The family of seven-year-old Murehwa boy, Tapiwa Makore, who was murdered on 17 September has set the 9th of January next year as the burial date for his remains.

The family through their lawyer, Tabitha Chikeya, wrote to the police saying they would have wished to bury him with all his body parts but it seems the other parts can’t be located.

A few days ago, police released some of the DNA forensic results from the case, confirming that the abdomen, legs and palm belonged to the deceased, while results of the skull are yet to be released.

Speaking to The Herald after meeting with Chief Mangwende of Murehwa on the possibility of burying the deceased, Tapiwa’s father, Munyaradzi Makore said:

It was our wish to bury our son with all his body parts but we have finally decided to bury him without his head. We are going to bury what is there on January 9 next year so that we can find closure.

We would like to express our gratitude to fellow Zimbabweans for standing with us during these hard times.

Tapiwa’s mother, Linda Munyori said with three months gone since the murder of her son, she felt that it was high time her “son’s spirit rests. Burying him will also bring comfort to us.”

She added:

As a mother, it pains me to bury my son without his head but there is nothing we can do.

Tapiwa’s uncle, Barnabas Makore, appealed to well-wishers to assist in the burial proceedings saying they won’t be able to manage the funeral on their own.

This is happening as Thanks Makore who was the prime suspect in the apparent ritual murder of his nephew was on Friday released from remand on a ZW$10 000 bail on the basis that there was nothing linking him to the offence.

Thanks was arrested after his co-accused Tapiwa Makore Snr, Tafadzwa Shamba and Maud Hunidzarira who are still in remand, had claimed that he was the mastermind behind the murder.

They claimed Thanks offered to pay them US$1 500 for the head and arms of the deceased.

By A Correspondent- A 41 year old married woman from Mpopoma, a Bulawayo suburb died under unclear circumstances after spending a night at a boyfriend’s house.

Chronicle reports that the woman, Ms Siphilisiwe Nkomo, was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital where she was pronounced dead after having breathing difficulties while at Mr Jona Chigovanyika’s house on Wednesday morning.

The cause of her death is yet to be established as police are still waiting for a post-mortem report. Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, said police were treating the matter as sudden death and investigations were underway.

Ncube said:

I can confirm that a woman identified as Siphilisiwe Nkomo (41) of Mpopoma was pronounced dead on arrival at Mpilo Central Hospital. We are now waiting for post-mortem results to establish the cause of death.

Chronicle was told that Ms Nkomo was drinking beer at a local tavern when Mr Chigovanyika approached her and drank beer together before deciding to spend the night at Mr Chigovanyika’s house.

A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity said:

The woman died at around 10 am after she was rushed to hospital having breathing difficulties.

The relative said Ms Nkomo’s decision to sleep over at Chigovanyika’s place is shocking considering that she was married.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- A 13 year old girl from Mwenezana estate, a sugarcane compound in Ngundu allegedly got pregnant after sex with a 24-year-old man who she would watch videos with from a laptop at night.

The family of Justice Tsvuke (24) who is alleged to have impregnated the juvenile offered to pay lobola and arrange a marriage.

Tizirai Pedzisai, the juvenile’s brother would however, not contemplate marriage of a 13-year-old and he reported the matter at Ngundu Police Station. He even refused to entertain the matter when the two families were called for discussion at village Head Maride’s homestead.

Milton Rukovo, the accused’s brother said he was not at liberty to discuss family matter with Two Nations.

Efforts to get a comment from Tsvuke were futile.

The juvenile has since given birth to a baby boy.

Pedzisai said the two had sex when the girl’s mother was away. The two would watch movies from the laptop until the juvenile’s siblings fell asleep and then they would engage in sex.

The juvenile’s mother discovered the pregnancy after being tipped off by other neighbors.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza has admitted that inconsistent and often outdated policies hinder implementation of key government strategies.

Nzenza was responding to Norton legislator Temba Mliswa, who accused the government of having too many economic strategy documents without reviewing or learning from the mistakes of previous blueprints at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) sixth annual business review conference on Thursday.

“We grow tobacco in this country. Ninety-nine percent of the tobacco grown in this country is going out as raw and the finished product is sold elsewhere,” Nzenza said at the business ZNCC business review.

“Why can’t we make cigarettes inside this country, create jobs and bring in foreign currency inside this country? We now have a strategy which we are working with the Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement ministry. What is required going forward is that we will break down those silos between line ministries and work together cause that has been the problem where we don’t necessarily work together.”

She said there was need for ministries to work together as there was a whole value chain process to be explored.

“One of the key areas we are looking at, ladies and gentlemen, is the sugar industry — and, yes, I will admit that not only have some of our policies been inconsistent, some of them have been outdated,” Nzenza said.

“The Sugar Act, for example, goes back to 1964, but we are working on it and are already getting input from the private sector and the sugar farmers themselves.”

She said other industries they were looking at included dairy, steel and the motor vehicle industries.

In recent memory, this inconsistency has been seen with the removal of the multi-currency regime in June last year in favour of the Zimbabwe dollar through Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2019.

But in March this year, the same officials changed its policies and brought back the United States dollar into the market to be used in tandem with the local currency under SI 85 of 2020.

“We tend to be dishonest with our ministers and I blame you (business community) all. You (government) like writing documents, but we never review the documents,” Mliswa said.

“The economic blueprint, we had ‘ZimAsset’; from ZimAsset without reviewing it we went to the 10-Point Plan, without reviewing it, we went to the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, without reviewing, we went to the National Development Strategy 1 (20212025).”

“There is no country which is serious which survives on five-year plans. A five-year plan, for people in the corporate world here, is what a company does.

“As a nation, you are talking about 20, 25 or 30 years. Look at China. You don’t hear China talking about a five-year plan…you must leave a plan for generations.”

-newsday

By A Correspondent- The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) yesterday awarded the first three licences to community radio stations.

In a statement, BAZ board chairman Charles Manzi Sibanda confirmed that licences had been awarded to the Mbembesi Development Trust, Ntepe-Manama Community Radio Trust and Nyangani Community Radio Trust.

“The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe wishes to advise members of the public that the authority has completed the processing of applicants for the provision of community radio broadcasting services in areas that were not being competed for,” Sibanda said.

“The authority has completed the processing of the application for those areas with no competition namely Manama, Mbembesi and Nyanga and wishes to advise that the following three applicants have been awarded community radio services licenses.”

Some applicants were yet to submit information required for the authority to make informed determination on their applications, he said.

“In addition, the authority advises members of the public that Midlands State University and the University of Zimbabwe have also been awarded with campus radio broadcasting services licences,”

Sibanda said the new licenses shall have 18 months to roll out their plans and go on air, in line with section 11(7) of the Broadcasting Services Act.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) said it welcomed the step taken by the BAZ to license the first three community radio stations.

ZACRAS chairperson Perlagia Kapuya said the success of these newly-licensed community radio stations and campus radio stations will only be possible if they are allowed to independently function. Communities should be given the full rights to own and run their stations without interference.

“This latest development also comes against the background of the licensing of the first campus radio, the Great Zimbabwe Campus Radio,”Kapuya said.

“While we remain alive to the fact that the three community radio stations are the first of the 10 community radios that are set to be licensed, we continue to entreat the government of Zimbabwe, through BAZ, to ensure that the broadcasting space is diversified in its entirety through the licensing of people centred and community rooted community radios.”

Kapuya urged the government to ensure that the new licensees get all the technical and start-up support to get the stations off the ground.

Media Institute for Southern Authority (Misa) Zimbabwe urged the newly licensed community radio stations to jealously guard and protect their editorial independence.

“Their editorial policies should be defined and underpinned in pursuit of an inclusive social development agenda,” Misa Zimbabwe said in a statement.

“Their programming should thus be for-by-and about the community as envisaged in terms of the African Charter on Broadcasting.”

newsday

By A Correspondent- Chitungwiza Town Council is being accused of posing a serious health threat to over 650 000 residents in the dormitory town by discharging raw effluent into rivers that provide water to the municipality, the court heard.

The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, represented by its director Mutuso Dhliwayo, recently successfully applied for an interdict at the High Court seeking to stop the municipality from causing and permitting discharge of raw effluent and hazardous substances into Muda Dam, Seke, Harava and Nyatsime rivers.

The application was granted by High Court judge, Justice David Mangota who ordered Chitungwiza to repair its water treatment plants and ensure proper treatment of effluent before discharge, within three months.

The court also ordered the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), the second respondent in the matter, to assess the municipality’s compliance with the order and submit a report of the inspection to the registrar of the High Court within three months.

In his founding affidavit, Dhliwayo, who was represented by lawyer Advocate Agyver Sawunyama, stated that Chitungwiza municipality had failed to fulfil its duties of manging sewer systems and ensuring that residents had potable water as prescribed at law.

“This is a case which is absolutely necessary that the relief sought ought to be granted,” he pleaded.

“The harm caused by actions and inactions of the first respondent has created a serious and sustained health risk, which may result to devastating pandemics.

“I would not be exaggerating were I to surmise that the municipal area of Chitungwiza is a ticking time bomb for such mediaeval diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery and others.”

Chitungwiza municipality had appeared before the environmental management board twice and found guilty on charges relating to poor management of effluent.

The council, however, did not follow the recommendations from the board and continued to violate the EMA statutes on waste management, according to the papers filed at the High Court.

“The various remedies adopted in the past therefore have no impact in deterring the first respondent from breaching its statutory duties or from repeating to commit the same offences.

“The applicant has no other remedies than that of seeking a prohibitory and mandatory interdict,” he stated.

In her latest audit report on urban councils, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri revealed that the local authorities were failing to attend to sewer blockages within 24 hours, resulting in raw sewage mixing with drinking water, giving rise to outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

She said the local authorities do not have modern equipment and technologies for sewer system inspection and maintenance.

-newsday

Please be advised that after exhaustive deliberations of the National Standing Committee the Extraordinary Congress that should take place tomorrow, Saturday 19^th December, 2020 has been moved further to a date to be advised soon.

The postponement has been necessitated by a number of technical, logistical and administrative issues some of which have affected the production of a credible and acceptable list of delegates (Electoral College) to EOC. The processes of cleaning up and certifying the Electoral College is ongoing, therefore the EOC cannot go ahead on the 19^th December, 2020 as initially envisaged.

“Equal Opportunity for All ”           1

We apologise for the inconvenience this postponement has caused.

New dates and venues will be communicated as soon as possible.

Stay united!

Senator Morgen Komichi

MDC-T interim leader Thokozani Khupe yesterday allegedly cancelled the extraordinary congress which was slated for today after gross irregularities were identified on the voters roll said to have been brought by interim secretary-general Douglas Mzonzora.

Party elections agents yesterday spend the better part of the day locked in meetings to verify the 2014 party structures, comparing with Mwonzora’s roll.

The roll, party insiders said, was in shambles, with names but without positions which they held at the time.

Party acting spokesperson Tapiwa Mashakada was not reachable for comment, but insiders said he was preparing a statement to announce the postponement of the congress to possibly next year.

“It’s been agreed (to cancel the congress). The party will seek another postponement at the court,” the insider said.

In October, the MDC-T was given up to 30 November to hold the extraordinary congress to select a new leader after missing the July deadline due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Khupe had approached the Supreme Court seeking guidance on the matter after the same court in March ordered the MDC-T to hold an elective congress within three months.

In March this year, the Supreme Court ruled that MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa was not the legitimate leader of the opposition party despite them leading two different formations and reinstated Khupe as interim president with a mandate to lead the party to a congress to select a new leader to replace the late founding MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai.

Khupe is facing off with Mwonzora, party national chairman Morgen Komichi and his deputy Elias Mudzuri.

Mwonzora was reportedly pushing for the use of a new voter’s roll while Khupe’s camp brought a roster of members from 2014.

There were also allegations that transport money was not released on time to allow delegates to travel to the voting centres today, with scant communication on the centres where polls would be held.

Komichi in the afternoon confirmed the disagreements over voters roll, despite claiming he was happy with the preparations of the congress.

“The preparations of the congress are going on well. We have no complaints but we are yet to agree on the voters’ roll. We haven’t seen it but we will give you an update,” Komichi said.

An insider confirmed the rift between Khupe and Mwonzora over the voters’ roll.

“There is a rift between Khupe and Mwonzora over which voter’s roll to use. Mwonzora wanted to use the current voters’ roll but that has been rebuffed by the Khupe camp which brought the 2014 structures voters’ roll,” the insider said.

“The fear in the Khupe’s camp is that the Mwonzora’s roll was full of his backers. The issue has further ignited fissures ahead of the extraordinary congress tomorrow (today).”

Khupe previously ordered that there be no gap filling to the party’s 2014 structures for the congress to block Mwonzora, who was allegedly stuffing the roll with his backers in a process led by Mashonaland East provincial chairman Piniel Denga.

Last week, Khupe’s camp was up in arms against Mwonzora, accusing him of stealing $300 000 from the $161 million the party got from government under the Political Parties Finance Act.

Mwonzora was cleared of wrong doing by the national standing committee on Thursday, giving an impression that Khupe and the former Nyanga MP had buried their hatchet ahead of the congress.

By A Correspondent- There is strong suspicion that there was a leak of Zimsec English Exam Paper 1 after two candidates, one external and another a student at Murambinda B Secondary were caught with answers during a sitting on Wednesday last week.

Both were disqualified.

Buhera Schools Inspector Godfrey Chimbwanda said he is yet to receive a report from the Headmaster.

“I have sent one of my inspectors to the school but unfortunately the head travelled to Mutare today. I will have all the information on Monday,” said Chimbwanda.

Sources told Chipinge Times that, the two were found by invigilators in possession of ZIMSEC answer sheets which were different from the ones disbursed in the exam room.

The sheets contained answered questions which prompted the invigilators to suspect that the paper leaked since the answers were of the same questions in the question paper.

Sources said that the answer sheets had folding lines meaning that the candidates entered the exam room with the answer sheets.-MasvingoMirror

Paul Nyathi

The Thokozani Khupe led MDC-T has inevitably called off its Extraordinary Congress set for Saturday to elect a new party leader purportedly to replace the late founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The party advised its members that it is calling off the congress due to administrative issues.

Members of the party who were meant to be delegates at the congress on Friday mobilised against attending the Congress.

Below is a memorandum circulated to members in Matabeleland South against the congress. Similar notices were distributed in all the other provinces.

URGENT NOTICE

18/12/2020

ATT:MAT SOUTH EOC 2014 DELEGATES

MAT SOUTH 2014 MDCT Extra Ordinary Congress (EOC) DELEGATES.

This memorandum serves to advise & update

ALL CONCERNED 2014 MDCT MAT SOUTH EOC DELEGATES, that they are strongly and strictly advised & indeed directed NOT TO TAKE PART in the MDCT EOC on 19 December 2020 that the several social media platforms are awash with.

This is a bogus and purely a ZANU-PF/MDC Rebels’ programme that real democrats MUST shun because:

1. Mat South was not accorded a chance to exercise it’s democratic right to nominate it’s preferred Presidential candidate.
2. Neither our MDCT Constitution has, nor our 2014 National Council has made a provision for decentralised National Congresses.
3. The EOC is a Zanu PF project to archieve premaditated results that Zanu-PF will want to use to form bedroom GNU.
4. Many Presidential aspirants were disenfranchised outside the dictates or the party constitution hence the law.
5. The same scenario in (4 above) goes true for several delegates. Many have been fired without due processes being followed.
6. The 2014 National Organising Secretary and his deputy in particular, have been unlawfully expelled from the party and yet there are the ones in charge of structures.
7. The High Court of Zimbabwe has just interdicted the holding of this EOC until 2014 National Organiser Abedinico Bhebhe’s illegal and summarily expulsion is determined as per MDCT party constitution. We therefore expect the MDCT to abide by the same (Latest) High Court of Zimbabwe judgment if the MDCT is as democratic and constitutional as it claims to be or atleast as it should be.

That’s done & undersigned on behalf of ALL- 2014 MDC T MAT SOUTH AUNTHENTIC PROVINCIAL COUNCIL(EOC DELEGATES).

Solani Moyo
(2014 Mat South Provincial Chair).
18 December 2020

CC. MDCT 2014 SC
MDCT 2014 NC
MDCT 2014 SG

The MDC-T circulated the memorandum below to call off the congress.

A MARRIED Bulawayo woman from Mpopoma suburb died under unclear circumstances after spending a night at a boyfriend’s house.

Ms Siphilisiwe Nkomo (41) was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital where she was pronounced dead after having breathing difficulties while at Mr Jona Chigovanyika’s house in Mpopoma on Wednesday morning.

The cause of her death is yet to be established as police are still waiting for a post-mortem report.

Sources said Ms Nkomo was drinking beer at a local tavern when Mr Chigovanyika approached her. The two agreed to go to Mr Chigovanyika’s place of residence where they spent the night.

A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity said Mr Chigovanyika and Ms Nkomo were drinking beer together before deciding to spend the night at Mr Chigovanyika’s house.

“The woman died at around 10 am after she was rushed to hospital having breathing difficulties,” said the relative.

The relative said the now deceased Ms Nkomo was married and therefore did not understand why she decided to spend the night at another man’s house.

Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said police were treating the matter as sudden death and investigations were underway.

“I can confirm that a woman identified as Siphilisiwe Nkomo (41) of Mpopoma was pronounced dead on arrival at Mpilo Central Hospital. We are now waiting for post-mortem results to establish the cause of death,” he said.

State Media

MPILO Central Hospital has recorded an alarming 74 Covid-19 cases over the past four days which left a nine-month-old baby and 14 staff members infected.

The infected staff members work at Mpilo’s Persons Under Investigation (PUI) ward for Covid-19 while others are from the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory where Covid-19 tests are conducted.

The rest are patients.

The development comes at a time when Bulawayo province is now accounting for more than 32 percent of the 620 new cases recorded in Zimbabwe during the same time.

One of the 74 people who had Covid-19 died on admission before his results were out. The nine-month-old baby has been referred to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for admission.

The Old Bartley Memorial Block at UBH is the only functional public designated Covid-19 centre where positive and symptomatic patients are admitted. Since the outbreak of the global pandemic in March this year, 314 Zimbabweans have died of Covid-19.

A total of 11 866 cases had been recorded in Zimbabwe by Thursday evening with an average of 100 new Covid-19 cases being reported daily.

The country has a total of 1 796 active Covid-19 cases and 561 of these are in Bulawayo province followed by Matabeleland South which has 289.

Since the beginning of the schools Third Term which ended yesterday, a total of 332 pupils tested positive countrywide.

About 185 of those were from John Tallach High School in Matabeleland North while 10 were from Matopo High School in Matabeleland South.

In an interview, Mpilo acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said the virus now has its grip in communities which should deter people from dangerous health behaviours.

Prof Ngwenya said the PUI ward at Mpilo used for symptomatic patients who are awaiting results was filling up and soon public institutions will not be able to cope with increased new cases.

He also said the continuous increase in new cases was putting a strain on limited protective personal equipment (PPE) which health care workers use to protect themselves from infection.

Prof Ngwenya said the festive season-related travelling to countries like South Africa and the returning of Zimbabweans from the neighbouring country could worsen the situation as SA was a Covid-19 hotspot.

“We have recorded 74 positive cases in the last four days, 14 of them are staff members and the youngest affected is a 9-month-old baby. This should be a warning to my fellow countrymen. These figures are just a tip of an iceberg as there are lots of unreported cases still to be documented,” said Prof Ngwenya.

He said people should be careful especially now that Zimbabweans working in SA are returning home to be with their families and relatives for the festive season.

“People should just avoid large gatherings such as parties, weddings and other such gatherings to save lives,” said Prof Ngwenya.

He however, said Mpilo figures do not mean that the hospital is a hotspot but it’s a reflection of the Covid-19 reality in communities.

“The infections are from the communities. These are people who are coming to the hospital infected thereby putting our health workers at risk,” said Prof Ngwenya.

He warned people intending to travel to rural areas saying the virus has found its way to many rural communities which in the past had been Covid-19 free.

“The virus is now in the rural areas unlike in the past when it was mainly in urban areas. There are places in Mat North that are known Covid-19 hotspots like Nyamandlovu, St Luke’s and Ntabazinduna hence the need to spread the message to our rural people who have been relaxed ,” said Prof Ngwenya.

State Media

The law officer who consented to bail for the suspected leader of a gang of violent armed robbers, Tapiwa Kasema, defied instructions ordering prosecutors to seek higher approval for bail concessions, his remand court heard yesterday.

Kasema is now facing charges of criminal abuse of office for consenting to bail for Taj Abdul and three others, allegedly members of the same gang, when they applied for bail at the High Court. The latest instruction came from Mr Michael Mugabe, employed as Head Setdown Division at the National Prosecuting Authority and details of how law officers are supposed to handle matters pertaining to firearms, violence and armed robbers.

Giving evidence for the State, which is opposing bail for Kasema on the grounds that he might abscond, the investigating officer in his case, Detective Assistant Inspector Collius Mushambi, questioned by Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti who is appearing for the State, said: “There are standard operating procedures, clearly outlining how the accused is supposed to operate as far as consent to bail to accused arrested for armed robberies, firearms or violence is concerned.

“There is a memorandum dated November 19, 2020 from accused’s superiors reminding law officers how they were to operate in respect of violent crimes,” he said.

Det Asst Insp Mushambi said the section dealing with bail consents made it clear that “all consents must first of all be approved by your superior. No one should file a consent without the knowledge of your superior regardless of the nature of the offence”.

Det Asst Insp Mushambi said police were afraid that Kasema could abscond trial considering that he was difficult to locate when they wanted to arrest him. He said Kasema only surrendered himself after realising that the net was closing on him with the social media being awash with news that he was wanted by the police.

“(The) matter was brought to police on Monday and with a view to arrest the accused, we visited the address which was known to police. Accused did note reside there but it was his parents’ address and we left a message that he was being sought by police.

“We later managed to obtain the actual address of accused on Tuesday and again a message was left that he was wanted by police. We could not locate him the whole of Wednesday and did not report for work. He came to the police yesterday (Wednesday) accompanied by his defence counsel.

“He said he was consulting legal practitioners when we asked about his whereabouts. We discovered that the coming of accused to police was after he had realised that he could not hide because the matter was on social media. There are submissions prepared by accused consenting to bail for applicants filed at High Court of Zimbabwe, a copy is with police,” he said.

Det Asst Insp Mushambi told the court that there will be public disorder if Kasema was released on bail considering the number of calls received by police regarding Taj Abdul’s release.

“There will be public disorder. There is public outcry over the matter. There were several calls to the police asking what was happening and that alone may cause people not to trust the justice delivery of the country,” he said.

The matter is expected to continue today or Monday depending on the availability of the magistrate handling the matter, Mr Ngoni Nduna, with Kasema’s lawyer Mr Steady Kachere cross-examining Det Asst Insp Mushambi. Kasema was remanded in custody pending the outcome of his bail application.

Paul Nyathi

The family of murdered seven year old Tapiwa Makore has expressed unhappiness at the High Court for granting bail to a prime suspect in the murder case.

Justice Benjamin Chikowore somewhat granted ZWL$10 000 bail to Thanx Makore who is the prime suspect in the alleged ritual murder.

Thanks is accused of offering US$1.500 for the arms and head of
Tapiwa, his nephew.

He is being charged with his twin, Tapiwa Makore (Senior) and his
herdsman, Tafadzwa Shamba who are still in remand.

A family member told ZimEye.com that the family will on Saturday morning go and picket at the High Court to express their dissatisfaction.

Zimbabwe recorded two COVID-19 related deaths from the 181 new cases reported yesterday, as second wave takes grip on the country.

The cumulative total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic is now 12047.

316 cases have been reported while 9894 people have recovered.

Below is the update from the Ministry of Health and Child Care….

South Africa’s health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has hinted that the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 is being driven by a new variant called 501.

Below is a thread of tweets by Dr Mkhize confirming the new variant….

We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus- currently termed 501.V2 Variant has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa.

We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus- currently termed 501.V2 Variant has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa.

This genomics team, led by the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform, or KRISP, has sequenced hundreds of samples from across the country since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

Clinicians have been providing anecdotal evidence of a shift in the clinical epidemiological picture- in particular noting that they are seeing a larger proportion of younger patients with no co-morbidities presenting with critical illness.

The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant. #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Karim: “What we are seeing now is that the rate of increase in cases is similar as the first wave but the second wave has now over shot the peak of the first wave.” #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Karim: “The second wave has now hit all provinces with some early signs of it spreading faster than the first wave.” #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Karim: “The second wave is showing early signs that it is spreading faster than the first wave. It is not clear if this second wave has more or less deaths. We have not seen any red flags looking at our current death information” #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Karim: This new 501.V2 variant has become dominant in South Africa. This new variant has 3 mutations. #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Karim: The higher viral load in swabs may translate to higher efficiency of transmission. #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing

Mkhize: We knew it was coming but none of us expected for it to come as quickly as it did. There was no specific projection. It comes at a time when the behaviour over the festive season is likely to worsen the spread of the virus.

Mkhize: We have noticed a degree of complacency with mask-wearing and hand sanitizing. The second wave is increasing during this season but we believe it is most likely to increase after this season. It may well have another bump where numbers are showing an increase.

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) train derailed in Bulawayo early on Friday killing two employees and injuring seven others.

NRZ spokesman Nyasha Maravanyika said the accident happened in Redbank, 30km from Bulawayo close to the highway to Victoria Falls after sand was dumped on the railway tracks following heavy rains.

The goods train travelling to Bulawayo was carrying coal, coming from Sawmills, a railway yard in Umguza district, Matabeleland North.

Maravanyika said: “The derailment happened just after midnight. The accident was caused by sand that covered the rail road level crossing following heavy rains. This caused our locomotive to go off track.”

He said 11 NRZ employees were onboard at the time.

“We are sad, we are sorrowful because this incident took away two lives,” Maravanyika said, noting that fatalities from goods train accidents were very rare.

The NRZ believes farming activities along the railway line loosened the soil, which was then swept onto the tracks following heavy rains.

“As NRZ, we encourage communities not to do agricultural activities along railway lines. We should all protect and preserve railway reserve land and railway equipment to avoid loss of lives through accidents,” he said.

One of the dead men has been named as Tawanda Makombe, who was also the vice chairman of the Bulawayo Volleyball Association.

By Jane Mlambo| Following widespread ridicule and mockery of the Mbuya Nehanda statue as a wrong depiction of the first Chimurenga heroine, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has given in to pressure and ordered that the bronze sculpture be re-done.

After pictures of the statue made rounds on social media, Zimbabweans did not waste time to dismiss it as a mockery to the legendary heroine with some saying she didn’t have the figure and bust depicted by sculptor, David Mutasa.

Now President Mnangagwa has rejected the statue for its youthfulness which he said should be replaced by a wrinkle and old mbuya Nehanda as widely portrayed in her pictures.

“When we have that kind of artistic production there are key features which must ensure that onlookers immediately connect with the production and one key feature has to do with the physical appearance of the real-life figure you are talking about so the President immediately reacted he wanted to understand why artistically VaMutasa had decided to make Nehanda look a lot more youthful.

“Then it emerged that the reality is that VaMutasa had in fact done something that approximated Nehanda in life but the authorities at the monuments and museums were of the different view they thought the artistic production must convey and communicate vigour, permanence, the youthfulness of the spirit which Nehanda incarnates or personifies so they then suggested that Nehanda be made a lot younger to suggest that buoyancy which they wanted to communicate to the onlooker.

“The President didn’t agree and as it turns out that youthful face of Nehanda will be put away and will have a Nehanda who is closer to how the good lady looked in real life which means a lot more wrinkled well past middle-aged but of course showing the strength and stresses of captivity,” said Charamba.

A ZIMUNYA man who was recently convicted of stealing from an accident scene will perform 260 hours of community work.

Gerald Madziro (26) was convicted on his own guilty plea when he appeared before Mutare magistrate, Ms Nyasha Kuture.

Mr Brian Goto prosecuted.

Mr Goto said Madziro was the first to arrive at the scene of an accident which happened at the 11km peg along the Mutare-Chimanimani Highway.

He loaded the property of the Mr Davison Mushaikwa into his vehicle before rushing him to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital.

However, Mr Mushaikwa was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital and Madziro disappeared with his property.

Among the things stolen by Madziro were two diagnostic machines, one laptop, an electric scissors, a computer box, an alternator,a diesel pump and a inverter, all valued at US$2 755 .

Two weeks later, Mr Mushaikwa’s wife — Ms Evas Sithole — received information that Madziro had stolen the property.

Investigations led to the recovery of the property, save for the inverter.-The Manica Post

A 27-YEAR-OLD man has been arraigned before the courts for allegedly sodomising his inmate at Mutare Remand Prison.

Moses Madhure last week appeared before Mutare regional magistrate, Mrs Lucie-Anne Mungwari facing charges of aggravated indecent assault as defined in Section (11) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

He pleaded guilty and will be back in the dock on December 18 for sentencing.

The complainant (name withheld) resides in Machipanda, Mozambique, and is currently at Mutare Remand Prison.

The court heard that on unknown date, but during the month of November 2020, Madhure went into a bathroom where the complainant was bathing and requested to be intimate with him.

When the complainant refused, Madhure forced himself on him.

The matter came to light on November 29 when the complainant, acting under duress, was seen caressing Madhure’s privates by another inmate who went on to inform the prison officer who was on duty.

Madhure was subsequently arrested.-The Manica Post

Tinashe Sambiri|Recalled MDC Alliance John Nyamhoka says he will not abandon the people’s struggle.

Nyamhoka described Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora as hopeless political turncoats.

See statement below :

Statement by Councillor John Nyamhoka after being recalled by Khupe cabal

I have received a letter of recalling me by the so called MDC T under their bogus president is Thokozani Khupe.

I want to make it very clear that I will never jump onto a dead train of misguided elements who think power is about money.

When I was voted into power as ward 17 Councillor I used MDC Alliance ticket of which I’m proudly a member. I have no time to listen or follow the Covid-19 judgment by a certain Judge who take orders from Zanu PF.

The only reasons for recalling me is my loyalty to the People’s Party which is MDC Alliance, for not being trapped into Zanu PF agenda and for standing for the people who gave their trust to me.

Mwonzora and Khupe are anti development. They have Zanu PF DNA of trying to fix the people of Zimbabwe. By recalling me they think they are fixing me yet they are fixing the general populace of ward 17 who are over 35 thousand.

I will stand with the people, I will stand with MDC Alliance and I will remain loyaly to President Advocate Pastor Nelson Chamisa.

Yours in Struggle
Councillor John Nyamhoka
Ward 17

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Youth Assembly has strongly condemned the conviction of its officials in Midlands.

See full statement below :

18-12-2020

SIX MDC Alliance Midlands youth leaders who were convicted on trumped up charge of “participating in an unlawful demonstration” today were fined RTGS 20 000 each by a Kwekwe magistrate.

The six are:

1.Midlands province Youth Chair Sekai ‘Muchaina’ Marashe

2. Clr Melody Chingarande
   3.Clr Washington Moyo
   4.Cde Lovemore Savanhu
   5.Cde Tinashe Nyamushosho
   6.Cde Leonard Musemwa

It is clear that the latest move by the state is meant to deter other young people from questioning Emmerson Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship.

As the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly we maintain that our comrades are innocent.

This is another case in point of persecution by by prosecution of opposition members by the junta.

#OneMillionCampaign

YouthVoices4Change

Stephen Sarkozy Chuma
MDC Alliance Youth _Assembly National Spokesperson
_

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has accused the Zanu PF government of thwarting development in local authorities.

The MDC Alliance has also indicated that its councillors are being blocked from carrying out their activities independently.

The whole thing is meant to frustrate MDC Alliance and councillors, according to the vibrant movement.

Watch video below :

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has accused the Zanu PF government of thwarting development in local authorities.

The MDC Alliance has also indicated that its councillors are being blocked from carrying out their activities independently.

The whole thing is meant to frustrate MDC Alliance and councillors, according to the vibrant movement.

Watch video below :

A TEENAGE girl who was allegedly possessed with an evil spirit has been plunged into deeper trouble after a self-proclaimed prophet reportedly sexually attacked her before assigning a tortoise to suck her breast.

A resident from Pelandaba suburb, Thulani Sibanda, said the self-proclaimed prophet only known as Madzibaba Sadza visited the minor’s granny in Nyanga to exorcise her homestead.

“After exorcising the homestead Madzibaba Sadza convinced the granny that he could secure a job for her 17-year-old granddaughter. The granny agreed and he left with the minor to Nkayi to conduct another exorcism,” said a resident.

Sibanda went on to expose the sex offender’s shenanigans.

“On 12 December 2020 at around 4.30am, after a healing session he ordered his aide known as Madzibaba Mthembo to take the minor to a secluded room which was about 200 metres away from his bedroom hut. The unsuspecting minor went there. He (Madzibaba Sadza) followed them with a packet of chips and gave it to the minor. Madzibaba Mthembo left them in the room.

Madzibaba Sadza undressed and remained naked. He ordered the minor to undress. The minor initially refused but he threatened to stab her with a knife. The teenager unwillingly took off her clothes and he licked her private parts before raping her,” said Sibanda.

He added: “He sexually attacked the minor once again at around midday and once the following morning. He gave her a tortoise and said she should allow it to suck her breast so that she would make money. The minor said the tortoise sucked her during the night.”

On 13 December 2020 they left Nkayi for Bulawayo.

“They arrived at his lodgings in Pelandaba suburb and put up at his rented room where during the night he raped her and let his tortoise suck her breast and insisted that she must let it suck her and when they go to South Africa she would secure a well-paying job and get rich instantly,” said Sibanda.

The minor managed to escape after Madzibaba Sadza went to take a bath.

She narrated her ordeal to a neighbour who informed other residents.

“Unfortunately when we went to apprehend Madzibaba Sadza we found that he had fled. We then took the minor to Western Commonage police station and made a report,” said another resident who only identified herself as Khethiwe.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said: “We are investigating a case of rape where a self-proclaimed prophet allegedly raped a minor several times and also assigned his tortoise to suck the minor’s breast for ritual purposes.

He added: “We are appealing to members of the public to seek understanding of how God’s services are done or provided. Normal and genuine services and prayers are conducted in church.”-B-Metro

Some Ordinary Level students in Zimbabwe are alleged to have failed to write the Agriculture Paper One examination on Tuesday after a mix up on one of the timetables.

According to the master time-table, the Agriculture Paper One was scheduled for Tuesday, but the candidates’ statements of entry indicated the paper was set for January 15 2020.

Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) director Lazarus Nembaware admitted that there was an error but said no students missed the examination. He said:

The standard operating procedure is that if there is a conflict between what appears on the statement of entry, candidates should follow the timetable.

Candidates who wrote Agriculture started to go to their centres from the first of December so they were able to see the timetable at their centres.

So I will be very much surprised where a candidate says that they failed to write because I was reading my statement of entry and not the timetable.

Earlier this month there was another mix up on maps used in the Geography Paper One examination, but ZIMSEC maintains the problem was timeously rectified. Said Nembaware:

Schools that discovered that there were no maps for the Geography examination earlier communicated and they were supplied.

For those who realized it on the day of the examination, they did one of the following; they allowed the examination to continue while the maps were being given to them by our ZIMSEC regional managers or they quarantined the students if the time was over, waiting for the maps to come.

My report from all regions shows that every candidate who registered for the examination wrote it.
– ZTN News

PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema has called on pupils to be vigilant and take all necessary measures to prevent contracting the deadly Covid-19 virus during the festive holidays.

Schools have been the latest target of Covid-19 and the Third Term which ends today saw more than 300 pupils contracting the deadly virus.

In his Christmas message, Ambassador Mathema said pupils should enjoy the holiday responsibly remembering that on January 4, schools are opening for the First term.

He also hailed President Mnangagwa for his direction which has led to the socio-economic development of the nation.

Minister Mathema also extended his gratitude to teachers, pupils and all responsible authorities for the support despite challenges brought by Covid-19 during the school year ending today.

He said one of the major successes was being able to contain and manage Covid-19 at 49 affected schools countrywide.

“It has been a challenging year with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still among us today. The pandemic forced Government to send all schools into lockdown for at least six months from 24 March 2020. However, I must hasten to applaud that together, we have managed to ride the waves in ensuring that learning and teaching continues in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Ambassador Mathema.

He said Government and school authorities successfully administered the June 2020 ZIMSEC examinations, reopened schools through the phased school calendar and managed the Cambridge examinations.

“The containment and management of Covid-19 cases in 49 of the 9 625 schools with no casualty reported to date was a major success for the Ministry. We also conducted the ZIMSEC examinations for Grade 7, Form 4 and Form 6 without discriminating those that tested positive for Covid-19,” said Ambassador Mathema.

He said that innovative alternative teaching and learning strategies were used for learners to catch-up and cover lost learning and teaching time during the lockdown.-Chronicle

The Thokozani Khupe led MDC’s congress scheduled for Saturday tomorrow has been postponed indefinitely, due to lack of a quorum and following squabbles over the voters roll. This was as the Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora was accused of tampering with the electoral roll. Efforts to obtain a comment from him were fruitless at the time of writing as his phone kept ringing without being answered. At the time of broadcasting, none of the top leadership were picking up their calls just as Khupe herself briefly answered and then quickly disengaged. Her compatriot Elias Mudzuri responded saying he did not want to speak. “Why don’t you talk to the others,” he said. Video loading below…

By A Correspondent- Four men assaulted and robbed a motorist who had parked his vehicle to fix two tyre punctures at night.

The motorist was robbed of an unknown amount of cash in the form of South African rands, United States dollars as well as bond notes and groceries.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the incident occurred on Thursday night along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road.

He said: On the night of 17/12/20, a motorist parked his motor vehicle along the Masvingo-Beitbridge road when it had developed two same side tyre punctures which he failed to fix.

He was then approached by four men who assaulted and robbed him of his cash in the form of SA rands, US dollars and Zim dollars plus various groceries.

In another incident, police in Beitbridge arrested a group of 40 cross borders who were trying to illegally gain entry into the country from South Africa through undesignated points.

This comes as hundreds of Zimbabweans reportedly cross the border illegally daily to buy groceries or seek medical attention in South Africa.

Some of the border jumpers will be returning home for Christmas but the fear is that uncontrolled cross-border human traffic may spread the coronavirus, with Zimbabwe’s dilapidated public health system not in a position to cope with high infection rates.

In a statement, Ass Com Nyathi warned members of the public against entering or exiting the country through illegal points.

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is shocked by Harare City Council Acting Mayor’s decision to reinstate senior Council employees who had been arrested on allegations of corruption.

The circus that is being perpetuated at Town House is a mockery to principles of good governance and accountability.

The Acting Harare Mayor Councilor Mukunguma wrote a letter on the 17th of December to call upon the suspended Town Clerk, Hosiah Chisango stating that, ‘due to exigency of work and the demands of the office of the Town clerk you are hereby notified to proceed with your work in your capacity as the Town Clerk’.

The reasons proffered by the Acting Mayor are not justifiable and this is a sad demonstration of lack of seriousness in terms of dealing with corruption.

It does not make sense to reinstate an employee who has not been proven innocent in the court of law.

In addition, the reinstatement is likely to lead to interference with investigations on the alleged matters.

The Acting Mayor Mukunguma is offside and needs to be reigned in. The office of the Mayor of Harare is ceremonial and the decision to reinstate the Town Clerk, Hosiah Chisango can only be done through a council resolution.

CHRA is also concerned with the interference of the Harare Provincial Development Coordinator, Mr Muguti, who has jumped in to give a directive to Council on this matter.
Our concern arises from the fact that Chapter 14 of the Zimbabwean Constitution is clear on the structural composition of provincial councils and the PDC is not part of that structural composition.

We reiterate that the PDC should not assume a judicial position as the member of the executive arm of the state.

This is against the doctrine of separation of power and the oversight role of the local authorities according to the law which comes from the Minister of Local Government.

As CHRA we are aware that the current chaos at Town House is caused by factional politics from MDC.

These are machinations aimed at imposing a commission on the residents of Harare, which will cripple representative democracy.

CHRA implores the implementation of devolution in the Constitution of Zimbabwe with a clear structural composition which has the authority to make decisions for Local Authorities when such chaos resurge.

Two National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) employees were killed while seven others were injured when a train derailed in Bulawayo early on Friday.

The accident happened in Redbank, 30km from Bulawayo close to the highway to Victoria Falls after sand was dumped on the railway tracks following heavy rains.

Nyasha Maravanyika, the NRZ spokesman said the goods train travelling to Bulawayo was carrying coal, coming from Sawmills, a railway yard in Umguza district, Matabeleland North. He said:

The derailment happened just after midnight. The accident was caused by sand that covered the railroad level crossing following heavy rains. This caused our locomotive to go off track.

Maravanyika expressed sorrow over the fatal accident and noted that fatalities from goods train accidents were very rare.

One of the dead men has been named as Tawanda Makombe, the vice-chairman of the Bulawayo Volleyball Association.

Eleven NRZ employees were onboard at the time of the incident.

More: ZimLive.com

EIGHT illegal diamond panners, among them two soldiers, reportedly fatally assaulted their colleague for allegedly swallowing the syndicate’s diamonds.

The two soldiers are stationed in Chipinge.

The suspects — Gift Gamunorwa (25), Samson Sazwe (29), Kudzanai Lazarus (30), Howard Tongai (32), Gift Mutowo (25), RegaiMukumbiri (25), Melusi Maseko (40) and Langton Ndlovu (27) — were on Monday hauled before Mutare provincial magistrate, Miss Nyasha Kuture.

They were remanded in custody and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

The accused persons are being charged with murder as defined in Section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

It is alleged that Evans Makowa (31), who hails from Mwapamba Village under Chief Marange, was murdered on December 6 in Chiadzwa, Marange. The late Makowa and the eight accused persons were illegal diamond panners operating in Chiadzwa.

On the fateful day at around 2.30pm, the now deceased was in the company of the accused persons panning for diamonds in Chishingwi when they picked up some pieces of diamonds.

However, the accused persons accused Makowa of swallowing some of the diamonds, resulting in a dispute.

They started assaulting Makowa with logs all over the body, demanding that he produces the hidden diamonds.

The suspects then bundled Makowa into the boot of a car and drove to a Tserukai Rombe’s homestead, where they continued assaulting him.

They put Makowa in the boot again and drove away to an unknown destination.

At this point, other illegal diamond panners alerted Makowa’s father, Stephen Makowa, about the assault.

Later that day, two of the suspects – Gamunorwa and Sazwe – dumped Makowa’s body in a bushy area in Muedzengwa Village.

Two days later, Godfrey Doriro, Pirimidzai Nechipote and Nyasha Nechipote were hunting when they bumped into the body.

Headman Samson Musaamba was advised of the development and a report was made at ZRP Marange.

Homicide detectives attended the scene and their investigations revealed that Makowa did not die at the spot. His body was only ferried and dumpedthere.

The body was conveyed to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital for post mortem.

On December 11, Gamunorwa was arrested by members of the public after he was identified as one of the suspects.

During interrogation, he implicated all members of the syndicate, thereby leading to their arrest.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has rejected the youthful-looking statue of liberation icon Mbuya Nehanda saying the proper face should be a lot more wrinkled and resemble that of a woman well past middle age.

This was revealed by presidential spokesperson George Charamba who told State media that Mnangagwa prefers a statue depicting an elderly, wrinkled Nehanda which most Zimbabweans can relate to. Said Charamba:

When we have that kind of artistic production there are key features which must ensure that onlookers immediately connect with the production and one key feature has to do with the physical appearance of the real-life figure you are talking about so the President immediately reacted he wanted to understand why artistically VaMutasa had decided to make Nehanda look a lot more youthful.

Then it emerged that the reality is that VaMutasa had in fact done something that approximated Nehanda in life but the authorities at the monuments and museums were of the different view they thought the artistic production must convey and communicate vigour, permanence, the youthfulness of the spirit which Nehanda incarnates or personifies so they then suggested that Nehanda be made a lot younger to suggest that buoyancy which they wanted to communicate to the onlooker.

The President didn’t agree and as it turns out that youthful face of Nehanda will be put away and will have a Nehanda who is closer to how the good lady looked in real life which means a lot more wrinkled well past middle-aged but of course showing the strength and stresses of captivity.

The Mbuya Nehanda statue, which is yet to be erected in central Harare, has become a source of ridicule with critics saying it resembles a “slay queen”.

The Zimbabwean government has effectively banned Christmas parties due to Covid-19, but defiant revellers say they will celebrate, even if it means hosting bush parties.

Home affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe said police were out in full force to enforce Covid-19 lockdown regulations to save lives as Zimbabwe enters the second wave of the pandemic.

“We are not yet out of the Covid-19 woes. The country is in the second wave of the virus. Parties will not be permissible during the festive season,” he said.

Since March, Zimbabwe has recorded 11,866 cases, 9,836 recoveries and 314 deaths. In the second wave, is recording an average 117 new cases daily.

Traditionally, December is a festive month with weddings and parties countrywide.

This year, while parties are banned, low-key weddings are permitted.

“Weddings will be allowed but with limited numbers. Police will be out in full force to enforce Covid-19 regulations and make sure they are being followed,” said Kazembe.

The party scene is vibrant, but not in the central business districts of cities. Nightclubs in city centres are routinely shut down and some unlucky revellers arrested. But shisa nyamas and pubs in residential areas and city outskirts are recording brisk trade.

“The police are incapacitated. They don’t have fuel to do normal policing duties, so how do you expect them to drive 20km out of town to stop a party?” said a club owner.

Tourism facilities such as hotels and bed and breakfast lodges remain open. Some parties are being held at the relatively cheaper B&Bs.

“You book a lodge for US$100 (about R1,450), invite around 20 friends, bring drinks and a good DJ. It’s even cheaper than spending at a nightclub,” one partygoer said.

The biggest losers are nightclub owners in the CBD. Those who try to break the curfew rules have to be prepared to deal with corrupt law enforcement agents, usually teams composed of police and soldiers who keep them open by the hour for a fee.

“It’s bad, but what can we do [except bribe]? Government is not being fair to us. We are not Covid-19 transmission centres. Look at the public transport system. Buses are overcrowded and they are controlled by the government. Even the so-called ‘essential services’ are as bad.

“Come the first week of January next year, we are expected to pay school fees, buy uniforms and other basics, yet we were shut down in what was meant to be our busiest season. If worst comes to worst, we will party in the bush,” said a club owner.

The government turned down a proposal from the Vic Falls Carnival to hold the annual New Year’s Eve event, which usually draws crowds from SA, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

“There’s no carnival this year. We called it quits after the government rejected our proposal to host the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said carnival spokesperson Emmanuel Tivatyi.

TimesLIVE

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba says President Mnangagwa has rejected the youthful-looking statue of liberation icon Mbuya Nehanda.

Charamba told state media that the President prefers a statue depicting an elderly, wrinkled Nehanda which most Zimbabweans can relate to.

More to follow…

By ACorrespondent- A teenage girl who was allegedly possessed with an evil spirit has been plunged into deeper trouble after a self-proclaimed prophet reportedly sexually attacked her before assigning a tortoise to suck her breast.

A resident from Pelandaba suburb, Thulani Sibanda, said the self-proclaimed prophet only known as Madzibaba Sadza visited the minor’s granny in Nyanga to exorcise her homestead.

“After exorcising the homestead Madzibaba Sadza convinced the granny that he could secure a job for her 17-year-old granddaughter. The granny agreed and he left with the minor to Nkayi to conduct another exorcism,” said a resident.

Sibanda went on to expose the sex offender’s shenanigans.

“On 12 December 2020 at around 4.30am, after a healing session he ordered his aide known as Madzibaba Mthembo to take the minor to a secluded room which was about 200 metres away from his bedroom hut. The unsuspecting minor went there. He (Madzibaba Sadza) followed them with a packet of chips and gave it to the minor. Madzibaba Mthembo left them in the room.

Madzibaba Sadza undressed and remained naked. He ordered the minor to undress. The minor initially refused but he threatened to stab her with a knife. The teenager unwillingly took off her clothes and he licked her private parts before raping her,” said Sibanda.

He added:

“He sexually attacked the minor once again at around midday and once the following morning. He gave her a tortoise and said she should allow it to suck her breast so that she would make money. The minor said the tortoise sucked her during the night.”

On 13 December 2020 they left Nkayi for Bulawayo.

“They arrived at his lodgings in Pelandaba suburb and put up at his rented room where during the night he raped her and let his tortoise suck her breast and insisted that she must let it suck her and when they go to South Africa she would secure a well-paying job and get rich instantly,” said Sibanda.

The minor managed to escape after Madzibaba Sadza went to take a bath.

She narrated her ordeal to a neighbour who informed other residents.

“Unfortunately when we went to apprehend Madzibaba Sadza we found that he had fled. We then took the minor to Western Commonage police station and made a report,” said another resident who only identified herself as Khethiwe.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said:

“We are investigating a case of rape where a self-proclaimed prophet allegedly raped a minor several times and also assigned his tortoise to suck the minor’s breast for ritual purposes.

He added:

“We are appealing to members of the public to seek understanding of how God’s services are done or provided. Normal and genuine services and prayers are conducted in church.”

Insp Ncube appealed for information that may lead to the arrest of the Madzibaba Sadza who is on the run.

Councillor for the area Frank Javangwe said:

“We urge community members to be on alert for such fake prophets who take advantage of unsuspecting people. As a community we deplore such evil acts and if anyone comes across him (Madzibaba Sadza) they must report him to the police.”

The Member of Parliament for Mpopoma-Pelandaba constituency Charles Moyo said: “As a constituency we bemoan such a devilish deed, it’s against our culture and we are appealing to the community of Bulawayo and whoever could have information that may lead to the arrest of Madzibaba Sadza to contact any nearest police station. I urge community members to report such cases to community leadership.”

–statemedia

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has accused the Zanu PF government of thwarting development in local authorities.

The MDC Alliance has also indicated that its councillors are being blocked from carrying out their activities independently.

The whole thing is meant to frustrate MDC Alliance and councillors, according to the vibrant movement.

Watch video below :

By A Correspondent- A city pastor is in deep trouble after a woman he impregnated took him to court for allegedly failing to support their 16- month-old child.

Luke Banda of Glory of Christ International Church was sued by Mitchell Monica Moyo from Richmond who was demanding $7 000 every month as child upkeep.

According to court documents Moyo claimed Banda who has legal obligation to maintain his minor child had failed to do so.

“I am applying for maintenance in the sum of $7 000 per month for a child who is one-year-and-four-months old. The respondent and I are however, not married and he doesn’t maintain the child. May he also be allowed to release the child’s birth certificate,” requested Moyo.

Moyo claimed she was unable to cope with the financial demands associated with looking after the child especially in the harsh economy as she was not employed.

In his defence, Banda said he could not afford the expenses because he was not a man of means.
The cleric insisted that his ex-lover’s demands were unreasonable as he survived on “hustling” to provide for his other children aged four and one-year-old. He then offered to pay $700 per month.

“I am not opposed to her claim but I can’t afford $7 000. I am offering $700. Most of the time I hustle and realise about $900. I also have two other children, one who is four years old and the other is a month-old. I am willing to maintain my child but at the moment I am financially unstable,” responded Banda.

Moyo declined to accept the pastor’s offer describing it as a “mockery” for a person who is conducting church duties.

“The $700 he is offering cannot buy anything. I cannot take it, Your Worship since the child has many needs. He is a pastor by profession and I don’t think he gets $900 on a monthly basis,” protested Moyo.

The presiding magistrate Nomasiko Ndlovu ordered Banda to bring his mobile money statement for the past three months to ascertain it was true that he was not a man of means. This was also after he indicated that he didn’t have a bank account.

By A Correspondent- Since Haggar the maid took her madam Sarah’s husband Abraham in the Bible, this act of husbands sleeping with domestic helpers has been despised.

And for a Bulawayo helper this practice by some maids of sleeping with their male bosses seems to have backfired when she fell pregnant and was allegedly tricked into taking an abortion pill leading her to develop life-threatening complications.

Cathrine Sibanda from Suburbs who confessed that she had been romantically involved with her boss Nontokozo Gumpo’s husband Njabulo Gumpo, claimed that she suffered complications after the latter brought a pill which he instructed her to insert in her privates when she told him she was heavy with his child.

A teary Cathrine who now apparently regrets sleeping with her boss’s husband claimed she was now living on borrowed time after Njabulo stopped paying her medical bills.

She said Njabulo literally shut the door on her when he blocked all her phone numbers.

To make sure that he completely dissociates himself from her, Njabulo teamed up with his wife and approached the Bulawayo Civil Court where they sought a protection order against Cathrine saying she was disturbing their peace by constantly phoning and coming to their house in Matsheumhlope.

“I am applying for a protection order against Cathrine Sibanda. We once had an affair. For the purpose of maintaining peace and my marriage (with Nontokozo), Catherine Sibanda and her children should not come to our place, or near of any of us. Cathrine should also not insult or gossip about us.

“There is an ongoing court case and it is tarnishing our image. We are really living under unbearable conditions with my wife as a result of Cathrine who is always coming to me while accusing me of dumping her.

She also harasses my wife who has a problem of high blood pressure. She is also emotionally abusing us by putting pictures of me and my wife on her WhatsApp profile,” complained Njabulo.

The court case in question involved his wife in which she verbally attacked Cathrine telling her that her private part was torn apart, wide open because of sleeping with married men.

Cathrine, however, opposed her ex-lover’s request saying it was a plot to stop her from pestering him so that he pays her medical bills for the illness which he caused.

“I am opposed to the application. I dispute that I go to or near his house and that I am emotionally abusing his wife. The wife is the one who insults me whenever she sees me. She is verbally abusive. As we speak, we have a pending case at the court.

He is seeking a protection order against me in order to avoid paying my medical bills for an illness which he caused.

“He blocked my numbers after I indicated to him that I am ill. I haven’t been able to contact him because he blocked me. I fell pregnant in 2017 and he came with a pill which he said I should insert in my vagina in order to protect the child but the pill caused problems in my body hence the illness that I am talking about.

“From 2012 up to 2020 he has been taking care of me until recently when we had a misunderstanding. That is when he blocked me when I was supposed to see a specialist. Now that he has blocked me, I won’t be able to receive any assistance from him,” lamented Cathrine.

Njabulo hit back saying he was not sure if he was the one responsible for her pregnancy since Cathrine allegedly double-crossed him with one Sibanda from her church.

“She once had an affair with one Mr Sibanda from her church. So, I am not sure if what she is saying is true. Besides that, this affair only happened in 2014 and by that time she was our maid. She knew very well that I was married.”

When the presiding magistrate Nomasiko Ndlovu asked him if he was really responsible for Catherine’s alleged illness, a regretful Njabulo said: “I am not sure if it’s me or Mr Sibanda who caused it. She knew that I was married and that affair caused a lot of problems between me and my wife.

“When it happened, she went to an emergency clinic and my wife and I paid all the expenses after we talked about the issue. My wife also paid for her rentals and food on condition she does not come near us again but she is still giving us problems.”

In her ruling the magistrate ordered Cathrine not to abuse Njabulo and his family by calling or texting him and his wife and going to their home.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe national football team, the Warriors, is set to play Bulawayo Chiefs in a friendly match which is part of the preparations for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) finals scheduled for Cameroon in January.

This comes as the Mutare-based side Manica Diamonds beat the national side 3-2 in the capital in a friendly match played on Monday.

Following the defeat, Warriors head coach, Zdravko Loga Logarusic said he was discovering new players in the friendlies and intimated that he will continue to reconfigure the squad.

A number of players who had initially been included in the 34-men provisional squad have been released while some including Denver Mukamba who had been overlooked have been called to join the Warriors squad.

Zimbabwe will play against Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali in the group stages of the tournament.

By A Correspondent- The United Kingdom (UK) Embassy in Zimbabwe will be closed for Christmas and New Year holidays. The embassy made the announcement on social media.

The embassy’s statement reads:

Please note that the British Embassy Harare will be closed over the Christmas period from 21st December 2020 – 28th December 2020 and then again on 1st January 2021.

However, our Consular experts are available to help 24/7 on the following numbers:

Consular assistance (available 24/7) +263 242 338 809

Emergency Outside Office Hours + 44 20 7008 1500

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe on 17 December 2020 recorded another coronavirus-related death to bring the total number of fatalities to 314 since March.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care reported that the latest victim of the deadly virus was from Mashonaland East Province.

In its daily update, the Health Ministry said as of 17 December 2020, Zimbabwe had recorded a total of 11 866 cases 9 836 recoveries and 314 deaths.

The cases have been rising recently following months of low numbers of new cases.

Most of the cases recorded in the recent past are local.

More: Ministry of Health and Child Care

By A Correspondent- A second memorial service for the late socialite Mitchelle “Moana” Amuli will be held on 2 January in Highfield, her mother Yolanda Kuvaoga has said.

Kuvaoga told the Daily News that Moana’s father, Ishamael Amuli, and the Amuli family held their own memorial service dubbed Sadaka three days after the socialite’s burial.

As a result, Moana’s mother is in the process of organising her own memorial service for the late fitness enthusiast.

Kuvaoga said:

Mitchelle’s memorial service is set for January 2 in Highfield. I was not part of their Sadaka as I do not understand their Islamic culture. In short, we have failed to agree on everything, from the burial.

Moana died in a fiery car accident on 8 November alongside socialite and businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure and two of their friends from Malawi and Mozambique along Borrowdale Road in the capital.

She was buried on 28 November at Warren Hills cemetery (Muslim Section) in the capital in line with her father’s Islamic culture after a struggle as Kuvaoga preferred Zororo Memorial Park along Harare-Chitungwiza Road.

Besides the parents’ public fallout, Moana’s burial was also delayed by DNA tests which had to be conducted as she was burnt beyond recognition in the accident.

-dailynews

In June this year A Zanu PF MP in the country’s lowveld reportedly withdrew hospital beds and other medical supplies donated to Chiredzi Polyclinic by an opposition MDC official.

Farai Musikavannhu, who represents Chiredzi West, dumped the goods donated by John Mangange outside the council offices.

Mangange is based in the United Kingdom. He contested for the parliamentary seat but lost to Musikavanhu.

Musikavanhu reportedly teemed up with State Security agents to forcibly remove an ambulance, 30 wheelchairs, three 5 000-litre water tanks, 10 electric operated beds, BP testing kits from the clinic and other items.

Former Chiredzi West MP Darlington Chiwa, who represented ZANU PF in the constituency had this to say:

If this was the idea of (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa and his wife’s (which I doubt) way of thinking; then they are not fit to rule this country. Zanu PF should thoroughly vet some of their candidates, otherwise, some are just in there to destroy the party from within.

On the other hand, we have overzealous State security agents in Chiredzi that is why some are now playing the part of bodyguards to certain individuals, or harass ordinary citizens over petty issues, while some are now involved in food distribution.

I don’t think their headquarters are even aware of such behaviour that is reducing the respected intelligence department to mere police constabularies bereft of elementary professional ethics.

WATCH THE LIVE VIDEO LOADING BELOW…….

By A Correspondent- The Government has given the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC the green light to go ahead with its extraordinary congress tomorrow, albeit in a decentralized manner.

MDC acting spokesperson said the gathering would be held simultaneously in five provinces around the country as clusters. Harare, Chitungwiza, Mashonaland Central, West and East would be grouped together in the capital.

Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South would meet in Bulawayo while Midlands North and South would congregate in Kwekwe or Gweru. Manicaland would meet in Mutare and Masvingo would meet in that city or any other town in the province.

Mashakada said strict social distancing rules would be observed. Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora, Morgen Komichi and Elias Mudzuri are contesting for the party’s presidency.

By A Correspondent- Children between the ages of zero and 14 constitute 84 295 out of the 1 356 000 people living with HIV, with more than 90% of them infected through mother to child transmission.

In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, John Mangwiro, Vice-President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga lamented the plight of children who continue to be infected at a time interventions and medicines to prevent HIV transmission were available. He was speaking on the occasion of the 4th quarter of the National Validation Committee meeting on dual elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis held in Harare yesterday.

“Our women folk must visit healthcare facilities to receive antenatal care and delivery services to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis. Children should also receive post-delivery care,” he said.

Chiwenga said the COVID-19 pandemic has, since March, derailed efforts to meet global 2020 targets on HIV.

“Here in Zimbabwe, COVID-19 had been with us since March 2020 and has resulted in the country instituting containment measures including lockdowns to try and mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19.”

Chiwenga urged responsible authorities to work towards addressing the bottlenecks affecting the provision of healthcare to HIV positive, pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children and to reach out to communities to help improve health seeking behaviour.

The World Health Organisation has come up with the initiative for countries to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis which has been embraced by Zimbabwe.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has launched a rare scathing attack on the government for steeply increasing tariffs for public utilities, warning the decision will have serious ramifications on market stability.

In the 2021 National Budget, as part of its strategy to increase revenues for next year which is expected to be ZW$390,8 billion (US$4,6 billion), excluding retained revenue, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube announced that fees and charges for public services would be reviewed upwards.

This comes as the government needs to fund its ZW$421,61 billion (US$5 billion) budget for next year as it remains mostly broke and has no external access to fresh finance due to growing human rights abuses as well as existing arrears.

At the time of the announcement to increase fees and charges for public services, economists warned that the decision could add to the existing inflationary pressures as both the formal and informal players could in turn increase their prices.

“Yes, the pricing of public utilities is also of concern, of great concern. We have advised government, we have advised the Minister of Finance that we need to be responsible when it comes to public utilities because the way the figures go up appears like there is no relationship with the rest of the products,” Mangudya said, at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce 6th Annual Business Review Conference on Thursday.

“To increase the price by 120% in an economy where inflation is 5% and below, month-on-month, is not being responsible. We, as advisors to the government, have advised the same line and have said it because we do not want to lose stability because of prices of public utilities. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The reference to the 120% increase Mangudya alluded to, was the decision by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) to increase tolling fees for light motor vehicles that fall under class one to ZW$120 from ZW$45.

Mangudya said he agreed with economists, consumers and business that raising fees and charges for public services would be detrimental to efforts to stabilise the economy.

According to Mangudya, efforts to stabilise the economy have led to a drastic increase in foreign currency which, as of the end of last month, stood at US$1,06 billion.

From this amount, US$566,23 million was held in nostro accounts by local banks with partner accounts outside the country while US$498,18 million was foreign currency at the banks in Zimbabwe.

Foreign currency reserves rose due to increased exports which grew 6,9% to US$3,43 billion in the first 11 months of the year from 2019 due to the performance of the forex auction.

Further, international remittances rose 40% to US$1,45 billion in the 11 months of the year compared to US$1,04 billion during the comparative 2019 period.

overall foreign currency receipts rose 17% to US$5,76 billion in the 11 months of the year from a comparative of US$4,92 billion last year.

Lastly, reserve money supply has been contained at below quarterly target of 25% since January with the central bank boss reporting the figure to be just under ZW$19 billion last month.

As such, more pressure on inflation will see demand for products and services increase causing a decrease in supply, thus increasing the need for foreign currency to import to meet the gap.

Mangudya said the increase in foreign currency now means that savings are also being created to meet demand for imports.

“Business tends to copy what the government is doing. So, the Zinara issue on tollgates of ZW$45 to ZW$120 was quite high…the psychological effect will affect business,” he said.

Government departments and ministries that had not reviewed fees, levies and charges at the time the 2021 National budget was announced late last month were told to do so by January 1, 2021.

However, in light of decreasing job opportunities, high unemployment and eroding wages from a depreciating Zimdollar the rise in these fees and charges could overwhelm struggling families.

“If you look at abject poverty, it has gone up. And I think if you look at Zimbabwe the poverty rate is about 34% or 35%, abject poverty on the ground,” former ZNcc president Luckson Zembe said.

“If you look at general poverty you are talking about between 70% and 80% on the ground to the extent that as developmental organisations who were focusing on rural areas, we have had to take a turn and come into the urban centres because of the nature of poverty and how livelihoods have been impacted.”

He said currently seven million Zimbabweans were food insecure and that talk about a stable environment was not correct because of the level of poverty on the ground.

-TheIndependent

By A Correspondent- Zanu-PF disappointed many party bigwigs after the party endorsed most of the results of the recent hotly disputed district coordinating committee elections (DCC) elections.

Among those who were left in the lurch are party heavyweights in Midlands and Masvingo provinces who had alleged electoral chicanery during the recent internal polls and were hoping for reruns.

Instead, the politburo only ordered reruns in a few districts where rains had disrupted the voting process.

The reruns in Mutare Urban, Makonde and Tsholotsho districts, will be held on December 28.

Some contentious results in Zaka and Kwekwe were allowed to stand even though Mnangagwa allies had raised complaints of electoral fraud.

-dailynews

With prosecutor Tapiwa Kusena arrested yesterday for him to explain how he consented to granting robber Musa Taj Abdul bail, it has emerged how another notorious armed robber was released on bail under unclear circumstances this month.

Douglas Mutenda was recently released on $5 000 bail on four counts of armed robbery, including the much publicised one at Mashwede Towers where US$100 000 was stolen.

He is part of the gang that includes Musafare Mupamhanga, Godfrey Mupanhanga, Spicer Takawira, Carrington Marasha, Benjamin Chitunhu and Conwell Kasambarare, who were also freed on bail under questionable circumstances.

They were arrested on a spate of armed robberies and their cases are still pending before the courts. Through his legal representatives at TK Takaindisa Law Chambers, Mutenda applied for bail at the High Court on October 20 this year.

The State led by Mr Douglas Chesa opposed the application, saying the prosecution had a very strong case against him.

Mr Chesa, in his opposition papers, told the court that Mutenda led to recoveries of some of the stolen properties and there was a CCTV footage that showed him at the crime scene.

He said Mutenda’s accomplices implicated him and there were phone calls linking him to the offence, which left the prosecution with a very strong case against him.

High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi dismissed Mutenda’s bail application on grounds that he was likely to abscond and that he was facing a serious offence.

Barely a month after his bail application was dismissed at the High Court, Mutenda engaged a different lawyer and approached the same court, but went before a different judge.

Mutenda engaged lawyer Mrs Concilia Maheya, who made a fresh bail application under changed circumstances on December 8.

In the application, Mutenda argued that his co-accused, Musafare Mupanhanga, Spicer Takawira, Benjamin Chitunhu and Conwell Kasambarare, had been granted bail. He also argued that he had no pending cases as the State had alleged.

Mr Chesa responded to the fresh bail application on the same day consenting.

“The present application is based on changed circumstances, which the respondent (State) is of the view that they tilt the scales in favour of the applicant,” he said. “In the initial application, neither the then legal representative nor the investigating officer who gave oral evidence in court told the court that there were other accused persons who are facing the same charges, already on remand and are out on bail.

“The applicant (Mutenda) is linked to the commission of the offence through implication by his co-accused. He was arrested at his home and no recoveries were made from him. Further, no formal identification parade was conducted to allow the respective victims to finger the applicants as having been part of the gang that committed the offence. The only probable link being the CCTV coverage and call history of his cell phone.”

Mr Chesa said in his consent papers that issues of the CCTV and call history were to be tested and determined during trial.

He said there was need to have proof from the police on whether Mutenda was on the run or not, as there was no evidence presented before the court in that regard.

Justice Benjamin Chikowore, acting on Mr Chesa’s consent, granted Mutenda bail on December 9, a day after he made his application.

By A Correspondent- MDC-T Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora has fired pot shots at the lawyer-studded MDC-Alliance saying they have let down their members by not educating and leading them in the legal path to avoid being recalled from parliament.

The three most senior MDC-Alliance leaders, including the president Nelson Chamisa and his co-deputies Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube are all lawyers by profession.

Mwonzora, who is gunning for the MDCT presidency at tomorrow’s extraordinary congress, also refuted claims his outfit was a Zanu-PF project to destroy the opposition in the country.

“The recalls had to happen. We did not expel anybody from the party. People who were recalled expelled themselves. In terms of the constitution of the MDC-T, if you join or form another political party, you cease to be a member of the MDC-T automatically. So by their actions these men and women ceased to be MPs and councilors of the MDC-T,” Mwonzora said in an interview.

“What we did was to inform parliament about that, to inform the minister (Local Government), to inform the councils. These men and women knew about the section of the constitution and certainly the leaders of the MDC-Alliance, who are lawyers, knew about the constitution that it provided for that, yet they sacrificed their members; they treated their members like cannon fodder and we regret that there were recalls but these recalls were necessary,” he said.

“We do not exist to recall people and as secretary general, I had to sign the recall letters and it is like signing a death warrant for somebody and it’s not an enjoyable exercise. So we want to plead with our friends in the MDC-Alliance to be responsible, the leaders to be responsible. We have lawyers in the MDC-Alliance; they have Biti, they have Ncube and the president too; those people badly let their members down by not advising them on issues of law,” Mwonzora said.

“Our agenda in parliament is to bring key political, social and economic reforms in Zimbabwe. So after our congress you will see that we will concentrate on the reform agenda. One of the reforms of course is the electoral reforms that we are going to concentrate on. Under these electoral reforms is to have what we call the diaspora vote. We think that the diaspora has been playing a key role in sustaining the families in Zimbabwe so they have been contributing to the country’s gross domestic product,” he said.

“So they need the right to vote. What we are going to do as MDC is to present the paper in parliament, to the Ministry of Justice, as well as to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on how to make the diaspora vote credible and safe to answer to the questions that Zanu-PF has been giving with regards to the diaspora vote.”

Mwonzora said their agenda was to make sure that they keep the government busy and to fulfill what it promised to the electorate but not to praise the government.

“We also make sure that the people of Zimbabwe are not shortchanged by the government; that is our agenda as MPs, we are not there as praise singers of the ruling party, but of course, when they do something which is correct, we must acknowledge, we must be able to say that you have done something correct. But we are not an extension of the ruling party,” he said.

He said after congress people would start to see MDC-T’s new way of doing things, adding that he was sure to romp to victory ahead of the acting party leader Khupe, Elias Mudzuri and Morgan Komichi.

“On the by-elections, we said we were ready for the by-elections, we are not as weak as people think, but let me tell you that the party which has gone to court to stop the by-election is the MDC-Alliance. In June this year, Chalton Hwende, Happymore Chidziva and Prosper Mutseyami went to court and cited MDC-T, President of Zimbabwe, ZEC and Justice minister and their prayer was that there must be no by-elections.”

He said it is them who stopped the byelection and when the Ministry of Health announced a ban of by-elections, they started complaining forgetting that they are the ones who went to court to stop the by-elections.

The MDC-T has recalled over 30 legislators and over 100 MDC-Alliance councillors across the country. The development critics say has weakened service delivery in councils and left constituencies without representatives in parliament, thereby increasing the chances of the affected areas lagging behind in development.

-The Independent

By A Correspondent- Fired Gweru Town Clerk, Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza has dragged the local authority and the minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo, to court challenging her dismissal.

Gwatipedza was suspended from her post in October last year before she was subsequently fired on December 2 this year after a disciplinary hearing convicted her of gross competence and insubordination.

Ms Gwatipedza, through her lawyers Mutatu Legal Practitioners, filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court citing GCC and Minister Moyo as respondents.

In her founding affidavit, Ms Gwatipedza said it was unlawful for GCC to act on the disciplinary authority’s recommendations without the approval of the Local Government Board.

She said:

I was employed as a Town Clerk of the first respondent (GCC) for three years until on the 14th of October 2019 when I was suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.

I was charged for acts of misconduct and formal charges were preferred against me on 24th October 2019 and the suspension was without salary and benefits.

As a result, I challenged my suspension through my legal practitioners and my salary and benefits were restored. The disciplinary hearing was conducted from October 30, 2019 to September 30, 2020 and I was found guilty and convicted.

She added that the disciplinary authority’s decision to dismiss her was invalid as his duty is only to recommend a penalty to the council, and thereafter the council must then notify of its decision to terminate the contract.

Gwatipedza also said the disciplinary authority should have made a recommendation to the Local Government Board which can approve or reject the termination of the contract rather than merely deciding to terminate it.

She claimed that since her contract has “not been lawfully terminated,” she was still an employee of the council and therefore entitled to her salary and benefits.-statemedia

The ruling ZANU PF has accused nurses of having “a broad opposition agenda” saying the periodic salary protests they have embarked on since last year are meant to destabilise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

Nurses affiliated to the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) have since last year embarked on a series of protests demanding better salaries and working conditions.

Speaking to reporters at the ZANU PF Politburo held Wednesday in the capital, the party’s acting secretary of information, Patrick Chinamasa applauded other nurses who returned to work.

He said:

We also took note as politburo of the positive gesture by nurses at Sally Mugabe Hospital who bravely broke ranks with the opposition-aligned Zina and returned to work.

That is the kind of patriotism we want to see from civil servants.

Responding to Chinamasa’s assertions, Zina president, Enoch Dongo, said it was shameful for Zanu PF to use threats and lies to silence nurses.

He said:

That is cheap politics. We are there for the welfare of nurses and that has nothing to do with politics. Ours is a labour issue and not politics.

Clearly, the statement by Chinamasa is misleading. Why has it ended up to that level? The issue with government spilled into the courts and we have two judgments in our favour. Does that mean the High Court is also working with the opposition?

This comes after nurses were recently “forced” to apologise for embarking on industrial action meant for the restoration of their 2018 salaries and to ensure they have a safe working environment.

newsday