zimbabwe.

“Mnangagwa, in my presence and in the presence of two of my colleagues, has indicated that he believes they are 16 traditional leaders who will effectively anoint the person that will be able to effectively govern and rule Zimbabwe and he believes that President Mugabe had that sceptre.

“He believed the sceptre was buried with him.

“Why would an officer from his office deliver summons from a traditional leader? It is unheard of,” he said.

But Zanu PF and government officials took to Twitter to dismiss Zhuwao’s assertions as “childish” and “belittling to Mugabe”.

“The desperation to spread fake news reaches shocking milestones, inviting Zhuwao to lie that Mugabe was buried with something that President Mnangagwa wants to win elections in 2023,” Zanu PF director of information Tafadzwa Mugwadi said.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba also tweeted: “Hanzi sceptre pana VaMugabe! (We are told Mugabe has a sceptre!) Turning such an anti-feudal revolutionary into an anachronistic monarch! A bit of enlightenment helps, dear Zimbabweans! Kufananidza vaMugabe naEmperor Bokassa shuwa here? (likeneing Mugabe to Emperor Bokassa … really?). Do you think you are defending asekuru (your uncle)?

Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana also joined the fray, mocking Mugabe “for being buried” with a sceptre, which failed to resuscitate the economy.

-NewsDay

By A Correspondent- Former Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara said the Daglous Mwonzora led MDC outfit had no substance in the country’s politics.

Mutambara was this week commenting on the recent constitutional amendment 2 which was passed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week after it sailed through the Senate with the assistance of Mwonzora’s senators.

The former deputy Prime Minister said Mwonzora was a true appendage of Zanu PF.

“ The Zanu-PF created outfit – MDC T is both inept and intellectually bankrupt. They have no social base,” said Mutambara.

“However, it is instructive to note that the differences between the MDC-A and MDC-T can only be settled by a national election. Will MDC-T keep those ill-gotten Mps?’, he said.

By A Correspondent | In the picture is the lawyer, Everson Chatambudza who is named in all of the controversial preacher Walter Magaya’s criminal cases for 7 years to date, which include murder of several people, and several frauds committed.

Chatambudza is this week named by Magaya’s bodyguard, James Dzamu, as the latter confesses to many cases of abuse of vulnerable women including the murders. The lawyer has not cared to pick up calls return them following the latest revelations. DO YOU KNOW HIM?

In a recorded telephone call, Dzamu tells Magaya’s Wife of the preacher’s many proven cases of cheating and abuse of women. He even states that he is the one who has been pulling Magaya out of the fire.

The man, only identified as James Dzamu in a recorded telephone conversation with Magaya’s wife, Tendai, said he is now speaking out as he feels used.

The audio, as ZimEye reveals, was verified with two of Magaya’s close colleagues as authentically recorded during a conversation with Magaya’s wife, Tendai.

In the audio, Jimmy states as follows (full transcript)-

Jimmy – Mama, can you hear me?

Tendai Magaya: it (volume) is now clear.

Jimmy: do you see, you could say that things are hard, but other people are receiving things right now. There is a girl called Tadiwa, a college student- he conducted a birthday party for her. Right now, he flew her to Turkey, I know everything, I have got all the details, all of them. But I’m the person who used to pull him out of trouble, the same person who used to rescue him is the one that he is now mishandling.

He is the same person who is now now instructing, that I should come with my lawyer, to conclude our matter in writing. But the things that he himself declared before my lawyer he is refusing to pay up. Why is he so rough?

So me the reason why I called you what I am now doing now is, if the sun sets before his lawyer Charambudza has come to my lawyer to finalise this case, or to sign down in agreement, to give me what they owe me, even if they pay me gradually, the same way they announced earlier, everything is now going public. I’m going to hold a press conference.

I have got nothing to lose, I died a long time ago, I know they are looking for me so that they kill me. I have heard everything. Those that they killed are those that they killed, as for me they can’t manage me.

And leaders in the country now know me that I came from Magaya, and it was because of A, B, C and D. It wasn’t my wish to desert Magaya, but they wanted to get me arrested when they are the ones who are involved; they wanted me imprisoned for a crime I did not commit.

There is no one I ever assaulted. That young brother of his, the one that they are saying is his young brother; there is no one why I ever assaulted(sic).

Right now they are saying Chief (suc) is hungry because of this and that; they are forgetting that for this church to be where it is right now, I had to stand for them, for them not to be arrested but right now they are behaving like Korokozas.

Let’s see what happens.

Tendai Magaya: Oh no, I have taken down your message Mkoma Jimmy.

Jimmy: As for me mama if you hate me I don’t have a problem with you. I don’t have a problem with you at all, I told them the have been saying to me Jimmy, how do you feel when you see Magaya junior suffering?

But (Walter Magaya) Junior right now is surviving better than my kids. He is surviving better than my kids. I don’t want to go 50/50, like that for Junior to go to an international school that is what I would like my own kids to enjoy, but my child must at least have a normal life, isn’t it?

Right now I’m failing to raise money for rent, and yet 9 years working for this man, pulling him out of trouble and today he is forgetting about that. As he goes out with several women. I have got a list of several the likes of Sarah Maruta, and others who were made to a abort by Mar Chivero. I know everything about whatever happened but right now, I don’t know.

The other girl who does IT, Nyari who was the first to have sex inside your house while you were in Nigeria, I know everything, I never disclosed it. I’m very close to you but I never disclosed it. But now is the time for it to be known for the world to know about what has been happening.

Tendai Magaya: Alright mukoma Jimmy let me …

Jimmy: if he doesn’t call my lawyer today, you’re going to hear the whole story.

Tendai Magaya: It’s okay.

Jimmy: Alright, thank you very much mama.

By A Correspondent- A driver delivering Pepsi soft drinks to Shurugwi was killed in a road traffic accident on Friday morning.

The now-deceased driver, Simbarashe Chiya (39) died when he lost control of his truck which overturned at Boterekwa Escarpment in Shurugwi and landed on its roof around 6:30 AM today.

Thousands of bottle drinks were strewn all over the place and villagers collected as much as they could after the owner of the truck Owen Mudzimba allegedly gave them the green light to take them.

The accident happened at a black spot infamously referred to as “pabutcher”.

Mudzimba is from Malbereign Harare while the driver is from Kuwadzana.

Two journalists from The Zimbabwe Morning Post were this morning summoned to Police Law and Order over an interview they did with Norton legislator Temba Mliswa’s ex-girlfriend Suzan Mutami.

The two Elias Mambo and Farai Machamire told ZimEye that Mliswa filed criminal insult charges against them.

More to follow…

By Leo Igwe- How does one grieve if the person does not subscribe to any religion or a belief in a God? How does one make meaningful sense of the tragic loss of a relative without pandering to ancient myths and misconceptions?

Simply put, how does one thoughtfully come to terms with the pain and sorrow of losing a loved one without clutching some supernatural and superstitious mumbo jumbo? These questions have agitated my mind for some time. The agitation has become intense following the death of my father.

Growing up in an intensely religious environment, I grappled with these propositions because I knew that one day I would come face to face with grief and bereavement. Until the passing away of my father in April, questions about death and bereavement have been more of an academic exercise. But now they are no longer so.

Death has hit so hard, and so close. Right now, I am mourning. I am grieving in a way that has never been the case. I introspect, and reflect on death and dying. In the event of death, many people use religious and supernatural narratives to make sense of their grief or to console the bereaved.

Some point to comforting myths and superstitions codified in scriptures and traditions to provide emotional support to those who mourn. Some years ago, while on a condolence visit, a Christian friend noted that religion -as opposed to non-religious outlooks- was richer in consoling and comforting those who are mourning.

After the bereaved murmured some prayers in honor of the dead, he turned to me and said “That is why it is good to be religious”. I kept wondering about the substantial difference, if any, that those intercessory lines made on the fact of death and bereavement.

The religious way of grieving is predicated on the premise that the dead are in a better place; the dead have gone to heaven or paradise where is no suffering or pain. Religions teach people to believe that the dead are not dead; that the dead have transited into another realm of eternal bliss where they would live and rejoice forever.

People of faith claim to draw strength from these propositions. People of faith console the bereaved or try and make them draw strength from these misconceptions. They tell us that people who die depart this world for another world; the dead leave the here-and-now for the hereafter, this life for another life- the afterlife. Is that the case?

Meanwhile, there is no evidence at all to substantiate these extraordinary claims. As a mourning habit, people of faith deploy these suppositions to make sense of grief. But they never asked: are these narratives consoling? Or better, are these propositions not empty words, or mere condolence formalities that signify nothing? I am not interested if or whether a proposition is comforting or consoling.

Grieving is a subjective experience. Those who are experiencing shock and trauma can temporarily be relieved even by a statement that is a lie. I am not interested in whether claims bring some relief to people who are mourning. That may be so, why not? I am particularly interested in what is true; what is based on facts, not fiction.

Of course, I am not opposed to using fictive claims in everyday interactions. Fiction must be treated as fiction. Fantasies should not be presented as facts in the name of consoling those who are grieving. People who grieve or mourn are not stupid or dumb. Are they?

Mourners are mentally alert and intellectually alive. That people are grieving does not mean that they suspend their sense of reasoning or rational judgment. Those who are grieving do not disable their faculty of understanding and appreciation of what is true or false, reasonable or unreasonable, credible or incredible.

Mourners should not be lied to as a traditional or institutionalized way to support them. I do not see the purpose that the superstition-filled grieving process serves.

I am not consoled by claims about death and the dead that (I think) are false. Many believing folks that I know are unpersuaded by those absurd and baseless declarations that the religious-minded make at funerals.

Some consider those religious rituals and ceremonies to be unnecessary encumbrances on the mourning experience. Some regard them as a form of entertainment and temporary distraction from the painful reality of death.

I find those mistaken assumptions about death and the dead unhelpful. I deem it immoral to lie to those who are grieving or to peddle falsehoods about the dead. It is said that one should not talk ill about the dead. Right? So one should not say what is blatantly untrue, or what is not based on fact about the dead or dying in the name of mourning.

Why should people lie to one’s face or lie to the face of the dead because one is mourning or grieving? Some would say: “But these are narratives to help those who are grieving cope with a tragic situation and achieve closure”.

That is understood. But my question is: Why not use propositions that are informed by facts and sound reasoning? Why not deploy consoling lines based on evidence? For instance, in times of grief, people of faith console those grieving by saying that the dead have gone to rest somewhere, in heaven.

They tell those who are mourning that they would meet their dead friends and relatives again where they would part no more. Really? Many, who make these declarations to support those who are grieving, know that this meeting in the afterlife is highly improbable or would never happen.

But they still urge mourners to look forward to this imaginary Rendez-Vous. Believing folks claim that these suppositions provide relief and consolation to the bereaved. Do they? 

In my case, my father is dead. He is no more. That is the fact. That is reality. His body will decompose and supply nutrients to other life forms. My father came from nature, and to mother nature, he has returned. We all who are alive will go the same way at some point. I do not intend to meet my father or any other dead friend or relative any time anywhere again. No, no. I do not nurse such aspirations.

My father lives on, not in any extraterrestrial heavenly realm. He lives on in my memory and in the memories of those who knew him. He lives in the minds of family members, former students and colleagues, and others who met and encountered him while he was alive.

My father lives on in the genes that he passed on to his children, and in so many ways that he impacted my and other lives. I draw strength from fond memories of him, memories of the good and bad times that we shared, memories of our agreements and disagreements, memories of his trials and tribulations, successes and failures, perfections and imperfections.

As I grieve, I am comforted by these thoughts and reminiscences. They provide me with more meaningful ways of coming to terms with his demise than the comforting myths that religions and other supernatural enterprises peddle. 

Death is one of the reasons why religion exists and holds sway over the minds of many across the world. Religion helps many persons to grieve and mourn the dead. Religion enables some people to make sense of their mortality. But as a humanist, the religious idea of life, death, and mortality does not hold.

Its transcendental pretensions have little or no appeal. The humanist way of mourning offers an enriching alternative. One grieves without illusions, and superstitions about death and the afterlife in a fictive otherworldly realm.

By A Correspondent- Bindura based serial rapist Kwaramasa Kwaramasa of Chiwaridzo suburb was sentenced to 55 years behind bars by a Bindura magistrate Lungile Ncube on six counts of rape.

The magistrate conditionally suspended 10 years 

Prosecutor Gossy Mudambu told the court that between April and May this year Kwaramasa lured six minors in the bush on separate occasions and raped them.

The police managed to ambush him and arrested him after a tip off.

By A Correspondent- The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development last week suspended two of its top directors on allegations they tried to solicit bribes from South African potential investors, Lephalele Mining.

The ministry’s chief director Mercy Manyuchi, together with the director of the Zimbabwe Geological Survey Forbes Mugumbate, had been fingered in the scam and suspended, but Manyuchi was later exonerated by the CIO, which carried out the investigation, according to a document seen by this newspaper.

They were accused of soliciting bribes from the South African investors led by Lephalele chairperson Cliff Motsepe and chief operating officer Mashile Mokono in a meeting held on March 29, according to the document signed by a top CIO official.

Manyuchi was cleared last Friday after a letter from the CIO indicated her involvement was subject to an investigative error stemming from a mix-up of names and use of an old telephone directory.

Public service commission chair Vincent Hungwe wrote to Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga on May 11, 2021 lifting the suspension against Manyuchi.

The suspected culprits now stand accused of economic sabotage of the “Zimbabwe is open for business mantra”.

In a letter seen by the Zimbabwe Independent, the CIO then clarified the list of suspects.

 “On 21 April 2021, our staff telephoned the MMMD [Ministry of Mines and Mining Development] reception to obtain the name of the director for research, value-addition and beneficiation and they were erroneously informed that it was Dr Mercy Manyuchi. This also happened to tally with the name in the Zimbabwe Government confidential telephone list (the ‘Green Book’). We have since found that she was not present in the meeting and is in fact now the chief director mining development,” read part of the letter which was addressed to Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando and copied to ministry’s permanent secre- tary, Onesimo Moyo.

The meeting in question, according to the letter was attended by the director of nonenergy minerals Nelson Munyanduri, who chaired it and Tichaona Makuza, who is the director of research, value-addition and beneficiation.

 The Public Service Commission will now drag Makuza and Mugumbate for a disciplinary hearing.

The mining sector and law enforcement agents have specifically come under spotlight, amid allegations of unprocedural issuance of permits and cases of huge amounts of gold being smuggled through ports, including the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Early this week Tashinga Nyasha Masinire (33), was found in possession of 23 pieces of gold worth R11m, which was suspected to have been smuggled through the country’s biggest airport.

Last year Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya was arrested at the same port with 6kg of gold worth US$366 destined for Dubai.

In an exclusive interview with Zimbabwe Independent last week, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) chairperson Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo singled out the Mines ministry as one of the corruption hotspots, mainly due to the handling of mining claims and grants by senior officials.

She said this had been exposed by an investigative report produced by experts at Zacc.

Information at hand suggests the Lephalele directors who were present at the meeting raised alarm with authorities, leading to investigations under CIO directorgeneral Isaac Moyo.

Attempts to get further information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the prospective investors were fruitless at the time of going to print.

Chitando had not responded to questions since last week.

The CIO director-general could also not be reached to give an update on the matter, as his mobile phone went unanswered.

Prior to his appointment to head the President’s department in 2017, Moyo was Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to neighboring South Africa where the investors came from.

Officials at Zacc said they were unaware of such reports, requesting further infor- mation.

 They were unable to give an official comment at the time of going to print, but they indicated the Ministry of Mines was considered,atthecommission,tobeamong the corruption hotspots.

Corruption has been cited as among the country’s major stumbling blocks to attractinginvestment.

-theindependent