By Everson Mushava

UNITED States (US) ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, has dismissed government claims that Western sanctions were behind the country’s economic meltdown, saying the haemorrhage was being fuelled by high-profile corruption, economic mismanagement, policy inconsistency and failure to respect human rights, among other vices.

In an opinion piece exclusively written for NewsDay, Nichols said those vices were holding the country back.His statement comes as government has declared tomorrow a public holiday to campaign for the unconditional lifting of the sanctions.

Government claims sanctions were blocking lines of credit and trade.Sadc countries have also pledged to observe the day in solidarity with Harare to pressure the European Union and US to lift the sanctions which were imposed following gross human rights abuses and electoral fraud during the late former President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

The US government in March this year extended the sanctions by a year, saying they would only be lifted after President Emmerson Mnangagwa has honoured his reform pledge.

“Blaming sanctions is a convenient scapegoat to distract the public from the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic challenges — corruption, economic mismanagement, and failure to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law,” Nichols said.

“What then is holding Zimbabwe back? It’s not sanctions. There are only 141 Zimbabwean people and companies on the US sanctions list. That’s right, just 141, in a country of 16 million. They are on the list for good reason.”

He added: “There is no US trade embargo on Zimbabwe. American companies are interested in investing in Zimbabwe, but are deterred by the massive levels of corruption, economic uncertainty, and weak rule of law. So, investors turn to other promising opportunities in the region and wait for the country to embrace the political and economic reforms that would make it a more attractive destination.”

Nichols said the greatest sanctions on Zimbabwe were the limitations the country was imposing on itself.Nichols said Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 175 nations on Transparency International’s corruption list.

The US envoy chronicled a lot of corrupt activities by government fatcats, including the missing US$2,8 million earmarked for the Command Agriculture programme, and how American companies were unceremoniously elbowed out of the Dema Power project after winning the tender in 2016, and replaced by Sakunda Holdings.

He also cited scandals at the Zimbabwe National Road Authority and Zesa Holdings, where millions of dollars could not be accounted for.

“Corruption is at the heart of why Zimbabweans are suffering through prolonged power outages. It’s not sanctions. It’s a betrayal of the public trust,” Nichols charged.

He declared that Zimbabwe loses more than US$1 billion per year to corruption, which is a huge figure considering that the country’s entire economy is just around US$26 billion.
He said if government was serious about fighting corruption, the country’s laws should be applied evenly and enforced.

If the government managed to do that, then State coffers would be full and the economy humming, he further averred.The US envoy said Mnangagwa’s administration must also resolve several reports of abductions and human rights violations recorded in the past few months.

Meanwhile, NewsDay yesterday gathered that government had extended a begging bowl to the corporate sector and well-wishers to fund its ambitious anti-sanctions march pencilled for tomorrow, and commandeered all students not sitting for public examinations and staff to organise own transport to the venues.

Teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that government had ordered all pupils not writing public examinations to attend the national and provincial anti-sanctions marches without fail.

Zanu PF structures, meanwhile, have been moving around the country soliciting for financial support to fund the campaign which is expected to gobble at least $4 million.

In an undated letter signed by one T Beto on behalf of Chipinge State Occasions Committee, members of the Chipinge Dairy Farmers Association were asked to provide diesel to transport people to Chipinge for the march, while several provinces, including Harare, have received similar requests.

“Chipinge district has taken a stance to support the solidarity march whose main event will be in Harare, with a similar one being held in Chipinge,” part of the letter on a Local Government ministry letterhead read.

“In view of the above, we have been assigned as the district fundraising committee subcommittee to mobilise diesel for vehicles to ferry members of Chipinge community to the historical event.”

The letter added: “We thus unite to request for your support in providing the committee with diesel to fuel vehicles that will transport people to the event.”

In Harare, Primary and Secondary Education secretary Tumisang Thabela wrote to provincial education director Christopher Kateera on October 15, advising that government had requested the release of about 2 304 students and teachers for mass display performances at the main anti-sanctions march.

“You are requested to ensure availability of the learners and their teachers for this important government event without disrupting examinations that are already under way.”

Teachers’ unions also leaked a WhatsApp message that was also ordering schools to release general hand staff for the anti-sanctions march, with the respective schools expected to foot their transport and food bills.

Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi yesterday said teachers were civil servants and obliged to support government work.

“The anti-sanction is a State event and Public Service has the right to compel teachers (to attend). It is not a partisan event, it is a national event,”Mutodi said.

“It is ignorance or the lack of understanding by those teachers and I doubt their credentials. These are State events and they are required to participate.

“Teachers have been advocating for the higher salaries and government has not been able to pay them because of those sanctions.”

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

THE Zimbabwe Herd Book (ZHB) national breed sale 2019 registered a growth, with total of 205 breeding animals sold, the highest number since 2012, mainly due to the increased number of heifers.

In its latest report, ZHB indicated that the 2019 national breed sales were by all accounts a tremendous success.

A total of 205 breeding animals were sold, including three boer goat bucks, 97 bulls and 105 heifers.

“The average prices were significantly higher than last year, reflecting devaluation of the local currency,” ZHB said.

The top price was for a Ruvale Brahman bull bred by the Pilossof family, which sold for a whopping $172 000, followed by $75 000 for another Brahman bull, again bred by the Pilossofs.

The third highest price of $60 000 was paid for a red Brahman bull bred by a Mr Sibanda, Little Beatrice Brahman Stud.

Bidding for heifers was firm, ZHB noted.

Remarkably, average prices in real terms also remained firm at US$3 226 for bulls and US$1 494 for heifers, using exchange rates of 1,5; 2,2 and 10:1 for 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively despite the prevailing macro-economic conditions and the severe drought.

Bulls from six beef breeds were on offer and Simmental had the highest average price per bull ($35 143) followed by Brahman ($33 952) and Beefmaster ($32 333).

ZHB noted that most of the heifers on offer were Brahman which averaged $14 018 while the four Boran heifers sold for an average of $28 000.

Last year, Zimbabwe’s annual premier breeding livestock auction saw the price for the most expensive beast in the bulls category vault 195% to US$24 000 up from the US$8 400 recorded at 2017’s edition.

ZHB was established through an Act of Parliament in 1980 to maintain the registry for all stud breeders, who produce pure genetic animals, by collecting all requisite information, performance figures and making sure rules and regulations of respective breed societies are respected and adhered to.

business reporter

Although the commodity has been in short supply, government is cashing in on increased tax on petroleum products.

Excise duty, most of it from fuel sales, was the biggest contributor to government’s third quarter revenue haul.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s (Zimra) gross collections for the third quarter came in at $6,59 billion, against the revised target of $6 billion, thanks in no small part to inflation.

Excise duty collections were $1, 013 billion in the quarter, topping value-added tax on local sales, which came in at $1,005 billion. The jump in excise duty revenue follows a change in tax calculation, effected in August 2019.

Excise duty is now calculated using rates of 40% and 45% for diesel and petrol, respectively, from $0,90 and $1,15 per litre, previously.

Petrol imports decreased by 18,24% from 130,49 million litres in the third quarter of 2018 to 106,66 million litres in the third quarter of 2019.

Diesel imports marginally increased by 0,68% from 265,46 million during the same period in 2018 to 267,26 million in the third quarter of 2019.

The much-debated 2% tax on electronic transactions, introduced in October 2018, brought in $661 million in the third quarter, nearly 5% off the set target of $692 million.

Cumulatively, revenue for the nine months to September was $11,48 billion, against a target of $10,52 billion. The revised net revenue target for the full year is now $18,6 billion. — newZWire

BY RONALD MAGWETA

THE socio-economic hardships afflicting many ordinary people in the country have not escaped the artistic lens of hip hop star Noble Stylz, who has released a metaphor-laden track — Chiedza — whose socio-political connotations speak to the situation obtaining in the country.

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style, Noble Stylz said the song was meant to reflect how the citizenry’s hopes had been dashed by the discouraging turn of events in the economy despite government’s assurances of progress under Finance minister Mthuli Ncube’s “austerity for prosperity” measures.

“Chiedza is a reflection of a nation’s hopes in an inauspicious environment. It is the proverbial ever-eluding silver lining. It highlights being stuck between a rock and a hard place metaphor in real life,” the musician said.

Also known as Papa in music circles, Noble Stylz — real name Prince Butawo — is known for producing hard-hitting songs with political connotations meant to keep the government on its toes.

Produced by Quazor of Yung Gamez Entertainment, the song is laden with deep wordplay and metaphors as it plays on the image of light (Chiedza), to speak to the social complications that the majority of Zimbabweans have been forced to deal with.

Noble Stylz said that he has witnessed and lived through some of the hardships that are reflected in his music.

“Art is a mirror into the society, so I witness things, have lived through these phases and read about stuff too. So the motivation was to break down the cycle we are in as a nation in a way people could understand,” he said.

He said the political and economic jargon that government bureaucrats used often flew over ordinary people’s heads.

“Technocrats always throw around jargon which the populace might not understand so I just needed to unpack it and also mirror back the situation from the eye of the normal citizen.”

Noble said his songs are meant to have a positive impact on the people, make them see things in a way that they never imagined.

“The song has already started moving people towards a certain understanding of our situation. A knowledgeable people are hard to manipulate, we are just trying to survive,” he said.

Media personality Plot Mhako described the song as a bold chant for hope and change every Zimbabwean must hear and yearn for.

Chiedza is a single off his upcoming album titled Chana Chidokosa, which he described as “a 360 degree artistic experience”.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

MARANGE villagers have alleged that they are being forced by military personnel to work in the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) diamond fields, a month after the United States raised a red flag on the country and banned the trading of rough diamonds mined in the area.

The US barred the trading of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe last month, accusing the country of using forced labour at its diamond fields in Marange.

The government, however, dismissed the claims, describing the move as constituting a grave and serious attack on Zimbabwe’s interests.

Speaking to NewsDay, Bocha Diamond Community Trust chairman Moses Mukwada said the mining area is so close to their homes that they witness human rights violations on a daily basis.
Mukwada alleged that soldiers come into the area and hire youths and other illegal miners to go into the fields and mine the gems, promising them a share of the proceeds, only to confiscate the ore and arrest them later.

“The soldiers and police come in the community looking for youths and illegal miners and take them to the fields to work after promising them that they would share the loot.

After working for some hours, they are then ordered to leave the fields. On exiting the fields, security guards would confiscate all the ores and subsequently arrest them,” Mukwada said.

“Those arrested are then taken to a military base where they are forced to wash the soldiers’ uniforms, fetch firewood and cook for them for a week or so.”

Mukwada said they have witnessed the abuse of youth and illegal miners on several occasions.

He also alleged that ZCDC security guards always shoot towards the community to deter villagers from entering the fields.

“ZCDC security guards shoot direct at people with the intention to kill. This is one of our concerns. The use of live bullets occurred three months ago and is a clear testimony on how ZCDC guards are conducting their business without mercy. We know the names of those killed during the shooting three months ago,” Mukwada added.

“There is no freedom of movement here, especially local villagers who have cars because they need to fork out for car permits which are renewed every month at their own expense. Without vehicle permits, local vehicle owners are harassed on a daily basis and are required to pay $40 for two boom gates at Hot Spring and at Chishingwi Primary School.”

Mukwada said married women whose national identity documents obtained outside Marange also face challenges entering their homesteads because they are perceived as strangers by the security details in the area.

He further said teachers, pastors and mourners from other provinces were not allowed to enter the community. The community leader said they have since suspended traditional ceremonies where relatives from outside Marange are invited.

“Previous mining companies destroyed Chirasika School and ZCDC has taken over the area, but they failed to rebuild the school and children are walking long distances to Hot Springs School which is 20km away. Most of the school girls are being abused by motorists who offer them transport,” Mukwada said.

Contacted for a comment last week, Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Overson Mugwisi asked NewsDay to furnish him with more details on the location of the alleged abuse by the soldiers to enable him to investigate as there were many base stations in the area.

NewsDay contacted him again after three days and he asked for questions to be sent by email, but had not responded at the time of going to print.

ZCDC spokesperson Sugar Chagonda professed ignorance over reports of use of forced labour in the diamond fields.

“If anyone has evidence of any kind of forced labour, we will be glad to get more information. What you are alleging to be happening between soldiers and villagers, we don’t have any reported cases,” Chagonda said.

‘If anything of that sort is happening, it is still illegal. All parties involved must be reported to the police. ZCDC is a responsible State miner that does not condone any form of corruption. We have zero tolerance to corruption and we believe in transparency and accountability.”

Sindiso Dube

MULTIPLE award-winning Bulawayo house music producer and wheel spinner Mqondisi Sibanda — popularly known as DJ Skaiva — recently released a nine-track Extended Play titled Testify. DJ Skaiva says his latest work is part of introducing his brand. It was produced under House Rebels Records and carries tracks such as Baleka featuring Paulla Paloma, Umcebele with Hwabaraty, Mudiwa with Ashley, Ijongosi, Time to wait with Joy and Rakeem, Nemis, Inkomo zabantu with Lord Skeelz, Zwakala with Sugar Shane and Mawiza and lastly Mpopoma Soul.

The musician holds three Bulawayo arts awards for outstanding house musician and one Zimbabwe Music Awards gong. He has worked with Fun Deepstar, Benny T, Sandra Ndebele, ExQ, Rakeem, Mzoe7 and others.

The artiste was born in Bulawayo and attended Mpopoma High School before going to Lupane State University where he attained a degree in Geography and Population Studies. He has shared the stage with South African DJs Oskido, DJ Fresh and Tira, Pepsi, AKA, Cassper Nyovest and Black Coffee.

NewsDay (ND) Life & Style reporter Sindiso Dube spoke with DJ Skaiva (MS) about the album…

ND: Let’s start with the name of the album – Testify. What is in the name?

MS: Testify is my latest work and it talks about God’s favour in one’s life. In my career, God has done a lot. I have been winning awards and getting regional gigs so I need to testify of his good works in my life.Most importantly, being able to wake up alive and make music is the greatest gift ever. I should testify and give thanks to the most high.

ND: The CD cover is predominantly black and red. Any significance to that?

MS: The red and black colours on the CD sleeve are my favourite colours and I believe I make the most underground sound and black and red are underground colours.

ND: After releasing two albums and six EPs, what did you have in mind when you were making Testify?

MS: The EP is a continuation of my work, my approach towards house music and it has been long since I last released new music and I think it was about time I did so.

ND: Where do you see this EP taking you?

MS: I am still building my brand and I want people to know my music and where I’m coming from and where I’m going. If this project is the one that is going to take me far, then let it be. I put all my effort into my projects but if this is the one to change my life story, let it be.

ND: Looking at the stiff competition from other local genres, in your view, does house music have a future in Zimbabwe?

MS: Yes, definitely, house music has a future in Zimbabwe. The problem is we have a few house music producers in this country and most of them are underground producers who are not known.

ND: How can that be resolved?

MS: If only we can have a movement like the Zimdancehall, we would go far. I think it will be much easier to do so here in the southern region of the country where house music is appreciated more. We flood the market with our content and people will notice us easily.

ND: When you look at your art, who has been your greatest inspiration?

MS: Black Coffee from South Africa.

ND: And do you have a desire to also break into the South African market?

MS: Yes, definitely. I wish to break into the South African market. I have even started working on that, hence I perform week in week out in that country.

Nqaba Matshazi

LAST Saturday afternoon, news that Tafadzwa Tamangani had died in remand prison started filtering in, with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) presenting documentation showing they had pleaded with authorities to have him released so he could be attended by a private doctor.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears.

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) declined to release him and ultimately Tamangani succumbed to injuries resulting from alleged police torture.

I had never heard of him before his death was announced, but I felt my heart sinking and it made me sick, as his death was certainly avoidable had the authorities just followed the law.

So far this year, the government has been sued several times over wrongful deaths and you would think that the authorities would learn something.

But it seems they are impervious to knowledge and they will stick to their crass tactics no matter the circumstances nor the results.

On Monday, I watched in utter horror as police officers unleashed their truncheons on activists that were singing outside the courts protesting the death of Tamangani.

No matter how annoying they were to the authorities, the activists posed no threat to anyone, they were going about their business in a peaceful and orderly manner.

But in their wisdom, or lack of it, the police saw it fit to clamp down heavily on the activists, indiscriminately using their batons on them and detaining them in cells overnight.

Surely, there is no place for such heavy-handedness in a country that wants to shed its pariah status and there would have been no harm had the protest continued.

But we are led by a paranoid government that is afraid of people thinking for themselves or coming together for a common purpose.

This is a government that prefers conformity and sees anything else as an act of dissidence.

This is a government that claims it was voted into power by the people but is frightened at the prospect of the very same citizens exercising their rights.

They will go to every length to break protests, bar people from expressing themselves and above all instil fear in the hearts and minds of every Zimbabwean.

This lot will do anything to preserve power, not for our sakes, but for themselves even if it includes violating every aspect of our rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

Right now, it seems they are the only ones allowed to demonstrate, as they use all manner of tactics to bar the opposition from demonstrating.

As it is, the MDC applied to have a demonstration today and it was predictably blocked yet the government goes ahead with its tomfoolery known as the anti-sanctions march.

In what sounds like a sick joke, the day has been declared a national holiday, with supporters expected to march from just outside the Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court — the scene of the dastardly attack on peaceful activists — to the National Sports Stadium.

I cannot, with a clear conscience be part of this march, as it stands for everything that is wrong with this country — impunity, abuse, lack of accountability and complete disregard for human rights.

If I wanted to be part of something, attending Tamangani’s funeral is a much more meaningful exercise. A family has lost a father, brother, son and breadwinner in one of the most cruel ways and they deserve our solidarity.

I would rather visit MDC’s Malbereign councillor, Denford Ngadziore and activist Makomborero Haruzivishe, who were brutally assaulted by police officers outside court and find out how they are coping.

Those 10 other vendors that were arrested with Tamangani need counselling, they witnessed their colleague’s death and that episode must be playing havoc with their minds.
Their psychological well-being is far more important than a meaningless march.

Instead of attending tomorrow’s march, my time would be better spent commiserating with people that have seen their relatives dying because there are no doctors in hospitals since the government does not see paying the health workers a living wage as a priority.

Tomorrow would rather be a day when we all take stock of the harm that corruption has brought on this country from Command Agriculture to the Presidential Inputs Scheme that have somewhat contributed to the economic turmoil that Zimbabwe is going through.

Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and parochial back-patting by those in power have wrought more suffering to Zimbabwe than drought and sanctions will ever.

So, if ever I needed a reason to march, I will march to call for an end to government-sanctioned corruption and malfeasance.

I will be the first one on the street to march against sanctions if the authorities show a commitment to arresting everyone that is accused of corruption rather than this charade where they only go after political enemies.

If the authorities can show that they protect our rights and defend our freedoms, no matter how politically unpalatable, then I will gladly sing the anti-sanctions song.

If the government takes responsibility for Gukurahundi, apologises for Murambatsvina, accounts for activists Patrick Nabanyama, Paul Chizuze and Itai Dzamara and guarantees freedom of association and expression, then you will find me at the forefront of an anti-sanctions demo.

If the government prosecutes those who killed Kelvin Tinashe Choto, Tamangani and Sylvia Maphosa among a whole list of people who have been unjustly killed in the past 15 months, maybe the anti-sanctions march may be appealing to me.

But for now, the anti-sanctions march is an elaborate waste of time by a group of people that do not want to take responsibility for their actions and for that reason I will not be anywhere near that charade.

news reporter

Commodities baron Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s Landela Mining Ventures has emerged as the new joint venture partner in the Russian-led Darwendale platinum mine project, which has also roped in former Impala Platinum chief executive David Brown.

A statement issued on Tuesday by Great Dyke Investments (GDI), the company developing the mine, announced that Landela and Afromet JSC now have equal 50% stakes in the project. Afromet JSC is 100%-owned by Russia’s investment and industrial group Vi Holding, which has spearheaded the Darwendale project since its inception in 2013.

“The 2019 year is marked for the project and GDI by the arrival of a new strong Zimbabwean shareholder — Landela Mining Venture, which is a part of the bigger experienced multinational commodity trading group Sotic International Ltd with business interests in minerals and oil trade across the Sadc region and Zimbabwe in particular,” GDI said in a project update.

In May, Bloomberg reported that a Zimbabwe army investment vehicle’s shareholding in the project was putting off potential financiers.

But President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the military had been bought out by a private company, now identified as Landela, which now owns 50% of the mining venture.

Tagwirei’s interest in GDI marks further expansion from the petroleum industry where his Sakunda Holdings is a dominant player, into mining.

The businessman, who is also a shareholder in African Chrome Fields, has been linked with bids for ferrochrome producer Zimbabwe Alloys, as well as Bindura Nickel Corporation and gold miner Freda Rebecca gold mine.

Obey Chimuka, managing director of Fossil Contracting, a company associated with Tagwirei, now sits on the GDI board. Chimuka has in the past sat on the boards of the ZMDC and Marange Resources. He also sat on the board of Sakunda Supplies, according to his company’s website.

Darwendale project’s first phase is expected to cost US$500 million, targeting annual output of 280 000 ounces of platinum group metals and gold.

Mine construction is expected after the financial close, which is expected by March 31, 2020.

The African Export-Import Bank was last year appointed as the main financial partner and lead arranger for the project. The continental bank has put up US$192 million towards the project.

“According to the agreement, Afreximbank’s mandate covers both debt (project) financing and equity raising portion in the amount sufficient for the successful implementation of phase 1 of the project. The target financial close date for the transaction is set up to March 31, 2020,” GDI says.

The company is negotiating with Zimbabwean, South African and Russian funders to raise cash for equipment, machinery and services procurement, the company said.

The Darwendale project will be implemented in three phases and is expected to produce860 000 ounces of PGM and gold per year at full capacity. To put the scale of the mine’s potential into perspective, annual output for Zimbabwe — from the country’s three PGM mines — was 978 692 ounces in 2018.

Seasoned mining industry hand Brown has been appointed to lead a reconstituted GDI board, taking over from the previous chairperson, Hesphina Rukato. She had been on the board to represent Pen East Mining Company, through which the military held an interest.

“The project team has covered much ground with respect to the technical viability of the project and has provided sufficient confidence for all stakeholders to ensure a successful delivery of both the development and operational phases of the project,” Brown said.

“The progress achieved so far is substantial and sufficient for transitioning to the next stage which will include detailed design, contracting for major equipment elements as well as the start of construction, all of which will be subject to the successful financing stage of the project being completed.”

Zimbabwe currently has three major platinum mines – Impala’s Zimplats, Anglo Platinum’s Unki and Mimosa, a joint venture between Impala and Sibanye Stillwater.

Karo Mining Resources, driven by Tharisa Plc founder Loucas Pouroulis and his son Phoevos, was last year granted a platinum concession on the Great Dyke and expects to start developing a mine next year.

— newZWire

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

Brave villagers from Kondo area in Uzumba on Sunday fought off and arrested eight armed robbers who had tried to rob one of their own.

In a movie-style incident, the villagers overpowered the eight, part of a group of 18 suspects who were driving a Toyota Hiace. One of the suspects died in the melee.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi in a statement confirmed the incident and applauded the villagers for their bravery.

“The ZRP applauds villagers of Kondo village, Chief Nyajina, Uzumba, for their bravery in apprehending eight suspects in a case of attempted armed robbery which occurred in their village on October 20,” the statement read.

According to police, on the said date, the eight suspects teamed up with 10 others who are still at large and hatched a plan to rob a 44-year-old villager who they suspected to be in possession of cash since he is a gold buyer.

The suspects were driving a Toyota Hiace and were in possession of three pistols, a bolt cutter and hammers.

Upon arrival at the complainant’s residence, the suspects misrepresented to the complainant that they were law enforcement agents based at Murewa Business Centre before later claiming that they were from Bindura and wanted to arrest illegal gold panners operating along Nyaguwe River.

The suspects reportedly started smashing windows and fired shots at the complainant’s bedroom. The complainant reportedly fired back with his registered firearm and this awakened the villagers who besieged the homestead and fought the suspects.
About 10 suspects fled from the scene