MUTARE - ZANU PF officials in Chimanimani East are denying agricultural inputs to everyone they suspect to have voted against their party in the just-ended harmonised elections.

The practice has been so brazen such that some people in Muchadziya and Ngangu had inputs confiscated after being issued as the political environment continued to degenerate into chaos after a peaceful campaign and voting period.

Elderly women sobbed while a Zanu PF election agent exchanged blows with a known MDC supporter at a business centre in Muchadziya last Saturday.

Those who had been given inputs in Ngangu village had them withdrawn as ruling party officials sought to punish everyone they perceived to have voted against their party.

Zanu PF Manicaland chairperson Mike Madiro said he had not heard of any such complaints but said this was not in line with his party’s position.

“I’ve not heard any such issue, so it is difficult for me to comment but that is certainly not... (in line with) our party policy.

“The president has reiterated that no one is going to starve because their political opinion differs from ours.

“We want everyone to be confident with our party’s leadership and we hope that those reports are not true,” Madiro told Eastern News yesterday.

Councillors’ role in agricultural inputs distribution has been cited as a weakness that subjects the process to politicisation, critics say.

What particularly miffs locals is that there appears to be nothing but greed behind it.

“Although the councillor for Muchadziya won, he is either just being plain greedy or pathologically vindictive to even deny people who voted for him only because the MDC had a few hundreds. He lacks appreciation of an election as a democratic process,” Batsirai Murenje, a losing MDC candidate, said.

Opposition activists are, however, vowing to target Zanu PF officials and demand their shares of the inputs at their homes if government fails to make a quick redress.

“We are going to visit these goons in their homes and demand our share if government does not put an end to this madness.

“These inputs are paid for by all of us as taxpayers and we will not allow such abuse of State resources like this,” an MDC official said.

He said Zanu PF was behaving like sour winners and their conduct was akin to criminalising opposition politics.

Meanwhile, political tension continues to build across the countryside with an MDC election agent’s home being torched in Nyanyadzi this week.

Daniel Hanyana of Hot Springs in Chimanimani West had his hut burnt down allegedly by a well-known Zanu PF supporter in a matter that has since been reported to the police.

Although efforts to get a comment from Manicaland provincial police spokesperson Tavhiringwa Kakova were not successful, the case was reported at Nyanyadzi Police Station under RRB number 309735.

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Landmine clearance exposes Vumba

MUTARE - The clearing of landmines along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border has opened up the country to new risks — Vumba Mountain’s Miombo forests are now at an increased mercy of Mozambican charcoal producers.

Having cleared their own hardwood forests to charcoal production, the absence of booby traps has made the eastern highlands’ eco-tourism hub particularly attractive to Mozambicans. And they are now crossing the porous border in droves.

Environmental government departments — Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), Environmental Management Agency (Ema) and Forestry Commission (FC) lack sufficient presence in the area to contain the wood poachers.

Police, on the other hand, lack determination to assist, or at worst are easily corruptible. This leaves local residents and hospitality industry operators to manage the crisis.

Only last week, 23 firewood poachers were arrested by scouts. They were only cautioned and released — handing them over to local police would have been an exercise in futility, the scouts say.

“If you hand them over to the police you will see them walking back across the border as if nothing happened,” Nelson Bandura says.

Vumba tropical rainforest has a unique flora and rare habitat — including an impressive over 420 bird species packed in its relatively small space offering arguably the best bird watching vantage point on the African continent is in dire strain.

Tree poaching is threatening to leave its breath-taking mountains bare and completely destroy its capacity to sustain such uncommon bird species like Swynnerton’s robin, and Zimbabwe’s rare Chirinda Apollis as well as animal species like the dwarf chameleon, blue monkey and blue duiker.

The increasingly balding mountains have for long been taunted as a cradle to some of Zimbabwe’s unique flora and fauna.

The forest, in spite of all its fame, is not a gazetted forest exposing it to be also unsustainably exploited commercially by individuals, communities and corporates.

Its Msasa woodlands and Montane forests, among where the rare Star of Africa Oak stand, are being broken and retreating further into the misty mountains limiting the aerial freedom of the elegant blue monkeys endemic to its canopies while snares litter the forest floors threatening the uncommon little blue duiker and unique dwarf chameleon among others.

This is despite it having an impressive catalogue of insect, bird and animal life among its tropical vegetation that receives an average of 1 800mm of rainfall each year.

Vumba is key to both Mozambique and local riverine systems as many key rivers had their sources in the mountains.

The famous Chikamba Dam in neighbouring Mozambique is supplied from the mountain. The banana crop in Burma Valley is irrigated from rivers whose sources are in the mountain. Being the source of Mupudzi River which feeds the aptly named Mupudzi dam and goes further to feed Odzi and Save boosting its capacity to supply irrigation schemes that are dependent on the mighty transnational river.

Loss of vegetation in the mountain threatens all this.

Vumba’s unique ecology can be a major attraction for ecotourism which offers the entire Eastern Highlands sustainable income if kept pristine and natural.

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MUTARE - ZANU PF stands accused of a heinous genocidal civil war that is estimated to have claimed over 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, suspicious deaths by accident of numerous political figures, abductions and disappearances.The bottom line — its human rights record is inexcusable.

Its lack of respect for human and property rights saw it sanction violent land seizures that left Zimbabwe a pariah state and totally ruined the economy.

It invited sanctions on itself and former president Robert Mugabe’s confrontational foreign policy approach placed the final nail on its coffin.

It was a curse to both business and the suffering ordinary citizenry. An embodiment of black on black oppression. The personification of evil — and failure.

When Mugabe’s henchman threw him in a dump and took over after his and his wife’s excesses in a soft coup, opinion was divided, although urbanites completely rejected that Zanu PF had shifted a gear.

After President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa — a feared strongman who led a faction of the ruling party under Mugabe — took over, he has been repeating that his administration will focus on economics ahead of politics.

While most of Zanu PF’s more entrenched critics dismissed his reform of the unpopular indigenisation laws, bringing back value to land tenure, forgiving tax sins, re-engaging with the West while pledging to respect human and property rights as political theatre, many believe him.

They feel a reformed Zanu PF would be better for stability than a vindictive and long persecuted opposition party.

To the surprise of many, even the white community and corporates appear to favour Mnangagwa ahead of the opposition MDC.

But their reasons are clear. Those who want to set up their businesses or resuscitate broken industries don’t trust a labour-backed party.

“Its emphasis will be on workers’ welfare and not supporting industrial growth. They will push wages up and drive some businesses under,” one business owner said on condition of anonymity because the presidential contest is yet to be resolved.

They fear the fate of South Africa’s tea farming sector that was completely ruined when the African National Congress (ANC) came into power with strong backing from the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) which demanded that tea farm employees be treated fairly.

The ugly truth of business is, business sources say, industry thrives in an environment where a certain degree of oppression is permitted.

“Europe industrialised on the back of cheap labour and North America grew into an economic giant thanks to slave labour,” he said.

Zimbabwe may need a government that will not be too fussy about workers’ rights — the prevailing labour laws should suffice to ensure that people are not exploited but it is not ready for that to be reinforced by strong workers unions who would have a strong voice in governance.

“We have been rooting for ED because we fear that trade unionists will be to the MDC what war veterans were to Mugabe. As business, we need breathing space a bit.

“Union leaders would be telling you that they would be coming from a meeting with the president as they force through their demands ahead of capitalisation of the business. Their priorities would be completely different,” another business executive said of their reservations of an MDC administration.

The violent protest that erupted in Harare and the equally violent repression that left at least six people dead and many others injured has been a party spoiler for their preferred outcome of a smooth electoral process and a Mnangagwa win.

Former Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) vice president Henry Nemaire told Eastern News that until the elections, Mnangagwa’s administration was the best that the business sector could have ever wished for.

The violence and subsequent shootings have, however dampened the country’s image to international investors but it was not yet beyond redemption, he opined.

Nemaire said the incidents need careful management to bring back the shine on the Zanu PF strongman’s leadership.

“We have crossed the international challenge at hand but from what we had seen, ED’s government was the most pro-business administration — the tax amnesty, working on the road infrastructure, working on the railways, reducing duty on diesel, re-engagement and amendment of the indigenisation laws as well as putting a team that was delivering.

“The ED administration was also working on the ease of doing business so I think in terms of that business was obviously happy with an ED administration,” he said.

Nemaire said the shooting in itself was not expected to weigh down on Mnangagwa alone as the opposition would also take flak for it as its leaders appeared to encourage civil disobedience in the event of an electoral loss which they thought was unimaginable in the absence of rigging.

He said the international media had also done well to place it within its appropriate context.

“The shooting was well-covered by the international media. It was very clear about the root cause being the incitement by the opposition. If you saw the press conference of Nkhululeko Sibanda (MDC president Nelson Chamisa’s spokesperson), he was thoroughly grilled on why they did not wait for the results and if they were also going to take some responsibility as opposition leaders while mentioning Chamisa and (Tendai) Biti for incitement.

“The international media, who were also victims of the violence by the opposition members, one of them was missed by a brick that was thrown by the allegedly drunk protesters. According to an eyewitness, alcohol was being dished out from Harvest House … but, of course, the international media was also clear that the one or two soldiers who fired directly at the crowd were clearly reckless. I think there is clarity in terms of that shooting and if it ends there that is manageable,” Nemaire said.

He, however, said the shooting was done by either one or two soldiers choosing to describe it as a mistake and not as something that was executed to order.

“I think it was certainly a mistake which happened against the background of real violence and I think the individual panicked when he saw the city burning and tried to quell the unrest,” Nemaire said.

He, however, said there could be a crisis if rights abuses by the State continued as it would undo all the positive steps that were taken since Operation Restore Legacy last November.

“But if violence, abductions and beatings continue, then we have a problem … What happened was unfortunate and it’s more difficult to build than to destroy, just one incident threatens to destroy what has been built over nine months. Nevertheless, there appears to be commitment to reconstruct.”

The opposition and Zanu PF critics blame the heavy-handed response to the protests on the ruling party’s violent DNA.

And this would be hard to disprove for a party that used violence as its instrument of choice in retaining power over the past 38 years.

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HARARE - President- elect Emmerson Mnangagwa — who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) — lost a golden chance on Tuesday to apologise to the nation for the killing of at least six unarmed civilians who were gunned down by the military on August 1.

As thousands of Zimbabweans gathered to celebrate the 38th Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, most citizens and indeed the international community thought Mnangagwa would do the honourable thing as leader of the armed forces and denounce the ZDF for its heavy-handed response to protests.

Many more were also anticipating that Mnangagwa, who was delivering his national address to mark this important day, was going to apologise to the relatives of the deceased on behalf of the army.

It was shocking that in his own wisdom, the president-elect instead blamed the MDC Alliance for the deaths of the civilians who were shot in broad day light.

As a leader who has been preaching about uniting Zimbabweans, Mnangagwa fell short in this regard and his silence on the issue will send a wrong signal to the armed forces.

Instead, Mnangagwa was all praises for the armed forces, promising to reward them for their work in and outside our borders.

Failing to rebuke those soldiers and instead praising them, will send the wrong signals to them as they are now going to be rewarded instead of being reprimanded.

In other words, Mnangagwa seems to be absolving himself from the fatalities as he lays all the blame on the MDC Alliance.

We are not saying the MDC Alliance was right for allegedly being involved but the party was not shooting people. The president-elect has to own up since he is the head, dodging responsibility will not heal the scars of those who lost loved ones.

In naming the MDC Alliance as responsible, we wonder why he is establishing a commission to investigate the circumstances around the shootings when he has already identified the culprits.

The commission will also have its hands tied as Mnangagwa has already given his verdict, rendering the investigation academic.

Equally, Mnangagwa promised to launch an investigation following the White City bombing, which nearly cost his life, but before the probe started, he had already pointed at some characters he thought had carried out the attack.

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HARARE - The trial of University of Zimbabwe (UZ) vice chancellor Levi Nyagura failed to kick off yesterday as his lawyer was representing President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the Constitutional Court (Con-Court) where opposition leader Nelson Chamisa is seeking to overturn the Zanu PF’s strongman’s July 30 poll victory.

His trial has been deferred to next month where the Special Corruption Court will hear his case of alleged criminal abuse of office, stemming from a PhD degree awarded to former first lady, Grace Mugabe, by UZ.

This comes as the Higher Education ministry has distanced itself from the case despite being cited as the complainant.

According to State papers, the Higher Education ministry’s permanent secretary made a complaint against Nyagura but the office denied making such a report.

“The ministry would like to register its complaint against Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc). The basis of the complaint is that, we note from court papers that Zacc has been citing the permanent secretary as the complainant in cases involving the University of Zimbabwe vice chancellor as the accused.

“The ministry would like to state that it is not aware of the issues and neither was it involved in making any complaints to Zacc or being involved in investigations leading to the accused person being arraigned before the court for criminal abuse of office…the ministry is not involved in academic issues,” the ministry said in a letter which forms part of the court record.

“The issue is purely academic and is the domain of the university through the council or senate. The ministry only provides administrative oversight to the university and is not qualified to comment, make a determination or give an opinion on whether what was done by the accused person was a criminal offence or not,” it said further.

It is on that basis Nyagura claims that there was no reasonable suspicion warranting his arrest.

According to the State, sometime in 2011 Nyagura single-handedly accepted and approved Grace’s application to study for a PhD in Sociology without the knowledge of the department board and Faculty Higher Degrees Committee.

It is alleged that Nyagura then appointed professors Mararike and Chaneta to supervise her thesis without the board’s approval.

Nyagura is also alleged to have usurped powers and appointed examiners in violation of the University of Zimbabwe Act Chapter 25:16 and Ordinances 1998/99 volume 11 which gives that prerogative to the Senate committee.

Sometime in 2014, Nyagura allegedly led supervisors and examiners to Grace’s Mazowe Estate where the defence oral examination was purportedly done without knowledge and approval of the academic committee.

According to State papers, the oral examination is supposed to be done at the UZ premises.

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HARARE - For the first time since independence, former president Robert Mugabe was a no-show at events marking the Heroes and Defence Forces holidays.

The 94-year-old teetotaller used to preside over all the major events, including the Heroes and Defence Forces commemorations, in his capacity as head of State and government.

His absence at the national shrine on Monday and at the National Sports Stadium on Tuesday did not come as a surprise though.

Mugabe, who ruled with an iron fist for 37 years before he was ousted by the military last November, has not made secret his loathe for his successor, President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa, who presided over both events.

He accuses Mnangagwa of grabbing power from him and this self-evident bitterness over his dethronement is likely to have contributed to his absence and that of his family.

It was also not clear if he had been invited to attend although many still believe that even if no invitation had been extended to him, Mugabe should still have shown up to demonstrate his sense of patriotism.

In April, Mugabe was clearly not amused after Mnangagwa did not invite him to attend the country’s 38th independence celebrations.

For that reason, he passed the commemorations.

“I definitely was not invited to it (independence celebrations),” Mugabe said in a statement, following claims by Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba that he had snubbed their invitation.

“I did not freeze myself out of the so-called Uhuru. I, definitely, was not invited to it. This should put paid to all the comments that Charamba had to make on this matter,” he said.

This was after Charamba had claimed that: “Every Zimbabwean was invited to the celebrations, including those in the opposition and former government.”

Charamba had insinuated that Mugabe had primed himself for the event prior to his medical trip to Singapore a few weeks before.

The presidential spokesperson was not taking calls to his mobile phone when the Daily News tried to seek his comment on the latest development.

Home Affairs minister Obert Mpofu, who was the master of ceremonies at the Heroes Day event, could not say whether government had formally invited Mugabe to attend, in his capacity as former head of State as well as an icon of the liberation struggle.

“I am not the spokesperson for government functions so that information can only be obtained from the presidential spokesperson. You can talk to him about that,” Mpofu told the Daily News yesterday.

While still president, Mugabe would use the Heroes and Defence Forces events to pay tribute to those who contributed to the country’s independence and the role of the military in safeguarding Zimbabwe’s territorial integrity.

It was also his trademark to take pot-shots at opposition parties, especially the main MDC party, whose leaders consistently boycotted the events in protest over Mugabe’s politics of exclusion.

Mugabe would emphasise the point that in spite of their differences, opposition leaders should join Zanu PF in commemorating these national events.

The national shrine occupies a special place in the hearts of the Mugabes.

It is at the National Heroes Acre where Mugabe’s first wife, Sally was buried as well as his late sister, Sabina.

Their graves used to be the centre of attraction during the annual Heroes Day commemorations, as invited guests would make a beeline to lay wreaths in order to curry favour with the Mugabes.

On Monday, no single relative, Zanu PF official or ruling party faithful could be seen besides these graves.

Also, the large flower bouquets that the former first family used to bring along — as government officials fell over each other to show their solidarity with them — were nowhere to be seen.

Just like the just-ended harmonised elections, this year’s celebrations will go down in history as the first since independence in 1980 to be presided over by someone who is not the fallen despot.

Perhaps it is a piece of history not sitting well with the former head of state. And because it is a piece of history he cannot erase from the archives, he would rather not be part of the events.

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HARARE - President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he is the duly elected president of the country and that a Constitutional Court (Con-Court) challenge by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa was without merit and therefore must be dismissed.

He was responding to an application filed by Chamisa, who is challenging the results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), declaring the Zanu PF leader as the winner.

In the results announced by Zec, Mnangagwa won by 50,8 percent of the vote, while Chamisa got 44,3 percent.

Chamisa is contesting the outcome in the Con-Court, claiming the figures were inflated to accord Mnangagwa a win, when in fact he won the election with 60 percent of the vote.

In his affidavit filed yesterday at the same court, Mnangagwa said Chamisa’s arguments were baseless and must be dismissed with costs.

He said there was no valid application before the court, further arguing that he was served with the application out of time.

Mnangagwa said the papers were only served on him on August 11, 2018, after the lapse of the seven-day period, which is the time within which a presidential contest can be filed from the date of the announcement of the results.

He also said that Chamisa’s lawyers had gone further to serve the papers at the offices of the president, instead of having served him at the address that he supplied to the Nomination Court.

Mnangagwa said all these mistakes made the case fatally defective.

“From the foregoing, I conclude by praying that the honourable court dismisses this application with costs on an attorney and client scale and confirms me to be the duly declared winner of the presidential election held on 30 July 2018.

“I say so for the following reasons: the applicant has not placed before the court any evidence of irregularities which warrant the setting aside of the declaration made by the 23rd respondent (Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba) that I won the presidential election,” Mnangagwa said.

He also said Chamisa’s application was marred with certain deficiencies, and must be dismissed.

“The application is afflicted with patent procedural irregularities. It was lodged out of time. Even then, it is wanting in respect of the addresses of 19 out of 25 respondents. No proof of service was filed with the registrar of the honourable court within 48 hours as required by the rules. It was not served with all documents that the applicant claimed to have filed. This host of irregularities is fatal to the application.

“The application is premised on alleged mathematical anomalies which have no factual foundation. The lofty conclusions made by the applicant are unsubstantiated and completely unbelievable. The supposed experts whose affidavits the applicant relies upon do not help the court at all,” he said.

The Zanu PF front-man also said that Chamisa had unprocedurally filed the application with a strategic intention to invite technical objections and avoid the hearing of the application on merits.

“Applicant makes bald and unsubstantiated allegations of fact. He filed a Section 93 application which is incomplete. Additionally the particularity and specificity required by Section 93 (3) of the Constitution in a Section 93 application is lacking. The court must therefore find that the allegations have not and cannot be proven,” Mnangagwa said.

He said Chamisa’s intention was not to seek the invalidation of the results but to create doubt in the minds of the people regarding the election process.

“The next objection is that the applicant has scandalised the court from which he purports to seek relief and assistance. He has deliberately and consistently said that the court is a captive of the executive and an extension of my party. Throughout his campaign applicant has said that he will not approach he courts of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

“The applicant, having scandalised the court, cannot be heard until he purges his scandal. He is a legal practitioner. He took oath to uphold and obey the Constitution and laws of Zimbabwe. He remains an officer of the court and the third pillar of the State which he has decided to scandalise. He must purge his scandalous contempt.
If he declines to do so, the inquiry required by Section 93 (3) of the Constitution must be determined without being heard any further in these proceedings,” he said.

He said the court must order that the July 30 election was done in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act, that the election was free, fair, transparent and credible and that it was a true reflection of the will of the people.

Mnangagwa went on to give a narrative of how he came to power last November last year, claiming former president Robert Mugabe had lost capacity of running the country and how the country got its independence from the British colonisers in 1980.

He claimed Chamisa had made overtures to establish some kind of an inclusive government, soon after he became president last November.

He said Chamisa did not have a proper campaign message, could not afford campaign adverts and that his party was dogged with divisions, which contributed to his failure to win the election.

“The applicant had no message at all in his campaign. He made nonsensical and childish promises to the electorate. He promised bullet trains that are faster than the world’s fastest trains and could compete with aeroplanes in making the Bulawayo-Harare trip in 45 minutes. He promises ‘spaghetti roads’ and airports in rural areas in a country whose health, transport, education and agricultural sectors required attention,” Mnangagwa said, adding that he campaign message was premised on tangible promises.

He further said Chamisa ought to prove his allegations with facts, adding that Chamisa had an opportunity to ask for a recount of the ballots upon announcement of the results. He said the results presented by Chamisa were based on dubious calculations from unverifiable documents.

Mnangagwa denied claims that MDC Alliance polling officers were forced to sign blank V11 forms and all the other irregularities that were alleged to have been committed by the electoral body, further denying allegations of distributing food hand-outs on partisan lines.

He is represented by top Harare lawyers, Paul Mangwana, Lewis Uriri and Tinomudaishe Chinyoka.

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HARARE - A senior police officer who arrested one of the MDC Alliance kingpins, Tendai Biti, yesterday told the court to throw out an application challenging his arrest which he insisted was lawful.

The State’s star witness chief superintendent Jealous Nyabasa, however, admitted that he ignored a Zambian High Court order which indicated that Biti was due to appear in a Zambian court on the day he arrested him.

“The accused is a Zimbabwean citizen and he was lawfully arrested and lawfully brought before the court within 48 hours of having been arrested,” said Nyabasa.
Nyabasa said Biti was arrested on Zimbabwean soil by local police officers after he had been brought by immigration officials, thus disputing any violation of international law.

“I arrested him when he was on Zimbabwean soil,” adding that police had acted legally because there was a warrant of arrest authorising Biti’s arrest.

“He was aware that he was wanted by police because between August 5 and 7 his lawyers came to CID Law and Order.

“The accused’s lawyers also came three times and promised us that they will bring their client to the police but they did not. I looked forward to the lawyers coming with their client and when they did not, I felt let down because I did not expect such conduct from legal practitioners,” Nyabasa told the court.

Biti is challenging the authority of Zimbabwean courts to prosecute him, arguing that he was “abducted” from the Zambian government, which denied him asylum last week.

The former Finance minister in the stability-inducing inclusive government has been charged for contravening the Electoral Act by prematurely announcing the election results and allegedly inciting the violence that rocked Harare on August 1.

On August 1, deadly violence broke out in Harare’s central business district (CBD), following clashes between opposition supporters and security agents.

At least six people subsequently died when the army, which had apparently been called in to assist in managing the situation, used live ammunition to break the ugly protests.

Several opposition officials, including Biti, were forced to flee what they alleged was State-sponsored crackdown in the aftermath of the ugly protests.

He tried to seek asylum in Zambia which handed him over to the Zimbabwean authorities who swiftly arrested him resulting his court appearance last week.

During his appearance in court last week, Biti had told the court that after placing his appeal before the authorities in Zambia he was issued with an order to appear before Justice J Siyalonga on August 8 and present his petition.

Biti argued that after being put in the custody of Zambian immigration officials, he was later moved to Chirundu Police Station where three soldiers wearing balaclavas forced him out before he was attacked by a huge mob.

“I produced the order to show them that they were arresting me illegally. When I got out, Zimbabwean cars surrounded the place. They tried to manhandle me, they were now seven and there was commotion.

“It was a tug-of-war, the unidentified people on the other end, me in the middle and some ladies, on the other hand, pulling me. The Zambia authorities came and told those people that what they were doing was illegal but I was still abducted and brought back to Zimbabwe.

“No court in Zimbabwe should have jurisdiction over me and I should be before the Zambian court. I am facing political charges arising out of the mere fact that we took a different position against the powers-that-be in our country,” Biti testified last week.

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HARARE - ZANU PF is mulling using its super majority in Parliament to effect a raft of constitutional amendments, including raising the minimum age for presidential aspirants from the current 40 years to 55, the Daily News can report.

Widely seen as targeted at MDC Alliance presidential candidate in the just-ended harmonised elections — 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa — who was beaten by a razor-thin margin by Zanu PF candidate and President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa, this planned constitutional amendment will most certainly dent the youthful opposition leader’s presidential aspirations.

In the presidential poll — whose results the MDC Alliance has since challenged in the Constitutional Court — Mnangagwa polled 50,8 percent of the vote while Chamisa won 44,3 percent, according to results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

In the National Assembly, Zanu PF won 145 of the 210 contested seats, while their closest rivals — the MDC Alliance — garnered 63.

The other two — Norton and Kwekwe Central — were won by independent candidates Temba Mliswa and Masango Matambanadzo respectively.

A winning ruling party legislator, Joseph Chinotimba, hinted on this at Zanu PF’s legislative agenda on Monday, during a rally to celebrate his victory in Buhera.

Chinotimba — who retained the National Assembly seat for Buhera South Constituency — said he will introduce a motion in Parliament to change the age limit for one to stand as a presidential candidate.

“I want the presidential age limit to change from 40 years to 55 or 60 years. I am going to introduce this motion in Parliament. This is because some of the presidential candidates are very young; they are not yet mature to lead this nation,” he gushed.

“We want people who know the history of this country, people who are responsible for their actions. I am not going to do this for Chamisa but I think it’s very important for our country.”

Since the promulgation of the national charter in 2013, Zanu PF has made it clear that it is unhappy with some of its provisions.

Last year, the Constitution was amended for the first time when the ruling party rescinded provisions on the appointment of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice and the Judge President of the High Court.

Unlike in the past when the Judicial Services Commission would make these critical appointments through an interview process, office holders are now being appointed by the president following the constitutional amendments.

More amendments could be in the offing.

For instance, Zanu PF youth league chairperson Pupurai Togarepi — who was recently elected as Gutu South Member of Parliament — has also said his first contribution in Parliament would be seeing to it that all political parties calling for sanctions are punished.

“This Parliament will pass the Patriotic Act. Anyone who calls for economic sanctions to be hanged and their political parties banned. It is going to be my first contribution in Parliament so that it will come to fruition. We know that Tendai Biti went to America to call for sanctions.”

“It’s not good that you want to be a leader but you are calling for sanctions. You are a Zimbabwean, you want Zimbabwean people to suffer. This is not good. People who are calling for sanctions must not look for higher offices in Zimbabwe. Why don’t we go to Parliament so that we prohibit all those who are calling for sanctions?  Zimbabweans are suffering because of these people, we want to stop this.”

Also, Zanu PF youth league political commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu weighed in saying Parliament must urgently enact laws which prohibit unauthorised persons to negotiate with foreign governments.

“After ... Biti’s continuous boasting that he worked to sabotage Zimbabwe economy, & that they will work to do so again, the next Parliament must urgently have on its order of business, a motion to enact a law similar to the USA’s LOGAN ACT. The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, enacted January 30, 1799) is a United States federal law that criminalises negotiation by unauthorised persons with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States,” Tsenengamu posted on his Facebook page.

However, Zanu PF legal secretary Paul Mangwana said they prefer engagements as the party.

“We oppose the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe. America has no business in our internal affairs. We want to reach out to those who are imposing sanctions on us as you know that our president says Zimbabwe is open for business. As a party, we prefer engagement,” Mangwana said.

This comes after United States President Donald Trump last week signed into law a new regime of sanctions against Zimbabwe, bringing to an end hopes for better ties with the Washington administration.

The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018, which amends the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, was introduced into Congress on March 22.

Congress overwhelmingly approved the legislation, passing a measure that had outlined the steps the southern African country must fulfil for US-imposed sanctions to be lifted, namely the holding of “free and fair” elections.

But the apparent olive branch was taken away soon after the crackdown on protesters was unfurled while the votes were still being counted, in front of many observers, including US observers, with the policy of rapprochement quickly replaced by hawkish calls in Washington for tougher sanctions on Harare if no halt to the crackdown was implemented.

Trump signed the bill behind closed doors, without the fanfare that has customarily accompanied his signing of executive orders.

Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said the youths were free to air their own views.

“As the youth league, they have their own ideas and programmes but that doesn’t necessarily reflect the position of the party,” he said.

There are fears that Zanu PF will use its majority in Parliament to literally change the Constitution, change cardinal acts and hold sway over appointment of government officials, leaders of independent State organs.

Minorities in Parliament will have little sway over the decisions given that the super majority being enjoyed gives the party unchallenged plenary lawmaking authority regardless of the quality of their electoral majority.

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) continued to slide in the wake of the political upheavals that followed the July 30 plebiscite, with the benchmark All Share Index retreating 2,11 percent settling at 111,78 points.

Shedding 2,06 percent, the Industrial Index settled at 378,88 points while the Mining Index took the heaviest knock shedding 3,54 percent to close the week as 158,80 points.

Heavies weighed on the market as the Top 10 Index succumbed 2,83 percent and closed the week pegged at 115,08 points amid sustained selling pressure in the cluster.

“Meanwhile, the week saw the main opposition filing its election challenge for the presidential results, with the market seemingly watching the political developments as activity slows down.

“Elsewhere, the results for the June reported date started trickling in and companies continue to perform relatively better amidst the reported economic pressures,” EFE Securities said.

ZSE saw 23 stocks close with price movements and had a distribution of 10 risers against 13 fallers to set a negative breadth of three.

Construction group Masimba headlined the fallers set on a 20,40 percent slide that took the group to $0,0398 while, GetBucks Microfinance Bank succumbed 9,91 percent and capped the week at $0,0300.

Dairibord was 7,14 percent softer at $0,1300 as beverages giant Delta succumbed to selling pressure to lead the heavies’ shakers on a seven percent slip to $1,9995.

Regional cement manufacturers PPC let go 5,74 percent and settled at $1,1500 on waning demand. Mining house RioZim declined 5,08 percent and settled at $1,4000.

Selling pressure also emerged in Econet to see the telecoms giant retreat 2,50 percent and closing the week at $1,2001 while light manufacturing group Innscor let go 0,39 percent and settled at $1,4144 while, retail group OK Zimbabwe dropped 0,34 percent and ended at $0,2349.

Capping the weekly top fallers was Hippo that retreated 0,15 percent and ended at $1,6875.

The market had 10 gainers which mitigated the losses for the day, headlined by Nicoz with a 13,67 percent rise that took it to $0,0341.

Banking group CBZ was in an 8,59 percent rebound to $0,1100 while, FMP accumulated 7,53 percent and settled at $0,0600 with Barclays up 5,66 percent with demand returning to the group while, apparel retailers Edgars added 1,85 percent and closed at $0,0662.

Old Mutual, African Sun and BAT were also among the risers for the week adding 1,65 percent, 1,39 percent and 0,98 percent to close at $5,1027, $0,0730 and $25,6500 respectively.

Weekly activity aggregates had a mixed outcome with values declining 61,64 percent to $15,76 million while, volumes surged 179 percent to 88,75 million shares.

Values were anchored by the market’s heavies as investors sought cover in the market’s blue chip counters.

Driving the values were SeedCo on 27 percent, Old Mutual claiming 17 percent and Delta with 10 percent.

Volumes were spurred by insurers Nicoz and property group FMP that claimed a combined 76 percent of the aggregate.

— The Financial Gazette

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HARARE - The government and Indian Embassy in Harare will jointly run this year’s edition of “India in the Sunshine City Festival” which will run in the Zimbabwean capital between September 6 and 16 in a bid to make the event more widely accepted by the locals.

The annual India in the Sunshine City Cultural Festival brings to Harare top Indian artistes from genres such as music, theatre, dance, comedy, food and yoga.

Speaking during the 72nd Independence Day of India Celebrations in Harare yesterday, the giant South Asian country’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Rungsung Masakui, said collaboration between the two countries will make the festival a strong brand.

“The reason the Government of Zimbabwe has come on board is to make the festival more sustainable, mainstream it and make it bigger…it will be jointly owned by the Government of Zimbabwe and the Government of India,” said Masakui.

He added that the grand opening of the third edition of the festival will be organised in collaboration with Zimbabwe’s Tourism and Hospitality Industry as well as Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture ministries.

“The grand opening will be held in collaboration with the government of Zimbabwe. We are very open and ready to change the name of the festival from India in the Sunshine City Festival to India- Zimbabwe Friendship Festival to make the event more sustainable,” said the Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe.

According to Masakui, one of the highlights of this year’s festival will be a performance by a top Indian band called Indian Ocean which is widely recognised as the pioneer of fusion rock genre in that country.

At the 72nd India Independence Day celebrations, Masakui also invited Zimbabweans to take part in a quiz on India featuring participants from all over the world.

“There is a quiz competition that will be running about ‘Know India’.

This is going to culminate in the fourth round that will be held in (Indian City) Varanasi.

“Zimbabwe has been allotted 30 slots. I request people between 15 and 35 to register online. There will be four rounds with the fourth one being held in Varanasi, fully sponsored by the Government of India,” he said.

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HARARE - South Africa-based Zimbabwean gospel songbird Lindi Marc has featured comedian Tyra “Madam Boss” Chikocho and a host of South African artistes on the video of her single titled Faithfulness.

The video for the popular single, co-directed by Kross Marcellus Moses and Dafri, also included pupils from the Bophelong Community Independent School, Titanic Dance Krew Mamelodi, South Africa-based Zimbabwean gospel singer Minister Grace as well as several Mzansi gospel artistes who include Khulekani Chilli and Keen Marshall.

The songbird, who relocated to South Africa in 2009, has described the Faithfulness video as a “soul-edifying song with indefatigable dance choreography.

Everybody on the video comes out with their best on this fast tempo praise tune and they successfully made it danceable and youthful, while still keeping the message profound,” said Lindi Marc.

The video comes a week after the singer debuted in Bulawayo where she shared the stage with Minister Grace, Sandra Chirenje, Reward Judah, Keen, Tinashe, Ellison Tande and Vuyo Brown.

In March, Lindi, born Lindiwe Phiri, shared the stage with Tatenda Mahachi, Mwenje Mathole, Live Soul, Rixon, Family Affair, Privy, Tinashe, Kin and Apostle Rukweza in Chitungwiza in a show organised by Afri-remedy and Double Mc Productions.

Apart from Faithfulness, Lindi Marc’s other songs include her latest single Uthando and her nine-track debut album Vhurai Nzira which includes songs in Ndebele, Shona, Sotho and English.

She told the Daily News that her type of gospel music is up tempo. “My music is very groovy and upbeat because it seeks to demonstrate that gospel music is far from boring. My intention is to prove that you can still be in church, dance and be cool,” she said.

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HARARE - The Razzle Night Club has given fresh impetus to its China Chemadzimai with a celebrity mistress of ceremonies (MC) full of passion, energy and life!

The vivacious Sarah Dee, an entertaining MC with passion and presence — has boosted the enthusiastic fan base at The Razzle every Thursday night.

Sporting a killer sound, an impressive roster of Deejaying talent with the most exciting spinners in the country, Razzle has emerged as dance music’s premier club brand in the Harare CBD.

This is a pub full of bustling babes, bass-filled tunes shaking the dance floor, and lights that make every person look great.

The weekly China Chemadzimai, now hosted by the imposing Sarah Dee, has given attendees the over-the-top social and sensory experience that the Liz Hotel-housed pub can offer.

The Razzle has become a bastion of disco’s entertainment in Harare’s CBD and established the modern dance club’s DJ-focused format with legendary resident DJs Milton Mix, Shy Guy Joe and Diva Dolla.

This stellar trio of DJs has an uncanny ability to read the crowd and keep them moving.

This pub has emerged as a significant stop on the Thursday night touring circuit, in no small part due to the iconic and vivacious former model and musician host, Sarah Dee, who has customised her set to exceed attendees’ needs and expectations.

Crowd captivator Sarah Dee is giving the China Chemadzimai occasion that elusive edge which guarantees to insure the programme against the risk of being ordinary!

Offering a truly personalised service, Sarah Dee starts each engagement with her on-point swag — she has an innate sense of style — then pre-event consultation, making sure she fully understands her audience made up largely of ladies and the guys out for a drink, then using her special blend of professionalism, vibrancy and wit to craft her audience presentation to truly light up the pub!

China Chemadzimai with Sarah Dee is packed with “crowd energisers”, witty anecdotes and real-time audience interaction. She is a multi-skilled presenter, who keeps the event fresh and fabulous, with dance competition for ladies, drinking races, and modelling competitions. And Sarah Dee offers sharp execution, real-world relevance and passion to burn!

The Razzle has blossomed into a trend-setting mega club that is a must visit pub for any discerning pub freak.

This seminal venue situated corner Robert Mugabe and Julius Nyerere is now a key component of Harare’s nightlife empire.

Sarah Dee is helping the pub earn accolades for its unheralded China Chemadzimai party every Thursday.

This is a pub to visit for those keen to listen to new music and club bangers across genres.

The Razzle’s name has become synonymous with its famous daily parties which has made it a party powerhouse.

The key highlights are the Wednesday Gents Party, Thursday’s China Chemadzimai, Friday Night Jam and the Saturday Night Party.

Harare’s party scene can’t be mentioned without this cherished venue, which boasts nightclub lighting comprising moving head lights, a combination of spots, beams or washes focused over the dance floor which takes the crowd’s experience over the top. And the Thursday nights are packed with beautiful, confident, attractive, sexy and scantily clad women, dressed in very sexy, revealing clothes wearing anything from tight pants to skirts with high boots, to halter tops or button-down blouse, dancing seductively. It’s a place to be tonight, and indeed every Thursday night.

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HARARE - South Africa-based award-winning disc jockey and producer Oscar Mdlongwa aka Oskido recently hosted “Kalawa All White Parties” in Kwekwe and Harare.

Oskido has been hosting annual parties in Bulawayo dubbed “Homecoming Show” which proved to be a highlight on the December holidays’ calendar although he reportedly
revealed that the events were not profitable.

Oskido was in the country over the past weekend with shows dubbed “Kalawa All White Party’ at King Solomon Motel in Kwekwe on August 12.

He was in Harare on August 13 at Solomon’s Café in Glen View.

Organisers of the two events have not yet indicated if this would be a running theme or just a once off thing, with efforts to get information being unfruitful as the people responsible for giving comments to the media were not reachable.

The highly regarded musician is one of the pioneering artistes to popularise the Kwaito music genre outside the townships of South Africa, hence being regarded as a premier in the South African music industry.

The Kalawa parties are named after the record label Kalawa Jazmee Records (formerly Kalawa Records) which was co-founded by Oskido.

The record label houses musical acts like Mafikizolo, Uhuru and Busiswa and other big names.

The company is currently run by Oskido, Bruce Sebitlo, Zayne “Mahoota” Sibiya, Mandla “Spikiri” Mofokeng, and Emmanuel “Mjokes” Matsane, and Gao Mokone.

According to the information on the web, Kalawa Jazmee (sometimes “KJ Records”) was formed as Kalawa in 1992 by Christos Katsaitis (departed in 1995), Don Laka and DJ Oskido and took its name from the first two letters of their respective surnames (Oskido often used “Warona” at the time). Boom Shaka (Lebo Mathosa , Theo Nhlengethwa, Junior Sokhela and Thembi Seete) were the new label’s first signing, with debut album It’s About Time released in 1993.

Joining with Trompie’s label Jazmee in 1995 it then became known as Kalawa-Jazmee Records, later dropping the hyphen completely.

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HARARE - All is set for Nasty C’s maiden “Change a Life Concert” which is pencilled for Wingate Golf Club on Saturday courtesy of the Alfred Dondo Foundation in conjunction with Impala Car Rental.

The 21-year-old South African rapper is expected in the country on Saturday for a charity gig meant to benefit students from marginalised communities of Sadza and Chikomba districts of Chivhu.

“On Friday we are expecting Ammara while Nasty C will arrive on the day of the event,” one of the concert organisers and Impala’s brand and projects manager Tracy Ngoma said.

Nasty C, who made it into SA Hip Hop Magazine’s Top 10 African Rappers in 2016 together with Takura, Emtee, Mozambican Laylizzy, Cassper Nyovest, AKA, Sarkodie, Nigerian Phyno and MHD will share the stage with Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown, King98, Takura, Ex Q and Dj Silence Dosh.

Despite his youthful age, the South African musician is a force to reckon within Africa and at large.

His latest studio project Strings and Bling has already caused waves in the showbiz despite being released on July 6.

On the other hand, Save a Life Concert comes barely a week after Jah Prayzah mesmerised close to 20 000 fans in Namibia for the first time.

After the 081Eevery1 Fest held at Dr Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, Windhoek, The Namibian newspaper showered praises on the Kutonga Kwaro hit-maker.

“Zimbabwean musician Jah Prayzah... together with his full band... delivered one of the most memorable performances of the day,” reported the paper.

Born Mukudzei Mukombe in Uzumba, Jah Prayzah has collaborated with the continent’s A-list of musicians the likes of Diamond Platinumz (Tanzania), Mafikizolo (South Africa), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Davido (Nigeria) and Charma Gal (Botswana) among others.

He also collaborated with Jamaican heavyweights Jah Cure on Angel Lo and Luciano on Roots.

His 2016 collaboration with Diamond Platinumz Watora Mari has close to 10 million views on youtube, making it his best collaboration so far, in terms of popularity.

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HARARE - Panic has gripped the country following the death of a man in the border town of Beitbridge on Sunday from a disease whose symptoms match those of the deadly Ebola virus, which has resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Yesterday, government moved swiftly to allay fears that the cross-border haulage truck driver could not have succumbed to Ebola, saying he died as a result of meningitis.

Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa told the Daily News yesterday that the Beitbridge Border Post death had nothing to do with Ebola — a rare and deadly disease spread by direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with the virus.

“Our health workers attended to a truck driver who had collapsed at a truck parking lot in Beitbridge,” he said.

“The truck driver was coming from South Africa into Zimbabwe. He died on admission at Beitbridge District Hospital and of note is he had defaulted on his chronic medication for some time. He had signs and symptoms of meningitis and not Ebola,” added Parirenyatwa.

The Health and Child Care minister said the man had visited the DRC more than a month ago to an area in Katanga Province near Zambia.

This area has not reported Ebola and it is an Ebola-free area.

Zimbabwe is, however, not leaving anything to chance and has since activated all the relevant organs to be on high alert.

“Our health workers are on high alert at all border crossings screening travellers into the country especially those that are sick,” said Parirenyatwa.

The DRC is currently in the throes of fighting the disease after it resurfaced in the mineral rich country less than three years after it killed 11 000 people in West Africa.

The latest outbreak of Ebola in the DRC has put the whole region on high alert following a warning by World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that the deadly disease had the potential to spread rapidly in DRC, which has effectively become a war zone.

“The environment is really conducive for Ebola to transmit freely. This is a very dangerous outbreak.

“What makes the outbreak in eastern DRC or northern Kivu more dangerous is there is a security challenge — there is active conflict in that area,” said Ghebreyesus.

He said the ongoing fighting in DRC, which has had 10 outbreaks of Ebola in the last 40 years, is making it difficult for health officials and aid agencies to access some areas that have been designated “red zones” due to the war.

This, he added, is making it hard to find, isolate and treat potential cases.

Ghebreyesus said the DRC war zones were potential “hiding places” for the disease, which WHO figures suggest has a mortality rate of about 50 percent.

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), symptoms of Ebola include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal (stomach) pain and unexplained haemorrhage (bleeding or bruising).

The CDC also said that symptoms may appear from between two to 21 days after contact with the virus, with an average of eight to 10 days.

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HARARE - Vendors have made an impassioned plea for the speedy resolution of the presidential election results dispute saying it is adversely affecting their business.

The National Vendors Union of Zimbabwe (Navuz) called on all Zimbabweans to leave behind the country’s recent political turmoil and focus on the future by working hard to resuscitate the ailing local economy.

Navuz leader Sten Zvorwadza said the continued election dispute was adversely affecting the generality of Zimbabweans.

Navuz represents street vendors, people engaged in vending of articles, goods, wares, food items or merchandise of everyday use or offering services to the general public, in a street, lane, side walk, footpath, pavement, public park or any other public place or private area, from a temporary built up structure or by moving from place to place and includes hawkers, peddlers, squatters and all other synonymous terms.

The organisation functions as a solidarity centre for vendors and also engages in research, lobby and advocacy initiatives.

Zvorwadza’s call came as commerce and industry have bemoaned the economic uncertainty that has been created by the disputed July 30, presidential poll in which Zanu PF strongman Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly beat opposition leader Nelson Chamisa — who has since challenged that result at the Constitutional Court (Con-Court).

Zvorwadza said it was time for the country to move on and to build a strong Zimbabwe that all citizens aspire for, irrespective of political affiliation.

“We need to move forward as a nation,” Zvorwadza told the Daily News.

“Our businesses are being affected because of these unnecessary disputes. Everyone must accept result so that the nation will move forward. We are all Zimbabweans and politicians must know that this is not the last election. Those who lost must wait for 2023,” Zvorwadza said.

“We are saying as vendors, some of the leaders who are disputing these results are masters of rigging in their own political parties. We are not happy with some people who want to hold the nation at ransom. As vendors we are eager to see the nation moving forward.”

Millions of Zimbabweans cast their vote in the historic July 30 elections to choose both a new Parliament and president — following the dramatic fall from power of Robert Mugabe in November last year.

However, the peaceful campaigns and a friendly spirit that had characterised the run-up to the elections were marred in the aftermath of the polls when deadly violence broke out in Harare’s central business district (CBD), following clashes between opposition supporters and security agents.

At least six people subsequently died when the army, which had apparently been called in to assist in managing the situation, used live ammunition to break up the ugly protests.

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BULAWAYO - Former Speaker of the National Assembly Lovemore Moyo has said he has now put behind him the trauma of the just-ended election where his party the United Movement for Devolution (UMD) was thoroughly trounced.

Moyo did not throw his hat in the presidential ring but opted to have his members contest parliamentary and local government seats, and all lost.

Speaking to journalists for the first time after the election disaster for his party, Moyo — who quit the MDC where he was national chairperson to launch the UMD after sharp differences over the formation of the MDC Alliance and the subsequent leadership dispute ignited by the death of Morgan Tsvangirai — said his party defeat does not mean the end of their resolve.

“We want to be active in the governance of our country,” Moyo said.

“We will not be just bystanders. We will be politically active, pushing for real devolution. We want real devolution and so, ideologically, we are devolutionaries.”

Having been formed in April this year, UMD managed to stage election campaigns in the region with their major focus being ending the marginalisation of Matabeleland.

Moyo said they will continue from where they left in as far as sending their devolution message across.

“That is going to be our thrust and our message as we move forward in preparing ourselves for the future,” he said.

This comes at a time President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa has said his government will implement devolution of power in line with Chapter 14 of the Constitution.

The concept had largely been ignored by the former president Robert Mugabe in a move that saw civic society and opposition parties taking him to task.

While Moyo acknowledged the move by Mnangagwa, he said UMD believed without executive authority, token devolved power will be insufficient, and will not deliver real change to provinces.

“To UMD, real devolution means having an elected governor, provincial minister or premier directly elected by the people to allow that leader to have executive authority on many other responsibilities at that provincial level.

“We want elected mayors with executive authority not the ones that are compromised by their party political affiliations.”

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HARARE - MDC Alliance principal Tendai Biti, who is being charged for prematurely announcing presidential election results acted lawfully in accordance with provisions of the Electoral Act, a court heard yesterday.

Biti was represented by Beatrice Mtetwa, Alec Muchadehama and Harrison Nkomo when he appeared before Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo for continuation of a hearing of a challenge he has lodged disputing the authority of the court to prosecute him.

He is charged with contravening the Electoral Act and inciting the violence that rocked Harare on August 1.

Mtetwa referred the court to section 66a (3) which authorises publication of information derived from polling station-based returns.

“…he or she shall not be construed as preventing any person from reporting the number of votes received by a candidate or political party in an election, where the report is based on polling station returns and constituency returns from the election concerned…,” reads the section.

Mtetwa was cross examining the investigating officer Jealous Nyabasa, who emphasised that Biti had acted contrary to the law.

She said the police had not communicated their intentions to interview Biti to any of his lawyers. She also stated that Muchadehama and Nkomo had approached the Harare Central Police Station’s Law and Order Section to inquire about their attitude towards their client’s apprehension, to no avail.

“Why did you not call the accused person? You accept that Muchadehama attended at Law and Order to arrange for the accused person’s interview? Are you aware that it is normal procedure for lawyers to make such arrangements?” Mtetwa grilled Nyabasa.

Nyabasa responded that Biti should have approached his offices because he had been alerted through television and newspapers that police were looking for him.

Biti is arguing that Zimbabwean courts do not have authority to prosecute him arguing that he was “abducted” from the Zambian government where he sought asylum under unconstitutional means.

Prosecutor Gerald Uladi said the State had acted legally because there was a warrant of arrest authorising Biti’s arrest.

He said Biti was arrested on Zimbabwean soil by local police officers, disputing any violations of international law.

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HARARE - The Harare City Council (HCC) is experiencing technical glitches with its prepaid electronic personal parking meters, otherwise known as Smart Park.

According to City Parking, HCC’s parking venture, the technical challenges have affected the reloading of the meters, prompting it to advise motorists to use prepaid cards until the problem has been rectified.

“However, City Parking has prepaid parking cards that motorists can use as an alternative. Prepaid cards have payment options for 15 minutes, 30 minutes or one hour parking durations,” reads part of the notice issued yesterday.

“There is no paperwork or waiting period; you just pay $10 for the card, $5 of which being initial parking credit, and your card is issued ready to transact.”

Introduced in 2015, Smart Park replaced parking discs and eliminated the use of cash at parking bays.

Smart Park is a small palm-size device which is preloaded with units equivalent to one’s prepaid parking time and is attached to the front driver side window for parking inspection.

It is identical to the EasyPark model used in the United States although City Parking claims this is the first time it is being used on the African continent.

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HARARE - The Zanu PF women’s league has conveyed its condolences to the Mathuthu family on the passing on of former deputy Information minister Thokozile Mathuthu at the age of 61.

In a statement, the wing’s secretary Mabel Chinomona said Mathuthu was a hardworking and dedicated cadre who played a pivotal role during and after the liberation struggle.

She said Mathuthu dedicated her entire life and gave her all for the political and socio-economic development of Zimbabwe.

“…she was our pillar of strength, a source of inspiration, a reservoir of knowledge, experience and adviser par excellence,” said Chinomona, adding that they were deeply saddened by her untimely death.

Mathuthu was born on March 26, 1957 in Bulawayo and she became active politically in the 1970s.

Between 1975 and 1978, she was a committee member of the Zapu youth wing and assisted combatants operating in the Tinde and Kamativi areas.

At independence, she was a committee member of the Zapu women’s wing between 1980 and 1982 and later rose to become deputy chairperson of the same wing in Nengasha District, Hwange.

She was also involved in the integration committees during talks between Zanu and Zapu.

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