Gweru Centenary Celebrations (Saturday 8 November 2014) Programme

Follow us on Twitter for events as they occur. Maxwell Katakamba@GweruToday

TOCHIBVONDORA, SAYS MDC YOUTH LEADER ‘CDE BVONDO’

Happymore Chidziva aka Leader Cde Bvondo

"Mass action is our birthright"

Newly-elected MDC-T Youth Assembly chairman, Happymore Chidziva aka Leader cde Bvondo, has vowed to lead Zimbabwean youths into peaceful demonstrations to protest mounting economic hardships, saying mass action is their birthright.

Speaking at the Gweru Press Club on Tuesday, Chidziva was passionate about the proposed MDC demonstrations, which have received widespread criticisms from ZANU PF, saying President Robert Mugabe should deliver on his own pre-election promises to provide two-million jobs.

“ We are going to the streets and will make the system ungovernable for the government of the day,” a fiery Cde Bvondo warned.

He said the newly-elected MDC youth executive was radical enough to effect change.

“We are radical enough to dislodge Mugabe,” he said.

“We will make sure that Mugabe is out of office by any means possible, and we call it Bvondorisation.”

The MDC youths are demanding affordable quality education, jobs and equal opportunities.

Youth assembly secretary-general Lovemore Chinoputsa said the demonstrations have already received support from youths around the country.

Lovemore Chinoputsa

“We are convinced that the peaceful mass demonstrations are the mechanism to force ZANU PF to come to the negotiating table,” Chinoputsa said

“They will force Mugabe to consider having new elections.”

Chinoputsa said they would embark on n awareness campaign, educating the youths on the benefits of demonstrating.

"We are not going to just fill the streets before educating young people to understand the vision of all these activities," he said

"We have had elections and we failed, the only way to remove Mugabe is by demonstrating."

The youth leaders defended the decision to centralise power to Tsvangirai's office, saying it was the only way to eliminate many centres of power, which they said previously led to two destabilizing spirits. - DAILYNEWS

PROMINENT DOCTOR GRABS CHURCH MICROPHONE, SHOUTS ‘MAC*#@DE ENYU, I HATE CHRISTIANS’

A prominent Gweru medical doctor who practices in Seventh Street Tuesday evening stormed into a Pentecostal church in the Main Post Office basement, grabbed the microphone from a Praise and Worship team leader and shouted ‘I hate Christians.’

A microphone

According to highly impeccable sources who witnessed the sad event and dashed to Midlands Hotel where most journalists in Gweru were holding elections for an interim Gweru Press Club committee, the infuriated general practitioner went on to unleash a chain of expletives like ‘mach*#de enyu’ and more, much to the disgust of the Christian congregation comprising mostly women.

“He was fuming, claiming that we had no right disturbing his peace, and were making noise, after which he said he hated Christians, churches and went on to utter word like #@*, *#@, and *##*(expletives deleted)

MORE TO COME…

MSU STUDENT FINED $100 OVER CELLPHONE THEFT

A MIDLANDS State University student landed himself in soup after stealing his friend's cellphone.

Trinity Nyikadzino, of Ascot, pleaded guilty to the charge of theft as defin
ed in section 113 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23 when he appeared before Gweru magistrate, Judith Taruvinga, last week.

Trinity Nyikadzin

Nyikadzino, of Ascot in Gweru, was ordered to pay a fine of $100 and if he defaults he would be imprisoned for 30 days.

The presiding magistrate also ordered Nyikadzino to restitute Mugwagwa Prosper Kudzanai with a sum of $200 before November 30.

According to the magistrate, the restitution is meant to compensate the complainant of his phone and failure to do so would see Nyikadzino earning 30 days in prison.

State counsel, Hellen Khosa, told the court that on October 3, 2014 at around 1pm Nyikadzino and Mugwagwa were drinking beer at Manhede Business Centre in the company of Itai Mhokore, Talent Gundani and Tapiwa Jere.

Khosa also told the court that the complainant got drunk and slept with his black Gtell 708 cellphone in his pocket.

At around 3.30pm the complainant woke up and discovered that his phone and school ID were missing.
The accused was no longer at the place and the complainant made some enquiries to his friends and one of them claimed that he saw Nyikadzino taking it from his pocket.- ONLINE

SOCCER STAR NABBED AFTER STEALING FROZEN CHICKEN

Fanuel 'Chikwepa' Sibanda

Division 1 side Tongogara FC’s Fanuel ‘Fancho’ Sibanda, better known as ‘Chikwepa’ is reported to have been caught red-handed by an alert shop attendant after stealing frozen chicken at Broadway Supermarket in Mambo township and walking out without paying for it today.

Said our source:” Aba huku mabroardway....(at Mambo Shopping Centre)..ndewepama flats epamutapa hama anotambira masoja epaKwekwe muD one asekuru.”

The 20 year-old was said to have been warned and let loose, thanks to his popularity.

Of late, things have not been well for the former Ascot Secondary student.

“Handina 4ne guyz zvakaoma,” was his last Facebook post, with Marcus Gavey Mpofu flatly telling him “Ndezvako uri rombe.”(You are to blame, bum). That was on April 2 at 9:16pm

Another friend, Marshall Chiname M C, suggested that the former PSL player, who used to turn up for relagated Gweru side Hardbody FC, sell his boots and buy a cellphone instead.

“Tengesa mashooterz utenge phone,” advised Marshall.

DJ MARRIES TWO TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN ONE DAY

Ukhozi FM DJ-turned-traditional healer, Ngizwenkosi Mchunu, married two wives on the same day at a wedding held at his homestead of Emabhuqwini, Nkandla, KZN, over the weekend.

The two ladies include his first wife, Sphelele MaNxumalo Mchunu to whom he was traditionally married, and his new wife, Lindi Khuzwayo Mchunu.

His father, Bhekumndeni Mchunu, said Ngizwe had to take Lindi as his second wife on behalf of Ngizwe's late older brother, Mkhosi who died when the two were still kids.

"Mkhosi came to Ngizwe in a dream and showed a picture of Lindi to him,”

Bhekumndeni said. "He told Ngizwe to marry her for him.” Ngizwe and both his wives are traditional healers.

Sphelele, who is from Ntuzuma, has three kids with Ngizwe. Lindi is from Yeoville in Johannesburg, and has one kid with him.

Bhekumndeni admitted it wasn't easy to organise such a wedding, because Sphelele had raised some objections.

"She had a reasonable point to stop the wedding, but I am happy that the three families resolved the problem and the wedding went well,” he said.

Bhekumndeni said Sphelele had complained that Lindi was getting a white wedding.

"Sphelele said that she was there first, but had not been given such a wedding,” he said.

The groom's father said he was proud that his son had followed in his footsteps.
"I have two wives" he said. "It's good that both his wives know each other and understand our culture."

Source - Daily Sun

ARREST US, VENDORS CHALLENGE MUNICIPAL POLICE

As I make this post, just after 1545hrs local time, Robert Mugabe Way in Gweru resembles a war-zone.

About a dozen Municipal Police officers moving in an open jeep are attempting to arrest, or at least rid hundreds of street vendors off the pavements…a typical Mission Impossible.

File photo: Gweru residents join in the cops'n vendors game

Unlike everyday when the vendors sprint away from the metro cops with their wares clutched in their hands, today is a different day. There are not running away. In fact, they are challenging the custodians of the law to arrest them if they can.

Even the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is nowadays not part of this vendor-arresting team.

Farm produce has been turned into missiles, and the officers are doing their best ducking flying tomatoes, oranges, you name it.

I feel sorry for the cops. They are so outnumbered…and even if they were not, the vendors have First Lady Grace Mugabe on their side.

“Ndimi vana ani muri kutidzinga mumastreets mabasa kusina! Amai vakati titengese, saka sungaika tione!” (How dare you try to arrest us when the First Lady allowed us to conduct business from the pavements) They are all speaking with one voice…and they are really angry too!

Addressing supporters in the city last month, Amai Mugabe said it was hard enough for vendors to try and put food on the table for their families in a difficult economy, adding the police must stop making their plight worse.
“Women told me about their vendor marts, the challenges they are facing,” she said.

“They are being chased away like people who are mentally challenged. The police should engage women and talk this thing out. Women are being troubled by your actions of chasing them away whenever they want to sell their goods.”

She then attacked the police culture of demanding freebies, telling them that they draw salaries from the government and must pay their way like everybody else.

Vendors across the country regularly get raided by police for allegedly operating in non-designated areas and all manner of alleged offences. Their wares are seized during the raids and never returned.

“They say police officers don’t want to pay for anything, they just organize a raid if they want tomatoes and onions,” said the First Lady.

“That is what I heard. Stop doing that. This is not how it’s done in business. We have never refused to sell to you. Pay for the goods because you are paid salaries.”

She added: “Stop chasing away women. Just tell them to operate from market stalls if they are operating at undesignated points.

A #Team_Grace graphic by Edmund Maguvu Jr

“It is not good to take people’s goods when they are trying to fend for their families. It is not easy to bring food on the table for our families.”
Early morning today, some women adorned in ZANU PF regalia that include the common Robert Mugabe portrait-emblazoned Zambia cloths and ‘Mazoe Crush’ t-shirts, moved around the central business district preaching some kind of gospel to the poor sellers. Whatever they were told must have made sense to them.

A few informal traders however sympathize with the hapless council employees: “They just need to pretend running away, and those council guys will go away, only to come back a few more times. They do not need to necessarily fight them, it is not their fault, and even their pay-days are not consistent. Grace akukonzeresa,” remarks a newspaper vendor in annoyance.

The municipal cops cannot do anything but just film the proceedings, maybe to present the photos and videos to the big-bossmen - that the weather is hot in every sense - in the streets.

Posting from the Midlands capital, I am Nhasi…….muGweru