A local news organisation NewsHawks has published a damning report claiming that Impala Car Rental is owned by the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation who owns controlling shares in the company.

According to NewsHawks, an investigation over two months into Impala’s affairs and Muchehiwa’s abduction in Bulawayo on 30 July shows the car hire belongs to the CIO. The kidnapping occurred a day before the 31 July protests, preceded by a sweeping crackdown on civic and political activists, including journalists, by state security agents.

Documents obtained during the investigation show that Impala – registered as Impala Carriers (Pvt) Ltd – is now owned by Chilten Trust, a CIO entity, represented by company chief executive Thompson Dondo in the car hire firm’s registration documents. Impala’s registration number is 2519/1989.
Although Impala registration documents have been removed from the company registry in Harare, The NewsHawks managed to meticulously piece together the record.

Investigations reveal Chilten Trust is a CIO entity used for administrative, operational and investments purposes.   The probe unearthed a secret arrangement between Dondo and the CIO on the ownership of the business.

The probe shows Dondo – whose National Identification card Number is 58-132451P-50 – represents CIO interests in Impala. His address was given on the documents as No. 92 McChery Avenue, Eastlea, Harare. A search for the address led to No. 92 McChlery, not McChery.

Dondo’s ID No. – the last two digits 50 – shows he is from Mutasa district in Manicaland province. The digits 58 suggest he obtained his ID from Kwekwe.
The NewsHawks journalists, then working for the Zimbabwe Independent, first came across Chilten Trust in the late 1990s and again in 2003 investigating its ties with Israeli  intelligence-linked entity Nikuv which was hired by government to produce new IDs and passports, and later biometric identity and travel documents. Nikuv, which deals with electrical issues, is infamous in Zimbabwe for election rigging controversies.

Our journalists also later encountered Chilten Trust in 2003 when it was embroiled in a failed CIO plot to frame the late MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the party’s then secretary-general Welshman Ncube and the late Renson Gasela, an MDC leader, and implicate them in false allegations that they had conspired to assassinate the late former president Robert Mugabe.

In the plot to frame MDC leaders, Chilten Trust was used by CIO as a conduit to make payments through CBZ Bank and ZB Bank (formerly ZimBank) to dodgy international Israeli public relations consultant Ari Ben-Menashe via his Canadian-based political consultancy, Dickens & Madison, between 30 November 2001 and 5 August 2002.

Documents show that Chilten Trust took control of Impala on 6 September 2017 after it had acquired 16 000 shares at a nominal value of ZW$1 each. At the time the exchange between the United States dollar and the Zimbabwean dollar was 1:1.
An Impala CR2 document, used for creating and issuing new shares or for share allotment in a private company, shows the 16 000 shares gave the CIO outfit a controlling 50.2% shareholding.
The nominal share capital of the company was 32 000 shares going for ZW$1 each. The number of shares previously allotted, including subscriber shares, was 100. This left 31 900 shares available for cash to the tune of ZW$31 900.

After Chilten Trust found its way into Impala through Dondo, on the same day – 6 September 2017 – the balance of the shares went to a company called Gutlomm Trust located on the 7th Floor of Robinson House, Harare. The company was represented by Tendai Gunda whose ID number is 50-173439E-42.

Dondo and Gunda are both from Manicaland. Gutlomm Trust is no longer present at the given address. Checks show that it has now moved to Eastlea along Samora Machel Avenue. The CR6 document says Impala is located on Number 40 Chiremba Road, Hillside, which is public knowledge.

Asked about Impala’s shareholding and CIO connection, Impala company lawyer Jivas Mudimu said: “I don’t want to lie; I’m a lawyer for Impala, but I don’t know what is in its CR14 (information on directors). I don’t think it is any of my business anyway. I don’t know who owns what at Impala.”

Following weeks of endless drama since her death in a car crash on the 8th of November, Michelle Amuli popularly known as Moana will finally be buried today after the High Court dismissed an application by her mother Yolanda Kuvaoga to gain full control of the funeral programme.

Moana who died together with controversial Harare businessman Genius Kadungure, will be buried today at Warren Hills cemetery instead of Zororo Memorial Park which had earlier been announced by Doves.

According to Amuli family members, a service for Moana will be held at Belvedere Islamic Church Hall before burial.

A close family source revealed that a meeting was held last night to deliberate on what to do with Kuvaoga who wanted to have a moment to bid farewell to her child.

“Some felt she should be given upto 2 hours to allow her friends to pay their last respect while some were opposed to the idea,” the source said.

Its not yet clear what they finally agreed on but the source said there was violent opposition to the idea of giving her mother unfettered access to the body due to how she had fought the Amuli family.

More to follow….

ONE person died and two others were seriously injured after being struck by lightning in Mutare today (Tuesday).

The incident occurred during a thunderstorm that hit the city earlier this afternoon.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident which happened near the Grain Marketing Board Depot in Sakubva.

“I can confirm that three people were struck by lightning this afternoon. One of them died on the spot and the other two were seriously injured and taken to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital where they are receiving treatment,” he said.

Insp Kakohwa, however, could not release details on the identity of the deceased and injured.

The country is expected to receive heavy rains this week accompanied by strong winds and lightning and the Meteorological Services Department has issued an alert for people to be cautious during thunderstorms and avoid seeking shelter under isolated trees or small sheds.-Manica Post

A Rusape man who stoned his mother to death following a misunderstanding over tea will spend the next 23 years in jail.

Muzowaka Macheke (47) was convicted of murder as defined in Section 47(i)(a) or (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23, when he recently appeared before Mutare High Court judge, Justice Hlekani Mwayera.

Prosecutor Ms Jane Rose Matsikidze said the murder was committed on January 27 in Chasaya Village under Chief Tandi.

“Muzowaka, his mother Mrs Monica Macheke and a domestic worker, Ms Margret Bhiza were living at the same homestead when Muzowaka committed the offence.

“On the day in question at around 3am, the accused person returned home and found his mother and Mrs Bhiza sleeping in their bedroom,” said Ms Matsikidze.

He asked for sadza and was referred to the kitchen.

“After eating, Muzowaka asked the domestic worker to make him some tea. The deceased came out of her bedroom with the intention of cooling down her son as he was now demanding the tea. However, Muzowaka did not take heed of his mother’s calls.

“Muzowaka became violent and slapped his mother, before stoning her several times on the head,” said Ms Matsikidze.

Mrs Macheke died on the spot.

Post mortem results showed that her death was due to serious head trauma.

Testifying in court, Ms Bhiza said Muzowaka was drunk when he committed the murder.

Ms Bhiza said when Muzowaka became violent, she rushed to advise Mr Morgan Macheke about the incident but when they returned, Mrs Macheke was already lying in a pool of blood.

The matter was reported to the police, thereby leading to Muzowaka’s arrest.-Manica Post

A HONDE Valley man recently confessed to killing his nine-year-old nephew for ritual purposes, before going on to harvest the minor’s private parts, arms, ears and eyes after being contracted to do so by his brother and another businessman.

However, reliable sources in the community are saying the man is walking scot-free after making the confession.

Jacob Muranganwa is now said to be facing the full wrath of his late nephew, Zedek Muranganwa’s avenging spirit which reportedly carries him outside during his sleep.

Zedek was murdered last year by his father’s brother Jacob.

The murder came to light when one of the Muranganwa siblings — John —approached acting Chief Mutasa’s court accusing his brothers — James and Abraham — of harassing him and breaching his peace.

John said James and Abraham were accusing him of killing Zedek for ritual purposes. However, things took a dramatic twist when Jacob sprung from his seat to confess to the murder.

“I cannot endure this torment anymore. Every morning I wake up sleeping outside. At first, I thought I was sleep-walking, but when I started seeing Zedek’s image every night, I knew his avenging spirit was behind it all. “Whenever it gets dark, l see the boy’s image. I am the only one who sees him, even when I am with someone else,” confessed Jacob during the court session.

Jacob said he murdered Zedek for ritual purposes and harvested the boy’s private parts, arms, ears and eyes.

Three days later, he hung the lifeless and mutilated body on a tree near the boy’s home to stage a suicide.

Jacob fingered his brother, John, businessman Kwambana and another unidentified businessman, of contracting him to carry out a ritual murder to boost their businesses. John allegedly owns a leisure centre in Honde Valley.

“Sometime last year, my brother John, Kwambana and another businessman asked me to harvest a young boy’s body parts for money-making rituals.

“The next day I saw Zedek coming from school and I lured him to my workplace — John’s grinding mill. I promised to give him some money for his school fees and he obliged. I gave him sadza laced with Maragada pills.

“He ate the sadza and dozed off moments later. I took a hammer and hit him once on the head. Zedek died instantly. I took his body and hid it behind the grinding mill.

“After closing the grinding mill, I cut off the body parts. When John and his partners came to collect the body parts, they placed the body in a refrigerator. It stayed there for three days before they instructed me to hang it near Zedek’s home to make it appear like the boy had committed suicide,” narrated Jacob.

After Jacob’s confession, Chief Mutasa ordered his aides to accompany him to Ruda Police Station as he said criminal issues were beyond his jurisdiction.

However, John died mysteriously a week later.

He was buried last Friday.

The Muranganwa siblings’ relatives who spoke to The Manica Post on condition of anonymity said John was found dead. They said they suspect that Zedek’s avenging spirit might have pushed his Uncle John into an early grave.

On the other hand, reliable sources from the community said Jacob is walking scot free after being released from police custody.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa could neither confirm nor deny the matter and said investigations were underway.

“We have called Ruda Police Station and they could neither confirm nor deny that they are handling such a case. However, word doing the rounds in the community confirms the murder case. We will need to dig deeper with the investigations to get to the bottom of the issues,” said Insp Kakohwa.-Manica Post

BENEFICIARIES of Pfumvudza and drought relief programmes should not be coerced into covering transport costs as it is Government’s responsibility to deliver grain and inputs to them, Manicaland Provincial Development Coordinator, Mr Edgars Seenza, has said.

He said those being asked to make such payments must report the cases to the police.

Mr Seenza’s comments come amid revelations that some unscrupulous Government workers in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts were conniving with transporters and village heads to demand US$1 or R20 from beneficiaries of the two programmes, yet that responsibility was being shouldered by the Government.

At least $118 million is being mobilised to transport inputs under the Climate-Proofed Presidential Inputs Programme, commonly known as Pfumvudza, from Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots.

Information gathered by The Manica Post showed that Agritex and Department of Social Welfare officials, truck drivers and village heads were charging unsuspecting beneficiaries in foreign currency for them to be included on the list of beneficiaries.

Proceeds are shared amongst members of the syndicates.-Manica Post

The Zimbabwean government has refused to bow down to pressure from education stakeholders to close all schools across the country after several schools were put under lockdown due to a high number of pupils testing positive for coronavirus.

The leader of government business in Parliament Ziyambi Ziyambi on Wednesday told Parliamentarians that there is a need to accept the new normal saying COVID-19 outbreaks at schools will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. Said Ziyambi:

What we have decided as the government is that we have to adapt and live in the new normal. What we cannot do is, if a school in Chinhoyi has an outbreak of COVID-19, we then close a school in Mutare.

We look at it case-by-case and say we have had cases here, what we do to ensure the safety of the learners as well as to ensure that learners continue learning. We have realised that we can literally have a 365-day lockdown.

This comes after coronavirus cases at schools have surged, with John Tallach in Matabeleland North recording 189, Chinhoyi High School in Mashonaland West has recorded 57 cases and Matopo High School in Matabeleland South has 10 positive cases.

Some of the schools have been quarantined to curb the spread of the virus.-Daily News

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance Deputy president, Hon Tendai Biti, has described Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s National Budget Presentation as a damp squib.

The budget has not addressed key matters affecting ordinary Zimbabweans, according to Hon Biti.

Below is Hon Biti’s argument:

“Joining SACU and the RMU is only logical … The USD has appreciated by 19 % in last two years so Zim must devalue same to a currency that’s weak but credible . Rand offers that .

Besides that is the faster way to SADC integration with all its economies of scale…

As expected this was yet another damp squib.A real missed opportunity to address the key distortion in the economy which is FX & monetary policy. The fiction of ZWL$ is not working .Real value , real wages & real incomes needed to be restored . Maintaining ZWL$ fiction is madness

The failure to restore USD wages and pensions is the ultimate theft & failure by regime .Failure to deal decisively with pensions&the Justice Smith Inquiry recommendations another disaster The raft of tax measures proposed are anti poor & anti people particularly presumptive taxes

The tax attack in the informal economy , the levying of taxes in USD, the punitive taxes on fuel makes the 2021 budget is vicious anti- working class budget. Budget assumptions are a pipe dream & 7% GDP growth rate is an illusion . The country is trouble . #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has made a bold decision to expel the party’s provincial chairperson of the Women’s Assembly (Bulawayo) for disregarding standing principles.

MDC Alliance national spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere on Thursday said the party had nothing to do with Masotsha’s utterances which she made soon after she was exonerated from allegations of plotting the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa by the dreaded Ferret team.

“The MDC Alliance unequivocally dissociates itself with the utterances expressed by Tendai Masotsha in an audio recording which was circulated publicly on or about the 24th of November 2020, post our internal inquiry.

The said utterances run contrary to the values, beliefs, principles and disposition of the party. As a matter of record, the alleged conversation with Hon Jameson Timba never took place.

As a party of rules, the National Standing Committee resolves and recommends to the National Council that Tendai Masotsha be expelled from the MDC Alliance in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution on the grounds that her conduct violates the values that govern the party and her continued membership would be detrimental to the MDC Alliance,” said Mahere.

Political analysts have urged the MDC Alliance to flush out all implants within its structures.

“This is the time to flush out moles within the party.The decision to expel Masotsha is wise and appropriate,” said a social media analyst identified as Mwana Wevhu.

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has made a bold decision to expel the party’s provincial chairperson of the Women’s Assembly (Bulawayo) for disregarding standing principles.

MDC Alliance national spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere on Thursday said the party had nothing to do with Masotsha’s utterances which she made soon after she was exonerated from allegations of plotting the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa by the dreaded Ferret team.

“The MDC Alliance unequivocally dissociates itself with the utterances expressed by Tendai Masotsha in an audio recording which was circulated publicly on or about the 24th of November 2020, post our internal inquiry.

The said utterances run contrary to the values, beliefs, principles and disposition of the party. As a matter of record, the alleged conversation with Hon Jameson Timba never took place.

As a party of rules, the National Standing Committee resolves and recommends to the National Council that Tendai Masotsha be expelled from the MDC Alliance in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution on the grounds that her conduct violates the values that govern the party and her continued membership would be detrimental to the MDC Alliance,” said Mahere.

Political analysts have urged the MDC Alliance to flush out all implants within its structures.

“This is the time to flush out moles within the party.The decision to expel Masotsha is wise and appropriate,” said a social media analyst identified as Mwana Wevhu.

Tinashe Sambiri|Mr Ishmael Amuli, the father of the late celebrity, Michelle “Moana” Amuli has said her daughter will be laid to rest at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare on Saturday.

This follows a protracted battle with Moana’s mother over burial rights.

Mr Amuli has been granted permission to bury her daughter by the High Court.

Watch video below. ..

Popular Sungura Musician Alick Macheso will before the year fold entertain his fans with a brand new single which will be released on 4 December 2020.

The single which is yet to be named, according to the sungura maestro is a Christmas present to his legion of fans and it will also be part of his forthcoming album to be released at an undisclosed date.

Macheso spoke briefly about the album before he referred all questions to his publicist and said:

The single will be out first week of December, it’s for the fans.

When contacted for comment, his Publicist Tich Makahamadze said the production of the said single is already at an advanced stage.

Macheso last made headlines when he featured in Freeman’s song Ngaibake whose video garnered over 2.8 million views on YouTube.-H-Metro

GIRLS College in Bulawayo has indefinitely closed following a Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.

This development comes at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Bulawayo which now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.

One more person had died of Covid-19 in Bulawayo on Tuesday, the only death recorded in Zimbabwe as new cases continue rising in the country.

The country recorded 110 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 106 being local and the remainder returnees from Botswana and no deaths were recorded in the same period.

Of the new cases, Bulawayo was leading after recording 53 followed by Matabeleland South on 28 and Midlands recorded 15.

As at 25 November 2020, Zimbabwe had 9 506 confirmed cases, including 8 336 recoveries and 274 deaths.
Bulawayo has in the past five days recorded seven deaths which constitutes 77 percent of the total deaths reported in Zimbabwe during the same time.

The city has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe at 233 against 827 cases in the whole country.

Of the 462 new cases recorded in Zimbabwe in the last six days, 205 were from Bulawayo and authorities have said the upsurge is a testament of a good contact tracing and testing system.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo confirmed the Girls College incident saying contact tracing is currently ongoing.

He bemoaned the increase of Covid-19 in the province saying it’s a worrying trend.

“We are recording a steady rise in number of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of late. This is obviously a worrying trend, but we believe it’s also testament to our strong surveillance system in the province. It means we are suspecting and testing the right segment of the population. It’s testament to good contact tracing,” he said.

“This unfortunately also reveals that Covid-19 continues to spread in the community. Bulawayo is expecting a sharp rise in number of returning residents from Botswana and South Africa, Injiva. As such, we are working on some measures to put in place to ensure safety of communities and to minimise spread of the virus over the holiday season.”

He called on residents to protect lives by practising safety measures which include the proper wearing of masks, social distancing and the washing of hands with either soap or hand sanitizer. “It is absolutely crucial that we practice these measures with a high level of discipline as we are now approaching the holiday season.

This can potentially present a challenge as the buzz of activity expected during this period will see an exponential rise in the number of cases. So, what we do now as Bulawayo will have a bearing on the number of cases we will experience over the festive period as well,” added Dr Mlilo.

Concerned parents said their children were informed yesterday morning that Girls College had to close to avert the spread of Covid-19.

In a letter addressed to parents dated November 24, Girls College principal Mrs Les Ross said the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students with daily monitoring of temperatures, regular sanitising of all surfaces, mask wearing and social distancing.

“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” read the statement.

She said the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left the school and hostels some time before the dance.-Chronicle

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Kazembe Kazembe on Friday held a closed meeting at the offices of the Musina Local Municipality in Limpopo to discuss immigration matters.

Motsoaledi and Kazembe were to later visit the Beitbridge border post. The meeting comes as undocumented foreign nationals continue to enter South Africa from Zimbabwe through the porous border.

The army and the police have started a campaign to push undocumented foreign nationals back to Zimbabwe.

Early this year the Department of Public Works erected a controversial low-quality R37 million border fence.

Recently South Africa started what it termed a push back strategy. This involves soldiers forcefully pushing hundreds of illegal immigrants entering South Africa through the fence back to Zimbabwe by soldiers. On Tuesday soldiers chased hundreds of illegal foreigners.

The fence was procured in terms of the COVID-19 prevention measures to stop the inflow of people from neighbouring countries.

HIGHLANDERS FC have announced a three-year partnership with new technical sponsor, England-based sportswear provider On the Ball (OTB) worth US$300 000.

Bosso, who have parted ways with sportswear manufacturer Roar, announced the arrival of OTB as their new sponsor at a colourful ceremony at a Bulawayo hotel yesterday.

The partnership, which was meant to kick in at the start of the 2020 season, is subject to renewal.

Bosso got four sets of playing kit, a short and long-sleeved traditional zebra-striped shirt, which they can alternate with black or white shorts, as well as an all-black and all-white playing kit.

The deal also includes four sets of training kit made up of neon, orange, red and peppermint green, accompanied by black shorts.

The peppermint training kit, which looks bluish, has already raised debate in social media, with the club’s followers associating the colour with perennial rivals Dynamos.

The training kit will also be used for warm-ups.

The traveling kit, which the technical team will also wear on the bench, comprises white golf shirts, with a splash of grey as well as black golf tops. The tops can either be worn with black tracksuit pants or black shorts.

The ZANU PF secretary for administration, Obert Mpofu has announced that the party’s District Coordinating Committees (DCCs) elections will be held on 5 and 6 December 2020.

Mpofu made the announcement at the ZANU PF Headquarters on Friday evening during the National Spokesperson’s Editors Cocktail Dinner.

Mpofu said voting will be done from 0800hrs to 1600hrs at the respective designated Ward centres across all the 8 provinces and only candidates which were vetted and approved by the National Security Department and Commissariat will participate in the elections.

He added that the national elections Command Centre will be located at the Party Headquarters in Harare and will be presided by the national chair, secretaries for administration, security, national political commissar and other supporting Politburo members.

Mpofu said the DCC elections will be governed by the following parameters:

The Electoral College will consist of District Executive Committee Members
Deployment of Supervisory Teams to Provinces will be on the 3rd December 2020
The Voters Roll will be as per the – 2017/2018 approved Membership Registers
The Elections Supervisory Team – Each Province will be supervised by a team from a different province
Ballot Papers will only consist of the approved candidates.

The Zimbabwean government has refused to bow down to pressure from education stakeholders to close all schools across the country after several schools were put under lockdown due to a high number of pupils testing positive for coronavirus.

The leader of government business in Parliament Ziyambi Ziyambi on Wednesday told Parliamentarians that there is a need to accept the new normal saying COVID-19 outbreaks at schools will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. Said Ziyambi:

What we have decided as the government is that we have to adapt and live in the new normal. What we cannot do is, if a school in Chinhoyi has an outbreak of COVID-19, we then close a school in Mutare.

We look at it case-by-case and say we have had cases here, what we do to ensure the safety of the learners as well as to ensure that learners continue learning. We have realised that we can literally have a 365-day lockdown.

This comes after coronavirus cases at schools have surged, with John Tallach in Matabeleland North recording 189, Chinhoyi High School in Mashonaland West has recorded 57 cases and Matopo High School in Matabeleland South has 10 positive cases.

Some of the schools have been quarantined to curb the spread of the virus.

More: Daily News

Some unions representing teachers have vowed that their members will not invigilate Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examinations which start on 1 December saying the exams body should have a separate arrangement with them.

In a letter dated 23 November 2020 and addressed to the Public Service Commission and Primary and Secondary Education ministry, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said:

We also officially inform you that our members will not invigilate Zimsec examinations because they do not work for that parastatal.

If ZIMSEC wishes to secure their services, it should negotiate with them for remuneration commensurate with that duty.

We stand ready to facilitate that dialogue before the examination session starts in earnest on December 1.

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said its members were still incapacitated and were also not in a position to invigilate the examinations.

Both unions, PTUZ and ARTUZ, advised their members to report for duty, with the former saying teachers should only work for a maximum of three days a week while the former has encouraged its members to attend school once every week.

Harare magistrate Bianca Makwande has postponed to Saturday (tomorrow) the bail ruling for Harare mayor Jacob Mafume who was arrested on Wednesday on criminal abuse of office charges.

Mafume allegedly forced Harare City Council officials to parcel out some stands in Harare’s Westlea suburb to his sister and colleague.

The State opposed bail on the grounds that Mafume will likely interfere with witnesses and could also abscond.

Through his lawyer Tonderai Bhatasara, Mafume said there was no way he could interfere with investigations because he is not a Council employee. Said Bhatasara:

As an officer of this court, the accused is aware of the dire consequences of breaching bail.

He is a legal practitioner for 20 years; he is married with two kids. He has a car and immovable property being a residential stand in Mt Pleasant.

He is a mayor of Harare and earns about $6 000 from this job. He generates $100 000 a month from his practice as a lawyer.

Mafume is denying the charges. He said if he had indeed committed the offences, then the witnesses would be accomplices because they are the ones who have powers to parcel out stands.

HENRIETTA Rushwaya today complained in court that her 6kg gold was being tampered with at Fidelity Printers and Refiners saying it has since lost three grams in weight and also lost 6 percent of its purity.

Rushwaya, through her lawyer Mr Tapson Dzvetero, said she was also subjected to harassment during the time she will be moved from Chikurubi Maximum Prison to Fidelity Printers and Refiners for re-assaying of the said gold, which is kept as an exhibit.

Rushwaya said she was harassed on November 19, 20 and 23 where she was taken from Chikurubi Maximum Prison to Fidelity Printers and Refiners for re-assay of the gold.

“The gold that has been seized from accused and its weight has since varied with three grams.

“The purity percentage has materially varied with some blocks ranging from 93 percent and others now more than 100 percent.

“It is our view that once this gold was taken in the hands of police as exhibit it is now subject to the court’s directive.

“She cannot be asked to sign for the gold as she is no longer in her custody. The gold has since lost its purity by 6 percent,” said Mr Dzvetero.

Rushwaya is jointly charged with businessman Ali Muhamad, security agents Stephen Tserai and Raphios Mufandauya, miner Gift Karanda on smuggling.

Watch the video loading below…..

https://youtu.be/yNJBHsXALiY

By A Correspondent- The late socialite Michelle “Moana” Amuli will finally be laid to rest on Saturday, 28 November 2020 at 1 pm at Warren Hills Cemetery.

This comes after High Court judge Justice Pisirai Kwenda on Friday dismissed, with costs, an urgent chamber application filed by Moana’s mother Yolander Kuvaoga.

Kuvaoga filed the application at the High Court last week seeking to have the burial order issued on 18 November nullified.

She wanted her estranged husband and Moana’s father, Ishamel Amuli to be prevented from renouncing their prior agreement that Moana be buried at Zororo Cemetery.

However, Justice Kwenda today ruled that since Moana was born to the Amuli family, it is a constitutional value that cannot be taken away as she identified with the customs of her family.

He added that Amuli raised the deceased and was her sole custodian and he chose the religion (Islam) for her and there was no evidence that she openly renounced Islam from 2013 when she became an adult.

Justice Kwenda concluded by saying that the burial order of 18 November was correctly issued and there was nothing wrong with its issuance and therefore it remains valid.

Moana will therefore be buried in accordance with Muslim rites as her father, Ishmael Amuli, who raised her single-handedly is a Muslim.

https://fb.watch/20Lg7OPq2o/

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance Deputy president, Hon Tendai Biti, has described Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s National Budget Presentation as a damp squib.

The budget has not addressed key matters affecting ordinary Zimbabweans, according to Hon Biti.

Below is Hon Biti’s argument:

“Joining SACU and the RMU is only logical … The USD has appreciated by 19 % in last two years so Zim must devalue same to a currency that’s weak but credible . Rand offers that .

Besides that is the faster way to SADC integration with all its economies of scale…

As expected this was yet another damp squib.A real missed opportunity to address the key distortion in the economy which is FX & monetary policy. The fiction of ZWL$ is not working .Real value , real wages & real incomes needed to be restored . Maintaining ZWL$ fiction is madness

The failure to restore USD wages and pensions is the ultimate theft & failure by regime .Failure to deal decisively with pensions&the Justice Smith Inquiry recommendations another disaster The raft of tax measures proposed are anti poor & anti people particularly presumptive taxes

The tax attack in the informal economy , the levying of taxes in USD, the punitive taxes on fuel makes the 2021 budget is vicious anti- working class budget. Budget assumptions are a pipe dream & 7% GDP growth rate is an illusion . The country is trouble . #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

By A Correspondent- The Daily News has dispelled media reports that Zimbabweans Mogul Kuda Tagwirei acquired a stake in a company that publishes the Daily News, The Daily News reports.

According to the publication, online media had claimed that Tagwirei bought the Daily News:

In its e-paper yesterday, the Zim Morning Post also claimed that Tagwirei is a shareholder in Modus Media the publisher of the iconic and market leading business newspaper, The Financial Gazette.

Similarly, the paper also claimed that Tagwirei is a shareholder in Jester Media Services, the owners of the newly licensed 3K television station. This is simply not true.

Rather embarrassingly too, the paper also claimed that Modus Media is owned by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe the publisher of the Daily News. This is false.

Rather ridiculously, Zim Morning Post further claimed that “the Daily News’ application (presumably for a TV licence) coincided with a radical shift in the publications (sic) editorial policy” — adding, for good measure, that “The pro-government policy coupled with Tagwirei’s influence appears to have catapulted the publications’ TV licence application to land one of six slots on offer”.

This is false and defamatory, as it suggests that Jester Media Services won its openly and transparently tendered TV licence through devious and corrupt methods.

The publication dismissed these reports and said Jester Media Services, Modus Media and 3K TV are owned by one family and claimed by ZimMorning Post that Jester Media Services won its TV license tendered publicly through devious and corrupt methods is defamatory.

A spokesperson for the stakeholders affected by the alleged false reports denied even doing business with Tagwirei at any point and said:

Neither the shareholders nor the directors of Jester Media Services, Modus Media and ANZ (which publishes the Daily News) have ever met, let alone had any business or social dealings with Mr Tagwirei. The malicious intentions by those peddling all these falsehoods are clear, and this is to impact negatively on the concerned businesses.

A clear demonstration of this co-ordinated malice is that none of those who have written all these false stories have ever attempted to verify their misplaced claims with us. But it will be well,” a spokesperson for the shareholders said.

Because the Zim Morning Post story went beyond the boundaries of incompetence and erroneous reportage, legal action will be taken against it. The extreme fascination with our businesses is a source of major mystery for us, with many people, especially journalists who should know these things seemingly keen to donate shareholders to us

Tinashe Sambiri|In the video footage below President Nelson Chamisa blasts Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF for misleading the nation.

According to President Chamisa, Mr Mnangagwa has created deaths for all instead of health for all.

See link below :
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3730550550339449&id=150154425045764

By A Correspondent | First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa was on Friday morning spotted in Domboshawa road driving with a reduced motorcade of only 2 cars, a Range Rover and a Toyota Hilux.

Her normal entourage comprises:
7 cars minimum: 3 in front, Range Rover in the middle, and 3 other cars at the back.

She was alone in the back seat; At the front was her driver and a female bodyguard.
In the twin cab were 3 people, 2 male, and 1 female.

Inquiries by ZimEye.com at the time of writing could not establish the reason for her humble appearance.

WHY DO THINK IS THE REASON FOR THE REDUCED MOTORCADE?

The development comes against the backdrop of a rift between Auxillia  and her husband, Emmerson, and as at mid last year, an audio recording surfacing of a woman sound-a-like the First Lady, pleading with a military intelligence officer to kill her husband in her stead. 

The audio which surfaced around July, has ‘Auxillia’ telling the army officer he could go ahead and kill Mnangagwa.

“You are spying on me, if you ask Manjoro he will tell you that I told him that I will ask you about it, what do you want from me Murombo?

“If I die, it is on you who’s done it,” she continued.

She added saying: 

You were using Manjoro to tell you of my whereabouts and now that he is gone you have started again.”

The woman then continued ranting saying

“Just tell me what you want from me Murombo because you cannot spy on me. It is almost a year and I have been quiet.

“Why are you spying on me? Why?”

She added:

“This matter wont stop. I am coming to your office, it is better you pull out your gun and shoot me.”

Just as the male at the end of the other line tried desperately to answer her, the female voice continued demanding answers: 

“Who are you telling my whereabouts? What do you need that information for? I am coming to deal with you,” shouted ‘Auxillia.’

She then told him to kill her husband in her stead. She said:

“If it is Mnangagwa whom you do not want just kill him and leave me alone I have my own surname, I do not speak politics, I do not speak about the army, what if I die another death do you think you will survive?

“You planted Mhlanga in my office as low in rank as he is, do you think I am a fool. I am a trained somebody. You are seeking to deal with Mnangagwa through me through tracking my phone, am I Mnangagwa?” she asked.

Towards the end, she began pleading for the soldier to spare her life. She said:

“You are stupid, I will expose you, I do not care about your post but you personally. I am shocked. I am just a woman, a granny but I have powerful people like you spying on me. Go shoot Mnangagwa and spare me. I am no threat to anyone.

“Go and shoot Mnangagwa do not shoot me, I am not a threat, go and shoot Mnangagwa,” she said. – ZimEye

WHY DO THINK IS THE REASON FOR THE REDUCED MOTORCADE?

By A Correspondent- Henrietta Rushwaya today complained in court that her 6kg gold was being tampered with at Fidelity Printers and Refiners saying it has since lost three grams in weight and also lost 6 percent of its purity.

Rushwaya, through her lawyer Mr Tapson Dzvetero, said she was also subjected to harassment during the time she will be moved from Chikurubi Maximum Prison to Fidelity Printers and Refiners for re-assaying of the said gold, which is kept as an exhibit.

Rushwaya said she was harassed on November 19, 20 and 23 where she was taken from Chikurubi Maximum Prison to Fidelity Printers and Refiners for re-assay of the gold.

“The gold that has been seized from accused and its weight has since varied with three grams.

“The purity percentage has materially varied with some blocks ranging from 93 percent and others now more than 100 percent.

“It is our view that once this gold was taken in the hands of police as exhibit it is now subject to the court’s directive.

“She cannot be asked to sign for the gold as she is no longer in her custody. The gold has since lost its purity by 6 percent,” said Mr Dzvetero.

Rushwaya is jointly charged with businessman Ali Muhamad, security agents Stephen Tserai and Raphios Mufandauya, miner Gift Karanda on smuggling

Video loading below….

https://youtu.be/yNJBHsXALiY

https://youtu.be/yNJBHsXALiY

https://www.facebook.com.ZimEye/videos/653225158701350/

https://youtu.be/55Bp_oZI8NY

ED's government allocates ZWL$23.8 Billion for Defence, ZW$14.4 Billion for Higher Education. Leave a comment for the Mnangagwa led gvnt. @cazawaty @zanupf_patriots @MakomboreroH @mdczimbabwe @APAZimbabwe @NgarivhumeJacob @DMwonzora @DavidColtart @DrNyashaForMP @DrNkuSibanda

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 27, 2020

Moana burial determination to be delivered today at the High Court. What do you think the verdict will be? #Moanafuneral #Moanaburial (vid credit- HMetro) pic.twitter.com/r7qj0xCVEZ

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 27, 2020

Thanks Makore bail application, verdict announcement delayed, as Judge says it will be passed on the 3rs Dec. Mr Thanks Makore is the uncle to the late 7 year old Murehwa child, Tapiwa Makore who was found killed and his body severally dismembered on 17th Sept 2020.

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 27, 2020

By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa today left the country for Botswana where he will attend an extraordinary SADC Troika Summit. The news was shared by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Service which shared the update on Twitter and said:

His Excellency, President @edmnangagwa has left the country for the Republic of Botswana where he will attend an Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit. In his absence, VP KCD Mohadi is the Acting President.

According to The Herald, the agenda of the summit will be to address the challenge of terrorism and violent attacks affecting the region:

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi will host the indaba that is expected to address the challenge of terrorism and violent attacks through interventions and which is also expected to fully operationalize the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and urgently finalize the establishment of the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre (SADC-CTC).

-twitter

By A Correspondent- Defiant teachers have dug in demanding provision of personal protective equipment for fear of contracting COVID-19 before returning to the classrooms.

The teachers also vowed not to invigilate Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) examinations, saying the examination body should have a separate arrangement with them.

Teachers last week begrudgingly accepted a 41% salary increase and have since registered their displeasure, but they have been under pressure from a shadowy Zanu-PFlinked union called Zimbabwe Parents Union (ZPU) to report back to work.

In a memo to members dated November 26, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) said its members were still incapacitated and vowed to snub invigilating the examinations.

“This note serves to remind each and every one of us that we are still incapacitated, but we are encouraging all our members to attend school once every week for the next three weeks to assess adherence of schools to COVID-19 regulations,” the memo, signed by Artuz secretary-general Robson Chere, read.

“We are informed of shocking COVID-19 reports emanating from schools. As Artuz members, we will not take part in invigilating end of year Zimsec examinations. We will not be drawn to invigilate learners that we did not teach for the whole year due to incapacitation and COVID-19-induced lockdown.”

Another teachers union, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) wrote to the Public Service Commission and Primary and Secondary Education ministry saying its members will not report full-time for duty, citing COVID-19 fears.

“We would like to officially notify you that our members will not be able to report for work full-time due to the continued state of incapacitation,” part of the letter by PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe, dated November 23 read.

“The agreement reached with government on remuneration last Monday did not capacitate us as expected. It still falls short of the minimum expenses that our members have to meet, which we estimate to be not less than US$520 which we demanded. Government has even failed to meet the consumer basket, announced by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe as about $21 000 and by our own research, not less than $28 000.”

Majongwe added: “Our members have had to report for work under duress, but will be able to do so for a maximum of three days a week. This enables them to hustle around to fend for the families. We regret to inform you that this situation will persist until government fully capacitates them to report for work full-time.

“We also officially inform you that our members will not invigilate Zimsec examinations because they do not work for that parastatal. If Zimsec wishes to secure their services, it should negotiate with them for remuneration commensurate with that duty. We stand ready to facilitate that dialogue before the examination session starts in earnest on December 1.”

Majongwe also requested for a waiver on teachers with chronic conditions to stop reporting for duty until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.-newsday

By A Correspondent- Police in Lupane have arrested a man suspected to be a member of a three-man gang that armed itself with a machete, knife, screw drivers and catapult before unleashing terror on residents whom they robbed of valuables.

Qhubekani Sibanda (23) of Gomoza village who sometimes resided at 6825 Mkhosana in Victoria Falls allegedly committed the crimes in the company of two accomplices, Elvis Ntutha Manzini and another who is yet to be identified. Both are still at large.

The trio allegedly armed themselves with a machete, catapult, knife and two screw drivers.

Sibanda was apprehended by residents who mobilised and ambushed the gang. His two accomplices fled.

Sibanda was not asked to plead to seven counts of robbery when he appeared before Lupane resident magistrate Mr Ndumo Masuku who advised him to approach the High Court for bail.

He was remanded in custody to December 7.

Prosecuting, Mr Clive Gumbo said the trio hatched a plan to rob people and targeted cellphones and cash from those they found on the streets at night.

The complainants are Ms Siphethangani Msipha (22), Mr Shepherd Moyo (22), Mr Mmeli Nkomo (20), Mr Praise Dube (25), Mr Only Nyathi (53), Mr Mugande Dingane (25) and Mr Douglas Sibanda all of Lupane.

“On the 19th day of November at around 9pm, the accused person in the company of two accomplices Elvis Ntutha Manzini and another who is yet to be identified and at large, proceeded to New Stands armed with a machete, catapult, knife and two screw drivers with the intention to commit robberies. The accused person met the complainant Ms Msipha who was waiting for her boyfriend at a road near Roman Catholic Church and demanded a cellphone from her and she resisted,” said Mr Gumbo.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent| Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has approached the Harare Magistrates Court to get his passport back in order to travel out of the country for medical attention.

Chin’ono had two cases before the Harare Magistrates court and is out on bail.

The award winning journalist said he met and had a chat with corruption accused Dellish Nguwaya at the magistrate Court.

By A Correspondent- Girls College in Bulawayo has indefinitely closed following a Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.

This development comes at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Bulawayo which now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.

One more person had died of Covid-19 in Bulawayo on Tuesday, the only death recorded in Zimbabwe as new cases continue rising in the country.

The country recorded 110 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 106 being local and the remainder returnees from Botswana and no deaths were recorded in the same period.

Of the new cases, Bulawayo was leading after recording 53 followed by Matabeleland South on 28 and Midlands recorded 15.

As at 25 November 2020, Zimbabwe had 9 506 confirmed cases, including 8 336 recoveries and 274 deaths. Bulawayo has in the past five days recorded seven deaths which constitutes 77 percent of the total deaths reported in Zimbabwe during the same time.

The city has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe at 233 against 827 cases in the whole country.

Of the 462 new cases recorded in Zimbabwe in the last six days, 205 were from Bulawayo and authorities have said the upsurge is a testament of a good contact tracing and testing system.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo confirmed the Girls College incident saying contact tracing is currently ongoing.

He bemoaned the increase of Covid-19 in the province saying it’s a worrying trend.

“We are recording a steady rise in number of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of late. This is obviously a worrying trend, but we believe it’s also testament to our strong surveillance system in the province. It means we are suspecting and testing the right segment of the population. It’s testament to good contact tracing,” he said.

“This unfortunately also reveals that Covid-19 continues to spread in the community. Bulawayo is expecting a sharp rise in number of returning residents from Botswana and South Africa, Injiva. As such, we are working on some measures to put in place to ensure safety of communities and to minimise spread of the virus over the holiday season.”

He called on residents to protect lives by practising safety measures which include the proper wearing of masks, social distancing and the washing of hands with either soap or hand sanitizer. “It is absolutely crucial that we practice these measures with a high level of discipline as we are now approaching the holiday season.

This can potentially present a challenge as the buzz of activity expected during this period will see an exponential rise in the number of cases. So, what we do now as Bulawayo will have a bearing on the number of cases we will experience over the festive period as well,” added Dr Mlilo.

Concerned parents said their children were informed yesterday morning that Girls College had to close to avert the spread of Covid-19.

In a letter addressed to parents dated November 24, Girls College principal Mrs Les Ross said the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students with daily monitoring of temperatures, regular sanitising of all surfaces, mask wearing and social distancing.

“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” read the statement.

She said the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left the school and hostels some time before the dance.

“As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Bulawayo is on the increase, we once again remind parents not to send their daughters to school if they are unwell or have a temperature.

“We continue to offer lessons and exams online to any students who feel they are at risk or may have been in contact with someone who is infected.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Gideon Mapokotera, the former Personal Assistant (PA) to fired Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo has been arrested.

Police picked Mapokotera on Thursday at about 2.30 pm on allegations of criminal abuse of office.

Mapokotera allegedly facilitated the issuance of visas to Ali Mohammad and his family to gain access into the country in contravention of section 174 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.

It is the State’s case that Mapokotera created visa application letters on June 18, 2019, for a single entry visa, September 26, 2019, for a multiple entry visa and November 24, 2019, for multiple entry visas for Ali Mohammad’s family – wife and six children.

The accused person had not been given authority by his principal and further did not bring the heinous development to his attention up to the 25th of November 2020 when the principal was made aware after investigations commenced.

Meanwhile, Muhammad has a case pending before the courts. He is charged together with Henrietta Rushwaya and others on smuggling, unlawful possession of gold, charges which they all deny.

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is expected to join other Heads of State and Governments in Botswana today for a one-day SADC Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit that will focus on emerging terrorism threats in the region particularly in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The SADC Troika of the Organ of Politics and Defence includes Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe as the current, incoming and outgoing Chair of the Organ respectively.

The Heads of State Troika meeting follows yesterday’s indaba attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo (the outgoing Troika Ministerial Committee of the Organ chair), his South African counterpart Dr Naledi Pandor (incoming chairperson) and the chairperson of the committee Dr Lemogang Kwape, Botswana’s Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi is hosting the indaba that is expected to address the challenge of terrorism and violent attacks through interventions.

The meeting is also expected to deliberate on the need to fully operationalise the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and urgently finalise the establishment of the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre (SADC-CTC).

In his opening remarks, Dr Lemogang Kwape told the Troika that although the region was entrenching democracy and enjoying peace, emerging threats of terrorism from Mozambique and the DRC were a cause for concern.

“Your Excellencies, while much has been done to consolidate democracy and to ensure that our region remains peaceful, there are emerging challenges that pose a serious threat to the stability and tranquillity that we have become so accustomed to.

“This, therefore, means that we cannot afford to be complacent and bask on our past glories.

“We must seriously review the political and security challenges in the region, with a view to respond to these emerging threats,” said Minister Kwape.

She said SADC needed to work together in the spirit of solidarity and togetherness, to pre-empt any latent and active forces within and without, that may threaten the peace and tranquillity in the region.

The SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, known as the Troika is the body whose overall objective is to promote peace and security in the region in line with Article 2 of the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

It is mandated to steer and provide member states with direction regarding matters that threaten peace, security and stability in the region.

The organ is coordinated at the level of a summit, consisting of a chairperson, the next leader designated to be chairperson and immediate past chairperson.

Mozambique, which is under threat from an Islamic insurgency operating in its northern Cabo Delgado Province, has filed a formal request for support from the regional body.

A MAN who was caught having se_x in a car with his girlfriend almost died after three unknown men who were armed with a knife and a knobkerrie stabbed him several times all over the body and left him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

They robbed him of a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash all with a total value of US$5 300.

They smashed windows on the passenger’s side and driver’s side before attacking Ngonidzashe Ninge (42) and his girlfriend Nozizwe Khumalo (21) at a bushy area which is between Hyde Park Shops and Nkulumane complex. The source said Ninge had lowered his trousers to knee level with a cond0m on while Nozizwe had pulled up her skirt while they enjoyed themselves in the car.

Unfortunately, the source said, one of the men grabbed the hapless Ninge and pulled him out of his black Nissan X-Trail car.

The source said he tried to reason with them but they would not listen to his pleas.

Another source who is close to the pair said: “They took turns to clobber Ninge while accusing him of taking advantage of Nozizwe saying she was too young for him,” said the source.

They were not done yet with Ninge as they demanded cash while assaulting him.

A source close to investigations said Ninge sustained three stab wounds on the head, another wound on the right side of the back and bruises all over the body. The accused persons took away his Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash.

Nozizwe phoned Pumula police station and made a report. Police attended the scene.

“They found Ninge lying unconscious on the ground in a pool of blood. They phoned an ambulance which came and ferried him to Mater Dei Hospital,” said a source close to the pair.

Efforts to get a comment from Ninge were fruitless. Khumalo could neither confirm nor deny as she only said “who told you that” before she terminated the call.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed:

“We are investigating a case of attempted murder where a man was attacked while he was having se_x in a car with his girlfriend at around 7.30pm at a bushy area which is between Hyde Park Shops and Nkulumane complex. He was robbed of his Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash, all valued at US$5 300. We would like to urge community members not to indulge in se_x in the bush because it’s illegal and dangerous.”

B – Metro

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume is expected to appear in court today on allegations of illegally parcelling out residential stands to his sister and secretary.

Mafume was arrested on Wednesday and is set to face criminal abuse of office charges.

National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the arrest.

The Herald could not establish some of the charges he might face, beyond his involvement in the illegal parcelling out of stands in Harare.

Mafume is alleged to have unlawfully allocated residential stands to his sister and secretary under unclear circumstances.

The stands are believed to be in Westlea, Harare.

A number of other council bosses have been arrested over the Westlea stands, while others were nabbed over the Kuwadzana stands scandal.

Mafume is councillor for Ward 17 and was elected mayor in September following the recall of the then mayor, Herbert Gomba, by the MDC-T.

Zimbabwe Independent

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa, his deputy Constantino Chiwenga and Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, locked in a vicious duel to wrest and consolidate state power, are manoeuvring to control the lucrative gold sector, in a country where US$1,5 billion in potential revenue is lost through smuggling of the precious mineral.

This was revealed by research think-tank International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report titled: All that glitters is not gold: Turmoil in Zimbabwe’s Mining Sector.

Chiwenga served as the Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, while Moyo was a senior commander when Mnangagwa rose to power through a military coup that brought the late former president Robert Mugabe’s rule to a close in 2017.

The report by ICG comes after the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and her son Collins were implicated in the high-profile trial of Henrietta Rushwaya, who was arrested while attempting to smuggle a 6kg gold contraband, worth US$330 000, to Dubai.

In the report, ICG highlights that the trio have been making power play moves to gain control of the gold industry to outmanoeuvre each other politically. The three strong men are reportedly leading competing factions within Zanu PF and the government.

“On the other hand, artisanal miners are an important constituency in Zimbabwe’s patronage politics, particularly as practiced by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu PF). Several Zanu PF politicians have been fingered as ‘patrons’ of illegally encroaching artisanal miners, or even machete gangs, and some mobilise such groups against rivals,” it says.

“Some observers contend that ‘whoever controls the gold, will control and rule Zimbabwe’, referring to power struggles between party factions loyal to Mnangagwa, on one side, and his Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, on the other . . . The latter is seemingly positioning himself to challenge Mnangagwa for Zanu PF leadership ahead of the 2023 elections, although another, possibly stronger challenger, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, has also emerged.”

ICG highlights that gold smuggling has thrived in Zimbabwe largely due to the monopoly to buy the precious metal the Central Bank enjoys through Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR).

It reads: “Several factors contribute to instability in Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector. A centralised gold buying scheme depresses government gold revenues, encourages smuggling and contributes to industrial mine closures. All gold producers in Zimbabwe, whether artisanal, small-scale or industrial, must, by law, sell to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe via its subsidiary gold buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR).

“This requirement has several deleterious effects on the gold sector. The main problem is that FPR underpays and sometimes pays late for gold. The body pays producers partially in US dollars and partially in amounts of Zimbabwe dollars determined by the official exchange rate.”

The bulk of the smuggled gold, according to ICG, is spirited to Dubai.

In yet another report by the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW), the research body advances that argument that gold production and its attendant marketing system in Zimbabwe presents an opportunity for cartels to launder money through smuggling of the precious metal.

The SARW report is called Artisanal Miners Robbed in Broad Daylight: Zimbabwe Gold Monopoly as a Conduit to Canalise Forex and Cannibalise Bodies.

As part of its investigation to cast light on the systemic gold smuggling in Zimbabwe fuelled by cartels with strong political ties, SARW emphasises that FPR declined to disclose the identity of its gold producers and the size of their sales.

“Though Securities and Exchange Commission documents show FPR as a supplier for US companies, from Acer to Control4, this is increasingly rare as the recourse to Dubai shifts origin to provenance allowing for companies to displace supplier origin with refiners. In addition, FPR declined to provide lists or details of enterprise names, jurisdiction, private external turnover and debt,” the report released last week reads.

“This extreme legal and financial secrecy works in tandem with Dubai’s hosting of the world’s only cash-for-gold market, where refiners can buy gold using only a receipt, thus eliminating origin on export. Bearing in mind that Dubai’s gold trade (estimated to be worth US$75-billion a year) refines more than 40% of the world’s gold, which is often exported to Switzerland, we have a major commodity market shielded from examination and legal oversight.”

In 2013, before legislation which monopolised gold buying in the hands of FPR, Zimbabwe produced 14 001kg of gold. Output rose to 20 022kg in 2015.

In 2018, production rose to over 35 042kg.

SARW attributes the upswing of gold output from 2013 to 2018, largely to the contribution of artisanal miners, whose mining operations are opaque.

“But this rapid turnaround in accumulated volume was not due to an increase in corporate production, efficiency by the state or fair dealing. If anything, the state deepened financial opacity and control by strategically canalising the hungry and desperate will of Zimbabwe’s artisanal miners who were the producers of such output,” the SARW report reads.

Correspondent

MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti, who is a former Finance Minister, said the 2021 national budget, presented by Treasury chief Mthuli Ncube this Thursday, is yet another “damp squib” as expected.

Biti said the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar has failed and the government should have re-dollarised the economy to restore the real value of wages and pensions.

Said Biti:

“As expected this was yet another damp squib. A real missed opportunity to address the key distortion in the economy which is forex and monetary policy.

“The fiction of Zimbabwe dollar is not working. The real value, real wages and real incomes needed to be restored. Maintaining Zimbabwe dollar fiction is madness.

“The failure to restore USD wages and pensions is the ultimate theft and failure by the regime. Failure to deal decisively with pensions and the Justice Smith Inquiry recommendations is another disaster.”

Biti also castigated the tax measures proposed by Ncube in his 2021 national budget which include a 20% levy on the export sales value of dried medicinal cannabis flowers.

Biti added:

“The raft of tax measures proposed are anti-poor and anti-people particularly presumptive taxes

“The tax attack in the informal economy, the levying of taxes in USD, the punitive taxes on fuel makes the 2021 budget is vicious anti-working-class budget.

“Budget assumptions are a pipe dream and 7% GDP growth rate is an illusion. The country is in trouble.”

Paul Nyathi

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube says that he will bring back to life defunct and debt-stricken Ziscosteel in 2021.

Mthuli Ncube made the big promise while presenting the country’s 2021 National Budget in parliament on Thursday.

“In 2021, Government will resuscitate Ziscosteel through innovation and harnessing inward opportunities, while working closely with local investors. This will be done through courting new investors who will bring new technology and new skills.

“The revival of Ziscosteel is key to the economy through its potential benefits in job creation and value chain impact in companies such as National Railways of Zimbabwe and Hwange Colliery and the resultant savings in foreign currency in excess of US$1 billion through importation of steel products,” Ncube said.

“While the search for new investors is in progress, Government is currently implementing a short-term roadmap of resuscitating the firm’s subsidiaries which include ZimChem, Lancashire Steel, and Buchwa Iron Mining Company (Bimco) among others,” Ncube said.

At its peak at independence,Ziscosteel was producing 30 tonnes of steel a day, and directly employed over 5 000 people and about 50 000 others in downstream and support industries.

By 1984, the plant was the country’s biggest earner of foreign currency, but only two years later, signs of poor management were beginning to show.

An inquiry into the operations of Ziscosteel between 1980, when former President Robert Mugabe took over power and 1986, revealed that already, the main issues that were affecting the company included poor management, corruption, nepotism and failure to refurbish and properly maintain equipment.

Almost four decades later and after several economic hiccups resulting from Mugabe’s inept policies, the massive Ziscosteel industrial complex lies dead, forgotten and rotten like a giant eyesore.

In September the Ziscosteel board cancelled all deals it entered into with various business entities as it views them as unfavourable to its revival plan.

This was confirmed by board chairperson, Martin Manhuwa while briefing a government inter-ministerial team that toured the giant Ziscosteel plant in Redcliff.

Paul Nyathi

GIRLS College in Bulawayo has indefinitely closed following a Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.

This development comes at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Bulawayo which now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.

As at 25 November 2020, Zimbabwe had 9 506 confirmed cases, including 8 336 recoveries and 274 deaths.
Bulawayo has in the past five days recorded seven deaths which constitutes 77 percent of the total deaths reported in Zimbabwe during the same time.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo confirmed the Girls College incident saying contact tracing is currently ongoing.

Concerned parents said their children were informed yesterday morning that Girls College had to close to avert the spread of Covid-19.

In a letter addressed to parents dated November 24, Girls College principal Mrs Les Ross said the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students with daily monitoring of temperatures, regular sanitising of all surfaces, mask wearing and social distancing.

“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” read the statement.

She said the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left the school and hostels some time before the dance.

“As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Bulawayo is on the increase, we once again remind parents not to send their daughters to school if they are unwell or have a temperature.

“We continue to offer lessons and exams online to any students who feel they are at risk or may have been in contact with someone who is infected.”

A former personal assistant to sacked Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo was arrested yesterday on allegations of criminal abuse of office.

Gideon Mapokotera was picked at 2.30pm yesterday by law enforcement agents on allegations of illegal issuance of visas in contravention of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act.

He is accused of illegally facilitating the issuance of visas to Ali Mohammad and his family to gain entry into Zimbabwe.

Muhammad has a case pending before the courts where he is charged together with suspended Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya and others with smuggling and unlawful possession of gold.

It is the State’s case that Mapokotera acted unlawfully in the discharge of his duties by signing and dispatching letters to the Department of Immigration to facilitate the issuance of visas to Ali Mohammad.

The accused created visa application letters on June 18, 2019, for a single entry visa, and September 26, 2019, for a multiple entry visa.

On November 24, 2019, he is alleged to have created multiple entry visas for Ali Mohammad’s family, made up of his wife and six children.

“The accused person had not been given authority by his principal and further did not bring the heinous development to the attention of authorities up to November 25, 2020, when the principal was made aware after investigations commenced,” some of the allegations against him seen by The Herald read.

President Mnangagwa’s administration has been pulling all the stops in the fight against corruption and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Special Anti-Corruption Unit, have been mandated to deepen the fight against graft in all its forms.

The arrests are part of accelerated efforts by President Mnangagwa’s administration to fight corruption, which is seen as a major drawback in economic revival. President Mnangagwa has indicated that days for catching-and-releasing corruption suspects are over.

High-ranking officials, including ministers alleged to have been involved in corruption, have since been arrested and their cases are at various stages of completion.

Recently, President Mnangagwa tweeted: “Let me be very clear. If you engage in or promote corruption, you will be arrested and prosecuted. There are no excuses for corruption. No one is above the law.”

Those abusing offices, and name-dropping of high ranking figures have also been warned that the long arm of the law will descend on them.

State Media

Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Mnangagwa, yesterday promoted 11 Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) officers from the rank of Squadron Leader to Wing Commander.

The President made the promotions in terms of the Defence Act.

Congratulating the promoted, AFZ Chief of Staff Supporting Services, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Nzvede said the elevation demonstrated the trust that the President had in the officers.

“The elevation means a higher responsibility that demands good judgment, discipline, loyalty and hard work,” he said.

“This promotion demonstrates the trust that His Excellency, the President, has in your abilities to perform at the highest level.

“It is, thus, incumbent upon you to be diligent and prudent in exercising command and control in order to maintain sustainable security in Zimbabwe.”

Air Vice Marshal Nzvede urged the newly promoted officers to remain vigilant as the region and world at large were witnessing a surge in threats.

“There is regional and global upsurge in hybrid threats, so we expect you to remain vigilant and be ready to swiftly provide incisive leadership to your subordinates,” he said.

“It, therefore, stands to reason that the varied threats we may face as a country demand perceptive officers who quickly adapt to the fluid global, regional and local securoscape.”

The AFZ, which is the last line of defence, wants to continue aiding civil ministries and communities in times of need, in line with its responsibility to protect people from all forms of threats, said Air Vice Marshal Nzvede.

He said security was central to the success of the National Development Strategy 1, the latest national economic blueprint launched by Government, which runs from 2021 to 2025.

Air Vice Marshal Nzvede said security forces will continue to support Government initiatives, including safeguarding the nation against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc across the globe.

One of the promoted officers, Wing Commander Primrose Ndlovu, thanked the President for the promotion, saying they will continue to work for the improvement of the AFZ and the nation at large.

“As newly-promoted wing commanders, we thank His Excellency for entrusting us with responsibility,” she said. “Through this promotion, he has re-energised us; we will continue working hard for the betterment of the AFZ and nation at large.

“It is common knowledge that this elevation in rank and status is associated with an increase in duties and responsibilities on our shoulders.”

The promotion comes a few days after President Mnangagwa promoted one AFZ Air Commodore to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, four Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) colonels to the rank of brigadier general and 54 majors to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Paul Nyathi

The late Mitchelle Moana Amuli was dumped by her mother into the custody of her father at 8 months only to part ways with her father at 24 when she decided to lead a party life which ended her life.

Watch the interview below as the father emotionally tells his story.

Click on the the link below for more.

https://www.facebook.com/ZimEye/videos/128927625469058/

Correspondent

Zimbabwe continues to record more Covid-19 cases, with 115 cases reported today.

This means the country has recorded a staggering 225 cases in 48 hours after 110 new cases were reported on Wednesday.

Tellingly, Zimbabwe has recorded 451 new cases in the last five days, a development that should naturally worry citizens, especially those that have abandoned face masks and other guidelines such as social distancing.

An update released by the Ministry of Health and Child Care today shows that 1 770 PCR tests were done, with 115 cases testing positive.

Worryingly, all of them are community transmissions.

However, no deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, for the second day running.

Active cases have since shot up to 952.

Bulawayo Province leads on active cases by a wide margin, with 326 cases followed by Matabeleland North which has 199, Mashonaland West 117, Harare 94 and Matabeleland South 76.

Other provinces have smaller numbers.

Sixty-one new recoveries were announced today, leaving the national recovery rate at 87,3 percent.

As of November 26, Zimbabwe has recorded 9 623 cases, 8 397 recoveries and 274 deaths.

GIRLS College in Bulawayo has indefinitely closed following a Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.

This development comes at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Bulawayo which now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.

One more person had died of Covid-19 in Bulawayo on Tuesday, the only death recorded in Zimbabwe as new cases continue rising in the country.

The country recorded 110 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 106 being local and the remainder returnees from Botswana and no deaths were recorded in the same period.

Of the new cases, Bulawayo was leading after recording 53 followed by Matabeleland South on 28 and Midlands recorded 15.

As at 25 November 2020, Zimbabwe had 9 506 confirmed cases, including 8 336 recoveries and 274 deaths.
Bulawayo has in the past five days recorded seven deaths which constitutes 77 percent of the total deaths reported in Zimbabwe during the same time.

The city has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe at 233 against 827 cases in the whole country.

Of the 462 new cases recorded in Zimbabwe in the last six days, 205 were from Bulawayo and authorities have said the upsurge is a testament of a good contact tracing and testing system.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo confirmed the Girls College incident saying contact tracing is currently ongoing.

He bemoaned the increase of Covid-19 in the province saying it’s a worrying trend.

“We are recording a steady rise in number of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of late. This is obviously a worrying trend, but we believe it’s also testament to our strong surveillance system in the province. It means we are suspecting and testing the right segment of the population. It’s testament to good contact tracing,” he said.

“This unfortunately also reveals that Covid-19 continues to spread in the community. Bulawayo is expecting a sharp rise in number of returning residents from Botswana and South Africa, Injiva. As such, we are working on some measures to put in place to ensure safety of communities and to minimise spread of the virus over the holiday season.”

He called on residents to protect lives by practising safety measures which include the proper wearing of masks, social distancing and the washing of hands with either soap or hand sanitizer. “It is absolutely crucial that we practice these measures with a high level of discipline as we are now approaching the holiday season.

This can potentially present a challenge as the buzz of activity expected during this period will see an exponential rise in the number of cases. So, what we do now as Bulawayo will have a bearing on the number of cases we will experience over the festive period as well,” added Dr Mlilo.

Concerned parents said their children were informed yesterday morning that Girls College had to close to avert the spread of Covid-19.

In a letter addressed to parents dated November 24, Girls College principal Mrs Les Ross said the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students with daily monitoring of temperatures, regular sanitising of all surfaces, mask wearing and social distancing.

“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” read the statement.

She said the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left the school and hostels some time before the dance.-Chronicle

A MAN who was caught having sex in a car with his girlfriend almost died after three unknown men who were armed with a knife and a knobkerrie stabbed him several times all over the body and left him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

They robbed him of a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash all with a total value of US$5 300.

They smashed windows on the passenger’s side and driver’s side before attacking Ngonidzashe Ninge (42) and his girlfriend Nozizwe Khumalo (21) at a bushy area which is between Hyde Park Shops and Nkulumane complex. The source said Ninge had lowered his trousers to knee level with a condom on while Nozizwe had pulled up her skirt while they enjoyed themselves in the car.

Unfortunately, the source said, one of the men grabbed the hapless Ninge and pulled him out of his black Nissan X-Trail car.

The source said he tried to reason with them but they would not listen to his pleas.

Another source who is close to the pair said: “They took turns to clobber Ninge while accusing him of taking

advantage of Nozizwe saying she was too young for him,” said the source.

They were not done yet with Ninge as they demanded cash while assaulting him.

A source close to investigations said Ninge sustained three stab wounds on the head, another wound on the right side of the back and bruises all over the body. The accused persons took away his Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash.
Nozizwe phoned Pumula police station and made a report. Police attended the scene.

“They found Ninge lying unconscious on the ground in a pool of blood. They phoned an ambulance which came and ferried him to Mater Dei Hospital,” said a source close to the pair.

Efforts to get a comment from Ninge were fruitless. Khumalo could neither confirm nor deny as she only said “who told you that” before she terminated the call.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed:

“We are investigating a case of attempted murder where a man was attacked while he was having sex in a car with his girlfriend at around 7.30pm at a bushy area which is between Hyde Park Shops and Nkulumane complex. He was robbed of his Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and cash, all valued at US$5 300. We would like to urge community members not to indulge in sex in the bush because it’s illegal and dangerous.”-B-Metro

A Bulawayo man was left shocked and upset after spotting “flirty” messages and nude pictures in his wife’s phone that she was exchanging with another man while making an appointment supposedly for a date.

After stumbling on the lewd pictures and messages Thamsanqa Dale failed to control his temper when he allegedly pummelled his wife Grace Dale accusing her of being promiscuous.

So severe were Thamsanqa’s repeated acts of violence on his wife that subsequently she was prompted to approach the Bulawayo Civil Court to seek a protection order against him.

In her papers Grace told the court how her husband’s constant acts of violence and verbal abuse left her distressed and fearful.

“Thamsanqa Dale is my husband of seven years and we have three children together. I am making this application for a protection order because of the physical and emotional abuse I’m subjected to. The abuse has become so unbearable and untenable. I am living in constant fear for my life. He recently seriously assaulted me and I fled and sought refuge at one of our relatives’ house.

“His violent behaviour is spiralling out of control and he is also constantly falsely accusing me of infidelity and continues to insult me while calling me a prostitute in front of our minor children. He is also causing so much pain, discomfort and distress as he continues to threaten and harass me. I pray that this honourable court intervenes and grants me a protection order,” pleaded Grace.

She also begged the court to bar her husband from visiting her workplace.

In response Thamsanqa justified his violent actions saying when he assaulted his wife, he was angered by her alleged flirtatious behaviour.

“I assaulted her because I saw messages, in which she was making an appointment with someone else and she had sent him nude pictures,” protested Thamsanqa.-B-Metro

Popular Sungura Musician Alick Macheso will before the year fold entertain his fans with a brand new single which will be released on 4 December 2020.

The single which is yet to be named, according to the sungura maestro is a Christmas present to his legion of fans and it will also be part of his forthcoming album to be released at an undisclosed date.

Macheso spoke briefly about the album before he referred all questions to his publicist and said:

The single will be out first week of December, it’s for the fans.

When contacted for comment, his Publicist Tich Makahamadze said the production of the said single is already at an advanced stage.

Macheso last made headlines when he featured in Freeman’s song Ngaibake whose video garnered over 2.8 million views on YouTube.-H-Metro

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader, President Nelson Chamisa, has pointed out that the opposition party is an unbreakable formation despite efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa to destroy it.

According to President Chamisa, a return to legitimacy is the only solution to the country’s deepening crisis.

He also commended the people of Uganda for their determination to fight for freedom.

“Uganda..keep on marching, you are almost getting there.Thank you Africa for standing with those seeking to break the always-temporary chains of oppression..Freedom!

Zimbabwe must be RESTORED TO PROSPERITY anchored on a return to a People’s government.

VP @BitiTendai
delivered a State of the Economy address articulating our alternative SMART views on how to fix Zim economic challenges.

Join us in this fight to WIN Zimbabwe for Change.

Chinja is unbreakable..The people shall govern,” President Chamisa said in a statement.

Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader, President Nelson Chamisa, has pointed out that the opposition party is an unbreakable formation despite efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa to destroy it.

According to President Chamisa, a return to legitimacy is the only solution to the country’s deepening crisis.

He also commended the people of Uganda for their determination to fight for freedom.

“Uganda..keep on marching, you are almost getting there.Thank you Africa for standing with those seeking to break the always-temporary chains of oppression..Freedom!

Zimbabwe must be RESTORED TO PROSPERITY anchored on a return to a People’s government.

VP @BitiTendai
delivered a State of the Economy address articulating our alternative SMART views on how to fix Zim economic challenges.

Join us in this fight to WIN Zimbabwe for Change.

Chinja is unbreakable..The people shall govern,” President Chamisa said in a statement.

Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council says the arrest of Harare City Council Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume is shocking and unacceptable.

Mafume was arrested in Harare on Wednesday.

Political analysts say the arrest is meant to disrupt his progressive work at Town House.

In an interview with ZimEye.com on Thursday morning, the MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa said Mafume should be released with immediate effect.

“We view the persecution of Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume as baseless and unacceptable.This is a clear case of political victimization.

The MDC Alliance Students Council is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mayor Jacob Mafume.

We are calling upon all pressure groups to push for the release of our Mayor,” said Mpambwa.

“Let’s all speak with one voice- the persecution of MDC Alliance officials has reached an alarming level,” added Mpambwa.

Tinashe Sambiri|Controversial Masvingo preacher, Isaac Makomichi who has been attracting attention for the wrong reasons in the past few weeks, has reportedly gone into hiding after being bashed by a woman who accused him of wrecking her marriage.

Impeccable sources revealed Makomichi was confronted by the irate lady who accused the preacher of distributing love charms to a small house who snatched the woman’s husband.

Several women have also accused the cleric of destroying their marriages by distributing the love charm to single ladies.

It is understood the controversial preacher has gone into hiding following incessant pressure from disgruntled women in the ancient city of Masvingo.

“This time he will not get away with it, we are ready to take him on.Our marriages are crumbling because of the love charms,” fumed one woman.

Sources say the charm causes men to sell their belongings and abandon their respective wives for small houses.

Pressed for a comment on the matter, Makomichi’s personal assistant said:
” What are you talking about? The prophet is out of town for a prayer retreat, is that what you call going into hiding?

He will be back in town very soon.”

A BEITBRIDGE tenant is in trouble for allegedly attacking the house owner with an axe several times during a dispute with his landlord over why he fed his dogs with eggs.

Solomon Sigauke (31) denied the attempted murder charges when he appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Stanley Mambanje.

He was remanded in custody to November 30 for continuation of trial.

Prosecutor Munyonga Kuvarega told the court that the complainant, Samuel Moyo Chijekere (52) who owns a house in Dulibadzimo suburb in Beitbridge was sitting outside his house on October 1 at around 11pm when Sigauke fed his dogs with eggs which did not go down well with Chijekere who then insulted him saying “Mbava dzinonetsa” (thieves are problematic).

A quarrel ensued between the two resulting in Sigauke striking Chijekere with an iron bar on the head and arms several times.

He allegedly went on to strike him with an axe on the forehead three times before he was restrained by one Margret Mbedzi.

Chijekere sustained serious injuries on the head and arm and was taken to hospital for medical attention. A report was made to the police leading to Sigauke’s arrest.-NewsDay

Three police office were yesterday dragged to court to face criminal abuse of duty after they reportedly demanded US$4000 from an accused person whom they had arrested for dealing in illegal drugs.

The trio of Donlad Dube, Charles Ndumo and Innocent Madziya were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga.

The three are stationed at CID Braeside.

Allegations are that on October 8, between 7 and 8pm, the trio who were on duty received information that there was a truck loaded with BronCleer Cough Syrup.

The three acting on the information went to N Richards Truck stop and found a truck loaded with goods from South aAfrica nd identified the owner of the goods Philda Makumbe and amongst the goods were 60 boxes of BronCleer syrup.

They reportedly produced their police cards and indicated that they were following up on the information they had received and ordered Makumbe to load the boxes into a car that they had hired and was being driven by Webster Madzoko.

While at the scene they reportedly started demanding US$6 000 from Makumbe in the presence of her brother so that they release the boxes prompting Makumbe to send her brother to collect the money and he came back with US$4200.

The trio received the moenyin the presence of Bellah Mbizi her business partner and after receiving it they took out two boxes of Bron Cleer before handing over the rest to Makumbe.

Makumbe later made a police report and when the realised that they were being investigated they re-arrested her after the found her in possession of one box of the illegal substances.-H-Metro

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

https://youtu.be/aX7ZgURb0tM

Minister for Finance Mthuli Ncube has delivered the 2021 National Budget which will be running under the recently launched economic recovery plan NDS1. The theme for the 2021 budget is “Building Resilience and Sustainable Economic Development”.

Here are some of the highlights from the document:

Economic Performance

• Economy estimated to contract by -4.1% in 2020, reflecting weak demand due to necessary lockdown.
• This suppressed output, productivity and capacity utilisation.
• COVID-19 pandemic hit an economy already dealing with devastating impacts of climatic shocks of drought, Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth.
• Mining, manufacturing, tourism, construction, distribution and other service sectors faced the full negative impact of containment measures.
• Agriculture was less affected as the summer cropping season was almost over when the pandemic hit.
• Government reprioritised budget allocations and announced $18.2 billion Stimulus Package to save lives and livelihoods.

Domestic Economy

• Economy expected to rebound by 7.4% in 2021 from consecutive 2-year downturn.
• Government’s response aimed at ensuring strong economic recovery building on the milestones from the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and targeting additional support measures to cushion vulnerable households.
• 150 000 formal jobs are expected to be recovered after having been lost due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Inflation

• Prices are expected to remain stable as fiscal and monetary measures complement in containing inflation.
• Foreign Currency Auction market system is central in bringing stability to foreign exchange market.
• Year on year inflation is projected to reach 9% by the end of 2021.

The full highlights and Nation Budget documents are in the links below:

2021 National Budget Highlights Download

2021 Full National Budget Statement. Download

Iranian ambassador to Zimbabwe Abbas Navazani this morning paid a courtesy call on Vice President Kembo Mohadi at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare where the two discussed possible areas of co-operation and strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.

In an interview after the meeting, VP Mohadi said they discussed a number of issues including possible investments in the agriculture and mining sectors.

“There are quite a number of areas whereby we can benefit from each other. We have a joint commission together with Iran and under that joint commission, we discussed quite a lot.

“We discussed our cooperation on the international fora and organisations such as the Non-Aligned Movement and we also talked about our agriculture. At one time, we had tractors from Iran and we would want that to be established as well. We want to see those tractors assembled here,” he said.

Mr Navazani said they he had a fruitful meeting with Vice President Mohadi where they had the opportunity to review co-operation between Zimbabwe and Iran and also possible areas of boosting economic ties between the two countries.

“We have a cordial relationship which dates back to the days of the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe.

We have relationship politically and economically and we are trying to extend co-operation in economic and trade. I have a different mechanism this time to enhance our relations. Our political and international relation is close. We are trying and hope we will enhance our economic cooperation despite the oppressive sanctions imposed by Americans,” he said.

The ambassador expressed gratitude to the Zimbabwean Government ‘s for its unwavering support to Iran.

Exciting future beckons. Almost at the same time, China unveiled its 14th FYP & vision for 2035 and Zimbabwe launched NDS1. Ambassador Guo Shaochun explains China's blueprint and how it will boost China-Zimbawe cooperation. https://t.co/nN1hfovnQ2… #ChinaFiveYearPlan pic.twitter.com/60gtfKJdjb

— Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe (@ChineseZimbabwe) November 26, 2020