……Mandebvu hit by car during brawl with former mayor Maboke

Courage Dutiro

In a dramatic incident over the weekend, Zanu PF Masvingo Youth Chairperson Delight Mandebvu reportedly assaulted former Masvingo City Mayor Collen Maboke and his wife after the latter’s car side-swapped the vehicle the ruling party youth leader was traveling in on the night of March 2, 2024 along the Masvingo-Nyika road, after which Mandebvu got seriously injured after being hit by another car at the scene.

Mandebvu is said to be currently admitted at Masvingo Provincial Hospital with a broken leg.

When contacted for comment, Mandebvu’s phone was picked up by an individual who identified himself as a Zanu PF youth who had visited the chairperson in the hospital.

“I am one of the party youths who visited him, he is in a stable condition. At the moment he is being attended to,” said the youth.

Maboke who contested in the August 23, 2023 elections as an independent candidate for Masvingo Urban constituency said on the fateful night their vehicles which were going different directions sideswiped before the vehicle Mandebvu was traveling in made a u-turn, blocked Maboke’s car which was being driven by his wife, disembarked and started assaulting the former mayor, his wife and another passenger who was in the car.

During the brawl, a third car approached the scene but failed to brake on time before it overturned. Yet another car also approached the scene, failed to brake and hit Mandebvu who was reportedly in the middle of the road, seriously injuring him in the process.

“I was coming from my rural home in Bikita with my family, with my wife driving while I slept. My wife told me that around the Mbungo area, we met another vehicle that was driving towards Nyika growth point and we sideswiped. After that, the vehicle that we had sideswiped within which Mandebvu was made a u-turn, followed us and blocked the road. Mandebvu and the other occupants of his car then came to us and started assaulting my wife who was in the driver’s seat,” Maboke said.

He also said during the commotion, he was woken up after being hit by a bottle on his face. A third vehicle then arrived at the scene, failed to brake and overturned.

“As I was trying to understand what had happened I was hit by a bottle on my face. At that moment a third vehicle arrived at the scene, and tried to brake but overturned. As we were still talking a fourth vehicle which was travelling behind the third one arrived, failed to brake and hit Mandebvu,” said Maboke.

He also said he narrowly avoided the impact by jumping away, escaping the accident by a whisker.

“We could have been hit together but I managed to jump from where I was standing,” he said.

Maboke said, he sustained teeth and mouth injuries while his wife also sustained some significant injuries.

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Former Chiredzi Town Council Chairperson and Zanu PF Chiredzi ‘Godfather’ Francis Moyo was recently arraigned before the courts by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) together with his alleged business partner, Trinity Mutsetse of Innotrade Investment over allegations of criminal abuse of office as a public officer.
Moyo had to spend a night at Chiredzi Prison and was later freed on US$500 bail after appearing before regional Magistrate Judith Zuyu.
According to court papers, circumstances are that on the May 14, 2013 a developer, Inotrade Investments, represented by Trinity Mutsetse applied for commonage stands in Chiredzi Township from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works which he was later was offered.
It is alleged that Moyo, using his position as the council chairperson of Chiredzi Town Council as well as chairperson of the Justin Chauke Housing Cooperative hatched a plan and corruptly benefitted from the 50 commonage stands reserved for the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The court heard that on the December 17, 2014, Inotrade Investments and Justin Chauke Housing Cooperative entered into a partnership agreement to develop and construct 50 housing stands and investigations revealed that Inotrade Investments later handed over the project to Justin Chauke Housing Cooperative with the accused person being the chairman of the Justin Chauke Housing Cooperative and also the chairman of Chiredzi Town Council during that period.
Following the launch of an investigation on Chiredzi Town Council by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works from March 2016 to April 2016, a report named the ‘Nhamo Report’, established that no land intrinsic value was paid to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for the 50 residential stands.
It is alleged that the accused person’s actions led to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works suffering a prejudice of US$60 000 being the land intrinsic value that was payable.
Moyo, who is being represented by two Lawyers, Charles Ndlovu of Hwacha and Ndlovu Associates and Emmanuel Chibudu of Manyika Law chambers is supposed to report every Monday at Chiredzi Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and is not supposed to interfere with state witnesses and continue staying at 638 Woodpecker Road as part of his bail conditions.
He is expected back in Court on the 8th of March 2024 for continuation of trial.
Ronald Kwangware prosecuted.

By Brighton Chiseva

MASVINGO – Former MDC Alliance and the Citizens Coalition for Change Organizing Secretary Amos Chibaya has claimed that Zimbabweans do not follow political parties but people.
Chibaya who was speaking to Masvingo residents aligned with former CCC president Nelson Chamisa said people didn’t care what Chamisa led, but they will simply follow him everywhere he goes.
“Look at the 2023 elections, there is no MP or Councillor who had more votes than Chamisa that tells you what, people in Zimbabwe do not follow a party name but the one who was anointed by God, whether the party is called Mandebvu, Mberikunashe or Mberihakunashe, they follow their leader.
“The reason why Chamisa got more votes than yours, it’s because people want Chamisa and they would simply vote for you because they would have been given three ballot papers and could ignore the MP and Councilor. The evidence is there, let’s go for by-election without him and see,” said Chibaya.
He went on to say Chamisa had managed to stop Zanu PF from getting a majority in parliament but some renegades were reaping what they didn’t sow and gave Zanu PF two-thirds in parliament.
“Chamisa stopped Mnangagwa from getting two-thirds in parliament and in we won 32 out of 33 urban local authorities which means we had a clean sweep in all urban authorities, that angered Zanu PF and Mnangagwa that he failed to get two-thirds,” said Chibaya.
“No one reaps where he did not sow, I hear some saying CCC belongs to Tshabangu, where and when did he form it? It’s you who formed this party after we consulted you here, we went to Charumbira where our cars we blocked.
“So if we say we have left CCC then there is no more CCC. So my message to you is clear. No one should benefit from it. When a home is invaded you leave but you close it first, you don’t leave it in the wrong hands,” said Chibaya.
Also present at the meeting were former Pelandaba–Tshabalala and CCC deputy national spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba, former Binga North MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda, and other Chamisa-aligned leaders.
The team visited some victims of Operation Order No To Land Barons in village 15B, ward 7 of Masvingo West Constituency.
Speaking to the media after the tour, Siziba said the government was supposed to protect people but it was disheartening that after 40 years, it was shifting from the liberation agenda that was access to land.
“We must protect our people, the liberation project was anchored on the agenda to give people land, to give them titles to that land and economic freedom that is found in the land that they are staying on. The right to housing is a constitutional right enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe. It’s disheartening now that after forty years, we are reversing the gains of the liberation project.
“That is why we have continued to say as the alternative, our intention, and objective was to protect the legacy of the constitution rather than undermining it, to make sure that we aligned the constitution rather than amputating because these people ought to be protected by government and constitutionally they are supposed to be protected by the institutions of the state but now the vulnerable have been degraded, they lost property and dignity so we are very much worried about what has been happening on this side of the country, no one deserve this after 40 years of independence. We must be talking about how to bring water and electricity to these areas not doing what is happening now, that’s Stone Age politics that we do not agree to, we condemn it with all the contempt it deserves and we have activated our welfare team to do what is human to and support these people as an alternative,” said Siziba
On his part, Chibaya said their visit was to show solidarity with the victims of the inhumane actions by government saying they understand how hard it was for the victims.
One of the victims who identified himself as John Shiri said it was more painful to be sent packing back after having been confident that they had been settled.
“Zinorwadza kudzoswerwa pazero pane kugara pazero,(It’s harder to return to zero than being at zero), we thought we had settled but from nowhere, we were told that we were illegal settlers though we are in our own country where we should be getting somewhere to stay. We have been staying here for some time, we have invested a lot here.
The reason why we are still here is simply because we couldn’t shift because we had projects that we were given by the government like fish, you cannot move them now, to where.
We now have nothing, we sold our properties for sick money, I have an example of my neighbor who sold a car for US$200,” said Shiri.
The welfare team compiled a list of the affected people in the area and the needs they had and promised to mobilize for help.