Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

SHOCK and bewilderment have seized Vukuzenzele 2 Village under Esikhoveni area in Esigodini District following gruesome revelations that a four-year-old boy who mysteriously disappeared four months ago, was alive and being taken care of by suspected witches who want to turn him into a tokoloshe. The chilling revelations were made by witch-hunters popularly known as […]

Source: Lawyer declines to testify against Mugabe's son-in-law | Daily News

A Harare lawyer has refused to testify against former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law Simba Chikore as a State witness to establish an essential fact of the Zimbabwe Airways senior staff row as well as provide expert testimony saying she retains a contingent fee interest in the case.

Harare lawyer Phillipa Phillips was due to testify against Chikore in the trial but advised the court in a letter that there would be conflict of interest and had to seek consent first. Citing the need to honour lawyer-client privileges, Phillips declined to testify in the State’s case in which Chikore is accused of unlawfully detaining Zimbabwe Airways legal secretary Bertha Zakeyo from exiting the controversial airline’s offices after summarily firing her. Phillips is Zakeyo’s lawyer.

The State insisted that Phillips must testify.
The prohibition against lawyers serving as both counsel and witness in a trial proceeding has a long and complicated history, and the rule itself is riddled with exceptions  “She must come and testify and allow the court to make a determination on whether she should do so or not,” prosecutor Mirirai Shumba insisted yesterday.

“The investigating officer who went to her offices intending to subpoena her was informed that she had travelled to South Africa and on Tuesday this week. It is the State’s view that the witness must come and make the record straight. “In the letter, she also stated that she hadn’t been subpoenaed so was under no obligation to appear and testify in court.”

Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba urged the State to avail all remaining witness and avoid delaying the trial.
“The State is being warned to make available all its witnesses on the next date. Justice delayed is justice denied and all defaulting witnesses will be issued with warrants or risk having to close the State case,” Mashamba said.

Allegations are that Chikore — married to Mugabe’s daughter Bona — reportedly embarked on a purge of senior staff at Zimbabwe Airways he accused of being disloyal to the company.
According to Zakeyo, she received a letter from her boss Chikore, demanding that she responds to a battery of charges levelled against her.

The charges included holding unsanctioned meetings outside the company premises and trading sensitive information.
She later received an e-mail from Chikore demanding that she writes a report detailing her dealings with unnamed external parties.
In a docket opened at the Highlands Police Station, Zakeyo said Chikore — whom she accused of masquerading as a captain — kidnapped her for more than two hours and also denied her access to her lawyer, Phillips.

Trouble has been brewing at Zimbabwe Airways, which is under an opaque ownership that involves government, Chikore and some unnamed foreign nationals. Recently, the airline got delivery of its first bird, a Boeing 777 which was unveiled by President Emmerson Mnangagwa amid much pomp and fanfare.

It was, however, flown back to Malaysia after attracting unsustainable charges including steep parking fees.
The airline also failed to mobilise funds to hire pilots to fly the plane.

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Source: Ginimbi gets passport back | Herald (Africa)

Tendai Rupapa Senior Reporter
Businessman Genius Kadungure, who is facing charges of tax evasion and money laundering, yesterday successfully applied for the temporary release of his passport to enable him to travel abroad for business.

With the prosecution’s consent, magistrate Mrs Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro granted the release of Kadungure’s passport from February 28 to March 18.

“Temporary release of passport is granted and to be returned on March 18,” she said.

“Reporting conditions for that period are hereby relaxed.”

Kadungure, through his lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange, submitted a written application to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) seeking the release of his passport.

The NPA then granted the application.

When he made the same application in January, the State requested that it should be given Kadungure’s title deeds as surety.

He then complied.

Allegations against Kadungure are that between February 2009 and May 2016, his company Piko Trading Private Limited misrepresented to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) that it made total sales of $2 777 678, inclusive of Value Added Tax, when in actual fact the company had made sales amounting to $9 092 951.

To that end, Zimra suffered a prejudice of $417 940.

Kadungure is also being accused of evading tax, with Zimra suffering a total prejudice of $3 468 949.

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Source: Guvamombe seeks High Court trial | Herald (Africa)

The post Guvamombe seeks High Court trial appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Botswana offers Zim  US$95m loan facility | Daily News

ZIMBABWE’s hopes of securing a $600 million loan facility from Botswana hit a snag as its neighbour could only offer US$95 million during a bi-national commission yesterday.

After a week of diplomatic engagements, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi yesterday signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance relations between their two countries.
Masisi told journalists that his country had extended a P1 billion (US$95 million) loan facility to its troubled neighbour.

“We agreed to a loan credit facility we increased it from P500 million to P1 billion,” said Masisi as he responded to questions from the selected media.Of late, Mnangagwa who enjoys a lot of goodwill from his African “brothers” has looked to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region for a financial bailout as his country struggles to clear its debts.

Thus the loan facility from Botswana is a huge boost for the troubled Zimbabwe which has been denied a similar rescue package from the region’s economic powerhouse South Africa.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana are thawing following years of tensions when the countries were led by former Robert Mugabe and Ian Khama, respectively.

Last year Mnangagwa visited Botswana and expressed his desire to see enhanced cooperation between the two countries.
Unlike his predecessor, the Zanu PF leader is not burning bridges but his efforts to jumpstart the economy have until yesterday failed to bear any meaningful fruits.

On Tuesday, government officials had claimed that they had secured a $600 million loan from their neighbour – globally famous for its vast diamonds deposits. However, the permanent secretary to the President and Cabinet of Botswana Carter Morupisi issued a statement on Wednesday saying they were yet to give Zimbabwe anything or even to commit to the loan.

“The Office of the President wishes to inform members of the public that the government of the Republic of Botswana and the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe are currently holding discussions under the framework of bi-national commission which covers a wide range of issues which are mutually beneficial to the peoples of the two countries.

“As such, media reports that are currently circulating about the line of credit worth US$600 million that the government of Botswana has committed itself to extend to the Republic of Zimbabwe are unfounded. “We wish to advise members of the public that in accordance with international practice, a communiqué which summarises the outcome of the meeting will be issued following the Bi-National Commission,” reads part of the statement.

The visitors were indulged with VVIP treatment yesterday.
Police and soldiers sealed off roads leading to the venue of the meeting between Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart as the two countries inked six MoUs to enhance cooperation.
Although several heads of State and governments have visited the country in yesteryears, security was never as high as that offered for Masisi who temporarily brought business at an uptown hotel to a standstill.

Since assuming office through a soft coup in 2017, Mnangagwa has made drastic changes to his security and yesterday police and soldiers armed to the teeth were milling around the hotel while motorists had to use longer routes to access their workplaces.
It was also double accreditation for journalists who wanted to cover the critical meeting between the two leaders after years of frosty relations between the two countries.
• Hope for a bigger tranche falters
• Security tightened for the visitors

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