HARARE - Zimre Holdings Limited (ZHL) is seeking shareholder approval to buy back about 10 percent of the company’s equity.

The listed diversified conglomerate, which will hold its annual general meeting on June 28, 2017, is also proposing that the purchase price shall not be lower than the nominal value of the company’s shares and not greater than five percent of the trading price for the ordinary shares.

Zimre noted that the shares “repurchased may be held for treasury purposes or cancelled as may be decided by the board from time to time”. 

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Equities analyst Ranga Makwata said one of the common reasons why companies go for share buyback is to boost earnings per share (EPS), because share buyback reduces outstanding shares in the market.

“At times when the company feels the shares are undervalued, a share buyback is used to pump up the stock price, which acts like a support or new base for the stock,” he said.

Makwata further indicated that there could be a number of reasons why shares of a particular company are trading lower despite stable fundamentals.

“A buyback reassures investors that the company has confidence in itself and is determined to work towards creating value for shareholders,” he added.

Meanwhile, ZHL company secretary Sibongile Mhlanga said the group — which is planning to consolidate its regional operations under an entity to be listed in Botswana — was in a strong financial position and is in a position to repay its debts for the coming year.

“The directors are satisfied that the assets of the company will be in excess of its liabilities for a period of 12 months after the annual general meeting,” she said.

Mhlanga also noted that the group is confident that its working and ordinary capital will be adequate in the coming financial year.

This comes as the group, with interests in insurance, property and agriculture, recently indicated its intention to consolidate all regional operations under a single company called Emeritus International which will list on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE).

ZHL chief executive Stanley Kudenga in May told analysts that the group will hold at least 51 percent in Emeritus International.

The decision to list the company on BSE will enable it to raise funds without liquidity challenges faced in the local market.

“Emeritus International structure will be used as a vehicle to mobilise capital for group expansion and strengthening the regional foothold,” said Kudenga.

ZHL’s regional operations include the wholly owned Malawi Reinsurance and Zambian Reinsurance while it also has 91 percent in First Reinsurance of Botswana and Uganda Reinsurance where it holds 2,43 percent shares.

“We want to attain blue chip status and grow into an expansive and diversified investment group,” Kudenga said.

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HARARE - A five-man gang has been dragged to court after it allegedly murdered an Epworth money dealer after busting him while giving people fake South African rands at a Warren Park supermarket.

The crew — Clement Radzokota, 62, Taona Leonard Chiwanga, 38, Hopewell Nyamukondiwa, 37, Zorodzai Macheka, 19 and Muchengeti Ndoro, 24 — appeared before Harare magistrate Barbra Chimboza yesterday facing murder charges.

They were remanded in custody to July 31 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court, as they are facing a third schedule offence.

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Prosecutor Sabastian Mutizirwa alleged that on May 30 at around 3pm, Radzokota and his accomplices were at Warren Park 1 Shopping Centre when the now deceased Ernest Nyarambi arrived in the company of one Owen Mupfuwa.

Nyarambi and Mupfuwa were coming from Epworth and allegedly carried fake South African rands intending to dupe unsuspecting people.

The court heard that the duo tried to exchange the fake currency with three different people and their luck ran out after it was discovered.

It is alleged that was when Radzokota and his accomplices intervened and confronted Nyarambi and Mupfuwa about the fake notes.

They reportedly apprehended Nyarambi and Mupfuwa. 

Radzokota and his accomplices began assaulting the pair with clenched fists and booted feet, accusing them of being thieves.

The court heard that Mupfuwa managed to escape from the attack and rushed to inform Nyarambi’s brother, Kundishora, of the incident.

The following day at around 7am, Nyarambi’s lifeless body was discovered at a road close to Trade Centre in Waterfalls by an informant who reported to Waterfalls Police Station.

On June 1, Mupfuwa was interviewed by police and led them to the scene where he positively identified Radzokota and his accomplices as the people who meted instant justice on him and Nyarambi.

The five were subsequently arrested and post mortem results concluded that Nyarambi’s death was due to subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral contusion and head trauma.

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HARARE - Small-scale miners — popularly known as makorokoza — in Bubi District, Matabeleland South Province, have been exempted from paying customs and excise tax in a bid to ensure viability.

According to a government gazette published last Friday, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa (pictured) announced that Bubi Small Scale Miners Association (BSSMA) will be exempted from paying duty from February 16 this year to February 5, 2020.

This comes on the back of various proposed changes to the country’s mining laws, which support the small-scale miners, now seen as key contributors to national mineral output.

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“The Customs and Excise (Suspension) regulations, 2003, published in Statutory Instrument 257 of 2003, are amended by the insertion of the following in the Second Schedule . . . (name of mining company) Bubi Small Scale Miners Association . . . mining location numbers 11392B.M, 11399B.M, specified mining period 16th February, 2017 to 5th February 2020,” reads the government gazette.

BSSMA has over 300 members who operate in the mineral rich district where geological surveys have shown kimberlite pipes of diamonds, limestone, gold and nickel.

It is hoped the move will assist the miners, many of whom use menial and labour-intensive tools.

However, despite their inadequacies, Fidelity Printers and Refiners has indicated that small-scale gold miners outperformed large-scale operations in the last quarter of 2016.

The small mining outfits were said to have produced 3,163 tonnes of gold in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to 2,958 tonnes produced by large mining operations.

Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) spokesperson Dosman Mangisi said he is confident the exemption will go a long way in boosting production in the mining sector, a key foreign exchange earner in the country.

“We are very excited about this and to us it’s actually an incentive. The move will definitely improve gold production in the country,” said Mangisi, whose association estimates that small-scale mines control up to 65 percent of active gold deposits in the country.

“It will also assist chrome production where there is need for earth moving equipment. It’s a positive to the contributions of the mining operations and also erodes the barriers in importing equipment.”

The incentive comes after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently doubled its small-scale gold support facility from $20 to $40 million to help the sector reach the 28-tonne target for 2017.

Other improvements made to support small-scale miners, including the recently introduced three percent scheme for small scale miners who decide to be paid in bond notes.

The cash incentive was announced last month by  Fidelity Printers and Refiners and is an addition to the five percent export incentive.

The Finance ministry has projected that gold deliveries will reach 25 tonnes this year from 18 tonnes in the same period last year on the back of increased small scale sector production.

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and the Registrar-General’s office must publicly destroy the old voters’ roll as there is danger of the country being railroaded into elections using it, despite the establishment of a biometric one, the MDC has warned.

Contributing to a debate last Friday on the possibility of the mooted biometric voter registration (BVR) effectively dealing with the electoral challenges that the country has been grappling with since the turn of the millennium, MDC national elections directorate secretary Murisi Zwizwai said “as long as the two (voters’ rolls) exist side by side” there is risk the old one being used.

“...it leaves room for a Jealousy Mawarire moment where someone will approach the Constitutional Court, saying he or she has a right to vote because he is registered on the old voters’ roll and that will be manipulated to justify dumping the BVR because we know Zanu PF has always been against the new system,” Zwizwai said.

He called for an amendment to the electoral laws by “inserting a validation clause that compels all those that are registered under the old system to approach Zec to have their biometric features captured in order to retain their voting rights”.

“We have since approached Zec over this issue but it seems there is not any movement as they continuously tell us they are considering it,” he said.

In 2013, Mawarire — a Zimbabwean citizen — dragged President Robert Mugabe to court and forced an election to be held as prescribed by the Sadc-brokered power-sharing pact in what many viewed as a Zanu PF project that was meant to avoid being subjected to a free, fair and credible electoral process.

Meanwhile, a fresh political storm has since erupted over the awarding of the BVR kits tender to a Chinese company — Laxton Group — by Zec, with the MDC alleging that the “controversial” award is a ploy to “manipulate” the results of the eagerly awaited 2018 elections.

The multi-party debate Murisi was speaking at was organised by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and was also attended by Tendai Biti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Welshman Ncube’s MDC.

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HARARE - Former Finance minister Tendai Biti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said Zimbabwe’s filthy cities now depict the situation in war-torn countries.

This comes after Tourism minister Walter Mzembi recently publicly expressed his annoyance at the country’s worsening rot, which he said makes Zimbabwe a “hard sell” to international tourists.

Also, President Robert Mugabe’s office has expressed alarm at the state of the capital, Harare, warning the city’s local authority that it risks failing to meet its audacious target of transform the once sunshine city into world-class status by 2025.

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PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said the country’s once prosperous and clean cities are suffering at the hands of the Mugabe administration’s failures.

“...the cities have a hallmark of cities in war-torn countries,” he said in a statement.

“...downtown Harare or Fourth Street is reflective of Freetown, Monrovia or Kinshasa,” Mafume said.

Speaking on the sorry state of the capital last week, deputy chief secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Ray Ndhlukula warned that Harare City Council’s 2025 vision of a world-class city could be derailed by poor service delivery and damaged roads.

He said Harare’s 5 000km road network is now filled with potholes, while in some instances the tarmac has been totally eroded.

“Furthermore, some structures were built in the colonial era and now pose as a danger to occupants, as their safety standards have been compromised.

“Heaps and heaps of uncollected rubbish are now a familiar face in some parts of the city, especially in high density suburbs, with some residents and small business operators now taking the initiative to burn the litter on their own hence causing another problem to the environment, which is pollution,” Ndhlukula said.

But Mafume said Mugabe must take full responsibility of the country’s state of affairs.

“Mugabe is the chief architect of all the vices that have dogged our country; sadly our cities have also been an immediate casualty.

“While we appreciate the fact that local authorities could have made better decisions in many instances, Mugabe must also take responsibility for the bigger picture of redefining failure.

“Mugabe is running an ineffective State drowning in corruption, fragility and now facing State failure.  His clear defiance of the supreme law by refusing to implement devolution as promulgated by the national Constitution has made it difficult for local authorities to make independent decisions,” he said.

Mafume further said 37 years after independence, Mugabe’s administration is still using equipment that was left by the British colonisers.

“Mugabe’s lack of vision is even dangerous going forward with surveys predicting that 56 percent of the people on the African continent will be living in urban centres by 2050.

“Zimbabwe is already struggling with cholera and typhoid; it will only get worse when urban population increases,” he said, calling on the government to adopt a holistic approach to the issue.

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HARARE - Activist cleric Phillip Mugadza’s criminal nuisance case, in which he is accused of disturbing business in the Harare CBD, has been put on hold because the presiding magistrate is away on maternity leave.

Mugadza — who chained himself to iron rails at Africa Unity Square in protest in the CBD — was represented by Gift Mtisi when he appeared before Harare magistrate Annia Ndiraya.

He anticipated a continuation of the trial.

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However, the case was postponed to June 21 pending the presiding magistrate Rumbidzayi Mugwagwa’s return.

Mtisi’s main argument is that there must have been people who complained that Mugadza annoyed them, to sustain criminal nuisance charges.

“...his actions must have amounted to shouting or screaming to the annoyance of the public,” Mtisi read out the section his client is being charged under.

However, Cosmas Matanha, one of the arresting details, argued that he did not need to wait for a complaint to be made against Mugadza because he personally witnessed the melee.

“I was in the company of other police officers on the day in question and when we saw the accused person, we advanced towards him to make an arrest. I had realised that he was vandalising council property through his conduct and had to stop him,” Matanha said.

Mtisi argued that the cleric was exercising his rights as enshrined in Section 60 of the Constitution, which is “to practice and propagate, give expression and opinion, or religious belief either alone or with others, in private or in public”.

According to prosecutor Mollen Murozvi-Sibanda, Mugadza disturbed normal flow of business that day because a crowd had started gathering around him.

Murozvi-Sibanda alleged that on November 22 at around 4pm, officers from the police reaction group were on patrol at Africa Unity Square.

They reportedly heard the accused person shouting, thereby disturbing people who passed by the park.

The officers proceeded where Mugadza was and noticed that he had chained and padlocked himself to fencing rails at Africa Unity Square.

It is further alleged Mugadza had positioned himself directly opposite Parliament Building’s entrance along Nelson Mandela Avenue.

The court heard that Mugadza annoyed Parliament employees and other members of the public.

He was subsequently arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station after being advised of his charge.

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HARARE - The trial of a Harare woman who allegedly hired a hit man to murder her lover’s wife continued yesterday with the suspected contract killer revealing that the husband was supposed to fund the operation.

Judith Makwara is answering to charges of conspiracy to commit murder before Harare regional magistrate Temba Kuwanda.

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The complainant is Charity Muzorewa, Lovejoy Tirivepi’s wife and the two are pastors at Lead Ministry International.

When the trial commenced yesterday, Clover Musariri — a karate trainer — narrated how he was introduced to Makwara by one of his former students Keith Vera before being briefed about the mission.

“When I met the accused person, she told me that she wanted Charity beaten to death and her driver Tinashe would not be killed but thoroughly beaten because he was spreading rumours about her affairs,” Musariri said.

“She offered $2 000 and said she wanted to call (pastor) Lovejoy in America to request for the money.

“The accused person told him that she had finally found a person who could beat Charity to death hence needed to make payment.

“Lovejoy responded that he was having challenges to access the money and that was when Makwara said she could give me $1 000 and settle the balance after the assassination. I left her car at that moment and told her that I was not going to take up the task because we were not taught to kill in karate.” 

Musariri was blasted by Makwara’s lawyer Rungano Mahuni for fabricating the evidence after he continuously changed statements in court.

Prosecutor Chipo Matambo alleged that on April 14 around 12pm, Muzorewa received a phone call from Musariri who informed her that he had been assigned by Makwara to kill her.

It was alleged that Musariri then requested to meet with Muzorewa but she refused fearing for her life and filed a police report the following day relying on the phone call she had received.

Muzorewa states that she became aware that Makwara was having an adulterous affair with her husband and believed that to be the motive behind the murder plot.

It is further stated that Muzorewa fears that since the first murder plot failed, Makwara may find new hit men that are not as moral as Musariri to kill her.

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HARARE - Water woes around most of Harare’s suburbs have resulted in the exploitation of residents who now have to pay to fetch water from government-drilled boreholes.

Most suburbs around Harare have been dry for a considerable time owing to the council’s failure to provide enough water purification chemicals, resulting in water rationing, with Kamfinsa, Budiriro, Mabvuku, Tafara, Msasa Park, Hatcliffe and Hatfield being the hardest-hit.

However, in a bid to alleviate the situation, government drilled boreholes around many of these suburbs, but some youths are now terrorising residents, asking them to pay for the water while they pocket the money.

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Popularly known as “waterpreneurs”, the youths rough up mostly women and girls who patiently wait at boreholes for hours in agonising queues.

Residents in Mabvuku, Chitungwiza and recently Warren Park, claim they are being ripped off by gangs of youths who sell the borehole water.

“We are being ripped off at Warren Park Polyclinic, where the Unicef-drilled borehole is located.

“Each time we go to fetch water, there will be people demanding that we pay 25 cents for three 25-litre buckets.

“We have families and will have to fork out more than $2 every day for water, which is not sustainable considering that most residents are mere vendors who are struggling to make ends meet,” a woman who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Daily News yesterday.

She said initially they were told that the money being collected is being used to buy taps, but the issue has been going on since last year.

The residents are now questioning if the money for the so-called taps is not yet enough.

According to some sources, these money-spinning adventures now have a political dimension to it, as some youths take it as some form of empowerment, which they capitalise on to eke out a living.

This has also been the prevailing situation in Mabvuku, where youths have also been terrorising residents at boreholes.

These unruly youths jump queues and fill numerous containers, which they in turn sell to desperate residents.

In Mabvuku, the youths sell four 20-litre containers for $1, while in Chitungwiza they charge as much as $1 per each 25-litre container.

The Daily News visited Mabvuku last year and witnessed women at a borehole near Kamunhu Shopping Centre being roughed up by the youths.

Mabvuku resident Phanuel Mbiri told the Daily News then that area D and old Mabvuku could go for two months without any municipal water.

He said he has often had to defend helpless women at boreholes because of these waterpreneurs.

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HARARE - Harare City Council (HCC) wants City Parking to increase their dividend to the city arguing the current remittance is too little.

According to audit committee minutes, HCC claims that City Parking has been paying them a blanket figure of $40 000 per year.

“The committee enquired whether the Harare City Council was getting a fair share from City Parking (Pvt) Ltd. The acting town clerk reported that she had taken the matter to the business committee whereby the entity should pay rentals for the offices as well as electricity charges.

“The unit should also pay a dividend that would be properly calculated not just a blanket figure of $40 000,” read the minutes.

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Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said the chairperson of Harare Sunshine Holdings should know what is going on at the entity because “we are not involved in the day-to-day activities.”

“A special forensic audit was called for by the board of HSH but we did not cause and will not.

“The complaint of the low figure is typical shareholder expectations on our part. All other audits have taken place except for the special audit which I cannot answer for,” Manyenyeni said.

HSH chairperson Percy Toriro also declined to comment on the City Parking issue, arguing that it was a stand-alone company which had a board of its own.

“Before the companies branched out, I would speak for them but now I cannot because they would deem it as interference. Those at City Parking are the best people to speak to,” Toriro said.

City Parking general manager Simon Muzviyo had not responded to questions sent to him by the time of going to print.

Complaints against City Parking come after Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere told Parliament that there are financial leakages at the entity.

Kasukuwere said a lot of money was being paid towards parking in the city.

However, the funds were not being accounted for.

When the parking project was first started in 2010, HCC had contracted South African firm Easipark to manage the business, with investments also in Ghana that paid out a $40 000 monthly dividend.

“There is an issue regarding the Sunshine City. We wanted the parking space in Harare to be audited. No one knows how much money is being paid.

“Hospitals and clinics are paying but it is not known where the money is going.

“There are some companies or boards that are in Ghana but the revenue that is raised is unaccounted for.”

“If you touch on such issues, it will appear as if you are stirring the hornet’s nest, but this is the truth of the matter.

“The leaders that are in council even tell you that minister this issue is difficult. We do not know whether it ends with the leaders of the council or the party. There are leakages in terms of finances,” Kasukuwere said.

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HARARE - Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s nephew — Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa — has been dragged to court by his ex-wife for allegedly defaulting payment of $5 120 maintenance for their two children.

Tongai, 39, of Sunridge in Harare, appeared before magistrate Annia Ndiraya charged with contravening Section 23 of the Maintenance Act.

He was granted $100 bail and ordered not to interfere with witnesses and continue residing at his present address pending finalisation of the case.

Tongai denied the charges and a full trial will be convened before Ndiraya tomorrow.

The complainant is Shuvai Murumbi, a public relations executive.

Prosecutor Devoted Nyagano alleged that on June 9, 2014 Mnangagwa was ordered by the Harare Magistrates’ Courts to pay $250 per month to Murumbi as maintenance for their two children.

The court heard that Tongai made part payments and failed to settle the maintenance in full from June 2014 to May 2017.

According to State papers, Tongai is now in arrears of $5 120.

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HARARE - the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC has threatened to drag the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to court for awarding the biometric voter registration (BVR) kits tender to a Chinese company, Laxton Group.

It said the move is part of its quest to ensure next year’s elections are free and fair.

Zec last Thursday announced Laxton Group as the supplier of BVR kits.

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However, the MDC said the process was controversial and was allegedly a ploy by the ruling Zanu PF to “manipulate” the results of the eagerly-awaited 2018 national elections.

MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu yesterday told the Daily News that they will not allow that to happen ahead of the 2018 polls.

“We are definitely going to take legal action against Zec over the issue. This time we have our eyes on the ball. Ichidembo tamba tamba muswe ndakabata (this time around we will not lose grip). Once bitten, twice shy. We will not allow Zanu PF to have its cake and eat it,” he said.

This comes as opposition parties are still smarting from the electoral controversies of the 2013 election, when an Israeli company, Nikuv, allegedly manipulated the vote in favour of Zanu PF.

In a statement over the weekend, MDC said the award to the Chinese firm is in stark contradiction to the recommendations made by political parties that observed the BVR validation process.

“The MDC is aware that the Zanu PF appointed State Procurement Board (SPB) directly influenced Zec to award this tender to the Chinese company,” MDC said.

The tender was awarded after weeks of bid assessments and site validation tests after which a recommendation was made to the SPB.

Laxton Group and Dermalog Identification Systems from Germany were the only two companies that had remained in the race after the third, Zetes Group from Belgium, pulled out of the tender process.

“Our technical experts are convinced that the German company, Dermalog Identification Systems, is technically superior and better experienced in the supply of BVR kits compared to the Chinese company, Laxton Group,” MDC said.

Gutu further said they will use all means necessary to ensure that Zanu PF will not arm-twist the 2018 voting process.

“We will use all legitimate means at our disposal, that is going to the court, engaging Sadc, the African Union or even the United Nations if need be.

“We will use all diplomatic and legal means, because we believe the people of Zimbabwe have suffered enough, and there has to be an end game and people are looking at us as MDC because we are the biggest opposition political party and we can’t disappoint them,” he said.

Asked when they are going to contest these new developments, Gutu said they will do it immediately.

“We held our policy workshop over the weekend and we are also going to have a national standing committee meeting on Wednesday (tomorrow)and the national executive meeting on Friday, where we will discuss and map the way forward pertaining to the issue,” he said.

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HARARE - Frequent flier President Robert Mugabe pays national airline Air Zimbabwe (Air Zim) cash upfront whenever he uses its planes, Transport minister Jorum Gumbo told the Daily News yesterday.

The 93-year-old leader travelled to the United States (US) over the weekend on an Air Zim plane, and according to Gumbo — whose ministry superintends over the ailing airline — “the president is a good customer”.

“Whenever the president is travelling, we charge him the same amount that we charge anyone else. The president is in fact our number one client because that is where we get our money, we only hire when there are problems with our planes and that can be found in different countries,” he said, adding that Mugabe “pays the money even before he leaves the country”.

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The deepening rot at the struggling flag carrier was recently said to have triggered serious safety concerns among security chiefs and Zanu PF bigwigs — who were said to be  worried about the safety and security of the hired planes that Mugabe was now regularly using  for his official travels after Air Zim planes were grounded.

The debt-ridden national airline is barely managing to stay afloat, and to keep operating its creaky aircraft — a development which had lately forced, Mugabe, its single biggest customer, to hire private jets from overseas.

This also comes as Air Zim has been banned from flying into Europe over safety concerns — further complicating Mugabe’s frequent travel plans to international destinations which are not covered by the current travel restrictions on him.

However, Gumbo yesterday said the problems cited by EU were being sorted and there are no safety fears when Mugabe is travelling with the planes.

“We had banned our planes, this was after we had applied to resuscitate the London route, when they had applied they were told by the responsible authorities from that side that if you want to ply this route you must meet the conditions.

“When the team came here 12 areas where not conforming to what they wanted, and after some works our team went to Europe and they met 10 out of the 12 conditions that were required, it was discovered that we were manual and not computerised, but before we went to Europe, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe had told us not to fly the planes until we had complied.

“There is no danger with flying Air Zimbabwe, of course there are some few problems but we will sort that out and our planes will be running before end of this month but that does not stop Air Zimbabwe to fly anywhere including America or Europe because he has immunity,” Gumbo told the Daily News.

Air Zim is said to be losing up to $3 million a month, in addition to being saddled with a $300 million declared debt. The extent of the rot devouring Air Zimbabwe was first exposed to the public in March when it was revealed that Mugabe was resorting to hiring private jets for his overseas travels, after it emerged that the poorly-performing national carrier had failed to service its planes.

As a result, Mugabe had to lease a private jet from Bahrain, which he used to travel to Singapore and Ghana then. Mugabe used the same plane during his second trip to Singapore and on his trip to Mexico last month where he was attending a climate conference last week.

Air Zim’s fleet comprises two Boeing 767s, three 737s, three MA60s and two Airbus A320s. However, only four of those are flying: one airbus, one Boeing 767, one 737 and an MA60.

The national carrier has over the past three decades struggled to shake-off claims of corruption and ineptitude, which has led to the dismissals of several of its boards and senior managers.

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HARARE - A Zanu PF youth leader and aspiring councillor is battling for his life at Harare Central Hospital after he suffered serious burns following a petrol bomb attack by his ruling party comrades during violent clashes over housing stands in the capital’s Kuwadzana high density suburb.

This comes as the warring ruling party is still to hear a disciplinary case involving its brawling supporters who clubbed each other viciously in an orgy of violence in Bulawayo last month.

Eyewitnesses told the Daily News yesterday that Zanu PF youth chairperson for Ward 37 in Kuwadzana, Paradazai Masase — who is popularly known as Mombo — was seriously burnt when his rivals waged a violent campaign against him, following a dispute over the “ownership” of residential stands which they said belonged to them.

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The rival group claimed that the stands in the Tynwald area along High Glen Road did not belong to Magamba Co-operative, whose secretary is Masase.

“Way into the night, as we were sleeping, I woke up to terrible noise outside, followed by a massive explosion.

“When I peeped through the window, I saw smoke and people gathered outside,” a young woman who lives close to Masase said yesterday.

When the Daily News crew visited the Masase home yesterday, his one-roomed house was deserted and its door was burnt black from the petrol bomb attack.

Friends of Masase — who operates a precast wall business in the area — claimed in interviews with the Daily News that his attack was “political”.

“He knows the people who did this to him because they had a conversation before they attacked him. If you visit him in hospital he will tell you, but we heard he said it was (names withheld on legal advice),” one of the friends told the Daily News.

Harare police spokesperson Simon Chazovachii said yesterday that he had not received a report of the incident, but would check with his colleagues at Kuwadzana Police Station.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo also said he was not aware of the incident.

“I’m hearing it for the first time from you. But maybe the (Harare) province might have details on it,” he said.

Two weeks ago, Zanu PF supporters in Bulawayo engaged in an unprecedented orgy of intra-party violence which left several people seriously injured, including a senior official who needed hospitalisation after he was stabbed in the head.

The chaos occurred after angry youths stormed the provincial co-ordinating committee meeting (PCC) which was being held at Davies Hall and demanded the ouster of provincial chairperson Dennis Ndlovu and two other senior officials.

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HARARE - Radical pressure group Tajamuka/Sesijikle has warned that it is planning mega protests — similar to the highly-supported shutdown of last year — to force President Robert Mugabe and his government to act on the country’s worsening economic rot.

Tajamuka/Sesijikile said yesterday that it had set June 20 and 21 as the days for the initial rollout of its planned massive protests — to jerk the government into action to arrest the country’s worsening rot.

“We are declaring 20 to 25 June 2017 as the days for a total shutdown. We kindly warn everyone to take this seriously . . . and the government must find solutions to the crisis.

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“All shops and schools must be closed. Don’t risk sending your children to school; it’s a risk you won’t like to take.

“Park all your kombis and no cars should be on our roads. All our borders must be closed. Stay indoors for your safety,” the pressure group warned in its ominous statement.

“It’s best to be with your loved ones indoors. Stock all your basic needs. Buy your electricity tokens which will last the six days of Shutdown. Take this seriously. This is for all Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation . . . Enough is enough!

“The regime is not concerned about the economic crisis. Mugabe declared that there is no crisis in this country, yet we are failing to withdraw our money from banks. Isn’t this a crisis? We are sleeping at banks, isn’t it a crisis?

“Hospitals don’t have drugs. Isn’t it a crisis? All roads have potholes. Isn’t it a crisis? Over 92 percent of Zimbabweans are vendors. Isn’t it a crisis? Cities don’t have clean water. Isn’t it a crisis? The police are demanding bribes at roadblocks. Isn’t it a crisis?” it added.

Mugabe and Zanu PF, in power since Zimbabwe’s independence in April 1980, stand accused of destroying the country’s once vibrant economy and authoring the current hardships besetting ordinary citizens.

Tajamuka, working with others such as activist clergyman Evan Mawarire, organised arguably one of the biggest and most successful strikes to have hit the country in July last year, when tens of thousands of workers heeded their call to stay away from work in protest against Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown.

Dubbed Shutdown, the crippling strike forced the panicking Zanu PF government to use force to quell subsequent protests, as Zimbabweans agitated for change.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a worsening economic crisis which has also witnessed a severe shortage of cash, including of the recently introduced bond notes.

Despite injecting more bond notes into the market, and recently increasing its weekly importation of United States dollars by 50 percent, the government continues to battle to stem the acute cash shortages, which have seen desperate Zimbabweans besieging over-stretched banks, as they desperately try to withdraw their money.

On the back of the country’s deepening economic crisis, economists say average income levels are now at their lowest in more than 60 years, with more than 76 percent of the country’s populace having to make do with incomes that are well below the poverty datum line.

In addition, the country’s international standing and sovereign ratings have also plummeted concomitantly, resulting in Zimbabwe being classified recently as the poorest country in Africa — amid horrendous company closures and numbing levels of unemployment.

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HARARE - The fallout in President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF over the mention last week of introverted Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi as a possible future leader of the warring former liberation movement is escalating by the day.

So bad is the emotive saga becoming, that disgruntled former freedom fighters warned yesterday that Mugabe and Zanu PF even risked facing an “open rebellion” from miffed party faithfuls if they do not stem the “growing attacks” on Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa by senior party officials.

The warning by the war veterans comes in the wake of last week’s withering criticism of Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF backers by politburo member and Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo — during his presentation at Sapes Trust in Harare where he threw Sekeramayi’s name into the party’s deadly succession brawl.

However, Moyo — who Zanu PF insiders claim is one of the kingpins of the Generation 40 (G40) faction which is rabidly opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe — made it clear then that he was not speaking on behalf of the party during his presentation.

In the meantime, the angry war veterans also warned Sekeramayi at the weekend that it would be a “big mistake and miscalculation” on his part if he “ever allowed his head to be turned by the unusual praise” that he had received from Moyo.

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Yesterday, the disaffected ex-combatants also implored Mugabe to act against Moyo to dispel “any lingering doubts” that the Tsholotsho North legislator was acting on “assignment by the president” in his escalating demolition job on Mnangagwa — who has been touted in some Zanu PF circles as a shoo-in to succeed the nonagenarian.

Speaking to the Daily News late yesterday, the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), Victor Matemadanda, also warned that Zanu PF could implode if Mugabe did not take action against the G40 faction.

“Moyo, as far as the revolution is concerned, has nothing useful to say about Zanu PF politics. He is just a master of division.

“He (Moyo) must just go . . . Zanu PF has lost direction because of people like Jonathan . . . These people (G40) are a threat to peace and national security,” Matemadanda claimed.

During his Sapes presentation, Moyo appeared to endorse Sekeramayi as Mugabe’s more acceptable successor compared to Mnangagwa.

“The notion peddled by the so-called Team Lacoste that its leader is the only one who is above or senior to everyone else below President Mugabe is false and that falsehood should stop. There are others that are senior to the leader of the so-called Team Lacoste.

“One of them, by way of an important example, is . . . Sekeramayi whose loyalty to . . . Mugabe, the party and country; whose liberation credentials, experience, consensus-style of leadership, stature, commitment to the nationalist project and humility have no match,” he said then.

This prompted the miffed war veterans to warn Sekeramayi that he risked ending his political career if he allowed his head to be turned by Moyo’s “unusual praise”.

“Sekeramayi should be wary of the G40 faction, whose idea is to isolate the president from former liberation war comrades.

“They (G40) have attacked ED (Mnangagwa) before, and now they are setting up Sekeramayi for failure,” Matemadanda told the Daily News’ sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday, at the weekend.

“But the big question is: Are leaders in Zanu PF so weak that they don’t see this threat that Jonathan Moyo poses in the party and to the revolution?

“Or is it that someone is using him for some personal aggrandisement? Is there any benefit for the revolution knowing his (Moyo’s) history and his record as a minister to keep him in the party?” he asked further.

Yesterday, forthright ZNLWVA spokesperson Douglas Mahiya, also chipped in saying the ruling party’s alleged failure to discipline Moyo could “trigger chaos” in the deeply-divided former liberation movement.

“The Zanu PF constitution was designed to discredit people who took part in the liberation struggle. That is why you hear people like Moyo saying what they are saying.

“However, the question is: where does he get his powers? Are the powers borrowed? Who is being protected by who? There is now no democracy in the ruling party anymore,” Mahiya said.

The former liberation movement’s spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said the war veterans had not formally complained about Moyo’s conduct.

“They have not written to us and they should engage us on what action they want taken against people who are fanning factionalism,” Khaya Moyo told the Daily News.

Zanu PF is currently being ripped apart by serious infighting which has worsened in recent months as party bigwigs have escalated their mindless bloodletting.

Insiders have consistently said that underlying the former liberation movement’s deadly and seemingly unstoppable tribal and factional wars is its unresolved succession question.

Mugabe has studiously refused to name a successor, arguing that his party should rather follow what he sees as a more democratic process, to manage his succession via a congress.

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HARARE - Award-winning actress and director Marian Kunonga, who featured in top films like Flame (1996) and a British television series called The Knock, has come out of hibernation.

After drifting from country to country all over Southern Africa directing films, Kunonga has decided to make a film in her homeland.

“It is a community-based film titled Vhacho Kurimbe which will be released soon. The editing of the film soon as editing of the film is now at an advanced stage.

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“Vhacho Kurimbe is an old Shona slang that used to be popular with by kombi operators (drivers and conductors) which means move forward,” Kunonga told the Daily News on Sunday.

Though the veteran actress-cum-director “is working on a shoestring budget,” she is convinced all the same that the forthcoming film will make an impact.

“The film follows the story of a young man who finds his life robbed by unsuspecting circumstances he finds himself under, not by choice but by vices within the systems that governs our daily lives.

“Moses Tshuma blames himself for the death of his mother which is caused by his negligence. He has to take over the responsibility of raising his sister Sheila and fulfill his mother’s dream of educating Sheila,” she said, adding that Moses ends up mired in crime.

“With the industry gone and the economy plunging, Moses goes through a life of deep undercover township crime which leads to prison.”

To make the film, shot the Harare suburb of Glen View where she grew up, the 43-year-old used a crew made up of film students and community volunteers.  

According to Kunonga, making Vhacho Kurimbe is a signal of her return to filmmaking.

“After making films in many Southern African countries, I decided to go on a sabbatical to give myself time to concentrate on family issues. I am happy to be back and am sure I will play my part in taking local films to a new and higher level,” she told the Daily News on Sunday.

The holder of a bachelor's degree in n motion picture medium attained from the AFDA Film School in South Africa, has an impressive film-making curriculum vitae.

After making award-winning short films such as Zvinhu Zvacho and Tiraburu as well as directing local state functions like  Mzee Bira held in Masvingo  in 2005 and 21st February Movement Gala (2011), Kunonga decided to test her skills in other countries.

In 2005, she produced and directed Mozambique’s Ministry of Information and Publicity Solidarity Bash held in Avibeira Stadium in Chimoio after which she relocated to Malawi the following year.

In Malawi, she produced award-winning documentaries that centred on rural development and self-sustenance.

“These include I Am All Woman -a documentary on domestic violence and Anambewe, a documentary on the plight of Malawian Women.”

In the same country, Kunonga joined New Dawn Films in 2007 as an assistant director. She played a leading role in the making of a multi-award winning feature film titled “Seasons of a Life” and “The Last Fishing Boat (2011)” which won two awards as well as being voted as one of the top 10 films of 2013 by Microsoft Service Network (MSN).

“While in Malawi I facilitated the late Andy Brown’s Shangara Tour of Malawi and directed A Zembani Music Project in 2007 before designing the stage for a four-day music and dance Festival on the shores of Lake Malawi in 2008.

“I initiated Thank God Its Friday-a live variety show that included audience participation, music, dancing, film screenings and stand-up comedy under Umunthu Theatre in Lilongwe. United Kingdom-based Daliso Chaponda had his first show in Malawi on this platform,” Kunonga said.

Apart from directing films, Kunonga also directed videos for many top local musicians including Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi.

“I worked with many Zimbabwean artistes and I got the opportunity to produce and direct videos for musicians such as David Chifunyise’s Tauya Naye, Willom Tight’s Ndinoda Wangu and Nyoka Inyoka, Oliver Mtukudzi’s Todii, Nonsikelelo and Sani Makhalima’s Sisonke, Victor Kunonga’s Maidarirei, Mamurega, Hondo and Usacheme,” Kunonga said.

Kunonga also directed videos for defunct Pax Afro, Decibel’s Chido and Madhara, Tanga Wekwa Sando’s Paidamoyo, Prince Tendai’s Naked Fire and International Dirty Heartbreak among others.

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LAGOS - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is "recuperating fast" from his illness, his wife Aisha Buhari has said.

She made the comments after a trip to London, where her husband is being treated for an unspecified illness.

Buhari, 74, left for London nearly a month ago - his second trip to the UK for treatment this year.

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His absence has led to some anxiety in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, with people speculating about whether he will be able to resume his duties.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is acting president, and has been widely praised for his handling of the country's economic crisis, following a sharp fall in the price of oil, its major export.

Buhari took about seven weeks of medical leave in January, and flew to the UK for treatment.

When he returned home in March, he hinted that he had undergone a blood transfusion, but did not disclose his illness.

He flew again to London on 7 May for further treatment, and has not indicated when he will return.

Mrs Buhari said her husband thanked Nigerians for their "constant prayers and said he will soon be with them as he is recuperating fast".

She returned to Nigeria after spending about a week with her husband in London.

Buhari's unhealthy start to 2017

January 19: Leaves for UK on "medical vacation"

February 5: Asks parliament to extend medical leave

March 10: Returns home but does not resume work immediately

April 26: Misses second cabinet meeting and is "working from home"

April 28: Misses Friday prayers

May 3: Misses third consecutive cabinet meeting

May 5: Appears at Friday prayers in Abuja

May 7: Travels to UK for further treatment

June 6: Aisha Buhari says his is "recuperating fast" - BBC

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PARIS - A man has been shot by police outside the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris after he tried to attack an officer using a hammer, police say.

The suspect has been wounded in the chest, French media report. Officials say this is a "terrorist incident".

Some 900 people are still inside the cathedral. Pictures on social media show some holding their hands up.

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France is in a state of emergency since attacks by jihadists in Paris left 130 people dead in 2015.

The area around the cathedral has been closed. People have been asked to stay away. Eyewitnesses said tourists fled for cover.

"I was about to come inside (the cathedral) and heard the noise, the gunshots, turned around and saw the assailant on the ground where they had shot him," said Kellyn Gorman, an American tourist.

"It was very safe, very quickly contained."

The Notre-Dame is one of the most visited tourist sites in Paris. Last year, police foiled an attack near the site.

The incident comes just three days after extremists used a van and knives in an attack in London which left seven dead.

Recent terror attacks in France

20 Apr 2017 - A convicted criminal who was investigated for threatening to kill police opens fire at police on the Champs Elysees in Paris, killing one and wounding two. He is shot dead - and the assault is claimed by IS.

3 Feb 2017 - A machete-wielding Egyptian man shouting "Allahu akbar" attacks French soldiers at Paris's Louvre Museum - he is shot and wounded.

26 Jul 2016 - Two attackers slits the throat of a priest at his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, in Normandy. They are shot dead by police.

14 Jul 2016 - A huge lorry mows down a crowd of people on the Nice beachfront during Bastille Day celebrations, killing 86. IS claims the attack - by a Tunisian-born driver, later shot dead by police.

13 Jun 2016 -A knife-wielding jihadist kills a police officer and his partner at their home in Magnanville, west of Paris. He declares allegiance to IS, and police later kill him.

13 Nov 2015 - IS jihadists armed with bombs and assault rifles attack Paris, targeting the national stadium, cafes and Bataclan concert hall. The co-ordinated assault leaves 130 people dead, and more than 350 wounded.

7-9 Jan 2015 - Two Islamist gunmen storm the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 17 people. Another Islamist militant kills a policewoman the next day and takes hostages at a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Four hostages are killed before police shoot the gunman dead. The other two gunmen are cornered and killed by police in a siege. - BBC

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HARARE - Domestic Pro 50 champions Matabeleland Tuskers ended their 2016/17 season with a nine-wicket win over Mashonaland Eagles at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Having already wrapped up the title last weekend with a seven-run Duckworth Lewis win over Mountaineers in Mutare, the Bulawayo-based side played with determination as they beat the bottom-placed Eagles yesterday.

The home side captain Tinotenda Mutombodzi had won the toss and elected to bat first but it soon turned into a nightmare.

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Eagles opener Regis Chakabva departed on the third ball of the innings for four runs after he was bowled out by left-arm seamer Brian Vitori.

Batting at number three, Mutombodzi scored 16 runs before he returned to the pavilion after he was caught by Ainsley Ndlovu off seasoned seamer Chris Mpofu’s to leave the Eagles on 44/2 inside 10.4 overs.

Chamu Chibhabha showed some resistance at top of the order with 65 runs before he was caught by Tuskers’ skipper Brian Chari off left-arm spinner Ndlovu.

Nathan Waller’s late 35-ball 42-run cameo pushed the hosts to just above 200 as they were bowled out for 208 runs in 44.2 overs.

Vitori and spinner John Nyumbu finished with three wickets apiece while another spinner Sean Williams claimed two scalps.

Tuskers went about their batting like a house on fire losing just one wicket — opener Nkosana Mpofu — for 28 runs on their way to 209 runs.

Chari finished unbeaten on 105 runs from 123 runs with his knock featuring eight boundaries and three maximums.

Craig Ervine also finished the innings with 57 runs from 62 balls.

“It’s always a good feeling to contribute towards a winning cause; credit to our bowlers who restricted Mash Eagles to a low total which made it easier for the batsmen to chase down,” Chari told the Daily News yesterday.

“The performance sums up what we have been doing throughout the tournament and I believe the boys deserve it. We can go out and celebrate briefly before some of the guys re-join camp tomorrow.”

With the conclusion of the limited overs championship, the national team side troops back into camp this morning at Harare Sports Club for the final phase of their preparations for the forthcoming tour of Scotland, Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

Zimbabwe will depart for Scotland this Saturday.

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HARARE - Former Zimbabwe national team coaches Sunday Chidzambwa and Rahman Gumbo have backed the Warriors to succeed when they embark on the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification journey.

The Warriors will begin their Group G campaign with a home tie against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.

Preparations for the game went into full swing this week following the arrival of almost all players called for duty.

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Chidzambwa, who captained the national team in his heyday back in the 80s before leading the Warriors to their first ever Afcon tournament in 2004, feels interim coach Norman Mapeza has assembled a competitive side.

Chidzambwa earlier this week visited the team’s training session at Yadah Hotel where they are preparing for the clash against the Lone Stars.

“I think the coach has done a good job by selecting some of the best players that we currently have in the country,” Chidzambwa said.

“I think they just need to go out there and express themselves by doing what they know best. I think they need to fight for a good result. We are all behind them and I just want to wish them good luck.”

The ZPC Kariba coach thinks it is crucial for the Warriors to start their campaign with a win as it will set the tone for the remaining matches.

“I think it’s important that we win our first game because it will definitely set the tone going forward,” he said.

“We have just come as part of the High Performance Committee to offer them support and from what I am seeing I think they will do well.”

Gumbo, who presided over the Warriors’ failed Afcon 2013 qualification campaign, also concurred with Chidzambwa.

“My advice for the boys is that they will have to win their first game not necessarily putting themselves under pressure but to go out there and enjoy themselves,” the Chicken Inn coach said.

“They are playing at home and it is important to start on a positive note. So I think the best thing is to go out for a win. I think these are the best players we have in the country and it’s just a matter of the coaches getting the best out of them.”

The Warriors will have to negotiate a tricky passage to be at the 2019 Afcon finals in Cameroon after there were pooled in Group G that also includes DR Congo and Congo.

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