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I’m angry’: Father of Hwange girl killed by underground coal fires wants heads to roll  

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The family of an eight-year-old Hwange girl, who died on Monday night after she was burnt by underground coal fire nearly a month ago, has described their pain as unbearable and want the Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCC) to pay for the tragedy.

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Alisha Sekina Muzviti, a Grade 2 pupil at Makwika Primary School, died at Mpilo Hospital on Monday in Bulawayo nearly a month after she suffered third degree burns while relieving herself near her Hwange home.

Doctors had amputated her both legs to minimize pain, but she died soon after receiving a blood infusion.

Her father Andy Muzwiti told VicFalsLive that Sekina’s death was a huge blow to the family as they recently lost another child.

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“Not even a single word can describe how we as parents and the whole family are feeling right now,” Muzwiti said.

“Her condition appeared to be improving although she was in the Intensive Care Unit.

“She underwent a scan (on Monday) and it showed that her intestines were not badly affected, which gave us some hope that she was going to recover.

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“She, however, had been not responding well to the blood transfusion because when they removed the bandage on her hands, the blood started oozing out and hospital staff told us that her veins had burst.

“They said her body was rejecting the blood and I think that is what complicated her chances of survival.

“We were informed at around 9PM that she had passed on, and I have no words to describe the pain because recently we lost another child, who came after Sekina.

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“So, we are left with only one child who is nine months old.”

Muzwiti said the family had no money to buy a coffin for their daughter or to take her back to Hwange for burial.

He said he was disappointed by the way HCCL, which owns the dumpsite where Sekina was burnt, handled the case

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“My child has had to die and they are not doing anything save for temporary markings that they just began doing to alert people (about the danger posed by the underground fires) after I indicated my plans to sue,” Muzwiti said.

“She was deprived of her chances of growing up like any normal child and even during this difficult time, we are on our own with the community members who helped with medical bills at Mpilo Hospital.

“I am angry because these dumpsites and houses belong to them and there have been cases similar to that my daughter, but nothing has been done.”

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Sibangani Dube, a Hwange resident, said something urgent must be done to stop the loss of lives at the dumpsites.

“Just few weeks ago, we lost a university student in these dumpsites and a countless number of residents, especially women have been killed in these dumpsites and another boy has been left permanently disabled after he was burnt in the presence of his mother while they were farming,” Dube said.

“The tales are chilling, but what is disappointing s that when HCCL deplete coal reserves from these areas, they leave their pits unsecured and when methane and oxygen combine, they reignite hot furnaces on surfaces and it is difficult for one to know with a bare eye that the surface is hot or loose and that’s how we have lost many of our community members.”

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HCCL corporate affairs manager Beauty Mutombe said Alisha’s death was unfortunate, but she absolved the company of any wrongdoing.

“This was an unfortunate incident and we would like to pass our condolences to the family,” Mutombe said.

“But the fact of the matter on these allegations are that when I went to the scene where this girl died, I established that she had been to a place where ants breed and leave a huge pile of soil.

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“They had been playing on those heaps that we suspect they had been sent to collect that soil that is normally eaten by pregnant women because there were plastic bags that they had left there,”

“She was a kilometre away from her place of residency, and we established that she had walked about 500 meters to relieve herself and that’s where she got burnt, but what should be clear is that those areas have been marked and are prohibited for anyone to enter.

“This is the same case with those elderly people, who have died in our dumpsites while looking for coal to make bricks.

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“Yes we understand that they are driven by economic hardships, but we keep doing community outreach campaigns showing that those areas are prohibited for anyone without a licence to enter and when we find anyone there, we don’t hesitate to send them to jail.”

Mutombe said HCCL assisted the Muzwiti family even though the company was not obliged to do so.

“We admitted that girl in our hospital, and we even took her to Mpilo with our ambulance which cost $124 000 together with our nursing staff,” she said.

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“But we were not mandated to do that because the husband is employed by South Mining company

“So for us it was humanitarian care for them and I even used to take fruits to her while she was still hospitalised to show our love, but if they have gotten advice to sue us, we cannot stop them and we will defend ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Muzwiti has appealed for assistance for her child’s burial. Those who want to assist may use the following Ecocash numbers (078 543 7185) ( 0777 739 5526) for his wife Ethel.

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National

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

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Hwange unit 8 breaks down, deepening Zimbabwe’s power supply challenges

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

ZESA Holdings has announced that Hwange Unit 8 has been taken off the national grid following a technical fault, a development expected to worsen Zimbabwe’s persistent electricity shortages.

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In a statement released on Monday, the power utility said the unit would be out of service for ten days while restoration work is carried out.

“Hwange Unit 8 has been taken off the grid due to a technical fault. The unit will be out of service for 10 days while restoration work is carried out,” ZESA said.

The company said Hwange Unit 7 remains operational, generating 335 megawatts (MW) to support system stability, while power generation at Kariba South Power Station has been ramped up with “careful management of water allocations” to compensate for the temporary shortfall.

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ZESA apologized for the inconvenience and appealed for public understanding as engineers work to restore the unit.

Zimbabwe has faced recurring electricity supply challenges over the past two decades, driven by ageing infrastructure, limited generation capacity, and low water levels at Kariba Dam. While the commissioning of Hwange Units 7 and 8 in 2023 brought some relief, frequent breakdowns have continued to disrupt supply, forcing industries and households to endure prolonged load-shedding.

The latest fault at Hwange comes at a time when power demand is surging across the country, particularly during the hot season when air conditioning and irrigation systems increase pressure on the grid.

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Energy experts say the outage highlights the need for greater investment in maintenance, renewable energy, and grid modernization to stabilize Zimbabwe’s power supply in the long term.

 

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Tsholotsho to host national commemoration of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe will on Thursday, this week,  join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDR), with national events set to take place at Tshino Primary School in Ward 5, Tsholotsho District, along the Tsholotsho–Sipepa road.

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The global day, observed annually, aims to promote a culture of disaster risk awareness and highlight efforts to reduce vulnerability and build resilience in communities.

Speaking to VicFallsLive, Civil Protection Unit Director Nathan Nkomo said this year’s commemoration holds special significance for Tsholotsho, a district that has long struggled with recurrent flooding.

“The whole issue is to reduce, not to increase the occurrence of disasters. And by commemorating, that’s where we share ideas with other people,” Nkomo said.

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He noted that Tsholotsho’s selection as the national host was deliberate, following the successful relocation of families who were affected by flooding at the confluence of the Gwai and Shashani rivers.

“It’s not by accident that we are commemorating in Tsholotsho. We have built 305 houses for people who were affected in the Spepa area, and we will be celebrating in style because we have managed to relocate them,” he said.

“Now we no longer hear of people being flooded in Tsholotsho because of that relocation. So, we will be celebrating in style for Tshini and Sawudweni.”

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The relocations, carried out under government’s disaster recovery and housing programs, have been hailed as a success story in proactive disaster risk management.

Looking ahead to the cyclone season, Nkomo said funding remains the major challenge in preparedness and response.

“We cannot preempt to say there are challenges yet, but historically, since we’ve dealt with COVID-19 and Cyclone Idai, the issue of funds has always been critical,” he said.

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“This year, we are dealing with cyclones at a time when even our development partners have dwindling resources. So, funding will take centre stage in our deliberations, to see how best we can respond with the little we have. The whole idea, when you go to war, is not the question of numbers, but of strategy and how to win.”

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed globally every October 13, but Zimbabwe’s national commemorations are being held later this year to align with local preparedness programs and community-based activities.

 

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