National

Court blocks eviction of Hwange villagers to make way for Formula One race course

Published

3 years ago

October 10, 2022

BY VICFALLS REPORTER

The High Court has stopped the eviction of more than 100 Hwange villagers from their ancestral land to make way for a Formula One grade motor racing course.

Hwange Rural District Council leased 500 hectares of land to Stelix Civils to construct the race course that will have affected villagers from Chibode, Kachecheti and Nemananga wards.

Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa stopped the evictions after the villagers with help from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) challenged the lease agreement, saying the development will disrupt their way of life.

“The villagers argued that they were not consulted and were not offered alternative land, hence Stelix Civils’ conduct amounts to arbitrary eviction, which violates provisions of section 74 of the constitution,” the ZLHR said.

“After being aggrieved by the decision of the Hwange Rural District Council, the more than 100 villagers in three villages of Chidobe, Kachechete and Nemanhanga engaged Josephat Tshuma of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who on 16 November 2021 filed an application at the Bulawayo High Court to review the decision by the Hwange Rural District Council to allocate 500 hectares of land to Stelix Civils as the proposed project was taking away a large chunk of their communal land and effectively taking over their grazing area.

“On 15 September 2022, Justice Kabasa ruled that the decision made by the local authority to allocate 500 hectares of land to Stelix Civils was unlawful.”

Kabasa said council had no authority to allocate land to Stelix Civils to establish the racing course.

“Accordingly, Justice Kabasa set aside the Hwange Rural District Council’s decision to grant a lease agreement to Stelix Civils for the construction of a racing course and declared that any actions and conduct that had been taken by the local authority following the granting of a lease agreement to Stelix Civils, are invalid,” the ZLHR added.

National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

4 weeks ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

2 months ago

March 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

3 months ago

February 3, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.