Category: zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE spent US$ 105 million importing chewing gum, toothpicks and diapers, a recent report by [...]

Source: Chamisa chides Mnangagwa over COVID-19 – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY Richard Muponde/Brenna Matendere

MDC president Nelson Chamisa has blasted his nemesis, President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his lackadaisical approach at handling the coronavirus, saying he should consider locking down the country’s borders to avoid the spread of the deadly virus.

Chamisa also challenged Mnangagwa to go into self-isolation after his trip to Namibia last Friday to attend the inauguration of Namibian President Hage Geingob.

Botswana leader Mokgweetsi Masisi, has, after his Namibian trip, started a 14-day self-isolation which will include testing for COVID-19.

Masisi will work from home over the period that he will also be quarantined from his family.

Namibia has three confirmed cases and Botswana has no case, while Zimbabwe has two confirmed cases, one of which has resulted in the death of journalist Zororo Makamba.

In an interview yesterday, Chamisa’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda said the country should close all entry points before people die like flies, as the government is ill-equipped to fight COVID-19. He said Mnangagwa’s trip to Namibia was not necessary and the money used to fund it could have been used to improve the country’s ailing health facilities designated to handle COVID-19 cases.

“Over night, we had three cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Zimbabwe. Remember, that our ports of entry are still dangerously supervised,” Sibanda said.

“The other day, a bus at Beitbridge Border Post was allowed to cross the country at will, while a suspected case was quarantined. I am terrified at the lack of urgency by government.”

He expressed fear that the coronavirus would spread like veld fire at queues for fuel and Zupco buses.

“We need to lock up this country. Distance working is now essential. We have too many flash points,” he said.

“He (ED) must as a gesture of seriousness and as a precaution to protect our people and country, follow the steps taken by other leaders,” Sibanda said.

“It is really saddening that he travelled to Namibia when the country is facing such a terrible national crisis. There is virtually no equipment in hospitals designated to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have less than 100 beds in the country (meant for coronavirus patients). We have about 30 or so in Harare, and a slightly lower number in Bulawayo,” he said.

“I believe that we should call these people to question. The money that they used to fly out to Namibia for something that is non-essential could have been put to better use. The Namibians can inaugurate their own President under full understanding of the fact that the rest of the world is busy dealing with COVID-19.”

Zimbabwe is facing a grim prospect of failing to control the spread of COVID-19 after it emerged that the country’s health professionals were yet to receive the requisite training and protective clothing to handle the pandemic which has so far globally recorded over 15 000 deaths and 358 823 confirmed cases as of yesterday.

The post Chamisa chides Mnangagwa over COVID-19  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Maputo (AIM) – The terrorist groups that have been waging war in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado since October 2017 on Monday morning attacked and occupied parts of the town of Mocimboa da Praia.

Source: Terrorists occupy Mocimboa Da Praia town – The Zimbabwean

At the time of writing, fighting is continuing between the insurgents and the Mozambican defence and security forces.

According to a report in the electronic version of the independent daily “O Pais”, the attack began shortly before dawn, at around 04.00.

Some eye-witnesses, cited by the paper, said the shooting began in the Pamunda neighbourhood, and then spread out across the town, which was virtually under siege.

One resident said “when I heard the first shots, I was preparing to go to the mosque, and I didn’t have time to escape into the bush. Now I and my family are locked up inside the house”.

Other sources, say that some of the attackers came by boat, and occupied the Milamba neighbourhood.  One eye-witness said “they came before dawn in boats. Then they began to shoot. They passed by my house heading towards the centre of the town. They were praying and carrying black flags, written in Arabic”.

The spokesperson for the General Command of the Mozambican police, Orlando Mudumane, confirmed the attack. He told reporters in Maputo that the terrorists had attacked the barracks of the defence forces, where they had hoisted their flag.

Mudumane said the insurgents had thrown up barricades on the main roads leading into the town, which they fully controlled.

He added that efforts are now under way to restore public order and security. The defence and security forces had deployed units at various points and continued to exchange fire with the terrorists. Mudumane was confident that they would soon be able to restore security to the town.  

“O Pais” reported that some of those who came by sea have returned to their boats and left the area.

The initial attacks by the insurgents, who are inspired by Islamic fundamentalism, came on 5 October 2017 against police facilities in Mocimboa da Praia district. Subsequently the terrorist raids have spread across other districts in the northern part of Cabo Delgado.

The insurgents have never published any manifesto or list of demands, and their leaders have yet to show their faces in public.

The post Terrorists occupy Mocimboa Da Praia town  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Coronavirus silences wedding bells in Zimbabwe – NewsDay Zimbabwe

As the coronavirus continues to take a toll on virtually every sector, the Zimbabwean justice system is the latest to issue preventative guidelines, with the most drastic being the cancellation of court weddings.

By Staff Reporter

Instead, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said those who had booked for their weddings would need to rebook after two months.

In addition, Malaba said trials and non urgent hearings must be postponed for a period of no less than two months except for urgent matters such as bail and initial remand hearings.

The superior courts will also not conduct any hearings in chambers.

“In instances where hearings are held, these should be confined to parties involved in the case and their legal practitioners,” Malaba said.

“Those not involved in the case are discouraged from attending or coming to court.”

The Chief Justice further added that those coming to courts should be sanitised when going in and out of courts, maintain a distance of at least two metres from each other and that every surface that is used should be disinfected.

So far, the government has announced two cases of coronavirus and one fatality, that of broadcaster Zororo Makamba.

A number of measures have been announced to curb the spread of the disease, but so far, many have not heeded to those directives.

Among the measures announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa where that weddings should not go ahead.

For more statistics on the number of global coronavirus cases, you may visit this link

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Source: Zimbabwe women still vulnerable to sex trafficking – NewsDay Zimbabwe

SIMILO NTULI (not her real name) looks like an ordinary, fashion-savvy woman in her twenties. As a hairdresser and beauty therapist in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city of Bulawayo, Ntuli has her finger on the pulse of the latest styles and trends. But she also has what she admits are dark secrets.

“I have become suspicious of young rich women whose source of income cannot be explained,” she says. And she knows what she is talking about.

“I have been to Dubai (in 2018) where I was invited to work for some rich guys, but what I saw made me think twice about how I want to make my money. The grossest sexual fantasies you can imagine can get a young girl money that is unthinkable here in Zimbabwe.”

Ntuli says she was introduced to contacts or clients in the Near East by “a fixer” in Bulawayo. But she says she had to leave Dubai in a hurry after the demands to perform “despicable sex acts” proved unbearable.

Lobbyists in Zimbabwe are concerned by what they see as the weak enforcement of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, also known as the Palermo Protocol. It came into effect on December 25, 2003 and seeks to prevent, suppress and punish the trafficking of persons.

Zimbabwe may be a signatory, along with 184 members of the United Nations (UN), but activists here say enforcement efforts against organised human and sex trafficking remain inadequate as the true factors driving this are not being addressed.

Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis in decades and activists say the lack of safety nets, awareness campaigns and legal recourse for exploited women has continued to expose them to exploitation.

“The rate at which foreigners come to the country exposes the young women to trafficking is worrisome. Recently, Zimbabwe adopted the mantra that it is ‘open for business’ and potential investors in their quest to partner with Zimbabwe have been frequenting the country,” national director of Women in Law in Southern Africa Fadzai Traquino, says.

She explains that because of the current economic climate, perpetrators are able to take advantage of vulnerable young women, offering them “job opportunities”, explaining that those women who accept such opportunities often do so out of desperation.

“And so it becomes difficult to curb the pandemic as women are opting for these opportunities to secure financial and economic security,” Traquino says.

And, as Ntuli points out, gaps remain in how human and sex trafficking crimes can be reported.

“I think people, including the police in Zimbabwe, have become cynical. I think it’s because of the economic crisis. Someone who I told my story asked what I thought I was doing going to Dubai. I cannot even approach law enforcement officers on this matter as I feel I know what their reaction would be,” Ntuli says.

In 2019, the United States State Department issued the Trafficking in Persons Report which noted that Zimbabwe “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”, while local researchers say more needs to be done if young women such as Ntuli are to come forward and report cases for justice to be served.

Ntuli admits that she is unaware if there is any legal recourse open to her as a victim of sex trafficking.

“Educating vulnerable people about human trafficking for sexual exploitation is one piece to addressing the problem. As the Palermo Protocol mandates, governments need to deal with the root causes of trafficking for sexual exploitation, and these are grounded in gender inequality and discrimination,” says Tsitsi Matekaire, the global lead of End Sex Trafficking at Equality Now, an NGO that advocates for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls.

“Governments must ensure that women and girls are supported to reach their potential, free from the impact of discrimination and poverty, and create more equal societies so that they are not vulnerable to sex trafficking in the first place.

“Governments must ensure that victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation are properly supported to rebuild their lives after the traumatic experience, whether they have been trafficked within the country or to another country.”

The International Criminal Police Organisation’s (Interpol)’s Vulnerable Communities unit has noted the importance of training local enforcement agents on how to conduct victim interviews in cases of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation.

In responses to IPS’ enquires, the police organisation used the example of a successful Interpol-assisted raid of sex trafficking in West Africa in January, where local police were provided with specialised training to bust a trafficking ring.

While Zimbabwe has made efforts to address human and sex trafficking, Traquino says more still needs to be done.

“The government of Zimbabwe has demonstrated overall increasing efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but has not fully reached the required level of commitment in tackling human trafficking at large,” she says.

“There is more that can be done to conscientise young economically vulnerable woman. The State has not taken advantage of the platforms that the youth are mostly found at, particularly Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and various other social media platforms. Sensitising young women about the risks of trafficking on the (social media) platforms that they frequently visit can be effective as the message reaches them directly.”

The Global Sustainability Network (GSN), which actively supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 of decent work and economic growth, has focused much of its work on eliminating modern slavery. It acknowledges that the “legal system is failing — human trafficking is illegal everywhere, but it is growing everywhere”.

“As a consequence something has to change — we need new laws — governments are obliged to protect their citizens,” GSN states.

Gillian Chinzete, senior programmes officer with the Harare-based NGO Girls and Women Empowerment Network, also believes African governments and respective legislatures must be pressured to act.

“This will help in ensuring effective implementation of policies,” she says. “Communities have little or no information about human trafficking. Human trafficking cases are hidden from the general communities.” — IPS

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