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

By A Correspondent- Local government Minister, July Moyo has evicted the Victoria Falls Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube, from his council residence.

Minister Moyo this week flew to the resort town and evicted the council official.

Dube was recently suspended without pay and benefits on allegations of “corruption, gross incompetence, abuse of office and causing the local authority to lose revenue”.

Dube, who started his second five-year term last October, appeared before magistrate Gladmore Mushowe early this month charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer.
.
Allegations made by the state and the Special Anti-Corruption Unit are that Dube forced the council in 2017 to sell a commercial stand to a local tour operator, Shearwater Adventures without following procedures in terms of tender processes.

It is alleged that he engaged Backstone Properties to evaluate the land and a report from the valuator containing the price was availed on February 11, where he reported to the council that there was a buyer for the land.

Prosecutors allege Dube misrepresented during a Victoria Falls full council meeting that only Shearwater Adventures wanted commercial stand number 1782 yet other companies had also expressed interest, including Wild Horizons.

Council resolved to sell the stand to Shearwater Adventures without following tender procedures outlined in a council resolution passed on April 1, 2014, which required that commercial stands be sold on a tender.

Prosecutors allege Dube, in the exercise of his duties or function intentionally influenced the council through his report to sell the commercial stand which was contrary or inconsistent with his duty as a public officer.

By A Correspondent- The late former President Robert Mugabe’s eldest nephew and family spokesperson Leo Mugabe, has rubbished attempts by Zvimba chieftainship to rebury the late former feared ruler.

“No one will force us to change even if they come up with many court cases. They can go to hell,” Mugabe said.

“Our position as a family is that we will not entertain this issue. We buried Mugabe and that’s all. This person who is complaining is not part of the family and we don’t know why he is doing that.

“We don’t know why the chief is summoning Grace on his charge sheet. Grace is not a Mugabe, she is an in-law in the family and the decision to bury him was a Mugabe family decision,” he said.

He vowed that no one would attend the court session and he cared less about a “default judgment”.

“In any case, what will happen even if the complainant wins the case? It is an exercise in futility because as far as we are concerned, we are done and nobody can force us and we cannot say he was buried in a house when we all know he was buried in a courtyard.”

“Had we gone to the National Heroes Acre he was going to be buried in a proper room they call a mausoleum and was the chief going to summon President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa over that?”

By A Correspondent- A 24-year-old man from Penhalonga has appeared a Mutare magistrate, Prisca Manhibi, facing charges of murder after allegedly killing his foster brother using an axe following a misunderstanding over loud music.

Solomon Mafondokoto Jnr from Muchena Village in Penhalonga allegedly killed 17-year-old Maxwell Mangoma for irritating him with loud music.

The state alleges that on the 10th of this month, Mafondokoto who was at home with Mangoma used an axe to chop off the teenager’s head before throwing it in a Blair toilet at their homestead.

The court heard that Mafondokoto went on to cut off the deceased’s manhood before dumping the body in a nearby stream.

Mafondokoto allegedly confessed the heinous crime to his father after his mother had come across mysterious bloodstains at their home.

.

-State media

A Mutare woman believed to be of apostolic faith sect who was arrested over allegations of stealing a baby in Dangamvura suburb on Wednesday received instant justice from the mob before her apprehension.

The woman, who was only identified as Melody, was reported to have been spotted hiding a baby in her white church robe with a red cross.

Scores of people mobbed her as she was handcuffed while being led to Dangamvura police station.

Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest promising to furnish this publication with finer details later.

Melody

“Police are investigating a case involving a woman suspected to have been found hiding a baby in her garments in Dangamvura suburb in Mutare,” said Ass-Comm Nyathi.

“The woman only identified as Melody was mobbed by the public who effected her arrest at a shopping Centre in Dangamvura when she was caught stealing a vendor’s two-year-old child.

“She was assaulted by people, sustained injuries and was taken to Dangamvura police station.

“Police are warning members of the public not to take the law into their hands whenever they found anyone committing an offense,” said Ass Comm Nyathi.

A man from Penhalonga, Manicaland Province, has appeared in court facing a murder charge after allegedly killing his foster brother using an axe following a misunderstanding over loud music.

Solomon Mafondokoto Jnr (24), from Muchena Village in Penhalonga, allegedly killed Maxwell Mangoma (17) for irritating him with loud music.

Prosecutors told the court that on 10 May this year, Mafondokoto who was at home with Mangoma used an axe to chop off the teenager’s head before throwing it in a Blair toilet at their homestead.

The court heard that Mafondokoto went on to cut off the deceased’s manhood before dumping the body in a nearby stream.

The suspect allegedly confessed the crime to his father after his mother had come across mysterious bloodstains at their home.

Mutare magistrate Prisca Manhibi who presided over the matter remanded Mafondokoto to 26 May before advising him to apply for bail at the High Court.

-ZBC News

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa has said the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s jaded Cabinet is hopeless and clueless.

President Chamisa was commenting on claims by the Zanu PF regime that traffic congestion in the country is a drect result of the availability of fuel.

“Zimbabwe needs Spaghetti roads not a spaghetti Cabinet,” President Chamisa wrote on Twitter.

Commenting on the ensuing crisis in Zimbabwe, MDC Alliance spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere said:

The example of Kazungula Bridge demonstrates what’s going to happen on the continent if Zimbabwe continues on the path it’s on.

We will be left behind. Sadly, those that rule spend all their energy on silencing progress instead of building the nation.
We need new leaders.

When a country does not have a progressive approach to business, international relations & infrastructural development, it will be left behind by nations that choose to move forward.

Sadly, ours are fixed on the toxic politics of thwarting those who demand a better society…

By A Correspondent- Suspected armed robber Mussa Taj Abdul, who is linked to a spate of robberies that were committed around the country, yesterday told the court that he was being denied access to his friends, relatives and lawyer when they visit him at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

Abdul (47) told Harare magistrate Mrs Loice Mukunyadze that he was being kept at Chikurubi Maximum Prison together with inmates’ serving their sentences whilst he is still on remand.

“Your worship I am facing many challenges at Chikurubi Maximum Prison where I am being detained with inmates who are already serving their sentences,” he said. “To make matters worse, I am being denied access to see my visitors by the officers.”

Mrs Mukunyadze requested to see the officer-in charge at Chikurubi Maximum Prison to shed more light on the complains raised by Abdul.

Abdul is being jointly charged together with Charles Lundu (47), Rudolf Kanhanga alias Tapiwa Munatsi (29), Tapiwa Mangoma alias Tapa (27), Innocent Jairosi (32), Prince Makodza (31), Liberty Mupamhanga (29) and Godfrey Mupamhanga (27).
Allegations arose from various cases of armed robbery in different parts of the country, which they committed at different times.

-State media

By A Correspondent- A Bindura magistrate has sentenced a local serial rapist, Kwaramasa Kwaramasa to 55 years in jail.

More to follow…

By A Correspondent- Police in Harare has arrested four armed robbers who last week attacked and kidnapped a Harare couple who had stopped to check the condition of a dirt road.

The incident occurred at around 8 pm in Budiriro 5B when the couple was suddenly attacked by armed robbers who emerged from the darkness near a railway line in the area.

The couple lost its vehicle, cash, cellphones and other valuables to the armed robbers who later dumped them near Churu Farm, not far from the area. The four suspects are Daniel Hanzi (28) of Murewa, Sasila Binda (39) of Mufakose, Stephen Chikodza (25) of Budiriro and Zephania Munyuki (34) of Zvimba.

The stolen vehicle was recovered and one of the suspects was found in possession of a Revolver used to commit the offence.

Criminal Investigations Department (CID) spokesperson Detective Inspector Portia Chinho confirmed the arrests and said investigations were still in progress.

-State media

By A Correspondent- Three Cabinet ministers this week travelled from Harare to launch a rural toilet in Mashonaland East.
.
The three, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Cain Mathema
Minister of State for Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Aplonia Munzverengi and National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe, were this week, at Makumimavi Primary School in Chikomba district of Mashonaland East province where they launched a rural toilet.

By A Correspondent-The Department of Immigration’s Compliance and Enforcement Unit this morning intercepted 25 Malawian border jumpers who were travelling to South Africa.

A source within the department said this was part of the clampdown on border jumping and smuggling along the boundary with South Africa.

Among those arrested, 16 had passports that were not stamped at any immigration office, while the rest were undocumented persons.
The immigrants were reportedly travelling in an intercity bus after skipping the border into Zimbabwe via Nyamapanda.
The Acting Regional Immigration Officer in charge of Beitbridge Mr Trustworth Manatsire said the Malawians were apprehended at a local service station at around 4AM.

“We have since handed the group to the police pending further investigations and prosecution.
As a department, we want to warn syndicates involved in this human smuggling activity that they will face the full wrath of the law. We are not relenting,” said Mr Manatsire.

Border Authorities have since the beginning of the Covid-19 induced lockdown been clamping down on the illegal movement of people across the port of entry to minimize the spread of the virus.

In the last two months, over 100 Malawians were intercepted either skipping the border into Zimbabwe from South Africa or vice versa.

-State media

By A Correspondent- The Government has distanced itself from Mugabe influencing the Zvimba chieftainship to force for the reburial of the former President Robert Mugabe.

Information permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana took to micro-blogging site Twitter to say: “Whatever it is, leave us alone.”

A Mugabe family friend, who is also an opposition National Patriotic Front spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire, accused the Mnangagwa government of pushing for the exhumation of the remains of the late former President.

“The junta occult comedy around the burial and envisaged exhumation of late President Mugabe continues with Mnangagwa office representative Jeremiah Moyo accompanying a team comprising Borrowdale police, Chief Zvimba’s representative and a messenger of court to Blue Roof to administer summons on Grace accusing her of “improperly” burying the late RGM (Mugabe) in contravention of some dubious chieftainship burial rites claimed by a Zanu PF DCC (district co-ordinating committee) member, Tinos Manongovere,” Mawarire tweeted.

By A Correspondent- The late former President Robert Mugabe’s eldest nephew and family spokesperson Leo Mugabe, said it was improper for the Zvimba chieftainship to summon Grace Mugabe to a village court about the reburial of the late former feared ruler.

“No one will force us to change even if they come up with many court cases. They can go to hell,” Mugabe said.

“Our position as a family is that we will not entertain this issue. We buried Mugabe and that’s all. This person who is complaining is not part of the family and we don’t know why he is doing that.

“We don’t know why the chief is summoning Grace on his charge sheet. Grace is not a Mugabe, she is an in-law in the family and the decision to bury him was a Mugabe family decision,” he said.

He vowed that no one would attend the court session and he cared less about a “default judgment”.

“In any case, what will happen even if the complainant wins the case? It is an exercise in futility because as far as we are concerned, we are done and nobody can force us and we cannot say he was buried in a house when we all know he was buried in a courtyard.”

“Had we gone to the National Heroes Acre he was going to be buried in a proper room they call a mausoleum and was the chief going to summon President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa over that?”

By A Correspondent-Zanu PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa is behind a bizarre push to exhume the remains of Robert Mugabe in the vain belief that his predecessor was buried with a mystic sceptre, or “tsvimbo yaMambo” in the Shona language, that would give him commanding authority as a leader, Mugabe’s exiled nephew, Patrick Zhuwawo has sensationally claimed.

A village chief sent tongues wagging across Zimbabwe and beyond on Tuesday after summoning Mugabe’s widow Grace to a village court on accusations of violating the Zvimba tradition by burying the late former president inside of his rural homestead and ordering his exhumation for reburial at a family gravesite.

Chief Zvimba ordered the former first lady – who is unwell and seeking medical treatment outside the country – to appear next Thursday.

By A Correspondent-Zanu PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa is behind a bizarre push to exhume the remains of Robert Mugabe in the vain belief that his predecessor was buried with a mystic sceptre, or “tsvimbo yaMambo” in the Shona language, that would give him commanding authority as a leader, Mugabe’s exiled nephew, Patrick Zhuwawo has sensationally claimed.

A village chief sent tongues wagging across Zimbabwe and beyond on Tuesday after summoning Mugabe’s widow Grace to a village court on accusations of violating the Zvimba tradition by burying the late former president inside of his rural homestead and ordering his exhumation for reburial at a family gravesite.

Chief Zvimba ordered the former first lady – who is unwell and seeking medical treatment outside the country – to appear next Thursday.

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa has said the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s jaded Cabinet is hopeless and clueless.

President Chamisa was commenting on claims by the Zanu PF regime that traffic congestion in the country is a drect result of the availability of fuel.

“Zimbabwe needs Spaghetti roads not a spaghetti Cabinet,” President Chamisa wrote on Twitter.

Commenting on the ensuing crisis in Zimbabwe, MDC Alliance spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere said:

The example of Kazungula Bridge demonstrates what’s going to happen on the continent if Zimbabwe continues on the path it’s on.

We will be left behind. Sadly, those that rule spend all their energy on silencing progress instead of building the nation.
We need new leaders.

When a country does not have a progressive approach to business, international relations & infrastructural development, it will be left behind by nations that choose to move forward.

Sadly, ours are fixed on the toxic politics of thwarting those who demand a better society…

By A Correspondent- A 36 year old woman who grew under the care of her late mother’s relatives has demanded lobola paid to her father when she got married.

Fungai Mudadi  is at loggerheads with Farai Kambudzi, 58, who she says has to return her lobola so that she hands it over to her mother’s relatives.

Mudadi told H-Metro that Kambudzi denied responsibility when her late mother Jerina Mudadi conceived but later on accepted responsibility in order to receive lobola.

Mudadi’s mother passed away when she was two months old and she had to be raised by her grandmother.

She was informed that Kambudzi refused responsibility when her mother fell pregnant.

But when her boyfriend said he wanted to marry her, Mudadi had to look for her father and the only information she had was about Kambudzi.

After visiting Kambudzi and informing him about her boyfriend’s intention to marry, he took her to a family gathering where she was introduced to Kambudzi’s family.

“Convinced about this, I gave my lover the green light to pay lobola and he did that only to be phoned some months later that I was not of their blood,” said Mudadi.

Mudadi said she has been having some miscarriages and suspects that misfortunes are emanating from the paternity issues.

Mudadi said Kambudzi had received a beast from the lobola list when one of the Kambudzi family members later disclosed the doubtful paternity issue.

Kambudzi confirmed receiving lobola at his Budiriro house saying the late Mudadi’s mother had sexual intercourse with him and one of their cattle herders leaving other family members questioning fatherhood.

Mudadi family member Davison Mudadi accused Kambudzi of receiving lobola without involving them arguing that the child in question was raised in their family

Tinashe Sambiri|An evangelist based in the city of Harare has declared that the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s guns and bullets will not defeat the power of prayer.

The evangelist with a leading Pentecostal church told ZimEye.com the regime would be defeated by the power of prayer.

He spoke to ZimEye.com on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

“He ( Mnangagwa) has guns and bullets but our message to his administration is very clear, sophisticated firearms will not defeat the power of intercession.

This system shall be defeated by the power of intercessory prayer.

I know they want to play around with the Constitution but let me assure you that prayer is unstoppable,” declared the evangelist.

He added:”There are so many prophecies about Zimbabwe out there but let me say God’s will shall be revealed at His appointed time.

You can’t use guns to stop God’s plan.God’s plan is unstoppable.

It is not might nor by power…

Zimbabweans let us unite, through prayer, we shall overcome.

You cannot be arrested for praying for God’s plan to manifest. Victory is certain, our God is able.

My message to every citizen is simple and clear- this is the time to intercede for Zimbabwe, God’s plan cannot be rigged.”

By A Correspondent- Addressing delegates at the launch of the National Fire Week at Gwebi Agricultural College Wednesday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro called on farmers to invest in fire guards and prevent veld fires as they posed a huge threat to food security.

Karoro said failure to invest in fire guards was costly to farmers and the nation especially now when the nation was expecting a bumper harvest.

“Let us do all that we can to avoid veld fires. Imagine all the hard work that our farmers have put in place being destroyed in a matter of minutes. Food security, our economy will be adversely affected. Government will revert to food imports which gobble a large chunk of our foreign currency.”

Guest of honour at the function, which was hosted by the Environmental Management Agency held under the theme: “Veld Fires and Food Security- Protect the Harvest”, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said while the nation celebrated theprojection of a good crop yield, there should be investment to prevent the catastrophic loses of the harvest to veld fires.

“Veld fires have become an issue of national concern given their wanton destructive nature. Each year, the nation loses over a million hectares of forests and grasslands depriving wildlife and livestock of pastures and leaving the country counting loses of property, crops and life.

The annual average burnt area from 2010-2020 was one million hectares. An average of 60 percent of the total burnt area has been under the A1 and A2 resettlement areas. Ladies and gentlemen, of the 18,000 A2 farmers, only about 400 have 99 year leases, which leases have specific clauses on environmental protection. This creates a possibility of massive information gap on the responsibilities of farmers in their properties.

“It is in this regard that we have already begun a comprehensive awareness programme with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement through their Agritex extension services. Every farmer is expected to construct their fireguard in compliance with the laws of our country.”

Speaking at the same occation, Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka called on government to effect a penalty for those who do not invest in fire guards.

She urged the local leaders to be on the lookout for those who violated environmental best practices as a way of reducing veld fires and loss of property and deaths in the district.

The National Fire Week, launched annually on the second week of May aims at raising awareness amongst communities on the need to prevent veld fires by undertaking pre- fire suppression measures such as fireguard construction, biomass reduction and early controlled burning.

By A Correspondent| A Harare businessman Givemore Panganayi who went missing on May 5 2021 from the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) was found dead in a disused lift with CCTV footage failing to solve the puzzle on what killed him.

Last week, Panganayi’s family raised a missing persons’ alert after he did not make contact or return home on May 5 when he was invited to a party at HICC where he went with his best friend Sulumani Chimbetu.

The party, was hosted by one Mutsvairo.

It is alleged that Panganayi’s phone rang during the party and he excused his friends and went out to answer his call. He however never returned.

CCTV footage from the hotel showed him getting inside the hotel but there is no footage showing him going out.

Dear Editor

In extreme evil sordid crimes of violent beatings and murdering of known opposition members. Zancha’ s narrative of wishing to receive money for his opaque beer, later became the trademark of political appeasement by most senior Zanu officials who hijacked Zancha’s mindset and used it in other provinces of the country as scuds became pivotal in election campaigns and vote buying.

Zancha was the an instrument of political violence under the late Innocent Mugabe who headed the dreaded notorious CIO during the 80s.

Highfield was turned into the most violent ghetto, Mugabe used to host secret meetings at Mushandirapamwe Hotel and Zancha was the tough guy tasked with mobilising all the youths by hook and crook, to become members of the ruling party.

Zancha is well known for violently beating his neighbour, Mr Dube who now suffers from dementia of the wounds and scars that he got from a murderous attack led by Zancha and fellow thugs, who have never been arrested up this day.

Zancha led the terror political gangs in Highfield and, he was never arrested for nearly killing his neighbour who is living a very difficult life due to the head wounds that seriously threatened his life.

To some, Zancha is their ‘hero’ but to others, he is a thug that infested extreme political violence working with Patrick Zhuwayo and the late Innocent Mugabe.