Vendors stage a demonstration at Town House in Harare yesterday, while (inset) municipal police officers arrest leaders of the demo
STATEMENT – The National Vendors Union Zimbabwe (NAVUZ) has once again come under siege from the ruthless state machinery under the auspices of the Harare Municipality, which has resorted to violence in a bid to remove the vendors from the streets.
Vendors stage a demonstration at Town House in Harare yesterday, while (inset) municipal police officers arrest leaders of the demo
What is worrying is the fact that the vendors who have come under attack are registered vendors who are still waiting to be allocated spaces in the so called designated vending sites.
Upon receiving the sad news that their members have been attacked and that apart from their wares beings confiscated, some have been seriously injured, NAVUZ National Director Mr Samuel Wadzai, in the company of NAVUZ administrator Lucy Makunde rushed to Town House to explain to them that the vendors who had been attacked and arrested were registered vendors who were in possession of all the requisite registration papers, and as such had to be released and be given their wares back.
Unfortunately, they were also attacked violently with button sticks and clenched fists and they were arrested, detained and later transferred to the Harare Central Police station where they are still being detained.
NAVUZ Chairperson Mr Sten Zvorwadza also visited Town House upon receiving news of the arrest of the Director and the Administrator, but was also attacked and arrested. He is also detained at Harare Central Police Station.
NAVUZ wishes to condemn such an irrational and barbaric act by the Municipality of Harare, in conjunction with the ZRP, and once again calls upon the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development to take heed to our calls for dialogue between all the stakeholders in the vending enterprise rather than to resort to violence. The later will only excercebate the morass rather than solving it.
Zimbabwe international striker Nyasha Mushekwi continued his fine form in the Swedish Premiership on Monday night when he rose from the bench to score the only goal of the night for his team Djurgarden.
Nyasha Mushekwi
The priceless strike powered Djurgarden to a 1-0 away victory against Helsingborg at Olympia Stadium.
His team is now on fourth position on the log table.
According to the club’s official website, Mushekwi had to start from the bench after having problems with allergies for a couple of weeks.
But the former CAPS United forward put his problems behind him to show why he has become his team’s superhero when he was introduced in the second half and made the difference.
The match was attended by 9 234 people.
Mushekwi has now scored 12 goals in the Swedish top-flight league, after joining a few months ago, on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa.
His goals and his powerful runs have already attracted interest from a number of top clubs in Europe and reports indicate that he could move before the current window closes.
The Zimbabwe international has attracted interest with clubs from Holland, Germany and France, but his handlers favour a move to England where they feel his physical game would be better suited.
Mushekwi last played for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2012-2013 season.
And with his loan stint expiring next month, many eagerly anticipate whether he would join a club in Europe, or he will extend his stay in Sweden.
Mushekwi told a Swedish television station that he wanted to stay at his current club for a longer period.
“I would (want) spent the rest of my life at this club,” he said.
But his fate might not be in his hands and his goals might power him to a new destination sooner than he thinks.
The big forward was in Zimbabwe briefly last month to visit his family and said he was impressed with the way things have turned out for him.
“You have to praise God for everything that is happening in my life right now in as far as my football is concerned,” said Mushekwi.
“Sometimes it is hard to believe everything that is happening, especially after what I went through recently, the fact that the goals have just been coming and I have been playing very well again.
“I never lost faith in my abilities, even when things were not going well for me, I knew that if I get the right environment, I could get to the levels that I believe I can play and in the last few months, it has all come together.
“It’s not easy, especially when you are a striker, because you are judged by the number of goals that you score and I have to just go out there and do as well as I can and I thank the Lord for guiding me to be where I am right now.”
Mushekwi said while he has read, and heard, that there were a number of bigger clubs that were interested in his services, he was still to get something concrete.
“Obviously, when you are scoring goals there is going to be interest and you read it in the newspapers and you hear people talk about it, but I haven’t had anything that is concrete right now and when it happens you will be the first to know,” said Mushekwi.
“Right now, it is important that I should not be distracted by being too ambitious but to concentrate on playing for my club and doing as best as I can and, so far, things have moved very well.
“The atmosphere here is very good, the fans really love their teams and we have very good support and the fans want us to do very well and I think I have also done my part, so far, to make many of them happy with the goals.
“But it’s all about the team and we win as one team and lose as one team and credit should not be given to me alone but the entire team and those people who had trust in me, who gave me this chance, even when others doubted that I could make it at this level.”
Mushekwi is in the plans of Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa and is set to be considered, on this kind of form, for the next 2017 Nations Cup qualifier against Guinea after missing the trip to Malawi because of injury. The Herald
A shurugwi mine security guard on Monday reportedly brutally murdered his three children, dumped their bodies in a disused mineshaft and committed suicide following a dispute with his ex-wife over the children’s custody.
Man kills his 3 kids, poisons self
On the fateful day, Joachim Paundi forced Amo (15), Diana (13) and Nyasha (6) to take cyanide before smashing Amo’s head with a stone when she tried to resist.
After killing the trio, Paundi proceeded to his rural home in Mukandapi, Shurugwi, where he took whisky laced with cyanide and died instantly.
His uncle Mr Tinos Big Sando Mungenge-Rungani confirmed the incident.
Mr Mungenge-Rungani had no kind words for Paundi.
He said Paundi killed himself and the three children after being dragged to court by his ex-wife Eunice.
The matter was supposed to be heard yesterday at the Shurugwi Court.
“My nephew, Paundi had a long-standing dispute with his ex-wife Eunice over custody of their three children. The two separated following a series of domestic disputes most of which degenerated into fistfights. At one point he broke his wife’s hand and was arrested. The two later separated.
“On Monday, at around 7am Paundi took his three children to a nearby mountain where he forced them to take cyanide. When the eldest resisted, he tried to crush her head with a huge stone. This is evidenced by the bruises on her head,” he said.
Mr Mungenge-Rungani said after committing the crime, Paundi fled and went to his rural home where he took whisky laced with cyanide.
Paundi went on to call his workmate only identified as Simon and told him how he had killed his children.
“Simon received a call from Paundi and told him what he had done. We then reported the matter to the police and they retrieved the children’s bodies from the shaft,” he said.
The bodies were taken to Shurugwi District Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.
His wife had a breakdown when she learnt of the tragic incident and collapsed.
When The Herald tracked her at Shurugwi District Hospital, the distraught woman failed to relate the incident.
Efforts to get a comment from the police were futile as Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko’s phone went unanswered.
In a related incident, Paundi’s brother Brain Phiri also committed suicide following a heated domestic dispute which resulted in his wife teaming up with her brothers to severely assault him.
The incident occurred on Sunday, a day before Paundi brutally murdered his three children.
Allegations are that Phiri, who stayed in Mambowa high-density suburb in Shurugwi had a heated argument with his wife Leah Mwale which later degenerated into a fistfight.
Eyewitnesses said Mwale left the house and went to her parents’ house where she teamed with her brothers to beat her husband.
“Phiri and Mwale have always been fighting and each time they fought, the latter would team up with her brothers to assault the former. This has been going on until Sunday when Phiri had an argument with his wife.
He took cyanide at his house in Mambowa. He was found dead in his bedroom,” said a relative who preferred anonymity. The Herald
HARARE – Police are keen to question former Zimbabwe national team soccer player Harlington Shereni on allegations of defrauding the daughter of the late Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Dr Stan Mudenge and a city advertising company of more than $8 500.
Harlington Shereni
A report was made at Borrowdale Police Station by Ms Rumbi Mudenge under case number CR 382/06/15 and Shereni’s whereabouts are not known.
Police sources yesterday said they had launched a manhunt for Shereni in connection with the case.
Shereni is accused of defrauding Ms Mudenge, sponsors and companies with regards to his testimonial match which was supposed to be held on June 6, but was postponed under unclear circumstances.
It is alleged that on June 9, Shereni hired Ms Mudenge and an advertising company in the city to provide services at a venue where he held a Press conference for his testimonial.
In an interview yesterday, Ms Mudenge said for all the services which were conducted, they were supposed to have been paid $8 450.
“For the venue it was $2 300,” she said. “The printers who created his logo, designs and banners are owed $1 650. Since May 18, myself and the companies who tirelessly worked for his every demand concerning his events, gala dinner, testimonial match and all his administration, are owed $4 500 for the services.”
Ms Mudenge alleged that Shereni disappeared after all the services had been provided. Police said anyone with information on Shereni’s whereabouts should contact any nearest police station or Borrowdale Police Station.
Shereni played in a number of top leagues in Europe and for local clubs and the national team during his heydays. The Herald
50 Cent has insisted he’s just taking ”precautions” by filing for bankruptcy.
50 Cent
The 40-year-old rapper – whose real name is Curtis Jackson – recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put in court papers to state he has assets and debts, which range between $10m and $50m, just days after a court ruled that the ‘Candy Shop’ hitmaker should pay $5 million to a woman who sued him in a sex tape case and he has now insisted that he’s just taking ”precautions” with the documentation.
50 said: ”I’m taking the precautions that any other good businessperson would take in this situation. You know when you’re successful and stuff, you become a target. I don’t wanna be a bulls eye. I don’t want anybody to pick me as the guy that they just come to with astronomical claims and go through all that.”
The ‘In Da Club’ star went on to insist his fans ”shouldn’t worry” as other wealthy stars, like Walt Disney and Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy too, and it is simply a matter of ”reorganising” his finances. Speaking to E! News, 50 said: ”Walt Disney has filed bankruptcy.
Donald Trump has filed bankruptcy. It means you’re reorganising your finances, but it does stop things from moving forward that you don’t want moving forward. ”I got a decent legal team. You don’t have to worry.” Only two months ago, Forbes estimated his net worth was around $155m. BangShowBiz.com
At least 27 pilgrims have died in a stampede on the banks of a holy river in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, local officials say.
Pilgrims gather after the stampede at the festival on Tuesday morning
The Hindu pilgrims had gathered to take a dip in the Godavari river at the start of the Maha Pushkaralu festival.
The stampede occurred at 08:00 (02:30 GMT) in the Rajahmundry district.
Nearly 24 million pilgrims are expected to take part in the 12-day festival. Pilgrims believe that taking a bath in the river will rid them of their sins.
“The incident happened as the first set of worshippers were coming out of the river after taking a dip and then got in the way of others who wanted to be in the water at an auspicious time,” AFP news agency quoted senior police official A Srinivasan Rao as saying.
V Satyanarayana, a pilgrim who was at the site, said the stampede lasted nearly 20 minutes.
“It was a frightening situation, with women and children crying for help,” he told Associated Press. “The policemen on duty were helpless and it took more than an hour to bring the situation under control.”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who bathed in the river at the festival on Tuesday morning, said in a series of tweets that he was monitoring the situation and urged people not to panic:
Deadly stampedes during religious gatherings are fairly common in India.
In October 2013, 115 people died during a stampede at a Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Most were crushed after panic broke out on a bridge near the Ratangarh temple. Others drowned when they jumped from the bridge into river waters below. BBC
The US has issued a travel warning for Kenya ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama, who is due to address a summit on global entrepreneurship.
Kenyans are preparing for Mr Obama’s first visit to the country as president
The summit, to be held in the capital, Nairobi, from 24-26 July, could provide “a target for terrorists”, the US State Department said in a statement.
In 2013, at least 67 people died in an attack by al-Shabab militants on the Westgate shop centre in Nairobi.
The Somali-based Islamist militant group says it is at war with Kenya.
Their deadliest assault to date happened at a university in the north-easter Kenyan town of Garissa in April, when four gunmen killed 148 people.
The US State Department has urged its citizens to “maintain a high level of security awareness” as part of the new travel warning, which expires on 30 July.
Last month, the UK lifted its warning against travelling to part of Kenya’s coast, including Mombasa.
Mr Obama’s visit to Kenya will be his first to his father’s homeland as US leader.
Al-Shabab has carried out numerous attacks in Kenya near the long porous border with Somalia.
The al-Qaeda-linked group wants Kenya to withdraw troops sent to Somalia in 2011 to help the weak UN-backed Somali government to fight the militants. BBC
Parliamentarians in Rwanda have voted to support a change to the constitution that would allow President Paul Kagame to stand for a third term in 2017.
Paul Kagame
More than 3.7 million Rwandans signed a petition asking parliament to abandon two-term presidential limit – a change that will now be put to a referendum.
Mr Kagame has always said it is up to the Rwandan people to decide.
Rights groups have accused the Rwandan authorities of silencing the opposition and stifling the media.
Pro-government Rwandan newspaper The New Times says hundreds of people turned up at parliament on Tuesday morning to watch the debate on presidential term limits.
Those who want Mr Kagame to stay credit him with “leading the struggle to stop the 1994 genocide”, it says.
On Monday, a ruling party RPF message was circulated on social media in the capital, Kigali, urging people to take buses to parliament to support Mr Kagame.
The small opposition Green Party has been the only dissenting voice calling for the constitution not to be altered to allow for a third term, and petitioning instead for a single presidential term to be changed from seven to four years.
Last month, it went to the Supreme Court to try and stop the move to change the constitution, but the party was unable to get legal representation
The party has been given until 29 July to find a lawyer to take on the case.
In neighbouring Burundi, there have been violence clashes following a decision by President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek in a third term in elections next week.
The RPF’s rebel movement took power in Rwanda after the genocide in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.
President Kagame, who has won two elections, has been hailed by his supporters for driving rapid economic growth. BBC
The relationship between President Robert Mugabe and one of his ministers, Jonathan Moyo, is one of the most puzzling in contemporary politics.
Jonathan Moyo seen here with Mugabe
Given the personal attacks on one another and public humiliations, it never ceases to boggle the mind that the two men sit in the same Cabinet.
Moyo’s attacks on Mugabe before he joined Zanu PF and after he was fired from Cabinet in 2005 for being the alleged architect of the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration, are well documented.
Moyo used some of the most caustic terms to criticise Mugabe.
In the milder terms, Mugabe has described Moyo as “hard-headed.” And perhaps in one of his most extreme vituperations since describing gays and lesbians as “worse than pigs”, he labelled him as the “devil incarnate.”
This latter epithet is as extraordinarily pejorative as it is instructive.
One interpretation would be that Mugabe was expressing the fact that the “devil” that used to attack him in the past had now reincarnated within his party; or not less benign either, the fact that Moyo is the personification of evil.
Both men have invoked extreme terms which makes their relationship in government ever perplexing. That relationship manifested again recently with the surprise transfer of Moyo from the influential ministry of Information to the obscure Higher Education portfolio.
It does not need a rocket scientist to discern that being moved from the position of speaking for the whole government to the narrow confines of the Higher Education ministry does not constitute an elevation.
Mugabe’s humiliation of Moyo when he asked him to leave a Cabinet meeting — many say it was an unnecessary way of handling the matter — after he was recently elected MP illustrates a frayed relationship.
Even more puzzling was the rush in conducting a reshuffle and shift Moyo without his immediate replacement in mind. Mugabe preferred to even leave the portfolio vacant for a while as long as Moyo was out of it.
If his transfer had to do with effective implementation of the so-called ZimAsset as has been claimed, who would be its most effective spokesman than its rumoured author?
Moyo, for all his preposterous antics, is of his ministers, the most articulate, and perhaps, the most cunning too, to be Mugabe’s best propaganda chief at a time the Zanu PF regime continues to receive adverse international publicity.
Perhaps it is one of those qualities — cunningness — that also rankles, nay petrifies, Mugabe because, all considered, Moyo’s transfer could not have been based on performance grounds.
Moyo’s association with one Zanu PF faction could have been a cause. It is rumoured that Mugabe’s wife, Grace, who has become influential in Zanu PF succession politics, could have had a hand in the decision.
Mugabe and Moyo seem to have a love-hate relationship.
Moyo is said to have stood for the Tsholotsho seat without Mugabe’s sanction. In Mugabe’s mind Moyo and Tsholotsho, will forever conjure up the image of that scheming “devil.”
Mugabe recognises Moyo as a performer or technocrat but he also sees him as a devilish plotter to want to keep him on the leash. Tsholotsho is a permanent reminder. If Mugabe was less pleased he did not sanction Moyo standing in Tsholotsho recently, he may not have been too displeased that Moyo lost the seat in the last general election.
That way, Mugabe would be the sole allocator of political power to a man he always wants to keep on the leash, through his appointment to government as a non-constituency MP.
A Moyo with his own social base, rather than necessarily or solely depending on Mugabe’s largesse for political power, and featuring treacherously in succession politics, has probably unsettled the Zanu PF strongman.
Whatever our speculations, for people in the same party and government, Mugabe and Moyo’s relationship remains most intriguing in our contemporary politics.
It is characterised by suspicion, perhaps love (for Moyo’s professional competence) but certainly episodes of extreme hate that often defy disguise. Daily News
HARARE – Disgruntled Tetrad Investment Bank (TIB) depositors have formed a trust probing the struggling institution for a forensic audit, it has emerged.
Tetrad offices
The trust, which seeks to understand the reasons behind delays in securing an investor for the bank, wants a forensic audit into the activities of the bank, its associates as well as officials, with the facilitation of cash release as another main objective the trust has tasked itself with.
“The objectives of the trust is: a) to recover the maximum value of their investment in the shortest possible time following due processes, b) to secure the immediate appointment of a forensic audit on the affairs of TIB, its allied companies and officials,” the trust said in a statement.
The trust also said it was going to sue in the event that TIB failed to deliver of the requested information.
“Understanding that creditors are diverse in their origin, but sharing a common interest in the recovery of their money invested in at TIB, the informal group decide to create a unified group and form a Trust, the TCG Trust, to represent all creditors,” the trust said.
In March, creditors gave a potential Russian investor one month to inject fresh capital into the troubled bank threatening they were going to vote for liquidation, if the investor failed to come through.
Last year at a scheme meeting, creditors voted to protect the bank’s assets pending finalisation of a reported $200 million rescue deal by Horizon Capital Consortium made up of a Russian investor Sergey Pokusaev, the government and other local investors.
However, the deal has not yielded results.
At the March creditors’ meeting, Tetrad judicial manager, Winsley Militala, said the Russian investor was yet to give a solid commitment to saving the bank, adding the institution had to be liquidated.
The ailing bank — part of the Tetrad Holdings Limited group, which comprises an asset management company and a micro-lending unit — had a negative capital of nearly $20 million as at December 31, 2014.
Tetrad owes $22 million to secured creditors and an additional $41 million to unsecured creditors.
As at May 31, TIB liabilities exceeded assets by almost $30 million, as the cash position was around $500 000.
In November last year, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) suspended Tetrad from taking deposits and issuing loans until completion of its recapitalisation exercise. Daily News
