Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

The central bank is urging financial and mobile money institutions to ensure the timely and systematic exchange of cyber-threat intelligence.

Source: Zimbabwe flags cyber risks in digital payments | ITWeb Afric

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has identified cyber-security vulnerabilities in the country’s payments ecosystem and recommended stronger cyber controls, alongside the deployment of artificial intelligence solutions to assist with fraud detection.
RBZ governor John Mushayavanhu said on Thursday that cyber-security breach “incidents reported to date highlighted some vulnerabilities in third-party service providers, payment channels, and digital banking” ecosystems.
“This reinforces the need for continuous strengthening of cyber controls, incident response and operational resilience across the sector,” he noted in the RBZ’s mid-term monetary policy statement.
The central bank is now  urging financial and mobile money institutions to ensure timely and systematic exchange of cyber threat intelligence.
 
Furthermore, in dealing with digital fraud and cyber-security breaches, the RBZ has asked banking institutions, mobile money operators as well as other digital payment service providers to eliminate ghost, fictitious and duplicate accounts.
This development comes as utilisation of digital payment platforms in Zimbabwe remains low due to concerns over trust, reliability and affordability.
Latest data from the mid-term monetary policy statement confirms this, with the RBZ highlighting, for example, that only 36% of deployed point-of-sale machines are active. 
Furthermore, there are only 6.8 million credit cards and 586,605 internet banking subscribers in Zimbabwe.
The number of prepaid cards stands at 193,000, with most used for international e-commerce payments.

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Gerard Chimbganda’s firm previously in controversy over forged Garda vetting certificates

Source: Zimbabwean pastor brings defamation action against Conor McGregor – The Irish Times
 
A Zimbabwean businessman and pastor has brought a defamation action against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor.
Co Meath-based Gerard Chimbganda on Thursday confirmed he had initiated a defamation suit against McGregor, but declined to comment further.
Chimbganda’s lawyers, RDJ LLP, lodged papers initiating the action against McGregor in the High Court on Wednesday, records show.
Chimbganda’s Good People Homecare company was previously at the centre of a controversy over forged Garda vetting certs.

The Irish Times reported how Good People Homecare supplied forged paperwork to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, falsely clearing several employees to manage emergency accommodation for children in State care.

Tusla cut ties with the Co Meath company after it discovered criminal background checks of several staff had been doctored. The agency reported the suspected forgeries to the Garda, which opened an investigation.
An employee of the Good People, a young relative of Chimbganda, was, in May last year, convicted of forgery and falsifying Garda vetting documentation, receiving a suspended sentence.
At the time, Chimbganda said the case concerned a “former junior employee, who acted entirely alone,” without the knowledge of management.
McGregor has been involved in several High Court actions of late, most notably when he was sued by Nikita Hand, who claimed he had raped her in December 2018 in a Dublin hotel.
A civil jury found in favour of Hand in that case, awarding her nearly €250,000 in damages.
McGregor unsuccessfully appealed the jury’s finding to the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court refused to hear a further appeal.
Last May, McGregor reached an out-of-court settlement with a former sparring partner in a dispute over his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand.
Artem Lobov had claimed McGregor failed to honour a 2017 oral commitment agreeing to Lobov’s ownership of a 5 per cent share in the whiskey brand.
Russian-born Lobov had asserted he was involved in the creation of the brand. McGregor had denied there was an agreement.

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Source: Why do young women keep entering relationships with a ruling elite that abuses power for vindictiveness?

It is the classic case of an insect enchanted by a Venus flytrap.

When the public looks upon the wreckage of high-society relationships in this country, the immediate reaction is a mix of shock, horror, and utter bewilderment. 

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We watch as the full weight of state machinery, political authority, and immense wealth is unleashed against former partners, turning intimate fallouts into public displays of brutal retribution.

The pattern is unmistakable. 
It stretches from the harrowing ordeal of Marry Mubaiwa—stripped of her health, her children, and her dignity—to the police action targeting Wicknell Chivayo’s former wife and her mother. 
Now it reaches Kelsea Tafirenyika, her mother, and her sister.
It is a terrifying spectacle that leaves ordinary citizens asking one fundamental question.
Why do young women continue to walk open-eyed into romantic unions with the ruling elite, fully aware of the catastrophic dangers that await them when things go wrong?
We live in a country where the abuse of state power to settle personal scores is not a secret. 
It is broadcast on national television, detailed in court reports, and discussed in every street corner. 
The cautionary tales are not buried in history books; they are unfolding in real time right before our eyes. 
The public trials, arbitrary arrests, alleged abductions, and savage beatings are just the beginning. 
The denial of medical access, sudden loss of custodial rights, and total weaponization of the police force are standard operating procedures when an elite relationship collapses.
To pretend that these dangers are unknown or hidden is to ignore reality. 
The warning signs are written in bold, glaring letters.
Yet, despite this obvious peril, a steady stream of young women continues to queue up for a seat at the table of the powerful. 
There is a deeply frustrating refusal to learn from the ruins of those who came before. 
Many step into these relationships driven by pure opportunism, blinded by the immediate allure of private jets, luxury vehicles, high-end shopping sprees, and elevated social status. 
They see the material spoils of political patronage and decide that the price is worth paying, convincing themselves that they are far too clever, far too beautiful, or far too indispensable to suffer the same fate as the discarded exes before them.
This arrogance is precisely where the trap snaps shut.
It is pure delusion to assume that a member of the ruling elite—accustomed to using state apparatuses as personal weapons—will spare you the moment a relationship collapses.
Power used for personal vengeance does not change its nature depending on who stands beside it.
When a man’s primary mode of resolving conflict is coercion and state-sponsored victimization, every partner is merely a temporary beneficiary of that power—never immune to it.
To enter such a union believing you are the special exception is not just naive; it is a profound failure of judgment.
The trade-off being made is as clear as it is reckless. 
It is the conscious decision to exchange long-term personal safety, integrity, and basic human rights for short-term luxury and proximity to power. 
In a repressive environment where state institutions exist to serve powerful individuals rather than justice, linking oneself to elite patronage is the ultimate gamble. 
When you ride the tiger of unchecked political power, you cannot act surprised when it turns around to devour you.
It is time we stop treating every fallen partner of the ruling elite purely as an unsuspecting victim of an unpredictable storm. 
The storm is entirely predictable. 
The methods of the powerful are well-documented, and the machinery of state retribution is visible to anyone who chooses to look. 
The abuse of state power by the ruling class remains utterly condemnable. 
Yet those who willingly step into its inner sanctum cannot ignore the shattered lives left in its wake. 
​They cannot escape the reality that a weaponized state protects no one forever.

Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com

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Moving to another country can make you question things you once considered completely normal. For Kalumba Mwale, a man from Zimbabwe living in India, that experience came with plenty of surprises.

Source: Zimbabwe man reveals 7 things that shocked him after moving to India: ‘A completely different world’ – The Times of India

Moving to another country can make you question things you once considered completely normal. For Kalumba Mwale, a man from Zimbabwe living in India, that experience came with plenty of surprises.Mwale recently shared a video on Instagram comparing what he was used to back home with what he discovered after moving to India. His post, titled “What I thought was normal in Zimbabwe, until I lived in India”, touched on everything from universities and food to healthcare and the number of international students he has met.And some of his observations may sound familiar to Indians, while others offer a very different perspective on everyday life here.

Education feels far more varied

One of the first differences Mwale noticed was the sheer number of universities and colleges in India.He compared this with Zimbabwe, where getting into university can feel highly competitive. In India, he said, students have hundreds of institutions to choose from, with courses available across different fields and budgets.That variety, he suggested, was something he hadn’t expected before coming here.

He was surprised by the international crowd

Mwale also noticed how many students from different countries he came across at university.

According to him, meeting people from dozens of countries wasn’t something he had experienced as much in Zimbabwe. His time in India changed that, giving him the chance to interact with students from a much wider range of backgrounds.

He also pointed out that India attracts international students for education, something he hadn’t necessarily associated with the country before moving here.

Indian food was a whole new experience

Then came food.While sadza, rice and stews are familiar staples in Zimbabwe, Mwale said the variety of Indian cuisine left him surprised. There are so many regional dishes and flavours that, as he put it, someone could eat something different almost every day and still barely scratch the surface.And then there’s the question of spice.Mwale said that in Zimbabwe, spice often means adding more chilli. In India, he discovered that the word can mean an entire mix of flavours, aromas and ingredients.For someone new to Indian food, that’s quite a discovery.

His idea of healthcare changed

Healthcare was another area that stood out to him.Mwale said specialised medical care can be limited or expensive in Zimbabwe, while India has developed a reputation for attracting patients from other countries seeking treatment.Living in India gave him a different perspective on the country’s healthcare system and the role it plays beyond its borders.

India changed his idea of where opportunities exist

Perhaps his biggest takeaway wasn’t about food or university at all.Mwale said that when people think about moving abroad for education, work or a new life, countries such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia often come to mind first.But his experience in India made him realise that opportunities aren’t necessarily limited to the West.“Living here taught me that opportunities abroad aren’t limited to the West,” he wrote.And that, he said, was one of the biggest lessons India had given him.

The everyday experience was very different

Beyond specific differences, Mwale’s post reflected how much living in another country can change your understanding of what’s considered normal.He arrived in India with certain expectations and ended up seeing the country through a completely different lens.“I came here from Zimbabwe expecting one thing… and ended up discovering a completely different world,” he wrote.The post received plenty of warm responses, with several people welcoming him to India and saying they hoped his experience continued to be positive.An international student in Delhi also shared their own perspective, saying they enjoyed meeting African students, including Zimbabweans, in the city.Others encouraged Mwale to make the most of his time in India, with one commenter describing the country as a “lovely yet chaotic” place where, quite simply, “you’ll get everything”.Someone even asked whether Mwale had managed to convince any of his friends to come to India for their studies.Judging by his post, it seems India has already given him plenty to talk about.

The post Zimbabwe man reveals 7 things that shocked him after moving to India: ‘A completely different world’ appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

HARARE — Court papers have brought fresh scrutiny to the wealth and lifestyle surrounding Kelsea Tadiwa Tafirenyika, with an asset schedule filed in the State’s case putting the stated value of her listed movable and immovable property at about US$9.35 million.

According to an annexure to Form 242 reproduced in court papers, the assets comprise 10 properties valued at US$6.745 million and vehicles with stated values totalling US$2.609 million. The calculation excludes a Toyota Land Cruiser whose value was not stated in the document.

The property schedule reads like a catalogue of some of Harare’s most expensive residential real estate. The listed holdings include properties in Borrowdale Brooke, Borrowdale, Chisipite, Vainona, Highlands, Gunhill and Mount Pleasant, with individual values ranging from US$350,000 to US$1.1 million.

The largest property on the schedule is a residence on Carrick Creagh Road in Borrowdale Brooke, valued at US$1.1 million, followed by properties in Kingsmead Road East, Borrowdale, valued at US$850,000, and Whitehill Road in Chisipite, valued at US$800,000.

Other properties listed include homes in Borrowdale valued at US$750,000 and US$650,000, an Enterprise Road property in Highlands valued at US$700,000, a Ray Road property in Borrowdale valued at US$575,000, a Churchill Avenue property in Mount Pleasant valued at US$520,000, a Gunhill Avenue property valued at US$450,000 and an Alpes Road property in Vainona valued at US$350,000.

The vehicle schedule is similarly striking. It lists two Lamborghinis valued at US$561,000 and US$577,300, two Bentley Continentals each valued at US$380,000, a Land Rover valued at US$241,250, a Rolls-Royce valued at US$340,000, a Jaguar valued at US$110,000 and a Toyota Corolla valued at US$19,200.

The document also lists a Toyota Land Cruiser, although no value is attached to it.

Wealth questions move beyond the criminal case

The asset schedule has widened public interest in a case that initially centred on allegations of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs.

Tafirenyika, 22, who is married to Collins Mnangagwa, the son of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, was arrested after detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit raided a Greystone Park residence on August 4. Prosecutors allege that officers recovered pethidine, morphine and cannabis during the operation.

The State has alleged that detectives found Tafirenyika counting ampoules in her bedroom before recovering additional quantities from drawers and cannabis from a Lamborghini parked at the property. The drugs allegedly seized were valued at about US$204.

The criminal allegations remain before the courts and have not been proved.

The subsequent emergence of the asset schedule, however, introduces a substantially different dimension: not simply what was allegedly found during the police raid, but how a very young individual came to be associated with a portfolio of luxury vehicles and high-value properties worth millions of dollars.

A remarkable concentration of Harare property

The property list is particularly notable because of its concentration in Harare’s premium residential market.

Borrowdale and Borrowdale Brooke account for several of the properties, while Chisipite, Highlands, Gunhill, Mount Pleasant and Vainona represent some of the capital’s most established high-value residential districts.

Taken together, the properties listed in the court document represent US$6.745 million of stated real-estate value. That is a substantial concentration of wealth in residential property, particularly in a market where prime houses can command prices far beyond the reach of most Zimbabwean households.

The document therefore raises questions that extend beyond the criminal proceedings: the ownership of the properties, the circumstances under which they were acquired, the beneficial interests attached to them and, potentially, the source of the funds used in their acquisition.

Those questions should not, however, be confused with findings of wrongdoing. The asset schedule itself does not establish that the properties were acquired unlawfully, nor does it establish the source of the funds.

Luxury vehicles add another layer

The vehicle portfolio further illustrates the scale of the assets listed in the court papers.

The two Lamborghinis alone are assigned a combined value of more than US$1.13 million, while the two Bentleys are collectively valued at US$760,000. Adding the Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Jaguar takes the listed luxury-vehicle portfolio well beyond US$3 million before accounting for the unvalued Land Cruiser.

Such a concentration of high-end vehicles is unusual in an economy where foreign currency remains scarce and where luxury imports have traditionally represented a very small segment of the broader automobile market.

The bigger question is transparency

The significance of the asset schedule ultimately lies less in the spectacle of expensive cars and houses than in the questions that such a portfolio inevitably raises about wealth transparency.

A court document listing assets does not by itself determine who ultimately funded their acquisition. Nor does it establish whether every property listed is legally owned by the person named in the document, whether some assets are held through other arrangements, or whether the values represent purchase prices, market valuations or estimates.

Those distinctions will matter if the assets become the subject of further investigation or proceedings.

For Zimbabwe, however, the case has broader resonance. The country has long struggled with the intersection of politically connected wealth, opaque ownership structures, property accumulation and limited public visibility over the beneficial ownership of high-value assets.

The court proceedings may therefore become significant not merely because of the criminal charges facing Tafirenyika, but because they have placed an unusually detailed snapshot of luxury wealth before the public.

For now, the US$9.353 million stated asset figure should be treated precisely for what it is: the aggregate value recorded in the court-paper schedule, not a judicial finding that the assets were improperly acquired or that the stated values have been independently verified.

The criminal case remains before the courts, and any allegations concerning the source, ownership or acquisition of the assets would require separate evidence and due process.

The post Court Papers Put Spotlight on US$9.35 Million Asset List Linked to Mnangagwa’s Daughter-In-Law Kelsea Tafirenyika appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.