Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: President Mnangagwa hailed for continental development – herald

Debra Matabvu, debra.matabvu@zimpapers.co.zw

ZIMBABWE’S contribution to the construction of the Pan African Postal Union (Papu) headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, demonstrates President Mnangagwa’s commitment to strengthening continental institutions and the development of Africa’s postal sector.

This was said by PAPU secretary-general Dr Sifundo Moyo soon after paying a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday.

Dr Moyo said Zimbabwe’s support towards the construction of the headquarters had made a remarkable contribution.

He also said President Mnangagwa’s support had been critical to his successful bid for both the first and second terms.

Dr Moyo was re-elected unopposed for a second term on March 25 this year.

“My mission here was to come and express my profound gratitude to His Excellency, the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, for the support that he gave to me during my campaign for the first term of secretary general of PAPU, and also for the second term,” Dr Moyo said.

He also thanked President Mnangagwa for fulfilling a US$20 000 pledge made in 2021 towards the construction of PAPU’S headquarters, over and above the country’s mandatory contribution to the project.

Dr Moyo said Zimbabwe’s contribution demonstrated the Government’s commitment to strengthening continental institutions and the development of Africa’s postal sector.

“I was also here to thank the President, who in 2021, made a pledge that Zimbabwe was going to contribute US$20 000 over and above the mandatory contribution that Zimbabwe was supposed to make towards the construction of the PAPU headquarters in Arusha,” he said.

“Zimbabwe honoured that pledge, the building was completed and commissioned in September 2023.”

Dr Moyo also said the union was accelerating the digitalisation of postal services across the continent, with individual countries implementing programmes aimed at ensuring postal operators remain relevant in an increasingly technology-driven economy.

“We are also pushing the digitalisation of postal services in Africa. Every country now is running the programme of ensuring that the post is positioned in a way that it serves the digital economies that are emerging in Africa,” he said.

Dr Moyo said the union’s 2026-2030 strategy places digital transformation at the centre of its operations, including the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, which will drive socio-economic development and deliver services to communities.

The strategy is expected to help African postal operators move beyond traditional mail delivery by expanding into digital, financial, logistics and other services demanded by modern economies.

Speaking after the meeting with the President, Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Tatenda Mavetera, said Zimbabwe’s leadership at the PAPU presents an opportunity for the country to accelerate digital transformation, strengthen skills development and attract strategic partnerships in the postal sector.

“Having our own sitting in that position is going to assist us to be able to get capacity building, to also be able to find ways where we can get even partners that are going to assist us in digitally transforming the postal services,” she said.

Minister Mavetera said the postal service was strategic as it bridges the rural and urban divide.
“We can also be able to access a lot of Government services within the postal services, being coordinated by the postal services or the postal sector. In this way, this means that we are going to enhance our digital transformation of the country,” she said.

The post President Mnangagwa hailed for continental development appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: 18 killed, 51 injured during Heroes and Defence Forces Holidays – herald

Freeman Razemba

Senior Reporter

At least 18 people died while 51 others were injured in 145 road traffic accidents that were recorded during the Heroes and Defence Forces holidays.

Of the 145 road traffic accidents, 13 of them were fatal.

Last year, 24 people were killed while 96 others were injured in 196 road traffic accidents recorded.

In a statement, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said there was a notable decline in road traffic crashes this year.

“The road traffic accident statistics recorded during the 2026 Heroes and Defence Forces Holidays indicate a notable decline in road traffic accidents compared to the corresponding period in 2025. The decline coincided with intensified road safety awareness campaigns conducted by the Zimbabwe Republic Police and other stakeholders. A total of 145 road traffic accidents were recorded in 2026, compared with 196 during the same period in 2025.

” This represents a decrease of 51 accidents or approximately 26 percent. The number of fatal road traffic accidents remained unchanged at 13 in both 2025 and 2026. However, the number of people killed declined from 24 in 2025 to 18 in 2026, representing a reduction of six deaths, which is 25 percent,” he said.

Comm Nyathi said a notable decline in the number of people injured was also recorded with the number decreasing from 96 in 2025 to 51 in 2026, representing a reduction of 45 people, approximately 46.9 percent.

“Of the 18 fatalities recorded, none involved public service vehicles. Nine involved private or family-owned vehicles, while the remaining eight involved three lorries, two ox-drawn scotch carts, a tractor and a motorcycle. The major causes of road traffic accidents recorded during the period were largely linked to human error and unsafe driving behaviour.

“These included driver inattention or misjudgement, speeding, following too closely, dangerous overtaking, failure to give way and reckless or negligent driving. Other contributing factors included driver fatigue, vehicle defects, poor road conditions and pedestrian negligence,” Comm Nyathi said.

He said speeding and reckless driving were particularly major causes in fatal road traffic accidents recorded during the period.

” One of the fatal road traffic accidents occurred on 11th August 2026 at approximately 1630 hours, at the 279 kilometre peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road. A motorist driving a Mazda T35 carrying 29 passengers allegedly lost control of the vehicle, resulting in it veering off the road and crashing into the river bank. Four passengers died on the spot, while 12 others sustained injuries.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police commends motorists and all other road users for the improved road safety behaviour exhibited during the 2026 Heroes and Defence Forces Holidays. The Police urges motorists to sustain this positive behaviour beyond the holiday period by observing prescribed speed limits, avoiding dangerous overtaking, exercising patience and refraining from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Comm Nyathi said.

The post 18 killed, 51 injured during Heroes and Defence Forces Holidays appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Cold mornings, empty taps: Women bear the burden as water shortages persist – herald

Raymond Jaravaza, ray.jaravaza@chronicle.co.zw

WITH a small blanket wrapped around her waist, a jacket draped over her shoulders and a hat pulled low over her head, Zanele Mukweli braves the biting cold of a Friday morning to fetch water from a shallow well in Lobengula suburb, Bulawayo.

The winter chill is unforgiving, but for Mukweli and scores of other women in the suburb, staying indoors is simply not an option.
Before long, she is joined by about eight other women carrying plastic buckets as they gather around a makeshift water point, a shallow well fed by water seeping from a municipal pipe that burst several months ago.

What started as a technical fault has since become a vital source of water for residents of Lobengula, Old Magwegwe and Pelandaba suburbs, many of whom have grown accustomed to relying on the steady trickle of treated water from the damaged pipe.

The water does not flow freely. Instead, it slowly fills the shallow well, forcing residents to queue patiently and wait their turn. Ironically, a rehabilitated borehole that is fully functional lies less than half a kilometre away. For Mukweli and many other residents, however, the difference between the two water sources matters.

“Water from this burst pipe is municipal water and we reserve it for drinking. Borehole water is mainly used for other household chores such as laundry and bathing. It takes about two minutes to fill a 20-litre bucket, so we all have to be patient and take turns,” she says.

The cold spell gripping Bulawayo in recent days has done little to interrupt this daily routine.

Early morning temperatures have fallen below 10 degrees Celsius, while nights have become even colder. Yet Mukweli says persistent water shortages leave residents with little choice but to venture out.

“As a mother and grandmother, I can’t make excuses for not fetching water because of the cold. We have been facing water challenges for a long time, so sometimes we don’t mind whether it is too hot or too cold to fetch water from open sources or boreholes in our communities,” she says.
For many women in Bulawayo, the struggle extends far beyond collecting water.

The cold weather has also failed to halt household chores such as laundry, with some women spending hours washing clothes in the open using water from burst municipal pipes.

At another burst pipe along Masiyephambili Drive, near a bushy area close to Pelandaba West suburb, Rhoda Mawere spends hours doing laundry despite the freezing conditions.
The mother of three says putting off the task is not an option.

“I have three small children and the amount of laundry that accumulates over a week is enormous, so I have no choice but to come here and wash the clothes. I find it easier to brave the cold for an hour and a half and do the laundry here than to fetch water in buckets multiple times from the shallow well close to my house,” she says.

Mawere is joined by two other women who have also chosen to brave the cold to wash clothes. Their determination underscores how water shortages have transformed routine household chores into daily struggles, with women often carrying the heaviest burden.

A snap survey by the Zimpapers news crew in Nkulumane, Sizinda and Pumula East suburbs revealed similar scenes, with women continuing their search for water despite the harsh weather.

In Nkulumane, a group of boys and several women were seen fetching water from boreholes as early as 10am, bundled up in warm clothing to shield themselves from the cold.

For Talent Moyo, a mother of two from Pumula East, waking up early to look for water has become part of everyday life.

“We fetch water from a burst pipe next to the beer garden and it is always best to get there early in the morning. Nearly all my household chores need water, so I can’t stay at home because of the cold weather,” she says.

The latest cold spell has been attributed to a cut-off low in the middle levels of the atmosphere, coupled with a high-pressure system over the south-eastern coast of South Africa. Some areas have also received light showers.

Neighbouring South Africa has experienced similarly severe conditions, with parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State affected by heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures and icy conditions.

But in Bulawayo’s high-density suburbs, life cannot be put on hold because of the cold. For women like Mukweli, Mawere and Moyo, fetching water, washing clothes and keeping their households running remain unavoidable responsibilities, even when the water is icy and the morning air cuts through layers of clothing.

With water shedding worsening the city’s long-running water crisis, residents continue to rely on leaking pipes, shallow wells and boreholes. Their daily struggle highlights the extent to which families, particularly women, have been forced to adapt to a challenge that shows little sign of disappearing.

The post Cold mornings, empty taps: Women bear the burden as water shortages persist appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Police release names of 44 dead after Lake Kariba boat capsize – herald

Zimpapers Writer

EIGHTEEN children, including a one-year-old toddler, were among the 44 people who died when a Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (Rida) boat capsized on Lake Kariba on Tuesday.

The youngest victim was Wendy Ndandarika, aged one, of Nyamhunga 3 in Kariba. McDonald Nyasha Gumpo and Hailly Tauro, both aged one year and two months, were also among those who perished.

Lael Samanyanga, aged one year and six months, and Olain Siyachuka, aged two years and seven months, were among the youngest victims identified following the tragedy.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) yesterday released the names of the 44 victims whose bodies had been positively identified by their next of kin after the accident, which occurred on August 11.

The list reveals that children accounted for more than a third of the confirmed fatalities, highlighting the devastating human toll of one of the country’s worst recent boating disasters.

Other child victims were Mukudzei Kangwara (2), Connic Mutale (2), Patience Ndebele (3), Anashe Pensula (3), Kelly Busumani (4), Wishmore Charindapanze (4), Nashrey Pensula (5), Alubo

Nzira (6), Anisha Chipuma (6), Shalom Ndere (9), Shelton Magora (10), Cain Nzerombairi and Average Murambatsvina.

Police did not provide the ages of Cain Nzerombairi and Average Murambatsvina but classified both as juveniles.

The victims came from communities in Kariba, Mola and Karoi, as well as from other parts of the country, including Gweru, Harare, Masvingo and Chitungwiza.

Among the adults identified was Sign Patsikadova (59) of Batonga, Kariba, who was the captain of the ill-fated boat.

Other victims included Smart Siamandonga (54), Hazvinei Chasara (39), Isabel Sango (50), Ratidzai Tasara (50), Debra Chadenga (49), Tamari Matsangu, Plaxedis Madiro (42), Chipo Muzinda

Chitsamba (37), Spiwe Aggiffa Katore (61), Lucia Mereke, Shupikai Makawu, Enita Mazhomba, Memory Chaka, Permission Nzerombairi, Keresiya Dhumbura (40), Gomo Tapiwa (39), Petronella

Lembani (26), Precious Nyajina (57), Constance Siampongo (37) and Daisy Siachiwa (23).

Police said the names were released after the victims had been identified by their next of kin.

The post Police release names of 44 dead after Lake Kariba boat capsize appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

The deaths of a Bulawayo mother and her daughters spark calls for an urgent action on gender-based violence

Source: ‘What’s happened to us? Where did we get lost?’ Zimbabwe reckons with the reality of violence against women | Global development | The Guardian

The deaths of a Bulawayo mother and her daughters spark calls for an urgent action on gender-based violence

The three white coffins were draped in white lace and topped with small sprays of flowers. The mourners who filled a Bulawayo church last week to pay their respects to Zandile Tshuma and her daughters, Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, had not engaged in the usual tradition of first viewing the dead at their home: the bodies of this family had travelled all the way from England to reach their final resting place at Luveve cemetery on the edge of Zimbabwe’s second city, in Matabeleland.

While the deaths attracted few news reports in the UK, in Zimbabwe and South Africa, the tragic case has reignited concern over the region’s high rates of femicide. Many commentators on TV and social media expressed shock that a well-educated woman with a successful career abroad seemed as vulnerable to familial violence as a poorer woman in a southern African township.

Tshuma’s elderly parents were at the gravesides. The father, in a blue suit and clutching a wooden cane, and her mother, in the black-and-white uniform of her church’s elders, sat in silence. Never Mpofu, 44, a neighbour, was taught at primary school by Tshuma’s mother. He says he was saddened by the violent way the family had been killed.

Tshuma, a 42-year-old financial data analyst, Natalie, an avid computer science student and budding sportswoman, and Nala, described as a bubbly little girl, were all found dead at their home in Britain on 6 July.

Bedfordshire police have said that “work is now underway” to have a British-Zimbabwean man returned to the UK from South Africa in connection with the murders. “Zandile never really said if there were problems,” Mpofu says. “Whenever she came home, she was happy to see her family, but now we can see the monsters are out here.”

At the funeral service, Theophilus Khumalo, an uncle, says the family is deeply hurt by the killings and he hopes they will find justice.

“We will allow the law to take its course. We will not be drawn into anger or bitterness; we will not allow this tragedy to define us. Instead, we choose to honour their memory with grace, unity and unwavering faith in God’s justice,” he adds.

Each day, an estimated 137 women and girls around the world are killed by someone they know. Femicide – defined by the United Nations as an “intentional killing with a gender-related motivation” – is driven by discrimination and inequality.

Zimbabwe does not keep specific data on femicides, but according to government statistics, nearly 40% of Zimbabwean women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and an estimated 12% to 25% of them have been sexually assaulted.

Musasa, a local organisation set up to help survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), reported more than 30,000 GBV incidents in 2024, while the Zimbabwean police recorded nearly 19,000 cases. Much of the abuse happens inside the home. During Covid lockdowns, GBV rose by 60%.

Judith Ncube, minister of state for provincial affairs, says she is deeply concerned as southern Matabeleland, which borders Bulawayo, has the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the country.

Hear directly from incredible women from around the world on the issues that matter most to them – from the climate crisis to the arts to sport

“In the region of Matabeleland, it’s as if we take the silver medal. What has gone wrong, what’s happened to us, where did we get lost? In marriage, not everything is smooth, but it shouldn’t lead to death and a home of fear,” she says.

Ncube has called for an urgent debate about domestic violence and suggests launching home-care programmes for community elders to contact families to discuss problems.

“Something has gone wrong in our social fabric: we no longer have aunts and uncles who are go-betweens in marriages,” she says. “We need to capacitate caregivers to be professional and sit down with our young people and talk. We have pastors that can help, too.”

Samkeliso Tshuma, founder of the Zimbabwean advocacy group The Girls Table, says there is a critical need to educate people about domestic violence.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she says. “We need to use social media to raise awareness of what intimate partner violence does to a community, to a society and the families that we are building.

“We need people to renew their minds, because as long we have people who still think that there is a reason for a man to abuse a woman, then we have a long way to go,” she says.

Bulawayo’s courts are only too familiar with femicide cases. In July, a 43-year-old church elder was charged with murdering his wife with an axe then attacking the couple’s children with a metal rod in the city’s suburb of Nkulumane.

A study in Zimbabwe carried out by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the United Nations put the direct and indirect costs of gender-based violence at up to $2bn, taking into account the cost of injury, trauma and death, multiplied by the loss of productivity and of young girls dropping out of school due to violence.

Miranda Tabifor, the representative in Zimbabwe of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), calls on the government to invest more in addressing domestic violence because of the far-reaching costs to the state.

The cost to the government to “address issues of psychosocial support [and] the social scars that continue to haunt the survivors of gender-based violence” Tabifor puts at more than $1bn, but she warns that the government will continue to lose up to 3.8% of its $57bn GDP if the violence continues to be unaddressed.

“We should all unite,” she says. “Every woman, every girl in Zimbabwe has to live a life free from violence, not just because it is their right but because it is the right thing to do.”

The post ‘What’s happened to us? Where did we get lost?’ Zimbabwe reckons with the reality of violence against women appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.