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Source: Biometric system for firearm owners – herald

Nyore Madzianike-Senior Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police is engaging regional law enforcement agencies to establish an integrated biometric system to trace firearm owners across borders.

Police Deputy Commissioner-General Learn Ncube said authorities were working on a system under which all weapons would be fingerprinted among regional member states.

He said the system would enable countries to communicate swiftly when violations are detected.

Deputy Commissioner-General Ncube said this while giving oral evidence before the Joint Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs, Security Services and War Veterans Affairs at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden on a petition regarding private firearms ownership, licensing, registration and enforcement in Zimbabwe.

“We are currently coming up with a system where all weapons are fingerprinted, but the approach is that if the licence is about to expire and the order is to bring in the weapon for renewal of the licence, the person is asked to bring in three live rounds.

“Those are fired and are fingerprinted, and we keep the information, and that process is built up to the national database.

“We are talking with the region to say, we want a system which would be able to communicate with the neighbours.”

Deputy Commissioner-General Ncube appealed to the committee for assistance in facilitating the procurement of the system.

“So, we ask for assistance really from this August House, from the committee, to assist us in pushing so that we are enabled to procure this system and we know if we manage to do that, everything else will be easier,” he said.

Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Permanent Secretary Ambassador Raphael Tayerera Faranisi told the committee that Zimbabwe has been observing the Africa Amnesty Act since 2022 in line with Article 12 of the Standard Protocol on Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials.

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Source: US$720 000 heist: 5 jailed 11 years each – herald

Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo-Court Correspondent

FIVE members of a robbery gang that stole over US$745 000 from Quest Financial Services in Harare have each been jailed for an effective 11 years.

Washington Mangwanda (21), Brighton Chikukwa (27), Silence Matambo (27), Liberty Mukanganise (31) and Luke Zinyengere (28) were convicted of armed robbery following a full trial before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Jesse Kufa.

The court initially sentenced each of the gang members to 12 years’ imprisonment before suspending one year on condition of good behaviour on their eventual release.

So far, cash and goods totalling US$206 000 in value have been recovered was returned to Quest.

Zinyengere, who is not a first offender, was separately sentenced to another 22 years in prison in April last year for robbery and attempting to escape from lawful custody after he tried to flee from prison guards at the Harare Magistrates Court while attending proceedings in the just concluded trial.

Quest Financial Services was represented by its Head of Operations, Mr Daniel Mandizvidza.

Prosecutor in charge Ms Gossy Mudambu proved that on February 23, 2024, company officials secured the premises at 6 Rochester Road, Belgravia, Harare, before knocking off duty.

A vault containing US$744 676, R10 500, €120 and other valuables was locked, while security guard Lancelot Tashayawedu was assigned to guard the premises overnight.

At about 1 am on February 25, 2024, the gang and their accomplices, who are still at large, were armed with a revolver, an unidentified blank pistol, an electric drill, an iron bar and bolt cutters when storming the premises.

They cut through the perimeter fence and confronted Tashayawedu, who was asleep in a room at the back of the property. They threatened him with violence before tying him and his girlfriend up  with electric cables.

They then used explosives to blast open the vault and stole US$ 744,676, R10,500, €120 and a 7.65mm CZ Vzor pistol.

The court heard that investigators recovered cash amounting to US$166 180, the stolen firearm, vehicles worth US$36 600 and other property valued at US$3 695, bringing the total value of recovered assets to US$206 475.

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Source: Businessman wins US$500k defamation suit – herald

Fidelis Munyoro-Chief Court Reporter

BUSINESSMAN Bruno Fungayi Takawira emerged victorious in a landmark defamation battle after the High Court ordered Feng Guo and Hwange Coal Gasification Company to pay him US$500 000 in damages for publishing allegations that falsely linked him to the theft, sale and smuggling of coke.

The court found that the accusations had unjustly tarnished Mr Takawira’s name, exposing him to public ridicule, suspicion and reputational harm within business circles.

Justice Tawanda Chitapi granted default judgment against the defendants (Feng Guo and Hwange Coal Gasification Company) after they failed to enter an appearance to defend the action and ordered them to pay the damages jointly and severally, with interest and costs of suit.

Mr Takawira had sued for US$5 million after a letter issued on the company’s letterhead alleged that about 1 400 tonnes of coke stolen from the company’s plant had been stockpiled at his premises and were destined for sale within Zimbabwe or Zambia.

The letter, addressed to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and copied to several authorities, including the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and police officers, stated that the company had information linking Mr Takawira to the consignment.

In his ruling, Justice Chitapi said the contents of the letter damaged Mr Takawira’s reputation.

“The article self-evidently impugns the character of the plaintiff (Takawira),” the judge said.

“It portrays the plaintiff as an accomplice of one Lisa Maropafadzo and her ‘thugs’ or assailants who unlawfully removed 1 400 tonnes of coke from the second defendant’s plant.”

The court found that the publication portrayed Mr Takawira as a thief and smuggler and linked him to criminal conduct without verification of the allegations.

Justice Chitapi said the defendants acted with malice and recklessness when they published the claims.

“The defendants were reckless because they did not investigate or verify the facts of the plaintiff’s involvement before labelling him a thief and smuggler,” he said.

The judge noted that Mr Takawira described himself as a marketing consultant whose reputation was central to his business activities and said the allegations were directed to institutions responsible for crime investigations and tax administration.

The court also took note of an earlier High Court ruling involving the same letter, in which the company had been ordered to retract it.

Justice Chitapi said the failure to withdraw the publication after that ruling counted against the defendants.

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Source: US$50m reserved for cancer initiative – herald

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Health Reporter

TREASURY will continue committing resources through the sugar tax cancer fund towards the procurement of modern diagnostic and treatment equipment to major hospitals, a milestone in Zimbabwe’s drive to upgrade care and expand access to quality health services for all under Vision 2030.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said this yesterday during a visit to the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) warehouse where a high-energy linear accelerator destined for Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals’ radiotherapy centre is being housed ahead of installation.

Prof Ncube said Treasury had already used US$30 million from the fund to procure the first batch of equipment, while the remaining US$20 million would finance the next phase of the programme.

The machine is one of the two latest radiotherapy units to arrive under the Government-funded cancer equipment procurement programme, which is being financed through revenue generated from the sugar content tax introduced on sweetened beverages.

The high-energy linear accelerator will be installed at the Parirenyatwa Radiotherapy Centre, while another machine has already been delivered to Bulawayo for installation at the Mpilo Radiotherapy Centre.

“A couple of years ago, we proposed that the sugar content tax be introduced and we are delighted to see the results of that tax,” he said.

“Out of the US$30 million that we have used so far, we have managed to procure the first set of machines under this programme. Two machines are already being installed at Parirenyatwa and Mpilo hospitals and what we have behind us is now the second sub-phase, which is the high-energy machine for cancers that are deeper in our bodies.”

Prof Ncube said the investment demonstrated how domestic resource mobilisation could be used to strengthen the country’s health system at a time when international development assistance for health was declining globally.

“One of the key pillars of our NDS2 and Vision 2030 is to support our citizens and improve their health and well-being,” he said.

“This speaks directly to health and well-being. What we are seeing is a drop in overseas development assistance (ODA) to the health sector, not just to Zimbabwe, but across Africa and the developing world.

“So, this is part of what we call domestic resource mobilisation, which is meant to fill the gap being left behind by declining support.”

Investment in healthcare is critical for economic development, added Prof Ncube.

Prof Ncube said the cancer equipment programme would continue beyond the current phases, with future funding earmarked for additional treatment facilities, medicines and specialist training.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora described the arrival of the high-energy machine as a major milestone in the country’s cancer treatment programme.

“I think this is a very welcome development. We have actually leapfrogged from where we used to have one machine working at Parirenyatwa and now we are going to have modern high-energy machines.

“These are more modern machines compared to what we had before. They come with more advanced software and will provide better treatment for our patients,” he said.

Dr Mombeshora also said additional equipment, including CT simulators used for treatment planning and specialised cooling systems, are already the way from South Africa by  road.

One CT simulator would be installed at Mpilo, while another would be at Parirenyatwa to improve treatment planning and precision in cancer management.

Dr Mombeshora said the new equipment would significantly increase the country’s treatment capacity and help clear a backlog of more than 800 patients awaiting radiotherapy services.

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Source: I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS, SAYS CAPTAIN RAMBO, AS HE BREAKS DOWN AFTER RETRIEVING THREE BODIES FROM BUDIRIRO POOL OF DEATH – herald

Latwell Nyangu

FOR eighteen years, Victor Kazembe, popularly known as ‘Coach Rambo’, has been retrieving bodies.

But, he has never seen anything like what confronted him when he dived into a sewage-filled pool in Budiriro 3.

He retrieved three bodies at once in an operation that started on Sunday night and spilled into the early hours of yesterday.

In the end, he broke down as he narrated how he executed this difficult recovery mission.

The Harare-based diver has become one of the country’s most trusted underwater recovery specialists.

A qualified scuba diver, swimming instructor and lifesaver, he has spent years responding to such emergencies, searching rivers, dams and ponds when victims vanish beneath the surface.

His courage, professionalism and dedication have earned him admiration across Zimbabwe, with many describing him as a hero.

But his latest mission was too much to bear even for a veteran like him.

“This incident is sad, it’s painful. Death yacho inorwadza, this is not water but this is mud,” he said.

“To die in mud is painful.

“This is an incident, it is a mystery, chaita chishamiso, since I started life-saving in 2008, this one is mysterious.

“Chishamiso chihombe chaitika, tauya takatarisira kuti tikuda kubuditsa munhu one, murume, asi chazoitika ndofunga mangozvionera.

“When I got into the mud, I had hope to bring a man wearing a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt, as it was explained, but it didn’t come out as expected.”

Coach Rambo said that, as professional divers, they are not recommended to enter muddy pools but he took a sacrifice.

“As divers, we are not recommended to dive in mud, we enter the waters, this is not water but sewage.

“Saka kupinda kwandanga ndichiita umu, tank ndanga ndinaro just in case of emergency, so that it would help me to breathe in case I suffocate.

“But in the mud, it’s difficult to breathe.

“This was a sacrifice so that the spirits of these people rest in peace.

“Zvaita kuti tizosvike pamunhu watanga tichida kuona, because sometimes kana vamwe vanhu vane bond vanoita bond spiritually kuti kana vachienda vanoenda vese.

“So umwe atanga kuenda, kubva asheedza umwe, the reason why tatanga kuona musikana uyu it was because, if we had seen the man first, I was not going to stop, ndaingotora mukomana then I leave.

“Murume wamurukuona, mukazonzwa kana hama dzake ndinovimba murume uyu haana kana one day kana ma hours awira umu, maybe two days, hama dzake dzichapupura asi ma symptoms arikuratidza kuti munhu uyu agarisa mumvura.

“Maomera aaita akasiyana nevaviri ava, vaviri ava varatidza kuti vawira nhasi asi ndongoti kune hama dzevanhu vataburitsa, tine hurombo rufu rwunorwadza, may their soul rest in eternal pace.”

He added:

“Since 2008, as a life rescuer, I have realised that if a missing person is not seen, their spirit continues to haunt others, inoramba ichingonetsa ichisheedza vamwe.

“Like in this case, in Budiriro, the first person to drown akatosheedza vamwe.

“This incident, kana ichitaurwa kudai inoita kunge easy, we don’t know how it happened, but when we came, we wanted to rescue the man who drowned first.

“He was in the company of his friends, and he drowned while passing through.”

He added:

“When I got to the scene, I saw it was a difficult scene since it was sewage. It was heavy for me but I was just praying so that I would do the job.

“I believe in God and in everything I do, I seek the Kingdom of God. So, after I prayed, I then promised to do the job.

“I assured people who were around but I had to do research on the premises.

“I sacrificed for my first attempt.”

Coach Rambo has done everything – from training youngsters to swim, saving people from near-drowning situations, to retrieving bodies from the floors of pools.

He rides his bicycle straight into the notorious Pool of Death in Epworth, hits the water in a riding position before disembarking and swimming to the surface.

His inspiration, he said, was from American Hollywood Star, Sylvester Stallone.

Rambo started his romance with water in an equally dangerous spot – the Kambuzuma Pool of Death.

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