VETERAN Chimurenga musician Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo, pictured, is a man of straight talk and his sharp tongue has created buzz around his persona.

Mukanya has always made his feelings known.

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His songs, described as protest music, is blunt: It speaks back to authorities and keeps checks and balances on society ills. 

His popular songs like Corruption, Mamvemve and Matsotsi are testimony to his openness when dealing with issues. 

He is never too shy to express in song what he feels and rarely sing using proverbs or hidden parables. 

Mukanya always calls a spade a spade!

The music star has been living in the United States for close to 15 years only returning home last year, with his first performance being in April 2018.

Mukanya returned again for the much touted Peace Tour at the end of last year which has had mixed fortunes for both the musician and his promoter.

But it is his continued stay in Zimbabwe that has seen him touching nerves as he passes comments on fellow musicians.

The last time when he was in the country he gave our sister paper, the Daily News, an interview.

In that interview, he expressed his reservations about President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government. 

At the time, the army had just toppled former president Robert Mugabe.

He was frank and to the point saying he expects good leaders to rule Zimbabwe and not matsotsi (thieves). 

The musician has had no kind words for Zimdancehall saying they lack originality and that they should stop imitating Jamaican dancehall musicians.

He has however shared the stage with some of them like Freeman, Lady Squanda and Kinnah. 

“I don’t hate them at all. I am actually happy to share the stage with youngsters but they need to be original,” he was quoted in the media.

Mukanya, speaking on national television after the death of superstar Oliver Mtukudzi said he and the late were the only internationally recognised musicians, with the likes of Alick Macheso just performing up to England and not beyond.

“Vanoziikanwa chete ndini na Oliver, vamwe avo vana Macheso vanogumira kunana England…” (Oliver and I are the only internationally known musicians and the likes of Macheso reach England),” he said in a video clip rant that circulated online.

This attracted widespread criticism with people online saying he could have made his point without naming any artiste.

Several people including musicians Jah Prayzah and Carlos Green blasted Mukanya for singling out Macheso’s name.

Others, however, believe Mukanya was being honest and local musicians should work hard to improve their international standing and appeal as he came out explaining his position saying it was not a dig at Macheso but advice to him and his handlers.

“His people are doing him a disservice. They should explore further in countries such as America where we play. A foreigner told me that he is the best bass guitarist. They should go further to countries such as Sweden and Belgium and this is where I said Oliver and I played. It does not help playing for Zimbabweans outside the country. At festivals you play for multiracial people and that way you raise the country’s flag high,” he thundered.

However, people can be forgiven for taking Mukanya to task, bashing his opinion on others. The music star has been away for too long and the local showbiz scene has changed because today Macheso is a household name in the country and his fans were sure to fight for him and protect his brand.

As if the Macheso issue was not enough, the Chimurenga guru appeared in yet another video which has since started circulating with Mukanya making remarks towards dancehall star Winky D. 

Mapfumo said it is not correct that Winky D can outdo the likes of Beenie Man. 

While the local media usually run with stories purporting that a particular Zimbabwean musician had out performed foreign acts, Mukanya is of the opinion that this should not be misread as being above them. 

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He says he laughs at such reports each time they come out, saying people do not have actual knowledge of the people they will be talking about. He said the two (Winky D and Beenie Man) cannot be compared as the likes of Beenie Man are the veterans in the genre.

While Mapfumo is correct in his statements, his approach of dragging someone’s name has been condemned; hence the backlash from Winky D’s fans.

Like I alluded earlier, Mapfumo has been away for too long and he might not be aware of how Winky D’s music and brand has grown. 

Winky D can upstage Beenie Man on a good day because the singer is a star whom local fans identify with. He has also managed to break several barriers with his music playing on several television channels such as Trace and BBC.

I remember speaking to Winky D and he told me that when foreign musicians come to the country, unlike popular belief that he will be there for competition, his goal will be to learn from them.

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IN his survey of Black English writers from this part of the world that we proudly call home, American author Tim McLoughlin described Charles Mungoshi as “Zimbabwe’s most substantial writer not least because he offers such a penetrating and complex image of the fragmentation of Shona society brought about by years of colonial domination.”

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Such was the impact Charles’s pen had on those who read his work across the globe.

Using the power of his writing, Charles — the wordsmith — helped put Zimbabwe on the map, so to speak, along with other authors of his generation such as Shimmer Chinodya, Aaron Chiunduramoyo, Felix Manyimbiri, Tsitsi Dangarembga, the late, Doris Lessing, Yvonne Vera, and Chenjerai Hove, (may their dear souls rest in eternal peace), just to name a few.

After a 10-year-long battle with a neurological condition, Charles took his last breath at Parirenyatwa Hospital on February 16, 2019. 

The word about his passing quickly spread like a veld fire on social media and in no time, people around the world plunged into mourning, sharing memoirs of his work and sending heartfelt condolences to the family of one of our most prolific writers.

How ironic that Charles portrayed two of the characters in one of his novels “Waiting for the rain”, as suffering from this condition.

He must have had a premonition. Maybe? Maybe not!

Within minutes of receiving the news about Charles’ death, neighbours, friends, associates and relatives, who were still struggling to come to terms with their loss, made a beeline to his Chitungwiza home to pass their condolences.

I was among those who went to pay my last respects at Charles’s home on Sunday, extending support and comfort to Jesesi and her children, thanking them for supporting Charles through his many years of illness.

Seated next to Jesesi, in one of the rooms that I was ushered into, were July Sharara and his wife. 

Despite being five years younger than Charles, July was his best friend (Sahwira Mukuru). Their friendship rubbed onto their wives too, who apart from sharing the same passion for performing arts also became close friends.

For those who remember, July was the dribbling wizard from years-gone-by who mesmerised soccer fans during his heyday when he played for Metal Box, Chibuku and Dynamos.

Charles’s death came as a huge blow not just to Jesesi and their family, but also to Zimbabwe and the literary industry across the globe.

A few months ago, I received a call from the group chief executive officer of Old Mutual Zimbabwe Jonas Mushosho who wanted to meet with me, so that we could have a discussion with the Mungoshi family on the possible sponsorship of a film they wanted to do around Charles’s life. Without hesitation, I agreed to meet up with Jonas and the Mungoshis represented by Jesesi and her firstborn son Farai.  

The proposal was for Old Mutual and Nyaradzo to be joint sponsors of the film. It was easy for Jonas to consider a co-sponsorship between Old Mutual and Nyaradzo given the many projects we have done together. 

Also because of the soft spot our respective organisations have for the arts, given Old Mutual’ s consistent support for Hifa, while Nyaradzo worked with Extra Large to produce a music album titled “Miti Hupenyu” on conserving the environment. Despite the project being close to our hearts, it unfortunately never saw the light of day.

When I met Jesesi in Madziwa at the late Oliver Mtukudzi’ s funeral, I enquired why she had gone quiet on the project, it was then that she informed me that she had been busy looking after Charles whose health had deteriorated to the point where she couldn’t leave him alone.

At the chapel service held at the Nyaradzo Chitungwiza service centre, Farayi spoke of his mother’s love and strength, putting her life on hold to support Charles as he battled for 10 long years.

It is truly heart-breaking to lose such a gifted and prolific writer at a time when the arts industry is still trying to hold back tears after Tuku quietly left for his higher rewards several weeks ago. In just less than a month, death has robbed us of two talented legends, and again heaven has gained another gentle giant.

Charles leaves behind his wife Jesesi, and five children Farai, Graham, Nyasha, Charles and Tsitsi as well as seven grandchildren.

Most of us interacted with Charles through his literary work in either English or Shona. With a number of his books finding their way onto lists of prescribed texts and some becoming part of syllabuses in schools, colleges and universities, positively impacting the lives of many students.

In a conversation with Mai Palmberg in September 2003 at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Charles revealed that it was loneliness that pushed him to become a writer.

“But I always want to think that it was the loneliness, the way I grew up that led to my choice of career. It was not a career that I chose, I think it chose me. Sometime in the 1950s, my father had to move from our village to start a new life of his own at a farm, so most of the time I was alone and when I could read, which was five years after I started school, I could read very well in both English and Shona. I always had books with me,” he said.

 Like in the life of most geniuses, you couldn’t miss traces of eccentrics.

Eddie Zvinonzwa, whose book reviews I hardly miss on Sundays, once shared with me the lighter side of Charles’ life.

Apart from sharing the same totem (Dziva) with Charles’s mother, Eddie lived in the same neighbourhood as the author for the past 20 years.

He remembers a day when he saw Charles crossing a busy road and heading towards a footpath that crosses a little stream further down Guzha Shopping Centre — popularly known as Chikwanha — past Cleverland Learning Centre near St Mary’s Mission and hooted at him. 

Eddie thought he wanted to walk home and offered to give him a lift home, which he did. After dropping him at his house along Uta Crescent, he headed straight back to Chikwanha. 

About 30 minutes later, Eddie says he was shocked to see Charles crossing the road and walking into the busy shopping centre again. That was Charles Mungoshi for you.

Born on December 2, 1947, in a village near Chivhu in Manyene Tribal Trust Land, Mungoshi attended school at Daramombe and St Augustines’ in Penhalonga.

After school, he worked as a research assistant with the Forestry Commission in Penhalonga, and later joined Textbook Sales as a junior invoicing clerk. 

From 1975 to 1981, he was employed as an editor at the Literature Bureau and at Zimbabwe Publishing House.

Between 1985 and 1987, he then worked as a Writer in Residence at the University of Zimbabwe from where he then left to become a freelance writer, scriptwriter and editor.

Among the many books he wrote, the award-winning Mungoshi is most popularly known for his genius work in books such as; Coming of the Dry Season (1972), Ndiko Kupindana Kwamazuva (1975), Waiting for the Rain (1975), Makunun’unu Maodzamoyo (“Brooding Breeds Despair”; 1977), Inongova Njake Njake (1980), Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura? (1983), The Setting Sun and Rolling World (1987), Stories from a Childhood (1989), One Day Long Ago: More Stories from a Shona Childhood (1991), Walking Still (short stories; 1997), The Milkman Doesn’t Only Deliver Milk (1998) and Branching Streams Flow in the Dark (2013).

Despite all this fame and accomplishments, Charles lived a quiet and humble life in Chitungwiza. Often using his neighbourhood of Zengeza 1, Zanamwe Shopping Centre, St Mary’s Police Station and the Prince Edward Dam and Waterworks as his inspiration for several of his literary pieces.

Among other accolades, Mungoshi won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book in Africa twice and was subsequently invited to meet the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.

As one of the few artists who wrote across languages, cultures and the major genres of poetry, prose and drama, Charles was one of the finest writers Zimbabwe has ever produced.

With one of his greatest strengths being the short story, Coming of the Dry Season (1972), The Setting Sun and Rolling World (1987), Stories from a Childhood (1989), One Day Long Ago: More Stories from a Shona Childhood (1991), Walking Still (short stories; 1997) are a testimony of his adept hand with the prose genre. 

Zimbabwe’s literary scene is indeed poorer without his powerful voice, for Charles was one of the country’s most illustrious literary voices.

May your dear soul “Musimuvi” rest in eternal peace!

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HARARE - Quinquagenarian bodybuilder Masiye Sergio Suwali’s call for a sponsor came to fruition after Iron Lion Nutrition and Supplements announced their partnership with the Harare-based bodybuilder.

Suwali, 55, surprised many when he entered the senior men bodybuilding category in last weekend’s GS Classic and Fitness Expo held at Fitness For Her Gym in High Glen against younger athletes.

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He did manage to make it in the top six and his bravery and passion was enough to win him a special award.

On Tuesday, Cornilius Rudziva reached out to Suwali and announced that his company Iron Lino Nutrition and Supplements were signing “Baba Dorry” as their brand ambassador.

“Despite the age, resources around and that he is old school bodybuilder, he is an exceptional lively human being who can turn out to be a source of inspiration to his peers, advocating proper health and good living,” Rudziva said. 

Suwali thanked the heavens for smiling on him despite his advanced age.

“I have worked my heart out all the days of my life waiting for such opportunities right from my teenage days. It was elusive back then but I never stopped working and believing, truly all things work out well to those who believe,” Suwali said.

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AMID worsening poverty, Zanu PF will early next month splash millions on a solidarity rally for President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose administration is accused of human rights abuses and failing to stabilise the economy.

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Allies of the president are already knocking at the doors of the corporate sector for donations to fund the event, which comes at a time when the scourge of factionalism has reared its ugly head yet again in the ruling party.Each of the ruling party’s 10 provincial structures have been instructed to mobilise a minimum of 30 000 people to attend the mega rally set for what was once known as the Freedom Square in Harare on Saturday.

Nearly 150 000 litres of fuel would be used to oil the fleet of buses being mobilised by the Zanu PF commissariat department to ferry party supporters to Harare. Add the cost of accommodation and food, the ruling party is likely to fork out close to $2 million, although insiders claim that the budget has been trimmed down to $900 000.
In a circular to provincial chairpersons, the party
political commissar Engelbert Rugeje said Mnangagwa will address the rally.

According to the circular, the commissariat department will allocate the fuel as follows: Bulawayo (10 000 litres); Harare (15 000 litres); Mashonaland East (18 750 litres); Mashonaland West (18 750 litres); Masvingo (18 750 litres); Matabeleland South (20 000 litres); Matabeleland North (20 000 litres) and Midlands (15 000 litres).
Mashonaland Central and Manicaland will also be allocated fuel.
“Further to that, the department is organising the feeding plan for the delegates in Harare. However, provinces are advised to feed the delegates before departure. Although the programme is being spearheaded by the national youth league, it has been upgraded to a national event. We call upon organs of the party to give maximum support,” reads the circular in part.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya-Moyo confirmed that the party’s youths are set to march in Harare in solidarity with Mnangagwa.
“It’s an event that is being organised by the youths but which the party fully supports,” he said before referring questions to the youth league. Zanu PF youth league secretary for the commissariat Godfrey Tsenengamu said nearly all the provinces are geared up for the march and rally. 

“Our president is under siege locally and internationally; you have heard statements from Europe and America and also from the MDC. We saw those demonstrations in January, they were violent and meant to remove our leader so it is against this background that we are coming in to say our leader is legitimate, we are doing this to show strength in our numbers,” he said.
“There is no organisation that does not spend. All the political parties are spending, some actually have had more events than us and they must tell us where they got their funding from. Our event is national; we have youths who are coming from across the country because it is a national event so it is inevitable that we will spend big,” added Tsenengamu.

Analysts said Zanu PF was being extravagant at a time when over five million people are in need of food aid.
Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the obscene spending by Zanu PF shows a leadership that is out of touch with reality.
He said the opposition also suffers from the same type of politics.
“It shows our leaders have wrong priorities. They like grandstanding, live in opulence amidst poverty and penury, and display obscene wealth in a sea of misery. We have wring people, with wrong priorities at the top. Our politicians have very little to offer, they would rather show off, grandstand and spend on useless rallies. It’s a scourge in both ruling and main opposition party,” said Saungweme.
International Crisis Group director Piers Pigou said it would be interesting to see how Zanu PF justifies such expenditure in current circumstances. 

“It looks like a default setting in terms of past rote practices of choreographed praise-singing, intended to demonstrate a major show of strength in the wake of the repression that has received so much negative publicity,” said Pigou.

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WORK by the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to compile information on what really happened during the Gukurahundi era will begin next month.
Commissioner Leslie Ncube told the Daily News on Tuesday that the NPRC will from mid next month start to gather as much information as possible as part of the building blocks towards national healing.
He encouraged the affected communities to engage truthfully and to co-operate fully with the commission.

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“…we want to meet everyone and tell each other the truth; that’s how we are going to deal with this matter — as a united front,” he said.
An estimated 20 000 defenceless civilians died during the Gukurahundi era when then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe unleashed a North Korean-trained army unit to crack on alleged dissent to his rule in Midlands and Matabeleland.

In 2011, Genocide Watch, along with the International Association of Genocide Scholars, classified Gukurahundi as genocide.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who served Mugabe’s right-hand man for nearly 54 years, last year operationalised the NPRC as part of efforts to address unresolved national issues, including the Gukurahundi atrocities. Mnangagwa has distanced himself from the 1980s disturbances, mandating the NPRC and traditional leaders to tackle the issue.

While the commission was well received in many quarters, it was not the same in Matabeleland region where many human rights activists refused to recognise it on the basis of its composition. 
The activists felt that the commission would be biased in its operations since it only has one Ndebele speaking member in its ranks. Irked by this lopsided composition, the activists disrupted the NPRC’s inaugural national consultation meetings in Matabeleland last year.

Ncube said the commission would have to trace all mass graves in the affected communities to gather evidence of the post-independence killings. 
He said the issue of exhumation will not be hurried as there are processes to be followed.
“People in communities know the mass graves that are in their areas….We will be listening to you to lead the process at that local level.

“Come to the meetings with a plan of what you want to happen because we will be using participatory methods; we don’t want to plan for people. Our job is not in the office – it’s on the ground because this is where the killings allegedly happened,” Ncube explained.

Remains of the Gukurahundi victims continue to be uncovered in some parts of Matabeleland, particularly in Lupane and Maphisa, which bore the brunt of the mass killings. 
However, there have not been any government-sanctioned exhumations, forensics or reburials to date.

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HARARE - Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa is today expected to announce the squad which will do duty against Congo in a crucial 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the National Sports Stadium next month.

Chidzambwa’s charges need at least a draw in the match on March 24, to seal a place at the Afcon finals.

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All the four teams in Group G — Zimbabwe, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Congo — still have a chance of qualifying for the tournament to be held in Egypt from June 15 to July 13.

A defeat against Congo will see the Warriors bow out on head-to-head basis should the other match between DRC and Liberia produce a winner.

Currently, Warriors top the group with eight points while Liberia are in second place with seven points with DRC in third position with six points while Congo anchor the group with five points from five matches.

Warriors team manager Wellington Mpandare confirmed the squad will be announced today.

Chidzambwa is expected to retain the bulk of the players who have been doing duty lately although a few surprises may spring up. England-based defender Tendai Darikwa is likely to return to the fold after missing the trip to Liberia because of suspension.

Giant goalkeeper George Chigova, Ronald Pfumbidzayi, Devine Lunga, Teenage Hadebe are doing well for their respective clubs and should be in line for call-up. 

Skipper Knowledge Musona has also been seeing regular action of late and should come as huge boost to Chidzambwa.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has already put the tickets for the crucial tie on sale with fans intending to watch the Warriors’ tie have to dig deep into their pockets for as much as $200 for the VVIP ticket.

The VVIP ticket rose four-fold from the previous price of $50 when Zimbabwe hosted Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last home match in October last year.

Entrance fees to the bays 15-18 also rose from $10 to $50, while the cheapest ticket for the rest of the ground will be $10.

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MDC party leader Nelson Chamisa, pictured, has left the country on a mission to brief unnamed African leaders about the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. In a statement, the party’s director of communications Luke Tamborinyoka said Chamisa is “on a diplomatic offensive in Africa to sensitise the continent on the situation in Zimbabwe”.

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Without disclosing the countries to be visited by the MDC leader “for security reasons,” Tamborinyoka said Chamisa will also use the trip to cement relations “with our brothers and sisters in fellow countries on the continent”.

Sources close to Chamisa told the Daily News yesterday that the 41-year-old opposition leader is currently in Ghana, where he is expected to meet President Nana Akufo-Addo.
In 2016, Chamisa accompanied then MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (now late) to attend Akufo-Addo’s inauguration after they had been invited by the former opposition leader.

Chamisa was the MDC vice president at the time.
Chamisa had made it to the list of invited guest owing to his friendship to Akufo-Addo’s campaign manager Peter Mac Manu, whom he had met in the United States in 2015.
From West Africa, Chamisa is also expected to meet an unnamed head of State in East Africa as he lobbies the African Union (AU) to encourage dialogue with his political rival President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Chamisa has in the past written to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the AU and the United Nations — highlighting the country’s myriad of problems.
“Obviously, he will meet some leaders in the Sadc region to upraise them on the deteriorating situation in the country so that they have a full appreciation of the developments in the country and that there is danger that the situation could actually spill out of control not only here in the country but also in terms of the problems’ geographical scope,” a source said of Chamisa’s tour.

The MDC leader’s diplomatic engagement drive comes hard on the heels of a State-sponsored onslaught on political and civic leaders as well as ordinary citizens.
This also comes amid a deafening silence by the AU and Sadc on the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe which has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community, especially the Western world.

While many were expecting the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe to feature prominently at the 32nd ordinary session of the AU held in Addis Ababa two weeks ago, the AU seemed to have adopted a hear no evil, see no evil mentality. In the case of Sadc, its chairperson Hage Geingob issued a statement blaming Non-Governmental Organisations and perceived external forces of seeking to destabilise Zimbabwe.

This followed the killing of 12 protesters by the army and police last month after a three-day stay-away organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions turned violent.
Mnangagwa’s government also blames a third force for stirring the demonstrations that were meant to protest massive hikes in fuel prices. But the world, including the UN condemned the sad turn of events and called on the authorities to use restraint in responding to protests.

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HARARE - Undisputed Zimbabwe female bodybuilding champion Regina Jonga’s quest to participate in her first China international contest early next month hangs in the balance owing to lack of sponsorship.

Jonga is set to contest in the Tera Inter-Continental 2019 WFF Pro Am Bodybuilding championship in Shanghai on March 7 and 8. Her Achilles heel however, is on raising airfares and accommodation.

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“This will be first time to compete in a far-away place like China. I have been to other international shows closer to home in South Africa and I feel this is one is an opportunity for me to showcase the best that Zimbabwe and Africa can offer as far as women’s bodybuilding is concerned,” Jonga told the Daily News yesterday.

The talented and muscly bodybuilder who has over the years proved to be no match for her local counterparts was earlier forced to relocate to South Africa in search of competitive bodybuilding has since returned home to help women sport grow.

“I am back home, as they say home is best so here I am, back in the country and ready to help in any way that I can and see that our women bodybuilding continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

“Personally I am looking forward to competing at the Olympia God-willing. 

“My only challenge is that even as I have returned back home, I still don’t have competition which is the reason why this trip to China is very important to me, I need to be an active bodybuilder.”

Some of the major titles Jonga has won to date include Arnold Africa Classic in 2017, South Africa Championships (2017), Gentle Giant (2017), Pretoria Classic (2018) and the WFF Nabba Championship which she won last year as well.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe women cricket team this week got off to an intensive batting camp to fine- tune their skills before they embark on game practice matches against junior boys provincial age group teams and academies.

The team resumed camp last month and have been going through a rigorous and thorough reconditioning check under the tutelage of national team fitness trainer Lorraine Chivandire ahead of April’s Twenty20 triangular series in Uganda that will also feature Kenya.

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The locals are set to leave for Uganda on April 4 for their last part of international cricket preparations before hosting the ICC World Cup- Africa Qualifier in May.

“It has been serious business as usual, everyone turned out for the camp save for South Africa-based Chiedza (Mzembe) who is in school and should be joining the rest of her teammates any moment from now,” Lady Chevrons head coach Adam Chifo told the Daily News yesterday.

“We worked on different areas starting with the girls’ fitness and I’m glad their fitness levels are up there. The camp went on well with minor hustles and if your charges are as fit as a fiddle it gives you that satisfaction as a coach to go on and work on other crucial aspects of the game. 

“This week has been dedicated to polishing up on our batting skills, getting down to the basics before we begin competitive games against the junior boys’ aged group teams.”

Chifo said the games in Uganda will give the side an opportunity to assess their state of preparedness before the Africa Qualifier in May.

“The best experience is gained on the wicket by playing against such teams as Uganda and Kenya who we will also meet at home in the qualifiers so we are going there with the hope to play, learn and win,” he added.

“We are not reading much into the fact that Uganda cost us a global qualification place when we meet in the last Africa Qualifier, we will only entertain those thoughts when we clash in that respective tournament. For now, we are going there to enjoy the game, learn and try to implement those lessons before the big games start.”

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HARARE - A Harare court yesterday turned away a challenge to the prosecution of three Grain Marketing Board Pension Fund (GMBPF) executives facing charges of defrauding the grain utility of $1 million.

Harare regional magistrate Lucy Mungwari declined to take up an appeal by executives Korbs Kobie Mutandiro, 59, Basilio Sandamu, 64, and Taona Munzvandi, 48, for exception to the fraud charges, throwing out their challenge that claimed their company was supposed to be charged as a legal entity not in their individual capacities.

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According to the State, sometime in the late 90s, the government embarked on the Land Reform Programme which involved compulsory acquisition of land for re-distribution.

In terms of the Land Acquisition Act Chapter 20:10 and through an extraordinary Government Gazette general notice 591 of 2001, a notice was given to acquire Romany Farm under deed of transfer number 5421.

It was alleged that on April 30, 2013, Munzvandi, allegedly in connivance with Mutandiro and Sandamu, hatched a plan to defraud the fund.

The court heard Munzvandi and Mutandiro entered into an agreement of sale of the said farm to GMBPF for $2,5 million knowing that the farm had been acquired by the State.

Acting on the misrepresentation, GMBPF transferred $1 040 000 into Organs Resources (Pvt) Ltd Standard Chartered Bank corporate account where Mutandiro is the director and signatory to the bank account.  Earlier, Mutandiro had allegedly fraudulently acquired 51 percent of the shares from the previous owner David John Sheehan for a purported value ZW$5 million.

Mutandiro then allegedly connived with his accomplices and entered into an agreement of sale with GMBPF for $2,5 million although they knew that the farm had been acquired by the State.

A memorandum of understanding was subsequently entered between Romany Farm and GMBPF for a joint venture for purposes of land development.

The court heard Mutandiro, Sandamu and Munzvandi did so without a requisite certificate-of no-present-interest.  After the agreement had been completed, Munzvandi then allegedly instructed the finance manager at GMBPF to transfer $1 070 000 into Mutandiro’s Organs Resources.

The offence was unearthed after GMBPF realised that Romany Farm had been handed over to Local Government ministry for urban development in 2015.

As a result, GMBPF was prejudiced $1 040 000 and nothing was recovered. 

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There is a looming chronic workforce shortage at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) after the Constitutional Court (Con-Court) ordered the body to disengage all serving members of the security services within its employment, with a leading legal watchdog saying it was vital for Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to allow the NPA to recruit new staff.

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This comes as Zimbabwean Treasury has frozen all recruitment by most government arms.  
But legal watchdog Veritas said the NPA needs an aggressive hiring push, after the Con-Court ruled that its employment of serving security service members was a serious breach of section 208(4) of the Constitution.

Government was dragged to court in January 2015 by the Zimbabwe Law Officers Association and a former prosecutor after police officers and members of the Defence Forces were seconded to the NPA amid a shortage of trained prosecutors. Some of these police and military officers were said to be very good but they are not trained lawyers.

In its February 19 judgment, the full Con-Court bench led by Chief Justice Luke Malaba ordered the NPA “to disengage all serving members of the security services within its employment”. 
The court, however, allowed the NPA 24 months — which lapse on February 18, 2021 — to comply with the order.
The Con-Court ruled that the delay in removing the security force was “to avoid chaos”.  

Veritas said under these circumstances, it was folly blocking the recruitment of new prosecutors given that the NPA was facing a looming crisis in staffing numbers.
“NPA needs more resources. Government will inevitably have to allocate greater resources to the NPA to enable it to attract and retain competent and professional civilian personnel. Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, please note,” Veritas said in a commentary.

Veritas’s exhortation could win favour with Ncube, given that, last month Treasury authorised the recruitment of at least 3 000 teachers in a bid to improve the teacher-to-pupil ratio which impacts on the quality of education in schools.
Government has not been recruiting since 2015 after the then Public Service Commission announced that recruitment and promotions in the civil service had been frozen as part of a staff rationalisation exercise.

The NPA court challenge was brought before the Con-Court by Zimbabwe Law Officers  Association and former prosecutor Dereck  Charamba in terms of section 85(1) of the Constitution.
The court challenge cited the NPA, the prosecutor-general, the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister, the Commissioner-General of Police and the Attorney-General as respondents.
The applicants were seeking an order declaring the employment of serving members of the security services, as prosecutors, to be unconstitutional.

And the court concurred that the NPA’s employment of serving security service members was a serious breach of section 208(4) of the Constitution, which reads: “Serving members of the security services (that is the Defence Forces, the Police Service, the intelligence services and the Prisons and Correctional Service) must not be employed in civilian institutions except in periods of public emergency.”

The court order now requires the removal from the NPA of all serving security services members whether they are functioning as prosecutors or in any other capacity. 

The court order now requires the removal from the NPA of all serving security services members whether they are functioning as prosecutors or in any other capacity.

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HARARE - A Harare man appeared in court yesterday charged with hacking into tax agency, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra)’s computer system in collaboration with the agency’s employee to steal $2 million.  

Manase Manjova, 34, appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa.

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The case was postponed to today for bail considerations.

Manjova allegedly connived with Stephen Moreka, 38, a Zimra infrastructure administrator who is already on remand.

The duo is charged with contravening section 163 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act or alternatively unauthorised access to a computer or a network.

It is the State’s case that Moreka remotely accessed the Zimra paynet server on May 4, 2018 when he was away from work on sick leave.

He then uploaded three files into the paynet system with a total value of $2 385 073 without authority.

He allegedly cleared all server logs to cover any trace.

The court heard that unfortunately for Moreka, the deleted files were recovered by one Gerlie Mugundani who also works for Zimra as an accountant assistant.

Mugundani then reported the issue to the bosses.

Manjova was allegedly roped into the scam when the unauthorised payments had been directed to various bank accounts that include Kubasa Greater, Dell Computers, Limpstone Investments, Fourways Stationery, Stonechart Investments and Greytech Services among others.        

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HARARE City Council (HCC) is set to introduce a stricter water rationing regime as dam levels at Lake Chivero continue dwindling.
Acting distribution manager Tapiwa Kunyadini told a full council meeting that the city’s raw water was now very concentrated with nitrogen and phosphorus because there has not been any significant rains.

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The engineer’s remarks come as Mabvuku councillor Munyaradzi Kufahakutizwi had asked why some suburbs continue to suffer water shortages. “We will be instituting a stricter water rationing regime especially for areas in the northern suburbs to 72 hours per week to allow for pumping to Highlands and Pomona areas. We have stopped drawing water from Prince Edward Dam because it is now very low and cannot be extracted. Apart from the poor rains, our major problems now are chemicals and rehabilitation of our treatment works which may take a lot of time,” Kunyadini said.

He emphasised that the raw water quality was now extremely concentrated and needed a lot of chemicals to delineate to make it fit for human consumption. The council engineer indicated that council was now pumping 300 megalitres of water daily against 620 ML they were pumping last year.

“We are hoping that with the works that we are undertaking to the various clarifiers at Morton Jaffray and the commissioning of Avondale pump station, we will be able to have returned water production to over 500 Ml by end of April,” he said.

Environmental management committee chairperson Kudzai Kadzombe said the city should look into other sources of water as a matter of urgency. She said alternatively, council should also have additional mobile water treatment units to draw water and treat it from smaller sources.

“The engineers should look into other methods of purification because the number of chemicals we are using is too much. We understand that the quality of our raw water is extremely bad but the chemicals used should be reduced,” Kadzombe said.
Water rationing comes as HCC is also looking to investors for three additional mobile treatment units that will pump water to suburbs such as Glen Lorne, Borrowdale, Mabvuku, Tafara, which have gone for years without municipal water.

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HARARE - Top  world labour unions yesterday came out guns blazing against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime over the arrest of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) general-secretary for Africa Kwasi Adu-Amankwah. 

Amankwah was picked up on Tuesday just after checking into a Harare hotel just after his arrival at the Robert Mugabe International Airport.

Africa’s foremost trade union leader was set to meet with leaders of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), president Peter Mutasa and secretary-general Japhet Moyo who are out on bail after being arrested for calling for the January national stay-away against a 150 percent hike in fuel prices. 

Mutasa and Moyo have both been granted $2 000 bail and are reporting three times a week to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Law and Order.

They are facing charges of attempting to subvert a constitutionally-elected government. 

Adu-Amankwa, a veteran Ghanaian trade unionist, was freed late on Tuesday after being held incommunicado since his morning arrest, and denied access to a lawyer.

He was held by the Department of Immigration at the airport and was later released after international pressure was brought to bear on Mnangagwa.

South Africa’s main trade union federation, Cosatu — part of an official, three-way governing alliance that also includes the African National Congress (ANC) and the Communist Party — said the behaviour of the Zimbabwe government was the utmost violation of the freedom of association and infringes on the overall rights and trade union rights. 

“Cosatu condemns in the strongest terms the detention of the ITUC-Africa general-secretary, Comrade …Adu-Amankwah. We are not so surprised by this action of the security forces in Zimbabwe; we know too well it is in the DNA of the Zimbabwean regime to behave in this manner,” Cosatu said in a damning statement yesterday.

“The problems of Zimbabwe will never be resolved with the approach of the current Zimbabwe regime.

“This will serve to only worsen the situation. This strengthens the case that Zimbabwe remains a country at risk and must be treated as such. This behaviour violates not only human and trade union rights but international labour standards and laws.”

Cosatu said Mnangagwa “must stop interfering with trade unions as well as the persecution of trade union leaders and labelling of ZCTU a dissident organisation, and anyone associating with it an enemy of the regime.”

“… Kwasi must be allowed to finish his mission and we are all keen to hear the mission’s findings although it is clearer now. Sadc cannot be silent when obvious disregard for freedoms and rights are so blatantly clear. We challenge Sadc to intervene meaningfully with sustainable solutions in that country.”

Switzerland-based UNI Global Workers Union said the Zimbabwe government is not genuine about re-engagement.

“Labour is an important stakeholder and organ of civil society which always seeks to be part of the solution in difficult conditions.

“The arrest of the ITUC-Africa general-secretary brings into question how genuine the Zimbabwean government is about resolving the current impasse through dialogue.

“UNI Africa is calling upon the Zimbabwean government to do the right thing and to allow Kwasi to continue with his mission free from intimidation,” the union said.

The United States of America embassy in Harare wrote on its Twitter account that the arrest of civil society leaders further damage Zimbabwe’s image.

 “Harassment and targeted arrests of civil society leaders damage Zimbabwe’s reputation & economic future.  We call on the Zimbabwean government to uphold its Constitution, protect human rights, and foster an environment where all can contribute to the nation’s progress.”

The Federation of Somali Unions (FESTU) strongly condemned the arrest of the top trade unionist.

“FESTU deplores the forceful nature in which the government of Zimbabwe is responding to the legitimate work and demands of trade unions.

“We reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of the systemic abuse of power and repression against leaders and members of the trade union movement led by the Zimbabwe Congress of trade Unions (ZCTU),” FESTU secretary-general Omar Faruk Osman said, adding the Zimbabwe government was declaring war against trade unions in Africa.

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HARARE - Last month, government allowed a fleet of private buses to join forces with the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) in servicing cities and towns so as to counter the high transport costs that were being charged by kombi operators.

The exorbitant fares had adversely affected workers and school children who commute daily to and from work/school.

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Coming immediately after the three-day stay-away which ran from January 14 to 16 this year, some of us were suspicious of this act of generosity.

Stung by the hugely successful protests, government did not only blame the main labour movement and non-governmental organisations for the violence, looting and wanton destruction of property that accompanied the demonstrations: It was also quick to blame kombis operators for withdrawing their services.

By introducing alternative cheap transport, government has therefore had its revenge. Although the idea appears noble on paper, we wondered if it could last.

While this is being touted as an initiative by the moribund Zupco, we doubt if the parastatal had anything to do with it.

In its current state, Zupco has no financial stamina to deliver on its end of the bargain and it is only a matter of time before the independent bus operators walk away from the deal.

To start with, there are a lot of grey areas regarding how this arrangement was structured, especially in terms of payments for services rendered.

We also don’t think that Zupco, even with the help of Treasury, can sustain fuelling all these buses when the country is grappling with fuel and foreign currency shortages.

Already, events of the past few days have been disturbing to those who thought their transport problems were over as the buses became erratic, hence leaving passengers stranded.

We hear some of the operators have pulled out, resulting in kombi operators taking advantage of the situation by doubling their fares once again.

Zupco and its parent ministry of Local Government should explain to the commuting public on the challenges they are encountering so that people make other transport arrangements as they have to adjust their transport costs.

It is a big betrayal for Zupco and its parent ministry to keep quiet and pretend that everything is okay as workers and school children get stranded until late in the evening.

While government is pinning its hope on the buses sourced outside the country by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, these may take years to come. Without proper structures, systems and effective management at Zupco, the effort can also easily to go waste.

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HARARE City coach Mark Harrison is expected back in the country from his long holiday in Europe this afternoon to resume preparations ahead of the 2019 Castle Lager Premiership season as the Sunshine Boys look set to improve on their last season’s performances.  
Speculation linking Harrison with a move away from the Sunshine Boys to FC Platinum has been rife with expectations he would assume the position of technical director in the wake of the reigning champions’ poor showing in the Caf Champions League where they have managed a single point in four matches.

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However, the Briton, who is credited for transforming City into a formidable outfit in the previous season, will arrive today and should immediately take charge of City’s pre-season preparations which have been overseen by his trusted lieutenant Mark Mathe in his absence.

Harrison committed his future to the Sunshine Boys by signing a new long-term deal at the end of last season and will not come cheap for any team interested in his services as they will have to fork out a significant amount as compensation to tie him down.
Speaking from Hungary, where he was attending his daughter’s graduation ceremony yesterday, the former CAPS United coach told the Daily News his future lies with the Sunshine Boys, and is already looking forward to an exciting 2019 season.

“I’m back tomorrow lunch time. My focus is with Harare City and we want to continue with the project that we have. I think it’s only normal at this time of the season to be linked with other clubs but there is no contact whatsoever with anyone,” said Harrison.
“I don’t see myself leaving Harare City at this point in time. We have a project that we are working on and it is my hope to see it coming to fruition. Our preparations for the new season are already in full swing and we hope to take it a step up in the coming days.”

Before he left for Europe two weeks ago, Harrison had recommended Harare City’s new recruits as they are desperate to improve on last season’s ninth position on the log table.
Harrison has lost his son Ryan, who decided to cut short his stay in Zimbabwe opting to return to his native England to pursue a coaching career. Ryan was one of the standout performers for City last season as they punched above their weight to finish ninth while reaching the Chibuku Cup final.

City also lost midfielder Malvin Gaki to Chicken Inn and defender Pritchard Mpelele, who is now at new boys Manica Diamonds.  
But in strengthening his squad, Harrison has since brought in defender Marshal Machazane after he was expelled by Dynamos towards the end of last season. City have also landed highly-rated holding midfielder Tatenda Tavengwa from relegated Bulawayo City.
They are also hopeful of securing the signature of defender Milton Ncube, who is pushing to get his clearance from CAPS United.

City have also signed former Highlanders and CAPS United midfielder Peter Moyo while promoting midfielder Shingirai Musukuta and goalkeeper Arnold Mukuli from the Cubs.
There is also a place for another highly-rated Aces Youth Soccer Academy midfielder Collin Mujuru.

“I feel we will have a strong side next season. We want to try and improve from last season. I think we have had decent business on the transfer market. We believe all those who joined will help us improve,” Harrison said.

City have since lined up preseason friendly matches with a number of top flight teams and division one sides as they seek to crank up their preparations for the new season. 
In recent days, the Sunshine Boys dedicated most of their time on improving players’ fitness levels.

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Gazing into an empty space, with a silver chandelier dangling from a nicely decorated ceiling, and a nicely built house that can be mistook for a mansion, Melody Mapanda looked upset and emotionally drained. 

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She has been robbed of her only son by alcoholism and drugs, and cannot seem to stomach and understand where she went wrong in his upbringing, as she convinces herself that peer pressure and mob psychology is to blame for her son’s demise.

Narrating her ordeal to the Dailynews on Sunday, Mapanda said her son was very brilliant in his studies and much disciplined before he started indulging in drugs and slowly wasting away.

“Tonde was a very good boy, very focused in his studies and friendly. Things started changing when he came home end of first term during his lower six, he was a bit distant and would spend much of his time in his room and at first l thought he just needed space to concentrate more on his studies,” Mapanda said, trying to fight back tears.

“By third term the strange habit continued and when l tried to confront him he was so aggressive that he pushed me. While l was still trying to digest the situation, he dropped a bombshell on me that he will not go back to school as he is sick and tired of it.”

Mapanda said her efforts to try and speak sense into his son were fruitless as he was eventually suspended from school for bad behaviour and turned into an uncontrollable child, who even sell home property to acquire money to buy drugs.

Tonde is one among many youths who have thrown away their future for drugs and the addiction has made it impossible for him to stop. Despite getting everything he desires as he is from a rich family, he did not escape from the drug net that is swallowing the adolescents and youths in Zimbabwe.

While most cases of drug abuse has been attributed to poverty being a push factor, one cannot ignore the fact that even people from affluent backgrounds also succumb to alcoholism and drug abuse, making alcoholism and drug abuse a cause for concern in Zimbabwe.

A study conducted in 2002 entitled ‘Drug Use, Abuse and Alcoholism in Zimbabwe’ concluded that alcoholism is one of Zimbabwe’s four top diseases and predicted that in 2022, alcoholism will be the country’s number one social problem.

Most researches suggests that early 12-14 years, to late 15-17 years adolescence is a critical risk period for the initiation of substance use and may peak among young people aged 18-25 years. 

The 2018 World Drug report showed that Cannabis is a common drug of choice for young people, adding that there are two extreme typologies of drug use among young people: club drugs in nightlife and recreational settings among affluent youth; and use of inhalants among street children to cope with their difficult circumstances.

“A huge number of youths and adolescents in Zimbabwe are initiated into drug abuse either at youth parties or via food items they term space cakes which they share as friends at school,” said one psychologist, Jackie Moyo.

 According to a recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, the non-medical use of prescription drugs is becoming a major threat to public health and law enforcement worldwide. 

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said the report show that drug markets are expanding, with cocaine and opium production hitting absolute record highs.

Zimbabwe Republic Police CID drugs and Narcotics detective Majaha Mkwananzi said while the law work on drug supply reduction on the streets, the health sector and the community will also have to work on the demand reduction through encouraging a morally apt society.

 “Children learn from observing, when parents or older people around them abuse drugs, they tend to copy and aspire to be like that, thus the older generation should lead by example,” he said.

 Mkhwananzi encouraged parents and guardians to be always on the lookout for strange traits that their children might start developing so that they address the situation before it gets worse.

“The sad part of it is that these youths and adolescents always find themselves at the wrong side of the law as they cause problems in the community when intoxicated,” Mkhwananzi said.

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Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) projects and public relations officer, Shingai Douglas Gwatidzo said the problem need to addressed at the point of entry, as these drugs are being sold in the country pointing out that there is a market for them, hence the need for awareness campaigns and educational programmes to encourage the populace to quit abusing drugs.

Speaking to the Dailynews on Sunday, Get High on Life founder, Paul Nobes , who recovered from alcoholism and drug abuse 17 years ago and decided to set up a sober house offering a safe and sober haven for addicts and alcoholics exiting rehabilitation, said there are many factors that can spur alcoholism and drug abuse outside poverty.

“Childhood trauma and history of addiction in the family are some of the unmentioned causes of drug abuse,” he said.

“These drug addicts need to be taken care of, educated about dangers of abusing drugs and monitored by health practionioners.”

According to the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (ZCLDN), approximately 290,000 youths in the country are abusing drugs and alcohol. 

Parirenyatwa psychiatric unit nurse in charge Tinashe Chimonyo, said three quarters of the youths in Harare are abusing drugs and the males are the prevalent sex in drug abuse and alcoholism. 

“We encourage parents and guardians to never give up on their children when they are caught in the drug net, but rather seek help,” Chimonyo said.

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HARARE- With just under three months to go to the MDC’s eagerly-anticipated elective congress in May  where a new substantive party leader will be chosen — sparks are flying within the country’s main opposition outfit, the Daily News can report.

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Emotions have been further ventilated after mischievous Zanu PF “agents provocateurs” backed the party’s well-regarded secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora to beat the current popular leader, Nelson Chamisa, in the fast-approaching polls. This comes as MDC’s senior leadership has openly accused the ruling party of working frantically to destabilise the opposition party again, ahead of its 

May 24-26 congress where Mwonzora is expected to contest Chamisa. As a result, a lot of flak has been directed at Mwonzora — particularly following a mischievous tweet by Zanu PF deputy youth leader, Lewis Matutu, who “predicted” the fall of Chamisa come May.
MDC vice chairperson Tendai Biti, whom many are tipping to contest for one of the party’s vice president posts, angrily reacted to the suggestions that Mwonzora was likely to emerge as the new party leader after the May congress.

He said the party would not accept to be led by “a ruling party chosen half-wit”. “We will reject any nincompoop given to us by Zanu PF. We already have a candidate in … Chamisa. So, we will not tolerate that. “Our duty is to protect the legacy of our dear leader Morgan Tsvangirai and we know with Chamisa we will be able to do that,” Biti thundered.

A senior member of the MDC national standing committee, who refused to be named for fear of victimisation, told the Daily News yesterday that Mwonzora was thus likely to be rejected by party supporters as perceptions grew that he was allegedly a Zanu PF ‘Trojan Horse’. “This does not augur well for our SG (secretary-general) because he will now find it difficult to campaign in the structures as he is now being viewed as a Zanu PF project, which is very sad.

“He could even be booed at rallies, like what happened to (one of Chamisa’s deputies Elias) Mudzuri, as unfair as this will be because the SG is a man of impeccable integrity,” the party official said.
“There always existed a feeling in the party that Mwonzora is no longer with us after he apologised to Luke Malaba when he (Malaba) was booed in Parliament by MDC MPs ... and so the Matutu issue is a kiss of death for him,” said another senior party official.

The MDC youth assembly also claimed that Zanu PF wanted a “weaker candidate” to emerge as the party’s leader in May “for obvious reasons” — vowing that this would not happen.
“It is saddening that Zanu PF wants to give us a leader and we know why. We are, however, clear as youths and other organs of the party that we have Chamisa as our leader and the decision is ours not Zanu PF’s,” said Lovemore Chinoputsa, the MDC youth assembly secretary-general.

Matutu threw the cat among the pigeons when he poisonously said Chamisa would receive a heavy shellacking from Mwonzora at the May congress, because “he did not have support in the MDC party structures”. “Mwonzora is likely to become the new MDC … president because the majority of Chamisa’s hooligans are not in the structures of their party and they don’t form part of the congress delegates,” Matutu said in his controversial tweet.
Matutu went on to defend his statement yesterday saying it was “an honest analysis” of what was happening in the country’s largest opposition party.

“What I said was not informed by my liking for Mwonzora, because I don’t like him as well as Chamisa. If I could have it my way, I would prefer Mudzuri. “I am saying this based on what I see. They also comment about Zanu PF saying bad things about our leaders, and so there is nothing wrong in us giving our views on them as well,” Matutu told the Daily News.

MDC Masvingo provincial chairperson, James Gumbi — who is thought to be backing Mwonzora — said there was nothing wrong with Zanu PF endorsing the Harare lawyer. “Does it really matter? I don’t know,” he said curtly. Meanwhile, political analysts have warned both Chamisa and Mwonzora to be wary of people seeking to cause divisions in the MDC, ahead of its crucial congress.

“While Zanu PF may have an interest in the MDC congress, it maybe far-fetched to suggest that Mwonzora is a Trojan Horse for Zanu PF,” rights lawyer and political analyst Dewa Mavhinga, said.
On Tuesday, Mwonzora hinted that he was ready to contest for the MDC’s highest position during an interview with the Daily News.
“I will be giving you a statement regarding what I will be standing for ... there are key processes that must happen first and these include the nomination process.

“Within the MDC set-up, people are nominated by the structures. I want to emphasise that I am a full member with full rights including the right to contest any position,” he said.
Chamisa was last weekend given a huge boost ahead of the make-or-break congress when two provinces and key sections such as the youth and women’s assemblies endorsed his candidature.
Well-placed sources have said the result of the congress is likely to be “too close to call” given the profiles of both Chamisa and Mwonzora.

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They said this was especially so given that Chamisa was defeated by Mwonzora in 2014 for the secretary-general’s post — who was, at the time, considered a rank outsider in those elections.
Chamisa then held the powerful post of MDC organising secretary, a position which was said to have given him the opportunity to revamp party structures in his favour — and which structures were expected to give him an overwhelming victory against Mwonzora who was the party spokesperson then.

Mwonzora scored a shock and unexpected crushing victory over Chamisa — which saw him getting 2 464 votes against his rival’s 1 756. This subsequently left Chamisa as an ordinary card carrying member, before he was rescued by the party’s revered and now late leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who appointed him to the MDC national executive as secretary for policy and research.

There were even unconfirmed suggestions at the time that a stunned Chamisa, unwilling to stomach the results of those internal polls, was even contemplating resigning from the MDC altogether — which never happened. In an ironic turn of fate, Chamisa was to later assume the reins of the country’s main opposition party ahead of his rivals following the death of Tsvangirai last year — albeit, under controversial circumstances.

A titanic leadership battle subsequently ensued in the party, which eventually led to Thokozani Khupe forming a breakaway faction which went on to perform dismally in last year’s elections.
Chamisa ultimately prevailed over his party competitors after a consultative meeting of the MDC, which was held at its Harare headquarters — and which was attended by 639 delegates from 210 party districts — endorsed him as Tsvangirai’s successor and the party’s presidential candidate in the 2018 poll

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BULAWAYO- The critical work of police and prison services in Bulawayo’s dormitory township of Ntabazinduna has been severely affected by the recent theft of electricity cables, the Daily News can report.

This comes after some daring thieves stole about eight kilometres worth of copper cables in the township, in a shocking act which left more than 1 000 residents, as well as police and prison services in the lurch.

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Ntabazinduna is situated about 30 kilometres outside Bulawayo, along the Harare road, and houses the training headquarters of both the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS).

The net result of the brazen thefts is that it has left the township without both electricity and running water for nearly three months — as water pumps require power to function.
“As residents of Ntabazinduna, we call upon the authorities to investigate the way in which power cables are being stolen on that magnitude.

“Imagine life without running water for our toilets ... We are now fearing an outbreak of cholera. “Many people are now resorting to the bucket system to flush waste, while some are now using the bush, something which we all know is not healthy,” a senior prisons official said. Apart from the ZRP and ZPCS, Ntabazinduna also has a thriving business community, as well as the popular David Livingstone High School.

Sources told the Daily News yesterday that the negative effects of the power outages had now reached Mbembezi Township — which is a further 40 kilometres north of the Bulawayo-Harare highway.
The fears of imminent outbreaks of diseases such as cholera had been heightened by a dysfunctional sewerage system which local residents say needs urgent attention.

“We are in big trouble, as this is not normal. Yesterday (Wednesday), we had an all stakeholders meeting in Bulawayo where this issue was the main agenda. “Everyone is worried because this may soon turn into a disaster especially in the absence of water.
“As long as there is no Zesa we won’t be able to get running water into our taps because the pumping system is not functioning,” Ntabazinduna ward 5 councillor Bekithemba Qongo told the Daily News.

Qongo also said while Zesa had been replacing stolen cables, thieves were striking harder as evidenced by the eight-kilometre stretch of wire which they recently stole. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has introduced stiffer penalties to deter against the theft of electricity cables and transformers, which has contributed significantly to power outages.

It now carries a mandatory 10-year-sentence on those convicted of stealing electricity equipment. While authorities say the country has not had load shedding for the past three years, many areas have gone for weeks without power due to vandalism of Zesa equipment.
So bad has the situation become that the power utility recently invited whistleblowers in a desperate attempt to curb the vandalism of its equipment.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba confirmed the development.
“I can confirm that there has been a lot of theft of copper cables around that area. The cables were stolen around December last year and the problem was fixed but they (suspected thieves) came back on February 2.  “There is a surge of such crimes. However, police have arrested various gangs, with some of them being recently arrested in Beitbridge while trying to cross to South Africa.

“We have also carried out many arrests at roadblocks, involving people carrying hordes of stolen copper cables. We urge people to report such cases to the police,” Charamba said.

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ZIMBABWE’s hopes of securing a $600 million loan facility from Botswana hit a snag as its neighbour could only offer US$95 million during a bi-national commission yesterday.

After a week of diplomatic engagements, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi yesterday signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance relations between their two countries.
Masisi told journalists that his country had extended a P1 billion (US$95 million) loan facility to its troubled neighbour. 

“We agreed to a loan credit facility we increased it from P500 million to P1 billion,” said Masisi as he responded to questions from the selected media.Of late, Mnangagwa who enjoys a lot of goodwill from his African “brothers” has looked to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region for a financial bailout as his country struggles to clear its debts.

Thus the loan facility from Botswana is a huge boost for the troubled Zimbabwe which has been denied a similar rescue package from the region’s economic powerhouse South Africa.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana are thawing following years of tensions when the countries were led by former Robert Mugabe and Ian Khama, respectively.

Last year Mnangagwa visited Botswana and expressed his desire to see enhanced cooperation between the two countries. 
Unlike his predecessor, the Zanu PF leader is not burning bridges but his efforts to jumpstart the economy have until yesterday failed to bear any meaningful fruits.

On Tuesday, government officials had claimed that they had secured a $600 million loan from their neighbour – globally famous for its vast diamonds deposits. However, the permanent secretary to the President and Cabinet of Botswana Carter Morupisi issued a statement on Wednesday saying they were yet to give Zimbabwe anything or even to commit to the loan.

“The Office of the President wishes to inform members of the public that the government of the Republic of Botswana and the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe are currently holding discussions under the framework of bi-national commission which covers a wide range of issues which are mutually beneficial to the peoples of the two countries.

“As such, media reports that are currently circulating about the line of credit worth US$600 million that the government of Botswana has committed itself to extend to the Republic of Zimbabwe are unfounded. “We wish to advise members of the public that in accordance with international practice, a communiqué which summarises the outcome of the meeting will be issued following the Bi-National Commission,” reads part of the statement.

The visitors were indulged with VVIP treatment yesterday.
Police and soldiers sealed off roads leading to the venue of the meeting between Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart as the two countries inked six MoUs to enhance cooperation.
Although several heads of State and governments have visited the country in yesteryears, security was never as high as that offered for Masisi who temporarily brought business at an uptown hotel to a standstill.

Since assuming office through a soft coup in 2017, Mnangagwa has made drastic changes to his security and yesterday police and soldiers armed to the teeth were milling around the hotel while motorists had to use longer routes to access their workplaces.
It was also double accreditation for journalists who wanted to cover the critical meeting between the two leaders after years of frosty relations between the two countries.
• Hope for a bigger tranche falters
• Security tightened for the visitors