National

Missing Hwange boy found in Harare 12 days after disappearing from home

Published

3 years ago

September 8, 2022

BY NOTHANDO DUBE

A 12 year-old Hwange boy, who ran away from home at night nearly a fortnight ago, has been found in Harare in an incident that has left the community searching for answers.

Tanaka Neshena from Madumabisa left home on August 24 at 10 PM without anyone noticing.

CCTV footage from the Hwange Colliery Company showed Tanaka boarding an unidentified vehicle near his home, but it did not provide useful leads as the visuals were hazy.

There were reports that Neshena was spotted around Hwange’s Cinderrella Township talking to a truck driver, but the desperate search by his parents ended this week when they received a call from the police in Harare’s Mbare suburb informing them that their son had been found.

The Neshena family said they were relieved that their child was found alive and well.

“It was around 3pm when a police officer contacted us to inform that Tanaka has handed over himself to the police,” Neshena’s mother Sharai told VicFallsLive.

Sharai said Neshena said he wanted to return to Hwange because he wanted to go to school.

In the phone call conversation, he excitedly spoke to his parents asking them how they were doing.

“He was jovial as usual, he asked how we were doing, as if nothing happened, he also asked after his little sister,” said Sharai.

He was picked from Mbare police station by Sharia’s brother.

“He is safely in Glenview 3, at his uncle’s place,” Sharai said.

“He told us that he went to Harare to visit his cousin.

“According to the uncle, Tanaka is fine but was looking dirty when he went to the police.

“His uncle has since barred many family members from asking Tanaka a lot of questions because, he believes the boy is tired, he will speak when he is well rested.

“He has also advised that it will not be safe to send Tanaka back alone, its either his aunt will bring him over, or we will go and collect him ourselves, we are still deliberating on the options.”

The Neshena family strongly believe that Tanaka’s disappearance had something to do with “spiritual” issues.

“We will get spiritual counselling for him but in the physical we will treat him as if nothing happened.

“He will gradually tell us what happened, he is an extrovert.

“We will first check if he was not abused then take him for spiritual counselling.”

The family thanked the Hwange community for assisting them in their time of need.

‘We are grateful to the deputy head of Thomas Coulter Primary Thokozile Chipato who came to visit us to give her support,” Sharai said.

“I am very happy.”

National

US suspends visa processing in Zimbabwe, embassy says

Published

1 hour ago

August 21, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY REUTERS

The United States has stopped processing most visas in Zimbabwe until further notice, its embassy in the capital Harare said on Wednesday, citing unspecified concerns with the government.

“We have paused routine visa services in Harare while we address concerns with the Government of Zimbabwe,” the embassy said in a post on X. It said the move was not a travel ban and that current visas would remain valid.

The government of the Southern African country did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The pause took effect on August 7, according to a notice on the U.S. State Department’s website, which said it applied to all visa services with the exception of most diplomatic and official visas.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has restricted travel from a number of African countries, saying it is working to prevent visa overstaying and misuse.

Zimbabwe had a visa overstay rate of 10.57% in 2023, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report.

Starting this week, the U.S. will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds of up to $15,000 for some visitor visas. The Trump administration has also paused visa processing in Niger.

Harare resident Angella Chirombo said her 18-year-old son had received a scholarship to do his bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University and had been waiting for a visa interview when the pause hit.

“He was supposed to be in school already. I paid for everything else and was waiting for the visa so I could buy tickets,” she told Reuters.

She said other parents were considering booking interviews at other U.S. embassies in Southern Africa, but that she wouldn’t be able to afford the travel.

“Now they are saying we can go to Zambia and Namibia. I don’t even have money right now and I don’t know where to get this money. They are so many students that have been affected.”

National

Landmark HIV trial begins in Zimbabwe

Published

3 days ago

August 18, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY PAUL SIXPENCE

ZIMBABWE became the first site for the administration of a new investigational HIV vaccine. The first doses of the IAVI C114 clinical trial were administered in late July 2025 at the Mutala Trust clinical site in Harare, CITE reports.

“This is a landmark moment for South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the continent. It shows the power of true partnership,” said Dr. Tariro Makadzange, clinical trial lead, Mutala Trust.

“We are edging closer to an HIV vaccine, made possible by global collaboration, with clinical trials conducted in Africa, for Africa, and for the world.”

The development of the vaccine is a partnership that brings together Zimbabwe’s Mutala Trust, ReiThera, the Ragon Institute, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and African researchers who are co-leading every phase of the trial.

In phase one of the trial, the vaccine candidate, Gorilla Adenovirus Vectored HIV Networked Epitopes Vaccine (GRAdHIVNE1) will be administered to 120 adults between the ages of 18 and 50 years including 48 people living with HIV who are virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Besides Zimbabwe, two other clinical trial sites are located in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa.

Trial sites were chosen on the basis of their high HIV burden and to ensure that the vaccine candidate is tested within communities affected by the epidemic.

This phase of the trial will assess the safety and ability of the vaccine candidate to provoke an immune response in the human body in persons living with HIV and those who are HIV negative.

“The IAVI C114 trial is testing a new vaccine candidate known as GRAdHIVNE1. The trial represents the first time this vaccine is being tested in humans and is aimed at assessing the safety of the vaccine and its ability to stimulate the immune system,” said Dr. Vincent Muturi-Kioi, HIV Vaccines Product Development Team Lead, IAVI.

In a statement, IAVI further advised that “trial participants will receive either one or two doses of the investigational vaccine or a placebo and will be monitored over a period of 19 months for safety and immune responses.” Results of the trial are likely to be available in 2027.

In the past, several HIV vaccine trials have been conducted but none proved effective in preventing HIV acquisition. The novelity of this vaccine candidate lies in that, it uses a harmless viral vector to deliver small parts of HIV “derived from critical structural regions of HIV that are less likely to mutate” with an expected likelihood to trigger an immune response.

“GRAdHIVNE1 uses a harmless virus (a vector for the vaccine derived from a non-replicating gorilla adenovirus) to deliver small, conserved parts of HIV (called epitopes) to the body’s immune system. These targets are derived from critical structural regions of HIV that are less likely to mutate, making them good targets for killer T cells in the immune system (CD8+ T cell responses) — a type of immune defense thought to be important for long-term protection against HIV. The viral vector was selected based on its ability to stimulate this type of response. Should the vaccine be successful in stimulating the desired response, it could be tested in future trials to assess its efficacy,” Dr. Vincent Muturi-Kioi further explained.

The initiation of this clinical trial demonstrates the power of partnerships at a time when the world is witnessing funding cuts towards global public health research. The IAVIC114 clinical trial is sponsored by IAVI. The vaccine candidate, GRAdHIVNE1, was developed by ReiThera and the Ragon Institute with funding from the GatesFoundation. African researchers will be leading

SOURCE| CITE

National

Zimbabwe Republic Police officer faces charges for allegedly claiming to be ZRP boss

Published

6 days ago

August 15, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer appeared in court today facing charges of causing disaffection among police officers, procuring the use of a motor vehicle by fraud, and transmitting false data messages intending to cause harm.

Simbarashe Mandizvidza, an Assistant Inspector in the ZRP, was remanded in custody to Monday, when he will apply for bail.

According to the State, Mandizvidza on August 14, broadcast a video on his YouTube channel, Gondo Harishaye, claiming to be the head of the ZRP, despite knowing that Commissioner General Stephen Mutamba holds the position.

The State alleges that Mandizvidza’s actions were intended to cause disaffection among police officers, contrary to Section 30 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

Mandizvidza is also accused of procuring the use of a Ford Ranger vehicle by misrepresenting to Chief Inspector Chiteure that he had been instructed by Commissioner Makomo to use the vehicle for errands.

Furthermore, the State alleges that Mandizvidza transmitted false data messages on his YouTube channel, including claims that the ZRP Traffic section had been temporarily disbanded and that Chinese nationals must leave Zimbabwe within 48 hours.

The State indicated that it will oppose Mandizvidza’s bail application, citing the seriousness of the offenses and the need to protect the public interest.

The case continues on Monday.