THE MINISTRY of Health and Child Care has lifted the ban on jogging and other outdoor exercises during Covid-19 imposed lockdown.
Outdoor exercises and public gatherings were banned following the national lockdown order which was implemented to contain the spread of the disease.
The new statutory instrument gazetted on Sunday, provides for a limited relaxation of the lockdown conditions specified in Statutory Instrument 94 of 2020.
This follows an announcement by President Emmerson Mnangagwa who extended the lockdown indefinitely promising to review its conditions fortnightly.
The number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 so far in Zimbabwe has risen to 46 with four deaths.
According to the new Statutory Instrument 110 of 2020, any person who fails to comply with the orders shall be guilty of an offence and liable to fine not exceeding level 12 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
“The new order has a provision for outdoor exercise which means walking or jogging along a public thoroughfare, in public parks or other open public spaces where persons may walk or jog for exercise, or at a sporting or recreational establishment.
This does not include gymnastic clubs,” read the document.
“Cycling, or walking or jogging along a public thoroughfare accompanied by one’s dog or dogs, in public parks or other open public spaces where persons may cycle, or walk or jog for exercise accompanied by one’s dog or dogs will also be allowed.”-State media
THREE family members have died in a suspected case of food poisoning in Gwanda.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele said Jotham Sibanda (64) from Matshiye Village died on Saturday while his two grandchildren aged six and eight died on Thursday and Friday last week.
He said Jotham’s wife Mrs Khohliso Sibanda (58) prepared food for her family on May 7 and they all fell ill resulting in the death of her husband and two grandchildren.
“I can confirm that we recorded a case where a man and his two children aged six and eight years died in a suspected case of food poisoning. On May 7 in the morning Mrs Khohliso Sibanda prepared food which she ate with her husband and their three grandchildren aged six, eight and 12 years,” he said.
“On the same day at around 11AM they started vomiting and started suffering from diarrhea. They lost consciousness and were ferried to Gwanda Provincial Hospital where they were admitted. The condition of the child aged six worsened and he was further referred to Mpilo Hospital where he died on Thursday while admitted.”
Chief Insp Ndebele said the eight-year-old child died on Friday at home after he had been discharged from hospital while Jotham Sibanda died on Saturday at his home after he had also been discharged from hospital. He said the matter was reported to the police who attended the scene. Chief Insp Ndebele said investigations were underway to determine the source of poisoning. He appealed to members of the public with information that could assist in the investigations to contact the police.-State media
LONDON. — Premier League training will resume this week after clubs unanimously agreed to a set of medical protocols to keep players safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was taken at a league shareholders’ meeting and allows clubs to undertake limited group-based training starting today, providing that a first round of Covid-19 testing proves negative. Bundesliga’s quiet return hints at a silent threat to home advantage.
The protocols were put to a vote after weeks of preparation and some dissent from club doctors and players. They are the first stage in the proposed return of the Premier League.
The protocols enable physically-distant training and further protocols will need to be devised to enable contact training and, ultimately, matches. It was acknowledged at the meeting that the stages to come will prove to be more difficult, with much still to be done.
Players in particular will need to be convinced. While the Bundesliga made a successful return behind closed doors this past weekend, Germany is at a different stage in dealing with the crisis. On Sunday Germany had 589 new confirmed cases of the virus. In the UK that figure was 3,534.
“Phase one is social-distancing individual training with a coach; that’s no problem, that’s like going to the park,” Watford’s captain, Troy Deeney, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “Phase two will be next week: six days’ worth of training, three to six people training together with contact, and then six days after that you’re going into 11 v 11 and you can’t social distance with 11 v 11.
“I’m desperate to play football, it’s my job, I’ve got the best job in the world. But there has to be clear and safe measures for everybody, not just me. I saw Tammy Abraham (of Chelsea) say his dad has asthma and he lives with him so he has concerns. “It’s not just players at the bottom (of the table) who are trying to stay in the league, it’s concerns right across the board. I have had a lot of texts from players who are worried about coming out and speaking.
I would say 98% are very much aware that phase one is very good. I would say 65-70% of people are concerned with phase two. I’d say even higher after that.”-The Guardian
A returning Zimbabwean woman died in quarantine at Mkoba Teachers’ College in Gweru yesterday.
Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima confirmed the death of the woman, but said the cause of death was still unknown. “The woman came back sick from South Africa.
She came back in the company of her husband and were taken to Mkoba Teachers’ College quarantine centre in Gweru. Doctors attended to her as she was not feeling well that same day (Sunday),” he said.
Minister Mavima who is the Midlands Provincial Covid-19 taskforce chairperson said her condition deteriorated yesterday.
“Her blood samples have been taken to Harare for testing to see if she had Covid-19 or not.
At the moment we call upon people not to speculate because we don’t want to cause mayhem and despondency in the province. To date we have not recorded a case of Covid-19,” he said.-State media
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance members in Masvingo Province have declared allegiance to party leader, Nelson Chamisa, rejecting Douglas Mwonzora Thokozani Khupe and Morgen Komichi’s political project in the process.
During a meeting held at the weekend, MDC Alliance members in Masvingo declared they were firmly behind President Chamisa.
Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament Jacob Nyokanhete said:” I have nothing to do with the Khupe/ Mwonzora project.I will not betray the MDC Alliance supporters who voted for me.
Masvingo Urban ward 4 councillor, Godfrey Kuraone declared: “l became councillor in ward 4 for the second time because of President Chamisa.
Therefore, l am ready to defend the MDC Alliance.I will never join MDC T led by Khupe.”
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance members in Masvingo Province have declared allegiance to party leader, Nelson Chamisa, rejecting Douglas Mwonzora Thokozani Khupe and Morgen Komichi’s political project in the process.
During a meeting held at the weekend, MDC Alliance members in Masvingo declared they were firmly behind President Chamisa.
Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament Jacob Nyokanhete said:” I have nothing to do with the Khupe/ Mwonzora project.I will not betray the MDC Alliance supporters who voted for me.
Masvingo Urban ward 4 councillor, Godfrey Kuraone declared: “l became councillor in ward 4 for the second time because of President Chamisa.
Therefore, l am ready to defend the MDC Alliance.I will never join MDC T led by Khupe.”
Five hundred and thirty more Zimbabweans wanting to return home from South Africa arrived at Beitbridge on Saturday afternoon including the first 204 having their transport costs covered by Government while the remainder paid their own fares to get home.
The returnees were taken to quarantine centres across the country, including the NSSA Hotel in Beitbridge.
The Zimbabwe Embassy has been arranging for bus companies to bring Zimbabweans home and helping get the required movement permits from the South African authorities.
But besides those who can afford their own fares, and just needed help to get a company to lay on the service, about 400 citizens living in South Africa needed free transport to the border.
Once in Zimbabwe all returnees are screened and then moved at Government expense to an appropriate quarantine centre near their homes.
The first group 204 needing free transport across South Africa arrived in a convoy of five buses and were taken to quarantine centres in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Harare.
Logistics are being worked out to bring the other 196 citizens on sponsored repatriation.
The 326 returning citizens and legal residents who paid for their transport arrived on seven buses and were dropped off at the National Social Security Authority Hotel in Beitbridge, which is being used as quarantine centre for returnees.
Under the self-repatriation model, Zimbabweans pay for their bus fares, with the embassy arranging transport and logistics, while on the assisted-repatriation model, the Government covers transportation costs.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa, Mr David Hamadziripi, said on Wednesday last week that they had entered into a partnership with businessman, Mr Justice Maphosa, to transport the 400 citizens.
Mr Maphosa is the CEO and founder of Bigtime Strategic Group.
The package includes transportation of 400 Zimbabweans and the provision of food on the journey.
The International Organisation for Migration provides technical support to the embassy and is working on another humanitarian support package.
Upon arrival in Beitbridge, the returnees are screened at the NSSA Hotel and then taken to other provincial quarantine centres nearer to their homes, where they are monitored for 14 days pending further management.
Director for Social Welfare in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Totamirepi Tirivavi, on Saturday said they profile all the returnees and dispatch them to agreed provincial destinations.
“We received five buses with 204 on sponsored transport and 326 others on self-sponsored transport,” said Mr Tirivavi.
Government has mobilised enough resources to feed, accommodate and transport the returnees coming in through all ports of entry.
Zimbabwe has over 18 ports of entry, with most of them closed to non-essential human traffic.
Only commercial cargo is allowed passage through the borders, while those being repatriated need movement permits from neighbouring Governments under the ongoing lockdown protocols across the region, permits whycih the embassies negotiate.
Nearly 2 000 Zimbabweans, among them 527 deportees, have been repatriated from South Africa by road in the last two weeks.
In addition, 2 680 have registered with the Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria, seeking repatriation while 6 000 have registered for food assistance. – state media/herald
Private transport operators yesterday met Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) bosses to thrash out a number of issues including delays in payments and the need to make a timeous review of rates to ensure viability.
Further, the operators deliberated on concerns over double vetting, where buses are checked by the Central Mechanical and Engineering Department (CMED) and Vehicle Inspection Department (VID), which they feel is cumbersome.
The private operators are set to have another meeting with Government today. Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation spokesperson, Mr Esau Mupfumi, told The Herald yesterday that the meeting was fruitful.
“Sometimes there is delay in payments, although the money will certainly come. The issue of indemnity is the other one that needs to be addressed as currently operators are maintaining their own buses.
“The review of payment of rates should be done timely and we are now seeking Government intervention on that issue,” said Mr Mupfumi.
In terms of vetting, Mr Mupfumi said the process was cumbersome as buses and drivers were required to be vetted by the CMED, contrary to statutes, which give the VID that sole responsibility.
Greater Harare Association of Commuter Operators (GHACO) secretary general, Mr Ngoni Katsvairo said they were ready to meet Government today.
He said the Zupco franchise system could be managed in a manner that ensures franchisees are paid hire fees commensurate with the costs of operation, a development that will result in an organised mass transport system.
“The fees must be paid and reviewed in time, cheaper spares organised centrally by zupco and a fleet replacement or upgrade system should be urgently put in place,” he said.
Mr Katsvairo said once all commuter omnibus operators sign up for the zupco franchise, there is likely going to be a marked reduction in harassment by touts and better terminus infrastructure investment that will be erected at pick-up and drop-off points.
After the lockdown, Government has been implored to craft a policy that will assist those left out of the zupco franchise, under the obtaining dispensation.
zupco acting chief executive officer Mr Evaristo Madangwa said yesterday’s meeting was one of the many they periodically hold with operators.
“We do meetings regularly with the operators to iron out operational issues,” he said.
In terms of double vetting, Mr Madangwa said it was a requirement that ensured a good fleet on roads for the safety of passengers and other road users.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme urged Government to proceed with the ban on kombis, saying the plan dovetailed with their desire for a city mass bus transit system and a smart transport system.
Engineer Bernard Musarurwa said if zupco was professionally and diligently run, with proper timetables, the arrangement may provide a clean, safe and reliable public passenger transportation system.
A commuter, Ms Patience Zisengwe, said having all commuter omnibuses under zupco was critical as that may result in fixed fares regardless of weather conditions or time of the day.
This comes as touts have been accused of hiking commuter fares during the peak hours and when raining. -state media/Herald
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) has said it will open the window for Ordinary and Advanced Level students who failed to register for November 2020 due to Covid-19 related challenges.
The extension of the registration deadline will also apply to other candidates who failed to pay top-up examination fees which were adjusted by Government when it announced a new structure which had a subsidy of 53 per cent.
This was revealed by ZIMSEC director, Lazarus Nembaware while giving oral evidence before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Primary and Secondary Education on Monday.
The Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga-chaired committee had invited Zimsec to get an update on the preparedness of public examinations which were supposed to start on May 26 2020.
ZIMSEC has since postponed the June exams as the country is under an indefinite lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus.-The Herald
Farai Dziva|A new political party, The Patriotic Front has denounced the abduction of three MDC Alliance youth leaders by government agents.
Read full statement below:
It is with consternation and alarm that The Patriotic Front notes the increasing numbers of abductions and torture being carried out on the people of Zimbabwe.
We call on the government of Zimbabwe to do all in its power, under the name of justice and rule of law to search for, detain and prosecute those responsible for the heinous acts perpetrated on three of its citizens recently.
If the abduction and torture of three Zimbabwean women, notably one who is a Member of Parliament can go unpunished or is found to be the work of state security agents, or the work of the parties concerned, then we The Patriotic Front condemn these actions with the utmost outrage on behalf of our members.
The Patriotic Front calls for immediate action from the judiciary as this case will form jurisprudence for future incidences of this kind, and should be treated with the severity it justly deserves to stop an escalation in an already tense theatre that is Zimbabwe today.
Farai Dziva|A new political party, The Patriotic Front has denounced the abduction of three MDC Alliance youth leaders by government agents.
Read full statement below:
It is with consternation and alarm that The Patriotic Front notes the increasing numbers of abductions and torture being carried out on the people of Zimbabwe.
We call on the government of Zimbabwe to do all in its power, under the name of justice and rule of law to search for, detain and prosecute those responsible for the heinous acts perpetrated on three of its citizens recently.
If the abduction and torture of three Zimbabwean women, notably one who is a Member of Parliament can go unpunished or is found to be the work of state security agents, or the work of the parties concerned, then we The Patriotic Front condemn these actions with the utmost outrage on behalf of our members.
The Patriotic Front calls for immediate action from the judiciary as this case will form jurisprudence for future incidences of this kind, and should be treated with the severity it justly deserves to stop an escalation in an already tense theatre that is Zimbabwe today.
GOVERNMENT intends to extend the ban on privately-owned commuter omnibuses (kombis) beyond the national lockdown and will only allow them to operate under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) franchise.
This is part of elaborate plans to de-congest urban centres and modernise the public transport system.
Kombis have been barred from operating since the lockdown started on March 30.
In his lockdown measures review speech yesterday, President Mnangagwa extended the ban indefinitely.
He said only Zupco-contracted kombis would be allowed on the roads.
Authorities intend to take advantage of depressed numbers of urban commuters during the lockdown to revamp and modernise the urban mass public transport system through deploying high-volume buses.
The Sunday Mail has gathered that Government has directed Zupco to invite interested kombi owners to register under its franchise as the number of commuters has increased following the relaxation of the lockdown rules.
Zupco is currently operating with 507 conventional buses and 500 commuter omnibuses, and is looking for an additional 500 kombis.
This comes as authorities were intensifying efforts to import new buses for inner and inter-city travel.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Dr July Moyo told this publication that there is no guarantee that kombis will be allowed back on the roads after the lockdown. “We have been trying to build Zupco,” said Dr Moyo.
“So, throughout the lockdown we have said Zupco should operate. When we moved to Level 2, we knew there would be more people requiring transportation.
“We then asked Zupco to call for more kombis and buses to come and register and at the same time we will be introducing more buses. So the plan is to make sure that we strengthen urban bus transportation through Zupco so that we can bring sanity to the operations.”
He said urban transport systems operating through centrally managed high-volume buses were the trend globally. Informal transporters, said Minister Moyo, were the source of chaos in urban centres, particularly Harare.-State media
GOVERNMENT intends to extend the ban on privately-owned commuter omnibuses (kombis) beyond the national lockdown and will only allow them to operate under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) franchise.
This is part of elaborate plans to de-congest urban centres and modernise the public transport system.
Kombis have been barred from operating since the lockdown started on March 30.
In his lockdown measures review speech yesterday, President Mnangagwa extended the ban indefinitely.
He said only Zupco-contracted kombis would be allowed on the roads.
Authorities intend to take advantage of depressed numbers of urban commuters during the lockdown to revamp and modernise the urban mass public transport system through deploying high-volume buses.
The Sunday Mail has gathered that Government has directed Zupco to invite interested kombi owners to register under its franchise as the number of commuters has increased following the relaxation of the lockdown rules.
Zupco is currently operating with 507 conventional buses and 500 commuter omnibuses, and is looking for an additional 500 kombis.
This comes as authorities were intensifying efforts to import new buses for inner and inter-city travel.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Dr July Moyo told this publication that there is no guarantee that kombis will be allowed back on the roads after the lockdown. “We have been trying to build Zupco,” said Dr Moyo.
“So, throughout the lockdown we have said Zupco should operate. When we moved to Level 2, we knew there would be more people requiring transportation.
“We then asked Zupco to call for more kombis and buses to come and register and at the same time we will be introducing more buses. So the plan is to make sure that we strengthen urban bus transportation through Zupco so that we can bring sanity to the operations.”
He said urban transport systems operating through centrally managed high-volume buses were the trend globally. Informal transporters, said Minister Moyo, were the source of chaos in urban centres, particularly Harare.-State media
By A Correspondent- The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Cain Mathema is expected to reveal the government’s plans for reopening of schools for the second term when he appears before Parliament on Wednesday.
Mathema hinted that schools opening will be staggered with exam classes getting first preference while Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes will be reopened last.
He said:
“Schools will be opened in a staggered way like what other countries all over the world are doing.
We will start with examination classes and finally early childhood development students because those are difficult to control.”-ZTN
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) director, Lazarus Nembaware said that they are ready to run the exams as soon as the parent Ministry gives the green light.
He said:
“We as Zimsec prepare the product and wait for the stakeholder (Ministry of Education) to tell us when their students are ready to sit for the exam.
Like we did for the June examinations, we prepared and waited for the stakeholder to say we are ready for your product.
As far as Zimsec is concerned we will put into motion the wheels of preparing the November examinations and then wait for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to give us dates when their students will be ready.”
New Times Rwanda|For the last 26 years, a picture of a man with a machete has been doing the rounds in the media.
He is standing with a uniformed government soldier who has a chain of machinegun bullets around his neck.
The picture dates back to the height of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
According to Getty Images, a site that archives and sells photos, the picture was taken in then Gitarama Prefecture on June 12, 1994, by Alexander Joe of Agence France-Presse (AFP), although there is some debate on the exact location of the photo.
The photographer had captioned the photo as a government soldier and an Interahamwe militia who were busy killing Tutsi just as forces of the Rwanda Patriotic Front were in the midst of stopping the Genocide.
Nobody had been able to identify the subjects in the sickening photo until recently.
The man, an Interahamwe militia armed with a machete, has since been identified as Ramadhan Muhire.
Muhire is alleged to have actively participated in the Genocide against the Tutsi and now resides in Zimbabwe.
He is the son of Gasekuru and Nyirabungura Therese. He hails from Nyagasozi in Birenga which is now Amahoro Village, Nyaruvumu Sector in Rukira Cell, Ngoma District.
Just before the Genocide, Muhire used to live in the then Kibungo Prefecture where he was employed as a driver. He was a member of the notorious Interahamwe youth wing.
Muhire is remembered as a violent extremist. He once hacked a man simply because he was a Tutsi. Many people who knew him and spoke to local media, identify the man as Muhire, the same person who appears in the picture.
One of Muhire’s former neighbours who spoke to a Rwanda journalist affiliated to Igihe news website, confirmed Muhire’s identity, saying he was very notorious and in addition to killing Tutsi during the Genocide, he also looted Kibungo Diocese stores.
“There is no doubt it is him [Muhire]. I knew him long before the Genocide. He used to work in Kibungo, as a driver. He underwent military training and was among the first people to participate in the killings. They killed people at the diocese and even went to give reinforcements in neighbouring Rukira,” one of his former neighbours said.
The neighbour was stabbed during the Genocide and still carries a scar. He identified Muhire from the photo adding that he was the one who attacked him.
Muhire is also reported to have raided the headquarters of the Kibungo Diocese, grabbed a bag full of dollars and fled to Tanzania.
He is believed to have relocated to Malawi and finally settled in Zimbabwe where he set up businesses and accumulated assets.
From his base in Zimbabwe, Muhire is reported to be one of the financers of armed groups operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a goal of destabilising peace and security in the Great lakes region.
Jean-Damascène Bizimana, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), said that he had received information that the man in the picture is Muhire and is seeking more evidence that it is indeed the Genocide suspect.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe has insisted that no schools should open during country’s Covid-19 indefinite lockdown without the government committing to ring fence safety of learners and teachers.
This outcry follows a directive by government that schools will be open for examination classes during the indefinite lockdown period that was declared by President Emerson Mnangagwa on 16 May.
Posting on their Twitter timelines the unions said the government made declarations to open up schools for examination classes without declaring their side of intervention to the safety of learners and teachers.
“A simple declaration that schools have to open for exam classes without providing the necessary support is inadequate”,
“Who is going to provide PPEs for teachers and learners?”
“How are schools going to secure disinfectants and sanitisers among others? Parents cant bear the burden” said ARTUZ.
They added that teachers also have a salary issue against the government before schools open which has not been addressed.
“Teachers salaries have also been heavily eroded”,
“We demand a living wage before we even contemplate safe opening of schools” they added.
Commenting on the same issue of the reopening of schools Ray Majongwe a teacher trade unionist said the government seem to be ignoring engagement with teachers on the way forward on reopening of schools.
He said that the government was supposed engage teachers to hear their concerns and agree on a plan of action before making decisions like reopening schools.
“Teachers are saying there are serious health concerns government must address before schools reopen”,
“Seems government is not ready to engage its workers in the thorny issues they are raising”,
“Commandeering pupils back to class will not work” said Majongwe.
Majongwe said the government’s rushed decision is regrettable saying that stakeholders like unions, epidemiology scientists and the employer were supposed meet first.
“Government has subcontracted the dilemma of reopening of schools to no one and everybody”,
“When President Mnangagwa said exam classes and final year University students must continue what was that supposed mean?Still puzzled. People are asking me” he said.
Carlington Gumbo a parent from Mberengwa West expressed his dismay over the squabbling by unions and government over schools reopening.
“I am disappointed that the debate about when some school kids can return has descended into a squabble between government and the teaching unions,”
“The government and teaching unions must stop squabbling and agree a plan to get children back to school in a safe way”he said
Gumbo also called for “rigorous” coronavirus testing of teachers, children and families to ease safety fears among parents.
“In as much as we want our kids back in classes, we are particularly concerned about their safety”,
“During normal times teacher capacity to control children is compromised how will it be under these circumstances of a pandemic ” said Gumbo.
The President in his lockdown indefinite extension speech did not address how the government will intervene in the equipping of schools with personal protection equipment PPEs and sanitizers.
The government however, has not set a tentative date for reopening of schools.
The Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) says it is ready to start the 2020 public examinations within the confines of the Covid19 guidelines.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education in Harare on Monday, ZIMSEC Director Lazarus Nembabware said the institution now awaits communication from the Ministry of Health and Child Care together with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary to restructure both June and November examination timetables.
Responding to questions on a possible postponement of the November examinations, Dr. Nembaware said it was too early to make such decisions but however, said ZIMSEC will stand guided by any pronouncements to be made by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
The Director added that all question papers are ready for deployment and measures have been put in place to make sure there are secure. Arrangements have also been made to have daily a daily pick up of the question papers where there is a high suspicion of insecurity.
Meanwhile, ZIMSEC clarified that the provision of personal protective equipment to pupils is the mandate of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday announced an indefinite extension of the national lockdown to curb the further spread of Covid-19 where he allowed public examination to start in line with the required health guidelines.
FC Platinum is set to receive money from CAF in the coming weeks for their participation in this season’s Champions League.
The Platinum Boys reached the group stages of the tournament and will get a total of US$550,000 for finishing fourth in their pool.
The football body said it has approved an early disbursement of the final tranche of prize money in its inter-club competitions for the 2019/20 season.
CAF explained that the release is coming earlier than usual to help clubs cope with the financial burden of the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement by the organisation over the weekend read: “Clubs will receive their dues based on the established prize monies for each competition till the quarter-final stage when the two competitions were suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.
“The minimum guaranteed for clubs participating in the Total CAF Champions League is USD 550,000 and USD 275,000 for the Total CAF Confederation Cup.”-Soccer 24
Kaizer Chiefs player Willard Katsande has donated groceries to the people in his rural area of Mutoko.
The 34-year old announced the news on Twitter, saying he made the donations to help those that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
He tweeted: “COVID 19 has changed our lives and in these extraordinary times, we had to do our part and help by donating food parcels in my rural area of Mutoko in Mashonaland East
“Despite these difficult times, we will always offer our support to others where we can.”-Soccer 24
Absa Premiership side Golden Arrows’ defender Nkanyiso Mngwengwe has died.
The player passed away on Monday morning. He was 30 years old.
Details on the cause of his death are still unknown.
A statement released by Arrows read: “Lamontville Golden Arrows Football Club would like to confirm the untimely passing away of our footballer Mr Nkanyiso Mngwengwe.
“Sgora’, as we in the Abafana Bes’thende family affectionately knew him, sadly passed in the early hours of the morning.
“Mr. Mngwengwe made his debut for Arrows in August 2013 and went on to play more than 140 matches for Arrows over the years. He was a dedicated member of Abafana Bes’thende who was always ready to go the extra mile for the good of the team. His sudden passing leaves a huge void in the team.”
Mngwengwe’s demise comes just two weeks after South African football fraternity mourned the death of AmaZulu legend Sugar Ray Xulu.-Soccer 24
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) has said it will open the window for Ordinary and Advanced Level students who failed to register for November 2020 due to Covid-19 related challenges.
The extension of the registration deadline will also apply to other candidates who failed to pay top-up examination fees which were adjusted by Government when it announced a new structure which had a subsidy of 53 per cent.
This was revealed by ZIMSEC director, Lazarus Nembaware while giving oral evidence before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Primary and Secondary Education on Monday.
The Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga-chaired committee had invited Zimsec to get an update on the preparedness of public examinations which were supposed to start on May 26 2020.
ZIMSEC has since postponed the June exams as the country is under an indefinite lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus.-The Herald
1/3 A Harare man was struck with an iron bar on the head and lost consciousness along Leopold Takawira Way on 16/05/20 at around 1900 hours. An unknown suspect searched him and stole his belongings.
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) May 18, 2020
3/3 Police are appealing for information which may lead to the arrest of the culprits. #notocrime
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) May 18, 2020
Former Dynamos striker Clive Mwale says he was blackmailed to leave the club because Shooting Stars owner Joel Sengeredo was paying for his accommodation.
Sengeredo supported the Glamour Boys, and when Mwale and Mtshumayeli Moyo were facing accommodation issues, the businessman offered help and sometimes gave financial assistance to the players.
After Dembare survived relegation on the last day of the 2005 season, the benefactor moved to form Shooting Stars in the following campaign and signed several Dynamos players including Mwale.
Captain Leo Kurauzvione, Moyo, Munyaradzi Mashiri, Prince Mbara, Esau Amisi, Fidelis Mangezi, Trymore Mtisi, Tapfumanei Gweshe and goalkeepers Philip Nhete are the other stars who left the Harare giants for the new boys.
But the transfer wasn’t a fair one and Mwale says Sengeredo made him sign for his team because he had helped him before.
“When I came to Zimbabwe, I never dreamt I would play for any other team apart from Dynamos. It is the club that really helped shape my career,” Mwale told the Herald.
“But Mtshumayeli (Moyo) and I had problems with our accommodation and Joel Sengeredo came in to help us as a supporter.
“We were moved from Courtney Hotel in town to some very nice flats in Borrowdale.
“Things changed when Sengeredo started his own team.
“Dynamos were struggling and he had made us sign contracts to acknowledge that he was sponsoring us.
“So, we just followed whatever instructions he gave.”
“There was a big difference between what we were getting at Dynamos and what Shooting Stars offered. So, the other players just followed.”
Mwale is now coaching in his native Zambia.-Soccer 24
Masvingo police have been guarding the provincial registry complex for the past four days after a staffer lost a bunch of keys allegedly to thieves, TellZim News has learnt.
Sources said a member of the skeletal staff that is maintaining the offices for the duration of the lockdown lost the keys after work on May 15.
Though provincial registrar Sithembeni Chitsa could not be reached for comment, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Masvingo provincial assistant spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the development.
“We are investigating the alleged theft of the keys and I can confirm that the keys have not yet been found,” said Dhewa.
Other sources said the bunch contained keys for the main entrances and safes containing security item registers, receipts and other sensitive documents.
“The spares are not available and it would be a big problem if the lockdown was to be lifted today because there would be no access to the interior unless the doors are broken. People are worried that sensitive documents will be stolen for malicious reasons,” said a source.
It is understood the spare keys used to be kept at Standard Chartered Bank which no longer has a branch in Masvingo.
The source said it could be an inside job as there was a lot of infighting and backbiting over positions at the office.
The provincial registry handles citizens’ sensitive personal information; providing such services as registration and processing of birth certificates, passports and reburial orders.
At national level, the office has not been without controversy, with Registrar General (RG) Clemence Masango, who succeeded Tobaiwa Mudede, being arrested and suspended from work without pay for corruption.
By Own Correspondent| The opposition MDC Alliance has raised concerns over the heavy Police presence at a medical centre where party female leaders are admitted for medical treatment.
Posting on Twitter, the MDC said the police presence warranted further harassment of the trio who were tortured and sexually abused last week.
“Heavy presence of @PoliceZimbabwe at the medical centre where Joanna Mamombe, Cecillia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova are admitted has become a cause for concern. We view this as continued harrassment which negatively affects the psychological recovery of the 3,” the party’s welfare arm said.
The three Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were allegedly abducted by police while coming from a demonstration in Warren Park last week.
They were initially arrested but later disappeared before they were later dumped in Bindura two days after. They allege being sexually abused and dehumanised after their captors forced them to eat human excreta.
By A Correspondent- A Zimbabwean returnee who was in quarantine at Mkoba Teachers’ College, Gweru, Midlands Province has died.
This was revealed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Ndavaningi Nick Mangwana.
Mangwana said that the deceased was a 31-year old woman and the cause of her death is still to be established.
He said:
We wish to notify of the tragic passing on of one of the residents housed at Mkoba Teachers College. The deceased was a 31-year-old woman. Cause of death is not yet established. Details will be given once available. Our condolences are with the bereaved family and friends.
Currently, 358 returnees from South Africa and Botswana are quarantined in the Midlands province at Gweru Polytechnic College and Mkoba Teachers College as a way of mitigating against the spread of Covid-19.
On Sunday, 89 citizens from South Africa and Botswana returned home and they were immediately placed under mandatory quarantine.
48 of them came from South Africa and the other 41 from Botswana.
All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening the recent advances in health and progress towards global development goals highlighted in the 2020 World Health Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) today.
“The good news is that people around the world are living longer and healthier lives.
The bad news is the rate of progress is too slow to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and will be further thrown off track by COVID-19,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“The pandemic highlights the urgent need for all countries to invest in strong health systems and primary health care, as the best defense against outbreaks like COVID-19, and against the many other health threats that people around the world face every day. Health systems and health security are two sides of the same coin.”
WHO’s World Health Statistics — an annual check-up on the world’s health — reports progress against a series of key health and health service indicators, revealing some important lessons in terms of progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals and gaps to fill.
Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased, but unequally.
The biggest gains were reported in low-income countries, which saw life expectancy rise 21% or 11 years between 2000 and 2016 (compared with an increase of 4% or 3 years in higher income countries).
One driver of progress in lower-income countries was improved access to services to prevent and treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as a number of neglected tropical diseases such as guinea worm.
Another was better maternal and child healthcare, which led to a halving of child mortality between 2000 and 2018. But in a number of areas, progress has been stalling.
Immunization coverage has barely increased in recent years, and there are fears that malaria gains may be reversed. And there is an overall shortage of services within and outside the health system to prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, heart and lung disease, and stroke.
In 2016, 71 per cent of all deaths worldwide were attributable to NCDs, with the majority of the 15 million premature deaths (85%) occurring in low and middle-income countries. This uneven progress broadly mirrors inequalities in access to quality health services.
Only between one third and one half the world’s population was able to obtain essential health services in 2017.
Service coverage in low- and middle-income countries remains well below coverage in wealthier ones; as do health workforce densities. In more than 40% of all countries, there are fewer than 10 medical doctors per 10 000 people. Over 55% of countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10 000 people.
The inability to pay for healthcare is another major challenge for many. On current trends, WHO estimates that this year, 2020, approximately 1 billion people (almost 13 per cent of the global population) will be spending at least 10% of their household budgets on health care. The majority of these people live in lower middle-income countries.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to protect people from health emergencies, as well as to promote universal health coverage and healthier populations to keep people from needing health services through multisecotral interventions like improving basic hygiene and sanitation,” said Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director General at WHO.
In 2017, more than half (55%) of the global population was estimated to lack access to safely-managed sanitation services, and more than one quarter (29%) lacked safely-managed drinking water. In the same year, two in five households globally (40%) lacked basic handwashing facilities with soap and water in their home.
The World Health Statistics also highlight the need for stronger data and health information systems. Uneven capacities to collect and use accurate, timely, and comparable health statistics, undermining countries’ ability to understand population health trends, develop appropriate policies, allocate resources and prioritize interventions.
For almost a fifth of countries, over half of the key indicators have no recent primary or direct underlying data, another major challenge in enabling countries to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO is therefore supporting countries in strengthening surveillance and data and health information systems so they can measure their status and manage improvements.
“The message from this report is clear: as the world battles the most serious pandemic in 100 years, just a decade away from the SDG deadline, we must act together to strengthen primary health care and focus on the most vulnerable among us in order to eliminate the gross inequalities that dictate who lives a long, healthy life and who doesn’t,” added Asma.
“We will only succeed in doing this by helping countries to improve their data and health information systems.”
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
By Brian Ncube- There is one assurance and certainty of life, it’s the journey between the womb and the tomb, how long it will take remains medical assumptions and predictions. What lies in between are our deeds that will determine how we are remembered.
Today we remember a commander, President, leader, a legend and a fatherly figure who commanded respect with ease. He never forced it, it came naturally through his humble demeanour, meekness, military prowess and political acumen.
Dr Dumiso Dabengwa was a fearless fighter and leader who never at any moment in time got intimidated by anyone to drop his principles.
He didn’t like the word afraid used on him I remember at one of the meetings I had the liberty to attend during his time. He interjected to one Bulawayo PEC member’s submission “Angizange ngathi ngiyesaba ngithe mina kangifuni”
This was post 2017 Mugabe Coup, after Zanu PF made a number of attempts to lure the late Zapu president Dr Dumiso Dabengwa back to Zanu PF. They promised him the vice presidency and he told them point blank that he is not a member of Zanu PF but a leader of a free and independent political outfit, which they must engage for him to listen to them, not individually.
He was clear to Zanu PF that he will never at any moment work with them under, something that proved a bitter pill for Zanu PF to swallow. The man was principled all the way to the end.
This was a defining moment, a moment of upholding principle, a moment of choosing the people ahead of individual gains. That very moment my respect for The Black Russian grew ten fold and I declared that here is a man I will follow anywhere.
His legacy was often questioned, attacked in smearing campaigns by many political outfits who were seeking relevance and acceptance from the masses and reminded us that his efforts and that of many freedom fighters brought Zimbabwe and it was up to the youth of today shape it to a Zimbabwe we desire today.
“We are now old and must pass on the button to the young people,” he repeatedly uttered these words at gatherings and meetings, encouraging us young to people to step up to the plate and run our own race as they had already laid a foundation.
It is unfortunate that he never lived to retire, to plough his fields, watch his grandchildren grow like many people who come of age do. He was always at the forefront fighting injustice of the two oppressive regimes that we people have endured since time immemorial.
As we celebrate a year since the Black Russian journeyed towards the ancestral realm, in his memory I would like to encourage young people, my colleagues to try and emulate the sacrifices of our Hero, should we achieve half the things he achieved in his life, Zimbabwe will be a better place to live in for all.
I will leave you with the words from the legend himself, to ponder on.
“Instead of the youth criticizing us the older generation of our different roles in the development of Zimbabwe, they must acknowledge that we brought Zimbabwe & then ask themselves what they themselves are doing to make it better.
“It is up to them to decide the Zimbabwe they want & work at achieving it”
Brian Ncube is current National Chairman of ZAPU Youth Front.
All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening the recent advances in health and progress towards global development goals highlighted in the 2020 World Health Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) today.
“The good news is that people around the world are living longer and healthier lives.
The bad news is the rate of progress is too slow to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and will be further thrown off track by COVID-19,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“The pandemic highlights the urgent need for all countries to invest in strong health systems and primary health care, as the best defense against outbreaks like COVID-19, and against the many other health threats that people around the world face every day. Health systems and health security are two sides of the same coin.”
WHO’s World Health Statistics — an annual check-up on the world’s health — reports progress against a series of key health and health service indicators, revealing some important lessons in terms of progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals and gaps to fill.
Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased, but unequally.
The biggest gains were reported in low-income countries, which saw life expectancy rise 21% or 11 years between 2000 and 2016 (compared with an increase of 4% or 3 years in higher income countries).
One driver of progress in lower-income countries was improved access to services to prevent and treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as a number of neglected tropical diseases such as guinea worm.
Another was better maternal and child healthcare, which led to a halving of child mortality between 2000 and 2018. But in a number of areas, progress has been stalling.
Immunization coverage has barely increased in recent years, and there are fears that malaria gains may be reversed. And there is an overall shortage of services within and outside the health system to prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, heart and lung disease, and stroke.
In 2016, 71 per cent of all deaths worldwide were attributable to NCDs, with the majority of the 15 million premature deaths (85%) occurring in low and middle-income countries. This uneven progress broadly mirrors inequalities in access to quality health services.
Only between one third and one half the world’s population was able to obtain essential health services in 2017.
Service coverage in low- and middle-income countries remains well below coverage in wealthier ones; as do health workforce densities. In more than 40% of all countries, there are fewer than 10 medical doctors per 10 000 people. Over 55% of countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10 000 people.
The inability to pay for healthcare is another major challenge for many. On current trends, WHO estimates that this year, 2020, approximately 1 billion people (almost 13 per cent of the global population) will be spending at least 10% of their household budgets on health care. The majority of these people live in lower middle-income countries.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to protect people from health emergencies, as well as to promote universal health coverage and healthier populations to keep people from needing health services through multisecotral interventions like improving basic hygiene and sanitation,” said Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director General at WHO.
In 2017, more than half (55%) of the global population was estimated to lack access to safely-managed sanitation services, and more than one quarter (29%) lacked safely-managed drinking water. In the same year, two in five households globally (40%) lacked basic handwashing facilities with soap and water in their home.
The World Health Statistics also highlight the need for stronger data and health information systems. Uneven capacities to collect and use accurate, timely, and comparable health statistics, undermining countries’ ability to understand population health trends, develop appropriate policies, allocate resources and prioritize interventions.
For almost a fifth of countries, over half of the key indicators have no recent primary or direct underlying data, another major challenge in enabling countries to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO is therefore supporting countries in strengthening surveillance and data and health information systems so they can measure their status and manage improvements.
“The message from this report is clear: as the world battles the most serious pandemic in 100 years, just a decade away from the SDG deadline, we must act together to strengthen primary health care and focus on the most vulnerable among us in order to eliminate the gross inequalities that dictate who lives a long, healthy life and who doesn’t,” added Asma.
“We will only succeed in doing this by helping countries to improve their data and health information systems.”
Credit:WHO
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
NewsDay journalist Rex Mphisa and Zimpapers sales representative Charles Marerwa were arrested in Dulivhadzimu, in Zimbabwe’s southern border town of Beitbridge on 15 May 2020 and charged with contravening Coronavirus regulations.
Mphisa and Marerwa, spent the night in police cells. They were subsequently charged the next day, together with two other persons, with contravening Section 5 (1) as read with Section 4 of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 of the COVID-19 regulations.
The section prohibits the gathering of more than two people in a public place. They were also charged with contravening the Liquor Act which prohibits public drinking.
MISA Zimbabwe engaged lawyer, Jabulani Mzinyathi, who attended to the matter and represented the two when they appeared before the court on 16 May 2020. The two were released on free bail and are set to appear in court on 4 June 2020.
MISA Zimbabwe position
MISA Zimbabwe reiterates its long-standing position that journalists play a key role in promoting access to information hence there is a need for co-operation between different stakeholders to ensure that such rights are promoted, protected and respected.
In implementing the lockdown regulations, the police should take cognisance of the fact that journalists are providers of essential services, more so when they produce the relevant accreditation cards when on duty.
On the other hand, journalists should wear media jackets while on duty, to ensure they are easily distinguishable from the general public when executing their professional duties.
Farai Dziva|The Ministry of Health and Childcare has reported that 18 people have recovered from the deadly COVID -19 Pandemic.
Below is the Health Ministry’s latest update: Two (2) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. One is a male returnee from the United Kingdom and the second is a truck driver who initially tested positive In Zambia and again tested positive on re-testing in Harare.
Both cases are stable and are in self-isolation at home In Harare. Today 671 RDT screening tests and 279 PCR diagnostic tests were done. The cumulative number of tests done to date is 28 019 (15 455 RDT and 12564 PCR). To date, the total number of confirmed cases is 46, recovered 18, active cases 24 and 4 deaths since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020. Bulawayo – 12 Cases Harare – 22 Cases Mash East – 6 Cases Mash West – 5 Cases Mat North – 1 Case The mandatory use of face masks in all public places remains In place.
Babies and children under 2 years of age should not wear face masks as they cannot remove the masks when they feel suffocated.
As much as possible, babies and young children should be kept away from public places.
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance has slammed the gimmick by Emmerson Mnangagwa’ s government to ban private transport operators.
The MDC Alliance argues the move is meant to Monopolise the transport sector.
See full statement below :
Emmerson Mnangagwa has effectively banned private actors in providing public transportation services through the ban of kombis.
The move is not only creating a monopoly for ZUPCO but will create challenges for commuters.
ZUPCO as seen in the first two weeks of the so called phase two is unable to provide adequate transport to the people already allowed to report for work.
Half the time commuters wait long hours to be able to travel to and from work, the level of inconvenience is unbearable.
Many transporters are against partnering ZUPCO providing it with their vehicles due to poor mantainance of vehicles in the scheme.
That itself is also a danger to commuters who are transported in unroadworthy vehicles, the ZUPCO badge puts an inspection immunity by VID therefore taking away the available remedy.
In any case ZUPCO has had failures of old , mostly associated with State Enterprise under a Zanu PF government, the failure to adhere to basic tenets of corporate governance, poor service, corruption and incurring of massive losses.
Without proper parastatal reform ZUPCO will once again fail, the ban on kombis will result in transport challenges.
The government ought to allow private actors to participate in provision of public transport under regulations meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
These may include but not limited to mandatory disinfecting of the kombis through a monitored framework, limited number of passengers possibly half of the usual carrying capacity, enforcement of the use of masks and sanitisers.
That the police check compliance at all desgnated checkpoints.
Hon S Chikwinya
MDC Alliance National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Emmerson Mnangagwa has effectively banned private actors in providing public transportation services through the ban of kombis.
The move is not only creating a monopoly for ZUPCO but will create challenges for commuters.
ZUPCO as seen in the first two weeks of the so called phase two is unable to provide adequate transport to the people already allowed to report for work.
Half the time commuters wait long hours to be able to travel to and from work, the level of inconvenience is unbearable.
Many transporters are against partnering ZUPCO providing it with their vehicles due to poor mantainance of vehicles in the scheme.
That itself is also a danger to commuters who are transported in unroadworthy vehicles, the ZUPCO badge puts an inspection immunity by VID therefore taking away the available remedy.
In any case ZUPCO has had failures of old , mostly associated with State Enterprise under a Zanu PF government, the failure to adhere to basic tenets of corporate governance, poor service, corruption and incurring of massive losses.
Without proper parastatal reform ZUPCO will once again fail, the ban on kombis will result in transport challenges.
The government ought to allow private actors to participate in provision of public transport under regulations meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
These may include but not limited to mandatory disinfecting of the kombis through a monitored framework, limited number of passengers possibly half of the usual carrying capacity, enforcement of the use of masks and sanitisers.
That the police check compliance at all desgnated checkpoints.
Hon S Chikwinya
MDC Alliance National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance members in Masvingo Province have declared allegiance to party leader, Nelson Chamisa, rejecting Douglas Mwonzora Thokozani Khupe and Morgen Komichi’s political project in the process.
During a meeting held at the weekend, MDC Alliance members in Masvingo declared they were firmly behind President Chamisa.
Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament Jacob Nyokanhete said:” I have nothing to do with the Khupe/ Mwonzora project.I will not betray the MDC Alliance supporters who voted for me.
Masvingo Urban ward 4 councillor, Godfrey Kuraone declared: “l became councillor in ward 4 for the second time because of President Chamisa.
Therefore, l am ready to defend the MDC Alliance.I will never join MDC T led by Khupe.”
Zimbabweans vow to approach Kazembe Kazembe's son who is studying in UK over the ongoing abuse of Cecilia Chimbiri, Joana Mamombe and Netsai Marova | IS THIS FAIR ?
By Own Correspondent| The opposition MDC Alliance has raised concerns over the heavy Police presence at a medical centre where party female leaders are admitted for medical treatment.
Posting on Twitter, the MDC said the police presence warranted further harassment of the trio who were tortured and sexually abused last week.
“Heavy presence of @PoliceZimbabwe at the medical centre where Joanna Mamombe, Cecillia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova are admitted has become a cause for concern. We view this as continued harrassment which negatively affects the psychological recovery of the 3,” the party’s welfare arm said.
The three Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were allegedly abducted by police while coming from a demonstration in Warren Park last week.
They were initially arrested but later disappeared before they were later dumped in Bindura two days after.
They allege being sexually abused and dehumanised after their captors forced them to eat human excreta.
On the 11th of May 2019, Masvingo Centre for Research Advocacy and development (MACRAD) conducted a discussion forum in Chiredzi, ward 6, Chilonga communal area, Munguni Village.
The discusion was a fact -finding mission concerning the government’s decision to evict more than 2000 families under Chief Sengwe in ward 6 and 21, part of Chiredzi south and East and the topics covered included land rights, conflict management, peace building strategies, tracking and document human rights violations.
The discussion was attended by 25 participants-10 females and 15 males. Among the participants were Chiredzi rural district councilors, local village heads, representative from war veteran and farmers club, development committee member.
Participants alluded to the fact that the government didn’t consult them regarding the project and currently they have no information on where there will be relocated to…
The councillors who were present during a meeting chaired by Minister July Moyo on the 30th of March said the government has not clearly explained how the affected communities are going to benefit from the project.
Traditional leaders in the area have vowed to resist eviction as there will be relocated to areas where there are no schools and clinics.
The Chilonga local leaders are going to take the matter to court with the help of MACRAD.
MACRAD and its structures (Peace clubs and Land ambassadors) and Chilonga communities agreed to launch a campaign title LAND4LIFE/ LIFEonLAND (Simu Lihanyo/Lihanyo hisimu) to expose and oppose the continuing and various forms of land and resource grabbing in Masvingo Province.
The campaign aims to highlight and stop land and resource grabbing as a gross violation of the human rights.
Farai Dziva|A new political party, The Patriotic Front has denounced the abduction of three MDC Alliance youth leaders by government agents.
Read full statement below:
It is with consternation and alarm that The Patriotic Front notes the increasing numbers of abductions and torture being carried out on the people of Zimbabwe.
We call on the government of Zimbabwe to do all in its power, under the name of justice and rule of law to search for, detain and prosecute those responsible for the heinous acts perpetrated on three of its citizens recently.
If the abduction and torture of three Zimbabwean women, notably one who is a Member of Parliament can go unpunished or is found to be the work of state security agents, or the work of the parties concerned, then we The Patriotic Front condemn these actions with the utmost outrage on behalf of our members.
The Patriotic Front calls for immediate action from the judiciary as this case will form jurisprudence for future incidences of this kind, and should be treated with the severity it justly deserves to stop an escalation in an already tense theatre that is Zimbabwe today.
DYNAMOS legend and former club captain Memory Mucherahowa has withdrawn his membership of the Zanu-PF UK branch and thrown his endorsement behind opposition MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa.
“Memory Mucherahowa supports MDCA and with Advocate Nelson Chamisa as our President, Thank you,” Mucherahowa, who led the high-riding Dynamos team to the CAF Champions League final in 1998 against Asec Mimosas, tweeted on Monday.
As if to add salt to injury, Mucherahowa tagged Nick Mangwana, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, on his tweet. Mangwana was a Zanu-PF UK chairman under the Robert Mugabe era when Mucherahowa was a Zanu-PF UK branch member.
Said Mangwana about the tag:
“Zvakanaka Cde. I am wondering why I am tagged. Is that your way of telling your former chairman of your new preference?”
However, the 52-year-old 1994 Soccer Star of the Year’s tweet generated more heat than light, causing heated exchanges between some prominent figures on the platform.
Chamisa welcomed the endorsement, and retweeted saying: “Chamisa re-tweeted the tweet and wrote: “I’m humbled…I respect this legend, one of our greatest in soccer!”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lawyer Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, raised a sentiment: “His vote, if he comes from UK to vote, will still count as one vote.”
Senior MDC Alliance officials have condemned the leaking of pictures of three party activists allegedly by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) forensic department.
The three activists, Harare West Legislator, Joanna Mamombe and her colleagues Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were taken from police custody, and were tortured and s_xually assaulted by unknown assailants last week.
Posting on Twitter, MDC Alliance Secretary for Welfare, Maureen Kademaunga said the pictures were taken in utmost confidence and it is inappropriate for the photos to be splashed on social media.
She said:
I am deeply disturbed that inappropriately exposing pictures of the MDCT trio that were taken by the Zimbabwe Republic Police forensic department in utmost confidence have been leaked by the same to social media. Completely unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour by a police officer.
MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende has also condemned the release of the “nudes” to “Varakashi”, calling it immoral and unethical. Said Hwende:
Why do police release photos taken for investigations to Varakashi? I saw in the morning that even nudes of the tortured girls have been splashed on the internet this is deplorable, wicked and cruel. These girls have families, fathers and brothers. Hazvina hunhu izvi Police.
The three activists are admitted at a local hospital, under police guard, where they are receiving treatment following their gruesome ordeal.
“Varakashi” is a term used to describe mostly “ghost” Twitter accounts which are pro-government and habitually disparage and malign people they consider independent-minded and opposition party activists and supporters.
Mnangagwa has effectively banned private actors in providing public transportation services through the ban of kombis.
The move is not only creating a monopoly for ZUPCO but will create challenges for commuters.
ZUPCO as seen in the first two weeks of the so called phase two is unable to provide adequate transport to the people already allowed to report for work.
Half the time commuters wait long hours to be able to travel to and from work,the level of inconvenience is unbearable.
Many transporters are against partnering ZUPCO providing it with their vehicles due to poor mantainance of vehicles in the scheme.
That itself is also a danger to commuters who are transported in unroadworthy vehicles,the ZUPCO badge puts an inspection immunity by VID therefore taking away the available remedy.
In any case ZUPCO has had failures of old , mostly associated with State Enterprise under a ZANUPF government,the failure to adhere to basic tenets of corporate governance,poor service, corruption and incurring of massive losses.
Without proper parastatal reform ZUPCO will once again fail ,the ban on kombis will result in transport challenges.
The government ought to allow private actors to participate in provision of public transport under regulations meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
These may include but not limited to mandatory disinfecting of the kombis through a monitored framework,limited number of passengers possibly half of the usual carrying capacity, enforcement of the use of masks and sanitisers.
That the police check compliance at all designated checkpoints.
Hon S Chikwinya. MDC Alliance National Secretary for Transport and Logistics*
MDC Alliance legislator Joana Mamombe’s husband, Mfundo Mlilo, says the 27-year-old Harare West MP is unable to speak or recognize familiar faces following her reported abduction and torture by as yet unidentified assailants following a protest she and other party youths held last Wednesday.
Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, all from the Nelson Chamisa-led Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A), claim they were dumped from a moving car at dawn on Friday outside a general dealer’s shop in Bindura South, about 80km from Harare.
“She sometimes just stares into the distance, at other times she cries hysterically,” he said.
“They started screaming when police officers came into the room. It is the uniform they associate with being terrorised and tortured,” said Mlilo, who is also an MDC Alliance official.
The women said that they were initially taken to Harare central police station from where they were driven for an hour, while their faces were covered, to a forest where they were thrown into a pit.
Mlilo told a UK publication that between Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning, four or five men in plain clothes beat and sexually brutalised the MDC Alliance activists and forced them to consume each other’s excrement.
They were ordered to watch and sing MDC songs as their friends were terrorised one by one, he adds.
“Joana is very brave and knows the risks she is taking in trying to liberate herself and all Zimbabweans from the ordeal of this regime.
“The regime thinks that the women are soft targets and it is the easiest way to terrorise a whole society,” says Mfundo, who campaigned to get his wife elected into Parliament in July 2018.
Meanwhile, The Times also reports that Henry Chimbiri, the 56-year-old father to Cecilia, has slept in his car outside the hospital since his daughter was brought in.
A former MDC elections director during the days of founding party president Morgan Tsvangirai, Chimbiri says bravery is in the family as he himself was arrested and tortured many times in the Robert Mugabe era.
“Things are now far more dangerous,” he said, adding: “Mugabe was a front for the devilish underground movement of his party, led by Mnangagwa, that was responsible for its worst excesses. Now it is those very people who are in power.”
Meanwhile, Government says it will investigate the matter and get to the bottom of what transpired between the protests and Friday morning when the three youth leaders re-emerged from their ordeal.
ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga said that senior officers in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) were already split into teams and the nation will soon be updated on what transpired.
This also comes as Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, during a press briefing yesterday, also reiterated that some real deep investigations are ongoing.
By A Correspondent- The late Zanu PF politburo member and acting Bulawayo provincial chairperson Absolom Sikhosana died a pauper with well-wishers only chipping in two days before his death to pay for his prescribed medication as he had fallen on hard times, close family members have claimed.
The family members, who declined to be named, said well-wishers bought medication and had him transferred to a decent ward shortly before he succumbed to prostate cancer at United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) on Friday.
The Zanu PF bigwig, who served for 10 years as national youth secretary in the politburo, had no medical aid and funeral policy, it has emerged.
Sikhosana has since been declared a national hero and will be buried at the National Hero’s Acre in Harare on a date yet to be announced.
“Sikhosana was admitted on Monday and he spent three days without treatment because the hospital had no drugs. He could not manage to buy the prescribed medication because he did not have money or medical aid,” the family source said.
The female family member said Sikhosana claimed to have been dumped by his erstwhile colleagues in Zanu PF.
“He was admitted in Forrester ward, a common ward for all-male patients. He was only helped by a Bulawayo party leader and businessman who requested his transfer to a private ward. Even his medication came two days before his death after intervention from elsewhere. He died drained and a pauper,” she said.
The source said the late politburo member’s remains were only collected from the mortuary by a private funeral company after government declared him a national hero.
“It was so disheartening for such a big name to die in that way after all he did for the country and party,” the source said.
UBH acting chief executive officer Narcisius Dzvanga yesterday confirmed that Sikhosana’s body had been collected.
“The body is no longer with us. It has been collected to a parlour,” Dzvanga said.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Affairs minister Judith Ncube professed ignorance over reports that Sikhosana faced challenges in settling medical bills at UBH.
“I was not told by the family members, hospital officials or the party that the deceased Zanu PF politburo member Sikhosana had challenges in terms of medical expenses. Whoever assisted him with the challenges did well. I cannot comment further on this matter,” Ncube said.
Contacted for comment, Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said he only got to know of Sikhosana’s cash challenges late last week.
“I got to know about the issue through the party that a member assisted Sikhosana when he had financial challenges while admitted in hospital,” Mpofu said.
“The party will now have to pay back the member in question. It was not supposed to be taken to the media that a member had assisted him (Sikhosana). Why would someone go to the media soon after assisting a fellow member?” he asked.
By A Correspondent| Residents of Kuwadzana East Constituency will today petition parliament over the recall and dismissal of Honourable Charlton Hwende from the national assembly.
Hwende together with three other legislators namely Prosper Mutseyami, Lilian Timveos and Tabitha Khumalo were recalled from parliament at the instigation of Douglas Mwonzora who was reinstated as the MDC-T Secretary General by the Supreme Court.
The residents are expected to handover a petition signed by over 6000 people from Kuwadzana East.
According to the Zimbabwe Constitution, Members of Parliament serve at the pleasure of the party on whose ticket they were elected under, leaving voters without a say despite being a key stakeholder in the whole electoral process.
The New Times, a Rwandese English daily newspaper has claimed that Zimbabwe was harbouring a 1994 genocide suspect, Ramathan Muhire.
The publication reports that Muhire was a leading figure in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi before he relocated to Malawi after the fall of the Hutu regime, before settling in Zimbabwe where he is believed to have set up businesses.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Home Affairs, Kazembe Kazembe, however, dismissed the claim on Sunday saying he was not aware of the story. He said:
I am hearing this for the first time, I don’t even know this person.
The newspaper further claimed that Muhire was a member of the Interahamwe militia which executed the genocide, killing over a million Tutsis in cold blood.
The genocide against the Tutsi was stopped after the then rebel movement, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, led by now President Paul Kagame that drove the extremist government out of power.
The perpetrators of the genocide are, Hutu-led government, Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi militias, Hutu neighbours.
In 2010, Rwanda’s prosecutor general, Martin Ngoga implored the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to take action to motivate Zimbabwe to release Potrais Mpiranya, the third most wanted fugitive of the genocide whom he claimed was in the country
By A Correspondent- A Chitungwiza landlord evicted her tenant last week arguing that the national lockdown decisions on paying of rentals in instalments do not apply to her.
Rejoice Makona forced children of her tenant Lorraine Maenzanise to pack their belongings in her absence in Unit B Chitungwiza over US$20. Makona’s decision shocked her neighbours and the matter was resolved at Chitungwiza Police Station where she was ordered to wait for Maenzanise and resolve their issues amicably.
“We were shocked by Makona’s decision to evict her tenant during Covid-19 where everyone is struggling to get money considering that she is a teacher, guardian of law and person of responsibility,” said one of the neighbours.
“The two had some differences after Makona’s son ended up bedding Maenzanise’s daughter so when we tried to reason with her she became emotional and chronicled a number of issue that forced her to evict the tenant,” added the neighbour.
Contacted for comment, Makona confirmed the story saying Maenzanise’s daughter is the one who looked for accommodation that is why she decided to evict her in her mother’s absence
“Maenzanise’s daughter who fell in love with my son is the one who came looking for accommodation and their mother joined them later,” said Makona.
“It is true that I removed their belongings in her absence but I stashed them in one room since they had failed to pay my money on time although I was aware of national lockdown decisions regarding paying of rentals during Covid-19.
“I could not starve my family because of Maenzanise that is why I decided to evict her. “Akaramba kugara mu one room mandakanga ndamuti agare ozobhadhara zvake Covid-19 yapera saka nyaya yacho yakazosvika kumapurisa eChitungwiza tikayananiswa.
“She destroyed my door in April last year and never repaired it so I could not accommodate her anymore without paying rentals,” said Makona. Maenzanise described Makona as cruel and heartless considering that she evicted her children without her knowledge.
“I do not know how Makona treats school children because the way she evicted me during this national lockdown is inhumane,” said Maenzanise.
“If it was not our neighbours who confronted her over her decision my property could have been destroyed because she removed it in during my absence.
“Our children fell in love after staying at their house and her son later left the country and that had nothing to do with her decision to remove my property in my absence,” said Maenzanise. Maenzanise packed her belongings over the weekend and left the place.
By A Correspondent- The opposition MDC has said that residents of Kuwadzana East Constituency shall today submit a petition at the Parliament of Zimbabwe in support of Chalton Hwende who was recently recalled from Parliament.
Hwende was recalled at the instigation of the reinstated MDC-T Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora who wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda saying Hwende had ceased to be a member of the party that got him into Parliament.
Posting on Twitter this morning, MDC UK and Ireland said:
Kuwadzana East Constituency residents to present a Petition at Parliament in support of Kuwadzana East MP Hon Chalton Hwende today 12 pm.
The Petition was signed by over 6000 local residents of the Kuwadzana East constituency. For info pls contact Mr Mariga on +263 77 326 8192
Hwende together with Prosper Mutseyami, Tabitha Khumalo and senator Lillian Timveous were recalled from Parliament at the backdrop of a leadership crisis in the party.
The quartet has since approached the High Court challenging its expulsion saying that Mwonzora or MDC-T had no right to recall them since they are members of the MDC Alliance.
By Own Correspondent| Another member of the Presidential Advisory Council, Busisa Moyo has castigated the recent abduction of three MDC Alliance members saying as long as this dark chapter continues to hover around, Zimbabwe will not go anywhere.
Posting on Twitter, Moyo said the state should cater for the welfare of citizens telling the regime to end abductions and inconclusive investigations.
“Dear @Jamwanda2@matigary We must end these bizarre abductions & inconclusive investigations to these cases. The State is responsible for the welfare of citizens! Even the Catholic Bishops (a member of HOCD) are gravely concerned. Let’s fix this or else hakuna kwatioenda!,” said Moyo.
The state has in the past failed to produce investigation reports on the Itai Dzamara disappearance, White City bombing incident and many other human rights abuses.
Minister of Home Affairs Sunday afternoon promised to leave no stone unturned to investigate the truth around the abduction of the three MDC Alliance women, Joana Mamombe, Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.
My son has thrown his bald head for bold young women leaders; Netsai,Hon @JoanaMamombe and Cecilia I taught him to respect women. I taught him to do house chores. I taught him to protect women. In the last 24 years I have seen the most peaceful gentleman on earth.Come on mothers pic.twitter.com/ZA3QYu95sl
— Muzvare Shonga Betty Makoni (@MuzvareBetty) May 18, 2020
It's my barber cutting my hair further Bald head for the bold Zimbabwe torture victims @JoanaMamombe Cecilia and Netsai. There is a page dedicated to them for your kind donations. Let's pull a pound each to fund their journey to heal Please donate https://t.co/ADQs7XagY6pic.twitter.com/9T8L4BOIm6
— Muzvare Shonga Betty Makoni (@MuzvareBetty) May 17, 2020
The Human Rights Forum has said it “strongly condemns” the “abduction and torture of MDC Alliance youth leaders,” Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.
We present the statement in full below.
Press Statement: Forum strongly condemns abduction and torture of MDC Alliance youth leaders 16 May 2020.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) is appalled and registers its deepest contempt on the abduction and torture of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance Member of Parliament Joana Mamombe and Youth Assembly leaders Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.
What the three have endured, constitute the most egregious and extensive sufferings a human being can experience, as proscribed by the Constitution of the land: unlawful and arbitrary detention (section 49), infringement of human dignity (section 51), violation of bodily and psychological integrity — including sexual assault (section 52), torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — including being forced to eat and drink human excreta (section 53) and violation of equal protection of the law (section 56). This followed an arrest for exercising their constitutional rights to speak out and to their conscience, including through peaceful demonstration.
Manner of arrest and abduction
The Forum noted the article in the Herald newspaper on 14 May in which the national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi was quoted confirming the trio’s arrest, although he was still to find out where they were being held. The Forum also notes the corroboration from the trio that they were initially taken to Harare Central Police Station upon arrest. Additionally, the Forum notes the further social media communication of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) through their Twitter handle, to the effect that the trio was not in police custody. Cogent explanation is needed on how and why the trio, if they indeed were in police custody, left that custody. Similarly, explanation is needed on the contradictory statements issued by the police.
It is worrisome, and everyone is justified to worry for their security and safety, if people in police custody can find themselves in a situation as the three. The State is duty-bound to account for all its citizens and to protect and ensure their security and well-being, even if under lawful detention. No citizen should live in fear of extra-legal treatment, either at the hands of the State or non-State actors.
No justification for abduction and torture
For whatever reason, and under whatever circumstance, no one should be abducted or tortured. Section 56(1) of the Constitution demands that all persons are accorded equal protection and benefit of the law. The law provides for the mechanisms through which even those who break the law are arrested, tried and if found guilty, treated.
For those who seek to apportion blame to the victims in whatever manner or form, the Forum reminds them that once a culture of disregard of the law and human rights takes root, and a cycle of violence and abuse of due process is established, no one is safe, including perpetrators. It is folly for anyone to derive pleasure in ascribing the heinous crime to “self-abduction” and other shocking explanations and justifications, and to revel in a self-sense of security. The culture of violence must be nipped in the bud.
Sexual assault continues to be used as a weapon of abuse and torture. All right-thinking citizens should be outraged. Whether one has committed an offence under the country’s laws or not, sexual assault can never be an appropriate response.
Respect for privacy
The constitutional right to privacy, as with any other right, stems for the need to respect human dignity, and not humiliate and expose victims to further trauma. It is extremely important for the media and for political leaders to vigorously speak out, when heinous crimes such as this are committed. In so doing however, the obligation to respect privacy remains. The Forum reminds the media and individuals visiting the victims to take extra caution to ensure a fine balance between exposure of the crimes committed and the protection of the victims’ privacy. Sensitive graphic material should be shared with discretion.
Call to action
The time is now for government to categorically state its repugnance towards such savage and barbaric conduct. If the government shares the same standards of law abidance that it demands of its citizens, it is critical that the government condemns the violations both in speech and deeds. Episodes such as these simply serve to remind of impunity and the unjust past Zimbabweans have long suffered. If our leaders are sincere in turning a leaf to a truly new dispensation, the strongest condemnation of these acts is expected, and concrete, meaningful steps must be taken. The nation and the international community are watching.
The Forum strongly urges all concerned and well-meaning Zimbabweans to call for decisive action from the authorities. In particular, the Forum demands of the government to:
• Thoroughly and exhaustively investigate the circumstances of the arrest, abduction and torture of the three, and bring perpetrators to justice;
• Ratify and domestic the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances;
• Ratify and domesticate the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and
• Amend the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act to include a stand-alone offence of torture, accompanied by severe punishment. //ENDS//
By Own Correspondent| The opposition MDC Alliance is set to file a High Court interdict to stop the rival faction led by Dr Thokozani Khupe from further recalling its legislators.
This comes amid reports that Manicaland Senator Douglas Mwonzora who was recently reinstated as the MDC-T Secretary by the Supreme Court is set to wield axe on six more legislators aligned to Nelson Chamisa.
The court will hear the urgent chamber application at 1430hrs today.
By Own Correspondent| Mike Chimombe is often labelled by many in Zimbabwe of a being a real monster who has mainly benefited from patronage as a result of his strong links to ZANU PF and his relationship to the ruling party’s Mashonaland West strongman and one of the country’s richest tycoon Phillip Chiyangwa.
Despite being a legal practitioner and socialite, Chimombe also happens to be the Affirmative Action Group’s (AAG) president for Mashonaland West Chapter.
AAG is a ruling party linked black empowerment pressure group. The man who has often been described as ruthless by his foes and friends alike is not shy of flaunting his wealth when the opportunity presents itself.
What more one would expect if your inner circle of friends include other ruling party linked monsters who include Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, Albert Ndabambi, Tazvi “Chief J” Mhaka and the Power Circle who are all among some of the biggest spenders in Harare.
However, despite the flamboyancy, glitzy and glamour lifestyle which is often exhibited on the outward, Chimombe is a loan shark hiding within the structures of the ruling acolytes as he has taken peoples’ properties to the extent that several of his victims have suffered quietly because of fear and death threats.
The Nemakonde High schooled monster has been described as a dangerous person with money and power and most of his scandalous victims have no voice at all as a result of his politically achieved social status.
He also operates within the confines of the illegal forex dealing cartels who have direct access to cash from the central government.
Chimombe is also often accused of having a nick of grabbing properties belonging to most of his loan sharking victims to the extent that some remain holed outside the country fearing retribution if they ever set back their foot in the country.
These ruling party linked cartels where Chimombe is one of the tycoons, are also beneficiaries of fuel and other illicit deals where they use their spoils from their equally illicit proceeds to the loan sharking business.
Mnangagwa has effectively banned private actors in providing public transportation services through the ban of kombis.
The move is not only creating a monopoly for ZUPCO but will create challenges for commuters.
ZUPCO as seen in the first two weeks of the so called phase two is unable to provide adequate transport to the people already allowed to report for work.
Half the time commuters wait long hours to be able to travel to and from work, the level of inconvenience is unbearable.
Many transporters are against partnering ZUPCO providing it with their vehicles due to poor mantainance of vehicles in the scheme.
That itself is also a danger to commuters who are transported in unroadworthy vehicles, the ZUPCO badge puts an inspection immunity by VID therefore taking away the available remedy.
In any case ZUPCO has had failures of old , mostly associated with State Enterprise under a Zanu PF government, the failure to adhere to basic tenets of corporate governance, poor service, corruption and incurring of massive losses.
Without proper parastatal reform ZUPCO will once again fail, the ban on kombis will result in transport challenges.
The government ought to allow private actors to participate in provision of public transport under regulations meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
These may include but not limited to mandatory disinfecting of the kombis through a monitored framework, limited number of passengers possibly half of the usual carrying capacity, enforcement of the use of masks and sanitisers.
That the police check compliance at all desgnated checkpoints.
Hon S Chikwinya.
MDC Alliance National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Pastor Shingi Munyeza, you my brother are what my sons call “The Real MVP!”I too condemn this sorrowful act against women & happening just after Mother’s Day. I have a daughter, sisters, a mother, nieces, lady friends & CANNOT tolerate a society that accepts this.#ViolenceIsWrong
— Nigel MK Chanakira (@nigelchanakira) May 18, 2020
ByEtiwel Mutero|We have been accused of being sell outs. They claim that we we’re bought by Zanu PF in order to support Mwonzora. Chamisa’s ‘cult’ followers think everyone who supports Mwonzora is on Zanu PF payroll. I was once accused of singing for my supper for simply writing in support of Mwonzora. I think Zanu PF is a very rich party which can sponsor anyone who don’t bootlick Chamisa.
These Nerorists or the MDC Chamisa supporters are full of hate such that they so believe that Chamisa is God while Mwonzora is a devil. Have you ever tried to criticise Magaya or TB Joshua on social media. Have you ever seen the sorts of insults and criticism you get from the so called followers of the so called men of God? That’s the same experience you will get if you try to stand against Chamisa. You will be criticised by all and relatives will seek to disown you.
What is it that Chamisa has done for Zimbabwe which warrants him such love and affection from the ignorant masses of Zimbabwe. As far as I can recall Chamisa has done nothing, absolutely nothing for any Zimbabwean. He doesn’t have any special quality for him to different from any man or woman of his size and age. Haana zvaakaita chero chimwe but he managed to mesmerize the Zimbabwean population and they are now glued and trapped to this young man as flues to a spider web.
I once asked one day what people think are Chamisa’s positive leadership qualities which they think makes him a better leader than Mwonzora, Komichi, Khupe or Mudzuri and nobody was able to give me a better answer. The young man has no leadership qualities which can set him aside from any MDC leaders including Mwonzora, he has none.
We were discussing one day with my friends in a WhatsApp group and I clearly said I am an MDC supporter but I don’t support this young man called Nelson and the whole group was like “Chamisa” is far much better than yourself” and I said “explain why you think I am inferior to Nelson ?” They couldn’t tell me.
So they say Nelson got 2 million voters in 2018 so he is a great man. What help is those 2 million votes if he is not the President of Zimbabwe ? Dzodyiwa here 2 mirioni idzodzo?
They say Mwonzora is wasting his time. Politics is a game of numbers. Where will he get supporters. So they assume Chamisa has a fixed number of people come 2023 he will get back his 2 million votes and Mwonzora will get a fixed number of 50 000 throughout the country. Ah manyepo ayo. I am not a prophet but Chamisa’s image has been dented by his refusal to observe his party Constitution and his habit of refusing to subject himself to court orders. Progresive and thinking people are able to see that once elected Chamisa will be an arrogant dictator Africa had ever seen.
So they say Khupe, Mudzuri, Komichi and Mwonzora are old let them go. They insinuates that the so called MDC Alliance party which is one year old is a party of toddlers, a jiggies party neh!? Old people had no share or voice in this one year old party, that the the 4 were the old people in the MDC party and the likes of Hon. Femai are less than 40 years old.
They tell us Mwonzora was paid by Zanu PF to destroy the main opposition party in Zimbabwe. Really? When did the MDC Alliance became the biggest party in Zimbabwe if it was formed in Gweru last year? Yes it was not there in 2018 according to Biti and other MDC lawyers. How then can Mwonzora seek to destroy a one year old party, a party without any single MP in parliament?
Mwonzora is the Secretary General of the MDC party left by Tsvamgirai in 2018 commonly known as the MDC-T not Khupe’s MDC-T. He is not into Chamisa’s creature which is one year old but which seeks to celebrates 20 years of existence. What a confusion.
Mwonzora is the man of the moment, principled, slow to speak, speaks with softness but his speech is full of wisdom.He is not swayed from the truth by ignorant criticism but he is composed and confident. He is not moved by the mob but he stands for the truth even if the heavens falls (E.G.White) That’s what we call leadership. We know that if he gets the chance to lead the country he will guard and protect the national Constitution as men protects the apple of an eye.
So they tell us Mwonzora is a small boy and he is a nonentity. If those allegations are true why is it people like Pedzisai Ruhanya tweets an average of 20 tweets a day denigrating a “small boy” a “nonentity” heee!? If you are so sure that Chamisa is a giant ,a Goliath while Mwonzora is a herd boy David, why can’t you leave us alone with our David. Why waste your data fighting a small boy.
We will stand for Tsvangirai’s legacy and we will support Mwonzora to the end and we reject every effort to be yoked by G40s, we won’t be tainted by elements of corrupt Zanu PF.
Etiwel Mutero is a political analyst, archivist, author and a prospective farmer
Own Correspondent|Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi has been arrested and he is in Police custody after allegedly breaking Lockdown protocols. The 19-year-old winger who committed his long term future to Chelsea months ago after signing a Five year deal with the London club.
The 19-year-old allegedly demanded that a woman whom he met online come to his Penthouse, the woman is said to be a model. The woman allegedly called the Police after an altercations with the Chelsea star, with an ambulance at the scene too. This happened early hours on Sunday 17th May around 4am. It remains to be seen and confirmed if there was any case of assault as it was reported that it was the woman who called the Police and Ambulance herself.
This won’t be news that will go down well with the Chelsea hierarchy. No charges have been brought forward by the woman according to the latest reports. The only charge or offense the Chelsea star will likely face is breaking of Lockdown protocols and he might be fined heavily for it.
This also will not come as good news to Frank Lampard who has backed the youngster to regain his form after the winger came back from a bad Achilles injury he sustained last season under Maurizio Sarri.
The youngster also has not recovered the form which made Chelsea tie him down to a lucrative 5 years contract despite real interest from Bayern Munich.
Permanent Secretary - Basic Education, Bridget John
Gaborone — Public schools are to re-open on June 2 while private schools will be eligible to reopen from May 15 if they have satisfied the COVID-19 guidelines set by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Permanent Secretary – Basic Education, Bridget John has said.
Addressing the media in Gaborone on May 16, Ms John said that her Ministry had taken a staggered approach to the reopening of schools and only completing classes would re-open on June 2 while others would resume classes two-three weeks later.
“For the time being completing classes such as Standard Seven well as Form Three and Five will re-open on June 2 and the public needs not worry about the curriculum since we have adjusted the school calendar including examination dates, which have been pushed back in order to cushion the delay of classes during the period of extreme social distancing,” she said.
She said teachers and support staff were expected to report for duty on May 18.
Ms John said that by the time public schools reopen, physical health inspections that were guided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness guidelines would have been conducted throughout the schools to check if they were in line with the COVID-19 regulations, as such items such as thermometers would be delivered to schools from May 18.
Regarding the overpopulation of pupils in classes, Ms John said consultative talks were still ongoing and the nation would be notified in due course.
She said her ministry had observed that there were challenges of transport and acquisition of permits by teachers and support staff who were supposed to return to work and the authorities would not be rigid towards those who may not be able to report for duty on stipulated dates.
For his part, permanent secretary for Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Theophilus Mooko said institutions would also adopt a staggered approach when they open and first year students would be catered by readjustment of school calendars.
“We need to manage the new normal, but I would like to assure the nation that as we restructure the academic year, the integrity and quality of courses’ content will not be compromised,” he said.
He said, however, that applications for scholarships would be determined by whether or not social distancing protocols had ended.
Dr Mooko noted that online application for scholarship was not yet possible – if all goes well, it may be available next year.
Correspondent|The Thokozani Khupe led MDC-T is set to recall more MDC Alliance MPs this Tuesday when parliament sits.
According to a social media audio circulated to ZimEye.com sources, Nomvula Mguni the MDC-T Bulawayo Provincial Secretary moved a motion at an MDC-T National Council online meeting calling for the withdrawal of the legislators because they were hostile to Thokozani Khupe.
The following were specifically named in the audio in question:
South African Police in Limpopo recovered illicit cigarettes, being smuggled into that country from Zimbabwe, worth over R1 million in the crime-infested town of Musina near the Beitbridge border post at the weekend.
The discovery was made during a joint operation conducted in the Musina policing area on Friday.
Spokesperson for the police in Limpopo Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said police, the South African National Defence Force and traffic officers received information about suspects transporting illicit cigarettes and immediately followed up.
He said a roadblock was set up and attempts were made to stop the vehicles coming from Tshipise in the direction of the N1 in the Vhembe region.
“The four vehicles, a Mazda sedan, Nissan paddle van, Toyota Quantum and a Chrysler SUV, were stopped at different intervals but a Nissan bakkie failed to stop in accordance with the officials’ signal.
“It sped off and turned into a nearby gravel road. A car chase ensued until the driver lost control and hit a fence. The suspects then got out and ran into the bush,” said Mojapelo yesterday.
A Toyota Quantum also did not stop and both the driver and passenger jumped from the moving vehicle and escaped.
“The vehicle hit a pole and came to a halt. A Mazda was seen making a U-turn in an attempt to evade arrest but police gave chase.
“The suspects abandoned the vehicle and also fled into the nearby bush. The last vehicle, the Chrysler, was also abandoned.”
During the search, police discovered the following inside three of the vehicles: 57 boxes with 50 cartons in each box, 87 boxes of Remington Gold cigarettes with 21 cartons and two packets of 20 cigarettes, 15 boxes with 47 cartons and seven packets.
The value of the recovered cigarettes, according to Mojapelo, was estimated at R1.4 million. He said the fourth vehicle (the Chrysler) did not have cigarettes in it, but it was suspected to be stolen.
The origin and destination of the recovered properties would be determined in the ongoing investigation.
Provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba commended the members for their vigilance and commitment, which resulted in the confiscation of the illicit cigarettes and the vehicles.
He urged anyone with information that might lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact Colonel Mamuhoyi on 082-414-6683 or to phone crime stop on 0860010111.
Own Correspondent|Government will soon be arresting abducted, tortured and dumped MDC Alliance MP, Joanna Mamombe who are currently in hospital.
Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe revealed in a statement that Police will pounce on Mamombe and some party activists for allegedly staging an illegal demonstration and violating lockdown regulations.
Mamombe and party youth leaders, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were last Wednesday abducted and subjected to horrendous torture by suspected state security agents who accused them of plotting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The three had earlier been involved in an anti-government protest over lockdown food distributions.
At a media briefing in Harare on Sunday, Kazembe Kazembe said police were still going to press charges against the three for organising a demonstration when the country had declared a national lockdown against the spread of coronavirus.
“The trio’s demonstration was illegal because for one to stage a demonstration, one should have a police clearance.
“So, in that respect, it was illegal and they also violated the lockdown regulations. So, it was illegal and there was no social distancing.
“So, it will be dealt with at an appropriate time. For now, we are dealing with the alleged abduction,” Kazembe said.
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Willard Katsande has donated groceries to the people in his rural area of Mutoko.
The 34-year old announced the news on Twitter, saying he made the donations to help those that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
He tweeted: “COVID 19 has changed our lives and in these extraordinary times, we had to do our part and help by donating food parcels in my rural area of Mutoko in Mashonaland East
“Despite these difficult times, we will always offer our support to others where we can.”
Covid 19 has changed our lives and in these extraordinary times we had to do our part and help by donating food parcels in my rural area of Mutoko in Mashonaland East ??.Despite these difficult times we will always offer our support to others where we can. pic.twitter.com/kuRcweekWl
— Willard Katsande (@WillardKatsande) May 17, 2020
The parcels consisted of maize meal, cooking oil, sugar, powdered milk, flour and soap.
Katsande also supported the One Million Masks and Sanitisers campaign which was launched last month by former Miss Zimbabwe Samantha Tshuma.
This comes when more than 40 states in the US announced the formal “re-opening plans” as President Donald Trump discussed new guidelines to lift restrictions.
The United States has recorded at least 25,060 new confirmed cases and 1,224 fatalities from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to a tally. A total of 1,507,773 people have been infected with the disease so far, and as many as 90,113 have succumbed to COVID-19. New York state has accounted for 348k out of the total cases and over 22,478 deaths alone as of May 17.
This comes when more than 40 states in the US announced the formal “re-opening plans” as President Donald Trump discussed new guidelines to lift restrictions. Trump laid out a vision at the round table to pivot from the pandemic to restore pre-coronavirus normalcy — “with or without” a vaccine, as he said.
Announcing the state-by-state formal plan at a press conference streamed online, US President Trump said, “America wants to be open and Americans want to be open. A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution.” Further, he added, “healthy citizens would be able to return to work as conditions allow” while speaking at the round table. “I don’t want people to get used to this,” Trump told US reporters. “I see the new normal being what it was three months ago.”
However, in opposition to Trump’s hasty lifting of the coronavirus restrictions, while the cases surmount, more than 120 restaurants in Atlanta state in the US refused to open businesses, as per local media reports. Restaurant owners in Atlanta and Savannah that operate more than 120 restaurants said that they were against the state law that allowed the dining rooms to resume operations. They started the “#GAHospitalityTogether” initiative to oppose the reopening that includes award-winning chefs from across the country, as per the reports. According to the new guidelines, Georgia ordered the restaurants to operate at 50 per cent capacity and asked the businesses to “reopen”.
Deaths don’t stop in New York
Meanwhile, New York witnessed a staggering death toll across the nursing homes that shocked public officials, according to media reports. The number of bodies became so overwhelming the home ordered a refrigerator truck to store them because funeral homes have been taking days to pick up the deceased. The nursing homes also encountered staffing shortages, prompting to hire from outside agencies while the challenges of securing personal protective equipment for employees remained, US media reports confirmed.
The police have appealed to the public to assist with information that may lead the recapture of four escaped inmates.
Amos Chikwange (top left), Sam Hlungwane (top right), Medicine Girenzi (bottom left) and Morris Tyavana (bottom right). Photo: SAPS / Twitter
Four awaiting trial prisoners escaped the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services facility in Pretoria, the South African Police Service (SAPS) revealed on Saturday.
Dangerous inmates escape Pretoria prison
The inmates are wanted for a variety of crimes ranging from theft to armed robbery.
Their names are Morris Tyavana, Medicine Girenzi, Amos Chikwange and Sam Hlungwane. The latter is a South African citizen, while the other three hail from Zimbabwe.
Tyavana is wanted for armed robbery, with the other three in for theft. Girenzi is also awaiting trial for house robbery.
Police have appealed to the public to assist with the location of the prisoners.
“The Department is appealing to the public to assist with any information that may lead to their re-arrest.”
Those with information on the quartet’s whereabouts are urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
The correctional facility where the four men escaped was recently in the news when it recorded its first COVID-19 case in April.
This made the prison the third in the country to record a case of the coronavirus, with West Bank prison in East London reporting most of the confirmed infections within the Department of Correctional Services.
Earlier in the month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that 19 000 “low-risk” prisoners will be released on parole across the country. This excludes inmates serving life imprisonment for crimes related to gender-based violence and sexual offences, child abuse, murder, attempted sabotage and terrorism.
Also not eligible for parole are those declared dangerous in line with the Criminal Procedure Act, and those certified mentally ill and detained in line with the Mental Health Care Act.
Other categories include offenders who committed violations under the Domestic Violence Act, as well as those detaineed for armed robbery or robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Own Correspondent|On a casual Sunday morning especially during an outbreak of a global pandemic, some Johannesburg natives did not expect to see their president jog past them in the streets.
To their surprise, the individual fully-covered from head to toe in his black tracksuit and cap was actually their Commander In Chief, Cyril Ramaphosa himself with no heavy protective detail.
According to a Twitter user Nwabisa Makunga, she heard someone say “Good morning Mr President, we love you” and decided to record a video of the moment.
It is quite intriguing how they recognized the president beyond his facemask.
Some Mzansi women are seen in the video approaching the fully-covered figure asking for a photo to which he obliged — even though they broke the social distancing protocol.
But will our own Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa with his huge security entourage ever be found in this situation and allow for citizens to freely mingle with him?
President Emmerson Mnangagwa with his security
Watch this video
While busy reading about #Trump’s psychotic rule this morning, I hear someone shouting outside my window..”Good morning Mr President, we love you!” @CyrilRamaphosapic.twitter.com/UXAuPodAcC
Own Correspondent|The Ministry of Health and Child Care has reported that as of 17 May 2020, Zimbabwe had officially recorded 46 coronavirus cases including 4 deaths and 18 recoveries.
See the ministry’s full statement below.
Highlights of the situation report.
Two (2) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. One is a male returnee from the United Kingdom and the second is a truck driver who initially tested positive In Zambia and again tested positive on re-testing in Harare. Both cases are stable and are in self-isolation at home In Harare.
Today 671 RDT screening tests and 279 PCR diagnostic tests were done. The cumulative number of tests done to date is 28 019 (15 455 RDT and 12564 PCR).
To date, the total number of confirmed cases is 46, recovered 18, active cases 24 and 4 deaths since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
The mandatory use of face masks in all public places remains In place. Babies and children under 2 years of age should not wear face masks as they cannot remove the masks when they feel suffocated. As much as possible, babies and young children should be kept away from public places.
Own Correspondent|PREVENTATIVE Services Chief Director In the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr Gibson Mhlanga has been appointed as the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry.
He replaces Dr Agnes Mahomva who was recently controversially moved from the Ministry to work on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office as National Covid-19 Director.
Own Correspondent|Team Pachedu has claimed mogul Kuda Tagwirei owns 125 ZUPCO buses. This was revealed on Twitter in a tweet that insinuated that the state was captured by Tagwireyi.
Team Pachedu Tweeted:
At least 125 of the new ZUPCO buses belong to Tagwirei who acquired them through Landela Investments, a subsidiary of Sotic International & is still importing more.
Banning Kombis will result in the loss of thousands of jobs and benefit mainly the cartel kingpin.#StateCapture
Own Correspondent|South African Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that there are now 15,515 confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Africa.
This is an increase of 1,160 cases from the 14,355 cases reported on Saturday, when the country recorded its highest daily total of 831 new infections.
Dr Mkhize said on Sunday (17 May), that the total number of deaths has now reached 264 – an increase of three deaths from 261 reported before.
The Western Cape has contributed 890 new cases, followed by the Eastern Cape, with 124 new infections reported over the past 24 hours.
The minister said that 460,873 tests have been conducted to date – 21,314 over the past 24-hours, while he highlighted a total of 7,006 recoveries to date.
Own Correspondent|MDC founding veteran Engineer Elias Mudzuri has called on party leader Nelson Chamisa to engage with all the other factions of the opposition party to try and rebuild the party.
In an wide ranging interview with Sly Media, Mudzuri lamented at what he called the continuous disintegration of the once very vibrant opposition party.
Watch full interview in the video downloading below:
Correspondent|Smugglers bringing second-hand clothes threaten programmes to contain Covid-19, police have said.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said people must understand the impact of Covid-19, and stop smuggling second-hand clothes since they may potentially spread the virus.
“People need to understand that this disease is real and we will all die if we allow people through the border line,” said Insp Mazula.
While the neighbouring countries do not have too many cases of coronavirus, the clothes which come mainly from Europe and the United States, may potentially carry the virus, which is why Government is determined to block the threat.
Briefing the media in Masvingo on Thursday last week, the Covid-19 provincial taskforce’s information and publicity chairman Mr Rogers Irimai said most of the traders use illegal crossing points to avoid paying taxes.
“Government is clamping down on second-hand clothes imports as cross-border Covid-19 infections and smuggling surge,” he said. “Cross-border traders, who are smuggling bales of second-hand clothes from neighbouring countries, are defying lockdown regulations and illegally cross into countries such as South Africa and Mozambique, risking the spread of Covid-19.”
Smuggling of bales of second hand clothes has been rife for years, especially along the border with Mozambique.
Mr Irimai said Government should increase the fight against smuggling of second hand-clothes.
Zimbabwe first banned the importation of second-clothes in 2015, to protect the country’s textile industry, but relaxed the restrictions two years later as it was a major source of income for informal traders.
The country shut its borders on March 30, to all traffic except approved cargoes as a measure to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
Johanna Mamombe in a stretcher at a private hospital in Harare.
A Zimbabwean state official says three members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who were seized by unknown assailants last Wednesday, tortured and dumped 80 kilometers outside Harare, are stage-managing their abductions in order for the international community to deploy troops in the country and topple the ruling Zanu PF government.
Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi, who described Harare lawmaker Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova as “comedians” seeking the removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government through international military force, claimed that their abductions are nothing new in Zimbabwe as “the opposition has failed to defeat Zanu PF in national elections”.
He said, “… It started with Morgen Tsvangirai. He couldn’t win an outright majority to form a government and that led to that GNU (government of national unity). That legacy has continued with Chamisa as well. He has failed to win the hearts of the Zimbabwean people … Now the opposition and other enemies of the government, they are now coming up with something, some strategies that can entail the international community to fight the Zimbabwean government directly seeing that on the election front they cannot achieve regime change.
“So, these abductions are being used by opposition leaders to ensure that government has a bad image, government is seen as torturing its citizens and breaking international law and they hope that this will trigger international powers or foreign powers like the U.S and other hostile countries into not only imposing more sanctions but also deciding on a military intervention. They are entertaining this hoping that one day there will be military intervention by some countries, something that we know is not going to happen.”
He said the “fake abductions” started with “some comedians, I don’t still remember their names), we come to the doctors, that Magombeyi as well, they were all those stories and they continue, now with an MDC MP saying they have been abducted. What these people are doing is that they are faking these abductions.”
Challenged to elaborate on his suggestions about fake abductions in the wake of the brutalization of Dr. Peter Magombeyi, who was leader of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association during the time he was seized by suspected state security agents, and the disappearance of some activists in independent Zimbabwe, Mutodi insisted that the opposition MDC led by Chamisa was playing dirty political tricks in order to unseat the ruling party while attempting to quell an uprising in his party.
He claimed that the three women, who were allegedly sexually abused and tortured by their captors that seized them at a Harare police station and then dumped them two days later in Bindura South, may have been abducted by some members of the MDC.
He further claimed that they may have self-inflicted wounds in order to get national and international sympathy.
“… They take themselves around in the countryside, they put bruises on their bodies and then they start alleging that they have been abducted by the government so that the government has a bad image and criticized by international players. So, this is something that is now well known. There is rivalry in their party … They are fighting with each other. This is something that does not need a rocket scientist to explain. These people are fighting.”
Pressed to explain on the abduction of the three woman, Magombeyi, Itai Dzamara and others, Mutodi said, “… Do you think Magombey was abducted? His story was not convincing. He wanted a salary increase … All these people like Magombeyi, these are fake people who are trying to gain political mileage and recognition out of nothing.”
He also claimed that it is difficult to arrest assailants as the abductions “are fake”.
Mutodi claimed that Mamombe and other MDC activists had suspicious injuries. “If you check them, if you put them before a doctor they will tell you that these people were not tortured, these people have good faces, they are smiling, but they only cry when it comes to the camera, to portray a bad image against the government.”
Questioned on these remarks, he said, “It’s very possible. These are comedians, I’m telling you. These are comedians trying to create a bad image against the government and trying to remove a constitutionally-elected government through hook and crook. This is clear duplicity which they are doing.”
But some MDC activists dismissed his remarks as “senseless and directionless”, saying Mutodi is singing for his super.
Edwin Ndlovu of the MDC Alliance led by Chamisa said, “This guy does not know what he is talking about. He is clearly singing for his super. There is nothing like faking an abduction when we clearly know that some people in the MDC have gone missing. The government has failed to account for them and people like Itai Dzamara, Paul Chizuze, and others were also abducted. Does Mutodi mean that they abducted themselves? They disappeared without a trace. Where do you think they are right now? The government knows what is going on.
“It is unbelievable that someone can talk about people inflicting injuries on themselves. That’s does not happen. It’s senseless to say that. We have women who are seriously injured and Mutodi is talking nonsense like this. Clearly, the government has a hand in their disappearance. I have no doubt about it.”
Henry Chimbiri, the father of one of the abducted MDC activists Cecilia Chimbiri, echoed the same sentiments, noting that indications are that state security agents have a hand in the brutalization of her daughter and the two other women.
“… The question I asked the police (when he went to a hospital where Cecilia is hospitalized) is about who found the girls. They are not the ones (police) who found the girls. I found the girls with the help of the MDC and lawyers. They did not make any attempt to search for the girls, Joanna Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri. They did not make any single, minute effort to search for them. When we went to Harare Central Police Station the officer in charge said he does not know anything about the girls but these girls were arrested at a police roadblock at the Harare showgrounds and even myself I was also almost arrested there.
“They said ‘you old man we will call our bosses and tell them that you causing problems and take you away’. I wanted to find out what happened to the girls. The whole thing has come out. These girls were under surveillance.”
He claimed that police wanted to block him and his wife from entering the ward were his child was admitted at Park Hospital.
The international community has urged Zimbabwe to fully investigate the matter.
State Media|Vice-President Kembo Mohadi has said the late national hero Absolom Sikhosana was a dedicated and loyal cadre with unquestionable credentials.
He made the remarks yesterday while delivering a condolence message to Sikhosana’s family in Nkulumane suburb.
“We don’t know where we will get another Sikhosana, we know what he always did for us. We were very much shaken in the leadership. It came to us when we least expected. We thought he would soldier on but he is no more. That is a fact, he is no longer amongst us, he is departed. We are not going to see another Sikhosana again,” said the Vice President.
He narrated his long-term friendship with Sikhosana dating back to the liberation struggle and after independence after they both started in the Zanu-PF Youth League structures.
Vice President Mohadi told the mourners that he nicknamed the national hero ‘Goebbels’ because of his ability to make bad situations look good during their time in the Youth League executive.
The Vice President said while he was in charge of the restructuring of Bulawayo province, he heavily depended on Sikhosana who wanted united party structures.
He said he leaves a huge gap that would be difficult to fill in the metropolitan province.
“As Cde (Angelina) Masuku has said, Bulawayo will never be same again without Sikhosana. I would describe him as a determined, dependable, loyal cadre that is what he was. He was self-motivated on party matters, even in his ill health, you would see him running. As Cde Masuku highlighted that the restructuring of Bulawayo also falls under my purview, Cde Sikhosana was at the forefront of that,” said the Vice President.
“So, he is a national hero, he earned it. It was not just conferred on him, he earned it. That is what he is that is what he was. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that we might have done it without following the laid down procedures of trying to wait for letters to come from the provinces.”
Meanwhile, the Zanu-PF Youth League has described Sikhosana as a selfless servant leader who devoted his entire life in service to the nation.
In a statement, the Youth League secretary for information and publicity, Yeukai Simbanegavi said they learnt with great shock the news of the untimely passing on of one of the revolutionary party’s longest-serving and most consistent cadres.
“We do therefore, with heavy hearts, convey and extend our sincerest condolences to all those who worked with, and those who, like us, have had the privilege of benefitting from being in contact with him throughout his illustrious career,” she said.
“Even in our sorrow, we celebrate the life and times of Cde Sikhosana, who had risen to become a Zanu-PF Politburo member, as a lifetime of milestones in the ideological education of the youth. Affectionately known by many as ‘Cde Nkosi’ or ‘Headmaster’, Cde Sikhosana came to represent the energetic, vibrant, never-say-die spirit of the revolution which to his credit, came to characterise the Zanu-PF Youth League.”
He is survived by wife, Mrs Jelina Dube Sikhosana, five children and six grandchildren.
Mourners are gathered at his home, Number 3115 Nkulumane 5 in Bulawayo.
State Media|HEALTH workers, including nurses and doctors, will from today start reporting for duty for a week and go off duty for two weeks as part of measures to reduce their exposure to Covid-19.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, health workers have been on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 that is straining the health sector.
Government is already paying a risk allowance to health workers who in the majority of cases perform duties that are less likely to be done from home.
Health workers had been working for “flexible hours”, an arrangement that was introduced through a collective bargaining agreement to cushion particularly nurses, who had gone on an indefinite strike citing erosion of their salaries by inflation. The workers would report for work on a few days a week, but working more hours than their usual shifts. Most nurses were now working two days a week for 12 hours a day. According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the new arrangement for health workers to go off for two weeks can be changed any time depending on the situation.
In an interview yesterday, Health Service Board chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana said once health workers take off days, they would be tested for Covid-19 before reporting for duty again.
“That decision was made by the Ministry of Health and Child Care last week. The rationale was basically health workers get exposed to Covid- 19 patients. They rest and they will be tested before they come back to work and usually one shows signs between two to 14 days,” said Dr Sikosana.
In a letter dated May 11 addressed to all provincial medical directors and chief executive officers, the then Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Agnes Mahomva said the new system will reduce exposure of health workers to Covid-19.
“Further to the letter from the Health Service Board where they effected the cancellation of flexible working hours for health workers due to the declaration of Covid-19 pandemic by President Mnangagwa, all provincial medical directors and chief executive officers should utilise the system outlined below which will minimise the risk of exposure to Covid -19.
“Health workers should therefore report for duty for one week continuously and take two weeks off to minimise exposure risk,” read the letter signed by Dr Mahomva who was last week appointed by President Mnangagwa to the newly created post of chief coordinator, national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet .
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Mr Enock Dongo said when reporting for work, each shift will run for eight hours for nurses.
“With effect from tomorrow (today) nurses will be working one week in for eight hours and then two weeks out. We have new arrangements we want to reduce the number of days and hours that the nurses spend in the hospital environment,” said Mr Dongo.
He said they were looking forward to engaging Government over the issue of remuneration.
While extending the lockdown for an indefinite period on Saturday, President Mnangagwa said the training of a large number of healthcare workers in various aspects of Covid-19 such as care, infection prevention and control as well as disease surveillance has been done and will continue.
State Media|A full-scale investigation is now in progress over the alleged abduction of three MDC Alliance members and the public should await the results, which will be made public, before coming up with unsubstantiated conclusions, the Government said yesterday.
Three MDC Alliance members — Johanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Christine Marova — were reported missing last week before being located at a general dealer’s shop near Musana on Friday.
During a joint press conference yesterday, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday confirmed he had directed police to institute a full-scale investigation on what transpired after the flash demonstration by the MDC Alliance in Warren Park in western Harare last week.
The investigations would establish what transpired, who did what, and the motive behind the actions.
“While circumstances pertaining to the whole case are not clear, my Ministry has directed the Commissioner General of Police to institute full-scale investigations into the matter. I want to assure Zimbabweans that no stone will be left unturned with a view of finding out exactly what happened after the flash demonstration in Warren Park by MDC Alliance.
“This inquiry will also include the way the story was covered in the media in order to iron out a lot of grey areas for the benefit of the public, and in the process reveal the correct circumstances in the whole matter,” he said.
Minister Kazembe said social media was awash with messages that police had arrested the three, prompting him to ask Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga if this was so. He denied the allegations.
“This basically means that it must have been a communication breakdown,” said the Minister.
Minister Kazembe said the demonstration, which was staged by the MDC Alliance members, was illegal as they had not followed the proper procedures and had also violated the lockdown regulations.
“The flash demonstration was illegal. There are certain procedures that should be followed such as informing the police before staging the demonstration,” said the Minister. “Secondly, it violated the lockdown regulations. There was no social distancing and that will be dealt with at an appropriate time. But for now we are dealing with the alleged abduction.”
The investigations would find out what happened, how the three reached Musana and all the other queries.
“We can assure Zimbabwe that the police will do their utmost to get to the bottom of the story,” said Minister Kazembe.
Police, at the joint press conference, said investigations were still underway, but so far they had not recovered the vehicle belonging to Ms Mamombe.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he had not confirmed the arrests, but had just told the media that his department would find out from Harare province what had happened. “In our interaction with Harare province we were told something had happened in Warren Park and was being attended (to). It was premature for the police to confirm who had been arrested and who had not been arrested because the scene was still being attended.”
Comm-General Matanga told the same press conference that the police had put together investigation teams deployed by the head of Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
“It is my conviction that they are carrying out their investigations very well. I want to assure that the results of the investigations will be communicated to all Zimbabweans.
“The information I have right now is, the illegal demonstration took place on Wednesday May 13, 2020 around 1230. When the information was passed to Harare police station, police were deployed to Warren Park 1.
“When police arrived the crowd scattered and could not be arrested. Fortunately, we have a video clip from the demonstration and we are now following up on those people appearing on the clip.
“According to the lockdown regulations, the offences are clearly spelt out. Again, depending on who played what role in the demonstration, that will come out as a result of the investigations we are talking about. It is too early for me to give answers before the conclusion of the investigations,” he said.
Ministry of Health and Childcare Update On COVID-19
Date of issue: 16/05/2020 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SITUATION REPORT
Two (2) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. The two cases are both female returning citizens from the United Kingdom who arrived on the 4th of May 2020 and are residents of Harare.
Two (2) positive cases reported in yesterday’s update under Mashonaland West Province are actually residents of Manicaland and Harare and have been reported in today’s update as such.
Today 48 RDT screening tests and 504 NCR confirmatory tests were done.
The cumulative number of tests done to date is 27 059 (14 784 RDTs and 12 275 PCR/GeneXpert).
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 44; recovered 17, active cases 23 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
Wolfsburg beat Augsburg 2-1 with stoppage-time winner from Ginczek Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games with a 2-1 win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, moving up to sixth in the standings as the season restarted on Saturday inside an empty Augsburg Arena.
Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games with a 2-1 win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, moving up to sixth in the standings as the season restarted on Saturday inside an empty Augsburg Arena.
Daniel Ginczek’s stoppage-time winner secured the points after Augsburg’s Tin Jedvaj had cancelled out Renato Steffen’s first-half opener.
Augsburg were playing without their new head coach Heiko Herrlich on the sidelines as he was not allowed to attend the match after breaking quarantine by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.
Winger Ruben Vargas went close to giving Augsburg the lead with a low shot that nearly caught out goalkeeper Koen Casteels, but his initial block slowed the ball down enough for him to claw it back before it crept over the line.
At the other end, Wolfsburg’s players appealed for a penalty when Jedvaj’s attempted clearance inside the box hit his arm.
Wolfsburg took the lead two minutes before halftime when Steffen used the pace of a cross to head home from 15 metres out, giving diving keeper Andreas Luthe no chance to make a save.
The players did not celebrate as a group as part of social distancing protocols, but they could not resist the urge to give the Swiss a couple of high-fives and fist bumps.
The home side equalised from a second-half set piece when John Brooks’ headed clearance went the wrong way, came off goalkeeper Casteels’ hands and hit the bar before bouncing on the line where Jedvaj was on hand to head home.
Felix Uduokhai thought he had given Augsburg a 2-1 lead when he headed home from another set piece but the referee looked at the pitchside VAR monitor and ruled it out as Florian Niederlechner was offside and blocking the goalkeeper’s view.
Wolfsburg’s Admir Mehmedi had numerous chances to score their second, first with a volley which came off the post and again minutes later when a sweeping move forced Luthe to keep out a low, stinging effort with his feet.
However, the visitors capitalised in stoppage time when Kevin Mbabu’s low cross found substitute Ginczek inside the six-yard box and his poacher’s finish at the far post gave the visitors all three points. Augsburg remain in 14th place.-Channel News Asia
Farai Dziva|Outspoken clergyman, Bishop Ancelimo Magaya has strongly condemned the abduction and torture of three MDC Alliance youth assembly leaders by the Zanu PF government.
The three MDC youth assembly leaders, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were abducted, tortured and dumped near “Supa” Business Centre in Bindura .
Below is Bishop Magaya’ s statement :
How much departure has the second republic made from the previous paranoid regime or do we still have the same with cosmetic changes?
When you have in a country the ZRP confirming through assistant commissioner Paul Nyathi the spokesperson that the 3 MDC A youth leaders have been arrested for staging ” An illegal demonstration ” and clearly stating that the three are in police custody ( Herald of the 14th of May ) then in few hours , the trio can not be accounted for.
They then re appear two days later brutalized and traumatized, and Nyathi makes a U turn claiming that they had never been arrested, then we have a rogue state lacking credibility and not only lacking basic professional conduct but falling far too short of integrity required for national leadership.
Sadly, instead of learning from the past, the chief corespondent Ruben Barwe with usual cadences zealously reports during 8 o’clock news last night in ways that depict the usual ZRP and or state chorus of possible stage managed abduction.
They massacred people in Matebeleland from 1983 to 1987. They left Kombai for dead in 1990 in Gweru . They killed during land seizures. They killed the likes of Talent Chiminya in 2000 in Buhera. They maimed and abducted many.
They ruthlessly caused trauma when they destroyed peoples homes in 2005. They killed several after harmonized elections of 2008.
Indeed , they caused mayhem.
April to June of 2008 was a season of darkness. They forced Itai Dzamara into disappearance and to date , his whereabouts is unknown. On August 1 2018 , they killed. On October 10 2018, a parking Marshall was shot dead by one alleged to have been a son to one of their own who was never arrested.
They killed from January 14 to 16 2019. They abducted and tortured Doc Peter Magombeyi. Several civic society leaders have been arrested.
Recently , on May 13 they abducted and tortured Cecilia , Netsai and Joana.
I tell you , the cup of the abomination of of this state is fast filling up and very soon we will witness a dramatic fall worse and greater than what has happened to their father the former President and the system around him whom many have already forgiven by reason of the worse of situation we have had in a very short time of the second republic.
I urge the church to rise up to speak and act . When we do so the prophetic word out of the mouth of the church will assume a life of its own that God will energies to bring to pass our prophetic declaration. As I have always said , God has not yet completed purging the decay within the ruling elite.
Lets keep pushing in labour pains for the birthing of a new Zimbabwe. God Save Zimabwe.-Bishop Ancelimo Magaya
By Farai D Hove| The Kuwadzana MP Chalton Hwende has revealed that a high number of police officers have swarmed around the hospital keeping the three abducted MDC members, Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova, and Cecilia Chimbiri.
Said Hon Hwende at 11pm, Sunday:
Just left the Hospital were the girls are Hospitalized. The level of police deployment at the Hospital is unprecedented. Our lawyers spent the whole day locked in meetings with the police amid indications that the police wanted to take the girls for questioning.
The Doctors treating them refused to authorize this questioning and a State Doctor also confirmed that the girls must first be treated before being interrogated.
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance president Advocate Nelson Chamisa has accused Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government of using the lockdown to violate and suppress people’s basic rights.
Chamisa was commenting on the indefinite extension of the lockdown by Mnangagwa on Sunday.
“Indefinite extension of lockdown without cushioning measures for the vulnerable simply wrong and inappropriate!!
Whereas measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic are a necessity, we disagree with entrenching arbitrary rule under the guise of fighting the pandemic.We backed previous measures because they were time-specific. Indefinite extension changes the situation in a fundamental way,” said Chamisa.
“Without consultation with us all, the indefinite extension of the lockdown opens a treacherous avenue to arbitrary rule. It indefinitely suspends the exercise of civil and political rights which are necessary checks and balances on the excesses of governmental power.
Most authoritarian regimes are now using COVID-19 situation as an stratagem to violate rights,abuse people, esp workers, informal traders and churches. Abuse and manipulation must be fought by all progressive citizens.The greater the oppression,the greater the determination,”he added.
MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka speaks on the way forward after the abduction and torture of three party youth leaders, watch video below:
MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka speaks on the way forward after the abduction and torture of three party youth leaders, watch video below:
Ministry of Health and Childcare Update On COVID-19
Date of issue: 16/05/2020 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SITUATION REPORT
Two (2) cases tested positive for COVID-19 today. The two cases are both female returning citizens from the United Kingdom who arrived on the 4th of May 2020 and are residents of Harare.
Two (2) positive cases reported in yesterday’s update under Mashonaland West Province are actually residents of Manicaland and Harare and have been reported in today’s update as such.
Today 48 RDT screening tests and 504 NCR confirmatory tests were done. The cumulative number of tests done to date is 27 059 (14 784 RDTs and 12 275 PCR/GeneXpert).
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 44; recovered 17, active cases 23 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
A local weekly newspaper reports that there has been an approach from the pro-Extra-ordinary Congress MDC-T to the MDC Alliance in order to end their damaging power feud following the Supreme Court judgement which restored the party structures to 2014.
There is no substitute to the unity between like minded people, all that is needed is sincerity on the part of the persons involved.
In this instance, Senator Douglas Mwonzora and Senator Morgan Komichi got everything wrong from the onset. Senator Morgan Komichi who was not the Chairman of the Party in 2014 already had a statement to read to the media before even the decision was announced.
Straight from the Court, he addressed the media waiting outside the Court building with a written statement. I have asked before that if the Court said structures of the Party had to be restored to 2014, Mr. Lovemore Moyo was the Chairman, why did he not wait until Chairman Moyo reacted to his re-reinstatement?
This makes the world believe the pro Congress Group had pre-planned this. Senator Komichi had a long list of people he read out to the media as having been reinstated.
Approached for comment by the media, Senator Mwonzora said he had nothing to say because the Chairman had said it all. To call Mr. Komichi the Chairman at that stage, coming out of the Court betrays Senator Mwonzora as he also knew very well that the Chairman in 2014 was Lovemore Moyo who only resigned in March 2018 after the death of Morgan Tsvangirai, and as the Court had ruled that all activities that happened after the death of Morgan Tsvangirai were not to be counted.
These careless moves by the two excited senators betrayed a hidden agenda, and cooperation becomes very difficult if not impossible. These actions made the generality of the membership loose faith in the two senators, and whatever they say will be hardly accepted. To the suffering people of Zimbabwe, they betrayed the struggle, and the suffering people of Zimbabwe are not easily forgiving.
If sources that the publication got its information from are to be trusted, another betrayal would be to want to negotiate positions, with Chamisa being elected as the undisputed new party leader, deputized by Khupe and Komichi, and Mwonzora retaining the secretary-general’s post.
Positions should not be negotiated by leaders, but should come from the people. In the first instance, if these comrades talk about constitutionalism, and the party has been restored to 2014 structures, there were no two vice-president positions, so why now want two vice-Presidents when the issue of vice-presidents is what brought us where we are here today?
Secondly, if we want to talk about rule of law which Senator Mwonzora and Senator Komichi always want to refer to, the Supreme Court said the Extra-Ordinary Congress was solely for the purpose of electing a substantial President, so who is making those decisions to hold elections for the rest of the positions?
The excitement of the senators seemed to have been inspired by power, and now that they realize what they thought was is not what it is, this could have forced a re-think.
An exciting part of the story is where Senator Morgan Komichi recognises that the no progress can be made without following due process where the Standing Committee has to meet to make decisions, but the comrades want to still proceed without following due process. Senator Komichi acknowledges that with Tsvangirai now late, while Gutu and Moyo are no longer in politics, they would have to get the sufficient quorum from the remaining 11 Standing Committee members in order to proceed according to the party’s protocol.
One then asks where the decisions were even made to recall Parliamentarians when the standing committee has not met, something that is not contained in the Supreme Court ruling, which only gives the reinstated Acting President the mandate to organize an Extra-Ordinary Congress within 90 days of the judgement, and failure which the National Chairman should try organising the same for an extra 30 days.
The Supreme Court judgement is therefore a mere suggestion, not a mandatory ruling, which, however, is an opportunity that could be used to reflect and unite if the players have a common purpose and are mutually acceptable.
After all, as stated before, the recall of Parliamentarians was a blunder by Parliament and Senate officials who accepted a request to recall from a party which does not have those people on its Parliamentary roll.
In any case, the Supreme Court implies that if an Extra Ordinary Congress is not held within 120 days, the matter becomes water under the bridge, so how do these Parliament officials know that there will be a successful Extra Ordinary Congress?
So if the Extra Ordinary Congress did not succeed, would they allow back the recalled legislators? Mudenda, don’t make Parliament a circus. Mudenda, do not make Zimbabwe something the international community should laugh at?
Unity of purpose among all people who were involved in the MDC from its formation is vital, provided they have the same vision and are compatible.
GOVERNMENT intends to extend the ban on privately-owned commuter omnibuses (kombis) beyond the national lockdown and will only allow them to operate under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) franchise.
This is part of elaborate plans to de-congest urban centres and modernise the public transport system.
Kombis have been barred from operating since the lockdown started on March 30.
In his lockdown measures review speech yesterday, President Mnangagwa extended the ban indefinitely.
He said only Zupco-contracted kombis would be allowed on the roads.
Authorities intend to take advantage of depressed numbers of urban commuters during the lockdown to revamp and modernise the urban mass public transport system through deploying high-volume buses.
The Sunday Mail has gathered that Government has directed Zupco to invite interested kombi owners to register under its franchise as the number of commuters has increased following the relaxation of the lockdown rules.
Zupco is currently operating with 507 conventional buses and 500 commuter omnibuses, and is looking for an additional 500 kombis.
This comes as authorities were intensifying efforts to import new buses for inner and inter-city travel.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Dr July Moyo told this publication that there is no guarantee that kombis will be allowed back on the roads after the lockdown. “We have been trying to build Zupco,” said Dr Moyo.
“So, throughout the lockdown we have said Zupco should operate. When we moved to Level 2, we knew there would be more people requiring transportation.
“We then asked Zupco to call for more kombis and buses to come and register and at the same time we will be introducing more buses. So the plan is to make sure that we strengthen urban bus transportation through Zupco so that we can bring sanity to the operations.”
He said urban transport systems operating through centrally managed high-volume buses were the trend globally. Informal transporters, said Minister Moyo, were the source of chaos in urban centres, particularly Harare.-State media
It's my barber cutting my hair further Bald head for the bold Zimbabwe torture victims @JoanaMamombe Cecilia and Netsai. There is a page dedicated to them for your kind donations. Let's pull a pound each to fund their journey to heal Please donate https://t.co/ADQs7XagY6pic.twitter.com/9T8L4BOIm6
— Muzvare Shonga Betty Makoni (@MuzvareBetty) May 17, 2020
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance deputy youth assembly chairperson, Cecilia Chimbiri has revealed how she was ” treatment like a dog” by suspected government agents.
Chimbiri narrated her ordeal to Makomborero Haruzivishe who had visited her in hospital.
Read Haruzivishe’ s statement : Upon seeing me yesterday she said,”Mako mwana wamai vangu hapana zvavasina kundiita; vakandiita kunge imbwa,vakandiita kunge pfambi…” and she broke down into tears…
I felt that!
All I could do was wipe her tears with a tissue paper and assured her,”It is time we learn how to fight back my sister, for the time to fight for justice is now or never.”
I had to say to say that because it’s true, we are in a war and we have to fight back at some point!
24 hours later I am still feeling it and I mean what I told her…It’s NowOrNever ZanuPfMustGo PeoplePower
