THERE was drama in the Harare western suburb of Tynwald North as armed police arrested firebrand MDC Alliance deputy national chairperson Job Sikhala in Hollywood movie-style. Sikhala had been on the run for weeks after he was put on the police wanted list among several other opposition political activists and civic society leaders for their role in the foiled July 31 anti-government protests. Around midday on Friday, the Daily News on Sunday witnessed a truckload of policemen armed with AK assault rifles and batons and in another white twin cab, ferrying plain clothes men invade the usually tranquil suburb of Tynwald North, searching for Sikhala. When they arrived at a house where former Zanu-PF MP for Hurungwe East Sarah Mahoka used to reside, a woman disembarked from the
MDC Alliance national vice-chairperson Job Sikhala, who was arrested on Friday, will spend the weekend behind bars after the court threw out his application for refusal to be placed on remand. Sikhala, who is facing charges of inciting the public to stage violent demonstrations on July 31, appeared in court this Saturday. In opposing Sikhala’s application, the state told the court that there are in possession of video and audio clips that prove that the MDC Alliance official committed a crime. The state also said inciting people to stage violent street demonstrations violates the country’s constitution after his defence counsel had earlier on argued that the MDC Alliance official was exercising his constitutional right as enshrined in the law of the land. Sikhala through
A LEAKED telephone conversation between President Emmerson Mnangagwa's loyalists suggesting that he was weak and unstrategic in his government appointments, has gone viral on social media platforms. Voices in the audio are believed to be those of Mnangagwa's key proponent, tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa. Both Tagwirei and Mliswa could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the audio recording yesterday. However, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said, if the recording was authentic, then it proved that the President was not captured. "I listened to an audio circulating on social media (and) while its authenticity has not been verified, what stands out is that, the parties having a c
The former minister of Sports Recreation, Arts and Culture, Makhosini Hlongwane and former Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Tapiwanashe Majaya Matangaidze are reportedly among former ZANU PF members who have applied to be re-admitted into the governing party. The development was confirmed by the party’s Midlands chairperson Daniel Mackenzie Ncube who said Zanu-PF is a “big tent”, and that people who want to join or re-join the party were most welcome after being vetted. He told New Ziana: We have applications from former ministers. We have got applications from Makhosini Hlongwane and Tapiwa Matangaidze. We will be sitting down to make our decision on them. It’s something we should have done about two weeks ago, so we are trying
Girls who fall pregnant can no longer be excluded from attending lessons, while teachers will not be allowed to cane pupils, under amendments to the Education Act that became law this Friday. The Education Act Amendment was passed by Parliament, approved by President Mnangagwa, and has been gazetted. Under the amendments, “No pupil shall be excluded from school for non-payment of school fees or based on pregnancy.” During a debate in Parliament, the then Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavima, said expelling a girl for falling pregnant had a discriminatory effect in circumstances where she would have been impregnated by a colleague who in most cases, would be allowed to proceed with his education. This was after some legislators argued th
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono says he is starving in prison as he is not being allowed to get warm food from outside. He told his media colleagues on Wednesday when he made a court appearance that he was hungry and in need of food. Chin’ono is languishing in prison after he was arrested at his home last month and charged with ‘inciting violence ahead of the 31 July demonstrations. He denied the charges. His lawyers told the court that the award winning journalist is now surviving by biscuits and water as prison wardens are refusing to allow his relatives and friends to bring him food despite the court granting an order to allow him to have access to food, private medical care and his lawyers. The journalist who now looks thinner that he was a month ago, told
Two MDC-T officials were nearly involved in a fist-fight during a standing committee meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was held in Cranborne, Harare instead of the party’s headquarters, the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRTH) located in the city centre. Reports suggest that Khupe and her aides are afraid of setting their feet at the party headquarters for fear of being bashed by youths linked to party interim secretary-general Douglas Mwonwora. Mwonzora and acting party spokesperson Khalipani Phugeni reportedly clashed over the manner in which the former is said to be handling party affairs. Phugeni allegedly accused Mwonzora of sponsoring terror in the party and of being a dictator worse than the late former President Robert Mugabe. When contacted for comment, Phugen
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) on Friday announced new measures to address mobile banking deficiencies in its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS). The Central Bank issued a directive to the effect that, with immediate effect, all mobile money operators have to close all multiple wallets and allow just one wallet per individual. This entails that it is no longer permitted for an individual to have more than one EcoCash account or with other mobile money operators for that matter. The RBZ said: Following the suspension and freezing of agent and bulk-payer wallets on 27 June 2020, mobile money operators have allowed illegal foreign currency dealers to use multiple individual wallets as a means to bypass the transaction limits and continue with their illicit transactions. However, th
FORMER Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has proposed Rwandan President Paul Kagame to broker an African Union (AU)-driven national dialogue that would culminate in the formation of a government of national unity (GNU) between Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC Alliance. The two parties have been on a warpath since the 2018 hotly disputed presidential elections, which President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was the Zanu-PF candidate, won by a razor-thin margin. The disputed election result has created a political crisis in the country with the main opposition party challenging Mnangagwa’s legitimacy.On the other hand, Mnangagwa’s administration has been using brute force to silence dissenting voices, the latest being the ruthless crackdown on organisers of the Jul
THE Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance suffered another body blow last week after the MDC-T recalled six of its councillors in Harare, including mayor Herbert Gomba. MDC-T acting secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora on August 14 wrote to Local Government minister July Moyo recalling Gomba and five other councillors from the City of Harare. "We hereby notify your office that the following councillors have ceased to belong to the MDC-T which is a member of the MDC Alliance which was formed in terms of the constitutive agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto," part of Mwonzora's letter dated August 14, 2020, read. "In terms of the agreement, seven political parties entered into a pre-election agreement known as the composite political agreement for purposes of conte
