THE Covid-19 pandemic has paralysed government amid reports that Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi are unwell, while President Emmerson Mnangagwa spent 14 days in self-isolation in Harare after his close security details, cabinet ministers and top bureaucrats tested positive. This means that the country was left on auto-pilot as there was no acting President. Mnangagwa had to cut short his annual leave. Information gathered by the Zimbabwe Independent from senior government and intelligence sources indicates that Mnangagwa's co-deputies are ill. Top businessman and presidential advisor, Kuda Tagwirei, is also battling the deadly virus. Mohadi, acted as president before disappearing from the public scene as he was taken ill. It was not immediately clear if C
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Busi Moyo has died. Moyo succumbed to COVID-19 in Harare on Wednesday morning. He was 61. In a statement announcing Moyo’s death, the Acting Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, George Charamba described the late as a decorated soldier and freedom fighter. Said Charamba: His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, regrets to announce the passing on early this morning of Dr S.B. Moyo, our Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The late Minister succumbed to Covid-I9 at a local hospital. The Nation will be kept apprised of further developments regarding this untimely demise of the late Minister, himself a decorated soldier and freedom fighte
The late former president Robert Mugabe’s business empire has crumpled as revealed by revelations that Gushungo Dairy Estate is being leased to a company linked to a millionaire businessman. Another company that had collapsed is a once thriving chicken and pig enterprise at the former Zimbabwe’s strongman Zvimba home. According to reports this week, Grace, the widow, is struggling to manage the vast estate resulting in the business falling to an estimated 20% capacity utilisation. Zimbabwe was ruled with an iron fist for 37 years by Mugabe but was removed through a military assisted takeover in November 2017 left a large business portfolio mainly in farming with 21 farms, according to a government-commissioned land audit. This is contrary to the one-man-one-farm lan
ZIMBABWE last week experienced its worst week with spiking Covid-19 infections and 200 deaths as the country continues to suffer the consequences of the second wave of the global pandemic. With health officials saying scientists are still to ascertain whether the new infections are a result of the new strain of the virus or not, figures in the country continue to balloon with the recovery rate tumbling to below 60 percent. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care the country last week recorded 6 382 new infections and 200 deaths by yesterday. Harare had the highest figure of new infections with 2 768 cases while Bulawayo had 332 new cases. In terms of deaths Harare recorded 52 and Bulawayo 30. The country has now recorded 26 881 cases, 15 872 recoveries and
In a shocking incident, Police in Hwange arrested a 37-year-old man who committed incest by rapping his three underage cousin sisters on three separate occasions. iHarare established from zimbolivenews, that Vengai Mutsambiwa of Nkolongwe Village under Chief Nekatambe last year visited his uncle who lives in Ingagula suburb where he shares a house with the victim’s parents. He allegedly committed the crimes in the living room. On 31 December the mother of the three little girls made a police report after notice unusual behaviour being exhibited by the minors. She suspected that Mutsambiwa had sexually abused her children, the police then took the girls to a hospital for medical examinations and it was established that they had been raped leading to Mutsambiwa’s arre
ECONOMIC Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has criticised the closure, this week, of South Africa's borders including the Beitbridge Border Post saying the decision was self-hate. The Beitbridge Border Post and at least other 20 other South African borders have been closed to minimise the risk of spreading the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing a virtual press conference on Thursday, Malema said the closure of the borders announced by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa was an irresponsible act and called on SADC citizens to find "creative" ways to enter the country. "We condemn the leadership of SADC for failing to mitigate the needs of our people in times of cross border travel particularly at the Beitbridge border. The closing of borders around SADC,
In a rather disturbing development, the government of Zimbabwe issued a statement on Monday revealing that young boys living on the streets of Harare have become victims of paedophiles. A paedophile is defined as a person who has a strong sexual desire toward children below the age of 13. According to Zimbabwe has more than 1.6 million children who are orphans and the majority of them are neglected by their extended families and end up living on the streets in abject poverty. Harare provincial development coordinator Tafadzwa E. Muguti said in a statement that there are reports of motorists who were in the habit of sexually abusing street kids. We also express displeasure and concern from reports that are coming through the provincial social welfare officer that there are some
MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has been arrested and charged with 'publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state' for posting widely circulated video which purported to show a baby killed by a policeman's baton stick while strapped to its mother. The arrest comes after Mahere tweeted that police had beaten an infant to death while enforcing Covid-19 lockdown rules this week. Police later said the information was false. Mahere is the third person to be arrested for publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state' for posting widely circulated video after Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin'ono and MDC Alliance lawmaker Job Sikhala. Chin'ono was the first to be arrested for circulating the video in questi
Police arrested five people, including two National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) employees who were part of a syndicate that defrauded the parastatal of more than 1,400 litres of diesel. It is alleged that the fuel syndicate stole diesel that is valued at $150,000 from NRZ’s locomotives and sold it on the parallel market. iHarare established from Sunday News that on Thursday police in Bulawayo arrested Taurai Moyo (40), Thomas Musavengana (44), an engineman at NRZ, Oliver Mapenduka (45), a security guard at NRZ, Perfect Mpala and Bawinile Ndlovu. Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed that the five were arrested at a business premise in Thorngrove after someone tipped-off the police that fuel was being sold at the premise. I can confirm that police
Machete-Wielding gangs infamously known as Mashurugwi reportedly killed Harare popular bouncer Donaldson ‘Kedha’ Chatikwita in Mt Darwin, ZimMorning Post reports. Kedha reportedly died in a physical war that erupted after a long-standing mining dispute over Mashona Queen Mine between Zanu PF Bindura South legislator Remigious Matangira and alleged notorious gold dealer Lucky Jonga Matangira reportedly hired Harare bouncers including Kedha when the dispute intensified. A source privy to the events that occurred on the fateful day Kedha died said: There was a wrangle over this mine between Matangira and Jonga. Jonga allowed Mashurugwi to mine there on condition that they send the ore to his gold mill where he would benefit from sharing the gold on agreed terms Matangi
