Former MDC Alliance top official Eddie Cross Says that the Zimbabwean dollar’s gains on the official market-driven foreign currency auction platform has created huge demand for the local currency on the back of growing confidence levels as well as price stability.
Cross who is a Businessman and member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, RBZ, Monetary Policy Committee said the demand for the local dollar was a confirmation of the expanding market.
“The shortage of RTGs is a function of the market, the market is beginning to expand, people are increasing trading in local currency and as a result, shortages have surfaced. If we were to print money to cover the shortage it will be inflationary, so we are not going to do that,” said Mr Cross.
“We have been deliberately restricting RTGs (electronic money) because historically that has been the main source of inflation in Zimbabwe. This tight money supply we are going to maintain it for the present time. If people want RTGs they have to either sale foreign currency in exchange for RTGs or earn for RTGs.
“The velocity of money is very considerable in Zimbabwe. We trade about $3 billion a day in RTGs. So, it’s not a question of not trading, we are trading.”
Mr Cross said the country has had slight or zero inflation increase in the last two months and expectation was that stability would persist up to the end of the year. United Refineries Limited chief executive officer, Mr Busisa Moyo, has also acknowledged that getting the local dollar was now a tough task. “Times change and experiences may differ though. I never thought as operators we would be hunting, cutting deals and discounting to get local currency (RTGS/ZWL),” he posted on his Twitter account.
THE Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission (ZACC) has embarked on a recruitment drive as part of efforts to strengthen its investigation wing.
Speaking at the official opening of the ZACC Basic Investigation Course in Harare this Wednesday, the anti-graft body Chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said the coming in of newly recruited officers will enhance the organisation’s capacity to fight corruption.
“Your recruitment to ZACC is therefore a welcome development as it not only makes the work easier to the already team in place but intensifies the fight against corruption,” she said.
Turning to the new officers, Justice Matanda-Moyo challenged them to create a culture of team work. “ZACC has the culture of teamwork and capacitation. Departments do not work in silos they work together as one ZACC the behaviour of lone rangers is not tolerated.”
This comes after the anti-graft body launched the whistle blower platform and set up the assert recovery unit as part of sharpening its teeth in fighting corruption.
THE Department of Veterinary Services in Gwanda hinted that the mystery thing that was killing goats in Makwe area could have been dogs infected with rabies.
The department says it had to put down six dogs in the area after they attacked and killed goats.
This comes as authorities are still battling with the mystery of an unknown blood-sucking creature that has been killing livestock in the area.
About 80 goats have been killed by the unknown beast since the beginning of last month.
In an interview with State Media, Matabeleland South provincial veterinary officer, Dr Enat Mdlongwa said six dogs belonging to a villager from the area were gunned down on Saturday last week. He said since then they had not received any reports on goats being killed.
“We received a report from villagers on dogs that were killing goats in Makwe area at night. Our officers went there and shot six dogs. We took samples for testing and we are awaiting results to ascertain whether they are rabid or not. Since those dogs were shot we haven’t received any report on more goats being killed. We can’t ascertain for now whether the problem has been solved but only time will tell,” he said.
ZimParks national spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said they were still conducting investigations to identify the animal which was killing the goats. He said the visit which was conducted by officers last week did not yield any results as the carcasses were too deteriorated to produce conclusive results.
A BOY, last seen kicking a football up a street on October 3, has not been seen since then.
The disappearance of 16-year-old Prince Sibanda, a Form Three pupil at Bulawayo’s Milton High School, has left his parents, Ms Sinothando Ncube and Mr Trevor Sibanda worried.
What was bizarre about his disappearance was that Prince ran ahead of his mother, up a sloppy road and then disappeared going down.
When his mother got to the top, there was no sign of him.
“My son and I were coming from church (12 Apostles Church) on October 3 accompanied by his siblings. There is a road that leads to our house that passes by Parrot Lodge in Matsheumhlophe suburb (along Valeview Road) and it has a steep slope. So, we were going up the slope and he ran forward kicking his plastic ball. He went over the hill and when we got there about a minute later, we couldn’t see him,” said a solemn looking Ms Ncube.
While she spoke, her husband, Mr Sibanda sat there in silence, perhaps still in shock that their son has been missing for 10 days.
Ms Ncube said she thought that Prince, an aspiring volleyball player at school, had run home.
“When we couldn’t see him, his siblings started laughing saying Prince has run home, but they had the house keys.
When we got home (in Sunninghill suburb), Prince wasn’t there. We called him on his cellphone and it wasn’t going through,” said Ms Ncube.
Soon they started getting worried as Prince did not return home that night.
The next day Ms Ncube said with her husband they went to report Prince as missing at the Zimbabwe Republic Police Hillside Station. They are appealing to members of the public to help find him.
Prince was last seen wearing a black and white long sleeve t-shirt, a blue Adidas cap with matching blue Nike takkies and a brown face mask.
Anyone who can help find Prince can contact their nearest police station or call or WhatsApp 0779139961 or 0778607723, said Ms Ncube.-Chronicle
Two women from Mabvuku, Harare have been arrested and arraigned before the courts for killing a robber who had attacked them.
It is alleged that on October 10 at around 5 am, Phoebe Tembo and Petronella Ndlovu were on their way home from fetching water from a well in Mabvuku when they were attacked by Gunungo who demanded cellphones.
The duo refused to give their phones to Gunungo who proceeded to drag Ndlovu prompting Tembo to intervene thereby triggering a fight.
Gunungo reportedly hit Tembo on the mouth with an iron bar and she lost her teeth before she pulled his privates. He managed to shove her to the ground and sat on her stomach trying to strangle her.
Ndlovu then disarmed Gunungo of the iron bar and allegedly hit him several times on the head, leading to his death.
The women were not asked to plead to the allegations before Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga who granted them $500 bail each.-Daily News
Below is the debate between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Mike Pence which comes less than a month before the upcoming US election.
The key theme was coronavirus – with Ms Harris saying that the American people “have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.” Vice President Pence insisted President Trump had always put the country first. But a third presence on the podium proved the main distraction. Watch the debate in full here.
CORRECTING FIGURES ON AN ARTICLE BY ONE, SEARCHMORE MURINGANI, ON THE ‘FIGURE FACTS’ OF THE MDCA KWEKWE CENTRAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS HELD ON THE 10Th OCTOBER 2020 AT THE PARTY’S OFFICES IN KWEKWE, WHERE I WAS INVOLVED AS A CONTESTANT.
Indeed the Primary Elections, for the people’s party were peaceful by all standards on this day. Issues arising from the processes prior to the primary election day, and pertaining to internal management, admin and communications were addressable and taken NOTE of.
The mischief to be corrected is with due respect to the ‘Votes figures’, ( ‘Judith Tobaiwa : 1328. Blessing Chebundo – 495. Henry Madzorera : 43, Admore Marongwe : 22) whose misrepresentation has a negative bearing on the part of the contestants, and for posterity.
The primaries were open for all those in the ZEC voters roll; though it was not very clear to many until evening on the eve. The correct version is as follows:-
MDC ALLIANCE ASSEMBLY OF WOMEN STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE RURAL WOMAN
15 October is the International Day of the Rural Woman and as the MDC Alliance Assembly of Women, we join hands with women all over the world in commemorating this very important day.
The International theme is ” Building Rural Women Resilience in the wake of Covid 19 and it comes after observing the effects of Corona Virus in the entire world that left everyone devastated. Covid 19 exposed a lot of countries in terms of disaster preparedness and management. Although Africa did not record very high statistics as compared to the European and Assian countries, it was the worst in terms of managing the pandemic.
Zimbabwe was not spared by Covid 19 as it was exposed. The health sector was not prepared on this pandemic. The hospitals are, and continue to be under-equipped. The health personnel had no adequate protective clothing and equipment. The situation was even worse and dire in the Rural areas as there was no equipment and medication at all.
The rural women bore the brunt of giving extra care as they nursed their beloved ones who could not afford to go to hospitals either due to non availability of medical staff including doctors, or lack of drugs and equipment.
The Assembly notes with concern the resilience by women during this Covid era. Women continue to forge ahead economically and socially despite the economic hardships. None have given up their families. They continue and hang on and by the same token, the Assembly urges all members to remain resolute, steadfast and support the People’s President Adv Nelson Chamisa.
A new Zimbabwe is definately coming as we continue to fight for a people’s government and better livelihoods and God is in it.
I thank you
Barbara Tanyanyiwa Spokesperson – MDCA Assembly of Women
Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance(Youth Assembly) has described the level of police brutality in the country as shocking.
On Monday overzealous cops threw tear gas canisters into a bus full of children and the elderly…
Read below the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly statement : 12-10-2020
Barbaric acts by thugs disguised as members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police who recklessly tear gassed a bus carrying passengers including the elderly and the minors must never go unchallenged.
The inhumane act by some rogue police elements which occured in Harare on Monday at Showgrounds must never go unpunished.
It is very clear that the police force is now a danger to the public as exhibited by their recent acts of brutality.
This is not the first time that the police have exhibited animalistic behavior on innocent citizens.
Just a year ago, the same police force gruesomely hit a vendor Hilton Tamangani with iron bars and fists at a basement at QV Pharmacy in Angwa street.
Tamangani later succumbed to sustained injuries at Harare Remand Prison.
Earlier this year, the same police force was at it again when they released the trio of MDC Alliance female youth leaders, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova into the custody of abductors after the police spokesperson Paul Nyathi had initially indicated that the trio were in police custody.
Few months later, the same unrepentant police force bashed a sprawling MDC Alliance Deputy Youth Spokesperson, Womberai Nhende at Morgan Richard Tsvangirai house. Up to now Nhende is walking wounded as a result of police brutality.
As if that was not enough, the same police force today summoned some foolish intelligence or lack of it and threw tear gas right into a bus carrying passengers.
Of importance to note for citizens is that the bus was not carrying MDC Alliance supporters but citizens from diverse backgrounds and political inclinations.
What this means is that no one is safe from this bunch of rogue police officers that behaves worse than the colonial black watchers (mabhurakwacha).
As citizens, we are no longer safe from this monster regime.
Resistance is now a must for every citizen because injustice is everywhere.
Surely if we can not be moved by today’s horrible police behavior, then something is wrong with us as a people.
In a normal society Police Commissioner General, Godwin Matanga is supposed to resign with immediate effect. Anything other than that is pure nonsense!
StopPoliceBrutality
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCAllianceYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance National Youth Organising Secretary and councillor for ward 4, Masvingo Urban, Godfrey Kurauone is suing the police for illegally arresting and detaining him.
Councillor Godfrey Kurauone is demanding over $2 million for malicious arrest and persecution.
Kurauone, who was facing charges of criminal nuisance and obstructing traffic, was acquitted after the state failed to prove its case in court.
The state accused the councillor of posting a video of a song in which he called for immediate removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The state also alleged Kurauone burnt vehicle tyres along the Mashava-Zvamahande road disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
He was arrested by officers from the Law and Order Section in Masvingo Town while reporting at the police provincial headquarters in fulfilment of his bail conditions for a similar case.
A swarm of bees brutally attacked a ZRP cop and then killed 17 of his chickens.
The Mirror reports how Chikato Police camp in the Lowveld was terrorised by bees camped in a chimney at one of the flats.
The paper states how Ass Insp Forbes Musora was not only bitten but lost 17 chickens to the bees.
When asked for a comment, Insp Musora referred all questions to the Police Public Relations department, the paper says.
The PR department was however not taking any calls.
The development follows a separate incident back in July when soldiers and police details were attacked by a swarm of killer bees in Kuwadzana 4, Harare.
Of that incident, a witness narrated in full saying:
“There came a lorry full of police details and soldiers in Kuwadzana 4 Harare so everyone ran away.
Some of the soldiers were in civilian clothes and they were just arresting everyone and for you to run away, you ended up just being arrested.
In the past you would just notice that this person who has arrested me is a soldier or a police officer and that you have been arrested and are being taken to the police truck when you saw their boots.
Police boots
But today, they were just arresting everyone …so when they arrived at Kuwadzana 4 shops, people ran away leaving their groceries, the ones that they were selling including their firewood.
So there were bees that came from nowhere,they just flew and went underneath a cart.
The cart was like the ones that are used by vendors in towns when they are selling their wares. No one knows what time these bees made this cart their haven, but it should be today because this cart was at home last night and was taken to the shops this morning for it’s daily business.
So when people ran away after seeing that the soldiers in plain clothes were arresting people and taking them to their truck, they left their wares.
So these soldiers started confiscating people’s groceries and that is when they saw the cart and they started loading the confiscated goods and firewood into that cart.
Trouble began when they started to push the cart. The bees left their haven ,underneath the cart and started biting the soldiers. They were bitten so bad that they left the cart and started running away.
The soldiers were bitten and they ran back to their truck and they were wailing while the swarm of bees continued biting them. It was a swarm of bees. And when these soldiers who were fleeing the bees got to their truck, the bees continued biting them and those who were inside the truck were not spared either. They were all bitten.
The driver of the truck sped off but this did not help, the bees continued biting them.
I doubt these bees are a natural species. They must be someone’s bees. In Kuwadzana 4 today, we witnessed a rare occurence.
The soldiers were bitten so bad. They were wailing and crying.
Please do not take people’s property. This happened around 12pm in Kuwadzana 4, Harare.
The firewood that they wanted to take belonged to one granny whom we call gogo Ndunge. The soldiers were bitten so bad.”
A former SAA cabin attendant who was living the high life after marrying her army boss boyfriend — and who was allegedly “gifted” defence contracts worth R210m — was arrested on Wednesday morning, NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema confirmed.
“The wife of a senior military general, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, was released on R80,000 bail after her appearance on charges of fraud, involving approximately R100m,” he said.
Ngwema said Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was arrested on Wednesday, and was released on condition that she makes no contact with witnesses and hands in her passport to the investigating officer.
Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu with her Maserati
Major General Noel Ndhlovu and his wife Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu
The matter was remanded to December 9 for the prosecutor to supply the accused with documents.
“A tender was awarded by the SANDF to Umkhombe Marine Pty Ltd (the legal entity belonging to Mrs Ndhlovu) to transport SANDF equipment back to SA from African countries. The contract value was approximately R24m,” Ngwema said.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu allegedly provided false information or documents as part of the tender process.
“Thereafter she was awarded another contract of R103m, again to transport SANDF equipment. But the soldiers were recalled from service and this led to the cancellation of the second contract,” Ngwema said.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu then claimed R30m expenses from the SANDF, saying this was what the costs were before the cancellation. “Documents which appear to be false were provided to show the expenses,” Ngwema said.
In 2016 when Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu received defence tenders, her husband Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu rubber-stamped the mission contracts.
In 2016 when Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu received defence tenders, her husband Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu rubber-stamped the mission contracts.
Last year the Sunday Times reported how online selfies show Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu flaunting their lavish lifestyle. There are pictures of the couple on planes, on overseas holidays and in front of their R8.5m Dainfern, Sandton, home.
In others, she shows off her navy-blue Maserati, and the couple pose with a brand-new silver Range Rover.
The military police have been investigating suspected fraud and corruption in contracts awarded to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s company, Umkhombe Marine.
Investigators smelt a rat when they examined some of the tenders Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had secured. In one, for the transport of military equipment, rival bidders listed included companies that were later revealed to be a taxi business, a stationery supplier and a company that had closed down in 2010 — all of whom claimed to know nothing about any SANDF tender.
A fourth company said it had been invited to tender only five days before the closing date. The company was required to conduct a site visit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) before handing in its tender documents, making it impossible to meet the deadline.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu is also accused of falsifying documents and forging a signature in one of her submissions. Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu and his wife Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu liked to post selfies from exotic locations.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu made headlines in 2007 when she accused her boss at SAA of harassing her sexually. She claimed the general manager of flight operations had forcibly kissed her and insisted on sleeping in her room during a team-building weekend.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu won her first army contract in 2014 when she was awarded a tender to supply tea and coffee, worth about R1.5m, to the defence force. Later that year she was awarded a R24m contract to transport military equipment from SA to countries where the SANDF has deployed soldiers on missions.
In 2016 — about a month before she married Ndhlovu in August — she was awarded yet another contract, this one for R104m, to transport redundant military equipment from SA to Sudan.
That contract was cancelled over technical issues and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu claimed R30m as a penalty fee.
In the same year, in lieu of the cancelled R104m contract, she received a subsequent transport contract for the DRC, valued at R79m. At the time her husband was on the military’s joint operations committee, which rubber-stamped all mission contracts. Last year, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu confirmed that when she was awarded the R104m contract that is being investigated she had not declared that she was romantically involved with Ndhlovu.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and her husband could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. -TimesLIVE
My name is Charles Kangai, Dr Charles Kangai. I have a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Computational Physics awarded by the University of Bristol, and an M.A. in Physics and Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge. I have taught modern technology all over the world over the last twenty years, from Seattle in the west to Shanghai and Tokyo in the east, from Stockholm in the north to Johannesburg in the south.
Dr Charles Kangai
I have taught technology at all types of institutions: investment banks, military, government, international organisations, research institutions, software companies, telecommunications, insurance, you name it. I have a wide experience of most sectors and audiences. I have worked for large tech giants like Microsoft, Vodafone, Google and others.
My brother Reward is founder of NetOne. Our father, Thomas Kangai, is a well known retired headmaster in Buhera and is older brother to Kumbirai Kangai, the late minister and early member of Dare re Chimurenga, and to Tirivafi John Kangai the late ambassador. My father’s school, Muzirikazi, near Muzokomba Business Centre was the first school in 1966 to win the prestigious Secretary Bell for educational excellence in Manicalanda Province under his headmastership. I was born at Nharira, Mashonaland East, where my mother’s family comes from. Our mother, Pinky Maridzo Mangwende, is daughter of Nathaniel Maridzo Mangwende, who was a teacher and preacher who contributed to the translation of the first Shona bible. Our family are descendants of the Chief Mutasa lineage. For reasons of power struggles amongst brothers, my great-great grandfather ended up in Buhera, where he took shelter under Chief Nyashanu and was given his own kraal (bhuku) after serving the chief. My great grandfather Kangai walked the whole length and breadth of Buhera and divided it into parishes (madunhu), and those land divisions stand to this day. My brother Reward travelled all over Zimbabwe and climbed most of the mountains in the country assessing suitable places to build base stations in order to provide Zimbabweans with mobile telecommunications. I consider myself a true blue-blood Zimbabwean. My family are well-known for the service they have given to Zimbabwe, both nationally and at local level.
I wish to make my views known about what has happened to our beautiful motherland over the last 38 years. I went to school in Zimbabwe at St Augustine’s during the time of Ian Smith and therefore can compare life then in Zimbabwe with life now. I was a school contemporary of such eminent public figures as Thomas Bvuma, Charles Kuwaza, Paddington Garwe, Chris Mutsvangwa, Eric Matinenga and many others. What has happened in Zimbabwe since independence is a tragic disaster. If Zimbabwe had stayed on the same economic trajectory as it was before independence, it would now be as developed as any small western European country like Belgium or Netherlands.
Instead, what I see whenever I visit Zimbabwe is the equivalent of a once beautiful orchard that has been overrun by a herd of bull elephants. The country is a wreckage compared to what it once was, and it looks like a place run by a bunch of buffoons. Do we Zimbabweans not have any pride? A tiny country like Singapore which too was once colonised has progressed in leaps and bounds and now sells even cars to Europe. By contrast Zimbabwe is now a consumer society that sells its soil in the form of minerals to buy basics, even clothes (hembe chaidzo!). Are Zimbabweans not embarrassed to see their president standing with other heads of state who are all wearing clothes made in their own countries, while everything the Zimbabwean president is wearing, from underpants to tie, is made in other countries? Where is the independence in that? Mahatma Gandhi preferred to wear loin cloth (mukofo) rather than wear imported clothes from other countries. Look where India is now, even though it was a colony for close to 300 years. Indian companies have now bought British iconic companies like Rover, Leyland. The last 38 years was a dictatorship, and I welcome the “coup” that took place last November 2017. By any standards, the last leader was a dictator even though he liked to think of himself as a revolutionary. What kind of revolutionary lives in a blue roofed house where all the material is imported as if his own country is not good enough? What kind of revolutionary sends his daughter to a foreign country halfway across the world to give birth, and then again to have the baby weighed!? And to add insult to injury, all these trips were paid for by state funds, while all over the country hospitals and clinics lack the funds to buy medicines to treat sick children and the old, and the country infrastructure is battered and broken! The dictionary definition of dictator is (I googled it): “a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force”, or “a person who behaves in an autocratic way”. The last president was a dictator. He declared at the 2008 election that he would not let the pen [vote] rule over the gun, so he is lying when he says “we always prided ourselves in our democracy”. He did not tolerate a different opinion. If anyone disagreed with him he would say “Pasi newe!” (down with you!) and you were finished, because those around him would also say “Pasi newe!” out of fear. His own deputy had to flee for his life in November 2017 because he simply voiced concern that proper rules were not being followed in preparing the next leader when it became clear that the dictator wanted to hand over the presidency to his own wife. He got my uncle Kumbirai Kangai arrested for corruption he did not commit, while he himself as president amassed untold wealth, grabbing money from the Reserve Bank every time he went on his many needless trips abroad, including a conference on oceans when Zimbabwe is a landlocked country. I know my uncle did not steal any money because I questioned him closely and his answer was “If I had done it I would have told you that I was trying to help the family but got caught”. Myself and Susan Mazaiwana had to pay his bail as he had no money and yet was accused of stealing some 6 million dollars. The dictator just wanted him out of the way. It was political. Many real thieves thrived under the dictator, and he did not get them arrested. My brother Reward stopped some other well-known corrupt minister from grabbing NetOne land. Maybe these corrupt ministers were not arrested because they were sharing the proceeds of their corruption with the dictator?
The ex-president behaved as if Zimbabwe was the property of himself and his family. He had no regard for the constitution or the law. Under such circumstances whereby anyone putting forward a motion of dissent in parliament would have been dealt with harshly and eliminated, the army did the right thing in taking over power. I hear rumours that even the top general of Zimbabwe Defence Forces was himself being targeted for assassination. There are YouTube videos showing the dictator’s sons pouring champagne over Rolex watches. Professors can argue that what happened in November was unconstitutional, but there was no constitutional way to remove an unconstitutionally behaving president with absolute power. Each day he did nothing useful, except looking forward to his next trip overseas. The CIO sent him files of their findings in relation to the corrupt minister who was harassing my brother at NetOne and he merely shelved those files. Zimbabwe had become his money pot that he milked to spend in other people’s countries. He had become like King Charles I of England who, as history children know, believed in the Divine Right of Kings, and had to be beheaded in 1649. The ex-president is lucky to have escaped the fate of Charles I, Colonel Gadaffi, Saddam Hussein or his friend Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania.
Now that the terrible dictator who wrecked our once beautiful country and brutalised and divided the good people of Zimbabwe is gone, I would like Zimbabweans to start thinking differently and unite. The law of the country should be supreme. No one should be above the law. My brother Reward was arrested after blowing the whistle on a minister who was and is still openly stealing public money. I know my brother well and he will not take a cent that does not belong to him. Our parents and grandparents handled public money and we learned at an early age never to touch public money. Even if my brother was starving and you left him to hold your $10 he would not use it. I have had difficulty myself getting him to accept my offer of help to pay his legal bills.
The thieving minister has still not been arrested. These things should not happen if you don’t want our country to be called a banana republic. Stealing public money is a shameful thing. It’s like the rogue who drinks the baby’s milk. He may be wearing a tie and a suit but really he is lower than a cockroach.
In Britain and in other developed countries the lowest type of person is a paedophile who sexually assaults children. In prison such a person has to be kept apart from other prisoners as otherwise he would be attacked or even killed. In Africa we should learn to regard corrupt government officials in the same way. They are the lowest of the low. They are scumbags who should be spat at. They keep Africa backwards and are the reason why Africans are despised all over the world, because nothing good is ever contributed from Africa. We should not be impressed by someone who lives in a palace or drives a flashy car. It’s most likely his wealth is a product of theft. The real great people in history, like Jesus or Mahatma Gandhi or Buddha did not have property. In fact they left property to live a higher principled life of service and self-sacrifice. If you look around you will see that typically excessively luxurious living and high thinking do not go together.
We should be a country that has ethical standards. Having a chain of degrees is not a sign of education or culture. It merely means you are lettered. I read of professors in our country Zimbabwe who stole public money, or people with Ph.D. degrees (dubious Ph.D. degrees, granted) who ran gangs of elephant poaching. There was a president there who was reputed to have a chain of degrees, yet he wrecked the country and was a dictator, divided people and got people killed. He did very little useful but used his English knowledge to bad mouth other people and to say nasty uncivil things. Some of these so-called educated people keep Oxford dictionaries to look up words with which to insult other people. An O level student would run the country better than these people. So much for so-called educated people.
Those people in power should forget about making themselves rich or driving expensive cars. What is the use of living in a blue roofed house that was bought with stolen money? You can say it was not stolen, I was given, but no country or company gives anything for nothing. They must have been given something more than the value of the house and therefore it was a bribe. It is stolen property only. If it was really given then it should be passed on to the country that the government official is working for. If I make a technological discovery while working for a company, the intellectual property and the trade mark are not mine. They belong to the company that employs me. So it should be with government officials who get given so-called gifts.
You go on expensive shopping trips to London or Paris and the shopkeepers say “Sir, Your Excellency” or “Madam” only to flatter you in order to get your money, but really they think you are a fool. When you have left the shop they laugh at you, your actions, and they mimic your slow and heavily accented way of speaking English and make fun of you. I know because I have lived in western countries for over 40 years. It is better if you just stay kumusha at Zwimba or wherever and wear your loin cloth rather than go to other people’s countries to be laughed at.
Even the Chinese secretly laugh at you, what an idiot and robber you are. The people who bribe you themselves despise you for selling your soul for money like that. Notice that when they bribe you they are making a gain for their country, while you are taking away from your country. That is why they don’t respect you. Do you think they respect a president whose country has a GDP less than that of a single British department store and has to go shopping to other people’s countries? You can deliver your speech at a heads of state conference but it doesn’t count anything to them. What you say is not even reported in their newspapers. They despise you but just keep quiet.
Nearly 30 years ago I was sent by my company to give a presentation to a board of directors at Lonrho Company headquarters in the city of London. The late Tiny Rowland was chairman at that time. When I arrived the man who received me said they could not have the meeting on that day as the boss, Tiny Rowland, was playing mind games with and manipulating an African president in his office. So, that’s what they think of so-called “His Excellency” people. Tiny Roland himself is on record as saying “These Africans are incredibly corrupt. I can buy any of them”. You see! If you are a true Zimbabwean and have some self-respect, you should not be wanting the whole world to despise you like this. Avoid corruption!
Another thing that we Zimbabweans should be is self-reliant. Why get other countries to come and mine your gold and diamonds for you? It’s like asking someone to make love to your wife for you! Why ask for help to build our roads? Why can’t Zimbabweans themselves do it? My father Thomas Kangai started schools in jungles in Buhera to educate remote children, and he would involve all the local people to build access roads to the school. His school got top grades from inspectors in those days. All the school inspectors, LDO’s (Land Development Officers) and other government officials and businessmen greatly respected him. One school he built was Muzirikazi School in Buhera South. Lions, leopards and hyenas roamed the area when we were children there. Yet he utilised the manpower in the villages to build access roads, put up sign posts and build houses for teachers. Why can’t our presidents mobilise our people to build the country like my father did at local level? After all, the country’s best asset is its people. Minerals would still have been there even if there were no people, so that’s no credit to Zimbabweans. In my travels to countries such as India, I have witnessed women and men working in the hot sun carrying baskets of gravel on their heads all day long. After a few weeks you find they have a cut a road through the mountains, without machinery! Why can’t Zimbabwe do the same? We can surely all roll up our sleeves and everyone from the president down put their hand in building the country. An older boy at St Augustine’s was named Fungai Museta. I don’t know where he is now. He was my mentor and acted to me like my big brother. He always used to say to me “Charles, I always tell myself that what others can do, I can also do!”, and he inspired me.
Zimbabweans should be saying “What other countries can do, we can also do!” and build their country.
A few weeks ago I visited a place called Ironbridge in Shropshire, England. The British built the first iron bridge there in 1781. The bridge is still standing. Nearly 250 years later we in Zimbabwe can’t even make a toothbrush. Someone recently told me that the Zimbabwean government’s ZISCO steel works company is not there anymore, destroyed by incompetence and dictatorship. The British operated the first railway in 1825, designed by R. L. Stevenson. In Zimbabwe we are still asking other countries for aid to build our roads. A place I like to drive to and contemplate is Runnymede, near Windsor Castle. There the British in 1215 established the rule of law, enshrined in a document called the Magna Carta. More than 800 years later we in Zimbabwe still have strongmen and leaders who are above the law and don’t even understand the purpose of the law. That is why our country won’t progress. The rule of law is incredibly important, otherwise the genius within the country is suppressed. No one should be above the law. Countries that are dictatorships are actually weak countries. The power is concentrated in one person or a handful of people. An enemy only has to assassinate those few people at the top in order to take power. So you see, for the security of the country and its leaders it is better if all the power is in the constitution, law and the institutions than in individuals. Then everyone is safe. In most European countries there is no one you can kill in order to take power. The power is in the institutions and the law of that country, not in individuals. I was in Stockholm recently and someone pointed out to me the prime minister’s apartment. He/she commutes to work like everyone else and does not live in a palace! I was very impressed.
The power struggles that have been happening in Zimbabwe are childish and totally of no use. Winning against another Zimbabwean is not a real win. The real winning is when Zimbabwe starts winning in trade against other countries, when more money comes into Zimbabwe than leaves. Zimbabwe, so there cannot be any liquidity crises. Let someone else win the election if that’s what the people want. You too may win another day if the people like what you stand for. Do not rig elections. It’s a shameful and base practice like cheating in a game of cards.
We should not choose presidents whose parentage is not known as they may not be true Zimbabweans. The last president always talked about his mother. Who was his father? Where did he come from? I think that in future when someone shows potential of being president, his background and roots should be properly investigated. A commission of elders should be sent to his area of origin to find out who he/she really is, and what the history of that family is. His/her background should be public knowledge. I don’t believe that any real Zimbabwean would have been as cruel as the last president.
He was totally and utterly cruel and would do anything just to keep himself and his family in power. I personally pity him for the load that must be on his soul. Having been given the rare opportunity to serve his country, he instead wrecked it and cost the country a lot of lives, and created millions of refugees of his countrymen who fled to other countries.
We should not name our national icons like airports after despots, because they are not good inspirational role models for our youths. Please return Harare Airport to simply being Harare International Airport, or at least name it after a respectable person who is no longer alive, like Chief Rekayi Tangwena who showed that a real leader suffers with his own people. A real leader does not build palaces for himself or feather his nest while his people are suffering. Please remove names that glorify thugs and dictators. Real leaders take themselves to be servants of the people not masters of the people. These are my wishes for our beloved motherland. And please, the country is greater than any party. The country was there before any party and will be there after all parties, so why make any party supreme? Party militias have no basis in the law and should be declared illegal.
Zimbabwe does not belong to any individual or group of individuals. Zimbabwe belongs to all Zimbabweans. Claiming anything else is dictatorship. Many European, American and Asian soldiers have fought for their countries in several wars to gain or defend their freedom, but they do not claim that they are now the owners of their countries. Why should people who fought for Zimbabwe now claim the country is theirs? How can you unify the country and have everyone work together if some people think and act more special than others? How can you own a country?
There will be no progress in Zimbabwe until the things I have outlined above are taken seriously. You can forget about foreign investment. People only invest where there is success. A lot of people are rushing to invest in companies like Amazon, Apple or Google because those companies are being successful. People don’t invest in companies or countries that are not successful. We have to work to build our country ourselves and when people see progress being made in leaps and bounds that’s when they say “There is a success story; I want to be part of it!” and they invest. Investors invest out of self-interest only. Dr. Charles Kangai United Kingdom
Farai Dziva|President Nelson Chamisa has said transparency is the MDC Alliance’s key policy.
Commenting on the party’s audit results released on Tuesday, President Chamisa said:
Focusing on administrative and financial fundamentals…
Just finished the Finance and Admin Sub Committee meeting(on Tuesday)
Our key task is to build strong structures, robust infrastructure and effective systems to achieve total institutional renewal and organizational revitalization!
Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections.
A party insider told the publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there,
We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors.
Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections-Daily News
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance has said in essence Zanu PF is the opposition because its leader, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa stole the 2018 Presidential Election.
Zanu PF acting spokesperson, Patrick Chinamasa last week accused ” opposition elements of plotting to render the country ungovernable.”
According to Chinamasa the opposition will never rule the country because independence did not come through democracy.
Responding to Chinamasa’s remarks, MDC Alliance Youth Assembly national spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma said:
“Chinamasa’s party is the opposition- there is a legitimacy crisis in the country as a result of stolen elections.
The legitimacy crisis is the sticking point- we cannot move forward as a nation as a result of what happened in 2018.”
Another MDC Alliance official said:
“Very soon Chinamasa and his ilk will be the opposition.It is clear that Zanu PF bigwigs are having sleepless nights because of our growing influence.”
By Farai D Hove | A 35-year old Umguza man was arrested over a mere WhatsApp status video he received from a social media group. The video is a political commentary skit by viral analyst JulieAskana over Emmerson Mnangagwa’s day of fasting back in June 2020.
Mr Victor Majoni is now set to appear in court after being arrested for causing “hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President.”
The case is set to embarrass the police since the well known JulieAskana has no association whatsoever with the accused.
The full case outline is below:
In the matter of the State Versus, MR VICTOR MAJONI AGED; 35Years [Herein after called accused].
Complainant in this case is the STATE represented by Remigious Komboni of Plot * Hel****** F South, Umguza.
Accused and Remigious Komboni are not related but they are both farmers in Umguza area and are also in two similar Whatsapp groups called Umguza Irrigation Lots and Umguza Zesa updates. 4. On 14 June 2020 accused person uploaded a 59 seconds video dip on his WhatsApp status registered using mobile number 0785*4****. The video dip had an image of a woman insulting the President and speaking in shona language saying ” AMunangagwa musandibvise pana Mwari, zvamunowona ndaseka ndichiona video, vachiti Zimbabweans must fast in peace for days vachinamata, imwe fasting yamurikuda ndeipi nhai VaMnangagwa, people are fasting already, they are hungry mudzimba umu, not kuti they want to fast, havatorina chekudya, saka imwe fasting yamurikutaura ndeipi nhai VaMnangagwa ,imi baba imi kurai, mava munhu mukuru imi,munotombotaurawo mafunga here imi#, kana kuti murikutaura henyu imimi maelites murikudya muchiguta muchidya mafizhongo everyday, ah imwe fasting yamurikutaura ndeipi iyoyo, taona pa social media mwana wenyu akatenga ndege, arikuita zvaanoda , ndivo vamunofanira kuudza mafasting awa, kwete kuudza hedu isu anaRazaro tiri kutorara tunenzara mudzimba umu, endai kumbare uku, kumarokesheni uku, kumamisha uku ,vanhu varikurara vasina kana chavadya, fasting yamurikutitaurira ndeipi nhaimi, imi baba imi Dzikamai ah kwanai ” –Meaning to say, Mr Mngangagwa don’t distance me away from God, as you see I laughed as I saw this video instructing Zimbabweans to fast in peace for days while praying, which other fasting do you expect Mr Mnangagwa, people are fasting already, they are hungry in their homes, not because they want to fast but they have nothing to eat, so which other fasting are you talking about Mr Mnangagwa, Mr Mngangagwa grow up, you are old enough, do you ever think before talking or maybe you are referring to you the elites who feasting on daily basis. Which other fasting arc you referring to? We saw on social media your son bought an ieroplatie and toes he pleases, they are the ones whom you must instruct to fast not to tell us the poor, we sleeping on empty stomach s in our homes, visit Mbare Musika, locations, rural areas, people are sleeping on empty stomachs. Which other fasting are you referring to? Get organised, he sober. 5. Complainant felt that the utterances may cause hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President. 6. The accused person has no right to act in the manner he did.
Accused person in this case is Victor Majoni, a male adult residing at Mandalay Farm and employed at Mandalay Farm as a farm manager.
Own Correspondent | Church leaders in Masvingo have accused controversial cleric Isaac Makomichi of using juju to facilitate illicit marriages.
Makomichi of the Calvary Prayer Group is planning to hold a public event to officially introduce what he calls the anointed love potion herb.
Various church leaders argue Christians should not use juju.
“Prophet” Zvoushe of Zvapupu Zvengoni described Makomichi as an evil agent who is facilitating illicit marriages.
“Makomichi is not a prophet but an evil man who is causing confusion in and around the city.
We are not going to allow this to continue.
If he holds that juju ceremony honestly we will not hesitate to confront him,” charged Prophet Zvoushe.
Contacted for a comment, Makomichi said:
“I have helped hundreds of people in Masvingo.Some are coming from as far as Harare and Bulawayo.I am not worried about what the church leaders you have mentioned are saying.Nobody can stop me from doing my work.It’s true I will hold a ceremony to officially introduce the anointed herb.”
Popularity without power is useless, totally worthless, the MDC Alliance was warned at the weekend. In a no-holds-barred flaming speech, Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala hinted that His Excellency President Nelson Chamisa’s flame of glory could be soon doused.
Sikhala was addressing mourners at the funeral of MDC Alliance MP Anna Muyambo in Chitungwiza at the weekend, when he told Chamisa that popularity alone would not deliver State power to him and the opposition.
Instead, the Zengeza West legislator — who was standing next to Chamisa — said unpopular leaders often became State presidents because of their grit and decisiveness.
“We have lost several party stalwarts since we began this journey. We cannot all perish before we reach our destination … What I have noticed is that popularity alone is not the way to get State power.
“I remember Daniel arap Moi in Kenya when he grabbed power from Jomo Kenyatta and was supposed to be a transitional leader for just six months, but clung to power for 24 years,” Sikhala said.
He continued saying:
“I also remember that Patrice Lumumba was the most popular leader of the liberation struggle in Africa, but an unpopular Mobutu Sese Seko took charge of Zaire (now DRC) for over 30 years.
“The late (former president) Robert Mugabe was probably the most unpopular leader since the history of mankind and Morgan Tsvangirai was the most popular leader since the advent of politics, yet he died before he took State power,” Sikhala further told party supporters and mourners.
He also said despite Chamisa and MDC Alliance commanding huge support in the country, State power remained a mirage for them.
“We have 2,6 million votes, meaning that our president and the party are the most popular brands in the politics of this country, but we are not in power
“Mnangagwa cannot be voted for by a donkey, yet he is in charge. Khupe is hated by dogs and reptiles, yet she is in power.
“So, power is being controlled by the unpopular, while the popular ones are not in power. So, what is the formula, strategy and plan to translate our popularity into political power?
“If we are not going to find a strategy to unpack that equation, all the leaders — including president Chamisa and me — are also going to die popular, but without taking over power,” the lawyer-cum-politician warned.
“Let us think hard on how we are going to solve that equation. The time has been too long … let us finish this off,” Sikhala added
Own Correspondent | Church leaders in Masvingo have accused controversial cleric Isaac Makomichi of using juju to facilitate illicit marriages.
Makomichi of the Calvary Prayer Group is planning to hold a public event to officially introduce what he calls the anointed love potion herb.
Various church leaders argue Christians should not use juju.
“Prophet” Zvoushe of Zvapupu Zvengoni described Makomichi as an evil agent who is facilitating illicit marriages.
“Makomichi is not a prophet but an evil man who is causing confusion in and around the city.
We are not going to allow this to continue.
If he holds that juju ceremony honestly we will not hesitate to confront him,” charged Prophet Zvoushe.
Contacted for a comment, Makomichi said:
“I have helped hundreds of people in Masvingo.I am not worried about what the church leaders you have mentioned are saying.Nobody can stop me from doing my work.It’s true I will hold a ceremony to officially introduce the anointed herb.”
13 OCTOBER 2020 ZIFA APPOINTS MPANDARE AS GENERAL MANAGER – NATIONAL TEAMS
The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has appointed Mr Wellington Mpandare as the General Manager for all national teams on a three-year contract.
The position comes with huge responsibilities which the board felt match the experience possessed by Mpandare, who has served in almost similar capacity in the past. Mpandare was the team manager for the senior men’s team when the Warriors qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and he was also in the same position when the locally based Warriors secured a place at the 2021 African Nations Championship.
Apart from the usual responsibilities of the team manager of the Warriors, Mpandare will also be responsible for all logistical and welfare issues for all other national teams. He will work hand in glove with team managers of the other teams to improve the organisational aspects around national team games.
We would like to wish Mpandare all the best in his new secretariat position which teams him up with a dedicated group which has been doing some of the duties he will assume. The executive committee has great faith in his ability to execute his duties well to support the association’s long-term goals.
For and on behalf of the Zimbabwe Football Association: Xolisani Gwesela Communications & Competitions Manager
A Kwekwe man has been arraigned before the courts for allegedly raping and impregnating his biological daughter.
The man, whose identity cannot be revealed to protect the victim, but is from Chiwundura, allegedly raped and impregnated his 19-year old daughter.
He was arraigned before Kwekwe Magistrate Ms Mildred Matuvi facing rape charges. He was remanded in custody to October 24 for provision of trial date.
Prosecuting, Ms Ethel Bhumhure told the court that sometime in June this year, the accused person and the complainant were staying together at a farm near Kwekwe.
One day he alledgedly sneaked into the complainant’s bedroom, Ms Bhumure told the court.
Whilst in the bedroom, the accused person allegedly sneaked into the blankets where the complainant was sleeping.
He then threatened her with death if she dared scream before going on to rape her once.
The accused person temporarily left the room before returning after some minutes and raped the accused person twice.
After the act he threatened her with death and left the room.
The matter came to light when the complainant visited her auntie who discovered that she was pregnant.
She was taken to hospital for tests where she was discovered to be 20 weeks pregnant. The matter was reports to police leading to the arrest of the accused.
The accused in his defense left the court in stiches after he claimed to have gone mad after going after a bet.
“She saw a bet and screamed for help and I quickly rushed to her rescue. The bet however disappeared into darkness and we went mad. I ended up sleeping with her as I thought I was in my bedroom.
We did it three times, I remember. But soon after she regained consciousness that is when I discovered I was in the wrong room,” the accused told the court.-Chronicle
The police took me to my home on the 20th of July, the 1st day of my arrest. The world &myself knew exactly why I had been arrested by Mnangagwa’s regime. The police who were taking orders on the phone to persecute me also knew the reason why they were doing it, I exposed looting pic.twitter.com/Zp3NBroCyv
1. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC/Commission) is mandated to promote the protection, development and attainment of human rights and freedoms at all levels of society. Furthermore, the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20) Act 2013 (Constitution) accords the ZHRC the mandate to protect the public against abuse of power and maladministration by State and public institutions and by officers of those institutions (the Public Protector functions), in terms of Section 243 (1) (e). The ZHRC is worried by the recent pronouncement by the Minister of Health and Child Care, Vice President C.G. Chiwenga, in terms of SI 225A /2020 of the Public Health (COVID 19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, No.4. In his remarks, the Honourable Minister and Vice President suspended the holding of electoral processes indefinitely, “for the duration of the period of declaration of COVID-19 as a formidable epidemic disease”. The ZHRC also takes note of the announcement by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of conducting By-Elections on 5th of December 2020, and a pledge to adhere to the COVID-19 safety guidelines in the conduct of such elections
2. The Constitution under Section 67 provides for political rights. It gives every Zimbabwean citizen the right to free, fair and regular elections for any elective public office and to make political choices freely. Section 67 (2) (c), (d) provides for the right “to participate in peaceful political activity; and to participate, individually or collectively, in gatherings or groups or in any other manner, in peaceful activities to influence, challenge or support the policies of the Government or any political or whatever cause”.
3. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, to which Zimbabwe is a party , provides that citizens have the right and the opportunity, (and without unreasonable restrictions) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives- meaning the right to vote through electoral processes. The ZHRC underscores the fact that the right to vote in all elections and referendums to which this Constitution or any other law applies, should therefore be observed and respected.
4. The Commission appreciates the dangers and “threats” to the rights to health and life, which came with the COVID-19 Pandemic and in this regard has been active in urging the public to adhere to measures in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Commission further welcomes the efforts by Government in fighting this threat by coming up with precautionary measures such as lockdowns and other restrictions, which indeed are efforts in the right direction in line with the provisions of section 86 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe limiting the enjoyment of certain rights and freedoms in times of health and other emergencies.
5. The ZHRC also notes that Government has since relaxed some lockdown measures by allowing gatherings of at most a hundred people, schools and churches have reopened , taking cognisance of the COVID-19 precautionary measures. Places such as schools for example, have hundreds of people concentrated in one place and by 9 November 2020, schools will be operating at maximum capacities. The ZHRC also notes that the Government (through Parliament) allowed the conducting of the Public consultations for the Constitutional Amendment Bill (No. 2), which were carried out across all provinces during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic with more strict lockdown measures in June 2020. Government argued that precautionary and safety measures would be adhered to during the consultations. Indeed through monitoring of these consultations, the ZHRC witnessed the practice and adherence to such precautionary measures. If COVID-19 precautionary measures could be practised in such an environment, the ZHRC is of the view that by-elections could in the same spirit, proceed as they are polling station based. The pronouncement that elections be suspended appears contradictory and selective as other electoral processes were held and continue to take place, for instance, the ruling party ZANU- PF, proceeded with its Primary elections in Kwekwe on the 4th of October 2020 and preparations are being made for the holding of District Coordinating Committees (DCC) elections countrywide.
6. In addition, the Commission draws the attention of the Government to other jurisdictions such as Malawi which conducted its Presidential elections on the 23rd of June 2020, when the pandemic was still posing serious threats. Tanzania (28 October 2020, General elections) and South Africa, which recorded higher Confirmed COVID-19 cases, has scheduled to proceed with their electoral processes during this same COVID-19 period. Considering the high numbers of vacant seats for both Legislatures and Councillors, following recalls and other reasons, it follows that service delivery and representation of citizens are now compromised and so elections would be ideal to address such gaps in compliance with the WHO guidelines and precautionary measures.
7. COVID-19 is indeed a significant threat to public health hence swift and effective government action is necessary. However, the ZHRC has noted that the COVID-19 active cases have significantly declined and no longer as alarming as in other countries in the region. Therefore, the indefinite suspension of by-elections goes against principles of democracy and contradicts the situation on the ground. The Commission believes that any manageable crisis must not be used as a pretext to undermine people’s Constitutional political rights and freedoms.
8. Recommendations
8.1. Government of Zimbabwe The ZHRC calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to observe and respect the democratic and political rights of its people as enshrined in the Constitution and other regional and international instruments and guidelines. While restrictions may be necessary in a democratic society, they must respect pluralism, broadmindedness and tolerance. Measures should be for a limited and reasonable duration not indefinite.
8.2. Government authorities and structures must exercise separation of powers, consultative engagements and inclusion in serious decision making processes. Pandemics should not be used as an opportunity for States to unleash absolute Executive powers. Such powers should be exercised fairly and reasonably and should avoid taking shortcuts which in the long run may tend to persist and become permanent features eroding or diminishing democratic principles and values.
9. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
9.1 Should continue exercising its independence and autonomy with regards to the electoral processes as per its Constitutional mandate
Citizens and Civil Society
9.2 Citizens should, when necessary, peacefully claim their Constitutional rights and take duty bearers to account.
9.3 They should also always adhere to Government’s Safety guidelines especially during pandemics, such as the COVID-19.Coronavirus
ARTUZ notes that members and other educators have remained practically resolute in the face of incapacitation. We note some brazen threats and innuendo from the employer and some excitable misguided community members. Our position is clear. We are not on strike. This is not an industrial action. We are simply and realistically incapacitated. It is simply a physical and financial impossibility for us to function. That is the reality on the ground. Government is therefore advised to channel its energy towards finding a lasting solution to the predicament we find ourselves in. Threats and vindictiveness is not going to capacitate anyone. It is dubious and defective for the government to expect fear to capacitate us. We are afraid of hunger, indignity and poverty. We are certainly not afraid of our employer. We are not slaves.
Some misguided politicians like one Killer Zivhu are using our plight for their political objectives. Teachers can never be charity cases. Neither can we be turned into fishermen. Zivhu’s contempt of educators is however understandable considering his dismal performance in everything and anything academic. We advise Zivhu to consider checking in at the nearest mental healthcare centre if he honestly reckons that teachers are going to accept working on the basis of his misplaced philanthropy.
The Minister had promised to table our issue in cabinet. We have not heard anything material from him except to see him fast asleep on television in the said meeting. So cdes, we remain clear that we are incapacitated and we will not take any minute longer than is necessary to go back to the classroom as soon as we are capacitated.
Says the man who facilitated not just Regime Change but a Coup in November 2017 . The Obidient Son has no higher moral ground to talk about Constitutionalism , he will be judged acccordingly in the fullness of time, Sudan style!
This is the man who usurped Chairmanship of a rickety Central Committee meeting that fired Robert Mugabe and several of us , setting the stage for assumption of Presidency by ED , where was Mpoko ? Unless if Regime Change has a new definition, this was it!
MDC Alliance was not a Machinator but a Collaborator , the Regime Change Machinator was Zanu PF, which did a Palace Coup resulting in today ‘ s Military State, FACT.
I am a journalist who closely reported the developments in the cases of Job Sikhala, Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume after their arrest on Inciting Public Violence. I work for the locally registered online media house. There is no day my bosses didn’t allocate me duties to Court to cover and follow the cases of the three blow by blow. Many international news outlets borrowed stories about the developments on the trio’s cases from us.
I remember on the day when the hearing for Job Sikhala’s bail appeal in the High Court was to be heard, we were shuffled from one Court to another until we were told that the bail hearing by the Judge will be heard their arguments from lawyers of Job Sikhala and prosecutors in Court J. The Judge opted for Court J instead of the usual bail court F because she wanted a Court with recorders. The bail hearing scheduled to commence at 14:15 hrs started late around 15:30hrs. Everyone was worried on the cause of the inordinate delay.
When the matter started the Court room was full and journalists had to stand in the corridor to follow proceedings. After arguments by lawyers from both sides Justice Ndewere went back to her office.
We noticed strange things happening and we whispered among ourselves as journalists about, who the people who followed Justice Ndewere to her offices. We later understood that these were not ordinary people. They were state security agents from Munhumutapa Building, who we gathered threatened Justice Ndewere on the dire consequences if she dare grant Job Sikhala bail.
They went to show her some documents outlining her transgressions during her tenure as a judge, some of them ridiculous to contemplate or believe. They alleged that she used her Assistant to write judgements on her behalf and that they will come for her if she grants Job Sikhala bail.
We wanted to break the news but my Editor told us that the story might jeopardize Job Sikhala’s chances of getting bail. We left it there.
Again something strange happened: the Judge hesitated to give her ruling on the bail appeal for a period spanning a week and a half. Bail judgements are generally given immediately after arguments by lawyers and prosecutors, but Job Sikhala’s bail ruling was delivered after one and half weeks. This should have attracted the inquisitive mind of Zimbabweans.
On the day of the bail ruling, Justice Ndewere announced that she will deliver her judgment at 1400hrs. People who came were directed to go to Court A, the largest Court room at the High Court. The Court was full to the gallery by the time announced for the ruling. All Job Sikhala’s family, friends and colleagues were waiting for the judgement only for another inordinate delay to take place. The Judge invited Job Sikhala’s lawyers and the state public prosecutor to come to her office. They came back and told everyone to wait as the judge was finishing editing her judgment putting comas and full stops. People had to wait until 16:46hrs for the Judge to enter the Courtroom. From her first sentence to the last full stop she was castigating the police and the Magistrate who heard the matter at Rotten Row for serious misdirections committed.
It could be noticed that the Judge was hiding her judgment from uninvited external forces. After the delivery of her judgment we obtained information that, she received a telephone call from the Chief Justice Malaba who shouted at her over her judgment. Her life was never the same since then. She became a loner at the Court hounded by the threats thrown at her by the Chief Justice Malaba.
Some mbanje craving armed robbers shot and killed a man whose house they had raided in Kadoma after they failed to get the drug.
When the robbers entered the house last Saturday night, they demanded the drug but were told by the occupants that they did not have it and they shot the owner in the neck before fleeing from the scene. The man died the following day.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident and said investigations were still in progress.
“Police in Kadoma are investigating a case of murder where some masked men and a woman forced their way into a house where they demanded some dagga on October 10, 2020. When they were told that there were no drugs, the men shot the owner of the house on the neck and fled into the darkness.
“The man later died on October 11, 2020 due to the injuries,” he said.
In another case, five armed robbers robbed a tuckshop in Domboshava last Friday and got away with cellphones, cash, bread and cigarettes worth $11 400.
One of the robbers has since been arrested and property valued at $400 recovered.
The other suspects are still at large.
In Esigodini, a 39-year-old man was fatally assaulted by five men after he had earlier on engaged in a fist fight with one of the suspects.
Two of the suspects have since been arrested.
In a related incident, which occurred in Bulawayo last Thursday, a 22-year-old man was also fatally assaulted by seven men after having a misunderstanding over payment of wages.
The man’s friend was also severely assaulted. Six of the suspects have been arrested. Police said in Plumtree, a man aged 25 who was drinking beer at a shopping centre had a misunderstanding with another man over an undisclosed matter.
He was then stabbed with a knife on the chest and he died on the spot.
The assailant has since been arrested and the okapi knife was recovered hidden in the thatched roof of his bedroom hut.
A 42-year-old man in Mt Darwin who tried to break into a homestead was fatally assaulted by villagers after the occupant called for help.
The man later died and a report was made to police who managed to arrest one of the suspects involved in the assault.
In Harare, a 30-year-old man was arrested on Saturday Harare for a case of murder, which he committed in 2018.
The man is alleged to have murdered his wife following a misunderstanding before he went into hiding.
Another 32-year-old Harare man was fatally assaulted by a mob on Saturday after he tried to rob a woman of her cellphone.
The man also threatened to rape one of the woman’s daughters who managed to run away.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has scoffed at the announcement by the Public Service Commission that declared that the least paid teacher will earn over ZWL$12 000.
In a twitter post dismissing the announcement, ARTUZ said thee COVID-19 allowance expires next month and the $12 000 was still below the poverty datum line which was pegged at close to $20 000:
1/2 This is a joke. The gvt intends to deceive the world into believing that they adjusted our salaries. To the contrary they simply added current teacher income to COVID19 allowance and announced the total figure. Teachers have been earning the same inadequate income since July.
2/2 COVID 19 allowance expires in December 2020. The ZWL 12 000 announced is below the modest monthly budget of a low income earner as announced by CCZ, pegged at over ZWL 20 000. We still humbly submit that gvt should restore the value of our salaries. Trs remain incapacitated. Teachers have been on strike ever since schools reopened for writing classes over a fortnight ago citing incapacitation. Negotiations between the government and the Apex council which represents most civil servants reportedly collapsed last month before they resumed again sometime this month.
Teachers are demanding an equivalent of $520 and the government is saying it cannot afford to pay them that much for now.
CAF has officially confirmed the venue for the Warriors’ home encounter against Algeria next month.
The game will be played on home soil after the continental body approved National Sports Stadium as the venue.
The country was at risk of hosting the game elsewhere, possibly in South Africa, due to a ban on all local stadiums.
However, the coronavirus pandemic came as a blessing in disguise as the encounter was suspended, giving more time to the authorities to make extensive renovations for the Harare stadium.
Only a few areas didn’t get the touch-ups with the installation of bucket seats the major issue, but CAF approved the venue to host the Warriors’ next game in the Afcon Qualifiers.
The approval followed after the government wrote to the football body asking for pardon since the game will be played behind closed.
The match will happen on 16 November after the away fixture at 5 July 1962 Stadium in Algiers on 12 November.-Soccer 24
An assailant believed to be an artisanal miner detonated an explosive device in a house in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb on Tuesday night where three men were conducting bible studies in a fight over a woman.
It is believed the suspected artisanal miner was targeting one of the three men with whom he is involved in a love triangle.
The three men escaped unhurt but the explosive device destroyed part of the wall to the house, window panes and part of the roof.
The Zimbabwe Football Association have appointed a team manager for the country’s senior men’s national soccer team on a permanent basis.
The position has been vacant since it was dissolved in January but former manager Wellington Mpandare has retained his post.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has appointed Mr Wellington Mpandare as the General Manager for all national teams on a three-year contract.
“The position comes with huge responsibilities which the board felt match the experience possessed by Mpandare, who has served in almost similar capacity in the past. Mpandare was the team manager for the senior men’s team when the Warriors qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and he was also in the same position when the locally based Warriors secured a place at the 2021 African Nations Championship.
“Apart from the usual responsibilities of the team manager of the Warriors, Mpandare will also be responsible for all logistical and welfare issues for all other national teams. He will work hand in glove with team managers of the other teams to improve the organisational aspects around national team games.
“We would like to wish Mpandare all the best in his new secretariat position which teams him up with a dedicated group which has been doing some of the duties he will assume. The executive committee has great faith in his ability to execute his duties well to support the association’s long term goals,” announced ZIFA via a statement-Soccer 24
Farai Dziva|President Nelson Chamisa has said transparency is the MDC Alliance’s key policy.
Commenting on the party’s audit results released on Tuesday, President Chamisa said:
Focusing on administrative and financial fundamentals…
Just finished the Finance and Admin Sub Committee meeting(on Tuesday)
Our key task is to build strong structures, robust infrastructure and effective systems to achieve total institutional renewal and organizational revitalization!
Warriors defender Partson ‘Yellow’ Jaure has thanked the football family for their prayers and good wishes after the career-threatening road accident he was involved in.
The Dynamos centre back was involved in a nasty crash near Prince Edward School in March but underwent a successful head surgery and has recovered.
Speaking at a Dynamos function yesterday, the former Pretoria University man expressed gratitude to the local football fraternity.
“I was in a critical situation I don’t wanna lie. But everything went well,” he said.
” I would like to thank my teammates and everyone who helped me, even the supporters for all the prayers and support. I wanna thank everyone because I was really in a crisis but everything is now fine and Im 100% fit now.”
” I have started light training and no longer feel any pain every time I do so,” he said.-Soccer 24
Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance(Youth Assembly) has described the level of police brutality in the country as shocking.
On Monday overzealous cops threw tear gas canisters into a bus full of children and the elderly…
Read below the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly statement : 12-10-2020
Barbaric acts by thugs disguised as members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police who recklessly tear gassed a bus carrying passengers including the elderly and the minors must never go unchallenged.
The inhumane act by some rogue police elements which occured in Harare on Monday at Showgrounds must never go unpunished.
It is very clear that the police force is now a danger to the public as exhibited by their recent acts of brutality.
This is not the first time that the police have exhibited animalistic behavior on innocent citizens.
Just a year ago, the same police force gruesomely hit a vendor Hilton Tamangani with iron bars and fists at a basement at QV Pharmacy in Angwa street.
Tamangani later succumbed to sustained injuries at Harare Remand Prison.
Earlier this year, the same police force was at it again when they released the trio of MDC Alliance female youth leaders, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova into the custody of abductors after the police spokesperson Paul Nyathi had initially indicated that the trio were in police custody.
Few months later, the same unrepentant police force bashed a sprawling MDC Alliance Deputy Youth Spokesperson, Womberai Nhende at Morgan Richard Tsvangirai house. Up to now Nhende is walking wounded as a result of police brutality.
As if that was not enough, the same police force today summoned some foolish intelligence or lack of it and threw tear gas right into a bus carrying passengers.
Of importance to note for citizens is that the bus was not carrying MDC Alliance supporters but citizens from diverse backgrounds and political inclinations.
What this means is that no one is safe from this bunch of rogue police officers that behaves worse than the colonial black watchers (mabhurakwacha).
As citizens, we are no longer safe from this monster regime.
Resistance is now a must for every citizen because injustice is everywhere.
Surely if we can not be moved by today’s horrible police behavior, then something is wrong with us as a people.
In a normal society Police Commissioner General, Godwin Matanga is supposed to resign with immediate effect. Anything other than that is pure nonsense!
StopPoliceBrutality
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCAllianceYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance National Youth Organising Secretary and councillor for ward 4, Masvingo Urban, Godfrey Kurauone is suing the police for illegally arresting and detaining him.
Councillor Godfrey Kurauone is demanding over $2 million for malicious arrest and persecution.
Kurauone, who was facing charges of criminal nuisance and obstructing traffic, was acquitted after the state failed to prove its case in court.
The state accused the councillor of posting a video of a song in which he called for immediate removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The state also alleged Kurauone burnt vehicle tyres along the Mashava-Zvamahande road disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
He was arrested by officers from the Law and Order Section in Masvingo Town while reporting at the police provincial headquarters in fulfilment of his bail conditions for a similar case.
A Mabvuku woman and her twenty-one year old daughter who survived rape are now being charged with murder.
They were released after paying ZW$1000 bail. They are set to appear in court on the 30th of November 2020.
The two women were rescued by a mob who delivered instant justice to the alleged rapist who later died.
The mother and daughter had gone to access water on the Wetland located behind Tafara High School commonly known as Gosden area.
According to sources the two women were confronted by the man who demanded sex from the daughter and later turn to the mother after the daughter escaped.
The daughter then called for help in the neighborhood and an angry mob descended on the alleged “rapist.”
“What we are seeing is persecution of the survivor of rape. What if she was raped? Was the state going to arrest her? This is nonsense,” said angry women from Mabvuku.
This is not the first time when women have escaped rape in the outskirts of Mabvuku. Iincidences of attempted rape have been reported on especially women accessing water at public water points located in bushy areas.
CHRA condemns any form of violence against women and calls on the government of Zimbabwe to increase its fiscal commitment towards water supply as this reduces many forms of abuse against women.
By A Correspondent- A Kwekwe man has been arraigned before the courts for allegedly raping and impregnating his biological daughter.
The man, whose identity cannot be revealed to protect the victim, but is from Chiwundura, allegedly raped and impregnated his 19-year old daughter.
He was arraigned before Kwekwe Magistrate Ms Mildred Matuvi facing rape charges. He was remanded in custody to October 24 for provision of trial date.
Prosecuting, Ms Ethel Bhumhure told the court that sometime in June this year, the accused person and the complainant were staying together at a farm near Kwekwe.
One day he alledgedly sneaked into the complainant’s bedroom, Ms Bhumure told the court.
Whilst in the bedroom, the accused person allegedly sneaked into the blankets where the complainant was sleeping.
He then threatened her with death if she dared scream before going on to rape her once.
The accused person temporarily left the room before returning after some minutes and raped the accused person twice.
After the act he threatened her with death and left the room.
The matter came to light when the complainant visited her auntie who discovered that she was pregnant.
She was taken to hospital for tests where she was discovered to be 20 weeks pregnant. The matter was reports to police leading to the arrest of the accused.
The accused in his defense left the court in stiches after he claimed to have gone mad after going after a bet.
“She saw a bet and screamed for help and I quickly rushed to her rescue. The bet however disappeared into darkness and we went mad. I ended up sleeping with her as I thought I was in my bedroom.
We did it three times, I remember. But soon after she regained consciousness that is when I discovered I was in the wrong room,” the accused told the court.-Chronicle
Portugal’s soccer federation announced Tuesday that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Ronaldo is not experiencing symptoms and has left the team to isolate, and no other Portuguese players have tested positive, the federation announced.
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Ronaldo was with Portugal’s national team for group-stage play in the UEFA Nations League and was in the team’s starting lineup for Sunday’s scoreless draw with host France. Portugal is scheduled to host Sweden on Wednesday.
On Monday, Ronaldo posted a photo on Instagram of the team gathered at what appears to be a restaurant. None of the players were wearing face coverings or spacing themselves apart.
“United on and off the field!” Ronaldo wrote in the Instagram caption.
Under coronavirus protocolsestablished by European soccer’s governing body, all players, officials and venue staff are tested ahead of every match. Matches may move forward so long as local authorities do not require a large group of players or the entire team to go into isolation.
Many European countries have seen a surge in positive coronavirus tests in recent weeks, leading them to consider and in some cases implement new restrictions on gatherings.
French authorities on Saturday reported a record 27,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours. On Monday, health officials there said the number of people hospitalized for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, had surpassed 8,600 for the first time since late June.-UEFA/AFP
WHO says Elections are one important pillar of Democracy and elections must continue under the COVID19 regulations. The organisation will soon publish new regulations aimed at ensuring safe elections. @WHO
By A Correspondent- The World Health Organisation has revealed that elections are a key pillar of any democracy hence elections must continue under the COVID-19 regulations.
The development was revealed by SABC journalist Sophie Mokoena in a tweet Wednesday.
The organisation is soon set to publish new regulations aimed at ensuring safe elections.
This comes as Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care through Statutory Instrument (SI) 225A of 2020 banned the holding of by-elections citing the coronavirus.
The former army boss amended Covid-19 regulations last week, ahead of by-elections scheduled for December 5.
Nomination court was due to sit on October 9.
The development, which was described by analysts as a huge blow to the MDC-Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa, which was hoping to quickly return its legislators and councillors who were recalled by MDC-T interim leadership led by Thokozani Khupe.
This comes when the country has in the recent past been easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions at the backdrop of declining coronavirus cases in the country.
Reads the Statutory Instrument:
Statutory Instrument 225A of 2020. [CAP. 15:17 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (No. 4)
IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Health has, in terms of section 68 of the Public Health Act [Chapter 15:17], made the following regulations:—
I . These regulations may be cited as the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (No. 4).
2. The Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) Regulations, 2020, published in Statutory Instrument 77 of 2020 (“the principal regulations”) are amended in section 3 (“Declaration of COVID-19 as Formidable Epidemic Disease”) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2)—”
(3) Pursuant to subsection (2), the holding of any by-election to fill a casual vacancy in Parliament or in a local authority is, for the duration of the period of the declaration of COVID-19 as a formidable epidemic disease, suspended, and if such vacancy occurred while such declaration is in force, no part of the period from the date of such vacancy to the date of the end of the declaration shall be counted for the purposes of section 158(3) of the Constitution.”.
Almost 2 million babies are stillborn every year – or 1 every 16 seconds – according to the first ever joint stillbirth estimates released by UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The vast majority of stillbirths, 84 per cent, occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, according to the new report, A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths. In 2019, 3 in 4 stillbirths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa or Southern Asia. A stillbirth is defined in the report as a baby born with no signs of life at 28 weeks of pregancy or more.
“Losing a child at birth or during pregnancy is a devastating tragedy for a family, one that is often endured quietly, yet all too frequently, around the world,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “Every 16 seconds, a mother somewhere will suffer the unspeakable tragedy of stillbirth. Beyond the loss of life, the psychological and financial costs for women, families and societies are severe and long lasting. For many of these mothers, it simply didn’t have to be this way. A majority of stillbirths could have been prevented with high quality monitoring, proper antenatal care and a skilled birth attendant.”
The report warns that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the global number of stillbirths. A 50 per cent reduction in health services due to the pandemic could cause nearly 200 000 additional stillbirths over a 12-month period in 117 low- and middle-income countries. This corresponds to an increase in the number of stillbirths by 11.1 per cent.
According to modeling done for the report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 13 countries could see a 20 per cent increase or more in the number of stillbirths over a 12-month period.
Most stillbirths are due to poor quality of care during pregnancy and birth. Lack of investments in antenatal and intrapartum services and in strengthening the nursing and midwifery workforce are key challenges, the report says.
Over 40 per cent of stillbirths occur during labour—a loss that could be avoided with access to a trained health worker at childbirth and timely emergency obstetric care. Around half of stillbirths in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia occur during labour, compared to 6 per cent in Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand.
Even before the pandemic caused critical disruptions in health services, few women in low- and middle-income countries received timely and high-quality care to prevent stillbirths. Half of the 117 countries analyzed in the report have coverage that ranges from a low of less than 2 per cent to a high of only 50 per cent for 8 important maternal health interventions such as C-section, malaria prevention, management of hypertension in pregnancy and syphilis detection and treatment. Coverage for assisted vaginal delivery – a critical intervention for preventing stillbirths during labour – is estimated to reach less than half of pregnant women who need it.
As a result, despite advances in health services to prevent or treat causes of child death, progress in lowering the stillbirth rate has been slow. From 2000 to 2019, the annual rate of reduction in the stillbirth rate was just 2.3 per cent, compared to a 2.9 per cent reduction in neonatal mortality, and 4.3 per cent in mortality among children aged 1–59 months. Progress, however, is possible with sound policy, programmes and investment.
“Welcoming a baby into the world should be a time of great joy, but every day thousands of parents experience unbearable sadness because their babies are still born,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The tragedy of stillbirth shows how vital it is to reinforce and maintain essential health services, and how critical it is to increase investment in nurses and midwives.”
The report also notes that stillbirth is not only a challenge for poor countries. In 2019, 39 high-income countries had a higher number of stillbirths than neonatal deaths and 15 countries had a higher number of stillbirths than infant deaths. A mother’s level of education is one of the greatest drivers of inequity in high-income countries.
In both low- and high-income settings, stillbirth rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Socioeconomic status is also linked to greater incidence of stillbirth.
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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WATCH- Former President @KgalemaMotlanthe reveals that corruption is more ravaging than any pandemic. Any government needs effective checks and balances to deal with it. #COVID19#Corruption#ZACCpic.twitter.com/nXnXwax9qH
WATCH- Former President @KgalemaMotlanthe reveals that corruption is more ravaging than any pandemic. Any government needs effective checks and balances to deal with it. #COVID19#Corruption#ZACCpic.twitter.com/nXnXwax9qH
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance National Youth Organising Secretary and councillor for ward 4, Masvingo Urban, Godfrey Kurauone is suing the police for illegally arresting and detaining him.
Councillor Godfrey Kurauone is demanding over $2 million for malicious arrest and persecution.
Kurauone, who was facing charges of criminal nuisance and obstructing traffic, was acquitted after the state failed to prove its case in court.
The state accused the councillor of posting a video of a song in which he called for immediate removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The state also alleged Kurauone burnt vehicle tyres along the Mashava-Zvamahande road disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
He was arrested by officers from the Law and Order Section in Masvingo Town while reporting at the police provincial headquarters in fulfilment of his bail conditions for a similar case.
Own Correspondent | Church leaders in Masvingo have accused controversial cleric Isaac Makomichi of using juju to facilitate illicit marriages.
Makomichi of the Calvary Prayer Group is planning to hold a public event to officially introduce what he calls the anointed love potion herb.
Various church leaders argue Christians should not use juju.
“Prophet” Zvoushe of Zvapupu Zvengoni described Makomichi as an evil agent who is facilitating illicit marriages.
“Makomichi is not a prophet but an evil man who is causing confusion in and around the city.
We are not going to allow this to continue.
If he holds that juju ceremony honestly we will not hesitate to confront him,” charged Prophet Zvoushe.
Contacted for a comment, Makomichi said:
“I have helped hundreds of people in Masvingo.I am not worried about what the church leaders you have mentioned are saying.Nobody can stop me from doing my work.It’s true I will hold a ceremony to officially introduce the anointed herb.”
By A Correspondent- A Harare lawyer yesterday appeared in court for allegedly misappropriating trust funds amounting to US$200 000. Ryan Baglow (35) of Matizanadzo and Warhurts Legal Practitioners allegedly used two names to hoodwink his clients, the court heard.
Baglow allegedly failed to account for US$200 000, he collected on behalf of his client on a sale of two stands. Baglow was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Judith Taruvinga who released him on $50 000 bail.
The complainant in the matter is Lake Fisheries, a duly registered company in Kariba, represented by one of its directors, Mr David Edwin Webster.
Prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that in 2007, Webster and his co-director, the late Mr Thomas Campbell Miller, formed a company named Stenplay Investments, which purchased the entire issued share capital in companies called Lake Fresh Fishers Kariba Sardines and Sea Farmers from Peter Oscar Marchussen.
According to the State, Lake Fresh Fisheries had properties which were stand numbers, 473-566 Kariba Township, but due to financial inability, the two directors decided to dispose of them. It is alleged they wanted to raise money to fund Lake Fresh Fisheries and its associated company’s capital and operational needs.
Mr Miller then expressed interest in purchasing the two stands for his company called Fairwinds Farming (Pvt) Limited and he approached his legal practitioner, Baglow for legal advice whom he knew as Ryan Stewart. It is the State’s case that Baglow fraudulently appointed “another” lawyer called Ryan Baglow to represent Lake Fresh Fisheries in the sale of its two stands when in actual fact it was him using the two names.
Acting on the misrepresentation, Mr Webster signed a resolution authorising Baglow to sell the two stands on their behalf and he subsequently sold the them to Mr Miller at an agreed price of US$200 000. He further instructed Miller to deposit US$40 000 to Matizanadzo and Warhurst Law Firm’s trust account and US$160 000 into Lake Fresh Fisheries account.
An agreement of sale of the two stands was drafted between Lake Fresh Fisheries and Fairwinds Farming where Baglow represented the seller, but according to the State, Baglow failed to account for the proceeds of the stands.
Baglow, it is alleged, later facilitated the transfer of the stands from Lake Fresh Fisheries name into Fairwinds name.
Mr Miller later passed on leaving Mr Webster as the only director of Stenplay, who later realised that he had been duped by Baglow and made a police report.
Investigations established that Baglow was using both names Ryan Baglow and Ryan Stewart, with the later having no record at the office of the Registrar General.-statemedia
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work.
The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.
Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets.
Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food.
The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets.
The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.
Millions of agricultural workers – waged and self-employed – while feeding the world, regularly face high levels of working poverty, malnutrition and poor health, and suffer from a lack of safety and labour protection as well as other types of abuse.
With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labour.
Migrant agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable, because they face risks in their transport, working and living conditions and struggle to access support measures put in place by governments. Guaranteeing the safety and health of all agri-food workers – from primary producers to those involved in food processing, transport and retail, including street food vendors – as well as better incomes and protection, will be critical to saving lives and protecting public health, people’s livelihoods and food security.
In the COVID-19 crisis food security, public health, and employment and labour issues, in particular workers’ health and safety, converge. Adhering to workplace safety and health practices and ensuring access to decent work and the protection of labour rights in all industries will be crucial in addressing the human dimension of the crisis.
Immediate and purposeful action to save lives and livelihoods should include extending social protection towards universal health coverage and income support for those most affected. These include workers in the informal economy and in poorly protected and low-paid jobs, including youth, older workers, and migrants.
Particular attention must be paid to the situation of women, who are over-represented in low-paid jobs and care roles. Different forms of support are key, including cash transfers, child allowances and healthy school meals, shelter and food relief initiatives, support for employment retention and recovery, and financial relief for businesses, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In designing and implementing such measures it is essential that governments work closely with employers and workers.
Countries dealing with existing humanitarian crises or emergencies are particularly exposed to the effects of COVID-19. Responding swiftly to the pandemic, while ensuring that humanitarian and recovery assistance reaches those most in need, is critical.
Now is the time for global solidarity and support, especially with the most vulnerable in our societies, particularly in the emerging and developing world. Only together can we overcome the intertwined health and social and economic impacts of the pandemic and prevent its escalation into a protracted humanitarian and food security catastrophe, with the potential loss of already achieved development gains.
We must recognize this opportunity to build back better, as noted in the Policy Brief issued by the United Nations Secretary-General. We are committed to pooling our expertise and experience to support countries in their crisis response measures and efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We need to develop long-term sustainable strategies to address the challenges facing the health and agri-food sectors.
Priority should be given to addressing underlying food security and malnutrition challenges, tackling rural poverty, in particular through more and better jobs in the rural economy, extending social protection to all, facilitating safe migration pathways and promoting the formalization of the informal economy.
We must rethink the future of our environment and tackle climate change and environmental degradation with ambition and urgency. Only then can we protect the health, livelihoods, food security and nutrition of all people, and ensure that our ‘new normal’ is a better one
Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections.
A party insider told the publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there,
We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors.
Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections-Daily News
1/2 This is a joke. The gvt intends to deceive the world into believing that they adjusted our salaries. To the contrary they simply added current teacher income to COVID19 allowance and announced the total figure. Teachers have been earning the same inadequate income since July. pic.twitter.com/2c8AyfvUsP
— Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe,ARTUZ (@ARTUZ_teachers) October 14, 2020
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance has said in essence Zanu PF is the opposition because its leader, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa stole the 2018 Presidential Election.
Zanu PF acting spokesperson, Patrick Chinamasa last week accused ” opposition elements of plotting to render the country ungovernable.”
According to Chinamasa the opposition will never rule the country because independence did not come through democracy.
Responding to Chinamasa’s remarks, MDC Alliance Youth Assembly national spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma said:
“Chinamasa’s party is the opposition- there is a legitimacy crisis in the country as a result of stolen elections.
The legitimacy crisis is the sticking point- we cannot move forward as a nation as a result of what happened in 2018.”
Another MDC Alliance official said:
“Very soon Chinamasa and his ilk will be the opposition.It is clear that Zanu PF bigwigs are having sleepless nights because of our growing influence.”
The Public Service Commission is pleased to advise Government workers that the USD 75 Covid 19 allowance for September 2020 is being paid today. Going forward, the USD 75 Covid allowance will be paid on pay days. This effectively means that the least paid worker (B1) is now earning ZWL 11 350.15 monthly, while a teacher at entry grade (D1) earns a total of ZWL 12 591.15. The USD 75 allowance is indexed to the prevailing RBZ foreign exchange auction rate.
Government would like to record its appreciation for civil servants in all categories who continue to render services to the citizens of Zimbabwe.
Government is committed to continuously improve the working conditions of civil servants, and hopes that negotiations in the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) to further improve emoluments for civil servants will be concluded soon
The Secretary Ambassador J. Wutawunashe Public Service Commission 915 Floor, Social Security Centre Harare
By A Correspondent- Opposition MDC Alliance youth leader and Masvingo ward 4 councillor, Godfrey Kurauone, has given notice to sue police for $2,4 million in damages following his arrest on trumped-up violence charges.
Kurauone is demanding $500 000 being damages for unlawful and wrongful arrest, $800 000 for unlawful and wrongful detention, another $800 000 for malicious prosecution, and $300 000 for legal expenses.
His lawyer, Martin Mureri, wrote to police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi, Attorney-General Prince Machaya, officer-in-charge for Criminal Investigation Department Law and Order in Masvingo and one Constable Muonde, arguing that his arrest was “arbitrary and without just cause”.
“His arrest and prosecution was motivated by malice and improper motives. In the premises, we are instructed to notify you as we hereby do, in line with the relevant statutory provisions, that our client intends to sue you jointly and severally with all police officers and other persons who participated in his wrongful and malicious arrest and prosecution, as well as the prosecutors who acted out of culpable ignorance and led to the prosecution against our client,” the letter read.
The AG’s Office acknowledged receipt of the letter and said it had taken note of the contents and promised to reply to Kurauone’s lawyer.
We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 21 2020, the contents of which have been noted. Please be advised that the matter is receiving attention and we will revert to you in due course,” said one Magunde, who signed for the director of Civil Division in the AG’s Office.
Kurauone was arrested on July 31 on allegations of criminal nuisance for allegedly circulating a video on social media purportedly inciting for the dethronement of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
He was also facing another charge of endangering public safety by blocking roads and urging citizens to protest against high-level corruption and escalating human rights abuses.
The MDC Alliance councillor was denied bail twice, resulting in him spending 45 days in remand prison.
The youthful politician has since been acquitted of the charge of obstructing or endangering free movement of people, while that of criminal nuisance was withdrawn before plea.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Government yesterday said it has decided to send a team of experts to all ports of entry to assess whether the country is ready to open its borders amid the continued decline in Covid-19 cases.
Covid-19 National Taskforce chairperson Oppah Muchinguri said the country was preparing to open its borders although she did not have a specific date.
By A Correspondent- ZimEye will be livestreaming a press conference set to be addressed by the Secretary of the Public Service Commission Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe this morning.
The press briefing will address civil servants’ COVID 19 allowances.
Said a notice issued by government to the media:
Secretary of Public Service Commission Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe is inviting you for an impromptu briefing on the COVID ALLOWANCE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS
By A Correspondent- In a major turn of events at Harare Town House, an MDC-T councillor Luckson Mukunguma, who last month narrowly lost the Harare mayoral election to MDC Alliance candidate Jacob Mafume, was yesterday elected deputy mayor.
Mukunguma lost to Mafume by five votes. This was despite that the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T had recalled councillors affiliated to the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance party.
Mukunguma has, however, pledged to work with Mafume saying political affiliation should be put aside in order for elected officials to improve service delivery and fight graft.
“I would like to extend my appreciation to the mayor and say we are in this together and we need to make sure service delivery is our chorus so that the people who entrusted us with votes are given the services they are expecting,” Mukunguma said.
“It is important at this juncture to fight our number one enemy in the city of Harare and that is corruption,” he said. But the MDC Alliance said Mukunguma’s election would derail most council projects as he would use the position to fight Mafume.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Suspended High Court judge justice Erica Ndewere is reportedly paying the price for refusing to take orders from Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
Sources privy to developments revealed that Ndewere told Justice Malaba that the Constitution does not make provision for him to supervise her work.
Said an anonymous journalist in a leak:
I am a journalist who closely reported the the developments in the cases of Job Sikhala, Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume after their arrest on Inciting Public Violence. I work for the locally registered online media house. There is no day my bosses didn’t allocate me duties to Court to cover and follow the cases of the three blow by blow. Many international news outlets borrowed stories about the developments on the trio’s cases from us.
I remember on the day when the hearing for Job Sikhala’s bail appeal in the High Court was to be heard, we were shuffled from one Court to another until we were told that the bail hearing by the Judge will be heard their arguments from lawyers of Job Sikhala and prosecutors in Court J.
The Judge opted for Court J instead of the usual bail court F because she wanted a Court with recorders. The bail hearing scheduled to commence at 14:15 hrs started late around 15:30hrs. Everyone was worried on the cause of the inordinate delay.
When the matter started the Court room was full and journalists had to stand in the corridor to follow proceedings. After arguments by lawyers from both sides Justice Ndewere went back to her office.
We noticed strange things happening and we whispered among ourselves as journalists about, who the people who followed Justice Ndewere to her offices. We later understood that these were not ordinary people. They were state security agents from Munhumutapa Building, who we gathered threatened Justice Ndewere on the dire consequences if she dare grant Job Sikhala bail.
They went to show her some documents outlining her transgressions during her tenure as a judge, some of them ridiculous to contemplate or believe. They alleged that she used her Assistant to write judgements on her behalf and that they will come for her if she grants Job Sikhala bail.
We wanted to break the news but my Editor told us that the story might jeopardize Job Sikhala’s chances of getting bail. We left it there.
Again something strange happened that the Judge hesitated to give her ruling on the on the bail appeal for a period spanning a week and half. Bail judgements are generally given immediately after arguments by lawyers and prosecutors, but Job Sikhala’s bail ruling was delivered after one and half weeks. This should have attracted the inquisitive mind of Zimbabweans.
On the day of the bail ruling, Justice Ndewere announced that she will deliver her judgment at 1400hrs. People who came were directed to go to Court A, the largest Court room at the High Court. The Court was full to the gallery by the time announced for the ruling.
All Job Sikhala’s family, friends and colleagues were waiting for the judgement only for another inordinate delay to take place. The Judge invited Job Sikhala’s lawyers and the state public prosecutor to come to her office.
They came back and told everyone to wait as the judge was finishing editing her judgment putting comas and full stops. People had to wait until 16:46hrs for the Judge to enter the Courtroom. From her first sentence to the last full stop she was castigating the police and the Magistrate who heard the matter at Rotten Row for serious misdirections committed.
It could be noticed that the Judge was hiding her judgment from uninvited external forces. After the delivery of her judgment we obtained information that, she received a telephone call from the Chief Justice Malaba who shouted at her over her judgment. Her life was never the same since then. She became a loner at the Court hounded by the threats thrown at her by the Chief Justice Malaba.
Ndewere, last month granted bail to MDC Alliance vice-chairperson Job Sikhala, said she received Malaba’s letter of complaint against her conduct on September 15, but refused to respond, arguing Malaba did not supervise High Court, but Supreme Court judges.
In her response, Ndewere referred to sections 163(2) and 163(3) of the Constitution, saying it was clear that the Judge President and, in this case Justice George Chiweshe, was in charge of the High Court, while Justice Malaba was in charge of the Supreme Court.
“The Judicial Service Commission does not have the legal authority to deal with complaints raised against the Honourable Ndewere. We direct your attention to Statutory Instrument 107 of 2012 and the provisions contained therein. The Chief Justice does not have the authority to direct the Judicial Service Commission to attend to any complaint against a sitting judge of the High Court,” Ndewere’s lawyers Sawyer and Mkushi said in response to the JSC dated September 30, 2020.
“The regulations which govern the handling of complaints are contained in Statutory Instrument 107 of 2012. In the result, section 187(3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe is not applicable to the extent that there are no legal requirements for Ndewere to respond to your minute.”
Ndewere urged Malaba to follow laid down procedures for dealing with complaints against a sitting judge.
According to the Constitution, Ndewere’s issue was supposed to be handled by Justice Chiweshe, who would refer it to the Chief Justice, in the event that he failed to address it.
After Malaba received the complaint against Justice Ndewere, he was supposed to appoint three judges to conduct a disciplinary hearing to make recommendations to him before involving the JSC or President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
It would appear Malaba conflicted himself by being the complainant when he was supposed to be the adjudicator since he also chairs the JSC.
The internal memos showed the JSC has not yet disclosed the misconduct charges levelled against Ndewere, but it is believed that some of the allegations include late finalisation of matters.
The source said Ndewere was also being accused of refusing to take Malaba’s instructions not to grant bail to Sikhala before she heard the matter.
“Justice Ndewere is being victimised by Chief Justice Malaba for refusing to take his instructions not to grant bail to a prominent politician before she heard the case. Malaba threatened her with investigations when she told him that his instructions were unlawful and against the Constitution,” the sources said.
It is alleged Justice Chiweshe refused to raise complaints against Ndewere.
The matter is likely to spill into the Constitutional Court as the Chief Justice’s conduct is tantamount to interference.
This brings to two the number of judges that have been suspended this year over alleged misconduct.
By A Correspondent- Government has said it will open the electoral playing field for contestation once it was satisfied that political parties will stick to set COVID-19 regulations.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said while government had allowed business to resume operations, it would not rush to do the same for political contestation.
“While all sectors of the economy have been opened, it has been a process of consultation and presentation with those sectors. There are statutory instruments we have put in place which comply with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines,” she said.
Muchinguri-Kashiri said political players had not shown any commitment to stick to WHO guidelines.
“We have not received any representations from the political space that they are ready to engage the government on the issue of by-elections. They don’t demonstrate capacity that they will abide by the WHO guidelines. I would rather not comment on this until the time comes,” she said.
Her statement came weeks after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) said it had presented COVID-19 compliant electoral protocols.
Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba in her roadmap which dealt with holding of elections under COVID-19, proposed that by-elections be held by December 5, but Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga who also doubles as Health minister barred the holding of the by-elections citing fears of spread of the virulent disease.
The by-elections were triggered by the recall of 32 MDC Alliance MPs by the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T.
Khupe’s party members have since been sworn in to fill 15 party list seats.
In an unrelated matter, Cabinet also reduced the costs of acquiring health certification documents from the initial US$100 to US$25.
Cabinet also announced that schools were now ready to open for phase two, which will include Grade Six, Form 3s and Form 5s.
This is despite a public outcry by parents and teachers’ unions that schools were not yet ready for reopening since teachers were on strike.
Government said it had set aside US$32 million for disaster preparedness ahead of the rainy season. Zimbabwe was struck by Cyclone Idai in the last rainy season, leaving hundreds dead and a trail of infrastructure destruction.-Newsday
By A Correspondent – A missing Concession woman was found dead with her hands tied with a cloth near a stream yesterday.
Mashonaland Central deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Fidelis Dhewu confirmed the case.
“I can confirm that we found Winnie Magadu of White cliff farm, Concession dead near a stream after she was reported missing three days before by her husband Foster Chaka (25), Dhewu said.
It is alleged that the body was discovered by a passerby who was looking for wild fruits.
The passerby filed a police report and they went to the scene where they found the body’s hands tied with a white cloth.
Chaka positively identified his wife’s body which was in an advanced state of decomposition.
Police is appealing for information that can lead to the detection of the case.
By A Correspondent- Police have raised alarm over the rise in murder cases reported throughout the country, with a record eight cases recorded at the weekend.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday attributed the upsurge in the murder cases to failure by people to value human life, drunkenness, marital disputes and infidelity which resulted in partners killing each other.
“The murder cases have been reported in Kadoma, Concession, Esigodini, Mount Darwin, Bulawayo and Harare and they are now a cause for concern,” Nyathi said.
His statement comes at a time police in Kadoma are investigating a murder case where masked men and a woman forced their way into a house demanding dagga before fatally shooting the owner of the house.
In Esigodini, a 39-year-old man was last week fatally assaulted by five assailants after he had earlier fought with one of them.
Two of the attackers have since been arrested. In Bulawayo again on the same day, police said a 22-year-old man was killed by seven men after a misunderstanding over wages.
“The man’s friend was also severely assaulted and six of the suspects have since been arrested,” police said.
In Plumtree, a 25-year-old man, who was drinking beer at a shopping centre had a misunderstanding with another man over an undisclosed matter before the altercation turned physical.
Police said he was stabbed with a knife on the chest, resulting in him dying on the spot.
The accused was arrested and an okapi knife was recovered hidden in a thatched roof of his bedroom hut.
In Mt Darwin, a man aged 42 was manhandled and fatally assaulted by a mob after trying to break into a house.
In another gruesome murder, the body of a 20-year-old woman was discovered at the weekend in an advanced state of decomposition with her hands tied together with a white cloth.
The victim is said to have left home on October 1, 2020 on her way to Glendale, where she met her fate. The motive of her murder is still unknown.
In Harare, a 32-year-old man was fatally assaulted by a mob after he tried to rob a woman of her cellphone and threatened to rape one of the woman’s daughters who managed to escape.
By A Correspondent- Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections.
A party insider told a local publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there,
We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors. Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections.-DailyNews
By A Correspondent| The trial of former Chief Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe is expected to commence at the Harare High Court today.
He is being charged with criminal abuse of office.
In January this year the State dropped the charges against him before plea and advised that he would be summoned in due course for the trial.
Guvamombe is alleged to have recommended attachment places for former Cabinet Ministers, Supa Mandiwanzira and Saviour Kasukuwere, who were studying law at the University of Zimbabwe when they had pending criminal charges.
He also faces charges of defeating the course of justice after he allegedly directed a subordinate, Elijah Makomo, to recuse himself in a trial involving his alleged business partner’s son.
By MISA Zimbabwe| The right to privacy in Zimbabwe is increasingly under threat following remarks by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the government had managed to track the locations of certain individuals and their communication details.
President Mnangagwa was addressing Zanu PF women, youths and war veterans, provincial chairpersons, at the party’s headquarters in Harare on 12 October 2020.
He said the government has been facing attacks from individuals within the country, foreign embassies in Zimbabwe, and foreign-funded non-governmental organisations, which are not operating within their mandate particularly in view of the 31st of July 2020 Movement.
This comes on the backdrop of earlier sentiments by Army Commander Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo, that the army would start snooping into private communications between citizens to ‘guard against subversion’ as the use of social media poses a threat to national security.
The right to privacy is provided for under Section 57 of the Constitution. The Constitution provides that every person has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have:
their home, premises or property entered without their permission,
their person, home, premises or property searched
their possessions seized
the privacy of their communication infringed; or
their health condition disclosed.
The right to privacy is very critical because it is an enabling right that allows for the exercise of media freedom and freedom of expression. It is in that context that the confidentiality of media sources is key and equally protected by the Constitution.
Similarly, the protection of whistleblowers is also very important for the purposes of fostering transparency and accountability. Unjustified infringements to the right to privacy results in self-censorship as citizens will be afraid to communicate freely, fearing that their communications will be availed to other third parties.
It should also be noted that Section 86 of the Constitution states that fundamental rights and freedoms may be limited only in terms of a law of general application, and to the extent that the limitation is fair, reasonable, necessary and justifiable in a democratic society based on openness, justice, human dignity and freedom.
MISA Zimbabwe position
MISA Zimbabwe is concerned by what seems to be targeted surveillance at critics of the government and dissenting voices. This is a grave departure from the letter and spirit of the Constitution which calls on the State and all institutions and administrative authorities to respect, protect and promote the Declaration of Rights as set out in the Constitution.
International standards and best practices stress that any limitation to fundamental rights should pass the three-pronged test on legality, necessity and proportionality.
Principle 41 of the recently launched Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’Rights, provides as follows:
States shall not engage in or condone acts of indiscriminate and untargeted collection, storage, analysis or sharing of a person’s communications.
States shall only engage in targeted communication surveillance that is authorised by law, that conforms to international human rights law and standards, and that is premised on specific and reasonable suspicion that a serious crime has been or is being carried out or for any other legitimate aim.
States shall ensure that any law authorising targeted communication surveillance provides adequate safeguards for the right to privacy, including:
the prior authorisation of an independent and impartial judicial authority;
due process safeguards;
specific limitation on the time, manner, place and scope of the surveillance;
notification of the decision authorising surveillance within a reasonable time of the conclusion of such surveillance;
proactive transparency on the nature and scope of its use; and
effective monitoring and regular review by an independent oversight mechanism.
The above principle clearly lays out the mechanisms that should be put in place to guide any form of surveillance that can be conducted.
Zimbabwe should also be guided accordingly to ensure the right to privacy is fully respected.
MISA Zimbabwe, therefore, reiterates its earlier position that the Interception of Communications Act 2007 which regulates the interception of communications, including telephonic communications, postal telecommunications as well as Internet-based communications in Zimbabwe, should be aligned to the Constitution.
It legitimises surveillance and yet does not have any oversight mechanisms that prevent over-surveillance and extra-judicial surveillance.
If the State engages in any form of surveillance, such surveillance should be lawful and based on a warrant authorised by a court of law through the judicial officers and for a specific and legitimate purpose.
Indiscriminate and also targeted surveillance are both therefore disproportionate and uncalled for and amount to a grave violation of the right to privacy.
The trend of surveillance in Zimbabwe, and in view of such sentiments by government officials, are worrisome particularly in light of the fact that the country currently does not have a data protection framework.
This comes at a time when concerns around surveillance have also been noted in terms of the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Bill. The Bill proposes to impose three roles under the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), being that it remains as the telecommunications regulator and also becomes the Cybersecurity Centre and Data Protection Authority.
This is despite the fact that the independence of POTRAZ is questionable due to the overarching role of the Executive, both in the appointment of its Board of Directors and also in its operations.
Although POTRAZ does not collect the private data of citizens, it should be noted that it has access to such data through its role as the regulator of the telecommunications industry. This raises genuine and plausible concerns on the protection and privacy of the data that is in the hands of mobile network operators.
MISA Zimbabwe, therefore, calls on the government, through its various institutions and stakeholders, to respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land and ensure that any limitations to Constitutional rights are lawful and proportionate. Zimbabwe, 14 October 2020
By Nomusa Garikai- Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic crisis brought about by 40 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption.
The economy has all but collapsed forcing unemployment rate to soar to nauseating heights of 90%, basic services like education and health care have collapsed and in 2019 34% of the population were already living in “extreme poverty”, according to WB report.
When Mnangagwa seized power in the November 2017 military coup, he was cocksure his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” would open the floodgate of investors and kickstart the country’s comatose economy. Investors are a savvy and shrewd lot; they could see that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs and so stayed away.
“Zimbabwe is open for business!” is dead in the water.
Worse still, it is crystal clear that this Zanu PF government has run out of ideas what to do to revive the economy.
When you are in a hole, stop digging! One would think that is obvious, but not to VP Constantino Chiwenga!
Trainee Doctors, just like nurses, teachers and other civil servants, have been on strike on and off for the last two decades; demanding a living wage and better working conditions. One of the consequences of a sick economy, is that government not collecting enough money in tax and other public revenue to pay civil servants a living wage and to maintain a decent education and health care services.
Instead of VP Chiwenga and his fellow Zanu PF cronies going back to the drawing board and think how else to revive the economy so government can pay the doctors, etc. a living wage; he, in his infantile wisdom has come up with a two pronged strategy:
the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is reportedly recruiting over 400 medical doctors, radiographers and pharmacists, which is the total intake of graduate students the country.
He has suspended the University of Zimbabwe’s Masters of Medicine and Masters of Obstetrics and Gynaecology programmes and all striking student doctors have been banned from accessing public hospitals.
VP Chiwenga must be very pleased with himself because the striking doctors have not only ended the strike but have even apologised for having undertaken the strike action!
“I see people saying doctors bowed down to the General (Chiwenga)! Yes, we did! Why not? What options did we have? How long have we been fighting for better hospitals and salaries to no avail?” commented one striking doctor on twitter.
Actually, VP Chiwenga did not solve the health crisis no more than the striking doctors solved their living wage and decent working conditions demands by giving in to his arm-twisting and idiotic tactics.
As a rule of thumb, soldiers, Police and CIO are paid better wages and have better conditions of service than most civil servants – but of course, as befit a Police State! And so, the militarised doctors will be getting considerably better wages, at least, compared to civil servant counter-part.
As for getting a living wage, that will not happen until there is meaningful economic recovery. All VP Chiwenga has done is kick the can down the road. Are we to believe the same government that had failed to pay doctors a living wage from the Ministry of Health budget will now do so from the Ministry of Defence’s budget?
Still, in the Army they will never need to go on strike. Zanu PF is always take good care of the soldiers, the regime is scarred stiff of the Army.
Is ZNA going to recruit all the striking nurses too? Hospitals will not function without nurses.
Is the Ministry of Defence also going to takeover the repair and equipping of all the hospitals and clinics, which are in various stages of rot and decay after decades of underfunding? There is a lot that will have to be done to improve the conditions of service in our health care services. A hell of a lot!
The striking doctors may have called-off the strike and apologised to VP Chiwenga but they all know that be going back to the same poorly equipped hospitals without PPE, basic medicine, etc. And it will not take long before the country’s 838% inflation erode the buying power of their new wages.
For the last 40 years we, the people of Zimbabwe, have allowed Zanu PF to ride roughshod over our freedoms, rights, hopes and dreams to appease the regime gaining very little gain, if anything at all. Even now with the nation’s future balancing on the knife edge some people continue to pursue the discredited policy of appeasement!
“What options did we have?” So, you think bowing to Chiwenga’s idiotic demands was a better option! Without the proper PPE, for example, a military doctor is as just as susceptible to corona virus infection as a civilian doctor!!!
By Nomusa Garikai- Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic crisis brought about by 40 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. The economy has all but collapsed forcing unemployment rate to soar to nauseating heights of 90%, basic services like education and health care have collapsed and in 2019 34% of the population were already living in “extreme poverty”, according to WB report.
When Mnangagwa seized power in the November 2017 military coup, he was cocksure his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” would open the floodgate of investors and kickstart the country’s comatose economy. Investors are a savvy and shrewd lot; they could see that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs and so stayed away.
“Zimbabwe is open for business!” is dead in the water.
Worse still, it is crystal clear that this Zanu PF government has run out of ideas what to do to revive the economy.
When you are in a hole, stop digging! One would think that is obvious, but not to VP Constantino Chiwenga!
Trainee Doctors, just like nurses, teachers and other civil servants, have been on strike on and off for the last two decades; demanding a living wage and better working conditions. One of the consequences of a sick economy, is that government not collecting enough money in tax and other public revenue to pay civil servants a living wage and to maintain a decent education and health care services.
Instead of VP Chiwenga and his fellow Zanu PF cronies going back to the drawing board and think how else to revive the economy so government can pay the doctors, etc. a living wage; he, in his infantile wisdom has come up with a two pronged strategy:
the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is reportedly recruiting over 400 medical doctors, radiographers and pharmacists, which is the total intake of graduate students the country.
He has suspended the University of Zimbabwe’s Masters of Medicine and Masters of Obstetrics and Gynaecology programmes and all striking student doctors have been banned from accessing public hospitals.
VP Chiwenga must be very pleased with himself because the striking doctors have not only ended the strike but have even apologised for having undertaken the strike action!
“I see people saying doctors bowed down to the General (Chiwenga)! Yes, we did! Why not? What options did we have? How long have we been fighting for better hospitals and salaries to no avail?” commented one striking doctor on twitter.
Actually, VP Chiwenga did not solve the health crisis no more than the striking doctors solved their living wage and decent working conditions demands by giving in to his arm-twisting and idiotic tactics.
As a rule of thumb, soldiers, Police and CIO are paid better wages and have better conditions of service than most civil servants – but of course, as befit a Police State! And so, the militarised doctors will be getting considerably better wages, at least, compared to civil servant counter-part.
As for getting a living wage, that will not happen until there is meaningful economic recovery. All VP Chiwenga has done is kick the can down the road. Are we to believe the same government that had failed to pay doctors a living wage from the Ministry of Health budget will now do so from the Ministry of Defence’s budget?
Still, in the Army they will never need to go on strike. Zanu PF is always take good care of the soldiers, the regime is scarred stiff of the Army.
Is ZNA going to recruit all the striking nurses too? Hospitals will not function without nurses.
Is the Ministry of Defence also going to takeover the repair and equipping of all the hospitals and clinics, which are in various stages of rot and decay after decades of underfunding? There is a lot that will have to be done to improve the conditions of service in our health care services. A hell of a lot!
The striking doctors may have called-off the strike and apologised to VP Chiwenga but they all know that be going back to the same poorly equipped hospitals without PPE, basic medicine, etc. And it will not take long before the country’s 838% inflation erode the buying power of their new wages.
For the last 40 years we, the people of Zimbabwe, have allowed Zanu PF to ride roughshod over our freedoms, rights, hopes and dreams to appease the regime gaining very little gain, if anything at all. Even now with the nation’s future balancing on the knife edge some people continue to pursue the discredited policy of appeasement!
“What options did we have?” So, you think bowing to Chiwenga’s idiotic demands was a better option! Without the proper PPE, for example, a military doctor is as just as susceptible to corona virus infection as a civilian doctor!!!
Opposition MDC Alliance Spokesperson Fadzai Mahere and six others who were arrested on 31 July while holding anti-corruption placards will return to court on the 22nd of October for ruling on their application to have their bail conditions relaxed.
Posting on Twitter, Mahere said;
“Back at Rotting Row for the continuation of our case. Last week, we were told to come back today for the ruling in our application for the relaxation of our bail conditions & the challenge relating to 2nd count. The ruling is not ready. We go back on 22/10. #Groombridge7.”
By A Correspondent| Opposition MDC Alliance youth leader and Masvingo Town councillor Godfrey Kurauone is sueing Police Commissioner General and all officers involved in his arrest over $2 million for what he calls “wrongful and malicious arrest. ”
Kurauone was last month acquitted of all the flimsy charges and freed after spending 42 days in remand prison.
Kurauone, who was facing charges of criminal nuisance and obstructing traffic, was acquitted after the state failed to prove its case in court.
The state was accusing the councillor of posting a video of a song in which he called for immediate removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The state also alleged Kurauone also burnt vehicle tyres along the Mashava-Zvamahande road disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
He was arrested by officers from the Law and Order Section in Masvingo Town while reporting at the police provincial headquarters in fulfilment of his bail conditions for a similar case.
By A Correspondent- Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections.
A party insider told a local publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there, We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors. Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections.-DailyNews
By Heaven Munyuki | Being a parent is a desired part of adult identity in most societies. For many couples, the inability to bear children is a tragedy. The conflux of personal, interpersonal, social, and religious expectations brings a sense of failure, loss, and exclusion to those who are infertile. In African culture, the coming of a baby reinforces the relationship between members of the two families. Unfulfilled parenthood aspirations have far reaching consequences for women and men. When a couple fails to conceive within the expected period, there is pressure that usually mounts from relatives, friends and even from the couple itself. This pressure may be so intense that it can be a heavy burden to the couple especially the woman who is expected to carry the pregnancy though infertility affects men and women equally. However most men do not want go for medical diagnostic tests and usually leave it to women to solve the problem.
According to World Health Organisation about 186 million people around the world experience either primary or secondary infertility. Infertility is the inability to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 1 year or more of regular unprotected intercourse. It is a worldwide problem where more than 70 million couples suffer from infertility and over 10% of women are inflicted. The World Health Organisation has recommended that infertility be considered a global health problem though most countries especially developing countries are lagging behind in terms of helping those facing fertility challenges probably due to limited resources and being more focused on decelerating population growth rates. Higher prevalence rates of infertility are reported from developing countries including those in Sub-Saharan Africa and Zimbabwe is not an exception. Zimbabwe has one of the world’s highest infertility rates and infertility is officially reported to be on the increase. Experts have concluded that at least one in every four Zimbabwean women of childbearing age suffers some degree of infertility though current male infertility statistics are hard to find since many past researches have previously focused on women alone.
Infertility brings with it a wide range of socio-cultural, psychological, physical and financial challenges. Psychological effects such as depression, frustration, hopelessness, worthlessness, anxiety, guilty feeling and suicidal thoughts may creep in. Infertility may strain a healthy marriage by causing tensions in the home and cause either partner to be easily irritable and frustrated. Infertility also tears at the core of the couple’s relationship as it may affect sexuality, self-esteem and self-image. This may lead to unfaithfulness as either partner may engage in unprotected sex with multiple partners, exposing the couple to STIs including HIV and this may strain the healthy marriage. Marriage instability may also manifest as domestic violence: physical fights, hurling of insults and quarrelling leading to divorce.
Most problems which come as a result of infertility and childlessness are exacerbated by pro-natalist and patriarchal societies which are not sympathetic to the childless women. They measure feminism by the ability to conceive and the baby is usually valued more than its mother. Societies usually heap the blame on women, men’s infertility is concealed at all costs and open discussions about male infertility are regarded as a taboo. Women are often abused and labelled with all sort of names such as witches, barren ‘ngomwa’ and some are accused of prostitution and having committed abortion prior to their marriages. Infertile and childless women face a plethora of challenges from their communities such social stigma, ostracism, isolation and ridicule. Some of them are excluded from certain society social activities and traditional ceremonies because of childlessness. These challenges may push the affected women into committing infertility related crimes such as pregnancy faking and baby stealing. Another issue that affects women is inheritance where upon the death of the husband, the wife is usually stripped off all the property by relatives as she is labelled an ‘unproductive’ woman who is unworthy to inherit even a ‘penny’. Some of these women may be chased away empty handed and they may fail to challenge these injustices in the courts of law as they feel guilty and unworthy to get anything since they failed to conceive.
Men also face some of the challenges associated with infertility though at a smaller scale as compared to women. In other communities infertile men suffer stigmatization, verbal abuse and loss of social status. Some men are barred from taking leadership roles, do not receive same respect as fathers and others are even branded men of ‘rotten’ testes or ‘dead’ penis. This ridicule and ‘curse’ of childlessness follow them into the grave where they are buried with dead rats tied onto their bodies.
Infertility problems can be found in men (30% of cases), women (30% of cases), both (30%) and in 10% of the cases, the cause may not be located. So when facing infertility the chances that it’s either a male or female cause is 50-50.Causes of male infertility are abnormal sperm production or function caused by genetic defects, and infections; problems with sperm delivery such as blockages, injury to reproductive organs, structural issues ; damage due to cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and overexposure to environmental factors such as pesticides, radiation, heat and some chemicals. In women main causes of infertility are ovulation disorders, STIs, hormonal imbalances, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, fibroids and problems with fallopian tubes. However what is more worrying is the general belief that women are the ones who are affected by infertility and when couples fail to conceive, men always want to exonerate themselves and push women to go for medical tests alone.
In order to avert this problem Mrs Dorothy Musungate ,the co-founder of a local organisation that works with infertile couples ,Mwanachipo Africa Trust, has decided to close this gap and is mobilizing men to go for fertility tests and pay for some of them.”We believe that there is need to change the status quo and men must also be responsible for infertility: It’s a shared responsibility”, she said this while addressing members of Tariro-Hope Support Group. She called on all male members of the support group who wanted to have semen analysis done but facing financial constraints to contact the administrators of the group. She also invited individuals, private organisations, churches, donors and NGOs to come on board and partner them to assist these members since infertility diagnosis and treatment require deep pockets.Mrs Musungate also said, “We believe in partnerships and multi-sactoral approach in order to fight infertility and we are making various steps in achieving SDGs 3 and 5 as well as fufilling the 2016-2020 National Health Strategy for Zimbabwe: Equity and Quality in health: leaving no one behind.” Medical practitioners usually encourage all couples facing fertility challenges to address infertility issues together and not leave men behind.
( The author Heaven Munyuki is the Executive Board Chairman of Mwanachipo Africa Trust and can be contacted on 0718745374 email: [email protected] or [email protected])
Zimbabwe’s outgoing Ambassador to Malawi, Ms. Hilda Suka Mafudze, has been appointed the African Union (AU) envoy to Washington DC, replacing Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao who was fired last November over alleged abuse of funds.
Suka Mafudze, who was appointed Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Malawi last year by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is expected to fly to Washington next week and is currently in the country after a recent visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the AU headquarters.
In an interview with Spiked Online Media, Ambassador Hildah Suka Mufudze expressed appreciation for the trust bestowed upon her to represent the continent in the US.
“I feel humbled and appreciative to be able to represent my continent in the US. I am certainly going to use this as an African to contribute better to the Africa we all want. As a true pan Africanist, I know what we really need as Africa and where we want to be as Africans. All this is in my heart and on my fingertips.” she said.
“What we want as Africa is to be on the global stage as equal with others. We have what it takes and no one must, therefore, look down upon us. As Africa, we are at a stage where we know what we want and we obviously cannot, for example, continue to let our resources be taken away as raw materials by people who by so doing are taking employment away from us. There are challenges on the continent, but we have to look at how to deal with those challenges and this opportunity is one way of finding solutions and I am humbled to be part of that,” said Ambassador Suka Mufudze.
Ambassador Hilda Suka Mafudze also spoke on her vision for the continent.
“I will contribute towards the AU vision on the intra-Africa trade and I will be alert to the need to entrench relations with the US. Let us not overlook the need for relations if we are to be competitive on the global space but that does not mean our inability to effectively manage what we have”, said Ambassador Suka Mufudze.
As she represents the chairman of the African Union in Washington, Africa must speak with one voice going forward in defining her destiny and harnessing opportunities through relations with the world, the US included.
“I represent the African Union, my chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat but I must also say I am humbled by the support I got from my country, Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his entire administration. I am going to represent the whole continent and we want to engage the US and agree on issues where we can cooperate. As Africa, we need investment in infrastructure to have investors coming in and when they do come in, it should be on a win-win basis”, she said.
Between 2000 to 2005 Hildah Suka Mufudze served as MDC legislator for Manyame Constituency during the Government of National Unity (GNU). She was appointed the County’s Ambassador to Sudan until November 2019 when she was redeployed to represent the country in Malawi.
Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections, the Daily News reports.
A party insider told the publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
“We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there,”
We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors. Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections.
IN POLITICS NEVER GIVE TOO MUCH SPACE TO BREATH TO YOUR ENEMY.
“In politics, never give too much space to your enemies.
By Knowledge Hakata- One of the major reasons why the late former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai failed to topple the late dictactor and former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe was because he played it safe.
At most he gave Zanu Pf and Mugabe too much space to breath which is severly dangerous when you are dealing with dictactorship governments or systems like Zanu PF. Dictactors are well known for applying gorrila tactics and they always play what I call the Python Theory of which they act very kindfull to their victims before they attack.
The late Morgan Tsvangirai could had been the President of Zimbabwe in 2008 but he played it safe. You don’t respond to violence by prayer. This is politics, if you are attacked you should attack back. If the enemy resorts to brutal tactics , engage him the same way.
President Nelson Chamisa has failed to learn from the past errors of Morgan Tsvangirai but above all he is failing to learn from his own mistakes and that’s a very dangerous attribute of a leader in politics
Now coming to Nelson Chamisa and his compatriots in the MDC Alliance, these guys have given Zanu Pf too much space to breath, that’s why they are now suffocating.
They can’t even breath because of their poor leadership skils. Zanu Pf is doing the same things that they were doing during the late Mugabe’s rule and whenever MDC Alliance is attacked they can’t even counter those attacks.
This shows a leadership vaccum or could it be that there is a crisis in the Alliance? As we speak right now, their organising team is busy preparing for 2023 elections by spreading its wings to the rural areas, and leaders such as Amos Chibaya can’t even see that it’s a fruitless activity.
This is because the regime will always find ways of defeating the MDC Alliance in the upcoming elections. Instead of facing them head on now and fight them eye to eye, they are loosing everything but the MDC Alliance stalwarts have high hopes of winning 2023 presidential elections.
Zanu Pf will succeed in establishing a one party state if leaders like Nelson Chamisa remain at the helm of the opposition politics in Zimbabwe.
To Chamisa, let this sink into your head- Hope is not a strategy in politics. Even if you study the history of politics from dictactorship to democracy, every character that you will meet in those books did not use hope as a political strategy.
Look at Napoleon, the French Revolution, African Independences , the Arab Spring, Uprisings in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Lybia and recently in Mali, all those who were leading all these struggles did not use hope but they had to put in strategic political acumen.
My brother people are now opting for Job Sikhala to be the leader of the struggle not because he is better than you, but because he understands the tactics of the enermy he is dealing with. Zanu Pf needs to be confronted head on. If they deploy violence, you have to rataliate.
You are fast losing the ground and its time that you woke up from your pastoral politics and the only way you can recover is to start applying gorrilla tactics.
Everyone knows that Thokhozani Khupe and her group are a Zanu Pf project, but the problem is that you have done nothing about it.
In Africa money controls politicians and people like Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and Job Sikhala can testify on that.
Zimbabwean politicians have been victims of Zanu Pf because they are greedy and they think of their pockets first before those that elected them into their different portfolios.
Zanu Pf is not going to reform itself out of power, looting, killing or even arresting students leaders . Those guys have brutal hearts and they don’t care that the people are suffering. They will never care at any cost, the moment they will show kindness to Zimbabweans that will be their last dance in the corridors of Zimbabwean politics.
Knowledge Hakata is a contemporary Zimbabwean Politics Analyst and can be contacted on+27610014147 or [email protected]
Tanyaradzwa ‘Tanya’ Muzinda, a young talented Zimbabwean female motocross rider has been nominated for the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2020.
The winner of the award for junior sportswoman of the year at the 2015 edition of the Annual Sports Awards announced the development via her Twitter account this Wednesday. She said:
Happy to be Nominated for the Prestigious International Children's Peace Prize 2020 @KidsRights.
By A Correspondent- Zimdancehall artiste Lady Squanda was on Tuesday arrested together with four suspected robbers in connection with a robbery case in Zengeza.
Born Sandra Gazi, the chanter is said to have surrendered herself to police yesterday after she fled from her house where suspected robbers had taken refuge on Monday night.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest saying part of the stolen items were recovered at Lady Squanda’s house.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating a robbery case involving four men and a woman which took place in Zengeza on Monday night,” said Ass-Comm Nyathi.
“The five are Denzel Chiwenga, Rodrick Gwasira believed to be an ex-police officer, Zacharia Magaya, Sandra Gazi and Tichaona Chitova suspected to have robbed US$20, a cellphone and a laptop belonging to the complainant.
“Circumstances were that on the 12th of October 2020 the accused persons spotted a motorist driving a Toyota Wish without registration plates.
“When the motorist stopped to pick two passengers, Gwasira sprayed the complainant with pepper spray and took the cellphone, US$20 and laptop.
“Within some minutes Magaya arrived driving a Honda Fit registration (AEI 3552) with Gazi and Chitova and started assaulting the complainant.
“The complainant lodged a police report against them and a follow up was made and the suspects were found at Gazi’s house.
“Chiwenga produced knives to attack police officers and was overpowered. Gazi and Chitova fled the scene.
“Chiwenga and Magaya were arrested and a laptop and cellphone were recovered,” said Ass Comm Nyathi.
However, H-Metro witnessed Lady Squanda yesterday at St Mary’s Police Station where her statement and that of Chitova were being recorded.
Lady Squanda’s relative was holding the chanter’s baby.-Statemedia
A man appeared in court on Tuesday accused of “insulting the president” after posting a video WhatsApp status of a woman criticising a call by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to “pray and fast” for divine intervention against the coronavirus in June.
Victor Majoni, 35, a farm manager in Umguza, allegedly posted the status on June 14 – a 59-second clip of a woman who asked Mnangagwa “what other fasting do you want because Zimbabweans are fasting already, they are hungry in their homes?”
Majoni was shopped to the police by Remigious Komboni the Ward 8 Zanu PF secretary for administration in the Youth League. The two men are both on WhatsApp groups called ‘Umguza Irrigation Lots’ and ‘Umguza Zesa Updates.’
Majoni entered a ‘not guilty’ plea when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Mjanja charged with “undermining the authority of or insulting the president.”
His lawyer Nqobani Sithole told the court: “The constitution provides for freedom of expression, and whoever designed the post, who is not the accused person, is the one responsible for that content.”
Majoni maintained that the status was uploaded by his nephew.
His lawyer moved for the charges to be quashed at the close of the state case.
After hearing state witness testimony from Komboni and cross-examination by the defence, Mjanja ordered the defence to make written submissions of their application for discharge at the close of the state case by October 19, and the prosecution to file its response by October 22.
Mjanja said he will rule on the matter on November 9 when Majoni finishes writing his examinations at Midlands State University.
Mnangagwa declared June 15 as a ‘Day of Prayer and Fasting’ to seek divine intervention in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
“I urge you all on this day, to join us giving up one, two or all meals and fasting,” Mnangagwa said in a TV address carried by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).
The unnamed woman recorded the video response which appeared on Majoni’s phone as a WhatsApp status.
Speaking in Shona, the woman said Mnangagwa should “put her in conflict with God” – words uttered when one is holding back from swearing in anger.
“What other fasting do you want Mr Mnangagwa? Zimbabweans are fasting already, they are hungry in their homes, not because they want to fast but because they have no food,” the woman ranted.
She also told Mnangagwa to “grow up”, asking: “Do you think before you speak?”
A Harare lawyer yesterday appeared in court for allegedly misappropriating trust funds amounting to US$200 000.
Ryan Baglow (35) of Matizanadzo and Warhurts Legal Practitioners allegedly used two names to hoodwink his clients, the court heard.
Baglow allegedly failed to account for US$200 000, he collected on behalf of his client on a sale of two stands.
Baglow was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Judith Taruvinga who released him on $50 000 bail.
The complainant in the matter is Lake Fisheries, a duly registered company in Kariba, represented by one of its directors, Mr David Edwin Webster.
Prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that in 2007, Webster and his co-director, the late Mr Thomas Campbell Miller, formed a company named Stenplay Investments, which purchased the entire issued share capital in companies called Lake Fresh Fishers Kariba Sardines and Sea Farmers from Peter Oscar Marchussen.
According to the State, Lake Fresh Fisheries had properties which were stand numbers, 473-566 Kariba Township, but due to financial inability, the two directors decided to dispose of them.
It is alleged they wanted to raise money to fund Lake Fresh Fisheries and its associated company’s capital and operational needs.
Mr Miller then expressed interest in purchasing the two stands for his company called Fairwinds Farming (Pvt) Limited and he approached his legal practitioner, Baglow for legal advice whom he knew as Ryan Stewart.
It is the State’s case that Baglow fraudulently appointed “another” lawyer called Ryan Baglow to represent Lake Fresh Fisheries in the sale of its two stands when in actual fact it was him using the two names.
Acting on the misrepresentation, Mr Webster signed a resolution authorising Baglow to sell the two stands on their behalf and he subsequently sold the them to Mr Miller at an agreed price of US$200 000.
He further instructed Miller to deposit US$40 000 to Matizanadzo and Warhurst Law Firm’s trust account and US$160 000 into Lake Fresh Fisheries account.
An agreement of sale of the two stands was drafted between Lake Fresh Fisheries and Fairwinds Farming where Baglow represented the seller, but according to the State, Baglow failed to account for the proceeds of the stands.
Baglow, it is alleged, later facilitated the transfer of the stands from Lake Fresh Fisheries name into Fairwinds name.
Mr Miller later passed on leaving Mr Webster as the only director of Stenplay, who later realised that he had been duped by Baglow and made a police report.
Investigations established that Baglow was using both names Ryan Baglow and Ryan Stewart, with the later having no record at the office of the Registrar General.
THREE suspected armed robbers who were armed with a pistol and machetes raided an apostolic shrine and kidnapped one of the congregants before they later attacked nine other people at a cemetery in Beitbridge last week.
The robbers got away with cellphones valued at US$6 020, R11 030 in cash and an assortment of goods.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed all the incidents.
“Police in Beitbridge are investigating two cases of armed robberies which occurred on October 7, 2020. Three unknown men stormed an apostolic church shrine at the new stands in Beitbridge, armed with an unidentified pistol and machetes before kidnapping one of the complainants.” Investigations on the cases are still in progress and no arrests have since been made so far.
“The victim was shoved into the boot of his Honda Fit and eventually robbed off his valuables at Makakabule Village,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi said in the same village the three later pounced on nine others at a grave site and robbed them off their valuables.
“All the victims were tied with pieces of cloth before the assailants went away with a Silver Honda Fit registration number AFH 6575, various cellphones valued at US$6 020 and R11 030,” he said.
By Dr Masimba Mavaza | High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewere will be facing a tribunal after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended to President Mnangagwa to set one up to look into her suitability to hold office.
Justice Ndewere is facing allegations of misconduct and conduct inconsistent with being a judicial officer.
Her suspension from the bench will be automatic by operation of law once the tribunal is put in place.
In a very expected spin by the opposition mouthpiece misinformation and misleading statements are floated around. In a bid to course disharmony and inciting the public to lose respect for the Judiciary social media has associated the suspension of honourable judge to political squabbles.
Zimbabwe does not want to see its judiciary politicised as a nation we must also condemn unfortunate press attacks on top judges and the judiciary at large.
Zimbabwe must guard against any attempt by the anyone to “politicise” the work of the judiciary.
Zimbabwe’s Judiciary is honourable. An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should maintain and enforce high standards of conduct and should personally observe those standards, so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved.
Deference to the judgments and rulings of courts depends on public confidence in the integrity and independence of judges. The integrity and independence of judges depend in turn on their acting without fear or favour. Although judges should be independent, they must comply with the law and should comply with this Code. Adherence to this responsibility helps to maintain public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary. Conversely, violation of this Code diminishes public confidence in the judiciary and injures our system of justice.
Making an opinion on judges is something else but making it your business to lie becomes contemptuous.
Every judge is bound by a Code of Judicial Conduct that sets out the standards of ethical conduct to be expected of the Judicial officer. Such a Code serves a number of purposes. It provides guidance to the members of the Court. It informs those who use the Court of the standards that they can reasonably expect of its judges. It explains to members of the public how judges behave and should help to secure their respect and support for the judiciary.
If a judge performs his or her duties without due diligence he or she would have failed to be within the expected standards.
While it is true that Justice Ndewere presided over Sikhala’s bail it was not her judgement which caused her suspension.
The judiciary of the Of Zimbabwe has been independent of the government since independence. Of late the Judiciary members are answerable to the Judiciary service commission. The JSC among other things was established in order to achieve the physical separation of the country’s justice system and employees from the government and thus to clarify the Justices’ independence both of government and of Parliament. Judicial independence is a cornerstone of our system of government in a democratic society and a safeguard of the freedom and rights of the citizen under the rule of law. The Justices will take care that their conduct, official or private, does not undermine their institutional or individual independence or the public appearance of independence.
Once that is breached the JSC investigates the issue if prima facie there is a case JSC is obliged to refer the matter to the president to set a tribunal.
In the case of Justice Ndewere her alleged misconducted were allegedly committed in August 2019. At that time Job Sikhala had not even planned to commit his crime.
When Job’s bail application was put before the courts in particular before Ndewere a tribunal was already in motion.
Again the administration of court is a heavy duty thus the Chief justice will not be personally interested in Job Sikhala’s bail. It was not a surprise that Job Sikhala was granted bail. After all his core accused were already on bail. There was no reason for the chief Justice to put a finger in such a case.
More-so it is laughable to believe that Ndewere angered Malaba by granting bail to Job Sikhala.
Shockingly Magaisa wrote on Twitter: “Don’t underestimate the courage of the judge who gave Job Sikhala bail. I wouldn’t be surprised if she suffers for it. When you do things against the system’s wishes, the system finds something to hit you with. Sooner or later you will hear they are investigating Justice Ndewere for this and that.”.
It is clear that Magaisa had inside information that Ndewere is appearing before a tribunal. He then decided to be malicious by casting negative aspersions.
It is not correct that the judge was suspended for granting Job bail.
Because the misinformation was so gross it forced the JSC to explain the circumstance which led to the suspension of Justice Ndewere. This was an unprecedented move.
Social media was bent on soiling the name of the Jsc.
Malaba was described as being “very unhappy” at the judge, which would have precipitated her suspension. This assertion depicts Malaba as a justice who punishes his subordinates on the tickle of his emotions.
It is not a secret that Chief Justice Malaba has been under fierce attack from the opposition and social media. So tying him to this case is mischievous and baseless.
According to Magaisa, “individual judges are under pressure” to rule in favour of the government. This is a calculated statement meant to undermine the Zimbabwean justice process
We don’t want to be politicised,” said Source in JSC. We don’t decide political questions, we decide legal questions. And in any event, parliament always has the last word,” said another office.
As Zimbabweans we must also criticised recent attacks on the judiciary by the press – including the notorious headline in The Social media. The aim is to brand judges “enemies of the people”.
Judges must continue to do the job according to their judicial oaths they certainly do not need to pay any attention to attacks of that nature.”
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on the MDC A as “unlawful”, the level of attacks on the Judiciary was obnoxious.
It should be made clear that Chief Justice had no “current plans” to interfere in bail applications. The attacks on judiciary would be a regrettable step for us in our constitutional arrangements”.
We do know that there is no member of the judiciary, or indeed most of the legal profession, who would favour the politicisation of judicial appointments. We have an independent, merit-based appointment which most of us are extremely comfortable with.”
The courts from time to time tell governments or public authorities that what they do want to do is not lawful.
Those who soil the JSC must realise that
Law functions as a mask for politics, precisely the role neofunctionalists originally forecast for economics. The need for a ‘functional’ domain to circumvent the direct clash of political interests is the central insight of neofunctionalist theory. This domain could never be completely separated from the political sphere but would at least provide a sufficient buffer to achieve results that could not be directly obtained in the political realm.
Judges are the public face of justice and of the rule of law. As such, they have a duty to live up to the highest standards of integrity and impartiality in order to preserve public trust in what is a most fundamental pillar of democracy.
Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabhiza confirmed that JSC had referred the matter to President Mnangagwa, the appointing authority, for a judicial tribunal in terms of the Constitution.
“The JSC has referred to the President a recommendation to set up a tribunal to inquire into the question of removal from office of Justice Erica Ndewere, a High Court judge.”
So the reality of the matter is that the suspension had no link to the criminal activities of Job Skhala.
JSC must not abdicate its duties of maintaining the fitness to practice for the any judge. The reporting by many news outlets is contemptuous and meant to create internal disharmony in the justice system.
Judges should not be spared simply because their misconduct is covered by a high profile criminal case.
Presiding over cases involving political activists must not absolve the misconduct. As Judges they must go through due process irregardless of having been lenient to the opposition criminals.
The opposition wishes courts to only tule in their favour. They then view the disciplinary actions as political.
Zimbabwe must not be fed poison by the social media which seeks to vilify JSC.
We applaud the courage and the work JSC does to maintain dignity in our judicial officers of any rank.
Exiled former ZANU PF heavyweight Saviour Kasukuwere has called on goverment to release Zimbabwe National Students Union leader Takudzwa Ngadziore from prison.
Takudzwa was arrested on 10 September and charged him with participating in an illegal demonstration outside the offices of Impala Car Rental. Protest came after student Tawanda Muchehiwa was abducted by state agents using an Impala vehicle. He was granted bail for the offence.
A week later he was arrested after being badly beaten by unknown assailants believed to be members of the ZANU PF Youth League while addressing a press conference 101 meters away from Impala Car Rental premises.
Takudzwa was on 21 September 2020 denied bail on the basis that releasing him will “undermine the peace”. Today marks nearly a month in prison after arrest for addressing the news conference near Impala Car Rental. His bail appeal still cannot start at High Court:
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga in his capacity as the Minister of Health and Child Care through Statutory Instrument (SI) 225A of 2020 banned the holding of by-elections citing the coronavirus.
The former army boss amended Covid-19 regulations ahead of by-elections scheduled for December 5.
Nomination court was due to sit on October 9.
Latest figures by Chiwenga’s Ministry indicate that the country has turned around a curve to worry so much about the virus.
As of 13 October 2020 the Ministry reported the country to be at 95% recovery rate with an average of less than 15 cases per day and all manageable as deaths have remained stagnant at around 230.
With these figures, shouldn’t Chiwenga reconsider his ban on by elections?
Spoke to my mum yesterday about doing a video for #ZanupfMustGo and she was worried at first. Then l reminded her that l am turning 36 this year, l dont own a house. I have nothing. I am a smart and sharp young lady who could be doing great stuff in a normal country. But ZanuPf has robbed me of that.
And it’s wrong for people to say l must leave my country, l was born here. This is my home. Why should l leave, #ZanupfMustGo.
Why should we allow Zanu to keep robbing us of our God given and also Constitutional rights?
Tata was a war veteran, l reminded mama that l am my father’s child. He fought for his freedom. I too can speak for my freedom. Then she agreed that she will support me.
Phela Zanu has crippled us and left us in fear that before we air our grievances publically, our families shld know.
Opposition MDC Alliance youth leader and Masvingo Town councillor Godfrey Kurauone is sueing Police Commissioner General and all officers involved in his arrest over $2 million for what he calls “wrongful and malicious arrest. ”
Kurauone was last month acquitted of all the flimsy charges and freed after spending 42 days in remand prison.
Kurauone, who was facing charges of criminal nuisance and obstructing traffic, was acquitted after the state failed to prove its case in court.
The state was accusing the councillor of posting a video of a song in which he called for immediate removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The state also alleged Kurauone also burnt vehicle tyres along the Mashava-Zvamahande road disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
He was arrested by officers from the Law and Order Section in Masvingo Town while reporting at the police provincial headquarters in fulfilment of his bail conditions for a similar case.
Below is the full outline of his case against the police.
THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has raised concern over cases of violence involving machetes which have resurfaced in mining areas in Matabeleland South Province.
The commission has attributed the resurgence of violence to laxity and rogue elements within the police force.
Four miners were hospitalised after they were attacked by a machete gang while at Vova Mine in Gwanda on Friday.
Speaking yesterday during a Churches Converging on Conflict and Peace (CCCOP) inception meeting in Gwanda which was attended by the Gwanda local peace committee, NPRC Commissioner
Leslie Ncube said the commission had received numerous reports of corruption by police at Colleen Bawn and West Nicholson police stations.
Comm Ncube said the commission visited the Gwanda Provincial Hospital on Saturday to see people that were attacked by a machete gang at Vova Mine on Friday as part of their assessment.
“As a commission we are concerned by issues of machete gangs which have resurfaced in Matabeleland South Province in areas such as Vova. Members of the security sector who are charged constitutionally with enforcing laws shouldn’t be found sleeping on duty. People can’t be moving around with machetes and attacking people and then walk scot free. We have security around us and one of its thrusts is to smell and detect where these criminals will strike. These gangs come in vehicles in a manner that would have been well organised and they do this under the watchful eye of the police which is disturbing.
“The reaction from police is very slow. For those who are sleeping on duty heads will roll. I believe that the State hasn’t run out of resources and on that note decisive measures will be taken and those who are not performing their duties will go home. The police have a mandate to protect the people of Zimbabwe and they have to fulfill it. If people continue being attacked in this manner then it means we are not safe as people,” he said.
Comm Ncube said they had raised the Commissioner-General of the Police and were set to hold a closed door meeting with him on Friday to discuss the matter of rogue police officers and laxity within law enforcement agents. He said unnecessary loss of life through violence had to be stopped.
Comm Ncube said they had received numerous complainants from residents in Matabeleland South Province on police corruption, particularly in West Nicholson and Colleen Bawn areas.
He urged the media to expose such corrupt tendencies. Comm Ncube said the media had a role to amplify the voice of the masses.
He applauded churches for their numerous efforts to ensure peace prevailed in communities.
Comm Ncube urged the Gwanda Local Peace Committee to continue with its peace building efforts. He challenged the committee to address various issues of conflict which were being recorded in the community.
The commission, Comm Ncube said, was working together with Zimbabwe Christian Alliance to promote issues of peace building in Matabeleland South Province.
A BOY, last seen kicking a football up a street on October 3, has not been seen since then.
The disappearance of 16-year-old Prince Sibanda, a Form Three pupil at Bulawayo’s Milton High School, has left his parents, Ms Sinothando Ncube and Mr Trevor Sibanda worried.
What was bizarre about his disappearance was that Prince ran ahead of his mother, up a sloppy road and then disappeared going down. When his mother got to the top, there was no sign of him.
“My son and I were coming from church (12 Apostles Church) on October 3 accompanied by his siblings. There is a road that leads to our house that passes by Parrot Lodge in Matsheumhlophe suburb (along Valeview Road) and it has a steep slope. So, we were going up the slope and he ran forward kicking his plastic ball. He went over the hill and when we got there about a minute later, we couldn’t see him,” said a solemn looking Ms Ncube.
While she spoke, her husband, Mr Sibanda sat there in silence, perhaps still in shock that their son has been missing for 10 days.
Ms Ncube said she thought that Prince, an aspiring volleyball player at school, had run home.
“When we couldn’t see him, his siblings started laughing saying Prince has run home, but they had the house keys.
When we got home (in Sunninghill suburb), Prince wasn’t there. We called him on his cellphone and it wasn’t going through,” said Ms Ncube.
Soon they started getting worried as Prince did not return home that night.
The next day Ms Ncube said with her husband they went to report Prince as missing at the Zimbabwe Republic Police Hillside Station. They are appealing to members of the public to help find him.
Prince was last seen wearing a black and white long sleeve t-shirt, a blue Adidas cap with matching blue Nike takkies and a brown face mask.
Anyone who can help find Prince can contact their nearest police station or call or WhatsApp 0779139961 or 0778607723, said Ms Ncube.
Auditor-General Mrs Mildred 8Chiri is taking stock of all donations and resources directed towards Covid-19.
Mrs Chiri has ordered all Governmentdepartments to furnish her with details and she is keen to ensure watertight safeguards are in place.
The audit will establish how records of Covid-19 donations are managed.
Local companies, individuals, friendly countries and development partners flocked to help Zimbabwe in its fight against Covid-19 and they were promised that everything would be accounted for.
In an interview, Mrs Chiri said she was now waiting for responses from the relevant departments including the Ministries of Local Government and Public Works; Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Health and Child Care.
“We are waiting for the responses of these ministries on the issues we raised. Once we get the information we will study them, where we will look at issues of corporate governance, the control mechanism, and what is it that needs to be done,” said Mrs Chiri.
“Our desire is not to conduct a witch-hunt, but to assist Government so that it does not unnecessarily lose resources. We will write to them on our observations, where we feel requires improvement.
“We will be looking at such issues as control systems, whether they are strong or weak, at how are records of Covid-19 donations administered, at the distribution of such donations. So it is a whole package. It is a systems audit to ensure that there is enough control mechanism in handling the donations. The idea being to improve and ensure value for money given that we are still in a pandemic and every donation counts regardless of how huge or small.”
Mrs Chiri said her previous work on State entities had been post-expenditure audits and she wanted to ensure that systems are watertight.
She said the audit was delayed due to the national lockdown.
“There is a Government circular directing that departments can increase their staff complement from 15 percent to 40 percent. That is what we are now doing and we are sure the situation will improve. This will also go a long way in dealing with not only audit of Covid-19 donations, but other audits with respect to other entities,” said Mrs Chiri.
Mdc Alliance member of parliament Joana Mamombe has still not been examined by a second medical doctor to ascertain if she is capable of comprehending trial proceedings as directed by the court.
The court ordered her mental examination after the State successfully applied that she be tested after her lawyer indicated she was suffering from anxiety disorder and could not comprehend court proceedings.
Mamombe is being jointly charged with other activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, Lovejoy Chitengu, Stanley Manyenga and Obey Tererai Sithole on incitement or participating in a public gathering with intent to cause public violence.
Mamombe also faces another charge of allegedly faking abductions together with Chimbiri and Marova.
On the current case, the six allegedly staged an illegal demonstration in Warren Park, Harare, in May this year.
Prosecutor Mr Michael Reza yesterday told the court that they were expecting Mamombe to be examined by another medical doctor before commencement of trial.
“There is a court order in regard to the first accused (Mamombe) who is required to be seen by two medical practitioners. So far, she has been seen by one and we do not know when she will be seen by another doctor. In view of that, we seek a postponement of the matter to November 11,” he said.
Their lawyers, Obey Shava and Gift Mutisi, consented to the postponement.
They were, however, quick to apply for a temporary release of Sithole’s passport whom they said wanted to travel to South Africa for a human rights defenders’ conference slated for November 8 to 14.
More in Home EPA with Britain ratified as re-engagement continues to bear fruit EPA with Britain ratified as re-engagement … Chiri to audit Covid-19 donations Chiri to audit Covid-19 donations Ease of doing business reforms for Agric Ministry Ease of doing business reforms for Agric Ministry ‘Food security, better lives a priority’ ‘Food security, better lives a priority’ Call for 50-50 gender balance in Parliament Call for 50-50 gender balance in … Mr Reza opposed to the release of the passport saying there was no need for the release of the passport since he was not representing any organisation.
Mr Nduna is expected to make a ruling today.
On May 13 around 12.30pm, the six teamed up with several others and went to gather at Warren Park 1 Shopping Centre in Harare and allegedly marched from the shopping centre going towards the Harare-Bulawayo Road.
According to the State, they displayed and waved placards, one of which was inscribed “Unlock us before we revolt”.
Further allegations are that the gang demonstrated against the extension of Covid-19 national lockdown and were later intercepted and dispersed by police.
A Kwekwe man has been arraigned before the courts for allegedly raping and impregnating his biological daughter.
The man, whose identity cannot be revealed to protect the victim, but is from Chiwundura, allegedly raped and impregnated his 19-year old daughter.
He was arraigned before Kwekwe Magistrate Ms Mildred Matuvi facing rape charges. He was remanded in custody to October 24 for provision of trial date.
Prosecuting, Ms Ethel Bhumhure told the court that sometime in June this year, the accused person and the complainant were staying together at a farm near Kwekwe.
One day he alledgedly sneaked into the complainant’s bedroom, Ms Bhumure told the court.
Whilst in the bedroom, the accused person allegedly sneaked into the blankets where the complainant was sleeping.
He then threatened her with death if she dared scream before going on to rape her once.
The accused person temporarily left the room before returning after some minutes and raped the accused person twice.
After the act he threatened her with death and left the room.
The matter came to light when the complainant visited her auntie who discovered that she was pregnant.
She was taken to hospital for tests where she was discovered to be 20 weeks pregnant. The matter was reports to police leading to the arrest of the accused.
The accused in his defense left the court in stiches after he claimed to have gone mad after going after a bet.
“She saw a bet and screamed for help and I quickly rushed to her rescue. The bet however disappeared into darkness and we went mad. I ended up sleeping with her as I thought I was in my bedroom.
We did it three times, I remember. But soon after she regained consciousness that is when I discovered I was in the wrong room,” the accused told the court.-Chronicle
High turn out of 2014 Masvingo MDC T members at first meeting after Supreme court ruling…
As MDC Alliance party led by President Nelson become first party in Zimbabwe to give financial report
13 October 2020
Wezhira Munya
On Saturday 10th October 2020, MDC T 2014 members who are qualified to vote at fortcoming congress congregated at Masvingo MDC offices.
The meeting was peaceful.
2014 MDC T youth organiser Mr Paul Rimai said, “We as MDC T youth in Masvingo province support great work started by Harare provincial youth leaders led by Chair Paul Gorekore of restoring MDC T legacy.”
85 % of 2014 MDC T leaders attended this crucial meeting. This high turn out of MDC T delegates shocked former MDC T member of parliament Mr Dumbu who is chief strategist and campaigner of Senator Mudzuri who want to be MDC T president.
This highly attended meeting was coordinated by 2014 MDC T provincial organiser Mr Ziki.
The meeting was chaired by 2014 MDC T provincial vice chairperson and one of the MDC T founding member Mr Mutisi.
Some 2014 MDC T provincial members who did not attend this meeting sent their apologies.
25 districts chairpersons and their women and youth district, ward, branch leaders who are qualified to vote at extraordinary congress attended this lively meeting.
Mr Charwirwe, MDC T founding member and 2014 Masvingo urban district vice chairperson said, “As MDC T founding member l am happy with the high attendance extraordinary congress delegates. Today we have discussed crucial issues on how to safe our party from Zanu PF proxies masquerading as MDC T leaders. We cannot let them kill our beloved party.”
Masvingo North district chair Mr Chawatama said, “I have been impressed by high turn out of MDC T delegates. The meeting went well. We call upon acting president Khupe to call for Standing committee, National council and and National Excutive council to deliberate on the processes that lead to extraordinary congress.”
Since Supreme court judgment, MDC T Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora has failed to call for Standing commitee, National council and National Excutive council as prescribed in MDC T constitution.
2014 MDC T Zaka Central chair Mr Chongorere said, “We call for peaceful, free and fair extraordinary congress.”
In addition, Mrs Mugidho 2014 MDC T leader said, “The MDC T leadership must select a credible organization that will do presidential nominations and elections at Provincial congresses and final at national congress.”
Furthermore, 2014 Masvingo urban district organiser Murinye said, “Our 2014 National organiser Honourable Bhebhe must make sure all 2014 delegates are in voters role.”
There have been allegations of manipulation of 2014 MDC T structures. As a result 2014 Masvingo MDC T structures demand “clean voters role. “
Senator Marava commented that, “Zanu PF has failed to destroy MDC T party. MDC T party has defeated ZANU PF and Zanu PF is using divide and rule tactics. We must be united.”
Chivi North district was represented by 2014 district treasurer Mr Farai Zavidze who said, “All 2014 MDC T delegates must be allowed to participate at the fortcoming extraordinary congress. We castigate the expulsion and suspension of 2014 MDC T members by Secretary-General Mwonzora. We cannot allow bona-fibres to be expelled from the party without due constitutional processes.”
Chivi North ward 8 chairperson leader Sameri Mhinga and Chivi South district chair Mr Ndekere argued that, MDC T party members should elect a charismatic and popular President such as President Nelson Chamisa. They further comment that, MDC Alliance President Chamisa got over 2, 6 million votes and MDC T president Khupe got 45 000 votes during 2018 harmonized elections.
Mr Chidaushe of Chivi North assisted MDC T Chivi North and Chivi South delegates with transport money to attend this crucial meeting.
2014 Masvingo MDC T leader Matara said, “We are disappointed with recalls currently being done by acting President Khupe. These recalls are vindictive and aim to give Zanu PF majority in parliament.”
The register of all 85% MDC T members who attended this meeting is available.
MDC Alliance party led by popular and charismatic President Nelson Chamisa gave audited financial report today.
Treasurer General senator Coltat said, “We thank our MDC Alliance supporters for supporting our party financially. Today, in the spirit of transparency and accountability we give our supporters and stakeholders audited financial report.”
MDC Alliance becomes the first party to give audited financial report publicly.
Renowned political analyst Dr Ruhanya Tweeted: “MDC Alliance @nelsonchamisa becomes the first political party in Zimbabwe to make its audited accounts public through the brilliant work of its Treasurer-General @DavidColtart. Surely those who donate funds must know they are in safe hands including government grant.”
In support, Kimberley Tariro Mamhende said, “MDC Alliance led by President Nelson Chamisa is leading by example in accountability and transparency. MDC Alliance supporters will continue to support financially knowing their money will be accounted for.”
13 OCTOBER 2020 ZIFA APPOINTS MPANDARE AS GENERAL MANAGER – NATIONAL TEAMS
The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has appointed Mr Wellington Mpandare as the General Manager for all national teams on a three-year contract.
The position comes with huge responsibilities which the board felt match the experience possessed by Mpandare, who has served in almost similar capacity in the past. Mpandare was the team manager for the senior men’s team when the Warriors qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and he was also in the same position when the locally based Warriors secured a place at the 2021 African Nations Championship.
Apart from the usual responsibilities of the team manager of the Warriors, Mpandare will also be responsible for all logistical and welfare issues for all other national teams. He will work hand in glove with team managers of the other teams to improve the organisational aspects around national team games.
We would like to wish Mpandare all the best in his new secretariat position which teams him up with a dedicated group which has been doing some of the duties he will assume. The executive committee has great faith in his ability to execute his duties well to support the association’s long-term goals.
For and on behalf of the Zimbabwe Football Association: Xolisani Gwesela Communications & Competitions Manager
RESPONSE: COMPLAINT AGAINST HONOURABLE JUSTICE ERICA NDEWERE
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is concemed with the false accusotions being peddled against it in some sections of the press and on social media platforms. The misleading statements seek to link the institution of processes to investigate the question of the removal of Honourable Justice Erica Ndewere from the office of judge of the High Court to the bail hearing of Honourable Job Sikhala that she recently presided over.
The Commission takes this unprecedented route of making public the background to the investigation in order to clarify the offensive undertones emanating from the statements.
The following is the correct chronology of events:
• The facts of the matter giving rise to the allegations against the judge arose on 22 October 2019. Needless to say, this was many months before the allegations against Honourable Job Sikhala arose and before he made a bail application in the High Court in September 2020.
• Formal investigations into the allegations of the judge’s misconduct commenced on 12 March 2020;
• On 6 May 2020 the judge formally responded to the allegations;
• On 11 September 2020 the allegations against the judge were referred for consideration by the Judicial Service Commission in terms of secffon 187 (3) of the Constitution. This again was before the judgment in respect of Honourable Job Sikhala’s bail application had been made.
(iv On 15 September 2020 the JSC resolved that the judge must be made to comment on these allegations.
• On 17 September 2020 the Honourable Judge’s legal practitioners wrote to JSC requesting to be given more time to respond to the allegations. which time was granted.
• The Court’s decision on Honourable Job Sikhala’s boil application was only handed down on 22 September 2020, eleven months after the allegations against the judge hod arisen and six months otter formal investigations had commenced.
• It is important to note that in all the deliberations and decisions relating to the allegations against the judge by the JSC. the Chief Justice and the Judge President of the High Court did not participate because they were involved in the initial investigations on the allegations made against the judge.
• The synopsis of events given above shows that there is no connection between the two decisions by the JSC and that of the judge in Honourable Sikhala’s matter.
• It is therefore unfortunate for one to attempt to link a genuine accountability process that the Honourable Judge is going through with the decisions that the judge made in court
Chaos and violence reportedly marred the Zanu PF Kuwadzana primary elections which forced the ruling party to postpone the primary elections.
A party insider told the publication that:
There were running battles here in Kuwadzana as people fought over money which was being splashed by (name supplied) using runners.
Voters were put into groups of 10 with one of them tasked with distributing the money. Trouble started when those who were handling the money in some of the groups did not give it out,
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF Harare provincial commissariat Kudakwashe Damson accused former Kuwadzana MP Betty Kaseke of trying to manipulate the vote and said:
We are not ready to release the results of the elections because we have received several complaints from candidates who are alleging that the elections were not fair. We did not do the Kuwadzana election because there are issues that must be resolved there,
We have information to the effect that she (Kaseke) went to the commissariat department yesterday (Wednesday) where she managed to convince the people manning the office to give her the cell lists (voters’ roll).
She took them away and our worry is that they could be tampered with by either adding some more names or deleting others.
We will, however, put in place mechanisms to ensure that whatever she will do with the lists, will not affect the credibility of the elections because we are going to be using the Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) voters’ roll as well as the cell ones.
We are also wary of the fact that the probability of candidates bussing voters from other constituencies that are not going to have by-elections is 100 percent. So, we have to make sure that we are thorough in matching the Zec voters’ roll and ours.
When contacted for comment Kaseke dismissed the reports and said they were being spread by her detractors.
Zanu PF Kwekwe primary by-elections also turned bloody after rival groups clashed over who should represent the party in the upcoming by-elections-Daily News
Almost 2 million babies are stillborn every year – or 1 every 16 seconds – according to the first ever joint stillbirth estimates released by UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The vast majority of stillbirths, 84 per cent, occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, according to the new report, A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths. In 2019, 3 in 4 stillbirths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa or Southern Asia. A stillbirth is defined in the report as a baby born with no signs of life at 28 weeks of pregancy or more.
“Losing a child at birth or during pregnancy is a devastating tragedy for a family, one that is often endured quietly, yet all too frequently, around the world,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “Every 16 seconds, a mother somewhere will suffer the unspeakable tragedy of stillbirth. Beyond the loss of life, the psychological and financial costs for women, families and societies are severe and long lasting. For many of these mothers, it simply didn’t have to be this way. A majority of stillbirths could have been prevented with high quality monitoring, proper antenatal care and a skilled birth attendant.”
The report warns that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the global number of stillbirths. A 50 per cent reduction in health services due to the pandemic could cause nearly 200 000 additional stillbirths over a 12-month period in 117 low- and middle-income countries. This corresponds to an increase in the number of stillbirths by 11.1 per cent.
According to modeling done for the report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 13 countries could see a 20 per cent increase or more in the number of stillbirths over a 12-month period.
Most stillbirths are due to poor quality of care during pregnancy and birth. Lack of investments in antenatal and intrapartum services and in strengthening the nursing and midwifery workforce are key challenges, the report says.
Over 40 per cent of stillbirths occur during labour—a loss that could be avoided with access to a trained health worker at childbirth and timely emergency obstetric care. Around half of stillbirths in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia occur during labour, compared to 6 per cent in Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand.
Even before the pandemic caused critical disruptions in health services, few women in low- and middle-income countries received timely and high-quality care to prevent stillbirths. Half of the 117 countries analyzed in the report have coverage that ranges from a low of less than 2 per cent to a high of only 50 per cent for 8 important maternal health interventions such as C-section, malaria prevention, management of hypertension in pregnancy and syphilis detection and treatment. Coverage for assisted vaginal delivery – a critical intervention for preventing stillbirths during labour – is estimated to reach less than half of pregnant women who need it.
As a result, despite advances in health services to prevent or treat causes of child death, progress in lowering the stillbirth rate has been slow. From 2000 to 2019, the annual rate of reduction in the stillbirth rate was just 2.3 per cent, compared to a 2.9 per cent reduction in neonatal mortality, and 4.3 per cent in mortality among children aged 1–59 months. Progress, however, is possible with sound policy, programmes and investment.
“Welcoming a baby into the world should be a time of great joy, but every day thousands of parents experience unbearable sadness because their babies are still born,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The tragedy of stillbirth shows how vital it is to reinforce and maintain essential health services, and how critical it is to increase investment in nurses and midwives.”
The report also notes that stillbirth is not only a challenge for poor countries. In 2019, 39 high-income countries had a higher number of stillbirths than neonatal deaths and 15 countries had a higher number of stillbirths than infant deaths. A mother’s level of education is one of the greatest drivers of inequity in high-income countries.
In both low- and high-income settings, stillbirth rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Socioeconomic status is also linked to greater incidence of stillbirth.
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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During a press conference in Harare last week, Zanu PF spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa made sensational claims that the opposition will not rule this country because according to him, the opposition undermines the gains that came through the liberation struggle.
Addressing the media, a tough-talking Chinamasa said:
Zimbabwe is a liberated country. It did not come through democracy, there was no vote to say Zimbabwe now wants to become independent.
It was fought for. Those who oppose its liberation should never dream of ruling this country, those who oppose the independence of this country and those who oppose the land redistribution programme should never dream of ruling this country with their masters.Those who oppose the redistribution of the land… have no right to rule this country because by opposing it, they became sell-outs.
Right now, they talk about human rights. During the colonial period, there were no human rights to talk about.
“The colonial masters only started to talk about human rights, democracy in 1980 when they were handing over power. Right now, they are talking about freedom of expression.
That is a digression, it’s important, but it’s a digression. The important narrative is how Zimbabweans get empowered until you do that, you spend the next 200 years exercising freedom of expression without eating. Those who go to America to ask for sanctions have no rights to rule this country.
Zanu Pf Political commissar Victor Matemadanda said something similar to what Chinamasa said in 2018 when he said elections will never remove Zanu PF from power because he said if they don’t work Zanu PF will use other means.
Chinamasa in July at a press conference attacked the American ambassador and called him a thug right before he threatened to expel him from Zimbabwe.
During the same month, he also urged Zanu PF supporters to defend themselves from people who were planning to protest the government’s maladministration and corruption.-Daily News
