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Mnangagwa
in army boss 
appointment
clash with
Chiwenga
ALSO INSIDE Who is the next ZNA commander?
Page 2
Mnangagwa
in army boss 
appointment
clash with
Chiwenga
OWEN GAGARE
PRESIDENT Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Vice-Presi-
dent Constantino Chiwenga
are on a new collision course
over the appointment of the
next Zimbabwe National
Army (ZNA) commander,
with retired Lieutenant-Gen-
eral Engelbert Rugeje at the
centre of the row and renewed
power struggle.
The ZNA top post is vacant
following the death of Lieu-
tenant-General Edzai Chi-
monyo who succumbed to a
heart ailment on 8 July.
Military sources told The
NewsHawks this week that
the issue is looming large in
the corridors of power amid
resurgent infighting between
the two leaders.
“This is a big issue because
the President and his deputy
have different political agen-
das on who should replace
Chimonyo,” a military source
said.  that. So he tried to outma-
“The President is still
searching among the serving
and retired senior command-
ers for the most suitable candi-
date, while his deputy is dead
set on ensuring Rugeje gets the
job. Although it is the com-
mander-in-chief who has the
final say, the process is consul-
tative, hence clashing designs
and manoeuvres.  Mnangagwa’s staunch loyalists
“The new commander is
supposed to have been ap-
pointed by the time Zimba-
bwe commemorates Heroes
and Defences Forces holidays
on 9 August and 10 August re-
spectively. It’s raising tensions
between them because it is a
critical appointment with im-
plications for power dynamics
and how the unresolved lead-
ership issue between them will
be settled.”
Mnangagwa has three
weeks to find a replacement
for Chimonyo.
“There is a board or con-
sultation team which includes
the minister of Defence (Op-
pah Muchinguri-Kashiri), the
permanent secretary (Mark
Gray Marongwe), the imme-
diate past CDF (Commander
Defence Forces,  Chiwenga)
and the current CDF (Lieu-
tenant-General Phillip Valerio
Sibanda,” another source said.  political brinksmaship.
“They are currently hav-
ing consultations before they
make a recommendation to
the President. Rugeje is the fa-
vourite – he has the right qual-
ifications, experience and sup-
port within the military, but
the problem is politics. Mnan-
gagwa doesn’t want him.”
Rugeje was part of Chiwen-
ga’s core military team which
put Mnangagwa to power
through the coup against the
late former president Robert
Mugabe.
As part of their November
2017 coup deal, Rugeje, who
is Chiwenga’s ally, was sup-
posed to be appointed ZNA
commander following the
promotion of Sibanda to com-
mand ZDF.
However, Chiwenga first
wanted Rugeje, now his trust-
ed lieutenant, to go to Zanu
PF to take control of the par-
ty machinery and structures
ahead of the 2018 elections.
Mnangagwa did not want
noeuvre Chiwenga, who was
firmly in charge at the time, by
appointing senior war veterans
leader Victor Matematanda
whom the military rejected.
Rugeje went on to become
Zanu  PF national commissar.
He presided over the party’s
2018 election campaign, but
found himself in clashes with
like Chris Mutsvangwa who
was then presidential adviser.
Mutsvangwa said Rugeje
was inexperienced and push-
ing a military factional agen-
da after he had lost Zanu PF
primaries in Norton before
coming back through the back
door in a re-run after his rival
withdrew, only to be defeat-
ed by independent candidate
Themba Mliswa in the main
poll in July 2018.
Mutsvangwa, whom the
army succeeded in removing
from office, had also warned
that Mnangagwa could lose if
people like Rugeje remained
in charge of the elections.
In the midst of the suspi-
cions and tensions, Mnan-
gagwa complained at the time
that there was an impeach-
ment plot against him. This
suggested an intensification
of the infighting and renewed
News
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
About a year after the elec-
tion, in June 2019, Mnangag-
wa – in a push back against
Chiwenga – removed Rugeje
as commissar and put Matem-
atanda as he initially wanted.
Matemadanda remained in
the position amid bungling,
while also being deputy De-
fence minister until recently
when was appointed ambassa-
dor to Mozambique.
Rugeje had been removed
with a promise that he would
be deployed to head the Zim-
babwe National  Defence Uni-
versity, but Mnangagwa left
him in the lurch.
So after putting his head on
the block with others to get
Mnangagwa in, Rugeje was
basically thrown out.
But Chiwenga still wants
Rugeje, who is a relatively re-
spected and experienced com-
mander, to be appointed the
next ZNA chief.  anti-government revolt.
Senior military officers,
however, say Rugeje’s position
has been weakened by the fact
that he retired from the mili-
tary after the coup. He would
be shoo-in if he had remained
and was not retired.
But then again, in principle,
Rugeje can still be appointed
ZNA commander as he is part
of the reserve force. When sol-
diers retire they remain part of
the army as the reserve force
and can be called back to duty
whenever necessary.
“Mnangagwa does not want
Rugeje, whom he knows to be
one of Chiwenga’s strongest
and fearless allies. That’s why
he removed him from head-
ing the Zanu PF commissariat
after the 2018 polls. He didn’t
want him there in the first
place,” a source said.
“But Chiwenga wants Ru-
geje to take over, hence the
collision course.”
Mnangagwa’s tensions with
Rugeje exploded during a
Zanu PF politburo meeting
on 29 July 2020. The month-
ly meeting was held on a
Wednesday at party headquar-
ters commencing 10am.  Rugeje was central in the
It came just two days be-
fore the 31 July 2020 pro-
tests. Mnangagwa feared an
uprising by the opposition
and Zanu PF internal rivals.
This was similar to events in
January 2019 during unrest
that left a trail of death and
destruction.
In an unprecedented move,
Mnangagwa had brought in
Central Intelligence Organi-
sation director-general Isaac
Moyo to present a report to
the effect that some senior
party officials were working
with the opposition and civil
society activists to organise an
“Although Chiwenga was
strategically absolved of any
wrongdoing, it was said the
so-called traitors were acting
in his name. As a result, the
342nd session of the politbu-
ro suspended its secretary for
Health Cde Cleveria Chize-
ma after Lovemore Matuke,
head of the security depart-
ment, presented Moyo’s report
on how internal forces were
working with opposition ac-
tivists to subvert Mnangagwa’s
leadership.”
However, during the ensu-
ing heated debate Rugeje re-
minded Mnangagwa how he
had come to power and how
Chiwenga and others like him
had put their heads on the
block for him.
He also reminded Mnan-
gagwa that he has offices
– Munhumutapa Building,
State House and Zanu PF
headquarters – not his farm
where people always gathered
for unofficial meetings and
plotting.
That was enough to ruffle
Mnangagwa’s feathers and
widen the rift between them.  during the coup, including
coup against Mugabe.
He was, however, retired
from the military alongside
Chiwenga, who was the ZDF
commander, the late Per-
rance Shiri, then Air Force
commander and Sibusiso
Moyo, former ZDF chief-
of-staff. Chiwenga became
co-vice-president, Shiri and
Moyo ministers of Agriculture
and Foreign Affairs respective-
ly, and Rugeje Zanu PF com-
missar.
Military sources said this
was within the context of the
broader coup deal, which en-
tailed Mnangagwa serving un-
til 2023 before handing over
the reins of power to Chiwen-
ga.
Sibanda would also become
vice-president on the Zapu
ticket, replacing Kembo Mo-
hadi at that stage, while Ruge-
je would bounce back as, first,
ZNA commander and then
CDF boss.
Mohadi resigned as
vice-president amid a sex scan-
dal early this year, but remains
party co-deputy leader. He is
currently going around the
country mobilising structures.
But no sooner had Mnan-
gagwa gotten into office than
the deal began unravelling as
he launched an independent
path forward and a ruthless
power consolidation bid, re-
sulting in a fallout and ten-
sions within the coup coali-
tion. Mnangagwa is currently
on a power consolidation
drive to ensure re-election in
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
2023, although Chiwenga
and his military faction hope
to stop him during next year’s
elective party congress.
The immediate point of
conflict after the coup was
the appointment of Muchin-
guri-Kashiri and Mohadi as
vice-presidents. The Muchin-
guri-Kashiri appointment was
resisted by an angry Chiwenga
who pressured Mnangagwa
to appoint him vice-president
instead.
Mnangagwa beat a hasty
retreat and abandoned the
Muchinguri-Kashiri deal and
brought in Chiwenga on
board with unprecedented
powers, also in charge of de-
fence and war veterans min-
istries. 
Mohadi had initially been
given those portfolios, includ-
ing security.
But Mnangagwa did not
rest: he continued to push his
agenda and, much to Chiwen-
ga’s shock, the President and
his supporters immediately
started playing the long game
to prolong his stay in power
beyond 2023 as early as De-
cember 2018 during the rul-
ing party’s Esigodini annual
conference.
Mnangagwa later started
purging police, intelligence
and then army structures to
realign them to his power ma-
trix.
Key military command-
ers who played a critical role
Presidential Guard command-
er retired Major-General An-
selem Sanyatwe, were retired
and sent on diplomatic ser-
vice.
Chiwenga’s allies were also
purged from cabinet.
This mostly happened when
he was ill and away in China.
After Shiri’s death in July
last year, Chiwenga and his
faction pushed for his replace-
ment with a person who has
a security background, but
Mnangagwa appointed an ally
from Masvingo, Anxious Ma-
suka to take over.
One of Mnangagwa’s key
strategies has been to mainly
appoint his ethnic Karanga
homeboys, mostly from the
Midlands and Masvingo prov-
inces, into key positions as
part of the power consolida-
tion agenda, hence brazen po-
litical clansmaship in his rule.
Ethnic politics, cronyism
and patronage are deeply em-
bedded in Zimbabwean poli-
tics. That, together with lead-
ership, policy and governance
failures, ruined the country.
This is widely seen as a con-
tinuation of Mugabe’s ethnic
and regional politics – politi-
cisation and weaponisation of
ethnicity for political ends.
Mugabe mainly appointed
his ethnic Zezuru cronies  into
key positions throughout his
37 years in power. This was
the main reason for the Tsho-
lotsho Agenda of 2004 to ro-
tate leadership among various
ethnic and sub-ethnic groups
to break the current mould.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Who is the next ZNA commander?
BERNARD MPOFU
ZANU PF internal politi-
cal dynamics are expected
to play out when President
Emmerson Mnangagwa
appoints the new Zimba-
bwe National Army (ZNA)
commander following the
death of Edzai Absolom
Chanyuka Chimonyo last
week.
Chimonyo, who was
re-assigned from the diplo-
matic service and appointed
ZNA chief after the 2017
military coup which oust-
ed long-time leader Robert
Mugabe, was a dark horse.
His appointment came as a
surprise to many and critics
viewed it as Mnangagwa’s
coup-proofing strategy.
The age factor, experience
and allegiances, according
to insiders, will influence
Mnangagwa’s appointment
of the next army command-
er. Following Mnangagwa’s
takeover, there has been
concern that the President
has reserved key posts for
people from only two prov-
inces — Midlands and Mas-
vingo — dominated by his
ethnic Karanga tribe. This,
sources said, has unsettled
some Zanu PF apparatchiks
such as Mnangagwa’s dep-
uty Constantino Chiweng-
wa, a retired military chief.
Phillip Valerio Siban-
da, the current Zimbabwe
Defence Forces Commad-
er, Isaac Moyo, the coun-
try’s top spy and Air Force
of Zimbabwe boss Elson
Moyo are all from the
Midlands province. An-
other Midlander, Sibusiso
Moyo, who was the face
of the coup before being
appointed Zimbabwe’s top
diplomat, was also from the
Midlands.
Chimonyo was from
Masvingo province.
This week, The News-
Hawks spoke to security
sources and looked into
the country’s laws to see
whether or not Mnangagwa
would spring another sur-
prise.
Who are the big names?
Chimonyo’s appointment
brought to the fore how
Mnangagwa as Command-
er-in-Chief flexed his mus-
cle by appointing a general
who was not active instead
of those who had played
a leading role in wresting
power from Mugabe.  Air Force deputy chief Ti-
Unlike previous army
boss Constantino Chiwen-
ga, who was ZNA chief
before being appointed
Zimbabwe Defence Forces
commander following the
death of Vitalis Zvinavashe,
Chimonyo, whom insid-
ers said had been close to
Mnangagwa from the dark
days of the Gukurahundi
genocide, was largely seen
as a dark house.  military man in diplomatic
“After being appointed
ambassador by Mugabe,
Chimonyo always wanted
to identify himself as a sol-
dier first then diplomat,” a
source said. “Mnangagwa
made sure that Chimonyo
was brought back into the
military.”
His ascendancy has
heightened speculation that
Mnangagwa, who is known
for playing his cards close to
his chest, may consider re-
tired servicemen who are in
diplomatic service.
Zimbabwe, according to
official records, currently
has three retired army gen-
erals who are serving in dip-
lomatic service. These are
Lieutenant-General Martin
Chedondo (retired) who is
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to
China, Air Marshal Shebba
Shumbayaonda (retired),
who is Zimbabwe’s am-
bassador to Egypt, former
tus Abu-Basuthu, who is
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to
Japan Lieutenant-General
(retired) Anselem Nhamo
Sanyatwe (ambassador to
Tanzania), Major-Gener-
al (retired) Tando Madz-
vamuse and Colonel Chris-
tian Katsande (retired).  Mechanised Brigade which
News
Brigadier-General Mi-
chael Sango (ambassador to
Russia) is the only serving
service at the highest level.
Sango is understood to en-
joy close links with Mnan-
gagwa.
Another former
high-ranking military man
who was posted to diplo-
matic service until the time
of his death was Douglas
Nyikayaramba (Mozam-
bique). Nyikayaramba, who
was retired in the army and
was believed to be close to
Mugabe after having served
as election administration
chief, died early this year
due to Covid-19 complica-
tions.
In terms of army hierar-
chy, Katsande, who was ele-
vated to the rank of colonel
after retirement and Madz-
vamuse, exited the army
at lower rank than their
compatriots in diplomatic
service.  Sanyatwe, sources
said, was unlikely to bounce
back into active service as
he is widely seen as a close
ally of Chiwenga.  slapped with a travel ban
The former commander
of the Presidential Guard
was briefly promoted to
the rank of major-gener-
al before being retired and
posted to Tanzania. His for-
mer unit together with the
Retired Lieutenant-General Engelbert Rugeje.
is stationed at Inkomo
Garrison played a key role
in pushing Mugabe out of
power.
Another name which has
also been tipped to become
the next chief by sources
who believe that Vice-Pres-
ident Chiwenga may influ-
ence the process is Lieu-
tenant-General Engelbert
Rugeje, the former Zanu
PF political commissar who
left military service before
being retired and appointed
to run the governing party’s
commissariat.
The generals within Zimba-
bwe
Sources said if Mnangag-
wa is to follow the prin-
ciple of natural progres-
sion, either Chimonyo’s
immediate subordinate,
Lieutenant-General David
Sigauke, who is the most
senior army chief among
Chimonyo’s three immedi-
ate subordinates, will take
the job. Sigauke, during his
days as commander of the
Mechanised Brigade, was
to New Zealand. He is the
current ZNA chief of staff
(general staff). He works
closely with another for-
mer Mechanised Brigade
commander, Major-Gener-
al Paul Chima, who is the
chief of staff in charge of
administration. The other
major-general, Hlanganani
Dube, is in charge of the
army’s quartermaster roles.
Sources further said if
Mnangagwa were to pro-
mote a senior general from
the ZDF to succeed Chi-
monyo, Major-General
John Chris Mupande would
be the ideal candidate as his
appointment is more senior
than the ZNA chiefs.
The ZDF is made up
of the ZNA and the Air
Force of Zimbabwe. The
ZNA, which has a statuto-
ry strength of 40 000 active
personnel, is however the
primary branch of the ZDF
responsible for land-ori-
ented military operations.
ZNA reserves claim anoth-
er 21 800, putting the com-
bined component strength
total at about 51 800.
“Mupande, just like
Sanyatwe and Rugeje, are
viewed by those around
Mnangagwa as close to
Chiwengwa and this may
minimise chances of their
ascendancy. With the 2023
elections coming up, Mnan-
gagwa would prefer a loyal-
ist to fight from his corner.
We may end up seeing the
politics of clansmanship
playing out,” a source said.  Team, BMATT) coordinat-
The age factor, sources
said, will limit the chances
of retired generals who are
Page 3
now mainly focusing on
their business interests in-
stead of politics.
What does constitution
say about appointments?
Section 216 of Zimbabwe’s
constitution speaks on the
ZDF and services within
the military.
(1) An Act of Parliament
may provide that— (a) the
Defence Forces are to be
under the command of a
single Commander; or
(b) each service of the
Defence Forces, or any two
or more of them jointly, are
to be under the command
of a separate Commander. 
(2) Every Commander of
the Defence Forces, and ev-
ery Commander of a service
of the Defence Forces, is
appointed by the President
after consultation with the
Minister responsible for the
Defence Forces. 
(3) Commanders of the
Defence Forces and Com-
manders of services of the
Defence Forces, are ap-
pointed for a term of not
more than five years, and
a person must not serve in
any one of those offices for
more than two terms. 
(4) A person who has
served as Commander of
a service of the Defence
Forces may be appointed as
Commander of the Defence
Forces, but a person who
has served as Commander
of the Defence Forces may
not be appointed as Com-
mander of a service of the
Defence Forces or to the
command of any other se-
curity service. 
(5) Every Command-
er of the Defence Forces,
and every Commander of
a service of the Defence
Forces, must exercise his
or her command in accor-
dance with general written
policy directives given by
the Minister responsible for
the Defence Forces acting
under the authority of the
President
About the ZNA
The ZNA was formed in
1980 from elements of
the Rhodesian Army, inte-
grated to a greater extent
with combatants from the
Zimbabwe National Lib-
eration Army (Zanla) and
the Zimbabwe People’s
Revolutionary Army (Zpra)
guerrilla movements. At
Independence in 1980
and the cantonment of the
Zanla and Zpra under Op-
eration Midford, British
Army trainers (the British
Military Advisory Training
ed the integration of guer-
rilla fighters into a unified
army.
Page 4
OWEN GAGARE
CORRUPTION skele-
tons involving a series of
multi-billion-dollar tax
evasion scandals are tum-
bling out of the Zimba-
bwe Revenue Authority
(Zimra) cupboard amid
a new corruption scam
involving Chinese dia-
mond miner Jinan Min-
ing (Pvt) Ltd’s dodgy
US$585 million financial
transfers across various
jurisdictions, including
Zimbabwe.
New documents ob-
tained this week by The
NewsHawks reveal fur-
ther corruption by Zimra
executives who have been
looting the whistle-blow-
er’s multi-million-dollar
fund through corrupt
networks involving its
management and infor-
mants.
Documents show that
despite being given over-
whelming evidence of Ji-
nan’s failure to pay its tax
obligations, top Zimra
officials manipulated the
case for self-enrichment,
while protecting the
company from properly
paying tax.
The tax evasion case
against Jinan was report-
ed in 2013 in terms of
section 34B (2) of the
Revenue Authority Act
(Chapter 23:11) by two
whistle-blowers, Martin
Macharaga and Blessed
Tachi, who had big dos-
siers on the company’s
diamond trading activi-
ties and transactions.  reward to the informants
The documents say Ji-
nan externalised US$585
million to Botswana. This
was later exposed by the
whistle-blowers, forcing
it to bring back part of
the money and pay taxes.
In fact, the money was
transferred to other fi-
nancial jurisdictions for
dodgy deals, including
Zambia, Mozambique,
Sierra Leone, Dubai and
China. On 20 December
2011, Jinan had opened
a transitory account with
BancABC for the purpose
of holding the money on
behalf of Anhui Foreign
Economic Construction
Company (Afecc).
The funds were to be
used to fund Afecc oper-
ations in Zimbabwe and
across the region, includ-
ing diamond deals.
So Afecc, through a
series of transactions,
from 9 January 2012 to
25 July 2014, transferred
from China US$585 163
824.26 into Jinan’s ac-
News NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Zimra executives in US$585m
tax evasion corruption scam
the US$585 million tak-
en out as income. The
documents and financial
statements we had pro-
vided were a solid and
sound basis upon Zimra
could declare the money
taxable income,” another
document says.
“All that Zimra re-
quired to do was to levy
25% and 15% of the
US$585 million as In-
come Tax and withhold-
ing respectively. This
would bring a sum of
US$232 000 as the prin-
cipal amount plus 100%
interest and another
100%in penalties.”
Besides all this, doc-
uments say there was a
failure on Zimra’s part to
invoke deeming provi-
sions under sections 8, 9
and 10 of the Income Tax
to consider all money re-
flected on the bank state-
ment of the company as
received income.
“Above all, Zimra also
failed to pay 10% of the
US$9 million paid by Ji-
nan in tax arrears. This
money was paid as a di-
rect result of the whis-
tle-blowers’ efforts, but
Zimra is hiding this infor-
mation to avoid meeting
its own obligations - that
is paying 10% monetary
under Section 34 (B) 2(a)
Zimra acting board chair Josephine Matambo. of the Revenue Act.”
count. The transitory ac- nous bank details, Zimra babwe for its diamond affairs. This was in viola- This comes as whis-
count was then closed on failed and deliberately trading activities, but did tion of section 98 of the tle-blowers behind the
5 August 2014. neglected to investigate not withhold tax on fees Revenue Authority Act case which prompt-
BancABC executives and recover revenue from for onward remittance to (chapter 23). If Zimra ed Zimra to launch  a
were later arrested over Jinan Mining. In the Zimra. had moved swiftly to in- US$680 million tax
the issue of the money process, government and “Jinan violated Zimba- vestigate the tax affairs of evasion investigation in-
transfers suspected to be Treasury lost US$200 bwe’s company laws. It this company, it would volving BancABC-linked
money laundering and million in tax revenue.” used BancABC’s subsid- have prevented the mas- Second  Nominees (Pvt)
externalisation. When the case was re- iary ABC Asset Finance sive externalisation of the Ltd say tax  authorities
Documents say whis- ported, Jinan was not to camouflage, divert and US$585 million,” the decided to close  the file
tle-blowers investigated filing tax returns as re- externalise US$585 mil- documents say. due to corruption.
and reported the issue quired under Section 37 lion,” the document say.  “The top brass at Zim- The informants also
in 2013, but Zimra did of the Income Tax Act “This arrangement was ra, and in particular one say Zimra officials should
nothing despite having (chapter 23:06).  a scheme designed to former Commission- be investigated as they
ample evidence. It is mandatory in avoid paying tax and for er-General, was cor- are not telling the truth
“Through our own ef- terms of the law for ev- other unlawful deeds.” rupt. He got a US$250 when they now claim –
forts and personal sac- ery company to file tax The documents say 000 loan from BancABC, as they did in an official
rifices and at the risk of returns to enable Zimra Zimra failed to play its thus he wouldn’t act in letter on 1 July – that
life and limb, we estab- to assess and calculate role as a tax-collector due any issue involving the Second Nominees have
lished that Jinan Mining taxable income. to “dereliction of duty” bank like this Jinan case.” no tax obligations.
was not paying taxes and Documents show that and “corruption”. Documents say Zim- The whistle-blowers,
had in fact externalised a the company, involved “Despite the fact that ra was unable to probe Evans Kujinga and Mach-
staggering US$585 mil- in diamond trade, was whistle-blowers provid- many tax evasion cases araga, previously report-
lion,” one document, not keeping records as ed solid evidence and even if there was undeni- ed Zimra officials to the
written by whistle-blow- required in terms of sec- documents, Zimra’s top able evidence cases due to Zimbabwe Anti-Corrup-
ers to Zimra, says. tion 37B of the Income brass, including man- corruption. tion  Commission over
“Despite receiving our Tax Act. agement, conspired with “Zimra is mandated tax evasion cases, and
report in 2013 with in- Jinan hired South Afri- Jinan and BancABC to and empowered in terms corruption at the associ-
criminating evidence, can companies to render shield the company from of section 45 of the In- ated multi-million-dollar
plus detailed and volumi- various services in Zim- an investigation on tax come Tax Act to treat whistle-blowing fund.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Environmentalists challenge
sale of Zimbabwe elephants
BRIDGET MANANAVIRE
AN environment and
wildlife rights group,
Advocates4Earth, has
launched a High Court
application to stop the
sale and translocation
of elephants or endan-
gered species by the gov-
ernment without prop-
er consultation, saying
Zimbabwe has been
breaching international
regulations.
The Zimbabwe Parks
and Wildlife Manage-
ment Authority (Zim-
Parks), its director-gen-
eral Fulton Upenyu
Mangwanya, the head
of veterinary and animal
capture unit, Hwange
cluster manager, Zam-
bezi cluster manager
and Environment, Cli-
mate Change, Tourism
and Hospitality Indus-
try minister Nqobizitha
Mangaliso  Ndlovu are
cited as respondents in
the matter.
The Zimbabwean gov-
ernment has been argu-
ing that the sale of el-
ephants is necessary to
reduce the animal popu-
lation and fund conserva-
tion efforts.
This is not the first time
Advocates4Earth has ap-
proached the courts to
stop Zimbabwe from
selling elephants, arguing
that the conditions of the
places the animals were
being translocated to are
not suitable.  babwe to China in Octo-
Advocates4Earth ex-
ecutive director Lenin
Tinashe Chisaira said
his application was to
enforce environmental
rights as enshrined in
section 73 of the con-
stitution of Zimbabwe
and ensure that the gov-
ernment and its agencies
respect and comply with
the Convention on In-
ternational Trade in En-
dergered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (Cites).
“Applicant seek by way
of declaratur the follow-
ing relief; In accordance
with provisions of the
Cites and its appendi-
ces, the sale and trans-
location of elephants
or endangered species
to locations outside Af-
rica without consulta-
tions with the Animals
Committee, through its
Chair with the support
of the secretariat, and
in consultation with the
News Page 5
International Union for lic now seek and applica- are highly social animals
Conservation of Nature tion for a declaratur.  and that the removal of
(IUCN) elephant spe- “This threat causes an elephants from their so-
cialist group is contrary unnecessary and uncon- cial groups disrupts the
to law and a breach of stitutional chilling effect wild population and has
Applicant’s environmen- on the work of the ap- detrimental effects on the
tal rights,” the court ap- plicant and the general effects on the physical
plication reads. public right to have the and social well-being of
According to the Cites environment protected elephants.
trade database, and latest for the benefit of present Cites members (Zim-
2019 information Zim- and future generations.” babwe included) voted to
babwe exported 140 ju- According to the appli- prohibit the removal of
venile elephants to China cation, Zimbabwe partic- African elephants from
between 2012 and 2019, ipated in the Cites Cop their natural or historic
while it also exported 18 meeting in Geneva ranges except under ex-
four to the United Arab in August 2019 where it traordinary circumstanc-
Emirates, the application was noted that elephants es.
sates. 
“Of these, some 22 are
now dead or presumed to
be dead. Reports indicate
that many others have
died in the process of
capture and preparation
for export.
“All exports have been
characterised by lack of
transparency. The cap-
tures and transportation
have always been con-
ducted in secrecy, and
there have been reports
that high-level govern-
ment members have been
using the money to pay
off government debts.
Most of informational
available (photographic
and documentation) has
come from undercover
investigations, further
illustrating the opaque,
sensitive and secret na-
ture of the transactions.
“We consider, there-
fore, that the export of 32
live elephants from Zim-
ber 2019 failed to com-
ply with Cites provisions
defining ‘appropriate and
acceptable’ destinations
under Resolution Conf.
11.20 (Rev. CoP17), not-
withstanding the amend-
ments agreed at CoP18.” 
Chisaira said based on
the video footage that
they reviewed, the condi-
tions of the transfer and
housing are demonstra-
bly inhumane.
“The cells have bare
concrete floors and
there are no provisions
made for their comfort
and well-being, nor any
means of environmental
enrichment,” he said.
“Applicant is in consis-
tent fear that the govern-
ment and its agencies will
continue defying Cites in
their trade of elephants.
Applicant in order to
guard against current and
future breaches of its en-
vironmental rights and
those of the general pub-
Page 6
Under state capture revelations cloud
Tagwirei donates US$5m to govt:
It’s business as usual for tycoon
DESPITE damning revela-
tions in a report by United
States dirty money investi-
gative group, The Sentry,
Shadows and Shell Games:
Uncovering an Offshore
Business Empire in Zim-
babwe, disclosing con-
troversial details of local
businessman and presiden-
tial adviser Kudakwashe
Tagwirei’s business empire,
the tycoon has donated
US$5.5 million and many
other things to govern-
ment to combat the resur-
gent Covid-19 pandemic.
The scale of the dona-
tion, which covers differ-
ent areas, is unaffordable to
most Zimbabwean compa-
nies given the state of the
economy and Covid-19
ravages.
Tagwirei has amassed
vast wealth since President
Emmerson Mnangagwa
took over through a coup
in 2017. He is one of
Mnangagwa’s advisers.
This comes soon after
The Sentry investigation
which says Tagwirei, who
has been followed by alle-
gations of corruption and
cronyism for years, has
been using complex corpo-
rate structures and seem-
ingly preferential govern-
ment treatment to build
his business empire and
enormous wealth.  Kereke.
The tycoon now presides
over a sprawling network
of more than 40 compa-
nies spanning the fuel,
mining, banking, logistics,
transportation, and im-
port/export sectors.  centre with an additional
The report details how
Tagwirei has effective-
ly concealed his control
over this empire through
an elaborate foreign net-
work, hiding his wealth
and ownership through
shadowy offshore financial
structures.
Seemingly unfazed, Tag-
wirei, through his Sakun-
da Holdings, donated
US$5.5 million in cash
and equipment to govern-
ment to support Covid-19
programmes.
Tagwirei, who is under
United States sanctions on
allegations of looting pub-
lic resources and propping
the Harare regime, handed
over the latest donation
to Mnangagwa at State
House in Harare yesterday.
His company has also
News NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
ed medical consumables
which include injections,
airway management, prod-
ucts, wound care products
etc for rural hospital worth
ZW$91 million,” he said.
He also donated 300
000 litres of fuel – 50 000
litres per month for six
months – to police. In ad-
dition, he also gave them
five double-cab trucks and
ZW$30 million to buy
specialised equipment for
operations.
Further, Tagwirei said
he was donating ZW$85
million for university stu-
dents’ tuition.
“As a company we are
further handing over 500
heifers and 25 bulls to His
Excellency the President,
ED Mnangagwa, to sup-
port heifers projects for
President Emmerson Mnangagwa seen here at State House in Harare yesterday, with local businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei (second from the youths,” he said.
right) during a donation event. Mnangagwa, who is
refurbished and equipped dated with a huge num- hoods of the people espe- lation of Covid-19 and close to the businessman
60 beds at Parirenyatwa ber of Covid-19 patients; cially young people.” poisoning, also donated who also sits on his Presi-
Group of Hospitals in increase in number of cit- Tagwirei, who was for ZW$170 million for the dential Advisory Council,
Harare, while it has taken izens who now require ur- months confined to hospi- purchase of vaccines.  expressed gratitude to Tag-
over 60 beds in Wards B1 gent Covid-19 vaccination tal in China with an undis- “Sakunda is also donat- wirei for the donations.
and B2 to bring the total and compromised liveli- closed illness amid specu- ing six truckloads of assort- — STAFF WRITER
of beds to 120.
It also bought and do-
nated The  Rock Founda-
tion Medical Centre, also
called Arundel Mediclin-
ic  and Arundel Hospital,
which was owned by jailed
businessman Munyaradzi
Tagwirei’s company is
also involved at United
Bulawayo Hospital where
it refurbished 40 beds for
use as Covid-19 centres.
It is also now operating a
20 beds there, meaning a
total of 60 beds.
Presenting the donation
to Mnangagwa, the usu-
ally quiet Tagwirei said
the donation would cover
Covid-19 issues, liveli-
hoods and university stu-
dents.
“Sakunda Holdings ac-
knowledges the commit-
ment by government to
positively impact the live-
lihoods of the people of
our great nation Zimba-
bwe,” Tagwirei said.
“Sakunda has noticed
the effects of Covid-19 on
the well-being of Zimba-
bweans among them the
following: some parents
have lost their ability to
pay university tuition fees At a time covid-19 numbers are rising in Bulawayo which is one of the country’s hotspots. These elderly people mostly pensioners are
for their children; our seriously exposed to transmission as they queue to withdraw cash at NSSA bank. The bank has only one branch that caters for most of the
healthcare system is inun- Matabeleland region. Most of them have been lamenting the bank charges on top of the little payouts they get.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Good Read
When South
Africa sneezes
Zimbabwe
catches a cold
RONALD MUCHENJE
HISTORY tells us we owe it
to Klemens von Metternich,
the distinguished 19th-cen-
tury Austrian statesman and
diplomat, for one of the
most famous phrases about
the global economy and its
dynamics.  cash cow, to its neighbour.
In an era when Europe
dominated the world amid
the Industrial Revolution in
the aftermath of the French
Revolution in 1789 and the
Napoleonic Wars between
1803 and 1815, he came up
with the line: “When France
sneezes, Europe catches a
cold.”
With the rise of the Unit-
ed States, it has been adapted
to: “When America sneezes,
the world catches a cold.”  the next few days. Conserve
It remains true today.  cash, food, raw materials and
However, it is fast chang-
ing as China rises.  Moyo, who is also a mem-
In Africa, it aptly fits
South Africa, especially in
the southern African region.
Zimbabwean government,
business and labour officials
as well as ordinary citizens
watched with horror and
dismay social unrest – char-
acterised by violence, riot-
ing and looting – engulfing
South Africa, pondering the
economic consequences of
that.
Economists warned Zim-
babwe should brace for re-
newed problems as the vio-
lent protests in South Africa
could result in trade losses
of over US$340 million per
month. This could also lead
to a resurgence of inflation-
ary pressures in the long run,
they said.
South Africa is Zimba-
bwe’s biggest trading partner.  warehouses and gun violence
Zimbabwe annually exports
about 40% of its output –
worth about US$2.3 billion
– to South Africa, while it
imports about 50% – valued
US$2 billion – of its needs
from its powerful southern
neighbour. The violence,
rioting and looting which
erupted in KwaZulu-Natal
and Gauteng provinces in
the aftermath of the incar-
ceration of former president
Jacob Zuma for contempt of
court have resulted in 212
deaths – and counting – as
mobs ransacked shops and
burnt infrastructure in po-
litical, social and criminal
outrage.
Critically, Zimbabwe im-
ports basic foodstuffs, med-
icals, chemicals, machinery,
equipment and raw mate-
rials, among other things,
from South Africa. It exports
mainly minerals, its liquidity
Business leader Busisa
Moyo, who is also United Re-
fineries Ltd chief executive,
warned this week the turmoil
in South Africa would affect
the entire region, especially
Zimbabwe which heavily
depends on the port city of
Durban, for trade. With the
N3 road transport corridor
disrupted and closed, Zim-
babwe is directly affected.
“We will feel the heat in
other necessities,” Moyo said.
ber of President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s Presidential
Advisory Council and the
Zimbabwe Investment and
Development Agency chair,
was expressing the apprehen-
sions of many when he said
this.
Economic analyst Victor
Bhoroma said the burning
of property, especially haul-
age trucks, warehouses and
infrastructure – disrupting
logistics – will disturb the
flow of raw materials as the
country is already experienc-
ing delays.
“The violent protests will
seriously impact Zimbabwe’s
trade with South Africa val-
ued at over US$340 million
per month,” he said.  “Zimbabwe is dependent
“The burning of proper-
ty especially haulage trucks,
will disturb the flow of raw
materials as we are already
experiencing delays. The port
of Durban is the trade gate-
way for most Sadc countries.
Exports movement will also
be slowed down by the un-
rest and violence depending
on how long the protests will
last. This will lead to tempo-
rary shortages of raw materi-
als and other commodities.”  Clemence Machadu, said the
The Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries, of
which Moyo is a previous
president, says 58% of the
country’s raw materials come
from South Africa.
Focus on South Africa
South Africa is also home
to an estimated three million
Zimbabweans and millions
of other foreign nationals
that provide critical skills in
the worst affected provinces
of Gauteng and KZN.
Zimbabweans in South
Africa contribute hundreds
of millions of dollars in re-
mittances back home. The
country receives about US$1
billion annually from its di-
aspora community.
Bhoroma said the situa-
tion could get even worse
if the violence fuels  xeno-
phobia and the closure of
markets. Tawanda Purazeni,
an economist, said the civil
unrest in South Africa would
have a negative impact on
Zimbabwe given the eco-
nomic integration between
the two countries.
on South Africa for most of
the basic goods we find in
our retail outlets. We should
brace up for serious shortages
of goods and services due to
the ongoing looting and de-
struction of the productive
lines and infrastructure. This
will also trigger inflationary
pressures. If this situation
persists, we are bound to be
worse off as a country,” he
said
Another economist,
instability across the Limpo-
po River should be of partic-
ular concern to Zimbabwe,
given the deep economic ties
between the two countries.  US$3.4 trillion in gross do-
“One can also look at it in
terms of the millions of Zim-
babweans who are economic
migrants in South Africa,
and remitting money to their
families back home,” he said.  compared to US$2.1 billion
“The destruction of infra-
structure might also affect
their jobs, which may, in
turn, affect remittances. So,
it is my hope that the situa-
tion in South Africa will be
addressed at earliest conve-
nience in order to bring sta-
bility in the whole region.”
While the South Africa
government struggled to
contain the riots at the be-
ginning, the situation seems
to have been contained fol-
lowing the deployment of
the army to beef up the po-
lice. President Cyril Rama-
phosa said yesterday his gov-
ernment was ill-prepared for
the uprising.
The conflict in South Af-
rica could also affect Zim-
babwe’s economic plans.
Zimbabwe targets to grow
manufacturing exports by
4.1% in 2021 from an esti-
mate of 3.6% in 2020.  the total amount allocated
This will be achieved
through focusing on diversi-
fying exports into non-tradi-
tional markets and exploiting
existing preferential trading
agreements with various
countries, the government
says.
Furthermore, Zimbabwe
will strive to benefit from
the vast Africa Continental
Free Trade Area with about
1.3 billion people and over
mestic product in terms of
Page 7
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
exports.  In terms of export week we didn’t trade much;
earnings, minerals brought importers and exporters are
in US$2.4 billion from Jan- not doing business, they are
uary to September last year, shaken and monitoring the
situation.”
recorded over the same peri- Dr Alex Magaisa, a United
od in 2019.  Kingdom-based Zimbabwe-
In 2021, the mining in- an academic and University
dustry is projected to re- of Kent Law School lecturer,
bound by 11% driven by said “if a giant sneezes the
planned expansion pro- whole region catches a cold”.
grammes aimed at increasing “With major oil compa-
production by miners as the nies closing business and de-
country moves towards the claring Force Majeure (Act of
attainment of US$12 billion God), a justification for not
industry, the government fulfilling contractual obliga-
says. tions, the repercussions will
The programmes include be felt in other parts of South
increased exploration, ex- Africa and the Southern Afri-
pansion of existing mining can region. With KZN being
projects, resuscitation of a host to one of the busiest
closed mines, opening of ports in Africa, a key arteri-
new mines and mineral ben- al route for trade is currently
eficiation and value addition.  blocked,” he said.
Export earnings have been “This is certain to cause
the main source of funds severe distress to the heart
for the auction through vol- of the nation and the re-
untary liquidations and the gion. The economic impact
surrender requirements on of South Africa in the region
exports and domestic foreign cannot be overstated and
currency transactions.  Of one cannot avoid the cliché
that if the giant sneezes, the
through the auction system, whole region catches a cold.
more than 70% has come “This is the reason why
from surrender requirements South Africa’s troubles
on exports and domestic for- should worry the rest of the
eign transactions.  region. It is already home to
Diaspora remittances are millions of migrants from
also critical. Last year, dias- the region, most of them
pora remittances amounted economic refugees fleeing
to US$1 billion, a 58% in- unemployment and pover-
crease from previous year of ty in their own countries.
US$635.7 million.  They in turn send millions in
“The impact on Zimbabwe remittances every year pro-
was immediate, especially on viding a lifeline to their im-
the financial services sector,” poverished communities and
a local banker said.  “This national economies.”
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
OWEN GAGARE
THE turmoil in South Africa
following the recent jailing of for-
mer president Jacob Zuma and
subsequent social unrest charac-
terised by rioting and looting for
many other reasons – including
deprivation and poverty – has
brought a number of critical
issues to the fore, including in-
structive lessons.
Zuma was found guilty of
contempt of court by the Con-
stitutional Court on 29 June. He
was sentenced to 15 months in
jail.
The judgement triggered im-
mediate reaction from his sup-
porters who vowed he was not
going to prison. After refusing
to surrender himself to the police
for detention, saying he had done
nothing wrong and would not go
to jail, Zuma finally capitulated
and handed himself to Escourt
Correctional Centre on 7 July.
But no sooner had he gotten
into jail did his supporters, after
a brief lull, start violent protests
demanding his release.
Before long, the protests de-
teriorated and degenerated into
mayhem, rioting and looting.
The upheaval swept from its epi-
centre in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s
home province, across to Johan-
nesburg as malls, shops and stores
were looted and burnt.  more low-skilled jobs for the
In the process, vital infra-
structure, transport routes and
logistics were disrupted and de-
stroyed. This significantly para-
lysed the economy.
At least 212 people have died
so far.  In the medium to long term,
The riots – which have politi-
cal and social causes – left a trail
of destruction and death. Crimi-
nality and vigilantism also reared
their ugly heads during the crisis.
However, the tumult in South
Africa carried some telling les-
sons. These lessons are still being
spelled out for all to see, but they
have universal relevance, mean-
ing and resonance, particularly
for Zimbabwe.
South Africa hosts an estimat-
ed three million Zimbabweans,
even though this has never been
verified and substantiated. Offi-
cial estimates are much lower.
What is happening in South
Africa is of great importance to
Zimbabwe, which under the late
former president Robert Mug-
abe also tried to redress the leg-
acies of colonialism, especially
on land and business ownership,
through a chaotic and oft-violent
approach.  socially, hence a highly con-
Although Mugabe’s agrarian
reforms gave Zimbabweans con-
trol of the land and helped some
indigenous people into business
to control the means of produc-
tion, his policies devastated the
economy and led to the country’s
isolation.
That left Zimbabwe broken
and reduced to a pariah state,
forcing its citizens to flee to dif-
ferent countries, mainly South
Africa, primarily to seek econom-
ic refuge.  • The ANC, the ruling party,
Yet there are many lessons to
be drawn from the South African
situation. One of them is a rude
awakening and reminder that
South Africa has what the World
Bank deems the highest levels of
social inequality on the globe, ex-
acerbated by massive unemploy-
ment and poverty.  the other by his predecessor
Leadership, policy and gover-
nance failures as well as corrup-
tion are also ravaging the nation.  • Ramaphosa is in charge, but
This is an alarming indictment
of post-apartheid governments –
from Nelson Mandela to Cyril
Ramapahosa – and an
Lessons from SA social unrest
utter betrayal of the hopes of
Mandela himself and millions of
South Africans.
Given that South Africa is the
most advanced economy in Afri-
ca, its failure has far-reaching and
devastating consequences for the
region and the continent.
Some of the internal issues
brought to the fore by South
African anarchy include the fol-
lowing:
• South Africa is still con-
toured and hugely defined
by apartheid structures and
vestiges economically and
tested terrain;
• It is an explosive society, a
cauldron of racial and eth-
nic tensions, with violence
always simmering just be-
low the surface;
• Society is somewhat like a
war zone, and many people
are armed with guns;
• The South African state
lacks capacity to deal with
large-scale violence and cha-
os;
is deeply divided due to in-
ternal power struggles and
this has eroded legitimate
authority to make collective
decisions;
• There are two major ANC
factions, one led by Presi-
dent Cyril Ramaphosa and
Zuma; and possibly a Third
Force behind the rioting;
lacks clarity of thought on
this issue, is indecisive and
weak; his measured long
game does not work in a
Focus on South Africa
crisis;
• The socio-economic situa-
tion in South Africa is vol-
atile, explosive and unsus-
tainable;
• Inequality, unemployment
and poverty, especially
among the youth are ticking
time bombs;
• Zuma is still popular, but no
one is above the law; the rule
of law is paramount:
• Consensus that the Zuma
issue was mishandled, he
should have been convicted
of contempt of court and
given a suspended sentence,
not jailed;
• Dangers of judicial activism;
judges should recuse them-
selves whenever needed;
• Racial tensions still exist.
Ethnicisation of politics as
well as weaponisation and
instrumentalistion of eth-
nicity is real, yet South Af-
ricans are generally against
that;
• Leaders should not dabble
in ethnic politics like Bantu-
stan politicians;
• The majority of people who
went out to protest and
loot were less worried about
Zuma, but more about their
social conditions;
• The “Free Zuma” protest
quickly degenerated into
ventilation of pent-up emo-
tions and frustrations by the
• subaltern over social condi-
tions, thus violence, crimi-
nality,  looting and lawless-
ness;
• The perils of personality
cult politics, demagogues
and populism in a state of
flux and conditions of social
Jailed former South African president Jacob Zuma.
unrest, unemployment and
poverty are serious;
• The majority of South Afri-
can are peaceful  people who
want change and progress in
their social and economic
situation, but not through
anarchy;
• However, rioting and loot-
ing, even though unaccept-
able to many, are direct,
effective and pragmatic
strategies of challenging the
status quo and demanding
wealth redistribution to im-
prove lives of the working
class;
• In the aftermath of the latest
conflict, South Africa needs
political re-awakening and
rebirth; and
• There is hope for South Af-
rica given an active, engag-
ing and conscious citizenry
re-energised and determined
to push for positive change.
These are not isolated issues;
they are related, interconnected
and their interface is the space
where the current contestation in
South Africa is playing out.
Yet what stands out is that
South Africa has the highest
levels of inequality in the world
measured by the commonly used
Gini index, according to the
World Bank.  The top 20% of the popula-
Inequality manifests itself
structurally, through skewed in-
come distribution and unequal
access to opportunities as well as
disparities along class, racial, re-
gional, gender, and demographic
lines.
Low economic growth and
unemployment – coupled with
the Covid-19 devastation – have
exacerbated the situation. The
lockdown issue, forcing people
to stay at home to starve, was a
strong grievance during the riots.
The South African govern-
ment has used different tools to
address inequality, including fis-
cal redistribution.  This also en-
tails higher social spending, tar-
geted government social grants,
and affirmative action to diversify
wealth ownership and promoting
entrepreneurship among the pre-
viously marginalised. These mea-
sures need to be complemented
with reforms that promote pri-
vate investment, job creation and
inclusive growth.
When Mandela took over in
1994, through a negotiated set-
tlement that avoided rocking the
boat and hence the current struc-
tural vestiges of apartheid, South
Africa already had deep inequali-
ty as a large swath of the popula-
tion was excluded from economic
participation.  and 2010, but has since trended
South Africa’s Gini co-effi-
cient — an index that measures
inequality — increased in the
early 2000s and has remained
high ever since. Meanwhile, its
peers in the emerging economies
have made inroads in reducing
inequality.
Income distribution remains
badly distorted in South Africa.  ment, which reached an unprec-
tion holds over 68% of income
(compared to a median of 47%
for similar emerging markets).
The bottom 40% of the popula-
tion holds 7% of income (com-
pared to 16% for other emerging
markets). Similar trends can be
observed across other measures,
such as the income share of the
top 1%.
Significant disparities remain
Page 8
across regions.  Income per cap-
ita in Gauteng — the economic
hub — is almost twice the levels
of some provinces.
Subdued growth has jeop-
ardised efforts to promote in-
clusion. With growth stagnating
over the past decade, the econo-
my has not created enough jobs
to absorb hordes of the unem-
ployed and new entrants into the
labour market. 
High unemployment is a ma-
jor factor behind inequality. 
South Africa’s official unem-
ployment rate rose to a new high
in the first quarter as construction
and trade industries shed jobs.
The jobless rate rose to 32.6%
from 32.5% in the last quarter,
Statistics South Africa said last
month. That’s the highest num-
ber on record.
Unemployment, including
people available for work but not
looking for a job, rose to 43.2%
from 42.6% the previous quarter. 
The number of discouraged
work seekers surged by 201 000
people in the quarter.
These are grim statistics. 
South Africa needs broad-
based growth which generates
unemployed to help reduce in-
equality.
In the short term, the govern-
ment needs more scope to further
leverage fiscal policy as a redis-
tributive tool.
South Africa will need further
fundamental structural reforms
for more robust and inclusive
growth. The focus needs to be on
creating a business environment
more conducive to investment
and job creation. 
This requires improved gover-
nance, reducing the cost of doing
business, opening the market to
competition, paying properly for
the right skills and productivity,
and making state-owned enter-
prises more efficient. 
Policies will also be needed
to create opportunities to sup-
port the marginalised through
improved quality of education,
health and transportation.
Strengthening investment,
including foreign direct invest-
ment, will be critical to propel
growth and create jobs.
Although South Africa has
made considerable strides in
improving the  wellbeing  of its
citizens since its transition to
democracy in 1994, progress
has stagnated in the last decade.
The percentage of the popula-
tion below the upper-middle-in-
come-country poverty line fell
from 68% to 56% between 2005
slightly upwards to 57% in 2015
and is now 60%.
Structural challenges and weak
growth have undermined prog-
ress in reducing poverty, which
have been heightened by the
Covid-19 pandemic. Progress
in household welfare is severely
constrained by rising unemploy-
edented 32.5%. Unemployment
is highest among youths aged be-
tween 15 and 24, at around 63%.
From now onwards, Rama-
phosa is likely to struggle to pre-
serve macro-economic stability,
improve the investment climate,
boost growth and create jobs
critical for South Africa’s post-
Covid-19 recovery. But one thing
is certain: it can no longer be
business as usual in South Africa.
Page 9
RICHARD POPLAK
ITS roots are intertwined with al-
most three centuries of extractive
corruption, mixed with austerity.
There are no savings to be made
in this arrangement, and all of it
will be paid for with treasure and
souls. 
It has been a fine week for con-
noisseurs of civil unrest.  This is what state failure looks
Across Gauteng and KwaZu-
lu-Natal (KZN), two massive
conflagrations have conjoined to
form a devastating wildfire. The
first was the rage manufactured
by an organised criminal network
that found opportunity in the
incarceration of a political figure-
head. The second was the instabil-
ity caused by the desperation of a
people crushed in an ever-tighten-
ing economic vice.
Following the arrest of for-
mer president Jacob Zuma last
Wednesday, and after incitement
from his hype squad – includ-
ing his daughter Duduzile Zu-
ma-Sambudla and a local radio
DJ named Ngizwe Mchunu
– KZN exploded into unprece-
dented mayhem, which is saying
something for a province that ex-
perienced the worst of apartheid’s
end-game violence. The scale of
the ruin is already staggering,
while the impotence of law en-
forcement has been a reminder of
the disarray that defines the police
and intelligence services, neither
of which were prepared for the
obvious upset following the for-
mer president’s jailing.
Stupidity like this deserves a
standing ovation. Sadly, South
Africa is on its knees. Entire com-
munities have been razed, but
more significantly – at least for
those trying to calculate what the
future might hold – the violence
has targeted vital nodes of distri-
bution: logistics capacity in Mooi
River; local food and dry good
stores throughout eThekwini;
large malls and warehouse facil-
ities along the coastline and up
into Pietermaritzburg. Sasria, the
state insurance agency, is on the
hook for these costs, which ulti-
mately means that taxpayers serve
as guarantors. The damage is like-
ly to amount to tens of billions of
rands, but that’s only part of the
cost. It will be nearly impossible
to rebuild what has been burnt.
Own the supply chain, own
the country: this is a basic tenet
of warfare. And make no mis-
take, there is a plan. The trouble
in KZN is much more than a
political protest or a spontaneous
statement of local anguish. Under
the cover of Zuma’s jailing, this
was a large, local gangster network
flexing its muscles, saying: We are
here. Stop us if you can.
The state’s reply was as anaemic
as it was articulate:
We can’t. Help yourself.  nominal gains by jailing former
Ethnic shmethnic
Zuma’s opponents – aka nearly
everyone on Earth – like to re-
mind us that the former president
has no real power; that his support
has faded away with his politi-
cal prominence; that his kids are
drunk lunatics and not the lethal
social media influencers they take
themselves to be. But his arrest
has dragged up something dark
and vicious from the underworld
bog in which he remains a repre-
sentative daemon. South African
elites are reflexively horrified by
any talk of tribalism, but when it
works in the ANC’s favour – as it
did in the 2009 national elections
that saw the party win a large ma-
jority in Zuma’s previously unse-
South African unrest: This is 
what a failed state looks like
A car on Jules Street in Jeppestown, downtown Johannesburg, burnt on Sunday, 11 July 2021, during social unrest, rioting and loot-
ing triggered by former South African president Jacob Zuma’s jailing, political, economic and social grievances, expressed through
widespread mass deprivation, poverty and desperation. Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed
duceable home province – it gets
smiled away as a topic not to be
discussed in polite company. As in
most African countries, tribal di-
visions were diligently maintained
by successive white overlords for
decades, and the wounds never
healed. Zuma has made a career
of exploiting them: it has been the
source of his power all along.
(These observations should
not be confused with a certain
opposition politician’s view that
Zuma is a charming if guileless
traditional chieftain who doesn’t
know from fancy Western-style
constitutionalism or democracy.
In fact, Zuma is a highly method-
ical grifter who knows exactly
what he’s doing, and who is both
a populist and an adept at strum-
ming white liberal passions.)
For another thing, as the
“war against corruption” makes
presidents and humiliating the
ANC’s D-team in court, the fight
for control of the gangster econ-
omy becomes commensurately
vicious. There is nothing to lose
and everything to gain by torch-
ing the country. Listed corporate
entities are being informed, in the
language of blood and fire, that
South Africa is no longer a cozy
environment in which to run
their monopolies. The ensuing
vacuum is being filled by what
economists term “new entrants”.
It is, for example, no longer
safe to truck goods into KZN,
which serves as the success-
ful culmination of a campaign
to dislodge “foreign nationals”
from the trucking industry: As
of today, all roads into KZN are
controlled by the mob. It is no
longer safe to run a Shoprite, or
Focus on South Africa
a Checkers or a Woolworths,
even in tiny Johannesburg retail
spaces. These warnings represent
the birth pangs of a Russian-style
hyper-capitalist shadow economy,
which threatens to become the
real economy  –  a vision Zuma
and his cabal in the State Security
Agency hoped to initiate under
his presidency.
Better late than never, as they
say.
Speaking of late – Julius Male-
ma, whose Economic Freedom
Fighters have evolved into an ef-
fective shakedown crew in Johan-
nesburg, Tshwane and beyond,
has tried to tweet himself into
the national free-for-all. “No sol-
diers on our streets! Otherwise,
we are joining. All fighters must
be ready… they won’t kill us all,”
exclaimed Julius, who has a knack
for avoiding personal involvement
in the violent protests he initiates.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape,
taxi industry leaders and Premier
Oscar Mabuyane have been in
talks to protect the province from
looting. These new racketeering
alliances are the future of South
Africa: the gangster economy has
become fully integrated into the
remnants of the “real” economy.
Hoods, assassins, ex-spooks
and drug dealers are now partners
at the table.
It no longer matters how
much a CEO bench-presses, or
how many minutes he dedicates
to Mandela Day, or how much
viognier his wine farm produces.
A new age is upon us.
Lockdown and out
Case in point: Gauteng is cur-
rently a working diorama of
Hell. At the Madala Hostel in
Alexandra; at the Jeppestown
Hostel in the CBD; at hotspots
throughout the southern town-
ships, ancient ethnic resentments
have been jump-started, and the
mayhem has been instantaneous.
The method has worked before,
during the xenophobic attacks
of 2008 and 2013. Out-of-work,
idle young men are an ever-pres-
ent, highly efficient delivery
mechanism for extreme violence.
And yes, while this may have
started as a #FreeJacobZuma
mega-event, it has morphed into
something much more wide-
spread and uncontained. The
people free-shopping in stores
and malls form part of an eco-
nomic underclass that has been
humiliated for generations. It is
almost impossible to generate a
socioeconomic reality more in-
equitable than South Africa’s,
largely because no other country
has been insane enough to try. Po-
litical systems tend to fail when a
quarter of the population is out of
work. In South Africa, that num-
ber has reached nearly 50%, while
almost three out of four young
people do not have any prospects
of employment.
That Zuma’s State Capture
project contributed to this situ-
ation is almost beside the point.
South Africans are facing a sec-
ond successive winter under lock-
down, where the deprivations
have become unbearable. The
government’s inhumane response
to the Covid-19 pandemic has
loosened something in the streets,
and the pent-up response is now
fanning out across the country.
The economic Brahmins insist
that there was no way to pay for
comprehensive social relief pro-
grammes, so even the pathetic
R350 Covid-19 social relief grant
was suspended. This is an ob-
scenely cruel austerity regimen,
the result of successive self-im-
posed structural adjustment pack-
ages that are nearly indiscernible
from the famine campaigns of the
colonial era.
The government’s parsimony
has had inevitable consequences:
people are enraged. None of this
justifies the violent behaviour of
the small minority torching malls,
looting storefronts and annihilat-
ing SMEs. But the point is that
the #FreeJacobZuma movement
and the resultant chaos have dove-
tailed with much larger grievanc-
es. Big chunks of the country have
been rendered ungovernable. It
doesn’t help that Police Minister
Bheki Cele is more effective as a
meme than as a functional hu-
man being, and remains locked in
a bunfight with the National Po-
lice Commissioner, Khehla Sitole.
The police on the streets
– themselves underpaid, un-
der-trained working people –
have never had the trust of the
people, and now they’ve become
the face of the loathed lockdowns.
Because of this, and for the third
time in two years, the army is now
roaming South Africa’s poorest
communities, ready to shoot and
impervious to the nuances of cau-
sality.
Meanwhile, well-armed white
militias have emerged from the
gloom to protect property that
has been abandoned by the cops
or security companies, firing off
live rounds at unarmed black peo-
ple – not a particularly sustainable
way to engender racial harmony.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
like. Its roots are intertwined
with almost three centuries of
extractive corruption, mixed with
austerity. There are no savings to
be made in this arrangement, and
all of it will be paid for with trea-
sure and souls.
Pay to play
Establishment armchair analysts
have insisted, throughout Cyril
Ramaphosa’s tenure, that he is
fully in charge of the machinery
of the state, and is impervious
to any genuine threats from the
mouth-breathing factionalists
in his party. Ace is aced. Zuma
is in orange. But Ramaphosa is
the weakest ANC leader in the
party’s modern history. At this
point, should the National Gen-
eral Conference go ahead, the
big ANC meet-up could have
existential consequences for his
presidency.
The current civil unrest will be
held up as proof of his incompe-
tence, and it will cost a fortune in
both cash and political capital for
him to retain his post. The asser-
tion that he’s a shoo-in is laugh-
able.
From this vantage point, in the
middle of a pandemic and amid
bouts of mega-violence caught on
camera, it is difficult to see how
municipal elections, scheduled
for October, can proceed. Should
they be postponed, South Africa
enters a cryogenic freeze in which
Ramaphosa’s ever-expanding ex-
ecutive will face off against cir-
cling opponents in his party.
The president is already forced
to run the country through a sort
of expert-advised plutocratic tech-
nocracy, where his official Cabi-
net members are little more than
decorative dashboard ornaments.
When they do speak, they’re em-
barrassing disasters. The security
cluster is in such chaos that Ra-
maphosa may have to take con-
trol of the SANDF himself. This
is the destiny of most tinpot pres-
idencies.
And so, in the very near future,
in order to maintain something
resembling stability, Ramaphosa
will have to face up to the fact
that the state will need to re-es-
tablish the monopoly of violence.
But this will require the murder
of people in the streets on an in-
dustrial scale. Neither he nor his
backers have the stomach for this.
There is an alternative, of course,
but it may be even more unpal-
atable to the government and its
backers than mass slaughter – the
drafting of a new social contract
that delivers a fair deal for all.
The future is available only to
countries that understand that
basic subsistence is a human right
– a right that can and should be
guaranteed by the state. Should
the current corporate/govern-
ment rent-seeking arrangement
continue, and should the Rama-
phosa technocracy fail to under-
stand that the present moment
represents an opportunity to
change tack, then the gangsters
will carry the day.
Gauteng and KZN offer a
warning. The post-apartheid
elite-driven looting spree is over.
Others are looting now, and it’s as
bad as it looks on TV.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Focus on South Africa Page 10

Change or collapse: Violence reveals

weak South African state foundation
HAYDEN WEAVER
THE violence gripping South
Africa reveals that we have not
left our colonial past behind.
We are a transcolonial state,
as described by Frantz Fanon,
having failed to transform the
lived reality of poverty, unem-
ployment and a lack of dignity
for the majority of our people.  filled with poverty. This makes
Violence and looting have
escalated in many parts of
South Africa in recent days —
a perceived continuation of the
#freeJacobZuma protests that
began on the weekend of 11
July 2021. The looting of ma-
jor grocery stores, liquor stores
and home appliance stores has
created devastating scenes. We
have watched the police stand
on the side-lines observing the
mayhem as they are stretched
too thin to effectively end it.
South Africa is burning, but
is this really about the infa-
mous former president? What
are the true drivers of this vi-
olence?
South Africa is a state that
is suspended between the past
and the present, between apart-
heid and democracy, between
colonialism and postcolonial-
ism, a state still in transition.  former white government. This
The transcolonial state
of South Africa is revealed
through the acts of violence
that are erupting across the
country. The violence illu-
minates the gulf between the
constitutionally promised free-
doms, rights and laws of de-
mocracy, and the lived reality
of the people. Ultimately, this
violence unveils the truth of
the nation.
The lived reality of the ma-
jority of South Africans is one
that is stripped of dignity and
the freedoms, rights and laws
completely foreign to many.
The people of South Africa
were promised change when
the apartheid government was
overthrown. But it has been
more than 20 years and the re-
ality of many South Africans is
just as it was during apartheid.
Ultimately, it is this that has
led to the eruption of violence.
It is given justification by the
#freeJacobZuma movement.
But it is clearly not about the
former president. Rather, this
is the overflowing of anger by
citizens of South Africa.
The South African govern-
ment has fallen into a predict-
able scenario. Frantz Fanon
suggested that one of the major
struggles to lift a country from
a colonial state would occur
after the initial overthrow of a
would occur as what Fanon
termed the “national bourgeoi-
sie” replaced the colonisers.  have continued to grow, visible
In Fanon’s words in  The
Wretched of the Earth,  “the
national bourgeoisie proves
incapable of achieving simple
national unity and incapable of
building the nation on a solid,
constructive foundation”. This
seems to fit the South African
situation perfectly, as problems
in post-apartheid South Africa
in our rampant unemploy-
ment, devastating poverty and
An inferno engulfs a shopping mall in South Africa this week.
lack of dignity that many face
on a daily basis.
Furthermore, South Afri-
ca’s government has mirrored
Fanon’s words as he suggests
that the national bourgeoi-
sie “are able to cash in on all
sides and prove to be brilliant
opportunists. Favours abound,
corruption triumphs and mor-
als decline. Today the vultures
are too numerous and too
greedy”.  is a symptom of much greater
As things stand, South Afri-
ca is a skeleton of the state it
had the potential to be. The
failures of the ANC govern-
ment have led to the violent
situation we have now. The
irony here is that the impris-
onment of one of the true vul-
tures of this period has been
used to justify acts of violence
and looting.
Fanon suggests that “the
party, which has become a gen-
uine instrument of power in
the hands of the bourgeoisie,
reinforces the State apparatus
and determines the contain-
ment and immobilisation of
the people”. The violence can
be seen as a form of remobili-
sation of South Africans as well
as the unveiling of utter des-
peration among the citizens. 
Among the opportunis-
tic looting of a wide range of
businesses, the looting of gro-
cery stores is a clear example
of the desperate state of many,
as looters use the chaos to gain
a meal. The extent of the up-
heavals of the past few days
unveils the foundations of a
nation that remains engulfed
in its colonial past.
This violence is by no means
justifiable. However, it does
illuminate the shattered foun-
dations of the South African
nation-state. This is not about
former president Zuma — it
problems within our country.
It is now a battle between state
power in the form of police
and military, and the anger of
many South African citizens.
One thing remains clear.
Something must change, or
things truly will fall apart. 
- Daily Maverick.

There is a future.

Z I M B A B W E
CHILDREN’S CANCER RELIEF

EARLY
DETECTION
IS THE BEST PROTECTION!

STAY IF YOU SUSPECT EYE CANCER

ALERT! VISIT YOUR CLINIC TODAY
Page 11 Focus on South Africa NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021

From flames of looting to

democratic regeneration
TRACY-LYNN FIELD
OVER the past week, demo-
cratic constitutionalism and the
rule of law have undergone a
massive stress test. The power to
determine the outcome of this
stress test can never lie in the
efficacy of the police services or
the defence force. It lies with the
choice of the people of South
Africa.  and the incremental and accu-
Apocalyptic. This is just one
of the words used to describe
the destruction of property and
tragically, life, that has ensued in
the wake of the mad outburst of
collective energy in South Africa
over the past week.
Whether you choose to see
the blockading of roads and
burning of trucks that have
throttled critical supply routes
and the violent razing of shop-
ping malls and warehouses as a
form of protest, a coordinated
strategy of economic sabotage,
or simply the unsurprising re-
and jurisprudential lodestar for
South African society.
Neither position is correct,
however, because the moral and
political lodestar is the South Af-
rican people itself, the demos of
self-governing equals who came
into being through the Consti-
tution in a quest to rule them-
selves. While the demos can be
guided by constitutional values
mulating constitutional juris-
prudence of the courts, or by
the much older values of ubun-
tu and other occluded episte-
mologies, it is the choice of the
present generation of South Af-
ricans that matters.
With the flames of loot-
ing starting to die down, what
emerges from the ashes is that
the vast majority of South Af-
ricans choose regeneration over
destruction. Through their ac-
tions and reactions, physical and
verbal, the majority of South
African people across racial,
those who affirmed protest, but
called for restraint and those
who preferred the way of de-
struction.  To do this we must use all
Affirming democratic regen-
eration does not mean we don’t
need change or that we should
not be urgently interrogating
the effectiveness of our demo-
cratic institutions to stem the
looting culture that has bedev-
illed our country’s progress for
so many years — at all levels of
society, in government and the
private sector and across all lines
of difference.
We need to find ways of
holding accountable those who
grab without regard for others
and who thereby destroy what
is in the common and public
interest.
the forms of governance that
a system of self-rule allows, in-
cluding protecting functioning
systems of customary law. We
are resilient people, but we need
leaders who will take this kind
of change forward.
We are a resilient people. We
have gone through a lot, but we
somehow always come out on
the other side. May the flames
of democratic regeneration burn
bright in our country. South Af-
ricans, we can do this thing. 
– Daily Maverick.

sponse of a population seething
under the harshness of life in
one of the most unequal societ-
ies in the world the impact is the
same: shock, disbelief, despair,
trauma.
Perhaps most fearful is the
thought that what has gone up
in flames and lingered for a mo-
ment in a searing pall of black
smoke is the hope of South Af-
rica’s constitutional democracy
itself. Unless we stop the vio-
lence, unless we bring in more
troops and declare a State of
BIG
gender, ethnic and class lines are
exercising their constituent sov-
ereign power to say (reflecting
back the words of an exhausted
President Cyril Ramaphosa):
“This is NOT us.”
A WhatsApp message this
morning from a friend who has
been in the thick of the conflict
in KwaZulu-Natal says it all:
“We have not slept since this
started. Now we pray for peace
and a miracle. We are resilient
people. Let’s hope they are done
and we can start to rebuild.”

Emergency, some have said, our
underlying democratic order —
instituted with such hope and
fanfare almost 30 years ago — is
at stake.
And this is true. Over the
past week, democratic consti-
tutionalism and the rule of law
have undergone a massive stress
test, caught between those who
wish for a broad-ranging and
thoroughgoing destruction
and breaking down, and those
who wish to continue to strug-
gle forward. But the power to
determine the outcome of this
stress test can never lie in the
efficacy of the police services or
the defence force. It lies with the
choice of the people of South
Africa. All 58 million or so of us.
In the weeks before the
eruption of the worst violence
of South Africa’s democratic
history I had been painstaking-
ly writing an academic article
about democratic sovereignty
and the possibility of transfor-
mative change. To do this, I
engaged with scholarly debates
about “transformative constitu-
tionalism”.
Mirroring the material and
visceral struggles that have
played out on the streets this
week, this debate is polarised:
On the one hand, “constitution-
al abolitionists” see the 1996
Constitution as a betrayal and
argue for a wholesale overhaul
to the philosophical, historical
and cultural basis of the South
African governing order. On the
other, “constitutional optimists”
are faithful to the Constitu-
tion itself as a moral, political
Promotion
We are a resilient people.
As the people who are now
inspiring hope and courage get
to work on mopping-up op-
erations and help those at the
coalface of the devastation, it
is worthwhile to recall why the
South African democratic con-
stitutional order was hailed as
a miracle. It was a miracle be-
cause there was no pre-existing
basis to talk of a South African
“people”; we were a mishmash
of different races, classes and
ethnicities with vastly conflict-
ing worldviews. We were bitter
enemies driven apart by walls of
fear.
The naysayers of South Afri-
ca’s experiment in inclusive de-
mocracy have been quick to give
up, pointing to the democratic
deficit associated with the draft-
ing of the 1996 Constitution
and the way it was bound to
the terms of a negotiated settle-
ment, the continuing and even
deepening inequalities that the Promotion runs from 1 July to 31 July 2021 at all ZINARA
constitutional order has failed
to address, and the immense Offices and ALM Machines, selected tollgates, refueling
challenges that still lie ahead.
But they have underestimated stations or visit any ZINARA agents.
the extent to which the South
African people are being knitted
together and are coming into
being through our collective
Comply and drive freely.
experiences of triumph (Rug-
by World Cup!) and suffering Terms and conditions apply!
(looting, Eishkom, Day Zero,
and the days-of-our-lives State
Capture Commission, to name
but a few). 
The South African people
choose regeneration and hope-
fully, when the next election ZINARA, Driven to make you drive well…
rolls around we will remember Zimbabwe National Road Administration pr@zinara.co.zw zinaraZW www.zinara.co.zw
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Focus on South Africa Page 12

Confronting the confusing narratives 

to understand South Africa’s tumult
RICHARD JURGENS
SOUTH Africans find them-
selves confronted with the ugly
spectre of rioting and loot-
ing that has claimed over 200
lives, and also dealt a devastat-
ing blow to the economy. The
situation remains extremely
volatile, and while narratives
abound, particularly on social
media, facts are in short sup-
ply. It is important to examine
the situation in as level-headed
a manner as possible to gain an
understanding of what has re-
ally befallen our nation.
The competing narratives
fall broadly into four views.
According to one view, the
social unrest represents sup-
port of former President Jacob
Zuma on the part of people
angered by his incarceration.
According to the second view,
the social unrest is an expres-
sion of legitimate discontent
with the ANC’s rule. The third
view is that the violence is a
wave of organised and sponta-
neous or opportunistic crimi-
nality. The fourth view, which
appears increasingly to be the
official line, is that the unrest
represents an attempted coup
by Zuma supporters, which
was anticipated and is being
suppressed by the state.
Each of these narratives
needs to be treated with cau-
tion and carefully tested. As re-
gards the first narrative, claims
have been made that the sup-
port for Zuma emanates either
from Zulu ethnic nationalists
or from supporters of the Rad-
ical Economic Transformation
faction within the ANC. If so,
it is not clear whether these
groups are the same thing, or
whether they overlap in some
way. At any rate, the Zulu king,
Misuzulu kaZwelithini, ap-
pears to have both recognised
and decried the involvement
of Zulu nationalists. As re-
gards the second narrative, the
unrest has occurred (so far) in
only two provinces, KwaZu-
lu-Natal and Gauteng. The
widespread response of many
communities banding together
to defend economic resources
such as malls would appear to
indicate that the violence is re-
stricted to a minority.
So far, members of the gov-
ernment have tended to resort
to variations of the third and
fourth narratives to explain the
chaos that has erupted on their
watch. Some have suggested
that it is mainly opportunistic
criminality, while others have
claimed that it is an attempt
to bring down the government
by instigating generalised vi-
olence. These mixed messag-
es are themselves a cause for
concern. The government has
struggled to explain how its
intelligence services failed to
inform it of the mood in the
country. Moreover, little to no
evidence has been presented
to support the claim that the
state has successfully thwarted
a coup, and the claim rather
neatly diverts attention from
the other narratives outlined
here. If the unrest is due to
widespread discontent or crim-
inality, or both, clearly the gov-
ernment has failed in some of
its primary roles.
For now, on the available
information, one thing is clear:
the ongoing rampage in South
Africa can be attributed to a
monumental failure of gover-
nance. Whatever else it is, it
certainly the culmination of
years of frustration with a rul-
ing party’s incompetence and
corruption, which have left a
nation mired in poverty. The
devastating effects of this lack
of governance have been exac-
erbated by the Covid-19 pan-
demic, and lockdowns having
obliterated livelihoods of the
most vulnerable (and perhaps
therefore most susceptible to
populist inflammatory rheto-
ric).
To get to the heart of the
matter, Good Governance Af-
rica (GGA) will be delivering
Protestors burned 23 heavy motor vehicles on the N3 Highway, near Mooi River, a small town 160km
from the coast in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
a series of analytical articles
to examine the matters at the
heart of this crisis. We weave
together a number of import-
ant threads by reading between
the lines.
First, we examine the ques-
tion of whether there was or
is a coup attempt, as the state
might have us believe. This will
also provide a much-needed
anatomy of state security and
intelligence failures. Missing
from the public domain is a
comprehensive analysis of the
dynamics animating the heart
of the deep state in the wake of
post-2008 subversion and hol-
lowing out.
Second, we analyse key
political economy drivers of
socio-economic desperation
that combine with coordi-
nated insurrection to create
literal tinder boxes across the
country. At the same time, we
make sense of why the looting
has been limited to KZN and
Gauteng. This piece tackles
the agenda of the Radical Eco-
nomic Transformation (RET)
brigade, which has deeply le-
gitimate elements but has also
been subverted for crude polit-
ical destabilisation purposes. It
also speaks to the legacy effects
of migrant labour and the nu-
ances of Zulu nationalism, and
how this intersects with RET.
Ultimately, South Africa has
to have a clear plan of how to
adopt a form of capitalism that
breaks the current oligopolistic
politico-business elite bargain
and delivers broad-based bene-
fits if we are to navigate coher-
ently out of this mess.
Third, we address the ques-
tion of service delivery failure,
malfeasance and maladminis-
tration, especially at the local
level. The facts bear out that
protest action has risen in fre-
quency across the country.
Combined with the lack of
available job opportunities, es-
pecially for the youth, this situ-
ation renders thousands of idle
and hopeless people suscepti-
ble to participating in disrup-
tive action with little regard to
the motives of those instigating
said action.
Finally, we show how each of
the above threads have a bear-
ing on what is ultimately a fail-
ure of governance. Governance
is not some abstract concept;
it speaks to the heart of our
current tragedy. It is defined
as the authoritative allocation
of resources and answers the
critical questions of who gets
what, when and how. The state
is responsible for the protec-
tion of lives and property, for
providing justice, education
and infrastructure that enable
a dynamic economy that serves
all its citizens.
Nonetheless, we are not
without hope. After a decade of
reckless and wasteful abuses of
power, it is a clear indication of
progress toward the rule of law
that the judiciary has shown it-
self capable of holding a figure
such as former president Jacob
Zuma to account for his fail-
ure to respect the constitution.
Until it happened, few ana-
lysts would confidently have
predicted it materialising. The
Constitutional Court’s firm-
ness in upholding the law is to
be celebrated and applauded as
a crucial step in the direction
of government accountability.
Yet if anything is clear at
this stage, it is that resistance
to Zuma’s incarceration, and
other attempts by senior ruling
party figures to evade account-
ability under the constitution,
are based on the idea that in-
fluential members of the ruling
elite should not be subject to
the same law as other citizens.
More generally, it is also clear
that South Africa’s governing
party has comprehensively
failed to deliver on its core du-
ties and responsibilities.
We are at a turning point
in our history as a young de-
mocracy. We should all stand
together in the fight to build
the institutions of the state in
a more inclusive and program-
matic manner. In the coming
days, GGA will explore the
key themes underlying these
unfortunate events, with the
aim of providing clarity to the
national discussion.
Moreover, we aim to be not
merely critical, but construc-
tive, and will also outline key
steps that will be necessary to
turn this disaster into an op-
portunity. As has frequently
been pointed out, South Africa
is a country of enormous po-
tential. It is only through po-
litical renewal and economic
growth that we can begin to
realise it.
*About the writer: Jurgens
is the editor of The Africa
Governance Papers, the inde-
pendent academic journal of
Good Governance Africa.

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Page 13
In defence of rioting and looting
A fresh argument for rioting
and looting as our most pow-
erful tools for dismantling
white supremacy.
Looting — a crowd of
people publicly, openly, and
directly seizing goods — is
one of the more extreme ac-
tions that can take place in
the midst of social unrest.
Even self-identified radicals
distance themselves from
looters, fearing that violent
tactics reflect badly on the
broader movement.
But American author
Vicky Osterweil argues that
stealing goods and destroying
property are direct, pragmat-
ic strategies of wealth redis-
tribution and improving life
for the working class — not
to mention the brazen mes-
sages these methods send to
the police and the state. All
our beliefs about the innate
righteousness of property and
ownership, Osterweil ex-
plains, are built on the histo-
ry of anti-black, anti-indige-
nous oppression.
From slave revolts to la-
bour strikes to the mod-
ern-day movements for cli-
mate change, Black lives,
and police abolition, Oster-
weil makes a compelling case
for rioting and looting as
weapons that bludgeon the
status quo while uplifting
the poor and marginalised.  glish empire. It would from
In Defence of Looting  is
a history of violent pro-
test sparking social change,
a compelling reframing of
revolutionary activism, and
a practical vision for a dra-
matically restructured soci-
ety.
VICKY OSTERWEIL
OF the many forms of
political action in twen-
ty-first-century America,
it’s hard to think of any
less popular than rioting
and looting. Voting and
electioneering are widely
respected as the baseline of
political action; petition-
ing and lobbying elected
representatives are not far
behind.
Labour action, despite
four decades of propaganda
and federal action against
it, still has strong support
in many quarters. Commu-
nity organising is at least
theoretically the founding
principle for thousands
of non-profits across the
country. Liberals and con-
servatives alike grudgingly
support demonstrations, at
least when they are nonvi-
olent and their people are
doing it.
More extreme political
actions also have wide-
spread support. Both lib-
erals and conservatives be-
lieve in war, considering it
a necessary evil or a funda-
mental good. Liberals may
oppose the death penalty,
but they, like conservatives,
believe in the efficacy of
murder: they had little to
say about Barrack Obama’s
extrajudicial drone execu-
tions, his death lists and
Terror Tuesdays, and Dem-
ocrats mostly critiqued
Trump’s 2020 assassination
of Qasem Soleimani on
procedural grounds: “He
didn’t consult congress!”
Torture is celebrated a
thousand times a day on
television in police proce-
durals and action flicks,
and most people accept
imprisonment — years of
unrelenting psychic torture
—as a necessary fact of so-
cial life.
Economic coercion on
the international stage,
through sanctions, trade
agreements, and devel-
opment loans, is a matter
of course. At home, the
threat of un-employment,
homelessness, starvation,
and destitution, along with
debt, taxes, fines, and fees
of all kinds, are so natu-
ralised as to rarely even be
recognized as a form of po-
litical domination at all.
But rioting and looting
have few defenders.
Conservatives, of course,
oppose it utterly, rooting
Focus on South Africa
for the police to put down
protesters, with the Far
Right claiming riots are just
professional troublemaking
fomented by George Soros,
Jews, and the “global elite.”
Liberals oppose rioting,
too: because their love
for law and order is much
greater than their belief in
freedom, they claim that ri-
oters are “hurting their own
cause” or are led by police
provocateurs — agreeing
with the fascists that riot-
ers are paid troublemakers,
just disagreeing about who
signs the checks.
In the face of rioting and
looting, even sympathet-
ic self-identifying radicals
sometimes balk. They claim
that these more extreme ac-
tions are mainly the work
of outside agitators, “op-
portunists,” or out-of-step
middle-class radicals. They
claim that those doing the
looting are “not part of the
movement,” that they are
“apolitical” and ignorant,
that their actions reflect
“false consciousness,” or
even that they are acting
as consumers and therefore
furthering capitalism.
From within the move-
ment, people tend to claim
that what happened wasn’t
rioting but an uprising or a
rebellion. No one wants to
be associated with the idea
of riot, and this is doubly
true for looting.
Even while a riot is going
on, people in the streets of-
ten work to block looting.
Many of them do so out of
care for the struggle, wor-
ried about unfair media
representation and hoping
to advance the politically
and ethically advantageous
position. I understand that
instinct, but it was to cri-
tique and push against that
thinking, crucially in love
and solidarity with those
who pursue it and with
looters the world over, that
I began this project.
Other people, however
— including local politi-
cians, middle-class “lead-
ers,” political groups, and
reactionary organisations
—block looting in order to
gain power for themselves.
These peacekeepers and de-
escalators cooperate with
the police to derail and de-
stroy uprisings to show the
white power structure that
they are responsible parties,
that, because they can con-
trol and contain the unruly
masses, they are the “natu-
ral leaders,” the people who
should be negotiated with.
This book is spit in their
eyes.
Looting is so unpopular
not because it is an error or
bad for the movement but
because it is often a move-
ment’s most radical tactic.
Looting attacks some of the
core beliefs and structures
of cisheteropatriarchal ra-
cial capitalist society, and
so frightens and disturbs
nearly everyone, even some
of its participants.
After all, we have all
been raised and trained to
hold, follow, and reproduce
those beliefs every day.
Looting rejects the legiti-
macy of ownership rights
and property, the moral in-
junction to work for a liv-
ing, and the “justice” of law
and order. Looting reveals
all these for what they are:
not natural facts, but social
constructs benefiting a few
at the expense of the many,
upheld by ideology, econo-
my, and state violence.
That looting is one of the
most racially loaded, mor-
ally abhorred, and depoliti-
cised concepts in modern
society should come as no
surprise. From its very first
usages, the word has served
to re-enforce the white su-
premacist juncture of prop-
erty and race.
The word  loot  is tak-
en up from the Hindi
word  lút — similar to
“plunder” or “booty” —
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
which first appears in An-
glophone contexts in 1788
in a handbook on “Indian
Vocabulary” for English co-
lonial officers.
In  loot’s  first recorded
appearance in the English
language, it describes how
an officer managed to gain
consent and gather recruits
for subduing Indian resis-
tance: “He always found
the talismanic gather-
ing-word Loot (plunder)
a sufficient bond of union
in any part of India.” The
racialised idea of an “In-
dian” identity did not yet
exist outside the minds of
the colonisers, but a nat-
ural racial tendency, one
overcoming tribal, reli-
gious, and cultural differ-
ences, could be “revealed”
by the offer of plunder. In
other words, a deviant rela-
tionship to property is the
“sufficient” attribute that
unifies and defines an oth-
erwise disparate group un-
der the sign of race.
The earliest appearanc-
es of the gerund  looting,
meanwhile, refer to “hir-
sute Sikhs” and “Chinese
blackguards.”  Looting  is
a word taken from a col-
onised people and used to
denigrate and racialize riot-
ous subalterns resisting En-
the very beginning refer to
a non-white and lawless re-
lationship to property.
The looting that I am
defending in this book
is not that act that can
be described by the syn-
onym  plunder. The loot-
ing of captured territory
by armies, for example, or
of colonial wealth by em-
pire and its agents, can be
equally well described by
words like robbery, pillage,
booty, and spoils.
But the looting de-
scribed, defended, and his-
toricised here — that of a
crowd of people publicly,
openly, and directly taking
things in the midst of riot
and social unrest — has no
easy synonym.
I personally like the
phrases “proletarian shop-
ping” and “shopping for
free” quite a lot and use the
Marxist “expropriation,”
too. But all those phrases
drain the idea of looting
of its racializing character.
Although it is understand-
able why people would
want, in defending their
movements, to find a less
charged word, it is precise-
ly the fact that looting ex-
ists at the nexus of race and
class that gives it its tactical
power.
Looting is a method of
direct redistribution of
wealth, from the store
...To next page
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
News Page 14

Sadc unsettled by Rwanda’s

BERNARD MPOFU

FRESH fissures have emerged

in the Southern African
Development Community

(Sadc) after Rwanda last week
deployed a contingent of 1
000 troops to conflict-ridden
northern Mozambique ahead
of the regional bloc’s standby
force, The NewsHawks has es-
tablished.
An extraordinary sum-
mit of the Southern African
Development Community
(Sadc) heads of state and gov-
ernment held in Maputo last
month recommended the de-
ployment of a standby  force
to help the country fight ter-
rorism in Cabo Delgado prov-
ince.
Sadc’s recommendation
for the deployment of troops
came after the bloc’s technical
assessment mission  recom-
mended immediate military
intervention in April to repel
acts of violent extremism and  priority. This might have to do
terrorism in Mozambique.
Following last month’s Sadc
decision to deploy troops
to Mozambique following
weeks of dithering over the
decision, Rwanda last Friday
announced that it would put
boots on the ground to help
stem a conflict which has
claimed thousands of lives.
The conflict has also result-
ed in Total, a French-head-
quartered energy group,
suspending its multi-bil-
lion-dollar energy project in
the region.
Rwanda’s deployment has
already irked key members of
Sadc.
South Africa’s Defence
minister,  Nosiviwe Mapi-
sa-Nqakula, said on  Satur-
day she “regretted” that “it
happens  before Sadc has de-
ployed its force”.
“Regardless of the bilateral
agreement, it  would be ex-
pected that Rwanda’s inter-
vention to help Mozambique
would happen within  the re-
gional mandate decided by
Mozambique deployment
the Sadc heads of state,” she
said in an interview with the
country’s public broadcaster.
However, Mozambican
President Filipe Nyusi defend-
ed his position. As extensively
reported by The NewsHawks,
Nyusi has always preferred
bilateral military cooperation
ahead of a multilateral ap-
proach due to complexities of
the conflict.
Nyusi  says regional bloc
Sadc has made  room for the
country to receive bilateral
support in the fight against
terrorism in Cabo Delgado,
Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
considering that the nation drawn up by the southern
is sovereign. African regional bloc is not
“We are a sovereign nation enough to finance a major
and Sadc respects that,” Nyusi operation without external
said, speaking during a visit support. Adriano Navunga,
to military units deployed in director of the Maputo-based
central Mozambique’s Sofala Centre for Democracy and
province on Monday. Development, said it would
A leading political scien- have been ideal if Rwanda,
tist based in Mozambique has which has strong diplomat-
said while South Africa’s dis- ic relations with the United
satisfaction over the deploy- States and France, worked
ment of Rwandese forces to with Sadc or the African
conflict-ridden Mozambique Union.
ahead of a regional standby “Indeed the South Africans
force was somehow justi- are not happy, understandably.
fied,  a US$12 million budget The South Africans have been
in the forefront with the Sadc
deployment to Mozambique
and when the extraordinary
summit of the heads of state
and government endorsed the
recommendation to deploy a
Sadc standby force to Mozam-
bique it was also agreed that
Mozambique could tap into
other support from African
states,” Nuvunga said.
“However, the understand-
ing was that such additional
support would come within
the framework of Sadc, not
parallel to Sadc. But the reali-
ty is the current Rwandan de-
ployment is not only parallel
to Sadc but it has been given
with the readiness of Rwanda.
It has already deployed 1 000
troops and Sadc is still prepar-
ing itself although it has com-
municated having a US$12
million budget which is too
small for the type of deploy-
ment that they want to make.
So their dissatisfaction is un-
derstandable.
“We have also wanted the
Rwandese deployment to be
part of the existing African
mechanisms and institu-
tions and not parallel African
mechanisms like the regional
bodies Sadc and the African
Union. But that is the reality
and it is consistent with Mo-
zambique, which has been
preferring more bilateral than
multilateral mechanisms. We
have not yet been informed
about the terms of engage-
ment of this Rwandese mis-
sion so it is not yet clear. They
are already in Mozambique
but, to our knowledge, they
are not yet deployed to the
field. They are still in Nacala
where they are waiting for in-
structions and preparations.”
The Sadc intervention
force, according to a leaked
report done by a regional
technical team, would com-
prise three light infantry bat-
talions of 620 soldiers each, a
light infantry battalion head-
quarters with 90 troops, two
special forces squadrons of 70
soldiers each, 100 engineers,
100 logistics coordinators,
120 signals experts and 42
technicians, among other mil-
itary personnel.
There are also helicopters
as well as transport aircraft,
patrol ships, a submarine and
a maritime aircraft to patrol
the Cabo Delgado coastline
to intercept insurgents’ move-
ments, supplies and combat
their drug trafficking activi-
ties, said to be a source of fi-
nancing for the insurgency.
The technical assessment
team also recommended a
phased approach implement-
ed in four stages: deployment
of intelligence assets (land, air
and maritime) to understand
the insurgents’ operations;
special forces and naval equip-
ment; pacification operations
and withdrawal. This plan en-
tails the deployment of Sadc
troops to support the local
army, providing the Mozam-
bican military with training
and support; and ensuring lo-
gistical support.
These combined and
self-reinforcing actions are
ultimately designed to neu-
tralise the insurgents whose
centres of gravity, including
strategic, operational, tacti-
cal, critical capabilities, needs,
strengths and vulnerabilities
issues, were identified by the
Sadc technical team.

In defence of rioting and looting

From previous page
owners and capitalists
to the poor. Looting, as
scholar Delio Vasquez
writes in “The Poor Per-
son’s Defence of Riots,”
“directly results (unless
you get arrested) in your
acquiring the things that
you are seeking.”3 It is a
practical, immediate form
of improving life. Looting
represents a material way
that riots and protests help
the community: by pro-
viding a way for people to
solve some of the imme-
diate problems of poverty
and by creating a space for
people to freely reproduce
their lives rather than do-
ing so through wage la-
bour. Looting is an act of
communal cohesion.
But looting is also an
act of excess, of property
destruction. When some-
thing is looted, that thing’s
nature as a commodity is
destroyed by its being tak-
en for free, out of the cycle
of exchange and profit. Ev-
erything in the store goes
from being a commodity
to becoming a gift.
Less abstractly, looting
is usually followed up by
burning down the shop.
Looters also frequently
throw items out onto the
streets for anyone to take
or pile goods chaotically in
the middle of the store or
pass bottles of liquor, bags
of food, or goods between
strangers and around the
crowd.
Looting involves not
only taking wealth direct-
ly but also immediately
sharing that wealth, which
points to the collapse of
the system by which the
looted things produce val-
ue. Looting is a commu-
nal practice: it cannot be
done alone. Anthropolo-
gist Neal Keating argues
that looting creates a sim-
ilar relation to property as
the potlatch, a communal
practice of Indigenous na-
tions in the Pacific North-
west. In the potlatch, held
on a variety of special oc-
casions — births, deaths,
weddings, festivals —
wealthy people compete
to see who can give away
the most possessions to the
gathered celebrants and
they vie with each other to
destroy the most accumu-
lated wealth in a massive
bonfire.
The potlatch works to
level wealth in the com-
munity by consuming
surplus, which might
otherwise enable some to
develop more permanent
forms of power through
excess accumulation.
Rioting and looting
similarly redistribute and
reduce the wealth and the
surplus, levelling material
power differentials.
The potlatch was out-
lawed by the Canadian
government as a part of
its (ongoing) genocide of
the First Nations: the pot-
latch was considered one
of the most important ob-
stacles to their becoming
“civilised” and Christian.
Like looting, this non-
whites noncommodified
communal approach to
property was seen as a dan-
gerous threat to capitalism
and “civilisation.”
Though no single in-
stance of looting is on its
own sufficient to trans-
form society, obviously,
looting — at least when
carried out by Black, poor,
or Indigenous people
— will always be stren-
uously and vigorously
dis-avowed by the powers
that be because it points
to and immediately enacts
a different relationship to
property, a different his-
tory. There have been few
instances of looting in the
United States in the last
quarter century; when it
has appeared, it has been
during brief and often
one-off uprisings.
Despite this fact, when
the flames went up over a
looted Quik Trip in Fergu-
son, Missouri, in August
2014, as antipolice rioting
broke out after Michael
Brown was killed, the me-
dia produced lines of ar-
gument and criticism that
you might have just as eas-
ily heard in the sixties.
Politicians and media
outlets have a number of
tried-and-true disavowals
and defamations of looters
at the ready.
Before moving on to the
historical narrative of loot-
ing in the United States,
it’s worth dealing with
these common objections
here.
Page 15
Alex T.
Magaisa
A MOTHER jumps onto
the lower deck of a tall build-
ing and catches her baby
dropped from a floor above.
She frantically dashes to the
edge of the deck. A crowd
has gathered on the ground
below. A group of strangers
has formed a human net
and they are calling for her
to throw the baby into their
arms.
She instinctively drops
her baby into the human
net waiting below. The baby
lands neatly into the hu-
man net. The little one is
safe. Moments later, mother
and child are reunited. But
there is another woman on
the deck, her foot dangling
from her leg. It is broken
somewhere near the ankle.
It is a painful sight. The pic-
ture of the baby flying into
the safety of the human net,
arms and legs astride, is both
sweet and sour.
Sour because of the vio-
lence and arson that forced
the flight. This was not a
game. It was a great escape
from a near-death moment.
It could easily have ended
in disaster. Sweet because in
that moment of great adver-
sity was evidence of courage
and the beauty of the human
spirit of co-operation – a
mother’s love and strangers
getting together to serve
others because it is the right
thing to do. That image of
the baby caught in full flight
from extreme danger must
qualify among the most
iconic images of the most
riotous and destructive mo-
ment in post-independent
South Africa.
A giant in distress
The giant of the southern
African region is in serious
distress. There has never been
a more trying moment for
South Africa since it gained
freedom from the hideously
oppressive apartheid regime
in 1994. The upheaval start-
ed in KwaZulu-Natal fol-
lowing the jailing of Jacob
Zuma, a former president of
South Africa for contempt
of court. The Constitution-
al Court held that he was in
contempt of court and sen-
tenced him to 15 months’
imprisonment.
The stiff and unprecedent-
ed sentence sent shockwaves
across the country and be-
yond its borders. Jailing a
former president is not a reg-
ular occurrence anywhere in
the world, let alone in Africa
where the Big Man syndrome
is commonplace. Was Zuma
really going to jail? Many
were shocked by the chutz-
pah that South Africa’s apex
court had demonstrated. If
South Africa prides itself as a
democracy with strong insti-
tutions, the Constitutional
Court is one of the key cogs
in that wheel. It has built a
cutting-edge and world-class
South Africa should balance 
rule of law and social justice 
jurisprudence over the years,
a reputation made more im-
pressive when compared to
its regional peers. Back in
the early 2000s, it was the
Constitutional Court’s wis-
dom that rescued the nation
from the scourge of the HIV
and Aids pandemic when it
curtailed the folly of a gov-
ernment that had lost its way
through inexplicable denial-
ism. But its critics thought
it had gone too far on this
occasion. They thought it
had exercised its powers
with more than a little zeal,
a charge that has escalated in
light of the chaos that erupt-
ed in its aftermath.  so it was that the protests
Would Zuma really go to
jail? That was the big ques-
tion after the ground-break-
ing decision. The court had
given him five days to com-
ply. Zuma typically put up
a show of defiance egged on
by his supporters. But in the
end, as the clock ticked to-
wards the end of the morato-
rium, he conceded and pre-
sented himself at a prison.
The seemingly impossible
had become a reality. Zuma
was going to jail. With hind-
sight, the veteran politician
might have benefited from
better counsel. Defying
and mocking the court was
never a good idea. Still, his
supporters were not happy.
They rallied around him in
the days after the sentenc-
ing vowing to defend him by
any means necessary. In their
opinion, he would never go
Focus on South Africa
to jail. In the end, they could
not do anything to stop the
incarceration.
But they were not done.
Images of their leader signing
in at the prison were leaked
on social media. Looking
powerless and forlorn as the
prison staff inducted him
into his new home for the
next 15 months, it was a sad
picture of humiliation and
pity. The mighty had fall-
en. Those images must have
lit up an already incendiary
atmosphere among his sup-
porters. How could they
do that to Msholozi, they
must have wondered. And
began in earnest, calling for
Zuma to be released. The
protests soon turned into
an orgy of looting and de-
struction, first in the volatile
KwaZulu-Natal province
before the contagion spread
to Gauteng, home of South
Africa’s largest metropolis.
But if the pacesetters were
Zuma’s ardent posse of sup-
porters, others smelt a whiff
of opportunity. It was their
turn to eat. It turned into a
fiesta of violence and looting
as hordes of marauders ran-
sacked and pillaged shop-
ping malls and other com-
mercial establishments.  Africa and the southern Afri-
Rule of law to lawless-
ness
There is, of course, some
irony in all this. It is that
what began as a defence of
the rule of law by the apex
Incarcerated former South African leader Jacob Zuma.
court yielded a spree of law-
lessness, destruction and
death. At the time of writing,
the death toll stands at more
than 200 people, and dam-
age estimated at more than
a billion dollars. Businesses
of all types have been looted
or razed to the ground. The
economies in the affected re-
gions have run aground with
credible fears that some busi-
nesses might never recover.
They were already reeling
from the national lockdowns
courtesy of the Covid-19
pandemic and, for some of
them, the plunder and de-
struction will prove to be the
final nail on the coffin. In
a country where the official
unemployment rate among
the youth (15-34 years) is
46.3% and the national av-
erage is 32.6%, thousands
will be out of work follow-
ing the destructive riots. Al-
ready, thousands are queuing
for assistance, not because of
a natural disaster but a hu-
man-made calamity.
With major oil companies
closing business and declar-
ing  force majeure  (act of
God), a justification for not
fulfilling contractual obliga-
tions, the repercussions will
be felt in other parts of South
can region. With KZN be-
ing host to one of the busiest
ports in Africa, a key arterial
route for trade is currently
blocked. This is certain to
cause severe distress to the
heart of the nation and the
region. The economic im-
pact of South Africa in the
region cannot be overstated
and one cannot avoid the
cliché that if the giant sneez-
es, the whole region catch-
es a cold. This is the reason
why South Africa’s troubles
should worry the rest of the
region. It is already home to
millions of migrants from
the region, most of them
economic refugees fleeing
unemployment and poverty
in their own countries. They,
in turn, send millions in
remittances every year pro-
viding a lifeline to their im-
poverished communities and
national economies.   gled, and many have failed,
SA’s Sarajevo moment
So, what has gone wrong
in South Africa? How did
the much-celebrated rule of
law turn into a rule of law-
lessness? The temptation is
to reduce the cause to the
actions of one stubborn man
who believed he was bigger
than the law. To my mind,
that would be too simplis-
tic an approach to what is a
complex and nuanced prob-
lem. It is often said South
Africa suffers a false sense of
exceptionalism, the notion
that it is different from the
rest of Africa. But a careful
examination suggests that
its challenges are not new to
post-colonial societies and if
there is a grave error it is that
the South African leader-
ship has not done enough to
draw lessons from its peers
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
that have travelled the path
before.
To be sure, the rioting was
triggered by the jailing of
Zuma, but that was merely a
Sarajevo moment for South
Africa. It was the spark that
lit a fully loaded powder-keg
that was already in existence.
Metaphorically speaking,
South Africa has long been a
volcano that was waiting to
erupt although no one knew
quite when it would happen.
It is to those deeper causes
that South Africa must look
at this moment, instead of
focusing on the actions of
Zuma and his supporters.
For so long, the world has
held South Africa as a gold
standard for the African re-
gion, a model to be emulated
by others. When the clique
of the richest countries in
the world meets to decide
the course of world affairs,
South Africa is invited to sit
at the table aiding and abet-
ting the sense of exceptional-
ism. Its constitution is wide-
ly celebrated as progressive.
The West casts it as a kind
of watchdog that must rein
in the delinquents around
it like Zimbabwe. But that
is a role that, aware of its
insecurities and structural
weaknesses, South Africa
has largely been reluctant to
exercise. Contrary to West-
ern perceptions, and despite
efforts to paint it as a Big
Brother, South Africa is not
different from its African
peers in terms of challeng-
es that a post-colonial state
faces. It might lay claim to
being the most sophisticated
economy on the continent,
but this hides the sad reality
that a significant part of it
is in a few hands, the bene-
ficiaries of historical advan-
tage and few black elites who
managed to sneak to the top
table.  
However, it is not im-
mune to the challenge that
has afflicted most post-colo-
nial states. They have strug-
to strike a balance between
two competing demands: on
the one hand trying hard to
live up to claims of moder-
nity as defined by the domi-
nant Western discourse and,
on the other hand, having to
meet the needs and expec-
tations of a historically dis-
empowered, disadvantaged,
and long-suffering majority.
Few areas mark this tension
than the celebrated princi-
ple of the rule of law which
features prominently in the
events leading up to the cur-
rent riots. It is to that issue
that I now turn.
Rule of law complexities
The Zuma case and the
rioting that erupted in the
wake of his jailing is a great
point to discuss the com-
plexities of the rule of law
in a post-colonial setting;
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
what it means and how gov-
ernments have wrestled with
it. When the Constitutional
Court convicted and sen-
tenced Zuma to a term of
imprisonment, the decision
was hailed as an important
defence of the rule of law.
The former president had
defied the commission of
inquiry investigating alle-
gations of state capture. He
had also defied the Consti-
tutional Court after it or-
dered him to comply with
the commission’s demands.
Zuma did not even bother
to formally respond to the
application for contempt.
Instead, he wrote incendiary
public statements which im-
pugned and denigrated the
court.
In defying the judicial
process, Zuma’s conduct
was reminiscent of a medie-
val king who regarded him-
self as being above the law.
His behaviour was not what
would be expected in a con-
stitutional democracy, one
that he had defended when
he was president. It was a
challenge to the authority
of the highest court in the
country. If the Constitution-
al Court had succumbed to
his whims, it would have
looked lame, and its author-
ity would have been severe-
ly undermined. The court
had bent over backward
to accommodate Zuma’s
stubborn antics before the
verdict and sentence were
passed. But Zuma ignored
it, choosing instead to pay to
the public gallery.   cause meeting the demands
I do not think anyone can
seriously argue that Zuma
was not contemptuous of
the court. The dispute is
over the sentencing, with his
supporters believing that he
ought to have been given a
suspended sentence as is the
norm, which would have
given him an incentive to
comply. For his supporters,
the 15-month unsuspend-
ed sentence was excessive,
harsh, and vindictive on the
part of the judges. They ar-
gue that the sentence reflects
the judges’ emotional and
vindictive reaction to Zu-
ma’s conduct. They see it as
a disproportionate measure
in the circumstances. Those
who back the court argue
that the decision was con-
sistent with the substantive
rule of law which supports
the democratic system of
government.
This in part reflects the
contested nature of the con-
cept and application of the
rule of law. The outcome of
the case is that what began as
a defence of the rule of law
has become the rule of law-
lessness. This is a reflection,
in my view, of the tension
between a substantive con-
ception of the rule of law
and the long-unresolved leg-
acy of social inequality and
injustice. Therefore, while
elite classes extol the virtues
of the substantive rule of law
under which their advantages
are protected, it sadly means
less to the poor majority for
whom the human-made leg-
acy of historical injustices
and inequality are ever-pres-
ent realities. A man in opu-
lent Sandton has the wealth
to protect and the rule of law
provides that protection. His
neighbour for whom a hovel
in poverty-stricken Alexan-
dra is home has nothing and
the rule of law is an alien
phenomenon.
Meaningful rule of law
This brings us to the issue
of conceptions of the rule of
law in a post-colonial con-
text. How is it that what is
supposed to be a supreme ex-
ample of upholding the rule
of law has instead resulted
in the rule of chaos and de-
struction? In my view, while
the rule of law is fundamen-
tal, it is also important to
recognise that it is neither
an end nor the sole virtue of
a legal system. This applies
generally but takes an even
more significant prominence
in post-colonial societies
that are defined by structural
injustices and inequalities.
As I have already stated, the
post-colonial state must sat-
isfy at least two demands:
first, to uphold and defend
the rule of law, and second,
to correct historical injus-
tices and inequalities. In
other words, the legal system
of a post-colonial state must
not only revel in upholding
the rule of law, but it must
also attend to the demands
of the systematically exclud-
ed and impoverished.
The problem is that these
two virtues of a legal system
do not always sit comfort-
ably in the same space be-
of social justice might up-
set the substantive rule of
law, while an insistence on
upholding the substantive
rule of law might limit ac-
cess to social justice. Seen
from this perspective, there
is an argument to be made
for a critical assessment of
the substantive rule of law
so that it may be reconcep-
tualised and redesigned in
a post-colonial context. As
I have already stated, South
Africa is not the first country
to encounter this challenge
and I will use its northern
neighbour, Zimbabwe, as an
illustration.
Case of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe won Indepen-
dence in 1980 while South
Africa celebrated freedom in
1994. Both the newly inde-
pendent countries adopted
new constitutions that were
regarded as progressive and
for present purposes, adopt-
ed and extolled the virtues of
the rule of law. South Africa’s
new constitution was more
explicit in its reference to
the rule of law. It specifically
stated the rule of law as one
of the founding values of the
state. The new Zimbabwean
constitution which was ad-
opted in 2013 also refers to
the rule of law as one of the
founding values and princi-
ples of the state. However,
neither constitution specifi-
cally defines the rule of law.
There is no statement over
the conception of the rule of
law.
However, going by the
terms of the constitutions
and judicial decisions, it is
News
evident that they accepted
and advanced the substan-
tive conception of the rule
of law. The problem is that
the post-colonial constitu-
tions and judiciaries adopted
a substantive conception of
the rule of law to protect a
status quo that was founded
on the enforcement of a for-
mal conception of the rule
of law. By maintaining the
status quo, the legal systems
helped to perpetuate injus-
tices and inequalities of the
colonial era instead of facili-
tating redress. This is unsus-
tainable because it leaves a
vast reservoir of discontent-
ment which slowly builds
up over time, ultimately
threatening the substantive
rule of law. In the case of
Zimbabwe, it ended in vio-
lence and an abrogation of
the substantive rule of law,
all in the name of redressing
historical injustices and in-
equalities. Let us take a dis-
passionate glimpse of Zim-
babwe and property rights
because it holds lessons for
the southern neighbour.
Zimbabwe’s independence
constitution had a clause
that entrenched the right
to private property for the
first 10 years of indepen-
dence. The provision which
protected property rights
could not be amended by
the new government for that
first decade. A review of the
independence negotiations
held at Lancaster House in
London reveals that the na-
tionalists accepted this ar-
rangement with great reluc-
tance. They wanted to have
powers to address the land
question soon after indepen-
dence. However, Britain and
the Rhodesian government
wanted to protect the in-
terests of white landowners
who held the bulk of arable
land. The outcome was a
constitution that facilitated
political power to the black
majority while maintaining
economic power in the white
minority.
Indeed, the new Zim-
babwe’s adherence to this
arrangement was hailed as
consistent with the rule of
law. But it was also a sys-
temically unjust and ineq-
uitable system for the black
majority that had been un-
fairly dispossessed, discrimi-
nated against, and exploited
during the colonial era. The
rule of law which protected
this system was great for the
land-owning elites, but it
was alien to the black ma-
jority. The reservoir of dis-
gruntlement continued to
build up and it is hardly sur-
prising that when the Zanu
PF government felt political
pressure and faced an exis-
tential threat, it was only too
happy to allow it to burst at
the seams. The land expro-
priations were illegal and
regarded as a breach of the
rule of law, but for the gov-
ernment and its supporters,
it was a legitimate exercise to
address a long-standing lega-
cy of colonialism. Thousands
invaded the farms and took
occupation with the conniv-
ance and encouragement of
the government but very few
came out to defend the white
landowners.  situation which as Zimba-
The Zimbabwean gov-
ernment reconfigured the
composition of the Supreme
Court and the High Court to
create a judiciary that would
support its land reform
agenda. It believed that the
old judiciary was institution-
ally biased against land re-
form. But the judges argued
that they were performing
their constitutional man-
date, which was to interpret
and apply the laws on the
statute books. In their view,
when they ruled against the
expropriation of land with-
out compensation, they were
simply giving effect to the
constitution and promoting
the rule of law. The judges
were right at law. But in the
eyes of the government, the
judges were standing in the
way of efforts to correct his-
torical imbalances under the
guise of the rule of law.
This was a classic case of
two competing claims: the
claim of the substantive rule
of law, which required the
strict protection of property
rights, and the second was
the claim of social justice,
which required the correc-
tion of historical injustices
and inequality. The sub-
stantive rule of law lost the
contest. Still, to illustrate the
complexities of the rule of
law, the government contin-
ued to claim that it was en-
forcing the rule of law even
as it passed retrospective laws
that violated fundamental
rights. This was at best a for-
mal conception of the rule
of law but adherents would
still justify the measures as
meeting the other virtues of
a legal system, namely re-
dressing past injustices and
inequality.   week, the spark was the jail-
Why it matters to SA
I have gone to some
lengths to examine the tu-
multuous path of the rule of
law in Zimbabwe because I
believe it is relevant to South
Africa’s situation. Like its
northern neighbour in its
early years, while South Af-
rica extols the virtues of the
rule of law as epitomised by
the Constitutional Court’s
reasoning in the Zuma case,
and its determination to
jail a former president, it is
also a country that carries a
heavy burden of unresolved
historical grievances. As with
Zimbabwe in the early years,
the rule of law in respect of
property rights served the
interests of elites (both white
and black) but did not have
much relevance to the ma-
jority who remained encum-
bered by the legacy of injus-
tice and inequality.
From an economic per-
spective, those who extolled
the virtues of the rule of law
never considered if it meant
the same thing or anything
at all to the poor majori-
ty. Also, like Zimbabwe in
the early years, South Afri-
ca has long had simmering
tensions between classes
usually defined by race. The
compromises reached at in-
dependence did not resolve
long-standing grievances.
They postponed problems
and created an incendiary
bwe showed is unsustainable
in the long run. Political
demagogues were always go-
ing to take advantage of the
tensions when they suited
their interests. South Africa
faces a similar path if it is not
careful.    tive conception of the rule
Façade of rainbowism
For too long South Afri-
ca has laboured under the
false veneer of the “Rainbow
Nation”. Labels like that are
not accidental. They cre-
ate an imagined reality but
imagined realities do not last
unless they are persuasive
enough to be believed. It was
seductive but the notion of
a Rainbow Nation simply
glossed over the gross in-
equalities that needed to be
resolved and which if unre-
solved present a potent rec-
ipe for chaos. It only needs
a spark.  periphery, boasting the right
The northern neighbour,
Zimbabwe, had its labels too
in the early years. For exam-
ple, it was called the Bread
Basket of the region, another
seductive label that glossed
over the gross inequalities in
land ownership. There is even
a claim that the early years
were the golden era of the
rule of law, even as the Mug-
abe regime was massacring at
least 20 000 people in Ma-
tabeleland and the Midlands
during Gukurahundi. The
spark came in February 2000
when Zanu PF lost the con-
stitutional referendum and
realised it was facing an exis-
tential threat. The floodgates
to populism opened with the
farm invasions riding on the
rhetoric of redressing histor-
ical imbalances.  law must serve their needs
For South Africa this past
ing of a former liberation
icon who has fallen from
grace. President Cyril Ra-
maphosa says the violence
was well-planned and that
there we instigators behind
it. Some people thought the
land invasions in Zimba-
bwe were spontaneous. On
the contrary, the govern-
ment always had a hand in
them. For the young lad who
had managed to pick a few
clothes and underwear as his
loot in South Africa, this was
hardly about Zuma but an
opportunity to make some
pickings in a period of man-
ufactured chaos. The point
is, underneath the carefully
and self-servingly manufac-
tured façade of rainbowism,
there are severe tensions in
South African society that
are always threatening to ex-
plode. There is a huge reser-
voir of disgruntlement that
is easy to manipulate.
Give meaning to the rule
of law
The rule of law is a great
principle that must be sup-
ported. The Constitution-
al Court has done a great
job defending it over the
years. The rule of law is an
imagined reality and, like
all other products of the
imagination, it depends on
institutions that defend it
for its survival. But it is im-
portant to remember that
it is not the only important
Page 16
principle in societies that are
still ravaged by the legacy
of injustices and inequali-
ty. The problem is that at
independence, the post-co-
lonial state’s constitutional
foundation was configured
to give effect to the substan-
of law when the injustice
and inequality of the past
were underwritten by a for-
mal conception of the rule
of law. Those who amassed
wealth and advantage based
on a formal conception of
the rule of law suddenly
became beneficiaries of the
substantive conception of
the rule of law, with very
little being done to redress
the injustices and inequality.
Ill-gotten rights and advan-
tages received constitutional
protection, while the his-
torically disadvantaged and
exploited remained at the
to vote but more economic
power. In such a scenario,
the rule of law is always in
danger of collapsing if it fails
to meet the demands of the
poverty-stricken majority.
Since the rule of law is
an imagined reality; a legal
fiction, its survival, and suc-
cess depend on persuading a
significant number of people
to believe in it. The Consti-
tutional Court is an import-
ant believer, advocate, and
defender of the rule of law,
but to what extent is this re-
flected among the poor and
excluded? Do they place as
much value in it? Are they
prepared to defend it with
the same zeal? To win sup-
porters and believers, the
legal system and the rule of
and expectations. A signif-
icant number of people in
the political community
must say there is something
in it for us, and therefore it
is worth defending. 
The rule of law must not
be seen as an elitist notion
extolled by judges, capital-
ists, and political function-
aries when it suits them. It
must have real meaning to
the ordinary people at the
bottom of the food chain.
It is important to address
poverty, historical injustices,
and inequality.
To ignore these structur-
al weaknesses would be an
exercise of burying heads in
the sand. South Africa has
the advantage of the experi-
ence of its neighbours from
which it can draw lessons.
There will be calm after this
storm, but as those of us with
Zimbabwean experience
know, it will not last long.
We have seen these tell-tale
signs before and what has
happened in South Africa is
an ominous sign. South Af-
rica’s problem is political. It
requires bold and progressive
leadership that strikes a bal-
ance between defending the
rule of law and working to
ensure social justice.
*About the writer: Dr
Alex Tawanda Magaisa is
a United Kingdom-based
Zimbabwean academic and
lecturer at the Kent Law
School of the University of
Kent. 
Page 17
Tagwirei’s vast
tentacles grip
Zimbabwe
government
BRIDGET MANANAVIRE
KUDAKWASHE Tagwirei’s
influence on government
in recent years has been un-
matched.
The shadowy businessman
has emerged one of the big-
gest beneficiaries of the No-
vember 2017 military coup
which ousted former president
Robert Mugabe, with his em-
pire ballooning on the back
of lucrative government con-
tracts and acquisition of state
resources, including mining
companies formerly owned by
the government.
An investigation by The
Sentry – an investigative and
policy team that follows dirty
money connected to African
war criminals and transna-
tional war profiteers and seeks
to shut those benefiting from
violence out of the interna-
tional financial system – re-
vealed companies linked to
the businessman were awarded
contracts worth over US$1.6
billion by the government.
Tagwirei has close ties with
both President Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Vice-Presi-
dent Constantino Chiwenga.
He is also very close to Mnan-
gagwa’s sons, particularly Em-
merson Junior.
CHIPA GONDITII
THE 2020/21 tobacco mar-
keting season, which came
to a close on Wednesday this
week, has recorded nearly
US$523 million in sales, an
increase of 21% from last year.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s sec-
ond-largest foreign currency
earner after gold, with China
and South Africa being the
major buyers of the golden
leaf.
According to the latest sta-
tistics from the Tobacco In-
dustry and Marketing Board
(TIMB), farmers delivered
tobacco worth US$522 625
552 while last year’s sales were
US$401 602 791.
This year, 188 887 997 ki-
logrammes of the golden leaf
were sold with over 93% of
the sales coming from con-
tract-based schemes.
In Zimbabwe, the crop is
mainly produced through the
contract system where buyers
provide the farmers with the
inputs for tobacco farming.
This season also saw the av-
erage price of tobacco going
up to US$2.77 from US$2.44
last year.
Zimbabwe National Farm-
ers’ Union vice-president
Edward Dune attributed the
increased revenue to a general
Since 2017, Tagwirei has
used his connections within
the government to grow into
the transport; mining, med-
ical, oil, banking, logistics, as
well as import/ export sectors
with the businessman shield-
ing his activities through a
network of over 40 companies,
some of which are registered in
tax havens.  Tagwirei has provided high-
Among his companies reg-
istered in 2018 in Zimba-
bwe are Balesite Investments,
Billheights Investments and
Landela Mining Ventures.
In 2019, Tagwirei also
started Landela Investments,
Landela Energy and Landela
Infrastructure.  Tagwirei also bought Great
These are just some of the
companies listed in papers
filed at the High Court of
South Africa as being linked to
the Sakunda Group.
Through Sakunda, Tagwirei
now runs the Arundel Clinic
as well as a unit at the public
United Bulawayo Hospitals.
In a space of a year in 2020,
Tagwirei acquired Bindura
Nickel Corporation (BNC)
and Zimbabwe Mining De-
velopment Corporation
(ZMDC) mines, including
Jena and Sabi, as well as Zim
Alloys and Metallion Gold
mines.
Bumper tobacco sales surpass US$520m
uptick in the number of to-
bacco growers.
“These sales mean that
more and more farmers are
adopting tobacco as a cash
crop and they are going into
an enterprise that is actually
generating them money,” he
said.
“If you actually look at the
average sales, they exceeded
the normal range that we are
used to. So this gives us con-
fidence because it shows that
we are going somewhere.”  Responding to an email
The remarkable rise of
Zimbabwe’s tobacco farming
comes after production plum-
meted from the previous peak
of 260 million kgs in 1998 to
a low of 48 million kgs at the
height of the country’s hyper-
inflation in 2008.
Growing demand from
China and funding from pri-
vate tobacco companies have
boosted output in Zimbabwe.
Although the country is the
largest producer of tobacco in
Africa, only 1.5% of the crop
is channelled toward local
processing, with the rest being
exported in raw form.
Dune also said it was im-
portant to organise a localised
News
Dyke Investments and Freda
Rebecca Gold Mine, among
others.
Through Sakunda, Tag-
wirei was also controlling the
Feruka-Harare pipeline with
the support of Trafigura, a
Swiss-registered international
commodities company.
Tagwirei’s tentacles also
spread into the financial sec-
tor, after buying into CBZ as
well as ZB late last year.  “In addition to alleged busi-
His companies have en-
joyed tax brakes and special
treatment from the govern-
ment.  contact senior civilian officials
“On January 27, 2021, over
tobacco funding framework
that would see the proceeds
circulating in the country.
“Last time we had a min-
istry (of Agriculture) organ-
ised workshop on localising
tobacco funding because you
might be well aware that cur-
rently tobacco funding is done
Zimbabwean tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei (right).
a year after Landela Mining
Ventures had bought half of
the platinum mine, Zimba-
bwe granted Great Dyke In-
vestments (GDI) a five-year
corporate income tax holiday
and exempted its shareholders
resident in Zimbabwe from
resident shareholders’ taxes on
GDI dividends—retroactively
applied to January 1, 2020,”
the report by The Sentry re-
port read.
ness dealings with the Zim-
babwean military, Tagwirei
appears to have the ability to
in Zimbabwe at short notice,
by offshore funders and that
money is just taken outside
the country.
“So if funding is localised,
for example Pfumvudza to-
bacco, it will mean that the
money will carry on circulat-
ing locally,” he said.
Despite the country reg-
particularly at the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
Such high-level access, togeth-
er with the pattern of previous
decisions, raises the possibil-
ity of state capture, when the
public realm—particularly
regulatory, legal, and public
policy decision-making—has
been influenced to benefit pri-
vate interests.”
When Tagwirei’s father
passed away in May 2018,
cabinet had to be postponed
as the executive, ministers and
senior government officials
all drove to Shurugwi for the
burial, showing his influence.  Tagwirei did not respond to
After his placement on
istering significant strides
in tobacco sales this season,
TIMB statistics also revealed
that 83 513 bales of tobacco
potentially worth US$17.81
million had been rejected this
year alone.
This is a 12.29% increase
from last year which saw
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
sanctions by the United States
last year, Zimbabwean govern-
ment officials went over board
in defending Tagwirei and his
operations. 
The businessman has gone
further to hide some of his
business ventures, including
in mining, behind South Af-
rican businesspeople and off-
shore structures in Mauritius
and the Cayman Islands, away
from the prying eyes of West-
ern governments and public
scrutiny. The US Department
of Treasury in an August 2020
Press release said Tagwirei had
gotten leverage to expand
his businesses through his
links with the government, as
America imposed sanctions on
the businessman.
“Tagwirei  has utilised his
relationships with high-level
Zimbabwean officials to gain
state contracts and receive fa-
voured access to hard currency,
including US dollars. In turn,
priced items, such as expensive
cars, to senior-level Zimba-
bwean government officials,”
the release read.
“Since former Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe’s
2017 departure, Tagwirei used
a combination of opaque busi-
ness dealings and his ongoing
relationship with President
Mnangagwa to grow his busi-
ness empire dramatically and
rake in millions of US dollars.”
The Sentry report also un-
covered how Tagwirei has used
his government networks to
hide his financial interests in
Zimbabwe’s new public-pri-
vate partnership mining
company, Kuvimba Mining
House, with Zimbabwe’s Fi-
nance ministry reportedly
collaborating to deflect public
scrutiny from these arrange-
ments.
questions.
US$14.87 million worth of
tobacco being declared a loss.
Point-of-sale rejection of
tobacco is due to various rea-
sons, including bales being
overweight or underweight
and bad handling, resulting in
excessive or inadequate mois-
ture and moulds. Farmers
can also reject the sale on the
grounds of price.
The statistics also showed
that the biggest number
of rejects came from con-
tract-grown tobacco were 56
772 bales potentially worth
US$12.22 million were reject-
ed.
sent by The NewsHawks,
TIMB public affairs officer
Chelesani Moyo said farmers
should adopt correct measures
when handling their bales so
as to avoid losses.
“To help curb the rejection
of bales for the above-stated
reasons, there is need to un-
dertake correct curing and
storing mechanisms for the
tobacco before delivering to
the market. There is also need
to ensure correct classification
and grading when packing the
tobacco,” she said.  
Zimbabwe is the largest
producer of tobacco in Afri-
ca and ranked fourth in the
world.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Kembo Mohadi embarks on Zanu PF
national tour despite Covid-19 ban
AT a time the govern-
ment has banned pub-
lic gatherings to stem a
surge in Covid-19 infec-
tions at a time Zimbabwe
is battling the third wave,
Zanu PF second secretary
Kembo Mohadi has be-
gun a countrywide tour
to asses the ruling party’s
structures in preparation
for the 2023 general elec-
tions.
President Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who is the
Zanu PF first secretary,
gave Mohadi the man-
date to asses the party’s
strength ahead of by-elec-
tions for vacant parlia-
mentary seats and the
2023 polls.
Ironically, Mnangag-
wa on Tuesday extended
the Level Four Covid-19
lockdown by two weeks.  land East capital Maron-
Under the measures, the
government banned pub-
lic gatherings including
church meetings, and in-
ter-city travel in a bid to
slow down infections.  officials.
Extending the lock-
down, Mnangagwa ex-
pressed concern over the
rise in new cases, blaming
complacency for the surge
while urging citizens to
respect the restrictions.
On Thursday this week,
Zimbabwe recorded 2
491 new Covid-19 cases
and 86 deaths. Cumula-
tively, Zimbabwe had re-
corded 78 872 cases and
2 418 deaths.
Mohadi however began
his nationwide tour with
News
a visit to the Mashona-
dera on Thursday, where
he met the Zanu PF pro-
vincial executives, district
coordinating committee
members and other party
In his remarks at the
Zanu PF provincial of-
fices, Mohadi said he had
visited so that he hears
the challenges faced by
the party and devise solu-
tions.
“This is my first leg of
provincial tours to fa-
miliarise with the affairs
of the party at grassroots
since my assumption of
duty at the party on 1
June 2021,” said Mohadi.
“I am here to learn from
the challenges that our
party is facing in Mash- occasion deputy nation-
onaland East and possi- al political commissar
bly discuss interventions Omega Hungwe urged
that might be required to district coordinating
avert the challenges.” committee chairpersons
to speed up preparation
of cells which she said
was the Zanu PF voters’
role.
“I heard that the prov-
ince has 10 000 cells and
some of you are not yet
starting to register people
Mohadi said Mnangag- in cells. We want that data
wa wanted the party to be as we want to achieve five
united ahead of the polls. million votes in the 2023
“His Excellency wants elections,” Hungwe said,
us to foster unity among while also urging Zanu
our people. He wants us PF members to register
to engage in programmes to vote.
that improves the liveli- “We do not want a
hood of the generality of situation where people
our people,” he said. during primary elections
Speaking at the same are elected by people who
Page 18
do not vote during gen-
eral elections. Those cells
are our voters’ role like
what the Zimbabwe Elec-
toral Commission (ZEC)
did. Come the primary
elections, those in cells
are going to vote.”
The meeting was also
attended by  the minis-
ter of state for Provincial
affairs and devolution
Aplonia Munzverengwi,
Zanu PF acting provin-
cial  chair Michael Mad-
hanha, acting deputy sec-
retary for Youth Affairs
Tendai Chirau, provin-
cial political commissar
Herbert Shumbamhini
and district coordinating
committee chairpersons,
among other officials.
--STAFF WRITER.
Page 19
MASHONALAND West
province has seen a spike in
Covid-19 cases with Hurun-
gwe District -- famed for its
top-quality tobacco which
is used to provide flavour
for leading cigarette brands
worldwide -- accounting for
a significant number of cases.
Tobacco famers are among
those hardest hit by the respi-
ratory disease perhaps because
of exposure at auction floors.
The NewsHawks Masho-
naland West provincial cor-
respondent Nhau Mangirazi
(NM) caught up with Magun-
je Member of Parliament Ce-
cil Kashiri (CK) to talk about
the pandemic and interven-
tion measures in the district,
which is facing a shortage of
health facilities, among other
problems. Below are excepts;
NM: Covid-19 is hitting
Hurungwe district hard. It is
regarded as the epicentre of lo-
cal infections in the province.
As a local MP, what do you
think has caused a spike in
cases? Could the tobacco auc-
tion floors have played a role?
CK: Yes, it is true that Hurun-
gwe district is one of the biggest
tobacco-producing districts in
the country as evidenced by the
mushrooming of auction floors
in the area. This has attract-
ed farmers from as far afield as
Gokwe, Mhangura, and Lion’s
Den, among other areas, who
used to go and sell tobacco in
Harare. The numbers have in-
creased in Karoi which is rela-
tively a small town designed to
handle a certain number of peo-
ple. Furthermore, some Zam-
bians frequently come in with
second-hand clothing which
they sell in Karoi and literally
spend days there till their stocks
run out. During one of my vis-
its to the floors, I came across
mostly women from Epworth,
Hatcliffe and Chitungwiza sell-
ing wares including plasticware,
leather shoes and wallets to
farmers.
They do not have anywhere
decent to sleep as local lodges
have been fully booked from
March until early August. Peo-
ple have been sleeping on shop
verandas in the central business
district of late. It is a cause for
concern to us and we look for-
ward authorities acting against
this. These gatherings are sourc-
es of easy transmissions.
NM: As far as we know, there
are at least 14 registered tobac-
co companies including mid-
dlemen. Has this been benefi-
cial to the district?
CK: The coming in of the to-
bacco companies in Karoi town
within Hurungwe district has
had positive and negative im-
pacts. Positive in the sense that
we have seen some infrastruc-
tural development, businesses
have benefitted and there is
employment creation, among
others.
However, the negative effects
are that we are now paying heav-
ily in that local Covid-19 infec-
tions are getting out of control.
The tobacco floors attracted
huge numbers that the current
social amenities cannot support.
These include public toilets, ac-
commodation, among others,
Hurungwe lacks health
facilities for Covid-19 fight
hence pressure on the resources
in this small town.
NM: Has the district benefit-
ted from the presence of to-
bacco merchants in the town
and district at large? Has there
been an economic benefit so
far?
CK: The issue of economic
stimulus for the district is a
cause for concern by many who
are geared for development as a
long-term plan, but we are still
yet to see anything. It remains
to be seen if the tobacco compa-
nies will plough back some pro-
ceeds into the district as tangible
evidence but, as it stands, noth-
ing of note is on the ground to
show this.
We are yet to witness any-
thing, but it is our hope that the
companies will come forward to
prove that they have benefitted
and communities must have a
share of their joy, literally.   NM: Has the Zimbabwe Re-
NM: There is a concern about
Covid-19 local infections af-
fecting Hurungwe in partic-
ular and Mashonaland West
province in general. In your
view, what are the main chal-
lenges in the district and what
is the way forward?
News
CK: As regards the Covid-19 sit-
uation, there is need to educate
our farmers about the dangers of
not protecting themselves, espe-
cially of not wearing face masks,
social distancing and sanitising.
We need to debunk the ‘fear’
of getting a vaccine. Tobacco
companies need to revisit their
payment modalities. I say so
because it has taken a farmer at
least three days to make a sale
and wait for payment.
Overcrowding of people in
town who largely do not have
anywhere to sleep and therefore
end up sleeping on shop veran-
das is exposing many to infec-
tions. Tobacco companies could
possibly take a leaf from the
Grain Marketing Board mod-
el where a farmer drops their
produce and goes back home
knowing money will be paid in,
say, 72 hours. This will go a long
way in decongesting the town.
public Police (ZRP) done
enough to enforce the lock-
down in Hurungwe? There is
evidence of sports galas going
on around the district, fueling
the local infections that you
are concerned about.
CK: It is factual that ZRP is
Magunje Member of Parliament Cecil Kashiri.
struggling to cope with the in-
flux of people, especially into
Karoi where the floors are lo-
cated. They are incapacitated
in terms of mobility to react to
situations and implement lock-
down effectively. It pains me as
a legislator that Hurungwe dis-
trict, that has five constituencies
and is one of the country’s larg-
est districts, has only one oper-
ating vehicle borrowed from
another district. It leaves them
heavily incapacitated to attend
to reports coming to their of-
fices. Traditionally, when farm-
ers are off-season they engage
in sports galas where they play
different sports and obviously
gather in huge numbers. So if
there is anyone infected one can
only imagine how fast the virus
will spread.
Police need to be mobile and
get there on time and disperse
these crowds while educating
them, but how do they get there
without the vehicles needed
as tools of trade? Hurungwe is
largely a farming community,
both commercial and commu-
nal farming, therefore informa-
tion channels are limited. You
will find out that some com-
munal farmers do not have any
form of connectivity be it ra-
dio, television or mobile phone
so they rely on word passing
around. This is how police pres-
ence is required to implement
the lockdown measures set by
government, but unfortunately
this has not happened in most
areas. It is a grave concern to us
all hence our appeal to the pow-
ers that be to save our farmers
now rather than later.  CK: Certainly yes, we are in
NM: Hurungwe has received
nearly 8 000 vaccinations
since the rollout was launched
so far. Has the current vacci-
nation been enough?
CK: Truly speaking, the vac-
cines have not been enough,
considering the population of
Hurungwe. The 8 000 you are
talking about is just a drop in the
ocean as Hurungwe has a popu-
lation of over 500 000 people,
considering the 2012 census
with a 3% margin of growth
rate annually. Obviously, there
was some sort of resistance to
the vaccines like any other place
but now people do understand
and are geared to be vaccinat-
ed. We haven’t received much
in the area. Vaccination should
have taken place at the tobacco
auction floors probably as a re-
quirement for one to be able to
gain access into the sales floors.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
As a farming district we are at
mercy as we now have farmers
taking maize to Grain Mar-
keting Board depots in Karoi,
Kazangarare, Magunje, Vuti
and Mudzimu. There are huge
chances that crowding will again
take place while they wait to off-
load their grains. If possible, let
us get vaccination programmes
running there. Deliveries should
be booked to avoid huge crowds
at the depots.
NM: Are rural communities
getting enough information
as we have 26 rural wards
in Hurungwe and 10 urban
wards in Karoi?
CK: Not at all due to limited
human resources affecting our
health delivery system and the
police, among others. Given the
gravity of the situation, the min-
istry of Health must rope in ag-
ricultural extension field officers
who are mostly rural based and
work closely with communities
to spread the word and educate
farmers. Our few health officers
are struggling to cover the dis-
trict. We need our farmers to be
vaccinated so that they can go
back to the fields and contribute
to economic recovery in good
health.
NM: Hurungwe has mines.
What challenges have been
encountered in rolling out
vaccination in the mining sec-
tor?
CK: The mining industry is
largely at high risk, especially
the artisanal miners. Firstly, they
are unlicensed hence the minute
you try to approach them they
either run away or will attack
you. So it is difficult to get the
vaccination programmes to
these miners where no obser-
vation and flow of informa-
tion takes place. Government
needs to roll out a programme
probably through the ministry
of Mines and Mining Devel-
opment to conscientise these
miners about the importance of
vaccination.
NM: Access to health facili-
ties in Hurungwe is one of the
biggest challenges that gov-
ernment has failed to address.
How do you expect Covid-19
vaccination to be stepped up
without enough clinics?
a catch-22 situation now. We
have always been advocating for
more clinics in the rural com-
munities, including in Hurun-
gwe, and now we have been
exposed by this Covid-19 virus.
If we had more clinics, these
would then be used as centres
of information dissemination.
Now imagine a farmer who lives
20 kilometres away from the
nearest clinic, how often would
they visit the clinic? It is really a
big challenge and sad reality af-
fecting us. We are calling upon
Tobacco Marketing and Indus-
try Board (TIMB) to rope in
tobacco companies to save the
dire situation and assist in fight-
ing this pandemic in Hurun-
gwe where they have made
their money because without
the farmer there is no business
for them. They must help our
police and health workers with
cars to ease operations. We need
each other after all this.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Special Covid-19
PANDEMIC coverage
Disabled persons struggle to get vaccinated
STEPHEN CHADENGA
LAST Tuesday, Grace Mutu-
ko, a 54-year-old from Mam-
bo suburb in Gweru, visited
Mtapa Clinic, pushing herself
on a wheelchair.
On arrival at the coun-
cil-run health facility, Mutu-
ko met hordes of people who
were in a queue to be vaccinat-
ed for Covid-19. Although she
joined the queue in an orderly
manner, hoardes of people ar-
rived, plunging the clinic into
chaos. That day, Mutuko left
Mtapa Clinic without being
vaccinated.
“Even efforts to negotiate
that l be given preference to
be vaccinated given my condi-
tion hit a brick wall. Nobody
seemed to care,” a distraught
Mutuko narrated her ordeal to
The NewsHawks.
Mutuko’s nightmarish ex-
perience is not unique to her
alone as thousands of disabled
people across the country face
similar hurdles in their quest
to access Covid-19 vaccination
centres.
When the government an-
nounced the Covid-19 vac-
cination rollout programme
early this year, a non-gov-
ernmental organisation that
primarily targets women and
girls, the Institute for Com-
munity Development in Zim-
babwe Trust (ICOD Zim)
issued a statement calling for
the need to prioritise disabled
persons in the vaccination pro-
gramme.
ICOD Zim expressed con-
cern that disabled women
had not been consulted in the
Covid-19 vaccination strategy
and rollout plan as a priority
population.
“(We are) perturbed by the
missing prioritisation in the
Covid-19 vaccination plan
Tourism sector in renewed Covid-19 setback
NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
TOUR and hotel opera-
tors have suffered another
setback after international
airlines connecting Victo-
ria Falls with the rest of the
world announced they will
temporarily stop flying to
the destination following
an upsurge in Covid-19
cases in the country.
President Emmerson
Mnangagwa this week ex-
tended by another two
weeks the current Lev-
el Four lockdown meant
and rollout that was released
by the ministry of Health and
Child Care which seemingly
‘excludes’ persons with dis-
abilities from priority groups,”
ICOD Zim said in a state-
ment.
From the experiences of
people like Mutoko, it seems
to curb the spread of
Covid-19. He described
the increase in deaths and
infections as “worrisome”.
Even though the deci-
sion of the airlines is un-
derstandable, the effects
have been felt by tourism
players, the chairperson of
the Matabeleland North
chapter of the Hospitality
Association of Zimbabwe,
Anald Musonza, said.
“The current third wave
has seen occupancies tum-
bling when we had start-
ed seeing some flickers of
News
the letter fell on deaf ears.
Young Voices Disability
Zimbabwean Trust director
Nyasha Mahwende said the
government’s response to
Covid-19 is not disability in-
clusive.
She said the vaccination of
the disabled l and disability
hope prior to the onset of
the third wave,” Musonza
said.
“We have seen some
airlines pulling off the
key routes like JHG-VFA
(Jinghong-Victoria Falls
Airport) which tradition-
ally brings us volumes of
tourists.  Hilton who visited the re-
“The major airline, Brit-
ish Airways Comair, has
cancelled until 31 Aug
2021. Fastjet now has
limited flights but is still
available on most major
routes,’’ he said.
support workers was not treat-
ed as a prime concern.
“Given such as a grim sit-
uation, it is prudent for gov-
ernment to establish separate
vaccination centres for people
with disabilities,” she said.
“In any case, most of these
vaccination centres are not
Before the third wave,
Victoria Falls had begun
to witness a number of
tourists coming from as
far afield as India and the
United States of America.
Among the high-profile
visitors was US business-
woman and socialite Paris
sort city last month.
In that same month, Vic-
toria Falls also hosted local
and regional conferences,
including the Zimbabwe
National Chamber of
Mines annual conference
friendly to people with dis-
abilities. Our right to health
as people with disabilities is
being violated.”
National Council of Dis-
abled Persons of Zimbabwe
president Anna Shirin told The
NewsHawks that there was a
need to take Covid-19 vacci-
and Pan-African Postal
Union which both featured
more than 300 visitors.
Musonza said the hos-
pitality sector’s survival
hinged on the efficient roll-
out of the Covid-19 vacci-
nation programme and the
opening of land-based bor-
der posts.
“Our hope is that more
and more people get vac-
cinated to ensure we save
lives,” he said.
“This will inherently also
help us as the private sector
to help save livelihoods by
Page 20
nation services to the “door-
step of PWDs (people living
with disabilities)”.
Shiri said as stop-gap mea-
sure PWDs in the city of Bu-
lawayo had engaged the min-
istry of Health and a date was
set to vaccinate the disabled
next Tuesday.
“There is need for mobile
clinics so that vaccination
reaches PWDs where they
stay,” Shiri said.
“In Bulawayo, for exam-
ple, there was an arrangement
with the Health ministry that
PWDs would be vaccinated
on July 20 at Jairos Jiri Cen-
tre.”
She however said the gov-
ernment should ensure that all
vaccination centres are disabil-
ity user friendly so as to cater
for the disabled.
“There should be universal
designs at vaccination centres
that are user friendly. The cen-
tres should be free and accessi-
ble to cater for diverse disabil-
ities.
“It’s unfortunate that at
public health institutions there
are no services for sign lan-
guage, braille and the health
personnel even lack knowledge
of providing information in
disability accessible formats.”
Shiri said the situation was
worse in rural areas where clin-
ics are often located too far to
be easily accessed by the dis-
abled.
“Given that PWDs are even
more vulnerable to contract-
ing Covid-19, there is need for
an inclusive approach when
dealing with the coronavirus
pandemic,” she said.
She bemoaned the lack
of inclusion of the disabled
in Covid-19 taskforces at all
levels of society from the top
national echelons to the grass-
roots.
keeping people employed.
“As destination Victoria
Falls, we also need the land
borders open and screen
traffic for genuine tourist
traffic is allowed to travel.” 
According to the Zim-
babwe Tourism Authori-
ty (ZTA), the sector lost
about US$1.6 billion
worth of revenue in 2020
alone owing it to the effects
of Covid-19. Apart from
hotels and tour operators,
restaurants have also been
hit hard by Covid-19 re-
strictions.
Page 21
Companies make Covid-19 donations
APART from Sakunda Hold-
ings and its loaded boss Kudak-
washe Tagwirei’s US$5.5 mil-
lion donation as part of a heavy
package of local currency, cars
and medical essentials aid, oth-
er companies also chipped with
various offers.
Other companies that do-
nated to government at a func-
tion presided over by Presi-
dent Emmerson Mnangagwa
at State House yesterday were
the Beitbridge contractors who
contributed US$500 000  and
CBZ US$250 000.
ZB bank, businessman Ken
Sharpe and Insurance Coun-
cil of Zimbabwe each donated
US$50 000.
Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya
donated US$100 000.
Sharpe said he was proud to
contribute to a national cause
to fight the Covid-19 pandem-
ic which has ravaged the world,
including Zimbabwe.
“In giving this donation
today I represent WestProp
Zimbabwe whose vision it is
‘to become the leading custom-
er-centric private developer of
exceptional properties in Zim-
babwe’,” Sharpe said.
“We believe that we can
make Zimbabwe great again
and surely we and our investors
have seen Zimbabwe is ‘open
for business’.  to announce that just this week
“In line with vision 2030
we are doing our part to build
literally Zimbabwe brick by
brick.” He added:  and we will continue with our
“In fact we are very pleased
the City of Harare Council
approved our development
in Borrowdale for 1 000 flats
News
Zimbabwean tycoon Ken Sharpe with his wife Joanna donated cash to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
mission to build no less than 6
000 residential units in Harare
north.
“It is my wish to leave a last-
ing legacy of wealth creation
for the families of Zimbabwean
citizens who invest with us and
assisting them to build their
dream homes for their families.
Owning a home is the single
biggest factor in stimulating
the growth of an economy.
“Before talking about our
donation I would like to share
a personal story that recently
both myself and my wife recov-
ered from the Delta variant of
Covid which is far more aggres-
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
sive than the previous ones as
we’ve all seen here during the
very dangerous third wave. 
“It is a fact that I had been
vaccinated and believe as you
can see I’m a strong man in
good health of just under 50
years of age. However, even
having observed all the Covid
protocols of social distanc-
ing, without the assistance of
the medicine that I took and
prayers of healing from my
heavenly father I’m not sure I
would be standing here today.” 
Sharpe said ivermectin, a
drug which is now registered
and approved for use in Zim-
babwe, saved his life.
“I have also noticed that the
retailers in the medical industry
are selling these tablets for up
to US$6 each, however with
the assistance of Amai Mutasa
I have been assured we can buy
them for less than US$0.17
and therefore with our dona-
tion today of US$50 000  we
will be able to purchase no less
than  297 000  tablets which
equates to a value at US$6 per
tablet of almost US$3 million
savings for the country from
our small donation. 
“Also we know that the last
will be first and by doing this
I am sure that if we use our
resources collectively and be
responsible stewards to increase
that which we are given we will
be blessed for it and many lives
will be saved.”
—STAFF WRITER
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Editorial & Opinion Page 22

CARTOON

Inequality is a
ticking time bomb
IT would be dangerously simplistic for anyone to solely
attribute South Africa’s astonishing bout of violent pro-
tests and looting to a single factor or narrative.
There is a confluence of factors at play. One of these
is inequality--the widening gap between the haves and
the have-nots.
Owing to both the legacy of racist rule and the failings
of post-apartheid government, Africa’s most developed
economy is also the most unequal society on earth.
Zimbabwe is not immune to this malady. One of the
ticking time bombs in this country is the growing in-
equality between a poor majority that does not know
where its next meal will come from and a privileged elite
which enjoys first-world lifestyles in a sea of extreme
poverty. The Gini co-efficient, which measures income
inequality, shows the precarious state of economic jus-
In defence of rioting and looting
tice in this country.
WHENEVER I fly long distances, I always that’s a tale for another day. argument.
The number of Zimbabweans in extreme poverty has buy a book to read during the journey; In the aftermath of Zuma’s incarceration And indeed characterisation of looters as
reached 7.9 million, almost half the entire population. usually a book that piques my interest in protests broke in his KwaZulu-Natal home mobs and criminals is also addressed.
According to the World Bank’s latest economic and something different and unusual - those province before spreading to Gauteng, the But it doesn’t have a clear pathway on
social update report, almost half of Zimbabwe’s popu- types of seminal and compelling works country’s economic hub. what happens after rioting and looting.
that you don’t put down once you start The protests, however, deteriorated into Yet In Defence of Rioting and Looting
lation fell into extreme poverty between 2011 and last reading. violence, rioting and looting. is a recent fresh argument for rioting and
year, with children bearing the brunt of hardships. There are several that I have read This sparked so many theories of what looting as one of the most powerful tools
The outlook on the poverty front is not encouraging. like that. From Flat Earth News: An was happeing and why. in ordinary people’s arsenal - the subaltern’s
Says the international financial institution: “The num- Award-winning Reporter Exposes False- Some say people were reacting to Zu- leverage - for dismantling white suprema-
hood, Distortion and Propaganda in the ma’s arrest, others say the masses exploded cy.
ber of extreme poor is expected to remain at 7.9 million Global Media, a 2008 book by British in- over their social and material conditions Looting — a crowd of people public-
in 2021 amid continued elevated prices, and a slow re- vestigative journalist Nick Davies in which - inequality, unemployment and poverty- ly, openly, and directly seizing goods; free
covery of jobs and wages in the formal and informal he exposes media malpractices on Fleet and yet others postulate it was an ANC shopping as it were — is one of the more
Street, Gideon’s Spies: The Secret History political power struggle which had spread extreme actions that can take place in the
sectors.” of the Mossad by another British journalist from the boardrooms into the streets. midst of social unrest.
Considering that the country really has no social safe- Gordon Thomas to In Defence of Looting All these postulations are true, except Even the self-identified radicals distance
ty nets worth talking about, the realistic expectation is by American author Vicky Osterweil. that they are not mutually exclusive. They themselves from looters, fearing violent
that poor families, in both urban and rural areas, will Those are my sort of books, journalistic are credible and can happen all at the same tactics would reflect badly on the broader
academic and investigative type of works. movement.
find it increasingly difficult to survive. I like that. But Osterweil argues stealing goods
The World Bank defines the “extreme poor” as people
living under the food poverty line of US$29.80 for each
In Defence of Looting is an interesting
read.
Hawk Eye and destroying property are critical direct,
pragmatic and effective strategies of wealth
person a month. I don’t believe in rioting and looting as redistribution and improving life for the
a solution to political and social problems, working class — not to mention brazen
Extreme poverty in Zimbabwe has several causes unless that’s a last resort, but since I read Dumisani messages these methods send to police and
which include climatic shocks and natural disasters. But this book I understood the argument for the state to shake the status quo.
by far the biggest cause is governance failure. This man- that as a strategic and tactical approach Muleya All beliefs about the innate righteous-
to leverage coercive methods for positive ness of property and ownership, Osterweil
ifests in corruption, incompetence, cronyism, patron- change in the common good. further explains, are built on the history of
age, rent seeking, ethno-clientelism, wasteful spending Given what’s happening in South Afri- time. And they did. anti-black and also anti-indigenous people
and dysfunctional leadership. ca, it would be good to read this one, es- So in a bid to build theories and explain oppression.
Zanu PF has built an authoritarian kleptocracy char- pecially those who believe in rioting and the events, so many hypotheses arose, in- From slave revolts to labour strikes
looting as an instrument of social change, cluding justifying rioting and looting in to modern-day movements for climate
acterised by prebendalism--the diabolical belief by pub- and addressing injustice and inequality. self-righteous anger and in the name of change, BlackLivesMatter, and police vio-
lic officials that their lofty posts entitle them to unbri- That issue loomed large this week in justice. The bottomline is that the rioting lence, Osterweil makes a strong case
dled access to national resources for selfish benefit. South Africa after protests broke out fol- and the criminality involved shook the for rioting and looting as weapons that
How have other countries closed the yawning in- lowing the conviction and jailing of for- self-assured hubris of the political and eco- bludgeon the status quo, while having the
mer President Jacob Zuma for contempt nomic elite. potential to uplift the poor and marginal-
equality gap? of court. The rioters embraced the idea, but ised.
Well, this is no rocket science. Everything rises and Many agreed Zuma was in contempt, couldn’t articulate it properly, they strug- In Defence of Looting is basically a
falls on the calibre of governance. Zimbabwe, after all, but should have been given a suspended gled to frame the argument, find a narra- history of violent protest sparking social
sentence, not imprisoned. tive, tropes and handle on it in the face of change, a compelling reframing of revolu-
has all the key ingredients for economic transforma- His supporters naturally listened to his the official line that there was an organised tionary activism, and a practical vision for
tion--except good leadership. Human resources and reaction: I have done nothing wrong; all I uprising brewing. a dramatically restructured society that ac-
natural resources are generally available. The missing have said is that I wouldn’t appear before In it’s locus of enunciation, Ostwrweil’s commodates the poor.
ingredients are capital formation and technology, but the Zondo Commission on state capture book addresses many questions currently That’s what South Africa needs. But
since he is conflicted. being asked in South Africa today, such as then again the message was sent at a huge
these can only be harnessed by serious 21st century The story between Zuma and Zondo is looting of black businesses, destruction of cost to lives and the economy - billions of
leaders, not primitive politicians stuck in the Stone Age. big scandal of friendship and betrayal, but jobs and worsening the plight of the poor dollars.

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Tongaat ordered to refund

MORRIS BISHI

SUGAR producer Tongaat

Hulett is set to refund sug-
arcane growers millions of

farmers millions in VAT

dollars after the Supreme
Court ruled that it is illegally
collecting Value-Added Tax
(VAT) from the farmers.
The Supreme Court ruling
is a huge relief to outgrower
sugarcane farmers who felt
shortchanged by the sugar
producer which was preju-
dicing them through unclear
deductions.
The ruling was made by
Deputy Chief Justice Eliz-
abeth Gwaunza on 1 July
2021 following an appeal by
the sugar giant through its
lawyers Scanlen and Holder-
ness. Tongaat had appealed a
ruling in favour of the Zim-
babwe Revenue Authority
(Zimra) and sugarcane farm-
ers by Justice Sunsley Zisen-
gwe of the Masvingo High
Court last year.
After a tax audit in 2019,
Zimra garnished Tongaat
Hulett’s bank accounts after
realising that the company,
which is a registered operator
offering milling services to
farmers, was not paying VAT
as required by law. In return,
the sugar producer began
collecting the tax from farm-
ers’ proceeds.  from the farmers’ 77%.
According to the milling
agreement between the farm-
er and the miller (Tongaat),
which is referred as the divi-
sion of proceeds (DoP) ratio,
the farmer gets 77% against
the miller’s 23% and Tongaat
is currently collecting VAT
“It was the view of the
Court that Section 69 of the
Value-Added Tax (Chap-
ter 23:12) serves to ‘estop’ a
registered operator who has
not reflected VAT on the
price from denying that the
price includes that tax. It also
found that Section 69 pre-
cludes such registered opera-
tor from subsequently claim-
ing VAT not reflected on the
price. In the Court’s view,
permitting the appellants to
recoup VAT in retrospect
would render nugatory the
deeming provision of Section
69 as the deeming provision
cannot be interpreted to
mean different things to two
different people,” reads part
of the ruling.
In a letter seen by The
NewsHawks dated 12 July
2021 and addressed to sugar-
A Tongaat sugar plantation.
cane farmers, Tongaat Hulett
informed farmers that in re-
sponse to the Supreme Court
ruling the company is in the
process of calculating mon-
ey collected from farmers as
VAT with a view to refund-
ing them.
“We have noted the con-
tents and advise that the
Millers are law abiding, and
in that respect our respective
Finance Teams are currently
performing the necessary rec-
onciliations in order to estab-
lish the quantum of refunds
applicable to each farmer. As
can be expected, the reconcil-
iations are fairly extensive in
view of the time periods and
dual currencies involved, and
as a consequence, we will re-
vert to you by 16 July 2021
with details of our proposed
payment plan for the VAT
refunds as necessary,” reads
part of the letter to farmers
signed by the group compa-
ny secretary, Pauline Kadem-
bo.
Mkwasine Sugarcane
Farmers’ Association chair-
person Denis Masomere told
The NewsHawks that the Su-
preme Court ruling exposes
the unfair business practices
of Tongaat Hulett which are
disadvantaging farmers. He
said farmers are awaiting the
refund from the sugar giant.
“We have been talking
about this issue among oth-
ers which are disadvantaging
us as farmers. The company
advised us that they are pro-
cessing our refunds and that
will help us,” said Masomere.

Zimpost clinches deal to distribute farm inputs

DUMISANI NYONI
ZIMPOST is in discussion
with the Tobacco Industry
and Marketing Board (TIMB)
over a deal for the company to
be allowed to distribute agri-
cultural inputs from various
suppliers to tobacco farmers
across the country.
Last year, the quasi-gov-
ernmental institution struck a
partnership with TIMB to of-
fer transport services to carry
tobacco from different parts
of the country to tobacco auc-
tion floors.  for the distribution of farm-
In an emailed response to
questions from The News-
Hawks, Zimpost’s acting post-
master-general Isaac Mucho-
komori said the partnership
with the TIMB was still active
and last year they managed to
carry a total of 4 176 bales,
translating to a gross weight
of 375 840 kilogrammes.
“In 2021, due to the decen-
tralisation of auction floors,
Zimpost has not been able
to match the 2020 volumes.
Engagements are currently
in progress with the TIMB
ing inputs to tobacco farmers
from the various suppliers to
the farms across Zimbabwe,”
he said.
The 2021 tobacco market-
ing season ended this week,
with final deliveries made on
July 13, but contract floors
will continue until further
notice. The TIMB said clean-
up sales will be conducted in
August.
The 2021 tobacco mar-
keting season kicked off on
7 April, while contract sales
opened the following day.
Throughout the season,
high volumes of tobacco have
been sold at the contract
floors, while auction floors re-
corded low volumes.
As of 7 July, farmers had
sold 183.7 million kilo-
grammes worth US$507
million, an increase from last
year’s figure of US$391m
earned from the sale of 158
million kilogrammes of the
crop. Meanwhile, Muchoko-
mori said Zimpost was en-
gaging the ministry of Health
and Child Care and its affili-
ates to provide health-related
logistics and last-mile delivery
of Covid-19 vaccines and vac-
cine-related non-cold chain
equipment under the Pos-
t4Health Project.
“This initiative is aimed at
leveraging and mobilising the
entire Zimpost network for
the last mile of Covid-19 vac-
cines, medicines, PPEs (per-
sonal protective equipment),
blood coupons, results, vacci-
nation cards, payment for vil-
lage health workers, training
and awareness programmes
through the community in-
formation centres (CICs),
anywhere in Zimbabwe,” he
said.
“This includes the delivery
of provisions in the wider vac-
cine ecosystem, health-related
logistics and last-mile deliv-
ery of vaccine distribution,
or vaccine-related non-cold
chain equipment such as sy-
ringe units, saline solutions,
medical reagents and injec-
tion equipment and neces-
sary medical consumables
and equipment, kits, material
and biologicals: as well as ad-
vocacy, campaign and mass
communication materials to
increase health awareness.”
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
NYASHA CHINGONO
AIR Zimbabwe administrators
Grant Thornton, whose term of
office came to an end last week
when government appointed
a six-member board, saved the
airline from litigious creditors
and set the troubled flag carrier
on a path to recovery, an official
has said.  “The airline also managed to
AirZim spokesperson Fistme
Vitori said the administrators,
led by Reggie Saruchera and
Tonderai Mukubvu, were large-
ly successful in meeting the set
objective of turning around the
state-owned company which is
mired in debt.  work for debt assumption pro-
“Prior to reconstruction, the
national airline ran the risk of
property attachment and ex-
ecution of writs to which the
administrator was able to secure
a reconstruction order with the
effect of staying all legal action,
attachment and execution,” Vi-
tori told The NewsHawks.  The government’s delay in
The board comprises non-ac-
counting permanent secretary
in the Finance ministry Andrew
Bvumbe, Michael Musanzik-
wa, a researcher, and lecturer at
Chinhoyi University of Tech-
nology and Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority chief executive Give-
more Chidzidzi. Chief director
for fiscal policy in the Finance
ministry Pfungwa Kunaka, two
other individuals only identified
as N. Chifema, and K. Maga-
ya, complete the six-member
board.
The late former Transport
minister Joel Biggie Matiza
in 2018 appointed the Sa-
ruchera-led administration to
turn around the airline, with
the re-opening of international
routes and scouting for partner-
ships being top of the priority
list.  includes a Boeing 767 and a
Although Saruchera and
company failed to re-open inter-
national routes, mainly due to a
lack of long-haul aircraft and
international aviation licences,
the administrator took delivery
of Zimbabwe Airways planes.
DUMISANI NYONI
THE Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair (ZITF) Company
has, with immediate effect,
appointed Nicholas Ndebele
as its substantive chief execu-
tive officer, taking over from
Nomathemba Ndlovu who
resigned in July 2018.
Announcing his appoint-
ment on Wednesday, ZITF
Company chairperson Busisa
Moyo said Ndebele would be
assisted by Stella Nkomo, who
was the company’s marketing
and public relations manager.
“The ZITF Company Board
of Directors is pleased to an-
nounce the appointment of Dr
Nicholas Ndebele as the sub-
stantive chief executive officer
of the ZITF Company with
immediate effect. Dr Ndebele
joined the ZITF Company
in 2017 as the sales executive
tasked with increasing gains
in profit performance, reve-
nue growth and market share
across all the company’s stra-
tegic business units (SBUs),”
Moyo said in a statement.
Ndebele was appointed act-
ing general manager the year
after the resignation of Ndl-
ovu.  al University of Science and
In this role, Moyo said, he is
AirZim says administrators
rescued the insolvent airline
AirZim is now in possession of
an Embraer ERJ145 regional
aircraft from the US and two
Boeing 777-200 ER long-haul
jets from Malaysia, bringing
the total number of serviceable
aircraft to five. These fkeet also
Boeing 737.  “It’s been slow in the sense
Although the huge debt over-
hang spooked investors from
engaging the airline, there is a
silver lining after the govern-
ment approved the Debt As-
sumption Bill for the airline last
ZITF appoints new CEO
credited with delivering one of
the most successful ZITF edi-
tions (2019) which attracted
wide and critical acclaim from
all stakeholders.
“More recently, he has
demonstrated capacity and
leadership depth, taking the
company to profitability and
guiding the company through
one of the most tumultuous
periods of its history; ensur-
ing business survival and sus-
tainable continuity despite
the disruption on the busi-
ness brought about by the
Covid-19 pandemic and the
attendant knock-on effects,”
Moyo said.
Ndebele holds a Doctor of
Philosophy degree, majoring
in business leadership, from
the Gordon Institute of Busi-
ness Science (GIBS) of the
University of Pretoria. He
is also a holder of an Execu-
tive Development Program
(GIBS), an Master of Science
in Marketing (graduating with
distinction) from the Nation-
Technology (Nust), Master
Companies & Markets
month.  with the ministry of Finance to
“We have 10 interested par-
ties that submitted their bids
to partner with Air Zimbabwe.
One of them had a unique
proposition that they had made
to Air Zimbabwe,” Mukubvu
was quoted as saying.  funding for the settlement of all
that there are still some key ele-
ments that need to be dealt with
and these elements were made
very clear to government. One
of these areas relates to the debt
assumption. So, we are dealing
New ZITF chief executive Dr Nicholas Ndebele.
of Business Administration
from Midlands State Univer-
sity, Post-Graduate Diploma
in public relations (Nust) and
a Bachelor of Business Studies
(Honours) degree from the
University of Zimbabwe (UZ).  manage that portfolio as well
An Air Zimbabwe flight.
try and provide a workable solu-
tion around the assumption of
the debt. The Debt Assumption
Bill will provide funding to cater
for all liabilities”, Vitori said.  turnaround plan, both of which
“The shareholder availed
verified claims for local liabili-
ties to the tune of ZW$349.14
million while engagements are
continuing with foreign credi-
tors with total balances equiva-
lent to US$31.52 million on a
scheme of reconstruction plan,”
Nkomo has been with the
company for over 10 years
driving the marketing, com-
munications and business
development functions of the
entity and will continue to
she said.  Robert Mugabe, his son-in-law
recover US$5.4 million from
trade receivables out of a pos-
sible total of US$7.05 million
with the airline now operating
on a strictly cash basis,” Vitori
added.  Anti-Corruption Commission
The Bill will provide a frame-
cesses and procedures, valida-
tion and reconciliation of the
liabilities, debt assumption mo-
dalities, terms and conditions of
the debt settlement plan, and
the recovery plan for the debt
paid by the government on be-
half of the airline.
moving ahead with the debt as-
sumption plan had eroded the
airline’s chances of courting new
partners after the company was
placed on debt reconstruction
in 2018, according to officials.
The debt has spooked poten-
tial investors who have expressed
interest in pouring millions of
dollars into the airline.
Vitori added that the admin-
istrator also updated the compa-
ny’s financial statements which
were behind for about a decade.
The financial statements cover
2012 to 2018, while 2019 is
currently being finalised.  touted as a private company,
“Working with the current
Air Zimbabwe management
team, they developed a busi-
ness plan and a six-year strategic
were approved by government
at the 45th cabinet meeting,”
Vitori said.  in the ZimAirways saga, AirZim
Asked if the airline was now
out of the woods, Vitori said:
“Yes, we believe so and we are
very confident that with the
coming in of the new interim
board, the national airline shall
in addition to her new duties.  under the theme: “Showcasing
As an accomplished events
manager and coordinator spe-
cialising in exhibitions, con-
ferences and events infrastruc-
ture management, Moyo said
she has been instrumental in
making sure that the compa-
ny’s exhibitions and events re-
main the biggest and effective
platforms for business growth
in the country.  and these are Angola, Belarus,
Nkomo is a holder of a
Business Leadership Certifi-
cate, ZimChartered Marketer,
MSc Marketing (Nust), BSc
Journalism and Media Stud-
ies (Nust), Marketing Practi-
tioner, (Marketers Association
Zimbabwe) and is also an MSc
International Relations stu-
dent (UZ).
“Given their combined
arsenal of qualifications,
knowledge and expertise in
the business development and
marketing fields, Dr Nicholas
Ndebele and Ms. Stella Nko-
mo are more than equal to the
task,” he said.  shock-proofing the economy
Their appointment comes
at a time when this year’s edi-
Page 24
continue on a positive trajectory
of growth, sustainability and ul-
timately profitability.”
AirZim has been riddled
with multiple crises in the past
decade, including mismanage-
ment, corruption and deliberate
sabotage from the authorities.  
The late former president,
Simba Chikore and then Trans-
port minister Joram Gumbo
had hatched a plan to channel
AirZim’s recapitalisation funds
to ZimAirways, a dodgy airline. 
In 2018, the Zimbabwe
(Zacc) probed Chikore over the
US$70 million aircraft scandal,
a scheme that was allegedly used
to siphon millions of dollars out
of the country under the guise
of building a new airline.
At the time, Zacc instituted
a probe into the ZimAirways
transaction to establish how the
murky airline controversially
purchased the two Boeing 777
long-haul jets for US$18.5 mil-
lion and US$16.5 million, to-
talling US$35 million.
It also planned to buy the
two Embraer aircraft for US$6
million using Treasury Bills.
This brought the total of the
revised deal to US$41 million.
Before revising the deal,
the government had initially
planned to spend US$16.5 mil-
lion each, while the other two
would be bought for US$18.5
million apiece, bringing the to-
tal to US$70 million.
Initially, ZimAirways was
although Chikore, who was
AirZim’s chief operations offi-
cer, played a critical role in its
creation. Despite several probes,
the ZimAirways saga has not
been brought to finality.
Apart from being caught up
has been hampered by misman-
agement.
The company inherited 18
aircraft at Independence, but
was until recently left with only
two planes.
tion of the trade showcase has
been moved to August 23-27
due to the prevailing Covid-19
pandemic.
Initially, the ZITF, running
the New Normal for Business
& Industry: Realities and Op-
portunities,” was supposed to
be held from July 20 to 23. 
So far, 405 direct exhibitors
have booked, taking up 90%
of the available space.
In terms of foreign par-
ticipation, 11 countries have
confirmed their participation
Botswana, Indonesia, Japan,
Malawi, Mozambique, Na-
mibia, Nigeria, South Africa,
and Tanzania.
The theme, according
to organisers, acknowledg-
es that ZITF 2021 is taking
place against the backdrop
of Covid-19 and as such calls
for multi-stakeholder en-
gagement in forging innova-
tive and sustainable business
models, economic and trade
re-engagement and translating
new opportunities in a rap-
idly unfolding context to en-
sure business continuity while
from further devastating con-
sequences of the pandemic.
Page 25
Fitch forecasts RBZ interest cuts
RONALD MUCHENJE
THE Reserve Bank of Zim-
babwe (RBZ) is seen insti-
tuting a series of interest rate
cuts from 2022 as inflation
is expected to remain on a
broad downtrend returning
to single-digit levels by end
2023.
This is expected to enable
the central bank to focus on
boosting access to credit,
thus stimulating economic
activity. An international re-
search company, Fitch Solu-
tions, in its commentary on
Zimbabwe’s policy rate, said
the RBZ will keep its key
policy rate on hold at 40%
over the remainder of 2021
but expects it to turn dovish
in 2022.
“While we expect price
pressures to moderate in
H2021 (second half of 2021)
given a slower pace of cur-
rency depreciation, inflation
will remain elevated, at an
annual average of 140.1% in
2021. However, we do not
expect the Reserve Bank to
implement a rate hike given
still weak economic activity.
We forecast that the bank
will institute a series of rate
cuts from 2022 as inflation
continues to moderate and
monetary policymaking nor-
Cambria Africa pushes Zimchem Refineries
RBZ to unblock plans new chemical plant
US$1.39m legacy funds
LONDON Stock Ex-
change-listed and Zimba-
bwe-focused investment
company Cambria Africa is
intending to negotiate with the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) to achieve a win-win
solution over its blocked leg-
acy funds totalling US$1.39
million.
Recovery of the blocked
funds at parity or near-parity
is expected to add 10 US cents
per share to net asset value.
The debts are  sitting on its
books at approximately US$16
000 due to the official deval-
uation of the Zimbabwean
dollar from parity to US$1:
ZW$10.71 to the current level
of US$1: ZW$85.
These blocked funds are
debts which were owned by
Zimbabwean companies prior
to the abolishing of the US
dollar as the functional cur-
rency. The RBZ committed to
provide foreign currency for
the debt at parity to the US
dollar.
In a statement accompany-
ing the group’s interim results
for the six months ended 28
February 2021, Cambria said
there is reason to believe that
malizes,” Fitch noted.
RBZ has kept the rate on
hold since a 50 basis point
(bps) hike in February 2021,
and at its June meeting reiter-
ated its focus on maintaining
the current disinflationary
trajectory while supporting
the “envisaged robust eco-
nomic growth for 2021 and
beyond”.
It thus kept the policy rate
on hold at 40% and the in-
terest rate on the Medium
Term Accommodation Facil-
ity at 30%.
Fitch however said risks
to interest rate forecasts are
weighted to the upside.  expansion will persist giv-
Fitch cautioned that Zim-
babwe’s macro-economic
fundamentals remain weak
and that this could delay a
return to normalised mon-
etary policy as the country
remains largely cut off inter-
national capital markets, and
substantial inflationary pres-
sures are possible should the
government revert to mone-
tisation of the deficit.
In this eventuality, Fitch
said the monetary policy
committee would likely raise
interest rates again in an ef-
fort to reduce the size of the
monetary base.
In addition, key inflation-
ary drivers including curren-
the appropriate and conser-
vative approach of converting
these blocked funds at the pre-
vailing exchange rate may be a
significant underestimation of
their realizable value.
“Management successfully
negotiated with the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe the pay-
ment at parity of US$1.25 mil-
lion and carried the same on its
books at the end of FY 2019
(full-year 2019) because Cam-
bria had a time determinate
commitment from the Reserve
Bank Governor, Dr John Man-
gudya, which was honoured in
full during FY 2020.  Hence
there is reason to believe that
the appropriate and conser-
vative approach of converting
these blocked funds at the pre-
vailing exchange rate may be a
significant underestimation of
their realizable value. The com-
pany intends to negotiate with
the RBZ to achieve a win-win
outcome,” Cambria said.  fungibility by the government
Meanwhile, the company
reiterated its displeasure with
the board of Old Mutual plc
for not protecting its share-
holders in Zimbabwe from the
effective freezing of their share-
holding in Old Mutual.
Companies & Markets
cy depreciation (notably on
the parallel market), and on-
going shortages of US dollars,
Cambria holds 204 047
Old Mutual Limited common
shares suspended on the ZSE
and valued on its half-year
2021 statement of financial
position at US$200 000 based
on the closing price of Old
Mutual Limited on the ZSE at
suspension.
“Should the company be
able to repatriate these shares to
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
where it purchased them or
UK where these shares contin-
ue to trade, their value as at 30
June 2021 based on 67.80 p
(LSE) per share is the equiva-
lent of US US$191 468 down
from US$211 500 reported on
28 May as a result of depreci-
ation in the value of OM in
London and the strengthening
of the US dollar against the
pound,” said Cambria.
Cambria said by acquiescing
to the suspension of Old Mu-
tual and the discontinuation of
of Zimbabwe, Old Mutual
plc has forced the Cambria to
indefinitely hold a position in
Old Mutual which is neither
its core business nor in its in-
vestments.
— STAFF WRITER.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Building.
are seen persisting despite
some progress in tackling
such issues. The Zimbabwe-
DUMISANI NYONI
KWEKWE-BASED
chemical manufacturing
company Zimchem Re-
fineries has unveiled ambi-
tious plans to build a plant
that will enable Zimba-
bwe’s mining companies
to source their high-value
chemicals locally rath-
er than importing from
South Africa. According to
the firm’s latest newsletter,
there are advanced plans to
make electrode paste used
in furnaces and the smelt-
ing industry.
“As you are aware, we
have been exporting to
South Africa a semi-pro-
cessed pitch which is val-
ue-added to make elec-
trode paste used in the
furnaces and smelting in-
dustries,” Zimchem gener-
al manager Tendai Shoko
is quoted as saying.  plant, we are looking at
“With the new plant,
we will increase the val-
ue by three to four times
and be able to supply the
smelting industry, the likes
of Zimplats, Maranatha,
an dollar depreciated sharply
following the abandonment
of the ZW$25.00/US$ fixed
Zimasco, which will get
the electrode paste instead
of importing it from South
Africa.” 
The newsletter is being
produced by the office of
the minister of state for
Provincial Affairs in the
Midlands.
Zimchem’s value addi-
tion also extends to their
solvent xylene which they
have been selling as an
unfinished product. It
will now be formulated
to make a weed killer and
insecticide for sale to the
agro-chemical industry,
the report said.
The company is also
looking at diversifying its
paint product range to in-
clude architectural paints
for buildings and for cor-
rosion control of metal
structures.  ber while contributing to
“When we look at the
beneficiating coal chem-
icals. We have similar
plants like Zimchem in
South Africa like Sasol,
where we will end up pro-
ducing fertilizers, waxes,
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
rate and shift to an auction
system in June 2020.
While the auction system
has slowed the pace of cur-
rency depreciation, low levels
of foreign exchange reserves
mean that the Zimbabwean
dollar is seen continuing to
trade at a considerable dis-
count on the parallel market.
“Equally, while the RBZ
continues to seek to contain
expansion of the monetary
base -- stating at its June
meeting that the reserve
money growth target would
be reduced from 22.5% to
20.0% per quarter -- such
en that the government will
continue to rely on domes-
tic sources to fund the fiscal
deficit. Given these various
factors, we expect inflation
to average 140.1% in 2021,”
noted Fitch. 
“However,  we do not ex-
pect the RBZ to implement
a rate hike given the impact
that reducing access to cred-
it would have on relatively
fragile growth.  We forecast
that real GDP will expand by
3.3% in 2021 -- the fastest
rate of expansion since 2018,
but a relatively weak recovery
given contractions of 8.1%
in 2019 and an estimated
8.0% in 2020.”
fuels and plastics from coal
chemicals,” Shoko said.
“This is where we want
to go, that is where we
want to grow the company
and to grow industry to be
able to make the fertilizers,
plastics, polymers, waxes
and even motor fuels from
coal chemicals,” he said.
Taking into account the
urgent need to revamp the
country’s roads, the com-
pany is angling to become
a significant player in the
manufacture of road con-
struction products.
Currently, it is estimated
that Zimbabwe’s mining
industry spends close to
70% of its expenditure im-
porting raw materials for
use in its processes.  Zim-
chem is expected to signifi-
cantly reduce this num-
the creation of thousands
of  new jobs in the country.
Both the mining and agri-
cultural sectors have set
targets to generate com-
bined earnings of US$20
billion for Zimbabwe by
2025.
Page 26
ZIMBABWE has experienced a
rapid increase in new Covid-19
infections as well as deaths related
to the respiratory ailment. Amidst
this pandemic, African states
which have lagged behind in vac-
cine manufacturing are planning
to develop homegrown vaccines
for the disease and future ones.
The NewsHawks Digital Editor
Bernard Mpofu (BM) spoke to
Dr Alex Gasasira (AG), the World
Health Organisation’s country
representative for Zimbabwe, on
this and other issues. Below are
excerpts of the interview:
BM: As an icebreaker, please
take us through on the major
developments that have hap-
pened since Covid-19 was first
reported.
AG: You will recall that the very
first case of Covid 19 was reported
in Zimbabwe in late March 2020.
But even prior to the first case
being reported in Zimbabwe, the
World Health Organisation had
declared Covid-19 a public health
emergency at the end of January
2020 and declared it a pandem-
ic in early March 2020. So even
before the first case was reported
in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe had al-
ready started putting in place nec-
essary precautions, preparations
to respond to the pandemic so by
the time the first case was report-
ed in Zimbabwe (if my memory
is correct) on the 20th of March,
2020, a lot of what had been done
to prepare by the country to deal
with this condition. After that,
the cases continued to be reported
and continued to go up. We had
our first peak around July-August
2020. That is the time we had the
highest number of cases at that
time where we saw cases going up
and coming down in response to
efforts that had been put in place.
So again another rise was during
the end of the year, beginning
around October, slow increase
and in November and December
we saw rapid increase and January
very rapid increase. We had very
high numbers in January, Febru-
ary and then we saw the numbers
start coming down again. That
sort of represented what we call
the second peak or second wave.
As numbers kept low because of
the actions that everybody else
was doing and then we saw a
slight increase in April this year.
Unfortunately we started seeing
numbers growing very very rap-
idly last month in June 2021 and
we have seen the numbers contin-
ue to escalate up to now and this
is what everybody else is referring
to as the third wave.
BM: From where you stand,
what have been the major im-
pacts of Covid-19 on Zimba-
bwe?
AG:  The first impact has been
on people’s health and lives. We
know that as we speak all over
the world, we have had over 180
million cases of Covid-19 and
over four million deaths. The first
impact of this condition has been
on people’s health and lives. In
Africa, we know that we are al-
most having 100 000 lost due to
Covidd-19. And in Zimbabwe we
have had over 45 000 cases and
over 2 000 deaths, so that is really
very big impact on individuals,
families and communities and
countries. So other than having an
impact on people’s lives Covid-19
African countries should also
manufacture vaccines: WHO
has had an impact on health sys-
tems because it stretched health
systems really beyond not only in
developing countries but also in
other countries as we saw. When
the number of patients rises to a
certain level, this puts pressure on
health systems and when health
systems are pressurised, they will
not deliver other routine regular
health services. So again it has
indirect impact on the ability of
people to receive care and have
their health needs met. It also
puts a lot of pressure on econom-
ic performance. We have had to
have lockdowns. This has had an
adverse impact on the economy
to run. This has also had a nega-
tive impact on schooling and the
education — schools have had
to close. Others have had to stay
away from schools for prolonged
periods of time. So Covid-19 has
really had a very disruptive impact
on all facets of our lives.
BM: Early this year we saw some
African countries like Zimba-
bwe rolling out their Covid-19
vaccination programmes as part
of measures required to fight
the condition. We understand
that the WHO will assist gov-
ernments in providing vaccines.
Where do we stand now?
AG: Soon after this pandemic
started, based on the experience
Executive Chat
that we have had as the WHO
with previous pandemics and
large epidemics including HIV
and Bird Flu, our experience has
been that when new technologies,
new vaccines, new drugs, new
diagnostics become available, it
takes a very long time for these
tools to reach the developing
world. So based on that experi-
ence, the World Health Organ-
isation gave the Coalition on
Epidemic Preparedness and Inno-
vation and Unicef came together,
together with the member states
to form what is called Covax.
Covax is a platform that aimed
to promote the development of
Covid-19 vaccines and ensure
that when these vaccines became
available, they could be equitably
distributed to all countries irre-
spective of the country’s econom-
ic status. The aim was to prevent
what had happened in the past
where it could take 10 years or
so many years for new technolo-
gy and new vaccines to become
available to low income countries.
So this was the reason why this
platform called Covax was estab-
lished.
The idea was that once the vac-
cines were made, the manufactur-
ers — the countries where these
manufacturing plants are would
collaborate under a global mecha-
nism to make these vaccines avail-
ableand then these vaccines will
World Health Organisation country Dr Alex Gasasira.
then be distributed by a transpar-
ent, participatory mechanism to
all countries. So that was the idea
and it has worked to some extent.
As we speak, Covax has supported
distribution of close to 100 mil-
lion doses of Covid-19 across 134
countries across the world. So it
was worked to that extent, how-
ever we had hoped that a lot more
vaccines would have been deliv-
ered through this programme.
The Covax has had to face com-
petition from countries buying
directly from the manufacturers
especially the richer countries
were able because they have the fi-
nancial capacity to really buy large
quantities of vaccines for their
own domestic use. So again Co-
vax benefitted a lot from vaccine
manufactured in India — you
know India is one of the largest
vaccine manufacturing countries
in the world so a lot of vaccines
that initially came into Covax
came from India. But unfortu-
nately at some point India has had
a huge Covid-19 outbreak in their
own country so they prioritised
their vaccine production for their
domestic use, which is quite un-
derstandable. So a number of dos-
es that have come through Covax
and have been distributed are less
than what was anticipated at this
time. However, the prospects are
looking much more brighter as
we enter the second half of 2021.
A lot of the richer economies are
increasingly donating some of the
doses they had procured for their
own domestic use to Covax and
this is now being distributed to
lower income countries.
BM: Now let us move on to
vaccination manufacturing.
Studies show that Africa is quite
resourceful in terms of human
capital and other resources. In
light of this, why is it that the
continent has not manufac-
tured its own vaccines?
AG: The manufacture of vaccines
is a very delicate industry with
high technology which requires
a lot of expertise. Indeed, several
countries in Africa used to manu-
facture different types of vaccines
decades ago, but because of the
level of expertise required and
the level of specialisation,  this
industry did not take root on a
large scale in Africa. It requires a
lot of investment. Vaccine manu-
facturing is a business, you invest
a lot of money, it’s a highly spe-
cialised field and you aim to sell
your product and recoup the in-
vestment that you have made. So,
limited technical expertise in our
part of the world and limited cap-
ital investment are other factors.
And then places like India, which
have a large market, have invested
a lot in the pharmaceutical indus-
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
try, in vaccine manufacturing, in
drug manufacturing and because
they were so competitive they
were able to grab a large share of
the global market including from
Africa. We have in Africa tended
to secure most of our vaccines
from India, which is now the
largest vaccine manufacturer in
the world and also from other
parts of the world. So all those
factors put us at a disadvantage,
however with the lessons that
have been learnt in this Covid-19
pandemic, our leaders — both as
individual African countries but
also through the African Union
platform — have recognised that
it is much more strategic for us
as a continent to manufacture
our own vaccines. So there is a
very systematic effort right now
together with the World Health
Organisation to ensure capacity
for local vaccine manufacturing
being established in Africa.
A few weeks ago, the Direc-
tor-General of the World Health
Organisation and the President
of the Republic of South Africa,
announced that a new plant to
manufacture Covid-19 vaccines
had been launched in South Afri-
ca. We are aware that other coun-
tries in Africa, other sub-regions
in Africa are also at various stages
of establishing such capacity so we
are very hopeful that by early next
year, the picture will be different
and we will have vaccine-manu-
facturing plants at quite advanced
stages in our region.
Yes, this has been sparked off
by Covid-19, but it is anticipated
that these vaccine-manufactur-
ing plants will not be limited to
Covid-19 vaccines but will also
be capacitated to produce other
vaccines that are required in the
African region.
BM: How is Zimbabwe’s cur-
rent response to the third wave
of Covid-19? How effective are
lockdowns?
AG: The aim of a lockdown to
allow the country to develop ca-
pacity to respond to the outbreak.
We know that a lockdown has
very negative impact on liveli-
hoods, on capacity of families,
individuals and communities to
meet their other needs. So a lock-
down is not in itself a full solu-
tion. The solution is for people to
understand what they need to do
to protect themselves against the
infection and to implement those
preventive measures. If we were
all complying with the preventive
measures, we would not be in the
situation we are in. We should
not move unless it is absolutely
necessary, we should not gather in
mass gatherings, we should avoid
situations where we are in crowd-
ed areas.
We should wear our masks if
we have to leave our houses. If we
are sick we should separate our-
selves from others. If we were all
complying with these measures,
we would not be seeing the cases
go up the way they are right now.
So the government has to balance
between lockdown for public
health measures as well as to al-
low economic activity to continue
such that people can manage to
look after themselves, look after
their families and earn a living. So
that is the balance that one has to
take into account. We are hopeful
that the rate of compliance with
preventive measure swill increase
because that will help the number
of cases to come down.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Stock Taking Page 27

Price Sheet
Friday, 16 July 2021 A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE
Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price (cents) Traded Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
Price Volume Value ($) (cents) (%) ($m)
AFDIS Consumer Goods AFDIS: ZH 6800.00 6500.00 6500.00 3,100 201,500.00 -300.00 -4.41 170.83 7,624.89
African Sun Consumer Services ASUN: ZH 539.56 647.00 644.96 2,300 14,834.00 105.40 19.53 279.39 5,558.08
ART Industrials ARTD: ZH 760.00 750.00 753.42 52,200 393,285.00 -6.58 -0.87 57.85 3,292.27
Ariston Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 340.01 330.00 334.42 383,100 1,281,150.00 -5.59 -1.64 149.57 5,442.34
Axia Consumer Goods AXIA: ZH 2062.57 2100.00 2083.13 1,600 33,330.00 20.56 1.00 127.42 11,350.86
BNC Basic Materials BIND: ZH 525.55 502.00 528.15 10,500 55,456.00 2.60 0.49 38.99 6,601.12
BAT Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 89900.00 80000.00 80000.00 200 160,000.00 -9900.00 -11.01 45.45 16,506.81
CAFCA Industrials CAFCA: ZH 15114.29 18000.00 18000.00 5,500 990,000.00 2885.71 19.09 100.22 1,572.32
Cassava Technology CSZL: ZH 1500.35 1500.00 1500.00 27,700 415,500.00 -0.35 -0.02 130.77 38,858.66
CBZ Banking CBZ: ZH 9498.19 9500.00 9500.00 20,000 1,900,000.00 1.81 0.02 11.16 65,287.01
Dairibord Consumer Goods DZL: ZH 3672.73 3700.00 3700.00 400 14,800.00 27.27 0.74 182.44 13,246.03
Delta Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 8316.57 8295.00 8244.70 108,000 8,904,280.00 -71.87 -0.86 262.39 105,899.97
Econet Telecommunications ECO: ZH 2965.91 2850.00 2850.01 1,442,800 41,120,000.00 -115.90 -3.91 201.59 73,831.70
Edgars Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 450.86 460.00 484.00 2,000 9,680.00 33.14 7.35 303.33 1,582.64
FBC Banking FBC: ZH 3100.00 3100.00 3100.00 4,300 133,300.00 - - 106.48 20,830.45
Fidelity Financial Services FIDL: ZH 1200.00 - 1200.00 - - - - 529.26 1,307.08
First Capital Banking FCA: ZH 310.65 320.00 300.13 10,015,100 30,058,690.00 -10.52 -3.39 172.85 6,472.96
FML Financial Services FMHL: ZH 2555.75 2600.00 2600.00 100 2,600.00 44.25 1.73 147.62 17,943.72
FMP Real Estate FMP: ZH 1540.00 - 1540.00 - - - - 375.31 19,067.62
GBH Industrials GBH: ZH 254.78 250.00 250.00 7,800 19,500.00 -4.78 -1.88 941.67 1,341.47
Getbucks Financial Services GBFS: ZH 990.00 990.00 990.00 200 1,980.00 - - 7820.00 11,514.87
Hippo Consumer Goods HIPO: ZH 17509.61 17500.00 17500.00 23,900 4,182,500.00 -9.61 -0.05 94.44 33,778.60
Innscor Industrials INN: ZH 9002.75 9200.00 9006.95 159,800 14,393,110.00 4.20 0.05 143.24 50,869.13
Lafarge Industrials LACZ: ZH 6500.00 7800.00 7800.00 400 31,200.00 1300.00 20.00 712.50 6,240.00
Mash Real Estate MASH: ZH 353.13 360.00 359.41 33,800 121,480.00 6.28 1.78 286.46 6,681.70
Masimba Industrials MSHL: ZH 4393.92 4400.00 4400.00 400 17,600.00 6.08 0.14 292.86 10,632.76
Medtech Healthcare MMDZ: ZH 32.14 38.00 38.26 1,980,200 757,670.90 6.12 19.04 384.30 1,163.01
Meikles Industrials MEIK: ZH 8926.54 9495.00 9498.26 101,800 9,669,230.00 571.72 6.40 331.65 23,996.98
Nampak Industrials NPKZ: ZH 1302.67 1340.00 1340.00 700 9,380.00 37.33 2.87 487.08 10,125.68
NatFoods Consumer Goods NTFD: ZH 52000.00 - 52000.00 - - - - 765.22 35,568.06
NTS Industrials NTS: ZH 1300.00 1300.00 1044.60 11,300 118,040.00 -255.40 -19.65 3705.46 2,651.95
NMBZ Banking NMB: ZH 1549.09 - 1549.09 - - - - 287.22 6,260.98
OK Zim Consumer Services OKZ: ZH 1818.91 1795.00 1799.01 8,100 145,720.00 -19.90 -1.09 99.89 22,430.29
Proplastics Industrials PROL: ZH 2790.00 2790.00 2790.00 100 2,790.00 - - 224.05 7,029.00
RTG Consumer Services RTG: ZH 467.78 450.00 467.00 1,000 4,670.00 -0.78 -0.17 143.55 11,653.96
RioZim Basic Materials RIOZ: ZH 2705.00 2800.00 2800.00 100 2,800.00 95.00 3.51 87.27 3,416.83
SeedCo Consumer Goods SEED: ZH 7965.61 6800.00 6800.00 63,400 4,311,200.00 -1165.61 -14.63 195.65 16,695.91
Simbisa Consumer Goods SIM: ZH 4347.93 4295.00 4295.37 61,100 2,624,470.00 -52.56 -1.21 257.41 24,147.92
Star Africa Consumer Goods SACL: ZH 218.98 219.00 217.63 60,000 130,578.00 -1.35 -0.62 706.04 10,261.44
Truworths Consumer Services TRUW: ZH 216.38 250.00 247.22 5,400 13,350.00 30.84 14.25 738.03 949.49
TSL Consumer Goods TSL: ZH 4100.00 4400.00 4411.11 900 39,700.00 311.11 7.59 155.72 15,752.18
Turnall Industrials TURN: ZH 419.00 400.00 413.82 2,200 9,104.00 -5.18 -1.24 344.97 2,040.30
Unifreight Industrials UNIF: ZH 2894.32 3000.00 3000.00 300 9,000.00 105.68 3.65 16029.03 3,194.23
Willdale Industrials WILD: ZH 335.65 335.00 367.18 25,500 93,632.00 31.53 9.39 1047.44 6,528.47
ZB Banking ZBFH: ZH 7700.00 - 7700.00 - - - - 220.83 13,489.68
Zeco Industrials ZECO: ZH 0.03 - 0.03 - - - - 50.00 0.14
Zimpapers Consumer Services ZIMP: ZH 313.55 360.00 360.00 300 1,080.00 46.45 14.81 267.35 2,073.60
Zimplow Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH 1588.50 1600.00 1600.00 37,000 592,000.00 11.50 0.72 220.00 3,814.09
ZHL Financial Services ZHL: ZH 392.27 400.00 395.45 10,100 39,940.00 3.18 0.81 26.14 7,191.87
TOTAL 14,674,700 123,030,129.90 773,771.14

ETFs
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF OMTT.zw 196.03 210.00 209.98 2,506,956 5,264,228.00 13.95 7.12 109.52 167.98

FINSEC
Old Mutual Zimbabwe Financial Services OMZIL 4500.00 4500.00 4500.00 26,016 117,072,000.00 - - 69.81 3,735.53

VFEX (US cents) US$m

Padenga Consumer Goods PHL:VX 36.00 20.00 19.31 3,978 768.16 -16.69 -46.36 -46.36 104.58
SeedCo International Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 25.20 25.20 25.20 10,797 2,720.84 - - 40.00 60.76

Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
ZSE All Share 6,544.59 -0.23 6,559.97 +148.90 Lafarge 7800.00c +1300.00c +20.00 +712.50
Top 10 3,458.07 -0.77 3,484.85 +109.01 African Sun 644.96c +105.40c +19.53 +279.39
Top 15 3,960.46 -0.48 3,979.53 +103.30 CAFCA 18000.00c +2885.71c +19.09 +100.22
Small Cap 252,483.28 +5.49 239,348.61 +2025.97 Medtech 38.26c +6.12c +19.04 +384.30
Medium Cap 17,177.53 +0.21 17,141.93 +208.71 Zimpapers 360.00c +46.45c +14.81 +267.35

Top 5 Fallers Price Change % YTD %

NTS 1044.60c -255.40c -19.65 +3705.46
SeedCo 6800.00c -1165.61c -14.63 +195.65
BAT 80000.00c -9900.00c -11.01 +45.45
AFDIS 6500.00c -300.00c -4.41 +170.83
Econet 2850.01c -115.90c -3.91 +201.59
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Page 28
DUMISANI NYONI
THE Reserve Bank of Zim-
babwe (RBZ) recently issued
a new ZW$50 banknote,
with critics claiming that
the bill, embossed with
the portrait of liberation
icon Mbuya Nehanda, will
fuel inflation in an econo-
my already devastated by
stagnant growth due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
But the banknote, the
highest denomination in
Zimbabwe’s local unit, is
not enough for a loaf of
bread, indicating how in-
flation has ravaged the cur-
rency.
It now sounds like a folk-
tale that the local currency
was stronger than the Unit-
ed States dollar at Indepen-
dence in 1980.   ue, it would be difficult for
The ZW$50, almost
equal to US$0.59 using the
official exchange rate, joins
other denominations which
have been eroded by hyper-
inflation which soared to
800% in 2020 before slow-
ing to 106% this year.  ally, the world over, denom-
The apex bank announced
several months ago that it
would issue higher denom-
inations, with the market
expressing fear the move
could stoke inflation.
Some independent econ-
omists commended the
central bank for coming
up with the new note while
critics claimed it would fuel
inflation in an economy
already buffeted by a pro-
longed Covid-19 pandemic.
Some economic analysts
who spoke to The News-
Hawks said the release of
the new note has evoked
fears of hyperinflation rem-
iniscent of the 2008 era,
while others said it would
reduce the cost of bank
withdrawals.
In 2008, Zimbabwe suf-
fered the second most severe
episode of hyperinflation in
recorded history. The an-
nual inflation rate peaked
in November of that year,
reaching 89.7 sextillion
percent, according to Steve
Hanke, an economist and
currency expert.
In its weekly review, a
civil society organisation,
the Zimbabwe Coalition
on Debt and Development
(Zimcodd), said the new
note amounts to a mere
US$0.36 when calculated
on the parallel market rate.
“The highest notes in
Zambia, Botswana and
South Africa are worth
US$4.50, US$18.35 and
US$14, respectively–denot-
ing the decimated purchas-
ing power of the local cur-
rency,” Zimcodd said.  stantly igniting the need to
“The concern to the ordi-
nary citizen is: How many
groceries can you buy with
the ZW$50? One requires
Worthless new ZW$50 note
highlights economic troubles
two new ZW$50 notes to
buy a loaf of bread whilst
the full complement of
all the notes (ZW$50,
ZW$20, ZW$10, ZW$5
and ZW$2) when added to-
gether cannot buy a loaf of
bread.”  lower than the inflation rate
“This is just but a replay
of the well-known inflation
experiences of 2008/2009
which led to the abandon-
ment of the Zimbabwean
dollar as the US dollar took
centre stage in supporting
transactions in Zimbabwe,”
the social justice advocacy
group said.  towards stabilising the val-
Zimcodd said in an in-
flationary environment,
the introduction of new
banknotes is unpopular as
the money loses value, in-
introduce higher denomi-
nations reminiscent of the
2008 era when the RBZ
printed a quintillion dollar
News Analysis
note which was inadequate
for a loaf of bread.  Among the key qualities
“The value loss of the lo-
cal currency scuttles confi-
dence building by the pub-
lic, thereby discouraging
savings as interest earned is
(negative return). Notably,
the government demands
payment for its services in
the US dollar--pointing to
government’s loss of confi-
dence in its very own cur-
rency,” it said.
The organisation said ef-
forts should be channeled
ue of the Zimbabwean dol-
lar before further notes are
introduced, otherwise the
printing of money becomes
a worthless exercise.  would stoke inflation.
“The introduction of the
new ZW$50 advances gov-
ernment’s motive of acquir-
ing the US$ through profit
made by issuing the new
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya.
notes,” it said.
of money the world over is
the “store of value” function
attached to a currency, the
organisation said.  was around 300%,” he said.  currency denominations,”
Commentators say the
new note is expected to do
little to contain inflation,
stabilise prices or improve
Zimbabwe’s economic pros-
pects.
Previous injections of
the ZW$10 and ZW$20
banknotes have failed to
ensure economic stability,
largely as a result of policy
inconsistencies, especially
with regards to currency.
Economic analyst Steven-
son Dhlamini said the in-
troduction of higher notes
“I know the government
is looking at ending the year
at around 20%. I think it’s
a bit ambitious despite the
positive outlook in terms of
our economic growth. In-
flation is currently hovering
around 106%, which is a
significant drop from where
we began the year, which
“We are likely to see
an introduction of higher
notes like new ZW$100
and ZW$200 bills, which
are likely to undermine the
expectation of inflation be-
ing around 20%,” Dhlamini
said.
Economist Godfrey
Kanyenze, however, said the
new banknote will not stoke
inflation but help facilitate
transactions.  ward.
“In an inflationary envi-
ronment, having ZW$20 as
your highest denomination
does not help or facilitate
transacting, especially as
the money loses value. So
you need a higher note,”
Kanyenze said.  face value of ZW$100 tril-
“Which country have you
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
seen with a ZW$20 note as
your highest denomination?
Look at South Africa, they
have got R200, R100, R50,
R20 and R10 notes, but
with us having just ZW$20
as highest, it doesn’t facili-
tate transacting at all.”
He said when transacting
one does not even compare
values but “you are sim-
ply saying that within your
context and environment,
especially where your Zim-
babwean dollar is losing val-
locals to transact.”
“If you have to pay in
cash, it may imply having
to carry big amounts of
money. So having a larger
denomination generally fa-
cilitates transacting. Gener-
inations help you in terms
of transacting. The higher
the denomination you have,
the easier it is, especially in
our context where money is
losing value quickly.”
“Without even compar-
ing it to anyone, just look
at the inflation because this
is not cross-border transact-
ing, this is domestic trans-
acting where the exchange
rate may not be determi-
nant,” said Kanyenze.   
Economic commentator
Reginald Shoko weighed in,
saying the introduction of a
new banknote would reduce
the cost of withdrawing
money from banks.
“It’s great for convenience
and also will reduce the cost
of withdrawals by the bank-
ing public. If you have real-
ised, it was taking over two
automated teller machine
(ATM) withdrawals to get
the maximum weekly cash
allocation, which increases
the cost due to the small
he said. 
“Most of our prices are al-
ready pegged to the US dol-
lar, hence the new note will
not have a serious threat to
inflation. The current infla-
tion triggers in the econo-
my are centred on foreign
exchange rates,” he said,
adding the economy will
require a higher-denomi-
nation banknote going for-
In the past, the govern-
ment has been criticised for
printing larger banknotes,
evoking memories of Zim-
babwe’s hyperinflationary
period, when there were
notes in circulation with a
lion.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Musa
Kika
GIVEN that the rule of
law is fundamental to po-
litical stability as well as
peace and security, it is
hardly arguable that the
level at which it is upheld
directly corelates to the
socio-economic progress
of a nation.  mocracy such as Zimba-
Developing economies
like Zimbabwe, even
more so, need the rule of
law for stability and de-
velopment. It is this con-
sideration that motivates
for a general and broad-
based appreciation of the
concept of rule of law by
Zimbabweans, leaders
and citizens alike.  al value.
Ultimately, the promo-
tion of the rule of law “is
explicitly bound up with
the primary currents of
international political
and economic develop-
ment, and today provides
a leading language for the
articulation and justifica-
tion of overarching pub-
lic policy orientations”.  So disagreements must
It is also explicitly
bound up with socio-po-
litical and economic de-
velopment at national
level. The aspirations of
the nation of Zimbabwe
that are seen to be en-
capsulated in the con-
stitution are themselves
dependent on the rule of
law, that is, on the prima-
cy of that constitution.  that for such framework
Preoccupation with the
rule of law can therefore
not be easily dismissed
or disassociated from the
progress of the nation as a
whole, politically, socially
and economically. This
is not to deny the role
of other currents to such
progress, such as social
cohesion, culture, tradi-
tion and even religion,
as well as leadership and
policy.
Rule of law itself is an
old age concept. In Zim-
babwe’s constitutional de-
mocracy, the constitution
must now be understood
as the beacon of the rule
of law and the ultimate
source of legal authority.  This, of course, presup-
All laws and conduct
must satisfy the demands
of the constitution. Al-
though the phrase “rule
of law” was popularised
by Albert Venn Dicey in
his seminal work Intro-
duction to the Study of
the Law of the Consti-
tution as early as 1885,
the idea itself has ancient
origin, and appears in an-
Rule of law a fundamental
pillar of national progress
tique sources.  no one given power by
Among these is Aristot-
le who, in a literal English
translation, is captured in
the following words: “It is
better for the law to rule
than one of the citizens
so even the guardians of
the laws are obeying the
laws”. Another seminal
scholar, Thomas Fuller,
put it in the following
terms in 1733: “Be you
never so high, the Law is
above you”.  or less present or absent
The rule of law speaks
of a society where the law
is respected, upheld and
is the ultimate authority.
poses that there has been
a democratic law-making
process and all who are
subject to the law con-
sent to its authority even
if they are not necessarily
in agreement with all that
the law says.  which George Devenish
Put differently, the law
must command the mor-
al respect of the people.
Under the rule of law,
The Big Debate
the law for a certain pur-
pose may act beyond the
confines of such powers,
or usurp the power con-
ferred on another – a
principle known as ultra
vires.   my own, or that of other
According to Stephen
Humphreys “the notion
that ‘the rule of law’ cap-
tures a particular quality
of law or a legal system, a
quality that must be more
in a given legal system
and that thus provides a
basis for evaluating such a
system, imbues most ac-
counts of the rule of law”.  and the dignity of man.
It is a concept having
universal validity, encom-
passing inherent princi-
ples like uniformity, cer-
tainty, impartiality and
equity. Also added to this
is the principle of legality,
calls “the core or seminal
meaning of the rule of
law”.  in the hands of the exec-
Zimbabwe’s former
Some of Zimbabwe’s superior courts judges.
Chief Justice Anthony
Gubbay observed: “It is
an undeniable fact that
whatever system of law is
applicable, whether it is
the English common law,
the Napoleonic Code,
countries, the rule of law
forms an essential foun-
dation in any democratic
system of governance. It
is a concept of universal
validity and application.
It embraces those insti-
tutions and principles of
justice which are consid-
ered minimal to the as-
surance of human rights,
… [I]t is generally accept-
ed that a society in which
the rule of law prevails is
one in which a climate of
legality, observance of the
law and an effective judi-
ciary, are evident. … [I]t
is the antithesis of the ex-
istence of wide, arbitrary
and discretionary powers
utive”.
From this emerges an
understanding that the
rule of law can be un-
derstood both as having
a moral foundation and
significant political foun-
dations. In modern soci-
ety, this quality cannot be
divorced from the pro-
tection of rights. This is
true for Zimbabwe where
the Declaration of Rights
occupies pride of place
within the constitutional
framework.  babwe Anti-Corruption
The rule of law allows
for notions of equali-
ty and equal protection
to find expression. It
thus allows for the equal
standing of all who are
Zimbabweans before the
law, and allows space, ex-
pression and standing to
all, irrespective of social
class or rank, political
persuasion or ideological
orientation.  *About the writer:
While one may be
tempted to view it as
such, the rule of law is
not a broad, vague and
Page 29
abstract phrase simply to
be used as “a shorthand
description of the posi-
tive aspects of any given
political system”. The
concept of rule of law
in fact includes, among
others, the separation of
powers, enforceable guar-
antees in respect of indi-
vidual rights, the suprem-
acy of the constitution,
the principle of legality,
legal certainty, access to
independent courts and
multi-party democracy. It
is a value-laden concept. 
In a constitutional de-
bwe, the constitution is
the supreme law of the
land, and the rule of the
law in this case requires
that all laws and all con-
duct, including by the ju-
diciary, comply with the
constitution. To remove
doubt, the rule of law is
captured as a foundation-
In a democratic and
open society, disagree-
ment, differences in ap-
proaches, grievances, and
infractions are common.
In such cases, the rule of
law is there to provide
a framework through
which recourse can be at-
tained. 
be resolved through
the courts rather than
self-serving disobedience.
In this context of the ad-
judication of disputes
and constitutional en-
forcement, the rule of law
“appears as a sort of social
glue, a connective tissue
holding society togeth-
er”. It is thus self-evident
to find efficacy, there
must be confidence in
the institutions that are
established and mandat-
ed to dispense justice, to
include the courts, the
police, the National Pros-
ecuting Authority, and
even independent com-
missions to include those
supporting constitutional
democracy such as the
Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission,
and those specific to rule
of law such as the Zim-
Commission. 
Additionally, the peo-
ple must know the con-
stitution, and harbour in
their hearts the culture
of the rule of law. In the
end, the rule of law is
widely recognised as an
essential component of
good governance and sus-
tainable development. 
Musa Kika is a lawyer
and executive director of
the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum.
Page 30
Enter Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku
Tererai
Mafukidze
SOON after former Chief Jus-
tice Anthony Gubbay resigned
in March 2001, the late former
president Robert Mugabe im-
mediately appointed Judge Pres-
ident Godfrey Chidyausiku the
acting chief justice ahead of all
Supreme Court judges.  the 13 members are judicial
On 1 July 2001, Mugabe
substantively appointed Chidy-
ausiku to the post of Chief Jus-
tice. In some way, the promo-
tion of Chidyausiku would be
comparable to Dumbutshena’s
elevation from Judge President
to Chief Justice.  Law Society of Zimbabwe; a le-
The underlying motive and
events that preceded their eleva-
tion would confound any com-
parison. Second, the promotion
went over Justices Simbarashe
Muchechetere and Wilson San-
dura, both of whom were black
and senior to Chidyausiku. In
fact, they had greater appellate
experience. Third, Chidyausi-
ku had been number 12 on the
Zanu PF party list in the 1980
general election.  gument presented on behalf of
With his elevation, Chidy-
ausiku was in the minority on
the Supreme Court bench. This
presented a challenge in con-
stituting the bench. Unexpect-
edly, the government increased
the number of Supreme Court
judges from five to eight on the
pretext that there was a greater
workload arising from land cas-
es. The increase on the bench
meant Chidyausiku could con-
stitute the new judges in the
majority of panels. One of the
additional judges appointed was
Justice Luke Malaba who was to
later on replace Chidyausiku as
Chief Justice.  particularly protecting Mugabe
One of the first things Chidy-
ausiku did was to reverse the
Commercial Farmers’ Union
judgement on land that he had
criticised before elevation. San-
dura dissented.  position under the late Morgan
Chidyausiku studied law at
the then University of Rhode-
sia between 1968 and 1972.
During the 1974 Rhodesian
general election, Chidyausiku
stood on the African Roll and
won the Harari (Mbare) constit-
uency. He stood down during
the 1977 general elections.  the current President. Both stat-
After that he was a Zanu PF
delegate at the Lancaster House
negotiations to end the Rho-
desian War in 1979. He was
Deputy Minister of Local Gov-
ernment and Housing, and of
Justice from 1980. He was then
promoted to be Attorney-Gen-
eral in 1982.  Chidyausiku was
later promoted to be a judge of
the High Court. He was later
appointed Judge President upon
the elevation of Sandura to the
Supreme Court. He chaired the
Constitutional Commission
appointed by Mugabe in 1999
whose draft constitution was
later rejected in the referendum
owing to the public discontent
with some of the provisions.  bay were misfiring,” Mnangag-
Chidyausiku was criticised
heavily by some of the members
This is a continuation of a long-running series of popular articles by South Af-
rican-based Zimbabwean lawyer Advocate Tererai Mafukidze on the history of
the judiciary in Rhodesia and later Zimbabwe, focusing on the chief justices.
of the commission for what they
perceived to be his role in doing
the bidding for the executive,
who became a target of legis-
lating out of office and power
by his internal rivals, led by the
late Zanu PF maverick Eddison
Zvobgo, and the then new op-
Tsvangirai.
Nothing is more revealing
of how he was perceived by the
government as chief justice than
the accolades paid to him on
his death by Mugabe and then
Vice-President and Minister of
Justice Emmerson Mnangagwa,
ed that Chidyausiku had helped
them in saving the land reform
programme and that he had re-
moved the shackles put by Gub-
bay reign. He had supported
land reform as chief justice and
helped in that political agenda.  Mugabe’s knowledge. It was also
Mugabe stated that this is
why he was a national hero who
was to be buried at the Heroes
Acre in Harare. Mugabe also
said the decision to confer na-
tional hero status to Chidyausi-
ku was not only a decision of the
Zanu PF decision-making polit-
buro, but also one supported by
the country’s security forces.  the recent judgement that Mala-
“During the land reform era,
white judges like Justice Gub-
wa said, suggesting Chidyausiku
had to be brought to correct
The Big Debate
that. All these accolades in death
mask the eventful end to Chidy-
ausiku’s position as chief justice.  Chief Justice and Mugabe had
It was widely reported by
the independent media – the
Zimbabwe Independent most-
ly at the time - that there was
jostling between Mnangagwa’s
faction and the rival G40 led by
Grace Mugabe over who would
succeed Chidyausiku as chief
justice.  Mnangagwa’s decision to send
The position of chief justice
was naturally seen as strategic
for the succession battles. As a
result, in August 2016 Chidy-
ausiku was sent on leave pend-
ing retirement before he could
institute the judicial interviews
to choose his successor. He was
due to retire on 28 February
2017. It was reported by the
Zimbabwe Independent news-
paper that the decision had been
made by Mnangagwa without
reported that Mnangagwa want-
ed Judge President George Chi-
weshe to succeed Chidyausiku.  acting role to Malaba.
Chiweshe was recently pro-
moted to be a Supreme Court
judge amid fresh controversy re-
ported in the media that he was
removed from the High Court
for political reasons following
ba had ceased to be chief justice
on 15 May 2021. The case is
still in the courts, while Malaba
is still in office.
Meanwhile, the constitution
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku
had been amended in 2007 to
create the position of Deputy
appointed Malaba to the posi-
tion. It was said the G40 faction
preferred Rita Makarau to suc-
ceed Chidyausiku.  12 December 2016 which in-
The Independent further re-
ported that a fortuitous meet-
ing with Mugabe at a funeral
resulted in Mugabe reversing
Chidyausiku on leave pending
retirement. Buoyed by this,
Chidyausiku went on to start
the Judicial Service Commis-
sion (JSC) process of selecting
his successor. This move, it was
also reported by the Indepen-
dent, was opposed by Mnan-
gagwa and Cabinet Chief Sec-
retary Misheck Sibanda who
tried to stop the process. It was
also reported that when Chidy-
ausiku was removed, Chiweshe
remained as the de facto acting
Chief Justice despite the fact
that the constitution gave this
In order to stop this selection
process, an urgent application
was launched by a law student
named Romeo Zibani.  a process done by retired judges.
Zibani launched an urgent
application in the High Court
to interdict JSC interviews that
had been set down for candi-
dates wishing to succeed Chidy-
ausiku. It was granted by Justice
Charles Hungwe on 12 Decem-
ber 2016.  makers were certainly aware that
The JSC immediately ap-
pealed against the decision.
The Hungwe judgment grant-
ed an interim order in which
he interdicted the JSC from
“conducting interviews set for
terviews are for the ostensible
purpose of submitting names to
the President of the Republic of
Zimbabwe for his consideration
in appointing the Chief Justice
of Zimbabwe.”  interdict. The four short-listed
The legal effect of the inter-
dict was to suspend a constitu-
tional process on the basis of an
amendment to the constitution
that Mnangagwa stated would
be made. The interdict grant-
ed by Hungwe sought to stop
a constitutional process on the
basis of an alleged intention of
the executive to amend the con-
stitution and change the way
certain judicial officers, includ-
ing the chief justice, are to be
appointed.  quashed. Malaba was then ap-
In the papers before the
court, Zibani had in fact inti-
mated that the judicial appoint-
ment process under the consti-
tution be suspended in favour of
He alleged that the involvement
of Chidyausiku in the JSC’s pro-
cess of recommending the next
chief justice compromises the
process as he was familiar with
the nominees for the position of
chief justice. The constitution’s
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
the members of the JSC would
be familiar with applicants for
positions which required them
to be interviewed through the
section 180 process. 
Further, the constitution de-
liberately departed from the ap-
pointment procedure for judges
under the former constitution
by ensuring that the new process
is fair, open and transparent. 
In addition, the constitution
deliberately limited the number
of the so-called “subordinates”
of the chief justice. 
Under section 189(1) of the
constitution, only five out of
officers and could be said to be
the chief Justice’s subordinates.
The rest of the members are the
Attorney-General; the chairper-
son of the Civil Service Com-
mission; three practising legal
practitioners designated by the
gal academic designated by the
majority of teachers of law, in
the absence of that association
appointed by the President; a
public accountant or auditor
appointed effectively by his or
her peers; a human resource ex-
pert appointed by the President. 
These professionals are neither
subordinates of the chief justice
nor subject to his direction. 
Further, contrary to the ar-
the JSC in the High Court, once
the JSC submits the list of rec-
ommended persons for appoint-
ment to the office of chief jus-
tice, the President has no power
to sit on the recommendations
pending whatever constitution-
al amendment may be mooted.
The President is required under
section 110(2)(d) to “make ap-
pointments which the consti-
tution…requires the President
to make.”  This is a serious con-
stitutional obligation. Section
324 of the constitution provides
that: “All constitutional obliga-
tions must be performed dili-
gently and without delay.”
On 11 December 2016, a day
before the interviews, Hungwe
issued an interdict preventing
the JSC from proceeding with
scheduled public interviews for
the post of chief justice. The
interviews went ahead after the
JSC filed an appeal to stop the
candidates were Malaba, Ma-
karau, Chiweshe and Padding-
ton Garwe. Chiweshe did not
turn up for the interviews.
It was reported – again by
the Independent – that the in-
terview results had Malaba with
91%, while Makarau followed
slightly behind him with 90%
and Garwe had 52%.
The appeal against Hungwe’s
order was heard by the Supreme
Court and the interdict was
pointed Chief Justice.
...To be continued
*About the writer: Advo-
cate Tererai Mafukidze is a
member of the Johannesburg
Bar. He practises with Group
One Sandown Chambers in
Sandton, Johannesburg. His
practice areas at the Bar are:
general commercial law, com-
petition law, human rights,
administrative and constitu-
tional law.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
AT the time of writing,
the riots engulfing Durban
and other towns in Kwa-
Zulu-Natal, and also pres-
ent in parts of Gauteng
and the Eastern Cape,
have the kind of scale and
velocity that makes defin-
itive statements unwise.
There are sure to be local
differences in how things
are playing out, and new
developments can and will
happen at any moment.
The full consequences of
the decision to send in the
army, made just as this ar-
ticle went to press, are not
yet clear.
But one thing is: Durban
has been engulfed by food
riots. New Frame spoke to
grassroots activists across
the city on 11 and 12 July
and without exception ev-
ery one of them said the ri-
ots are about food, not Ja-
cob Zuma. It is food shops
that have been consistent-
ly targeted, and food that
has been appropriated at a
massive scale.
Across the country the
waves of popular protest
from 2004 have typically
taken place close to shack
settlements or other places
where impoverished peo-
ple live, which are usually
on the urban periphery. In
Durban, unlike in other
cities, the hilly topography
has enabled land occupa-
tions in or close to spaces
of elite residence, com-
merce and education. This
has meant that in this city
what has been termed “the
rebellion of the poor” does
not always happen in the
urban periphery. But the
riots currently underway
have, for the first time, tar-
geted shops and malls in
the centre of middle class
areas such as Glenwood
and Hillcrest.
When road blockades
first began to be a regu-
lar feature of our politics,
people would generally
flee when attacked by the
police. If there was a fight-
back, it usually took the
form of stones lobbed from
a safe distance. In recent
years that has begun to
change, particularly during
evictions, with people us-
ing makeshift shields to
hold their ground.
Food has been central to
most revolutions. It is not
for nothing that, begin-
ning in July 1917, “Peace,
Land and Bread” became
the primary slogan of the
Russian Revolution. The
French Revolution of 1789
was preceded by years of
food riots. Two days before
the Bastille – an armoury,
political prison and symbol
of monarchical authority
– was stormed on 14 July
1789, 52 wagons of wheat
were seized.
More recently, riots over
access to food, sometimes
termed “bread riots”, be-
came increasingly com-
South African looting riots
turn the wheel of history 
mon around the world
during the 1980s as the
World Bank and the In-
ternational Monetary
Fund imposed socially and
economically devastating
policies on subordinated
countries. The situation
was exacerbated after the
financial crisis that began
in 2007. The Arab Spring,
beginning in late 2010 and
gaining its real power in
2011, is usually ascribed
to the intersection of anger
about corrupt and repres-
sive states and mass youth
unemployment, but many
analysts also argue that
food prices were a key fac-
tor.
The riots have put a de-
finitive end to liberal delu-
sions. By obsessively focus-
ing on intra-elite politics
and centring corruption as
our fundamental problem,
those delusions mask the
deeply systemic nature of
our social crisis. The fan-
tasy that a combination of
the affirmation of the rule
of law and Ramaphosa’s
programme of austerity of-
fer a route out of the cur-
rent political crisis is pred-
icated on the assumption
that the social crisis does
not need to be addressed,
that it is a reality with
which we can live.
Right now, the people
who are very seldom in-
cluded in the elite public,
the people whose lives are
implicitly deemed expend-
able by both the Zuma and
Ramaphosa factions, along
with most liberal commen-
tators, are on the streets
and in the malls. It should
now, finally, be clear that,
in the end, they will make
history and that the social
crisis is now so severe, so
overwhelming, that the old
game of imagining politics
as an intra-elite contesta-
tion is over. These are days
of fire, days of danger, pos-
sibly grave danger. They
are days that will exact an
extraordinary social cost.
It is possible that they may
also be followed by a rec-
ognition that the social cri-
sis must be addressed as a
matter of extreme urgency.
It is certain that these are
days that will, in the fu-
ture, mark a moment of
rupture that delineates a
before and an after.
As New Frame noted in
a recent editorial, it is diffi-
cult to think of any society
on the planet that has sus-
tained the almost unfath-
omable rates of youth un-
employment that we have
in South Africa without
some kind of massive so-
Reframing Issues
cial upheaval. That reality,
combined with systemic
hunger, makes it clear as
the rising sun on a win-
ter’s day that we inhabit
what Frantz Fanon called
“a non-viable society, a so-
ciety to be replaced”.
Another new develop-
ment is that in at least one
area, Glenwood, these ri-
ots are starting to draw in
students and people from
among the middle classes.
Historically, when students
and a chunk of the middle
classes throw in their lot
with impoverished peo-
ple, extraordinary social
turmoil and change – for
good or ill – becomes pos-
sible.
The police have lost con-
trol in many areas. Where
they are present they are
often reported to just be
standing by while food is
appropriated. In at least
one case the police have
taken food for themselves.
It seems likely the army
will crush the protests, al-
though quite possibly at a
very high social cost. But
the fact that with enough
people on the streets, and
gathered with sufficient
resolve, the police can so
easily be overwhelmed will
not be forgotten.
Targeting supermarkets
Some of the initial acts
organised by the pro-Zu-
ma forces were carried
out with the same modus
operandi on the same ter-
rain as recent xenophobic
violence, often ethnically
inflected: the Mooi River
Toll Plaza and hostels in
Johannesburg. But at the
moment New Frame is not
getting reports of a xeno-
phobic dimension to the
riots. However, many ac-
tivists have expressed con-
cern that the riots could
mutate into a xenophobic
or ethnic form. Some have
expressed the view that this
may be imminent. In some
areas local ANC commit-
tees are actively encourag-
ing the riots and actively
seeking to give them an
ethnic inflection, presum-
ably thinking that this will
bolster the Zuma project.
But with no social force
with the organisational
reach and authority to di-
rect the riots, their trajec-
tory will be determined in
the moment and within
the tumult.
Riots are always messy,
and elite eyes will always
seek to reduce a riot to an
appropriated TV or an at-
tack on a bystander. The
large swatches of the me-
dia always on the hunt for
sensation, and with a worl-
dview shaped by profound
prejudice towards people
who are both impoverished
and Black, will mask rather
than illuminate the social
forces, desires and moral
orientations at work. But
there is a very clear logic
at play at the time of writ-
ing, a logic that must be
acknowledged: people are
hungry, they have been
hungry for a very long
time, the state has failed
them and they are now ap-
propriating food on a mas-
sive scale.
On 12 July 2021 Police
stop a woman outside a
supermarket in the central
business district of Durban
after food riots swept
through the area.
Although other build-
ings have been attacked,
and a mosque burnt in cir-
cumstances that are not yet
clear, the primary target of
the riots so far is supermar-
kets. There is an implicit
logic to this. In South Afri-
ca, the food system is over-
whelmingly controlled by
supermarkets, and when
most people do access some
money, most of it goes into
the supermarkets. They
are also, of course, sites
of a vast accumulation of
wealth by elites.
It is not just the trajec-
tory of the riots, and what
the deployment of the
army will mean, that can-
not yet be determined. It is
also their aftermath. Many
grassroots activists have ex-
pressed concern about how
Page 31
the destruction under way
may affect their access to
food in the coming days
and the jobs of people who
depend on the supermar-
ket system. There is deep
concern about escalating
violence, and disgust at
the political and personal
opportunism that has been
present.
It is also possible,
though, that food riots on
this scale and intensity may
force a reckoning with the
fact that our society is not
just unspeakably unjust, it
is also simply not viable.
Zuma and Ramaphosa to
blame
Zuma’s kleptocracy, which
was violently repressive and
deeply unpopular, offered
nothing to the majority.
In recent days and weeks,
its defenders have been its
beneficiaries, people in and
around the kleptocratic
faction of the ANC. But
the idea, more or less ubiq-
uitous in much of the elite
public sphere, that Cyril
Ramaphosa is a credible,
or even redemptive, alter-
native is profoundly wrong
and profoundly dangerous.
It was Ramaphosa’s gov-
ernment that plunged al-
ready desperate people into
an even more desperate
crisis when the initial hard
lockdown was imposed
without meaningful social
support. It was Ramapho-
sa’s government that po-
liced that lockdown with
militarised and frequent-
ly lethal violence. Food is
a basic human need, but
Ramaphosa’s government
failed to support the mil-
lions of people who went
hungry with anything ap-
proaching an adequate
response. The Covid-19
grant was paltry, didn’t
reach huge numbers of
people and was then – in-
explicably, callously, reck-
lessly and outrageously –
removed.
Zuma and Ramaphosa
are both responsible for the
crisis that has now explod-
ed into riot. Whatever the
trajectory of the riots, and
whether they are crushed
by the army, burn them-
selves out in a few days or
continue, cohere around a
central demand and gather
more force, they have hap-
pened and it is now clear
that there can be no fanta-
sies of business as usual.
The scale of the riots is
not the only new devel-
opment. The protests that
have regularly been or-
ganised from shack settle-
ments across the country
since 2004, and in Durban
since 2005, have general-
ly taken the form of road
blockades – of disruption
rather than appropriation.
Now there is popular ap-
propriation of food on an
extraordinary scale.
—New Frame.
Page 32
JONATHAN ROZEN
TSAONE Basimanebotlhe was
not expecting security agents to
appear at her home in a village
outside Gaborone, Botswana’s
capital, in July 2019, she told
the Committee to Protect Jour-
nalists (CPJ) in a recent inter-
view. 
But they did not come to ar-
rest or charge her, she recalled
– they came for her devices,
hunting for the source for an
article published by her employ-
er, Mmegi newspaper.
Basimanebotlhe, a politics
reporter, said she surrendered
her phone and password to
the agents after they presented
a warrant and could not find her
computer. A senior officer then
used technology sold by the Is-
rael-based company Cellebrite
to extract and analyse thousands
of her messages, call logs, and
emails, and her web browsing
history, according to an affidavit
from the police forensics labora-
tory. The affidavit, which CPJ
reviewed, was submitted during
a related court case.
“They’re looking for people
that are divulging information
to the media,” Basimanebotlhe
told CPJ.
Botswana police also de-
ployed Cellebrite technology to
search the phone of Oratile Di-
kologang, a local editor charged
in 2020 over Facebook posts
who alleged that police violent-
ly interrogated him about his
sources, as CPJ recently report-
ed.  Holdings II Corp., a U.S.-based
The use of powerful tools
provided by private companies
to scour seized devices raises sig-
nificant concerns over privacy
and Press freedom. The expe-
riences of Basimanebotlhe and
Dikologang demonstrate that
police in Botswana use digital
forensics equipment to sweep
up vast quantities of journalists’
communications from seized
devices, regardless of whether
they are charged with a crime.
The extent of these searches was
only revealed when police docu-
ments were submitted in court
months after the fact, and it’s not
clear what happened to the data.
Botswana’s security forces rou-
tinely arrest journalists and take
possession of their devices, CPJ
has found. In March, Botswa-
na police seized computers and
phones from arrested reporters
and media workers with the
Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler, a
private, Facebook-based outlet,
CPJ recently documented; offi-
cers demanded their passcodes,
answered calls and read messag-
es on the devices, and kept two
of the phones as evidence even
after the charges connected to
that arrest were withdrawn in
April.  was attributed to a staff reporter,
David Baaitse, a reporter for
Botswana’s Weekend Post news-
paper, separately told CPJ
that intelligence agents took
phones belonging to him and
his colleague to be analysed for
six months following their ar-
rest last year.
“If you take my phone and
Botswana police use Israeli 
tech on journalist’s phone
go and analyse it, you have my
folders and everything, all my
contacts,” Baaitse told CPJ in
a recent interview. He added
that such actions by security
forces hinder journalists’ ability
to gather information, saying,
“Sources, they no longer trust
us. They no longer want to deal
directly with us.”
In Basimanebotlhe’s
case, Mmegi reported that when
her phone was first seized in July
2019, police were seeking evi-
dence for their investigation of
a former intelligence chief, Isaac
Kgosi. The police claimed that
Kgosi had taken photographs
of undercover security agents,
exposing their identities, and
that those photographs were
published by  Mmegi  in a Feb-
ruary 2019 article  , Basimane-
botlhe said. The article, which
had been written by one of Basi-
manebotlhe’s colleagues,  Mme-
gi later clarified .
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe
(Mmegi/Thalefang Charles)  told CPJ in a recent interview.
“They alleged that I had pho-
tos of DIS people,” Basimane-
botlhe told CPJ, referring to an
acronym for Botswana’s Direc-
Africa News
Cellebrite is one of the well-known and widely used mobile device forensics tools for data extraction
and analysis. Botswana is now using it to extract information from journalists’ phones, endangering
technology professional.
torate on Intelligence and Secu-
rity Services. “They believed I’m
the one who wrote the story,”
she said.
The affidavit detailing the
forensic search of Basimane-
botlhe’s devices was submitted
during Kgosi’s prosecution
over the photographs, his law-
yer, Unoda Mack, told CPJ by
phone. It states that police used
Cellebrite’s Universal Forensic
Botswana journalist Tsaone Basimanebothle.
Extraction Device and Physical
Analyser technologies to retrieve
and evaluate the information
from her phone, but found no
evidence relevant to their inves-
tigation, according to CPJ’s re-
view. Mack told CPJ that Kgosi
pleaded not guilty, and local
media reported that a magistrate
ultimately dismissed for lack of
evidence  the charge that he had
exposed agents’ identities.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
and previously   declined to
comment on the case involving
Dikologang because it was still
before the court. In response to
questions about the Moeladi-
lotlhoko News Boiler arrests,
Motube told CPJ that investi-
gations “may necessitate” deten-
tions and confiscation of “any
implement which may have
been used in the commission
of the offence” with “due regard
to the rights of the individual
arrested.”
Reached by phone, Botswa-
na government spokesperson
Batlhalefi Leagajang requested
questions about security forces’
alleged use of digital forensics
technology be sent by email.
CPJ sent those questions, but
received no response. Celleb-
rite, which is owned by the
Japan-based Sun Corpora-
tion, says that its UFED toolkit
can extract data from mobile
phones, SIM cards, and other
devices even after the informa-
tion was deleted, and its Phys-
ical Analyser helps examine
digital data. In April, Nasdaq re-
ported that Cellebrite would be
listed on the stock exchange
via a merger with TWC Tech
special purpose acquisition
company (SPAC) designed to
take companies public.
In response to CPJ’s ques-
tions about the use of its tech-
nology in Botswana and human
rights due diligence processes,
Cellebrite provided a statement
emailed via the Fusion Public
Relations company that said it
could not “speak to any specif-
ics” about its customers. Celleb-
rite “requires that agencies and
governments that use our tech-
nology uphold the standards
of international human rights
law,” the statement said. “Our
compliance solutions enable an
audit trail and can discern who,
when and how data was ac-
cessed, which leads to account-
ability in the agencies and or-
ganizations that use our tools,”
the company added. Cellebrite
did not directly address CPJ’s
question about if the company
considered the use of its tools to
search journalists’ devices to be
acceptable.
Sun Corporation and TWC
Tech Holdings II Corp. did
not respond to questions CPJ
emailed about this article.
“They said they didn’t find
“[Police] want access to
anything in my phone,” Basi-
the data so they can know the
maonebotlhe told CPJ. “[But]
sources of these journalists,”
they went through my SMS, my
Dick Bayford, a lawyer in Ga-
WhatsApp [messages].”
borone whose firm represented
CPJ contacted Botswana
Basimanebotlhe and Baaitse,
police spokesperson Dipheko
Motube over the phone about
“It [has] a chilling effect on free-
Basimaonebotlhe’s case and
dom of the press.” 
he requested that questions be
— Committee to Protect
sent via messaging app. He did
Journalists.
not respond to those questions,
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
The Big Debate Page 33

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 Porsche just got angrier
Page 34
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA
FEW people split opinion
more than Thomas Map-
fumo. Combative, brash,
controversial, straight-talk-
er, rebel, principled, fiercely
patriotic: all these terms and
more have been used by a
cross-section of people to
describe the veteran Zimba-
bwean musician.  “Our music is the pass-
But if there is one thing
that admirers and critics
alike can agree on, it is that
the Chimurenga music guru
is a larger-than-life character
on and off the stage.  I’m encouraging our young
The United States-based
singer is known for not
mincing his words, a char-
acteristic that has rubbed
his foes the wrong way.  music, to end the conversa-
But inside that in-your-
face attitude lies a soft man
whose radical views on the
situation in his homeland
often draw strong reactions
from those on the other side
of the political fence.
An example of Mapfu-
mo’s show of compassion
was his gesture – on his
76th birthday on 3 July –
to take time to remember
dearly departed friends and
fellow artistes.
While many would have
thrown lavish parties and
binged on expensive cham-
pagne, befitting celebrations
of a long life – the man of
song shelved all festivities
to pay tribute to loved ones
who are no longer living.  eryone is vaccinated, then
“It’s wonderful to be able
to live this long,” Mapfumo
told The NewsHawks.
“I didn’t do much on
the (birthday) day because
I was mourning the death
of a friend who had passed
away in South Africa, Steve
Kekana.”
South African music leg-
end Kekana died a fortnight
ago from Covid-19-related
complications at the age of
63.
“I just felt that it was not
correct to be celebrating
when a fellow artiste had
passed on. So I decided to
respect the day.”
The man, known to his
legion of fans by his clan
name Mukanya, explained
his low-key birthday fur-
ther. He said he was also
deeply saddened by the
recent passing of ex-foot-
ballers David Mandigora
and Misheck Chidzambwa,
whom he knew well.
Mukanya, an avid foot-
STYLE
Mukanya shelves birthday
to mourn lost companions
ball fan, once owned and
sponsored a Zimbabwean
top-flight club, Sporting Li-
ons.  years.
“On the day there was a
lot of birthday wishes from
friends, family and fans. I
will celebrate my 76th birth-
day later on this year. Also,
there had been too many
deaths around, of people I
know – starting with David
Mandigora, then Misheck
Marimo Chidzambwa – so
I was not in a celebratory
mood. I knew the two guys
personally.”  ever since the world went
Apart from those to have
died in more recent times,
Mukanya has also outlived
Life Style &
TRAVEL BOOKS
fellow Zimbabwean music
icon Oliver Mtukudzi, a
close friend of his over the
“I basically grew up with
Oliver around and we be-
came friends and shared a
lot,” Mukanya said.  at a local studio. And that
“Musically we shared
the stage a lot of times. I’m
happy that we shared the
stage again shortly before he
passed on. We were friends
to the end.”
Like most creatives, Mu-
kanya has been off the stage
into Covid-19 lockdown.
The pandemic has forced
Mapfumo to limit his move-
ARTS MOTORING
ments.
“Due to Covid-19 regu-
lations and lockdowns, we
have been forced to stay at
home for our own safety,
otherwise  in most cases we
would be out practising
would take the whole day
except on weekends when
we would take a break. I’m
a full-time musician, so a lot
of my time is spent on mu-
sic, mostly at the studio. On
the rest of the days, I try to
stay at home and catch up
on news, e-mails and other
things but also to get some
rest and spend time with
family.”
Being a Fashion Model
As has been the experi-
ence of many other Zim-
babwean forced to leave
the country for a variety of
reasons, living overseas for
more than a decade is taking
a toll on Mukanya.
“Living away from Zim-
babwe has been tough be-
cause nothing beats home
sweet home,” he said.  (family) were not surprised
“Because of the political
and economic situation, I
had to move my family to
the US just like a lot of peo-
ple did. We had to adjust to
the food, driving and gener-
ally the way of living that we
were used to in Zimbabwe.
But you have to make these
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
adjustments. In the end you
get used to it.”
But as a cultural expo-
nent, Mukanya is looking
forward to working with
young artistes as a way of
ensuring his legacy lives on.
“I would like to collabo-
rate with young Zimbabwe-
an artistes who believe in
our own music,” he said. 
port to the world stages.
I have toured around the
world because of this music
and I’m still performing it
to the best of my ability.  So
artistes to take up this mbira
music further.”
It would have been unlike
Mukanya, the granddad of
tion without giving sound
advice to the political estab-
lishment, as well as his views
on the Covid-19 vaccina-
tion roll-out plan.
“I love Zimbabwe and I
strongly feel that we should
all make the effort to make
it a safe and better country
for everyone especially our
children so that they grow
up in a normal country
which offers them a good
education and culture,” he
said. 
“Let’s all stay safe during
these difficult times we are
living in. I appeal to the
government to get people
vaccinated to protect them
from the virus. Once ev-
artistes can get back to work
safely.”
At the advanced age of
76, Mukanya still spots his
flowing dreadlocks, which
he says are not going any-
where anytime soon. 
In Mukanya’s youthful
days, dreadlocked people
were generally viewed with
some kind of scorn by a
society that had a very low
opinion of artistes back
then. For Mukanya, it was
slightly different. Because
his music talents manifested
early, his family did not dis-
approve of how he expressed
himself with his hair. 
“Being an artiste, they
at all,” he said. 
“The world has changed
a lot. It is up to each and
every individual to decide
what to do with their heads
and hair, but I feel that as
Africans we should preserve
our culture. Part of it is how
we keep our hair natural.”
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Life & Style Page 35

THE idea that humour

can be used as a tension
reliever in trying times is
not anything new. 
Life is so much easier
with humour. 
Even when things are
bleak and people are liv-
ing in trying times like
the Covid-19 pandem-
ic era which has forced
the world into prolonged
lockdown, humour can
lessen the burden.
Humour enables people
to escape the tough situa-
tions they are dealing with
and relieves them of life’s
heavy burdens.
Art and comedy have
taken centre stage in po-
litical commentary in
Zimbabwe. This is mostly
due to the repression of
mainstream media. 
Despite facing threats
of being arrested by law
enforcers, comedians still
attract and amuse people
in the country and in the
diaspora through jest.
Comedians are actu-
ally pro-democracy and
pro-accountability activ-
ists while comedy is an al-
ternative platform to con-
vey messages on sensitive
matters.
Comedy can be used
in promoting the rule of
law and democracy. The
first time I saw conspira-
cy theories, my prior en-
gagement to his art was
King Kandoro.
through various satire

A new era of Zimbabwean

skits, stand-up comedy
and web series. like mine, then I got a
Years in, Madhorofiya scholarship to go to one
Republik’s creative di- of Africa’s top universities
where I was now brushing

comedy: King Kandoro

rector King Kandoro has
held his own among the
best comedians in Zimba-
bwe.  just from Zimbabwe but
King Kandoro has
built a sizeable audience
through podcasts and a
web series using the art
of comedy to highlight
governance issues. He has
not stopped perfecting his
craft.
Having done some
amazing work with Mag-
amba Network, ZiFM
Stereo and conspiracy the-
ories, Kandoro has literal-
ly been everywhere before
his big move to the Unit-
ed Kingdom. He hopes
his journey will inspire
shoulders with the kids of
top-level civil servants not
from all over the world.
budding creatives. role comedians assume in specially packaged to ad- bank governor Gideon That does something to
“I hope to do well de-escalating political ten- dress political shenani- Gono’s reign of errors. how you see things.’’
enough in my career so sions and bringing aware- gans and bad governance In an interview with His comedy brand,
that any other Zimbabwe- ness to their audience. in Zimbabwe. The NewsHawks, he Kan- Madhorofiya Republik,
an child wants to get into “Politics govern our This is the sort of tem- doro shared how his up- has grown impressively.
comedy or entertainment day-to-day lives. There’s plate employed by Trevor bringing played a pivotal “It feels great, I feel
can use me as a bench- no way to ignore them, so Noah on the phenomenal- role in his career as it gave blessed to be in the posi-
mark,’’ he said. what better way than to ly successful Daily Show. him an advantage in terms tion I am today coming
The maverick King use comedy to ask the im- Kandoro’s “Properganda” of how he saw the world from where I come from,
Kandoro, whose real portant questions to those looks into various issues: and how it equipped him but I haven’t done half the
name is Mukudzei Kan- who claim to have the an- corruption in Zimbabwe; with tools and skills which things I want to do in my
doro Majoni, shared how swers?’’ he said. why the so-called new have come in handy today. career. While I’m happy
he intends to use comedy His latest series, titled dispensation is so bad at “I grew up in a police that my gut feeling has
to change the narrative of “Properganda” has been communication; account- camp surrounded by chil- been largely vindicated, I
his generation.  well received demograph- ability in public affairs, dren whose parents were can’t quite rest just yet.’’
He breaks down the ically as each episode is and remembering central low-level civil servants — STAFF WRITER.

ADVERT SPACE
The NewsHawks TheNewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com join@thenewshawks.com
Page 36 Life & Style NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021

State of the Culture

one. The problem with
protests is that there is
no conductor for the
orchestra of violence
Addy which ensues as crimi-
Kudita nal elements and insid-
ious forces hijack what
could otherwise have
WHO has not been been a justifiable ex-
transfixed by the vi- pression of a disgrun-
suals on social media tled people.
which have triggered Both faces have
a stupendous volume been staring each oth-
of conversation right er down every waking
across the world? Well, moment and setting
in Africa I know that sun of the past 20 years
we have been variously of that country’s inde-
scandalised and moved.  pendence and even be-
yond. Before, the two
The power of narra- faces did not have to
tives stand eye ball to eye
South Africa is signif- ball. There was the iron
icant in terms of the clad apartheid wall
reach of its economic, to keep them apart.
cultural and political But with the arrival of
output. Brand South Uhuru, the barricades
Africa is arguably like have been down but
Brand America: it is a not in terms of access
shiny glittery ball that to a piece of the long
has magnetised mil- yearned for South Af-
lions since the days of rican dream which has
Wenela to its shores. lured millions of its
Its music stars, the citizens to its concrete
likes of Brenda Fassie, jungle.
Lucky Dube, Cassper Aside from citizens,
Nyovest, AKA, motion like a siren Mzansi has
picture stars such as also wooed millions of
Trevor Noah and Pearl people from across Af-
Thusi, sports icons rica to its doorsteps. 
(hell, who does not
know what the term Pervasive culture of
Bafana Bafana refers entitlement
to?) all have a decided The political class from
global currency which the ruling party have
their Zimbabwean not refrained from
counterparts can only helping themselves to
salivate at. Insofar as the largesse of polit-
most Africans are con- ical office. They have
cerned, there is that proved to be as cor-
proverbial pot of gold ruptible as the rest of
at the end of its self- Africa’s politicians.
styled rainbow. But Zulu King MisuZulu KaZwelithini Zulu.
Not that African pol-
what happened this balance for her gait be- Jacob Zuma to be set ther’s” people to refrain along with all South iticians are particularly
past week bared its cause she is also strug- free because they be- from destroying their Africans who are now corrupt but that in the
dark underbelly and gling to walk with two lieve that his incarcer- own infrastructure. It coming to grips with evolution of post-inde-
the fragility of its edi- six-packs of beer that ation was unconstitu- has made for riveting the reality of the after- pendence nation states,
fice. For the purpose of she just helped herself tional. television as protago- math and the carnage the governing ethos has
my class, this is what I to at the mall where In Gauteng they nist after protagonist in job, infrastructure not spawned the idea
wrote when I was try- looting is going on. started on Sunday, the shows his hand. and socio-economic that those who rule
ing to demonstrate South Africa is in 11th of July specifical- As the protests broke terms. Meanwhile, the must be accountable to
how I would write a flames and no one ly at the Jeppe Street out, a member of our Covid-19 pandemic citizens instead of just
feature story on the go- knows just how long it hostel where a security fraternity asked the continues with its grim throwing a few bones
ings-on in Mzansi. The is going to take before guard who had tried to minister of Defence, reaping as the tally of to their partisan syco-
following piece I wrote the flames die down stop the vandalism was Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqa- its victims grows lon- phants whon they use
is based on a viral video and life returns to nor- killed. Some say that kula, whether she ger. to whip the lumpen
of an elderly woman I mal. Yes, the police are the Jeppe hostels are would deploy the army proletariat in line.
saw in one of the circu- on the streets and now home to Zulus, but that to assist the police. A violent culture? Basically, the safe-
lating videos wearing a so are the soldiers after is another controversial “South Africa National It was always coming. guards against execu-
morning gown and os- South African Presi- strand of this narrative. Defence Force has not South Africa is a beau- tive and judicial over-
tensibly returning from dent Cyril Ramapho- The country’s president been deployed to KZN. tiful place of contradic- reach are weakened.
a looting expedition. sa committed them to did appear to imply That is not the respon- tions. On Top Billing, For example, the office
Sipho Ncube (not her assist the police in his that ethnic mobilisa- sibility of the SANDF. the television pro- of the public protector
real name), a 65-year- address to the nation. tion was at the centre I don’t think we have gramme which gives in South Africa is one
old mother of six and The stated reason of the violent protests. reached a point where people a sneak peek of the interesting ones.
grandmother of four, for the protests turned Of course the knives SANDF should be into the lifestyles and Firstly, Thuli Madon-
walks with a limp and into rioting and loot- came out for him after dragged into what is homes of the rich and sela battled with the
it does look like she ing which started on the statement.  happening in KwaZu- powerful, is one face of then president Zuma
might topple over be- Thursday the 8th of Still, the Zulu King lu-Natal,” Nqakula said the country. over the abuse of pub-
cause her walking stick July in KwaZulu-Natal Misuzulu kaZwelithini at the time. She must The slums of Alex- lic funds, among other
might not be enough. (KZN) is that the riot- has in recent days come be ruing that statement andra, Khayelitsha issues. More recently, it
Not enough to provide ers want ex-president out to exhort “his fa- she made six days ago and others are another
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Life & Style Page 37

has been Busisiwe Mk- dare I say, godhood. hunger on the part of line people within the have had him rehearse girl he is chasing his
webane, her successor, Disagreement with the young man who government may have the speech before read- heart is Zulu because
clashing famously with them is a mortal sin was at least carrying been working to help ing it aloud to his com- his heart has been loot-
President Ramaphosa deserving ex commu- a live pig. But here is subvert the government munications people to ed. That is the gist of
over a number of issues nication from even life the catch: “What is in- given the background check for glitches. But the current narrative.
including her attempts itself. Come to Zim- teresting was ....Gavin of the internecine par- no, the king looked
to get the president to babwe and see wheth- Kelly” and so it went ty battles within the bad up till an English Lessons learnt
reveal who funded his er the output from on. But the police was ANC? It beggared be- version of the speech For me, there are les-
campaign to be ANC the office of the Audi- not even on the ground lief that the army even was placed before him sons on many levels.
leader.  tor-General is worth its and Prince Mango- now has been grappling by the prime minis- Number one is that
In my view, the crux weight in actual change suthu Buthelezi in an to contain the carnage ter of the Zulu nation resources of a na-
of the matter is just of administrative tack interview with eNCA and large crowds of who from time to time tion must be shared
how those who govern in state institutions. on Thursday night ex- people were literally whispered things into through accountability
perceive the governed Year after year, the con- pressed his frustration having their way with his ears. Wow. I sup- and judiciousness in
in terms of account- tent chronicles the en- with the country’s lead- the malls and factories pose that this is how governance. The haves
ability and how the demic graft. ership especially the in KZN. things are done down and the powerful can-
contestation is really words of the Defence there. I felt bad about not continue to flaunt
about the leadership The poverty narrative minister who uttered King dithered the whole deal. Well, their wealth and expect
notion. What do polit- of criminal behaviour words to the effect that So the king of the Zu- when the king started the weak to continue
ical leaders think their Bob Marley sang that a that country was not lus finally came out of reading his speech in watching their gro-
real role is? hungry man is an angry in a state of war in re- his royal shell to speak English it was near- tesque binges. It is not
Indeed, notwith- and he was right. But is sponse to the request to to his nation through ly flawless. The Zulus sustainable. Another
standing the rhetoric hunger the only reason deploy soldiers to assist speech which he first are the stuff of legend lesson is that capitalism
of liberation messag- South Africa was loot- a clearly overwhelmed rendered in his vernac- and even celebrity talk cannot continue with-
ing, beyond the slogans ing itself? What of the police force. But here is ular. His written speech show host has iden- out a conscience. It is
and nationalist postur- images of a man carry- a country had deployed seemed to trip him up. tified herself as being not in the interests of
ing, it does seem that ing what appeared to 70 000 troops on the I marvelled. Twice it Zulu. I do not know the rich for the poor to
post-independence na- be front part of an au- ground to enforce the happened and as a stra- what the narrative is continue to starve. An-
tions in Africa have not tomated teller machine Covid-19 regulation. tegic communications out there about them other is that the mass-
spawned a cadre of real and what of the man Questions arise. Was practitioner I realised now but I can tell you es must question the
public servants. Those and woman carrying there an intelligence that the king had not that last night I saw a narratives of the poli-
who get elected seem to dildos? I could resonate failure or perhaps been prepped before his meme about someone ticians before springing
reach for kingship and, with those who claimed somewhere down the media briefing. I would remarking whether the into action.
Page 38 Life & Style NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021

Title: This hypnosis

Title: Battered Title: Against the odds Poet: Dube Blessing M
Poet: Andy Kahari Author: Obey Chiyangwa
Father rose abruptly, sat straight-backed No one has the guts!
Downtown of a battered nation. and proud, in the stirrups of a faltering To boo and heckle
Rats still feed on poison baited bread crumbs. family. He screamed obscenities at pover- The protagonists in this bizarre wagon.
Smell of rotten eggs, tomatoes ty, cursing the vile visage of ill- health. Albeit we traverse thorny territories with
and cabbages, sweet and serene Father laughed scornfully at superstition, our silk naked feet. The seed we are
to hunger sweating bellies! deriding the pitiful image of debauchery. planting in this garden. Will keep the flute
Sand shores of battered hooting go fasters, He farted at the sight of threatening death, and xylophone beyond proximity,
Snaking and competing and swore to fight against the possible Continue sending hearts stone cold,
for road space with battered death of a nation. Rendering clocks stop dead, Churning out
over populated bastard masses! Mother stood stubbornly, tall, firm and de- mazes of cobwebs into our chimneyless
Hungry and immune; termined, resolute feet clad in new black huts Plundering all the sunshine, Painting
rove over poisoned infested roads, tennis shoes. everything ebony black
Setting site and stalls, She shooed away at gathering phantoms Sustaining our perpetual infancy.
to sell souls to city fathers! of temptation,
Downtown of a battered nation. scowled sternly at shadows of false re- Title: Incarnation of the soulful
Fathers who have always ligion, shouted down eerie whispers of Poet: Dube Blessing M
bated bread from the children. dishonesty,
Now we no naught and proudly shouldered burdens of a Who smacks off your cogitation?
Street kids or street vendors, floundering nation. Battering your valiant soul to mend the
vagabonds or vulgar bonded! Brother Thomas stood at smart attention, broken ceramic pot, the essence of Afri-
Downtown of a battered nation. a grim-faced salute at fate, listening to the can existence? Who makes your tomor-
Uptown of a buttered ration. silence of a shocked moment. row? Never come when you declare:
City fathers feast on butter Waving a clenched fist at the swirling mist Freedom will come tomorrow?
from unbuttered hands of chicanery, a baleful stare at gathering Who keeps shifting your tomorrow into the
of battered masses. clouds of dishonesty, deep guts of an unyielding posterity?
Daily Caesar’s pennies a middle-fingered swear at tempting cor- When you tell your inner self:
demanded to walk the streets! ruption, and the odds favoured a nation to “I shall not remain the same”;
Daily promises made heal in time for salvation. Who keeps you far, From your marriage
to cheese hopes.
with sandwiched realities? Where is that
Cheers never rewarded
valiant propensity? And inherent instinct
in daily cursed toils. Title: Sleepless in Sunningdale to declare: Enough is enough, Who really
Days ending in cheated pockets Poet: Obey Chiyangwa fools you, To vent out your anger?
by men less in chastity!
Into your innocent armpit and shy away
Still down town of a battered nation, In a dirty single room in the sprawling From directing it, to the impious recipients;
The masses flock high-density suburb of sunningdale. the unsanctified deities! Who can only be
to be irked by a living! Cockroaches climb the broken spines of deposed by a damn holy putsch?
rancid morsels of gangrene-coated food
scattering the crowded floor. Title: Hard Times
Poem: De Javu Like frenzied human beings climbing the Author: Dube Blessing M
Poet : Andy Kahari summit of empty mountains in search of
remote sustenance. I am in Nervous Conditions, Without even
I wish days were fools As crafty mice are in endless running bat- A Grain of Wheat, As the Black Sunlight
and be always full, tles with an agile black cat that lashes at maintains its tight grip Exposing me to a
that my toils their backs and tears at their tails. lethal Mind Blast. Thus the Devil should
they may not absorb Fat flies hover clandestinely above green- be put on the Cross, With his Ancestors
and embrace my troubles ish ruins of yesterday’s smelly left overs making Things Fall Apart., Barring The
and forget my ills piling up a crumbled three-legged table. Grass from Singing, Yet l have so long
De javu As shiny-skinned maggots gnaw away been Waiting for the Rain Desiring to build
days aren’t fools at remnants of a giant cake left to rot a Castle in my Skin; To paint my destiny
neither are they beneficent in a dirty sink where water rarely ever Color Purple, To beat Hard Times before
nor will they take benedictions trickles. Sleep is a luxury that refuses to the Twelfth Night. Unlike the Mayor of
to erase usher my being from this misery into the Casterbridge, I will write So Long a Letter
yesterday’s predicaments much-awaited fantasy of dreamland. To avoid Anthills of the Savanna In this
now tomorrow’s predictions
House of Hunger. l am No Longer at Ease
awaiting reliving
Having a Harvest of Thorns Like Oliver
Twist.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
People & Places Page 39

Durban mother Naledi Manyoni who threw her baby from the top of a building which was burning to strangers who saved her.

A MOTHER who threw her baby to a crowd from a smoke-filled building in the South African coastal city of Durban has told the BBC of her gratitude to those who saved her daughter, who
turns two next month. “All I could do was trust complete strangers,” Naledi Manyoni said. She added that they were both doing well. The building they were in was set on fire by looters.
The unrest was sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma. The 79-year-old was convicted of contempt of court last month after failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during
his presidency. He handed himself in to police last Wednesday to start serving his 15-month prison sentence, but this sparked violent protests, arson attacks, and opportunistic looting in his
home province of KwaZulu-Natal and spread to other cities and towns. At least 72 people have died in what President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as some of the worst violence South Africa
has witnessed since the 1990s, before the end of white-minority rule. The government says it will deploy some 25 000 soldiers to stem the violence. —STAFF WRITER.
 Property NewsHawks

Issue 38, 9 July 2021

PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 40

The home of prime property: property@newshawks.com

Zimre seeks to de-link

DIVERSIFIED insurance group “The company continues to em-
Zimre Holdings (ZHL) says it is bark on portfolio diversification by
seeking to secure control of prop- reconfiguring the existing spaces for
erty assets by concluding the de- other uses in line with market de-

assets from services

link of services and assets in Zimre mand.
Property Holdings (ZPI), The New- “Total income was -18% at
sHawks can report. ZW$142.4 million, total expens-
This is seen creating capacity to es -12% (ZW$83.5 million) and
exercise investment decisions such stood at operating profit ZW$60.6
as access and deployment of free and realignment of agreements in liquidity to the portfolio, reorgan- ZPIs sales were limited in the re- million which was 24% slide com-
cashflows optimally as well as rais- view of high inflation. ise the business structure to delink porting period largely due the mac- parable period,” he said. 
ing capital and liquidity through Kudenga added that the company the asset holding company from the ro- economic environment and as The group regained ultimate
leverage, divesture or rebalancing. continues to embark on portfolio service offering company. We will value hedge by the business to retain control of two key special business
ZHL secured 100% control of diversification by reconfiguring ex- also cure control of property assets stock. units with limited dilutive impact
the property portfolio and delisted isting spaces for other uses in line by concluding the delink of services The company closed the year with on shareholders of 15.6% showing
it on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange with market demand. and assets in creating   capacity to occupancy levels which remained signs of improving investor confi-
(ZSE) in November 2020.  “That is one of the focus points. exercise the investment decision relatively good at 77% despite the dence on ZHL, that is   ZPI though
ZHL chief executive Stanley We continue to pursue retail and such as access and deploy free cash- macro-economic environment and a minorities offer and acquisition
Kudenga told an analyst briefing commercial development models flows optimally raise capital and li- impact of Covid-19. This was at- of Fidelity Life Assurance from the
this week that ZPI had to undergo  that are supported by sustainable quidity through leverage, divesture tributed to the portfolio restructur- National Social Security Authority
regular rental reviews, indexation financing structures that enhance or rebalancing,” he said. ing which began in 2018. and Imara. —STAFF WRITER.
NewsHawks
Issue 39, 16 July 2021
Sport Page 41

Historic opportunity awaits Pitso,

PITSO Mosimane is a house-
hold name in South Africa
and last year September he
took on the task to become

Al Ahly against Kaizer Chiefs

the head coach of Africa’s
biggest club, Al Ahly.
Since he arrived in the
homeland of the majestic
Sphinx, the former Mamelo-
di Sundowns mentor guided
the Red Devils to the Egyp-
tian Premier League, the
Egypt Cup, the CAF Cham-
pions League and the CAF
Super Cup.
He then went onto the
global stage with Al Ahly
at the Club World Cup in
Doha, securing a third-place
finish.
But Saturday’s looming
CAF Champions League
final against Kaizer Chiefs
in Morocco has quite a lot
at stake for the prestigious
coach.
A victory will see Mosi-
mane win a third winners’
medal, one short of legend-
ary coach Manuel Jose, who
has guided Al Ahly to four
Champions League titles.
For Al Ahly, they will reach
a mammoth milestone of 10
Champions League crowns,
a feat that is so fitting for
Nadi El Qarn -- The Club of
The Century.
Despite doing so well in
Africa, the Red Devils are
falling behind domestically.
In the Egyptian Premier
League, Mosimane’s charges
are in second place with
51 points as rivals Zamalek
boast a 10-point lead with 61
points.
However, Mosimane has
four games in the pocket to
his advantage.
For now, the South Afri-
can-born coach has all his
attention and energy on Sat-
urday’s final.
Mosimane is no stranger
to creating a bit of history.
“Jingles”, as he is fondly
referred to, has done it before
Pitso Mosimane.
during his almost eight-year
tenure with Masandawana.
Winning titles is a formula
that Mosimane has become
familiar with during his time
at Chloorkop.
His 13 major trophies won
with SuperSport United and
Sundowns make for an im-
pressive CV.
It was enough evidence for
Al Ahly to want Mosimane’s
football recipe and, so far, it
has proved to be a success.
After inking his deal with
the Red Devils, Mosimane
exported a fellow South Afri-
can to Egypt to be a part of
his technical staff. 
Former Platinum Stars
and AmaZulu mentor Cav-
in Johnson is an assistant
coach at Al Ahly. The move
came as a pleasant surprise to
many South Africans as the
pair have gone on to do good
work in Cairo.
Mosimane and Johnson
will feel at home in the fi-
nal as they come face-to-face
with a South African team,
again.
Al Ahly knocked out Sun-
downs at the quarter-final
stage, a home and away fix-
ture that had its own touch
of colourful emotions from
both camps.
The Red Devils then eased
past ES Tunis to set up this
weekend’s much-anticipated
encounter against the Glam-
our Boys. – Agencies 

Culture change not possible without selection overhaul 

BLESSING Muzarabani’s
pace and bounce were too
hot to handle for Bangla-
desh’s number 10 batsman
such than when the six-foot-
tall fast bowler let it rip with
his ever-increasing aggres-
sion, Taskin Ahmed thought
it best to return fire with
fire.
But Taskin – who was on
his way to a record second
highest Test ninth-wicket
partnership of 191 runs with
number nine Mahmudullah
Riyad – had in Muzarabani
met his match.  Super League (PSL) fran-
You see, there is some-
thing unmistakably different
with Muzarabani when you
compare him with his peers
among the current crop of
Zimbabwean players, as
timid a generation of inter-
national cricketers as they
come.
Here is a guy who, unlike
many others of similar de-
prived upbringing – includ-
ing his lesser-known uncle
Taurai Muzarabani – was
never afforded the opportu-
nity to attend a top-cricket
playing school.
Yet here is a player who
– without the assistance of
affirmative action – became
the first black cricketer from
Zimbabwe to earn a full-
time contract in the best
domestic competition in the
world, the English county
cricket system. A player who
has brushed aside serious
competition to be included
by some of the game’s best
minds in a fantasy team
tipped to dominate Test
cricket for the next decade.
A fast bowler good enough
to be signed by a Pakistan
chise and help it win a his-
toric first T20 title.  aggression took a Muchinjo
Such breed of cricketers
like Muzarabani are cut from
a different cloth. So when
the tall paceman returned a
more polished and versatile
bowler from Northampton-
shire to represent his coun-
try again – where the heart
really is – you were never
going to expect any freebies
from Muzarabani.  eling Bangladesh Press corps eree or any other person (in-
How frustrating it was for
Muzarabani, therefore, that
after doing all the hard work
without much back-up – re-
ducing Bangladesh to 132-6
in the one-off Test last week rather than abusing me.” to say, nobody is bigger than a one-time prodigy who ev-
– the Asian tourists, who Both players have since the game.  erybody was very excited
previously struggled away to been fined 15 percent of But not a hell of a lot of about, and some media col-
Zimbabwe in Tests, eventu- their match fees “for breach- Zimbabwean cricket fans, leagues labelled him a future
ally totalled 468 in their first ing Level 1 of the ICC Code I daresay, will be dismayed captain of Zimbabwe.
innings. of Conduct”. by Muzarabani’s show of Once these emerging
Out of utter frustration, The sanction stipulates fury in that Test. It is the stars settled into the team
Muzarabani had resorted to that the players “were found kind of fire that has been the environment of meekness,
a barrage of short-pitched to have breached Article missing link in this team for normalised by those they
deliveries aimed at nearly two decades now. found there, they too be-
Taskin, followed up There comes a time when came submissive, never to
by verbal onslaught one must be ruthless in recover again.  That is what
to unsettle the Ban-
gladesh number 10
HawkZone cricket. No ways a num-
ber nine and 10 should be
worries me – when I imagine
that the same fate could be-
batsman, who went getting 191 runs against fall Takudzwanashe Kaitano,
on to score a ca- a half-decent internation- Dion Myers, Wesley Madhe-
reer-best 75.  Enock al bowling attack.  But you vere, Tadiwanashe Maruma-
As Muzarabani’s need 11 Blessing Muzara- ni, Roy Kaia, Milton Shum-
banis in a team to inculcate ba – if the powers-that-be do
physical aspect, with the culture of a fighting not weed out the contagious
the tall 24-year-old spirit. negative influence of those
pacer pushing his The adage that you can- that sadly are supposed to be
face into the grill of Taskin’s 2.1.12 of the ICC Code of not teach an old dog new the guiding lights in the ear-
helmet, the Bangladesh Conduct for Players and tricks continues to be proven ly stages of these genuinely
tailender stood his ground Player Support Personnel, true by this Zimbabwe team talented newcomers.
and told the Zimbabwean which relates to ‘inappro- so the other Muzarabanis, I With someone like Mu-
quick to back off.  priate physical contact with am afraid, cannot be found zarabani in there – then your
Taskin, playing in his a Player, Player Support Per- within the present set-up. Brendan Taylor, Sean Wil-
eighth Test, later told trav- sonnel, Umpire, Match Ref- Over the past five seasons liams, Craig Ervine, Sikan-
or so, we have seen some dar Raza, Regis Chakabva
that he felt abused by Zim- cluding a spectator) during very promising young play- – at least you could put your
babwe’s bowlers, in partic- an International Match.’” ers, truly gifted, who have money on the next genera-
ular Muzarabani, and that Let the law of the game come into the Zimbabwe tion having the right guid-
he had told them to instead take its course, and offend- team amidst great hope for ance to eventually assume
“do something with the ball ers face the music. Needless the future. One of them was the mantle. 
 Sports Cosafa: Warriors
Debutant
misses out on
milestone as
Zim collapse
share spoils with
Thursday 1 Flames of Malawi
October 2020

Friday 16 July 2021 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

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Chamisa reac
ENOCK MUCHINJO
at Harare Sports Club
were the other notable The two teams meet on
run-scorers for Bangla- Sunday in the second of
OPENER Liton Das desh. Zimbabwe seamers three ODIs. Bangladesh
smashed a century while Luke Jongwe and Blessing won the sole Test by 220
Shakib Al Hasan took five Muzarabani took three runs last week. 
wickets on Friday as Ban- and two wickets respec- Pressure, meanwhile, is

gladesh carried their form
from the one-off Test
to take a 1-0 ODI lead
against Zimbabwe with a
155-run win here.
Man-of-the-match
Das hit 102 runs off 114
balls, clearing the bound-
aries eight times, as the
Asian tourists totalled
276-9 in the allotted 50
overs.  Zimbabwe’s bowl-
ers had their tails up early
on, but the 26-year-old
right-hander played a sol-
id and watchful innings to
rescue his side after Ban-
gladesh had plummeted
to 74-4.
Das enjoys playing
against Zimbabwe.  Out
of the four ODI hundreds
he has scored in his ca-
Man-of-the-match Liton Das celebrates after scoring his century. Pic: ZimCricket
reer, three are against the
African side. Before this
one, his last was a blis-
out to Khupe
tively.
In pursuit, Zimbabwe
came in a batsman short,
minus Timycen Maru-
ma, who was stretchered
off after injuring himself
while fielding.
Unofficial president calls for emerge The hosts never at any
point looked to threaten
Bangladesh, who easily
cruised to victory with
121 balls remaining after
bowling out the Zimba-
bweans for a measly 121.
Wickets fell in clusters,
most being cheap dismiss-
als, wicketkeeper Regis
Chikabva providing the
only resistance with 54
runs.  going Cricket World Cup
tering 176 against the Middle-order batters Spinner Shakib Al
Zimbabweans in Sylhet in Mahmudullah Riyad (33) Hasan took 5-30 for Ban-
March 2020. and Afif Hossain (45) gladesh.  Cup qualification process.
mounting on Zimbabwe’s
coach Lalchand Rajput,
who has failed to turn the
team’s fortunes around
since his appointment in
the aftermath of failure
to qualify for the 2019
World Cup in England.
59-year-old Indian Ra-
jput, at this alarming rate,
does not look adequately
equipped to take Zimba-
bwe back to the World
Cup, a tournament they
had been to without fail
since 1983, until the qual-
ification debacle of 2018. 
The series against Ban-
gladesh is part of the on-
Super League and will de-
termine the 2023 World

Six debutants to start for Sables

ENOCK MUCHINJO
SABLES coach Brendan
Dawson has named six Test
debutants in his starting
line-up for the clash with
minnows Burkina Faso at
Old Georgians Sports Club
in Harare on Sunday as
Zimbabwe begin their 2023
Rugby World Cup qualifi-
cation quest.
The newcomers are split
equally between the two de-
partments.  for Sunday’s tie.  has given Keith Chiwara his
Deanne Makoni, Da-
vid Makamba, Sebastian
Roche, Keith Chiwara,
Marcus Nel and Brandon
Mudzekenyedzi are includ-
ed in the largely experimen-
tal run-on side as Dawson
keeps looking for winning
combinations ahead of the
knockout stage of the quali-
fiers next year.
Loose-head prop Doug
Juszczyk, who impressed
for Zimbabwe upfront in
two friendlies against Zam-
bia in June, will also have
the chance to make his
Test debut. The New Zea-
land-based giant front-row-
er was named on the bench
Former national Un-
der-20 star Makoni will
start upfront at hooker
alongside loose-head Tyran
Fagan and tight-head Cleo-
pas Kundiona.
Seasoned Harare Sports
Club lock Makamba finally
gets to become a Sable and
will partner Sean Beevor in
the second row.  Hare in Varsity Shield rug- starts at fullback with the vid Makamba 6 – Biselele
Debuting eighth-man
Roche, who plays in En-
gland, forms a backrow trio
alongside the experienced
Biselele Tshamala at blind-
side flank and the Sharks-
bound livewire Blithe Ma-
vesere at open-side.
ALSO INSIDE
In the backline, Dawson
debut in the crucial flyhalf
position, which has not had
the perfect shoe-in for Zim-
babwe in recent seasons.  in the backline from scrum- the North African country.  ley 21 – Riaan O’Neill 22
Chiwara will however
back himself to show his
true quality in the number backs and midfielders is an Starting: 1 – Tyran Fa-
10 shirt, having done well exciting back-three full of gan 2 – Deanne Makoni
this season in that position pace, flair and potency. The 3 – Cleopas Kundiona
for the University of Fort freakish Martin Mangongo 4 – Sean Beevor 5 – Da-
by. equally mercurial Matthew Tshamala 7 – Blithe Ma-
But there is genuine abil- McNab and Shingi Kats- vesere 8 – Sebastian Roche
ity within the debutants, vere on the left and right 9 – Hilton Mudariki (cap-
and Chiwara’s nerves will wing respectively.  tain) 10 – Keith Chiwara
be calmed by having the Zimbabwe and Burki- 11 – Matthew McNab 12 –
prodigious talents of fellow na Faso will meet in the Marcus Nel 13 – Brandon
Test rookie Mudzekenyedzi second of a double-header Mudzekenyedzi 14 – Shingi
outside him, at 13,wipes
as wellouton Thursday. Both teams funds
Katsvere 15Zim's
– Martin Man-
Finance Ministy $3.2 Billion depositors latest land c
as another newbie Nel at in- progress to next year’s phase gongo. Subs: 16 – Matthew
side-centre.  of qualifiers after corona- Mandioma 17 – Doug
There is also the experi- virus-hit Tunisia withdrew Juszczyk 18 – Royal Mwale
ence of captain Hilton Mu- from the pool due to a 19 – Godfrey Muzanargwo
dariki to provide leadership surge of new infections in 20 – Dudlee White-Sharp-
half.  – Shayne Makombe 23 –
To complement the half- ZIMBABWE LINE-UP Aiden Burnett. 

ALSO INSIDE Historic opportunity awaits Pitso, Al Ahly against Kaizer Chiefs