By Staff Reporter| “We do not want to ever again see another Zimbabwean who suffers in this country”, said Vice President Constantino Chiwenga Saturday afternoon.

Gen Chiwenga was speaking on the sidelines of the launching of a command agriculture program in Insiza, Mat South. He was flanked by the new Minister Of Agriculture Perrance Shiri. FULL VIDEO:

By Staff Reporter| The late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has received military honour – his body has just been driven to One Command Barracks where it will lie in state overnight. WATCH THE LIVE PROCEEDINGS BELOW:

By Stan Goreraza| Should we look to and expect thieves and murderers to sit in judgement and decide,Yes, indeed Morgan Tsvangirai was a hero? The same people whose thievery and murderous associations Tsvangirai fought and opposed.

You can’t give Tsvangirai National hero’s status because he already has it. You can’t make him a hero because he already is one. So whether you call him one or not, it has little to no effect.

Ten people can sit down and decide Tsvangirai is not a National hero. But millions, without even meeting, agreed Tsvangirai is a National hero.

There is that physical Heroes Acre somewhere near Warren Park where you will find the remains of many thieves and murderers.

But there is a prestigious Heroes Acre, built in the hearts of the people. This is where the loved like Joshua Nkomo lie and this is where the memory of Tsvangirai will take it’s place. It is not where your physical remains are interred that makes you a hero. It is where the memory of you is kept and how people will remember you that makes you a Heroe.

At the physical Heroes Acre lies nothing but bones, polished tombs and grave stones. But in the hearts of people you will not find graves. You will find the dead alive, kept as treasure for the most precious treasure is not kept under guard, lock and key, but in the heart, where the best thief in the world cannot break in to steal.

The thieves and murderers bury each other at their heroes acre , showering each other with lies and fraudulent deserts. But a man like Tsvangirai is buried with love and truth because he is buried by people from every corner of life.

Like treasure, they bury him in their hearts, where there is no death because the heart like the spirit does not die. There, he is made alive, though dead, because you cannot be dead where there is life.

Chaos broke out at One Command Barracks Saturday night, when the army was screamed at by MDC members. Military bosses wanted the body to lie in state for the night the way National Heroes are treated. But they have been ordered to release Morgan Tsvangirai’s body. “You refused to salute him when he was alive and now you want to do it afterwards!” one MDC member said.

ZimEye is doing  LIVE coverage of the drama. Follow the video coverage here – REFRESH THIS PAGE TO WATCH:

Roman Catholic priest Father Fidelis Mukonori has revealed how he trained the late former trade unionist and MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai on peace-building.
Speaking at a Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) and Silveira House workshop on creating the environment for effective coverage of the forthcoming elections, Mukonori said Tsvangirai was among several international trade unionists to pass through the Catholic Social Justice and Development Centre outside Harare.

“Many of the leading labour movement leaders, teachers and those of professional reputation passed through our hands at the centre in our efforts for peace-building. Among those that I trained are the late MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai as well as the late former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who wanted to use his muscle due to his short build, but we told him to think to achieve anything on peace,” he said.

“We know workers were not being handsomely paid, but the only way was through good negotiating skills.”

Mukonori took a central role and mediated between former President Robert Mugabe and the military after the launch of Operation Restore Legacy in November last year, which ushered in a new government led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The Catholic cleric said it was imperative for journalists to create a better environment for the nation through well-balanced stories that give constructive criticism.

“As journalists, it is your primary role to inform the citizens with factual news that shape the nation. Personally, I approach those in leadership to advise them where they could have made mistakes,” he said.

“Do not be afraid to tell the truth. Not everyone can be ED (President), professors or truck drivers of this world. So, as journalists, be professional in your conduct. Do away with hate language that will never build trust among your readers. We have seen many blaming Zanu PF for the mess the country is in, but everyone is involved, as we are not taking our roles. It includes citizens, politicians, everyone and you as journalists to make our country a peaceful nation.”

Various organisations such as ZUJ, Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Election Support Network and Election Resource Centre, called on the media to build peace and report professionally without taking sides ahead of elections due to in the next five months. Newsday

Woes continue to mount for ex-Cabinet minister Ignatius Chombo after he was dragged to court on fresh corruption charges yesterday.

Chombo is facing a slew of charges relating to some of the transactions made during his tenure as Local Government minister.

The State insists millions of dollars were misappropriated, as a result of his alleged abuse of office.

In the latest case, Chombo appeared before Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba charged with criminal abuse of office.

This was after he allegedly demanded a 25 percent shareholding from a Chirundu-based fish farmer who had approached his office seeking the release of title deeds for a property he was leasing.

Prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba alleged that in 2001 the complainant, Chargan Vithal Rama, got a 60-year lease to stand number 554/547 Chirundu Fish Farm, expiring in 2054.

Rama intended to practice fish farming on the farm and, in 2007, after he had made developments worth $500 000 on the property, he ran out of money and approached banks for funding.

The court heard that banks needed surety in the form of title deeds for the land on which fish farming was being practiced.

It was alleged that Rama’s brother Amrat Vithal who had been a councillor in Chirundu arranged a meeting with Chombo to persuade the then Local Government minister to facilitate release of the title deeds for Rama to qualify for loans.

The court heard that Chombo advised Rama to meet him at his residence along Mazowe Road to discuss the issue.

In February 2008, Rama, Amrat and son Vinodhai went to Chombo’s house on a Sunday and presented their request before being told that title deeds could be released on condition that they would declare 25 percent share of their business.

Chombo reportedly made it clear that 25 percent was for his facilitation of the issue of title deeds and Rama advised the minister that he would consider the condition and get back to him.

It was alleged that Rama never returned to Chombo and he caused withdrawal of the businessman’s lease illegally before giving verbal instructions to his subordinates to allocate Glory Boost (Private) Limited the same lease.

According to the State, Chombo had no right to issue instructions to the deputy director State Lands to allocate the farm to Glory Boost and showed favour.

After the State applied for bail yesterday, the prosecutor did not oppose Chombo’s admission to bail and applied that he continues abiding by conditions that were imposed on him by the High Court in previous matters.

Chombo is on $5 000 bail with conditions to report once a day at Marlborough Police Station, surrender passport and continue residing at his present address.

Chombo is already facing another similar case, in which property developer Eddies Pfugari is a complainant, the State alleged that sometime in 1997 Pfugari purchased White Cliff Farm from Fredrick John William Smith and the property was transferred under Deed of Transfer number 10444/2000.

The court heard that prior to acquisition of the property, government had a certificate of “no present interest” in respect of the land and Pfugari was granted a subdivision permit.

Pfugari subsequently divided the farm into residential stands and began selling to prospective home owners.

Sometime in 2000, Chombo used his authority and allegedly allocated the residential stands to illegal settlers within Pfugari’s property.

According to the State, Chombo’s conduct disrupted a lawful housing scheme, he abused his office and acted unlawfully.

Pfugari subsequently lost property valued $200 million.

It was further alleged that Chombo appeared to be sympathetic to Pfugari for his loss and reportedly invited him to his office assuring him he would remove the illegal settlers from his land.

Chombo claimed he would use his political muscle on condition that Pfugari gave him a consideration or reward in the form of a piece of land from his property in Norton where he was selling residential stands.

Since Pfugari was desperate at that time he gave Chombo stand number 5841 Knowe Norton measuring 3 712 acres valued at $310 150.

Pfugari was advised to transfer the stand into Ronchelle Trading (Pvt) Ltd a company whose directors are Nimrod Chiminya(Chombo’s brother) and Kumbirai Mubwandarika under Deed of Transfer number 10761/02.

The shelf company was allegedly bought and used specifically for this transaction.- Daily News

Staff Reporter| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has just spoken on his meeting thee Tsvangirai family at their house where he paid condolences.

The President called every Zimbabwean to come together in mourning. He said in writing, “this morning I went to pay my respects to the Tsvangirai family and to assure them that the whole of Zimbabwe stands with them.

“In this hour of mourning, let us all be united. Let us all be brothers and sisters, and come together to mourn our former Prime Minister. And in this spirit let us move forward as a people and be united for the development of our country.”

Top MDC official Abednico Bhebhe the National Organising Secretary has thrown his weight behind acting President Nelson Chamisa.

Battle lines have been drawn in the fractured MDC with factions lining up thugs to settle the leadership contest even as opposition party leader Morgan Tsvangirai is still to be buried.

The MDC, thrown into mourning following Tsvangirai’s death on Wednesday last week, is sharply divided into three factions led by Nelson Chamisa, Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri — who are all vice presidents of the opposition party.

Chamisa was controversially appointed acting party president by the MDC national council on Thursday last week, but Khupe and Mudzuri, who both claim to be the bona fide acting presidents, are having none of it.

The Daily News on Sunday can report that the factional fights in the party have degenerated to levels where opposing camps are now threatening to unleash violence on their rivals ahead of Tsvangirai’s burial in Buhera on Tuesday.

Chamisa, accused of using violent MDC youths to block Mudzuri from entering the party’s headquarters recently, tweeted yesterday saying he now fears for his life after he swiftly ascended to the throne.

“I’ve taken note of incessant and increased attacks on my character by agents from across the political divide on account of lies, malice and propaganda. I’ve also observed a real threat to my safety and security after numerous attempts upon my life,” said Chamisa.

Party spokesperson Obert Gutu confirmed that the MDC, formed in 1999, was now on the edge with reports of possible violence.

“People should not fight when he is being interred. We know that there are some people who are planning such things. Let us first bury Save and then determine the way forward later. I am sad that they are planning violence on the day when the president will be interred, sometimes one wonders whether there is a third hand fanning these brawls,” said Gutu.
Save is Tsvangirai’s totem.

Asked who the acting president of the party is, Gutu said he did not want to be dragged into the wild dog fights now threatening the soul of the country’s biggest opposition party.

“I was brought up in a Christian family, in a traditional set-up. Why not first bury the icon and then talk of the leader later. I don’t want to raise emotions, I feel bad. We want to respect the icon, look I take this as a period of mourning and I don’t want to be caught in a political crossfire, this is a difficult period of mourning, let us not fight at this juncture,” said Gutu.

The MDC constitution is silent on who among the three vice presidents would automatically become the acting president in the event that the office holder becomes incapacitated, dies in office or resigns.
It says “in the event of the death or resignation of the president, the deputy president assumes the role of acting president, pending the holding of an extraordinary congress that shall be held to elect a new president… which extraordinary congress to be held no later than a year from the death or resignation of the former president”.

Yesterday, Chamisa said the issue of who is the acting president of the party had been settled by the MDC national council and there was no need to respond to issues raised through social media.
“This is a period of mourning. The national council sat and made a decision that was made public, if there is a problem you don’t go on social media,” he said.

Asked whether he was aware of possible clashes with rivals, Chamisa said it was possible some people would want to create sideshows.

“I know there are some people who would want to create side shows,” said Chamisa.
Those who are opposed to Chamisa say the national council has no authority to elect an acting president.

Mudzuri yesterday refused to be drawn into the debate while Khupe has since gone on record to highlight that the other two are vice presidents while she is the constitutionally recognised “deputy president”.

“I am the deputy president who was elected at congress and my president appointed two vice presidents. The national council cannot substitute congress. I am a deputy president, the constitution is clear (that) when the president is not there the deputy president acts and I am the deputy president,” said Khupe.

On Thursday last week, MDC vice national chairperson Morgan Komichi who chaired the national council said Chamisa was unanimously elected acting president for a period of 12 months. The meeting was attended by 190 members out of 215.

In terms of the party’s constitution, an acting president will hold the for whenever the president is absent from Zimbabwe or is for any reason unable to perform his or her powers, functions or administrative duties.

It says the acting president will “perform such functions relating to the function of standing committees and other general matters as may be assigned to him or her by the national council”.
Informed sources within the MDC told the Daily News on Sunday that as things stand, “the MDC has effectively split and we are just waiting for the burial of the president and then make the big Daily News

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| There was commotion at Shakashe Primary School in Rujeko Suburb last week when disgruntled parents threatened to beat up the school head.

The parents accused the school head, Mr Mashenjere of conniving with a few members of the School Development Association(SDA) to peg an exorbitant building levy.

The parents who spoke to ZimEye.com on Friday claimed there were sinister activities at the school.

“Security personnel at the school were overpowered by angry women who wanted to mete out instant justice on Mashenjere.

Sensing danger, Mashenjere fled from the scene and he only emerged out of his office when the police arrived,” said an eyewitness.

Mashenjere was not immediately available for a comment on the matter.

Terrence Mawawa| An official from the government controlled Cold Storage Commission(CSC) has accused Masvingo State Minister Josaya Dunira Hungwe of lying to the nation about the state of affairs in the organisation.

Hungwe last week claimed he had contacted investors who were willing to inject capital into the commission’ s coffers.

Hungwe further claimed that CSC was ready to reopen its doors.

The official who declined to be named told ZimEye.com yesterday Hungwe’ s utterances were out of sync with the reality on the ground.

“It is unfortunate to note that the Minister’ s sentiments are divorced from what is happening on the ground. When Minister Hungwe visited the CSC Premises with officials from his offices we briefed him on the state of affairs here but he chose to release a political statement.

He also knows about the $ 30 million debt that is yet to be cleared,” said the official.

By Dr Masimba Mavaza| Zimbabweans owe Tsvangirai some gratitude for supporting maintaining democracy but it feels as if he was doing it to become a dictator himself. This can be seen in the MDC’s constitution which is the most undemocratic and chaotic piece of papers around. Tsvangirai’s death brought up great fissures within MDC, where the Tsvangirai family suddenly passed decisions on who should take over from Tsvangirai. As long as the party has Tsvangirai’s name in it, it remains family property. The Tsvangirai Chete chete mantra drove and sustained it. The MDC will never remain the same.

The MDC has shown us a vivid illustration of the unity of purpose that characterizes this party when it is at its worst. It was that unity of purpose that drove MDC leaders to become rumour mongers in their quest for snatching leadership reins from Nelson Chamisa. It was that unity of purpose that laid the foundations of division within MDC. It is that unity of purpose that is the key to OPPOSITION progress in the years ahead.

Rumours and scandals were spread around in a bid to disqualify the youthful Chamisa. Tsvangirais family was made believe that Chamisa was sexing Tsvangirais wife. This rumour was spread with specific purpose of demonising Chamisa and hoping to drum up the support for Mudzuri an Khupe.

It was well known Khupe never worked well with Tsvangirai but on Tsvangirais death Khupe shed more tears than the bereaved.

Unity of purpose was used negatively in the case of MDC.

We can see concrete examples of that unity of purpose in so much of MDC public spats.

Unity of purpose guides MDC’s collaboration for democracy, human rights and good governance, to fly away into the thin air.

It drove their collective efforts for peace and security — including being champions of democracy to vanish into thin air.

The same applies to efforts to build enduring peace in parties recovering from the loss of a leader. The leader who had hoped to keep the party as his personal property yet he claimed to be democratic.

Throughout history, political parties that reaffirmed their enduring spirit, have come together to work towards their mutual gain. In a nutshell, that is the simple meaning of unity of purpose. But MDC has transformed it into a confusion and dying party now left in the hands of rumour mongers, scandalous, bigots, power hungry hypocrites, and dangerous leaders.

People may use different paths but all travelling the same journey; holding on to the ideals that are important to all of them. Unity of purpose also means the ability to identify, negotiate and resolve differences. MDC is now bedevilled by lack of these qualities, hence its perennial problems.

It behooves on members of the MDC to take advantage of opportunities, to participate, promote collective responsibility, and foster a strong sense of belonging. Honesty and hard work; shared understanding and support for each other; sense of identity teamwork and social solidarity; high level of involvement in political projects; courage and fair play; mutual co-operation and tolerance; emotional support for members; and loyalty and patriotism. All these values, if held sacrosanct, and if people had pulled in one direction, MDC would have certainly achieve unity of purpose, which is the sum total of a stable political party.

In the MDC such values have been devalued to nothing like the legs of the snake.
It is because theirbpriorities are wrong. Right now the process of mourning Tsvangirai is not given the importance it deserves, yet it is the only process that can heal the wounds and bring about order and mutual respect among party members.

But what is a good MDC brand or a beautifully written Constitution when the people are at each other’s throats? Unity of purpose is the ultimate goal and aspiration of any party.

First and foremost, let us accept that there is still unresolved anger, hatred, fear, worry and stress which continue to haunt MDC arising from different episodes of their history.

Of what use is it, to build a big party which can go up in smoke in one day as violence flares up within MDC the nation is reminded that MDC only brings violence and no progress. It does not stand for a single democratic value. Chamisa was a cart before the oxen. He was appointed then the constitution was amended. The idea of giving a party your name shows the greatest hypocrisy being paracticed by MDC. . Politics must know that it pays more dividends to invest in peace. The violence shown by MDC.

Reconciliation is focused on building relationships between antagonists. The relational dimension involves the emotional and psychological aspects of the fighting parties.
As a concept and praxis, reconciliation endeavours to reframe the conflict so that the parties are no longer preoccupied with anger or seeking revenge. The prime objective, which is, achieving unity of purpose, is how to seek innovative ways to create time and space within various levels of the populations for long lasting reconciliation to be implemented. This is imperative in order to address, integrate and embrace the painful past, and the shared future, as a means of dealing with the present.

So MDC should not start talking about unity of purpose before it is at peace with each other. They have neither the unity and they are not convinced for what purpose. All the challenges they have faced and continue to suffer emanate from unresolved past grievances. They are a people spell bound by a curse. MDC therefore needs to come to terms with its past in order to achieve unity of purpose.
Zimbabweans are known for their resilience. ZANU PF will win it will walk through this dog’s breakfast being created by MDC.

As the elections come closer MDC will be preaching rigging. They have nothing they are offering to any person. All their supporters are being fed with imaginary fear. ZANU PF shall attain unity of purpose come hell or Chamisa.
MDC is now breaking into pieces. It will be buried together with its leader.
Already it is fighting itself it is now using thugs called vanguards to prohibit others to attend the office. They again are using Tsvangirais stepmother muzvari Manyonda to divide the party further. MDC is surely in a horrible fight with itself. If it is brutally bruised it will then blame ZANU PF for its loss in the coming elections. ZIMBABWE must unite and remove this cancer called MDC. Zimbabwe should not be led by a Movement of Democratic Confusion

Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk

By Terrence Mawawa| Disgruntled MDC supporters are accusing three senior party officials of causing unnecessary alarm and bickering during the time of mourning passing on of former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Impeccable sources have disclosed party vice presidents Engineer Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe and Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora will be booted out of the party if they continue to fuel factional battles.

“There are growing calls for the dismissal of Khupe, Mudzuri and Mwonzora from the party. The three have been warned to desist from inciting factional fights,” said a source at the party headquarters.

Others were filmed screaming out loud on LIVE video on Friday saying Mudzuri and Khupe must be “dealt with”.

A comment from either Mwonzora, Mudzuri or Khupe was unfruitful at the time of writing. Yesterday however Mwonzora indicated he would protest against the appointment of Chamisa to the Presidency.  Mwonzora told the weekly Standard, “we noticed there was a rush by some leaders to convene meetings of the organs of the party even before the death of the president. But when the president finally succumbed, there arose another problem on whether we should proceed with the national council meeting or suspend all party business.

“I did the initial discussion with our leaders; we agreed we were calling off any party business to allow for a dignified send-off of our leader.

“But meetings were convened purporting to be meetings of the national council which is the highest decision-making body and decisions were made.

“It is important to note that when the president died, we called off the national council meeting and I personally did that because as the secretary-general, I am responsible for convening that.

“But some leaders decided to disobey that and during the time of the national council meeting, a question arose as to whether we should appoint someone as acting president.

“I had two fundamental problems to that as the administrator of the party. The first one was that other interested people were not there, not because of choice, they were involved in funeral arrangements of the former prime minister.

“It was only fair that everybody be there when such an important question is resolved.

“Secondly, the issue of whether the constitution allowed it. I knew the constitution did not allow the election of a leader by the national council, a leader who is elected outside congress; it can’t be done by the national council.

“Unfortunately for me, when we wanted to raise those issues, I was not allowed to speak and as a result, I left.

“… The meeting was chaired by the deputy national chairman, Morgen Komichi, so I was unable to speak, I was not allowed to speak and I left.

“Some have interpreted that an acting president in an election can act beyond the election date, that is wrong because when the MDC chooses its election candidate, it actually holds a congress and that primary election is called a congress.

“At Congress, while electing the president, you are electing two people: the head of the party and the presidential candidate for the next election.

“It is a democratic process, and that process of Congress involves voting by over 5 000 people. What happened in the national council meeting was simply a declaration of one person as the acting president, but the national council did not elect the presidential candidate.

“So the question remains on who the presidential candidate is and therefore we must hold an extraordinary congress where people would come.

“The Congress would be made up of up to 5 000 people, the national executive has less than 170 people, in fact, it has 155 people.

“That means, if we are to say the national council elects the president and the presidential candidate, we are disenfranchising over 4 800 members of the MDC who want to vote.”

Arrival in Harare with Kisumu Governor @AnyangNyongo and my sister Beryl Achieng. We have been welcomed by acting MDC President @nelsonchamisa pic.twitter.com/0ZJtkp8Jnp

— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) February 19, 2018