Connect with us

NEWS

Zimbabwe buries its post-election dead

Published

on

Post election violence Zimbabwe
The funeral of one of the six people killed during the clashes on Wednesday in Harare

The four children of a fruit-seller gunned down by Zimbabwean soldiers in post-election violence wept uncontrollably at the sight of their father lying in a casket under a baking sun.

Ishmail Kumire, 41, was one of the six victims of Wednesday’s bloody chaos, sparked when troops fired on opposition activists protesting alleged electoral fraud.

The father of four, known as “Shuz”, was buried on Saturday in the village of Chinamhora, 45km northeast of Harare, watched by 200 mourners.

His fellow vendors swept into the yard of his home, packed into a minibus emblazoned with the words “I am blessed”, alighting drumming and dancing.

Women hunched over large cooking pots balanced on fires, preparing food for the mourners.

Kumire’s death carries a bitter irony. According to his brother Steven Matope, the fruit-seller was not among the opposition protesters angrily claiming that the ruling Zanu-PF had stolen the election.

Instead, he was caught up in the violence because he had stayed at the scene of the protest to protect his fruit.

“Ishmail was a vendor, he wasn’t a political activist,” Matope said.

“He supported the ruling party – but then, it’s the same ruling party that has killed him.”

His funeral came a day after Zanu-PF’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of Zimbabwe’s historic elections, the first since veteran autocrat Robert Mugabe was ousted by the military last year.

Mnangagwa had hailed the polls as a chance to consign to the past Mugabe’s repressive 37-year rule, but Wednesday’s crackdown was a brutal reminder of the violence of his era.

‘Killing for no reason’

“If the ruling party is killing the people it is supposed to govern, I don’t know who it is going to rule. That’s very painful,” Matope added.

“He was just selling his tomatoes,” he said of his brother.

Kumire’s brother-in-law Ignatious Neshava, who witnessed the shooting, told AFP how soldiers swooped on them as they stood guard over his wares, fearing that $700-worth of freshly-purchased produce would be looted amid the chaos.

“He was standing five metres from me and suddenly I heard gunshots. I thought the Zimbabwean soldiers were firing rubber bullets,” said Neshava.

“I turned around and saw Ishmail on the ground, face-down. I saw a cartridge next to him and then, as I tried to turn his body, a soldier came and pointed a gun at my head.

“By that time, Ishmail was bleeding profusely.”

Neshava was sure he was going to be killed too.

“How can they deploy Zimbabwean soldiers in town, killing people for no apparent reason?” he asked, as the wooden casket was lowered into the ground.

Praying for Zimbabwe

Local leader Backshow Matope was also in Harare when the violence flared.

“I saw one woman being shot dead along Samora Machel Avenue,” the 62-year-old said.

“It is very painful that this happens shortly after we voted – what’s the point of voting if as soon as you finish voting, your relative is killed?”

Kumire’s widow Suspicious Ziyambe, 35, described her husband as a doting father.

“I have nothing that I’m able to do, I’m unemployed. He didn’t want me to work, saying he was able to take care of his family,” she said, sobbing.

“I can’t even take over his job. How am I going to look after these children? Tell me, how? He used to do everything for his children .”

Kumire’s brother Douglas said civilians in Zimbabwe were “like animals in a game park”.

“We are not protected,” the 54-year-old said.

‘There is a crisis in Zimbabwe’

“The same Zimbabwean soldiers who removed Mugabe and we celebrated are now being sent to kill people after we voted.”

As opposition leader Nelson Chamisa pressed on with his claim that the election was rigged, Bishop Guide Makore of the Christian Marching Church prayed for divine intervention.

“There is a crisis in Zimbabwe. Lord hear our situation, speak to Zimbabwe, speak to the executive, to the judiciary,” said the clergyman.

“We are appealing to the African Union, to the Southern African Development Community, to the Commonwealth to help come to our rescue.”

In Harare, Jinty Rubenstein was mourning her brother Gavin Charles, who leaves behind a 13-year-old daughter.

“My brother was shot twice, in the arm and in the pelvis – he was shot like a dog,” she said.

“He wouldn’t hurt a fly. My family fought for this country and they shoot my brother like a dog”
AFP

DIASPORA

Zimbabwean Students Find Opportunities Abroad in Nursing

Published

on

Zimbabwean Nursing Students in Poland

A growing number of Zimbabwean students are looking to Poland for nursing education, hoping to find employment in other countries after graduation. Vincent Pol University in Lublin Poland and the University of Economics and Innovation are among the top destinations for Zimbabwean students pursuing nursing degrees.

Over 500 Zimbabwean students are studying in Poland, with the majority enrolled in nursing programs. The reasons for this trend include the high quality of education offered at these institutions, affordable tuition fees, and the potential for employment opportunities abroad after graduation.

“Poland has a very good reputation in the field of nursing education, and the curriculum is aligned with international standards,” said one Zimbabwean nurse who studied in Poland and now works for the NHS in the United Kingdom. “The education and training I received in Poland prepared me well for my nursing career in the UK”

After completing their nursing degrees, many Zimbabwean students are finding employment opportunities in countries like the UK, Canada, and the United States. These countries are currently experiencing a shortage of nurses, and are actively recruiting qualified professionals from other countries to fill these positions.

“The demand for nurses in these countries is high, and the qualifications and experience that Zimbabwean nurses bring make them highly sought after,” he said. “Many Zimbabwean nurses are able to find well-paying jobs with good benefits, and are able to provide a better life for themselves and their families.”

While the prospect of working abroad is attractive to many Zimbabwean students, there are concerns about the brain drain and its impact on the healthcare system in Zimbabwe. “It is important for us to address the root causes of the shortage of nurses in Zimbabwe, and to invest in education and training programs that will help us retain our healthcare professionals,” he added.

Despite these concerns, many Zimbabwean students continue to pursue nursing education in Poland as a means of achieving their career goals and improving their standard of living. With the demand for nurses expected to remain high in the coming years, the prospects for employment abroad look promising for those who are willing to take the leap and pursue their education abroad.

Continue Reading

NEWS

Kembo Mohadi resigns amid sex scandal

Published

on

Kembo Mohadi sex scandal

Zimbabwe Vice President Kembo Mohadi resigned on Monday following local media reports he had engaged in improper conduct.

Kembo Mohadi, along with Constantino Chiwenga, was a deputy to President Emmerson Mnangagwa since 2018, but without a political power base, he was not seen as a potential successor to the president.

In a rare move by a public official in Zimbabwe, Kembo Mohadi said he had taken the decision to step down “not as a matter of cowardice but as a sign of demonstrating great respect to the office of the President”.

I have been going through a soul-searching pilgrimage and realised that I need the space to deal with my problem outside the governance chair,” he said in a statement released by the Ministry of Information.

Local online media service ZimLive has in the past two weeks carried reports that Kembo Mohadi had improper sexual liaisons with married women, including one of his subordinates.

Mohadi, 70, denied the accusations last week saying this was part of a political plot against him. On Monday he continued to deny the accusations saying he would seek legal recourse.

Continue Reading

BUSINESS

Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers

Published

on

Zimbabwe White Farmers

Zimbabwe agreed on Wednesday to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to Zimbabwe white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government to resettle black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era.

But the southern African nation does not have the money and will issue long term bonds and jointly approach international donors with the farmers to raise funding, according to the compensation agreement.

Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of 4,500 Zimbabwe white farmers and redistributed the land to around 300,000 Black families, arguing it was redressing colonial land imbalances.

The agreement signed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State House offices in Harare showed white farmers would be compensated for infrastructure on the farms and not the land itself, as per the national constitution.

Details of how much money each farmer, or their descendants, given the time elapsed since the farms were seized, was likely to get were not yet clear, but the government has said it would prioritise the elderly when making the settlements.

Farmers would receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the balance within five years. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and acting Agriculture Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri signed on behalf of the government, while farmers unions and a foreign consortium that undertook valuations also penned the agreement.

“As Zimbabweans, we have chosen to resolve this long-outstanding issue,” said Andrew Pascoe, head of the Commercial Farmers Union representing  Zimbabwe white farmers.

The land seizures were one of Mugabe’s signature policies that soured ties with the West. Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup in 2017 and died last year, accused the West of imposing sanctions on his government as punishment.

The programme still divides public opinion in Zimbabwe as opponents see it as a partisan process that left the country struggling to feed itself. But its supporters say it has empowered landless Black people. Mnangagwa said the land reform could not be reversed but paying of compensation was key to mending ties with the West. Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending