By Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – The CID Minerals Unit has arrested Zaka District Development Coordinator (DDC) Gift Machukele and Zaka Rural District Council (RDC) Chairperson Fungai Maregedze in connection with illegal excavations at the government compound where soldiers and Zanu PF officials allegedly searched for buried treasure following claims made by a mysterious visitor last year.

The arrests followed weeks of unauthorized digging at the hilltop government complex where alleged army personnel cordoned off the area around the DDC’s residence in what sources describe as a desperate hunt for gold.

No official comment could be obtained on both the arrests and the mining activity Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said he was yet to receive a report on the matter. 

Masvingo Provincial Mining Director Marshal Muzira said he was not aware of the matter or any mining activity at the said place.

Deputy Minister of National Housing Yeukai Simbanegavi, who once warned against misuse of government houses, was not reachable for comment as her cell went unanswered several times.

Machukele’s cellphone has not been answered since last week, howver, reliable sources who spoke to TellZim News confirmed both incidents and provided video evidence of the mining.

“The arrests confirm this was never an official operation. Machukele and Maregedze were directly involved in authorizing these illegal excavations, and the CID Minerals Unit moved in after the damage to government property was reported to different authorities,” a senior government source told TellZim News.

Maregedze was arrested during a council meeting at Zaka RDC offices, where CID officers confiscated her belongings and escorted her out.

“She was visibly shaken and asked a councillor to immediately contact her husband, Chiduwa, to intervene in the matter,” said a council insider.

The treasure hunt began last year when a man claiming to be the son of Zaka’s first District Administrator approached then-DDC Memory Dhliwayo.

“A white man who said his father had buried gold and other treasures near the government house approached Dhliwayo and even provided a map. That’s when Maregedze, Chiduwa and Dhliwayo brought some excavators but they were stopped from exploration and the heavy machines went back,” revealed a source familiar with the initial investigation.

Another source provided a different account of how the treasure hunt began, suggesting Dhliwayo discovered a tunnel through one of the rooms after an accident.

“Dhliwayo discovered a tunnel beneath the house after she had accidentally fell in through one of the rooms. It probably had a trap door but could have been destroyed with age. That’s when they investigated and found that underneath it looked like a mine, prompting them to attempt exploring,” said the source.

Events that followed resulted in Dhliwayo being threatened with eviction from the house, and she had refused to comment on the matter when contacted by TellZim News last year.

Sources indicate that when Machukele assumed office, he attempted to legitimize the ongoing excavations by writing to the Minister of State, claiming he had discovered tunnels beneath his official residence.

“Machukele’s letter was just damage control. The truth is his predecessor, Dhliwayo, first discovered these tunnels and reported an underground mine. Machukele simply continued what she started,” said a source.

The involvement of Maregedze, who has mining interests in Mashava, was imminent since she had already shown interest in the place during Dhliwayo’s time.

“Maregedze and her husband Chiduwa provided the excavators and the manpower for the exploration. Chiduwa used his influence as Zaka DCC chair and his links to other high offices to bring in the army under the guise of exploring for minerals. She used her proximity to power to operate at a government house and using the army was a good diversion,” revealed a source close to the investigation.

Villagers near the government compound expressed relief at the arrests but remained concerned about environmental damage.

“We’ve lived in fear since these excavations began. The constant digging and talk of explosives made us fear for our safety. The government must restore order and hold those responsible accountable,” said one villager.

By Karen Sibanda

HARARE – In a landmark judgment with far-reaching implications for women’s rights, the High Court has declared sections of Zimbabwe’s Termination of Pregnancy Act unconstitutional, marking a potential watershed moment in the country’s reproductive health landscape.

The ruling delivered by Justice Chirawu Mugomba on November 11, 2025, follows a constitutional challenge brought by the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) and Nyashadzaishe Titse, a gender rights activist and Member of Parliament, against the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the Attorney-General of Zimbabwe, and the Parliament of Zimbabwe.

The application, heard between September 12 and November 11, 2025, challenged Section 4(a) of the Termination of Pregnancy Act and the definition of “unlawful intercourse” in Section 2(1) of the same Act. 

The applicants argued these provisions violated multiple constitutional rights including the right to life (Section 48), human dignity (Section 51), freedom from torture (Section 53), and the right to health (Section 76).

In his founding affidavit, CWGH Executive Director Itai Rusike argued that the Act prohibits abortion in Zimbabwe except under a narrow set of circumstances… excluding mental health conditions as a basis for obtaining legal abortion. 

“This exclusion is unlawful and unconstitutional as it disregards the genuine challenges women experience with mental health,” read part of the affidavit.

The applicants noted that the law, originally passed by the Rhodesian Parliament in 1977 and last amended in 2018, allows abortion only when pregnancy endangers a woman’s physical health, when the fetus would be seriously handicapped, or in cases of “unlawful intercourse”  while specifically excluding mental health considerations.

The government initially opposed the application through Wenceslas Nyamayaro, acting Secretary for the Ministry of Health, who argued that the mental health aspect was covered.

 “Severe mental health conditions that threaten a mother’s life are already covered under the common provision relating to serious threat of permanent impairment of physical health,” argued Nyamayaro.

However, during hearings, lawyers for the first to third respondents abandoned their preliminary objections including challenges to the applicants’ legal standing, compelling the court to rule on the merits.

The legal challenge follows years of advocacy by women’s rights groups and health organizations. 

In 2022, the Zimbabwe National Adolescent Pregnancy Study revealed alarming rates of unsafe abortions among young women, with many citing mental health distress as a contributing factor.

The CWGH documented numerous cases where women with severe mental health conditions were denied legal abortions, leading to deteriorated mental states and, in some cases, suicide attempts. 

Their 2023 shadow report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women highlighted the discriminatory impact of the current law on women with psychosocial disabilities.

“Section 4(a) of the Termination of Pregnancy Act be and is hereby declared constitutionally invalid. The definition of ‘unlawful intercourse’ in section 2(1) of the Termination of Pregnancy Act be and is hereby declared to be constitutionally invalid.”

The judge found that the exclusion of mental health considerations and the narrow definition of unlawful intercourse violated women’s constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and health care.

However, the declarations of invalidity were immediately suspended pending confirmation by the Constitutional Court, as required by Section 167(3) of the Constitution. 

Tendai Biti, representing the applicants, welcomed the judgment as a victory for women’s dignity and constitutional rights.

“This recognition that mental health is as important as physical health in reproductive decisions aligns Zimbabwe with international human rights standards,” said Biti.

The case now moves to the Constitutional Court, where a confirmation hearing will determine whether Zimbabwe’s abortion laws will be modernized to better protect women’s mental health and address cases of sexual exploitation of mentally incompetent persons.

The judgment represents the most significant potential reform to Zimbabwe’s reproductive health laws in nearly five decades, with the power to affect thousands of women who currently risk imprisonment or seek dangerous illegal abortions due to the law’s restrictive provisions.

By Ndinatsei Mavodza                                                     

GUTU– The Mafusire community under Chief Mazuru in Gutu was left in shock after a 28-year-old woman, Angeline Dzikorehondo, allegedly strangled her newborn baby boy moments after giving birth.

Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident, which occurred on November 15, 2025 around 8am.

“I can confirm a case of infanticide that occurred in Gutu. Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the matter,” said Inspector Dhewa.

According to police, Dzikorehondo had left home early that morning with her 77-year-old grandmother, Shumirayi Gubunje, to cultivate their field.

While working, Dzikorehondo reportedly began experiencing labour pains and hurried back to her bedroom, locking herself inside.

Family members say it was not known that she was pregnant.

While inside the locked room, she is alleged to have given birth to a baby boy and immediately strangled him.

Unbeknown to her, Dzikorehondo’s two other children, aged nine and six, were playing outside and heard unusual noises and crying from the bedroom.

They alerted a 16-year-old boy who was passing by, who in turn informed the grandmother.

Gubunje confronted her granddaughter, who reportedly admitted to what had happened.

The matter was then reported to police in Bhasera.

Police officers later recovered the infant’s body, wrapped in a sack and abandoned about 30 metres from the homestead in a nearby bushy area.

Inspector Dhewa said investigations were ongoing and Dzikorehondo is expected to appear in court soon on charges relating to the death of the newborn.

Under Section 48 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, infanticide is recognized as a distinct offense and is defined as causing the death of a child within the first six months of life.

While Dzikorehondo’s motives remain unknown, research indicates that most women commit this act because of reasons such as mental health disorders, economic stress, incest and unplanned pregnancy.

Regardless of these reasons, the fact remains that Dzikorehondo strangled her new born baby.