Behind your workstation you would call out “Mhloe iwe huya pano tigadzirise story iyi nhasi handisi kutombonyora chunhu “
It was in that generation along with Merit Thoko Munzwembiri, Duchess Conney R Makoni , Tapiwa Machemedze , Luckymore Safuli , Rugare Dhobbie , Albert Mirirayi Chekayi that we found reason to relate as a family.
We had joy , we had fun we had seasons in the sun. Go well Janet Sajeni Munyaka I have just witnessed the end of greatness and it hurts!
A Gwanda couple were tragically killed in a car crash head on with a haulage truck at Mbalabala 60km from Bulawayo on the Bulawayo Gwanda highway on Saturday afternoon.
Shocked eye witnesses told ZimEye.com that the pick-up they were travelling in with a third person slipped on the wet road and went straight on to the oncoming haulage truck.
ZANU-PF Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu has gone on self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.
Zanu-PF acting spokesperson Cde Patrick Chinamasa last night confirmed that Dr Mpofu was in self-isolation at his house in Harare.
“I can confirm that our Secretary for Administration tested positive for the Covid-19 pandemic and has gone on self-isolation in Harare,” said Cde Chinamasa.
He could not provide more information on when Dr Mpofu tested positive.
Dr Mpofu is the latest high-profile individual to test positive for the pandemic with others being Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Permanent Secretary Mr George Guvamatanga, Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde Lovemore Matuke, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Cde Vangelis Haritatos and Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Cde Larry Mavima.
National hero and Retired Chief Air Marshal Perrance Shiri who was the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Perrance Shiri succumbed to the pandemic on 29 July.
POLICE have arrested two people and confiscated more than 300 blank stamped Covid-19 certificates, as the net closes in on people who are making fake certificates and selling them to travellers intending to cross the borders.
Zimbabwe reopened its land borders last week but travellers are required to present valid Covid-19 certificates obtained within 48 hours. Most laboratories charge around US$60 for the certificates and this has resulted in the mushrooming of scammers who are issuing the certificates for as little as US$20.
National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the two, Simbarashe Tsetse (24) and Freddy Katamanga (31) were arrested after originating fake Covid-19 certificates for travellers at Chirundu Border Post.
He said the duo was arrested after a tip-off from members of the public leading to the recovery of 334 blank stamped Covid-19 certificates, two tubes containing glass capillaries, two testing kits, two receipt books, three plastic capillaries, Covid-19 test record register, a methylated spirit bottle and one pack of new needles at their offices at Self-Med Complex.
“This is what the police have been monitoring which led to the arrest at Chirundu where two suspects were found with equipment which they were using to issue fake Covid-19 certificates to travellers. The two were in the process of receiving USD$120 from two people who intended to travel to Zambia.
So, we want to warn the public that they must go to Government institutions and medical institutions which have been cleared by the Government and Ministry of Health and Child Care to issue Covid-19 certificates,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi said travellers should avoid back yard premises and people who move around committing various offences under the name of Covid-19. “The police will ensure that the law takes its course on anyone found committing criminal acts under the guise of Covid-19.
Those that will be found buying the fake certificates will also be arrested as long as they are aware that what they are doing is criminal which means they are also conniving with those issuing the certificates and certainly the law will take its course,” he said.
Beitbridge District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere said yesterday the Department of Port Health was on the lookout for travellers using fake documents.
He said since the reopening of the borders to the general public mainly motorists and pedestrians they have been intercepting a number of travellers with fake documents at the Beitbridge Border Post.
Dr Samhere said most of the documents had purportedly come from some clinics in the border town though there is none registered with the ministry to offer such services.
“At some point we intercepted travellers with certificates they claimed to have acquired at the district hospital, a time when our Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine had broken down,” he said.
“As far as we are concerned no laboratory has registered with us to indicate they offer such services as required by our standard operational procedures.
“What should happen is that these labs should notify our Port Health, which will then relay the message to the South Africans to accept their certificates. The same applies with those coming from South Africa, we have names of those authorised to do such tests.”
Dr Samhere said they had agreed in principle with their counterparts at the South African border to exchange a list of approved/ registered laboratories which offer PCR tests. He said only those with PCR tests results would be allowed to leave or enter the country.
Some of the travellers who have been turned away were using results from rapid or antigen tests.
“The position is clear from both countries that we will screen travellers based on PCR results and not any other tests.
Our appeal is that travellers must not lose their valuable money to bogus syndicates,” said the medical doctor.
Dr Samhere said the Port Health department had a verifiable list of approved testing points at various points across the county.
A ZVISHAVANE woman has been arrested for allegedly marrying two men after accusing her first husband of having failed to be intimate with her for the past 12 years.
The matter came to light when Moreblessing Maridza (41) of Platinum Park in Zvishavane appeared before the local magistrate, Mr Archie Wochionga facing bigamy charges last week.
She was convicted on her own plea of guilty and was sentenced to six month in prison. However, three months were suspended on condition that she pays a fine of $5 000 and the other three suspended on condition on she does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.
Maridza told the court that her first husband, Mr James Chivandire had become mentally challenged and was no longer capable of performing his duties as a husband prompting her to marry the other man.
The court heard that Maridza and Mr Chivandire wedded under Chapter 5.11 of the Marriage Act which prohibits a man or a woman from marrying more than one spouse.
Chivandire allegedly fell and suffered from mental illness in 2000 and became incapable of performing his duties as a husband.
In 2012 Maridza went on to marry a second husband, David Mhuru and wedded him under the same Marriage Act and the two started living together.
The matter only came to light in September when an officer at the Registrar-General’s office observed that Maridza had two valid marriage certificates.
Maridza said her and Chivandire last lived as husband and wife in 2000 before he became mentally ill.
The State proved that Maridza married and wedded Mhuru while fully aware that she was legally married to Chivandire under Marriage Act Chapter 5.11.
The court heard that sometime in September on a day unknown to the prosecutor, Mr Delphino Chikwanda who is employed at the Zvishavane Registrar-General’s office was going through records when he noticed that Maridza had two registered marriage certificates under Marriage Act Chapter 5.11.
Chikwanda then reported the matter to the police leading to Maridza’s arrest.
By Wilbert Mukori | Ever since Zimbabwe gained her independence in 1980, 40 years ago, the nation has been on a quest for freedom, justice, peace and economic prosperity for all – “Gutsva ruzhinji!” as Robert Mugabe never seemed to tire of saying throughout the 1980s! When the country attained her independence, many Zimbabweans never doubted for a moment that all these things were not just within their reach, they were right in the hands, already.
The people’s first rude awakening was the elections leading to independence on 18 April 1980. While the whole nation had grown to hold the black nationalist clarion call of “One man, one vote!” as sacrosanct, Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF freedom fighters made it clear that if the party did not win the plebiscite the civil war would continue. And so the people had no choice but to vote to end the war.
indepth…Wilbert Mukori
Zanu PF won the 1980 elections and went to work to systematically erode the people’s freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life.
Some people had argued that Zanu PF’s threat to continue the civil war if the party lost the 1980 elections was just an empty electioneering mantra, the party would have never restarted the war if it had lost the elections. The doubters were silenced by the Zanu PF instigated 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre. The primary purpose of the massacre was to force PF Zapu, Zanu PF’s main political opponent, to sign the Unity Accord, uniting the two parties creating the de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled the country to this day.
And so the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans’ life has been a great disappointment as they have sunk deeper and deeper into economic poverty and denied their freedoms, rights and human dignity. Their pre-independence hopes and dreams for freedom, justice, a fair share of the nation’s wealth and riches are either a long forgotten memory or a mirage, they can see it but forever out of reach.
Zanu PF, the country’s ruling elite, have an explanation why Zimbabweans are poor.
“To this day, our quest to the unhindered right to access and utilise our natural resources continues being hampered. In the case of Zimbabwe, sanctions constrain the realisation of our full socioeconomic potential,” Emmerson Mnangagwa told his audience at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Museum of African Liberation in Warren Park, Harare.
“In the case of other countries on our continent, detractors continue to fund and fuel divisions so that while we fight, the pilferage and looting of our resources goes unchecked. Learning from our history and past, the time has come for us to deliberately and more consciously defend our interests as the people of Africa.”
After 40 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption the people know that these are the real causes of the country’s economic meltdown. They can see the sprawling Blue Roof palatial mansion valued at US$ 2 to 4 billion, the epitome of Zanu PF ruling elite lavish lifestyles. After building his C & M mansion, VP Chiwenga bought a fleet of posh cars, bought 45 gold watches, etc., etc.
The ruling elite’s insatiable greed for money and luxuries were all paid for the wealth looted from the nation. Key national institutions like hospitals have been starved of funds; so starved that even referral Hospitals like Parerenyatwa, Mpilo, etc. have regularly run out of even the most basic drugs like painkillers were starved of funds.
Sanctions! Yeah right! How come sanctions stopped government buying painkillers for hospitals but did not stop Mugabe build the US$2 billion Blue Roof, Zimbabwe’s Parthenon temple to corruption and greed.
It was the noble prize physicist Albert Einstein who said “Insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result!”
The people of Zimbabwe do not believe the West are holding back the country’s development much less that Zanu PF has solutions to mitigate the sanctions, contrary to the repeated claims saying otherwise. The people know these are all hen’s teeth tales.
After 40 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule and being dragged deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth; the people are not expecting the regime to be competent and just and to deliver economic prosperity. They are not insane!
“So, why have the people of Zimbabwe done nothing to end the Zanu PF dictatorship and end their oppression and economic suffering?” you might well ask.
The answer is the people have indeed risked life and limb in electing Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friend into power these last 20 years on the understanding they would implement the democratic reforms the nation was dying for.
MDC leaders have had many golden opportunities to implement the reforms, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Sadly, the MDC leaders have proven to be corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent.
Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai and company with the trappings of high office and the MDC leaders, just as the Zanu PF cronies had done in 1980, betrayed the people’s trust and commonwealth interests.
The people of Zimbabwe trusted Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies, they viewed them as national liberation heroes and heroines only to be knock down as the liberators turned into the corrupt and ruthless tyrants. They people turned to MDC believing they would deliver the democratic changes the nation was dying for, only to be betrayed again.
The people of Zimbabwe have been knocked down again and again and after each fall it is very hard to get up again! Before they get up again the people are desperate for some assurance their hopes and dreams of freedom, justice, peace and economic prosperity will finally be honoured and fulfilled. It is not too much to ask!
Mnangagwa, just like Mugabe before him is blaming the sanctions for the nation’s problems only because he is the one rigging the elections and responsibility for the looting and will never blame himself. Zimbabwe is a pariah state and it is only the dictator’s voice that is heard but that is set to change.
Zimbabwe’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections is the root cause of the country’s economic and political problems. MDC failed to implement the reforms; there are competent men and women who will do it. – SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
GOVERNMENT is finalising a nationwide rollout plan for Covid-19 vaccines, amid indications that Zimbabwe could take delivery of a substantial amount of doses next year.
Authorities have been designing distribution and vaccination prioritisation criteria strategies, with two extensive studies to assess the country’s readiness for a rollout having been undertaken.
Zimbabwe has recorded 10 424 cases of Covid-19, 8 754 recoveries and 280 deaths since March.
Chief Co-ordinator of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Agnes Mahomva, said last week that preparations for deployment of vaccines were underway through a multi-sectoral taskforce working in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO). She said Zimbabwe would not deploy experimental vaccines that have not been properly tested for safety.
“Zimbabwe will only rollout approved Covid-19 vaccines that have been analysed and found to be effective and safe for use,” said Dr Mahomva.
“Government is guided by science when deciding which vaccines Zimbabwe will approve and use.”
Zimbabwe is part of a global ground-breaking initiative led by WHO, known as Covax, which plans to secure and distribute millions of doses of vaccines to African countries, once licensed and approved. The initiative, which seeks to secure at least 220 million doses for the continent, will enable fast and equitable distribution of the vaccines.
Through the Covax initiative, vaccines that pass regulatory approval will be delivered equally to all participating countries in proportion to their populations.
Provisionally, the WHO distribution mechanism will allocate vaccines to all countries until they have enough doses to cover 20 percent of their population.
Zimbabwe has an estimated population of 16 million, meaning the country could potentially get up to 3,2 million doses under the first phase.
The Sunday Mail has gathered that vaccination of frontline health care workers and the elderly who are most vulnerable to the virus will be prioritised when the vaccines are deployed.
In addition to the Covax initiative, Government will mobilisedomestic financial resources to procure additional jabs for the country, said Dr Mahomva.
She said any vaccine authorised by WHO under the Covax facility would have to undergo rigorous regulatory scrutiny by local experts.
“Let me update you on two processes taking place in preparation for vaccine deployment,” said Dr Mahomva.
“There is an important aspect of research which is part of vaccine development and is being led by the National Institute of Health and Research under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“Secondly, there are the actual rollout preparations, including resource mobilisation for approved vaccines that have been analysed and found to be effective and safe for use. On this front, Zimbabwe conducted its first baseline readiness assessment on October 13 using the Covax facility template.
“A follow up assessment was conducted on November 26 and both these assessments had the participation of the national Inter-agency Co-ordination Committee on Immunisation and the Zimbabwe Immunisation Technical Advisory Group.”
She said Government led the two studies in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF and Covid-19 vaccination stakeholders.
“Results of these assessments have shown that Zimbabwe has made good progress in preparing for the rollout of a safe and approved Covid-19 vaccine.
“More preparations are of course still in progress.
“These additional preparations include finalisation of both internal funding mechanisms through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and external funding applications for the vaccine itself and of course for the actual rollout processes.”
She said the preparations are informed by experiences from the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
Added Dr Mahomva: “When Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic, it was clear that there was a need to develop not only safe vaccines but also to ensure that everyone had access to these vaccines. This is because the introduction of vaccines will not end the pandemic if only a few countries have access to the vaccine.
“This realisation pushed WHO, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and other global leaders on immunisation such as UNICEF to come up with a Covid-19 global access facility — in short Covax, to address this issue.
“The Covax facility led by WHO and GAVI is there to accelerate the development and manufacture of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines in order to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to vaccines for all countries, once of course the vaccines have been confirmed safe, effective and ready for deployment.”
Moderna, a US biotechnology company, has produced a vaccine that it says provides nearly 95 percent immunity against the virus, while another vaccine with almost equally the same efficacy has been produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech.
Another vaccine developed by the University of Oxford provides around 70 percent protection. China and Russia already have approved vaccines, but both are yet to complete the final round of tests on people.
Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) coronavirus/COVID-19 situation report as of 05 December 2020:
New cases: 70 Locals: 50 Returnees: 20 – from South Africa Deaths: 10 Recoveries: 46 PCR Tests Done: 1 577 National Recovery Rate: 81.4% Active Cases: 1 482 Total Cumulative Cases: 10 617 Total Recoveries: 8 844 Total Deaths: 291
Covid-19 has claimed 10 more lives in Zimbabwe, pushing the overall death toll to 291 since the pandemic broke out in the country in March.
Of the deaths, nine were reported by Harare Province retrospectively while one new death was reported by Bulawayo.
This was reported by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in a daily update released this evening.
The deaths come at a time when Zimbabwe is recording a surge in new Covid-19 cases, which hit 667 this week alone.
Today, 70 new cases were recorded, compared to 123 reported yesterday.
Today, 1 577 PCR tests done, implying a positivity rate of 4,4 percent.
Of the new cases reported today, 50 were local transmissions while 20 were returnees from South Africa.
Encouragingly, 46 new recoveries were reported, leaving the national recovery rate at 81,4 percent while active cases shot up to 1 482 today.
As of December 5, Zimbabwe has now recorded 10 617 cases 8 844 recoveries and 291 deaths.
SCHOOLS will once again open in a phased approach next year with only those in Form Four this year returning on 4 January to finish writing their remaining papers.
Other pupils will only return to class in another phased approach with some classes especially Form One expected to start school as late as February 2021.
Those going into Form One, who are Grade Seven this year, started writing public examinations last week on Thursday and will only finish on 17 December.
Those writing Ordinary level examinations will have some of their papers overlapping into early next year. Other non-examination classes will close this term on 18 December and initially the Government had indicated that schools will then reopen on 4 January 2021.
However, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Director of Communications, Mr Taungana Ndoro, told Sunday News yesterday that the ministry will employ the same method of phased opening of schools next year as a way of decongesting and further implementing the Standard Operation Procedures.
Mr Taungana Ndoro
He said only pupils who have not finished writing their public examinations will return on 4 January to finish the papers while phased dates for other classes will be announced in due course.
“We are opening schools on January 4 2021 to allow the Ordinary Level candidates to finish their examinations. Other returning pupils will have to come in February most probably after the Form 4 students finish their examinations,” he said.
Mr Ndoro said Grade Seven results will be released early next year but definitely before 31 January.
This comes as the ministry will tomorrow open the online application platform for Form One pupils wishing to be enrolled into boarding schools next year.
The Government introduced the Form One online application in 2016 for boarding schools to plug profiteering by some schools who were making parents pay for entrance tests.
Most schools were now conducting their own assessments for pupils and make them sit for entrance tests after paying money, rendering Grade Seven examinations irrelevant.
Some schools would call many prospective pupils for interviews when they could only enrol a few classes.
“We expect the Grade 7 results to be out before January 31. The Form 1 pupils will enrol after the Ordinary level candidates have finished their examinations. The idea is to continue decongesting our schools and following the Standards Operation Procedures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. We will have a phased schools reopening,” said Mr Ndoro.
According to a circular released last week by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the online platform will run from tomorrow to 31 January.
Under the method, pupils have to apply through the Electronic Ministry’s Application Platform (EMAP) where an applicant is allowed to place three applications at each given time although there is room for the upward review of the number of applications accepted until the closing date.
“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will be launching online the Electronic Ministry’s Application Platform (EMAP) for Form 1 boarding place enrolment from Monday 7th of December to January 31 2021.
An applicant is allowed to have three maximum active applications at any given time in order to decongest traffic on the platform. The schools will notify the successful applicants through sms. Once offered a place by a school an applicant can decline it and once declined a place cannot be reclaimed back.
The enrolment will start after the official publication of the 2020 Grade 7 Zimsec results,” reads a statement from the ministry.
This year, following premature closure of schools in March as a preventive measure against Covid-19, the Government introduced a phased approached to schools opening where Phase One of the reopening was on 28 September and was meant for the Grade 7s, Forms 4 and Upper Sixth followed by Grade 6, Form 3 and 5s on 26 October under the second phase.
In Phase Three, schools opened on 9 November 2020 with the rest of the learners which covered ECD A and B, grade 1,2,3,4,5 and Forms 1 and 2.
However, an industrial action by most teachers affected learning resulting in the Government taking a decision to postpone some of the public examinations into next year.
Reopening of schools were, however, affected when about 300 schoolchildren at various schools contracted the virus. Mr Ndoro said the disease has been contained at most schools with 50 percent recoveries recorded in the past few weeks.
The hardest hit school was John Tallach High in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North Province where about 185 pupils and teachers tested positive. However, the situation has since been contained.
By Jane Mlambo| The United States foreign affairs committee has tweeted that it is closely following developments in the matter in which MDC Alliance Deputy President Tendai Biti is facing charges of assault.
Biti was arrested and detained at Rhodesville police station before appearing at the Harare Magistrates court yesterday.
Police have arrested two people and confiscated more than 300 blank stamped Covid-19 certificates, as the net closes in on people who are making fake certificates and selling them to travellers intending to cross the borders.
Zimbabwe reopened its land borders last week but travellers are required to present valid Covid-19 certificates obtained within 48 hours. Most laboratories charge around US$60 for the certificates and this has resulted in the mushrooming of scammers who are issuing the certificates for as little as US$20.
National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the two, Simbarashe Tsetse (24) and Freddy Katamanga (31) were arrested after originating fake Covid-19 certificates for travellers at Chirundu Border Post.
He said the duo was arrested after a tip-off from members of the public leading to the recovery of 334 blank stamped Covid-19 certificates, two tubes containing glass capillaries, two testing kits, two receipt books, three plastic capillaries, Covid-19 test record register, a methylated spirit bottle and one pack of new needles at their offices at Self-Med Complex.
“This is what the police have been monitoring which led to the arrest at Chirundu where two suspects were found with equipment which they were using to issue fake Covid-19 certificates to travellers. The two were in the process of receiving USD$120 from two people who intended to travel to Zambia.
So, we want to warn the public that they must go to Government institutions and medical institutions which have been cleared by the Government and Ministry of Health and Child Care to issue Covid-19 certificates,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi said travellers should avoid back yard premises and people who move around committing various offences under the name of Covid-19. “The police will ensure that the law takes its course on anyone found committing criminal acts under the guise of Covid-19.
Those that will be found buying the fake certificates will also be arrested as long as they are aware that what they are doing is criminal which means they are also conniving with those issuing the certificates and certainly the law will take its course,” he said.
Beitbridge District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere said yesterday the Department of Port Health was on the lookout for travellers using fake documents.
He said since the reopening of the borders to the general public mainly motorists and pedestrians they have been intercepting a number of travellers with fake documents at the Beitbridge Border Post.
Dr Samhere said most of the documents had purportedly come from some clinics in the border town though there is none registered with the ministry to offer such services.
“At some point we intercepted travellers with certificates they claimed to have acquired at the district hospital, a time when our Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine had broken down,” he said.
“As far as we are concerned no laboratory has registered with us to indicate they offer such services as required by our standard operational procedures.
“What should happen is that these labs should notify our Port Health, which will then relay the message to the South Africans to accept their certificates. The same applies with those coming from South Africa, we have names of those authorised to do such tests.”
Dr Samhere said they had agreed in principle with their counterparts at the South African border to exchange a list of approved/ registered laboratories which offer PCR tests. He said only those with PCR tests results would be allowed to leave or enter the country.
Some of the travellers who have been turned away were using results from rapid or antigen tests.
“The position is clear from both countries that we will screen travellers based on PCR results and not any other tests.
Our appeal is that travellers must not lose their valuable money to bogus syndicates,” said the medical doctor.
Dr Samhere said the Port Health department had a verifiable list of approved testing points at various points across the county.
Yesterday, Zimbabwe recorded 10 Covid-19 related deaths, in what raises fears of a second wave of the deadly pandemic.
According to Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) coronavirus/COVID-19 situation report as of 05 December 2020, Zimbabwe recorded 70 new cases with South Africa returnees contributing 20 cases.
By Jane Mlambo| Exiled former cabinet minister Walter Mzembi has mourned the late ZBC reporter Janet Munyaka who died of COVID-19 describing her as an embodiment of a mother at work.
Posting on Twitter, Mzembi said the late Munyaka interviewed him several times but always reported what he would have said unlike other ‘factional journalists’.
“She was the embodiment of a mother at work , dutiful & from my experience and she interviewed me countless times zvawataura ndizvo zvaaiburitsa unlike some of the factional journalists who were men and women on a mission ! MHDSRIP amongst the patriots,” said Mzembi.
Munyaka’s death has shocked the entire media fraternity who described her death as a major loss to the whole industry.
Tinashe Sambiri| President Nelson Chamisa has said Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF cannot stop the people’s revolution.
Speaking at the memorial service for his late mother in Gutu on Saturday, President Chamisa said he was aware of the Zanu PF leader’s plan to dismantle the MDC Alliance.
According to President Chamisa, the wave of change is not confined to a building.
“They think that they are destroying us, yet they are strengthening us.
A people’s revolution is not confined to a building.Actually the cracks they are creating are fortifying our walls.
I know that they are desperate to annihilate the MDC Alliance,” said President Chamisa.
“Don’t underestimate the commitment of the children of change.The wave of change is unstoppable.
Those who are trying to dismantle the people’s party are wasting their time. We are unstoppable -that’s an undeniable fact. I have seen one CIO guy here, Tino is his name. Tino do your job, go and tell Mnangagwa that we are determined.Yes, we know you guys… ,” added President Chamisa.
The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, has expressed “great sadness” at the passing of veteran ZBC journalist Janet Munyaka.
“It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing away of one of the country’s veteran female journalists, Janet Munyaka,” the minister said in a statement.
“I have known Janet for many years and am devastated to learn of her passing. She was a strong, hardworking, accomplished and able journalist.
“The public broadcaster, the journalism fraternity and indeed the nation is poorer without Janet.”
Munyaka (48), succumbed to Covid-19 Saturday evening after being hospitalised at a Harare hospital for more than a week.
Colleagues and friends immediately took to social media to express shock and sadness at her passing, the tragedy coming a few days after indications were that she was recovering.
The late Janet Munyaka
“On behalf of Government, I wish to express heartfelt condolences to the Munyaka family, her workmates, the journalism fraternity, her friends and Zimbabweans in general,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.”
“May you find solace and comfort in the good work that Janet did for her country. We have lost a great champion, a wonderful person, and a dear friend.
“Janet, you were a role model for up and coming journalists in an environment where few women are recognized. We will miss you, may your dear soul rest in peace.”
Munyaka, who joined the ZBC in 2000, is survived by husband Jackson and their four children.
Mourners were Saturday night gathering at the family home in Harare’s Westgate area.
Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe has warned police officers that they risk being prosecuted if they abuse the right to use firearms.
The statement by the minister comes following the recent High Court order ordering the police to compensate the family of shoot victim Tinashe Choto who lost his life during the January 2019 protests.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has been accused of carelessly discharging firearms resulting in fatalities some of who are innocent bystanders. Speaking in the National Assembly, Minister Kazembe said law enforcement agents should apply as far as possible non-violent means when dealing with unarmed suspects.
He said they should only resort to force and firearms only if the other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result. “Regardless of who commits the crime, no one is above the law, so even police officers can be arrested.
The government policy respects the sanctity of life as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, hence our police officers shall continue to uphold this right,” he said.
Section 42 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Chapter 9:07 provides that the use of firearms may be authorised in situations where one resists the attempt and cannot be arrested without the use of force or flees when it is clear that an attempt to arrest him is being made or resists the attempt and flees, the person attempting the arrest may, in order to effect the arrest, use such force as is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of the case to overcome the resistance or to prevent the person concerned from escaping.
Minister Kazembe was quick to add that although there are circumstances allowing for the use of firearms this does not, however, mean that the police will take away the lives of citizens willy-nilly as each police officer is duty-bound to observe the golden rules of the use of firearms which demand that if in doubt do not fire; never use a firearm when it is possible to achieve your objective by other means; or when the immediate object has already been achieved.
Tinashe Choto a 22-year-old man from Makoni, Chitungwiza died after being shot by the ZRP during the January 2019 protests triggered by fuel shortages, angry protesters carried his body and dumped it at the local police station, in November this year the High Court ordered his family be compensated ZW$4 million
A BULAWAYO man is living a “hellish” life at the hands of his abusive wife who is said to be a shebeen queen and allegedly takes pleasure in beating him up.
Raphael Dube from Mzilikazi claimed his alcoholic wife Tapiwa Mhlanga challenges his authority when drunk by frequently beating him up.
Dube, who was seeking a protection order at the Bulawayo Civil Court said whenever he tried to reprimand his wife over her drinking habits and conduct of entertaining a lot of men at home, she turned violent.
Narrating his ordeal, he cited frequent battery and threat to his life as reasons for his prayers for a protection order.
“I am applying for a protection order against my wife Tapiwa Mhlanga and we got married in 2016. She physically abuses me. She also consumes alcohol and unlawfully sells it at our house.
“Whenever I reprimand her about her drinking habits and her conduct of entertaining a lot of men at our house, she becomes violent and insults me. She also tears off my clothes. This happened on several occasions and I have made several reports at Barbourfields Police Station to no avail,” complained Dube.
Dube, who was seemingly sick of living in an abusive marriage, said his wife was also economically abusing him.
“She is also economically abusive as she has been with my bank card for over three years and she doesn’t buy food in the house. I no longer feel safe at home,” he grumbled.
Mhlanga, who was not opposed to her husband’s application instead submitted that he was the one who was the source of their marital disputes because of his infidelity.
“I am not opposed to his application for a protection order but he is the one who is behind the source of our problems. The other time he was working at Turk Mine, he was in the habit of going out with his friends and would switch off his phones. I later discovered that he was having an affair with a neighbour and I saw their pictures in the phone.
“As if that is not enough, I also caught him red-handed naked at Siphiwe Moyo’s house. When I tried to make a report at the police station, they made a counter-one that I had stolen their money amounting to $30. After busting him he approached my parents and asked for forgiveness. I however, forgave him in a bid to save my marriage,” said Mhlanga.
In the interest of peace and order the presiding magistrate Nomasiko Ndlovu granted a reciprocal order which compels the couple to keep peace by not verbally and physically abusing each other.
The magistrate also ordered Mhlanga to return her husband’s bank card.B-Metro
By Jane Mlambo| Opposition MDC Alliance vice President Tendai Biti was yesterday freed on $10,000 bail after spending a night behind bars on charges of assault.
Harare magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti set his trial date for January 18.
The charge against Biti relates to an alleged incident that occurred at the Harare magistrates Court where he was representing one of feuding parties in a land dispute.
Biti, who is also a qualified lawyer, was involved in litigation, representing a client in the Harare Airport Road scandal.
In court, prosecutor Idah Maromo argued that Biti had assaulted Russian national Tatiana Aleshina by threatening her, pointing his finger at her face, shouting insults at the top of his voice, “intending to inspire fear of belief into her mind”.
Biti denied the charge and his party described it as “trumped up”.
A MAN here reportedly killed his eight-year-old nephew, dismembered the head and cooked it.
The 22-year-old suspect from Matova Village near Gokomere Mission under Chief Zimuto ,was found by alert neighbours stewing the boy’s head in a pot after barricading himself inside his hut.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the juvenile’s torso was
found stashed in a nearby shallow pool.
“We will release the name of the suspect and the deceased tomorrow (today) but the suspect is in police custody and investigations are underway to determine his mental state,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
“He was found cooking the boy’s head in a kitchen hut, while the remaining parts of the body were recovered in a shallow pool, wrapped in a mosquito net.
“Investigations are underway.”
According to sources, the incident occurred when the boy, who was in Grade 2 at Matova Primary School, sought shelter from the heavy rains at his uncle’s home on Friday.
The suspect is alleged to have killed the boy before cutting off his head.
A search for the boy yesterday morning led to the recovery of his head after a relative forced his
way into the suspect’s kitchen
where he had locked himself from inside.-The Sunday Mail
ZIMBABWE School Examination Council (zimsec) examinations started in earnest last week but some candidates failed to sit due to failure to obtain national identity cards.
John Mhandu (not his real name) missed two of his Ordinary Level papers in Mathematics and Commerce.
“I had registered to write five subjects that I failed last year when I was still a formal pupil. Back then, there was no need for me to have an ID card.
“But I’m now a private learner at a local college and the law requires me to have one. I hoped to have obtained an ID card by now but my plans were derailed by the lockdown. I still hope though that I will be able to write the other three subjects,” said Mhandu.
A ZIMSEC directive makes it compulsory for candidates, particularly private pupils, to produce any form of national identity documents – passport or driver’s licence, in order to sit for an examination.
“The issue of ID cards falls under the Registrar General’s office, we are not sure whether the pupil(s) in question have missed examinations because of the documents or other issues.
“Candidates should be organised enough to get ID cards in time as the law is clear. Without an ID, you will not be allowed into the examination room,” said Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director Mr Taungana Ndoro.
However, some pupils currently do not have any of the documents. The Registrar General (RG)’s Department, which issues national identity documents, was forced into a long break due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Government began a nationwide lockdown on March 30 as a way to curb the spread of Covid-19. The lockdown has since been relaxed with all essential services and registered informal traders now allowed to resume work. But, while noble, the lockdown complicated operations at the RG’s office that was already struggling to meet the public’s demand for crucial national documents.-The Sunday Mail
VILLAGERS in Muchini area of Buhera South have been left in a state of shock following the gruesome murder of three senior citizens, with a 17-year old boy confessing to having committed the crime.
The senior citizens; one aged 86, his 74-year-old wife and her 80-year-old sister were allegedly murdered in cold blood at around midnight on Thursday by the teenager from the same village.
In his confession, the 17-year-old said: “I arrived at around 11pm from a bar intending to kill them because they killed my parents when I was still young.
“I only wanted to kill the man because his wife actually liked me a lot and I do not know why I killed her,” he said.
Buhera South legislator, Cde Joseph Chinotimba who is related to the deceased, said they are yet to come to terms with loss of three family members.
“We are shocked as a family because we can’t even begin to think of what could have gone wrong to this extent of killing three people, especially for a boy as young as 17,” he said.
Police officer commanding Chipinge District Chief Superintendent Kennedy Nyaumwe confirmed the incident, saying investigations were underway. — ZBC.
VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DEPICTING A POLICE OFFICER ASSAULTING STUDENTS.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with the conduct of the police officer as seen in the video that has gone viral on social media. We understand the incident happened at Kwekwe High School where the police officers had gone to conduct an awareness campaign on 3′ December 2020.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not condone such conduct during awareness campaigns and investigations are underway to verify the facts with the Kwekwe District Command and Midlands Province. If confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against the member. The police applaud the public for bringing the matter to our attention.
NYATHI.P
Assistant Commissioner Senior Staff Officer
To the Commissioner General of Police Police General Headquarters
Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) examinations started in earnest last week but some candidates failed to sit due to failure to obtain national identity cards.
John Mhandu (not his real name) missed two of his Ordinary Level papers in Mathematics and Commerce.
“I had registered to write five subjects that I failed last year when I was still a formal pupil. Back then, there was no need for me to have an ID card.
“But I’m now a private learner at a local college and the law requires me to have one. I hoped to have obtained an ID card by now but my plans were derailed by the lockdown. I still hope though that I will be able to write the other three subjects,” said Mhandu.
A zimsec directive makes it compulsory for candidates, particularly private pupils, to produce any form of national identity documents – passport or driver’s licence, in order to sit for an examination.
“The issue of ID cards falls under the Registrar General’s office, we are not sure whether the pupil(s) in question have missed examinations because of the documents or other issues.
“Candidates should be organised enough to get ID cards in time as the law is clear. Without an ID, you will not be allowed into the examination room,” said Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director Mr Taungana Ndoro.
However, some pupils currently do not have any of the documents. The Registrar General (RG)’s Department, which issues national identity documents, was forced into a long break due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Government began a nationwide lockdown on March 30 as a way to curb the spread of Covid-19. The lockdown has since been relaxed with all essential services and registered informal traders now allowed to resume work. But, while noble, the lockdown complicated operations at the RG’s office that was already struggling to meet the public’s demand for crucial national documents.
The department has partially opened, assisting an average of 50 people per day at every station.As a result, some pupils across the country are now being forced to literally set base at the RG’s office for the documents.
“I have been camped here for the past two days. If I do not get the document and in turn fail to write the examinations, it means I will have wasted years of study,” said a dejected pupil who only identified himself as Tatenda.
But the situation gets complicated. Some private learners are yet to reach the required age, by law, of 16 so that they can be issued with national identity cards.
In 2018, the High Court had to come the rescue of a 15-year-old Form Four pupil who was barred from sitting for her Ordinary Level examinations because she did not have a national identity card.
The court ordered zimsec to allow the pupil to write the examinations using her birth certificate.
“It is unfortunate that some of the pupils have already missed their examinations. But, I want to urge our officers to prioritise our school children first in their operations,” acting Registrar General Mr Henry Machiri said.
This is the season of exams and we have made it a point that children who are sitting for exams get first preference even if we are serving a limited number per day. Our office should not jeopardise the future of pupils.”
A visit by The Sunday Mail Society to some registry offices confirmed a crisis at hand. For instance, the Market Square in Harare is flooded as some pupils are travelling from as far as Gutu and Murehwa for the documents. And indications are that the department’s sub-offices are creating an artificial crisis by refusing to serve locals.
Pupils from areas like Chitungwiza, Kuwadzana and Norton are being referred to Harare’s District Registry. “The Kuwadzana sub-office is not issuing ID cards so they have referred us here (Market Square),” said Mhandu.
A pupil from Ruwa, Tendai Karoro, reckons their predicament was due to corruption taking place at the Registrar General’s office.
“I have been here for the fifth time now with no luck. I remain hopeful though that I will get the document before my examinations start next week.
“If their (RG office) operations were transparent, I would have gotten my document by now. However, they seem to have people they favour as some do not even join the long queues,” he said.
Our investigations confirmed that while some pupils are spending days and nights without being served, well-heeled individuals were getting an unfair advantage.
The sad part is bribes are openly being demanded upfront. Informal traders that often operate at the RG’s offices are being used as fronts. They demand bribes of between US$5 and US$10 from document seekers in return for preferential treatment.
“Some of our friends got their ID cards last week before the examinations even started but it was because they had money to facilitate for the quick movement of their papers. Yet this is supposed to be a free service,” moaned Tsungai from Ruwa. The acting Registrar General said they have since instituted investigations.
“We do not expect corrupt activities from the officers and it is not Government policy for these officers to collect money from the public,” said Mr Machiri. -Sunday Mail
A MAN here reportedly killed his eight-year-old nephew, dismembered the head and cooked it.
The 22-year-old suspect from Matova Village near Gokomere Mission under Chief Zimuto ,was found by alert neighbours stewing the boy’s head in a pot after barricading himself inside his hut.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the juvenile’s torso wasfound stashed in a nearby shallow pool.
“We will release the name of the suspect and the deceased tomorrow (today) but the suspect is in police custody and investigations are underway to determine his mental state,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
“He was found cooking the boy’s head in a kitchen hut, while the remaining parts of the body were recovered in a shallow pool, wrapped in a mosquito net.
“Investigations are underway.” According to sources, the incident occurred when the boy, who was in Grade 2 at Matova Primary School, sought shelter from the heavy rains at his uncle’s home on Friday. The suspect is alleged to have killed the boy before cutting off his head.
A search for the boy yesterday morning led to the recovery of his head after a relative forced hisway into the suspect’s kitchen where he had locked himself from inside. -Sunday Mail
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance (Namibia) has slammed Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa for prioritizing the dead while the living are suffering.
The party also took a swipe at Mr Mnangagwa for abusing Mbuya Nehanda’s legacy.
Read full statement below :
04 DECEMBER 2020
ZANUPF IS A BETRAYAL OF THE LIBERATION DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF MBUYA NEHANDA, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA ECHOES.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is absolutely disturbed by Zanupf President’s utterances when he postulated that “This momument represents Nehanda, the spirit medium, who played a crucial role in the liberation struggle that gave us independence we celebrate today”.
In as much as we concur that our heroines and heroes must be honoured for sacrificing their sweat and blood for the emancipation of all citizens from yoke colonialism, we differ in prioritising the dead before improving the livelihoods of those who are alive.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa must stop paddling lies through hypocrisy.
As expatriates, we are really infuriated by the pretence from the Zec and Court imposed President who deceives the nation. We completely disagree that there is any independence in Zimbabwe due to the presence of heavy-handedness from a regime that does not respect human rights in the motherland. Mnangagwa said more statues of First and Second Chimurenga heroes will be constructed , including that of the late autocratic Mugabe whom he toppled in a military coup in November 2017. Mdc Alliance Namibia satirises this level Political ineptitude in Zanupf. As social democrats, we expect Zanupf to embrace the revolutionary dreams and aspirations of the liberation struggle. Zanupf must stop its political rhetoric, there is only phoney independence because citizens are scattered around the world seeking economic and political refugee due to gross misgovernance.
Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia have raised serious concerns on the Zanupf government’s commitment to construct expensive statues but dismally failing to to finance the needs of desperate civil servants and the general populace who are wallowing in excruciating agony as a result of artificial poverty. Zanupf must halt its hypocritical stance and confront the demand for genuine independence where one man one vote is guaranteed. The fallen heroes and heroines cannot applaud the senseless statues when their people are being butchered every now and then for demanding justice and freedom from Zanupf terrorists. Zanupf President must concentrate on putting the economy on a sounder footing than their extravagance on minor things.
Nehanda was executed in 1898 on charges of murdering Native Commissioner Hawkins Polard in 1896. She was butchered in the same way Mdc Alliance activists and leadership are facing 41 years after independence.
Zanupf must replace their simulacrum of phoney independence with genuine political liberty and freedom after defeating colonialism.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa also equated Mbuya Nehanda to Jesus Christ because of her fundamental role fighting for total liberation. He must realise that his lack of respect to the lives of the citizens is a clear reflection that Dambudzo Mnangagwa does not respect the sacrifice made by our gallant revolutionary fighters.
In a nutshell, Zanupf must finance the economy first before financing the dead heroes and heroines. They are not a priority although we acknowledge everything that they did to liberate us from the colonial hegemony.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance (Namibia) has slammed Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa for prioritizing the dead while the living are suffering.
The party also took a swipe at Mr Mnangagwa for abusing Mbuya Nehanda’s legacy.
Read full statement below :
04 DECEMBER 2020
ZANUPF IS A BETRAYAL OF THE LIBERATION DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF MBUYA NEHANDA, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA ECHOES.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is absolutely disturbed by Zanupf President’s utterances when he postulated that “This momument represents Nehanda, the spirit medium, who played a crucial role in the liberation struggle that gave us independence we celebrate today”.
In as much as we concur that our heroines and heroes must be honoured for sacrificing their sweat and blood for the emancipation of all citizens from yoke colonialism, we differ in prioritising the dead before improving the livelihoods of those who are alive.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa must stop paddling lies through hypocrisy.
As expatriates, we are really infuriated by the pretence from the Zec and Court imposed President who deceives the nation. We completely disagree that there is any independence in Zimbabwe due to the presence of heavy-handedness from a regime that does not respect human rights in the motherland. Mnangagwa said more statues of First and Second Chimurenga heroes will be constructed , including that of the late autocratic Mugabe whom he toppled in a military coup in November 2017. Mdc Alliance Namibia satirises this level Political ineptitude in Zanupf. As social democrats, we expect Zanupf to embrace the revolutionary dreams and aspirations of the liberation struggle. Zanupf must stop its political rhetoric, there is only phoney independence because citizens are scattered around the world seeking economic and political refugee due to gross misgovernance.
Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia have raised serious concerns on the Zanupf government’s commitment to construct expensive statues but dismally failing to to finance the needs of desperate civil servants and the general populace who are wallowing in excruciating agony as a result of artificial poverty. Zanupf must halt its hypocritical stance and confront the demand for genuine independence where one man one vote is guaranteed. The fallen heroes and heroines cannot applaud the senseless statues when their people are being butchered every now and then for demanding justice and freedom from Zanupf terrorists. Zanupf President must concentrate on putting the economy on a sounder footing than their extravagance on minor things.
Nehanda was executed in 1898 on charges of murdering Native Commissioner Hawkins Polard in 1896. She was butchered in the same way Mdc Alliance activists and leadership are facing 41 years after independence.
Zanupf must replace their simulacrum of phoney independence with genuine political liberty and freedom after defeating colonialism.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa also equated Mbuya Nehanda to Jesus Christ because of her fundamental role fighting for total liberation. He must realise that his lack of respect to the lives of the citizens is a clear reflection that Dambudzo Mnangagwa does not respect the sacrifice made by our gallant revolutionary fighters.
In a nutshell, Zanupf must finance the economy first before financing the dead heroes and heroines. They are not a priority although we acknowledge everything that they did to liberate us from the colonial hegemony.
Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance official and social media analyst, Antony Taruvinga, has said President Nelson Chamisa remains the nation’s hope despite relentless efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF to bring him down.
He implored Zimbabweans to remain optimistic in spite of Mr Mnangagwa’s attempt to thwart the people’s struggle.
“I would like to thank Pres. Nelson Chamisa for standing strong in the wake of monumental electoral theft.
Not only the President but all Comrades who remained glued to the struggle even in the face of incessant challenges.
Following the 2018 elections, the going has been sadly torturous. We were robbed of everything including Parliamentary and council victories. Like I always say, let’s focus on 2023.
Prepare not only to vote but vote, win, secure and defend, at all costs, our victories.
Lawyers are advised to think about the name challenges that the party has faced.
While it is clear that the Judiciary is 100% captured, lawyers must close any loophole that might be exploited. MDC CHAMISA! The struggle continues,” Taruvinga posted on Facebook.
Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance official and social media analyst, Antony Taruvinga, has said President Nelson Chamisa remains the nation’s hope despite relentless efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF to bring him down.
He implored Zimbabweans to remain optimistic in spite of Mr Mnangagwa’s attempt to thwart the people’s struggle.
“I would like to thank Pres. Nelson Chamisa for standing strong in the wake of monumental electoral theft.
Not only the President but all Comrades who remained glued to the struggle even in the face of incessant challenges.
Following the 2018 elections, the going has been sadly torturous. We were robbed of everything including Parliamentary and council victories. Like I always say, let’s focus on 2023.
Prepare not only to vote but vote, win, secure and defend, at all costs, our victories.
Lawyers are advised to think about the name challenges that the party has faced.
While it is clear that the Judiciary is 100% captured, lawyers must close any loophole that might be exploited. MDC CHAMISA! The struggle continues,” Taruvinga posted on Facebook.
State Media reports that a member of little known People’s Democratic Party, Nqobizitha Khumalo, has revealed how he involved himself in faking abductions and causing terror in the country through trained militias since the turn of the millennium.
The media presents a long narration of acts of terrorism by Khumalo claimed to have been leaked chats on social media. In the chats that the media did not share, Khumalo is reported to have said he has experience in faking abductions and other unsavoury acts from as early as 2000 meant to attract international spotlight and condemnation on the country a serious offence in the country.
He said as one-time commander of a vigilant group known as DRC, he has first-hand experience of the modus operandi of the vigilante groups that still exist today.
“Well, I was once an area commander of the DRC. It was one of the organs put up for the final push on the Mugabe regime. While I will deny the accusation that it was a terrorist organisation, I will point out that it wasn’t a Sunday school picnic either.
“DRC was trained on how to conduct mass uprisings and we were shown videos of the Orange Spring; how to confront an armed person and how to diffuse the power of tear smoke. The possibility of providing some cannon fodder for the regime was also discussed in order to make the international community angry and garner international sympathy and the idea of provoking fire in order to create dead bodies was also discussed,” he said.
Mr Khumalo said the August 1, 2018 demonstrations were pre-planned by his group to tarnish the elections with snipers having been planted on strategic locations to spark rebellion.
“The plan was that an armed person or persons should fire at police from the crowd so the police would retaliate and massacre civilians to draw international sympathy. Which is why a cartridge was found on the fifth floor of ZCTU offices. A sniper was put there to knock off a few heads so as to provide the necessary dead bodies.”
In 2008 after March 29, Khumalo said his group had to seek refuge at the British embassy and later transferred to the American embassy.
He said they again moved to the South African embassy where we were sheltered by IOM (International Organisation for Migration) for three days before being taken to Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre where they stayed from June to September.
“We went there with high hopes. We thought our presence would incite the change we wanted but it seemed we were soon forgotten as the leadership discussed their GNU (government of national unity).”
He said he was one of the planners of operation Mbuya Varwara that involved hatching a self-abduction plot where they sneaked out of the camp in the dark and made phone calls to a sympathetic pastor who came to collect them.
“This is on record. There were nine of us. We were sheltered at a church and we all took up pseudonyms. Mine was Joao Joao. I am still missing (up to this day). Mbuya Varwara was the code name to identify the plot on the phone.
“One of the planners is now in the information department of the Transform Zimbabwe party. The whole thing was planned. The whole camp was in uproar. Please check your archives. The din attracted the attention of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees. In the meantime, we were carried to a plot in the Mount Hampden area where we were hidden just near the Air Force radar guarded by Air Force guards. I could give the name of the woman farmer but I don’t think it is proper to do so. What I am saying is verifiable,” he said.
A hearse transporting a corpse went up in flames in Paarl, Western Cape, on Saturday morning.
Both the hearse and the corpse were destroyed, said Drakenstein municipality spokesperson Riana Geldenhuys.
“Drakenstein municipality’s fire services responded to a fire call involving a hearse at 8.14am … in Broadway Street in Paarl East,” said Geldenhuys.
“When the firefighting vehicle and firefighters arrived on the scene they discovered that the hearse, with a body of a deceased person in a coffin inside, was on fire. They went on to extinguish the fire as speedily as possible.”
Geldenhuys said the hearse was severely damaged in the fire.
“The hearse suffered significant damage, while the body of the person also burnt,” she said.
“No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is unknown, and is being investigated by the SA Police Service.”
Thousands of doctors, teachers and others in high-risk groups have signed up for Covid-19 vaccinations in Moscow that started today, a precursor to a sweeping Russia-wide immunisation effort.Russian medical worker, right, administers a shot of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Moscow, Russia Source: Associated Press
The vaccinations come three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of a “large-scale” Covid-19 immunisation campaign even though a Russian-designed vaccine has yet to complete the advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety in line with established scientific protocols.
The Russian leader said Thursday that more than 2 million doses of the Sputnik V jab will be available in the next few days, allowing authorities to offer jabs to medical workers and teachers across the country starting late next week.
Moscow, which currently accounts for about a quarter of the country’s new daily infections, moved ahead of the curve, opening 70 vaccination facilities on Saturday. Doctors, teachers and municipal workers were invited to book a time to receive a jab, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that about 5,000 signed up in a few hours after the system began operating on Friday.Advertisement
Russia boasted that Sputnik V was the world’s “first registered Covid-19 vaccine” after the government gave it regulatory approval in early August. The move drew criticism from international experts, who pointed out that the vaccine had only been tested on several dozen people at the time.
Putin has shrugged off doubts about it, saying in August that one of his daughters was among the early vaccine recipients.
Over the past months, Sputnik V has been offered to medical workers and teachers even as it was still in the middle of advanced trials. Several top officials said they also have received the jabs, and earlier this week the Russian military began vaccinating crews of navy ships scheduled to depart on a mission.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Thursday that more than 100,000 people in Russia already have received the shots.
The free vaccine is offered to people aged 18 to 60 who don’t suffer from chronic illnesses and aren’t pregnant or breastfeeding.
The two-shot Sputnik V was developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute. An advanced study among 40,000 volunteers was announced two weeks after the vaccine received government approval and that is still ongoing.
Last month, developers of the vaccine said interim analysis of trial data showed it was 91.4% effective. The conclusion was based on 39 infections among 18,794 study participants that received both doses of either the vaccine or a placebo, which is a much lower number of infections than Western drugmakers have looked at when assessing the effectiveness of their vaccines. Two other Russia-designed vaccines are also undergoing tests.
On Thursday, Britain became the first country in the West to authorise the use of a vaccine against the coronavirus developed by USdrugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.
Russia has been swept with a resurgence of the outbreak this fall, with numbers of new infections exceeding the levels recorded early in the pandemic, but the authorities so far have refrained from a tight lockdown imposed in the spring.
On Saturday, Russia reported a new record high of daily infections at 28,782, including 7,993 in Moscow. The government task force has recorded a total of 42,684 virus-related deaths since the start of the outbreak.
Russia’s total of over 2.4 million confirmed cases is currently the fourth-largest caseload in the world behind the United States, India and Brazil.
A MAN from Masvingo allegedly stumbled on a used condom in his lover’s handbag, accused her of cheating on him before stabbing her with a kitchen knife causing her to die due to excessive bleeding.
According to a source last week on Thursday Tawedzerwa Bvumburai (38) visited his girlfriend Melody Chipumo (33) at her workplace at Manyama Business Centre. While he was there he searched his lover’s handbag and stumbled on a used condom and questioned her about it.
“She told him that her friend had used the bag so it was left by her and he understood. He then left for his home in village 37, Manyama area under Chief Charumbira,” said the source.
However, after a drinking spree on Tuesday this week he had a change of heart. He armed himself with a kitchen knife and walked from his home, to his girlfriend’s workplace.
The source revealed that he arrived there at around 1.30 am and knocked at the door.
“His unsuspecting girlfriend came out and he started to accuse her of being a woman of loose morals who sleeps around with men while they made a vow that they would marry each other,” said the source.
At the height of the argument, the source said, Bvumburai, who had put the kitchen knife in his pocket drew the knife before stabbing Melody once on the right side breast.
“She tried to flee but he stabbed her once on the back causing her to fall and bleed excessively,” said the source.
Bvumburai took to his heels leaving his lover wailing on the ground. According to a source close to investigations an identified man heard the wailing and rushed to the scene and found Melody half dead.
“He informed her boss Edweek Museve (28) who quickly ferried her to Masvingo Provincial Hospital but she died upon arrival,” said the source.
A police report was made.
Masvingo deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dewa confirmed: “We are appealing for information that may lead to the arrest of Tawedzerwa Bvumburai (38) who stabbed his girlfriend Melody Chipumo, who later died on arrival at the hospital.
We urge community members to seek counselling from third parties whenever they are faced with a dispute rather than to take the law into their hands.”
He appealed to anyone who might have information that might lead to the arrest of Bvumburai to contact Masvingo rural police on 0392263729 or CID Masvingo on 0392262931 or send a WhatsApp message on 0775996945.-B-Metro
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has dealt opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa another blow after allocating a paltry $2,3 billion to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), an amount inadequate to conduct by-elections next year. Chamisa lost 32 MPs and 165 councillors to recalls by rival MDC-T faction led by Thokozani Khupe. He has been itching for by-elections that were already suspended on October 2 by Vice-President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga, citing COVID-19 fears, in order to regain lost political ground.
But his dream appears shattered after Zec disclosed it is financially incapacitated to run the parliamentary and council by-elections after Treasury allocated the electoral body only $2,3 billion for electoral activities for 2021 against a demand of $12 billion.
In his remarks at a post budget consultative meeting on Thursday before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Zec chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said the electoral body was in financial doldrums to hold any credible by-election unless government provides the $12 billion needed for the exercise.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube allocated Zec $2,3 billion in the 2021 National Budget against $12 billion which the com-mission had said it wanted for electoral activities in the coming year.
Silaigwana pleaded with Parliament to persuade Treasury to adjust the commis-sion’s 2021 budget allocation warning the much-awaited by-elections will remain a pipe-dream without the funds.
“We are very truthful when we say we need $12 billion instead of the $2 billion which is just a drop of our budget. It does not help us much,” Silaigwana said.
Asked by Chegutu West legislator Dexter Nduna whether it meant Zec was currently not operational without the $12 billion, Silaigwana said: “Sure.”
“We also highlighted that the allocation was not adequate to support our programmes that encompasses delimitation and the by-elections for the coming year and beyond.
“What was allocated against the bid is only a total of 19% hence our cry for the committee to assist the commission so that it will be able to realise its obligations.”
His sentiments were echoed by Zec chief inspector, Jane Pamhidzirai Chigidji who said the commission’s capacity to conduct credible electoral activities will be question-able if it was poorly funded.
“It’s a drop in the ocean if we are to have credible elections,” Chigidji said.
“So we are just appealing to Parliament to discuss this issue so that at the end of the day, we are able to carry out our duties and conduct credible elections.
“There are delimitation issues that have to be dealt with before we have an election. Can we then have a credible election if we don’t consult stakeholders?”
Silaigwana also advised the legislators that efforts to engage Treasury on the issue have not yielded desired results.
Political analyst, Professor Chakaodza, however said the underfunding of Zec was a calculated move by President Mnangagwa to avoid the by-elections at all cost.
“The political landscape has never been even since Zimbabwe attained its independence in 1980,” Chakaodza said.
NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!! If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up. Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
Indoor Lightning Safety:
1. Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
2. Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
3. Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
4. Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips
5. If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:
6. Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
7. Never lie flat on the ground
8. Never shelter under an isolated tree
9. Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
10. Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
11. Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.) Source: National Weather Service
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
Mass graves keep cropping up in Zimbabwe. The killings of civilians date back years, but wounds remain. The hurdle to healing is the government, experts say. The trauma persists — even in the third generation.
“If mournings and its rituals fail, it doesn’t simply go away,” Jenni Williams, a human rights activsit in Bulawayo in southwestern Zimbabwe told DW.
“For victims of massacres and their relatives here, there are neither death nor birth certificates,” she says. “Many lives stand practically still.”
But, for now, forgiving these crimes committed against thousands of people almost 40 years ago is a near-impossibility.
“The government must first admit that it sent soldiers to Matabeleland to kill,” says Williams.
Wounds still raw
“Gukurahundi” raged in the hills and savannas around the city of Bulawayo in the mid-1980s.
Bodies concealed in mineshafts
The trauma persists — even in the third generation.
“If mournings and its rituals fail, it doesn’t simply go away,” Jenni Williams, a human rights activsit in Bulawayo in southwestern Zimbabwe told DW.
“For victims of massacres and their relatives here, there are neither death nor birth certificates,” she says. “Many lives stand practically still.”
But, for now, forgiving these crimes committed against thousands of people almost 40 years ago is a near-impossibility.
“The government must first admit that it sent soldiers to Matabeleland to kill,” says Williams.
Wounds still raw
“Gukurahundi” raged in the hills and savannas around the city of Bulawayo in the mid-1980s.
The word is derived from the language of the Shona people in northern Zimbabwe. In English, it loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains.” But it’s now used to identify a series of massacres of the Ndebele people in the south.
In 1983, then-prime minister and future president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was the leader of leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). He deployed the infamous Fifth Brigade to Matabeleland, with the pretext of taking action against dissidents. They were followers of his main political opponent, the African People’s Union of Zimbabwe (ZAPU) leader Joshua Nkomo, a Ndebele.
Bodies concealed in mineshafts
The massacre is now considered to be one of the darkest times in the history of the country after independence in 1980 — more than 20,000 lives are estimated to have been lost.
Multiple mass graves were discovered in the years of violence which followed. Under the control of Mugabe’s party, the military killed more than 200 people during a violent takeover of diamond fields in the Marange district in late 2008. Three years later, in 2011, some 1,000 bodies were discovered in an old mineshaft at Mount Darwin, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital, Harare.
The government claimed the bodies were those of fighters from the liberation struggle in the 1970s. But the opposition suspects that many were actually their supporters who were abducted during the state’s campaign of terror, beginning in 2000, directed against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The government is the hurdle
Filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele has been researching the Matabeleland massacre for many years. He believes the current government still hasn’t done enough to atone for the atrocities.
“The new government, which came in 2017 led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, had made lot of promises to try and heal the wounds,” Ndebele told DW. “But I think they are more covering up what happened than healing.”
Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe, was one of the security ministers at the time of “Gukurahundi.” In 2018, he set up a Peace and Reconciliation Commission to deal with earlier human rights violations.
“The commission has achieved little, it is underfunded,” Ndebele says.
However, activist Jenni Williams is convinced that negotiations with Mnangagwa are on the right path.
“The president came to Bulawayo and listened to us,” she says. “He also promised a water project along the Zambezi river for our dry region.”
Williams currently works with the Matabeleland Collective, which is made up of civil society groups. A social dialogue, which includes the village elders, has now begun. They discuss the sensitive process of exhuming, identifying and burying dead relatives with dignity.
They’re demanding that the government should bring the truth to light. But, Williams admits, “progress is slow.”
Dubious exhumation methods
Zimbabwe’s history of massacres, political violence and diamond conflicts means there are secret mass graves to be found all over the country.
Keith Silika is a Zimbabwean forensic archaeologist at Staffordshire University in Britain and specializes in mass graves. He has interviewed more than 60 witnesses of the masacre.
“It would be to the president’s advantage to provide an excuse for his actions,” Silika told DW.
Silika is critical of the law on which the Peace and Reconciliation Commission is based. It is only five pages long. The wishes of families of the victims are not included. And, dubious methods are used in the exhumation of remains, for example in Mashonaland.
“There has been a group called Fallen Heroes Trust that is aligned to the ruling party,” says Silika. “These people are not trained in forensic archaelogy or forensic anthropology. There is no accountability, there is no paper trail…These issues are contributing to the covering up of war crimes.”
Whenever a new mass grave is found, there is rarely a big outcry from the public, says Silika.
“There is fatigue, there’s a lack of resources, and there is also fear still embedded in Zimbabwean society,” he says. “We do have decent human rights groups who are campaigning for change in the legislation and also for the government to address fully the atrocities.”
Silika himself joined the Zimbabwean police force in 1983. Some of his trainers were involved in Operation Gukurahundi. But he was kept in the dark.
“I had no idea of the extent of the violence.” he says. “It was only in 2005 when I joined the British police service that I had access to accurate information.”
The shock of decades of systematic violence in his home country prompted him to study criminology. His investigations should contribute to justice: “I want to help relatives bury their dead and end their trauma.”
The ZRP has finally issued an official statement on the social media video where a Kwekwe based police officer is seen smacking school children during a campaign and said the force doesn’t condone acts of violence of any form:
VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DEPICTING A POLICE OFFICER ASSAULTING STUDENTS.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with the conduct of the police officer as seen in the video that has gone viral on social media. We understand the incident happened at Kwekwe High School where the police officers had gone to conduct an awareness campaign on 3′ December 2020.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not condone such conduct during awareness campaigns and investigations are underway to verify the facts with the Kwekwe District Command and Midlands Province. If confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against the member. The police applaud the public for bringing the matter to our attention.
NYATHI.P
Assistant Commissioner Senior Staff Officer
To the Commissioner General of Police Police General Headquarters
Olivier Giroud says any decision on his future at Chelsea will be made in January but insists he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge provided he gets more minutes on the pitch.
Speaking on the club’s official website, the 34-year-old said he has been warned by France boss Didier Deschamps that he risks losing his place in the national team ahead of next summer’s European Championship if he continues to be left out.
“I had a conversation with (Didier) Deschamps and he said if the situation stayed like that, I will have to take a decision in January,” the striker said.
“I am pretty sure I can get some more game time and stay at Chelsea because that is what I want. I want to win trophies with Chelsea so basically, that’s it.
“You never know in football, everything is going very fast, but right now I am very happy. I am a happy man and I am proud to be a Chelsea player.”
Giroud was in the team’s last outing and scored all four goals in the 4-0 victory over Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.-Soccer 24
Mamelodi Sundowns have announced the departures of two senior players – midfielder Anthony Laffor and defender Wayne Arendse.
Both players were at the club for the past eight years and played an instrumental role in the team’s success over that period but saw little game time in their final seasons.
In a statement confirming their departure, Sundowns said: “A special thanks to the two Sundowns legends who have given their time and efforts to the club and have been part of Masandawana’s success over the years.
“‘Snoti’ as he [Laffor] is known, is known best for mesmerizing defenders and coming off the bench to score those goals.
“Wayne on the other hand has been a rock-solid member of the defence. His leadership from the back has seen him don the captain’s armband on occasion and his aerial ability made him an offensive threat in the opponent’s box.
“Thank you, gentlemen, for the contribution you have given the club and the joy you have brought to the Yellow Nation!”-Soccer 24
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance (Namibia) has slammed Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa for prioritizing the dead while the living are suffering.
The party also took a swipe at Mr Mnangagwa for abusing Mbuya Nehanda’s legacy.
Read full statement below :
04 DECEMBER 2020
ZANUPF IS A BETRAYAL OF THE LIBERATION DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF MBUYA NEHANDA, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA ECHOES.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is absolutely disturbed by Zanupf President’s utterances when he postulated that “This momument represents Nehanda, the spirit medium, who played a crucial role in the liberation struggle that gave us independence we celebrate today”.
In as much as we concur that our heroines and heroes must be honoured for sacrificing their sweat and blood for the emancipation of all citizens from yoke colonialism, we differ in prioritising the dead before improving the livelihoods of those who are alive.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa must stop paddling lies through hypocrisy.
As expatriates, we are really infuriated by the pretence from the Zec and Court imposed President who deceives the nation. We completely disagree that there is any independence in Zimbabwe due to the presence of heavy-handedness from a regime that does not respect human rights in the motherland. Mnangagwa said more statues of First and Second Chimurenga heroes will be constructed , including that of the late autocratic Mugabe whom he toppled in a military coup in November 2017. Mdc Alliance Namibia satirises this level Political ineptitude in Zanupf. As social democrats, we expect Zanupf to embrace the revolutionary dreams and aspirations of the liberation struggle. Zanupf must stop its political rhetoric, there is only phoney independence because citizens are scattered around the world seeking economic and political refugee due to gross misgovernance.
Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia have raised serious concerns on the Zanupf government’s commitment to construct expensive statues but dismally failing to to finance the needs of desperate civil servants and the general populace who are wallowing in excruciating agony as a result of artificial poverty. Zanupf must halt its hypocritical stance and confront the demand for genuine independence where one man one vote is guaranteed. The fallen heroes and heroines cannot applaud the senseless statues when their people are being butchered every now and then for demanding justice and freedom from Zanupf terrorists. Zanupf President must concentrate on putting the economy on a sounder footing than their extravagance on minor things.
Nehanda was executed in 1898 on charges of murdering Native Commissioner Hawkins Polard in 1896. She was butchered in the same way Mdc Alliance activists and leadership are facing 41 years after independence.
Zanupf must replace their simulacrum of phoney independence with genuine political liberty and freedom after defeating colonialism.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa also equated Mbuya Nehanda to Jesus Christ because of her fundamental role fighting for total liberation. He must realise that his lack of respect to the lives of the citizens is a clear reflection that Dambudzo Mnangagwa does not respect the sacrifice made by our gallant revolutionary fighters.
In a nutshell, Zanupf must finance the economy first before financing the dead heroes and heroines. They are not a priority although we acknowledge everything that they did to liberate us from the colonial hegemony.
ZANUPF IS A BETRAYAL OF THE LIBERATION DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF MBUYA NEHANDA, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA ECHOES.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is absolutely disturbed by Zanupf President’s utterances when he postulated that “This momument represents Nehanda, the spirit medium, who played a crucial role in the liberation struggle that gave us independence we celebrate today”.
In as much as we concur that our heroines and heroes must be honoured for sacrificing their sweat and blood for the emancipation of all citizens from yoke colonialism, we differ in prioritising the dead before improving the livelihoods of those who are alive.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa must stop paddling lies through hypocrisy.
As expatriates, we are really infuriated by the pretence from the Zec and Court imposed President who deceives the nation. We completely disagree that there is any independence in Zimbabwe due to the presence of heavy-handedness from a regime that does not respect human rights in the motherland. Mnangagwa said more statues of First and Second Chimurenga heroes will be constructed , including that of the late autocratic Mugabe whom he toppled in a military coup in November 2017. Mdc Alliance Namibia satirises this level Political ineptitude in Zanupf. As social democrats, we expect Zanupf to embrace the revolutionary dreams and aspirations of the liberation struggle. Zanupf must stop its political rhetoric, there is only phoney independence because citizens are scattered around the world seeking economic and political refugee due to gross misgovernance.
Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia have raised serious concerns on the Zanupf government’s commitment to construct expensive statues but dismally failing to to finance the needs of desperate civil servants and the general populace who are wallowing in excruciating agony as a result of artificial poverty. Zanupf must halt its hypocritical stance and confront the demand for genuine independence where one man one vote is guaranteed. The fallen heroes and heroines cannot applaud the senseless statues when their people are being butchered every now and then for demanding justice and freedom from Zanupf terrorists. Zanupf President must concentrate on putting the economy on a sounder footing than their extravagance on minor things.
Nehanda was executed in 1898 on charges of murdering Native Commissioner Hawkins Polard in 1896. She was butchered in the same way Mdc Alliance activists and leadership are facing 41 years after independence.
Zanupf must replace their simulacrum of phoney independence with genuine political liberty and freedom after defeating colonialism.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa also equated Mbuya Nehanda to Jesus Christ because of her fundamental role fighting for total liberation. He must realise that his lack of respect to the lives of the citizens is a clear reflection that Dambudzo Mnangagwa does not respect the sacrifice made by our gallant revolutionary fighters.
In a nutshell, Zanupf must finance the economy first before financing the dead heroes and heroines. They are not a priority although we acknowledge everything that they did to liberate us from the colonial hegemony.
NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
Indoor Lightning Safety
Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips
If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:
Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
Never lie flat on the ground
Never shelter under an isolated tree
Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.) Source: National Weather Service
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
Yesterday , all Chitungwiza councilors and staffers who were attending ordinary full council were arrested. They were released without charge in the evening.
A couple of weeks ago, the Mayor of Chitungwiza was arrested on spurious charges and held in cells for more than 4 days . He was eventually granted bail one of whose conditions was to bar him from setting foot on council premises.
At the same time, the deputy Mayor and four other councilors were recalled and arrested on fabricated charges of criminal abuse of office.
In Harare, the same pattern of events , was being witnessed. At a full council, all councilors were arrested and released without charges. The Mayor, Advocate Mafume was arrested and is being held in cells and repeatedly being denied bail.
In the meantime, members of staff also got arrested for criminal abuse of office. Even a director who got reinstated a week earlier was arrested for criminal abuse of office.
All what is happening in the Harare Metropolitan councils is a sad attack not only local governance but also on the will of the people who voted for the MDC Alliance councilors. We know that ED and Zanu Pf are angry that the people of Harare have consistently rejected them and it is for this reason that they are being punished.
Local government in Harare has been rendered dis functional through the twin strategy of illegal recalls and unnecessary arrests. ED and Zanu Pf are engineering failure in the local authorities with the hope that they can cause the people of Harare to be angry with the MDC Alliance. The effects of these choreographed activities will be felt for a very long time to come.
We call upon , The Provincial Minister, Mr Chidawu and his Provincial Coordinator, Mr Muguti who are the key drivers of the attack on councils to place people first ahead of political and personal economic opportunity .
The people of Harare Metropolitan deserve better, they want superior services , They demand that government stops interfering with the work of elected councils.
Sesel Zvidzai Secretary for local Gvt and Rural Development
Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance official and social media analyst, Antony Taruvinga, has said President Nelson Chamisa remains the nation’s hope despite relentless efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF to bring him down.
He implored Zimbabweans to remain optimistic in spite of Mr Mnangagwa’s attempt to thwart the people’s struggle.
“I would like to thank Pres. Nelson Chamisa for standing strong in the wake of monumental electoral theft.
Not only the President but all Comrades who remained glued to the struggle even in the face of incessant challenges.
Following the 2018 elections, the going has been sadly torturous. We were robbed of everything including Parliamentary and council victories. Like I always say, let’s focus on 2023.
Prepare not only to vote but vote, win, secure and defend, at all costs, our victories.
Lawyers are advised to think about the name challenges that the party has faced.
While it is clear that the Judiciary is 100% captured, lawyers must close any loophole that might be exploited. MDC CHAMISA! The struggle continues,” Taruvinga posted on Facebook.
By A Correspondent- A bus belonging to Rimbi on Monday last week crushed its conductor near the corner of Samuel Parirenyatwa Street and First Avenue, Bulawayo with four passengers on board.
“I can confirm that on November 30, a man from Budiriro 4 in Harare, whose age is unknown, was standing behind the Rimbi Bus together with the conductor of the bus,” Ncube said.
“The driver of the bus tried to reverse and knocked down the conductor. He died on the spot.”
A 25-year-old woman suffering from severe depression and admitted to Mount Darwin District Hospital disappeared from her ward on October 20 and was found at Concession, some 136km away, two days later unconscious and with her hands tied.
The hospital did not report the patient was missing to relatives or the police until October 22; when the woman’s aunt heard the news she rushed to Mt Darwin Police Station to make the initial missing person’s report.
Wendy Chinomungu of Rushinga was found bruised while her hands were tied with a rope at a farm in Concession. Her face was swollen. She was rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare where she later died. Preliminary checks showed the woman had been sexually assaulted.
Ms Chinomungu had a condition known as melancholia (severe depression) and was admitted on September 30 to Mt Darwin Hospital. Owing to the condition, she was initially unable to walk, bath and eat on her own. She would be carried to the toilet and was experiencing recurring mood swings.
Despite having the family members’ contact details, the hospital staff only informed the aunt two days after she vanished according to the records.
The aunt, Ms Fariya Musandirire was the first to report to the police while the hospital administrator followed up later.
Some farm workers in Concession found the woman lying unconscious three days after she left the hospital and told the farm owner who immediately reported the case to Glendale Police Station. She was rushed to Concession Hospital and was immediately transferred to Parirenyatwa Hospital where she later died.
A post-mortem report shows that the death was due to “severe head trauma”. The pathologist said the death was not a result of natural causes.
When The Herald visited Mt Darwin Hospital, it was clear that the security at the institution was lax. On arrival at the hospital’s main entrance, the security guard on duty did not bother to write down the visitors’ names and vehicle registration numbers. There were no temperature checks, neither were there sanitisation in line with Covid-19 regulations. Cars would get in and out without any searches.
The security fence is badly damaged and no longer serving the intended purpose.
In an interview, the hospital’s senior nursing officer Mr Forbes Makamba confirmed the disappearance of Ms Chinomungu and also attributed the incident to laxity.
“Yes I know of the incident. When it happened, I was in Bindura attending a workshop,” he said. “She was admitted here on September 30 after she was brought in by her relatives. The relatives had a recommendation letter from a Roman Catholic priest called Father Simoko.
“She had melancholia. She was easily irritable and withdrawn. She could hardly walk, talk, bath herself and even eat on her own. She could not do anything on her own.
“Her aunt wanted to stay here but I refused because we wanted to examine her and try to establish what could have caused the depression. We suspected the depression could be a result of some family problems, hence we advised the relatives to stay away a bit and allow her to recover.
“After a few days, we noticed some improvements on her health. She was now able to walk and do her laundry. She was also able to eat, but she still had challenges in walking,” Mr Makamba said.
“I informed the relatives that they could now visit Wendy. The day they visited, that is when she had absconded from the hospital. I was away.”
However, Mr Makamba insisted that the patient disappeared on October 22, the day when the police report was made. But other staff said she vanished two days before, when Mr Makamba was still away and the official post-mortem and police documents show that she went missing on October 20.
Bureaucracy at the hospital also contributed to the delay in reporting the missing patient’s case to the police.
“I was told that the nurse on duty that night noticed the patient was missing and she informed the security department. The security details were supposed to immediately report to the administration but they waited until the following morning.
“That is when they informed the administrator who later went to the police,” Mr Makamba said.
Mr Makamba said an independent board of inquiry had since been constituted to investigate the case.
Prior to the patient’s disappearance, some expensive juices and other food would be seen on her table daily but no one knew the source.
The Herald tracked down Wendy’s uncle Mr Chikuya Chikuya, who stays in Mudimu village under Chief Dotito, to get an account of what could have transpired to their niece.
Ms Chinomungu was staying with Mr Chikuya, who is married to Mrs Musandirire, prior to her hospitalisation. Mr Chikuya is a brother to Wendy’s late mother.
In an interview, Mrs Musandirire said her niece disappeared on October 20 and that the hospital officials were trying to cover-up for their delay in making a police report. She confirmed all relatives were barred from visiting Ms Chinomungu at the hospital.
“On October 15, we received a text message from Mr Makamba, the matron, telling us that our niece’s health was improving. We asked if we could visit her and he agreed. On that day, we failed to go due to transport challenges.
“On October 22, in the morning, we received a text message from the matron again, advising us to go to the hospital and see a nurse called Karasa. Coincidentally, we were planning to visit our niece on that same day,”’ she said.
Mrs Musandirire did not find her niece in the women’s ward.
“At first I thought she had been moved to another bed. I then approached a nurse who was in the ward and she referred me to the sister-in-charge, Mrs Karasa. We sat down and she told me that my niece was missing from the hospital from October 20. It was so unbelievable and I was hurt,” she said.
The nurse reportedly asked the aunt to personally go and report the case to the police.
“She indicated to me that the hospital had not made a police report for a missing person, some two days after her disappearance. She asked me to go and report to the police that my niece was missing from hospital. Is this how Government hospitals handle issues of this nature?
“At first I refused to go to the police, but I later decided to comply. Police officers treated me well and asked me to bring my niece’s photos to assist in the search. Later in the day, we heard she had been found at Concession,” she said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident saying Chinomungu’s aunt was the one who reported the case.
“Police have opened a docket for murder and investigations are in progress.
“The matter was reported to the police on October 22 by Feriya Musandirire. We want to establish what really happened. The post-mortem results indicated that she died from a severe head trauma and we want to know whether she was assaulted at home, at the hospital or at Concession where she was later found,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Chairperson Sydney Gata has survived an apparent assassination attempt after gunmen shot at his vehicle on Airport Road in Harare, according to law enforcement sources.
Verification was awaited at the time of writing after sources were quoted by news site zimlive.com alleging so.
Gata is a close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa who reportedly saved when former Energy minister Fortune Chasi wanted to wield the axe on his corruption accused board.
Addressing friends and relatives at the memorial service of his late mother gogo Chamisa, MDC Alliance President Nelson Chamisa traced his journey on how he became the ICT minister during the government of national unity and transformed the ministry in a way that left Zanu Pf stalwarts accusing him of using juju.
By A Correspondent- Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of re-imposing a second national Covid-19 lockdown during deliberations on the second coronavirus wave in cabinet.
Mnangagwa initially declared a nationwide lockdown on March 27as a way of trying to contain the spread of the pandemic, which has since been gradually eased.
Although in principle, the lockdown still remains in force, business has virtually returned to normalcy in the country, with many people on the streets and vast crowds at market places, without observing social distancing.
Face masks are often improperly donned, despite police often descending heavily on offenders.
The result has been a second wave of cases, with the country now reporting high daily infections, prompting health practitioners to lobby for another nationwide lockdown. This was supported by a number of cabinet ministers.
Official sources said chairperson of the ad hoc Covid-19 taskforce, Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri presented a report in cabinet on new coronavirus infections, which painted grim picture for Zimbabwe.
The chairperson (Muchinguri-Kashiri) had reported that the country was in grave danger and had expressed concern over the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases. For instance, she pointed out that the country had recorded 594 cases in the previous week, including in schools,” a source said.
“Some ministers actually proposed that there should be a return to the time when we had a stringent lockdown as countries in Europe are doing. South Africa has also in- dicated that as things stand, another tough lockdown would be necessary. But such proposals were shot down immediately by the President who indicated that what was needed was to ensure more vigilant enforcement of the existing control measures.”
“In fact, the meeting ended up approving requests from hospitality industry players like bars and restaurants to extend operating times by two more hours to allow them to do more business. So they will now be allowed to operate up to 8pm. There was also a proposal to reconsider the reopening of ports of entry especially considering how immigration and customs officials at the Beitbridge Border Post were infected over the same week, but this was also shot down,” the source added.
Instead, according to the source, Mnangagwa said law enforcement must do its job to enforce the existing lockdown measures.
“He was worried that people were relaxing and said the police must ensure that people comply with existing control measures,” an official said.
Zimbabwe has now recorded more than 10 129 coronavirus cases and 277 deaths.
ZANU PF Secretary for Administration and former Minister Obert Mpofu and wife Sikhanyisiwe have been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19.
CDE Mpofu and wife started showing signs of COVID as they had persistent coughing sweating and feeling a mild headache.
This is the second time, Cde Mpofu has encountered a struggle with the disease, the first time Mpofu was the first to be admitted into a Bulawayo hospital with symptoms of COVID 19.
His wife exhibited the same symptoms snd was rushed to the hospital several hours later. Cde Mpofu’s phone is not being answered and his PA only known as Dummie refused to speak to the press.
Cde Mpofu is an Seventh Day Adventist member and and a businessman. He is currently the secretary of Administration in ZANU PF.
In August this year, Mpofu and the ZANU PF Secretary for External Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who are both members of the Politburo, were quarantined after they visited Tanzania. Mpofu was part of a delegation that attended the conference for global political parties where he was representing ZANU PF.
Speaking from Nyamandlovu, where he was in self-quarantine at the time, Mpofu said:”It is not easy to stay away from the people you love, but when you love them that much, you keep your distance for their safety. I tested negative on arrival and I am waiting for a second test after eight days.
The Minister of Health who is the vice president Cde Constatine Chiwenga could not be reached for comment.
A pastor from the Seventh day Adventist Church said “ we will be praying for cde Mpofu. With God nothing is impossible. Mpofu will bounce back.”
Dr Matimbe in United Kingdom said “The recovery rate of the COVID 19 is very good, the world has seen over ninety percent recovery. This gives us hope that Mpofu will recover, its only his weight which might be a challenge but taking the case on the round Cde Mpofu is likely going to pull through.”
By Jacob Ngarivhume| l had a two and half hour engagement with the entire board of the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission led by Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo.
We raised several issues of concern to the citizens which required answers from the Commission. Firstly l had reached out to the Auditor General’s office over their reports they have been producing since 2017 which unearthed massive corruption in government particularly command agriculture.
The AG’s office indicated that they have an MoU with ZACC which ZACC can use to follow up on any corruption issues raised.
Secondly, l touched base with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance chair Hon Tendai Biti, who indicated that they are finalizing a report on Command Agriculture which showed that over US$3 bn could not be accounted for.
Though a full report is to be produced for Parliament and ZACC, they revealed that there is enough information for ZACC to start their investigations on the corruption, but this has not yet started.
The ZACC Chairperson said the Commission had received the AG’s reports but were waiting for forensic reports to be commissioned by the AG’s office so that they look into the issues raised in those reports.
She however outlined the limitations faced by the Commission in the pursuit of its mandate.
ZACC is sitting on seventy five high profile cases which can not be prosecuted as whistle blowers are demanding protection which the current legal framework can not provide.
There is urgent need to reform our legal system and amend our court rules.We raised issues of the 15bil diamond money looted and the Drax Covidgate money.
Justice Moyo indicated that they are still in the process of recovering the money stolen from Covid donations. A total of 2mil had been paid out.
As citizens we will continue focusing on the forensic audits and push for the investigation of the command agriculture funds. We will not rest until justice is served.
MDC Alliance President Nelson Chamisa Speaks On State-Party Conflation and how the Late Perrence Shiri harassed his uncle following his visit to his house at Manyame Base in the company of the late Learnmore Jongwe.
A Form 4 pupil at a Bulawayo school committed suicide after discovering that she was pregnant, police said.
The 17-year-old Magwegwe Secondary School pupil named only as Nokuzola is believed to have killed herself by drinking an insecticide hours after her mother excoriated her for “playing with boys” and neglecting her schoolwork.
The mother did not know at the time that her daughter is pregnant.
“Police are investigating a case of sudden death which occurred in Magwegwe suburb. The mother of the late reprimanded her on Monday evening not to play with boys as she might get pregnant while urging her to concentrate on her school work,” Inspector Abednico Ncube of Bulawayo police said.
He said the mother left home in the morning on Tuesday for her vending business leaving her daughter with their 19-year-old housekeeper.
Inspector Ncube explained: “On the same day at around 10AM, the now deceased ordered the maid to go and bath. The maid went to bath leaving the now deceased in the bedroom alone. When the maid came back from bathing she found the now deceased lying on the floor in her mother’s bedroom vomiting. The maid informed a neighbour who summoned an ambulance.”
The ambulance crew pronounced her dead on arrival and police were called.
“The police found the deceased lying on the floor in the bedroom next to a bed with vomit on the floor. An empty 100ml bottle of Dichlorvos insecticide with a purple triangle was found on top of the wardrobe. We suspect the late pupil drank the contests of the bottle,” Inspector Ncube said.
A female friend of Nokuzola told police that “she tested herself for pregnancy and confirmed that she was pregnant.”
“She also told police that the deceased had made threats to commit suicide if anyone disclosed the pregnancy to her parents,” according to Inspector Ncube.
Her body was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital for a post-mortem.
Police urged members of the public to keep dangerous chemicals like pesticides away from the reach of children.
“We also appeal to our children and youths to take heed of their parents’ counsel and desist from engaging in early sexual experiments. Young lives are unnecessarily lost due to wayward behaviour of some youths and social ills,” he said.
The parliamentary portfolio committee on primary and secondary education his week heard that a number of school girls at Bulawayo schools had fallen pregnant during the lengthy school closure caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.-ZimLive
As women we need to stand together and politicians need to be held accountable for their actions that lead to emotional and psychological distress. Please help us get the truth out. People remain silent about what goes on in #Zimbabwe . @UN@UN_Women @usembassyharare #GBV
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women @UN_Women, defines “coercive control”, as “an act or pattern of acts of assault…coercion, threats, humiliation, and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish or frighten a victim.
@unwomenafrica@BitiTendai@UN_Women Emotional and verbal abuse includes insults and attempts to scare, isolate or control you. it also often a sign that physical abuse may follow. This may lead to short term and long lasting effects that are just as serious as physical abuse!
By A Correspondent- Daring armed robbers early this week pounced on a Cash In Transit SafeGuard vehicle and managed to overpower the guards before they got away with the cash box.
The incident that occurred on Monday 30 November in Chivi was confirmed by ZRP National Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi who said:
We have since launched a manhunt for the robbers and we appeal to anybody with information that may lead to the arrest of suspects to come forward.
According to the publication, this is what happened on the day SafeGuard was supposed to deliver cash to a Mukuru Booth at Chivi:
Details are that the Safeguard crew had come to deliver cash to a Mukuru money transfer booth housed at the shop when gangsters using an unmarked, high-powered sky-blue Toyota GD6 vehicle attacked the security servicemen.
The armed robbers fired three warning shots into the air with a pistol, disarmed the Safeguard crew and took away their 3 x Star pistols and cash box containing an amount of cash which could not be ascertained by the time of writing.
They then sped off from the scene on their Toyota GD6 vehicle.The unknown armed robbers were later seen at Mhandamabwe Business Centre, driving at high speed towards Zvishavane along the Masvingo-Mbalabala Highway.
Cases of robberies have increased over the last few months with Beitbridge recording the most daring armed robberies as reporters of armed robbers shooting at motor vehicles that usually stop to clear a way on barricaded roads are reported.TellZim
By A Correspondent- The Confederation of Zimbabwe Miners (CZM) president Rangani Chauke has called on government to urgently regularise the operations of artisanal miners to avoid disasters and integrate the sector into the mainstream economy.
Chauke’s call came in the wake of a rise in the number of fatal accidents involving gold panners in disused mines shafts.
Cases of trapped artisanal miners were on the rise with 30 illegal miners feared dead after a shaft from which they were panning gave in at Ran Mine in Bindura recently.
“As miners’ bodies, we have always reiterated that the formalisation of artisanal miners is a matter of urgency to avoid the unnecessary loss of lives,” Chauke said in an interview yesterday.
“Regularisation of the sector would not only improve safety of miners, but would decriminalise the activity.
“That is why we have always said the Mines and Minerals Bill should address the formalisation of the sector.”
He said, despite contributing immensely to gold production in the country, artisanal mining continued to be a dangerous enterprise claiming many lives every year.
Chauke said there was need to bring legality and stability to the sector to avoid negative consequences associated with artisanal mining.
“There is need for laws and support from government on the legal and policy frameworks that ensure safety and good standards in the formalisation process,” he said.
CZM is an association of small-scale-miners.
In recent years, artisanal miners have resorted to mining in decommissioned mine shafts. Government continues to dither on plans to regularise artisanal mining.-Newsday
whilist u are celebrating buckets of soya & beans in 2020 ,in Rwanda,the world bank has offered University of Rwanda College of science and technology a deal to develop the first African drone port pic.twitter.com/9YNPAW2rmE
By A Correspondent- Two Bulawayo ex-convicts, who robbed an elderly man of his cellphone and clothes before they killed and dumped his naked body in a bushy area, were on Wednesday sentenced to life in jail.
Perfect Sibanda (30) of Four Winds suburb and Vusumuzi Ndebele (35) of Siphambaniso Flats robbed and killed Joseph Godfrey Mataviri (65) only months after they were released from prison under the Presidential Amnesty in March 2018.
Sibanda was previously convicted for unlawful entry while Ndebele had served three years for robbery.
Mataviri’s naked body was found in the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) premises in Mpopoma suburb.
Police officers received a tip-off from members of the public that the two had committed the crime leading to their arrest.
When officers investigating the case raided Sibanda, they found him in possession of the deceased’s jeans, belt and jacket.
He implicated Ndebele.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Thompson Mabhikwa convicted the two of murder with actual intent.
Mabhikwa condemned the two accused persons’ to life in jail, saying their actions warranted their permanent removal from society.
“You committed an offence of murder in the course of robbery, which is a very serious offence. “You killed an innocent, poor man who had done nothing to you, and under normal circumstances you deserved a death sentence,” Mabhikwa said.
“However, due to your ages, as youthful offenders at the time of commission of the offence, I will spare you from capital punishment.
“Accordingly, you are sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.”
Prosecuting, Kudakwashe Jaravaza said on June 5, 2018 at around 8 am, Mataviri left his home and proceeded to his garden at Steeldale industrial area near NRZ, but never returned.
When he left his home, he was wearing a pair of blue jeans, brown t-shirt, a pair of brown safety shoes, a black and white jacket and a Samsung cell phone.
The court was told that when the deceased’s son discovered that his father had not returned home, he went out to look for him in his garden.
“The following morning, Mataviri’s son set out at 6 am to look for his father in the garden.
“When he got to the dust road within the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Mpopoma station yard, his attention was drawn to a group of people among them, police officers,” Jaravaza said.
“He drew closer to the crowd and saw a male adult who was lying naked on the ground in his underwear and upon closer examination he discovered that it was his father.”
According to a post-mortem report, it was concluded that the cause of death was extensive subarachnoid haemorrhage, blunt force trauma and head assault.
Investigations led to the arrest of the two accused persons and subsequent recovery of some of the deceased’s stolen clothes.
In their defence, both accused persons through their lawyers from R Ndlovu and Company and VJ Mpofu and Associates, denied the charges, arguing that they were forced into admitting the charges after police tortured them and severely assaulted them with batons and subjected them to electrocution.
By A Correspondent- Customs clearing agents and commercial transporters have criticised the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) for introducing the automated e-road cargo manifest system when it was ill prepared.
A number of customs agents have been failing to access the new online system to process import/export documents for the last three days.
As a results cargo is piling at the Beitbridge Border Post, which is the country’s busiest port of entry that handles at least 1 500 commercial trucks daily. Under the new system, everything is now done online through the use of the Automated System for Customs Data Asycuda World. But Zimra clients are failing to log into the system to initiate the clearance of goods.
According to one custom clearing agent, Mr Leni Chemaz, the state of affairs is creating an unnecessary backlog for most transporters and clearing agents. He said the revenue collector should have done a test run or introduced the new idea during the off-peak period.
“This is a good idea, but it must be implemented when people have been adequately schools and the system has been upgraded to carry all those seeking to do business with Zimra,” said Mr Chemaz.
Beitbridge chairman of commercial transporters, Mr Osbert Shumba, said Zimra had waylaid transporters and importers/exporters resulting in chaos.
“Zimra is overwhelmed by the applications and to date, some transporters have not yet received their log-in credentials,” he said.
“You will note that most transporters are not well versed with the new system even though we are told by Zimra that training was done online. Also, most transporters are not aware of this move.
“In addition, l think, there is something wrong with the Zimra’s timing, considering with opening of the border to passenger traffic and the fact that we are now in the festive season. This is a time whereby naturally everybody will be busy and pushing high volumes of cargo”.
He said they had engaged the revenue collector over the chaos resulting in a temporary waiver for customs agents to process some of the documents manually.
Commercial truck drivers complain that they were now spending more than two days at the border and that previously they will complete the border process in less than 12 hours.
“I have been in the customs yard for two days and this is frustrating. Our customs clearing agents are saying the delays are emanating from the overwhelmed Zimra system,” said Maxie Ngwenya, who is headed for Malawi.
Another driver, Mr Trust Munatsire, said the long delays were being made that without a commercial cargo scanner, Zimra was referring most trucks to the Container Depot (Condep) for physical examinations.
“If you go to Condep you are assured of spending two or three days there to complete all the processes. This is bad for business,” he said.
In a statement Thursday, Zimra said manual road manifests were now being accepted and processed only for transporters who have evidence of submission of an application for e-road Cargo Manifest profiles.
“We wish to advise our valued clients that due to the late influx of applications by transporters for profiles to capture e-road cargo manifests, processing of these applications may be delayed due to the large numbers received.
“In order to facilitate trade and ensure that traffic does not build up at the Ports of Entry, manual road manifests are going to be accepted and processed only for transporters who have evidence of submission of an application for e-road Cargo Manifest profiles,” said the revenue collector.
Zimra said they required evidence in the form of an email proving submission of the application to Zimra Customs Automation Team for them to process documents manually.
A special team to look into the queries relating to the new system has also been created to expedite the movement of cargo across the country’s borders.
By A Correspondent- A police officer based at Kwekwe Central Police Station has landed herself in trouble after a video of her allegedly slapping a Kwekwe High School pupil for not wearing a mask, went viral on social media.
The cops had visited the school at the behest of school authorities, to educate learners on the importance of wearing masks properly.
A video was, however, captured, presumably by one of the pupils, of the police officer seemingly slapping one of the learners for allegedly not wearing a mask properly. The video went viral on social media drawing mixed feelings from netizens.
Authorities in Kwekwe maintain that the matter was blown out of context adding it was under investigation. Officer Commanding Kwekwe police, Chief Superintendent Denford Maingire said further details would be availed after investigations were completed.
“As police we are carrying out campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of wearing masks properly. So, our officers had been invited there to educate the learners and conscientise them on the importance of wearing masks.
We are not sure what happened there but we are carrying out investigations and we will unveil further details after the investigations,” said Chief Supt Maingire.
Acting Kwekwe District Education Officer, Mr Herbert Maziriri said they were also carrying out investigations.
“The matter is under investigations, that is all I can say for now,” he said before referring further questions to the provincial superiors.
Kwekwe High School Development Committee chairperson, Mr Takaedza Ntuli said they had already engaged relevant authorities over the issue, adding the cop was not supposed to have hit the learner.
“We have approached the district police office and they are investigating the matter. We also as parents are also carrying out our own investigations on whether there was malice in what the cop is alleged to have done. We cannot jump into conclusions before investigations have been completed,” he said.
He had no kind words for some on social media who were politicising the matter.
“There are some social media abusers who are bent on politicising the issue. This is not a political issue whatsoever. We cannot allow people like Hopewell Chin’ono to go around saying rubbish about our state of affairs and politicising the issue, we cannot accept that,” he said.
Said national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi: “The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not condone such conduct during awareness campaigns and investigations are underway to verify the facts with the Kwekwe District Command and Midlands Province. If confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against the member. The police applaud the public for bringing the matter to our attention.”-statemedia
By A Correspondent- Tsholotsho youthful businessman, Owen Sibanda has been cleared to contest in the Tsholotsho district co-ordinating committee (DCC) elections to be held today.
Sibanda is contesting for the Tsholotsho DCC chairperson position.
He was earlier disqualified by Zanu-PF on allegations of flouting party regulations governing the holding of DCC elections. Sibanda was cleared of the allegations by Matabeleland North provincial co-ordinating committee at a PCC meeting held a fortnight ago at the party’s Lupane offices.
The PCC meeting was also attended by politburo members Angeline Masuku and principal of Chitepo School of Ideology Munyaradzi Machacha.
The businessman confirmed that he was cleared to contest in the DCC elections and vowed to win.
Sibanda claimed that he has the support of the district.
“Since I returned from South Africa after heeding President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call for diasporans to come back home and invest, I have never stopped working for the party and the country,” Sibanda said.
“I have invested millions of United States dollars in setting up business projects in my district which have created employment for our people.
“This is one of the reasons why party cadres asked me to stand in the DCC elections. I am confident of winning the post for the betterment of my party and the district. I have the people’s support from the grassroots.”
He said he was unmoved by the mudslinging which characterized the nominations process leading to his disqualification until his reinstatement after Tsholotsho district stood by him.
“That shows that the party has democracy. Every person is free to say out what they want, but we should do so without dividing the people and the party. I have since been cleared by the provincial co-ordinating committee (PCC) to stand as a DCC chairperson candidate for Tsholotsho.
“The task ahead of me is to see that we unite the party so that we would have a resounding victory in 2023. This is not the time for mudslinging or sideshows, but to focus on building the part,” he said.
The ruling party disbanded the DCCs in 2012 at the height of factional wars in Zanu-PF accusing them of fanning factionalism.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- A Beitbridge man is on the run for allegedly beating his three-year-old stepdaughter to death because she was crying when he wanted to catch some sleep on Wednesday morning.
Mulaleli Sibanda sneaked out of the house and disappeared just after his stepdaughter, Charmaine Moyo, was pronounced dead on arrival at Beitbridge District Hospital.
He has been on the run since Thursday, when the incident occurred at dawn.
Acting Matabeleland South police spokesman Inspector Loveless Mangena confirmed the incident which occurred in Makhavhane Village under Beitbridge Rural Police.
She said the incident occurred at around 4am when Charmaine started crying while sharing the same room with her mother Phathisiwe Dube and stepfather Sibanda.
The latter got irritated and started beating the child.
“He beat her with clenched fists and kicked the child who started bleeding from the nose, ears and mouth.
“He continued assaulting the toddler, but agreed to take the child to hospital. Sibanda sneaked away when the child was a pronounced dead on arrival,” Mangena said.
“We are waiting for a post-mortem. The body currently stored at Beitbridge District Hospital mortuary,” she said.
In an unrelated incident, seven people were robbed at gunpoint by two unidentified men who drove away in their victims’ Honda Fit car with groceries worth R4 760 and cash amounting to US$3 300.
Mangena said the men placed a boulder forcing the car to stop on a road leading from an undesignated point along the Limpopo River near National Parks and Wildlife cottages.
“When the driver got out to remove the stone the armed men pounced and ordered everyone out of the car which they drove away with its grocery contents and cash,” Mangena said.
“We advise people to desist from these illegal points because they risk arrest and losing their valuables like in this case.
“They can also be charged for smuggling.
“We are however appealing to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects.”-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Police in Beatrice, Mashonaland East province, have launched a manhunt for a 36-year-old man who allegedly killed his wife’s boyfriend who had visited his homestead in the middle of the night.
Admire Motsi (36) of Jefferstone Farm is on the run following the death of Stanley Chilima (36) who died during a fight after the latter had visited the former’s homestead to see his lover unbeknown to him that her husband was at home.
Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident and urged the public to desist from violence.
“Police in Beatrice are looking for a 36 year old man from Jefferstone Farm in Beatrice who allegedly assaulted the now-deceased to death after an altercation over a marital affair.
“The now-deceased Stanley Chilima was allegedly having an affair with the suspect’s wife, Arena Sale, aged 29.
“We are appealing to members of the public who might know the whereabouts of the suspect to report to any nearest police station.
“Violence is a menace in our societies and it must be nipped in the bud.
“Peaceful resolutions to differences must be the way to avoid such callous incidences,” he said.
According to police, on December 2, at around 2am, Chilima proceeded to the suspect’s homestead ostensibly to see his alleged girlfriend, who is the wife to the suspect unbeknown to him that her husband was inside the bedroom.
The deceased reportedly knocked at the door as usual and the suspect woke up and confronted Chilima, whom he was suspecting to having an affair with his wife.
It is reported that a fist-fight ensued before the suspect picked up a log and assaulted his rival suitor all over the body several times.
The suspect’s mother-in-law heard the noise and tried to refrain the two, but in vain.
The fight continued for about a kilometre from the homestead where the deceased fell down and became unconscious.
Chilima sustained a swollen face and bled profusely from the mouth, nose and ears.
At around 6am, the deceased’s body was discovered by villagers who reported the matter to the police.
The body was taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.-newsday
By A Correspondent- MDC-T interim leader Thokozani Khupe has ordered that there will be no gap filling to the party’s 2014 structures ahead of the party extraordinary congress to block his secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora from accommodating his backers.
Khupe and Mwonzora will battle for the party’s presidency next weekend alongside interim chairman Morgen Komichi and his deputy, Elias Mudzuri.
Mwonzora and Khupe seem to be the most popular and are set for a bruising fight as the congress dates draw near, but party insiders accused the secretary general of trying to manipulate the 2014 structures and rope in his loyalists to form the Electoral College and increase his votes.
The plot, which was thickening until Wednesday when it was put to a halt by a caucus meeting, had caused tensions within the party.
Mwonzora had reportedly ordered a gap filling to the 2014 structures in Chitungwiza, Harare, Mashonaland East Mashonaland Central and Manicaland where most of the chairman and organisers had openly showed him support.
“Mashonaland West was ordered last weekend by Mwonzora to conduct gap filling,” a party insider said.
“Some chairman and organisers loyal to Mwonzora who include Piniel Denga (Mashonaland East chairman), Rhino Mashaya (Organiser for Harare) among others, had remained adamant and wanted to do the gap filling.”
But sensing danger, Khupe reportedly ordered that there will be no gap filling and threatened to suspend provinces that conduct the exercise.
But Khupe has managed to block Mwonzora.
“This memo serves to advise all provinces that the national secretary for elections is now in the process of compiling the first Electoral College which is going to be validated by the relevant party structures and organs,” read part of a notice by Tapiwa Mashakada, the acting party spokesperson.
The memo was released after the caucus meeting.
“Linked to the process, please be advised that No GAP filling or replacements should be done. For the avoidance of doubt, those delegates who have left, died, resigned or joined other political parties shall not be replaced. Please be guided accordingly.”
Khupe was not picking calls yesterday, but Mwonzora denied he was plotting to ambush his opponents. He accused his opponents of being jittery after sensing defeat.
He said he had a successful launch of his presidential campaign which was oversubscribed with delegates from Harare and Chitungwiza showing who their choice was, adding “this was frightening to my opponents who have reported to spreading falsehoods and creating an explanation of their impending loss.”
“This is the work of people who are developing butterflies about this election,” Mwonzora said.
“They are afraid of losing because the members of the MDC-T have already shown their voting patterns. The Electoral College to be used by congress is going to be tabled before the national standing committee on Tuesday.
“It is at that point that the leaders will be able to analyse it. Further, after we have finalised the Electoral College on Tuesday, we will send it back to the districts for further verification. Thereafter, the Electoral College will be put in the hands of the independent electoral commission.”
He added:
“The allegations against me are part of the cheap smear campaign by opponents, I urge all my opponents to accept the democratic processes.
Mwonzora said the secretary general does not prepare the Electoral College, but keep records.
By A Correspondent- Mazowe Central Legislator Sydney Chidamba has been placed under disciplinary action for undermining President Emmerson Mnangagwa who was scheduled to visit his constituency for National Tree planting day in Mazowe this Saturday .
Chidamba is reported to have walked out of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s preparatory meeting held on Wednesday in his constituency.
A highly placed source in Zanu PF Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) told this publication that Chidamba was grilled during the meeting over his actions and awaits disciplinary hearing.
“Chidamba is on a disciplinary course because We were planning about HE’s visit which was to be in his constituency. He walked out of the meeting and went to address three districts when the entire Mazowe and Provincial Leadership, PB member Cde Machacha, chiefs , headmen, war vetarans leadership, were in a crucial meeting to plan for HE’s visit showing clearly that he did not value the visit . Evidence show that he preferred to go and campaign for his preferred DCC candidate where he donated flour, balls and paint instead of planning for the visit,” said the source.
Meanwhile, Chidamba who is campaigning for Tafadzwa Musarara who is eying the Mazowe district coordinating committee chairman ahead of the election over the weekend is also fingered in a gold rush fiasco at Rosa.
Contacted for comment he said he was aware of the gold rush but is not involved since he does not own a claim there.
Two other provincial members Patience Tapomwa secretary for administration for women’s league and Patricia Zhurunawo who is a typist at the provincial offices and second wife to committee member Walter Gatsi were also disciplined for tempering with cell registers in favour of Musarara.
Reports say Mnangagwa cancelled his visit to Mazowe after indicating that he has a busy schedule.
By A Correspondent- The government has made a U-turn on its earlier decision to extend by six months the validity of provisional driver’s licences and defensive driver’s certificates which expired from March 30 onwards.
Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the government imposed a strict lockdown which banned all public gatherings, with only essential services allowed to operate.
The Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) was also closed during the lockdown, thereby disadvantaging those who had attained provisional driver’s licences and defensive driver’s certificates.
This prompted the government to issue a Statutory Instrument giving a reprieve to provisional licence holders.
The SI extended six more months on the one-year period of the validity of all provisional driver’s licences and defensive driving certificates.
However, it has since emerged that the government reneged on its promise, resulting in thousands of the licences expiring -a development that has seen long queues at VID centres around the country with aspiring drivers seeking to renew.
Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza yesterday explained the rationale in the decision to renege on the earlier decision to give a reprieve to learner drivers.
“Following the 32nd Cabinet approval on September 15, 2020, Cabinet lifted the restriction on VID and it now operates all sections . . learner’s licence, re-test and defensive diving certificates, among others.
“Following the lockdown, the provisions under SI 114 of 2020 were that whatever comes first between lifting of lockdown or 180 days extension supersedes the other.
“In this case, it was the lifting of the lockdown that came first and this implies the extension of the 180 days for learner’s licence no longer held.
“All those whose learner’s licences expired during the lockdown period should therefore re-apply,” Matiza told the Daily News.
further dismissed speculation that the VID intended to review upwards learner’s licence fee from the current $100 to $1 000.
By A Correspondent | Harare lawyer and barrister Tendai Biti has been granted bail.
Biti was arrested on charges of allegedly assaulting a woman who is his client’s opponent in a property wrangle.
Allegations were raised against the Harare lawyer with the Law Society of Zimbabwe and Gender Commission by the Russian national, Tatiana Aleshina who alleged saying she was manhandled during an altercation outside Harare Magistrates’ Court.
Ms Tatiana Aleshina and Mr Biti allegedly had a heated exchange during which Aleshina says she was manhandled. She filed an assault report with the police and has now lodged the two further complaints.
Mr Biti has denied any wrongdoing.
In her complaint lodged with the Law Society, Ms Aleshina wants Mr Biti investigated for alleged gross unprofessional conduct and alleges she and her workmates were verbally abused each time they came to court. Ms Aleshina is one of the witnesses in the Katsimberis criminal cases still pending.
“While attending to these matters at Harare Magistrates’ Court, I and my colleague at Pokugara Properties (Private) Limited have been victims of Mr Biti’s unsolicited verbal abuse and assaults which amount to gross professional misconduct,” said Ms Aleshina, the chief operating officer of Pokugara.
She claimed that on August 29 this year, as she was about to leave the court gallery after the court session and in the company of her workmate Mr Simbarashe Kadye the company’s chief finance officer, Biti confronted them and said: “I am going to take your house, clothes and panties and leave you with nothing. I am not joking!”
He then allegedly turned to Ms Aleshina reportedly shouting she was very stupid. “It was clear to all people who were in court gallery that Mr Biti took delight not only in verbally abusing me, but in trying to intimidate me and felt that, as a woman and foreigner of Russian origins, I was a nonentity to him and that he would use every extra judicial means to crush me or harm or destroy me for daring to be a witness in the criminal matter against his client,” she stated in her complaint.
“I strongly feel Mr Biti also violated my rights as a woman by trying to show his man power over me by swearing and shouting at me in a way which clearly made me less human thereby humiliating me. His conduct in pointing against my face was a clear act of verbal assault.”
Ms Aleshina also said she had no personal issue with Mr Biti before this incident.
“His conduct is a threat to womanhood and to the powerless and takes us back to the stone age where the perceived powerful will tremble on the rights of the poor without any censure,” she added.
Ms Aleshina filed a similar complaint with the Gender Commission.
Meanwhile, below was a thread she opened on the micro logging website, Twitter:
Today i want to share my story of humiliation and verbal abuse i received from @BitiTendai. Say no to assault (physical and verbal) say no to gender based violence! #GBVmustfall
@womensaidorg #16daysofActivism @Unwomen #generationequality #16Days #orangetheworld #UnitedNations@mentionsis supposedly a national leader as VP of MDCA, a Christian and lawyer but the way he behaved is NOT acceptable. He shouted at me, called me “stupid very stupid” several time’s and made me feel intimidated, belittled and publicly humiliated.@mentionsviolated my rights as a woman. He violently pointed his fingers at my face and threatened me. To put this into context neither me nor my company had any prior dealings with this man, we have never spoken to him and yet his behavior was irrational, hysterical…
…and not fitting for any man never mind one in his position. How can he be trusted if he does this to an innocent woman like me? I’m not saying all this for you to feel sorry for me, I’m doing it to create awareness and understanding that in our society in #zimbabwe#harareThere are men who put themselves above women. Such instances of sexism and chauvinism displayed by @BitiTendai as means of intimidation to reinforce the power base of men is shameful, he obviously wanted to remind me and women that they are weaker and inferior to him!This misogynistic behaviour MUST not be allowed to continue! Let us all stand together with #16DaysofActivism to prevent men like @BitiTendai treating women in this condescending way.@mentions#womenrights HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU ARE BEING VERBALLY ABUSED? -Display of anger in the way that frightens you -public humiliation -calling you insulting names ( such as “stupid”, “worthless”,) -threatens to hurt you or people you care about @BitiTendai@mentions
Emotional and verbal abuse includes insults and attempts to scare, isolate or control you. it also often a sign that physical abuse may follow. This may lead to short term and long lasting effects that are just as serious as physical abuse!
TWO Bulawayo ex-convicts, who robbed an elderly man of his cellphone and clothes before they killed and dumped his naked body in a bushy area, were on Wednesday sentenced to life in jail.
Perfect Sibanda (30) of Four Winds suburb and Vusumuzi Ndebele (35) of Siphambaniso Flats robbed and killed Joseph Godfrey Mataviri (65) only months after they were released from prison under the Presidential Amnesty in March 2018.
Sibanda was previously convicted for unlawful entry while Ndebele had served three years for robbery.
Mataviri’s naked body was found in the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) premises in Mpopoma suburb.
Police officers received a tip-off from members of the public that the two had committed the crime leading to their arrest.
When officers investigating the case raided Sibanda, they found him in possession of the deceased’s jeans, belt and jacket.
He implicated Ndebele.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Thompson Mabhikwa convicted the two of murder with actual intent.
Mabhikwa condemned the two accused persons’ to life in jail, saying their actions warranted their permanent removal from society.
“You committed an offence of murder in the course of robbery, which is a very serious offence. “You killed an innocent, poor man who had done nothing to you, and under normal circumstances you deserved a death sentence,” Mabhikwa said.
“However, due to your ages, as youthful offenders at the time of commission of the offence, I will spare you from capital punishment.
“Accordingly, you are sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.”
Prosecuting, Kudakwashe Jaravaza said on June 5, 2018 at around 8 am, Mataviri left his home and proceeded to his garden at Steeldale industrial area near NRZ, but never returned.
When he left his home, he was wearing a pair of blue jeans, brown t-shirt, a pair of brown safety shoes, a black and white jacket and a Samsung cell phone.
The court was told that when the deceased’s son discovered that his father had not returned home, he went out to look for him in his garden.
“The following morning, Mataviri’s son set out at 6 am to look for his father in the garden.
“When he got to the dust road within the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Mpopoma station yard, his attention was drawn to a group of people among them, police officers,” Jaravaza said.
“He drew closer to the crowd and saw a male adult who was lying naked on the ground in his underwear and upon closer examination he discovered that it was his father.”
According to a post-mortem report, it was concluded that the cause of death was extensive subarachnoid haemorrhage, blunt force trauma and head assault.
Investigations led to the arrest of the two accused persons and subsequent recovery of some of the deceased’s stolen clothes.
In their defence, both accused persons through their lawyers from R Ndlovu and Company and VJ Mpofu and Associates, denied the charges, arguing that they were forced into admitting the charges after police tortured them and severely assaulted them with batons and subjected them to electrocution. Source – newsday
Tendai Biti had been grated ZWL$10 000 on assault charges preferred against him by a Russian lady with links to Mnangagwa's suspicious land deals. He will appear agains on January 18. pic.twitter.com/AqbHQZhy3m
Cape Town – The Home Affairs Department is investigating close to a million “blocked” identity documents that were found to be suspicious, duplicate or fraudulently issued with falsified supporting documents.
This was revealed by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi when he was responding in writing to Parliamentary questions from EFF MP Lorato Tito.
Tito had enquired about the total number of cases of blocked identity documents in his department.
She also wanted to know how long it took his department to investigate and resolve the matter of blocked IDs.
In his written response, Motsoaledi said the department has 813 343 identified cases of blocked identity documents falling under different categories.
“The afore-mentioned total includes cases that have to remain blocked as these cases are already investigated and/or marked for deletion so that they should not be used again as such,” he said.
Motsoaledi stated that when the department delivered services to citizens and non-citizens, it came across cases of identity theft where an ID was acquired illegally, fraudulently, where supporting documents were falsified or inadvertently where identity numbers are duplicated.
“In all such cases markers are set on the National Population Register as a means of ensuring the integrity and credibility of the National Population Register.
“In addition, markers are set on identity numbers such as cases that are referred to as ‘under investigation’ for various reasons or causes.”
Motsoaledi also said there are 517 249 duplicate IDs for cases where individuals have multiple identity numbers and in other cases two persons sharing the same ID number.
There were 17 747 fraudulent cases of deaths, 222 cases of immigrants that did not qualify for automatic citizenship and 8214 South West Africa cases.
Others included 145 619 illegal immigrants, 70 323 cases under investigations for various reasons and 53 978 cases referred to identification to investigate fingerprints records.
Motsoaledi said when the department received cases of that nature, they first have to investigate these cases to establish if indeed the ID was acquired illegally and those Identity numbers are definitely blocked.
“Where there is sufficient evidence provided to the contrary, markers are lifted accordingly.”
He also said some of the reasons that mainly attribute to IDs being blocked and markers are set on the National Population Register included duplicated ID numbers and illegal immigrants who obtained SA documents fraudulently.
There were also false registrations of births, marriages and deaths as well as investigation purposes of suspicious ID obtained fraudulently with falsified supporting documents.
Motsoaledi said it takes the department approximately six to eight weeks to resolve and to finalise blocked IDs provided all required supporting documents to resolve these cases were obtained from the applicant.
“This includes the time when the client visits the front office and the receipt of all requested documentation to resolve the case in line with the standard operating procedures,” he said.
MDC Alliance Vice President Tendai Biti is appearing in court now on assault charges. The offence would ordinarily allow for bail, but we wait to hear the outcome. pic.twitter.com/7ukJwk9OkH
Mt Darwin District Hospital senior nursing officer Forbes Makamba
A senior official at Mt Darwin District Hospital has confirmed the disappearance of a 25-year-old female patient who had been admitted at the institution since the 30th of September.
Wendy Chinomungu of Rushinga was suffering from melancholia (severe depression) and disappeared from her ward on October 20 and was found at Concession, some 136km away, two days later unconscious and with her hands tied.
Some farmworkers in Concession found the woman lying unconscious three days after she left the hospital and told the farm owner who immediately reported the case to Glendale Police Station.
Chinomungu was rushed to Concession Hospital and was immediately transferred to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare where she later died.
A post-mortem report shows that death was due to “severe head trauma” and there are indications that she had been sexually abused.
Mt Darwin District Hospital senior nursing officer Forbes Makamba confirmed Chinomungu’s disappearance but said he was away when the incident took place. He said:
Yes, I know of the incident. When it happened, I was in Bindura attending a workshop. She was admitted here on September 30 after she was brought in by her relatives.
The relatives had a recommendation letter from a Roman Catholic priest called Father Simoko.
She had melancholia. She was easily irritable and withdrawn. She could hardly walk, talk, bath herself and even eat on her own. She could not do anything on her own.
Her aunt wanted to stay here but I refused because we wanted to examine her and try to establish what could have caused the depression.
We suspected the depression could be a result of some family problems, hence we advised the relatives to stay away a bit and allow her to recover.
After a few days, we noticed some improvements to her health. She was now able to walk and do her laundry.
She was also able to eat, but she still had challenges in walking.
I informed the relatives that they could now visit Wendy. The day they visited, that is when she had absconded from the hospital. I was away.
Meanwhile, Makamba’s narration of events contradicted other staff as he insisted that the patient disappeared on October 22, the day when the police report was made.
However, other Hospital staff said Chinomungu vanished two days before when Makamba was still away and the official post-mortem and police documents show that she went missing on October 20. Added Makamba:
I was told that the nurse on duty that night noticed the patient was missing and she informed the security department.
The security details were supposed to immediately report to the administration but they waited until the following morning.
That is when they informed the administrator who later went to the police
ABOUT 160 pupils who had been infected by the deadly Covid-19 at John Tallach High School in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North, have recovered.
The more than 185 Covid-19 cases at John Tallach are the highest that a single school has recorded since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.
By November 24, the cases had run into 185 which pushed up the total number of Covid-19 cases in Matabeleland North Province.
On Wednesday, 181 new cases and three deaths were reported in Zimbabwe, bringing the total number of active cases to 1 390.
Of the new cases, 178 are local cases and 3 are returnees from Algeria and the deaths were reported in Bulawayo and Manicaland provinces.
The country also recorded 83 new recoveries and the national recovery rate stands at 84.7 percent.
The John Tallach recoveries have been absorbed in daily statistics since the virus was reported at the school about two weeks ago.
As of December 3, Zimbabwe had recorded 10 424 cases, 8 754 recoveries and 280 deaths.
Since the outbreak, Bulawayo has recorded 2 466 cases, 1 820 recoveries and 82 deaths while Matabeleland North has recorded 366 cases, 333 recoveries and three deaths.
On the other hand, Matabeleland South has 1 059 cases, 888 recoveries and nine deaths.
Bulawayo has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe at 564 while Matabeleland North has 33.
Schools have become the latest institutions to be hit by the virus after their phased reopening which started on September 28.
Acting Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director Dr Munekayi Padingani said pupils were stable and the situation was under control.
“The situation at John Tallach is under control, we have since discharged 160 pupils who have tested negative after we conducted retests. After testing about 450 pupils at the school only one tested positive and we are just left with retesting another 60 pupils but they are all stable,” said Dr Padingani.
He said the provincial cases had gone down following the recoveries at John Tallach adding that the new cases were now emanating from truck drivers.
“Our cases have gone down and the latest ones are from Victoria Falls and Lupane especially truck drivers following the reopening of the borders. We continuously urge everyone to think about the next person and practice good hand hygiene and social distancing to stop the spread of Covid-19,” he added.
Dr Padingani said the Ministry will also look into testing people entering the border of Covid-19 as they could be infected after acquiring certificates.
Meanwhile, two pupils tested positive at Thekwane High School in Plumtree, Matabeleland South.
The latest cases are an addition to Matopo High School which was turned into a quarantine centre to prevent the further spreading of the virus after 10 cases were recorded.
Mtshabezi High School within the same province also recorded 17 Covid-19 cases this week including two teachers and two workers.
Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director, Dr Rudo Chikodzore said they were working flat out to control the situation.
She said she was yet to get an update on Thekwane and urged community members to self-introspect as a way of stopping the spread of Covid-19.
“I believe that the new cases that we are continuously recording are a result of effective rapid response teams who have gone round and made follow ups on suspected infections. We are doing everything in our power to ensure that we save lives but this issue now depends on communities whose behaviours will greatly decide if we will have more new cases or a decline,” said Dr Chikodzore.
She said she is yet to establish the total number of pupils that have been affected in her province.
“We really need to reach out to communities and engage them on what can be done to stop the spread because it is clear that people are not adhering to the set measures. We however continue encouraging members of the public to wash their hands, wear masks, practice social distancing and avoid travelling unnecessarily.”
Dr Chikodzore said some of the new cases in her province were fuelled by the reopening of the borders in Matabeleland South which has seen an influx of travellers into the country.
Authorities in Kwekwe maintain that the video of a female police officer slapping a Kwekwe school girl for not wearing a mask was blown out of context adding it was under investigation.
Officer Commanding Kwekwe police, Chief Superintendent Denford Maingire said further details would be availed after investigations were completed.
“As police we are carrying out campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of wearing masks properly. So, our officers had been invited there to educate the learners and conscientise them on the importance of wearing masks.
“We are not sure what happened there but we are carrying out investigations and we will unveil further details after the investigations,” said Chief Supt Maingire.
“Acting Kwekwe District Education Officer, Mr Herbert Maziriri said they were also carrying out investigations.
“The matter is under investigations, that is all I can say for now,” he said before referring further questions to the provincial superiors.
Kwekwe High School Development Committee chairperson, Mr Takaedza Ntuli said they had already engaged relevant authorities over the issue, adding the cop was not supposed to have hit the learner.
“We have approached the district police office and they are investigating the matter. We also as parents are also carrying out our own investigations on whether there was malice in what the cop is alleged to have done. We cannot jump into conclusions before investigations have been completed,” he said.
He had no kind words for some on social media who were politicising the matter.
“There are some social media abusers who are bent on politicising the issue. This is not a political issue whatsoever.
We cannot allow people like Hopewell Chin’ono to go around saying rubbish about our state of affairs and politicising the issue, we cannot accept that,” he said.
Said national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi: “The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not condone such conduct during awareness campaigns and investigations are underway to verify the facts with the Kwekwe District Command and Midlands Province.
If confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against the member. The police applaud the public for bringing the matter to our attention.”
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has announced new fuel prices effective Saturday 5 December 2020.
The price of diesel is now ZWL$97.24 and US$1.19 per litre, while that for petrol is now ZWL$97.44 and US$1.19 per litre.
In a public notice on Friday evening, ZERA said operators may, however, sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages.
The new prices show that the price of diesel in Zimbabwe dollars has increased significantly from last month’s price of ZWL$82.05 and the USD price has been reviewed upwards from US$1.00.
As for petrol, the price has been increased marginally in Zimbabwe dollars from ZWL$97.11. to ZWL$97.44 while there had been no change in USD terms.
SA recorded nearly 5,000 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said the 4,932 new cases took the national total of confirmed cases to 805,804.
The new infections came from 33,415 tests, at a positivity rate of 14.75%.
Mkhize also reported 160 recorded deaths since the release of Thursday’s figures. Of these, the Eastern Cape accounted for 69, the Free State 26, Gauteng six, KwaZulu-Natal 10, Limpopo six, the Northern Cape 12 and the Western Cape 31.
This means there are now 21,963 confirmed deaths from the virus in SA.
PARIS – Global coronavirus infections passed 65 million on Friday and countries doubled down on restrictions, even as plans to roll out vaccines gathered pace.
Joe Biden said he would ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days when he takes over as president of the United States, the world’s worst-hit country from a pandemic that has now killed more than 1.5 million people across the planet.
The US is among the countries posting all-time highs in daily deaths this week along with Italy, which is undergoing a dramatic resurgence after it largely tamped down its earlier outbreak by enforcing a strict lockdown in the spring.
Biden also used the CNN interview to say he had asked the government’s top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci to join his team and serve as a chief medical adviser.
The pandemic is showing little sign of slowing, with the daily global death toll in recent weeks reaching its highest rate since the virus emerged in China late last year.
However, the rapid development of several vaccines has provided respite from the dismal cycle of lockdowns and surging cases.
Britain on Wednesday became the first Western country to approve a vaccine for general use, piling pressure on other countries to swiftly follow suit.
But Fauci said Britain had rushed its approval process.
“In all fairness to so many of my UK friends, you know, they kind of ran around the corner of the marathon and joined it in the last mile,” he told CBS, although he later said he had not meant to imply “any sloppiness”.
Britain’s regulator hit back on Friday, saying: “No vaccine would be authorised for supply in the UK unless the expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that even if vaccines were quickly approved, the world would still be fighting the pandemic’s aftershocks.
“Let’s not fool ourselves. A vaccine cannot undo damage that will stretch across years, even decades to come,” Guterres said while opening a special UN summit on the virus.
YOUTH, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister, Kirsty Coventry, was yesterday inducted into the African Union Sport Council Region 5’s Sports Hall of Fame.
She was among seven personalities bestowed with the honour, by the African Union Sport Council Region 5 Council of Ministers, during their virtual extraordinary meeting yesterday.
The meeting was attended by six of the 10-member countries.
Ministers from South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho could not attend the meeting due to various unforeseen circumstances.
During their deliberations, the ministers committed to rebuild the sports industry, through stimulus response interventions, and calculated risk-weighted return to play strategies.
They further committed themselves to support efforts to commercialise sport and gradually move away from over-reliance on government dependency.
The ministers challenged each member country to account for their actions, in the implementation of approved regional programmes, and activities.
They made an emphatic statement on their commitment to transform sport into a viable economic industry that stimulates business investment and creates a corridor for accelerated youth empowerment and employment creation, social cohesion and social capital beneficiation.
Among the many significant decisions, made by the council during their meeting, was the ratification of the election of the new Secretariat elected during the AUSC Region 5 executive committee meeting on November 27, 2020.
The newly-elected members of the secretariat will now be led by Moreetsi Imon Bogosi of Botswana as chairperson.
He replaces Vetumbuavi Veii of Namibia.
Raphael Mulenga of Zambia assumes the position of vice-chairperson, replacing George Jana of Malawi.
Eugenia Chidhakwa of Zimbabwe was elected chairperson of the Sports Development Technical Commission, replacing Antonio Gomes of Angola.
Lawrence Buyani Mthethwa was re-elected in the position of chairperson finance and marketing commission.
All four members of the secretariat were elected unopposed.
The council also ratified members to be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame which will be part of the Region 5 Museum being established in Zimbabwe.
These are Maria Mutola (Mozambique), Coventry (Zimbabwe), Makhenkesi Arnold Stofile (posthumously) (South Africa), Matilda Mwaba (Zambia), Robert Magagula (Eswatini), Joel Lubombo (Mozambique) and Boyce Sebetela (Botswana).
The ministers ratified the confederations assistance programme guidelines.
These guidelines provide a framework from which the region and member countries can support the functioning of Region 5 recognised regional sports confederations.
This is in line with the decision of the Council of Ministers made in November 2013 that regional sports confederations would be supported in order to function, including in the areas of provision of office space, development of strategic plans, event hosting and marketing management capacity building.
The meeting also received reports from the Deputy Principal Secretary of Lesotho, on behalf of the Minister, as well as from Msungama from Malawi, giving updates on their respective countries’ preparations for the hosting of the Lesotho 2021 and Malawi 2022 Region 5 Youth Games.
The reports were well received.
Coventry was also given an opportunity to share Zimbabwe’s Athletes Relief Fund initiative that saw athletes being cushioned from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Council of Ministers meet every two years in an ordinary meeting.
However, every Games year, the council takes advantage of the availability of members for the opening ceremony of the Games, to convene an extraordinary meeting.
The Council of Ministers ordinary meeting is scheduled for December 2, 2021 on the margins of the 9th edition of the Region 5 Youth Games, scheduled to be held from December 3 to 12, 2022.
Complaints have been laid against Harare lawyer Mr Tendai Biti with the Law Society of Zimbabwe and Gender Commission by the Russian national who alleges she was manhandled during an altercation outside Harare Magistrates’ Court.
Ms Tatiana Aleshina and Mr Biti allegedly had a heated exchange during which Aleshina says she was manhandled. She filed an assault report with the police and has now lodged the two further complaints.
Mr Biti has denied any wrongdoing.
In her complaint lodged with the Law Society, Ms Aleshina wants Mr Biti investigated for alleged gross unprofessional conduct and alleges she and her workmates were verbally abused each time they came to court. Ms Aleshina is one of the witnesses in the Katsimberis criminal cases still pending.
“While attending to these matters at Harare Magistrates’ Court, I and my colleague at Pokugara Properties (Private) Limited have been victims of Mr Biti’s unsolicited verbal abuse and assaults which amount to gross professional misconduct,” said Ms Aleshina, the chief operating officer of Pokugara.
She claimed that on August 29 this year, as she was about to leave the court gallery after the court session and in the company of her workmate Mr Simbarashe Kadye the company’s chief finance officer, Biti confronted them and said: “I am going to take your house, clothes and panties and leave you with nothing. I am not joking!”
He then allegedly turned to Ms Aleshina reportedly shouting she was very stupid. “It was clear to all people who were in court gallery that Mr Biti took delight not only in verbally abusing me, but in trying to intimidate me and felt that, as a woman and foreigner of Russian origins, I was a nonentity to him and that he would use every extra judicial means to crush me or harm or destroy me for daring to be a witness in the criminal matter against his client,” she stated in her complaint.
“I strongly feel Mr Biti also violated my rights as a woman by trying to show his man power over me by swearing and shouting at me in a way which clearly made me less human thereby humiliating me. His conduct in pointing against my face was a clear act of verbal assault.”
Ms Aleshina also said she had no personal issue with Mr Biti before this incident.
“His conduct is a threat to womanhood and to the powerless and takes us back to the stone age where the perceived powerful will tremble on the rights of the poor without any censure,” she added.
Ms Aleshina filed a similar complaint with the Gender Commission.
Meanwhile, below was a thread she opened on the micro logging website, Twitter:
Today i want to share my story of humiliation and verbal abuse i received from @BitiTendai. Say no to assault (physical and verbal) say no to gender based violence! #GBVmustfall
@womensaidorg #16daysofActivism @Unwomen #generationequality #16Days #orangetheworld #UnitedNations@mentionsis supposedly a national leader as VP of MDCA, a Christian and lawyer but the way he behaved is NOT acceptable. He shouted at me, called me “stupid very stupid” several time’s and made me feel intimidated, belittled and publicly humiliated.@mentionsviolated my rights as a woman. He violently pointed his fingers at my face and threatened me. To put this into context neither me nor my company had any prior dealings with this man, we have never spoken to him and yet his behavior was irrational, hysterical…https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?guci=1.2.0.0.2.2.0.0&client=ca-pub-3755072543989337&output=html&h=360&adk=3771441059&adf=2380962578&pi=t.aa~a.1635861574~rp.4&w=432&lmt=1607162121&rafmt=1&to=qs&pwprc=7152865607&psa=0&format=432×360&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthreadreaderapp.com%2Fthread%2F1334916650416660481.html&flash=0&fwr=1&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&sfro=1&wgl=1&adsid=ChEIgPys_gUQn5mtztqw4pP_ARI7ABerbi0geEd9662WhdmrcIAkfCSxgDbI1qafJW4hCl_zVWRVaGTH0HFT21Co9-Y3wbryKY9-EVPnCI0&tt_state=W3siaXNzdWVyT3JpZ2luIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9hZHNlcnZpY2UuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbSIsInN0YXRlIjowfSx7Imlzc3Vlck9yaWdpbiI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXR0ZXN0YXRpb24uYW5kcm9pZC5jb20iLCJzdGF0ZSI6MH1d&dt=1607162121301&bpp=4&bdt=1084&idt=4&shv=r20201201&cbv=r20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D4f09f608b2e64b4d-220595cb82a600b7%3AT%3D1607162028%3ART%3D1607162028%3AS%3DALNI_MYPtDiin_gor_TPqEdyKTJw51GhsA&prev_fmts=0x0&nras=1&correlator=1318076571237&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1245565793.1607162121&ga_sid=1607162121&ga_hid=516997970&ga_fc=0&u_tz=0&u_his=1&u_java=0&u_h=951&u_w=432&u_ah=951&u_aw=432&u_cd=24&u_nplug=0&u_nmime=0&adx=0&ady=1181&biw=432&bih=797&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=21066973&oid=3&pvsid=3936571835965269&pem=579&ref=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F&rx=0&eae=0&fc=1924&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C432%2C0%2C432%2C797%2C432%2C797&vis=1&rsz=o%7Co%7CeEbr%7C&abl=NS&pfx=0&fu=8320&bc=31&jar=2020-12-04-22&ifi=1&uci=a!1&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=uyqpb0T1za&p=https%3A//threadreaderapp.com&dtd=25…and not fitting for any man never mind one in his position. How can he be trusted if he does this to an innocent woman like me? I’m not saying all this for you to feel sorry for me, I’m doing it to create awareness and understanding that in our society in #zimbabwe#harareThere are men who put themselves above women. Such instances of sexism and chauvinism displayed by @BitiTendai as means of intimidation to reinforce the power base of men is shameful, he obviously wanted to remind me and women that they are weaker and inferior to him!This misogynistic behaviour MUST not be allowed to continue! Let us all stand together with #16DaysofActivism to prevent men like @BitiTendai treating women in this condescending way.@mentions#womenrights HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU ARE BEING VERBALLY ABUSED? -Display of anger in the way that frightens you -public humiliation -calling you insulting names ( such as “stupid”, “worthless”,) -threatens to hurt you or people you care about @BitiTendai@mentions
Emotional and verbal abuse includes insults and attempts to scare, isolate or control you. it also often a sign that physical abuse may follow. This may lead to short term and long lasting effects that are just as serious as physical abuse!
A 25-year-old woman suffering from severe depression and admitted to Mount Darwin District Hospital disappeared from her ward on October 20 and was found at Concession, some 136km away, two days later unconscious and with her hands tied.
The hospital did not report the patient was missing to relatives or the police until October 22; when the woman’s aunt heard the news she rushed to Mt Darwin Police Station to make the initial missing person’s report.
Wendy Chinomungu of Rushinga was found bruised while her hands were tied with a rope at a farm in Concession. Her face was swollen. She was rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare where she later died. Preliminary checks showed the woman had been sexually assaulted.
Ms Chinomungu had a condition known as melancholia (severe depression) and was admitted on September 30 to Mt Darwin Hospital. Owing to the condition, she was initially unable to walk, bath and eat on her own. She would be carried to the toilet and was experiencing recurring mood swings.
Despite having the family members’ contact details, the hospital staff only informed the aunt two days after she vanished according to the records.
The aunt, Ms Fariya Musandirire was the first to report to the police while the hospital administrator followed up later.
Some farm workers in Concession found the woman lying unconscious three days after she left the hospital and told the farm owner who immediately reported the case to Glendale Police Station. She was rushed to Concession Hospital and was immediately transferred to Parirenyatwa Hospital where she later died.
A post-mortem report shows that the death was due to “severe head trauma”. The pathologist said the death was not a result of natural causes.
VILLAGERS in Muchini area of Buhera South have been left in a state of shock following the gruesome murder of three senior citizens, with a 17-year old boy confessing to having committed the crime.
The senior citizens; one aged 86, his 74-year-old wife and her 80-year-old sister were allegedly murdered in cold blood at around midnight on Thursday by the teenager from the same village.
In his confession, the 17-year-old said: “I arrived at around 11pm from a bar intending to kill them because they killed my parents when I was still young.
“I only wanted to kill the man because his wife actually liked me a lot and I do not know why I killed her,” he said.
Buhera South legislator, Cde Joseph Chinotimba who is related to the deceased, said they are yet to come to terms with loss of three family members.
“We are shocked as a family because we can’t even begin to think of what could have gone wrong to this extent of killing three people, especially for a boy as young as 17,” he said.
Police officer commanding Chipinge District Chief Superintendent Kennedy Nyaumwe confirmed the incident, saying investigations were underway.
By Prince Njagu- The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC Alliance) has cried foul over the unlawful arrest and detention of its members which is being perpetrated by the Emmerson Mnangagwa led government.
This comes after the continued targeted arrest of its councillors and mayors by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
MDC Alliance expressed their discontent over the recent unlawful arrest of Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume as well as Chitungwiza Mayor Lovemore Maiko.
“We continue to demand freedom for Mayor Jacob Mafume. Bail is a constitutional entitlement. Arresting to investigate is unlawful,” says MDC Alliance on their official Twitter page.
Eight days later and no bail has been set for Mafume. The MDC-A Harare major remains behind bars, regardless of the fact that the Zimbabwean constitution has a provision for bail to be set either pending an investigation or arrest.
Mafume is one of the many opposition members who has been arrested and put behind bars with no bail terms being set.
“Political persecution of opposition politicians and progressive citizens must end,” said MDC-Alliance on their Twitter page.
Prominent figures within the political spectrum, press and civil society have fallen victim to the ZANU PF administration, with renowned journalists like Hopewell Chin’ono also having been incarcerated this year for exposing corruption.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of Mafume more than a week ago, but no bail has been set for the Harare Mayor and he remains in prison.
Mafume, is the MDC-A councillor for Ward 17, and was elected to the position of Harare Mayor in September 2020, following the recalling of Herbert Gomba by the MDC-T.
Several other MDC-A officials and councillors have been arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), with the latest incident involving the arrest of all Chitungwiza officials during a meeting.
Arrest of all Chitungwiza officials and councillors by ZRP is being viewed as the latest act to hamstring MDC-A led local authorities by ZANU PF through the use of the police.
In a statement issued on the MDC-A Twitter page, the party said, “In the latest act to hamstring local authorities, ZRP have just arrested all Chitungwiza councillors and officials who were attending the ordinary full council meeting in chambers,”
“All except 2, of the councillors and council staff who were unlawfully arrested in a dragnet operation today while conducting council business have been released without charge. Councillors Chamutsa and Nyagondo are currently at St Marys police station. No charges yet”.
There has been a crackdown on council officials on accusation of corruption, but it is mainly targeting opposition officials.
Last week MDC-A Chitungwiza Mayor Lovemore Maiko was arrested and the party believes that all this is being done as a move to destabilise local councils after the failed move to recall the opposition mayors.
The MDC Alliance still maintains that all these moves are political and aimed at decimating the party.
Earlier last week MDC Alliance secretary for Local Government Sessel Zvidzai indicated that arrests of opposition mayors was a ZANU PF weapon to cripple local councils and his party.
“This is nothing new. It is weaponization of the courts and political persecution,” said Sessel Zvidzai the MDC Alliance secretary for Local Government.
@nickmangwana What abt Marry Chiwenga? what abt Jocelyn Chiwenga What abt Tambudzani Mohadi? What about Rudo Charamba? Rudo was butchered by @Jamwanda2 & Tambudzani had her home raided by Kembo carrying an axe & @PoliceZimbabwe closed the cases. As for Marry i shall not speak?♀️
So they should only be safe at court not anywhere else in Zimbabwe?@JoanaMamombe@ceechimbiri2 and Netsai were not safe in POLICE CUSTODY..@nickmangwana , please say no to GBV, not for political mileage as you are doing here.
@nickmangwana , is Johanna Mamombe safe in the courts? Charity begins at home boss. She was tortured, brutalised and still she not safe! Here you are talking about gender based violence. Any violence must be condemned. We should feel safe, not scared! pic.twitter.com/kwBJhS5hK4
A mugodhi Apostolic Church prophet in Marange was last week arrested for allegedly raping an 18-year-old epileptic patient before threatening to curse her with mental illness if she reported the matter.
Blessing Kukumidza (30) of Tsvarai Village was not asked to plead when he appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Tendai Mahwe.
He was remanded in custody to December 9 and was advised to apply for bail at the High Court. Kukumidza had difficulties in walking when he appeared in court after he was allegedly assaulted by the young woman’s relatives and neighbours.
Mr Brian Goto prosecuted.
“The accused raped the complainant once.
“After the rape, the complainant reported the matter to some church members who went on to inform the young woman’s parents.
“The matter was reported to the police, thereby leading to Kukumidza’s arrest,” said Mr Goto.
The Zimbabwe Gender Commission chairperson, Ms Margaret Sangarwe is on record saying twenty two women are raped daily in Zimbabwe, with one woman abused every 75 minutes.
One in three girls is raped or sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18.
Meanwhile, a Mutare man allegedly bashed his girlfriend as he accused her of infecting him with a sexually transmitted disease.
Tendai Muradzikwa (24) appeared before Mutare magistrate, Ms Tamara Chibindi.
He was sentenced him to 15 days behind bars or alternatively to pay a fine of $1 500.
The court heard that on November 20, Tariro Mushamba was walking in Dangamvura when he met Muradzikwa.
Muradzikwa started shouting at Tariro, accusing her of infecting him with an STI.
Tariro denied the allegations, but Muradzikwa went on to assault her all over the body.
She sustained head injuries and bruises.
While there are various forms of violence against women, the most common is the violence perpetrated by their intimate partners.
A Bulawayo milling company, Best Blue millers Pvt Ltd was defrauded of US$98 000 in a botched maize deal by a Zimbabwean man based in South Africa, police have confirmed.
Bulawayo Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abedinico Ncube said police are looking for Never Sithole (45) in connection with the case which happened in August this year.
Insp Ncube said Sithole’s last known address 2556 Dzivarasekwa 2, Harare. “Police in Bulawayo are investigating a case of fraud that occurred in Bulawayo and South Africa. The accused is Never Sithole a man of no fixed aboard in Zimbabwe but stays at number 16 Anderson Road, Loius Trichard, South Africa.
The accused phoned the company and introduced himself as a farmer who owns a farmer in South Africa and that he and his business partner only known as Mr Marias were in a position to supply with maize,” said Insp Ncube.
Insp Ncube said Sithole told the complainant that they also owned a company called Lumar General Trading based in South Africa and he agreed to the deal.
He said the milling company owner arranged with his business partner based in South Africa to meet Mr Marias to discuss the deal after which they agreed to buy 1 632 tonnes of maize from the accused at US$225 000.
Said Insp Ncube: “Mr Marias told the complainant that for them to deliver the maize there was a need for a half down deposit payment and that was going to be done by handing over the cash to the accused person, Never Sithole.
The complainant then called Sithole on August 19 and gave him US$50 000. On the following day the complainant handed over US$8 000 to Sithole again and called his partner to make another payment in South Africa of R175 000 which was deposited to an FNB Bank. On the 27th of August 2020 the complainant handed over US$40 000 to the accused person.”
Insp Ncube says the complainant only discovered that he had been duped after failing to get hold of Mr Marias when he wanted to collect the maize as his phone was no longer reachable.
He said a report was made to police and the accused is still at large.
He appealed to anyone with information on the accused to report to their nearest police station.
FIVE of the 33 Chitungwiza Municipality councillors and officials picked up for questioning during a meeting, convened in contravention of the Urban Councils Act to replace the acting town clerk after she blocked 2000 offer letters and leases, have been formally arrested on charges of criminal abuse of office and breaching the Act.
The other 27 were released by police after being questioned. The three councillors and two officials formally arrested are: Peter Matiringe Cllr for Ward 10, Richard Chimutsa (Ward 5), Chengetai Nyagondo (Ward 14), David Duma (engineering manager) and Munyaradzi Chizanga (acting finance director).
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations were still in progress. The five were “assisting police with investigations for criminal abuse of office and violating the Urban Councils Act”, he said. The meeting was called by a group of MDC-A councillors who have been selling residential stands using backdated offer letters for alleged personal gain.
Acting Town Clerk Mrs Evangelista Machona had on Monday rescinded more than 2 000 offer letters dating back to last year and blocked the issuing of leases, a move prompted by ongoing investigations into their validity.
That in turn caused the group to move swiftly to replace her as acting town clerk with Engineer David Duma. Since everyone was or would be acting, the group figured all that was required was a simple council resolution.
The alleged scam that Mrs Machona blocked was the sale of stands last year, or this year with backdated offer letters, for US dollars with the organising councillors then paying the council in local currency at roughly 1-1 and pocketing the huge difference generated by new exchange rates.
A 200-square-metre residential stand would be sold for US$4 000 but the councillors paid a miserly $4 611,50 in local currency for each stand to the local authority. Calculations show that council could have been prejudiced of over US$8 million in potential revenue.
A Form 4 pupil at a Bulawayo school committed suicide after discovering that she was pregnant, police said.
The 17-year-old Magwegwe Secondary School pupil named only as Nokuzola is believed to have killed herself by drinking an insecticide hours after her mother excoriated her for “playing with boys” and neglecting her schoolwork.
The mother did not know at the time that her daughter is pregnant.
“Police are investigating a case of sudden death which occurred in Magwegwe suburb. The mother of the late reprimanded her on Monday evening not to play with boys as she might get pregnant while urging her to concentrate on her school work,” Inspector Abednico Ncube of Bulawayo police said.
He said the mother left home in the morning on Tuesday for her vending business leaving her daughter with their 19-year-old housekeeper.
Inspector Ncube explained: “On the same day at around 10AM, the now deceased ordered the maid to go and bath. The maid went to bath leaving the now deceased in the bedroom alone. When the maid came back from bathing she found the now deceased lying on the floor in her mother’s bedroom vomiting. The maid informed a neighbour who summoned an ambulance.”
The ambulance crew pronounced her dead on arrival and police were called.
“The police found the deceased lying on the floor in the bedroom next to a bed with vomit on the floor. An empty 100ml bottle of Dichlorvos insecticide with a purple triangle was found on top of the wardrobe. We suspect the late pupil drank the contests of the bottle,” Inspector Ncube said.
A female friend of Nokuzola told police that “she tested herself for pregnancy and confirmed that she was pregnant.”
“She also told police that the deceased had made threats to commit suicide if anyone disclosed the pregnancy to her parents,” according to Inspector Ncube.
Her body was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital for a post-mortem.
Police urged members of the public to keep dangerous chemicals like pesticides away from the reach of children.
“We also appeal to our children and youths to take heed of their parents’ counsel and desist from engaging in early sexual experiments. Young lives are unnecessarily lost due to wayward behaviour of some youths and social ills,” he said.
The parliamentary portfolio committee on primary and secondary education his week heard that a number of school girls at Bulawayo schools had fallen pregnant during the lengthy school closure caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.
MDC Alliance supporters will today gather in Chiwara village, Gutu for the memorial service of party president Nelson Chamisa’s mother who died earlier this year.
Scores of MDC Alliance supporters said they were on their way to Gutu to be with their president in his hour of need.
Chamisa’s mother Alice Chamisa died earlier this year with the funeral attracting one of the biggest crowds during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
It is expected that an almost similar gathering will today attend the memorial service.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has promoted over 5 000 officers to various ranks, in what is considered to be one of the biggest changes in the force in recent history.
Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the development to the Daily News, saying promotion is part of the job system just like in any organisation to fill vacancies that arise due to various reasons.
Over 1 511 police officers have been elevated to the rank of assistant inspector, while 173 became sergeant majors and 3 945 being promoted to the rank of sergeant.
A radio communication dispatched on November 30 which revealed the latest flurry of promotions was confirmed by Nyathi. It read:
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only the top three per each rank per district shall attend the conferment parade, taking cognisance of female representation on a ratio one female to two males.
The rest of the promoted members shall remain at their stations. Police General Headquarters departments shall submit names of members who shall attend the conferment parade to CSO admin using the same ratio per province.
All promoted members shall not put on the new badges of rank until after conferment. Staff officer ordinance shall start issuing out new badges of rank on 01/12/20 guided by this signal.
The commissioner-general of police congratulates you on the attainment of your new ranks.-Daily News
A BEER-INDUCED brawl in Headlands resulted in the death of a two month old baby who was strapped on her mother’s back after a stone thrown at one of the imbibers missed its target and struck the child.
The incident has landed Cloudius Muchenje at the High Court where he is appearing before senior Mutare High Court judge, Justice Hlekani Mwayera facing murder charges as defined in Section 47 (i) (a) or (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23. Senior public prosecutor, Mr Malvern Musarurwa said Muchenje and the father of the late child, Talent Chirombo, were drinking beer at the Zvimba homestead in Chiendambuya when tragedy struck. “The late Anxious Chirombo was aged two months at the time of his death. On the fateful day, the deceased’s father was drinking beer with other patrons who included the accused person,” said Mr Musarurwa.
As the patrons partied, Muchenje slapped Lovemore Gondo on the face. He accused him of stepping on his foot.
“Chirombo restrained the accused person from further assaulting Gondo and pushed him out of the hut. The accused person bit Chirombo on the hand and went on to assault him with fists,” said Mr Musarurwa.
Muchenje picked up stones and threw them at Chirombo. One of the stones struck Anxious who was strapped on his mother’s back as she was trying to stop the fight.
The baby died instantly.
A post mortem conducted by Dr Tendai Nyafesa revealed that the baby died due to severe head injuries.
Muchenje is, however, denying the charges.
He is admitting that he had a fight with Chirombo, but says he did not throw the stones as alleged.
Instead, he told the court that it was Chirombo who was using all sorts of weapons to attack him.
Muchenje says he never saw Anxious’ mother at the beer binge and says something else might have happened to the baby.
