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As the 2020 election marches from ballot boxes to FedSoc robing rooms around the countries, scores of non-lawyer Americans are getting a crash course in civil procedure. Or whatever remains of civil procedure now that the Supreme Court has signaled a willingness to blow up state supreme court opinions based on purely state constitutional claims. It might just be anarchy dressed in legalese at this point.

But I’ll bet you never thought you’d have to explain the doctrine of laches to your neighbors before this election was over.

Republicans are trying to convince Judge Andrew Hanen to toss approximately 127K ballots cast in Houston despite the Texas supreme court already definitively telling the Republicans to go Jeffrey Toobin themselves. That should be the end of this inquiry, but it’s 2020 and Leonard Leo didn’t spend all that money buying the federal judiciary for nothing. So the GOP is asking Judge Hanen — one of the most stridently right-wing and kind of bonkers judges in the federal system — to take the U.S. Supreme Court’s invitation and trample state courts for the sake of the election.

But at the argument, Judge Hanen seems less than convinced.

Equity? What’s going on here?

Laches, that concept you learned as a 1L and promptly forgot because it never made a mark on your life ever again, may be about to have a moment. If you went into transactional work and fully exorcised litigation from your brain, it’s the “unreasonable delay in making an assertion or claim.” Judge Hanen hasn’t ruled or anything, but these questions augur well for a legal concept deep cut.

Some Above the Law Twitter team-up action:

I certainly didn’t see laches coming when 2020 began. I’m still hoping to get a clean hands doctrine shout out before the election week is over.

But enough about Toobin.

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Back in 2017, we learned of a teenage wunderkind who would be attending law school at the tender age of 18. He’d dreamed of going to law school since he was just 10 years old, and he had political aspirations for the presidency after a career in corporate law. As it turns out, this teenager got his foot in the door of the political realm sooner than he ever could have imagined. His name is Aaron Parnas, and his surname sounds familiar because he’s the son of Lev Parnas, one of Rudy Giuliani’s associates who was involved in the Trump-Ukraine scandal that ultimately led to the president’s impeachment.

The younger Parnas, a 2020 graduate of George Washington University Law School who recently took the bar exam, now has a tell-all book for sale about what he witnessed, called “TRUMP F1RST: How the President and his associates turned their backs on me and my family.” In the book, Parnas details almost three years of his experiences and the backchannel deals that led to his father’s arrest, writing that he “saw a different side of President Donald Trump and his administration—one scarier than the average person could imagine.”

Parnas sat down for an interview with POLITICO, where he spoke about his father’s work with Giuliani, and it sounds like there was a fair amount of bumbling going on.

Despite their attempts to operate secretly, the group was highly indiscrete: In Chapter 10, Parnas describes listening in on a phone call Toensing and diGenova had with Attorney General William Barr about the couple’s client, Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash. Barr was put on speakerphone without his knowledge, Parnas writes.

“It was weird how comfortable they were with me being at these meetings,” Parnas said in the interview. “I didn’t have any foreign policy or government experience. I was like a fly on the wall.” He writes that “the first shadow diplomacy campaign to assist the Trump presidency that my father was part of” dated all the way back to Trump’s inauguration, when he says Lev participated in a number of high-level meetings with individuals close to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as they attempted to forge a relationship with the new administration.

Parnas’s father is still embroiled in a legal battle in the wake of his arrest, and this book contains some money quotes that could very well be used in his defense. Take this one, for example (which smacks of what Michael Cohen once said of Trump):

It was clear to me that everything the Mayor and my father did through the summer months of 2019 related to Ukraine and the Bidens was done at the direction and with the consent of President Trump.

Parnas — who went from being a Trump supporter in 2016 to being a Biden voter in 2020 — says he was inspired to write this book for the benefit of young Republicans and young people in general who might not vote in the upcoming election. “I thought if they were able to see what I saw — maybe it would help them make a decision.”

The son of Lev Parnas offers one more Trump tell-all [POLITICO]

Earlier: This Teenager Is About To Take The Law School World By Storm

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

2.         Highlights
Addressing journalists during a post-cabinet briefing on 27 October, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Hon. Monica Mutsvangwa advised that the country would open its borders with neighbouring countries in a phased manner. First the borders will open to private vehicles and pedestrian traffic by the 1^st of December. Border operating hours will be between 6 am to 6pm. Curfew hours will be extended to 2200hrs. Minister Mutsvangwa also warned of the possibility of a second wave of outbreaks since community members believe that COVID-19 is weak in warm temperatures.The Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation, Tino Machakaire advised that the COVID-19 relief fund is purely a government programme which is non- partisan. The funds are open to all youthful artists or athletes whose source of income was affected by the lockdown period which was aimed at curbing the spread of the disease. Deputy Minister Machakaire further raised concern over the low uptake of the COVID-19 relief fund.Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi advised that the indefinite suspension of by-elections, which were scheduled for December 5, was constitutional because it was taken in terms of the law and according to applicable health environment prevailing in the country. Minister Ziyambi said it was important to note that Zimbabwe was still under COVID-19 restrictions such as night curfew and limiting numbers at gatherings. He said the government had judiciously taken note that by-elections would endanger the lives of people given the prevailing environment. However, the ruling ZANU-PF and opposition MDC Alliance appear to be going ahead with preparations for by-elections despite the recent poll ban imposed by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga in his capacity as the Minister of Health.Admire Chisi of Zimre Park was arrested after he was discovered to have posed as a medical doctor at Parirenyatwa Hospital for seven months. The press statement reports that this was discovered on 21 October 2020 when Casualty Staff members at the hospital doubted his medical proficiency and made some inquiries.  Chisi is alleged to have taken advantage of the national lockdown and collective job action by health practitioners which has seen low staff turnout at public hospitals.Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe has promised an urgent review of how government will deal with expired learners’ provisional licences.  This was after the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) turned away scores of learner drivers whose provisional licences expired during the COVID-19 lockdown. The VID re-opened on 19 October for the first time since March, when the government announced a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. Through Statutory Instrument 144 of 2020, the government extended by six months from March 30 the validity of certain documents including learner’s licences, defensive driving certificates and public service vehicle driver retests. The statutory instrument states: “If the period of validity of a learner’s licence expires after the 30th March 2020, its validity shall be automatically extended from the date of expiry to a date ending 180 days thereafter, or to the date when the national lockdown ends, whichever is the earlier date.  The period of extension excludes those whose provisional licences expired between the 1^st and the 19^th of October 2020.

The Passenger Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) has condemned the state of most conventional buses operating under the ZUPCO franchise, describing them as unroadworthy and death traps to the commuting public. At the height of escalating private commuter omnibus fares, ZUPCO integrated old conventional buses to operate as urban public transporters after private operators were banned by the government following the COVID-19 pandemic. PAZ has blamed the ageing ZUPCO fleet and poor maintenance for the majority of accidents recorded in most cities across the country.
The Cross Border and Domestic Traders Association has alleged that informal traders are bearing the brunt of the current nationwide lockdown. According to Anne Watyoka, convenor of the informal traders stated that their membership cannot move freely under the current lockdown conditions, especially those who rely on cross border buying and selling. Only air transportation is currently available.  She further added that the current COVID-19 test certificates were beyond the reach of many which was further worsening the situation in the sector. Currently, a PCR test in Zimbabwe costs USD60 which is more than the cost of a bus ticket to Johannesburg from Harare.

The government
increased the COVID-19 cash transfers to vulnerable households to ZWL1,000 (USD12) per month from a paltry ZWL300 (USD3,60). Government has further mulled its intention to extend the intervention beyond December as indications are that the pandemic will stretch over into the coming year. Initially, government had pegged the COVID-19 cash transfers at ZWL180 (USD2) for the period between March and December.

3.         Partisan Distribution of food
It has been alleged that some ZANU-PF supporters vying to be chairpersons in the party’s district coordinating committees are reportedly diverting government food aid meant for vulnerable families and selectively donating it to ZANU-PF supporters ahead of the elections. Reports have been received from Hurungwe, Kariba, Chegutu, and Kadoma.

4.         Attack on journalists
The Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) on 29 October 2020 in Harare arrested journalists Takunda Mandura of OpenParly, Munashe Chokodza, of 263Chat, and Herald reporter, Blessing Chidhakwa, together with student journalist, Rukudzo Musari. The arrested journalists were covering a Harare City Council meeting when officers from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) arrested them. ZACC was targeting Harare City Council Councillors on allegations of corruption. The journalists were later released without charge however, they were detained for more than 3 hours.

5.         Summary of Violations
The table below summarises COVID-19 related human rights violations documented by the Forum Secretariat and Forum Members from 30 March to 29 October 2020.

Nature of Violation	Number of Victims	Location
Assaults and Torture including dog bites	280	Harare, Zvishavane, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Wedza, Chinhoyi, Zaka, Gweru, Chitungwiza, Bindura, Nembudziya, Chiredzi, Marondera, Mutoko, Chivi, Bikita, Zvishavane, Mvurwi, Mutare, Marondera, Beitbridge, Domboshava, Wengezi , Binga, Mt Darwin
Attack on Journalists	20	Mutare, Gweru, Chinhoyi, Harare, Chiredzi, Masvingo, Beitbridge, Bulawayo
Arrests	529	Masvingo, Gokwe, Gweru, Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Hwange, Harare, Magunje, Lupane, Norton, Bikita, Mutasa, Chitungwiza, Nkayi, Makoni, Chipinge, Beitbridge, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Mwenezi, Guruve, Hwange, Murwi, Kwekwe, Chinhoyi, Chiredzi
Abductions	12	Chitungwiza, Bulawayo, Harare, Gweru, Hopley
Gunshots	2	Chitungwiza, Bulawayo
Extra-judicial Killing	1	Hurungwe
Raids	8	Chitungwiza, Bulawayo, Harare, Mkoba Gweru
Displacement	57	Banket, Harare
Harassment, threat, intimidation	2	Harare
Partisan Distribution of food	4	Hurungwe, Kariba, Chegutu, and Kadoma

6.0 Conclusion
The Forum remains extremely concerned that at the state of transportation in the country and calls upon the responsible authorities to review the restrictive measures imposed on private combis and bus operators.   This will relieve transport problems for people who need to travel to and from work and will also ensure that private transport operators resume their business which they depend on for their livelihoods.
The Forum notes with concern the incident of an unqualified individual posing as a doctor at Parirenyatwa Hospital. This is a very worrying development that should be thoroughly investigated. The Forum calls upon the police to investigate this issue and ensure that Mr Admire Chisi is held accountable for his actions. It is also necessary for the hospital to carry out an investigation into how Mr Admire Chisi got to be employed at the hospital without the requisite qualifications and the necessary remedial action must be taken. It is key for the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals to take full responsibility for this regrettable incident which put the lives of patients in danger and ensure that the necessary protocols are put in place to prevent such incidents in the future.
Despite Zimbabwe having opened airports for local, regional and international travel, borders still remain closed. The Forum therefore recommends that the government urgently work towards opening borders given that the majority of informal traders (cross border traders) have not been productive for over 213 days now.

NGUNDU- Police have begun clamping down on s-x workers plying their trade along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway,truck driver’s have also been arrested for encouraging the behaviour.
In recent weeks numerous truck driver’s have reported theft from their trucks after using the services of the women, young girls as young as 16 have also been arrested.

BULAWAYO- The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) have demanded that Shona’s who hold high positions in Matabeleland must be removed and those positions are filled by Ndebele’s.
The MRP alongside other Pro-Mthwakazi groups continue to call for a seperate state.

As of 1 November the country has recorded 8374 Covid 19 cases and 243 deaths.

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eSWATINI- Civic groups across the Kingdom are calling for industrial action against brutality against citizen’s who oppose the Monarchy ,opposition party leader’s have been arrested.

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EUROPE

UNITED KINGDOM- PrimeMinister Boris Johnson has announced that the UK has reverted to lockdown as the number of Covid 19 infections rise

FRANCE- Countless migrants have been detained by French police,authorities claim the migrants had not complied with lockdown regulations.

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THE OBSERVER
[11/2, 09:13] ONE NATION🇿🇦🇿🇲🇿🇼: [11/2, 07:00] +263 73 304 5441: Zimbabwe Worried About Islamist Insurgency In Mozambique

Zimbabwe Worried About Islamist Insurgency In Mozambique

Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said that Zimbabwe is worried and closely monitoring the armed conflict in Mozambique where an Islamic insurgency has caused the deaths of more than 2 000 people and displaced over 300 000 people since 2017.

The extremist militant groups operating in Mozambique’s oil-rich Cabo Delgado Province have triggered panic in neighbouring countries, Zimbabwe included.

Speaking to Manica Post on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) strategic planning Workshop in Nyanga on Wednesday, Muchinguri-Kashiri said:

We are really worried about the situation prevailing in Mozambique, particularly in the Cabo Delgado region.

The situation is no longer affecting Mozambique only. We recently heard that they moved 50km into Tanzania and killed a lot of people there.

It means there is a provocation on another SADC country. That is worrisome to Zimbabwe since Mozambique is our lifeline. lt is a worry for us since they (the militant groups) are moving inland.

Mozambique is now approaching countries like the United States of America and France for assistance. We do not know how far they have gone in that direction.

Muchinguri-Kashiri, however, said Zimbabwe will not intervene in the Mozambican conflict unilaterally.

She said, whatever happens, the region – through the Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security – must come up with strategies so that decisions are made at that level.

Mozambique shares borders with Malawi, South Africa, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

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Rushwaya told police, upon her arrest at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Monday, that she was given four gold bars by a person she identified as Ali.

Mohammed has denied ownership of the gold, saying his operations are legitimate. The businessman, who runs car import firm Ali Japan 786 and is a holder of a gold trading permit, said he was at home playing with his children when Rushwaya was arrested.

However, police proceeded to arrest him on the strength of Rushwaya’s allegations.

Rushwaya’s associate, Gift Karanda, who was also arrested, implicated First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and her twin son, Collins as the owners of the gold.

The allegations against the First Lady were repeated by prosecutors in court on Friday.

Prosecutors told the court that on discovering that Rushwaya had been intercepted, Karanda came and warned immigration and police officers that the gold recovered from Rushwaya belonged to the First Lady and her son Collins.

Under increasing public pressure from the scandal which is entering its second week, Mrs Mnangagwa issued a statement Sunday demanding the police issue a statement absolving her and her son of any wrongdoing.

“I have no dealings nor involvement with Miss Henrietta Rushwaya of any illegal kind. I am challenging the Police through their relevant office to issue a statement,” she said.

“…it pains me that my son who is hard working and an obedient son, is being attacked for no reason other than being a member of the first family.”

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi quickly obliged and issued a statement, saying investigations had found the allegations by Karanda implicating Mrs Mnangagwa and her son were false.

“Comprehensive investigations have proved that the statement by Gift Karanda was false and malicious,” the statement read.

Police did not disclose the nature of those investigations.

The case has come under intense public scrutiny, with police accused of protecting Mrs Mnangagwa.

Exiled former Higher Education deputy minister Dr Godfrey Gandawa waded in Wednesday evening, accusing police of double standards in their handling of the case.

“By exonerating Auxilia Mnangagwa, dismissing the allegations by Gift Karanda that she was the owner of 6kgs of gold that was in Rushwaya’s possession, the police have exposed the double standards that characterise our law enforcement,” Gandawa said in a series of tweets.

“The police quickly arrested Ali Mohammed, on the strength of allegations by Rushwaya, yet for some unexplained reason, the allegations against the First Lady are being dismissed. Why would the police treat two citizens differently, when the circumstances are identical?

“Auxilia Mnangagwa does not enjoy immunity. If it is police standard to investigate before arresting, that should be extended to all citizens. Ali was arrested immediately after Rushwaya named him. If that too is police standard, then the same should be extended to Auxilia.”

Central Intelligence operatives Stephen Tserayi and Rafios Mufandauya, who are jointly charged in the matter, faced accusations of criminally abusing their offices as security agents by helping Rushwaya evade security checks by taking her through the diplomatic bay and switching off CCTV cameras, among other actions.

Tserayi is part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s security detail and was suspended after his involvement in the scandal spilled into the public domain.

“On discovering that the three had been intercepted, accused four (Karanda) came and advised immigration and police officers that the gold recovered from Henrietta Rushway

Post published in: Featured

In a statement, ZRP spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of Gift Karanda who made claims that First Lady and her son were owners of the busted yellow metal that was found in Henrietta Rushwaya’s possession.

Nyathi said “Comprehensive investigations have proved that the statement by Karanda was false and malicious with the intent to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.”

Karanda is facing charges of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, dealing in and possession of gold without being a holder of a licence or permit and smuggling.
Karanda indicated that there was no case as the gold belonged to the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and her son Collins Mnangagwa.

Karanda was arrested with five others who include Ali Mohamad, Stephen Chenjerai Tserayi, Raphios Mufandauya, Superintendent Shoko and Det. Chief Inspector Chimhungu.
Meanwhile, the First lady has distanced herself from Henrietta Rushwaya saying she is a strong advocate for transparency.

“I have no dealings nor involvement with Miss Henrietta Rushwaya of any illegal kind. I am challenging the Police through their relevant office to issue a statement.

“I am a strong advocate for transparency and honesty and any continued silence by the police can be misconstrued as a cover-up. If there is any incriminating evidence against me I challenge the police to present it to the nation without fear or favour. If there be none I also challenge the police to say so,” she said.

 President Emmerson Mnangagwa with his wife Auxillia addressing the people of Zimbabwe at the Zanu-Pf headquarters on November 22, 2017 in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Felix Dlangamandla)

Her husband, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has repeatedly called for a zero-tolerance to corruption that he claimed has negatively impacted on the country’s economy.

The First Lady’s involvement in the shady deal came to light during court proceedings on Friday when a ruling Zanu PF top official Henrietta Rushwaya, who is also president of the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, and her accomplices, were arraigned before a Harare magistrate on charges of smuggling 6 kilograms of gold worth US$330,000. Rushwaya was arrested  on Monday at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport when she was about to leave the country for Dubai, after she failed to produce an export permit for the gold that was discovered in her hand luggage.

Two of Rushwaya’s accomplices are President Mnangagwa’s security aides who stand accused of attempting to facilitate Rushwaya’s exit at the airport before she was arrested by alert security details. Two other police officers were also arraigned for allegedly criminally abusing their offices after they allegedly tampered with court papers with a view to exonerate one of Rushwaya’s accomplices, businessman Ali Mohamad who reportedly runs some of the First Lady’s businesses.

Upon her arrest, Rushwaya allegedly implicated Mohamad, who also runs a car sale business under a company called Ali Japan 786. The prosecution, led by prosecutor Garudzo Ziyaduma, told the court that Rushwaya claimed that she had been given the gold by Mohamad for onward delivery to his Dubai-based sister company.

The prosecution alleged that Rushwaya and Mohamad hatched a plan to smuggle the gold to Dubai on the pretext that the gold bars were going to be delivered to Mohamad’s other company based in Dubai, adding that Rushwaya had no license to export gold at the time of her arrest.

Meanwhile, the court heard that one of Rushwaya’s accomplices, Gift Karanda, linked First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to the ownership of the minerals.

“On discovering that the three had been intercepted, accused 4 (Gift Karanda) came and advised immigration and police officers that the gold recovered from Henrietta Beatrice Rushwaya belonged to the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. He further stated that Collins Mnangagwa, son to the First Lady, was the person who was supposed to have taken the gold for export to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This accused (4) said well-knowing that it was not true but only wanted to instill fear and facilitate safe removal of the gold from Zimbabwe to Dubai,” said Ziyaduma.

(It appears here that the prosecutor is attempting to exonerate the First Lady in his papers by opining that the accused no 4 was lying knowingly.)

During the proceedings, Mohamad’s attorney, Tinashe Tanyanyiwa, challenged the placement of his client on remand saying his company had a legitimate gold buying permit while the rest of the accused persons did not object to their placement on remand. Bail hearing is expected to continue on Monday.

President Mnangagwa’s family has been linked to such scandals. The first family was recently linked to a US$60 million scandal involving the purchase of Covid-19 supplies that resulted in Mnangagwa dismissing his health minister Obadiah Moyo.

Clifford Hlatshwayo, a spokesperson of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC), said while President Mnangagwa has used every available opportunity to denounce corruption, he and his party were the “archbishops of corruption.” Said Hlatshwayo:

“Mnangagwa and Zanu PF are the archbishops of corruption and violence; they rigged their way into power to loot, to cause harm to the ordinary and bleed the nation.”

The latest exposure comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe told reporters a fortnight ago that the southern African nation was losing over US$100 million per month due to illicit financial flows in the gold sector alone.

An independent economist, Masimba John Manyanya, who once worked with Zimbabwe’s finance ministry said Zimbabwe’s economy was in the wrong hands.

“We can’t blame sanctions when the biggest sanction we have is corruption by those in power. Zimbabwe is losing over a billon US dollars every month due to these illicit financial flows if we are to go by what the government is saying. Former President Mugabe said that US$15 billion from diamond proceeds cannot be accounted for up to this da,y yet we want to blame sanctions for economic problems of our own making,” said Manyanya.

This is not the first time the First Lady in Zimbabwe is linked to deals involving minerals. Auxillia Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Grace Mugabe scandalised the country when she ordered a US$1.4 million diamond ring from Dubai.

Mnangagwa came to power through a military coup in November 2017 and promised a raft of reforms, including an end to corruption, but his critics say his administration has been the worst since independence from Britain in 1980.

There was no immediate response to our attempts to get a comment from the First Lady. This story will be updated if, and when, a response arrives.DM

A thriving black market there sells a fake proof of immunization for between US$ 15–20, says Dr Integrity Mchechesi, who works with a technology firm to combat such forgery.

Counterfeit travel vaccination certificates can put lives at risk and greatly jeopardize disease control. “We estimate that around 80% of yellow fever travel cards in Zimbabwe are counterfeit,” says Dr Mchechesi, a co-founder and head of innovation at Vaxiglobal, a travel health consultancy.

Vaxiglobal is working with laboratories in Zimbabwe and Zambia, airlines and technology companies to build up a safe and approved digital verification system for travellers’ immunization.

Built on blockchain technology, a decentralized online record keeping system, the database cannot be tampered with.

“It’s often impossible for busy border authorities to verify the names of doctors, and the supposed location where vaccinations occurred, by phone or email,” says Dr Mchechesi, also a senior resident medical officer at the Parirenyatwa Central hospital in Harare.

“After vaccination, the laboratories create a digital record in our system. The traveller gets a QR code on a mobile app or on paper, which is instantly verified by the border authorities, who can see where they got the vaccine and who gave it to them, as well as the batch number of the vaccine, which protects the authenticity of each and every vaccine.”

According Dr Mchechesi, many vaccines are left unused in Zimbabwe, which leads manufacturers to push up the price of production. By reducing the number of shelved vaccines, the initiative aims, ultimately, to help bring the price of vaccines down.

The digital verification system went live in early 2020, and in April the team worked with laboratories across Zimbabwe to use the system for COVID-19 certification. More than 1500 certificates have since been verified, and seven airlines are now using the system at Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare. As more of Zimbabwe’s ports reopen, the team aims to expand the system under the guidance of the Ministry of Health.

“We recently received approval for the Government of Zimbabwe, and it’s a huge deal now as the borders opened between many African countries,” says Dr Mchechesi.

“All travellers need up-to-date immunization verification and our system should help cut transmission rates across borders.”

The Vaxiglobal team is in talks with South Africa’s government for a potential launch in that country and even an eventual roll-out across the 15-Members States of the Southern African Development Community.

The team is working with biometric data companies to make verification even simpler, through a cloud-based biometric data system that does not even need QR codes.

Vaxiglobal have worked with World Health Organization’s Africa Innovation Team to shape, develop and scale the initiative since 2018. “It has been incredibly fascinating to see Vaxiglobal’s evolving business model to focus on maximising health impact for the African population,” says Dr Moredreck Chibi, Regional Innovation Adviser for WHO Africa region.

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HARARE, Zimbabwe

An unprecedented rush of clearing lands from trees to erect concrete jungles is leading to scarcity of water and frequent droughts in landlocked Zimbabwe.

Experts believe that due to illegal construction over two million residents of capital Harare, do not have now access to running water.

The southern African country, known for its landscape and diverse wildlife, reserves, and safari is being increasingly denuded from its green cover as vast tracts of lands are being cleared to build housing projects.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Happison Chikova, climate change activist said the more such illegal housing projects would mean more forests getting axed.

“As more land is taken over illegally by land barons, it may mean more homes in towns and cities, but will also mean less forest cover, thus poor rainfall patterns in the country,” he said.

The environmentalist described the illegal construction of urban homes as a significant cause of climate change in the country.

He said even when these land sharks are arrested, they get away due to their connections in the power corridors.

Joseph Tasosa who heads the Zimbabwe National Environmental Trust said the country is already facing less food production, resulting in hunger due to groundwater depletion, caused by massive unplanned constructions.

“Remember the people involved in illegal construction of homes on undesignated places in towns and cities are linked to powerful politicians. So even if arrests of such people are made, that amounts to very little effect as the culprits are set free and they swiftly revert to their old ways of causing harm on urban land,” said Pritchard Chomurwi, another climate change activist based in Harare.

Chomurwi said these illegal activities were not only harming the land but are contributing to disturbing the water table and rainfall patterns.

Frequent droughts

Atwel Chivata, who has studied meteorology at the University of Zimbabwe, said frequent droughts are very much linked to these construction activities.

“When trees are carelessly cut down, land pieces dug up with no care, wells dug up as well, it means there will be less condensation in the atmosphere and therefore less formation of rain clouds,” he told Anadolu Agency.

He said when water scarcity has become a constant phenomenon for urban dwellers, there is no end to this illegal construction.

According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), approximately 120, 000 homes have been constructed on the undesignated land across Zimbabwe. The capital Harare, which is worst hit 60, 000 such homes constructed illegally, most of which are mere slums occupied by poverty-stricken squatters.

Authorities admit that as many as 10 cities across the country are facing severe environmental issues.

“You would realize that no town or any city in Zimbabwe can claim to be free from climate change impacts. The absence of sustainable water supply testifies how climate change has hit our towns and cities,” a top government official working in the Ministry of Local government here, told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, as she was unauthorized to speak to the media.

Little space for breathing and farming

Urban farmer Mendisi Chioko, 47, a resident of Harare’s Mabvuku high-density suburb, said these housing projects are leaving little space for breathing.

“At every turn, homes are emerging, at every turn there is construction work going on, leaving very limited breathing space for the land itself, meaning some of us relying on farming on small pieces of land have to bear the consequences as groundwater is running out, which translates to fewer rains,” he said.

Like Chioko, 50% population of Harare does not get a constant water supply, due to the worsening impact of climate change enforced by land barons.

Now, even as cities like Harare bear the brunt of climate change local authorities are struggling to make water available to the population.

“We make sure there are rotational water supplies in five towns despite the challenges we face owing to climate change,” said Michael Chideme, corporate communications manager of Harare.