TSA Press – Page 134 – Thompson Stevenson & Associates

Lithuania seizes Belarus shipment of fire trucks to Zimbabwe over sanctions

Posted on 13th September 2024 by TSA Press

BULAWAYO
–
Lithuania
is
holding
onto
17
fire
engines
seized
in
March
2023
while
being
shipped
to
Zimbabwe
from
neighbouring
Belarus
which
is
under
European
Union
sanctions,
officials
said
on
Wednesday.

Zimbabwe’s
new
attorney
general
Virginia
Mabhiza,
appointed
last
September,
flew
to
the
small
European
country
earlier
this
year
on
a
mission
to
get
the
trucks
released
but
her
efforts
were
in
vain,
ZimLive
was
told.

Information
secretary
Ndavaningi
Mangwana
said
the
government
was
still
appealing
to
the
Lithuanians
to
release
the
fire
tenders.

“We
eagerly
await
the
release
of
the
fire
tenders.
These
fire
engines
will
be
critical
in
supporting
firefighting
operations,
protecting
life
and
property
as
well
as
preserving
Zimbabwe’s
world
heritage
sites
and
the
crucial
crops
that
defied
the
devastating
drought,”
Mangwana
said.

Priscilla
Misihairabwi
Mushonga,
Zimbabwe’s
ambassador
to
Sweden
who
also
oversees
Lithuania,
Finland,
Denmark
and
Norway
is
understood
to
have
also
been
engaged
in
meetings
with
the
Lithuanians
to
free
the
trucks
acquired
by
the
local
government
ministry
for
distribution
to
local
authorities.

Mabhiza
explained:
“17
fire
tenders
were
seized
on
March
7,
2023,
at
the
Malku
Bay
seaport
of
Klaipeda
in
Lithuania
.

“The
explanation
has
been
that
the
fire
tenders
or
certain
components
on
the
fire
tenders
were
manufactured
by
a
Belarusian
company
which
is
on
EU
sanctions
.

“Zimbabwe
maintains
that
we
are
an
innocent
third
party
who
bought
the
fire
tenders
without
any
knowledge
of
such
details.”

The
trucks
were
supplied
by
a
company
called
Red
Lion
under
an
opaque
deal
engineered
by
Belarusian
arms
dealer
Alexander
Zingman.

The
fire
tenders
were
being
delivered
through
Lithuania
to
a
port
on
the
Baltic
Sea
from
landlocked
Belarus
when
they
were
seized.

Belarus
is
under
European
Union
sanctions
since
2020
over
human
rights
abuses
under
its
tyrannical
leader
Aleksandr
Lukashenko.

During
the
same
period,
the
EU
also
had
targeted
sanctions
on
Zimbabwean
officials
and
certain
companies,
but
these
did
not
cover
trade
in
non-lethal
equipment

The
Zimbabwe
government
argues
that
the
Lithuanians
have
no
legal
basis
to
be
holding
onto
the
trucks.

Lithuania’s
foreign
ministry
has
not
responded
to
our
questions
over
the
seizure
of
the
fire
trucks.

Shock as Justice Mutevedzi, 3 years on the bench, parachuted to Bulawayo’s top judge

Posted on 13th September 2024 by TSA Press

BULAWAYO
–
Chief
Justice
Luke
Malaba
has
named
Justice
Munamato
Mutevedzi
–
appointed
to
the
bench
only
in
2021
–
as
the
most
senior
judge
in
Bulawayo,
astounding
many
lawyers.

Mutevedzi
is
replacing
Justice
David
Mangota,
who
has
retired.

ZimLive
spoke
to
half-a-dozen
lawyers
who
all
expressed
surprise
that
Mutevedzi
had
been
parachuted
in
from
Harare,
with
more
senior
judges
in
Bulawayo
overlooked,
including
Justice
Nokuthula
Moyo,
Justice
Evangelista
Kabasa
and
Justice
Christopher
Dube
Banda.

Particularly
grating,
the
lawyers
said,
is
that
judges
from
the
southern
part
of
the
country
continue
to
be
overlooked
for
the
role.

“For
the
last
decade
or
so,
whenever
the
most
senior
judge
leaves,
the
one
who
should
naturally
take
over
based
on
seniority
has
been
transferred
to
Harare,
essentially
because
they
are
not
trusted
by
the
politicians
in
Harare,”
a
senior
lawyer
said.

“We
had
Justice
Lawrence
Kamocha
from
Gwanda,
when
it
was
his
turn
they
transferred
him
to
Harare
and
brought
in
Justice
Francis
Bere.
Kamocha
had
to
beg
to
come
back,
assuring
them
that
he
would
subordinate
himself
to
Bere.

“When
Bere
was
promoted,
Justice
Nicholas
Mathonsi
was
the
shoe-in.
They
instead
brought
(President
Emmerson)
Mnangagwa’s
former
lawyer
Justice
Martin
Makonese
to
head
the
division,
and
with
great
reluctance
Mathonsi
accepted
his
transfer
to
Harare.

“When
Makonese
resigned
abruptly,
Justice
Maxwell
Takuva
who
had
been
in
Bulawayo
for
a
long
time
should
have
been
promoted.
Instead,
they
transferred
him
to
Harare
and
brought
Mangota.

“Justice
Mangota’s
resignation
should
have
seen
Dube-Banda
elevated
but
no,
he
has
been
sent
to
Harare
and
they
brought
in
their
trusted
man
Mutevedzi.
The
pattern
is
clear.
They
cannot
trust
anyone
from
the
region
to
superintend
over
the
justice
system
in
Bulawayo.”

Mutevedzi
is
from
Masvingo.

The
lawyer
said
while
he
was
“not
convinced”
Malaba
had
made
the
Mutevedzi
decision,
as
Chief
Justice
he
can
resist
political
directives.

“This
episode
underscores
the
profound
disappointment
that
is
Malaba.
The
people
of
Matabeleland
have
historically
been
marginalised,
and
yet,
despite
his
elevated
position
as
Chief
Justice
–
a
role
he
has
held
onto
beyond
his
lawful
term
–
he
still
refuses
to
trust
them
with
self-leadership.
His
narcissism
is
staggering,
and
this
decision
will
undoubtedly
define
his
legacy,”
the
lawyer
said.

Another
lawyer
who
asked
not
to
be
named
said
the
judiciary,
more
than
most
jobs,
was
largely
built
around
seniority,
adding
that
Mutevedzi’s
elevation
was
unusual.

“You
will
notice
that
when
the
Supreme
Court
sits
and
there
are
three
judges,
the
most
senior
presides.
It’s
the
same
for
the
High
Court
sitting
as
an
appeal
court
and
you
have
two
judges.
It’s
the
senior
judge
who
presides,”
the
lawyer
said.

Following
his
promotion
to
the
High
Court
after
being
chief
magistrate,
Mutevedzi
has
quickly
built
a
reputation
as
the
regime’s
go-to
judge
especially
for
political
cases,
said
another
lawyer.

In
November
2023,
he
dismissed
a
challenge
brought
by
23
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change
MPs
and
senators
challenging
their
recall
from
parliament
by
Sengezo
Tshabangu,
who
styled
himself
as
the
party’s
secretary
general
and
secured
state
help
to
decimate
the
CCC.

Mutevedzi
largely
based
his
ruling
on
a
technicality,
making
the
finding
that
the
lawmakers
should
have
cited
the
party
that
sponsored
them
in
their
litigation.
The
lawmakers
had
told
the
court
that
Tshabangu
was
an
impostor.

“Just
like
it
is
difficult
if
not
impossible
for
a
man
to
impugn
the
paternity
of
his
brother
without
directly
involving
the
parents
it
is
naïve
for
a
member
of
a
political
party
to
approach
a
court
seeking
to
prove
that
another
is
a
non-member
of
the
same
party
without
the
involvement
of
the
political
party
itself,”
he
ruled.

Another
lawyer
who
spoke
to
ZimLive
said:
“While
it
is
undeniable
that
Mutevedzi
writes
well,
it
is
also
true
that
if
you
find
yourself
in
front
of
him
in
a
political
matter
you
already
know
what’s
coming.

“His
rapid
deployment
to
be
Bulawayo’s
top
judge
ahead
of
more
senior
and
capable
judges
must
be
seen
in
its
correct
light
–
it’s
a
political
move.
I
can
go
further
and
hazard
that
it’s
all
part
of
a
scheme
to
supercharge
his
elevation
to
the
Supreme
Court
or
the
Constitutional
Court.”

Mutevedzi
started
off
as
an
English
teacher
after
attending
college
in
Gweru,
but
quit
his
job
under
a
cloud.

After
trying
his
hand
at
mining
in
Bindura,
he
started
his
legal
career
by
attending
the
Judicial
College
of
Zimbabwe
to
train
as
a
magistrate,
and
later
studied
law.

Broadcasting authorities ban ads on prophets and traditional healers

Posted on 13th September 2024 by TSA Press

HARARE
—
The
Broadcasting
Authority
of
Zimbabwe
(BAZ)
has
issued
a
directive
to
all
broadcasters,
prohibiting
the
airing
of
advertisements
promoting
prophets,
traditional
healers,
and
traditional
herbs
or
medicines
that
cannot
be
authenticated.

In
a
letter
addressed
to
the
chief
executives
of
Zimbabwe’s
leading
broadcasting
companies,
including
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting
Corporation,
ZiFM,
Star
FM,
and
several
community
radio
stations,
BAZ
reminded
stations
of
their
duty
to
protect
consumers
from
misleading
information.

The
authority
emphasized
that
the
ban
is
in
line
with
Section
23
(a)
&
(b)
of
the
Broadcasting
Services
(Code
of
Conduct
for
Broadcasters)
Regulations,
2023,
as
well
as
Section
27(4)(e)
of
the
Broadcasting
Services
(Licensing
and
Content)
Regulations,
2004.

The
move
aims
to
prevent
the
public
from
being
misled
by
unverified
claims
made
in
advertisements
from
churches
and
traditional
healers.

BAZ,
however,
clarified
that
the
directive
does
not
extend
to
discussions
or
debates
on
these
topics,
as
long
as
they
do
not
contain
advertising
content. Kukurigo