April 2017

MUTARE – Exorcists or tsikamutandas (witch-hunters) have been sledged as con-artists impoverishing poor communities through their hefty fines. Masvingo provincial administrator Fungai Mbetsa told a multi-sectoral community-based food and nutrition security meeting here this week that his office has been discouraging traditional leaders from using or approving their conduct. “Tsikamutanda are not institutionalised. It’s a…

HARARE – A new law presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday that allows rural poor to deposit cattle as collateral for cash loans has received wide cross-party support. The Movable Property Security Interests Bill enjoins the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to compile and administer a collateral-security register in which small-business operators and individuals can…

HARARE – Former Zanu PF youth leader Lumumba William Gerald Mutumanje also known as Acie Lumumba was dragged back to court yesterday after spending a night in custody on an outstanding warrant of arrest relating to an alleged vehicle theft charge. This comes after Lumumba’s lawyers condemned the arrest of the Viva Zimbabwe leader at…

MUTARE – A notorious female burglar has been slapped with a 17-year jail term after she was convicted of 29 break-ins. Emily Gwembe, was convicted on her own plea of guilt by magistrate Tinashe Bepura. The 34-year-old will be effectively caged for 12 years after the other five years were suspended on condition of good…

HARARE – Two cops who pounced on a Zambian in a local hotel and confiscated his $31 000 after threatening him with a lengthy prison term appeared in court yesterday. Evidence Hanya, 31, and Walter Ziuchi, 26, of Mineral and Border Control Unit (MBCU), ordered the complainant Voster Hampako to catch the next bus back…

HARARE – Harare has failed spectacularly in its attempt to create a world-class city by 2025 due to a widening budget deficit, bankruptcy and bureaucracy, the City’s Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said yesterday. In his second State-of-the-City Address at Town House, Manyenyeni blamed government interference for making the masterplan a fantasy. “The turnaround of the city’s…

HARARE – Zanu PF structures are sharply divided over calls for the expulsion of the party’s national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere. Following recent demonstrations in Mashonaland Central, Masvingo and Midlands provinces against Kasukuwere and his half-brother Dickson Mafios over a slew of charges, including seeking to topple President Robert Mugabe, fanning factionalism, setting up parallel…