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By A Correspondent- | A former Belvedere Teachers College lecturer, Mr Roben Mutwira has died in Leeds, UK.

Mr Mutwira was found dead at his home on Sunday.

The cause of death was not known at the time of writing.

A church report states that he has no biological family connections in the UK.

The full announcement reads:

It is with a very heavy heart and deepest sorrow that we announce the passing on of Mr Roben Mutwira on the 7th of March 2021.

Sekuru Mutwira was a much loved, active and respected member of the Leeds United Methodist Church.

As his Christian family, we have committed to ensure that his body is repatriated home so he is laid to rest kumusha as was his wish.

Mr Mutwira does not have biological family here in the UK and we are stepping in that gap as we have been his family over the past few years.

Although Sekuru had a funeral policy, unfortunately it had not yet matured. We appreciate any help that you can afford so that Mr Mutwira can be taken back home at the next possible opportunity.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Thank you and be blessed.

We are using account details below for funeral contributions:

Name: Rugare Tulo Musekiwa

*Acc: *10337795*

Sort code: 04-00-04

Monzo bank

BREASTFEEDING is beautiful and natural.

It is a sacred bond between a mother and her young one.

However, it becomes scary when a woman in menopause breastfeeds a snake.

This is the case of a Chimanimani woman who has sent tongues wagging after being spotted at her friend’s house breastfeeding the giant reptile.

The hard to believe incident is now before Chief Mutambara’s court as two elderly friends – Gogo Savie Nenohwe and Gogo Ethel Sithole – are answering to the witchcraft allegations being levelled against them.

Gogo Nenohwe was spotted by a 12-year-old girl as she breastfed the snake while uttering names of fellow villagers whom she wanted her ‘baby’ to deal with.

Chief Mutambara urged the two women to consult a white garment prophetess, Madzimai Loice Mukono. The visit to Madzimai Mukono’s shrine saw the skeletons tumbling from the duo’s closets as the prophetess revealed that a snake that resides at Gogo Sithole’s homestead is used by the ladies for witchcraft.

When the case was heard before Chief Mutambara’s Court last week on Saturday, the key witness narrated the spine chilling incident.

“I saw Gogo Nenohwe breastfeeding a very big snake which had a red cloth and beads tied around it. After breastfeeding it, she took out a plate of food and fed the snake. I did not see what food she was feeding it, but I heard her muttering names of fellow villagers and telling the snake to deal with them,” narrated the minor.

After reporting the case to Gogo Sithole and realising that she was not taking any action, the young girl then reported the matter to other villagers.  It was also brought before the village head, Ms Molline Nenohwe’s attention, who then took the issue to Chief Mutambara.

The two women were then summoned to the traditional leader’s court.

“Why is it that when this girl told you that she had seen your friend breastfeeding a snake at your house you did not take any action? It is clear that this girl is traumatised by what she saw,” said Chief Mutambara.

In her defence, Gogo Sithole said when the girl brought the matter to her attention, she could not travel to the chief’s court to make a report.

“I did not have money to bring the matter to your court. I also did not confront Nenohwe because I knew that once I confronted her, I would need to bring the matter before the chief’s court, yet I couldn’t do that at that moment,” she said.

But Gogo Sithole’s niece, Maria, said she used to share a room with the snake.

“I used to sleep in the room where Gogo Nenohwe was seen breastfeeding the snake. The snake stays in that room. I stopped using the room because of that and begged my aunt to move me to another room. Sometimes the snake comes out to bask in the sun,” said Maria.

Other villagers in Nenohwe Village also said they have come across a giant snake that has a red cloth tied around it. Villagers say the snake has been spotted basking in the sun at Gogo Sithole’s homestead.

Gogo Nenohwe remained tight-lipped during the hearing and refused to entertain the media after the court session. Madzimai Mukono is now on a mission to capture the snake.

“We went to Gogo Sithole’s homestead to capture the snake on Monday, but failed to do so as a multitude had gathered to witness the drama. We will go back later this week and we hope to succeed in our mission.

“After capturing the snake, we will bring it to the chief’s court,” said Madzimai Mukono.

-ManicaPost

A heartbroken woman had to drag her unruly son to court after he came home drunk on several occasions and at one time dangled his manhood before her and urinated on the sofas after accusing her of giving him inadequate food.

Agnes Ndlovu has had no peace at the hands of her rowdy son, Dalubuhle Ncube (43), who insults her whenever he comes home from a beer binge.

Agnes told a court that her son at times comes home at around midnight and shouts at her.

She went on to say she had tried on several occasions to reprimand him, but he never cared to listen.

Instead he became so unruly and pushed her violently against the wall causing her to suffer a fractured arm.

Dalubuhle dangled his manhood in front of his mother and urinated on the sofas, while saying he was fixing her for giving him little sadza.

Seeing that her child had crossed the line, she approached the courts.

“I’m applying for a protection order against my son Dalubuhle who harasses me, he always comes home drunk and insults me for giving him little sadza. When I tried to reprimand him he pushed me against the wall and I fractured an arm. He would urinate on sofas saying he is fixing me and I had to leave him after he shouted obscenities at me.

What he did is against our African culture,” said the troubled Ndlovu.

The presiding magistrate Jeconia Prince Ncube ordered Dalubuhle not to verbally and emotionally abuse his mother.

A man from Horongondo Village in Gokwe has been dragged to Chief Mkoka’s traditional court after he was caught having sex with his daughter-in-law.

A family insider, who spoke to B- Metro on condition of anonymity, said Tobias Chiyangwa (37), who works in Kwekwe, fell ill at work and decided to go home without telling his family that he was coming home.

He arrived home at around 2.30am on Thursday last week and headed straight to his bedroom hut. On entering his bedroom, he got the shock of his life as he found his stepfather, Levious Mataire (47), bonking his wife Moreblessing Chuma (28).

“It was sad after he caught his stepfather having sex with his wife Moreblessing. His stepfather tried to flee, but it was too late as he had already seen him. He did not do anything to them since he was not feeling well,” said the family insider.

The family insider went on to say a shamed Moreblessing fled.

“After being caught, Moreblessing failed to face her husband and has since fled to her parents’ home in Gweru,” said the family source.

When contacted for a comment Tobias said: “I caught them having sex on my matrimonial bed. I have since put the bed out of the bedroom and I will no longer use it. I reported the matter to Chief Mkoka. My wife has left for her parents’ home in Gweru and left a letter of apology under the pillow in our matrimonial bedroom,” said Tobias.

Chief Mkoka confirmed the incident.

“We are handling a matter of infidelity where a man was caught having sex with his daughter-in-law. If he is found guilty he would be fined three cattle for sleeping with his daughter-in-law and would be ordered to buy a new bed for his stepson,” he said.

By A Correspondent- With the nation still reeling in shock after a Harare woman Precious Teya (26) was arrested for bedding a 13-year-old boy, a 21-year-old woman in Bulawayo, who was employed as a maid, might just steal that “depraved” crown after she was also allegedly caught red-handed in the act with her employer’s 10-year-old boy.

Anele Mathe from Bradfield suburb lured her employer’s son, who is doing Grade Four at a local private school, and had sexual intercourse with him in his bedroom.

It is reported that on 20 February 2021 and at around 9pm Mathe was playing with the boy in his bedroom while other children were playing in another room.

She seized the opportunity to sexually groom the boy. She switched off the light and pulled his trousers down and also undressed in the process before she lay on the bed and told the boy to come on top of her.

She allegedly forced the boy’s manhood into her privates and instructed him how to do the sexual act.

It is alleged that while she was still in the middle of tutoring the boy on how to poke, his mother entered the room and found the two in the act.

The boy’s mother went and reported the matter to the police leading to Mathe’s arrest.

Mathe, who is now facing charges of aggravated indecent assault as defined in Section (66) (b) (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23, was not asked to plead when she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Mjanja.

She is languishing in remand prison after the magistrate remanded her in custody to 26 April 2021.

-BMetro

The avenging spirit of a man who was allegedly murdered by his lover’s brother almost 50 years ago is wreaking havoc in his killer’s family, demanding two more beasts as compensation after the 26 initially paid in the past.

The spirit of Chizemo is reportedly venting its anger on the Mashairenyi family in Mutambara, Chimanimani, following his grisly murder by Erick Mashairenyi.

When he appeared before Chief Mutambara’s court last week on Saturday, Mashairenyi confirmed that he, together with his friend only identified as Musoni, murdered Chizemo in 1974 after discovering that he was in love with his (Mashairenyi)’s sister.

According to Mashairenyi, the avenging spirit was appeased in the 1980s when he handed over 18 beasts to the Chizemos.

This, however, was after the then Chief Mutambara, the late Sam Mutambara, had instructed him to do so, and not the avenging spirit.

“The then chief ruled that I compensate the avenging spirit with 18 beasts. By then, the spirit was not yet wreaking havoc in my family. I followed the chief’s instructions hoping that the deceased’s spirit would not haunt me, but I was wrong,” said Mashairenyi.

Mashairenyi’s son, Tapuwa, said when the avenging spirit began manifesting in the 1990s, his father developed a mental illness and left home to stay on the streets.

“We did not think that it was Chizemo’s spirit affecting him as we had already appeased it. We finally discovered that Chizemo’s avenging spirit was behind my father’s mental illness in 2009 when the spirit demanded eight more beasts.

When the top-up was done, Mashairenyi recovered from the mental illness.

But twelve years later, the avenging spirit has begun making fresh demands of two more beasts.

The avenging spirit is also saying some traditional cloths should be handed over to the Chizemos.

While the Musonis are yet to face the wrath of the avenging spirit, Tapuwa begged Chief Mutambara to summon them so that they will pay the other beast to the Chizemos considering that the Mashairenyis have done the bulk of the compensations.

“Musoni died a long time ago and his children are not being tormented by Chizemo’s avenging spirit. It is just targeting us. The Musonis are so violent and we are afraid of approaching them. We have lost all our cattle in trying to appease Chizemo’s avenging spirit,” said Tapuwa.

But Chief Mutambara ordered the Mashairenyis to engage the Musonis and chart a way forward on how to appease the avenging spirit.  Tapuwa pointed out that the Chizemos did not perform rituals to appease the deceased’s spirit when they received the compensation, hence the continued wrath of the spirit.

He said his marriages are not lasting and blamed it on the avenging spirit.

But the deceased’s daughter, Sarah Chizemo, said Tapuwa’s troubled relationships are not a result of her father’s avenging spirit.

“He has had six wives and all of them left because of his womanising antics. Have you ever heard of an avenging spirit that causes promiscuity? They should just pay up what they owe our family and not beat about the bush.

“Why would we accept our father’s spirit back into the family when they haven’t paid everything to us? We need what is due to us before conducting the rituals.

“Mashairenyi and his friend killed my father and I grew up without a father. I should have been a teacher leading a good life, but I failed to do so because there was no one to support my dream,” she said.

-manicapost

By A Correspondent- A bitter woman who was allegedly infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by her ex-husband went on a rampage and beat up her former spouse and his alleged girlfriend after finding them sitting together in the living room.

Sikhululekile Moyo was married to Owen Moyo who works in Gweru.

According to Owen, he and his wife separated after a misunderstanding. They have a child together.

But it seems Sikhululekile, whose name literally means to be at peace and free, is not at peace with her ex-husband.

According to her troubled former husband Sikhululekile would allegedly phone Owen in the dead of the night and shout at him.

As if that was not enough she would also send vitriolic verbal attacks to her ex-husband.

The vilification did not end at that. Sikhululekile visited her former sweetheart and found him in the company of his alleged lover.

It is said she went berserk and beat them while accusing Owen of infecting her with an STI.

Owen had to flee to West Commonage Court and sought a protection order against his ex-wife.

Owen told the court that his ex-wife had a habit of ambushing and beating him together with his female companions.

“I am applying for a protection order against Sikhululekile Moyo who is my ex-wife. She harasses me and usually phones me during the dead of the night and insults me. When she meets me walking in the company of a female she would beat her or insult her. She also comes to my workplace and accuses me of not contributing to the upkeep of the child,” he said.

Sikhululekile defended herself saying: “I have never harassed him. I only went to his home after I was informed by his relative that he was sitting in the company of his girlfriend. I had to go there because I wanted money for the upkeep of the child and to visit his parents because they love me and still consider me as their daughter-in-law.”

She added: “I got angry after his girlfriend insulted me. I had to beat her up and I also beat Owen up because I was angry that he infected me with STI after he begged me to have sex with him saying he wants to marry me.”

The presiding magistrate granted Owen the protection order against Sikhululekile. Sikhululekile was ordered not to insult Owen and not to send him abusive WhatsApp messages and never to call him.

She was also ordered not to visit Owen at his workplace.

Unverified reports claim that Beitbridge border on the South Africa side has been closed by taxi operators, demanding that borders open to everyone failure trucks will also not move.

More to follow….

Local Government minister July Moyo is entangled in a scandal in which a company linked to a businessman at the centre of the Chilonga row was allegedly awarded a US$9,3 million contract to supply water pumps to the City of Harare without going to tender.

Treasury released the funds for the contract at the height of Harare’s crippling water crisis in October 2020.

This was after Moyo presented a paper in Cabinet requesting government to intervene to contain a potential water problem, following the city’s plea for assistance.

Moyo’s paper prompted the Cabinet to resolve that the Treasury urgently releases US$9,3 million to procure critical equipment for repairing the Morton Jaffray Water Works plant, which had been shut down.

Subsequently, the multi-million-dollar contract was awarded to Petricho Irrigation, which was represented by Paul Kruger in Zimbabwe, allegedly without going to tender.

In terms of the Procurement Act, any contract exceeding US$1 million should go through a public tender process.

The Procurement regulatory authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) acting chief executive officer Clever Ruswa confirmed that the contract was awarded without their involvement.

“It is the responsibility of Harare city council to plan and undertake all the procurement proceedings. If the procurement exceeds the stipulated thresholds that is when it comes to Praz for review by the Special Procurement Oversight committee (SPOC). The Special Procurement Oversight committee only reviews processes but does not award tenders,” Ruswa said.

“Praz has a monitoring and evaluation committee that monitors and evaluates procuring entities. If it picks some transactions which are of a criminal nature these will be forwarded to law enforcement agents or the office of the auditor General for further investigation.”

Interestingly, Petrichor Irrigation was allegedly given the contract at Moyo’s recommendation.

Ironically Kruger has, along with his business partner Darren Coetzee of Dendairy, also been at the centre of a storm triggered by a government directive to evict over 12 000 villagers from Chilonga communal lands in Chiredzi to pave way for a lucrative lucerne grass project.

Kruger and Coetzee are already producing the grass, a key ingredient in dairy cattle feed, in Kwekwe.

In October last year, the duo, in the company of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga toured Chiredzi, where they assured the restive villagers that they were not going to be evicted.

Statutory Instrument (SI) 50 promulgated by government would give Dendairy right over 10 000 hectares of land.

On Monday, government moved to cool flaring tempers by amending the SI, removing wording indicating that the evictions were meant to pave way for a lucerne grass project and replacing them with wording indicating that what would be established was an “irrigation project”.

Investigations by the Zimbabwe Independent this week revealed that procurement regulations were allegedly flouted in awarding the US$9,3 million contract to Petricho Irrigation, as legally provided tendering processes were not followed. It also emerged that Petricho has previously been engaged by the ministry of Local Government, which Moyo presides over, to proffer solutions to the country’s crippling water shortages, further raising questions of conflict of interest.

Active investigations are underway to establish circumstances under which the contract was awarded as the capital continues battling water shortages.

“We know from our privileged position that other arms of government are investigating areas around that contract,” a senior government official said.

“What is interesting here is that the minister recommended a company he has worked with at the ministry soon after he had encouraged government to offer financial assistance to avert a major water crisis. So we ended up with a situation whereby the company was cherrypicked for the contract and became a recipient of the funds released by Treasury.”

Moyo reportedly used the company’s previous similar works in Bulawayo and Gweru to raise its profile highlighting that it had “the correct engineering technicalities to be implemented”.

Moyo was quoted in the state-newspaper, Sunday News last year in may saying: “Engineer Kruger was in the city (Bulawayo) last week and he gave me a preliminary report where he said the city’s water supply could last for 13 months, all that is needed is the correct engineering technicalities to be implemented.

“What we are saying is that every city must have an independent engineering consulting firm. In Harare, they require US$29 million to address their water challenges, but when the consultant did (his) work the figure was revised down to US$9,3 million, Gweru wanted US$2,9 million, we have been able to solve the crisis using US$450 000, I am not being sceptical about Bulawayo, but I am saying let’s have a second opinion.”

Council insiders told the Independent this week that “the hasty awarding of the contract to Petricho effectively killed the spirit of competitiveness associated with public procurement. “In short, council can never be too sure if it got value for its money,” a Town house source said.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Moyo said he was having a meeting with the President.

City of Harare city council production manager Edmore Chawasemerwa, who superintended the installation of the pumps at Morton Jaffray Water Works, declined to comment. “I have referred all questions to the procurement (department). all those are procurement issues,” he said.

At the time of going to print, council procurement officials – supply chain manager Never murerwa and compliance officer abel Dzuke had not responded to questions.

Acting Town clerk mabhena moyo referred questions to Murerwa and Dzuke.

City spokesperson Michael Chideme said he had no answers to the questions yesterday.

However, sources allege that Chawasemerwa wrote to Kruger requesting for a bill of quantities (BoQ) relating to the work that was to be undertaken at Morton Jaffray, but did not get a response.

“Chawasemerwa knows so much about pumps, that is why he was insisting on a bill of quantities. But Kruger flatly refused to supply the bill of quantities and this infuriated Chawasemerwa, as he suspected that council could have been overcharged for the pumps it received,” a source alleged.

Kruger referred questions to officials he suggested were the “relevant people” without identifying them.

“I have forwarded your message to the relevant people,” Kruger said.

Petricho representative James Corey did not respond to questions.

Details about Petrichor Irrigation on its website show that the firm prides itself as a “world-class”, ‘turnkey’ irrigation service” that “designs, supplies and installs irrigation schemes.”

“We are the leading Agrico agents in Zimbabwe, offering robust products with cutting edge technology. We aim to provide value for money on our products, and to contribute to increase the farmers’ yields in our country,” the firm’s website reads.

With the capital’s water taps running dry for prolonged spells, authorities have explained that the acute shortage of foreign currency to import treatment chemicals and obsolete equipment at the pumping plants were the source of the challenges.

Harare has been struggling to provide water to its three million residents, giving rise to cholera and typhoid outbreaks, as people turn to unsafe water sources.-TheZimIndependent

JOHANNESBURG – AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has died.

He was 72.

The news was confirmed in a statement from the royal house on Friday morning.

King Zwelithini had been in hospital for weeks for what was initially reported to be a problem with his blood glucose levels.

The royal house said his health took a turn for the worst and he passed away in the early hours of Friday morning.

They’ve also thanked South Africans for their prayers and support during his illness.

– ewn

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa says criticism from different quotas inspires him to provide leadership in Zimbabwe’s fight for political and economic emancipation.

He made the remarks while speaking at the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiCZ) press conference to remember the Save Zimbabwe Campaign prayer meeting that was heavily crushed by the police on 11 March 2007.

“Some are saying Chamisa is silent and some say Chamisa makes a lot of noise in Zanu PF depending where you are and I can understand because it’s also a source of inspiration because I realize that people have hope and they want us to do something and say something more and we will provide that.

“The greatest mistake any leader can ever make is to assume that the leader is the struggle and is to assume that the leader is the alpha and omega of what the people must do, let us take back the struggle to where it belongs in the hands of the people.

“The country we want to see is in our hearts and in our heads, we can only unleash it for our future generations and for ourselves when we begin to all act not as politicians not as trade unions, churches but as citizens but the bottom line is for us to go back to our common denominator that which unites us which is Zimbabwean,” said Chamisa.

Meanwhile, the MDC Alliance leader claimed he had reached out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa through letters and emissaries for dialogue but the latter has snubbed him.

“I have written so many letters to Mnangagwa, I have sent emissaries to Mnangagwa to say come let us reason together this problem of Zimbabwe is too big for you, you are incapable of solving it alone, it takes two to tango come let’s look at the problem together but he does not listen. He has refused to listen, he has refused to understand where we are coming from.

“You can’t say the country is normal when Makomborero is in jail, when the student leaders are in jail, when Hopewell Chin’ono has charges, when senior political leaders in the MDC Alliance have charges and when workers have charges that cannot be normal. You cannot be the only one who is normal when everyone is wrong, that is what has to be corrected but it starts with understanding that something is fundamentally broken and it needs to be fixed and can only be fixed by all of us,” he said.

-263Chat

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has joined forces with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) – The Hawks – to seize and forfeit 10 luxury properties bought through proceeds of crime.

This is part of efforts by Zimbabwe to repatriate funds that were externalised by highly organised criminal syndicates that have been bleeding the economy.

South Africa is home to millions of Zimbabweans who work in the neighbouring country, but the rich and famous who built empires through illicit financial flows also splurged millions of rands buying properties in areas such as Sandton and Dainfern – equivalent of Borrowdale Brooke Estate in Harare.

To track the properties for forfeiture, Zacc has roped in Interpol and The Hawks to close in on suspected criminals.

Zacc head of legal affairs Jessie Majome said plans were underway to track assets that comprise of ill-gotten wealth.

In Europe, lavish homes in Switzerland and Sweden bought by corrupt Zimbabweans will also be forfeited to the State.

As reported in January by the Zimbabwe Independent, Zacc has seized several plush homes and top-of-the-range cars like Range Rovers, Mercedes Benz and BMW, valued at over ZW$2 billion (US$2,38 million) from former public and private sector top officials including ex-cabinet ministers like Prisca Mupfumira and Walter Mzembi. Majome said: “Zacc signed Memoranda of understanding on corruption busting, including asset recovery in Southern Africa with Botswana and Zambia; in Europe with Sweden and Switzerland”.

Locally, she said the anti-graft board has filed two fresh cases to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to seize and forfeit houses in Harare. The NPA will then make applications at the High Court for assert seizures.

The two new cases make the pending High Court seizure applications to 11 “with one – the Russell Mwenye case, having concluded successfully at that”.

Apart from the NPA, Zacc also works with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s investigating arm – the Financial Intelligence Unit to fight crime using the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act.

“Our other cases are still pending especially given the recent lockdown. Our progress was hampered because our stakeholders that we rely on for investigations and profiling were also under lockdown, such as the deeds, companies, vehicle and births registries and the Financial Intelligence Unit,” Majome said.

“The chief Justice’s practice direction also placed our cases outside the ones that the courts were handling, that is, new criminal and urgent cases.”

Zacc has been busy seizing properties in high-end suburbs such as Borrowdale, Gletwin, Glen Lorne and Greystone Park, as owners failed to account for the source of wealth and could have violated the money Laundering and Proceeds of crime act.

-ZimIndependent

By A Correspondent- Two private security guards have been arrested after they allegedly broke into gold miner and clergyman, Mathias Madziwanzira’s Ruwa home at the weekend, where they stole goods valued at $670 565, a passport and a R60 000 wrist watch, among other items.

Mandiwanzira is the leader of Mathias and Mildred Ministries.

Chrispen Chiwashira (26), employed by Milmath Security, and Henry Mateyo (50), employed by Safeguard Security, yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi, who remanded them in custody to March 25 for trial.

In denying them bail, Mangosi said there was overwhelming evidence that the accused committed the crime as shown by the CCTV footage which was recorded as they gained entry into the house through the roof.

The pair allegedly dug a hole at the gate to gain entry into the premises. Among the stolen items were expensive perfumes valued at US$3 600, and a passport belonging to Mildred, Mandiwanzira’s wife.

Lancelot Mutsokoti represented the State.

Last year, nine armed robbers pounced on Madziwanzira’s home and stole processed gold, a pistol and cash.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- A Harare based Chinese investor, who allegedly raped his 17-year-old housemaid for months, promising to take her to China was on Wednesday hauled before magistrate Judith Taruvinga, who granted him $15 000 bail.

Li Qiang (61) was not asked to plead and his matter was remanded to March 23.

As he was about to leave the court premises, Li was immediately arrested by immigration officers for breaching his conditions of stay in Zimbabwe.

Allegations are that in September last year, the complainant was cleaning Qiang’s bedroom when the latter entered and locked the door from inside and raped her.

After the abuse, he allegedly ordered her to stay at his house as he promised to take her to China.

It is further alleged that he continued to rape her on several occasions, but the matter came to light when complainant visited her grandmother and narrated her ordeal.

A police report was made, leading to Li’s arrest.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Chilonga villagers, whose impending eviction from their ancestral communal lands has caused a major outcry, have vowed to stay put, accusing government of toying with them.

Some of the villagers, who spoke to the Zimbabwe Independent this week, said government misled them by giving them repeated assurances that they would not be moved, only to be hit by a Statutory Instrument two weeks ago legalising their eviction.

In October last year, the villagers ambushed Vice-President Costantino Chiwenga, when he went on a tour of the winter maize project at Hippo Valley’s Kilimanjaro project in Chiredzi and asked him to clarify their fate.

Chiwenga, at the time, assured them that they would not be moved since the country had plenty of land.

The Vice-President appealed for amicable conflict resolution. He was accompanied by commercial farmers Nick Swanepoel and Paul Kruger, when he implored citizens to dialogue wherever there are disagreements.

The Chiredzi villagers said the government’s Statutory Instrument contradicted Chiwenga’s assurances.

Chiwenga said at the time: “We have plenty of land, so let’s open it. Let’s create and give our people jobs here. No one is being moved from their land. There is no other country which will be created. God did his job and finished it. He is not going to create another world. Let’s forget about it. So our small teapot, let’s treasure it. Let’s work together. Let’s not be confrontational. If there is any problem in the country, let’s sit down and resolve it amicably.”

However, a representative of Chilonga village heads Vhelemu Livison Chikutu said there was no proper consultation with villagers, who were totally opposed to the government decision to forcibly move them.

“We cannot allow our ancestral land to be auctioned while we clap hands,” he said.

“If we ever allow this Darren Coetzee and Kruger to grab our land without resistance, then our children will never forgive us. We won’t go anywhere and that is why we had to apply for an interdict challenging the constitutionality of Statutory Instrument 50 of 2021 which was promulgated by government last week, together with its empowering provision being section 10(3)(d) of the Communal Land Act,” Chituku added.

“The government is not living up to its promises. If you remember last year, VP Chiwenga told us that whenever we have a deadlock, we should resolve the problem amicably. He also assured us that we will not be displaced, but the opposite is true.

“They just came up with an SI which had February 26 2021 as a deadline for us to vacate our ancestral land. Our destination was not specified. This shows how hypocritical our government can be. What the Vice-President said and what is on the ground is on the contrary. Anyway the bottom line is we are not going anywhere. We are waiting for them to make the next move said,” he further said.

Chituku was the first applicant while the land rights pressure group, the Masvingo Centre for Advocacy, Research and Development (Macrad) is the second applicant.

The SI 50 of 2021 ordered the Shangaan community to permanently relocate from the Chilonga communal land and the setting aside of such land effectively started from February 26, 2021, being the day of publication.

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has filed an urgent chamber application at the Masvingo High Court seeking to interdict government from going ahead with its plan to displace more than 12 000 villagers from Chilonga in Chiredzi to pave way for a lucerne farming project.

Government issued another SI 163A of 2021 stating that the Chilonga project was an irrigation scheme.

-ZimIndependent

By A Correspondent- Government has acknowledged that shortage of vehicle number plates countrywide is causing inconveniences to motorists who are sometimes arrested for driving unregistered cars.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona said the shortage of number plates is caused by the fact that the country imports them.

Minister Mhona said this in response to MDC-A Makoni Central MP Mr David Tekeshe who had asked him what Government was doing to address the number plates problem during the Wednesday’s Question and Answer session in the National Assembly.

Mr Tekeshe said it was worrying that police were arresting motorists for driving cars without number plates when the problem lies with the department responsible for their issuance.

Minister Mhona said Government is working to address the shortage of number plates.

“Yes, it is true that the issue of number plates has caused havoc in our country. The number plates that we use in this country are imported which means we need foreign currency to buy the number plates” he said.

Minister Mhona however, said what was encouraging was that the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Prof Amon Murwira was working with students from various universities to solve the issue of number plates.

“So in the near future I believe the Minister will be coming to this House with good news that number plates are now being manufactured locally thereby improving supply of the number plates and also saving foreign currency,” he said.

Minister Mhona said Government departments need to reach a consensus to avoid inconveniencing motorists.

“The issue that he has raised also touches on the Ministry of Home Affairs, but as he has said, I would like to propose that the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development work together with the Ministry of Home Affairs so that we have a way forward in resolving this issue, so that people with cars that have temporary number plates can move on our roads freely,” said Minister Mhona.

He said the country was also losing a lot of revenue as unregistered vehicles were not remitting any tax to the country.

“The number plates that are given when entering into the country are not the same with the number plates that are then put on the vehicle. Furthermore, these temporary plates are not good for our economy because if a car has temporary number plates, that car is not registered and as such does not pay the fees. When the car is finally issued with our number plates, that is when the Government benefits especially the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, through registration fees. It is our wish to start manufacturing these number plates locally as soon as possible,” he said.-statemedia

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC MDC Alliance leader, President Chamisa is humbled by the overwhelming support from citizens who have faith in the people’s project.

President Chamisa wrote on Twitter:

THANK YOU ZIMBABWE! I’m so humbled by the inspiring comments and positive feedback from you all. Hundreds of thousands followed.

Amazing and phenomenal numbers tuned in and watched the Agenda 2021 address on various platforms. Come let us converge and reason together for CHANGE. JOIN US in this FIGHT FOR REAL CHANGE. Victory is certain! Let’s build and make OUR ZIMBABWE GREAT!
God bless you all my beloved.

BuildingZimbabweGreat

Citizensconvergenceforchange CCC…

By James Gwati- Soldiers and CIO earn more than $30 000 while teachers and nurses get a paltry $14 000 per month.

The government has since threatened to fire teachers who fail to report for duty next week because of the poor salaries they are earning.

By James Gwati- The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe has challenged the government to justify high salaries and allowances the authorities are giving to soldiers and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) which are way above what teachers are earning.

PTU president Takavafira Zhou, said teachers’ salaries ranged from $14 000 to $19 000, while soldiers, police and Central Intelligence Organisation officers reportedly earned well above $30 000.

“Government must restore the purchasing power parity of teachers’ salaries to pre-October 2018 levels of US$520 to US$550,” he said.

Teachers have since advised the government that they were not going to report for duty next week if their salaries were not reviewed.

By James Gwati- The government said it is going to fire teachers who will engage in the planned next week strike.

Teachers this week said they were not to report for duty when schools open if the government does not review their salaries.

Schools are re-opening next week.

In a statement, Thursday, the Public Service Commission (PSC) said any civil servant who engages in the planned job action risks losing his or her job.

PSC is the employer of all civil servants.

A Harare man has admitted to conning the father of the murdered Murehwa boy Tapiwa Makore, of money he wanted to use in hiring a car to Malawi to track the missing head of his child.

Prince Gerald Mukumba admitted to duping Mr Munyaradzi Makore of $4 500 and US$125 he paid him towards hiring the car to travel to Malawi.

Mukumba told Harare magistrate Mr Sheunesu Matova that he failed to secure the car for Mr Makore because of the Covid-19 national lockdown.

“I was given the money to hire the car to travel to Malawi, but failed because of the lockdown,” he said. The matter has been briefly stood down for plea recording. -Herald

Where is MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo? Was he arrested? Is he in police custody? Has he been given access to a lawyer? Has he been charged with any offence? If so, what is his charge? #freemqondisimoyo

— Doug Coltart ✊??? (@DougColtart) March 11, 2021

Mukuru’s strength in the remittance and cross-border payments space has led to the launch of a new product line – Enterprise Payments.

Mukuru is partnering with some of the world’s leading humanitarian aid organisations, using its reach and capabilities to deliver a seamless process that guarantees on-time payments for some of the world’s most vulnerable recipients of humanitarian aid.

Move to aid cash payments

The new product line is the result of a trifecta of change in the humanitarian and money transfer sectors.

1.     An upswing in the volume of aid distributed across the globe that is putting the humanitarian system under enormous strain. (An estimated one billion people in countries affected by long-term humanitarian crises need around $30 billion in aid each year to survive.)

2.     Aid organisations are urgently looking for new ways to protect the lives and dignity of affected individuals while ensuring aid is spent efficiently. The result is a switch where possible from supporting crisis-affected people with physical commodities, to cash payments.

3.     Changes in technology and access to financial services are presenting new ways for humanitarian support to reach people in need, whether as an envelope of cash, a money card, or electronic money transfer to a mobile phone.

Mukuru—Aid Agency Synergy

Today, the bulk of humanitarian work is not a response to sudden disaster. Countries caught up in protracted crises of five years or more, have gone from 13 to 31 in the last 15 years. In these circumstances, aid in cash that allows recipients to buy food, pay rent and buy what they need locally, is far more effective at helping people survive and rebuild their lives than consignments of food, water, shelter and clothes. An increasing number of agencies are now building cash payments into their emergency response planning.

In 2020, a number of United Nations (UN) agencies and organisations including World Food Programme, Unicef, Finmark Trust and Action Contre La Faim began to work with Mukuru – an Africa-based Fintech company that for almost two decades has enabled migrant workers to send money home to their families via a formal remittance system that uses dynamic technology and an extensive Africa footprint to deliver safe and easy-to-use products and services.

Traditionally, migrant workers were forced to trust the goodwill of strangers, paying middle men and taxi drivers to get desperately-needed money home to their families. Mukuru presents an alternative, safer way that enables a sender to place and pay for a cash remittance order which their recipient can access at a Mukuru branch, retail partner, or payout booth in peri-urban and rural areas.

The common thread of supporting the financial wellbeing of some of the world’s most vulnerable people created a natural synergy between the money transfer company and partner humanitarian aid organisations.

Mike Scott, Mukuru Group Head of Commercial, says, “On the one hand, Mukuru is constantly innovating to stay ahead of real-time social, regulatory and legislative changes in more than twenty recipient countries.

This means building flexibility and responsiveness into every business process. On the other hand, end-to-end accountability and full auditability is paramount to the long-term success of the products and services we create for our customers, whether in the business-to-customer or business-to-business space.”

Maximising humanitarian impact with a system of cash transfers         

The expansion into Enterprise Payments is a natural progression for Mukuru. They are licenced across multiple territories, have vast experience in instant cash availability (even in poor cash liquidity environments), and are passionate about enabling the journey towards digitisation for their customers.

Scott says, “Our cash transfer systems offer our aid partners convenient online disbursement of cash aid, with built-in operational efficiencies, as well as security and risk prevention; this includes fraud detection, anti-money laundering and authentication tools.

Our ability to provide a fully-auditable payments infrastructure that allows organisations to deliver large numbers of cash payments quickly and reliably to vulnerable people in under-served communities is what caught the eye of our humanitarian aid organisation partners.”

Ariane Luff, Zimbabwe Country Manager for Action Contre La Faim (Action Against Hunger), says, “It was Mukuru’s practical approach to money transfers and their scalability that made them an attractive business partner. 

“They are able to leverage their independent cash supply chain to ensure regular payouts and have proven to be highly responsive to the unique issues faced by aid agencies. Having easy access to senior managers is crucial for aid organisations that need quick answers to changing situations, and Mukuru has been willing to listen and learn, whether this is making quick adjustments to longer queues by bringing in additional payout booths, or extended payout hours for aid recipients.”

//Ends.  

About Mukuru 

Mukuru, an African FinTech company founded in 2004, is building a cross-border payments platform across the continent.  

Mukuru enables safe, affordable, reliable financial services to underserved communities. With over 40 million cross-border transactions over the last decade, we are one of Africa’s largest remittances-led FinTech’s.

Our remittance service offers customers the opportunity to send money to their relatives or friends in over 20 countries across Africa and Asia.

Additionally, we offer critical customer services such as Funeral Cover, The Mukuru Money Card and payment solutions for businesses in emerging markets.

Mukuru has been listed as one of the leading 150 cross-border companies globally in the 2020 FXC intelligence Incumbents vs Challengers in Cross-Border Payments 

The company is 17 years old and cannot be classified as a start-up, although it continues to harness and foster the ‘entrepreneurially orange’ energy on which it was founded. South African, Andy Jury is the CEO. 

Further information can be found at https://www.mukuru.com/the-mukuru-group/

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC MDC Alliance leader, President Chamisa is humbled by the overwhelming support from citizens who have faith in the people’s project.

President Chamisa wrote on Twitter:

THANK YOU ZIMBABWE! I’m so humbled by the inspiring comments and positive feedback from you all. Hundreds of thousands followed.

Amazing and phenomenal numbers tuned in and watched the Agenda 2021 address on various platforms. Come let us converge and reason together for CHANGE. JOIN US in this FIGHT FOR REAL CHANGE. Victory is certain! Let’s build and make OUR ZIMBABWE GREAT!
God bless you all my beloved.

BuildingZimbabweGreat

Citizensconvergenceforchange CCC…

By A Correspondent- The Odzi mine ownership wrangle recently spilled into the High Court which granted an interim order interdicting Zanu-PF councillor Luckson Mawanga’s Paari Mining Syndicate from carrying out operations at the mine.

The interdict was granted against Mawanga’s Paari Syndicate last week by Harare High Court judge Justice Amy Tsanga.

The applicant, Twin Castle, had cited Paari Mining Syndicate, Manicaland provincial mining director Omen Dube, Mines minister Winstone Chitando and Odzi Police Station officer-in-charge, Inspector Kadoro, as respondents.

“The first respondent and anyone acting on their behalf are hereby interdicted from mining and extracting or processing any mineral ore or carrying out any other form of mining at snipe B46, an area covered by registration notices 019994AA and 019995AA,” the order read.

“The first respondent, and, is hereby interdicted to desist from denying applicant’s employees entry into stripe B46 Mine and interfering with applicants employees and protecting the rights within the pending applicants registration notice 01999AA and 019995AA.

“In the event that the first respondent or its agents continue to deny the applicants access to the mining location, the first respondent be and hereby ordered to assist the applicant access and gain entry to the said mining location,” the order added.

“It is hereby declared that the first respondent does not have any rights to carry out mining activities at the stripe B and said registration notices.

“It is hereby declared that the first respondent certificates of registration of Snipe B are cancelled.”

Paari Mining Syndicate, through its lawyer Passmore Nyakureba of Maunga, Maanda and Associates, said it would appeal the ruling.

“Our position is very clear. We have seen the interdict, and we have since been instructed to appoint a lawyer in Harare to challenge it,” Nyakureba said.

-newsday

Rest In Peace Mthokozisi Ntumba. Brutally killed by the SAPS. Koze kube nini??? #witsprotest #Witsasinamali pic.twitter.com/rIrjZtloUw

— Z Nkosi (@ZamaswaziNkosi4) March 11, 2021

https://twitter.com/danielmarven/status/1369951451280269312?s=20

By A Correspondent- Traditional medicine practitioners on Tuesday bemoaned underfunding towards research and the manufacture of traditional medicines, which has resulted in lack of recognition of their practice in the health sector.

Health ministry director Onias Ndoro said this during a meeting with the Ruth Labode-chaired Health and Child Care and Parliamentary Portfolio Committee where he told MPs that government had failed to release the required funds for research and other necessities in the manufacture of traditional medicines.

The meeting was meant to discuss the development and promotion of traditional and complementary medicines in Zimbabwe.

He said government should consider allocating 2,5% of the Health ministry budget vote to the traditional medical sector.

“Traditional medicine is not widely recognised in the country due to a number of challenges which include lack of funding and lack of standards for indigenous medicinal products. The traditional medicine sector has been receiving way below the requested funds from government. In 2020 for instance, the sector requested $350 000, but only received less than $30 000,” Ndoro said.

“There is also a need to strengthen the traditional medical council which spearheads manufacturing of traditional medicines. The council has not been meeting over the past five years, which derails progress in the sector.”

Ndoro said there was a lot of secrecy among the traditional practitioners who did not want to disclose important herbs or to pass on their knowledge to others, which hindered standardisation of the traditional medical practice.

He also urged government to include the traditional medicine practice in the education curriculum and to bring together traditional and conventional medicine practitioners to engage in research.

Traditional Medical Practitioners Council (TMPC) registrar Joice Guhwa said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the importance of traditional herbs which had been downplayed due to the rise of conventional medicine.

Guhwa said many people resorted to traditional concoctions to cure the respiratory disease.

“The challenges experienced in the traditional medical sector date back to colonialism where local medicines were underutilised due to the rise of the conventional drugs. The Witchcraft Act of the 1960s was also promulgated to do away with traditional medicine; hence since then, the practice has been sidelined and was regarded as dirty and backward.-Newsday

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) clinics are being manned by 50% of the staff amid reports that the other half had left for greener pastures.

This came at a time when the local authority was battling service delivery challenges and failure to pay its workers on time.

City fathers have blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for financially impacting on its operations as ratepayers did not settle their bills for the better part of 2020 due to the lockdown.

In a virtual discussion held on Monday titled: “The State of Health Institutions in Bulawayo: A Provincial Perspective,” BCC health services director Edwin Sibanda painted a gloomy picture of staffing levels.

“We have about 19 clinics dotted around the City of Bulawayo and they are running with almost forty-five to fifty-five staffing levels,” Sibanda said.

“The city has been struggling with constant tendering in of resignation letters. Since January we have been receiving not less than four resignations a month. In terms of admission levels we are fine, but the greatest constraint is the fact that our clinics do not have enough staff.”

Welcome Mlilo, the acting provincial medical director for Bulawayo said: “The shortage of health facilities is a trend right across the country, not only limited to Bulawayo. We have seen an alarming number of resignations.”

According to the local authority, only 16% of Bulawayo ratepayers fully paid their bills in 2020 while 22% did not make any payments at all, resulting in council being owed nearly $663 million by ratepayers.

Government departments also owe council several millions of dollars, deepening the council’s financial woes.

Council’s woes are likely to be worsened by the recently increased tariffs, a development that is likely to result in a high number of defaulters.

BCC increased its rates by 372% after its supplementary budget was recently approved by government.

The local authority was forced to seek a supplementary budget after the first wave of COVID-19 led to unbudgeted expenses.

As if that is not enough, government has also approved the council’s 2021 budget which will see rates and service charges going up by a further 10%.-newsday

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By A Correspondent- Government is formulating laws that will provide for mandatory jail sentences for rapists in response to a sharp increase in sexual violations, Parliament heard last week.

This is not the first time that authorities have revealed plans to punish offenders with a mandatory jail sentence as a deterrent against the vice. In 2017, government proposed a mandatory 60-year jail term for those who rape children and 40 years for criminals convicted of raping or sodomising people with disabilities.

Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises minister, Sithembiso Nyoni revealed in Parliament last Thursday that government was finalising laws providing for mandatory jail sentences for rape.

Nyoni said government was concerned about statistics of sexual offences, adding that long mandatory jail terms would be the only deterrent measure against the crime.

She said statistics provided by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) victim friendly unit showed that there were 1 222 cases of rape in the third quarter of 2020 and 1 274 in the last quarter countrywide.

“The Bills (Sexual Harassment Bill and the Gender Equality Bill) are expected to criminalise the offence of sexual harassment and provide frameworks for gender equality,” Nyoni said in a ministerial statement on sexual crimes and gender-based violence (GBV).

The next one is the mandatory sentence for rape.

The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs administers the Criminal Code Reform Act and it is spearheading the amendment of the Act to include mandatory sentencing for sexual offences.

“The drafting process has begun. However, the drafters have identified that most relevant stakeholders on the proposed law were not consulted, hence there was need for further consultations.”

The United Nations says GBV is the most pervasive yet least visible human rights violation in the world.

It includes physical, sexual and mental violations with experts stating that one in three women will experience such violations in their lifetime.-newsday

Government is formulating laws that will provide for mandatory jail sentences for rapists in response to a sharp increase in sexual violations, Parliament heard last week.

This is not the first time that authorities have revealed plans to punish offenders with a mandatory jail sentence as a deterrent against the vice. In 2017, government proposed a mandatory 60-year jail term for those who rape children and 40 years for criminals convicted of raping or sodomising people with disabilities.

Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises minister, Sithembiso Nyoni revealed in Parliament last Thursday that government was finalising laws providing for mandatory jail sentences for rape.

Nyoni said government was concerned about statistics of sexual offences, adding that long mandatory jail terms would be the only deterrent measure against the crime.

She said statistics provided by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) victim friendly unit showed that there were 1 222 cases of rape in the third quarter of 2020 and 1 274 in the last quarter countrywide.

“The Bills (Sexual Harassment Bill and the Gender Equality Bill) are expected to criminalise the offence of sexual harassment and provide frameworks for gender equality,” Nyoni said in a ministerial statement on sexual crimes and gender-based violence (GBV).

The next one is the mandatory sentence for rape.

The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs administers the Criminal Code Reform Act and it is spearheading the amendment of the Act to include mandatory sentencing for sexual offences.

“The drafting process has begun. However, the drafters have identified that most relevant stakeholders on the proposed law were not consulted, hence there was need for further consultations.”

The United Nations says GBV is the most pervasive yet least visible human rights violation in the world.

It includes physical, sexual and mental violations with experts stating that one in three women will experience such violations in their lifetime.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), a civil servants’ group, has petitioned government over the erosion of government workers’ salaries and gave notice of a nationwide full-blown strike next week if the salary issue was not resolved within seven days.

In its petition gleaned by NewsDay dated March 9, 2021 addressed to Public Service minister Paul Mavima, ZCPSTU president Cecilia Alexander said civil servants’ salaries had been severely eroded by inflation and needed to be reviewed.

“Government is wilfully disregarding the NJNC (National Joint Negotiation Council) resolution of December 2020 which stated that the NJNC would meet early January 2020 to craft a roadmap towards the restoration of the value of wages to the pre-October 2018 level,” the petition read in part.

“The ZCPSTU/Apex Council will within seven days from the date of this letter, notify the employer of an impending civil servicewide job action, and that such notification will be served to you in accordance with the laws of the land and in fulfilment of the desires of our members.”

Teachers’ unions also threatened that their members would not report for duty when schools open next week until government paid them salaries ranging from US$520 to US$550, or the equivalent in local currency.

They also expressed disgruntlement over being paid salaries that are way below those paid to the security forces.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou yesterday said teachers’ salaries ranged from $14 000 to $19 000, while soldiers, police and Central Intelligence Organisation officers reportedly earned well above $30 000.

“Government must restore the purchasing power parity of teachers’ salaries to pre-October 2018 levels of US$520 to US$550,”Zhou said in a statement.

Mavima recently told Parliament that government had no capacity to pay foreign currency-denominated salaries.

During the 2021 Parliament of Zimbabwe post-budget consultations, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube claimed that civil servants were the highest paid employees in the country.

Zimbabwe’s breadbasket for a family of six is now pegged at $25 000, according to recent data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, amid reports that most families were surviving on less than a dollar a day.-Newsday