By A Correspondent- Police in Centenary, Mashonaland Central have arrested a woman who allegedly  bashed her husband to death before conniving with her boyfriend to burn the corpse in the garden on Tuesday.

Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Inspector Milton Mundembe confirmed that KIngston Chitsinde  (60) of Kadzungura village in Centenary was bashed to death by his wife Tendai Phiri (42).

Phiri later connived with  Givemore Chipata (50) and the duo tried to burn the body of the deceased in an attempt to conceal the murder case.

“I can confirm a murder case in Centenary and investigations are underway,” Mundembe said.

Allegations are that Phiri went to consult an apostolic prophet on the cause of their paralyzed child and on her return she had a serious altercation with her now deceased husband.

Phiri bashed Chitsinde to death and covered him with blankets before she proceeded went to pick her boyfriend Chipata who was also the deceased’s friend.

The two suspects hatched a plan to carry the dead body to the garden where Chipata set the body on fire.

The corpse was partially burnt and Phiri went to the village head to report that her husband was missing.

The village heard ordered villagers to search for Chitsinde and they found his dead body partially burnt in the garden.

It is further alleged that  the police interrogated the wife who confessed that she had killed her husband and her boyfriend helped her to dump the body in the garden before setting it on fire.

Chitsinde’s body is at Mvurwi hospital awaiting postmortem.

In April 2007 Sidney Mufamadi was sent by Mbeki to Harare for talks with Mugabe. Mufamadi shunned opposition leaders. In May ‘07 Mbeki and Mufamadi insisted opposition leaders recognize Mugabe as leader before talks could start. He has no credibility. This is a whitewash. https://t.co/YVKsA4p6tC

— Justice Malala (@justicemalala) August 6, 2020

OK Zimbabwe has announced the suspension of its OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion is the biggest promotion in the country.

This year, however, has been unique due to the pandemic, which has resulted in restrictions to movement, production and supply chain disruptions as well as limited business hours as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus.

“Unfortunately, this year we could not run our biggest annual promotion, the OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion, because of disruptions caused by Covid-19,” said the group in a trading update for the quarter to June 30, 2020.

Since its inception three decades ago, the OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion has grown bigger to become one of the major highlights in the retail sector and for consumers.

Last year, the group launched the promotion despite the economic challenges obtaining then.

According to the group, although Covid-19 has caused disruptions, its stores have remained stocked during the lockdown period.

Said OK: “Generally, however, the stores were reasonably stocked since the lockdown started on 30th March.”

As part of efforts to limit the spread of the virus, OK has implemented various measures such as providing personal protective equipment for staff, temperature checks for both staff and customers, limiting number of people into stores, maintaining social distance as well as engaging suppliers to ensure availability of merchandise for trading.

Meanwhile, the group reported a 32 percent decline in sales volume for the quarter to June 30, 2020 compared to same quarter in the prior year as the market grappled with low disposable incomes due to effects of Covid-19-The Herald

OK Zimbabwe has announced the suspension of its OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion is the biggest promotion in the country.

This year, however, has been unique due to the pandemic, which has resulted in restrictions to movement, production and supply chain disruptions as well as limited business hours as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus.

“Unfortunately, this year we could not run our biggest annual promotion, the OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion, because of disruptions caused by Covid-19,” said the group in a trading update for the quarter to June 30, 2020.

Since its inception three decades ago, the OK Grand Challenge Jackpot Promotion has grown bigger to become one of the major highlights in the retail sector and for consumers.

Last year, the group launched the promotion despite the economic challenges obtaining then.

According to the group, although Covid-19 has caused disruptions, its stores have remained stocked during the lockdown period.

Said OK: “Generally, however, the stores were reasonably stocked since the lockdown started on 30th March.”

As part of efforts to limit the spread of the virus, OK has implemented various measures such as providing personal protective equipment for staff, temperature checks for both staff and customers, limiting number of people into stores, maintaining social distance as well as engaging suppliers to ensure availability of merchandise for trading.

Meanwhile, the group reported a 32 percent decline in sales volume for the quarter to June 30, 2020 compared to same quarter in the prior year as the market grappled with low disposable incomes due to effects of Covid-19-The Herald

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care has announced that the country recorded 13 coronavirus deaths between 1 and 3 August.

The cases were confirmed after post mortems were done. The deceased include nine (9) males and four (4) females from Harare and Mashonaland West Provinces.

The country also recorded 56 new cases – 54 local and 2 returnees, 1 from Zambia and 1 from South Africa.

By A Correspondent- A Ruwa man Ronald Magweta and Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (Walpe) have approached the High Court seeking an extension of the starting time of the curfew to 8 pm.

The lawsuit comes after President Mnangagwa recently imposed a 12-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew which begins at 6 pm ending at 6 am the following day. Magweta’s Affidavit read:

The curfew is unreasonable because there is an acute shortage of transport in Zimbabwe. It is common cause that the only public transport operator is allowed to operate in Zimbabwe at the moment is the State-owned Zupco buses or independent public vehicles operating under the Zupco licences.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that while businesses close at 3pm, there is only a three-hour gap to allow commuters to get home.

They want the new Health Minister, Vice President Chiwenga to be directed to consider extending the curfew time to 8 pm to allow the citizenry to travel back home.

They also want police directed to issue a statement declaring that the curfew will be ruled out as being unconstitutional.

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Opposition MDC Alliance national spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has said an award-winning Zimbabwean journalist and filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono is now officially a political prisoner.

Mahere speaks when the High Court this Thursday denied bail for the corruption whistleblower who was arrested on the 20th of July and charged with inciting public violence.

His arrest came after he had urged the Zimbabwean general populace to participate in anti-corruption protests that had been scheduled for the 31st of last month.

Mahere posted on Twitter urging the citizenry to continue demanding Chin’ono’s freedom. 

She said:  

Hopewell Chin’ono is officially a political prisoner. Every progressive Zimbabwean must continue to demand his release. He is innocent. Let’s continue to demand his release. Freedom is a constitutional right. Let’s RETWEET & let the world know because #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

Watch Chin’ono’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa speak at the High Court soon after the bail ruling:

The High Court on Thursday denied journalist Hopewell Chin’ono bail reiterating that the Magistrates’ Court had not erred in saying that the award-winning journalist was rightfully arrested.

Justice Chitapi also warned Chin’ono’s lawyers (Beatrice Mtetwa) against attacking judges who had ruled against the journalist being granted bail.

The judge also observed that Chin’ono’s case needs to be heard by the court that initially denied him bail.

Justice Chitapi also noted that Chin’ono had failed to present evidence suggesting that Magistrate Nduna had erred in denying him bail.

Reads the ruling in part:

The second matter concerns the submissions made on appeal by the appellant’s counsel that the siltation had changed because the demonstrations which constituted the focus of the tweets having been planned for 31 July, 2020 did not take place. I indicated then that this was a matter outside the appeal record which I could not take account of. An appeal is determined on the basis of the record of proceedings taken on appeal. In other words, this appeal determines whether the decision of the learned magistrate as given on 24 July, 2020 based on what was said and produced before him is supportable. Anything which occurred after the hearing and judgment cannot be considered on appeal. Thus, whether or not it is still in the interests of justice to continue the detention of the appellant without bail is a matter which should be determined by the court which initially denied him bail. New facts which arise after the determination of a denied bail application cannot be considered on appeal. It was for these reasons that I refused to take account of events after the termination of the bail proceedings before the learned magistrate.

In disposing of the matter, I determine that the appellant has failed to demonstrate any misdirections of fact, law or both made by the learned magistrate in the court a quo as would justify interference with his judgment. In consequence therefore, the order I make is as follows:

“The appeal be and it is hereby dismissed.”

Robert Martin Gumbura will be out of prison in just five years after the High Court slashed his sentence by half following an appeal.

The pastor was serving an effective 40-year jail term for rape and will now have to serve half of the years following a successful appeal against his sentence.

His lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku says he might have five years remaining considering the remission of sentence.

“In the magistrates’ court, he was given 50 years before 10 years were suspended conditionally.

“He has been in jail since 2014 meaning that he has already served part of the remaining sentence, also taking into account what it is called remission of sentence.

“You will find out that he is left with about five years,” said Madhuku.

The appeal was heard by Justices Charles Hungwe and Edith Mushore.

He said the reason why the State consented to the reduction of Gumbura’s prison term was because the regional magistrate erred in convicting him over a complainant who alleged she was raped twice.

He said the State agreed that she was indeed raped on the first encounter but failed to bring out the abuse on the second count.

Gumbura is accused of raping several female congregants and threatening to place them in the hands of the devil if they refused.

The Standard

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor Christopher Mutsvangwa yesterday launched an astonishing attack against Zanu PF benefactor Kudakwashe Tagwirei, claiming that he is now a source of divisions in the presidium.

Mutsvangwa also revealed that Tagwirei was being given preferential treatment in the allocation of foreign currency for the importation of fuel, which he said had created a monopoly in the fuel industry.

The war veterans’ leader and one of the president’s top allies’ outbursts come amid reports that relations between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga have become sour.

Tagwirei, who owns Sakunda and has several controversial deals with the government, was thrust into the vortex of the infighting last week after Zanu PF apologist William Mutumanje, aka Acie Lumumba, claimed he was at the centre of a fuel cartel that included top Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) officials.

RBZ governor John Mangudya suspended four directors from the apex bank citing Mutumanje’s “exposé”.

Mutsvangwa was accused in some quarters of being the brains behind the “leak” of the alleged intelligence report linking Tagwirei to illegal foreign currency deals and a fuel “cartel”.

However, the former minister yesterday denied working with Mutumanje before launching an unrestrained attack on Tagwirei.

“He is dividing the presidium. How can a businessman have preferences in the presidium?

“That is trying to turn the country into a banana republic,” Mutsvangwa said, without clarifying Tagwirei’s leanings in the presidium.

Tagwirei’s business gets about US$80 to US$90 million every month for fuel from the RBZ, yet many companies, some of them largest fuel dealers in the world, want to come and invest in the fuel industry in the country.

“You can ask [Energy] minister Joram Gumbo. There are many who want to come. We can’t have a whole country for one man.”

Mutsvangwa claimed most of the foreign currency given to Sakunda was being sold on the black market to repay the RBZ through the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system.

“One of the optimal conditions to attract investment is free competition. The RBZ is not a source of capital. Tagwirei relies on RBZ foreign currency allocation and claims to be a businessperson. I don’t respect such businesspeople,” he said.

“I know what I am saying. I have been fighting (former president Robert) Mugabe over creating an oligopoly since 2015 when this whole thing started.

“I can’t be faulted for moving against a monopoly and the whole country is against him. My crime is historical, for enlightening the Pope.”

He added: “I am the one who brought in a tobacco company from China, which has generated billions for the country.

“I also took small-scale gold miners to China and they are doing well, generating foreign currency, but the money is given to Tagwirei, why?

“Tobacco and gold are the two major sources of foreign currency. I also fought hard for chrome to be sold.

“All the hard-earned foreign currency is given to the RBZ and John Mangudya gives it to Tagwirei. Why can’t he go in the market to source his own foreign currency?

“How can someone have a business model that relies on RBZ foreign currency allocations? Taking from Peter to give Mary?

“If tobacco and gold producers can retain the money they raise, they can do better with it.”

Mutsvangwa said the RBZ was the nerve centre of the economy and for a just society, it should not allocate foreign currency to businesses.

“Taking money from panners and giving them digital dollars, phantom money while giving Tagwirei, whose business is simply to sit before a computer and invoice the RBZ, some hard dollars is just being cruel on Zimbabweans,” he said.

Mutsvangwa said he had nothing to do with Mutumanje’s “leaks” because he had been out of the country since September.

“Now that the public knows the truth, it is good. Tagwirei should simply tell the people what he has been doing with the money he was allocated by the RBZ and what makes him merit more allocation than others,” he said.

Mutsvangwa accused Tagwirei and Trafigura, a Singaporean company, of causing havoc on the economy.

“All the problems Zimbabwe has been experiencing centre around fuel,” he said.

He claimed that Tagwirei was involved in “oligopoly politics” and Trafigura was bent on capturing the state.

“The day his father died, the whole army went there, the whole government was closed,” he said.

“I was outraged, a single person closing government business; this is a sign of inordinate power. Where does it come from? “We want to know who is backing him.

“He should tell us how he ends up at the front queue of the RBZ, the political power behind him.

“I am against the whole philosophy of allocation of foreign currency and when the country had cholera, [Econet boss]Strive Masiyiwa provided $10 million, and when the country has a fuel crisis, Sakunda wants to cash in.

“He is using public infrastructure.

“How can a pipeline and underground fuel reserves built by the country end up being run by a private individual?

“Why does he invoice in hard currency for a facility that belongs to the country?

“With its facilities, Zimbabwe should be a regional hub of fuel but for 20 years, it has had artificial shortages of fuel when it has the third largest facility in the world.”

He claimed Tagwirei sponsored Norton MP Temba Mliswa in the last elections to keep him out of government because he was speaking against the Sakunda “oligopoly”.

Mutsvangwa said the command agriculture programme being bankrolled by Sakunda was meant to facilitate state capture.

“Where have you found the army grow food for the population in the world? I was opposed to that,” he said.

Tagwirei was not answering his phone yesterday when this paper tried to seek a comment on the allegations. The businessman is believed to be very close to Chiwenga.

NetOne has send out a message informing subscribers that they will be hiking their bundles tomorrow. Of course, they didn’t actually say they were going to hike prices tomorrow but we have been doing this dance for over a year now. Companies, especially mobile network operators send out a message saying they will be reviewing the prices of a certain item on such and such a date have all invariably meant to say they were going to jack prices up.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Dear Valued Customer,

Please be advised that all our bundle prices will be reviewed effect 7 August 2020.

Please dial *171# for details.

By bundle prices they probably mean all their bundles including voice bundles and SMS bundles. We will post the latest bundle prices tomorrow morning when they become effective.

Following in the footsteps of Econet

Econet have already adjusted their bundle prices in line with POTRAZ’s directive that all tariffs be in USD. These will be adjusted regularly in line with the official exchange rate which will change every week.

Price Checker

Bloomberg

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa accused his deputy of plotting against him in a heated exchange, highlighting a rift between the nation’s two most powerful men as the economy implodes.

At a meeting of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s politburo last week, Mnangagwa shouted at Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, according to two people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified because the quarrel hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

The president accused his deputy of instigating a plan to use an opposition protest on July 31 over the deteriorating economic situation to embarrass the national leader, the people said. Some party members would have been encouraged to demonstrate alongside the opposition, but focus their criticism on Mnangagwa to weaken his standing within the ruling party, the people said.

Chiwenga denied any plot against the president, saying he’d endorsed Mnangagwa as president for Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections, the people said. He said he had protected Mnangagwa against enemies within the party who have now fled the country.

The clash shows the tension between Mnangagwa, 77, and Chiwenga, the 63-year-old former head of the armed forces who installed Mnangagwa when he led a November 2017 coup that ousted President Robert Mugabe. Some military leaders and their allies have grown increasingly impatient as inflation has exceeded 700% and shortages of fuel, food and cash have become rife.

Calls to government spokesman Nick Mangwana and Chiwenga’s office weren’t answered when Bloomberg sought comment.to power, but at the same time Chiwenga is seen by analysts as ambitious and impatient to take over from Mnangagwa. The ex-military general wields influence within the ruling party and was this week handed oversight of the Health Ministry.

In June, military leaders held a press conference to say they weren’t planning a coup, stoking speculation of disquiet within the ruling elite. Still, later that month they ordered the closing of the stock exchange and banned large mobile-money transfers in a bid to stabilize its collapsing national currency, people familiar with the situation said at the time.

At last week’s meeting, Mnangagwa brandished fliers denigrating him that were seized by the Central Intelligence Organisation from the home of Cleveria Chizema, the party’s health secretary, the people said. Chizema has been suspended. She didn’t answer calls to her mobile phone.

The fliers called for Zanu-PF supporters to join the opposition protest, which was stillborn after security forces deployed on the streets of the capital, Harare. That deployment stoked the latest round of speculation of increasing military influence on the government.

Opposition MDC Alliance national spokesperson, advocate Fadzayi Mahere has said an award-winning Zimbabwean journalist and filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono who was denied bail in the high Court On Thursday is now officially a political prisoner.

Mahere posted on Twitter urging the citizenry to continue demanding Chin’ono’s freedom. She said:

Chin’ono’s arrest and that of opposition leader, Jacob Ngarivhume of Transform Zimbabwe sparked controversy and attracted attention from the international community.

Hopewell Chin'ono is officially a political prisoner. Every progressive Zimbabwean must continue to demand his release. He is innocent. Let's continue to demand his release. Freedom is a constitutional right. Let's RETWEET & let the world know because #ZimbabweanLivesMatter?? pic.twitter.com/6ROERM5oU9

— Fadzayi Mahere?? (@advocatemahere) August 6, 2020

Exiled former Zimbabwean Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Jonathan Moyo has urged human rights defenders in Zimbabwe to use foreign phone numbers for WhatsApp as a strategy to save their own lives. 

Moyo speaks at the backdrop of intense surveillance, arrest and torture of government critics by suspected state security agents. 

Moyo tweeted suggesting that local mobile network providers – Econet Wireless and NetOne, “voluntarily handover customer details and addresses” when police and central intelligence agents show up with a memo for a trace. He said:

If you are in Zim & are actively helping the people to exercise their constitutional rights to save lives & protect their livelihoods, stop using local numbers to setup your WhatsApp. Share the msg with Job Sikhala. Hopefully some NGOs can help with this!#ZimbabweanLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/73lOeI8Ptm

— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) August 6, 2020

If you are in Zim & are actively helping the people to exercise their constitutional rights to save lives & protect their livelihoods, stop using local numbers to set up your WhatsApp. Share the msg with Job Sikhala. Hopefully, some NGOs can help with this! #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

A HARARE magistrate has ruled that charges levelled against former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko are vague and embarrassing.

Mphoko is facing criminal abuse of office charges, where he allegedly unlawfully caused the release of former Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) officials from police custody in 2016 when he was Acting President.

The former VP, who is out on $1 000 bail following his arrest by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, had applied for exception to the charges at the Harare Magistrates Court.

In his ruling, magistrate Trynos Utahwashe said the right to fair trail was absolute in terms of section 186(3)( e) of the Constitution.

“All essential allegations to be proved by the State in order to sustain a guilty verdict must be contained in a charge sheet,” Utahwashe said.

“The charge sheet must contain the relevant elements of the crime that has been omitted and the manner in which the offence was committed. The charge, therefore, should not be vague and too broad, but specific. Only then can an accused person be required to answer to the charge.”

He concurred with Mphoko’s lawyer, Zibusiso Ncube that the State could not completely charge any public officer in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

“I, therefore, would disagree that section 174 does not contain any definition of conduct that is unlawful for a public officer,” he said.

The magistrate said the State made reference to section 106, which regulates the conduct of the VPs, ministers and deputy ministers in government, adding that the State could not, therefore, deny that the conduct alleged against Mphoko was defined in section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, alone and, therefore, could not stand.

“If the conduct complained against the accused by the State is in subsection (2) of section 106 of the Constitution, the conduct must be alleged in the charge sheet…,” Utahwashe ruled.

“The present charge omits the essential allegations of the conduct complained of by the State.”

Mphoko faced an alternative charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

Utahwashe said the charge sheet has to essentially name particular officers who were obstructed to do their work, and not generalise.

Charges were that on May 6, 2016, Zacc received a report of allegations of fraud and criminal abuse of office against Zinara officials. Investigations led to the arrest of Zinara acting chief executive Moses Juma and non-executive director Davison Norupiri and Mphoko ordered their release.

Mphoko’s defence submitted that their client had no authority to issue orders to police officers as that was only reserved to the President and thus whatever he said at the police station on the day, did not constitute a lawful order to the officers.

Utahwashe ruled that whatever the accused said on the day became an order due to his position, upholding the exception and dismissing Mphoko’s charges as vague and embarrassing.

Newsday

Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has justified the appointment of Vice President Chiwenga as the Health Minister and said the county is generally undisciplined and in need of dogmatic leaders like Chiwenga.

He Tweeted:

This country needs a dogmatic leader because democracy and it's ideals such as freedom of speech we don't accept. The indiscipline is too much. Mugabe had a peaceful reign because he was dogmatic in dealing us.

— Sabhuku Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) August 6, 2020

The South African Ministry of International Relations Naledi Pandor has revealed that it has been in touch with the Zimbabwean government to raise concerns on the on going human rights violations in the country.

The department posted as follows on Twitter:

The Government of the Republic of South Africa has noted with concern the reports related to human rights violations in the Republic of #Zimbabwe.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor is in contact with her Zimbabwean counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mr. Sibusiso Moyo.

As recent as on Tuesday, the two Ministers had a telephonic conversation, wherein Minister Pandor expressed South Africa’s readiness to assist if requested. Minister Pandor, reiterated South Africa’s commitment to peace and stability in the region and the African Continent.

She stated that it remains South Africa’s resolve to continue the pursuit for consultative solutions to address the existing socio-economic challenges and to contribute to the wellbeing of all Zimbabweans, the people of the SADC Region and Africans at large.

1/4 The Government of the Republic of South Africa has noted with concern the reports related to human rights violations in the Republic of #Zimbabwe.

— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) August 6, 2020

Drax SAGL International has proposed that two (2) retired judges, Justices Moses Chinhengo and Ahmed Ebrahim — together with Advocate Firoz Girachmediate mediate in its US$20 million contract with the government of Zimbabwe.

The contract to supply medical equipment was cancelled by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development after it had emerged that the equipment was overpriced.

In reaction, Drax challenged the cancellation and sued National Pharmaceutical Company (Natpharm) arguing the termination of the contract was unlawful.

The company is challenging the cancellation of the contract on grounds that it had performed its obligations in terms of the law.

A letter from Drax addressed to R. Mtombeni of Natpharm reads:

Our client concluded a contract for the supply and delivery of medical supplies with yourselves on 11th December 2019.

Our client performed all its obligations in terms of the law…Our instructions are to indicate that your purported cancellation of the 11th June, signed by one…Sifeku is null and void….

The contract has already seen the then Health minister Obadiah Moyo and four officials arrested and charged with criminal abuse of office after authorising the supply of the equipment despite objections from Treasury.

-DailyNews

watch the live video loading below…..

We have been told to wait about 15 to 20 minutes for a written copy of the judgement.

So we are waiting. #FreeHopewell #FreeJacobNgarivhume #FreeZimbabwe #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

— Doug Coltart ✊??? (@DougColtart) August 6, 2020

Watch the live video loading below……

Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance has cited political interference as the main reason for the lack of sound development in rural and urban councils.

See statement below :

Superior Services impossible in councils as a result of central government interference

Guided by the PRIDES ( Particiption, Reform, Integrity Devolution , Environment and Superior Services) strategy , MDC Alliance lead councils have their focus on delivery of superior services to their stakeholders.

Most local authorities in the country are poorly staffed.

The majority of councils are sadly ran by senior managers that are occupying positions in acting capacities, a situation that is a recipe for disaster in this important sector which sits at the coal face of the livelihoods of the people

This situation is a result of central governments appetite for micromanagement of councils in contravention of the constitution which give powers to elected councils to run local affairs out of their own initiative and autonomously.

Central government wants to decide who should be Town clerk, chamber Secretary or indeed any senior management position.

We implore the minister of local government to allow councils to employ without interference.

We posit that the Local Government Board, has no place in a devolved local government system and should not be used to employ unqualified and partisan staff.

The quality of services and efficiency and effectiveness of councils is directly related to the quality, suitability , skills and experience of senior staff.

The appointment of politically connected, yet unsuitable staff is the catalysis for corruption and inefficiency in our councils today. Our fight against corruption is lost if this practice is not stopped quickly.

Sesel Zvidzai

Secretary for Local Gvt and Rural Development

Watch the live video loading below……

BREAKING- Hopewell Chin'ono has been denied bail by Justice Chitapi. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/gSlYCFVCzv

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) August 6, 2020

Watch the live video loading below……

Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance has strongly condemned the persecution of Hither Rujeko Mpambwa who is a member of the party’s Youth Assembly.

Hither is also a member of the MDC Alliance Students Council.

” Rujeko Hither Mpambwa was arrested in the morning from her workplace in Kariba, charged with undermining the authority of ED and breaking the postal and telecommunications act.

She is student leader @CouncilMdc .
ZimbabweanslivesMatter,” MDC Alliance said in a brief statement.

Last week Hither was threatened by known CIO operatives in Kariba.

Also watch video below :

Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance has strongly condemned the persecution of Hither Rujeko Mpambwa who is a member of the party’s Youth Assembly.

Hither is also a member of the MDC Alliance Students Council.

” Rujeko Hither Mpambwa was arrested in the morning from her workplace in Kariba, charged with undermining the authority of ED and breaking the postal and telecommunications act.

She is student leader @CouncilMdc .
ZimbabweanslivesMatter,” MDC Alliance said in a brief statement.

Also watch video below :

The Zimbabwean government has dismissed reports of human rights violations, abductions and war on the citizenry.

We present the government’s full statement below.

Government has taken note of false allegations of human rights abuse and ‘crisis’ in the country being peddled by known political activists and misinformed individuals and global actors. To set the record straight, there is no crisis or implosion in Zimbabwe. Neither has there been any abduction or ‘war’ on citizens Like any other country in the world. Zimbabwe has been enforcing Covid-19 Lockdown regulations intended to safeguard and protect the lives of all citizens. Where necessary, the law has been rattly applied.

The deliberate attempt to smear the Country’s image is betrayed by the use of doctored images, old video clips and highly exaggerated claims on social media, all intended to paint a picture of a “burning Zimbabwe.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Zimbabwe today, is peaceful and all citizens are free to go about their business as usual, within the boundaries set by the Lockdown regulations His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Second Republic believes in upholding the rule of law and freedom of speech. Indeed, it is this freedom of speech that is, unfortunately, being abused by those who seek to push a sinister political agenda.

Government calls on its counterparts in the region and internationally, not to lose perspective of the fact that Zimbabwe has for long, suffered efforts to destabilize it by external forces that have a bone to chew with the country since the historic Land Reform Programme. These efforts have in the past taken many forms, from attempted insurgency to the current organized smear campaign, using blatantly false claims. Such smear campaigns are not unique to Zimbabwe and have been employed in other countries over the years.

We urge those who wish us well to continue to partner us in developing our Count On our part, we will continue on the reform pathway that we are on to ensure a prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe for all citizens.

Nick Mangwana

Bagaetsho. I have formally requested a meeting with the counsul general of Zimbabwe in South Africa. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/BMN01iLq68

— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) August 6, 2020

Watch the live video loading below….

By Jane Mlambo| The government of Zimbabwe has against issued a statement in response to growing pressure from the international community with regards to alleged human rights abuses in the country.

In a statement by Information ministry permanent secretary, Nick Mangwana said as government, they took note of ‘false allegations of human right abuses and crisis peddled by known political activists and misinformed individuals and global actors.’

Mangwana denied that there is crisis in Zimbabwe saying the government was just enforcing COVID-19 lockdown regulations intended to safeguard and protect the lives of all citizens.

He urged regional and international counterparts not to lose perspective of the fact that Zimbabwe has suffered from destabilization efforts by what he termed external forces with a bone to chew with the country over the 2000 land reform exercise.

“These efforts have in the past taken many forms, from attempted insurgency to the current organised smear campaign, using blatantly false claims. Such smear campaigns are not unique to Zimbabwe and have been employed in other countries over the years,” added Mangwana.

Following increased pressure from Zimbabweans who called on the regional and global community to speak on rights abuses in Zimbabwe, the United Nations, South Africa and other influential bodies across the world have come out in the open urging the Harare administration to respect the rights of its citizens.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has urged the government of Zimbabwe to ensure the protection of all fundamental human rights of citizens including freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of assembly.

This follows a global outcry by Zimbabweans using the hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter for the world to speak about human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by state security agents.

In his daily update yesterday, Guterres said;

“The Secretary-General has been following with concern recent developments in Zimbabwe. He urges the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure the protection of all fundamental human rights, notably the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, in accordance with Zimbabwe’s human rights obligations. He also calls on all political actors and civil society to resolve issues peacefully through inclusive dialogue.”

BREAKING- Justice Tawanda Chitapi says judgment on Hopewell Chin'ono is being prepared and will be handed down at 1430hrs in Court D. Judgment for Jacob Ngarivhume is not yet ready and it will be handed down on Friday at 1430hrs #ZimbabweanLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/8OW7yFDeKA

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) August 6, 2020

Where is @DrThoko_Khupe? A woman leader must have empathy when women are facing challenges in her country. ????? Mme o tshwara thipa ka bohaleng.

— Sophie Mokoena (@Sophie_Mokoena) August 6, 2020

No this can't be true. We want hear from her. https://t.co/EaCST12FxB

— Sophie Mokoena (@Sophie_Mokoena) August 6, 2020

She is a zanupf project my cstar they can as well add her in the sanctions list she is useless she is just obsessed with fighting Chamisa thats all #Zimbabweanlivesmatters

— Keisha????⚔️⚔️⭐?? (@Keisha_Lakish) August 6, 2020

Her mouth is full of money she can't speak.

— M-Jay (@M_Jay94) August 6, 2020

In our culture people are not allowed to speak when they are eating.

right now she is eating with Zanu so her mouth is full.#ZimbabweanLivesMatter

— Kuda Kwaishe (@kudasith) August 6, 2020

She's no ones leader that one. She was rejected by the people and recently went into cahoots with Mnangagwa along with @DMwonzora. That's why they wont say anything about Zanu PF brutality and human rights abuses now.#ZanupfMustGo#ZimbabweanLivesMatter

— Sharon Gail (@Madawu17) August 6, 2020

She is a pseudo opposition Leader she will not criticize the establishment because she is also a proxy for the system #Zimabweanlivesmatter

— Garikai Goremusandu (@Garikai1Gorey) August 6, 2020

https://twitter.com/phakathi_munya/status/1291299508299747329?s=20

By A Corespondent- Disruption of employment and increasing levels of poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic have forced artisanal small-scale miners to resume their activities, raising fear of the resurfacing of the dreaded machete gangs.

This was revealed by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) in its COVID-19 mining sector and communities’ situational report.

“With many jobs and sources of income being disrupted, and the high costs of basic commodities, many people are increasingly moving into the ASM [artisanal small-scale] gold sector for the quick money they can get,” the Zela report said.

“A series of machete violence cases have been reported in June and July 2020. In Zvishavane, one man was injured during a gold rush.

“In Matobo, at Nugget Mine, a machete gang violence case was reported. Reports of the gang invasions were also recorded in Maphisa, Makwe, and Mvana, with criminals and gold gangs escaping with cash, digital scales, and gold ore.”

Added Zela: “Machete violence incidents have been recorded in a number of mines in Bubi, where the criminal gangs managed to get away with the gold ore.

“In Gwanda, machete gangs have been reported at Vhovha Mine, where they assaulted and injured several miners and got away with gold ore. The police were able to arrest the gang leader after he was handed over to police by the miners who tracked him down to Gwanda.”

The Zela report also said soldiers were reported to be raiding artisanal miners, while police were arresting and closing some mines in cases where miners were not complying with COVID 19 regulations.

“In Matabeleland South, 145 ASM miners were arrested in Gwanda, while 115 were arrested in Bulilimangwe.

“During a recent Parliamentary Committee on Mines meeting in Mutare (23 July 2020) a representative of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) informed parliamentarians that many artisanal and small-scale miners are being arrested, but gold mining activities go on even at mid-night in the ASM sector,” Zela said.

Recently, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation leader Wellington Takavarasha appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines led by Edmond Mkaratigwa and called for the formalisation of artisanal mining to enable the miners to operate within the law.

Zela also said there were growing mining claims disputes within the ASM which could be attributed to the use of archaic manual claim allocation and mapping systems in Zimbabwe.

“The use of the manual system has resulted in claim disputes with some claims being double pegged or boundaries overlapping.

“The disputes have resulted in violence. A case was recorded in Penhalonga. A gold miner allegedly hired bouncers to rob a rival of gold ore worth over USD$2 500 over a mining boundary dispute.”

They said the Ministry of Mines confirmed that processing of mining licenses was slow due to a high number of applications in 2020 and shortages of staff.

“Over the year, the Ministry of Mines has been issuing 2 500 mining titles per year. However, by July 2020, there have been a massive number of applications for mining licences to the Ministry of Mines.

“A large number of applications are straining the Ministry since it does not have adequate resources-human resources and equipment to process mining titles. This has affected the speed of processing mining titles.” Zela said.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Popular Harare businessman Eddie Mboma Nyatanga who is also the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association founder and former leader has announced that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and he is on a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Eddie said this as he was raising awareness of the infamous disease and said we can’t even gamble with the disease to resume domestic football because it is still not safe to do so.

Eddie revealed his status in a statement that says:

It is with a heavy heart that I come to you with not so bad news. I got tested for Covid-19 on Saturday and the results came out positive.The results have now been confirmed today (yesterday) by medical experts.

I have seen my colleagues in sport, succumbing to this deadly pandemic, and I would like to urge my relatives, associates and dear friends to join me in prayers as I go into the mandatory 14-days quarantine.

I have come into contact with different people and I urge them to all get tested. I am waiting for further instructions from the medical experts. I might be quarantined at my home or at a designated quarantine centre, depending on their recommendations.

The medical team is due to visit my home to disinfect it and also to test those whom I have come into contact with here. I would like to urge those I have been in contact with in recent days to be tested and avoid getting into contact with other people. I’m now taking it one day at a time but I’m quite positive that I’ll completely make a fully recovery as I’m taking all the necessary precautions and I’m in constant touch with my doctor.

Now, this is the reality. My close friends, and all those in sport in general, and football in particular, can now understand that the virus is real. I have decided to reveal my status for the love of my friends and Zimbabweans. Everyone is at risk, as it stands. So, I am requesting that the authorities to conduct door-to-door tests, both at business premises and homes. I have been into contact with several people, including celebrities, who will all have to be traced.

It’s now very clear that the eye of the coronavirus storm of passing through our communities. A few months ago, we used to watch from a distance, telling each other that this had nothing to do with us but a concern for some countries far away from here. This has changed dramatically and what we do now will be decisive in helping us tame this monster.

That is why I don’t think we can gamble with having the domestic football campaign being started, in these circumstances, because we are at the crossroads. We just have to deal with this storm and pray that when it passes we would still be standing so that we can start getting back to normal again.

Football, right now, just like many of our sporting disciplines, don’t matter at all because these are games that we can still play next year while we can’t replace the lives we could lose if we drop our guard.

Zimbabwe has recorded 4339 COVID-19 cases since 20 March 2020.

-statemedia

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, today commended actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Zimbabwe Sanctions Program, particularly with respect to combating corruption by Zimbabwe’s elites.

“Today’s action by the Department of the Treasury to hold accountable those who perpetrate public corruption, particularly among Zimbabwe’s ruling elite, is commendable and reflects steadfast U.S. commitment to supporting Zimbabweans as they seek to rid their country of corruption,” said the senators. “We are pleased to see the Departments of Treasury and State continue to act on our request from January to update the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (SDN list) under the Zimbabwe Sanctions Program, and to consider our suggestions.”

“We condemn the ongoing government crackdown against opposition figures, journalists, and citizens who speak out against public corruption and who seek greater accountability from their government,” they continued. “Designating Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings will further diminish the ability of corrupt Zimbabweans to continue to undermine the country’s economic and democratic development as means of self-enrichment and preservation.”

Background: In 2003, the United States began to impose sanctions on select individuals with ties to the ZANU-PF regime and entities known to facilitate human rights abuses, undermine the rule of law, and engage in the looting of state resources for personal or political gain. Following a January 2020 request by Senators Risch and Coons, the U.S. Treasury Department on March 11, 2020, removed four individuals and added Anselem Sanyatwe and Owen Ncube to the SDN list under the Zimbabwe Sanctions Program. On August 5, 2020, the Department designated Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings. The timing of today’s announcement marks the second anniversary of a violent crackdown against citizens protesting flawed elections and the deaths of six protesters killed that day.

By A Correspondent- Chipo Mudadi, a Chivhu woman, who is being sued for $250 000 in damages for engaging in an adulterous relationship with a married man, yesterday challenged the lawsuit in court.

Chipo was slapped with the lawsuit a month after her sister Enita Mudadi was ordered to pay $15 000 adultery damages at the Chivhu Civil Court.

According to papers filed at the court, Angela Chibasa of Chambara in Chivhu is claiming $250 000 plus cost of suit and interest from Chipo, whom she claims is in an adulterous relationship with her husband Arnold Fungai Chibasa, a pirate taxis owner.

Angela, the plaintiff, told magistrate Sam Chitumwa that Chipo was involved in an illicit affair with her husband while she was fully aware that the she and Arnold were legally married.

Chipo and Arnold had a child who is now 11 years old as a result of that adulterous relationship.

Chipo dismissed Angela’s claims saying she did not know that Arnold was married when she dated him.

She, however, admitted that she conceived a child with Arnold while she was a Form 4 pupil at Liebenberg High School in 2008.

She argues that she eloped to Arnold’s home when she was three months pregnant where she was assaulted by Angela and she ended the relationship.

She got married to another man but did not tell him that she was pregnant with Arnold’s child.

Chipo accused Angela of destroying her (Chipo’s) marriage after she (Angela) revealed who the biological father of her daughter was, which resulted in her being divorced by the man she had married.

On April 18, 2020, she then asked Angela and Arnold to take care of her daughter since she could no longer support her financially.

“I only visit defendant’s residence to see my child. I am no longer in love with her husband,” she told the court.

She pleaded with the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that Angela and Arnold acquired their marriage certificate when she had already given birth to the child.

-Newsday

1/4 The Government of the Republic of South Africa has noted with concern the reports related to human rights violations in the Republic of #Zimbabwe.

2/4 The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor is in contact with her Zimbabwean counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mr. Sibusiso Moyo.

3/4 As recent as on Tuesday, the two Ministers had a telephonic conversation, wherein Minister Pandor expressed South Africa’s readiness to assist if requested. Minister Pandor, reiterated South Africa’s commitment to peace and stability in the region and the African Continent.

4/4 She stated that it remains South Africa’s resolve to continue the pursuit for consultative solutions to address the existing socio-economic challenges and to contribute to the wellbeing of all Zimbabweans, the people of the SADC Region and Africans at large

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are well and healthy during these difficult times.

Unfortunately, the current news is not good, and our nation is in the midst of an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases. Infection rates are quite alarming and in the past week alone we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths.

l have also tested positive for COVID-19 and I have since self isolated. In times of a pandemic, privacy concerns must be balanced with efforts to protect others. l have decided to be responsible and I am appealing to everyone l have been in contact with recently to go and get tested, self isolate and seek necessary help.

This is a painful journey, it separates you from your loved ones. Self isolation is not easy at all. The kids want to play with you but you cant entertain them.

I pray for everyone’s safety and well being. I do not wish this for anyone. For those who are already affected, lets continue to pray together and hope for a better tomorrow. Our health will soon be restored.

Those who care for us are in a difficult situation, because when they call to check on us at times answering the phone is very difficult as one will be in a lot of pain.
Do not give up on us, send messages when the time is right we will respond.

Lets stick to the “3 Ws”:

Wear Your Mask. Wash Your Hands. Watch Your Distance.

God bless us all.

By A Correspondent- Police in Mutawatawa, Mashonaland East province, have arrested two men who fatally assaulted a friend following a brawl over beer.

Wiriranai Chipika (40) of Manyika village under Chief Nyajina was found dead outside a shebeen on Sunday morning after he was allegedly attacked by his drinking mates Emmanuel Manuel (48) and Macdonald Tiki (36).

Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident.

“Police are currently investigating a murder case in Uzumba where a man was allegedly murdered at a shebeen,” Mwanza said.

“The suspects have since been arrested. We urge the public to desist from violence when solving disputes or misunderstandings to avoid such incidents.”

According to police, on August 2 at around 7pm, the now-deceased and the suspects were drinking at a shebeen when the altercation started.

Manuel allegedly assaulted the now-deceased with fists all over the body before banging his head against a wall. The two were later restrained by fellow imbibers.

After a while, it is alleged that Tiki hit Chipika on the forehead with a brick before grabbing a log and further assaulting him, resulting in him falling unconscious.

The suspects went to their homesteads, leaving Chipika still unconscious. The following day, Manuel returned and found him in the same state.

Chipika was rushed to Nyadire Mission Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Chipika’s body was taken to Mutawatawa Hospital for post-mortem.

-Newsday

Zimbabwe: SADC, AU Should Denounce Crackdown
Dozens Arrested, Harassed for Peaceful Protests

(Johannesburg, August 6, 2020) – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union should urgently and publicly speak out against the Zimbabwe government’s crackdown on peaceful anti-corruption protests on July 31, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today.

Zimbabwe authorities have arrested at least 60 people, including the novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga and the opposition MDC Alliance spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, in connection with the protests. Sixteen people were injured and required medical attention. Dangarembga was released on bail the next day.

“SADC and the African Union should call out Zimbabwe’s government for its repression and rampant abuses throughout the country,” said Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s important for these regional institutions to send strong signals to the Mnangagwa administration that flagrant violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights treaties are unacceptable.”

The Zimbabwe authorities have increasingly arbitrarily arrested critics of the government, Human Rights Watch said. On July 20, the police arrested and detained Hopewell Chin’ono, an awarding-winning journalist, and Jacob Ngarivhume, leader of the political group Transform Zimbabwe. Both were denied bail and remain in custody, accused of inciting public violence. Chin’ono and Ngarivhume had helped expose high-level corruption in Zimbabwe and called for nationwide anti-corruption protests on July 31.

On the eve of the anti-corruption protests on July 30, security forces raided the house of Mduduzi Mathuthu, a prominent journalist and editor of the online newspaper Zimlive, in Bulawayo. Failing to find him, they arrested his three nephews, Tawanda Muchehiwa, 22, Advent Mathuthu, 25, and Amandlenkosi Mathuthu, 19. The security agents also detained Mathuthu’s sister, Nomagugu Mathuthu, to compel him to turn himself in, but released her hours later. Advent Mathuthu was charged with incitement of public violence after allegedly being found with flyers saying “Mnangagwa & His Cabinet Must Resign,” but was freed by a court.

The Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe) issued a statement, emailed to Human Rights Watch, that security agents “dropped off” Mathuthu’s nephew Muchehiwa at his home on August 1 at about 10 p.m. The group said that he had been tortured by alleged security agents, resulting in serious injuries. According to medical documents reviewed by Human Rights Watch, Muchehiwa was assaulted with a wooden log and sprayed with an unknown substance all over his body. He suffered extensive bruises, an acute kidney injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

On July 31, soldiers and the police arrested and briefly detained a lawyer, Obey Shava, and his three clients, activists Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, and Netsai Marovato, as they drove to Harare Central Police Station to report in as required under their bail agreement. Police had stopped the three activists on May 13 at a checkpoint in Harare and allegedly abducted, tortured, and sexually assaulted them.

Shava, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told Human Rights Watch that “I complied with all the instructions they [security forces] gave, that notwithstanding, I was ordered to lie down on the ground. My client, Chimbiri, was assaulted and molested in my presence. I felt helpless.” Chimbiri said that a soldier tore off her top and brassiere and fondled her. Chimbiri was later charged with disorderly conduct in a public place, even though the security forces had assaulted her.

On August 4, President Emmerson Mnangagwa publicly denounced critics in a speech, describing them as “dark forces,” “a few rogue Zimbabweans,” and “terrorist opposition groupings.” He said: “Those who promote hate and disharmony will never win. The bad apples that have attempted to divide our people and weaken our systems shall be flushed out. Good shall triumph over evil.” He said nothing about the constitutional rights of Zimbabweans to peacefully protest or the government’s domestic and international human rights obligations.

Following the crackdown on protesters, the chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Solomon Dersso, said in a Twitter post on August 3, “As we follow [the] situation in Zimbabwe, critical to reiterate the African Commission on Human Rights’ view that actions of states even in fighting Covid-19 should comply with principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality, thus no basis for arbitrary deprivation of liberty or life, inhumane treatment or torture.”

The Zimbabwe crackdown on activists has inspired an online campaign, with the hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, which has resulted in more than 700,000 tweets in two days, but neither SADC nor the African Union has spoken out about the situation. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current chairperson of the African Union, should press President Mnangagwa to end the wave of repression and promote respect for human rights.

“President Ramaphosa should muster support from within the African Union to hold Zimbabwe’s leadership to their human rights obligations,” Mavhinga said. “African regional actors should not remain silent in the face of escalating repression in Zimbabwe.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Zimbabwe, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/africa/zimbabwe

Where is @DrThoko_Khupe? A woman leader must have empathy when women are facing challenges in her country. ????? Mme o tshwara thipa ka bohaleng.

— Sophie Mokoena (@Sophie_Mokoena) August 6, 2020

Her mouth is full of money she can't speak.

— M-Jay (@M_Jay94) August 6, 2020

By A Correspondent- A yet to be identified woman died yesterday and her body reportedly spent the night on the street along Samora Machel avenue, ZimEye has learnt.

According to a source, the woman died yesterday between 4th and 5th street along Samora Machel Avenue, but the corpse is yet to be collected.

Said the source:

“There is a woman who is dead along Samora Machel Avenue, between 4th and 5th streets in Harare since yesterday. Even the police are just passing and not doing anything to remove her body. She has been on the ground dead since yesterday.

There is 1 police man standing metres away. She is currently under a tree. From a distance, one can see that she was putting on a green wrapping cloth, Zambia. There were two men who were also seated under that tree as well.”

Added the source:

“I just saw a white twin cab arrive at the scene, a guy sprayed the lady with some substance, jumped in the car and left. They didn’t carry the body.”

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for fresh details on this story and more……

By A Correspondent| High Court Judge, Justice Terrence Chitapi says judgment on journalist Hopewell Chin’ono’s bail application is still being prepared and will be handed down at 1430 hours today.

In Ngarivhume’s case, Chitapi said the ruling will now be handed down tomorrow at 1430 hours.

More to follow….

By A Correspondent| ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has condemned the state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe, saying it’s uncalled for and will have consequences for South Africa.

By A Correspondent- Tensions between the president and his deputy reportedly took a nasty turn during a politburo meeting last week as President Mnangagwa accused Vice President Chiwenga of trying to topple him from power using the 31 July protests, sources privy to the development told Bloomberg.

According to the publication, the president shouted at his deputy and said he wanted to embarrass him, but Chiwenga reportedly denied the allegations, according to the 2 people who spoke to the publication.

Reported the publication:

At a meeting of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s politburo last week, Mnangagwa shouted at Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, according to two people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified because the quarrel hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

The president accused his deputy of instigating a plan to use an opposition protest on July 31 over the deteriorating economic situation to embarrass the national leader, the people said. Some party members would have been encouraged to demonstrate alongside the opposition, but focus their criticism on Mnangagwa to weaken his standing within the ruling party, the people said.

Chiwenga denied any plot against the president, saying he’d endorsed Mnangagwa as president for Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections, the people said. He said he had protected Mnangagwa against enemies within the party who have now fled the country.

It is still not clear how the protests were going to be used to topple the president, however the government responded to the planned protests by threatening civilians, arresting, beating and torturing the organisers, would be protestors, and protestors and people responded by staying at home and not going out to protests.

Bulawayo province now has the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths which are more than a quarter of the national average.

On Tuesday, the city recorded its 21st death after a 22-year-old man succumbed to the global pandemic in one of the health institutions.

According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 death toll now stands at 81 while a total of 4 221 people have been infected.

Of the 81 deaths, Harare has the highest at 39, followed by Bulawayo 21 and Manicaland which has recorded six deaths.

Midlands is at number four with five deaths, followed by Mashonaland West with four deaths and then Matabeleland North and South provinces which have two deaths each.

At the bottom there is Mashonaland Central and East provinces with one death each.

From the onset of the pandemic, Masvingo is the only province yet to record a Covid-19 death.

“As at August 4, 2020 Zimbabwe had 4 221 confirmed Covid-19 cases including 1 238 recoveries and 81 deaths. Today, 146 people, all local transmissions tested positive and they are in isolation,” read the statement.

“Today we regret to report a death at facility level of a 22-year-old man from Bulawayo and to date the city has a cumulative total of 21 deaths.”

Bulawayo has a total of 1 065 Covid-19 cases, Matabeleland South has 437 cases while Matabeleland North has 60 cases.

Of the total 1 065 cases reported in Bulawayo, 1 016 are local transmissions.

Mpilo Central Hospital acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya recently said the confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths will continue to rise as long as people do not comply with lockdown regulations.

He said people should desist from visiting the city centre and all public places.

“The best way for us to beat this virus is to prevent it.

“Our resources are really stretched and we will not be able to cope with huge numbers of Covid-19 cases.

“We will definitely record more cases as long as people violate lockdown regulations,” said Prof Ngwenya.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- The government has announced that it has granted the Zimbabwe Mission In South Africa a temporary order to allow the clearance of undocumented bodies for repatriation for burial in Zimbabwe because South Africa is running out of bodies storage space.

This was revealed by Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni during a post Cabinet briefing when she said:

Following recent developments in South Africa, where the time of storage of bodies has been reduced, Cabinet resolved to grant the

Zimbabwe Mission in South Africa a special waiver during the Covid-19 pandemic period to clear the repatriation of undocumented Zimbabwean bodies for burial back home on the basis of submitted affidavits from the chief or village head and relatives in Zimbabwe.

South Africa COVID-19 cases have breached the half a million mark and South Africa is reportedly digging one million graves just to stay ready for the worst-case scenario. However, Zimbabwe’s Southern neighbour has also reported a 68% recovery rate.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has arrived in the country’s tourism capital Victoria Falls for the launch of the National Tourism Recovery Strategy and commissioning of the multi-million dollar Mbano Manor Hotel.

During his one day visit, Mnangagwa is also expected to tour the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the majestic Victoria Falls and assess progress in the construction of another multi-million dollar tourism project, the Palm River Lodge.

The National Tourism Recovery Strategy is expected to guide the recovery of the sector which was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zimbabwe which is targeting to transform the tourism industry into a US$6 billion dollar industry within the next few years has prioritised attraction of investment into the sector which is a major foreign currency earner.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent| Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, George Charamba has intimated that the latest United States sanctions on Sakunda Holdings and its owner Kudakwashe Tagwirei will likely hit Zimbabwe’s fuel supply hard.

Posting on social media, Charamba writing under the name @Jamwanda2 said the sanctions against Tagwirei are clearly intended to disrupt energy supply into Zimbabwe.

“US SANCTIONS AGAINST SAKUNDA and its owners are clearly intended to disrupt energy supply into and throughout ZImbabwe. The US Govt has done what previous US Administrations could not do to the illegal Ian Smith regime under UN sanctions!! Therein lies the racist side of the US,” said Charamba.

Responding to people who hailed the sanctions move on his timeline, Charamba said Zimbabweans will understand better when they face dry fuel outlets.

‘We will see which dog and owner come crying at dry fuel outlets!!! Dull self-interest to celebrate the self-hurtful!!!

“I am sure, including your cracked feet stomping too and from work daily, assuming you are employable!!!!!,” added Charamba.

Three Zimbabweans, two from Bulawayo and one from Manicaland, died of coronavirus yesterday bringing the total to 84.

There were 118 new cases raising the total to 4 339.

Twenty-six recovered bringing the total to 1 264 but there are still 2 991 active cases.

Going by the figures alone, Bulawayo seems to be overcoming the pandemic as 536 out of the 1 073 people have recovered and 23 have died leaving 514 active cases.

Only 76 out of 1 670 have recovered in Harare and 39 have died. There are 1 555 active cases.

Justice Tawanda Chitapi of the Harare High Court on Monday postponed to Today, his ruling on bail applications by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume.

T

Chin’ono and Ngarivhume’s two-week detention may come to an end today as the state appears not to be having compelling evidence why bail can not be granted.

Chin’ono and Ngarivhume’s hearings were due to be heard by the High Court last Thursday but were postponed.

Both men were arrested a fortnight ago on allegations of inciting public violence after they reportedly used social media to support calls for anti-corruption protests on 31 July.

Chin’ono has been working tirelessly over the past few months to expose corrupt government officials, with the major story being the Draxgate Affair in which the Ministry of Health purchased medical sundries from a controversial company at highly inflated prices.

Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa recently said Chin’ono was not arrested for exposing corruption but for inciting public violence.

However, media analysts believe Chin’ono was targeted for exposing high-level graft and his arrest serves to warn other journalists not to report on corruption by the political elite.

H-Metro

A Zim Parks official on Tuesday sent passerby in the CBD into panic as they suspected him to be a Covid-19 patient after he was found lying prostrate on the pavement along First Street.

It took the courage of an Air Force of Zimbabwe employee who “examined” the Parks official and saw an empty bottle of an illicit brew known in street lingo as Kirango.

As the crowd gathered, an unidentified vendor assured onlookers not to worry about the man saying he had spotted him imbibing the illicit brew.

starfm.co.zw

Civil servants are expected to get additional benefits to cushion them from rising cost of living with health workers expected to get Covid-19 allowances, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube said negotiations for annual cost of living adjustments between Government and its employees under the National Joint Negotiating Council had started and will end within the next two months.

Prof Ncube said this yesterday while responding to questions from journalists during a post-Cabinet media briefing held in Harare yesterday.

He said civil servants were expected to get the balance of US$75 which Government committed to pay for three months as a Covid-19 allowance.

Prof Ncube had been asked what Government was doing to bring an end to job action by health workers.

“We have started negotiations for annual normal cost of living adjustments, that process will take us to around September or October there will be further adjustments in that regard.

“There will be special programmes that recognises the health work they do and the risk that they take.

“There will be a special health sector allowance and then there is a special Covid-19 risk allowance, then there is a US$75 wage balance. So there is a layer of additional benefits and these benefits are tax free.

“These are some of the benefits to improve working conditions for health workers as well as the entire civil service,” said Prof Ncube.

Two months ago, Government made a 50 percent salary adjustment to civil servants and an additional US$75 that it said would be paid for three months.

Prof Ncube said it was critical to cushion civil servants from the vagaries of inflation.

Turning to the $300 being paid to vulnerable people, Prof Ncube said Government will always review the money in line with inflationary pressures and national budget considerations.

He said the money was recently raised to $300 from $180 after a realisation to continued rise to price of goods and services.

Earlier on Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said Cabinet had adopted a report on the operations of Mosi-Oa-Tunya Development Company, which was presented by the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso                        Ndlovu.

She said the company was formed in 2012 as an investment vehicle for Government in the development of tourism facilities in Victoria Falls.

“It assisted in mobilising resources for the development of infrastructure and facilities for the hosting of the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, with initial focus being on the construction of an Integrated Tourism Resort comprising a 5 000-seater Convention Centre as the anchor project.

“The 271 hectare piece of land earmarked for this development, which unfortunately failed to take off, has now been identified as the future growth node of Victoria Falls Town,” said Minister Nyoni.

3 people succumbed to COVID-19 yesterday bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Zimbabwe to 84 since 23 March 2020.

This was contained in a report by the Ministry of Health which states that 118 people tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday,

118 Cases tested positive for COVID-19 today, These include 117 local cases and a returnee from South Africa.

New recoveries were reported by Bulawayo Province(21) and Mashonaland West Province (5)

Todaye we regret to report 3 deaths at facility level. A amle aged 66 and a female aged 60 in Bulawayo and a male aged 79 in Manicaland Province.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak on 20 March 2020 the total number of confirmed cases is 4339, recoveries 1264, active cases 2991 and 84 deaths.

SABC

Zimbabwe continues to face a myriad of challenges both political and economic.

On Friday opposition forces had planned street protests across the country but their efforts were thwarted by security forces.

A number of activists have been arrested in connection with the protests. Others have been calling for the release of the investigative journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, who was arrested and taken from his home in Harare on the 20th of July, 2020.

 Simba Chikanza, Founder, Editor and Director for ZimEye, gives more insight into the Zimbabwe situation:

By Jane Mlambo| Youth Sport Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister Tinoda Machakaire has disclosed that he tested positive for Covid-19.

Posting on his social media platforms Machakaire urged those he had close contacts to get tested.

“I have tested positive for Covid-19 and I am urging all those I met recently to go and get tested and then get into self quarantine,” he said.

Several people who commented on his post hailed him for coming out in the open about his Covid-19 status.

“This is high level of maturity and professionalism. Most people especially high ranking officials are just going around even after they met people with Covid-19. Some of them have tested positive but they are not saying it,” said social media user.

Several government officials have gone into isolation following the death of Agriculture Minister Perrance Shiri who died from Covid-19.

Machakaire is one of the few government officials to come in the open after testing positive to the global pandemic.

ZIMBABWE’S RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Cabinet received from the Honourable Vice President KCD.Mohadi, as chairman of the Ad Hoc Inter-Ministerial Task Force on the Covid-19, an update on the steps that are being taken to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The cumulative rapid screening and PCR tests conducted as of 3 August, 2020 are 137 808 (73 174 RDT and 64 634 PCR).

The country has recorded a cumulative 4 075 confirmed Covid-19 cases compared to the previously reported 2 704, which is a 51 percent increase, while the cumulative number of confirmed local cases has risen by 78 percent from the previously reported 1 675 to 2 982.

Most of the local cases are in Harare (1 299), Bulawayo (947), Midlands Province (245), Mashonaland East (161) and Manicaland (113).

Recoveries have increased by 95 percent from 542 to 1 057, while deaths increased by 122 percent from 36 to 80.

In light of the spike in Covid-19 cases, the number of PCR tests done per week has doubled with the average tests per day standing at 1 130 as compared to 559 from the week ending 24 July 2020. Seventy-five percent of the tests are being conducted by the public sector.

As a precautionary measure to curb the transmission of Covid-19 at food markets, which are characterised by crowding, poor sanitisation and lack of reticulated water, Cabinet resolved as follows:

That the restructuring of the vegetable markets bays in line with Covid-19 protocols be done in all vegetable markets;

That markets operate a six-day-cycle with mandatory closure for disinfection on the seventh day;

That all vendors at stalls should exercise extreme precaution like the use of sanitisers and consistent hand-washing with soap and running water; and

That a targeted Information Education Campaign be conducted to promote a new-normal among traders and customers at these markets. Government will also come up with measures to be enforced in other places where people converge in large numbers.

Cabinet has directed that all hospitals should admit patients without the pre-requirement for a prior Covid-19 test result and proceed to do a PCR test on admission.

To that end, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has already directed all public and private health institutions to establish Patient-Under-Investigation (PUI) zones to ensure that no patients are turned away.

In terms of preparedness, the nation is informed that Wilkins and United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) are now admitting mild to moderate cases.

The recruitment of nursing staff is already underway. In the same vein, His Excellency the President has appealed to the striking nursing personnel to return to work such that the loss of lives can be minimised.

Following recent developments in South Africa, where the time of storage of bodies has been reduced, Cabinet resolved to grant the Zimbabwe mission in South Africa a special waiver during the Covid-19 pandemic period to clear the repatriation of undocumented Zimbabwean bodies for burial back home on the basis of submitted affidavits from the chief/village head and relatives in Zimbabwe.

Cabinet is appealing for responsible behaviour and calls on all social media users to desist from posting or peddling falsehoods on Covid-19 that may cause despondency and alarm in the nation.

The public is reminded that the peddling of falsehoods is a punishable offence in terms of the Covid-19 regulations.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE 2018 AND 2019 ANNUAL REPORTS OF THE NATIONAL PEACE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
Vice President KCD Mohadi, as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on National Peace and Reconciliation, presented recommendations from the 2018 and 2019 annual reports of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, which were adopted by Cabinet.

The Vice President will present the recommendations to Parliament in due course as required by the Constitution. Highlights of the recommendations include the following:

That legislation and a code of conduct will be put in place to regulate the operations and conduct of all political parties;

That campaigning against one’s country shall be legislated at law and criminalised;

That existing laws shall be strengthened to include elements that foster tolerance, equality and social cohesion among Zimbabweans as well as prohibit hate speech by public officials, media houses and citizens in public spaces and social, print and electronic media platforms;

That the public should be educated on the Security Services’ complaints handling and feedback mechanisms;

That the development of the Witness Protection Bill be expedited; and

That historians will be resourced to document inclusive story lines that reframe and capture agreeable narratives about Zimbabwe’s history.

MOSI-OA-TUNYA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
Cabinet considered and adopted a report on the operations of Mosi-Oa-Tunya Development Company, which was presented by the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

The company was formed in 2012, as an investment vehicle for the Government in the development of tourism facilities in Victoria Falls. It assisted in mobilising resources for the development of infrastructure and facilities for the hosting of the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, with initial focus being on the construction of an Integrated Tourism Resort comprising a 5 000-seater Convention Centre as the anchor project.

The 271-hectare piece of land earmarked for this development, which unfortunately failed to take off, has now been identified as the future growth node of Victoria Falls Town.

To operationalise developments on the 271-heactare land, Mosi-Oa-Tunya has developed a draft concept plan, which identifies the projects to be undertaken in the different zones as well as the infrastructure required to attract investment into the area.

Preparations for a comprehensive master plan covering 1 200 hectares in the Masuwe Estate land area are being spearheaded by an Inter-Ministerial Committee of officials and ZIDA. To give impetus to the Victoria Falls tourist and investment Special Economic Zone, Cabinet resolved to expedite processes for the completion of the master plan for the whole of Victoria Falls.

Currently, Mosi-Oa-Tunya Development Company is working with a private sector concern to conduct feasibility studies for the proposed Victoria Falls Integrated Tourism Park in Masuwe Estate. This will pave way for the development of bulk infrastructure facilities at the site. Projects earmarked for this phase include hotels, shopping malls, a medical facility, a convention centre and an upmarket golf course.

GAZETTING OF THE VICTORIA FALLS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cabinet advises, with pleasure, that Statutory Instrument 196 of 2020 which operationalises the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange was gazetted on Monday 3 August, 2020.

The Statutory Instrument outlines the exchange control regulations for investment and trading on the bourse.

This sets the process for the actualisation of the Victoria Falls financial hub Special Economic Zone on a firm footing.

How Mine will today shut down and its employees self isolate for a minimum of 10 days after 24 employees tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine checkup conducted at the mine, Mining Zimbabwe reports.

The matter came to light in a memo from the mine management to the mine staff members notifying them of the development and the health Ministry recommendations. The memo reads:

Memorandum

To: All Employees

From: Mine Manager

Date: 5 August 2020

Subject COVID —19 UPDATES – HOW MINE LOCKDOWN

Over the past weeks the country has recorded a sharp increase is COVID-19 cases. How Mine has not been spared of the same challenge recording 24 positive cases as at 5 August 2020.

As a result of this sudden spike in COVID 19 positive cases within the mine community the Ministry of Health and Child Care has recommended that the mine be isolated from the outside world for a period of 10 days with effect from Thursday 6 August 2020 to achieve the following;

• To manage the importation of the virus from external sources so as to contain the pandemic and prevent further spread

• To allow for containment of existing infections
• To break the chain of further transmission
• To continue contact tracing and testing of cases to facilitate flattening of the curve

During the enhanced lockdown, only medical emergencies and other identified disciplines will be allowed to leave or enter the mine in the process of performing their critical tasks.

We wish the affected employees a speedy recovery.

E Gwatidzo

Meanwhile, Fidelity Printers, Hwange Colliery and Unki Mine Employees also tested positive for the virus as well.

More: Mining Zimbabwe

FORMER Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) finance director, Mr Simon Taranhike, who was on bail pending appeal on his conviction and sentence after being jailed for effective 15 months on criminal abuse of office charges, was yesterday acquitted by the High Court.

High Court judge Justice Felistus Chatukuta sitting with Justice Pisirayi Kwenda set aside Mr Taranhike’s conviction and sentence passed by Harare magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya.

Mr Mujaya had found Mr Taranhike guilty of abusing the Zinara fuel facility and authorising the issuance of 1 800 litres of petrol coupons without following due procedures.

Mr Mujaya initially sentenced him to 30 months in prison before suspending six months on condition of good behaviour.

Another nine months were suspended on condition that Mr Taranhike pays back the 1 800 litres of fuel to Zinara before December 31 last year.

His actions are said to have prejudiced his employer of fuel then worth $6 354. Mr Taranhike through his lawyer Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba, who was acting on Mrs Rekai Maphosa’s instructions, had appealed against conviction and sentence arguing that he was improperly convicted.

In the appeal Mr Taranhike argued that the State had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt as required by the law.

He said the essential elements of criminal abuse of duty were not satisfied by the State.

The High Court accepted that the instructions to issue the fuel coupons had been given the board chairman, Engineer Michael Madanha.

Justices Chatukuta and Kwenda agreed that the board chairman Eng Madanha had instigated the corruption and Mr Taranhike could not at the same time impute criminal motive and conduct.

The High Court also noted that Mr Taranhike had simply communicated the instructions from the board chairman to a clerk in the transport department resulting in the issuance of the fuel coupons.

Allegations were that Mr Taranhike allegedly pressured Zinara’s transport clerk Dennis Jaricha to procedurally release the fuel coupons, ignoring protocol.

State Media

Progress on the dualisation of the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway by local contractors comes under spotlight on Friday as President Mnangagwa inspects work.

The construction of the road recently attracted public scrutiny when an engineer from ZINARA shared a disappointing video on the progress of the road on social media.

Government has prioritised road rehabilitation as a key enabler in transforming Zimbabwe to an upper middle income society by 2030.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza yesterday said the President would assess the work being done by contractors.

“The President will be inspecting the development work, how far it has gone, the challenges being faced by the contractors among other things. There are five contractors, but tomorrow he will be visiting two of them before visiting the other three some other time,” said Minister Matiza.

The rehabilitation of the Harare-Beitbridge highway was initially set to be undertaken by foreign companies, but is now being done by local companies whose standard of work has so far impressed Government.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube is on record saying the Government will prioritise the construction of both rural and urban roads as it develops the required infrastructure for expanding businesses.

https://twitter.com/MoyoNjaja/status/1286914989400502273?s=19

Financial Times

The US has imposed sanctions on a close business ally of Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa who was until this year the partner of global commodity trader Trafigura in the African nation.

Kudakwashe Tagwirei and his Sakunda group were blacklisted on Wednesday by the US Treasury, which said that the businessman used “opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with President Mnangagwa” to improperly amass wealth in the shortages-plagued country.

Both the opposition and figures within Mr Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF party have accused Mr Tagwirei of “state capture”, or systematic looting of public resources, while ordinary Zimbabweans are suffering from the collapse of the local currency and triple-digit inflation.

Mr Tagwirei has become popularly known as “Queen Bee” over the allegations of state capture, which Sakunda has denied.

“Tagwirei and other Zimbabwean elites have derailed economic development and harmed the Zimbabwean people through corruption,” Justin Muzinich, deputy secretary in the US Treasury, said.

The sanctions will prevent Americans from dealing with Mr Tagwirei or Sakunda. Mr Tagwirei did not respond to a request for comment on the sanctions designation.

Mr Tagwirei “has utilised his relationships with high-level Zimbabwean officials to gain state contracts and receive favoured access to hard currency, including US dollars”, the US Treasury said. “In turn, Tagwirei has provided high-priced items, such as expensive cars, to senior-level Zimbabwean government officials.”

Sakunda has also come under scrutiny over its role in a government agriculture subsidy drive under Mr Mnangagwa, with opposition lawmakers saying $3bn of state funds cannot be accounted for.
Trafigura, which has been a main lender to Zimbabwe by supplying fuel on credit, was in a joint venture with Sakunda until it cut ties this year in order to “bring improved clarity on Trafigura’s activities in the country”.

Trafigura had previously held a 49 per cent stake in the venture, Trafigura Zimbabwe. It bought out Sakunda’s controlling stake in the severing of ties. The trading group said on Wednesday that this deal was now complete.

The Financial Times revealed last year while Sakunda was still a partner of Trafigura that the IMF had warned Zimbabwean authorities on Sakunda’s favoured access to central bank resources, after the company received inflated payouts on government debts.

The payouts led to massive increases in the money supply, tanking the Zimbabwe dollar further and worsening the economic crisis.

Scrutiny of Mr Tagwirei’s interests beyond Sakunda has grown this year as he has been linked to a series of other business deals, including mines in the country.

Mr Mnangagwa’s government recently brutally suppressed protests against corruption planned for last week, including the detention of journalists, activists and opposition politicians.

He claimed in an address this week that “dark forces” inside and outside Zimbabwe were working against his government, and threatened to “flush out” his enemies.

State Media

At least 65 people were arrested last night at premises in Borrowdale, Harare, where a money pyramid scheme is allegedly being operated.

The suspects were arrested for violating Covid-19 regulations and taken to Harare Central Police Station for further investigations.

They were expected to pay deposit fines of between $200 and $500.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests.

“They were arrested in Borrowdale for violating Covid-19 regulations. They were found gathering and there was no social distancing.

“However police have also launched investigations to ascertain the legal status of the place where the suspects were arrested,” he said.

According to legal experts, a pyramid scheme is a fraudulent investment plan that can cost a lot of people their hard-earned savings. The pyramids promise huge and easy profits to “investors,” though they eventually collapse after the owners have benefited.

Pyramid marketers are known to seek out brand new victims almost from any place — at work, at churches and even by means of social groups or clubs.

But the pyramid schemes will ultimately fall without fail because the profits rely on signing up new members to the scheme and, eventually, every scheme runs out of fresh recruits.

The only people who may profit in a pyramid scheme are those at the very top of the pyramid.

Early this year, the quest for quick buck backfired for some people in Harare who lost large sums of money after being made to join pyramid schemes they were made to believe yielded 100 percent profit overnight.

The suspected conmen were brothers, Romeo (25) and Tinashe (29) Samhungu.

The pair allegedly devised a plan to swindle people using the pyramid scheme and promised investors very lucrative returns over very short periods of time, and for very little or no effort on the part of the investor.

Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are well and healthy during these difficult times.

Unfortunately, the current news is not good, and our nation is in the midst of an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases. Infection rates are quite alarming and in the past week alone we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths.

l have also tested positive for COVID-19 and I have since self isolated. In times of a pandemic, privacy concerns must be balanced with efforts to protect others.

l have decided to be responsible and I am appealing to everyone l have been in contact with recently to go and get tested, self isolate and seek necessary help.

This is a painful journey, it separates you from your loved ones. Self isolation is not easy at all. The kids want to play with you but you cant entertain them.

I pray for everyone’s safety and well being. I do not wish this for anyone.

For those who are already affected, lets continue to pray together and hope for a better tomorrow. Our health will soon be restored.

Those who care for us are in a difficult situation, because when they call to check on us at times answering the phone is very difficult as one will be in a lot of pain.

Do not give up on us, send messages when the time is right we will respond.

Lets stick to the “3 Ws”:
Wear Your Mask. Wash Your Hands.

Watch Your Distance.
God bless us all.

Zimbabwe nurses have welcomed the newly appointed Health Minister, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and the ministry’s permanent secretary.

They added that the new appointees were informed of the crisis in the health sector adding that they will not be resuming duty until all their grievances have been addressed.
We present below the nurses’ update to all members of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) on the ongoing industrial action.

With reference to the above, please find an update below:

1. Today marks the 48th day since we withdrew our labour.
2. As ZINA, we welcome the appointees to the positions of substantive Minister of Health and Child Care as well as Permanent Secretary for the same Ministry.
3. It is our hope that the two appointees have been briefed on the situation prevailing in the health sector and what has led to the impasse between health workers and their employer.
4. Our reasonable demands are in the public domain. We look forward to being engaged on these on the basis of mutual respect, where our constitutional and labour rights to a fair wage and not to work in unsafe conditions are respected.
5. Further, we look forward to having our demands acknowledged and met. As we have indicated before, we are unable to return back to work until this has been done.
6. Considering the urgency of the situation, we expect an urgent intervention to resolve the impasse.
7. Until the above has been done, we reiterate our position- NO USD, NO WORK! NO PPE, NO WORK!

In compliance with the World Health Organisation protocols requiring institutions and individuals to be tested for Covid-19, ZANU PF directed that its staff members working at the Headquarters be tested.

The total number of personnel who underwent mandatory testing on 28 July 2020 is 154.

The results have just come out showing that 26 tested positive to Covid-19. Those affected are being informed.

Those who have since been informed have been advised to go into self-isolation in line with the normal World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols on Covid-19.

Those who are symptomatic have been advised to seek immediate and urgent medical attention.

The Party is undertaking to hold periodic testing of its staff and leadership for Covid-19 in order to ensure that the working environment is safe. The Party HQ is being fumigated by health officers and members of staff have been asked to stay home during this process.

Dr David Parirenyatwa is supervising the fumigation process. The Party wishes those affected a quick recovery.

ZANU PF will now embark on a rigorous programme of testing districts and provincial staff for Covid-19 and fumigation of the offices soon.

…I highlighted that to the court and the court apologised for everything that happened to my client, but eventually we then agreed that we’ll be coming back on the 26th August for trial…

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights’ Obey Shava, who is representing the MDC Alliance trio, Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova has expressed concern over the continous revision of his clients’ trial dates arguing that the development posed security risks on the girls.

Speaking shortly after the court appearing of the trio at Harare magistrates court Wednesday morning, Shava said:

Lawyer Obey Shava: " …the main worry which we highlighted to the court is that this attendance, today's attendance was not necessary. It exposes our clients to risks, we know what happened on the 31st July when we appeared, we were detained illegally by the security forces pic.twitter.com/aR2ug96r6i

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) August 5, 2020

“When we last appeared on the 31st July 2020, the agreement had been that the trial date would be the 26 August 2020 as opposed to the 16th of September 2020. But the court had advised that it would be entertaining the trial on 26th September 2020. From our side, we had no issues with 26 September, we agreed with it and at the material time, the state equally agreed to have the matter rolled over to the 26th September for trial.

“All of a sudden, we received summons calling upon our clients to report at court today for the correction of an error which had occurred regards the trial date, so we came and advised that ….the court had pronounced it’s date as the 26th September as opposed to August 2020.

“But the main issue, the main worry which we highlighted to the court is that this attendance, today’s attendance was not necessary. It exposes our clients to risks, we know what happened on the 31st July when we appeared, we were detained illegally by the security forces.

“One of my clients was assaulted, and for the state to continuously summon my clients to appear unnecessarily before the court, is really unreasonable. It’s inhumane to say the least, so I highlighted that to the court and the court apologised for everything that happened to my client, but eventually we then agreed that we’ll be coming back on the 26th August for trial.”

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