MPANDAWANA – A 46-year-old man from Shadhaya village under Chief Gutu dug up his father’s grave and took away the dead man’s skeleton, the Gutu Magistrates’ Court heard last week.
Moses Zuva appeared in court accused of violating graves as defined in Section 110 of The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
The section reads, “Any person who violates a grave in which human remains are situated, knowing that he or she is doing so or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that he or she may be doing so, shall be guilty of violating a grave and liable to a fine not exceeding level seven or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or both.”

Zuva was remanded in custody to October 02 and ordered to be mentally examined by two doctors.
State facts are that on September 13, at around 10:00 hrs, Zuva went and desecrated the grave of his father who died sometime in 1990, took the skeleton and placed it in his bedroom.
He was seen by Paul Zuva Shadhaya who then alerted the police. The police went to his place and discovered the skeleton in his bedroom hut but the suspect resisted arrest.
When asked by magistrate Victor Mahamadi why he committed the offence, Zuva said he was only fulfilling what he had agreed with his late father before he died.
“I was just fulfilling our agreement. He asked me to take his skeleton and stay with it in my bedroom when he died,” said Zuva
Samuel Magobeya prosecuted.court

ZAKA – The construction of Four Miles Clinic is still on despite clashes between Ward 8 councillor, Tererai Tererai and Zaka Central Member of Parliament (MP) Davison Svuure.
In the previous edition, TellZim News reported on the dispute between the two, with the MP ordering the councillor not to involve former MP Paradzai Chakona in the project.
This week, project chairperson Joseph Dakwa said Svuure had now been persuaded not to interfere in a way that affects development but to, instead, promote it.
“As a new MP, he didn’t know how things should be done but we managed to knock some sense into him and we are now continuing with the project. He even donated cement and promised to purchase concrete stones from Bikita Minerals,” said Dakwa.
Svuure concurred with Dakwa saying the project was going on, adding that Chakona had stopped bringing building material as per his demands.
He said materials that Chakona had already delivered were still at the Tererai’s home and they had not been used on the project.
“The project is going forward. We managed to mould 18 000 bricks within the past month and I am busy looking for concrete stones from Bikita Minerals. We hope the available stones and cement purchased through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) will take us far.
“Anybody is welcome to assist. I do not reject assistance but it should come in a transparent manner. Let it be known if it is CDF or it is a gift or a donation because some of these items were supposed to come as CDF materials but the former MP failed to deliver them in time. He cannot, therefore, bring the same materials today as his own donation and seek to score unfair political points,” said Svuure.
He further said his relationship with Tererai was yet to be fully mended, accusing the councillor of badmouthing him.
“My relationship with the councillor is still not alright as yet. He tells people that he will not work with me and I don’t know whom does he think he will work with. Some people did not understand why I had to intervene in that manner but in a way, I was trying to protect the councillor,” said Svuure.
He also denied claims that he organised meetings in the ward without involving the councillor, saying the only meeting he organised was with headman Murerekwa and could not invite the councillor as there were concerns against him.

MWENEZI – A prominent Mwenezi businessman with several retail and a fleet of kombis to his name was caught in the middle of the night, holding a gun in one hand and his erect manhood in the other, demanding sex from his younger brother’s wife.
The weird incident was heard last week in the Mwenezi Magistrates’ Court during the trial of businessman Prosper Muchina (40) of Situpa village under chief Mazetese.
Muchina owns several shops, some of them at Mlelezi business centre.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful entry into premises when he appeared before Magistrate Honest Musiiwa.
The complainant Sithembeni Ndlovu (24), who is married to Muchina’s younger brother, however, insisted Muchina got into her house naked and demanded to have sex with her.
She said, on the day in question, Muchina was aware that her husband was away as he had earlier on enquired about it.
“I was fast asleep when I was awakened by the opening of the door in the middle of the night. Everything was very clear because the lights were on. I saw Muchina, who was only wearing a shirt without trousers, holding his erect penis with one hand and a gun with the other, advancing towards me saying he wanted to have sex with me. I immediately screamed for help,” said Ndlovu.
Two other women who were sleeping in another room testified that they were awakened by the screams and they clearly saw Muchina fleeing while stark naked.
It is the State’s case that on May 19 at around 02:00 hrs, in Situpa village under Chief Mazetese, Muchina went to the complainant’s homestead, where he opened the unlocked door and entered Ndlovu’s bedroom.
He showed his erect penis to the complainant while demanding sex from her at the same time.
The frightened Ndlovu then screamed for help and the accused fled. While bolting, Muchina was also seen by two other women who had been awakened by the complainant’s screams. A police report was made leading to Muchina’s arrest.
The matter was postponed to a later date for continuation of trial with Willard Chasi appearing for the State.court

GWERU – Newly-elected City of Gweru deputy mayor, Cleopas Shiri has called for the decentralisation of council operations to improve efficiency in the delivery of services.
Speaking to TellZim News after taking oath of office recently, Shiri lamented the low rate of response to emergency situations and pipe bursts.
“The rate of response to service delivery hiccups is low and the speed is slow. It’s not at all good; people expect such problems as sewer bursts to be looked into and attended to as quickly as possible. I think as the incoming council, there is need for us to look at it and see how best we can deal with the situation,” said Shiri.
He said a solution could be lying in the creation of zones with call centres so that such problems can be quickly reported, recorded and responded to.
“I think there is need for us to come up with zones that will help to devolve operations so that we work on response to situations,” he said.
The city’s new mayor, Josiah Makombe urged residents to dispose of waste products in a responsible manner.
“We want to work towards developing and maintaining our city together because that can only be achieved if we work together as a team. I therefore call upon all residents of the city of Gweru to be responsible in waste disposal,” said Makombe.