MASVINGO – Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) president Nelson Chamisa told people who gathered at Muchakata Business Centre recently for Masvingo cluster rally that when he gets into power he will not remove traditional leaders but will repeal the traditional leader’s act.
Chamisa said under his government, traditional leaders will not be appointed by government but by their clansmen following their tradition.
“When we get in power, we will not remove our chiefs, we will just make sure that they are not appointed by government but by their own clansmen according to their tradition. We want to restore their dignity not what is happening now where government interferes in the selection of our leaders,” said Chamisa
He went on to say the tittle Chief was not befitting to them saying the tittle was imposed by the colonial masters but in their respective countries they call them Kings so local Chiefs were supposed to be called Kings.
“When a crocodile is called a lizard it becomes a lizard, this is the situation we have in Zimbabwe, our traditional leaders were called kings and the colonial masters came and called them Chiefs. In England theirs are called Kings, so when we get in power, we will not continue calling them Chief but Kings,” said Chamisa.
He said traditional leaders were being forced to tow the Zanu PF line and were used to intimidate people, a development which violates democratic rights.
He went on to talk about land rights saying people were supposed to get tittle deeds on their ancestral land not the current situation where the government owns all the land.
“We will look into the issue of land, you people in rural areas have your ancestral land but it’s not yours. We need to fix that and give people tittle deeds on their land so that even when the government wants to do any form of development they ask you for permission and you agree on the terms and conditions,” said Chamisa
Court accepted Annexure B as showing submission times
Submission time for Modi appears as 16:20pm on the form
The form only has the date of the nomination court sitting and not date of submission
Modi could be disqualified as a candidate if someone took the case to court and if the judge found the same merits to the case
If he is disqualified, he will get another chance at the National Assembly seat as there would be no candidate left for Bulawayo South which would call for a by election
Following the High Court in Bulawayo ruling that the 12 Citizens Coalition for Change candidates and 5 others be removed from those who successfully filed their nomination papers, there have been many engagements and debates on the implications of this ruling on other candidates.
David Coltart, CCC member and candidate for Ward 4 in Bulawayo, tweeted that: ‘I see that Mr Modi Zanu PF candidate for Bulawayo South also only had his papers finalized by @zec at 16.20. Given the farcical judgment in the High Court his nomination should be nullified too’.
This article seeks to lay out the High Court’s ruling.
Background
There are media reports stating that Zanu PF candidates had all pre-filed. ZEC had announced that all candidates who so wished could lodge their papers within 10 days leading to the Nomination Court. This would mean that the nomination papers for Zanu PF were with ZEC even before the nomination court sat on 21 June 2023.
However, according to a nomination submission list from ZEC, deputy minister Raj Modi does, indeed, have his submission time stated as 16:20pm (sic).
Credit: WILD
Does this then mean that, like the 12, Modi’s nomination is reversed?
No, it is a bit more complex than this.
The Judgement
In the case Tatenda Madzinashe and others versus Innocent Ncube N.O and Others, Justice Ndlovu ruled that 1st Respondent (ZEC) is prohibited from including the names of the 15 candidates , including the CCC 12, in the preparation of ballot papers to be used in the general elections scheduled to be conducted on 23 August 2023.
In that ruling he said, ‘The 1st Respondent stated in his affidavit that he only interacted with the individual Respondents when they submitted their nomination papers. Annexure B shows when each Respondent submitted his or her nomination papers. Annexure B is a document compiled by public officials during the course of their duty in service of the State. Long after 4 pm the majority of the Respondents filed their nomination papers. The 1st Respondent and his staffers have said the times indicated in Annexure B are not what they purport to be. I find this explanation to be strange and improbable to the extent of being false. Annexure B speaks for itself. It does not need to be explained away by anyone including the 1st Respondent and his staffers. In all probability, the 1st Respondent comes up with this explanation upon realizing that this application has put him and ZEC on trial.
‘We now know that a Police Officer collected the nomination papers from the candidates. The Applicants’ case is that the 1st Respondent violated the law. I have also been moved by both sides of the bar, to give Section 46 (7) and (8) of the Act the golden rule of interpretation.
‘The Nomination Court closed at 4 pm. Once it closed it was no longer sitting in open court and by the time the respondents sat before him they were not doing so in open Court. The separation of the papers from the Respondents through the medium of the Police Officer was unlawful. The statute says the candidate or his/her agent must be in court and ready to submit at 4 pm. It does not say that the candidate’s papers alone must be in the courtroom.
‘The 1st Respondent, therefore, violated the provisions of the electoral Act in that regard as he also did close to midnight when he adjourned to 22 June 2022.’
Credit: ZimLive
Conclusion
From the ruling, it is clear that the Court found ZEC’s decision to use a police officer to bring in candidates’ nomination papers into the court unlawful. He also ruled that the times that are indicated on Annexure B are the times of submission. However, this did not apply to Zvikwete Innocent Mbano, where the Judge was satisfied with his account that he had submitted before 4pm and only went out to correct an anomaly.
Looking at the ruling, it is possible that Raj Modi could also be barred from the election if Annexure B is taken as the time of submission. However, this is not a given since there is a different ruling for Zvikwete Innocent Mbano.
Modi could be disqualified if someone took the case to court and if the judge, after hearing the merits, came to the same conclusion as in this case. However, after the withdrawal of the third Bulawayo South candidate, Admore Gomba – Bulawayo South would then need a separate by election.
Fact checked by FACT CheckZW ( www.factcheckzw.org )
CHIREDZI- As Zimbabweans are slowly being engulfed by the election mood, Chiredzi Central Constituency’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate, Ropafadzo Makumire says he was more than ready to go to parliament.
He will battle it out with Zanu PF’s Francis Moyo and current Chairperson for Chiredzi Town Council, Gibson Hwende who is contesting as an independent candidate after he was disqualified from the race to reprrsent CCC.
Makumire seem to be a people’s darling having contested as independent candidate for Chiredzi West’s ward 3 during 2018 harmonized elections and outweighed Zanu PF and MDC Alliance’s candidates and went on to be elected as Chiredzi Town Council’s Vice Chairperson, making him the youngest elected councilor during that time.
30 year old Makumire later joined CCC during its inception.
He did his primary education at Tshovani Primary School and Chiredzi Christian High School respectively and later graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Regional and Urban Planning at the University of Zimbabwe in 2016.
He is the Director of Kums Town Planning Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd and is a holder of a Master’s Degree in Urban Design from the National University of Science and Technology.
Makumire, who is also a part time lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University vowed to spearhead the construction of Chilonga Bridge, which he said is key towards the development of Chiredzi Central and the district at large due to its proximity which is close to the link between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“I have to work on the construction of Chilonga Bridge, which is very key towards the development of our town and District at large. It is a shorter linkway between Chiredzi and Mozambique such that when constructed, cross boarder haulage trucks will use the road allowing local businesses to easily get their raw materials from Mozambique,” said Makumire.
Makumire also highlighted the need to depoliticize developmental initiatives in the district in order to have input from people from all walks of life despite their political affiliations.
“We need a developmental approach that encompass all stakeholders. The Constituency Developmental Committee’s should be apolitical in order to rope in developmental ideas from various stakeholders. It also helps for accountability purposes as well as leaving no ward behind. Everyone should benefit,” said Makumire
Makumire has been vocal against land barons who he says are crippling the local authority and allegedly duping residents by unlawfully selling tracts of unserviced land to desperate home seekers without authority from Chiredzi Town and Rural councils.
He attended the 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship where he studied Civic Leadership at the Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
A lifeless body was discovered in Masvingo on the wee hours of July 23, 2023 by a Masvingo General Hospital ambulance driver.
The lifeless body was found along Charumbira Street and police suspect that the deceased was involved in a hit and run accident.
Masvingo Provincial Assistant Police Spokesperson Assistant Inspector Lorraine Ndlovu confirmed the incident.
“I can confirm that we received a report where a dead body was found by a Masvingo General Hospital ambulance driver with head injuries and bruises over the body. We suspect that it was a hit and run and we are appealing for information that may help with investigations,” said Ndlovu.
Sources said the ambulance driver, Jefias Moto (43) who was going to work rushed to report at Masvingo traffic police who attended the scene
“Masvingo traffic police then attended the scene and discovered that body had some head injuries and bruises over the body with no missing parts. There were trails which showed that the car dragged him for about 10metres,”
“The police then took the deceased’s body to Masvingo General Hospital mortuary for postmortem while investigations are still going on,” said the source.
Endless ‘a brand of faith’ is set to host a fundraising golf tournament to assist Chiredzi Christian Children’s Village home to recover from the loss that they encountered after fire destroyed the village in March.
The fundraising is meant to assist the home recover what they lost to a devastating fire and to help improve lives of the less fortunate children. The tourney is set to take place on August 19, 2023 at Hippo Valley Country Club Golf Course Chiredzi.
Endless Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O), Faith Mazana has asked for the golf community to allow their brand to host and take part in the golf tournament to assist the less privileged children.
“I am taking a leap of faith and asking for the golf committee, Chiredzi community, provincial golfers and any Zimbabwean citizens to help improve the lives of our less fortunate children in Chiredzi by allowing us to host a fundraising golf tournament in August,” said Mazana.
She said she is confident that people were going to help with whatever they have to improve the lives and future of the children and said people should take it as their responsibility to help other orphanages.
“Every cent counts and will help change the life and future of the children, it is our responsibility as citizens to lend a helping hand to many other orphanages out there,” said Mazana.
Chiredzi Christian Children Village was burnt down on March 17, this year and the orphanage lost all groceries, sporting equipment, school supplies, clothing and a roof on top of their heads.
The orphanage has 50 children, 11 in preschool, 12 in high school and 27 in primary school.
On the day on ‘FOUR BALL BETTER BALL’ individual players will pay US$35 and a team of four will pay US$140.
CHIREDZI-2023’s edition of the Lowveld Agricultural Show, set to run from 3-5 August will be graced by Greenfuel, General Manager Conrad Rautenbach while the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Band will be the major entertainer during the show, TellZim News has learnt.
Greenfuel is one of the fastest growing agricultural companies majoring in the production of ethanol from sugarcane.
The Lowveld Agricultural Show, which is usually held in mid-August will be held on the early days of the month days on August due to the Harmonized Elections slated for August 23, 2023, and will be running under the theme, ‘Connecting Minds, creating Business, Empower the nation’ and is targeting more than 70 exhibitors this year, with most exhibitors rushing to get space.
Lowveld Show Society Marketing executive, Auxillia Ruswa Dzenga confirmed Rautenbach’s presence at the show and said he will be the guest of honor while the Police band will be the leading entertainer.
“Mr Rautenbach will be the guest of honor in this year’s edition of the Agricultural show while the Zimbabwe Police band will be the leading entertainer during the course of the show,” said Dzenga.
She went on to say they were expecting more exhibitors compared to previous years.
“We are anticipating more than 70 exhibitors, which is more than what we used to have over the years, with new exhibitors being expected to take part and market their businesses,” said Dzenga.
A lot of activities are expected from the Zimbabwe Republic Police and fire works during the grand finale of the event.
Gweru– The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) last week conducted a two-day ideas festival training for women and youths as efforts to exchange ideas to a learning opportunity for Social and Economic Justice Ambassadors to unearth the use of public finance management in combating effects of climate change
The ideas festival was conducted at a time when women and youths were excluded in economic and social governance issues as their voices continue to be neglected in the policy network and communities.
At the same time these groups have become victims of the ruthless bane of climate change as well as weak and poor public finance management. A situation that has been further aggravated by unfair trade practices as majority of youth and women in the informal sector particularly smallholder famers and artisanal small-scale miners are relegated to the periphery of the value chains.
ZIMCODD Programs Officer, John Maketo said under the festival which targeted 35 SEJA trainer of trainers (women and youths) was focused on empowering youths and women on climate and public finance management issues.
“The trained SEJAs will go back to their areas of operation targeting to train 500 women and youth leveraging on snowballing and idea harvesting technique ZIMCODD intends to reach approximately 1,500 (women and youth).
“This will be done to harvest ideas from youth and women participants who will be drawn from Gokwe, Goromonzi, Matobo and Kwekwe to discuss prevailing issues and dynamics that are undermining women and youth empowerment,”
“The discussions will be done under the prism of climate change, movement building, inclusion and prudent public finance management,”
“In addition, the exclusion of women and youth in economic governance has led to unsustainable mining activities in their communities as well as unresponsive budgeting process both at local and national level,”
“The ideas festival seeks to build an informed movement of women and youth that effectively lobby and advocate for just climate change interventions, inclusion of women and youth in economic governance as well as sound public finance management.” said Maketo
Goromonzi based Social Economic Justice Ambassador (SEJA), Mary Nyandome said unity of purpose was key in fighting climate change.
“Movement building citizens are the owners of the society there is need for unity of purpose in fighting climate change, be decision markers in every stage, local and national,” said Nyandome
MASVINGO – Zimbabwe is experiencing a surge in political and online violence with political parties and their candidates deliberately disseminate disinformation and misinformation in coordinated attempts to manipulate the electorate ahead of August 23, 2023 general elections.
Misinformation is simply incorrect information, while disinformation refers to deliberately sharing information that is known to be false with the intention of deceiving people.
The ruling party Zanu PF has established a fully-fledged cyber fighters and online propaganda wing known as ‘Varakashi’ whilst the main opposition party, the Coalition for Change (CCC) responded by their own ‘Nerorists’ or ‘Mazizi’ which is aimed at giving counter narratives.
However, youths in Zimbabwe, who are the majority consumers of online content are the most vulnerable victims of these social media trolls from the two main political parties.
One youth, Charles Mujani told TellZim News that political parties are peddling false information online and as such some youths are using it to make decisions.
“WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter platforms are dominated by the youths and as such political parties are using these platforms to disseminate propaganda and misleading information ahead of elections. We do not have the skills to plug out disinformation and fake news therefore, we end up making decisions from a misinformed position,” said Mujani.
Labour Economists and African Democrats (LEAD) president Linda Masarira
Linda Masarira, president of Labour Economists and African Democrats (LEAD), during a Tell Zimbabwe organised Election Discussion, said women were heavily affected by disinformation and online violence which then affect their participation in politics. Masarira herself said has been a victim of cyber bullying and online violence as she went through body shaming and serious interrogation of her sexual life among other forms of violence.
“I am a victim of online bullying myself and this is generally the trend where women who want to participate in politics are targeted online. Men in politics resort to violence and abuse of women when they see that they cannot win against them. Women are the majority and I want to encourage fellow women to vote for women or at least candidates they really know that they will improve their living standards,” said Masarira.
She attributed the continuous significant decline in the number of women vying for parliamentary seats to various forms of violence, including online violence. Masarira said the current statistics of women vying for parliamentary seats in August 23, 2023 elections are very telling in terms of the negative impact of political violence and cyber bullying where all forms of violence are used to attack women who want to contest for positions.
“It’s not easy being a female politician in Zimbabwe. I was denied chance to contest for presidency simply because I wanted to make payment in local currency and the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC) declined the payment. I went to court but my case was thrown away. The environment is not friendly for women therefore, I want to encourage women to vote for fellow women or at least candidates that they know will push for pro women policies,” said Masarira.
United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) National Engagement and Mobilising Secretary Rebbecca Ndlovu said various stereotypes have been used to undermine women and youths capability to be active in politics and many-a-time strong women are often presented as having loose morals.
“We are concerned about the increasing political violence against women and youths ahead of elections. We have so far witnessed an increase in fake news and online violence targeted on women and young people. Men have shifted from discussing real issues to attacking the persons therefore, it is now extremely difficult to debate issues online without being attacked,” she said.
Stabile Dewa, the director of Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE) once told TellZim News during the March 26, 2022 by-elections, that political violence against women and youths was hindering these marginalised groups from contesting and fully participating in politics.
“Political violence is worrisome; its reoccurrence during elections has continuous negative ripple effects to the participation of women and young persons in electoral processes as the assumptions of an election being violent and intolerant of women are always evident.
“We have noted that the violence has also migrated to online where women and youths are being attacked, and political parties are disseminating disinformation in attempt to win the elections. We condemn this with strongest possible terms and encourage politicians to create conducive environment for women and youths to freely participate,” said Dewa.
According to Dr Last Alfandika, a media lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), youths have largely been on the receiving end of political antagonism, which has seen a drop in their interest to participate actively in electoral processes despite them being the majority.
He said systems should be developed to make sure that online spaces are safe for youths to freely participate. He said laws such as the Cyber Act should be fully implemented in order to reprimand those who commit cybercrimes and deliberately peddle disinformation.
Dr Alfandika also added that practical action should be taken to punish perpetrators of violence both off and online.
“There should be steps and mechanisms that deter people from repeating the perpetration of violence in the country. Perpetrators of political violence must not be protected as we have witnessed in the previous years were perpetrators were in fact rewarded. Lengthy jail sentences and fines will help deter people from committing political violence,” said Dr Alfandika.
He added that measures need to be taken to combat disinformation and misinformation in Zimbabwe so that the youth are not vulnerable to making decisions from a misinformed position.
“People must be trained to tell the difference between fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and real news. I am happy that organisations such as TellZim are taking a leading role to combat disinformation by training the youths on citizen journalism, election reporting and combating disinformation. I believe this will go a long way in combating disinformation because trained youths will take an active role to provide credible information and by so doing combat disinformation,” said Dr Alfandika.
Gweru – Youths in Gweru have said lack of resources in hospitals and incapacitation of staff was a result of misplaced priorities by the government.
Speaking during the National Association of Youth Organizations (NAYO) youth engagement in Gweru last week An Ascot based youth, Courage Machada, said hospitals and clinics continue to let people down due to lack of resources.
“I witnessed how hospitals and clinics are incapacitated due to lack of resources. I am coming from Birchenough Clinic and I was delayed because they only had one thermometer that was said it belonged to the infants at the hospital,”
“I had to wait and this shows how lack of resources at our health facilities continue to disappoint patients. However, the situation is being made worse not because the country does not have the funds but because of misplaced priorities by leaders,” said Machada
He went on to say having a chronic illness in Zimbabwe was a death sentence because of the high USD amounts required and the age discrimination.
“In Zimbabwe life has become unbearable for youths with chronic illnesses. Being diagnosed with such a disease means death because the free medication for chronic illnesses is only given to the senior citizens.
“However, because of incapacitation in local hospitals even the senior citizens are buying on their own and the prices are too high and charged in USD currency,” he said.
Director of Young Voices Disability Zimbabwe Nyasha Mahwende said the dilemma of lack of resources at hospitals was affecting people living with disabilities more.
“People Living with Disabilities in Zimbabwe are sometimes denied access to health by family members because it is cumbersome for them to find disability friendly hospitals. If one is deaf, they find it hard to communicate and maintain privacy at the same time. For the visually impaired there is no braille.
“For those who use wheelchairs there are no ramps, the dwarfs can’t access the beds because they are too high and the toilets are not disability friendly,” said Mahwende.
Community Solutions Zimbabwe (CSZ) programs officer Brisky Funnel Ncube said there was need for independent structures and policies to improve the health sector.
“In order to improve the health system in Zimbabwe, there is need for independent structures and policies to boost our own health sector and not to rely on western aid,”
“There should be adequate legislation and policies for doctors to open private hospitals after a specific period of working in government to curb monetizing the health system.
NAYO Programs Officer, Ian Chawanda encouraged youths to play an active role to improve the health system.
“It is up to us as youths to improve the health system by using the available platforms like social media to participate and bring to light injustices and problems being encountered when accessing health. It is every Zimbabwean’s right to access health hence let’s participate,” said Chawanda.
As the 2023 harmonized elections draw closer, Zaka North Zanu PF candidate Ophias Murambiwa popularly known as Maga Maga is confident of a clean sweep and has sweet promises for the Zaka community.
Murambiwa is the sitting MP for Zaka West and was moved to Zaka North after the collapse of Zaka West by the delimitation exercise.
50 year old Murambiwa says he is Zaka North’s preferred candidate because of the good works he had done for Zaka West which include construction of a dip tank, bridge, and clinic and registry office.
“In Zaka West ward 17, I facilitated for construction of Bvumbura Dip Tank, Chenyu Bridge in ward 22, a development that help school children who were failing to cross to Muchokwa Primary School during the rainy season,”
“In ward 23 I used Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and devolution funds to construct Mudzara Secondary School and Charuka Clinic in ward 24 and a number of road maintenance programmes in the constituency,” said Murambiwa.
Murambiwa said his goal when he gets another term in office was to address road and mobile network issues in Zaka North as well as putting electricity in schools and clinics and other government institutions,
“When I get into office I want to first address road networks because of the terrain in Zaka, the roads are damaged by rains so I will make sure we re-gravel all roads in Zaka North constituency.
“After that I will focus on electricity issues, most schools in Zaka North like Chirara, Chivingwi Primary and Secondary Schools do not have electricity,”
“Zaka North is mountainous and mobile network is a challenge, as we speak, we are working on the erection of a booster in Jichidza area and the project is almost complete,”
“We also have water challenges in Zaka North so I will try to implement the president’s vision to have a borehole for every village and have solarized boreholes in COMMUNITY gardens,” said Murambiwa.
Murambiwa will contest with Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Zanga Munyaradzi.
