Farai Dziva|Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has said opposition leader Nelson Chamisa should forget about the formation of a Government of National Unity.
In an interview with Voice of America on Thursday Mutodi described the youthful Movement for Democratic Change leader as a “cry baby.”
“The boy must face the reality.We cannot talk about the 2018 polls at this juncture.
The truth of the matter is we have a President who won the elections in 2018 so what is the noise about?
The young man’ s demands do not make sense and let me emphasize the fact a platform for dialogue has been created – POLAD.
We will work with those who have a positive approach to nation building,” said Mutodi.
By A Correspondent- The government is mulling installing solar systems at public health facilities across the country as solar has several advantages over other forms of energy.
This was said by Energy Minister Fortune Chasi while speaking at Chitungwiza Central Hospital on Tuesday.
He said:
As you can see solar installations are now everywhere, at residential, commercial and industrial establishments. Establishments like hospitals and other medical institutions have a high demand for power and as such installing solar panels is the way to go for such organisations.
The healthcare industry has a high requirement of power for running sophisticated machinery and equipment. Many of the medical machinery such as ventilators, MRI machines, and CT scanners hence solar system is vital in health centres.
Chasi further argued for the use of solar energy as the system will run for at least 25 years with little maintenance needed.
State Media|A joint search team comprising members from Zimbabwe and Zambia combed part of Lake Kariba yesterday and today to look for the two Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers who went missing on Tuesday.
The search effort was futile before it was called off late yesterday afternoon as it was getting dark and resumed this morning amid indications that helicopters from both countries will be called in to expand the search mission.
Members of the search and rescue team are drawn from Zimparks, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and similar forces from Zambia.
A file picture of rangers guarding a rhino that had just been dehorned to protect it from poachers.
Commenting on the progress so far, Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said: “Nothing has come up yet but the whole security apparatus and other stakeholders is on the ground.
“We are working closely with our Zambian counterparts on the matter.”
The Zimparks rangers who have not yet been identified were patrolling the lake when they had contact with suspected poachers before they managed to arrest them.
Preliminary investigations show that the four suspected poachers who are still at large are from Zambia and had encroached into Zimbabwean waters.
The rangers confiscated the dingy boat they were using and went to nearby Changa Camp where they wanted to leave the boat for safekeeping before heading for Kariba urban for further handling.
Lake Kariba
Along the way, the poachers who were not handcuffed owing to provisions that do not allow anyone to be constrained while on water, attacked the rangers who were armed.
A tussle later ensued and the poachers are suspected to have overpowered the rangers.
The matter came to light when the rangers’ patrol boat was found floating on the shores of Lake Kariba on the Zambian side with its engine removed.
Investigations to identify the poachers are underway amid .
Meanwhile there have also been reports of pirates operating in the lake targeting fishing rigs where night catches are raided.
The latest incident has drawn mixed reactions from Kariba residents with some calling increased patrols in the lake to help in the conservation of fish while others called on Zimparks to adequately equip the rangers as they were outnumbered.
Own Correspondent|PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has called “fools” traders who are defying his non implementable instruction to reduce the price of Mealie Meal.
Speaking to residents from Kuwadzana in Harare on Friday where he carried out a clean up campaign, Mnangagwa threatened to revoke trading licences from retailers.
Last month, the government ordered a blanket reduction in roller-meal prices to $50 per 10kg bag of the staple after promising to give subsidised grain to millers a subsidy which the Millers have not received from him.
“Roller-meal is now pegged at $105 as I heard, but we said mealie-meal prices must go down to $50,” Mnangagwa told residents.
“If there are crooks, businessmen who don’t listen to the government because we give them subsidies and they can’t benefit twice, misoro yavo. We will have laws that deal with fools who don’t listen.
“We will reach a stage where we will withdraw licences of those who do not listen and they stay at home,” said Mnangagwa.
“We will have laws which deal with fools who don’t listen. Basic commodities like sugar, mealie meal, salt, soap, cooking oil, bread, must be cheap. We have reintroduced a subsidy on roller meal so it means if the price had risen to $100 it would cost you $50 and we will pay the other $50,” he said.
“If there are unscrupulous businesses that are still overcharging, we will revoke their licences. We have seven products that we have identified and will also be subsidised and these include cooking oil, salt, sugar, rice, maize meal, bread and soap. We will soon be rolling out these under the Silo brand.”
Correspondent |The United Methodist Church (UMC) announced Friday it will be dealing with ongoing divisions over homosexuality by formally splitting, with the formation of a new denomination for Methodists who hold to a Biblical understanding of sex and marriage.
The church has been divided over the issues of same-sex “marriage” and homosexual clergy, with its General Conference voting in February last year against compromising its opposition. Tensions have continued since, however, and on Friday the church announced the formation of a new “traditional Methodist” denomination for more conservative Methodists, the New York Times reports.
The Washington Post adds that the agreement spares the church’s left-wing faction from facing sanctions that were originally slated to take effect, including suspension and/or expulsion for clergy who officiate same-sex “weddings.” By default, local churches will be members of the UMC, and would have to conduct votes in order to identify as “traditional Methodist.”
The plan, which still needs to be approved by the conference in May, was devised by a 16-person committee of bishops and other officials who deemed separation the “best means to resolve our differences, allowing each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding.”
“The solution that we received is a welcome relief to the conflict we have been experiencing,” said pro-LGBT Rev. Thomas Berlin about the news. “I am very encouraged that the United Methodist Church found a way to offer a resolution to a long conflict.”
Observers who maintain a Biblical stance on LGBT issues were less enthused.
“My initial reaction is that [it] should be the other way around: Let the heretics split off since they are the ones denying Jesus and the historic witness not only of the church in general but of Wesley and the denomination in particular,” theologian Robert Gagnon wrote. “It is their view that is a cancer on the church. Let the faithful occupy the default position.”
“This appears to be a win for the heretics; not a rout but a win nonetheless,” Gagnon continued. “It seems like the faithful had the heretics on the rope with greater sanctions on unfaithful pastors performing a faux ‘gay marriage’ and then they compromised with the heretics to give the latter a better deal. On the other hand, it may be the best deal that the faithful can get.”
Asylum seekers at a South African Home Affairs Office.
Sowetan|Minister of home affairs Aaron Motsoaledi has gazetted tough new regulations to control the movements and activities of refugees and asylum seekers, including a ban on political activity and immediate detention on grounds of national security.
The regulations under the Refugees Act, which took effect from January 1, stipulate that “no refugee or asylum seeker may participate in any political activity or campaign in furtherance of any political party or political interests in the Republic”.
The refugee status of any person who engages in such activity can be withdrawn by the standing committee for refugee affairs, and they will be dealt with as an illegal foreigner in terms of the Immigration Act.
Under the act, a refugee or asylum seeker can be removed from the republic on grounds that they pose a threat to national security. The regulations allow for their immediate detention under these circumstances.
The past week has seen violent clashes between rival groups of refugees camped on Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square and in the nearby Central Methodist Mission. The group, which has split into factions, is demanding relocation to a safer country.
The regulations also make it more difficult for refugees and asylum seekers to enter SA in the first place, requiring, among other things, that they present a valid asylum transit visa from the country through which they traveled at the port of entry. They will also need to provide valid identification and submit biometric data.
All applications for asylum will have to be accompanied by a the transit visa or, in certain circumstances, a valid visa issued in terms of the Immigration Act. The asylum seeker visa will contain the conditions under which the asylum seeker will be able to temporarily reside in SA, seek employment and obtain basic education.
“Prior to issuing any right to seek employment to an asylum seeker, an assessment must be completed to establish such person’s ability to sustain himself or herself and any dependents,” the regulations say.
Refugee status can also be terminated if a refugee has “re-availed” themselves of the protection of the country of origin, such as by seeking consular services at any diplomatic mission representing the country of origin. This would include applying for any official document, such as a travel document or citizen-related document, at a diplomatic mission or presenting themselves on their premises.
Own Correspondent|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has broken his own records of folly advising desperate citizens to eat vegetables and potatoes because they are much better for health than meat.
Mnangagwa said this to residents of Kuwadzana saying that it is actually good for them to avoid meat. He went on to say that he personally preferred vegetables and potatoes because they have vitamins.
Zimbabweans have responded angrily to his statement describing him as a clown instead of a President.
“So you didn’t know that you were voting for a clown to be a President,” one Social Media user commented on Mnangagwa’s behaviour.
Own Correspondent|Five police officers based at Harare Central Police Station on Thursday appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court facing a charge of theft of over US$10k belonging to a man they had falsely arrested for an undisclosed offence.
The five, Walter Mapfumo, Simbarashe Ndungwa, Erasmus Shoniwa, Archby Mano and Webster Ticharwa were granted 500 dollars bail each.
It is the state’s case that the five approached the complainant who was in possession of US$18 060 which he intended to give someone and told him he was under arrest for an undisclosed crime.
It is further alleged that they took the complainant to Harare Central Police Station. They briefly took the cash away from him as they tried to create a charge against him.
Where they were done with their clandestine move they assigned another officer to count the money before releasing him.
However, upon release, the complainant discovered that US$ 10 000 was missing and he reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the accused.
By A Correspondent| The trial of Zengeza MP, Job Wiwa Sikhala will have most Zimbabweans glued to the TV, Facebook Live and YouTube in late January 2020.
“A hungry man is an angry man,” said Sikhala on ZimEye last night.
He also said:
“Thabo Mbeki does not have the panacea for Zimbabwe…”
“This is a Political Trial…”
“The Zimbabwean people will one day rise and say, Either way I’m going to die.”
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Organisation, ZHRO said in a comment: “Apparently, the firebrand MDC Vice National Chair Person and Zimbabwean MP, could be sentenced to execution by hanging or to 23 years incarceration.
“Such is the gravity of his fight for freedom of expression in Zimbabwe.” WATCH VIDEO BELOW…
Al-Shabaab (Midlands), Top Six (Mash West), Chipangano (Harare), Mhiripiri Group (Manicaland), Black Jesus Group (Masvingo), Mafios Group (Mash Central) and Hunzvi/Sibanda Rogue war vets (national) are all vigilante groups nurtured by ZANU PF so are Mashurugwi @nickmangwana
BERLIN/VANCOUVER – In the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s closet support of Vice President, Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga’s alleged bid to takeover as Zimbabwe leader from President Emmerson Mnangagwa this year, come what may, Chiwenga has returned back to China barely a month after returning to the country from the Asian nation for medical treatment, reportedly on a secret private invitation from Chinese president, Xi Jinping, Spotlight Zimbabwe, has been told.
According to high level sources inside the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), the VP’s invitation was allegedly relayed to him by China’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhao Baogang, through foreign affairs minister, Sibusiso Moyo, who met with the Chargé d’Affaires on 12 December 2019 at his Munhumutapa offices.
The disclosures come hot on the heels of former information minister in President Robert Mugabe’s government, Jonathan Moyo, this week revealing on his Twitter handle, that Mnangagwa has not taken his annual leave, and has not been able to leave the country because of a foiled coup in early November last year, which has cost the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) deputy director, Aaron Nhepera, his job.
This publication was the first to report on 22 March 2019, that a special delegation of senior Zimbabwean military officials reportedly told Chinese generals that Mnangagwa’s political reign will expire in 2020, a few days prior to former leader Mugabe’s November 2017 coup ouster.
“The president is not himself and is in panic mode,” OPC sources said. “He was made to believe that his deputy is going for a medical review in China, but it has turned out that, the vice president has been invited for a private visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s office. Nobody knows the purpose of the invitation nor the exact date the VP will come back home. So in the president’s eyes the whole medical thing is a political alibi, and we really don’t know what’s going on or what will happen when his deputy returns.”
Mnangagwa recently told congregants attending an annual National Thanksgiving and Dedication Service at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds in Bulawayo, a few days ago, that Chiwenga was back in China for medical review and asked the congregants to pray for the VP.
“I wish that as we pray, we also remember to pray for Vice-President Chiwenga who is back in China for medical review. He will be back in the country soon,” Mnangagwa said.
Another OPC official, who has previously worked in the foreign affairs ministry, said Mnangagwa was “worried” about Chiwenga’s China return, because Beijing is now dealing directly with the VP’s office on Zimbabwe issues, via foreign minister Moyo, instead of the President’s Office.
Own Correspondent|Zimbabweans have indeed been wondering where once one of the greatest footballers in Zimbabwe ended.
After a painstaking search, state run Herald newspaper has reveal that Murewa gave up everything, including football and medicine, to serve the Lord.
“Tauya is not involved in football anymore, he left all that when he retired from the game and he is neither serving as a doctor” sources told The Herald On Saturday.
“He chose a different path and that might surprise many but that’s what he decided to do and he is firmly dedicated to his cause.
“He gave his life to serving the Lord and is deeply involved in the ZCC (Zion Christian Church) in South Africa.
“To him, that’s all that matters now, serving this organisation, worshipping and doing work, in various capacities, for the ZCC.
“He is a very different man from the Tauya you used to know, this is a man who deeply believes in the path he has taken and is not concerned about life’s luxuries anymore.
“He now likes to live a very humble life, far away from the spotlight where he thrived as a footballer, and his life today is all centred on ZCC activities in the Pretoria area.
“Football is a chapter that he closed some time ago and doesn’t want to talk about it anymore because he believes he has found what he was looking for and this is the life he wants.”
The ZCC is considered to be the largest African initiated church with a huge presence across the southern tip of the continent.
Its roots are in South Africa where it has an estimated eight to 10 million members with its headquarters at Zion City Moira in the Limpopo Province.
The late Bishop Samuel Mutendi founded the Zimbabwe branch of the ZCC and its membership is estimated to be over one million in this country.
“Tauya’s story changed along the way and he turned his back on everything he had been doing to dedicate his life to the ZCC and everything that the church stands for,” the sources said.
“I guess that has always been his character that if he wants to do something, his dedication towards that is 100 percent and that’s what he is doing right now.
“Of course, it has come at a personal cost, some would say, because he has had to forgo some of the luxuries that let’s say coaching or practising as a doctor might have brought him.
“But, he believes that’s a good price to pay, he likes it that way and he feels he is where he wants to be in his life.”
By A Correspondent | The people of Kuwadzana, Harare are some of the worst brutalised by soldiers in August 2018 when Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed the army to kill many while changing election results, and on the 4th August local clinics told ZimEye.com of how military trucks would arrive at night and officers begin assaulting residents. Being reminded of these atrocities could not be any more hurting.
But ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday said he will re-deploy the army to assault the people of Kuwadzana upon discovering they have bad wishes of the nation’s rainfall (directly translated to mean anyone stopping the rain).
Addressing Kuwadzana residents yesterday, Mnangagwa said, “Asi deno taiziva kuti vanhu vekuKuwadzana vasingade kuti mvura inaye taingoti army kombai tirove.” – once we discover that it is the people of Kuwadzana who wish the rain not to fall, we would (or will) deploy the army to surround them so we assault them.” Directly translated VIDEO LOADING BELOW….
Own Correspondent|While President Emmerson Mnangagwa was going to the mountain telling Zimbabweans to forget about meat and eat vegetables on Friday, his pictures feasting on zondo on air speaks a different story.
Sometime last year, Mnangagwa grabbed headlines when his pictures eating mazondo aboard a private jet were posted on Twitter by his aide George Charamba.
According to Charamba, the dish was from Mnangagwa to his staffers.
“On our way from Lyons (sic), France, President ED treated all of us his senior staff members to a surprise: sadza nemazondo!! Having spent a few days without that staple, and least expecting it in mid-air, above the land of Gauls, we hungrily made sure there was no dry season!!”
The remarks also comes on the back of reports that a military boss was nabbed after stealing meat.
According to a report by Zim Morning Post, his driver was nabbed in possession of the loot.
The Zimbabwe Military Police detained the driver who revealed that the meat belonged to his superior who had instructed him to deliver it to a yet to be ascertained location.
The army boss in question is report to be having a generally bad record of abusing army property.
“His driver was nabbed after a stop and search.
“The military police acted on a tip-off and the driver said he was sent by his superior who is well known of abusing army property,” revealed a source to the media house.
Own Correspondent|The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe and the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe have warned that thousands of teachers under their membership will not resume duty when schools open next week for first the term of 2020.
The teachers are disgruntled over low salaries and poor working conditions.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), said that his union members have decided to take on the strike action whether or not government is agreeable to it.
“You cannot expect teachers to go back to work when they have no money for transport, when their children cannot go to school,” he said.
“I do not see schools opening because teachers that I have seen, whose comments I see everyday are vowing that they are not going to return to work.
“I do not see any school opening because they (teachers) have garnered enough courage and zeal to say ’hapana kusiri kudzingwa basa’ (being paid low wages is just as good as dismissal). The teachers will only report back to work when their issues have been addressed, when issues around remuneration and others have been dealt with,” Majongwe said.
Obert Masaraure, the president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said they will not waste time going to work next week until government hears their concerns.
“The teachers are earning (equivalent) US$30 per month, which is not enough to cater for the education of their dependants, food, shelter, health care and even transport to work,” he said .
“We will not pretend to be teaching when we are not, we cannot hazard the future of innocent children by giving them substandard education, we will teach when the conditions are right.
“The poor performance of the 2019 Grade 7 class is a wake-up call for both parents and teachers.”
State Media|BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) rangers shot and injured three gold panners who had allegedly charged towards them after being ordered to stop conducting illicit panning activities at one of the city’s supply dams in Matabeleland South.
Police confirmed, through a Twitter statement on Thursday, the development which occurred on Tuesday.
The police said the three panners have since been arrested while admitted to a local hospital.
“On 31 December 2019 in Bulawayo, some city rangers who were on patrol came across illegal gold panners at Upper Ncema Dam, Esigodini. The rangers tried to disperse the panners by (firing) warning shots but they did not take heed,” tweeted the police.
“The panners then headed towards the rangers who incidentally fired at them, injuring three in the process. The three are currently admitted to hospital under police guard.”
The incident occurred three days after illegal miners killed an on-duty police officer in Kadoma while leaving another fighting for life.
Two of the illegal gold panners have since been arrested in connection with the cop’s murder.
The Kadoma incident has prompted police to conduct a nationwide crackdown against illegal gold panners.
In a follow up interview yesterday, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said anyone who tries to resist arrest will be dealt with accordingly.
“There is no one who is above the law and we will certainly deal with these machete wielding gangs. If they try to attack police officers or anyone else, they would have themselves to blame. You are quite aware that we have made arrests in Kadoma, Mt Darwin, actually arrests are being carried out throughout the country,” he said.
“Police have intensified operations and we are monitoring what really takes place at disused mines and at the so-called gold rushes. It has been observed that where someone reveals that there is gold, panners rush to the area and cause chaos. They then attack anyone who ever tries to restore sanity in those areas. So, the operation that has been launched in various provinces will continue and we want to implore all stakeholders to cooperate with the police.”
Already cops have arrested 100 illegal gold panners and vendors in separate raids at Good Hope Mine in Kadoma and Jumbo Mine in Mazowe, areas which have been synonymous with violence over gold.
Of the 100 arrested, 28 were netted at Good Hope Mine while 72 were picked up at Jumbo Mine.
Police also impounded three vehicles that were loaded with gold ore.
Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga has also issued a stern warning to the machete terror gangs that that the law will catch up with them.
He said police will soon issue orders to prohibit carrying of dangerous weapons in the gold mining sites.
No government should be without critics. If its intentions are good then it has nothing to fear from criticism.’ Thomas Jefferson.
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I am therefore writing to voice my concern on the statement you made at the Goromonzi conference where you said if elections fail Zanu PF will use any means necessary to remain in power.
I know my views and opinions on this matter will open the floodgates of fierce criticism, condemnation and damnation from pseudo revolutionaries masquerading as servants of the people yet they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
I am going to be lambasted and ridiculed but you know what: I DON’T CARE for a true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart.
I believe any man that’s got the guts to sell his soul for Justice has got the power to change the world. At the risk of seeming ridiculous let me say that a true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.
The liberation struggle was an emancipatory project aimed at ending all forms of oppression not a ticket to the political casinos for the elite.
COMRADE allow me to say your party have become a potent engine by which unscrupulous , cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men have been enabled to subvert the power of the people and usurp for themselves and feast undisturbed on the choicest portions of the national cake.
The independence you always talk of is only enjoyed by you and to some of us it has remained an illusion and a pipe dream. Mind you revolutionaries are not selfish but selfless. They have genuine interest in people’s welfare not themselves.
Unfortunately absolute power has corrupted you so absolutely. Your statement at the conference betrayed you and it clearly shows that anarchy is in your blood and like Stalin you believe death is the solution to all problems, no wonder when you are pushed killing is easy as breathing.
The problem you have is that you prefer to be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. I know criticism may not be agreeable but it is necessary, for it calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
Our country is dying from internal rottenness. Jefferson said, once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring it’s lost principles, every other correction is either useless or a new evil.
The problems bedeviling the country are deeply rooted in a bad governance system, the lack of free elections , independent courts and freedom of speech.
Your prime mandate therefore should be helping us, but if you can’t at least don’t hurt us. Strive to leave Zimbabwe a little better than you found it.
Matemadanda, now gird up thy loins like a man for I demand thee to go and deliver this special message unto your brethren.
Tell them the Povo, using the moniker you are so familiar with have lost hope and confidence in Zanu PF because you have turned into monsters who eat their own children. Don’t stop there, go on to give them this lecture on democracy. Tell them the people are saying In a democracy elections are free, fair and meaningful.
The playing field is even and opposition party leaders are not arrested or denied access to the political space. People have fundamental freedoms such as freedom of association, assembly and expression. The law is blind and it protects it’s citizens. The state does not ambush it’s citizens and there is transparency and accountability.
I sign off with a heavy , sorrowful and brooding heart because your party have failed to live up to our expectations. Your only concern is fattening your pockets and filling your stomachs with all the niceties at the expense of the masses who are still languishing in agony and writhing in the pain of poverty.
I know you will take my views for a joke but in your gatherings in the comfort zones of your gastronomical paradises just know that to the masses you have become a thorn in the flesh and more of villains than heroes. The masses see you as perpetrators of injustice and oppressors than liberators.
Remember where poverty is enforced, where Justice is denied and where one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade others, neither persons nor property will be safe.
Whenever men take the law into their own hands and treat the masses as pawns for sacrifice the loser is the law and when the law loses freedom languishes.
I rest my case.
Tendai Manika- Founder of the Zimbabwe Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation.
State Media|THE sight of over 200 omakorokoza clad in an assortment of clothing, from torn jeans to mismatching overalls, hard at work under the simmering heat on a West Nicholson mountain can be intimidating for someone who is aware of their reputation as ‘merchants of violence’.
Driving on the Beitbridge Highway, 35 kilometres from Gwanda town, the mountain looks like any other gigantic chunk of land with dense vegetation that has turned green from recent rains.
It’s a Thursday afternoon and the Saturday Leisure crew is on a quest to explore the mountain that is now the talk of town in the gold rich area.
Talk is that Entabeni yegolide, the informal name that locals have given the place, is a mountain that breathes life into a community that calls the area home.
Before the crew sets out to the mountain, whose reputation is a mountain with a belly that carries large quantities of the precious yellow metal that has drawn young men from far-away areas, we locate one man that is in charge of the mining operations.
Mining activity on the mountain
His is none other than former broadcaster Malakhi Nkomo, whose voice was an almost permanent feature in the houses of Radio 2 (now Radio Zimbabwe) listeners way back in the day.
He has long swapped the mic for a pick and shovel – gold mining tools.
“Illegal gold miners had started causing havoc at the mine, disrupting operations that were being run by a white miner named Stalin so he approached me and proposed that I superintend operations on one side of the mountain while he continued mining on the other side.
“His idea was that the locals should also benefit from mining on the mountain, but he wanted it to be done in an orderly manner to try and avoid a situation where it’s a free for all and omakorokoza end up fighting and killing one another over gold like it happens in other places such as Filabusi and Shurugwi,” explained Nkomo.
The first step to a violence free mining operation, according to Nkomo, was to register the other side of the mountain with the mining regulatory authorities and invite interested small artisanal miners to start work.
“The notion out there is that gold mining is all about violence and shedding blood, a belief that omakorokoza think is the right way of doing things, so I had to sit down with them and explain that here at Entabeni, we intended on doing things differently.
“Every one of them is registered with us. We have their full details and we also work hand in hand with the police to weed out criminal elements who come here under the guise of mining. Some of these guys are wanted criminals in other provinces for violence related crimes in gold mining and come here to evade arrest so we make sure that the police have access to everyone that works here,” he explained.
Shacks on the mountain
Most gold wars are fought on tribal and regional lines, leaving victims and perpetrators alike with serious injuries and in extreme cases, death.
“We’ve laid down rules that every miner adheres to. No one shall be discriminated on tribal lines or where they come from. Alcohol and drugs are not allowed on the mining site at the mountain and most importantly, we kick out anyone accused of violent behaviour towards other miners,” he added.
The mountain itself is a hive of activity.
At the foot of the rising landscape, makeshift shops selling food, cigarettes, drinks and airtime manned by enterprising women welcome the Saturday Leisure crew as we start our journey to the top of the mountain.
An employee of the Entabeni Mining Concession explains that the makeshift shop owners and food stalls are also registered, but are not allowed to sell alcohol.
Not everyone on the mountain is a miner that goes deep into the scattered shafts to dig out the precious metal.
We observe a group of younger men carrying loads in used cement bags on their shoulders coming down the mountain. They are referred to as omaholoha.
Piles of ore ready to be transported to stamp mills
The loads they are carrying on their shoulders are actually ore from the shafts to be transported to stamp mills. Stamp mills are machines that crush the ore by pounding rather than grinding for extraction of gold.
“I charge Z$2 to carry each bag from the shafts, down the mountain and put the ore in one heap, which the guys that are mining underground will later take to the stamp mills. On a busy day, I can make about 40 trips carrying the ore,” said Mtshumayeli Nkala, a 21-year-old who has been working at the mountain for the last six months.
Building good relations with her customers gives one MaMlambo the competitive edge over other women selling food and various items at the foot of the mountain.
“These guys spend recklessly when they sell their gold so they’re always broke when they return to the shafts so I give them food and cigarettes on credit and they pay later.
“There are few individuals that give me problems, but the majority of my customers pay me the moment they sell their gold,” says MaMlambo.
One man makes a killing by selling used cement bags that the omaholoha use to carry the ore from the mountain. Kuda Muridzi says he scours construction sites buying used cement bags which he resells at the mountain for Z$3 each.
“It’s not possible to move the ore from the shafts without using used cement bags so they need them every day and that’s where I come in. I sell about 80 to 100 bags a day, but the most difficult part is sourcing them,” says Muridzi.
About three kilometres from the mountain is Mbembesi Business Centre, a small, but busy area with a couple of bars, shops, restaurants, a fuel station and boarding houses. This is where the miners wind down after a hard day’s work and spend their hard-earned cash.
Nkomo, who the young artisanal miners seem to have so much respect for, explains in his office that he is proud that gold from the mountain is going to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe mineral buying arm Fidelity Printers.
“We keep records of all the gold that is extracted from the mountain and sold to Fidelity Printers and I’m happy that we’re also contributing to the economy in our own small way.
“The late President Robert Mugabe once said gold is only gold when it’s mined from the ground. Some people call us omakorokoza, but we like to think of ourselves as gold miners who contribute to the economy of the country,” he says.
As we leave his office, he signals to a truck driver to head for the mountain where a group of miners want their ore to be transported to a stamp mill nearby.
“These trucks are owned by two young men who started off mining at the mountain and had the wisdom to invest their money and start a business,” Nkomo adds. —
Defending ABSA Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns have reportedly joined the race to sign unsettled Zimbabwean star striker Knowledge Musona.
The Warriors captain has had a nightmarish tenure at his current club, Belgian side RSC Anderlecht and is reportedly on his way out.
With many offers on the table for the 29-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs man, including some Belgian clubs, Masandawana are said to be pursuing him too.
According to South African publication Times Live, the Pretoria-based outfit are chasing the striker in a bid to lure him back to South African, where he was a household name in the gold and black of Amakhosi.
The publication even claims that Musona is apparently keen to join Sundowns‚ who are sure to have made an attractive offer to the star striker.Soccer 24
Own Correspondent|For some reasons, crocodile meat is in recent years becoming very popular amongst Zimbabweans. Apparently, crocodile is President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s nickname “Ngwena.”
Would the popularity of the meat have anything to do with a Mnangagwa effect or its an economic issue?
Addressing residents of Kuwadzana in Harare on Friday, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans should move from eating beaf to eat vegetables apparently forgetting let choosing to forget that his Ngwena nickname is gaining ground as the most affordable meat.
Crocodile meat has a bite of exploding flavours rich enough to massage one’s taste buds. A chew that gives a fishy taste that without being informed one would think they are eating some type of fish.
Whether flame grilled or roasted, crocodile meat is a tasty treat, something that has in recent years earned popularity in Zimbabwe.
This is also because it’s a cheaper option when compared to beef or chicken.
The meat is now found in many butcheries, supermarkets and hangout spots courtesy of Lake Harvest and other companies.
It is usually the meat of choice at Surrey Braai Fest and many other meat related festivals.
“I first tasted crocodile meat at Surrey, and I fell for it,” said Tanyaradzwa Maringwa, a regular at Surrey.
“I went on to introduce it to my family members who constantly pester me to get it for them every time I go where it’s sold.”
Just like pork, crocodile meat is easy to prepare.
Many people boil it for a couple of minutes then deep fat fry it, while others prefer it flame grilled.
Crocodile meat is neutral, so it goes well with various spices and herbs that enriches both the taste and flavour.
The meat is high in dietary fibres, and is one good example of the ever expanding range of meats.
Local cuisine is ever changing, with the once not so popular joining leagues of what has long been considered tasty.
Chicken, beef, pork and goat meat used to be the relish of choice for many Zimbabweans. Be it smoked, flame grilled or stewed, the meats have long been part of the daily treats for many families.
Dishes such as duck, rabbit and crocodile have always been the luxury only reserved for the elite few; not in their homes, but at top local restaurants and hotels. But a new order has come, especially with the ever increasing prices of popular meats. The once rare have now become the relish of choice.
By A Correspondent| State media has made an attempt to spin President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s widely condemned speech where he threatened to use the army to punish those who he finds stopping the rain.
Mnangagwa also failed to address the problems affecting the country summing them as only two- meat and school fees.
In its report the Herald said Mnangagwa’s exchange with Kuwadzana residents proved that he was a listening President, couldn’t this be a new low for the state media.
………….
Below is the Herald report on Mnangagwa’s speech in Kuwadzana.
Residents of Kuwadzana in Harare yesterday had a rare opportunity to interact with President Mnangagwa, where they posed questions to him highlighting their daily challenges.
The President proved his reputation as a “listening President” when he gave time to the residents to voice their concerns and answered their questions.
Held in a relaxed atmosphere and without prior planning, the interactive session lasted about 15 minutes, with residents seizing the opportunity to directly present their concerns to the Head of State and Government.
Issues raised included high council rates, school fees, the high cost of food (particularly meat) and the rejection of smaller denominations of coins by some retailers and transporters.
The interaction took place after the President led the 13th monthly National Environment Cleaning Day at Kuwadzana 2 Shopping Centre.
He delivered his speech and allowed residents to ask questions, which he answered, occasionally cracking jokes.
In answering the residents’ concerns, President Mnangagwa highlighted measures that Government was taking to improve the welfare of the people such as the introduction of subsidies on basic commodities.
“We have reintroduced a subsidy on roller meal so it means if the price had risen to $100 it would cost you $50 and we will pay the other $50,” he said.
But some of the residents indicated that the price of roller meal had not yet gone down.
“If there are unscrupulous businesses that are still overcharging, we will revoke their licences,” said the President.
“We have seven products that we have identified and will also be subsidised and these include cooking oil, salt, sugar, rice, maize meal, bread and soap. We will soon be rolling out these under the Silo brand.”
On school fees, he said the Government would crack the whip on schools that had increased fees without approval.More in Home
“From what I understand, the minister said the fees had not been increased, but we will soon send out inspectors to schools to investigate the matter, but in Government schools, we have not increased fees,” he said.
Acting Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Kirsty Coventry last month told Parliament that schools were not allowed to increase their fees by more than 20 percent without Government approval.
However, some schools, especially boarding schools, have reportedly increased their fees to between $10 000 and $12 000 for Form Ones, while some elite schools are demanding foreign currency.
On council rates, President Mnangagwa said he would block proposals to increase them.
“Council had asked that rates be increased, but in that case I will not approve the proposed increases,” he said. Harare City Council presented a $4,6 billion budget that will see rates rise by about 400 percent.
On high meat prices, the President said there was little he could do.
He advised the residents to substitute meat with vegetables.
“On that one (meat), there is little I can do, but you can substitute meat with vegetables, even the doctors say the vegetables are healthier,” said President Mnangagwa.
“They are rich in vitamins, I also take a lot of vegetables.”
President Mnangagwa concluded his remarks by encouraging residents to shun violence.
“As we return home, let’s be united because we want peace, if you have differences, discuss them peacefully,” he said.
“We don’t want violence, we don’t want destruction of property; that includes household and national property.
“Violence affects the image of the country and there is no way we can attract investors if we destroy property because no one wants to invest where there is violence.”
President Mnangagwa urged the residents to follow proper channels to air the grievances, but reiterated that he would act on all the issues they raised.
By A Correspondent- The driver of a Mercedes-Benz (registration number ADJ 3334), who allegedly sped off after he fatally knocked down a pedestrian, has handed himself over to the police.
The driver killed the pedestrian on New Year’s Day along Princess Road opposite Belvedere Maternity Hospital and the police had been on his trail since the incident.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the driver is being charged with culpable homicide and failing to stop after a road accident.
In another incident, police are looking for a silver Honda Fit (registration number AET 0890) which was involved in a hit and run accident on New Year’s Day along Tafara Way in Mabvuku.
The driver of the vehicle knocked down two pedestrians and did not stop after the accident.
State Media|VELVET Petroleum and Liquid Cargo have been sucked into the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service’s $1,2 million fuel scam, which has resulted in the arrest of former correctional services’ spokesperson, Elizabeth Banda, and Glow Trading Company supervisor Raymond Mazodze sometime in October last year.
The two companies are expected to appear in court today in connection with the same allegations, as investigations into the matter are still under way.
Banda and Mazodze have since appeared in court charged with fraud.
Prosecutor Sebastian Mutizirwa said this yesterday while opposing Banda’s application for refusal of further remand.
He said investigations into the matter were almost complete.
“Progress has been made in the investigations and the State is not just paying lip service, as police are doing their job. There is no inordinate delay in giving them their trial date since we are barely three months following their arrest,” he said.
“They came to court on October 8. This is a complex matter and the police did not arrest them to investigate. This is the reason why the defence counsel did not challenge their placement on remand.
“To prove that this is a complex matter, there is a company called Blue Agric Marondera which was allocated fuel and it (fuel) went through five other hands before it reached that company. That proves the matter is a complex one.”
Speaking through her lawyer Mr Tinofara Hove, Banda applied for refusal of further remand saying the State should summon her to court after completing all its in- vestigations.
She said it appeared as if the State had arrested her to allow investigations to take place.
“Investigations are still in their infancy and we believe there are 20 to 30 witnesses to be called. We also believe there are three to four co-accused which are to be jointly charged with accused in this case and we have been notified of this.
“In essence, what happened is that police got excited and arrested the accused before they investigated. They are now investigating when the accused is on remand,” said Mr Hove.
Mazodze, through his lawyer, also made the same application saying he would not abscond and would avail himself if summoned back to court.
He said he wanted to clear his name after the matter was reported by the media.
“His business and name have been affected and he is keen to clear his name. He is not a flight risk as he has been religiously attending court and reporting to the police as part of his bail conditions,” he said.
Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa dismissed Banda and Mazodze’s applications before deferring the matter to February 12 for their routine remand.
Circumstances leading to the duo’s arrest are that sometime in July 2017, Banda and Mazodze hatched a plan to evade paying duty on fuel imported from South Africa.
In August 2017, Mazodze representing Gloew, which was purported to be registered in South Africa, approached ZPCS offering a donation of four million litres of diesel.
The fuel was said to be in South Africa, prompting ZPCS to engage the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs requesting a duty-free certificate for the four million litres, which was issued by ZIMRA.
The certificate was handed over to Mazodze to facilitate importation of the fuel. It is alleged that from May 2017 to August 2018, Mazodze connived with Banda and drew a total of 1 130 500 litres of diesel at NOIC Msasa through CMED.
The State alleged that instead of delivering the fuel to ZPCS, Banda and Mazodze delivered 77 010 litres and sold 1 053 490 litres to Afrifor (Pvt) Ltd without the knowledge of ZPCS, CMED or the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
In a bid to conceal their crime, the State alleged that Banda raised a fake acquittal on December 5, 2017 indicating that the fuel had been delivered to ZPCS yet they had sold it to private fuel stations.
By A Correspondent | The people of Kuwadzana, Harare are some of the worst brutalised by soldiers in August 2018 when Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed the army to kill many while changing election results, and on the 4th August local clinics told ZimEye.com of how military trucks would arrive at night and officers begin assaulting residents. Being reminded of these atrocities could not be any more hurting.
But ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa on 3rd January said he will re-deploy the army to assault the people of Kuwadzana upon discovering they have bad wishes of the nation’s rainfall (loosely translated to mean anyone stopping the rain).
Addressing Kuwadzana residents yesterday, Mnangagwa said, “Asi deno taiziva kuti vanhu vekuKuwadzana vasingade kuti mvura inaye taingoti army kombai tirove.” – once we discover that it is the people of Kuwadzana who are stopping the rain, we would (or will) deploy the army, we’ll just say army surround them so we beat them down.” Directly translated VIDEO LOADING BELOW….
Former Liverpool player, Steve Nicol has claimed that forward, Sadio Mane could leave the club for Real Madrid if the whole ‘Real Madrid thing’ come up with the money for his signature.
DAILY POST had reported that Real Madrid have reportedly made contact with Mane’s representatives over a potential summer transfer deal for the forward at the end of the season.
Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane is a huge admirer of Mane and he is keen to link the winger up with Karim Benzema in the Los Blancos’ attack line next season.
Speaking on reports linking Mane with a move to Real Madrid, Nicol told ESPN: “When it comes to Real Madrid, anything’s possible.
“Players when they’re linked with Real Madrid, their eyes light up.
“The question is – what’s this guy all about?
“If he’s thinking about his career on the field of play, he’s staying with Liverpool because Liverpool will win the Premier League title this year and could do for some years to come.
“They’re certainly going to be challenging in the Champions League.
“If that’s what he’s all about then he stays but if it’s the whole ‘Real Madrid thing’ then it’s possible.
“If they, as they normally do when they want something they come up with the money, I don’t think this is beyond the realm of possibility.
“It’s not happening in the summer but after that I wouldn’t count it out.”
Mane has enjoyed a fine 2019, scoring 54 goals for club and country last season, as he helped Jurgen Klopp’s side to win the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League.
The 27-year-old finished in fourth behind Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2019 Ballon D’ Or award in France.
Mane also led Senegal to second place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Egypt.
The former Southampton star has scored 15 goals and registered 14 assists for Liverpool so far this season in all competitions.Ghana News
Own Correspondent|While President Emmerson Mnangagwa was going to the mountain telling Zimbabweans to forget about meat and eat vegetables on Friday, a top Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) boss identified as Brigadier General Cuthbert Dube was being exposed for allegedly stealing 30 tonnes of beef from the army.
According to a report by Zim Morning Post, his driver was nabbed in possession of the loot.
The Zimbabwe Military Police detained the driver who revealed that the meat belonged to his superior who had instructed him to deliver it to a yet to be ascertained location.
The army boss in question is report to be having a generally bad record of abusing army property.
“His driver was nabbed after a stop and search.
“The military police acted on a tip-off and the driver said he was sent by his superior who is well known of abusing army property,” revealed a source to the media house.
ZNA spokesperson Alphios Makotore told Zim Morning Post that the information has not yet reached to him.
“Well, I am still on vacation and I have not been made aware of such information at this juncture,” he said.
Own Correspondent: In one of his teachings, Jesus Christ condemned the kind of a father who when his children ask for bread he gives them a stone or a snake when they ask for fish.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday turned himself to be typical of the biblically condemned father when he offered Zimbabweans vegetables when then demanded for meat.
Residents of Kuwadzana in Harare posed questions to him highlighting their daily challenges amongst which they raised a concern on the high meat prices.
Instead of offering a means of providing residents with meat, Mnangagwa said there was nothing he could do and instead offered the residents vegetables.
“On that one (meat), there is little I can do, but you can substitute meat with vegetables, even the doctors say the vegetables are healthier,” said President Mnangagwa.
“They are rich in vitamins, I also take a lot of vegetables.”
Zimbabwe through the years has been known to be a meat country where good quality beaf was affordable to all Zimbabweans with enough excess to export to the world with Europe being one of the top destinations for Zimbabwean beaf.
With that kind of history, for Mnangagwa to tell Zimbabweans to eat vegetables instead of a traditional meat filled meal is a sign of failure on his part.
The statement gives an echo of his predecessor former President Robert Mugabe who at the peak of his failures told the world that if Zimbabweans can no longer afford the staple maize meal then they should eat rice.
Luke 11:11 King James Version (KJV)
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a snake?
Zanu PF is known to create militia groups during election times.
When elections are over the ruling party fails to disband and force the militia groups into civilian communities.
History has it that Zanu PF has had Chipangano in Harare,Alshababa in Kwekwe ,Top Six in Chinhoyi and many others throughout the country. These militia groupswere above the law.
The former militia groups were disbanded as they were led by G40 members like Jim Kunaka.Zanu PF created MaShurungwi for election purposes but have no use for them at the moment…they have become a financial burden to the party.
MaShurungwi like Moneychangers are controlled by Zanu PF big guns.The government, if it wanted to disarm MaShurungwi, it could have deployed the army but it’s impossible for Zanu PF to deploy soldiers against itself.
It’s like Zanu PF setting a coup against itself.
Will Zanu PF order soldiers to fire at Shake-Shake Building?The Pope will never play golf or go partying while Rome is burning.
Why is Zanu PF silent while citizens are being butchered by MaShurungwi?
Zanu PF has the obligation and powers to disband its militia MaShurungwi groups.The gold collected by MaShurungwis ends up in ZanuPF hands.
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s carefree, patronizing and condescending attitude towards the economically hard hit masses was at full glare in Kuwadzana during his routine monthly publicity stunt disguised as clean up campaign.
While the poverty stricken masses clearly tried to drive their point home that prices of basic commodities has gone beyond reach of many, Mnangagwa chose to pull a Marie Antoinette on the suffering citizens.
Just as Marie Antoinette, the infamous French Queen triggered the 1789 French Revolution by mockingly telling the Paris mob to substitute bread for cakes, Mnangagwa condescendingly bragged to the Kuwadzana gathering that they should instead substitute meat for vegetables.
It is not mendacious that the country has become a hellhole to ordinary citizens due to Mnangagwa’s elitist and anti people austerity policies.
What is ironic and more piercing is the fact that the very same man who ridiculously shocked the whole nation by munching ‘mazondo’ in a hired luxurious plane want us to believe meat is a luxury.
Only last week, the austerity king hosted an expensive banquet at his Sherwood farm with his POLAD acolytes where five course meals were on parade yet the very same man want us to be full blown grazers.
If anything, Mnangagwa’s carefree utterances in Kuwadzana should never be taken lightly especially if citizens are to borrow a leaf from the Paris mob’s reaction to Marie Antoinette utterances.
Simply put, Mnangagwa’s Kuwadzana utterances are a cause for concern as far as issues of national peace and security are concerned.
If Mnangagwa is a national leader as he claims, then he should understand that leadership comes with responsibility.
A good leader does not feast amidst poverty as was the case in Sherwood last week but should be able to feel what those in the periphery of periphery feel.
An open letter to @alexcrawfordsky:
Hi Alex Crawford,
For those of us living at the Victoria Falls both in Zambia and Zimbabwe, we are picking up the pieces after your whirlwind of a visit to incorrectly inform the world that the mighty Victoria Falls was in danger of drying up. I have heard some tall stories before but this one really takes the biscuit.
We have all lost bookings and business in some way as a result of your misinformation and some people’s lives have taken a very definite turn for the worse. Not that you would care much for them now that you are back in your comfortable home in Johannesburg. For someone who was brought up for some of the time in Zambia and Zimbabwe as a child you surely do not have any sympathy for those people whose well being you have now adversely affected.
I have been round to speak to the people you “interviewed” to create your story and not one of them is particularly pleased with your “investigative” work. Indeed, a couple insisted that you told them what to say which means that you created the news that you purported to be reporting on. Others have said that you twisted what they said, loading the questions you asked them and in some cases left out large parts of their interviews with you which would have brought the whole report into a more understandable perspective. You totally ignored others who tried to reason with you over what you were saying.
You now stand here amongst the locals as a sham, the creator of falsified news and the manipulator of facts.
I personally got hold of you at the airport before you flew out to offer you some points you had neglected to mention because I was already hearing reports from people that you were trying to give a twisted picture of what was really happening here. You indicated that you would get in touch with me to clarify things and get the story straight. To date you have done absolutely nothing. How insincere you have turned out to be.
We are all worried about the effects of climate change. The climate has been changing constantly over many generations but between 1914 and 1924 we had 5 of the lowest years of the river on record and yet no comment has been made about the climate creating the problem back then. It is quite normal to have a very high water level every 10 years or so (2018, 2009, 1997, 1969, 1958) as much it is normal to have very low year one too each decade (2015, 2005, 1995) none of which you made a mention of during your various reports. You clearly came here with a set agenda and you had every aim of sticking to this despite people telling you that perhaps your story was out of kilter with reality. One wonders where you got your story from and whose agenda you were propping up.
We are resilient people living on either side of this mighty river and we all know that you were in fact stirring up an incorrect story. There are climatic issues here for sure. Rain patterns are changing. The cutting down of the forests to produce charcoal are have a devastating effect for sure. The low water at Kariba is exacerbating this issue. The water being taken off above the Falls to produce hydro electric power is also contributing to the reduction of water going of the Falls, but did you mention this? No, and yet you were standing within 500m of the canal itself. How could you have missed this startling piece of evidence. If they just stopped taking water off during the day we would have water going over the Eastern Cataract every day of year. Imagine that! But why didn’t you point this out? Because it didn’t fit your narrative.
We live far closer with nature than most people and surely have a greater understanding than many of the local situation. If your story was closer to the truth we would not feel so upset nor so absolutely let down by both you and Stephen Sackur. Remember that it is the likes of us that looked after you when you were reporting from inside Zimbabwe when you needed us most and now you come back and stab us neatly in the back. You got your story out back then because the noble acts of the local people here. Far from being a fair reporter, you are a manipulator of the truth to a point where is not recognisable to those who know the true facts.
Tourism is a very fragile industry and takes time to build up. It takes a single moment of violence to turn it upside down like in Kenya with the bombings. Or the Ebola outbreak which was closer to London than here but affected us more that the UK. And now your badly thought out, scantily researched idea that the Victoria Falls was somehow going to dry up will do the same. You were staying at the hotel right on the edge of the Zambezi river. Did it not occur to you that even at low water this 4th biggest river in Africa, the biggest volume river emptying into the Indian Ocean could supply the water for London more than 5 times at one go? Do you seriously think that it is going to dry up? Are you out of your mind? As you sipped you gin and tonic at that hotel did you do just some very basic arithmetic to try and understand what you had just rather insanely said to the outside world? The children at the local school in grade 2 would seem to have better knowledge of the shear enormity of this river. The rafting guides who work on the river below the Falls where the river is often over 300 feet deep know better than you. 300 feet! That is twice the height of Niagara Falls for crying out loud. That is when it is at its lowest! It is the 33rd biggest river in the world. Not the little dribble of a river called the Vaal near you.
We are having a drought for sure and before you go all alarmist on us we will probably have another one next year too. Life is going to hard for all of us. Trying to run businesses and keeping our great workers in employment is going to be a struggle but we will do it some how because care for our people and our tourists. You, it would seem, just love to stir things up even when there is no story. You cleverly came at the time of the year when the river is at its lowest like it is EVERY YEAR. A week after your departure the water was rising as it always does each year and two weeks later the Falls are almost completely different from when you were here spreading such alarm and despondency. Believe me we have lost bookings on account your unprofessional and unethical reporting. I stood with people at the Falls in Zambia yesterday and they could not believe what they were seeing. “But Alex Crawford said they were drying up”! I told them “Alex Crawford does not really come from here despite what is says on her CV and what little time she spent here in her entire life certainly does not make her a specialist on the region. She had no facts to prop up her story. Just a camera without wide angle to give the complete picture.” Yes, your cameraman played a part in this farce.
And the sad thing is that other news stations around the world have now followed up with their own stories about the Falls drying up, because it is the want of some journalists to copy a story and churn out the deception, all based on your ill thought out, careless, inaccurate, hopelessly wide of the mark reporting.
For us this has undone to an extent the marvelous work you have done over the years and we now have to ask ourselves how much of it you created and how much of it was true. I was a firm believer that one should only trust half of what one sees on TV. You are the living proof that even 50% was just a little too generous.
You should be ashamed of yourself. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story? You had your premeditated script to stick to and heavens knows what was the financing behind it because let’s face it money makes the world go round. You gained your 30 pieces of silver with your recent trip to our area. Enjoy spending it on what frivolous items you think more important than the people whose lives you have messed up.
But let us all at The Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia tell you something, Alex Crawford of Sky News, the Victoria Falls has as much chance of drying up as there is of Hell Freezing Over, Pigs Flying, Ravens leaving the Tower of London or even spaghetti growing on trees. Research your work next time properly and thoroughly like a professional should do and get the story right.
Getting an apology out of you and a full retraction would of course be as likely as say …The Victoria Falls themselves completely drying up as you told us might actually happen. Let us see if you have the moral courage to eat humble pie.
By A Correspondent | ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he could deploy the army to assault the people of Kuwadzana upon discovering they have bad of the nation’s rainfall.
Addressing Kuwadzana residents yesterday, Mnangagwa said, “Asi deno taiziva kuti vanhu vekuKuwadzana vasingade kuti mvura inaye taingoti army kombai tirove.” – once we discover that it is the people of Kuwadzana who wish the rain not to fall, we would (or will) deploy the army to surround them so we assault them.” Directly translated VIDEO LOADING BELOW….
Own Correspondent|ZANU PF government taking advantage of its two thirds parliament majority is going ahead with its unpopular mutilation of the 2013 people driven constitution.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2019 was gazetted yesterday after it was recently approved by Cabinet, setting the stage for the removal of the provision for running mates and other sections the party viewed as undesirable.
According to Section 328 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20) Act 2013, after gazetting the Constitutional Amendment Bill, Parliament will have to invite members of the public to express their views on the proposals.
The views can be gathered through public gatherings and written submission, with Parliament obliged to convene meetings and provide facilities to enable the process.
History, however, shows that ZANU PF has never taken hid of the submissions made by members of the public on these consultations. The party has also always strategically infiltrated the hearings by sending rowdy party members to disrupt the hearings so that no inputs are recorded.
The Bill will be passed at its last reading in the National Assembly and the Senate by the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the membership of each House.
When the Bill is presented to the President for assent and signature after being passed, it should be accompanied by a certificate from the Speaker that at its final vote in the National Assembly, it received the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of its membership.
The President of the Senate should also present a similar certificate indicating that members of the that House affirmed the Bill with at least two-thirds of the membership.
The removal of the running mates clause will allow the President-elect to appoint the two Vice Presidents.
The 2013 Constitution, through Section 92, had a 10-year transitional clause that provided for the joint election of the President and two running mates selected by the Presidential candidate.
But the Constitutional Amendment Bill published in yesterday’s Extraordinary Government Gazette will repeal the provision of the running mates.
ZANU PF moved for the abrogation of the provision, arguing that the concept had the effect of creating parallel centres of power.
The party falsely argue that the concept is not an international best practice.
An analysis of the Bill shows that clauses 1 to 8 dispense with the running mate concept of the vice-presidency and in its place, the two vice presidents will be chosen on the President’s own authority.
Clause 9 reads: “This clause adopts the provisions of paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution as the operative provisions relating to the question of the succession to the Presidency (given that the Vice-Presidents are not elected as running mates).”
The Bill also seeks to allow the President to appoint up to seven (instead of five) additional ministers outside Parliament.
It further proposes to extend by another 10 years, the provision of the election of 60 female members in the National Assembly under proportional representation, while also providing for the setting aside of one constituency per province for youths.
According to the Bill, this will be done on proportional representation.
In addition, the Bill proposes to empower the President, acting on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), to appoint sitting judges to vacancies in the higher courts without subjecting them to the public interview procedure.
Another key feature in the Bill is clause 14, which will allow judges of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court to annually extend their tenure after reaching the age of 70, for up to five years subject to a favourable medical report regarding mental and physical fitness of the judge to continue in office.
“Clause 19 will provide for the appointment of the Prosecutor-General by the President on the advice of the JSC, without the intervention of a public interview procedure, and makes a special provision for his or her removal for cause by a Tribunal,” reads the passage of the clause.
Clauses 20, 21, 22 and 25 of the Bill seek to remove members of Parliament from membership of the provincial council.
This will see the merging of provisions relating to provincial and metropolitan councils by removing the special provisions relating to the latter (they will no longer be chaired by mayors, but be elected in terms of Section 272 like provincial councils), and provide for the election of 10 of the members of Metropolitan Councils by a system of party-list proportional representation.
By A Correspondent- Zpra Veterans Association has described the Political Actors Dialogue which is being conducted by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other losing 18 presidential candidates in the 2018 elections as a waste of time and resources after some of the members demanded cars and allowances from government recently.
Some of the members of POLAD demanded allawances and cars from government during their meeting with Mnangagwa at his farm in Kwekwe.
Zpra Veterans Association Secretary General Petros Sibanda said the whole POLAD thing was a waste of time and resources.
“POLAD is a waste of time and resources. It can not mend the economy,” he said.
He said genuine dialogue must be open to all stakeholders and indicated that it may be well focused if it would lead to a transitional authority which will result to the reforms needed for the country to move forward.
He said the fact that they are now claiming allowances and cars exposes that POLAD was not formed on good intention.
By A Correspondent- An illegal miner from Jotsholo in Matabeleland North province was dragged to court by his wife after he stripped her nak_ed and assaulted her several times with a sjambok, accusing her of squandering money set aside for school fees for their children.
Talent Ndlovu (37), a miner in Matopo, could not let it go when he discovered that his wife Sethule Ndebele (24) had wasted money for school fees for their children who are at primary school.
He is alleged to have violently grabbed his wife, stripped her nak_ed, before he pummelled her several times with a sjambok all over the body.
Ndebele told the court that she suffered a fractured arm due to the assault and produced a medical report as evidence.
Ndlovu pleaded guilty to the assault charge before Lupane resident magistrate Ndumo Masuku.
“Your worship, I was angry when I assaulted her because she squandered money I sent her for school fees for our children. That angered me because I risked my life to get that money under the ground,” he said.
He added: “I don’t know when I will get the money because it’s not easy to get money in our mining activities. This is a setback for my children because they have to stay at home for some weeks as I will be looking for money.”
Sethule took to the stand and said: “We had no food for Christmas so I decided to buy food for our children, the remainder of the money I bought our children clothes for Christmas. When I explained to him he did not understand, instead he accused me and thrashed me for being wasteful. I suffered eyesight problems and fractured an arm. I have a medical report as an exhibit.”
Magistrate remanded Ndlovu out of custody to next week on Monday for sentencing.
Own Correspondent|Winky D on new years eve launched his controversial album Njema at a fully subscribed Harare International Conference Centre.
The vibrant musician took to the stage wearing a signature red and white jersey (same as the ZPCS’s prison garb) which left fans believing that he was sarcastically suggesting the nation is under arrest from government.
The album is titled Njema which is Shona slang for handcuffs.
Winky D on stage
Winky D before his album was launched was in a bit of trouble with the authorities after they reportedly banned state-controlled radio stations from playing his new album an allegation they denied.
PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists have seen some strange things packed into foreign visitors’ baggage at Philadelphia International Airport, but there’s always room for one more interesting find.
Philadelphia CBP agriculture specialists detained this unfinished African fox head discovered in the baggage of a Senegalese mother and daughter September 12, 2019.
CBP seized this African fox head
that two Senegalese women were
bringing to a relative in the U.S.
to “ward off evil spirits.”
CBP agriculture specialists observed an image of an animal’s skull during an x-ray examination of a Senegalese mother and daughter’s baggage September 12. The eight-inch unfinished skull was of an unknown animal with hair and teeth. The women reported they were bringing the skull for a cousin who intended to use it to ward off evil spirits.
CBP agriculture specialists advised the travelers that the fox head would be detained pending U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) admissibility determination. The travelers decided to abandon the fox head to CBP.
USFWS inspectors identified the skull as belonging to an African fox, Vulpes pallida, and CBP turned over the fox head to USFWS for violating numerous federal animal and animal product import requirements.
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists protect our nation’s agriculture and economy from a variety of potential threats every day, from the seemingly innocuous hotel fruit and airport sandwiches, to the more serious unfinished animal skulls that may be a vector for economy-damaging animal diseases,” said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “CBP agriculture specialists continue to exercise extraordinary vigilance in their fight to protect our nation’s agriculture and economic prosperity from invasive pests and animal diseases.”
The USFWS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regulate the importation of animals and animal products into the United States. Consignees and importers should consult these agencies’ websites to ensure that they comply with licensing, certification, and importation requirements.
CBP agriculture specialists perform a critical border security role in safeguarding America’s agricultural and natural resources from harmful pests and plant diseases. They have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection.
CBP agriculture specialists work diligently to inspect imported air and sea cargo and arriving international travelers every day to intercept pests and potential plant and animal diseases at our nation’s international ports of entry. During a typical day last year, CBP agriculture specialists across the nation seized 4,552 prohibited plant, meat, animal byproduct, and soil, and intercepted 319 insect pests at U.S. ports of entry. See what else CBP achieved on a typical day during 2018.
By A Correspondent | ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he could use the army to assault the people of Kuwadzana if they wish bad of the nation’s rainfall.
Addressing Kuwadzana residents yesterday, Mnangagwa said, “Asi deno taiziva kuti vanhu vekuKuwadzana vasingade kuti mvura inaye taingoti army kombai tirove.” – once we discover that it is the people of Kuwadzana who wish the rain not to fall, we would (or will) deploy the army to surround them so we assault them.” Directly translated
By Nomusa Garikai- “As your Listening President and a Servant Leader, I will continue engaging with you and listening to your concerns so that we walk hand in hand, together in unity, love, peace and harmony towards a prosperous Zimbabwe,” said Mnangagwa!
“Listening President!” You have just blatantly rigged the elections, for umpteenth time it must be said, denying us, the people, a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
3 millions in the diaspora were denied the right to vote, a very large number considering Mnangagwa garnered 2.4 million and declared the winner. ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, a legal and common sense requirement, and so no one who was on the voters’ roll, who voted, etc.
Rural voters were subjected to the usual intimidation and harassment by traditional leaders and party operative, reducing them into nothing short of medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing landlord, Zanu PF.
The EU and all the other election observer with any democratic credential have all dismissed last year’s election as a farce. So Mnangagwa switches off the mic, the amplifier, and all the democratic means for people to express their voices and has chutzpah to claim he heard us!
By failing to stamp out corruption; failing to keep his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections; etc. Mnangagwa has confirmed that, contrary to his claim of Zimbabwe being “new democratic dispensation and Second republic”; the country is still a pariah state of Mugabe days.
And as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. None!
“There is indeed, much more to look forward to in the New Year. Tomorrow is a better and brighter day. I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year,” Mnangagwa continued.
Rigging elections and thus confirming Zimbabwe’s pariah state status, was the easy bit; rigging economic recovery, given the pariah state, is proving mission impossible!
Mnangagwa has denied the people of his Zimbabwe a democratic voice because he and his Zanu PF cronies did not want to be told that they have failed and must go. So he is “a listening president” hearing the voices of an imaginary electorate.
The sorry state of the country’s economy is spelt out in the 90% unemployment rate; the soaring hyperinflation; the 90% of the population now classified as poor with 34% of them living in extreme poverty, according to a recent WB report; most of the country’s hospitals have all but closed and hundreds are dying of easily treatable ailments; etc. No amount of Zanu PF propaganda and coercion will force Zimbabweans to mistake abject poverty for economic prosperity!
There are some Zimbabweans who have argued that Mnangagwa should be given the benefit of the doubt. “Give him a chance, to turn the economy around!” They argued.
It is now over two years since the November 2017 military coup that booted Mugabe out of office and still there is nothing to make one believe Zimbabwe has or is ever going to turn the corner. Mnangagwa’s vision 2030 with its promise of middle income status for the country is just a mirage; same as Mugabe’s vision 2000, vision 2020, etc.
“Wishful thinking is hoping to feast on a bushel after bushel of mangoes in the future when you have never planted even one mango sapling,” my late father would often say. “Plant ten saplings and your wish will come true!”
Mnangagwa has had the last two years to plant the saplings to give hope in a future economic recovery; by failing to stamp out corruption, to hold free and fair elections, etc. he has continued with Mugabe’s destructive ways, cutting down the few mango trees for selfish gain.
Holding free, fair and credible elections to end the country’s curse of rigged elections, bad governance and pariah state is the mango sapling Zimbabwe must plant to secure economic recovery and prosperity.
“Happy and prosperous New Years!” Mnangagwa said this last year and the year before that and yet year after year the country’s economic meltdown has got progressively worse and not better. With nothing done to end the curse of bad governance, 2020 is not going to buck that trend.
The people of Zimbabwe must demand that this illegitimate Zanu PF regime steps down now to allow the appointment of an interim administration that will implement the requisite reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections.
The tragic human suffering brought about be the worsening economic situation is the compelling case why this vicious cycle of rigged elections and tyrants hearing imaginary voices must be broken now.
The right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country is not just a key fundamental right, it is also the essence of good and accountable government.
The charade of being denied a voice and tyrants boasting about listening to the people’s democratic voices but not be allowed to continue even for one more day. Enough is enough!
By A Correspondent- A Mvuma man has been arrested after he allegedly broke into two premises in Gwanda and stole property worth $42 000 before burning property worth $15 000.
Robert Raymond Manyimo (26) allegedly broke into his friend’s house and stole some electric gadgets before breaking into a shop in the central business district (CBD) and stole property belonging to various occupants.
Manyimo pleaded not guilty to three counts of unlawful entry, four counts of theft and one count of malicious damage to property when he appeared before Gwanda magistrate, Mrs Nomagugu Sibanda.
He was remanded out of custody on $100 bail to January 15 for continuation of trial. Prosecuting, Miss Glenda Nare said Manyimo committed the offences on September 17 last year.
“On 17 September at around 11AM Manyimo went to visit his friends Mr Energy Chinyoka and Mr Oratile Nyoni at their house.
They later went to town together and his friends left their home locked. Manyimo later left Mr Chinyoka and Mr Nyoni in town and went to their house.
He used a duplicate key which he had stolen from Mr Chinyoka earlier and used it to unlock the door and gained entry.
He stole a Samsung laptop, power bank, USB and cellphone all valued at $2 500 belonging to Mr Nyoni and left.
“On the same day at around midnight Manyimo went to Ms Lenia Tshuma’s shop at Mabhizeni in the Gwanda CBD where he used an unknown object to break the door open. While inside, Manyimo stole electric gadgets worth $36 860 from Mr Keeper Kwarire who sells electricals in the shop. He proceeded to a section of the shop rented by Ms Siphathisiwe Nyathi who operates a salon and stole 12 packets of hair braids valued at $80,” she said.
Ms Nare said Manyimo also stole three hair clippers valued at $1 260 belonging to Mr Blessing Dube who runs a barber shop. She said he also stole property worth $1 010 belonging to Ms Yvonne Ncube who operates a salon. Ms Nare said after stealing the property Manyimo set the shop on fire and damaged property worth $14 445 before fleeing.
She said Manyimo was stopped by police officers who were on cycle patrol whilst carrying the stolen goods in a bag after he had left the shop.
They questioned Manyimo who indicated that he had been sent by a friend to buy the property on his behalf from South Africa and they let him go. Miss Nare said the following morning the complainants discovered the offence and reported the matter to the police. Manyimo was arrested on October 1 in Mvuma following police investigations.
By A Correspondent- Homicide detectives in Manicaland have launched a manhunt for a self-proclaimed prophet in Buhera, who is a fugitive from justice, after he injected two patients with a suspected toxic substance while purportedly curing them.
The incidents — leading to the deaths of Peneil Zvinowanda (69) and Ellen Marime (57) — occurred on December 24 and 25, 2019 in Mukutukutu village in Buhera.
Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa has declared Kudakwashe Ziwange (33) a “wanted man” and appealed to members of the public with information leading to his arrest to approach the nearest police station.
Ziwenge’s last known address is 74 Tsoka, Rimuka, Kadoma.
Ziwenge allegedly visited his mother, Mweya Munaki (52), in Madhume village, Buhera, and administered an unknown medicine leading to the death of two patients.
“Kudakwashe Ziwange, from Kadoma, visited his mother, Mweya Munaki of Madhume village under Chief Nyashanu. Ziwange is a self-proclaimed prophet and he gave (an unknown) medicine to the two deceased persons under the guise of healing them,” said Insp Kakohwa.
The first victim was Zvinowanda, who approached the suspect for treatment after enduring 20 years back and legs ailment. Zvinowanda was given 17 injections of an unknown traditional medicine and left the place in deteriorating condition.
“The brother of deceased Tawanda Nyamanjo (51) saw the deceased lying by the roadside and took him to their homestead where Zvinowanda died upon arrival,” he said.
The body had bruises and wounds on the knees, elbow and back.
He was reportedly bleeding from the mouth and nose.
The body was taken to Murambinda Mission Hospital for a post-mortem.
On December 25, the suspect was approached by Marime, who was seeking a remedy for legs that she claimed had been painful for five years.
Marime was accompanied by her nephew, Mauto Nyikadzino (57).
She was allegedly given 15 injections of traditional medicine for the leg pains.
Her condition deteriorated and she died upon arrival at her homestead.
The body was taken to Murambinda Mission Hospital for a post-mortem. The body was inspected and razor blade cuts were detected on the left knee. She was also bleeding from the nose and mouth.
The cases were reported to the police, prompting Ziwange to flee the area. A manhunt has since been launched for him.
By A Correspondent- Addressing citizens in Kuwadzana Harare soon after his monthly clean up campaign, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he had no power to regulate the prices of meat promising to ensure that school fees was affordable to the majority of citizens.
Said Mnangagwa:
“I know that in government school, fees have not been hiked. That is what i have been told. It is well. I have heard your two grievances, on meat and school. Alleluyah. We will go and look into the two. But on meat, I do not have much power. But on school fees, there i can fix. Yes.
On council rates, the local authorities have been pleading with me to increase them, but i will refuse to have them effect the raise on rates. It is well. Let us now go back to our homes. My final words which i am giving you is on unity, respect. we want peace, peace and peace.”
By A Correspondent- A Victoria Falls man who was in the business of smuggling prohibited products from Zambia into Zimbabwe has been jailed for six months after being caught with cases of cane spirits and skin lightening creams.
Gracious Nkomo (45) of Chinotimba suburb was caught by ZimParks rangers who handed him over to the police after finding him in the bush near the border carrying a sack full of smuggled goods.
Nkomo, who once served 10 months in two separate previous convictions for a similar crime, pleaded guilty to smuggling when he appeared before the Victoria Falls magistrate Ms Rangarirai Gakanje yesterday.
He told the court that he survives on smuggling goods for resale. “I am not employed and I went to Zambia to buy those goods for resale as that is the only way I get money for my upkeep,” he said.
The magistrate sentenced him to six months in prison before suspending two months on condition of good behaviour.
For the State, Mr Jacob Kuzipa said Nkomo smuggled cases of ice cane spirit and a variety of skin lightening creams.
Both products are prohibited in Zimbabwe.
“On 31 December 2019 around 2PM in a bushy area near Victoria Falls border post, a member of the National Parks and Wildlife Authority Mr Posent Mudenda was on patrol when he came across Nkomo carrying a sack and apprehended him. Mudenda ordered Nkomo to open his sack and he found cases of 33 by 200ml of ice cane spirit and different kinds of skin lightening creams,” said Mr Kuzipa.
By A Correspondent- A 40-year-old man from Colleen Bawn has been arrested for allegedly raping his co-tenant’s 13-year-old daughter.
He was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate, Mrs Sibanda facing a rape charge. He was remanded in custody to January 9.
Prosecuting, Miss Faith Mutukwa said the man raped the juvenile on November 29 after he entered her bedroom in the middle of the night while her parents were asleep.
“The accused person who is a co-tenant with complainant’s parents opened the complainant’s unlocked bedroom door in the middle of the night. He got into her blankets and started caressing the complainant who was asleep. He removed the complainant’s underwear and raped her.
“The complainant woke up to find the accused person raping her and when she tried to scream for help he covered her mouth with his hand. The accused person threatened to kill the complainant if she revealed the matter to anyone and she remained quiet. He further bought her underwear in order to buy her silence,” she said.
Miss Mutukwa said the matter came to light on December 2 after the complainant’s mother saw the underwear and she questioned her daughter about it who went on to reveal that she had been given by the accused who had raped her.
She said the matter was reported to the police resulting in the arrest of the accused person.
By Patrick Guramatunhu- The Zanu PF dictatorship is imploding, the regime was rotten to the core and the centre can not hold. 40 years of this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical misrule has left the country in economic ruins and the Zanu PF thugs are fighting each other to the death over the ever shrinking national cake.
The nation has good reason to worry about how the Zanu PF dictatorship will end, as things stand the party is sinking into the abyss but still retains’ strangle hold on the nation. The danger of Zanu PF dragging the nation into the abyss with it is real.
We must find ways of implementing the democratic reforms, end the curse of rigged elections and thus price free of Zanu PF’s political strangle hold. A serious and urgent challenge!
We must also think of what kind of Zimbabwe we want post the Zanu PF dictatorship. The 1980 independence took us from the frying pan of white colonial oppression into the fire of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. We must learn from that mistake and taking every precaution to avoid repeating the same mistake.
“I agree and support my compatriots who say Mat provinces are marginalized. Let’s speak against this and promote equal opportunities for all regions without ambiguity and let’s desist from defending stupid things. Why should people come to Harare for nursing interviews!!!” said political commentator Pedzisai Ruhanya.
This is just the type of cheap but very dangerous divide and rule politicking that, if not slammed down forcefully, could see post Zanu PF Zimbabwe ending up like post Gaddafi Libya.
In a country where unemployment has soared to 90%, there is no water and electricity and health care has all but collapsed, schools are closing, etc.; are we expected to believe that there are some region(s) in Zimbabwe that are prospering and none of these problems exist? If there are, then Mr Ruhanya must name them and not just make insinuating but unfounded comments.
How is holding nursing job interviews in Harare singling out and “marginalising” Mat provinces and is not doing the same to all the other remaining seven provinces?
Four decades of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule have left the nation in economic ruins and traumatised, everyone is angry and mistrustful. The last thing the country wants is some village idiot like Ruhanya stoking the anger and mistrust with falsehoods of one region or tribe being “marginalised”.
The Zanu PF dictatorship is imploding and the task of rebuilding the nation from the ruins will be tough enough without making it mission impossible by wasting the nation’s time, resources and, God forbid, human lives fighting regional and tribal rivalries.
Look at what has happened to Libya since the death of that country’s tyrant, Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi. The dictator was cornered and killed in 2011 and yet, nearly decade latter, the country is still at war!
No doubt, many Libyans think they are settling old scores, not knowing they are in fact making complete fools of themselves. They were all victims of the Gaddafi dictatorship and by making sure the post Gaddafi Libya enjoyed peace, justice and economic prosperity for all should have been their number one priority.
Of course, it is folly to let themselves be dragged into this futile regional conflict that has left the country in a worse economic and political state than it was during Gaddafi!
Post Zanu PF dictatorship Zimbabwe must be spared the fate that has befallen post Gaddafi Libya. And to be certain of that goal, we must not spare the whip and spoil village idiots like Ruhanya whose blabbering knows no bonds!
By A Correspondent- Rice that was meant for Chivi South Constituency was stolen by some Zanu Pf party bigwig and its beneficiaries did not receive anything according to Chivi South legislator Killer Zivhu.
Speaking to the publication Zivhu said some of the people(MPs) who were given rice for disbursement are selling it in some shops in Masvingo:
The president gave us rice to donate to people who are facing hunger in our constituencies, but when I tried to go and collect it at the GMB depot, I was told it had already been collected by a certain lady. (name provided)…
The rice is now being sold in various shops in Masvingo. The president has said corruption must stop, but there are some top officials who are involved in these deals.
-DailyNews
Zivhu said he reported the matter to Harare Central Police. The president expended 3000 tonnes of rice to all rural constituencies before Christmas. The rice had been donated to him by the Chines
By A Correspondent- A Binga man waylaid his aunt while she was coming from the river to fetch water before allegedly assaulting her to death for allegedly bewitching him.
Tutambulye Munkuli (25) of Lusulu area allegedly indiscriminately attacked his unidentified aunt using sticks and left her for dead.
This emerged when Munkuli approached the High Court seeking bail pending trial.
Munkuli is facing a murder charge in connection with the deceased’s death.
In his bail application filed at the Bulawayo High Court, Munkuli who is a self-actor, cited the State as a respondent.
In his bail statement, he argued that there were no compelling reasons by the State for refusal of bail.
He said he is a family man and a sole breadwinner taking care of his wife and step mother. He also offered to pay bail of $100.
“I am a family man and my family entirely depend on me as I am the only breadwinner. I also want to take care of my cattle since they are my only source of livelihood,” said Munkuli.
He also disputed the assertion by investigating officers and the State that if released on bail, he would abscond or likely to interfere with State witnesses.
The State, which is being represented by Mr Kudakwashe Jaravaza opposed the bail application, arguing that Munkuli was likely to interfere with witnesses and endanger the lives of his neighbours.
“The applicant is likely to commit further offences because he was threatening to burn down the deceased’s homestead. He is likely to endanger the life of the deceased’s son whom he alleged was bewitching him together with his mother,” he said.
Mr Jaravaza said there were compelling reasons warranting Munkuli’s continued detention given that he is facing a serious offence likely to attract a length jail term.
According to court papers, on November 5 last year, Munkuli spotted the deceased going to the river to fetch water. He then decided to waylay the woman on her way back.
When he spotted the woman approaching, Munkuli emerged from the shrubs and confronted he deceased who was carrying a bucket of water on her head.
He ordered the deceased to put the bucket down before indiscriminately assaulting her using sticks until she lost consciousness. Soon after committing the alleged offence, Munkuli fled from the scene leaving the deceased lying in a pool of blood. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.
A report was made to the police leading to Munkuli’s arrest
By A Correspondent- A naked hooker bolted out through a kitchen window, clutching her panties and wig in her hands after she was caught having se_x with a married man in a backyard restaurant in the Bulawayo city centre.
The drama filled incident which entertained onlookers for more than three hours occurred last week on Thursday at a building situated at corner Main Street and Robert Mugabe Way.
A fuming Yewukai Maradze (30) shouted that she found her husband Brave Mudawu (35) furiously pumping away at the unidentified hooker without protection at the restaurant she owns.
In a fit of rage, the restaurant owner grabbed her husband’s gen_itals and twisted them.
As he bellowed in pain and collapsed to the ground, onlookers cheered and urged her to mete out more punishment.
“This should be a lesson to you to mend your ways, now that tool of pleasure that was leading you astray is being twisted like a floor mop,” shouted a woman with apparent delight at the turn of events.
Maradze burst into tears as she told B-Metro at the scene how a friend informed her that her husband was performing bedroom gymnastics with a hooker at her restaurant.
“I was at a party of a friend when a friend phoned me and said she saw my husband with a hooker at my work place. I had to rush to this place and caught him red-handed having se_x with a short, dark, thin and flat-bottomed hooker,” said the teary Maradze.
She added: “My husband had the audacity to take keys to my kitchen and sleep with a pr0stitute at my place where I cook meals for my customers, this is horrible. I banged on the door and asked my husband to open the door but he refused. While I was at the door chihure chake (his pr0stitute) shot out of the window and ran off nak_ed.”
“I have been here for almost three hours asking him to open the door, but he does not want,” she said while her visibly drunk husband sheepishly peeped through the window. He was defiantly saying: “Handibudi (I won’t come out). You want to embarrass me.”
Maradze continued calling on her hubby to man up and face the music.
“Wear your trousers, you loose man and open the door,” she dared Mudawu.
She attempted to get into the room through the window, but her husband pushed her back while threatening to beat her up.
This reporter asked Mudawu for a comment through the window and he said: “What do you want to do with that information? Please leave me alone,” he said raising his voice.
More drama was yet to unfold as the man bolted out of the door in a boxer short. The angry woman who felt hard done by her husband followed in hot pursuit.
A fight ensued, but the woman was the winner as she grabbed her husband’s jewels and twisted them. The man keeled over in agony while trying to free himself from the vice-like grip of his wife. The wife did not let go but applied more pressure resulting in Mudawu passing out as a result of the excruciating pain.
Seething with anger, Maradze wanted to end her life: “It’s better I die because I cannot handle this. I have to drink poison.”
It took the intervention of the owner of the building, Precious Magwende, to bring the ugly situation under control.
“I don’t know why the man had se_x with a hooker at his wife’s kitchen, maybe it’s their ritual to attract customers. We are saddened by such unbecoming behaviour,” said Magwende
Own Correspondent|Zimbabwean officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa himself have been leaving Zimbabweans Confused on the exact situation regarding water levels at the mighty Zambezi River.
The authorities continuously dismiss reports that the Victoria Falls on the river are at their all time low with a huge area of the falls dry to nearly the entire falls drying up.
Come let’s enjoy the wonder of thundering & ever majestic Victoria Falls! Good to know famous visitors across the world dismissed false reports that it ha/is dried up! I hope Zimbabweans too see how wonderful it is & promote it instead of the alarming & despondent @BBCHARDtalk?? https://t.co/AfMiZ5jJ6o
On the contrary, the authorities rush to lament at the extreme low water levels at the downstream Kariba Dam.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday joined the band wagon of mourners on the water levels at Kariba yet his office’s information department has been on the forefront dismissing reports that there is very little water going down the once mighty Victoria Falls.
A big question then needs to be answered as to where all the water falling in Victoria Falls disappears to in the 200km meander to the Kariba Dam.
A little more serious country across the Zambezi River, Zambia, has been very consistent on the situation at both the Victoria Falls and Kariba Dam.
Actually, the country’s President Edgar Lungu himself has taken time off to visit both features on the might river and get first hand sight of how desperate the situation is and spoken on it as it is than lie to the nation as we are being told by our authorities.
The Zambian President acknowledged that the impact of climate change on tourism is unprecedented.
Large portions of the Victoria Falls which are normally submerged are dry and exposing the rock formations around the falls.
He said though people are describing the falls, as being dead, and tourists are taking advantage of climate change to learn about rock formations.
“Let’s make use of what’s obtaining , am told there is a lot of excitement from tourists who come here to witness what is unprecedented, learn about rock formations, and what happens with this situation ” said President Lungu.
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s carefree, patronizing and condescending attitude towards the economically hard hit masses was at full glare in Kuwadzana during his routine monthly publicity stunt disguised as clean up campaign.
While the poverty stricken masses clearly tried to drive their point home that prices of basic commodities has gone beyond reach of many, Mnangagwa chose to pull a Marie Antoinette on the suffering citizens.
Just as Marie Antoinette, the infamous French Queen triggered the 1789 French Revolution by mockingly telling the Paris mob to substitute bread for cakes, Mnangagwa condescendingly bragged to the Kuwadzana gathering that they should instead substitute meat for vegetables.
It is not mendacious that the country has become a hellhole to ordinary citizens due to Mnangagwa’s elitist and anti people austerity policies.
What is ironic and more piercing is the fact that the very same man who ridiculously shocked the whole nation by munching ‘mazondo’ in a hired luxurious plane want us to believe meat is a luxury.
Only last week, the austerity king hosted an expensive banquet at his Sherwood farm with his POLAD acolytes where five course meals were on parade yet the very same man want us to be full blown grazers.
If anything, Mnangagwa’s carefree utterances in Kuwadzana should never be taken lightly especially if citizens are to borrow a leaf from the Paris mob’s reaction to Marie Antoinette utterances.
Simply put, Mnangagwa’s Kuwadzana utterances are a cause for concern as far as issues of national peace and security are concerned.
If Mnangagwa is a national leader as he claims, then he should understand that leadership comes with responsibility.
A good leader does not feast amidst poverty as was the case in Sherwood last week but should be able to feel what those in the periphery of periphery feel.
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCYouthAssembly National Spokesperson
MINISTER of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, Ezra Chadzamira (pictured)’s name has been dragged into the alleged diversion of 15 metric tonnes of donated rice meant to benefit villagers in Chivi South but ended up in Harare and other parts of the country.
The rice was allocated through Chivi South Member of Parliament, Killer Zivhu on the strength of a letter from the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Simon Masanga to Harare depot manager of the Grain Marketing Board Harare.
The rice which the Minister stole was part of the rice which was donated to Zimbabwe by the Chinese government and Mthuli Ncube deliberately omitted disclosing in his budget speech.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa was to later come out claiming that the rice was his personal donation to the rural people of Zimbabwe.
A couple, Veronica Mhlanga and her husband Donny Huruva, a relative to Chivi Rural District Council chairperson, Godfrey Huruva Mukungunugwa has been arrested over the matter and is assisting police with investigations.
The case was reported under Immediate Report (IR) 010074 and a Criminal Record (CR) is still to be opened.
Zivhu yesterday confirmed the incident.
“What happened is that MPs were given an allocation by the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) of 15 metric tonnes of rice each for their constituencies. When I went to collect it, I found that it had been collected by a woman by the name Veronica Mhlanga whom I don’t know. I then sent messages to (Zanu PF) councillors and MPs WhatsApp groups trying to trace the rice but didn’t get a positive response,” said Zivhu
He said he had to trace Mhlanga through her Facebook page and she allegedly confessed to having collected the rice after being given the green light by Mukungunugwa.
“They collected the letter on December 20 and took the allocation on December 24, but it hasn’t arrived in the constituency,” Zivhu said.
“After I made noise everywhere, they then delivered 100 bags on Monday at a councillor’s shop and said the remainder will be delivered in seven days. They said they had been sent by Minister Chadzamira to collect the rice. I have transport to ferry the rice for free and surprisingly the rice was distributed in Harare to people who don’t even come from Chivi South.
As I speak the couple has been arrested and is in police custody.”
Chadzamira yesterday refused to comment saying he was in a meeting.
However national police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the allocations for Chivi South and Gutu North were collected on Chadzamira’s instruction.
He added that the issue was being held at provincial level.
“From our investigations we have established that the rice in question was distributed in Chivi South constituency by the Department of Social Welfare on the directive of the relevant minister. We have also established that another consignment is on its way there. There’s no theft which took place,” Nyathi said.
Zivhu and Chadzamira have not been in good books after the provincial minister who is also Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chair recommended the summary expulsion of the legislator from the ruling party.
He accused Zivhu of treacherous behaviour after he called on Mnangagwa and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to hold talks to resolve the country’s economic crisis.
Zivhu’s fate now lies with the Zanu-PF national disciplinary committee chaired by Oppah Muchinguri after he appealed against the decision by Chadzamira’s executive.
A Turkish Airlines flight from Cape Town to Istanbul was forced to be diverted to Joburg due to an unspecified problem, Bloomberg News reported. Picture: Reuters
Own Correspondent|A Turkish Airlines flight from Cape Town to Istanbul with over a hundred passengers was forced to be diverted to Joburg due to an unspecified problem, Bloomberg reported.
Flight TK45 was declared an emergency at 7:45pm on Thursday evening after its landing gear would not retract.
The Airbus A330-343 did patterns around Cape Town, burning fuel, before the decision was made to divert the plane to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport due to the increased size of the runway.
Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has not yet commented on the incident, but did say that “the airline will issue a press statement soon.”
Bloomberg added that the airline is trying to resolve the issue. A Turkish Airlines spokesperson declined to be named in line with company policy. The spokesperson further declined to provide more details.
KD Brookes told SAPeople: “She flew to Johannesburg with her landing gear out. She landed at 22h36 at OR Tambo with no injuries and followed by emergency vehicles.”
The Aviation Herald reported that the flight “was climbing out of Cape Town’s runway 19 when the crew was unable to retract the landing gear and stopped the climb at FL080. The aircraft entered a hold to work the checklists and burn off fuel.”
Flight data showed that the plane was an Airbus A330-343, flight number TK45. It could be seen circling over waters west of Cape Town at an altitude of around 20 000 feet for some time after taking off, according to flight tracking data on flightradar24.com.
Own Correspondent|Denis Norman, the first Minister of Agriculture in Zimbabwe died in the United Kingdom on the 20th of December according to latest details on Wikipedia.
Norman, spent a total of twelve years in the Cabinet of former President Robert Mugabe and turned Zimbabwe’s agriculture to be the best in the region and arguably, the continent.
He was known as “Nothing Wrong Norman” due to his penchant for always turning lows into highs and putting a positive spin on difficult situations.
Norman headed the Commercial Farmers’ Union when Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980. Norman was appointed Minister of Agriculture that same year, and held the position from 1980 to 1985.
Mugabe asked Norman to leave the government after the 1985 elections.
Norman proceeded to head the Beira Corridor Group, before holding two positions – Minister of Transport and Minister of Power – from 1990 to 1997. As minister of transport, Norman began introducing safety regulations for public transport which current President Emmerson Mnangagwa is only trying to revive through his intensive ZUPCO revival project.
Surprisingly, government has not said a word on Norman’s death two weeks after his death.
Own Correspondent |About 4 000 Zimbabweans trying to make their way in or out of the country to be with their loved ones during the festive season.
The Department of Immigration intensified operations at Beitbridge Border Post, resulting in the arrest of 3 967 people for violating immigration laws.
Most of the arrests were related to border jumping, failure to get a passport stamped and travelling using stolen documents.
Statistics show that 200 undocumented children were intercepted going into South Africa or Zimbabwe with third parties between December 1 and 31.
The smuggling of minors into either country is rampant during the holidays.
A further 10 people were arrested for human smuggling and taken to court where they were fined between $1 000 and $2 000, while 60 others were refused entry into Zimbabwe from South Africa for not having visas or money to sustain their stay in the country.
Having torn passports and lack of valid travel documents also saw travellers being denied entry.
The assistant regional immigration officer-in-charge Beitbridge, Mr Nqobile Ncube, said they were working with their South African counterparts to curb the illegal movement of people.
“Our enforcement team has been hard at work conducting spot checks on all vehicles entering and leaving the country through the border, where we rounded up 3 967 in December for violating sections of the Immigration Act.
“We are also conducting patrols around the border with the help of other security agencies. We also had an all-female compliance and enforcement operation at the start of the festive season which helped clamp down on illegal activities at the border,” said Mr Ncube.
He said the minors who were intercepted were taken to the Department of Social Services for reunification with their parents.
“We still reiterate the need to travel in time to avoid last minute rushes and the avoidance of contracting human smugglers to convey children.
“Parents should desist from putting their children at the mercy of criminals,” said Mr Ncube.
He said border authorities were also ready to deal with an anticipated increase in human and vehicular traffic as Zimbabweans based in South Africa returned to their bases.
By Own Correspondent| Two Zimbabwean political activists are in hiding after being abducted from their homes by suspected security agents and ruling Zanu PF officials.
Edinah Masuku (30) and Rest Phiri (35) both opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters have fled the country after being subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of the country’s security agents.
Masuku said she is being tormented for expressing her democratic right.
“I am a staunch MDC supporter and have been mobilising people in my area to be resolute and challenge the Mnangagwa regime however, they have been coming after me until one day they abducted me before dumping me along Bulawayo road,”
“I was beaten on the feet and they even threatened to kill me should I continue to support MDC.” said Masuku
Phiri on the other hand says she was forced to flee her home after unknown men told her to desist from talking to people about MDC.
“They came to my house and forced their way in my bedroom. One of the men slapped me and they bundled me into a truck however, they could not take me away as my relatives called for help” she said
She alleges that a relative called informing her that her life was under threat and has to leave the country immediately.
“I was called by a relative informing me that my life was under threat and that I should leave the country as soon as possible. I fled the country because my life was in danger”
Abductions and torture of opposition political activists and anyone opposed to the ruling Zanu PF are not new in the country.
Journalist cum political activist Itai Dzamara remains missing after being abducted by suspected state security agents in March 2015.
Dzamara had been a critic of the then late President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF.
Human rights activists believe Zimbabwe’s security services are responsible.
By A Correspondent| As the United Nations announces that Zimbabwe’s food and liveability crisis is a result of human rights violations by the government, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has turned the sharp stick onto something else, saying the poor rainfall is the cause.
Speaking Friday afternoon at Kuwadzana, Mnangagwa said Kariba has “no water.”
He went to the point of saying Kariba is now going into the third year without water.
His claims are opposite those of the NASA authority who reveal: As of December 27, 2019, water levels in Lake Kariba stood at 8.36 percent of what is needed for power generation. In December 2018, the lake stood at 51 percent; in 2017, it was 37 percent.
Kariba water levels, NASA copy
Another intrigue is the government has continued say Victoria Falls which feeds into Kariba is incessant with water while at the same time Mnangagwa is contradicting. The government spokesman Nick Mangwana says there is an abundance of water in Vic Falls.
Mnangagwa was speaking about the ongoing energy crisis.
For over 40 years to date it has been public knowledge that the nation cannot rely on Kariba dam for its energy sustenance and solar energy being the best alternative, Mnangagwa dished out a million dollar solar power contract to convicted Fraudster Wicknell Chivayo in 2015.
But Mnangagwa blamed everything on poor rains.
He told Harare residents:
"Look at how the sun is we are on the 3rd of January, there is no rain. I am sure you heard that in this way we are failing to get electricity, the dam used to give us 1050 in Kariba, the water levels have gone down. To the extent that we are now getting only 100 or 90 megawatt." pic.twitter.com/oBYUhdJ5Sk
“Look at how the sun is; we are on the 3rd of January, there is no rain. I am sure you heard that in this way we are failing to get electricity …the dam used to give us 1050 in Kariba, the water levels have gone down, to the extent that we are now getting only 100 or 90 megawatts.
“The other 900 we are failing because there is no more water. Now this is now poverty is it not?
“Because in the houses and in the factories we will be needing electricity. Now when things to get to this level it means that our dam will continue without water isn’t it? Now this will be poverty that will have come if water has not rained. Now that we are going into the third year without water our country will go into hunger.
“When the country is hit by hunger, people’s happiness goes low. Those hit by hunger will be unhappy. There is no way you can find a household without food for three days being happy.
“So now the government must work to strengthen what we are doing. In other countries that are far away like in America, that is where our made is coming from right now(sic).
“That money which was supposed to have been deployed in this country if there was rain, that is the money we are now using to buy maize from Ukraine, from Mexico, from South Africa, bringing it over here.”
Staff Report |Opposition MDC National Vice Chairman, Job Sikhala, will tonight, Friday, be live on ZimEye.com at 7pm local time.
Sikhala who is also the Zengeza West MP was involved in a horrific traffic accident on Christmas Day when his car was involved in a serious head-on collision along the Harare-Masvingo highway.
He was on his way to his rural home. The vehicle suffered extensive damage but the MP seems to have made it out with no major injuries.
Security guards had to send for reinforcements to subdue a muscular 25-year-old man who tried to make off with a $29 bottle of perfume from a supermarket in Bulawayo.
“All I wanted was to get my girlfriend a present on her birthday on Christmas day,” said a sweaty Elijah Moyo after the guards had finally apprehended him.
He was caught by a security guard at TM supermarket near Basch Street Terminus also known as Egodini while shoving a 90ml Yardley Gorgeous perfume under his armpit. The perfume costs ZW$28,99.
A manager at the shop, Lameck Homela, explained how they caught Moyo.
“He was spotted by our security guard on CCTV while stuffing the perfume under his shirt. The guard tried to stop him from leaving without paying for the spray. While he was trying to arrest him, he caused a scene and dropped the perfume on the floor,” said Homela.
“He was tall and looked very strong, our security guard tried to handcuff him, but the man grabbed his arm and twisted it while threatening to beat him up. We had to call for reinforcement and they finally managed to handcuff him and put him in the back room,” said Homela.
He said they called the police who took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station where a docket of theft was opened.
During trial at the Tredgold magistrate court, Moyo said: “Your Worship, I apologise for what I did.
I had no money on me as I’m not gainfully employed, I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a present since it was her birthday on Christmas day. A desperation to make her happy drove me to steal the perfume.
Kindly forgive me,” he pleaded with the magistrate.
The magistrate remanded him out of custody to next week on Tuesday for sentencing.
Cases of theft at supermarkets are rife, just recently a man was arrested after he was caught stuffing biltong in his underwear.B-Metro
Learnmore Jongwe was the MDC’s first and youngest spokesman. He was reportedly assassinated while in prison.
Get your copy of ZimEye.com on Saturday with video features of ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa as he descended into the late Learnmore Jongwe’s neighbourhood wrapped in a colour bomb attire where he also threatened to return soon. The feature is part of a series to be published throughout the weekend – ZimEye.com
The move by @MDCAllianceZW Harare Councilors to declare their assets as a way of enhancing transparency is a great move. However they should extend the initiative to all of their other Councilors in the country. It should be a party policy across the board.
Farai Dziva|The Aston Villa pair of striker Wesley Moraes and goalkeeper Tom Heaton will miss the rest of the season due to injury, the club has confirmed.
The pair suffered injuries in the 2-1 win over Burnley on New Year Year’s day at Turf Moor and the club confirmed the develoment via a statement on their website.
“The club can confirm that Tom Heaton and Wesley will miss the remainder of the season due to injury.
The pair were injured during the second half of Wednesday’s 2-1 victory against Burnley at Turf Moor.
It has since been confirmed that both players have suffered knee ligament damage,” the club said.
By A Correspondent| President Emmerson. Mnangagwa has bemoaned the dry spell affecting Zimbabwe adding that the current rainfall shortages had devastating effects on the general populace.
Mnangagwa said poverty was imminent due to the dry spell attributing the power shortages bedevilling Zimbabwe to the dwindling water levels in Lake Kariba.
He said this while addressing citizens in Harare soon after holding his monthly clean up campaign held every first Friday of the month.
He said:
“Look at how the sun is. We are on the 3rd of January, there is no rain. I am sure you heard that in this way, we are failing to get electricity.
Lake Kariba used to give us 1050 megawatts, but the water levels have gone down. To the extent that we are now getting only 100 or 90 megawatt. The other 900 megawatts we are failing because there is no more water.
Now now this is now now poverty is it not? Because in the houses and in the factories we will be needing electricity. Now when things get to this level, it means that our dam will continue without water isn’t it?
Now this will be poverty that will have come if water has not rained. Now that we are going into the third year without water, our country will go into hunger.
When the country is hit by hunger, people’s happiness goes low. Those hit by hunger will be unhappy. There is no way you can find a household without food for three days being happy.
So now the government must work to strengthen what we are doing. In other countries that are far away like in America, that is where our maize is coming from right now.
That money which was supposed to have been deployed in this country if there was rain, that is the money we are now using to buy maize from Ukraine, from Mexico, from South Africa, bringing it over here.”
Warriors defender Tendayi Darikwa was voted in Chesterfield’s team of the decade.
The 28-year old, who now plays for Nottingham Forest in the English Championship, spent five years with the first team between 2010-15, making 125 league appearance. He graduated from the club’s academy.
Darikwa’s spell came at a time Chesterfield was playing league football in the League One and League Two. The team now competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The team of the decade, meanwhile, was voted by the fans in a poll conducted by local newspaper, Derbyshire Times.Soccer 24
You see these brand new buses titled ZUPCO? We bought these buses, and more are still coming. I will be returning to this place to inspect if they're still as clean. – #EDTODAY – credit ZBC pic.twitter.com/r308qfQfU6
Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa stunned all and sundry when he announced that meat is not good for people’s health.
Addressing citizens in Kuwadzana Harare soon after his monthly clean up campaign, Mnangagwa said he had no power to regulate the prices of meat promising to ensure that school fees was affordable to the majority of citizens.
Said Mnangagwa:
“I know that in government school, fees have not been hiked. That is what I have been told. I have heard your two grievances, on meat and school. Alleluyah.
We will go and look into the two. But on meat, I do not have much power. But on school fees, there i can fix. Yes.
On council rates, the local authorities have been pleading with me to increase them, but i will refuse to have them effect the raise on rates.
It is well. Let us now go back to our homes. My final words which i am giving you is on unity, respect. we want peace, peace and peace.”
Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa stunned all and sundry when he announced that meat is not good for people’s health.
Addressing citizens in Kuwadzana Harare soon after his monthly clean up campaign, Mnangagwa said he had no power to regulate the prices of meat promising to ensure that school fees was affordable to the majority of citizens.
Said Mnangagwa:
“I know that in government school, fees have not been hiked. That is what I have been told. I have heard your two grievances, on meat and school. Alleluyah.
We will go and look into the two. But on meat, I do not have much power. But on school fees, there i can fix. Yes.
On council rates, the local authorities have been pleading with me to increase them, but i will refuse to have them effect the raise on rates.
It is well. Let us now go back to our homes. My final words which I am giving you is on unity, respect. we want peace, peace and peace.”
Mnangagwa: I have heard your two petitions…On meat prices, I don't have much power, but school fees I can certainly fix – Video credit @ZBCNewsonlinepic.twitter.com/17K7YNNS0w
By A Correspondent- Addressing citizens in Kuwadzana Harare soon after his monthly clean up campaign, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he had no power to regulate the prices of meat promising to ensure that school fees was affordable to the majority of citizens.
Said Mnangagwa:
“I know that in government school, fees have not been hiked. That is what i have been told. It is well. I have heard your two grievances, on meat and school. Alleluyah. We will go and look into the two. But on meat, I do not have much power. But on school fees, there i can fix. Yes.
On council rates, the local authorities have been pleading with me to increase them, but i will refuse to have them effect the raise on rates. It is well. Let us now go back to our homes. My final words which i am giving you is on unity, respect. we want peace, peace and peace.”
Lydia Banda-Ndethi has reportedly been demoted for not attending an event that the VP Chiwenga officiated, the Southern Eye established.
Banda, who was the Binga DDC and is now deputy director local governance in the provincial development co-ordinator’s office, Matabeleland North, allegedly violated the Public Service Regulations act when she chose to attend an event facilitated by an NGO over an event the VP was officiating.
According to Newsday, Banda was told in writing:
You allegedly prematurely left the function that the Vice-President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Chiwenga was officiating in July 2018 at the Manjolo Business Centre opting to attend to a NGO programme. You had lopsided priorities to the extent that the activities of NGOs were taking precedence ahead of government business.NewsDay
Mnangagwa: I have heard your two petitions…On meat prices, I don't have much power, but school fees I can certainly fix – Video credit @ZBCNewsonlinepic.twitter.com/17K7YNNS0w
By A Correspondent- A 40-year-old man from Colleen Bawn has been arrested for allegedly raping his co-tenant’s 13-year-old daughter.
He was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate, Mrs Sibanda facing a rape charge. He was remanded in custody to January 9.
Prosecuting, Miss Faith Mutukwa said the man raped the juvenile on November 29 after he entered her bedroom in the middle of the night while her parents were asleep.
“The accused person who is a co-tenant with complainant’s parents opened the complainant’s unlocked bedroom door in the middle of the night. He got into her blankets and started caressing the complainant who was asleep. He removed the complainant’s underwear and raped her.
“The complainant woke up to find the accused person raping her and when she tried to scream for help he covered her mouth with his hand. The accused person threatened to kill the complainant if she revealed the matter to anyone and she remained quiet. He further bought her underwear in order to buy her silence,” she said.
Miss Mutukwa said the matter came to light on December 2 after the complainant’s mother saw the underwear and she questioned her daughter about it who went on to reveal that she had been given by the accused who had raped her.
She said the matter was reported to the police resulting in the arrest of the accused person.
By Patrick Guramatunhu- The Zanu PF dictatorship is imploding, the regime was rotten to the core and the centre can not hold. 40 years of this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical misrule has left the country in economic ruins and the Zanu PF thugs are fighting each other to the death over the ever shrinking national cake.
The nation has good reason to worry about how the Zanu PF dictatorship will end, as things stand the party is sinking into the abyss but still retains’ strangle hold on the nation. The danger of Zanu PF dragging the nation into the abyss with it is real.
We must find ways of implementing the democratic reforms, end the curse of rigged elections and thus price free of Zanu PF’s political strangle hold. A serious and urgent challenge!
We must also think of what kind of Zimbabwe we want post the Zanu PF dictatorship. The 1980 independence took us from the frying pan of white colonial oppression into the fire of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. We must learn from that mistake and taking every precaution to avoid repeating the same mistake.
“I agree and support my compatriots who say Mat provinces are marginalized. Let’s speak against this and promote equal opportunities for all regions without ambiguity and let’s desist from defending stupid things. Why should people come to Harare for nursing interviews!!!” said political commentator Pedzisai Ruhanya.
This is just the type of cheap but very dangerous divide and rule politicking that, if not slammed down forcefully, could see post Zanu PF Zimbabwe ending up like post Gaddafi Libya.
In a country where unemployment has soared to 90%, there is no water and electricity and health care has all but collapsed, schools are closing, etc.; are we expected to believe that there are some region(s) in Zimbabwe that are prospering and none of these problems exist? If there are, then Mr Ruhanya must name them and not just make insinuating but unfounded comments.
How is holding nursing job interviews in Harare singling out and “marginalising” Mat provinces and is not doing the same to all the other remaining seven provinces?
Four decades of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule have left the nation in economic ruins and traumatised, everyone is angry and mistrustful. The last thing the country wants is some village idiot like Ruhanya stoking the anger and mistrust with falsehoods of one region or tribe being “marginalised”.
The Zanu PF dictatorship is imploding and the task of rebuilding the nation from the ruins will be tough enough without making it mission impossible by wasting the nation’s time, resources and, God forbid, human lives fighting regional and tribal rivalries.
Look at what has happened to Libya since the death of that country’s tyrant, Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi. The dictator was cornered and killed in 2011 and yet, nearly decade latter, the country is still at war!
No doubt, many Libyans think they are settling old scores, not knowing they are in fact making complete fools of themselves. They were all victims of the Gaddafi dictatorship and by making sure the post Gaddafi Libya enjoyed peace, justice and economic prosperity for all should have been their number one priority.
Of course, it is folly to let themselves be dragged into this futile regional conflict that has left the country in a worse economic and political state than it was during Gaddafi!
Post Zanu PF dictatorship Zimbabwe must be spared the fate that has befallen post Gaddafi Libya. And to be certain of that goal, we must not spare the whip and spoil village idiots like Ruhanya whose blabbering knows no bonds!
Security guards had to send for reinforcements to subdue a muscular 25-year-old man who tried to make off with a $29 bottle of perfume from a supermarket in Bulawayo.
“All I wanted was to get my girlfriend a present on her birthday on Christmas day,” said a sweaty Elijah Moyo after the guards had finally apprehended him.
He was caught by a security guard at TM supermarket near Basch Street Terminus also known as Egodini while shoving a 90ml Yardley Gorgeous perfume under his armpit. The perfume costs ZW$28,99.
A manager at the shop, Lameck Homela, explained how they caught Moyo.
“He was spotted by our security guard on CCTV while stuffing the perfume under his shirt. The guard tried to stop him from leaving without paying for the spray. While he was trying to arrest him, he caused a scene and dropped the perfume on the floor,” said Homela.
“He was tall and looked very strong, our security guard tried to handcuff him, but the man grabbed his arm and twisted it while threatening to beat him up. We had to call for reinforcement and they finally managed to handcuff him and put him in the back room,” said Homela.
He said they called the police who took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station where a docket of theft was opened.
During trial at the Tredgold magistrate court, Moyo said: “Your Worship, I apologise for what I did.
I had no money on me as I’m not gainfully employed, I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a present since it was her birthday on Christmas day. A desperation to make her happy drove me to steal the perfume.
Kindly forgive me,” he pleaded with the magistrate.
The magistrate remanded him out of custody to next week on Tuesday for sentencing.
Cases of theft at supermarkets are rife, just recently a man was arrested after he was caught stuffing biltong in his underwear.B-Metro
By The Community Water Alliance| A serious crisis of potable water has hit area under Chief Gambiza, Ward 10 particularly Maveni village in Chiwundura.
Citizens have resorted to unsafe water sources. Community Water Alliance ward structure witnessed citizens digging shallow wells on the banks of Kwekwe river. There are very few pools left along Kwekwe river and majority of citizens do their laundry there.
A touching story witnessed by CWA ward structure in Maveni was that of Richard Bidi, a person with visual and sensory impairment who had to hustle along Kwekwe river in search of the precious liquid. Richard has visual and sensory impairment (blind, deaf and dumb) Richard could not distinguish between raw water in a pool along the river and raw water from shallow wells dug by citizens on the river bank. The risk of water borne diseases are highly likely for citizens with same condition as Richard Bidi. For more information on Richard Bidi’s daily water struggle CWA refers concerned citizens to his sister Maphosa who can be reached on +263 772 306 081.
Community Water Alliance implore the Government of Zimbabwe to uphold the constitutionally guaranteed right to potable water by ensuring availability of water 24/7, physical and economic accessibility and provision of quality potable water. CWA also calls for water provision framework that is sensitive to Persons with Disabilities.
Security guards had to send for reinforcements to subdue a muscular 25-year-old man who tried to make off with a $29 bottle of perfume from a supermarket in Bulawayo.
“All I wanted was to get my girlfriend a present on her birthday on Christmas day,” said a sweaty Elijah Moyo after the guards had finally apprehended him.
He was caught by a security guard at TM supermarket near Basch Street Terminus also known as Egodini while shoving a 90ml Yardley Gorgeous perfume under his armpit. The perfume costs ZW$28,99.
A manager at the shop, Lameck Homela, explained how they caught Moyo.
“He was spotted by our security guard on CCTV while stuffing the perfume under his shirt. The guard tried to stop him from leaving without paying for the spray. While he was trying to arrest him, he caused a scene and dropped the perfume on the floor,” said Homela.
“He was tall and looked very strong, our security guard tried to handcuff him, but the man grabbed his arm and twisted it while threatening to beat him up. We had to call for reinforcement and they finally managed to handcuff him and put him in the back room,” said Homela.
He said they called the police who took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station where a docket of theft was opened.
During trial at the Tredgold magistrate court, Moyo said: “Your Worship, I apologise for what I did.
I had no money on me as I’m not gainfully employed, I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a present since it was her birthday on Christmas day. A desperation to make her happy drove me to steal the perfume.
Kindly forgive me,” he pleaded with the magistrate.
The magistrate remanded him out of custody to next week on Tuesday for sentencing.
Cases of theft at supermarkets are rife, just recently a man was arrested after he was caught stuffing biltong in his underwear.B-Metro
By A Correspondent- A Binga man waylaid his aunt while she was coming from the river to fetch water before allegedly assaulting her to death for allegedly bewitching him.
Tutambulye Munkuli (25) of Lusulu area allegedly indiscriminately attacked his unidentified aunt using sticks and left her for dead.
This emerged when Munkuli approached the High Court seeking bail pending trial.
Munkuli is facing a murder charge in connection with the deceased’s death.
In his bail application filed at the Bulawayo High Court, Munkuli who is a self-actor, cited the State as a respondent.
In his bail statement, he argued that there were no compelling reasons by the State for refusal of bail.
He said he is a family man and a sole breadwinner taking care of his wife and step mother. He also offered to pay bail of $100.
“I am a family man and my family entirely depend on me as I am the only breadwinner. I also want to take care of my cattle since they are my only source of livelihood,” said Munkuli.
He also disputed the assertion by investigating officers and the State that if released on bail, he would abscond or likely to interfere with State witnesses.
The State, which is being represented by Mr Kudakwashe Jaravaza opposed the bail application, arguing that Munkuli was likely to interfere with witnesses and endanger the lives of his neighbours.
“The applicant is likely to commit further offences because he was threatening to burn down the deceased’s homestead. He is likely to endanger the life of the deceased’s son whom he alleged was bewitching him together with his mother,” he said.
Mr Jaravaza said there were compelling reasons warranting Munkuli’s continued detention given that he is facing a serious offence likely to attract a length jail term.
According to court papers, on November 5 last year, Munkuli spotted the deceased going to the river to fetch water. He then decided to waylay the woman on her way back.
When he spotted the woman approaching, Munkuli emerged from the shrubs and confronted he deceased who was carrying a bucket of water on her head.
He ordered the deceased to put the bucket down before indiscriminately assaulting her using sticks until she lost consciousness. Soon after committing the alleged offence, Munkuli fled from the scene leaving the deceased lying in a pool of blood. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.
A report was made to the police leading to Munkuli’s arrest
While the police took action to deal with the Makorokoza menace led by the Mashurugwi the violence has spread to Mvuma. A man was brutally sliced and left with hashing wounds which led to his death.
According to the police Crime Mvuma in an internal communication to Crime Gweru addressed to the DCIO Gweru on the first of December 2020 a certain Mark Dube was brutally married by the Shurugwi’s in Mvuma. The crime occurred at MEK Sundicate mine in Mvuma.
According to Mvuma Police three unknown Mashurugwi attacked Mr Mark Dube who was a gold buyer and was running a hummer Mill at the syndicate. The syndicate is a registered mine.
The police said On the 1st day of January 2020 at about 0645 hours, the informant Loius Seremwe NR:- 26-178233-A-26 aged: 35 years, contactable on mobile 0773 109 957 was at plot number 109 Peri-Urban, Mvuma which is his place of residence. The informant then heard a voice screaming for help in the nearby thick bush approximately 150 metres away from his homestead.
The informant then got outside his house and saw the now deceased running towards his house at a distance of about 100 metres being pursued by the three unknown accused persons and one of the accused persons was putting on a red T-Shirt, the other accused person was putting on complete black casual clothing and the last accused person was wearing dark clothing.
The three accused persons then caught the deceased at a distance of approximately 100 metres away from the homestead and started stricking the deceased several times all over the body with machetes.
They then searched the now deceased and left him lying helpless on the ground. Accused persons ran towards the nearby thick bush disappeared into the bush.
The informant then went to the scene and discovered that that the now deceased was still alive. The now deceased advised the informant to telephone his uncle who was in Kadoma to tell him that he was robbed of his USD$700-00 and that he was struck by machetes. The now deceased requested for water to drink and was given by informant.
The informant then filed a report at ZRP Mvuma police station.
Upon arrival the police discovered the body of deceased lying on the ground facing downwards and they observed the following injuries:– four deep cuts on the head, one deep cut on the right cheek , one deep cut on the left leg, one deep cut on the left hand elbow and one deep cut on the left hand palm.
The body was ferried to Mvuma General Hospital where was placed in the hospital mortuary.
Total value stolen is US$700-00, one handset with sim 0714 684591 and nothing was recovered.
The case is being investigated under ZRP Mvuma RRB 4063420.
Residence in Kwekwe recounted the birth of the Mashurugwi.
One Kwekwe resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said
“l am one of the people who saw all this thuggery starting up in Kwekwe and today it is threatening national security.
Sometime in November the president of the country was invited by Small scale miners to an indaba at Winery in Gweru and the minister of state security attended. Upon entering the hall he, Mudha was given a deafening applause and praise by these thugs and anyone could easily tell this was Warlordism at its MEMORANDUM”
John Maphosa of Shurugwi added “the Mashurugwi plight will never end. The warlords are in high offices and nobody will act against these thugs.
The president must distance himself from the Mashurugwi founders and allow those around him who are funding Mashurugwi to be arrested”
The Mashurugwi have covered the Zimbabwean soil with blood. The have killed with such barbaric force and cruelty which matches the prince of cruelty Devil himself.
Zimbabwe had never seen such inhuman behaviour exhibited by the Mashurugwis
The murder of Mr Dube a day after the police celebrated the arrest of the Mashurugwis suspected of murdering a police officer exposes the fear in the police in tackling and arresting the criminals.
The few bosses of the Mashurugwi must not be protected.
The complete removal of the Mashurugwiws will bring peace in the land
It is sad that people are refusing to see the broader implications of the Mashurugwi and their terror.
Another Kwekwe resident who spoke on the ground of anonymity said “I am really pained with the route our country has been taking and l am convince that people can help bring sanity to our beloved country.
I happen to have been staying in Kwekwe since the 90s and have witnessed these and many terrible things that our country has been set to.
Actually dealing with the Mashurugwi tragedy only is as folly as dealing with the symptoms and ignoring the root cause of the problem.
In fact we need to bring a culture of checking and balance, not as a certain party cadres or a certain tribe or clansmen groupings but most importantly as Zimbabweans, otherwise sooner rather than later our Karma will be on us and we will pay the heavy price as the Somalians are still paying.”
Unless the warlords are reigned in the nation will be terrorised while others are dining and wining. Mashurugwi must go. How many more people are to die before action.
Mnangagwa: I have heard your two petitions…On meat prices, I don't have much power, but school fees I can certainly fix – Video credit @ZBCNewsonlinepic.twitter.com/17K7YNNS0w
The Election Resource Centre has approached the High Court indicating that Masvingo traditional leader should be punished for defying a court order order that instructed him to apologize for encouraging chiefs to campaign for Zanu PF in 2017.
Chief Charumbira has arrogantly defied a court order instructing him to apologize.
This is a test case for the independence of the judiciary. The Constitution of Zimbabwe indicates that traditional leaders should be apolitical but Council of Chiefs president has openly acted in a partisan manner.
The Election Resource Centre case against Chief Charumbira will be a milestone in trying to “deZanunise” the traditional leaders in the county.
By A Correspondent An 18 year old recently lost his life last night when he was stabbed on the left side of the chest at Ngundu nightclub. He had accidentally stepped on the accused person’s foot and the latter refused to accept his apology, the Zimbabwe Republic Police said in a statement.
The report continued:
Police are looking for Sipathokuhle Gurajena (20) a female adult of Maribha village, Chivi, who fled from the scene after committing the offence.
Farai Dziva|The president of the Chiefs Council of Zimbabwe Fortune Charumbira should be prosecuted for defying a court order, prominent political analyst Jeffryson Chitando has said.
Read Chitando’s argument below :
Chief Charumbira is in trouble again!
The Election Resource Centre has approached the High Court indicating that Masvingo traditional leader should be punished for defying a court order order that instructed him to apologize for encouraging chiefs to campaign for Zanu PF in 2017.
Chief Charumbira has arrogantly defied a court order instructing him to apologize.
This is a test case for the independence of the judiciary. The Constitution of Zimbabwe indicates that traditional leaders should be apolitical but Council of Chiefs president has openly acted in a partisan manner.
The Election Resource Centre case against Chief Charumbira will be a milestone in trying to “deZanunise” the traditional leaders in the county.
Farai Dziva|Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has said opposition leader Nelson Chamisa should forget about the formation of a Government of National Unity.
In an interview with Voice of America on Thursday Mutodi described the youthful Movement for Democratic Change leader as a “cry baby.”
“The boy must face the reality.We cannot talk about the 2018 polls at this juncture.
The truth of the matter is we have a President who won the elections in 2018 so what is the noise about?
The young man’ s demands do not make sense and let me emphasize the fact a platform for dialogue has been created – POLAD.
We will work with those who have a positive approach to nation building,” said Mutodi.
By Own Correspondent| Known as Skella, the Zimbabwean man left his home on the 25th of December 2019 to go and buy christmas groceries for his family but he never returned.
His wife and 2 children raised alarm after he did not return only for his body to be discovered 3 days later.
Skella, who is from Sunningdale in Harare, is believed to have been killed by robbers although the police are yet to confirm the cause of his death.
His body has not yet been repatriated as it is yet to go under post mortem and it is currently still in Durban, South Africa.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for more details on this atory and more.
Farai Dziva|Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has said opposition leader Nelson Chamisa should forget about the formation of a Government of National Unity.
In an interview with Voice of America on Thursday Mutodi described the youthful Movement for Democratic Change leader as a “cry baby.”
“The boy must face the reality.We cannot talk about the 2018 polls at this juncture.
The truth of the matter is we have a President who won the elections in 2018 so what is the noise about?
The young man’ s demands do not make sense and let me emphasize the fact a platform for dialogue has been created – POLAD.
We will work with those who have a positive approach to nation building,” said Mutodi.
Farai Dziva|Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has said opposition leader Nelson Chamisa should forget about the formation of a Government of National Unity.
In an interview with Voice of America on Thursday Mutodi described the youthful Movement for Democratic Change leader as a “cry baby.”
“The boy must face the reality.We cannot talk about the 2018 polls at this juncture.
The truth of the matter is we have a President who won the elections in 2018 so what is the noise about?
The young man’ s demands do not make sense and let me emphasize the fact a platform for dialogue has been created – POLAD.
We will work with those who have a positive approach to nation building,” said Mutodi.
A man from Bulawayo’s Tshabalala suburb escaped death by a whisker after he was stabbed twice in the stomach for trying to restrain a man from bashing his girlfriend.
The incident, which left John Moyo (25) wriggling in agony in a pool of blood, happened on 27 December 2019 at corner 10 Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street.
An onlooker Philani Dube told
B-Metro that John tried to restrain Gideon Mhlanga (25), who was accusing his girlfriend of being a sex worker, from kicking his girlfriend Nomatter Moyo in the private parts.
“The guy was shouting loudly saying ‘I will kill you’ while kicking his girlfriend who was rolling on the ground while crying for help.
He kicked her private parts saying ‘this is
what makes you sleep around and you will stop it,’” said Dube.
He added: “Seeing the woman lying on the ground wailing in agony, John intervened to restrain Gideon from pummelling his girlfriend. But Gideon stood his ground and warned him (John) to keep away from matters that do not concern him. But John did not listen.”
A source close to investigation said Gideon produced an Okapi knife and stabbed John in the stomach.
“He stabbed him twice and he fell down and bled profusely. Gideon ran away. A woman performed first aid on him and put the seemingly bad situation under control.
A police officer, who was on patrol, gave a chase and caught Gideon, and took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station, where a case of attempted murder was opened.
Gideon is also facing a disorderly conduct charge which he committed at Sixth Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street. John and Nomatter were referred to United Bulawayo Hospitals for treatment,” said the source.
Bulawayo police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Precious Simango, confirmed the incident: “I can confirm that we arrested a man who stabbed another man who had tried to restrain him from beating a woman.
He is in custody.”
She warned members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their hands, but to seek counselling from either police, pastors or elders in the community.B-Metro
“I’m over that. I’m focusing on my career and business. I won’t be getting married!” said dancer and entertainer Zodwa Wabantu, whose real name is Zodwa Libram.
The Mzansi media personality, socialite and dancer said she wanted to enjoy herself after her separation from Ben 10, Ntobeko Linda.
Zodwa told Daily Sun separating from Ntobeko was her worst moment last year.
She said she wasn’t missing him, but had taken a knock.
“It was bad parting ways, even though I’ve moved on.”
Zodwa described her new Ben 10 Vusi Buthelezi as a well-educated person. She said she’d work extra hard this year.
“I will join a gym … Being fit will make me happy.”
This year she’ll push her perfume brand Touchable Day and Touchable Night, launched last month.
“My perfumes are selling like hot cakes online.
“I’ve chosen to make perfume for women because I love women. It’s time we get the respect we deserve.”
She said she’d use big trucks on tour when promoting her perfumes.
She said she already had a truck in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg and was planning to take another truck to Swaziland.
She’ll shoot her reality TV show, Zodwa Wabantu Uncensored, on Moja Love this year.
“I’ll continue to be Zodwa Wabantu on stage, and to be an entertainer and businesswoman.
“I’m thankful God has kept me safe until this year,” she said.
Zodwa said she’d use her T6 Kombi VW, which she bought last year, for her gigs and perfume business.
“I’m fully booked until April,” she said.
She’ll perform in Tshwane from 29 to 31 January, and in Potchefstroom in the North West on 1 February.B- Metro
By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Republic police had arrested two members of a machete wielding gang that allegedly killed a police officer who was on duty at Good Hope Mine, Battlefield near Kadoma last week.
According to reports, Constable Wonder Hokoyo was killed on Saturday while his colleague Constable Kamhuka is fighting for life at Kadoma General Hospital after illegal gold panners tagged AmaShurugwi attacked them.
Comm Gen Matanga, on twitter, said police were working flat out to bring sanity in mining areas that are infested with machete wielding gangs.
“Two suspects have since been arrested and police have launched a manhunt for their accomplices who are on the run. My office would like to therefore discourage members of the public from attacking police officers performing their duties. May I take this opportunity to reiterate that the Zimbabwe Republic Police will not tolerate acts of violence by artisanal miners in any part of the country, anyone who therefore decides to disregard the laws of the land and cause anarchy will be dealt with severely in terms of the country’s laws,” said Comm Gen Matanga.
He warned gold panners that attacking police officers was a serious crime and those who dared do so will be dealt with accordingly.
“My office will ensure that police deployments in mining areas are influenced by the need to protect and preserve life and property as outlined in section 219 of the Constitution.
“My office will therefore not stand by and allow unruly elements to attack police officers. No one should interfere with or attack police officers who are maintaining law and order at mining sites. Anyone who decides or attempts to disarm officers on duty risks being shot,” he said.
“The Regulating Authorities will be issuing prohibition orders barring the carrying of machetes and other weapons such as knives, catapults, iron bars and knobkerries in terms of section four of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act chapter 11:23. This means that it is a criminal offence for anyone to be found in possession of the cited weapons and police officers are expected to effect arrests for the law to take its course,” he said.
Meanwhile, Comm Gen Matanga urged potential miners to obtain the relevant licence or permit before engaging in mining activities to avoid being arrested and also help alleviate illegal mining in the country.
He said police have partnered with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to curtail illegal mining activities.
Comm Gen Matanga said the partnership also seeks to ensure that all mining disputes, disused and decommissioned mines are monitored.
“Finally let me assure all Zimbabweans that the ZRP is ready to maintain law and order in all parts of the country. I urge members of the public to cooperate with police officers as they perform their duties. On the other hand, members of the public should report acts of lawlessness and violence to any nearest police station. let us all promote law and order and engage in lawful and regularised mining activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, police on Tuesday rounded up 100 illegal gold panners and vendors in separate raids at Good Hope Mine in Kadoma and Jumbo Mine in Mazowe, both epicentres of recent serious violence.
Of the 100 arrested, 28 were netted at Good Hope Mine while 72 were picked up at Jumbo Mine. Police also impounded three vehicles that were loaded with gold ore
As we enter a new year, we continue with our ‘National Clean Up Campaign’, this time in Kuwadzana. 2020 must be a year of taking action and working hard for a cleaner, better and brighter future for all. I wish you all a blessed weekend. pic.twitter.com/3lJv9AH7zR
By Tsitsi N. Nyirongo| We are entering the third year of the reign of Mnangagwa and Chiwenga. In less than three years these two men have returned Zimbabwe back to the dark ages, quite literally. There is no electricity in much of the country, no clean water, no currency, no healthcare. The only things on the up are sewage, poverty and violence against anyone who dares to stand up to Zanu pf.
Zimbabwe is now being ruled by terror in a manner not seen since the days of Gukurahundi. Honestly, no one is safe from these two. We have seen what Chiwenga is doing to his soon to be ex-wife. If he can do that to the mother of his children, imagine what he would do to strangers like us. Auxilia Mnangagwa must be sleeping with one eye open.
The fact of the matter is that Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are cruel. They are the gruesome twosome. They have never contributed anything positive in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe. Their history and current behaviour is that of cruelty, violence and corruption.
Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 everything headed up by Mnangagwa or Chiwenga has either ended in money missing or people being killed or beaten up. These two men make Mugabe look like a choir boy. The world never thought there would be anyone worse than Mugabe in Zimbabwe, but here we are, since 2017 we have two of them not just one. That being said, Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are criminals who need to stand trial for their many crimes. We will never rest until they are behind bars.
By Own Correspondent| Dam level statistics availed to ZINWA show that half the dams in Masvingo are below 50% full.
2 dams in Chivi, Bangala and Tokwane have already dried up according to a local publication:
Here are the dam levels statistics according to the publication:
Lake Mutirikwi is currently at 39% and the
Recently-commissioned Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, with a capacity of 1, 9 million cubic metres currently at 38%, while
Muzhwi is at 35%.
Bangala Dam, which is the only source of water in Nyajena, has dropped to 9%
Tokwane is at 14%.
Manjirenji Dam has significant level of 58%,
Siya with 55%,
Manyuchi with 50%
Nyajena with 86%.
A drought ravaged Zimbabwe in 2019 and affected human beings and livestock. Different organisations have predicted that there will be another drought in 2020.
SIX robbers armed with a pistol and a knife allegedly robbed a man from Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb and got away with US$350, ZW$1 582 and a cellphone among other gadgets after he boarded their Honda Fit in the city centre.
The robbery occurred on Saturday at about 3AM. Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango yesterday confirmed the robbery.
“We are investigating a suspected armed robbery incident which occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning. A 31-year-old man boarded a pirate taxi with five men and a woman on his way home in Mzilikazi suburb. The suspects drove towards the suburb using Old Victoria Falls Road. When they passed Amakhosi Cultural Centre, one of the suspects grabbed the victim by the collar and choked him. The other one who was seated next to the victim pulled a pistol and placed it on his neck while another produced a knife, threatening to kill him. The suspects ordered the complainant to remain still as they searched his pockets,” said Chief Insp Simango.
She said the suspects got away with US$350, ZW$1 580, a Sony Experia cellphone, four memory cards and a USB drive.
Chief Insp Simango said the armed robbers pushed the victim out of the car near St Columba’s High School gate and sped off.
She said the victim reported the matter at Barbourfields Police Base and cops are still following the leads
“No one was arrested but the victim revealed that the suspects were driving a sky-blue Honda Fit. We are worried that an increasing number of people are being robbed by pirate taxi crews. We encourage commuters to board registered taxis as they can be easily traceable in case of a crime. We also appeal to anyone who might have information that may lead to the arrest of these criminals to contact their nearest police station,” said Chief Insp Simango.
Over the past few weeks, the city has recorded several cases of commuters robbed of cash and other valuables by pirate taxis crews.
