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ED, Chamisa square off in Bikita by-election

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ED, Chamisa square off in Bikita by-election


…three
parties file for nomination

…
150 vote in MDC primaries
Upenyu
Chaota
President Mnangagwa and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa may
not want to be in the same room to dialogue the way forward for the economy but
will have a date in the ballot box as both their parties will battle it out in
the Bikita West Ward 31council by-election slated for July 13.
The council seat fell
vacant following the death of Zanu PF Councillor Patrick Marozhe on April 15
this year.
Three
political parties filed for nomination with Zanu PF being represented by Thomas
Mataga, MDC represented by Moses Maposa and National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) represented by Peter Mavenga.
Zimbabwe
Election Commission (Zec) Masvingo provincial head, Zex Pudurai said it was all
systems go for the by-election which will be held on July 13.
“We
are happy with our state of preparedness. Three political parties have gone
through the nomination court and brought forward three candidates and we are
ready for other subsequent processes that need to be followed.
“We
are also pleased with the peaceful environment that we are seeing ahead of the
by-election,” said Pudurai.
The
opposition MDC held their primary elections at Mandadzaka Primary School last
week, May 29 and a paltry 148 members voted raising serious concerns on the
future of the party in the ward.
Presided
over by a national organising team led by Tamsanqa Dangazela and Farai
Chinobva, the primary elections were won by Maposa, who is the party’s district
chairperson.
“We
are already working hard to market our candidate to the electorate because he
is the best person to represent the interests of Ward 31 residents in council.
“We
are a party of excellence so the people of Ward 31 have the best candidate in
Maphosa,” said MDC provincial youth leader Kudakwashe Bhadharai, who is a
resident of Bikita East himself.
Maposa
served as MDC councillor in the same ward between 2008 and 2013.
Zanu
PF candidate Mataga, who last year contested in the party’s primary elections
for Bikita East and lost to current Member of Parliament (MP) Johnson Madhuku,
the election is just a formality as his party will walk over all the other
contestants.
“We
are ready for the challenge. As Zanu PF, we will launch our campaign on 09 June
at Mandadzaka Primary School and we will then be hard at work from that day
onwards. We are confident that we will retain our council seat because we are doing
many developmental projects in the communities,” said Mataga.
Mavenga
will represent the Professor Lovemore Madhuku-led NCA and the party’s district
chairperson Ernest Rambe expressed confidence in victory.
“The
people now know that only the NCA is capable of delivering on their needs
because it is a party founded on constitutionalism and good governance. We take
this by-election seriously because local governance is key to good service
delivery,” said Rambe.
Zanu PF last month lost another council by-election in
Mutasa constituency’s Ward 10 despite them being accused of employing vote
buying antics.

Zesa sues Chikombedzi Hospital for unpaid bills

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Zesa sues Chikombedzi Hospital for unpaid bills


Beatific
Gumbwanda
CHIKOMBEDZI–
It never rains but pours for Chikombedzi Hospital whose problems continue
piling up with the most recent one being a lawsuit by Zesa through which the power utility is demanding in excess of $120 000 in unpaid bills.
The
Free Methodist hospital established in the 1970s is faced with a myriad of
problems ranging from dilapidated infrastructure to serious financial
constraints and is on the verge of collapse.
The
hospital has not been paying its electricity bill for a long time prompting
Zesa to take legal action so as to recover the money owed to them.
Matron
Ruth Hlongwane told a delegation led by Chiredzi South legislator Kalisto
Gwanetsa that the hospital was crumbling down and they recently received a $120
000 lawsuit from Zesa over unpaid bills.
“We
have a lot of problems here and recently Zesa added to those problems by suing
us for $120 000 in unpaid bills.
“The
government had promised to pay but they have not done so and we plead with them
to come to our rescue,” said Hlongwane.
Gwanetsa
said he would bring the problem to government’s attention so that the people of
Chikombedzi will get better care at their hospital.
“I
have heard of the challenges and will lobby the government to act quickly and
bail out this institution because it is in a sorry state,” said Gwanetsa.
Chikombedzi
Hospital has no functioning ambulance, no running water, defunct mortuary and
cannot provide proper meals for patients who are said to be solely eating
cabbages.   

Zaka cop’s wife burns hubby over girlfriend

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Zaka cop’s wife burns hubby over girlfriend

Brighton Chiseva
ZAKA – A 24-year-old woman who is married to a police officer appeared
before resident magistrate Florence Nago last Friday and was convicted for
scalding her husband with boiling water over allegations of infidelity.
The accused, Progress Muchingami
pleaded guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody for sentencing.
According to the State papers, on
April 30, the complainant, Tafadzwa Webster Muchingami (37) went to take a bath
and left his phone behind. Muchingami then took her husband’s phone and
exchanged sim cards, inserting hers into his handset and his into her handset.
The complainant went to work
around 07:00hrs without noticing that the sim cards had been exchanged.
Around 19:00hrs, the complainant
came home and the accused sat beside him after putting a pot on the boil. She
later checked the water and put a cup on the other stove plate as if she wanted
to prepare tea.
She returned and sat beside the
complainant and started shouting at him claiming his girlfriend had been looking
for him and she spat on his face twice.
Muchingami tried to stop her from
spitting at him but she became even more cross and later took a pot from the
stove and threw the hot water on her husband’s chest.
The victim got scalded so badly
that that he had to be rushed to Ndanga Hospital where he got admitted.
Cuthbert Jandure prosecuted.

Granny past cow over witchcraft allegations

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Granny past cow over witchcraft allegations

Brighton Chiseva

Zaka – An elderly woman from Mharadza village, Headman Nyamutaki
under Chief Bota was recently fined a cow for accusing her village head of
bewitching her.
Ketsia Zuva appeared in the Zaka
Magistrates; Court at Jerera where she was convicted but spared jail.
Efforts to get a comment from the
village head were futile as his phone was not reachable but Headman Nyamutaki, real
name Maxwell Chaminuka, confirmed the incident.
“She was reported to the police and was taken to court but due to her advanced age, she was spared jail time. However, the village
head demanded that he be paid a cow and culturally that is the norm. She had to pay the fine,” said Nyamutaki.
Nyamutaki said the whole issue
started when the village head found human faeces in his house and called a meeting where he warned the culprit to come forward or risk
unspecified action.
“The next day, Zuva came forward
and said her grandchild was the responsible. The matter was brought to my court so I sought audience with both of them and the matter was resolved amicably.
After a few months’ time, Zuva had some problems with her leg and she accused the village head of bewitching her over the
previous incident and that is how the issue ended up in the higher court,” said Nyamutaki.

Madzibaba flees shrine after raping minor

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Madzibaba flees shrine after raping minor

Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – A
self-styled prophet of Madzibaba Enguvo Tsvuku church has disappeared after
allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl who had been consulting fo healing, TellZim
News has learnt.
The
prophet, popularly known as Madzibaba Joshua, could not be found at his shrine
at the growth point when people went there looking for him last week.
Ward
18 Councillor Albert Mashiri said women and children must be wary of dubious
churches sprouting everywhere and their so-called prophets.
“There
is a case of rape involving Madzibaba Joshua which is currently being
investigated by the police. When we heard about the matter, we visited the
victim’s place of residence together with a team from the department of social
welfare and the Justice for Children (JCT) and we compiled our own reports,”
said Mashiri.
The
victim, who is from Nyajena, is said to be a form three school dropout who was
employed as a housemaid at Rutenga.
“When
the girl first visited the prophet, she was told that she possessed some mermaid
spirits that required continuous exorcism. When she returned for the second
time, the rape ordeal began and lasted for a long time. The culprit would
always threaten her against divulging the abuse, warning that she would go mad
if she ever did,” said a source.
Other
sources said the matter came to light when prophets at the girl’s own church
asked her to confess the sin of adultery which they accused her of committing.
That is when the minor opened up about the rape ordeal, leading to a police
report being made.
TellZim
News managed to visit the shrine where the self-styled prophet used to conduct
his services and the place was completely deserted.
  

Citizens want resolution of Gukurahundi massacres, says NPRC

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Citizens want resolution of Gukurahundi massacres, says NPRC

Munyaradzi
Goche
MUTARE – Zimbabweans are
united in their call for the resolution of Gukurahundi atrocities to give
grieving victims and their families’ closure, the National Peace and Reconciliation
Commission (NPRC) heard during a meeting held in Mutare recently.
Speaking at a strategic and policy framework meeting
recently, NPRC commissioner Choice Ndoro said people in areas that they had
visited had demanded that the matter be resolved once and for all.
“People in Kitsiyatota (in Bindura) demanded that we deal with the
Gukurahundi issues in the name of Ubuntu. They said some fellow Zimbabweans in
Midlands and Matebeleland were grieving and wanted closure,” Ndoro said.
She said her commission was going to ensure that the
issue was handled with the guidance of the victims.
“The victims will need to guide us in tackling this
issue because each person was affected differently and would have their own
preferences in dealing with this,” Ndoro said.
She said they were preparing to consult widely in
order to deal with the issue that claimed over 20 000 lives and continues to
divide the nation close to four decades after independence. “We want to learn
from across the content; from the people of Sierra Leone, Rwanda and South
Africa as well as read about how Cambodia handled similar issues,” Ndoro said.
She noted that while the signing of the Unity Accord
in 1987 and the stability-inducing government of national unity in 2008 laid
some foundation for national healing and reconciliation, more still needed to
be done as that alone was not enough.
“Unity Accord and GNU did not resolve these issues….Yes,
something was done but was not enough. Part of the mandate of the commission is
to deal with the root problem which previous efforts did not deal with,” Ndoro
said.
She said there was need for people to always be
cautious of their actions as the country was still grappling with issues that
happened long before colonization.
“Before you think of doing anything remember you are
leaving a legacy for your children,” she said.

Body language story telling: An exploration of the intangible

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Body language story telling: An exploration of the intangible

Elizabeth
Duve Dziva                           
Agnes
De Mille once said bodies never lie, the truest expression of a people is in
dance.  Dance symbolises elementary values
to our culture, our nation, tradition, spirituality, history and children. It
is one of the most authentic and reliable source of history for with it comes
an undistorted story. Dance is a strong magic, its telling a story without a
voice. Each movement sums up moments and experiences. Cultural dancers are
story tellers, they tell a story in every movement and sequence of their dance.
Every cultural dance has a story that needs to match the theme of the dance. Literally,
there is no cultural dance without a story.
The
beauty of dance is that even if you want to know what the dancers are trying to
express, you do not need to know a particular spoken language, it is merely
body language. It tells us something about people’s beliefs, feelings and
ancestry.  Dance is not simply body
language but has many theoretical definitions. As a matter of fact it is an
emotional movement with a strong meaningful moment and signifies a people’s uniqueness.
Cultural
dances are so valuable to various societies as they often carry pieces of their
history and livelihood that would otherwise be lost. A dance is a common language
that unites people at the same level. There are various dances in Zimbabwe
which vary according to ethnic diversity; some may have slightly changed due to
the dynamics of time. Among them are vast traditional dances which are very
powerful and meaningful. These include the Mbira dance which is accompanied by
a thumb piano (mbira instrument).
It
is religious in nature and is meant to summon ancestral spirits to come through
mediums. There is the Dinhe dance which carries a lot of war movements and also
has to do with inviting ancestors and agricultural fertility. Mbakumba dance is
performed after harvest and Muchongoyo was performed by the Ndebele men in preparation
for war or after war.
Jerusarema
(mbende) dance which goes along with drums and rattles was traditionally a
symbol of fertility, sexuality and family but today can be performed at various
gatherings. Mhande dance is usually performed at kurova guva ceremony bringing back a deceased person’s sprit and is
usually done by the Shona people. Isitshikitsha is a Ndebele dance which was
traditionally performed for the king’s pleasure and was also performed at
Njelele for rainmaking ceremonies during droughts. Among the vast dances are shangara,
jiti-chinungu, zihwere, chimutare, ingwenyama, mmabhiza, ingquza, chinyobera, ngungu
among many traditional dances which vary according to ethnic groups.
Today,
there are new dances like museve, bum jive, gwara gwara, house dance and break
dancing among many contemporary dances which are emanating. Apparently, they
carry no known connotative meaning than mere entertainment. Nonetheless our
generation should do nothing but to embrace them and try to pass them over generations.
Societal growth is inevitable and with growth comes change and such aspects
like new dances are unavoidable.
There
is need to preserve cultural dances for they connect us directly from the present
to the past.  The onus is upon us to
preserve the joyful body movements we have inherited from our ancestors and
those that we are inventing and pass them to our successors as they were passed
to us.
Elizabeth Duve
Dziva is an Archaeological and cultural heritage practitioner, the views and opinions expressed
in this article are purely the author’s in her own capacity unless stated otherwise. They do not
necessarily represent the views of any organization. Email:
duveelizabeth@gmail.com
.

Mwenezi imbiber murdered for ‘disrespecting’ bar owner

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Mwenezi imbiber murdered for ‘disrespecting’ bar owner

Tendai Mange
There
was shock at a drinking spot in Mwenezi district recently when a man was
murdered by his drinking mate for disrespecting the bar owner.
Masvingo
provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Charity Mazula confirmed the
incident and urged people to solve their difference amicably.
“We
can confirm that we received the murder case and a suspect is in our custody. We
urge people to try and solve their problems when they are sober,” said Mazula.
Sources
said Wilson Ngungwana of Village 10 Chipimbi, Mukwasine, was drinking beer with
his friend Charles Chauke of Village 8 Chimpimbi at Chagara’s bar.
A
serious misunderstanding emerged between Ngungwana and bar owner Funny Chagara,
leading Chauke to intervene against the former whom he accused of disrespecting
Chagara.
Chauke
then went outside the bar and brought a log which he used to hit Ngungwane on the
head. The victim instantly fell unconscious and was then taken to Chiredzi
Hospital from where he was referred to Hippo Valley and finally to Parirenyatwa
in Harare.
He
died at Parirenyatwa six days later.

MDC infighting persists in Mwenezi

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MDC infighting persists in Mwenezi

                                             Chihwakwa-Sithole
Cephas Shava
MWENEZI –
The fight between two hostile MDC factions for the control of the district
seems to be far from over, with the both camps still claiming legitimacy after
the party’s national congress held in Gweru recently.
Prior
to the congress, a team from the national headquarters visited the district and
called a meeting at Neshuro where Alfred Chihwakwa-Sithole’s executive was
recognised.
At
the meeting, Chihwakwa-Sithole’s rival Timitia Dziva was allocated the position of
secretary for elections in an attempt to foster unity though he did not turn up
for the gathering.
At
the congress, however, the Chihwakwa-Sithole’s executive was shocked when they
were not allowed to vote while Dziva, who is Masvingo provincial chairperson James
Gumbi’s blue-eyed boy, and his team were allowed to cast votes in their stead.
When
contacted for comment, Chihwakwa-Sithole confirmed the problems but was quick
to say he was confident they will soon be solved.
“I
am the district chairperson but when we went to Gweru for the congress, it was
Dziva’s team that voted on behalf of the district at the expense of my team. We
raised the issue there at the congress and I have just briefed the provincial
leadership. They have pledged to resolve the issue,” said Chihwakwa-Sithole.
Repeated
efforts to get Dziva’s side of the story were fruitless as his mobile phone was
not reachable.
Prior
to the congress and soon after the national team visited the district to try
and resolve the dispute, Dziva refused to entertain questions from TellZim
News.
Several
senior MDC members said if the dispute in Mwenezi is allowed to continue, the
party was headed for yet another poor performance in the next election.
The
party won only one council seat in the district during the 2018 harmonised
elections.
   

‘A’ level Family & Religious Studies question and answer

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‘A’ level Family & Religious Studies question and answer

Question:  Assess
the contribution of African traditional religion to the conservation of the
environment.




Mhuri Muneni

Africans
view themselves as part of the environment. This web of relation is what makes
Africans view the earth as their mother and themselves as her children. This
means that, though God, humanity and nature are distinct concepts they are
ontological categories that are interrelated and interdependent hence J. Mbiti’s
position that Africans are notoriously religious. This means that they believe
in everything being religious. Their environment is a sacred one that should be
guarded jealously. Therefore plants, animals and other non-living beings are
part of nature, which is the product of God’s creation deserving to be
respected as much as human beings who are also part of nature.
 The relationships between persons and nature
are rooted in God as the creator of all. God’s creation is a single family.
This is what makes Africans regard themselves as being in a close relationship
with the entire cosmos. Idowu et al posit that “Africans, especially in the
traditional setting were nature-oriented.” 
African traditional religion is a religion that comprises belief in the human
world, the natural world and the spiritual world. These three worlds are
linked. The natural world provides the habitat for the spirits and sends
message from the spiritual world to the human world (as hierophanies)
Haverkort, et al. For the Africans every plant, animal and natural phenomena are
sacred. In order to appease the spiritual world, people performed rituals and
made sacrifices. The human world has to relate to both the natural and the spiritual
world. It is, therefore, along this general world view that this essay will categorically
examine the attitude of African traditional religion towards the environment.
Land
is important in African traditional religion; it is sacred. That is why the
Shona used soil in swearing rituals. Some traditional sacrifices were
administered by the practice of people biting some soil and swearing. Besides
land, most African ethnic groups regarded water as a symbol of life. Watering
places were approached with respect. Most of the water sources belonged to the
whole community. Nobody was allowed to cultivate around these places. Trees
were not cut and vegetation was kept to ensure that water was not disturbed. To
protect the places and the water from being polluted, many myths, taboos,
proverbs, and riddles were formulated to educate or to make people aware that
those places had to be preserved. One taboo is not to fetch water from the
source using dirt pots (Hari). This would cause the source to dry up. More so,
people should not urinate into water because they might face serious
catastrophes. These taboos were formulated to make sure that people do no
pollute the water.
As
a practical religion, African Traditional Religion involves many beliefs and
practices, traditions and customs, which are the ways by which people express
their religion. Religious values beneath these beliefs customs and traditions
helped people to have a good relationship with their environment. Animals were
viewed as sacred creatures of God. That is why many myths and stories used
animals as main characters. They were respected as part of the whole creation.
Some ethnic groups believed that fierce wild animals such as lions and
elephants were just manifestations of the great power of God. The totemic
beliefs and taboos helped in the preservation of some animal species. For example,
the Remba people of Mberengwa use the Zhou totem. They are not allowed to kill
or eat meat from this animal. They respected these animals. All this consequently
helped in protecting and preserving many animals’ species and therefore the
environment in general.
Many
if not all ethnic groups in Africa, believed that God was the sole owner of the
universe. He created it and so He automatically owns it and does what He wants
with it. Awolalu (1979) posits that God owns the universe, He is immanent in
it. He dwells in the universe in special places, like mountains, rocks,
valleys, or trees. That is why traditionally Africans considered the universe
sacred. Therefore, nobody had the right to destroy it. They believed that the
power to create and destroy the universe belonged to God alone. Therefore, man
had no right to abuse, spoil, destroy or squander what God has made to manifest
His glory.
 In conclusion, Africans have to revert back to
their environmental conservation approaches that have been affected by
contemporary changes, and draw from them what is proper and blend it with
contemporary ways of environmental preservation. Traditional religious
education is important in environmental preservation. Traditional African
education has to be focused on preserving the sacredness of life and whatever
enhanced it. The African system of education traditionally emphasized respect
and reverence of nature which enhanced life. Contemporary Africa should borrow
a drop from traditional education systems as far as environmental conservation
is concerned.

The writer is a teacher at Errymaple High School in Zvishavane

B.A Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies.


Post Graduate Diploma in Education,
Shona and Religious Studies.

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