National

Temperatures rise in Victoria Falls as war vets wade into council fights

Published

3 years ago

October 13, 2022

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

War veterans from Matabeleland North are piling the pressure on the authorities to deal with alleged corruption and mismanagement at the MDC Alliance-run Victoria Falls City Council following the arrest of mayor Somvelo Dhlamini.

Dhlamini was arrested last week on allegations of defrauding the local authority of thousands of US dollars through an irregular purchase of a housing stand.

He was denied bail by Hwange regional magistrate Collet Ncube on Monday after prosecutors said he was the one behind a group of war veterans and members of the Hwange Residents Association, who last week forcibly removed town clerk Ronnie Dube from his office.

The group accused Dube of corruption and mismanagement, but Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) investigators pounced on Dhlamini a day later.

Following the dramatic events at the city council, the Matabeleland North provincial executive of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association said it will convene a public meeting at Chinotimba Hall on Friday to discuss the issue.

Bonface Sibanda, the provincial war veterans association chairperson, told VicFallsLive in an interview that the meeting was meant to discuss the corruption allegations amid charges that Zacc investigators were taking sides.

“We will be at Chinotimba Hall from 4PM on Friday and we want to discuss with the residents and all other affected stakeholders the rot that is happening in Victoria Falls,” Sibanda said.

“The mayor’s issue is clearly a scam because when our Hwange war veterans went to get Dube out of office to pave way for investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission the tables turned against the mayor, who had called them in and we have heard about the thousands of dollars that were given to (ZACC investigators) to turn the tables against Dhlamini.

“We have been reading about these issues in the media and other people coming to tell us about spending months without water.

“This is something that just doesn’t make sense in such a town and this is the reason we are stepping in and if Dhlamini is corrupt, he is at the right place and Dube also has to be investigated because when he was forced to leave office last week, he repeatedly refused saying he would want to step down with Dhlamini as they committed corruption together.”

Sibanda said contributions from the residents were going to be documented and will determine the way forward.

The position by the war veterans followed the move by Zanu Pf district coordinating committee chairperson Mathew Muleya to distance the ruling party from the group that raided Dube’s office.

Muleya issued a statement saying: the party would like to distance itself from the incident’ and claimed Zanu PF was a constitution-abiding party that does not use violence to solve disputes.

Sibanda said Muleya’s statement reflected an individual’s position.

“The meeting is not on political grounds, but on principles,” Sibanda said.

“That (statement) was written by Muleya in his individual capacity and without any consensus and as war veterans we cannot be stopped by these corrupt individuals, who hide behind the party’s name.

“We went to war based on principles of equality and freedom and what is happening in Victoria Falls is against those principles.”

Victoria Falls ratepayers have been boycotting the city council’s 2023 budget consultation meetings demanding answers over various allegations of corruption.

Residents boycotted 2023 budget meetings held last month and demanded to be first addressed by council over the alleged irregular sale of commercial stands and the US$89 000 loan that was given to Dube to buy a car, buying a luxury car for the mayor and leasing of breweries.

The Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association has since written a letter to relevant government ministries, police and parliament asking them to investigate the allegations.

Last month, 300 residents also signed a petition demanding that investigations be done against corrupt council officials.

They said they had proof of corrupt deals by the town clerk and councillors which has resulted in poor service delivery.

National

US suspends visa processing in Zimbabwe, embassy says

Published

3 hours 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.