GWERU – A Midlands State University’s (MSU) student and upcoming Afro pop, RnB and Hip Hop artiste Kudzanai Gona, popularly known as Sqkatta, early this week released a music video titled Mamacita.
The video is making waves on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook where it gained 1 000 plus views in just two days after its release.
Sqkatta told TellZim News he also did a couple of music videos due for release and has worked with organisations like MyAge Zimbabwe in the Girl Child Awareness Campaign.
He said he started doing his music while still in primary school; singing in the church choir and he then began writing his own songs when he was in form four.
“I started singing when I was doing my primary education at Helen McGhie in Masvingo. I was also very much active in the church choir and that is when I grew fond of singing.
“I started by copying from other people’s songs and later started writing my own. Over the years, I have been featured in songs of other people but this time I have decided to go solo and do my own work.
“This is my first video and I am receiving overwhelming response from my followers,” said Sqkatta.
He said he will be releasing a six-track album by year end, adding that the song will feature Bongiwe Moyo, better known as Bongzee in music circles.
Sqkatta is in his part four doing an honours degree in Media and Society Studies.entertainment

GWERU – The Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement, Rtd Air Marshall Perence Shiri has said it was remarkable that the Midlands province’s Gokwe district had maintained its record as the anchor of the country’s cotton farming business over the years.
Speaking at the official opening of the 2018 Midlands Agricultural Show recently, Shiri urged farmers to continue working hard so that they could contribute more to the national economy.
He said government will continue supporting farmers with inputs under the Presidential Free Cotton Input Scheme.
“I am very much aware that major cotton production in our country is done in Gokwe and the Honourable Minister of State here (Owen Ncube) has been very busy with the distribution of not only cotton inputs but also of cereals such as maize and sorghum.
“We therefore hope that this year, Gokwe will maintain its status because inputs are being made available. What we are doing is to identify farmers interested in cotton farming so that we can motivate them with inputs. We don’t have enough farmers who are serious about cotton farming,” said Shiri.
He also applauded the Midlands’ contribution to livestock production, saying Zimbabwe had been among the best beef producer in the world, thanks to the province’s efforts.
“Zimbabwe has been contributing much to the production of quality beef. We currently had been facing many challenges due to foot and mouth diseases but that is being dealt with and we look forward to starting maximum exportation of beef to get more foreign currency.
“Government is also promoting command livestock as we now have the command livestock programme. I hope we will have farmers who will come forward to take part in the programme. We are currently importing a lot of processed beef and chicken and we need to promote our local products and attain self-sufficiency,” he said.
Shiri said the government was looking forward to purchasing more tractors and other forms of machinery to boost agriculture production.
 The show was held under the theme ‘Steering the Economy to Vibrancy.’agriculture

Chipinge Rural District Council (RDC) has embarked on extensive marketing drive which it hopes will help attract more investment to the south-eastern district which lies approximately 460 km from Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare.
The RDC has produced fliers and a 27-minute-long documentary film named ‘Chipinge the Thriving District’. 
The district has a small farming town that was established in 1957. The district borders Mozambique starting from Mahenye to Southdown. It borders Chimanimani district to the north, Buhera and Bikita districts to the west and Chiredzi district to the south.
Chipinge town is located in the natural farming region 1, but the district overlaps the high veld and low veld which falls into natural farming region 5. Chipinge is a district that one can cross from natural farming region 1 to 5 over a short period.
Before splitting into Chipinge Town Council and Chipinge Rural District Council, the two councils started as Gazaland District Council in 1980. Chipinge RDC was then formed in 1991 under the leadership of Charles Inggs who was then succeeded James Mundoma. Currently, Chipinge RDC is under the leadership of its chief executive officer (CEO) Blessing Mamvosha.
“Our council operates under five departments that are administration and human resources, finance, internal audit, technical services department and social services,” said Mamvosha.
“We want to guarantee prospective investors that our staff will take care of their business needs in whatever trade they want to venture in. Chipinge has opportunities in forestry, agriculture, energy, property development, tourism and hospitality,” he said.
Mamvosha went on to emphasise on the need for partnerships, saying they were the most viable way of ensuring successful projects.
“Our government is focusing on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). We invite private investors to make Chipinge a thriving town. With everyone’s support, Chipinge Rural District Council can become a place of excellence in terms of investment and service delivery.business

MWENEZI – A teacher at Tafara Secondary School, Liberty Chinhavi was left nursing severe scars all over his body after his wife poured boiling cooking oil following a domestic dispute, the Mwenezi Magistrates’ Court has heard.
Appearing before magistrate Honest Musiiwa was Mercy Zezai (20) who pleaded guilty to the charge of contravening Section 4 (1) of the Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5:16 ‘physical abuse’.
Asked why she committed the offence, Zezai said she was revenging an alleged assault by her husband earlier on.
She was then sentenced her to 12 months imprisonment of which two months were conditionally suspended for five years. The remaining 10 months were set aside on condition that she performed 350 hours of community service at Chingami Primary School.
Appearing for the State, Willard Chasi said sometime on September 12, 2016 at around 20:00hrs the couple was at Chinhavi’s workplace when they had a dispute after Zezai had slapped their child.
Chinhavi later on went to sleep only to wake up hours later to the sight of his wife holding a pot full of boiling cooking oil. Zezai immediately poured the hot cooking oil on her husband’s face, stomach and thighs.
The husband sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital where he received treatment.
After committing the offence, Zezai fled to South Africa only to return home recently.
Police were then tipped-off of her return and they went and arrested her.court

MWENEZI – Two suspected daring serial robbers who robbed many households, premises and many houses at Mwenezi Police Camp were eventually arrested last week.
Moses Chakaipa (36) and Joseph Tsemwa (30), of Mhlanga complex; Lutumba business centre in Beitbridge, and the Mwenezi district administrator’s complex respectively, last Wednesday appeared in the Magistrates’ Court facing eight counts of unlawful entry.
Chakaipa pleaded guilty to all the charges while his co-accused, Tsemwa denied everything and was remanded in custody pending further trial.
For all the counts, magistrate Honest Musiiwa sentenced Chakaipa to 36 months imprisonment of which six months were conditionally suspended for five years. This left Chakaipa to serve an effective 30 months sentence.
Appearing for the State, Willard Chasi said from April 20 – July 30 this year, the duo would – in the middle of the night – go to the places of residence of various police officers who work at Mwenezi Police Station.
While other police officers were away on duty, with others asleep at their respective houses, Chakaipa and Tsemwe would break-in.
They would then steal various electrical gadgets and other valuable property including cell phones, amplifiers, televisions and clothes. The two would take the stolen property to Beitbridge where they would then sale some while keeping other items for themselves.
The suspects were arrested after detectives received a tip off.
The total value of property that was stolen from all the eight complainants amounted to US$2 813 while recovered goods were valued at US$1 176.court

MWENEZI – A 56-year-old Mwenezi man recently went berserk, bashing his wife’s boyfriend after finding out that he allegedly had been receiving goodies from his wife, including money and grain from the family’s reserves.
Aleck Maphosa of Elijah village under Chief Mazetese appeared before magistrate Honest Musiiwa charged with assault, and pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting his wife’s alleged boyfriend, Morrison Machuve.
Maphosa was sentenced to six months behind bars which were wholly set aside on condition that he performed 210 hours of community service at Firidzi Primary School.
Asked by the magistrate why he committed the offence, Maphosa said he was angered that Machuve was not only taking his wife but the material products of his hard work too.
“Machuve is my wife’s boyfriend and I once dragged him to the village court over the offence. What angered me on the day in question is that I realised that besides being given some money by my wife, I also learnt that Machuve was given a sizeable quantity of sorghum for free,” said Maphosa.
Representing the State, prosecutor Angelinah Makonya, however, told the court that on July 19 at Firidzi business centre, Maphosa approached the complainant, asking him why he bought some sorghum from his wife without his approval.
Machuve told Maphosa that it was rather his wife who approached him, selling the sorghum. This did not go down well with Maphosa who began to assault the complainant with open hands and fists.
The complainant sustained some body injuries and was referred to the hospital.
A police report was later made leading to Maphosa’s arrest.court

MWENEZI – A well-known self-styled prophet of the Jowani Masowe eChishanu, Benjamin Matiza (38), popularly known as Madzibaba Bhenji, is in trouble with the law after he allegedly followed a 14-year-old girl to the bush and raped her.
Matiza, of no fixed residential address, appeared before magistrate Honest Musiiwa and was remanded in custody before being formally charged.
The prophet had of late become a crowd puller, attracting many people desperate for spiritual help to his camp at Mariot Ranch under Chief Chitanga.
In July this year, Matiza visited Village 3, Mariot Ranch where a close relative stays and set up camp there to do his prophesy work.
On August 14, he saw a girl, who is doing form two at a local school and who he had earlier on visited his place in the company of her parents for spiritual help.
The minor was going to fetch some firewood in the bush.
Matiza then followed the girl into the bush, told her he wanted to cast some remaining demons from her stomach but the girl refused.
The self-styled prophet, however, persisted and allegedly began to fondle the girl all over her body, undressed and then raped her.
He allegedly ordered her not to tell anybody about what had happened but the girl revealed everything to her mother when she returned home.
A police report was then made, leading to the suspect’s arrest.court

MPANDAWANA – Charles Mutema (20) of Dzingai village under Chief Chiwara this week appeared in the Gutu Magistrates’ Court facing charges of attempting to rape a four-year-old girl who is said to be his niece.
He was charged for contravening with Section 189 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 09:23, ‘attempted Rape’.
Mutema was remanded in custody to September 04 and was advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
State facts as presented by Millicent Azangwe are that on July 28 this year around 10:00hrs, the child was at home when Mutema called her into his room promising to give her bread.
When the child got into the room, Mutema lifted her, laid her on the bed facing upwards, lifted her skirt, removed her pant completely and caressed her intending to have sexual intercourse with her.
Mutema then suddenly ordered the child to dress up and get out of the room after hearing some footsteps outside.
The matter came to light when the child reported what had happened to her mother when she came back home. A report was then made to the police leading to Mutema’s arrest.court