Category: News Feeds

HARARE,
Zimbabwe
— In
a
large
hall
at
the
headquarters
of
Zimbabwe’s
ruling
ZANU-PF
party,
women
responded
with
roaring
cheers
when
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
described
them
as
the
party’s
“backbone”
whose
votes
are
vital
to
victory
in elections
scheduled
for
August.

At
a
recent
opposition
rally,
women
with
the
face
of
their
male
party
leader
emblazoned
on
dresses
and
skirts
sang,
danced
and
promised
to
vote
for
change
—
never
mind
that
the
election
again
represents
a
status
quo
where
women
are
largely
limited
to
cheerleading.

It
appears
worse
this
year
because
the
number
of
women
candidates
has
plummeted,
despite
women
constituting
the
majority
of
the
population
and,
traditionally,
the
biggest
number
of
voters.

“We
have
some
of
the
best
laws
and
policies
on
gender
equality
and
women
representation,
but
that’s
just
on
paper.
The
reality
on
the
ground
is
that
the
role
of
women
in
politics
is
restricted
to
being
fervent
supporters
and
dependable
voters,”
said
Marufu
Mandevere,
a
human
rights
lawyer
in
the
capital,
Harare.

The
shortage
of
women
candidates
puts
Zimbabwe
at
odds
with
trends
on
the
continent.
According
to
a
report
released
in
March
by
the
Inter-Parliamentary
Union,
the
number
of
women
in
national
parliaments
in
sub-Saharan
Africa
increased
from
10%
in
1995
to
about
27%
in
2022.
The
IPU
describes
itself
as
a
global
organization
of
national
parliaments
established
in
1889.

In
Zimbabwe,
a
patriarchal
southern
African
nation
of
15
million
people,
gender-based
biases
are
still
rampant.
Men
have
historically
dominated
the
political,
economic,
religious
and
social
spheres.
The
Aug.
23
election
suggests
that
change
could
be
beyond
the
horizon,
despite
vigorous
local
campaigns
and
global
pressure
for
increased
female
participation
in
decision-making.

In
the
last
election,
in
2018,
there
were
four
female
candidates
for
the
presidency,
a
record.
When
registration
closed
on
Jun.
21
this
year,
there
were
11
male
candidates
—
and
no
women.

In
the
end,
one
woman
did
manage
to
qualify
for
the
ballot,
but
only
just.
Elisabeth
Valerio
was
one
of
two
women,
along
with
Linda
Masarira,
who
were
rejected
because
they
had
failed
to
pay
the
$20,000
registration
fee
on
time,
up
from
$1,000
in
2018.
In
July,
Valerio
successfully
challenged
the
decision
in
court.

For
the
National
Assembly,
there
are
70
women
candidates
against
637
men
in
210
constituencies.
This
represents
11%
of
candidates,
down
from
14%
in
2018.

Parliamentary
candidates
must
pay
$1,000
to
register,
compared
to
$50
in
the
previous
election
—
and
that’s
before
the
huge
amounts
necessary
to
compete
in
a
country
where
vote-buying
is
rampant.

“Women
have
historically
been
squeezed
out
of
the
economic
arena
…
That
deprivation
is
now
being
used
to
elbow
us
out
of
the
race
for
public
office,”
lamented
Masarira.
“Political
leadership
is
a
preserve
of
rich
men.”

Many
women
chose
to
stay
away
rather
than
try
to
raise
such
“exorbitant
fees,”
she
said.

Pressure
groups
are
disappointed,
especially
after
campaigning
hard
ahead
of
party
primaries.

In
February,
major
political
parties
signed
a
”Women
Charter”,
pledging
action
to
increase
the
number
of
women
candidates
under
a
#2023LetsGo5050
campaign
driven
by
a
coalition
of
women’s
rights
groups.

When
candidate
registration
closed,
the
biggest
political
parties
had
fielded
less
than
12%
women
candidates
each
for
the
National
Assembly,
said
Women’s
Academy
for
Leadership
and
Political
Excellence
or
WALPE,
a
local
non-governmental
organization.

WALPE
described
the
numbers
as
a
“slap
in
the
face,”
accused
the
parties
of
“tokenism”
and
threatened
to
campaign
against
them
“as
the
only
way”
to
demonstrate
women’s
determination
for
a
seat
at
the
table.
The
group
is
now
running
a
campaign
urging
women
voters
to
elect
fellow
women
where
they
appear
on
the
ballot.

Those
women
who
do
run
for
public
office
also
endure
derogatory
stereotypes.

Take
Judith
Tobaiwa,
an
opposition
politician,
and
the
first
female
MP
for
a
politically
volatile
constituency
in
central
Zimbabwe.
She
is
seeking
re-election.
But
for
her
opponents,
gender
seems
to
trump
the
35-year-old’s
track
record.

“What
is
so
special
about
Judy
…
How
different
is
she
from
other
girls?”
thundered
a
ruling
party
campaigner
during
a
recent
rally
in
her
constituency.
“If
it’s
about
being
a
prostitute,
we
also
have
prostitutes
in
ZANU-PF,”
he
said
to
applause
for
the
comments
captured
on
video
and
later
widely
criticized
by
activists.

Yet,
according
to
Mandevere,
the
human
rights
lawyer,
females
have
proven
to
be
effective
leaders
through
many
decades
of
multiple
crises
in
Zimbabwe.
These
range
from
the
HIV/AIDS
pandemic
that
killed
millions,
to
the coronavirus outbreak
that
left
many
women
and
girls
as
household
heads,
and
a
prolonged
and
debilitating
economic
meltdown
that
catapulted
women
to
the
forefront
of
fending
for
families.

“That’s
the
sad
part.
We
are
fine
with
women
taking
care
of
us
at
home
during
times
of
crisis,
but
we
frown
upon
their
ambitions
when
it
comes
to
national
politics,”
he
said.

This
comes
after
the
Bulawayo
High
Court
Judge
Justice
Bongani
Ndlovu
reserved
judgement
in
a
previous
case,
in
which
12
registered
voters
are
challenging
the
Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission
(ZEC),
CCC
candidates
and
other
opposition
candidates
alleging
that
their
nomination
papers
were
accepted
illegally
after
the
deadline
of
4
pm
on
June
21,
2023.

Justice
Ndlovu
said
he
would
make
a
judgement
based
on
the
case
merits
and
issue
a
decision
on
both
the
preliminary
points
and
merits
at
the
same
time.

The
new
application,
filed
by
12
members
of
the
Elected
Early
Democrats
political
party,
cites
the
12
CCC
candidates
as
the
first
respondents,
ZEC
Bulawayo
Provincial
Elections
Officer
(PEO)
Innocent
Ncube
as
the
second
respondent,
ZEC
and
its
Chairperson
as
the
third
and
fourth
respondents,
respectively.

Elected
Early
Democrats
party
members,
represented
by
Messers
Maseko
Law
Chambers,
want
an
order
declaring
ZEC
PEO’s
actions
allowing
CCC
members
to
file
their
papers
outside
of
the
4
pm
time
ruled
as
illegal,
or
to
be
given
the
opportunity
to
submit
their
nomination
paper
after
the
deadline.

“The
applicant
seeks
an
order
setting
aside
the
decision
of
the
second
respondent
to
allow
or
alternatively
the
same
extension
that
was
afforded
to
first
respondent
to
be
afforded
to
the
Applicant
who
was
disqualified
for
failure
to
observe
timelines,”
read
the
application.

A
reading
of
this
new
application
reveals
that
the
litigants
addressed
the
concerns
and
technicalities
raised
last
week
when
the
High
Court
heard
the
case
of
the
registered
voters
from
Wednesday
to
Thursday.

Elected
Early
Democrats
members
filed
this
application
with
the
Electoral
Court
while
in
the
previous
case,
the
respondents’
lawyers
contended
that
the
High
Court
has
no
jurisdiction
over
election
matters.

The
new
litigants
also
address
the
“hearsay”
concern
presented
by
the
respondents’ 
lawyers,
claiming
to
have
been
present
at
the
Nomination
Court
on
June
21,
2023.

Shiela
Mafu,
one
of
the
applicants,
claims
she
came
to
Tredgold
Magistrate
Court
at
3
pm
to
file
her
nomination
papers.

“At
the
time
I
arrived
at
the
Nomination
Court,
our
party
president
had
not
authorised
our
party
candidates
to
submit
nomination
papers
as
we
were
waiting
for
funds,
at
that
point
I
was
inside
the
Nomination
Court
advising
my
party
of
other
requirements
needed
for
nominations,”
she
said.

“My
party
leader
then
authorised
the
party
candidates
and
disbursed
funds.
I
only
got
to
have
my
authorised
papers
together
with
funds
at
around
4:04
pm
on
June
21,
2023
and
upon
presenting
them
I
was
told
I
was
barred.”.

Mafu
claims
she
was
advised
she
could
not
bring
her
documents
for
nomination
as
such
would
be
in
contravention
of
the
Electoral
Act, 
since
the
deadline
was
4
pm,
which
she
obliged
to.

She,
however,
alleges
that
she
noticed
CCC
members
who
were
in
the
“same
predicament”
pleading
with
the
ZEC
PEO
who
then
allowed
them
to
file
their
nomination
papers.

“I
enquired
as
to
why
this
was
being
done
and
I
was
manhandled
by
the
members
of
CCC.
I
have
seen
members
of
the
CCC
alluding
to
this
fact
in
one
of
their
affidavits
that
is
before
this
court.
I
attach
the
affidavit
as
Annexure
B,”
Mafu
said,
claiming
she
“tried 
to
reason
with
the
members
of
the
ZRP
who
again
refused
that
I
enter
the
courtroom.”

The
applicant
stated
the
decision
of
the
ZEC
PEO 
to
accept
the
nomination
papers
of
the
CCC
out
of
the
stipulated
deadline
is
an
act
of
illegality
that
illegally
benefits
the
candidates.

“In
extension,
the
applicant
claims
that
ZEC
through
its
PEO
“erred
when
it
included
names
of
individuals
who
had
failed
to
submit
valid
nomination
forms
on
time.”

“Second
respondent’s
actions
are
not
a
one-man
show.
This
is
so
because
every
decision
that
the
second
respondent
makes
should
be
made
in
terms
of
the
law
under
which
the
second
respondent
derives
its
power
and
mandate
to
operate
and
run
our
country’s
electoral
processes.
Late
submission
of
Nomination
Forms
is
in
breach
of
Section
46
(7)
of
the
Electoral
Act
(Chapter
1:13),”
said
the
applicant.

Magu
further
said
in
extension
ZEC
“erred
by
allowing
Nomination
Court
to
sit
on
a
non-nomination
day
when
it
remained
open
to
receive
nominations
on
June
22,
2023
in
breach
of
Section
46(8)
of
the
Electoral
Act.
Nominations
for
candidates
who
submitted
their
papers
after
midnight
June
21
should
have
been
declared
null
and
void.”

Hearing
of
this
case
is
most
likely
to
start
on
Monday
at
the
Bulawayo
High
Court.

Gono
has
set
up
an
online
campaign https://ko-fi.com/lobengulamagwegwemp to
solicit
for
funds
from
well-wishers
to
purchase
campaign
material.

The
opposition
party
which
was
formed
last
year
has
resorted
to
crowdfunding
to
oil
to
fund
its
electoral
campaigns.

In
an
interview
with
CITE,
Gono
said
candidates
have
been
raising
their
own
funds
due
to
financial
challenges
in
the
party.

“Because
of
financial
challenges
caused
by
the
failed
regime,
we
must
self-fund
the
campaign
for
change.
Whilst
we
have
few
resources
that
we
set
aside
all
along,
it’s
not
enough
to
sustain
the
whole
campaign,”
he
said.

“We
need
money
for
t-shirts,
flyers,
banners,
and
to
sustain
our
campaign
teams
and
also
get
polling
agents
at
stations.”

Gono
said
people
can
donate
as
little
as
US$5.

“Our
friends
and
relatives
in
the
diaspora
who
want
to
donate
can
do
so.
It
accommodates
even
those
who
might
want
to
help
our
campaign
but
don’t
have
a
lot
of
money.”

He
added
that
the
party
is
assisting
candidates
set
up
the
accounts.

Gona
said
he
has
so
far
raised
US$250
adding
that
they
set
up
the
accounts
last
week.

He
however
said
the
campaign
is
going
well
despite
the
court
challenges,
“by
those
desperate
to
remain
in
power
even
though
people
don’t
want
them.”

She
was
speaking
to
her
party
supporters
at
a
rally
held
at
the
Colliery
Grounds
in
Hwange
where
she
distributed
30
tonnes
of
mealie
meal
to
the
crowd
saying
it
was
of
the
party’s
many
measures
to
address
challenges
faced
by
citizens.

Hwange
is
one
of
the
districts
that
face
serious
hunger
while
infrastructure
such
as
roads
has
deteriorated
to
a
sorry
state
despite
the
presence
of
more
than
a
dozen
coal
mining
companies
operating
in
the
coal
mining
town.

Maladministration,
lack
of
good
governance
and
corporate
social
responsibility,
and
lack
of
accountability
have
been
blamed
for
the
lack
of
development.

Muchinguri-Kashiri
said
Zanu-PF
will
address
the
challenges,
as
the
party
seeks
a
second
term
for
President
Mnangagwa.

“Zanu-PF
has
the
interests
of
people
at
heart.
I
am
going
to
promise
you
that
I
will
address
the
challenges
confronting
employees
and
former
employees
of
Hwange
Colliery
Company.

“I
have
approached
the
authorities
to
address
this
issue
as
a
matter
of
urgency
and
when
effecting
disposal
of
the
houses
the
authorities
should
take
into
account
the
length
of
service
of
employees,”
said
Muchinguri-Kashiri
with
reference
to
accommodation
challenges
for
former
Hwange
Colliery
Company
workers
who
the
company
has
been
evicting
from
company
houses.

She
noted
neglected
roads,
public
ablutions,
and
unhealthy
environment
due
to
coal
dust
from
coal
mining
as
some
of
the
challenges
raised
by
Hwange
people.

Muchinguri-Kashiri
said
Zanu-PF
had
done
enough
to
address
some
of
the
challenges
through
projects
and
will
therefore
win
the
elections.

“There
is
no
doubt
that
these
coming
elections
we
are
going
to
resoundingly.
Before
the
race
even
started,
we
have
secured
92
local
council
seats
uncontested.
Here
is
Matabeleland
North
we
managed
to
retain
three
local
council
seats
uncontested
in
Bubi.
We
are
unstoppable,”
she
said.

Muchinguri-Kashiri
said
the
party
rides
on
projects
implemented
by
government
where
some
boreholes
have
been
drilled
and
rehabilitated
and
repaired.

Speaking
in
the
same
Matabeleland
North
province
but
at
a
separate
event
at
the
2023
Infrastructure
Summit
and
Expo
in
Victoria
Falls,
President
Mnangagwa
said
Zanu-PF
had
effected
numerous
economic
reforms
as
he
appealed
to
the
private
sector
for
partnerships.

“You
can
interrogate
any
subsector
of
the
economy
where
it
was
five
years
ago
and
where
it
is
today.
The
success
of
the
economy,
I
am
not
saying
if
you
wanted
to
go
and
vote
X
you
don’t
have
to
vote,
I
am
saying
the
success
of
the
economy
is
where
there
is
peace,
unity
and
lack
of
corruption,”
said
President
Mnangagwa.

He
said
his
government
will
continue
implementing
measures
to
strengthen
the
currency,
at
a
time
when
the
runaway
inflation
has
been
eroding
citizens’
buying
power.

Nigerian
investigative
journalist
and
activist,
David
Hundeyin,
has
fired
back
at
Nick
Mangwana,
the
Zimbabwe
Permanent
Secretary
in
the
Information,
Publicity
and
Broadcasting
Service,
amid
claims
that
the
journalist
sought
asylum
in
Ghana
and
travelled
to
Zimbabwe
with
the
same
papers,
leading
to
his
“deportation.”

SaharaReporters
had
earlier
reported
on
Wednesday
night
that
Hundeyin
raised
the
alarm
that
he
had
been
detained
by
the
Zimbabwe
government
at
the
Harare
Airport.

It
had
been
reported
that
he
was
detained
inside
“a
smelly
locked
room
for
nearly
seven
hours”
according
to
an
account
the
journalist
by
himself
shared
on
his
Twitter.

But
he
was
later
released
and
escorted
out
of
the
airport
by
the
Zimbabwe
officials.

SaharaReporters
had
also
reported
that
the
Zimbabwe
government
explained
why
it
arrested
and
detained
hundeyin,
saying
he,
carrying
a
Nigerian
Passport,
sought
asylum
in
Ghana
and
travelled
to
Zimbabwe
with
the
same
papers.

Mangwana
had
added
that
the
journalist
was
therefore
“promptly
arrested,
detained
and
deported.”

Reacting
Hundeyin
wrote,
“I
wasn’t
aware
that
it
is
standard
operating
procedure
in
Zimbabwe
for
the
country’s
minister
of
information
to
tweet
the
asylum
status
of
a
foreigner,
but
since
you’ve
resorted
to
telling
half
truths,
perhaps
you
should
mention
to
your
audience
that
I
came
into
Zimbabwe
with
this
valid
Ghanaian
refugee
passport,
which
I
have
used
to
travel
extensively
over
the
world
for
2
years.

“I’m
sure
you
saw
the
valid
UK
Visa
inside
it.
I’m
also
sure
that
you
saw
the
numerous
entry
and
exit
stamps
inside
it
belonging
to
multiple
jurisdictions
inside
and
outside
Africa.
Only
in
Zimbabwe
have
I
EVER
had
an
issue
travelling
with
this
document.
You
might
also
want
to
share
with
your
audience
that
I
put
a
call
through
to
the
Zimbabwean
embassy
in
Accra
before
I
travelled
to
confirm
that
I
did
not
need
a
visa,
and
that
J
was
expressly
advised
that
as
long
as
the
airline
was
happy
to
recognise
the
travel
document,
I
would
have
no
problem
coming
into
Zimbabwe
visa-free.

“I
know
this
despicable
Twitter
stunt
of
yours
does
not
represent
the
behaviour
of
the
generality
of
Zimbabweans,
many
of
whom
I
have
had
as
dear
friends
since
university
15
years
ago,
so
I
will
not
hold
it
against
Zimbabwe.
From
experience,
I
know
that
it
is
possible
for
a
great
country
to
be
held
captive
by
a
criminal
political
elite
who
lack
legitimacy.

“Whatever
you
thought
you
achieved
by
doing
this,
I
assure
you
that
you
should
have
completed
the
job
yesterday
because
you
will
not
like
what
happens
next.”

I
wasn’t
aware
that
it
is
standard
operating
procedure
in
Zimbabwe
for
the
country’s
minister
of
information
to
tweet
the
asylum
status
of
a
foreigner,
but
since
you’ve
resorted
to
telling
half
truths,
perhaps
you
should
mention
to
your
audience
that
I
came
into
Zimbabwe
with…

https://t.co/vF5lUkNaUx

pic.twitter.com/upArdnR2cK

—
David
Hundeyin
(@DavidHundeyin)

July
20,
2023

 |
Sahara
Reporters

HARARE,
Zimbabwe
(AP)
—
When
Zimbabwe
released
more
than
4,000
prisoners
in
May
in a
nationwide
amnesty,
one
man
with
a
white
beard
and
without
front
teeth
stood
out
among
those
vigorously
celebrating
as
they
walked
out
of
a
jail.

He
grinned
and
waved
his
hands
in
the
air,
and
shouted
the
praises
of
Zimbabwean
President Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
who
ordered
the
amnesty
for
some
offenders
to
ease
congestion
in
prisons.

“Mnangagwa
is
honey,
my
friend.
Mnangagwa
is
sweet,”
the
man
yelled
as
he
attracted
the
attention
of
television
news
cameras
at
Harare
Central
Prison
in
the
capital
city.

But
what
first
appeared
to
be
an
old
man
being
given
a
second
chance
at
life
has
transformed
into
a
much
more
contentious
moment
for
the
southern
African
nation.

The
white-bearded
man,
Bobby
Makaza,
was
convicted
of
raping
a
preteen
girl
and
had
served
four
years
of
a
16-year
jail
sentence
when
he
was
released.

That
has
prompted
a
legal
challenge
from
the
mother
of
his
victim,
who
has
filed
a
court
case
against
the
president,
the
prisons
service
and
Makaza,
seeking
to
put
him
back
behind
bars
because
of
the
devastating
impact
it
has
had
on
their
family.

That
impact
has
been
aggravated
by
the
fact
that
Makaza’s
face
appears
to
be
everywhere
on
social
media
in
Zimbabwe,
with
videos
of
him
boisterously
celebrating
his
release
and
praising
the
president
going
viral
on
TikTok
and
Twitter,
and
his
“honey”
and
“sweet”
description
of
Mnangagwa
becoming
a
kind
of
catchphrase.

Makaza’s
conviction
for
rape
is
well
known
in
Zimbabwe.
He
spoke
openly
about
it
upon
his
release
and
after.
Yet
in
some
of
their
own
videos,
people
have
mimicked
him
and
recreated
his
celebrations,
laughing
and
also
referring
to
the
president
as
“sweet.”
Images
of
his
smiling
face
are
being
posted
with
all
manner
of
memes.

The
way
the
convicted
rapist
of
a
minor
has
been
so
casually
portrayed
has
caused
a
stern
reaction
from
social
justice
activists,
who
worry
about
the
wider
picture
as
they
see
him
become
a
source
of
amusement.

The
country’s
problems
with
sexual
violence
against
women
and
girls
are
generally
not
taken
as
seriously
as
they
should
be,
and
this
is
a
stark
example
of
that,
the
activists
say.

“It’s
troubling
that
as
a
society,
we
take
this
as
a
joke,”
said
Tendai
Mbofana,
director
at
the
Zimbabwe
Network
for
Social
Justice
nongovernmental
organization.
“What
this
shows
about
our
society
is
that
we
have
lost
our
moral
compass
when
we
consider
cases
of
sexual
violence
against
young
girls
as
a
joke.”

After
his
release,
a
television
crew
also
followed
Makaza
back
to
his
home
village
—
where
his
victim,
who
is
now
15,
still
lives
—
and
interviewed
him
and
recorded
him
saying
“life
is
sweet”
and
punching
the
air
in
delight.

In
court
papers,
the
victim’s
mother
said
they
are
living
in
fear
now
that
Makaza
is
back,
the
nightmare
worsened
by
the
fact
that
he
is
close
by.
He
is
even
walking
around
boasting
about
his
freedom,
the
mother
said.

“He
makes
sure
that
my
daughter
hears
that
it’s
him
and
that
there
is
nothing
she
can
do
about
it,”
the
mother
said
in
her
court
papers.

She
also
said
that
she
had
seen
some
of
the
social
media
posts
with
the
smiling
face
of
the
man
who
raped
her
daughter.
Her
daughter
is
traumatized
all
over
again.

The
mother’s
name
is
on
her
court
papers
but
The
Associated
Press
has
decided
not
to
publish
it
to
avoid
her
daughter
being
identified.
The
AP
typically
doesn’t
identify
victims
of
sexual
abuse.

Lawyers
representing
the
family
say
that
Makaza
is
59
years
old
and
ineligible
for
the
amnesty
because,
with
regards
to
male
prisoners,
it
only
referred
to
those
age
60
or
older
who
have
served
one-tenth
of
their
sentence,
and
weren’t
serving
life
sentences,
on
death
row
or
convicted
of
public
violence.

But
the
lawyers
are
also
asking
a
deeper
question
over
how
a
decision
to
release
prisoners
can
have
such
little
regard
for
victims
in
a
country
that
has
in
recent
years
changed
its
laws
to
raise
the
age
of
sexual
consent
and
the
legal
age
for
marriage
from
16
to
18
in
recognition
of
the
problems
it
has
with
the
abuse
of
minors.

“The
release
of
perpetrators
of
rape
on
amnesty
undermines
the
state’s
obligation
to
punish
and
eradicate
all
forms
of
violence
against
women,”
said
Tinashe
Chinopfukutwa,
a
lawyer
from
Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for
Human
Rights
and
one
of
those
representing
the
family.

Other
older
men
released
from
prison
in
the
amnesty
also
said
they
were
serving
prison
terms
for
sexual
offenses
against
minors,
some
as
young
as
9
years
old,
sparking
anger
from
some
Zimbabweans
and
more
concern
from
rights
groups.

Chinopfukutwa
said
that
victims
only
learned
of
the
release
of
the
sex
offenders
through
media
reports,
and
there
was
no
concern
given
to
“the
victim’s
right
to
equal
benefit
and
protection”
under
the
law.