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Former Councillor wins Gutu East Zanu PF Primaries

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Former Councillor wins Gutu East Zanu PF Primaries

By Staff Reporter

Former Gutu Ward 14 Councillor, Zvarevashe Masvingise, won the Zanu PF ticket to contest the Gutu East by-election after triumphing in the party’s primary elections held on April 16. Masvingise secured a decisive victory, garnering 4,837 of the 6,922 votes cast.
Christopher K. Mashuro came in second with 967 votes, followed by Norbert Chikumbo with 402 votes. Maone Vheremu placed fourth with 289 votes, Phinias Chagonda received 270 votes, and Nicholas Chiname trailed with 157 votes.
Speaking after announcing the results, Zanu PF Masvingo Provincial Chairperson Robson Mavhenyengwa described the election as an internal contest, emphasizing that there were no losers, as the party itself had won. “In Zanu PF, there is no winner or loser; it’s Zanu PF that has won. Masvingise will be our candidate for this constituency, and we call on others to support him and the party,” Mavhenyengwa said.
Following his victory, Masvingise expressed confidence in securing a resounding win in the by-election.
“This is a game, and I have already won the first half. We await the second half, which I promise will be a resounding victory for Zanu PF. I pledge to continue working toward the president’s vision,” Masvingise said.
Chagonda pledged his support, stating that all losing candidates would stand behind Masvingise. Vheremu noted that, despite some polling stations opening late, the election ran smoothly and also committed to supporting the winner and the party.
The Gutu East seat became vacant after Benjamin Ganyiwa was expelled from Zanu PF for alleged disloyalty. Additionally, Zanu PF held a by-election for Ward 10 in the same constituency, prompted by the recall of former Councillor Jairos Mudonhi over disciplinary issues. Fibion Muzire won the Ward 10 election with 356 votes, ahead of Hardlife Makumbe with 247 votes and Kiston Magaya with 85 votes.
Another by-election in Ward 14 will be held to replace Masvingise, who stepped down as councillor to contest the parliamentary seat.

EMA trains traditional leaders on environmental management

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EMA trains traditional leaders on environmental management

By Andrew Zhou

Masvingo – The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) recently took a significant step towards promoting environmental conservation in Masvingo province’s rural communities by training traditional leaders on environmental management best practices.
The training programme, which were done in Gutu, Zaka and Mwenezi District, aims to equip traditional leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to champion environmental conservation in their area of jurisdiction.
The programme covers a range of topics, including sustainable land use, waste management, gully control, illegal mining, illegal sand extraction, and wetlands management.
EMA’s Masvingo Provincial Spokesperson, Munyaradzi Mtisi, said it was an ongoing program which will cover all traditional leaders in the entire Masvingo province’s seven districts.
‘We have been targeting traditional leaders. We have so far trained traditional leaders in Mwenezi, Gutu and Zaka but, the programme will spread throughout the entire province.” said Mtisi.
Mtisi, emphasized the importance of traditional leaders in promoting environmental and natural resources conservation.
“Traditional leaders play a crucial role in shaping the values and practices of their communities. By empowering them with environmental management knowledge and skills, we can promote sustainable practices and protect Zimbabwe’s natural resources.” he said.
Traditional leaders will be equipped with training skills which they will use to train villagers on environmental management practices. They will also learn steps to take when environmental harmful practices happen in their communities.
“The leaders will train other villagers on these resources management and report issues like illegal mining, illegal sand extraction or deforestation to responsible authorities like EMA or Forestry Commission.” said Mtisi.
He said by empowering traditional leaders and other stakeholders with environmental management knowledge and skills, EMA aimed to foster a culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship in Zimbabwe.
He also said 50 traditional leaders including village heads, headmen and chiefs were trained in Mwenezi District alone.
The training programme was well-received by traditional leaders, who recognize the need for environmental conservation in their communities.
In an interview with TellZim News, Mwenezi’s Silver Village head born Mattison Imbayago said he was implementing what he learnt due training by EMA.
“We are grateful to EMA for this initiative, we are now committed to promoting environmental conservation in our communities and protecting Zimbabwe’s natural resources for future generations.
“We are now controlling gullies and those who want to cut down trees for firewood are required to obtain the permit first from the responsible authorities and failure to do so, one will face the wrath of the law,” said Imbayago.

Warriors to play World Cup qualifiers at home in September – Magwizi

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Warriors to play World Cup qualifiers at home in September – Magwizi

By Beatific Gumbwanda

TRIANGLE- Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) President Ngobile Magwizi recently promised that the Zimbabwe National Soccer team will play its world cup qualifiers campaign against Benin in September at the National Sports Stadium.
Magwizi revealed this while touring Gibbo stadium that was refurbished by Tongaat Hullets Zimbabwe (THZ) recently when he said ZIFA was working hand in glove with the government to complete works at the National Stadium.
“As you might be aware, the national team has not been playing in the country because our stadia are not ready for us to conduct international matches. This is because they have not met the required set CAF standards but I can promise you that come September, we will host the world cup qualifiers in our own National Sports Stadium because we are working towards achieving that,” said Magwizi.
He hailed THZ for refurbishing Gibbo Stadium to better standards when he toured the homologated Stadium before Triangle United Football Club (TUFC) drew with Bulawayo giants, Highlanders.
TUFC received a green light from ZIFA recently to host local matches at Gibbo Stadium following its refurbishment.
Magwizi highlighted that though it wasn’t their mandate to upgrade football infrastructure, they were working closely with government and partners to upgrade football infrastructure across the country in order to meet CAF standards.
“As ZIFA, our role is to manage football and infrastructure is a key component of having football played though it is not our responsibility to construct the infrastructure , we lobby and motivate partners and authorities to work with us to build infrastructure.
“Very impressive work has been done by Triangle and this is what we speak to when we talk about partnerships with the corporate sector, where they come in and commit resources to build infrastructure that benefits the community. We had communicated with them to build stadiums to meet the standards recommended by CAF and FIFA and in two months they had already built new changing rooms, a new tunnel and added new ablution facilities,” said Magwizi.
Bikita Minerals have since relocated from Sakubva Stadium in Mutare which they had been using as their home ground to Gibbo Stadium.

Masvingo women challenge economic barriers with innovative projects

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Masvingo women challenge economic barriers with innovative projects

By Meditation Mposi

In a powerful display of resilience and unity, women from Masvingo Rural District Council ward 13 under the First Lady Widows Association and Saving and Credit Cooperation (SACCO) are making a living through various income generating projects.
The women recently gathered at Chikarudzo Business Centre on April 9 where they showcased their successes to motivate others.
The event was held under the theme ‘women participating in sectors of the economy without barriers’ where they showcased projects including detergent making, hairdressing and fence making.
Speaking at the event ward 13 councilor, Sarah Munemo said cooperatives empowered women and gave them independence from relying on their husbands.
“These projects empower women and relieved them from entirely depending on their husbands. They are now able to generate income to support their families. Widows as the only pillars of their families are now able to send their children to school through such projects. This reduces early child marriages, drug and substance abuse among children from underprivileged families.
She said they were hoping to generate more income from the projects and showcase their success stories at provincial level.
“Our aim is to generate more income so that we can be able to attend events at provincial level participating in our numbers because we are facing unfair competition with those in the urban. We wish to even host cooking competitions in our ward,” said Munemo.
Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Officer Varaidzo Revesai encouraged women to register their co-operatives which she said would assist them in getting grants and loans amongst other benefits.
“I encourage you to keep on doing your projects to prevent financial conflicts in your homes and in community. Registering your projects makes you eligible for grants. There is a 20 percent which is set aside to give to women in business,” said Revesai.
SACCO Secretary Nyemudzai Mugochi said the projects which was started in 2022 was thriving with the cooperative acquiring a commercial stand.
“We formed SACCO in 2022 and registered it in 2024. We save US$5 per person every month and so far we have managed to purchase a stand and we want to build infrastructure for the projects. People in our group borrow money and return it with 20 percent interest.
“I am grateful to SACCO as we are now able to support our families, borrowing money and returning it on time,” said Mugochi.
Kumbirai Chinyere from New Look Saloon said their aim was to reduce early child marriages by equipping young women and girls with skills they can use to generate income.
“Our aim is to support young girls, especially those who did not excel academically. Empowering young girls keep them engaged and helps prevent early child marriages and substance abuse.
“If a woman gets into a marriage empowered it can help them in navigating issues of abuse and enable her to financially support her family. So far I have eight members which I am training,” said Chinyere.
Docars Mugabe from the fence making project said they had recorded success from their end as the group has already acquired two fence making machines from the time they started in 2024.
“We started the project in December 2024 and we are 60 members. We have managed buy two fence making machines and employed a person who do that for us,” said Chinyere.
Ropafadzo Dunira, a member of the catering team said they offer incredible catering services and were making a living out of it.
“We offer incredible catering services for weddings, birthdays, family gatherings. We started this project in 2021with the aid of our councilor. Our catering name is Lulu’s Events.
“Those who are in need of catering aid are free to conduct us,” said Dunira.

Residents slam Masvingo council over neglected roads

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Residents slam Masvingo council over neglected roads

By Beverly Bizeki

Masvingo residents slammed Citycouncil for years of neglecting road maintenance especially in high density suburbs where some roads have become almost impassable following the heavy rains received this season making it difficult for motorists to navigate.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba criticized the local authority for failing to address the long-standing issue.
“Council must improve the quality of road construction and maintenance. This is a recurring problem, every rainy season we see more potholes because they fail to conduct timely and durable repairs. They often do temporary and substandard work, using soil to fill potholes, which gets washed away with the rains,” said Mutimba.
A local resident Selestino Mutuna said the poor state of the roads was putting children at risk, as drivers now frequently veer onto sidewalks to avoid potholes.
“Motorists are avoiding Nyadzonya and Mugagao streets in Mucheke altogether because the potholes are just too many. This poses a danger to children playing nearby the roads as cars often have to veer off the road to evade the potholes. This has led to conflicts among motorists who are forced to share the limited drivable space.
“Even if there are no resources, it might be better for council to remove the remaining tar and level the roads as dust roads,” said Mutuna.
Another resident, who chose to remain anonymous, accused council of neglecting infrastructure while focusing on less urgent matters.
“Our council always finds resources for chasing vendors around, but somehow there are never resources for crucial infrastructure like roads,” said the resident.
Masvingo Mayor and ward 4 councilor Alec Tabe acknowledged the dire situation and said the local authority was in the process of acquiring a grader for road works.
“We are aware of the situation in residential areas, and our engineering team is already working on it. We have noted particularly bad conditions in Mugagao and Maokomavi,” said Tabe.
Frustrated residents have turned to a ward 2 WhatsApp group to appeal for intervention from their local councilor.
“Our plea is for the councilor to help. These roads have been neglected for close to 20 years since we started developing these stands. They’ve never been serviced and are now full of holes. We are struggling to use our vehicles,” said one resident.
Ward 2 councilor Benson Hwata acknowledged the problem and said they had challenges with getting a grader for the repairs.
“Our main challenge is the unavailability of a grader. Once we secure one, we will begin road repairs. The roads are in terrible condition and full of potholes,” said Hwata.

Junior High excels in environmental debate competitions

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Junior High excels in environmental debate competitions

By Staff Reporter

A team from Junior High School recently made a remarkable achievement in the Sustainable Environmental Conversational Trust Africa (SECTA) competitions held in Mutare last weekend

Out of 36 participating schools, the team secured an impressive third place, showcasing their exceptional debating skills and knowledge on environmental issues.

The Junior High School team impressed judges with their well-crafted arguments and presentations, demonstrating a deep understanding of environmental issues.

The team’s hard work and dedication earned them a certificate and a trophy, recognizing their commitment to environmental awareness.

The team patron Netsai Hove said the team’s achievement was a testament to their passion and commitment to making a positive impact on the environment.

“We are incredibly proud of their achievement and look forward to seeing them soaring to the next stage,” said Hove.

The Junior High School team’s achievement has earned them a spot in the regional SECTA competitions to be held in South Africa, where they will compete against the best teams in the region.

The SECTA competitions have been instrumental in promoting environmental awareness and education among young people, providing a valuable platform for students to develop their critical thinking, public speaking, and debating skills.

The Junior High School team’s achievement is a reflection of the impact of these competitions in shaping the next generation of environmental leaders.

The SECTA competition are aimed at promoting environmental awareness and education among youths, providing a platform for students to engage in meaningful discussions and debates on pressing environmental concerns.

GZU student raises university flag higher at Miss Ebony Pageant

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GZU student raises university flag higher at Miss Ebony Pageant

By Tatiana Mhararira


A fourth year student at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) raised the institution’s flag high when she was crowned second runner up at the inaugural edition of the Miss Ebony pageant held on March 28, 2025 at Robbi Mupawose, Harare Show grounds.
Chengeto Kanyai (22) from Hurungwe was crowned Miss Ebony Zimbabwe 2025, while Samukele Dlamini (24) from Bulawayo secured the 1st Runner-up position and Lerato Masocha (23) representing Masvingo province, was named the 2nd Runner-up.
Masocha who is pursuing a degree in Logistics and Transport Management said her achievement came as a surprise saying she was not confident but being among the best has developed her desire to pursue modelling.
“I was overwhelmed when I was crowned the second runner up as I did not expect it. I am now more determined than before to take my modeling career to the next level by expanding my portfolio and showcasing my versatility. I am also passionate about using my platform to promote body positivity and self-acceptance among young women.
“I am excited to explore new opportunities and see my career taking me far,” said Masocha.
She encouraged upcoming models to prioritise their wellbeing highlighting the importance of balancing career demands and social life.
“Young people should know that self-love, self-acceptance and self-care are important in this journey. Take care of your mental physical and emotional well-being and never to give up.
“Balancing my modeling career and personal life can be tough, but I have learned to prioritize family, communicate openly with loved ones, and set clear boundaries and principles. It is not always easy, but it is essential for my well-being and happiness. Whenever I face negative criticism, I remind myself that opinions differ and not everyone resonate with me or my work .I focus on staying true to myself, my values and my goals .I also surround myself with positive people who encourage and support me,” she said.
Masocha said her passion for modeling was nurtured by her mother who encouraged her to pursue the dream.
“My modeling history is short dating back to 2024, by then I did not have interests in modeling but my mother kept on pushing and encouraging me to take part in modelling pageants. She has always been my number one supporter in this journey.
“I have always been driven to push beyond my comfort zone and challenge myself to grow. What inspired me was I wanted to get a deeper understanding of myself and my capabilities as it was an opportunity to develop my confidence, public speaking skills and learn from other young women, I decided to give it a try,” said Masocha.
Masocha said the Miss Ebony pageant was a valuable learning experience that helped her to learn and identify areas where she needs improvement.
“I enjoyed the boot camp because I kept on learning new things. I loved the farming lessons. However, I had some challenges which include self-doubt and criticism. There were times when I felt as if I didn’t qualify to be there, and my low self-esteem seemed to reinforce those feelings.
“However, the coaches discovered that I had the potential. They helped me understand that I deserved to be there just as much as everyone else, and that my unique strengths and qualities were valuable assets. Their guidance and support were instrumental in boosting my confidence and helping me overcome my self-doubt,” she said
Masocha said she hopes to expand her reach by collaborating with international brands and walking the runways of top weekly fashion programmes.
She said she was also inspired by Naomi Campbell, a British fashion model.
“Naomi Campbell is my role model in this industry. Her charisma, confidence, and unforgettable runway presence inspires me. She embodies the qualities I strive for as a model: poise, passion, and a commitment to excellence,” she added.
To keep up with Masocha’s latest achievements interested people can follow her on the following social media platforms Instagram that is ivymasocha777, Facebook its Lerato Ivy Masocha, tiktok @leeratoi21.

88-year-old man dies in inferno

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88-year-old man dies in inferno

By Rangarirai Shanyurai

An 88-year-old man from Nhamo Village, Chief Nyajena, Masvingo, tragically lost his life in an inferno at his homestead on April 8.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the death of Vhurande Nhamo to TellZim News and said investigations were still underway.
“We have a report where an 80 year old perished in an inferno at his home in Nhamo Village. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire,” said Inspector Dhewa.
The incident occurred around 1600 hours on April 8. Solomon Nhamo (66) visited his father, Vhurande, at his homestead. After a while, Solomon left, and Vhurande retired to his one-roomed house to sleep where he used a candle for lighting.
At around 0200 hours in the morning, a villager noticed smoke rising from Vhurande’s house, which was soon engulfed in flames. The villager alerted others, and they rushed to the scene. After breaking down the door, they managed to pull Vhurande from the burning building.
He was immediately taken to Nyajena Rural Hospital (Muchibwa) where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Vhurande sustained severe burns and his body was refered to the Masvingo Provincial Mortuary for a post-mortem examination.

Mwenezi teacher leaves home at midnight, hangs at school

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Mwenezi teacher leaves home at midnight, hangs at school

By Richard Mukwenya

A Mwenezi teacher committed suicide by hanging himself on roof trusses at his school residence on April 6, 2025.
committed suicide by hanging self on the roof trusses at his school house on April 6.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the death of Bothwell Marahwa (57), who was teaching at Musavarima Primary School in Mwenezi to TellZim News and encouraged citizens to share their challenges in order to get assistance than committing suicide.
“I can confirm a case of sudden death that happened in Mwenezi where a male teacher left home in the middle of the night and committed suicide in the early hours of the morning. I encourage citizens to share their challenges with others to get assistance on their situations,” said Dhewa.
Sorces close to the family said on the fateful day, around midnight, Marahwa left home and went to Musavarima Business Centre. Marahwa was later called by his wife Sakina Dziva (54) who wanted to know where he was and he assured her that he was nearby on his way back home.
After some time, Dziva informed her mother in law Janet Marakurova (78), who is Marahwe’s mother, that Marahwe had not yet returned home despite claiming to be nearby.
They then sent their grandson, Ashton Gava (22), to look for him. After hours of searching, Gava went to the teacher’s residence in the school cottages at Musavarima Primary School, which is near the family’s homestead. Upon opening the door Gava found Marahwe hanging from the roof trusses.
The matter was reported to Mwenezi police and the school head Justin Muchauki was notified. The body was taken to Neshuro Disrict Hospital for post mortem.

18-Year- old gets 90 Years for rape

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18-Year- old gets 90 Years for rape

By Tatenda Sibanda

Midlands – A Gokwe teenager was last week sentenced to 90 years imprison for violating his three employer’s juvenile daughters, two aged six and one aged seven, in his room on different occasions.

Appearing before Gokwe Magistrate Stanley Mbanje, the suspect Markwell Machena was convicted with four counts of rape and sentenced as defined in the criminal law and codification chapter 9:12.

He will be 108 years old when he completes his sentence, assuming he lives to serve the full term without any reductions for good behavior or other mitigating factors.

The State led by prosecutor Tekera Fatuma told the court that the convict Markwell Machena, (18) of Village Machena, under Chief Nemangwe in Gokwe South was employed as a domestic worker by the mother of the children.

It is alleged that during a period extending from 28 to 30 March 2025, Machena would lure the girls with mega snacks into his bedroom. While inside his room he would tie their legs and hands with ropes and raped them one after the other.

Matter came to light after their mother found them naked in Machena’s room and they revealed that they had been raped.

She had seen the suspect a few minutes earlier, leaving the room.The matter was reported to the police and the suspect was arrested

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