MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says he has given up on dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa over disputed elections and the opposition party is changing tack in its efforts to force concessions from the ruling party.

Chamisa has consistently refused to recognise Mnangagwa’s 2018 poll victory, accusing the Zanu PF leader of rigging the polls with the help of the military.

On the other hand, the president refuses to hold talks with his main rival outside a platform he created with fringe political parties that took part in the controversial polls.

Chamisa said Mnangagwa stood to benefit from the proposed talks, but had spurned his overtures.

“Mnangagwa refused talks,” he said on Friday in Masvingo where he attended a memorial service for MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

“ I tried to bring him to the negotiating table.

“We all know every conflict ends with talking. “We wanted to give peace a chance.

“But we won’t reach the 2023 elections before the 2018 elections deadlock is sorted.

“We are very clear about what we are saying. “He won’t govern this country.”

Last year security forces crushed MDC protests across that country that were meant to force Mnangagwa to the negotiating table.

In January last year, the army was accused of killing over 17 people after protests erupted over a steep increase in the price of fuel.

Chamisa said by calling for dialogue, he was trying to help Mnangagwa stop the country from descending into chaos.

“I am trying to help him to stop the country from burning,” he said.

“We have nothing to lose. Zanu PF has everything — the farms, banks, big stomachs among others. If things come to a head, ED and Zanu PF will lose more.

“We are organising. He refused talks, what should I do with him? We are organising in whispers.”

Chamisa said his supporters must be prepared for “action”.

“We are delayed, but we will not be stopped,” he said. “Others say you should lead from the front. You do not teach me the struggle. I have been in it for too long.

“Revolutionary action is a creature of revolutionary moments.

“We will do anything at the right time, when the time comes and permits. The darkest hour is near dawn. We will get there.”

Chamisa said there was fear in the region that Zimbabwe’s situation was deteriorating.

“Well, generally there is a shared view that a burning Zimbabwe will set ablaze the entire region, there is fear that the situation has reached very dangerous levels and proportions and it has to be resolved,” he said in an interview in Bulawayo.

“What is not clear yet is how to resolve it, but we have given an alternative platform of dialogue because we have to give peace a chance. We have to give an amicable solution an opportunity.

“We believe that in all contestations, in all disputes, disagreements, dialogue becomes the natural entry point.”

Chamisa has refused to join Mnangagwa’s Political Actors Dialogue.

Chamisa insists on a neutral convener. The clergy have also spoken on the need for a broad-based dialogue involving a cross-section of stakeholders and not only political parties.  

The church once suggested that elections be shelved for a period of seven years to allow the country to heal and achieve a common goal.

“If we are to fight whether on the streets, on the ground, in the air, wherever, you have to come to some understanding as Zimbabweans.

“We share a country, a history, a future and we have a common identity as Zimbabwean people, so dialogue is not something that you can wish away,” Chamisa added, noting the 2018 election dispute should also be resolved.

“I know a lot of people have said that. That is what South Africa has also said about dialogue. “That has always been my insistence…You can’t have a 2023, or 2022 or any future election without resolving the disputed elections of the past because elections have been emptied of their meaning.

“They have become rituals. They are just on the calendar but have no significant value in transforming a nation. “

Meawhile, Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda dismissed speculation that there was friction between the MDC leader and the party’s chairperson Tabitha Khumalo.

“I need to deal with the rumours that seem to suggest that a president’s exercise of powers to appoint individuals to specific roles is or can be subjected to anything other than his own considerations of what is in the best interest of the party, the country and the world,” he said.

“There is no issue at all, the rumours are baseless and external.

“The sources of the rumours are external to the party and they have two objectives — the first one is to divide the party — since Zanu PF is at war.

“The second one is to try and control the president’s appointments through the abuse of the media.”

-Standard

United Kingdom-based constitutional law expert and political analyst Alex Magaisa has warned that the mealie meal coupon system set to be introduced by the government to control the allocation of the product is open to abuse by politically exposed persons (PEPs).

He describes the PEPs as business elites who are close to the ruling establishment and have access to the largesse that the state provides and take advantage of it for personal gain.

Writing on his blog, Big Saturday Read, Magaisa says:

… coupons are set to become a new tradable currency. Without a name or mark identifying a specific holder, roller meal coupons will be like bearer cheques or shares.

All you need with a bearer instrument is possession. Whoever possesses it is entitled to what the bearer instrument represents, be it shares or money and in this case, roller meal.

In short, a roller meal coupon is a form of money backed by the promise to pay roller meal, rather like it were a piece of paper money backed by gold.

Given the scarcity of roller meal, the maize meal coupon is set to become one of the most coveted currencies – far more valuable than the Zimbabwe dollar introduced last year.

Magaisa urged the government to come up with a way to prevent the negotiability of roller meal coupons so as to keep them out of the hands of the corrupt elite.

More: Big Saturday Read

Only the husband, Constantino was flown to China and is now healed.

WHAT SHOULD MARRY CHIWENGA DO NOW?

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https://youtu.be/ox3gZENNQlM

https://youtu.be/xEnxJEpAPuE

A Bulawayo man who feels trapped in an unhappy marriage made a claim which is too extraordinary to be explained when he accused his wife of conspiring with her church elders and tricking him into marrying her.

Benjamin Ncube said he made a mistake when he signed his life to Charlet Ncube after she allegedly connived with her church elders and arranged a wedding which was not even attended by their relatives.

A regretful Benjamin said what his wife and her church elders did to him was like kidnapping a drunk man from a bar and making him read to them aloud from the Bible.

“I do not agree with her claims that I’m her husband. What happened is that she organised a wedding with her church elders without my knowledge. On the day she bought me a suit and took me to her church where her elders pushed me to marry her. Our relatives were not even there. What they did to me is just like kidnapping a drunk man from a bar and making him to read aloud from the Bible,” lamented Benjamin.

He was responding to claims by his wife that for the 38 years they had been married he had been constantly verbally and physically abusing her. The claims were made at the Bulawayo Civil Court where she was seeking a protection order against him.

“Benjamin Ncube is my husband for 38 years. However, he is a very violent man as he always beats me up. He is also threatening to kill me and always insults me while accusing me of cheating on him. He chased me away from our matrimonial home and I am now staying with relatives. My life is not at peace. Despite the fact that he is abusing me, he is still my husband and I still love him,” said Charlet.

Turning to claims that she connived with her church elders and tricked her husband into marrying her, Charlet said: “It is not true that I forced him into the marriage. He is the one who came and told me that at his workplace they wanted a marriage certificate and that is when we arranged with one of our church pastors who was also a marriage officer to formalise our marriage.”

Meanwhile, Benjamin said their problems started after he caught his wife with another man in their matrimonial house.

“It is not true that I chased her away. She left on her own after I found her with another man in our house. After I caught her, she reported me to the police saying I had assaulted her. She said she cannot stay with me. This was despite the fact that when we got married, she had a daughter and I raised her until she got married,” responded Benjamin.

Charlet, who also accused her husband of cheating, insisted that she still loved him and wanted to come back to their matrimonial home.

When he was asked by the presiding magistrate Adelaide Mbeure, if he still loved his wife Benjamin said: “It’s almost two years since we separated and we can’t say we are still married when I do all things like cooking and washing on my own. I feel that I made a mistake by agreeing to marry her.”

For the purpose of keeping peace between the two estranged parties the magistrate ordered Benjamin not to verbally and physically abuse his wife or threaten her in any way.

The magistrate also advised him that if he was no longer interested in the marriage, he should file for divorce at the High Court.

— BMetro

Herald Says MDC Members Threw Teargas Into High Court Building, But LIVE Video Evidence Proves What?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) February 16, 2020

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

Hatidi kuti mapurisa edu ashandiswe zvisirizvo. Mupurisa is a badge of honour… Mupurisa apedza kundidira teargas, kumba haana sugar, bag of tea, underwear – @nelsonchamisa @DrNkuSibanda @mdczimbabwe pic.twitter.com/ll0uglxurv

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) February 16, 2020

PROMINENT Bulawayo businessman Ismail Moosa Lunat, who is accused of fuelling the forex black market, money laundering and externalisation of more than US$2,2 million, has approached the High Court challenging the lower court’s decision to deny him bail.  

Lunat (57) of Kumalo suburb was recently arrested by officials from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC). He was last week denied bail by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya who argued that he wanted the public to have faith and trust in the justice delivery system in the country.

Lunat is facing money laundering charges and was remanded in custody to February 28. He filed an application at the Bulawayo High Court challenging the lower court’s refusal to admit him to bail pending trial, citing the State as a respondent.

In his grounds of appeal, Lunat, through his lawyer Mr Nqobani Sithole of Ncube Attorneys, said the magistrate misused his discretion and misdirected himself when he dismissed his application.

“The learned presiding magistrate held against the appellant (Lunat) that the public will lack confidence in the justice delivery system when my client is admitted to bail. The mere fact that allegations have been raised does not justify his pre-trial incarceration,” said Mr Sithole.

He said there were no compelling and sufficient reasons warranting Lunat’s continued detention.

“While the court a quo was at liberty to, in the interests of justice, deny appellant bail for good and sufficient reasons at law, it is respectfully submitted that there are no good and sufficient reasons either arising from the facts or the law to deny appellant bail. Trite law holds that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent and impartial tribunal,” said Mr Sithole.

Lunat offered to pay $10 000 bail as well as continue to reside at his given address until the matter is finalised.  

In his bail application at the lower court, Lunat’s lawyer Mr Sithole sensationally claimed that ZACC was captured by a city businessman who externalised money. He accused the anti-graft body of tampering with evidence to protect the said businessman who had dealt with his client.  

Mr Sithole said Lunat is diabetic and had gone for days without taking his medication and his Muslim culture only allows him to eat particular foods.

He said there has been a deliberate ploy by ZACC to mutilate the record of transactions to remove transactions done by Mr Zacharia Patel of Toppers uniforms.  

“In any event, Zacharia controls these institutions. It becomes very interesting how a whole commission set up to deal with corruption will tamper with evidence. How are transactions to Patel missing when my client made over a million transactions? How can they not be indicated in ‘overwhelming evidence? We have evidence that Zacharia Patel externalised money, but Patel is able to muscle and arm twist these institutions. These institutions are captured. We want a court order so that we can table what we are talking about,” said Mr Sithole.

The State is yet to respond to Lunat’s application.

According to court papers, it was stated that at some point in December 2018, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe raised a red flag over Lunat’s use of his company bank account to engage in illicit transactions.  The court heard that the actual amount which was externalised amounts to US$2,2 million and not the $1,3 million that was initially presented by ZACC.

The State alleged that Lunat is one of the businesspeople who have been under scrutiny by the central bank for fuelling the foreign currency black market, a move which has contributed to the spiralling of rates on the parallel market.

FORMER MDC-T Vice President Obert Gutu says he believes the results of the 2023 elections are already clear, as one particular party will have a landslide victory.

“According to my humble prognosis, 2023 is already done and dusted. There’s NO contest, actually. Ask me later,” Gutu said, implying that Zanu-PF will have a crushing victory.

According to my humble prognosis, 2023 is already done and dusted.
There’s NO contest, actually.
Ask me later.

— Obert Gutu (@GutuObert) February 14, 2020

Gutu has apparently written off the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC as it continues to lose rural by-elections by increasingly shocking margins, while Zanu-PF is closing the gap in urban wards.

He proceeded to warn the MDC that its house was on fire and needed a mend, but worried that the hardcore Chamisa supporters were in denial about the true state of the opposition movement.

Said Gutu: “Denial mode is some form of psychosis. When your house is crumbling and/or burning, you don’t ululate and declare that you’re the BEST thing to happen on mother Earth! Instead, you should promptly save your house from crumbling and stop the raging fire!”

Last week, Chamisa expressed frustration with the voting process, warning that his party might boycott the 2023 elections if “the issues about the 2018 elections are not resolved.”

Observers say the Nelson Chamisa-led outfit has no clear structures in rural areas, where 71 percent of the voting population resides, according to World Bank data.

Chamisa has recently been holding rallies across the country, but strategically avoided going into deep rural areas amid speculations he fears the turnout would expose his lack of popularity in Zanu-PF strongholds.

In the past weeks, Chamisa has had rallies in Mutare urban, Gwanda urban, as well as met party structures in Masvingo urban, Gweru urban and Bulawayo urban.

Speaking Friday to hundreds of party supporters at Mucheke Hall in Masvingo where the party was celebrating two years since the death of founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Chamisa suggested his party may boycott the 2023 elections.

“Zanu PF should accept they rigged the 2018 harmonised elections. If they don’t accept that, we might not take part in the 2023 elections until the 2018 elections dispute is resolved,” he said.

He also ruled out any prospects of dialogue between his party and Zanu PF, and instead, called for unity among Zimbabweans to fight the Mnangagwa administration.

“We need hope in this country, Mnangagwa has no hope in the direction the country is taking. Tsvangirai left a legacy of love, he was a unifier and before he died, he told me to incorporate the likes of Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube back into the party for it to succeed.

“We will ensure we lead the people properly until we deliver real independence to the people. That is what I was taught by Tsvangirai,” he said.

Chamisa told his supporters that he was anointed by Tsvangirai to lead the party and he carries the vision of the party and expects the entire MDC leadership to be disciplined in following the vision of the party.

— Zimbabwe Voice

Matabeleland North Zanu-PF youth chairman Tamuka Nyoni escaped death by a whisker in Lupane after a fuming resident chased after him with an axe for allegedly having an affair with his wife.

Wife says it’s big!

A source said Lizwe Clinton Mpofu, a former police officer, stumbled on nudes of Tamuka and of his wife Virginia Moyo (36) on her phone.

As if that was not enough he also got shocked after he saw sexually explicit messages that the pair exchanged.

The message that seemed to have irked Mpofu was the one where his wife commented on Tamuka’s manhood.

“The two were in the habit of exchanging raunchy pictures. Through WhatsApp Tamuka sent Moyo an image of his manhood and she commented saying it’s big and that angered Mpofu,” said the source.

The source said the issue tormented Mpofu and he wanted to mete instant justice on Tamuka.

“He did not know him (Tamuka) so he inquired around and was told the guy who pokes his wife is a Zanu-PF youth chairperson. He was waiting for an opportunity to meet up with Tamuka and by coincidence he met him at a burial of a child of a fellow villager at King Lobengula township cemetery in Lupane,” said the source.

Speaking on condition of anonymity a resident said drama ensued after a vote of thanks.

“So it happened that when Monica Ngwenya who is a member of the Lupane Local Board was giving a vote of thanks she mentioned all the important people who were in attendance,” said the reliable source.

The source added: “Before she sat down we were shocked to see Mpofu manhandling Tamuka while wanting to axe him. He managed to break free and took to his heels. Mpofu followed in hot pursuit wielding an axe and vowing to finish him off.”

The resident said it was a scary sight that took the intervention of men who were in attendance that included Matshiya Ward 15 Councillor June Mpofu and Member of the House of Assembly for Lupane East Mbongeni Dube and other men who swiftly intervened and grabbed Mpofu.

“He was fuming, declaring that he wants to axe him. They grabbed him while others escorted the terrified Tamuka to his car and drove away.

“If it was not for the swift intervention of those men we could be talking of something bad because Mpofu was fuming while accusing Tamuka of bedding his wife,” said the source.

Contacted for a comment Tamuka said: “He wanted to kill me for something that I did not do. He wanted to tarnish my reputation; that is politics at play. I reported the matter to the police.”

Mpofu would not be drawn into commenting on the incident, choosing to say “I do not discuss my personal issues with the media,” before terminating the call.

Virginia said: “Yes, we were once in love sometime back and we broke up. Tell me who told you about that, if you tell me the person who told you I will disclose a lot of information,” she said and stuck to her words as this reporter refused to reveal his source.

MP Dube confirmed the incident: “What happened is very worrying because a person who wanted to axe Tamuka is someone who is well versed with the law and that unbecoming behaviour is not expected from him! It’s a sign of disrespect to the dead. People should not come to such sacred places while begrudging others because anything bad could happen.”

– Bulawayo24

Where just about everything is going nowhere very fast — as is the case in Zimbabwe — even a badly scripted drama series is not a bad idea.

There was that time when we were kept glued to the screen as VicePresident Constantino Chiwenga and his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, punched and clawed in public. As that was slipping into a yawn, some people pulled out a new one. Two boys, Lewis Matutu and Godfrey Tsenengamu, were hired to diss Kuda Tagwirei, Billy Rautenbach and Tafadzwa Musarara.

The three businessmen, according to the two former Zanu PF youth leaders, but as we have been hearing for years, are corrupt monopolists. A current term for that is “cartelists”. Billy, the youths said, is manipulating the blended fuel business, and almost all the oil into the country is passing through Tagwirei’s bedroom, while Musarara is playing funny games with grain imports and distribution.

We can’t let these greedy bastards continue bleeding us like that, the two youths concluded at two separate press conferences just under two weeks ago. It is said they are part of the Queen Bee syndicate that has captured politicians and the State.

The Zanu PF politburo wasted no time, sat and suspended Matutu and Tsenengamu, together with their boss, Pupurai Togarepi, for talking like they did. But just in case the plot might die too soon, Patrick Chinamasa, the party secretary for administration, gave an interview to The Herald last week. In trying to justify the action taken against the three, Chinamasa — typical of him and his cohorts — fibbed like his life would always depend on it.

Here is a summary of the lies. One, it’s never been Zanu PF policy to name and shame corrupt people in public. Well, he said it in quite a roundabout way, but that’s what he was saying. Two. naming and shaming other people was also bad because it was likely to scare those people and force them to flee into exile and leave the country without anyone to run business and employ people.

Three, naming and shaming corrupt people like what the small boys did was also going to discourage foreign investors.

Then, four, the two boys must not have named and shamed the three “perceived successful businessmen” in public but taken their case to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the police and the prosecutor general, but didn’t do that.

Well, it’s not clear what it is about Chinamasa that makes him keep bouncing back in Zanu PF, but maybe it’s because the circus can’t be a circus without a consistent clown. Remember those many years ago, after the Tsholotsho Declaration, when Chinamasa wept like a baby before ex-president Robert Mugabe for participating in a plot to grab power from the almighty leader. He didn’t mind what his wife and kids were going to think about a grown man like that growling and grovelling before another man. Then, in 2018, he got busy commissioning big rubbish bins to win votes, when he was not lying about how good bond notes were. Fortunately, he lost his parliamentary seat and couldn’t make it back into Cabinet.

Back to Chinamasa’s Zanu PF lies. It’s clearly not true that Zanu PF doesn’t have a naming and shaming policy. Wind back to 2017. Remember the military and the Lacoste faction justified the coup against Mugabe on the basis that they were targeting the criminals surrounding the then president. They identified these “criminals”, inter alia, as Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere, Patrick Zhuwao, Ignatius Chombo and Shadreck Mashayamombe.

They even took out heavy machine guns and blew up some of these named and shamed corrupt people’s residences.

Don’t say that was the work of the army and the army is not Zanu PF. The military is the fourth, and probably the consistently most useful wing of the ruling party. Call it the commissariat if you want. It strategises for the party or, as it were, a faction of the party. It mobilises resources, helps fix election results, cows the opposition and makes the kings in Zanu PF. That’s why, after taking out the tanks in 2017 and the coup was done, it got involved in choosing a new party leadership in which its former commander, Chiwenga, was made the first second secretary, whatever that says. That’s why quite a number of the generals were conscripted into the government after November 2017.

Put that aside and fast-forward to 2019. Matutu and other youths named and shamed a whole range of powerful Zanu PF members and their proxies in business as well as public entities, as corrupt. This they did direct from the Zanu PF headquarters. It’s not clear where Chinamasa was then, but no one from Zanu PF came out to tell people that it wasn’t the party’s policy to name and shame individuals in public.

Why now, then, are we being told that Zanu PF is not in the habit of naming and shaming people? The answer can be found here. The 2019 list authored by the youth league excluded two important names. That’s Rautenbach and Tagwirei. It didn’t matter as long as the list didn’t include those two. So, Zanu PF had a name and shame policy for as long as it didn’t include these two omnipotent individuals. The youths touched a raw nerve when they revised their list and involved the two. You will also remember that, last year, questions were asked why the youths had excluded Tagwirei, but the youths ducked the question.

So, forget Chinamasa’s gook about having no naming and shaming policy. What he was saying last week is that Zanu PF musn’t name and shame corrupt people who matter to very important people. If you do that, your fingers get burnt. And it’s not as though the two naughty boys didn’t know that. Their sponsors had warned them about what would happen to them the moment they started yapping about Rautenbach and Tagwirei. For the record, Tagwirei is that bloke who donated top-of-the-range cars to Chiwenga at a date yet to be established. And rumourmongers have in the past said Chiwenga has interests in Sakunda. If that were true, it would mean Chiwenga has interests in Zimbabwe’s foreign currency black market where Sakunda seems to be the big don. Its bank accounts were frozen by RBZ over this last year.

So, whoever sent Tsenengamu and Matutu seems to hate Chiwenga with a passion. That could be big business and its proxies with interests in the fuel sector.
That could also be Chiwenga’s political foes in the party. Or both.

It gets particularly bizarre when Chinamasa claims that naming and shaming corrupt people drives away direct foreign investment. For him, and a part of Zanu PF, exposing the corrupt habits of Rautenbach and Tagwirei will discourage outside investors. That’s self-defeating nonsense. One of the reasons why Zimbabwe is failing to attract meaningful investment is the pervasiveness of corruption. No sane investor would want to come into country where tenders are fixed out of habit, contracts can be cancelled any time for any or no reason, some commercial sectors are no-go areas, and people are punished for talking against corruption.

And it’s also awkward for him to say naming and shaming people will force those hoodlums flee the country. It was never going to worry us here, because corrupt people don’t bring any value to us. It does the opposite, taking away whatever little value was left. But why would Chinamasa and Zanu PF want to keep corrupt people? Because, as the cliché goes, corruption is to Zanu PF what water is to fish. That party quakes at the prospect of corrupt people running into exile because nothing would be left of Zanu PF in the short term.

The Standard

Bulawayo City Council will next month be forced to cancel the multi-million dollar Egodini Bus Terminus rehabilitation tender as it is highly unlikely that the contractor, Terracotta Trading Company would have completed the first phase as agreed, Sunday News can reveal.

South African company Terracota was awarded the tender for the project, touted as a game changer in the city, but has failed to develop the area within the set deadlines. 

The company was supposed to complete the first phase in November last year but failed and requested that the deadline be moved to the end of next month. 

However, with a few weeks before end of the second deadline, authorities in Bulawayo have indicated that they will be left with no option but to terminate the contract and restart the process of getting another contractor. 

The contractors started work in March 2018. Upon completion, the mall will have 50 shops, a bus terminus, commuter omnibus bays and modern informal trader bays with storage counters as well as taxi association offices.

“The first phase of the Egodini Project was meant to have been completed by November 2019 of which we all know that the contractor missed that deadline. They then requested that the deadline be extended until the end of the first quarter of 2020 and with what is on the ground, I do not see them meeting that deadline.

“As it stands we have a lot of pressure from our stakeholders regarding that very project, we are also under pressure from a town planning perspective in terms of our vendors and commuter omnibuses, therefore we will be forced to exercise our powers of terminating the contract if need be, of which we will be guided by the terms and conditions of the contract,” said Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube.

The project has experienced a number of false starts since Terracotta won the tender in September 2012. It was expected to gobble close to $60 million, with the company also awarded with a 99-year lease to the terminus. Mr Dube said  when the local authority sets  parameters for projects, there is a clear provision on the necessary steps that could be taken whenever a company fails to meet contractual obligations. Since the closure of Egodini, Bulawayo has experienced chaos in vending and commuter omnibus operations. Vendors who used to operate from Egodini have set base in the Central Business District blocking pavements and entrances to business premises. 

Most of them have also refused to be relocated to new bases outside the Central Business District, arguing that business was low in the periphery of the city centre. Commuter omnibuses which used to pick up passengers at the terminus are now picking and dropping them off in the city centre. 

The Egodini Project is not the only project which has fallen behind time in the city. Mr Dube said the local authority was also sweating over the US$150 million solid waste to energy project by Pragma Leaf Consulting Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd. 

The project was initiated through the support of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) in 2012. 

In May last year, the project developers said they were in the process of completing the front-end engineering design (FEED) study that will include acquisition of all required land and licensing, a process which was anticipated to be complete by the end of last year with construction commencing at the beginning of this year, and production of bio-fuels expected to follow thereafter. 

Mr Dube also revealed that the local authority was fast losing patience with the investor as they were already in breach of the  contract signed with the local authority.

“Same as Terracotta, there is nothing happening on the ground with Pragma Leaf, they just give us updates, claiming that they are still mobilising resources. As a local authority we are now becoming impatient as when you look at the contract and set timelines, Pragma Leaf is already in breach. We will soon be forced to sit down and review all these contracts so that we derive a way forward because it is the local authority that is found to be on the losing end,” he said.

According to Pragma Leaf, up to US$150 million was expected to be channelled into the project while more than 300 jobs were to be created at the plant and about 2 000 jobs downstream. In addition, a number of housing projects that were awarded to private companies have stalled in the city, drawing ire from beneficiaries. 

Some beneficiaries had paid in full for their residential stands. Affected areas include Mqabuko Heights, Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle Housing project, Pelandaba West and Beuna Vista.

Own Correspondent|EXILED former Zanu PF Politburo member, Jonathan Moyo, has confirmed that he is an MDC supporter with a right to support a candidate of his choice in an election.

In tweets he posted following media reports that he and other former Zanu PF G40 members, bankrolled MDC President Nelson Chamisa’s presidential election campaign in 2018, Moyo confirmed flighting some advertisements on behalf of the MDC – Alliance, but only as an ordinary party supporter.

See the Twitter posts below:

1/3 "G40 funded MDC-A election campaign" #Herald 14 Feb 2020

It's dead propaganda to say "the G40" funded MDC-A. Fact is @EdmundKudzayi, @PatrickZhuwao & me CREATED & FUNDED OUR SUPPORT for the MDC-A like this ad put in @DailyNewsZim & @NewsDayZimbabwe??!https://t.co/XOQFGGSjsl pic.twitter.com/q2lRTjsf40

— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) February 14, 2020

https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/1228280648756088834?s=19

3/3 Yet another example of the content we put together to support the #MDC-A & @nelsonchamisa against #ZanuPF & @edmnangagwa is the video ad below, that we did for airing on ZBC-TV. So we did not bankroll the MDC-A election campaign but we bankrolled our support for the MDC-A! pic.twitter.com/QOoH30F7wB

— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) February 14, 2020

State Media|THE Passenger Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ), an association representing the commuting public, is not impressed with the goings-on at the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) and is demanding action.

This comes in the wake of a spate of accidents involving the bus company, begging several questions. Is it about lack of training for the bus drivers? Or could it be lack of experience, negligence or long working hours? Or perhaps mechanical failure?

PAZ president Tafadzwa Goliati has called upon the public utility to put its house in order or risk losing the confidence of commuters.

“As PAZ, we have written many letters to a number of Government departments complaining about speeding by Zupco drivers. However, we did not get any response,” Goliati said.

He suggested that buses should have speed-regulating devices installed on them, something that has already been assented to by Zupco bosses.

“After a spate of road accidents involving public transporters, Rwanda restricted the speed of commuter buses. This has reduced the accident frequency rate by half. Zimbabwe should do the same, starting with Zupco,” added Goliati.

Goliati said Zupco must check on the fitness of its drivers before they embark on journeys.

“We have had instances in which some Zupco drivers are heard complaining about not being in good health. Passengers often complain that some of the drivers come to work visibly drunk or tired,” said Goliati.

According to PAZ, the majority of Zupco drivers are not adequately trained or experienced. However, Evaristo Madangwa, the Zupco chief executive officer, refuted the allegations.

Goliati also called on Zupco to urgently find ways of curbing alleged rampant ticketing scams, which he said were also affecting innocent passengers.

“Zupco must, as a matter of urgency, put in place mechanisms that will put an end to the ticket scams. Some passengers were arrested and fined after they were found in possession of used tickets. Our investigations revealed that the tickets had been issued by Zupco conductors,” Goliati said.

He, however, said some passengers were in the habit of keeping tickets and using them the next day.

“We also have criminal elements who are keeping tickets for re-use. But that too shows a weakness in the Zupco system. However, as an organisation which represents passengers, we are calling for our members to desist from such activities.”

In the first four months of 2019 alone, at least 100 Zupco conductors were fired for financial misconduct after Zupco resuscitated operations. But sources privy to developments at the company indicated that thenumber of employees fired for various misdemeanours has since risen to alarming levels.

“There has always been massive recruitment since Zupco resumed operations. However, a huge chunk of the hired workforce has since been fired for a number of reasons ranging from fraud, incompetence and negligence,” revealed one of the employees plying the Harare-Chitungwiza highway.

Staff identity fraud

The recent arrest of a Harare man who was allegedly manufacturing counterfeit Zupco staff identity cards for sale to fraudsters who would then use them to enjoy free rides should be a cause for concern for the public utility.

Farai Sangombe was arrested by a team of detectives working with the company’s loss control officers after a trap was set.

Zupco bus crews offer free rides to their colleagues and employees of other bus companies. Fraudsters are therefore taking advantage of this arrangement to defraud the bus company.

The fake identity cards were being sold for $80. It is unclear for how long the scam had run or the amount Zupco might have been prejudiced of.

Sangombe’s arrest came hard on the heels of the arrest of another man who was masquerading as a Zupco employee to defraud job seekers on the pretext that he could facilitate their employment at the company.

The fraudster was charging US$15 for the alleged services.

Ticket scams

Although the above fraudulent activities put a dent on Zupco, the news that the public utility dismissed scores of conductors for financial mismanagement did a lot of damage to its image.

Conductors are allegedly re-issuing tickets and then pocketing the proceeds of the ticket sales. Sources at Zupco confided in The Sunday Mail Society that the number of conductors that have been fired for financial mismanagement can go up to a thousand.

Basing on the huge number of conductors that were caught siphoning Zupco coffers, the company might have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And it appears Zupco is struggling to put an end to this looting.

“Almost on a weekly basis, conductors are being fired for re-using tickets and other fraudulent activities. This, in my view, means that the company has failed to put in place mechanisms that can stop conductors from dipping into the company coffers,” the source said.

After being caught on the wrong side of the law, some of the former conductors, among them a law student, were brought before the courts.

Their cases are still pending.

Road traffic accidents

A recent spate of tragic road accidents involving Zupco buses, which claimed the lives of eight passengers and left close to 90 others injured, once again put the public utility under the microscope.

In less than two weeks, buses belonging to the company were involved in serious road accidents in Kadoma, Kwekwe and Beatrice along the Harare-Masvingo highway.

One of the Zupco buses overturned at the 57-kilometre peg along the Harare–Masvingo highway, leaving 27 people injured.

Goliati called upon Zupco to have a re-look at its safety mechanisms. He stressed on the need to hire adequately trained and experienced drivers

He said Zupco should have its own driver-training school.

“Zupco should have its own training school, must strictly adhere to timetables and should not overload. The many accidents are a clear indication that something is definitely wrong somewhere,” Goliati said.

But Madangwa refuted claims that his company was hiring inexperienced drivers.

He, however, said the company was looking at ways of reducing the accident frequency rate.

“As we speak, we are in the process of installing speed limiting gadgets. As far as our recruitment policy is concerned, we only hire experienced drivers whom we are retraining so that they can catch up with the new equipment that we are acquiring,” Madangwa said.

On ticket scams, Madangwa encouraged the public to report any suspicious activities by Zupco employees.

At its peak, it operated more than 450 routes, with a fleet of 1 200 buses.

In its heyday, Zupco was the favourite mode of transport for both rual and urban commuters as it adhered to strict timetables.

It also had an effective, time-saving ticketing system. The de-regulation of the urban transport system marked the downfall of the company as it failed to compete with private buses and commuter omnibuses, resulting in the dwindling of its market share.

Government recently revived the Zupco system, which is expected to end the chaos, profiteering and tout menace within the local public transport sector.

Hard-pressed commuters are optimistic  that Zupco will return to its former glory and ease the strain on their pockets.

Own Correspondent|Zimbabwe has secured maize from Uganda after President Emmerson Mnangagwa engaged President Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of the recently ended 33rd Ordinary Summit of the African Union in Ethiopia.

A delegation led by Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri travelled to the East African country to thrash out modalities of importing the grain.

President Mnangagwa revealed this on Friday at State House in Bulawayo when he met civil society organisations from the Matabeleland region.

“Fortunately, three or four days ago when we were in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) I was sitting with other Heads of State and President Museveni of Uganda said to me, ‘President Mnangagwa, I understand you need maize in Zimbabwe, I have plenty of it, come and collect’. So, I stood up from where I was sitting and went to him and he told me he had surplus maize. Yesterday (Thursday) I sent Minister Shiri to arrange the procurement of grain from Uganda,” he said.

Maize from Uganda has been a topical issue as the quality of the maize has been queried throughout East Africa.

To preserve the maize, Ugandan farmers are still drying it the traditional way by spreading it on the ground for four or five days.

But drying maize on the ground has serious health consequences that have been condemned.

The process produces aflatoxins, substances that are produced by fungi and associated with an increased risk of liver cancer. Aflatoxin-producing fungi most often contaminate crops at harvest time and during storage.

Archileo Kaaya is a professor at Makerere University’s Food Technology, Nutrition, and Bio-engineering Department who has researched aflatoxins for more than 20 years. He says that about 40% of the maize grown in Uganda contains aflatoxins at levels that exceed East African Community standards. He explains, “It’s while on the ground that maize is contaminated by microorganisms [such as] bacteria, fungus, and worms, which poison it.”

Maize is Uganda’s third-largest agricultural product, after plantains and cassava. It’s also a major export. But now, high levels of aflatoxins are jeopardizing that. In October 2018, Kenya rejected 600,000 tonnes of maize from Uganda, worth about 180 billion Ugandan shillings ($48.5 million), because it was contaminated by aflatoxins at 40 parts per billion, according to the East African Grain Council. The maximum acceptable level is 10 parts per billion.

Pausta Clessy Nuwagaba is the programs officer for structured trading systems at the East African Grain Council. He says, “We understand that many of the farmers are not aware of aflatoxin.… However, campaigns encouraging them to adopt new ways of drying maize have been ongoing for years.”

While training small-scale farmers could reduce the problem, the larger issue, he says, is the country’s grain market. Mr. Nuwagaba says that maize of all different levels of quality and from all types of farms come together in the grain markets.

Watch video downloading below:

Farai Dziva|Morgan Tsvangirai’s legacy cannot not be taken away by anyone, MDC president Nelson Chamisa has said.

In a tweet Chamisa paid tribute to the late legendary MDC founding president.

“THANK YOU DR MRT OUR ICON.They will criticize us, attack us and even plot attempts on our lives but we are unstoppable.

We keep playing the song until final victory. We keep the fire burning!!”

State Media|THE Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) has scoffed at MDC-A leader Mr Nelson Chamisa’s claims that former South African President Thabo Mbeki was failing to communicate with President Mnangagwa to facilitate dialogue between the ruling Zanu-PF and his party.

Speaking at a press briefing in Bulawayo last week, Polad said Mr Chamisa was not the former president’s spokesperson.

The political grouping also said it would be meeting Mr Mbeki in the next two weeks as it continues its regional and international re-engagement drive.

Mr Chamisa told the Bulawayo Press Club earlier last week that Mr Mbeki had told him that President Mnangagwa was neither taking nor returning his calls.

Polad thematic sub-committee chairperson of international relations and re-engagement, Mr Kwanele Hlabangana, said they were not going to be distracted by the opposition leader’s misleading statements.

“I do not think President Mbeki suddenly has a new spokesperson in the form of Chamisa. As far as we are concerned, dialogue is moving smoothly actually. I can tell you that in the coming two weeks as Polad we will be meeting with President Mbeki, so I wonder what Chamisa is talking about,” he said.

“Further, we believe there is a misguided notion that dialogue is about individuals —that is (between) President Mnangagwa and Chamisa — which is not true. It is about political organisations . . .”

Mr Hlabangana also described allegations that Polad had already squandered US$5 million on international trips as “hot air”.

“As we engage, we will be meeting a number of stakeholders in the diplomatic community. Interestingly, I hear in the media that we are globetrotting and spending US$5 million, let me assure you that is hot air, we have not even taken a single trip outside Zimbabwe.

“The only engagements we have done so far were with the local diplomatic community here in Harare. So far we have met with the US ambassador, His Excellency Brian Nichols; we have met also with the British ambassador (Melanie Robinson), we have met with the EU ambassador (Timo Olkkonen) and we also had a discussion with UNDP,” he said.

Polad, he added, was not an extension of Government. “Polad is not there to rubber stamp everything being done by the Government, we raise our concerns, we make our recommendations, we urge Government to do certain things because the whole idea is to have Zimbabwe rejoin the family of nations.”

Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba on Friday also dismissed Mr Chamisa’s claims.

“I don’t know what he was referring to, he is not a member of the Mbeki house as far as I know or is he a member of the Mnangagwa household, so he wouldn’t know what goes on between the two of them.

“In reality, the two met briefly on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa and had a bit of a chat and I can assure you that the President of Zimbabwe, out of courtesy, updated the former president of South Africa on the developments in the country,” Mr Charamba said.

State Media|Preliminary work to assemble 300 Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) buses in partnership with Belarus has begun, with Government setting up a taskforce to superintend over the implementation of the project, expected to take off by mid-year.

The taskforce — made up of the ministries of Local Government and Public Works; Finance and Economic Development; Zupco and AVM Africa — has already come up with a roadmap for the project.

Design specifications of the buses have since been sent to the Eastern European country to determine the cost of the knocked-down kits.

Also, a team of local engineers is set to begin training to ensure that they have the requisite skills to assemble the coaches.

Secretary for Local Government and Public Works Mr Zvinechimwe Churu said the project will begin in earnest once the team gets feedback from Belarus.

“The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, has engaged the key entities in Belarus and to that effect, specifications of the required buses have been submitted,” he said.

“The ministry now awaits the Belarus entities to come up with costing schedules to enable the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to kick-start works.

“In line with the workplan agreed between the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and the Belarus entities, the assembling will commence by the third quarter of the year.

“Prior to that, training sessions will be conducted for Zimbabwean engineers to enable them to properly assemble the 300 buses that will be assembled locally.”

AVM Africa (Pvt) Ltd managing director Mr Jacob Kupa, who is also part of the taskforce, said there was a clear roadmap to consummate the project.

“As a taskforce, we have a roadmap for assembling the buses and we are working on that. At the moment that is all I can tell you,” he said.

The semi-finished buses are part the 500 coaches secured through a deal struck between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Belarusian counterpart, President Alexander Lukashenko, in January last year.

The decision to assemble the buses locally was informed by the need for fit-for-purpose vehicles capable of plying the local terrain, especially in rural areas where most of the roads are not tarred.

Commuters on the affected routes have had to contend with high transport fares charged by private operators.

However, in addition to creating employment, locally assembling the 300 buses is also expected to have a multiplier effect on the economy since about 40 percent of the materials used in manufacturing the coaches would also be sourced from the local market.

Zupco presently operates more than 272 buses, some of which are sourced from private sector players using its franchise.

A new fleet for the parastatal is progressively being procured from China, South Africa and Belarus.

Government’s targeted intervention through providing subsidised transport is meant to insulate commuters from extortionate fares charged by private transport operators.

Negotiations are also underway with Chinese manufacturers to set up bus assembling plants locally after Government recently procured buses from the Asian country.

Under the deal, Belarus received 10 000 hectares of land for agricultural production in Zimbabwe. The agro-industrial holding run by the Office of Belarus President will begin large-scale production of meat and dairy products in Zimbabwe.

ZimEye this morning engages Emmerson Mnangagwa and his administration to hear what authority he used to sell of land as big as the city of Mutare to Belarus in exchange for 300 Zupco buses.

News readers allege that of these 300 following several accidents, only 50 are still operating barely a year later.

Does Mnangagwa Have Authority To Sell The Whole Of Mutare Land Size To Belarus In Exchange For 300 Zupco Buses. @Jamwanda2 @nickmangwana ? @InfoMinZW pic.twitter.com/P0H4i6ywko

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) February 16, 2020

This engagement is set to last more than one day – REFRESH THIS PAGE FOR THE UPDATES…Also watch our earlier program below…

Hey, there is no land that has been sold Simba. All Agricultural Land in Zimbabwe belongs to the State

— Nick Mangwana (@nickmangwana) February 16, 2020

https://www.facebook.com/ZimEye/ZimEye/videos/691794561224521/

Zanu Pf gave Belarus 10k hectares of land (the size of Mutare) in exchange for 300 ZUPCO buses in a secret deal last September. Of the 300 buses bought by ED, how many do you think are still around?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) February 15, 2020

South African opposition EFF leader Julius Malema believes that although former president Jacob Zuma must bring himself before a court of law on the charges he faces, he is too old to go to jail.

Speaking at the Cape Town Press Club on Friday, Malema, who was seen as a thorn on Zuma’s side in his last few years as head of state, said he didn’t necessarily believe the former leader should be jailed.

“If there are charges against him, he must go to court and answer to those charges,” said Malema.

Zuma faces 16 trumped up charges of fraud, money laundering, corruption and racketeering linked to 783 payments that French arms company Thales allegedly made to him in connection with the infamous arms deal in 1999. 

“Jail time for an old person like that [referring Zuma] is not suitable. What kind of society have we become to jail such old people?” Malema asked.

On February 4, a biased KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge Dhaya Pillay acceded to a request from the State to issue an arrest warrant for Zuma over his non-attendance at his corruption trial.

“The purpose of jail is correctional, we correct you and send you back to society. What about Zuma is going to be corrected because he is an old man?” Malema asked, suggesting a different punishment might be more fitting.

During Zuma’s presidency, EFF MPs, including Malema himself, consistently challenged the former president in Parliament, calling for him to pay back money from his Nkandla homestead security upgrades and for him to be jailed for corruption.

-Online

Leader of the main opposition party, Nelson Chamisa claims he did not grab power in the MDC but stepped in after a vacuum was created following Dr Thokozani Khupe’s six-month absence from party meetings.

Speaking at the Bulawayo Media Centre Tuesday, the MDC leader said it was “lies” that he grabbed power from Dr Khupe, as she had ditched the party, and was not attending meetings after a rift developed between her and Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai, the party`s founding leader died on February 14, 2018.

“People always lie that Chamisa grabbed power when Tsvangirai died, no! Nature has a vacuum, we could not allow a vacuum to be there because there was supposed to be a leader who was going to act during Tsvangirai’s funeral,” he claimed.

Chamisa said the MDC leadership set to decide what to do at a meeting where Dr Khupe was invited to attend but did not come.

“She didn’t come because she actually had not been coming six months prior, as they had a big issue with Tsvangirai,” he alleged.

Asked to clarify what those issues Tsvangirai and Dr Khupe had, Chamisa said, “Ah it was a lot of issues. Khupe was not happy with the alliance (with other political parties ahead of the 2018 elections) so we tried, and it’s common cause, to adjudicate between Khupe and Tsvangirai. We said ‘Please Khupe come.’ Khupe said ‘I will never come to Tsvangirai’s house, we need a neutral venue, Tsvangirai said mhhh, it’s ok.”

Chamisa claimed he initially refused to be at the helm of the MDC when Tsvangirai suggested he wanted him to be the acting leader.

“When Tsvangirai said ‘Please Chamisa you must act, I said look, please, I don’t want to die early, let Khupe act. I am still young. I only had to act because there was a vacuum and we couldn’t be an embarrassment in front of international diplomats, showing a party that is disorganised,” he indicated.

The MDC leader said he was chosen after a vote by the party’s national council.

“This was a routine national council meeting, not convened for dealing with purposes of Tsvangirai’s death but just coincided with his death. We wanted to deal with other issues around (Elias) Mudzuri and myself,” he narrated.

Chamisa said he had to clarify his position so that people know he did not grab power.

“Bulawayo you are every lucky today, you found me off my guard, and I am saying these issues openly, which is very important,” he said.

The MDC leader said he had tried to engage with Khupe numerous times, even to the extent of reaching out to Khupe’s religious leader from the Roman Catholic Church.

He highlighted it would be more difficult to reach out to her now, seeing the “proximity” that had been established between Khupe and President Emmerson Mnangagwa
“It is so difficult, especially now I see that ED has stolen my sister. She’s spending more time with ED and I am worried about that, I am genuinely worried. We come a long way with Thokozani but when I see the proximity, that is something worrisome to me.

“The last time I saw them at the farm (Mnangagwa’s farm at Kwekwe), my heart ached. I wish I could invite Thoko, to my rural home, I don’t have a farm but I wish I could do the same,” Chamisa said.

He noted it would be good for his party to work with Khupe “because to add is to strengthen and to subtract is to weaken and there’s no individual who is less important so I will continue to reach out, hopefully, she still believes there is going to be rapprochement and I hope that it works.”

Reached for comment, Khupe’s spokesperson, Khaliphani Pugeni, rubbished these claims and said Chamisa flouted the then MDC-T constitution.

“For starters, MDC-T has a constitution, which is regulated and is not about someone becoming one’s favourite person to take after in a succession and the process Chamisa is speaking is not how it is in the constitution. These matters were exhausted in court, were the Bulawayo and Harare high courts made judgments that Dr Khupe is standing on strong legal footing whereas the other is standing on mobocracy,” Pugeni said.

He refuted Khupe had boycotted going to Tsvangirai’s house, meetings and added she was one who even brought his corpse to Zimbabwe from South Africa.

“If Dr Khupe was in foul of constitutional provisions by not attending meetings, the party could have acted but up to today, the party didn’t act until he usurped power through violence and now has come up with all excuses. The only meetings, she could not attend were those called by Chamisa or Mudzuri as they were unconstitutional but any constitutional meeting called by Tsvangirai, she attended.”

Pugeni said Chamisa reached out once to Khupe where “he made demands to say she was going to do as he says or he will unleash his boys on her. Dr Khupe was then hunted like a wild animal, not only physically but also in a violent social media campaign. She was put into groups she did not want to receive messages. I don’t think anyone at this time can be fooled by Chamisa’s claims.”

-Byo 24

LECTURER at the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) told a first-year student that she would fail her course if she refused his sexual advances, while he also tried to turn her into his “pimp”, as he asked her to scout for female students for him and fellow lecturers to prey on.

Mr Gerald Kwinjo, a lecturer in the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department, was found guilty of sexual misconduct after a disciplinary hearing constituted by the institution.

Mr Kwinjo was accused of “making unwelcome sexual advances or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work or academic performance, undermine job security or creating an intimidating, hostile, abusive or offensive learning environment.”

Mr Kwinjo’s alleged victim is a first-year student (name supplied) studying towards a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical and Process Systems Engineering.

According to the aggrieved student, represented by Dube-Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners at the hearing, Mr Kwinjo got her phone number against her will and went on to pester her for sexual favours.

“On several occasions, Mr Kwinjo requested our client’s cellphone number and she persistently refused to give him until she felt threatened and pressurised to give him.

On several dates, the lecturer proposed to our client that the two of them go swimming and beer drinking as well as dates, invitations which she refused, thus inviting anger and scorn from him,” read part of the allegations made against Mr Kwinjo.

In WhatsApp chats that Sunday News is in possession of, Mr Kwinjo repeatedly asked his victim to come for beer drinking sessions and went to the extent of requesting that she abandons school work so she can be with him.

According to the victim’s lawyers, such incidents had led to a breakdown in the relationship between lecturer and student, leading to Mr Kwinjo’s threat that he would fail her on the courses she was taking.

“Mr Kwinjo went to the extent of instructing our client to find girls on his behalf and on behalf of other lecturers who are his friends, thus attempting to turn our client into a sexual pimp.

Recently, Mr Kwinjo advised our client that because she refused to co-operate, he would fail her in the course he teaches (Drawing).

Despite the fact that she had been passing all her coursework, she was thus failed because she refused his sexual advances, refused to act as his pimp and refused to go on drinking sprees with him.”

In an emailed response to the Sunday News, the Harare Institute of Technology confirmed that Mr Kwinjo had been found guilty, although the institution’s director of communications and international relations Mr Tinashe Mutema was non-committal about the punishment that had been handed to Mr Kwinjo. 

His victim’s lawyers had expressed fears that should he be given a slap on the wrist he would go on to revenge and victimise her again as she was still only in her first year.

“This note confirms that the accused was found guilty of breaching the Harare Institute of Technology Code of Conduct when he was charged with making unwelcome sexual advances or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work or academic performance, undermining job security or creating an intimidating, hostile, abusive or offensive learning environment. The decision of the disciplinary committee has been formally communicated to the accused.

The university has advised the complainant to report the case to the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

That the Harare Institute of Technology hauled Mr Kwinjo to a disciplinary hearing process is testimony that the university strongly abhors sexual harassment.”

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) are presently constituting and resourcing units expected to lead efforts of recovering money and properties acquired through corruption.

Asset forfeiture is designed to disincentivise corruption by making it unprofitable.

In an interview, Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi said the NPA had made headway in implementing a comprehensive strategy for asset recovery.

“There is plenty of effort being made now by Zimbabwe on assets forfeiture. NPA has just finished organising the Assets Forfeiture Unit. It is a joint effort with other departments. The same training has been passed onto SACU (Special Anti-Corruption Unit) and other departments like ZACC. Already assets running into millions of dollars are in the process of being recovered,” he said.

“In addition, there is a new Act which is coming into place very soon that will also allow even civil proceedings for confiscation of assets.”

Separately, ZACC Commissioner John Makamure said law enforcement agencies are currently tracking 14 cases to recover millions of dollars from proceeds of crime.

He said two other asset forfeiture applications had been referred to the NPA and filed at the High Court.

“Section 27A (4) of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act [9:24] as amended provides that the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the NPA shall work in cooperation with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Financial Intelligence Unit and other investigative agencies for the purposes of facilitating identification, tracing, freezing and confiscation of property.

“This provision gives mandate to facilitate identification, tracing, freezing and confiscation of property believed to have been acquired through proceeds of crime.

“The unit is currently seized with 14 cases under asset tracing investigations. These run into millions of US dollars.”

Commissioner Makamure said ZACC had provided its officers with international training to sharpen their skills in asset recovery.

“Upon assuming office, the current commission resolved to restructure the Asset Recovery Unit after three benchmarking visits were made to the Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Botswana Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes and Tanzania Anti-corruption Agency.

“The unit now comprises four lawyers and several investigators. It will be further strengthened this year through the recruitment of more staff and implementation of training programmes.

“The Asset Recovery Unit conducts asset tracing investigations, apply for warrants of seizures and freezing orders and then draft asset forfeiture applications for referral to the National Prosecuting Authority.”

He said the corruption-fighting body believes that once the ill-gotten wealth has been recovered it had to be directed to “productive expenditure” such as infrastructure development and social services delivery. In addition, ZACC has partnered local and international agencies involved in asset tracking and recovery, Commissioner Makamure said.

SACU head Mr Tabani Mpofu said: “The assets forfeiture unit is something that we are currently working on and is dependent upon inter-departmental cooperation between the NPA, ZACC, the Attorney-Generals’ Office and SACU.

“We are sharpening the teeth and widening the net to ensure that we recover ill-gotten gains from those convicted of crime.”

Last month, the PG’s Office approached the High Court seeking an order to seize a residential stand and vehicles belonging to a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official, Desberia Mutara, who was employed as a revenue officer at Beitbridge Border Post.

In other countries, assets forfeiture has become a major deterrent to high-profile crimes.

Last year, South Africa’s NPA said it had recovered R11,8 billion from the proceeds of corruption.

-State media

By Jane Mlambo| Trailblazing whizkid Maud Chifamba has passed her last examination to be a Chartered Accountant at the age of 22.

Chifamba who made headlines in 2012 after enrolling at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) at the age of 14, made history once again when at the age of 18, she walked across the stage in a cap and gown to receive a Bachelor’s of Accountancy Honors degree, becoming the youngest graduate in the university’s 63-year history.

Posting on Twitter yesterday, Chifamba said;

And as of today, she passed the final qualifying exam to be a CA(Z). She is 22 now.

On God, i have no words.

Maud Chifamba (CA)Z

Loading! What a journey it has been. @tumai_mafunga

THE Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) has scoffed at MDC-A leader Mr Nelson Chamisa’s claims that former South African President Thabo Mbeki was failing to communicate with President Mnangagwa to facilitate dialogue between the ruling Zanu-PF and his party.

Speaking at a press briefing in Bulawayo last week, Polad said Mr Chamisa was not the former president’s spokesperson.

The political grouping also said it would be meeting Mr Mbeki in the next two weeks as it continues its regional and international re-engagement drive.

Mr Chamisa told the Bulawayo Press Club earlier last week that Mr Mbeki had told him that President Mnangagwa was neither taking nor returning his calls.

Polad thematic sub-committee chairperson of international relations and re-engagement, Mr Kwanele Hlabangana, said they were not going to be distracted by the opposition leader’s misleading statements.

“I do not think President Mbeki suddenly has a new spokesperson in the form of Chamisa. As far as we are concerned, dialogue is moving smoothly actually. I can tell you that in the coming two weeks as Polad we will be meeting with President Mbeki, so I wonder what Chamisa is talking about,” he said.

“Further, we believe there is a misguided notion that dialogue is about individuals —that is (between) President Mnangagwa and Chamisa — which is not true. It is about political organisations . . .”

Mr Hlabangana also described allegations that Polad had already squandered US$5 million on international trips as “hot air”.

“As we engage, we will be meeting a number of stakeholders in the diplomatic community. Interestingly, I hear in the media that we are globetrotting and spending US$5 million, let me assure you that is hot air, we have not even taken a single trip outside Zimbabwe.

“The only engagements we have done so far were with the local diplomatic community here in Harare. So far we have met with the US ambassador, His Excellency Brian Nichols; we have met also with the British ambassador (Melanie Robinson), we have met with the EU ambassador (Timo Olkkonen) and we also had a discussion with UNDP,” he said.

Polad, he added, was not an extension of Government. “Polad is not there to rubber stamp everything being done by the Government, we raise our concerns, we make our recommendations, we urge Government to do certain things because the whole idea is to have Zimbabwe rejoin the family of nations.”

Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba on Friday also dismissed Mr Chamisa’s claims.

“I don’t know what he was referring to, he is not a member of the Mbeki house as far as I know or is he a member of the Mnangagwa household, so he wouldn’t know what goes on between the two of them.

“In reality, the two met briefly on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa and had a bit of a chat and I can assure you that the President of Zimbabwe, out of courtesy, updated the former president of South Africa on the developments in the country,” Mr Charamba said.

-State media

Farai Dziva|Controversial Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has sparked social media war after describing the late legendary MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a “sellout who reversed the gains of the liberation struggle.”

Mutodi stunned all and sundry when he claimed in a tweet on Saturday “Tsvangirai invited sanctions.”

The late MDC leader is regarded by many as a doyen of democracy and a veteran of the struggle for democratic change.

“As we reflect on the life of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, we believe he was a sell-out who fought to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle. For inviting sanctions, we view him as really a sell-out and a coward who believed whites are a better race than blacks,”claimed Mutodi.

Mutodi’ s remarks have attracted the wrath of hundreds of social media users who described the former rhumba musician as a man who has gone out of his way in a desperate bid to please his handlers.

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said everyone should play a role in fixing the country’s socio-economic woes.

Chamisa made the remarks at the Morgan Tsvangirai Anniversary in Masvingo on Friday.

Read Chamisa’s full speech below :
…Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

You don’t debate about solidarity; we must go together, fight together, we weep together and we enjoy together. So now Mai Sikhala we want to thank you. Some of you do not know that for the struggle to move there are heroes, thank you very much. I thank you all, these are the people who when there are problems they are there. I saw them where the police were.

Excuse me our Secretary-General and all the leadership assembled here, the chair of the women and the youth.

I was once a youth.

We said this is not Valentine’s Day it is Morgan Tsvangirai Day.

The second thing we are gathered here; we are gathered here because one of our heroes had been arrested… another one will be appearing in court on the 28th of February.

When you arrest one of us you have arrested all of us.
So we have come here for this party is now large.

There is no party which is greater, larger than this one the whole of the African continent. It is a fact that the MDC has 28 out of 30 mayors in the whole of Zimbabwe. It is a fact that this party was voted in by more than 2.6 million people.

Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.
I said for people to do what they should do they do it according to the right timing.

When I came here I found the police waiting and some of my people told me president if your go through this way you will be teargassed so I passed through the middle of them.

We will not allow police to be used for wrong things, a police officer has a badge of honour. That is why you see the police, their badge it says for the law, for the people, and for the country, so the police must not be used to assault us. Our people after throwing targas at me they don’t have a bag of tea, after throwing teargas at me they don’t even have an underwear to wear. After throwing targas at me, their shoe is still opened wide.
Mr Sikhala I saw your zvidobi. They are zvidobis of the struggle. Aaah Maiguru, are these the dobis you are getting at home? LAUGHTER.

The first thing is love the second thing is hope the third thing is sacrifice.

This is the life of Morgan Tsvangirai.
Everywhere I go people are saying Nelson Chamisa Morgan Tsvangirai left you directions to the way.
I will not be misled.
Mnangagwa does not have a clue. Chiwenga has no clue.

Today (Friday) as we speak Morgan Tsvangirai talked about hope, he said no matter how difficult life becomes you should remain holding onto hope you will get there.

We will get there we will get there when we get there.

Tsvangirai represented sacrifuce. He used to eat bans and cream soda. He was a basic man. That is what I said no matter how broke we are we must never compromise the struggle.

Our only gift to the people is to lead them and deliver the struggle. Real love is to represent the people and to do what they want.

Yes, we will correct the problems of Masvingo party leadership. We want to ensure we get 26 out of 26 not what we saw in Mwenezi(sic).

Can ZANU win over here?
Tsvangirai was a man of love and unity he told me to unite with Biti and Welshman. The vision has got nothing to do with too many people a vision is with one person.

So to all those who follow when I say jump you must jump when I say run you must run. That is why you see soldiers are told to march left right left right.

We said that this year we have 5 critical zones:
Number 1 – the fight we have is that there must be a people’s government not this one of the constitutional court not this one of Emmerson Mnangagwa.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

Mnangagwa tells people that they must eat potatoes and vegetables while he himself is feasting on meat while he is on a private jet.

Number 2 – We are fighting for a people’s budget not the kind of life that we are seeing when people cannot afford basics we want our dignity returned to the people.

Number 3 – We want to address the problem of corruption. We are missing $3bln. Who is responsible Mr Biti?

Biti replies: it is Mnangagwa!
I said those people I will tell you myself.

They know what we are doing.
The 4th thing – is the one that we have come here such as this one of Sikhala. We are struggling with this issue of Mashurugwi. We must not call them that. They are Mnangagwa’# people.
Number 5 – is the issue of the constitution Emmerson Mnangagwa is messing with the constitution; he is now possessed with the demons of Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe changed this 19 times, Mnangagwa wants to change it 27 times in one year.

So what is the way forward the way forward is for you and me where you are, looking at me, let us fix our country there is no one else with powers more than you as an individual, everyone let us fix the country we don’t want to get to May, June while we are in this problem, we can fix it. Until when will we drink from boreholes? While we use generators?

What kind of a country is that in which: school fees rtgs; a whole government forming a committee of roller meal! A whole government setting up a committee for mealie meal.

If you give us this thing we will not take a day before you start enjoying the country and getting suffocated with goodness.

I told Emmerson Mnangagwa why don’t we use the United States dollars while we fix the country?

give the soldiers the US dollar give the police officers the US dollars so that people can survive, why do you want the people to live on rtgs dollars?
Let us not insult others. MDC let us be full of love.
My last words that I leave you the people of this province that one has been on this issue of dialogue.

I told him I am ready to talk, I had been sent by our council. We want to give peace a chance and so I told Emmerson Mnangagwa let us agree, you stole the elections we are not going to go ahead to 2023 before we are clear that you stole the elections.

There will be no elections in this country until we resolve this issue. The elections must be respected. This year we have a right to fix the country all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us.

Emmerson Mnangagwa will not be able to run this country- he is refusing dialogue.

And now he is busy saying Nelson Chamisa is the problem. I am advising him that this country is burning. I am saying to him hear me so that we can fix this country before it is too late.

By A Correspondent- Fast food outlet Chicken Inn, a part of Simbisa Brands, has been accused of selling rotten chicken and exposing customers to serious health risk. 

Renowned playwright Raisedon Baye took to Twitter on Valentines’ Day to register his displeasure over the Chicken Inn products.

“Chicken Inn should stop selling meat that has gone bad. No matter how you burn the meat with oil meat that’s gone bad will always be meat that gone bad. People’s health must not be sacrificed on the altar of profits. Never!,” complained Baye. 

“Some of used to trust Chicken Inn.”

Journalist Mthulisi Mathuthu, commenting on Baye’s tweet, said Chicken Inn has a history of serving bad food. 

They still do that. I noticed that in 2001 and confronted them! Wrote a story too,” he said. 

Taf Masiye, tagging Simbisa Brands, said his family was also affected by Chicken Inn food.  

“@SimbisaBrands come here! I was on a trip to Zim recently and my whole family ate poisonous food from the chicken in across from Holiday Inn Harare. We couldn’t even attend the wedding we traveled for because of food poisoning. 5 days of illness and a ruined holiday!!,” he said. 

Baye said the bad service had become a daily occurrence. 

“This is happening every day and people keep quiet. The health of consumers is no longer important,” he said. 

Simbisa Brands appeared to ignore the complaints only for Chicken Inn FC, sponsored by the company to offer an apology. 

On behalf of our parent company we apologise sir. We know our parent company tries it’s best to always put its best foot forward.  We know you have come to watch us play before. Kindly get in touch tomorrow we will replace your meal,” said the team.

Reasons why Simbisa did not respond to the allegations could not be established at the time of writing.

 By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Republic Police has released the names of the Kwekwe accident victims, with the death toll having risen from 7 to 9.

In a statement on Friday, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the deceased’s next of kin had been informed.

The names of the deceased are as follows:

Lovemore Chininga (23), Pauline Nyamadzao (19), Molina Moyo (58), Urgent Zvidza (50), Nothabo Makoni (two-month-old), Maria Nyoni (50) and Nyasha Paso (38).

Ass. Insp Nyathi also revealed that two bodies were yet to be identified and are being held at Kwekwe General Hospital mortuary.

He invited members of the public to approach the institution and assist with the identification.

The accident occurred on Monday this week when a ZUPCO bus was hit by a Honda Fit and ploughed into two kombis that were parked by the roadside.-statemedia

By A Correspondent- The Honda fit belonging to a Harare man, who was reported missing on Monday, but whose body was discovered in Avonlea is still missing, police have revealed.

The driver, Claudius Nyanga, who was reportedly grisly murdered and his body was thrown in a trench near a maize field in Avonlea was taxi driver on the Vaya platform.

He went missing around 8pm on Monday while he was on his way to fetch his client in Msasa Park but his body was found close to his neighbourhood late on Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday there had been reports that his Honda Fit (AEJ5112) had been spotted in Epworth and crime experts suspect that the murderers either reside there or frequent the area.

While the Honda Fit had a tracking device, it failed to work at the crucial moment when the deceased’s client, who was waiting, contacted the family to check on his whereabouts.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Zimbabwe Republic Police said:

“A taxi driver who went missing on 10/2/20 was found dead in a shallow well on 12/2/20 in Emerald Hill, Harare. His hands were tied with shoes laces & he had injuries on the right side of his head. The light green Honda Fit vehicle, registration number AEJ-5112 is still missing. The case is being investigated.”

Nyanga’s son, Alfred, told H-Metro that the family was alarmed of their father’s disappearance after his client told them that he had not arrived to pick him up.

“This client is like family to us and baba vanogara vachimutakura saka ndiye akatozofona kuti mdhara havasati vasvika then we started calling him but number yavo yairamba until the next morning when we reported the case ku police.

“We looked for my father everywhere kuma hospitals, mortuary muma streets even pama shops but hatina kuvawana until hanzvadzi yamhamha found leads on baba’s disappearance kuGreencroft. I was heartbroken seeing my old man in a terrible state dumbu ranga rava kutozvimba mudhara looked so lifeless ndakarwadziwa ndanga ndisati ndamboona baba vakaita seizvozvo,” narrated Alfred.

Claudius’ second son Tendai told H-Metro that he was very saddened by his father’s death and he was aggrieved by the vehicle tracking system that failed to help them locate their father’s car.

“I’m really hurt nemafiro ababa, ndiri kubatikana ne Econet. We paid for the car tracker but haina kuti batsira they kept telling to us kuti their server was down

“Zvinorwadza kuti we paid for the tracker when the car was registered for VAYA asi hazvina kubatsira,” he said.

Munyaradzi Dondo who resides in Greencroft close to where Nyanga’s body was found said that this was a second case in the same area where a taxi driver was murdered and thrown in the drain.

“This is the second time we are having a case like this, hatina kana noise yatakanzwa on Monday night or anything suspicious even Tuesday yacho but we were shocked when we received a message in our neighbourhood WhatsApp group of the missing man,” he said.

Mourners gathered at his homestead in Bluffhill described Claudius as a loving and generous man who had a heart for everyone.

“Tarasikirwa zvikuru as Catholic society yepa Mabelreign; baba vanga vane rudo iavava and he was a devoted Catholic vachishandira Mwari nemazvo.

“Saka church yedu ichambodzokera sure chaizvo tarasikirwa nemunhu aibata basa guru,” said Mbuya Mushanga Claudius’ churchmate.

Another mourner interviewed by H-Metro described Nyanga as a hardworking man who did everything in his power to get a living.

“Mudhara uyu aisava neusimbe, his nickname was doctor because he was a doctor for everything.

“Aishanda and aisazeza basa.

“He was an inspiration to everyone especially the young generation through his hard work and commitment,” he said.

Claudius Nyanga is survived by a wife, four children and six grandchildren

By Own Correspondent| South Africa’s Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni said modern-day “pentecostal” churches led by pastors who lead their congregates to perform bizarre antics such as eating snakes should be taxed.

Posting on Twitter, Mboweni invited his followers to suggest ways by which the taxation can be instituted.

He said:

Any ideas about how to impose taxation on these mushrooming handy clappy, snake eating “Churches”. The time to tax them is now!!

In July 2015, the pastor of the End Times Disciples Ministries church in Soshanguve Penuel Mnguni was pictured while one of his congregants opened his mouth as if to swallow or bite the snake.

Several pictures were posted on the church’s Facebook page, with a caption that read:

Man of God declared a snake to become chocolate (chomp) and the congregation ate it. We have the authority to change everything into anything and it will obey because of our authority.News24

By A Correspondent| Following his meeting woth civil society organisations in Matabeleland, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his door remained open to dialogue as a way of addressing the challenges bedevilling society.

He said:

Today I was in Bulawayo to meet Matabeleland civil society organisations and discuss issues facing the region, as part of an ongoing dialogue with local groups.

We are committed to dialogue and cooperation as a means to address and resolve issues between the different strands of our nation.

We will continue to talk and to listen, and to deal with our differences with sensitivity, compassion and respect.

To the people of Matabeleland and all Zimbabweans, my door remains open.

By A Correspondent- Six Chipinge villagers were on Monday dragged to court for allegedly murdering a 28-year-old man whom they caught stealing a goat.

The suspects – Aaron Chibhamu (58), Nhamo Simango (33), Miriam Sithole (46), Chauya Munjoma (48), Joshua Mlambo(28) and Farai Mlambo all from Matsaka Village under Chief Mutema – appeared before Mrs Elizabeth Hanzi facing murder charges as defined in Section 47 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act).

They are out on $500 bail each.

It was a State’s case led Mr Gift Bikita that on February 2 at around midnight the suspects apprehended Tichaona Makuyana whom they found in a pen trying to steal a goat.

The suspects started assaulting the deceased and they took him to Chipinge Central Police Station.

“Upon arrival at the police station the officers on duty ordered the now deceased to go to hospital since he was bleeding profusely but he died before he was attended to,” he said.

They will be back in court on February 28 for routine remand.-Manicapost

Watch the live update of the latest details regarding First Chisora who is in hospital.

By A Correspondent- Chaos broke out at Sakubva District Hospital on Tuesday afternoon after a mob that had brought a  seriously injured man was denied access without a police report.

The angry mob bayed for the hospital staff’s blood as they felt that the patient’s deteriorating health was more important than protocol.

The victim had allegedly been assaulted and robbed before he was dumped in a water tank by unknown assailants.

Good Samaritans brought him to hospital but their help was in vain as the nurses on duty requested for a police report first before attending to the patient.

There was a heated exchange of words between the mob and the nurses who kept citing protocol.

In an interview with The Manica Post, one of the Good Samaritans who carried the victim to hospital, Shawn Muchenga, said the hospital staff was acting inhumanely by asking for a police report instead of attending to a dying man.

Scores of Sakubva residents quickly gathered at the hospital’s entrance demanding that the patient get assistance.

However, the nurses were adamant and they told the mob that they had to first take the unconscious man to a police station and bring a police report.

“We cannot treat or admit him here because you have no police report.

“Go to a police station and make a report then you can come back with him,” one of the senior nurses told the mob.

But one resident who only identified himself as Simba shouted back: “You  cannot let him die at your doorstep simply because you are following protocol?”

The hospital later released its ambulance and ferried the patient to Mutare Provincial Hospital, which has a police base.-Manicapost

By A Correspondent- South African based businessman Sam Mshengu Chabalala has been remanded in custody to 21 February for a formal bail application over charges of allegedly trying to bribe a police officer into releasing an impounded vehicle and making a 2019 case disappear.

Mshengu was arrested on Thursday by the Hawks over corruption charges.

Hawks Spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi told the media that,”The businessman who was initially arrested last year and subsequently charged for fraud, corruption, and possession of an unlicensed firearm had been out on R200,000 bail following his arrest [last year in September] in Nelspruit.

“His latest arrest emanates from allegations that he attempted to corrupt a senior police official in Mpumalanga to get his impounded motor vehicle to be released and also to make his initial case disappear.”

Mshengu was alleged to have paid an R120,000 bribe to the officer.

If found guilty, Chabalala stands to not only lose the R120,000 “bribe” but also his luxury vehicle.

In 2019 the Hawks alleged that Mshengu was a Zimbabwean who had fraudulently acquired a South African ID.

“We found out that the accused first got his ID book in 2015. When home affairs wanted to find out his parents’ details and IDs, the accused labeled a certain lady as his mother. But the lady denied knowing him and her ID book got stolen in 2015. He also labeled two people as his brother and sister but they all denied knowing him or being his siblings,” Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said then.

THE prospects for direct talks between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa — to end Zimbabwe’s growing political and economic crises — appear to be dead in the water, the Daily News can reveal.

This comes after the government vetoed former South African president Thabo Mbeki’s now anaemic mediation efforts yesterday, which have been aimed in part at getting the two political rivals to engage directly.

It also comes as the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) — which is among the many local and external groups that are pushing for dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa — are saying a competent local mediator can do the job just as well as outsiders.

The latest development also comes at a time when Zimbabwe is battling massive food shortages due to a deadly combination of the country’s deteriorating economy and the severe drought that has hit the region.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba said his boss saw no need for Mbeki’s mediation because “any talks were to be held under the auspices of the political actors dialogue (Polad).

“Why would he (Mnangagwa) need to invite President Mbeki? Who wants President Mbeki to mediate?
“I don’t know about the South African embassy because that is their national. They can expect him in the country anytime.

“What would be wrong is for anyone to create an impression that the political dialogue in Zimbabwe requires external mediation,” Charamba said.

“It doesn’t, and that position has been made clear to all and sundry, including local players and well-wishers.
“The former president of South Africa is aware of that position by the government of Zimbabwe.
“He is also aware of the standing arrangement of interaction among parties which is called Polad, and that there won’t be any other,” Charamba added emphatically.

“As for the claims that President Mnangagwa did not make a call, or did not receive a call from or to President Mbeki, the truth of the matter is that there was no need for a call from either side.

“If anything, the two met on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) (at the weekend) strictly from a position of camaraderie … briefing a colleague about political developments in the country, economic developments … but more critically … about sanctions,” he said further.

“As you are aware the AU makes provisions for elder statesmen of Africa to sit in its sessions.
“But more critically, the president of Zimbabwe met with the president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa and briefed him about the situation in the country … socially, politically, and diplomatically.

“I am making this point because I don’t want anyone to be left with a mistaken notion that the mere act of meeting with elements within the South African leadership implies a request from Zimbabwe for them to mediate.

“That request has never been made and will not be made,” Charamba said as he hammered the government’s position home.

Mbeki — who helped to broker the stability-inducing 2008 government of national unity between former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and ex-president Robert Mugabe, who are both late — was in the country last December to try and nudge Mnangagwa and Chamisa to hold direct talks.

Previously, both Mnangagwa and Chamisa have said that they were interested in dialogue, although nothing concrete has developed despite those encouraging statements.

On his part, Mnangagwa has since been very consistent in his demands that any talks with Chamisa should be held under the platform of Polad — where he regularly holds meetings with leaders of fringe opposition parties — who a large cross-section of Zimbabweans has dismissed as tokens, particularly as the youthful MDC boss is not part of this structure.

Chamisa himself has also repeatedly ruled out joining Polad — demanding instead direct dialogue with Mnangagwa.

Charamba said further yesterday that it was time for Zimbabweans to “move on and forget about the 2018 elections, because nothing would change their (the polls’) outcome”.

“I hope people are counting the days that are passing, the months that are going irrevocably.
“We are past the mid-point of the term of the president and if there is anyone who thinks that their focus is retrospective and not prospective, then they have grief awaiting them come 2023.

“Let no one have any illusions that the young man (Chamisa) went to South Africa in the pursuit of dialogue … in the national sense … but … with the international community (in mind),” Charamba further told the Daily News.
Yesterday, Chamisa — speaking through his spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda — also said that the prospects for dialogue between him and Mnangagwa were “as good as dead” if the only platform for talks would be Polad.

“The issue of dialogue is dead in the water once it is taken to Polad because dialogue means two people engaging.

“What we know is that Mnangagwa is not taking President Mbeki’s calls despite having promised to do so,” Sibanda said.

Meanwhile, ZCC general-secretary Kenneth Mtata said yesterday that there was no imperative need for foreign mediation to end the country’s growing crises.

“In the context of a mediator, I think the mediator should be found among Zimbabweans. There is no need for a foreign mediator unless if we do not have the agreed human resources.

“Let us try to find a locally-agreed mediator and … reason as one person,” he said.
However, University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Eldred Masunungure, said the proposed Chamisa-Mnangagwa dialogue was “inevitable” — despite the latest developments.

“It is inevitable that they (Mnangagwa and Chamisa) will find each other and negotiate. Maybe this is (Charamba’s statements) part of the grandstanding to achieve concessions from both parties.

“It is inevitable that there would be some form of dialogue between the two … whether it’s open or behind the wall it is another matter.

“But we can deduce from this that behind the scenes something is happening,” Masunungure told the Daily News.

“I don’t think Charamba is telling the whole truth. Even if we suppose that it is the truth, that hardline position will soon be challenged by the hard reality on the ground,” he added.
In 2009, Mugabe was forced into forming a government of national unity (GNU) with Tsvangirai after the hotly-disputed 2008 polls.

Tsvangirai was widely believed to have beaten Mugabe hands down in those polls.
However, the results of the elections were withheld for six long weeks by stunned authorities — amid widespread allegations of ballot tampering and fraud, which were later confirmed by former Zanu PF bigwigs.

In the ensuing sham presidential run-off, which authorities claimed was needed to determine the winner, Zanu PF apparatchiks engaged in an orgy of violence in which hundreds of Tsvangirai’s supporters were killed — forcing the popular former prime minister in the inclusive government to withdraw from the discredited race altogether.

Daily News

Own Correspondent|Former ZANU PF  Cabinet Minister Walter Mzembi has joined the never ending and ineffective list of former ZANU PF bosses who opened up to want to expose their former party’s rigging tactics but eventually expose nothing.

Mzembi told weekend media that he is working on an article that will expose how ZANU PF has been rigging elections in the country.

Mzembi who denied that rigging is done on voting day said, “I am doing an article on what happens inside a Zanu PF cell from pre independence to date which keeps our people voting for Zanu PF. There is no rigging on voting day or after. The minds of our people have been rigged for over 40 years, get it?”

Mzembi said ZANU PF was implementing a silent election rigging strategy through the Roller Meal purchasing coupons introduced by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube claiming that it is a patronage system.

I am doing an article on what happens inside a Zanu PF cell from pre independence to date which keeps our people voting for Zanu PF. There is no rigging on voting day or after . The minds of our people have been rigged for over 40 years , get it ?

— Dr Walter Mzembi (@waltermzembi) February 14, 2020

“Beware of clientelism. This database is an exercise in smart vote-buying and patronage. Vote rigging in Zimbabwe is a process, not an event, this is the real V11 in the making that cannot be presented to the Constitutional Court but very deadly act!”

Beware of clientelism . This database is an exercise in smart vote buying and patronage. Vote rigging in Zimbabwe is a process not an event , this is the real V11 in the making that cannot be presented to the Constitutional Court but very deadly act! pic.twitter.com/ILbVKId5Df

— Dr Walter Mzembi (@waltermzembi) February 13, 2020

Jane Mlambo| A rare picture of a truck loaded with cabbage that broke down at the state house has ignited social media with people imagining the reaction of security aides who guard the residency of the first family

The area is highly secured and there are many unconfirmed stories of people being harassed and tortured over various transgressions ranging from breakdowns to immediate u-turns around the premises.

In the trending picture, about four men could be seen trying to push the loaded truck in what looks like an impossible mission.

WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE DRIVER AND HIS CREW? –

Refresh this page for the updates…

MDC President Nelson Chamisa has hinted his party may be forced to boycott the 2023 national elections if Zanu PF does not own up to manipulating the 2018 elections in its favour.

Chamisa and his party maintain the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) rigged the 2018 poll in favour of the Zanu PF candidate, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The main opposition party has since then refused to recognise Mnangagwa as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe.

Speaking Friday to hundreds of party supporters at Mucheke Hall in Masvingo where the party was celebrating two years since the death of founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Chamisa suggested his party may boycott the 2023 elections.

“Zanu PF should accept they rigged the 2018 harmonised elections. If they do accept that, we might not take part in the 2023 elections until the 2018 elections dispute is resolved,” he said.

He also ruled out any prospects of dialogue between his party and Zanu PF, and instead, called for unity among Zimbabweans to fight the Mnangagwa administration.

“We need hope in this country, Mnangagwa has no hope in the direction the country is taking. Tsvangirai left a legacy of love, he was a unifier and before he died, he told me to incorporate the likes of Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube back into the party for it to succeed.

“We will ensure we lead the people properly until we deliver real independence to the people. That is what I was taught by Tsvangirai,” he said.

Chamisa told his supporters that he was anointed by Tsvangirai to lead the party and he carries the vision of the party and expects the entire MDC leadership to be disciplined in following the vision of the late iconic leader.

“We want a people’s government, not this one which was elected by the Constitutional Court. The people’s government will ensure our industries are restored and our people are employed. We are also fighting for the dignity of every Zimbabwean to be restored.

“Mnangagwa is taking us back to Rhodesia. He is now possessed with Robert Mugabe and (Ian) Smith’s demons. He is up to no good and is changing the country’s Constitution more that what the late Mugabe did in 40 years, but Mnangagwa wants to change it 27 times in one year.

“The way forward is for me and you to organise our country. The whole country should be prepared. We don’t want to reach May or June before we have dealt with these issues. Mnangagwa won’t lead this country after that,” Chamisa said.

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said everyone should play a role in fixing the country’s socio-economic woes.

Chamisa made the remarks at the Morgan Tsvangirai Anniversary in Masvingo on Friday.

Read Chamisa’s full speech below :
…Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

You don’t debate about solidarity; we must go together, fight together, we weep together and we enjoy together. So now Mai Sikhala we want to thank you. Some of you do not know that for the struggle to move there are heroes, thank you very much. I thank you all, these are the people who when there are problems they are there. I saw them where the police were.

Excuse me our Secretary-General and all the leadership assembled here, the chair of the women and the youth.

I was once a youth.

We said this is not Valentine’s Day it is Morgan Tsvangirai Day.

The second thing we are gathered here; we are gathered here because one of our heroes had been arrested… another one will be appearing in court on the 28th of February.

When you arrest one of us you have arrested all of us.
So we have come here for this party is now large.

There is no party which is greater, larger than this one the whole of the African continent. It is a fact that the MDC has 28 out of 30 mayors in the whole of Zimbabwe. It is a fact that this party was voted in by more than 2.6 million people.

Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.
I said for people to do what they should do they do it according to the right timing.

When I came here I found the police waiting and some of my people told me president if your go through this way you will be teargassed so I passed through the middle of them.

We will not allow police to be used for wrong things, a police officer has a badge of honour. That is why you see the police, their badge it says for the law, for the people, and for the country, so the police must not be used to assault us. Our people after throwing targas at me they don’t have a bag of tea, after throwing teargas at me they don’t even have an underwear to wear. After throwing targas at me, their shoe is still opened wide.
Mr Sikhala I saw your zvidobi. They are zvidobis of the struggle. Aaah Maiguru, are these the dobis you are getting at home? LAUGHTER.

The first thing is love the second thing is hope the third thing is sacrifice.

This is the life of Morgan Tsvangirai.
Everywhere I go people are saying Nelson Chamisa Morgan Tsvangirai left you directions to the way.
I will not be misled.
Mnangagwa does not have a clue. Chiwenga has no clue.

Today (Friday) as we speak Morgan Tsvangirai talked about hope, he said no matter how difficult life becomes you should remain holding onto hope you will get there.

We will get there we will get there when we get there.

Tsvangirai represented sacrifuce. He used to eat bans and cream soda. He was a basic man. That is what I said no matter how broke we are we must never compromise the struggle.

Our only gift to the people is to lead them and deliver the struggle. Real love is to represent the people and to do what they want.

Yes, we will correct the problems of Masvingo party leadership. We want to ensure we get 26 out of 26 not what we saw in Mwenezi(sic).

Can ZANU win over here?
Tsvangirai was a man of love and unity he told me to unite with Biti and Welshman. The vision has got nothing to do with too many people a vision is with one person.

So to all those who follow when I say jump you must jump when I say run you must run. That is why you see soldiers are told to march left right left right.

We said that this year we have 5 critical zones:
Number 1 – the fight we have is that there must be a people’s government not this one of the constitutional court not this one of Emmerson Mnangagwa.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

Mnangagwa tells people that they must eat potatoes and vegetables while he himself is feasting on meat while he is on a private jet.

Number 2 – We are fighting for a people’s budget not the kind of life that we are seeing when people cannot afford basics we want our dignity returned to the people.

Number 3 – We want to address the problem of corruption. We are missing $3bln. Who is responsible Mr Biti?

Biti replies: it is Mnangagwa!
I said those people I will tell you myself.

They know what we are doing.
The 4th thing – is the one that we have come here such as this one of Sikhala. We are struggling with this issue of Mashurugwi. We must not call them that. They are Mnangagwa’# people.
Number 5 – is the issue of the constitution Emmerson Mnangagwa is messing with the constitution; he is now possessed with the demons of Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe changed this 19 times, Mnangagwa wants to change it 27 times in one year.

So what is the way forward the way forward is for you and me where you are, looking at me, let us fix our country there is no one else with powers more than you as an individual, everyone let us fix the country we don’t want to get to May, June while we are in this problem, we can fix it. Until when will we drink from boreholes? While we use generators?

What kind of a country is that in which: school fees rtgs; a whole government forming a committee of roller meal! A whole government setting up a committee for mealie meal.

If you give us this thing we will not take a day before you start enjoying the country and getting suffocated with goodness.

I told Emmerson Mnangagwa why don’t we use the United States dollars while we fix the country?

give the soldiers the US dollar give the police officers the US dollars so that people can survive, why do you want the people to live on rtgs dollars?
Let us not insult others. MDC let us be full of love.
My last words that I leave you the people of this province that one has been on this issue of dialogue.

I told him I am ready to talk, I had been sent by our council. We want to give peace a chance and so I told Emmerson Mnangagwa let us agree, you stole the elections we are not going to go ahead to 2023 before we are clear that you stole the elections.

There will be no elections in this country until we resolve this issue. The elections must be respected. This year we have a right to fix the country all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us.

Emmerson Mnangagwa will not be able to run this country- he is refusing dialogue.

And now he is busy saying Nelson Chamisa is the problem. I am advising him that this country is burning. I am saying to him hear me so that we can fix this country before it is too late.

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said everyone should play a role in fixing the country’s socio-economic woes.

Chamisa made the remarks at the Morgan Tsvangirai Anniversary in Masvingo on Friday.

Read Chamisa’s full speech below :
…Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

You don’t debate about solidarity; we must go together, fight together, we weep together and we enjoy together. So now Mai Sikhala we want to thank you. Some of you do not know that for the struggle to move there are heroes, thank you very much. I thank you all, these are the people who when there are problems they are there. I saw them where the police were.

Excuse me our Secretary-General and all the leadership assembled here, the chair of the women and the youth.

I was once a youth.

We said this is not Valentine’s Day it is Morgan Tsvangirai Day.

The second thing we are gathered here; we are gathered here because one of our heroes had been arrested… another one will be appearing in court on the 28th of February.

When you arrest one of us you have arrested all of us.
So we have come here for this party is now large.

There is no party which is greater, larger than this one the whole of the African continent. It is a fact that the MDC has 28 out of 30 mayors in the whole of Zimbabwe. It is a fact that this party was voted in by more than 2.6 million people.

Some people I hear them saying Nelson Chamisa you must lead from the front, but this is the struggle; I have come a long way … but when we do our thing we will not be forced to do things.
I said for people to do what they should do they do it according to the right timing.

When I came here I found the police waiting and some of my people told me president if your go through this way you will be teargassed so I passed through the middle of them.

We will not allow police to be used for wrong things, a police officer has a badge of honour. That is why you see the police, their badge it says for the law, for the people, and for the country, so the police must not be used to assault us. Our people after throwing targas at me they don’t have a bag of tea, after throwing teargas at me they don’t even have an underwear to wear. After throwing targas at me, their shoe is still opened wide.
Mr Sikhala I saw your zvidobi. They are zvidobis of the struggle. Aaah Maiguru, are these the dobis you are getting at home? LAUGHTER.

The first thing is love the second thing is hope the third thing is sacrifice.

This is the life of Morgan Tsvangirai.
Everywhere I go people are saying Nelson Chamisa Morgan Tsvangirai left you directions to the way.
I will not be misled.
Mnangagwa does not have a clue. Chiwenga has no clue.

Today (Friday) as we speak Morgan Tsvangirai talked about hope, he said no matter how difficult life becomes you should remain holding onto hope you will get there.

We will get there we will get there when we get there.

Tsvangirai represented sacrifuce. He used to eat bans and cream soda. He was a basic man. That is what I said no matter how broke we are we must never compromise the struggle.

Our only gift to the people is to lead them and deliver the struggle. Real love is to represent the people and to do what they want.

Yes, we will correct the problems of Masvingo party leadership. We want to ensure we get 26 out of 26 not what we saw in Mwenezi(sic).

Can ZANU win over here?
Tsvangirai was a man of love and unity he told me to unite with Biti and Welshman. The vision has got nothing to do with too many people a vision is with one person.

So to all those who follow when I say jump you must jump when I say run you must run. That is why you see soldiers are told to march left right left right.

We said that this year we have 5 critical zones:
Number 1 – the fight we have is that there must be a people’s government not this one of the constitutional court not this one of Emmerson Mnangagwa.

When people are brave and they stand up to it guns will not work the sound of the gun will not be heard.

Mnangagwa tells people that they must eat potatoes and vegetables while he himself is feasting on meat while he is on a private jet.

Number 2 – We are fighting for a people’s budget not the kind of life that we are seeing when people cannot afford basics we want our dignity returned to the people.

Number 3 – We want to address the problem of corruption. We are missing $3bln. Who is responsible Mr Biti?

Biti replies: it is Mnangagwa!
I said those people I will tell you myself.

They know what we are doing.
The 4th thing – is the one that we have come here such as this one of Sikhala. We are struggling with this issue of Mashurugwi. We must not call them that. They are Mnangagwa’# people.
Number 5 – is the issue of the constitution Emmerson Mnangagwa is messing with the constitution; he is now possessed with the demons of Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe changed this 19 times, Mnangagwa wants to change it 27 times in one year.

So what is the way forward the way forward is for you and me where you are, looking at me, let us fix our country there is no one else with powers more than you as an individual, everyone let us fix the country we don’t want to get to May, June while we are in this problem, we can fix it. Until when will we drink from boreholes? While we use generators?

What kind of a country is that in which: school fees rtgs; a whole government forming a committee of roller meal! A whole government setting up a committee for mealie meal.

If you give us this thing we will not take a day before you start enjoying the country and getting suffocated with goodness.

I told Emmerson Mnangagwa why don’t we use the United States dollars while we fix the country?

give the soldiers the US dollar give the police officers the US dollars so that people can survive, why do you want the people to live on rtgs dollars?
Let us not insult others. MDC let us be full of love.
My last words that I leave you the people of this province that one has been on this issue of dialogue.

I told him I am ready to talk, I had been sent by our council. We want to give peace a chance and so I told Emmerson Mnangagwa let us agree, you stole the elections we are not going to go ahead to 2023 before we are clear that you stole the elections.

There will be no elections in this country until we resolve this issue. The elections must be respected. This year we have a right to fix the country all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us all of us.

Emmerson Mnangagwa will not be able to run this country- he is refusing dialogue.

And now he is busy saying Nelson Chamisa is the problem. I am advising him that this country is burning. I am saying to him hear me so that we can fix this country before it is too late.

Yesterday the 13th of February 2020, the ZANU-PF National Political Commissar Cde Matemadanda summoned us (myself and Lewis Matutu) as party cadres in order for us to give him our side of the story from the day we held the presser denouncing corruption and cartels to the day a decision was made by the leadership to relinquish us of our leadership positions in the national executive of the youth league and the 12 months suspension.

Yes we accepted his invitation and went to see him. We appraised him as tete vemusangano or mai vemusangano and he offered to engage Party Leadership over our issue in a bid to find common ground and build bridges. We accepted his gesture as party cadres.

Cde Matemadanda didn’t seek to silence us or force into any arrangement as is being circulated on social media. Neither did he urge us to continue with our fight against corruption and cartels. The decision to fight against corruption was and still remains personal and will not in any way involve any of our leaders.

Cde Matemadanda’s efforts are for the good of the party. It is his duty as Commissar “satete vemusangano kuti vavake musangano” and that’s exactly what he did by seeking to engage us.

As committed card-carrying members of the party we await feedback from his engagements with senior leaders of the party.

However, with or without these developments in our party, the fight against corruption and cartels continues. Let no one be hoodwinked by any amount of propaganda that we have deserted the struggle. Never.

The commitment and resolve to fight corruption remains unshaken. With or without party positions, the fight continues.

No amount of smear campaigns nor counter-accusations will force us to back down. It will not work!!

A prosperous and corrupt-free Zimbabwe is possible in our lifetime and neither backing down nor abandoning this fight against corruption and cartels is an option.

As such we continue to organize for our inaugural Conference planned for the 20th of February as we do so under the banner of the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Citizens Taskforce. Finer details on the conference shall be given to all interested in due course.

Let’s unite and fight corruption together. Let’s not allow our differences to distract us from uniting against this evil monster called corruption.

Forward ever, Backwards Never.

Thank you.

Yours in the struggle.

GODFREY TSENENGAMU

0775519111

A SAKUBVA woman lost property worth thousands of dollars after her neighbour torched her bedroom accusing her of stealing her undergarments.

Lorraine Buwerimwe lost a double bed, blankets, duvets and other valuable items after Linda Mashingaidze allegedly went berserk and set her wooden cabin on fire following the alleged theft of underwear on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at No. 19A and 19B, OTS in Sakubva.

“Fortunately, we quickly put out the fire. The whole cabin could have been reduced to ashes,” said a neighbour, Polite Mupedzi.

When The Weekender caught up with the two women at the police station, Buwerimwe said there was bad blood between them.

“It all started when she accused me of stealing her pair of skin tights. She claimed that I had stolen them yet I had not, and I wondered why she kept accusing me. The misunderstanding got worse until I sought a protection order against her.

“Last month, she assaulted me and rushed to the police to report the matter. My life has been a living hell because of this woman. I do not know what wrong I did to her to warrant this sort of treatment. She always threatens to burn me alive and now she has burnt my house,” said Buwerimwe.

Mashingaidze denied ever burning the house saying instead it was she who had alerted neighbours to the fire.

-State Media

OPPOSITION MDC vice-chair and Zengeza West legislator, Job Sikhala, who was facing treason charges, is now a free man after a court appearance that featured running battles between the police and his party’s supporters.

High Court judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze yesterday said the State failed to prove a prima facie case that Sikhala, indeed, wanted or planned to unconstitutionally overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa and or the government.

Sikhala, who was out on $5 000 bail allegedly uttered the words, “We will overthrow President Mnangagwa before 2023” at a campaign rally ahead of a by-election in Bikita last year.

Sikhala, through his lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, applied for exception to the charge, arguing that the charges were vague, meaningless and did not establish the essential elements recognised by the law.

Mtetwa argued at the start of the trial that Sikhala’s utterances did not constitute a crime and according to the charge sheet, putting the accused on trial would be unfair as nobody knows the allegations raised and according to the section under which Sikhala was being charged, he did not call for the unconstitutional removal of the President and neither did he call for the unlawful removal of government.

Prosecutor Tawanda Zvekare opposed the application for exception, saying Sikhala used the word overthrow, fight and war and had, therefore, called for a coup against Mnangagwa before elections.

In delivering judgment before a packed courtroom in an tense atmosphere, while the police and hundreds of MDC supporters were engaged in running battles outside the courtroom, Mawadze rapped the State for the “bizarre suggestion” of a coup because of the mere use of the words “war or fight”, saying the prosecution conflated the State and the President.

Mawadze added that Sikhala’s statements were taken out of context and that Zvekare had “put a spin, to the utterances”.

“The Constitution provides for the removal of an elected President before his term expires, even against his wishes. It also provides for the legal overthrow of a government. From the accused’s statements, there is no reference to the use of unconstitutional means,” Justice Mawadze said, citing the removal of late former President Robert Mugabe from power in November 2017.

He added that there were two distinct legal provisions in the Constitution to remove the President and the government from power.

“Accused is well suited to initiate constitutional processes as a legislator. I am not persuaded by the State’s submissions in that the accused’s statements relate to breaching section 22 of the Constitution. I do not find the nexus between the two. There is nothing criminal in the utterances,” the judge said.

“I find the accused’s application for exception to be meritorious as it goes to the root of the charge. It is, therefore, ordered that the exception is upheld and the accused’s not guilty plea is upheld by the court.

“It would be a sad day for judicial jurisprudence if people were tried on semantics.”

The court had to be briefly adjourned after one of the teargas canisters found its way into the courtroom, leaving everyone chocked and in tears.

Sikhala said he would instruct his lawyers to sue for $50 million the State as well as the police officers who tortured him when he was arrested.

The judgment drew wild celebrations from the crowds, who were singing and chanting party slogans.

— NewsDay

By A Correspondent- Six Chipinge villagers were on Monday dragged to court for allegedly murdering a 28-year-old man whom they caught stealing a goat.

The suspects – Aaron Chibhamu (58), Nhamo Simango (33), Miriam Sithole (46), Chauya Munjoma (48), Joshua Mlambo(28) and Farai Mlambo all from Matsaka Village under Chief Mutema – appeared before Mrs Elizabeth Hanzi facing murder charges as defined in Section 47 of Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act).

They are out on $500 bail each.

It was a State’s case led Mr Gift Bikita that on February 2 at around midnight the suspects apprehended Tichaona Makuyana whom they found in a pen trying to steal a goat.

The suspects started assaulting the deceased and they took him to Chipinge Central Police Station.

“Upon arrival at the police station the officers on duty ordered the now deceased to go to hospital since he was bleeding profusely but he died before he was attended to,” he said.

They will be back in court on February 28 for routine remand. -Manicapost