Author: TSA Press

By
Costa
Nkomo

Amid
growing
concerns
over
a
Mpox
outbreak
in
Zimbabwe,
where
two
cases
have
been
confirmed,
the
ruling
Zanu
PF
party
remains
committed
to
holding
its
annual
conference,
set
for
October
22-27
in
Bulawayo.

Health
Minister
Douglas
Mombeshora
confirmed
yesterday
that
the
two
cases
are
in
isolation
—
a
move
that
echoes
the
strict
regulations
imposed
during
the
COVID-19
pandemic.

Zanu
PF’s
Director
of
Communication,
Farai
Marapira,
dismissed
suggestions
that
the
event
could
be
postponed,
stating
that
the
party’s
health
department
is
well-prepared
to
address
any
potential
Mpox
risks.

“We
are
well
attuned
to
the
challenges
presented
by
Mpox,
and
we
are
already
communicating
to
our
structures
on
ways
of
preventing
its
spread,”
Marapira
told
CITE
on
Monday.
“We
will
remain
vigilant
during
the
conference,
with
safety
measures
firmly
in
place.”

The
Health
Ministry
has
not
confirmed
whether
restrictions
on
public
gatherings
will
return
but
has
promised
a
detailed
statement
on
Tuesday
morning.
In
a
statement
released
yesterday,
Dr
Mombeshora
updated
the
public
on
the
current
situation:

“The
Ministry
of
Health
and
Child
Care
wishes
to
inform
the
nation
that
Zimbabwe
now
has
two
(2)
confirmed
cases
of
Mpox:
one
in
Harare
and
another
in
Mberengwa.
Both
cases
are
in
isolation
at
home
and
are
receiving
appropriate
care.”

Dr
Mombeshora
assured
the
public
that
both
patients
were
stable
and
on
the
road
to
recovery.

Mpox,
previously
known
as
Monkeypox,
was
declared
a
Public
Health
Emergency
of
Continental
Security
by
the
Africa
Centre
for
Disease
Control
(CDC)
on
August
13,
2024.
The
World
Health
Organisation
(WHO)
followed
suit,
declaring
it
a
Public
Health
Emergency
of
International
Concern
under
the
International
Health
Regulations
(IHR
2005)
on
August
14,
2024.

“In
Africa,
there
are
7,535
confirmed
cumulative
cases
of
Mpox
and
32
deaths
reported
so
far
in
2024,”
Dr.
Mombeshora
said.

Zimbabwe’s
first
confirmed
case
involved
an
11-year-old
boy
who
had
travelled
to
South
Africa
in
August
2024
and
returned
to
Zimbabwe
on
September
10.
He
developed
symptoms
on
September
23.

“He
is
currently
in
isolation
at
home
and
is
no
longer
infectious,”
Dr.
Mombeshora
added.

Dr
Mombeshora
stated
that
case
number
two
is
a
24-year-old
male
with
a
known
history
of
travel
to
Tanzania
on
the
14th
of
September
2024,
returning
on
the
21st
of
September
2024.

“He
developed
symptoms
on
the
29th
of
September
2024
and
is
currently
in
isolation
at
home
and
is
no
longer
infectious.
Contact
tracing
and
monitoring
are
underway,”
he
added.

HARARE
–
Police
have
confirmed
the
arrest
of
a
woman
linked
to
the
shock
assault
of
a
10-month-old
baby
in
an
incident
exposed
in
a
viral
video
recently.

Police
said
in
their
official
X
handle
the
incident
happened
at
a
village
in
Mutare
last
week.

“The
ZRP
confirms
the
arrest
of
a
30-year-old
woman
for
allegedly
assaulting
her
baby
girl
(10
months)
with
a
stick
at
Temberere
Village,
Zimunya,
Mutare
on
11th
October
2024.

“The
incident
came
to
light
after
a
disturbing
video
went
viral
on
social
media,
showing
the
woman
brutally
attacking
the
child
while
ordering
her
to
be
quiet
and
forcing
her
to
crawl,”
police
said.

The
woman’s
face
does
not
appear
in
the
20-second
video
although
she
repeatedly
mutters
the
word
“kambaira
(crawl)”.

The
incident
was
met
with
shock
by
the
public
which
demanded
the
identification
of
the
woman
and
her
immediate
arrest.

The
flogging
on
the
infant
spotlights
rampant
abuse
of
vulnerable
minors
within
communities
in
the
country
with
many
cases
often
going
unreported
due
to
a
number
of
reasons.

The
advent
of
social
media
and
phone
technology
has
however
opened
a
new
avenue
through
which
abuse
can
be
brought
to
the
police’s
attention
without
the
victims
physically
visiting
police
stations
to
report
their
nightmares.

The
abuses
often
captured
on
phone
footage
help
police
track
down
the
culprits.

HARARE
–
The
Supreme
Court
has
upheld
a
recent
High
Court
ruling
which
ordered
the
return
of
former
Zanu
PF
legislator
and
businessman
Justice
Mayor
Wadyajena’s
Lamborghini
and
over
a
dozen
trucks
and
tractors
seized
from
the
controversial
politician
in
2022
by
the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
(ZACC).

The
order
puts
to
an
end,
a
bid
by
the
National
Prosecuting
Authority
(NPA)
and
ZACC
to
cling
on
to
Wadyajena’s
pricey
possessions
arguing
the
property
formed
proceeds
of
money
laundering
and
related
crimes
allegedly
committed
by
the
former
Gokwe-Nembudziya
MP
and
his
alleged
accomplices.

The
High
Court
had
ruled
in
August
this
year
it
was
no
longer
lawful
for
ZACC
to
keep
holding
onto
the
property
when
Wadyajena
had
been
cleared
of
any
wrongdoing.

ZACC
seized
the
vehicles
when
it
opened
investigations
into
alleged
money
laundering
by
the
former
legislator
in
2022.

But
a
three-panel
bench
on
Monday
concurred
with
the
High
Court’s
decision
after
Wadyajena
had
argued
that
ZACC
had
no
basis
to
hold
on
to
his
vehicles.

Wadyajena’s
lawyer
Oliver
Marwa
said
if
ZACC
had
anything
further
to
investigate,
then
the
three
years
in
which
it
had
been
holding
on
to
the
politician’s
property
was
sufficient
time
to
come
out
with
anything
tangible.

“The
Supreme
Court
ruled
on
the
appeal
by
the
NPA,
which
was
contesting
the
High
Court
order
for
NPA
and
ZACC
to
release
the
property
that
was
seized
by
ZACC
and
the
NPA
from
Mayor
Logistics,”
Marwa
told
the
media.

“When
they
brought
the
matter
to
the
Supreme
Court,
they
wanted
the
Supreme
Court
to
rule
that
what
the
High
Court
had
done
was
wrong,
but
the
Supreme
Court
agreed
with
us
that
they
had
no
mandate
in
keeping
that
property
because
the
High
Court
judgment
by
Justice
Kwenda
was
clear
that
they
had
30
days
within
which
to
keep
that
property,
but
they
exceeded
two
years.

“There
has
been
no
end
in
sight
for
the
intended
prosecution
for
our
clients.
Our
clients
have
always
maintained
that
they
were
innocent,
that
those
properties
were
theirs,
they
were
legitimately
acquired.”

Wadyajena
and
his
company,
Mayor
Logistics
Private
Limited
launched
the
appeal
after
ZACC
had
refused
to
return
the
movable
property
when
his
case
collapsed
in
court.

The
flamboyant
politician
and
six
others
who
include
some
COTTCO
bosses
were
arrested
and
arraigned
before
the
magistrates’
court
on
three
charges
of
money
laundering
and
three
counts
of
fraud
in
2022.

They
were
accused
of
fleecing
COTTCO
of
millions
of
US
dollars
through
creating
false
invoices
for
the
supply
of
bale
ties
to
the
state
company.

The
monies
realised,
according
to
prosecutors
at
the
time,
were
laundered
through
various
companies
in
which
Wadyajena
and
his
company
had
interests.

On
6
February
2023,
the
magistrates’
courts
refused
a
further
remand
with
the
state
advised
to
proceed
through
summons.

However,
ZACC
elected
to
keep
the
property
claiming
they
needed
30
days
to
conduct
parallel
investigations
into
the
matter.

Wadyajena
applied
and
won
a
High
Court
order
for
the
return
of
his
property.

A
judgement
was
made
in
his
favour
in
May
this
year
but
ZACC
put
spanners
in
his
wake
through
launching
a
Supreme
Court
appeal
demanding
the
release
of
his
property.

Wadyajena
returned
to
file
an
urgent
High
Court
application
for
leave
to
execute
the
judgement
pending
a
Supreme
Court
determination
on
the
matter.

He
listed
ZACC
and
the
Prosecutor
General
of
Zimbabwe
as
first
and
second
respondents
respectively.

In
his
ruling,
Justice
Chitapi
concurred
with
Wadyajena’s
lawyers
that
the
ex-MP
was
being
prejudiced
of
potential
revenue
through
continued
holding
of
his
trucks.

HARARE
–
Ex-legislator
Amos
Chibaya
shall
remain
under
prison
detection,
a
Harare
magistrate
ruled
on
Monday,
adding
he
was
not
convinced
the
prominent
opposition
politician
would
not
break
his
bail
conditions
if
granted
his
prayer
for
freedom.

Chibaya
is
accused
of
inciting
fellow
CCC
activists
into
committing
violence
while
addressing
them
at
the
Harare
Magistrates’
Court
where
party
faction
leader
Jameson
Timba
and
dozens
more
had
been
denied
bail
in
June
this
year.

Presiding
over
the
matter,
Dennis
Mangosi
said
he
was
going
to
lean
on
prosecutors’
argument
the
former
Mkoba
MP
will
commit
similar
offences
if
he
is
freed.

Arrested
many
times
for
his
fearless
activism,
Chibaya
was
recently
fined
US$50
for
skipping
court
in
another
criminal
case
he
is
facing.

“The
accused
breached
bail
conditions,
the
accused
will
abscond
if
granted
bail”
ruled
the
court,
adding,
“on
absconding
of
trial,
the
state
has
managed
to
prove
its
case.
So,
you
are
denied
bail
on
that
ground.”

According
to
the
state,
Chibaya
was
among
a
group
of
CCC
activists
who
staged
demonstrations
at
the
court
building
in
June
demanding
the
release
of
77
party
activists
who
had
been
denied
bail.

It
is
further
alleged
Chibaya
then
convened
a
meeting
at
the
entrance
of
the
court
building
where
party
politicians
Agency
Gumbo
and
Ostallos
Gift
Siziba
were
among
the
speakers.

During
the
meeting,
Chibaya
allegedly
incited
violence
through
saying,
“Chi
regime
chinotya
vanhu,
chikaona
vanhu
chinobvunda,
Havana
kuhwina
maelections,
togona
kufuma
tavakutonga,
Zimbabwe
haisi
yeZanu
PF,
Zimbabwe
is
not
a
Mnangagwa
Dynasty
zvekumbunyikidza
vanhu
zvinofanira
kupera.”

Loosely
translated,
Chibaya
allegedly
talked
down
the
Zanu
PF
led
government
headed
by
President
Mnangagwa
whom
he
accused
of
stealing
elections
and
that
it
could
find
itself
out
of
power
the
next
day
in
place
of
the
main
opposition.
He
allegedly
declared
it
was
time
the
state
stopped
trampling
on
citizens’
freedoms.

It
is
further
alleged
Chibaya
invited
citizens
to
come
in
large
numbers
to
demand
the
release
of
their
colleagues.

“As
a
result
of
the
incitement,
some
people
at
the
meeting
promised
Chibaya
to
take
the
prisoners
out
by
force
by
saying
in
vernacular
‘tichavatora
Nechisimba,
eheeee’”.

Burst
sewer
pipes
have
become
a
frequent
problem
across
Zimbabwe,
particularly
in
Bulawayo,
where
residents
face
heightened
risks
of
waterborne
diseases.

Bulawayo,
already
struggling
with
a
severe
water
crisis,
is
grappling
with
a
backlog
of
sewer
repairs
due
to
its
ageing
infrastructure.

The
flow
of
untreated
sewage
now
threatens
the
boreholes
that
many
residents
have
come
to
rely
on
as
their
primary
water
source.

In
Njube,
one
of
Bulawayo’s
densely
populated
suburbs,
residents
are
voicing
serious
health
concerns
over
a
burst
sewer
pipe
leaking
towards
a
community
borehole,
warning
of
potential
contamination.

The
borehole
has
become
a
lifeline
for
many,
especially
as
the
city
endures
water
cuts
lasting
up
to
130
hours
at
a
time.

A
resident,
speaking
to
CITE
under
anonymity,
highlighted
the
urgency
of
the
situation:
“This
is
a
serious
health
threat.
The
sewer
water
flows
towards
the
borehole,
and
if
it
contaminates
the
water,
many
people
could
fall
ill.
With
the
prolonged
water
cuts,
we
rely
heavily
on
the
borehole.”

Charles
Khumalo,
a
former
residents’
chairperson,
shared
similar
concerns,
stressing
the
need
for
swift
action.

“The
sewer
overflow
is
particularly
bad
when
water
is
reconnected.
It’s
been
manageable
lately
because
of
the
water
cuts,
but
once
water
is
restored,
the
problem
will
return,”
Khumalo
said.

He
proposed
a
long-term
solution
by
constructing
a
cemented
trench
to
redirect
the
sewer
flow
away
from
the
borehole.

“Building
a
trench
would
help
direct
the
sewer
away
from
the
borehole.
The
pipe
bursts
frequently,
so
a
trench
would
be
a
more
permanent
solution
and
prevent
contamination,”
he
suggested.

Khumalo
also
called
on
the
local
council
to
clear
a
path
behind
Njube
High
School,
allowing
residents
to
avoid
the
area
affected
by
the
leaking
sewer.

“There’s
an
alternative
route,
but
it’s
overgrown
with
grass.
Clearing
it
would
provide
a
safer
path
for
residents
from
H-Square
and
F-Square
to
access
the
borehole
without
risking
exposure
to
the
sewage,”
he
added.

We
know
climate
change
is
happening,
but
it’s
uncertain
as
to
how
the
impacts
will
play
out,
to
what
extent,
where,
affecting
whom.
In
the
sixth
chapter of Navigating
Uncertainty:
Radical
Rethinking
for
a
Turbulent
World,
I
again
look
at
models
and
how
they
act
to
mutually
construct
a
particular
set
of
global
policy
responses,
often
ignoring
the
challenges
on
the
ground.

From
the
promise
of
prediction
to
the
realities
on
the
ground

As
the
chapter
notes,
“Climate
change
is
perhaps
the
most
challenging
source
of
uncertainty
faced
by
humanity
today….
Climate
events
can
upset
stabilised
knowledge
about
economies
and
financial
systems;
new
technological
innovations
that
facilitate
transitions
to
low-carbon
economies
carry
with
them
many
uncertainties
and
so
regulatory
challenges;
extreme
climate-induced
shocks
can
test
any
critical
infrastructure
and
those
trying
to
generate
reliable
supply
of
critical
services;
climate
change
can
result
in
transformations
of
environments
that
entail
the
emergence
of
pandemic
zoonoses
and
disasters
and
emergencies
are
frequently
made
worse
by
climate
change,
as
droughts
or
floods
for
example
become
more
extreme.
Climate
change
therefore
impinges
on
all
facets
of
life,
generating
new
uncertainties,
even
if
we
are
now
certain
that
change
is
accelerating.
Yet
different
people
–
from
UN
officials
to
climate
modellers
to
fishers
and
farmers…
experience
climate
change
in
very
different
ways.”

The
chapter
asks
how
can
the
global
science
of
climate
change
prediction
and
scenario
development
connect
with
the
highly
uncertain
local
conditions
faced
on
the
ground?
The
chapter
moves
from
the
IPCC
process
aiming
at
‘scientific
consensus’
to
the
UK
Met
Office
that
produces
elaborate
predictive
climate
models
to
the
collaborative
approaches
to
global
circulation
modelling
before
shifting
to
two
places
on
the
front-lines
of
climate
change
–
the
Sundarbans
in
India/Bangladesh
and
dryland
farming
areas
of
southern
Zimbabwe.
Here
responses
to
climate
change
have
to
contend
with
uncertainties
–
even
the
increasingly
sophisticated
downscaled
models
are
no
use
day-to-day. 
Zimbabwean
farmers
and
Indian
delta
dwellers
know
full
well
that
climate
change
is
happening,
but
they
need
to
adapt
to
survive.

Despite
improvements
in
climate
modelling,
uncertainties
remain.
A
more
circumspect,
humble
approach
to
modelling
is
needed.
As Andrea
Saltelli
and
colleagues  argue,
“Mathematical
models
are
a
great
way
to
explore
questions.
They
are
also
a
dangerous
way
to
assert
answers.”
Instead,
they
argue,
modelling
needs
to
be
aware
of
the
assumptions
that
are
in-built,
avoid
the
hubris
of
assuming
that
models
are
right,
be
attentive
to
models’
framings,
be
aware
of
the
unknowns
and
think
about
the
consequences. 
There
is
a
need
therefore
to
establish
“new
social
norms
such
that
modellers
are
not
permitted
to
project
more
certainty
than
their
models
deserve,
and
politicians
are
not
allowed
to
offload
accountability
to
models
of
their
choosing.”
This
is
a
key
lesson
from
the
book,
whether
around
pandemics,
disasters
or
climate
change.

The
politics
of
climate
adaptation

Today,
there
are
many
projects
aiming
to
address
climate
change,
climate-smart,
climate-proofed,
climate-resilient
are
all
the
buzzwords
of
contemporary
development.
But,
as
the
chapter
explains,
“The
problem
is
that
once
again
such
projects
aim
to
‘fix’
something
through
a
technical-managerial
intervention,
aiming
to
return
to
stability
in
the
face
of
variability
or
reducing
‘vulnerability’
to
climate
change.
Rather,
climate
adaptation
–
as
the
term
suggests
–
is
more
about
living
with
uncertainties
and
working
with
inevitable
variability
in
a
warming
world,
at
the
same
time
as
transforming
the
conditions
that
give
rise
to
vulnerabilities
in
the
first
place.
The
trouble
is
that
adaptation
for
some
means
isolating
yourself
from
climate
change
–
moving
away
from
a
flood
plain,
buying
expensive
insurance,
installing
more
air
conditioning
–
while
for
others
it
means
coping
and
suffering
under
increasingly
harsh
conditions
with
limited
means….
Climate
change
thus
also
intersects
with
wider
class,
race,
gender
and
other
politics.”

This
suggests
questions
of
climate
justice.
As
the
chapter
shows,
for
many,
“climate
cannot
be
separated
off
from
wider
demands
for
land
reclamation,
asset
redistribution
and
wider
agrarian
reform,
alongside
addressing
questions
of
‘loss
and
damage’
caused
by
climate
change.
Articulating
climate
change
debates
with
wider
considerations
of
justice
is
therefore
essential….
not
all
uncertainties
are
the
same
for
all
people,
as
they
emerge
from
the
particular
dynamics
of
capitalism
and
its
uneven
spatial
and
temporal
impacts….

Accepting
that
climate
change
and
capitalism,
and
so
questions
of
justice
and
redistribution,
are
intimately
bound
up
is
essential
and
reminds
us
that
uncertainties
are
not
evenly
distributed,
and
a
neoliberal
resort
to
individualised
‘flexible
coping’
through
market
mechanisms
is
wholly
inadequate.
Addressing
the
fundamental,
underlying
causes
of
climate
change
remain
urgent
and
must
not
be
lost
sight
of.”

Co-constructing
responses
to
climate
change

Following
Sheila
Jasanoff,
I
ask:
“How,
at
the
levels
of
community,
polity,
space
and
time,
will
scientists’
impersonal
knowledge
of
the
climate
be
synchronized
with
the
mundane
rhythms
of
lived
lives
and
the
specificities
of
human
experience?
A
global
consensus
on
the
meaning
and
urgency
of
climate
change
cannot
arise
on
the
basis
of
expert
consensus
alone.”

In
addition
to
climate
models,
there
is
a
need
for
“bottom-up
adaptation
assessments,
collaborative
modelling
approaches,
participatory
scenario
development,
plural
methodological
approaches,
such
as
combining
arts
approaches
with
scientific
assessments,
and
appreciative
inquiry
of
complex
problems
can
therefore
all
be
part
of
a
reimagined
science
for
climate
change.
This
requires
different
types
of
expertise,
including
more
hybrid,
cross-disciplinary
capacities,
the
ability
to
facilitate
and
integrate
alongside
knowledge
brokers
and
connecting
modelling
and
science
‘from
above’
with
the
local
context,”
as
Lyla
Mehta
and
colleagues
argue.

To
tackle
climate
change
effectively
there
therefore
needs
to
be
a
greater
commitment
to
what
Jasanoff
calls
‘co-construction’
–
where
modellers
and
local
people
on
the
front-lines
interact
to
define
problems
and
solutions
together.
As
the
chapter
concludes,
“addressing
global
climate
change
means
engaging
with
how
people
living
with
climate-related
uncertainties
–
and
that
means
everyone,
the
world
over.
It
thus
means
making
responses
more
real,
tangible
and
urgent
than
a
generic,
impersonal
risk-based
science
can
ever
do.”

This
series
of
blogs
gives
a
taste
of
the
different
chapters,
but
you
will
have
to
read
the
book
to
get
the
full
picture,
as
well
as
all
the
case
study
details,
the
references
and
footnotes!
You
can
buy
the
book
(or
download
it
for
free)
through
this
link: Navigating
Uncertainty:
Radical
Rethinking
for
a
Turbulent
World
(politybooks.com).
It
comes
out
in
the
US
tomorrow!
Do
come
along
to
the
remaining
launches
in
October
in
Zurich
(today!),
Bern,
Geneva
and
Paris,
see BOOK:
Navigating
Uncertainty
–
Pastoralism,
Uncertainty
and
Resilience
–
PASTRES (or
listen
to
the
recording
from
the
IDS
event
here: Navigating
uncertainty:
Radical
rethinking
for
a
turbulent
World
–
Institute
of
Development
Studies
(ids.ac.uk)). 

Post
published
in:

Agriculture