Cynthia Dube, Court Reporter
THE founder and leader of Bread of Life Ministries in Bulawayo refused to pay maintenance for his children after a magistrate had ordered him to pay $250 monthly maintenance.

Pastor Garikai Muvirimi walked out of the court after telling the magistrate he was a poor pastor who could not afford the amount.

He left in a huff without collecting bank account details for his wife, Ms Dudzai Kurehwandishe, to deposit the money for the upkeep of his two minor children.

Ms Kurehwandishe told magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya that her husband was irresponsible.

“Your worship, he is not taking care of me and our children yet the church is paying him about $2 000 per month. He abandoned us and went to stay in the church premises and he no longer buys grocery for us,” she said.

“I want him to contribute $300 per month for us so that l can manage to clear school fees arrears for our children. I did not drag my husband to this court to fix him. I just want him to assist me in raising our children.”

Muvirimi said he could afford to pay $50 per month because he is unemployed.

“I depend on church tithes and my average salary is $150 per month. I am in this court because my wife does not want me to preach the word of God,” he said.

Mr Tashaya said the court proved that Muvirimi was getting more than $500 per month.

“You can’t tell this court that you don’t have money yet your EcoCash statement shows that you get more than $500 every month. You will pay $250 starting from next month until your children attain the age of 18 or become self supportive,” he said.

Muvirimi told the magistrate that he will not pay the money because he is unemployed.

Mr Tashaya said: “Ms Kurehwandishe, if he fails to pay maintenance obtain a warrant of arrest and have him arrested. I will meet him in criminal court.”

Recently, our sister paper, B-Metro published a story about Muvirimi who left his family and went to stay in church saying that he was cutting down on travelling costs. However, his wife allegedly discovered that he was having an affair with a congregant.

@cynthiamthembo1

Mourners gather at the late Sigoge Mlotshwa house in Lobengula West.

Thandeka Moyo, Chronicle Reporter
Retired Colonel Eddie Sigoge Mlotshwa who is the former deputy commander of the 3 Brigade in Mutare and was security manager of companies belonging to the late Vice-President Landa John Nkomo has died. He was 70.

Rtd Col Sigoge died yesterday of an undisclosed ailment at around 5AM at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo.

His elder brother who declined to give his name told The Chronicle he was too junior to comment on Sigoge’s death.

“Wait for the elders. They will be coming from Harare,” he said.

Rtd Col Sigoge was among the golden class of combatants who had a telling influence on the outcome of the country’s war for liberation from white settlers.

He was from a special class of senior commanders Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) that included the likes of Retired Col Masala Sibanda, Enoch Tshangange (the late Retired Major-General Jevan Maseko), Ben Mathe (Retired Brigadier-General Tshile Nleya).

Rtd Col Sigoge was an astute master tactician who was always a thorn in the side of the Rhodesian armed forces.

He is credited with engineering numerous raids that sapped the enemy’s morale and willpower to continue fighting.

Retired Brigadier General Abel Mazinyane who visited the Sigoge family yesterday to pay his condolences said:

“I first met him in 1970 while we were training in Tanzania and his pseudonym was Cashious Moya. We went through training and when we moved to Zambia, he remained in Tanzania as an instructor,” said Rtd Col Mazinyane.

“In 1976 he opened training camps in Zambia and at one time he was chief of staff at our training camp. In 1978 he became the chief of training with other army commanders.”

Rtd Col Mazinyane said they had lost a dedicated cadre who went through a lot of struggles to bring about independence in Zimbabwe.

The Sigoge family said burial arrangements would be announced in due course.

Mourners are gathered at 70903 Lobengula West in Bulawayo.

@thamamoe

Mr George Charamba

Zvamaida Murwira, Harare Bureau
Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba yesterday slammed civil society organisations who criticise Government institutions for not providing certain information to the media when no request has been made pursuant to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

He said a greater part of AIPPA-related to access to information from public bodies but the provisions had never been tested as no media practitioners had exercised the right conferred by the law to demand the relevant information held by public bodies.

Mr Charamba said this in Bulawayo during a dialogue convened by the parliamentary portfolio committee on justice, legal and parliamentary affairs chaired by Zvimba West MP Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi (Zanu-PF) and civic society organisations to consider a petition submitted to the legislature on the need to align the Electoral Act with the Constitution.

The meeting, which was supported by the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust and Zimbabwe Institute, brought together stakeholders involved in election management.

Mr Charamba said a lot of time was wasted as the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Zimbabwe chapter) and players in the media industry fought Government on the legal requirement to register.

“We forgot the real nag of the matter is in respect of getting access to information for all public bodies. That part of the law has not been developed because it has not been tested and I am still wondering why no one has come to Charamba’s office to say ‘hey in terms of AIPPA you are required to provide this information in the public interest’ and compel me to provide information,” said Mr Charamba. “So really, you cannot come here and claim that there is a problem in terms of accessing information when in fact there is a whole law that entitles you to demand that information. The challenge is on journalists to take note of that.”

Mr Charamba said political formations could not claim that the print media was not covering them because the law allowed everyone to own a newspaper.

On broadcasting, Mr Charamba said he had reservations with Section 61 of the Constitution which compelled only the public media to be impartial, saying that obligation should be imposed on all broadcasting players since they were using a national resource, the frequency, which was a finite national property. “What it means is that there is a law for black cats and another law for white cats. As far as I am concerned that distinction is needless.

Impartiality must apply to all broadcasters,” said Mr Charamba who described the provision as “weird”.

He, however, said he remained bound by the provision as it was the law that subsisted.

Mr Charamba said his Ministry would soon call for an all-stakeholders meeting to review broadcasting laws and environment given several technological changes that had taken place over the years.

He said the issue of frequency spectrum allocation ought to be reviewed as it could now be used by about 19 players instead of one.

Mr Charamba said his Ministry or State entities under his purview, cease to have any role in respect of superintending the media during election period as that responsibility was assumed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).

He said any complaints against media organisations regarding how they covered an election should be directed to Zec and not to the Zimbabwe Media Commission or the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.

Mr Charamba said he was entitled to support a political party of his choice like any citizen but that allegiance should not undermine his duty as a civil servant. This was after legislators had asked why he had indicated that he supported Zanu-PF yet he was a civil servant.

Speaking at the same occasion, University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku said some of the issues raised in the petition were already provided for by law but required implementation.

He said law-making was a political process and hence they had to push to ensure that they were implemented.

Dr Parirenyatwa

Auxilia Katongomara/Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporters
CABINET is tomorrow expected to discuss the Public Health Bill which is earmarked to replace an existing law which was promulgated 93 years ago.

The new bill is expected to bring sweeping changes in the country’s health sector.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said he would be presenting the Bill to Cabinet for approval tomorrow.

“First of all the Public Health Bill is an important Bill. The last Act of the Public Health Act was written in 1924, so we have been working flat out to make sure that it is now up to date in terms of the relevance to the situations that are here now,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

“Particularly, if you look at the new conditions, the new diseases, the new types of management that is needed, the decentralisation process that we have done in our institutions, the management process are key also.”

Dr Parirenyatwa said the Public Health Bill had a lot of legalities involved because it will supersede a lot of other Acts. “For example, if I invoke the Public Health Act and say Beitbridge town, we want you to clean up the city. I can invoke the Public Health Act, but what it means is that Beitbridge Town Council should now clean up its city by force, if you see what I mean, because I have invoked that particular Act. That sort of invocation impinges on other areas of governance. So, it has to be thorough. That is why it took long,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

“I am glad that on 14th June, 2017 it came back from the Attorney-General’s Office. It is going to Cabinet, on Tuesday and thereafter it comes to Parliament”.

Dr Parirenyatwa said it took him long to table the Bill in Parliament as it had to go through wide consultations.

“It took long because it really had to have very wide consultations. After that it then went to the Attorney General’s Office where it took some time for the legal people to make sure that the Public Health Bill, when it becomes an Act does not impinge on other laws and then becomes a tussle. It is a big document, so they had to be very thorough, very detailed and it took longer than most Bills take.

Meanwhile, Cabinet is also set to deliberate on the Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill in the next two weeks.

In a telephone interview, following a cyber attack on one local tertiary institution and a suspected hit on another on Wednesday last week, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Cde Supa Mandiwanzira said Cabinet was set to deliberate on the matter, which had to be urgently dealt with. The Bill seeks to plug online security risks.

The Harare Institute of Technology’s website was attacked, with the hackers demanding a ransom of more than $ 6 billion to restore it. There were fears the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) suffered a similar attack but officials at the institution dismissed the report.

Cde Mandiwanzira said: “We have finished all the consultations and we have hired experts to do the draft, which is available online. It is now with the Attorney General to finalise it. I was talking to the Attorney General’s Office and in the next two weeks it will be going to the Cabinet.”

“The draft addresses the abuse of the internet, by anyone. We have put it up so that the public can access it. This issue of cyber crime needs to be taken with a sense of urgency as it is in some cases getting out of hand. I am aware that an institution was attacked and a ransom was demanded. Such acts will be addressed in the Bill.”

@AuxiliaK

VP Mnangagwa

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT remains committed to creating a conducive environment for the holding of free and fair elections and referenda in the country as provided for by the Constitution, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Attorney General, Mr Kumbirai Hodzi, at a Bulawayo hotel during a stakeholders dialogue on the Election Resource Centre’s petition to Parliament, VP Mnangagwa said Government was also committed to adhering to regional and international guidelines and principles relating to the holding of free, fair, peaceful and credible elections.

His remarks were part of his response to the Election Resource Centre (ERC) petition to Parliament regarding the alignment of electoral laws to the Constitution.

A two-day stakeholders’ dialogue on the petition was held in Bulawayo over the weekend.

The petition, which was presented to Parliament in September 2015 expresses concern at the slow pace at which the legal reform process is being implemented since the promulgation of the supreme law in 2013.

The ERC, in the petition, implores the executive to uphold the Constitution by ensuring that the country’s electoral laws are reviewed in compliance with the provisions of the superior law.

The issues raised in the petition include the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), political environment, voter registration and voters’ roll, voter education, the right to vote, the electoral court, election observers and delimitation.

VP Mnangagwa, who is also the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs said his ministry will look into the issues raised, with the view to coming up with a perfect electoral law going forward.

“The provisions of the law are common cause and it is the extent to which these are reflected in our legislation and implementation that is crucial for us as a ministry and the petitioners I believe.

“We have so far, as a way of giving effect to implement these provisions, enacted the Electoral Amendment Act of 2014, which incorporates the constitutional provisions pertaining to the Zec. This has led to financial autonomy of Zec in terms of receiving direct support from the Treasury in terms of Sections 11 and 12 of the Act and the Paris Principles of Institutional Independence,” said VP Mnangagwa.

The appointment of the Commissioners, he added, has been done with Parliamentary oversight.

He said if there is a need to expand the voting process to the Diaspora, the ministry will stand guided and maybe redefine what a constituency is in terms of that envisaged electoral law.

“As far as our laws are concerned and the extent to which this right is conferred by our legislation, we feel that our laws are adequate as they confer a right to every Zimbabwean who wishes to vote in a constituency defined by the Constitution.

“What we do as the administering ministry is merely to listen and channel the electoral laws along the law making value chain and wait if Parliament will approve it. If it does then some will celebrate and some will cry foul, and the same goes if it doesn’t win support by relevant law making authorities,” said VP Mnangagwa.

On voter education, the VP said there is no provision that militates against voter education by civic society.

“This is notwithstanding that there is no express provision that arises from the Constitution that directly gives such other players space for voter education other than Zec, except of the Chapter 4 provisions which confer the right to participate in political and civic (for example Section 67 of the Constitution) processes,” said the VP.

He commended the civic society for their continuous monitoring of the constitutional, legislative and administrative measures pertaining to the implementation of electoral processes.

“We surely cherish their democratic foot print in research, advocacy, and monitoring, lobbying, whistle blowing and in extreme cases demonstrating, picketing and petitioning as it is within their right,” he said.

He said the law clearly states that the invitation of election observers is an exclusive function of Zec.

“Section 239 (i) confers this mandate to the Zec. The preamble, sections 5, and 40G-40J of the Electoral Act give effect to this right. When we crafted these provisions, we strongly believed that the involvement of other ministries and agencies of Government is to the extent to which they are indispensable in the diplomatic processes that automatically come to the fore in accrediting these observers.

“Thus, the Office of the President and Cabinet and that of Foreign Affairs naturally become part of the accreditation process. It is not true that the majority of the members are executive members. The opposite is true on the ratio of 5:4 in favour of non-executive members,” said VP Mnangagwa.

The two day workshop was attended by the Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda, the president of the chief’s council Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba, the chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe Department of Public Law Professor Lovemore Madhuku, committee members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and senior officials from various civic organisations.

@pamelashumba1

Hebert Zharare, Harare Bureau
About 86 percent of work on the Kariba South Power expansion project has been completed with the first unit expected to start generating 150 megawatts by December this year, while the second one will feed 150MW into the national grid by March next year.

This key Zim-Asset project under the Infrastructure and Utilities Cluster will bring 300 MW power, thereby easing pressure on the national power utility Zesa, that is importing about 350 MW from Mozambique and South Africa.

Completion of the power scheme will see the country making huge savings on power imports. Uninterrupted power supply is one of the key enablers in the economic recovery drive.

In an interview with recently, Sinohydro chief representative in Zimbabwe, Mr Wu Yifeng, said the project was on schedule.

“As you will be aware, His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, President Mugabe, commissioned the project in September 2014 and the project is progressing very well and 86 percent of the works have been done to date,” he said.

“The first unit is about to be completed so we expect that it will start generating 150MW in December this year while the second unit will be commissioned in March next year. That means the Kariba South expansion project would have added 300MW to the national grid by March next year,” said Mr Wu

The country needs about 1 400 MW for industrial and domestic use against a generating capacity of 900 MW, leaving the balance to be covered by imports.

Mr Wu dismissed media claims that the African Development Bank had blacklisted Sinohydro from carrying out its sponsored projects on the continent.

“As a matter of fact, it was during the prequalification process of a road tender in Uganda, where there was a typing error on the completion date of a project that was undertaken by Sinohydro. However, after a meeting between Sinohydro and AfDB, both parties reached a consensus that Sinohydro would continue to participate in AfDB’s projects,” said Mr Wu.

“On the claims that Sinohydro charged $533 million for the Kariba South expansion project compared to what it charged Zambia for the Kariba North expansion, the fact is that the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for Kariba South expansion project is only $355 million and not $533 million. The difference is the money that the employer, who is the Zimbabwe Power Company, spends on paying consultancy firms and on securing bank loans. That money has nothing to do with Sinohydro.

“Yes, the Zambia project was $278 million while for Zimbabwe it is $355 million. This is because of the differences of scope of works, construction duration and the date when the contract was signed,” said Mr Wu.

He said Sinohydro was also contributing to the development of the Kariba community through its corporate social responsibility activities.

Mr Wu said his company had helped in the construction of Mahombekombe Secondary School in Kariba town where they provided equipment and materials for site levelling and classroom building.

“Around 1 100 local technicians and labourers are employed and trained for Kariba South expansion project. When Kariba South expansion project is completed, the annual power generation of the country will be improved by about 25 percent, which will largely reduce the deficiency in industrial and domestic power use and further boost the social and economic development of Zimbabwe,” said Mr Wu.

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
A PLUMTREE magistrate has ordered an investigation into claims that police officers based at Khame Base in Bulilima District assaulted an attempted murder suspect and forced him to admit to the crime.

The suspect, Bongani Ndiweni (22) of Khame area told magistrate, Mr Joshua Mawere, that several police officers pounced on him in a bid to force him to admit to stabbing his neighbour twice, leaving him seriously injured.

Ndiweni said in a bid to escape from the assault, he fled from the police but was later apprehended. “Several police officers from Khame area beat me up and forced me to admit to attempted murder charges. I sustained injuries on the head, shoulder and legs as a result of the assault.

“I later tried to escape from the police in order to escape further assault but I was apprehended. They were forcing me to admit to committing an offence that I didn’t know of,” he said.

Mr Mawere ordered the prosecutor to ensure that investigations into the matter are carried out.

Ndiweni was not asked to plead when he appeared before Mr Mawere facing attempted murder and escape from lawful custody charges.

The magistrate remanded him in custody to July 6.

“The State will conduct investigations on the assault allegations and present a report before the court,” he said.

Prosecuting, Mr Elisha Mazorodze said Ndiweni stabbed his neighbour, Mr Brian Moyo, sometime in March and then fled to Bulawayo. He said Ndiweni was later arrested on June 20.

“On 20 June Ndiweni was taken to Khame Police Base around 6PM after he was arrested for attempted murder. Whilst he was in custody he tried to escape with handcuffs on him but police officers pursued and arrested him.

“Sometime in March Ndiweni had an altercation with his neighbour, Mr Brian Moyo and stabbed him once on the shoulder and chest. After committing the offence, Ndlovu fled to Bulawayo,” he said.

Mr Mazorodze said Mr Moyo sustained severe injuries on the chest as a result of the attack.

@DubeMatutu

Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu

Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
THE commission appointed by Government to conduct a fact finding mission on Gwanda municipality’s capacity to run its water system has concluded its work.

The commission is set to hand-over a report of its findings to the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri.

The Minister appointed a seven-member commission headed by the Ministry’s deputy director of water management, Engineer Gilbert Mawere two weeks ago following a dispute between Zinwa and the local authourity over management of water supplies for the town.

Zinwa also said the municipality owed it $10 million for water while council said it owes the water authority less than $3 million.

Gwanda Mayor Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu yesterday confirmed that the commission had concluded its work.

“Yes, they finished their fact finding mission on Saturday. They told us that after departing this town they will hand over the report to their principal who is Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri who set up the commission. We are very hopeful that things will go our way and we will be formally handed over the water treatment plant so that we run it on behalf of the residents of Gwanda,” said Clr Ndlovu.

Zinwa and the town fathers were embroiled in a fight over water with the municipality saying it must run the town’s water treatment plant.

The impasse led to Zinwa resorting to water cuts leading Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri to intervene two months ago.

The Minister directed Zinwa to resort to water rationing rather than water cuts.

Government has since agreed to give the municipality the right to run the water treatment plant leading to the setting up of the commission.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Engineer George Mlilo, has previously thrown his weight behind the municipality’s takeover of the water treatment plant.

@richardmuponde

Emmanuel Sibanda

Amanda Chikari, Midlands Reporter
A DOMESTIC worker from Gweru has been arrested for allegedly killing and subsequently burning the body of his 68-year-old employer after she turned down his love proposal.

Emmanuel Sibanda (25) of Plot 50 Ruby Farm yesterday appeared before Gweru magistrate Mr Musaiona Shortgame facing a charge of murder.

He was not asked to plead and remanded in custody to July 7 for confirmation of his warned and cautioned statement.

Sibanda was advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

Prosecuting, Mr Daniel Tapfuma told the court that on June 21, Sibanda had a misunderstanding with his employer Mrs Jerina Chipato after she turned down his love proposal.

“Sibanda went on to attack the now deceased by striking her once on her head with a dry log and she fell on the ground unconscious.

“The accused went on to drag the deceased into her kitchen hut and set alight the thatched roof,” he said.

The woman was burnt to death.

Mr Tapfuma said Sibanda then called out for help claiming that Mrs Chipato had accidentally been burnt to death in her kitchen hut.

He said suspicious neighbours who responded searched the accused’s bedroom hut for some clues on what could have happened.

“The matter came to light when the accused’s bedroom hut was searched, leading to the recovery of Sibanda’s clothes which were stained with blood. The deceased’s cellphone was also found hidden in his clothes,” said Mr Tapfuma.

Sibanda, in his warned and cautioned statement, confessed to murdering his boss.

He said on the day in question, he had proposed love to Mrs Chipato and she turned him down.

“She then asked me to go and fetch water at night and we had a misunderstanding and I struck her with a log on the head. I then dragged her body to her kitchen hut and lit it to cover up the offence since it wasn’t my intention to kill her,” Sibanda said.

@Amanda 49

Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
ABOUT 80 percent of people living with HIV use traditional medicine, statistics show amid reports that no research has been carried out to prove its efficacy in treating the disease in Zimbabwe.

Using antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) is the only proven management for HIV-infection and has led to a reduction in HIV-related opportunistic infections and AIDS-related deaths, says the World Health Organisation.

The same document says 80 percent of people living with HIV use both traditional and biomedicine.

Presenting a report on traditional medicine by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health, secretary for the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Gerald Gwinji bemoaned the fact that a lot of traditional practitioners are unregistered.

“About 52 percent of pregnant women admitted to using some traditional potions either to kill pain or to initiate labour or to make labour easier. Some people use traditional medicine for religious purposes, some use it as complementary therapy for what they are suffering from and some resort to it when conventional systems have failed,” Dr Gwinji.

According to WHO, traditional medicine is one of the primary sources of health care in the region and the ratio of traditional healers to population in Africa is 1:500 whereas the ratio of medical doctors to population is 1:40 000.

For millions of people in rural areas, native healers therefore remain their health providers.

“Traditional medical practitioners or herbalists largely remain unregistered and this is a gap that needs to be filled. We have faced constraints around facilitating the development of traditional medicine as a ministry and these are around issues of standardisation, consistency of the product safety and quality of the product,” said Dr Gwinji.

“Little knowledge exists on whether traditional medicine is effective and it still remains a mystery on whether biomedical medicine is better than indigenous traditional medicines with some people thinking our diseases need an indigenous solution,” said Dr Gwinji.

“Little knowledge is available because no research has been carried out on traditional medicine in Zimbabwe which to date does not have a National Traditional Medicine Research Institute that could be of more use to the country at large.”

He said some traditional medical practitioners keep their work as a secret for fear of losing their indigenous knowledge which can be taken up by established research institutes and they are left with nothing.

@thamamoe

Honest Moyo

Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
A 22-YEAR-OLD man from Gwanda who was allegedly found with a human head and male private parts which he allegedly harvested from a mentally ill, homeless man for suspected ritual purposes after being promised $25 000, has appeared in court.

Honest Moyo of Mawane area in Guyu but residing at Capital Block farm in Colleen Bawn, was not formally charged with murder when he briefly appeared before Gwanda magistrate, Ms Nomagugu Ncube, on Saturday.

He was remanded in custody to July 7 and advised to apply to the High Court for bail.

Moyo apologised to the court for his brutal actions against the now deceased mental patient, popularly known as Mduna in Colleen Bawn.

“I am very sorry your Worship for what I did to the now deceased. I regret my actions,” said Moyo.

Prosecutor, Mr Takudzwa Mafudze told the court that on June 20, Moyo found Mduna near Colleen Bawn dumpsite.

He allegedly killed and decapitated him. Moyo also cut off Mduna’s testicles.

The court heard that he buried the body in a shallow grave at the dumpsite.

He allegedly packed the head and the testicles in his bag and took them to his rural home in Mawane.

The matter came to light after he was visited by his cousin, Mr Thandolwenkosi Ndlovu, who discovered the head in a kitchen hut before bolting out and alerting other villagers.

The villagers apprehended Moyo and handed him over to the police.

In a disturbing video that is in the possession of The Chronicle and available on our website, Moyo nonchalantly explains how he cut the parts from the body of the man.

He speaks in a conversational tone with villagers who apprehended him last Thursday, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the offence. “Ngimthole evele etshayiwe, elimele, efile. Mina ngasengithatha engikufunayo (I found him already dead and I took what I wanted),” he said.

On Friday, Moyo led police to a dumpsite in Colleen Bawn where he allegedly said he had left the mutilated body in a shallow grave.

Detectives recovered the headless body and conveyed it to Gwanda Provincial Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.

@richardmuponde

Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Correspondent
THE prevailing foreign currency shortage is hindering the operations of newly licensed local commercial radio stations as they are failing to timeously import equipment.

This was said by the chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Cde William Dhewa, during a tour of Skyz Metro FM studios in Bulawayo last Friday.

Due to the shortage of foreign currency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe came up with a policy under which those who want to import have to apply to the apex bank for foreign currency.

However, due to the high demand for foreign currency, many applicants have been waiting for long periods for their allocations.

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) put a condition that newly licensed stations that did not go on air by September last year, would have their licences revoked.

Some radio stations started broadcasting using makeshift equipment to beat the deadline.

Cde Dhewa said the committee would engage Government to remedy the problem.

“Most of the radio stations are not fully operational except maybe for Skyz Metro. Some of them have makeshift studios. The reason is not that they do not have the money but they are failing to access foreign currency to bring in their equipment that is required. As a committee it’s something that we have to look into and urge Government to prioritise that area,” he said.

Cde Dhewa said his delegation toured Hevoi FM in Masvingo, Ya FM in Zvishavane, Diamond FM in Mutare, Skyz Metro FM and Breeze FM in Victoria Falls.

He said some radio stations wanted to expand their operations beyond the 40KM radius.

“The common issues that we have found with these stations are that they all want to expand. They think that the radius that they were given by BAZ is not enough. As a committee we shall deliberate but we think it’s too early to try and determine that there is a need for an expansion in terms of coverage.

“We still think there are strategies that they can come with in terms of trying to raise revenue and sustain the stations within the 40KM radius, especially in Harare and Bulawayo,” said Cde Dhewa.

He said instead they would recommend that BAZ issues more licences for other areas.

“When the licences were advertised we were supposed to get 18 radio licences of this kind. We want to urge Government to issue the remaining 10 to other places that have not benefitted from this kind of venture such as Gwanda, Marondera and Chinhoyi. We think they should benefit and it will help in terms of the variety that is provided for in this kind of environment,” said Cde Dhewa.

He urged newly licensed radio stations to be viable business entities.

“We want the radio stations to be viable. These are business entities; they should not be misconstrued for community radio stations as we’ve not come to that yet. These are commercial entities and we expected them to do proper management to sustain the existence of these stations,” said Cde Dhewa.

On community radio stations, Cde Dhewa said there is no statute for them to be set up yet. “That will have to wait because of the current statutes. We need the ministry of (Information, Media and Broadcasting Services) to come up with a new statutory instrument that will guide us to come up with a definition of a community radio. After that it can be possible for community radios to be licensed.”

Evan Mawarire

Nyemudzai Kakore and Lionel Depute, Harare Bureau
CONTROVERSIAL cleric Evan Mawarire of #This Flag campaign was yesterday arrested after hijacking a University of Zimbabwe Medicine students’ protest against a fee increment.

The university increased the fees from $450 to $900 per semester.

This followed extension of the student’s semester by 15 weeks by university authorities.

Mawarire pitched up from nowhere and started addressing the students without even knowing the extent of their plight.

Police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed his arrest. “Evan Mawarire was yesterday arrested after inciting University of Zimbabwe students to demonstrate,” she said. “He will appear in court today.”

Mawarire went on to post videos of the protest on social media.

In one of the videos, he is seen trying to understand the students’ grievances before inciting them to demonstrate. “The increase of the fees is an injustices and an insult to our nation. The fees must definitely fall,” he said.

He later posted another video while at Avondale Police Station professing ignorance as to why he had been arrested.

“I do not why l was arrested,” he said. “I addressed students and prayed with them after they demonstrated…I did nothing wrong. I do not why l was arrested.”

Mawarire claimed fees had been increased from $700 to $1 500.

In an interview, UZ Student Representative Council president Stephen Tsikira said they were surprised by Mawarire’s antics.

“We were shocked by the address of Evan Mawarire,” he said. “We do not know who contacted him and how he arrived at the campus.”

Outgoing SRC vice president Zivai Mhetu said the fee increment was ill-timed.

“We are not objecting that the university increases fees,” he said. “However, because of the economic conditions parents are failing to pay the fees which is being witnessed by the huge number of drop outs.”

UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura ordered medical students to vacate their halls of residence after the demonstration.

“It was clearly pointed out that the medical students pay $450 per semester of 15 weeks,” he said. “In this regard, for Third Year Medical students’ 30 week semester, they should pay $900. The Vice Chancellor agreed that the medical students could apply for a payment plan and pay the fees while they attend lectures.

“The university has now made a decision that all medical students should move out of the halls of residence on campus and off campus with immediate effect. All medical students are, therefore, directed to vacate the halls of residence with immediate effect and by no later than 13:15 hours today, 26 June 2017.”

Efforts to get a comment from Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo and his deputy Dr Godfrey Gandawa were fruitless last night.

Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
UNQUALIFIED village health workers in Binga are reportedly manning a clinic located about 180km from Binga District Hospital.

Chunga Clinic, which is the furthest public health centre from Binga centre, is difficult to access due to a poor road network and also has poor telephone network.

Binga North Member of Parliament Mr Prince Madubeko Sibanda said the district, which is a high risk area for malaria, is failing to access healthcare due to a shortage of nurses.

He said village health workers were forced to take on the job of trained nurses when most of them were only qualified in basic first aid.

“Some of our clinics are still manned by village health workers with no certified nurses and that’s a challenge. We also have a serious shortage of ambulances, for example from the district hospital to the furthest clinic in the constituency it’s a distance of about 180 km,” said Mr Sibanda.

“Firstly it is difficult to communicate. The bad road network makes it difficult for patients to travel to the district hospital hence many resort to traditional healers.”

He said the district urgently needed ambulances to ease the burden.

“About 10 years ago we were promised that Siabuwa Clinic would be upgraded to a hospital to improve the situation. It is very difficult to retain doctors in rural areas. As we speak we have only three junior doctors for the whole district,” Mr Sibanda said.

He said most villagers in the area were poverty stricken and could not afford the user fees charged at health centres.

Speaking during the just ended 24th Community Working Group on Health annual meeting, Mr John Ngirazi, the chairperson of the organisation, appealed to Government to increase public funding in the health sector.

“It is worrying to note that in the past few months, the country has experienced outbreaks of medieval diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and scurvy – diseases that were completely eliminated in some parts of the world and Zimbabwe at one time.

“Zimbabwe’s health challenges are also compounded by health systems’ constraints such as a critical shortage of personnel, ageing equipment and infrastructure, limited funding and lack of enabling health policies,” said Mr Ngirazi.

The country’s health institutions need about 8 000 nurses to operate smoothly amid revelations that there are about 4 200 qualified unemployed nurses.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa recently told Senators that he was working tirelessly to ensure that there is an update of the establishment which was last revised in 1983.

“We need 8 000 nurses in our institutions while on one hand we have 4 200 unemployed trained nurses.

“The issue at hand is, we need the establishment of nurses and other health professionals to be put up. The current establishment reflects an establishment of 1983,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.

@thamamoe

Mr George Charamba

Zvamaida Murwira, Harare Bureau
THE conferment of the right to vote to civil servants and members of the security services by the Constitution means they are entitled to belong to a political party of their choice, a senior Government official has said.

Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba said what was critical was that the two groups were not supposed to be influenced by their political allegiance in the discharge of their duties.

Mr Charamba said this at the weekend while addressing civic society and Members of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs chaired by Zvimba West Member of Parliament Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi.

He was responding to questions during an interface meeting supported by the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust aimed at considering a petition to Parliament by the Election Resource Centre on the need to review the Electoral Act and align it with the Constitution.

Mutare Central Member of Parliament Mr Innocent Gonese (MDC-T), had asked Mr Charamba who earlier on had said he belonged to Zanu-PF whether or not his allegiance to the ruling party was not in violation of the Constitution which required civil servants to be apolitical and not to hold office in political parties.

“I thought the discussion yesterday related to allowing members of the police, security services, members of the civil service who are on duty to vote,” said Mr Charamba.

“How else do you vote unless and until you belong to a political party? Voting implies making a choice, the only difference is that some are less sincere in that they leave it to conjecture and that you belong to this or that political party.

“In my case, I don’t, I make it very clear where I belong. In the discharge of my function as a civil servant, I must not be seen to be taking decision or action that are traceable to my allegiance to the party.”

Mr Charamba said the reason why he attended the workshop was that he respected a State institution.

Harare West MP Ms Jessie Majome (MDC-T) had also asked Mr Charamba if he respected the Constitution after he had attacked Section 61 of the supreme law, which imposed a legal obligation to the public media to be impartial, but did not impose that requirement to privately owned broadcasting stations.

“What I will submit myself to and I will submit wholly is my subservient to the Constitution, but what I will never agree to is the tyranny of a section of the Constitution,” said Mr Charamba.

“Yes, essentially what it means is there are sections which will have to be interrogated and depending on how they pinch on the foot that wear the shoes you will see a bit of emotions. That particular section of the Constitution does not just make sense at all. I repeat, it just does not make sense.

“What good reason do you have to isolate one section of the media merely by ownership. Absolutely there is no good reason. But that should never be construed to mean that I don’t submit to the Constitution as a body. I do. As a matter of fact, each time I approach it, I treat it with reverence that is next to the Bible.”

Mr Charamba had premised his argument on the fact that privately owned broadcasting stations were using national finite resources, the frequency, hence the need for them to be equally impartial.

He said there was a need to make a distinction between his views as a private citizen with that of him as Government official, which was why he penned a column in The Saturday Herald called The Other Side by Nathaniel Manheru to reflect his personal views.

“The whole purpose of writing as Nathaniel Manheru and not as Permanent Secretary Charamba is trying to draw distinction between the views I might hold as an individual and the views that represent the Ministry,” said Mr Charamba.

“In some cases, people collapse the two so that they follow you. There are instances where I have even attacked members of my own party. And this is precisely George Charamba and please don’t try to gag him because it won’t make sense. I need that right.”

President Mugabe

Leonard Ncube/ Walter Mswazie, Chronicle Reporters
PREPARATIONS for the Zanu-PF Youth, Presidential interface rally slated for Friday at Masvingo’s Mucheke B Stadium are now at an advanced stage with 32 buses and a number of lorries having been secured to transport youths.

Speaking during a sub-committee feedback meeting yesterday, Zanu-PF provincial youth chairman Cde Nobert Ndaarombe said preparations have moved a gear up with final touches expected tomorrow.

The interface youth rally will be held under the theme, “Honouring Our Icon, Unlocking the Value in Youth”. About 50 000 youths are expected to attend the rally.

Cde Ndaarombe said Ras Caleb and Soul Jah Love, supported by local groups, will entertain people at the rally.

He said there would be enough transport to ferry youths to the venue and back to their homes.

“Everything is moving smoothly, our preparations are a gear up and not facing any challenges. We have secured 31 buses and several lorries to ferry youths from their respective ward centres to the venue and back to their destinations. We have received about 6 000 litres of fuel and more is still coming from our stakeholders,” said Cde Ndaarombe.

“The stadium we are going to use, Mucheke Arena B, is presently being graded to avert the accumulation of dust. Workmen are busy as we speak and by the time we will have our final meeting on Wednesday where our youth Secretary Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga will attend, the venue will be ready. The Politburo will also be there to give their final approval of the venue on the same day before the big day on Friday.”

Speaking at the same occasion, the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, Cde Shuvai Mahofa, warned MPs against dividing youths along factional lines through providing buses as individuals and not as a party. “I am saying this because there is something I have observed. We do not want to hear that there are MPs who provide buses as individuals and choose which youth members to get into those buses. This is a youth rally, let our children do their own things with President Mugabe. We do not want chaos here, if you harbour divisive tendencies please stay away with your buses,” said Cde Mahofa.

President Mugabe has held similar rallies in Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces. After Masvingo he is expected to head to Matabeleland North.

Zanu-PF’s Matabeleland North youth leadership has since set July 14 as the date for the Presidential Youth Interface rally in the province.

Zanu-PF Youth League provincial secretary for information and publicity Cde Elias Sibanda said the party’s Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Kudzanai Chipanga was in Lupane on Sunday to kick start preparations.

“Cde Chipanga was here and we agreed on July 14 as the date for the big day at Somhlolo Stadium in Lupane,” said Cde Sibanda in a telephone interview.

“We wish to give President Mugabe a moment of his time and we are targeting 70 000 people. We would have gone for a bigger number but our challenge is the geography of our province which is largely rural hence some people will fail to make it but we want this to be exciting for us.”

Cde Sibanda said the province has organised a series of inter-district meetings where youths are being afforded an opportunity to spell out their challenges which will be presented to President Mugabe to address them during the rally.

“As part of preparations, we want youths to speak but it will be difficult for the President to listen and address the concerns on the day. What we have done is to document all challenges which will be sent to His Excellency.

“We have organised a number of inter-district meetings where our provincial youth chair (Cde Mbongeni Dube) is leading a team gathering people’s concerns which will be sent to the President a week before he comes here so that he will be aware of the challenges beforehand,” said Cde Sibanda.

He said various committees have been activated to prepare for the day.

The party’s secretary for Transport and Welfare, Cde Daniel Sithole, said they had already started mobilising transport to ferry people to Lupane.

@ncubeleon

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
A WOMAN from Mangwe has dragged a teacher from Phakami High School in Plumtree to the Maintenance Court for not paying school fees for his 14-year-old son whom she lives with.

Ms Tryphine Sibanda told the court that Ronald Ngwenya was not paying school fees for his son whom he fathered with her later sister.

She said Ngwenya was ordered by the court in January 2015 to pay $50 for the upkeep of his child who is in Form Two.

Ms Sibanda said the teacher was also ordered to pay school fees and buy school uniforms as well as stationery for his son, but had not done so.

She said Ngwenya was neglecting his own son.

“Your Worship I have been struggling to fend for this child because his father has neglected him. Initially he was ordered to pay $70 in 2014 when the boy was in Grade Six. He applied for a downward variation and offered to pay $50 on condition that he will pay school fees and buy uniforms.

“We agreed to the arrangement but he hasn’t been paying any school fees or buying uniforms. He also hasn’t been consistent in paying the $50 maintenance fee. This situation is straining my relationship with my husband because he is constantly complaining that he can’t maintain another person’s child while the father is alive and working,” she said.

Ms Sibanda tendered an application for an upward variation of the maintenance for Ngwenya to pay $100 towards the child’s upkeep and not $50.

“I would like the court to consider that when this arrangement was initially made the child was in primary school but he is now at secondary level. This means his school fees has tripled as he was paying $20 but is now paying $60.

“I don’t understand why I have to suffer so much when the child isn’t mine. I’m also struggling to fend for my own family and if Ngwenya doesn’t own up his son will eventually leave school,” she said.

In response, Ngwenya said he could afford paying only $70 for his child’s upkeep as he had other responsibilities. He said he was married and had three other children.

The teacher said he was also undergoing studies at a local university and was expected to pay fees every semester.

Plumtree magistrate, Mr Joshua Mawere, who presided over the matter, ordered Ngwenya to pay $75 per month for the upkeep of his child.

@DubeMatutu

The late Kizito Chivamba

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
ZANU-PF Midlands Province has said its campaign to retain the Chiwundura parliamentary seat is in full swing ahead of the constituency’s by-election scheduled for July 15.

The party’s candidate Cde Brown Ndlovu said he was confident of winning the seat.

“We have launched our campaign in the constituency and we have been holding rallies and funding self-help projects for the youth and women’s league. With less than two weeks before the election, we are certain that we are going to retain that parliamentary seat,” said Cde Ndlovu.

“The people in the constituency have shown tremendous support for the revolutionary party.”

Zanu-PF provincial spokesperson Cde Cornelius Mupereri said the Chiwundura by-election results would be a reflection of what is going to happen in the 2018 harmonised elections.

“Our machinery is well-oiled and we are going to collect all the parliamentary seats in the province come 2018,” he said.

Cde Ndlovu was the first runner-up in the Chiwundura primaries last month.

He, however, was declared the party’s candidate after the primary polls winner, former Zvishavane legislator, Cde Pearson Meeting Mbalekwa, withdrew his candidature citing personal reasons.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission declared the Chiwundura parliamentary seat vacant following the death of Chiwundura MP Cde Kizito Chivamba in April.

President Mugabe subsequently declared July 15 as the date for the by-election.

Cde Chivamba, a former Zanu-PF Midlands deputy chairman, was declared a liberation war hero and buried at the Midlands Provincial Heroes’ Acre in Gweru.

@pchitumba1

From right, High and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Deputy Minister Dr Godfrey Gandawa, acting National University of Science and technology (Nust) vice chancellor Professor Samson Sibanda and Gwanda University college of Nust acting Dean Faculty of engineering Dr Abraham Nyoni follow proceedings during a business luncheon held at Bulawayo hotel on Monday

Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
SADC countries have adopted the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative which will see pupils undertaking it from Early Childhood Learning to tertiary level.

The regional bloc commended Zimbabwe for taking a lead in the STEM drive which is a global phenomenon to push the science and technology agenda.

Officiating at a business luncheon on the Role of STEM and universities in Industrialisation and Modernisation in Bulawayo on Monday, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Deputy Minister, Dr Godfrey Gandawa, said all 14 member states had agreed to adopt STEM at all levels of education.

He said the resolution was made at the Council of Sadc ministers responsible for Education and Training, Science, Technology and Innovation held from June 19 to June 24 in Ezulwini, Swaziland, which he attended.

“The Sadc council of ministers adopted a decision to “develop and implement relevant skills programmes for industrial development, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET), science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) entrepreneurship, innovation, green education or kills at all levels of education from ECD to university in collaboration with other sectors in the implementation of the Sadc industrialisation strategy and Action Plan,” said Dr Gandawa.

He said the Sadc ministers commended Zimbabwe for taking a leading role in promoting STEM.

“As a ministry we are excited that we are moving in the right direction given the adaptation and endorsement of STEM by our counterparts in the region.

“All the 14 members noted and commended Zimbabwe for leading the domestication of STEM for modernisation and industrialisation,” Dr Gandawa said.

Turning to Monday’s event, the deputy minister said as his Ministry institutes a national skills audit, institutions of higher learning must also carry out studies on the skills required for industrialisation.

“Institutions must stop training just for the sake of training. The curriculum has to change otherwise we are training for dead industries. We must allow dead industries to rest in peace,” said Dr Gandawa.

“The Ministry of Higher Education has placed value on the modernisation and industrialization of Zimbabwe. We do believe that we are the key stakeholder as the ministry to drive industrialisation and modernisation.

“We must strategically plan, develop, attract, and retain Zimbabwe’s talent pipeline for all its socio-economic and cultural sectors with competencies critical for STEM-driven industrialisation and modernisation towards a digital or knowledge economy.

“In the same vein our universities’ curriculum must transform to stop massification of irrelevant graduates who will not add value to the economy but rather increase the number of unemployed.

“We need to move away from that. We are training what was being trained 20 or 30 years ago. The lecturers are just transferring what they learnt 30 years ago to current students. If we are applying the same thing in industry, it means we continue to invest in dead industries.”

He said there was a need to create opportunities for the development of adequate and relevant upper-end skills for jobs of the future hinged on automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, computation, virtual reality and augmented reality.

@AuxiliaK

Tanaka Mrewa, Court Reporter
A 16-YEAR-OLD maid from Emakhandeni suburb in Bulawayo has been arrested for allegedly stealing $480 and a cellphone from her employer.

State allegations are that the money was kept in a cash box and the maid stole keys to the cash box.

The court heard that she gave the money to her sister for “safe keeping.”

The maid, whose name has been withheld for ethical reasons, pleaded not guilty to a theft charge when she appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Ms Tancy Dube.

She was remanded in custody to Friday for trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Chief Muteve told the court that on June 15, the maid stole the money and cellphone from her employer Ms Petronella Sibanda (25) who works at Choppies supermarket in Nkulumane suburb.

Mr Muteve said Ms Sibanda had to report for work in the afternoon and she left the maid with her children.

“Complainant left her tablet cellphone with the accused person so that she could communicate with her. Complainant returned an hour later and found accused person gone. “She noticed that her cellphone and money amounting to $480 and R1 000 was missing from the cashbox. She made a report at Luveve police station,” he said.

“Complainant and the police called the accused’s sister Siphathisiwe Mhlanga and asked her to inform them when accused showed up. Accused was found at Mhlanga’s house a few days later where she was arrested.”

@tannytkay