National

Victoria Falls drugs haul: Safari camp manager gets bail

Published

4 years ago

October 13, 2021

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A Victoria Falls safari camp manager who was allegedly found with a huge stash of illegal drugs and equipment police believe was used to manufacture some of the narcotics has been given $50 000 bail by a local magistrate.

Victoria Falls resident magistrate Lindie Maphosa granted Cornelious Smit (62) of Mabalengwe Safaris the bail on Tuesday following his arrest last week after a tip-off that he was allegedly manufacturing illegal substances.

Smit was not asked to plead to charges of Contravening Section 5 of the Harmful Liquids Act Chapter 9:10 “Manufacturing of Harmful Liquids and unlawful possession of cannabis oil and dagga.

Prosecutors said on October 7 at around 12PM, police received a tip-off that Smit was in possession of dangerous drugs at his residence.

Acting on the tipoff, a warrant of search and seizure was obtained from the Victoria Falls magistrate court and on the same day, the Victoria Falls district team comprising of Criminal Investigations Department and Narcotics, Support Unit and Canine led by Assistant Inspector Tavengwa visited Smit’s house.

The team produced a search warrant into his five roomed house and recovered a 25 litre container with two litres of ethanol for processing cannabis, one axe with wooden handle, two by 20 litres distilling containers for harmful liquids, one condenser steel spirits serial number 65821, 20 litre electrical cane, two by five millilitres (processed cannabis oil, 610 mls cannabis oil, 100 mls imonnelo oil for processing cannabis, 10 litre harmful liquid, two plastic tubes and raw dagga weighing 6.7 kilogrammes.

Police records also showed that Smit was also found in possession of 18 litres of illicit beer called Kachasu leading to his arrest.

Smit, who was represented by Matshobana Ncube of Matshobana and Ncube Attorney’s bail conditions included him reporting twice a week on Monday and Friday at Victoria Falls police station between 6AM and 6PM.

He was also ordered to surrender his passport, not to interfere with state witnesses and to reside at his given home address.

He will be back in court on November 2 for further remand.

National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

3 days 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

1 month 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.