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She was 19 when a family friend, a pastor, raped her. On that harrowing evening 16 years ago, Sarah Omega had accompanied a neighbour to the shopping centre, to buy a bottle of soda.

A few metres from the gate, this neighbour, a young woman, stopped to talk to two men who she seemed to know.

Sarah walked ahead, while the three followed a few steps behind. By the time they got to the shopping centre, all the shops were closed, so they decided to try a nearby bar.

“We had to pass through a narrow path lined with rental houses to get there. Suddenly, someone pushed me through one of the open doors, which was quickly shut as I fell inside,” she recalls. Sarah says that inside was this pastor, a married father of two.

“When he pinned me down, I struggled, and tried to scream, but he was too strong for me,” she continues. When she came to the following morning, he was gone, and she was in terrible pain, with blood stains on her clothes.

“I had never been sexually intimate, and even though I knew that what this man had done to me was very wrong, I feared to tell anyone about it, including my elder sister, who I lived with,” she narrates.

The last thing that Sarah would have expected to be the outcome of the rape was pregnancy, but that is exactly what happened.

“When my sister pressed me to reveal the responsible person, I lied and said that it was a boy I knew – the man who raped me was very close to our family, and I just didn’t know how to reveal what he had done to me,” she says.

When she went into labour five months later, Sarah was unable to give birth normally. Doctors performed an emergency operation, but the baby was already dead.

Three days later, what would turn out to be a relentless 12-year nightmare for this 35 year old woman begun. “I could no longer control urine – it just oozed, and there was nothing I could about it,” Sarah recalls.

She was admitted to hospital for two months, but the doctors could not rectify her mysterious condition.

At one point, she overheard some nurses say that her problem could only be treated by “doctors from abroad.” This statement, she says, distressed her so much; she could barely sleep at night.

When she was discharged, Sarah returned to her elder sister’s home, Jane Omega, whom she says has always been the family’s pillar.

“When our parents died in the late eighties, being the eldest, she’s the one who took care of the eight of us,” she explains.

Sarah, who had been outgoing, started to keep to herself – she dared not visit friends or relatives, just in case they got to know about her “embarrassing” condition.

She did not go beyond primary school, since her sister couldn’t’ afford to pay school fees for all of them. To lighten her sister’s load, she got a job as a house girl in Eldoret town, in 2000.

“I had devised a way to keep my problem hidden. I bought several towels and cut them into small pieces which I would change after every 30 minutes, to prevent the urine from leaking,” Sarah says. Since she could not afford sanitary pads, she would later wash and dry them for reuse.

One day however, her employer’s daughter stumbled on the pieces of cloth, which she took to her mother.

“She summoned me, and asked me to explain what they were for. I came clean with her, and even though she did not sack me, I felt uncomfortable, and decided to leave.” Sarah had worked in this household for a year.

Later, in 2001, her sister got her a job as an office assistant in a government ministry. “By now, I had become an expert at keeping my condition to myself. I had realised that if I avoided fluids, the urine would leak less, so I rarely drank anything, including water,” she says.

She admits that keeping a secret of this magnitude was taxing, and in a moment of weakness, she decided to open up to a colleague.

Unfortunately, the colleague told other workmates, and even went ahead to go into her handbag and show them her pile of towels, some soiled.

“I had just prepared tea for them, and had gone to buy mandazi, which they usually took with their tea. When I returned, I found her showing them around.”

To add insult to injury, some of them even refused to take the tea she had prepared. Sarah lists this as one of the most humiliating experiences she has had.

This however, wasn’t the worst emotional bruise she was to suffer. The one that finally managed to break her fragile spirit was when the man she had hoped to get married to ended their relationship.

A couple of months after this incident, she fell into a depression, and was admitted at the psychiatric ward at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for two weeks.

This stay in hospital however, would turn out to be Sarah’s blessing in disguise. One day, the psychiatrist who was treating her realised that she had wet her bed.

When he questioned her, Sarah informed him she could not control the urine. Concerned, he had her examined. This is when Sarah finally found out what her problem was.

She had obstetric fistula. This is an abnormal opening in a woman’s reproductive system, which causes an inability to control flow of urine and sometimes faecal matter. This condition usually develops following prolonged and obstructed labour.

“At the time, I did not comprehend what he was talking about, but the words, “It can be treated” kept going over and over in my head.”

This life-changing operation was done in May 2007. After recuperating for three weeks, she was released to go home.

Sarah says that she learnt from the specialist who operated on her that her problem wasn’t unique – more than 300,000 women in Kenya suffer from obstetric fistula.

“I was shocked that so many other women were probably going through the shame I gone through for 12 years silently, yet there was cure, cure they did not know about.”

The operation, she says, gave her a new lease of life, a life that she vowed to spend helping other women like her to get treatment for this distressing condition.

“After the operation, I went public and told people my story – the response dispelled any doubts I might have had about opening up,” she says. Each time she told her story, a woman would approach her and confide that the symptoms she talked about matched theirs.

She started off her sensitisation campaign as a lone ranger, giving talks in churches, schools and public barazas (meetings) in her area, with an important message – that obstetric fistula is treatable.

After these talks, women and a few men would walk up to her for a more detailed explanation. The men mostly because they had a relative with the condition, the women because they suspected they had fistula.

After these talks, women and a few men would walk up to her for a more detailed explanation. The men mostly because they had a relative with the condition, the women because they suspected they had fistula.

“They all wanted to know how I could help them, and as time went by; I knew that it wasn’t enough to just tell people about fistula. Most of these people could not afford treatment, which can cost as much as Sh70,000, depending on where you seek treatment.”

Her answer came when she was invited to women’s’ conference on maternal health, organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in October 2007.

“My name was forwarded by Dr Hillary Mabeya, the lead surgeon at the Gynocare centre, a health institution that specailises in obstetric fistula cases in Eldoret town,” she explains.

It is at this forum that she met the executive director of One by One, a charity organisation based in the USA, that Sarah has been working with since last year.

“Since September last year, through their financial assistance, we have been scouting for obstetric fistula patients, and getting them treatment.”

The cost is covered by One by One. So far, 30 women from Kimilili, Kisii, Migori, West Pokot, and Kitale have benefitted from this initiative.

These women are the army that Sarah is using to spread the good news – that fistula is not a curse, but a medical condition that can be treated.

These women are the army that Sarah is using to spread the good news – that fistula is not a curse, but a medical condition that can be treated.

Men are also being targeted in this campaign. Sarah’s argument is that men who understand this condition will be in a better position to support their wives, sisters and mothers, and help them to access treatment.

“I’ve met women who have been abandoned by their husbands due to this distressing complication – they should know that it’s a medical condition that can be prevented and treated.”

Sarah is certainly a different woman from the one she was all those years ago, when she thought that she would live with her “shameful” condition for the rest of her life.

“I had even given up on marriage or ever having children, and constantly prayed to God to take away my life, instead of allowing me to live with a complication that had made my life unbearable,” she says.

Now, she is asking God to give her a long life, so that she can help as many women as possible to get the gift she got – she is also getting married in December this year.

“That surgery gave me back my life, gave it more meaning and purpose. My dream is for every other woman and girl who could be going through what I did to get their life back.” DAILY NATION

HAVE you just met a new lover and you are itching to have sex with to keep him? Hold the bus, lady, this might work against you. Don’t rush into sex, ladies  Studies show that almost 40 percent of couples are essentially sexual the first or second time they go out and more than half of them end up with a broken heart.

Studies further show that couples who delay sex until their wedding night have more stable and happier marriages than couples who have pre-marital sex.

According to Asiphe Ndlela, a psychologist based in Illovo, hopping into the sack will not bring you closer to that man or seal the deal on a relationship.

She says most women sell themselves short by using sex as a way to lure and catch a guy. She says this is an old-fashion trick. She says because of things like HIV and Aids men love women who love themselves.

“A delay or abstinence from sexual intimacy during the early part of the relationships can allow communication and other social processes to become the foundation of the attraction to each other.

“Early sex could essentially be detrimental to a relationship, skewing it away from communication, commitment and the ability to handle adversity,” Ndlela says.

Ndlela says the biggest mistake many women make is to equate sex with a relationship.

“This is painful but true. Just because a man has sex with a woman doesn’t mean he has even spent a second thinking about whether or not he wants to be with her or have a relationship in the future.

“Jumping into bed with Mr Wrong is not only damaging to your self-esteem, it even puts your health in danger and there is no sensible reason why you should do it. Women can feel really bad about themselves and feel as if they made a mistake if they don’t get a second date or phone call after they refrained from having sex.”

She says waiting to have sex has more benefits from a personal and relationship perspective and allows you to enjoy real courtship.

“The romance is usually filled with excitement. Holding of hands and glancing at each other is potentially filled with passion and more. By slowing things down, two people can really get to know each other and explore whether or not they are a great fit. Ultimately, the relationship gets to be built on this bedrock of trust and support.”

Ndlela says couples who have sex too early, such as after the first date or within the first month of dating, have the worst relationship outcomes.

She says couples who reported waiting for sex until after marriage also reported greater happiness, stability and sexual satisfaction than those couples who had sex early on in a relationship.

Tips on how to delay sex:

- Don’t do sleepovers. If you don’t want to have sex, you shouldn’t put yourself and your partner in situations where sex will be an option. Stay away from your partner’s place when you are finished with your date and just go home.

- Don’t get drunk. Drinking while trying your hardest to keep sex from happening with the person you care about and find attractive is not a smart idea. Alcohol could get the better of you both by clouding your judgment, and once you’ve crossed that line there is no turning back.

- Make an excuse your partner is likely to believe. If you do end up sharing a bed and your partner makes it clear he wants to have sex, you should have an excuse at hand. But lying is not a good way to start a relationship, so consider if it’s worth it.

- Be honest with your partner. Explain to your partner that while you care for him, you are just not ready for sex and would like to wait until you are. If your partner really likes you, he will have no problem respecting your wishes

After closing its halls of residence for more than three years, the University of Zimbabwe will finally re-open in September.

This was revealed by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Dr Stan Mudenge after touring the 2,5 mega litre water reservoir at the university that is almost complete.

Dr Mudenge said the closure of the halls of residence was a result of water problems at the institution due to water cuts by the city council, adding that the reservoir which was built to the tune of US$600 000 allows the university to have water for three days in times of water cuts.

“In the country’s nine universities, shortage of accommodation has become a perennial problem and as a result, the government has availed funds for the construction of halls of residents in four of the universities,” said Dr Mudenge.

University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor, Professor Levi Nyagura said renovations have also been made at the university with two new block of residential halls built that will see 100 more students getting accommodation.

“We have this year set aside more halls of residents for female students, considering that they are more vulnerable to abuse and that there has been an increase in the number of female students admitted at the university,” Professo Nyagura said.

The water reservoir will have a test run this week.

Currently, UZ’s halls of residence accommodates more than 4 300 students.

Minister Mohadi was responding to questions on the influx of foreign nationals from the horn of Africa who are believed to be economic refugees, who have been entering the country as refugees before later leaving for South Africa.

Minister Mohadi explained that the foreign nationals who are often spotted tracking down Nyamapanda-Harare highway are allowed entry into the country as refugees and should therefore be temporarily housed at Waterfalls Transit Camp before being transported to the main refugee camps such as Tongogara.

”It has come to government attention that after a while some of the refugees disappear and track down to South Africa but it is not clear whether they use designated or undesignated points,” said Minister Mohadi.

Turning to the influx of other foreign nationals in Zimbabwe, Minister Mohadi said anyone is free to come and work or invest in Zimbabwe as long as they hold the necessary documents or permits.

He said however, government is concerned that some relatives of some business people who would have been gr.

He said it is the duty of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority to continue monitoring whether the foreign business people are still pursuing the objectives they applied for or not.

Biti told parliament that Zimbabwe would meet its growth target, driven by 44 percent growth in mining, the largest segment of the economy, and 19.3 percent growth in agriculture.

But he warned that the country would still need to come up with an additional $700 million this year to meet its expenses, and urged the Kimberley Process diamond regulator allow Zimbabwe to sell disputed gems to close the gap.

“It is important that the international community recognise the level of compliance of Zimbabwean companies and afford Zimbabwe the right to sell through the Kimberley Process,” Biti said.

Kimberley banned the sale of diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields in 2009, after the military took control of the region and violently expelled small-scale miners, killing more than 200 people, according to Human Rights Watch.

Now Zimbabwe says it has cleaned up operations, allowing two companies to conduct most of the mining in Marange, and Kimberley is embroiled in a bitter debate over whether to allow sales.

Harare is sitting on a stockpile of gems estimated at $5.0 billion but Biti said much of Marange’s output was unaccounted for as the diamonds flow into the black market.

“There is no connection between Zimbabwe’s income from diamonds and its output,” the minister said.

Zimbabwe’s economy has begun rebuilding after a decade-long collapse marked by the collapse of the local currency under staggering hyperinflation.

The unity government formed in 2009 by veteran President Robert Mugabe and rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has stabilised the country, but investors remain uncertain as Zimbabwe inches toward new elections.

Biti, a top Tsvangirai ally, urged the parties to ease political tensions to encourage more foreign investment.

“We have to address the issue of the political environment. Political challenges increase pressure and shocks and reduce the planning horizon,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has not benefited from foreign direct investment into the sub-region,” the minister said.

“We are not at the party. We need to be at the party by addressing issues including our ugly politics.”

The school authorities had earlier sent the girl home so she could get treatment after she had complained of a severe headache. She reportedly collapsed while at home, resulting in her being rushed to a medical centre in the Avenues.

“It appears she had not died, but had fallen into a comma and she regained consciousness while in the mortuary, perhaps because of the cold. Fortunately an attendant heard her coughing and assisted her,” said a teacher at the school.

“She even came to school yesterday, and initially some pupils were afraid of her, but they later relaxed after the school authorities assured them it (the mishap) was normal. She was also called to the headmaster’s office where she was counselled and congratulated on her escape.”

The school head, who was identified as Chari, refused to comment on the matter or allow the girl to be interviewed referring all questions to her parents. They could, however, not be located.

Cases of people gaining consciousness in the morgue after being certified dead are quite common and in most cases doctors would have erred.

Yesterday, a news report from South Africa said a man spent 21 hours inside a morgue after he was mistaken for dead.

The man from Eastern Cape was last Saturday (the same day the Mt Pleasant girl “rose from the mortuary” placed in a morgue only to wake up screaming the following day, (Sunday afternoon) and demanding to be taken out of the refrigerator.

 He was then hospitalised and discharged on Monday. NEWSDAY

The turnout was totally amazing and several mourners from Highfield said they would certainly travel to Zvimba to witness the burial as the late Chiyangwa was of great help to the community.

“He was like our true hero so we are going to Zvimba and we will perform dances and songs celebrating his life which is something he always wanted,” said a mourner.

A group of ladies wearing bandanas around their heads written “Jimmy Jimalo” or “MaSista” said the headgear was dedicated to the late because whenever the late Jimallo met them he would shout out “MaSista, maSista.”

“After we take him via his sports bar we are going to take his body to our rural home where it will spend the night in our rural home, according to our custom, and then we will bury him at around tomorrow( today),” said family spokesperson Phillip Chiyangwa.

He said before the burial they would have yet another church service, body viewing and testimonials and speeches.

“It’s tough, but it happens, guys,” said the late Chiyangwa’s Australia-based son, Mike, who returned to bury his father.

Also present at the funeral were government officials, Media, Information and Publicity minister Webster Shamu, former Harare mayor Charles Tavengwa and Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Nicholas Goche, amongst others.

Chiyangwa passed away on Saturday at a private hospital after a long struggle with cancer.

Boroma hogged the limelight in 2008 when he publicly claimed the late dendera music icon was his father saying he could produce sufficient evidence to substantiate his assertion.

But the issue turned nasty a fortnight ago when Boroma and Sulumani had a heated argument over the former’s recently released album.

Boroma, the musician, said he wanted to give Sulumani a copy of his latest album before his “brotherly” gesture turned nasty.

“I called Sulumani just before the release date and we agreed that I would give him the album to sample. When I phoned him after the release of the album, he indicated that he had already seen it and that was when we had a serious argument,” said Boroma.

“Sulumani asked me why I had used a logo of a bird common on the late Simon’s albums. He said he was unhappy about the text on the sleeve, which salutes Simon and went on to challenge me to go for a DNA test to prove that I am his real brother.”

Boroma said he had been opposed to Sulumani’s suggestion and openly told him there was no one against whom the results would be measured since Simon was late.

“Sulumani went to the extent of saying that I should not phone him again because he did not want to have anything to do with me. I am not pushing to be called a Chimbetu, but I was merely making a brotherly gesture.”

Sulumani admitted he had an argument with Boroma over the album.

“I told him he used our trademark and ordered him to stop trying to fit in where he does not belong. He is going around claiming to be my father’s son and no one in the family is happy about it. Why can’t he prove beyond doubt that he is indeed part of our family?”

Sulumani’s assertion that no one among the Chimbetus was amused by Boroma’s actions contradicted with the latter’s claim that he was in good books with Allan.

Boroma said he had met Allan on several occasions and discussed various issues without any problems.

Allan, on the other hand, rubbished Boroma.

“I have met him on several occasions and I just talk to him like any other musician. Talking to him does not mean that I am admitting that he is a Chimbetu. From the very first time he made those allegations, I made it clear that he should bring enough evidence to prove his claims. We do not deny one of our own,” said Allan.

Akshat Saxena had seven fingers on each hand and ten toes on each foot, according to a spokesman for Guinness World Records.

The child, from Uttar Pradesh in northern India, has since had a series of surgeries to amputate the excess digits. Akshat was born last year without thumbs so doctors are working to reconstruct these out of the fingers they have removed. 

His mother Amrita Saxena said: ‘I was so happy to see my baby as it was our first child.

‘But later, when I saw his fingers, I was shocked and surprised.’

The condition is known as polydactyly, a genetic disorder which can be inherited and gives rise to excess digits.

Most commonly, the extra digits appear on the little finger side of the hand.

Mrs Saxena said it was a family friend who convinced them Akshat was extremely special.

She said: ‘He read on the internet about the baby born in China with 31 fingers.

Kurotwi is being jointly charged with former Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) boss Dominic Mubaiwa over allegations they defrauded the state of $2 billion which was supposed to be invested by a South African company.

They appeared before Justice Musakwa who postponed the matter indefinitely and scrapped reporting conditions.

Mtetwa told the High Court that if the state insisted on charging co-accused Kurotwi then Mpofu not Mubaiwa, should also be brought to court to face the same charges as he endorsed the deal and participated in meetings including travelling to South Africa to meet the investment company.

The state says Kurotwi and Mubaiwa misrepresented government last year that Core Mining and Marange Resources had entered into a joint venture TO comment on this report send your SMS to: 0772470058 which would get $2 billion investment from Benny Steinmeritz Group Resources (BSGR), a South African company.

But BSGR later pulled out after some of the conditions including guarantees on property rights and human rights were not met.  BSGR never invested the money which the state is saying government lost.

The state argues that by conniving to misrepresent information, the two prejudiced ZMDC and the government of over $2 billion.

However, the court papers in possession of the Daily News show that Mpofu was aware of the deal and allegedly even briefed government on it. He also granted BSGR officials access to Chiadzwa diamonds lds and was communicating with the company and Canadile on the issue.

“This is particularly so taking into account the fact that he (Kurotwi) is now being co-accused with Mubaiwa to whom he was referred by the Minister of Mines and Mining Development.

“If what is alleged Mubaiwa did constitutes a criminal offence, and it is alleged misrepresentations were made to the ministry, why is Obert Mpofu, the minister with whom the first accused (Kurotwi) and his partners dealt with not either a co-accused or a witness?

“This is particularly so taking into account the fact that the minister also travelled to South Africa for a familiarisation tour,” argued Mtetwa in the court papers.

Mtetwa said Kurotwi could not have connived with Mubaiwa to fleece the state because Mubaiwa always acted on the instructions of the minister.

The minister would communicate the ministry’s position to Mubaiwa for execution.

“His and his partners’ representations were with the minister and if what he did constitutes a criminal offence, it is the minister who ought to be his co-accused,” said Mtetwa, adding that the ZMDC decisions could not have been reached as a result of Mubaiwa’s actions alone, but with the consent of the minister.

Mpofu, Mtetwa said, was the one to testify on all issues of alleged misrepresentations emanating from their meetings with Kurotwi arguing that from the list of witnesses, there can be no doubt that the state sought to rely on hearsay evidence from persons who were not even at ZMDC at the relevant time.

“From the list of witnesses, it is quite clear that Minister Mpofu’s name is missing. It would be grossly prejudicial to Kurotwi to have him tried on the basis of alleged misrepresentations to a person who does not testify,” Mtetwa said.

Mtetwa said Kurotwi would not entertain the roping in of suspects into state witnesses.

“What is at issue is the attempt to bring new and fresh facts through the back disguised as amendments when these are clearly prejudicial substitutions. Such attempts, as they are, on issues raised by the defence, completely undermine the accused’s defence as they will now have to proceed with new costly procedures which would probably require further pre-trial applications.

“If the state wishes to bring fresh ‘facts’, it must do so afresh,” said Mtetwa.

Mtetwa said it was also prejudicial to Kurotwi to be indicted on ‘facts’ that did not allege actual prejudice only to face a charge in the sum of $2 billion without showing how that money was arrived at.

“As the document on which the state is relying remains the same, and the only letter in which $2 billion is mentioned clearly refers to ‘an investment worth up to $2 billion’, the amendment sought should be accompanied with a very clear explanation as to how the actual prejudice of $2 billion occurred,” said Mtetwa.

Representing Mubaiwa, Uriri also said the decision to enter into a joint venture agreement was made at a very high level and was communicated to the Mpofu who advised that there was a cabinet approval for the contact and as such, the misrepresentation also involves the minister.

Norwegian Professor Helge Ronning is the fair’s keynote speaker.

Professor Ronning has been a friend of the ZIBF for a long time. “We are very excited with our keynote speaker because he has been our friend for two decades.

“He helps to keep the book fair a decent brand.”

This year’s theme is “Books for Africa Development”.

Zimunya said the Children’s Indaba is bound to be interesting as it has been organised in such a way that writers will interact with children on July 27.

Publishers have promised much more imaginative presentations that are set to inspire fair goers.

“The Saturday writer’s workshop is not to be missed because writers would be taught about the use of a computer in research, Internet, interfacing with other writers, marketing and many other functions.”

Writer Memory Chirere said he was looking forward to the fair and had high expectations.

“The Book Fair has been on a recovery path for the past two years so we are expecting continuous growth. I expect it to move from strength to strength in terms of delivery.”

Chirere said the Book Fair was divided into sections of the Indaba and the exhibitions. “I expect more interaction between the writers, publishers and the audience,” he said. 

The Book Fair takes place from 28 to 30 July 2011 in the Harare Gardens with free admission to the public.

Over the years, several permanent structures have been set up by the publishers and other exhibitors.

There are also additional structures which will be available to other exhibitors. 

It is expected that the number of foreign publishers exhibiting at the Book Fair will increase considerably over that of previous years.

This year’s Book Fair, runs in conjunction with the Young Person’s Indaba.

The Book Fair is controlled and organised by ZIBFA, the Zimbabwe International Book Fair Association.

At a recent Annual General Meeting of the Association, Stephen Chifunyise, author and playwright, and Mwazvita Madondo, publisher, were elected chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively, of the General Council of the Association.

The day-to-day running of the affairs of the ZIBFA is assigned to an Executive Board which is headed by a chairperson, Musemura Zimunya, a deputy chairperson, Ruby Magosvongwe and five other members, including, author Jenny Yon, publishers, Tendai Vutuza and Charles Geti, and  booksellers Alex Mashamanda and  Paul Masuku.

“I have received a lot of help from Mnangagwa who owns the farm adjacent. He loans me tractors and all the necessary equipment for tillage and I just have to buy fuel. It is not only me whom he helps, everyone within the community’s vicinity,” said Dhewa.

Mnangagwa, despite being viewed differently in political circles, is known for his kindness and philanthropic activities which often go unreported, because he feels good that way.

Dhewa said the soft-spoken Zanu PF politburo member has helped him make progress in his farming despite his battle with cancer. So far the sungura star has managed to clear five hectares of the plot and plans to clear the whole area this year.

“I hope to clear the rest of the land this year as I would like to put it all under irrigation. I will construct a water tunnel which will connect from the minister’s farm and feed my irrigation scheme,” said Dhewa.

With the help of wife, Mini-enhle Moyo the sungura music star has already constructed a water holding reservoir for the irrigation project.

“Farming is expensive and one needs to commit funds to its operation if it has to be successful. There are a lot of farmers who are struggling to put together enough resources for their ventures and this has resulted in their poor performances.”

“Most farms which used to produce good yields are lying idle now because those given the land have no financial capacity to farm,” said Dhewa.

He said the trend at most farms has been that those with equipment helped the small farmers. “As Zimbabweans we have always shared our resources and I am glad that established farmers sharing land with small-to-medium size farmers have continued with their generosity.

They hire out their equipment to those who did not have and this reminds me the days when cooperatives were introduced in Zimbabwe,” Moyo told the Daily News on Sunday. 

There was need, said Dhewa for newly resettled farmers to get expert advice from agricultural officers before they embarked on any farming activities.

“People, out of ignorance are doing a lot of wrong things on the farms. Some keep cattle in areas that are not suitable while some plant certain crops which are not favourable to the soils. Soil needs to be tested by experts who can then tell you what kind of crop you can plant on particular areas. You find people ploughing in game ranging farms — that is not correct.

“There is need for some monitoring mechanisms on the farms and the responsible ministry of agriculture should dispatch its technical officers to carry out that exercise and advice farmers accordingly,” said Dhewa.

He said he was lucky in that farm managers from Mnangagwa’s farm always gave him useful advice.

“The minister’s farm managers have been helpful to the farming communities around here as they impart their knowledge freely. I am benefiting a lot from their technical advice. I owe it to Mnangagwa for his generosity,” said Dhewa.

The sungura star said the road that links their farms was in perfect condition, courtesy of the minister.

“The surrounding farm community has had the privilege to use good roads to transport their produce and they thank the minister for sponsoring its maintenance.”

The sungura star has managed to dig two water boreholes which are serving farm communities there. “As a way to ease water shortages and also for communities to drink clean water, I put up two boreholes that have proved to be a lifeline to communities around.”

Dhewa said years back he thought of building a business complex to support the farming community.

“We opened some business shops a few kilometres from the plot and things were working very well until up to the day we changed from Zimbabwe dollar to US dollar. People lost their cash and our operations suffered.

“People could, instead of buying groceries in cash, prefer to give you some of their produce. But barter trade is difficult because I am ordering goods in cash,” said the Utakataka Express leader.

Dhewa said with time and possibly when people have some extra cash, he can re-open the business shop.

He said it was important for him to be investing in projects. “These are some of the projects that I run outside music. I have invested in land and I am happy. I have two residential stands that are under construction and these will keep me busy for some time.”

Dhewa said while he was not as active as in the past because of his illness, he was trying his level best to keep his investments, that includes the band which has more than 16 people.

“The band is itself a huge investment. It is a business run as a company, but I am happy that as Utakataka we have managed to fight the odds and continue to give audiences the best,” he said.

Van Royen who runs Cynthia Mine and Asher Estate farm in Matobo district, Matebeleland South province was arrested on Friday after a top Zanu (PF) official in Bulawayo province, Joe Tshuma alleged that he had insulted Mugabe and him over the phone.

Appearing before Bulawayo Magistrate Victor Mpofu ,Van Royen was charged under Section 33 of the Criminal Law Act for insulting or undermining the president.

Allegations against the white commercial farmer are that on Wednesday he was phoned by Tshuma who is interested in his farm but the white farmer replied telling Tshuma “to go and hang together with Mugabe.”

Magistrate Mpofu granted him free bail and his case was postponed to 11 August.

Before Van Royen’s arrest on Friday, Tshuma who is said to be interested in the white farmer’s property and a group of Zanu (PF) youths had visited Asher Estates farm and Cynthia Mine last Monday and locked all gates and threatened his workers before barring him from entering.

The white commercial farmer’s lawyer Tawanda Mashayamombe said: “This is just political harassment, these guys are interested in my client’ properties.”

Van Royen’s arrest came at time when Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) last week said it was worried by the rate at which state security agencies are arresting citizens on charges of insulting Mugabe, whose cases the organisation is receiving every day.

Last month police arrested Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jameson Timba for calling Mugabe ‘a liar’. A Chipinge man Gift Mafuka was jailed for 12  months for  last year for insulting Mugabe.

Bukov, 52, was arrested earlier this year after his former girlfriend laid charges against him for harassing her and then violating her rights by posting the fake pictures of her on the social network.

He also allegedly posted the pictures onto a website that the woman – who is a real estate agent – uses to advertise homes for sale.

The pictures show the naked body of someone else with the woman’s face superimposed.

One of the pictures shows the “ex-girlfriend” standing naked in front of a show house with strips with her name on covering her breasts and pubic area.

And in another, “she” is bending forward with her buttocks facing the camera and looking back over her shoulder at the photographer.

According to documents before the court, Bukov met the woman shortly after arriving in South Africa from Bulgaria seven years ago.

He arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on August 25, 2004, and was issued with a visitor’s visa that allowed him to stay in the country until November 23, 2004.

But Bukov didn’t leave the country when he was supposed to and remained under the Department of Home Affairs’ radar until his arrest on May 27 this year.

Now he faces charges for being here illegally and for violating his former girlfriend’s privacy. – Daily Voice

Weather SA forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng said it was snowing heavily in the Lesotho area and overnight snowfall was reported in the Ukuhlamba Drakensberg area, the southern Free State, the Mpumalanga highveld and the Eastern Cape highground.

“We expect the snowfall will be ending tonight [Tuesday],” said Mofokeng.

The unusual weather caused the closure of a long stretch of the N3 highway, between Van Reenens Pass and Villiers.

Truckers and other motorists were lined up just before the N3 offramp. Most of the Free State town of Harrismith’s petrol stations and stores were running on generators as the weather caused electricity cuts.

“Nobody must even think of venturing out on the roads,” said resident Dries van Niekerk, owner of Dries Auto. “Today is a day to stay indoors and drink Gluhwein.”

He said this was the worst snow storm he had seen in the town since 1992.

In Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal, a Sapa reporter said the snow was 5cm thick. It was still snowing by 08:30, with residents choosing to stay indoors for now.

The college in the town was closed while a minibus taxi driver said commuters were stuck in the nearby Madadeni and Osizweni townships.

Botha’s Pass was also closed and the road into Newcastle had been barricaded off by law enforcement officials.

Newcastle residents were up early, with snow pictures being posted on social networking site Facebook from 05:00.

Twitter users posted links to pictures of snow in Beaufort West and Victoria West in the Eastern Cape, and Volksrust in Mpumalanga.

News24 users sent in photos of children playing in heavy snow in Barkly East and Comfimvaba in the Eastern Cape, cars buried under thick layers of snow in Queenstown, and two adults posing proudly next to a snowman, not bothered by the cold.

Several Twitter users quoted the “weather service” as saying there could be “snow in Jozi” today.

Said Mofokeng: “It is more a possibility of sleet [frozen water] in the areas of Sasolburg and Heidelberg.”

He added that it would start getting warmer toward the end of the week, although maximum temperatures would still be low.

The woman, who cannot be named as she has not appeared in court, was arrested after she compared strikers to baboons and said they intimidated people with their grunting noises. She did not participate in the strike.

Warrant Officer Duane Lightfoot, of the Sunnyside police station, confirmed that she had been arrested and said she was still in custody. She will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s court on Tuesday.

According to Mike Ntloko, chairman of National Education Health Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), employees of the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) embarked on a strike last week Friday for better pay and medical aid benefits. The strike is continuing.

Ntloko said he could not believe that one person could say this to another human being and he had personally opened the case against the employee.

“We want to prevent this (racism) from happening again and we want to make it clear that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated,” said Ntloko.

Bertha Peters-Scheepers, senior manager of PR and service delivery at HPCSA, said the organisation strongly condemned any form of racism.

In this specific matter, an employee was posting personal views on a social media network after hours, in her private capacity.

Peters-Scheepers said the HPCSA was currently investigating the matter and should the employee be found to have transgressed regulations, immediate action would be taken.

She added that the HPCSA had obtained a court interdict against the striking employees following acts of vandalism, sabotage, obstructing access to buildings, intimidation and assaults on customers.

These acts are also currently under investigation by members of the the SAPS.

Peters-Scheepers said the strike did not impact on the HPCSA’s ability to serve clients and that the number of strikers was fewer than 50 percent of the employees. – Pretoria News

Some 500 were from Ghana, 501 from India and 90 from Namibia.

Most of the foreign teachers taught maths, physical science and technology to pupils from Grade 7 to Grade 12 at schools in Gauteng (1 286), Eastern Cape (975) and Limpopo (934).

Teachers’ unions said on Monday that the country was not producing sufficient teachers because school leavers shunned the occupation due to low pay.

SA Democratic Teachers’ Union general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said that many graduate teachers left the country to work overseas because the “profession in South Africa is not attractive”.

National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA president Esrah Ramasehla said: “We are not growing our own teachers locally, but we are depending on teachers from Zimbabwe and India in key subjects like maths and science.”

About 10 000 teachers left the occupation each year, but little more than 6 000 teachers graduated each year, the basic education department said.

Department spokesperson Hope Mokgatlhe said “foreign-qualified educators” were employed as a temporary measure, while the department worked to increase the number of locally trained teachers.

- SAPA

They said life in Zimbabwe had become unbearable especially as they were not employed and could not make ends meet.

The men — Cassim Jee Bilal, Henry Radebe, Samuel Risimati Baloyi and Sydney Masito Sekgobela — yesterday pleaded with Harare magistrate Shane Kubonera not to postpone their trial to August 29 as proposed by the

“No, it is not fair to keep us here in Zimbabwe for a long time. I have told the court before that I have a very sick wife in hospital (in South Africa), waiting to undergo a heart transplant,” said Bilal.

“Every time we come here (to court) the case is postponed. Please if the court could consider we have been in Zimbabwe for five months seven days now and it hasn’t been an easy stay . . . I have pointed out that I can leave my car which is worth R300 000,” he added.

The drivers are being held in the country until Ping Sung Hsieh, a South African businessman who is alleged to have received $1 million from businesswoman Olga Bungu, is extradited from South Africa to appear in the courts in Zimbabwe.

In an affidavit tabled in court by defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa yesterday, Hsieh’s lawyer Clifford Edward Alexander, who is in South Africa, said it could take up to four years before the businessman could be extradited.

“In my experience, an appeal, especially in view of the nature of the court rolls in South Africa, can take anything between a minimum of one year to one-and-a-half years to be heard,” reads the affidavit.

“There is a further appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal which can be taken. This would entail a further 18 months upwards from that date for the matter to be heard. If there are any matters of a constitutional nature, then a further appeal can be heard in the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa,” said Alexander.

The Office argues that the First Lady was never part of the prosecution’s case.

Chief law officer Mr Chris Mutangadura objected to the naming of the First Lady when she was never mentioned in the papers relied upon by the State. Mr Mutangadura said defence lawyer Mrs Beatrice Mtetwa had no basis of repeatedly mentioning Amai Mugabe’s name because she had no evidence in linking the First Lady to the case.

But magistrate Mr Shane Kubonera could not make a ruling on the objection after Mrs Mtetwa indicated that she was not giving evidence but just cross-examining a witness.

She was cross-examining the investigating officer Assistant Commissioner Godfrey Munyonga as the case continued yesterday.

“The State objects to the continued mention of the First Lady because there is no evidence to support that. It is prejudicial to continuously refer to parties not mentioned in the State papers. The First Lady is not mentioned in the State papers,” said Mr Mutangadura.

He said the trial could not continue in the absence of Ping Sung Hseih who is the co- accused in the case.

Ping who owns companies in South Africa, Hong Kong and China is accused of hiring the four drivers to deliver the trucks to Mrs Olga Bungu.

The court heard the extradition of Hseih was at an advanced stage since the trial date has been set for August 29. The South African Justice Minister has been co-operative, the court heard.

Mrs Mtetwa, who is representing the four truck drivers, made an application to the court for the release of the four pending the extradition of Hseih.

However, Mr Kubonera postponed the matter to August 2 for the finalisation of the appeal. The four drivers – Cassim Jee Bilal (28), Henry Radebe (57), Samuel Risimati Baloyi and Sydney Masitho Sekgobela (40) – have been in custody here since their arrest five months ago.

Hseih is accused of defrauding Mrs Bungu, who wanted to import haulage trucks from SA, of US$1 million.

The money was transferred to Hsieh’s firm, Chantrea Trading in SA, in August 2008.

The four drivers were allegedly hired to bring the Iveco trucks with South African number plates registered under one of Ping’s companies, Fast Truck Haulage CC.

They allegedly had a temporary import permit, which they intended to take back to South Africa.