Highlanders coach Madinda Ndlovu has explained that talented midfielder Denzel Khumalo’s absence from the first team is due to fitness issues.
There has been speculation that Khumalo has been missing from the Bosso line-up due to disciplinary issues.
Khumalo only featured in the first 53 minutes of the team’s opener against Black Rhinos before being replaced by Zambian Peter Nyirenda in a match which ended in a one-all draw.
Khumalo was relegated to the club’s developmental side, Bosso 90 last year on disciplinary grounds and was later recalled in the last half of the season, where his displays won the hearts of the Bosso fans. Addressing club members on Thursday, Ndlovu said Khumalo was working on his fitness levels and would be expected back soon.
“I am shocked to hear speculations that Denzel (Khumalo) is facing disciplinary actions. Disciplinary actions for what? If it was so, I would have told you. I don’t know where all this is coming from. Denzel is training with us, he has gained weight. He has admitted that his fitness levels are not where he wants to be, so he is working on that,” the Bosso gaffer said.
Highlanders will still be missing the services of right back Bukhosi Ncube when they take on Hwange at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow following his knee injury in the match against Triangle.
This is not the first time Ncube has been lifted off the field. Last year, he went out in similar fashion in their opening matches, which saw the young player sitting out for the rest of the season due to the same knee injury.
GWERU-based side Chapungu have promised to inflict more pain on struggling newcomers, Mushowani Stars, when the two sides clash in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane tomorrow.
The airforce side has been enjoying a good run of form, where they have managed two wins and a draw in their opening four assignments.
Last weekend, they accounted for a rare maximum points over Triangle at Gibbo Stadium, courtesy of an Ian Nyoni strike, to leap to seven points.
Chapungu coach Rodwell Dhlakama said they want to maintain their winning momentum and dropping points against Mushowani will not be accepted.
“We have so far been good, but there is still a lot of work to be done before we can say we are at our best.
“We have to keep this form by all means possible to make sure that we collect as much points as possible in the first half of the season,” he said.
“We are in high spirits as we prepare for Mushowani on Sunday. We respect them just like any other team in the league, but we want those three points.
“There is every reason to keep dreaming because so far so good. We have been doing good and because of the background that we have not been very good in the previous seasons, we have to keep fighting and remain focused.”
Nyoni has been riding high for the airmen with four goals to his name, and so is Brighton Mugoni, who has so far scored three goals.
Mushowani, on the other hand, are still searching for their first top-flight win and will have to be at their penetrative best when they take on Chapungu, a side renowned for its physicality and steely defence line that is marshalled by Blessed Mbavarira and Collin Kwaramba.
UNIVERSITY of Cape Town professor Wallace Chuma yesterday said a study he conducted showed that journalists were unable to work to their full capacity during the transition to the new dispensation led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Speaking during the launch of the report Mediating the “Military-assisted” Transition in Zimbabwe: Journalists and Civil Society in Harare, Chuma said he carried out interviews with 25 journalists, most of whom were of the view that the new dispensation was a continuation of the previous regime of Robert Mugabe.
“In interviews, journalists were invited to reflect on their experiences of the post-Mugabe dispensation from a professional standpoint. The overwhelming majority felt that the new dispensation was largely a continuation of the previous regime and others felt that it was a worse version of it,” he said.
Chuma said during the transition, most journalists were working in a restricted environment, which infringed on their profession.
“We found that journalists were operating in a very vulnerable and restricted environment, where the flow of information was carefully curated and controlled and also many journalists were embedded in Zanu PF factions,” he said.
The report also showed that social media platform, Twitter, had provided Zimbabweans, locally and abroad, with a platform to express their views freely.
“A finding from the Twitter analysis was that the social media platform, Twitter, provided a space for citizens in Zimbabwe and outside Zimbabwe to vent their sentiments/emotions of endorsement, encouragement and discouragement, pertaining to the ousting of Robert Mugabe,” he said.
Takura Zhangazha, a civil society activist, said it was important to look into how Twitter aided the new dispensation and whether or not it was used as a manipulation tool during the transition period.
“It is important to start analysing the impact social media has on the citizens of Zimbabwe. We need to understand how social media can undermine or expand a situation. As seen during the transition into the new dispensation, social media became a tool that possibly confirmed a pre-determined bias, therefore, it becomes a manipulative tool,” he said.
A 34-YEAR-OLD man appeared before a Chivhu regional magistrate on Tuesday, facing allegations of aggravated indecent assault for sodomising a mentally-ill man.
Emmanuel Makaranga pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Fadzai Mutombeni.
Prosecutor Corrence Chimbadzwa told the court that on February 10, in the early hours of the morning, Makaranga saw the complainant, who is of no fixed abode, sleeping on a pavement at the Chivhu Location Shopping Centre.
He took him to his residence in Chivhu location, where they shared a bed.
When the complainant fell asleep, Makaranga allegedly had sexual intercourse with him once, without his consent.
The complainant then woke up and asked Makaranga what he was doing to him, but did not get any response. The complainant then left the residence.
Later that day, the complainant informed another resident who advised him to report the matter to the police, leading to Makaranga’s arrest.
Makaranga was remanded to today for continuation of trial.
OVER 22 families spent the night out in the cold, having been evicted from a subdivision of Glenara Estates along the old Mazowe Road on Thursday, following a High Court order.
The farm was allocated to Mavis Rondozai in 2001 at the height of Zimbabwe’s bloody farm invasions.
Rondozai was reportedly allocated the land illegally, triggering a protracted court battle as farm owner Kelvin James won the right to return to his farm 17 years later.
The farm, which was now being run by Rondozai’s children following her death in 2006, had become home to nearly 100 people who were also forced out of the land. They had their homes destroyed under the watch of the Deputy Sheriff.
Tambudzai Chikukutu, who was evicted from the farm said they had left their cattle, farm, produce and 17 years of a livelihood following the eviction.
“We had paid fees for our children for the term that opens next week, bought uniforms; we are even yet to harvest our crops, but following this cruel move we are left without hope and disturbed,” she said.
Another victim, Abigail Mujere, said reports were that their offer letters had been dismissed as fraudulent.
“They argue that the summons in the matter where the former farm owner was filling for eviction were served at the wrong address. They further argued that our offer letters were fake, but we know they are not fake. Something fishy is going on,” she said.
Mujere said the farm was handed over to her in-laws by Transport deputy minister Fortune Chasi.
“We were given the keys to the house by our MP Chasi in 2001. We have since approached him so that he deals with this matter. He has promised to help us,” she said.
A number of illegal farm invaders have, of late, been evicted from the various farms they grabbed in 2000.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has, however, said the land reform will not be reversed, but the latest evictions are raising anxiety among the new farmers.
A POPULAR Mutare socialite, who was this week acquitted of raping his seven-year-old daughter, has blasted parents who use their children to fight their matrimonial disputes, claiming he does not have hard feelings against his former wife.
Rusape regional magistrate Livingstone Chipadze ruled in the accused’s favour after the State failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
Chipadze told the court that the mother of the complainant had fabricated the rape charges and coaxed her daughter into filing the rape charge after the relationship with the socialite had broken down.
The socialite said there was evidence that the seven-year-old complainant’s parents were going through serious matrimonial problems.
In an interview with NewsDay Weekender, the popular Mutare man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, said he was happy that he had been cleared.
“I am happy that I have been acquitted of these rape charges. I want to thank the justice system for setting me free. I was even struggling to work for my family because of this issue.
I am concerned about parents who use their children to fight their matrimonial challenges,” he said.
“This will obviously affect children in the long run. Parents should find a way of solving their differences without involving their children. I don’t have hard feelings with my former wife and I am not going to sue her. I am leaving it to God. Now I want to focus on the best possible way to raise my child.”
The magistrate said the complainant’s mother tried to manipulate her maid through a pay raise so that she falsely testifies in court against the accused.
“The complainant’s mother showed the court that she is clearly a bitter person against the accused and in court did not dispute that her own sister had, at one time, used or raised false allegations of rape against her husband,” the magistrate said
The complainant’s mother was also discredited by the maid as an alcoholic, who had attempted to manipulate her to falsely testify against her former husband.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has threatened to come hard on civil servants who yesterday snubbed the national clean-up campaign, saying they would find themselves out of jobs.
Addressing Chitungwiza residents, Mnangagwa said some of his staffers did not participate in the national clean-up programme and opted to stay put in their offices.
“As I was leaving office, I saw some civil servants seated in their offices as if they did not know we have this programme. I said, okay, let me go since I want cleanliness and these people (act as if they) do not know that I had declared this day as a national day. But let me say this; we shall see. They will find themselves in their rural areas. I don’t know how they will live there since they will also find people there busy with the cleanliness programme,” Mnangagwa said.
Government last year announced that every first Friday of the month should be a national clean-up day as a way of promoting clean cities for tourism and economic growth.
Mnangagwa has religiously led the event.
He said since the launch of the programme in November, Harare central business district had changed its outlook and this he attributed to the support being given by residents.
Mnangagwa came face-to-face with the water situation in Chitungwiza.
He was told by the new town mayor Lovemore Maiko that the dormitory town was receiving water supplies from Harare at least twice a week, a feat the President said should be corrected.
He invited the new mayor to his office so they could share the town’s problems and see how government could assist.
“Mayor, when you find time, may you pay a visit to my office so that you tell me all your problems and we find out how we can help each other,” Mnangagwa said.
“If there are problems that we can solve, we solve them and if they are problems that we cannot solve, we will put them aside.”
JOHANNESBURG — It’s anxious times at Naturena as Kaizer Chiefs prepare for next season by releasing players deemed surplus to requirements‚ but long-time hard-tackling midfield stalwart Willard Katsande is not shaken with the player exodus.
Pule Ekstein‚ Gustavo Paez‚ Kgotso Malepe and Namibian goalkeeper Virgil Vries have all been released in the past fortnight, with more expected to be shown the exit door.
Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung said the player clearout is the beginning of the club’s clean-up process as head coach Ernst Middendorp starts to prepare for next season.
Motaung has promised more player movements in the coming weeks.
At 33‚ Katsande will be first to admit that he only has a few seasons left in him to play at his optimum at the highest level.
He signed a three-year contract extension in March 2017 that kicked in from July 1‚ 2017 and will see him remain at Naturena until June 30‚ 2020.
In his eighth season with Amakhosi‚ Katsande has seen players come in and out of the exit door at Naturena. So influential and senior has the Zimbabwean midfield strongman been for Chiefs that his name has never been mentioned anywhere near the transfer list at Amakhosi.
Katsande has managed to nail down a regular place at the Chiefs under different coaches since joining from Ajax Cape Town in August 2011.
So why has Katsande been so successful and lasted this long? The soft-spoken, but tough as nails player attributes his longevity with the Soweto giants and his workaholic nature to his difficult upbringing.
“I think my background was not good and the way I grew up was a bit challenging. So when I get a job, I always try and give my best and also provide for my family‚” Katsande said at the club’s training base this week.
The midfielder‚ who hardly ever pulls out of a tackle‚ said that hard work comes as his second nature.
“I used to work as a herd boy. I used to wake up at 2am to work in the fields.
“I say my upbringing was really tough for me. Whenever I get an opportunity, I need to play my heart out‚” the star, who was born in Mutoko in Mashonaland East province of Zimbabwe, says.
Foreign players the world over generally need to work twice as much to be successful and that is exactly what Katsande has done since making his debut for Ajax in December 2010 after joining from Zimbabwe’s Gunners FC.
“I am a limited player in terms of talent, but when I do the hard work, I always give my all. Whenever I get a chance, I always perform and you will never doubt my commitment‚” the Chiefs midfield workhorse said. Orphaned as a young boy and struggling to make ends meet with his sisters‚ Katsande saw football as a way of escaping hardships.
He understood from a young age that only hard work would see him realise his dreams of playing professional football.
“My upbringing was bad. I grew up an orphan. I’m the only boy in my family and all I need to do is to give them life through football. So I wouldn’t jeopardise my job, I wouldn’t take my job for granted.
“I don’t only provide for my own family‚ I also provide for my extended family and friends back home. They always tell me that this is your job, so you need to always work hard and always keep your job safe.
“I don’t need them to hear that I was that player who didn’t win anything at Chiefs. Personally, for me, I have my own pressure. I demand a lot from myself that I need to deliver.”
Chiefs‚ South Africa’s most successful club in cup competitions‚ are in their fourth season without winning silverware and that does not sit well with Katsande‚ one of their longest- serving players.
“Kaizer Chiefs is known for winning trophies, so we need to deliver for us‚ the fans and the chairman.
“The pressure will always be there even if you win trophies, so you need to deliver season in and season out. We are paid to deliver week-in and week-out to fill up our trophy cabinet‚” Katsande added.
Chiefs will get an opportunity to lift some silverware to put some gloss on yet another disappointing season when they clash with first division rookies, TS Galaxy, in the final of the R7 million Nedbank Cup on May 18 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
“We once tasted success and we know how it feels to win a trophy. I mean it is always in our minds that we need to contribute to this club and we need to win trophies,” he said. “It is always giving us sleepless nights that we need to win a trophy for the club. I’m a winner and I am a competitor. All I want is to see the team winning.
“All I want is to achieve in football because I need to be remembered as a guy who won trophies for Kaizer Chiefs — not a guy who was part and parcel of a group that failed to win silverware for the club.”
CONTROVERSIAL businessman Shepherd Tundiya signed a contract between Hwange Colliery Company (HCC) and his brother’s company called Philcool to ferry coal despite not being a director of the company.
This was revealed by Tendai Muza, a forensic auditor and investigator with Ralph Bomment Greenacre and Reynolds, who said that it was suspicious that Tundiya signed a contract for a company in which he was not a director.
Philcool Investments (Private) Limited’s directors were Wilfred Tundiya, Talent Munyoro and Thethelesa Musarurwa. The company is based at 3623/17 Extension at Mbizo in Kwekwe and was reportedly contracted by Hwange to load coal into trucks using front-end loaders.
Muza said it was shocking that at Hwange Colliery, several companies performed incompatible functions of loading coal instead of the company repairing conveyor belts at a cost of $2 million and save money.
“Philcool entered into a contract, whereby, it took responsibility for functions at the metallurgical operations department for clearing and loading coal at Chaba Mine plants and to do open cast mining and any other works as assigned by the mine,” Muza said.
“The charge per hour was fixed at US$103,65 and the payment was at the agreed terms set out in the contract, on a monthly basis and calculated using time sheets as compiled and agreed to by the contractor and HCC representatives.
“However, not any one of the directors of the company signed this contract between Philcool and HCC. A person, Shepherd Tundiya, who is not a director of Philcool, signed this contract on June 26, 2017.”
Muza said, in his attempts to link Tundiya (Shepherd) with Philcool, it was established that there was something strange goings on because the actual contract was signed by Tundiya, who is a director of another company, Avim.
When Muza gave oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines last year, he said: “This means that Philcool and Avim are linked and were doing the lifting of the coal into trucks and delivering it to other places without using weighbridges, which are not consistently used and it creates room that while Hwange is mining, someone else is eating their produce because the ICT (information communication technology) systems at Hwange are not functioning properly, and there is no completeness of records.”
He said Philcool took control of the loading of coal when it was raw.
Muza said one C Munyamane, who is a sectional engineer (electrical services), signed for HCC, but there was also no documentation that gave Munyamane the authority to bind the mine.
“Given that Tundiya (Shepherd) is not a director of Philcool Investments, we did not find documentation at the mine which would authorise a person from another company where he is not an official to come and enter into a contract with HCC.
“Accordingly, two possibly unauthorised persons entered into an agreement that bound HCC to a contract of works. Philcool owes HCC $170 852, 67 in prepayments for works contrary to the agreement. There are payments to Philcool that are not supported by invoices,” the forensic audit said.
AFRICAN countries should show solidarity and help each other during crises before reaching out to help other non-African States, a top diplomat has said.
Dean of the diplomatic corps in South Africa, Ambassador Bene M’Phoko said before getting help from outside, African countries should help each other.
M’Phoko made the remarks yesterday at a meeting between the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and ambassadors ahead of the second ordinary session of the Fifth Parliament of PAP.
“As African countries, we should help each other,” he said, referring to the support rendered by the ambassadors’ resident in South Africa and the South African captains of industry to Cyclone Idai victims in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.
The support, worth millions of dollars, was mobilised under the banner of the Food Security Initiative in South Africa.
“Other African States do help other non-African countries, which is fine, but charity begins at home. We are Africans; if one of us gets into problems, we should be willing to help.
But, yes, each country is free and you cannot oblige a sovereign country or dictate to it to help. Those willing to help will help, that is the way it is,” he added.
M’Phoko urged Africa to be pro-active by having a strategy in place for disasters, including an emergency fund for natural disasters other than be responsive during crises.
Cyclone Idai hit Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi last month, killing thousands, displacing millions and rendering hordes homeless, food insecure and desperate.
