CCC Member Assaulted Over Post-Election Land Dispute
By Lorraine Ndebele and Marko Shoko
A member of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) recently suffered a broken leg after being heavily assaulted by alleged members of the ruling party (ZANU-PF) following a disagreement over land.
Munorwei Chinyangana from Ward 24 Chiredzi East was rushed to Mashoko Mission Hospital in Bikita, Masvingo Province for medical treatment after being attacked by three ZANU PF members who severely assaulted after he confronted them over the invasion of his farm.
Chinyangana says he has owned a farm in Lavanga Ward 1, Chiredzi East District since 2012. He got the farm through the land reform programme and has been occupying and utilizing it since then. However, following Zimbabwe’s most recent harmonized elections held on 23 August 2023, local land officials are said to have allocated Chinyangana’s farm to another person, Blessing Vheremu. Being concerned about reallocation the farm, Chinyangana approached Vheremu at the latter’s home suggesting that they go to the local Village Development Committee (VDCO) Chairperson to amicably resolve the issue.
Vheremu was not amused by Chinyangana’s visit and he angrily proceeded to his neighbor’s home where he mobilized two men and a woman to attack Chinyangana. As Chinyangana said, it was the woman who started the violent attack on him.
“As they attacked me, I insisted that we go and see the VDCO chairman for a peaceful resolution to the dispute”, Chinyangana said.
“However, they pushed me to the ground and started beating all over my body telling me that they don’t care about CCC people because this land is owned by ZANU-PF”, he said.
When his attackers eventually decided to go to Adam Hama, the VDCO Chairman, Chinyangana said he was already seriously injured and could neither walk nor drive his motorcycle. He said he called members of his family who took him to Mashoko hospital where he said was treated for injuries including…
Although he has been discharged from Mashoko hospital, Chinyangana says he is still unwell and is planning to go to Harare for further treatment.
Reached for comment, Vheremu denied assaulting Chinyangana. “His injuries may have resulted from falling on a motor cycle”, Chidoko said, adding: “It was the lady we were with who simply pushed him down.”
Vheremu also denied dispossessing Chinyangana of his land, saying he was allocated eighty (80) meters of the land by Cephus Marape who, he said, is the actual owner of the farm that Chinyangana claims to be his.
“I was given a piece of that farm by Marape who only gave me 80 metres and told me to farm there together with Chinyangana”, said Vheremu.
He also says that Chinyangana was already injured when he approached him which he suspects was a fall from a motorbike
Efforts to get a comment from the VDCO chairman of Chiredzi East, Adam Hama were fruitless as his phone was unavailable.
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There was a pandemonium at Kapondoro Business Centre this week during public hearing for the PVO Bill hearing with parliamentary team on justice and legal affairs. Women, men and the youths took turns to reject the bill that is regarded as toxic, politically targeting NGOs and a recipe to disaster for communities wallowing in abject poverty due to climate change reduced rainfall patterns. Women testified how NGO’S in Mutoko have increased their knowledge on issues around human rights, gender justice and HIV/AIDS.
Young people added that the PVO Bill if enacted into law would cripple their ability to provide an oversight role in monitoring elections, combating corruption and poor governance jn Zimbabwe.
The jaw breaker prayer left the audience dumfounded as one faith leader fumed in prayer saying we reject the bill seven times.
A Roman Catholic Priest was caught red handed having sexual intercourse with a married woman at Mutoko center. The spiritual father known as brother Ray is stationed at Mutemwa Leprosy Centre was dragged before Mutoko Magistrate’s court facing Adultery charges.
The Catholic brother has been referred by many as a double edged sword when it comes to issues of bedding local women.
It is alleged, after being caught in an uncompromising position with complainant’s wife, the catholic brother went on to assault complainant. It is alleged Brother Ray assaulted the complainant with the help of one Takaiwana who is also a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The so called Takaiwana is said to be on the run and police are looking for him.
The matter will be set down for trial soon before Mutoko Magistrates Court once all investigations are complete and Public Prosecutors are ready for trial.
Members of the Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms addressing the press
By correspondent
The Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms has welcomed the announcement of the by-elections for local councils and house of assembly representatives saying that they were long overdue. They have have accused state institutions allowing to be used to influence electoral processes.
Addressing a presser held in Harare this Thursday, Mr Marvellous Kumalo said;
“The credibility of these elections depends on the cooperation of ZEC, state media and security”
He further said that these entities have historically been used to prejudice the electoral processes and results.
The association called for the immediate repeal of SI 225A (2020) which suspends the running of by-elections.
Residents were also encouraged to utilise the by elections as a chance to correct the gender discrepancies in Parliament by voting in female representatives.
The association also encouraged the electorate to vote competent representatives who are capable to match the demands of the offices.
ZDI Monthly Monitoring Report on Access to Public Health – The Unending Covid-19 variants: Increased Public Health Spending a Must for Zimbabwe.- January 2022
The mountain where the mining activity is taking place in Mudzi
Zimbabwe’s huge and diversified mineral resource base which is highly characterised by the ancient Greenstone Belts (gold belts) – some of the world’s richest minerals has seen the country experiencing intensified mining activities from both locals and foreigners especially Chinese nationals.
Large and small scale gold mining activities happening in the country’s gold rich areas have proved to be detrimental and less beneficial to the respective communities. They have promoted unjust mining induced displacements, which most of the times have failed to benefit community members and develop the communities in which the mining take place.
An example, can be taken from Chiadzwa where people were moved to Adatransal without benefiting anything and nothing improved. Also, there are disempowering mining activities happening in Makaha, a rural community in Mudzi’s Chipangure and Chinoa mountains by Chinese Nationals living in the rural community which are denigrating the community’s development. Most of the inhabitants have been left vulnerable, jobless and homeless following a series of unwarranted displacements and evacuations.
Also, vendors and business people especially grocery and clothes retailers are experiencing losses as a result of low purchases of goods due to low buying power as a result of endemic poverty.
Interviews with community members revealed that earning a decent living is now proving to be difficult as most parents are finding it difficult to buy food, pay rentals or even send their children to school.
“We were benefiting from that mountain because some of us had managed to earn a decent living but when most local miners could no longer work in the mountains, we longer had a source of income to send our children to school and we are now suffering.
“And when they use chemicals or explosives to blast the mountains, nearby houses are affected exposing people to unsafe and poor living conditions as at times they are not evacuated to and compensated with safer homes. As you can see our road is very bad, we were hoping that the Chinese would fix it and build more schools for our community so that real development takes place in Makaha as well,” said a local business woman.
“The Chinese Nationals robbed us a decent living and left us struggling, because many of us are now jobless theft and murder have been on the rise. All hope has been lost and we are hoping that other opportunities for better jobs will be created for us so that we earn a decent living,” added a local miner.
Meanwhile, a national campaign pushing for transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources in the country, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Zimbabwe called upon the Government to ensure and commit to fair prompt and adequate compensation during mining induced displacements happening in rural communities in order to protect the rights of displaced citizens living in those communities.
Through its coordinator Joyce Machiri, PWYP Zimbabwe further urged the government to be committed to community consultation and approval through Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) which is “inclusive, independent, and consultative assessments, relocation with prompt, fair and adequate compensation, relocation destination preparedness, protecting mining communities from abusive practices of the mining companies and implementing international standards on mining induced displacements”.
As the lifeblood of the Zimbabwean economy (contributing to 60 percent of the country’s export earnings as of October 2018, and around 16 percent of the national GDP, according to the Mining Technology’s 04 March 2020 Analysis by JP Casey), mining has resulted in a lot of mining activities taking place in the country’s peri-urban and rural communities at a large scale. This has seen an increase in mining induced displacements, which when conducted in an unclear and unprofessional manner are stripping people living in marginalized or rural communities off the right to land and shelter.
In order to ensure the protection of the vulnerable communities (rural and/or poor communities) PWYP Zimbabwe insisted on the need for the mining induced displacements to be conducted in a transparent, accountable and human rights based approach that is in compliance with the Zimbabwean Constitution.
Development Induced Displacements and Resettlements (DIDR) constitute a major social problem and a challenge for enjoyment of fundamental human rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
In Zimbabwe, mining companies often fail to pay adequate and prompt compensation, give people adequate notice and follow due process before relocation and to provide proper relocation facilities and services before relocation. In the process they violate litany of procedural and substantive environmental social economic and cultural rights. However, addressing the media in a press statement in November last year Joyce Machiri called for transparency and compensation of development induced displacements and resettlements;
“Displacements have to be done in transparency and accountable manner through free, prior informed consent and leading to appropriate agreements and compensation. Lack of transparency on the mining deals that the government signs with investors and the absence of adequate benefit sharing arrangements have increased tension, negative suspicions and conflicts whenever mining induced displacements are announced. If done properly, conflicts and poverty can be reduced and the lives of mining communities can be improved, bringing in the desired development from mining activities,”
Publish What You Pay Zimbabwe Coalition is a part of the Publish What You Pay global network – a worldwide campaign for an open and accountable extractive industry made up of more than 1000 member organisations and 51 national coalitions.
Media Center in partnership with Hurungwe Community Radio held several interface and trainings with a deliberate bias towards equipping citizen journalists with basic journalistic skills. Citizen journalists were drawn from 26 rural wards in Hurungwe District and ten from Karoi urban giving a total of thirty six citizen journalists.
Furthermore, Media Center in partnership with Hurungwe Community Radio also held interface meetings with several Civil Society Organizations which included Chakanyuka foundation, Karoi urban residents associations and National Aids Council.
Interactive meetings with residents associations were meant to equip them with skills and knowledge pertaining to governance statutes of local authorities. The main thrust was to enable these organizations to hold local authorities accountable in so far as their operations are concerned.
The interactive meeting held with Chakanyuka Foundation was held in the midst of the first hard lockdown in 2020. The Chakanyuka Foundation is an organization whose main thrust is to assist orphans, the aged as well as the less privileged. The meeting also brought together some local leaderships in the form of village heads. Hurungwe Community Radio acted as a vehicle to disseminate information pertaining to raising awareness on Covid 19 especially in rural communities.
People living with HIV/Aids suffered the double tragedy of stigmatization and challenges in accessing anti-retroviral drugs during lockdowns. Media Center in collaboration with Hurungwe Community Radio provided the National Aids Council with a platform to alert people facing this predicament on how to overcome the challenges. It was refreshing to note that after the audio from NAC was aired on the Hurungwe Community Radio WhatsApp platform there was a positive change in attitude by members of the security forces who were allegedly denying these affected people.
By and large, the partnership between Media Center and Hurungwe Community Radio has been very fruitful notwithstanding some challenges faced some of our journalists especially on issues to do with gadgets and data so as to smoothly carry out their mandate. Going forward, it is our fervent wish and hope that Media Center will continue to play its collaborative role with our organization so as to improve access to information by marginalized communities and also bringing to the fore developmental issues which are hitherto kept under wraps due to unavailability of news outlets.
