The Constitutional Court must be applauded for handing down far reaching judgments in so far as the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights set out in the Constitution is concerned. Among these judgments is State v Chokuramba CCZ 10/19 which outlawed the imposition of corporal punishment on male juveniles convicted of criminal offences. Corporal punishment is any punishment in which physical force is used to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. Whipping, slapping, spanking, kicking, pinching or any punishment calculated to cause bodily harm is corporal punishment. The Constitutional Court is yet to determine whether or not parents at home and teachers at school should beat up children for disciplinary purposes.

Section 175 of the Constitution provides that where a court makes an order declaring any law to be constitutionally invalid, such an order has no force of law until confirmed by the Constitutional Court. Simply put, only the Constitutional Court can make a final decision on constitutional invalidity. Where for example, the High Court makes an order to the effect that a certain law is unconstitutional, the case in question must be referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation or discharge.

Judicial corporal punishment used to be authorised by section 353 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, Chapter 9:07(CPEA). The Honourable Justice Muremba referred the case of S v Chokuramba to the Constitutional Court after making an order to the effect that judicial corporal punishment upon male juveniles is unconstitutional.
Subsequently the Constitutional Court in terms of section 175 of the Constitution struck down section 353 of the CPEA and declared that with effect from April 3 2019 no male juvenile convicted of any offence shall be sentenced to receive moderate corporal punishment.

Section 241 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23 permits parents and guardians to administer moderate corporal punishment on boys and girls under eighteen. It also authorises school teachers to administer moderate corporal punishment on boys under eighteen. Corporal punishment upon female pupils is, however, prohibited.
On March 3 2017, the Honourable Justice Mangota referred the case of Pfungwa and Another v Headmistress of Belvedere Jnr Primary School and Others HH 148/17 to the Constitutional Court in terms of section 175 of the Constitution.
The case involved a minor female pupil who was assaulted with a thick rubber pipe by her school teacher. The reason for the beating was that her mother had not signed her reading book as confirmation that homework had been done. The pupil allegedly suffered red bruises on her back as a result of the assault.

Linah Pfungwa, the assaulted pupil’s mother went on to send pictures of her bruised daughter on a WhatsApp group for parents and it turned out that other pupils had also been assaulted by the same teacher. Linah Pfungwa together with Justice for Children Trust then took the matter to the High Court to seek an order to have corporal punishment in school and in the home declared unconstitutional. Justice for Children Trust is a corporate body whose main objective is to ensure that international standards which protect children are realised and actualised in Zimbabwe. Represented by Mr Tendai Biti, Justice for Children Trust also made contributions in the landmark case of S v Chokuramba.

Arguing for the applicants in the Pfungwa case, Tendai Biti submitted that corporal punishment in the home and in school is unconstitutional in the sense that it violates sections 51, 53 and 81 of the Constitution. Section 51 confers on every person, the right to human dignity. Section 53 provides that “No person may be subjected to physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Section 81 elaborates the rights of children. It provides that children have rights inter alia, to equal treatment before the law and to be protected from any form of abuse. Convinced by the applicants’ arguments the High Court referred the Pfungwa case to the Constitutional for a declaration of constitutional invalidity. The case is still awaiting confirmation.

If the Constitutional Court confirms the High Court’s findings in Pfungwa, no one, whether a teacher at school or a parent at home will be allowed to whip, smack, slap, spank, kick or even pinch a child. Parents and teachers will have to resort to other means of instilling discipline than corporal punishment.

The decision of the Constitutional Court will be final. It is a no-brainer that disallowing parents to discipline their own children through corporal punishment will brew public outcry.

While it may be argued that corporal punishment is unconstitutional, a blanket ban approach seem not to be the best solution. In Pfungwa, Mr Biti argued that ‘corporal punishment in school is dangerous in that it is administered indiscriminately without any measure or control over the teachers who administer it. The point I make from this argument is that corporal punishment is a necessary tool for instilling discipline but it must be vigilantly administered. It is submitted that stringent measures must be put in place in schools to ensure corporal punishment is not indiscriminately administered.

Parents and guardians who indiscriminately administer corporal punishment must be arrested for contravening section 7 of the Children’s Act, Chapter 5:06. The maximum sentence that a court can impose upon conviction is 5 years imprisonment or a level 10 fine (RTGS$6000). The sentencing guideline for the offence seem to be deterrent enough.

As long as corporal punishment is vigilantly administered, it cannot be said to be a violation of a child’s dignity. Neither can it be argued to be an inhuman or a degrading punishment. If on the other hand it is indiscriminately administered, as was in Pfungwa, it undeniably becomes unconstitutional. Sometimes the use of the rod would be the child’s best interests. Be that as it may be, the Constitutional Court is going determine whether the rod should be spared. The nation is curiously waiting for yet another far reaching judgement.

ONE of the golden finds of the urban grooves music genre of the early 2000s Leonard Mapfumo, is among the few still standing.

SoundTrack with Chelsea Musafare

The genre owes its lift off to former Information minister Jonathan Moyo’s controversial 75% local content policy on local radio stations.

Although many of the youngsters that emerged during that golden era — including Roy and Royce Gomo, David Chifunyise, Betty Makaya, Balt and Beit, Shame and Nathan appeared to have gone off the radar, others have seen their music metamorphose following the emergence of Zimdancehall.

For the likes of Rockford “Roki” Josphat, ExQ, Stunner and Maskiri, innovation was the key that kept them afloat.
This has seen the burden of fighting for pure urban grooves thrust on the shoulders of Mapfumo and a few others, who have continued to release music in the genre.

The Dreamstar Zimbabwe Talent Show artistic director shot to fame in 2002 with his single, Seiko, and has continued on course, with his most recent tracks, Huwii and Nhodo, cementing his place in the annals of urban grooves history.

In 2005, Mapfumo produced an album with Roki, titled R & L with the song Maidei, which reached the number one spot on ZBC top 10 singles charts and stayed on the charts for 42 weeks, a feat that is yet to be achieved ever since by any other musician.

His tracks, Two Chete, Chiuya, Shevedza and Shamwari were also dominant.

Inspired by real life events, the hit-maker has been releasing love songs that resonate with many of his mainly youthful fans and if online music platforms records are anything to go by, the musician has reinvented himself to remain relevant.

Last year, Mapfumo released two music videos which have garnered 12 million views on YouTube.
Mapfumo’s sound evolved to Afro-pop at the launch of Trevor Dongo’s music video, Hazvidi Nharo, in which he is featured.

He makes music that resonates with mature people and mainly dwells on love and the struggles that are faced by ordinary citizens living in the ghettos like the song, Hazvidi Nharo, which narrates a ghetto love story.

The album, NaMapfumo, had every song featuring at least one artiste to spice up the tracks with their sweet harmonious voices. The love song, Two Chete, featuring Trevor Dongo and Rutendo had fans in their feel.

Maidei, a favourite for many themed around an unfaithful ex-lover, features ExQ. Mvura, featuring Sani Makhalima, impressed quite a lot of music lovers since Sani is a guru when it comes to choruses with a sweet accord. Usazoputsa is blessed with some lovely vocals by Trevor and Shingie and the same goes for Sherrie, featuring Cindy Raw.

Mapfumo’s music has driven relationships with the words crafted by the talented artiste always conveying messages between love birds.

In the days gone by in the absence of digital technology and before people could send songs to each other via WhatsApp or such other share links, his songs were used as dedication love songs in good or bad relationship situations.

When it comes to video production, the singer has been releasing some of the best music videos ever since he returned from sabbatical. His choice when it comes to locations, cameras makes him produce top notch videos.

When it comes to creativity, he is one of the highly-rated artistes in the country. His sonorous voice is unique in the music circles, especially when compared to his urban grooves peers.

Mapfumo has shown how flexible he is by releasing hard-hitting verses with entertaining word plays and punchlines. Working with different producers, new artistes, creative people, exchanging ideas and the willingness to learn has helped him remain strong and creative.

As he soldiers on, Mapfumo is currently working on more projects this year to add to his discography. In a bid to expand his brand, the singer is yet to venture into new avenues and explore more in his roles as talent scout, manager and artistic director.

Since his 2020 resolution is to target the international market as it promotes local music, Mapfumo will next month release a track titled No Lie in which he will feature DRC’s talented young artiste, Novy Kays. If Mapfumo strives to be consistent with his music, he will soon regain his former glory.

SALLY Mugabe Central Hospital (formerly Harare Central Hospital) was almost deserted yesterday as MPs in the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Health toured the institution.

VENERANDA LANGA/VANESSA GONYE

The committee, which is chaired by Ruth Labode, was investigating reports of deteriorating state of healthcare, conditions of service of medical personnel, as well as lack of equipment and essentials at the country’s public health institutions.

Sally Mugabe Central Hospital chief executive officer (CEO) Tinashe Dhobi yesterday confirmed that the 1 200-bed hospital was now operating at around 45% capacity compared to the 70% of a few months ago.
The hospital was severely affected by a strike by doctors which began in September last year, while lack of water and high consultation fees have also resulted in deterioration of services.

“Normally, our bed occupancy is between 50% to 70%, but due to industrial action we dropped to even less than 20%, but as we speak we are at 45%,” Dhobi said.

“Besides those who are admitted at the hospital, which is around 700 patients, we see 1 700 patients in casualty and after the industrial action some departments are about to open.”

Dhobi told MPs that around 1 500 maternity cases used to be handled by the hospital per month, but these have now declined to an average 400 cases.

The hospital is also underfunded, and has severe water problems which has resulted in only four theatres out of 15 working. It is also straddled with a debt of $32 million.

The hospital CEO was, however, at loggerheads with MPs after he responded to their questions evasively and in an antagonistic manner resulting in the committee warning him that Parliament had powers to charge him with contempt.
Dhobbi also downplayed some issues that specialist doctors were raising at the hospital, which included lack of equipment and that most theatres were not in working condition.

But the hospital clinical director Christopher Pasi admitted there was serious shortage of equipment, water and nursing staff, severely crippling theatre operations.

Deputy Health Minister John Mangwiro who was present during the tour assured MPs that the Health Minister Obadiah Moyo had lobbied Treasury to ensure 700 more nurses are employed to ease staffing problems at State hospitals.
Meanwhile, the continued flexi-hour arrangement by nurses has been cited as dentrimental to the country’s already sickening health system.

Nurses continue to report for duty twice a week leaving a lot of work uncompleted, posing a threat to patients who need their undistracted attention.

“We haven’t changed, the two-day working week system is still in place. We haven’t received any communication on changes to the effect,” said a nurse at Parirenyatwa hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Some of the doctors on duty acknowledged that there was a crisis that has been brought about by the flexi-system.

Nurses went on a strike in November and only came back after the introduction of the flexi-hours system.

Another visit by NewsDay to Rutsanana clinic in Glen Norah showed that nurses were working, with three of them administering immunisation care to infants with a number of mothers queuing for the service.

“This is the second time I am bringing my baby for immunisation and we have been attended to. Around October and November things were different because we could not get the services with nurses being said to be on strike,” said Stella Tingindi from Glen Norah.

HEALTH minister Obadiah Moyo was yesterday grilled by Parliament over Zimbabwe’s preparedness to deal with the coronavirus should it be detected in the country.

BY VENERANDA LANGA/GARIKAI TUNHIRA

Moyo had appeared before the Ruth Labode-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health to respond to a petition by the Senior Doctors Hospitals Association (SDHA) on the dearth of Zimbabwe’s health system and other grievances by doctors pertaining to conditions of service.

SDHA president Shingai Nyaguse doubted the country’s preparedness, but later when Moyo appeared before the committee, he said Zimbabwe was well prepared.

“Our laboratories are not at a stage of testing for the coronavirus. What it means is that the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be taking samples of suspected cases to laboratories in South Africa. Our infectious diseases hospitals should also be prepared with oxygen,” Nyaguse said.

But Moyo said all the ports of entry, and airports were ready to tackle the virus should it emerge.

“We have adequate thermo scanners at our borders. As far as isolation is concerned, we make sure that all visitors are well checked and should there be symptoms, we will put them in quarantine. The best quarantine facility is in Victoria Falls, where there are tourists,” he said.

“We are aware that the treatment utilised is antiretroviral drugs which works. The coronavirus emanates from animals and is transmitted to persons. It is a respiratory illness. We must educate people to always cover their mouths when coughing and wash hands.”

Moyo said his ministry had identified equipment for testing of the coronavirus.

“The equipment is there, but what is missing are test kits so that we do not continue to send samples to South Africa,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), in a statement, said the government must enforce adequate surveillance measures at all ports of entry into the country.

“Such mechanisms must be in place to diagnose suspected patients, provide treatment facilities which minimise further spread to others and/or health workers and to do contact tracing for all suspected traces. Active surveillance, prompt diagnosis and effective treatment of infected individuals have been shown to be the mainstay of containing outbreaks,” ZADHR executive director Calvin Fambirai said.

He said this called for health workers to be mobilised, trained, equipped and well protected to deal with any suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus.

KAIZER Chiefs goal poacher Khama Billiat sprinted to court this week to ask the law to protect him from his marauding baby mama.

DailySun

Billiat, who is embroiled in an off-the-field drama with a 22-year-old woman, approached the Randburg Magistrates Court this week to obtain an interim protection order against her.

The duo is expected to appear in court on February 27 when the woman should give reasons why the order should not be made permanent.

The young mum, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of her nine-month-old child, angered the super star when she went to Chiefs headquarters in Naturena yesterday morning and requested to see Billiat.

This happened two days after Sunday Sun ran an article about how she stabbed him on the hand with a screwdriver outside Midrand Police Station a fortnight ago.

According to one of her friends, security guards at the Amakhosi village blocked her from entering the facility.
“They went to the training ground and called him, but he refused to come out,” the friend said.

But the drama did not end at Naturena, because the woman later went to Billiat’s residence in Midrand.

“It’s not easy to get in there. When you arrive at the gate, they have to call him first. If he refuses to grant you entry as a visitor, then security doesn’t allow you to come in,” explained the friend.

According to Billiat’s court papers, the woman should stop calling him, visiting him at his home or work and should also stop talking about him in the media.

Billiat could not be reached for comment while Chiefs spokesperson Vina Maphosa said he was not at the office yesterday when the woman came.

He said: “I don’t have reports. I will find out.”

Asked if he knew anything about the woman in question, he confirmed that he had met her before.

“The lady once came to the Village and just like any other walk-ins, I received her, listened to her query with utmost compassion and gave her advise on the club protocols of dealing with private matters,” Maphosa explained.

The baby mama declined to comment.

REPORTS say our country was set to clear its arrears with Mozambique and South Africa in order to revive a trilateral agreement with the neighbouring countries as part of immediate-term solution to stabilise local power supplies.

By Melissa, Our Reader

There is now light at the end of the tunnel.

However, workers at Zesa Holdings should not spoil our optimism. They should realise that it is no longer business as usual and rise to the occasion.

One gets the feeling that some of them only perform their duties after pocketing bribe money. As an example, I can illustrate this with an observation: There was a huge gum tree at our neighbour’s house in Parktown, Harare which was interfering with power lines. That was early last year.

We literally begged the utility’s workers to temporarily remove the lines so that we could cut the tree without endangering our lives. They finally removed them after some months of begging, but we were surprised when they went away with the lines.

After cutting the tree we notified the workers, hoping that they would come and place the lines back in position to facilitate connections, but they started dilly-dallying, giving contradicting excuses.

So up to now nothing has been done, but strangely enough individuals who claim to have links with our depot continue visiting us saying they can fix the power lines for us, provided we can give them a few US dollars.
We refuse to give in to corruption and hope that one day justice will prevail.

Maybe this is what President Emmerson Mnangagwa referred to when he said Zesa workers have a hand in the rampant vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure, which has cost the country millions of dollars and has led to disruption of efficient power transmission across the country.

CIVIL society and social movements have long been at the centre of pushing back corruption and authoritarian practices. Zimbabwe was no exception in the run-up to the November 2017 coup d’état that ousted the late President Robert Mugabe after four decades of unaccountable rule. This report, based on in-country interviews and focus group discussions, examines the transition that followed the coup to draw broader lessons for how the international community can support, without harming, grassroots non-violent action initiatives in countries undergoing profound political shifts.

By Gladys Kudzaishe Hlatywayo/Charles Mangongera

Zimbabwean lawyers demand justice for people detained in the government’s crackdown on violent protests in January 2019. Zimbabwean lawyers demand justice for people detained in the government’s crackdown on violent protests in January 2019. The November 2017 coup in Zimbabwe that ousted Robert Mugabe was at best a flawed transition. Its complexities included a party-state-military conflation and a change of leadership not concomitant with a change of governance culture.

Non-violent social movements and campaigns played a crucial role in promoting citizen agency immediately before the coup, at a time traditional forms of civil society and the opposition were both weak.

Social movements may appear to dissipate, but can reemerge, reflecting a cycle of ups and downs and boosts of action around trigger events. This pattern began unfolding in early 2019 in Zimbabwe.

External support helped enable Zimbabwe’s transparency, accountability, and good governance (Tagg) actors to push back authoritarianism and achieve incremental democratic gains.

External actor support effectiveness can be improved by enabling local capacities for collective action, providing alternative flexible funding for non-traditional civil society actors, and encouraging context-driven knowledge that promotes locally-grounded strategies and recognises different situational nuances.

The international community should view engagement with Zimbabwe’s government and Tagg movement as mutually inclusive and reinforcing.

International support should be available throughout Zimbabwe’s electoral cycles given that democracy is not restricted to voting. Intensifying grassroots Tagg activities around elections is also fodder for government propaganda efforts portraying civil society organisations as regime change agents.

The newly formed Ideas Party of Democracy will, as part of the preparations for the 2023 elections, soon roll out a programme to seed-fund those who seek to set up small scale business and social projects.

In an interview, IPD leader, Hebert Chamuka said, “Our party has programmes to fulfill its promises and as such we have lined up some funding for projects to assist those who want to set up small businesses such as flea markets, vending stalls, and other small projects.”

Hebert Chamuka

In addition, Chamuka said the IPD will also support rural sports activities for children and women through the provision of resources and facilities.

” Social activities are a critical part of any society and we recognise that, and that is why as part of our programmes, we will support the young and old with facilities to enable them to engage in social activities such as soccer among other things.”

Chamuka said his party will target rural voters and reiterated that his party is independent of other political players.

“We are not going to be part of (The Political Actors Dialogue) Polad platform and we will not join other parties.”

Polad is a grouping of some of the minority political actors that contested in the 2018 harmonised elections.

guest column:Arthur Mutambara

I HAVE seen Press reports about this years’ Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examination results all over the place. I want to congratulate all the students, schools and teachers who excelled. Congratulations!

However, on the Zimsec Advanced Level examination results, there is a slight problem of grade inflation — a pernicious and ruinous national cancer. How do you get one school getting 79 students with 15 points (or more) out of 140 students? This is 56% of the students getting the same top examination outcome. This is shameless grade inflation.

Throughout the country, some schools have such results as 37, 25 or such large numbers of 15-pointers each. While these achievements must be celebrated and the students applauded, there is a problem.

How do you differentiate these multitudes of 15-pointer kids? The very top students (the superstars) are now hidden and buried in the 79, 37 and 25, for example. You cannot tell who they are. How do you get them scholarships or secure places for them into top universities such as Oxford, Harvard or Cambridge when there are a thousand students with 15 points from Zimbabwe? It is meaningless. You probably have to give them another examination to distinguish and differentiate them.

The 2019 Zimsec Advanced Level examination results do not follow a standard normal distribution curve. How do you get 56% of the students from one school getting the same top examination outcome? These results are a disservice to the best and brightest students. In fact, they are a disservice to all the students.

Grade inflation is not a good idea. I have received a lot of requests from these students with 15 points or more from this year’s results, asking for opportunities at top universities across the world. While I congratulate the high achievers and I am excited for them, it is very tough to sell their outstanding results to great institutions outside Zimbabwe, because of the obvious and disgraceful grade inflation. Do you approach Oxford or Harvard with a thousand such 15-pointers from Zimbabwe? It is a joke.

Why do I say this? When you present a thousand students with 15 points from one country (obtained in one sitting) to a university like Oxford or Harvard, it is meaningless because the thousand students are not differentiated. You cannot tell who is in the top 10 or 20 among the thousand outstanding students. You put the top university in an invidious situation. They cannot admit them, and yet some of the thousand students would definitely qualify to study in these top and globally competitive programmes. However, you do not know who they are. You might have to give the thousand students another examination to rank them. This is the challenge that is presented by grade inflation.

Zimsec must sort out this mess.

For sure, getting 35 points or 25 points is an indicator of differentiation. However, the standard Advanced Level examination is three subjects. So, attaining 15 points from three subjects (3As) becomes the ultimate and uniform measure of the highest excellence. Yes, you can say the 35- pointer has differentiated himself or herself. Agreed. However, taking more than three subjects is not the standard format of the Advanced Level examination. Very few students do that. And when they do not take more than three subjects, that act/choice must not count against them in terms of excellence.

Now, how about the thousand with three As (who only took three subjects) each? Are they all equal? How do top universities choose the best among these thousand students? How do you differentiate these thousand students? Surely some of them are superstars who qualify to enter Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard or Stanford. But we cannot tell who they are from the thousand. This is the challenge presented by grade inflation that I am flagging.

Globally grade inflation is a well-known concept. There have been cases in African countries (eg Nigeria), the United States, and Europe. In the high school sector, the UK has been effectively grappling with it by having several private examination boards that compete, thus shaming and minimising the occurrence of this scourge.

In analysing the Zimsec outcomes, it is clear that certainly, our children are not getting too smart. That is not the issue. The problems are the standard of the examination, the marking systems and grading thereafter. It is a Zimsec problem. Those who took Cambridge Advanced Level examinations in 2019 do not have this grade inflation problem.

Our challenge is that we have one national (incompetently State-run) examination body. We need to rethink, reimagine and re-invent Zimsec. They must understand the meaning and impact of grade inflation. In the UK, as already indicated, there have several privately-run examination bodies that compete and thus mitigates and manages the occurrence of grade inflation.

By the way, once they are admitted into top global universities, students from our great country, generally distinguish themselves. With the tremendous and world-renowned Zimbabwean work ethic and drive, they usually take care of business. Sometimes, getting into these top schools is now the problem, and not performance once admitted. I sit on the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee. Getting the scholarship does not guarantee you a place at Oxford University. There is a separate application process into Oxford.

About five years ago, one of our two Rhodes Scholarship choices: A First Class Degree in Computer Science from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) could not get a place at Oxford University! They asked the selected Rhodes scholar to spend a year at the lower-ranked Brookes University (next door to Oxford) for a year, and prove himself first, then apply again to the University of Oxford.Of course, the young man was shuttered and humiliated. But he braved it, spent the year at Brookes, and eventually gained entrance into Oxford. He is now a proud Oxonian. But can you imagine the ordeal and psychological trauma that the young man had to go through? Was it necessary?

Now, do you know why the University of Oxford did this to our Rhodes scholar? Because UZ gave a Phd to former First Lady Grace Mugabe after three months. Oxford basically discounted the young man’s First Class to a Third!

These are the things we do to undermine our superstar students! We ought to stop. We must protect the brand, opportunities and possibilities for all our students, the country’s future human capital, starting from primary school, through high school right up to tertiary education. Sorting out the mess at Zimsec — the disgraceful and shameful grade inflation – is a national imperative.

Arthur Mutambara is Zimbabwe’s former Deputy Prime Minister and an Oxford University graduate