CAPS United descended into chaos yesterday, triggered by a sensational fallout over unpaid salaries, forcing police to come in and resolve the ugly stand-off.
Club vice-president, Nhamo Tutisani, came close to being manhandled by a group of players at his offices in Harare.
At one point, the players and the Harare businessman exchanged some harsh words, including insults, on a dark day for the Green Machine.
Before the arrival of the police, Tutisani sought refuge in his office in Eastlea, while the CAPS United players barricaded the exit point with their cars.
Some bouncers, led by a former member of the Dynamos security team, Abraham Kwenda, also arrived at the scene to try and resolve the impasse.
The bouncers did not use force, in their interactions with the players, but chose diplomacy in persuading them to leave the business premises and let the club’s leaders find ways to deal with their concerns.
The players, who claim they have not been paid their salaries for up to two months, pitched up at Tutisani’s offices demanding to be paid their outstanding dues.
The stand-off is centred on the $480 000 which CAPS received from NetOne, upon the termination of their sponsorship deal, which the players wanted to be used to settle their salaries. The money is enough to cover about two months of the salaries.
The players say they received advice from their colleagues from Bosso, a club which received a similar payment from NetOne, that they had been paid some of their dues-State media
Twenty-seven (27) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. These are all returnees from South Africa and are all isolated.
Today 515 RDT screening tests and 352 PCR diagnostic tests were done. The cumulative number of tests done to date is 54 535 (32 282 RDT and 22 253 PCR).
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 314; recovered 46, active cases 264 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
… A mask alone cannot protect you from COVID-19, you should always combine its use with these protective measures: –
Keep at least 1 metre distance from others. Avoid touching the mask or face. Clean hands frequently and thoroughly-Health Ministry
The government has postponed the reopening of schools from 29 June to 28 July to allow education and treasury authorities to mobilise for the provision of adequate resources.
This was said by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa while addressing the media during a post-Cabinet briefing this Tuesday in Harare.
Mutsvangwa said: In line with His Excellency, the President’s decision that schools should start re-opening, Cabinet resolved that the re-opening of schools be moved from the proposed 29 June to 28 July 2020 to allow the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to engage treasury and other stakeholders to mobilise for the provision of adequate resources.
However, the decision to re-open schools does not affect the June examinations which will run from 29 June to 22 July, as initially announced.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema said an average of 11 candidates will sit at each examination centre to enable social distancing to be observed-State media
Opposition MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job “Wiwa” Sikhala, has renewed his threat to lead rolling mass demonstrations against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government.
This comes when tensions in the country have been on the rise recently mainly because of power dynamics in the MDC and the deteriorating state of affairs.
Sikhala told Daily News in an interview at the weekend that the MDC Alliance was preparing to embark on massive protests against the government he said:
The level of agitation among the people now has never been witnessed before in the history of this country … they are just waiting for leadership to end the game.
Our people have not surrendered to fate about their destiny. They are waiting for the call and the call is not very far. It is imminent.
Speaking on the approach to the protests, the Zengeza West legislator said they will not be coming in instalments but will be “incessant.”
He added that the opposition believes that the biggest problem for the country is president “Emmerson Mnangagwa and his thieving regime.”
He warned, however, that there would be persecution of those who are genuinely fighting for transformation adding that ev en those who fought to dislodge the unjust colonial system suffered years of incarceration-Daily News
As Zimbabwe starts to ease the lockdown sounds of car and bus horns hooting the lockdown silence away. This is the sound of thanks and start of victory in a long battle against coronavirus. Let us carry this determination and settle for a long fight The country must thank each person who is fighting against the novel coronavirus. People must not be complacent following the end of the strict lock down measures. Just because the lockdown is eased it does not mean that we will celebrate. Do not consider this a success. If we come together, we can beat this big challenge. Corona is real and it kills. England has eighty thousand people who died in two months. Yes eighty thousand people.
But on this fight Zimbabwe must never forget the man who commanded the armies in the fight against Corona virus. The whole country was the army. The president of Zimbabwe was the Commander in Chief but the General of the multitudes is none other than comrade doctor Obadiah Moyo the minister of Health and Child Care. Cde ObadiahMoyo was born in Gutu. He married Lucy Memory. They have four children together and still counting Lucy willing. Obadiah Moyo is very educated medical man. He is a Member of Academic Board for Advisors, GET ConsortiumDr Obadiah Moyo is a visionary and creative leader with a proven trackrecord in both medical and executive management. He is an experiencedmanager who adopts a professional “hands on” approach. He is skilled inproblem solving and obtaining achievements by using initiative and driveto gain results. Believes in loyalty and commitment to an organization,utilizing available facilities and resources to produce the best possibleresults.He won several international awards in recognition of his contribution tothe international society in Nephrology and Pathology. Through hisachievements, he is rated as an eminent strategist in the medical industryin Zimbabwe and the region.Dr Moyo is a registered Renal Specialist and Consultant ChemicalPathologist. In 2000, he was elected as Deputy President of the HealthProfessions Authority of Zimbabwe and the Acting President in 2004. He isalso a founder member of the World Council for Renal Care and is also a founder of the Zimbabwe Kidney Foundation Renal Services where he serves as the Chairman and Executive Director.He was educated in Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and theWest Indies, and has cumulative training and work experience of over a period of 39 yearsculminating in an expanded knowledge in Renal Medicine & Chemical Pathology.
He is a holder of a Master of Philosophy degree in Medicine (MPhil Med) from The University of Zimbabwe, earneda Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, St Lucia,West Indies, is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath), (UK), and holds aPostgraduate Award in the Management Of Chronic Kidney Disease from Warwick UniversityMedical School (UK).Research Interest : Obadiah Moyo the minister of Health is a Zimbabwean politician and former hospital administrator. In 2018, he was appointed the country’s minister of Health and Child Care.Obadiah Moyo served as the Executive Director of The Zimbabwe Kidney Fund Association’s Renal Services and worked to bring more dialysis machines to hospitals. He has always respected the sanctity of life. He is a man so humble and a man who could if need be lay down his own life to save another. Of greater note minister Moyo was involved in providing dialysis care of cde Sally Mugabe, the former First Lady and the cde Robert Mugabe’s first wife, when she battled renal disease.Moyo showed great care and love for his work. In 2005, he was appointed as the chief executive officer of Chitungwiza Central Hospital where he transformed the hospital to be a Morden hospital.Dr Moyo held the position until 2019.Moyo was appointed as the Minister of Health and Child Care in September 2018 in the new dispensation of PresidentMnangagwa’s government. Cde Moyo replaced Nyathi Dr David Parirenyatwa Sekuru.
Obadiah Moyo never had his ministerial position an easy way. He faced huge obstacles and the nation have him to thank for the way he steered the nation out of major outbreaks. In his first year in the ministerial role, the country faced a cholera outbreak it took his wisdom and good leadership skills to pull the country out of the pandemic. Moyo had a problem the economy was not on his side and drugs shortages vilified his efforts but he never looked back. Just as Moyo declared victory over cholera nurses and doctors strike over hospital conditions,a shortage of drugs and wages. Mostly there was a political dark hand in these strikes and daggers were sharpened against Dr Moyo. He with the help of the minister of public service and some dedicated ministers knocked some sense into the heads of our nurses and doctors and a working point was established. As if this was not enough Dr Moyo was faced with a world wide pandemic the Corona Virus. Moyo had to call upon his guts wits and because of his hard work in March 2020, Moyo was appointed to lead the nation’s Coronavirus Task Force.
Dr Obadiah Moyo is a visionary and creative leader with a proven track record in both medical andexecutive management. He is an experienced manager who adopts a professional “hands on”approach. He is skilled in problem solving and obtaining achievements by using initiative and driveto gain results. Believes in loyalty and commitment to an organization, utilizing available facilitiesand resources to produce the best possible results. He won several international awards inrecognition of his contribution to the international society in Nephrology and Pathology. Through hisachievements, he is rated as an eminent strategist in the medical industry in Zimbabwe and theSouthern Africa region.The Ministry of Health under Dr Moyo with support from WHO and partners scale-up response to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. As coronavirus disease (COVID-19 spreads rapidly across Africa, the Ministry of Health, and other partners have taken the necessary steps to mitigate the risk and interrupt the transmission of COVID-19. Zimbabwe has maintained its COVID-19 death on 4. Regardless our economy Dr Moyo has achieved what America failed to attain with their big economy. The country continues to face a huge burden of communicable disease outbreaks but against all odds the measures taken to curtail the virus in Zimbabwe seemed tough but proved to be effective.
Thanks to minister Obadiah Moyo. In response to this, WHO and other partners have been supporting the Ministry of Health to enhance emergency preparedness and response interventions in line with the International Health Regulations and WHO Incident Management System.As part of the support, the Chinese Renovated the Public Health Emergency centre at Wilkins and many hospitals. In addition, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with other partners launched a national wide preparedness and response plan for COVID-19 aimed to support coordination and planning with other actors, surveillance, rapid response teams and case investigation, case management, laboratory testing, risk communication, community engagement and social mobilization, and infection prevention and control. In response to the conformation of COVID-19 cases, the country is conducting full outbreak investigation including tracing of contacts, intensifying surveillance, expanding case management capacity as well as mapping and training additional health personnel.Nurses and midwives as front-line health workers are playing a crucial role in supporting the COVID-19 preparedness and response activities to ensure the rapid identification of cases to stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus in order to save lives.At the community level, Dr Moyo and partners have also intensified awarenesscampaigns on good hygiene practices and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. People exhibiting symptoms have been requested to isolate themselves at home and call the established helpline for immediate response.
With the help of the police those who escaped quarantine are being followed tracked down and imprisoned. “As we crossed 30 000 reported cases of COVID-19 in Africa we need to take a comprehensive blended strategy for controlling the epidemics”, The spread of this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the implementation of robust containment and control activities”The Government of Zimbabwe is committed to do its best in the fight against COVID-19. A High-Level National Task Force led by the Vice President has been formed to oversee the preparedness and response to COVID-19.
Dr Obadiah Moyo has been screaming that“Stick to the rules on social distancing if you don’t want a ban on outdoor exercise.”On the issue of social distancing restrictions, Dr Moyo said No one would want to take such a measure if it could be avoided. It can beprevented if everyone continues to do the right thing.
That means staying athome, only going out if it’s necessary and keeping our distance if we do have to go out.“I am very encouraged by the extent to which people across Zimbabwe are following the guidance. The message for Zimbabwe is stick with the fightback against Covid-19. We must never let our guard down if we want to protect ourselves, protect our health service and save lives. Any hints of complacency and impatience must be strongly resisted.While the government is aware that“Further restrictions could also have consequences in terms of mental and physical well-being.“That’s another reason why we must stick with the fightback and all.
Covid is still taking hundreds of lives every day and so Zimbabwe must thank God for OBADIAH’s wisdom. Cde Obadiah Moyo said he was so grateful to see so many millions of people up and down the country following government advice this Covid time.
Every day the country spends locked down has an impact upon people’s mental health. They are becoming anxious about jobs and their economicfutures, and there is an increasing amount of loneliness especially amongst older people. So it is vital for the health of the nation that the lockdown does not last any longer than absolutely necessary and I know this will be weighing heavily on ministers’ minds now that we are looking forward to a review of our lockdown in Zimbabwe.
We have many people to thank in Zimbabwe. Our nurses and Along with delivery drivers, bus drivers and supermarket shelf-stackers, pharmacists are rarely the subject of Praise. Dr Obadiah Moyo has taken his hat off for them they have kept calm and carried on, putting themselves at grave risk every day to help keep us healthy. Our police and the army have risked contracting Covid but they trudged on. The pressure on Zimbabwe’s health system and its local pharmacies has been immense.
Our doctors in the fight against Covid remains a crucial part of the primary care health network, they are still seeing patients every day, face to face and often in small premises where social distancing is impossible. These are our heroes and they must be realised. Yet most have still not received enough personal protective equipment but Obadiah Moyo is trying his best to keep them and their colleagues safe, and report that the government’s PPE hotline considers them to be at high risk. We must ensure that those who are serving us and the people we care about are able to protect themselves. The nation must put their hands together for the man who kept our fight against Covid on. Who has stopped COVID19 In it’s tracks.
Obadiah Moyo the minister who had never seen peace in his ministry. Bombarded by pandemic after pandemic but he did not fail the nation. Zimbabwe is blessed to have Dr Moyo the man with a big heart.
Farai Dziva|Veteran journalist Stanley Gama has challenged Emmerson Mnangagwa to concentrate on feeding millions of hungry Zimbabweans, instead of fighting tooth and nail to destroy the MDC Alliance.
Gama argued: “Is it a coincidence that @nelsonchamisa lawyer, Thabani Mpofu is not appearing in court, suddenly pple are no longer being denied access to the city centre? Is the regime so scared of Chamisa? What has changed between those 2 days last week and today?
@edmnangagwa while your regime is concentrating on fighting @nelsonchamisa the situation for the pple has gone from bad to worse. Instead of wasting time, resources and energy on Chamisa, please focus on feeding the pple, the majority of whom can’t afford one meal a day.”
“Mr President, everyone is now a pauper, govt workers, soldiers, police, workers in the private sector, the informal sector. Pple are scavenging for food like baboons. When pple start saying Mugabe was far better, you shld take heed and concentrate on their needs not Chamisa.
@edmnangagwa have you sat down to think abt all those leaked documents around your family. It’s not Chamisa who is doing this. Its the pple around you. It is up to you Mr President to find out whats happening. And I repeat, the people are not happy, they are suffering.
@DMwonzora the way you are using Zanu PF and the state machinery to try and deliver the MDC’s over 2 million votes to Zanu PF will backfire. You have betrayed the pple all because you have been promised a Ministerial post in the so called unity govt they say you will be part of?
@DMwonzora are u not scared of riding a tiger? When in 2015, Tsvangirai told me that you had sold out to @edmnangagwa he was 100% correct. Now you go to his grave for rituals. You have sold him out and you know it. But pple are not fools and history will judge you!”
War veterans secretary in Zanu PF politiburo Douglas Mahiya said the MDC red symbol is a sign of avenging spirits tormenting them for failing to respect their ancestors who died for the country during the liberation struggle.
Mahiya was speaking at a official launch of War veterans league in Muzarabani district on Saturday.
“MDC is being tormented by their ancestors who they are refusing to honour by opposing Zanu PF,”he said.
“Every Zimbabwean has ancestors who died during the liberation struggle so if you refuse to support the ruling party you are turning against your ancestors that is why you see MDC wearing those red colours that is a spirit tormenting them.”
Meanwhile, War veterans association chairpersons in all the provinces have accused Mahiya of highjacking party procedures by officiating the war veterans wing to co-exist with other party wings-credit: Bulawayo 24
War veterans secretary in Zanu PF politiburo Douglas Mahiya said the MDC red symbol is a sign of avenging spirits tormenting them for failing to respect their ancestors who died for the country during the liberation struggle.
Mahiya was speaking at a official launch of War veterans league in Muzarabani district on Saturday.
“MDC is being tormented by their ancestors who they are refusing to honour by opposing Zanu PF,”he said.
“Every Zimbabwean has ancestors who died during the liberation struggle so if you refuse to support the ruling party you are turning against your ancestors that is why you see MDC wearing those red colours that is a spirit tormenting them.”
Meanwhile, War veterans association chairpersons in all the provinces have accused Mahiya of highjacking party procedures by officiating the war veterans wing to co-exist with other party wings-credit: Bulawayo 24
Rhythm City actress Mbali Zakwe, who portrays “Sindiswa” and Eve Rasimeni, who portrays “Dikki” in the e.tv drama Z’bondiwe on Friday were arrested after they allegedly beat the caretaker of their complex.
The actresses allegedly got into an argument with the complex caretaker over loud music according to a report by Sunday World they were charged with assault and attempt to cause grievous bodily harm.
Rasimeni speaking to the publication said that on the day of the incident she was celebrating her birthday at her Sandridge apartment and the caretaker at around 12pm came to tell them to switch off the music as it was too loud.
The actress told Sunday World that she refused to switch off the music as asked by the caretaker, as the complex rules stipulated that tenants cannot play loud music from 10 pm. The caretaker then left the apartment and allegedly cut off the electricity supply.
“I then took a sjambok and went to his office, Mbali followed me. When we arrived in the office, the woman who works with the caretaker started filming Mbali. That’s when hell broke loose,” explained Rasimeni.
“Mbali tried to remove the camera from her face and the fight ensued between them. That’s when we started sjamboking them.
The caretaker punched me, grabbed the sjambok from me, and started beating me with it.”
Rasimeni and Zakwe are currently out on bail and have laid counter-charges.-Chronicle
By A Correspondent- The government has postponed the reopening of schools from 29 June to 28 July to allow education and treasury authorities to mobilise for the provision of adequate resources.
This was said by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa while addressing the media during a post-Cabinet briefing this Tuesday in Harare. Mutsvangwa said:
In line with His Excellency, the President’s decision that schools should start re-opening, Cabinet resolved that the re-opening of schools be moved from the proposed 29 June to 28 July 2020 to allow the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to engage treasury and other stakeholders to mobilise for the provision of adequate resources.
However, the decision to re-open schools does not affect the June examinations which will run from 29 June to 22 July, as initially announced.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema said an average of 11 candidates will sit at each examination centre to enable social distancing to be observed.
By Patrick Guramatunhu- Tendai Biti has reported written to the World Bank asking them to make sure any financial assistance they give to Zimbabwe benefit the people and not the ruling elite.
“Even in these unprecedented times, any support from the World Bank Group must contribute towards our shared goal of better health and economic opportunity for the people of Zimbabwe. Any assistance must not be allowed to further enrich or entrench the very people who have destroyed our economy and democracy,” wrote Biti, according to The Herald.
“We have painfully learned, time and again, that the Government will abuse public resources for their own goals rather than for the benefit of Zimbabweans.
“The only way that we can advance our shared goals to respond to the current crisis is to include robust measures for transparency and accountability in any assistance package.”
No man or woman would deny the criminal waste of the nation’s resources by the ruling elite to feed their insatiable hunger for power and wealth.
Indeed, the WB itself knows only too well how gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have all but totally destroyed Zimbabwe’s once upon a time booming economy. The WB has given Zimbabwe US$7 million in financial assistance to help the country fight the corona virus pandemic. This is but a fraction of what other nation have received precisely because donors are fearful the money will looted!
One American senator has written to the WB demanding that any bank assistance to Zimbabwe must “impose very strict benchmarks and transparency and accountability processes”!
What is worth noting here is Tendai Biti’s duplicity. If he was really interested in the common goal of saving the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, the economy and democracy then why has he not implemented even one democratic reform in all the 20 years he and his MDC friends have been on the political stage?
During the 2008 to 2013 GNU, MDC had the majority in parliament and in the cabinet in which he was the Minister of Finance. He was aware of the rampant corruption and complained “of a parallel government”; the Joint Operation Command, a junta comprising of the top brass in the security services headed by Mugabe and Mnangagwa; “complete with it own source of funding”. Other than complain about it on this one occasion, he did nothing to stamp out corruption.
Worst of all, MDC failed to implement even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU and yet that was the primary task of the GNU!
If Tendai Biti and his MDC friends cared about good governance then they should have not participated in the 2013 much less 2018 elections when it was clear, with no reforms in place, Zanu PF was going to blatantly rig the process. They participated out of greed; they knew Zanu PF would give away a few seats to entice the opposition and these were what they were after.
Tendai Biti and company have sold-out the common cause of free, fair and credible elections for a few gravy-train seats!
Ever since the rigged 2018 elections Tendai Biti and Nelson Chamisa have piled the pressure on (no doubt the letter to WB is part of it) Mnangagwa to share power. They are asking for the formation of National Transition Authority, a 2008 GNU in all but name, in which MDC leaders will be allocated cabinet positions. Biti has been itching to get his 2008 Minister of Finance post back.
“Any assistance must not be allowed to further enrich or entrench the very people who have destroyed our economy and democracy!” Very true! But it is not just Zanu PF thugs who have destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy and democracy and are holding the nation to ransom; MDC sell-outs like Tendai Biti are in it too!
Businessman Genius Kadungure’s company Piko Trading on Tuesday admitted to charges of tax evasion when he appeared at the Harare magistrates court.
Piko Trading, which was being represented by Kadungure, pleaded guilty to failing to pay Value Added Tax between February 2009 and May 2016 prejudicing ZIMRA of $2 512 149 in the process.
The company also admitted to failing to declare income tax to the Commissioner of Taxes prejudicing ZIMRA of $355 559. Piko Trading, however, denied smuggling 5 289kgs of gas into the country
PANIC has gripped the MDC in the Matabeleland region amid reports that the Nelson Chamisa camp has moved to beef up security at its regional offices here.
This comes after the Thokozani Khupe-led camp last Thursday took the ugly fight a notch up after she allegedly got the assistance of security forces to seize control of the hugely symbolic Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House.
The development has, however, further thrown panic among Chamisa supporters who have immediately moved to deploy youths to guard party offices in the region.
So desperate have been the panic-stricken officials that they have launched a fundraising exercise reportedly to take care of the welfare of the youths who guard the premises round the clock.
According to an internal memo dated June 6 gleaned by this publication, the Bulawayo provincial office seeks to raise $10 000 as a matter of urgency.
“To Bulawayo province cadres who have the MDC Alliance party at heart. We have created a fund to which we are all being asked for contributions to cater for our urgent office welfare issues caused by adverse eventualities bedevilling our party of excellence at the moment.
“The money is sought for immediate use. With the number of committed cadres in Bulawayo we can raise the amount of $10 000,00 required at the moment,” read the memo in part by provincial party treasurer Sonny Phiri.
Phiri confirmed that the fundraising memo was indeed authentic but refused to discuss its contents saying it was strictly an internal issue.
“That’s an internal matter not for public discussion.”
However, the memo indicates that about 12 party officials who include senators, Members of Parliament and councillors had already made their contributions with over $3 000 having been already raised.
Similarly, MDC Matabeleland South provincial treasurer Sibongile Maphosa directly sought for “donation for feeding security personnel”, according to another memo gleaned by this publication.
MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said: “We are coming for the provincial offices very soon. Harvest House is now secured.”
Twenty-seven new COVID-19 cases were recorded today, Tuesday 9 June 2020, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has announced.
All the 27 people who tested positive are returnees from South Africa and this has taken the cumulative number of coronavirus cases to 314. In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, MoHCC said:
Twenty-seven (27) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. These are all returnees from South Africa and are all isolated.
Today 515 RDT screening tests and 352 PCR diagnostic tests were done. The cumulative number of tests done to date is 54 535 (32 282 RDT and 22 253 PCR).
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 314; recovered 46, active cases 264 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
… A mask alone cannot protect you from COVID-19, you should always combine its use with these protective measures: –
On January 3, a United States of America drone strike assassinated General Qassim Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Soleimani’s death led to increased tension in the middle east between the U.S. and Iran, with some people even going as far as to say a possible world war 3 may be on the horizon.
Tension began to die down When Iran attacked a U.S. military base in Iraq with missiles, with the missile attack resulting in the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian airline which led to the death of over 200 souls on board.
The latest news on the incident comes from a televised news conference on Tuesday, where it was revealed by an Iranian judiciary spokesman that the government will execute a CIA spy who provided information to Israel and U.S. intelligence services about the whereabouts of the slain commander Qassem Soleimani.
“Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, one of the spies for the CIA and Mossad has been sentenced to death. He gave the whereabouts of martyr Soleimani to our enemies,” said Gholamhossein Esmaili in a televised news conference.
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to revert back to the market-determined exchange rate as the local currency continues to devalue under the fixed exchange rate of US$1:ZWL$25.
Due to persistent foreign currency shortage on the formal market, most businesses are getting the hard currency from the informal market where rates are pegged at above 1:60 to and 1:70.
The gap between the formal and informal market rates has continued to broaden creating an ordinate abitrage window where inflationary pressures have continued to maintain a bullish trend.
In a statement, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said that following the Apex Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on May 22, the committee considered a wide range of issues including reverting back to the market determined exchange rate.
“The committee welcomed action taken
by the bank to curb speculative trading in foreign exchange using electronic banking platforms. It was resolved that a formal market-based system of foreign exchange trading will be put in place,” he said.
Dr Mangudya said the committee expressed serious concern over the continued deterioration in the exchange rates that were widely being used by the private sector. He added that to ensure that foreign currency trades were monitored in real time, the committee urged RBZ to expedite the implementation of the electronic foreign exchange trading system for compulsory use by bureaux de change operators.
The committee also urged more active application of the Open Market Operations (OMO) Bills to deal with any identified excess liquidity balances in the market.
As part of efforts to assist in the recovery and growth of the productive sectors of the economy and to help with post Covid-19 recovery, the RBZ Governor said it was resolved that there was need to release more financial resources for the productive sectors of the economy by banks.
“To assist that process, the committee resolved to reduce the statutory reserve ratio from the current 4,5 percent to 2,5 percent with effect from 8 June 2020,” he said.
“The committee also resolved to reinstate, with effect from 1 July 2020, the 30-day limit of liquidating surplus foreign exchange receipts from exports in order to ensure that more foreign exchange was released onto the market.”
The RBZ boss said the committee also welcomed the monetary authority’s decision to introduce higher-denominated banknotes to the market through normal banking channels that are money supply neutral but urged the bank to enhance the process of dealing with and replacing soiled and damaged notes in circulation.
“The committee noted and appreciated the new cash withdrawal limit of ZW$1000 per week and that approved cash withdrawals of above ZW$1000 by business entities would need to be
closely monitored to eliminate abuse,” said Dr Mangudya.
South Africa police arrest three suspected Zimbabweans and six South Africans after foiling an armed robbery in Atok, Limpopo province, last Friday
Three men believed to be Zimbabweans were arrested by South African police last Friday as they attempted to rob a post office in Atok, under Apel policing area, in Limpopo Province.
The three suspects were nabbed together with six South Africans.
They are suspected to be part of a syndicate targeting major post offices where most social grants payouts are processed every month end.
South African Police Services (SAPS) provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the nine had been charged for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
The gang has since appeared before the Sekhukhune Magistrate Court where they were remanded in custody to June 11 pending further police investigations.
Brig Mojapelo identified the suspects as Tatenda Ruzive (24), Zephania Gwadivenga (28) and Raphael Ngwenya (27), all Zimbabweans and South Africans Kgokong Mohlale Danny Tebeila (40), Tebogo Nchabeleng (28), Tsebisho Ntswane (25), Kabelo Pilusa (27), Tebogo Ramaila (33) and Isaac Tios (28).
“The suspects were arrested during a snap operation that was conducted by members of the Tactical Response Team and crime intelligence,” said Brig Mojapelo.
“We received information about a possible armed robbery at a Post Office in Atok under Apel policing area and reacted swiftly, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
“A suspicious vehicle, (a Ford Ranger) with three occupants was spotted along the D4180 road between Atok and Ga-Selepe. Soon after stopping, the driver suddenly got out and allegedly pointed the members with a firearm.”
The suspect was then shot and taken to hospital where he was admitted under police guard, while the firearm was taken.
Another vehicle, a Toyota Quantum with five occupants, was spotted along the D4190 in the Atok area and the driver was ordered to stop, and after the vehicle was searched, a firearm was found hidden inside and all five suspects were apprehended.
SAPS is also pursuing four unknown suspects who stormed into a post office in Seshego Zone 4 and robbed an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspects were allegedly armed with firearms and entered the post office where social grants were being paid out, and demanded money from tellers.
Brig Mojapelo said the gang overpowered the security official on duty and wrestled away his service pistol, robbed the post office of cash and fled from the scene.- Herald
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has advised First-Year Applicants that it is yet to complete its selection for 2020 First-Year Students.
Below is the statement in full.
The University of Zimbabwe would like to advise all First-Year Applicants and the public that the University is yet to complete its selection for 2020 First-Year Students.
This is due to the ongoing programming process aimed at transforming the institution’s business model from the traditional Education 3.0 to the new Education 5.0. in line with the government thrust and national Vision 2030
The University expects to complete this process by the end of July 2020 and in time for the start of the new academic year.
The new applicants should, therefore, expect to receive feedback on the outcome of their applications before the end of July 2020.
All applicants will be given an opportunity to reconsider their choices in line with any of the new programmes they may prefer.
This is consistent with our earlier announcement in the original call for applications.
Our transformation process has, unfortunately, been delayed due to the unforeseen circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The University of Zimbabwe sincerely regrets any inconveniences caused during this process.
The transformation is a critical process as it is expected to offer more and better opportunities for our students and stakeholders.
The government has announced the reopening of schools in Zimbabwe will be on the 28th of July 2020. The dates have been moved from the 29th of June to the 28th of July 2020. The government also announced that June exams will still be held from the 29th of June to the 22nd of July 2020.
What’s your take? Should schools be opened as planned by government?
Yes it’s overdue
No not now
Am not really sure.
Make your call in the poll on the link below.
Govt is on a fast forward drive to reopen schools starting with examination classes. The move has been met with mixed reactions. What's your thought? Should the schools open now?
The government has announced the reopening of schools in Zimbabwe will be on the 28th of July 2020. The dates have been moved from the 29th of June to the 28th of July 2020. The government also announced that June exams will still be held from the 29th of June to the 22nd of July 2020.
The announcement was made during today’s cabinet briefing by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting services.
The reopening of schools has been received with mixed feelings by Zimbabweans who feel the dates are too early as the government has not made it possible for students to study in hygienic environments and to maintain social distancing.
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, aged 55, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest, the government says.
He was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling unwell, his condition improved but on Monday he had a cardiac arrest and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, officials say.
After 15 years in power, Mr Nkurunziza was due to step down in August.
In 2015, the announcement that he would run for a third term plunged the country into chaos.
It sparked anger as some questioned the legality of a third-term bid.
There was a failed coup attempt, hundreds of people died in clashes and tens of thousands fled the country.
After a change in the constitution, he was able to run for a further term in last month’s election but he decided to retire and was to be known as the “supreme guide to patriotism”.
He was also due to receive a $540,000 (£440,000) retirement pay-out and a luxury villa.
Mr Nkurunziza came to power in 2005 two years after the end of a 10-year civil war which left 300,000 people dead.
The former rebel leader took pride in the fact that his administration brought peace to Burundi.
But his government was criticised for widespread human rights abuses.
These included “extrajudicial executions, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, extortion, beatings, and intimidation”, according to Human Rights Watch.
Political opponents have been targeted and journalists have been imprisoned.
What was his role in the civil war? Before the civil war, Mr Nkurunziza, who had graduated in sports education, was a teacher and assistant lecturer at the University of Burundi.
He survived the killings of 1993 when ethnic Hutus were targeted at the university and joined the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) rebel group.
He emerged as its leader and after the 2003 peace deal, Mr Nkurunziza was named minister of interior before parliament elected him president in August 2005. Outside of politics, he was well known for his love of football. At one time he was the coach of the army football team and as president had his own side – Hallelujah FC.
Since last week, Mr Nkurunziza’s wife, Denise Nkurunziza, has been receiving medical treatment in Kenya.
She was rumoured to have tested positive for coronavirus – a disease Mr Nkurunziza had appeared to downplay, holding an election in the midst of the outbreak, and even expelling World Health Organization representatives from the country.
The government has announced seven days of national mourning.
Former Ireland international and Manchester United skipper, Tony Dunne died at the age of 78.
During his 13 years stay at Old Trafford, Dunne was part of the squad that won the European Cup in 1968. He also won the FA cup in 1963 and the 1965 and 1967 English Football League First Division.
Tony Dunne was born on the 24th July 1941 and died on the 8th June 2020. The left back for the Red Devils made 535 appearances and scored 2 goals for the club.
Some other clubs the great player played for include; Shelbourne, Bolton Wanderers and Detroit Express.
He also played for the national team of Ireland and managed Steinkjer FK, a Norwegian football club base in Norway from 1982 to 1983.
The sudden demise of the former defender was announced on the official twitter account of Manchester United on Monday evening.
War veterans secretary in Zanu PF politiburo Douglas Mahiya said the MDC red symbol is a sign of avenging spirits tormenting them for failing to respect their ancestors who died for the country during the liberation struggle.
Mahiya was speaking at a official launch of War veterans league in Muzarabani district on Saturday.
“MDC is being tormented by their ancestors who they are refusing to honour by opposing Zanu PF,”he said.
“Every Zimbabwean has ancestors who died during the liberation struggle so if you refuse to support the ruling party you are turning against your ancestors that is why you see MDC wearing those red colours that is a spirit tormenting them.”
Meanwhile, War veterans association chairpersons in all the provinces have accused Mahiya of highjacking party procedures by officiating the war veterans wing to co-exist with other party wings-credit: Bulawayo 24
I am Devine Mafa, the son of Honourable Felix Mafa. I am behind you in this issue of returning to constitutionalism of The MDC PARTY because I, myself, have been advocating for constitutionalism in our movement for sometime and it seemed noone heard me.
I would like to urge you to look into the issue of imposition of candidates and the use of the militia to cow people by candidates who were imposed to represent MDC in parliament. These you must recall from parliament since they did not follow the due processes of primary elections. They were imposed on the people and some with their deep pockets. The grassroots were deprived of their constitutional right to choose leaders of their choice.
I applaud you for the staunch position that you took when you recalled Charlton Hwende and others from parliament. As for Hwende, he was never elected by the grassroots. He was imposed, and when the people wanted to resist him, they were met with violence like that which visited you at Save’s funeral. The imposition of candidates and the use of violence on percieved enemies defies democracy. It is because of such situations that people were now labelling us as vanhu veMDC, separating themselves from us because they had realised we had lost the plot on democracy.
It is your stance to constitutionalism as the founding mother of the movement that I admire most. You have stood your ground against the bullying by these not so learned lawyers. You fought like a lioness and now sanity is starting to prevail in our movement.
It is also my humble request that you shouldn’t let the party get hijacked again by the academia, lawyers and those with money at the expense of those from the grassroots.
From the beginning, Chamisa was not for the constitution. He used his militia, the vanguard, to disposes you and those who were like minded from the movement. Such a character who could not respect the constitution could not be left in charge of the people’s movement. He violated the constitution left , right and centre. Anyone who opposed him like you did was villified. Look at Mwonzora, Komichi and Mudzuri how they were also vilified and attacked. They were given names and abused. I commend you for taking the bold decision to fire Chamisa. He indeed has not added value to our democracy. Zimbabwe needs democrats and constitutionalists like you.
It is also my belief that you have a hard job ahead of you in the fight for restoring the founding democratic tendencies of our movement. You, as an elected office bearer of the party, should recall those that were imposed on the people. If you do exactly like that you will have my support in total. I totally understand that my father was responsible for calling Bulawayo for Chamisa and not for you, but he has never ceased to stand by the constitution.
I empathise with you for the abuse you suffered for democracy and protection of the constitution. I, therefore, urge you to remain attached to the grassroots who gave you the mandate to lead in 2014. You must make sure we have one MDC. I have decided to file a lawsuit to challenge use of the party name in any other form by anyone including Chamisa’s Alliance. In this regard, I am waiting for your decision and go ahead. It is my belief that we should have one MDC that was founded in 1999. By filing this lawsuit, I would have done my part to add to democracy and help to protect the poor and weak.
This is all possible. We have the chance to restart again and make our movement a real democracy that shuns corruption and imposition of candidates. It is true that failure to hold primary elections that causes confusion and fights by the people. This causes the party to have no peace. This has been the root of all the problems for political parties in Zimbabwe. Since there is no law gorverning political parties and how they are financed, we have seen gorvernment and politicians with money abusing our democracy. It is now your chance to stand up and shine mama Khupe and restore the democratic tenets of our movement that has gone to the dogs.
I know very well that we haven’t met . I would like to say that i support you in your endeavour to return constitutionalism to our party.
I salute you and promise to support you in your fight against those aimed at usurping the democracy we had been and are still fighting for.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance Deputy Spokesperson Felix Magalela Mafa Sibanda has discarded and blocked his 50 year old son Divine from communicating with him after the young Mafa released a statement praising Thokozani Khuphe. In his statement released on 5 June 2020, the United States based Divine praised Ms Khuphe for being a constitutionalist and super star democrat. The statement sent tongues waging in the rival Chamisa camp where the senior Mafa was appointed deputy spokesperson early June.
On 7 May 2020, the senior Mafa released a scatching statement where he revealed that he had blocked his son from communicating with him due to his stance.
Felix Mafa is an old rival of Ms Khuphe’s Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora since the days they contested each other for National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Deputy Chairmaship in the early 2000s. It is alleged that Mr Mwonzora connived with a pregnant woman to storm an NCA Public Meeting and claim that Mr Mafa impregnated her and eloped. Thus Mr Mafa, did not take lightly his son’s public liaison with a faction whose key players include his nemesis Mwonzora.
Below is Felix Mafa’s Full statement about his son.
Dear Colleagues
Re: Scandalous and treacherous articles by the purported by Dr Divine,my biological son.
I’m reading some most outrageous and treacherous articles purported by Dr Divine Magalela Mafa Sibanda my biological son based in the USA .
He is bitter against myself to have refused to be abused by Mwonzora and his cabal.
I’m not sure whether he is the real author of all articles anti president Chamisa and indirectly myself.
I have formally discussed his attacks on our body politics,the MDC A with the National Organiser, Hon Chibaya and currently after my appointment as the deputy secretary for communication with the National chairman,Hon T Khumalo.
I have since blocked all his communication with him ,which is very unfortunate for me and the entire Magalela Mafa-family.
He is a Mwonzora fanatic whereby , as a Democrat myself , I don’t mind or care for he is an adult, 50+ years old.
I hope by this information herein,all shall appreciate my predicament and laugh it off.
Sincerely yours
Felix Magalela Mafa Sibanda.
( Deputy Secretary for Communication, NEC and NC Member of the you MDC A)
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has bowed down to public pressure regarding the tender scam in the awarding of a dodgy UAE based company Draz International a deal to supply Coronavirus equipment.
A letter written by Ministry of Health Acting Secretary Dr. Mhlanga to National Pharmaceutical Company Managing Director Mrs Flora Sifeku instructed her to cancels all dealings with the company by the 12th of June.
The move comes after the ZANU PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo declared on Twitter that high profile persons will soon be arrested for looting the funds.
Good morning Zimbabweans Update on corruption: @ZACConline are at an advanced stage in their investigations on some very high profile individuals who have been alleged – by the public – to be corrupt. Your reports to @ZACConline are taken seriously so keep sending them.
— Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri (@OppaMuchinguri) June 9, 2020
ALEC Mudimu says he wanted to hit the ground running at his new team before football was put on hold due to Covid-19 outbreak.
The Sherriff Triaspol defender’s team began training last week and he reckons life without football has been difficult.
“It’s great to be back at training and great to see that this is a starting progression as well around other parts of the world.
“The suspension of football was very difficult for me as I was hoping to hit the ground running and help my new team mates to a lot of success for the upcoming season.
“Nevertheless I’m grateful for everything and the suspension has given me a lot of time to start learning Russian the native language here and also working on my personal game so I’m more than ready when the games resume.
“Life without football has been difficult, I’m grateful to God for my family and friends.
“I’ve been able to spend a lot of time getting closer to God and also to spend time talking with closed loved ones too, and also reach out to have more time for my personal aspirations after my football career too.
“But please don’t get me wrong it’s also being very difficult for now because football is my life and without it has been a struggle,” he said.
The Warriors vice-captain says it has been amazing training with his team mates again after such a long time.
“As you would expect with individual training it’s a great opportunity to work of your personal game and become better in some key areas.
“But it’s very different from training with the rest of the team, as well as a togetherness, it’s difficult to build tactical awareness with the rest of the team and work on different things that you would normally do so for the season, so to build that again is difficult but rest assured good and much needed.
“Training with the team was amazing. You feel such a sense of togetherness and joy just being around team mates with everyone working extremely hard for our end goal,” he said.
He added that he feels ready to play and can’t wait for the season to resume.
“Of course I feel ready to play we’ve been working extremely hard for these scenarios just in case the league does resume and I feel we will be ready if that’s to happen.
“Training isn’t easy but we know when the league resumes it’ll be worth the efforts in wanting to win the championship amongst other things.
“So regardless the hard work I have strong feelings that we are all enjoying our time working,” he said- H-Metro
By Own Correspondent| MDC-T leaders Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora and Morgan Komichi are currently inside Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House following their state assisted seizure of the property.
According to an eye witness, the three leaders who were all expelled from the MDC Alliance entered the building, taking advantage of the presence of police who are camped outside to provide security.
We saw Mwonzora, Khupe and Komichi going inside MRT House, their youths who are currently inside opened doors for them, we don’t know what they are doing inside,” said the eye witness.
Yesterday pictures of youths aligned to the Khupe group fumigating the building made rounds on social media with Mwonzora saying it was part of their take over process.
The Nelson Chamisa led MDC Alliance has insisted that the property is owned by a trust which leased it to the movement.
The trust is believed to be currently working to evict the Khupe group from the property.
Macauley Bonne has made his verdict on the friendly game against Arsenal over the weekend as his club Charlton Athletic prepares for the season restart on June 20.
The Addicks travelled to Emirates on Saturday and lost 6-0 in a match that was played behind closed doors.
The Zimbabwean striker featured for forty-five minutes of the encounter, and he believes his side is on the right course in their preparations for the season restart.
He posted on Twitter: “Good to get 45 in the tank! We’ll be ready.”-Soccer 24
By A Correspondent- Army spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwisi has maintained that there were no soldiers involved during the June 5 2020 Harvest House takeover.
In an exclusive interview with ZimEye, Colonel Mugwisi said there was no video evidence showing the involvement of the army, accusing the media of crafting falsehoods regards the presence of the army at Harvest House on the day in question.
He said:
“I have seen it (the video footage at Harvest House), there are no soldiers, It’s just somebody alleging that there are soldiers inside. …It’s not correct. I am not going to talk about the police officers.”
Colonel Mugwisi however refused to respond to the allegations made by the police officer in the video clip saying:
“We are interpreting the video differently… what have the soldiers said there in that video clip. I don’t want to talk about the police. I have other things to do and will not talk to you. We did not deploy any soldiers to Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House. We end it here. Thank you very much. Have a good day.”
On 23 May 2020, Paul Munakopa of Bulawayo died in circumstances that could have well been avoided.
The 34-year-old was a victim of the police’s heavy-handedness.
He was shot during a car chase, and the police who shot him were using an unmarked vehicle in an operation that they are yet to reveal.
This is just one of the cases that speak to the continued rise in cases of human rights abuses perpetrated by state security agents.
For the second time in the year, the police and army topped the list of perpetrators of human rights violations.
Overall, the police contributed to 41.21 percent of the human rights violations, while the army contributed to 22.26 percent of the violations.
The state security agents have been on the frontline of enforcing the lockdown imposed since March 30th.
It is in the same period, starting April, that the country grappled with the economic and social effects of the COVID19 pandemic.
It has become apparent that COVID19 is not just a health matter, but touches on economic, political, social and human rights aspects of people.
This explains why by the end of May, police had arrested over 40,000 people for defying lockdown regulations; mostly in an effort to conduct economic activities to earn an income.
ZPP recorded cases of arrested citizens not being taken through the formal arrest procedure, but enduring harassment, intimidation and assault at the hands of law enforcement.
Victims told horror stories of their experiences at the hands of law enforcement agents. This makes arrests in Zimbabwe a human rights issue.
ZPP recorded 110 cases of harassment and intimidation, (the majority of which are attributed to the state security agents), 13 cases of unlawful detention, 40 cases of assault and sadly, two extra judicial killings. One of the major cases is that of an illegal miner who was shot in the head by a security guard in Shamva on 15 May 2020.
During the month of May, Harare recorded 100 cases of violations, the highest in the country, followed by Mashonaland East with 41 cases. Attention was drawn to the efforts of two Bulawayo sisters, Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu, to get justice after being arbitrarily arrested and assaulted by police.
Police released the women following the intervention of civil society organisations and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission. The six offending officers were subsequently arrested and have appeared in court.
A Bulawayo resident, Levison Ncube died as a result of injuries sustained after he was brutally assaulted by police officers for violating lockdown regulations on the first day of the lockdown.
Ncube’s family, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, has indicated that they intend to sue the state for the death of Levison. The family of Munakopa mentioned earlier has written to the police requesting an independent inquiry into the shooting that led to Paul’s death.
It must be noted that pressure from victims, citizens and civil society organizations is essential in the promotion and protection of human rights as well as the seeking of justice.
The report focuses on how the State continues to perpetrate human rights violations during the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 induced national lockdown has exacerbated the pre-existing food insecurity.
Although the Zimbabwean economy is highly informal, the sector has been excluded from essential services thereby increasing the vulnerability of citizens.
The distribution of aid continued to be largely partisan and discriminatory, with Mashonaland East recording the highest food and other aid violations at 42.57 percent followed by Manicaland at 28.86 percent.
This report highlights some of the cases of discrimination on food aid and provides an insight into the government aid that was either grossly insufficient or did not reach the deserving beneficiaries.
It also looks at the discrepancies in government responses to COVID-19 and how these impact on human rights in Zimbabwe.
This month was also marked by an increased number of Zimbabweans returning from other countries.
Government’s unpreparedness to handle the returnees was exposed as some of them escaped quarantine centres. The deplorable state of quarantine centres, and inadequate testing kits came under the spotlight.
Nacho Fernandez is likely to miss Real Madrid’s return to La Liga against Eibar on Sunday after sustaining a thigh injury.
The defender was hoping to increase his game time after missing a chunk of the season through another injury and
The club released a statement confirming the development: “After tests carried out on our player Nacho Fernandez by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the right thigh.”
Nacho, meanwhile, is the first Madrid player to suffer an injury since the club returned to full training at the start of the month.-Soccer 24
Orlando Pirates have confirmed that Ben Motshwari has recovered from coronavirus after he tested positive in May.
The midfielder was the first known victim of the virus in the South African Premier Soccer League.
Pirates posted the update on Twitter, attached with a video of the player appreciating the support he received.
The midfielder said: “I just want to thank every one of you guys who has been texting and calling me and wishing me well during this difficult time that I was facing.
“To my medical team, the staff at Orlando Pirates, I just want to thank you-Soccer 24
Farai Dziva|The only way to save Zimbabwe from further economic demise is the immediate resignation of Emmerson Mnangagwa, MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti has said.
See Biti’s argument below :
“Today the parallel market rate has traded between 80 and 85. In mid-May 2020 it was 40.
An increase of 100% in 3 weeks reflects the black market implosion. The restrictive measures by the Central Bank are corroding the ZWL$ & therefore self-defeating. They have run out of ideas.
Meanwhile, as the economy tanks, Mnangagwa has turned his energy to our Movement, journalists and lawyers. The attack on lawyers and journalists is crude and unprecedented.
But no amount of attacks can hide the fact that Emmerson is illegitimate and a failure.
You can’t rig the people’s will We restate once more that the only way to save Zim is the immediate peaceful and constitutional departure of Emmerson. That departure will give Zim a chance to rebuild. Departure should allow convergence on the way Foward.
An opportunity for a new disruptive consensus.A new beginning.
Farai Dziva|Popular musician Mukudzei Mukombe, popularly known as Jah Prayzah has dissolved the Military Touch Movement.
Jah Prayzah will now pursue a solo career.
Below is his statement : “When I started MTM, my dream was to have a movement that is driven solely by the ambition of the artists and producers involved in it.
It has been three years since we began the journey and I can say it has been fruitful. We have shared so many joys as a team and joys I will continue to cherish and celebrate.
Like any other organisation we also did share our lows and again we went through these together.
Today we celebrate superstars who have been housed in MTM and that was part of the mission, for us all to grow together and celebrate our achievements together.
I feel everyone who was involved in MTM is now in a position where they can now also take part in grooming and raising more talent out there.
I appreciate the trust that was given to me by these artists who are now brands and also for the privilege of working with legends like ExQ who have been in the game for so many years even before the start of my musical career.
It is not an easy process to be able to trust putting your brand under someone else’s umbrella.
I would want to let the whole of Zimbabwe and other global music lovers who have been following our journey that it is now time I let these superstars go out there to conquer the world in music and I have so much confidence in their ability to do so.
I have done my part in putting in the little resources I had at that time but do feel the artists have outgrown the label and though it is painful, I feel it is the right time to release them and also terminate all contracts that were in place.
What is important is the growth of talent as opposed to any return on money put in, again I repeat this was a movement put in place to encourage growth and not for profit.
Under the same light I would like to categorically put it on record that until now and going forward, I do not have any amount of money that I collected from any of the artists who were involved in MTM.
Farai Dziva|Battered MDC Alliance Youth Assembly deputy spokesperson, Womberaiishe Nhende, says he is recovering from injuries he sustained when he was brutally assaulted by overzealous police details.
Nhende was arrested and brutally assaulted by ZRP cops in Harare last week.
“In turmoil and in tenacity, I would like to thank everyone who prayed for me to breathe again , I’m recovering.
My court hearing took place at the hospital today(Monday) ,the courts remanded me out of custody to the 22nd of July. Still in pain and #steel for the struggle. Forward we march,” said Nhende in a brief statement.
MDC Alliance has condemned the arrest and persecution of Nhende.
See statement below:
MDC Youth Assembly Deputy National Spokesperson Womberaiishe Nhende was today (Monday) remanded out of custody to 22 July 2020 on free bail after his defence lawyer presented a dossier of complaints against the police.
Nhende is facing false charges of criminal nuisance after having been grievously beaten and arrested at #MRTHouse by some overzelous members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police-MDC Alliance
IF your face mask does not have more than one layer of fabric it may expose you to Covid-19 infection, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on home made masks.
Also, anyone who wears a single mask for more than three hours increases chances of infection. Unlike medical masks which are produced for hospitals, handmade masks yield higher infection rates caused by droplets and airborne micro-organisms. Studies have shown that multi layered masks offer more protection and single layer cloths masks are riskier.
Cloth masks, become magnets for the virus when they get wet, even due to vapour from breathing in and out.
WHO points out that homemade masks become less effective if they are not used in conjunction with other Covid-19 prevention measures like social distancing and hygiene.
Masks, the organisation advises, should be washed using hot water in a basin with laundry detergent and if hot water is not available, cold water with 0.05 percent chlorine should be used.
They should be soaked for 30 minutes and then be rinsed with water and laundry detergent. Low resource countries will have to rely on the handmade cloth masks to contain Covid-19 which has so far infected 292 people in Zimbabwe and killed four.
Globally, more than 7 million have been infected and deaths top 400 000.
Local manufacturers and tailors have ventured into mask making after Government made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask in public spaces. A majority use just any cloth in single layers.
Police have been arresting people spotted without face masks after the law was enacted, effective May 4.
WHO says cloth masks should not replace respirators and should never be used by healthcare workers in health institutions.
“Homemade cloth masks may offer marginal protection from droplet and airborne infections from asymptomatic persons by reducing the number of respiratory droplets from them to others,” read the statement from WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks can be assembled from many different materials readily available within the community.
Yet, preliminary data shows that masks made up of two or more cloth layers are more effective at keeping particle penetration lower than single-layered masks.”
The guidelines also recommended that in providing routine care to a Covid-19 patient, health care workers should wear surgical masks.
“Make sure to keep the homemade cloth mask dry at all times. Even moisture from exhaling could potentially make the fabric more prone to transmitting infection,” said WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks may be worn up to three hours without an increase in particle penetration and they must be cleaned daily.”
WHO also emphasised the need for physical distancing of at least 1-metre and adopting sound hand hygiene practices in addition to wearing masks.
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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Opposition MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job “Wiwa” Sikhala, has renewed his threat to lead rolling mass demonstrations against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government.
This comes when tensions in the country have been on the rise recently mainly because of power dynamics in the MDC and the deteriorating state of affairs.
Sikhala told Daily News in an interview at the weekend that the MDC Alliance was preparing to embark on massive protests against the government he said:
The level of agitation among the people now has never been witnessed before in the history of this country … they are just waiting for leadership to end the game.
Our people have not surrendered to fate about their destiny. They are waiting for the call and the call is not very far. It is imminent.
Speaking on the approach to the protests, the Zengeza West legislator said they will not be coming in instalments but will be “incessant.”
He added that the opposition believes that the biggest problem for the country is president “Emmerson Mnangagwa and his thieving regime.”
He warned, however, that there would be persecution of those who are genuinely fighting for transformation adding that ev en those who fought to dislodge the unjust colonial system suffered years of incarceration-Daily News
By A Correspondent- Barbara Mabuyaye, widow to the late Fanuel “System” Tazvida, says the wound is still fresh 21 years after her husband’s death, adding that she also has to fend off men who pester her for s_ex.
System died on February 4, 1999, and ever since his death, a series of commemorations have been held.
Sadly, most of them have never lived to expectations befitting the late singer.
The celebrations have over the years being rocked by the bickering in the family and greed among some of the most vocal Tazvida family members.
As we reflect on Tazvida’s music legacy, his widow Barbara who has endured a lot after the late Chazezesa Challengers leader’s death, opened up on a number of issues.
These ranges from her being love sick, pressure to handle sex predators, life as a ‘hustler’ to the need to work hard and the pledge of loyalty she made to the departed Tazvida.
“The wound is still fresh and it feels like yesterday as we remember my late husband,” said Barbara.
“During this time of year, I used to start receiving gifts from my husband who didn’t want to see me struggling.
“However, his music still comforts me and I can also relate well with widows of other late musicians in my situation.”
LOYALTY
Asked how she finally accepted the reality that Tazvida is gone, she said:
“I still keep the promise I made to him – loyalty. I still stay at the same house we used to share in Unit N.
“I get all the strength I need when my spirits are down by staying in the same house we used to share together.
“I still have some of the good photos we had together and some of the presents System gave to me.”
KIDS
Sadly, when Tazvida joined the great band in the sky, he didn’t leave any children.
“We stayed together for 10 years but we were yet to be blessed with children.
“It’s not easy for any woman in the world to be in my situation but these are some of the life situations we have learn to accept,” she said.
Barbara said despite living and looking after a big extended family, she never heard reports of System’s secret love children.
“I have never received such reports because my husband was straight.
“If he had any shenanigans, these kids might have surfaced in the past 21 years he died.
“Anyway, I wouldn’t want to dwell much on that since we have other serious issues at hand.”
S3X PREDATORS
Barbara who still looks as fresh as ever at 48 said he was not spared by perverts.
She, however, said he has a way to kill off their hopes.
“What I admit happens to me regularly is that there are men who love me for s_x because of my looks and everything,
“However, I make sure that I don’t give in to them easily because I still value myself.
“Kunyenga ndinonyengwawo, ndinenge ndichinyepa kana ndikasadaro,” she said.
INHERITANCE WIFE FIGHT?
Barbara who was reportedly married to a close relative to her late husband yesterday cleared the air.
“Like I said before, I was never married to anyone and that story of King Tazvida being my cultural husband (murume wenhaka in vernacular) were all wrong.
“I don’t even know what was their motive with one of your reporters when he wrote that story.
“Maybe he wanted to hype his album which he was launching but I never got married to anyone and I don’t think.”
When further quizzed on whether the family once proposed that she gets a cultural husband, she became evasive.
“Well, there are some issues which I am not comfortable to say because I have stayed with some of my relatives for over 20 decades.
“It would be unfair to expose some of the family secrets and I will take them to the grave to safeguard my life.
“I think every family has its own secrets and exposing them would be a great unfair to those who told you so.
“But what I can tell you is that I was never married and didn’t attempt to get married.”
TAZVIDA PERSONALITY
Despite spending the great part of his life entertaining perverts in the back of beyond, Tazvida had a different personality altogether.
“My husband was different person from the one who sang those not and blunt lyrics.
“Of course some might think that he did some of the things he sang in most of his tracks but System was a different person altogether.
“He was a cool guy, humble and loving. He would not argue with anyone at hoe but he wanted things done in a proper manner.
“During his spare time, he would hang around with soccer player in his team called Chazezesa Pirates.
“However, the team disbanded and I hear some of them joined Buymore FC (now defunct) among other premier sides and lower leagues.
“In his spare time, played social soccer for fun and not as a professional.
“That’s all I can say about his personality.
FALLBACK
Despite being pampered with everything she wanted by the late System, Barbara is a hard worker.
“System taught me to work hard and I used to be a cross border even before his death.
“I sell cosmetics that I supply to my clients in town; I don’t want to be always begging.
“Of course there are royalties I used to receive but our economy is performing badly,” she said.
As they remember Tazvida, all was not rosy for Barbara who could not raise money to lay wreaths and flowers on Tazvida’s grave in Unit L.
“I last laid flowers last year but this year I am really struggling; life has not been for me,” she said.
Farai Dziva|Veteran journalist Stanley Gama has challenged Emmerson Mnangagwa to concentrate on feeding millions of hungry Zimbabweans, instead of fighting tooth and nail to destroy the MDC Alliance.
Gama argued: “Is it a coincidence that @nelsonchamisa lawyer, Thabani Mpofu is not appearing in court, suddenly pple are no longer being denied access to the city centre? Is the regime so scared of Chamisa? What has changed between those 2 days last week and today?
@edmnangagwa while your regime is concentrating on fighting @nelsonchamisa the situation for the pple has gone from bad to worse. Instead of wasting time, resources and energy on Chamisa, please focus on feeding the pple, the majority of whom can’t afford one meal a day.”
“Mr President, everyone is now a pauper, govt workers, soldiers, police, workers in the private sector, the informal sector. Pple are scavenging for food like baboons. When pple start saying Mugabe was far better, you shld take heed and concentrate on their needs not Chamisa.
@edmnangagwa have you sat down to think abt all those leaked documents around your family. It’s not Chamisa who is doing this. Its the pple around you. It is up to you Mr President to find out whats happening. And I repeat, the people are not happy, they are suffering.
@DMwonzora the way you are using Zanu PF and the state machinery to try and deliver the MDC’s over 2 million votes to Zanu PF will backfire. You have betrayed the pple all because you have been promised a Ministerial post in the so called unity govt they say you will be part of?
@DMwonzora are u not scared of riding a tiger? When in 2015, Tsvangirai told me that you had sold out to @edmnangagwa he was 100% correct. Now you go to his grave for rituals. You have sold him out and you know it. But pple are not fools and history will judge you!”
IF your face mask does not have more than one layer of fabric it may expose you to Covid-19 infection, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on home made masks.
Also, anyone who wears a single mask for more than three hours increases chances of infection. Unlike medical masks which are produced for hospitals, handmade masks yield higher infection rates caused by droplets and airborne micro-organisms. Studies have shown that multi layered masks offer more protection and single layer cloths masks are riskier.
Cloth masks, become magnets for the virus when they get wet, even due to vapour from breathing in and out.
WHO points out that homemade masks become less effective if they are not used in conjunction with other Covid-19 prevention measures like social distancing and hygiene.
Masks, the organisation advises, should be washed using hot water in a basin with laundry detergent and if hot water is not available, cold water with 0.05 percent chlorine should be used.
They should be soaked for 30 minutes and then be rinsed with water and laundry detergent. Low resource countries will have to rely on the handmade cloth masks to contain Covid-19 which has so far infected 292 people in Zimbabwe and killed four.
Globally, more than 7 million have been infected and deaths top 400 000.
Local manufacturers and tailors have ventured into mask making after Government made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask in public spaces. A majority use just any cloth in single layers.
Police have been arresting people spotted without face masks after the law was enacted, effective May 4.
WHO says cloth masks should not replace respirators and should never be used by healthcare workers in health institutions.
“Homemade cloth masks may offer marginal protection from droplet and airborne infections from asymptomatic persons by reducing the number of respiratory droplets from them to others,” read the statement from WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks can be assembled from many different materials readily available within the community.
Yet, preliminary data shows that masks made up of two or more cloth layers are more effective at keeping particle penetration lower than single-layered masks.”
The guidelines also recommended that in providing routine care to a Covid-19 patient, health care workers should wear surgical masks.
“Make sure to keep the homemade cloth mask dry at all times. Even moisture from exhaling could potentially make the fabric more prone to transmitting infection,” said WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks may be worn up to three hours without an increase in particle penetration and they must be cleaned daily.”
WHO also emphasised the need for physical distancing of at least 1-metre and adopting sound hand hygiene practices in addition to wearing masks.
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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War veterans secretary in Zanu PF politiburo Douglas Mahiya said the MDC red symbol is a sign of avenging spirits tormenting them for failing to respect their ancestors who died for the country during the liberation struggle.
Mahiya was speaking at a official launch of War veterans league in Muzarabani district on Saturday.
“MDC is being tormented by their ancestors who they are refusing to honour by opposing Zanu PF,”he said.
“Every Zimbabwean has ancestors who died during the liberation struggle so if you refuse to support the ruling party you are turning against your ancestors that is why you see MDC wearing those red colours that is a spirit tormenting them.”
Meanwhile, War veterans association chairpersons in all the provinces have accused Mahiya of highjacking party procedures by officiating the war veterans wing to co-exist with other party wings-credit: Bulawayo 24
By A Correspondent- Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba has been accused of misrepresenting the facts by alleging that the United States of America Ambassador Brian Nichols recently held a meeting with opposition aligned civic society members at Harare’s Bronte hotel to form a shadowy mass movement to challenge President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Charamba had posted on Twitter using his moniker Jamwanda that, “Increasingly, the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe is meddling more and more into the domestics politics of Zimbabwe, including organizing MDC-A-affiliated NGOs at Bronte Hotel last week. The outcome was the formation of the US-funded People’s Assembly Against Poverty.”
However, in a sudden turn of events, the Bronte hotel managing director Mr Graham Dickens refuted allegations by Charamba that the said political meeting took place.
In an email conversation with a local publication Dickens said:
“I wish to advise that Bronte Hotel has been closed to the general public since the commencement of lockdown at the end of March. We re-opened on 23rd May as a Government registered Quarantine Centre specifically for paying Returning Residents.
“Access to the Hotel is strictly limited to returning residents with a prior booking and to our reduced staff team servicing these. This is controlled by a strong security team which includes a ZRP presence. I can categorically say that no meetings of any sort have been held at Bronte Hotel since the end of March. “
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has bowed down to public pressure cancelling the tender deal involving a UAE based company Drax International.
The deal involved the supply of Coronavirus equipment.
A letter written by Ministry of Health Acting Secretary Dr. Mhlanga to National Pharmaceutical Company Managing Director Mrs Flora Sifeku instructed her to cancels all dealings with the company by the 12th of June.
By A Correspondent- The family of a 20-year-old Silobela man, who was shot and killed by a police officer on March 15, have filed a notice of intention to sue the officer, Police Commissioner-General and the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage over the matter.
Through Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) member Jabulani Mhlanga, the late Bhekani Moyo’s family filed the notice addressed to Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga.
“We advise that we have been instructed by the family of the deceased Bhekani to represent them in this matter. Our clients advised that on March 15 while they were sleeping at their residence at Moffat Moyo’s homestead, Bambanani village ward 21, Chief Malisa, Silobela, at around 4am, about six men, two of them wearing police uniforms and brandishing guns, raided their homestead,” ZLHR wrote.
“The police were looking for their son, … Bhekani … The police did not identify themselves or inform the family of the reasons why they were looking for the now-deceased, but went on harassing them, ransacking the homestead, entering all the rooms searching for the now-deceased.”
The men found Bhekani sleeping in one of the rooms, dragged him out before one of them, in police uniform, fatally shot him on the left side of the chest in the family’s presence, that is, his mother, father, siblings and young children, without just cause, ZLHR stated.
“After realising what they had done, they did not render any form of assistance or explanation to the family on why they had murdered their son in cold blood, but instead, ran away from the scene only to return two hours later in the company of other police officers using a marked police vehicle,” the notice read.
“Our client advises that the police officers took the now-deceased’s body using their vehicle on the strength that the body was being taken for a post-mortem, only to be returned the same day by officers from Silobela Police Station with promise that the circumstances leading to the demise of the son will be investigated.”
The human rights lawyers said the family stated that they buried their son with their meagre resources and their community’s help.
No assistance came from the police. The police have allegedly reneged on the pledge to probe the matter, the family said, and have denied the family a copy of the deceased’s postmortem report.
“Our client holds the position that the deceased died as a result of the injuries sustained after being shot by the police officer, who at the material time was acting within the scope and course of his employment as a police officer employed by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the command of the Commissioner-General of the Police Service.
“In the premise, we hold strict instruction to demand compensation to be quantified in due course as we, hereby, do, payment for harassment, emotional pain, trauma and suffering, payment for contumelia, funeral expenses, the payment as special damages and ancillary delictual damages suffered as a result of untimely death of Bhekani Moyo after he was shot by the police,” ZLHR wrote.
“We are under instruction from our client to institute legal proceedings against the individual concerned police officer, your office, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage for the unlawful conduct as explained.”
By A Correspondent- A woman from Limpopo has been arrested by the police after she allegedly stabbed her husband to death.
The 42-year-old is alleged to have committed the gruesome crime after she caught her husband red-handed with another woman.
The gruesome incident occured on Monday night at a village outside Tzaneen in Bolobedu after the woman arrived home much earlier than expected only to find her husband entertaining a female visitor.
The furious wife then confronted the other woman and this resulted in a very heated argument. When the husband tried to intervene in the confrontation, his wife stabbed him with a sharp object.
Speaking on the incident, Limpopo Police Spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo told the Sunday World,
“It is alleged that the mother of his two children arrived home unexpectedly and found her husband with another woman. An argument ensued between the two women and apparently the deceased tried to intervene when the suspect allegedly stabbed him with a sharp object,”
The husband was rushed to the local clinic but unfortunately, he was declared dead on arrival.
The woman, who cannot be named yet is expected to appear at the Bolobedu Magistrate court tomorrow on a charge of murder.
SOME universities resumed lectures yesterday, adhering to Covid-19 prevention regulations while the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) rescheduled its reopening to Monday next week.
Nust was expected to open yesterday but postponed commencement of lectures last week.
Universities just like schools, prematurely closed in March as Government implemented Covid-19 prevention measures.
Government last month instructed universities to reopen starting on June 1 and complete the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year by August 31.
In reopening, the universities are to open according to their ability and capacity.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said universities are required to do four things to prevent the spread of the virus: to ensure that there is social distancing, sanitising, wearing face masks and checking temperatures.
He said those whose temperature is above the normal threshold will be referred for Covid-19 testing.
Prof Murwira said universities are following blended learning which will ensure that they will remain decongested as they reopen.
Blended learning refers to online lectures and traditional in-class tutorials.
He said while campus learning resumed for final year students in some universities, institutions will continue teaching students using virtual platforms.
The minister said the University of Zimbabwe had reopened under the same circumstances.
“Because of blended learning we are not going to have so many people on campus, some students will be going to be home.
“When we finish with final years online, the next level is going to come and then after that the next level is going to come until it’s the first years. So, we are not going to congest campuses and everything must be done between now and August 30,” he said.
Prof Murwira said if things do not go to plan, Government will reverse decisions on reopening, as there is no need to be rigid.
“If there is a problem, we will reconsider our decisions,” said Prof Murwira.
Lupane State University (LSU) and Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) resumed lectures yesterday observing Government’s Covid-19 prevention measures.
LSU marketing and communication director Mr Zwelithini Dlamini said lectures started with final year students learning from the university’s Bulawayo campus.
“The Faculty of Commerce that is situated in Bulawayo resumed lectures today.
“For the other groups the Faculty of Agricultural and Faculty of Humanities we are set to open on 15 June which is next week Monday.
“We are advised that the returnees have started to move out of our campus in Lupane and the fumigation programme will start tomorrow,” said Mr Dlamini.
He said the university is strictly abiding by Covid-19 prevention measures including checking of temperature at entrance, sanitisation of hands, social distancing and wearing of masks.
Mr Dlamini said students are expected to buy their face masks.
He said the university engaged Zupco to provide transport for students returning to Bulawayo as well as those who would be travelling to the main campus in Lupane.
GZU information and public relations director Mr Anderson Chipatiso said the university screened temperatures for all returning students while recording their travelling history on Sunday.
Mr Chipatiso said the university was not leaving anything to chance in terms of making the learning environment safe for students.
“We are following the Covid-19 prevention protocols. We have reconfigured our lecture rooms to ensure social distancing, we are doing screening and temperature checks, sanitisation.
“The students were told new rules for instance no visitors would be allowed on campus, whatever the circumstances.
“Students will not be allowed to converge and have group discussions and if they want to discuss they should do so using available online facilities like WhatsApp,” said Mr Chipatiso.
He said lecture rooms were fumigated and will continue being disinfected during the course of the semester.
In a statement, Nust acting registrar Mr Emmanuel Phiri said the university has staggered its reopening into five groups.
The university will be opened from Monday next week before closing on August 7.
Mr Phiri said chairpersons of departments are going to write letters authorising students travelling and they should submit their Bulawayo physical address to [email protected].
The Harare Residents Trust (HRT) is concerned with the unilateral increase in rates by the City of Harare backdated to January 2020. Under the hyperinflationary context, the huge rates will soon be eroded, but the key principle of consulting the residents should never be compromised.
Citizens should be valued as part of an inclusive decision-making approach by the City of Harare. Residents across the suburbs in Harare’s 46 wards have reported that their new rates have left them in shock and confusion.
The City of Harare has hiked property rates (300%), water charges (between 292% and 310% for high density areas and low density areas respectively), bulky water charges (233%) and sewer charges (154%). Burial charges have been upped by an unprecedented 433% for all classes/ site (s) A, B and A+ and clinic consultation fees remained at 2019 levels.
Major rates were increased as follows; Non Residential Property- current ZWL$3.66 to ZWL$14.67, water- current ZWL$5.10 to ZWL$20.00, (High Density areas) and ZWL$6.10 to ZWL$25 (Low Density areas) for the first five megalitres of water, bulky water- ZWL$6.00 to ZWL$20.00 and sewerage- ZWL$16.76 to current ZWL$41 (High Density areas). One megalitre is equivalent to 1 000 litres of water or five- 200 litres drums of water.
Burial charges for residents adults are now pegged at ZWL$800.00 from ZWL$150.00 (Area B), ZW$1 045.00 from ZWL$196 (Area A), ZWL$2 084.00 from ZWL$391.00 (Area A+). Clinic consultation fees have remained unchanged at previous 2019 rates of ZWL$20.00 and ZWL$10.00 for adults and children respectively.
The increase is coming at a time when residents are reeling from the drastic effects of Covid-19 pandemic. Economic activity is grounded. Most of the adversely affected ratepayers are residents without any form of livelihoods in terms of being gainfully employed.
The informal sector is grounded with very little taking place. Their survival is based largely on vending which is not considered as essential services during this lockdown.
The HRT condemns this behaviour as it is devoid of empathy. The increase of between ZWL300 and WZL500.00 backdated to January 2020 depending on location has piled more misery on the already burdened ratepayer. The move is pushing more families into destitution as the debt keeps accumulating, without any hope of ever paying off what they owe to the council.
When the ratepayers have unpaid debts, and the rates are increased, it is nearly impossible and unimaginable that the City of Harare would be able to meet their revenue collection targets. Most services are not 2
being rendered, especially refuse collection, water and sanitation services and street lighting is none existent. Roads are not being maintained. The HRT has been inundated with calls and messages from irate residents after receiving shocking rates bills last month.
They are demanding an explanation as to the meaning and objectives of such a degrading and ill-advised move. Residents are asking how the City increases rates without soliciting for input from the ratepayers.
The HRT therefore encourages the City of Harare to take a pro-people approach. This includes processes of consultations and inclusivity. The City should be reminded that without the cooperation and support of residents there would not be a City to talk about.
Therefore, it is in the best interests of the City to explore other areas of income generation like effective management of rentals from bill boards’ advertising space, restoration of City Parking to the direct management by the City Treasury Department.
Presently, the City Parking’s administration and governance is shrouded in controversy and secrecy bringing to the fore issues of accountability and transparency.
The HRT agrees with the residents’ views that they will only pay what they can afford, and will not be able to pay more than they have until there is an improvement in the council’s communication, billing system and accountability to the ratepayers.
The socio-economic conditions are also a major constraint to the ratepayers who are equally suffering under the hyperinflationary environment. The City of Harare should desist from adopting a big-brother mentality and a top-down development approach.
By A Correspondent| The Chimanimani Headman who blames Christians for causing the deadly cyclone Idai by praying in the area’s sacred mountains, has died.
Community leader and citizen journo Pardon Maguta tells ZimEye, headman Mukono “passed away a few days ago.”
At the time of writing the cause of death could not be established.
Below were some LIVE reactions to the Chimanimani headman at the time as he began saying Christians caused the cyclone Idai disaster by praying in the sacred mountains. FULL PRINT:
By A Correspondent- Former Zanu Pf heavyweight and businessman Munyaradzi Kereke, who was convicted of rape in 2016 has filed an urgent Supreme Court application challenging his conviction.
Kereke, who was slapped with a 10 year jail term for raping his 11-year-old niece, is arguing that he is innocent and never committed the offences.
Below is the argument by his lawyers filed at the Sureme Court:
The applicant filed a defective application for leave to appeal the dismissal of his appeal against conviction and sentence by the High Court under judgement number HH374/19 handed down in May 2019
Applicant persists that his intended appeal carries with it positive prospects of success on the questions of mixed fact and law and also on the questions of law proposed therein.
I also seek an order condoning my failure to file a proper application for leave to appeal in the form and manner prescribed by the rules of this court.
I reiterate that the factual conclusions reached by that court were a result of an erroneous process of reasoning resulting from misapplication of legal principles and mischaracterisation of the facts and evidence.
There are material inconsistencies on the explanation for the delay by the complainant in informing anyone, assuming that the rape occurred. Did the complainant delay because she feared for her safety or because she was embarrassed to share the experience or both.
Without resolving this contradiction, it is hard to accept that the inferior court would find that the delay was sufficiently explained on the facts.
The issue of the gun is also material. As it stands, the record is awash with so many inconsistencies that one is not aware whether the gun was produced pointed or was simply in existence. The whereabouts of the gun when the complainant allegedly pushed me away is also not explained.”
Three men believed to be Zimbabweans were arrested by South African police last Friday as they attempted to rob a post office in Atok, under Apel policing area, in Limpopo Province.
The three suspects were nabbed together with six South Africans.
They are suspected to be part of a syndicate targeting major post offices where most social grants pay outs are processed every month end.
South African Police Services (SAPS) provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the nine had been charged for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
The gang has since appeared before the Sekhukhune Magistrate Court where they were remanded in custody to June 11 pending further police investigations.
Brig Mojapelo identified the suspects as Tatenda Ruzive (24), Zephania Gwadivenga (28) and Raphael Ngwenya (27), all Zimbabweans and South Africans Kgokong Mohlale Danny Tebeila (40), Tebogo Nchabeleng (28), Tsebisho Ntswane (25), Kabelo Pilusa (27), Tebogo Ramaila (33) and Isaac Tios (28).
“The suspects were arrested during a snap operation that was conducted by members of the Tactical Response Team and crime intelligence,” said Brig Mojapelo.
“We received information about a possible armed robbery at a Post Office in Atok under Apel policing area and reacted swiftly, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
“A suspicious vehicle, (a Ford Ranger) with three occupants was spotted along the D4180 road between Atok and Ga-Selepe. Soon after stopping, the driver suddenly got out and allegedly pointed the members with a firearm.”
The suspect was then shot and taken to hospital where he was admitted under police guard, while the firearm was taken.
Another vehicle, a Toyota Quantum with five occupants, was spotted along the D4190 in the Atok area and the driver was ordered to stop, and after the vehicle was searched, a firearm was found hidden inside and all five suspects were apprehended.
SAPS is also pursuing four unknown suspects who stormed into a post office in Seshego Zone 4 and robbed an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspects were allegedly armed with firearms and entered the post office where social grants were being paid out, and demanded money from tellers.
Brig Mojapelo said the gang overpowered the security official on duty and wrestled away his service pistol, robbed the post office of cash and fled from the scene.
By A Correspondent- While speaking to the state media after the car of an MDC T member was allegedly petrol-bombed, Douglas Mwonzora took the opportunity to take a jab at the MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa and said he and the faction he represents were not rebels but people who support Chamisa were the rebels.
This was after Gilbert Bwende whose car was reportedly car bombed said he has been accused by shadowy figures of “sponsoring rebels” such as Mr Douglas Mwonzora.
In response Mwonzora claimed he was unfazed by the threats he was receiving from people:
There are threats against our leadership, some are sending text messages using foreign numbers. We are being branded rebels, but we actually know the true rebels, those who are supporting Mr Chamisa are the rebels. We are not fazed by the threats because they are just threats, however, we are treating the bombing of Bwende’s house seriously
Chamisa and Khupe are locked in a tussle that emanated from the Supreme Court ruling that declared Nelson Chamisa an illegitimate MDC leader and restored the party’s 2014 structures with Khupe as the interim leader.
The Constitution is the supreme law that expresses the will of the people. It should not be changed in a hurry in an undercover, fast-track process. Zimbabwe is under lockdown & it's a crime to move around.
Netizens here have said it is not possible for even those who are monied to destroy a politician who has the backing of the masses.
According to a poll ran on ZimEye following revelations that a lot of money had been invested to destroy the People’s President Nelson Chamisa, 57 percent of the 395 people that voted said it is not possible to destroy Chamisa using money, while 32 percent said it is possible.
Of the 395 people that voted, 6 percent were of the opinion that it could be possible while 5 percent did not know.
Sources privy to developments allege that a lot of money has been invested to destroy opposition leader Nelson Chamisa's political standing. Is it possible to destroy a politician (Chamisa) using money?
By Fanuel Chinowaita- The captured judiciary and the unconstitutional attack on MDC Alliance is a clear declaration of armed struggle.
Zanu Pf led government has clearly shows that it is not ready to follow the Constitution of the people. It has continued to persecute a people’s but yet the economic situation of Zimbabwe is suffering.
Soldiers and police leading the exercise of taking an Opposition Head Quarters, giving it to another opposition is the best exhibit to show that Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora, Morgan Komichi, Elias Mudzuri and others of the so called MDC T are real agents of Zanu pf.
The Opposition has splitted but we have never seen this before. Those who went away never involved the army to fight on their side.
To those who thought Khupe and Mwonzora’s fight were to liberate Zimbabwe, the truth has come out. It’s now clear that they are working with Zanu pf to destroy MDC.
Zanu pf led government has totally lost in what to prioritize. It is majority on minor things which will lead to its death.
If Zanu pf wanted to destroy MDC, it was supposed to work for the betterment of the Country. It was supposed to do the opposite of wgat it is doing right now.
It was supposed to show people that Mnangagwa administration is different to Mugabe administration. It was supposed to genuinely show that it is sorry for Gukurahundi and compensate the Ndebele people.
It was supposed to ask for forgiveness for the killing of Opposition members in the year 2000, 2001 and 2008. It was supposed to say sorry and do something for Murambatsvina. It was supposed to bring forward the abductors arrest them and end abduction. It was supposed to say good by to Indiginisation, poverty, unemployment.
It was supposed to stop persecuting MDC Leaders, arresting them, torturing them.
Well, the evidence is now there, to those who said give ED chance, ED failed to utilize the chance. He is majoring on minor things which will not Zimbabwe an inch ahead. ED is a failure therefore he has to go now.
MDC Alliance and other progressive citizens must be bold enough to remove a failed government. We did hushtags, demonstrations, statements, courts but all have failed. We tried to be nice but the government gripped us with an iron hand.
It’s either suffer continues or we take up arms against the dictator. Zanu pf government draw the first blood. The war has been declared. It has to be shown.
''Zimbabwe Defence Forces yesterday dismissed as false, reports in the private and online media that it deployed soldiers to Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (formerly Harvest House) to seize the building on behalf of the MDC-T led by Dr Thokozani Khupe''https://t.co/S0nYqB1e25
— Terrence Monomotapa (@realmarambapfu1) June 9, 2020
Aaah the army denied shooting people despite evedince pf photos and videos. They are the kind of people that you see coming out of the toilet and yet they will deny they were ever in the toilet. Problem is vanofunga we are fools. Iwe futi utori foolish being used to lie like this
Yeah but there were troops there, thats a fact. Its also the same army which didnt shoot civilians in August 2018. Next thing we will hear its a third force.
Former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge’s appeal against a 30-month jail term for abuse of office was thrown out by the High Court yesterday which found that the sentence was not excessive and did not induce any sense of shock and outrage.
He had been convicted in the Magistrates Court for abuse of office after he hand-picked a public relations company for the Zimbabwe Power Company without going to tender.
The rejection of the appeal against both conviction and sentence in the High Court, where two judges sit together in appeal hearings, means Undenge will now serve the full sentence, which he unsuccessfully argued in his appeal hearing, was excessive and induced a sense of shock and outrage.
Undenge could still appeal to the Supreme Court, but in that case he would first have to seek leave to appeal and unless there was even a small possibility of a reversal of conviction or reduction of sentence, it is unlikely that such leave would be granted.
The High Court found no merit in the appeal. He had also wanted the court to consider community service or a fine as appropriate sentences.
But Justice Joseph Musakwa, sitting with Justice Phildah Muzofa, upheld both conviction and the sentence imposed on Undenge.
The judges held the view that following his conviction on a serious offence of criminal abuse of office, Undenge cannot plead that the sentence imposed on him was severe.
“Ultimately, sentence is a matter of discretion. It cannot be said that the sentence that was imposed in the present case is disturbingly inappropriate,” said Justice Musakwa, dismissing the appeal in its entirety.
The judge said the seriousness of the crime that Undenge was convicted of arose from undermining public confidence in public administration and the subversion of corporate governance.
Undenge, who was represented by Mr Alec Muchadehama, advanced an argument of selective prosecution, which the judge rejected.
His main ground of appeal was that he was a victim of political machinations following change of Government in November 2017, although the offence had been committed the previous year.
“I do not think that the appellant’s real defence is that of selective prosecution,” said Justice Musakwa. “If that is, then it is a tacit acknowledgment of wrongdoing save that his gripe is that he fell in the wrong political camp when the decision to prosecute him was made.”
Undenge also sought to argue that there was no evidence given of his duties as a public officer, and so it was not proved beyond reasonable doubt that he acted contrary to his duties.
The court conceded that there is no statute that governs the conduct of Vice Presidents, ministers and deputy ministers, but ruled that the absence of such an Act of Parliament cannot absolve a wrongdoer from criminal conduct.
By A Correspondent- The MDC Alliance youth leaders who were abducted and tortured at the hands of state security agents are set to appear at court this morning.
ZimEye has it on good authority that the police have sought an order to compel the three, member of parliament for Harare West Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova to surrender their passports to the state.
Said the source:
“It is true, the girls will appear at court this morning at 11 am. Despite their bail conditions set out days ago, the police have sought an order demanding that they surrender their passports to the state.
The police have since day one been harassing ,victimising and insinuating forceful arrests of the girls. This has damaged them psychologically and they have also been traumatised.
This is depsite that one of their bail conditions entails reporting once every fourtnight (Two weeks/ 14 days ). They were set to report to the police on Thursday, 11 June 2020. “
Confirmed the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights;
At 11:15, @JoanaMamombe@ceechimbiri2@MarovaNetsai will appear at Harare Magistrates Court for the hearing of the state's bid to vary their bail conditions so that they surrender their passports because @PoliceZimbabwe claims it is apprehensive they intend to escape from Zim.
By Farai D Hove | Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo yesterday issued an apparently hollow account of his meeting with the UK’s minister for Africa.
SB Moyo had a meeting with James Duddridge on Monday.
When he finally issued his report however, SB Moyo gave a different account from that of the British minister.
Minister Duddridge narrated using the following words, “Spoke to Foreign Minister SB Moyo today on a range of issues including CV-19 response. I underlined our deep concerns regarding human rights violations & need for proper investigations. Urge Zimbabwe to seek international reengagement through economic & humanitarian reform.”
But SB Moyo spoke the opposite complaining about what he said were a number of aspects which are as a result of misconceptions which are being propagated by certain political formations in this country.
Moyo said “I think the discussion was very fruitful. It was very positive and it touched on a number of issues and it also clarified quite a number of aspects which are as a result of misconceptions which are being propagated by certain political formations in this country.
“And I think it is critical that the re-branding process of this country should be everyone’s responsibility. If you are a Zimbabwean and you are happy to defame your own country, it means your loyalty and patriotism are questionable,” said Minister Moyo.
He said people should not sacrifice the national interest at the expense of some “few shillings and that is unacceptable”.
SB Continued saying: “We should not depend on external forces in order to run our affairs of this country.
“We should be able to discuss matters.
“So these are some of the issues which we then discussed.
“We discussed issues to take our relations to the next level and particularly in recognition of the fact that we have signed a post-Brexit agreement.
Moyo’s omissions come at a time when the economy is in the pit directly as a result of human rights violations, one example being the 1 August 2018 military crackdown which the Finance Ministry reports saying cost the country USD16 Billion.
In the graphs below revealed by ZimEye.com, it is displayed that for 14 years between 2004 and 2018, investor interest has either risen or declined in a direct consequential correlation with Human Rights.
A UK based axademic, Dr Admore Tshuma from Kent University was asked by SABC: What were you aiming to achieve?, and he answered as follows: “the study is a socio-economic perspective. The study explores how the future in South Africa may unfold if expropriation of land without compensation goes ahead.
“The aim is not to take a side in this argument, but to unpack the perspective, of human rights and economic paradigms. This is the first time that such a question has been examined by social science using an objectively collected data. The main aim is not to diminish claims for redistribution of land, but to highlight the detriment of the expropriation of land without compensation.
“In this study I am very mindful of the sensitivity of the issue of land and I am also aware that there is little consensus of what benefit expropriation of land will produce for South Africa.
“Hence the basic aim is to suggest an alternative and progressive policy on what could constitute an economically sensible cause of action if South Africa is to pursue.
“In this case Zimbabwe remains an empirical case study, for such a social policy a public policy. The primary Focus in this study is to illustrate the interaction between human rights and the economy, also to highlight the model of retributive Justice in response to growing calls for the land question in South Africa as what happened in Zimbabwe.
“And some of my objectives basically are to raise awareness of the potential long term social economic harm that may result in the expropriation of land, it is also to show the interaction, the inter-twinement … the globalisation of the world, how world nation states have become smaller: how the international law has become supreme…part of what I am looking into, and basically the project in the end, it demonstrates the growing recognition that deep-rooted problems of Human Rights violation… are most likely to affect the economy, it is a very broad subject…”
Rhythm City actress Mbali Zakwe, who portrays “Sindiswa” and Eve Rasimeni, who portrays “Dikki” in the e.tv drama Z’bondiwe on Friday were arrested after they allegedly beat the caretaker of their complex.
The actresses allegedly got into an argument with the complex caretaker over loud music according to a report by Sunday World they were charged with assault and attempt to cause grievous bodily harm.
Rasimeni speaking to the publication said that on the day of the incident she was celebrating her birthday at her Sandridge apartment and the caretaker at around 12pm came to tell them to switch off the music as it was too loud.
The actress told Sunday World that she refused to switch off the music as asked by the caretaker, as the complex rules stipulated that tenants cannot play loud music from 10 pm. The caretaker then left the apartment and allegedly cut off the electricity supply.
“I then took a sjambok and went to his office, Mbali followed me. When we arrived in the office, the woman who works with the caretaker started filming Mbali. That’s when hell broke loose,” explained Rasimeni.
“Mbali tried to remove the camera from her face and the fight ensued between them. That’s when we started sjamboking them.
The caretaker punched me, grabbed the sjambok from me, and started beating me with it.”
Rasimeni and Zakwe are currently out on bail and have laid counter-charges.-Chronicle
President Emmerson Mnangagwa's son with business people accused of looting Covid-19 Funds
Sidelined ZANU PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo has declared that indeed funds set aside for Covid-19 response are being looted by some senior persons and that these people must be arrested.
An angry Khaya Moyo made the declaration in a Twitter post on Monday evening.
Good evening Zimbabweans. Our covid-19 response efforts have been marred by allegations of fraud. Investigations are currently underway and at an advanced stage; all those responsible, will face the full might of the law. No one is above the law in this country.
— Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri (@OppaMuchinguri) June 8, 2020
His sentiments come up after a Covid-19 supplies corruption scandal has erupted in the country, placing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bodyguard and his son at the centre of graft allegations.
Mnangagwa’s son, Collins, is embroiled in a R17m ($1m) personal protective equipment (PPE) dispute while the president’s top bodyguard, Valdano Brown, won lucrative contracts to supply Covid-19 equipment to the ministry of health without going through a competitive bidding process.
Both Collins and Brown have been linked to foreign registers firms, Drax International in Dubai and Jaji Investment in Namibia.
The two companies allegedly belong to a group of firms believed to be connected to Zimbabwe’s first family which have scored contracts with the government during the virus outbreak.
The corruption storm involving Mnangagwa Jnr erupted a fortnight ago with reports suggesting that through a Dubai registered firm, Drax International, he pocketed nearly R17 million (US$1m) after being contracted to supply the government with inflated coronavirus fighting equipment.
In the saga, Collins and Delish Nguwaya, an operative behind Drax International, feature prominently in the alleged deal.
When details emerged pointing to Collins’ alleged involvement in the illicit deals, he quickly distanced himself from the company saying he was not in any way connected with Nguwaya.
“I am not a member of the said organisation and I have no shared or interests in their transaction with any Drax International’s representative including Delish Nguwaya,” said Collins in a statement.
This is the second time in a month the president’s son has been accused of abuse of power for personal benefit.
Sandton-based Zimbabwe millionaire, Frank Buyanga, claimed last month that the “first family is a criminal cabal.”
Buyanga wrote to the Judicial Service Commission registering his displeasure over what he said was the first family’s interference with a child custody wrangle he is currently involved in with his ex, Chantelle Muteswa.
In the letter, Buyanga called some members of the First Family a “disruptive cabal of criminals”.
Wrote the businessman then: “Over the past week, a close companion to the Mnangagwa Family Delish Nguwaya has been communicating with Justice Manzunzu, Mallan Zorodzi Chiswa who also has links to the Muteswa family has also been communicating with Justice Manzunzu.”
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and Alex Magaisa, a political commentator, also weighed in on the saga.
“Long before this saga, the name Delish Nguwaya had already been associated with Collins Mnangagwa.
Businessman Frank Buyanga named Nguwaya as a close companion to the Mnangagwa family in a complaint submitted to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) over a child custody wrangle,” said Magaisa.
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Patrick Chinamasa who has suddenly emerged acting in Simon Khaya Moyo’s position, defended the first family.
Chinamasa said he was aware of an “unscrupulous” and “sponsored” agenda against Mnangagwa’s family.
“Zanu-PF has noted with concern the systematic well-choreographed and sponsored attacks on the integrity of the first family. They need to stop forthwith.
“ … We warn the public and those writing these lies to stop,” he said.
When I started MTM, my dream was to have a movement that is driven solely by the ambition of the artists and producers involved in it. It has been three years since we began the journey and I can say it has been fruitful. We have shared so many joys as a team and joys I will continue to cherish and celebrate. Like any other organisation we also did share our lows and again we went through these together. Today we celebrate superstars who have been housed in MTM and that was part of the mission, for us all to grow together and celebrate our achievements together. I feel everyone who was involved in MTM is now in a position where they can now also take part in grooming and raising more talent out there. I appreciate the trust that was given to me by these artists who are now brands and also for the privilege of working with legends like ExQ who have been in the game for so many years even before the start of my musical career. It is not an easy process to be able to trust putting your brand under someone else’s umbrella. I would want to let the whole of Zimbabwe and other global music lovers who have been following our journey that it is now time I let these superstars go out there to concur the world in music and I have so much confidence in their ability to do so. I have done my part in putting in the little resources I had at that time but do feel the artists have outgrown the label and though it is painful, I feel it is the right time to release them and also terminate all contracts that were in place. What is important is the growth of talent as opposed to any return on money put in, again I repeat this was a movement put in place to encourage growth and not for profit. Under the same light I would like to categorically put it on record that until now and going forward, I do not have any amount of money that I collected from any of the artists who were involved in MTM.-Jah Prayzah
THE Zimbabwe Defence Forces yesterday dismissed as false, reports in the private and online media that it deployed soldiers to Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (formerly Harvest House) to seize the building on behalf of the MDC-T led by Dr Thokozani Khupe.
In a statement, ZDF spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwisi said their members were never deployed to the building.
He said they were assisting the police to enforce Covid-19 lockdown measures.
The statement followed social and private media reports claiming that ZDF members were deployed to seize Harvest House from the MDC-Alliance led by Mr Nelson Chamisa. The assumption of control of MRT House followed a Supreme Court order conferring legitimacy to lead the party on Dr Khupe.
“Allegations by the private media that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), accompanied by some youths, seized Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRT House), formerly Harvest House on 5 June 2020, are not true. The ZDF never deployed at MRT House.
Current ZDF deployments are in support of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) operations of enforcing Covid-19 lockdown measures,” said Col Mugwisi.
“It is the work of political mischief makers to present online media footage of the ZRP in uniform conducting their duties as the ZDF.
ZDF uniform is distinct. All the misinformation is trying to divert public attention from challenges facing their political parties. They should leave us out of their politics.”
Last week, MDC-T secretary-general Mr Douglas Mwonzora told journalists that the takeover of MRT House was peaceful.
He said problems only occurred after some rowdy youths aligned to the MDC Alliance tried to force themselves into the building in defiance of the Supreme Court order.-State media
On 23 May 2020, Paul Munakopa of Bulawayo died in circumstances that could have well been avoided.
The 34-year-old was a victim of the police’s heavy-handedness.
He was shot during a car chase, and the police who shot him were using an unmarked vehicle in an operation that they are yet to reveal.
This is just one of the cases that speak to the continued rise in cases of human rights abuses perpetrated by state security agents.
For the second time in the year, the police and army topped the list of perpetrators of human rights violations.
Overall, the police contributed to 41.21 percent of the human rights violations, while the army contributed to 22.26 percent of the violations.
The state security agents have been on the frontline of enforcing the lockdown imposed since March 30th.
It is in the same period, starting April, that the country grappled with the economic and social effects of the COVID19 pandemic.
It has become apparent that COVID19 is not just a health matter, but touches on economic, political, social and human rights aspects of people.
This explains why by the end of May, police had arrested over 40,000 people for defying lockdown regulations; mostly in an effort to conduct economic activities to earn an income.
ZPP recorded cases of arrested citizens not being taken through the formal arrest procedure, but enduring harassment, intimidation and assault at the hands of law enforcement.
Victims told horror stories of their experiences at the hands of law enforcement agents. This makes arrests in Zimbabwe a human rights issue.
ZPP recorded 110 cases of harassment and intimidation, (the majority of which are attributed to the state security agents), 13 cases of unlawful detention, 40 cases of assault and sadly, two extra judicial killings. One of the major cases is that of an illegal miner who was shot in the head by a security guard in Shamva on 15 May 2020.
During the month of May, Harare recorded 100 cases of violations, the highest in the country, followed by Mashonaland East with 41 cases. Attention was drawn to the efforts of two Bulawayo sisters, Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu, to get justice after being arbitrarily arrested and assaulted by police.
Police released the women following the intervention of civil society organisations and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission. The six offending officers were subsequently arrested and have appeared in court.
A Bulawayo resident, Levison Ncube died as a result of injuries sustained after he was brutally assaulted by police officers for violating lockdown regulations on the first day of the lockdown.
Ncube’s family, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, has indicated that they intend to sue the state for the death of Levison. The family of Munakopa mentioned earlier has written to the police requesting an independent inquiry into the shooting that led to Paul’s death.
It must be noted that pressure from victims, citizens and civil society organizations is essential in the promotion and protection of human rights as well as the seeking of justice.
The report focuses on how the State continues to perpetrate human rights violations during the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 induced national lockdown has exacerbated the pre-existing food insecurity.
Although the Zimbabwean economy is highly informal, the sector has been excluded from essential services thereby increasing the vulnerability of citizens.
The distribution of aid continued to be largely partisan and discriminatory, with Mashonaland East recording the highest food and other aid violations at 42.57 percent followed by Manicaland at 28.86 percent.
This report highlights some of the cases of discrimination on food aid and provides an insight into the government aid that was either grossly insufficient or did not reach the deserving beneficiaries.
It also looks at the discrepancies in government responses to COVID-19 and how these impact on human rights in Zimbabwe.
This month was also marked by an increased number of Zimbabweans returning from other countries.
Government’s unpreparedness to handle the returnees was exposed as some of them escaped quarantine centres. The deplorable state of quarantine centres, and inadequate testing kits came under the spotlight.
Farai Dziva|The only way to save Zimbabwe from further economic demise is the immediate resignation of Emmerson Mnangagwa, MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti has said.
See Biti’s argument below :
“Today the parallel market rate has traded between 80 and 85. In mid-May 2020 it was 40.
An increase of 100% in 3 weeks reflects the black market implosion. The restrictive measures by the Central Bank are corroding the ZWL$ & therefore self-defeating. They have run out of ideas.
Meanwhile, as the economy tanks, Mnangagwa has turned his energy to our Movement, journalists and lawyers. The attack on lawyers and journalists is crude and unprecedented.
But no amount of attacks can hide the fact that Emmerson is illegitimate and a failure.
You can’t rig the people’s will We restate once more that the only way to save Zim is the immediate peaceful and constitutional departure of Emmerson. That departure will give Zim a chance to rebuild. Departure should allow convergence on the way Foward.
An opportunity for a new disruptive consensus.A new beginning.
A week is a long time in Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe.
On Friday, 5 June 2020, I led a group of MDC-Alliance leaders to our party HQ in Nelson Mandela Avenue in Harare, to demand that the police grant us access to our own building. We were not armed, we were peaceful, and we bore no other intention other than that occupying our own headquarters which had been taken over by the security forces in the name of a fake “MDC” faction they control.
For this we were arrested and spent a day in prison in foul conditions before being charged and released on bail.
This is part of a steady and hastening trend towards failure in Zimbabwe. This event should remind the international community – along with the Southern African region — that ZANU-PF is not a reformist government, which several of the invertebrate among them prefer to believe. Nor should they ease up pressure on Harare to adhere to democratic standards.
Since Zimbabwe‘s military coup in November 2017, Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF has taken Zimbabwe to new and unprecedented depths of collapse, capture and coercion.
In under two years of his rule, Zimbabwe has back-slided into a comatose, tin-pot republic dominated by massive economic mismanagement. Unemployment is now at 95%, and inflation is over 700%, the world’s 2nd highest rate after Venezuela. At the epicentre of Mr Mnangagwa‘s failed economics, are two things: The first is the inability of the government to live within its own means.
Billions have been spent outside the budget leading to perennial huge budget deficits that have forced the Central Bank to print money to cover the gap.
The second cause of failure is the government’s mismanagement of the exchange rate. In 2019 the government prematurely introduced its own currency. Without sound economic fundamentals to back it up, the New Zimbabwean Dollar collapsed resulting in serious market distortions and an explosion in black-market activities.
In the shops, basic commodities are in short supply, particularly sugar, cooking fat and the country’s staple mealie-meal. Fuel queues now snake for kilometres. There have been incessant power cuts lasting up to 18 hours, particularly before Zimbabwe imposed its COVID- 19 lockdown at the end of March. As the economy implodes, Mr Mnangagwa and his lot are presiding over the most corrupt and most extractive period since Zimbabwe’s independence 40 years ago.
Billions of dollars are siphoned off from the state, in vehicles and companies linked to senior leaders in the ZANU PF regime, their families and business associates.
Even as the lives of average Zimbabweans turn to dust, the elite continues to milk the system through their control of foreign exchange and money supply, agricultural subsidies (which they call ‘command agriculture’), fuel procurement, the mining of commodities (notably diamonds, platinum, chrome and gold); and public sector procurement.
Bad as the mismanagement and abuse of state resources are, Mr Mnangagwa’s human rights record is an even worse disaster for the country and should motivate all democrats to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zimbabwe’s opposition. The world already knew of Mr Mnangagwa’s dark past at the centre of the 1980s Gukurahundi genocide, which saw the murder of more than 20,000 people in the southern and south-western parts of the country.
In the immediate wake of the 2018 general election, the world was reminded of his ruthlessness, when eight protestors were shot dead by the military in Harare in broad daylight. Then, in January 2019, 19 persons were shot dead by the military following protests against the massive hikes in fuel increases. During that same period, women were raped and many homes were torched. Some 600 people were arrested prompting Amnesty International to observe:
“Authorities routinely suppressed the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, using lethal and excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations. The police, army and intelligence operatives arbitrarily arrested several protesters, to silence and intimidate anyone suspected of participating, assisting protesters or organising demonstrations.”
In August 2019, following the threat to protest by the Movement for Democratic Change, which I serve as vice-president, 42 young persons were abducted. Several were severely tortured. Three months later, a young vendor, Hilton Tafadzwa Tamangani was heavily tortured by the police and died in a remand prison on the 18 October 2019.
The abuses come thick and fast, and with a level of dehumanisation and violence which has become ZANU-PF’s hallmark. Just three weeks ago, three young female activists, Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, and Netsai Marowa were abducted , tortured and sexually abused by state security agents following their participation in a street protest in one of Harare’s suburbs.
Among the methods of torture used, was the shoving, of gun barrels into the girls’ bodies, and forced consumption of each other’s urine and faeces.
But the opposition continues to struggle on, in spite of the risks and intimidation.
Craving the flow of international funds that recognition of Zimbabwe’s ‘democracy’ could bring, ZANU-PF has attempted to use a spurious court judgement to hatch a Trojan Horse within the MDC-Alliance, forcing us to hand over the leadership of the party to a rival that contested against us, and lost, in the 2018 general election.
As if that was not enough, on 3 June 2020, the military physically seized our party’s head office, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House, and physically handed control of the premises located, ironically, in Nelson Mandela Avenue, to the rival beneficiaries.
My mission last Friday was to gain access to our own building. At first, the police were polite and civil. Then our group began singing a popular liberation song.
Without warning or notice, or without being informed of any charge, the men and women in our group were arrested. Bundled into a police truck, we were ferried to Harare Central Police Station.
No restraint was exercised. The police were particularly rough and insensitive to two of my colleagues, 70-year old Senator David Chimhini and young Lovemore Chinoputsa who kept on demanding why we were being arrested.
The police wore no gloves. There was no social distancing in the truck; no sanitizers and no temperature checks.
At Harare Central Police Station we saw, the grisly intestines of state failure and the fingerprints of 40 years of decay and dilapidation under ZANU-PF‘s misrule.
First, we were placed in a tiny room, replete with a broken ceiling, broken chairs, an old Remington typewriter fit for a museum, and tattered police uniforms hanging from the door. It was a scene from a bad Western, one where the bandits seem to hold all the cards.
We were made to wait for hours before Superintendent Majongosi arrived to record our names, identity and phone numbers, and our addresses. He was followed, later, by another officer to advise that a charge of public disorder was being laid against our group.
Again, there was no social distancing in this little room, and nor were any santisiers or face masks made available. We stayed there for several hours. No food was offered or provided to us, despite complaints raised by Senator Chimhini who advised the police that he was diabetic and suffered from hypertension.
Our Lawyers, Beatrice Mtetwa, Alec Muchadehama and Jeremiah Bhamu later arrived and insisted that we be released as we had not committed any offence, or that we be released into our custody.
The police kept repeating that the matter was not in their hands and they were consulting, which we took as a euphemism that there were seeking directives from Mr Mnangagwa’s office. Around 8 o’clock we were transferred to the notorious law and order department and dumped in office 93. No lights or plugs worked in that room either.
They were other prisoners present, including one policeman, Shungudzemoyo Kache, who had been charged of sedition allegedly for calling Mr Mnangangwa “a used condom”. In the room and lying on the dilapidated floor, was MDC-Alliance activist Womberai Nhende who had a huge gashes on his leg, after having been tortured and badly assaulted by the police. He was struggling to breath and was shivering.
The police did not care and no medical attention was being offered to him until our lawyers insisted that he be taken to a hospital. The men amongst us, were led to a sewer, masquerading as a toilet with filthy water running on the ground and a semi decent but ancient urinary.
There was no running water, there were no toilet paper, and there wasn’t even electricity in this toilet. There were no sanitizers in this toilet. The flushing systems were not even working. These were the toilets reserved for day-to-day use by police officers.
Later that evening, charges were formally laid against us, we were accused of having committed a criminal nuisance by disturbing the peace and singing a song in Nelson Mandela Avenue.
In any decent criminal jurisdiction, such nuisance is a petty crime where one simply pays a fine to the police. Despite this, the police proceeded to take our fingerprints. Another farce followed, again further evidence of the disintegration of the basics of the software and hardware of state capacity.
Ordinarily, fingerprint taking involves the accused person placing his thumbnails and palm on a metal plate where the police would have poured ink and rolled it over with a small rolling brush. Those things were absent.
Instead, ink was poured on a kitchen sponge, and the sponge was used to put ink on thumb nails and the palm. That sponge was used for all the six of us.
During this time, we were squeezed in two little offices, struggling to breath, between an army of police detectives who were behaving as if we had just bombed the twin towers and a mass of civilians which included other accused persons and our own lawyers.
The process was long and tortuous and ran into the night. A decision was then taken to detain us in the cells. Through our lawyers, Thabani Mpofu and Sylvester Hashiti (the former who only the day before had been brought before the courts to answer some concocted charges after spending two nights in police custody), we demanded that the police cells in which we were to be detained be cleaned and sanitised. We refused to move from the tiny office. Our resistance did not last long. We were threatened with teargas and bundled downstairs, where we found ourselves in a room with hundreds of other prisoners.
These prisoners sat on the floor, whilst we were allowed to sit on benches. Most of the prisoners, were people who had been arrested for failure to put on masks and had failed to pay fines to the arresting officers. To heap irony on the ridiculous, once again there was no social distancing, no temperature checks and no provisions of sanitizers. They took our details once more and we were asked each to name the charge were being detained for. After this process we were then taken over to the actual cells. No temperature checks were carried out. There was no social distancing and no sanitizers were provided.
We were each given a small piece of paper, with a detention number, and also the bag number for our possessions. My bag number was 34.
Subsequently were called individually to surrender our possessions. They took off our shoes and phones and left us with the minimum of clothes, despite the cold. The cells were a house of horror. We were not provided blankets or mats on which to sleep.
The toilets were messy and stuffed with torn copies of the Herald, the state-owned newspaper, for which there is no better use. There was no water. We were forced to walk in filth without shoes We knew we were not safe and we were seriously compromising our health. We hardly slept.
We woke up early in the morning and we were grateful to receive food from our relatives.
My own poor mother and brother were allowed into the cells and it pained me to see that she had been crying all night and had hardly slept.
Around 10 am we were taken out of the cells back to law and order. This was the only time that temperature checks were carried on us and we were provided with sanitizers. No food or masks were provided and social distancing was not observed. We were driven in a van, surrounded by armed vehicles to Harare Magistrate Court, where hundreds of our supporters were outnumbered by riot squad police and soldiers.
Our lawyers had already been there after having been told the previous night that court would start at 8:30 am.
We waited for an hour or so, outside the court in our van. We were told by our lawyers that there was no senior prosecutor who could handle our case, notwithstanding the minor nature of the charge.
Eventually, without explanation, and without our lawyers being advised, we were driven off from Harare Magistrate Court back to Harare Central Prison.
It was farcical and surreal. Like a poorly scripted Mr Bean movie without the comedy. Back at the prison, a very apologetic policemen advised us that they had been instructed to add more serious charges against us.
I thought they would add treason and terrorism to the charges. Our lawyers arrived shortly afterwards.
We were presented with new statements which we firmly refused to sign. We could not legitimise illegitimacy.
Well into the afternoon, we were then taken back to Harare Magistrate Court. By that time, much of the crowd that had gathered in the morning had disappeared.
We were then led, into the remand court, court 6 which was presided over by Magistrate. Through our lawyers we made complaints against the manner of our arrest, the delays associated with the court sitting, and most importantly the dangerous unhealthy conditions we were exposed to at Harare Central Police Station.
The magistrate ordered an inquiry into our complaints. We were granted bail of a thousand dollars each and were whisked downstairs to the police detention centre at the Harare Magistrate Court.
The smell of raw urine dominates Court 6 and the passage from court 6 to the underground prison cells.
The building itself is old and dilapidated. The passages are ill lit, slippery and poorly cleaned.
Downstairs, in the prison were tens of other prisoners sitting on the floor, waiting for the trucks that would ferry them to remand prison.
I have gone through this process countless times in the past when I’ve been arrested, again on spurious political charges. But one never gets used to torture and ill treatment.
There our names and details were recorded for the umpteenth time.
We were so grateful when bail was eventually paid and the six of us streamed out of that prison carrying nothing but our freedom. We were dirty, hungry, and had been physically and mentally tortured, but we were relieved.
Despite our terrible experience, we were the lucky ones. Many have died, many have been tortured and many are fearful that they will become victims of this dysfunctional, anti-democratic state.
My appeal to the world is that the lives of black Zimbabweans should matter.
Tendai Biti is the Vice President of the MDC-Alliance and the co-author of ‘Democracy Works: Rewiring Politics to Africa’s Advantage’, and was the finance minister in Zimbabwe’s unity government between 2009-13. “
I categorically reiterate that the Supreme Court has reinstated me the HeadGirl of my Secondary School, ooops, the Acting President Of The MDC party, the renegade Thokozani Khupe says to herself in this moving graphic –
MDC Youth Assembly Deputy National Spokesperson Womberaiishe Nhende was today remanded out of custody to 22 July 2020 on free bail after his defence lawyer presented a dossier of complaints against the police.
Nhende is facing false charges of criminal nuisance after having been grievously beaten and arrested at #MRTHouse by some overzelous members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police-MDC Alliance
Opposition MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job “Wiwa” Sikhala, has renewed his threat to lead rolling mass demonstrations against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government.
This comes when tensions in the country have been on the rise recently mainly because of power dynamics in the MDC and the deteriorating state of affairs.
Sikhala told Daily News in an interview at the weekend that the MDC Alliance was preparing to embark on massive protests against the government he said:
The level of agitation among the people now has never been witnessed before in the history of this country … they are just waiting for leadership to end the game.
Our people have not surrendered to fate about their destiny. They are waiting for the call and the call is not very far. It is imminent.
Speaking on the approach to the protests, the Zengeza West legislator said they will not be coming in instalments but will be “incessant.”
He added that the opposition believes that the biggest problem for the country is president “Emmerson Mnangagwa and his thieving regime.”
He warned, however, that there would be persecution of those who are genuinely fighting for transformation adding that ev en those who fought to dislodge the unjust colonial system suffered years of incarceration.-Daily News
The above matter refers. We represent the Applicant in the matter, kindly note our concern.
We have been instructed to file an urgent chamber application on behalf of our client. Our Client is currently recovering from a brain surgery in Zambia, he has signed the founding affidavit same which was notarized and emailed to us to enable us to file the instructed urgent chamber application.
We kindly request your indulgence to file the urgent chamber application using the scanned version of the founding affidavit and submit the original at the hearing.
Due to lockdown restrictions, DHL International (Zambia) Ltd has indicated that the original notarized document will be delivered on the 12th of June, 2020. We have attached the shipment receipt for reference and your information.
Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated, in the furtherance of Justice
Boris Johnson in central in London, Britain, July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson – RC1A807C8840
Boris Johnson has urged the country to “work peacefully, lawfully” to defeat racism and discrimination.
Writing in The Voice, the PM said the government could not ignore the anger and “undeniable feeling of injustice” sparked by George Floyd’s killing.
But he said the cause was at risk of being “undermined” by a minority of those attacking police and property.
The UK, he said, had made “huge strides” in tackling racism in recent decades but more had to be done.
Meanwhile, the cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the next steps for easing the coronavirus lockdown in England.
The death of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis, in the United States, after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck, triggered an international outcry and sparked days of mass protests in cities across the UK.
While the demonstrations have been largely peaceful, they turned violent in London on Saturday when police officers were confronted with flares, and a statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill was vandalised.
In an article for the Voice, the prime minister said Mr Floyd’s death had “awakened an anger and a widespread and incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice, a feeling that people from black and minority ethnic groups do face discrimination: in education, in employment, in the application of the criminal law”.
“We simply cannot ignore the depth of emotion that has been triggered by that spectacle, of a black man losing his life at the hands of the police,” he wrote.
“We who lead and who govern simply can’t ignore those feelings because in too many cases, I am afraid, they will be founded on a cold reality.”
‘More to do’
While he believed the UK was a much less racist society than it was 40 years ago, the PM said he “heard” the Black Lives Matter protesters and accepted much more needed to be done to ensure everyone was treated equally.
“We must also frankly acknowledge that there is so much more to do – in eradicating prejudice, and creating opportunity, and the government I lead is committed to that effort.”
Thanking those who abided by social distancing while taking to the streets, the PM warned that further mass demonstrations endangered the UK’s efforts to bring the coronavirus epidemic under control.
And he said he could not condone those who “hijacked” peaceful protests by breaking the law or desecrating public monuments, saying they damaged the legitimate cause that people were fighting for.
“We have a democracy in this country. If you want to change the urban landscape, you can stand for election, or vote for someone who will.
“And so I must say clearly that those who attack public property or the police – who injure the police officers who are trying to keep us all safe – those people will face the full force of the law.
“So let’s work peacefully, lawfully, to defeat racism and discrimination wherever we find it, and let us continue to work together across all the communities of this country, as we put Britain back on its feet.”
‘Structural inequality’
In a statement to Parliament earlier, the home secretary said 137,500 people had attended more than 200 protests across the UK over the weekend.
She said 135 people had been arrested in total, while 35 police officers had been injured since protests began.
She was challenged by a Labour MP Florence Eshalomi, who asked her whether she recognised the “structural inequality, discrimination and racism” in the UK and called on her to act.
But Ms Patel said she would “not take lectures” from others about racism, and gave examples of the racist abuse she had personally received, including facing racial slurs in the playground and on the streets, and being advised to use her husband’s surname in order to advance her career.
Avon and Somerset Police told the BBC 17 people have been identified in connection with the toppling of Colston’s statue. No arrests have yet been made.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh defended the decision taken by commanders on the ground not to intervene when the statue was torn down and dumped in the harbour.
He said arresting suspects could have had “very serious ramifications” for the city of Bristol, including injuries to protesters, police and bystanders. – Voice/BBC
High Court judges have been making very confusing rulings on the status of the opposition MDC Alliance as a political party in the country, raising questions on citizens on why this is happening.
Are the judges:
Incompetence
Captured by politics
Part of a deliberate confusion to disturb the opposition party.
Make your call on the issue in the poll below:
The courts have issued at least four contradicting rulings on the status of the MDC Alliance as a political party. What could be the reason for the contradicting judgments?
GOVERNMENT is set to reopen the tourism industry particularly for the domestic market, a development that will see the launch of the tourism recovery strategy next week.
The tourism industry is one of the sectors that were hard hit by Covid-19 resulting in tour operators and hotels closing indefinitely due to lack of business.
Government is engaging various stakeholders with a view to capacitate domestic tourism which over the years was underrated in favour of international travel.
Locals have been restricted from visiting tourism resorts by the cost factor but Government is working on addressing the pricing structure as part of the re-opening strategy.
Government has already developed guidelines to reopen the tourism sector ahead of the launch of the tourism recovery strategy next week.
A Government delegation led by Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo visited the resort town yesterday to meet industry players and the local authorities to discuss modalities to open the sector for local visitors.
In an interview after the meeting, Minister Ndlovu said post Covid-19, domestic tourism will sustain the sector before international travel can be revived.
“We are here for a number of reasons the main one being that we are looking at the tourism town of Victoria Falls and a number of issues as we are contemplating that sooner than later, the possibility of opening up particularly for domestic tourism. We have developed guidelines to reopen. As you may know some hotels have started opening in Harare but we needed to have very strict guidelines because they are dealing with the public so we don’t want to be conduits for spreading Covid-19,” said Minister Ndlovu.
He said tourism industry players had also come up with their own guidelines which are more stringent and have been certified by the Ministry of Health and Child Care for approval as a way of ensuring safety from Covid-19.
He said Government is engaging local authorities and other stakeholders to identify areas for synergies.
Victoria Falls Municipality and Hwange Rural District Council are the two local authorities directly involved in tourism in Victoria Falls.
Minister Ndlovu said Victoria Falls residents and villagers from nearby communities will soon enjoy free entry into the Rainforest.
This follows concerns by locals who have been failing to access the Falls.
Victoria Falls Councillor Edmore Zhou raised the issue.
Minister Ndlovu said: “This meeting is meant to find critical areas of concern and one of the issues is accessibility to national parks and costing issues. We have a package for locals where we will designate a day for local residents to visit the Falls free of entry. So, we want councillors to help us disseminate the information.”
He said there are no timelines for the plans.
The Minister said the sector should avoid fueling the spread of the coronavirus.
Victoria Falls has been tagged as more expensive compared to other destinations and industry players have defended that saying they are guided by operational costs.
Minister Ndlovu said Government will be addressing issues of competitiveness, adding there will be a differentiated pricing system where locals will have a generally lower tariff compared to international tourists.
“It will now be a question of looking at whether the charge will still be beyond the reach of many. We need many visitors for more ambassadors,” said Minister Ndlovu.
He said Government is planning on running numerous campaigns and promotions to market the country’s tourism.
Across the Zambezi River in Livingstone, Zambia recently opened its tourism industry.
Minister Ndlovu said Government is not under pressure as it wants to make sure people are not put at risk.
He said Government will next week launch the tourism recovery strategy which emphasises the need to integrate the pricing structures from both State institutions and private players.
Speaking about tourism, local Government Minister Moyo said the resort town is the face of the country and its number one source of revenue when it comes to tourism.
“The Victoria Falls council is an important instrument for making sure that there is development of the hospitality industry. And the council has been going through disturbances in the past few months which is one of the reasons for me coming here to make sure that the council has cohesion and the councillors are working as a team together with their staff,” he said.
“They need to understand the thrust of tourism and the Ministry of Environment which also controls the national parks. So, we decided to have a joint meeting. Also I was urging them that for the sake of popularity of this place we need peace for tourists to come.”
THE Zimbabwe Defence Forces yesterday dismissed as false, reports that it deployed soldiers to Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (formerly Harvest House) to seize the building on behalf of the MDC-T led by Dr Thokozani Khupe.
In a statement, ZDF spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwisi said their members were never deployed to the building.
He said they were assisting the police to enforce Covid-19 lockdown measures.
“Allegations by the private media that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), accompanied by some youths, seized Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRT House), formerly Harvest House on 5 June 2020, are not true. The ZDF never deployed at MRT House. Current ZDF deployments are in support of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) operations of enforcing Covid-19 lockdown measures,” said Col Mugwisi.
“It is the work of political mischief makers to present online media footage of the ZRP in uniform conducting their duties as the ZDF. ZDF uniform is distinct. All the misinformation is trying to divert public attention from challenges facing their political parties. They should leave us out of their politics.”
Former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge’s appeal against a 30-month jail term for abuse of office was thrown out by the High Court yesterday which found that the sentence was not excessive and did not induce any sense of shock and outrage.
He had been convicted in the Magistrates Court for abuse of office after he hand-picked a public relations company for the Zimbabwe Power Company without going to tender.
The rejection of the appeal against both conviction and sentence in the High Court, where two judges sit together in appeal hearings, means Undenge will now serve the full sentence, which he unsuccessfully argued in his appeal hearing, was excessive and induced a sense of shock and outrage.
Undenge could still appeal to the Supreme Court, but in that case he would first have to seek leave to appeal and unless there was even a small possibility of a reversal of conviction or reduction of sentence, it is unlikely that such leave would be granted.
The High Court found no merit in the appeal. He had also wanted the court to consider community service or a fine as appropriate sentences.
But Justice Joseph Musakwa, sitting with Justice Phildah Muzofa, upheld both conviction and the sentence imposed on Undenge.
The judges held the view that following his conviction on a serious offence of criminal abuse of office, Undenge cannot plead that the sentence imposed on him was severe.
“Ultimately, sentence is a matter of discretion. It cannot be said that the sentence that was imposed in the present case is disturbingly inappropriate,” said Justice Musakwa, dismissing the appeal in its entirety.
The judge said the seriousness of the crime that Undenge was convicted of arose from undermining public confidence in public administration and the subversion of corporate governance.
Undenge, who was represented by Mr Alec Muchadehama, advanced an argument of selective prosecution, which the judge rejected.
His main ground of appeal was that he was a victim of political machinations following change of Government in November 2017, although the offence had been committed the previous year.
“I do not think that the appellant’s real defence is that of selective prosecution,” said Justice Musakwa. “If that is, then it is a tacit acknowledgment of wrongdoing save that his gripe is that he fell in the wrong political camp when the decision to prosecute him was made.”
Undenge also sought to argue that there was no evidence given of his duties as a public officer, and so it was not proved beyond reasonable doubt that he acted contrary to his duties.
The court conceded that there is no statute that governs the conduct of Vice Presidents, ministers and deputy ministers, but ruled that the absence of such an Act of Parliament cannot absolve a wrongdoer from criminal conduct.
“The obligation to foster good governance reposes on the State and its agents,” said the judge, adding that, as a minister, Undenge had an obligation to take measures to expose, combat and eradicate all forms of corruption and abuse of power.
The court could not believe Undenge’s explanation on the deal with Fruitful Communications. Justice Musakwa said even going by Undenge’s own explanation, there was everything wrong in him playing second fiddle to Fruitful Communications.
“It is apparent that he subordinated himself to Fruitful Communications. This is because Fruitful Communications proposed the contents of the letter and the appellant adopted them resulting in him directing ZPC to work with Fruitful Communications,” he said.
He was slapped with an effective two-and-half-year term for corruption after prejudicing ZPC of US$12 000.
Charges against Undenge arose sometime in January 2016, after Psychology Maziwisa and Oscar Pambuka took a letter to ZPC from the former minister, directing the company to work with their firm at intervals of six months. Following Undenge’s letter, the electricity generation arm of Zesa Holdings engaged the pair and lost US$12 000.
By Farai D Hove | Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo yesterday issued an apparently hollow account of his meeting with the UK’s minister for Africa.
SB Moyo had a meeting with James Duddridge on Monday.
When he finally issued his report however, SB Moyo gave a different account from that of the British minister.
Minister Duddridge narrated using the following words, “Spoke to Foreign Minister SB Moyo today on a range of issues including CV-19 response. I underlined our deep concerns regarding human rights violations & need for proper investigations. Urge Zimbabwe to seek international reengagement through economic & humanitarian reform.”
But SB Moyo spoke the opposite complaining about what he said were a number of aspects which are as a result of misconceptions which are being propagated by certain political formations in this country.
Moyo said “I think the discussion was very fruitful. It was very positive and it touched on a number of issues and it also clarified quite a number of aspects which are as a result of misconceptions which are being propagated by certain political formations in this country.
“And I think it is critical that the re-branding process of this country should be everyone’s responsibility. If you are a Zimbabwean and you are happy to defame your own country, it means your loyalty and patriotism are questionable,” said Minister Moyo.
He said people should not sacrifice the national interest at the expense of some “few shillings and that is unacceptable”.
SB Continued saying: “We should not depend on external forces in order to run our affairs of this country.
“We should be able to discuss matters.
“So these are some of the issues which we then discussed.
“We discussed issues to take our relations to the next level and particularly in recognition of the fact that we have signed a post-Brexit agreement.
Farai Dziva|Bishop Ancelimo Magaya has described the country’s leadership as wicked.
Bishop Magaya also condemned the harassment of MDC Alliance leaders following the grabbing of Harvest House by Thokozani Khupe.
See Bishop Magaya’s statement :
The God of regime change is watching and will judge.
“Can wicked rulers be aligned with you, those who frame injustice using the law? They band together against life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death, but the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of refunge.
He will bring back on them their inequality, wipe them out of their wickedness. The Lord our God will wipe them out” ( Psalm 94 vs 20-23 ).
The foregoing portion of scripture succinctly captures God’s heart and word in this season. As the church is called upon to pray prophetically it is my deep conviction that the prayers should not just be the usual pious like, lacking in specifics and substance. The church should pray in the light of this portion of scripture. Please note the guidelines as given by the scriptures in the quoted passage.
Wicked rulers have no capacity to align with God, and conversely God can not fellowship with them.
You do not have to love Nelson Chamisa or to hate Mnangangwa for you to see this truth that our leaders are wicked and are failing to align themselves with God.
They use the law to frame injustice, or mischief.
Events that are ongoing are a clearest evidence of a rogue state who craft laws for purposes of driving their own interests as they get into an overdrive of suppressing the people that think differently. The arrest of Tendai Biti and his fellow leaders for allegedly violating lockdown regulations, whilst others are allowed unfettered access to their supporters is just one of many examples of governments abuse of law.
Divine verdict is clear from the psalmist.
God will wipe them always! I am strongly persuaded that God has rejected this system and as the church, inkeeping with their prophetic mandate to the nations praise forthrightly for Gods judgement and faithfulness to this word and I mean that which you have just read afore, God will cause that word to come to fruition. Join me in this prayer now :” Oh Lord the faithful and awesome God in whom we put all our trust and in whom all power is reposed, in accordance with your word which says because the wicked rulers do not align with you, and therefore you can not fellowship with them. They craft injustice and mischief using the law. See what they do to your people.
See how they lie! See you they are deceitful and desperately wicked! See how they are flourishing in corruption !
Lord, in the Name of Jesus, judge them and bring to effect your word, which when sent it will not come back void. We decree the coming to an end of their rule. You are the God of regime change! In the Name of Jesus we pray”
And may all Gods people say Amen!
May God bless you and continue praying accordingly.
The MDC Alliance has been given another lease of life as the High Court blocked the replacement of four recalled MDC Alliance legislators today. The legislators were recalled by the MDC-T a losing minority party that granted control over MDC Alliance MPs under government assisted controversial circumstances.
Justice Joseph Mafusire has granted an interim order which will hold until the High Court gives a final determination on an application brought by the quartet in which they seek to have their recall invalidated.
Part of Justice Mafusire’s ruling read, “I am satisfied that the applicants have proved a prima facie case and that they are entitled to relief. Their membership in parliament has been abruptly terminated on the basis of a process of dubious legality. It is common cause they were in Parliament on the ticket of a political formation called the MDC Alliance. For two years they have participated in the business of Parliament as members of the MDC-Alliance. ZEC registered the MDC-A as a political party. Indeed it is a political party for the purposes of the Constitution and of the Electoral Act, Parliament recognises it as a political party. The applicants have produced documents showing that they were nominated b the MDC-Alliance political party. on proportional representation for the women’s quotas for the two Houses of Parliament. The executive arm of Government recognises the MDC Alliance as a political party. The applicants have produced a copy of Government Gazette of 28 February 2020 showing that the MDC Alliance qualifies as a political party for Government funding under the Political Parties (Finance) Act, Chapter 2.11.”
Political analysts have warned the MDC Alliance against celebrating too early as they have not won yet. Last week saw soldiers assisting MDC-T fronted by Khupe and secretary general Douglas Mwonzora to take over the headquarters of the MDC Alliance Harvest House. The development was criticised by the international community with many United States government arms issuing statements. The European Union and the Dutch embassy also expressed their concern over the government’s involvement and use of force in political and property rights matters.
Lewis Matutu greeting President Mnangagwa when he was still Youth league boss
HARARE – Former Zanu PF youth league deputy secretary Lewis Matutu deleted his Twitter account on Saturday, hours after appearing to take aim at President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his family for corruption.
Matutu was suspended from his position in February after pointed criticism aimed at “cartels” in the fuel sector, which included attacks on Mnangagwa’s adviser and Zanu PF financier, Sakunda millionaire Kudakwashe Tagwirei, and Green Fuel founder Billy Rautenbach, who enjoys a near-monopoly in ethanol blending.
At 11.12PM on Friday night, Matutu tweeted: “Three things that can destroy a man: (1) Women; (2) Greedy children; (3) Corrupt friends and relatives. Mwari ngavapindire munguva dzekumanikidzwa zakadai (May God intervene in these times of difficulty.”
By Saturday, Matutu had taken down his account after scores of Twitter users linked his comments to a procurement scandal threatening to engulf Mnangagwa’s government.
The comment also appeared to reference Mnangagwa’s alleged infidelity. The 77-year-old reportedly has more than a dozen children born out of wedlock.
Reports on two procurement contracts for Covid-19 materials were dolled out to two companies linked to Mnangagwa, even as both companies are not on the register of approved suppliers kept by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
Jaji Investments, a company registered in Namibia, won contracts for over US$112,000 to supply coronavirus testing kits on the instructions of health minister, Obadiah Moyo. The company’s director, Garikai Prince Mushininga, has met Mnangagwa several times, and unimpeachable sources told ZimLive that Mnangagwa’s bodyguard and nephew, Valdano Brown, was the company’s representative in Zimbabwe.
Drax International, also known as Drax Consult SAGL, was awarded a US$1 million contract to supply personal protective equipment and testing kits – even after the broke government, through finance ministry permanent secretary George Guvamatanga, had earlier banned procurement from private entities over escalating bills.
Guvamatanga made a special exemption for Drax International, which says on its website it was registered in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. The company’s Zimbabwe representative, Dilish Nguwaya, is a convicted criminal and business associate of Collins Mnangagwa, the president and first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s twin son.
Nguwaya, who has met Mnangagwa and his wife several times, denies business links with Collins. Mnangagwa’s son, meanwhile, has claimed to have no social relationship with Nguwaya – but pictures have emerged of them shopping for luxury cars in Dubai and attending official state events together.
Matutu had kept a low profile since his suspension by the Zanu PF politburo. Godfrey Tsenengamu – who was secretary for administration in the youth league – was also suspended and later expelled after he refused to attend “ideological training”.
Mnangagwa described the duo’s public denunciation of his allies as “misguided and misdirected activism which threatens the party’s unity, cohesion and singleness of purpose.”
Restaurants are legally allowed to be open for selling take-away food in their licensed hours, and do not have to close at 4.30pm, the Covid-19 taskforce has said, while extra steps are being taken so cross-border truck drivers do not mix with the public and returnees face minimal risk of infection while in quarantine.
Truck drivers will only be allowed to stop at the already-designated stopping points for refreshment and rest, with police intensifying enforcement, and Zimbabwean cross-border truck drivers at the end of a shift or series of shifts and wanting to return home must undergo normal quarantine procedures for returning residents.
With almost all confirmed infections of Covid-19 being among returning citizens and residents being found in tests at quarantine centres, the health authorities will now give the diagnostic PCR test, rather than just screening tests, on the first day of quarantine to ensure those who test negative can be quarantined more safely while those found to be infected can be swiftly isolated.
There had been confusion over when restaurants and take-aways could operate, with police usually ruling that they must close with other formal businesses at 4.30pm.
But yesterday Attorney- General Mr Prince Machaya said restaurants were not covered under the Covid-19 working hours for non-essential formal businesses, as the law clearly spelt out, since they were providing an essential service. He was responding to questions raised at the National Taskforce on Covid-19 press briefing in Harare yesterday.
“The situation regarding restaurants is governed by Statutory Instrument 83 published on March 28.
“The whole objective of this provision, was to ensure that there were food outlets open to serve those people considered to be an essential service under the lockdown order in question, who may need to buy food at varying hours of the day. And implicit in that provision was that restaurants can operate within their permitted hours as per their operating licences,” said Mr Machaya.
He said restaurants were therefore not covered by the hours introduced under level 2 of the national lockdown for ordinary formal businesses.
“Those hours do not affect the operations of restaurants and it is clear that those working hours apply to businesses in the formal commercial and industrial sector that are not essential service.”
The licensed hours are set by the relevant local authority and can be the full 24 hours in a day in a few cases.
But restaurants and take-aways are not allowed to let customers eat on the premises, unless they are hotels serving guests, and are not allowed to serve alcohol.
Speaking at the same occasion, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government has also tightened enforcement of lockdown provisions especially among truck drivers and returnees where a huge number of cases were being reported.
“In view of the risk of transmission posed by truckers and returnees, the following measures have been put in place to reduce the said risk: The increased enforcement through joint roadblocks in order to flush out rogue truck drivers so that they are penalised if they are contravening lockdown regulations and simplified educational materials are to be distributed to truckers so that they familiarise themselves with regulations guiding their stay in the country,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
Some of the regulations in line with SI 93 of 2020 include truckers stopping at designated stops, subjecting themselves and their goods to disinfection should they offload here in Zimbabwe.
Every driver, being a citizen of Zimbabwe, shall also be treated as a returning resident and will be required to go into either mandatory quarantine or isolation.
All returning citizens and residents will now be given the diagnostic PCR test for Covid-19 on their first day back in Zimbabwe before being quarantined, if the test is negative, or isolated, if they are ill, to minimise the risk of infection within quarantine centres.
Follow-up tests will be conducted during the 21-day mandatory quarantine period.
The switch from screening tests to diagnostic tests comes in the wake of the continued rise in infections among returnees, raising concern that people might be infecting each other in the quarantine facilities.
Speaking to The Herald yesterday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said while Government cannot tell if the infections were happening in quarantine centres or before the returning citizens and residents were taken into centres, the bulk of cases continue to be imported.
“This means that we have to concentrate on testing in the quarantine areas at early stages, on day one before people even get to know each other or mixing within that area. We must be able to distinguish on that very day that this one is positive and that one is negative so that we know straight away whether to isolate or quarantine the concerned returnees,” said Dr Moyo.
Government has already put systems in place to allow for PCR testing on all returnees as they come in.
Previously, Government was screening returnees on arrival, using the rapid diagnostic test and temperature checks, but that has not been helpful in certain diagnosis and splitting the well from the ill.
Dr Moyo said RDT was just for screening, which gives a general picture of the actual burden, but for diagnosis, it is PCR that is important.
“So in order for us to be 100 percent certain that there is no infection or cross infection within the quarantine areas, we must do PCR testing before the returnees enter the quarantine area,” said Dr Moyo.
The Health ministry will continue liaising with other Government departments such as the ministries of Public Works and National Housing, and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, to ensure that conditions were conducive and do not expose returnees to Covid-19.
Commenting on the same issue, Monitoring and Implementation Committee chairperson in the Inter Ministerial Taskforce on Covid-19, who is also Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, said Government was concerned by the number of returnees escaping from quarantine facilities.
She said security had been tightened at the facilities.
In a provisional order issued by the High Court last week, Government was ordered to ensure that returning residents were tested on day 1, day 8 and day 21 of the quarantine period.
It was also ordered to house returnees in such a manner that social and physical distancing was maintained and ensure that living conditions were conducive at all times.
The application was made by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on behalf of the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights.
Returnees from South Africa and Botswana now form the overwhelming majority of the 282 Covid-19 infections recorded in Zimbabwe.
– Herald/state media
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has ended its 25% incentive to gold producers, a subsidy criticised as a key driver of currency weakness and inflation.
The government had signalled in March that it would stop the subsidy, criticised by the IMF as one of the central bank’s “quasi-fiscal” activities stoking money supply.
“We would like to advise on the following; termination of the incentives to gold producers with effect from 26 May 2020,” said a June 4 letter to miners from Fradreck Kunaka, head of Fidelity Printers and Refiners, RBZ’s gold buying arm.
The subsidy was introduced in 2019, ostensibly to encourage more production of gold, the country’s biggest foreign currency earner. Under the scheme, gold producers were paid 25% of the gold price for each delivery of gold to Fidelity. The incentive was paid out in Zimbabwe dollars at the prevailing official exchange rate.
While welcomed by producers, critics said the subsidy was driving money supply, undermining the Zimbabwe dollar and feeding inflation.
In March, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the gold scheme would be cancelled once the Reuters forex trading system became fully functional. However, government has controversially fixed the exchange temporarily as part of measures to deal with COVID-19.
IMF on gold incentive
In its Article IV consultation report released in March, the IMF estimated that, as at January this year, Zimbabwe was spending Z$400 million on the gold incentive every month.
“Staff urged the authorities to remove the gold incentive (which would have an annual cost of about one percent of GDP) and to incentivise gold sales to Fidelity Printers via forex market liberalisation reforms so as to reduce the parallel market premium, given the strong (negative) correlation between the premium and gold sales by small producers, who account for over 60% of total gold supplies in Zimbabwe,” the IMF said.
RBZ governor John Mangudya has previously rejected criticism that the gold scheme fuelled inflation. In a statement in March, he insisted that “the contribution of the gold sector incentive scheme was very minimal to the growth of reserve money”.
However, government had, in its discussions with the IMF, pledged to drop the scheme. No timelines were given at the time.
“The impact on the budget of this policy change (removing the subsidy) and its timing is unclear at this stage, but could potentially reduce the additional spending,” the IMF said then.
Payment delays
Apart from the facility, RBZ has been failing to pay miners for gold deliveries. Industry officials report that some miners have not been paid for their deliveries for seven weeks.
Outstanding payments due to gold producers as at May 26 will be settled “soon” Kunaka said in his latest letter to mines, without giving details.
Government recently increased the proportion of forex payments that large gold producers can keep from gold sales from 55% to 70%. Small scale miners now receive a flat rate of US$45 per gramme of gold. Gold output fell to 27.6 tonnes last year from 33.2 tonnes in 2018, hit by power outages and forex shortages.
Wicknell Chivayo around the time when his project was first approved by a Mnangagwa led commission
Government has thrown its weight behind the Gwanda solar project, saying the country needs adequate power and the 100 megawatt (MW) initiative was among its key interventions to end energy shortages.
Energy and Power Development Minister Advocate Fortune Chasi has since directed Zesa Holdings to urgently resolve, out-of-court, its protracted dispute with Intratrek Zimbabwe to allow the project to proceed.
He said the withdrawal of all litigation and an amicable resolution of the dispute to allow the current contractor to proceed with the project for the good of the country, had already received backing at “the highest level” of Government.
Minister Chasi directed management at ZESA to ensure it received the necessary board approvals for the resolution of the dispute with Intratrek to be settled outside the court.
A meeting involving high-ranking Zesa and ZPC officials, their chief executive and managing director, respectively, was held on May 22, 2020, to thrash out new terms for an amended engineering, procuring and construction (EPC) contract to replace the existing project agreement.
In his letter to ZESA executive chairman Dr Sydney Gata for the feuding parties to find a lasting solution to the legal battles, Minister Chasi said the Government was unhappy with the wrangles that had not produced results.
As the sole shareholder in ZESA and ZPC, Minister Chasi said the Government had the mandate to deliver adequate power to satisfy the competing needs of industry, including key economic anchor projects in mining.
Notably, the minister said pre-commencement works that lagged behind and the main cause of the contractual dispute, had since been completed and the basis for endless litigation had since been overtaken by events.
Minister Chasi said given the prevailing power situation, the Government was interested in the Gwanda solar project and expected ZESA not only to take note of the Government’s concerns, but to act on the issues at hand as a matter of urgency.
“Power is generated at power stations, not in the courts of law, ZPC and Intratrek have been in the courts since time immemorial, my principal concern and mandate is to generate power for the people of Zimbabwe.
“Since my appointment last year, I have given the parties the latitude to resolve the matter, and the courts, Justice Chitapi in particular, ordered the parties to meet and discuss implementation of the project, but up until last week the parties had not met.
“Seeing that the parties were dilatory in their approach to this matter I felt that it would be extremely irresponsible on my part as Minister of energy to continue to have the matter held in abeyance in the same vein Government is grappling with power shortages, and importing very expensive power,” he said.
Minister Chasi’s directive comes as ZESA, through its generation arm, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), has since 2017 been involved in an abrasive contractual dispute with the contractor after terminating the agreement over alleged missed timelines.
Denying responsibility for factors that delayed the Gwanda project, prompting the power utility to terminate the contract, Intratrek approached the courts of law contesting the cancellation and twice Zesa Holdings and ZPC have been on the losing end.
As such, Minister Chasi said ZESA needed to quickly settle the dispute with Intratrek outside the courts.
He said Zesa and its generation unit, ZPC, were already in contempt of High Court judgments passed by Justice Chitapi and that he agreed with the High Court judge’s reasoning that electricity was not generated in the courts.
Minister Chasi said in giving the directives for ZESA to engage Intratrek, he had considered a number of key factors, which have altered the previous landscape in relation to the issue.
These included the fact that the Gwanda solar project was and is still earmarked by Government as a key enabler to the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and successor policies; forming part of the short to medium solutions to end the power deficit.
Intratrek, Minister Chasi said, has assured the Government, working with reputable partners that have delivered on similar power initiatives and similarly working on other mega progressing state initiated power projects.
Funding is also reportedly now available for delivery of the first 10MW of solar energy within six months to benefit over 30 000 residents of Gwanda, in phased development of the project.
He said Government had noted and found merit in the technical and financial soundness of the proposed strategic review plan for project implementation submitted by the contractor, Intratrek Zimbabwe.
“It goes without doubt that the bridging financing model submitted by the EPC contractor’s transactional is led by a team of renowned experts in the field of project financing and legal advisory with respect to the implementation of EPC contracts in the region,” Minister Chasi said.
The prospective financier, African Transmission Holdings (ATC), has been playing a pivotal role in the debt/equity structuring for the ongoing US$1,4 billion 600MW Hwange 7 and 8 expansion project, which is now over 30 percent complete.
“Their competence being attestable, Government finds no reason not to find comfort in the same firm, led by Victor Utedzi, whose impressive curriculum vitae I have had the occasion to peruse,” the Minister said.
ATC recently successfully commissioned a 5MW photovotaic centre grid at Nyabira, which is now feeding the national power grid.
He noted the involvement of eminent professionals in the restructure EPC contractor’s board, notably Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) chairman and renowned Harare lawyer, Mr Edwin Manikai.
Mr Manikai is now leading the legal conscription of the financial and technical variation of the amended project contract through Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Legal Practitioners.
Prominent Harare lawyer and successful businessman Mr Wilson Manase, has been appointed the new executive chairman of the Intratrek Zimbabwe, enhancing prospects of project success.
Minister Chasi said Government had placed material consideration on the capacity of CHiNT Electric; the Chinese firm that has been contracted to execute the project and whose financial and technical capacity has been assessed by ZPC.
CHiNT, which has successfully implemented projects in Zimbabwe, is the largest solar company in the world by a comprehensive performance rate awarded by PHOTON, while the firm is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with an asset base of US$12 billion.
“I am persuaded to believe with such financial decoration, the quick syndication of a bankable financial model for Gwanda ought not to be problematic.
“At the revised price of US$139 million the debt/equity model will be less rigorous and financial closure will be reached expeditiously,” Minister Chasi said.
He reiterated the contents of “well-reasoned judgements by Justice Chitapi in two matters”, which ZPC lost where he said “with the current Government’s thrust there was a need for an accelerated development to ensure the attainment of a middle income status for the country by 2030.
“It is hoped that key projects like the one involved in this case are not stalled by unnecessary bickering and extra contractual frustrations” and “ parties should desist from merry-dancing in the courts and fighting in boardrooms instead of implementing this project of national importance at the site.”
Minister Chasi said the President had launched vision 2030, which demands Government to implement policies and projects which will usher Zimbabwe into an upper middle class economy by 2030.
“I wish to reiterate that Government’s position is fully informed by all these factors which have been approved at the highest level.
“I consider the foregoing as having placed Government’s position in unambiguous clarity. Megawatts will ultimately be made at the project and not in courts of law,” the Minister said.
He said the High Court had made this point clear the Government, given the current power situation, cannot afford the luxury of continued litigation anymore and has been forced to take a pragmatic solution to the production of power.
Before the project was thrown off rails by the contractual dispute, Intratrek had won the tender for the project ahead of six other contenders as the least cost bidder to specification.
Intratrek MD Wicknell Chivayo, declined to comment referring all enquiries to Minister Chasi. –Herald/state media
A retired senior army officer and Bulawayo City Council security boss Sipho Masuku (64) collapsed and died at work yesterday.
Masuku collapsed in an elevator at Tower Block Municipal buildings in Bulawayo in the morning.
He was deputising the senior security officer at BCC. Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the development yesterday.
“Police in Bulawayo attended to a case of sudden death at municipal buildings in the early hours of June 8. Investigations are underway,” said Inspector Ncube.
Bulawayo City Council public relations officer Bongiwe Ngwenya said council had no comment.
BCC chamber secretary and acting town clerk, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou said council could not comment on the matter in the Press yet as no official engagements with the deceased’s family had been done.
“I cannot comment on behalf of council at the moment as we are yet to engage the family officially. It would be premature,” she said.
Family spokesperson Mr Dumisani Masuku said family members were called to the scene when his brother collapsed and died at work.
He said Masuku appeared in good health when he drove off to work with his wife. He, however, said Masuku had been battling kidney problems and diabetes for years.
“He was okay in the morning and drove to work with his wife whom he dropped at her workplace. He then collapsed in an elevator as he was en-route to his office on the fifth floor.
“He was pronounced dead there before he could be taken to hospital. The ambulance crew arrived and said they could no longer take him as he was ‘gone’ and then a Nyaradzo hearse took him to a parlour,” said Mr Masuku.
“He has been battling kidney failure and has been going on dialysis routinely and he was also diabetic. We are saddened by his sudden passing.”
He said funeral arrangements were underway and would be announced in due course.
Family members described the late Masuku as a hardworker and loving man who was the pillar of the family and said his loss in the family and the community would be strongly felt.
Masuku who retired as a ZNA Colonel worked as a vice public relations officer at the ZNA headquarters until he joined BCC about 10 years ago. He is survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters.
Mourners are gathered at number 4770 Magwegwe West suburb. -Chronicle/state media
The Law Society of Zimbabwe is concerned by the arrest of lawyers, Mr Patrick Tererai, Mr Dumisani Dube, Advocate Choice Damiso (subsequently released after being turned into a state witness), Mr Tapiwa Makanza and Mr. Joshua Chirambwe. Over the past few days, the arrest of members of the legal profession has become quite a common feature. One of our functions as Regulator of the Legal Profession is to ensure that members are conducting themselves ethically and professionally and as such matters like this should, ordinarily, be brought to our attention. However, despite some of the alleged cases having occurred over a year ago we have not received any complaint from members of the public, the police or from the courts.
As a representative body we are further concerned that the arrests appear calculated to hinder the members of the profession from undertaking their professional duties. A review of the recent arrests shows a disturbing pattern of intimidation, harassment of lawyers and associating lawyers with the causes of their clients.
On the 10th of May 2020, Mr Patrick Tererai of Tererai Legal Practice was manhandled and later detained overnight by police officers at Beitbridge police station after attending to his client at the police station. One of the officers, an Assistant Inspector Sibanda, forcibly removed his face mask and lodged him in police cells thus exposing him to COVID-19. He was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct.
Mr Dumisani Dube of Mathonsi-Ncube Law Chambers was arrested and taken to court on the 6th of June 2020, where he was granted bail in the sum of ZW$ 5000.00. He is being accused of “defeating or obstructing the course of Justice” in that he is alleged to have filed a fake certificate of service and obtained judgment in favour of his client.
Advocate Damiso is also accused of “defeating or obstructing the course of Justice” as an accomplice to Advocate Thabani Mpofu. As a senior member of the profession, she was acutely aware of the allegations against her for a whole week. It is therefore strange that she had to be dramatically picked up whereas she could have presented herself before the police had she been requested to do so.
On Sunday, the 7th of June 2020, Mr. Makanza, the legal practitioner who instructed Advocate Thabani Mpofu was also arrested and subsequently detained. This is despite the fact that he had always been aware of the allegations against him and has cooperated with the police who investigated the same matter in 2019. His detention is, therefore, deeply concerning.
On Monday 8th June 2020 lawyer Joshua Chirambwe, the applicant in a pending Constitutional application was arrested on allegations of assisting Advocate Thabani Mpofu to plagiarise Simbarashe Zuze’s affidavit thus allegedly defeating the course of justice. Lawyers are not above the law and may be arrested like anyone elsewhere there is a reasonable cause to do so. In the case of Dumisani Dube the matter can be investigated without having to incarcerate the accused person. The fact that the legal practitioner was arrested whilst he had voluntarily gone to the police station to assist his client creates the impression that he was targeted for doing his work.
The arrest of the other two lawyers is also linked to the performance of their duties as legal practitioners. In the case of Advocate Damiso her alleged offence arose from her role as commissioner of oaths whilst Mr Makanza was merely representing his client. The police allege that the client does not exist whilst Mr. Makanza insists that the client exists and that he has taken him to the Law and Order section of the police twice. It is also a matter of record that the police have had more than a year to investigate this matter.
The sudden arrest of these lawyers, therefore, raises the inescapable view that the lawyers are being associated with the cause of their client. The constitutional application at the centre of these arrests sought to impugn the appointment of the Prosecutor General by the President. In this regard, we are apprehensive because the arrests appear to be calculated at intimidating and harassing lawyers in the course of their duties.
The right to legal representation is a Constitutionally guaranteed right. The right of legal practitioners to practice their profession is also guaranteed in the Constitution. The Law Society accordingly condemns the continued systematic harassment and intimidation of lawyers in the course of their work. Such actions undermine the rule of law and the administration of justice in Zimbabwe. In terms of both our domestic and international principles, the State must guarantee that lawyers are free to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, are able to travel freely to consult with their clients and are free of threats in the discharge of their duties.
Law Society of Zimbabwe “Committed to Justice and the Rule of Law”
Mnangagwa says no one has been killed by govt in Zimbabwe since 2005, "there has not been an execution since 2005," he adds | IS HE TELLING THE TRUTH? | (153 killed by ED during 2008 elections, 6 killed on 1 Aug 2018, 17 killed by ED on 15 Jan 2019 ) https://t.co/eAKQ8QSsJdpic.twitter.com/kedCsMzLgN
Former Finance Minister and Vice President of the opposition MDC Alliance, Tendai Biti, has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the hurdle blocking the country’s growth.
He said Mnangagwa’s departure from power will usher Zimbabwe on to a growth path. His remarks come when the country is grappling with the economic and humanitarian crisis characterised by shortages of fuel, food, medicines and the soaring inflation as well as high unemployment rates.
MDC Alliance Vice President Tendai Biti
This Sunday, Biti proposed the establishment of a transitional authority that would lead the country until the next election with the mandate of pulling the country out of its economic doldrums and addressing the political crisis that is manifest in the deterioration of the democratic space in the country.
Posting on Twitter, he said:
“Today the parallel market rate has traded between 80 & 85. In mid-May 2020 it was 40. An increase of 100% in 3 weeks reflects the black market implosion. The restrictive measures by the Central Bank are corroding the ZWL$ & therefore self-defeating. They have run out of ideas.
“Meanwhile, as the economy tanks, Mnangagwa has turned his energy to our Movement, journalists & lawyers. The attack on lawyers & journalists is crude & unprecedented. But no amount of attacks can hide the fact that Emmerson is illegitimate & a failure. You can’t rig the people’s will
“We restate once more that the only way to save Zim is the immediate peaceful & constitutional departure of Emmerson. That departure will give Zim a chance to rebuild. Departure should allow convergence on the way foward. An opportunity for a new disruptive consensus. A new beginning.”
Media and gender equality champion Dr Tikhala Chibwana has died.
Dr Chibwana, who was the director of the Women in News (WIN) died in Malawi yesterday after a short illness.
Described by colleagues as great leader, mentor, and champion of gender equality, Dr Chibwana mentored female journalists in Africa’s newsrooms through the Women In News programme.
Writing on her Twitter blog, WIN’s local programme manager Ms Molly Chimhanda said:
“Dr T, words cannot express the shock I felt when I was told. I’m still in shock… You will be missed @tkchibwana2. Irreplaceable soul. Such a great loss for our work. I learnt so much from you as my colleague, boss, father figure… I’m gutted.”
Veteran journalist Vincent Kahiya also mourned Dr Chibwana and said: ” Dr T @tkchibwana2 my dear friend, we had lots of unfinished business and conversations. Achimwene, I am gutted.”
WAN-IFRA executive director Ms Melanie Walker said,
” Dr Tikhala Chibwana was a champion of gender equality in the media industry. During his five-year tenure as head of WAN-IFRA Women in News Africa, ‘Dr. T’, as he was fondly referred to, inspired and motivated hundreds of journalists to take on greater leadership roles in the industry, and brought together dozens of media companies throughout Southern and East Central Africa in the collective pursuit of achieving greater diversity and operational excellence within their organisations. While we mourn this great loss, Dr Chibwana’s legacy will live on in the WIN community and in the future generations of journalists who will carry forward his teachings and influence in the work they do.”
Dr Chibwana also served in the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) regional board of trustees in 2011 and chaired its Audit & Finance Committee.
In Nov 2014, he was further appointed to become the Southern African Media Development Fund chairperson, which positions he was serving diligently until untimely death.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Kirsty Coventry is reportedly grabbing a farm which belongs to Robert Zhuwao, the son of national liberation heroine, Sabina Mugabe.
Zhuwao who also a nephew of Zimbabwe’s founding leader, the man who led the land reform program, Robert Mugabe, has approached the courts seeking a spoliation and prohibitory interdict.
Coventry, the former World swimming champion and the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, Perrance Shiri, in that order, were cited as 1st and 2nd respondents.
Part of the court papers reads:
RE: ROBERT ZHUWAO V KIRSTY COVENTRY And ANOR
The above matter refers.
We represent the Applicant in the matter, kindly note our concern.
We have been instructed to file an urgent chamber application on behalf of our client. Our Client is currently recovering from a brain surgery in Zambia, he has signed the founding affidavit same which was notarized and emailed to us to enable us to file the instructed urgent chamber application.
We kindly request your indulgence to file the urgent chamber application using the scanned version of the founding affidavit and submit the original at the hearing. Due to lockdown restrictions, DHL International (Zambia) Ltd has indicated that the original notarized document will be delivered on the 12th of June, 2020. We have attached the shipment receipt for reference and your information.
Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated, in the furtherance of Justice
The world health Organisation, (WHO) has changed its advice on face masks, saying they should be worn in public to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
The global body which had had previously argued that there was not enough evidence to say that healthy people should wear masks indicated that new information showed masks could provide “a barrier for potentially infectious droplets”.
Some countries around the world already recommend or mandate the wearing of face coverings in public.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead expert on Covid-19, told Reuters news agency the recommendation was informed by findings of a recent study.
She said: We are advising governments to encourage that the general public wear a mask.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, emphasised that masks on their own will not protect people from Covid-19. The organisation had in the past advised against the use of masks saying that they would give a false sense of security.
Meanwhile, some countries including Zimbabwe had already made it mandatory for the citizenry to wear face masks in the public- BBC
