Zimbabwe

A Senior Police Officer in Zimbabwe has been remanded by a Magistrate court for obstructing the course of justice.
The Officer  Commanding the Police in Mashonaland West province, Commissioner Conneli Dube was arrested by officials of the  Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), attempting  to shield four Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers, Detective Assistant Inspector Moses Million, Detective Assistant Inspector Newton Musende, Detective Sergeant Never Muchekawaya and Detective Constable Justice Mapfanya, who are facing charges of extorting money from one Washington Ongorani.
The police commissioner allegedly withheld the criminal docket for the four, thereby contravening Section 184 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act chapter 9:23.
The docket was prepared by Chief Inspector Elymas Silivani, who proceeded with it to court under prosecutor reference number A225/21.
The court further heard that on March 12, 2021, a public prosecutor returned the docket to the police station with instructions for the investigating officer to return it on March 19, 2021.
The accused, the court heard, instructed one Superintendent Ruwanda to bring the docket to his office, before ordering him to ignore the instruction from the public prosecutor.
The top cop is also said to have ordered Superintendent Ruwanda to keep the docket locked in the district office’s safe until further instructions.
The then Officer Commanding Makonde District, Chief Superintendent Elliot Magomo, the court further heard, approached the accused to inquire why dockets were being kept under lock and key, prompting the accused to claim that it was a directive from his superiors.
On May 13, Magomo wrote to Dube advising him of a complaint from Ongorani who queried why his case was taking too long, but Dube took no action.
The State opposed the bail application on the basis that the accused was a flight risk and was also likely to abscond and interfere with witnesses.

Dube appeared Tuesday before the same court for initial remand, and the matter was rolled over to Wednesday for determination of bail.
ZACC’s senior investigations officer, Patrick Madiye argued if granted bail, Dube could influence or intimidate some of the witnesses who were his subordinates.
Madiye also told the court that the accused had influenced the transfer of two senior officers from the province.
The Provincial magistrate, Ruth Moyo denied Dube bail insisting that the senior police officer could interfere with witnesses.

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A former Deputy Prime Minister in the now-defunct inclusive government, Prof. Arthur Mutambara has warned that the attempt by the Zimbabwe Government to annex all the powers of the state through the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 2 could result in a Coup de tat.
Mutambara who made this disclosure recently in an online discussion organized by civic society group, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), revealed that the amendment seeks to remove the presidential running mate clause during elections.

“What we are doing now will lead to another coup de tat. You know why? Because when the first one happened, Mugabe had these useless vice presidents, he was hiring and firing at will and one of them (Mnangagwa) left the country and engineered a coup de tat (in November 2017),” he said.
“What Mnangagwa is doing could lead to another coup de tat by somebody else because right now he is controlling succession. He is controlling everything and maybe some people may say the only answer is a coup de tat. If we are not careful these shenanigans will lead to another coup de tat,” Prof. Mutambara stated.
Zimbabwe had a military-led coup in November 2017 when then-President Robert Mugabe was toppled from office and replaced by the incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mugabe was accused by the coup leaders of neglecting his presidential duties by allowing his wife, Grace Mugabe, and senior members of the rival Zanu PF faction – G40 – to dictate the country’s affairs. Mugabe died in September 2019.

Workers in Zimbabwe have rejected government's additonal pay of 180 million Zimbabwe dollars($21 million) to cover the seconds half of 2019.

The workers hinged their rejection of the amount on the rising inflation.

The amount which would cater for  309,000 civil servants, would see each worker  receiving a paltry extra $11.28 each month.

The Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in Zimbaabwe, Hon. July Moyo  has disclosed that government would soon address the water challenges pledged in the Matabeleland South Province  of the country.

Hon. Moyo made this disclosure recently, one of at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic in Gwanda town,as part of the  government's nationwide series of the Devolution Conferences.

“We have three urban centers in Matabeleland South Province and they have one thing in common which is poor water and it will be a prerequisite to uplift the state of water,”

The Zimbabwean Government has said that any of its female workers who got pregnant less than a year after employment will not be entitled to maternity leave with full pay.

This disclosure was made by the  Minister of Justice,   Ziyambi Ziyambi when he appeared before Senators in  the Upper House recently.