MORE than a week ago the former head of Zimbabwe’s feared spying agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation, made the groundbreaking admission that the organisation held a 50% stake in a diamond company. This was closely followed on Tuesday by the announcement that the parliamentary committee to which this revelation was made also plans to call
By Prof Keith Somerville THE headline on The Herald could not have made it clearer: “Police tighten noose on Grace Mugabe.” The newspaper, for 37 years the mouthpiece of Robert Mugabe’s government, is now the voice of the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. He replaced Mugabe when the long-time leader was deposed in late 2017. Over the last couple
By Patrick Zhuwao LAST week’s instalment of the ZBR (ZBR13, Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Quandary of Independent Candidates) described the situations of independent candidates as being akin to that of a person who loses his car keys on the dark side of the street only to look for them on the
Charles Hampton, who worked in Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1984, visits the country in the aftermath of Robert Mugabe’s removal from power “No more road blocks…it’s good! The Crocodile has put the police back in their box!”. The man waiting at Rusape gave me a toothy grin. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the new President of Zimbabwe, has
By Wang Li IN just one week from March 29 to April 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping has warmly welcomed head of state of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Both countries are located in Southern Africa with huge potentials to become great and wealthy players. In addition, two countries have agreed with China respectively to establish or
Albert Einstein is arguably the most influential person of the 20th century and left behind an indelible mark on the sand of time. At the age of 76 his abdominal aortic aneurysm burst, leading to internal bleeding and severe pain. Even though the doctors recommended it, Einstein refused surgery. This is what he said, “It
AS Zimbabweans, to cannot ignore or simply forget the good that has come under the leadership of the former President of the Republic Comrade Robert Mugabe would be doing history a big disfavour. He was a fanatic, ruthless and uncompromising in his pursuit for Zimbabwe’s independence, equal rights for its citizen’s no matter one’s colour
AS state security minister in the 1980s, Emmerson Mnangagwa was in office during the Matebeleland massacres that killed as many as 20,000 ethnic Ndebele in an effort by the ruling Zanu PF to crush political opposition and consolidate power (although he denies any direct involvement in the killings). Throughout the 2000s – a period in
This is an article by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for The New York Times. HARARE: In November, the Zimbabwean people, led by our youth, went to the streets peacefully and joyfully, determined to have their voices heard. They called for freedom, progress and a new way of doing things. Though supported by the military, this was
The first time I entered into the Meikles Hotel was in 2006 to meet Hon.Temba Mliswa. We had a discussion for an hour. Interestingly, I managed to convince him to incline towards my position of argument. At that point in time, Itai Dzamara was briefly working with Mliswa. From that day, I interacted with Mliswa
AS a venue for any political gathering, Chinhoyi evokes conflicting emotions to many Zimbabweans simply because the Mashonaland West provincial capital has always been a source of both national pride and embarrassment. Chinhoyi evinces an odd mixture of patriotism and derision because it is the venue of two occasions that starkly and ironically stand out as
Despite expectations, the government must avoid the perils of quick fixes, and pursue a long-term path to recovery, writes Julians Amboko As throngs poured into the streets of Harare in seeming euphoria following the November 2017 military takeover of power from Robert Mugabe, there was little, if any, consensus as to whether the unfolding events
By Henry Zakumumpa (PhD Candidate, Makerere University) Over the last 15 years, there’s been a rapid increase in the number of patients receiving HIV treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. This has largely depended on foreign aid, particularly from global aid organisations such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Global Fund. Millions of lives have been
The late national poet laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile, once warned me about people who profess adherence to African culture to justify patriarchy. He was speaking out against how we, men, can use culture or religion to suppress women. The removal of President Jacob Zuma from office, emphasised the price we Africans pay for thinking in platitudes.
FACTS are stubborn. It is trite to state that the story of this country cannot be written without according veneration to the name of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. For there is no debate he deserves his own space in the national narrative for the significant role he has played in shaping the country’s post-liberation politics. Fate
The removal of South African president Jacob Zuma will be remembered for several reasons. One may be the gap between reality and what reporters, commentators and those who shape the national debate say happened. There have been two South Africas over this period – one created by the echo chamber which dominates the public debate
Jacob Zuma’s late night announcement that he would step down as president of South Africa followed days of tense negotiations within the governing African National Congress (ANC). The Conversation Africa asked academics what lessons can be learnt, and how the ANC can redeem itself in the post-Zuma era. Is this the biggest political crisis that
HARD as it may be to believe, Zimbabwe was once the freest economy in the world. Not in the dim, distant past, but just a few years ago. Between 2009 and 2012, the economy grew at 8% a year, albeit off a bombed-out base. Zimbabwean Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) parliamentarian Eddie Cross, who is
MORGAN Tsvangirai, who was born March 10 1952 in Buhera, in Manicaland just across the border from Zimbabwe’s Gutu District in Masvingo, became leader of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change in September 1999. He was a very brave and iconic figure in the leadership of Zimbabwe’s anti-authoritarian and social justice movements that emerged in the
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa – forgive me, President Ramaphosa – is self-evidently a private and reserved human being. Since his decision to contest the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), he has been the subject of an endless series of “think-pieces”, more or less informed including by this author, as well as a year or
