MASVINGO – Human rights lawyers have filed a High Court bail appeal for a widowed primary school teacher sentenced to 16 months imprisonment after she was arrested for public violence during a “peaceful” protest for better pay.

Sheila Chisirimunhu, a gender and welfare secretary for the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), began her jail time last week amid outrage from trade union movements and human rights campaigners.

“We are investing our energies in doing all we can to have ARTUZ leader Sheila Chirisamhuru released from prison,” said attorneys from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

“And on Thursday we filed a bail application at Masvingo High Court pending determination of her appeal against both conviction and sentence.”

Chisirimunhu was arrested a few months ago during a protest by teachers in Masvingo calling on the government to reinstate their downgraded salaries back to US$520.

“Sheila joined other teachers and peacefully protested against the illegal salary slash. Sheila was arrested and charged with public violence,” says ARTUZ in an online petition demanding her release.

“No incidence of violence was ever reported during and after the protest. Sheila was ridiculously convicted of public violence. Her crime was asking for the restoration of her salary.”

The 53-year-old teacher and unionist will serve 10 months after a magistrate set aside six months of her sentence on condition of good behavior. A male co-defendant was acquitted.

“Both the conviction and sentence are an assault on the freedom to petition duty bearers and labor justice,” ARTUZ argues. “The government has curtailed the freedom of assembly and criminalized trade unionism. We demand Sheila’s freedom!”

Responding to Twitter users demanding Chisirimunhu’s release, government spokesperson Nick Ndabaningi Mangwana pushed back and accused the activists of “agenda driving.”

“I am not aware of this case and its intricacies,” he bantered on a post which had asked if President Emmerson Mnangagwa was aware of the teacher’s plight.

“I think if one wants to arrive at a value judgment, a perusal of the court record first would be more informative than to rush to conclusions based on this type of agenda driving post.”

HARARE – Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has been flown to China for treatment – just months after declaring that the government was banning health tourism, online tabloid ZimLive reported Tuesday.

The 64-year-old former army general has not been seen publicly for over a week.

Chiwenga, who is also the health minister, pre-recorded speeches delivered during virtual World Aids Day commemorations on December 1. On that day, he did not attend a cabinet meeting, and higher education minister Professor Aaron Murwira took questions as the acting health minister during a post-cabinet briefing.

A government source said: “He was very unwell at the end of November, and he cut back on his public appearances. A decision was taken to fly him out to seek treatment.”

George Charamba, the spokesman for the presidency, confirmed Chiwenga was out of the country but insisted that he was on a “state assignment.” He declined to name the country.

Chiwenga has received treatment in India, South Africa and China over the last year after going down with an undisclosed illness which manifested in loss of skin pigmentation, weight loss and an apparent skin irritation which caused him to sit animatedly whilst sweating profusely.

His estranged wife, Marry, a former model, has also been unwell for more than a year. Last week, her lawyers told a court that she needed to fly to South Africa for urgent treatment after she developed deep wounds on both her forearms.

Her doctors say she has “severe lymphoedema and spontaneous formation of abscesses whose origins have not been determined.”

After almost six months being treated in China last year, Chiwenga returned home appearing in fairly good health. He has made at least two trips to China since for review, flying in hired private jets.

In September, after being appointed health minister, Chiwenga stunned the country when he said his government was banning medical trips abroad by Zimbabweans which he said were bleeding the country of scarce foreign currency.

Chiwenga said Zimbabwean doctors would be barred from writing referral letters for patients to foreign hospitals, even as Zimbabwe’s health facilities remain incapacitated to carry out certain operations due to years of under-investment by the Zanu PF government.

“We will not export our patients. We will not make referrals (to foreign medical facilities) for our patients. It’s everybody,” Chiwenga said. “Ministers are only about 20 but those who have been going out it’s you, you, me, altogether. That export bill was too high and that’s what we want to curtail. We want to do away with that, and it requires us to carry out restructuring from the village health worker right up to the quaternary hospital.”

HARARE – ZESA executive chairman Sydney Gata survived an apparent attempt on his life when his vehicle was shot at multiple times in the early hours of Saturday.

The 74-year-old had just returned home aboard a Kenyan Airways flight and was being driven away from the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport at around 2AM when the gunmen struck, law enforcement sources reportedly told online tabloid ZimLive.

A vehicle described only as a black twin cab without number plates pulled up alongside the silver-grey Mercedes carrying Gata and several gunshots were fired from the suspect vehicle.

“When the Mercedes was examined, it had at least five bullet holes,” the security source said, adding that none of the shots hit Gata or his driver, who accelerated away from the twin cab.

Investigators believe the attack was an assassination attempt and not a robbery.

Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigators were still on the ground and he would have more information later Saturday.

As executive chairman of ZESA, Gata wields huge influence over multi-million-dollar infrastructure tenders and supply contracts at the power utility.

He was suspended in August and then reinstated in September following a bruising boardroom battle with then energy minister Fortune Chasi, who was eventually sacked by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In a July 30 letter to Chasi, Gata said he was “deeply involved in uprooting disturbing serious levels of corruption in the company.”

Several ZESA executives have been sacked, arrested for corruption or redeployed in recent months.

A video with police officers beating up students without masks at Kwekwe High has attracted attention of many parents.

This morning students were beaten up for not wearing masks by police officers.

The student who leaked the video has it on account that every student who was beaten up was given a mask after being beaten up.

Parents have since asked the school authorities to take appropriate measures to sue officers appearing slapping students.

The video was received with mixed emotions with some parents saying it was an appropriate way to deal with students who were not wearing masks.

Mnangagwa murdered a pregnant girlfriend?

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has a pending police case involving the alleged murder of a pregnant girlfriend, Professor Jonathan Moyo has said. Moyo said, “And where do you think Mnangagwa’s dockets are? Starting with the 2014 murder of a pregnant girlfriend in Avondale? Where do you think that docket is? And the machete gold murders in the Midlands, where are those dockets? Do you think the military coup did a disappear on them?”

This publication has it on record that Mnangagwa’s dockets disappeared as soon as they were sent handed over to the prosecuting authority.

A source in the National Prosecuting Authority revealed to us how the dockets would be made to disappear.

“When the IOs would send the dockets to the Prosecuting Authority. The officials who are then afraid of the highly ranking Mnangagwa would then not book a court date. They would then hide dockets.”The Boss then would then make sure the dockets do not make it in court. The Boss controlled the majority of the people in the office. So what will happen is that they feared him and they will fail to see the light of day.”

The source added that when Mnangagwa was called for investigation he would make sure he is not prosecuted

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

HARARE – Government and police have been accused of lockdown hypocrisy after photographs showing dozens of guests attending Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s birthday party, in violation of lockdown regulations, were published by a government official.

In the pictures, posted to Twitter by Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana, no social distancing or wearing of face masks could be observed (see above).

“Today we are celebrating Hon Minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s 60th Birthday. She certainly looks younger than a sexagenarian. Happy 60th Hon Minister,” Mangwana said, adding confetti ball emojis in celebration.

Mangwana also tweeted another photograph via the official @InfoMinZW ministry account, describing Mutsvangwa as “an influencer, a mentor, and phenomenal woman”.

In the photograph attached to the embellishments, dozens of guests can be seen seated at tables.

According to a November 19 Press statement by the police, birthdays, weddings and other social gatherings remain banned. Police also warned the public that patrolling officers would “ensure arrests are effected and the law takes its courses without fear or favour”.

Police have long been accused of allowing Zanu PF and government officials to commit crimes with impunity.

Mutsvangwa’s party, which had the blessing of the police who provided several officers for security, stood in stark contrast to the treatment police meted out to Bulawayo organisers of an awards ceremony that was also held last night but was broken up by police who stormed the stage midway proceedings.

MDC spokeperson Advocation Fadzayi Mahere on Sunday seized on the developments, saying they were an example of double standards.

“A massive party was held yesterday by top government officials. Every Covid19 regulation was breached. @PoliceZimbabwe did nothing. The same police forcibly closed an awards ceremony in Bulawayo and violently disrupted an MDC Alliance youth congress in Masvingo,” Mahere tweeted.

In a tweet justifying the party, Mangwana later said all guests had been subjected to a Covid19 test before the party. The claim has been disputed with questions as to which laboratories conducted the tests and whether the general public is also allowed to conduct gatherings if they have negative Covid19 certificates.

In April, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended one of his top ministers for two months, including one unpaid, after she was photographed having lunch with a friend in violation of a national lockdown to contain the coronavirus.

HARARE – Finance minister Mthuli Ncube on Thursday unveiled a Z$421 billion (US$5.14 billion) budget for 2021, with a new drive to collect a raft of taxes in hard currency.

The MDC Alliance said his moves to tax small businesses in hard currency made it a “vicious anti-working class budget.”

Zimbabwe abandoned the use of multiple currencies last year following the re-introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar, but the local currency was shunned by the transacting public as its value tanked.

Despite swatting opposition demands to scrap the new currency, Ncube has been forced to allow foreign currencies, mainly the South Africa rand and the U.S. dollar, to be used alongside the Zimbabwe dollar.

The roads agency ZINARA is now empowered to collect toll fees in foreign currency and landlords of small and medium enterprises are now required to collect US$30 presumptive tax from each business every month.

Some fuel companies were also noy paying necessary excise duties in foreign currency, the minister charged.

“Current statistics show that 70 percent of fuel is sourced under the Direct Fuel Importation (DFI) facility, while the remaining 30 percent is funded through the auction system. The currency of excise duty revenue should, thus, reflect current trends,” he said.

“In order to ensure proper accounting of excise duty revenue in foreign currency, fuel imports shall be deemed to be in foreign currency under the DFI unless the importer provides satisfactory documentary evidence to the effect that funds were sourced through the auction system.”

Businesses that collect foreign currency for transactions but pay their tax obligations in the local currency will face penalties, the minister said.

“Market intelligence surveys show that some VAT registered operators are not adhering to statutory requirements. Thus, sales in foreign currency are not accurately accounted for, thereby undermining fiscal revenues,” Ncube told Parliament.

“In order to safeguard fiscal revenues, I propose the following measures: VAT registered operators’ systems should be interfaced with the ZIMRA server with effect from December 1, 2020, failure of which no operator will be issued with a Tax Clearance Certificate.

“In addition, non-compliant operators will be excluded from participating in the weekly foreign currency auctions.”

Ncube called on the transacting public “to demand receipts showing the correct currency of trade, in order to reduce fraudulent activities by operators.”

The Zimbabwe dollar has stabilised on the official foreign currency auction, trading at 1:81 to the U.S. dollar for several weeks, but on the black market US$1 is now worth between Z$90 and Z$100. That has led some businesses to offer discounts on dollar payments.

MDC Alliance vice president and former minister Tendai Biti said Ncube’s measures would hamper the growth of small businesses.

“The raft of tax measures proposed are anti-poor and anti-people, particularly presumptive taxes,” Biti said.

“The tax attack in the informal economy, the levying of taxes in U.S. dollars, the punitive taxes on fuel makes the 2021 budget a vicious anti-working class budget.”

HARARE – Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba yesterday caused a storm in Parliament after he described Harare West Legislator Joanah Mamombe as mentally ill.

Chinotimba made the remarks after Mamombe, during the question-and-answer session, asked the House what government was doing to stop gender-based violence against woman and girls between the age of 15 and 39.

“Statistics in Zimbabwe show that women between 15 and 39 experience gender-based violence and it undermines the opportunities of women and denies the stability of women. So, what should be done to avoid that?” Mamombe asked.

But before leader of government business in Parliament, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi responded, Chinotimba shouted: “Mamombe is mentally disturbed.”

This did not go down well with other legislators, who accused Chinotimba of abusing Mamombe.

MPs demanded that the Buhera South MP withdraws his statement because he was not qualified to certify Mamombe’s mental status.

Chinotimba finally withdrew his statement after being ordered by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Tsitsi Gezi.

Mamombe’s trial, on allegations of publishing falsehoods and faking an abduction, has been delayed after a court accepted that she was suffering from anxiety following her, alongside two party colleagues, alleged abduction and torture at the hands of suspected state agents.

HARARE mayor Jacob Mafume was yesterday arrested for criminal abuse of office for allegedly allocating residential stands to his sister and secretary. The stands are understood to be in Westlea, Harare. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest saying he was last night detained at Rhodesville Police Station. The MDC Alliance claimed the arrest was political. “They are on a rampage after failing to recall him to continue destabilising council. He had started to stabilise council and they arrest him to destabilise council. This is nothing new. It is weaponisation of the courts and political persecution,” the MDC Alliance secretary for Local Government Sessel Zvidzai said.

1) What does Patrick Chinamasas Statement mean for Zimbabweans?

i) is he saying stealing elections is ok
ii) is he saying August 1 was ok
iii) is he saying they will, shoot to kill and rape women again when they lose the next election?

2). Is ZANU PF’s go to argument of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) always credible when we bring up Human Rights Abuses?

3). Is Priscilla Chigumba right in saying that she must be called a Justice?

i) is she innocent and absolutely absolved of August 1 2018
ii) is she just in nature or in title name only?
iii) is it possible to get a woman’s perspective on this one?

4). Is ZANU PF “A good Government in terms of Human Rights?” Possible Topic for another day which will likely involve a list of some of the most high profile Human Rights Abuses in preparation for January 2021