MPANDAWANA – A Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officer stationed at 4.2 Infantry Battalion was last week sentenced to 30 days imprisonment with an alternative of paying a US$100 fine for pickpocketing US$220 from a passenger who was sitting next to him in commuter omnibus.
Wellington Chide (27), of Munemo village under Chief Rwiri in Mhondoro, appeared before Gutu Resident Magistrate, Edwin Marecha facing theft charges as defined in Section 113 of the Criminal Law and Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
Chide denied the charge when he first appeared before the same court on September 2, 2016 but later pleaded guilty on September 20 saying he was tempted and stole the money because of the bad economic situation and the hardships he was facing.
“I ask your worship if you maybe lenient. My salary is not enough at all. After (paying) maintenance and credit deductions, I don’t have anything left in my bank account to survive on. I was just tempted when I saw that wallet. I knew it was wrong but I just did it, and I hope God will forgive me. I am a first time offender if you may consider that,” Chide pleaded.
It was the State’s case that on August 30, 2016, Janet Madhuva (35) boarded a commuter omnibus at Matizha business centre in Serima and sat next to Chide.
The vehicle was travelling towards Mpandawana from Chivhu.
The court heard that Chide saw a wallet inside Janet’s jacket pocket and took it. The wallet had US$220 and Chide took US$200 before attempting to sneak back the wallet into Madhuva’s pocket.
The victim, however, felt the movements and upon checking, she saw Chide holding her wallet.
It was at that time that Janet alerted passengers that there was a thief in the omnibus bus. Chide denied the allegations leading to his arrest in Mpandawana.
Marecha ordered the accused to pay back the US$200 and pay a fine of US$100 that same day or spend 30 days in prison saying that such act was not acceptable given Chide’s position as a person of authority.
Millicent Azangwe prosecuted.news

Increase Gumbo

CHIREDZI – Is the komba ritual a threat or an advantage to the girl child? That is a million dollar question one is left with after attending a graduation ceremony for more than twenty girls who spent two and half months in the jungle as part of their initiation into womanhood.
Komba is an initiation practice for Shaghani girls and is performed on those girls who would have reached their menarche.
It is regarded as a necessary preparation of girls for marriage.
TellZim News had an opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony held in Village 6, Headman Tiyani under Chief Tshovani in Malilangwe where more than twenty girls were celebrating their initiation into womanhood.
They had spent two and half months in the jungle as part of the ritual.
Speaking on the side lines of the graduation, headman Thomas Tiyani told this publication that the ritual was meant to enable girls to become responsible women.
“Komba is part of our Shanghani culture by which girls from the age of 16 are trained to become responsible women and the training takes at least two and half months during the winter season,” said Tiyani
Some women who spoke to Tellzim News said the training is meant to be a secret and nobody is allowed to divulge anything to anybody on what happens during the course of the training.
“It is our culture and it’s a taboo to tell anybody about it but basically, what happens is that all the women and girls in question will be naked and trainers known as ‘Swikosani’ will be taking turns to teach the girls how to move their bodies during sexual intercourse,” she said
The woman added that in some instances, the trainer goes on top of the girl teaching her to make the moves in different sexual positions and the girls being taught are not supposed to be stiff but flexible.
Meanwhile some studies have shown that almost all girls who undergo the initiation get sexually active soon after the training, leading to early marriages being rampant in Shaghani communities
The Shangani are also known for being one of two ethnic groups in Zimbabwe with a tradition of male circumcision; a process that is believed to reduce a male’s chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent during sex.news

Memory Rasa

MPANDAWANA – A 16-year-old boy doing Form Three at Mushaviri Secondary School is in custody accused of raping a pupil at Paramount Academy who is a stream behind during the August school holidays in Mushaviri village under Chief Gutu.
Magistrate Edwin Marecha remanded the juvenile in custody to October 13, 2016 when his case will be moved to the provincial court in Masvingo.
He is being charged for rape as defined in Section 65(1) of the Criminal Law and Codification Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
He admitted having sex with the 16-year-old girl when he appeared in court but said it was consensual, claiming the girl was his girlfriend.
“We had sex in the bushes one Friday evening around 17:00hrs and I just assumed it was alright to do so. The girl and I were in love, we started knowing each other long back since primary school and she would come to the farm every school holiday. I did not know that it was rape. She tried to push me away at first but I could sense she was enjoying it as well. Is it wrong to sleep with your lover?” said the teenager.
It is the State’s case that on September 02, 2016, the accused and his girlfriend were walking together through the bushes before he pushed the girl to the ground and had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
It is alleged that after the incident, the girl left the scene crying and told her grandmother who immediately reported the case to Gutu police and the girl was taken to Gutu Mission Hospital for medical examination.
Agatha Gabriel prosecuted.news

One of the most senior and longest serving managers at the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) Masvingo depot, Nemiah Bob Mushango has died.
Mushango died in Harare last week after a short illness and was laid to rest at his rural home at Shinja homestead in Chimanimani.
He was buried with full military honours after being accorded the provincial hero status in recognition of the role he played during and after the liberation struggle.
Mushango, or ‘Bob’ as he was affectionately called by colleagues, died at the age of 62 and is survived by his wife and six children.
Hundreds of people from all walks of life thronged Shinja homestead to pay their last respects to a man whom many described as an honest, principled and a true unifier.
He was described as having had no time to entertain mediocrity not only by his family but by anybody he came into contact with too.
Levison Khombe, the VID manager for Mutare depot who worked with Bob in the transport ministry since 1984, said the gap left by Mushango in the ministry will be difficult to fill.
“The ministry has been left poorer; we have been robbed of a very hardworking man who defied all odds especially during the economic depression that we went through as a country by remaining dedicated to his duties.
“We are talking about a guy who could dedicate 80 percent of his time to work and in his 38 years of service to the ministry, we never heard of Bob being called for any disciplinary hearing particularly with things to do with corruption. This speaks volume about how the man loved and respected his job,” Khombe said.
Mushango joined the liberation struggle in the 1970s and as the country marched towards independence, he went to Malta where he studied for a diploma in motor mechanics.
He returned in 1983 to join the transport ministry as a vehicle inspector.
The following year he was made depot manager for Masvingo, a position he held until he was transferred to head the Chiredzi deport in 2013, a position he held until his untimely death.news

Harare – The

(GMC) is roping in community newspapers and radio in the quest for improved societal relations and better representation of women in the media space, TellZim News can reveal.
GMC, formerly called the Federation of African Media Women of Zimbabwe (FAMWZ) says it acknowledges the critical role that community media can play in reversing deep-rooted attitudes that perpetuate patriarchy at local level.
“The media have the capacity to amplify the message of equality; beginning at their own space within the workplace and going into communities as agents of social change,” said the organisation’s Mahara Goteka.
He was speaking in Harare at a workshop for journalists and other stakeholders from community newspapers and radio stations around the country.
He said the country’s media environment was characterised by the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women issues in the production of news.
“That can change if the media put their minds to it. Transformation has to begin with gender mainstreaming in the newsroom and expanded into the way journalists do their sourcing. The idea is to have as many female voices as possible in the stories we read, listen to and watch,” he said.
The workshop was also graced by Mercy Kappen, who is the Executive Director at Visthar Academy of Justice and Peace in the Indian city of Bangalore.
Kappen travelled to Zimbabwe to facilitate in a series of workshops on gender and the media.
“The experiences of women in Zimbabwe are the experiences of women elsewhere in the world; constrained by biases that have always favoured men, and restricted by cultural-driven imbalances that can evened by the sustained efforts of the media,” said Kappen.
She also called for the dismantling of barriers that obstruct the progression of the girl child in the media industry, saying females must be accorded greater roles at both production and consumption levels of the value chain.
“The strategic goal is to transform the structural imbalances in the media industry by giving more opportunities to women so that they can partake in media ownership and control,” she added.
Meanwhile GMC is engaging stakeholders from the bigger national media as well as other interested groups in civil society to explore ways of attaining gender balance in the media and the communities they serve.news

Peter Chawapiwa

GUTU – Chiefs from all over the country have been urged to take the conservation of natural resources seriously while at the same time they uphold traditional norms and values in their communities.
The call was made by a spirit medium, Sekuru Jiri who comes from the Chivhu area and officiated at a traditional ceremony which was organised by incumbent Chief Gutu, Amon Edmond Masanganise at Jirimhanda in the Nyazvidzi farming area of Gutu District.  The ceremony was organised after a rockfall in the area was stopped by tree trunks from crushing villagers homes into oblivion.
“We must conserve our natural resources and keep our traditions alive. These play an active role in our daily lives. Nobody knows the reasons behind the misadventure of these balancing rocks which fell suddenly when they had been there since time immemorial.
“There is no doubt that our natural resources played a very important part from stopping these rocks from negatively affecting the people.
“Similar incidents have been witnessed in the past but only Chief Gutu has taken the responsibility of holding a traditional ceremony to thank our ancestors.
“It is the responsibility of all our traditional leaders in the country to ensure the conservation of natural resources and the maintenance of our rich tradition,” Sekuru Jiri said.
Sekuru Jiri, who said he had taken part in traditional ceremonies all over Zimbabwe said similar ceremonies must take place in other areas in Zimbabwe where a similar phenomenon had been witnessed.
A few years ago a balancing rock split in half in the Mapaike area of Chivi District narrowly missing a homestead which was built at the bottom of the mountain. Sekuru Jiri said such occurences were not limited to Masvingo Province but had been witnessed in other parts of the country.
Chief Gutu, who was assisted by other chiefs and headmen to plan for the ceremony urged traditional leaders to study the traditional background of the areas under their jurisdiction.news