Spiked Online Media Reporter The fact that access to information remains a fundamental right to people with disabilities comes to the fore as Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of Sign Languages which runs under the theme ‘We sign for human rights. The International Day of Sign Language was…
By Joyce Mukucha Deaf Women Included (DWI) continues to foster collaboration among government, civil society organizations(CSOs), and women with disabilities oriented organisations as it strives to ensure that gender-based violence (GBV) against people with disabilities (PWDs), with the main focus being on women and girls with disabilities(WGDs) is curbed. The organisation is thriving to elevate…
By Elvis Dumba The completion of the New Judicial Services Commission Complex that houses both the Magistrate and High Courts fulfills the aspirations for access to justice by the Mashonaland West community. The sentiments were made by the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Permanent Secretary Mrs. Virginia Mabhiza Speaking on the sidelines of…
By Veritas Both Houses of Parliament met last week and will continue sitting this week, from yesterday. This bulletin gives a brief summary of what was achieved last week and what business faces both Houses this week. In the National Assembly Last Week [17th – 19th August] Bills Pension and Provident Funds Bill [link] – The Committee Stage…
The case of a teenage girl who died while giving birth in Marange has prompted organisations like Plan International Zimbabwe and the Freedom of Rights Under Sovereign (FORUS) to issue statements encouraging lawmakers and stakeholders to expedite the crafting of laws that protect the girls from child marriage. In a statement yesterday, Plan International Zimbabwe…
In an unprecedented move to combat wildlife trafficking, Hong Kong’s lawmakers yesterday voted in favour of an amendment bill that means certain wildlife offences will, for the first time, be treated as Serious and Organized crimes. The Bill incorporates wildlife crime offences into Hong Kong’s Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455), providing additional/appropriate…
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has said it is astonished by claims by the Minister of Justice, Ziyambi Ziyambi that the Zimbabwe Republic Police “is facing resistance” in investigating the case of a 14-year-old girl, Memory Machaya who died while giving birth at an Apostolic Church shrine in Marange early this month (August 2021). CiZC said…
Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services told a gathering of judges who attended an ICT training workshop in Harare to use the knowledge gained for fair justice delivery. The workshop came at an opportune time when the importance of ICTs becomes more apparent particularly due to the…
By Jacob Kudzai Mutisi In Zimbabwe, everything is happening online. People are home and bored, so many are willing to do things that they will never do. Zimbabweans have accepted the use of mobile technology and no doubt, the internet, social media, and SMS have become part and parcel of our lives, which can be…
By Veritas Introduction This Bill proposes to bring the Police Act into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution. The Bill can be accessed on the Veritas website [link] as can the Act itself [link]. Importance of the Bill The Police Act [which we shall call the Act in this bulletin] regulates the appointment and discipline of police officers…
By Veritas The thirty-first amendment to the Lock-down Order was published on the 30th July, in SI 210 of 2021, and can be accessed on the Veritas website [link]. Its effect is simply to extend the Level IV lock-down until the 10th of August, i.e. until after the Heroes Day and Defence Forces Day weekend. The special lock-downs…
By Veritas New High Court Rules were published by SI 202 of 2021 in the Gazette last Friday, replacing the High Court Rules, 1971, which have been in force for 50 years and have been amended nearly 40 times. They also replace the following rules: · the High Court (Criminal) Rules of 1964 · the High Court of…
By Veritas Are people who have been summoned to give evidence before Parliament or a parliamentary committee entitled to refuse to answer questions put to them? This issue arose when Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee [PAC] was conducting investigations into the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration [ZINARA] pursuant to reports on that body compiled by the Auditor-General. According…
By Veritas In terms of section 72 of the Companies and Other Business Entities Act [which we shall refer to as “the Act” in this bulletin], all companies are required to keep a register of beneficial owners – who, as we shall explain in more detail below, are the individuals who control the companies or who hold…
By Kumbirai Mafunda ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has asked the Ministry of Health and Child Care to issue proper vaccination cards to people who would have been vaccinated against coronavirus to avoid compromising the ongoing countrywide inoculation programme. In a letter written to Health and Child Care Minister Constantino Chiwenga, ZLHR lawyer Paidamoyo…
By Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights GWANDA – Villagers of Polite, Manonkwe, Stanmore, and Mahlokohloko villages in Gwanda North have blamed school curricular that is not holistic and advances in technology for rising cases of sexual relations with and between minors. The villagers argued that information being taught in schools was not proving to be…
By Innocent Ferris Rupapa Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed our vulnerabilities even further and brought to light our broken relationship with nature. The same pandemic has pushed humans to forge new and better strategies for interaction and doing business. Travel restrictions and lockdown measures that have been imposed by nations across the world to…
By Desire Tshuma South Africa Council of Churches (SACC) has noted with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing South Africa since Thursday 8 July last week after the imprisonment of former South African President Jacob Zuma The violence is resulting in untold suffering in many quarters of the society and…
By Veritas The thirtieth amendment to the Lock-down Order was published on the 13th July, in SI 198 of 2021, and can be accessed on the Veritas website [link]. Its general effect is to tighten and extend the Level IV lock-down, as we shall explain in this bulletin. A consolidated version of the Lockdown Order is…
Judiciary services delivery is being positively impacted by technological advancements, The Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services has said. Minister Muswere made the remarks during the ICT Training Workshop for the Judiciary Services Commission that was held at the Meikles Hotel in Harare today. “ICTs are helping increase productivity, efficiency, and…
In an effort to strengthen bilateral relations between Turkey and Zimbabwe spanning politics and the economy, the speakers of Parliament for the two friendly nations are meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara. Turkey and Zimbabwe should deepen their economic relations, the Head of the Turkish Parliament, Mustafa Şentop was quoted by the Daily Sabah on…
By Kumbirai Mafunda A ZIMBABWEAN COURT has ordered Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Hon. Kazembe Kazembe to pay more than US$10 000 to a couple that was roughed up by some law enforcement agents while claiming to be suppressing an anti-government protest in 2019. Harare Magistrate…
By Paidamoyo Muzulu THIRTY-FOUR years is a long time. A very long time for Zimbabweans who still survive with the fear of the State security boot on their necks. Unfortunately, it seems even the so-called new dispensation is reluctant to domesticate the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment…
By Bernard Chiketo Angela slowly lifts from an awkward stooping position at the edge of her small smart and tidy yard. Halfway up – back arced to a bow, hips tilted up, she makes a laboured trot as she races this reporter to her small khaki cardboard and black plastic shack which sways in a…
By Lorraine Muwuya Murehwa is a district of Mashonaland East in Zimbabwe and it has for the past two years recorded the highest number of mysterious deaths. Most of the deaths are murder cases of passion, rituals, suicide, and culpable homicide. The questions then that arise are what could really be happening in the district…
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) engaged the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr. John Mangudya who in turn warned the retailers that SI127 targets those abusing auction funds, manipulators of the exchange rate, and those that do not bank funds. The Central Bank Governor said SI127 is meant to ensure compliance. “We would want…
Civil society has expressed alarm following as yet unconfirmed reports that Judge Paddington Garwe has been cited in a scam that is strategically meant to capture and dismantle the judiciary order in Zimbabwe. Abigail Mupambi, the National Coordinator of the Civic Society and Churches Joint Forum expressed great concern about claims that the George Soros…
By Veritas Confusion about spot fines persists at the highest levels of government. In the National Assembly on the 9th of June, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs was asked if people could be forced to pay spot fines for traffic offences even if they had no money to pay. She answered: “Yes, it is Government policy. …
The Southern Africa Editors Forum (SAEF) joins the Editors Forum of Lesotho (EFL) in condemning the March 23 presentation before the parliament of the Computer Crime and Cyber Security Bill of 2021, as well as the latest gazetting of The Communications (Subscriber Identity Module and Device Registration) Regulations, 2021, by the government of Lesotho. In…
By Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) Attention on the Constitutional Amendment Act (Number 2) 2021 has recently been sparked by the historic judgment in which the High Court declared that Chief Justice Malaba ceased to hold office by operation of law notwithstanding attempts to extend his term of office. Although this was an…
By Chimeno Azriel Artists have been urged to have their work protected if they are to secure their success and future. This was said by copyright expert, Advocate Michael Zinyoni in an interview recently aired with a view of educating artists about having their work secured. Advocate Zinyoni, who holds a degree in Intellectual Property…
The Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) has lodged a notice of intention to defend a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) brought against the organisation by a Canadian mining company, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. SARW is an independent, nonprofit organisation that monitors corporate and government conduct in the…
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) notes with great concern, the concerted efforts by the state to derail constitutionalism in the country. On May 15, 2021, Justice Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi issued ‘contemptuous threats’ against judges following a ruling to the effect that former Chief Justice, Luke Malaba could not benefit from a constitutional amendment to…
By Lloyd Fernando There have been countless serious miscarriages of justice in Australia, and it is of utmost importance to put the Australian legal system in order. Therefore, I had suggested to the Australian government(s) several times through emails to the effect the following, but there was no apparent manifestation of these solutions, in…
By Kumbirai Mafunda High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi on Wednesday 5 May 2021 ended the two-month detention of Harare West constituency legislator Hon. Joana Mamombe and opposition MDC-Alliance party youth leader Cecilia Chimbiri by granting them RTGS$20 000 bail. Hon. Mamombe and Chimbiri had spent 61 days detained at Chikurubi Maximum Prison after several…
Environment and tourism stakeholders had a consultative meeting in Harare yesterday to gather views on the review of the Parks and Wildlife Act [Chapter 20:14] to ensure that the Act meets the current needs of society whilst at the same time addressing a myriad of contemporary sector challenges. In his keynote address, Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu,…
Joint Civil Society Statement on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.2) Bill We, the undersigned Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe, note with serious concern the passing of the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 2 by the National Assembly on 20 April 2021. It is very disturbing that the proposed amendments to the Constitution are…
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) Gender Committee has blamed judicial capture for the continued incarceration and persecution of MDC Alliance female activists, Joanna Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri. The coalition argues that the activists are victims of persecution by the prosecution and avers that their ordeal at the hands of the State is clear testimony…
By Joelson Mugari – National Elections Reform Agenda (NERA) Executive Chairman It is a very sad story for Zimbabweans once again as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has announced its back-on-track snail pace on Electoral activities. Yes Constitutionally, every citizenry community must be represented in Parliament, and hence all recalled, deceased, incapacitated or resigned members…
By Charles Dhewa Except in Burkina Faso and Uganda, parliamentary debates in the majority of agro-based African economies are completely disconnected from issues that affect ordinary people daily. Ideally, Members of Parliament (MPs) from production zones should be conversant with issues in their constituencies to be able to articulate the situation convincingly. Unfortunately, that is…
Compiled by Shamiso Mtisi and Michelle Matsvaire (Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association) Discussions on the amendment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe have resumed without any significant strides having been made in implementing and upholding already existing key provisions. The Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment) Bill No. 2 was gazetted on 17 January 2020 with the aim of…
By Kumbirai Mafunda A Zimbabwean court has ordered a police officer and his bosses to pay RTGS$150 000 to a 40-year-old man as compensation for damages suffered after he was mauled by a dog set upon him by a law enforcement agent. Rusape Magistrate Rufaro Mangwiro recently ordered Constable Zwelibanzi Masuko, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)…
By Marvellous Kumalo (Crisis Coalition Spokesperson) Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is appalled by the continued weaponization of the judiciary to clamp down on dissenting voices. Our concern arises from the continued arrests and detention of opposition and civil society activists on flimsy charges. Yesterday, April 12, 2021, MDC Alliance Councilor for Ward 18, Chiredzi West,…
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) hosted a virtual public meeting via the ZOOM platform on Wednesday, 7th of April 2021 on the topic “Recalls and Defections: An Anathema to Representative Democracy.” The objective of the meeting was to discuss the nature of recalls and defections in Zimbabwe as well as their implications on civic participation and electoral…
Honourable Tongai Mnangagwa, the Member of the National Assembly for Harare South has said it is incumbent on stakeholders to join forces in addressing the menace of land barons in the constituency. Hon Mnangagwa made the remarks on his meet-the-people meeting at the Mbudzi complex in Harare on Friday. “The Harare South Constituency is one…
