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COVID-19 monitoring report – Day 47 – The Zimbabwean

Excerpts from reports generated by Community Radio Harare have also been incorporated in this report.

3.0       Emerging issues 

              3.1       General atmosphere
In Bulilima, local authorities instructed vendors to demolish and remove their vending stalls at undesignated sites. It was reported that vendors have been given a 3-day notice, with up to 18 May to effect the instruction. This follows the nationwide demolition of vending stalls after the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development on 8 April directed local authorities to use the lockdown to “clean up and renovate small and medium enterprise and informal traders’ workspaces”. Vendors in Bulilima were advised that they will be allocated new vending stalls as soon as the national lockdown is lifted.

As part of the National Aids Council’s efforts to raise awareness of COVID-19, the institution conducted a COVID-19 awareness campaign in Goromonzi. The awareness raising came after residents from the area indicated that they had not received information relating to COVID-19 since most of them do not have electronic devices such as radios and televisions. Communities in Goromonzi also raised water challenges, as most community boreholes are no longer functional on account of inadequate maintenance.

In Chivi, it was reported that groups of youths were playing football at St Martin’s and Masunda schools. The football matches attracted fair crowds of spectators who were not observing social distancing. Health workers from the area conducted a COVID-19 awareness outreach at Chivi Rural hospital.

3.2       Food aid and donations
As food challenges continue to plague community members in Mangwe, reports from the area indicated that people have resorted to barter trade, mainly exchanging mopane worms for mealie meal and cooking oil. It was reported that 10kgs of mealie meal is bartered with 5kgs of mopane worms. Communities in Mangwe rely on selling mopane worms as a main source of livelihood. However, due to the lockdown, the communities were unable to sell them.

Community members in Pumula in Bulawayo and Chivi bemoan the government’s late disbursement of relief food aid for vulnerable groups which was announced in early April. Most people in Pumula have resorted to having one (1) meal a day.

In Bikita, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare conducted a verification exercise for beneficiaries of the COVID-19 relief food aid. The exercise was presided by the local councillor Decent Chikunya. It was also reported that most of the people were not wearing face masks during the verification process.

In Chegutu, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare distributed food aid at Waze Business Centre.

In Chivi Central, community members were gathered at Nyamakwe Irrigation Scheme where they were receiving wheat and fertilizer as part of the government-run command agriculture programme. Officers from the Operation Maguta in Chivi District, accompanied by army officers, were responsible for distribution of the inputs.

               3.3       Lockdown enforcement  
There was heavy deployment of State security agents in Chipinge in anticipation of a donation of medical equipment by the First Lady.  Due to the increased number of police patrols and checkpoints mounted in Chipinge, community members complained of harassment and intimidation, including those queuing to buy groceries at various shops.

In Bindura, it was also reported that police officers were harassing and intimidating community members who were not wearing face masks. In one incident, police officers forced four (4) youths to carry two (2) bricks each as punishment for not wearing face masks.

In Muzvezve in Kadoma, it was reported that police officers manning a checkpoint at Empress turnoff along the Harare-Bulawayo Road were turning back people without face masks, even though some of the police officers were also not wearing face masks or gloves. Motorists were required to carry only one (1) passenger, and vehicles with more than one passenger were turned back even if the passengers had exemption letters to travel.

3.4       Returnees and mandatory quarantine updates
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana reported that in Matebeleland North, one of the returning citizens Mxolisi Zondo evaded security at Mabhikwa quarantine centre and fled to his home at Shabula village. He was later located by police officers and brought back to the quarantine centre. This comes after two (2) people in Harare and Mashonaland East who recently returned from South Africa tested positive for COVID-19.

4.0       Assault
In Kadoma, it was reported that police officers assaulted two (2) people with baton sticks at Zaphalala shop for not wearing face masks. It is alleged that police officers picked the two from a group of people who were gathered at OK supermarket waiting for their turn to buy groceries. The police officers solicited a bribe from the two in exchange for them not being arrested, and the assault was after the individuals refused to pay the bribe.

5.0       Missing Persons Update
In Harare, MDC Alliance Harare West Member of Parliament Joana Mamombe and Youth Assembly leaders Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova who went missing on 13 May in a case of abduction,  were located dumped in Bindura. The three were recovered with various injuries consistent with aggravated assault and torture, and were checked into a medical facility in the company of lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, police officers, and officials from the party.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana issued a press statement in which it was indicated that the three went missing while police were looking for them in order to interview them for the “illegal demonstration in Warren Park” that they were engaged in. The statement did not mention that the trio had been arrested, as earlier reported in the Herald newspaper, in which the police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Themba Naythi was quoted confirming the arrest.

6.0       Summary of violations
The table below summarises human rights violations documented by the Forum Secretariat and Forum Members from 30 March to 15 May 2020.

7.0       Court update
Harare High Court Judge Justice Sylvia Chirawu-Mugomba ordered Chitungwiza Municipality to immediately provide adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to its employees to protect them against the risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. The order was granted following an application by the Chitungwiza Workers Union which approached the court on an urgent basis seeking this remedy.

Mnangagwa announces lockdown extension – The Zimbabwean

Emmerson Mnangagwa  Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass

The country imposed a total lockdown to curb the spread of the virus on March 30, and on May 1 the President relaxed the restrictive measures to allow industry and commerce to reopen under supervision.

In an address to the nation Saturday, Mnangagwa said the country will continue on Level 2 lockdown to enable the country to further strengthen its response to the pandemic.

“We shall have regular two-week interval reviews to assess progress or lack of it,” he said.

Under Level 2 lockdown, industry and commerce have been allowed to reopen under supervision while the informal sector remains closed.

Inter-city travel remains banned, as well as public gatherings of more than 50 people.

Those in public places are required to wear face masks at all times.

Zimbabwe has to date recorded 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 13 recoveries and four deaths.

“Zimbabwe will therefore continue on the Level 2 lockdown for an indefinite period. This should give us more time to strengthen the prevention and case management approaches on various risk populations.”

“The modified phase reopening strategy will further allow us to increase surveillance including early detection, testing, isolation, contact tracing, treatment and care with a focus on high risk populations,” he said.

He said social and physical distancing will continue to be maintained and enforced at all times.

“I appeal to our people to exercise grater self discipline in this regard,” he said.

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Abducted MDC Alliance activist Cecilia Chimbiri speaks from hospital bed – The Zimbabwean

16.5.2020 7:34

MDC Alliance activist Cecilia Chimbiri narrates her ordeal at the hands of State Security Agents from her hospital bed in Harare. 

“They kept touching me all over the body and also beat us using the butt of their guns,” she said, writhing in pain.

Chimbiri said they were stopped by police at a roadblock and taken to a police station where they were bundled into a private car, hooded and taken away.

The opposition party on Friday said it holds the State accountable for such heinous crimes.

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Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa visits tortured leaders in hospital – The Zimbabwean

16.5.2020 7:34

Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa briefs the media after visiting the abducted and tortured youth assembly leaders in Harare.

The three women, including the country’s youngest parliament member, Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri were allegedly arrested at a roadblock after Wednesday’s protest in the capital, Harare, but family members and lawyers failed to locate them.

According to MDC Alliance officials, the women were found by a roadside in Mashonaland Central Province just outside the capital. They were admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

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Zimbabwe police accused of assaulting young female activists – The Zimbabwean

16.5.2020 7:23

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Three young Zimbabwean opposition activists who were reported missing following a protest over COVID-19 lockdown measures this week were being treated at a hospital Friday after asserting they were abducted and sexually abused by suspected state security agents.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, right, visits an activist who was reported missing, at a local hospital in Harare, Friday, May 15, 2020. Three young Zimbabwean opposition activists who were reported missing following a protest over COVID-19 lockdown measures this week were been treated at a hospital Friday after asserting they were abducted and sexually abused by suspected state security agents.Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, right, visits an activist who was reported missing, at a local hospital in Harare, Friday, May 15, 2020. Three young Zimbabwean opposition activists who were reported missing following a protest over COVID-19 lockdown measures this week were been treated at a hospital Friday after asserting they were abducted and sexually abused by suspected state security agents. (Associated Press)

The three women, including the country’s youngest parliament member, Joana Mamombe, were allegedly arrested at a roadblock after Wednesday’s protest in the capital, Harare, but family members and lawyers failed to locate them.

Police denied they arrested or held the trio, saying they were unaware of their whereabouts. The women had been protesting what they called deepening poverty and lack of social protection measures during the weeks-long lockdown.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana in a statement Friday said investigations into the alleged abductions “are underway.” He said police were keen to interview the women “on suspicion of committing crimes related to the lockdown laws and the holding of illegal demonstrations” but “social media chatter indicating that the three had disappeared was observed” before that could happen.

The activists were later found by a “sympathetic villager” who heard their cries for help after they were dumped about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Harare, Richard Chimbiri, the father of one of the women, told reporters outside the hospital.

“One can’t even talk, the other is just crying and another has been taken for some tests. They were seriously beaten up and stripped of their clothing. They are in pain, they are in bad shape,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s security agents have a history of abducting and torturing opposition and civil society activists viewed as anti-government. Many are later found abandoned, although some, such as Itai Dzamara, a journalist abducted in 2015, are still missing.

One of the three women, Cecilia Chimbiri, spoke briefly from a hospital ward. “They kept touching me all over the body and also beat us using the butt of their guns,” she said, writhing in pain.

The Associated Press does not name victims of sexual assault but the named women gave permission to be identified.

Chimbiri said they were stopped by police at a roadblock and taken to a police station where they were bundled into a private car, hooded and taken away.

“They were arrested at a roadblock and taken away from a police station by supposedly unknown people, so we hold the police responsible,” Maureen Kademaunga, the opposition MDC party secretary for welfare, said at the hospital. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa visited the women there.

Mamombe, the 27-year old lawmaker, was visibly in agony and could barely talk as she was wheeled from an ambulance.

Tempers flared outside as family members tried to gain access to the women while hospital staff tried to ensure social distancing.

Jeremiah Bamu, the women’s lawyer, said he was yet to get “full instructions” on taking any legal action because “they are not in a physical and mental state that allows them to fully brief me on what course of action to take. The focus now is to ensure that they are in a good mental state. The focus is on their recovery.”

While police have denied arresting the women, some are skeptical, pointing to Zimbabwe’s record of enforced disappearances.

“It is deeply alarming that the state claims that it cannot account for the three activists when they were arrested at a roadblock run by both the police and the military,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International deputy director for East and Southern Africa.

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COVID-19 lockdown daily situation update – Day 46 – The Zimbabwean

1.0       Introduction
The nation is now gripped with anxiety, with three days to go before the expiry of the extended lockdown measures on 17 May 2020. Government is yet to advise the nation on the next steps. 14 May 2020 marked day 46 of the national lockdown declared by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.On 14 May, the Ministry of Health and Child Care reported that nine hundred and sixty-three (963) tests were conducted and were all negative. This increased the cumulative tests to twenty-four thousand eight hundred and ninety (24 890). Of these, twenty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty-three (24 853) were negative. The number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases remains at thirty-seven (37) while the recoveries have increased to thirteen (13). Deaths remain at four (4).

2.0       Methodology
Information contained in this report is derived from the following Forum Members:

  • Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)
  • Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
  • Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
  • Counselling Services Unit (CSU)
  • Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, (ZADHR)
  • Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

Excerpts from reports generated by Community Radio Harare and the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) have also been incorporated in this report.

3.0       Emerging issues 
            3.1       Allocation of vending stalls
Following the demolition of vending stalls nationally, on the directive of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development on 8 April, some vendors in Gweru were gathered at Gweru Theatre where the local authority was allocating new vending sites. The vendors reportedly had to pay a renewable allocation fee of ZWL75 for the allocation of these new vending sites.

In Bulawayo, the Bulawayo City Council introduced decentralised bulk fresh produce markets which started operating on 13 May. Five fresh produce distribution hubs at Sekusile Shopping Center in Nkulumane, Emganwini Mupedzanhamo, Old Pumula Vegetables Market, New Magwegwe Market, and Cowdray Park Bus Terminus Market were allocated to vendors after the demolitions of their vending stalls.

3.2       Access to food and food aid
Shortage of mealie meal continue to affect communities. Retail shops in areas such as Magwegwe in Bulawayo, have run out of mealie meal. Other retail shops that still have the precious commodity are now selling exclusively in foreign currency. The government through the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) is distributing subsidised mealie meal to communities nationally. However, the greater number of people still cannot afford to buy mealie meal at the subsidised prices of ZWL70 per 10kg bag.  Some retail shop owners have indicated that they have not received subsidised mealie meal for the past 3 weeks.

In Bulawayo, the Bulawayo COVID-19 Task Force donated food hampers to the eleven (11) people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Bulawayo. This was triggered by the stigma and related challenges being faced by these community members who are isolated at home their homes.

According to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul Mavhima, the government is yet to distribute monies under the COVID-19 relief fund for vulnerable people to all identified beneficiaries. Under the fund, identified beneficiaries would receive ZWL200 per family. The Minister indicated that the government has raised the allocation from ZWL200 to ZWL300 per family, in light of inflation.

             3.3       Access to water  
In Bulawayo, the Bulawayo City Council issued a public notice notifying residents of the decommissioning of the Lower Ncema dam. This dam which is at 6.49% capacity, will be decommissioned on 15 May. This brings to three (3) out of six (6) dams that are decommissioned in Bulawayo. The City had already been struggling to meet the daily water demand, and with the decommission of another dam, the situation will become direr. The City has been water shedding since February 2019, with progressive intensity. Currently water is shed under a 120-hour regime, meaning the city has water one (1) day a week.

             3.4       Lockdown enforcement  
In light of the increased defiance of the lockdown regulations by community members nationally, increased reports of police patrols and clampdown on defiant community members were received. Increased police patrols were observed in Chimanimani, Nyanga, Karoi, Masvingo, Triangle, and Gokwe. In Gweru, it was reported that police officers mounted another checkpoint at the Gweru River to check for exemption letters. Police and army officers were also raiding homes and shops which were suspected of selling alcohol illegally and after the stipulated time for the closure of business. Police officers also conducted raids for illicit bars at Karambazungu Township in Hurungwe. No arrests made following these raids.

At Coca-Cola check point along Seke Road in Harare, passengers coming from Chitungwiza were ordered to disembark some ZUPCO buses for the police to check for exemption letters allowing for travel. Those who did not have exemption letters for various reasons were reportedly compelled to pay bribes to the police officers for them to proceed. Those who refused to pay bribes were turned back. Given the current transport challenges, some of them were forced to walk back to Chitungwiza.

In a seemingly new enforcement strategy, police officers at the checkpoint were allegedly checking for the quality of face masks. Individuals with home-made masks that did not meet the self-defined standards of some of the overzealous police officers were also turned back.

3.5       Lockdown defiance
In Gwanda, some community members defied the lockdown for leisure. It was reported that some bottle stores were operating up to 10pm. Similar defiance was observed in Magwegwe, with people consuming alcohol outside certain shops.

The Sports and Recreation Commission through a statement issued on 14 May indicated that sports and recreational activities remain banned. This comes after reports of community members engaging in sporting activities including soccer, volleyball, and netball have been on the increase nationally.

             3.6       Returnees and mandatory quarantine updates
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana reported that 395 Zimbabwean returnees left Gaborone, Botswana for Plumtree on 14 May. Among the returnees are 15 ex-convicts who were pardoned by the President of Botswana.

3.7       COVID-19 and the mining sector
Through the 3rd edition of the COVID-19: Mining Sector and Communities’ Situational Report, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) reported as follows:

  • The Economic Rescue and Stimulus Package of ZWL1 billion announced by the President on 1 May to support large and small scale miners is yet to be disbursed to the mining sector. The report notes that the scheme appears to exclude artisanal miners despite their gold going to Fidelity Printers and Refineries.
  • In Mazowe, artisanal miners are finding it difficult to comply with social distancing rules. The artisanal miners are not respecting COVID-19 regulations and they are working as usual. In areas where gold rushes occur, social distancing is ignored. At Bhinyapi Mine in Matabeleland South’s Insiza District, COVID-19 regulations on social distancing were largely ignored and violated when there was a gold rush. The area is now overcrowded and there are fears that the coronavirus might easily spread if the situation is not controlled.
  • In Bubi there were reports of people who invaded gold claims at night to steal money, gold, and mining equipment. New cases of machete gold gangs and criminals were also reported in Maphisa in Matabeleland on 2 May where a group of seven raided Good Cow Mine armed with machetes and axes and took away 12 x 50 kg bags of gold ore. The police confirmed the arrest of the gangs.
  • At Anjin Diamond Mine in Marange, workers reported that no efforts are being made by managers to educate workers on social distancing at the mine sites or living quarters. As for transportation, workers are ferried in overcrowded open trucks to their workstations. In terms of accommodation, one (1) room is accommodating four (4) workers with some using bunk beds, which defeats social distancing. Workers are said to be given sub-standard disposable face masks which are not the recommended N95 and not suitable for mining purposes. Some workers are not using the face masks, while some repeatedly reuse the masks, causing a health hazard.
4.0       Assault
In Highfield, Harare four (4) police officers assaulted six (6) people in Lusaka for allegedly defying the lockdown by congregating and drinking alcohol. It was alleged that the officers on patrol raided a house where youths from the area were drinking alcohol and not wearing face mask. The victims were assaulted with baton sticks and the police officers confiscated the alcohol.5.0       Missing Persons  
In Harare, MDC Alliance Harare West Member of Parliament Joana Mamombe and two other female MDC Alliance youth leaders Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were reported to have been arrested at a checkpoint near the National Sports Stadium in Harare for allegedly participating in a demonstration in Warren Park. It was reported that the trio was detained at Harare Central Police Station Law and Order Section. However, their lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) indicated that the trio was missing, having searched for the trio at various police stations in the capital to no avail.

At about 11pm on 14 May, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) updated that it had received information that the missing trio had been dumped in Bindura South. Reports indicate that the trio sustained injuries consistent with aggravated assault and torture.

6.0       Summary of violations
The table below summarises human rights violations documented by the Forum Secretariat and Forum Members from 30 March 2020 to 14 May 2020.

Nature of Violation Number of Victims Location
Assault 238 Harare, Zvishavane, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Wedza, Chinhoyi, Zaka, Gweru, Chitungwiza, Bindura, Nembudziya, Chiredzi, Marondera, Mutoko, Chivi, Bikita, Zvishavane, Mvurwi, Mutare, Marondera, Beitbridge
Attack on Journalists 12 Mutare, Gweru, Chinhoyi, Harare, Chiredzi, Masvingo
Arrests 324 Masvingo, Gokwe, Gweru, Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Hwange, Harare, Magunje, Lupane, Norton, Bikita, Mutasa, Chitungwiza, Nkayi, Makoni, Chipinge, Beitbridge, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Mwenezi, Guruve, Hwange
Malicious Damage to Property 2 Harare, Chitungwiza
Missing persons/Abductions 3 Harare

7.0       Court update
The families of the three MDC Alliance youth leaders who were missing, filed an habeas corpus application before the High Court seeking to compel the Zimbabwe Republic Police members to investigate and determine the whereabouts of the missing persons and report within 12 hours of the granting of the order.  However, before the application could be finalised reports emerged during the evening that the three missing women were found in Bindura South severely injured and traumatised.8.0       Conclusion
The lockdown extension as announced by the President will end on 17 May. As we draw close to the end of the extended lockdown, the volatile political environment is becoming a risk factor for the spread of COVID-19. In light of the above, the Forum:

  • strongly condemns the wanton disregard of human rights exhibited through the enforced disappearance, torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova. The Forum calls on the government and security forces to thoroughly investigate the incident and to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable.
  • calls on the government to intervene for mining companies to provide personal protective equipment for miners including face masks, gloves, safety shoes, and protective clothing.
  • is concerned with the increasing numbers of people defying the national lockdown to pursue leisure activities, and calls upon community members to adhere to COVID-19 regulations.
  • urges the government to speed up the process of providing food aid to vulnerable groups

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Clarence Thomas Really Looking For Something We Can Remember Him By Other Than Coke Cans — See Also

Partners At The Top Biglaw Firms Are Making Some Nice Coin

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Trivia Question of the Day!

According to data collected by ALM for their 2020 Am Law 100 ranking, what is the average profits per equity partner at the top 25 highest grossing Biglaw firms?

Hint: There’s a sharp decline in the second 25, which come in at an average of $2.285 million, $1.603 million for firms 51 to 75, and for firms 76 to 100 $1.462 million. 

See the answer on the next page.

Hedge Fund Manager In Jail For Ponzi Scheming Won’t Get Out For Lawyer’s Horndogging