Category: News Feeds

HARARE
–
A
Harare
businessman
has
filed
a
complaint
against
Harare
magistrate
Lynne
Chinzou
accusing
her
of
“gross
bias”
in
her
handling
of
a
forgery
trial
involving
his
former
employee.

The
businessman,
Skhumbuzo
Manduna
and
his
company,
Andiswe
Phakade
(Pvt)
Ltd
trading
as
AP
Carriers,
had
taken
Elias
Masora,
who
was
a
company
driver,
to
court
accusing
him
of
forging
a
defensive
driving
certificate.

However,
following
trial,
Musora
was
acquitted
with
the
magistrate
citing
insufficient
evidence
to
prove
the
charge
beyond
reasonable
doubt.

Musora,
while
still
employed
by
the
company,
allegedly
got
involved
in
theft
of
1,200
litres
of
diesel
within
a
month
of
his
hiring,
which
prompted
Manduna
to
scrutinise
his
employment
credentials.

The
theft
case
is
pending
at
Mbare
Magistrates’
Court.

Manduna
feels
the
magistrate
did
not
handle
the
forgery
case
well
enough.

“The
above-mentioned
subject
matter
refers
in
terms
of
which
we
are
formally
writing
to
your
office
laying
a
complaint
pertaining
to
the
gross
bias
demonstrated
by
the
magistrate
in
the
manner
she
presided
over
the
matter
S
v
Elias
Masora,”
reads
the
letter,
dated
12
September
2024,
and
addressed
to
the
Chief
Magistrate.

“In
her
judgement,
the
magistrate
contended
that
Elias
Masora
disclosed
to
the
company
that
he
didn’t
have
a
defensive
driving
certificate;
this
assertion
defies
all
logic
because
for
anyone
to
apply
for
a
position
of
truck
driver,
you
ought
to
be
in
possession
of
a
defensive
certificate.

“It
is
inconceivable
that
the
accused
approached
a
company
soliciting
for
a
job,
disclosed
to
the
company
that
he
doesn’t
hold
the
required
documents
for
the
job
and
still
went
on
to
be
hired.

“Truck
driving
is
not
a
specialist
skill
such
that
a
company
can
risk
to
forego
any
requirement
as
far
as
recruitment
of
a
truck
driver
is
concerned.

“It
is
evident
here
that
the
magistrate
ought
to
have
applied
her
mind.”

The
State’s
case
relied
on
a
single
witness,
the
complainant,
who
testified
that
Masora
had
furnished
a
fake
document
during
the
hiring
process.

However,
the
court
noted
that
neither
the
original
defensive
certificate
nor
the
request
letter
to
the
Traffic
Safety
Council
of
Zimbabwe
was
tendered
as
part
of
the
evidence.

Furthermore,
the
court
questioned
the
authenticity
of
a
letter
from
the
Traffic
Safety
Council
of
Zimbabwe,
dated
March
20,
2024,
which
had
a
date
stamp
of
March
19,
2024.

It
stated
that
Masora
‘s
defensive
driving
certificate
had
expired
on
24
February
2019.

The
court
also
noted
that
the
key
witness,
the
Human
Resources
Manager
who
hired
Masora,
was
not
called
to
testify.

Manduna
said
magistrate
Chinzou
demonstrated
bias
in
her
judgment.

In
her
ruling,
Chinzou
queried
the
police’s
decision
to
write
to
the
Traffic
Safety
Council
of
Zimbabwe,
which
Manduna
argues
was
within
the
police’s
discretionary
powers.

He
further
contends
that
she
expressed
doubts
about
the
authenticity
of
a
letter
from
the
Traffic
Safety
Council
of
Zimbabwe
without
subpoenaing
a
witness
to
clarify.

Manduna
also
raised
concerns
about
the
delay
in
accessing
the
court
record
and
the
circumstances
under
which
it
was
finally
obtained
citing
that
the
record
took
two
months
in
the
magistrate
office
before
it
could
be
accessed.

He
alleges
Magistrate
Chinzou
was
“clutching
at
straws”
to
secure
an
acquittal
for
Masora
and
urges
consideration
of
the
complaint.

HARARE
–
Ministers
on
Tuesday
affirmed
the
Broadcasting
Services
Amendment
Bill
under
which
motorists
will
be
forced
to
buy
radio
licences
before
paying
their
road
tax
and
insuring
their
vehicles.

The
plan
is
to
raise
up
to
US$74
million
for
the
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting
Corporation
annually.

Information
minister
Jenfan
Muswere
told
journalists
after
a
cabinet
meeting:
“The
cabinet
considered
and
adopted
the
Broadcasting
Services
Amendment
Bill,
presented
by
Justice,
Legal
and
Parliamentary
Affairs
Minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi
as
chairman
of
the
cabinet
committee
on
lislation.

“The
major
objective
of
the
Broadcasting
Services
Amendment
Bill
is
to
align
the
Broadcasting
Services
Act
[Chapter
12:06]
with
the
constitution
and
also
with
the
Public
Entities
Corporate
Governance
Act.

“The
enactment
of
the
legislation
will
amend
several
sections
of
the
Broadcasting
Services
Act
[Chapter
12:06].
Of
special
mention
is
the
amendment
of
section
2A
of
the
principal
Act
on
the
role
of
the
Broadcasting
Services
of
Zimbabwe
which
is
to
regulate
and
manage
the
broadcasting
services
bands
for
sustenance
rather
than
control
of
broadcasting
service
bands.

“The
Bill
will
also
provide
a
new
provision,
which
will
prohibit
the
Zimbabwe
National
Road
Administration
and
every
motor
insurance
cover
to
sell
a
motor
vehicle
licence
and
motor
insurance
policy
respectively
to
individuals
without
the
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting
Corporation
current
radio
licence
or
an
exemption
certificate
from
the
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting
Corporation,
unless
the
vehicle
to
be
insured
is
not
equipped
with
a
radio
signal
receiver.”

The
Bill,
which
is
expected
to
sail
through
the
National
Assembly
and
Senate
where
Zanu
PF
enjoys
a
sweeping
majority,
also
mandates
the
ZBC
to
broadcast
75
percent
local
content.

Critics
say
the
ZBC
is
a
propaganda
arm
of
Zanu
PF
and
has
failed
in
its
mandate
to
serve
as
a
truly
public
broadcaster.

“It’s
well
and
good
that
they
want
to
support
ZBC,
but
where
is
the
corresponding
service
charter
for
ZBC
spelling
out
its
responsibilities
so
that
we
can
hold
it
accountable?
It
can’t
be
licence
fees
without
accountability,”
media
rights
activist
Rashweat
Mukundu
said.

Zimbabwe
has
1.2
million
registered
vehicles
but
only
800,000
motorists
pay
their
licences,
according
to
the
Zimbabwe
National
Roads
Agency
(ZINARA).

With
vehicle
radio
licences
pegged
at
US$23
per
quarter
and
US$92
per
year,
this
translates
to
a
minimum
US$73.6
million
in
potential
revenue
for
ZBC
per
year
which
would
rise
to
US$110
million
if
every
registered
vehicle
paid.

Since
childhood,
Loveness
Bhitoni
has
collected
fruit
from
the
gigantic
baobab
trees
surrounding
her
homestead
in Zimbabwe to
add
variety
to
the
family’s
staple
corn
and
millet
diet.
The
50-year-old
Bhitoni
never
saw
them
as
a
source
of
cash,
until
now.

Climate
change-induced
droughts have
decimated
her
crops.
Meanwhile,
the
world
has
a
growing
appetite
for
the
fruit
of
the
drought-resistant
baobab
as
a
natural
health
food.

Bhitoni
wakes
before
dawn
to
go
foraging
for
baobab
fruit,
sometimes
walking
barefoot
though
hot,
thorny
landscapes
with
the
risk
of
wildlife
attacks.
She
gathers
sacks
of
the
hard-shelled
fruit
from
the
ancient
trees
and
sells
them
on
to
industrial
food
processors
or
individual
buyers
from
the
city.

The
baobab
trade,
which
took
root
in
her
area
in
2018,
would
previously
supplement
things
like
children’s
school
fees
and
clothing
for
locals
of
the
small
town
of
Kotwa
in
northeastern
Zimbabwe.
Now,
it’s
a
matter
of
survival
following the
latest
devastating
drought in
southern
Africa,
worsened
by
the
El
Niño
weather
phenomenon.

“We
are
only
able
to
buy
corn
and
salt,”
Bhitoni
said
after
a
long
day’s
harvest.
“Cooking
oil
is
a
luxury
because
the
money
is
simply
not
enough.
Sometimes
I
spend
a
month
without
buying
a
bar
of
soap.
I
can’t
even
talk
of
school
fees
or
children’s
clothes.”

The
global
market
for
baobab
products
has
spiked,
turning
rural
African
areas
with
an
abundance
of
the
trees
into
source
markets.
The
trees,
known
for
surviving
even
under
severe
conditions
like
drought
or
fire,
need
more
than
20
years
to
start
producing
fruit
and
aren’t
cultivated
but
foraged.

Tens
of
thousands
of
rural
people
like
Bhitoni
have
emerged
to
feed
the
need.
The
African
Baobab
Alliance,
with
members
across
the
continent’s
baobab
producing
countries,
projects
that
more
than
1
million
rural
African
women
could
reap
economic
benefits
from
the
fruit,
which
remains
fresh
for
long
periods
because
of
its
thick
shell.

The
alliance’s
members
train
locals
on
food
safety.
They
also
encourage
people
to
collect
the
fruit,
which
can
grow
to
8
inches
(20
centimeters)
wide
and
21
inches
(53
centimeters)
long,
from
the
ground
rather
than
the
hazardous
work
of
climbing
the
enormous,
thick-trunked
trees.
Many,
especially
men,
still
do,
however.

Native
to
the
African
continent,
the
baobab
is
known
as
the
“tree
of
life”
for
its
resilience
and
is
found
from
South
Africa
to
Kenya
to
Sudan
and
Senegal.
Zimbabwe
has
about
5
million
of
the
trees,
according
to
Zimtrade,
a
government
export
agency.

But
the
baobab’s
health
benefits
long
went
unnoticed
elsewhere.

Gus
Le
Breton,
a
pioneer
of
the
industry,
remembers
the
early
days.

“Baobab
did
not
develop
into
a
globally
traded
and
known
superfood
by
accident,”
said
Le
Breton,
recalling
years
of
regulatory,
safety
and
toxicology
testing
to
convince
authorities
in
the
European
Union
and
United
States
to
approve
it.

“It
was
ridiculous
because
the
baobab
fruit
has
been
consumed
in
Africa
safely
for
thousands
and
thousands
of
years,”
said
Le
Breton,
an
ethnobotanist
specializing
in
African
plants
used
for
food
and
medicine.

Studies
have
shown
that
the
baobab
fruit
has
several
health
benefits
as
an
antioxidant,
and
a
source
of
vitamin
C
and
essential
minerals
such
as
zinc,
potassium
and
magnesium.

The
U.S.
legalized
the
import
of
baobab
powder
as
a
food
and
beverage
ingredient
in
2009,
a
year
after
the
EU.
But
getting
foreign
taste
buds
to
accept
the
sharp,
tart-like
taste
took
repeated
trips
to
Western
and
Asian
countries.

“No
one
had
ever
heard
of
it,
they
didn’t
know
how
to
pronounce
its
name.
It
took
us
a
long
time,”
Le
Breton
said.
The
tree
is
pronounced
BAY-uh-bab.

Together
with
China,
the
U.S.
and
Europe
now
account
for
baobab
powder’s
biggest
markets.
The
Dutch
government’s
Center
for
the
Promotion
of
Imports
says
the
global
market
could
reach
$10
billion
by
2027.
Le
Breton
says
his
association
projects
a
200%
growth
in
global
demand
between
2025
and
2030,
and
is
also
looking
at
increasing
consumption
among
Africa’s
increasingly
health-conscious
urbanites.

Companies
such
as
Coca-Cola
and
Pepsi
have
opened
product
lines
promoting
baobab
ingredients.
In
Europe,
the
powder
is
hyped
by
some
as
having
“real
star
qualities”
and
is
used
to
flavor
beverages,
cereals,
yogurt,
snack
bars
and
other
items.

A
packet
of
a
kilogram
(2.2
pound)
of
baobab
powder
sells
for
around
27
euros
(about
$30)
in
Germany.
In
the
United
Kingdom,
a
100-milliliter
(3.38-ounce)
bottle
of
baobab
beauty
oil
can
fetch
25
pounds
(about
$33).

The
growing
industry
is
on
display
at
a
processing
plant
in
Zimbabwe,
where
baobab
pulp
is
bagged
separately
from
the
seeds.
Each
bag
has
a
tag
tracing
it
to
the
harvester
who
sold
it.
Outside
the
factory,
the
hard
shells
are
turned
into
biochar,
an
ash
given
to
farmers
for
free
to
make
organic
compost.

Harvesters
like
Bhitoni
say
they
can
only
dream
of
affording
the
commercial
products
the
fruit
becomes.
She
earns
17
cents
for
every
kilogram
of
the
fruit
and
she
can
spend
up
to
eight
hours
a
day
walking
through
the
sunbaked
savanna.
She
has
exhausted
the
trees
nearby.

“The
fruit
is
in
demand,
but
the
trees
did
not
produce
much
this
year,
so
sometimes
I
return
without
filling
up
a
single
sack,”
Bhitoni
said.
“I
need
five
sacks
to
get
enough
money
to
buy
a
10-kilogram
(22-pound)
packet
of
cornmeal.”

Some
individual
buyers
who
feed
a
growing
market
for
the
powder
in
Zimbabwe’s
urban
areas
prey
on
residents’
drought-induced
hunger,
offering
cornmeal
in
exchange
for
seven
20-liter
(around
4-gallon)
buckets
of
cracked
fruit,
she
said.

“People
have
no
choice
because
they
have
nothing,”
said
Kingstone
Shero,
the
local
councilor.
“The
buyers
are
imposing
prices
on
us
and
we
don’t
have
the
capacity
to
resist
because
of
hunger.”

Le
Breton
sees
better
prices
ahead
as
the
market
expands.

“I
think
that
the
market
has
grown
significantly,
(but)
I
don’t
think
it
has
grown
exponentially.
It’s
been
fairly
steady
growth,”
he
said.
“I
believe
at
some
point
that
it
will
increase
in
value
as
well.
And
at
that
point,
then
I
think
that
the
harvesters
will
really
start
to
be
earning
some
serious
income
from
the
harvesting
and
sale
of
this
really
truly
remarkable
fruit.”.

Zimtrade,
the
government
export
agency,
has
lamented
the
low
prices
paid
to
baobab
pickers
and
says
it’s
looking
at
partnering
with
rural
women
to
set
up
processing
plants.

The
difficult
situation
is
likely
to
continue
due
to
a
lack
of
negotiating
power
by
fruit
pickers,
some
of
them
children,
said
Prosper
Chitambara,
a
development
economist
based
in
Zimbabwe’s
capital,
Harare.

On
a
recent
day,
Bhitoni
walked
from
one
baobab
tree
to
the
next.
She
carefully
examined
each
fruit
before
leaving
the
smaller
ones
for
wild
animals
such
as
baboons
and
elephants
to
eat
—
an
age-old
tradition.

“It
is
tough
work,
but
the
buyers
don’t
even
understand
this
when
we
ask
them
to
increase
prices,”
she
said.

Post
published
in:

Featured