Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Gumbura's prison break ruling deferred | Daily News

A HARARE magistrate yesterday postponed ruling on the case of RGM Independent Time Message leader Robert Martin Gumbura who faces charges of attempting to breakout of prison in 2015.

Gumbura is jointly charged with Blessing Chiduke, Luckmore Matambanadzo, Luck Mhungu, Taurai Dodzo, Thomas Chacha, Thulani Chizema, Jacob Sibanda, and Elijah Vhumbunu.

Besides charges of attempting to escape from lawful custody, the rapist and his accomplices are also accused of incitement and conspiracy in aggravating circumstances.

Mapfumo deferred his ruling to April 10 saying he needs more time to look at the defence case which filed its application late.
The jailed cleric and his alleged accomplices had applied for discharge at the close of the State’s case, which they described as “mere hot air.”

Through their lawyer Lovemore Madhuku, the accused submitted that by the close of its case, the State had not addressed the core elements of its allegations.

“The evidence adduced by the State is so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court might safely act on it. No witness was able to link any of the accused persons to any of the specific offences they are facing,” Madhuku said.

“At most, the evidence pointed to a prisoner, not amongst the accused, who was shot dead after being found on top of the roof,” Madhuku added, saying that his clients should not have been tried on the evidence led by the State.

Madhuku also argued that the prosecution failed to prove that his clients conspired and communicated any inciting messages to other fellow inmates.
“Each prison official who testified said, in essence, they never heard any of the accused discussing or communicating any messages on the commission of an offence. Their testimony had nothing to do with what each accused did, in respect of the specific offences they are facing,” he said.

The State alleges that Gumbura told inmates to protest for better quality food. The message was allegedly passed on to inmates in C and D halls.

The inmates allegedly sang throughout the night, banging on cell iron bars. The State alleges that on March 13, Chiduke, Matambanadzo, Mhungu, Dodzo, Chacha and Chizema advised inmates in C Hall to reject prison food.

Sibanda and three other inmates, who are now deceased, allegedly incited inmates in D Hall to also protest. Around 9am, porridge was served but inmates refused to eat it because it had no sugar.

They allegedly demanded to see the prison chief superintendent.

Towards lunch time, Chiduke, Matambanadzo, Mhungu, Dodzo, Chacha and Chizema allegedly demanded to see the officer-in-charge, who sent his subordinate, one Dumbura, who was told by the prisoners that they could not eat the food before pushing out containers brought with lunch.

The now-deceased Titus Mandikoza allegedly climbed on top of the roof and started shouting that prisoners were not supposed to eat the food.

At that moment, the State alleges that Vhumbunu and Sibanda poured the food on a prison officer and violence erupted.

The post Gumbura’s prison break ruling deferred appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: ED sucked into deadly chiefs' | Daily News

ZVISHAVANE traditional leader Chief Mapanzure has been accused of illegally extending his territory into Insiza Chief Jahana’s in a battle that has stoked tribal tensions between the two.

What has complicated the issue is Mapanzure’s alleged proximity to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a development chief Jahana has dismissed as a non-event, vowing to fight till he regains his land.

Mnangagwa’s rural home is under Mapanzure.
The dispute has reportedly sucked in Lands minister Perrance Shiri and Local Government minister July Moyo, who in November last year were forced to convene a meeting at a local hotel where the issue was discussed at length in the presence of other traditional leaders.

This was after Jahana had petitioned Mnangagwa demanding his intervention on a matter that has fomented acrimony between the two traditional leaders.
Matabeleland Chiefs Council secretary Nothiwani Dlodlo yesterday claimed Mapanzure was encroaching into chief Jahana’s area.

“There is an ongoing dispute between Mapanzure and Jahana over the boundary of their land. Unfortunately, the land belongs to Jahana since it was gazetted by government.

“However, perhaps chief Mapanzure is using his widely-held belief that he is close to the president, hence his unrelenting push for land.
“Mapanzure has already occupied the land where villages with three heads have already been settled,” Dlodlo told Daily News yesterday.

Insiza, which is in Matabeleland South Province, shares borders with Vungu, Mberengwa, Zvishavane, Umzingwane and Gwanda.
Dlodlo, who said he attended the meeting which was chaired by Shiri, said a national sub Joint Operations Command (JOC) taskforce was appointed to probe the matter.

“The team was given five days to report back on their investigations but surprisingly, we never heard anything from them since then,” Dlodlo said.
Contacted for comment, Jahana said he was going to leave no stone unturned in claiming his land back.

“We are currently in Gwanda for a meeting with the officials from the Local Government ministry over the matter. What we understand is that they want to take our land and put it in Midlands Province, but that’s what we are rejecting,” Chief Jahana told the Daily News.

“Information reaching us is that they want to create Chief Mapanzure one and Chief Mapanzure two to accommodate their fellow kinsmen, but we are saying no to that.
“They are using the advantage of their somehow closeness to the president to try and grab my land.

“So, today, if these officials we are meeting fail to properly address this matter, we are definitely going to take this matter up with the president himself.
“This will help us see if he is the one behind it or just people hiding behind his name,” Jahana added.

Mapanzure in response said he could not comment much on the matter since it was a complex and long story.
“It’s a big story that has been going on for a long time, I can’t talk about it because it’s going under certain processes,” he told the Daily News.

Mapanzure, however, dismissed reports that he was taking advantage of his proximity to Mnangagwa to seize the land.
“It’s a long story that started long back when the delimitations were being done and that place that is being talked about belongs to us.

“But for a fact, this matter started way before Mnangagwa became president and it was handled by former Local Government ministers as (Saviour) Kasukuwere and (Ignatius) Chombo.
“It’s only that these people are trying to politicise the matter,” Mapanzure told the Daily News.

The post ED sucked into deadly chiefs’ appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Cyclone survivors’ horror tales – NewsDay Zimbabwe April 2, 2019

BY Everson Mushava / Tapiwa Zivira

Rudo Mukwada of Ngangu township in Chimanimani is a heartbroken woman.

As a nurse at a local clinic, she took it upon herself to help fellow residents when Cyclone Idai rainstorms began to flood houses on the night of March 15.

“Our house had a strong stone-built perimeter wall, so when the water was now flooding others’ homes, mine appeared safe as water was being blocked by the perimeter wall,” she said.

Spurred by the instinct to save lives as prescribed by her profession, she knocked on all her neighbours’ doors, asking them to take shelter behind the wall at her house.

“They heeded my call and together we stood outside my house. After about 45 minutes, we heard strange noises and before I knew it, I was being swept away. The water had breached my perimeter wall.”

Mukwada made it out, having been saved by an island downstream, but 10 of the people she was with at her house did not.

“Five bodies were recovered near where we were standing, but five are still missing,” she said, close to tears and pointing towards a ditch in front of her house where the bodies were dug out.

A strong stench is all over the area, and Mukwada says it could be of some of the bodies that are yet to be recovered.

“It breaks my heart. I had thought I was doing this to save lives, yet in the end, they all died.”

All she wishes for now is to leave her recently-completedd house and relocate to another place.

“I am currently living at the clinic, and I cannot come back here. This place now haunts me.”

She is not alone. Many tried to save people, but ended up with heartbreaks.

A Ngangu resident explained how some people had sacrifised their lives to help others. He described how his neighbour, a Mr Samhiri, was swept away while trying to render help to another victim who had been injured.

“Some people were rescuing others who were trapped in their homes. For example, Mr Samhiri and a fellow resident were attempting to take someone who was injured and tried to cross a flooded river. He was just washed away. Maybe he hit a rock or something hard and then he just died. His body was recovered and was buried.”

Sithole added: “There was also this builder called Stephen. Together with others, he was helping people who were trapped in their homes. He was also washed away by the floods. His body was recovered and was buried. These are some of the people who sacrificed their lives for others.

“Most people who died were trying to rescue others. People were their own heroes here before the military arrived. Even after, people took a lead in recovering bodies and they are still doing the same.”

A heroic Tatenda Muzhambi (25), a yet to be employed qualified teacher, narrated how he helped some members of his family, including his wife, who had given up on life after they were hit by a massive mudslide while taking cover inside the verandah of a neighbour’s house.

“We were about seven in that verandah. A mudslide came and then another one. We were almost submerged. I rushed to rescue my mother. She was heavy and I had difficulties, but eventually I managed to lift her to safety.

“I did the same for my wife who was almost submerged. I tried and she was saying I should just let her die, but with a lot of energy, I pulled her out and the other three to safety.

“But before I rescued them, I was stuck in mud up to knee level. I was holding my baby. I continued to raise him and gave him to a woman who had come from another house. I turned amd saw my brother stuck in the mud and pulled him out. The woman who took my child threw him in the mud while trying to climb to the rooftop. My brother, who I had rescued, took my child and rushed to the nearest house that was at a high place for safety.

“I dont know where the energy I used to rescue other people came from. We all later took refuge at the neighbour’s house where we bathed my baby and wrapped him in a warm piece of cloth. It was horrible, but I lost two cousin sisters, Memory and Faith Mabindu. We have been looking for them for the last seven days.”

Kopa had its own heroes and heroines. Some residents narrated how some men had used ropes to rescue trapped friends and relatives until a kombi that was being washed away hit the rope, breaking it and forcing all those clinging to it to drown.

Majiva Magweva explained how a man braved the floods with a rope tied to his waist to get to the tree she and two other women had been patched for almost 24 hours, naked after being washed away by the floods.

“He tied the rope on each one of us and were were dragged to safety. Just after we were rescued, the tree waas washed away by the floods,” Magweva narrated.

 

The post Cyclone survivors’ horror tales  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

A report claims that MDC’s loss in the Bulawayo Ward 28 by-election has exposed deep division within the movement. The party endorsed Alderman Collet Ndhlovu as its candidate while he was deeply unpopular with the [...]

Source: Zimra cracks down  on tax avoidance | Daily News

Zimbabwe’s tax agency is cracking down on tax avoidance in both the public and private sector via underhand deals to try and recoup millions in lost State income, the head of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has said.

This comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, which substantively took office last August, is planning to double its infrastructure spending this year to build roads, power plants and other projects, and the tax office figure for lost income would cover more than two-thirds of that spending.

As a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP), Zimbabwe, has a tax system characterised by low compliance levels as registered corporate taxpayers are not remitting their dues. In 2018, the authority collected a gross of  $5,36 billion or 21,8 percent of the country’s GDP.

However, in the same year, the Finance ministry revealed that the authority is owed over $4,5 billion by tax evaders.
Zimra officials said firms were avoiding corporate taxes by running unofficial parallel payrolls while the small-scale enterprises have similarly ducked giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Zimra Commissioner-General Faith Mazani told journalists at a training workshop on taxation and customs tax last week that the taxman was making strides to curb tax evasion while urging the public to voluntarily comply with the authority as government heavily relies on revenue obtained through taxation to provide social services.

“Please continue to urge the nation to desist from all underhand dealings such as smuggling, tax evasion, use of undesignated crossing points and any other acts of economic malfeasance,” said Mazani, in a speech read by Zimra executive assistant John Chakasikwa.

To fight smuggling, the authority currently uses scanners, risk proofing, physical examination, post importation audits, border patrols and physical examinations and road blocks in conjunction with law enforcement agencies.

Mazani added that automation of the tax system has helped deal with erosion of the tax base, resulting in more clients being registered on the Zimra system.

Coupled with this, Zimra has continued to engage companies which owe taxes, customs and excise duties to agree on payment plans to liquidate their debts, she added.

The tax authority also recently conducted lifestyle audits on company directors and other individuals in an ongoing probe against tax evasion.

“We all agree it is not good for clients to play cat and mouse games with the authority. Payment of taxes on time and in full enables government to meet obligations, which include provision of social services.

“On business side, voluntary tax compliance reduces unnecessary business costs which comes in the form of late payments or submission of returns, or failure to submit returns or remit payment,” Mazani said.

Amid calls for need for educating the nation about tax intricacies in a simplified manner, the authority said it is holding voluntary compliance campaigns, workshops and seminars targeting every citizen to spread the gospel of tax compliance.

The launch of taxpayer education and engagement programmes, according to Zimra, will go a long way in comprehensively enhancing voluntary tax compliance to increase tax remittances in the country.

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