Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC, says it will lodge a formal complaint against the police for assaulting a party councillor in Marondera.
Ward 8 councillor, Dzuke was bashed by police details on Monday.
During the scuffle, a police officer accused the opposition party of causing “people’s suffering.”
“We condemn the beating of Councillor Dzvuke of Ward 8, Marondera, by the police.
He was beaten while going to replenish a sanitizer at the borehole in Nyameni.
In the course of the assault, a police officer accused the Movement for Democratic Change for inflicting suffering on the people,” said the party in a statement.
The opposition party says it will lodge a complaint against police brutality.
By Technology Reporter| The below outlines some of the hooks being used by hackers to take over Facebook pages.
One hacker investigated by ZimEye.com is a so called, “Indira Shishani.” Shishani fronting with the picture of a young teenage woman, contacted a page promising a lucrative advertising contract to the tune of $400.00.
He said he works for a company called “Facebook Advertising.”
To make this hook more believable, he announced saying he does not need any admin access to the page. He wrote, “You can publish up to 3 Ads/Articles a day through Facebook ads.
“You can earn upto $ 120 per item and $ 240 to $ 400 for 3 items per day.
“I don’t need any kind of admin access on the page.
“All payments will be done in advance. I will just give you articles that are related to your page.”
You have to publish articles from websites like buzzfeed.com, diply.com, boredpanda.com, USA today on your page, he continued.
He also said, “No bad content will be published on your page or is against Facebook policy.
“We have professional content creators who write articles and make videos.”
He then sought to get the email address of the administrator, promising to pay per day and now saying he would pay via PayPal.
He then demanded that for the process to go ahead, the administrator must register for his App. He said:
“This is the official Facebook site. Here is the invitation link.
“You can register your account here.
“Or you can check your mailbox. Facebook has sent you an invitation.”
How he was detected as a thief: Our reporter demanded to speak with him via phone as a pre requisite. Further checks would also be needed to verify real identity, and physical address. (Neve renter a contract with someone you cannot successfully sue. The request was turned down the second time as he said, it is not company policy, to speak with him via phone.
When a phone number was soon supplied, the line was answers by a receptionist who immediately said Shishani is a scammer. Mystery solved.
Below was the development in pictures:
https://fb.me/1LLUVUECnnWHRVq
If you have any difficulty registering the account, watch the video
Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly says the harassment of civilians in urban areas by the country’s security forces is a calculated ploy meant to punish urbanites for supporting the opposition party.
ZRP cops and soldiers are tormenting civilians across the country during the 21- day lockdown.
“The violence and harassment of citizens by the uniformed forces during this lockdown period is worrisome.
In fact, it has confirmed our fears that that Emmerson Mnangagwa is going to use this period to escalate human rights abuses as a way of thwarting impending mass demonstrations.
The whole thing is calculated to punish urban dwellers for snubbing Zanu PF,” said MDC Youth Assembly spokesperson Stephen Sarkozy Chuma in an interview with ZimEye.com on Tuesday.
Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly says the harassment of civilians in urban areas by the country’s security forces is a calculated ploy meant to punish urbanites for supporting the opposition party.
ZRP cops and soldiers are tormenting civilians across the country during the 21- day lockdown.
“The violence and harassment of citizens by the uniformed forces during this lockdown period is worrisome.
In fact, it has confirmed our fears that that Emmerson Mnangagwa is going to use this period to escalate human rights abuses as a way of thwarting impending mass demonstrations.
The whole thing is calculated to punish urban dwellers for snubbing Zanu PF,” said MDC Youth Assembly spokesperson Stephen Sarkozy Chuma in an interview with ZimEye.com on Tuesday.
Farai Dziva |The Ministry of Health and Childcare has announced that one person has fully recovered from COVID-19.
“The Ministry would like to advise the nation that one of the cases was confirmed as recovered after testing negative for Covid-19 on two samples collected at least 24 hours apart.
The case has been removed from isolation, and the healthcare workers are still monitoring other cases which includes a 34-year-old nurse at a local Bulawayo Hospital who has no travel history,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.
Farai Dziva |The Ministry of Health and Childcare has announced that one person has fully recovered from COVID-19.
“The Ministry would like to advise the nation that one of the cases was confirmed as recovered after testing negative for Covid-19 on two samples collected at least 24 hours apart.
The case has been removed from isolation, and the healthcare workers are still monitoring other cases which includes a 34-year-old nurse at a local Bulawayo Hospital who has no travel history,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza has said truck drivers who stop at truck inns and other business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe vulnerable to the pandemic that has killed 120 000 people worldwide.
Ephraim Gwanongodza said There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers.
In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contact that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.
Truck drivers are among critical services providers exempted to work during the lockdown as they are transporting cargo in between countries during the course of the lockdown.- State media
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza has said truck drivers who stop at truck inns and other business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe vulnerable to the pandemic that has killed 120 000 people worldwide.
Ephraim Gwanongodza said There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers.
In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contact that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.
Truck drivers are among critical services providers exempted to work during the lockdown as they are transporting cargo in between countries during the course of the lockdown.- State media
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Cousins inzwai.. I think now i have guts to speak out because i now have evidence..
Mai Titi kuti ua innocent or guilty in this one andizive ndiwe uchatondibatsirao sahwira… During the days of exchange of words aya you and Zizoe did a live for about 2 hours 3 minutes using nyaya yemaresults eslay Queen as a way to attack me kuvanhu kuti ndinzi ndakaipa stereki.. On that live u promised to deal with me muritwo naZizoe and i have the videos.. Zizoe told u on that live kuti iwewe front worry ndomuziva Gweta uyu tichamunyaradza…
Inless than a week five man in a blue Honda jazz came to my work place and parked opposite the workshop ndikangotio meno anoboys vane madeals avo.. I went out at lunch kunotenga zvangu food then on my way back mota yakatanga kufamba towards me and i jus thought ikuendao vapedza basa ravo.. Vakomana vakangodzika muya faster vakandirova zvechibhubhu fast fast ndikadonha pasi and pavaida kunditakura there was a truck yaiuya so the driver akatanga kufamba then boys rikati tobatwa rikarova sporo.. I was shocked kuti ndio malevels acho here and i told pple and most of them took this story for a joke but it happened.. I decided to be silent since few believed my story and i had no evidence…
Now yesterday iwewe Mai Titi u said it with your mouth on live with Sis Mel kuSisy Melly’s diary kuti Zizoe ausiriwe here wakarovesa Sean nemashurugwi vakamurakasha.. I never told u about this but ukuzviziva ipapo pakandishamisao..
Ok so ndochicelebrity chacho here chekuti vanhu mukanetsana munotumirana vanhu kuti varove munhu? Ok ko dai ndakauraiwa waizobvuma here nyaya yako Zizoe? Why uchipretenda kuva a good guy anoziva Mwari when ua full of evil thoughts? Why do u play a sweet,smart,innocent and humble guy to the world when u actually evil in your heart? What did i do to you guys zvekuti i deserved to be beaten worse nezvigunduru ko dai vakandibaya baya maitabvuma here nyaya yedu,so now its clear kuti muri mhondi ka imimi vanhu imimi,why do u think violence can solve social media fights? Why do u wanna control munhu wese ataura to the level of using violence… At some point Mai Titi makarovesa madam boss nevanhu futi so how can i spare u in this,can i say ua innocent in this when u have history of doing the same act?
I want a live with you guys iwe Zizoe naMai titi if im not gonna get a satisfactory answer im gonna take this issue to legal guys,police or vakuru vemutemo because this system is dangrous to the community ndokunobva maabductions and killings. Tototya kutaura ka because Zizoe anotumira mashurugwi… Tototya kutaura ka because my Titi will send vakomana…. If its Zizoe who did that ari ega Felistas why ddnt u say it before why saying it now amusikurasirana nyaya here.. Nobody is above the law tikasanzwisisana apa im taking this issue to higher levels ndoda kuipa vakomana vemitemo i have evidence now… Mai Titi andina namba dzenyu but how come mukuona zvandikuposta on my status wich led you to delete your live muchindithreatena with Zizo? Its unfortunate that i had recorded everything..
The videos below are for evidence watch and judge..
Sis Melly ndikuda live neteam iri riritwo tigadzirise nyaya iyi before i take it to the level i think will make peace between us… Have a blessed day… Ndini wenyu Gweta Sean Deelroy.. @ Saladzone Entertainment..
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Dancer Beverly “Bev” Sibanda says haters are plotting to destroy her marriage through unfounded falsehoods.
This follows reports that her marriage with UK based husband Chambuka Mufudzi was on the brink of collapse after she allegedly stole from the husband.
“Isusu hatikwire BP, tokwira ndege but it’s frustrating that when I wedded, social media judged me,” she said.
Prior to the Mai TT-Bev Facebook live streaming, a ghost account holder purporting to be Chambuka had posted on his wall claiming someone had stolen money from him.
The post attracted the attention of many social media users as the majority quickly suspected Bev to be the culprit.
She vehemently denied the allegations saying all was well between them adding that Chambuka was not a social media person.
“Ivo anasoromedia vakunyepa, he posted his story without any name why are people thinking it’s me.
“He is in UK and I am here in Zimbabwe why makamhanya kuti ndiBev, he doesn’t have a social media account, plus inini handimhanyire kubvunza murume mari yaanotambira because anozofunga kuti you are after mari yake.
“I am happy with him, why didn’t he say Bev akaba mari,” she said.
The raunchy dancer praised her husband for caring for her.
“Haana kumbondirambidza kana basa rangu and I am holding shows with his blessings, he sends money to use for logistics so that I don’t use mari yebasa.
“Even ndikaita three days anosender mari, zvekuti ndototi ndoishandisei, ndotozochengeta ndoshandisa for some things.
“We are fine with my husband even people say he doesn’t have money or not, isusu tiri bho.
“Munodanan muchisiyana, time yacho zvatovharana, rambai muchingoti hure, inini handitongerwe imba neFacebook or social media.
“I wanted to see how this case will end, if I had stolen the money he should have said it.
“Are you not ashamed to tarnish my image, mondidenha ndakanyarara, ndingatouye ndozunza magate asi handitongwe neFacebook,” said Bev.
She added:
“I am telling the truth and my shows are packed always, I don’t have fans on Facebook, handina basa nemalove nemalikes, bhawa ndozadza.
“And these days it’s a 50 -50 situation since I got wed with men coming to my shows.
“Kana munhu achizorambwa anorambwa, chakafukidza dzimba matenga, so imba yangu ndoyamuri kuda kuputsa, inini ndosenderwa mari.
“My husband knows the situation here in Zimbabwe, at the money agencies vakutondiziva nekutora mari.
“My man is a loving husband, I am loved ndakadaro imimi social media hamundiputsire imba yangu, maimboti achahurirwa, three months dzese mambonzwa anything here.”
Bev said the only people who know that she is not a prostitute are her close fans.
“People who know that I am not a prostitute are the ones close to me, and don’t think I will lose sleep over that issue.
“My fans respect me and I made my name through my own dancing talent.
“I did not ask anyone to follow me ndisiyeyi, I only entertain my fans. I take care of child.
“I am an indoor person, that’s why my skin looks nice, quarantine taijaira iyi, handibude bude, zvamunofunga kuti ndovengedzera so.
“Leave my house alone and we were laughing at you with my husband that you are lying.
“vanhu ngavatsvage mabasa after lockdown, haikona kufambisa makuhwa enhema.”
She said she is not a pole dancer.
“I am not a pole dancer, stripper but I am dancer, ndinotamba museve and I am not pregnant, handimhanye zvekudaro, mushini haumhanye zvekudaro,” said Bev.-StateMedia
Professor Jonathan says the major undoing of opposition politicians in Zimbabwe is that they make speeches that are not followed by actions.
In a tweet on Wednesday Moyo said, “A major weakness of opposition politicians in Zim is their failure to understand that speech is useful only if it leads to action. They just say things. Yet speech not followed by action is utterly useless. A trenchant book on speech & action is Hannah Arendt’s, Human Condition!”
A major weakness of opposition politicians in Zim is their failure to understand that speech is useful only if it leads to action. They just say things. Yet speech not followed by action is utterly useless. A trenchant book on speech & action is Hannah Arendt's, Human Condition! pic.twitter.com/oNvZqFvYRC
Illegal money traders who used to flood the streets of Harare and Mutare are now working from home while Zimbabwe is under lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus [File: Farai Matiashe/Al Jazeera]
Harare, Zimbabwe – In the densely-packed Harare suburb of Kambuzuma, in the midst of a nationwide lockdown, 25-year-old Philip Mundozo is hard at work, servicing customers who want to buy and sell the currency of choice in Zimbabwe – United States dollars.
“I cannot go to town, but that has not stopped me from doing my work. Customers call me and come to my house to trade,” Mundozo told Al Jazeera by phone.
Before President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered a 21-day lockdown in late March to curb the spread of COVID-19, Mundozo’s place of business was a bus terminal – popularly known as Copa Cabana – in the central business district in Harare.
But COVID-19 containment measures have only slightly dented demand for money-changing.
Zimbabwe has confirmed 18 cases of COVID-19, and three deaths from the disease. But a deep economic crisis has ravaged the troubled southern African nation’s healthcare system.
Medics, opposition politicians and activists have warned about a woefully insufficient number of testing kits. When people do fall ill – with any ailment – they often struggle to find professional care.
Mundozo is very aware of the health risks involved in his customer-facing corner of Zimbabwe’s informal economy, where he and many of the country’s youths carve out a living as money-changers.
“I just make sure that when they [customers] come I observe social distancing [because] in as much as I need money to sustain my family, I don’t want to get infected or to infect them,” he said.
The Zimbabwean dollar has been wracked by hyperinflation that soared past 500 percent in February [File: Farai Matiashe/Al Jazeera]
Supply and demand
Money-changers like Mundozo charge fees for “cash-in, cash-out services” that allow customers on the country’s mobile EcoCash platform to convert electronic balances in their mobile money wallets into hard currency, and vice versa.
Their services are actively sought.
In Zimbabwe, buying something with electronic balances can invite a markup as high as 50 percent because supplies of hard cash – both Zimbabwean dollar notes and US dollars – are in chronically short supply due top to hyperinflation.
Last year, the government outlawed the use of US dollars in local transactions in a bid to stem speculative attacks on an interim currency that eventually paved the way for a new sovereign Zimbabwean dollar – or Zimdollar – that was introduced in November.
But the Zimdollar continued to rapidly lose value. In February, annualised inflation blew past 500 percent. And the pandemic has only boosted demand for US dollars.
Last month, after cases of COVID-19 infections were formally confirmed within Zimbabwe’s borders, the country’s central bank lifted restrictions on US dollars in local transactions to make “it easier for the transacting public to conduct business during this difficult period”.
Trish Katete, 30, is a money-changer who operates in Chikanga, a packed suburb of Mutare, the country’s fourth-largest city.
Like Mundozo, she told Al Jazeera she is continuing to ply her trade from her home through the lockdown because she simply cannot afford not to work and because customers are calling her.
“Each day I make a profit of 150 Zimdollars [$5],” she said by telephone. “I am able to pay fees for my children and to give them food.”
A brief respite for a troubled currency
As in other countries around the globe, business in Zimbabwe has inevitably slowed as COVID-19 containment measures have shuttered businesses, closed borders and sent consumers behind closed doors.
The deceleration in commerce, combined with a green light for US dollars in local transactions, has taken some of the relentless pressure off the Zimbabwean dollar.
It currently takes 25 Zimbabwean dollars to buy $1 at interbank exchange rates. On the parallel markets, the exchange rate has fallen back to 1.40 Zimdollars to $1, from 1.45.
But economists say the respite for the beleaguered Zimdollar is likely only temporary.
The country’s hyperinflationary crisis has been exacerbated by drought that has left millions of people food insecure and contributed to a chronic power shortage characterised by daily blackouts.
Then there are problems that are entirely man-made.
In 2009, the country’s sovereign currency had to be abandoned altogether after years of poor policy decisions gutted agricultural exports, decimated manufacturing and saw the central bank print vast quantities of sovereign notes to finance deficit spending.
“Exchange rates are a function of money supply,” independent economist Eddie Cross told Al Jazeera. “In our case, the Reserve Bank [of Zimbabwe] has in the past printed money on a large scale to meet a state deficit, and this has destroyed the local currency.”
That legacy, says Cross, is still fresh in the mind of speculators who seek every opportunity to profit from eroding faith in Zimbabwe’s new sovereign currency.
“The traders have been able to manipulate the situation in their favour. They drive the rate down and make millions on every turn,” he said. “This has weakened the local currency, and we are now engaged in a struggle to regain lost ground.”
There are also severe structural issues working against Zimbabwe’s currency. The country has few functioning industries and relies on imports for nearly everything from food and furniture to building materials and even toothpicks.
Economist John Robertson of Robertson Economics says without export strength to bring in sufficient foreign exchange reserves, the local currency will continue to be vulnerable.
“So its value is falling and everybody would prefer to deal in US dollars,” he told Al Jazeera.
Now the coronavirus pandemic is closing borders, posing additional challenges to this heavily import-dependent nation.
“South Africa [SA] being the most affected in southern Africa, there is going to be an impact on trade between SA and Zimbabwe,” economist Persistence Gwanyanya told Al Jazeera. “[The movement of] goods from SA will be affected.”
And while that is bad news for Zimbabwe’s currency and economy, for informal money-changers like Muzodo, it means their services will likely remain in strong demand.
“I am confident the USD will [continue] trading higher than the official rate,” he said.
Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in Bulawayo are reported to have engaged in a spirited campaign of impounding cars that are moving on the roads in a bid to enforce the lockdown.
An eye witness who wrote on Twitter said, “Drivers in Bulawayo take heed there is an operation by the police, cars are being impounded to Rose Camp for breaking the C-19 lockdown, Insurance umthelo. Fines are B600 and above, You will be seriously inconvenienced stay at home.”
A victim of the blitz took to Facebook and said, “Another thing police is impounding cars like crazy but selectively if you driving a Mercedes chances are you won’t be impounded. I got nabbed yesterday. Not even one officer has protective gear. Brace yourself a complete annihilation of byo.”
On Tuesday Bulawayo Mayor Solomon Madlala Mguni urged government agencies to effectively implement measures that will see the lockdown rules being adhered to.
“Latest statistics released by Ministry of Health & Child Care show that Bulawayo has now recorded 5 confirmed cases of Covid 19; with one death. A scaring rise from 0 in the past 11 days. We must now up the game as far as testing and dictation is concerned. 604 tested individuals is too small a number in a country with a population of 14 million people.
“We urge residents of Bulawayo to continue to practice social distancing by staying home in order to save lives. Government agencies must enforce an effective lockdown. This laxity and business as usual we are seeing in and around the city will not help us. This virus is fatal.” Mguni said
Daily News|WITH less than a week before the lapse of the 21-day national lockdown, the government finds itself in a catch 22 situation on whether to extend the curfew or call it off.
While the national lockdown was absolutely necessary in order to arrest the spread of the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19), it has, however, brought with it serious socio-economic consequences such as the loss of income for millions of people who survive from hand to mouth in Zimbabwe’s largely informal economy.
Already there have been serious concerns that an extension would collapse the survival strategies and networks of support for poor households as they will not be able to secure sufficient food and medicines.
Another thought is that perhaps it’s time for government to loosen the national lockdown and adopt some alternative, but effective methods of containing the spread of the deadly virus.
Zimbabwe has not really done well in testing its citizens compared to the number of people that have crossed into our country. So far the government has tested just under 600 people out of a population of about 15 million.
The purpose of the lockdown as advised by medical professionals is to flatten the curve of infection and this can be done by having more tests.
Thus it is difficult to say if the country has reached a point where it must return to normal business. If anything, the confirmed cases have been steadily rising though at a slow pace.
At this point in time it is important for the government to put support structures to the lockdown; the testing and social nets. The government must conduct mass testing to get a scientific position on the state of infections.
The dilemma is for the government to call off the lockdown and then tomorrow announce that the worst is not over and that we have to go back into lockdown.
The key, however, is to strike a balance between public health concerns and the livelihoods of ordinary people who survive from hand to mouth.
Unlike her neighbours, Zimbabwe doesn’t have huge financial resources to subsidise the informal and formal sectors.
However, its clear Covid-19 is still with the country for the foreseeable future so any intervention must be necessary and proportionate to avoid fuelling hunger-induced deaths.
The lockdown should have been supported by testing and isolation for it to be more effective; it also must be supported by distribution of food aid and other items for the poor.
Another way forward is that the government must mobilise testing kits and food supplies and extend the lockdown until it is clear of the extent of infections.
Decentralisation of testing citizens has taken too long while personal protective equipment, especially for the frontline personnel like the nurses, doctors and security people, is scarce and this exposes those who are providing these essential services.
Zambia watchdog|The International Monetary Fund has just granted debt relief to 25 poor countries to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.
But Zambia, which has been crying to the IMF since 2015 for a debt relief, has been side-lined again.
Zambia meets all the criteria of a poor country and certainly is affected directly and indirectly (economy wise) by the Coronavirus. But why has it been left out?
Its due to corruption, insiders have just explained.
According to insiders, the IMF is dismayed that nothing has been done about ministers that have been mentioned in 2017 and 2018 Financial Intelligence Centre dirty money report.
The IMF is also not happy that nothing is being done to culprits that are mentioned every year in the auditor General ‘s report as having stolen public resources.
The countries are nearly all in Africa, but Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal and Haiti are also on the list.
One clear example that has cost Zambia huge financial resources and international credibility involves minister of health Chitalu Chilufya. Minister Chilufya is currently being instigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for corruption. The Covid-19 pandemic is good for him as it kind of diverts attention from his crimes.
In case you didn’t know, Chitalu Chilufya is the culprit that was mentioned in the 2018 Financial Intelligence Centre dirty money report as having been bribed with 49 residential houses.
Other people mentioned include minister Ronald Chitotela, ministry of labour permanent Secretary Chanda Banabi, transport and communication permanent Secretary Misheck Lungu, minister Dora Siliya and many others.
In one of the case studies which the FIC released to the public but with the names of culprits withheld, it said that :
“PEP N influenced the awarding of contracts to foreign construction companies and in return, these companies constructed 49 residential properties for him valued at ZMW 70 million. They further purchased two luxury vehicles for him valued at ZMW 4 million.’
Note that the Financial Intelligence Centre uses abbreviation PEP which stands for politically exposed person. A PEP is a person entrusted with a prominent public function, job, responsibility. Usually these are government officials or influential politicians.
One of the companies that built minister of health Chitalu Chilufya some of the 49 houses mentioned in FIC report 2018 is China Civil. Chilufya and his permanent secretary have been getting bribes from foreign companies working on projects such as the project to upgrade clinics into first level hospitals.
The ministry of health gets funding from a lot of Governments such as Turkey , Norway, ISRAEL, USA, UK, Japan and China but what matters is how they roll out the projects and accommodate their funds.
For example, one project to upgrade clinics is funded by japan and the other one is funded by Exim bank of China which also includes the construction of 650 health posts across the country and upgrading existing ones into first levels. This is where minister Chilufya makes his money from . He decides who does what but on a huge fee.
Minister Chilufya has also amassed huge wealthy by over pricing the procurement of ambulances and procurement of medicine for hospitals.
On the overpriced ambulances, minister Chilufya received huge kickbacks from Iveco South Africa to supply 50 ambulances to the Ministry of Health. Chilufya made government pay US$288,000 for each ambulance when the same could have been bought at 20 times cheaper from a reasonable supplier.
Note that this is the same contract that was first given to Savenda management, but minister Chilufya and his girlfriend PS supplanted it with the one from Iveco which gave them money.
According to government sources, in 2015, the ministry wanted to single source Iveco to supply 50 ambulances. The ministry wrote to the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) requesting authorisation to single source Iveco. ZPPA refused but instead advised the ministry to follow the law and issue a public tender. The ministry which had already told Iveco to start manufacturing the ambulances was at a dilemma. Chitalu Chilufya, who was at that time deputy minister advised his colleagues to come up with bid conditions and specifications that favour Iveco. Despite this, 13 local and International companies submitted bids. Some bidders noticed that the conditions were designed to favour Iveco, so they complained. The ministry issued two addendums (additions) correcting the conditions and specifications that were in favour of Iveco. Iveco failed at the first round of the bidding process. Savenda won the tender beating the 12 others since it met all the bid conditions and specifications. Then, the minister of health Dr Joseph Kasonde died and cabinet was dissolved as elections were just around the corner. After elections, Chitalu Chilufya was one of the first four cabinet ministers to be appointed. He went to work. After frequenting Iveco offices in South Africa and receiving kickbacks, he fired or transferred to other ministries all procurement officers in the ministry of health. He made sure that no money was paid to the contract between Savenda and the ministry.
He promoted his girlfriend Kaku by putting her in charge of planning and infrastructure. Then he told late permanent secretary John Moyo to sign another contract with Iveco to supply 50 ambulances. Two weeks after signing this contract, PS John Moyo was killed in a road crash. It is believed that there was foul play in this accident.
The Iveco tender did not go through the legally required procurement bid and was signed when there was already another contract on the same products and same amount.
To try and hide the corruption, Chilufya invited four other companies to a meeting while he knew that he had already contracted Iveco.
Watchdog sources says Before becoming Minister , he only had a small lodge in Mansa, ‘but right now Chitala can even accommodate the entire cabinet from the property he has amassed from stealing Cholera donation money, overpriced ambulances and Mini hospitals.’
We will continue reminding Minister Chitalu Chilufya that the day to account is coming, even if it look far; it is coming
A 25-year-old Chivi man, who recently returned from South Africa, allegedly teamed up with his brother and father to fatally assault his grandmother before trying to evade arrest by claiming to be suffering from coronavirus.
However, the suspect, Bright Tizirai of Makuvire village in Madyangove communal lands, was arrested after results proved he was negative.
He had allegedly argued that his arrest would not only endanger the health of law enforcement officers, but other suspects at Chivi Police Station.
When results came out negative, Bright was locked up together with his accomplices, his father Duduzile Tizirai (49) and sibling Daniel (21), for allegedly murdering his septuagenarian grandmother Nyengeterai Tizirai, whom they accused of possessing goblins that purportedly killed Duduzile’s wife last month.
The trio allegedly killed the hapless granny after beating her up with a horse harness and a log at a dip tank in the village on April 5.
After the beating, the suspects allegedly force marched the victim back to the village where they dumped her in a vegetable garden.
Later in the evening of the same day, the suspects allegedly ordered the woman’s niece, Catherine Takaedza, to collect her from the garden where she lay unconscious and take her home.
Masvingo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Charity Mazula said after putting her aunt to bed, Takaedza later checked on her and discovered that she was not breathing and went to alert Duduzile. Police arrested Daniel the next morning following a report while Duduzile and Bright fled.
The two later handed handed themselves to the police. Bright warned that holding him was risky because of his Covid-19 positive status.
Provincial Medical Director Dr Amadeous Shamu collected samples from Bright and tested him for Covid-19 at the request of the police.
“We collected samples from the murder suspect (Bright) in Chivi who recently returned from South Africa and claimed to have had Covid-19. The results came out negative,” said Dr Shamu.
Bright, his sibling and father were remanded in custody and advised to apply for bail at the High Court. Masvingo is still to record its first positive case of Covid-19 with all tests conducted to date coming out negative.
My Fellow citizens, I come to you under very difficult circumstances in our country and indeed in the whole world. Let us begin by observing a minute of silence for all the COVID-19 victims in Zimbabwe and across the nations of the world. Thank you. We are in difficult times and a deep crisis. This is a crisis like no other, and there is substantial uncertainty about its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. In the days ahead, a lot depends on the epidemiology of the virus, the effectiveness of containment measures, and the development of therapeutics and vaccines, all of which are hard to predict. Our country faces multiple crises—a health crisis, a financial crisis, and a poverty crisis, which all interact in complex ways, presenting unprecedented challenges to households, companies, traders and financial markets. THE COVID-19 pandemic is causing more than just a medical problem. The pathogen has wrought staggering death tolls and wrecked livelihoods across the world. Economies across the globe are under severe strain. Supply chains have been radically disrupted, tourism and air travel is paralysed and currency markets are at an all-time low. We are witnessing unprecedented supply and demand side shocks. Global economy engines are stalling. The economy we knew is on a down spiral. The game has completely changed. The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe estimates revenue loss of $400 million. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority recorded 80% booking cancellations. The CZI records that 46% of local firms had their supply chains disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. Diaspora remittances are likely to decline from the US$635.4 million mark in 2019. Manufacturers and small-to-medium enterprises face the prospect of not reopening after lifting of lockdowns unless they too, receive massive bailouts. Consequently, the Zimbabwean citizens are now faced with two impossible choices: death by hunger (as slow shutdowns take shape) or death by disease as this insurgent pathogen indiscriminately sweeps across continents. There is considerable uncertainty about what the economic landscape will look like when we emerge from this lockdown. Under the assumption that the pandemic and required containment peaks in the second quarter for most countries in the world and recedes in the second half of this year, the April World Economic Outlook projects global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent. This is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January 2020; a major revision over a very short period. This makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis. Assuming the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and that policy actions taken around the world are effective in preventing widespread firm bankruptcies, extended job losses, and system-wide financial strains, global growth in 2021 is projected to rebound to 5.8 percent. This recovery in 2021 is only partial as the level of economic activity is projected to remain below the level we had projected for 2021, before the virus hit. The cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars, greater than the economies of Japan and Germany, combined. What is hitting us is enormous! It’s mother of all wars! The Government of Zimbabwe must pursue a path that saves lives and protects livelihoods, preventing our economy from collapsing and serving our people during this trying moment. On top of borrowing from global experience and the best scientific evidence, the Government should craft a uniquely Zimbabwean response that is customized and tailored to the circumstances, competencies and capabilities of our great nation. The citizens must be clear and in the know on what will happen after the 21-day lockdown period including the end result and what they are expected to do or not do. The following are immediate; 3 broad areas for greater clarity: A) Combating the pandemic B) Measures to cushion families and citizens from the effects of the lockdown. C) Planning Ahead for the reopening of the Economy with particular emphasis on preventing business closures, company bankruptcy and loss of jobs and re-empowering the informal sectors.
A) COMBATTING THE PANDEMIC
Cushioning of exposed citizens and communicate a clear strategy behind the lockdown and elaborate measures to contain the virus 2.Involving all citizens, labour, academics, church, political players & private sector in planning and implementation – a United team Zimbabwe approach.
Increasing testing – roll out nationwide testing. Everyday testing, situation reporting and accurate figures – better reporting is key in assuring the nation. The key government task is to detect, test, track, isolate, contain and treat. There is need for transparent testing so that the nation has accurate official figures and no parallel structures for big wigs. Urgent need to pronounce mass testing mechanism and centres accessible to many from their neighbourhoods like polyclinics and have national geometric to understand which neighbourhoods have been greatly affected and are likely to suffer from the domino effect.
Government must develop information tool kit for the citizens with a view to create awareness on the progress made towards containing the virus. This information tool kit must be extensively disseminated through various media channels/platforms; The information tool kit must provide specific details such as number of people tested per day, accurate statistical figures on the outcomes of the tests with hope that this information can provide evidence to show how the country is coping with the disease and possible indication of how the lockdown will last as opposed to be reactive. This is important how especially when the WHO is calling on countries not to rush to open the economy.
B) Measures to cushion families and citizens from the effects of the lockdown.
Cushioning citizens from economic distress and speed up roll out of humanitarian support is vital. We must put in place social protection nets 6.We need a clear statement on who must benefit and who cannot so that all that requires to benefit and get food and monetary assistance without politicizing humanitarian support and food.
Those who are tested and confirmed positive must get a form of financial support for a month while they fight and the deceased family a government relief fund for their beneficiaries. Indeed, it is now time that the surplus that Government has made from the 2% levy be used to cushion all workers during these hard times.
WE suggest a new and robust method in the provision of water, food, particularly mealie meal in the townships and countryside. On our part we have already instructed local authorities to do everything in their power to avail water. We call upon central government to provide the necessary resources forex to realize this important basic necessity. 10.We suggest government subsidize and reduce the price of fuel and electricity. We must reduce internet tariff/ price of data during this period of fighting the pandemic. Government must create a new model for the informal sector especially fruit and vegetable markets to decongest and decentralize. Perhaps this is a perfect chance for new models of distributing our produce to the communities to be evolved.
In our context where we have over 5.7 million people in the informal sector, it is important to be elaborate in support mechanisms 13.Providing radio & television lessons dedicated channel for education. Online methods are also vital. 14.We urge the full observance of Human Rights, fundamental freedoms ,security and dignity of all citizens during the enforcement of measures to fight the pandemic. 15 .Allow me to salute all workers, including doctors and nurses, our security services, on the frontline for the excellent call of duty under very difficult circumstances. In this context, providing Personal Protective equipment for nurses, doctors, janitors, administrative support staff, police, security services and other state employees at the frontline is so fundamental.
Risk allowance and tax exemption for all health professionals, security servicemen and government workers on duty at the frontline. Government must provide specialized support to the elderly including providing sanitizers and masks for all. We urge transparency and accountability in the handling of Covid-19 issues by government. These are examples of countries who have already done that:
Guinea has effected
No payment of rents by workers and citizens in general up to December 2020.
Government has pledged to cover electricity and water for 3months.
Free public transport for 3 months.
Ghana
Government is covering all water bills for 3 months.
Some workers were exempted from paying tax for 3 months.
Rwanda
Door to door food deliveries for disadvantages groups.
Provision of free water and electricity.
Provision of free hospital access.
Botswana
Government has put aside US$168 million to assist business to pay workers’ salaries to avoid layoffs.
Uganda
No payment of rent until further notice; and
Distribution of food to vulnerable groups. As such, if other African governments are able to come up with plans that are sustainable and able to cover all workers; why are we not able as Zimbabwe to do the same?
C) Planning Ahead for the reopening of the Economy A clear strategy on how the economy will be rescued and be made to come back to life, how people will return to work, how children will go back to school. A back to normal life roadmap – a reconstruction and recovery program. Creation of an enabling environment aimed at reducing the pain coming with Coronavirus and general economic decay which was at its peak even before Coronavirus. The following should be policy measures: (a) full dollarisation and removal of forex retention to aid growth in exporting companies. (b) removal of 2% tax to reduce tax burden to companies and give room for cash flow recovery. (c) removal of excessive tax heads, for example in the tourism sector there are 22 tax heads while mining has 15 tax heads some of which are unnecessary…this will give room for revenue recovery. (d) tax incentives such as corporate tax waiver for companies supporting local production and import substitution. (e)Fiscal stimulus package which is in excess of US$5 billion which will form the rescue package since most companies will close.
This is the genesis of The4th industrial revolution, lifestyles and work styles will change and we must embrace it. We face a national crisis of monumental proportions. A national challenge requires a national response. Considering the diverse skills and multiple capacities we have in our organization, we are ready to assist. We don’t want politicization of the pandemic. We will put politics aside and assist the government to craft those measures. The diverse skills and expertise in our organization can be of tremendous assistance to the nation at this critical time. This is so particularly if regard be had to the experience in government, having former Ministers, our assistance will come in handy. This is no time for politics. Life is precious. We must preserve it.
TOGETHER We must defeat COVID 19. The future is bright. Remember to wash your hands, keep good hygiene, maintain social distance and spread the message. Remember to pray for our country and indeed the entire world.
God bless you, God bless Zimbabwe, God bless AFRICA.
The MDC Alliance is a social democratic party, and solidarity is one of our core-values.
Following the Statement by our President Advocate Nelson Chamisa on lockdown, on the 24th March 2020 the MDC Parliamentary Caucus came up with various response mechanisms at Organisational level and at individual level.
The MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus sends its condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones due to the Covid -19 virus. We also wish a speedy recovery to all those who tested positive to the virus. We also pray for the divine protection of everyone against this deadly virus.
Our Caucus resolved in March soon after the announcement by the MDC Alliance President Advocate Nelson Chamisa of the lockdown campaign .
We resolved for every member of parliament to contribute rtgs 200 every month towards the Covid -19 pandemic. This money was raised to mitigate towards the rapid response mechanism.
The contributions from our Members of Parliament is seriously affected by the illegal withholding of MDC Alliance Member’s allowances of more than six months, which have caused many of our MPs to be in serious debts and financially crippled.
Members of Parliament have also at individual level contributed immensely towards the crisis management and mitigation, in various constituencies and communities. We would to express our gratitude towards the kind spirit of giving by our members.
Now realising that the crisis is continuing and a sustainable and comprehensive response is required, the MDC Alliance Caucus has resolutely endorsed to increase the monthly contributions so that financial contribution will play a critical role in various mechanisms towards alleviating the burden of this pandemic to the people of Zimbabwe.
This is motivated by the MDC Alliance President spirited fight and realization that the National Epidemic Response by gvt is inadequate and overwhelmed.
Resource mobilization social welfare of the most vulnerable groups of our population such as vendors, people with disabilities, those with health conditions, the elderly and child-headed families is paramount in this lockdown.
The Caucus will continue to respond and act to mitigate the crisis. More and new strategies will continue to be developed and implemented.
The Caucus will also review upwards the RTGS 200 agreed, in an attempt to increase the level of response to the lockdown.
We urge all Zimbabweans to obey rules stipulated in the lockdown as it is good for everybody. To the security forces responsible for enforcing the lockdown compliance must do so with dignity and honor. Our security services must exercise restraint in dealing with the population and must respect human rights and avoid heavy-handedness in enforcing compliance.
May God bless our nation Zimbabwe. Together We Will Defeat Covid-19.
For and on behalf of the MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus
The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A), while noting the role played by China in the refurbishment of Wilkins Hospital, a critical COVID-19 isolation centre in Harare, hereby calls upon the Chinese Government to take all measures as is required under international law to protect Africans in China who are facing discrimination, unwarranted evictions and all manner of ill treatment and abuse.
There are disturbing reports of people of African descent being subjected to forced epidemic investigation and Nucleic Acid Test, forced quarantine including in cases where they have not travelled outside China, came in contact with infected persons or show symptoms of COVID-19.
Africans are being evicted from their places of accommodation, banned from entering restaurants and other public facilities, threatened with deportations, arrests and revocation of visas despite not being infected with the pandemic, especially in the Guangdong Province of China.
Indeed, this targeting of Africans amounts to racism as it is not supported by any scientific logic and contradicts the fact that it was in Wuhan province of China where the pandemic originated. Such targeting also violates international law.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights without distinction of any kind including race, colour or national origin.
In addition, the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination commits member states to the elimination of racial discrimination.
The Convention defines racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.
The MDC-A therefore calls on the Chinese Government to protect Africans under its jurisdiction.
The fight against COVID-19 requires unity of all countries and races. It is therefore imperative for the world to rally everyone’s resolve in defeating this pandemic.
Gladys K. Hlatywayo Secretary for International Relations MDC Alliance
You're now offering testing to Social Care staff & residents, but how's that going to be achieved given capacity pressures & your existing promises to NHS staff and when will it be delivered? ANSWER:…I am very glad to say we now are testing regularly NHS staff across the board pic.twitter.com/hrS9Cbizos
By Lorraine Sibanda|Working in the informal economy is precarious , unpredictable and has a lot of challenges for workers in this sector.
Key among the challenges is the daily work which brings barely enough and sometimes very little income for daily food and necessities.
The advent of COVID-19 has deepened the challenges faced by workers in the informal economy because these workers can no longer fend for their families as countries lockdown to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
A lot of families who rely on informal activities for livelihood are going hungry as their food reserves have diminished.
Many are desperate and frustrated as very few of them have any savings to assist them through the crisis.
The work that we do in the informal economy provides hand to mouth income- one day at a time.
In short, informal economy work is financially- fragile and a day away from the workplace means one has no income.
In most countries, there are no social protection measures nor are there any social security benefits to protect informal economy workers from further vulnerability- this makes the suffering worse.
As the pandemic rages on and people remain locked down, there is urgent need for governments to establish fool-proof, corruption free, realistic and sustainable social protection safety nets for informal economy workers so as to preserve their human dignity during these tough times.
Such measures should not only be put in place to combat the effects of COVID-19 but for the sustainable future as the world works towards formalisation of the informal economy and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work.
Lorraine Sibanda is the President of the Zimbabwe Chamber Of Informal Economy Associations and also Streetnet International President a network of over 50 informal economy organisations worldwide.
Makadini vanhu vaMwari tinaSithulisiwe Nare musikana ane makore 24 yrs mwana waViolet Angeline Nyathi from Mashaba Village, Village head Willy Sibatha, Manama area. Akakwira mota yaiva ne vakadzi 3 from Max Garage achienda kuGwanda then vakamutengera food just after Esigodini Tollgate then from there haana kuzoziva kuti chii chakazoitika only to be picked by Police at Maregere Business centre, after Nyika, Bikita. She is admitted at Silveira Mission Hospital. Kana pane anozivawo any1 from Manama area or hama dzake call Police at Silveira base on 0773870011, 0716557100 or 0774516160 tiwane hama dzake. Forward to other groups
A top Brazilian cocaine trafficker was arrested in Mozambique, officials in both countries said, underlining the growing global footprint of the First Capital Command (PCC) gang, Brazil’s most powerful criminal organisation.
Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos, aka “Fuminho,” was on the run for more than 20 years until his capture in Maputo on Monday. He was one of Brazil’s “most-wanted” fugitives, Brazil’s federal police said .
“The prisoner was considered the largest supplier of cocaine to a gang operating throughout Brazil, as well as sending tonnes of the drug to several countries,” the statement said.
Originally a prison gang in Sao Paulo, the PCC spread across Brazil and is increasingly moving cocaine to Europe and Africa.
In March, Reuters reported Brazil is one of the top suppliers of cocaine to Europe, transforming the country’s role in the trans-Atlantic drug trade.
Leonardo Simbine, a spokesman for Mozambique’s Criminal Investigations Services, told Reuter local police were tipped off by Interpol that dos Santos entered the country in mid-March.
“We did our investigations and found him at a luxury hotel in Maputo. We arrested him with accomplices, two Nigerian citizens,” Simbine said.
On his way to the maximum security prison where he is being held, dos Santos refused to answer questions from the press. “Talk to my lawyer,” he said.
Brazil has 40 days to submit an extradition request, Simbine said, adding dos Santos is being held on charges of drug possession and using a false passport.
In its statement, Brazil’s federal police said the operation to catch dos Santos involved the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Department of Justice and Mozambique police.
The Brazilian federal police accuse dos Santos of allegedly financing a rescue plan for PCC boss Marcos Willians Camacho, or “Marcola,” in federal jail in Brasilia. The alleged plan prompted Brazilian authorities to heighten security at the jail, the statement said.
Local media report dos Santos was Camacho’s “right-hand man.”
State Media|WHILE some of the homeless people moved into shelters by the Government welcome the move, others say they miss street life and those fighting drug dependency are reportedly stealing blankets, soap and plastic buckets to sell so they can buy drugs.
The homeless women are accommodated at Jamaica Inn National Training Centre for Rural Women along the highway to Mutare, while men are at the Mt Hampden Vocational Training Centre. They were taken into shelter so that they are not exposed to Covid-19 on the streets.
The Herald visited the formerly homeless people at the shelters yesterday. Some were grateful for the change, but others were struggling to adapt to the new environment.
Mary Makomo, who is at Jamaica Inn, said she wants to go back to the streets to live an independent life.
“We want freedom and I miss my boyfriend, who is currently locked at Mt Hampden Vocational Training Centre. I miss him very much,” she said.
Shaman Munyanyi, who welcomed the move into shelters and commended Government for the decision, said their peers were stealing blankets and exchanging them for drugs.
Munyanyi said these sneak out of hostels during the night to look for drugs on the streets.
However, she said they were now better off than during their time on the streets and wants the Government to offer them life-changing skills.
“The Government is providing us with three meals a day. Street-life was unbearable; sometimes we were forced into sexual intercourse with men of dubious character despite spending the day without food.
“In some cases we would spend the day in running battles with the police and spend a night in police cells, which is different from the current set up. We are getting enough food and I am appealing to the Government to provide us with life-changing skills to better our lives. I want to go back to school to have a better future,” said Munyanyi.
A man accommodated at Mt Hampden Vocational Training Centre, who declined to give his name, said he appreciates Government’s efforts.
“The challenge we are facing is that some of our number are addicted to street life. They are stealing our blankets for resale so that they get money for drugs. We are appealing to the Government to provide us with maximum security at our dormitories so that they protect us from the unrepentant people, who want to return to the streets,” he said.
The Mt Hampden Vocational Training Centre is housing over 100 men, while Jamaica Inn has 17 women and five children.
Green Light International Trust founding member Mr Tawanda Makwiramiti, who partnered the Department of Social Welfare in moving the homeless people, said: “Some of the boys sneak out of the hostels to sell blankets, buckets, soap and even their clothes just to get drugs from nearby residential areas.”
Ms Patience Chigwida, the administrator of Eatout Movement Zimbabwe, a group which is helping in mobilising resources for the vulnerable groups, hopes by the end of the lockdown, the homeless people would have indicated what they wish to do.
Turbulence continues to rock the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T after a top member of the party declared that he was in charge and was seized with organising the party’s extra-ordinary congress as recently ordered by the Supreme Court.
This effectively locked out Douglas Mwonzora, who had declared himself party secretary-general.
Two week ago, the Supreme Court made Khupe the acting MDC-T president, saying all appointments made by the late MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai, including the elevation of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri as vice-presidents of the party, were unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ordered Khupe to hold an extra-ordinary congress within three months to settle the leadership dispute in the opposition party.
Besides the judges noting the judgment could be academic, as Khupe and Chamisa now lead different parties that contested the 2018 elections, Mwonzora immediately claimed he was the secretary-general of the party and would soon call for congress as ordered by the court.
But yesterday, Nickson Nyikadzino, who was elected MDC-T secretary-general at Khupe’s 2018 extra-ordinary congress, insisted Mwonzora, who is an MDC Alliance senator, now belongs to the MDC Alliance.
Nyikadzino said he was the bona fide secretary-general of the MDC-T elected at congress, not Mwonzora, and would be in charge of the congress preparations.
Another MDC-T official, Tarisai Chikuvanganga, from Chakari constituency, also wrote a second letter to Khupe warning her against embracing Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi, who is also an MDC-Alliance senator.
Chikuvanganga argued that the two should apply for readmission into the party and wait at least five years to occupy any leadership position.
Nyikadzino said the extra-ordinary congress ordered by the Supreme Court only related to the dispute in the presidium after Tsvangirai’s death and he remained firmly in charge as secretary-general of the party elected at the 2018 congress.
“In continuing to execute my responsibilities as the secretary-general of the party, I shall advise stakeholders on the path the party will be following,” he said.
“I am cognisant of the fact that we contested the 2018 harmonised elections as the MDC-T and at bare minimum, managed to secure a seat for a Member of Parliament in the Lower House as well as a senatorial seat. I shall be communicating the party position with regards to these deployments within the next few days.”
Nyikadzino added: “As such, please note that there is only one secretary-general of the MDC-T as elected at the said congress on the 23rd of April 2018, which was legally convened and attended by bona fide members of our party, the MDC-T. Be guided accordingly.”
Khupe was not picking up her calls yesterday to clarify on the crisis that has befallen her party, while Mwonzora was unreachable.
Komichi, who has positioned himself as the MDC-T chairperson, was said to be in a meeting for the better part of yesterday.
Komichi and Mwonzora announced after the Supreme Court ruling that they were already implementing the ruling, a move that has angered MDC-T officials who feel the two wanted a hostile takeover of the party.
Chikuvanganga, in the latest submission to Khupe, said the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T were separate entities, hence the party, as directed by the Supreme Court, can hold its congress without members of the other party, Mwonzora and Komichi included.
Komichi is a senator under the MDC Alliance in the Midlands province, while Mwonzora is a senator in the same party for Manicaland province.
MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende said Komichi and Mwonzora had automatically expelled themselves from the party, a situation that leaves the two unattached, if the MDC-T has its way.
“I have seen that some people who want to benefit from both the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T are now denying the fact that the MDC Alliance is a political party separate from the MDC-T,” Chikuvanganga’s letter to Khupe read.
“It is my considered view that the issue of whether the MDC Alliance is a political party separate from the MDC-T or not was already decided by a competent court of jurisdiction having come before the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in Case No CCZ 42/18, a matter between Nelson Chamisa versus Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa & 24 others, including yourself.”
In the letter, Chikuvanganga made reference to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba, who was also a respondent, where she acknowledged the MDC Alliance as a political party separate from the MDC-T.
“If you also look at paragraph 94(c) of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s opposing affidavit, in that case, he clearly acknowledged the MDC Alliance as a political party separate to the MDC-T,” the letter read.
Chikuvanganga said even Mnangagwa, through the letters inviting Chamisa and Khupe to State House for dialogue, recognised the two different parties, hence there was “abundant evidence” to show that the ConCourt, Zec and Mnangagwa recognised the MDC Alliance as a political party separate from the MDC-T.
“Let us not be used by people who abandoned our party and campaigned against you and they now want us to divert our attention by indirectly fighting Zec, the ConCourt and President Mnangagwa by saying that the MDC Alliance is not a political party when it is a political party,” Chikuvanganga further said.
“The best for us is to move to our extra-ordinary congress as MDC-T and make it clear that those that had moved to the MDC Alliance were automatically expelled from the MDC-T and if they want to come back they should re-apply and wait for five years in order to qualify for any post.”
Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku has confirmed a Covid-19 related death at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
This is the first coronavirus passing at the open medical clinic.
Talking in Sandton on Tuesday, Masuku said the casualty hailed from Soweto and subsequently, wellbeing experts in the territory are getting ready for a potential flare-up in the township.
“There is a passing that occurred at Charlotte Maxeke as affirmed by the Minister (of Health Zweli Mkhize). Each demise is reported by the priest subsequent to talking with the national Covid-19 order group,” said Masuku.
Mkhize communicated worry about the demise on Durban on Monday, saying the 57-year-old had now evident hidden manifestations just like the case with the various survivors of the infection.
Notable radio personality and columnist Redi Tlhabi prior affirmed that one of her family members, who lived in Soweto, died from Covid-19.
In a statement, this is what Redi Tlhabi said of her late cousin.
“Somi had no history of movement. He lived and worked in Soweto. He as of late opened a bistro at the Hector Peterson Memorial. He was so pleased. We can just presume that he connected with certain travelers. We basically don’t know and make no positive cases. He had no previous issues.”
Farai Dziva|Former Dynamos captain Edward Sadomba says he will focus on football administration.
The 36-year old retired from playing football at the end of last season. He snubbed coaching, a route which many players take when they hang their boots and has since set up a sports consultancy company.
According to H-Metro, Sadomba says he intends to use his connection from abroad to help upcoming sports people.
“I have decided to take the administration side because that’s where my passion is.
I had a privilege to see and learn how things are run in different nations across the globe and also why they are more successful as well as achieving great things simultaneously.
Regarding the consultancy, the aim is to help young athletes to realise their sporting potential.
We have very strong links globally offering professional contracts and scholarships for both local and international,” said Sadomba.
The forward was part of the Dynamos squad that reached the semifinals of the CAF Champions League in 2008.
He moved to Sudan the following year before playing in United Arab Emirates and Libya.
Barcelona have announce board changes after six directors resigned last week resigned in protest at the way the club is being run.
The board members who stepped down include two of the club’s four vice presidents – Emili Rousaud and Enrique Tombasin. The list is completed by directors Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Texidor.
In a statement, Barca said the board approved the appointments new directors following a meeting on Monday.
“At the proposal of the President, Josep Maria Bartomeu, the Board of Directors have approved the appointment of Jordi Moix, as Vice President for Economic and Equity; Pau Vilanova, as institutional vice president; Oriol Tomàs, as Vice President of the Commercial Area; Marta Plana, as Secretary of the Board of Directors; and David Bellver, as treasurer.
“Javier Bordas will be the manager responsible for the football first team, while Xavier Vilajoana will be in charge of Barça B, the youth teams and women’s football. The executives responsible for the Compliance Committee will be the Secretary of the Board, Marta Plana, and the treasurer, David Bellver, while Joan Bladé, in addition to continuing to be responsible for the basketball teams, will be responsible for the Control and Transparency Committee,” reads the statement.
The club added they would take legal action against Rousand after he alleged that one of the club’s executives was using club funds to line his own pockets.-Soccer24
Farai Dziva|Warriors striker Tinotenda Kadewere has paid special tribute to legendary former Dynamos striker Moses Chunga.
Bambo, as the Chunga is affectionately known by local football fans, made what some have preferred to now call a ‘prophecy’ which came true, after saying in 2010, when Kadewere was still at Harare City, that he would one day become one of the best players in the country.
To Chunga’s foretelling, Kadewere, after a trailblazing season with French Ligue 2 side Le Havre, in which he led the goal scoring chart with 20 goals, made a historic €15 million move to Olympique Lyon, becoming the most expensive player in Zimbabwean football history in the process.
The 24-year-old’s consistent goal-scoring form surprised many and equally incredible is the fact that Le Havre paid Swedish side Djugardens only €2.5 million for his services.
Kadewere recalls the groundbreaking role played by Chunga in his career.
”When I was 14, Moses Chunga, a legend in my country who spotted me, said that one day I would be one of the greatest Zimbabwean players in history,” Kadewere told French newspaper Foot Normand.
“I’m very honoured to have signed there (Lyonnais). But above all, I am happy to make Zimbabweans proud. At home, there has been a lot of talk about my transfer. They are proud that one of their players joined one of the biggest clubs in Europe,” he added.
By A Correspondent- A habitual thief was yesterday sentenced to an effective 60 days in jail after failing to raise a $500 fine for loitering, in violation of lockdown regulations, while more than 5 700 people have been arrested countrywide over various violations.
There was commotion when the thief, Billiard Chigodora (41), of House Number 4330 Nketa 7 suburb in Bulawayo, strolled to court wearing a pair of stolen khaki trousers and a red gold T-shirt, belonging to a Chronicle reporter.
The clothes were stolen last week from a washing line at a residential flat in the city’s central business district.
A report was immediately made and a docket was opened for theft.
Chigodora, who has several criminal records, mostly theft and pickpocketing, was nabbed by police who were on patrol for unnecessary movement during the national lockdown in violation of Section 4 (1) (a) of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020.
The SI was recently published by the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo in terms of the Public Health Act and in consultation with President Mnangagwa.
The SI was promulgated to give legal effect to the restriction of movement of people for 21 days, March 30 to April 19.
Chigodora, who is not employed, was convicted by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Shepherd Munjanja.
In passing the sentence, Mr Munjanja said violating lockdown regulations is a serious offence as it exposes the generality of the population to the deadly Covid-19.
“The accused person’s conduct of ignoring the law decreed to fight the deadly Covid-19 virus is a serious offence. This is actually not a banana republic, it is a country that has laws and every citizen has to comply for the purposes of fighting the spread of the deadly global pandemic,” he said.
The magistrate said people who violate lockdown regulations deserve punishment.
“People like you certainly deserve punishment, which will be exemplary to like-minded people who deliberately violate the law,” said Mr Munjanja.
Prosecuting, Ms Martha Tafa said on Monday at around 12.45AM, Chigodora was spotted by police walking along Plumtree Road near Lobels Bakeries in Bulawayo’s Belmont area. He was stopped and on being asked why he was walking around at night in violation of the lockdown regulations, Chigodora failed to give a valid reason leading to his arrest.
“On being quizzed, the accused person failed to give a satisfactory response. He also failed to produce any exemption document allowing him to move around during the lockdown period,” said Ms Tafa.
Meanwhile, police commended members of the public for cooperating with the security services during enforcement of Government Covid-19 lockdown measures.
In a statement yesterday, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they arrested 5 788 people since the commencement of the lockdown for flouting lockdown measures, which include liquor and traffic-related offences, opening of businesses, unnecessary movement, gatherings and miscellaneous offences.
He urged people to continue cooperating to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
“However, the security services have noted with concern the volume of traffic as motorists try to drive into major cities’ central business districts such as Harare and Bulawayo without any valid reasons. Several queues of motor vehicles were noted this morning with some motorists pleading with deployed officers to be allowed to proceed to town,” he said.
“We implore such motorists to consider their safety first and the security of others. Please stay at home and avoid brushes with the law. Members of the public and the business community should note that some exemptions are being reviewed by relevant Ministries and institutions and those with such exemptions are urged to be in constant liaison with those responsible for the issuance of such exemptions to be up to date with the new developments.”
Police also urged members of the public to desist from gender-based violence during the lockdown. During the shutdown, people are supposed to be confined to their homes and may only leave to buy basic necessities at a supermarket or food retail store, or
fuel or gas at a fuel or gas retail outlet, within a radius not exceeding five kilometres or the nearest establishments if those within the radius are closed. However, only one person per household would be permitted to leave the house for the above purposes.
Individuals are also permitted to leave their homes to buy at pharmacies within a five-kilometre radius or the nearest establishment if the first one is closed or does not have required medicines in stock.
People working in organisations providing essential services are also permitted to leave their homes to go to work, including those working for foreign missions or agencies.statemedia
By A Correspondent- Top officials in the MDC-T led by Thokozani Khupe has slammed the door in the face of opposition Senators Douglas Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi, saying the two belong to MDC Alliance and must apply to rejoin the MDC-T and wait for five years before hoping to hold leadership positions.
MDC-T Secretary-General Nickson Nyikadzino, who was elected into the position at the party’s 2018 congress in Bulawayo, said he is the bona fide party secretary-general and does not recognize Mwonzora who apparently was reinstated into the same position by the Supreme Court ruling of 31st March.
The Supreme Court ordered Khupe to hold an extra-ordinary congress within three months to settle the leadership dispute in the opposition party.
The top court further said all appointments made by the late MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai, including the elevation of Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri as vice-presidents of the party, were unconstitutional.
Following the court ruling, Mwonzora immediately claimed he was the secretary-general of the party and would soon call for congress as ordered by the court.
However, Nyikadzino was recently singing a different tune that the extra-ordinary congress ordered by the Supreme Court only related to the dispute in the presidium after Tsvangirai’s death and he remained firmly in charge as secretary-general of the party elected at the 2018 congress.
“In continuing to execute my responsibilities as the secretary-general of the party, I shall advise stakeholders on the path the party will be following,” he said.
“I am cognisant of the fact that we contested the 2018 harmonised elections as the MDC-T and at bare minimum, managed to secure a seat for a Member of Parliament in the Lower House as well as a senatorial seat. I shall be communicating the party position with regards to these deployments within the next few days.”
Nyikadzino added:
“As such, please note that there is only one secretary-general of the MDC-T as elected at the said congress on the 23rd of April 2018, which was legally convened and attended by bona fide members of our party, the MDC-T. Be guided accordingly.”
Another MDC-T official, Tarisai Chikuvanganga, from Chakari constituency, also wrote a second letter to Khupe warning her against embracing Mwonzora and Morgen Komichi, who is also an MDC-Alliance senator.
Chikuvanganga argued that the two should apply for readmission into the party and wait at least five years to occupy any leadership position.
Chikuvanganga, in the latest submission to Khupe, said the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T were separate entities, hence the party, as directed by the Supreme Court, can hold its congress without members of the other party, Mwonzora and Komichi included.
Komichi is a senator under the MDC Alliance in the Midlands province, while Mwonzora is a senator in the same party for Manicaland province.
MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende said Komichi and Mwonzora had automatically expelled themselves from the party, a situation that leaves the two unattached, if the MDC-T has its way.
“I have seen that some people who want to benefit from both the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T are now denying the fact that the MDC Alliance is a political party separate from the MDC-T,” Chikuvanganga’s letter to Khupe read.
“It is my considered view that the issue of whether the MDC Alliance is a political party separate from the MDC-T or not was already decided by a competent court of jurisdiction having come before the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in Case No CCZ 42/18, a matter between Nelson Chamisa versus Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa & 24 others, including yourself.”
In the letter, Chikuvanganga made reference to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba, who was also a respondent, where she acknowledged the MDC Alliance as a political party separate from the MDC-T.
“If you also look at paragraph 94(c) of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s opposing affidavit, in that case, he clearly acknowledged the MDC Alliance as a political party separate to the MDC-T,” the letter read.
Chikuvanganga said even Mnangagwa, through the letters inviting Chamisa and Khupe to State House for dialogue, recognised the two different parties, hence there was “abundant evidence” to show that the ConCourt, Zec and Mnangagwa recognised the MDC Alliance as a political party separate from the MDC-T.
“Let us not be used by people who abandoned our party and campaigned against you and they now want us to divert our attention by indirectly fighting Zec, the ConCourt and President Mnangagwa by saying that the MDC Alliance is not a political party when it is a political party,” Chikuvanganga further said.
“The best for us is to move to our extra-ordinary congress as MDC-T and make it clear that those that had moved to the MDC Alliance were automatically expelled from the MDC-T and if they want to come back they should re-apply and wait for five years in order to qualify for any post.”-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has urged Zimbabweans to unite and approach the COVID 19 fight as a focused TeamZimbabwe.
Chamisa emphasised the need for mass testing adding that it was important for politicians to stop using food aid relief for their political grandisement.
He said:
“….this is the opportunity to adopt a new way of doing things… Government must intervene and reduce the price of fuel and at the same time subsidise electricity… internet charges should also fall,” said Chamisa.
Paul Pogba has hit back at Graeme Souness’ criticism by saying he does not know who the former Liverpool coach is.
Souness has previously called Pogba “selfish” and questioned the player’s attitude even during his injury layoff and lockdown.
The Scottish who is now a pundit at SkySports recently told Sunday Timesnewspaper: “Pogba has absolutely everything to be a top player – great athleticism, super technique – but his attitude to the game is the polar opposite of mine.
“He goes out with one thought in his mind: ‘I’m going to show everyone how clever I am today and be the star of the show.’
“He’d be an absolute doddle to play against.”
But Pogba has responded to the criticism on United Podcast, saying: “I didn’t even know who he was, really.
“I heard he was a great player and stuff like that. I know the face, but [not] the name.
“I’m not someone who watches a lot of [punditry]. I watch a lot of football but I don’t stay after the game to listen to what they say about why they did this, or why they did that. I like to focus on football.”
Souness who won five English First Division titles with Liverpool, as well as three European Cups and three League Cups, spoke out again and told Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports’ The Football Show:
“You know the oldest saying in football comes to mind – Put your medals on the table.
“I’ve got a big table.”
Pogba’s trophy cabinet has four Serie A titles from his time at Juventus, a Europa Cup win with United – and a World Cup winner’s medal from 2018.-Soccer24
Opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has issued a statement on COVID 19 suggesting the possible national interventions that government can take to protect its citizens.
The MDC Alliance is a social democratic party, and solidarity is one of our core-values.
Following the Statement by our President Advocate Nelson Chamisa on lockdown, on the 24th March 2020 the MDC Parliamentary Caucus came up with various response mechanisms at Organisational level and at individual level.
The MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus sends its condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones due to the Covid -19 virus. We also wish a speedy recovery to all those who tested positive to the virus. We also pray for the divine protection of everyone against this deadly virus.
Our Caucus resolved in March soon after the announcement by the MDC Alliance President Advocate Nelson Chamisa of the lockdown campaign .
We resolved for every member of parliament to contribute rtgs 200 every month towards the Covid -19 pandemic. This money was raised to mitigate towards the rapid response mechanism.
The contributions from our Members of Parliament is seriously affected by the illegal withholding of MDC Alliance Member’s allowances of more than six months, which have caused many of our MPs to be in serious debts and financially crippled.
Members of Parliament have also at individual level contributed immensely towards the crisis management and mitigation, in various constituencies and communities. We would to express our gratitude towards the kind spirit of giving by our members.
Now realising that the crisis is continuing and a sustainable and comprehensive response is required, the MDC Alliance Caucus has resolutely endorsed to increase the monthly contributions so that financial contribution will play a critical role in various mechanisms towards alleviating the burden of this pandemic to the people of Zimbabwe.
This is motivated by the MDC Alliance President spirited fight and realization that the National Epidemic Response by gvt is inadequate and overwhelmed.
Resource mobilization social welfare of the most vulnerable groups of our population such as vendors, people with disabilities, those with health conditions, the elderly and child-headed families is paramount in this lockdown.
The Caucus will continue to respond and act to mitigate the crisis. More and new strategies will continue to be developed and implemented.
The Caucus will also review upwards the RTGS 200 agreed, in an attempt to increase the level of response to the lockdown.
We urge all Zimbabweans to obey rules stipulated in the lockdown as it is good for everybody. To the security forces responsible for enforcing the lockdown compliance must do so with dignity and honor. Our security services must exercise restraint in dealing with the population and must respect human rights and avoid heavy-handedness in enforcing compliance.
May God bless our nation Zimbabwe. Together We Will Defeat Covid-19.
For and on behalf of the MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC, says it will lodge a formal complaint against the police for assaulting a party councillor in Marondera.
Ward 8 councillor, Dzuke was bashed by police details on Monday.
During the scuffle, a police officer accused the opposition party of causing “people’s suffering.”
“We condemn the beating of Councillor Dzvuke of Ward 8, Marondera, by the police.
He was beaten while going to replenish a sanitizer at the borehole in Nyameni.
In the course of the assault, a police officer accused the Movement for Democratic Change for inflicting suffering on the people,” said the party in a statement.
The opposition party says it will lodge a complaint against police brutality.
Farai Dziva |The Ministry of Health and Childcare has announced that one person has fully recovered from COVID-19.
“The Ministry would like to advise the nation that one of the cases was confirmed as recovered after testing negative for Covid-19 on two samples collected at least 24 hours apart.
The case has been removed from isolation, and the healthcare workers are still monitoring other cases which includes a 34-year-old nurse at a local Bulawayo Hospital who has no travel history,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.
Three organisations representing people who are visually impaired and Deaf have sued government and the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) demanding to be provided with information on coronavirus in a format which is accessible to them.
Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League Of The Blind argued that the rights of persons with disabilities have been infringed and continue to be infringed by government and ZBC during a public health emergency crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic as there is a lack of access to information in a format that is accessible to persons with disabilities, notably Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and the blind and partially sighted persons.
ZBC, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Hon. Monica Mutsvangwa, Health and Child Care Minister Hon. Obadiah Moyo and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Hon. Paul Mavima have been cited as respondents to the application by Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind.
As applicants, the Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind, represented by Denford Halimani and Doug Coltart of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, argued that given the state of public health emergency and the national lockdown, there is need for ZBC to have sign language as part of its programming to enable the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to be fully informed about the coronavirus pandemic and continuous changes effected on compliance with the national lockdown by the citizens and any subsequent measures taken by government.
The Centre for Disability And Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind argued that there is a need for all other official communications by government ministries involved in the fight against coronavirus to be produced in formats which are accessible to persons with disabilities, including blind and partially sighted persons, through the use of Braille pamphlets, and audio versions, large print versions, and digital readable-text versions of official communications.
Failure to provide information on coronavirus in a format accessible to persons with disabilities, the applicants said, is not only a violation of the rights of those persons to equality, of access to information and other constitutional rights, but it also poses a grave danger to them, their members, and their beneficiaries who may be unknowingly exposed to the deadly disease as well as to the general public who may also be infected with the disease by persons with disabilities if they are not given equal access to information about the disease and empowered to take necessary measures to prevent its spread.
Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind want the High Court to order ZBC to immediately provide sign language and/or captions in all its content on Zimbabwe Television (ZTV) pertaining to the coronavirus epidemic during and after the National Lockdown for the benefit of the deaf and hard of hearing people in Zimbabwe.
Hon. Mutsvangwa and Hon. Moyo, the applicants said, should immediately cause the production of pamphlets with information about coronavirus in Braille and to distribute the same information to visually impaired persons throughout Zimbabwe and ensure that all written information related to coronavirus provided by government is also made available in formats accessible to visually impaired and partially sighted persons, such as audio versions, large text, and/or readable digital text, and distributed to the intended beneficiaries.
Hon. Moyo, the applicants said, should also ensure that the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare’s coronavirus hotlines and centres are staffed with persons who are equipped to deal with the unique needs of persons with disabilities while Hon. Mavima must facilitate that Hon. Mutsvangwa and Hon. Moyo ensure that Braille materials and any other coronavirus-related materials intended for persons with disabilities are delivered to the intended recipients.
Hon. Mutsvangwa, the Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind said, must immediately issue a statement urging private entities, including mass media and hospitals, to ensure that any services they provide to the public relating to coronavirus including information, testing and treatment are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The application will be heard and determined on Monday 20 April 2020 by High Court Judge Justice Joseph Mafusire.
Farai Dziva|The MDC has challenged the country’s security forces to desist from tormenting civilians.
Read full statement below:
The MDC Alliance is a social democratic party, and solidarity is one of our core-values.
Following the Statement by our President Advocate Nelson Chamisa on lockdown, on the 24th March 2020 the MDC Parliamentary Caucus came up with various response mechanisms at Organisational level and at individual level.
The MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus sends its condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones due to the Covid -19 virus. We also wish a speedy recovery to all those who tested positive to the virus. We also pray for the divine protection of everyone against this deadly virus.
Our Caucus resolved in March soon after the announcement by the MDC Alliance President Advocate Nelson Chamisa of the lockdown campaign .
We resolved for every member of parliament to contribute rtgs 200 every month towards the Covid -19 pandemic. This money was raised to mitigate towards the rapid response mechanism.
The contributions from our Members of Parliament is seriously affected by the illegal withholding of MDC Alliance Member’s allowances of more than six months, which have caused many of our MPs to be in serious debts and financially crippled.
Members of Parliament have also at individual level contributed immensely towards the crisis management and mitigation, in various constituencies and communities. We would to express our gratitude towards the kind spirit of giving by our members.
Now realising that the crisis is continuing and a sustainable and comprehensive response is required, the MDC Alliance Caucus has resolutely endorsed to increase the monthly contributions so that financial contribution will play a critical role in various mechanisms towards alleviating the burden of this pandemic to the people of Zimbabwe.
This is motivated by the MDC Alliance President spirited fight and realization that the National Epidemic Response by gvt is inadequate and overwhelmed.
Resource mobilization social welfare of the most vulnerable groups of our population such as vendors, people with disabilities, those with health conditions, the elderly and child-headed families is paramount in this lockdown.
The Caucus will continue to respond and act to mitigate the crisis. More and new strategies will continue to be developed and implemented.
The Caucus will also review upwards the RTGS 200 agreed, in an attempt to increase the level of response to the lockdown.
We urge all Zimbabweans to obey rules stipulated in the lockdown as it is good for everybody. To the security forces responsible for enforcing the lockdown compliance must do so with dignity and honor. Our security services must exercise restraint in dealing with the population and must respect human rights and avoid heavy-handedness in enforcing compliance.
May God bless our nation Zimbabwe. Together We Will Defeat Covid-19.
For and on behalf of the MDC Alliance Parliamentary Caucus
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC, says it will lodge a formal complaint against the police for assaulting a party councillor in Marondera.
Ward 8 councillor, Dzuke was bashed by police details on Monday.
During the scuffle, a police officer accused the opposition party of causing “people’s suffering.”
“We condemn the beating of Councillor Dzvuke of Ward 8, Marondera, by the police.
He was beaten while going to replenish a sanitizer at the borehole in Nyameni.
In the course of the assault, a police officer accused the Movement for Democratic Change for inflicting suffering on the people,” said the party in a statement.
The opposition party says it will lodge a complaint against police brutality.
Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly says the harassment of civilians in urban areas by the country’s security forces is a calculated ploy meant to punish urbanites for supporting the opposition party.
ZRP cops and soldiers are tormenting civilians across the country during the 21- day lockdown.
“The violence and harassment of citizens by the uniformed forces during this lockdown period is worrisome.
In fact, it has confirmed our fears that that Emmerson Mnangagwa is going to use this period to escalate human rights abuses as a way of thwarting impending mass demonstrations.
The whole thing is calculated to punish urban dwellers for snubbing Zanu PF,” said MDC Youth Assembly spokesperson Stephen Sarkozy Chuma in an interview with ZimEye.com on Tuesday.
Farai Dziva |The Ministry of Health and Childcare has announced that one person has fully recovered from COVID-19.
“The Ministry would like to advise the nation that one of the cases was confirmed as recovered after testing negative for Covid-19 on two samples collected at least 24 hours apart.
The case has been removed from isolation, and the healthcare workers are still monitoring other cases which includes a 34-year-old nurse at a local Bulawayo Hospital who has no travel history,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza has said truck drivers who stop at truck inns and other business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe vulnerable to the pandemic that has killed 120 000 people worldwide.
Ephraim Gwanongodza said There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers.
In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contact that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.
Truck drivers are among critical services providers exempted to work during the lockdown as they are transporting cargo in between countries during the course of the lockdown.- State media
With many people in the country now aware of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, and some measures of how to control its spread, this has presented a business opportunity to some unscrupulous individuals and businesses here, who are manufacturing and selling fake hand sanitizers.
Some have abnormally hiked the prices of the hand sanitizers (original or fake) in a development that has not only worsened the plight of Bulawayo residents but also exposed them to the deadly disease that has claimed thousands of lives across the globe.
Sanitizers are one of the key hygiene instruments, seen by health experts as helpful in curbing the spread of the disease.
A survey in Bulawayo revealed that since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people supplying sanitisers.
The proliferation of home-made hand sanitisers, some of which are even dangerous to health, is driven sorely by a desire for a “quick buck”.
The unbranded sanitisers have noticeably flooded most high-density suburbs in the city.
Pharmacies in the city are selling a 125ml bottle of hand sanitiser for US$3 (or the equivalent in local currency,) itself a sharp increase from the original price of less than US$1.
However, on the street markets, the same product is going for between US$1 and US$2. While the product seems a bit cheaper as compared to pharmacies, the issue is that in most cases these are fake home made products offering no real health value.
A vendor plying his trade from Entumbane Complex following the announcement of the 21 day lockdown, said he recorded high business in the first days.
“Now business has slightly gone down due to the lockdown, but in the first days especially when Zimbabwe’s first case was detected, I recorded brisk business with many shops coming to buy from me because I had a reasonable price than big suppliers,” Tichaona Jaravaza said.
“I manufacture these things at my home, it’s not even difficult all you need are the required disinfectant ingredients especially alcohol,” he said.
Asked if his products were safe for human use, he said: “Mine are very safe, but I know of some crooks who have been manufacturing some fake stuff, just to milk desperate people at this time of the pandemic, which is bad as it soils our business reputation.”
It has also been reported that some of the fake sanitisers were causing skin diseases, particularly involving skin peel offs on hands. This has been as a result of use of chemicals with a high concentration of ethanol glutaral¬dehyde or cidex, a potentially harmful liquid containing dangerous substances, which can cause irritation to the skin, eyes and throat if inhaled or swallowed.
Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi recently warned people selling fake sanitisers.
However, the threats seem to have failed to deter the unscrupulous dealers, who have continued with their trade.
Pharmacist, Comfort Mhlanga said it was advisable that consumers buy from licenced dealers as the home made products were not checked or certified to be safe for use.
“Due to economic challenges in the country, many have resorted to buying cheap stuff from the informal traders or black market, but now we are dealing with chemicals, when you talk of hand sanitisers, so people should not endanger their health by using unsanctioned products. People are desperate to earn a living so they can mix the sanitiser with anything that comes to their mind and they sell to people, which is extremely dangerous. Already we have had reports of people who have been affected by these fake products,” Mhlanga noted.
By Jane Mlambo| Fresh details have emerged in the trending story of gospel star Sabastian Magacha whose picture exposing his manhood on a video chat with ex-girlfriend Anesu Zhakata has made rounds on social media.
According to Zhakata, the picture could have been leaked by her now ex-husband Lloyd Tevedzai whom she accused of using the x-rated image to blackmail her each time they had a misunderstanding in their marriage.
Zhakata who appeared on Mai Titi’s Facebook live program apologized to Magacha saying she takes full responsibility of the leaked image which she said she screenshooted sometime back when she was still dating the Bhosvo hitmaker.
According to Zhakata, she later moved on from Magacha and got married to Tevedzai who saw the picture in her ipad and often threatened to leak it out each time they had an altercation.
Each time we had a misunderstanding, Lloyd Tevedzai would threaten to leak the image and I always told him to proceed and I am sure he is the one who leaked it, it’s sad for him to do that to the mother of his children.
“I am really sorry to Saba, that picture yakubuda, it was irresponsible on my part because I had not removed the picture and now he is having to suffer for it. I am really really sorry, he doesnt deserve that at all because takaparadzana mune zvakanaka, there is nothing to really say akanditadzira because I actually terminated the relationship,” said Zhakata.
She cleared the air on claims that she was dating a married men saying the image was from the time Saba was single while she later moved on to Tevedzai.
By A Correspondent- Zimbabweans in South Africa whose visas or days expired during the Covid-19 lockdown period will not be arrested or deported for violating the neighbouring country’s immigration laws.
The regulation, which applies to all foreigners in South Africa, states that those who opt to return to their countries after the lockdown instead of renewing their visas, will not be declared illegal immigrants upon departure.
In a statement posted on its Twitter Page, SA’s Department of Home Affairs said the temporary measures were introduced after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster on March 15 and subsequently a total lockdown, which was extended to April 30 to contain the spread of Covid-19. South Africa’s lockdown started on March 21.
The department said the visa concessions apply to those with visas that expired from February 15, 2020 unless a person has proof that they had already submitted an application for visa extension prior to that date.
“Holders of temporary residence visas, which expired from mid- February 2020, who did not renew their visas before the lockdown, will not be declared illegal or prohibited persons. Any person whose visa expired before or during the lockdown will not be arrested or detained for holding an expired visa,” read the statement.
The department stated that during the lockdown, it is receiving or adjudicating applications for visas and permanent residence permits.
“Foreign nationals whose visas expired after February 15, and had scheduled appointments on dates which fall within the lockdown period, should reschedule their appointments to an available date after the lockdown has been lifted,” said the department.
People whose work, study and business visas expired during the lockdown including those who had submitted their applications before the lockdown will be allowed to work, study or conduct business after the lockdown while waiting for the outcome of their applications.
“Visas issued to nationals of high-risk countries who were outside South Africa on March 15, 2020 were revoked as per the directions issued by the department in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 these visas remain revoked,” the department said.
According to the statement, all foreigners who are in South Africa are not allowed to leave the country during the lockdown except for cases relating to expatriation initiated by another State.
“Any asylum seeker whose visa expired from March 16, 2020 to the end of the lockdown period will not be penalised or arrested, provided they legalise their visa within 30 calendar days of the lockdown being lifted.”
Commenting on the SA lockdown yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa Mr David Hamadziripi said that Zimbabweans in the neighbouring country who may be in distress from the lockdown will soon be allowed to return home.
Ambassador Hamadziripi said the Embassy and consulates countrywide had received distress calls from some Zimbabweans who were finding it difficult to make ends meet owing to the lockdown and wanted to return home.
Meanwhile, the South Africa government has deployed the military to the Beitbridge Border Post after suspected border jumpers and smugglers vandalised part of the R37 million border fence, which is being erected between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The deployment of soldiers follows reports and pictures circulating on social media showing that the barbed wire fence had been cut through, with a gaping hole now clearly visible in the 1,8m high fence, which separates the two countries.
The fence is supposed to span 20km on each side of the border post. Confirming the deployment of the army in a series of tweets, South Africa’s Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille said her ministry requested the Department of Defence to increase security measures as reinforcement to protect the border and curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. She said they were also considering additional deterrent measures such as surveillance, sensors and alarms.
“With regard to the Beitbridge border fence which DPWI [Department of Public Works and Infrastructure] is erecting and criminal elements damaging the fence, I am investigating this matter and the contractor has increased security personnel. The Defence Force has also deployed soldiers to patrol the border,” said Ms de Lille.
She also posted pictures with the tweet showing military vehicles and soldiers, including some on motorbikes, along the fence.
“This was a project by DPWI to secure the borders and repair and replace the fence which has been badly damaged. I have requested that the department of defence increase security measures as reinforcement to protect our borders especially during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the Minister.-StateMedia
By A Correspondent- The truck drivers have often been accused of picking up s.e.x workers at such spots, a practice likely to worsen the spread of COVID-19.
Cross-border truck drivers who stop at truck inns and business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe more vulnerable to COVID-19, a legislator has warned, as he seeks new rules that would force the drivers to practice social distancing.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza made the remarks while making a contribution during a recent visit to Chivi District Hospital by members of the Masvingo provincial COVID-19 taskforce led by Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira.
“There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers,” he said.
“In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contacts that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
“We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.” In his presentation, Minister Chadzamira said Government was worried about non-compliant behaviour.
“We have noted with concern that some citizens continue to struggle with practising social distancing,” he said. “Government urges each and every one of us to remind the next person they need to maintain social distancing and other preventative behaviour. “We have to be each other’s keeper in order to beat this invisible enemy, coronavirus.”
Minister Chadzamira said truck drivers should abide by the social distancing rules, while at the same time abstaining from hiring sex workers at business centres and truck inns along the highway as these were potential coronavirus hotspots.
Officer Commanding Zimbabwe Republic Police Masvingo Province, Assistant Commissioner Taoneyi Nyazema, urged the public to observe the social distancing rule and avoid moving around aimlessly. “Police have observed aimless movements by motorists, with some claiming to be looking for fuel or shopping for basic commodities,” he said.
“We are going to increase operations and patrols at night, especially at such truck inns and business centres along the Harare-Masvingo Highway as efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Those found without justification of being outside will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Members of the public who are queuing for basic commodities should do so in an orderly manner in line with guidelines provided by Government.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| Zimbabwe has recorded its first recovery case from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) case, Ministry of Health and Child Care has updated the nation.
Though the ministry did not disclose which patient among the 18 has recovered, the news comes as positive news considering that the country is underfunded and running an uncoordinated response to the global pandemic.
Zimbabwe has begun decentralising COVID-19 testing with machines, reagents and test kits being sent to two cities other than Harare.
Bulawayo has already begun conducting tests with Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital expected to do the same soon.
Confirmatory tests are done at the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare.
About 45 laboratory workers are getting trained in Bulawayo to handle the testing.
“As part of the decentralisation initiative, we have set up a testing facility at Mpilo. Tests done at Mpilo will be sent to NMRL for confirmation as was done when we used to send our results to South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in KwaZulu Natal.
“We should be receiving reagents for this testing on April 15, 2020 which is next week.
“These reagents will be used for the Gene Xpert machines we have in our testing facilities.
“We are not going to ending with Mpilo as plans are that every provincial and district hospital should be able to do the testing at sub-national level,” said the Health Ministry.
The testing for the Southern Region samples done at Mpilo begins on Monday when they get more reagents.
The Ministry has designated more sites as isolation facilities.
Every provincial health centre and a local authority health facility will be designated as isolation centres.
“Plumtree High School is now holding 450 Zimbabweans returning from Botswana.
By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa recently appointed, on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a three-member tribunal to decide on Justice Bere’s suitability to continue holding office, with the commission doing a U-turn after initially clearing him in November last year.
The High Court will tomorrow rule whether or not the legal challenge mounted by Supreme Court judge, Justice Francis Bere, over his disciplinary tribunal should be heard as an urgent matter.
In a bid to block the proceedings, Justice Bere — through his legal team comprising Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Advocates Girach Firoz and Lewis Uriri — filed an urgent chamber application challenging the legality of the tribunal because of that U-turn.
High Court judge, Justice Alfias Chitakunye yesterday heard arguments from the commission and Justice Bere’s lawyers before deferring his ruling to tomorrow. If the matter is considered urgent, it can be heard almost immediately, but if not, then it must take its place in the queue for High Court civil cases. The JSC had raised preliminary points arguing that the matter was not urgent.
Adv David Ochieng, who was being instructed by Mr Andrew Mugandiwa of Winterton’s law firm, argued that the case was not urgent and that it cannot be heard during the lockdown. He defended the JSC’s decision to refer Justice Bere’s case to the President for the constitution of a tribunal, despite having cleared him of any wrongdoing in November last year.
Adv Ochieng argued that the tribunal cannot be stopped from inquiring into the matter, saying if the JSC was wrong, such a finding has to be made by the tribunal. However, Adv Firoz argued that the JSC acted unlawfully by recommending a tribunal against Justice Bere when the commission had earlier cleared the judge of any wrongdoing.
He argued that Justice Bere’s right to be heard was violated because the complainant in one of the cases, Mr Itai Ndudzo, wrote a second letter implicating the judge, but the JSC did not afford Justice Bere an opportunity to respond. On that basis, Justice Bere seeks an interdict to restrain the tribunal from commencing the inquiry.
The judge, through his lawyers, insisted that the matter was urgent. Justice Chitakunye is expected to rule on the preliminary points tomorrow. The tribunal to inquire into Justice Bere’s case will be chaired by retired judge, Justice Simbi Mubako. Justice Mubako will work with two lawyers — Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Mrs Rekayi Maphosa.
Justice Bere is accused of telephoning Zinara lawyer, Mr Ndudzo of Mutamangira and Associates, asking him to consider settling a civil dispute pitting Zinara against Fremus Enterprises, a firm owned by the judge’s relatives.
The complaint was first raised before Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza during a court hearing before Mr Ndudzo was asked to make the complaint in writing. “The learned judge, indeed contacted me telephonically,” said Mr Ndudzo.
“The commercial dispute between my client (Zinara) and Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd was discussed in the course of the conversation. The learned judge’s relatives are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The learned judge inquired whether or not there would be possibility of payment being expedited to Fremus Pvt Ltd. I declined the request and the conversation ended abruptly on that note.”
Justice Bere responded to the complaint denying the allegations. In a response to the Judicial Service Commission, he said he only contacted Mr Ndudzo in the context of their personal relationship dating back to the days when they were both members of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Ethics Committee.
“In 2015, I was chairman of the ZIFA ethics committee and Mr Ndudzo was legal advisor to ZIFA,” he said. “We developed a personal relationship through ZIFA. I spoke to Mr Ndudzo in the context of the said personal relationship before litigation had commenced, and in circumstances wherein litigation was not apparent.
“This was prior to my transfer to Bulawayo High Court to head that court following the passing on of the late Mr Justice Mutema.” Justice Bere said he visited his aunt, who, together with her husband, are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises.
“My aunt was critically ill,” he said. “The directors of Fremus wished to take my aunt to South Africa for immediate medical attention, but did not have the required resources.
“In talking to them, my sister’s husband disclosed that if only Mr Ndudzo had honoured his promise to release money owed to Fremus, they would not have been in that predicament.”
Justice Bere said he was relieved that his relatives were talking about Mr Ndudzo whom he knew through interaction at ZIFA. “I reacted by immediately calling Mr Ndudzo whose number I already had by reason of the personal relationship we had developed,” he said.
“I inquired of him, whether or not there was any possibility of him expediting the payment to Fremus given the dire situation at hand.” Justice Bere described the complaint as a falsehood meant to taint his clean record.
“In this exciting phase that we are in as a country, and in view of the much spoken about confrontation against the vice of corruption, there will always be excitable individuals who would wish to create some relevance in this noble fight,” he said.
“They are the greatest threat to this noble endeavour and stand in the path of, and indeed in this way obstruct, the genuine fight against corruption. It is in this spirit that the false complaint against me must be looked at.”
Mr Ndudzo, in a follow up letter, stuck to his story, saying he had no reason to frame Justice Bere and denied the existence of any personal relationship.-StateMedia
ONE-million households identified through the Social Welfare Department to benefit from the $600 million kitty availed by the Government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 are set to start receiving their cash transfers today.
This comes as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has risen to 18 after 53 samples were tested yesterday and 0ne was positive.
The Government resolved to cushion vulnerable households, whose sources of income were affected by the 21-day national lockdown, which is aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19.
The $600 million package, for three months, was announced two weeks ago by Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
To ensure that the beneficiaries realised the full value of the payouts, the Government would ensure that they were not charged transactional costs when cashing out the money.
EcoCash has already indicated that it will not charge transactional costs on funds pertaining to Covid-19.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke confirmed to The Herald yesterday that cash transfers for the beneficiaries were processed and would be effected starting today.
“The names of the beneficiaries have been sent to the network providers to effect the payments. The money should start reflecting in their mobile phones starting on Wednesday (today). There was a bit of some delay because there was duplication of names, for instance, one name can appear in Mabvuku and Mufakose, so we were scanning those names to ensure that they appear once in the database. The scanning process took a bit of time,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
He dismissed reports that beneficiaries were being forced to use NetOne sim cards to receive the money, adding that both NetOne and Econet networks would be used, depending on the beneficiary’s preference.
By A Correspondent- A 27-year-old South African man was recently arrested for fatally stabbing his friend whom he suspected of having an illicit sexual affair with his lover.
On top of this, the apparently distressed killer, who is facing two charges of murder, also pounced on his drug dealer after he failed to give him his daily fix.
The two killings happened on Sunday in Northern Cape, DailySun has revealed. The now-deceased whose names have not been provided were aged, 27 and 29.
Northern Cape police spokesman Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba confirmed the arrest and the tragic killings.
‘Both murders are being investigated. ‘The suspect will appear in the Galeshewe Magistrates Court soon,’ he said.
According to an eye witness who spoke to the publication, the suspect first stabbed a friend in the chest over a woman while a crowd watched.
‘I was on my way to the shops when I overheard two men arguing. The suspect was accusing his friend of poking his lover. I intervened but the suspect drew a knife. ‘He chased his friend until he fell over. He stabbed him while screaming, ‘You poked my girlfriend’ before fleeing. The street is usually patrolled by cops, but during the stabbing there were none. Most residents went outside to watch the fight,’ said the eye witness.
After making his escape, the suspect then visited his drug dealer in order to get his fix. According to another eyewitness, Kamogelo Motlae, an altercation broke out between the suspected killer and the drug peddler, forcing the accused to withdraw his knife and stab the dealer.
‘I could hear him demanding drugs from a man standing outside. He suddenly stabbed him twice and fled. I later learnt the same suspect had stabbed someone else earlier,’ he said.
By A Correspondent- Harare North MP Allan Norman Markham (MDC Alliance) and human rights activist Mfundo Mlilo have dragged President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ministers to court to force them to provide safety nets for struggling Zimbabweans and cushion them during the 21-day lockdown.
Tendai Biti represented the applicants and cited Mnangagwa, ministers Mthuli Ncube (Finance), Obadiah Moyo (health), July Moyo (Local Government) and Joel Biggie Matiza (Transport) as respondents.
The other cited officials were Kazembe Kazembe (Home Affairs), Oppah Muchinguri (Defence) and Police CommissionerGeneral Godwin Matanga.
Biti said the government was obliged to provide residents with potable water, food, money and other essentials during the lockdown, adding that it was folly to impose such measures on people without providing essentials.
“We were arguing that the Constitution provides for the right to life, right to health and if you are going to lock down people in a country where 95% of the people are unemployed, where 79% of the people in a country are leaving in extreme poverty then you have a problem,” he said.
“If you are going to lock people in, give them food otherwise they will go out and that will be a threat to right to life itself and the right to health so safety nets should be provided for by the State.”
The application, Biti said, was not opposed to adding that he remained hopeful the court will issue an order allowing the executive to issue a statutory instrument that recognises safety nets. Biti said authorities have no basis for extending or not extending the lockdown as they have no adequate data.Loading…
“We are not testing, unfortunately. Zimbabwe so far has done 500 tests, so in the absence of data, the authorities do not have the basis of making a decision of extending or not extending. In our view, there is no point in locking down people unless you are actually testing. The whole idea of a lockdown is to enable the cycle and in those 14 days you are not testing, there is no basis for lockdown, massive tests are missing in Zimbabwe,” Biti said.
By Own Correspondent| Chipo Chimbadzo of Headman Mashame under chief Chireya in Gokwe will forever rue the day she decided to pay her relatives a visit after spending time living abroad. She had left behind in Sweden, her husband and two minor children on the pretext she would return in earnest.
Unbeknown to Chipo this was to be the onset of her problems which would eventually see her losing her sight during a traditional ceremony known as ‘kurova guva’ loosely translated to ‘bringing back the spirit of the deceased back into the family setup’.
Chipo’ s problems began during the nocturnal hours when a paternal aunt purporting to be possessed by the spirit of the deceased relative boldly declared that the spirit wanted to settle and be inherited by Chipo. An assertion she flatly refused. In an instant she lost her eye sight.
After consultations with her mother on what had befallen her, Chipo was told by her mother that her refusal to inherit the said spirit of the deceased was the cause of her predicament. Now Chipo is in a spot of bother as the once vivacious lady needs assistance to carry out basic chores she was accustomed to doing by herself as she is now blind. She misses her husband and children and cannot go back to her family in Sweden in her current state. Her family in Gokwe have bluntly informed her that she will remain in her current state until she compromises and accepts to be the bearer of the deceased spirit.
In essence, “Chipo is being forced to accept the spirit.
Some cultures in Zimbabwe dictate that when a family member dies the spirit of the deceased should be brought back into the family setup and inherited by a spiritually designated host who is a close relative of the deceased.
Chipo is one of the many Zimbabweans who have suffered prejudice under such customary norms and ideals which have been described by progressive minds as archaic and retrogressive.
However, the Zimbabwean constitution still incorporates such backward cultural practices.
Chad President announces:- 1. Free water for 6 months
– 2. Free electricity for 3 mnths. Idriss Déby: Govt to cover cost of electricity for 3 months & water for 6 months; 1638 health workers to be recruited; Covid-19 Medicals & materials exempt from taxation.
Tax audits suspended pic.twitter.com/QiS1e5j3W4
ZimEye last night reached out to the Zimbabwean military for answers on why soldiers are assaulting civilians and health workers during the lockdown period. This comes after clear video footage emerged showing attacks against residents in Harare, and the latest ones being in Masvingo where health workers were brutally assaulted together people traveling to purchase mealie meal,classified in the category of essential goods.
In January, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa announced during a speech saying he will deploy the army to assault Kuwadzana residents upon discovering that they are the ones who stopped the rain.
One of the victims is Emmanuel Mushaiwa who was left with fractured arm and taken to Nyangombe clinic. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was immediately transferred to Chinhoyi Hospital. (See pictures- WARNING THE IMAGES MAY BE DISTRESSING TO THOSE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION.)
Emmanuel Mushaiwa, taken to Chinhoyi Hospital
INTERVIEWING THE ZNA SHORTLY – INBOX US DETAILS OF WHERE AND WHEN THIS HAPPENED- ALSO FULL DETAILS PF THE VICTIMS pic.twitter.com/LdbgHvARy7
By Own Correspondent| Prominent traditional healer Sekuru Banda has reiterated President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s plea to Zimbabwean citizens to stay home during the 21-day lockdown in a bid to contain the deadly COVID-19 virus.
Speaking to this publication, Sekuru Banda said people should heed the call by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for citizens to stay at home as a measure to contain the deadly pandemic Coronavirus.
“I urge citizens to stay home and like President said the lockdown is not punishment but necessary to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease, ”said Sekuru Banda.
The traditional leaders said he is aware that many livelihoods are at stake during the lockdown hence he is bailing out some people aged 60 years and above with money and groceries during the 21-day lockdown.
“I am aware of the effects of the lockdown hence I have started an initiative of bailing out the elderly community across Zimbabwe who are aged 60 years and above with groceries and ZW$1000 for each beneficiary .
“This will go a long way in cushioning the elderly as they are the most vulnerable during this time,” added the flamboyant traditional leader.
Meanwhile , the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) president George Kandiero has reiterated that there is no cure yet for COVID-19 and advised members of the public to make use of herbs to boost their immune systems.
“Currently, there are no vaccines and drugs to treat COVID-19 but as traditional healers we urge the public to make use of herbs to boost their immune system which can be beneficial since we have haerd that the virus is severe among people with compromised immune systems,”advised Kandiero
The ZINATHA boss however says they will remain guided by the recommendations by the World Health Organisations and the government directives in combating the deadly COVID-19. In Zimbabwe,11 cases so far have been recorded of COVID-19 which include 3 deaths.
By A Correspondent- Sabastian Magacha’s camp was last night desperate to protect the award-winning gospel star’s battered and bruised image after his picture(s) leaked on social media.
The Bosvo singer sent social media on overdrive when a screenshot of his picture, allegedly sent to his lover, leaked.
For the greater part of yesterday, Magacha’s phone went unanswered and was already switched off at the time of going to print.
His younger brother and also gospel artiste Tinashe Magacha, who was believed to have been comforting the talented performer for the greater part of yesterday, was evasive when contacted by a local publication.
“I’m actually looking for him and I also want to speak to him,” said Tinashe, who was said to have been desperate to cover up for his elder brother’s problems. “I think he is at his place of residence if he is not answering his phone, I don’t know anything (regarding leaked pictures) as yet,” he added.
Magacha’s close friend said he was also not answering his phone, and they feared for him as they described him as a `fragile’ person.
“He was once devastated after his marital woes mounted at some point and we had to be with him. “Saba is not used to controversy and my fears are that he can do anything if he doesn’t get the proper counseling.
“He is not that person who enjoys controversy and I wonder how he would overcome this issue,” said one of Magacha’s close friends who preferred anonymity.
Although Magacha was not cooperating, presumably preparing to make an official statement, comedienne Mai ‘IT, who is on self-quarantine in the UK, went live on Instagram where she urged the singer to man up and take responsibility for his actions.
Mai TT, who is on self-quarantine in the UK, yesterday leaped to the defense of gospel musician Sabastian Magacha urging him to man up.
This was after the energetic prince of praise and worship sent social media abuzz following the leaking of his picture.
According to the screenshot of the picture, purportedly sent around 2.am on March 31 to his lover, Magacha was flaunting his dink donk.
Mai TI’, whose Facebook page was allegedly hacked, opted to go live on Instagram where she sympathized with the pint-sized singer.
Although many people back home, according to Mai TT, expected her to send Magacha to the cleaners, she gave him strength in an interview with H-Metro.
“This is the right time that Magacha should man up,” said the said. Mai TT, who is also a gospel artiste in her own right, said Magacha needed support to ensure he moves on. “We all know Mukoma Saba as one of the finest gospel artistes who have a calling as a singer and this is the right time that the church, family and workmates need to give him all the support.
“This is spiritual warfare that people meet all the time and it would be unfair to poke fun at him without offering him help. “Of course we have all seen how ‘gifted’ Mukoma Saba is in his pants, but let’s cheer him up because I know that all is not well with him: she said.
“My advice to him is that he should delete the number of that girl who posted it and move on. “I always tell people to be responsible for their actions, and this must come as a lesson to many of you that you don’t just send the pictures of your loved one.
“If your lover is demanding photos, be it b00bs, privates and even your bams, please make an appointment and find a place where you can undress and quench your thirst,” she said.
Mai TT also urged fellow artistes to stop laughing at Magacha, but pray for him so that he gets the courage to move on.
Mai TT also told H-Metro that Magacha could be a victim of blackmail or extortion.
“If we look closely at this issue, you will realize that he could be a victim of blackmail or extortion where the girl who leaked the pictures might have demanded money not to leak the picture.
“Again, Mukoma Saba might have been milked by the girl who kept on demanding money from him until he lost the battle or failed to provide the money.
“Such cases are now common and Mukoma Saba might not be alone in that predicament as many people are suffering in silence,” she said.
Asked what action Magacha should take, Mai TT was blunt. “It’s very simple here because Magacha’s image has been tainted, but he simply needs to go and report this girl.
“This girl, if she was blackmailing him, committed a serious offense and she has to face the music because she has also mined someone’s life.
“It was never proper for her to send or post someone’s nudes for public consumption know-ing the repercussions.”
The outspoken comedienne said it was high time cases of blackmail extortion be dealt with. “In my own view, extortionists or people who are convicted of blackmail should be jailed for close to a year because many people are dying in silence.
As expected from Mai TT, a revered entertainer, she also poked fun at Magacha live on Instagram. She praised Magacha for being gifted and likened his privates to a dangerous weapon she referred to in vernacular as zvombo.
Mai TT also said that she didn’t know that gospel artistes had big one-eyed monsters, in reference to Magacha’s size.
She then urged Magacha to man up after the disappointment and urged people facing the same predicament to take legal action.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| The High Court on Tuesday 14 April 2020 ordered government to provide all frontline health practitioners with personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from the deadly coronavirus as they execute their duties and to adequately equip public hospitals with enough supportive medication and help curb the spread of the epidemic.
High Court Judges Justice Joseph Musakwa and Justice Owen Tagu ordered all frontline health practitioners working at public health facilities in Zimbabwe or deployed to trace contacts exposed by infected people, to be provided with adequate PPE and for sufficient testing kits to be deployed at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry. The determination by Justice Musakwa and Justice Tagu came after Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) represented by Andrew Makoni and Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court on Sunday 5 April 2020 protesting against the risk of contracting coronavirus (COVID-19) because government had not put in place measures to ensure that health practitioners across the country, who include nurses, nurse aides and pharmacists among others are adequately protected against the deadly epidemic.
In a consent order agreed to by lawyers representing ZADHR and Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube and Transport and Economic Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, who were listed as respondents in the application, the parties agreed that government should ensure that adequate measures are put in place to prevent, contain and treat the incidence of coronavirus and to establish and appropriately equip quarantine and isolation facilities in all provinces, district hospitals and at the designated airports and ports of entry.
Justice Musakwa and Tagu also ordered that all frontline health practitioners working at public health facilities in Zimbabwe or deployed to trace contacts exposed by infected people should be provided with adequate PPE while sufficient testing kits should be deployed at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry.
The High Court also ordered that extensive screening and testing should be carried out, including mobile or door to door testing in order to account for asymptomatic carriers while all health practitioners and personnel at the frontline should be regularly screened and tested for coronavirus.
By A Correspondent- Citizens living in South African who have been enjoying the added benefit of DStv Open window for the past three weeks are in for some bad news after DStv announced that the special open window will be terminated on the 16th of April 2020.
For the past three weeks, since the lockdown began, Multichoice was kind enough to open a lot of its channels for everyone to enjoy, these included Mzansi Magic, which had previously been on Dstv Compact upwards. A total of 16 free channels had been added to DStv to help with the lockdown.
However, subscribers woke up to SMS messages announcing the end of the service.
The message read:
Last few days to enjoy the DStv Access Open Window. Catch WWE 24/7, Gomora and Toonami until 16 April! Reply Stop To Opt-Out.
From the sms, it would seem like two Channels are being disconnected i.e Mzansi Magic and WWE channel. The channels however are a fan favorite and not good news for the DStv Access subscribers. Multichoice has a subscription of over 11.5 million active accounts in Southern Africa
What this means for the thousands of subscribers on the DStv Access plan is that they will have to upgrade their plan if they wish to continue watching the free channels.
In response to the worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus – which causes COVID-19 – MultiChoice had opened BBC World, CNN, eNCA, SABC News, Newsroom Afrika and Euronews Now for free to all viewers, including those who don’t have a DStv subscription.
“Staying informed about the latest news on the virus is the first step in stopping its spread,” MultiChoice said in the statement, dated 11 March, explaining why it’s opening the news channels to everyone with a broadband connection.
The move to stop the free channels can be seen as an arm twisting move by multichoice to force their subscribers to upgrade their packages. Something which is not an option for many during the lockdown.-Online
The National Airline today at 11:38hrs positioned its B777-200ER Reg# Z-RGM to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia, for special mandatory periodic maintenance which could not be carried out in Harare owing to the unavailability of special maintenance equipment.
The maintenance tasks are key in ensuring that the aircraft remains serviceable in line with the ongoing process of dry leasing the aircraft.
Discussions and negotiations are at an advanced stage with potential short-listed lessees and a final position will be officially communicated once an agreement has been signed hopefully in the next coming few months as we continue to monitor the effects and milestones in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activation of a lease agreement will bring in the much needed foreign currency revenue for Air Zimbabwe to augment its current aircraft fleet with an option of outright purchases or lease in of smaller aircraft.
This initiative is part of the National Airline’s Strategic Turnaround Plan (STP) whose main focus is the development of robust regional/international and tourist hubs for seamless trade and tourism connectivity.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government must seriously take heed of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s advice that hurriedly lifting coronavirus lockdown measures may spark “deadly resurgence” in infections.
With 18 cases of the deadly pandemic, including three deaths, and under a 21-day lockdown, Zimbabwe must not fool itself that it is out of the woods. In reality, the low level of infections is a reflection of the country’s failure to test and screen more people. As of Sunday, we had only tested 547 people – a measly figure.
The more tests we have, the upward increase in people testing positive to the pandemic and it will be suicidal of our government to lift lockdown measures at the end of the 21-day shutdown — six days from today.
Zimbabwe needs an extension of the lockdown until we have done several tests, including door-to-door despite that the shutdown will hit our economy hard, further driving it into the precipice.
It is against this backcloth that we appeal to Mnangagwa and his government to take WHO’s advice seriously not to rush and lift the lockdown measures.
WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries should be cautious about easing restrictions, even as some struggle with the economic impact.
Given the state of our rural public health system, this is scary.
ED and his government must continue to enforce lockdown measures way after the shutdown, otherwise we perish!
A SOLDIER was yesterday slapped with a 10-month prison term for stealing eight bags of cement at Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo’s residence.
Naboth Muzvare, 28, pleaded guilty to theft charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Sheunesu Matova yesterday.
He was ordered to pay $2 000 fine or spend five months in jail, the other five months were suspended on condition that Muzvare does not commit a similar offence within five years.
“I have considered that the accused person pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time. He did not benefit from the criminal enterprise since all the stolen property was recovered before he left the residence,” Matova said in passing sentence.
“However, it is clear that this offence was premeditated and the accused person breached the trust bestowed upon him by his employer who deployed him to ensure that residence is secured. The court takes matters of employees that steal from employers seriously.”
Muzvare’s accomplices Raphael Hwenjere, 29, Peace Perire, 27, and Desmond Chiwarire, 27, whom he had hired for transportation of the cement were released on $350 bail each and remanded to May 5 for trial. In mitigation, Muzvare said he was a father of two and breadwinner to his siblings adding that he hoped to use the cement to build in his rural home.
The complainant was Musarurwa Moone of One Commando Regiment, Craneborne in Harare. Prosecutors Lovemore Siyamunda and Nancy Chandakaona proved that on April 11 Muzvare connived with Hwenjere, Perire and Chiwariro to steal from 34 A Combie Drive, Glen Lorne in Harare.
They used a commuter omnibus which was driven by Perire and loaded eight bags of cement and drove towards a security check point where Collen Ngwenya and his colleagues who are members of the neighbourhood watch were on duty.
Ngwenya asked about the source of the cement but they failed to give a satisfactory answer. Hwenjere then called Muzvare to the check point and he tried to convince Ngwenya to allow his accomplices to exit but he refused.
Ngwenya then escalated the matter to Moone who said the accused persons had not been authorised to take cement out of the premises leading to their arrest.
MDC led by Dr Thokozani Khupe’s party official Nickson Nyikadzino has reminded Douglas Mwonzora that he is the party secretary-general who was in charge of preparing for the congress as ordered by the Supreme court, Newsday reports.
Nyikadzino who was elected at Khupe’s extraordinary congress in 2018 said he will communicate the party’s position in a few days:
In continuing to execute my responsibilities as the secretary-general of the party, I shall advise stakeholders on the path the party will be following I am cognisant of the fact that we contested the 2018 harmonised elections as the MDC-T and at bare minimum, managed to secure a seat for a Member of Parliament in the Lower House as well as a senatorial seat. I shall be communicating the party position with regards to these deployments within the next few days
As such, please note that there is only one secretary general of the MDC-T as elected at the said congress on the 23rd of April 2018, which was legally convened and attended by bona fide members of our party, the MDC-T. Be guided accordingly.
Mwonzora had declared himself the party’s secretary-general using the party’s 2014 structures.
ZIMBABWE has confirmed another case of Covid-19, bringing to 18 the number of positive cases recorded in the country so far.
This was revealed Tuesday by the country’s health ministry in one of its regular updates though with very little detail compared to previous cases reports.
“Today, the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory tested 53 samples and one was positive for Covid-19. More to follow.
“Therefore, to date Zimbabwe now has eighteen confirmed cases, including three deaths.”
Since the first case was recorded in Victoria Falls last month, Zimbabwe now has, per province, 1 confirmed case in Matabeleland North, 5 in Bulawayo, 8 in Harare and 4 in Mashonaland East.
The country has now carried out 665 cumulative tests, with 647 found negative while 18 are positive cases.
A COVID-19 crisis outline threat assessment for Zimbabwe that utilises the modelling by Imperial College (London) predicts that, over the next 250 days, the country is likely to record between 8 370 104 and 13 981 038 infections and between 14 943 and 33 073 deaths.
Part of the assessment report reads:
1. Context, Assumptions and Consequences
This threat assessment utilizes modelling developed by the Imperial College (London) COVID-19 Response Team headed by Professor Neil Ferguson (and released on 26 March 2020) on progression patterns of COVID-19 as applied to Zimbabwe. The study incorporates a range of factors including both general global patterns of progression and specific features applicable to less developed countries.
In the range of scenarios projected in the Imperial College study, over the next 250 days Zimbabwe is anticipated to experience:
Between 8 370 104 and 13 981 038 infections;
Between 14 943 and 33 073 deaths;
Requiring between 126 738 and 230 755 hospital beds;
Including between 19 810 and 43 864 critical care beds.
Although the primary intention of the scenario modelling in this study is to draw attention to the implications of prompt and appropriate intervention strategies, and whilst the study does not explicitly address broader contextual and impact issues, it does note that impact “is likely to be most severe in low-income settings where capacity is lowest… As a result, we anticipate that the true burden in low-income settings pursuing mitigation strategies could be substantially higher than reflected in these estimates”.
Whilst all such generic models are based on a series of assumptions, and, in this particular context, the data is approximate, for the purpose of a threat assessment the progression patterns of the disease provide a general indication of the health consequences that are likely to emerge. It is on the basis of this framing of the disease progression and health impact that this outline threat assessment is constructed.
2. Implications In the circumstances of the collapsed health care system in Zimbabwe today, the first conclusion drawn from this data is that the anticipated requirement for hospital beds and critical care simply does not exist. As a result, we can expect a higher mortality rate than the model suggests as a direct result of the disease itself.
Assuming that, in the absence of hospital capacity at least half of those requiring hospitalization will die, the number of deaths in Zimbabwe would be between 75 000 and 150 000. Taking account of other factors that arise from state incapacity, general levels of poverty, food insecurity, other existing health threats and more broadly the impact of disease containment measures (lockdown, border closure and production loss),
CONSUMERS should be wary of substandard hand sanitisers and personal protective equipment (PPE) products that are flooding the market following the outbreak of Covid-19, industry experts have said.
Declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last month, the highly contagious disease has become a global emergency, given its devastating effect on the entire world population and global economies.
Zimbabwe has recorded 14 cases of Covid-19 and three deaths.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been a number of businesses that have mushroomed selling and distributing disinfectants alleged to kill the coronavirus.
The WHO has said sanitisers with at least 60 percent alcohol content are highly recommended for use in the fight against Covid-19 but there are fears that the local market could be flooded with hand sanitisers that do not meet the WHO guidelines.
Some of the leading chemical producers in Bulawayo told Business Chronicle yesterday that it was a cause for concern that the market was presently flooded with substandard hand sanitisers and protective clothing thereby putting people’s lives at risk.
Tiera Chemicals chief executive officer Mr Edward Muchengeti said enterprises involved in the production of disinfectants and protective clothing should shun unethical business practices.
“It’s commendable that businesses are trying to help the country by producing sanitisers and gloves in the short term. However, such businesses should take advice from those who have been in the field for a long time,” said Mr Muchengeti.
He said those involved in the production of chemicals should have relevant qualifications and right technology to avoid compromising quality.
Chemical Technology Africa operations manager, Mr Liberty Nyathi, said substandard products expose people to Covid-19.
“These substandard products are being sold to the people who use them believing they help them maintain personal hygience when it’s not the case,” he said.
Mr Nyathi said investigations conducted by his company established that hand sanitisers flooding the market were below standard as they had less than 60 percent alcohol.
“People are therefore at risk of getting infected by Covid-19 if they use such sanitisers,” he said.
Mr Nyathi also accused a number of businesses of fleecing consumers by charging exorbitant prices for sanitisers taking advantage of the high demand.
“This is a global pandemic that the Government has declared a national disaster and so as businesses we must complement Government efforts to curb the spread of this pandemic by charging affordable prices for products such as sanitisers which assist people maintain personal hygiene,” said Mr Nyathi.
He urged members of the public to buy sanitisers from reputable companies that have been in existence even before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Chemicals Technology Africa has donated hand and surface sanitisers to public institutions such as Ekusileni Hospital, which has been designated as one of the isolation centres in Bulawayo as part of its contribution to fighting Covid-19.
By Simba Chikanza| Yesterday ZANU PF activists complained why the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries for debt relief- the main reason is that Zimbabwe has been removed from the threshold of eligible countries; and this is all because of inflated economy performance figures Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube produced.
Even though Zimbabwe has paid off its debt to the IMF, the institution has said Zimbabwe is still in need of debt relief, and an IMF executive is on video recently saying Zimbabwe remains handicapped because it owes several international lenders.
precisely the point. IMF didn't say Zim no longer need debt relief. It said "although Zim has no arrears to the IMF,all rules would preclude lending given the arrears to other financial institutions, and on thecrackdown…try to develop policies that would stabilise the economy."
In the latest development, the two reasons why the IMF excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries, are that: Zimbabwe’s GNI is greater than the other nations’.
The GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country’s final income in a year, divided by its population.
The second reason is that Zimbabwe has cleared its debt arrears.
In a response to ZimEye on Tuesday morning, an official said:
Yesterday, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva issued the following statement:
“Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the U.K. and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”
The countries that will receive debt service relief today are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
Cross-border truck drivers who stop at truck inns and business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe more vulnerable to Covid-19, a legislator has warned, as he seeks new rules that would force the drivers to practice social distancing.
The truck drivers have often been accused of picking up sex workers at such spots, a practice likely to worsen the spread of Covid-19.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza made the remarks while making a contribution during a recent visit to Chivi District Hospital by members of the Masvingo provincial Covid-19 taskforce led by Masvingo provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira.
“There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers,” he said.
“In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contact that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
“We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.”
In his presentation, Minister Chadzamira said Government was worried about non-compliant behaviour.
“We have noted with concern that some citizens continue to struggle with practising social distancing,” he said. “Government urges each and everyone of us to remind the next person the need to maintain social distancing and other preventative behaviour.
“We have to be each other’s keeper in order to beat this invisible enemy, coronavirus.”
Minister Chadzamira said truck drivers should abide by the social distancing rules, while at the same time abstaining from hiring sex workers at business centres and truck inns along the highway as these were potential coronavirus hotspots.
Officer Commanding Zimbabwe Republic Police Masvingo Province, Assistant Commissioner Taoneyi Nyazema, urged the public to observe the social distancing rule and avoid moving around aimlessly.
“Police have observed aimless movements by motorists, with some claiming to be looking for fuel or shopping for basic commodities,” he said.
“We are going to increase operations and patrols at night, especially at such truck inns and business centres along the Harare-Masvingo Highway as efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Those found without justification of being outside will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Members of the public who are queuing for basic commodities should do so in an orderly manner in line with guidelines provided by Government.”
The High Court will tomorrow rule whether or not the legal challenge mounted by Supreme Court judge, Justice Francis Bere, over his disciplinary tribunal should be heard as an urgent matter.
President Mnangagwa recently appointed, on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a three-member tribunal to decide on Justice Bere’s suitability to continue holding office, with the commission doing a U-turn after initially clearing him in November last year.
In a bid to block the proceedings, Justice Bere — through his legal team comprising Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Advocates Girach Firoz and Lewis Uriri — filed an urgent chamber application challenging the legality of the tribunal because of that U-turn.
High Court judge, Justice Alfias Chitakunye yesterday heard arguments from the commission and Justice Bere’s lawyers before deferring his ruling to tomorrow.
If the matter is considered urgent, it can be heard almost immediately, but if not, then it must take its place in the queue for High Court civil cases.
The JSC had raised preliminary points arguing that the matter was not urgent.
Adv David Ochieng, who was being instructed by Mr Andrew Mugandiwa of Wintertons law firm, argued that the case was not urgent and that it cannot be heard during the lockdown.
He defended the JSC’s decision to refer Justice Bere’s case to the President for constitution of a tribunal, despite having cleared him of any wrongdoing in November last year.
Adv Ochieng argued that the tribunal cannot be stopped from inquiring into the matter, saying if the JSC was wrong, such a finding has to be made by the tribunal.
However, Adv Firoz argued that the JSC acted unlawfully by recommending a tribunal against Justice Bere when the commission had earlier cleared the judge of any wrongdoing.
He argued that Justice Bere’s right to be heard was violated because the complainant in one of the cases, Mr Itai Ndudzo, wrote a second letter implicating the judge, but the JSC did not afford Justice Bere an opportunity to respond.
On that basis, Justice Bere seeks an interdict to restrain the tribunal from commencing the inquiry.
The judge, through his lawyers, insisted that the matter was urgent.
Justice Chitakunye is expected to rule on the preliminary points tomorrow.
The tribunal to inquire into Justice Bere’s case will be chaired by retired judge, Justice Simbi Mubako.
Justice Mubako will work with two lawyers — Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Mrs Rekayi Maphosa.
Justice Bere is accused of telephoning Zinara lawyer, Mr Ndudzo of Mutamangira and Associates, asking him to consider settling a civil dispute pitting Zinara against Fremus Enterprises, a firm owned by the judge’s relatives.
The complaint was first raised before Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza during a court hearing before Mr Ndudzo was asked to make the complaint in writing.
“The learned judge, indeed contacted me telephonically,” said Mr Ndudzo.
“The commercial dispute between my client (Zinara) and Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd was discussed in the course of the conversation. The learned judge’s relatives are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The learned judge inquired whether or not there would be possibility of payment being expedited to Fremus Pvt Ltd. I declined the request and the conversation ended abruptly on that note.”
Justice Bere responded to the complaint denying the allegations. In a response to the Judicial Service Commission, he said he only contacted Mr Ndudzo in the context of their personal relationship dating back to the days when they were both members of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Ethics Committee.
“In 2015, I was chairman of the ZIFA ethics committee and Mr Ndudzo was legal advisor to ZIFA,” he said. “We developed a personal relationship through ZIFA. I spoke to Mr Ndudzo in the context of the said personal relationship before litigation had commenced, and in circumstances wherein litigation was not apparent.
“This was prior to my transfer to Bulawayo High Court to head that court following the passing on of the late Mr Justice Mutema.”
Justice Bere said he visited his aunt, who, together with her husband, are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises.
“My aunt was critically ill,” he said. “The directors of Fremus wished to take my aunt to South Africa for immediate medical attention, but did not have the required resources.
“In talking to them, my sister’s husband disclosed that if only Mr Ndudzo had honoured his promise to release money owed to Fremus, they would not have been in that predicament.”
Justice Bere said he was relieved that his relatives were talking about Mr Ndudzo whom he knew through interaction at ZIFA. “I reacted by immediately calling Mr Ndudzo whose number I already had by reason of the personal relationship we had developed,” he said.
“I inquired of him, whether or not there was any possibility of him expediting the payment to Fremus given the dire situation at hand.”
Justice Bere described the complaint as a falsehood meant to taint his clean record.
“In this exciting phase that we are in as a country, and in view of the much spoken about confrontation against the vice of corruption, there will always be excitable individuals who would wish to create some relevance in this noble fight,” he said.
“They are the greatest threat to this noble endeavour and stand in the path of, and indeed in this way obstruct, the genuine fight against corruption. It is in this spirit that the false complaint against me must be looked at.”
Mr Ndudzo, in a follow up letter, stuck to his story, saying he had no reason to frame Justice Bere and denied the existence of any personal relationship.
State Media|ONE-million households identified through the Social Welfare Department to benefit from the $600 million kitty availed by the Government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 are set to start receiving their cash transfers today.
The Government resolved to cushion vulnerable households, whose sources of income were affected by the 21-day national lockdown, which is aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19.
The $600 million package, for three months, was announced two weeks ago by Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
To ensure that the beneficiaries realised the full value of the payouts, the Government would ensure that they were not charged transactional costs when cashing out the money.
EcoCash has already indicated that it will not charge transactional costs on funds pertaining to Covid-19.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke confirmed to The Herald yesterday that cash transfers for the beneficiaries were processed and would be effected starting today.
“The names of the beneficiaries have been sent to the network providers to effect the payments. The money should start reflecting in their mobile phones starting on Wednesday (today). There was a bit of some delay because there was duplication of names, for instance, one name can appear in Mabvuku and Mufakose, so we were scanning those names to ensure that they appear once in the database. The scanning process took a bit of time,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
He dismissed reports that beneficiaries were being forced to use NetOne sim cards to receive the money, adding that both NetOne and Econet networks would be used, depending on the beneficiary’s preference.
The Government hopes that all the beneficiaries would have received their money before the end of the lockdown.
Deputy Minister Matuke said should there be any technical glitches or errors, people would continue to receive the money even after the lockdown period.
The Government recently said it would continue to implement selected priority programmes and projects to sustain the economy, but more resources would be channelled towards saving lives during these trying times.
Further, the 2 percent intermediated money transfer tax (IMTT), which is ring-fenced for social protection and capital development projects, will be channelled towards Covid-19 related mitigatory expenditures.
Recognising the importance of the health sector, the Government availed a number of tax incentives for the production and importation of essential drugs and health-related capital equipment, as well as other medical supplies.
Treasury has also suspended duty and tax on various goods and services related to testing, protection, sterilisation, and other medical consumables to boost the country’s state of preparedness against Covid-19.
State Media|Government has so far released $591 million for immediate Covid-19 response support, with some of the money channelled towards the rehabilitation of Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Ministry of Health and Child Care got $154 million for immediate use in the Covid-19 fight.
The figure excludes the cost of the 4 000 new health personnel that are being hired.
For the Wilkins rehabilitation, Government released $3,7 million.
Yesterday, Prof Ncube toured Wilkins Hospital to assess progress.
“The figure for the whole Government is $591 million that has been released for immediate Covid-19 response support, and this includes $60 million for Chemplex for water treatment chemicals, and lockdown operational costs, and cash transfers to the vulnerable,” he said.
“I visited Wilkins Hospital in order to appreciate for myself how the resources that Treasury has released are being used in renovating and upgrading the facility.”
The rehabilitation of Wilkins, which is almost complete, was also supported by the Chinese. Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe have invested over US$500 000 for the rehabilitation of Wilkins to boost efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.
An additional US$150 000 has also been put together for the procurement of medical equipment, which includes an oxygen machine, breathing machine, test kits and protective suits, masks and other protective clothes for health workers.
Prof Ncube said more resources were being availed to fight Covid-19 on an ongoing basis to eliminate “this invisible enemy”.
“Working together and solidarity is key to winning this fight,” said Prof Ncube.
State Media|The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced half a billion United States dollar debt service relief fund for the world’s poorest and vulnerable economies to help them fight and contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Twenty-five affected countries, including several African countries, have been selected to benefit from the debt relief package.
However, Zimbabwe is not among economies that have been earmarked as beneficiaries; all because of a technical condition one must meet to qualify.
The countries that will receive debt service relief are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DRC, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, yesterday said Zimbabwe did not expect to benefit from the money because it does not fall under countries to receive debt relief.
“Zimbabwe does not owe money to the IMF as we paid off loans with the world body.
“The support was mainly for countries that owe the IMF and are receiving relief on payments to the body in order to support the Covid-19 response,” said Prof Ncube.
An independent economic analyst Moses Chundu also concurred with Prof Ncube and said; “It is nothing political, but just something technical emanating from the fact that we cleared what we owed to the IMF.”
According to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, the relief applies to member countries affected by the global pandemic, but critically, those that owe the Bretton Woods institution and whose obligations fall due in the next two months, so they can direct their scarce resources to the deadly health emergency and economic recovery programmes.
Declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global emergence, Covid-19 has killed tens of thousands across the world and infected over a million others.
The impact, however, has been massive in the USA, Italy, Spain and China.
Zimbabwe has recorded 14 cases of Covid-19 including three deaths since December 2019 when the virus was discovered in Wuhan, China.
In contrast, while Zimbabwe is struggling with a US$2,2 billion debt to International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank and African Development Bank, Harare cleared its outstanding position of US$107,9 million with the IMF in October 2016.
This makes the country technically ineligible to receive relief funds.
It is also because of unpaid overdue debts that despite being current on its obligations to the IMF, Zimbabwe is still not eligible to borrow concessionary funding from the global lender in line with the pari passu principle that requires equal treatment of multilateral and bilateral lenders, except if this condition is waived.
A senior IMF official in Harare, commenting on condition of anonymity, said Zimbabwe does not qualify because of the arrears to WB, African Development, European Investment Bank and bilateral creditors.
“This is as far as traditional channels are concerned.
“We are looking if there are other ways/other funds, but it’s not promising,” the official said.
Commenting on claims US had blocked IMF from giving Harare a part of the relief grant, the official said: “Zimbabwe was being blocked at the bilateral level where Washington will not allow a restructuring of an unspecified debt owed by Zimbabwe.”
The latest relief package has been extended from the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on members owing the IMF.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the UK and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.
“Others, including China and the Netherlands, are stepping forward with important contributions,” she said in a press statement released yesterday.
In fact, Zimbabwe saw the removal of remedial measures applied to it by IMF because of overdue financial obligations to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), effective November 14, 2016, after clearing its outstanding arrears.
These measures included declaration of non-cooperation with the IMF, the suspension of technical assistance to the country and exclusion from participating in most IMF funding programmes.
On October 20, 2016, Zimbabwe fully settled
its overdue financial obligations to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) using its special drawing right (SDR), equivalent of liquid funding, holdings.
The country had been in continuous arrears to the PRGT since February 2001, before the Government started making regular monthly payments of US$0,15 million each year since 2013.
In February 2015, the IMF established a Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR) Trust, transformed Post-Catastrophe Relief Trust, to expand the scope of its global relief efforts during disaster periods.
This allows the Fund to provide grants for debt relief for the poorest and most vulnerable countries that are hit by catastrophic natural disasters or public health disasters.
The relief on debt service payments frees up additional resources to meet exceptional balance of payments needs created by the disaster and for containment and recovery efforts.
The new trust complements donor financing and the Fund’s concessional lending through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
Assistance through the CCR Trust is currently available to low-income countries eligible for concessional borrowing through the PRGT and which also have either a per capita income below the IDA Operational Cutoff (currently US$1,215) or, for small states with a population below 1,5 million and a per capita income below twice the IDA Cutoff (currently US$2 430).
The CCR Trust has two windows namely post-Catastrophe and Containment.
Eligible low-income countries that are hit by public health disasters as defined the global fund would receive up-front IMF grants to immediately pay off their upcoming debt service to the IMF on eligible debt.
The amount of grant support is capped at 20 percent of a country’s approved borrowing quota.
PEDDLERS or originators of falsehoods claiming that the Government had extended the national lockdown by any time-frame face a 20-year jail term if caught, President Mnangagwa warned yesterday, adding that he had since ordered an investigation into the origins of such messages circulating on social media.
The President said this at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, after returning from a tour of Mkoba and Senga suburbs in Gweru to assess residents’ levels of compliance to regulations of the current 21-day lockdown He hinted that Cabinet would meet on the 20th of this month to review whether or not to extend the 21-day national lockdown which expires early next week.
The President dismissed as nonsensical, reports that were doing the rounds on social media purporting that he had extended the lockdown, saying he alone cannot extend without first consulting with his two Vice Presidents and Cabinet.
“I am supposed to make an official statement if we are going to extend the lockdown. I have never made such a statement and that social media statement is absolute nonsense.
We now have a law, which punishes those who produce fake news and I have ordered an investigation into those behind the fake statement and if found, we want that person to be an example by getting up to 20 years in prison. It’s bad to peddle falsehoods, especially about a President,” he said.
The President said he and his two deputies would be touring provinces to get an appreciation of the situation on the ground and only then will they sit down and review the lockdown.
He said he would tour at least five provinces to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground and the effects of the lockdown before the review meeting.
“We shall review the situation on the 20th of April on whether we adjust the lockdown conditions or we extend. It’s a question of a collective discussion after we tour the provinces and get first-hand information on the obtaining situation.
I will do my level best to sample at least five provinces on my own, but I have my two Vice Presidents, they will also tour some of the provinces so that we share views as we move forward.”
President Mnangagwa said it was however, better to sacrifice the economy in a bid to save lives by preventing the spread of Covid-19, as he stressed on the need to stay home.
He said the economy can still be rebuilt, but there were no ways anyone could resuscitate life once it was lost.-State media
PEDDLERS or originators of falsehoods claiming that the Government had extended the national lockdown by any time-frame face a 20-year jail term if caught, President Mnangagwa warned yesterday, adding that he had since ordered an investigation into the origins of such messages circulating on social media.
The President said this at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, after returning from a tour of Mkoba and Senga suburbs in Gweru to assess residents’ levels of compliance to regulations of the current 21-day lockdown He hinted that Cabinet would meet on the 20th of this month to review whether or not to extend the 21-day national lockdown which expires early next week.
The President dismissed as nonsensical, reports that were doing the rounds on social media purporting that he had extended the lockdown, saying he alone cannot extend without first consulting with his two Vice Presidents and Cabinet.
“I am supposed to make an official statement if we are going to extend the lockdown. I have never made such a statement and that social media statement is absolute nonsense.
We now have a law, which punishes those who produce fake news and I have ordered an investigation into those behind the fake statement and if found, we want that person to be an example by getting up to 20 years in prison. It’s bad to peddle falsehoods, especially about a President,” he said.
The President said he and his two deputies would be touring provinces to get an appreciation of the situation on the ground and only then will they sit down and review the lockdown.
He said he would tour at least five provinces to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground and the effects of the lockdown before the review meeting.
“We shall review the situation on the 20th of April on whether we adjust the lockdown conditions or we extend. It’s a question of a collective discussion after we tour the provinces and get first-hand information on the obtaining situation.
I will do my level best to sample at least five provinces on my own, but I have my two Vice Presidents, they will also tour some of the provinces so that we share views as we move forward.”
President Mnangagwa said it was however, better to sacrifice the economy in a bid to save lives by preventing the spread of Covid-19, as he stressed on the need to stay home.
He said the economy can still be rebuilt, but there were no ways anyone could resuscitate life once it was lost.-State media
A habitual thief was yesterday sentenced to an effective 60 days in jail after failing to raise a $500 fine for loitering, in violation of lockdown regulations, while more than 5 700 people have been arrested countrywide over various violations.
There was commotion when the thief, Billiard Chigodora (41), of House Number 4330 Nketa 7 suburb in Bulawayo, strolled to court wearing a pair of stolen khaki trousers and a red gold T-shirt, belonging to a Chronicle reporter.
The clothes were stolen last week from a washing line at a residential flat in the city’s central business district.
A report was immediately made and a docket was opened for theft.
Chigodora, who has several criminal records, mostly theft and pickpocketing, was nabbed by police who were on patrol for unnecessary movement during the national lockdown in violation of Section 4 (1) (a) of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020.
The SI was recently published by the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo in terms of the Public Health Act and in consultation with President Mnangagwa.
The SI was promulgated to give legal effect to the restriction of movement of people for 21 days, March 30 to April 19.
Chigodora, who is not employed, was convicted by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Shepherd Munjanja.
In passing the sentence, Mr Munjanja said violating lockdown regulations is a serious offence as it exposes the generality of the population to the deadly Covid-19.
“The accused person’s conduct of ignoring the law decreed to fight the deadly Covid-19 virus is a serious offence.
This is actually not a banana republic, it is a country that has laws and every citizen has to comply for the purposes of fighting the spread of the deadly global pandemic,” he said.
The magistrate said people who violate lockdown regulations deserve punishment.
“People like you certainly deserve punishment, which will be exemplary to like-minded people who deliberately violate the law,” said Mr Munjanja.
Prosecuting, Ms Martha Tafa said on Monday at around 12.45AM, Chigodora was spotted by police walking along Plumtree Road near Lobels Bakeries in Bulawayo’s Belmont area.
He was stopped and on being asked why he was walking around at night in violation of the lockdown regulations, Chigodora failed to give a valid reason leading to his arrest.
“On being quizzed, the accused person failed to give a satisfactory response. He also failed to produce any exemption document allowing him to move around during the lockdown period,” said Ms Tafa.-State media
A NURSE at a local hospital is among the three new Covid-19 positive cases confirmed on Monday and investigations are underway to establish how she got the virus since she had no recent history of travel or known contact with a confirmed case.
The nurse, only identified as case number 15, is a 34-year-old female resident of Bulawayo.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the patient had no recent history of travel or known contact with a confirmed case but her case was picked during a routine screening procedure.
Her positive tests were confirmed at the National Tuberculosis (TB) Reference Laboratory at Mpilo Central Hospital which is working in conjunction with the National University of Science and Technology’s (Nust) Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC).
Bulawayo’s Covid-19 positive cases have increased to five while the national figure stands at 17 including three deaths. Patient 15’s case remains a puzzle.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) health services director Dr Edwin Sibanda, said the patient is a nurse but refused to disclose the hospital she works from.
Dr Sibanda said the provincial health workers are still tracing her contacts in order to establish who she might have contracted the virus from.
“She is a health worker in one of our local hospitals but we cannot disclose much on her at the moment and where she works as we don’t want to cause unnecessary alarm. We are following up on her contacts while she is self-isolating at home.
We are also yet to communicate with the relevant officials regarding her case,” said Dr Sibanda.-State media
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local public health authority. Many countries around the world have seen cases of COVID-19 and several have seen outbreaks.
Authorities in China and some other countries have succeeded in slowing or stopping their outbreaks.
However, the situation is unpredictable so check regularly for the latest news.
You can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions:
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.
Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.
Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.
Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots (cities or local areas where COVID-19 is spreading widely). If possible, avoid traveling to places – especially if you are an older person or have diabetes, heart or lung disease.
Why? You have a higher chance of catching COVID-19 in one of these areas.
Credit: World Health Organisation
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly has challenged Zanu PF to stop insulting suffering Zimbabweans through meaningless donations.
See full statement below : At a time when the country is grappling with the deadly Corona virus, ZANU PF MPs instead chose to grandstand and politick by donating a paltry portion of their salaries ‘towards fighting Covid-19’.
It is very imperative that beyond these farcical donations, citizens should have it in mind that these are the same MPs from a party that has been looting the national cake since 1980.
These are the very same MPs who remain tight-lipped when the leader of their looting committee, Emmerson Mnangagwa hires a US multi million dollar luxurious Saudi plane just to fly from Harare to Bulawayo when he is in Kwekwe.
Remember the US 10 million mausoleum Mnangagwa wanted to build for a corpse!
The multi-million state of the art luxurious plane Mnangagwa hired for Grace Mugabe just to bury her mother!
What of the missing US3 billion from a Command Agriculture program that was run direct from Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office?
By Robert Mugabe’s own admission, these are the very same people that have answers to the missing US15 billion Marange diamond money.
Amongst the donating ZANU PF MPs, there is one from Gokwe-Nembudziya who recently bought the latest US 1 million Lamborghini top of the range vehicle.
Ironically his name is Justice.
Certainly there is no justice in donation of a mere RTGS 1000 by the very same people who stole our future and that of generations to come.
These are the very same people who presided over the transformation of what used to be a breadbasket to a basket case scenario.
Before we ululate over these decoy donations, maybe it is time to ask what happened to the 2% money we were taxed by Mthuli Ncube!
If anything, the ZANU PF MPs donations are akin to that of a thief who steals all your inheritance only to come back with a coffin on your funeral!
While it looks like a noble initiative at face value, it is also not mendacious that beneath these plunderers’ ‘giving’ hand there is a clandestine agenda beyond fighting Covid-19.
Clearly the donations are a veneer to shroud the looting of our vast mineral wealth by ZANU PF cartels.
These are the same people that have brought Zimbabwe to its knees through corruption and mismanagement.
As MDC we have said it way back that Zimbabwe needs to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund especially given her vast and rich mineral wealth.
Such a fund would go a long way in averting a crisis in times of natural disasters and pandemics like Covid-19.
Maybe that is the reason why countries like Botswana can afford to declare a 6 months lockdown while at the same time providing for her citizens.
Zimbabwe deserves better than crumbs from ZANU PF MPs table!
Stay safe from Corona virus, Zimbabwe needs you!
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson __
The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019, and was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30th, 2020. The disease has since spread widely to over 180 countries.
Zimbabwe has had over 2 months to prepare for this outbreak since it was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The purpose of this review is to assess the preparedness and response of the nation ten weeks later, and to advise government on what can be done better to avert a catastrophe in Zimbabwe. Preparedness and response plan:
Our preparedness and response plan is quite standard and meets all the requirements under the WHO recommendations. But this technical document is not complimented by appropriate implementation decisions and actions. Political will and transparency seem to be scanty. We need to examine the decisions and actions of our government while there is still time to make a difference and save Zimbabwe from disaster.
This we can do by looking at each of the eight pillars of the preparedness and response plan.
1.Coordination, planning and monitoring:
Planning for this lockdown was very poorly done, because Multi-Stakeholder consultations were not done. We are wading through uncharted waters, and everybody’s contribution should have been solicited. We now have our most vulnerable people almost starving to death in their houses. People have been locked in without the most basic commodities like mealie meal, and this is undermining the lockdown.
You cannot confine a hungry man. We are beginning to see chaotic scenes at shops now, almost about to degenerate into riots, because everybody wants the staple food, and there is not enough to go around even for those who have the money. The crowding and jostling for mealie meal that we are seeing at shops is fertile ground for rapid COVID-19 spread, and our people understand that. But now they are being forced by government to choose between death from COVID-19 or death from hunger, and most people would rather take their chance with COVID-19.
This is a serious failure of planning, and may cost the nation far more than we can afford in human lives. Government should first have ensured that there are no shortages on the market before announcing the lockdown. We are not for a moment suggesting that the lockdown should have been delayed, NO! In the two and a half months lead time we had, government should have diverted all resources to fighting COVID-19 as we have always been saying. That includes making sure there is grain in the country adequate for say six months (we don’t know how long this pandemic will last, but six months gives government time to plan new interventions).
Money wasted on luxury cars for officials should have been used for grain. We cannot leave social safety nets to chance and partisan politics. Firm measures which include reliable transparent non-partisan databases of vulnerable families should have been put in place before the lockdown. Bear in mind, millions of people already needed food aid without the covid-19 outbreak. Allocating RTGS600 million without a credible formula for disbursing it is useless. People are starving, and we wonder how much of the allocated amount has been used to benefit the people. This is day 16 of the lockdown.
The government is advised to engage the health care professionals in all decision making and policy formulation. This includes procurement decisions.
The emphasis being given to sanitisers in our messaging, and even in our programming, is disproportionate. Government should do everything possible to ensure that clean potable water is available to every citizen. This has to be done as a matter of urgency. Washing hands frequently with soap and water is the mainstay of hygiene in this and other pandemics.
Hand sanitisers are useful but secondary. We urge government to urgently prioritise provision of water to the people. This will also prevent crowds from gathering around the current scanty water sources and flouting social distancing regulations. Boreholes in both rural and urban areas are undermining social distancing regulations and could prove to be serious drivers of the pandemic. Government should take this epidemic as an opportunity to upgrade infrastructure eg by rapidly drilling more boreholes to prevent crowding at water sources. All borehole drillers in the country should be in overdrive mode, and government should pay for that.
Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary solutions, and a lot of focus and sacrifice. In summary, our people are very compliant with the terms of the lockdown, but the government has not planned for the poor, those who live on hand to mouth daily budgets, and those without adequate supplies of potable water. Scarcity of basic commodities is also undermining the lockdown seriously. Shortage of basic commodities must be eliminated as a matter of urgency.
2.Surveillance, rapid response and case investigation:
We are not testing enough. Therefore we don’t have a clear picture of the extent of spread of the virus in Zimbabwe, bearing in mind that 80% of the infected get away with mild symptoms, according to data from those countries that have already experienced massive outbreaks. We need to know in order to plan. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand. Active case finding and event based surveillance must be intensified.
It is alarming to note that very little if any follow up and monitoring is being done for returning citizens and other immigrants. Rumors that 32 Zimbabweans flew in from the UK and government had no place to quarantine them are extremely worrisome. The UK is one of the global epicenters of the covid-19 pandemic at the moment, and it is mandatory that these people should have been quarantined. Government should respond and tell us if it is indeed true that these precious Zimbabweans were told to go home and self isolate.
It is equally alarming that our rapid response teams have neither the necessary PPE nor other tools of the trade when they come to investigate a reported suspect. What needs to be done?
i. Let’s test massively to establish a baseline. It doesn’t do us any good to say a suspect does not meet the criteria for testing, then the same suspect is tested a little later in another country and found to be positive. It means we have missed an opportunity to isolate and treat the patient, and we have put not just our nationals, but the entire international community at risk.
ii. Let’s investigate all community deaths. There are reports of unexplained community deaths where ordinary citizens suspect COVID-19, but these deaths are not being investigated. This has the potential of giving us false statistics, and it becomes a time bomb waiting to explode.
iii. Let’s equip our rapid response teams with PPE and other equipment & consumables.
iv. Let’s decentralize COVID-19 testing to provincial laboratories and district laboratories. Every local authority must be given the mandate of testing and reporting statistics to its residents. We must devolve responsibility to the local authority, who in turn will report to head office through normal channels for a composite report. There is nothing to hide.
Points of entry: Reports of people walking across the border without being screened by a port health official, and without their details being taken for follow up in their district of destination, do not inspire much hope in this fight. We must beef up our human resources particularly at busy ports like Beitbridge, and we must protect the health workers at the ports with appropriate PPE. Record keeping and transmission to the provinces must be meticulous, and actual follow up must be done, whether by phone or in person. Remember, a carrier of the virus may be afebrile at the time of crossing the border.
National Laboratory System: Our laboratories are not capable of doing enough tests. We are relying too much on donations. What has GoZ done in this outbreak? The 500 tests donated by WHO seem to be the only ones working, and therefore we are using them sparingly and missing cases.
Does the government really have to rely on Higher Life Foundation to purchase the balance of the extraction reagent needed for us to start using the donated reagents from China (via the AU)? Without decentralizing our testing services, and without increasing testing capacity, we are wasting our lockdown period. We are making people suffer for no gain. In this lockdown period we must map out our epidemic, that means we must test a lot. We must isolate all cases, and that can’t be done because we are not testing.
The people of Gwanda who are complaining about a new malaria with strange symptoms (which include sore throat) that is killing people at an unusually high rate should have been answered long back. All those deceased and their close contacts should have been tested, and the people given accurate & scientific answers. Have we tested for COVID-19 in Mat South, considering its proximity to South Africa?
Why should villagers lead us in coming up with a differential diagnosis when we have health professionals in the province? Could it be because the professionals are incapacitated by lack of testing capability, lack of training, and lack of PPE? The continued ignorance about COVID-19 among health professionals is extremely dangerous at this point in time, and ordinary citizens are beginning to notice and complain. Where is the donated money going?
Risk communication and community engagement:
Public trust for the government is at an all time low, because of the general perception that figures are being suppressed, government is not putting enough resources into the COVID-19 response, health workers are untrained, unsure, and very exposed due to lack of PPE, and government’s preparedness claims have been exposed as imaginary by the sequence of events in the few fatalities we have already had. Relatives of the deceased are consistently disputing government’s official narrative of what exactly happened, and this is embarrassing. Government needs to rescue its image immediately by remedying these ills during this 21 day lockdown.
Ignorance among the healthcare workers induces in them fear and paralysis, and this lockdown will have been wasted if we go for the next week without equipping our front line soldiers with knowledge and clear guidelines and protocols for dealing with COVID-19, in addition to PPE. Police brutality has negative consequences for our response plan. Treat humans with the dignity the creator endowed each one of us with. No one is immune to COVID-19. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
The ministry must respond timeously to misleading social media reports. For example, did the ministry really authorize traditional healers to start treating covid-19 patients with traditional herbs? How are the vulnerable populations going to be protected from these experiments? The silence of the ministry (MoHCC) to these and other media outbursts is worrying.
Case management:
Lack of training for health care workers, both in private and public practice, is sticking out like a sore thumb. We have no prospect of conquering COVID-19 if we ignore training and equipping of health workers. If the training program had continued from the time training of trainers was done, by now every doctor and every nurse would have been trained. What’s gone wrong with our covid-19 preparedness training program?
The issue of institutional quarantine cannot be over emphasized for visitors from COVID-19 countries, which is virtually every country now. Those in self isolation should be monitored. That is not happening.
Government should urgently capacitate provincial and central hospitals with special covid-19 intensive care units, complete with ventilators and ready to admit.
It is pleasing to note that most local authorities have taken the initiative to set up isolation facilities on their own. But it is equally disturbing to learn that government wants to take over management of municipal clinics for the purposes of COVID-19. We think that the government is seriously misdirected on this matter. This move has no value addition to our COVID-19 response plan.
It is our considered view that the government must avail resources to local authorities to do what they have always done, i.e. help government to deal with public health threats within their jurisdictions. We have GoZ funds, and we have donated funds, and these should be passed on to local authorities. I’m sure donors will find it more cost effective to deal directly with local authorities, which is where the action is.
Infection prevention and control:
This pillar is yet to be visited in its entirety. We urge government to deal urgently with infection prevention & control before we have catastrophic results among our valued health care workers. Provision of PPE and antiseptics is key. We should not sacrifice our health workers because we don’t want to prioritise their lives. We need every single one of them alive.
Logistics, procurement and supply management:
There is need for transparency in procurement. This is not a time for self enrichment. We are in a crisis. The proliferation of self testing kits must be dealt with immediately. Any test kits for use in the country must first be approved by the relevant arm of government. These self testing kits have not been proved, and could give citizens a false sense of security due to false negatives, and accelerate the spread of covid-19. Government must issue a statement on self-testing kits.
As a nation we should not rely entirely on donor funding. This is the time when survival of the nation should supersede any other national program. All resources should now be diverted to the COVID-19 response. Other programs will kick in later once we survive this onslaught. Let’s show the international community our seriousness by deploying our funds first, and they will come on board once they realize we are serious. Bear in mind that the usual donor countries are suffering under their own load of the pandemic.
Conclusion:
We have a good technical document on the preparedness & response plan, but implementation is close to zero. We are ignoring the actions that will make this lockdown meaningful and effective. Simply noting that Zimbabweans are complying with the lockdown order does not translate into halting the epidemic. We must investigate all suspects, identify cases, isolate & treat cases, and do thorough contact tracing; then we may succeed in halting the spread of covid-19. Our aim as the MDC-A is to illuminate the deadly blind spots in our path as a nation, and to help government to make better decisions. Together we will conquer COVID-19.
Dr Henry Madzorera Secretary for Health and Child Welfare, MDC-A.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
A former prisoner who suffered a broken arm in an attack at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison has filed a police report that two officers assaulted him after he barged into a cell of a convicted popular businessman who was entertaining a woman while a second report states that it was fellow prisoners who hit him.
Tatenda Govere, who was recently freed under the Presidential Amnesty after serving four years in jail for housebreaking and theft, reported his case at Highlands Police Station under CR 52/10/18 accusing two prison officers of assault while a later report CR 62/10/18 accuses other prisoners.
Both reports have been sent to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) who will decide on the way forward, said national police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
“I can confirm that an assault report was made to the police against some prison officers but the case became complicated when another report was made, implicating fellow inmates as assailants,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Govere complained to High Court judge Justice Herbert Chitapi in March this year during the judge’s routine prison visit.
Govere, who was in 2015 jailed eight years for housebreaking, claims he entered the businessman’s cell intending to borrow a newspaper, only to find him enjoying the company of a woman.
He allegedly left the cell and continued with his daily chore of serving sadza to fellow prisoners.
Two prison officers, whom he believes were linked to the businessman grilled him, he said, demanding to know why he got into the cell without notice.
“Being a trusted prisoner at yellow stage (prisoners deemed to have reformed), on September 26, 2018, I was serving food at A Hall where the businessman was staying.
“Since I was in good books with the businessman, I left a bucket of Sadza on the floor and went into his cell to ask for the day’s newspaper.
“In the cell, I was surprised to see the businessman in the company of a woman and they were eating a cake. I quickly retreated and walked away without saying a word,” said Govere.
“A few hours later, the two prison officers (names supplied) called me and grilled me over the incident.
They quizzed on why I entered the cell without notice. I told them I wanted a newspaper but they turned violent and ordered me to lie on the ground.
“They took turns to assault me all over the body with a black baton until my left arm broke.
I also sustained injuries on my left leg after one of the officers tripped me to the ground as I tried to escape,” he said.-State media
A Bulawayo woman who fatally axed her husband following a misunderstanding during the Easter period said she committed the gruesome act because she had been humiliated by the deceased.
Ordetta Mpofu (44) of Emganwini suburb told the court that her husband humiliated her in front of their children when he told her in the face that she had no shares in their matrimonial home.
Mpofu axed her husband, Thembani Mpofu (52), an employee of the Bulawayo City Council three times on the head on April 10 while he was asleep, killing him instantly.
Mpofu had reportedly refused to resolve a dispute between his wife and daughter over which television channel to watch.
When Mpofu appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Munjanja facing a murder charge, she said:
I acted out of anger when I struck my husband with an axe because he humiliated me in front of our children when he told me that I did not have shares in our home.
Mpofu was remanded in custody to May 11 pending examination by two doctors to ascertain her mental health status in terms of the Mental Health Act.-statemedia
A former prisoner who suffered a broken arm in an attack at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison has filed a police report that two officers assaulted him after he barged into a cell of a convicted popular businessman who was entertaining a woman while a second report states that it was fellow prisoners who hit him.
Tatenda Govere, who was recently freed under the Presidential Amnesty after serving four years in jail for housebreaking and theft, reported his case at Highlands Police Station under CR 52/10/18 accusing two prison officers of assault while a later report CR 62/10/18 accuses other prisoners.
Both reports have been sent to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) who will decide on the way forward, said national police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
“I can confirm that an assault report was made to the police against some prison officers but the case became complicated when another report was made, implicating fellow inmates as assailants,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Govere complained to High Court judge Justice Herbert Chitapi in March this year during the judge’s routine prison visit.
Govere, who was in 2015 jailed eight years for housebreaking, claims he entered the businessman’s cell intending to borrow a newspaper, only to find him enjoying the company of a woman.
He allegedly left the cell and continued with his daily chore of serving sadza to fellow prisoners.
Two prison officers, whom he believes were linked to the businessman grilled him, he said, demanding to know why he got into the cell without notice.
“Being a trusted prisoner at yellow stage (prisoners deemed to have reformed), on September 26, 2018, I was serving food at A Hall where the businessman was staying.
“Since I was in good books with the businessman, I left a bucket of Sadza on the floor and went into his cell to ask for the day’s newspaper.
“In the cell, I was surprised to see the businessman in the company of a woman and they were eating a cake. I quickly retreated and walked away without saying a word,” said Govere.
“A few hours later, the two prison officers (names supplied) called me and grilled me over the incident.
They quizzed on why I entered the cell without notice. I told them I wanted a newspaper but they turned violent and ordered me to lie on the ground.
“They took turns to assault me all over the body with a black baton until my left arm broke.
I also sustained injuries on my left leg after one of the officers tripped me to the ground as I tried to escape,” he said.-State media
By A Correspondent- A Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) based in Concession, Mashonaland Central province was allegedly robbed at gunpoint by Harare robbers.
The matter came to light at Bindura magistrates courts when Elisha Manhanga (53) of 34 Tait avenue Hilside, Harare pleaded not guilty to armed robbery charge before Bindura magistrate Tinashe Ndokera yesterday.
Ndokera remanded him in custody to April 22.
The state alleged Manhanga together with his accomplices who are still at large on October 19 last year pounced on a Concession resident who is not mentioned in state papers armed with a pistol, two axes and iron bars.
The robbers fired two warning shots while outside before breaking into the house and assaulted the complaint all over the body before harassing his wife and children.
They stole money, empty jelly cans, a laptop, a digital camera, mobile phones and stormed outside where they deflated tryres of the complanaint’s three cars before fleeing.
Manhanga was arrested on April 9 following a tip off.
