Defence forces commander, Constantine Chiwenga, has poured scorn on claims by the new opposition Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) that President Robert Mugabe was not a genuine war veteran because he lacked a nom de guerre or war name.

Commenting through her spokesperson Gift Nyandoro recently, Joice Mujuru, the ZimPF leader recently said Mugabe was a fake war veteran because he did not even have a guerilla name.

This was repeated by Margaret Dongo, a war veteran and interim head of the ZimPF women’s wing.

But Chiwenga, in an interview with the State media before Heroes Day celebrations slightly more than a week ago, said those insisting that all war veterans must have held guerilla names lacked an understanding of the liberation struggle.

“So all those who talk about noms de guerre have no idea of how a guerrilla war is waged. They have no idea on how an armed struggle is waged,” said Chiwenga, an ex-combatant too.

He said there was no need for top leaders in the armed struggled against colonial rule to have war names.

The top leaders were elected by the people to lead the struggle and they made a supreme sacrifice to go out there to lead the combatants. There was no need for them to change their names because they were already known,” he said.

Besides Mugabe, other war leaders like Joshua Nkomo, Simon Muzenda and Josiah Tongogara did not hide their real names.

“Why fighters had to be given noms de guerre or to change their names was for two specific reasons: for the individual’s personal protection and for the protection of their families,” said Chiwenga.

He added that noms de guerre were useful to ensure that combatants who were killed were not tracked back to their original homes where the Rhodesian government might parade them and scare people.

Of late, many of Mugabe’s erstwhile allies have turned against him, among them war veterans who he used as foot soldiers in his election campaigns.

The president is increasingly getting isolated from those that participated in the war that brought independence in 1980.

He has expelled from the ruling Zanu PF Mujuru, his former deputy and ex-combatant, together with many other notable veterans like Rugare Gumbo and Didymus Mutasa, while others such as Dumiso Dabengwa left out of frustration over Mugabe’s continued hold on power.

WE have lost enough people in Zimbabwe. I don’t want to be another martyr,” Pastor Evan Mawarire said Tuesday, explaining his decision to go into exile which has divided Zimbabweans and particularly angered some of his supporters.

Mawarire, left the country after his arrest last month, initially crossing the border into South Africa before moving to the United States.

Pro-regime figures have gleefully accused him of being a coward but the 39-year-old cleric told the UK-based Times newspaper that officials subtly warned to leave the country if he wanted to stay alive.

“Right now I am terrified for my life and lives of my family. We have lost enough people in Zimbabwe. I don’t want to be another martyr. I want to help rebuild my country,” said Mawarire.

He likely had in mind several government critics who have either been butchered to death or simply disappeared; the latest being Itai Dzamara who was abducted in Harare in March 2015 and has not been seen or heard from since.

Mawarire’s #thisflag social media campaign has revitalized opposition to President Robert Mugabe who has been in power for 36 years and is accused ruining what was one of Africa’s most promising economies at independence in 1980.

#ThisFlag has inspired the largest anti-government protests for many years which also come at a time Mugabe, now 92, faces increasing pressure from his own Zanu PF party.

Mawarire said he was worried that a civil war could erupt if Mugabe continued intimidating, kidnapping and beating its opponents.

“It will be so hard to rebuild Zimbabwe from ground zero after a civil war,” he told The Times.

“We’ve lost too many people already to disease, to poverty and because our hospitals haven’t been kitted out properly. That’s enough of a sacrifice.

“The only way a civil war will happen is if the government keeps up its tactic of kidnapping and torturing people.”

Even so, Mugabe’s time was up, the cleric insisted.

“If there is one thing that is certain it is that the time for Robert Mugabe is finished, it is over. Zanu PF is eating itself.”

It never rains but pours for President Robert Mugabe’s government which faces a new wave of protests by 12 political parties that are pushing for electoral reforms ahead of the 2018 general elections

The protest will be held on 26 August in Harare and will be led by leaders of all the opposition parties.

Poll reforms are considered critical for the opposition, which of late has shown seriousness in converging as a grand coalition, to win elections against the ruling Zanu PF that has repeatedly been accused of electoral fraud.

The 12 parties will be demanding the immediate implementation of the electoral reforms amid concerns that time is fast running out.

The parties planning the demonstration where some 200,000 people are expected to participate include the Movement for Democratic Change formations led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube (MDC-T and MDC), Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) that has been avoiding joint action with other organisation, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and ZAPU.

ZimPF’s Didymus Mutasa who currently chairs NERA said they intended to push the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure the military to be barred from active politics.

“We don’t want to see the army, police and the intelligence being involved in party politics. We don’t want to see soldiers campaigning for Zanu PF or any other party. They must stay in the barracks, not in rural areas intimidating our villagers,” he said.

“We are demanding that the State media be professional in the coverage of all political parties and that no State resources are abused by the ruling party or any party.

“I am saying this with hindsight and experience. I know what used to happen, so we are saying that must stop,” added Mutasa,a former intelligence minister under Mugabe who admitted Zanu PF had been stealing elections.

Murisi Zwizwai, a senior MDC-T member, urged civil society to take part in the demonstration.

“I am talking to war veterans, groups such as Tajamuka, #ThisFlag, #BeatThePot and others. This is our time to start preparing for a better, democratic Zimbabwe,” said Zwizwai, in reference to civil groups that mobilised largely successful protests in July

A $10 million cancer treatment clinic has been opened in Harare as the country seeks to find solutions to the silent killer which has affected thousands of Zimbabweans

Oncocare Cancer Treatment Centre has equipment that can detect cancer, do chemotherapy, radiation treatment and a specialised cancer retail pharmacy to cater for the increasing number of patients who are diagnosed with the condition.

“The new facility has the ability to offer unique, state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary oncology treatment in a more comfortable and convenient setting so as to deliver personalised cancer therapies.

“It provides renewed hope to the more than 7 000 patients in Zimbabwe diagnosed with cancer annually,” Oncocare chief executive officer Ben Deda said.

Due to high costs related to cancer treatment, many Zimbabweans often fly out of the country for treatment to countries such as India and South Africa.

But Deda said this should be a thing of the past as the newly-established clinic would offer the services at affordable prices.

The cost build-up from examination, diagnosis, lumpectomy, surgery to chemotherapy/radiotherapy, runs into thousands of dollars with no subsidies to alleviate the financial burden.

Many people end up dying because they just cannot afford to get treatment.

“The disease burden in Zimbabwe is overweighed by the high prevalence of HIV at 15% in the adult population. This has led to a big strain on the national healthcare budget. Gone are the days when people had to travel out of the country for treatment, we are here to serve them,” Deda said.

Of the affected, an estimated 1 200 die from the disease annually. A cycle is the time one goes through chemotherapy and then breaks before the next treatment to allow the body to recover. A patient may need a minimum of six cycles and these can go up to 12.

Radiotherapy costs between $3 000 and $4 000 for a whole session. In addition, cancer drugs are expensive.

But Deda said the clinic would be cheaper in a bid to help many Zimbabweans who are flocking to other countries for treatment.

Statistics released by the Zimbabwe Cancer Registry show that there is a steady increase in reported cases and cervical cancer accounts for most of them.

In 2011, recorded cases were 5 553, while in 2012 cases stood at 6 107 before escalating to 6 548 in 2013. According to government, cancer has become more threatening than HIV.

Several people were left injured when Zimbabwe police crushed a peaceful demonstration by #Tajamuka activists in Harare on Wednesday morning.

The protesters had gathered near Town House in Harare CBD with the intention of marching against the introduction of bond notes and to compel government to solve the crippling cash crisis the country is experiencing.

Police, armed with baton sticks and other weapons, then started randomly attacking people at the square between Julius Nyerere and Leopold Takawira Streets near Town House.

One journalist, Thomas Madhuku, was reportedly assaulted by police in what is becoming a worrying trend of what appears to be a systematic targeting of media professionals

Last week, police beat up and confiscated cameras from several journalists who were covering a demonstration in Harare.

More details to follow

ZESA will soon embark on massive nationwide power disconnections to recover more than $1 billion from defaulting consumers. Zesa Holdings spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira yesterday told The Chronicle both commercial and domestic consumers were neglecting to pay electricity bills. He said the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) would handover stubborn defaulters to lawyers.

“Electricity consumers owe us over a billion dollars. We’ve intensified revenue collection efforts in order to maintain the prevailing stable power supply. “To that end we’re advising all customers in arrears to pay up their bills immediately or approach our customer service with workable payment plans to avoid the inconveniences associated with withdrawal of supplies,” said Mr Gwasira. He said the smooth power supply- free from load shedding- could only be maintained if consumers constantly pay for electricity. “We’re committed to maintaining the prevailing reliable power supply situation, which is only being made possible by stable local generation and prepaid power imports.

I would like to urge all defaulting customers to pay their bills on time to avoid the inconvenience of disconnection. All defaulters who do not respond will be handed over to our lawyers,” said Mr Gwasira. He said the power utility has since issued notices in the press notifying consumers about ZETDC’s move, in line with its credit control measures. “There has been an increase in the number of defaulters. This has resulted in the debt rising to over $1 billion and constraining the capacity of the company to pay for critical obligations such as electricity imports, coal and spares to repair faults and statutory obligations,” said Mr Gwasira.

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) recently turned down Zesa’s request for a 13,6 percent tariff. Several consumers have over the years continued to accuse Zesa of inflating bills. They claim most bills are based on estimates. To reconnect customers, Zesa charges a reconnection fee of $10 for domestic consumers and $20 for businesses. Under the Zim-Asset blueprint, Zesa is targeting to install 800 000 prepaid metres by 2018 and has already connected 550 000 customers. Zesa introduced prepaid metering technology to replace the conventional billing system that had been posing challenges to the power utility. Prepaid metering has helped improve cash flows for the company.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has extended the suspension of key executives by a further three months to give more time to auditors to complete investigations into the car scam at the revenue collector.

The executives include commissioner-general Gershem Pasi, Tiyapo Velempini (ICT director), loss control director Charlton Chihuri, Anna Mutombodzi (commissioner of customs and excise), Clive Charles Majengwa (director internal audit) and human resources director Sithokozile Thembani Mrewa.

The directors had initially been suspended for three months beginning in May.

Sources said: “It is true that the executives’ suspension was extended by three months. We are hoping the audit will come out this week because the audit firms have finished everything, they are left to interview the executive, so that they can conclude the report.

The audit followed a luxury vehicle scam in May this year. The auditors have been auditing every piece of information, with a view to getting to the bottom of the matter.

Sources said although sometimes companies would set deadlines to complete the audit, forensic audit could take longer than expected.

It is alleged that the executives bought vehicles on the company’s car loan scheme without the board’s knowledge.

It is also alleged that the executives gave themselves loans that ranged between $90 000 to $100 000.

It is alleged that matters came to a head after Pasi was involved in an accident, while driving a 2015 Toyota Land Cruiser in Newlands and police discovered that it was registered as a budget car.

Zimra is in charge of revenue collection and has descended hard on companies that default in paying their obligations.

Police on Wednesday clashed with civil activists under the #Tajamuka banner who were demonstrating against current cash shortages.

Joice ainge oshaya pekubata akungoti “ndikwirei kani daddy”! Achizvongonyoka kunge nyoka! Handina kumbobvira ndazviisa mumusoro kuti musikana anotibatsira kuchengeta mwana wedu anobva kuMalawi. Then one day ndakatyora zvangu mudheni ndakanzwa achitaura namadam , vachitaura nezve kuchinamwari kwavakaenda apa madam vangu mupositori.

Ndakangoti ooh, I should have known this since ndirini ndakamutsvaga and according to what she was saying zvairatidza kuti haa panebasa, basa chairo. Vakasvika pakupisa poto vachingotaura nezvechinamwari varimo mukitchen ini nzeve kwanga ndirimo mubedroom zvangu. Mboro yakatanga kucomplainer mhani ichibva yamira. Munhu unofa nenyota makumbo arimumvura inotambika.Ndakapotsa ndaita bonyora mapeche two arimo mukitchen. Vakazopedza zvavo nyaya dzavo asi ini ndange ndatove neplan zvangu. Apa sisi Joice vatete varefu, mazamu aripo ano matende emapudzi chaiwo. Magaro haa ndizvowo hazvo zvevanhu vatete tingatiiko. Face vanayowo zvavo asi hangazosvika pana madam. Nyaya dzaakanga achiudza madam ndodzakandipinza busy, kusvika amai mufana vatoti Joice tichatombokusheedza kuChina chemadzimai umbotidzidzisawo kubata varume pabonde. Nechemoyo ndikati aah mukadzi wangu abvuma defeat paopen, saka ini ndini ndingazodiiwo zvangu. By any chance I was going to be wekutanga kupinzwa china chacho practically ozoenda hake kutheory kuchurch.

Mazuva akaofuura waiting for my opportunity but it never came. One week, two aah three chabuda hapana apa namadam varitekiteki neni kuita kunge vaiziva kuti ndaida kuita musikanzwa. Week 4 ndikanzwa daddy musi wechina tirikuenda kucharara kuMazowe tinotozodzoka Friday manheru. Ndakanzwa ropa rangu kumhanya from head to toe, ndakapererwa nemashoko hana ikarova ndikanzwa kadzungu sooo! Ndakabva ndati ahh its okay mongosiya mandibikira hanti murikuenda mose naJoice.

Zvikanzi no chando chiriko ichi mwana angatonherwe, saka sisi vanosara nemwana. Ndikati iribho apa ndichikwenyazvangu mhuno. But nyaya yainetsa manje approach ndaizotangira papi? because aah masteady anga ari tii zvekuti ndaigona kujamukwa ndikazopinzwa busy futi kuna madam. Iniwo kudhibha futi dai ndakanga ndagara ndakakanda mazwi ndaizoziva patimire. Ini zvangu handinwe hwahwa, but musi uyu ndakambogaya kurova chapomba but zvaigona kutozorasisa tsoro yese. Ini ndikati handisvikirwe asi ndosvika ndega.

Pandakasvika kumbai ndakasvikowana madam vatoyenda pangove nasisi nekamwana vatopedza zvavo kubika vaiwona TV. Ndakasvikotora kamwana kangu ndakutamba zvangu nako apa sisi vachironga chikafu. Game plan yose yanga yatove mumusoro kwanga kwasara execution manje. Pavakandipa chikafu ndakaramba ndakavatarisa pamaboobs zviya zvekuti kana naivo vazvione kuti mazamo angu akatariswa, anga ari ano eround mamedium, ko aimboita seakayamwiwa here?Pandakaona kuti vazviona ndakabva ndanyatsoisa concentration zvinenge zvinekakushamisika so ivo vakanditarisa ndakabva ndamedzera mate so zviya zvinoita munhu anenzara kana anzwa munhuwi wechikafu chakanaka.

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Madyiro andakaita bus inspector mboro mubhazi! – PART 2  – Haiwa ndakasvirwa vasikana! Hapana kumbopera week ndobva ndasheedzwa kubasa kublues. I couldn’t believe my luck. This time i called muface wangu the ticket inspector and he said anondibatira seat next to him mubus. I just had to be kushow ground by 2pm. I had been communicating with him for the whole 4 days before i was called kuti ndawana basa. Mostly it was kuflirt chete. Aitomboda kuti ndimutumire manaked pics but ndakaramba considering zvanga zvaitika kuna miss Zim vaye vekuzo resigner. After all i was trying to build a career saka zvaigona kuzondikanganisa. I was going to be a paralegal for some law firm in Bulawayo even though i was a qualified lawyer. Chete zvemuZim unongotora chese chauya.

Ndakaperekedzwa kubus ne my sister sezvo tanga tiine mabag akati kuti and i was dressed to impress. Even i admitted kuti ndanga ndichiita with my new hairdo and and my short white flaired dress. Ndanga ndatomboudzwa kuti munhu haafambe akapfeka white long distance but it was the one that brought out my best features. Paakandiona he helped put mabags mubus ndobva bus rasimuka. Takafamba zvedu tichingoita catch up and getting to know each other. He was such a cool guy and made me feel at home. Zvekunyara kuti i had been too easy with him the first time hazvina kana kumboitika. Akazoti saka urikurara kwamoms vako futi here nhasi? Considering kuti mboro yangu irikugara yakamira since i saw those lovely legs of yours? I wasn’t hangu because the lawyers had organised for me to stay at their guest house until i found somewhere to stay. So he said better coz something was definitely going to happen today.

Buluwayo yakaita kure tava muGweru takazosvika kuma6 and it was getting really dark. Once again bus ranga risisina kuzara so he said lets go kuback seat ndirikuda kumbokukisser. I didn’t resist. After all he just manages to break all my barriers. Takasimuka ndobva taenda. Tichingosvika he started kissing me. Takaita iya inonzi French kiss. Akabva abuditsa one of my boobs nekumusoro kwedress and started kuriyamwa. aaaah, it felt really good, i was already wet from the kisses but haa the juices started flowing akabva angondivhura makumbo, pushed bhurugwa to the side ndokubva ayisa chigunwe mukati. Akandikoira nechigunwe for a minute akati ndirikuda kukusiya wakadai umbonzwawo how I have been feeling the whole journey . It really was pure torture. Saka akabva aenda kunogara hake kumberi.

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Four police detectives attached to the anti-corruption section at Beitbridge Border Post and were instrumental in the arrest of two immigration officers caught on camera last week taking bribes, were on Wednesday arrested after taking a bribe of R1 500 from a bus crew they had intercepted smuggling cooking oil and blankets.

Sergeants Sibusisiwe Chiverengo and Lawrence Munyika along with Constables Hillary Tetete and Raymond Tapiwa Jeche were picked up by detectives from the border control unit soon after collecting their ‘pickings’.

Border authorities said the four were arrested at around 6 am and had been charged with criminal abuse of office.

They said the four were part of a reaction and surveillance team which acts on information provided by other officers in the Close Circuit Televisions Control Room within the border.

The accused persons were on duty and were monitoring customs officials from the enforcement and compliance searching luggage in buses.

“After the bus had been searched they saw some travellers taking back into the bus some products which are restricted under Statutory Instrument Number 64.

They then called the customs officials to conduct a re-search,” said the official. The source added that 14 blankets and several boxes of cooking oil were then seized by Zimra officials.

After that Tetete approached the bus driver, Maxwell Mabonga, and demanded R500, threatening to initiate another search of the bus.

He was given the money and went away. Mabonga then drove the bus to an immigration check point where he was followed by Munyika and Jeche who demanded a further R2000, threating him with yet another search

Alick Macheso has, on some occasions, shed tears on stage while playing the song “Baba” from his current album “Tsoka Dzerwendo” and speculation has been rife over the musician’s emotional attachment to his composition.

At some of the shows, Macheso cuts the song as emotions overcome him and many have been questioning why this particular track touches a soft spot of the musician’s heart when he has penned similar songs before.

The song is about a child who blames his father for neglect and chronicles how his mother had to do tough tasks to fend for him. He says his father left his mother when she was pregnant and never returned.

The song is about the hardships that single mothers in poor communities and their children face. Macheso was raised in a similar situation and he has shown his strong feelings against divorce through songs like “Zvimiro”, “Mai Varubhi” and “Chara Chimwe”, yet none of the tracks brought him to tears on stage.

In an interview on Monday, Macheso opened up on the emotions engraved in “Baba”. It was not an easy account as the musician had to fight back tears when he poured his heart out.

He said other songs with a similar theme were general, but “Baba” is a painful reminder of the hardships he and his mother went through for his upbringing. He could not say why he chose to do the song now.

The musician said it was also touching that many people that share similar backgrounds with him had been moved by the song and responses at some shows make the performance of “Baba” emotional.

Macheso apparently sang the song for his father whom he only met once and would hardly recognise if they were to meet today.

He did not want to mention his father’s name and chose to stick to his personal account. However, previous information suggests his father’s name is Hudson Chisale.

“I only met him once when I was six years old. He came to visit once at that was all. I have been told a lot about him, but I do not want to talk about it now. I can only tell you how I grew up,” said an emotional Macheso.

“I grew up with my mother and grandmother. I had to adopt my mother’s surname because everyone around me seemed to know that they would be no attachment between father and son. I was too young to know what was happening then.

“What I knew was that I was growing up like an orphan when my father was alive. What I knew was that my mother was always doing her best to make me happy although I could notice she was going through hard times. What I know is that my grandmother would carry me on her back even when I had grown beyond that stage because she wanted me to feel comfortable.

“I could sense the hardships and I always wondered why my father was not doing like other men in our neighbourhood that were looking after their families. You know, farm life is difficult and my childhood was made worse by my situation.

“People I grew up with in Shamva will tell you that it is a miracle to be where I am today. It is entirely by God’s grace and some of my childhood friends still find it hard to believe that I am the boy they always felt sorry for everyday we met at our farm playgrounds. I feel sorry for my mother because I now understand what she was going through.”

The musician said he has lost hope of meeting his father again and he is not bothered. A man from Chipinge once claimed to be Macheso’s father and the artiste rubbished the claims.

“I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. If he was alive he would have come to show his courtesy. I cannot look for him because I do not know where to begin. In fact, there is no way I can be worried about someone who was so careless.

“Whenever I play the song ‘Baba’ the mood of the show changes and I also notice that some people in the crowd get touched. Many people have gone through such situations and it is always painful to recall some of the circumstances.

Prophetic Healing and Deliverance leader, Walter Magaya has embarked on an illegal and controversial housing project.  Magaya is going to build 46 000 houses countrywide and upon investigating how Magaya had acquired so many stands in a few months this publication got shocking details.

For the benefit of Magaya and himself Honourable Kasukuwere who is the Minister of local government which controls state owned land in Zimbabwe reversed the allocation of close to 50 000 stands that had been earmarked for War Veterans and War Collaborators in a move that has been seen described as fraudulent. The Minister has used Magaya as a front man in this scandalous transaction in which he has made all efforts to keep his name behind the scenes. The Honourable Minister is a strong member of the ZANU PF faction known as the G40 which is led by the First Lady Grace Mugabe.

The faction is leading a push to remove Cde Emerson Mnangagwa from his post as the Vice President of Zimbabwe. It is understood that Magaya is a strong ally to the First Lady and has declared his allegiance in many circles. The latest partnership is however a dead end as its going to attract controversy as the war veterans are said to have held a secret meeting over the stands a few days ago in which they declared a silent war on the illegal seizure .

The vets are in possession of agreements that had been signed between themselves and the Ministry of Local Government under its former leader Honourable Chombo allowing them to allocate the stands to members of their association as part of an initiative by their patron who

President R.G Mugabe to house them. Not to be left out in the looting spree is Honourable Zhuwawo the niece to President Mugabe who is also benefiting from the scandal. Zhuwawo also a G40 faction member has put himself in the position of a member in the housing scheme though he is a benefiting facilitator in the whole deal.

A senior member of the War Veterans association who commented on condition of anonymity said “This time we are now clever, we will let them build the houses then we take this issue to court because its daylight robbery, we have even spoken to the leaders at the top who sympathize with us and they assured us that we will get the stands back”…”I would never advise anyone to subscribe to these stand ,houses or whatever Magaya and Kasukuwere are doing because its stolen property that will eventually be retained to us,we have all the necessary papers of ownership of these stands as an association” added the leader. It was not clear who the leader at the top being referred to was but speculators pointed at Vice President Mnangagwa who the war veterans have clearly nominated to be the next leader of the revolutionary party after President Mugabe.

Magaya is well known for mixing politics with church as he subscribes to many politicians and will bow down to any demands to get political protection no matter how dirty the game can get. “I can confirm to you that Magaya is lying about the 20% land allocation he is claiming to have received from the government because we know for a fact that he got all the land from this Minister(Kasukuwere) and they are taking advantage of the political protection from the First Lady but my friend this will be over soon” said another source from inside the Ministry of Local Government.

The issue of Prophet Magaya enjoying protection from prosecution has been openly evident as no issue raised against him has ever taken him to the courts of law no matter how much he breaks the law. Hidden in the police charge offices are multiple rape cases against the man of cloth and no one knows if justice will see its light for the poor girls who ran to the only place they could have their rights observed in vain. The latest move is likely to have him facing a fall out with the general public as many will fall into the housing trap that will face a reversal when justice takes its course. The HeadBoy News “setting the record straight”

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police has transferred its entire force of over 600 officers from Beitbridge in a major shake-up suspected to have been triggered by their alleged involvement in corrupt activities and failure to contain the July 1 riots involving cross-border traders.

It is understood police bosses were not amused when their intelligence failed to get wind of the looming demonstrations where cross-border traders torched a Zimra warehouse in protest against a ban on imports of basic goods from South Africa.

A police radio signal — JC345/16 released on August 16, 2016 and classified as “A” — listed more than 60 officers from the rank of Assistant Inspector and below who were ordered to report to their new stations by August 23.
Other senior officers’ instructions were contained in separate signals.

National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the mass staff transfer, saying it was part of government’s directive to relocate all civil servants at Beitbridge.

We have just been the first to do so, but all government departments will soon move their staff from Beitbridge in like rotations,” Charamba said.

“Ordinarily police should be at a station for three years and not more. It’s common practice that they are transferred laterally. The government decided to transfer most civil servants at Beitbridge and police were the first to act.”

Sources at Beitbridge Police Station yesterday said they suspected the transfers were triggered by their failure to avert the July 1 violent protests against Statutory Instrument 64/2016.

The regulation removed from the open general import facility most basic goods imported by cross-border shoppers.

“Police intelligence failed, they were preoccupied by other things and failed to react,” a source said.

Beitbridge police have also been accused of facilitating smuggling and accepting bribes with a number having been arrested recently following the installation of CCTV cameras.

Police officers have also been accused of owning hundreds of pirate taxis operating at the border post.

“We are begrudgingly accepting the transfers, some have been relocated as far as Concession and what can we do?” the source asked, adding they were likely to be replaced by police from Harare.

Beitbridge residents had mixed feelings about the transfers with most saying the move was long overdue while others felt it was too harsh.
“I have never heard of a situation where everyone is transferred, it’s a first,” Angela Moyo, of Dulivhadzimo, said.

Aaron Mhukuta, the Vadzidzi VaJeso prophet popularly known as Mudzidzi Wimbo, has dismissed longstanding claims that he is living in captivity after being abducted by the army to force a prophecy on who will replace President Robert Mugabe.

The prophet is said to have prophesied in 1957 that Mugabe would rule Zimbabwe.

Wimbo gave an interview to State media and said he had left his home freely to live at the shrine but some reports indicated he was being held as a prisoner of the army that is reportedly backing Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to succeed Mugabe.

Official media reporters claimed they visited the shrine and found him attending to about 2,000 people, among them foreigners, who had visited him to receive spiritual help.

“I am tired of explaining that (my stay at the shrine). I was not abducted by anyone and I am happy and preaching the word of God from this shrine,” said Wimbo.

Earlier, Wimbo had reportedly told the police that he had never been abducted but chose to live at the shrine to avoid some of his sons who were angling to take over the popular Apostolic church from the 94-year-old prophet.

“Currently, I am staying at the shrine. I cannot currently go back home because there is disorder. I am not going to return to the Gomo Village again,” says Vimbo in a video recording of the police interview.

Wimbo’s aide, Shepherd Chingwena, confirmed a fierce dispute between the prophet and some of his sons, claiming that the spiritual figurehead had some time back foretold his relocation to the shrine in Mashonaland Central province’s Mt Darwin district.

Chingwena said they had invited Mnangagwa and Local Government minister to officiate at the opening of a school that has been built at the shrine.

The army, contrary to previous reports, had not invaded the shrine but had a training camp nearby.

“The issue of soldiers who are said to be staying here are all lies. What I only know is that there are soldiers who do their training a few kilometres from here and they asked Mudzidzi to fetch water here since we have tap water, and Mudzidzi agreed. That request was done well before Mudzidzi came to stay here,’ one of Wimbo’s wives, Jester Mhukuta said.

Chingwena added that Wimbo had ruled out Joice Mujuru, Mugabe’s former deputy and now leader of the opposition ZimPF, and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, as future presidents.

“He made several other prophesies apart from that one. For instance, prior to the expulsion of Joice Mujuru from Zanu PF, he said the former VP (vice president) was getting lost and that Zimbabwe will never be ruled by a female President.

“In 2003, he prophesied that Zimbabwe will use the US dollar as its official currency, and in 1995 he said Gabriel was going to rule the whole of Africa. He further elaborated that he was not referring to Gabriel the angel, but the leader of Zimbabwe. We only realised the meaning of that prophecy when President Mugabe was appointed African Union chairperson.

“Mudzidzi Wimbo prophesied about perennial droughts and that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai would not rule Zimbabwe. Those are some of the prophecies he has made and he is not the kind of a man whom you can pressurise to say something,” said Chingwena.

He said Wimbo still stood by his 1957 prophecy but the “problem is that in political circles, there are certain people who no longer want President Mugabe and they think that Mudzidzi Wimbo is a stumbling block to their ambitions and, they now wish him to die

No one can blame Pastor Evan Mawarire for fleeing Zimbabwe, and he’s certainly doing all he can to fight the good fight from abroad. But his extended absence from the country robs the nascent #ThisFlag movement of a powerful figurehead. Is it bigger than him

On the night that Pastor Evan Mawarire fled Zimbabwe, on 15 July, I spoke to one of his fellow activists, trying to get a sense of what it meant. At the time, Pastor Evan was insisting that his departure was for a previously scheduled event, and nothing to do with the political whirlwind in which he and his family had been engulfed.

The government’s skilled propagandists, meanwhile, jumped on his exit as proof that the pastor was being paid by foreign powers, that he was a coward, that he didn’t practice what he preached.

“We will miss him,” Mawarire’s colleague admitted. “But this is bigger than one man.”

I wasn’t so sure. Mawarire’s #ThisFlag campaign had, in just a few short months, almost single-handedly resuscitated opposition politics in Zimbabwe. Its positive message of change, combined with its explicit rejection of party politics, had struck a chord with disaffected urbanites, while the canny use of social media had amplified the message.

But it was much more than a social media movement. When Mawarire was arrested, on trumped up treason charges, a crowd of thousands protested outside the Magistrate’s Court in Harare. This show of public defiance – unprecedented in recent Zimbabwean history – forced the magistrate to uphold the letter of law, and let Mawarire go.

From nothing, Mawarire had created an incredibly subversive challenge to the regime. But it also relied on his energy and charisma, and I wasn’t sure that anyone else would be able to harness and maintain the power that he had unleashed. Every movement needs a figurehead, and Mawarire was it.

Fast forward a month, and Mawarire hasn’t come home. It’s unclear if he can. His previously scheduled trip has turned into a de facto exile, and his family have joined him. And who can blame them? Zimbabwe is a dangerous country for political dissidents, and Mawarire is currently the most threatening of the lot. Unquestionably, his life is at risk.

It must be remembered that Mawarire did not sign up for this. His YouTube video which started the whole thing was filmed spontaneously, in anger; he could hardly have foreseen how it would thrust him into the limelight, and he also can’t be expected to further endanger himself or his family.

Nor does he need to. The pastor may have thrown the stone that cracked the façade of the regime’s omnipotence, but popular resistance has not halted in his absence. If anything, it has intensified.

Just look at the events of the last week. On Saturday, both major opposition parties staged a joint march in Gweru, their leaders – Morgan Tsvangirai and Joice Mujuru – holding hands in a powerful symbol of opposition unity.

On Monday, the Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe began a ten day, 200-kilometre marchon Harare to demand better working conditions. On Tuesday, Occupy Africa Unity Square held a vigil outside the court in Mbare where activist Linda Masirira remains in custody on trumped up charges.

On Wednesday, youth movement Tajamuka marched on the Central Harare Police Station to protest against the introduction of bond notes. They were met with tear gas and water cannons, despite attempting to give the police flowers as a sign of peace.

On Thursday, the National Vendors Union marched on the same police station, protesting against the routine confiscation by police of street vendors’ wares. Another brutal response saw police assault protestors.

There are two conclusions to draw from all this activity.

First, there is still plenty of momentum in opposition ranks, with or without a charismatic figurehead. Even if social media mourns his absence, real Zimbabweans do not appear to need Pastor Mawarire to lead the resistance.

Second, this resistance is coming from all quarters. #ThisFlag is just one of a number of different organisations and initiatives that are tackling the government head on. And while #ThisFlag may have garnered the publicity, and energised activists, these other organisations are doing much of the hard and risky work of planning protests and mobilising people to join them.

“The media have turned Pastor Evan into some kind of symbolic messiah, which he’s not. His is one of a number of movements taking place in what is clearly a renewed phase of anti-government activity,” said Piers Pigou, southern Africa senior consultant for the International Crisis Group.

So yes, Zimbabwe misses Pastor Evan. But the resistance movement really is bigger than one man.

Bishop Daniel Obinim, the founder and General Overseer of the International God’s Way Church in Ghana, is currently trending on social media for flogging a helpless pregnant girl and her boyfriend during a church service.

The controversial pastor who was angered by the couple’s amorous activity which has led to a pregnancy took the law into his hands and lashed the young man on his bare back before turning to the girl flogging her mercilessly with a belt in the full glare of his congregation.

Throughout the punishment, Obinim is heard questioning the jobless youngman why he got the girl pregnant when he has no finances for her upkeep and the upbringing of the unborn child.

The girl who was unable to stand the flogging attempts to escape, but she was held by henchmen of the Bishop to enable the bishop mete out more beatings.

After subjecting the two to severe flogging for several minutes, Obinim orders his junior pastors to remove their belts and subject the couple to more flogging.

In one instance, a lady in the 3-minute video, was seen wailing after being subjected to inhumane treatment by the supposed Man of God who is believed to be thriving on series of controversies recently.

It is unclear which part of the bible justifies the conduct of Bishop Obinim who used a black leather belt severely beating the poor congregants until the female sought refuge in Florence Obinim, but assistant went for her and handed her over to his boss.

Another young man was equally not spared the torture of Bishop Daniel Obinim who has always found justification for whatever he does

A woman who accused a married Pentecostal pastor of sexually assaulting her has been branded a liar in court by the defence lawyer.

Jurors at the trial of churchman Walter Masocha heard that the 47-year-old had not told police or Crown officials about an alleged incident.

She had alleged at Mr Masocha’s trial at Stirling Sheriff Court that he had kissed her, opened her blouse and sexually assaulted her.

She said Mr Masocha, 51, known to his flock as the “Archbishop”, had touched her inappropriately during three incidents in the one-to-one counselling sessions.

She alleged one of the incidents included one when he exposed himself.

But she was accused by Mr Masocha’s lawyer John Scullion QC yesterday of telling a “pack of lies” after she changed her evidence and said the blouse incident and the exposure had actually happened at the same time.

Mr Scullion said: “You said yesterday there were two separate episodes, now you’re drawing them together into one episode.

“Do you think everybody in this court is stupid?

“You told everybody in this courtroom yesterday these episodes were separated by months.”

Mr Scullion said she had made no mention of the blouse incident at all in an initial statement she gave police in January 2015, or to officials from the procurator fiscal’s office who interviewed her earlier this year.

Mr Scullion said it was “a significant event” and asked why she had earlier omitted it.

He asked her: “How could it be that in disclosing these events to the police that you missed this out? You are making things up during your evidence, you’ve been caught lying, and you’ve no answer for that.”

Mr Masocha, of Sauchieburn, denies sexually assaulting the divorcee and another woman at various locations including the church, his former home in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, and at Edinburgh Airport between 2007 and 2011.

The trial before Sheriff Wyllie Robertson continues.

All is set for the much-anticipated Stunner album launch set for Pablo’z VIP Lounge at Sam Levy Village in Borrowdale . Stunner will launch his album titled “If I die Tonight” at the event that will be graced by Jamaican dancehall musicians Kapital K and Sir Ford. The two were expected to jet in yesterday afternoon and the glitz and glamour event will also see top deejays P Styles, T Bass and C Skillz performing.In an interview Stunner’s manager Godfrey Bakasa said all is set and those invited should dress up for the occasion.

“We are breaking the ice of the norm that whenever an artist launches an album, it is just music and ordinary lifestyle on the night or day but we are bringing fashion too on ground. The event is a black tie affair and we are going to roll down the red carpet. We have invited a lot of notable high profile people especially those in the hip-hop community. We are happy that the duo from Jamaica is coming to support the event,” he said

Bakasa said the launch is not a fund-raiser as some might.

“We made it a strictly by invitation so as to get the business side of the launch with cooperates and other important people in business sector. This is not a fund-raiser as some people have claimed. However, we will open doors after 10pm for an after party session where fans and artists will mix and mingle,” he said.

The album “If I Die Tonight” has tracks such as “Switch”, “Time”, “Impilo”, “Ndiri Humble”, “She” and “Photogenic” among others.

It also features some local musicians such as BaShupi, Albert Nyathi and Trevor Dongo.

Today, I gained a thorough and in depth appreciation of what we are really up against. I am now thoroughly convinced that this country is run by a despicable mafia called ZANU PF.

We do not have a government. Zimbabwe is run by terrorists who are masquerading as leaders.

I teamed up with my brother Sten Zvoradzwa and we went to Harare Central Police Station to hand flowers to the police as a gesture of peace and love.

We may not agree on everything but we are all Zimbabweans and we must love one another. Love is the only way for us.

The moment we arrived at central police station riot police was waiting for us. Before we could even hand the flowers to the police, a group of about 50 riot police officers charged against the two of us clouded with blatant atrocious intentions.

I managed to sneak away from the two who had grabbed and started to beat me. I ran away.

Unfortunately, Sten could not run away. About 15 people in riot uniform took turns to beat him with baton sticks as he lay helplessly on the ground.

While the police chased away anyone who was close to police entrance at charge office bus terminus, I ran back through the parked commuter omnibuses in order to help Sten.

Two riot police officers noticed me and they ran towards me. I didn’t run away while they assaulted me using their baton sticks. One of their superiors instructed them to stop beating me and he ordered me to lead Sten away.

Meanwhile, a street kid came through and he tried to restrain the police from beating Stan. I was moved by that young boy and I wish to meet him again. He did what most onlookers who were taking photos of the happenings failed to do.

Hobbling in pain, we negotiated our way through the parked commuter omnibuses.

Zvorwadza is receiving medical attention. He was badly hurt but he is in high spirits. As for me I am not in much pain.

We categorically and vehemently condemn this level of barbarism by the police. We cannot and we won’t allow this madness to continue. How on earth can over 50 police officers pounce on two unarmed civilians? What nonsense is that?

Zimbabwe has come to a watershed moment and there is nothing that can stop us from crossing over. We are not going to give up until we redeem our nation out of the hands of these gangsters. They may beat us up but they can never beat the revolution.

A new and better Zimbabwe is possible in our lifetime. We shall come face to face with it.