Hong Kong (CNN)

At least two people are in serious condition in Hong Kong hospitals after a long day and night of violence between police and protesters.

An estimated 5,000 riot police fired tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and bean bags at tens of thousands of protesters as they forcibly cleared streets around the city’s Legislative Council in Admiralty.

Confrontations went late into Wednesday night as crowds of mostly young, college-aged protesters were pushed back from the Legislative Council complex towards the city’s Central district.

At least 79 people were injured in the violence, with two remaining in serious condition, according to a spokesman for Hong Kong’s information bureau.

At a press conference Thursday evening, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Steven Lo Wai-chung said 11 people had been arrested over the course of Wednesday’s protests on charges of disorderly conduct in a public place, unlawful assembly, and assaulting a police officer.

He said 22 police sustained injuries during the protests, although it is not clear whether the 79 injured includes the number of police who were hurt.

Lo said that protestors acted violently in an organized manner using bricks and sharpened metal poles to attack police. “We had no choice but to escalate the use of force,” Lo said. “We strongly condemn the violent behavior of the rioters.”

Speaking in English, his second language, Lo stressed that police were in control of the situation and would “definitely not” seek additional assistance from the Chinese People’s liberation Army “at the moment.”

According to Lo, police fired 150 tear gas canisters, a “few” rubber bullets and around 20 bean bag rounds.

Debate postponed

In a series of statements Thursday, the Legislative Council said no meeting to discuss the extradition bill would be held on Thursday or Friday — a partial victory for protesters and opposition lawmakers, who have been calling for it to be postponed or dropped altogether.

“Announcement will be made once the President determines the time of the meeting,” a statement said.

Central government offices next door to the legislature would also closed be Thursday and Friday, according to a statement.

There was an extremely heavy police presence around the Legislative Council building and the city’s Admiralty area Thursday. Dozens of protesters were also in the area, though their presence was very small compared to the previous day. Photos and videos on social media showed protesters cleaning up litter and debris leftover from Wednesday’s clashes.

Although Hong Kong is part of China, it has separate laws that follow a UK-style system and no capital punishment, unlike mainland China. Many people fear that the proposed extradition law means they could be taken from Hong Kong by Chinese authorities for political or inadvertent business offenses.

Speaking Thursday, opposition lawmakers accused the police of overreaction and likened the violence to scenes more typically associated with mainland China.

“The protesters joined the rally with Hong Kong’s best interests at heart,” pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung said at a presser. “The government has no heart at all.”

Sudden violent turn

Police and authorities were completely wrong-footed Wednesday morning as protesters ran into roads around the legislature and blocked them. Within an hour, the crowd was in full control of Harcourt and Lung Wo roads, two main traffic arteries in central Hong Kong.

Scenes around midday were highly reminiscent of the Hong Kong’s previous mass protest in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement. Opposition lawmakers congratulated the young protesters for their success in blocking off the Legislative Council and preventing the day’s scheduled debate from going forward.

“(This) boils down to a display of people power in Hong Kong, a display in particular of young people power,” lawmaker Claudia Mo told the tens of thousands who had gathered outside the Legislative Council building.

“At the end of the Umbrella Movement, didn’t we say, ‘we will be back’? And now, we are back!”

Thousands of protesters sat around chatting happily, occasionally joining in with triumphant chants. As it reached midday, they were joined by many office workers from nearby buildings in Admiralty.

That happy atmosphere took a dark turn as protesters continued to push their lines forward and met heavy police resistance around the central government offices on Tim Wa Avenue.

After briefly seizing control of that road, protesters were forced back by repeated police tear gas barrages, pepper spray and baton charges. Police in heavy riot gear then cleared the street.

From there, everything descended into chaos as a huge police deployment moved towards the main Harcourt Road protest camp from multiple directions, eventually forcing protesters onto roads leading towards Central and Wan Chai.

As violent clashes erupted between protesters and the authorities late Wednesday afternoon local time, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Steven Lo Wai-chung said the demonstration was being considered a “riot.”

Under Hong Kong law, rioting is considered a serious offense, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Protest groups accused police of using excessive force, and videos posted on social media showed officers beating unarmed protesters and firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at point blank range.

On Thursday, Lo confirmed that police had received 19 complaints relating to police behavior, including allegations of assault. He said police would investigate.

‘Hong Kong people are furious’

The extradition bill has been met with widespread opposition since it was first mooted, including from the city’s traditionally conservative business community.

Wednesday’s protests came three days after a march in which organizers said more than a million people took part — or roughly one in seven Hong Kong residents. Police gave a lower figure of 240,000 but the peaceful protest was by most independent measures the largest since the city’s handover from British to Chinese control in 1997.

Despite the mass demonstrations, the government, led by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, has refused to withdraw the extradition bill, saying it is needed to plug loopholes to prevent the city from becoming a haven for mainland fugitives.

On Monday, Lam said safeguards had been added to the bill to protect human rights and had received no instruction from Beijing to push it forward. Hong Kong’s lawmakers had planned to dedicate 66 hours across five days to debating the bill.

“Hong Kong people are furious,” senior Democratic Party lawmaker James To said Tuesday. “Our chief executive just ignored the people’s voice, despite the peaceful rally of a million Hong Kong people.”

THE opposition MDC’s elective congress in Gweru last month failed to deal with the party’s thorny succession issue, setting the stage for potentially explosive power struggles in the event that its president Nelson Chamisa fails to complete his five-year term, party insiders claim.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Insiders said the matter of succession is sensitive and the thematic committee mandated with constitutional reforms deliberately left out the issue for fear of being accused of plotting Chamisa’s ouster.

“Currently, the party has three equal vice-presidents, all three were elected at congress and there is, therefore, not one of them more superior to the others,” an insider said.

“This leaves the party in a crisis if the president becomes incapacitated or for whatever reason fails to complete his term of office. The question that would need to be answered is: Of the three, who will act as president?”
Chamisa, however, dismissed the allegations, saying the MDC constitution was amended at congress and will soon be crafted to deal with all the grey areas.

“The national council will sit on Wednesday and will finalise all the outstanding matters of congress. We will then avail the amended constitution of the party which will be comprehensive and will deal with those matters; it will be clear and concise,” he said.

Law lecturer Valentine Mutatu noted that in the absence of the amendments, it would be too early to say there is a succession crisis in the MDC.

“Given that they have three equal deputies to the president, there is need to have a clear statement on succession by the MDC in its amended constitution. If they don’t place that, then they
set themselves for a political crisis in terms of their succession,” Mutatu said.

The opposition party, which also moved to break with the past by resolving to have one vice-president from 2024 onwards, is currently balancing a fragile reunification pact with its erstwhile colleagues who quit during the late leader Morgan Tsvangirai and rejoined the movement in the run-up to last year’s polls. . It will continue with three vice-presidents to complete the integration of the MDC Alliance into the MDC. Jameson Timba, who was behind crafting the MDC Alliance constitution, confirmed that congress was a platform to ensure that Tendai Biti’s People’s Democratic Party and Welshman Ncube’s MDC returned to the fold electively.

“We have completed the reunification of the MDC. The election of Ncube and Biti into the vice-presidency marks the end of the job we started as the MDC Alliance and takes us forward as the reunited MDC and it’s a critical stage for us,” Timba said.

The ruling Zanu PF party has had a similar succession crisis since the era of former President Robert Mugabe, where talk of succession was considered taboo.

SUNDAY “Mhofu” Chidzambga will lead his Warriors into their first match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with his players heaping praises on the veteran coach as a leader who can help the team achieve the impossible at the tournament.

BY HENRY MHARA

As Zimbabwe prepare for a tough match against the hosts at the 80 000-seater Cairo International Stadium on Friday next week in the tournament opener, midfielder Marshall Munetsi believes Chidzambga has enough experience to guide the Warriors to the knockout stages or “even surprise and win it.”

The France-bound player, who recently signed for Ligue 1 side Reims, says he is amazed by the work that the coach is doing in uniting the squad, which has helped them to gel ahead of the tournament opener.

“Coach Sunday is a father figure first of all. He takes care of everyone, and not looking at where you come from or your background. He is a person who talks to players personally, trying to improve our game and giving us the platform to play. He gave me this opportunity to play for the national team, and I have done my best not to let him down.”

The Warriors have not qualified beyond the group stages in their three previous appearances at Afcon, and when asked what could prove the difference as the Warriors look to make history this time around, the utility player said: “Firstly, the difference is the coach, we have a coach who has experience, who has qualified for the Afcon before and he is the coach that knows how to defend. He is a coach that knows how to put a proper structure, so we have a balanced team this time around and we know what we have to rectify from what happened in the previous tournament. And also you can see the talent that is in the team now. (For example), in the attacking players that we have and also the young upcoming players that are there at the back that are doing their best, so we have a balanced team.

Mhofu’s men have Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo as other opponents in Group A, with the top two teams guaranteed passage to the round of 16.

There is an extra window for third place finishers depending on outcomes in other groups in the 24-team tournament.

We are the underdogs going into the tournament, but we have proven ourselves in the qualifiers that we can beat anyone. We had tough opponents, but we proved that we are a group of players that are trying to do the impossible, so we will go there with no pressure. Remember this year is a year of miracles, anything can happen, so we will just try to do our best. We will have to do our best, and you might be surprised at Afcon that we win it and then everyone will be happy. There are millions of people who are looking forward to us making them proud, so we are going to do it for the country.”

The opening match against Mo Salah’s Egypt is a game, which on paper looks like a David versus Goliath contest, but the 22-year-old is not worried.

“We have players who have won big cups, the likes of Khama Billiat, Knowledge Musona and Marvellous Nakamba, players who are playing in the big leagues so we are going into that game with confidence. I personally think that game is going to make us big players, and it’s going to help us reach the next level.”

A NUMBER of fly-overs in Harare are in need of urgent attention as they risk collapse, a civil engineer’s body has warned.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

The structures include the Simon Mazorodze Road (Beatrice Road) fly-over at the interchange with Rotten Row as well as two adjacent fly-overs on Rotten Row and Lytton Road.

In a letter to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers (ZIE) president Bernard Musarurwa alleged that authorities had been ignoring the recommendations made by engineers who conducted inspections on the structures as far back as 2006.

The letter, which was also copied to Parliament read: “As engineers, we demand that MPs (Members of Parliament) take up the issue with the relevant minister. We do not want a situation where you will say this issue was never raised. We have had a government that has ignored infrastructure investment for years and now the existing infrastructure is crumbling.”

“The City of Harare (CoH) engineers, together with the consultant’s engineers, inspected the three flyovers on September 21, 2006. And again, the engineers conducted another more detailed inspection on September 29, 2006. From the two inspections, the consultant was able to ascertain firsthand the extent of defects to be able to propose the requisite intervention strategies required for the repair of the structures.

“The defects observed include spalling of concrete exposing rusted reinforcement steel bars in the beams at several locations. This defect was prevalent to beams in the middle of the structure, where laitance and efflorescence from ingress of moisture was severe. This coincided with the gravel median island of the dual carriageway, suggesting that the island and deck slab were pervious along the centre. There were also signs of moisture ingress along the joints at the abutments and at the central table span”.

Council spokesperson Michael Chideme said he had not received a copy of the report.

“We are aware of the issue. The study was commissioned by the Ministry of Transport. The fly-over belongs to the ministry and we have since written to them reminding them of the need to attend to the problem,” he said.

Transport and Infrastructure Development minister Joel Biggie Matiza could not be reached for comment as drepeated calls to his mobilephone went unanswered since Tuesday.

PRECISELY two months back, on April 18, on the occasion of the country’s 39th birthday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said: “Government is alarmed by the recent wanton and indiscriminate increases of prices which have brought about untold suffering to the people. This conduct by stakeholders in business, industry and commerce is inhumane, unethical, unpatriotic and goes against the grain of economic dialogue which the Second Republic has espoused. Government remains determined to restore the purchasing power of all workers. My government remains committed to address distortions in all sectors of the economy.”

NewsDay Comment

Everyone thought that the President’s stance would carry the day and the long-suffering Zimbabweans would finally be rescued from the prices hike Armageddon. Unfortunately, this was not to be because the prices never relented and workers’ incomes have been turned into chaff. The price hike regime has pierced into the country’s socio-economic fabric like a double-edged sword, with the private sector running roughshod over consumers on the one side, and government fuelling the price hikes on the other. Mnangagwa’s Independence Day rant now appears to have been just cheap talk meant to assuage the long-suffering Zimbabweans.

In mid-May, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) increased the prices of fuel by between 46% and 49%, a hike that was a crude follow-up on a jaw-dropping 150% January fuel hikes that triggered sporadic countrywide protests and led to lives being lost, with hundreds sustaining life-threatening gunshot wounds.

We then find ourselves at a loss for words when, despite it being clear as the blue sky that all is not well and prices have become the Second Republic’s Achilles heels, yesterday the economic hardship-weary Zimbabweans woke up to yet another price shocker after government again increased the price of fuel by ZWL$0,18 for diesel and ZWL$0,26 for petrol.

While, apparently, no reason was proffered for the latest hike, government expects business and individuals out there to remain silent and also not hike the prices of their own goods and services. Countless times we have reminded our beloved government that fuel is a critical factor in the pricing regime of goods and services; but, unfortunately, our point of view continues to be ignored.

It is sad that we have a government bent on insisting on driving home the adage “do as I say and not as I do”. Regrettably, this attitude – especially when it comes to political and socio-economic issues – will only result in Zimbabwe being relegated to a pariah State.

It would be absurd and downright foolhardy, to say the least, for Mnangagwa’s government to expect business to maintain old prices, which is tantamount to subsidising the State. Have business and the people of this country not suffered enough for government to even entertain the idea?

We are afraid to say government’s continued brazen hiking of fuel prices could be the Second Republic’s self-inflicted undoing. Fuel is literally the lubricant oiling this economy and if government continues to recklessly fiddle with its price for whatever reason, it should be prepared for the consequences of its own actions.

Government continues to inadvertently prove right some prophets of doom among us, because they keep indicating left and turning right, while many a time not turning at all.

Confusion is reigning supreme in legal circles following the alleged irregular appointment of former Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa as board chairperson of struggling Air Zimbabwe by President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a time the entity is still under reconstruction.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza confirmed that the State airline was still under reconstruction by Reggie Saruchera,adding that the appointment of Chinamasa was “just in preparation for the board’s eventual take over’.

“Yes, the company is still under reconstruction, but we cannot wait for the process to complete so that we start looking for board members. We are looking for suitable people to steer the company forward after the reconstruction process,” Matiza said.

He said other board members were yet to be appointed.

Attorney-General, Prince Machaya, was of the opinion that it was not illegal to have a board while the company was still under reconstruction.

“I don’t think it is illegal to have a board when the company is under reconstruction. Anyway, talk to the Minister of Justice. He is the one in charge of that process,” said Machaya.

According to a statement by the Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, Mnangagwa appointed Chinamasa to chair the board with immediate effect, putting in doubt Matiza’s claims that the job was in preparation for the future.

“Cde Patrick Chinamasa, who is the Zanu PF secretary for finance, has served the Government of Zimbabwe in several portfolios, including that of Minister of Finance and Economic Development. His appointment is with immediate effect,” Sibanda said in a statement.

Ironically, on Monday, Saruchera appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure where he indicated that the assumption of the national airline’s US$387 million debt would pace up the company’s reconstruction process.

The reconstruction plan is expected to see the national airliner operate at least four planes, servicing the domestic and regional markets.

Saruchera said Air Zimbabwe had been running inefficiently, with large aircraft servicing short haul routes.

According to Kent University law lecturer, Alex Magaisa, once a company has been placed under reconstruction, the powers of the board are suspended as an administrator is appointed through the judicial process.

Management for Air Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd and Air Zimbabwe holdings (Pvt) Ltd, according to the notice to place the company under administration, was to be answerable to Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants, who in turn report to the permanent secretary.

Questions have been asked as to why the announcement was made first at a Zanu PF politburo Press conference when the appointment was supposed to come from government. The Statement by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet only came hours after the Zanu PF spokesperson, Simon Khaya Moyo, had already announced Chinamasa’s appointment.

In October last year, Justice minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi placed troubled Hwange Colliery Company under the administration of Bekithemba Moyo, a co-founder and director of DBF Capital partners, effectively ending the tenure of the Juliana Muskwe-led board.

TOP filmmaker and Rain Media (Private) Limited director Shem Zemura has been ordered by a Harare magistrate to pay US$300 to scriptwriter Amanda Ranganawa for the parts she scripted for the award-winning film, Kushata Kwemoyo, which premiered in Harare last year.

BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO

Ranganawa had hauled Zemura and his company to court over the unpaid dues.

Magistrate Tilda Mazhande ruled that besides the US$300, Zemura should also pay an additional 5% interest.

“It is ordered in default that (1) The defendants jointly or severally one paying the other to be absolved be and are hereby ordered to pay to the Plaintiff: (a) The sum of US$300 (Three Hundred United States of America Dollars) owed as money due to plaintiff arising from a script writing contract. (b) Interest on the sum of US$300 at the prescribed rate of 5% per annum from the date of issue of summons to the date of payment in full and (c) Costs of suit on an attorney and client scale,” reads the court order.

Zemura had, through his lawyers Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless.”

He argued that he would only be able to pay Ranganawa after the film sold as was agreed in their contract signed in November 2017.

“As a matter of fact, that’s not new. The contract which she is in possession of, dated November 2017, stipulates that she was going to be paid after the film sales. That’s the contract signed when she sold her script,” Nick Zemura — speaking on behalf of Shem — said yesterday.

Part of the scripwriter agreement signed on November 12, 2017 reads, “In consideration of the agreement made herein by the first part, the second part shall only be entitled to such payment after the sale of the film.”

Ranganawa, who was represented by lawyer Marufu Mandevere in the case, said if she was not paid her dues as per the court order, she would seize Rain Media’s property.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said he was not plotting to purge security chiefs, but the political leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa that has been ‘abusing Zimbabweans to pursue a partisan agenda’.

By Everson Mushava/Obey Manayiti

Chamisa said this while addressing thousands of mourners gathered in Glen View South, Harare to bid farewell to the area’s late MP, Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java who died on Tuesday from injuries sustained in a fatal road accident just outside Kwekwe on May 14.

“We have an army: soldiers, police officers, they are all civil servants. They serve us (MDC), Zanu PF and everyone. They are a country’s security force. I have heard some people lying that Chamisa wants to fire them if he takes over,” Chamisa said.

“No, we are not going to do that, we want to remove Mnangagwa and his government, not the civil servants. We want to remove those that use the country, not those used by the politicians.”

The youthful opposition leader also threatened to give Mnangagwa some sleepless nights if he continued to dither on engaging in “genuine dialogue” that should be centred on resolving the legitimacy crisis created by last year’s general elections controversially won by the Zanu PF leader.

Chamisa said there were people trying to put a wedge between him and military personnel, police and Central Intelligence Organisation operatives by lying that he would fire them if he takes over power.

The military have in past elections been accused of campaigning for Zanu PF, declaring that they would not salute anyone without liberation war credentials. The military helped Mnangagwa take over power from former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

Chamisa maintained that the country will not escape from the current economic quagmire if there was no genuine dialogue between his party and Mnangagwa.

“For this country to go forward, we have to resolve the political dispute in this country, around the issue of elections,” Chamisa charged.

“If we don’t resolve that, we will have a merry-go-round, but the country will not move forward because there is no synthesis or national consensus on the way forward. A divided country will not stand. And we have said, we are ready to dialogue with you Cde Mnangagwa, not for my purpose, not for power-sharing, but sharing of ideas, an idea whose time has come, and an idea for change.”

He added: “A country is not run by one person, but by many, particularly, when the leader understands more what those who do not support him want; moreover when they are more than those who believe in him.

“But he (Mnangagwa) doesn’t listen. I am talking politics here because Vimbai was a politician. She wanted everyone to have a good life, not what we have, a country with no water. There is no country that should run short of electricity, but what is evidently lacking is the electricity to power their minds. This is what they lack. Why do we have a country so rich in resources and yet so poor in what we have.”

Noting that many people wanted to protest and were simply waiting for a signal from his party, he said: “I have heard a lot of people saying we are waiting for a signal and I have told them to relax, we have all the time, we don’t want to do something that will not bring results.

“When we start, we will succeed. There will be no sleeping because we want all people to know that change has come, in peace. We want peace in this country, we want peace in this country and we want a negotiated outcome which will allow us to deal with the dispute of the July 30 2018 elections.”

Vimbai’s husband, Apostle Batsirai Java, Chamisa and Parliament donated $15 000 to be shared equally by the widows of Paul Rukanda and Tafadzwa Mhundwa who were killed in the same accident.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa visited the Tsvangirai family at their Strathaven home to pay her condolences later in the day.

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating a Beitbridge robbery victim Muchineripi Hlaringo’s source of money after he lost R569 000 and US$4 500 during a night raid at his home this week.

By Rex Mphisa

Hlaringo was attacked early Monday morning by three armed robbers who broke into his home in Beitbridge.

They tied his wife with ropes, helped themselves to the cash before shooting their victim seven times. Hlaringo is, however, out of danger.

The robbers also helped themselves to his shoes, mobile phones and a car they used to get away from the scene in a section of Beitbridge’s unlit area.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said police were keen to know the source of Hlaringo’s funds and did not rule out the victim’s involvement in illegal foreign currency dealings.
“We want to know the source of his funds. There is a possibility he was engaged in foreign currency deals,” Nyathi said.

Police have also advised people not to keep large sums of money at home as this could get them, their families and neighbours into trouble in the event of violent robberies.

“More often than not, the possibility of information leaking cannot be ruled out. In the case of resultant robberies, there can be a danger to lives. We advise people to use banking institutions when they have these large amounts of cash,” Nyathi said.

On lack of police visibility in Beitbridge, Nyathi invited the public and other stakeholders to complain to the officer commanding the province.

“But I can tell you that at the moment, police in Beitbridge are involved in ‘stop and search’ exercises aimed at flushing out and arresting criminals.”

Nyathi said Beitbridge Urban member-in-charge Chief Inspector Kenneth Mushongahande’s failure to transfer to Zaka district in Masvingo was above board.

“The ZRP has a transfer policy based on performance, experience and knowledge, and the reversal of Mushongahande’s transfer was above board. We are not aware of any sinister motive about that and any public complaints as regards his operational shortcomings may be communicated through his province or the usual police channels,” Nyathi said.
Mushongahande, who has not responded to written questions and ignored phone calls, has come under criticism from residents in the wake of increased robberies, most of them bloody.

Domestic violence against women is also on the rise in the transit town, where he is accused of concentrating his efforts inside the border post at the expense of residential, business and industrial areas.

Residents worry that crime hotspots at the border have of late been ignored and robbers were having a walk in the park in the strategic settlement.