ZAKA – A ruthless armed robber caused immense fright and grief in Jerera growth point on Monday when he pounced on prominent money changer, Farai Magara, whom he stabbed with a knife before fleeing with US$2 000 in cash.
The robbery happened at Magara’s place, Stand Number 561 Jerera, after the ruffian managed to gain entry into the house.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Charity Mazula confirmed the incident, saying the robber easily entered the house because the doors were not locked.
 “We received a report of a man who was stabbed in the stomach by a robber who entered his house and left with two bags containing money. The victim chased after the robber and caught up with him, leading to a fight which ended with the victim getting stabbed,” said Insp Mazula.
She urged people not to keep large sums of money at home and also make sure that they lock their doors before going to sleep.
After the attack, Magara was rushed to Musiso Hospital and was later referred to United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) but he died along the way.
Other people privy to the incident said around midnight on the day in question, Magara’s wife, Gracious Mhere, woke up to sounds of movements in the bedroom and saw a man leaving with two satchels containing the money.
One of the satchels reportedly contained $2 000 in clean US dollar bills while the other had $1 500 in bond notes, $470 in US dollar bills and R2 000.
After Magara chased the thief, his wife followed to find her husband lying in a pool of blood, with one of the satchel gone while the other lay close by.
No arrests had been made by the time of going to print.local

CHIREDZI – A man who smuggled 84 bales of clothes and eight bags of second-hand footwear from Mozambique and was riven six months of jail time commuted to 147 hours of community service, was last week sent back to custody after he wasted the court’s time trying to arguing for a fine.
Magistrate Geraldine Mutsoto found Munyaradzi Musvosvi (39) guilty of smuggling bales worth US$27 00 before pronouncing the sentence.
When Musvosvi was asked if he had anything to say, he made a request that he be given a fine instead of the community service sentence but failed to give convincing reasons why the court should accept that.
Magistrate Mutsotso said she found no reasonable grounds why Musvosvi should not perform the community service since he was fully able-bodied and had no recorded medical condition.
She then send Musvosvi back to remand prison from where he will come back to court on January 29 for finalisation of the case.
The court heard that on January 18, Musvove together with Philimon Mapako (37), Daniel Jiri (34) and Patrick Chigwedza (28) smuggled 84 bales of second hand clothes and eight bags of footwear from Mozambique via Chikombedzi.
They were later caught in Chikombedzi by intelligence operatives who handed them over to the police.
Musvovi’s three alleged accomplices were not in the court as they pleaded not guilty in their initial appearance and their case will be tried separately.
Innocent Tshuma prosecuted.local

GUTU – Vincent Madzanise, of Kuchinani village under Chief Chimombe, was recently caught sexually abusing a donkey, the police have said.
The donkey’s owner, Febias Mawoyo was shocked to find Madzanise molesting the donkey which was tied around a pole in the dead of the night.
The suspect fled upon noticing that he had been busted but a disgusted Mawoyo later made a report to the police.
Masvingo provincial acting police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa appealed to members of the public to avail any information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect.
“The suspect is on the run and we are looking for him. We plead with the community to report to the nearest police station if they get to see Madzanise or if they know where he is hiding,” said Ass Insp Dhewa.
He urged people not to trust any man with their animals as cases of bestiality were increasing.
Section 74 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act 9.23 criminalises bestiality, stating that a person would be liable to a maximum of one year in prison or a fine of up to level 14 if he/she is convicted of the offence.local

Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – Four of the five houses with a legitimate claim to the Nhema chieftainship have vowed to continue fighting the chieftaincy of Rangarirai Bwawanda, saying somebody else from their respective houses should have taken the position.
Bwawanda, who is from the Tavengegwei family, became chief in an acting capacity following the death of his father Bwawanda Matande in 2005. In 2010, he was crowned substantive chief with the blessings of the government.
The disgruntled families; Toiseyo, Zishiri, Matsika and Masikati are however challenging Bwawanda’s appointment, arguing that traditional customs of rotating the throne among all eligible families were disregarded, and the chieftainship moved from father to son.
“When Ranga’s father passed on, the chieftainship was supposed to go to another house as per our agreement as the Nhema clan. However, we were not even consulted when he was crowned substantive chief after acting in that capacity for five years,” said Felix Mbwende, a member of the Toiseyo family.
The houses accuse former Local Government minister, Ignatius Chombo, of imposing Bwawanda without all families.
They said when Abednico Ncube’s now disbanded Rural Development ministry took over affairs of traditional leadership affairs from the Local Government ministry in 2015, he accepted their complaints and forwarded them to the provincial chief’s council.
A delegation from Toiseyo represented by Mbwende, Zishiri represented by Cephas Zishiri, Matsika represented by Kennedy Nhema and Masikati represented by Taurai Masikati visited the Provincial Administrator (PA)’s office on Monday this week to do a follow up on their complaints.
The four complained that the provincial chief’s council did not make an effort to resolve the matter ostensibly due to financial problems.
“The Council said it had no money to travel but surprisingly, there are other cases that came after ours and they were settled. We are appealing to the council to settle the matter before it tears the family apart,” said Mbwende.local

ZAKA – Member of Parliament (MP) for Zaka Central, Paradzai Chakona last week warned Zanu PF members and supporters against tarnishing the image of the party by engaging in politically-motivated violence.
The legislator was speaking to chiefs, councillors and other people gathered for a Constituency Development Fund (CDF) consultative meeting at Zaka Rural District Council (RDC) offices in Jerera.
Chakona said Zanu PF needed to win the upcoming elections in a manner that would not put the credibility of the result into question.
“We want credible elections, so we want peace in all elections at all levels. Stop threatening people. We want those who will win not to be burdened by legitimacy issues because people were beaten up or intimidated,” said Chakona.
He made the remarks in the wake of a savage assault on MDC-T Zaka East youth chairperson Amos Kumire allegedly by a group of Zanu PF supporters.
“We have to stop violence at all costs so that we don’t have anybody being accused of violence or intimidation. Report all incidences of violence as well as those likely to cause violence to the police. Let’s campaign for peace at all gatherings even at churches,” said Chakona.
Zanu PF Ward 19 chairperson, David Kumutsana urged the police to work hard to hold to account people who provoke political tensions.
It was agreed in the meeting that if CDF funds are availed, priority should be given to unfinished projects rather than start new ones.
Councillors were asked to hand in their project proposals as well as quotations of the money and resources needed to implement them.
A procurement committee was selected and it was agreed to attend to such unfinished projects namely Mbuyamaswa, Tovani and Four Miles clinics.
The CDF committee is chaired by Chakona and Senator Misheck Marava with Chief Ndanga (Wilson Makono), Nyaradzoo Tachiona, Juliet Chari and Livison Paradza as members.local