HARARE - Zanu PF hoodlums yesterday ran amok in Chitungwiza where they injured several supporters of opposition Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) party who were on a clean-up campaign in the dormitory town.

The barbaric attacks left many people needing hospitalisation.

Eyewitnesses said all hell broke loose when TZ deputy organising secretary Tichaona Saurombe was about to make his address when a group of youths clad in Zanu PF T-shirts arrived at the venue and indiscriminately started assaulting people.

Although TZ supporters tried to defend themselves, they were no match for the seemingly drunken Zanu PF activists.

Speaking after the incident a visibly-shaken Saurombe said Zanu PF thugs were not happy with the turnout.

“We were still giving our people directives on how we were going to move. We then saw the Zanu PF guys coming trying to stop me, our security tried to block them but they started attacking us and most of our security members were left injured.

“Our security head is currently at Chitungwiza hospital. We are trying to make sure that these Zanu PF youths are arrested,” said Saurombe.

One of the injured supporters Kudakwashe Chikwanha said he was attacked when he was trying to help his colleague who was bleeding.

“I was shocked. I don’t know what object was used to strike me from my back.

“These guys are clueless they concentrate on small issues while people are suffering,” he said.

The latest attack comes at a time when cases of political violence perpetrated by Zanu PF supporters against opposition members are on the increase.

Last month, gun-toting thugs, suspected to be Zanu PF hoodlums, left for dead an opposition candidate and his agent in the Bikita West by-election.

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) candidate Madock Chivasa, and his election agent Thomas Mudzamiri, were mauled by Zanu PF yobs as the two men were making their way out of a local supermarket where they had gone to buy some food.

The violence followed the savage attacks on supporters of Temba Mliswa in Norton last year where he stood as an independent candidate.

In September last year, Zanu PF youths also ran amok in Guruve, embarking on an orgy of political violence and bludgeoning four Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) bigwigs — including a retired senior military official and former diplomat —  before forcing a local school to close.

The barbaric attacks by the axe-wielding ruling party mobs against ZPF officials also saw property worth tens of thousands of dollars, including two vehicles, being destroyed in the historically volatile Mashonaland Central province.

The bloody scenes at Dunaverty Farm, where the three ZPF officials are running agricultural operations, left four people hospitalised, including retired brigadier-general and former Zimbabwe ambassador to Mozambique, Agrippa Mutambara.

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HARARE - The ruckus in the troubled Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party took a surprise turn yesterday when one of the outfit’s disaffected founding fathers, Didymus Mutasa, said it was possible that they could reconcile with former Vice President Joice Mujuru if she apologised for her disputed “dismissal” of senior party officials last week.

At the same time, it also emerged yesterday that Mujuru was digging in about the control and use of the fledgling party’s image rights, which Mutasa and other party stalwarts stubbornly say belong to them.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News On Sunday yesterday, Mutasa said despite the party elders’ stunning fallout with Mujuru, they were ready to let “by-gones be by-gones” — hardly a week after they acrimoniously parted ways with her.

“If she (Mujuru) invites us to work with her, we will consider that. We have been working with her all along and she is saying we wanted to expel her, that we wanted to stage a coup, which is as I said, a figment of her imagination.

“We will consider it if she actually asks us to work with her. We are the People First, VaGumbo and I are the founders of this People First party and it was formed and given that name in my house and we invited Mai Mujuru and she came here, and that is where we requested her if she could lead us and, she accepted to lead us in this house.

“You are probably going to see new leadership very soon, that is all I can say because we want to find somebody who is acceptable to the people of this country,” Mutasa said.

The former State Security minister and Zanu PF secretary for administration, also said despite their fallout with Mujuru, negotiations for a grand opposition coalition would continue under the banner of the National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera).

“The talks for a grand coalition still go on. I have talked to (opposition leader Morgan) Tsvangirai and also senior members of his party like Amai (Theresa) Makone and (Morgen) Komichi and they feel most upset about what has happened ... and we are ready ourselves to join others to work together to get rid of the suffering of our people,” Mutasa said.

In a bombshell that shook both the opposition movement and ordinary Zimbabweans alike, Mujuru announced on Wednesday morning that she had expelled ZPF’s founding fathers Gumbo and Mutasa, together with five other party heavyweights — on account of them being alleged Zanu PF agents and working to topple her from her interim position.

“Having done extensive consultation within the rank and file of the party and also in my capacity as the president with the executive authority to ensure its wellbeing, I hereby announce the expulsion of the following members from Zimbabwe People First with immediate effect: Rugare Gumbo, Didymus Mutasa, Margaret Dongo, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Luckson Kandemiri, Munacho Mutezo and Claudious Makova,” she said.

But no sooner had she completed her briefing than the situation turned into a complete farce, when Mutasa and Gumbo announced at their own press conference that they had similarly expelled Mujuru from ZPF.

Mutasa and Gumbo have since taken control of the party’s affairs after they claimed that they were the owners of the fledgling opposition party and its image rights.

In the meantime, Mujuru is said to be mulling changing the name of the party to avoid a messy fight with the former stalwarts, who were among her closest allies during their time in Zanu PF.

Amid the chaos, Mujuru has been working behind the scenes with Tsvangirai and other smaller opposition parties towards the formation of the planned grand coalition.

Analysts have also consistently said that a united opposition, fighting with one purpose, would bring to an end Mugabe’s long rule — especially at this time when the country’s economy is dying and the increasingly frail nonagenarian is battling to keep his warring Zanu PF united.

Recently, Tsvangirai also said Mujuru had proved to be a significant opposition player — and that the two would work together with others to dethrone Mugabe and Zanu PF from power next year.

Mujuru was expelled from Zanu PF together with Gumbo and Mutasa in the run-up to the ruling party’s sham “elective congress” in December 2014, on untested allegations of plotting to assassinate and topple Mugabe from power.

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HARARE - The persistent suspicions that President Robert Mugabe will lead Zanu PF and Zimbabwe for life were given fresh wings yesterday when former State Security minister — and for decades one of the nonagenarian’s closest confidantes — Didymus Mutasa, claimed that his distinct impression when the two geriatrics used to work together was that he wanted “to die in office”.

The sensational claim, which is destined to set tongues wagging among long-suffering Zimbabweans, comes as Mugabe’s ruling party continues to be devoured by its ugly and seemingly unstoppable tribal, factional and succession wars — with the increasingly frail nonagenarian doggedly refusing to anoint a successor.

Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday in an exclusive interview yesterday, Mutasa — who is now an elder in the troubled Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party — said Zanu PF bigwigs angling to succeed Mugabe were likely to be left bitterly disappointed as the nonagenarian clearly wished to die in office.

The former Zanu PF secretary for administration’s claims tally with previous statements made by powerful First Lady Grace Mugabe and the ruling party’s youth league, who have said the soon-to-be 93 long-ruling leader should rule Zimbabwe for life.

“Mugabe does not have a succession plan. President Mugabe wanted, and I believe this is what he is looking for, to leave government when he dies.

“That is when he will give up power and be taken from his deathbed to the Heroes Acre. That is his plan. And if you ask anybody who is close to him they will tell you that.

“I mean, his wife (Grace) has more or less mentioned it and (one of Zanu PF’s leading candidates to succeed Mugabe, Vice President Emmerson) Mnangagwa should know that too,” Mutasa said.

In May last year, Grace stunned thousands of Zanu PF supporters who had gathered in Harare for a solidarity rally with the nonagenarian, when she said Mugabe would rule Zimbabwe from the grave.

“We want you to lead this country from your grave, while you lie at the National Heroes’ Acre,” she told the shell-shocked supporters.

In 2015, and while speaking during a rally at Murehwa Business Centre, the influential first lady also warned Zanu PF heavyweights that she was going to design a special wheelchair from which Mugabe would rule until he was 100 years old.

“We are going to create a special wheelchair for President Mugabe until he rules to 100 years because that is what we want. That is the people’s choice. We want a leader that respects us,” she said.

The Zanu PF youth league also formally moved a motion at the ruling party’s annual conference which was held in Masvingo last December, for Mugabe, to be declared life president.

Indeed, and despite the palpable excitement by warring Zanu PF bigwigs ahead of the Masvingo meeting, the gathering turned out to be a damp squib, after Mugabe once again cunningly resisted factional expectations that he would finally show his hand on his bitterly-contested succession.

For weeks ahead of the meeting, the party’s two major factions — Team Lacoste which is rallying behind Mnangagwa, and the Generation 40 (G40) group which is rabidly opposed to the VP succeeding Mugabe — had huffed and puffed in a desperate endeavour to win the nonagenarian’s public backing.

But it all proved to be in vain, with Mugabe once again virtually affirming the stubbornly persistent national suspicion that his is a presidency for life — a reality that many leading lights in both Team Lacoste and the G40 have resignedly admitted to in previous private briefings with the Daily News on Sunday.

Instead, Mugabe slyly blew a gasket at the Masvingo gathering, savaging his brawling lieutenants, while cunningly moving to finger some of his top aides in alleged plots to hound him out of power — as the ruling party’s tribal, factional and succession wars continue to burn hot.

He made a thinly-disguised dig at Team Lacoste, saying the party’s leadership was not won through plotting the arrest of opponents, but through elections.

This was after the G40 had over the past few months alleged that the Mnangagwa camp was abusing key State institutions, including lapdog State media, to irregularly grab power in the former liberation movement.

“Hukuru muparty hunouya nekusarudzwa…hahuuye nokuti tosunga uyu tipindewo isusu (the leadership of the party comes through elections and not through plotting the arrest of fellow members,” Mugabe thundered.

In October this year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) torched a political storm in Zanu PF after it swooped on Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo and his deputy Godfrey Gandawa during a hotly-contested graft probe.

Moyo, who party insiders say is a key member of the G40, not only accused Team Lacoste and key players at Zacc of waging a factionally-driven war against him and other alleged G40 kingpins, he also threatened to sue Mnangagwa and many other senior government officials.

But, in typical Mugabe style, the nonagenarian also moved to attack the G40 at the meeting for their alleged indiscipline, and for abusing social media to attack fellow party officials.
“To the party leadership, we do not run matters of the party through Twitter or Facebook,” he said, as he sought to balance his criticism and in the process consolidate his own position.

Political analysts who spoke to the Daily News on Sunday then said it would have been “atypical” if Mugabe had chosen one faction over the other.

“The current situation where there are factions fighting each other below him means that there isn’t a faction fighting him directly, so the fighting serves him well,” said former civic leader, McDonald Lewanika.

Academic Ibbo Mandaza said Mugabe had repeatedly displayed “tendencies that are consistent with someone who doesn’t want a successor”.

“He is officially the Zanu PF candidate for 2018 and that suits the G40 faction which he heads, but in the final analysis all that is happening is that he wants to die in office,” he said.

But Mugabe — the only leader Zimbabweans have known since the country gained its independence from Britain in April 1980 — is facing the biggest challenge to his 36-year rule.

The increasingly frail nonagenarian and Zanu PF are battling growing unrest among the country’s restive populace, which blames his government for presiding over the country’s dying economy and the deepening rot in the former regional breadbasket.

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HARARE - Mystery continues to surround the mobile phones which the Zimbabwe senior women’s national team were supposed to receive after last year’s Rio Olympic Games.

The Mighty Warriors, just like every other athlete who participated at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil received a Samsung Galaxy S7 each after Samsung Electronics gave away 12 500 mobile phones to every Olympian last August.

The girls were based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the collection was done in Rio and had to enlist the services of Team Zimbabwe Chef De Mission (CDM) Titus Zvomuya who collected the phones on their behalf before they were allegedly confiscated by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) upon their return from the Games.

Seven months down the line the phones are still to be handed over to the owners — the football players.

“We were ...told that the phones were confiscated by Zimra and they demanded a letter from the ministry and up to now all we hear is that Zimra are still holding on to the phones,” a Mighty Warriors player told the Daily News.

“We want to know why they (phones) were taken when in actual fact we were on national duty and the phones were not meant for commercial purposes but for personal use by each and every athlete. Also how much duty it is or was required so that we can run around and look for the money to pay up the required duty individually since the government has more or less failed to assist us in this regard.

“According to them (the ministry) $2 000 was required as duty for all the phones and when you look at the male side, the Warriors got thousands of dollars, the girls got only $500 but still they can’t settle a $2 000 invoice for the 22 players combined.”

Zvomuya confirmed collecting the phones but referred all correspondence to the Sports ministry official Eugenia Chidhakwa who did not respond to questions sent to her by the time of going to print.

“Yes it’s true that I received the phones on behalf of the delegation and they were confiscated by Zimra and we have to pay duty but the ministry is seized with that issue and they will be able to assist in this regard,” Zvomuya said.

Contacted for comment Zimra board secretary and director for legal and corporate services Florence Jambwa said her organisation was prohibited by the law to disclose client’s tax affairs to a third party.

“... I am, ...unable to comment on the questions you have asked with regards to clearances for the Mighty Warriors,” Jambwa said.

“What I can confirm is that ... all importers who bring goods into Zimbabwe shall pay the appropriate duties and taxes....”

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HARARE - Zimdancehall artiste Tendazvaitwa Chitimbe popularly known as Ninja Lipsy believes marrying now might jeopardise her musical career.

Although she is in a steady relationship, Lipsy said her marriage is not an achievement at all; hence it is not part of her list of priorities in life.

Once rumoured to be dating Ninja President Winky D after the two collaborated on hit song Taitirana the singer told the Daily News instead of people concentrating on her love life, they should expect new and exciting musical projects from her.

“People should expect new and big musical projects from me this year, not wedding bells. I am in a steady relationship with a guy that I am not at liberty to reveal. He is not a public figure munhu anongozvitsvagirawo mari yake.

“Although my man is supportive, I however, know a number of female artistes who were finished when they got married.”

Her other priority was to push her music onto the international market. “I am glad Lipsy is now a popular name in Zimbabwean music circles so my challenge now is to push the name and works into regional and international music markets.”

Though she has made her name in Zimdancehall as a chanter, Lipsy has no album under her name.

“I only have single tracks on the market but this year definitely I am going to release an album,” said the Highfield-born artiste.

Lipsy is signed by a United Kingdom-based stable, Rokafella and she is the ambassador of the organisation.

Director of Rokafella Promotions, Roka Fella told this publication from his UK base that they have massive plans for Lipsy this year and other female artistes signed to them who include Lady Bee, Rebel and Titania among others.

“We strive to give posh into the ghetto. We have launched a riddim No to Women Abuse which features almost every female Zimdancehall artiste in the country.

“We have lined up awareness campaign concerts in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the UK among others where we shall advocate for a free society where women are treated fairly with no abuse but with due respect,” he said.

“Apart from No to Women Abuse campaigns, we have also lined up epilepsy awareness concerts. The campaign has been inspired by Lipsy who is epileptic since she was a little girl.

“The disease is among the neglected ones in the country, it is not given enough attention in society but rather it is being stereotyped hence there is need to educate the society.

“A conducted survey we have contacted pertaining the ailment revealed that about 83 percent of people suffering from it are not consistently taking medication because of different myths in society hence we believe if somebody like Lipsy spearheads the campaign we will win,” he said.

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HARARE - National flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe, requires at least $770 million to procure new aeroplanes suitable for domestic, regional and international routes, Transport minister Jorum Gumbo has said.

“This will involve procuring three small jets for the domestic market and an appropriate mix for other regional and international aircraft in line with the airline turn-around strategy,” he said.

This comes as the national airline’s six aircrafts are now difficult to maintain and frequently break down due to old age.

Gumbo said given the prevailing demands on the fiscus, it was not conceivable for government to inject the required capital into Air Zimbabwe, hence the need for engagement of a strategic partner.

“Recapitalisation of the airline will enable it to contribute positively towards both tourism and economic growth,” he said.

The latest development comes as the parastatal’s debt has ballooned by 7,6 percent to $323 million by the end of last year from $300 million in 2015.

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HARARE - The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is in final negotiations with shareholders of the country’s largest pharmaceutical group, CAPS Holdings (CAPS), amid indications government has already secured several takers for the drugs company.

Industry minister, Mike Bimha, last week told the businessdaily that while there were several local and international investors who wanted to snap up the company, his ministry and the central bank are still resolving shareholder matters with the current ownership.

“What actually happened was that we had a number of interested partners, but I was advised by the Reserve Bank that there were still issues they wanted to finalise with the previous owner or the current shareholder.

“They said they would want to actually get to a point where they would say they had finalised everything, telling us we could invite other investors after this point. Our discussion with the Reserve Bank governor was that let us finalise all issues,” Bimha said.

He noted that despite the hiccups, his ministry had already been approached by interested parties.

“There are a number of interested parties both local and beyond our borders. But, we do not want to bring in a new investor and then in a while find we still have outstanding issues,” Bimha said.

This comes as the Industry minister last year said discussions to finalise takeover of CAPS were proving difficult as the company’s largest shareholder, Frederick Mtandah, has been shifting goalposts mid-dialogue.

“With CAPS, we have had issues that have taken a long time to be resolved, issues to do with the current shareholders of CAPS. Negotiations have taken place with the ministry and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

“Every time we thought we had reached an agreement then goalposts are changed the next day, and this has really taken a lot of our time, but we believe that we will continue with discussions,” the minister said.

The pharmaceutical group urgently requires $6 million in recapitalisation funds, with the drug-maker currently operating at five percent of installed capacity.

Government assumed control of the struggling drug-maker in August 2016 after buying out Mtandah, however, several unresolved matters still stand.

CAPS recently faced a critical funding shortfall, with its property escaping a public auction aimed at amortising a $4 million loan owed to two major banks — CBZ Bank and FBC Bank.

Through its special purpose vehicle aimed at housing bad loans — the Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation — government recently assumed the pharmaceutical company’s debts to financial institutions.

CAPS is only operating one out of its four plants in the capital, Harare, as a result of lack of funding from new shareholders, government, leaving the country’s health institutions and donors with no option but to procure medicines, including intravenous drip water, outside the country.

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HARARE - As the much-anticipated 2018 national polls loom large, there is a feeling of deja vu among pro-democracy, opposition and rights groups.

This is especially so given the increase of violence by Zanu PF supporters who have historically benefitted from the lack of appetite by police to bring them to book.

Where police have made arrests, they included victims of these roughnecks who have perfected their art of meting their dastardly acts on opposition and pro-democracy groups going about their peaceful business.

As the 2018 elections approach, there is really palpable fear among well-meaning Zimbabweans — including those who rightly support political parties of their choice — that Zanu PF will resort to violence.

The barbaric attacks on supporters of the opposition Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) in Chitungwiza on Saturday served as a reminder to all and sundry that Zanu PF does not believe in alternative views.

These Zanu PF hoodlums descended on TZ supporters and severely mauled senior officials and passers-by in an orgy which left scores injured and several needing hospitalisation.

As reported by our sister publication, the Daily News On Sunday, yesterday, these Zanu PF yobs were incensed by a TZ clean-up exercise in the dormitory town which they claimed was out of bounds for the opposition.

And during these senseless attacks, the irony was lost on them that their own party had caused the rot and decay — including presiding over a collapsed public infrastructure such as sewer and water reticulation — which have turned Zimbabwe into a sorry state.

What is so disconcerting is that the incidents of violence are increasing as we approach the elections but without any intervention by police.

Last month, gun-toting thugs, suspected to be Zanu PF hoodlums, left for dead an opposition candidate and his agent in the Bikita West by-election.

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) candidate Madock Chivasa, and his election agent Thomas Mudzamiri, were mauled by Zanu PF yobs as the two men were making their way out of a local supermarket where they had gone to buy some food.

The violence followed the savage attacks on supporters of Temba Mliswa in Norton last year where he stood as an independent candidate.

In September last year, Zanu PF youths also ran amok in Guruve, embarking on an orgy of political violence and bludgeoning four Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) bigwigs — including a retired senior military official and former diplomat —  before forcing a local school to close.

In the meantime, there has not been any single arrest.

Wither Zimbabwe!

HARARE - Zimbabweans across the divide have been debating on whether it was wise for activist clergyman and founder of #ThisFlag movement, Evan Mawarire to come back to the country after his six months self-exile in the United States.

Mawarire returned to Zimbabwe on February 1 only to be arrested by State security agents at Harare International Airport. He was released this week on bail.

The Daily News spoke to a number of social and political commentators who gave their views on Mawarare’s unexpected return and arrest. But was it a mistake that he decided to come back home?

Political commentator Macdonald Lewanika said Mawarire’s mistake was to leave in the first place as it postponed the inevitable, killed hope and belief in the cause which he had been able to cultivate with a broad spectrum of people at home and abroad in a short time.

“His initial decision allowed the arrest to take place at a time when his support and sympathy from some elements of the public had ebbed.

“But his return knowing this, both that some people were unhappy with his initial decision thus no longer supported him as fervently as they did last year, and knowing that he would be incarcerated and probably lose his right to travel on a Zimbabwe passport for a while if released, or if convicted, shows a sternness of character and sacrifice that is admirable on his part.

“One hopes that he can beat the charges and be released soon to begin the work around building real relationships on the ground in Zimbabwe which stood aborted when he decided to leave last year.”

Social activist Farai Maguwu could only agree with Lewanika: “Mawarire’s mistake was not in returning to his country, but rather the decision to leave when the movement he had initiated had reached its peak.”

Human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga said: “To my knowledge there was no warrant of arrest for Mawarire while he was away in the United States because when he left last year he had been cleared by the courts and had committed no crime.

“Mawarire, like all other Zimbabwean citizens, has a fundamental constitutional right to freely travel and leave or return to his country at will, without any fear.

“But it is unfortunate that the Zimbabwe authorities choose to use prosecution for persecution of a citizen whose only ‘crime’ was to speak out against corruption and lack of accountability.

“President Mugabe’s government released Mawarire on bail but must drop all charges against him.”

Social commentator Rashweat Mukundu said: “Charges against Mawarire are trumped-up and politically-motivated and to hide away in exile is to give credence to these charges as well as give in to Zanu PF politics of fear.

“Mawarire is right to come back, clear his name and expose the abuses that many face in Zimbabwe. He equally has a right to criticise the government and pursue either civic or political activism as he pleases. Zimbabwe belongs to all that is those who support and oppose Zanu PF.

“We must never, and I repeat, never be coerced into believing this one party, singular narrative and ideology propagated by Zanu PF of and enforced with fear and violence.”

MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said: “As far as we understand, Mawarire was not a fugitive from justice and so there is absolutely no lawful reason why he shouldn’t have returned to Zimbabwe.

“The main issue here is that the Zanu PF regime is a renegade and terrorist outfit that is seeing enemies even where there are none.

“This regime is intolerant, violent, brutal and corrupt to the bare bones. Mawarire should be immediately released from custody. He has got no case to answer.”

Political commentator Vivid Gwede said: “Mawarire was clearly aware of the treatment that potentially awaited him back here in Zimbabwe if one followed the scenarios he gave to foreign media.

“It was not a mistake coming back; I should think so, because he probably wanted to see an end to his self-imposed exile status. I think he wanted a closure to the case.

“Now what is happening is moving towards that end of concluding the case, and he stands a chance. For now he is paying the dues of reclaiming his freedom through directly facing the legal arsenal that his enemies have assembled.”

Protest playwright and actor Silvanos Mudzvova said Mawarire is a Zimbabwean and he did not commit any crime, hence there was no reason why he shouldn’t return home.

“If you are a genuine fighter for the rights of people it pains to stay out of Zimbabwe while problems continue to happen every day.  Mawarire felt the pain of letting the people who trusted him down.

“Look, he is good at social media mobilisation and all activists in this country failed to close that gap.

The only way for social media activism to work effectively is when you are on the ground with the people and Evan did that coming back to the people.

“Mugabe went into exile with Sally (the late President’s first wife) and they returned, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison but in the end the war was won.

“With Mawarire back in Zimbabwe the spirit of social media activism has been revived and Zimbabwe will become interesting again.”

Political commentator Phillip Pasirayi said: “Mawarire decided to come back even if he knew about the impending arrest. You need leaders like that who are prepared to go that extra mile to fight the unjust system.

“If he had prolonged his stay (in the US) many of his supporters would have doubted his commitment to the struggle.

“I think he did the right thing to come back and be with the people. Already some people were starting to doubt him and his return and what he is currently going through will restore that confidence in people who follow him.”

Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said: “Mawarire is a Zimbabwean and he has every right to come back home. But he had fled in the first place for his safety then it was imprudent to come back so early without guarantees that he will be safe.”

ZimRights director Okay Machisa said: “Coming back to your country especially when you have started a very legal and noble case for the country becomes paramount to the democratisation process of Zimbabwe. Mawarire proved beyond doubt that he with us and ready to face the system and that it’s better to be in jail in Zimbabwe than outside the country

“Mawarire knew that he would be arrested and that he could be locked up for a long time but he decided to come.

“Struggles all over have not been fought from comfort zones. He is not the first to be arrested on such issues and therefore it becomes important for him to be brave and follow the path of those that  have gone through such.”

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HARARE - As the eagerly-awaited 2018 national elections approach, a civic society group has launched an aggressive campaign to galvanise young women to register and vote — in an exercise that is set to change the way women perceive electoral issues.

Senior Assistant Editor Guthrie Munyuki speaks to co-ordinator of Women ForWomen (W4W) Maureen Kademaunga and below are the excerpts of the interview.

Q: How conscious are women about elections and participating in electoral issues?

A: The ideals, energies, and voices of young women are vital for the development of Zimbabwe, so the high abstention of young women from electoral processes is worrying and disappointing.

At the root of this problem is the lack of knowledge and access to public information on elections.

Also, there hasn’t been deliberate effort towards conscientising young women on the critical role that election choices and electoral outcomes play in deciding the quality of their everyday life.

#SheVotes2018 campaign seeks to tackle this problem by educating young women on the obvious link between elections and their everyday life.

Q: Where do Zimbabwean women stand in as far as participation in politics and governance issues are concerned?

A: Women’s participation is disappointingly low and more so the participation of young women.

This is despite measures such as the women’s quota in Parliament which continues to be male dominated.

The young woman suffers multiple discrimination so you find that while 60 Proportional Representation seats were reserved for women, only four under the ages of 35 went to Parliament through that provision so we have a long way to go but we are spirited, determined and up to the task.

This disappointing and embarrassing state of affairs will be a thing of the past come 2018.

Women cannot continue to be in public space without shame.

Q: Please can you explain this #SheVotes 2018 campaign and how inclusive is it to prospective voters; be they in Zanu PF, MDC or any other political party?

A: #SheVotes2018, is a non-partisan campaign independently organised by Women for Women Zimbabwe (W4W) to craft a pro-women agenda ahead of the 2018 election.

It is anchored by the understanding that we are women first before we are political party members and the issues that we face are bigger than the smallness of our politics.

It is an inclusive platform and as we set our small structures nationally and provincially we are deliberately being inclusive of political parties, civil society groups, private citizens and churches etc.

Q: Historically, what are the key issues that inhibit women participation in electoral issues and how do you intend to change this phenomenon?

A: The key stumbling blocks that inhibit young women’s participation include the unsafe nature of the political process which is often violent.

Limited access to information especially for rural and poor women has for long played a central role.

Those who may have enough information elect not to participate because they have no confidence in the electoral process which has in the past been marred with controversies and irregularities and sometimes a failure to respect the electoral outcome.

In instances where they want to run for office the lack of resources to support a campaign is also a major challenge that needs to be overcome.

And also in a patriarchal society like ours that emphasises male supremacy and gives priority to the elderly, women, especially young women fail to get support and so it is difficult for them to be in public space without shame.

So we are addressing this issue on two levels. On the first level we are looking at young women as voters and in that regard, we are drafting a young women’s charter of demands which will guide our engagement with policy makers and politicians as we seek to achieve a free, fair and credible election that is peaceful.

We are also organising young women to join in the call for electoral reforms and administrative changes at Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to enhance the accessibility of registration and voting facilities to all.

We have also embarked on an aggressive educational campaign to conscientise young women on the importance of voting.

On the second level we are encouraging young women candidates to come forth and be bold enough and declare their candidacy.

#SheVotes2018 is going to offer technical and material support to these young women so that their chances are increased.

This is stemming from the understanding that without representation, women’s issues will never get the attention they deserve.

Q: Vulnerable and marginalised groups are often targets for political manipulation, how can these groups benefit from your initiative?

A: Very often in Zimbabwe, political manipulation has come disguised as empowered participation.

Many women have fallen victim and sold their right and responsibility to elect for a cup of maize seed and a head wrap, this must stop.

We cannot continue to allow people to abuse our conditions of poverty for their political expedience.

So #SheVotes2018 is embarking on an aggressive educational campaign to empower women with strategic information that will allow them to participate independently and make electoral choices.

Q: How are you dealing with issues of suspicion particularly from political parties, since this is an apolitical but aggressive awareness programme?

A: A revolutionary initiative such as this is bound to be met by resistance especially by status quo in any political organisation but that is expected, it is just our feminist aspirations meeting our political realities.

The dominant voice of feminism can be overwhelmingly hard-edged, apparently intent on stringing up men at every available opportunity but that is not the case, we will align ourselves with parties whose political manifestos are aligned to our values of people centredness, anti-poverty, pro-equality and pro-development agenda.

So our partners will be natural allies who honour referential values of equality in politics and economics.

Q: Will 2018 election be the game changer in the way young women vote and participate in electoral issues?

A: Young women are the biggest demographic group if we are to go into finer details, so if they actively participate and register to vote then political entities need to carefully craft their manifestos and make a commitment to address our issues because without that they are in serious trouble.

#SheVotes2018 is going to mobilise every young woman from the townships down to the last hut in the village to get out the vote.

What is unique about this campaign is that it is issue and content-driven and is encouraging young women to register to vote and make electoral choices that are useful to addressing our issues as women.

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HARARE - Former Zanu PF youth league boss and the leader of war collaborators Pupurayi Togarepi has thrown lavish praises on President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 next week, claiming that the nonagenarian is actually fitter than most 50-year-olds.

In a wide ranging interview with the Daily News, Togarepi also rejected suggestions that he is a member of the Team Lacoste faction that is presumptively led by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Asked how Mugabe who is facing increased pressure from both his party and opposition to unveil a succession plan — can revive the economy that critics say he singlehandedly destroyed — Togarepi said the 92-year-old has the capacity to take Zimbabwe forward.

“The president has the capacity and any delays in government there are reasons, he is one of the strongest people I have seen.., he can run faster than me. As far as we are concerned the choice is his but as cadres we are firmly behind him.”

With some war collaborators now publicly stating their anger at the failure by government to pay their monthly allowances as provided in the Constitution, Togarepi urged for calm saying when people went to war they did not do so for material reasons.

“... I am concerned we don’t want to go to the extent of dumping the revolution, we can’t help ourselves but there should be calm and discipline, we are fully behind Zanu PF and its leader as war collaborators and we will continue ...,” said Togarepi.

Recently, a group of dissatisfied war collaborators indicated that they would not vote Zanu PF in 2018 as the ruling party has failed to honour its obligations, however, seemingly currying favour with the establishment, Togarepi urged his followers to give government time considering that the economy is crumbling.

“We did not go to war to be rich but we would like to call upon government to fulfil its promises because we are not getting younger ...,” said Togarepi, who was kicked out from Zanu PF last year on hazy allegations and claimed that although he is on the sidelines he is not bitter.

Togarepi’s successor Kudzanai Chipanga recently torched a storm when he said Mugabe should be succeeded by his wife Grace, and also threatened to take up arms if the youths’ aspirations were not fulfilled, but the soft spoken war collaborators’ leader said democracy should be used when the question on who will succeed Mugabe arises.

“...of course the youths are excitable and can do so many things but I believe that energy should be channelled elsewhere. We fought during the liberation struggle but now we will use democracy to put people in power not arms,” said Togarepi.

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HARARE - MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is currently touring the country’s provinces holding consultation meetings with community leaders has claimed that chiefs who are known Zanu PF surrogates are now ready to work with him.

Speaking to the Daily News through his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka, while in Masvingo, Tsvangirai, said the level of support he has been getting in the on-going nationwide consultations is unprecedented and amazing.

“It is a long programme. The turnout by chiefs, who are openly speaking about the abuse that they get from Zanu PF especially during election time, is amazing and encouraging.

“The traditional leaders are saying they no longer have the respect that they deserve because they are now being seen as Zanu PF agents. Their complaints are that people now hate them for being perceived to be Zanu PF agents,” Tamborinyoka said.

He said after Masvingo, Tsvangirai will be travelling to Manicaland, and has already visited Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.

The consultation meetings are part of Tsvangirai’s broader scheme of collecting people’s views and hearing their challenges ahead of the 2018 elections.

“We are doing something unique because we are not only meeting MDC members but members from across the board. Tsvangirai is listening to the people’s problems and the issues that need to be addressed when the MDC gets into power. We are already in the post (President Robert) Mugabe era,” Tamborinyoka said.

With the economy crumbling and government seemingly clueless on providing lasting solutions — Tamborinyoka said the most painful part is that “everyone is saying things are bad”.

From teachers to village heads, Tsvangirai said Zimbabweans can no longer afford to buy clothes and basics.

This is despite the fact that teaching was a noble profession back in the day, where one could be able to live a decent life, Tamborinyoka said.

He added that from poor salaries, the teachers are also complaining about the government’s failure to pay them their 2016 bonuses, in addition to the confusion being brought by Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora’s new curriculum.

“It is unprecedented that a lot of people including chiefs, teachers, pastors and other community leaders are coming out in the afternoon to meet Tsvangirai,” Tamborinyoka said.

In the past, it has always been difficult for people to openly and fully associate with Tsvangirai in such meetings, for fear of victimisation from Zanu PF, which has boasted in the past for having “degrees” in violence.

Tsvangirai himself has on several occasions been brutalised by Zanu PF agents, who fear his influence and capacity to win elections against Mugabe, who turns 93 next week.

Tamborinyoka also noted that most of the areas that the MDC leader has visited are so marginalised to the extent that many still live in pole and dagga houses 37 years after independence.

He added that it was now clear that every Zimbabwean sector has grievances that the MDC will address once in government, and that chiefs complained about the way Zanu PF treated them and forced them to distribute food on partisan grounds.

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HARARE - Danhiko project has been praised for providing the ladder that helps disabled and disadvantaged Zimbabweans to reach the summit of their aspirations and ability.

An official from cement manufacturer PPC Zimbabwe, Kelibone Masiyane said this as his company donated 100 desks and 100 chairs to Danhiko Secondary School.

“In the task to educate and to be educated, there are many tools that are needed to ensure that the knowledge the teacher holds is passed on to the student as efficiently as possible.

“Many of us ... understand the irreplaceable value of receiving an education, and what a difference having the basic tools makes... we are privileged to be able to support Danhiko Project in this way.”

Danhiko Project was established to deliver quality education, skills training and production for people with disabilities and the disadvantaged within society to prepare them for employment and self-employment.

At a function attended by guests including officials from the ministry of Education, staff and students, PPC Zimbabwe said the donation was in recognition of the magnitude of the work that Danhiko Project has achieved.

“Danhiko’s values of Ubuntu, patriotism, empathy, integrity, professionalism, loyalty and humility are values that resonate with us at PPC. We believe that our role is to make builders’ projects easier to complete from start to finish, and to support our customers as our most valuable partners, through the building materials and solutions we provide,” Masiyane said.

PPC recently completed and commissioned a new $80 million cement milling plant, and the gesture was part of the company’s priority to uplift and invest in local people by giving back to the community.

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HARARE - As Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in celebrating the World Radio Day today, the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (Zacras) has bemoaned government’s failure to license “people-centred” community radio stations.

Zacras chairperson John Chirinda, said community stations are crucial in promoting development, freedom of expression and access to information rights.

“... it is regrettable that no community radios have been licensed to broadcast on FM. This is despite the inherent power that community radio has in empowering citizens to be their own information producers and distributors,” Chirinda said.

The government has been under immense pressure to license more radio stations in the country, after only licensing a few radio stations owned by people with ties to government.

The broadcasting industry is dominated by the State-run broadcaster ZBC and the eight so-called private radio stations that have been licensed are either failing to go on air or to stay afloat.

“More still needs to be done to ensure that not only plurality but also diversity is realised in the broadcasting field.

“It is positive to note that technological advancement and increase in Internet penetration in Zimbabwe has enabled citizens to listen to Internet radio.”

However, high Internet costs and limited Internet access in peri-urban and rural communities deter listeners in some sections of Zimbabwean society from accessing radio. This is worsened by the fact that broadcasts by public and commercial stations in Zimbabwe are not accessible and applicable to the diverse sections of society, either because of language barriers, content relevance or weak signals,” he said.

He further called upon the government to expedite the process of aligning the country’s media laws with the Constitution and license more people-centred community radio stations.

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HARARE - In an effort to deal with increasing smuggling and drug trafficking, government is planning to introduce drones to patrol the country’s porous borders, deputy minister of Home Affairs Obedingwa Mguni revealed to Senate last week.

Speaking during last week’s question and answer session, Mguni said they were targeting to improve the country’s weak borders through deployment of drones.

“We have implemented new technology. We are bringing in the drones that are able to fly, patrolling along the border post. We have an inter-ministerial committee which involves the ministry of Finance and other ministries like ministry of Mines. We are buying those machines so that they can fly there and we can see who is crossing so that we can search those people. Most of the drug carriers are using such areas.

“However, the fight against drugs is not only with the police, it is also with the public,” said Mguni.

Mguni added that the country is being flooded with harmful drugs because of the weak border posts security.

“The police — their objective is to prevent, detect and stop any criminal activities within the country and even abroad, through Interpol. The drug issue is a world syndrome that is challenging all under-developed countries.

“However, when you look at where the drugs are manufactured it is counties like Columbia, Brazil, even Mozambique where there are plants. They are flooding into the country like Zimbabwe through the border or boundaries where we have very weak boundaries without security barriers.

“By security barriers I mean that in some parts...we have got rivers like Limpopo, Zambezi where people cannot just cross but if you go to the eastern side you can drive your cattle and walk across. A lot of people think they will come through the official border post.  No, they are areas where there just cross into a country without being detected.”

Mguni added that the government must open rehabilitation centres to educate youths on drugs.

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HARARE - Stakeholders have called upon government to drop the new education curriculum until there are adequate resources to implement it.

Several education experts who spoke to the Daily News said although the country’s education sector has lurched from one crisis to another, with teachers striking over poor working conditions and children dropping out of school because of economic hardships, there is need for due process to be taken before overhauling the current system.

Apex council spokesperson George Mushipe said the new curriculum, which introduces the teaching of languages such as Mandarin, is a welcome development but its implementation was rushed.

“Teachers did not receive full training, and they are not fully resourced. There is too much paperwork involved and until all stakeholders have been fully appraised, we will not be able to roll it out,” he said.

The seasoned educationist noted that there was need for extensive consultation before the new curriculum was put into action.

“We do not have to rush implementation and parents have been coming through to schools complaining over the whole issue. We will sit down as the unions next week (this week), come up with a solution and present it to the ministry,” Mushipe added.

This comes as government, through Education minister Lazarus Dokora, this year introduced a new curriculum which has been widely criticised and rejected by the majority of Zimbabweans.

Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) president Obert Masaure said the new curriculum was just a waste of resources as it was complex and involved new technologies for all schools, when the majority of institutions in the rural areas lack the requisite infrastructure and most teachers were not computer literate.

“They talk about introduction of computer programming and many areas do not have electricity. Some pupils do not even know how to switch on a computer and they are being told about programming. The teachers are not trained, how are they going to teach when they do not have the skills?” he added.

Masaure called for the resistance to this new curriculum.

“Our call to the teachers and students is to resist these changes. What came out of the new curriculum consultations is totally divorced from what is being presented by the minister,” he said.

He added that the new curriculum is putting most schools in a dilemma, as teachers and students themselves have no clue on what is going on.

“Another issue is continuous assessment of students from Form 3 to 4. They want to take 30 percent of the coursework to determine results, just like in universities. The exam will only contribute 70 percent. The problem is there are no set standards for all this, teachers have not been trained, and the students do not even know what is being done. This all spells disaster. It is all experimental at the risk of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dokora said there was nothing wrong with the new curriculum as the country was simply following up on the Nziramasanga Commission.

“...In 2013 we began a process of consultation to update the recommendations in the light of the current global and context. Out of that, we were able to zero in on the recommendations that are possible to be implemented...,” he said.

According to the Nziramasanga Commission, Zimbabwe’s education curriculum was designed to train employees rather than employers or entrepreneurs.

The Commission, which was set up in 1999 to evaluate Zimbabwe’s educational requirements, observed that the national curriculum was inclined towards academics and recommended the introduction of vocational skills training in secondary schools.

This was after the country had realised that there was need to prioritise vocational skills as there were many pupils who were not academically gifted.

Education expert John Charema said unless the school system was restored to the success levels of the 1980s and 1990s, the schools, tertiary institutions, teachers, students and the whole educational sector will continue to decline.

“The problems that education is experiencing can be overcome with adequate funding, restoring the battered image of the teaching profession and reconstructing the run down infrastructure in schools, colleges and universities,” he said.

Charema noted that government must implement investor-friendly policies to revive the economy and reverse skills flight among teachers and lecturers.

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HARARE - At least 110 million condoms were distributed in 2016 alone a figure which ministry of Health officials say shows that Zimbabweans are now playing it safe.

In a statement ahead of the International Condom Day tomorrow, the ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) said the female condom was slowly gaining popularity.

This follows 2015 figures which indicated that 115 million condoms were distributed with 110 male and five million female condoms.

“A total of 105 million male condoms were distributed countrywide in 2016 alone. The female condoms continue to slowly gain popularity and in 2016, a total of 4,5 million were distributed,” the statement read.

This year Condom Day will be held under the theme “Always in Fashion”, with the ministry saying the theme is seeking to recognise that condoms will always be relevant, trendy and significant.

“The MOHCC remains committed to ensuring that we strengthen the promotion of condom use which WHO and UNAids endorsed as one of the proven high-impact HIV prevention interventions.

“The use of either the male or female condom has added advantage of also being a family planning method which prevents unplanned pregnancies,” the ministry said in the statement.

Stakeholders in the health sector have attributed the HIV prevalence decline to high condom use.

A study carried out by the ministry of health and UNFPA found out that 80 percent of women and 75 percent of men accepted the female condom.

The study also showed that only one percent of women reported difficulties in using the condom.

Zimbabwe has the 10th highest condom use, with 44,3 percent of surveyed people reporting to use condoms in their sexual encounters.

While the country is among the HIV high risk group countries, Zimbabwe has the highest per capita condom use in the world.

According to the UNAids Prevention Gap Report for 2016, the condom gap in Sub-Saharan Africa was more than three billion condoms per year.

The report also shows that an estimated 45 million HIV infections have been averted through condom use globally since 1990, while achieving the global condom target for 2020 would avert 3,4 million new infections.

There was a seven percent increase in sexually transmitted diseases in 2016’s first quarter with 288 127 people seeking treatment against 268 353 recorded during the same period in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Gays and Lesbians Associations of Zimbabwe (Galz) peer educator Bee Poller, said while condoms were being distributed widely, the homosexual community was not being catered for despite being a key population.

“Most of the condoms on the market cater for heterosexual relationships. We have had to find donors to assist with condoms,” he said.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's collapsing public health sector could plunge into total chaos this week, after long-suffering State doctors issued a warning to go on strike on Wednesday — unless President Robert Mugabe’s stone-broke government honours its promise of improving their conditions of work.

This comes as hundreds of thousands of civil servants, who include teachers, are at serious loggerheads with their employer — following the failure by the government to pay them their salaries on time, as well as bonuses, as promised by Mugabe last year despite the parlous state of the national fiscus.

“In light of the recommendations gathered from the nationwide consultations, and guided by the notice and petition served to the minister of Health and the Health Services Board more than two weeks ago, the (doctors’) association wishes to announce that with effect from Wednesday 15 February, there shall be a fully-fledged nationwide industrial action.

“All doctors from consultant level to our new JRMOs are advised to take heed of this call,” the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) said at the weekend.

Although ZHDA president, Edgar Munatsi, confirmed the planned strike to the Daily News yesterday, Health and Child Care minister, David Parirenyatwa, said he was yet to receive official communication about the industrial action.

“We are very keen that patients are not compromised. I always try hard to look at the interests of all our doctors so that patients’ welfare is not jeopardised,” Parirenyatwa said.

Asked to comment on some of the demands being made by the doctors, he said he did not think it was appropriate for him “to negotiate through the press”.

ZHDA wants government to revise upwards, to a minimum of $720 call allowances for the least paid doctors, and that the Health Services Board urgently implements the agreed duty-free framework for all government doctors.

“The association remains puzzled with the lipstick approach by the ministry of Health to honour the agreed on-call allowances with our previous leadership. It is on record that the on-call allowance must have progressively been raised to $720.

“Our doctors, including well-trained consultants, travel to work on public transport despite the earlier promise to unveil a motor vehicle duty free facility to the sector,” ZHDA said.

The country’s public health sector is grappling with myriad problems, including having to contend with shortages of critical drugs and antiquated hospital equipment.

Despite these humongous problems, Mugabe’s misfiring government has once again allocated a measly budget to the health services sector this year.

In his budget presentation in December, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa reduced the vote for health from $331 million to a disappointing $282 million — a figure that falls way short of meeting the big demands of the public health sector.

As Zimbabwe’s political and economic rot has escalated over the past five years, the health sector has experienced severe problems.

Recently, hospitals warned that they were left with two weeks’ supply of a major drug used during surgical operations.

This was after the country’s biggest referral hospital, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, said it was left with two weeks’ stock of atracurium — an anaesthetic drug used in addition to other drugs for muscle relaxation during surgery — after major drug supplier, GSK, pulled out of the Zimbabwean market last year.

Last year, the country’s other major referral hospitals also had to suspend many services as a result of the shortage of drugs, including painkillers — exposing how much things have fallen apart in the country since the early 2000s.

United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and Harare Central Hospital were among the major health facilities that had to suspend normal services as a result of drug shortages, including pethidine — a synthetic compound used as a painkiller, especially for women in labour and during Caesarean operations.

And Binga District Hospital, which is situated in one of Zimbabwe’s poorest regions, was also forced to scale back its services as a result of water and electricity shortages.

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HARARE - There was all-round agreement yesterday that the much-anticipated 2018 presidential election would be another titanic contest between popular opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe — or a nominee of the increasingly frail nonagenarian.

Zanu PF insiders and political analysts who spoke to the Daily News said with former Vice President Joice Mujuru’s political fortunes taking a severe battering last week — as her fledgling Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party implodes — there was no one else other than Tsvangirai and his MDC who had “a realistic chance” of taking on Mugabe and Zanu PF in 2018.

“We are not moved by the many Mickey Mouse opponents within the opposition ranks who are muddying the waters, we know and are firmly focussed on crushing Tsvangirai and MDC again as the next elections approach,” a ruling party bigwig said.

On their part, political analysts said the ructions currently ravaging ZPF meant that Mujuru’s chances of contesting against Mugabe in 2018 had now taken a “serious dent”.

Among other senior Zanu PF officials who appear to share the view is vocal Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo, who tweeted at the weekend that: “A grand coalition in Zim is by definition untenable because there are many opposition individuals but only one real opposition party, MDC-T!”.

Writing on his blog on Saturday, UK-based academic and former adviser to Tsvangirai during the era of the government of national unity, Alex Magaisa, also suggested that Tsvangirai and the MDC remained the biggest challenges to Mugabe and Zanu PF’s quests to remain in power.

“Although it has been a lean period (the past few years), the MDC-T remains Zanu PF’s most formidable opponent. This is why, even though the party has boycotted by-elections since 2013, Zanu PF campaigners always chant “Pasi neMDC-T / Pasi naTsvangirai!” (Down with MDC-T/Down with Tsvangirai!) — Zanu PF’s notorious ritual of banishing the opposition.

“They do so even when they are competing with other opposition parties. Mentally, their most important rival is still the MDC-T and Tsvangirai. State media propaganda continues to focus on the MDC-T and Tsvangirai as the primary targets,” he said.

All this comes as Mujuru and ZPF’s founding fathers, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, are escalating their feud, which saw hordes of party bigwigs deserting the troubled political outfit last week.

On the other hand, Mugabe and Zanu PF are battling to keep their former liberation movement’s ugly tribal, factional and succession wars in check, as the nonagenarian’s impatient lieutenants stampede to try and take over from him.

Professor of politics at the University of Zimbabwe, Eldred Masunungure, was among the analysts who said yesterday that Mujuru’s troubles had dealt her “a body blow” in her quest to lead the mooted grand opposition alliance and take Mugabe head-on in the 2018 presidential election.

“With recent developments in Mujuru’s party, it’s now obvious that the favourite candidate to lead the coalition is MDC leader Tsvangirai.

“Tsvangirai is now the best candidate left ... the chances are now thinner for Mujuru to lead the coalition with what has happened in her party. She is not a strong leader,” the respected Masunungure told the Daily News.

In a stunning development that shook both the opposition movement and ordinary Zimbabweans alike, Mujuru “expelled” ZPF’s founding fathers Gumbo and Mutasa, together with five other party heavyweights last week — on account of them being alleged Zanu PF agents and working to topple her from her interim position.

But no sooner had she completed her briefing than the situation turned into a complete farce, when Mutasa and Gumbo announced at their own press conference that they had also summarily “expelled” Mujuru from ZPF.

Mutasa and Gumbo have since seemingly taken control of the party’s affairs, after they claimed that they were the rightful owners of the fledgling opposition party and its image rights.

“Mujuru is not known for having done something extraordinary that would give her the ideal qualities of a leader. The squabbles in her party show that she cannot manage a crisis.

“She could have implemented lots of options, including assuring the party elders of a controlling stake in the party and electing a council of advisers such that decisions were arrived at after well thought-out deliberations,” another analyst, Shakespear Hamauswa, said.

“Again she could have appointed a committee to look into the differences they were having. If entering a coalition was the main cause for the split, then Mujuru could have done something much better. I think she lacks strategy unless behind the scenes some other things are taking place.

“Morgan managed to build his party in 2005 when it seemed impossible because the secretary general had gone with the national chair, who later came back, as well as the spokesperson, the treasurer, the deputy president and other top key figures.

“But he managed to rebuild the party into a formidable force which caused a coalition government in 2008. So, I think the best person to lead is Morgan Tsvangirai,” Hamauswa added.

Another political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme, also said Tsvangirai remained “the only suitable leader” to lead the planned opposition coalition.

“He is the only opposition leader with the biggest support base. There is no debate about that. He does have his weaknesses and vices, but he is the only opposition leader with some modicum of credibility to lead any coalition.

“Mujuru must put her house in order first. Let her finish forming and solidifying her party before tasking her with the responsibility to lead an opposition coalition,” he said.

But despite ZPF’s unfolding chaos, Mujuru has been working behind the scenes with Tsvangirai and other smaller opposition parties towards the formation of the planned grand coalition.

Analysts have also consistently said that a united opposition, fighting with one purpose, would bring to an end Mugabe’s long rule — especially at this time when the country’s economy is dying and the increasingly frail nonagenarian is battling to keep his warring Zanu PF united.

Recently, Tsvangirai also said Mujuru had proved to be a significant opposition player — and that the two would work together with others to dethrone Mugabe and Zanu PF from power next year.

Mujuru was expelled from Zanu PF together with Gumbo and Mutasa in the run-up to the ruling party’s sham “elective congress” in December 2014, on untested allegations of plotting to assassinate and topple Mugabe from power.

Meanwhile, analysts also say barring unforeseen circumstances, Mugabe was likely to be the Zanu PF candidate in 2018, at the very mature age of 94 years.

This is despite the fact that the ruling party’s two major factions — Team Lacoste which is rallying behind Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the Generation 40 group which is rabidly opposed to the VP succeeding Mugabe — have been going hammer and tongs at each other in recent months over its succession riddle.

Mugabe — the only leader Zimbabweans have known since the country gained its independence from Britain in April 1980 — has managed to keep them at bay, refusing to name a successor and arguing that Zanu PF should rather follow what he sees as a more democratic process; to manage his succession via a congress.

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HARARE - African Roots Music singer and world renowned stone sculptor Bryn Mteki aka Sekurutau is not surprised at all for always winning grand prizes at Metro Peech and Browne Wholesalers.

While the artiste’s winning streak as one of the lucky bulk traders started three years ago when he started operating supermarkets, he believes his star is following his success as an accomplished artist.

“I have been lucky throughout my life starting with fine art drawing while I was just a small boy gradually graduating to stone sculpting with techniques passed on by late Uncle Boira and father Richard Mteki, then music. My star has always been shinning so when I started operating BrynBrands everything else fell in place.

“The success of my artistic career when I toured and exhibited my sculptures throughout the world in the past 16 years meant that I was financially sound to engage in bigger projects here in Zimbabwe. I am proud today that BrynBrands runs a vast of projects in retail, butcheries, take-away, entertainment, mining and fashion.”

The stylish dreadlocked artist cum businessman who is managed by wife Patience Annie Mteki aka Ambuya has also acquired Club Saratoga in Highfield where he performs every Friday.

And for the three years he has participated in the Metro Peech and Browne Wholesalers raffles, he has won household goods and cash prizes countless times.

“I have kept some of the monetary prizes sealed in envelops so as to shows my grand-children.”

Mteki is fortunate to have met – in his life time – personalities like long-time friend R. Kelly, the great Mike Tyson, Wesley Snipes, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha ,  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rev Jesse Jackson , Andy Cole of Manchester United and Dwight Yorke, Sepp Blatter  among others.

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