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Hopewell Chin’ono

@daddyhope • 896,022 subscribers

Award winning Journalist| Film Maker |2 Time African Journalist of The Year | Nieman Fellow| #100MostInfluentialAfricans 2022 | Email [email protected]

Shorts

First of all, your standards for a giant like South Africa are very low. To suggest that hosting a golf tournament is proof of the ability to govern South Africa is absolutely ridiculous. But let me settle this debate once and for all. Gayton McKenzie himself put it on the record that he does not have the capacity to be involved in the governance of South Africa. He said it himself. He is a minister because of political expedience. He was elected on the back of running around shouting "Abahambe" and the mixed race vote, and that same political expedience then landed him a ministerial post. Here is the evidence. McKenzie is saying exactly what I have been saying all afternoon, that he lacks the capacity, that he was not appointed on merit, and that he is not qualified to be a government minister. Now go and argue with Gayton McKenzie, not with me.

First of all, your standards for a giant like South Africa are very low. To suggest that hosting a golf tournament is proof of the ability to govern South Africa is absolutely ridiculous. But let me settle this debate once and for all. Gayton McKenzie himself put it on the record that he does not have the capacity to be involved in the governance of South Africa. He said it himself. He is a minister because of political expedience. He was elected on the back of running around shouting "Abahambe" and the mixed race vote, and that same political expedience then landed him a ministerial post. Here is the evidence. McKenzie is saying exactly what I have been saying all afternoon, that he lacks the capacity, that he was not appointed on merit, and that he is not qualified to be a government minister. Now go and argue with Gayton McKenzie, not with me.

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Zimbabwean journalist Witness Runodada has shared this heartbreaking video showing the destruction of parts of the National Sports Stadium, Zimbabwe’s only stadium currently approved to host international football matches. For more than seven years, Zimbabwe could not play its home matches on home soil. We were forced to travel to South Africa, Rwanda and other countries to host matches that should have been played in Zimbabwe. The government eventually renovated the National Sports Stadium, giving the country back a place where our national team could play before its own people. Yet, after only four matches, look at what has happened. Mirrors installed in the stadium’s bathrooms have been smashed. Facilities provided for public use have been deliberately destroyed. Some people have even asked why mirrors were installed in the first place, as though providing basic dignity and convenience to citizens is somehow a mistake. That is how deeply the culture of destruction has entered our society. I am going to be blunt. When people destroy public property without provocation, they are revealing something about their mindset. This stadium belongs to the public. It was renovated with taxpayers’ money. When citizens destroy it, they are not punishing the government. They are destroying their own property and stealing from their own communities. This is precisely the kind of behaviour that causes other societies to question whether we are capable of living responsibly alongside them. South Africans often accuse Zimbabweans of damaging public property and infrastructure. How do we convincingly reject that accusation when we are destroying facilities in our own country, in our own neighbourhoods, and in the only stadium currently available to host international football? For years, we criticised the government for forcing Zimbabwe to play its home matches abroad. The government eventually addressed that problem. The stadium was repaired, and international football returned to Harare. But what did some of our own people do? They entered the stadium and vandalised it after only four matches. We also witnessed disgraceful behaviour during the recent match against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Supporters invaded the pitch, behaved irresponsibly and treated a national facility as though it belonged to nobody. This is civic destruction. And then, when the government fails to maintain public infrastructure, the same people complain. When public facilities deteriorate, they blame politicians. But how can any country develop when citizens destroy what has been built for them? Government accountability matters, but citizens also have a duty to protect public property. This is why the argument that Zimbabwe’s problems will disappear simply because ZANUPF is removed from power is incomplete. Changing a government is necessary, but it is not sufficient. We also have to change the mindset that allows people to destroy public property, steal public resources and defend behaviour that should embarrass us. ZANUPF is, in many ways, a reflection of the society it governs. It reflects the corruption, impunity, disrespect for institutions and absence of accountability that have become normalised in Zimbabwe. It means that political change must be accompanied by social and moral renewal. We have become a people who can walk past overflowing sewage and act as though nothing is wrong. We can see public infrastructure collapsing and remain indifferent. We can destroy a facility built with our own money and then complain that nobody invests in Zimbabwe. We demand development while behaving in ways that make development impossible. The deeper tragedy is that many of us have become disconnected from our own history, our own communities and our own sense of collective responsibility. We have been taught to respect institutions and traditions that are not our own, while failing to respect the places, people and public assets that belong to us. A society that does not understand its roots, its responsibilities or its own worth will struggle to protect anything. If the people who smashed those mirrors had installed them in their own homes, they would not have destroyed them. They behaved that way because they believe public property belongs to nobody. That is the ignorance we must confront and cure. We must teach our children that public property is not government property. It belongs to them. The stadium belongs to them. The hospitals, schools, roads, libraries and public toilets belong to them. Destroying these things is not an act of rebellion. It is an act of self-harm. The most disturbing part is that some people will defend this behaviour. They will invent excuses, blame the government or accuse anyone who condemns the vandalism of being anti-Zimbabwe. But anyone who defends destruction is proving the very point being made, that we have a serious mindset problem. This is also why foreign companies and foreign powers often treat African countries as though our institutions are available for exploitation. They see societies that do not protect their own resources, demand accountability or respect their own public assets. When we fail to value ourselves, others will take advantage of us. What kind of example are we setting for our children? What are they expected to learn when they watch adults destroy the very facilities built for their future? How can we expect the next generation to be disciplined, responsible and patriotic when adults treat public property with contempt? As Zimbabweans, we need to pause and look at ourselves honestly. We must stop blaming everything on politicians while refusing to examine our own conduct. Even among Zimbabweans living in Britain, South Africa and elsewhere, there are people who now hesitate to associate themselves with anything Zimbabwean because of the embarrassing behaviour of a minority of our citizens. That is not a future we should accept. Dr. Nkosana Moyo was correct when he said that changing the government in Zimbabwe would not be enough. Zimbabweans must also change the way they think, the way they behave and the way they understand their responsibility to one another. A country cannot be rebuilt by citizens who destroy everything placed in front of them. Zimbabwe needs political reform, but it also needs civic education, consequences for vandalism, respect for public institutions and a complete moral renewal. The National Sports Stadium should have been a symbol of national restoration. Instead, within weeks, it has become a painful reminder that rebuilding a country is not only about repairing buildings. It is about repairing the conscience of the people who use them.

Zimbabwean journalist Witness Runodada has shared this heartbreaking video showing the destruction of parts of the National Sports Stadium, Zimbabwe’s only stadium currently approved to host international football matches. For more than seven years, Zimbabwe could not play its home matches on home soil. We were forced to travel to South Africa, Rwanda and other countries to host matches that should have been played in Zimbabwe. The government eventually renovated the National Sports Stadium, giving the country back a place where our national team could play before its own people. Yet, after only four matches, look at what has happened. Mirrors installed in the stadium’s bathrooms have been smashed. Facilities provided for public use have been deliberately destroyed. Some people have even asked why mirrors were installed in the first place, as though providing basic dignity and convenience to citizens is somehow a mistake. That is how deeply the culture of destruction has entered our society. I am going to be blunt. When people destroy public property without provocation, they are revealing something about their mindset. This stadium belongs to the public. It was renovated with taxpayers’ money. When citizens destroy it, they are not punishing the government. They are destroying their own property and stealing from their own communities. This is precisely the kind of behaviour that causes other societies to question whether we are capable of living responsibly alongside them. South Africans often accuse Zimbabweans of damaging public property and infrastructure. How do we convincingly reject that accusation when we are destroying facilities in our own country, in our own neighbourhoods, and in the only stadium currently available to host international football? For years, we criticised the government for forcing Zimbabwe to play its home matches abroad. The government eventually addressed that problem. The stadium was repaired, and international football returned to Harare. But what did some of our own people do? They entered the stadium and vandalised it after only four matches. We also witnessed disgraceful behaviour during the recent match against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Supporters invaded the pitch, behaved irresponsibly and treated a national facility as though it belonged to nobody. This is civic destruction. And then, when the government fails to maintain public infrastructure, the same people complain. When public facilities deteriorate, they blame politicians. But how can any country develop when citizens destroy what has been built for them? Government accountability matters, but citizens also have a duty to protect public property. This is why the argument that Zimbabwe’s problems will disappear simply because ZANUPF is removed from power is incomplete. Changing a government is necessary, but it is not sufficient. We also have to change the mindset that allows people to destroy public property, steal public resources and defend behaviour that should embarrass us. ZANUPF is, in many ways, a reflection of the society it governs. It reflects the corruption, impunity, disrespect for institutions and absence of accountability that have become normalised in Zimbabwe. It means that political change must be accompanied by social and moral renewal. We have become a people who can walk past overflowing sewage and act as though nothing is wrong. We can see public infrastructure collapsing and remain indifferent. We can destroy a facility built with our own money and then complain that nobody invests in Zimbabwe. We demand development while behaving in ways that make development impossible. The deeper tragedy is that many of us have become disconnected from our own history, our own communities and our own sense of collective responsibility. We have been taught to respect institutions and traditions that are not our own, while failing to respect the places, people and public assets that belong to us. A society that does not understand its roots, its responsibilities or its own worth will struggle to protect anything. If the people who smashed those mirrors had installed them in their own homes, they would not have destroyed them. They behaved that way because they believe public property belongs to nobody. That is the ignorance we must confront and cure. We must teach our children that public property is not government property. It belongs to them. The stadium belongs to them. The hospitals, schools, roads, libraries and public toilets belong to them. Destroying these things is not an act of rebellion. It is an act of self-harm. The most disturbing part is that some people will defend this behaviour. They will invent excuses, blame the government or accuse anyone who condemns the vandalism of being anti-Zimbabwe. But anyone who defends destruction is proving the very point being made, that we have a serious mindset problem. This is also why foreign companies and foreign powers often treat African countries as though our institutions are available for exploitation. They see societies that do not protect their own resources, demand accountability or respect their own public assets. When we fail to value ourselves, others will take advantage of us. What kind of example are we setting for our children? What are they expected to learn when they watch adults destroy the very facilities built for their future? How can we expect the next generation to be disciplined, responsible and patriotic when adults treat public property with contempt? As Zimbabweans, we need to pause and look at ourselves honestly. We must stop blaming everything on politicians while refusing to examine our own conduct. Even among Zimbabweans living in Britain, South Africa and elsewhere, there are people who now hesitate to associate themselves with anything Zimbabwean because of the embarrassing behaviour of a minority of our citizens. That is not a future we should accept. Dr. Nkosana Moyo was correct when he said that changing the government in Zimbabwe would not be enough. Zimbabweans must also change the way they think, the way they behave and the way they understand their responsibility to one another. A country cannot be rebuilt by citizens who destroy everything placed in front of them. Zimbabwe needs political reform, but it also needs civic education, consequences for vandalism, respect for public institutions and a complete moral renewal. The National Sports Stadium should have been a symbol of national restoration. Instead, within weeks, it has become a painful reminder that rebuilding a country is not only about repairing buildings. It is about repairing the conscience of the people who use them.

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Zambian election 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Zambian election 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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I am deeply saddened to hear that a boat carrying 90 people capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe today. The boat, owned by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), a government agency, was on Lake Kariba when it capsized. The head of RIDA is quoted as saying that the situation is “not sounding good at all,” although some people have been rescued. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was on the boat and with their families during this extremely difficult and anxious time. I am hoping and praying for the best, particularly for the safe rescue of those who are still unaccounted for.

I am deeply saddened to hear that a boat carrying 90 people capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe today. The boat, owned by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), a government agency, was on Lake Kariba when it capsized. The head of RIDA is quoted as saying that the situation is “not sounding good at all,” although some people have been rescued. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was on the boat and with their families during this extremely difficult and anxious time. I am hoping and praying for the best, particularly for the safe rescue of those who are still unaccounted for.

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This is the moment Zambia’s opposition leader, Brian Mundubile, who has accused Zambian strongman Hakainde Hichilema of rigging the 13 August presidential election, was arrested by police alongside fellow opposition figure Makebi Zulu. On Monday, Hichilema shut down the courts, preventing Mundubile from physically filing a petition challenging the disputed election result. His regime also killed a former Cabinet minister last week, just hours after the opposition protested the suspension of vote counting and the announcement of results. Mundubile subsequently sought refuge at the United Nations compound in Lusaka, where he remained until his arrest today. Hichilema told his rival to take his grievances to court, then shut down the courts, deployed soldiers to block access and arrested him. This is not democracy, it is authoritarianism. This leaves South Africa, Botswana Lesotho, Malawi and Namibia as the only remaining democracies in mainland Southern Africa where elections are conducted freely and fairly and the will of the people is respected, and those aggrieved have access to courts.

This is the moment Zambia’s opposition leader, Brian Mundubile, who has accused Zambian strongman Hakainde Hichilema of rigging the 13 August presidential election, was arrested by police alongside fellow opposition figure Makebi Zulu. On Monday, Hichilema shut down the courts, preventing Mundubile from physically filing a petition challenging the disputed election result. His regime also killed a former Cabinet minister last week, just hours after the opposition protested the suspension of vote counting and the announcement of results. Mundubile subsequently sought refuge at the United Nations compound in Lusaka, where he remained until his arrest today. Hichilema told his rival to take his grievances to court, then shut down the courts, deployed soldiers to block access and arrested him. This is not democracy, it is authoritarianism. This leaves South Africa, Botswana Lesotho, Malawi and Namibia as the only remaining democracies in mainland Southern Africa where elections are conducted freely and fairly and the will of the people is respected, and those aggrieved have access to courts.

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Zimbabwe declared a state of emergency in its capital city, Harare amid a deadly outbreak of the medieval disease, cholera. What you are seeing below is raw sewage flowing in the streets of Harare due to an unserviced old sewage system left by the colonial government. This is what happens when political leadership fails a country and focuses its energises on looting public funds and plundering the country’s natural resources. This level of total collapse is not only tragic, but it is now bringing diseases for Zimbabweans, yet their public health system is totally collapsed! The most painful thing is that part of Rhodesia’s propaganda predicted this, imagine working so hard to prove Ian Smith right. Yet you see the ruling political elites in designer suits and being driven in the latest black Mercedes cars yet sewage is flowing in the streets like this! For telling you this self evident truth, I will be called a Western puppet and whole trailer load of insults. The insults don’t matter in the face of this truth, like George Orwell said, “….perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

Zimbabwe declared a state of emergency in its capital city, Harare amid a deadly outbreak of the medieval disease, cholera. What you are seeing below is raw sewage flowing in the streets of Harare due to an unserviced old sewage system left by the colonial government. This is what happens when political leadership fails a country and focuses its energises on looting public funds and plundering the country’s natural resources. This level of total collapse is not only tragic, but it is now bringing diseases for Zimbabweans, yet their public health system is totally collapsed! The most painful thing is that part of Rhodesia’s propaganda predicted this, imagine working so hard to prove Ian Smith right. Yet you see the ruling political elites in designer suits and being driven in the latest black Mercedes cars yet sewage is flowing in the streets like this! For telling you this self evident truth, I will be called a Western puppet and whole trailer load of insults. The insults don’t matter in the face of this truth, like George Orwell said, “….perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

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Cyril Ramaphosa has secured South Africa a pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that echoes Nelson Mandela’s doctrine that “your enemies are not our enemies,” affirming an independent foreign policy rooted in national interest.

Cyril Ramaphosa has secured South Africa a pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that echoes Nelson Mandela’s doctrine that “your enemies are not our enemies,” affirming an independent foreign policy rooted in national interest.

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This one jinxed Bafana Bafana with his “to come back soon” nonsense!💔💔💔

This one jinxed Bafana Bafana with his “to come back soon” nonsense!💔💔💔

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The Zimbabwean Senate has voted in favour of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill (No. 3) by 75 votes to 4, with one abstention. The opposition CCC, which has 27 senators in the 80-member chamber, voted alongside ZANUPF. The bill seeks to extend the presidential term from five years to seven years, provide for the future election of a president by Parliament rather than through a direct popular vote, and make a number of other far reaching constitutional changes. The vote means that the bill now awaits the signature of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa before becoming law. Its passage marks one of the most significant constitutional changes in Zimbabwe’s recent history and is likely to remain the subject of intense political, legal and constitutional debate. The bill also seeks to allow Mnangagwa to influence the selection of his successor and potentially block his deputy, General Constantino Chiwenga, from succeeding him. If and when Mnangagwa signs it into law and there is no significant resistance from within ZANUPF, the military or broader society, it will signal a major setback to Chiwenga’s presidential ambitions, short of an intervention that changes the political landscape. More importantly, it will represent a further consolidation of ZANUPF’s hold on power and diminish the prospects of Zimbabwe having a president from outside the ruling party in the foreseeable future. The self evident story is how Mnangagwa has been assisted by influential business interests, including wealthy individuals aligned with ZANUPF, who may have more to lose from a Chiwenga presidency than from the continuation of the current political order. The only developments that could realistically halt this process would be a military intervention and a sustained national uprising. At present, however, all of these possibilities appear distant from political reality.

The Zimbabwean Senate has voted in favour of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill (No. 3) by 75 votes to 4, with one abstention. The opposition CCC, which has 27 senators in the 80-member chamber, voted alongside ZANUPF. The bill seeks to extend the presidential term from five years to seven years, provide for the future election of a president by Parliament rather than through a direct popular vote, and make a number of other far reaching constitutional changes. The vote means that the bill now awaits the signature of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa before becoming law. Its passage marks one of the most significant constitutional changes in Zimbabwe’s recent history and is likely to remain the subject of intense political, legal and constitutional debate. The bill also seeks to allow Mnangagwa to influence the selection of his successor and potentially block his deputy, General Constantino Chiwenga, from succeeding him. If and when Mnangagwa signs it into law and there is no significant resistance from within ZANUPF, the military or broader society, it will signal a major setback to Chiwenga’s presidential ambitions, short of an intervention that changes the political landscape. More importantly, it will represent a further consolidation of ZANUPF’s hold on power and diminish the prospects of Zimbabwe having a president from outside the ruling party in the foreseeable future. The self evident story is how Mnangagwa has been assisted by influential business interests, including wealthy individuals aligned with ZANUPF, who may have more to lose from a Chiwenga presidency than from the continuation of the current political order. The only developments that could realistically halt this process would be a military intervention and a sustained national uprising. At present, however, all of these possibilities appear distant from political reality.

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I hear there was a blanket blackout across Zimbabwe this evening. What did you experience? Which area are you in, how long did the outage last, and has power been restored? What has been your experience?

I hear there was a blanket blackout across Zimbabwe this evening. What did you experience? Which area are you in, how long did the outage last, and has power been restored? What has been your experience?

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During his speech at the Republican Party’s midterm convention, President Donald Trump promised Americans direct cash payments if Republicans win the midterm elections in November.🤣🤣🤣 He must be truly desperate. He has now borrowed a page from the handbook of failed African leaders who promise voters free money that never materialises. The funniest part is that this political bribery comes straight out of the socialist playbook, yet Trump never misses an opportunity to mock socialists. Trump’s promises now come with the same delivery date as his healthcare plan, always two weeks away. Mexico was going to pay for the wall, grocery and electricity prices were going to fall, foreign wars were going to end, Epstein’s files were going to be released, and Americans were going to receive DOGE and tariff cheques. At this rate, his campaign manifesto should be moved from the politics section to the fiction aisle.🤣🤣🤣

During his speech at the Republican Party’s midterm convention, President Donald Trump promised Americans direct cash payments if Republicans win the midterm elections in November.🤣🤣🤣 He must be truly desperate. He has now borrowed a page from the handbook of failed African leaders who promise voters free money that never materialises. The funniest part is that this political bribery comes straight out of the socialist playbook, yet Trump never misses an opportunity to mock socialists. Trump’s promises now come with the same delivery date as his healthcare plan, always two weeks away. Mexico was going to pay for the wall, grocery and electricity prices were going to fall, foreign wars were going to end, Epstein’s files were going to be released, and Americans were going to receive DOGE and tariff cheques. At this rate, his campaign manifesto should be moved from the politics section to the fiction aisle.🤣🤣🤣

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#BreakingNews Seventy Zimbabwean MPs from different parts of the country are currently at the Mabelreign District Office in Harare, receiving pieces of land as a bribe not to vote against Emmerson Mnangagwa in an impeachment vote. These MPs are from both the ruling ZANUPF party and the purported opposition, CCC. The land they are receiving is also part of the payment they were promised in exchange for supporting Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his term of office to 2030. The land is being taken from greenways in Ward 16 in Mabelreign and in Westgate. The allocation of this land was done by Mnangagwa’s 2030 supporter and trumpet, the Local Government Minister, Daniel Garwe. Media houses—rush there now, they are still at the Mabelreign District Office. * Greenways are strips of natural land, within urban or suburban areas, that are preserved for environmental and recreational purposes. They include parks, walking paths, cycling trails, or undeveloped natural corridors like woodlands or wetlands. They help manage stormwater, protect biodiversity, reduce urban heat, and provide communities with access to green space. When governments seize or allocate greenways for development—especially for political favours—it must spark public outrage because it destroys communal, environmental, and recreational assets.

#BreakingNews Seventy Zimbabwean MPs from different parts of the country are currently at the Mabelreign District Office in Harare, receiving pieces of land as a bribe not to vote against Emmerson Mnangagwa in an impeachment vote. These MPs are from both the ruling ZANUPF party and the purported opposition, CCC. The land they are receiving is also part of the payment they were promised in exchange for supporting Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his term of office to 2030. The land is being taken from greenways in Ward 16 in Mabelreign and in Westgate. The allocation of this land was done by Mnangagwa’s 2030 supporter and trumpet, the Local Government Minister, Daniel Garwe. Media houses—rush there now, they are still at the Mabelreign District Office. * Greenways are strips of natural land, within urban or suburban areas, that are preserved for environmental and recreational purposes. They include parks, walking paths, cycling trails, or undeveloped natural corridors like woodlands or wetlands. They help manage stormwater, protect biodiversity, reduce urban heat, and provide communities with access to green space. When governments seize or allocate greenways for development—especially for political favours—it must spark public outrage because it destroys communal, environmental, and recreational assets.

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An 85-year-old man fell while dancing at a political rally. The obvious question would be; What was an 85-year-old doing at a political rally when he should be retired and spending time with his grandchildren? Then the answer comes in a whisper: “It was Jacob Zuma.” 🤣🤣🤣 Suddenly, everything makes sense, as the saying goes, a good dancer knows when to leave the stage.

An 85-year-old man fell while dancing at a political rally. The obvious question would be; What was an 85-year-old doing at a political rally when he should be retired and spending time with his grandchildren? Then the answer comes in a whisper: “It was Jacob Zuma.” 🤣🤣🤣 Suddenly, everything makes sense, as the saying goes, a good dancer knows when to leave the stage.

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#SourGrapes After losing the parliamentary election race to the opposition, ZANUPF Chinhoyi candidate Thomas Chidzomba has locked a borehole he sunk whilst campaigning. He was beaten by CCC's Leslie Mhangwa.

#SourGrapes After losing the parliamentary election race to the opposition, ZANUPF Chinhoyi candidate Thomas Chidzomba has locked a borehole he sunk whilst campaigning. He was beaten by CCC's Leslie Mhangwa.

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This is the president of South Sudan in East Africa. His name is Salva Kiir Mayardit. The future of that country rests on this man’s shoulders. I hope you now understand why many African countries have become basket cases. Future generations will wonder what went wrong with our continent to allow this kind of leadership crisis and institutional decay to take root and persist for so long.

This is the president of South Sudan in East Africa. His name is Salva Kiir Mayardit. The future of that country rests on this man’s shoulders. I hope you now understand why many African countries have become basket cases. Future generations will wonder what went wrong with our continent to allow this kind of leadership crisis and institutional decay to take root and persist for so long.

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This vandalism at Zimbabwe’s new Mbudzi Interchange is a perfect example of what Dr Solomon Guramatunhu always reminds us — that Zimbabwean leaders are a reflection of Zimbabwean society and the Zimbabwean mindset. Our leaders do not fall from the sky; they come from our communities. What we are seeing here is no different from a leader who loots public funds. Public funds are meant for the public good. When ZANUPF loots national resources, it is not different from the Zimbabwean citizen who goes to an interchange and steals cables. Both acts are theft, both are sabotage of the common good, and both expose a destructive mindset that holds the whole nation back. It is exactly the same behaviour that South Africans have been complaining about us for years, when some Zimbabweans vandalise public infrastructure and steal cables across the Limpopo. We are quick to call that xenophobia, but what then do we call it when we are destroying our own country with the same reckless disregard? We all know that in Zimbabwean homes, from the poor to the affluent, there are lithium batteries stolen from mobile phone towers in South Africa and sold cheaply in Zimbabwe. When South Africans complain about this, we dismiss them as being xenophobic. Here is an example of us doing the same thing in our own country. We are destroying and stealing from ourselves. When the lights fail, the interchange will be plunged into darkness, and people will be mugged and killed because there is no lighting. This is wrong. We cannot build a better country with the same hands that destroy it. It can’t!!!!

This vandalism at Zimbabwe’s new Mbudzi Interchange is a perfect example of what Dr Solomon Guramatunhu always reminds us — that Zimbabwean leaders are a reflection of Zimbabwean society and the Zimbabwean mindset. Our leaders do not fall from the sky; they come from our communities. What we are seeing here is no different from a leader who loots public funds. Public funds are meant for the public good. When ZANUPF loots national resources, it is not different from the Zimbabwean citizen who goes to an interchange and steals cables. Both acts are theft, both are sabotage of the common good, and both expose a destructive mindset that holds the whole nation back. It is exactly the same behaviour that South Africans have been complaining about us for years, when some Zimbabweans vandalise public infrastructure and steal cables across the Limpopo. We are quick to call that xenophobia, but what then do we call it when we are destroying our own country with the same reckless disregard? We all know that in Zimbabwean homes, from the poor to the affluent, there are lithium batteries stolen from mobile phone towers in South Africa and sold cheaply in Zimbabwe. When South Africans complain about this, we dismiss them as being xenophobic. Here is an example of us doing the same thing in our own country. We are destroying and stealing from ourselves. When the lights fail, the interchange will be plunged into darkness, and people will be mugged and killed because there is no lighting. This is wrong. We cannot build a better country with the same hands that destroy it. It can’t!!!!

111,714 görüntüleme

The economic crisis in Zimbabwe is self-evident and well explained at ZANUPF election rallies where citizens are reduced to scavenging for bread, which is used as bait for people to attend these election rallies. The fact that the ruling party would do this to citizens and sees nothing wrong with it defines the type of leadership that has ruined this once prosperous country beyond recognition of what it used to be for its people! Corrupt rule has dehumanised Zimbabweans beyond description. They fell from Mugabe’s political gutter to Mnangagwa’s corrupt rule that has sunk them into the sewer!

The economic crisis in Zimbabwe is self-evident and well explained at ZANUPF election rallies where citizens are reduced to scavenging for bread, which is used as bait for people to attend these election rallies. The fact that the ruling party would do this to citizens and sees nothing wrong with it defines the type of leadership that has ruined this once prosperous country beyond recognition of what it used to be for its people! Corrupt rule has dehumanised Zimbabweans beyond description. They fell from Mugabe’s political gutter to Mnangagwa’s corrupt rule that has sunk them into the sewer!

265,327 görüntüleme

My dear brother, when serious investors come into a country looking to do business, they look at basic things, very basic things. In Zimbabwe, people in the capital city, barely 100 metres from the president’s office, are walking over raw sewage. There is no clean drinking water in many homes in Harare. Boreholes are now the main source of water, even in affluent suburbs like Chisipite, where shopping centres rely on boreholes because the government has failed to provide reliable running water. Hospitals do not have basic medication, sometimes not even painkillers. For years, the country has gone without a single fully functional radiotherapy cancer treatment machine in public hospitals. People diagnosed with cancer are often left with little hope unless they can afford treatment outside the country. Around 2,500 women die every year while giving birth in Zimbabwe. Roads are filled with potholes. The country cannot consistently provide 24-hour electricity from January to December. Public funds are routinely looted. Corruption is rife. The Constitution is violated. There is no meaningful rule of law. Those are the things serious business people like Aliko Dangote look at before they invest in a country. They ask themselves important questions. How will workers live? Will they have access to clean water? Will they have access to healthcare? Will contracts be respected? If there is a dispute, will the courts rule fairly and independently? These things matter. So when some people try to reduce this discussion to propaganda and slogans, they are ignoring the very issues that destroyed our country in the first place. We need honesty with each other. A country whose biggest referral hospital still relies on a single maternity theatre built in 1977 cannot honestly be described as a highly promising investment destination. Our judiciary is captured. Institutions are weak. Corruption has become normalised. The world already knows these realities. We cannot pretend on social media that we are something we are not. Zimbabwe is struggling because of governance failures, corruption and policy inconsistency. That reputation cannot be washed away with propaganda. If we do not want that label, then we must fix the country instead of trying to market dysfunction as success.

My dear brother, when serious investors come into a country looking to do business, they look at basic things, very basic things. In Zimbabwe, people in the capital city, barely 100 metres from the president’s office, are walking over raw sewage. There is no clean drinking water in many homes in Harare. Boreholes are now the main source of water, even in affluent suburbs like Chisipite, where shopping centres rely on boreholes because the government has failed to provide reliable running water. Hospitals do not have basic medication, sometimes not even painkillers. For years, the country has gone without a single fully functional radiotherapy cancer treatment machine in public hospitals. People diagnosed with cancer are often left with little hope unless they can afford treatment outside the country. Around 2,500 women die every year while giving birth in Zimbabwe. Roads are filled with potholes. The country cannot consistently provide 24-hour electricity from January to December. Public funds are routinely looted. Corruption is rife. The Constitution is violated. There is no meaningful rule of law. Those are the things serious business people like Aliko Dangote look at before they invest in a country. They ask themselves important questions. How will workers live? Will they have access to clean water? Will they have access to healthcare? Will contracts be respected? If there is a dispute, will the courts rule fairly and independently? These things matter. So when some people try to reduce this discussion to propaganda and slogans, they are ignoring the very issues that destroyed our country in the first place. We need honesty with each other. A country whose biggest referral hospital still relies on a single maternity theatre built in 1977 cannot honestly be described as a highly promising investment destination. Our judiciary is captured. Institutions are weak. Corruption has become normalised. The world already knows these realities. We cannot pretend on social media that we are something we are not. Zimbabwe is struggling because of governance failures, corruption and policy inconsistency. That reputation cannot be washed away with propaganda. If we do not want that label, then we must fix the country instead of trying to market dysfunction as success.

49,256 görüntüleme

Fake prophet Angel confirms that the rumors that there are people who charge huge amounts to arrange meetings with President Mnangagwa are true. Angel charges US$200,000 to arrange a meeting with the President. We will find out in episode 2 who exactly gets the US$200,000 fee!

Fake prophet Angel confirms that the rumors that there are people who charge huge amounts to arrange meetings with President Mnangagwa are true. Angel charges US$200,000 to arrange a meeting with the President. We will find out in episode 2 who exactly gets the US$200,000 fee!

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The much-awaited ZANUPF conference came and went, ending yesterday in Chinhoyi. There is no need for lengthy analysis. Only two things matter. The succession contest is between Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The President still wants power, is in no hurry to be succeeded, and if the day ever comes, he does not want his deputy to take over. He prefers someone else. The Vice President succeeded in blocking the resolutions from being discussed at the Politburo. He then delivered a rock star speech at the conference on Friday. But the real question is this: did he win anything? President Mnangagwa and his allies wanted resolutions that would cement the national constitutional changes made through CAB3, now Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3. The resolutions sought to align the ZANUPF constitution with those changes, to move the party congress from 2027 to 2029, and to make President Mnangagwa the sole, uncontested candidate to lead ZANUPF in 2029. That would make him the automatic candidate in 2030, when, under the new constitution, the President will be elected by Parliament. So who won? Politically, President Mnangagwa. General Chiwenga gave a powerful speech that got the media and the country talking, but it earned him nothing, because the very changes he was trying to stop were adopted. The hostility shown by provincial chairmen and chairwomen, captured in parts of this video, tells you exactly where power lies. As I have said before, General Chiwenga was outmanoeuvred politically. It began when President Mnangagwa removed the running mate clause. That was the moment the Vice President should have pushed back, knowing beyond any doubt that his boss did not want him as successor and was not ready to go. Instead, he cheered him on. It was General Chiwenga who championed the 2030 agenda, telling the opposition that President Mnangagwa could rule for as long as he wanted and there was nothing they could do about it. It was General Chiwenga who anointed him as a Munhumutapa, a king. He said all this without realising the ground was shifting beneath his own feet. Emotionally, he has won the sympathy of many outside ZANUPF, and probably of some inside who are too afraid to be seen backing him. But in politics, where it truly matters, he was outmanoeuvred again in Chinhoyi. His speech was full of sound and fury, and it resonated across the country. Yet speeches do not win succession battles. President Mnangagwa walked away with the resolutions he wanted, backed by the party, by hook or by crook. So what can General Chiwenga do now? Realistically, his only remaining leverage is the military. If the army is behind him and willing to act, that is his saving grace. Without it, he is finished. He cannot beat President Mnangagwa politically, because President Mnangagwa controls the ZANUPF political machine. His only other window is if President Mnangagwa dies and the political ground shifts. But waiting for a rival to die and hoping to outlive him is not a political strategy. It is leaving your fate to nature and to God. And as we saw with former President Robert Mugabe, these men can live well into their nineties. Who will eventually succeed President Mnangagwa will be decided by the changes being made inside ZANUPF, and he has made it absolutely clear that he does not want General Chiwenga. Do not be fooled by their empty talk of unity. There is no harmony in that party. They are at war with each other, and so far, President Mnangagwa's side is winning. They hold power, and they control the money. With money, you can go far. They even brought parts of the opposition on side. At the time, General Chiwenga supported what was being done to the opposition, failing to see that President Mnangagwa was not acting for ZANUPF or its survival. He was acting for himself. To these men, ZANUPF is simply a vehicle for elections. They do not act for the party. They act for themselves. Many people on social media believe General Chiwenga could soon be fired as Vice President. I see it differently. President Mnangagwa learned from 2017 that firing your deputy in the middle of a war with him can trigger consequences you never intended. I do not see him getting rid of General Chiwenga. He will keep him exactly where he is and continue to frustrate him. The reality is that President Mnangagwa keeps getting what he wants, with or without General Chiwenga in the room. Tactically, there is no reason to remove a man who has failed to stop a single thing the President has set out to do. In fact, I believe the Vice President now wants to be fired. He is growing bolder in what he says. A man with a powerful force behind him does not need to say much. He simply acts. The fact that General Chiwenga is talking so much points to one of two things. Either he wants to be fired so that it triggers action, or he is desperate, cornered, and speech is the only weapon he has left. I lean towards the first. I believe he wants to provoke action, and his boss knows it. That is precisely why President Mnangagwa will not fire him. As long as he remains in charge and continues to make the decisions he wants, he has no reason to hand his deputy the trigger he is looking for. As for a coup, I have said for the past two years that the chances are slim from what I can see. But they are not zero. It cannot be ruled out. Then there is the region. Much of what Wicknell Chivayo did for President Mnangagwa looked comical at the time, but it was far more than that. He helped bring regional leaders on side, travelling to South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Eswatini, Zambia and Mozambique. He also flew into Botswana, though I do not know what came of that. We saw deals. What we did not see was what those deals were building. Whatever their nature, they strengthened President Mnangagwa's support base across Southern Africa and into East Africa. Those deals bind these leaders together. Given a choice between President Mnangagwa and General Chiwenga, the region will choose the man they have already done business with. Internationally, General Chiwenga is believed to have China on his side. How deep that support runs, I honestly do not know, and I would be lying if I claimed otherwise. What I can say, from my conversations with various diplomats, is that some Western countries are quietly content with President Mnangagwa remaining in power. They see in him stability and predictability, a guarantee that their interests will be protected. They know him. They know that when he strikes a deal, he delivers, as he did with the compensation deal for former white farmers. He understood that continuing those payments would buy him Western support, economic and political. I have read that President Donald Trump is sending a team to meet him. President Trump has no interest in human rights or democracy. He is interested in trade and deals. If President Mnangagwa delivers what that delegation wants, he will have America's support. Britain, too, is focused on investment and trade. The new British Ambassador, Gill Lever, has made it clear that her priorities are trade, investment and people-to-people links. Human rights are not at the top of that list. And in any case, when it comes to human rights, there is no better candidate within ZANUPF. They are all the same, so it is no longer an issue. There is no opposition to speak of, and none to support. Western countries will simply work with the government of the day. That is President Mnangagwa's strength right now, and it is General Chiwenga's great weakness. The Vice President has made no serious effort to engage these countries. Whether that is by design or through incompetence, one would have to dig deeper to find out. President Mnangagwa has got everything he wanted. He has elevated his lieutenants, making businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei a senator and now Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotion, and keeping Paul Tungwarara close as his investment adviser. He has sidelined General Chiwenga's allies, demoting Obert Mpofu from ZANUPF Secretary General and removing Lieutenant General Engelbert Rugeje as the party's National Political Commissar, and now dumped from the politburo. He has also reshaped the military, placing his own people in key positions and removing commanders believed to be loyal to General Chiwenga. The clearest example is Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who was retired as Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army and moved into Cabinet as Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, taking him away from the troops and into a ministry far from the barracks. Each move has gone through without resistance. He has proved, beyond doubt, that he controls the party, the state and the army. In a nutshell, General Chiwenga enjoys wide support outside his own party. Many Zimbabweans, left without an opposition to believe in, are now rallying behind him as the only man who can end President Mnangagwa's rule. President Mnangagwa may not have the country behind him, but he has something more decisive. He commands the state machinery, controls the ZANUPF engine, and has deep pockets to drive his political projects through. And the nation? We are mere spectators to a battle raging inside ZANUPF. Spectators, and nothing more. The people's sympathy against the power of the state. Who will win? Time will tell.

Hopewell Chin’ono

140,180 görüntüleme • 14 saat önce

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Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga delivered a powerful and politically loaded speech today at the ZANUPF Annual National People's Conference in Chinhoyi, the yearly gathering where the ruling party's grassroots and leadership structures come together. Standing at the podium before the president spoke, Vice President Chiwenga asked a loaded question. What led to the creation of the Second Republic? In other words, what led to the military coup of 2017 that removed Robert Mugabe? He answered it himself. The Second Republic, he said, came about because those who acted wanted to fix the bad things that were happening under Mugabe. Then he turned the question back on the party. Are we not repeating the very things that led to the Second Republic, the things that led to that coup without mentioning it by name? Vice President Chiwenga went further, challenging the party's own machinery and leadership. Are the resolutions coming out of ZANUPF conferences truly coming from the real people at the grassroots, or are they being pushed from the top, he asked. Do these conferences capture the voice of the people? ZANUPF, he insisted, belongs to the people and not to individuals. Change, he said, must be driven by the people and not imposed from above, and the outcome of those resolutions must benefit the majority of Zimbabweans and not a privileged few, he said. These were not abstract words, questions and answers. Vice President Chiwenga is locked in a deadly succession battle with his boss, President Mnangagwa. The contest has been building for years with the president letting his actions show that he doesn’t want his deputy to succeed him. In 2021, President Mnangagwa signed into law the constitutional amendment that removed the running mate clause, a provision that had been meant to guarantee that the vice president would succeed the president in the event of anything happening to him. He then moved to extend his own stay in power, with changes that would push his term from 2028 to 2030 and lengthen the presidential term from five years to seven. This week the Harare ZANUPF chairman said that they wanted a resolution the declared President Mnangagwa the only candidate for the party in 2030. The fight has now spilled into the party itself. Last Friday, a battle of sorts led to the ZANUPF Politburo meeting failing to take place, amid attempts to amend the party's constitution to align it with the changes to the national constitution. Many political analysts say those changes are designed to sideline Vice President Chiwenga. President Mnangagwa has also been elevating Senator Kudakwashe Tagwirei, widely described as his heir apparent. Tagwirei was first appointed to the Central Committee, a move Vice President Chiwenga tried to stop but failed. He was then appointed a senator clearing the way for him to join cabinet as required by Zimbabwe’s law, and this week he was appointed a cabinet minister. Analysts increasingly read that sequence as a pathway designed to clear the road for him to become president. Against that backdrop, Vice President Chiwenga's questions in Chinhoyi were more than rhetoric. By invoking the coup that created the Second Republic, and by asking whether history is repeating itself, he put the party's leadership on notice in front of its own delegates. Whether President Mnangagwa and his allies choose to answer him, or to silence him, will shape the future of ZANUPF and of Zimbabwe.

Hopewell Chin’ono

234,909 görüntüleme • 2 gün önce

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As I reported yesterday, the factional battle within ZANUPF pitting President Emmerson Mnangagwa against his deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a retired general, is intensifying. Today the war of carefully chosen words continued. President Mnangagwa thanked those who attended the Presidential Fundraising Dinner, held to raise money for the party's 23rd National People's Conference, which is taking place this week in Chinhoyi. As I said yesterday, the Vice President and his faction stayed away. Senior figures aligned to him, among them retired General Anselem Sanyatwe, were absent. The President did not hide his displeasure. After thanking those who came, he openly registered his disappointment, pointing out that some members of the Politburo had not attended. He then switched to Shona and asked the audience, rhetorically, whether they had heard what he had just said. It was a message aimed squarely at bus deputy seated next to him. Where this battle ends will shape the future of ZANUPF, but not necessarily the future of Zimbabwe. I say this because ZANUPF remains ZANUPF regardless of who leads it. It is a system of governance, not a single man. We saw this when the late former President Robert Mugabe was removed and President Mnangagwa took over. The face at the top changed, but the system did not. Whoever wins this fight inherits the same machinery, and ordinary Zimbabweans should not expect their lives to change simply because one faction triumphs over another.

Hopewell Chin’ono

234,534 görüntüleme • 5 gün önce

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Many of my African friends, and journalists beyond the continent, have been asking me what on earth is happening in Zimbabwe due to a fast moving political story involving President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Vice President, General Constantino Chiwenga. I have put together these videos to tell a long story in a short space of time. There is a factional fight inside ZANUPF, between a faction that supports President Emmerson Mnangagwa and a faction that supports his deputy, Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga. It is about who succeeds President Mnangawa, General Chiwenga or Mnangagwa's heir apparent, Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Constitutional changes were put in place to block Chiwenga and prolong Mnangagwa's term of office. Things came to a head when businessman and tenderpreneur Wicknell Chivayo, who was very close to the President, died in a helicopter crash on the Wednesday before last. Some time back, Vice President Chiwenga had gone to a meeting of the ZANUPF Politburo, the body of senior officials that runs the party, to complain about a group of businessmen close to the President, accusing them of corruption. Wicknell Chivayo was one of them. Vice President Chiwenga and his inner circle of military men particularly General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe did not attend Chivayo's funeral. Neither did he pass on his condolences, publicly or privately, as far as the media is aware. President Mnangagwa, on the other hand, went to the Chivayo home, passed on his condolences, described Chivayo as a dear friend, and declared him a provincial hero. In Zimbabwe, hero status is decided by the ruling party (read President), which is led by President Mnangagwa. Provincial hero is one step below the highest honour, national hero. Ordinarily, when the President visits the family of someone who has been declared a hero, or someone close to the party, he goes with his vice presidents. If they are not available, they visit before or after him. That did not happen this time. Zimbabwe has two vice presidents, and only Vice President Kembo Mohadi went to pass on condolences after President Mnangagwa's visit. Vice President Chiwenga did not. Last Friday, a Politburo meeting was aborted because of disagreements over what was to be discussed. The war veterans said to support Vice President Chiwenga opposed the changes that were going to be made, and it is reported that the Vice President himself challenged those amendments before the meeting started. The amendments were meant to align ZANUPF's constitution to the country's constitutional amendments that gave the president an extra two years to his term of office among many other changes. On Saturday, the inaugural presidential ball dinner was held in Harare at a church owned by Uebert Angel, an ally of the President. Once again, Vice President Chiwenga did not turn up, a powerful signal that he disagrees with the way things are being run. Before the ball, the President had appointed another businessman very close to him, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, as Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotion, after separating that portfolio from the Ministry of Finance and making the two stand alone. At the ball, one of the people seated beside President Mnangagwa at the top table was Kudakwashe Tagwirei. At the presidential ball dinner, Patrick Chinamasa, a senior ZANUPF official and former finance minister under both the late President Robert Mugabe and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, presented a prize to Vice President Kembo Mohadi. What he said was instructive. He told the gathering that the prize was being awarded for loyalty to the President. “I want to thank you for your loyalty to the President. It is very important for a Vice President to remain loyal to their leader. I commend you for demonstrating that loyalty, and I thank you very much for it,” he said. For those who read politics, the message was clear. This was not really about Vice President Mohadi. It was a signal that Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is disloyal, while Vice President Mohadi is loyal. Mohadi’s response was telling, he gave a smile and a shy laughter. He understood the message being send. This morning in Harare, as you can see in this video, Tagwirei was formally sworn in as a government minister. Vice President Chiwenga did not attend. Only Vice President Mohadi was there. There is serious disharmony in Zimbabwe's ruling party, and it has never been as bad as it is now. In the past, they would have their arguments and still be seen together in public. That is no longer the case. The centre can't hold. Some might ask why the Vice President would have been expected at the ball. The dinner was raising money for the upcoming ZANUPF conference, which every member of the party leadership must attend. The fact that the Vice President was in the country and still stayed away shows, once again, that there is a problem. Mouthpieces for the different factions have come out with their own explanations, but the fact of the matter is that Zimbabwe is now in a deep leadership crisis because of this. The tragedy is that Zimbabwe has no opposition. Some of it was co-opted, and some of it destroyed itself. At a time when an opposition would be expected to take advantage of the divisions in the ruling party, there is nobody to do so. Zimbabweans are being forced to choose one faction of the ruling party over another. That is the story in a nutshell.

Hopewell Chin’ono

248,393 görüntüleme • 6 gün önce

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Kusafunda so!!!

Hopewell Chin’ono

119,238 görüntüleme • 7 gün önce

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I strongly condemn the shameless behaviour displayed by some of our people after ZIMFEST because it embarrasses not only those involved, but all of us as a community. I am genuinely embarrassed watching these scenes at a service station, a place where motorists are supposed to stop, refuel, pay, and leave. Instead, these individuals invaded the fuel service station and behaved in a manner that is completely unacceptable. This also puts the organisers of ZIMFEST in an extremely difficult position. They organised a fantastic event that showcased Zimbabwean culture, music, and talent, only for a small group of people to undermine all that goodwill afterwards. Some people were defecating and urinating in front of residents’ homes, while others gathered at the service station and behaved disgracefully. These are not children. They are adults who should know better. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that gives Zimbabweans a bad name. The actions of a few unfairly taint the reputation of an entire community. The fact that the Northampton Chronicle & Echo newspaper has reported on these incidents shows that this is no longer just an internal matter; it has become a public reflection on all of us. Conduct like this makes it harder for Zimbabwean communities to secure support from local councils and venues when organising future festivals, concerts, or other cultural events. It undermines years of hard work by organisers and volunteers who strive to build a positive image of Zimbabweans abroad. There is simply no excuse for this behaviour. It is disgraceful, deeply embarrassing, and completely unacceptable. Those responsible should be ashamed of themselves, because their actions have damaged the reputation of an entire community.

Hopewell Chin’ono

474,121 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce

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The most corrupt president in American history is in a full meltdown because a South African lawyer, jurist and human rights champion won the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday. Donald Trump believes the prize should have been his. Instead, the Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured Judge Navi Pillay, a woman who stood up to apartheid, who in 1973 won political prisoners on Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela, the right to see lawyers, and who went on to serve as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and as a judge at the International Criminal Court. Trump's response was to dismiss her as a "mystery person" and a "liberal person who works at the United Nations", and to call her award an "indelible stain on Norway", even though the Norwegian government does not award the prize. This is a man who threatened that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" in Iran, who started wars, and who now claims he deserves eight Nobel Peace Prizes for wars he says he settled. Peace is not built on threats, bombs and tantrums. It is built by people like Judge Pillay, who has spent nearly six decades fighting to ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide do not go unpunished. Judge Navi Pillay's father was not a wealthy property developer who grew rich on government-backed housing deals in New York. He was a bus driver in Durban. She grew up in a poor neighbourhood under apartheid, a system designed to keep her out of every room she would later walk into. In 1967 she became the first non-white woman to open a law practice in Natal, defending anti-apartheid activists when doing so carried real risk. Nobody handed her anything. She built her career with her own hands, case by case, from a bus driver's home in Durban to the International Criminal Court and the Nobel Peace Prize. She did not get where she is with a silver spoon in her mouth, like someone we know. Judge Navi Pillay's father was not a wealthy property developer who grew rich on government-backed housing deals in New York. He was a bus driver in Durban. She grew up in a poor neighbourhood under apartheid, a system designed to keep her out of every room she would later walk into. In 1967 she became the first non-white woman to open a law practice in Natal, defending anti-apartheid activists when doing so carried real risk. Nobody handed her anything. She built her career with her own hands, case by case, from a bus driver's home in Durban to the International Criminal Court and the Nobel Peace Prize. She did not get where she is with a silver spoon in her mouth, like someone we know.

Hopewell Chin’ono

38,579 görüntüleme • 8 gün önce

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Zimbabwean football champions Scottland were forced to use Uber vehicles to reach Somhlolo Stadium after police officers assigned to escort their team bus failed to arrive on time. The Zimbabwean champions also woke up to a scene out of a Nigerian movie, with small grains (zviyo) thrown around their bus. Mabviravira, as Scottland are affectionately known, had been allocated a one-hour training session at the stadium between 3pm and 4pm ahead of tomorrow’s crucial second-leg encounter against Nsingizini Hotspurs. With their bus stranded and the clock already running, the players and technical team abandoned their original transport arrangements and used Uber vehicles to reach the venue. Although the improvised plan enabled them to reach the stadium, Scottland lost approximately 20 minutes of the 60-minute training session permitted under CAF regulations. The Zimbabwean champions go into tomorrow’s match, which kicks off at 3pm, holding a narrow 1-0 advantage from the first leg. It is deeply backward that some African football teams still resort to juju, believing that rituals and supernatural powers can help them defeat their opponents. It is unfortunate that, instead of relying on proper preparation, tactical discipline, talent and hard work, some teams waste time scattering strange substances around buses, dressing rooms and stadiums in the hope of influencing results. Football matches are won through professionalism and performance on the pitch, not superstition.

Hopewell Chin’ono

168,081 görüntüleme • 1 ay önce