National

Zanu PF faces threat from Zimbabwe’s new opposition party

Published

4 years ago

March 31, 2022

BY JASON BURKE

Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party may be facing an uphill struggle to secure a clear victory in elections due next year after a new opposition party made significant gains in byelections last weekend, raising concerns of new political instability and possible violence.

The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), which was only founded in January, won 19 out of 28 parliamentary seats in polls widely regarded as a test run for the 2023 presidential election.

In 2018, a fractured opposition came thin one percent of forcing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power following the fall of President Robert Mugabe, into a runoff. The vote was marred by allegations of rigging.

The CCC is led by Nelson Chamisa, who described the weekend’s results as a “landslide”.

“There is nothing that will stop us from forming the next government … Yes challenges are there. Electoral reforms must be implemented, and we have said those reforms have to be put in place,” Chamisa told reporters in Harare earlier this week.

Analysts say the opposition in Zimbabwe has largely unified around Chamisa, putting an end to the worst of the internecine bickering that undermined its previous efforts to win power. The gains made by the CCC at the weekend suggest a tight battle next year, with Mnangagwa likely to be forced into a run-off that he could lose.

Though the CCC won most of the urban vote, taking 75 of the contested 122 municipal seats, it failed to make inroads outside towns. Overall turnout was low.

Chamisa accused the ruling Zanu-PF of using underhand tactics. Party officials said traditional leaders in rural constituencies intimidated voters by forcing them to register names in a local database before voting. Electoral officials denied the accusations.

“Had it not been for rigging and other shenanigans particularly in the countryside we would be talking about [winning] almost 26 out of 28 [constituencies] but … the citizens are clear and have made a bold statement,” Chamisa said.

Electoral and ruling party officials denied the allegations.

Though campaigning in 2018 was relatively peaceful, the polls were followed by a wave of repression with soldiers shooting civilians in central Harare and hundreds of arbitrary detentions.

In campaigning for last weekend’s byelections, CCC supporters were teargassed or assaulted by police, several were arrested and one killed. The party was forced to obtain court orders to allow rallies to go ahead after authorities claimed there were insufficient police officers to provide security.

Independent observer groups such as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) said some candidates’ conduct amounted to vote buying, including giving out food to voters.

“The election day was peaceful but with concerns of community coercion,” Zesn said in a statement.

In the southern city of Bulawayo, ruling party officials distributed sacks of maize flour before the vote, residents told the Guardian.

Human rights organisations have accused the ruling party of encouraging violence. On 26 February, Zimbabwe’s vice-president, Constantino Chiwenga, said the ruling Zanu-PF party would “crush the (opposition) like lice under a stone.”

A day later, a gang of unidentified men entered the centre of Kwekwe, a town 200km from Harare and a key constituency, where they attacked CCC supporters on their way to a rally.

Around 20 people were injured with bottles, iron bars, spears and bricks. Mboneni Ncube, a 30-year-old man and opposition supporter died after being stabbed.

Five suspects have been arrested and charged with murder.

Amnesty said the attack appeared to be pre-meditated to intimidate political opposition.

After the Covid restrictions were lifted in September, Chamisa began a “meet-the-people” tour.

In Masvingo province and other places, Zanu-PF supporters damaged vehicles and beat villagers who came out to support him.

On at least one occasion, supporters were forced to publicly denounce him and on 20 October, Chamisa was shot at in Manicaland province, Amnesty said.

Another opposition supporter died in November after being beaten in Gutu by suspected Zanu-PF supporters.

His wife and other relatives were charged with defamation after they accused ruling party members of being responsible.

Before the polls, Zanu-PF officials said they were targeting the urban vote.

Party spokesperson accused the opposition of “neglect, feckless maladministration, screaming corruption, and putrid decay”.

“The electoral jury is out. Come the 2023 … elections, Zanu-PF envisages an electoral tsunami that will drown the foreign spawned opposition”,Mutswvangwa said in a statement broadcast by state-controlled media.

In the run-up to the vote, Mnangagwa threatened to suspend the work of all NGOs – even those working to protect millions from malnutrition.

Mugabe banned NGOs when he feared defeat in polls, and frequently accused aid agencies of conspiring with the opposition and usually unidentified foreigners.

After Mugabe secured victory in the contested and violent election of 2008, he lifted the ban on the aid groups.

The current government aim to bring in new laws that will make NGOs disclose their source of funding and ban them from activities deemed “political”.

The government say that the measure aims to target “money-laundering and terrorist funding”.

“We can do without NGOs. I will remove them from this country, I will chase them away,” Mnangagwa said before the bye-lections.

Some fear a ban on aid agencies would lead to drastic cuts in humanitarian assistance, estimated at $800m a year.

Blessing Vava, head of a local democracy and governance group, Crisis Coalition, said Mnangagwa was seeking “to entrench a one-party state and a dictatorship where the government does not want to be accountable”.

No opposition has won an election and formed the government in the former British colony since independence in 1980.

Chamisa has complained of a flawed voters’ roll and has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of transferring voters from one constituency to the other without their knowledge.

“Yes, we had a landslide, but those issues are still there … Zanu-PF do not believe in a free vote,” Chamisa said. – The Guardian

National

Zimbabwe makes gains against TB

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

The World Health Organization (WHO) data show that Zimbabwe continues to make measurable gains in its fight against tuberculosis (TB).

According to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, Zimbabwe’s estimated TB incidence has declined to 203 per 100,000 population, representing a 3.8 % reduction from 2023. The report states that “TB incidence in Zimbabwe has fallen to 203 per 100 000, a 3.8 % reduction from 2023.”

On treatment outcomes, the country’s overall success rate for all forms of TB has improved to 91 %, up from 89 % in 2023. The report quotes: “Treatment success for all forms of TB has improved to 91 %, up from 89 % in 2023.”

For drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), progress has also been recorded: treatment success rose from 64 % for the 2021 cohort to 68 % for the 2022 cohort. As the report notes: “treatment success for drug-resistant TB increased from 64 % for the 2021 cohort to 68 % for the 2022 cohort.”

In the critical sphere of TB‐HIV co-infection, Zimbabwe saw a drop in the co‐infection rate to 49 %, down from 51 %. The report states: “TB/HIV co-infection rates have fallen to 49 %, down from 51 %.”

Zooming out, the 2025 global report shows that across the world TB is falling again, although not yet at the pace required to meet targets. Globally, incidence declined by almost 2 % between 2023 and 2024, and deaths fell around 3 %.

However, the report warns that progress is fragile. Funding shortfalls, health-system disruptions (especially during the COVID-19 era), and the ongoing challenge of drug-resistant TB threaten to erode gains. The WHO page reminds that the 2025 edition “provides a comprehensive … assessment of the TB epidemic … at global, regional and country levels.”

For example, although more people are being diagnosed and treated than in previous years, not enough are being reached with preventive interventions, and many countries are still far from the targets set under the End TB Strategy.

National

Government extends Victoria Falls Border Post operating hours to 24 hours

Published

1 week ago

November 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

The government has officially extended the operating hours of the Victoria Falls Border Post to a full 24-hour schedule, according to an Extraordinary Government Gazette published on Thursday.

The change was announced under General Notice 2265A of 2025, issued in terms of section 41 of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02]. The notice states that the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has approved the extension with immediate effect from the date of publication.

The Gazette declares:

“It is hereby declared that in terms of section 41 of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02], the Minister has extended the operating hours for the Victoria Falls Border Post to twenty-four (24) hours on a daily basis, with effect from the date of publication of this notice.”

The move is expected to boost tourism, trade, and regional mobility along one of Zimbabwe’s busiest tourist corridors, which connects the country to Zambia and the broader SADC region.

Stakeholders in tourism and logistics have long advocated for extended operating hours, citing increased traffic through Victoria Falls and the need to align with neighbouring countries that already run round-the-clock border operations.

National

Zimbabwe moves to establish tough drug control agency amid rising substance abuse crisis

Published

1 month ago

October 22, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

As Zimbabwe battles a surge in drug and substance abuse, the government has tabled a new Bill in Parliament seeking to establish a powerful agency to coordinate enforcement, rehabilitation, and prevention programmes across the country.

The National Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency Bill (H.B. 12, 2025) proposes the creation of a dedicated agency mandated to combat the supply and demand of illicit drugs, provide rehabilitation services, and strengthen coordination between law enforcement and social service institutions.

According to the explanatory memorandum of the Bill, the agency will operate under two main divisions — a Social Services Intervention Division to focus on prevention, treatment and community rehabilitation, and an Enforcement Division to target supply chains, trafficking networks, and related financial crimes.

The legislation describes drug abuse as “a grave internal national security threat” and “a public health crisis” that fuels organised crime, corruption and violence. It notes that drug profits have enabled criminal cartels to “purchase the instrumentalities of crime, including weapons,” and to corrupt both civilian and non-civilian public officials.

Under the new framework, the agency will have powers to:

Investigate and arrest individuals involved in drug trafficking and production;
Work jointly with the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, and Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe;
Establish checkpoints at ports of entry and exit to intercept harmful substances; and
Expand the legal definition of “harmful drugs” to include emerging synthetic substances, in consultation with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.

The Social Services Division will lead prevention campaigns, develop demand-reduction programmes, and facilitate the creation of rehabilitation and detoxification centres nationwide. It will also introduce a monitoring system requiring schools, employers, and local authorities to adopt anti-drug awareness and intervention programmes within 90 days of the Act’s commencement.

Each province and district will host offices of the agency to decentralise services and ensure community-level engagement, while traditional leaders will help devise local prevention strategies.

The Bill further empowers the agency to employ prosecutors from the National Prosecuting Authority to handle drug-related cases, signalling a shift toward specialised prosecution of narcotics offences. It also introduces a new, stricter “standard scale of fines” and penalties for drug crimes — higher than those prescribed under existing criminal laws.

In a major development, the proposed law integrates the agency into Zimbabwe’s Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, allowing it to pursue unexplained wealth orders and seize assets linked to drug cartels.

The Bill stresses rehabilitation and social reintegration as key pillars. It obliges the agency to support affected individuals through psychosocial counselling, vocational training, and community wellness programmes aimed at helping addicts rebuild their lives.

If passed, the National Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency will replace fragmented anti-drug efforts currently scattered across ministries and law enforcement agencies, creating a central authority to drive national strategy and coordination.

Parliament is expected to debate the Bill in the coming weeks amid growing concern over youth addiction to crystal meth, cough syrups, and other illicit substances that have taken root in both urban and rural communities.