The father of MDC-Alliance activist Cecilia Chimbiri has vowed never to forgive police for her daughter’s abduction and torture by suspected State agents.

Henry Chimbiri also demanded an apology from Police commissioner-general Godwin Matanga for abuse suffered by Cecilia alongside Harare West member of the National Assembly Johanna Mamombe and fellow activist Netsai Marova after they disappeared from police last week following their arrest at a roadblock.

Speaking during an interview with The Zimbabwe Independent on Tuesday, Chimbiri said Cecilia and her colleagues were still traumatised by what they endured.

He said:

I will never forgive the police for this. They need to apologise. (Police commissioner-general Godwin) Matanga needs to apologise. I will never trust or respect them. They know what happened.

They are the ones who are supposed to be guarding the Constitution yet they are the ones tearing it apart.

It is a frightening experience that my daughter and other daughters had to go through and they are traumatised.

My daughter’s future has been damaged, her health has been disturbed, the other time she fell from her hospital bed and the other girl also fell from her bed, her legs sometimes get numb, indicating that they were tortured on the legs and on the hands.

We are pleased to advise that Chitungwiza Municipality has authorized the reopening of the FEEDING KITCHEN run by our client Ms SAMANTHA MUROZOKI on strict terms enhancing our client’s compliance with legal and administrative requirements chief among which is the compulsory COVID 19 testing of all volunteers involved in providing our client’s service.

Our client is determined to work with both Council and the District Administrator to comply with these terms as soon as possible.

She continues to urge the beneficiaries to wear face masks, sanitize/wash hands and maintain strict social distancing during feeding times as directed by the Government.

We acknowledge the interventions of His Worship The Mayor and his team, including the Acting Town Clerk on one hand and the District Administrator on the other for a swift response.

We commend Government’s sensitivity to the suffering of the residents currently benefitting from our client’s services.

We advise the Public that Council has provided, free of charge, premises for our client to operate from, at least for the period the COVID 19 Prevention Regulations remain in force.

Additionally, Council has further offered Municipal Police to assist our client at the new premises.

We are instructed to assure the well-wishers, already on board and to appeal to new ones at home and abroad to lawfully support the kitchen whose beneficiaries as of Sunday 17th May 2020 numbered 1600 per day

Watch our today’s news review.

Watch video downloading below. Please be patient as the video downloads.

Press Statement|This statement follows up on the public health letter given to the Manager of the soup kitchen in Chitungwiza, Samantha Muzoroki.

The public health officials wanted the soup kitchen, good as it is, to abide by the primary and environmental health requirements to assist the vulnerable without presenting a risk for COVID-19, or other disease spread given the high volumes of people being assisted.

Yesterday, I, as Mayor of the City of Chitungwiza visited the site where the soup team has been carrying out their good work. We agreed to have a meeting at our council offices today 22 May 2020.

As a council, we are alive to the plight of the people of our community and we are very appreciative of any resident’s initiative meant to cushion the needy at these trying times of the COVID-19.

As council, we are glad to be part of her philanthropic work and to that end, we offered the following:

a) a new place to operate from,

b) screen all food handlers and test them for COVID-19 and other various diseases

c) council security to ensure that people adhere to the pandemic regulations.

d) Assist in getting her welfare organization registered

As a City, we are proud to have and work with leaders and dreamers like Samantha.

We would like to also to salute all the well-wishers who have been assisting this noble cause.

We will do all it takes to support brilliant initiatives!

The Independent|ZIMBABWE is sitting on a potentially catastrophic Covid-19 timebomb as the government is fast running out of test kits and protective clothing, resulting in a huge backlog of thousands of untested laboratory samples countrywide, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.

For almost a month now, the government has missed its target of testing 1 000 people per day.The government had targeted to have tested at least 40 000 people by the end of April, but as of yesterday 34 707 tests had been conducted, consisting of 19 623 rapid screening tests and 15 084 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

As of yesterday, Zimbabwe had 51 confirmed cases, 18 recoveries and four deaths. Globally, there are 5,01 million Covid-19 recorded infections, 1,91 million recoveries and 328 000 deaths.

Official sources directly involved in the management of the highly infectious respiratory disease told the Independent in off-the-record briefings this week that there was a real danger of an escalation in Covid-19 infections over the next two to three weeks owing to undetected cases.

The sources said the National Micro-Biology Centre at Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare is grappling with mounting samples which have not been tested since last week.

As of Monday, the sources said, the centre had 4 000 samples collected in Harare alone that have not been tested. Figures from Bulawayo and other centres were not immediately available.

“What this means is that all these people are freely roaming the streets and, in the event that some of them are infected, they could be spreading the virus. Remember that as of now, the country is only testing those who develop symptoms similar to Covid-19 who want to know their status. There is very little proactive testing going on,” a source said.

“There is no reagent now in the country as we speak and the situation is really scary especially if you look at it in the context of the decision by government to significantly ease the lockdown even without having first satisfied the minimum requirements as stipulated by the World Health Organisation. The effects are likely to be felt in two or so weeks,” the source said.

The development comes after the closure of the Bulawayo testing centre for almost a week, after the Mpilo Central Hospital’s National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory ran out of consumables.

The government had aimed at testing 1 000 people per day, but is conducting only 443 PCR diagnostic tests, less than half the target.

Contacted for comment, Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo confirmed that the government is struggling to replenish the test kits, saying its plan to increase testing capacity was now highly compromised.

“Going forward, we plan to increase the number of tests per day but we are hampered by lack of access to test kits and PPE (personal protective equipment),” Moyo said.

The recently appointed chief coordinator of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet Agnes Mahomva said Zimbabwe’s test kit challenges were not unique as many other countries are experiencing the same shortages.

She said the government’s priority has now been refocussed on ensuring the continuation of testing, regardless of the nagging challenges.

“For the nitty-gritties, you can ask Dr (Gibson) Mhlanga (acting permanent secretary). We are continuing testing as we receive the kits and it is not just Zimbabwe facing the challenges. It is no longer about having stocks, but just enough to continue testing,” Mahomva said.

The government had planned to test at least 40 000 people by the end of April, widening the criteria for those who qualify for testing to include: all returning citizens, admitted patients over 60 years, everyone in contact with a positive case, all patients with fever, among other conditions.

Furthermore, private companies that wished to resume business were also ordered to test, sanitise and monitor the temperature of employees, but very few firms can afford the high cost involved of procuring the test kits.

Zimbabwe, which recently extended the begging bowl to the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance, is heavily reliant on the donor community for test kits as it cannot fund its own procurement.

According to a document that was leaked on social media last month, Zimbabwe had only 500 test kits available on April 4 for use and these were donated by the World Health Organisation, while the 20 000 donated by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Foundation were not usable, as they had missing reagents.

The business sector and donor community in the country have been making frantic efforts to acquire more lab kits to increase Zimbabwe’s testing rate.

The Bulawayo testing centre was being supported by the National University of Science and Technology’s Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC) after it moved in some of its equipment to complement government efforts in fighting the pandemic.

Indications are that Zimbabwe has a long way to go before it can lift the Covid-19 lockdown as the situation on the ground has proven that the country lacks the capacity to effectively test citizens as stipulated by the World Health Organisation.

The WHO says any government that wants to lift restrictions must first meet six conditions to attest that: health systems are able to “detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact”; that disease transmission is under control; that hot spot risks are minimised in vulnerable places, such as nursing homes; and that schools, workplaces and other essential places have established preventive measures.

The conditions also include ensuring the risk of importing new cases “can be managed” and that communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal.

“One of the main things we’ve learned in the p

ast months about Covid-19 is that the faster all cases are found, tested, isolated and cared for, the harder we make it for the virus to spread,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

MDC NATIONAL STANDING COMMITTEE

2014

1. Morgan Tsvangirai President
2. Thokozani Khupe Deputy President
3. Lovemore Moyo Chairman
4. Morgen Komichi Deputy Chairman
5. Douglas Mwonzora Secretary General
6. Paurina Mupariwa Deputy Secretary General
7. Theresa Makone Treasurer General
8. Charlton Hwende Deputy Treasurer General
9. Abednico Bhebhe Organising Secretary
10. Thamusaqa Mahlangu Deputy Organising Secretary
11. Obert Gutu Information Secretary
12. Thabita Khumalo Deputy Information Secretary
13. Murisi Zwizwai Secretary for Elections
14. Happymore Chidziva Youth Assembly Chairperson
15. Lynnette Kore Women Assembly chairperson

VICTORIA Falls councillor Richard Mguni who was recently elected the town’s mayor by councillors aligned to an MDC faction led by Mr Nelson Chamisa has gone to court challenging Government’s decision to reinstate his predecessor, Cllr Somvelo Dlamini.

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo reinstated Cllr Dlamini as a councillor for Ward 9 after reversing his earlier decision declaring the seat vacant. The Minister then directed that Cllr Dlamini must revert to being Victoria Falls mayor.

Cllr Dlamini was expelled by MDC Alliance through a letter written by the party’s secretary Mr Charlton Hwende on February 24 on allegations of violating party rules and undermining protocol, leading to the Minister declaring the seat vacant.

The other 10 Victoria Falls councillors then sat as a full council meeting and elected Ward 5 Cllr Mguni as the new mayor to replace Cllr Dlamini despite the municipal management insisting that the election be deferred.

Cllr Mguni who has been a councillor since 2013, defeated Ward 4 Cllr Patricia Mwale by six votes to four. Cllr Mwale had been acting mayor since the expulsion of Cllr Dlamini.

Earlier this month, Minister Moyo reinstated Cllr Dlamini on the basis of a letter written by Mr Douglas Mwonzora who is secretary general of the MDC-T of 2014, as per the recent Supreme Court ruling which recognised Dr Thokozani Khupe as the party leader.

Cllr Mguni through his lawyers Ncube Attorney, filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court citing Minister Moyo, Cllr Dlamini and Victoria Falls Municipality as respondents.

In his founding affidavit, Cllr Mguni said Minister Moyo’s directive is unlawful, arguing that Cllr Dlamini lawfully vacated the office of the mayor.

“I am bringing this application in my capacity as the mayor of Victoria Falls as well as in my capacity as Ward 5 councillor under the Victoria Falls Municipality. The first respondent (Minister Moyo) in essence wants someone who resigned as a mayor to illegally hold the position contrary to the law,” he said.

“The consequence of such action is to have illegalities perpetrated by foisting a non-mayor to be mayor when councillors have lawfully elected a mayor. Such unlawfulness needs to be urgently interdicted.”

Cllr Mguni argued that his election as mayor is unassailable and its nullification by Minister Moyo is in violation of the law.

“For the first respondent to reverse the recall decision by my party in terms of section 129 (k) as read with section 278 (1) of the Constitution or his direction for an election, and my election, he has to go to court. He cannot reverse either decision legally, he needs a court order,” he said.

Cllr Mguni said reliance on the memorandum by the Victoria Falls Municipality violates his constitutional rights, including the right to seek and hold public office as set out in the political rights.

“I therefore seek an order interdicting Victoria Falls Municipality from carrying into effect the instruction of the Minister as set out in his memorandum of 12 May 2020,” he said.

In a letter dated May 5, 2020 written to Cllr Dlamini and Victoria Falls Municipality, Minister Moyo said the former mayor has been reinstated with immediate effect without loss of benefits.

“Following receipt of a letter from the secretary general of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) stating that it is reversing your recall, I hereby withdraw my letter of 25 March 2020 dismissing you from council. You are hereby re-instated as councillor for Ward 9 Victoria Falls Municipality without loss of allowances,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Cllr Dlamini was reinstated as a councillor and as such there was no provision for an election of a new mayor. The Minister said Cllr Dlamini retains his mayoral post until the end of his term of office.

“In terms of section 316, I hereby order that the election for a new mayor of Victoria Falls is nullified and Cllr S Dlamini continues in the office,” he said.

The respondents are yet to respond.

State Media

A young Zimbabwe boy touched the hearts of many in the country after a video in which he was lamenting about missing bread for breakfast went viral on social media.

In the video, 3-year-old Zoolian Karendo from Chinhoyi’s Chikonohono suburb can be heard telling his father that he is fed up with having sweet potatoes for breakfast. When the father jokingly asks what he would prefer, Zoolian tells him that he would rather have bread instead.

However, due to the skyrocketing inflation and deterioration of salaries, as well as the national lockdown, most families in Zimbabwe cannot afford to buy bread and have resorted to alternatives such as sweet potatoes, yams, rice and even sadza  (pap) for breakfast.

The video which was recorded by Zoolian’s father’s friend went viral on social media where it touched the hearts of many.

In a development which many may not have foreseen, Zimbabwean companies quickly moved to locate the 3-year-old boy seeking to bless him with their products to ensure that he enjoys his breakfast.

At the time of publishing, at least 6 corporates had pledged to donate hampers and goodies to Zoolian.

Below are some of the messages which the companies shared on social media.

Proton Bakers kickstarted the whole event when they offered to supply Zoolian with a month’s worth of bread.  They have since located him and fulfilled their pledge. Writing on Twitter, radio and television personality KVG wrote:

Twithearts please help us locate this little Boy toda kumukwadza nechingwa chedu (we want to satisfy him with our bread)…#oneMonthsupplyofbread #bestofthebest #ProtonBakers Let’s get to work the bread is in the oven.

Added Proton:

Good morning Royals…The Proton team is happy to let you know we found the boy he is From Chinhoyi and we got the link from one of ours here on Twitter maita basa (thank you). #tomukuvadzanechingwachedu (we will satisfy him with our bread)

Not to be outdone, rivals Bakers Inn also said:

Sweet potatoes are only sweet for so long.
Help us find this little gent, we have a sweet surprise for him. Retweet to spread the word! #BakersInnBread #SweetSurprise

ZimGold Cooking Oil also added that they would supply Zoolian with the margarine to go with his bread:

We have heard his cry. Akuvara ne mbambaira. Chingwa chaapihwa ne Proton chinoda margarine. We have decided to bless him with margarine. Let us keep him all cheered up by continuing to like and retweeting timukuvadze nezvinonaka!!
#Zimgold #SweetSuprise #spreadthelove

Roil Cooking Oil also joined the party and pledged to donate a cooking oil hamper to Zoolian so that he may have fried sweet potatoes.

We don’t know if you can fry sweet potatoes but help us to find this little man, we have a Cooking Oil hamper to make his breakfast a whole lot better. Kindly retweet so the little guy gets his hamper.

Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited added that they would supply the little man with their iconic Chimombe Milk and Quickbrew Tea.

Chingwa chine margarine chinoda chine Quickbrew tea ine Dairibord Chimombe kuti zvinyatso dzika. Let us find this young man and give him the perfect breakfast.
#Dairibord #QuickbrewTea #Chimombe #SweetSurprise

Irvine’s Zimbabwe rounded off the breakfast by pledging to supply Zoolian with eggs and sausages.

Mwana asingachemi anofira mumbereko! Little guy has put a voice to his complaint, akuvara nembambaira mwana. We at Irvine’s have decided to provide him with eggs and sausages, breakfast yakakwana inoda mazai nesausage zvekwaIrvine’s!

Correspondents|POLICE on Friday arrested private media journalists Frank Chikowore and Samuel Takawira at a hospital in Harare where three MDC Alliance activists are hospitalised.

Chikowore works for Voice of America’s Studio 7 while Takawira works for online website, 263Chat.

The scribes had visited the health facility in Harare’s Waterfalls suburb to conduct interviews with Harare West MP Joanna Mamombe, activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.

The MDC trio made world news recently when it was seized from a police station by suspected state agents who drove it outside Harare to subject it to horrendous acts of physical and sexual abuse.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a lobby for media rights, has since dispatched lawyers to follow up on the journalists’ arrests.

MISA

The drama began when Ndamule’s side chick who supposedly didn’t want to be continually and “s.e.xually” sidelined by the Covid-19 lockdown, phoned her married lover while begging him to come to her house to spend a night with her.

A Bulawayo man, Mlungisi Ndamule (31), severely pounced on his wife Simangaliso Gumbo after she stopped him from pursuing romantic interests with his lover amid Covid-19. It would appear he preferred being locked down with his girlfriend.

A noisy row reportedly erupted when Ndamule, who seemed to be at the peak of passion for his lover, started packing his clothes, and his wife who could not accept it stopped him from doing so. In a fit of rage, Ndamule severely assaulted his wife with fists and open hands all over the body.

As a result of the attack, Gumbo was referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for medication. The matter was then reported to the police leading to Ndamule’s arrest.

For the offense Ndamule was hauled before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Munjanja facing charges of domestic violence.

In court Gumbo said all hell broke loose when she stopped her husband from meeting with his girlfriend.

“It was on 28 March 2020 and we were at our house when I had a misunderstanding with my husband after he packed his belongings with the intention of going to his girlfriend’s place.

“When I stopped him from doing so, that didn’t go down well with him when he started assaulting me with fists and open hands all over the body,” reads part of Gumbo’s report which was heard in court.

On 28 March, the lockdown had been announced but it took effect on 30 March.

Ndamule, however, didn’t waste the court’s time when he pleaded guilty to the charge of physical abuse as read in the Domestic Violence Act leading to his subsequent conviction.

In mitigation Ndamule apparently irked the magistrate when he unremorsefully defended himself saying he assaulted his wife because she had stopped him from meeting his girlfriend.

His behavior of taking pride in beating up his wife seemed to have annoyed the magistrate who remanded him in custody awaiting sentence.

Reinstated MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has failed to categorically rule out contesting interim President Thokozani Khupe for the presidency of the party in the Extraordinary Congress to be held on the 31st of July.

Speaking in a hurried press conference in Harare on Friday, Mwonzora said the MDC-T has a lot of capable people to lead the party.

Watch video downloading below. Please be patient as the video downloads.

By A Correspondent| Ousted deputy Minister of Information, Publicty and Broadcasting Services Energy Mutodi lost valuables including 30 pairs of designer suits worth US$11 000 to thieves who broke into his Borrowdale residence in Harare.

The thieves, brothers Denver and Cosmos Zvomuya, Fidelis Martin Mandaza and Pardon Magombo were arrested and have since appeared in court charged with theft.

Zvomuya brothers and Mandaza admitted to the charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Sheunesu Matowa. Magombo denied the charges saying he was only hired to ferry the stolen property.

He told the court that he was not in the know that the items had been stolen.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest updates.

Samantha Murozoki has touched the hearts of many across the world after she started providing food to the vulnerable and needy on her own initiative. The mother of two prepares porridge in the mornings for children and supper later in the day for hungry families in Chitungwiza’s Seke Unit A.

Muzoroki has revealed that she never planned to set up the family kitchen and only did it after being moved by the plight of people who were starving in her community.

“I started with a 2kg packet of rice and 500g of beans. The number of people needing food has doubled since then. It’s not something that I had planned for,” 

Her kitchen was unceremoniously closed down leading to a widespread uproar. The kitchen has since been reopened. Why was is closed down in the first place?

Watch live video discussion downloading below. Please be patient as the video downloads.

For the past 19 days, Samantha Murozoki, an immigration lawyer, has been helping the most vulnerable residents of her neighbourhood in Chitungwiza.

From nowhere the local authority closed down the kitchen. Lawyers have advised that the kitchen has been reopened.

SACKED deputy Minister of Information, Publicty and Broadcasting Services Energy Mutodi lost valuables including 30 pairs of designer suits worth US$11 000 to thieves who broke into his Borrowdale residence in Harare.

The thieves, brothers Denver and Cosmos Zvomuya, Fidelis Martin Mandaza and Pardon Magombo were arrested and have since appeared in court charged with theft.

Zvomuya brothers and Mandaza admitted to the charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Sheunesu Matowa.

Magombo denied the charges saying he was only hired to ferry the stolen property- The Herald

Douglas Mwonzora accompanied by Morgen Komichi and Elias Mudzuri have held a counter press conference to the one held by the MDC-T 2014 National Council at Harvest House yesterday.

Watch the press conference in the video downloading below. Please be patient as the video downloads.

By A Correspondent- “The mood is that the people are very happy that Jane Ansah has resigned”, said a political analyst from Malawi in an exclusive interview with ZimEye.

The statement comes following revelations that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chief Jane Ansah has stepped down with just a month to go before the country holds a court-ordered presidential election rerun.

Malawi must hold fresh polls after the Constitutional Court overturned the results of last year’s controversial election, which handed President Peter Mutharika a second term.

The government recently announced that the elections are set to be held in June.

Watch the live video oading below

Who is who in this crisis? Is it Nelson Chamisa or Douglas Mwonzora?

Wtach the live video loading below…..

By A Correspondent- The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe has given the Zimbabwe Media Commission a 24-hour ultimatum to suspend the proposed new media accreditation categories, saying the proposed categories were discriminatory, dangerous and injurious to media freedom.

In the letter addressed to ZMC chief executive officer Tafataona Mahoso, Misa-Zimbabwe said they were giving Mahoso up to today midday to favourably respond to their concerns or else they would approach the courts for recourse.

“It has come to our attention that the ZMC secretariat intends to introduce new accreditation categories for the 2020 registration of media houses and accreditation of journalists in the next few days. Misa-Zimbabwe strongly objects to the introduction of the proposed new categories,” the letter reads.

The media body said the distinctions between the type of work carried out by journalists and other media practitioners were not as clear-cut as suggested by the proposed new categories.

Misa-Zimbabwe said ZMC proceeded to notify the Zimbabwe Republic Police of the changes without consulting the media industry, saying they could have worked the plan together to make sure that the accreditation process is free of controversy.

“We, therefore, now call for the suspension of your projected introduction of the proposed new categories pending the completion of a consultative process that should enable ZMC secretariat and concerned stakeholders to agree on the best mutually beneficial accreditation system.”

The ZMC yesterday acknowledged receipt of the letter and promised to look into the concerns today.

The media regulator said the decision was made after considering concerns raised by the media itself.

“It is the feeling of the commission that certain issues need to be solved amicably without resorting to courts of law,” part of the letter signed by Academy Chinamhora on behalf of Mahoso reads.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe is sitting on a potentially catastrophic Covid-19 timebomb as the government is fast running out of test kits and protective clothing, resulting in a huge backlog of thousands of untested laboratory samples countrywide.

For almost a month now, the government has missed its target of testing 1 000 people per day.The government had targeted to have tested at least 40 000 people by the end of April, but as of yesterday 34 707 tests had been conducted, consisting of 19 623 rapid screening tests and 15 084 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

Returnees quarantined at Harare Polytechnic College have revealed that they are not being tested for COVID -19 despite being quarantined for two weeks.

In an exclusive interview with ZimEye, the returnees said it was not logical for government to quarantine citizens returning from different countries including Botswana, South Africa and Namibia but fail to test them.

The returnees requested for an official government statement regarding why they are not being tested for the past two weeks.

Said the returnees:

“We are told that there are no test kits and the other officials do not give us a satisfactory answer saying they are not in a position to comment.”

The returnees also said the sanitary facilities at the Harare Polytechnic College were deplorable.

He said:

“We have no water, no sanitisers and the bins are not collected. We are afraid of catching the virus from here.

The government has done well on food but we are worried that nothing is being done regards testing us.

We are just being mixed with new arrivals who are not tested and our fear is that we will contract the virus becuase there is no due diligence regards those that are coming here after us.”

Watch the live video loading below…

Reported the Independent:

“As of yesterday, Zimbabwe had 51 confirmed cases, 18 recoveries and four deaths. Globally, there are 5,01 million Covid-19 recorded infections, 1,91 million recoveries and 328 000 deaths.

Official sources directly involved in the management of the highly infectious respiratory disease told the Independent in off-the-record briefings this week that there was a real danger of an escalation in Covid-19 infections over the next two to three weeks owing to undetected cases.
The sources said the National Micro-Biology Centre at Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare is grappling with mounting samples which have not been tested since last week.

As of Monday, the sources said, the centre had 4 000 samples collected in Harare alone that have not been tested. Figures from Bulawayo and other centres were not immediately available.

“What this means is that all these people are freely roaming the streets and, in the event that some of them are infected, they could be spreading the virus. Remember that as of now, the country is only testing those who develop symptoms similar to Covid-19 who want to know their status. There is very little proactive testing going on,” a source said.

“There is no reagent now in the country as we speak and the situation is really scary especially if you look at it in the context of the decision by government to significantly ease the lockdown even without having first satisfied the minimum requirements as stipulated by the World Health Organisation. The effects are likely to be felt in two or so weeks,” the source said.

The development comes after the closure of the Bulawayo testing centre for almost a week, after the Mpilo Central Hospital’s National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory ran out of consumables.

The government had aimed at testing 1 000 people per day, but is conducting only 443 PCR diagnostic tests, less than half the target.
Contacted for comment, Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo confirmed that the government is struggling to replenish the test kits, saying its plan to increase testing capacity was now highly compromised.

“Going forward, we plan to increase the number of tests per day but we are hampered by lack of access to test kits and PPE (personal protective equipment),” Moyo said.

The recently appointed chief coordinator of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet Agnes Mahomva said Zimbabwe’s test kit challenges were not unique as many other countries are experiencing the same shortages.

She said the government’s priority has now been refocussed on ensuring the continuation of testing, regardless of the nagging challenges.

“For the nitty-gritties, you can ask Dr (Gibson) Mhlanga (acting permanent secretary). We are continuing testing as we receive the kits and it is not just Zimbabwe facing the challenges. It is no longer about having stocks, but just enough to continue testing,” Mahomva said.

The government had planned to test at least 40 000 people by the end of April, widening the criteria for those who qualify for testing to include: all returning citizens, admitted patients over 60 years, everyone in contact with a positive case, all patients with fever, among other conditions.

Furthermore, private companies that wished to resume business were also ordered to test, sanitise and monitor the temperature of employees, but very few firms can afford the high cost involved of procuring the test kits.

Zimbabwe, which recently extended the begging bowl to the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance, is heavily reliant on the donor community for test kits as it cannot fund its own procurement.

According to a document that was leaked on social media last month, Zimbabwe had only 500 test kits available on April 4 for use and these were donated by the World Health Organisation, while the 20 000 donated by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Foundation were not usable, as they had missing reagents. The business sector and donor community in the country have been making frantic efforts to acquire more lab kits to increase Zimbabwe’s testing rate.

The Bulawayo testing centre was being supported by the National University of Science and Technology’s Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC) after it moved in some of its equipment to complement government efforts in fighting the pandemic.

Indications are that Zimbabwe has a long way to go before it can lift the Covid-19 lockdown as the situation on the ground has proven that the country lacks the capacity to effectively test citizens as stipulated by the World Health Organisation.

The WHO says any government that wants to lift restrictions must first meet six conditions to attest that: health systems are able to “detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact”; that disease transmission is under control; that hot spot risks are minimised in vulnerable places, such as nursing homes; and that schools, workplaces and other essential places have established preventive measures.

The conditions also include ensuring the risk of importing new cases “can be managed” and that communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal.

“One of the main things we’ve learned in the past months about Covid-19 is that the faster all cases are found, tested, isolated and cared for, the harder we make it for the virus to spread,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

VICTORIA Falls councillor Richard Mguni who was recently elected the town’s mayor by councillors aligned to an MDC faction led by Mr Nelson Chamisa has gone to court challenging Government’s decision to reinstate his predecessor, Cllr Somvelo Dlamini.

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo reinstated Cllr Dlamini as a councillor for Ward 9 after reversing his earlier decision declaring the seat vacant. The Minister then directed that Cllr Dlamini must revert to being Victoria Falls mayor.

Cllr Dlamini was expelled by MDC Alliance through a letter written by the party’s secretary Mr Charlton Hwende on February 24 on allegations of violating party rules and undermining protocol, leading to the Minister declaring the seat vacant.

The other 10 Victoria Falls councillors then sat as a full council meeting and elected Ward 5 Cllr Mguni as the new mayor to replace Cllr Dlamini despite the municipal management insisting that the election be deferred.

Cllr Mguni who has been a councillor since 2013, defeated Ward 4 Cllr Patricia Mwale by six votes to four. Cllr Mwale had been acting mayor since the expulsion of Cllr Dlamini.

Earlier this month, Minister Moyo reinstated Cllr Dlamini on the basis of a letter written by Mr Douglas Mwonzora who is secretary general of the MDC-T of 2014, as per the recent Supreme Court ruling which recognised Dr Thokozani Khupe as the party leader.

Cllr Mguni through his lawyers Ncube Attorney, filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court citing Minister Moyo, Cllr Dlamini and Victoria Falls Municipality as respondents.

In his founding affidavit, Cllr Mguni said Minister Moyo’s directive is unlawful, arguing that Cllr Dlamini lawfully vacated the office of the mayor.

“I am bringing this application in my capacity as the mayor of Victoria Falls as well as in my capacity as Ward 5 councillor under the Victoria Falls Municipality. The first respondent (Minister Moyo) in essence wants someone who resigned as a mayor to illegally hold the position contrary to the law,” he said.

“The consequence of such action is to have illegalities perpetrated by foisting a non-mayor to be mayor when councillors have lawfully elected a mayor. Such unlawfulness needs to be urgently interdicted.”

Cllr Mguni argued that his election as mayor is unassailable and its nullification by Minister Moyo is in violation of the law.

“For the first respondent to reverse the recall decision by my party in terms of section 129 (k) as read with section 278 (1) of the Constitution or his direction for an election, and my election, he has to go to court. He cannot reverse either decision legally, he needs a court order,” he said.

Cllr Mguni said reliance on the memorandum by the Victoria Falls Municipality violates his constitutional rights, including the right to seek and hold public office as set out in the political rights.

“I therefore seek an order interdicting Victoria Falls Municipality from carrying into effect the instruction of the Minister as set out in his memorandum of 12 May 2020,” he said.

In a letter dated May 5, 2020 written to Cllr Dlamini and Victoria Falls Municipality, Minister Moyo said the former mayor has been reinstated with immediate effect without loss of benefits.

“Following receipt of a letter from the secretary general of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) stating that it is reversing your recall, I hereby withdraw my letter of 25 March 2020 dismissing you from council. You are hereby re-instated as councillor for Ward 9 Victoria Falls Municipality without loss of allowances,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Cllr Dlamini was reinstated as a councillor and as such there was no provision for an election of a new mayor. The Minister said Cllr Dlamini retains his mayoral post until the end of his term of office.

“In terms of section 316, I hereby order that the election for a new mayor of Victoria Falls is nullified and Cllr S Dlamini continues in the office,” he said.

The respondents are yet to respond.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- The government of Malawi will reportedly repatriate 90 Malawian citizens out of Zimbabwe’s quarantine facilities.

Malawi Ambassador Zimbabwe Annie Kumwenda confirmed the development and said:

“I would like to update you that due to COVID-19, beginning tomorrow Malawian nationals from South Africca will be transiting through Zimbabwe. Four buses have already left Johannesburg yesterday afternoon.

There were some Malawian nationals who were intercepted by ZRP for using unacceptable means of transport. They are at Moffat Primary School. The embassy is working on repatriating them on Saturday

The ambassador was reportedly responding to reports that 14 Malawians had gone on a hunger strike after they were isolated at a quarantine facility in Masvingo.

By Own Correspondent| A Gweru traditional leader has sued police officers and soldiers for violating his rights after he was brutalised by the law enforcement agents during the national
lockdown period.

Chief Trymore Nhari on Monday 11 May 2020 served a notice of intention to sue for payment of damages on Godwin Matanga, the Commissioner-General of Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, wherein he recounted his ordeal at the hands of some ZRP members, who assaulted him twice in one day together with his acquaintance Shepard Moyo on 30 April 2020 while they were in the central business district of Gweru in Midlands province.

In the notice of intention to sue, which was prepared by a lawyer from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Nhari demanded to be paid ZWL$300 000 in damages after ZRP officers damaged his Chief’s badge, his three mobile phone handsets, his wrist watch and a laptop and also broke his left arm.

By A Correspondent- MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora Thursday teared into government over the recent abduction and torture of MDC Alliance MP Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova by suspected state security agents.

Mwonzora queried this in parliament in a question directed to Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.

Mamombe and the two other party youth leaders were arrested before being abducted at a police checkpoint near the National Sports Stadium in Harare. The trio’s whereabouts could however not be located for two days before they were found the next day in Bindura brutally assaulted amid allegations they were also sexually abused.

They are currently hospitalised at a private Waterfalls hospital in Harare under 24 hour police watch.

Said Mwonzora:

“Regarding the abduction and torture of three girls including an MP Joanna Mamombe at the hands State agents last week, what has government done about the incident? What is the government doing to make sure this does not happen again?”

In response, Ziyambi said the police were interested in interviewing and possibly arresting the trio for taking part in an illegal demonstration despite a government directive against such during the Lockdown.

The Zanu PF minister said the State was not concerned about the abductions and torture claims.

Responded Ziyambi:

“Police are keen to interrogate the three MDC young women leaders who led a demonstration during a Covid-19 lockdown restriction.

I acknowledge the allegations that these three decided to hold a demo under lockdown conditions. I am not sure whether they were tortured or not. Police are keen to interrogate them over the protests. As government, we have no reason to abduct anyone.” .

By A Correspondent- Murder suspect Emmanuel Anesu Matsika, who was arrested after being found with a decomposing human head in a plastic bag, has turned down State lawyers saying “most people serving the harshest sentences at Chikurubi prison were represented by state lawyers.”

 Matsika was arrested after he was found with the head in December 2018, while driving around the town with the head in the trunk of his FunCargo vehicle.

In one incident he decided to pull the head from the bag to scare a taxi driver, while pretending to be going on some errands.

Matsika has this week appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzayi Mugwagwa and is due to stand trial at the High Court on June 8.

He turned down the chance to have legal help telling the court: “I do not want a lawyer because I realised that most people serving the harshest sentences at Chikurubi prison were represented by state lawyers.

“I will be a self-actor,” he said.

The State’s case is that in 2018, Matsika approached a witch doctor called Boss Maki seeking spiritual intervention to solve his personal problems.

Maki apparently then told Matsika his troubles were a result of evil spirits emanating from the underworld and that he was supposed to kill somebody to overcome the demons and become the devil himself.

The prosecution allege Matsika was told to decapitate a human being and keep the head on his person all the time until it developed maggots, as this would silence the avenging spirit of the deceased person.

He was also allegedly instructed not to wipe the weapon used in the murder until the deceased person’s spirit had been calmed.

Three weeks later the court heard claims Matsika picked a victim at random and carried out the appalling murder.

In a bizarre twist, the court heard Matsika later decided to steal from people using the severed head to frighten them.

On December 22, he got in a taxi with the decomposing head and pretended he was going to pick up something in Belvedere, Harare.

-statemedia

bY a Correspondent- Zimbabweans who overstayed their temporary permits due to South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown have been banned for five years from re-entering, despite earlier promises of exemptions.

Among these are some Zimbabweans who made use of specially arranged buses over the weekend to return home. They were shocked when they were told by officials at the Beitbridge border post that they could not return to South Africa for five years.

This seems to be contrary to a special arrangement that was announced in March and published on April 14 on the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

One woman, who returned home on Saturday 16 May, was given a paper stating that the reason for her five-year ban is that she has “overstayed by 37 days, at a time”.

She was declared an “undesirable person”.

This is despite a statement by the government saying holders of visas “which expired from mid-February 2020” and who did not renew their visas before the lockdown, “will not be declared illegal or prohibited persons”. 

The woman was among 200 Zimbabweans who made use of buses sponsored by South Africa-based Zimbabwean businessman Justice Maphosa to facilitate those who wanted to return to Zimbabwe but who were out of pocket.

She said when they got to the Beitbridge border post, those with expired papers got an unpleasant surprise.

“They said, those who have got a valid passport, make your own line. Those who have overstayed because of lockdown, make your own line. When the immigration stamped the passport, those who had the passport who expired during the lockdown, they were given the stamp for five years.” 

She said she had been in South Africa to visit relatives and “got stuck” because of the lockdown. The woman is currently undergoing 21-day quarantine with a group of fellow travellers at the Masvingo Polytechnic, a government-owned college. 

Asked whether she would have stayed in South Africa if she had known about this ban, she said: “Because of the situation down there [in South Africa], I think people will sacrifice and they will say they have no passports, and cross the border as border jumpers without passport,” she said. 

Like many South Africans, Zimbabweans living in South Africa have been without an income for over a month now due to the lockdown, but many of them are not entitled to the relief measures announced by the South African government.

There is anecdotal evidence that, outside of the lockdown period, this kind of border jumping has been the standard procedure for Zimbabweans who have overstayed their permits in South Africa. 

The woman said the same ban was issued to some of her compatriots who paid R600 each to return on chartered buses last week, and the week before there were similar reports in the local media when 141 Zimbabweans returned home.

There were also claims on social media of delays at the South African border of up to 16 hours, and of longer delays for vehicles transporting goods.

A Zanu-PF MP from the Beitbridge East constituency, Albert Nguluvhe, was quoted as saying these bans might have been an “overreaction” by South African immigration officials because some of those among the early returnees were shoppers caught up when the lockdown commenced.

-Online

By A Correspondent- Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairman Tafadzwa Musarara yesterday made sensational claims that Gokwe-Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena was using Parliament to settle personal scores after he failed to land a grain transportation contract.

Musarara made the claims in Parliament after a stormy meeting in which Wadyajena barred him from speaking through his lawyers when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture.

The GMAZ boss was supposed to answer questions on how his company, Drotsky was involved in the US$28,2 million from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to import grain.

Drotsky, a member of GMAZ, was authorised by millers to bring imported wheat.

Musarara brought his lawyer Lewis Uriri after Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Chokuda, on Tuesday consented to his request to have legal representation in the hearing.

But Wadyajena said Chokuda’s letter only allowed Musarara to come in the company of the lawyers who would not speak on his behalf.

“. . . all questions will be put to the client (Musarara) who will answer, but may be allowed to consult his lawyer (Uriri) wherever necessary,” Wadyajena said.

Wadyajena’s remarks triggered emotions with Musarara threatening to walk out of the meeting. “I am not going to proceed if my rights are trampled. I am going to walk out,” he said.

“Your interpretation of the letter is wrong,” Musarara added, resulting in Wadyajena shouting “Order”. Musarara then shouted back, “Order to you too chairman”.

Wadyajena had to adjourn the committee temporarily to consult with Chokuda on the way forward.

Later, he said: “We have to excuse you, but I must highlight that as a committee we will proceed with our report on the issue,” he said.

“The RBZ governor John Mangudya issued documents before Parliament which show that you got US$28,2 million to import grain.

“He also provided documents on the issue of who made the application. You said it was Drotsky, but the documents show that it was GMAZ.”

But after the meeting, Musarara told journalists that Wadyajena was bitter because he failed to get a contract to transport grain.

“He (Wadyajena) was looking for a transport contract because the chairman of the Lands and Agriculture Committee has a transport company. That is why we said he must be recused from chairing because he is conflicted,” Musarara said.

Wadyajena, however, denied the claims, telling journalists that although he has a transport business, he never had business relations with Musarara.

Musarara said that his company, Drotsky had actually saved the country from hunger in 2016/2017 when it brought in the grain on behalf of eight other milling companies under GMAZ who also acknowledged that they received delivery of the grain.

“We feel it is acrimony and that this enquiry has another agenda,” Musarara said.

“2016/17 had problems with foreign currency and Holbud is the biggest supplier to government which could not raise letters of credit (LCs) to pay them upfront.

“I went on to use my capital to bring this wheat and Holbud said they were going to consign it in my name instead of consigning it to all eight millers.

“The RBZ acknowledged that they received money from GMAZ and remitted it through our bankers Ecobank. The wheat came and we gave it to all the millers.”

Wadyajena said they will now proceed to do a report on his committee’s findings to be tabled before Parliament.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Two Harare journalists have been arrested in Waterfalls Harare.

The duo, Samuel Takawira and Frank Chikoore have been taken to Waterfalls police station.

ZimEye is yet to establish the charges being levelled against them .

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest updates.

By Wilbert Mukori- “EU, UK, US light fires under Mnangagwa!” screamed a local publication.

There is increasing pressure on the regime to explain the country’s worsening human rights violations including the recent abduction and torture of MDC youth leaders

“The Heads of Mission expect from the Government of Zimbabwe a swift, thorough and credible investigation into the abduction and torture of opposition Member of Parliament Joanna Mamombe, along with Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova and allegations of the assault on Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu in Bulawayo,” the joint statement demands.

“The Heads of Mission further urge all protagonists to resolve political conflicts through constructive dialogue and remain clear that international re-engagement is contingent on genuine and sustained implementation of political and economic reform.”

Implement reform! There is no chance of that happening.

There is a déjà vu wariness over these demands to investigate human rights abuses and calls to implement meaningful reforms. The same calls and demands have been made and repeated countless times; nothing of note was accomplished then. And it is almost certain that nothing of note will be accomplished now!

Zanu PF is a regime desperate to hang on to power at all cost and one sure way to achieve this is keeping its heavy tyrannical boot on the populous’ collective neck to cow the nation into submission. However, to appease those demanding an end to human rights abuses, the regime has traded more softly on its victims without ever allowing them to get out of the gutter!

In the rural areas, away from close media and public scrutiny of the urban centres, Zanu PF rules the roost. The regime’s heavy boot is particularly heavy and is rightly feared. The rural people have been reduced to nothing more than medieval serfs forever grovelling to their Zanu PF lords.

As long as Zanu PF remains in office, the party will never implement any meaningful reforms to take away its tyrannical powers over the people and thus risk losing its iron grip on power.

The best hope of getting the reforms implemented was by making sure Zanu PF did not get back into office in the first place.

Zanu PF shoot itself in the foot by blatantly rigging the July 2018 elections, the regime had no electoral mandate and therefore was illegitimate. The EU, the Americans and most of the international community dismissed the elections as a farce.

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” concluded the EU Election Observer Mission final report.

“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

Still what everyone else said about the election did not matter if the people of Zimbabwe, those on coal face, endorsed them as free, fair and credible. And by participating in the elections in droves, Zimbabwe’s opposition parties and candidates, at least, gave their resounding endorsement of the July 2018 elections. There were no fewer than 23 candidates in the presidential race alone!

Zimbabwe’s opposition parties and candidates have all endorsed the July 2018 elections as having been free, fair and credible. They could not jolly well dispute the process for having failed to have a verified voters’ roll, for example, when they all knew there was no verified voters’ roll and still participated regardless.

Nelson Chamisa realised that the western nations’ condemnation of the July 2018 elections called into question the legitimacy of Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF regime. To confound the west with confidence, Mnangagwa needed Chamisa’s public endorsement of the electoral process.

 “I hold the key to Mnangagwa’s legitimacy!” boasted Chamisa.

As the price of his endorsement, Chamisa want cabinet positions himself and a few of his MDC A leaders. The only one way to earn legitimacy is by winning the majority vote of the people of Zimbabwe, in a free, fair and credible elections. And none of this nonsense of legitimacy being bargained away like mangoes in the market!

The international community has never endorsed Chamisa’s dubious claim as the winner of the July 2018 elections or his power sharing proposal. The Zanu PF regime is illegitimate with or without the addition of a few MDC A manikins in its cabinet. 

No, as long as Zanu PF remains in power the human rights abuses will continue and no meaningful democratic reforms will ever be implemented. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office. The only real chance of getting the reforms implemented by forcing Zanu PF to step down and getting some independent and competent body appointed to implement the reforms.

Zanu PF must be forced to step down because the party rigged the July 2018 elections and has never had the mandate to govern. The EU, UK, USA and most of the international community have never endorsed Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party as the legitimate government. They can if they so wished demand the regime steps down.

The only question is whether the abduction and torture of the MDC members is the last criminal act by Zanu PF that forced the EU et al to finally say enough is enough? The last straw that broke the camel’s back!

The Independent |THE cost of living in Zimbabwe skyrocketed by $324 to $7 171 by end of April last month due to an increase in fuel prices, limited supply of basic products as well as panic buying by consumers because of the lockdown, a new report has revealed.

At the end of March, the figure stood at $6 846,80.

A survey conducted by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) showed that the cost of living for a family of six shot up by 4,74% to $7 171 in April.

The food basket increased by 4,61% to $4 116,55, while the price of detergents increased by 58,35% to $388,17.

Almost all basic commodities in the period under review registered an increase. These include margarine, sugar, tea leaves, fresh milk, flour, rice, onions, cabbage, salt, meat, bath soap, laundry bar and washing powder.

Decreases were only recorded in mealie-meal, cooking oil, bread and tomatoes.

The increase in the cost of living came as a shocker for many citizens whose monthly incomes hardly go beyond $3 000.

To make matters worse, a number of them have been given half salaries due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

“As CCZ, we assume that the increase in the total figure of the basket can be attributed to the influence of the parallel market on exchange rates, increase in fuel prices, limited supply of some basic products and panic buying by consumers because of the lockdown,” part of the report reads.

“There has been a decline in productivity by firms in the market due to the negative impacts of the coronavirus, but consumers have increased their demand of certain products in fear of future shortages,” it said.

CCZ said mandatory restrictions like the lockdown required citizens to stay at home in order avoid spreading the coronavirus, but on the other hand, these measures had triggered panic-buying, leading to an increase in the price of most basic products.

The consumer lobby group urged consumers to always seek a fair deal on the marketplace by ensuring that their rights are observed, as well as reporting any anomalies on the marketplace.

The consumer lobby group conducts a survey during the first and the last week of every month.

The price of each commodity was arrived at by averaging prices gathered from retail outlets throughout the country.

By A Correspondent- Teachers have called on the government to cancel public examinations and to reconsider the decision to open schools in light of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The teachers have made it clear that they are opposed to the government’s decision to reschedule the Zimsec June exams and to reopen schools.

This comes after the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education announced that the Zimsec June examinations will be written between June 29 and July 22.

The government also announced that there will be a phased reopening of schools possibly in about four weeks time.

Some of the teachers’ unions actually called on the government to follow the example of Cambridge Assessment International Education who cancelled the May/June examinations as back in March after noting concerns about dangers of contracting and transmitting the coronavirus.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu warned that if the government insists that the exams should go ahead, then there will be an industrial conflict with the educators.  Speaking to the state media,  Dr Ndlovu said:

“Scheduling examinations is not a panacea to Covid-19. This is a pandemic that has claimed many lives in the world and continues to do so…

“We are not ready for June examinations. Teachers are not willing. If the authorities go ahead with their plan, we are headed for industrial conflict. We cannot have pronouncements that ignore environmental dictates.

“Government should consider what Cambridge, an international examinations body has done. They cancelled their June examinations and this is something we should consider. Our learners are not in the right psychological space to write examinations. They are fearing for their lives, so are our teachers. Writing an examination at this point may end up defeating the purpose behind examinations unless we are doing them just to tick boxes,”

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) president, Mr Obert Masaraure, added that the examinations should only be written when it is safe to do so,

“There is no rush really. We do not want to lose lives, we should not force premature reopening of schools. Learners, teachers and everyone involved in the processes should be tested before there is any activity at schools — be they exams or lessons,”

The government has since told the teachers’ unions to submit a single paper in which they highlight their concerns. The authorities said that the paper will be taken into consideration when the government will be considering when schools should reopen.

-StateMedia

By  Godard Thabani Bvungidzire-On May 13^th three MDC-Alliance members, Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai Marowa and legislator for Harare West constituency Joanna Mamombe were allegedly abducted after staging a flash demonstration in Harare.

A myriad of social media inconsistencies from government departments of police, information ministry and presidential department ensued in addition to a furore of what is commonly understood as state sponsored cyber bullies known as varakashi (trolls).

Anti cyber bullying trustee Prosper Muromo commented, “The government is guilty of many cyber offences such as deliberately sanctioning trolls, use of moniker by top government officials which they can conveniently deny and outright inconsistencies between the social media posts and pronouncements in other media.”

In the State owned paper The Herald, National Police Spokes Person Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of the trio yet on its twitter handle @PoliceZimbabwe they denied it.

“The ZRP wishes to make it clear that the MDC Alliance members who were involved in an illegal flash demonstration in Warren Park, Harare are not in police custody,” read the tweet.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana posted a quote “It is a diversionary tactic. A poorly choreographed attempt to throw a curve ball at the system.”

Mangwana later claimed this was not the official government position as he was only quoting a troll. Though the tweet came with a disclaimer it carried with it the government’s attitude towards the abductions as well as human rights relating to its critics.

Press Secretary in the Office of the President, George Charamba under the handle @Jamwanda2 tweeted,  “Except for desperation why would a right thinking opposition mount a half hearted, women-led demonstration in an environment where national security structures are on heightened alert because of Covid-19 operations.”

Apart from making the claims that the abductions were staged Charamba goes on to cite the West to be handing the demonstrators as a way of masterminding Zimbabwe’s downfall after its failed biological warfare of the corona virus which he says Zimbabwe has handled well.

Despite his high ranking government position Charamba still tweets under a ghost account a convenient position from which he can deny his compromised content when he has to.

Weighing in on the narrative that the abductions were stage managed are numerous state supported trolls who jest and ridicule opposition members as desperate puppets willing to go to unimaginable lengths for their supper.

The untidiness of the government communications through their social media and the inconsistency of their actions to their self proclaimed new dispensation has been a constant Public Relations nightmare especially to President Mnangagwa’s controversial term of office. .

The terror tactic of abductions has been ZANU PF’s signature since independence with many such as Rashiwe Guzha, Patrick Nabayama and Itai Dzamara abducted and never seen while Tonderai Ndira was only found dead.

During the Gukurahundi genocide mass abductions were carried out with President Mnangagwa being a central figure in the Fifth Brigade’s operations.

The three MDC Alliance ladies were found on May 15^th having been raped, beaten and forced to eat human waste among other humiliating and despicable horrors they had to endure, all this putting a further dent on President Mnangagwa’s term in office and already compromised human rights record.

Own Correspondent|JUSTICE and Parliamentary Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has hinted that the three MDC Alliance abductees are remaining in hospital to avoid being arrested.

Ziyambi accused the three of being “very happy to be at the hospital” where they are recuperating at a private hospital in Harare after being tortured by suspected State security agents.

Speaking during the question and answer session in the Senate on Thursday, Ziyambi said the trio was refusing to cooperate with detectives investigating them for violating lockdown rules and leading an anti-government demonstration before their abduction last Wednesday.

The three are Harare West MP Joanah Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.

“It is a fact that the said individuals broke the law in that we have lockdown regulations that prohibit demonstrations,” Ziyambi said.

“So these individuals are wanted by the police so that they can be interviewed on why they broke the law.

“The same individuals are not co-operating with the police, but seem to be very happy to be at the hospital.”

He added: “As far as the allegations of torture are concerned, if they have anything against the police or against the alleged torture, they are free to report it and the police will look at the allegations.

“Why did they decide to break the law? And one of them is a legislator.”

Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova were abducted last Wednesday after staging a flash demonstration in Warren Park. They went missing for two days and later found dumped at Muchapondwa business centre in Bindura South, heavily battered.

The three are in hospital, and only one has been interviewed by the police while others are still to be questioned after their doctors, who included government health practitioners, agreed that they were not in a stable condition to be interviewed.

“Police still want to interrogate them over violating the lockdown rules, and if they have a complaint on allegations of abductions, then government can look into that,” Ziyambi responded to a question from Douglas Mwonzora on governments reaction to the abductions.

“Indeed, we acknowledge that an allegation of abduction was made, but it is not something substantive because what is known is that the said individuals broke COVID-19 lockdown rules.

“They decided to undertake a demonstration in Warren Park that had the potential of putting the public at risk.”

The Justice minister also alleged that the three purported to have parked Mamombe’s vehicle at a police station.

“What has not been ascertained is whether they were tortured or not. Government has no business to abduct people,”he said.

“What we have seen is that some people became irrelevant when government was busy dealing with COVID-19 and they started to demonstrate to get relevance.”

HENRY Chimbiri, the father of MDC-Alliance activist Cecilia Chimbiri who was abducted and tortured by suspected state security agents, says he broke down when he first saw his 30-year-old daughter in the bad state she was in.

Cecilia, alongside Harare West member of the National Assembly Johanna Mamombe and fellow activist Netsai Marova, mysteriously disappeared from police custody on Wednesday last week after having been arrested at a roadblock after a flash demonstration by party youths.

They resurfaced at a shopping centre in rural Bindura, 86,9 kilometres north-east of Harare early on Friday to tell horrendous stories of the savage beating, sexual abuse and torture they said they endured at the hands of their yet-to-be-identified abductors. For Chimbiri, the heart-rending sight of his traumatised daughter was too much to bear as he feared for the worst.

Cecilia’s clothes were blood-stained, soiled and torn. She could hardly walk as her feet were swollen. That was also the case with Mamombe and Marova, described by their lawyers as victims of enforced disappearance.

“I will never forgive the police for this. They need to apologise. (Police commissioner-general Godwin) Matanga needs to apologise. I will never trust or respect them. They know what happened,” a distraught Chimbiri told the Independent.

“They are the ones who are supposed to be guarding the Constitution yet they are the ones tearing it apart.”“It is a frightening experience that my daughter and other daughters had to go through and they are traumatised. My daughter’s future has been damaged, her health has been disturbed, the other time she fell from her hospital bed and the other girl also fell from her bed, her legs sometimes get numb, indicating that they were tortured on the legs and on the hands.”
Chimbiri said as a victim of torture himself, he perfectly understands what his daughter is going through and how difficult it is going to be for her to fully recover.

“I was tortured on my organs. I know how these monsters operate. What kind of person inserts a gun into someone’s anus? And my daughter went through that? I am broken. The trauma is just too much. I don’t know how she will recover from what these monsters did. It is the work of witches.”

He also had no kind words for some politicians, who have poked fun at the three’s ordeal, saying the alleged abduction was staged.

“And you hear people like that Linda Masarira talking nonsense about this case. Is she even a woman, because if she was a woman, a mother, she would feel what a mother feels. And that rhumba singer, (Information deputy minister Energy) Mutodi. God is watching.”

Chimbiri gave Cecilia his mother’s name, and the two have a strong bond. She is the first born and has four brothers. “When she is happy, I am happy and when she cries I get disturbed. She is someone who is enlightened and speaks her mind.

“On that Wednesday the 13th (of May), she left to go and meet up with her friends and I went for a funeral. I got a distress call from her at 15:48 saying daddy phone me now. I called back and that is when she said they had been arrested at the showground roadblock with her friends. And then the phone ended.
“I drove to Harare Central Police Station and there was an officer at the information desk. He said he was not aware of what I was inquiring about and directed me to another desk. While I was asking about my daughter and others, three officers came and said that the girls’ case was still being dealt with and they started threatening me with arrest for obstruction if I kept making noise,” Chimbiri added.

He said he was then taken to room 115 where one of the officers there said the girls had been arrested for demonstrating and for plotting to overthrow the government.

While at Harare Central Police Station, another officer told him that the girls had been taken to the law and order department, but he still he could not locate them.

“I then called the lawyers and also made a call to my wife. I suspected something was wrong as I was once taken and tortured in 2005. My wife’s blood pressure spiked and we had to organise for her to get medical attention.”

“Now instead of letting the children recuperate, they are further traumatising them, even taking them pictures and circulating them on social media. I am very angry over that. They have even gone further to have people follow me, and coming to our house in Budiriro. My children and even grandchildren are now living in fear. They are devastated. My other grandchild came and asked if her tete (aunt) was killed.”

The families have also resolved to get food for the three youth leaders as they have security concerns. Mamombe’s husband, Mfundo Mlilo, said their priority was the women’s recovery.

“Our focus right now is making sure they recover, that is where our energies are. We have also decided to get them food privately because of security concerns,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), in a statement this week, said it has launched its own investigations on “the alleged abduction and torture of three female MDC-Alliance members”.

“Investigations are still underway and the Commission is still to interview some key witnesses and informants. Further information will be shared once the full-scale investigations have been finalised.”

As a recommendation to the police, ZHRC said: “The Zimbabwe Republic Police should respect and uphold the human rights of arrested and accused persons by not assaulting and torturing suspects or exposing them to such acts of violence”.

Independent

Correspondent|Supreme Court reinstated MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora on Thursday quizzed Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi over the recent abduction and torture of MDC Alliance MP Joanna Mamombe and her two party colleagues by suspected state security agents.

During a question and answer session in Senate, Mwonzora, pulled a surprise when he quizzed the minister over the abduction of activists who apparently have not backed him in his reincarnation as MDC-T Secretary General.

Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were abducted at a police checkpoint near the National Sports Stadium in Harare and were found the next day in Bindura brutally assaulted amid allegations they were also sexually abused.

They are currently hospitalised at a private hospital in Harare under police watch.

“On the abduction and torture of three girls including an MP Joanna Mamombe at the hands State agents last week, what has government done about the incident? What is the government doing to make sure this does not happen again?” Mwonzora asked Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.

In response, Ziyambi said the police were interested in interviewing and possibly arresting the trio for taking part in an illegal demonstration against the government in Warren Park, Harare.

The Zanu PF minister said the State was not concerned about the abductions and torture claims.

The demonstration was in protest against severe food shortages in the country during the current Covid-19 national lockdown.

“Police are keen to interrogate the three MDC young women leaders who led a demonstration during a Covid-19 lockdown restriction,” Ziyambi said in response to Mwonzora.

“I acknowledge the allegations that these three decided to hold a demo under lockdown conditions. I am not sure whether they were tortured or not. Police are keen to interrogate them over the protests. As government, we have no reason to abduct anyone,” said Ziyambi.

However, Mwonzora seemed concerned the government was interested more in the demonstration than the abduction and torture claims.

“The minister appears to be saying government is investigating the demo and not the torture and abductions?” Mwonzora persisted.

The Justice Minister replied; “It is a fact that these people broke the law. They are wanted by the police to explain their demonstration. I am not sure, maybe, they are happy being in hospital but police are waiting for them. If they have a complaint to lodge with the police, they are free to do so.”

Ziyambi also claimed Mamombe drove her car to Harare Central Police station where she left it for unknown reasons, before it was impounded by the police as part of their investigations.

The Constitutional and Supreme Courts will today be separated for the first time in the history of the country’s Judiciary.

In terms of the Constitution, judges of the Supreme Court have sat as the Constitutional Court to hear constitutional matters during the past seven years, but from today the two courts will have different judges and separate chambers.

Chief Justice Luke Malaba is expected to preside over the ceremony to mark the historic occasion.

The event will be witnessed by some judges from the region, members of the legal fraternity, judiciary, diplomatic corps and high-ranking Government officials.

The development is in line with the provisions of the Constitution.

The separation of the two courts is expected to ease the workload and allow constitutional matters to be dealt with by judges dedicated for these duties without other cases to manage.

Correspondent|THE number of confirmed Covid-19 infected people in the country has risen to 51 after three new cases were reported yesterday.

According to an update issued by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, two of the cases were of returnees from Botswana and the other was of a Harare resident with no history of travel.

“As of May 21, 2020, Zimbabwe had 51 confirmed cases, including 18 recoveries and four deaths. Three cases tested positive for Covid-19 today (Thursday).”

“Two cases are returnees from Botswana who both tested positive on the eighth day of quarantine and one is a Harare resident with no history of travel,” said the ministry.

As of yesterday, 1 379 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) and 466 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests were conducted.

This brought the cumulative number of tests done to date to 34 707 of which 19 623 were RDTs with 15 084 being PCRs.

Harare Province has the highest number of recorded cases at 23, followed by Bulawayo Province with 12 cases. Mashonaland East has six cases, Mashonaland West (5), Midlands (3), Matabeleland North (1) and Masvingo (1).

The recent cases have largely been imported, especially from the United Kingdom and South Africa, through the returnees.

The country is on Level 2 lockdown for an indefinite period and authorities have been credited for putting in place effective measures to contain the deadly pandemic which has infected over five million people, killing 328 000 worldwide this year alone.

President Mnangagwa said the country would have regular two-week reviews of the situation.

State Media|While the Government continues working out how to reopen schools in phases, starting with public examination classes, as Zimsec finalises plans for the late June examinations, some teachers unions are concerned.

Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Mrs Thumisang Thabela on Wednesday told Parliament that the mid-year Zimsec examinations would be written between June 29 and July 22. But teachers’ unions believe that safety measures might not be ready in time.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu said holding the examinations might not bring the intended outcome under the current circumstances.

“Scheduling examinations is not a panacea to Covid-19. This is a pandemic that has claimed many lives in the world and continues to do so. A declaration means nothing if the necessary health protocols recommended by the World Health Organisation are not followed,” Dr Ndlovu said.

“We are not ready for June examinations. Teachers are not willing. If the authorities go ahead with their plan, we are headed for industrial conflict. We cannot have pronouncements that ignore environmental dictates,” Dr Ndlovu said.

He urged Government to look at what other examination systems have done and compare their response.

“Government should consider what Cambridge, an international examinations body has done. They cancelled their June examinations and this is something we should consider. Our learners are not in the right psychological space to write examinations. They are fearing for their lives, so are our teachers. Writing an examination at this point may end up defeating the purpose behind examinations, unless we are doing them just to tick boxes,” Dr Ndlovu said.

Teachers are also suggesting that Government pays them a risk allowance.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) president, Mr Obert Masaraure, said the June examinations should be written when conditions are right.

“There is no rush really. We do not want to lose lives, we should not force premature reopening of schools. Learners, teachers and everyone involved in the processes should be tested before there is any activity at schools — be they exams or lessons,” said Mr Masaraure.

He said the idea that this June examination was the last sitting that would be allowed under the old curriculum was immaterial in picking a date.

“The papers that need to be written will just be written when it is safe. Nothing changes, the same paper these learners are supposed to write this June is what they will write when it is safe to do so,” he said.

In his report back to his constituency, Mr Manuel Nyawo of Zimbabwe National Teachers Union (Zinatu) said June was not the best month to reopen.

“People will need to travel from various parts of the country to the examination centres and given the conditions prevailing, most of those who registered for June exams will find it difficult to meet the examination timelines due to serious mobility challenges,” said Mr Nyawo.

There were also concerns that the months of June and July in which schools are expected to reopen carry a high probability for infections of ordinary flu.

Parents seem to be divided on the matter.

Mr Samson Makumbirike of Kuwadzana said it was better if we forfeited the whole academic year.

“Our children are not the most careful, we will have a crisis if they reopen. Children love playing and get in contact all the time. Sending them to school is sending them in harm’s way,” he said.

But another Harare resident, Mrs Charlotte Mverechena, backed moves by President Mnangagwa to start reopening schools.

“Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon. We need to accept that. There is no guarantee that next year Covid-19 will not be there. Let us ensure children go to school safely. If adults are going to work, then children can learn and write exams too. This is the new normal,” she said.

Teachers’ unions were told by Government to consolidate their opinions on reopening and submit a position paper. This will be fed into the calculations for setting opening dates.

Farai Dziva|
Norton MP Temba Mliswa has urged Emmerson Mnangagwa to fire Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa and Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana following the sacking of Deputy Minister Energy Mutodi.

Mliswa also castigated Mutodi’s remarks about MDC Alliance Youth Leaders.

“The order the firing should’ve taken was 1. M. Mutsvangwa, 2. N. Mangwana and 3. E. Mutodi but if bottom up is an indicator of the rest’s fate we patiently wait.

I don’t condone the reckless statements made by @energymutodi
the most recent being an insult to women and unparliamentary. It was uncalled for, he crossed the line. Besides being fired, the tweet should be removed; it’s unacceptable, insanity being the only reasonable excuse,” said Mliswa.

MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka described Mutodi as a talkative person who should learn to calm down.

“You see mfana, hazvidi Energy yedzungu. When you rise by a mere cup captioned “I am the boss”, your fall and political irrelevance might be at the speed of the fall of same Komichi…,” said Tamborinyoka.

By A Correspondent- Returnees quarantined at Harare Polytechnic College have revealed that there is no water at the quarantine centre lamenting that they are not being tested for COVID -19 despite being quarantined for two weeks.

In an exclusive interview with ZimEye, the returnees said it was not logical for government to quarantine citizens returning from different countries including Botswana, South Africa and Namibia but fail to test them.

The returnees requested for an official government statement regarding why they are not being tested for the past two weeks.

Said the returnees:

“We are told that there are no test kits and the other officials do not give us a satisfactory answer saying they are not in a position to comment.”

The returnees also said the sanitary facilities at the Harare Polytechnic College were deplorable.

He said:

“We have no water, no sanitisers and the bins are not collected. We are afraid of catching the virus from here.

The government has done well on food but we are worried that nothing is being done regards testing us.

We are just being mixed with new arrivals who are not tested and our fear is that we will contract the virus becuase there is no due diligence regards those that are coming here after us.”

Watch the live video loading below…

MDC Alliance speaks on Court application, recall of MPs and way forward, watch video below:

Farai Dziva|Controversial Masvingo based clergyman, “Prophet” Isaac Makomichi has challenged sacked Deputy Information Energy Mutodi to apologize to the nation for posting outrageous remarks about MDC Alliance Youth leaders, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.

Makomichi, who is the leader of Calvary Prayer Group and
the president of Vulnerable Youth Support Network Trust, has also urged the former Deputy Minister to apologize to the concerned MDC Alliance officials’ families.

Mutodi shocked all and sundry when he posted on Twitter:

“Details emerge MDC youths Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova, and Cecilia Chimbiri went out for a romantic night to Bindura with their lovers who are artisanal miners. They parked their car at a police station for safety but tragedy struck when they demanded foreign currency for services.”

In a statement, Makomichi implored Emmerson Mnangagwa to get rid of bad elements that are tarnishing his image.

“I call on Energy Mutodi to apologize to the nation for the outrageous remarks about the MDC Alliance leaders.

I was shocked by the remarks and I therefore urge Mutodi to apologize to the concerned MDC Alliance members in his personal capacity.As a Christian Mutodi must apologize for the remarks he made, otherwise the anger of God will be upon him.If you do not repent you will go to hell.

There are some people who are tarnishing the President’s name and I hope he will uproot such elements.Their aim is to soil his image.

I personally appreciate the President’s efforts to revive the economy,” said Makomichi.