THE Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) is investigating reports that a private charter plane from Zimbabwe was on Wednesday turned away at OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa.

It was reported that a plane from Zimbabwe, landed at OR Tambo International Airport without authority, while ferrying an Italian national using a South African passport.

Under lockdown measures, only cargo planes ferrying essential goods are allowed to fly in the Zimbabwean airspace unless authorised.

CAAZ acting spokesperson Mr David Kanyandu said investigations were underway.

“We saw the report on social media and since yesterday, I have been unsuccessfully trying to establish the truth. We are yet to find out whether or not the plane was from Zimbabwe.

“If that is true, we have to find out the circumstances under which it flew to South Africa,” said Mr Kanyandu.

Mr Kanyandu said CAAZ was following the given protocol in line with the measures put in place to control and prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“Our airspace is watertight and, for now, we are only allowing cargo planes that bring in emergency supplies like medical equipment, face masks, sanitisers and, other life-saving goods.

“We also allow some other emergency flights, but I have no details of whether that particular plane was on the list of those authorised for the day,” he said.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joel Biggie Matiza is on record saying the lockdown only allows authorised charter planes and cargo planes.

“Following the 21-day lockdown, Government decided to close all our airports except for Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo in Bulawayo, Victoria Falls Airport and the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, which will be open for cargo and charter planes.

“Ethiopian Airways has been allowed to continue flying minimally and it will be used for ferrying our returning citizens and for diplomatic trips.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday ordered police to allow farmers to deliver their produce to markets in urban centres after shocking pictures emerged of police burning a truckload of vegetables in Mutare.

Police have been accused of misinterpreting regulations issued in support of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus by taking draconian measures, including arresting shoppers, banning the sale of liquor and stopping farmers from travelling to cities and towns with their fresh farm produce.

Police earlier Friday made a U-turn on the alcohol ban, instead saying alcohol sales would be allowed but consumption should only take place in private homes.

Mnangagwa said in a televised address: “It’s integral that we keep our economy moving forward during this period of lockdown. Food supply should be guaranteed with minimum shocks or disruptions. Farmers must continue to produce for our nation even under conditions of lockdown. Farmers and traders alike must equally continue to deliver produce to markets including to those markets that supply our cities, towns and growth points.

“To that end, I direct our security arms to ensure a pathway for food supply. All agricultural activity must remain undisturbed throughout the period of the lockdown. All our producers must continue to feed the nation with minimum hassles.”

Mutare police raided a market in Sakubva suburb at around 3AM on Friday as rural farmers delivered truckloads of green vegetables and tomatoes. The seized produce was burned.

Images of the incident drew outrage from Zimbabweans on social media, jolting authorities. Police have faced accusations of targeting hungry citizens who are rounded up after venturing out to buy the scarce maize meal staple.

Meanwhile, Mnangagwa said he was pleased with the public response to his call for people to stay at home to help keep coronavirus contained.

“Measures we have taken remain in place and appear to be paying off, but the approaching winter season brings with it greater vulnerabilities. The risk to our nation is rising and growing enormous by the day,” Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe has only declared nine cases of coronavirus including one death, but Mnangagwa warned that “we must continue to scale up preparations, we are not out of the woods.”

“I’m proud of the way most of you have responded to the lockdown. Except where absolutely necessary, you have stayed at home together with your families. We have observed and voluntarily enforced social distancing and religiously followed routines of personal hygiene as recommended by the World Health Organisation. Social interactions have either stopped or drastically reduced. We are on the right path,” he said.

Mnangagwa has so far resisted deploying soldiers onto the streets, leaving police to carry out the task. Past army deployments led to allegations of widespread abuses including rapes and extra judicial killings.

“The deployment of security arms has largely been symbolic, with you, our citizens, heeding the call, taking the lead and showing the way in this pandemic. However, this should not induce complacency among us but motivate us to do more now, and in the weeks and months ahead,” Mnangagwa said, while urging Zimbabweans to “all err on the side of abundant caution.”

“Self-discipline is our safety and collective security as a nation,” he added.

The Zimbabwe leader also praised doctors and nurses who are on the frontline against the global pandemic, pledging more help to ensure they work in a safe environment.

“Elsewhere, the pandemic has shown the potential risks to health personnel who are on the frontline. They need protective gear which is adequate and effective against infections. They must feel safe, secure and sure to care for us with confidence. The government shall therefore continue to prioritise and ensure every health worker is appropriately kitted,” he vowed.

ZimLive

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday said the 2020 national budget will be revised to ensure it prioritises fiscal buffers in the wake of the coronavirus threat.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced a ZWL$63.6bn budget for 2020. President Mnangagwa,however, said government has found itself between a rock and a hard place and will adjust the 2020 budget amid coronavirus threat.

Zimbabwe has todate recorded nine cases and one fatality.

In his address to the nation at the State house, President Mnangagwa said:”The COVID-19 pandemic is nowhere close to loosening it’s grip on humanity.
“…The 2020 budget will be revised and reprioritised to ensure adequate fiscal buffers in the wake of the ravaging threat.

We cannot afford to be deceived by the small numbers of infections (in Zimbabwe) but we must continue to scale up our preparations.

We are not out of the woods. The galloping (global) figures may mean that the risk to our nation is rising and growing enormous by the day,” he added.

The virus has according to the US based John Hopkins University claimed over 55,000 lives across the globe with Italy being the most affected.

Zimbabwe is currently under a 21-day nationwide lock down, which took effect on Monday.

This could be devastating because Zimbabwe is highly informalised with many having turned to vending to eke out a living.

This means thousands of families and individuals are likely to experience severe challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

But, Mnangagwa said safety nets will be put in place.

“Equally,we are aware that the lock down comes at a great cost to livelihoods of our highly informalised economy.

We have therefore, committed to provide social safety nets to ensure that vulnerable households are sustained during this challenging period,” Mnangagwa said.

Government has also set up a coronavirus also known as COVID-19 disaster fund, to mitigate the immediate to long-term effects of the pandemic.

Police have deployed public order vehicles equipped with water cannons to fumigate areas known for high human traffic.

The chemicals used during the fumigation are being supplied by Harare City Council.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the exercise was a partnership between the police and the council to fumigate high risk areas.

“We have partnered City of Harare to fumigate some areas in and around the Central Business District (CBD). The local authority has supplied chemicals and the police have availed public order vehicles. This is to ensure public safety in the wake of Covid-19. We have already fumigated Mbare musika, the down-town area, Copacabana, Market Square, RoadPort, Mupedzanhamo market and other places. The exercise will not end there as we are planning to fumigate more places,” he said.

Along with these preventative interventions, the police continue enforcing the law, arresting 390 more people on Thursday and yesterday for defying the lock-down directive bringing the total arrests to 875.

They were mostly arrested for illegally opening their bars, operating shebeens, vending and loitering among other offences. They were fined between $200 and $500 each.

Assistant Commissioner Nyathi said police will continue to arrest such offenders.

“We continue to urge people to comply with the directive and other measures which are meant to protect them from this pandemic. As police, we are there to enforce the law. We are appealing to the public to be compliant and avoid being arrested,” he said.

He said the police will continue to monitor the situation across the country and ensure everyone is compliant.

The legal list of essential services was widened to allow farmers to prepare for the winter cropping season and harvest during the 21-day lockdown.

Through Statutory Instrument 86 of 2020, Government also added funeral parlour operators and coffin manufacturers and sellers; manufacturers and distributors of medical supplies relevant to combat COVID-19 and other medical emergencies; suppliers of agricultural inputs and stock feed; supply and distribution of veterinary requirements for domesticated farm and non-farm animals and cattle dipping.

For transport, Ethiopian Airways was gazetted as the sole airline operating in Zimbabwe for the purposes of bringing in emergency supplies and other travel services.

The airline is being used to bring in ventilators, face masks, sanitisers and, other essential medical requirement.

Boats and other water-borne transport in areas where these are the normal mode of transport to access essential goods and services are permitted to operate.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has been deemed essential and can operate during the lockdown.

SI86 was gazetted to amend SI83 of 2020 which carried the initial list of essential services permitted to operate in the lockdown.

These included producers and retailers of essential goods, including food shops, pharmacies and informal food markets; power and water supplies and public transport by Zupco and the Public Service Commission.

NURSES at the country’s main Covid-19 isolation centre, Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital, are resigning as morale hits rock bottom in the crucial health sector, which is in the frontline of Zimbabwe’s response to the deadly disease.

This follows revelations that the government has released a paltry ZW$100 000 to Harare City Council, which runs Wilkins and Beatrice infectious diseases hospitals, where Covid-19 patients are being treated.

Bulawayo’s Thorngrove Isolation Centre is also facing shortages of protective wear for health staff.

Wilkins already had a low staff complement, resulting in the health professionals working overtime with minimal resources.

Four nurses, who were working at the facility, resigned last week, with three more indicating this week their plans to also leave.

The nurses are leaving for better opportunities, including those that have arisen at new Covid-19 response centres, including St Anne’s Hospital in Harare’s Avondale suburb and Arundel Hospital in Mount Pleasant, formerly Rock Foundation Medical Centre, which are offering remuneration in United States dollars. The facilities are paying around US$75 per day.

“People have been really trying, but after working so much we are getting peanuts. The morale is really low. Right now, we are closed and yet to open again when the renovations are finished, but there is nothing to be excited about. We just got our peanuts,” a source at the hospital said.

“The staff here have not been getting any allowances and have been working with limited protective clothing. Some people decided that it is better to leave and go where they are paying in US dollars. Four nurses left and only 16 remain, but three more will be going soon.”

Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary- general Enock Dongo said there is need for more training for nurses on the disease to improve treatment and care as well as prevent infection.

“There is the issue of training on Covid-19 as it is new and not known by people, including the frontliners who have layman’s knowledge of the disease, yet the public expects more from them. The government should quickly increase the number of people being trained,” Dongo said.

“We still need more PPE (personal protective equipment). There is no institution with enough PPE. As an association, we are looking for well-wishers to provide the protective clothing so as to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.”

Dongo called on government to avail more resources towards fighting the virus.

“We want to see the money they were talking about on the ground. This is the time to walk-the-talk. Nurses need risk allowances because they are at risk, if you are exposed to patients suffering from the infectious disease you also need a well-balanced diet to boost your immune system. Nurses can’t afford that at the moment,” he said.

Dongo applauded health personnel at Wilkins and other public medical facilities who have been operating without proper protective clothing, exposing themselves to infection.

Health director in the City of Harare Dr Prosper Chonzi said the local authority was waiting for health personnel to be seconded to Wilkins and Beatrice from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, for an effective coronavirus response.

“The staff we have is not enough. We spoke to the minister, Obadiah Moyo, and he said that he got the go-ahead to unfreeze posts. So we are waiting for them to second nurses, doctors, pharmacists, health officers and other personnel,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chonzi said the authorities were looking at ways of increasing the Covid-19 test rate, which is currently at 96 tests per day.

The World Health Organisation has recommended that African countries increase their test rates so as to contain the spread of the disease.

Zimbabwe recently received a donation of 20 000 laboratory diagnostic test kits from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and his Alibaba Foundation, as well as 100 000 face masks and 1 000 protective suits and face shields.

“There is need for more testing, at the moment we have PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test kits and it takes about five hours for results to come out. What we want now are the rapid test kits which give results in about 20 minutes,” Chonzi said.

Zimbabwe has eight confirmed positive cases as of yesterday.

The city authorities are however still awaiting funds from government after they received only ZW$100 000, compared to the US$6,7 million they had requested.

“There has been some improvement in support from central government, that should be commended. However, the ZW$100 000 is not enough, we need to transport our staff to work, and give them allowances. We also need to get more protective clothing and other essentials. It would be better maybe if the PPE can be procured by the central government so that we focus on the other requirements,” Chonzi said.
Meanwhile, Wilkins Hospital, which has been closed for almost two weeks for renovations, is set to re-open this weekend.
The hospital recorded the first Covid-19 death last week on Monday, with the family of the deceased, Zororo Makamba, fuming over the lack of medical treatment and care at the main isolation centre.

The Makamba family said Zororo failed to get the level of care that could have saved his life as the hospital did not have a ventilator or even oxygen. Furthermore, the family said there was no power socket to plug in a ventilator bought by the Makamba family.

Chonzi told the Zimbabwe Independent that the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) was now being set up to admit Covid-19 patients who would need close monitoring.

“We are in the process of installing equipment and we now have from the donation of protective clothing and other things in place,” Chonzi said.

“We are setting up the ICU and we have five ventilators in place, the oxygen is now flowing and some of it is going to be piped and we have capacity for about 54 of those who will need oxygen. We are also setting up the beds and installing monitors.

“Apart from the ICU, we now have capacity for up to 100 patients and are also looking at creating more space at Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital.”

However, the facility is yet to get an intensive care nurse and anesthetist.

The Bulawayo City Council’s Health Services Department yesterday said although no cases of Covid-19 had been reported, consumables were urgently needed.

Khulamuzi Nyathi, the assistant director in the department, revealed that a patient with Covid-19 symptoms is currently admitted at Thorngrove Isolation Centre in the city, while awaiting test results.

He said the city was in dire need of consumables such as oxygen, gauges, tubes, masks and about five ventilators to be able to respond to cases that might pop up.

“In terms of the ladder, we are a primary health care provider courtesy of our clinics and other health care facilities that we have as a council. We need the consumables, most importantly, the protective clothing, about 5 000 suits, gloves, masks, and other things so that we can be able to respond to any call that is linked to Covid-19,” Nyathi said.

He said the local authority had deployed environmental health officers to follow up on more than 1 000 travellers who entered the country destined for Bulawayo.

“We have been following up on 1 125 travellers who came into the country through ports of entry in and around Bulawayo. We have been checking them to see whether they have any symptoms of Covid-19. I am happy to note that from the reports on these travellers, we have not yet recorded any positive Covid-19 case in the city from those that we have tested.

“Last month alone, we conducted tests on about 50 people under the Rapid Response initiative that the department initiated. Twenty-three of those people fitted the case definition of Covid-19. Twenty-one results came back with negative results while the other two (results) are yet to be sent back from the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare,” Nyathi said.

-Zimbabwe Independent

By Business Reporter| Emmerson Mnangagwa’s deputy Constantino Chiwenga announcing yesterday said that the electricity supply authority is set to issue cheap power to wheat farmers beginning this month of April.

Chiwenga made these revelations during his press conference on Friday morning when he said, “the ministry of Energy, & power development & ZESA gave us the necessary assurance that electricity supply will be uninterrupted in wheat farming clusters for the period starting April – Sept 2020 and at a tarriff which is 55% of commercial rates.” VIDEO:

VP Chiwenga: "the ministry of Energy, & power development & ZESA gave us the necessary assurance that electricity supply will be uninterrupted in wheat farming clusters for the period starting April – Sept 2020 and at a tarrif which is 55% of commercial rates." pic.twitter.com/fu2NVbeTaW

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) April 3, 2020

At least eight prisoners, who have been on the death row for periods ranging from 10 to 12 years, this week had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment in line with the recent Presidential clemency order.

The eight, who were facing the hangman’s noose, will now spend life in jail. President Mnangagwa recently issued a clemency order for non-violent offenders.

Prisoners who have spent at least 10 years on death row, according to the order, should have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokesperson Superintendent Meya Khanyezi confirmed the development.

“We have eight inmates, whose death penalties were commuted to life imprisonment,” she said.

“The longest serving prisoner was sentenced in 2008, while the one with the least years on death row was sentenced in 2010.

“The other six were sentenced between 2008 and 2010.”

The recent amnesty saw only 1 680 prisoners qualifying for release out of the targeted 5 000.

This was because the majority were convicted of serious offences and have not yet served at least half their sentences, the criteria for benefiting.

Only 53 women out of 456 benefited from the amnesty after it turned out that many women in prison committed specified offences like murder, robbery, car-jacking, sexual offences and public violence.

President Mnangagwa used his constitutional powers of mercy to effect the amnesty, desired to reduce the prison population to levels that can be accommodated safely.

All the released prisoners and those with shorter effective sentences still have criminal records and, if a portion of their original sentence was suspended, those suspended sentences can be brought into effect should they re-offend since the amnesty order only looks at remission of effective sentences.

In Harare, 279 prisoners were released from prison while 185 were freed in Mashonaland province.More in Home

In Manicaland, 202 were set free, while Bulawayo prison population was reduced by 198.

Mashonaland West, East and Midlands offloaded 166, 127 and 296 respectively.

In Masvingo, 85 prisoners were freed while Matabeleland South and North prisons released 75 and 66 respectively.

The country’s prisons have a carrying capacity of 17 000, but before the amnesty, there were 21 838 inmates.

The amnesty reduced the total number of inmates to 20 158, a figure above the maximum holding capacity.

-State Media

The Zimbabwe Council of Churches has reacted to a raft of measures put in place by the government through the Ministry of Finance to deal with effects of COVID-19.

In a statement released yesterday, ZCC urged government to also consider scrapping value added tax on some of the products to ease the burden on consumers.

Below is the full statement:

While recognizing the effort of the Minister of Finance to provide mitigatory measures against COVID-19 in a constrained fiscal environment, more can be done to save lives and mitigate the industry from possible collapse. The Minister is implored to consider:

• The unintended economic impacts of the 21 day lockdown to the generality of citizens, especially those in the informal sector living from hand to mouth,
• Provide a comprehensive social protection scheme (with contributions from government, development partners, private companies) in order to save lives of many Zimbabweans,
• Scrap the 2% IMTT tax and consider reducing VAT and widening products under the VAT Zero rated band,
• Consider Parliamentary approval of expenditure reprioritization and adjustment of the 2020 National Budget.
• Adhere to highest levels of transparency at this time of crisis in relation to health and other needs as this will influence adjustment of the 2020 budget and cooperation of development stakeholders,
• Strengthen systems and be transparent to effectively deal with corruption and improve transparency in the management of mineral resources.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has not cancelled O’ and A’ Level examinations for both June and November 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This was said by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Tumisang Thabela who added that parents can use online platforms to submit registration data and send proof of payment.

She said:
We urge parents to continue paying their children’s examination fees if they have not yet done so.

The Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council has opened up many channels through which parents can pay this time around so they should use them.

Parents can use online platforms for the submission of registration data and proof of payment and send to finance@zimsec.co.zw.

Thabela’s remarks follow social media claims that ZIMSEC has cancelled this year’s public exams after the school term was cut short by the COVI-19 outbreak.

Schools were closed before the scheduled dates and the government has not yet announced dates for the commencement of the second term.-State media

Police and the largest alcoholic beverage company, Delta Beverages, yesterday agreed that supermarkets and registered bottle stores should continue selling alcohol during the 21-day lockdown on condition it will not be publicly consumed.

Those caught drinking beer in public places will be fined up to $500.

Police,however, insisted that drinkers should not gather in public places.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police wishes to clarify on the issue of selling of liquor by supermarkets that have got exemptions (and) are allowed to sell liquor to members of the public for consumption, off-the-premises.

“All licensed bottle stores or outlets who offer off premises sales are reminded to conduct their business according to Covid-19 guidelines.

“Consumers are not allowed to assemble outside such premises or to drink while seated in vehicles as individuals or as groups.

“All purchased liquor should only be consumed in the privacy of individuals’ homes as outlined in the Covid-19 guidelines or exemption structures,” he said.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said public drinking will attract a fine of $500.

“Members of the public found drinking beer outside supermarkets or in their cars will be arrested and dealt with according to the law with offenders being made to pay a maximum fine of $500.

Individuals who access off-the-premise liquor sales are not allowed to conduct parties at home, invite friends to drink as groups or to operate shebeens during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown,” he said.

On Thursday police announced the ban on all beer sales in retail outlets countrywide in the wake of the 21-day national lockdown.-State media

Farai Dziva|The Movement for Democratic Change has urged its supporters and Zimbabweans in general to disregard a statement purportedly written by Advocate Nelson Chamisa as his response to the Supreme Court ruling.

According to the party, Chamisa has not yet spoken about the Supreme Court ruling on the opposition party’s leadership dispute.

“Please ignore the statement by President Nelson Chamisa that is currently circulating on social media.

President Chamisa will issue his statement when in due course.that statement will be issued via our
normal channels,” the opposition party said in a brief statement.

MDC president Nelson Chamisa faces disciplinary action if he insists on disregarding the latest Supreme Court ruling that he was not the legitimate leader of the main opposition party, former secretary-general
Douglas Mwonzora has said:

Speaking in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent , Mwonzora said gone are the days when officials would violate the party’s rules with impunity.

He said:
The MDC is a party of rules. We respect and advocate for the rule of law and constitutionalism. We cannot accept lawlessness disguised as politics.

Gone are the days when people would break their own rules with impunity. If we fail to obey court rulings while we are in the opposition, what would happen if we are given state power?

So, if people fail to comply with the ruling, they will be taking a conscious risk and would be careless because the party will trigger its rules.

However, MDC deputy spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has dismissed Mwonzora’s threats, saying the ruling doesn’t mean anything to anyone.

Tamborinyoka added that the MDC will not be bound by a decision of a captured judiciary and in any case, the Thokozani Khupe and Chamisa-led MDCs held separate congresses and that settles the matter.-Zimbabwe Independent

Police have arrested 485 people countrywide for failing to abide by restrictions outlined by President Mnangagwa last week when he announced a raft of measures to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told The Herald last night that those arrested were found guilty of operating shebeens, failing to observe social distance in queues, while some motorists were also arrested for moving around aimlessly.

Asst Comm Nyathi said some of the arrested people were abusing the exemption rule on essential services, trying to bribe or lying to police details manning roadblocks.

In Harare, ZRP and the Harare municipal police mounted roadblocks on several roads where people were being asked to produce letters from employers or relevant authorities from their respective areas showing that they are providing essential services.

Most people were asked to produce a letter or concrete evidence clarifying the reasons of their visit in town or their final destination.

Police dispersed some people who were loitering in the CBD.

At Africa Unity Square, few people where seen enjoying their food in the park at mid-day, but had vanished later in the day.
Some taxis were parked along Third Street.

Supermarkets were open, but closed in the afternoon in line with the Government directive. At most service stations fuel was available and there were short or no queues at all.

Police also used a public address system to remind people to stay at home.-State media

By A Correspondent- Long-standing DSTV subscribers could soon see a revolution in their service as MultiChoice considers dropping the satellite dish and offering a streaming service similar to that of Netflix, but this will be done in phases and depending on internet connectivity in various DStv territories.

The year 2020 could bring a new standalone streaming service in place of the current DSTV offerings. This new option could be available as soon as March next year.

This means users will have to say goodbye to the dish and decoder and welcome a new, more laid-back streaming offering.

The new service will differ to the currently available DStv Now service which requires a direct-to-home link to a satellite dish.

With the shift to a more streaming-friendly approach the new service will offer a more on-demand viewing capability, allowing viewers to watch what they want, when they want, instead of simply what is already showing like the usual DStv and DStv Now offering.

It is not yet confirmed whether this will be cheaper or more expensive than the current DTSV offering.-Wires

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has deployed soldiers to takeover the enforcement of lockdown orders amid reports that the police have failed to curtail movement of people.

This was also confirmed by Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba who tweeted that the boys had been deployed to locations and suburbs to deal with those drinking beer on the street and loitering instead of following orders which requires people to stay at home.

“MaFACE angu ekumaGhetto, kindly note that pranks and drinking sprees in streets this evening will come to grief!!!! THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!!!!!!!,” said Charamba tweeting on his Jamwanda2 account.

By A Correspondent- The two words may evoke fear and devastation in minds of others, but for the Raipur-based couple, they symbolise triumph over hardships as the twins – a boy and a girl – were born during the ongoing coronavirus-enforced nationwide lockdown which has disrupted normal life.

The pandemic caused by a new virus may have brought the world to its knees, but that has not deterred a couple in Chhattisgarh to name their newborn twins as ‘Corona’ and ‘COVID’, HindustanTimes reports.

The names, they said, would remind them about all the hardships they conquered amid the lockdown, ahead of successful delivery on the intervening night of March 26-27 at a government hospital here. However, the couple said they may change their decision later and rename their kids.

I was blessed with the twins – a boy and a girl – in the early hours on March 27. We have named them Covid (boy) and Corona (girl) for now,” Preeti Verma, the 27-old mother of the newborns, told PTI.

“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, me and my husband wanted to make the day memorable. 

“Indeed the virus is dangerous and life-threatening but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and inculcate other good habits. Thus, we thought about these names,” she said, giving reasons for their unusual decision.

“When the hospital staff also started calling the babies as Corona and COVID, we finally decided to name them after the pandemic,” she said.

The couple, originally from Uttar Pradesh, resides in a rented house in the Purani Basti area of the state capital.

“On late night of March 26, I suddenly experienced severe labour pain and somehow my husband arranged an ambulance operated under 102 Mahtari Express service.

“As no vehicle movement was allowed on roads due to the lockdown, we were stopped by police at various places but they let us go after noticing my condition,” Verma said.

I was wondering what would happen in the hospital as it was midnight, but fortunately, doctors and other staff were very cooperative,” she said. “Our relatives, who wanted to reach the hospital, could not make it as bus and train services were stopped due to the lockdown,” said Verma, who already has a two-year-old daughter.

The twins were born in Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital. Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the hospital, Shubhra Singh said, the mother and the newborns were discharged recently and they were in good health.

As soon as Verma reached the hospital with her husband, arrangements were made to perform a caesarean section on her as it was a complicated case, Singh said. “Within 45 minutes of their arrival, the delivery was done successfully,” the PRO said. The twins had become a centre of attraction in the hospital after the couple named them as Covid and Corona, Singh said.-Online

White farmer speaks: Mnangagwa’s administration is misleading people. The offer sparked heated debate in parliament, with legislators demanding that for it to be viable, the country’s constitution had to be changed to reverse the land reform programme.

A fortnight ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government a said it was offering about 800 commercial farms as compensation to farmers who had lost their land during the violent land seizures that began in 2000 under then-President Robert Mugabe.

The SADC Tribunal Rights Watch, a group that had successfully challenged Mugabe’s land seizure in international courts, however, now says the new regulations to apparently restore farms to their owners “are misleading and provide false hope to dispossessed farmers, many of whom are now destitute.

The group, representing nearly 4,500 dispossessed commercial farmers, said the new regulations only affect ‘’indigenous’’ farmers and foreigners protected by Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).

Misleading

The farmers are demanding nearly $7 billion in compensation for their properties.

Ben Freeth, the Sadc Tribunal Rights spokesperson, said the farmers will reject government’s offer because it was racist and did not offer dispossessed farmers any legal protection.

“Regrettably, this piece of misleading legislation is another attempt at window dressing to make it appear that the Zimbabwe government is going to return farms to their owners and re-establish property rights – but this is not the case,” Mr Freeth said.

“More than 40 years after Independence, one would legitimately expect that Section 56 of our Constitution concerning ‘equality and non-discrimination’ would apply with full force.

“The reality is that so-called ‘indigenous’ Zimbabweans have more rights than ‘white’ citizens who have been deprived of their homes, businesses and livelihoods, as well as compensation for their losses.”

He said the regulations also favoured foreign landowners whose farms were covered under BIPPAs and BITs as the white Zimbabweans who were violently thrown out of their farms during the Mugabe era.

“As such, this legislation is discriminatory,” Freeth said. “It also goes against the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Treaty and the landmark Campbell Case judgment of November 2008 in the SADC Tribunal, the regional human rights court.”

The Sadc Tribunal ruled that Zimbabwe violated the regional body’s treaty by denying the dispossessed farmers access to the courts. It also said Zimbabwe’s land reforms discriminated against the southern African country’s white minority population.

“Discriminatory laws can quickly lead to institutionalising racial discrimination. We need to do everything we possibly can to test these counterproductive laws against our Constitution and international law,” said Freeth.

“Furthermore, the government cannot convince international investors from countries like the UK ̶ who are discriminated against because there’s no bilateral investment treaty ̶ that Zimbabwe is a secure investment destination when it fails to respect the rights of both international investors and its own citizens.”

Protected

Some of the dispossessed farmers were from Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland, and whose properties were protected by treaties between Harare and Western countries.

“While the regulations do not define the meaning of the term ‘’indigenous,’’ the government has consistently referred to ‘’black’’ Zimbabweans exclusively as ‘’indigenous’’ persons,” the Sadc Tribunal Rights Watch said.

“This is despite the fact that the standard definition of ‘’indigenous’’ applies to persons born and residing in a particular place or region, and is not exclusive to a particular race, gender or ethnicity.

“A significant number of the dispossessed white farmers were born in Zimbabwe and many were second, third or even fourth generation who knew no other home,” the group said. Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri said 440 farms belonging to ‘’indigenous’’ people were seized during the land reform programme.

Mr Shiri said 350 of the farmers were still on the acquired land while 90 farms had resettled people, but the Sadc Tribunal Rights Watch said only three black farmers were forced off their land.

For years, Zimbabwe has ignored rulings by regional and international courts compelling it to reverse the takeover of farms protected by BIPPAs and BITs.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment

Disputes (ICSID) – part of the World Bank Group – in 2009 and 2015 ruled against Zimbabwe in cases involving Dutch farmers.

In 2008, the now defunct Sadc Tribunal ruled that Zimbabwe’s land reform programme was patently racist and Harare was ordered to compensate the dispossessed farmers.

“The reason that BIPPA and BIT-protected properties are now being considered for compensation is that the bankrupt government needs the support of foreign donors and international lending institutions,” the Sadc Tribunal Rights Watch added.

The EU, Britain and the US put the issue of compensation of the white commercial farmers as one of the pre-conditions for re-engagement with Zimbabwe after Mugabe’s fall in a military coup in 2017.

International lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have also emphasised that Zimbabwe must compensate the dispossessed land owners if it wants loans.

Mr Mugabe, who had ruled Zimbabwe since Independence from Britain in 1980, championed the land reform programme saying it was meant to correct colonial injustices.

Critics, however, say the government parcelled the productive farms to ruling party officials and supporters who had no interest in farming.

A land audit initiated by President Mnangagwa showed that a number of top politicians owned multi-farms that remained underutilised. Some of the multiple-farm owners include Mugabe family members. President Mnangagwa hinted late last year that former first lady Grace Mugabe owned at least 16 farms.

He said the farms would be taken back in line with the government’s “one family, one farm” policy. The government has also been seizing farms owned by Mugabe’s loyalists who fled into exile during the military coup.

The agrarian reforms led to the collapse of the country’s agriculture-based economy and cased mass food shortages that persist to date. Aid agencies say at least eight million Zimbabweans or half the population will need food aid this year after consecutive seasons of poor harvests.

By A Correspondent- Some nurses have resigned from Zimbabwe’s main COVID-19 isolation center, Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital, and moved on to private hospitals that are reportedly paying salaries in US dollars.

Nurses’ morale at the Harare City Council-run institution is at an all-time low, hence the nurses are moving to St Anne’s Hospital in Harare’s Avondale suburb and Arundel Hospital in Mount Pleasant which are paying around US$75 per day.

According to The Independent:

“People have been really trying, but after working so much we are getting peanuts.

The morale is really low. Right now, we are closed and yet to open again when the renovations are finished, but there is nothing to be excited about. We just got our peanuts.

The staff here have not been getting any allowances and have been working with limited protective clothing. Some people decided that it is better to leave and go where they are paying in US dollars. Four nurses left and only 16 remain, but three more will be going soon.”

Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary-general Enock Dongo has appealed for the provision of more PPE (personal protective equipment) and the training for nurses on COVID-19 as it is new and not known by people.

Zimbabwe has 9 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases and this has been attributed to the low test rest which according to Health director in the City of Harare Dr Prosper Chonzi, is at 96 tests per day.

By A Correspondent- A lot of Africans on social media have expressed their anger on a viral video suggesting that Africa should be the first place where coronavirus treatments are tested.

Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive care at Cochin hospital in Paris, and Camille Locht, head of research at the Inserm health research group, both said on French TV that there was a case for testing out the vaccines in African countries.

“If I can be provocative, shouldn’t we be doing this study in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatments, no resuscitation?” Dr Mira said on TV channel LCI.

“A bit like as it is done elsewhere for some studies on Aids. In prostitutes, we try things because we know that they are highly exposed and that they do not protect themselves.”

“You are right,” Dr Locht responded.

“We are in the process of thinking about a study in parallel in Africa.”

The comments received an angry response on social media, including from former footballers Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.

“I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racist words,” Drogba tweeted.

“Do not take African people as human guinea pigs! It’s absolutely disgusting,” he added.

Another twitter user said “It’s 2020 in France & we still see people from Africa as subjects for experimentation. This is what normalized racism looks like.AFAIK, nobody jumped in to counter the arguments, both doctors agreed. Same, the way s.e.x-workers are considered: like objects that can be used for tests.”

“If only Africa would choose better leaders, we would not even need to worry about this happening,” another responded.-Online

Morgen Komichi has vowed that Nelson Chamisa has no power to recall him and Douglas Mwonzora from the upper house (Senate) following the Supreme court ruling last week.

The Supreme Court ruled that MDC should revert to 2014 structures immediately with Thokozani Khupe as acting president and Komichi as party chairperson tasked with calling for an extraordinary congress to replace late leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Komichi and Mwonzora are underfire on the role they played in the Supreme Court challenge which saw Chamisa losing his Presidency to Thokozani Khupe.

Speaking to Zim Morning Post, Komichi said that if Chamisa writes a letter to recall them from Parliament, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda will only be guided by the Supreme Court judgment.

“The Supreme Court judgment supercedes political moves, if he writes a letter to recall us then Mudenda will be guided by the Supreme Court judgment which is above any political moves,” Komichi told Zim Morning Post.

However, a battle line has been drawn where most MDC Alliance councillors and legislators have vowed to stand with Chamisa.

Political analyst Tendai Chapwanya believes that the battle between Chamisa and Khupe is far from over.

“This battle is far from over this is a clear political war and the SC cannot win when it comes to politics what I can tell you is that this is the death of opposition, neither Chamisa nor Khupe will score better results come 2023,” Chapwanya said

However, Chamisa has received some backing from the party structures.

Komichi has since called for an extraordinary Congress and directed Mwonzora to start preparations.

“In terms of our constitution, we are going for an extraordinary congress for purposes of electing a substantive President.

“Any member of the Party is free to contest this position without fear of victimization. This Congress will be run by an Independent Commission which of necessity will include the ZCTU.

“The Secretary General and Senator Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora is hereby directed to ensure that all Congress preparations are started immediately,” Komichi said just after the Supreme Court Judgment was delivered.

— Zim Morning Post

Senator Douglas Mwonzora, Secretary-General of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has this Thursday urged party members to accept the Supreme Court ruling on the party’s leadership crisis.

Mwonzora said that the party must convene an Extra-ordinary Congress which will put the party’s leadership crisis to finality.

His remarks come after the Supreme Court ruled that Thokozani Khupe was the legitimate leader of the party who should assume the leadership, on an interim basis, until an extraordinary congress is held within three months after the passing of the judgment.

He said that there was no need for party members and supporters to denigrate the courts only because the ruling was not in their favour adding that the issue of leadership needs to be addressed.

Mwonzora also said that it is wrong to say that there is a party called the MDC Alliance since the MDC Alliance is an amalgamation of 7 parties merely for 2018 elections.

He added that the congresses that were held by Nelson Chamisa’s MDC faction and Khupe’s MDC faction were just congresses of factions in the same party and they have been nullified by the Supreme Court.

Mwonzora also said that the constitutions of political parties are not there for decoration – they have to be upheld.

Independent|REINSTATED MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has delivered stinging criticism of his long-time nemesis Nelson Chamisa and his allies, saying they faced disciplinary action for failing to comply with Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision rendering Thokozani Khupe as the rightful leader of the party.

The Chamisa camp, most notably his deputies Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, mocked the ruling, saying it did not affect their structures.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Chamisa was not the legitimate leader of the main opposition party, in so doing affirming an earlier High Court decision.

Chamisa gained control of the party in a dramatic fashion when the now late founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, was on his deathbed in South Africa. Tsvangirai succumbed to colon cancer in February 14, 2018. The court said the party should revert to 2014 structures, which in principle implies the firebrand youthful politician is relegated to a national council member position while Khupe — who was elected MDC vice-president at the October 2014 congress — assumes the reins.

Mwonzora beat Chamisa in the race for the secretary-general’s position at that congress.

The Supreme Court also ordered the party to hold an extraordinary congress in the next three months.

Biti said the ruling was a nullity since it had been overtaken by events.

Both Khupe and Chamisa held separate congresses last year. They also separately contested the 2018 presidential election in which Khupe performed dismally.

Biti further averred that the ruling was made in terms of the MDC-T, which Khupe led, and not Chamisa’s MDC Alliance.

“The congress of May 2019 stands and cannot be affected by any ruling and determination on a judgement affecting the MDC-T. We are MDC Alliance. The next congress of the MDC Alliance is in May 2023, not anytime before,” he said.

Ncube also dismissed the ruling.

However, Mwonzora, in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent said the two officials were offside.

“The chairman (Morgen Komichi) made it clear that we will comply with the ruling. Then we heard some people say they will not comply and that’s rather sad because we insist it should be complied with,” he said, adding Biti and Ncube were “wrong and dishonest”.

“They are wrong and dishonest. The MDC Alliance is not a political party, but a group of seven parties, of which the principal party is the MDC. In terms of the alliance agreement, anyone who is the MDC president automatically becomes the leader of the alliance. Similarly, it means that once that person has lost the presidency of the MDC, he/she would have automatically lost the alliance leadership,” Mwonzora said.

“In the MDC alliance, the seven parties retained their statuses as individual parties. So Mr Biti’s party is the PDP (People’s Democratic Party) and Ncube’s party is MDC Green. We were therefore surprised to hear PDP people trying to comment on MDC issues. So the judgement affects one of the parties which is a member of the MDC Alliance.

The interpretation by of the (alliance) agreement by Biti is thus an awkward attempt to gain cheap political mileage by lying to the people. Biti and Ncube are very senior lawyers and they must be honest to Chamisa and to Zimbabwe,” he said.

Mwonzora added that failure to comply with the court’s decision would lead to the party instituting disciplinary action.

“The MDC is a party of rules. We respect and advocate for the rule of law and constitutionalism. We cannot accept lawlessness disguised as politics. Gone are the days when people would break their own rules with impunity. If we fail to obey court rulings while we are in the opposition, what would happen if we are given state power?” Mwonzora said.

“So, if people fail to comply with the ruling, they will be taking a conscious risk and would be careless because the party will trigger its rules.”

However, Luke Tamborinyoka, the hitherto MDC deputy spokesperson and a Chamisa loyalist, scoffed at Mwonzora’s suggestions.

“The ruling doesn’t mean anything to anyone, and Mwonzora should know that. We cannot be bound by a decision of a captured judiciary. We went into elections with our own insignia and Khupe went with her own insignia. We have had separate congresses too, indicating that we are different entities. How will such disciplinary action be effected? It’s a joke,” he said.

By Own Correspondent| Freelance journalist Nunurai Jena was today remanded out of custody on free bail to 7 May 2020 when he appeared before the Chinhoyi magistrates court to answer to charges of disorderly conduct in a public place.

Jena is accused of breaching Section 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which deals with disorderly conduct in a public place, which is the main charge.

His lawyer Kudzai Choga confirmed to MISA Zimbabwe that the journalist who was not in custody following his arrest on 2 April 2020, had been remanded out of custody on free bail.

He also faces the alternative charge of contravening Section 11 (a) (b) of the Public Health (COVID-19), Prevention, Containment and Treatment (National Lockdown Order, 2020.

Background
Jena was supposed to appear in court following his arrest on 2 April 2020, but failed to make it before the courts closed at 3pm on the same day. He was then released with summons to appear in court on 3 April 2020.

Farai Dziva|The Movement for Democratic Change has urged its supporters and Zimbabweans in general to disregard a statement purportedly written by Advocate Nelson Chamisa as his response to the Supreme Court ruling.

According to the party, Chamisa has not yet spoken about the Supreme Court ruling on the opposition party’s leadership dispute.

“Please ignore the statement by President Nelson Chamisa that is currently circulating on social media.

President Chamisa will issue his statement when in due course.that statement will be issued via our
normal channels,” the opposition party said in a brief statement.

MDC president Nelson Chamisa faces disciplinary action if he insists on disregarding the latest Supreme Court ruling that he was not the legitimate leader of the main opposition party, former secretary-general
Douglas Mwonzora has said:

Speaking in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent , Mwonzora said gone are the days when officials would violate the party’s rules with impunity.

He said:
The MDC is a party of rules. We respect and advocate for the rule of law and constitutionalism. We cannot accept lawlessness disguised as politics.

Gone are the days when people would break their own rules with impunity. If we fail to obey court rulings while we are in the opposition, what would happen if we are given state power?

So, if people fail to comply with the ruling, they will be taking a conscious risk and would be careless because the party will trigger its rules.

However, MDC deputy spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has dismissed Mwonzora’s threats, saying the ruling doesn’t mean anything to anyone.

Tamborinyoka added that the MDC will not be bound by a decision of a captured judiciary and in any case, the Thokozani Khupe and Chamisa-led MDCs held separate congresses and that settles the matter.-Zimbabwe Independent

Police have raided nearly 3 tonnes of vegetables from vendors at Sakubva market who were selling their produce after midnight defying calls by Government to stay at home.

Speaking to Diamond FM during disposal of the confiscated wares at City of Mutare waste dumpsite, Manicaland Police Spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said police have been deployed across the province to enforce compliance as part of efforts in the fight against Covid-19.

He also said over 300 vendors fled the market leaving their produce upon arrival of the police following tipoff from concerned citizens.

Meanwhile Inspector Kakohwa further emphasized the need for people to comply with the lockdown conditions, saying this will go a long way in fighting the novel coronavirus. 

-State Media

As part of the National Clean-Up Campaign, the ZRP, Harare City Council and Min of Health and Child Care have moved to sanitize areas in Mbare high density suburb using water canons commonly used to disperse protestors.

“As part of the National Clean-Up Campaign, the ZRP, Harare City Council and Min of Health & Child Care get ready to sanitize areas in Mbare high density suburb using ZRP 600 litre vehicles in 30 potential hotspots in the capital,” read a post on ZBC Twitter account.

More to follow…

LOCAL medical doctors have expressed concern over the low numbers of people being tested for the deadly coronavirus in the country as the United Nations (UN) yesterday warned that Africa could lose millions of lives to the novel virus in the next fortnight if developed countries fail to assist the continent.

The UN said the virus would remain a vicious circle in the world if developed countries fail to mobilise resources and urgently provide test kits, masks, ventilators and protective suits for health workers to avert loss of millions of lives in Africa.

Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) secretary Norman Matara yesterday appealed to the international community to intervene and save the country from a catastrophic attack from the virus considering its weak health system and struggling economy.

“We wish and pray that the international community intervenes to help (curb) the spread of the disease by providing us with test kits and other protective measures to help health workers in the fight against coronavirus,” Matara said.

“The number of people being tested in Zimbabwe is worrisome. They (authorities) should copy other countries like South Africa in increasing the numbers of people being tested and that is the only solution to know and control the spread of the virus.”

Matara added: “This coronavirus has come at a time we have a weak health system. The only effective measure in Zimbabwe is to combat the spread of the disease by employing lockdown measures, which is the only cheapest way of controlling the disease for us at the moment.

“The government has not been providing enough funding for our health and this is leaving us vulnerable and if we fail to contain this, we will be wiped.”

Zimbabwe has recorded one fatality from eight confirmed COVID-19 cases.
According to the Health ministry, about 233 people out of a population of 15 million have been tested since the country recorded its first case.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week imposed a 21-day national lockdown, which became effective on Monday as part of efforts to combat the spread of the virus, but observers said the measure would not be effective without adequately equipping public health facilities.

ZADHR, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have been challenging government to do more to combat a possible huge outbreak.

The human rights doctors said the country required a clear referral pathway, apart from back-up diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment and expertise to be able to tackle the deadly virus, which has collapsed the world economy since it was discovered in Wuhan, China last December.

About 6,6 million jobs are already at stake in the United States, the world’s economic giant, which has recorded over 200 000 cases, the highest in the world, and over 5 000 deaths.

Italy, the epicentre of the virus in Europe, has lost nearly 14 000 lives from around 115 000 infections, with Spain, another European country, recording as high as 10 000 deaths as the healthcare systems buckle under pressure.

Despite measures put in place by African governments to contain the spread of COVID-19, several countries on the continent have no capacity to roll out massive testing, risking a quick spreading of the deadly virus.

Africa has 5 786 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 196 deaths in 49 countries, with neighbouring South Africa, with over 1 300 confirmed cases, leading the pack.

South Africa has announced plans to dispatch about 10 000 field workers to roll out a mass screening programme for the coronavirus.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said he feared millions of people would die from coronavirus in Africa if the G20 countries, which hold 80% of the global economy, did not work together to pool resources for developing African countries.

“Africa is in urgent need of test kits, masks, ventilators, protective suits for health workers. We can still prevent the worst in Africa, but without a massive mobilisation, we will have millions and millions of people contaminated, which means millions of deaths,” Guterres said in a statement yesterday.

“Africa should be the priority of the international community as the continent does not have the resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the virus mutates, all the investment we are putting into vaccines will be for nothing because the virus will then travel from the south back to the north. So it is in the interest of countries in the north to help the south.”

Last week, World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Africa to brace for the worst, claiming statistics were too understated due to unavailability of testing kits.

“The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today,” he said.

Meanwhile, government and the United Nations have launched a US$715 million humanitarian response plan for 2020, which will see off the fight on effects of drought, Cyclone Idai and COVID-19, which has claimed thousands of lives globally.

The 2020 humanitarian response plan for Zimbabwe was launched yesterday, targeting 5,6 million people with food assistance and support in the areas of health, water-sanitation-hygiene, education, protection, nutrition, shelter and camp co-ordination and management.

The plan seeks to mobilise US$715 million from the international community.

In a statement, the UN said the humanitarian response plan would play a key role in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Police in Mutare early this morning confiscated more than a tonne of vegetables that were meant to supply hundreds of vendors at Sakubva vegetable market.

The vegetable market was closed down by council last week as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly Covid 19. Sakubva musika is the busiest market in Mutare where hundreds of people converge everyday risking infection. Acting on a tip off, police ambushed the farmers who had already set up their wares by 2am waiting for buyers.

Vegetables that were confiscated included tomatoes, cabbages, green vegetables, lemons among others. -Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Former MDC vice president Morgen Komichi has assured MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa that he will live to a ripe old age if he respects the party’s Constitution.

Komichi made the remarks in the wake of a Tuesday Supreme Court ruling which invalidated Chamisa’s MDC presidency.

Komichi, who was Chamisa’s chief election agent in the 2018 presidential election, guaranteed Chamisa that he has high chances of winning the MDC top post at the envisaged extraordinary congress as he is popular.

Said Komichi:

I call upon Honourable Nelson Chamisa to accept the court ruling and participate in the election processes.

He may actually win who knows. He is a popular guy why should he be afraid? He should actually shame the devil and he will live a long life if he respects the constitution and people will support him so much.”

However, some commentators posit that Komichi is bitter after Chamisa did not offer him protection at the 2019 congress which saw him losing his bid for one of the vice-presidential posts.

Other analysts are of the view that Komichi is unaware that he is being used by ZANU PF to destroy the MDC or at worst, his hands were greased by the ruling party to destroy the opposition.-OpenParly

Watch the live video loading below…..

By A Correspondent- Human Rights activist Pedzisayi Ruhanya has alleged that a senior MDC official was arrested in 2011 after raping a cleaner at a hotel in South Africa.

In a Twitter thread posted on Friday Ruhanya said:

“Magaliesburg is a town, 55km outside of Joburg. MDC held a retreat at Magalies Bush Lodge 2011. One of its rebels raped a cleaner who had come to prepare his room. Tsvangirai negotiated his release b4 he was deported. Hons Khupe, Bhebe have fine details.”

Ruhanya would not be drawn to mention the name of the accused person, leaving room for speculation. However, he gave a hint by adding that the said official has a litany of women abuse cases on his head.

“Surely raping a woman cleaner at a lodge and constitutionalism are not compatible. There is a litany of cases of abuse of women against this MDC rebel that he needs to spell out as he fights for constitutionalism in his party. The rule of law does not entail abuses.”

When asked why he kept the information for this long, Ruhanya said, “Got it this week from a colleague in South Africa.”

Douglas Mwonzora says his efforts to get in touch with Nelson Chamisa to discuss the Supreme Court judgement have been fruitless as the MDC Alliance leader has not been picking his calls.

Mwonzora said there are some MDC Alliance members who are trying to influence Chamisa not to accept the court ruling as they fear they will lose positions after the extraordinary congress that was ordered by the court.

“I have made phone calls to him but I have not been able to talk to him ever since the judgement came out.

“Previously I have been able to talk to him but now I have not been able to talk to him. He is not picking my calls,” Mwonzora said.

He added that he only got to know of Chamisa’s reaction to the judgement through social media posts.

“I have been however made to understand his thinking regarding this case through what he has posted on social media

“My understanding is that he is in agreement with what Professor Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti are saying, that we must defy the court order. That is wrong,” he said.

Chamisa wrote on Twitter on Wednesday saying politics is defined by numbers, not the courts.

“People are the Supreme Court of all politics! Thank you, Jesus, for all the good people around us,” he said.

Ali Naka, a political activist and Pan Africanist who is allegedly working with Rwanda’s government has claimed that Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo has been fired.

Naka does not divulge when and why Moyo was dismissed but the report comes amidst other reports claiming that a senior politician who is a medical doctor has tested positive for coronavirus.

He posted on Twitter and said:

Dear Zimbabweans! The military has effectively fired the Incompetent Minister of Health. He is now the fall guy. Those who appointed him have been asked to manage his Exit! 

The alleged development comes amidst accusations of incompetency which are being raised against the Minister.

Only recently, Moyo was replaced by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga as the chairperson of the Coronavirus Task Force with military personnel saying that he was useless and had lied about the country’s readiness for coronavirus.

More: Ali Naka

Edutainment group Bus Stop TV have produced another hilarious skit this time about the ravaging Coronavirus and government imposed lockdown.

Watch video downloading below:

Two Zimbabweans living in the United Kingdom reportedly died of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, yesterday.

Socialite and accountant Gardner Madzongo and health worker Sikhanyisiwe Kaziboni are said to have succumbed to COVID-19.

While Kaziboni’s details were still sketchy last night, a family friend confirmed her death. Efforts to get comment from her family in Zimbabwe were unsuccessful.

Sikhanyisiwe Kaziboni

Madzongo, who lived in Luton, reportedly died yesterday afternoon after battling for his life in the Intensive Care Unit at Luton and Danstable Hospital, according to his friends on social media.

Eshmael Mungazi, Madzongo’s best friend, posted on Facebook that he was “feeling heartbroken’’ by the death.

Madzongo, who lived in Luton for a long time, was reportedly taken ill last week after experiencing severe respiratory problems.

According to news wires, yesterday alone, 563 people died of coronavirus infections in the United Kingdom, bringing the number of deaths in the UK to 2 352.

The number of infected people in the UK has risen26 382 while 135 are said to have recovered.

https://twitter.com/Jamwanda2/status/1245711621462392832?s=19