By Own Correspondent| Council has resolved to enforce the collection of administration fees from former housing co-operatives and pay schemes as per the Council resolution and open accounts where members can pay administration fees towards the servicing of the stands.

According to minutes of a recent Education, Health, Housing and Community Services and Licensing Committee there has been concern over continued payment of administration fees to leaders of former housing cooperatives which were turned into pay schemes.

“In 2016, Council approved the Housing Pay Scheme Policy. This came about as a result of an outcry from co-operative members that co-operative executives were charging exorbitant administrative fees and not undertaking any servicing of the areas,” reads the minutes.

“Under the policy all new and old co-operatives were converted into Pay Schemes run by the Director of Housing and Community Services who would open an account where all individual Pay Scheme members would deposit administrative fees towards the servicing of their stands.

“Individual members would then sign Agreements of Sale with Council upon payment of land intrinsic value. Old co-operatives would surrender their database and payments to Council and members who had paid land intrinsic value would sign individual Agreements of Sale with Council. Council would take over the collection of administrative fees from the Pay Schemes.

“The Committee now expressed concern that regardless of such a policy having been adopted by Council, certain co-operative executives continued to charge administration fees on their members which was in direct contravention with the policy,” read the minutes.

The Director of Housing and Community Services, Mr Addmore Nhekairo, was requested to communicate with all housing Pay Scheme and former Co-operatives asking them to desist from charging members any administrative fees as this was now the prerogative of Council.

“The Director of Housing and Community Services was further requested to take over the administration of housing Pay Schemes, former Co-operatives and ensure he opened accounts where administration fees would be deposited and sign individual Agreements of Sale with pay scheme members who had paid land intrinsic value,” read the minutes.

By Patrick Guramatunhu| Nelson Chamisa met former South African president Thabo Mbeki and this is what he had to say: 

“We want dialogue that is meaningful, where the political will to change for the benefit of Zimbabweans outweighs political expediency. Dialogue must deliver true change and real reforms. When we shake hands let us be agreeing to truly walk in the same direction, a new direction.

“Democracy can’t exist without a true commitment to happiness, freedom and peace. Our political impasse cannot continue. We stand firm on the principle that none but ourselves can bring about the true change we need. Real issues affecting us all must be at the heart of any dialogue.”

Former President Mbeki has gone to meet many of the other opposition leaders who have already acknowledge Mnangagwa and the Zanu PF regime as the legitimate winners of last year’s elections; a sign Mbeki is in the country to talk MDC to join POLAD. 

There is nothing in Chamisa’s twitter to suggest Mbeki will take the Zanu PF bull by the horns and tell the regime it is illegitimate and must step down. Nothing! 

By blatantly rigging last year’s elections, failing to stamp out corruption, shooting innocent protestors, etc. President Mnangagwa confirmed that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state. All his wittering about the November 2017 coup delivering a new democratic dispensation is all just hot air!

As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. 

The claim by Nelson Chamisa that his proposed dialogue and shaking hands with Mnangagwa will be enough to revive the economy is just another blast of hot air. The inclusion of a few MDC leaders in the Zanu PF cabinet will not change the fact that this regime rigged last year’s elections and hence change the country’s pariah state status. 

No one will be fooled by the addition of a few MDC leaders into this Mnangagwa regime; just as no one was fooled by the inclusion of Professor Mthuli Ncube, Kirsty Coventry, etc. into the cabinet. The new administration will be a Zanu PF dictatorship in all but name.

All Chamisa is after is a chance to be minister and get back on the gravy train. MDC had no vision to share during the 2008 GNU and it has no vision now.

It is clear, President Mbeki is pushing for a new Zanu PF and MDC GNU. The two parties failed to get any meaningful democratic reforms implemented during the 2008 GNU they will do no better now.

Zimbabwe’s economic crisis is dire; unemployment has remained at 90% ever since the hyperinflation years of 2004 to 2008; 90% of the population are poor with 34% now classified as extreme poverty according to a recent WB report; country’s health care has all but collapsed; etc. The country needs a working solution to end the crippling economic meltdown and it is so, so disappointing that all we will get is yet another political gimmick. 

SADC had the chance to redeem itself for failing to get the Zimbabwe crisis resolved during the 2008 GNU. It is clear President Mbeki’s proposed solution of giving power to Zanu PF will never works and the chance is, once again, being wasted. Thanks for nothing President Mbeki!

SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com

Lawyers representing Marry Mubaiwa, the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, are expected to file a bail application in the High Court today challenging the decision by the magistrate’s court to deny her bail.

Mubaiwa was on Monday remanded in custody to December 30 by Mr Chrispen Mberewere after being charged with attempted murder, fraud and foreign currency externalisation.

Mr Taona Nyamakura of Mtetwa and Nyambirai Legal Practitioners, who is representing Mubaiwa, confirmed the development yesterday.

“We wanted to file the bail application today (yesterday) but could not because we failed to get the record of proceedings from the Magistrates Court together with the ruling, which we wanted to attach to our application,” he said.

“We are, therefore, going to file it tomorrow (today) without those papers because we heard that some of the papers would only be available by Friday.”

Mubaiwa is being charged with attempting to murder VP Chiwenga, illegally externalising US$1 033 000, laundering US$990 000 and fraudulently seeking to upgrade their customary union to a civil marriage without her husband’s consent.

The attempted murder charge arose from the time she accompanied VP Chiwenga to South Africa in July for urgent medical attention.

Own Correspondent|Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba has called for the arrest of MDC leader Nelson Chamisa for allegedly calling for renewed sanctions on the country.

Speaking on a point of privilege in parliament on Tuesday, Chinotimba accused the MDC President of destroying Zimbabwe by allegedly calling for sanctions in his recent foreign trips.

Full extract of Chinotimba’s debate in parliament.

On a point of privilege Madam Speaker,  I think we have come to a point where Parliament should do its job.  This country is now in tatters because of some people.  To be honest with you, a senior who was once a Parliamentarian left Zimbabwe and went to Germany, Britain and America to ensure that this country suffers economically. We have been quiet but it is now time that we come up with legislation with a mandatory sentence for people who go out of the country and advocate for sanctions that economically harm the nation to be arrested.    People are suffering and they are living in poverty yet they are the same people who are supposed to vote for them.  It is time that as authorities of this nation we interrogate these issues, especially countries like America

Correspondent|Alliance president, Nelson Chamisa is expected to travel to Bulawayo and meet his party’s National Council Thursday and brief it on his meeting this week with former South Africa president, Thabo Mbeki in Harare.

Sources in the party confirmed Chamisa’s visit to the second capital city Tuesday.

“He will be in Bulawayo where he is expected to meet the National Council and touch on a number of key issues including his meeting with Mbeki on Monday,” one of the sources said.

The MDC National Council is the main decision-making body of the party in between congresses.

Although Swithern Chiroodza, the MDC Alliance Bulawayo province spokesperson confirmed that Chamisa would be in Bulawayo, he could not divulge further details.

“The president is coming to Bulawayo to deliver his New Year’s message to the party’s structures. His address will touch on a wide range of structural and organisational issues. These will be the last crucial meetings of the year,” he said.

Mbeki jetted into Zimbabwe Monday and met President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chamisa and members of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD).

After his meeting with Mnangagwa, Mbeki said he was ready to assist Zimbabwe in resolving the prevailing current challenges and also urged Sadc to assist the country.

COMMUNITIES in Matobo District, Matabeleland South are still afraid to open up on the Gukurahundi atrocities resulting in some of them failing to access national documents, a Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission official said yesterday.

Speaking at a mop up exercise on the access to documentation at Matobo Rural District Council offices in Maphisa, ZHRC commissioner Japhet Ndabeni Ncube had to nudge people to speak about Gukurahundi.

He continuously assured them they would not be victimised for speaking out on the atrocities as the authorities wanted to establish the truth in order to assist them.

After assurances, a few people opened up and an elderly woman broke down as she narrated the circumstances leading to the disappearance of her father during the disturbances.

“I had to bribe my way to get a national identity card but up to now I don’t have a birth certificate as I lost it when we were running away from Gukurahundi in Tsholotsho. When I tried to get another birth certificate, I was told to bring witnesses to confirm my father’s disappearance and death. My uncle refused to go and testify on my behalf saying he was afraid to reveal that his brother disappeared during Gukurahundi,” said the elderly woman, as she broke down prompting ZHRC officers to excuse her from the meeting.

Commissioner Ncube said ZHRC was out to understand how Gukurahundi had affected the people and the elderly woman’s reaction was understandable.

Another woman also shared how her father disappeared during the night and was never seen again.

 She said she was only 10 years old at the time and up to now they have tried without success to get his death certificate.

“When we tried to get his death certificate to address some of the family problems, we were asked to bring proof of his death. We don’t know what happened to him but we suspect he was killed by the people who took him away,” she said.

What emerged during the meeting was that most people were afraid to talk about the subject. 

Some of the participants said during election campaigns, some politcians intimidated them by reminding them of the Gukurahundi attrocities if they dared to vote ‘wrongly’.

Comm Ndabeni Ncube said: “What is clear is that you are afraid to speak about Gukurahundi artrocities but we are saying there is nothing to fear. We are supposed to make recommendations to Government on how you can be assisted hence it is important for you to open up  that there is an appreciation of what you went through.”

Some people said they were free to open up to their traditional leaders and then the commission can then engage the leaders to get information.

One of the traditional leaders said some of the people do not want to be reminded about the dark past by being interrogated before being issued with national documents.

“People just want you to assist them get the national documents without being subjected to a lot of questions that remind them about the Gukurahundi atrocities,” he said.

Another traditional leader who asked not to be named said many people do not want to revisit the horrors of Bhalagwe camp, for example, where people were killed and dumped in disused mine shafts.

“Some people were dragged out of their homes at night and thrown down the shafts while they were still alive hence many are still afraid to discusss the atrocities,” he said. 

ZHRC chairperson Dr Elasto Mugwadi said the commission will meet the tradiional leaders as suggested by some people. 

“We will set up a date to meet traditional leaders that include the village heads, headmen and chiefs so that we explain our programme to them. We have realised that communities need to be sensitised on our programme. We want communities in this area to open up so that they can get national documents,” said Dr Mugwadi. 

Traditional leaders from Shurugwi are concerned with the labelling of their people as being behind the spate of killings and robberies in gold mining areas countrywide.

The chiefs said it was unfortunate that both mainstream and alternative media platforms and high-ranking officials were perpetuating the “MaShurugwi” label.

The “Mashurugwi” tag has become synonymous with violent machete-wielding gangs that terrorise gold panners, either to forcefully grab one’s gold or proceeds from a transaction or a gold-rich mine.

While there is a general agreement that the untoward behaviour started in Shurugwi, it has been adopted in almost all major mining areas and in some cases, towns and cities where the marauding machete-wielding youths intermittently invade beer drinking places.

Chief Banga, born Lameck Toindepi of Shurugwi, told said that there was no empirical evidence supporting the claim that the machete attackers were from his district.

He warned people to stop the labelling, saying there was a serious risk that people from Shurugwi would be alienated.

“This is one issue which people must not joke with,” said Chief Banga.

“From the arrests that police have made, I have not heard of a situation where people from our district are dominating the statistics.

“In fact, to be quite frank, I am not aware of any of my subjects partaking in these criminal activities.

“The problem is that we have the media and even people in official positions referring to the criminals as “MaShurugwi”.

“The reality is that almost every other gold panner has, at one time or the other, worked in Shurugwi because of the vast gold deposits we have in our area.

“So, when they then go to other areas, they probably then claim to originate from Shurugwi.”

Chief Banga said it was increasingly difficult for his people to go to other parts of the country in search of business and employment opportunities.

Chief Ndanga, born Christmas Musavengana, said it was wrong to associate the people with the machete attackers.

He called on law enforcement agencies to descend heavily on the violent gangs and afford communities an opportunity to go about their economic activities unhindered.

Chief Ndanga said police in the Midlands Province assured him that the situation was under control.

“For starters, I think it is grossly unfair to refer to criminals of this nature by any geographical location,” said Chief  Ndanga.

“It maligns the people of Shurugwi needlessly and it is my hope that people desist from this because even our consultations with the police show that these acts of violence were being committed by people from different parts of the country, not Shurugwi in particular.

“I am happy that the police have assured us that they have since moved into all hotspots and the peace that is synonymous with our country is back.”

Police statistics show that since March, 3 471 people have been arrested for possessing dangerous weapons such as machetes under an operation code named, “No to anarchy by artisanal miners”.

Bulawayo police will arrest bar tenders selling alcohol to already intoxicated patrons as they seek to reduce alcohol related accidents in the festive season.

The city’s police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said under Zimbabwean law, it is a crime to sell drunk patrons more beer.

“It is a punishable offence to sell alcohol to a drunk person. A drunk person is intoxicated and is unable to make rational decisions therefore it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that drunk patrons are protected from too much consumption and from themselves,” she said.

Chief Inspector Simango said the police will also be monitoring bars to ensure that they stick to the prescribed opening and closing hours.

She said the law enforcement agents will also be targeting bootleggers who sell alcohol illegally without liquor licenses.

“When a person is drunk, they still have to find their way home and we do not want situations of people lying all over passed out. We therefore call upon mangers and those in the liquor business top desist from selling to people in a drunken state. We also urge business owners who sell alcohol to adhere to opening and closing times,” she said.

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Cabinet considered and approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019 which the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs presented as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.

Some of the salient amendments to be effected will include the following:

(a) provision, under Section 94 of subsection (2) to allow the President-elect, as soon as he assumes office, to appoint two persons to be Vice Presidents, who shall take their oaths of Office before the Chief Justice or the next senior judge available as set out in the Third Schedule;

(b) setting out in Section 95 the conditions under which a Vice President will vacate office, which include resignation, removal by the President, serious misconduct, failure to uphold the Constitution or inability to perform the functions of the office due to physical or mental incapacity; (c) inclusion under Section 180 of a subsection allowing the President, upon recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, to appoint a sitting judge to be judge of a higher court wherever a vacancy at such a court arises;

(d) appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court for a non-renewable term of not more than 15 years, who may also be appointed as judges of the Supreme Court or High Court if they are eligible for such appointment, after completion of their term;

(e) that the retirement age for judges of the High Court, Labour Court and any other judges will be 70 years;

(f) that the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice, and judges of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts will hold office until they reach the age of 70 years, and thereafter may have their contracts renewed annually, upon production of a medical fitness certificate for a period not exceeding five years;

(g) insertion of a new section in the Constitution after Section 204 to include the appointment of the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet and his or her deputies by the President, in consultation with the Civil Service Commission, whose terms and conditions of service shall be as fixed by the President;

(h) appointment of the Public Protector and Deputy Public Protector by the Presiden, after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders; and

(i) appointment of a Prosecutor-General by the President in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission.

By A Correspondent| ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa literally turned into a stone as his hireling, the South African president Thabo Mbeki criticised MDC President Nelson Chamisa for allegedly disrespecting the courts.

Mnangagwa can be seen hand clasped and face down as Mbeki tells journalists of his view on dialogue.

Said Mbeki: ” “All of us respect the view of the people. And if people have queries, they must go to the courts. All of our countries in the region have got that provision that if you have a complaint you go to the judiciary. Once the court makes a ruling. You got to accept that.”

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To this, Mnangagwa’s body language had loud decibels. He appeared as if saying, ” I will let you do the talking Mbeki, this is what I hired you for.”

PICTURES

Own Correspondent|Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has endorsed broad-based dialogue after meeting all key players in Zimbabwe’s negotiations framework, the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) yesterday.

His meeting yesterday dispelled a bilateral arrangement between Zanu-PF and MDC-Alliance that was being pushed for by MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa.

Regarding the concourt ruling that says the winner of the 2018 polls is Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mbeki said: “all of us respect the view of the people. And if people have queries, they must go to the courts. All of our countries in the region have got that provision that if you have a complaint you go to the judiciary. Once the court makes a ruling. You got to accept that.”

On Monday, Mr Mbeki met Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House after which he held another meeting with Mr Chamisa.

Chamisa has always maintained that the gathering of all losing Presidential candidates in the 2018 elections holds no value as some do not have anything to bring to the table.

Own Correspondent|Accused by the court of public opinion of being used by probably Vice President Constantino Chiwenga to fight his wife Marry, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has rushed to clear itself of any ill feelings against the country’s first second lady.

The commission says they have arrested 101 suspects this year alone, 10 of which were high-profile cases including Marry’s case which according to them clears them of any targeting.

The commission also took time to clear a perception that it is targeting women more than men. The commission claims that of the 101 arrests, 86 were men, and of the 10 high-profile suspects, seven were also men.

Comm Makamure said the total of 101 suspects arrested on corruption related cases was as at Monday this week.

“We have 71 corruption cases in court,” he said. “That is the number of dockets that we have submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority. Of the 101 arrests we have made, 86 are men and 15 are women, that is only 15 percent of the total number of arrests made.

“Of the 10 high-profile cases, three are women, while seven are men. So you can see from those figures that the commission is not targeting women. The numbers speak for themselves.”

Comm Makamure said ZACC focused on corruption cases and not the context in which a case happened.

As such, it only acted on information available to it.

Other high-profile cases Zacc has handled include that of former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, former Cabinet Minister Prisca Mupfumira, Mubaiwa and former permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka.

“I would not want to comment on a case that is before the courts, but there are sentiments being expressed that she (Mubaiwa) is a victim,” said Comm Makamure.

“But as Zacc, we look at evidence that has been brought to the commission. There is no way Zacc would have investigated a matter that had not been brought to its attention. If you bring a matter to our attention, we spring into action. That is how we operate.

“The commission does not discriminate according to gender, political affiliation and one’s status in society. Our mandate is very clear, we are independent and we are executing our mandate in line with the dictates of the Constitution.

“We don’t care who the person is married or related to. We look at the merit of the corruption case and we deal with that.”

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Paul Nyathi|The ruling ZANU PF enjoying a comfortable two thirds majority in parliament continues to tear apart the 2013 people driven constitution.

Cabinet yesterday approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2019 which will effectively get rid of the presidential running mates close and replace it with the current set up where the President-elect appoints his two Vice Presidents.

Cabinet further approved the amendment of the constitution to give another ten years for the women quarter proportional representation while also providing for the setting aside of one constituency per province for youths also under proportional representation.

The 2013 Constitution, through Section 92, has a 10-year transitional clause that provides for the joint election of the President and two running mates selected by the Presidential candidate.

ZANU PF has always criticised the clause, saying it is an “American concept” that can potentially precipitate a political crisis by creating two centres of power.

Presenting the 45th Cabinet Meeting Decisions Matrix in Harare yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said her Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs counterpart, Ziyambi Ziyambi, presented the proposed amendments to Cabinet.

“Cabinet considered and approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019 which the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi presented as Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.

“Some of the salient amendments to be effected will include the following: Provision, under Section 94 of subsection (2) to allow the President-elect, as soon as he assumes office, to appoint two persons to be Vice Presidents who shall take their oaths of Office before the Chief Justice or the next senior judge available as set out in the Third Schedule.

“It also set out in Section 95 the conditions under which a Vice President will vacate office, which include resignation, removal by the President, serious misconduct, failure to uphold the Constitution or inability to perform the functions of the office due to physical or mental incapacity,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Minister Ziyambi recently said the concept had the effect of creating parallel centres of power.

“You all remember that it was one of the contentious issues when we had our Constitution and it was deferred for 10 years because it is a borrowed concept from America. It is not even an international best practice where you have a President given executive authority, we do not ordinarily want to create a parallel centre of power.

“We believe it is not desirable in our constitutional dispensation to create separate centres of power. We would rather have a President elected by the people and then appoints his team, Vice President and Cabinet; that is the thinking, that is what is practised in Southern Africa and several countries,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“We want to bring youths on board for them to continue with the country’s legacy. One youth from each of the country’s 10 provinces will be elected based on the party list on a proportional representation,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Source: State Media

By A Correspondent| MDC President Nelson Chamisa was poisoned (literally or figuratively) during the meeting with former South African president Thabo Mbeki yesterday, Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman has inferred.

Writing soon after the Mbeki meeting, Charamba wrote in response to a question that a brew was prepared for the MDC leader.

He stated categorically that a brew was truly prepared for Zimbabwe’s most powerful politician. He went further to elaborate that the type of drink prepared yesterday is one that will send the MDC leader into oblivion.

He also said that Chamisa will become confused to the point of losing his way home.

Charamba appeared unequivocal in his description of what is said will now befall the MDC leader, in a development that has already seen the top politician being criticised by analysts for stooping too low- compromising himself by meeting the former South African president who is already on a mission to destroy the MDC party having been clearly hired and publicly declared so, to work as a secret agent and furthermore a publicist for Mnangagwa.

Charamba had revealed that Mbeki’s mission in the following words, “Correct! The former President of South Africa offered his stature and access globally to help push Zimbabwe’s agenda to have sanctions removed and to ensure reconnection with the rest of the willing world.”

On the brew prepared for Chamisa yesterday, one Ntando Ncube had tweeted saying “Something is brewing here,” when Charamba responded saying,

“True; it did! The issue is when the brew will be served, and how many will lose their way home and into oblivion!!” – FULL TWEET BELOW

Lawyers representing Marry Mubaiwa, the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, are expected to file a bail application in the High Court today challenging the decision by the magistrate’s court to deny her bail.

Mubaiwa was on Monday remanded in custody to December 30 by Mr Chrispen Mberewere after being charged with attempted murder, fraud and foreign currency externalisation.

Mr Taona Nyamakura of Mtetwa and Nyambirai Legal Practitioners, who is representing Mubaiwa, confirmed the development yesterday.

“We wanted to file the bail application today (yesterday) but could not because we failed to get the record of proceedings from the Magistrates Court together with the ruling, which we wanted to attach to our application,” he said.

“We are, therefore, going to file it tomorrow (today) without those papers because we heard that some of the papers would only be available by Friday.”

Mubaiwa is being charged with attempting to murder VP Chiwenga, illegally externalising US$1 033 000, laundering US$990 000 and fraudulently seeking to upgrade their customary union to a civil marriage without her husband’s consent.

The attempted murder charge arose from the time she accompanied VP Chiwenga to South Africa in July for urgent medical attention.State media

We are deeply concerned by the sad developments that took place this evening at the SAPES Trust at the launch of Excel-gate, a book written by Prof Jonathan Moyo, which exposes how ZANU-PF rigged its way to power in 2018 with the help of the dirty hands of a compromised Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

I am reliably informed that some hired youths who were clad in MDC regalia disrupted the event in a desperate attempt to mislead the nation and world at large that the violent and disorderly conduct was a product of the MDC Youth Assembly.

Those involved in this regretful act are not part of the MDC, we in the MDC, we are a peace loving family and we deeply value the existence of freedoms, but will not tolerate the abuse of our paraphernalia.

Our intelligence has revealed that ZANU-PF members of the notorious Kwekwe based Mashurugwi group of terror, hired by one Owen Ncube were impersonating the MDC. This is a dangerous game, they must stop.

Mnangagwa’s blue eyed boys must stop taking advantage of the man-made poverty in our midst to use their ill-gotten wealth to send youths for unruly errands, these youths require sustainable jobs not anything short of that.

I warn the youths who were part of this shameful act and their handlers that it is a punishable offense to use our regalia and we will not hesitate to take appropriate measures.

Obey T. Sithole
MDC National Youth Chairperson

By A Correspondent| Zanu PF Youths have reportedly stormed the venue (SAPES Books) where former cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo’s book, ExcelGate, was scheduled to be launched on Tuesday.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) notified SAPES Books director Ibbo Mandaza that the launch could not go ahead as they did not have sufficient manpower to provide security.

Your notification letter requesting police manpower on launching your book on the 17th of December 2019 from 1700 hours to 2000 hours has been noted.

Officer Commanding Harare Central District Chief Superintendent O. Mugomeri wrote to Mandaza:

However, be advised that due to the short notice you gave us, we are not in a position to action your request.

Any inconvenience is sincerely regretted.

Farai Dziva|Auxillia Mnangagwa has effectively distanced herself from Marry Chiwenga at a time her colleague in charity and hospitality work needs her most.

Barely a few months ago the two moved together around the country “showcasing” their philanthropic efforts.

However, today Auxillia Mnangagwa has chosen to travel to Chachacha to distribute groceries to the elderly in the area, far away from the capital city where Marry is languishing in remind prison.

See below a report that has been published by a state run newspaper:

In the spirit of giving, caring and sharing associated with Christmas, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa is in Chachacha, Mutemeri village, Midlands Province, today.

She is giving the elderly groceries comprising food items, among other basic goods and performing household chores. She is washing dishes, cleaning houses, doing laundry and preparing meals.

Amai Mnangagwa baffled many when she left mbuya Ethas Mabope’s (86) house squeaky clean using cow dung as floor polish. She is visiting several homes in the area and planting fruit trees at each homestead.

Her show of love comes barely a week after she, through her Angel of Hope Foundation, donated an assortment of food items to children and old people’s homes.

Only yesterday, the mother of the nation rolled out a safety awareness campaign and engaged drivers and the travelling public in an effort to reduce accidents this festive season.
But it is her care for the elderly which has left people spellbound.

Own Correspondent|Leader of the opposition MDC, Nelson Chamisa spoke with what sounded like a changed heart after meeting former South African president Thabo Mbeki yesterday to suddenly announce that the standoff existing between his party and the ruling ZANU PF over the 2018 elections which the MDC says were rigged, needs to come to an end.

Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba has already revealed that Mbeki’a sole job is that of campaigning for sanctions against Mnangagwa blamed on the MDC for imposing them, to be removed.

Charamba wrote, ” Correct! The former President of South Africa offered his stature and access globally to help push Zimbabwe’s agenda to have sanctions removed and to ensure reconnection with the rest of the willing world.”

For over a year, Chamisa has been putting forward the term “legitimacy” before passing any comment on dialogue with his nemesis Emmerson Mnangagwa. He has also insisted on the fact that he is the true winner of the 2018 polls. But on Tuesday there was no mention whatsoever of his demands, sticking onto milds such as peace and happiness.

Nelson Chamisa posted on Twitter after meeting with Thabo Mbeki. Chamisa posted saying:

We want dialogue that is meaningful, where the political will to change for the benefit of Zimbabweans outweighs political expediency. Dialogue must deliver true change & real reforms. When we shake hands let us be agreeing to truly walk in the same direction,a new direction.

Democracy can’t exist without a true commitment to happiness, freedom & peace. Our political impasse cannot continue. We stand firm on the principle that none but ourselves can bring about the true change we need. Real issues affecting us all must be at the heart of any dialogue.

Mbeki who mediated the talks between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations which led to the formation of the Government of National Unity is in Zimbabwe where he yesterday met President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Chamisa. He is today expected to meet the POLAD group.

He is understood to be in the country to have a full appreciation of the crisis and to pay his condolences to Mugabe family following the passing on of former President Mugabe.

Chamisa’s spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda said the meeting between the two politicians has set a pace for a working relationship.

“Yesterday President Chamisa met with President Thabo Mbeki. The meeting considered a number of contemporary issues and also helped establish a working relationship between the two leaders,” said Sibanda.

Political analyst Pedzisayi Ruhanya warned the MDC of falling for a GNU

Ruhanya said, “Once beaten, twice shy. The MDC led by should apply its wits in rational, logical, robust, rigorous ways taking into account how it was duped in the GNU President Mbeki brokered that led to MDC crashing defeat in 2013. Never be excitable. Calm down, cool heads

“My view is that it’s both the internal (ZANU PF contradictions with security instability) and external Zimbabwe question of the corruption and decomposition of the political that brings President Mbeki to Zimbabwe. The opposition MDC must therefore treat these overtures carefully!”

Farai Dziva|Former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki has subtly urged MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to accept the outcome of the 2018 Presidential plebiscite.

Although he spoke in riddles, Mbeki called on the youthful opposition leader to “respect the decision of the courts.”

“Well, normally, I would say we must all of us respect the views of the people.

If people have queries, they must go to the courts because all the countries in the region have that provision that people can go and lodge their complaints about elections to the Judiciary. And once the courts have made a ruling, then we have got to accept that. So that’s generally the approach,”said Mbeki.

By Wilbert Mukori- “(Former SA President Thabo) Mbeki is in the country at invitation of President E.D. Mnangagwa. The two have just finished their meeting at State House, with former President likely to accede to requests for meetings from different personages including politicians,” announced George Charamba, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson.

“He might mean Madame Khupe, Misihairabwi, Mr Chamisa, Mr Isaac Maphosa and possibly former First Lady.

“The former President of South Africa offered his stature and access globally to help push Zimbabwe’s agenda to have sanctions removed and to ensure reconnection with the rest of the willing world.” 

Rubbish, everyone knows that the number one item on Zimbabwe’s national agenda is the country’s worsening economic meltdown. The situation is now so bad that 90% of the country’s population are  poor with 34% living in extreme poverty, according to a recent WB report. The country’s hospitals and clinics have all but closed for lack of doctors, nurses, medicine, equipment, power cuts, no water, etc., etc. 

Everyone can see that Zimbabwe is in a serious economic mess which, if not resolved a.s.a.p., will lead to a serious human tragedy and political instability that will suck the rest of Southern Africa. No doubt, Mnangagwa is hoping that President Mbeki will help him find a way out of the mess.

Of all people, President Thabo Mbeki will know that the root cause of Zimbabwe’s, seemingly, intractable economic and politic mess is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. The country has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship since 1980. The people could not remove Zanu PF from power even when it was evident the nation was desperate for change because the party rigged the elections. 

In 2008, after a particularly outrageous election in which Zanu PF had blatantly cheated and used wanton violence, SADC leaders led by President Mbeki rejected Zanu PF’s claim as winner of the elections and legitimate government. SADC leaders forced Mugabe together with MDC to form a Government of National Unity (GNU). The primary task of the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop a repeat of the cheating and violence debacle of 2008. 

Sadly not even one meaningful reform was implemented during the GNU. Not one! 

In an article “In defence of my Zimbabwe policy” published in February 2016, penned by President Mbeki himself, he admitted the GNU had failed to deliver its primary objective of getting the reforms implemented and ending Zimbabwe’s curse of rigged elections and bad governance.

So President Mbeki’s involvement in the Zimbabwe crisis will be his second bite at the cherry. The question that matters here then is whether he will make sure that the reforms, all of them, are properly and fully implemented and Zimbabwe’s next elections are free, fair and credible!

President Mbeki will have to look both Mnangagwa and Chamisa straight in the eyes and tell them failed to implement even one reform in 2008 and that it will be foolish to expect them to do so this time. 

Both Zanu PF and MDC are responsible for the mess in Zimbabwe, the former for dragging the nation into this mess and the latter by keeping the nation stuck in the mess. Both Zanu PF and MDC leaders have proven to be breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent, sell-outs and murderous tyrants. 

Both Mnangagwa and Chamisa are not just responsible for Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems, they are now the country’s number one problem. The two, and their respective political parties, cannot therefore be the solution in a situation in which they are the problem. 

To get out of the mess Zimbabwe must fully implement all the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA and we must get others to do this. It will be naive to trust Zanu PF and MDC leaders to implement the reforms when they failed to get even one reform implemented last time! 

Yes , getting Mnangagwa and Zanu PF to step down will not be a walk in the park. What he and his Zanu PF cronies must understand is that this is the only solution and that the consequences of failing to resolve the situation is the worsening economic situation. 

Mnangagwa and his cronies must be reminded that they rigged last year’s elections. They have no mandate, never had, to govern the country and the stubborn refusal to step down is nothing short of holding the nation to ransom. This is a very serious matter which Mnangagwa and his friends must weigh carefully before they cross the line! 

By A Correspondent- A South African-based Zimbabwean businessman was shot dead in a suspected hit in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on December 14 just after refuelling his car at a BP Garage.

Bhekimpilo Ndlovu, who for many years had been involved in the cross-border transport business, died when an unidentified man walked up to him and shot him at point-blank range several times before fleeing.

Alpha Media Holdings owner Trevor Ncube expressed shock over Ndlovu’s death using microblogging site Twitter. He said:

I’m in total shock and disbelief. A young, enterprising Zimbabwean shot and killed in Johannesburg. Bheki Ndlovu whom I called my malume (uncle) is no more. What a way to go!

The late “malayitsha” owned two buses and three Mercedes Benz Sprinter and was a respected businessman in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North, where he owned a shop and a grinding mill.

Ndlovu was reported to be in the process of suing a Zimbabwean man living in the United Kingdom, Jabulani Ncube, who is also known as Christopher Tshabalala in South Africa, over an adulterous affair with his wife, Nomazwe.

-Wires

MLO President Paul Siwela’s home was this morning stormed by Zimbabwe security agents again.

8 man dressed in navy blue work-suits, armed with AK47ns and driving a white Toyota Sienna without number plates raided Paul Siwela home this morning at 09h30 looking for him.

On their arrival 4 of them carrying cocked Ak47 rushed into the yard while 4 remained outside.

They found the gardener doing his work outside the house and asked him when last he saw Paul Siwela and his whereabouts. The petrified and terrified gardener told them that he has never met him and does not know where he was since he was employed when Paul Siwela was already in exile.

They then proceeded into the house where they found Paul Siwela’s daughter.They questioned her about Paul Siwela’s whereabouts to which she responded that she last saw him in 2013 when he left the country and had no idea on where he was at present.

The aggressive lot who were using crude and abusive language accused her of lying. They continued to interrogate her further, asking her where the rest of Paul’s children and family members were and why she remained in Zimbabwe and she told them that she was working as a teacher.

They then demanded the ID cards of both her and the gardener and took ID and contact numbers, issued them with their phone numbers, instructed them to call if they get info about Paul Siwela’s whereabouts.

Before they left they told Paul Siwela’s daughter to call her father and inform him that they need to meet him urgently to resolve his case because there is a new government.

We as MLO do not buy into this lie that they want to meet our leader to resolve the issues. If that was the case why were they armed with AK47ns? This is not a peaceful gesture at all but an act of cowardice by the government of Zimbabwe. We cannot be deceived we know that they are pursuing their agenda to assassinate Paul Siwela.

We challenge them to gather some courage and arrange a meeting in a neutral venue to discuss how Matabeleland and Zimbabwe can be separated without loss of blood as we have already sent them a Notice of Demand for the Restoration of Matabeleland.

We further state that harassing and abusing Paul Siwela’s family and workers will not solve anything.

For the record, today MLO President Paul Siwela once gain sent the Notice of Demand for the Restoration of Matabeleland to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa reminding him to give immediate attention to the notice. This is the third notice sent to the government of Zimbabwe. We advice the government of Zimbabwe not to view this as an act of cowardice but an important and right move to avoid destructive flames of war.

Izenzo kungemazwi!

Israel Dube

MLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs

By A Correspondent-  Suspended Bindura copper cable thief tried to escape from police custody with his hands cuffed and reportedly drowned in a sewage pond next to the police station on Monday.

Mashonaland Central acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Fidelis Dhewu confirmed the incident.

“I can confirm a case of sudden death in Bindura where Austine Tauro of Gulliver Compound drowned in a sewage pond next to Bindura Central Police Station after trying to run away,” Dhewu said.

Allegations are that two security guards Joseph Tapfumanei (32) and Kumbirai Charunda (35) from Freda Rebecca Mine arrested the now deceased Tauro and his accomplice Clayton Kanyangarakupe after finding them stealing copper cables at the mine.

The suspects were handcuffed and taken to Bindura Central Police Station.

Upon entering the police station, Tauro fled and jumped into a sewage pond where he drowned.

Tauro’s corpse was subsequently retrieved and conveyed to Bindura mortuary for post-mortem

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- A 30 year old Mvurwi police officer is in soup for allegedly kidnapping a Form 3 student and having consensual se_x with her for five months.

Bryson Muriritirwa appeared last week before Guruve resident magistrate Shingirai Mutiro facing kidnapping charges. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded out of custody to December 20.

Prosecutor Carson Kundiona alleged that in April, the police officer met the 16-year-old student and proposed love to her and she accepted.

Muriritirwa took the girl to a lodge in Mvurwi and had consensual se_x several times.

On September 20, the girl’s mother received information that her child was cutting school and was being taken to a hide out in Glendale by the police officer.

In October, Muriritirwa moved the girl from Glendale to Dhahwe Farm after receiving information that her mother was looking for her.

The mother filed a police, leading to Muriritirwa’s arrest.

In his defence, Muriritirwa said the girl lied to him that she was 19 years old.

“Your worship, this girl is my girlfriend and when I proposed love to her, she lied that she was 19 years old, so I thought I was dealing with an adult,” he said.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- An Intercape bus travelling from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Harare was attacked by a gang of eight armed robbers who stripped passengers of their cellphones, cash and jewellery.

The incident occurred near Kranskop tollgate on the N1 in Limpopo. South Africa Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo revealed on Tuesday that the robbers, who pretended to be passengers, pointed guns at the bus driver and ordered him to stop the vehicle.

He added:

“It is still unclear where the two got in. After stopping, another vehicle coming from behind with more robbers got into the bus and started robbing everybody.

The bus company confirmed that the incident occurred around 11 pm on Saturday, December 7.

It said in a statement:

This completely random, uncontrollable act by criminals masquerading as passengers is regretted by Intercape.

We would like to confirm that as an organisation we strive to keep our passengers safe at all times. Intercape would like to apologise to our most valued passengers for any inconvenience.

-TimesLives

By A Correspondent- Former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki has subtly urged MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to accept the outcome of the 2018 Presidential plebiscite.

Although he spoke in riddles, Mbeki called on the youthful opposition leader to “respect the decision of the courts.”

“Well, normally, I would say we must all of us respect the views of the people.

If people have queries, they must go to the courts because all the countries in the region have that provision that people can go and lodge their complaints about elections to the Judiciary. And once the courts have made a ruling, then we have got to accept that. So that’s generally the approach,”said Mbeki.

By A Correspondent- Former South African President Thabo Mbeki met political players in Harare today, Dr Thokozani Khupe, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, Lucia Mativenga, Priscilla Misihairabwi and Obert Gutu.

The discussion with the former South African President was around issues of the country moving forward through uniting of all political actors.

MDC T leader, Thokozani Khupe said they had come to an agreement that all political players in the country have to come together and speak together with one voice to move the country forward as Zimbabweans come first before any politicking.

Professor Madhuku reiterated that the problems being faced by Zimbabwe cannot be fixed by one political party but by all political players participating in the political arena.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Misihairabwi commended former SA President Mbeki, for having the interests of Zimbabwe at heart and urged all Zimbabweans to desist from insulting regional friends whom she said, are needed by Zimbabwe if the country is to move forward.

This comes after the former South African President met with President Emerson Mnangagwa and most loved MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa separately in Harare yesterday.

President Mbeki reiterated the need for SADC to follow up on its resolution of calling for the removal of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

-StateMedia

Own Correspondent|Esteemed journalist Violet Gonda shared the video on Twitter highlighting the indignity and harassment female prisoners go through as they are forced to share transportation with their male counterparts.

Check out the video below

Pindula|The ruling ZANU PF party has acknowledged that things have fallen apart in the country but refused to take the blame for the situation, instead, passing the buck onto the opposition MDC Alliance.

The Central Committee presented a report to the 18th national people’s conference held in Goromonzi last week, painting a gloomy picture on the state of affairs. Part of the report reads:

We know poverty is now pervasive among our communities. Unemployment remains a challenge. The health services sector, which underpins the wellness of our people, has become inadequate. Livelihoods remain fragile.

The report went on to highlight the political challenges faced in 2019 driven by the “immature” opposition MDC-A.

The opposition was blamed for focusing “its energies on disruptive political behaviour, which is misguided and unpatriotic, in an effort to effect regime change with the unholy alliance with the G40 misguided elements”.

A Zimbabwean woman who allegedly recruited people in a drug smuggling syndicate was reportedly killed in a hotel in China.

However, there is also a theory that reports of her death might be aimed at getting her underground and assume a new identity.

The drug queen is believed to be the one who recruited four Zimbabwean women who are facing 20 years in Mauritius after they allegedly smuggled 1,487 kg of heroin worth R22 million in their bellies and bags.

Reports filtering from sources close to the family say Blessings Tafadzwa Marufu who was married to one Kenneth Mutsena based in South Africa was found dead by cleaners in a hotel in China.

“She passed through here in Zimbabwe before she travelled to China where she was seen by a South African man in the hotel.

“We are told cleaners found her dead after noticing she had spent considerable time without coming out of her room.

“It’s being said a man was seen coming from her room and never returned,” said the source.

One source Nickson Museyamwa, who tracked Tafadzwa following the arrest of the four Zimbabwean women she recruited said she promised them huge amounts of money then eventually use them as drug mules.

“Blessings Tafadzwa Munatsa is the one who fled to China. She used to work as a Secretary at Christ Embassy in Joburg.

“She is the one who organised those T-shirts they were wearing and told them to lie to custom officials that they were going to a Roman Catholic church conference.

“Zimbos are being used as drug mules to Mauritius, they are obliviously fed heroin with instructions not to eat anything till they arrive at their destination so that they excrete pellets of heroine.

“The problem is people who know more are afraid to speak out coz they say the drug lords are dangerous,” said Musiyamwa.

Some reports say Tafadzwa could have been killed by the drug lord she worked with after her cover was blown.

— HMetro

A businessman identified as MacDonald Chapfika died suddenly in bizarre circumstances just outside Munhumutapa Building (which houses government offices) on Monday afternoon.

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: SUDDEN DEATH OF MACDONALD MAKAMBA CHAPFIKA OUTSIDE MUNHUMUTAPA BUILDING, ALONG SAMORA MACHEL AVENUE, HARARE.

This memorandum serves to place on record circumstances and initial investigations carried out on the above subject matter.

Informant: John Kayira aged 51 years.
Passport:  (Tanzanian National)
Deceased 1: Macdonald Makamba Chapfika aged 56 years.

Bus: Unknown

Circumstances
On 16 December 2019 at around 1500hrs, the informant who is a friend to the now-deceased received a phone call from the now-deceased informing him of a business meeting with government officials at Munhumutapa Building.

The informant proceeded to Chopchop Restaurant along Fife Avenue Harare where he met the now deceased. At around 1530hrs they drove to Munhumutapa Building using the informant’s vehicle a Mercedes Benz Blue TEC C220 white in colour on registration number AES 6901.

Upon arrival at Munhumutapa Building, they were directed to the boardroom where there were other participants of the meeting. They were offered some food and the now-deceased ate some chips and meat.

At around 1630hrs the now deceased made his presentation to the Government officials who included some Ministers and Ministry of Finance officials.

His presentation lasted for about 15 minutes and was based on the procurement of maize from outside the country for the Government.

Soon after making his presentation the now deceased and the informant left the boardroom proceeding to their parked vehicle just outside the building.

As they approached the main entrance the now deceased started to feel dizzy and had difficulty in seeing. He ordered the informant to collect the vehicle and pick him at the main entrance.

The informant rushed to fetch the vehicle and when he came back he saw the now deceased lying on the ground facing upwards. Some security details were attending to him pouring some water on his body to resuscitate him. A Mars ambulance (Alfa 1) was called to the scene and arrived around…

Standard|President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to dethrone chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni has angered his clan who have vowed to stick by their traditional leader.

Mnangagwa on Friday removed the outspoken Ntabazinduna chief from his position after the traditional leader’s chieftaincy was challenged by his brother.

The Ndiweni elders and Inkosi Advisory Council, Ntabazinduna village headmen, faith groups and the Ntabazinduna community said Ndiweni remained their substantive chief.

“It is only the Ndiweni clan that can enter that kraal and select the bull for their herd and they have done that,” they said in a joint statement.

“No one else can do that, irrespective of their position in society or in the country.

“To make it abundantly clear, the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe cannot enter any chieftaincy clan’s kraal and select the bull for that clan,” they said.

“If a community is adamant about their chieftaincy and their heir apparent, there is not a great deal the Office of the President can do about it if they wanted another candidate.

“The only thing they can do is to introduce corruption.”

The government has been accused of fighting in Ndiweni’s brother Jorum’s corner. Jorum claims he is the rightful heir to Chief Khayisa Ndiweni’s throne because he is the first born son in the family.

Ndiweni, however, told Alpha Media Holdings chairperson Trevor Ncube on the platform In Conversation with Trevor that clan leaders used other criteria in choosing him ahead of his brother.

“It’s not naturally all the time [that] the first born son becomes chief in the chieftainship succession or even in the monarchy succession with the Khumalo clan,” he said.

“It is only one criteria that you are addressing; that the child is born first, the first born son, then follows a test for that son — that son’s character, the conduct, the morality, all those things come into play.”

“So yes, you passed the first criteria of being the first born son, but the remainder of it, do you actually fit that office because you have to govern people.

“You have to be able lead those people, so every single chieftaincy or single royal family has that second part of the criteria…that (Khayisa) precedence goes to two to four generations back.

“There is always this criteria that comes in, that kicks in to say God has given you the grace to be first born, but qualify your character.”

The Ndiweni elders accuse Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu, the ruling party, the chief’s brothers Jorum and Douglas of working with the Matabeleland North provincial chiefs council to cause disturbances in the family.

Meanwhile, activists have launched an online fundraising compaign to buy Ndiweni a car after the government indicated that it will seize the vehicle it gave him.

The activists also want to pay the chief allowances, which the government said it was withdrawing.

“We have launched a crowd funding campaign,” Ndiweni’s spokesperson Nothiwani Dlodlo said.

“We want to buy at least four vehicles for him, a Benz, Landcruiser and two escort vehicles.

“We are coordinating the initiative, we are happy the MDC has also taken a stand on this.”

Mnangagwa’s government is accused of trying to silence Ndiweni because he is critical of its policies. The chief is also vocal about the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW

https://youtu.be/IPny1H3f_zg

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT – CABINET TODAY – https://t.co/Mxn6x8uD41

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 17, 2019

Dear Editor

A Beta Bus plying the Harare Lusaka route has been involved in an accident.

The bus reportedly caught fire leaving several passengers injured.

The injured are being attended to at Mutendere Mission hospital.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest updates.

MLO President Paul Siwela’s home was this morning stormed by Zimbabwe security agents again.

8 man dressed in navy blue work-suits, armed with AK47ns and driving a white Toyota Sienna without number plates raided Paul Siwela home this morning at 09h30 looking for him.

On their arrival 4 of them carrying cocked Ak47 rushed into the yard while 4 remained outside.

They found the gardener doing his work outside the house and asked him when last he saw Paul Siwela and his whereabouts. The petrified and terrified gardener told them that he has never met him and does not know where he was since he was employed when Paul Siwela was already in exile.

They then proceeded into the house where they found Paul Siwela’s daughter.They questioned her about Paul Siwela’s whereabouts to which she responded that she last saw him in 2013 when he left the country and had no idea on where he was at present.

The aggressive lot who were using crude and abusive language accused her of lying. They continued to interrogate her further, asking her where the rest of Paul’s children and family members were and why she remained in Zimbabwe and she told them that she was working as a teacher.

They then demanded the ID cards of both her and the gardener and took ID and contact numbers, issued them with their phone numbers, instructed them to call if they get info about Paul Siwela’s whereabouts.

Before they left they told Paul Siwela’s daughter to call her father and inform him that they need to meet him urgently to resolve his case because there is a new government.

We as MLO do not buy into this lie that they want to meet our leader to resolve the issues. If that was the case why were they armed with AK47ns? This is not a peaceful gesture at all but an act of cowardice by the government of Zimbabwe. We cannot be deceived we know that they are pursuing their agenda to assassinate Paul Siwela.

We challenge them to gather some courage and arrange a meeting in a neutral venue to discuss how Matabeleland and Zimbabwe can be separated without loss of blood as we have already sent them a Notice of Demand for the Restoration of Matabeleland.

We further state that harassing and abusing Paul Siwela’s family and workers will not solve anything.

For the record, today MLO President Paul Siwela once gain sent the Notice of Demand for the Restoration of Matabeleland to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa reminding him to give immediate attention to the notice.

This is the third notice sent to the government of Zimbabwe. We advice the government of Zimbabwe not to view this as an act of cowardice but an important and right move to avoid destructive flames of war.

Izenzo kungemazwi!

Israel Dube

MLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs

By A Correspondent- An Intercape bus travelling from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Harare was attacked by a gang of eight armed robbers who stripped passengers of their cellphones, cash and jewellery.

The incident occurred near Kranskop tollgate on the N1 in Limpopo. South Africa Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo revealed on Tuesday that the robbers, who pretended to be passengers, pointed guns at the bus driver and ordered him to stop the vehicle. He added:

It is still unclear where the two got in. After stopping, another vehicle coming from behind with more robbers got into the bus and started robbing everybody.

The bus company confirmed that the incident occurred around 11 pm on Saturday, December 7.

It said in a statement:

This completely random, uncontrollable act by criminals masquerading as passengers is regretted by Intercape.

We would like to confirm that as an organisation we strive to keep our passengers safe at all times. Intercape would like to apologise to our most valued passengers for any inconvenience.

-TimesLives

By A Correspondent- An Intercape bus travelling from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Harare was attacked by a gang of eight armed robbers who stripped passengers of their cellphones, cash and jewellery.

The incident occurred near Kranskop tollgate on the N1 in Limpopo. South Africa Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo revealed on Tuesday that the robbers, who pretended to be passengers, pointed guns at the bus driver and ordered him to stop the vehicle. He added:

It is still unclear where the two got in. After stopping, another vehicle coming from behind with more robbers got into the bus and started robbing everybody.

The bus company confirmed that the incident occurred around 11 pm on Saturday, December 7. It said in a statement: This completely random, uncontrollable act by criminals masquerading as passengers is regretted by Intercape.

We would like to confirm that as an organisation we strive to keep our passengers safe at all times. Intercape would like to apologise to our most valued passengers for any inconvenience.

-TimesLive

By A Correspondent- A 30 year old Mvurwi police officer is in soup for allegedly kidnapping a Form 3 student and having consensual se_x with her for five months.

Bryson Muriritirwa appeared last week before Guruve resident magistrate Shingirai Mutiro facing kidnapping charges. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded out of custody to December 20.

Prosecutor Carson Kundiona alleged that in April, the police officer met the 16-year-old student and proposed love to her and she accepted.

Muriritirwa took the girl to a lodge in Mvurwi and had consensual se_x several times.

On September 20, the girl’s mother received information that her child was cutting school and was being taken to a hide out in Glendale by the police officer.

In October, Muriritirwa moved the girl from Glendale to Dhahwe Farm after receiving information that her mother was looking for her.

The mother filed a police, leading to Muriritirwa’s arrest.

In his defence, Muriritirwa said the girl lied to him that she was 19 years old.

“Your worship, this girl is my girlfriend and when I proposed love to her, she lied that she was 19 years old, so I thought I was dealing with an adult,” he said.

-Newsday

Farai Dziva|Auxillia Mnangagwa has effectively distanced herself from Marry Chiwenga at a time her colleague in charity and hospitality work needs her most.

Barely a few months ago the two moved together around the country “showcasing” their philanthropic efforts.

However, today Auxillia Mnangagwa has chosen to travel to Chachacha to distribute groceries to the elderly in the area, far away from the capital city where Marry is languishing in remind prison.

See below a report that has been published by a state run newspaper:

In the spirit of giving, caring and sharing associated with Christmas, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa is in Chachacha, Mutemeri village, Midlands Province, today.

She is giving the elderly groceries comprising food items, among other basic goods and performing household chores. She is washing dishes, cleaning houses, doing laundry and preparing meals.

Amai Mnangagwa baffled many when she left mbuya Ethas Mabope’s (86) house squeaky clean using cow dung as floor polish. She is visiting several homes in the area and planting fruit trees at each homestead.

Her show of love comes barely a week after she, through her Angel of Hope Foundation, donated an assortment of food items to children and old people’s homes.

Only yesterday, the mother of the nation rolled out a safety awareness campaign and engaged drivers and the travelling public in an effort to reduce accidents this festive season.
But it is her care for the elderly which has left people spellbound.

Farai Dziva|Media mogul and Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor, Trevor Ncube has waded into the Marry Chiwenga saga – inferring that the former super model is a victim of ” selective application of the law.”

Ncube believes the charges against Marry are somehow exaggerated.

“I have never met Marry Mubaiwa Chiwenga. I don’t know her from a bar of blue soap.

She has become the latest victim of selective application of the law and weak compromised/national institutions. What she is going through can happen to any of us,” tweeted Ncube.

Marry is facing several charges including attempted murder, according to court documents.

Farai Dziva| Seasoned publisher and Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor, Trevor Ncube has said Zimbabweans should not gloat over Marry Chiwenga’ s woes.

According to Ncube, the former super model is a victim of ” selective application of the law.”

Ncube believes the charges against Marry are somehow exaggerated.

“I have never met Marry Mubaiwa Chiwenga. I don’t know her from a bar of blue soap.

She has become the latest victim of selective application of the law and weak compromised/national institutions. What she is going through can happen to any of us,” tweeted Ncube.

Marry is facing several charges including attempted murder, according to court documents.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has today met with leaders of smaller parties, a day after meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.

Mbeki is currently in the country meeting political leaders amid indications that a national dialogue is in the offing to solve the current economic impasse that has seen the country degenerate back to the 2008 chaos.

Details of the meeting have not been revealed.

View pictures below.

Farai Dziva|Former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki has subtly urged MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to accept the outcome of the 2018 Presidential plebiscite.

Although he spoke in riddles, Mbeki called on the youthful opposition leader to “respect the decision of the courts.”

“Well, normally, I would say we must all of us respect the views of the people.

If people have queries, they must go to the courts because all the countries in the region have that provision that people can go and lodge their complaints about elections to the Judiciary. And once the courts have made a ruling, then we have got to accept that. So that’s generally the approach,”said Mbeki.

By A Correspondent- Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo on Thursday last week told the Senate that government had not banned peaceful demonstrations and marches adding that the government’s anti-sanctions march held late this year was successful and its impact was work in progress.

The march held on October 25, was poorly attended even after the ruling Zanu PF party tried to entice its supporters and Zimbabweans to attend by providing chicken and chips packs and soft drinks.

Mashonaland West Senator Joseph Chirongoma (Zanu PF) asked Moyo to explain if countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe heeded the message after the October march.

“I have said in many fora that sanctions are a mass destruction weapon because they are not discrete in terms of who they are going to affect and because of that the United Nations food security rapporteur, who came into this country, highlighted that one of the reasons why Zimbabwe was having certain difficulties is because of sanctions and the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera),” Moyo said.

“Therefore, we believe that this psychological mobilisation of the world to sympathise with the position of Zimbabwe is actually having an impact.”

Moyo said the United States was generally slow in removing sanctions given that the late former South African President Nelson Mandela died while still being labelled a terrorist.

“Of course, there are some who believe the internet and there are some who are seeing the light of reform in terms of the second republic. You will recall that even Mandela died when he was still classified as a terrorist. It is not easy to actually remove sanctions,” he said.

Responding to Midlands Senator Morgen Komichi (MDC Alliance) on whether Zimbabwe was engaging the US to discuss the issues raised in Zidera so that a solution can be found on the sanctions issue, Moyo said:

“The major target for our re-engagement has been the United Kingdom and the European Union. What I can assure you now is that we have communication. We speak to each other directly with the US. Even if we differ, but we differ as we discuss. There has been quite a lot of progress, to an extent that there is discussion which is taking place within the US now.”
On the progress made in re-joining the Commonwealth, Moyo said everything is on course.

“So far we have not heard any dissenting voices in as far as our rejoining the Commonwealth is concerned. We believe everything is on course for Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting 2020, in Kigali,” he said.

Moyo said issues raised by the British Parliament that the obstacles to Zimbabwe rejoining the Commonwealth were to do with the human rights situation were their perception.

“What they say is their perception in as far as human rights abuses are concerned. They believe that this government has banned demonstrations for good or something like that. As far as I know, it is not the policy of this government to ban peaceful marches and demonstrations – that is not the case,” Moyo said.

-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| A top Harare businessman, Macdonald Makamba Chapfika died mysteriously yesterday after attending a meeting with government officials where he ate some meat and chips.

According to a memo circulating on social media, Chapfika died outside Munhumutapa building while on his way out of a meeting with Ministry of Finance officials.

Read the below memo for full details;

THE ruling Zanu PF party has unwittingly admitted failure to address the socio-economic challenges that have reduced the majority of Zimbabweans to abject poverty.

But the party has, however, accused the opposition MDC of causing the challenges.

In its central committee report to 18th national people’s conference held in Goromonzi last week, the party admitted to have superintended over a collapsed health sector, growing levels of unemployment and poverty, among other challenges, and also indicating that people had lost trust in the party’s promises to fight corruption.

“We know poverty is now pervasive among our communities. Unemployment remains a challenge. The health services sector, which underpins the wellness of our people, has become inadequate. Livelihoods remain fragile,” the report by the commissariat read.

“However, our President Cde Dr (Emmerson) ED Mnangagwa has remained resourceful and an inspiration to all by coming up with economic policies such as Transitional Stabilisation Programme. The department extends (its) deepest gratitude to the entire membership for remaining loyal to the party in the most trying and difficult socio-economic challenges.”

The report further stated that the Zanu PF government, despite all the glaring challenges in the country, would rule beyond 2023 and address the challenges.

While admitting that the country was in a crisis, the Zanu PF commissariat report, however, tried to shift blame to the opposition MDC, civic society and some embassies.

“2019 has been a difficult year for our party and country. The year was characterised by political challenges mostly driven by the plotting of immature main opposition party, namely the MDC-A, which focused its energies on disruptive political behaviour, which is misguided and unpatriotic, in an effort to effect regime change with the unholy alliance with the G40 misguided elements,” the report read.

But MDC spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said it was absurd for a party that “stole” the 2018 elections to blame others for its failure to plot a successful course for the country.

“How are we responsible for the national crisis? We are not responsible for running government. It is that illegitimate regime that is responsible and where do we come in?” Tamborinyoka charged.

“We are not responsible for illegal taxes they collect after imposing them on people. We have not abused US$3 billion (command) agriculture (funds). So how do we become responsible for the crisis. Everyone knows we are where we are because of Zanu PF, who rigged the 2018 elections.”

On corruption, Zanu PF said there was the perception that the party had failed to deal with the vice and that was now creating problems in their recruitment drive as people were now shunning them.

“The perception that government lacks commitment to tackle the endemic problem of corruption has been posing a serious threat to party mobilisation efforts, but slowly, the public is beginning to appreciate government is not sleeping on the job,” the report read.

The party, however, revelled in electoral glory after winning a number of by-elections this year.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo was said to be in a meeting yesterday and could not immediately comment on the matter.