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Sudanese court found former President Omar al-Bashir with crimes money laundering and corruption, and sentenced to serve two years in prison.

This is the first decision was decided in a series of court charges against al-Bashir, who Criminal Court ICC World sought on war crimes and genocide in connection with the violence that occurred in Darfur in 2000.

The decision comes a year after protesters in Sudan began revolting against al-Bashir’s government. After more than 30 years in power, Sudan has been listed by the United States as a sponsor of international terrorism, and the country’s economy has been decayed for years due to inadequate operations. and US sanctions against the country.

Al-Bashir has been in custody since April, when the army overthrew his government following months of protests across the country. Gradual conflicts and instability forced the treaty of government between the military and civilian.

The trial for corruption of ousted president Omar El-Bashir, in power for three decades, opened on Monday in Sudan, where the process of transition to civilian power is still awaiting its first concrete act with the appointment of members of the sovereign council.

The former head of state, deposed by the army on April 11 in response to mass protests, arrived in the morning before a court in Khartoum, escorted by an imposing military convoy, found an AFP journalist. .

Omar El-Béchir, 75, detained in a Khartoum prison, was informed by the prosecution that he was facing charges of “possession of foreign currency, corruption” and trading in influence.

The trial of the former president was to begin on Saturday, the day of the signing of a historic transition agreement between the Military Council in power since April and the dispute. But it had been postponed indefinitely.

Brigadier Ahmed Ali, the investigative officer, told the court that Mr. Béchir had received $ 90 million from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In late April, the head of the Transitional Military Council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhane, said that the equivalent of more than $ 113 million had been seized in cash from the ex-president’s residence in Khartoum.

In May, the attorney general also said that Mr. Bashir had been charged with murders during anti-regime protests that led to his ouster, without knowing when he will be charged with the charge.
International arrest warrants

Amnesty International warned last week that his corruption trial should not distract from the heavier charges he faces in The Hague.

Members of the public wishing to launch fireworks and firecrackers during the crossover into 2020 are obliged to first notify neighbours and secure police clearance, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has said.

ZRP spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told ZTN News that offenders risk being fined ZWL$600, six months’ imprisonment or both. He said:

The law is very clear. Anyone who wants to use fireworks must notify the police in advance and get the necessary clearance. They should also notify their neighbours well in advance.

These are dangerous and may lead to serious harm. In recent years, we have dealt with cases in which minors have been seriously injured; and we are trying to avoid this.

People are advised to buy (firecrackers) from registered retail outlets as they sell firecrackers that are not harmful to users.

Fireworks are hand-crafted devices made of chemicals and paper, which produce visual and audible effects for entertainment purposes; while a firecracker is a small explosive charge usually enclosed in a heavy paper casing

Source: ZTN News

The State has managed to identify and position properties, including cars bought and owned by the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Marry Mubaiwa, in South Africa, the High Court heard.

This emerged today during Mubaiwa’s bail appeal in the matter in which she is facing foreign currency externalisation, money laundering and fraud charges.

The bail application was heard before Justice Pisirayi Kwenda.

Challenging a Harare magistrate Chrispen Mberewere’s decision to deny her bail, Mubaiwa through her lawyer Silvester Hashiti, said the State will have no problems in extraditing her from South Africa in the event that she crosses the border into South Africa, since her properties were already known and identified.

She also argued that she was not a flight risk, who could be detected by anyone in the event that she decides to leave the court’s jurisdiction. Mubaiwa in her bail appeal argued that the State has no reason to deny her liberty, as the offences it alleges were committed through her companies, where she is only a director.

She said the State was supposed to charge the companies and not her. Mubaiwa also denied ever fraudulently attempting to register her marriage with VP Chiwenga, saying how could she have prejudiced him when they were already in marriage. The State led by Mrs Sharon Fero and Mr Lovett Masuku argues that Mubaiwa was facing serious charges that could earn her at least 25 years in jail or be ordered to repay twice the amount she allegedly prejudiced the State.

Justice Kwenda reserved judgment in her bail appeal.

In her bail application on attempted murder charges, Mubaiwa said the allegations raised against her lack credibility and circumstances surrounding the charges were doubtful. She said the State only has circumstantial evidence as it alleges that the offence was committed when there was no one to witness the incident. Mubaiwa also said with the type of wounds and swells she has, it will be difficult for her to abscond.

She then handed the court pictures showing her wounds. The State led by Mr Lovett Masuka opposed granting her bail arguing that with the information the State has, she was likely to abscond. Although he could not tell when Mubaiwa will be tried, he said the State have overwhelming against her and extra-territorial investigations were still underway.

However, football administrator and businesman Keni Mubaiwa has volunteered to deposit title deeds to his properties at No.102 Seke Road as part of security and part of bail condition. Justice Kwenda also reserved judgment in her bail application.

-State Media

1/24 Compatriots, much as I would like to, sadly I’m unable to wish you a happy & prosperous new year not because of anything personal but because happiness & prosperity are no longer possible in Zimbabwe due to the live coup against the will of the people!

2/24 There can’t be happiness & prosperity where the will of the people is stolen & brutally crushed. While this is bad enough, it’s worse when the assualt on the will of the people is cynically presented as a new dispensation & second republic amid dead silence from the people!

3/24 It is a biblical truth, supported by human experience, that where there’s no vision the people perish. The new year, 2020, presents a new opportunity for Zimbabweans to find each other, speak with one voice & act together to oppose what’s wrong in support of what’s right!

4/24 While there are many wrongs surrounding Zimbabweans today, a particularly insidious wrong that’s crying out for righting is the stolen 30 July 2018 presidential election, preceded by the 15 Nov 2017 military coup & followed by brutal massacres on 1 Aug 2018 & 14-28 Jan 2019!

5/24 I’ll return to the stolen 2018 election in a bit. When I signalled here a few days ago that I would be doing this thread today, some paranoid & desperate attention seekers said I had no right to vision for Zimbabwe or to speak for ZanuPF etc. I need to address this nonsense!

6/24 It’s notable that the paranoid & desperate attention seekers used my TL to bark their nonsense. Do they have a right to do that? Let freedom ring. I said I’ll thread about, not for, myself, ZanuPF, @ZECzim, the 2018 presidential election or Zimbabwe because enough is enough!

7/24 I wish to make it clear for the umpteenth time that I’m done with ZanuPF. My differences with ZanuPF are existential & permanently irreconcilable, come rain or shine. In 2005, ZanuPF deemed me to have expelled myself from itself by running as an Independent in Tsholotsho!

8/24 While it’s true that ZanuPF murderers used military violence to boot me out of what they declared to be their thing (“chunhu chedu”) in Nov 2017, John Mangudya knew I was exiting ZanuPF & politics in Dec 2017 when I asked for his help over a mining loan I sought in Aug 2017!

9/24 I was done with ZanuPF when I gave my blue ocean video to the politburo in July 2017. I knew then that a military coup was loading & that President Mugabe would not be able to stop it. But I did not know the coup would target me as enemy No.1, a fact in the coup minutes!

10/24 Since Nov 2017, I have sought to understand why, after using Zimpapers, Zacc & the NPA against me with unprecedented malice & after seizing State power, Mnangagwa & Chiwenga still made sure they sent special forces to attack my home with AK47s, explosives & stun grenades!1

11/24 I now have an explanation. But before I share it, let me highlight a huge challenge we have as Zimbabweans. Although we have not been credited for it, because we are not functionally literate as a society, we, not Trumpians in the US, are the inventors of alternative facts!

12/24 Most Zimbabweans don’t care for facts. To them & we see it daily in these streets, facts are what they manufacture in their heads, hearts, dreams, nightmares, fears, likes, dislikes & hallucinations. No wonder, public discourse in Zimbabwe is not fact based or fact driven!

13/24 Last week there was widespread chatter, fueled by quarters that ought to know better, that Mnangagwa was self-marooned, unable take his annual leave or to leave the country, “fearing a Chiwenga coup” when Chiwenga was back in China to resume his treatment & recuperation!

14/24 Mnangagwa has not taken his annual leave & has not been able to leave the country because of a foiled coup in early November. The attempted coup cost Aaron Nhepera his job as CIO Deputy Director General, amid allegations he reported it late & mishandled intelligence on it!

15/24 The aftermath of the attempted coup has left Mnangagwa holed up, fearing fear itself, and has engendered panic in his inner circle which has alarmed & embarrased Sadc by turning POLAD election losers into a foreign policy tool; on the eve of Ramaphosa becoming AU chairman!

16/24 So Zimbabwe is in a triple crisis: (i) Mnangagwa has no legitimacy & authority to unite & inspire the nation; (ii) worse, he has lost the confidence of the armed forces; & (iii) his government is incapable of reviving the economy, which is now in an irretrievable free fall!

17/24 As the post-2017 coup dispensation is crumbling under the weight of its the triple crisis, it is sad that the people are speaking in tongues & acting at cross purposes; with the result of widening political divisions, when they should be bridging them under a shared vision!

18/24 Looking back over the last 20 years, the people have squandered three opportunities for real change in 2000; then 2009 to 2013; and in 2017 when ZanuPF & the Army dug their own grave only for the people to fail to bury the two. Now there’s yet another opportunity: 2020!

19/24 On 30 July 2018, the people voted for @nelsonchamisa. He got 66% of the vote against Mnangagwa’s 33%. The unassailable evidence for this I present in Excelgate. Soldiers were sent to attack my home for many reasons, including that they knew I know how they steal elections!

20/24 I studied electoral politics in Zimbabwe: 1985-92 & published VOTING FOR DEMOCRACY. In 2000 I managed ZanuPF election campaign as a consultant; in 2002 as information minister & in 2013 as a campaign manager. In 2018 I used my contacts & experience to write EXCELGATE!

21/24 While VOTING FOR DEMOCRACY is about the voter, I had no access to the system; EXCELGATE is on the administration & conduct of elections, I had 20 years of access to the system. Now I can authoritatively say how elections have been rigged in Zimbabwe, including against me!

22/24 Here’s a sample of how the military used Fairhaven’s Africom & CIO’s Chiltern Trust to get @ZECzim to hijack & steal the results of the 2018 presidential election from all ward centres to manipulate in Harare; against peremptory provisions of s37C(4) of the Electoral Act!

23/24 On 31 July 2018, after the Army got @ZECzim to invent an illegal route & destination for the transmission, capture & collation of the presidential results, Priscilla Chigumba sent shocking WhatsApp msgs confirming rigging, using V11s & not the critical V23Bs. Ngati nyoo!

24/24 It’s 2020, 40 years later. Back to the future. Ian Smith’s internal settlement sellouts have resurrected as POLAD puppets. A new patriotic front beckons. The old must give way to the young & the will of the people stolen in 2018 must be restored otherwise No Happy New Year!

By Patrick Guramatunhu- There are many, many reasons why Zimbabwe is in this mess and stuck, cannot get out. One of those reasons has to be the country’s fixation with ill-advised solutions, especially when they promise quick returns with little or no effort on the nation’s part. 

“2020 is a defining year on whether Zanu PF will sink itself and Zimbabwe with the crisis or whether it shall rise to the task and do what everyone expects it to do, reach out to the MDC Alliance and its leader Nelson Chamisa to map the way forward. All realities are pointing to serious negotiations and dialogue desperately needed to rescue Zimbabwe from the current precipice, regardless of  pontification and bravado that Zanu PF protagonists otherwise display in public,” said one political analyst Alexander Rusero.

“I hope when (former South African President Thabo) Mbeki completes his power analysis, he will find the wisdom to include in his dialogue framework civil society and representatives of the commissioned commanders of the Zimbabwe National Army, who wield immense power behind the scenes,” said Phillan Zamchiya, another political analyst.

All these people who have been calling for dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa have all argued that this will be the panacea to the nation’s teething economic and political problems but have all failed to say how that would happen. 

By failing to stamp out corruption and, worst of all by failing to keep his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections Mnangagwa has confirmed that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state, same as Mugabe days. Getting Mnangagwa and Chamisa will not change the political reality of Zimbabwe being a pariah state, for example! 

Chamisa has often said he has the key to economic recovery, but he has never said how he was going to achieve this fit. Before the July 2018 elections Chamisa claimed that “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections, as we all know. Take it from me, Chamisa has no clue what to do to revive the economy.

The solution to Zimbabwe’s worsening economic situation and political paralysis lays in, first of all, acknowledging the reality that the July 2018 elections were flawed and illegal. 

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” stated the EU Election Mission final report.

“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

The regime denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote compare this to the 2.4 million Mnangagwa says he garnered to win the presidency. 

ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, a common sense and legal requirement. This was something as essential to elections as bee wax is to a bee hive!

Second, acknowledging that an election process that lacks transparency, cannot be traced or verified and is so flawed and illegal it has failed to meet international standards on elections cannot still produce a legal and legitimate result. 

At the very heart of Zimbabwe’s pariah state status is the profound statement: a state who government has no democratic mandate to govern and is per se illegitimate. 

President Mnangagwa has managed to get all the country’s opposition parties, except for MDC and one or two others, to public endorse him and his Zanu PF party as the winners of the 2018 election and therefore the legitimate government. As we can see that has had no effect. Zimbabwe is a pariah state and shun as one. 

All those calling for political dialogue between Mnangagwa and MDC are holding that a public endorsement of Mnangagwa and Zanu PF as the winner of the July 2018 elections will help remove the pariah state stigma. Again, this is just wishful thinking. 

To remove the pariah state stigma, country’s illegitimate governing party, Zanu PF, must be publicly denounced as such and asked to step down. A caretaker administration will then be appointed and tasked to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. 

Those clamouring for political dialogue in which Zanu PF is to play a role acknowledge the regime is illegitimate and are searching for a way of granting it legitimacy through the back door. This is just a waste of time because political legitimacy can only be conferred by the people in a free, fair and credible elections. There is no provision for backdoor deals with corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders desperate for a seat on the gravy train. 

Worst of all, any solution in which Zanu PF is allowed to return power is a waste of time because the party will use the power to block the implementation of the reforms. If Zanu PF is in office come 2023 elections, then we can be 100% the party will rig those elections too! 

If Zimbabwe’s corrupt and incompetent opposition had not given the July 2018 elections some modicum of credibility by participating in the flawed elections and then by endorsing the result as legitimate; there is no doubt that Zanu PF’s claim as the legitimate government would have fizzled to nothing by now. People like Zamchiya with their foolish suggestions are encouraging Mnangagwa to hang on and thus delaying the resolution of this mess. 

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has reached crisis point. 90% of our people are poor with 34% of them living in extreme poverty, according to a recent WB report. 

Zimbabwe cannot afford to waste time and treasure on gimmick solution like political dialogue to appease Zanu PF. Zanu PF is illegitimate and must step down! Period!

Mbuthwakazi, Mahlabezulu, Lina boMhlahlandlela.

2019 has been another difficult year in the 126 years for the People of uMthwakazi since the demise of the Royal Kingdom of uMthwakazi…

I am aware you have gone through critical periods with endurance, calm, conscience and appropriate reasoning, yet the whole world turned a blind eye.

It is only through God that we can pin our hopes, prosperity, and self-determination on.

As we get into 2020, a New Year, I want to take this opportune opportunity to graciously wish you all the happier, prosperity, good health, encouragement, and focused period going forward.

As a servant of God and your King I promise to walk with you and confront all challenges with patience, precision and commitment for the sake of our Freedom.

Enjoy your New Year, Happy 2020.         

By Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi- Mashurugwi !! Is this not another form of ISIS or Al-Shabaab.

All wars around the world are started by terrorist organizations like Mashurugwi let’s stop them NOW.

To stop these Zimbabwean terrorist organizations, we need strong men and women in the security ministries not civilians like we currently have.

We need people with a strong military background. They can then be deputised by civilians. I know we would like to transform our security to be more people friendly but the emergence of these terrorist gangs requires decisive action. Rhetoric will not work.

If someone has the audacity to kill or attack our Zimbabwean police force in broad day light how can an ordinary law abiding citizen feel safe? Zimbabweans should stop idolising and not rejoice when some try and give an impression that these thugs are attacking money changers. No these are terrorist thugs. T

hese thugs are hungry and looking for money and they will attack anyone who has it no matter what. So Zimbabwe let’s unite and fight this scourge before it consumes us all and end up being a terrorist organization.

If this trend continues Zimbabwe’s citizens will soon resort to organising their own security. In mining communities there is a perception that our law enforcement agency are no longer providing their services as required by the constitution of Zimbabwe.

Moving forward Zimbabwe will soon have village militias protecting the populace just like in Somalia and Northern Kenya.

Minister Owen Ncube Where is our national security?

God save Zimbabwe. 

By A Correspondent- Independent legislator for Norton Temba Mliswa has challenged the opposition political parties and legislators to improve their oversight role and hold government to account during the year 2020.

Said Mliswa in a tweet:

“In 2020 the opposition should come up with smart politics that increases oversight and accountability on the governing party. Hold it to account and push it to fulfill what it has promised. Being opposition isn’t about destructive interference but constructive opposition.”

In 2020 the opposition should come up with smart politics that increases oversight& accountability on the governing party. Hold it to account and push it to fulfill what it has promised. Being opposition isn't about destructive interference but constructive opposition.

— Sabhuku Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) December 31, 2019

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa reportedly cancelled his Mashonaland Central visit for the third time this year after he was scheduled to commission Pembi Bridge in Mvurwi last week.

Zanu PF Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson Kazembe Kazembe confirmed the incident saying he was called by the ministry of transport postponing the visit to a later date.

“We were expecting His Excellency in the province and preparations were at an advanced stage as we had a successful mobilization meeting people were so excited to host the president and everyone was working tirelessly with the preparations, but l received a call from the Ministry of Transport saying HE’s schedule is so tight that he advised let us move the commissioning to after holiday on the date to be advised,” said Kazembe.

Mnangagwa only visited Mashonaland Central once to grace Bindura University of Science Education graduation ceremony and has been postponing his rallies in the province due to poor turnout despite scooping all the eighteen parliamentarian seats in the province.

Meanwhile, the completion of Pembi bridge months ago has divided Zanu PF supporters who are fighting over who should take credit between Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and her predecessor Martin Dinha.

The bridge which is just before Mvurwi town replaced the narrow and now dilapidated bridge constructed in 1977 which had become a black spot for motorists.

However reports are that its official opening was being delayed due to factionalism in Zanu PF camp.

“All is not well in the province there is a lot of fighting and people are jostling for positions ahead of the looming District Coordinating Committee (DCC) hence a lot of people are sabotaging the party and as you know Mash Central is the backbone of Zanu pf the leadership is afraid of dissolving the province as that will creat more harm than good,” said a source who declined to be named.

By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance deputy president Tendai Biti has described as cursed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration for attempting to ban Winky D’s latest album from the airwaves. 

Winky D is set to launch the album “Njema” at the Harare International Conference Centre on December 31 with indications that state agents were planning to block it. 

The album features a song titled “Ijipita” which state agents, Zanu-PF and Government officials feel is a criticism of Mnangagwa’s failure to address Zimbabwe’s economic challenges. 

At the beginning of Mnangagwa’s reign Zimbabweans were hopeful for changed fortunes but two years into his Presidency, Zimbabweans have lost hope in the Zanu-PF leader with some saying he is actually worse than his predecessor Robert Mugabe. 

Biti said Mnangagwa’s government was exposing its hypocrisy by trying to ban Winky D’s music yet they allowed Jah Prayzah’s music that praises the Government to receive airplay. 

“Music and indeed art is the essence of humanity .Music transcends time , space, pain and love. That this terrible regime, which claims paternity from a liberation struggle oiled by the voices of Chinx, Mukanya & Mtukudzi et al now seeks to ban Winky D’s work is total madness.

“The irony is that when it suits same the regime has abused  art & music for its nefarious purposes.

Jah Prayzah’s ” Mudara achauya” was used to prepare for  the coup and  his ” Kutonga Kwaro” was sound track to the coup. The regime is a curse and  it’s time to purge this curse,” said Biti.

By A Correspondent- Zimdancehall artiste Winky D has promised fireworks tonight at the launch of his latest album, Njema, at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).

Writing on the microblogging social media site Twitter, the “Kasong Kejecha” hitmaker said:

Musaone ndinyerere ndikurova mapress ups kuitira manheru, it’s going to be flames. Let us do it tonight.

The launch of the album has generated controversy, with some reports claiming that the government at one point mulled banning it because of alleged political undertones.

However, Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe on Tuesday morning dismissed the reports, saying that the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s (ZRP) meeting with the artiste’s management team on Monday was meant to ensure that proper procedure was followed.

Do not miss President @edmnangagwa New Years Message address to the Nation at 19.00hrs on @ZBCNewsonline tonight. pic.twitter.com/jj0i76tEdw

— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) December 31, 2019

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has warned members of the public against blind dates and indulging in beer binges.

This follows the alleged r_pe of a 24-year-old woman in Harare after she spent the day getting drunk with a man introduced to her by a friend.

The ZRP issued a caution through a post on its Twitter handle. The statement reads: Members of the public are being warned against blind dates and indulging in beer drinking binges. This follows the r_pe of a 24-year-old woman in Harare on 28/12/19 after she spent the day getting drunk with a man introduced to her by a friend.

In an unrelated incident, the ZRP has warned citizens against attacking police officers who will be performing their duties. It said in another Twitter post:

In Chitungwiza on 29/12/19 three men were arrested after they assaulted a police officer who had gone to attend a scene where the men were fighting.

Members of the public are warned against attacking police officers who will be performing their lawful duties.

By A Correspondent- A mother and her daughter from Kensington plots on the outskirts of Bulawayo died after allegedly drinking a poisonous concoction they got from a self-proclaimed prophet.

Ms Thokozani Ncube (51) and Ms Sithandazile Nyathi (30) died shortly after drinking a ‘cleansing’ concoction they allegedly got from a prophet named Brian Mpofu from Cowdray Park suburb.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning at about 6.30AM with the pair dying within 15 minutes of taking the deadly poisonous concoction. 

Ms Ncube’s sister, Ms Elizabeth Ncube said the family could have lost three members as a 15-year-old boy was supposed to drink the same cleansing concoction but the prophet later stopped him from taking it.

“We were not there when this occurred but what we have been told is that they went to consult a prophet in Cowdray Park on Saturday. S’tha is the one who sought the services of  the prophet and requested her mother to accompany her. They went there with our 15-year-old nephew who narrated to us what really transpired. 

“He said the prophet gave the three of them some substance to induce vomiting claiming that he was casting out a bad spell. After that he gave them a concoction consisting of bluestone, aloe vera and lemon which he said they were going to drink at home the following day before eating anything,” said Ms Ncube.

She said tragedy struck at home when the two women drank the concoction.

“Prior to drinking the mixture, we are told that the prophet sent them a message, instructing them not to give it to the boy but share his dosage. Soon after drinking the mixture they started complaining that it was making them bleary, complaining of stomach cramps. S’tha instructed the boy to give her a bucket so that she could induce vomiting.

My sister was of the view that probably that was how the medicine worked and she did not attempt to induce vomiting. When they boy brought the bucket, S’tha was already struggling to breathe prompting the boy to call his uncle who is my late sister’s husband.

We are told before my sister’s husband could attend to S’tha, he discovered that his wife (my sister) was not responding when he called her in her bedroom and when he went in to check on her he discovered that she had white fluids coming out through her mouth and nose.”

She said they called a nurse who lives nearby who tried to administer first aid but the pair was already dead.

Ms Ncube said they called police who attended to the scene and confirmed the two were dead before ferrying their bodies to United Bulawayo Hospitals for post mortem.

Another aunt Seyiso Ncube, said S’that had returned from Durban, South Africa on Christmas Eve and was in contact with the prophet she located while still in the neighbouring country through WhatsApp. She said they did not know why S’tha needed the services of a prophet.

However, sources claimed that S’tha sought a prophet’s services after ‘feeling pressures’ that she was not getting married.

Meanwhile,the family said it is appealing for assistance to bury the two.

“We can’t say when they will be buried as police are still conducting investigations but we are appealing for help to enable us to bury my sister and her daughter,” said Ms Ncube.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said investigations were in progress.

“Yes, we received a case where mother and her daughter died after drinking some poisonous substance they were given by a self-proclaimed prophet. I can’t say much at the moment as it could jeopardise our investigations. We have however, arrested a suspect in connection with the pair’s death,” said Chief Insp Simango

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- An ex-police officer in Bulawayo, who was fired after he was convicted on a charge of domestic violence, has taken Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe and Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga to court challenging his dismissal.

Ex-Constable Mthulisi Moyo, who was stationed at Donnington Police Station, was discharged on November 8 this year for misconduct in terms of the Police Act. He had been in the police service for 16 years.

The charge arose from his conviction by Western Commonage magistrate Ms Tancy Dube on his own plea of guilty to physical abuse.

Moyo was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment of which six months were conditionally suspended for three years. The remaining nine months were further suspended on condition that he performs 315 hours of community service. 

He is seeking an order nullifying his dismissal, saying it was unlawful and irrational.

Moyo, through his lawyers Tanaka Law Chambers, filed an application for review at the Bulawayo High Court citing Minister Kazembe, Comm-Gen Matanga and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Mr Aaron Nhepera as respondents.

Moyo, in his founding affidavit, said the decision by his bosses to fire him was unlawful and ought to be set aside.

He argued that the offence he was charged and subsequently convicted of was not a serious one to warrant Comm-Gen Matanga to fire him in terms of section 48 (a) of the Police Act.

“I consider that the decision of the first respondent (Comm-Gen Matanga) was irrational and unreasonable under the circumstances, particularly if one looks at the circumstances surrounding the case, and more so the powers which first respondent has under section 48 (a) of the Police Act,” he said.

Moyo argued that section 48 (a) of the Police Act exonerates persons who were given community service as a sentence from the option of a discharge from the police service.

“There was never a proper use of the judicial powers by the first respondent in that he acted irrationally and did not apply the law properly. The decision to discharge me was in the circumstances too harsh and not supported by the facts before the first respondent,” he said.

“The first respondent ought to have considered the facts of the case, my clean work record and the circumstances surrounding the case and the submission made. I therefore submit that the decision and conduct of the first respondent cannot be countenanced and as such I should be granted the relief sought.”

Sometime this year, Moyo was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife and he assaulted her.

The matter was reported to the police leading to Moyo’s arrest.

He was taken to the magistrate’s court on a charge of physical abuse in terms of Domestic Violence Act and convicted.

The respondents are yet to respond.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF has set its eyes on infiltrating school development committees and creating relations with teacher organisations which they describe as fertile hunting grounds for opposition parties.

According to the Education department report, the ruling party said it was moving in to ensure control of school development committees and making sure party cadres get priority in recruitment in colleges.

“Recruiting of party cadres in school development committees is an on-going activity of the department. It is to ensure that the party establishes and/or maintains presence in these important institutions,” the report reads.

“Efforts towards establishing cordial relations with teachers’ organisations are in progress since this is a fertile recruitment ground for opposition political parties,” the report added.

The department also said that the party was working towards ensuring the ruling party cadres benefit for enrolment in teachers colleges and for apprenticeship and training in polytechnic colleges.

A report of the commissariat department also stated that the party was doing well in colleges where they have a good working relationship with the Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union.

Zanu PF has set its sight on victory in 2023. The party has already endorsed President Emmerson Mnangagwa as its candidate despite the elections being four years away.

The school development committees were put in place for parents to have a say in the running of schools.

In the strategy to create relations with teacher organisations, observers said Zanu PF was pushing to silence vocal teacher organisations perceived to be linked to the opposition.
-Newsday

May the soul of the killed cop rest in peace. However Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Mash West Minister Mary Chikoka should convene an urgent PCC meeting and read the riot act to the politicians because they know who is involved.

— Sabhuku Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) December 31, 2019

By A Correspondent| As ridiculous as it sounds, the Zimbabwe Republic police has banned the new years party. Thousands of Zimbabweans in the Nelson Chamisa’s MDC had already slaughtered cattle in Highfield, Harare waiting to cross over when they were delivered the below letter.

Highfield West MP Happymore Chidziva told ZimEye of his disappointment in the below short interview…

@PoliceZimbabwe cancel MDC new year party | BREAKING.

ZimEye interviews Hon @BvondoChidziva

Full LIVE video on https://t.co/RMz9FsvEJW pic.twitter.com/ikvyAoxKI8

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 31, 2019

By A Correspondent- The State has managed to identify and position properties, including cars bought and owned by the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Marry Mubaiwa, in South Africa, the High Court heard.

This emerged today during Mubaiwa’s bail appeal in the matter in which she is facing foreign currency externalisation, money laundering and fraud charges.

The bail application was heard before Justice Pisirayi Kwenda.

Challenging a Harare magistrate Chrispen Mberewere’s decision to deny her bail, Mubaiwa through her lawyer Silvester Hashiti, said the State will have no problems in extraditing her from South Africa in the event that she crosses the border into South Africa, since her properties were already known and identified.

She also argued that she was not a flight risk, who could be detected by anyone in the event that she decides to leave the court’s jurisdiction. Mubaiwa in her bail appeal argued that the State has no reason to deny her liberty, as the offences it alleges were committed through her companies, where she is only a director.

She said the State was supposed to charge the companies and not her. Mubaiwa also denied ever fraudulently attempting to register her marriage with VP Chiwenga, saying how could she have prejudiced him when they were already in marriage.

The State led by Mrs Sharon Fero and Mr Lovett Masuku argues that Mubaiwa was facing serious charges that could earn her at least 25 years in jail or be ordered to repay twice the amount she allegedly prejudiced the State.

Justice Kwenda reserved judgment in her bail appeal.

In her bail application on attempted murder charges, Mubaiwa said the allegations raised against her lack credibility and circumstances surrounding the charges were doubtful.

She said the State only has circumstantial evidence as it alleges that the offence was committed when there was no one to witness the incident. Mubaiwa also said with the type of wounds and swells she has, it will be difficult for her to abscond.

She then handed the court pictures showing her wounds. The State led by Mr Lovett Masuka opposed granting her bail arguing that with the information the State has, she was likely to abscond.

Although he could not tell when Mubaiwa will be tried, he said the State have overwhelming against her and extra-territorial investigations were still underway.

However, football administrator and businesman Keni Mubaiwa has volunteered to deposit title deeds to his properties at No.102 Seke Road as part of security and part of bail condition. Justice Kwenda also reserved judgment in her bail application.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Suspected members of marauding machete gangs have been arrested in Mt Darwin.

Pictures of the men in handcuffs who are suspected to be part of a gang of “MaShurugwi”, the general name for violent illegal gold panners who have been accused of acts of terrorism across the country are doing the rounds on social media.

Last week, a yet to be identified gang of MaShurugwi murdered a police officer leaving another one nursing serious injuries.

Below are the pictures of the gang:

By A Correspondent- The ZRP has warned citizens against attacking police officers who will be performing their duties.

Said the ZRP in a Twitter post:

In Chitungwiza on 29/12/19 three men were arrested after they assaulted a police officer who had gone to attend a scene where the men were fighting.

Members of the public are warned against attacking police officers who will be performing their lawful duties.

POLAD members have requested all terrain vehicles and sitting allowances from government. Do they deserve to get these luxuries from government and tax payers' money?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 31, 2019

By A Correspondent- Members of the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) have told President Emmerson Mnangagwa that they want government to fund their 2020 operations which include money for all-terrain vehicles and sitting allowances.

Polad which brings together the ruling Zanu PF party and leaders of fringe parties that participated in the 2018 presidential elections — in their report presented to Mnangagwa after feasting at his farm last weekend, say it was critical to get funding from government since there has not been any since the formation of the platform in May this year.

Nixon Nyikadzino, the secretary-general of the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T party, in his brief said:

“Of course, in any engagement and any intervention, you face challenges and it is a reality. One of the difficulties we noticed was around funding issues. It’s something that we need to quickly work around and say this is how Polad is going to be funded and ensuring that those who attend Polad can actually say this is our project and with resources available can trace targets till 2022.

“So that is a challenge you may need to engage Your Excellency and find ways of dealing with the issue of funding this big and national project.”

Mnangagwa pledged to fulfil the demands.

“In May thereabout when we created Polad, we had no direct funding. But now this is a platform which government must support because it brings harmony, it brings peace, it brings development in the country. Development, modernisation and industrialisation has a cost, so I am not averse to funding Polad because it brings convergence of political and economic views for our country to move forward,” Mnangagwa said.

He did not say how he intends to raise funding for the platform seen by many as a talk shop with no political or economic benefit.

Eighteen political parties were represented at the Unity Day meeting including the National Constitutional Assembly led by Lovemore Madhuku, People’s Rainbow Coalition leader Lucia Matibenga and MDC-T lead by Thokozani Khupe.

These parties garnered less than 2% of total votes in the 2018 elections.

Zimbabwe’s biggest opposition party MDC and a few small parties have refused to take part in Polad talks.

The demands come at a time when government is struggling to deal with Zimbabwe’s biggest economic crisis in a decade. The southern Africa country’s economy is seen contracting by 7,2% this year and has shortages of everything from fuel, electricity and medicines. It also faces labour unrest after inflation rose to 480% in November, leading to frequent price hikes while wages have remained stagnant.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Children in resettlement areas are still learning under deplorable conditions, including tobacco barns and animal shelters, Primary and Secondary Education minister Cain Mathema confirmed to Parliament.

The revelation drew condemnation from legislators who said the government was not serious about education.

In a ministerial statement issued recently on his behalf in the National Assembly by Youth, Sports and Arts minister Kirsty Coventry, Mathema said poor infrastructure was one of the reasons that led to the 0% Grade 7 pass rate at some schools in Matabeleland North and South provinces.

“Teaching and learning space in some schools is still grossly inadequate. For example, some schools are still using tobacco barns and grass-thatched classrooms, animal handling facilities and other schools are operating without specialist rooms like design and technology laboratories or workshops,” Mathema said.

“More resources will also be required for the construction of teachers’ accommodation and continuous training of teachers in the competence-based curriculum.”

MPs were riled by the issue of children learning in barns and animal handling facilities.

Lindiwe Maphosa (MDC Alliance Proportional Representative MP) said it was a shame that 20 years after independence, there were children still learning in barns.

“My observation is that most of these schools with a 0% pass rate are from Matabeleland South and North provinces and that these are resettlement areas where the land reform programme happened during the 2000 era,” Maphosa said.

“There are also situations, where four classes share the same room and a teacher has to teach with four classes learning simultaneously. We need Mathema to clarify why we still have situations like that in our country 20 years after independence?”

Maphosa said this did not show that the country was serious with education and ensuring that schoolchildren from disadvantaged families have adequate learning infrastructure.
Gokwe Chireya MP Torerayi Moyo (Zanu PF) said when Mathema appears before Parliament as it resumes sitting in February, he must explain the relationship between the 0% pass rate and the poor infrastructure, where pupils learn in barns or animal shelter.

In 2017, just like in 2018, a total of 29 schools in Matabeleland North province were recorded as having a 0% Grade 7 pass rate.

In 2019, 32 schools were recorded as having attained a 0% pass rate in Matabeleland. Out of those 15 were from Matabeleland North, 10 from Matabeleland South, and seven schools from Bulawayo

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- While fireworks are quite normal for human beings and are a way of celebrating the new year, they are quite bad for animals, especially dogs.

When fireworks go off, most dogs are scared and feel trapped. The dogs then try to run from the fireworks and they end up on the streets where they risk being run over. Some also get lost.

All around the country, dogs get lost and hurt after New Year’s fireworks.

Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary a Goromonzi based non-profit that helps animals commented on the issue:

We rescued Bruno almost a year ago, after he was found injured and terrified on the streets of Harare after a fireworks display. Please think of all the animals that suffer because of fireworks. On 1 January every year, the shelters and vet surgeries are full of injured and lost dogs and cats, many of whom are never claimed by their owners.

Birds abandon their nests and wild animals are killed and injured fleeing from fireworks. Please don’t set off fireworks this new year – it is such an easy thing NOT to do, with such a positive impact.

If you have pets please stay home with them and keep them safe. Wishing you and your pets a safe and peaceful New year.

-TwalaTrust

By A Correspondent- Informal traders (vendors) operating from the streets of Harare have vowed to stay put until the government creates employment opportunities for them.

Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) executive director, Samuel Wadzai, said that forcing vendors off the streets without offering sustainable solutions would not end the problem.

He said:

Our country has become so informal due to the current economic hardships and as a result, many people are relying on street vending to feed their families.

… street vendors are not criminals but ordinary people seeking livelihoods and must be allowed to fend for their families, especially when the government has failed to provide jobs in the economy.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), working in collaboration with Harare municipal police, has intensified raids on illegal street vendors.

The vendors are accused of obstructing the smooth flow of traffic and littering the streets in the Central Business District (CBD)

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Addressing the media at the High Court Tuesday afternoon, Marry Mubaiwa Chiwenga’s lawyer revealed that his client was not a flight risk as alleged by the state revealing that his client’s bail application was now being treated as an urgent matter despite the court withholding determination regarding the matter.

Her  lawyer Advocate Sylvester Hashiti, instructed by Taona Nyamakaro of Mtetwa & Nyambirai Legal Practitioners said:

“We had two matters in the court the first matter was an appeal against the decision of the magistrate which denied Mrs Mubaiwa bail.

The second one was a bail application on the attempted murder charge. On the first matter, we were arguing that all charges do not show how she was personally involved. All charges point to a company being involved so on that basis there is little that links her to the offence.

Secondly, she is not a flight risk as there are personal circumstances that force her to face trial and justice in Zimbabwe if need be and there is nothing that stops anyone from ensuring her availability for standing trial. She will face trial.

The other matter for attempted murder is a completed matter. The offence as alleged by the state has already been completed. There is nothing that stops her from standing trial and appearing in court over that matter. And all the witnesses that the state is relying on are very high powered individuals which she will not interfere with in any event.

Those are people protected by the state agents, they are protected by state resources. She cannot access them. She cannot interfere with them and that she can interfere with them is clearly a baseless assumption and we have also argued that she is presumed innocent… her personal situations, the manner in which she is alleged to have committed the offences all point to her being at her worst, she can only be a witness and she cannot stand accused as alleged by the state.

We await judgement. We will wait to hear what the court will say, we will not pre- empty what the court will say, we will not comment on an issue the court has reserved judgement on.

We can only comment on what we say are documents in the public domain. So we wait for the court to give its judgement and they have said they are treating the matter as an urgent matter we await the urgent determination of the matter.”

By A Correspondent- Suspected members of marauding machete gangs have been arrested in Mt Darwin, it has emerged.

Pictures of men in handcuffs who are suspected to be part of a gang of “MaShurugwi” are doing the rounds and they are allegedly suspected to be part of the violent illegal gold panners who have wrecked havoc nationally.

Below are the pictures of the men:

Zesa Holdings has been set tough performance standards and goals in both energy supply and administrative efficiency, with the Government taking an active role in monitoring progress.

This was detailed in the charge to the new board by Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi yesterday.

Among other measures, which include energy security and supply expansion, the new board will simplify its administration drastically, especially at top level, by consolidating the four operational subsidiaries and the holding company back into a single entity.

Outlining the terms of reference for the new Zesa board, Minister Chasi said Government required the board to implement a robust turnaround plan.

Dr Sydney Gata leads the nine-member Zesa board.

Setting the goals, Minister Chasi said the board should work out plans that see restoration of energy security and supply balance and the reintroduction of an operation reserve of at least 10 percent.

“Government expects the development of a business strategy that will ensure a viable utility,” he said.

Reversing the unbundling of Zesa was on the list, with the board charged to “consolidate the ZESA Group into one entity.”

This, said Minister Chasi, should result in a consolidated balance sheet that can underwrite new investments and develop a bigger electricity sector.

“The board must review the existing staff structure to optimal levels and ensure that the staff quality and

complement is sufficient to drive the strategy through retrenchments, retiring, transfers or rotations where necessary,” he said.

“Give place to technology of all types and to ensure adoption of ICTs to achieve operational efficiency.”

Further, the board is required to ensure the generation of a system development plan and work closely with the Rural Electrification Agency in the implementation of the rural energy master plan to ensure universal access to energy by 2030.

The board should embrace and participate in the development of all types of renewable energy technologies including rooftop solar, on-and off -grid systems, net metering and be receptive to innovative ideas as the energy sector is in transition.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- The family of Constable Hokoyo expressed their deep sadness over the slain cop’s death.

Family members that spoke to the publication said Constable Hokoyo who died at 27 grew up an orphan and he was hardworking and keen to uplift his family.

His younger brother spoke to the state media and said:

Being the young brother of Wonder who has mysteriously passed on in Battlefields, I am still finding it difficult to accept his passing on because he was the elder brother who was taking care of us.

His father in law said:

I was actually waiting for him to come home, only to receive a phone call that he had been attacked by these machete wielding thugs.

My son-in-law died on duty, protecting the people of Zimbabwe. Now he is no more. He was still young and left behind his wife and a little child.

The family visited the crime scene and were accompanied by Officer Commanding Kadoma District and Battlefields ZRP Member In Charge.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- An 8-year-old girl died from drowning at Queens Sports Club swimming pool on Friday.

Alexis Ncube was playing with her friends when they went to the deep end and started struggling to stay afloat.

Narrating the ordeal, a source that spoke to the publication said:

Two of the children were pulled out by a worker at the club while the third disappeared under the murky water. No one dared to go in after her and someone had to call for help from a person who was passing by

The Incident was confirmed by Bulawayo Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent| Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Professor Mthuli Ncube has urged farmers to depend on irrigation that weather patterns to end hunger and starvation in the country.

Ncube made the remarks in the Senate during debate on the Finance (No. 3 Bill) on the 2020 budget.

He said in order to climate proof agriculture, there was need to invest more on irrigation, adding that a budget of $500 million was allocated towards that. In 2020, Ncube allocated $11,3 billion towards agriculture.

“We have set aside a budget of the order of $500 million for irrigation because we wish to climate proof our agriculture,” Ncube said.

“We have also set aside a budget of the order of $250 million to deal with dam construction, but also to acquire meteorological equipment for us to track weather patterns. Everyone knows that the drought has been severe and it has depressed agriculture by as much as 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) and overall GDP of minus 6,5%,” he said.

The Finance minister said financing agriculture could be through partnering with banks, and also crowd sourcing in the private sector.

“To achieve this we need to deal with the issue of the 99-year leases which have not been accepted by banks,” he said.

Rejoice Timire (Senator representing people with disabilities) then asked Ncube to explain what he will do to ensure that there is enough water in the country to support agriculture.
“Dams are a long term relief to irrigation, but Zimbabwean people are suffering because there is no water. Women are suffering because they are getting water from faraway places. Even in urban areas there are long queues of people trying to look for water,” Timire said.

Ncube said to alleviate water problems, the 2020 budget allocates $233 million to the District Development Fund (DDF) for the purpose of drilling boreholes, mainly in the rural areas.
“We have another budget for about $45 million for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) to do likewise because they have different capacities. Zinwa is capacitated to drill deeper boreholes, especially in the drier areas, but we are aware that the Chinese have also given us aid for drilling boreholes where they pay contractors to drill boreholes,” he said.

On perennial water crisis in the urban areas, Ncube said: “In the budget we have allocated resources for chemicals and for upgrading the infrastructure in the urban areas,” adding that some of the devolution resources must focus on funding water and sanitation.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Social media is a awash with messages of other drivers warning other motorists to be cautious when driving along Seke Road which, they say is now a death trap due to its many potholes.

According to the publication:

The most notable potholes are near the rise towards St Mary’s Police Station after passing Chikwanha, with some near Chinhamo Filling Station, at the Koala Park Butchery and Abattoir turn-off, near the Zororo Memorial Cemetery area and on a stretch of a few kilometres before the Coke Corner.

The road is jointly managed by the ministry of transport and Harare and Chitungwiza councils. Speaking to the publication, Chitungwiza Mayor said they were urgently addressing the issue.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- DStv viewers who enjoy religious music will delight in a new channel, Trace Gospel, which was launched on DStv channel 332 in December.

The new channel is an offshoot of Trace, the already-popular channel featuring the latest urban and afro-urban music and news on celebrities, lifestyle, entertainment and culture.

Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said Trace Africa had partnered with the MultiChoice Group to launch a dedicated gospel channel across the African continent.

She said:

This channel showcases top-level local and international gospel music, with videos from various sub-genres that include contemporary gospel, urban gospel, worship gospel and traditional gospel.

This is a brand dedicated to showcasing the best of urban music, of all genres and from across the globe.

Trace Gospel will share music, news, worship and interviews, and it is a channel that is an exploration of gospel music, as well as a platform for the continent’s artistes to share the gospel sounds that resonate most with them.

The channel is available on DStv Family, Compact, Compact Plus and Premium packages and viewers will also be able to enjoy their favourite gospel content anytime, anywhere on DStv Now.

By Farai D Hove| The Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe has contradicted himself by saying that the government did not at all ban the Winky D show, while at the same time pointing the accusing fingers at the police which reports under his authority.

Winky D’s Album launch wad set for the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).

Kazembe ranted against “social media” and “people who are up to discrediting the government” for spreading falsehoods.

“This is the problem with social media and people who are up to discrediting Government,” he said.

He continued while asking, “Who has banned the show? Where is the evidence that the show has been banned and by who?

“Every time there is huge gathering police have to be notified so that security measures are put in place to protect the public and property. This is not unique to this particular show.

“Police were just doing their duty. Government has no business banning musical shows …no show was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

By A Correspondent- Zaka Rural District Council has handed over a council beerhall at Veza Business Centre to be used as offices by the Registrar-General’s Department.

The development was confirmed by Zaka RDC chief executive David Majaura.

He said:

We received reports from villagers in areas such as Baramanza who were travelling up to 60km to access identity documents.

We, thus, have decided to surrender the Veza Beerhall, which was just lying idle, into that centre.

Reports indicate that some villagers had to travel very long distances to reach the nearest offices to collect National ID’s and birth certificates, forcing some to live without the documents.

When completed, the office will serve more than 10 000 households from Zaka West.

-StateMedia

By Lloyd Msipa| Kwekwe a small mining town that owes its very existence to the mines sites around it. These mines are abandoned interests of international companies who found it unprofitable to continue operations in an environment of political toxicity.

As the political environment worsened the owners of mines like Globe and Phoenix, Gaika, Sabakwe and many others packed their bags and left Zimbabwe. It was not long before the local Godfather and his boys took over those mines and assumed ownership of all mining claims mined and un-mined. Everybody knows who the local Godfather is and no mining is authorised without his say so. He is known for saying “unowana madoor avarwa, woshaya kuti avarwa nani “

In a region were unemployment is high,the closure of ZISCO and other companoes, mining quickly became the only game in town. At the behest of the local Godfather under the guise of indigenisation young people were encouraged to invade mines owned by international companies in violation of international and regional bilateral agreements.

In return for political and legal protection from arrest, these youth pay a percentage of the loot to the Godfather. The most popular and right hand man of the Godfather is now the Minister of State Security. What that means is that the MaShurugwi are now a law unto themselves. They have a direct line to the head of state through the Minister of State Security.

It therefore can’t be a surprise that the MaShurugwis are behaving this way. They are the new ‘Boko Haram’ They command political power. They are protected. They kill at will with little fear of consequence. Lest we forget, these same MaShurugwi are used for political purposes during election time as evidenced by killings during campaigns in kwekwe during the last 2018 elections. It therefore is no surprise that the Police has to run for cover when one of their own was attacked with a machete In broad daylight. A regional power block of criminals runs Kwekwe and surrounding areas. And guess what, they have the presidents ear and he is a listening president. So the Machete wielding Mashurugwi are the new centre of power. Ichoo!

By Jane Mlambo| National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku has told Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to delay constitutional amendments that entrench all the powers in the President saying the PLAD platform should be allowed to make its own proposals.

Madhuku said his party has set 2020 as the year to push electoral and economic reforms ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections.

“In 2020, we will make concrete all our proposed reforms in various aspects, particularly constitutional and electoral reforms and economic policy reforms.

“We will seek to ensure that all the constitutional and electoral reforms required for the 2023 general election are in place by end of 2020.

“We will seek to ensure that all arms of Government appreciate the role of POLAD. For example, we will expect the Minister of Justice to delay his proposed Constitutional amendments until POLAD has completed its proposals so that only one omnibus Constitutional Amendment Bill incorporating POLAD proposals that would have been accepted by Government is presented to Parliament,” said Madhuku.

A kombi-load of machete-wielding robbers attacked a well-secured Glen View 1 home of a Harare foreign currency dealer last week, critically injuring the dealer, his brother and father, while a smaller gang with a firearm attacked another dealer in the same neighbourhood, shooting him once on the side of the head and twice in the leg.

The first three are still in critical condition in hospital where they were rushed once police were summoned, while the dealer who was shot thrice, Edmore Kanyangira, is recuperating from home.

The raids are part of a growing spate of armed robberies against homes of people known to be currency dealers or owners of cash-rich businesses, with police pleading with the public not to keep cash at home.

The incidents in Glen View are among a spate of crimes committed by armed gangs most of whom are using machetes.

On Saturday, a policeman was killed while on duty in Battlefields near Kadoma and had his body chopped by members of a machete gang that also left a  fellow police officer injured.

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday assured the nation that police will bring all those behind the machete attacks to book.

“The police are seized with the matter and investigations are ongoing. The perpetrators will be brought to book in accordance with the law. We urge people to desist from taking the law into their own hands,” he said.

“Crimes are committed by people who live within our communities, people we probably know. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that there is peace and tranquillity in our country. I, therefore, urge all peace loving Zimbabweans to work and cooperate with the police to bring the culprits to book.”

On the Glen Viw incidents, the first well-planned assault by the gang of more than 15 started around midnight when the kombi pulled up at the gates.

Gang members leapt out and used hammers to break gate locks and hinges. Once through the gates, they switched to axes to chop through the main door and gained entry.

-State Media

By Showbiz Reporter| Businesman Genius Kadungure has been reportedly lured by someone he was made to believe is a young girl only to discover that “she” is a young man. The trick is usually used by law enforcement agents in Europe to trap paedophiles, and many are langushing in prison cells over this.

This is not the first time the business man has done this. In a recent engagement, he video flirted with a well known young Zimbabwean teenager who is based in the United Kingdom, and the latter is heard screaming that she is scared her father will discover.

In the below video he gets the shock of his life when when the “young woman” changes voice into “her” real one while screaming for his mama!

At least 91 people perished while 414 others were injured in 1 141 road accidents which have so far occurred this festive season, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has said.

In a statement, the ZRP said the major causes of these accidents were speeding, reversing errors and inattention, among others.

National Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the number of road accidents for this year dropped, compared to that of 2018, however the total number of deaths remained the same.

“A total of 1 141 road traffic accidents were recorded during the period extending from December 15 to 29, 2019. Of these, 63 were fatal and claimed 91 lives while 414 were injured.

“The major causes of the accidents were speeding, reversing errors, following too close and inattention,” he said.

Last year during the same period, 1605 road traffic accidents occurred of which 67 of these were fatal compared to 1 141 recorded this year with 63 of them being fatal. In the same period last year, 621 people were injured while 414 were injured this year, in both cases, 91 people perished.

Meanwhile, the police has released names of the three people who perished in a road accident at the 221 kilometre peg along Harare Bulawayo Road, at the Redcliff-Kwekwe blind rise over the weekend. They are, Simon Zimbangu Mukunzve (53), Pamela Zimbangu (17) and Primrose Zimbangu (10) all from ZRP Rose Camp in Bulawayo.

Ass-Comm Nyathi implored all road users to be considerate and responsible on the roads to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.

“As we prepare for the New-Year, let us be responsible and considerate on the roads. Drivers should safeguard lives and avoid overtaking in situations which are not conducive, they should not speed and above all should comply with set road rules and regulations.

“Motorists should not be overexcited as they drive on the highways. Public service vehicles should not over-load and be exemplary on the roads,” he said.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has lauded opposition leaders who are taking part in the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), saying their participation is a demonstration of patriotism.

Addressing a gathering of some church leaders and their followers at the national thanksgiving and dedication service in Bulawayo on Sunday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said:

I want to express our gratitude to God for moving the hearts of a large number of leaders of opposition parties towards nation-building and unity by joining Polad.

On Sunday 22 December, which was Unity Day I was pleased to host them at my farm in Kwekwe where we held our final meeting for the year and reviewed the progress we have made to date.

POLAD is a negotiating platform which involves about dozen-and-a-half political parties that fielded presidential candidates in the 2018 harmonised elections.

It was launched in May this year, but the main opposition party, MDC-Alliance, whose leader Nelson Chamisa claims that the election results were manipulated to deny him victory, never joined the platform.

Other eminent opposition leaders have also stayed away from POLAD, among them are Noah Manyika, Nkosana Moyo and Joyce Mujuru.

-StateMedia

HARARE – Millions of Zimbabweans pushed into hunger by prolonged drought and economic crisis face an increasingly desperate situation unless adequate funding for a major relief operation materialises quickly, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

With nearly eight million people – half the population – now food insecure, WFP plans to double the number of people it assists – up to 4.1 million – but needs over US$200 million for its emergency response in the first half of 2020 alone.

“As things stand, we will run out of food by end of February, coinciding with the peak of the hunger season – when needs are at their highest,” said Niels Balzer, WFP’s Deputy Country Director in Zimbabwe. “Firm pledges are urgently needed as it can take up to three months for funding commitments to become food on people’s tables,” Balzer added.

Years of drought have slashed food production in Zimbabwe, once an African breadbasket. This year’s maize harvest was down 50 percent on 2018, with overall cereal output less than half the national requirement. By August of 2019, WFP was forced to launch an emergency lean season assistance programme to meet rising needs, months earlier than anticipated.

Since then, food shortages have become ever more pronounced. This month, maize, was only available in half of the markets WFP monitors countrywide.

Worryingly, runaway inflation – a symptom of the wide-ranging economic crisis Zimbabwe is experiencing – has propelled the prices of basic commodities beyond the reach of all but the most privileged. Amid dire shortage of foreign exchange and of local currency, Zimbabwe has seen drastic price increases – bread now costs 20 times what it cost six months ago, while the price of maize has nearly tripled over the same period.

The deepening hardship is forcing families to eat less, skip meals, take children out of school, sell off livestock and fall into a vicious cycle of debt. There is little respite expected for the most vulnerable, including subsistence farmers who grow most of Zimbabwe’s food and depend on a single, increasingly erratic rainy season.

This season’s rains are again late and inadequate, with planted seeds having failed to germinate in many areas. Forecasts of continuing hot and dry weather in the weeks ahead signal another poor harvest in April, putting lives and livelihoods at risk.

WFP’s operational scale-up is challenging in many respects. Owing to the acute shortages of local currency and rapid inflation, it entails a large-scale switch from cash-based assistance to food distributions. WFP is uniquely positioned to make this switch in times of crisis but can only do so with sustained donor support.

Because drought and flooding have tightened the availability of food across much of Southern Africa, much of the nearly 200,000 metric tons of food required to deliver assistance to the 4.1 million people targeted by WFP must be sourced beyond the continent, shipped to neighbouring South Africa or Mozambique and moved by road into land-locked Zimbabwe.

“While WFP now has the staff, partners, trucking and logistics capacity in place for a major surge in Zimbabwe, it is essential that we receive the funding to be able to fully deliver,” Balzer said. “The lives of so many depend on this.”

By Patrick Guramatunhu| There are many, many reasons why Zimbabwe is in this mess and stuck, cannot get out. One of those reasons has to be the country’s fixation with ill-advised solutions, especially when they promise quick returns with little or no effort on the nation’s part. 

“2020 is a defining year on whether Zanu PF will sink itself and Zimbabwe with the crisis or whether it shall rise to the task and do what everyone expects it to do, reach out to the MDC Alliance and its leader Nelson Chamisa to map the way forward. All realities are pointing to serious negotiations and dialogue desperately needed to rescue Zimbabwe from the current precipice, regardless of  pontification and bravado that Zanu PF protagonists otherwise display in public,” said one political analyst Alexander Rusero.

“I hope when (former South African President Thabo) Mbeki completes his power analysis, he will find the wisdom to include in his dialogue framework civil society and representatives of the commissioned commanders of the Zimbabwe National Army, who wield immense power behind the scenes,” said Phillan Zamchiya, another political analyst.

All these people who have been calling for dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa have all argued that this will be the panacea to the nation’s teething economic and political problems but have all failed to say how that would happen. 

By failing to stamp out corruption and, worst of all by failing to keep his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections Mnangagwa has confirmed that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state, same as Mugabe days. Getting Mnangagwa and Chamisa will not change the political reality of Zimbabwe being a pariah state, for example! 

Chamisa has often said he has the key to economic recovery, but he has never said how he was going to achieve this fit. Before the July 2018 elections Chamisa claimed that “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections, as we all know. Take it from me, Chamisa has no clue what to do to revive the economy.

The solution to Zimbabwe’s worsening economic situation and political paralysis lays in, first of all, acknowledging the reality that the July 2018 elections were flawed and illegal. 

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” stated the EU Election Mission final report.

“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

The regime denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote compare this to the 2.4 million Mnangagwa says he garnered to win the presidency. 

ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, a common sense and legal requirement. This was something as essential to elections as bee wax is to a bee hive!

Second, acknowledging that an election process that lacks transparency, cannot be traced or verified and is so flawed and illegal it has failed to meet international standards on elections cannot still produce a legal and legitimate result. 

At the very heart of Zimbabwe’s pariah state status is the profound statement: a state who government has no democratic mandate to govern and is per se illegitimate. 

President Mnangagwa has managed to get all the country’s opposition parties, except for MDC and one or two others, to public endorse him and his Zanu PF party as the winners of the 2018 election and therefore the legitimate government. As we can see that has had no effect. Zimbabwe is a pariah state and shun as one. 

All those calling for political dialogue between Mnangagwa and MDC are holding that a public endorsement of Mnangagwa and Zanu PF as the winner of the July 2018 elections will help remove the pariah state stigma. Again, this is just wishful thinking. 

To remove the pariah state stigma, country’s illegitimate governing party, Zanu PF, must be publicly denounced as such and asked to step down. A caretaker administration will then be appointed and tasked to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. 

Those clamouring for political dialogue in which Zanu PF is to play a role acknowledge the regime is illegitimate and are searching for a way of granting it legitimacy through the back door. This is just a waste of time because political legitimacy can only be conferred by the people in a free, fair and credible elections. There is no provision for backdoor deals with corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders desperate for a seat on the gravy train. 

Worst of all, any solution in which Zanu PF is allowed to return power is a waste of time because the party will use the power to block the implementation of the reforms. If Zanu PF is in office come 2023 elections, then we can be 100% the party will rig those elections too! 

If Zimbabwe’s corrupt and incompetent opposition had not given the July 2018 elections some modicum of credibility by participating in the flawed elections and then by endorsing the result as legitimate; there is no doubt that Zanu PF’s claim as the legitimate government would have fizzled to nothing by now. People like Zamchiya with their foolish suggestions are encouraging Mnangagwa to hang on and thus delaying the resolution of this mess. 

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has reached crisis point. 90% of our people are poor with 34% of them living in extreme poverty, according to a recent WB report. 

Zimbabwe cannot afford to waste time and treasure on gimmick solution like political dialogue to appease Zanu PF. Zanu PF is illegitimate and must step down! Period!

-SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com

AN eight-year old girl drowned at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo while playing in a swimming pool with friends.

Alexis Ncube was with her friends Tanaka Ncube and Mikeila Kambarami aged 12 and eight when the tragedy occurred last Friday.

The death of the minor is one of the two deaths at the sports precinct over the weekend. An intoxicated teenager died at the same venue on Saturday when she attempted free entry into a Winky D musical concert.

Alexis was buried yesterday at Athlone Cemetery.

Sources said the trio went to the deep end of the pool where they were seen struggling to stay afloat.

“Two of the children were pulled out by a worker at the club while the third disappeared under the murky water. No one dared to go in after her and someone had to call for help from a person who was passing by,” said a witness.

Bulawayo Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango yesterday confirmed the incident.

“We are investigating the case of a juvenile’s sudden death which happened at Queens Sports Club on December 27 at around 3PM,” said Chief Insp Simango.

Natasha Ncube (28) is the one who saw the that three were at the deep end of the pool and the deceased was failing to stay afloat.

“Ncube could not swim but she attempted to rescue the children by instructing them to hold hands. Ncube managed to pull out the two and the now deceased’s hand slipped off,” said Chief Insp Simango.

She said Ncube sought assistance from three workers at the club who rushed to the scene but to no avail.

“Ncube approached another unidentified male patron who dived into the swimming pool and managed to retrieve the juvenile. They rendered first aid and she was ferried to Galen House Casualty where she was pronounced dead upon arrival,” she said.

Alexis’ family declined to comment on the tragedy. 

The Chronicle

State Media|A MAN from Bulawayo has been awarded top British award, the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his services in music, education and Zimbabwe/United Kingdom relations.

Mr Michael Bullivant (73), former Deputy Headmaster at Milton High School and the Principal of the Zimbabwe Music Academy (ZMA) in Bulawayo, was awarded the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in her New Year’s Honours 2020 list released yesterday.

The OBE is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations and public service outside the civil service.

The bespectacled Mr Bullivant who lives in Suburbs with his wife Lindsay, said he was speechless and at the same time happy.

“I’m thrilled and feel very honoured to have been awarded with the OBE like anyone else. I’ve been working for the Zimbabwe Music Academy for the past 14 years but I’ve been involved in music for the past 40 years. I became Chairman of Performing Arts Bulawayo in 1978 there about,” said Mr Bullivant.

Also on the list of OBEs are England Cricket all-rounder Ben Stokes and coach Trevor Bayliss.

A man who loves classical music, Mr Bullivant said music has been his passion since he was young and hence his involvement with the Zimbabwe Music Academy.

“Music has been my passion since my school days and I’ve tried to share it all these years. There have been ups and downs to find money to keep things going especially these days to find money to keep the academy going. People have less and less spare money and music has become a luxury so it’s quite a struggle to keep things going,” said Mr Bullivant.

At the ZMA, Mr Bullivant said he wants people from all walks of life to use the facilities at the academy.

“We are trying to bring in more people with expertise to help us expand our influence. People like Emmanuel Nkomo (Djembe Monks) has taken over as the drumming teacher. He’s one of the people who I’m hoping will help me expand into those other areas.”

Former Education Minister David Coltart congratulated Mr Bullivant on this honour.

Born on June 15 1946 in England in a county named Lincolnshire, Mr Bullivant learnt at King Edward VI Grammar School in Spilsby. He moved to the then Rhodesia in 1975 and started teaching History at Milton High School.

State Media|A kombi-load of machete-wielding robbers attacked a well-secured Glen View 1 home of a Harare foreign currency dealer last week, critically injuring the dealer, his brother and father, while a smaller gang with a firearm attacked another dealer in the same neighbourhood, shooting him once on the side of the head and twice in the leg.

The first three are still in critical condition in hospital where they were rushed once police were summoned, while the dealer who was shot thrice, Edmore Kanyangira, is recuperating from home.

The raids are part of a growing spate of armed robberies against homes of people known to be currency dealers or owners of cash-rich businesses, with police pleading with the public not to keep cash at home.

The incidents in Glen View are among a spate of crimes committed by armed gangs most of whom are using machetes.

On Saturday, a policeman was killed while on duty in Battlefields near Kadoma and had his body chopped by members of a machete gang that also left a fellow police officer injured.

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday assured the nation that police will bring all those behind the machete attacks to book.

“The police are seized with the matter and investigations are ongoing. The perpetrators will be brought to book in accordance with the law. We urge people to desist from taking the law into their own hands,” he said.

“Crimes are committed by people who live within our communities, people we probably know. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that there is peace and tranquillity in our country. I, therefore, urge all peace loving Zimbabweans to work and cooperate with the police to bring the culprits to book.”

On the Glen Viw incidents, the first well-planned assault by the gang of more than 15 started around midnight when the kombi pulled up at the gates.

Gang members leapt out and used hammers to break gate locks and hinges. Once through the gates, they switched to axes to chop through the main door and gained entry.

Inside, armed with machetes and iron bars, as well as hammers and axes used to gain entry, they struck the man and his family, getting away with $9 000, a laptop, car keys and cellphones.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gang was travelling in a commuter omnibus when it raided the house around midnight.

“We were woken up by a loud banging noise as the gang used hammers to force open the gate,” he said. “When they managed to enter the yard, they used axes to strike the main door.

“The gang warned neighbours not to come out of their houses. They were told to mind their own business.”

Mr Fungai Mutasa, said he was inside his house when he heard noise next door.

“The group was making a lot of noise and when we decided to go out to investigate, we heard some of them threatening to deal with anyone who got in their way,” he said.

He said he feared for his family as he was not sure whether or not the gang would also raid other houses in the area.

After ransacking the dealer’s house, the gang disappeared into the darkness.

People in the area said they now fear for their lives, especially moving around during the night.

Said Mr Leroy Chigogo: “With all such incidents that have happened in this area, it’s now not safe to move around during the night as you can

be attacked. Police should increase patrols during the night.”

When The Herald visited Kanyangira at his home yesterday, his wife and children were still in shock.

“I heard noise at around midnight when a gang of about four broke into my son’s room and demanded to know where we kept our cash,” he said.

Edmore Kanyangira with wife Theresa Toto, who were robbed at gun point in Glenview.-Pictures: Justin Mutenda

“After assaulting my son (21), they proceeded to the dining room, grabbed my daughter and demanded cash, while threatening to kill her. I confronted one of them and managed to overpower him.

“During the struggle, three other robbers came in and started assaulting me, demanding to know where I keep my cash. When they realised I was not giving in, one of them instructed the others to kill me. That is when they shot me first in my left leg and later in the head, but fortunately the bullet only grazed my head.

“When I collapsed, they threatened to kill my wife who gave them $10 000, US$300 and cellphones.”

Since the beginning of the year, there have been reports of murder and violence committed by machete-wielding gangs in gold-rich areas across the country in what seemed to be gold panner wars.

But of late, machete gangs have been targeting people dealing in cash in Harare suburbs.

Since the beginning of the month, machete gangs have attacked people in Glen View, Zengeza, Kuwadzana and Mufakose.

On Saturday, a policeman was clubbed and hacked to death and his colleague was seriously injured, while defending workers at Good Hope Mine in Battlefields from an invading machete gang.

Following the attacks in the city, police yesterday conducted crime awareness campaigns, urging people not to keep large amounts of money in their houses.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi warned people against keeping large amounts of cash in their homes.

“We would also want to urge members of the public to desist from keeping large amounts of cash in their houses or moving around with it,” he said. “They should also avoid discussing issues involving cash with other people as they might end up being robbed.”

Asst Comm Nyathi said people should also beef up security at their homes.

The incidents come after early this month, another gang raided the house of a fuel dealer in the same area and got away with cash.

They also come hardly a week after a machete gang terrorised residents of Kuwadzana.

Early this month, a machete-wielding gang killed a man at Zengeza 2 Shopping Centre, Chitungwiza, for allegedly flirting with a sex worker they had hired for the night.

Asst Comm Nyathi said people moving around carrying dangerous weapons like machetes intending to harm police officers and other people can only have themselves to blame when the full wrath of the law falls on them.

Own Correspondent|The opposition MDC last week grievously pushed government in parliament to make sure that enough fuel is availed in the country during the festive season.

In a hot debate, Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development Magna Mudiwa had refused to commit government to making sure that fuel is availed during the busy period. The Deputy Minister claimed government had no capacity to pay for the fuel.

“We do have enough fuel at our depots in Mabvuku and Masasa but it is bonded.  This means that we need to pay before we can withdraw that fuel.  We are discussing with RBZ who issue letters of credit to fuel traders so that they access the fuel.  I can assure the nation that we do have enough fuel at our depots save for the lines of credit,” Mudiwa said.

MDC Mutasa South Member of Parliament Regai Tsunga responded,

“The issue that has been raised by the Hon. Minister is likened to a father who tells his children that there is mealie-meal in the storehouse when they are hungry yet the children are not eating sadza.  According to her, diesel and petrol are in the reservoirs but no one is consuming them.  The Minister’s responsibility is to ensure that the fuel reaches service stations.  We would like to know the plans that the Minister has to make sure that there is fuel at service stations and not tell us about the reservoirs.  We want fuel for consumption.”

Long fuel queues since disappeared in most parts of the country, with many service stations having supplies.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) provided Letters of Credit to fuel dealers towards this festive season, allowing them to draw on the stocks already pumped into Zimbabwe.

In particular, the Letters of Credit guaranteed the payment of the foreign currency component, usually a little over 60US cents a litre for petrol and diesel.

This is the landed price and includes all costs of procuring the fuel and pumping it from Beira into Zimbabwe.

The rest of the pump price comprises local mark-ups, pumping and handling charges, plus excise duties.

A Letter of Credit is letter issued by a bank to another bank (especially one in a different country) to serve as a guarantee for payments made to a specified person under specified conditions.

Over the past months, some filling stations had effectively closed and displayed “no petrol or diesel” signs, leaving motorists and commuters stranded.

There was a rush for fuel before the public holidays when many managed to fill up and demand may increase from this week’s levels as people start returning home or resuming more normal work and school trips.

Own Correspondent|MDC-T Vice President Obert Gutu an advent fan of the President Emmerson Mnangagwa led Political Actors Dialogue, POLAD, says every Zimbabwean will soon be in love with the political grouping.

Speaking to state media in an interview on Monday, Gutu said they are setting information centres throughout the country to conscientise Zimbabweans about the Mnangagwa led group.

“We are setting up a cutting-edge information sub-committee that is going to disseminate information relating to POLAD activities to all corners of Zimbabwe.

“Within the next 90 days, virtually every Zimbabwean will be hearing, thinking and even dreaming about POLAD. We have got the requisite technical skills and intellectual fire-power to repackage and rebrand POLAD.”

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku said POLAD will make good on constitutional, electoral and economic policy reforms.

Prof Madhuku advised Government bureaucrats not to bypass POLAD, especially on constitutional amendments.

“In 2020, we will make concrete all our proposed reforms in various aspects, particularly constitutional and electoral reforms and economic policy reforms.

“We will seek to ensure that all the constitutional and electoral reforms required for the 2023 general election are in place by end of 2020.

“We will seek to ensure that all arms of Government appreciate the role of POLAD. For example, we will expect the Minister of Justice to delay his proposed Constitutional amendments until POLAD has completed its proposals so that only one omnibus Constitutional Amendment Bill incorporating POLAD proposals that would have been accepted by Government is presented to Parliament,” he said.

Source: State Media.

Own Correspondent|President Mnangagwa led Parties Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) partners have announced plans to engage SADC, African Union, European Union and United Nations member states purportedly to explain their mandate as they continue with their simingly futile efforts to finding lasting solutions to the country’s economic challenges.

MDC-T vice president Mr Obert Gutu told state media yesterday that they plan to engage important global players.

“We are going to engage all SADC countries in order to explain to them the key objectives and major focus of POLAD. We will also engage the AU, the EU and the United Nations, our plate is already full even before the New Year starts,” said Mr Gutu.

POLAD co-convener Retired Justice Selo Nare said some of their successes this year include visiting Cyclone Idai victims and mobilising resources for the affected communities.

“Another major highlight was the positive response by Government in subsiding mealie-meal after POLAD’s engagement with responsible ministers.

“The response by SADC to POLAD in solidarity with the Government on the unconditional removal of sanctions was also a major success,” said Rtd Justice Nare.

State Media|The Kadoma policeman, Constable Wonder Hokoyo, who was hacked to death by machete wielding artisanal miners, is set to be buried today in Triangle, Masvingo.

Family spokesperson Mr Benjamin Mutubuki, who is a brother to the late Cnst Hokoyo, told The Herald yesterday that the body was sent to Harare for post-mortem.

“It will be carried to Masvingo tonight (last night),” he said.

“We were all waiting for the body and are now leaving for Triangle where we expect his body to be laid to rest tomorrow (today).”

Mr Mutubuki said Cnst Hokoyo (27) — who lost his parents at a young age — was hard-working and keen to uplift his family.

“Being the young brother of Wonder who has mysteriously passed on in Battlefields, I am still finding it difficult to accept his passing on because he was the elder brother who was taking care of us,” he said.

Mr Mutubuki urged Government to criminalise the use of machetes in gold mining areas.

Cnst Hokoyo’s father-in-law, Mr Venson Nyasulu, said he was still waiting for him to come for introductions.

“Hokoyo was my son-in-law and we were yet to meet after he recently paid bride price for my daughter,” he said.

“I was actually waiting for him to come home, only to receive a phone call that he had been attacked by these machete wielding thugs.

“My son-in-law died on duty, protecting the people of Zimbabwe. Now he is no more. He was still young and left behind his wife and a little child.

“I am in pain and cannot accept this. Only God knows how to punish the perpetrators.”

The family requested to visit the crime scene yesterday and was escorted by Officer Commanding Kadoma District, Chief Superintendent Kezias Karuru, and the Officer-in-Charge, ZRP Battlefields, Inspector Happiness Nyadzawo.

Cnst Hokoyo joined the force in 2013.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has described the killing of Cnst Hokoyo as “callous and unwarranted”, adding that police officers on duty or in their spare time have a right to life, which is God-given and constitutionally guaranteed.

“This fundamental right is sacrosanct and should be respected and protected by all and sundry in a free and democratic society, which Zimbabwe is,” said ZHRC.

“The law, of course, must take its full course in the barbaric instances of this nature.”

By A Correspondent- Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has vowed to turn on the heat on President Emmerson Mnangagwa come 2020 accusing him of failing to satisfy the people’s needs.

Chamisa bemoaned the levels of poverty in Zimbabwe’s rural communities saying Mnangagwa’s government was using poverty to hoodwink and manipulate the suffering masses politically. 

Chamisa who spent his Christmas at his rural home in Gutu, Masvingo province said: 

“I was at my rural home in Gutu this Christmas and  I’m deeply concerned by what I saw.We are called to ensure that no one is left behind,to make sure that we protect the weak,poor and vulnerable.Poverty should not be used as a tool for oppression.The crisis in Zimbabwe is man-made,” said Chamisa. 

“I also visited relatives in Bikita and Zaka. Where we once had small businesses and  thriving townships, we are left with abandoned buildings and deserted towns. Parents cannot afford to take their children to school. Teenage pregnancies are increasing.” 

Chamisa said Zanu-PF continues to use food as a political weapon in the wake of a donation of rice by Mnangagwa to rural constituencies. 

“Crops in the fields wilting and dying. Food continues to be used as a political weapon to sow divisions,hate and instill fear. Clinics have totally collapsed. There is no money and no food. This can’t continue.The solution to this crisis is political. It’s time for real change and reform,” said Chamisa. 

“We will roll out plans and action aimed at restoring dignity, promoting development and pushing for real change in Zimbabwe , particularly in the rural areas. 2020 we will leave no stone unturned. We will turn up the heat in the fight for freedom and a decent life for every Zimbabwean.”

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, ZUJ, has said it is deeply concerned by increasing threats to journalists working in Masvingo Province.

This  follows  threats made to Hevoi FM News Editor  Regis Chingawu by a ruling  Zanu PF councillor, Sengerayi Manyanga.

The councillor reportedly wants to control  the radio station’s social media policy  but his attempts have  been thwarted.

Chingawu,  a member of the ZUJ National Executive, told the national office last night that he did not feel safe and believed his life was now in danger.

The threats  were made at the radio station’s offices   towards  midnight on  Saturday  28 December in Masvingo town.

The small community of journalists in Masvingo  has been left traumatised by the developments  as they have recorded  a huge  increase in threats to freedom of expression in the province in the last quarter of the year.

According to information received from Masvingo, the councillor for ward 10 in Masvingo town  is reported to have laid an ambush at the Hevoi FM News offices on the night.

Upon realising that Chingawu would not reveal himself , the councillor angrily  confronted the security officer at the radio station and demanded to know Chingawu’s whereabouts and  threatened to mobilize  against the senior journalist.

The councillor was accompanied by a mob which remained in the background as he laid siege on the radio station.

A police report was made at Masvingo Central Police Station yesterday.

ZUJ Secretary General Foster Dongozi  said the issue of the safety and security of journalists continued to be a major concern for the Union with political parties and some security forces continuing to be the major culprits.

“We have also noticed a worrying trend in Masvingo Province in which the safety of journalists  is threatened by rogue politicians and  security details.

“The same rogue councillor has threatened to close another media organisation   in the province while Masvingo Mirror senior journalist Nkulumani Mlambo was  hounded out of a public event attended by donors by security aides in Chiredzi recently.”

The Secretary General called on the Zanu PF leadership in Masvingo to condemn acts of violence and impunity against journalists and freedom of expression.

“If journalists are harmed in Masvingo  we will know who the culprits are. But beyond that, we can also  see that there are some rogue and  renegade elements who want to frustrate Zimbabwe’s global re engagement  policy by continuing to soil its image so that it  remains a pariah state.

“The government has assured  us at the highest level that it does not have a policy of impunity against journalists and we would want it to take stern measures against those violating the rights and safety of journalists.”

By A Correspondent- The arrest and persecution of Marry Chiwenga has the potential to expose the regime and bring about a regime shift, an independent observer has revealed.

Being the closest person to the vice president Constantino Guvheyo Chiwenga, Marry is being persecuted as she knows a lot of secrets which could expose the country’s former army general and she is a key player in the ongoing political struggles within Zanu Pf.

Said the observer:

“Marry knows a lot…. and we have Mnangagwa saying by 2030 i will still be here? Is he scared? Why is he telling us? With this happening, maybe Marry will say more. She knows one or two secrets…Will she go alone? And as you know most of the divorces don’t go very well, they are nasty. So this one is a very painful one to the VP and to Marry.”

Writes Simba Chikanza: Touching a woman has always led to a regime shift in Zimbabwe since 1980.

– Why is Mnangagwa panicking?

Every major regime shift in Zimbabwe has had a woman tied to it, all depending on how the woman is treated, a ZimEye caller analyses saying.

Zimbabwe’s economy began crashing from 1990, when Robert Mugabe began cheating on his ailing wife, Sally, John Smith continues.

A parallel report alleges Sally was assassinated while in hospital, in events that saw the current Health Minister who was just a dialysis technician, suddenly being conferred by ZANU PF the title medical doctor, without any qualification or training. (This is not to suggest that he had anything to do with her death, it is still history.)

When Mugabe finally married his girlfriend, Grace, on 17 August 1996, there was a major regime shift, that suddenly hit the country like an earthquake. War veterans as it were, besieged state house and forced him to dish out $50,000 to them each. The economy crashed as a result. War veterans emerged the new national stock holders.

The next major regime shift, began in 2014 and it was a woman behind it. Grace Mugabe got Vice President Joice Mujuru kicked out of power.

She would later kick out Emmerson Mnangagwa in Nov 2017. There was another major shift this time at a military level, a real coup. It was all about a woman. Grace was derided and called a prostitute. But many analysts say she could have actually become a better president because she was the better compromise, and the best bridge between the group made up of liberation fighters obsessed with the past, and the young population who are driven by a desire for the future.

The Zim economy has never been the same and Mnangagwa looted 5,9 billion from the central bank, RBZ within 5 months of removing the woman.

She would later mock the usurpers saying that they are running the country like a tuckshop.

It was one woman back then.

Today, we have not one, but 3 (three) of them, women in the presidium and every one of them, there is currently something happening around them, that is national, suddenly. Where are we going as a nation?

Mnangagwa has announced saying in 2030 I will still be here as president. Who is he talking to, and why is he panicking?

So far, his own wife, Auxillia has chased the ZANU PF leader through a maize field. She is no push over. CIOs are currently crying saying we are in trouble, the previous First Lady used to scold us at podiums, the new one literally beats us up at work.

This month, another woman is involved though differently. This is Mnangagwa’s deputy’s wife who has been abused by her husband. He earlier in the month sent policemen to brutally arrest her while stark naked inside her bathroom. No other woman has been treated like this since 1980. Police charges have been laid against her which point the same finger back to Chiwenga first and his boss, Mnangagwa second.

All her 5 kids were taken away from her, in violation against the law.

Will the land of Zimbabwe allow a woman to be abused like this?

By A Correspondent- A Bulawayo woman was left shocked after her estranged husband’s mistress brazenly told her to forget getting back her husband whom she is now cohabiting with.

A heartbroken Clara Bashaka said after the boast, she suspected that her estranged husband Richard Chiwara’s alleged mistress, who is a police officer, gave him a powerful love portion that caused him to turn his back on his family.

She strongly believed the way Chiwara bolted from her life and that of his three children was as a result of muthi.

Bashaka poured her heart out after Chiwara approached the courts seeking a restraining order to stop her from disturbing his newly found love by coming to where he is now staying with his alleged mistress.

“She (mistress) has done something to him. I still love him but his girlfriend who is a police officer affirmed that she has done something to him and is not going to come back to his family. She said they were going to stay together forever. I even took his clothes with the view that he was going to come back home but that didn’t work,” lamented Bashaka.

Her lament came after Chiwara passionately begged the court to grant an order that sternly stops her from coming to his workplace and where he is currently staying.

“We have separated and I don’t want her to come to my workplace and where I am currently staying. After we separated, I went to her aunt and told her that I no longer love her. She took my clothes and left me with one shirt. She is also insulting and threatening me. She once dumped the children at my workplace saying she was going to South Africa,” said Chiwara. 

Bashaka however, defended her actions saying she went to his workplace because Chiwara was no longer giving her money to buy food.

In her ruling the presiding magistrate Adelaide Mbeure ordered Bashaka not to insult her estranged husband and not to visit his workplace and where he is now staying with his alleged mistress.

-StateMedia

Touching a woman has always led to a regime shift in Zimbabwe since 1980.

– Why is Mnangagwa panicking?

By Simba Chikanza| Every major regime shift in Zimbabwe has had a woman tied to it, all depending on how the woman is treated, a ZimEye caller analyses saying.

Zimbabwe’s economy began crashing from 1990, when Robert Mugabe began cheating on his ailing wife, Sally, John Smith continues.

A parallel report alleges Sally was assassinated while in hospital, in events that saw the current Health Minister who was just a dialysis technician, suddenly being conferred by ZANU PF the title medical doctor, without any qualification or training. (This is not to suggest that he had anything to do with her death, it is still history.)

When Mugabe finally married his girlfriend, Grace, on 17 August 1996, there was a major regime shift, that suddenly hit the country like an earthquake. War veterans as it were, besieged state house and forced him to dish out $50,000 to them each. The economy crashed as a result. War veterans emerged the new national stock holders.

The next major regime shift, began in 2014 and it was a woman behind it. Grace Mugabe got Vice President Joice Mujuru kicked out of power.

She would later kick out Emmerson Mnangagwa in Nov 2017. There was another major shift this time at a military level, a real coup. It was all about a woman. Grace was derided and called a prostitute. But many analysts say she could have actually become a better president because she was the better compromise, and the best bridge between the group made up of liberation fighters obsessed with the past, and the young population who are driven by a desire for the future.

The Zim economy has never been the same and Mnangagwa looted 5,9 billion from the central bank, RBZ within 5 months of removing the woman.

She would later mock the usurpers saying that they are running the country like a tuckshop.

It was one woman back then.

Today, we have not one, but 3 (three) of them, women in the presidium and every one of them, there is currently something happening around them, that is national, suddenly. Where are we going as a nation?

Mnangagwa has announced saying in 2030 I will still be here as president. Who is he talking to, and why is he panicking?

So far, his own wife, Auxillia has chased the ZANU PF leader through a maize field. She is no push over. CIOs are currently crying saying we are in trouble, the previous First Lady used to scold us at podiums, the new one literally beats us up at work.

This month, another woman is involved though differently. This is Mnangagwa’s deputy’s wife who has been abused by her husband. He earlier in the month sent policemen to brutally arrest her while stark naked inside her bathroom. No other woman has been treated like this since 1980. Police charges have been laid against her which point the same finger back to Chiwenga first and his boss, Mnangagwa second.

All her 5 kids were taken away from her, in violation against the law.

Will the land of Zimbabwe allow a woman to be abused like this?

By A Correspondent- A police officer stationed at Madlambuzi Police Station in Plumtree, who pretended to be the husband to his fellow officer’s wife in order to have sex with her, has been arrested and will appear in court soon for rape.  

According to a source close to the couple, the accused knocked off from duty at around 10pm on 17 December and went to a bar. He found the victim’s husband taking alcohol at the bar and dashed to his colleague’s house.

He found the victim’s wife just having retired to bed. The accused sneaked into the bedroom.

“He went straight to the window and closed window curtains and got into the blankets. He slept behind her and started to rub his erect manhood against victim’s buttocks while at the same time touching her all over her body,” said a source close to investigations.

The victim could not sense that the man was not her husband.

“She touched and kissed him. She even turned to face him,” said the source.

The victim’s beard sold him out.

“During sexual intercourse the woman felt the beard prickling her, after that she became suspicious and removed the blanket and noticed that the person who was poking her wasn’t her husband. Soon after that the intruder who had seen that he was caught quickly apologised before he rushed outside the house to his place which is 40 metres away from the victim’s house,” said the source.

She screamed for help.

“She screamed to alert neighbours, but no one came. She informed her neighbour Merby Moyo. Later on when her husband came from the bar she narrated the sex ordeal to him. He advised her to make a police report,” said the source.

The intruder vehemently denied the allegations.

“When our bosses (names supplied) questioned him he denied ever sneaking into his neighbour’s house and having sex with his colleague’s wife. He said he is a married person and respects his wife,” said a source.

He is expected to appear in court soon.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Former cabinet minister, Prisca Mupfumira, through her lawyer advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba, has requested the financial audited report from the period between 2015 to 2018 from the National Social Security Authority (NSSA).

Mupfumira wants the report from the prosecution saying there were issues she wanted to ascertain before her trial commences.

She has also requested that the State furnishes her with a written agreement between NSSA and the Public Service Commission on a US$90 000 loan she allegedly authorised.

Mupfumira has also written a letter to the State demanding a Cabinet Minister’s handbook, which outlines her expected duties and responsibilities during her tenure in office.

The former Public Service Minister is jointly charged with the former secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Ngoni Masuka, on two counts of criminal abuse of office and another count of concealing a transaction from a principal.

Mupfumira’s trial was supposed to start this Monday but was postponed to January 16 and 17 2020.

The decision to defer the trial to next year was made after Mupfumira and Masoka told Harare magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi that they could not start trial without the documents.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) recently arrested two foreign nationals after they violently confronted police officers who were in the company of municipal police.

Posting on its Twitter handle, ZRP said the officers had visited the foreigners’ premises as they were operating without a licence.

The statement reads:

“Two foreign nationals were arrested after they violently confronted some police officers who had accompanied City Council officers to their premises, which they were operating without a licence.

Members of the public are urged to cooperate with the police while they will be discharging their lawful duties.

By A Correspondent- The cancer of child marriage continues to raise its ugly head in Makoni where 89 under-age schoolgirls have dropped out of school to get married after falling pregnant.

The statistics are contained in a report by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in Makoni titled “Drop outs due to pregnancy – 2019”.

The schoolgirls fell pregnant between January and September 2019 and the figure could have been under-reported as some schools failed to submit their statistics on time.

The statistics could also have swelled in October, November and December.

So shocking and disturbing are the revelations that even juveniles in primary schools were not spared, as eight of them dropped out due to pregnancy.

Rural schools are the most affected as out of the 30 affected ones, only one is an urban school. Chiundu High tops the list with 18, followed by Inyati Mine High with 17. Nyamusosa Secondary School and Manonga have seven each while Ruombwe and Dumbamwe have six and five, respectively,

The 24 schools have statistics ranging between one and four.

The youngest girl to fall pregnant was 13 years old while out of the 89, only two are above 18. The shocking figures have left a lot of questions unanswered on whether young girls have clear understanding of abstinence, safe sex and the effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health education in schools.

It has been argued that there were serious gaps in youth sexual and reproductive health issues in rural and resettlement schools resulting in young girls being lured into risky and premature unprotected sex.

Such risky engagements expose them to devastating effects such as obstetric fistula, risk of HIV infection, physical, economic and spiritual trauma.

Makoni District National Aids Council Co-ordinator Mr Amnot Chipandamira said tremendous efforts were in place for the protection of the out-of-school girls, but results on the ground remain disturbing.

He said 1 945 girls are under the DREAMS project, but worryingly some of them were dropping out of school owing to pregnancy.

“Under the DREAMS project, 1 945 girls in primary and secondary schools are receiving funding in terms of fees, school uniforms and stationery. We are also taking drop-outs back to school so that they rebuild their lives. The programme has its fair share of success and challenges. Some girls are excelling, but we have sad scenarios where some beneficiaries are among those falling pregnant and dropping out.

“We are encouraging schoolchildren to abstain from indulging in sex before marriage. The education ministry does not allow condoms in schools as a matter of policy, so we do not educate them on safe sex methods. These girls are exposed to HIV, which is very sad. The HIV prevalence rate in the district is 11,3 percent,” he said.

Mr Chipandamira noted that out-of- school men were the main culprits targeting young girls.

“There is need to engage communities to protect young girls. Educating pupils while ignoring the community is a futile exercise. There is also need to regulate ‘bush boarding schools’ which are offering accommodation to learners close to schools. These are proving to be easy hunting grounds for child molesters,” he said.

Zimbabwe Rural Teachers’ Union president Mr Martin Chaburumunda bemoaned the situation saying there was need to engage community leaders to curb the scourge.

“It is not only peculiar to Makoni, but it is a national challenge. Schools offer Guidance and Counselling lessons where information relating to sex, diseases and general life issues is imparted to learners.

“Maybe there is need to review the content. Stakeholders must also be engaged because predators are found in their areas.

“School learners from disintegrated families are the most affected,” said Mr Chaburumunda.

Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba was not readily available for a comment.

-ManicaPost

Touching a woman has always led to a regime shift in Zimbabwe since 1980.

– Why is Mnangagwa panicking?

By Simba Chikanza| Every major regime shift in Zimbabwe has had a woman tied to it, all depending on how the woman is treated, a ZimEye caller analyses saying.

Zimbabwe’s economy began crashing from 1990, when Robert Mugabe began cheating on his ailing wife, Sally, John Smith continues.

A parallel report alleges Sally was assassinated while in hospital, in events that saw the current Health Minister who was just a dialysis technician, suddenly being conferred by ZANU PF the title medical doctor, without any qualification or training. (This is not to suggest that he had anything to do with her death, it is still history.)

When Mugabe finally married his girlfriend, Grace, on 17 August 1996, there was a major regime shift, that suddenly hit the country like an earthquake. War veterans as it were, besieged state house and forced him to dish out $50,000 to them each. The economy crashed as a result. War veterans emerged the new national stock holders.

The next major regime shift, began in 2014 and it was a woman behind it. Grace Mugabe got Vice President Joice Mujuru kicked out of power.

She would later kick out Emmerson Mnangagwa in Nov 2017. There was another major shift this time at a military level, a real coup. It was all about a woman. Grace was derided and called a prostitute. But many analysts say she could have actually become a better president because she was the better compromise, and the best bridge between the group made up of liberation fighters obsessed with the past, and the young population who are driven by a desire for the future.

The Zim economy has never been the same and Mnangagwa looted 5,9 billion from the central bank, RBZ within 5 months of removing the woman.

She would later mock the usurpers saying that they are running the country like a tuckshop.

It was one woman back then.

Today, we have not one, but 3 (three) of them, women in the presidium and every one of them, there is currently something happening around them, that is national, suddenly. Where are we going as a nation?

Mnangagwa has announced saying in 2030 I will still be here as president. Who is he talking to, and why is he panicking?

So far, his own wife, Auxillia has chased the ZANU PF leader through a maize field. She is no push over. CIOs are currently crying saying we are in trouble, the previous First Lady used to scold us at podiums, the new one literally beats us up at work.

This month, another woman is involved though differently. This is Mnangagwa’s deputy’s wife who has been abused by her husband. He earlier in the month sent policemen to brutally arrest her while stark naked inside her bathroom. No other woman has been treated like this since 1980. Police charges have been laid against her which point the same finger back to Chiwenga first and his boss, Mnangagwa second.

All her 5 kids were taken away from her, in violation against the law.

Will the land of Zimbabwe allow a woman to be abused like this?

By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa yesterday lauded leaders of opposition parties under the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) for their zeal and commitment towards nation-building and unity.

He also said next year, the focus will be on boosting productivity across all sectors of the economy, creating decent jobs, empowering citizens and providing safety nets for the vulnerable.

The President said this while addressing thousands of congregants during the third edition of the annual National Thanksgiving and Dedication Service at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Grounds here.

The President thanked the organisers of the church service, Faith for the Nation Campaign — an inter-denominational grouping of local churches, saying the event created an opportunity for the nation to come together for thanksgiving, renewed and lasting blessings.

It is a platform where believers meet the country’s leadership to intercede for the nation.

The President extensively quoted from the scriptures as he spread a message of love, hard work and nation-building.

“I find it most refreshing to be working with leaders who do not keep good ideas in their back pockets as political capital for later, but who come forward with those ideas for the sake of our beloved country and that is patriotism. The spirit of unity among us while still respecting and accommodating our rich diversity, views and opinions must be a part of all of us,” said the President.

“Let us continue to love one another as one people united by one flag, national anthem and by the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

President Mnangagwa met leaders of opposition parties at his farm outside Kwekwe in the final Polad meeting for the year to review progress as well as mark National Unity Day on December 22.

Polad, a platform for political parties that fielded presidential candidates in the 2018 harmonised elections to contribute to social, economic and political progress, was launched in May this year and 18 political parties were represented.

President Mnangagwa advised parties that continue to undermine Polad that there was power in unity.

MDC-Alliance has rejected dialogue under the auspices of Polad, preferring to talk exclusively to Zanu PF, claiming other parties were not necessary.

The President urged churches to complement Government efforts in promoting the country’s economic growth and development in pursuance of the national vision of transforming the economy into an upper middle-income status by 2030.

He said the country’s economic growth hinges on collaboration between the Government and churches, among other players.

“Indeed, we recognise the important role played by the church as you intercede for peace, harmony, unity and development in our nation as well as for the country’s leadership in general. Guided by the Word of God, you the church have a vital role as we pursue the objectives of the national vision and confront a world with its many challenges,” said President Mnangagwa.

“Meanwhile, the Bible says in James 2 v 14, ‘Faith without works is dead.’ We recognise the many developmental projects and philanthropic works done by the churches of Zimbabwe in general. These include schools and health facilities dotted around the country and we acknowledge your contribution to various sectors of the economy.”

He urged churches to increase productivity in all their projects in pursuit of Vision 2030.

“We encourage you to increase productivity in all your respective projects, collectively as churches and in your individual pursuits. Vision 2030 depends on investment by each and every one of us for its success. Let us all put shoulder to the wheel and work for Genesis 3 v 19 says, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” said President Mnangagwa.

He urged churches to continue playing a key role in protecting society’s moral fibre through preaching the gospel of love, peace, justice and forgiveness at household and national level.

“A strong spiritual leadership is integral as it influences the nation’s conscience and curbs wayward tendencies,” said President Mnangagwa.

Turning to devolution, he urged churches to promote local economic development through the utilisation of local resources.

“God gave us dominion over all things here on earth. During our lifetime, let us be good stewards of all that has been put under our care for the benefit of generations to come. Let us leverage our God-given resources to grow our economy. As we accelerate the implementation of devolution, I urge the church to promote local economic development from ward level upwards, through the full utilisation of resources found within our communities,” he said.

President Mnangagwa reiterated that the country would not revert to the multi-currency system and urged citizen to embrace the local currency.

“No country can develop without its own currency. As you are aware, we are now using our own currency and I urge all of us to accept it, use it and be proud of it and also defend it from all forms of attack. There is no going back to the multi-currency system,” he said.

The President said his Government remains committed to transforming the economy into an upper middle income in line with Vision 2030, despite illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States, UK and their allies.

“As Government, we are accelerating our quest to speedily attain Vision 2030, to become a middle-income economy. In 2020, we will focus on ensuring higher productivity across all sectors of the economy, creating decent jobs, empowering our people and satisfying their needs to improve their standard of living,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said the programmes to ensure the availability of affordable transport and healthcare were ongoing, with more Zupco buses expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

The President said the Government has ordered more drugs and equipment for health institutions.

He said the Government will continue to ensure that vulnerable communities access food relief, including speeding up the rehabilitation, development and modernisation of infrastructure.

President Mnangagwa also appealed to churches to pray for more rains and a good harvest in light of the impact of climate change.

He commended churches and the generality of Zimbabweans for embracing the national clean-up campaign, which is conducted every first Friday of the month.

“As we strive to restore a spirit of cleanliness in our nation, I am pleased to see that the church is playing an active role in the national clean-up programme. Deuteronomy 23 prescribes that there must be a designated place outside the camp where refuse is disposed of. In the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 7, we are instructed to cleanse ourselves from the rubbish that might cling to us,” said President Mnangagwa.

“We also thank the Lord for the enthusiasm with which Zimbabweans from all walks of life and of all ages have embraced this programme. The ultimate aim is for all of us to adopt new attitudes and habits by making sure that filth, including corruption cease to be a feature of our lifestyle, surroundings and communities.”

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Police detectives investigating the weird  six-metre long python case in which a commercial sex worker was allegedly found in possession of the giant reptile at a lodge are struggling to locate the Sakubva man who allegedly exposed the crime.

Simbarashe Mupuradzuva (40) who resides in Maonde is the key witness to the case.

He is the one who claimed to have discovered the snake and subsequently reported the matter to the police.

The chief suspect, Queen Mpofu, and the owner of the lodge, Loice Samhere, have since been arrested over the case and have appeared in court for initial remand.

The two women are facing charges of contravening Section 45 as read with Section 128 of the Parks and Wildlife Act which prohibits the hunting, keeping or possession of specified animals.

A police source close to the investigations said cops were failing to locate Mupuradzuva.

“If this witness is not located and summoned to appear in court to testify, this case will crumble like a deck of cards. He is the one who discovered the snake and he is the one who reported the matter to the police. He is no longer reachable on his mobile phone and officers have tried to look for him at his house in Sakubva but to no avail. No one really knows why he has suddenly disappeared, “ said the source who requested anonymity.

After the incident which went viral on social media, Mupuradzuva came out in the open and gave a harrowing account of how he discovered the snake at the lodge in an interview with The Weekender.

Initially, detectives arrested Mpofu over the case but Samhere was later picked up and subsequently apprehended over the same issue after Mpofu confessed to the cops that she was the owner of the snake.

Mpofu is alleged to have told the cops that she was only keeping the snake for Samhere.

However, Mpofu is now denying the case, saying she was never found in possession of the reptile.

-ManicaPost

Addressing delegates at a Thanksgiving and Dedication service in Bulawayo recently, FOG leader Andrew Wutawunashe said the country's leaders are sensitive to the people. Do you think President Emmerson Mnangagwa is sensitive to the people?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 30, 2019

By A Correspondent- Speaking at a Thanksgiving and Dedication service in Bulawayo recently, Reverend Andrew Wutawunashe of the Family of God Church (FOG) thanked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for calling on Zimbabweans to pray.

He said calls by the country’s first citizen on fellow Zimbabweans to pray unified the churches and showed that the country’s leader was sensitive to the people.

Said Wutawunashe:

“……We want to express particular appreciation for your sensitivity on calling upon the nation to pray. Our indigenous churches are rising up in unity.

Even when there have been challenges we want to thank God for leaders who have been sensitive to the people.

We have felt as we prayed and listened that as churches we must acknowledge before God that Zimbabwe is a blessed nation.”

The event was founded in 2000 and organised by Faith for the Nation Campaign. It brings together different church denominations.

This year, it was held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds under the theme, “Counting our Blessings – Let us through homegrown unity affirm work and pray to achieve our national vision”.

-StateMedia