‘Renamo’ rebels abduct, shoot Chipinge man dead

By Zvamaida Murwira

At least one person was recently shot dead after being abducted from Chipinge by suspected armed Mozambican Renamo rebels, Parliament heard yesterday.

The suspected armed bandits also stole 49 head of cattle from villagers in the district and smuggled them to the neighbouring country.

Acting President Mnangagwa said the Joint Operations Command for Manicaland and that from Mozambique were now seized with the cases.

They held two meetings this week to restore sanity in the eastern side of the country.

Acting President Mnangagwa said this while responding to a question from Musikavanhu MP Mr Prosper Mutseyami (MDC-T) who had asked him what Government was doing to end the theft of cattle from villagers as panichad gripped the area.

Mr Mutseyami had indicated that from what he gathered, 44 head of cattle had been stolen, but he alleged that armed men from Frelimo were behind it.

Acting President Mnangagwa said a Zimbabwean who had been kidnapped into Mozambique by the suspected armed bandits was subsequently found dead with gunshot wounds.

He said the case was now a subject of investigation by security forces from both countries, but added that Mr Mutseyami was wrong in attributing the acts to Frelimo.

“The issue being referred to by the Honourable Member is true,” said Acting President Mnangagwa. “It is not 44 cattle, but 49 cattle. It is not Frelimo. What we have done is that Manicaland JOC members and that of Mozambique met yesterday to look into it.

“Some cattle were recovered and people had been invited to identify some of their cattle.”

Mr Mutseyami also wanted to know what Government was doing to assist people who were being relocated from a place deemed a buffer area between Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Acting President Mnangagwa said the welfare of people being relocated was being managed by the Disaster Protection Unit under the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. “We have deployed security forces along the border so that Mozambicans do not come here and vice versa and this is meant to protect people,” he said.

On a different note Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge urged service stations not to restrict amount of fuel motorists could buy at a given time.

He was responding to a question that some service stations were only allowing $20 worth of fuel from motorists using plastic money.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the central bank would continue to inject more bond notes in the market to ease cash challenges.

Harare Central MP Mr Murisi Zwizwai (MDC-T) had asked what Government was doing to ease cash challenges which has seen long queues at financial institutions.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly debated the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill yesterday which seeks to provide a legal framework for bond notes.

Presenting a committee report, portfolio committee on Budget and Finance chairperson, Cde David Chapfika (Zanu-PF) said there was need to provide for penalties against corporates and individuals who rejected bond notes and those who refused to treat bond notes at par with the United States dollar. Chronicle