“The judiciary is putting itself under unnecessary spotlight within the region and the world by disgracefully pushing for the exhumation of my husband”, Grace Mugabe has told the High Court.
FILE- In this Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, file photo, widow Grace Mugabe wears a black veil as she follows the casket of former president Robert Mugabe to an air force helicopter for transport to a stadium where it will lie in state, at his official residence in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe. Known as a strong-willed woman with political ambitions, Grace Mugabe rose from being one of the president’s secretaries to become first lady. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
Grace is appealing against a ruling by magistrate Ruth Moyo of Chinhoyi which approved the exhumation of the late former president Robert Mugabe and his reburial at the National Heroes Acre.
Mugabe who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being removed through a military coup by his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa (now President) died in Singapore from prostate cancer in 2019. Mnangagwa tried in vain to have him buried at the national shrine.
Chief Zvimba renewed the efforts earlier this year and summoned Grace to his court. Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court dismissed an appeal by Mugabe’s children, Bona and Chatunga rubber-stamping the traditional leaders’ directives.
In her appeal filed at the High Court, Grace cited that the magistrate Moyo acted improperly by making a ruling based on an appeal by Mugabe’s children when she had earlier on dismissed their capacity to appeal. She cited Chief Zvimba and Moyo as respondents in the application.
“In a shocking and unexpected twist of events, the magistrate respondent actually upheld a preliminary point indicating that the application she had directed to be filed was improper because the deponent (Bona) had no authority to depose to the affidavit,” she said.
“Whilst it is not the cause of action herein I will mention for good measure that the decision on that preliminary point was equally wrong as I clearly gave my daughter Bona Mugabe the authority to depose to the affidavit in question on my behalf.
“I reserve my right to file a separate process challenging this decision,” she said.
Grace added that the “wrongful” directive by magistrate Moyo “and her clear neglect of duties is prejudicial to me in that it violates my right to equal protection before the law by allowing the irregular decision of chief Zvimba to stand when it ought not to stand at all.
“The exhumation order that was granted was improper in that issues of burials are governed by general law through the Burial and Cremation Act.”
She said the matter involved the reburial of a former president of Zimbabwe hence it attracted unnecessary attention from the whole world.
“I wish to direct the court’s attention to the fact that this matter involves the former president of the Republic of Zimbabwe and to that end it has attracted so much public attention and that puts the Zimbabwean Courts under unnecessary spotlight within the region and the world over,” she said.
United Kingdom based Zimbabwean actress Tanya Fear who was reported missing in Los Angeles, has spoken out for the first time after she was found on the 13th of September.
UK based Zimbabwean actress Tanya Fear
The actress was reported missing for days and her whereabouts were unknown until a family member reported that she had been found and was being assessed at a local hospital.
On Monday Tanya full name Tanyaradzwa Fear took to twitter expressing gratitude to everyone who showed her support and took part in making sure that she was safe.
Posting on her twitter timeline she revealed that she was going through some mental health struggles.
The statement seen by Nehanda Radio reads: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love, care and concern a few weeks ago. It really means so much to me.”
UK based Zimbabwean actress Tanya Fear
She continued, “I’ve been dealing with mental health struggles and now I’m focused on my health, well being and going back to being a creative.
“I am so unbelievably fortunate that when I was in a tough spot some guardian angels went out of their way, saw my vulnerability and protected me.”
UK based Zimbabwean actress Tanya Fear
She added that people should not fear being open about their mental health struggles and other life challenges.
“So many of us have had challenges over the last couple of years and I’m unbelievably grateful to my support system for walking with me through it all.
“Let’s not fear being honest about our mental health challenges.”
Last month Tanya was reported missing in the U.S where she was set to pursue her newly found career in Stand Up Comedy. She was found after a few days and was hospitalized. Nehanda Radio
Zanu PF's Dexter Nduna was wrongly declared winner of the Chegutu West constituency in the 2018 harmonised elections instead of Gift Konjana from the opposition MDC Alliance
Dexter Nduna who was wrongly declared winner of the Chegutu West constituency in the 2018 harmonised elections instead of Gift Konjana has mocked his opposition rival saying he was ‘dreaming’ after his appeal against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) mistake collapsed at the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).
Zanu PF’s Dexter Nduna was wrongly declared winner of the Chegutu West constituency in the 2018 harmonised elections instead of Gift Konjana from the opposition MDC Alliance
Konjana contested the 2018 parliamentary election under an MDC Alliance ticket, but a flawed counting process by ZEC saw the electoral body declaring Nduna of Zanu PF, the winner. ZEC admitted to the anomaly but informed Konjana to seek redress through the courts.
The case was dismissed on a technicality basis by the Supreme Court and the ConCourt citing there was no constitutional dispute.
Asked how he felt after the court failed to dismiss the ZEC error, Nduna accused Konjana of failing to prove that he had won the election.
“The Constitutional Court today delivered the final blow to Konjani’s case that sought to overturn the victory that I had from the Chegutu West Constituency in the 2018 harmonised election.
“The court found that there was no merit on hearing the case in the Constitutional Court as there were no constitutional matters that were raised from day one. The issue that arises is Konjani failing to prove his assertion that he had won the election.
“I got nearly eleven thousand votes and he got 10 thousand votes and his claim that got more votes than me is premised on votes that belonged to Mr Kache who was another protagonist among MP aspirants that were in the race.
“He would have thought that if those votes were given to him then he would overtake the winner who is myself. But in elections, you don’t work like that,” he said.
Nduna mocked Konjana using President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s antics, ‘Muka ubike doro’ insinuating his rival was dreaming. This is despite the fact that there is an affidavit by ZEC that clearly states that Konjana won elections.
“He could have had a dream and which dream he wanted to make come alive but in my view, that was a nightmare in three dimensions. And aigona kumuka wobika Doro, in the words of his Excellency the President Cde ED Mnangagwa. Because definitely that was a nightmare. Midzimu yanga yamurasha,” he said.
In an interview Konjana said the ConCourt ruling was infringing on his political rights because ZEC itself admitted that it had erred.
“I feel like an alien in my own country because I no longer have any political rights at all because I feel that my political rights have been thwarted. I had expected that the courts would uphold a position that the people that were on the ground from ZEC said that I had won the election. It’s a sad day for democracy,” he said. Nehanda Radio
Local fast food outlet, Mambos Chicken has been warned about using sexually connotative adverts by the Zimbabwe Association of Accredited Practitioners in Advertising (ZAAPA).
Mambos Chicken
ZAAPA President Barry Manandi said adverts by Mambos stood against widespread efforts to promote, elevate and empower girls and women.
The statement directed to Mambos Chicken reads, “We have noted with concern, that in recent times your business has been exclusively using sexualized content to promote your products.
“While it is your prerogative to create the brand that you desire, the introduction of lewd and course innuendo has come to the Association’s attention and members of the public hence raised concerns around this.
“Your latest piece of work has been of most concern, as not only does it center on your chosen sexual slant, but further, insinuates the violation of women, using your chicken. The inference is around your suggestion as a brand, that at the purchase of Mambos chicken for a woman, sex must be the immediate reward.
“In a society that has made it policy to promote, elevate and empower girls and women, this is not only against government policy, but flies in the face of womanhood.”
Mambos Chicken advert featuring Comic Pastor
Manandi threatened to take action against the fast growing food outlet if they continue with sexualized content.
“While your material has been of concern generally, it is this latest piece of work that is most worrying. We now implore you, your marketing team and those handling your brand, from a creative perspective, to assess whether your desire is to promote great-tasting chicken or to tear the moral fabric of the nation, through advertising working that borders on pornography. As you are aware, and action will be taken by this Association.”
Mambos has become known for creating adverts that are full of humour and sexually connotative meanings.
Recently the company sparked controversy after posting an advert which read: “Kana akute gera Mambo’s Ngaapinde Hake amana” which is taken from “Ngaapinde mukomana” meaning Nelson Chamisa should get into office but was later turned sexual. Nehanda Radio
Struggling premier League giants CAPS United’s whose players believe the club missed out on business mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s sponsorship have expressed their anger with the club’s administration.
CAPS United shareholders, Farai Jere (right) and Nhamo Tutisani (left)
This follows after recent allegations that the club’s leadership under Nhamo Tutisani and Farai Jere rejected a massive Sakunda Holdings deal.
The country’s biggest energy company, Sakunda, financed two domestic football giants Bosso and Dembare with a hefty US$5.3 million for the next three years.
The Green Machine reportedly missed out on the deal because it is believed the club’s vice-president Tutisani rejected it, indicating the club had already secured better deals.
However, Tutisani dismissed the reports attributed to a local newspaper, disclosing that the club is currently open to any investors and sponsors available.
Even though he distanced himself from last week’s reports, Makepekepe players told Nehanda Radio that they are angry their executive reportedly refused to enter the multi-million deal with Sakunda.
“Mdara azvibude izvi, iwo madara edu aya anoramba kupinda mudhiri rakadai sei isu tisina mari? Team ayina kana cent, zvoitwa nemadara zvobhowa,” said a player who commented on condition of anonymity.
Adding on to his colleague’s comment, another CAPS United player then pleaded with Tagwirei to consider the club in the lucrative sponsorship deal.
The player went on to say they are failing to feed their families because the club is paying them peanuts, even though salaries have been paid up to date.
“Tikupiwa hedu masalary edu but apana mari apa, ayisi kutenga mari iyi,” he added.
Sakunda Holding’s sponsorship deal could have capacitated Makepekepe’s coffers since the club is already failing financially.
Early last month the former Cup Kings were reportedly said to have sealed a major deal with a group of investors who are linked to an English Premier League club.
The article indicated that the deal will see key investors taking control of a huge stake in the Green Machine.
Meanwhile, things are looking gloomy for the 2016 league champions who are yet to win any match since the return of the Chibuku Super Cup last week Wednesday.
Makepekepe’s chances to qualify for the next round of the Chibuku Super Cup have become slim.
This comes as a result of last week’s defeat to city rivals Harare City at the National Sports Stadium and last Sunday’s 1 all draw against Herentals FC at Baobab Stadium in Mhondoro.
The poor streak of results leave the Harare giants facing an early Chibuku Cup exit. So far, Makepekepe are seated on sixth position with eight points in Group one.
Darlington Dodo’s side has only managed to acquire one win in eight games. Nehanda Radio
Jordan's royal court rejected as "distorted" claims made in the "Pandora Papers" that King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies to build a $100 million overseas property empire.
Jordan’s royal court Monday rejected as “distorted” claims made in the “Pandora Papers” that King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies to build a $100 million overseas property empire.
Jordan’s royal court rejected as “distorted” claims made in the “Pandora Papers” that King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies to build a $100 million overseas property empire.
It said that the reports “included inaccuracies and distorted and exaggerated the facts”, and that revealing the properties’ addresses was “a flagrant security breach and a threat to His Majesty’s and his family’s safety”.
The statement also said that the king had “personally funded” the properties and all related expenses.
The investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), involving some 600 journalists from media worldwide, is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies.
While not alleging criminal wrong-doing by Abdullah II, the reports allege he created a network of offshore companies to quietly purchase luxury residences from Malibu and California to Washington and London.
Jordan’s Royal Hashemite Court said in its statement that “it is no secret that His Majesty owns a number of apartments and residences in the United States and the United Kingdom. This is not unusual nor improper.
“His Majesty uses these properties during official visits and hosts officials and foreign dignitaries there. The King and his family members also stay in some of these properties during private visits.”
The statement said the location of the properties was not publicised “out of security and privacy concerns, and not out of secrecy or an attempt to hide them, as these reports have claimed”.
“As such, the act of revealing these addresses by some media outlets is a flagrant security breach and a threat to His Majesty’s and his family’s safety.”
“Any allegations that link these private properties to public funds or assistance are baseless and deliberate attempts to distort facts,” it added.
The palace also stressed that “all public finances and international assistance are subject to professional audits, and their allocations are fully accounted for by the government and donor entities”. AFP
Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial in June 2021, four months after she was taken into military custody in a coup that plunged the country into turmoil
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s health has suffered from her frequent appearances before a court run by the military junta that deposed her government, her lawyer said Monday.
Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial in June 2021, four months after she was taken into military custody in a coup that plunged the country into turmoil
Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken into custody in a coup that plunged the country into turmoil.
The 76-year-old faces a raft of charges, from sedition to illegally importing walkie-talkies, which could see her jailed for decades.
She applied for hearings to take place every two weeks instead of weekly “on the grounds of her health,” her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said after her latest court appearance.
After new corruption charges were brought against her last week, the Nobel laureate now must appear most weekdays at a courtroom in the military-built capital Naypyidaw.
The trial had left Suu Kyi feeling “strained”, Khin Maung Zaw said, without offering more details.
He added that the judge would make a decision on her request next week.
Eight months since the coup, clashes between junta forces and anti-coup dissidents have escalated, with increasingly bloody attacks and reprisals.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, spearheaded by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have failed to make headway.
Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, who was selected as the regional bloc’s envoy in August after lengthy wrangling, had called for full access to all parties when he visits.
But last week a junta spokesman told AFP it was unlikely he would be allowed to meet Suu Kyi.
Security forces have killed more than 1,100 civilians since the coup, according to a local monitoring group. AFP
The family of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades, according to a huge leak of financial papers.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta
The Pandora Papers – 12 million files – is the biggest such leak in history.
Mr Kenyatta and six members of his family have been linked to 13 offshore companies.
He said he would “respond comprehensively” to the leak once he returned from a state visit abroad.
However, he added that the investigation would “go a long way in enhancing the financial transparency and openness that we require in Kenya and around the globe”.
The Kenyattas’ offshore investments, including a company with stocks and bonds worth $30m (£22m), were discovered among hundreds of thousands of pages of administrative paperwork from the archives of 14 law firms and service providers in Panama and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other tax havens.
The secret assets were uncovered by an investigation, published earlier on Sunday, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Finance Uncovered, Finance Uncovered, Africa Uncensored and other news organisations.
Documents show that a foundation called Varies was set up in 2003 in Panama, naming Mr Kenyatta’s mother, Ngina, 88, as the first benefactor – and Kenya’s leader as the second benefactor, who would inherit it after her death.
The purpose of the foundation and the value of its assets are unknown.
Panamanian foundations are much sought after because the true owners of the assets are only known by their lawyers and they do not have to register their names with the Panamanian government, ICIJ reports.
The assets can also be designed to be transferred tax-free to a successor.
There’s no reliable estimate of the Kenyatta family’s net worth but its vast business interests span transport, insurance, hotels, farming, land ownership and the media industry in Kenya.
In 2018, Mr Kenyatta told the BBC Hardtalk programme that his family’s wealth was known to the public, and as president he had declared his assets as required by law.
“As I have always stated, what we own – what we have – is open to the public. As a public servant I’m supposed to make my wealth known and we declare every year,” Mr Kenyatta said.
“If there’s an instance where somebody can say that what we have done or obtained has not been legitimate, say so – we are ready to face any court,” he added.
In the same interview, Mr Kenyatta said he wanted fighting corruption and promoting transparency to be his legacy.
He promised to work with parliament to create a law that would oblige public officials to declare their wealth, but MPs are yet to pass this bill.
Other world leaders named in the Pandora Papers include the King of Jordan Abdullah II, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba and President of Congo-Brazzaville Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
It is unclear if President Kenyatta, who retires next year after 10 years in office, knew about the Varies foundation but the timing of its opening may be instructive.
Seven months earlier, he had lost the 2002 presidential election to opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki, who had vowed to redress historical crimes as well as launch a war against corruption.
At the time, the family of outgoing president Daniel arap Moi, a friend of the Kenyattas, allegedly moved money out of the country, according to a 2014 leaked report by the international risk consultancy Kroll.
Client 13173
The Kenyatta family established its political and business interests during the rule of Kenya’s first president, Uhuru’s father Jomo. He has been accused of using his position to amass wealth.
After his death in 1978, Ngina Kenyatta, his fourth wife, played a pivotal role in expanding the family’s business interests.
In paperwork seen by the BBC, the Pandora Papers reveal that in 1999, Mrs Kenyatta and her two daughters, Kristina and Anna, set up an offshore company – Milrun International Limited – which was incorporated in the BVI.
According to the ICIJ, Mrs Kenyatta and her daughters were advised by experienced international wealth experts from the Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), which recruited Alcogal, a Panamanian law firm specialising in setting up and administering offshore companies.
The consortium says invoices from Alcogal to the bank show that the Swiss advisers referred to the Kenyattas with the code “client 13173”.
Alcogal provided a registered office for Milrun on the largest of the BVI islands, Tortola, and supplied staff members to act as the company’s official directors.
The result was an entirely anonymous company that could not be traced back to the Kenyatta family.
This company was used by Mrs Kenyatta and her daughters to buy an apartment in central London, which it still owns, according to filings at the UK Land Registry seen by Finance Uncovered.
The prime property, which was until recently rented by British Labour MP Emma Ann Hardy, is now estimated to be worth close to $1.3m.
Ms Hardy’s spokesperson said the MP, had “absolutely no knowledge” of who owned the property.
“She is shocked at what this investigation has uncovered, and believes it shows why more transparency is urgently needed,” her statement said.
According to Finance Uncovered, the Kenyatta family has used other offshore companies to buy two more properties in the UK.
$30m in stocks and bonds
UBP private-wealth advisers also helped Mr Kenyatta’s brother, Muhoho, set up a Panamanian entity called Criselle Foundation in 2003.
The foundation was registered to the offices of Alcogal in Panama City, and was nominally run by board members from the Panamanian law firm.
It was set up for the benefit of Muhoho Kenyatta, with his son Jomo Kamau Muhoho, as successor.
Another BVI company which Mr Muhoho owned had a $30m valuation in stocks and bonds as of November 2016.
A search of public records in BVI and Panama found that most of the companies linked to the Kenyattas are now dormant, some of them as a result of non-payment of regulatory fees.
It’s not illegal to run secret companies, but some have been used as a front to divert money, avoid taxes and for money laundering.
The Pandora Papers, however, show no evidence that the Kenyatta family stole or hid state assets in their offshore companies.
The Pandora Papers is a leak of almost 12 million documents and files exposing the secret wealth and dealings of world leaders, politicians and billionaires. The data was obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington DC which has led one of the the biggest ever global investigations.
More than 600 journalists from 117 countries have looked at the hidden fortunes of some of the most powerful people on the planet. BBC Panorama and the Guardian have led the investigation in the UK.
As Desmond Tutu turns 90 on Thursday, he remains indisputably the moral voice of South Africa. But age is catching up with him.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The jovial emeritus archbishop retired in 2010 and rarely speaks in public, in a country that sometimes feels adrift without the leadership of its anti-apartheid liberation icons.
Even though South Africa has eased its Covid-19 precautions, the birthday festivities will be muted and largely online.
Renowned for his radiating energy and infectious laughter, Tutu is expected to attend a special service Thursday at St George’s Cathedral, where he once held the pulpit as South Africa’s first black Anglican archbishop.
Later that day, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will host an online lecture by the Dalai Lama, Ireland’s former president Mary Robinson, rights activist Graca Machel and South Africa’s ex-ombudswoman Thuli Madonsela, respected for her courageous exposure of corruption.
The line-up of speakers is a reminder of Tutu’s values, surrounding himself with rights advocates at a time when South Africa’s current leaders are better known for lavish lifestyles and billion-dollar bank accounts.
An online auction of his memorabilia last month raised 3.5 million rand ($237,000) for the foundation named after him and Leah, his wife of 66 years.
The last time Tutu himself was seen in public was in May, when he and Leah went to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations.
He smiled and waved from a wheelchair outside a hospital, but didn’t speak to journalists waiting outside — a far cry from the buoyant personality who captivated the world with his strident opposition to apartheid, which won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
– ‘Rainbow nation’ –
Knowing him now as a towering figure on the world stage, it’s hard to remember that when he returned from his studies in Britain in the 1960s, he was subjected to the same humiliations as any other black South African.
His daughter Mpho Tutu-van Furth, with whom he has authored two books, remembers driving cross-country with her family to bring her siblings to boarding school.
“I have a memory of stopping at a place along the way, and my dad going into the store to go and buy ice cream for us, because it was just sticky hot,” Tutu-van Furth told AFP.
“And the person saying to him that they don’t serve kaffirs inside the shop, that you have to go around to the window. And my dad just kind of slammed out of there.
“We weren’t going to get ice cream that day.”
Kaffir is South Africa’s worst racial slur, and the utterance today can lead to criminal charges.
He eventually grew his leadership in the Anglican Church, creating a path towards reconciliation. He coined the term “rainbow nation”, and deeply believed that the South African experiment could show the world a new way to overcome conflicts.
His ideas of forgiveness have fallen out of favour with some younger South Africans, who feel that black people surrendered too much in the transition to democracy, without holding apartheid criminals to account.
What endeared Tutu to the nation was that he didn´t stop speaking out after democracy arrived.
He confronted homophobia in the Anglican Church, challenged Nelson Mandela over generous salaries for cabinet ministers and stridently criticised the endemic corruption that mushroomed under ex-president Jacob Zuma.
“He played such a unique role,” said William Gumede, of the Democracy Works Foundation. “We were fortunate during the transition that we had him and we had Mandela, these two statesmen who were moral leaders.”
But that era is over.
“We’re entering a period where we’re not going to have those really big moral leaders,” Gumede said. “So how do we build the society that we want?” AFP
The family of the late former President Robert Mugabe claim his spirit is fighting back after causing the “mysterious” deaths and illnesses of families of some traditional leaders that were pushing for the exhumation of his remains to be reburied at the National Heroes Acre.
The late former President Robert Mugabe
Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before he was removed from power through a military coup in November 2017. He died in Singapore from prostate cancer. President Emmerson Mnangagwa tried in vain to have him buried at the national shrine.
Earlier this year, Chief Zvimba ordered the exhumation of Mugabe’s remains. Mugabe’s wife, Grace and the children tried to appeal but courts in Chinhoyi kept on supporting his exhumation.
Chief Beperere, born Alfred Tome, who was behind the reburial push succumbed to Covid-19 last month. His son Edward, who was spokesperson for the Zvimba chiefs when they met Mnangagwa in September last year to demand the reburial of Mugabe, is said to be suffering a “mysterious ailment”.
Reports also claim that one of Edward’s sons is also said to be sick while chiefs Zvimba and Chidziva are also said to be now bedridden.
A member of Mugabe’s family, Dominic Matibiri, said they believed Mugabe’s spirit was avenging and it is behind the woes facing families of the chiefs behind his exhumation.
“The spirit of the departed have a way of settling issues with the living,” Matibiri said.
“As the Mugabe family, we will not mourn Chief Beperere with others because we feel that he was being punished by the avenging spirit for taking part in the exhumation judgement.
“Chief Beperere was Mugabe’s chief and should have presided over the matter but instead, decided to trick us by taking the matter to Chief Zvimba, a great justice anomaly.” Nehanda Radio
