London(ZimEye)Barely two weeks after the death of MDC leader, prof Weshman Ncube’s son, tragedy has struck the MDC party again.
The MDC Treasurer General Cde Paul Themba Nyathi’s son has died in a suspected suicide incident, it was announced Tuesday morning.
Details were sketchy at the time of writing but the party’s deputy chairman in the United Kingdom, Langelihle Khoza told ZimEye:
“He is said to have passed away in a suspected suicide incident. Our thoughts are with the Nyathi family”, he said. More details to follow…

At least six priests in the oldest Christian organisation, the Roman Catholic church have in the past eight years alone been kicked out of holy service after being found guilty of sex affairs as was in the manner of the disgraceful exposure of his Grace the Most Reverend Dr. Pius Alick Mvundla Ncube in 2007.
This was revealed during an interview of the current Archibishop of Harare Robert Ndlovu.
Archbishop Ndlovu speaking to the weekly Standard paper’s deputy editor Walter Marwizi, would not disclose the full statistics raising belief that the number of ‘immoral’ priests may by far exceeds six.
“Well, I wouldn’t give you statistics but I know for instance since I came to Harare, I can say more or less with certainty five or six priests have been told to leave the priesthood,” he said.
Below is the Archbishop(ARN’s) short interview with Walter Marwizi(WM):
WM: What is the state of Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe: Is it growing or declining in terms of numbers?
ARN: Well, I would say it’s growing judging by the number of people and records that we have, of those that are being baptised, those that are being confirmed it’s grown, but there is an element that we have to look at. In the past few years, within the last 10 years or so, a good number of Catholics have gone to the diaspora and we can feel that in our parishes.  But otherwise in terms of growth, I can say it is balancing.
WM: There are critics who say the church is losing members especially the youth because it has remained too conservative on matters such as condoms and birth control. What is your comment?
ARN: We believe that sex is something sacred and it is to be used within a relationship, and therefore it’s an expression of love of two people and they realise in so doing they are co-operating with their creator. And that is God…So if it is morally wrong it does not become morally right because someone has invented a condom…
WM: Let’s turn to the problems in the priesthood. The church has been criticised for failing to rein in wayward priests. Is the church addressing these problems?

ARN: You always have problems and a rotten apple here and there because we are human beings and I think action is being taken, a good number of priests have been suspended once they were found out. A good number have just been told to leave the priesthood.
WM: Do you have numbers?
ARN: Well, I wouldn’t give you statistics but I know for instance since I came to Harare, I can say more or less with certainty five or six priests have been told to leave the priesthood. And I think two or three were sent on suspension because it depends on the gravity of the matter, some of them are not really (serious offences) but for discipline’s sake we have to do that… But also look at it from this point of view; we are recruiting from a society that we all know. I like to use the term a wounded society, so sometimes these temptations don’t stop because someone has become a priest…
WM: We have this case of former Archbishop Pius Ncube. Here is a head of the church who got involved with a woman, what do you think about his conduct?
ARN: Well, I get your point and I know the gravity of the situation especially as it was reported. But as I said there is a human side to all things and sometimes people can exploit that, I wouldn’t know the details of it, you know it was really a private life, how he came to be hooked into that situation, was it something set up, it is very difficult to get, he knows the rest but I always said, I look at myself and say it could happen to me, I am still a human being I can still get attracted to a person of the opposite sex …And we have to also realise that celibacy itself is not an easy life and I   think anyone who tells you it’s an easy life, will not be truthful. Celibacy is not an easy life but is a life that is worth living with the grace of God. It can be, it can be done.
WM: And what would you say is the damage that was caused by to the church by the Pius Ncube saga.
ARN: Well, as I said the issue of what happened to Archbishop Ncube has a lot of question marks that we still cannot answer. That is why I use the word, was he trapped into that… but you know it had also, some people will still think it had a political dimension, true or false I don’t know.
WM: But he confessed when he went to Vatican
ARN: Yah, but you see he confessed having, it’s not to deny that something happened that he had an affair with her but how it came about. This is what I don’t know and how do you get to that, he is the only one who knows what happened. How he met that woman and how he managed to reach that stage with a married woman for that matter, I don’t know what transpired there. But definitely I would be naïve about it, we have to accept that it scandalised the faithful.
 

An overzealous Policeman in Gutu has for the past 2 weeks struggled to get social scientist and business community leader, Phillip Bohwasi prosecuted.
It is two weeks now since the named cop arrested Mr Bohwasi claiming the crime committed was that of distributing party regalia.
After confining Mr Bohwasi overnight ina police cell, the cop went further to attempt to cast Bohwasi into court.
Bohwasi told ZimEye on Sunday he is still to hear the basis for the arrest effected on him two weeks later.
“An over)zealous policeman arrested me and began claiming that I was distributing party regalia(uniform)”, he said
But two weeks later the police have failed to find a legal basis for incarcerating the respectable social scientist exists.
Phillip Bohwasi commands respect in the business world and has held several senior posts in organisations nationwide.
He is a Founding Executive Director of Zimbabwe Opportunities Industrialisation Centres, which is responsible for the overall program planning, implementation, supervision and representation at various stakeholders meetings. He is also the former vice Chairman and founding Board Member of the Zimbabwe Micro Finance Institutions (ZAMFI) founded in 1998, and served on the Board for two three-year terms up to 2004. He has held several other top posts to date.

 

The MDC-T party’s Secretary General and Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said President Robert Mugabe can no longer unanimously deploy troops or declare war under the new constitution which vests those supreme powers in parliament adding that if the draft is endorsed Mugabe will also be liable for prosecution for offences he committed during or after his tenure of office.
“If he declares war yes, he can order soldiers to shoot back, but he has to go to parliament within seven sitting days and both houses must have two thirds saying yes we must go to war. Then the real power to declare war rests in parliament. I am told this is what ZANU (PF) does not want. On Wednesday they left that house (meeting) at around 12 in the morning and the other day they left at around 1 in the morning,” MDC-T Secretary General Tendai Biti told Reporters Friday in Harare.
Biti told the meeting organised by the Media Centre to make journalists get an appreciation of issues which ZANU (PF) is against in the draft constitution.
President Mugabe in 1998 deployed 11 000 troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help in stopping a Tutsi-led rebellion, trained Interahamwe Hutu militias fighting Tutsis in the Great Lakes region.
But critics said the ZANU (PF) administration then did this without consulting citizens, arguing that the deployed soldiers were being paid by tax payers’ money, and up to now the amount which was used to pay the soldiers remain unknown.
Biti said if Mugabe is elected in office on the forthcoming elections under the new constitution he will be liable for prosecution for crimes he committed before, when and after his tenure of office.
“This constitution does not apply retrospectively that is why the two term office which we have done does not apply to prevent Mugabe from contesting for the next election. Suppose Zimbabweans are mad enough to vote for Mugabe it now mean that he is bound by the wide provisions of this constitution .So when he leaves office he will be prosecuted for Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina, because the constitution is now applying introspectively,”Biti added.
Currently ZANU (PF) is still debating the contents of the draft constitution with the aim of coming up with a common position.
The party met last week Friday and failed to reach a consensus. The party held another meeting Wednesday and again failed to agree on position.
Contacted for comment on the party’s Draft constitution through a telephone Friday ZANU (PF) spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said, “I cannot tell you until we have held another meeting next week.”
The two MDC formations in the inclusive government have already endorsed the draft constitution.
On Saturday the MDC-T party’s senior decision making body met and unanimously endorsed the draft constitution and below was their press statement:
 
MDC-T senior politburo adopts Draft Constitution.

After extensive deliberation, the National Council resolved to accept the Constitutional Draft. This is despite the fact that some aspects which the MDC would have wanted included in the Draft could not be incorporated.
It recommended Zimbabweans to vote ‘YES’ for the constitution in the referendum. Among other positives, the MDC is happy the Constitution has a very comprehensive bill of rights which include the first generation rights and socio-economic rights.
The constitution makes provisions for free and fair elections and sets definite time periods in which elections must be held.
The Party is also happy that the dream for a 50-50 representation in Parliament is becoming a reality. The acceptance of the Draft Constitution by the National Council follows a similar move by the Party’s National Executive Committee last week.
The MDC urges the Zimbabweans to ignore prophets of doom who have dismissed the constitution as they want to reverse the gains made by the people.   (Radiovop/ZimEye)

Oxford(ZimEye)The reported confusion at the Oxford MDC-T fundraising function on Saturday connected with the stripping down of the party’s foreign branches’ authority has been explained as having been caused by the UK leadership who allegedly failed to properly communicate directives from Harare.
It was also revealed that the visiting Harare delegate Thabitha Khumalo has nothing to do with the diaspora squabbles which are 15 months old to date.
The confusion arose over the contentious issue of whether the MDC-T UK and Ireland should continue as an external structure or reduced to an associate as stipulated in the latest MDC T constitution doctored from Harare.
One of the branch chairmen, Stanford Biti told ZimEye that the so called “demotion” is not a demotion at all and should have been communicated as re -organisation.
“It is mere “re-organisation” of the party it’s not a demotion,” he said.
Claims that Stanford Biti dismissed and doubted if “Tendai Biti had signed a letter which Samanyanga was reading to the media on the day”, have been disputed.
“I never challenged the authenticity of the letter ” said Biti.
“No. The only thing which I said is that “why should one person speak for the party?” We are now saying the secretary said this and that, (but) the secretary general is not the party.  Biti is not the MDC and Tsvangirai is not the MDC, we should say the party has said instead,” he said.
“I asked Tonderai  Samanyanga: are you operating as a provincial committee or as a coordinating committee, and he replied me saying he is operating as a coordinating committee.

“The only thing we should say is that the UK and Ireland should realise that they are far much better than any other province, and realise how powerful they are so they can unite to challenge Harare. And our potential actually means we can challenge Harare (on certain issues), he said.
Tonderai Samanyanga the man who was a year ago elected in provincial elections as UK and Ireland chairman, this week announced that his executive will be swiftly transformed into a coordinating committee as directed by the new constitution.
This was reportedly met with a diversity of views with Bristol branch MDC chairman Morgan Mutasa vehemently rejecting that the Samanyanga led executive should automatically transform to a coordinating committee.
“The new constitution states clearly that there should be only six members as in the coordinating committee and this would last up to 2016. We need to adhere to the constitution rather than misinterpret it ,”said Mutasa.

Harare(ZimEye)-The decade long exiled The Zimbabwean newspaper has been finally granted an operating licence.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission early this week announced the development.
The newspaper’s Editors Wilf Mbanga told Zimeye in an interview Wednesday that the development is going to see the paper striving for democratisation of the country.
“We will continue to build on our solid reputation for credibility and commitment to democracy, human rights and freedom of expression. Since the launch of our NEW LOOK at the beginning of the year we have implemented a new emphasis on analysis and interpretation of the news, more human interest stories, news about positive developments and success stories in every sphere. Our focus is to encourage dialogue between all Zimbabweans to foster nation-building, tolerance, diversity and reconciliation, ”Mbanga said.
Mbanga said National healing which the country desperately needs is going to be promoted by his weekly 32 paged publication which will be costing US$1 .
“Gender issues and national healing are high on our list of priorities, “he added.
John Makumbe the board chairperson of the publication says,
“We will now get all our reporters accredited so that we continue to provide the best news and information to the nation .We have a very competent team of reporters. Our thrust is going to be more analytical of local, regional and international events. It is also going to be focused on positive national development at the social, economic and political levels. With Zimbabwe now expecting to proceed to an All Stakeholders Conference on the Copac draft Constitution and the subsequent  referendum and elections, Zimbabweans deserve to know what will be happening in their country and what it will mean for the future of this good country,”he said.
This follows a Government directive for all foreign-based newspapers to register with the ZMC while their locally based journalists are accredited according to Zimbabwe’s laws.
ZMC chairperson Mr Godfrey Majonga confirmed to the state controlled daily Tuesday the registration of The Zimbabwean. “We have licenced one newspaper from the many that are currently operating outside the Zimbabwean law.
Mr Majonga said the ZMC was also checking on magazines operating in Zimbabwe.
“All those publications that have not done so are encouraged to come to our offices so that they operate within the law. If they continue with their illegal operations in the country we will act against them. We can ban the papers if they fail to comply with the requirements of the law.”(ZimEye,Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said he has lost weight due to constant pressure from war veteran, civil servants and President Mugabe who are constantly at his office demanding money.
Biti said he has lost his social life because of sleepless nights he endures when dealing with the country’s treasury.
“Zimbabwe is the lowest on the happiness index, some of us, you can look at me, I have lost weight because every day I have war veterans, civil servants and Robert Mugabe and all kinds of nonsense that impinge on my right in pursuit of happiness,” said Biti jokingly told members of the civic society who were brain storming the constitutional draft on Wednesday.

“I used to play golf, I used to support Black Rhinos, I don’t know how all that ended. I don’t know the last time I have ever been to a night club. My right to pursue happiness has really been infringed. I used to phone girls but all that is gone and I don’t think it’s fair.”
Biti has been at the helm of the Finance Ministry since 2009 and has been blamed by many quarters who feel his policies have left them poor.
Civil servants have on numerous occasions threatened to go on strike to force Government to review their salaries. War veterans also want the Finance minister to review their gratuities.(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

BRITISH DETECTIVES in West Midlands are investigating the murder of Zimbabwean teenager Ben Morutare who was found stabbed at his friend’s birthday party in Walsall, England

The 16-year-old had attended an 18th birthday party at the Smethwick Home Guard and Old Comrades Club in Smethwick on Friday evening (27 July).

At around 12.45am on Saturday (28 July), officers were called to a disturbance at the club.

When they arrived they were told by door staff that police were no longer needed as there were no signs of disorder.

A further emergency call was made just before 1.30am, when officers came across a large group of people in the street following a disturbance.

It is believed Ben was stabbed in the leg during that disturbance.

He was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where he later died.

A murder investigation was launched and the scene remains cordoned off as officers continue their investigations.

Detectives are following up a number of lines of enquiry today (30 July) as they attempt to piece together the turn of events that led to Ben’s death and are urging people who were at the party and who have not already spoken to by the police to contact them.

Detective Inspector Gary Plant, from Force CID, said: “We do not underestimate the devastating impact the death of this young man will have on his family and the local community.

“We will do everything within our power to establish how Ben died. Officers continue to conduct house to house enquiries and part of the area around the club is still currently cordoned off.

“I would like to thank the local community for their patience and support as we continue with our investigations and would urge anyone who can help us with any information to speak to us at their earliest opportunity.

“My officers and family liaison officers have been speaking to Ben’s family and continue to offer them support and our thoughts and condolences remain with them at this time.”

Anyone with information can contact Force CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111.

Harare(ZimEye)Relations between Britain and Zimbabwe are strained, and President Robert Mugabe cannot set foot in London because of European Union imposed travel bans; Mr Mugabe blames Britain for retaliation following his seizure of white owned farms, and at a time when her own family members lost farmlands to Mugabe, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is wishing to visit Zimbabwe.
The British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Deborah Bronnet in a speech yesterday revealed the Queen’s desire to travel to the former British colony:
“2012 is a special year in the United Kingdom. We have the Olympics, followed by the Paralympics. These two coincide with the celebrations of the Queen second Diamond. When I spoke to her last year (The Queen) she had full memories of visiting this country. I could see her love for the country in our conversation connected to my coming here as a representative. She was talking very fondly of Zimbabwe and her intentions to come here traveling around here and seeing people of Zimbabwe,” Bronnet said.
The last time Queen Elizabeth set foot in Zimbabwe was in October, 1991 when Zimbabwe was hosting the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Harare when she lodged at Robert Mugabe’s State House together with the president’s late wife, Sally.
 
Certainly against all conventions
Huddersfield University lecturer Nkululeko Sibanda told ZimEye of the development:
“It certainly goes against convention and expectation that the Queen will be expressing interest in terms of going to Zimbabwe at this time before the EU has made a decision to lift sanctions and before the Americans have done so but more importantly the EU. However I think what is important people have to understand is that the Queen is not necessarily a representative of the British state as it were; The Queen is a representative of British interest; and British interests can be found in countries that are both friendly and unfriendly to Britain or countries that politicians generally do not like. So from that strategic way of thinking you would see that the Queen would be willing to go to Zimbabwe. And if she does that is certainly to set the button for relations between Britain and Zimbabwe.
“Its certainly not the first time that Britain has had sterling relations with a Southern African country and especially with Robert Mugabe at a time when he is committing human rights abuses. This was the case in the 1980s and the excuse at that time was that Britain maintain relations as to see an end apartheid in South Africa.”
 
They have an excuse
Mr Sibanda continued saying the Queen will have a good explanation:
“So perhaps the Queen will have a good explanation to why she would be visiting Zimbabwe. I don’t see it happen immediately; I think the Foreign Office will act first by formalising relations first before the Queen can travel. If the foreign office can’t do that, then that may derail the Queen’s move. But the fact that this is being said, puts a lot of gravity to the matter in terms of letting sanctions lapse. And I think the Australians are going to follow suit. And they have an excuse since Morgan Tsvangirai has been traveling around the world campaigning for the lifting of sanctions. So they have an excuse but I must say its certainly not expected both from an academic and a political point of view.
 
Tears in Mugabe’s eyes
President Robert Mugabe’s close relationship with the Queen has been a major subject of discussion recently with some political commentators claiming she may be the only person able to convince Mugabe of anything.
Mugabe is reported narrating his relationship with the Queen with tears falling from his eyes and in a recent interview he told of their friendship: “And now, to this day, we treasure those moments, and we have nothing against the Royal Family,” he is quoted saying by South African author Heidi Holland.
 
Good relations until Tony Blair
Zimbabwe, a former British colony, was enjoying good relations with the former colonial power at the time the Queen traveled to Harare and President Robert Mugabe has hinted that problems with Britain began when the labour party’s Tony Blair took the Premiership in the late 1990s. The Conservative party who now hold power are known for their close traditional ties with the monarchy.
Ms Bronnet was guest speaker Friday at an event organised by Harare West legislator and the country’s Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Deputy Minister Jessie Majome to donate 1000 primary school reading books.
The Queen is the longest living monarch after having acceded to the throne in February 1952 on the death of her father George VI.

When her father, the King George VI passed on, the Queen, then princess, was on a honeymoon in another African country, Kenya. Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee this year was marked by several Zimbabwean women who marched exclusively singing in celebration of her. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Help is being sought for little two and a half year old Chantelle, from Zimunya village, in Mutare South.
“We are working hard to try and send Chantelle (2 and a half years old of 22 Mile Peg-Zimunya-Zimbabwe) for cleft-lip operation in Harare; She has developed a tooth just below her nose”, reveals Mr Henry Chitsenga of the Oxford based Sub Saharan Childrens Hope Trust.
ZimEye is informed Chantelle lives in Pararai Village (Zimunya, Mutare South, Manicaland) with her mother who is divorced. Her father is still alive. Her care giver is one Mrs Euphrasia Maraire.
The people who take care of Chantelle are subsistence farmers and her mother does some piece jobs around the village to earn a living.
Sometimes she gets help from her relatives but it is not consistent.

Chantelle was born on the 6th December 2009 (in a a family of four and she is the fourth born)
The first 3 siblings have their own father but he is late.
She was operated last year in June at Chitungwiza General Hospital
Those who wish to donate to Chantelle’s medical and operation expenses are asked to do so here
For more information on Sub Saharan Children’s Hope, click here
 
 

EDITOR – The recent Supreme Court ruling in which President Robert Mugabe was ordered to hold by elections in three Matebelend North constituencies should be treated with caution. The speed in which the Supreme Court ruling is nothing but a stage managed plot to trigger the holding of the next elections while the electoral environment remains in favour of Zanu (PF).
In 2002, MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the results of that year’s presidential election, which was open to abuse of human rights and serious electoral fraud. More than 10 years later, the ruling is yet to be done. Several political cases are being similarly delayed.
It was therefore strange that the Supreme Court has made such a quick decision. Our judges are compromised and we should view their recent judgment with suspicion. Time and again the judiciary has been used by Zanu (PF) to further its agenda. We know that they want to hold elections without going through a referendum for a new Constitution.
That is why they are using any tactics available to their favour including coercing the judiciary to come up with judgments that although not in their favour will at the end prove to their benefit. – Agrippa Zvomuya, Harare
-thezimbabwean

MDC supporter’s dead body found in Thames river

London(ZimEye)An MDC member in the United Kingdom has been found dead in the Thames river.
London Police recovered Mr Bernard Hukwa’s body in the Thames river early in July and an autopsy is yet to be announced.
Hukwa was known for several weekend protests at the Zimbabwean as well as the Swazi embassy.
He had been missing for several days and when diaspora community leader Mr Jeff Sango went to Stratford police he was later surprised after finding out that the police had information of his fate.
Reports obtained by ZimEye show that Hukwa’s body was discovered in the Thames on the 9th July.
Described as a gentle, thoughtful and caring person, Mr Hukwa, unemployed as he was still awaiting the processing of his asylum claim, was continuously worried that he was failing to provide for his family in Zimbabwe. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work and if found in employment, they risk imprisonment and subsequent deportation.
It was only last week Wednesday that friends found out from the police that he had died.

Vigil leaders have concurred in saying that what they found most distressing about Bernard’s death was that he did not talk about his problems to the organizations that could have supported him: Vigil, Zimbabwe Association, ROHR and MDC.
The Vigil issued a press release stating:
It is with great sadness that the Vigil reports the death of Bernard Hukwa, a faithful supporter who was also a member of our sister organization ROHR and the MDC. We were horrified to hear his body was found in the Thames. Bernard was a gentle, thoughtful and caring person and all who knew him are grieving at the loss of such a good friend. He was living on his own in accommodation provided by the Home Office while his asylum case was being processed and we know he was worried about being unable to support his family in Zimbabwe. We hope to have more information later but at the next Vigil we will take a collection towards the cost of repatriating his body to Zimbabwe.
It was important that people shared their difficulties with others before they became really desperate, the statement further stated. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Professor Arthur Mutambara who for more than a year has held onto the government post of deputy Prime Minister despite his ouster from party leadership early 2011, has failed to secure a share of the government allocated US$8 million which is set aside for political parties in the 2012 national budget.
 
Several frantic appeals by Mutambara have led to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa outrightly denying Mutambara in a surprise rebuttal of Mutambara’s rebel MDC-M faction.
 
Mutambara has to date twice attempted appeal with Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, pleading that his party was entitled to the money proportionately shared between the parties according to the number of MPs they have in Parliament.
 
“I have written letters to the minister twice and he has not responded. He has probably decided that we are not a party but at least he should have responded to our letters,” the party’s secretary general Maxwell Zimuto was quoted by The Herald.
 
“Our argument is based on the premise that we have some MPs who have expressed allegiance to us in writing.
 
“No one can just dismiss us because we are a legitimate party entitled to anything that the MDC-M must get as a party that signed the Global Political Agreement.”
 
The development sees the latest moves by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party leaving Mutambara in the cold for the first time after more than a year of fighting and Mr Chinamasa replied Mutambara telling him that it was impossible to disburse funds to his rebel party. The High Court recently upheld Ncube’s election although Mutambara has to date appealed the decision at the Supreme Court.
 
“The (Political Parties Finance) Act provides that I should deal with secretaries-general or secretary for administration (with respect to Zanu PF),” Chinamasa said.
 

 
“We have therefore disbursed money to Welshman Ncube in the same account that we have deposited. Until there is a court order to the contrary, we will continue disbursing the funds in that manner.”
 
Ncube currently industry and commerce minister in the coalition government, replaced Mutambara as MDC leader at a party congress in 2010, prompting a legal challenge by the deputy premier.
Meanwhile when approached for a comment by ZimEye, Prof Arthur Mutambara shouted on our reporter vocalising unprintable words and then later only said people should approach his party’s information department for inquiries.
Mutambara launchedhis party after he last year refused to recognise Welshman Ncube as leader despite a legitimate internal election which he both participated and agreed to and refusing to abdicate from the position of Deputy Prime Minister he stated:
“I have no intention whatsoever to leave the position of the DPM. I will not abdicate from  my national responsibilities in order to satisfy narrow party-political aspirations…” (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Bulawayo(ZimEye)PROSTITUTES in Bulawayo have come out in full force backing former MDC-T deputy spokesperson Thabita Khumalo who Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai demoted for calling for the legalisation of prostitution.
Several prostitutes in the city told ZimEye they are demanding Khumalo be reinstated and will forcefully vote her back into her position.
Khumalo who is the MP for Bulawayo East was demoted from the party early this month after she went on a crusade to ensure parliament come up with a law to legalise the “oldest profession”.
Among her demands, she was also challenging the use of the word prostitutes and wanted the name to be changed to ‘pleasure engineers’.
Prostitutes said silencing Khumalo through demotion from the party was unfair and was meant to dampen her spirits in the campaign which was also geared at fighting HIV/AIDS transmission as according to her arguments, the legalisation would mean prostitutes can get adequate medical support from government being at greater risk of contracting the disease.

“This is a blow to our quest. We know that in her we have a voice and we are clearly aware that the move to demote her is an attempt to dampen her spirits and we advice her to stand firm,” said a prostitute identified as Pinky.
Another prostitute who called herself ‘Vicky’ and who frequents a night club a stone throw from a flat where Khumalo resides said prostitutes wound continue to vote for her.
“Unless they bar us from voting, we want to assure her and warn her detractors that we are going to support her and she is going to get the position she is yearning for.”
Another prostitute at another city club known as Linda said they wanted Khumalo to be reinstated to her position.
“We want MaKhumalo back on top,” she said.
Khumalo has been calling for the legalisation of the profession arguing that it helps curb the spread of HIV and AIDS and will also help in harnessing taxi from the popular profession. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Coventry(ZimEye)A Zimbabwean male nurse, Bongani Nyathi, on trial by the Nursing council, NMC, for a number of sexual offence allegations which include asking for sex at work and also stroking a female colleague’s breasts, has denied the claims and accused the alleged victims of concorting the accusations.
Several female work collagues have accused Nyathi of a number of despicable advances which include showing a colleague  a picture of his genitals.
Nyathi however maintained his ground throughout the hearing and denying the claims he accused the alleged victims of concorting the accusations against him.
But speaking before an NMC tribunal, Mr Nyathi’s boss Noel Carroll, deputy manager of the Cow Lees Care Home in Bedworth, Warwickshire, however said that Nyathi had actually confessed to grabbing the care assistant’s breasts during an internal investigation.
 

“He didn’t deny it” – Boss
“He didn’t deny it, and the impression I got was he had a feeling he was about to lose his job,” Carroll told a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing.

Frogs “taste like Chicken”

London(ZimEye)A Zimbabwean man based in the Netherlands has shocked the online Zim community as he confessed to eating frogs and enjoying it.
Mr K******* ******** said that no one forced or enticed him to eat the ‘delicacy’.
” l was all by myself and none had to convince or influence me and l just said why not try something new. It’s looks and sounds crazy or even nasty if you wanna call it,” he said.
 

There was pandemonium on social networking Facebook after Mr ******** in an open way graphically described his experience of eating frogs:

“Had my first frogs last Sat, surprisingly they taste like chicken. l was a bit hesitant at first then said why not?,” he said.
“l didn’t die”
Mr ******** hinted that he did not die after eating the water animal meat so there is “no big deal” in the eating of frogs.
“l had many other options but frog legs were my choice and by the way l didn’t die am still alive. No big deal out of it,” he said.
 
“Not my favourite dish though”
 ******** however said that although he would not mind eating frogs again, they are not his favourite dish.
“Do l wanna eat them again? Maybe yes but not my favourite dish though,” he said
A friend of ******** s then commented saying that he will now collect frogs for Muchemwa when next he visits. “Will start collecting frogs for the next time you come this side”, wrote a friend identified only as J Mutemutemwa.
Frog meat is common in eastern countries and a WordPress blogger has described the meat in exactly the same way ******** does:
“…After a while I had to ask what new treat she had prepared. “Ça c’était délicieux Malou. Qu’est-ce que vous faites? Du poulet, bien sûr?” (It was delicious Malou. What did you make ? It must have chicken.) She grinned and answered, “Non, c’est les cuisses de grenouille ! ” (No, it’s frog legs.),” writes the blogger.
(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

The European Union’s announced plans to lift sanctions have been celebrated across the Zimbabwe political divide with MDC parties expressing hope that the development should pave way for free and fair elections.
Zanu PF had to date used the sanctions matter as both a tool to attack coalition partners in government and also as propaganda to garner support and tighten its grip on power.
Responding to the EU suspension of sanctions the MDC-T spokesman, Douglas Mwonzora, told ZimEye: “The sanctions have been removed to allow Zimbabwe to show whether it can reform. We hope Zanu PF will take this opportunity to allow peace in Zimbabwe.”
A UK based legal expert, Alex Magaisa has pointed out that the so called smart sanctions were bound to fail from the onset:
“Far from being a point of weakness, sanctions became a source of strength amongst the targeted. Notice how ZANU PF responded to calls for the implementation of the GPA with its own call for the removal of sanctions. The reluctance to remove the sanctions because an excuse for refusing to implement the GPA.
“Smart sanctions gave an excuse and opportunities for the state to intensify its grip on the citizens as the state played innocent victim and intensified measures under the auspices of protecting the country’s sovereignty….. Repressive laws like POSA were actually intensified and extended purportedly to maintain “public order and security” on the apparent claim that Zimbabwe was under siege from sanctions-imposing Western forces.”
On the other hand however, ZANU PF secretary general, Didymus Mutasa said the suspension of sanctions makes no difference to Zanu PF members in the sanction list as they have never been affected at all since the imposition.
“It makes no difference to me whatsoever,” he told The Telegraph.
“I won’t be going to London, it’s very cold and the people are very unfriendly – I would rather stay here.
“We have been telling the British for years that the people they targeted are not being adversely affected by sanctions at all. We are still receiving our salaries and the situation for us is exactly the same.
“The people who are being affected are those who benefited from the industries that could not function under sanctions. We are happy only that our people will be happier.”
The president of the other MDC faction, Welshman Ncube, said their suspension would promote a more open democracy.

While the effect of lifting of sanctions has little effect on individual Zanu PF officials, it is widely believed that it effectively disarms Zanu PF who have largely depended on them (sanctions) as an excuse to attack both MDC parties. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye)The local watchdog here, the Harare Residents Trust, has made a blunt criticism of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who recently blamed the city’s women for blocking the water piping system.
In a statement on their online portal, the HRT threw daggers at PM Tsvangirai saying he should stop making uninformed statements for matters of environmental polution.
The statement read in full:
“Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should desist from making uninformed comments on the causes of litter in the communities by simply blaming residents for the increasing environmental pollution. The HRT expects the Prime Minister to focus his energies on re-aligning environmental management policies of local authorities and allocation of financial resources for refuse trucks, waste management and ending rampant corruption in Harare City Council. Residents are concerned with the failure of Harare Water and Waste Management departments to timeously respond to reports of burst sewer and water pipes. The provided hotlines are not helping residents to assist the council monitor service provision”

 
The statement of protest by the HRT comes after the PM last week issued out criticism for the city’s environmental polution as he co-blamed female residents for the problems. Speaking at the recent launch of the Zero Litter Campaign and Water Conservation Strategies held in Harare’s high-density suburb of Budiriro last week, Tsvangirai said his visit to Firle sewage works on the outskirts of Glen View last week had revealed to him that sand was the main material that clogged the works.
“How can we clog our own system?” he asked.
“Last week I was at the Firle sewage plant. Women, you are clogging the system with sand. There are babies and even blankets found in the sewage works. So I am asking women to do their work in a way that ensures our sytems are not clogged. Why use sand when there is Vim and Harpic (cleaning detergents)?” he said.
The PM also attacked industries which he said were dumping toxic waste into rivers, saying they were contaminating drinking water, a practice that resulted in more money being needed to treat the water.
“We must give local authorities the mandate to arrest and fine companies that dump toxic waste into our water system. We must also find the most effective way of treating our water. Building of new dams like Kunzvi and Tokwe-Mukorsi will go a long way in alleviating water shortages.” (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)A man found with head injuries in a road in Essex on Saturday and died in hospital within hours of being discovered, has been identified as a former Air Zimbabwe engineer, one Mr Simon Makombe, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
The local BBC news service had earlier reported that: a passerby discovered the man, aged in his 50s, in Wharf Road, Grays, at about 01:15 BST.
He was taken to Basildon Hospital, where he died shortly after 04:00 BST. He has been described by police as black and about 6ft (1.83m) tall.
In an update on Saturday afternoon, police said there were no suspicious circumstances.
They believe the man was in Grays town centre, near the railway and bus station in Crown Road, shortly before he was found.
“Medical evidence is consistent with witness statements that the events which led to his death are not suspicious,” a police spokesman said.
His identity at the time was still not known
ZimEye can now reliably inform our valued readers that the deceased man is Mr Simon Makombe.
Police managed to contact his wife by using document particulars which had her name in Makombe’s pockets leading to the final verification.
While the full official post mortem was not declared at the time of writing, his wife told ZimEye the man was suffering from stress and severe depression due to hardships he was experiencing from failing to obtain employment in his job of choice. The head injuries were caused by falling repeated down after a few drinks, ZimEye was told Monday afternoon.
 
Appeal for funds.
The late Simon Makombe’s widow told ZimEye his death has left a gap in the family being widowed with two children, she may struggle to send his body to Zimbabwe for burial.
“For me to understand where he was passing through actually , I cannot.
“He was just walking and collapsed on his own as he was struggling to walk,” she told ZimEye.
She also revealed that he died of internal bleeding.
“He died of internal bleeding,” she added.
Anyone wishing to donate to funeral expenses is requested to telephone Mrs Makombe at: 07729025723
 (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)A UK journalist, Mkhululi Mpofu, was physically dragged out of the just ended Mtukudzi-Macheso show in Leicester after allegedly invading Oliver Mtukudzi’s dressing room with a ‘smuggled camera’, according to function promoters.
Mpofu who has not denied entering the back stage area where Mtukudzi was resting, has defended himself saying the attack was unprovoked and also added that in front of onlookers, he was choked, kicked and punched in what he described as a brutal assault he even thought he had died.
ZimEye is reliably informed that Oliver Mtukudzi told Mr Mpofu to approach the singer’s manager first in order to obtain authorisation for an interview. Promoters state that even after this, Mpofu continued to film despite another call for him to stop doing so which resulted in a promoter resorting to force him out of the premises.
After his accused was taken in by the police for questioning, Mpofu on his news website soon published an article titled “Journalist assaulted at Tuku UK show,” a story he personally wrote in which he detailed his alleged ordeal prompting among others, negative reactions on the social networking website Facebook with some people criticizing stating that he should prove injuries.
 
A black guy with black skin – “no bruises”
What has been difficult for Mpofu has been to prove that he actually was assaulted with severity alleged, and he told ZimEye that the policeman handling investigations did not take the matter seriously because the cop being of white origin failed to notice bruises on a black man’s skin pigment, according to Mpofu.
“I am a black guy with black skin. Bruises are not seen the same way they are seen on a white person…”, he said.
 
Filming without permission.
Both Mtukudzi’s manager and the promoter who is alleged to have attacked Mpofu have told ZimEye Mr Mpofu was wrong to have been filming the function without obtaining permission.

The promoter told ZimEye:
“I am told some silly story is written about me. Its actually embarassing that the person who accuses me of assaulting him, writes a story. I was getting phone calls from people telling me, we hear you are in police cells… Actually no charges were laid. You can even contact Leicester police because no charges were laid against me. So, I am actually offended because I work with Oliver and Ezra. We told this man it doesn’t matter if you are member of the press, please stop filming; and then the guy tells me: ‘do you know who I am?’, and I didn’t know who he is.
“There is copyright infringement, and if he goes on Youtube, and publishes online, that is (actually) copyright infringement, and then he accuses me of assaulting him, its actually a joke.
“He then ended up approaching me aggressively wanting his camera, saying he had paid money, and then that’s when he was removed from the venue,” he said.
A female friend of Mr Mpofu who was with him at the time  has however given an almost contradictory version of events stating that  Mpofu was singled out from a group, questioned, and then taken out, a claim which coincides with Mpofu’s who also said that his attack was part of a conspiracy because he did not publicise a co-promoter and so was now being targetted:
“…yeah they did single him out cause I too was filming and taking photos and so were a few other people. With **** yes … But apparently the fight was with someone else but I didn’t see it … Just heard it happened, ” she said.
 
Below was Mkhululi Mpofu short account of what transpired, which report has been disputed by both function organisers and Oliver Mtukudzi’s team:
“ONE of the promoters of the Oliver Mtukudzi and Alick Macheso United Kingdom tour has been arrested by British police in Leicester after he brutally attacked me during the show last night for no apparent reason.
I was attacked in full view of co-promoters who never tried to rescue me from the monster.
The overzealous promoter was immediately arrested by police in the early hours of Sunday morning at the venue of the show, Leicester’s Athena. He was detained overnight and is still wallowing in the police cells.
The heavy built and weight-lifting promoter is being held at Mansfield House Police station, Leicester.
Police said they will interview my assailant this morning and he is expected to be formerly charged. I am pressing charges of assault and theft of my camera. I have already presented a full statement to the police.
Trouble started while Tuku and Macheso entertained the excited crowd when the chubby promoter approached me and started attacking me with blows. He then dragged me out of the venue despite having paid to enter the venue and continued attacking me.
He confiscated The ZimDiaspora camera and footage was lost during the process. Some equipment was also damaged during the fracas.
In a completely unprovoked attack, he grabbed me by my throat, squeezing and kicking me at the same time. It was the most savage attack I have ever experienced in my life.
As several other media personnel were filming what is rumoured to be Tuku’s last world tour, the notorious promoter was busy body-punching and choking me. After being dragged outside by the collar, he pushed me into a secluded ditch, pressed me down and continued kicking, punching and choking me to the extent that I thought I would die.
As I struggled for my breath, I tried ringing the emergency services, he then grabbed my mobile phone and flung it across the street, smashing the iPhone into smatterings.
It was only after a loud scream that a passerby came to my rescue and the police were immediately called who subsequently arrested the vicious promoter.
It is unfortunate that while most of Zimbabwean shows in the UK are very peaceful there are some people who still think that it is their privilege as promoters to go about assaulting and duping fans as they wish.
The behaviour of the promoter is unwarranted and risk tarnishing the image of one of Africa’s greatest musicians Oliver Mtukudzi“.

Harare(ZimEye)-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka has rubbished false reports by the Zanu pf controlled Herald newspaper that the Prime Minister’s new wife, Elizabeth Macheka is on a week-long government sponsored shopping spree to South Africa and India.
Reports by the Herald claimed Ms Elizabeth Macheka Thursday left the country for a week-long private visit to South Africa and India ostensibly to buy for herself jewellery and paraphernalia related to the couple’s wedding set for September.
But Ms Macheka was today seen together with Tsvangirai at the launch of a Water, Anti-litter campaign in Budiriro contrary to claims by the Herald.
Disgusted spokeman Luke Tamborinyoka told ZimEye ,”It’s false. The same story appeared on front page today. But all journalists who came to Budiriro today where the PM was launching the water conservation campaign saw PM Tsvangirai with his wife when Herald was (yet)claiming she left for India yesterday.

“Progressive papers will expose the truth. The PM’s wife is in Harare.”
The paper accused Tsvangirai of drawing funds from the treasury to finance the trip and illegally engaging Macheka on government duties that are reserved for civil servants.
The Herald report titled: “Government footing Prime Minister’s wife’s jaunts” reads:
The PM’s Office applied for the funds from Treasury despite the fact that Ms Macheka and Ms Mungweni are not civil servants and are not entitled to such privileges.
PM Tsvangirai’s official duties are carried out by civil servants and not his wife.
“The PM’s spouse and a lady officer in his office left the country today (yesterday) for South Africa and are proceeding to India,” a source said.
“They are returning on July 12. The costs are fully borne by the Government of Zimbabwe after the two indicated that they were travelling on Honourable PM’s duties. This is despite the fact that the official duties of the PM are carried out by civil servants and not his wife.”
On her return on July 12, Ms Macheka will join the Prime Minister and his daughter Rumbidzai on a 12-day visit to Japan and Australia, with the costs again borne by the cash-strapped Government.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has often raised concerns about expenditure on foreign trips by Government officials.
In his 2012 budget, Minister Biti revealed that over US$45 million has been blown on foreign trips by officials.
The Prime Minister’s Japanese and Australian trips are at the invitation of the two countries.
“The Prime Minister is leaving for Japan on July 15 and will stay there for six days. He is expected to leave Japan on July 21 for Australia where he will stay up to July 27,” the source said.
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
.

Harare(ZimEye)THE attack by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono on Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is personal and the latter has said he will not even bother to talk to the former on the issue as he is just a regulator of the financial sector not a shareholder.
Kasukuwere on Thursday said the law was for shareholders of banks and not Gono. This was after Gono issued a strong worded statement on Wednesday accusing Kasukuwere of being a failure who failed to run his own bank Genesis.
“The fact that the two main proponents of the recent illogical moves have presided over the failure of their two banks before, namely Unibank (David Chapfika) and Genesis (Kasukuwere), calls for Solomonic wisdom on the part of Zimbabwe’s population and leadership. Ordinarily, anyone who was near a failed bank is not a fit and proper person to deal with banking matters or to ever own, run or talk about the ownership of a bank again until cleared by the central bank; this is a universal practice,” said Gono adding that he would approach president Mugabe on the matter.

 
But as usual Kasukuwere said Gono has turned the whole matter into a personal attack:
“We are engaged with the shareholders not regulators. The two are very different, a regulator is not a shareholder.
“The law is for shareholders to comply and then we can discuss with others. I know some would have wanted to be doing this task, but let’s not turn it into unwarranted personal attacks,” said Kasukuwere.
He said discharging national responsibilities require maturity and sober reasoning adding that the attacks will not deter him from grabbing the banks.
“We will not fall for the attacks, but will continue to be guided by the rule of law and the necessary transformation of key institutions. The law is in place and it has to be implemented, come rain come sunshine.
“Shareholders have been in touch with us and we are pleased with the progress to date and we will continue with the respectful engagement. I am sure at the right time ,we will approach all other relevant authorities and get their views.”
The latest fight come after it emerged the Kasukuwere contributed to the collapse of Genesis Bank after he blocked FMB Malawi that wanted a 90 percent stake in the bank.
Kasukuwere has however denied the allegations saying he was no longer the shareholder of the bank by the time it went down.
Below is a statement by Gono on Kasukuwere
ALTHOUGH I’m on a business trip outside Zimbabwe and therefore have not familiarised myself with the full content of the Gazetted Notice in question, the Zimbabwean banking sector needs to be advised that there is no law that provides for arbitrariness on the part of anyone and/or expropriation of banking assets in Zimbabwe yesterday, today or tomorrow.
I will, as soon as I get back home, be consulting with and obtaining further guidance from H.E. the President Cde R.G. Mugabe on the latest moves by the Minister in relation to the sector that I superintend – the Banking Sector – and his instructions will be final in the manner in which we will proceed.
Until such guidance is received from H.E. The President, we regard the regulations as gazetted as devoid of detail and rationality as they are contradictory in many respects with existing laws in the country such as the Banking Act and the RBZ Act which stand at par with any other law in the country except the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Both the RBZ and the Banking Acts have not been amended to exclude the RBZ from final responsibility of running Zimbabwe’s financial sector, including determining and approving changes to the shareholdings of banks in order for such changes to be effective, the terms thereof in terms of capitalisations, compliance with the country’s exchange controls regulations, SADC central bank governors prescriptions for harmonising and integrating our regional economies as well as a host of other local subsidiary legislative requirements that deal with boards of directors, management appointments, internal bank policies and procedures for granting loans as well as a variety of other do’s and don’ts when it comes to dealing with depositors funds.
The fact that the two main proponents of the recent illogical moves have presided over the failure of their two banks before, namely Unibank and Genesis, calls for Solomonic wisdom on the part of Zimbabwe’s population and leadership. Ordinarily, anyone who was near a failed bank is not a fit and proper person to deal with banking matters or to ever own, run or talk about the ownership of a bank again until cleared by the central bank; this is a universal practice.
As the Reserve Bank, we repeat our earlier invitation to any Zimbabwean wishing to start a bank to come forward with their application and we will give them a licence to join the sector at 100 per cent ownership, rather than waste money taking over other people’s banks.
The example of Minister of Mines Dr Obert Mpofu who came forward with his money and sought permission to take over ZABG bank which was ailing then is a case in point. We gave him two years within which to regularise the ownership structure of that bank to a maximum of 25 per cent for any single shareholder which he committed to do but for the time being he has put in money and is a 99,9 per cent shareholder.
Furthermore, it must be realized that the money in all these banks belongs to depositors and not foreigners, except the equity components which, in most cases is less than 20 per cent of the banks’ balance sheets, and, in any case, that equity is tied up in operating capital assets such as furniture, fittings, land and buildings. The rest belongs to depositors and is not, as assumed by some, profit of the banks available for sharing the next day one becomes an owner.
In addition, last year alone (2011), the entire banking sector made total profits of $70 million of which $37 million belonged to international banks. Assuming a generous dividend pay-out of
30 per cent of net profits, this translates to $5,67 million ($37mil x 51% x 30%) payable annually to the 51 per cent shareholder. The question is one of materiality over substance … you do not need to be a rocket scientist to realise that someone is trying to take Zimbabweans for a ride!
The model that I have proposed gives Zimbabweans from all walks of life and across the breath and width of this country a share of $350-400 million per annum throughout the year in supply-based empowerment which will lead to indigenisation sooner rather than later. This is apart from the fact that the model I have presented attends to “bread and butter issues” of the people – school fees, medical fees, food, water, transport, rent, airtime, seeds and fertilizers – to many as opposed to an opaque few that we see clamouring to put their own proxies as beneficiaries under the disguise of indeginisation of the banking sector.
The question then is, do we just indigenise to empower our people or we empower our people to indigenise? As Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and a technocrat, with genuine hard-earned qualifications in banking, finance and development economics, I have presented to the nation and the ministry an empowerment model which has the potential to lead to the ultimate indigenisation of the financial sector as more people participate, but it seems people meant to be assisted through robust and not necessarily populist thinking do not either have the time to read the models or don’t understand them at all, hence going off at a tangent.
The Governor is happy and willing to share a platform anytime with anyone wishing to soberly debate sustainable models of development in Zimbabwe, including broad- based empowerment and indigenisation models for the financial sector that benefit many as opposed to a few. Having said that though, and for the time being, the financial sector will move as if no mistakes have been made and announced through the said Government Gazette which was also done without checking with monetary authorities in the country.
Again, it has falsely and mischievously been suggested in some quarters that as Governor, I am protecting the foreign banks because I owe them huge amounts in the firm of loans given to my family business entities. Well, for the record, my family and I have had business dealings with Barclays and Standard Bank dating back to 1977 (Barclays), 1980 (Standard Chartered), 1996 (Stanbic Bank). At present, I do not owe any of these banks a single penny by way of loans or facilities.
Indeed my family companies owe millions of dollars to regional and continental banks that have extended lines of credit to local banks and through them, to my family enterprises. A substantial component of these loans are all performing though a local bank is affected by curatorship, it follows that my family business loans, through these institutions also get affected, get called-up like those of any other borrowing entity operating in a difficult environment in Zimbabwe.
However, loans extended to the governor’s family businesses are treated as any other and governor does not run the companies directly nor does do I interfere with any legal processes that may correctly or incorrectly be taken against me as co- guarantor of loan facilities to the family enterprises. This must, therefore, dispel any notion that the governor gets feared or favoured by the banks or that I am protecting foreign-owned banks as a favour to them.
I am just as ordinary a family business person as anyone else; my family companies do try to stand on their own though without over-reliance on Gideon Gono, the Governor, for creditors. It is very tempting and exciting to sue the Governor when any of his family companies experience, like any other, difficulties to meet their commitments.
As a family we have been in business for the last 33 years and employ about 2000 people directly in sectors such as farming, agro-processing, horticulture, construction, real estate, publishing, transport, consultancy among others. We are now the third largest chicken-integrated farming operation in the country after Irvines and Cfi-Crest, all started from scratch over the last 33 years. Some people think that we own some banks around but nothing could be further from the truth!” (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who last week admitted fathering a child with Bulawayo 25 year-old Ms Loreta Nyathi, has requested public understanding over the matter.
Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman at the weekend told ZimEye the PM was in Bulawayo on strict government duty and that people should consider the matter which has sparked international controversy a private matter he alone must be left to deal with.
 
“This so called son…”
Tamborinyoka referred to baby Ethan as  “this so called son” and appealed for privacy on the matter:
“The Prime Minister was in Bulawayo on a government program. The PM is happily married; And whatever is happening regarding his so called son Ethan is a private matter,” he said, before hanging the phone before our reporter.
Tsvangirai (60) who recently re-married following his wife’s death in 2009 fathered the 19 month old boy with Nyathi.
Last week there were internet-wide reports that claimed he was to date yet to see the child and was allegedly refusing to assist the mother obtain a birth certificate for the son.
 
“Personal life”
Tsvangirai at the weekend however told journalists that the reports were an invasion of his private life and were not true.
“I have my personal life and you have yours. I would prefer that we keep it like that. I am not refusing to assist him,” he said.
“Whatever the reports you have heard, I will take care of it and his mother knows the arrangement that we have. I have not refused my responsibility. “It is not true that I am refusing to have my son get a birth certificate. I am happily married.
Part of the controversy surrounding the PM’s love life are developments which resulted in him recently publicly divorcing a woman he had customarily married, one Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo around the same time he was also claiming to be a bachelor. Tembo Family members have claimed that their kinswoman suffered depression following the media barrage against her which culminated in her lover divorcing her in public.
 
UK would have fired Tsvangirai by now
Women’s activists have slammed Tsvangirai following the latest developments making apparent claim that the PM “does not respect women”.
An activist and founding member of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe who declined being named told ZimEye that due to the latest developments, the Prime Minister would have been fired had he been doing politics in the UK.
“If this was in the UK, Tsvangirai would have been fired by now. We are dealing with vulnerable women…It is a very ironic situation where a woman although she may have made mistakes, but because there is a child, the PM should have done better than what we see. This shows on its own that Tsvangirai does not respect women. Why did people allow Tsvangirai to rule when he does not respect women?” she said.

Tsholotsho(ZimEye)-32 years after obtaining independence from Britain, Zimbabwe’s Local government Minister Ignatius Chombo, here has accused the former colonial masters of relegating rural communities during the pre-Independence (1980) era.
Chombo on the sidelines of a US$50 million launch for Rural Water and sanitation program in Tsholotsho on Thursday told UK Aid head Dave Fish in front of journalists and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, that Britain underdeveloped rural communities just before saying that sanctions worsened the situation.
“Whatever resources came out of the pre-independence economy was ear marked for the development of the few elite whites. Not in the urban areas only, even the blacks who were occupying fertile soils were removed and dumped in Gokwe and even here. In areas infested with Tsetse flies,” Chombo said.
He added:

“The development which was meant for blacks I have known none. I have been a Local Government Minister for more than 10 years, any developments, water, sanitation, schools; clinics only came to the people after independence. Those gains which we had after independence were reversed in 2000 when we had the land reform and the problems we had with our former colonial masters ending up in sanctions. All households had clean water, borehole, protected wells, and roads. There is nothing the former colonisers helped us with if you know one program during the colonial era tell me.”
UK Aid head in Zimbabwe Dave Fish had no kind response for Chombo .
“I suspect that Minister Chombo and I disagree on certain issue which happened during and after independence, and I am not here to apologise for certain historical issues raised here, but I think it’s important that this country looks forward, and does not blame current problems to history and look back. It is really encouraging to see Ministers from all parties to the inclusive government together here at this event. The international community, Britain included, wants to work with you and you should look forward rather than looking backwards, “he responded angrily.
UNICEF is going to be in charge of the WASH program which is going to benefit 2.5 million people from the country’s semi arid provinces.
Matebeleland North and South, Masvingo, Midlands and Mashonaland West are the five provinces which are going to benefit.
According to UNICEF results of the launch are going to be seen in the next 30 days as the development partners having already identified companies to drill and maintain bores in the area.
“Bringing safe water near homes will reduce time spent in collecting water and provides opportunities for poor families to engage in small-scale productive activities.It also reduces burdens which mount on women and girls in rural areas who are the main collectors of water,” UNICEF Country representative Dr Peter Salama said.
Blair toilets for most of the rural communities in the chosen provinces are also going to be constructed.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has denied reports that he is scheduled to perform a white wedding on the 15th Septermber.
Media houses have in the past week proliferated an alleged leak of information on Tsvangirai’s future plans with his current customary wife Elizabeth Macheka. It was reported that the PM will tie the knot with 35 year-old Ms Macheka on September 15th, at a ceremony in Harare.
But the PM’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has denied reports of the premier’s imminent wedding stating that it is just mere media talk.
“Its media talk, media speculation, there is no truth in it at all” he told ZimEye on Tuesday.
 
Both Tsvangirai and Ms Macheka lost their spouses in tragic accidents. Tsvangirai lost his wife Susan in a March 2009 car crash along the Harare-Beitbridge highway, while Elizabeth lost her first husband, Mabasa Guma, in a separate car crash along the Harare-Bulawayo road in 2002.
 
Controversy has however surrounded the PM as he was slammed by supporters for dumping his former customary wife Locadia Tembo claiming that ZANU PF were behind his marriage to her. But the PM has now picked another ZANU PF family-aliged ‘s daughter whose father is a feared senior ZANU PF official at a time when many MDC-T activists are languishing in prison who include top party cadres such as Solomon Madzore amid concerns that the PM has betrayed the movement.

(London)The late Ret General Solomon Mujuru’s customary wife, Simbiso Chisirimunhu, has died in the United Kingdom.
She was 38.
Ms Chisirimunhu died on Tuesday evening after a long ilness although relatives reported she died of stress.
She was mother to Tawanda and Tsitsi Mujuru and her son, Tawanda, seen by ZimEye has a sharp facial resemblance of Zimbabwe’s most feared army general.
General Mujuru married the woman 18 years ago in Chikomba, Sadza district, witnesses claim. She was second wife customarily married to the general who until his death was legally married to Vice President Joice Mujuru.
Ms Chisirimunhu’s relatives Wednesday said that she died of stress. She succumbed to “mental health relapse as a result of stress,” a relative said.
Her brother, Christian Mahachi said “she died on Tuesday evening. We are still consulting as a family so that we can start working on burial arrangements,”
A friend of Simbiso who declined being named alleged to ZimEye that the deceased struggled and was once threatened by Vice president Joice Mujuru, which resulted in her opting to relocate to the United Kingdom”.

As the international community celebrated World refugee day Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) has claimed that Zimbabwe is generous to refugees as he commended the nation for accommodating several inflows from countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda and Sudan.
In a statement, the UNHCR expressed gratitude to Zimbabwe claiming that it is generous with refugees who continue to enter the country mostly through the northern Nyamapanda border post.
A statement read:
“UNHCR wishes to record its special thanks because despite the tremendous developmental and other challenges facing the country, the government and people of Zimbabwe have remained committed to preserving the institution of asylum, and tolerating the presence of refugees and other persons of concern on Zimbabwean territory,” said the UNHCR boss.
But the high commissioner was blasted by the Nottingham Zimbabwe community leader Regis Manyanya:
“Has the High Commissioner been to the refugee camp in Tongogara? I have been there. The conditions the refugees live in there is absolutely deplorable,” he said.
Manyanya said that animals in the bushes of Chiredzi are living better life than those in the refugee camps, ‘although the country does indeed allow entry of refugees from various countries’.
Several refugees of Ethiopian origin were also seen by ZimEye in the outskirts of Harare’s Waterfalls suburb, living in card box shelters in the bitter winter weather. ZimEye found that state media journalists had weeks before even photographed the destitute refugees, and with government well informed of their plight, they yet continued to languish in the outward dwellings.
Zimbabwe yesterday (Wednesday) joined the rest of the international community in commemorating the World Refugee Day – originally the African Refugee Day.
UNHCR’s 2011 Global statistical Trends Report show an increase in the number of refugees following a string of humanitarian crises that unraveled from late 2010 in Cote D’Ivoire, the Arab Spring in Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia. Other triggering events were those in the Sudan, and the now cyclic scenes of violence in Somalia.
At least 4.3 million people have to date been displaced worldwide, according to the report and out of this number, 800,000 sought refuge in other countries.
The international theme for this year’s commemorative events is “Dilemma” and the UN’s office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Zimbabwe has narrowed the dilemmas faced by refugees and other displaced people to two aspects: how to restore hope and ensure that refugee children have access to universal primary education. The theme speaks to the urgent need to address the increase in forced displacement across borders.

BULAWAYO (ZimEye)- A TOTAL of 13 people perished in a horrific accident while four were injured when an overloaded commuter omnibus veered off the road along the Mbembesi-Fort Rixon Road.
The commuter omnibus then crashed into Nonka River on Monday evening.The injured passengers are admitted at United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Police officer commanding traffic Senior Assistant Commissioner Martin Chari confirmed the accident, saying the omnibus was overloaded and speeding resulting in the driver losing control at about 9km off the Bulawayo-Gweru Road.
Chari attacked transporters for overloading and speeding which has resulted in unnecessary loss of life.
He said a raft of strategies have been crafted to force transporters to comply with the Road Traffic and Road Motor Transportation Acts.
The strategies include speed traps on main and feeder roads, checks on drivers’ worthiness to drive passenger vehicles as well as sobriety checks of drivers.
Overloaded and speeding commuter omnibus accidents have claimed a significant number of lives in recent months, a situation that Senior Assistant Commissioner Martin Chari said could have been avoided had the drivers not overloaded, and limited themselves to the speed limit of 80km/h.
(Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)A Zimbabwean beauty has been chosen as one of four unsung heros among foreign exiles in the UK.
Cynthia Masiyiwa may be 21 years old, but she has been recognised for her sacrificial work with the youth in the ghetos of city of London where she has for the past three years been involved in cutting down crime and lawlessness, while encouraging fellow young people to abandon street life and adopt a working culture.
She is also the youngest of the other three heroes.
The lead poster (right) is based on the incredible four stories of what refugees are doing to contribute to the upcoming London Olympics. The poster has been placated across Rail and tube stations boards across the Europe’s largest city  – London.
Earlier last week, Cynthia spent time with Lord Coe who is the head of the London Olympics as she took him around the premises showing him various features of what is taking place in London in a few weeks’ time including the intensive preparations currently underway.
Cynthia also took exclusive time with the Chief Inspector for Greenwich Police, Reece Turner.
Zimbabwe is to be represented by a number of sportpersons who include gold medalist Kirsty Conventry. Full list to follow…

More pressure is building up in South Africa’s ruling ANC party as the party increases its call for a lifting of sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and persons close to his ZANU PF party.
Weeks after the expulsion of pro-Mugabe former youth president Julius Malema a spokesperson for the party’s junior arm the Youth League told ZimEye Thursday they nearly 14 days ago unanimously resolved to re-escalate the matter:

“The ANC Youth League has got a collective decision on it. Our policy conference that was held two weeks ago resolved that amongst the issues that we would take forward to the ANC policy conference is the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe,” she said.
The ANC controlled South African government Thursday made its latest call for the sanctions to be lifted. President Jacob Zuma’s top foreign policy advisor, Lindiwe Zulu(pictured-right) was quoted by Reuters on Thursday stating that sanctions have not worked. she said that the whole of Africa is calling for their lifting:
“It’s not just Zimbabwe that’s saying the sanctions are not working. The entire continent is saying that,” she said.
Zulu who is part of a delegation that for months has been leading negotiation efforts among the three parties, MDC-T, MDC, and ZANU PF, has in the past clashed with President Robert Mugabe.
South Africa’s ruling party has adopted a soft approach to the crisis across the Limpopo.
Analysts say the sanctions have been exploited by Mugabe for his political purposes, blaming them for his party’s economic blunders that have caused what once was one of Africa’s richest nations to now be among its poorest.
Zulu is part of a Southern African Development Community initiative led by Zuma aimed at ending the political turmoil in Zimbabwe and holding free and fair elections by next year.
South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma was tasked to mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis by SADC after MDC-T temporarily pulled out of the unity government in 2009 as frustration intensified over Mugabe’s refusal to fully implement the GPA.

Apart from outstanding issues such as the appointment of the Attorney General Johannes Tomana and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, the MDC formations have continuously expressed concern over the unilateral stripping of ministerial powers by President Robert Mugabe on its ministers. Among a list of thorny issues was the appointment of MDC-T Treasurer Roy Bennett who is now living in exile in the UK after he was constantly arrested tried, but later acquitted before new charges were laid on him again.
The most recent thorny matter has been the position of the Deputy Prime Minister which is currently being clutched by prof Arthur Mutambara who was ousted from party leadership, replaced by Prof Welshaman Ncube, and a High Court ruling rendered him party-less. But the DPM Mutamabra has continued to hold on and it was this week announced he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
It is largely speculated that ZANU PF fears that Welshamn Ncube’s connections with Jacob Zuma as an in law relation may make Ncube super powerful in the unity government. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye)The animal protection organisation, SPCA has cleared the Harare based Chinese owned, Shangri -La restaurant of allegations that it was selling dog and cat meat.
Following an investigation the SPCA has now issued a statement clearing the restaurant of the allegations.
An SPCA official told ZimEye on Wednesday:
“We have inspected recently, but we haven’t seen anything there recently… Basically… we are undergoing some investigations with some restaurants. But they are for investigative purposes. But with Shangri -La we actually haven’t had a problem.

And with the other ones, we are investigating at the moment.” she said adding that they continue to monitor all restaurants around the country for possible violations.
Shangri -La restaurant’s lawyers have issued a statement stating that their client is not involved in any dog, cat meat or other culturally unacceptable food business.
“This is a restaurant that has won awards with the Zim tourism authority here… No businessman worth their salt would do such a thing. Why would somebody come from China and engage in such business?,” he said More to follow…

Harare(ZimEye)-Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu has invited the western diplomats to visit the controversial Marange Diamond fields as his ZANU(PF) party intensifies its efforts to lobby the west to lift sanctions.
“The EU and western diplomats are visiting the Marange Diamond fields next week .In fact they asked for that permission long back and we have now allowed them but they are reluctant to go because they expected us to refuse .This is the kind of duplicity and hypocrisy we are getting from people who are just looking for faults in a system,” Mines and Mining Development Minister announced during an Accountability Conference organised by Centre for Public Accountability in Harare early this week.
Over the years government has been reluctant to allow anyone other than President Robert Mugabe ally to visit the diamond extraction area, citing security reasons.
This made the public to believe that something amiss was happening at Marange.
Issues of gross human rights abuse by the military and corruption by senior ZANU(PF) officials have been raised by the civic society.
But the European Union delegation in Zimbabwe through its ambassador Aldo Dell Arricia in an interview with ZimEye Tuesday in Harare confirmed Minister Mpofu invited them not the reverse as Minister Mpofu had put it.
“It is not that we have been given the green light to visit Marange Diamond fields by its Mines Minister Obert Mpofu who invited us. The visit is going to be on at the end of this month. We will be there for few days in order to have a firsthand impression of the situation and of course how the mining plants are working because this is an important element in the economy of Zimbabwe. And as heads of European countries we are very much interested in seeing the operations of these mines,” Aldo Dell’Ariccia.
Minister Mpofu said the reason why they were reluctant to allow the west to tour the diamond fields is that they did not want them to know ZANU(PF)’s anti –sanctions strategies.
Marange Resources and Mbada Diamond Mining operating in Marange, were added to US Treasury Office of Foreign Affairs Control’s special designated nationals list.
The two Diamond Mining Companies were punished because they are operating under the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation which is under sanctions.(ZimEye,Zimbabwe)

Oregon(ZimEye)The city of Mutare was twinned with the US city of Portland, at the weekend.
The Zimbabwean flag and fame were carried majestically by the current Miss Northwest Africa Queen, Chido Dhliwayo, who was seen ascending the high platform with a crown on her head.
She later told ZimEye after the function:
“For me it was actually a way of being grounded because I miss home so much…,” she said.
“I am part of the Portland Mutare city association. It’s a non profit organisation and I was representing Zimbabwe and Mutare. It was a good experience, and the only thing I was worried about was the weather…”
There was also dancing, and various kinds of Zimbabwean joys, just as other nationalities also offered their tastes and flavours.
PHOTOS:
 

(Harare)A Zanu-PF legislator for Mudzi West, Aqualinah Katsande, is under the spot light for the crime of obstruction of justice on the murder of MDC-T local chairman, Mr Cephas Magura.
The Zanu-PF legislator who last week blamed the MDC-T party for Magura’s death, sparked international outrage after she claimed to know the exact precise cause of Magura’s death stating that he had died of a car accident instead, a claim the professional autopsy proved to be completely untrue.
Katsande had claimed:
‘It is not true that he was killed by our supporters, but fell off their moving vehicle’.
“Our youths were having their own meeting in a hall at Chimukoko when a group of MDC supporters, who were holding their meeting at a nearby ground, invaded our meeting and this was provocation. It resulted in the youths fighting,” she said.
“We have our members who were injured and we took them to hospital. We also reported the matter to the police.”
“The MDC supporters were outnumbered in the fight and they fled from the scene and drove away in their truck and one of their members who was seated in the back of the truck fell and hit his head on the ground resulting in his death.
“It is not true that he was killed by our supporters, but fell off their moving vehicle,” she said.
Katsande is now under the spot-watch of even ZANU PF gurus as comments were made by Oppah Muchinguri rubbishing her claims and stating that Magura’s death was indeed caused by brute murder.
The legislator is also slated with a controversial history of crimes against humanity. Her son, George Katsande orchestrated violence in 2008 presidential runoff elections and thereafter, leading to Mudzi being recorded as an area with most political motivated killings.
A legendary historian who built ZANU PF’s international image in 1977, Daina Mitchel,  once wrote in her blog about Ms Katsande:
“A blog for today can only say that I have read of the crass brutality of one Aquilina Katsande in Zim’s violently led ZANU (PF) and am horrified. I am regretful that it is likely that I shall not live long enough to see this woman and her ilk brought to account in this world. There is not much else one can say so long as the current regime rules,” wrote Mitchel who built and shaped Zanu PF’s international image when Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo were still regarded as terrorists.
 
This week MPs began a motion for the possible arrest of Aqualinah Katsande (Mudzi West) together with Newten Kachepa (who is MP for Mudzi North).

Eyewitnesses told the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) last week that Kachepa’s pick-up truck and Katsande’s Mazda T3500 truck were used to ferry Zanu PF activists involved in the disruption of the police-sanctioned MDC-T rally and the attack on the party supporters that led to the murder of Magura.
Kadoma Central MP Editor Matamisa (MDC-T) called for the immediate arrest of Katsande and Kachepa. Glen View North MP Fani Munengami (also MDC-T) said Katsande even had “the guts” to lie saying the murdered MDC-T activist died
after he fell from a moving vehicle. “I am surprised that Katsande, a female MP, had the guts to say the person who died in Mutoko fell from a truck, and it’s a disgrace Kachepa, one of the MPs implicated, is in this House with us and I am challenging him to explain how those things happened in his constituency and how his vehicle was used to block and ferry people,” Munengami said.
“The two MPs are good at killing but have never contributed to any debate in the House and unless they are brought to book and explain what exactly happened, this House will continue labelling them killers.”
Aquillina Katsande case on Magura’s death will continue to haunt her as it is now being used by the United Nations as pivotally defining, just as the body prepares to setup a possible remote human  rights centre.

London(ZimEye)The expelled leader of South Africa’s ANC party Youth League, Julius Malema, has been barred from entering the United Kingdom, ZimEye can reveal.
Malema who was scheduled to address African and West Indian black exiles at a recent Birmingham Africa Liberation Day function, (at the weekend) failed to obtain a Visa together with another speaker from Tanzania who was also barred by the British embassy, according to conference organisers.
Conference organisers told ZimEye exclusively that Malema failed to obtain British embassy clearance.
“Julius Malema didn’t make it to Africa Liberation Day,” a senior organising committee member who declined to be named said adding that even another speaker from Tanzania had been barred.
“Neither the commissioner from Tanzania. The British embassy failed to issue a VISA when they should have. So that was a sabotage.
“It was deliberate. They have done it before, and of course we will be taking it with the relevant authorities,” he said.
Earlier last week, one of the senior organisers, Mr Bini Butuakwa, had told ZimEye Malema was having serious VISA problems:“We are having a bit of the problem at the moment which is getting him into the country. If we don’t get him….we going to get him on Skype,” he said.
“He was going to come but we are getting some problem”, he added.
 
Zimbabwe minister funding trip
Mr Butuakwa however stated that Zimbabwe’s information Minister Webster Shamu had promised to pay for Malema’s air fares, should he have problems.
“The Information Minister in Zimbabwe said that he will get him to come over and if he has a problem with paying he would cover the fare…,” he said. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye)-The European Union has consoled the Magura family and the MDC-T party following the brutal murder of Cephas Magura, the MDC-T ward 1 Mudzi North chairperson by ZANU (PF) supporters and urged the judiciary to quickly try the murderers.
The EU cites political violence as its justification for the imposition of sanctions on ZANU(PF) officials in 2002.
“Delegation presents its condolences to the family of the deceased and strongly condemns these acts and any complacency with political violence and intimidation as a political tool.
“It is encouraging to note the condemnation for these criminal acts that came from across the political spectrum. The EU delegation looks forward to urgent action by the police authorities and the Attorney General’s office to bring the alleged perpetrators and their instigators to justice, in order to give a clear and unequivocal message that political violence is totally unacceptable in Zimbabwe”,EU said in a statement Tuesday.
Magura was murdered in the presence of the police who were providing security to the rally which was authorised, making them liable for the brutal murder.
According to eye witnesses a ZANU PF mob attacked MDC-T activists at a rally that had been sanctioned by the police a week earlier.
ZANU PF had not been cleared to gather for any event, yet they gathered near the venue and started chanting slogans before approaching the MDC-T group.
Magura was buried in Mudzi on Sunday 3 June.
ZANU(PF) continues to perpetrate violence on MDC supporters despite several calls by its leader President Robert Mugabe denouncing violence.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

BULAWYO (ZimEye) – LOCAL Government Minister Ignatius Chombo has threatened to fire Bulawayo councillors over corruption allegations as the Zanu PF ministers continues sacking MDC-T elected city fathers.
Chombo has been on a whirlwind tour of councils firing MDC-T councillors and replacing them with “special interests councilors.”
Recently, Chombo suspended Gwanda Mayor Lionel De Necker even before investigations. He later appointed a four-member investigating team which earned $80 000 per week, a move which was castigated by Gwanda councilors and stakeholders.
But at the weekend Chombo said he would wield an axe against Bulawayo MDC-T councilors who were found guilty of corruption by his investigating team two months ago.
The controversial Minister said: “The probe team made some recommendations although I cannot give them off-hand. The committee would look at whether to fire, suspend or caution those councillors who would be found to have abused their powers and disadvantaged residents. It is possible that one or two councillors might be suspended.”
Chombo said five Chitungwiza councillors were suspended last week on allegations of corruption, charges that are being faced by Bulawayo councilors.
He said councilors were guilty of selling stands “under trees” at inflated prices, which was tantamount to abuse of office.
Chombo insisted that Bulawayo City Council would get special councillors whether the city fathers liked it or not, adding that his office has since been given suitable names by Zanu PF Bulawayo province.
Bulawayo has resisted efforts by Chombo to appoint eight special councilors. The matter is still pending at the Bulawayo High Court.
De Nekcer last week challenged Members of Parliament to amend the Urban Councils Act to clip Chombo’s sweeping powers which has resulted in the Minister treating local government as his fiefdom. (Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

HARARE (ZimEye) PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s call for elections this year has been thrown into disarray after a recent Extraordinary Session of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) insisted that a new constitution be adopted before elections.
Mugabe, 88, has been threatening to call for elections in line with Zanu PF’s resolution at last year’s annual conference for polls this year.
But constitutional experts warned that a constitution would only be ready at the end of 2012, paving way for fresh elections early 2013. MDC-T, MDC and the civic society have been pushing for elections to be held next year after the full implementation of critical democratic and electoral reforms.
Fears were swelling that Mugabe was likely to unilaterally declare elections this year in effort in manage the succession battles in Zanu PF.
But a Sadc summit on June 1, poured cold water on Mugabe’s 2012 election ambition while his health is still permitting.
According to a Sadc communiqué released after the Luanda, Angola summit, the Heads of State and Government resolved that the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which was signed by Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara be fully implemented. There are several outstanding issues in the GPA, chief among them security sector reforms and the writing of a new governance charter.
The Sadc summit also resolved that the constitution making process be finalized before Mugabe proclaims election dates.

The communiqué stated that: “On Zimbabwe, Summit commended stakeholders for their commitment, cooperation and efforts towards the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and urged the parties to the GPA to finalise the constitution-making process and subject it to a referendum thereafter.
“Summit also urged the parties to the GPA, assisted by His Excellency Jacob G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa and SADC Facilitator of the Zimbabwe Political Dialogue, to develop an implementation mechanism and to set out time frames for the full implementation of the Roadmap to Elections.
“Summit further commended the Facilitator for his efforts towards the realisation of full implementation of GPA.”
However Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo played down the tough stance Sadc took against Mugabe, saying his boss would be ready for elections either this year or in 2013.
Mugabe, last week, dispatched emissaries to Sadc countries to lobby the regional block to back his plan to call for an early plebiscite regardless of numerous calls for the full implementation of critical reforms.
(Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

Bulawayo(ZimEye)-At least 100 children with severe disability of cerebral palsy and autism housed at Monica Brewer Day Centre in Bulawayo are losing out on their routine physiotherapy checkups as their parents are failing to raise an imposed weekly medical fee of US$100.
Cerebral palsy and autism are caused by brain damage while the baby is still in the mother’s womb and the conditions cannot be cured.
Professional Physiotherapists in Bulawayo however charge $100 per session and it is a requirement for the affected children to visit physiotherapists twice a week.

“This is one of the major challenges we are facing here at this centre because parents cannot raise US$200 per week per child for physiotherapy. As mitigation we are receiving basic physiotherapy training so that we can at least attend to our children here”, Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association’s Programmes Officer Mrs Tendai Masumba told ZimEye in Bulawayo.
Mrs Masumba is also a parent of one of the disabled children being taken care of at Monica Brewer Day Centre.
The centre was established by mothers with children with severe disabilities after realising that they could not do anything profitable for a living if they concentrate with their children who need close attention every time.

At the centre parents take turns to look after their children with almost the same conditions so that they could do something for a living.
“As you can see these children cannot do anything on their own. We need tones of pampers, cotton wool and toilet tissues so that when they mess up they are quickly cleaned, and this is the other challenge we are facing,”Martha Sibanda mother to Luke Junior Sigauke (12) said.
Mrs Sibanda and her son are both HIV positive.
“My son needs walking frames as he can only move using his knees and hands. Because of his HIV positive condition he is on and off sick making his hospital bill always high and this is the challenge I am faced with” Mrs Sibanda said.
Babara Ncube an information officer for the institution taking care of these children with severe disabilities said they are lobbying government to include in the education curriculum children they are taking care of.
“We have held several meetings with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders who have agreed and appreciated our call for the inclusion of these children in the mainstream education sector rather than leaving them to us or at their homes. What we are now waiting for is to hearing when this is going to be implemented because there are thousands unidentified children at homes,” she said.
UNICEF is also assisting the centre with material, financial and technical support all in an effort to alleviate the lives of the innocent vulnerable children living with this life condition. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

(Harare)CIO agents fixed former MDC-99 spokesman, Aaron Muzungu, into driving away a display new Ford Ranger T6 vehicle from a Croco Motors fleet, after telling him President Robert Mugabe had paid cash for the vehicle as a special reward, ZimEye has been told.
The former MDC-99 spokesman, Aaron Muzungu, was arrested by Harare police and charged for allegedly stealing the Croco Motors display car which he freely took away from a demonstration session and drove more than 1300 kilometres away. It was at that time, last month claimed he stole the new Ford Ranger T6, and fled away with it over a long eight days span before being caught, according to a police report.
But ZimEye was on Thursday told Muzungu was actually set up by special CIO agents who told him president Robert Mugabe had paid for the vehicle and given him as a token of appreciation for exposing party president Job Sikhala who he allegedly claimed was attempting to topple Robert Mugabe in a coup.
The statement comes as a senior Croco Motors employee refusing to comment on the matter, repeatedly protested saying she would rather have her bosses at their Head Office respond to it.
Party spokesperson David Hwangwa told ZimEye in an exclusive interview Thursday:

“He had written a letter to president Robert Mugabe and saying he used to work for MDC-99 ….he knows everything that happens in the party. he knows all the secrets. He also told the president that the party is planning a coup…that Job Sikhala has been working with mercenaries from South Africa. And then also that hunger strike that Job Sikhala wanted to do, he told them that its not a hunger strike, …its a hunger strike in disguise and the people from the party are going to have weapons and they are going to ransack and go through  parliament….and shoot everyone in there and cause a coup; which in fact wasn’t true.
 
“Just take the keys and drive away”
“And so in exchange for all that information he wanted the president to buy him a Mercedes Benz… So on that day in question of the Ford Ranger that he stole, he was told by the people who were working with him… the CIO or the law and order… who had been assigned by the president to investigate him…he was to told go into that Ford Ranger, ‘just take the keys and drive away’.”
 
At Mozambiquan border
After driving away with the vehicle, all the way to the Mozambiquan border from the Chiredzi area, Muzungu then experienced difficulty crossing over and seeing an advert in the newspaper calling for information to a stolen vehicle, he then telephoned Croco Motors saying he had paid cash for the vehicle; Upon this juncture Mr Hwangwa alleges, Muzungu was advised to return to Harare to pick up the required documentation, shortly before being arrested on his way back.
When contacted, a Croco Motors employee refused to comment even anonymously and vehemently protested to our reporter:
“I do not want to comment on that, can you call our head office please.”
An attempt to reach Muzungu for comment was fruitless as we were told he was in remand prison at the time of writing.

BULAWAYO (ZimEye) – AN ex-ZIPRA official has broken the silence on the 1982 discovered arms caches that led to the Gukurahundi massacres, saying the weapons belonged to South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress (ANC) military wing, Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK).
Former Zipra cadre Cetshwayo Sithole told Zapu youths at the party’s regional offices in Bulawayo, that Zapu couldn’t reveal that the arms belonged to MK because it would be “improper.”
“It’s true that we were keeping arms but they belonged to Umkhonto Wesizwe’s arms. When we surrendered our arms at Brady barracks, we couldn’t surrender MK’s arms as well. The truth must be known. We had kept the arms. Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku just kept quiet about it in court,” he said.

The then Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Robert Mugabe deployed the 5th Brigade in Matabeleland and Midlands in 1983 after claiming to have unearthed an arms cache in February 1982 at Zipra properties.
Matabeleland and Midlands were Ndebele speaking strongholds of Zapu, who had won a paltry 20 parliamentary seats in the country’s first democratic elections in 1980.
However a treason trial in 1982 involving Lookout Masuku, Dumiso Dabengwa and four others, built around the discovery of the arms cache, failed to prove a case against them and they were all released.
Dabengwa and Masuku were re-detained without trial for four years but Masuku died in prison.
Sithole continued:
“We (Zapu) need to be in parliament so that we can send to the Hague people who are guilty of Gukurahundi. We should first take power, starting with Bulawayo,” he said.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye)The Zimbabwean government has promised to pay air fares for expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema’s for his upcoming UK meeting scheduled for Birmingham, ZimEye has been exclusively told.
Julius Malema, who apart from being expelled from South Africa’s ruling ANC party has recently challenged South African president Jacob Zuma for the presidency, is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Birmingham Africa Liberation movement conference on the 3rd June whose air fare the Zimbabwean government promised to pay, according to top sources in the Birmingham based organising committee for the function.
The function is a belated Africa Day celebration which would have been held on the appropriate day 25 May but was delayed for reasons undeclared.

One of the senior organisers, Mr Bini Butuakwa, of West Indian origin, confirmed to ZimEye on Saturday morning:
“The Information Minister in Zimbabwe said that he will get him to come over and if he has a problem with paying he would cover the fare…,” he said, adding that at present Malema was still struggling to obtain a travel visa.
“We are having a bit of the problem at the moment which is getting him into the country. If we don’t get him….we going to get him on Skype,” he said.
“He was going to come but we are getting some problem.
“We’ve been supporting the liberation movements in South Africa and Guinea Bissau since 1965”, he said.

Mr Butuakwa also indicated to ZimEye that in the entire ANC party Malema is the only person they selected as appropriate to address delegates at the belated function.
At the time of writing Malema had not obtained a British Visa.
Julius Malema was this year expelled from the ANC for his activities deemed to have brought the ANC party into disrepute which included announcing he would soon effect regime change in neighbouring Botswana as well as also publicly labeling his senior leader Jacob Zuma, a dictator.
Meanwhile, MDC south End On Sea branch chairman Stanford Biti has said that the party will demonstrate against Malema should he enter the UK:
“We the MDC in UK will protest against his visit and would like to meet him and send a clear message that he supped with the Zimbabwean Dictator Robert Mugabe and incited violence in Zimbabwe. Julius Malema has also been on the fore front advocating violent farm invasions and expropriation of property in South Africa on racial grounds. “Therefore on the 3^rd of June when he intends to address the people in Birmingham, we will be there in big numbers to meet him and confront him,” he said.
A comment from the Information Minister, Webster Shamu could not be obtained at the time of writing.
(ZimEye, UK)

London(ZimEye)The brother to Zimbabwe’s Finance minister Stanford Biti, has weighed in on MDC-T party findings that have resulted in Morgan Tsvangirai’s uncle relation Jaison Matewu, being probed for allegedly paying bribes in order to obtain parliamentary candidacy in Marondera Urban.
Mr Biti who during a UK meeting in 2009 in a yorky attack, assaulted former diasporan, Jaison Matewu with a bunch of eggs at a party function, this week told ZimEye that he is ‘not surprised’ that the Tsvangirai family man is now being investigated on corruption charges.

“I landed Matewu with half a dozen of eggs on his face,” he said, followed by a chuckle”
Biti who was immediately reported to UK police for the incident which he at first denied, said:

“We told them long before that these guys are corrupt …and that’s the reason why we refused to have …and Moyo came in and imposed an illegal structure. And that’s why we welcome the current amendment because it gives branches (autonomy),” the man who is the chairman of the MDC’s South End On Sea branch added.
Jaison Matewu who is on record saying of Tsvangirai that he spent his childhood life and went to primary school together with Tsvangirai in Buhera, was blasted by the party’s Organising Secretary, Nelson Chamisa.
“Who is this Matewu that people are complaining about? Does anyone know his political background or the status of his party membership?” asked Chamisa.

In order to secure parliamentary candidacy, Matewu is alleged to have bought designer suits for elected councilors at the local authority, donated a T-35 truck to Denga, dished out cash and furniture to leaders, and purchased a residential stand in Marondera for a former top official – among other allegations.

One of the organisers of the festival, who declined to be named, said he had kept in touch with Trelawny who was being “treated well”.

Foreign journalists intending to work in Zimbabwe must seek permission from the Information Ministry prior to entering the country under tough media laws.

Harare(ZimEye)-The visiting UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Friday requested that Western countries should suspend sanctions on Zimbabwe and its President Robert Mugabe in order to give the country a chance to implement reforms.
Concluding her five day visit, Pillay said sanctions should be suspended until election time.
“I would urge those countries that are currently applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, at least until the conduct of the elections and related reforms are clear,” she stated.
Pillay said in full:
“Finally, I would like to turn to a highly controversial issue that has come up again and again during my visit here, namely the various limited sanctions regimes that some countries have imposed on Zimbabwe over the past decade or so. The continuation of sanctions is now opposed by all three parties that make up the Inclusive Government, and I have yet to hear a single Zimbabwean inside the country say they definitely think sanctions should continue. The reason for this is a perception that sanctions, which were targeted at various named individuals and companies, are in fact having a wider impact on the general population. While it is difficult to disentangle the specific causes of Zimbabwe’s major social and economic ills, there seems little doubt that the existence of the sanctions regimes has, at the very least, acted as a serious disincentive to overseas banks and investors. It is also likely that the stigma of sanctions has limited certain imports and exports. Taken together, these and other unintended side-effects will in turn inevitably have had a negative impact on the economy at large, with possibly quite serious ramifications for the country’s poorest and most vulnerable populations who have also had to cope with the political instability and violence as well as a severe drought.
“The issues relating to the individuals targeted by the sanctions will I hope – assuming there is sufficient evidence – one day be sorted out in a court of law, which is the proper place to deal with serious crimes. In the meantime, I would urge those countries that are currently applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, at least until the conduct and outcome of the elections and related reforms are clear.”
Pillay who is the highest ranking UN official to visit the country to date, stated that dispite her  five day visit, camped in the capital, she would not be drawn into making many conclusions since all she saw of Zimbabwe was just the capital city Harare.
Read more on Pillay’s closing speech . (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
 

Manchester(ZimEye)A woman placed in a council flat in Manchester claims a Ghost she ‘found’ in the house is still inside months after she reported the matter.
The woman LS(REAL NAME WITHELD) who says Manchester Council’s Northwards Housing company told her “what you see is what you get”,  told ZimEye Tuesday afternoon:
“…nothing has changed ever since February. Its still the same,” she said.

The house is managed by the Manchester Council company who did not deny the complaints which included a previous tenant’s antiques left at the property for several weeks, only being removed following a ZimEye undercover investigation in February.
LS  aged 33, is a single mum of one who has been living at the property for the past five months and told ZimEye of her terror at the alleged “Ghost”:
“I am having sleepless nights with my child. I can’t even sleep,” she said.

LS claimed that the company’s housing officer however gave two conflicting accounts, one that stated that the previous tenant lived since 1986, and another that the same tenant lived for only three years.
ZimEye editors were left in stitches after we were told people had been busy chasing the “Ghost” around the house on the Wednesday afternoon in February when we began our investigations.
“…(We)are here busy chasing the chipoko(ghost)”, one woman who had been assisting LS said. “Its here, its busy breaking things and the council is saying there is nothing they can do,” she said. (UK, ZimEye)

The expelled former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema heads for the United Kingdom to the second city of Birmingham where he is scheduled to speak on the Africa Liberation Day, a function celebrated worldwide since 1963.
The function is to be held on Saturday the 3rd June.
Speakers include pan Africanists: the historian Cecil Gutzmore, Sarudzayi Barnes, Anna Magowa, Makola Libango, lawyer and community organiser Afryea Adofo, and Julius Malema himself.
Scores of Zimbabweans and as well as other exiled Africans are expected to attend the meeting whose theme and motivation is: “an occasion when African people worldwide focus on the fight for total liberation and self determination”
More to follow
Poster:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay on Tuesday met Zimbabwe’s NGO Forum organisation together with prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after meetings with the President of the Senate and local human rights organisations.
Tsvangirai met with Pillay, a day after President Robert Mugabe’s party, in a fragile three-year coalition government, insisted to the envoy there was no state-sponsored violence in the country.
Tsvangirai, who was a victim of torture himself said that he hoped the upcoming elections will be “free and fair and away from violence.” Pillay said she had raised many “areas of concern” on violence with Tsvangirai.
On Monday the civil society in the country had raised concern over the government’s change of the top UN diplomat’s schedule where it had excluded the CSOs coalition preferring to hire some Zanu (PF) affiliated individuals and organizations including the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) a black empowerment group which led a campaign for the indigenization of foreign owned companies, Chris Mutangadura a chief law officer in the Attorney general’s office who has been used by the state to prosecute most human rights defenders and perceived Zanu (PF) critics in the country and Goodson Nguni, a known Zanu (PF) activist.
The Civil Service Community which stood by their declaration had cowed not to attend Pillay’s meeting at Parliament as rescheduled by the government left the UN Human Rights boss without an option but to see the CSOs separately from the ‘stage managed’ one.
Addressing journalists after their meeting, the Director of NGO Forum Abel Chikomo said they had met and presented their side of the human rights situation in the country which the government ignored.
“The government was welcome if they wanted to sit in and listen to what we were saying to the high commissioner, because these are the things that we tell them every day, the only thing is that government has never cared to listen at list to do anything about what we tell them, in fact we were expecting that Mr Mangota was going to sit in the meeting, especially Mr Mangota because he attempted to disrupt our meeting with the high commissioner,” said Chikomo.
Meanwhile police are out in full force pursuing the high profile human rights defender Chikomo fir charges not yet known to him, he told journalists soon after their meeting with the United Nations’ Pillay at the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Offices in Harare. Chikomo said he had no idea why the police had been to his offices looking for him.

Harare(ZimEye)The government of Zimbabwe through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice David Mangota has reportedly suppressed the interaction between the visiting UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the local civil service organizations a move viewed as intended to stage manage the High Commissioner’s tour.
Addressing a joint press conference on Monday hosted by the Zimbabwe lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) endorsed by 37 local CSOs Abel Chikomo who read the statement on behalf of the NGO Forum claimed Mangota had instead hired some unknown human rights activists including a top human rights abuser the AAG and Zanu (PF) activist Goodson Nguni to stand as the CSOs in place of ‘the genuine ones’.
“The permanent secretary, David Mangota, ……….unilaterally changed the venue of the meeting, moving it to Parliament building and had invited several other ‘organisations’ that are not known to be doing any work on human rights in Zimbabwe,” said chikomo.
The CSOs said the actions of the government were a clear indication that they are the gross human rights abusers as evidenced by the fact that they have denied the CSOs just a thirty minute meeting with the High Commissioner out of her five day visit.
“Minister Chinamasa is already on record saying the government has nothing to hide – so why are they choosing to suppress interaction between Madam Pillay and credible and trusted CSOs who have been working on the ground for decades? We today are here to make it clear that genuine CSOs will not be commandeered by government to a stage-managed civil society meeting with the High Commissioner which is organised by the government; neither will we legitimise a fraudulent exercise meant to give the UN human rights chief a superficial picture of our country’s human rights situation,” said the NGO forum.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Director Irene Petras said it was not up to government to say there were no human rights abuses but rather to the people who bear the brunt of the government’s abuses and that the actions of the government spoke volumes.
“It is very clear for every logical Zimbabwean who can read and write that the government is (or) could be hiding something. So let the people make their own conclusion on whether there are human rights abuses or not,” said Petras.
Outspoken constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku said the CSOs that had been invited by government to the meeting where just an extension of the state which stands accused of the abuses on its own people.
“These are just an extension of the state now pretending to be involved in Human Rights issues who want to abuse the visit by the High Commissioner; this is how naïve they are,” said Madhuku.
Meanwhile the NGO Forum indicated their intention to boycott the upcoming meeting saying it would not endorse and legitimize tomorrow’s meeting between Pillay and the Zanu (PF)’s purported CSOs by attending it adding that they would only show up at the originally agreed venue.
The NGO Forum said they had already prepared a report they handed to the High Commissioner directly. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye)Claims that president Robert Mugabe has died are not true, ZimEye is reliably told.
Many of our valued readers both telephoned and emailed our editors inquiring about the President’s condition after known CIO operatives claimed that Mugabe died in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“…CIO agent (name witheld) told me that the president Robert G Mugabe has passed away today. How far true is this?” inquired a reader only identified as Edwin.
Three other readers with connections to President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party claimed they had heard the exact same rumour from named sources and telephoning our editors were seeking to know the truth.
But ZANU PF party spokesman Rugare Gumbo told ZimEye on Saturday that there was no truth in the claims.

“Which president? Ah where did you get that from?,” he said before hanging the phone saying we should call back in a few minutes after checking if there was any credibility to the reports.
“There is nothing like that,” Mr Gumbo later repeated to our reporter after checking with his party.
ZimEye also confirmed with several other top government sources Saturday afternoon who reported to be equally shocked at the inquiry.
On Wednesday a fit Robert Mugabe attended and chaired a 7 hour long politburo meeting, completely nullifying all claims on his health.
President Robert Mugabe’s health became a major subject of high media speculation following leaked US cables reported Reserve bank govenor Gideon Gono allegedly stating that Mugabe would not live beyond the year 2013 due to a long illness. Last month a rogue UK website following the rumours, mischievously   constructed a series of false incidents  claiming that Mugabe had fallen into a coma , and in the process  outrageously misleading  international newspapers on the matter.(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

BULAWAYO (ZimEye) – LOCAL Government Minister Ignatius Chombo’s probe team to investigate Gwanda Mayor Lionel De Necker is set to receive a staggering $20 000 each per week at a time when the council is battling financial problems.
Chombo, last month appointed a four member team to investigate suspended mayor, De Necker who was sacked for defying a directive on the appointment of chamber secretary Priscilla Nkala.
Chombo’s four team investigation team is set to receive $80 000 after the one week probe on the already suspended Mayor, meaning each official will get a cool $20 000 just after five days work.
Sources said the team is based in Bulawayo and commutes to Gwanda—120 km South of the country’s second largest city.

But Gwanda council is resisting Chombo probe team’s rich pickings. However, a storm is brewing in Gwanda after a $3 000 was given to the probe team by the town clerk Gilbert Mlilo without consent from councilors.
Gwanda deputy mayor Thoko Sibanda, confirmed that the municipality was prejudiced of $3 000.
“We did not stop them from doing their investigations but we came out clean and told them that we did not have the money,” Sibanda said.
But Mlilo insisted that he was empowered by the Urban Councils Act to approve cash payments without consulting councilors.
“The Urban Councils Act provides that when there is an investigation team sent by the minister, the costs are met by the council, council had said it did not have the money because we are currently in arrears in terms of payments of salaries,” he said.
(Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)A UK nurse has been allowed to continue working despite having purchased and used a fake passport, a crime she was convicted of in 2009.
The nurse, Bridget Khumalo, will as of May continue practicing as a nurse with full rights since she demonstrated remorse for her actions, and maintainted a good record at work.
Ms Khumalo, a qualified nurse who has been in the United Kingdom for 15 years struggled to survive in the country after a lawyer she had hired was struck off by national regulators after which time her original Home Office application became jeopardised. She then struggled to obtain work and as a result ended up buying a fake passport to use for the purpose of working, before being investigated at work and convicted for the crime barely a year later.
She did not deny knowing that she had bought a fake passport and submitted that she only chose to utilise it in order to support her children in the UK including her dying mother and a school going teenage brother in Zimbabwe.
However, after accpeting her conviction, Bridget Khumalo did not repeat the crime and later obtained indefinitie leave to remain status. She was on Tuesday 1st May taken before the local nursing regulatory panel for charges of misconduct relating to the fake passport matter.
But “throughout the hearing Ms Khumalo … expressed genuine regret and has apologised for her actions,” the panel ruled in its determination.”
The determination which only gave Ms Khumalo a caution order, read in part:
“The panel is satisfied that there has been no repetition of the misconduct. The panel has seen a reference and a testimonial to the effect that Ms Khumalo is a respected and dedicated nurse.
“The panel has in mind the case of Parkinson v Nursing and Midwifery Council [2010].
“In that case Mr Justice Mitting indicated that for a nurse to avoid a striking off in a dishonesty case, she must come before a panel and express remorse and realisation that the conduct criticised was dishonest and give an undertaking that there will be no repetition in order to convince the panel into giving a more lenient sanction. The panel finds that Ms Khumalo has demonstrated these features before it. The panel additionally finds that Ms Khumalo demonstrates most of the factors indicated in the Indicative Sanctions Guidance for a caution order. The panel finds that there are strong significant mitigating features in this case.
“Ms Khumalo has been a registered nurse since 2006. There have been no previous concerns noted against her by an employer or any other NMC panel.
“In light of this, the panel has determined that it is more advantageous and in the public interest that Ms Khumalo a skilled and valued practitioner, should remain in practice.
“The panel is satisfied that Ms Khumalo has demonstrated insight into her failings which has been expressed in her evidence before it. “In particular, the panel considered that Ms Khumalo has reflected upon her actions and has learnt an appropriate lesson and that the conduct that led to the conviction would not be repeated by her in the future. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

The United States president Barack Obama is this year replacing the current ambassador to Harare, Charles Ray who now passes the button to a former professional theatre producer, David Bruce Wharton at the end of the year 2012.
Obama’s reappointment was communicated in a cable released on the 11th May 2012. Although US envoys are generally allocated a minimum 3 years in each term, their tenure can continue into the 6th year, but Ray who worked since December 2009, will be leaving by the end of 2012.
During his tenure, the outgoing envoy, Ray became the subject of high media speculation following several leaked confidential US cables which seemed to reveal among others controversial meetings with prominent people in Zimbabwe’s ZANU PF controlled government who included Vice President Joice ‘Teurai Ropa’ Mujuru, and Reserve Bank govenor Gideon Gono.
Ray also leaves the embassy as the only US envoy to have his email account hacked following which incident he threatened to send the offender to a very ‘dark place’.
He however also made history by becoming the first foreign envoy to personally launch onto and utilise the social networking website, Facebook where he constantly engaged the local youth, something no other ambassador in Harare did.

His term ends in December 2012 and it was not clear if and or where he will be reassigned.
The incoming ambassador David Bruce Wharton(pictured), is a former theatre producer who joined the Foreign Service in 1985 and has been posted abroad in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Guatemala, and served in Washington, DC from 1992 to 1995. He has received Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency.
Wharton was born in Basel, Switzerland, and enjoyed a cross-cultural childhood with time spent in both Europe and Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin and speaks Spanish and German. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Wharton worked in professional theater in the Washington, DC area. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

ITS A BOY! – Controversy-ridden preacher Admire Kasingakore(Kasi) has been blessed with a whooping baby boy.

Addy Kasi Junior, was born Saturday night at the eleventh hour – 2305Hours.
Kasi’s wife Gospel songbird, Ivy Kombo, burst into joy and laughter soon after receiving her baby prince.
The birth of Addy junior will bring Pastor Kasi into the line of the historical King David who 2900 years ago bedded someone’s wife and later after marrying the same woman and following God’s forgiveness was blessed with the next future King known as the wise Solomon. The Kasis sprung into controversy after they successfully kept underground a secret love affair for close to a decade as rumours went to and fro.
While he was still married to his former wife, Admire Kasi housed Ivy in a flat a few hundred yards from president Robert Mugabe’s state house residence.
Their affair was not made public until in 2009 when the preacher finally admitted the truth.
(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

HARARE(ZimEye)Zimbabwe’s Prime minister Dr Morgan Tsvangirai has called for the dismissal of Zanu (PF)’s Political Commissar Webster Shamu labeling him an impediment to the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement.
Addressing journalists who gathered in Kuwadzana on the World Press freedom Day celebrations organized by Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) on 3 May, Tsvangirai said the former radio disk jockey had become a liability for the country because of his refusal to reform the media environment.
“This man called Shamu happens to be Zanu (PF) political commissar at the same time being the Minister of information who in turn is refusing to implement media reforms as stated in the GPA. If such a man was coming from my party I would have sacked him long ago. The president should simply fire such a man,” said Tsvangirai.
The ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa who is also the legislator for Kuwadzana also made a jocular remark echoeing Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s sentiments.
“The President should fire Shamu just as the prime minister has said. I know the President normally is eager to take advice from the Prime Minister,” said the young Minister Chamisa.

Addressing another gathering at a Press Freedom Day organized by the statutory board, Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) led by media hangman Tafataona Mahoso the Information Minister Webster Shamu said government had no option but to intervene in the operations of the media as the practitioners continue to do their job irresponsibly.
“If the last five years of change do not show the media industry and the journalism profession to have fulfilled their promises, then the sovereign people of Zimbabwe have no option but to intervene and protect themselves through instruments of the state, that is to revert to the regulatory regime of 2001-2007,” said Shamu.
Meanwhile Shamu’s deputy Murisi Zwizwai (MDC-T) has also decried his boss’s lack of commitment adding that he does not see the difference between the party and Zanu (PF).
Zimbabwean media practitioners are currently working under a very repressed media environment with several unfounded lawsuits having been filed against journalists like Nqaba Matshazi, Nevanji Madanhire and Nqolisani Ncube among others being latest victims of defamation charges.(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

LONDON(ZimEye)The disgraced robber who threatened a shop keeper using a knife with his face covered in underwear, Tazviona Maluge Bhebe, started a fire from his prison cell, ZimEye can reveal.
ZimEye can also reveal that Bhebe has for years been making a public claim that he is a UK trained nurse who left his ‘nursing career’ shortly before being imprisoned for another knife crime incident in 2006.
“I was a mental heath nurse”, the violent man who may have practised using a false identity told friends.
The Zimbabwean man, has a history of grievous bodily harm and for years held claim that he was struck off the nursing register shortly after a mental health patient died in his care.
“I was struck off the register when a patient died, and they accused me of being negligent”, Bhebe said.
An investigation by ZimEye has however shown that Bhebe’s name has not been on the official national nursing register before or after his 2006 crime and it was not clear at the time of writing if Bhebe actually practiced without being detected by authorities; Many Zimbabweans have been caught in recent years working in nursing while using false identities, and in April 2012 alone, at least three Zimbabweans were struck off the register for using false identities.
Apart from his nursing claim, sources have told ZimEye that Bhebe recently converted to Islam following his 2006 knife crime incident. ‘He converted to Islam after he left nursing’ another source said.
In 2006, Bhebe was taken into police custody after he stabbed a fellow passenger on a local bus. He was later convicted at Croydon Crown court.

Ignited a fire in prison
In November 2011 when he was due to be released from HMP High Down in Surrey, following a licence recall, Bhebe attempted to burn down his prison cell. His prison cell in House Block 5 was almost burnt to a crisp had it not been for alert prison workers who entered in to stop the fire which he ignited using a light bulb. After investigations it was suspected that he had gone into a rage shortly after being advised that he had incorrectly filled in his commnity care grant form.
Two months following his release, Bhebe then attempted to rob a shop keeper shortly before being caught. With almost every media house in the world reporting the story of his robbery, Bhebe took the art to a whole new level as he attempted to rob his local cornershop with only a pair of his own underwear over his head as a disguise. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

[flagallery gid=40 name=”Gallery”]

Nigerian church leader also known as Prophet TB Joshua, is truly headed for Zimbabwe at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s official invitation, it has emerged.
The PM’s party had earlier reported the contrary claiming that it was not involved in the Nigerian ‘prophet’s’ visit stating rather that TB Joshua had been invited by a team of Harare based pastors instead.
But reports coming out of Harare reveal that Joshua may be landing in Harare in the upcoming weeks of May, 2012 at a date to be soon announced.
“The world-famous prophet is due in Harare in May for prayer meetings at the invitation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,” the Tsvangirai aligned Daily News paper reported yesterday.
A senior MDC official also told friends on social networking website Facebook that they were highly expecting TB Joshua’s visit.
MDC officials are reportedly hoping that TB Joshua will bestow a favourable magic charm or spell that will see the end of president Robert Mugabe’s rule and control over the southern African nation which has seen the 88 year old ruler being backed and supported by surrounding nations in the regional SADC and African Union authorities.
While the Prime Minister’s office could not be reached for comment at the time of writing, senior influencial leaders in the country had already voiced resistance for TB Joshua with spin doctor Proffesor Jonathan Moyo labelling him a false prophet and one who made a prediction rather than a prophecy on Mutharika’s death.
A string of world shaking events are however ascribed to TB Joshua which include the recent death of Malawi’s president Bingu Wa Mutharika.
ZimEye contributor, Chisulo Chizumo, has attempted to detail some of Joshua’s ascribed predictions as:
ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT’S DEATH:
On Sunday 29th June 2008, Joshua said, “Pray for one of your leaders that will be rushed out of the country… I see the body being rushed out in order to save this soul. I’m seeing a flag. Is it flying down?” On Tuesday 1st July 2008, Former Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa was rushed to a hospital in Paris, France where he died after suffering a stroke.
NEWS REPORT: Guardian 


INGRID BETANCOURT’S RELEASE:
In the same service on Sunday 29th June 2008, he said, “I’m seeing a hero, famous and popular… being saved – suddenly was saved from death. Let us pray on Tuesday and Thursday – let’s capture Wednesday…”. Three days later on Wednesday 2nd July 2008, the former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was rescued after 6 years of captivity in the Colombian jungle.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/32310691
NEWS REPORT: LA Times 
 
PAKISTAN PRESIDENT RESIGNS
On Sunday, 4th May, 2008, T.B. Joshua prophesied concerning the nation of Pakistan. This was a follow up to the call for prayer he made on March 23, 2008 for the same nation. “I’m looking at the signature. a kind of signature – for somebody to sign and say, Hey, I’m resigning. What is the meaning of that?” On Monday 18th August 2008, in confirmation of the prophecy, President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation as the President of the nation, Pakistan.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_EO-DTwHmo
NEWS REPORT: LA Times
 
GHANAIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2008
When the Ghanaian presidential elections were to be held in December 2008, Prophet T.B. Joshua prophesied on 26th October 2008, “We are praying for the nation Ghana… I see them recounting and re-voting again…a situation where we vote here and they say they must recount it, they must vote it again…” On 3rd January 2009, Professor John Evans Atta Mills was announced the winner after a vote which needed to be held three times before a president could be determined. Atta Mills came to The SCOAN following his inauguration to testify that Joshua had told him specific details of his three-round victory, culminating in his victory in January.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCXpzsjqLyY, http://vimeo.com/32311927
NEWS REPORT: Modern Ghana 


PLANE CRASH IN NEW YORK:
On Sunday 18th January 2009, Joshua gave a call to pray on the day of Friday, “Open your lips and pray for a nation ‘NY’. ‘NY’ is part of that country. Pray for God’s protection…” Later in the service, he continued, “February 13 – we should pray for the whole world.” On February 13th 2009, a Continental Airlines plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 passengers on board and one person in the home. It was a Friday.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/32312230
NEWS REPORT: NY Times 
 
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT’S SUICIDE:
On Sunday 26th April 2009, Joshua said, “On Saturday, somebody is being rushed to the hospital but from that hospital, he could not come back home.” He referred to the individual concerned as someone who “affects the world,” a person that mattered in society. On Saturday 23rd May 2009, former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead after tragically throwing himself off a mountain.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVk5Byxojk&
NEWS REPORT: CNN 
 
JUPITER
On Sunday the 24th May 2009, Prophet T.B. Joshua revealed that he was seeing “something that looks – mystery. People have never seen. In appearance, it’s looking small. But not in your country here, where ordinarily you cannot reach.” On 23rd July 2009 an amateur astronomer in Australia discovered an impact scar on planet Jupiter. It appeared very small on the cameras but in fact was the same diameter as planet Earth. This discovery caused a stir in the global scientific community.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/32316331
NEWS REPORT: Scientific American
 
MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH:
On Sunday 4^th January 2009, Joshua spoke about a great star about to embark on a journey of no return. “I’m seeing a great star. In his own area, he’s famous – he’s known everywhere. Great – too great… I see something will begin to happen to that star which may likely end in him going on the journey of no return.” Just over a month later on Sunday 22^nd February 2009, Joshua continued to call for prayer for the individual in question, stating that the star was “too young to leave your midst.” On Thursday 25^th June 2009, Michael Jackson, the international music icon and most famous pop star of modern times, died following a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, California. The world was stunned by his passing at the early age of 50.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/31601562
NEWS REPORT: BBC 
 
BERLUSCONI ATTACK:
On Sunday 13th December 2009, T.B. Joshua said, “I see an attempt on one of the presidents of one of the great nations…Pray for protection. I see a narrow escape – very narrow, too narrow. But the whole thing failed.” Merely hours later, on that same evening, an attempt was made on Italian President Silvio Berlusconi’s life when he was assaulted with a metallic object at a campaign rally in Milan. He narrowly escaped with minor injuries.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/32713680
NEWS REPORT: CNN 
 
POLISH PLANE CRASH:
On Sunday 21st March 2010, Joshua prophesied about an impending air disaster, “I was in a vision and I saw where a balloon was full of people. It just lost control in the air… I’m seeing people that matter, government officials, they were inside the balloon. They are innocent souls…” The following week on Sunday 28th March, he further explained that he saw a flag being brought down with two colours, one of which was white. On Saturday 10th April, 2010, Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, the First Lady, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chairman of The Bank of Poland and many other prominent Polish Government Ministers were killed when their plane crashed in Russia. In an incident described as the most horrific in the nation’s history since World War II, the white and red Polish flag was lowered in honour of the fallen.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKk2jlHmMfQ
NEWS REPORT: NY Times 
 
NIGERIAN ELECTIONS PUSHED FORWARD:
On August 1, 2010, Prophet T.B. Joshua prophesied concerning the nation of Nigeria and their upcoming elections. “I’m hearing the word, extension. It has to do with this country. I’m hearing, extension for accountability.” When the prophecy was given, many scoffed at the notion, stating that constitutionally it was not permissible. Joshua later commented on the issue, “When they see what is going to happen, they would know the constitution would permit.” In confirmation of the prophet’s words, the much anticipated 2011 Nigerian parliamentary elections were pushed forward not once but three times due to circumstances beyond their control.
VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/33397530
NEWS REPORT: BBC
 
IVORY COAST PRESIDENT GBAGBO 2010
Joshua is also said to have prophesied concerning the disgraced former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, long before the violent election-related crises erupted in November 2010. Joshua declared that Gbagbo should cede power in the upcoming elections with his counterpart Allassane Outtara, saying it was his time to leave office. Gbagbo sent emissaries to The SCOAN to request for prayers upon which Joshua requested his presence to tell him the mind of God. Unwilling to respond to or accept the prophecy, Gbagbo took matters into his own hands and dissolved his cabinet. After a six month struggle for power which resulted in hundreds of lives lost, Gbagbo was eventually arrested and is now to be tried by the International Criminal Court.
NEWS REPORT: Guardian 
 
NIGERIA VS GUINEA AFCON QUALIFIER 2011
Joshua’s revelations have not always been unchangeable as in the case of when he spoke of Nigeria’s qualifier for the African Cup of Nations against Guinea on 8th October 2011. The previous Sunday, 2nd October, he had said that: “God showed me the game between Nigeria and Guinea but what I saw was not favourable” and that “any team that scores first will take the day”. He said however that it was possible to change the outcome if the team played as if everything depended on them and prayed as if everything depended on God. The team however did not heed the advice. The match ended 2:2 – with Guinea scoring the first goal and then dramatically equalising in the dying seconds, sending Nigeria out of AFCON 2012 for the first time in 25 years.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWgnXOzG0R8
NEWS REPORT: Goal 
 
ZAMBIA AFCON 2012
Zambia’s smooth journey through AFCON 2012 shocked many, as they had not reached the final stages of the tournament for over 20 years but what was most shocking was when they met Ivory Coast, the ‘big guns’, in the final and emerged victorious as underdogs. Less than one hour before the opening of the match, Prophet Joshua in his service had said: “Yes, this blessing is for a country you are not expecting; this victory is for a country you are not expecting…God wants to make them happy because of the victims of what happened to them in the past.” Zambia emerged victorious on the same soil where they had tragically lost their entire national team, 19 years earlier in a fatal plane crash.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC7giIJT0pw
NEWS REPORT: MG

London(ZimEye)Zimbabwe is not part of a group former British colonies whose classified colonial crime record files began to be opened in April this year.
The country previously known as Rhodesia, led by the rebel government of Ian Smith, is excluded from the list which covers over a long list of 37 various countries across the world whose archives were collected in the 1960s, strictly classified, and shipped to the UK.
Thousands of the documents detail some of the most shameful acts and crimes committed during the final years of the British empire and were systematically destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of post-independence governments, an official review concluded, according to the UK paper the Guardian. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds around 8,800 files, according to other reports.
“Those papers that survived the purge were flown discreetly to Britain where they were hidden for 50 years in a secret Foreign Office archive, beyond the reach of historians and members of the public, and in breach of legal obligations for them to be transferred into the public domain,” the paper wrote.
The records received the spotlight when Kenyan victims of the Mau Mau conflict successfully took the British government to court for crimes committed in the 1960s.
But Zimbabwean (Rhodesian) records may have been excluded as the former Ian Smith regime in 1965 rebelled against the British government, reorganised itself, and continued for more than 14 years before finally succumbing to pressure to hand back power back to Britain.
The countries named whose records began to be available from April are:Aden (and protectorates), Anguilla, Bahamas, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Cameroons, Ceylon, Cyprus, Fiji, Gambia, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Gold Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaya, Malta, Mauritius, New Hebrides, Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Palestine, Sarawak, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanganyika, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Uganda, West Indies Federation, Western Pacific High Commission and Zanzibar.
Unconfirmed reports claim that Rhodesia’s records were destroyed shortly before independence in 1980, during the ceasefire period which stretched from 1979 to 1980. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye) Another Zimbabwean nurse has been struck off the register here after being found guilty of forgery and identity deception.
Ms Heather Tafara Chiwerera has become the sixth Zimbabwean to be struck off in April 2012 alone.
Her charges are that she forged a false Home Office seal onto her passport which claimed she had indefinite leave to remain in the UK, which she the used to obtain a nursing bursary.
From the bursary, Chiwerera received more than 50,000 of British government funds.
” The count regarding false identity related to Ms Chiwerera having in her possession a Home Office letter which recorded that she had been granted indefinite leave to remain, which was false. Further counts relating to false identity related to documents supporting a second application for the NHS bursary and recording in the same way that Ms Chiwerera had indefinite leave to remain, which claim was, again, false,” the NMC ruling staes in part.
 She was sentenced to 10 months in prison which conviuction has led to her being struck off.

London(ZimEye)Some Zimbabweans were on Wednesday seen making a positive impact on the democratisation of the city of London.
During the just ended London Citizens Mayor’s election debate held at the heart of the city on Wednesday night, a number of Zimbabweans were seen at the function occupying strategic positions.
At the centre of a panel of senior organising committee members who thrust aspiring mayoral candidates to their defence was Active Horizons employee, Cynthia Masiyiwa. There were many other Zimbos seen stationed at various strategic roles for the meeting.
At the entrance was seen senior MDC official Jeff Sango who was the main first port of contact for all attendants, and also mother to modelling celebrity Sibo Bero, Linda Bero sitting in the terraces.
After 30 minutes of the meeting commencing, the mayoral candidates were drilled until they were submerged into sobreness after people had testified of their frustrations with one woman rubbishing the mayor for the way her employers were getting away with paying her a paltry £3 per hour for her hotel job, where customers reportedly pay a lumpsome £700 per night. Boris John son, Ken Livignstone, and Jenny Jones’ faces turned pale.
With a number of young women doing chores such as sweeping, serving, and ushering, one Zim man Mr Emmanuel Gotora was seen at the prestigious podium area as he singularly conferred awards to Londoners voted best citizens of the city. But Gotora who rubbed shoulders with former London mayors, was later also seen lifting heavy container boxes with his own bare hands at the end of function.

Concluding the function was Active Horizons employee Cynthia Masiyiwa, who works on London’s streets, pulling gangsters and roudy youths from street-life into workplaces, and who at the end led the more than 2500 attendants in the slogan: ‘Londoners Together We Can!’
As delegates left the building, it was not clear who is going to win the 3 May election for the soul of the capital city of the world – London
(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye) [In the pic above, Cynthia Masiyiwa prepares to end the meeting.]

London(ZimEye)The director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, McDonald Lewanika, has blasted Zimbabwean politicians labeling them mere talking politicians who do very little listening.
Speaking after the just ended London Mayoral Accountability Assembly 2012, Lewanika said that he saw first hand a demonstration of how local citizens can have real power over their cities. During the assembly, mayoral candidates were drilled and put to task on what they are able to offer to London residents.

“I Have had a wonderful 5 weeks working with these guys, and saw first hand on the 25th of April at the London Citizens Mayoral Assembly, not just how powerful this organisation is, but how powerful they have made the Citizens of London.
“Where I am from, politicians do too much talking and very little listening,” Lewanika said.
As he described his admiration for London’s citizen activism, he graphically detailed how impressive he found the assembly to be:
“For 3 to 4 hours, the candidates for Mayor in London, all four of them including the incumbent), came to be with 2500 citizens and listened. After that they had 4 minutes each to respond to the peoples agenda and peoples issues, 2-3 minutes of cross examination and just 2 minutes to state why they should be elected Mayor of London.
“The testimonies were touching, from a mother [whose son was killed] because of unsafe streets, asking for a safer London, to a Chamber maid, who cleans rooms at the Hilton Hotel, costing as much as 700 pounds a night and yet get paid less than 3 pounds from it, and a testimony from a kid not more than 10 of how she and her brother have had to live with dangerous dampness conditions in her home.
“Their Campaigns are centered on real issues that impact people on a daily basis; their method is predicated on relationships amongst members of the community, and their actions targeted on those with the power to make the requisite changes. They don’t always win, but based on what I have seen, they should…but even when they don’t, they never fail to bring the politicians to at the very least be aware of the issues and at best to Account,” he said. (ZimEye, UK)
 

By Staff Reporter| PRIME MINISTER Morgan Tsvangirai plunged into controversy on Friday night when he engaged to marry the widow of a senior ranking military officer, Elizabeth Macheka.

The engagement ceremony was conducted on Friday night at the LaFarrranatta Restaurant along Mutoko Road. His engagement comes barely six months after he stopped marriage proceedings for another lady, Lorcadia Karimatsenga Tembo.

Loud romantic music could be heard in the background on Friday night as Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka told ZimEye.com: “Yes it is correct; I can confirm that the Prime Minister has engaged with his loved one. I am still at the function right now”, he said.

Tsvangirai has been widowed since his wife and mother of his six children, Susan, died in a car crash in March 2009.
Tsvangirai may have disappointed his late wife’s younger sister who was given to be his wife in replacement of his children’s mother, according to African culture, party members said on Friday night.

Elizabeth owns an upmarket beauty salon in Harare and her first husband, Mabasa Simba Guma, died in a car crash 10 years ago. His funeral was published on the front page of the state run Herald newspaper.
Social networking websites were ablaze with the story as people talked about Macheka once married to Airforce Wing Commander Mabasa Simba Guma, who has a record of leading the violent mass raiding of white owned farms in Chiredzi between 2000 and 2002. Mabasa Guma was a ruthless farm invader who was promoted to a senior military post as a reward for his farm invasions in the eastern town of Chegutu, something the MDC-T leader Tsvangirai may have paid a blind eye to, an army officer who deputised Guma told ZimEye.com.

ZimEye can also reveal that Ms Macheka is daughter to the powerful former ZANU PF mayor for Chitungwiza, Joseph Macheka.
Her name became the subject of public discussions late last year after Tsvangirai had customarily married another woman Lorcadia Tembo.

Tsvangirai sent a delegation to Lorcadia Karimatsenga Tembo’s home on November 18 last year to request for her hand in marriage and pay lobola. But he soon terminated the relationship a few days later, stating: “I sent a delegation to the Karimatsenga family homestead to perform traditional and cultural rites to formalise this relationship.

“I have become a spectator in this relationship and things are happening too fast, on camera and without my knowledge. This has led me to conclude that there is a greater and thicker plot around this issue which has undermined my confidence in this relationship,” he said.

– CONTROVERSY –
Controversy however surrounds Ms Macheka’s conduct as friends of Guma claimed that she was no longer living with her former husband at the time of his death.

“The prime minister should have known and it is public knowledge that Elizabeth Guma was already living away from her husband at the time of his death”, two air force officers told ZimEye. “I don’t know maybe people change over time,” one of the ex-officers who requested not to be named, said.(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)Up to five Zimbabwean practicing nurses have been banned forever from the nursing profession in April 2012 so far, ZimEye can reveal.
The shocking figures show Zimbabwe to represent more than 21% of the total number of striking off orders on the nursing register in the United Kingdom.
The five nurses are: Munyaradzi Mazarura, Pauline Zvorwadza, Yvonne Tapuwa Tausa, Mavis Zvorwadza, and Nonhlanhla Nkomo.
One of the nurses was reported to have shown no remorse for her ‘offences’.
None of the four Zimbabwean nurses attended their respective hearing sessions and they were neither represented by a Solicitor.

Munyaradzi Mazarura was banned from the profession after being found guilty of possessing identity documents not his own while Mavis and Pauline ZVORWADZA, were found guilty of forgery, deception, and obtaining out a money transfer by
deception. Yvonne Tapuwa Tausa, like the aforementioned, was also charged for financial dishonesty having reportedly obtained a bursary by deception. Nonhlanhla Nkomo (reportedly Zimbabwean) had a string of three suspension orders in one year alone and was banned after failing to apply for a permit renewal, according to records.
The cumulative statistics of Zimbabweans banned from the profession was not clear at the time of writing.
Last year a Doncaster based Zimbabwean man, Rodney Gwamba fell from grace after being found guilty of growing a Mbanje (Cannabis) crop at his house where he reportedly also stole an electricity connection to use for his farm. (UK, ZimEye)

In what drew a fresh scare of another disease outbreak, most suburbs in Harare went without water on Thursday.
Fears of Cholera and Typhoid re re-ignited on Thursday after many Harare residents went for a whole day with a fresh water supply to their houses.
Eastlea, Highlands, Greendale, Derbyshire, Budiriro, Glen View, Highfield, Borrowdale, Shortson, Msasa Park were seen without water supply to their taps.

Two residents in Msasa Park told ZimEye their families had gone “throughout the day without a bath due to the crisis.”
A protest statement by the Harare Residents Association stated:
“Most suburbs in Harare have no water today. Harare Water is finding it extremely difficult to provide this precious liquid. How then do we prevent diseases outbreaks like cholera and typhoid if people live without water? ”
Harare this year became the talk of the world after the city’s water was found by a group of doctors to be contaminated with faeces. The city council refuted the findings.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the Harare city council on the water supply failure were frutless as the phone kept ringing without being answered. (ZIMBABWE ZimEye)

Bulawayo(ZimEye)-A group of Zimbabwean citizens calling itself the Zimbabwe United People’s Advocate Group (ZUPAG) says the government must compensate the Gukurahundi genocide victims a total of US$2 million per head.
The group led by one Reason Sibanda says the government turned a blind eye to victims of its own brutalities such as the Gukurahundi massacres committed by Mugabe’s 5th Brigade army which was commanded by the now Air Marshal Perrence Shiri.
“We are saying a compensation of $2m would be justifiable considering that the ZANU PF government did not pay any attention to victims of its own operations and even continues to maim more people in areas such as Chiadzwa diamond fields and others we are still to investigating.
“This government must also compensate victims of Mozambique’s Matsanga operations in Manicaland, Mashonaland and Masvingo provinces as it failed to provide adequate security to its people during the time,” said Sibanda.
After the country’s independence in 1980, Mugabe engaged the North Korean army to train the Zimbabwean soldiers for deployment to Matebeleland and parts of Midlands province to suppress an emerging crisis after Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU was left disgruntled by Mugabe’s unfair treatment whom he had labeled dissidents.
Mugabe then deployed the notorious army personnel after training in September 1982 where Shiri’s group murdered an estimated 20 000 and maimed many others, with the single largest killing having been committed on 5 March 1983 where 62 people were shot at Cewale river resulting in 55 deaths while seven of them survived with gunshot wounds.
To this day Mugabe has refused to acknowledge the report findings of the Gukurahundi massacre that was done by Catholic Commission for peace and justice and Chihambakwe commission.
Mugabe had never publicly apologized to the people in Matabeleland only going as far as just saying “it was a moment of madness”.
In 2008 some human rights organizations claimed that President Mugabe’s army had murdered thousands of Marange villagers and illegal diamond miners who had thronged the diamond fields.
Mugabe stands accused of several human rights violations by the international community.(ZimEye, Bulawayo)

Harare(ZimEye)Mavambo Kusile Dawn leader, Simba Makoni, has fired back at President Robert Mugabe who recently ridiculed him calling him a memberless party leader who says people support him because he is called ‘Simba’.
In an address to ZANU PF Central Committee members on the 30th March 2012, Mugabe said that Makoni is struggling in a political wilderness and thinks people will support him merely because he is called ‘Simba’.
Said Mugabe: “I asked him who is following you?Oh by the way do you have a party? He then replied aah! the people will vote for me because I am called Simba”
Mugabe was speaking on the subject of disunity in his Party in general and the 2008 exit of Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa from ZANU PF in particular.
But in a statement the party fired back at Mugabe:

“Of all the people, President Mugabe should be the last person to wish Simba Makoni well. Makoni has the full support of the National Management Committee (NMC), which is the highest decision making body of the Party, working together as a team in search of a permanent solution to the country’s problems which the shaky Inclusive Government (IG) of Zimbabwe has failed to solve. In the country’s provinces, there are some M.K.D structures and activities going on.

M.K.D commands a strong backing from multitudes of Zimbabweans across the political divide. No amount of politicking will dissuade the suffering people of Zimbabwe from following the M.K.D idea.

We are satisfied with the Party’s pace of growth and have no reason whatsoever to be apologetic to President Mugabe. Any political competitor who elects to underestimate M.K.D and its leader is not respecting the people of Zimbabwe and will be doing so at his/her own peril. We will not justify even the least why M.K.D is now a force to reckon with in Zimbabwe’s body politic.

There is no doubt that Simba Makoni, his hardworking team together with the overwhelming support of enlightened Zimbabweans will form the next Government. We do not need the endorsement of intolerant political competitors. We would be worried if such remarks were coming from thirteen million (13 000 000) Zimbabweans. M.K.D has the backing of people and that is all we need at the moment. President Mugabe’s utterances do not reflect a popular sentiment and M.K.D will give him a rude awakening come next elections, which we hope will be conducted in an environment that guarantees a free and fair outcome.

Currently we are working for a better Zimbabwe of tolerance, inclusion, transparency, accountability, democracy and equal opportunities for all.

We are a serious game changer and neither an easy pushover nor cry baby in this field. We will stand our ground with equal measure. M.K.D has all it takes not only to contest, but win elections, govern effectively and efficiently and make this country work again.

Simba Makoni and M.K.D are here to stay and not going anywhere. We cannot be wished away just like that. By now, at least President Mugabe should know better. He would not have been so jittery if Makoni was not an issue in the country’s body politic. We urge all Zimbabweans to ignore such statements and remain focused. People of Zimbabwe know what is good for them. We sympathise with the majority of people during the painful phase that our nation is going through. The furnace of affliction produces refinement in the country and its people. A new beginning is nearing.

Let us all work very hard to usher in a new administration of leaders willing to serve and not be served. Leaders with people at heart!

Harare(ZimEye)A website that spread malicious false rumours about the condition of President Robert Mugabe’s health was left in shame on Thursday as Mugabe landed at Harare International airport “fit as a fiddle”.

Mugabe landed at Harare international airport at 7am today(Thursday).
The rogue website, name supplied, which is based in the UK, led a cunningly coordinated effort together with leading Australian newspapers which all collectively claimed the president was on the brink of death while on his visit to Singapore.
The group of websites which include two main Australian newspapers claimed that Mugabe was notvisiting his daughter in the country as reported by state media, but had actually collapsed and was airlifted from Harare in an emergency operation.
They constructed a series of alleged events which seemed to point that of a truth Mugabe was ebbing away. They claimed that a cancelled cabinet meeting meant that Mugabe was in a coma. Social networking websites subsequently became flooded with the false rumours.
ZimEye editors at the time found the story to be mere rumour and immediately treated it the same.
Mugabe, 88, arrived at Harare International Airport on a chartered flight accompanied by his wife Grace and was welcomed by deputy president Joice Mujuru, who was flanked by several government officials and security chiefs.
“The man is completely fit as a fiddle. Why do we wish somebody bad, why do we spread rumours, why do we lie about our head of state,” Information Minister Webster Shamu said.
“Do we have to pander to the agenda of imperialists,” he added.
Mugabe shook hands with the officials, talked with Vice President Mujuru who briefed him before he left the airport for state house.
The shame-ridden websites claimed Mugabe would soon be part of a prediction that an African President would die by the 16th February, a claim which others have rather pointed to Malawi’s former President Bingu Wa Mutharika who died on April 5 last week.(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

SPEECH BY FORMER PRESIDENT F W DE KLERK TO THE RIVER CLUB,
JOHANNESBURG, March 30 2012
POLITICIANS AND STATESMEN WHOM I HAVE KNOWN
Steven Mulholland suggested two topics that I might address – one that might
entertain you – and the other that would probably depress you.
I have decided to choose the former. It relates to my memories of the many
leaders that I have met during my political career – and subsequently.
Politics is a strange business.
It takes a particular type of personality to thrust himself before the
electorate and try to persuade his fellow citizens that he has the extraordinary
qualities required for leadership.
On the whole, politics is not a career that pays very well. In its traditional form it offered few financial inducements. This is of course no longer necessarily the case. Some of the far more astute politicians of the present age have elevated politics to one of the most profitable of businesses.
In my day most practitioners would probably have made much more money by
remaining in a respectable profession or by climbing the corporate ladder. In my
case, when I went into politics in 1972 I had to exchange a flourishing law
practice in Vereniging for the modest income of a back-bencher. We had to move
out of our beautiful home in on the banks of the Vaal and take up residence in a
converted army barracks in Acacia Park.
Life as a back-bencher is, at best, undistinguished.
As junior members of the caucus, young MPs generally speak when they are
spoken to. They must quickly adapt to the Byzantine manoeverings and jockeying
for position that characterise all political organisations. They must wait
desperately for a chance to catch the attention of the leadership on the rare
occasions when they are asked to speak in parliament. It is difficult to do so
if the topic they must address is the Railways Second Appropriation Bill. This
is not the stuff of which Gettysburg Addresses and Pericles Funeral Orations are
made.
It is for this reason that the attention of back benchers of all parties in
all dispensations is focused so firmly on the possibility of being appointed to
higher office. As soon as one becomes a deputy minister – or succeeds in
attaining the Olympian heights of cabinet membership – the world changes.
Suddenly, one has one’s own office and one’s own department. The new minister is
surrounded by public servants who quickly confirm his own view that he is a
pretty smart chap and a natural leader. The media are suddenly interested in his
pronouncements. There are press conferences and overseas trips, official cars
and private secretaries.
I was lucky. I was appointed to the cabinet in 1978 – only six years after
entering parliament.
However, once one has become a cabinet minister
other drawbacks become apparent. Everything the minister does is open to
scrutiny. Every peccadillo becomes a glaring headline on the back page of the
Sunday Times. Cartoonists and comedians have free rein to ridicule one. The
minister’s policies, his character and his family are exposed fairly – or
unfairly –  to merciless attack in public forums.
Managing democratic societies is often a thankless task. Leaders are
confronted with crises created by others – some of which are, frankly,
unsolvable in the period they have at their disposal. Whatever the politician
says, whatever he does, he is subjected to bitter criticism. As one American
President remarked: “Hell, every time I open my mouth I alienate 25% of the
population.”
And all the time there is relentless competition with one’s closest
colleagues.
As one disillusioned politician was heard to remark: “My opponents? They were
the people in the parties that opposed me in parliament. My enemies? Those are
the ones who were sitting beside and behind me”. It is more often the
politician’s colleagues rather than his opponents who finally bring his career
to an end.
It is perhaps for such reasons that commentators have observed that “All
political careers end in tears.”
These are also the reasons why so relatively few really competent people
stand for the Presidency of the United States. It is impossible to believe that
there are not thousands of people in America who would be far better candidates
than the crop that is currently contending for office. However, they are far too
prudent to do so. They do not need the money. They do not want to have their
private lives subjected to relentless, intrusive and often unfair scrutiny. They
do not want their families to be hopelessly disrupted. They do not want to
demean themselves by having to tailor their views according to the latest
opinion surveys – or to mouth the platitudes that pass for political
discourse.
Now, as you all know, much of this is true to a greater or lesser extent in
the careers of all successful men. Everyone who has become a CEO or company
chairman has also had to play hard-ball in board-room politics.
They say that the vindictiveness is worst between academics. When he was
asked why this was so Henry Kissinger replied “the competition between academics
is so bitter – because the stakes are so low.”
And yet – and yet the allure of politics and of power remains. Henry
Kissinger also observed that power is the greatest aphrodisiac.
Nero is famously supposed to have exclaimed just before he died that a great
artist perished in him!  He certainly was not a good exponent of the art of
statesmanship – but statesmanship is an art. It is practised on the largest
canvas that one can imagine: one’s country – and in some cases the world.
The fact remains that despite all its shortcomings as a career, politics
offers its exponents the opportunity to perform on the greatest stage of all:
the stage of history. The decisions that statesmen take can make the difference
between war and peace; between freedom and tyranny; between prosperity and
poverty. The stakes are immensely high: they are the happiness of and security
of tens of millions of ordinary people. They are the ability of ordinary people
to pursue what Yeats called the ceremonies of innocence: growing up; getting an
education; falling in love and raising a family; making a living and pursuing
one’s special dreams.
In my own career I have had the privilege of interacting with some great
leaders – who in their own ways have changed the histories of their countries or
even of the world.
Mikhail Gorbachev is one of the people whom I count as a friend.
The simple reality is that the history of the world, or Europe and of Russia
would have been fundamentally different if a hard-line communist had seized the
reins of power in the early 1980s. Even though the Soviet Union was doomed to
economic failure, an orthodox communist dictator might well have held the empire
together for decades. The cold war would not have come to an end.  The countries
of Eastern Europe would not have been liberated. The Soviet Union would not have
disintegrated – and Germany would still be divided between east and west.
Often it is the individual leader who puts his weight on one side or the
other of the political balance who changes the course of history.
Ironically, this is not necessarily what Gorbachev intended. In his book
Perestroika he still declared that communism was the best system – but merely
needed to be implemented in a more democratic and open manner. It was never his
intention that the Soviet Union should fall to pieces or that the Warsaw Pact
should be disbanded. Ultimately, he found it impossible to control the momentum
or the direction of the historic changes that he had unleashed.
Nevertheless, the world today would have been a substantially different – and
in my opinion worse – place had he not made the decisions that he made.
The leader who, perhaps, impressed me most was Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore.
Once again, he was an individual who changed the course of history. In many
respects he was the creator of modern Singapore. Without his leadership it might
still be just another city in Malaysia. As it is, and despite its tiny size, it
has become one of the most successful countries, with one of the freest
economies, in the world.
Lee Kuan Yew took the right decisions for his country; he chose the right
values and the right economic policies to ensure the development of a successful
society. In this, he was an artist painting on the largest canvas that society
can provide. He was also a very astute judge of the world and provided a very
canny and realistic assessment of our situation in South Africa when I met him
during the early ‘nineties.
Another great leader whom I count among my friends is Margaret Thatcher. Few
British Prime Ministers have had such a profound influence on the course of
their country’s history as she did.  She understood, when she became Prime
Minister, what the fundamental challenges were that she would have to address.
The most serious of these was a trade union movement and residual socialist
policies that were inexorably dragging Britain toward stagnation and national
failure.
Soon after she became Prime Minister she prophesied that within three years
she would be one of the most unpopular leaders that the country had ever seen.
“But two years after that” she said ” I shall be re-elected Prime Minister with
an increased majority.” And she was quite right. She took on the unions and won
– and subsequently she took on the Argentinians and beat them as well. In all
this she showed far greater determination and courage than any prime minister
since Winston Churchill.
Her free market middle-class conservatism set the paradigm not only for
British politics for decades to come, but changed democratic politics
everywhere. I remember an exasperated John Major telling me after the
Conservatives had lost the 1997 election that he wondered what Tony Blair would
do once he had run out of the Conservative Party’s policies. The reality is that
after Thatcher, British politics became a battlefield for the centre with the
new left jettisoning traditional socialist policies as fast as it could.
Margaret Thatcher also had a keen understanding of the unfolding situation in
South Africa. Although she was a consistent critic of apartheid, she had no
illusions about the nature of the challenges that we faced. She doggedly
resisted for as long as she could persistent demands for more sanctions against
South Africa in the Commonwealth and in the international community. She always
gave me – and our partners in the negotiations – strong and committed support
for the achievement of our goals.
Although I never met Deng Xiaoping, I believe that he will probably be
regarded by future generations as the greatest leader of the latter part of the
twentieth century. He himself was a victim of the Cultural Revolution but
nevertheless rebounded in 1978 to initiate the reforms that have fundamentally
changed his country. The process that he began has led to the most far-reaching
improvement in the lives of the largest number of people in the shortest period
in the whole sweep of human history. In so doing he has visibly improved the
daily lives of hundreds of millions of ordinary people and has established China
as a leading strategic and economic power.
Such is the great canvas of statesmanship. Deng succeeded in turning China
from a drab and paranoid ideologically obsessed backwater to a confident,
prosperous and successful society. I have no doubt that the daily lives of
hundreds of millions of people have been made far happier because of the
decisions that he took.
And in our own country I would like to mention two notable statesmen.
The first is P W Botha – a difficult and irascible man – who nevertheless
played an indispensible role in the transformation of our country. When he
became Prime Minister in the difficult circumstances that confronted the country
in 1978, he realised that we would have to ‘adapt or die’. He built up one of
the most effective armed forces not only in Africa but in the world. He
overhauled and rationalised the whole system of government. Under his
predecessor, John Vorster, the most junior minister wrote the cabinet minutes by
hand in a note book. P W Botha introduced an efficient system of cabinet
committees and properly compiled cabinet papers.
He understood the need for change and initiated the process that led to the
Tricameral Parliament. Obviously, it was never going to be the total answer to
the total problem because it still made no provision for black South Africans.
However, in the incremental world of reform politics it was a step in the right
direction. By 1986 the government had already repealed more than 100 apartheid
laws. Nevertheless, the crux of the matter was no longer reform – but
transformation.
However, PW ruled more by fear than by consensus. He did not encourage open
debate within the cabinet and dealt harshly with anyone who failed to toe the
line. When asked what the difference was between serving in my cabinet and PW’s
cabinet Pik Botha said that when I was president he did not wake every morning
with a shudder.
Shortly before he left office, P W Botha said that he had made two mistakes
as president: he had not moved forward rapidly enough with his reform policies;
and he had communicated badly. He was right on both counts. Nevertheless, there
is no doubt that he prepared the way for the negotiation process that I had the
privilege of initiating on 2 February 1990.
The other great South African leader of my generation was, of course, Nelson
Mandela. I do not subscribe to the general hagiography surrounding Mandela. He
was by no means the avuncular and saint-like figure so widely depicted today. As
a political opponent he could be brutal and quite unfair. During the
negotiations and while I served as Deputy President in the Government of
National Unity we often had bruising clashes.
Such is the nature of politics.
However, whenever the situation required it, he was able to rise above the
political passions of the moment and join me in hammering out reasonable
compromises that enabled the process to continue. He also had the stature and
the strength to hold his fractious alliance together – even at the most
difficult junctures. The source of his authority, consciously or unconsciously,
was the fact  that he was a Xhosa aristocrat – with all the bearing and natural
authority that came with his royal connections.
However, he is a principled man and a great communicator. Through his natural
charm and consideration he played an indispensible role in promoting
reconciliation and in laying the foundations of our new non-racial nation.

I believed him when he said on 8 May 1996,
after the adoption of our new constitution, that the “founding principles of our
constitution are immutable.” He described the constitution as “our national
soul, our compact with one another as citizens, underpinned by our highest
aspirations and our deepest apprehensions”. He said our pledge is that: “Never
and never again shall the laws of our land rend our people apart or legalise
their oppression and repression. Together, we shall march, hand-in-hand, to a
brighter future.”

Now, 16 years later there are those in the ANC who are saying that “our
national soul, our compact with one another as citizens” was merely a temporary
compromise and that it must give way to a second transition based on less
immutable principles.
All of us should reject such thinking with all the resources that we and our constitution provide. But then, that is the other topic that Steven wanted me to address – and which you may explore in the question and answer session.
In the meantime one thing is clear. The great South African socio-political

Lilongwe(ZimEye)-The first female president in Malawi is set to take over the reigns of power following the sudden death of the country’s president, Bingu Wa Mutharika, aged 78.
Joyce Banda, 61, who has been vice president of Malawi under Mutharika‘s reign is now  the first female president in that country and joins Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the line of Africa’s female Head of States. She is expected to lead the country until 2014 elections.
Joyce Banda who had a fall out with the late president leading to her expulsion from Mutharika‘s ruling party (DPP) in 2010, but not from her government post was feared could be sidelined by Mutharika‘s party.
Following Mutharika‘s death, hardliners in Mutharika‘s party looked on course to subvert the constitution and sideline her from assuming her official presidential duties as per constitutionally requirements that the vice president takes over the office of presidency in the event of death or incapacitation of the president.
But in her first press conference as president, Banda on Saturday looked to have overcome that hurdle and told the press that “The constitution is prevailing right now” and appealed for calm in Malawi.
“I call upon all Malawians to remain calm and to keep the peace during this time of bereavement,” Banda said.
The international community and Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi had raised their concern over the delay in transfer of power and the seemingly imminent constitutional coup by the late president’s party (DPP) who wanted to impose the late president’s brother, Peter.
“We are concerned about the delay in the transfer of power. We trust that the vice president who is next in line will be sworn in shortly,” said Johnnie Carson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs on Friday.
The State has declared 10 days of official mourning for Mutharika whose body still remains in South Africa as the government is to commence arrangements to repatriate it back to Malawi.
Below is a video of Joyce Banda attending TB Joshua’s SCOAN church in Nigeria.

(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
 

A democracy activist who announced he was launching a perpetual hunger strike in Harare, has abandoned his mission, ZimEye has been told.
Rhodes University graduate David T Hwangwa, 24, said earlier in the year that he and others would from the 11th March not eat food until the government has heeded their call for an immediate actioning of reforms and release of political prisoners, among other reforms which included the disbanding of the Mbare based youth group Chipangano, and the release of MDC youth leader Solomon Madzore.
But Hwangwa has not been seen anywhere near the city council office building in recent days where the activist intended to carry out his continuous hunger strike.
The protest was to last forever until the government heeds to their call.
A worker at the council building told our reporter that they had not seen anyone at all protesting at the premises in the past few weeks.
“We have neither seen anyone or even heard there is such a protest here,” the man only identified as Charles said.
Hwangwa told ZimEye that his hunger strike was motivated by personal concern because he himself ‘was also once a victim’ of persecution by the (CIO)Central Intelligence Organisation:

“I was a victim of abduction by the infamous Central Intelligence Organization (CIO). This has just made me stronger for the cause. There are no records of such abductions or detentions by the police and it is a matter of great concern because who knows of how many people vanish forever as a result of this. I aim to seek a stance against the government to take action and protect our people because as we approach the volatile election period, such cases and reports will become more common,” he said
His whereabouts were not known at the time of writing. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

GWANDA (ZimEye) – LOCAL Government Minister Ignatius Chombo is set for a fierce clash with the MDC party after suspending Gwanda Mayor Lionel De Necker with immediate effect.
Chombo has launched a fight against MDC and MDC-T councilors as he is on whirlwind tirade against the democratically elected councilors.
But on Wednesday, Chombo dropped another bombshell after suspending De Necker for a ‘flimsy reason.” The minister, who has been treating the local government sector as his fiefdom, wrote a suspension letter to De Necker announcing the suspension for allegedly defying his directive to appoint Mrs P Nkala as a substantive Chamber Secretary for Gwanda Municipality.
The mayor confirmed to ZimEye he recieved the letter and said he was surprised at the decision and was already ‘winding up one or two things’ ready to leave the office as per Chombo’s command; But he elaborated that the directive from Chombo to appoint Mrs P Nkala in question had been dealt with within the appropriate council bodies and it was not his decision as an individual  to or no to adhere to the directive.
In a letter in possession of ZimEye, Chombo wrote:
Following your deliberate defiance of my directive of 30 November 2011 issued in terms of Section 314 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29: 15), directing council to appoint Mrs P Nkala as the substantive Chamber Secretary for Gwanda Municipality as approved by the Local Government Board, I hereby, in terms of Section 114 of the afore-cited Act, suspend you from being a councilor for Gwanda Municipality with immediate effect.
“After you received my directive, you proceeded to challenge the activities of the Local Government Board appointed to carry out its responsibilities as specified in the Urban Councils Acvt. Furthermore, you even questioned the credibility of the Local Government Board which was setup in terms of the law thus undermining the powers of both the Minister and Board.
“During the period of your suspension, you shall not conduct any council business within or outside council premises, and you shall not be eligible to receive any form of any remuneration from the council,” wrote Chombo.
But the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube has dismissed the suspension and Chombo’s dictatorial tendencies.
Chombo is currently investigating the Bulawayo City Council and heads are set to roll at the MDC-T controlled council. (Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

Contrary to modern sensational propaganda, the British missionary David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) whose statue ZANU PF wants to remove and destroy, had plans for the 100% empowerment of black Zimbabweans and Zambians who he hoped would through his indigenisation program rise to become the envy of the world in a move that would in the process totally annihilate slave trade of human beings being shipped from the continent to America.
Livingstone’s diary notes in national archives and seen by ZimEye, reveal that the famous missionary hoped his program would develop the region Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi through to the rest of Africa in such a way that the black Africans involved in the slave trade business would be entirely discouraged from it, and like the rest of the world, begin to engage in diversities of commercial agriculture and modern commerce.

Other historical excepts which back Livingstone’s diary notes, reveal that few black Africans in the area around the rivers, engaged in sustainable agriculture at that time and were rather involved in the much condemned slave trade business.
Livingstone’s philanthropic program was financed by the British government from whom he obtained £5000 to donate cotton seeds to the villagers whose susbsistence and livelihood was at the time largely in bush life. The revelations show that native blacks in the area hardly did any farming and from Livingston’s program, they would be possibly motivated into commercial farming.
Writes Livingstone:
On my return from Africa my chief efforts will be directed to making the river Zambezi an open pathway to the interior healthy hihglands in order that a centre of civilisation and commerce will be formed. I shall visit all the chiefs along the banks and distribute cotton seeds – inviting the people to cultivate for our markets and I think if what I hope to begin is carried out that in the course of a dozen years Africa itself will have some material influence in diminishing the value of slave labour in America.
Other sections of Livingstone’s diary reveal that the missionary went further than the Zambezi river to attempt to establish modern commerce in the areas of the Lake Nyasa and beyond where the slave trade was also rampant.
“And if my disclosures regarding the terrible Ujijian slavery should lead to the suppression of the East Coast slave trade, I shall regard that as a greater matter by far than the discovery of all the Nile sources together,” – he wrote in a letter to the editor of the New York Herald.
He also wrote of the Zambezi and Lake Nyasa:
“It is highly probable that a small steamer on the Shire and Lake Nyasa would through the influence of the English name, prevent slave parties from passing the fords and, should our merchants not be obliged to ay dues for entering upon English discoveries for trade by a part of the Zambezi unsused by the Portuguese, goods could be furnished to the native traders at Lake Nyasa as cheap as they can get them on the East coast which involved a month’s journey further…The capability of the country for the production of cotton cannot be exaggerated”
When he died, the Zambian tribe in the area refused to hand over his body to the United Kingdom, and when they later chose to do so, they removed his heart, kept it to themselves, saying that they would give over his body, ‘but his heart belongs to Africa,’ other reports claim.
He died of malaria and internal bleeding and failed to see his indigenisation dream come to fulfilment.
Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and his work has earned him a name as one of the best missionaries from the United Kingdom. Beyond missionary work, the explorer gathered mapping details of parts of Africa in areas which had not been documented on the world map.
Despite the missionary’s contribution to the region however, ZANU PF’s former govenor of Bulawayo, Cain Mathema, says the Zimbabwean government should pull down David Livingstone’s statue which is at Victoria Falls, saying that it is a symbol of oppression.{ABove pic: David Livingstone; the Upfumi Kuvadiki logo on the missionary as it could have been had Livingstone been alive today}(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye) – United Kingdom Aid Head of the Department for International Development in Zimbabwe Dave Fish says continued reliance on foreign aid by Zimbabwe is caused by natural resources abuse.
“It is clear to anyone visiting this country that this country has three areas of massive potential relief. One of them is agriculture, the land issue needs to be addressed and the land needs to become productive to the interest of all Zimbabweans. The second is minerals; Zimbabwe is lucky to be endowed with all range of minerals and if they are extracted and used transparently to the interest of all Zimbabweans, investment in health, education and water supply by government will be greatly increased. The third area is tourism, and if visitors see this country as a safe destination they can freely visit and invest, the country will quickly take off,” United Kingdom Aid Head of the Department for International Development in Zimbabwe Dave Fish said in an exclusive interview at the weekend in Harare.
Concerns have been raised by the public over corruption and lack of transparency in the way government was and continues to managing natural resources.
The public is pointing at the mining sector as to where transparency is lacking and corruption is rampant.
As a result of such complaints and pressure government at the end of the week was forced to establish mining revenue oversight group called Zimbabwe Mining Revenue Transparency (ZMRT).
According to Finance Minister Tendai Biti Zimbabwe needs at least $14 billion to revive the economy following a decade-long downturn.
The country is also struggling to settle its $9.1 billion foreign debt it defaulted far back as 1999.
The country’s economy is however showing signs of recovery since the formation of a power-sharing government three years ago by long-time political rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)President Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF have nullified the elec­tion of Philip Chiyangwa as vice chairman for Mashona­land West Province.
Chiyangwa was elected on March 16 in Chinhoyi in an election whose outcome was later challenged by Hurungwe district coordinating committee (DCC) as having broken a gentleman’s agreement that the top six provincial position should be equally distributed within the province.
Hurungwe district who lost out on the top six position was gunning for a vice chairmanship position but somewhat lost to Chiyangwa from Makonde district prompting the DCC to write to both Zanu pf national commissar and national chairperson and secretary for administration protesting against the election, and pushed for the nullification of election results.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo yesterday said the Politburo headed by Mugabe discussed the issue on Wednesday and decided to nullify Chiyangwa’s election to vice chairperson.
“There were reports recently that Cde Chiyangwa was elected as the vice chairman for Mashonaland West Province. The Politburo on Wednes­day reviewed that case and nullified the election.
“The decision was today endorsed by the Central Com­mittee. Cde Chiyangwa will remain as an ordinary member of the party until further notice,” said Gumbo.
Gumbo also announced that the party will now work on a date to elect a new provincial vice president and Chiyangwa will remain an ordinary member until the party decide otherwise. Chiyangwa was recently readmitted to the party after a suspension in 2006 following allegations of espionage against him by the State and it is understood that in February he was cleared to contest for any party position.
Late last year Mugabe was reported to have blocked an attempt to fast-track Chiyangwa’s re-admission to the party and insisted that Chiyangwa should start from grassroots as a member and work his way up, but Chiyangwa’s sudden election to vice chairperson seemed too soon for Mugabe’s approval who had in November blocked an earlier bid to contest the chairmanship.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, the sole broadcaster in the country’s  finances are in shambles and the company has now put a emergency moratorium on wage reviews this year.
On Wednesday at the company’s Pockets Hill head offices tempers flared up between workers and the management during a meeting to review the company’s operations, with workers accusing the management of turning deaf ears on their demands for salary review whilst awarding themselves hefty packages.
Sources which attended the meeting said the meeting which was chaired by the chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere became emotional when he announced that the company was  not in a position to award them the 20 percent salary adjustment.
Instead Muchechetere is said to have proposed a moratorium on wage reviews, and this did not go down well with the workers who queried the company’s financial position accusing management of embarking on a recruitment drive which saw the wage bill ballooning to unsustainable levels.
He is also said to have proposed retrenchment, a suggestion which was another bitter pill as the workers felt they are now being sacrificed for poor management decisions.
“They refuse to listen to our grievances even our advice. Last year they embarked on a recruitment drive which saw the wage bill ballooning at a time when cash inflows are minimal”, fumed one worker who refused to be named said.
Another source who attended the meeting said it heated up when workers demanded to know the salary of the least paid manager.

Muchechetere failed to answer this question and ended up rather lashing back at them saying the least paid worker at the company was taking home more than what permanent secretaries earn.
ZBH senior managers are believed to be taking home between US$4000-$6000 monthly exclusive of allowances whilst the lowest paid worker takes home around US$300 per month.
According to one manager who refused to be named, the company has been operating on a hand to mouth basis for some time now as traditional sources for revenue have either dried up or being inefficiently managed.
Among the major sources for revenue for the state broadcaster is the licensing department, whose contribution has recently nose-dived as viewers and listeners’ no longer pay them.
Advertisers have also not been forthcoming with some running away from the astronomical charges being levied whilst others choosing other media avenues in order to realize value. Poor programming has also scared away advertisers.
The ZBC is the sole broadcaster in the country and of late the company has been failing to pay workers salaries on time with some getting paid a week later from the due salary date. Apart from financial problems, said the sources, most of the broadcaster’s transmission equipment and cameras are obsolete and constantly break down.
The corporation is now heavily reliant on innovative technician who “cannibalise”broken down equipment to keep the public broadcaster going.
The managers drive top-of-the-range vehicles that leave executives leading profit-making entities on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange green with envy.
The corporation’s chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere drives a classy Mercedes Benz, an S350, valued at nearly US$200 000.
Other managers drive the latest Land cruisers.
Efforts ZimEye to get a comment from Muchechetere were fruitless as his mobile phone was not reachable.
ZBH presently employs over 900 workers.

Harare(ZimEye)- Government has given in to demands by the civic society and democratic forces to end corruption and bring transparency in the mining sector by partnering with civil society and mining companies to establish an oversight group called Zimbabwe Mining Revenue Transparency (ZMRT).
The mining revenue oversight group which will be chaired by Thabani Mpofu a Principal Director in the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office comprises stakeholders from the Chamber of Mines, the government of Zimbabwe and civil society organisations which are concerned with mineral extraction.
It is being implemented under the mandate of the Cabinet Committee on Resource Mobilisation.
“I don’t think there is anywhere in the world where people will say we are totally happy with the levels of transparency so we are saying that transparency monitoring should be continuous. This is a dialogue that should be ongoing. The rules are there but having them without people acting does not help matters so that is why we came with this organization. If you are doing your business above board you are not afraid who knows what you are doing and this will also help with bringing in more partners as people are interested in working with organizations that are transparent, ”Principal Director in the office of Deputy Prime Minister Thokhozani Khupe, Samukele Hadebe told Zimeye in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the formation of the oversight group in Harare.
Civil Society Coalition (CSC) Secretary General Joshua Marufu believes the group will bring sanity in the mining sector whose activities had for long time been secretive.
“Some people were doing things that were not in the national interests so its time as a nation to come together. We need to shape up and make sure that business is accountable. What the government is doing is offering a framework where as civil society we meet with the business community and resolve these issues. We hope that revenue collected will benefit the whole population and we are hopeful that we will be successful and help the country develop.
“As civil society what the government has done is to enable every person to be included as we will talk freely to both the government and the mining companies,” Marufu told Zimeye in an interview at the event.
Complaints of corruption and secrecy in the operations at Marange Diamond fields and the entire mining sector had been raised by the civil society.
Government has been defending itself against the allegations saying the mining sector is a sensitive area.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

The London based protest organisation, Zim Vigil, misled the world about the recent visit by Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa at whose conference they claimed MDC-T members were barred from asking the minister questions, a top MDC official has revealed.
Thousands of Zimbabweans were fed with false information which claimed that party members were instructed to keep quiet and told not ask Chamisa questions, during Chamisa’s recent visit to the United Kingdom, the party’s chair for London district, Karma Matambanadzo told ZimEye in a conversation.
“Zimbabweans in the UK who heard about the low-key visit by ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa were puzzled to be told by the organisers ‘ask no questions,’” a statement by the Vigil read on the 4th March.
But even journalists who actually attended the meeting in Birmingham have said that MDC members at Birmingham enjoyed unprecedented freedom with minister Chamisa with the meeting stretching beyond its time as members young and old were given a chance to engage the Technology minister. At one time, minister Chamisa actually came to the aid of a middle aged man who had been drowned by the crowds while he was inquiring on why unemployed members were required to pay exorbitant amounts of subscription fees.
SW Radio Africa’s Lance Guma who among other journos was present at the meeting expressed his deep concerns at the Vigil report. The journo told ZimEye: “The ZimVigil statement on Chamisa’s visit was a bit misleading. I covered the rally and at no point were people barred from asking him questions.”
This is not the first time the Zim Vigil has clashed with the MDC-T party. Two years ago, the protest organisation clashed with Morgan Tsvangirai’s ambassador designate to Germany, Hebson Makuvise and have in recent years often been against the party’s activities.
In the Vigil’s management team is former MDC chairman Ephraim Tapa who has continued to attack party leader Morgan Tsvangirai on various issues. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Birmingham(ZimEye)Claims by renegade members that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai changed his party’s constitution so that he can stay at the helm  for much longer  are unfounded, the MDC-T’s Organising Secretary, Nelson Chamisa  has said.
Chamisa(pictured) told ZimEye that Tsvangirai was re-elected by the party’s majority membership. The decision to retain him as party President after completing his two year term is within their policy.
Some disillusioned members of the party have in recent months charged at Morgan Tsvangirai claiming that he should have resigned soon after he failed to win elections in 2008.
But Chamisa refuted “His tenure was never extended. He was voted squarely; in fact completely by all the provinces”.
Chamisa said that there was never a change of the MDC-T’s constitution:
“This fallacy that there was a change of the constitution; There was never a change of the constitution. We don’t change constitutions in the MDC. Our principle is that anybody who serves in government is supposed to be serving for two terms, as a policy.  And we are not yet in government, we are in opposition.”
The Organising Secretary who is also Zimbabwe’s Information, Communication and Technology Minister said that it is only when Tsvangirai becomes President that the party will start counting his two term tenure as president.
A term is 5 years long.
“Once president Tsvangirai gets into government, we then start counting – But in government, not in the party.”

At this juncture, our reporter then asked “What if you never make it into government?,”

Chamisa replied: “But that’s an assumption. We cannot work on an assumption”, .
Chamisa’s comments were also buttressed by Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, who said that Tsvangirai has been performing well and so the party sees no need to replace him at the moment.”If a person is performing well, why should we remove him?,” she said.
Chamisa together with Theresa Makone were responding to questions in a press conference during their recent visit to Birmingham, UK.  (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

BULAWAYO (ZimEye) – ZANU-PF Bulawayo province has been thrown into a serious chaos threatening to split the party amid a battle for the control of the province.
The fight within Zanu PF has seen provincial chairman Isaac Dakamela facing the boot and replaced by Killian Sibanda who was deputy chairperson.
The fight turned nasty on Monday after youths allegedly “sent by senior party officials” grabbed the Toyota Hilux Dakamela was using.
While Dakamela was said to have been suspended at a provincial coordinating committee meeting on Sunday, he insists he is still the chairman.
Politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, who catapulted Dakamela to the post of chairman, is fighting in his blue-eyed boy’s corner. He said the Sunday meeting could not effect suspensions.
In defiance, Dakamela visited his office at Davies Hall where he compiled minutes about previous meetings and writing his report about the developments in the province.

He was due to submit the report to party’s headquarters in Harare.
Dakamela further threatened to deal with the rowdy youths led by youth provincial chairperson Butho Gatsi.
“The youths should stay out of issues that do not concern them. If they continue like that, we will deal with them as a party because we are trying to prepare for elections. Meetings are called by the chairman and whoever would have wanted the meeting whether they liked me or not, should have called it through me,” he told journalists.
Ndlovu also added that: “That meeting and decision is not effective until it is confirmed by the Politburo. Dakamela remains chairman.”
Gatsi said the youths would stick to the suspension of Dakamela.
(Zimbabwe, ZimEye)

Zimbabwe’s used to boast of one of the top literacy rates in Africa, but the nation is now worse than it was in 2002.
Zimbabwe’s much touted literacy rate of more than 90% has been disputed as having been outdated since the figures are based on data collected by UNESCO and the government more than a decade ago.
According to a Zimbabwe Reads survey conducted in 2011 based on interviews with donor organizations, booksellers, publishers, librarians and educators late 2011 “best guesses are that Zimbabwe’s current literacy rate is now in the low-80s and is dropping. We roughly estimate that the literacy rate for those over 15 is dropping
a half percent each year and that will accelerate to 1% each year as those who left school after 2005 reach age 15,” writes Zimbabwe Reads in its website.
The same organization goes on to state that the Zimbabwean education situation is likely to worsen if the current conditions continue to prevail adding that Zimbabwe might not even be the continent’s highest literary country.
“If current conditions continue, Zimbabwe will have a literacy rate of 70% in 2020. At this stage, it seems unlikely that Zimbabwe still has the highest literacy rate in Africa, with the more reliable estimates from Botswana (85%) and Tunisia (87%) probably surpassing it,” it states.
Zimbabwe Reads observes what it refers to as “a very disturbing tendency” of high rate of children dropping out of school since 2005 where it states that about 15% of the country’s children never enter the school system while a further 30% never make it to secondary schools.
According to the organization, the number of patrons in almost all the libraries in the country continue to decrease since the late 80s with the current figures standing at as less as half the 1989 figures. “In 1989, there were more than 150,000 registered public library users using 76 public libraries. The user numbers for 2011 are certainly less than half of that. The Bulawayo Public Library reported 10,289
patrons for the year preceding July 2011; the National Free Library had 8016 patrons (but only 250 paid the registration fee to borrow).”
The organization has also noted that most libraries in the country carry materials that are published only in English at the neglect of local languages estimating fewer than 50 titles in indigenous languages. Most books with titles in local languages are reported to have been published long ago and have been kept in stock by local
bookshops like Mambo Press.
The Zimbabwean government and UNESCO reports that the country has a literacy rate of more than 90% with the current Minister of Education David Coltart intensifying efforts to restore the education sector which had sharply declined as a result of the economic meltdown which characterized the country for a period spanning to more than a decade.
Meanwhile the United Kingdom through its Department of International Development (DFID), has injected 24 million pounds (around 38 million USD) into the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Zimbabwe, to support the country’s second phase of the Education Transition Fund (ETF II) which is a multi-donor pooled fund set up at the inception of the inclusive government in 2009 by Education, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart in partnership with UNICEF in a bid to bridge the sector’s funding gap from emergence to recovery.

Harare(ZimEye)-Socialist firebrand Munyaradzi Gwisai who is also a University lecturer has been sentenced to 420 community service coupled with a $500 fine on allegations of conspiring to cause public violence.
Jarabini suspended twelve months on condition that they performed community service and a further twelve months was suspended on condition that the accused persons does not within a period of five years commit an offence of the same nature on top of paying a $500 fine failure of which the accused persons would serve the alternative sentence which is ten months.
In passing sentence Harare magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini considered the six accused persons’ carrier objectives leading to what he referred to as a lenient sentence but went on to point that the facts tendered by the six accused as mitigation was not an a justification for them to committee offences.

Responding to the court’s verdict, defense lawyer Aleck Muchadehama notified the court of his intention to appeal against both sentence and conviction at the high court.
In his submissions Muchadehama applied for time to pay which was successfully granted. The accused persons were ordered to pay the fine by the 26^th of March while the community service would commence on 30 March after the application for the suspension of the community service is heard on 26 March.
Meanwhile a number of University of Zimbabwe students were have been arrested while celebrating the non-custodial sentence handed down to their lecturer and his accomplices. The students were singing and ululating at the court entrance inviting the police to disperse them and other leaders of the civil society including the militant Secretary General of ZCTU Raymond Majongwe.
Addressing journalists after the court session, Muchadehama said he remained hopeful that he would succeed in his application at the high court.
Gwisai together with 44 other labour activists was arrested on February 19 last year at Zimbabwe Labour Centre, at Number 43 Julius Nyerere Way in Harare where they were charged with treason a charge which was to be later altered to lesser serious charge of conspiring to cause public violence after the state failed to prove its case.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Harare)There was drama on Tuesday when two factions of Upfumi Kuvadiki, a youth empowerment pressure group aligned to President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) violently clashed at a press conference in the capital, as they fought each for the control of the organisation.
The two groups clashed over a number of issues among them: the South African company-EasyPark company deal, control of the retail sector, as well as the involvement of youths in mainstream business opportunities.
The press conference had been called by the Alson Darikayi led faction clad in Julius Malema style regalia which comprised of a cap inscribed with the 88 year old President Mugabe’s signature.
Halfway into the conference the Pedzisai Sakupwanya led faction led by Tatenda Marodza (Secretary General) then stormed the venue, violently disrupted and looted the other faction’s banners and refreshments at the full glare of the media. The chaos reached a boiling point that there was a possibility of degeneration into a physical fight.

Sakupwanya faction members climbed on tables in a barbaric manner leaving Darikayi and his entourage shell shocked before plucking off banners, stealing sweets and drinks meant for the conference.
Journalists also had to scurry for cover after some of the Sakupwanya group members threatened to beat them up for paying attention to Darikayi, he ordered journalists to leave or else they face unspecified action.
Sakupwanya’s faction is reported to be backed by the Youth Empowerment and indigenization Minister Savior Kasukuwere of Zanu (PF) while Darikayi’s faction is backed by the party’s secretary for administration Dydmus Mutasa.
According Sakupwanya, Darikayi has been fighting through a parallel structure that he formed and misled the people into believing that he is the legitimate leader yet he is not.
“Darikayi is the only member from Upfumi Kuvadiki whom we have realized but not as President of the organization but rather as the spokesperson. He is misrepresenting himself to the media and our members that he is the leader of this thing,” said Sakupwanya.
On the other hand Darikayi’s faction accused Sakupwanya’s faction of trying to hijack a project where they had been rejected by the Board of Trustees due to their alleged corrupt activities.
“Sakupwanya seized to be the President of this organization last year when his executive was dissolved on allegations of corruption paving way for a Darikayi led interim committee which was later adopted as the substantive committee to this day,” said a member of the Darikayi faction.
Darikayi’s group said it was 100% behind the ageing dictator President Robert Mugabe in his economic Empowerment initiative but said his group was not as violent as the Sakupwanya faction whose behavior was described as rowdy by the Darikayi faction Secretary General, one Withus Tatenda Masunda.
“Can we allow such a rowdy behavior in the name of indigenisation? And throw out our respect and dignity? What we are saying as Upfumi Kuvadiki as opposed to this group of violent thugs is that we approach the government over our concerns rather than violently take over companies without following due process,” he said.
Darikayi’s Secretary General said the reason why authorities have not been taking the youths seriously was because of the militant approach that is being used by the groups.
Upfumi Kuvadiki has over the years threatened to takeover companies to “empower the youths” and among the entities: Econet Zimbabwe owned by an indigenous Zimbabwean, Strive Masiyiwa. The same group looted property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from shops belonging to foreigners at the popular Gulf Complex in Harare. (ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Masvingo(ZimEye)-An MDC employee was arrested last Sunday for allegedly possessing details of military commanders accused of leading the bloody 2008 presidential election runoff campaign.
Shepherd Mazorodze who is based at Harvest House-the MDC Headquarters in Harare- was arrested in Gutu and charged with undermining police confidence in the national army. The police alleged he was in possession of documents containing names of army generals who allegedly perpetrated a reign of terror in the 2008 sham presidential election runoff.
Mazorodze appeared before Masvingo magistrate Learnmore Mapiye Mpandasekwa Thursday. He was charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act) for publishing and communicating falsehoods about the Zimbabwe National Army. Facts of the state case are that Mazorodze was arrested by the police after being found in possession of documents for the purpose of publishing information that the army provided uniforms to the youth militia, operated bases and supplied AK 47 rifles for the purpose of causing terror in the rural areas.
The state led by Sivaziso Mpome further alleged that the documents contained details of torture harassment and murder of MDC supporters in 2008 ahead of the presidential election runoff. It is alleged Mazorodze wanted to expose top army generals reportedly involved in acts of terror in 2008.
Mazorodze, who is being represented by Collin Maboke of Mwonzora and Associates, has since denied the charges. He will be back in court on 30 April.
Below is a list supplied to ZimEye showing some of the soldiers deployed
The list shows the province, district or constituency in which the soldier will be based and the name of the soldier:
Harare Metropolitan Province – AVM Karakadzai
Bulawayo Province – Col. C. Sibanda
Bulawayo central – Maj. J. Ndhlovu, Maj. J. Ncube
Manicaland and Mutare South – Brig. Tarumbwa
Buhera Central – Col. Morgan. Mzilikazi (MID)
Buhera North – Maj. L. M. Svosve
Buhera South – Maj. D. Muchena
Buhera West – Lt. Col. Kamonge, Major Nhachi
Chimanimani East – Lt. Col. Murecherwa
Chimanimani West – Maj. Mabvuu
Headlands – Col. Mutsvunguma
Makoni North – Maj. V. Chisuko
Makoni South – Wing Commander Mandeya
Mutare Central – Lt. Col. Tsodzai, Lt. Col. Sedze
Mutare West – Lt. Col. B. Kashiri
Mutare North – Lt. Col. Chizengwe, Lt. Col. Mazaiwana
Mashonaland Central – Brig. Gen. Shungu
Bindura South – Col. Chipwere
Bindura North – Lt. Col. Parwada
Muzarabani North – Lt. Col. Kazaza
Muzarabani South – Maj. H. Maziri
Rushinga – Col. F. Mhonda, Lt. Col. Betheuni
Shamva North – Lt. Col. Dzuda
Shamva South – Lt. Col. Makumire
Midlands Province – AVM Muchena, Brig. Gen. S. B. Moyo, Lt Colonel Kuhuni
Chirumhanzu South – Maj T. Tsvangirai
Mberengwa East – Col. B. Mavire
Mberengwa West – Maj T. Marufu
Matebeleland South – AVM Abu Basutu
Beit Bridge East – Group Cpt. Mayera, Rtd. Maj. Mbedzi, Lt. Col. B. Moyo
Gwanda South – Maj J. D. Moyo
Gwanda Central – Maj. B. Tshuma
Matopo North – Lt. Col. Maphosa
Matebeleland North – Brig. Gen. Khumalo
Binga North – Maj E. S. Matonga
Lupane East – Lt Col. Mkwananzi
Lupane West – Lt Col. Mabhena
Tsholotsho – Lt. Col. Mlalazi
Hwange Central – Lt. Col P. Ndhlovu
Masvingo Province – Maj. Gen. E. A. Rugeje
Bikita West – Maj. B. R. Murwira
Chiredzi Central – Col G. Mashava
Chiredzi West – Maj. E. Gono
Gutu South – Maj. Chimedza
Masvingo – Lt. Col. Takavingofa
Mwenezi West – Lt. Col. Muchono
Mwenezi East – Lt. Col. Mpabanga
Zaka East – Maj. R. Kwenda
Mash West Province – Brig. Gen. Sigauke
Chinhoyi – Col Gwekwerere
Chegutu East – Lt. Colonel W. Tutisa
Hurungwe East – Lt. Col. B. Mabambe
Mhondoro Mubaira – Col. C. T. Gurira
Zvimba North – Cpt. T. Majongwe
Mashonaland East – Rtd. Brig Gen Rungani
Chikomba Central – Lt. Col. Marara
Goromonzi North – Lt Col. Mudzimba, Maj F. Mbewe
Marondera Central – Maj. Gen. Chedondo (COSG), Lt. Col B. Kashiri
Marondera West Squadron Leader – U. Chitauro
Murehwa South – Maj. Gurure
Murehwa North – Lt. Col. Mukurazhizha, Lt. Col. Chinete
Gutu North-Retired Colonel Mutero Masanganise
Gutu South-Colonel Muchechetere
(ZIMBABWE, ZimEye)

Clueless invaders have moved into the animal habitat, Ruware Ranch in Chiredzi.
ZimEye can reveal that invaders at the weekend had already set up permanent shelter structures in the dry nature conservancy area designated by government for wild animal habitation.
The ranch is situated on arid soil which is not suitable for crop making.
The invasions continue despite a government order by Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi that anyone caught doing so would be arrested.

Attempts to reach Minister Mzembi were fruitless at the time of writing as he was said to be out of the country.
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(London)A fiery critic of President Robert Mugabe, the Uganda-born clergyman John Sentamu, is set to take over the highest post in the powerful Church of England organisation as the current leader the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has now resigned.
Rowan Williams, now aged 61, will leave at the end of December in time to start his new role at a local university in 2013.
At the time of writing John Sentamu  had been named as the leading favourite in the line of nominations for Britain’s most powerful post.
The UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron is to announce the new leader after being handed the “preferred person’s name” by the Church’s appointments commission, which is made up of three clergy and three members of the laity.
Sentamu is well known for a vow he made  in December 2007 when he made history by cutting off his ‘holy’ clerical collar on live television and declared that he would not wear the ceremonial sacrament again until Mugabe is gone:
“As far as I am concerned, from now on I am not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe is gone.” Since the 2007-vow, Sentamu has remained true to his convictions and has for the past few years been seen as the only church leader without the ‘holy’ white collar.
Sentamu’s great chances to succeed Williams are now almost certain having been challenged by only one person: the Bishop of London who is viewed as less qualifying because of ideological differences on women ordination, a technicality which automatically places Sentamu as the most ideal replacement for Williams. The Bishop of London Rev Richard Chartres is recorded telling clergymen in the church heirarchy that the move to remove Williams and promote Sentamu could be beneficial for the Church. A source quoted by the UK Telegraph newspaper said: “Richard has been saying it’s time for Rowan to stand down so that Sentamu can take over but can’t have forgotten that he’s the same age as Sentamu. He would have just as good a chance of becoming archbishop given his connection with the royal family, but the only problem is his opposition to women’s ordination.”

A church of England source last year announced that Dr Williams as far back as 2011 had already planned to declare his resignation soon after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
This could allow for John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, to succeed him.
Another senior source in the church of England told ZimEye in Wakefield that Sentamu is certain to take over the post beign a favourite of many Anglicans.
The church of England is a thorny issue to both Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom as a president Robert Mugabe-loyal bishop has in the past few years been seizing church property and disturbing church services with the help of state police. It is believed that when Sentamu takes over the church leadership, he may influence events against Mugabe’s more than 30 year-rule over the nation. (ZimEye)

London(ZimEye)A young Zimbabwean girl has made all proud by winning a special London award in recognition of her artistic works for climate change awareness.
Celeste Chinyanga, daughter to UK based Zimbabwean science scholar Martin Chinyanga, won first price for the draft poster image deemed as best to inspire ‘green’ awareness.
The Deputy Mayor of London personally awarded Celeste Chinyanga with the first price award.
Celeste who is curently in year two, was handed her award whose surname though was misspelt as Chinyango.
Photos of Celeste show how passionate she is on science, art, and conservation.