BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

The State yesterday closed its case in the matter in which Mt Pleasant legislator Samuel Banda (MDC Alliance) is being accused of contravening a section of the Electoral Act by allegedly falsifying his home address so that he could register to represent the constituency.

Banda (43), who is represented by Job Sikhala, yesterday told magistrate Learnmore Mapiye that the complainant and witnesses were aggrieved after he won a ticket to represent his party during the primary elections in which they all participated.

Banda told the court that the complainants, Warship Dumba and Isaac Chidavaenzi, had political scores to settle with him because they wanted his position.

Chidavaenzi lost the position to Banda for parliamentary elections, while Dumba wanted the position, but was relegated to council elections.

“The only truth is that both witnesses wanted to be MDC Alliance candidates. Dumba wanted to be a councillor, while Chidavaenzi wanted to be the MP, but they all lost,” Banda told the court.

“I’m (very) surprised that Chidavaenzi lied that I do not stay at his place of residence, yet I’m still staying at his house. I’m surprised that he lied that he learnt that I registered using his place of residence address on radio. It is so shameful. Even Jesus was disregarded by his fellows. That is why my fellow opposition members are fighting me. They have teamed up with my enemies to say that I lied about my address, which is untrue.”

Mapiye postponed the matter to Monday next week for ruling.

Allegations are that on December 28, 2017 last year during the national biometric voter registration exercise, Banda misrepresented to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that he was staying at number 34 Waller Avenue, Mt Pleasant, Harare, in order for him to register as a voter in that constituency, while in actual fact, he did not reside there.

The State alleges that Banda went on to depose an affidavit of residence for voter registration (Zec Form VR-9) to a Zec commissioner of oaths purporting to be residing at the house.

Through misrepresentation, the prosecution said, Banda was registered as a voter in Mt Pleasant constituency, where he contested for the House of Assembly seat and eventually won.

The State said the Zec forms VR1 and VR9 can be produced as an exhibit.

Peter Kachirika appeared for the State.

Kabelo “DJ Prince Kaybee” Motsamai

BY SINDISO DUBE

SOUTH Africa’s award-winning house music producer and DJ Prince Kaybee tonight makes a return to Zimbabwe to launch his latest album, Re Mmino, at Cosmopolitan Night Club in Bulawayo.

One of the event organisers, Ntando Ndlovu, yesterday told NewsDay Life&Style that they had taken advantage of the May 1 holiday to bring in the Charlotte hit-maker to Bulawayo, who had his maiden performance in the City of Kings and Queens in 2017.

“Our fans and patrons who frequent our spot have been asking us to bring back Prince Kaybee since the last time he came, about two years go. Prince Kaybee will perform on the eve of the public holiday (Workers Day), which means patrons have more time to rest,” he said.

“We have prepared well for the night, both the artistes and on our side we are ready to give a good show. The artiste will jet in at mid-day and will do a tour of the city meeting his local fans.”

Born Kabelo Motsamai, Prince Kaybee released his album Better Days two years ago and it topped the charts across Mzansi. The 12-track album features seasoned artistes among themDr Malinga, Ziyon from Liquideep, Donald and Thiwe.

Just Saying: Paul Kaseke

GOVERNMENT recently gazetted the Maintenance of Peace and Order (MOPA) Bill which is intended to replace the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), at least in part.

This is in fulfilment of the government’s promise to modernise the controversial law and align it to the Constitution. Over the next two weeks, we will unpack the Bill and explore its strengths and weaknesses.

The long road to POSA – some background history

POSA was enacted in January 2002 to replace the Law and Order Maintenance Act (LOMA). LOMA was enacted by the Rhodesian government in 1960. LOMA was an emergency law created to deal with the civil unrest that had engulfed the country at the time. It is no surprise, therefore, that the law was skewed heavily in favour of the government while suppressing civilian political rights. Interestingly, the Rhodesian government relied heavily on apartheid South Africa for most of the clauses in LOMA. It was, therefore, a hybrid copy and paste of various apartheid emergency laws such as the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 and the Apartheid Security Emergency Regulations. After independence, the Robert Mugabe-led government used LOMA for two decades before disbanding the law.

Instead of discarding the emergency-type provisions in the new Act (POSA), the government merely replicated them and, in some cases, created stiffer penalties than LOMA. When one looks at POSA and LOMA it is easy to make a link between the two and almost embarrassingly so. Roughly about 90% of POSA can be traced back to emergency laws in either South Africa or Rhodesia.

While LOMA was repealed, its provisions were transplanted into and resurrected POSA, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The concepts of bans on meetings, gatherings and prohibition of certain weapons for example, were replicated without major changes from the Rhodesian legislation that was used to suppress the black masses.

POSA was LOMA incarnate or Mugabe’s own version of it. Seemingly, the Zimbabwean authorities had an obsession with packaging repression in unjust laws to give the impression that their actions are lawful. This somewhat explains why the laws are strikingly similar. Some aspects of POSA and the new bill can be traced back to the Gatherings Act of South Africa, which was one of the final pieces of legislation passed by the apartheid government in 1992/1993. The rationale behind the Gatherings Act was to deal with insurrection and feared riots ahead of the first democratic elections in South Africa.

The Gatherings Act itself actually takes its provisions from a host of sources, including the Internal Security Act of 1982 and the subsequent regulations passed during the State of Emergency periods of the late 80s. Some of its provisions have already been declared unconstitutional, but that seemed to skip the Zimbabwean government because these same provisions were copied into both POSA and the new bill. The history of POSA is important to understand why we need a break from these emergency laws and how the constitutional rights and liberties afforded to us must be given effect to and not reduced by the Bill. I am afraid, without this understanding, MOPA will continue to keep the country in a perpetual state of emergency.

What’s new in the Bill?

The short answer to that is that very little has changed hence the title of this series. It is a repacked POSA just as POSA was a repackaged LOMA. LOMA was Ian Smith’s legacy, POSA was Mugabe’s legacy and seemingly, MOPA will be President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s legacy.

While it largely replicates POSA, the Bill changes a few things. In terms of the Bill, internal deployment of the army to assist police can only be done by the President which is what section (s)213 of the Constitution dictates (see clause 18 of the Bill) and the President must inform Parliament of such deployment, which is a requirement of s214 of the Constitution (see clause 18 of the Bill).

These are two praise worthy changes that align themselves to the provisions of the Constitution. As we have argued before, POSA created an anomaly where the Minister of Defence could deploy the army to help police without the consent or authorisation of the President. Thankfully, this position has been rectified in the Bill. The other changes are cosmetic in the sense that they merely update the titles in POSA to reflect those used in the Constitution, such as the title of the Police Commissioner-General.

Another change is the addition of time periods in which the police have to notify parties of a decision to proceed with a public meeting or gathering. There are few deletions of certain provisions from POSA, however. For example, the infamous s27 of POSA, which was declared unconstitutional by a full bench of the Constitutional Court in Democratic Assembly for Restoration & Others v Saunyama N.O & Others, was omitted from the Bill. This is also a welcome move although government really had no option, but to comply with the judgment.

What has been copied from POSA?

POSA’s provisions have largely been transplanted into the draft Bill and I will show why below. For starters, the Bill retains some circular and useless meanings found in the introduction section of POSA, such as “procession” and “private place”. Procession is defined as a “procession in a public place”, while a private place is defined as “any place which is not a public place”. The following provisions of MOPA have been retained from POSA, with little to no changes at all:

 Section 14 of POSA, on the temporary prohibition of possession of certain weapons, is now Clause 4 of the Bill
 Section 23 of POSA, on the appointment of conveners, is now Clause 5 of the Bill
 Section 24 of POSA, on the appointment of responsible officers, is now Clause 6 of the Bill
 Section 25 of POSA, on the notice of public demonstrations, is now Clause 7 of the Bill
 Section 26 of POSA, on the consultations with respect to gatherings, is now Clause 8 of the Bill
 Section 27A of POSA, which prohibits gatherings in the vicinity of courts and parliament, is retained as is in Clause 10
 Section 27B of POSA, on appeals against prohibitions, is now Clause 11 of the Bill
 Section 28 of POSA, on the civil liability arising from public gatherings, is now Clause 12 of the Bill
 Section 29 of POSA, on the powers of the police, is now Clause 13 of the Bill
 Section 33 of POSA, on the cordon and search powers of the police, is now Clause 15 of the Bill
 Section 34 of POSA on the powers to stop and search is now Clause 16 of the Bill
 Section 35 of POSA, on the powers of police in relation to aircraft and vessels, is now Clause 17 of the Bill
 Section 38 of POSA, on the powers of seizure and forfeiture in relation to vehicles and aircraft, is now Clause 19 of the Bill
 Section 39 of POSA, on the powers of search and seizure generally, is now Clause 20 of the Bill
 Section 40 of POSA, on the jurisdiction of the courts, is now in Clause 21 of the Bill
 Section 41 of POSA, on the amendment of the schedule, is retained as Clause 22 of the Bill
 The Schedule in POSA is retained as the Schedule in the Bill

It seems government was in a hurry to prepare this Bill because it not only failed to make the sweeping changes required to constitutionalise the law, but it also failed to proof-read its copy and paste work with some humorous effects.

For example, the Schedule in POSA refers to a s24 and the Bill also refers to a s24, except there are only 23 provisions in the Bill. In other words, there is no s24 of the Bill — it simply does not exist. The Schedule in the Bill states that the category of gatherings listed will be exempted from s24’s application.
With the patent error of referring to a non-existent clause, the Schedule, therefore, has no meaning. It also refers to a s6(5) — a section not found in the Bill.

There is one last absurdity worth discussing for this week and that is to be found in the repealing of POSA. According to the Bill, the purpose of MOPA is to repeal POSA, but a fatal mistake is made by the drafters.

There is no repeal clause in the Bill so while it refers to repealing POSA in its preamble, the Bill itself does not repeal the Act expressly, which is ordinarily required for the repeal of laws.

It is very mischievous to repackage oppressive laws as constitutionally compliant when in fact the old laws remain in place under a different label. Government should have simply stated that it wanted to amend POSA because the minor changes it made qualify as amendments.

Since POSA was identical to LOMA and the Bill is identical to POSA then the Bill is LOMA by another name. If the Bill is passed in its current state, it will keep the country in a perennial state of emergency. Next week, we will dissect the substantive defects of the provisions of the Bill and how they violate the Constitution.

 Paul Kaseke is a legal adviser, commentator, policy analyst and former law lecturer with the Wits Law School. He writes in his personal capacity. You can give him feedback via email: justsaying@paulkasekesnr.com or follow him on Twitter @paulkasekesnr

By Simbarashe Sithole

THERE was drama at Kwekwe Magistrates’ Courts last week when police arrested a lawyer who had demanded access to his client arrested for allegedly dealing in foreign currency.

The lawyer, Lenon Mapfumo, from Marufu Misi Law Chambers was allegedly barred from seeing his client, Larry Munashe, who was detained at Kwekwe Central Police Station by two police officers, Jasper Bvaure and Brighton Nechitima.

When the lawyer was on his way to the police station, he met the duo at the courts.

He enquired about the whereabouts of his client in line with Section 70(1)(d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which confers a right on people to be legally represented by lawyers of their choice.

The officers threatened to arrest Mapfumo for disturbing their peace, but the lawyer did not budge.

A scuffle ensued at the court premises, where they tried to handcuff him and he resisted, drawing the attention of other people.

Court business was brought to a halt as Mapfumo wrestled with the two officers who had to use force by pinning him to the ground and dragging him to the police
station.

Midlands police spokesperson Ethel Mukwende’s mobile phone rang unanswered up to the time of going to print last night.

Mapfumo spent 24 hours in police cells and had to be rescued by his colleagues, who demanded his release from police custody, where the police tried to fine him for disorderly conduct, but he refused.

The matter, which was supposed to be heard in court on Sunday, failed to take place after police indicated that they were still trying to find witnesses.

Zimbabwe has the lowest data tariffs in the region but needs to ensure the industry is sustainable going forward as 5G is here.

Analysts believe that modern digital technologies offer the opportunity to streamline business functions, please customers, reduce costs and raise sales.

As the nation is developing and becoming more digitally inclined, the year 2019 is packed with exciting and enormous changes. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) need to continue preparing for the advent of 5G as there are a number of 5G compatible devices set to arrive in 2019.

5G is now a reality. MNOs in Zimbabwe need to embrace this change and we are moving forward. The world is fast moving and only the fittest will survive. We are on track and revolutionising with the world.

Nothing comes without any costs. We need to embrace the digital world which is fast moving towards Artificial Intelligence (AI). We need to sacrifice a little when it comes to data spending.

Smart cities, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) – these technologies will revolutionise the way we live. Heavily dependent on 5G networks to work effectively the nation needs to embrace changes or stay inefficient, which is not an option.

To function successfully, smart cities and IoT devices will rely on a proliferation of high-bandwidth, low latency connections. Meaning, whatever method this ends up being delivered

through, the telecoms industry will be called upon to provide this. So, 2019 should see a great deal of investment and innovation in this area and the move has already begun.

MNOs in Zimbabwe are now embracing the capabilities of blockchain technology. Blockchain, the public online ledger, is a technology with exciting prospects in the next couple of years.

Blockchain’s uses have developed beyond the world of cryptocurrencies, and it’s now being hailed as a technology that can help data-holding companies improve efficiency and security.

So, with this you don’t worry of losing your data or feel insecure. The future of security has arrived in Zimbabwe.

The way our world works is set to become ever more digitally driven, and with all of these developments comes a growing demand for high-bandwidth, low latency and secure data connectivity.

The telecoms industry will play a huge part in enabling this – so everybody needs to be prepared to innovate and invest in order to make this happen.

BY AFRICANEWS

Five soldiers were killed after Boko Haram militants attacked a military base in northeastern Nigeria, military sources reported on Monday.

Members of the Islamic State Group in the West African Province (ISWAP), took the base of Mararrabar Kimba, in Borno State, 135 km from the regional capital, Maiduguri, on Friday. The insurgents seized the weapons before withdrawing, an officer said Saturday.

Three days later, a first assessment shows that at least five people have died and about 30 missing.

“We found five bodies of soldiers who paid the ultimate price in fighting terrorists,” an officer told AFP. “Rescue teams are still looking for about 30 other soldiers who have gone missing since the attack,” he added.

A second officer, who confirmed the death toll of five, added that the army was still hoping that the soldiers who were at large would be found.

“There are high hopes that the missing soldiers will be found – or that they will find their way back,” he hoped: “We don’t think of the worst case scenario.

The Nigerian army has not officially reported on the incident.

According to information gathered from military sources on Saturday, the attackers arrived in a dozen pick-ups equipped with heavy machine guns. They also had three armoured personnel carriers stolen from the security forces. They were accompanied by a group of motorcycle fighters.

After an intense exchange of fire, the soldiers were overwhelmed and a number of them dispersed to escape the better armed Islamists.

More than 27,000 people have died since the beginning of the Boko Haram uprising in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, and 1.8 million others are still unable to return home.

The group also operates in the other countries of the Lake Chad area (Chad, Cameroon, Niger), where it carries out attacks against law enforcement agencies and abductions of civilians.

A coalition of Chadian, Nigerian and Cameroonian forces has been launching an offensive against jihadist concentrations in the region for several weeks.

Nigerian army chief General Tukur Buratai warned last week against regrouping the two factions in Boko Haram to create a jihadist enclave that would extend from northeastern Nigeria to the Lake Chad region.

BY AFRICANEWS

At least five people including a Senior Pastor have died following an attack on a protestant church in Burkina Faso, Sunday.

Security and local reports say the attack took place in Silgadji, 60 km from Djibo, the capital of Soum province in the north of the country.

“Unidentified armed individuals attacked the Silgadji Protestant Church, killing four worshippers and the senior pastor. At least two other people are missing,” a security source told AFP on Monday.

This is the first attack on a church since 2015, the date of the first jihadist attacks on Christian and Muslim prelates.

“The attack took place around 13:00, just as the faithful were leaving the church at the end of the religious service,” an anonymous church member told AFP. “The attackers were on motorcycles. They fired shots in the air before targeting the faithful,” said the witness.

Over the past four years, Burkina Faso has faced increasingly frequent and deadly attacks, attributed to jihadist groups, including Ansarul Islam, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and the Islamic State of the Great Sahara (EIGS).

Initially concentrated in the north of the country, these attacks then targeted the capital and other regions, particularly the east, and have killed some 350 people since 2015, according to an AFP survey.

On Friday, six people, including five teachers, were killed in Maïtaougou, a locality in the eastern region of Koulpélogo province.

Attacks regularly target religious leaders, mainly in the north of the country. In mid-March, Father Joël Yougbaré, priest of Djibo in the north of the country, was kidnapped by armed individuals. His body was found near Djibo, according to residents of the city, though the Catholic church that reported his disappearance has not confirmed the information.

On February 15, Father César Fernandez, a Salesian missionary of Spanish origin, was killed in an armed attack attributed to jihadists in Nohao, in central-eastern Burkina Faso.

In May 2018, catechist Mathieu Sawadogo and his wife were kidnapped in Arbinda and released on September 14. Before them, Pierre Boena, pastor of the Protestant church in Beléhouro, had also been kidnapped and released in June 2018.

Several imams have also been murdered by jihadists in the North. According to security sources, they were “considered not radical enough” by jihadists or “accused of collaborating with the authorities”.

BY CNN

At least nine people have died since Tropical Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest storm to hit the region since records began, made landfall in Mozambique on Thursday.

Five deaths were reported in Mozambique and another four in the island nation of Comoros, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The cyclone is the second powerful tropical storm to hit southeast Africa in five weeks. Despite its power, Cyclone Kenneth is slow-moving, leading experts to fear it could continue to dump torrential rains on an area still reeling from the devastation wrought by Cyclone Idai.

That storm killed 750 people across southern Africa, forced thousands into camps in March and wreaked an estimated $1 billion worth of damage — about 10% of Mozambique’s GDP.

In the commercial hub and provincial capital of Pemba, residents Monday said they hoped the worst was over after a weekend of heavy rains and flooding since Cyclone Kenneth made landfall Thursday.

“The rain has stopped, at least for now. There is still water on the ground but the main roads in the city are now passable,” said resident Innocent Mushunje.

Kevin Record, a hotel owner on the hard-hit island of Ibo, said the region was still without power and “waiting for the cavalry to arrive.”

Forecasters said northern Mozambique could see up to 500 millimeters of rain (about 20 inches) over the next five days, which could exacerbate the flooding.

“The soil is saturated with rain and the rivers are already swollen, so the emergency is likely to get worse,” said Michel Le Pechoux, UNICEF’s deputy representative in Mozambique. “We’re doing everything we can to get teams and supplies on the ground to keep people safe.”

Save the Children said in a separate statement that the storm “has caused extensive damage, ripping homes apart and wiping out entire communities,” and is warning that current conditions have made it extremely difficult to deliver aid to those in need.

“We have grave fears for the thousands of families currently taking shelter under the wreckage of their homes. They urgently need food, water and shelter to survive the coming days,” said Nicholas Finney, Save the Children’s response team leader in Mozambique.

Finney said that the NGO tried to reach some of the hard-hit areas Sunday but were forced to turn back “because rivers had burst their banks and the roads were under water.”

“Flights and helicopters have also been grounded and this means humanitarian access is virtually impossible. We are desperately trying to look for ways to deliver emergency supplies,” said Finney.

The United Nations’ disaster response agency pledged to release $13 million to pay for food, shelter, health, water and sanitation assistance in both Comoros and Mozambique.

“The funds will help in reducing the suffering of the affected people including mitigating the impact on food security caused by the destruction and loss of farmland, livestock and fisheries, in addition to the damage and destruction of homes,” said Mark Lowcock, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator.

Mozambique’s natural disaster management said last week that nearly 3,400 homes were destroyed and more than 18,000 were displaced by Kenneth.

BY BBC

Sri Lanka has banned face coverings in public, following a spate of suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 250 people and injured hundreds.

President Maithripala Sirisena said he was using an emergency law to impose the restriction from Monday.

Any face garment which “hinders identification” will be banned to ensure security, his office said. Muslim leaders criticised the move.

The niqab and burka – worn by Muslim women – were not specifically named.

The move is perceived as targeting those garments, however.

Sri Lanka remains on high alert eight days after Islamist attacks that hit churches and hotels.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested, but local officials have warned that more militants remain at large.

How many people are affected?

Sri Lanka has a sizeable and centuries-old Muslim population – of the country’s 21-million population, just under 10% are Muslim.

Only a small number of women are thought to wear the face-covering niqab, or the burka – a one-piece garment that covers the face and body.

Last week a Sri Lankan MP had proposed a ban on women wearing the burka, saying it should be outlawed on security grounds.

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, an organisation of Muslim clerics in Sri Lanka, was highly critical of the president’s decision.

“It is the stupidest thing to do. Three days ago we took a voluntary decision regarding this. The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulema told all Muslim women not to wear face veils for security reasons. If they wanted to wear a veil, then they were told not to come out,” Hilmy Ahmed, the group’s vice-president, told the BBC.

“We see this as a reflection of the conflict between the president and the prime minister. We strongly criticise the decision. We will not accept the authorities interfering with the religion without consulting the religious leadership.”

Several countries have permanently banned full-face veils in public places, including France, Belgium and Denmark.

Chad, Gabon and the Republic of Congo in Africa also have restrictions in place.

What’s the situation on the ground?

Over the weekend thousands of Sri Lankan troops stood guard on the streets, protecting churches and mosques.

Sunday church services were cancelled across the country as a precaution, but worshippers in the capital gathered to pray outside St Anthony’s Shrine, which was badly damaged in the attacks.

The number of people arrested in connection with the bloodshed rose to 150. Authorities are also hunting for around 140 followers of the jihadist group Islamic State, which has said it was behind the bombings, but has not provided firm evidence of direct involvement.

On Friday, security forces raided a safe house used by the Islamist group NTJ, which authorities have said was behind the attacks. The group was founded by Zahran Hashim, the alleged organiser of the bombings who blew himself up at a hotel in Colombo.

As troops moved in on Friday, three men set off explosives, killing themselves, six children and three women. Three other people died in gunfire.

Hashim’s father and two brothers were among those who died in the operation.