Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC there is fresh evidence of how how the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission rigged the elections in favour of Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Below is part of the contents of a document compiled under the party’s Agenda 2020:

While the Constitutional Court made its determination of the application I initiated challenging the controversial ZEC declaration and announcement of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of the 2018 presidential election, and while we respected that decision as we disagreed with it, there is now a new development after the case.

The development is coming from ZEC itself, which shows beyond any argument or doubt that the results of the 2018 presidential election were transmitted, captured and collated unlawfully, improperly and irregularly as to void the election and invalidate any result that was declared and announced following the unlawful, improper and irregular transmission, capture and collation of the results from the country’s 1,985 ward centres to ZEC’s national command centre in Harare.

The compelling evidence of how the presidential election was rigged by ZEC, is enough for anyone and all of the 2,6 million voters who cast their vote for us to go to court on grounds that their political rights enshrined in s67(1) of the Constitution were violated.

There’s also now a clear and present basis for taking the matter of the 2018 presidential election to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.

Such actions would be well within the BBI, as an expression of the people’s action to restore legality and legitimacy under the MDC’s Agenda 2020.

Those who say the 2018 presidential election should be forgotten about, and focus should now be on 2023, ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s them who should forget about covering up the giant 2018 election fraud.

Especially now that ZEC itself has, perhaps inadvertently or even mischievously, came out with incontrovertible evidence that election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the law.

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Farai Dziva|The entire Rusape community has been stunned by an incident in which a drunk man crushed his mother’s head.

Read the ZBC version of the story below:

A 44-year-old Rusape man from Chigwedere village is in police custody after he allegedly pounded his 77-year-old mother to death.
ZBC News reports that on Monday, Muzowaka who was under the influence of alcohol pounded his unsuspecting mother, Monika Mucheke, with a granite stone in the head and she died instantly.
The incident was confirmed to the ZBC News by Manicaland police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa who added that the accused is already in police custody assisting with investigations. Kakohwa said:

“Semapurisa tiri kuferefeta nyaya yemwana mukomana akatsonda mai vake nedombo mushure mekunge anwa doro kunonzi kwaStella, (as the police we are investigationg a case in which a son crushed his mother with a stone after he had consumed alcohol at a place called Stella) .

We encourage members of the public to try and solve issues amicably saying that the law will take its course on all offenders.”

By A Correspondent- The fight over control of Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) properties in Marondera has spilled into the courts, with a faction aligned to Cossum Chiangwa applying for a peace order against a rival group led by Amon Madawo.

On January 5 this year, Marondera police had to intervene when violence broke out at the church’s Divine Truth Revival Centre in Cherima high-density suburb after Madawo’s followers were accused of invading the premises and disrupting a prayer session led by local cleric Milton Gwizo.

Gwizo yesterday approached the civil court seeking a peace order against his rivals Frank Magume, Akedias Tigere, Christopher Ringisai and Tinashe Moyo.

The court ordered both parties to go back and draft a peace agreement to be signed by the magistrate on February 5.

There was wild jubilation at Marondera Civil Court as members of the Madawo faction celebrated the ruling that will see them sharing the premises with their rivals.

The AFM church split into two factions in 2018 as Chiangwa and Madawo fought over leadership of one of the country’s biggest Pentecostal denominations

By A Correspondent- Home Affairs Minister, Kazembe Kazembe has said that the passport backlog which dates back to 2018 needs to be cleared this year.

Kazembe proposed the computerisation of the system to allow passport seekers to apply online. Speaking in Chinhoyi where he toured provincial registry offices, Kazembe said:

We have a backlog of 355 thousand passports, they need to be processed and that backlog has to be cleared before year-end. The major challenge is the lack of consumables. Decentralisation is an ongoing process. The solution is computerisation. There is no decentralisation that beats applications via online.

Kazembe also proposed that Registrar General’s offices have to be solar-powered to avoid delays due to power cuts. His remarks come when there are reports suggesting that the government intends to allow local citizens with “free funds” to apply for passports using foreign currency, particularly the United States dollar.

The biting economy has forced a number of Zimbabweans to contemplate going abroad to search for greener pastures and as a result, the RG’s office is overwhelmed by the demand when it already had insufficient resources for printing passports.

-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- A man from Nyamandlovu in Matabeleland North has appeared in court facing charges of raping a minor after enticing her with an offer of sweet reeds.

The accused (23) was not asked to plead to rape when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Lizwe Jamela on Monday.

He was remanded in custody to January 31.

The court was told that on April 2017, the girl (name withheld for ethical reasons) visited her grandfather in Nyamandlovu, where the accused was employed as a domestic worker.

It is alleged that during the same month, the accused asked the girl if she likes sweet reeds and she expressed interest.

He then took the minor to the fields under the pretext that they were going to harvest some sweet reeds and raped her.
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He allegedly threatened to kill the minor’s grandmother if she ever revealed the abuse.

The girl did not tell anyone until November 2018 when her aunt, who is a traditional healer asked her if she was hiding something from her. That was when the girl revealed the rape. They reported the matter the minor’s mother.

The court was told that on January 21 this year, the girl’s mother escorted her to the police and filed a report which led to accused’s arrest.

The girl was referred to Nyamandlovu Hospital for medical examination.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- According to a local daily, authorities have put 94 people who travelled from countries affected by the coronavirus to Zimbabwe on a monitoring program.

The publication reported that so far, none of the people on the 21-day monitoring program is exuding any worrying signs.

This was revealed by  epidemiology and disease control director, Portia Manangazira, who spoke to the publication and said:

We are following up on those people by checking … symptoms daily. However, none of those monitored are showing any worrying signs at the moment.

Speaking about the govt’s preparedness to deal with Coronavirus, the Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo said:

There is a drug called Kaletra which has been found to be effective, although it’s not a permanent treatment.

For now, the quantities of the medicines that we have are adequate for the task. We are ready … it’s just now an issue of monitoring at our ports of entry,

Coronavirus has up to date killed 132 people in China and over 4500 people have been affected worldwide.

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Mealie meal shortages have reached worrying levels across the country, as residents in the capital endure long queues to acquire strictly one packet of the scarce commodity, amid indications the situation will get worse in the coming weeks.

There were long winding queues in the few shops that had mealie meal since last week, with retailers battling to contain the swelling queues.

It also emerged that some licensed retailers were taking the commodity to the black market, where they were selling clandestinely in foreign currency which many cannot afford to get hold of.

At one major retail outlet, consumers were restricted to one 10kg bag of the commodity, while names, identity document numbers and other personal details were noted to block people from buying more than one pack.

The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) yesterday conceded the crisis, but said the organisation was bringing in more than 50 000 tonnes of maize by the weekend.

“We are importing maize and we have lorries coming through and by weekend, I am sure they will be in Harare. Bulawayo received last week and that is part of the 50 000 metric tonnes of maize from South Africa,” GMAZ spokesperson Garikai Chaunza said.

“We expect another delivery of 50 000 metric tonnes. Most of the trucks are at the border now and if everything goes on well logistically, by weekend, they will be in Harare.”
Chaunza said the imports were by private players to augment government efforts.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu said the mealie meal crisis may soon be over after promises by millers that several tonnes were making their way into the country.

“Mealie meal is on the way. We met millers a few days ago and they have maize already in the country and government is running around to secure maize. As an association, we have made a resolution that mealie meal should go to accredited retailers,” he said.

“In the short to medium-term, we will have lots of mealie meal, but currently, demand is very high after the subsidy. That made it difficult to have mealie meal at one place at the same time as a truckload would be finished within 30 minutes upon being offloaded.

“Going forward, we should have lots of maize and have lots of mealie meal. We must not focus on importing. We must put effort on production of maize.”

Mutashu said a few supermarkets were getting mealie meal, while a large number of those in the informal market, which he said constituted 70%, were not getting anything.

He said they had trained monitors to ensure there were no illicit deals in the purchasing of mealie meal.

“We had situations where some would sell a few packets of mealie meal, then reserve the rest for small shops, where they sell in foreign currency. With the monitors in place, that should be a thing of the past,” Mutashu said.

Government has been criticised for not doing enough to acquire adequate maize for the nation with the opposition MDC party accusing Finance minister Mthuli Ncube of lying in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum where he told the international media that no one would starve.

-newsday

By A Correspondent- Machete gangs, otherwise known as MaShurugwi, have reportedly gone underground following a nationwide police blitz which has seen nearly 2 000 illegal gold miners caged for terrorising communities in gold-rich parts of the country.

A source close to the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s crack team tasked to flush out the rogue miners yesterday said they had managed to restore sanity in most mining areas although there were isolated cases being reported.

“It’s quiet now. We have not encountered the machete gangs since the arrest of some of the gang leaders. Most of them have run away from the mining areas,” a source close to the crack team said.

“Yes, there could be some isolated cases, but the menace has since gone. We will remain on the ground so that we totally comb the mining areas and rid them of the machete gangs even those isolated reports.”

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the police will continue to maintain a heavy presence in the identified hotspots to ensure all trouble causers are accounted for.

“We are going to continue working with stakeholders to see that the peace which we have established is maintained. We will continue being on the ground to combat crime in the long run,” Nyathi said.

Over 1 800 illegal miners and gang members have so far been nabbed under operation Chikorokoza Ngachipere/No to Machete Gangs.

Last week, the crack teams arrested the Ziga gang members and Macheto brothers who had terrorised miners in Kadoma and Kwekwe.

The leader of the Ziga gang, which is believed to be behind the murder of Constable Wonder Hokoyo in December, Phelandaba Tshuma was arrested in Mt Darwin while trying to jump the border into Mozambique.

His vehicle, a Toyota Hiace, was found laden with an assortment of machetes and explosives.

The police have also raided underground machete suppliers in Mbare, Harare leading to the arrest of seven suspects and recovery of 31 machetes.

The Judiciary Service Commission has also set up special courts to specifically deal with machete gangs amid calls for imposition of stiffer and mandatory jail sentences.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- LEAD president Linda Masarira has urged the government to set up a quarantine centre for people coming into the country from areas near the Wuhan region in China where the Coronavirus originated.

In a Twitter thread, Masarira said the country was not ready to deal with an epidemic of this magnitude in case it hits Zimbabwe.

Here is a full thread of Linda’s twitter warning:

1/ Seems like we are underestimating this virus in Zimbabwe. Look at what is happening in Wuhan. The facts are there to see why is this part of the world on lockdown because they know how dangerous the virus is. If we are not careful this will wipe out the human race. @MoHCCZim

2/ We need to urgently push for a quarantine Centre for everyone coming from that China region. Zimbabwe is not equipped to deal with an epidemic of that magnitude. If only one person enters with country with it we are in trouble

3/ I have gathered that there are no longer any people coming from the epi center as China has already instituted massive state wide quarantine. Reports state that there are 22 already in Zim who are under medical surveillance rather than quarantine

4/ So people are just following them up and waiting to intervene if they develop symptoms. We know that this type of virus often spreads before symptoms develop so that’s a potential gap. There is need for precautionary measures to be in place to save lives.

5/ Just next door in South Africa, “Port health professionals routinely conduct temperature screening for all international travellers. Fortunately, OR Tambo International Airport is the only port of entry for all flights from Asia

Kenya and Ethiopia have recorded the first cases of the virus in Africa.

By A Correspondent- Civil servants this morning finally agreed to take the improved salary offered by their paymaster at the JNNC workshop in Vic Falls, the state media reported.

Speaking at the sidelines of the workshop, Public Service Minister Paul Mavima said:

We are so excited that the parties have finally managed to reach an agreement and resolved all the sticking issues. The nation is now assured of continued service delivery and we would like to make it clear that we will continue to improve the condition of service for the workers.

The negotiations had been going on for close to a month and the civil servants had rejected both offers offered by the government.

It is still not clear if the government offered the civil servants more money or they are going to honour their second offer which will see civil servants earning between ZWL$2200 and $3500

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has given Judge President George Chiweshe a 48-hour ultimatum to explain how the judgment on child custody was allegedly leaked before it was officially handed down in court.

Chiwenga suggests that the judgment was leaked to his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa-Chiwenga and a local newspaper. Through his lawyers, Manase & Manase Legal Practitioners, the former army boss said:

The purpose of our writing is to register our client’s complaint in the manner in which the judgment in the above matter has been handled…

The applicant in this matter attended the parties’ children’s school at 8am today (Friday January 24) armed with an order of this court and stated to the school authorities that she had been granted an order by the High Court to have access to the children…

We also wonder why the said judgment, before it was handed down, got publicised in the Independent newspaper advising the public that Marry Mubaiwa had won the case she had filed.

Chiwenga claimed in the letter that the former model is related to Justice Chiweshe adding that their relationship could have influenced the court’s decision on the matter.

VP Chiwenga lost the case but has since appealed against the ruling at the Supreme Court.

By A Correspondent- Dethroned Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni of Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North, has left the country for the United Kingdom for a cataract operation.

Cataract surgery is a procedure to remove the eye lens and, in most cases, replace it with an artificial or a clear synthetic version.

The operation is carried out to clear the clouding of the lens inside the eye which causes blurred vision.

Ndiweni, who recently underwent eye surgery in Bulawayo, left for the UK on Saturday on the advice of doctors, his spokesperson Nothiwani Dlodlo said yesterday.

“Yes, he left for the UK on medical grounds. His doctors said he needs an urgent cataract surgery,” Dlodlo said.

In earlier tweets, Ndiweni confirmed undergoing surgery in the city last week, adding he will also use the time to write President Emmerson Mnangagwa a short letter.

“Thank you all for the prayers and support! As I lay in surgery and grappled with the likelihood of losing my sight, I thought of all the things I should have done with it. One of those things, which, thanks to God’s mercy, I will do now is write a short letter to @edmnangagwa,” Ndiweni tweeted.

“Yes, recently my doctors advised that there is nothing more they can do for my sight in http://Byo. At the insistence and expense of some Ntabazinduna villagers and colleagues I am en-route to UK for an emergency operation.”

Ndiweni is challenging his removal as Ntabazinduna Chief by the Local Government ministry which has claimed that his chieftainship was being contested by his elder brother, Joram who says he is the heir apparent.

The ministry also stripped Ndiweni of all benefits accruing to him.

The government, through Local Government permanent secretary Zvinechimwe Ruvinga Churu, has filed a notice of opposition challenging Ndiweni’s application, arguing that his removal was lawful.

The matter has not yet been set down for hearing.

-SouthernEye

By Patrick Guramatunhu- The Americans continue to exert maximum pressure on SADC leaders to abandon their folly of supporting the Zanu PF anti-sanctions propaganda and embrace the drive for democratic reforms in Zimbabwe. 

“The United States Ambassador to Botswana Craig Lewis Cloud has defended sanctions against Zimbabwe saying they were targeted at officials abusing human rights and the rule of law,” reported Byo24News.

“In a meeting with SADC executive secretary Dr Stergomena Tax on Tuesday to discuss the sanctions against Zimbabwe, Cloud said his country is one of the biggest supporters of Zimbabwe in terms of aid, contributing well over US$2 billion, since its Independence.

“Today Ambassador Cloud and Dr Tax discussed the root causes of U.S. sanctions in Zimbabwe, namely human rights abuses and anti-democratic efforts,” said the US Embassy in Botswana.

It is bad enough that we are having to deal with this Zanu PF government that has no respect for the truth, reality and reason and instead, uses its absolute power, to corrupt and distort the truth, reason and reality and impose them on everyone. 

There is a mountain of evidence, for example, to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that corruption and mismanagement are the root causes of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown. Whatever economic hardships are caused by sanctions, they are a tiny fraction compared to those caused by the mismanagement and corruptions. 

Zanu PF has blown the effects of sanctions out of all proportion for it selfish propaganda purposes. It is disappointing that outsiders like SA President Cyril Ramaphosa and other SADC leaders have been conned into believing Zanu PF propaganda and lies. 

President Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections. He denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora a vote (he claimed victory with 2.4 million votes) only to assure them they will vote next time. ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, a legal and common sense require. 

The whole election process lacked transparency, could not be traced and verified, etc. And yet Mnangagwa maintained the elections were “free, fair and credible”! Sadly, SADC leaders, once again, believed the Zanu PF lies. 

Zimbabwe’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections is at the very heart of the country’s worsening economic meltdown because the nation was stuck with the corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF. 40 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruptions have destroyed the country’s once upon a time robust and vibrant economy. 

Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have rigged elections to secure their long stay in power. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state, ravished by mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness, there will be no meaningful economic recovery. None!

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has pushed unemployment rate into the nauseating heights of 90%, a recent WB report revealed that 90% of the population now live in poverty and 34% in abject poverty. The World Food Programme, USA and EU have stepped in to source food to feed 8 million Zimbabweans who would be starving, otherwise. 

After decades of neglect, Zimbabwe’s public education and health care have all but collapsed. Teachers, doctors and nurses have stopped going to work because their wages do not cover their transport costs let alone food, accommodation, etc. 

There is no denying that Zimbabwe is a failed state and, more pointedly, in serious, serious economic trouble and the danger of social and political instability is real and immediate. 

Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess is a man-made problem – chronic bad governance born out of the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. The solution is self-evident – hold free, fair and credible elections. 

Zanu PF has usurped the people’s democratic freedoms and rights to impose the de facto one-party dictatorship complete with its carte blanche powers to rig elections. It is sad that even now with Zimbabwe’s very survival at stake, SADC leaders should continue to believe Zanu PF lies and propaganda at the expense of truth, reason and reality. 

The solution is for the illegitimate Zanu PF regime to step down so the people of Zimbabwe can implement the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. Zanu PF cannot be trust to implement the reforms because no tyrannical regime will ever reform itself out of office. 

Besides, SADC made that mistake of entrusting Zanu PF to implement the reforms, or be it together with MDC, during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and not even one reform was implemented. Not one!

“Thank you, Your Excellency Ambassador Cloud, for visiting the Secretariat and for the extensive discussion on impacts of sanction on the economy of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans; and the need to walk the talk in supporting the ongoing political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe,” SADC executive secretary, Dr Stergomena Tax answered. 

This is so infuriating! What “ongoing political and economic reforms”  is she wittering about when Mnangagwa has said the last elections were free, fair and credible and SADC itself agreed with him!

The sanctions are helping to highlight Zanu PF’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections and hence the reason they must stay. 

Indeed, after nearly two decades of the sanctions, the Americans must review the sanctions to make them tougher and far reaching. People like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister Kirsty Coventry and opposition leaders like Nelson Chamisa and Tendai Biti must be added to the sanctions list for working with Zanu PF knowing fully well the regime rigged elections. 

The West must seriously consider imposing sanctions on some of the SADC leaders. By believing Mnangagwa’s lies and propaganda, these leaders are closing their eyes to the truth, reason and reality and it is the ordinary people of Zimbabwe and of the whole SADC region who are paying dearly for the folly. Something to force these leaders to open their eyes will not be amiss!

What Zimbabwe needs is to implement reforms and a chance to elect competent leaders – that is not too much to ask.

By A Correspondent- Home Affairs Minister, Kazembe Kazembe has said that the passport backlog which dates back to 2018 needs to be cleared this year.

Kazembe proposed the computerisation of the system to allow passport seekers to apply online. Speaking in Chinhoyi where he toured provincial registry offices, Kazembe said:

We have a backlog of 355 thousand passports, they need to be processed and that backlog has to be cleared before year-end. The major challenge is the lack of consumables. Decentralisation is an ongoing process. The solution is computerisation. There is no decentralisation that beats applications via online.

Kazembe also proposed that Registrar General’s offices have to be solar-powered to avoid delays due to power cuts. His remarks come when there are reports suggesting that the government intends to allow local citizens with “free funds” to apply for passports using foreign currency, particularly the United States dollar.

The biting economy has forced a number of Zimbabweans to contemplate going abroad to search for greener pastures and as a result, the RG’s office is overwhelmed by the demand when it already had insufficient resources for printing passports.

-Statemedia

Strive Masiyiwa’s daughter Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa took to Twitter to celebrate her latest achievement the opening of her international school in Domboshava.

Masiyiwa tweeted:

We did it! A year ago I sat with my team and I told them I wanted to build an international school in an area people would least expect. We opened our doors this week and it is beyond what we could’ve dreamt or imagined. 

The school opening was confirmed by Higherlife Foundation which also tweeted:

It was all smiles and excitement yesterday(14 January 2020) at the opening of @Simba_Edu Prep School- a first of its kind early years learning centre in the heart of #Dombashava Congratulations to team Simba on the successful opening of the school. More on Simba here:simbaeducation.com

According to Simba Education Website:

Simba Education is an early years services company with innovation at its core. We design technology solutions, learning experiences and other products that lower the barriers of accessing an affordable early years education

GOVERNMENT is working on modalities to clear the passport backlog which has gone beyond 350 thousand.

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister, Kazembe Kazembe who was in Chinhoyi where he toured provincial registry offices says government is working flat to clear the passport backlog which has been attributed to the shortage of foreign currency for procuring consumables.

On whether there are plans to decentralise passport issuing offices to district level, minister Kazembe said the most effective way is going digital and allow applicants to apply online.

“We have a backlog of 355 thousand passports, they need to be processed and that backlog has to be cleared before year-end. The major challenge is the lack of consumables. Decentralisation is an ongoing process. The solution is computerisation. There is no decentralisation that beats applications via online,” he said.

He stressed that the registry offices should all be solar powered as there have been delays in the processing of identity documents due to power cuts.

Several applicants who had an interface with the minister during his tour expressed concern over the slow pace with which they were being served.

Minister Kazembe’s tour of Mashonaland West provincial registry offices is the third leg of his national tour. Earlier this week he visited Gweru registry.

The government last year pegged passport fees for diasporans at US$318 to allow those living in the diaspora to speedily access the document as the local cost of getting a passport, ZWL$58, is not enough to meet production costs. However, there has been an outcry from the general public alleging that corrupt registry staff are now charging everyone who need to acquire a passport in US dollars. Government has promised to look into the allegations of corruption.

The People’s Republic of China has pledged to help Zimbabwe prevent the spread of the Coronavirus adding that in the event that symptoms of the virus are detected in Zimbabwe, the Asia giant will help contain it.

VICE President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife Marry, pictured, has filed an application seeking to implement a High Court order allowing her access to her children, matrimonial home and cars pending the hearing of an appeal filed by her husband.

Marry and Chiwenga are embroiled in an acrimonious divorce that has seen the two trading accusations and counter-accusations, among them, drug abuse and witchcraft.

Marry – who is facing fraud, attempted murder, externalisation and money laundering charges – was recently released on $50 000 bail and was denied access to the matrimonial home, cars and children by Chiwenga.

She approached the court and access was granted to her last Friday.

However, the Vice President wasted no time in filing an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the ruling, rendering the ruling in favour of Marry useless.

Marry in her application yesterday accused Chiwenga of abusing court processes for personal gains.
She insisted that Chiwenga’s appeal had no prospects  of success as it was “vexatious and mala fide”.  

“The respondent filed a notice of appeal immediately after the handing down of judgement in HH127/2020.
“Its effect was that I could no longer be able to enforce the judgement and more specifically I could … spend time with my minor children at the matrimonial home.

“There is need to protect the honourable court from the respondent’s unholy abuse of court processes.

“I maintain that I will suffer severe and irreparable prejudice if leave to execute is to be refused and I aver that the respondent does not have any prospects of success on appeal whatsoever, in any event, there is no irreparable harm to be suffered by him if leave to execute pending appeal is granted.

“To achieve substantial justice, I pray that the application should be allowed,” Marry said in her court papers.
She said Chiwenga was using the appeal as a strategy to buy time.

Marry also highlighted that her legal practitioners wrote a letter to all state security officials concerning the abuse of State powers by Chiwenga, which he has not challenged in his affidavit.

“It stands to reason that respondent cannot be allowed to continue having custody of the children on the basis that he unlawfully awarded himself the custody of children and it comes down to a question of what is in the best interests of the minor children.

“I aver that it is not good for the children to be separated from their mother and their siblings, until such a time when the appeal is determined.”

Marry also added that no harm would be occasioned on Chiwenga if she was permitted to continue staying at their matrimonial home.

“I do not have any place to go, I have been a squatter in other people’s houses and this jeopardises my freedom in light of my bail conditions and it is convenient for me to continue residing at our matrimonial home,” she said.

State Media|CMED (Private) Limited has finally dragged Croco Motors to court for failing to deliver two outstanding vehicles bought in 2018.

CMED, a State-owned enterprise, has approached the High Court claiming the supply and delivery of two Datsun Go 1.2 vehicles.

It is also claiming $416 000 in damages for loss of business calculated from December 2018 to January 2020, together with interest at the rate of five percent per annum from the date of summons to date of full payment.

The damages are for breach of contract, to be paid in the sum equivalent to the current market value of the two vehicles.

Reads the summons: “Plaintiff (CMED) operates a driving school business and on average each car does 350 lessons a month at $40 a lesson. The car also gets hired for VID road tests and gets hired on average every month ten times at $200 per each car hire.

“A combination of the car hires and lessons meant that the two cars were supposed to generate $460 000 from the date that the defendant was supposed to have delivered the cars in December 2018 to date, which period is now 13 months.”

In the summons, CMED said in September 2018, it entered into an agreement with Croco Motors for the supply of six Datsun Go 1.2 vehicles at an agreed purchase price of US$113 400, including value added tax and customs and excise duty.

The agreement stipulated that delivery was supposed to be done within six to eight weeks.

CMED completed the payment on September 13, 2018, but Croco Motors only delivered four vehicles and to date has refused to deliver the remainder.

CMED is demanding that the automotive company pays the cost of the suit.More in Home

Croco Motors is yet to respond to the claims.

A Murewa man facing a murder charge after stabbing his father to death claims he killed him for causing poverty in their family.

Elliot Rewu, who stabbed his father Chamunorwa Makumborenga three times on the head in April last year, told the High Court yesterday that he suspected that his late father’s hand in witchcraft which he claimed was hindering his progress and that of his siblings.

Soon after committing the crime, Elliot told his mother Varaidzo Makumborenga that he had done the job for his siblings and no one would bewitch them ever again.

According to the agreed facts with the State, Elliot confessed to killing his father on a morning the deceased had planned to seek a protection order against him.

“I attacked him because I couldn’t understand why he was pursuing a court order against me.
“He never told me what I had done to deserve such treatment,” Elliot told the court.
He said he always suspected his late father of practicing witchcraft.

“I came home one day and met unfamiliar visitors in our living room, greeted them before asking my mother who the people in the kitchen were.
“To my surprise my mother was not seeing the people physically but I did.

“My late father’s hand in witchcraft was also evident by how some of my siblings and I would struggle with life, nothing that we did seemed to have life in it,” claimed Elliot.

The matter has been set for judgment next Monday before High Court Judge Tawanda Chitapi.-H-Metro

A Murewa man facing a murder charge after stabbing his father to death claims he killed him for causing poverty in their family.
Elliot Rewu, who stabbed his father Chamunorwa Makumborenga three times on the head in April last year, told the High Court yesterday that he suspected that his late father’s hand in witchcraft which he claimed was hindering his progress and that of his siblings.

Soon after committing the crime, Elliot told his mother Varaidzo Makumborenga that he had done the job for his siblings and no one would bewitch them ever again.

According to the agreed facts with the State, Elliot confessed to killing his father on a morning the deceased had planned to seek a protection order against him.

“I attacked him because I couldn’t understand why he was pursuing a court order against me.
“He never told me what I had done to deserve such treatment,” Elliot told the court.
He said he always suspected his late father of practicing witchcraft.

“I came home one day and met unfamiliar visitors in our living room, greeted them before asking my mother who the people in the kitchen were.
“To my surprise my mother was not seeing the people physically but I did.

“My late father’s hand in witchcraft was also evident by how some of my siblings and I would struggle with life, nothing that we did seemed to have life in it,” claimed Elliot.

The matter has been set for judgment next Monday before High Court Judge Tawanda Chitapi.-H-Metro

Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC there is fresh evidence of how how the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission rigged the elections in favour of Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Below is part of the contents of a document compiled under the party’s Agenda 2020:

While the Constitutional Court made its determination of the application I initiated challenging the controversial ZEC declaration and announcement of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner of the 2018 presidential election, and while we respected that decision as we disagreed with it, there is now a new development after the case.

The development is coming from ZEC itself, which shows beyond any argument or doubt that the results of the 2018 presidential election were transmitted, captured and collated unlawfully, improperly and irregularly as to void the election and invalidate any result that was declared and announced following the unlawful, improper and irregular transmission, capture and collation of the results from the country’s 1,985 ward centres to ZEC’s national command centre in Harare.

The compelling evidence of how the presidential election was rigged by ZEC, is enough for anyone and all of the 2,6 million voters who cast their vote for us to go to court on grounds that their political rights enshrined in s67(1) of the Constitution were violated.

There’s also now a clear and present basis for taking the matter of the 2018 presidential election to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.

Such actions would be well within the BBI, as an expression of the people’s action to restore legality and legitimacy under the MDC’s Agenda 2020.

Those who say the 2018 presidential election should be forgotten about, and focus should now be on 2023, ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s them who should forget about covering up the giant 2018 election fraud.

Especially now that ZEC itself has, perhaps inadvertently or even mischievously, came out with incontrovertible evidence that election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the law.

Farai Dziva|The entire Rusape community has been stunned by an incident in which a drunk man crushed his mother’s head.

Read the ZBC version of the story below:

A 44-year-old Rusape man from Chigwedere village is in police custody after he allegedly pounded his 77-year-old mother to death.
ZBC News reports that on Monday, Muzowaka who was under the influence of alcohol pounded his unsuspecting mother, Monika Mucheke, with a granite stone in the head and she died instantly.
The incident was confirmed to the ZBC News by Manicaland police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa who added that the accused is already in police custody assisting with investigations. Kakohwa said:

“Semapurisa tiri kuferefeta nyaya yemwana mukomana akatsonda mai vake nedombo mushure mekunge anwa doro kunonzi kwaStella, (as the police we are investigationg a case in which a son crushed his mother with a stone after he had consumed alcohol at a place called Stella) .

We encourage members of the public to try and solve issues amicably saying that the law will take its course on all offenders.”

The current bank exchange rates for the ZWL$ today are as follows:

USD = ZWL$17.3114
ZWL$ = RAND0.8405
Data according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Black Market Rates:

USD = ZWL$24.70 zimrates
USD = ZWL$24.50 zwl365
USD = ZWL$24.20 bluemari
USD = BOND19.20 zimrates

– Marketwatch

By A Correspondent- Three City of Harare housing officials yesterday appeared in court for allegedly selling 150 stands in Kuwadzana worth US$765 000 without council approval.

Believer Mupawaenda (46), Rudo Chigocha (45) and Magret George (31) were charged with fraud. They were not asked to plead when they appeared before magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, who remanded them out of custody to March 3 on $1 000 bail each.

Prosecutor Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that during 2017 and 2018, the three identified open spaces in Kuwadzana 3, 4, 5 and 6 high- density suburb and created fictitious paying schemes.

They are alleged to have originated fake layout plans before fraudulently connecting water for the purposes of selling the land to unsuspecting home-seekers.

It is said Mupawaenda, Chigocha and George sold 150 stands without council’s approval. In a bid to conceal their offence, they allegedly manufactured provisional allocation letters and fliers for each stand.

Duplicate letters were found in Chigocha’s possession, the court heard.

Mr Mutizirwa alleged that the three were using old cancelled stand numbers to illegally allocate the fake stands where George would connect water.

The offence came to light following a tip-off leading to the arrest of the three

-Statemedia

This is Luke Mundopa and he is a Zimbabwean man currently in South Africa where he is seeking medical attention.

He is my friend’s father whom we have tried to assist but the situation has now gone beyond what we can comprehend.

Mr Mundopa is in South Africa and is very sick because he cannot sit or sleep properly.

He is suffering from lipoma according to doctors and he has been to hospital. The doctors have however told him to come back on March 24 2020 and he is kindly looking for assistance in cash or in kind.

My friend is struggling to provide him with food and other basic medical care and is kindly asking for assistance.

They are currently in Cape Town and Mr Mundopa can be contacted on 00263775965483. You can call or send a whatsapp message to him.

Thanking you in advance.

By A Correspondent- There was chaos in Kuwadzana Extention after a dog meat selling syndicate that hoodwinked local residents into thinking that it was game meat, was apprehended and brutally assaulted. 

The two Zanu-Pf affiliated youths only identified by their monikers GI Joe and Bhunu were brutally assaulted by angry residents over the weekend after news of their dastardly deeds came to light. The duo was then forced to eat their loot which they had been selling to unsuspecting residents.

The matter came to light after a fallout between the two sent skeletons tumbling out of the closet. GI Joe and Bhunu are reported to have had an argument over splitting their spoils after selling a carcase for US$15 Forcing the former to spill the beans.

One of the residents who witnessed the fall-out told the publication that GI Joe-irked over their dispute-went telling their customers telling that them that they had been selling them dog meat.

People discovered they had been eating dog meat when GI Joe spilled the beans, irked by a US$ 3 dispute. The residents told him to come and collect the balance later, but GI Joe became angry and told them, ndosaka murikudya nyama yeimbwa.

Vakapfuura vaine saga raive rakazara nyama yeimbwa vachiti igame meat GI Joe achiti inyama yemhembwe. Pane vakaswera vachitoita braai then mudhara umwe akatodyawo liver yacho mukadzi wake aiti nerice zvainaka. Mudhara Komboni akatouya achimhanya achiti kana irimhembwe anotoda iriliver yacho nekuti ndiyo inonaka.

GI Joe is said to be critically injured and admitted at a local hospital after thrashing from residents while Bhunu gas since gone into hiding.

Ironically, this comes after President Emmerson Mnangagwa is on record telling Kuwadzana residents to eat vegetables and potatoes as an alternative to meat after they complaining against the skyrocketing price of meat which has gone beyond their reach.

-StateMedia

I am tuned in. We are all very worried about the situation in Zimbabwe and South Africa has to play a bigger role in fixing this crisis. https://t.co/QM92NhGYD3

— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) January 29, 2020

By A Correspondent- Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, the virus causes respiratory infections which are typically mild including the common cold but rarer forms like SARS and MERS can be lethal.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that the new virus is a family of viruses that include the common cold, and viruses such as SARS and MERS. This new virus was temporarily named “2019-nCoV.”

WHO On 31 December 2019 was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China and has been working with Chinese authorities and global experts from that day forward.

Coronavirus usually causes respiratory illness and WHO has advised people on how to protect themselves and those around them from getting the disease.

Below is the list of countries where coronavirus cases have been confirmed:

1. – China
2. – United States
3. – France
4. – Japan
5. – South Korea
6. – Taiwan
7. – Singapore
8. – Thailand
9. – Australia
10. – Nepal
11. – Vietnam
12. – Hong Kong
13. – Macau
14. – Malaysia
15. – Canada
16. – Cambodia
17. – Sri Lanka
18. – Germany
19. – UAE

By Jane Mlambo| Vice President Constantino Chiwenga whose nasty divorce to former model Marry Mubaiwa has hogged the limelight since the new year has refused to bow down, accusing Judge President George Chiweshe of influencing court decision in favor of his estranged wife.

Chiwenga accused Chiweshe of leaking judgements to Marry before they are officially handed down.

While the constitution is clear on the independence of the three arms of state i.e Executive, Judiciary and Legislature, it must be stressed that no-one including those in higher echelons of power should be allowed to temper with any of the arms of state.

This means Chiwenga’s remarks against Judge President Chiweshe must be condemned by any right thinking Zimbabwe as it is likely to compromise the independence of the judiciary which is a critical pillar in enforcing constitutionalism and justice for all citizens.

The judiciary should remain independent to enable anyone aggrieved by individuals, corporates or the state itself to seek justice.

Now looking at the implications of this particular case, Chiwenga is the vice President of Zimbabwe which makes him the second powerful citizen.

Chiwenga is also powerful politically based on his central role in the November 2017 military coup that displaced the late former President Robert Mugabe.

Chiwenga is even more powerful than his counterpart Kembo Mohadi and in many instances, those in very key positions do not want to cross paths with him for fear of being freezed out.

The political power wielded by Chiwenga and his remarks against Chiweshe is likely to turn tables in his divorce case considering that the man he is challenging is a senior judge and if this can be done to a senior what more other junior officers.

It must be stressed that the ruling Chiwenga is challenging had helped in boosting confidence in the judiciary in many ways. First that the judiciary can still rule against powerful people like Chiwenga and secondly that there was no interference in the outcome which appeared to have been based on the merits of submissions made by both parties.

Now with these threats, we are likely to see the judiciary making concessionary rulings to salvage the embarassment or possibly out of fear of Zimbabwe’s number two.

Judiciary should always remain independent- PLEASE.

National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe has said that the government is working on introducing legislation which would make it illegal for home-seekers to buy land from illegal land barons.

He made the remarks whilst touring Mabvazuva Housing Scheme under Goromonzi Rural District Council, Housing and Social Amenities. He said:

Gone are the days where people are going to be buying stands from illegal dealers or land barons; that is a thing of the past.

Anyone who is going to be seen or if we hear that there is a transaction between a home-seeker and an illegal land developer, both of them will go to jail because the home-seeker would have participated in an illegal deal knowing very well that he or she is being fleeced.

He said that concerted efforts from all stakeholders will stop illegal land barons whom he accused of leaving the residential areas they sell undeveloped.

Garwe also said that the government shall intervene but will not demolish the already built houses but “will chip in to assist in regularisation, specifically in the provision of the required services like roads and water network systems.”

EWN|Following concerns of high levels of crime in Diepsloot, Police Minister Bheki Cele deployed a special operations team last Friday.

Since detective Oupa Matjie was fatally shot during a police operation in the area earlier this month, there have been heightened tensions over safety concerns in the area.

Protesting residents have blamed undocumented migrants for Matjie’s murder and for the crime in the area.

Bongani Bingwa shines the spotlight on Diepsloot in finding out whether what is happening there is xenophobia or just criminality.

He chats to the area’s African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) chairperson Loyiso Toyiya, community activist Sicelo Shezi and Wits University associate professor Loren Landau.

There has been a lot of crime issues in Diepsloot and as a result, the community decided to go to the streets and raise its concerns. The concerns raised by the community are genuine concerns as we cannot fold our arms when people are no longer safe in Diepsloot.— 

Sicelo Shezi, Community activist – Diepsloot

Toyiya says people from the outside don’t understand the frustrations that the community is facing with undocumented migrants.

When a crime is reported, you hear that people cannot be traced as those committing these crimes are in the country illegally.— 

Loyiso Toyiya, Diepsloot chairperson – ANCYL

Many of these concerns are real, not only in Diepsloot but in other areas in South Africa, Landau explains.

Listen below to the full conversation:

Sowatan|A top achiever in the 2019 National Senior Certificate examinations in the North West may not get to university for lack of funds.

Triphin Mudzvengi, 18, obtained distinctions in seven subjects but her parents are battling to raise her tuition fees to study at Wits University.

Mudzvengi is Zimbabwean and does not qualify for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding. She came to South Africa with her parents in 2010.

Mudzvengi cannot approach the Zimbabwean embassy for any assistance either, because the Refugees Amendment Act forbids refugees and asylum seekers to visit, seek aid or communicate with their governments.

Mudzvengi has been a top achiever at Golf View Park secondary school in Mahikeng since grade 8. In matric she got 85% in English Home Language, 80% in Afrikaans First Additional Language, 86% in Mathematics, 89% in Life Orientation, 86% in Computer Application Technique, 94% in Life Sciences and 88% in Physical Sciences.

She hoped to study civil engineering at Wits, where the annual tuition fee is R149,370. Though she qualifies for a R15,000 bursary as a top performer, the university demands 75% of the fee upfront before she registers.

One social media commentator called on businessman Strive Masiyiwa who has helped several under privileged Zimbabweans to come to the student’s help and take her through university.

By Own Correspondent| The police have cleared a planned demonstration by parents against Highlands Primary School head whom they accused abusing school funds and running the school down, ZimEye can exclusively report.

According to one of the parents who spoke on condition of anonymity, the school is in a mess and now a health hazard due to neglect.

“Electricity was cut off over non-payment, no water in toilets, children in boarding do not have adequate food, grass at the school has not been cut since the beginning of the rains, the school is in total mess and now a health hazard to pupils,” said the parent.

Click this link to view the petition signed by parents against the Highlands Primary School head.

The parent added that the head was confronted by parents in the last meeting but remained quite.

“This is on top of a damning audit report which revealed that the head had abused school funds,” added the parent.

Parents have since rejected a fees review until there is clarity on administration of money, further crippling the school considering inflationary pressures.

Bulawayo police are hunting for thieves who broke into one of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s vehicles in Bulawayo at the weekend.

The First Lady visited different parts of Matabeleland last week handing over donations.

Police sources said the thieves broke into the vehicle while it was parked in the Central Business District.

“The car was driven by one of the First Lady’s aides, he parked it in the CBD and got into a popular restaurant to have lunch,” said the police source.

“When he came out, the car had been broken into and the thieves stole a number of things including clothes and some documents.”

Efforts to get an official comment from the police hit a brick wall.

However, police sources said the law enforcement bosses were under immense pressure to solve the crime.

Bulawayo has recorded an increase in cases of theft from vehicles with the police criticised for not doing enough to curb the crime.

“There have been a lot of complaints about theft from vehicles in the city, these criminals have become a nuisance but the bosses were not taking this seriously. With the First Lady incident, it is hoped that something can be done to end the crime,” said a police source.

Mrs Mnangagwa has not had it easy in Bulawayo. There was drama last July when an unidentified man was arrested for hurling stones at motorists and also obstructing First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s motorcade.

After a mini-scuffle, the man was arrested by police and whisked away.

The man, suspected to be mentally challenged, had forced the motorcade to come to a halt before he was pinned down by two police officers along Robert Mugabe Way.

By A Correspondent|ZANU PF has distanced itself from an advert circulating on social media, inviting prospective students to apply for this year’s presidential scholarships through the ruling party.

According to the advert, the said scholarships were targeting disadvantaged students in the country’s 10 provinces who intended to pursue undergraduate and Masters studies outside the country.

However, in a statement Tuesday, Zanu PF Acting Director for Information Chiratidzo Malinganisa said members of the public must guard against being duped by people purporting to be representing the party.

“Zanu PF has noted with concern the circulation of a fake call of applications for Presidential Scholarships that is purported to be submitted through an email address bearing a fake Zanu PF domain,” the statement reads.

“It must further be stated as a matter of fact that Zanu PF does not facilitate any kind of scholarships.

“Therefore, members of the public are advised to ignore the fake advert and guard against being duped by anyone purporting to represent Zanu PF,” Malinganisa said.

Zanu PF Youth League secretary for administration Tendai Chirau also warned the public to be careful of the fake messages being circulated on social media.

“Beware of fake news. The department of Presidential Scholarship is yet to advertise and when they advertise they do so through the main stream media. Applications are processed through their department,” said Chirau.

Malingisa warned people to be vigilant and not tarnish the image of the party.

“The general public is advised to be vigilant against the machinations of enemies of the State through proliferation of fake news. Anyone who wishes to apply for scholarships should enquire with the Executive Director Presidential and National Scholarships at Compensation House,” reads the statement.

AN 18-year-old man has been ordered to perform community service for having sex with a 13-year-old girl after she failed to repay $2,50 he had given her.

The teenager from Ezikwakweni Village in Esigodini who cannot be named for ethical reasons pleaded not guilty to a rape charge when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira. He was found not guilty of rape but was convicted for having sexual intercourse with a young person.

This was after the girl told the court that she consented to sex.

The teenager was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and three months were suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within the next five years. The remaining nine months were further suspended on condition that he performs 315 hours of community service at a local primary school.

Prosecuting, Mr Khumbulani Nyoni said in August last year the accused person gave the complainant $2,50 and later demanded his cash back.

When she failed to give him back the money, he demanded to have sexual intercourse with her.

“On an unknown date but in August 2019 the complainant was alone at her grandmother’s homestead in Esigodini when the accused person visited her. He gave her $2,50 and she bought some sweets and the following day he confronted her and demanded his money back,” he said.

“The complainant told the accused person that she had already used the money and he demanded to have sexual intercourse with her as a form of payment. The complainant refused and the accused person went on to rape her.’’

Mr Nyoni said on another day during the same month, the teenager went to the complainant’s home and found her alone. He again demanded his money back but she indicated that she did not have it.

He said the accused person raped the complainant and warned her against reporting the matter.

Mr Nyoni said in September the complainant’s mother noticed that her daughter had developed some ring worms on her face and questioned her after suspecting that she was pregnant. He said the complainant then revealed to her mother that the accused person had raped her.

The minor was however not pregnant.

The matter was reported to the police resulting in the arrest of the accused person.

In his defence the accused person said he did not rape the complainant as she had consented to having sexual intercourse with him. He said the complainant and his girlfriend are friends.

THE Cold Storage Company (CSC)-Boustead Beef Zimbabwe has dismissed messages circulating on social media suggesting that the firm has embarked on a massive job recruitment drive.

The country’s largest meat processor and marketer is planned for re-opening after Cabinet recently approved a joint venture agreement between CSC and a United Kingdom investor, Boustead Beef.

The arrangement will result in the new investor injecting US$400 million towards the revival of the firm that will re-open under a new name, CSC-Boustead Beef Zimbabwe.

An official from Boustead Beef Zimbabwe who declined to be named citing professional reasons said:

“The message circulating on social media suggesting that we have embarked on a massive job recruitment is fake news, it’s very untrue as there is nothing like that here at CSC-Boustead Beef.”

Efforts to get a comment from CSC-Boustead Beef Zimbabwe managing director Mr Nick Havercroft as well as the firm’s consultant Mr Reginald Shoko were fruitless as their mobile phone numbers were not going through by the time of going to print yesterday.

According to the job advert that was circulating on social media, CSC-Boustead Beef Zimbabwe was seeking to recruit over 400 workers and these included qualified and experienced beef handlers and 55 general workers for the company’s refurbished abattoirs in Bulawayo and Masvingo.

The said job advert also highlighted that the prospective workers should have a minimum of five years experience with traceable references and in return the company was offering a basic salary of ZW$3 800, accommodation allowance of ZW$700, paid overtime, and free transport to and from work.

Meanwhile, CSC-Boustead Beef Zimbabwe has announced that it has started refurbishing its infrastructure and ranches across the country as it prepares to resume full scale operations, which will create more than 600 jobs.

As part of its preparatory works to re-opening, the company plans to install a 3MW solar plant at its headquarters in Bulawayo to the tune of about US$9 million.

The company has taken delivery of the imported solar panels and the installation exercise is yet to begin.

By A Correspondent|A Zimbabwe National Army dog section team on Tuesday stormed into the Zanu PF headquarters in an apparent security operation that no-one in the offices expected.

Sources within the party said the army personnel swept through the entire 14 storey building.

“We are actually surprised, we have tried to come up with pointers as to what might have happened but there is nothing,” a source which declined to be named said.

“The president never visited the headquarters today, none of his deputies were here. So, we do not know what is happening.

“But, do not worry much, this building has ears and within a week we will know what was happening.”

The 14th floor houses President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s offices and his main boardroom while his deputies occupy the 12th floor.

Contacted for comment, Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said he was not aware of any security check at the party head office as he was on leave.

THREE armed robbers snatched US$180 000 from a man from Nketa 6 suburb, Bulawayo when he had visited his relatives in Killarney suburb.

Mr Farai Vengesai (27) lost the money and his Samsung S10 phone worth about US$1 000 to the armed robbers who fired shots before robbing him as he was about to close the gate shortly after arriving at his aunt’s house.

The incident occurred on Tuesday last week at about 7:30PM and the suspects are still on the run.

Police said the armed robbers fired once in the air but Mr Vengesai’s relatives said a number of shots were fired.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube yesterday confirmed the incident.

He said Mr Vengesai drove into the yard but was robbed as he was trying to close the gate.

“A Toyota Corolla emerged with three unknown adults who disembarked from the car and one of them was allegedly brandishing a revolver which he fired once in the air. The other one then smashed the window of the car and pointed a gun to the driver and they got away with US$180 000 and a Samsung S10 worth US$1 000,” said Insp Ncube. 

He said investigations are underway.

Insp Ncube appealed to anyone who may have information on the matter to come forward. 

He urged people to take the necessary safety measures when travelling with large sums of money.

“Apart from urging members of the public and the business community to avoid keeping or carrying large sums of money in their homes; if you happen to be carrying large sums of money consider hiring security escort. Even the police; a private person can seek the services of the police. You can arrange with the local police station that you would be carrying large sums of money so assist me or engage private security companies,” he said.

A comment could not be obtained from Mr Vengesai yesterday as he could not be located.

The family narrated how they were terrified when the gunmen pounced.

The victim’s aunt who declined to be named said Mr Vengesai had just paid them a visit when robbers attacked him.

She said a number of shots were fired.

“It happened on Tuesday last week at about 7:28PM when my nephew who lives in Nketa had just visited us. As he drove into the yard, he was followed by the armed robbers who started firing shots in the air. We were so terrified we locked ourselves in the house as the shots were fired. I don’t know how many times those guys shot in the air. 

“For a moment I felt like my heart had stopped. We were worried that once they were done with him, they would break into the house,” she said.

The aunt said after the robbers had left, Mr Vengesai told them that they had ordered him not to look at their faces as they pushed him to the ground.

She said she is still traumatised following the incident.

The aunt said they were just an ordinary family but knew that their nephew was involved in deals which saw him carrying a lot of money. She did not specify the nature of the deals.

State Media|VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has raised a complaint against Judge President George Chiweshe after the judgment in a child custody case was allegedly leaked to his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, before being officially handed down in court.

Justice Chiweshe is the head of the High Court in Zimbabwe.

VP Chiwenga, through his lawyers — Manase & Manase Legal Practitioners — has written to Justice Chiweshe seeking an explanation as to why the judgment in the child custody case was leaked to Mubaiwa and a local newspaper, well before it was handed down in court.

Last Friday, the newspaper had banners all over the streets announcing Mubaiwa’s victory in the children’s custody case, but the court only officially handed the judgment down after 1030 the same day.

“The purpose of our writing is to register our client’s complaint in the manner in which the judgment in the above matter has been handled.

“The High Court, which is headed by yourself, may have answers to the complaints raised by our client herein,” reads the letter.

Mubaiwa, according to the lawyers, is related to the Judge President and the relationship was now prejudicing VP Chiwenga in the court cases involving her estranged wife.

“Our client advises us that you are related to the applicant Ms Marry Mubaiwa and she has made numerous bald assertions in public that you are related and have sorted and influenced all matters involving her in her favour to the prejudice of our client.

“We, with respect, wish to register our client’s concern over allegations emanating from the said relationship with the applicant and complain over the conduct of the applicant in accessing court judgments and orders before they have been officially handed down to both litigants.

“These allegations are known by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the lawyers for the applicant and various other parties which we can divulge to you in confidence,” the letter reads.

On Friday, the letter further reads, Mubaiwa went to the children’s school as early as 8am and demanded to see the children while armed with a court order, well before judgment was handed down.

“The applicant in this matter attended the parties’ children’s school at 8am today (Friday January 24) armed with an order of this court and stated to the school authorities that she had been granted an order by the High Court to have access to the children.

“Our client telephoned us to inquire as to whether judgment had been handed down in the matter to which we confirmed that the matter was still pending and a diligent enquiry at the registry confirmed our position,” reads the letter of complaint.

“We were then telephoned by the Honourable Justice Dube-Banda’s clerk at 0927am advising us that the Honourable judge wished to meet parties in chambers to hand down the judgment,” reads the letter.

VP Chiwenga wondered how Mubaiwa got to know of the outcome before judgment hand been handed down.

“Could it be that there is a new system of handing down judgments wherein litigants are given court orders before official pronouncements?

“We also wonder why the said judgment, before it was handed down, got publicised in the Independent newspaper advising the public that Marry Mubaiwa had won the case she had filed,” said VP Chiwenga’s lawyers.

The lawyers asked for an explanation within 48 hours. They argued that handing down of the judgment at 1030 was just a formality to sanitise the illegality.

“The summoning of the parties at 1030am, in our respectful view, was merely a formality to sanitise the blatant illegality that had occurred, more particularly that the judgment had already been publicised in the media and that applicant had used it to facilitate the taking of children from school before it was handed down.

“Our client requests that you urgently revert to us within 48 hours upon receipt of this letter as he feels the system may have been compromised,” reads the letter.

Justice Chiweshe is yet to respond to the issues raised by the VP’s lawyers.

Last week, Ms Mubaiwa won her High Court appeal for custody of the couple’s three minor children and access to the matrimonial home.

But her joy was short-lived after VP Chiwenga filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging the lower court’s decision.

The filing of a notice of appeal

effectively suspends the court ruling until determination of the appeal.

Justice Christopher Dube-Banda ordered that the custody of children be restored to Mubaiwa and barred the Vice President from interfering with her access to the Borrowdale Brooke house they shared before their fallout.

Mubaiwa had sought the intervention of the High Court after the children were taken from her and she was barred from the Borrowdale Brooke matrimonial home following the couple’s fallout.

“The respondent is hereby ordered to restore the custody of the minor children, namely Tendai Dominique Chiwenga (born 4 November 2011), Christian Tawanazororo Chiwenga (born 15 November 2012) and Michael Alexander Chiwenga (born 13 February 2014) to the custody of the applicant within 24 hours of this order,” ruled Justice Dube-Banda.

“The respondent is hereby ordered and restrained from interfering with applicant’s access to use and enjoyment of the property known as 614 Nick Price Drive, Borrowdale Brooke, Borrowdale, Harare.”

VP Chiwenga was also restrained from blocking Mubaiwa from accessing the vehicles.

However, the VP filed a notice of appeal, outlining errors he says the High Court made in the matter.

State Media|A seven-member gang armed with machetes, axes, iron bars and bicycle chains last Friday night besieged Nyaradza Business Centre in Gokwe South before searching and robbing people and businesses, police have confirmed.

According to witnesses, the gang forcibly opened shops and bars and looted alcohol before getting away with cash and cellphones.

Some people found with nothing were beaten up.

“It was a traumatic 30-minute encounter with the machete gang as they would strike at will, assaulting and cursing victims who would be found with nothing valuable.

“I lost a cellphone and US$5 which I had in my pocket, but I felt for a colleague whom they pounced on after me. I saw them assaulting him with chains over why he had nothing on him,” said Mr Maxwell Gondo.

Mr Gondo, a teacher at a nearby school, said he was about to leave the business centre when the gang rounded up people.

“We were told to lie down and they searched everyone while striking others with machetes,” he said.

Acting police spokesperson for Midlands Province Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende said police had launched a manhunt for the suspects.

“Police in Gokwe have launched a manhunt for a gang of seven male adults who attacked and robbed shop owners at Nyaradza Business Centre in Gokwe.

“It is alleged that the seven unknown suspects, armed with iron bars, axes, machetes and bicycle chains pounced on the business centre, driving in a silver Honda Fit,” said Asst Insp Mukwende.

“They got away with 33 litres of petrol, 10 litres of diesel, seven cellphones cash amounting to $3 720, R400, US$5 and alcoholic beverages,” said Asst Insp Mukwende.

She said a report was later made to police and the injured were taken to Gokwe District Hospital.

Asst Insp Mukwende dismissed social media reports that the suspects pounced on many business centres in Gokwe.

“We urge members of the public who might want to assist the police in their investigations to approach any nearest police station or make use of our suggestion boxes,” she said.

Own Correspondent|UNITED Kingdom-based global economic research firm, Fitch Solutions, says Zimbabwe possesses all human and natural factors for robust growth and development, although factors of weak governance by the ruling ZANU PF party will block the possible growth.

Fitch said rolling electricity outages and sporadic fuel supply which are a direct factor of ZANU PF’s weak governance are among the major constraints that will continue to weigh heavily on businesses resulting in reduced competitiveness of local products on domestic and international markets.

According Fitch Solutions’ latest report on Zimbabwe, the country’s operating environment will remain challenging over the short-to-medium term, as it remains vulnerable to factors such as adverse weather conditions, commodity price shocks, low industrial productivity and acute foreign currency shortages.

Fitch also cited issues around Zimbabwe’s reliance on the primary exports sector, high import demand, widespread corruption, concerns around property rights protection, high borrowing costs and a yawning infrastructure deficit among factors that will compound the situation for businesses in Zimbabwe.

The global economic and risk research entity said businesses operating in the country will face electricity outages as well as fuel shortages, necessitating the use of alternative power sources at an added cost.

“These factors combined with volatile foreign currency availability, high inflation for inputs and rigid labour market regulations significantly lower the country’s competitiveness relative to its Southern African neighbours such as Namibia, Botswana and South Africa,” Fitch Solutions said.

But Fitch noted that the bumpy economic terrain has significant human capital and vast resource potential which could drive economic development.

“The latter is intrinsically tied to improved governance and transparency, increased investment openness, and meaningful re-engagement with multilateral lenders and the international community in the years ahead,” Fitch said.

Zimbabwe’s real gross domestic product is expected to contract in 2019.

Production of major minerals like gold, diamond and coal fell by more than 27 percent while production of maize, the main staple food, was less than half of its level in 2018, resulting in wide-spread food insecurity.

“In the absence of international support, Zimbabwe macroeconomic challenges may persist.

“With dwindling reserves, there is a high-risk of the exchange rate overshooting, contributing to inflationary pressures.

The World Bank recently raised similar concerns indicating that social and political pressures on ZANU PF will make them fail to revive the economy.

“Climate related risks may constrain recovery of the agriculture sector in the medium-term exacerbating food insecurity.

“Social and political pressures could lead to policy slippage, delay in macroeconomic stabilisation and political reforms,” the World Bank said.

Forgotten Zanu PF heavyweight Patrick Chinamasa has resurfaced issuing a notice that he will summon Cabinet ministers to explain projects they are implementing directly to the ruling party.

Chinamasa, who is the acting party Secretary for admiration said this is in line with the party’s manifesto and resolutions adopted at last year’s National Annual People’s Conference in Goromonzi.

Cabinet ministers already meet with the President on a weekly meeting for an evaluation of programmes they are undertaking in their ministries.

At most 5 of the cabinet ministers are appointed into cabinet for their experiences and expertise and not political reasons and may not necessarily be members of ZANU PF.

Chinamasa said they were working with the Office of the President and Cabinet to come up with a structure that would audit the implementation.

“We will be inviting those ministers, basically to say ‘we have this resolution, can you tell us how far you are in terms of formulating the necessary legislation and in terms of implementation’,” said Chinamasa.

“We have already created a framework where we invite these ministers to explain to us what progress they have made and this is also the platform where we tell them if there is a deviation from our party policies.

“We are setting up structures to make sure that we fulfil our manifesto. We will fulfil the resolutions that we make and we are developing together with Government and the Office of the President and Cabinet.

“Ministries, local authorities and parastatals are our implementing agencies at all levels.

“Whatever they do is feeding into fulfilling the Zanu PF manifesto and its resolutions. Therefore, the party must be informed about all those projects and programmes.”

Turning to the Diaspora policy, Chinamasa said it sought to ensure the creation of a direct link between the party’s headquarters and structures outside the country.

“We should, by the end of the year, have fully formulated and adopted a Diaspora policy.

“We have members out there in South Africa, UK, USA, Australia, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, all over the world; we have Zimbabweans who are very patriotic and who support Zanu PF.

“We want to develop a policy as a party, which will enable us to have structures in those countries which are linked to the main headquarters to make sure that there is a channel of communication between those structures and the headquarters,” he said.

The Commissariat, External Affairs and Legal Affairs departments had since been tasked with formulating the policy.

VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has raised a complaint against Judge President George Chiweshe whom he accuses of influencing court decisions in favour of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, and leaking judgments to her before they are officially handed down.
Justice Chiweshe is the head of the High Court in Zimbabwe.

VP Chiwenga, through his lawyers Manase & Manase Legal Practitioners, has written to Justice Chiweshe demanding an explanation why the judgment in the child custody case was leaked to Mubaiwa and a local newspaper, well before judgment was handed down in court.

On Friday, the newspaper had banners all over the streets announcing Mubaiwa’s victory in the children’s custody case but the court officially handed the judgment after 1030am the same day.

“The purpose of our writing is to register our client’s complaint in the manner in which the judgment in the above matter has been handled.

“The High Court, which is headed by yourself, may have answers to the complaints raised by our client herein,” reads the letter.

Mubaiwa, according to the lawyers, is related to the Judge President and the relationship was now prejudicing VP Chiwenga in the court cases involving her estranged wife.

“Our client advises us that you are related to the applicant Ms Marry Mubaiwa and she has made numerous bald assertions in public that you are related and have sorted and influenced all matters involving her in her favour to the prejudice of our client.

“We, with respect, wish to register our client’s concern over allegations emanating from the said relationship with the applicant and complain over the conduct of the applicant in accessing court judgments and orders before they have been officially handed down to both litigants.

“These allegations are known by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the lawyers for the applicant and various other parties which we can divulge to you in confidence,” the letter reads.

On Friday, the letter further reads, Mubaiwa went to the children’s school as early as 8am and demanded to see them while armed with a court order, well before judgment was handed down.

“The applicant in this matter attended the parties’ children’s school at 8am today (Friday January 24) armed with an order of this court and stated to the school authorities that she had been granted an order by the High Court to have access to the children.

“Our client telephoned us to inquire as to whether judgment had been handed down in the matter to which we confirmed that the matter was still pending and a diligent enquiry at the registry confirmed our position,” reads the letter of complaint.

“We were then telephoned by the Honourable Justice Dube-Banda’s clerk at 0927am advising us that the Honourable judge wished to meet parties in chambers to hand down the judgment,” reads the letter.

VP Chiwenga wondered how Mubaiwa got to know of the outcome before judgment was handed down.

“Could it be that there is a new system of handing down judgments wherein litigants are given court orders before official pronouncements?

“We also wonder why the said judgment, before it was handed down, got publicised in the Independent newspaper advising the public that Marry Mubaiwa had won the case she had filed,” said VP Chiwenga’s lawyers.-State media

ZANU-PF Gokwe Sesame MP Gordon Chanda (41) and a local councillor have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from villagers and stealing maize meant for people under the Government’s food relief programme.

Police in Gokwe said the MP handed himself over at Gokwe Central Police Station yesterday morning while Ward 13 Councillor, Goergina Chirongoma (34) was arrested on Monday night.

The duo appeared before Gokwe magistrate Mr Shortgame Musaiwona facing charges of criminal abuse of office.

They were remanded out of custody to February 11 on $1 000 bail each.

Chirongoma had relaxed bail conditions while the MP was asked to surrender his passport to the police. He was also asked to report twice a week on Monday and Friday at Gokwe Police Station and reside at his number 615 Nyaradza Gokwe house.

Prosecutor, Mr Liberty Chimwaradze said some time in December last year, the two took advantage of their positions and organised a meeting with village heads in Chirongoma’s ward.

They asked them to get people in the ward to contribute $5 each saying the money was for the completion of Gande clinic which was under construction in the ward. There are about 13 000 villagers in the ward.

Mr Chimwaradze said the village heads went out and organised their subjects and collected $7 091 which was then handed over to the two.

The court heard that it was subsequently discovered that the construction of the clinic was being funded by Gokwe South Rural District Council using devolution funds and the two had allegedly connived and diverted the villagers’ money into their own use.

In the second count, Mr Chimwaradze said on December 16 last year, Chirongoma went to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) Gokwe depot and collected 3 200 bags of maize which were meant to benefit villagers under Government’s food relief programme.

The court heard that Chirongoma under-declared the number of bags which were supposed to be dropped at each distribution centre in her ward.

Investigations which were conducted by the police showed that from the total number of bags that Chirongoma collected from GMB, she underdeclared them by 120 bags of 50 kg maize which were supposed to be shared by the villagers.
Police recovered some of the maize at Chirongoma’s house.

Mr Musaiwona said the matter involving the food aid could not proceed since police had only managed to complete investigation into one count involving 120 by 50 bags of maize yet there are allegations of more counts.

“It is said there are more counts to be investigated. Only one case of a haulage truck which had 120 bags said to have been abused was completed and more investigations need to be completed.

So this matter will only be heard when the investigations are complete,” said the magistrate.-State media

VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has raised a complaint against Judge President George Chiweshe whom he accuses of influencing court decisions in favour of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, and leaking judgments to her before they are officially handed down.
Justice Chiweshe is the head of the High Court in Zimbabwe.

VP Chiwenga, through his lawyers Manase & Manase Legal Practitioners, has written to Justice Chiweshe demanding an explanation why the judgment in the child custody case was leaked to Mubaiwa and a local newspaper, well before judgment was handed down in court.

On Friday, the newspaper had banners all over the streets announcing Mubaiwa’s victory in the children’s custody case but the court officially handed the judgment after 1030am the same day.

“The purpose of our writing is to register our client’s complaint in the manner in which the judgment in the above matter has been handled.

“The High Court, which is headed by yourself, may have answers to the complaints raised by our client herein,” reads the letter.

Mubaiwa, according to the lawyers, is related to the Judge President and the relationship was now prejudicing VP Chiwenga in the court cases involving her estranged wife.

“Our client advises us that you are related to the applicant Ms Marry Mubaiwa and she has made numerous bald assertions in public that you are related and have sorted and influenced all matters involving her in her favour to the prejudice of our client.

“We, with respect, wish to register our client’s concern over allegations emanating from the said relationship with the applicant and complain over the conduct of the applicant in accessing court judgments and orders before they have been officially handed down to both litigants.

“These allegations are known by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the lawyers for the applicant and various other parties which we can divulge to you in confidence,” the letter reads.

On Friday, the letter further reads, Mubaiwa went to the children’s school as early as 8am and demanded to see them while armed with a court order, well before judgment was handed down.

“The applicant in this matter attended the parties’ children’s school at 8am today (Friday January 24) armed with an order of this court and stated to the school authorities that she had been granted an order by the High Court to have access to the children.

“Our client telephoned us to inquire as to whether judgment had been handed down in the matter to which we confirmed that the matter was still pending and a diligent enquiry at the registry confirmed our position,” reads the letter of complaint.

“We were then telephoned by the Honourable Justice Dube-Banda’s clerk at 0927am advising us that the Honourable judge wished to meet parties in chambers to hand down the judgment,” reads the letter.

VP Chiwenga wondered how Mubaiwa got to know of the outcome before judgment was handed down.

“Could it be that there is a new system of handing down judgments wherein litigants are given court orders before official pronouncements?

“We also wonder why the said judgment, before it was handed down, got publicised in the Independent newspaper advising the public that Marry Mubaiwa had won the case she had filed,” said VP Chiwenga’s lawyers.-State media

Farai Dziva|A Zimbabwean clergyman has accused Zanu PF of using religion to oppress the suffering masses.

Writing on Twitter, Evangelist Mangwende attacked the ruling party for being insensitive to the plight of suffering Zimbabweans.

“I am not saying this with much ease yet it’s the reality, Zim situation is not similar to Israelites situation when they arrived at the River Jordan. We have to fight our way through.

Take heed zanupf is now playing the religion ball to oppress us. Remember zanupf is unjust

If Zanu PF had self awareness and emotional intelligence to be honest they would act on the plight of Zimbabweans in general.

@nickmangwana

@edmnangagwa

@InfoMinZW

you have Varakashi who should be feeding back to you what’s happening on the ground. THE TRUTH. BE HUMAN. PERIOD…”

Farai Dziva|
Andy Muridzo has been accused of dating a married woman.

Muridzo and his friend were reportedly held at gunpoint in Waterfalls after a man identified as Lenon found them at his house drinking with some women.

According to an online publication, Muridzo and his friend were having a good time with some women when one of the women’s ex-lover walked in on them and produced a gun and ordered them to get inside the house where he held them till they were reportedly rescued by law enforcement agents.

“Ana Andy vanga vakagara panze vachinwa doro nana queen then ndopa pasvika Lenon ne pfuti.

Lennon ndi ex wa Itai ndobva aona vari two two ndobva aburitsa pfuti akavapinza mumba achiti uri kuitei nemukadzi wangu.

Patozouya ma CIO ndo azoburitsa vakomana vachizobva pano,” a source told the publication.

By A Correspondent- Businessman and former Zimbabwe Honorary Consular for Investment and Trade in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Shamiso Fred, who was facing US$1,4 million fraud allegations, was yesterday removed from remand as there was no progress in the investigations.

In removing her from remand, magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa said the State had failed to provide a trial date within a reasonable period and there was no progress in investigations.

Mugwagwa said the investigating officer was summoned to court to support the State’s averments that there were extra-territorial investigations, but he failed to appear, hence she could not keep Fred on remand because this would violate her constitutional rights.

The magistrate said the State had failed to provide the court with letters to Cabinet or any Cabinet approval of the State to carry out extra-territorial investigations to prove that investigations were ongoing.

Fred is the director for Centreshot Investments, a company that was working to bring the Formula One Grand Prix to Victoria Falls in conjunction with the Tourism ministry under former minister Priscah
Mupfumira.

However, the deal collapsed under unclear circumstances.

The complainant is Aissa Ussen, who operates Zimexpress, a bureau de change operating from Borrowdale, Harare.

She was allegedly duped into transferring US$1 400 000 into Fred’s Zimbabwean bank account after misrepresentation that the former consular would pay using her free funds in the UAE.

-Newsday

“We met with POLAD members yesterday and look forward to continuing engagement on issues of development, good governance, and economic stability for Zimbabwe. ”

By A Correspondent| In what could be described as a sudden political shift, US embassy staff members met members of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Political Actors body, Polad.

The US government has been vocal against the 2018 election results and acts of both brutality, treason and treachery by Emmerson Mnangagwa, which has led the latter creating the Political Actors Dialogue club.

It is very clear: On the 15th of December 2017 at 1:32 p.m. to be precise in an incident broadcast on live ZBC television, Presidential senior staff member, Mr Christopher Mutsvangwa conspired to overthrow a constitutionally elected government of Zimbabwe of the MDC, (the LIVE video copy is there with the precice database timestamp ID.)

Standing aside Emmerson Mnangagwa in an event witnessed by delegates of nations of the world, Mutsvangwa said he and others will, using the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, ensure the overthrowing of a constitutionally elected govt of Zimbabwe. He said they would, use the military to doctor an electoral result that is greater “than the one we did in 1980.”

On the 24th May 2018, the then deputy Finance Minister Terence Mukupe celebrated the planned overthrowing of a constitutionally elected government of Zimbabwe while mocking Nelson Chamisa saying he is a small boy the army would ensure his government is overthrown. The video is fully public as an exhibit.

On the 22 May 2018, Masvingo Minister Josiah Hungwe speaking at the opening of Gudo Clinic opened his speech by announcing to patients that the Emmerson Mnangagwa will shoot people amd chase them from behind in order to stay in power. The recording from the incident is here as an exhibit.

On the 8th of July 2018 in Harare the commander of the presidential guard Ancelem Sanyatwe launched the operation to overthrow a constitutionally elected government. His video from the Motlanthe Commission is public as an exhibit.

These are people who vote incited, planned, attempted and excecuted the overthrowing of a constitutionally elected government under the MDC.

But is the embassy now telling MDC President Nelson Chamisa to go join Polad? The embassy announced on its Twitter account saying:

“We met with POLAD members yesterday and look forward to continuing engagement on issues of development, good governance, and economic stability for Zimbabwe. ”

It could not be established who initiated the meeting. If it was the US embassy, then it will stand a bold statement against Chamisa.

A picture was posted showing among others, the expelled MDC renegade Thokozani Khupe.

By A Correspondent- Government has banned schools from chasing away pupils for failure to pay fees after civic society organisations pressurised it to commit to a previously announced pledge on the matter.

The policy is expounded in the Primary and Secondary Education Ministry Circular Number 3 of 2019 document released in August last year, but had not been widely publicised.

Primary and Secondary Education ministry’s 2020 strategic plan says that 27% of school-going children are failing to attend school because they cannot afford the fees.

Tag a Life International (TaLI) executive director Nyaradzo Mashayamombe yesterday said the 27% might be an understatement, adding that the percentage of poor children who are out of school for failure to pay fees can be as high as 40%.

“Two weeks into schools opening, it is business as usual and poor children are being sent out of school as nothing has changed despite that there is a new policy on access to education for all,” she said.

“The policy needs to be publicised and we want the ministry to find out if school heads are implementing the circular to ensure children without fees have access to education and to demand reports on how many poor children have been accepted.”

Last year, TaLI, the Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC) supported by the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI), Justice for Children Trust, Mambure Trust and 270 other organisations across the country petitioned the Primary and Secondary Education ministry and the Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga led Portfolio Committee on Education pushing for an “every child in school” policy to allow poor children into schools.

Section 5.3.1 of the policy reads: “No school-aged child shall be denied a place at any registered school or turned away from school on the grounds of failure by the parents/guardians to pay fees and/or levies. The same applies to denial of school entry on the grounds of disability, lack of birth registration documents, inadequate uniforms and other forms of discriminatory practices.”

The policy circular further stipulates non-discriminatory practices at schools, adding that learners with significant needs should be enrolled first and then referred to the Learner Welfare, Psychological Services and Special Needs Education Department.

“If the nearest school to the child’s home is full, the receiving head should place the applicant on a waiting list and facilitate enrolment at the next school, instead of sending the clients away unassisted,” section 5.5 of the policy circular reads.

On failure to pay fees by the parents or guardians, the policy stipulates that school heads must be proactive and negotiate flexible arrangements to ensure uninterrupted access to education by the learner.

Sections 27 and 75 of the Constitution states that every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe has the right to a basic State-funded education.

-Newsday