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BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking an order to compel government to provide a COVID-19 national vaccination roll-out plan. In papers filed at the High Court, ZimRights, represented by Tendai Biti of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, wants the government to present the budget for COVID-19 vaccine before Parliament. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga who is the Health minister, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and President Emmerson Mnangagwa were cited as respondents. ZimRights wants the government to provide the COVID-19 national vaccination deployment plan within seven days of the High Court order. In his founding affidavit filed at the courts, ZimRights national director Dzikamai Bere stated that section 29 of the Constitution obliges the government to take all practical measures to ensure the provision of basic accessible and adequate health services throughout Zimbabwe. In the face of a ravaging pandemic that has claimed lives of over two million people globally and over 1 200 in Zimbabwe, ZimRights is calling for government to act timeously and save lives from the pandemic. “Section 29(3), in particular, obliges the state to take all preventive measures within the limits of resources available to it, including education and public awareness programmes against the spread of diseases. Section 76 obliges the State to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right to healthcare,” Bere said. He also urged government to take a cue from other countries and take the necessary steps and a human rights-centred approach to fight coronavirus. “We are simply asking the government to lead, and save lives.” ZimRights said. “We don’t understand how anyone can fail to agree with us given the far-reaching consequences of inaction.” The World Health Organisation is urging governments to avail factual information on COVID-19 to the public. In its efforts to combat the spread of the deadly virus, ZimRights provided urgent humanitarian support to marginalised communities and institutions reaching out to over 17 000 people and 26 institutions that include rural clinics, schools, quarantine centres and correctional facilities. Follow Miriam on Twitter@FloMangwaya
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
[This Day] In the wake of the recent actions of nation state actors and associated groups in many African countries to subvert civil and digital rights of their citizens, Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise working to advance digital rights and inclusion in Africa, has released a short film entitled Training Day as a vehicle to seed major take outs from it's 2019 Digital Rights in Africa Report.
Prominent defence attorney Peter Champagnie says pressure should be put on legislators to change the law requiring the prosecution's consent in matters in which an accused opts to be tried by a judge alone, instead of by a judge and jury.Under the Criminal Justice (Administration) Act, which was amended by the Jury (Amendment) Act in 2015, the prosecution and the defence must agree, in writing, for an offence to be tried by a judge only.
On June 1, 1956, all NAACP offices in Alabama were forced to close, as a result of Attorney General John Patterson’s nine-year injunction against the civil rights organization. This left a void in local civil rights leadership and a desperate need for a new group to lead Birmingham’s black community in its campaign to end unfair treatment from whites. Recognizing this need, local black leaders called a mass meeting at Sardis Baptist Church. Approximately 1,000 people attended and created the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Its mission was to fight for freedom, democracy and first class citizenship for Birmingham blacks. Unlike the NAACP, they vowed to attain their goals through direct action and to test the validity of Jim Crow laws through the courts.
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was appointed as president of the ACMHR. He was known for tirelessly pushing reforms for blacks and placing his members and himself in danger to attain them. The group’s goals included hiring black policemen, integrating Birminghams public schools, and desegregating all public accommodations.
Their initial efforts were unsuccessful. An attempt to enroll black students in an all-white school was met by mob violence, a bus boycott failed due to lack of unity, and gains made in school desegregation led white officials to close facilities rather than integrate them.
In 1957, the group became affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Together in 1963, they created “Project C,” a month-long campaign involving protests and mass marches led by Shuttlesworth and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., then pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. The project was met with brutal white opposition, including the use of clubs, dogs, hoses, and enough arrests to overflow the city jail. The project ended on May 10, 1963; one month later President Kennedy announced his plan to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham.
On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
[AIM] Maputo -- The Mozambican Ministry of Health says that about 10,000 cataract surgeries were performed across the country in 2019, a milestone that fell sharply to only 5,000 interventions as result of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
[IPS] Nairobi, Kenya -- On 10 December every year, we celebrate Human Rights Day, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration guarantees a spectrum of human rights that belong to each of us equally, and unite us as a global community and upholds our humanity.
The Gauteng Health Department has been posting myth busters regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s to separating the truth from the tale.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO THE Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) yesterday said there was lack of genuine interest, commitment and political will in Zimbabwe to expeditiously prosecute corruption cases involving high-profile individuals. In a statement, ACT-SA said it was disheartening that cases of corruption involving high-profile individuals, particularly those who were politically-connected, were taking long to be prosecuted under the new dispensation led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Despite calls by Mnangagwa during his inaugural speech in 2018 where he emphasised that he would prioritise the fight against corruption, Zimbabwe has remained one of the most corrupt countries globally and in Africa. Zimbabwe scored 24 points out of 100 on the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index complied by Transparency International. ACT-SA cited several examples of the lackadaisical approach towards fighting corruption in Zimbabwe, including cases that involved legislators. “Similarly, (Gokwe Sesame MP) Gorden Chanda and a local authority were also arrested on or about 2019/20 after they allegedly diverted food aid, but their cases appeared to have been forgotten,” ACT-SA said. “In 2020, Melania Mandeya and Jokonia Nyoni were arrested in Gokwe, but the case appears to have been forgotten.” “The Gokwe Magistrates Court has also neglected trying Councillor Chigaba, who was accused of printing fake receipt books and collecting money from the people in Gokwe. More than three years have long since passed without Chigaba being tried regardless of the presence of a critical mass of witnesses,” the ACT-SA statement said. The regional anti-graft body said the Gokwe case study was a microcosm of the status quo countrywide. “The above cases speak volumes about the lack of preparedness or genuine interest by the Gokwe Magistrates Court, officials under the National Prosecuting Authority in Gokwe, as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police. “These institutions appear to be letting down the administration of Mnangagwa’s efforts to fight corruption.” ACT-SA said the cited Gokwe examples clearly revealed the inertia in prosecuting cases where evidence is available, but no trial takes place with evidence most likely to be tampered with or lost. “The same will happen to the witnesses who might relocate or die, thereby resulting in the miscarriage of the trials leading to the acquittal of the accused persons over time,” the anti-corruption watchdog said. Follow Winstone on Twitter @widzoanto
The Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria has turned down an application for leave to appeal by the Helen Suzman Foundation.
POLICE officers have been implicated in the Zanu PF district co-ordinating committees (DCC) election rigging scandals in Mutoko East with allegations that they were paid to vote as party members. BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA In a WhatsApp audio circulating on social media, a female candidate narrated how some police officers were busted and they eventually admitted that they were ordered to cast a number of ballot papers in favour of Richard Musiyiwa (Mutoko East MP) who is eyeing the Mutoko district chairmanship post. Musiyiwa’s rival for the post is businessman Zano Kahuni. NewsDay was reliably informed that chaos erupted on Monday afternoon as members demanded transparency on how the elections were conducted. “I asked Musiyiwa how the ballot papers totalled 120 while each polling station was allocated 92 of them. A police officer has agreed that he was ordered to manipulate the results. There is need for the Mutoko East DCC election to be declared null and void,” the candidate can be heard saying in the audio. “Zanu PF is being dragged to the dustbin. If President Emmerson Mnangagwa loves us, he must send someone to put order in this area, otherwise in 2023 it will be chaos. About 40 youths were expected to vote in this election, but we are having results of the winner having 77 votes. Moreover, a total of 40 women were expected to vote in the women’s league, but the winner is emerging with 66 votes. This is chaotic.” Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza said he could not comment as he was not on duty yesterday. In Goromonzi, some party officials reportedly fled with ballot boxes while some disgruntled members inscribed the name of their candidate Bornface Mutize on the ballot papers as it was missing. In Wedza district, Zarnet boss Casper Chigwedere, who is the son of party stalwart Aeneas Chigwedere, made it into the DCC team. lFollow Jairos on Twitter @JaySaunyama
JUSTICE Minister Delroy Chuck yesterday charged newly appointed Court of Appeal President Justice Patrick Brooks to ensure a timely reduction in the number of backlogged cases at the high court, stressing that the issue has persisted for too long.Justice Brooks replaces Justice Dennis Morrison, who retired on December 4, having served four years in the post.
On July 18, 1988, Charles Z. Smith became the first African American to serve on the Washington Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court by Washington’s then Governor Booth Gardner and was subsequently elected to his position on the court for a two-year term in 1988. Justice Smith was elected thereafter to full six-year terms in 1990 and 1996. Justice Smith was never opposed in any of his elections. He retired from the court on December 31, 2002.
When Governor Gardner appointed Charles Smith to the Washington Supreme Court, he hoped that the new justice, who was noted for his “mediator-conciliator type of personality,” could bring the often sharply divided court closer together. Justice Smith’s voting record on the court indicated that he met the governor’s expectations. In his first two years on the court, Justice Smith wrote twenty-five opinions and of that number, eighteen were unanimous opinions, a percentage that far exceeded that of the full court. During his entire career on the court, Justice Smith showed a tendency to be the swing vote in many cases and he rarely dissented.
Charles Z. Smith was born in Lakeland, Florida in 1927. His father was Cuban. His mother was African American. He graduated from Temple University in 1952 and from the University of Washington School of Law in 1955. His first employment, following graduation from law school, was as a law clerk for Washington Supreme Court Justice Matthew W. Hill (1955). He, thereafter, served as a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County (1956-60) where he distinguished himself by successfully prosecuting labor leader Dave Beck. Smith also served as a special assistant to United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (1960-64) to investigate corruption related to Teamster Union pension funds. Smith brought an indictment in Chicago, Illinois against Teamster Union President James Hoffa. Charles Z. Smith resigned from the Justice Department to help Robert Kennedy run for the United States Senate from New York.
Justice
North American Slave Narratives documents the individual and collective story of the African American struggle for freedom and human rights in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The project received a two-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund the digitization of approximately two hundred texts, including all known narratives of fugitive and former slaves published in broadsides, pamphlets, or book form in English up to 1920 and many of the biographies of fugitive and former slaves published in English before 1920.
BY RICHARD MUPONDE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has thrown his “niece”, Shantel Chikafu, under the bus after she was arrested for abusing his name in a messy mine ownership wrangle in which she ejected John Maungwa from a Shamva mine. Chikafu has allegedly been masquerading as President Mnangagwa’s daughter in conducting illicit deals, including defrauding a bank of US$37 000. However, her arrest followed a meeting held on Thursday in Bindura to resolve the bitter mining wrangle with Maungwa where she reportedly told some Mines ministry officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park, including at Maungwa’s Wickman 23 Mine by the President. Chikafu, who spoke through her lawyers in the bank fraud case which is before the courts, said she was the President’s niece, as her father Patson Mnangagwa was the President’s elder brother. Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Inspector Milton Mundembe yesterday said he would only confirm the matter today (Monday) after getting all the details. “I will have to verify. I can only confirm to you tomorrow (today) after getting all the details,” Mundembe said. However, a police source close to the matter yesterday confirmed that Chikafu was picked up by law enforcement agents. “It’s true, she has been arrested. Her arrest followed her abuse of President Mnangagwa’s name after she told Ministry of Mine officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park by the President. She has been using the names of Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda and State Security minister Owen Ncube to defy a court order ordering her to vacate a Shamva mine, Maungwa’s mining claims. She also used the President’s name to defraud CBZ Bank of US$37 000 and the matter is in the courts as I speak,” he said. The source said Chikafu was in police custody and was waiting to be taken to court today. “She has been in the cells since Saturday afternoon and will be taken to court tomorrow. I think the authorities decided to arrest her because she has been using names of big people including President Mnangagwa with impunity to conduct illicit deals and has been going scot-free,” he said. Chikafu reportedly dropped Sibanda and Ncube’s names while defying a High Court order evicting her from the mine located in Umfurudzi Game Park. She is reportedly working with Shamva North legislator Oscar Gorerino to wrest the mining claims from Maungwa. She was recently ordered off the mine by the High Court, which ruled that Maungwa had a legal right to the property. Despite the ruling, Chikafu has remained on the ground, claiming she enjoys protection from Sibanda and Ncube. The saga has also sucked in officer commanding police in Mashonaland Central province, Assistant Commissioner David Mahoya, who is being accused of failing to implement a directive from the provincial Joint Operations Command to evict her. High Court judge Justice Jacob Manzunzu in his order on April 29 directed that Maungwa be restored possession of Wickman 23 Mine which Ch
BY MOSES MATENGA FORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi yesterday criticised the continued placement of Zanu PF officials on the sanctions’ list saying it was giving some bigwigs in government leeway to engage in illicit financial outflows and massive corruption. Mzembi, now exiled in South Africa following the November 2017 coup, which resulted in President Emmerson Mnangagwa taking over from the late former President Robert Mugabe, said the targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe’s political elite was giving hardliners an excuse to continue engaging in unscrupulous activities. Th former Foreign Affairs minister's assertions came after the United Kingdom (UK) on Monday slapped State Security minister Owen Ncube, Central Intelligence Organisation director-general Isaac Moyo, Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, and the former commander of the Presidential Guard, Anselem Sanyatwe with sanctions over the 2018 and 2019 extra-judicial killing of citizens. “My experience in government is that these targeted sanctions are victory handed to the hardliners,” Mzembi, who also once served as Tourism minister told NewsDay. “How they are affected by this — one wonders. Sanctions busting becomes an excuse for illicit outflows and unconventional conduct. It has not worked before,” the former Zanu PF official said. Mzembi further said that the engagement of lobbyists by the government to pretend as if it is clamouring for the removal of sanctions was a “scam” by bigwigs to get kickbacks. Zimbabwe engaged international public relations firms to lobby the Western countries and the United States of America to remove sanctions imposed on the country. “I have said it was a scam by bureaucrats to take kickbacks. Nothing can work if it is not anchored on citizen diplomacy,” he said, adding that if Zimbabwe were to be heard in its re-engagement quest, then it needed to address its internal problems. “You cannot reposition foreign policy-wise, before solving the problems at home. “Our people badly need to talk, to heal, to reconcile, to forgive and unite,” he said. Mzembi said the UK should focus on selling a “five-point plan” instead of imposing sanctions as they would aid the corrupt to justify their actions in unscrupulous engagements. “Here is what 10 Downing Street (UK government headquarters) and (United States President) Joe Biden should facilitate through Sadc and the African Union: national dialogue, national healing, reconciliation and the unity government, as well as reforms leading to internationally supervised elections and an economic marshal plan. “They will be more relevant selling this five point plan than imposing sanctions, so each point is developed starting with a convention for a democratic Zimbabwe, and our people badly need to talk, to heal, to reconcile, to forgive and to unite.” Political analyst, Rashweat Mukundu said: “The new UK sanctions on Zimbabwean security chiefs are unfortunate, though not necessarily unexpected. The UK and other Western countries are showing that they are not hoodwinked by the Zimbab
The state capture commission of inquiry resumes on Friday after a month-long break, to hear mining-related evidence from long-term contractor Alexkor.
Corrine Brown, now in her eighth term in office, is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She represents Florida’s Third Congressional District which includes Jacksonville and the surrounding area. Brown was born on November 11, 1946 in Jacksonville, Florida and grew up there. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University and an M.A. from the University of Florida in 1971. Before entering Congress, Brown owned a travel agency, taught at several Florida colleges, and worked as a counselor at Florida Community College (1977-1992).
In 1983 Brown was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives. She held this position until 1992, when she ran and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Corrine Brown is a member of numerous committees and caucuses. She belongs to the Veteran’s Affairs Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Subcommittee on Aviation, the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, and is Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. She is also the Second Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is a member of the Aerospace, Women’s Issues, Diabetes, Human Rights, Missing and Exploited Children, Native American, and Progressive Congressional Caucuses.
Brown is focused on economic development, directing her activities particularly towards bringing new jobs into the Third Congressional District. She obtained federal funding for a new courthouse in Jacksonville and obtained a 57% increase in federal transportation funding for the state of Florida – approximately $60 billion. Brown focuses on improving health care for veterans as well as the National Veteran’s Cemetery System.
Brown has received awards from the National Parks and Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and the Florida Public Interest Research Group for her environmental work, which includes preventing oil from being drilled off the coasts
[Monitor] The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) has raised a red flag over the rising human rights violation cases in Uganda ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections slated for January 14.
[263Chat] Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has condemned the 'heartless and cruel' demolition of houses in Harare urging those responsible to halt the operation.
People must be wary of MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora, who is a Zanu PF proxy masquerading as an opposition cadre. He publicly said he was going to work with the ruling party. MDC Alliance must mobilise supporters if it is to stand a chance in future elections. Zanu PF is doing whatever it can and is providing resources to Mwonzora as witnessed by a fleet of Zupco buses which were used to ferry delegates to MDC-T extraordinary congress at the Rainbow Towers. It is determined to uproot MDC Alliance once and for all through a combination of brutal approach and brazenly stealing or rigging elections, the outcome of which will favour Zanu PF resulting in it having majority in Parliament while its proxies win the remainder. This is being done to mislead the global community that there is democracy in Zimbabwe. In a bid to show that there is a semblance of democracy Zanu PF created Political Actors Dialogue. To counter this, MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa must revitalise and energise his party as he has very little breathing space since he is being choked by the so-called revolutionary party. He must tread carefully in order to gain mileage. MDC Alliance must come out of its comfort zone and take the bull by its horns as Mwonzora is now ganging up with Zanu PF to decimate the people’s struggle. It seems President Emmerson Mnangagwa is determined to establish either a Muammar Gaddafi sort of political system or a Chinese political model where there would be a one party State, which is authoritarian. Democracy does not exist in Mnangagwa’s vocabulary. He is afraid of opposition and cannot stand such an environment. That is why he always resorts to using force to deal with any problem. Mnangagwa has concluded that the long-standing stalemate between Zanu PF and MDC Alliance is the reason for the ills afflicting Zimbabwe, so for him if Zimbabwe is to succeed MDC Alliance should be dismantled. That is his mission and agenda. The ball is now in the people’s court. Leonard Koni
The court set aside the report, but the cost order has been dismissed.
Self-registration, which is open to healthcare workers as part of the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, requires less than one megabyte of data and takes around two minutes to complete.
