Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Eighty-two people have so far been confirmed dead across the country, and a lot of infrastructure damaged in Chimanimani and Chipinge, following a trail of destruction left by Cyclone Idai in the country. A team of government ministers and officials are currently in Manicaland province, assessing the extent of the damage, and how much help […]

At least 43 people were injured when a CAG bus headed to Harare overturned three times on Saturday, police said. The bus, travelling from Victoria Falls, rolled off the highway at the 134-kilometre peg along Kadoma Road in the early hours of the morning, trapping passengers underneath the vehicle, police and paramedics said. The cause […]

Source: Komichi to appeal against conviction | Daily News

MDC deputy president Morgen Komichi says he will lodge an appeal with the High Court challenging his conviction and sentence.

This comes after Komichi was fined $200 for disrupting electoral proceedings during the announcement of presidential election results.

Komichi was accused of invading the podium at the Harare International Conference Centre where he grabbed the microphone and announced that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was announcing fake results.

Following Komichi’s conviction and subsequent sentence, his lawyer Obey Shava of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said he will lodge an appeal at the upper court.
“We are working on an appeal right now,” Shava said.
Shava said Komichi’s conviction will not affect his political career and future electoral participation even if he does not appeal his sentence.

“He is only disqualified where the High Court has made a declaration to that effect.
“All the circumstances which disqualify one from being a Member of Parliament (MP) or Senator are not applicable to him,” he said.
On Friday, Harare magistrate Ruramai Chitumbura also slapped Komichi with a three-month sentence wholly suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence.

In passing judgment Chitumbura said the State managed to prove a prima facie case against Komichi and that he indeed disrupted the announcement of results.

She also said Komichi did not follow procedures to air out his grievances and that his actions could have induced violence.
Last month, MDC national deputy chairperson Tendai Biti was also fined $200 or two months in prison for declaring party leader Nelson Chamisa as the 2018 presidential election winner before Zec had announced the results.

The Harare East legislator said he will appeal both his conviction and sentence at the High Court.

The post Komichi to appeal against conviction appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Tyson warning ruffles Zanu PF | Daily News

THERE are real fears that both the ruling party and the country could be entering a new phase of significant political turmoil leading to the 2023 national elections, the Daily News can report.

This comes after former Cabinet minister and Zanu PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere, pictured, warned at the weekend that he may soon return to politics, to take on President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Political analysts told the newspaper yesterday that Kasukuwere’s seemingly imminent return to politics would seriously threaten Mnangagwa and Zanu PF, as he had intimate knowledge of the ruling party, its leaders and modus operandi — which in turn could spawn violence.

A senior Zanu PF official also warned that political temperatures in the country could rise significantly following Kasukuwere’s angry response to the government’s seizure of his holiday home on Friday.

“I’m very concerned that following last July’s post-election violence and the equally violent riots earlier this year, that we could be entering a new phase of political and social unrest — which would be tragic, as the country is just beginning to stabilise.
“My fear is that some elements could very well use Tyson’s (Kasukuwere’s) announcement of his return to politics to plant anarchy, realising that he still enjoys support in some party (Zanu PF) constituencies, particularly in Mashonaland.

“As it is, and as false as the claims are, I’m greatly disturbed by talk doing the rounds that his prosecution is not just politically-motivated, but also supposedly an attack against Zezurus by Karangas.

“This spells danger to both the party (Zanu PF) and the country if we are not careful,” the worried ruling party bigwig told the Daily News.

Kasukuwere’s surprise announcement regarding his pending return to politics followed a ruling by Harare regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya earlier on Friday, which granted an application by prosecutors for the former Local Government minister to forfeit a RTGS$250 000 holiday home in Nyanga, which he had put down as surety for his bail — in the corruption charges that he is facing.
Kasukuwere is said to be receiving medical attention outside the country for a yet undisclosed ailment, which has seen him failing to attend court.

In the social media posts indicating his return to politics, the former Mt Darwin legislator made it clear that he believed that his current prosecution, and the sanctioning of the disposal of his property by the courts, was politically-motivated.
“Whilst silence is golden, there comes a time when your enemies think you are enjoying it. Abuse of authority and power has limits. God Bless ZW. #itsmycountrytoo!
“This is a very good invitation back into politics. Handei tione! (Bring it on!).

“I said it will be rough, but it’s gonna be rougher, but thereafter we will have a ZW we all want. This monopoly and idiocy shall be challenged. With or without, 2023 is coming. Tatamba zvakwana! (The time to fool around is over!),” Kasukuwere said on Twitter soon after learning of the court’s ruling.

What surprised many about these social media posts was that the former ruling party commissar had not only previously announced that he had retired from politics, but he had also seemingly gone on to focus on his farm and other business interests over the past year, while completely refraining from participating in and commenting on political developments in the country.

This all came after he initially fled Zimbabwe in November 2017, after the military executed a popular coup against former president Robert Mugabe — with the “new dispensation”  accusing him of being one of the alleged criminals who had surrounded the frail nonagenarian.

The post Tyson warning ruffles Zanu PF appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Whisper it quietly, but the people of Zimbabwe appear to take to the concept of esports in a big way. Although the nation has long been considered a hive of casual gamers, there is a growing number of players prepared to try their hand at the more competitive aspect of online gaming. Competitive computer gaming, known as esports, is likely to generate multibillion-dollar revenue worldwide in 2019, and East Africa is starting to get in on the act.

Neighboring South Africa has experienced an esports “boom,” with a string of commercial online and LAN gaming tournaments hosted for competitive gamers, along with a host of esports forums where players can discuss strategies and tactics. Given the appetite for esports in South Africa, it is almost certain that Zimbabweans would be equally excited about the prospect of playing online games competitively.

Zimbabwe’s #DataMustFall Campaign Could Be Vital to its Esports Growth

There is one big hurdle for the nation to overcome, however: ensuring fast and reliable internet connectivity for all. Zimbabweans now demand cheaper internet packages from the nation’s service providers, with a national campaign launching by Zimbabwe’s National Consumer Rights Association of Zimbabwe (NACORA) centered on the hashtag #DataMustFall. At the time of writing, 1GB data packages cost more than household essentials, such as milk and bread. Average internet penetration throughout Africa is less than 50 percent, and so, the NACORA has challenged the internet service providers (ISPs) to cut their high data costs to drive economic activity. The more widespread view is that lower data costs could give emerging digital industries like esports a chance to enter the mainstream. Plans are also afoot to deliver high-speed internet to Zimbabwe’s rural areas to accelerate economic development, which, in turn, would aid its esports market.

It was two years ago when Kenya played host to Africa’s inaugural esports competition, with the Nairobi Comic Convention welcoming teams from across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Zimbabwe was not represented that weekend, but that all changed last year when a Zimbabwean entrant appeared at the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup. Recently, an official Zimbabwean esports organization started called Zimbabwe Mind Sports Union (also known as Esports Zimbabwe) with the aim of promoting and organizing competitive computer gaming across the country.

EA Permits Zimbabwe’s Representation at the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup

Local qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup hosted in three locations throughout Zimbabwe: Bulawayo, Harare and Beitbridge. One lucky winner would get the chance to represent Zimbabwe on the global stage. Since Zimbabwe received a license from Electronic Arts (EA) for formal recognition as a 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup entrant, Esports Zimbabwe has done a tremendous job in raising the profile of esports in recent months. More recently, Zimbabwean esports gamers pitted their wits against Nigerian and Ghanaian gamers in FIFA friendly matches.

Zimbabwean esports participation is not only confined to FIFA, either. In fact, when Formula One Esports announced its plans for a Pro Draft for the F1 Esports Series 2018, they confirmed that Zimbabwean players were within the 66,000 players that entered the four online qualifying rounds to try and earn a place in the Pro Draft. Esports Zimbabwe also plans to incorporate other leading computer games into its competitive roster in the coming months, with the likes of Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and Battlefield made available for Zimbabwean gamers to enter.

Esports Betting Also Attracting Global Interest

Given the appetite for competitive computer gaming is rife worldwide, it’s unsurprising that those most knowledgeable about esports are also looking to tap into the burgeoning niche of esports betting. Many iGaming brands now offer esports betting to customers worldwide — including Zimbabwe — on all the leading tournaments, whether it’s a team or individual events. Because esports is still a new concept, it can be hard for the in-house traders of various online sportsbooks to price up pregame and in-play esports markets with accuracy, allowing those who know more to take advantage. As a result, punters increasingly look to use one of the many bonus codes for the leading iGaming sites to put their bonus funds toward their next esports betting hunch, be it at the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) tournaments or the Intel Extreme Masters.

No doubt there is still some way to go before Zimbabwe, and the rest of East Africa catches up with the likes of Europe and Asia in the esports stakes. Meanwhile, what this region needs for its esports industry to take off is sponsorship deals that can enable the most talented Zimbabwean gamers to compete on a level playing field at the biggest global events. That might not be too far away given the clear appetite for esports in Zimbabwe.

The post Zimbabwe Fast Emerging as a New Esports Hub appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.