Anglican Bishop Julius Makoni talks to Zeinab Badawi about the challenges of life in Zimbabwe. Watch the HARD Talk interview here

Mayor jailed for US$460 theft, reads today’s Herald headline. The Mayor of Bindura has been jailed for six months for stealing $460 from Bindura. That’s right. One more time. 6 months in jail. For stealing Four Hundred Sixty Dollars.

If you read on, it sounds like actually she’s returned $250 , and her sentence was shortened on the condition she returns the outstanding $210 – so, in exchange for no money at all in her own pocket in the long run, she’ll be serving six months in jail.

It’s worth noting that the Bindura mayor, Ivory Matanhire, got into office on an MDC-T ticket.

On the one hand, it’s great if Zimbabwe’s courts are finally taking corruption seriously. Certainly, jailing a mayor over a bit of misappropriated travel funds sends a message that your position doesn’t protect you from prosecution. Unfortunately, it’s really hard not to feel like it’s just a bit of political posturing.

Just last week, Khadija Sharife, writing for 100 Reporters, exposed worrying allegations on the theft of billions of dollars from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields. A research paper released by Transparency International – Zimbabwe in January shared concerns about theft from Zimbabwe’s gold, diamond and platinum mines.  A 2012 report by the Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa reviews a list of outstanding corruption cases which have not been prosecuted or taken seriously.

Every day, members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police engage in roadblocks which Zimbabweans have taken to calling ATMs – They’re more about the ZRP getting money for their pockets then they are about policing our streets or ensuring road safety.

Unfortunately, in a context like this, the message from the Bindura Magistrate who sentenced Mayor Matanhire isn’t so much “don’t steal public funds or you’ll go to jail.” It’s more like “unless you know the right people, don’t steal public funds or you’ll go to jail.”

Interesting that, Temba Mliswa, the man who is on record solving differences with people whose politics he does not agree with through violence, and was arrested recently for bashing a female Zanu PF “colleague” has asked the courts to transfer the trial to Harare.

Mliswa claims that there are “political undercurrents” in the province where the trial is being heard that would compromise a fair trial.

This is according to ZBC news and you wonder if this is reported tongue-in-cheek!

Is that not curious coming from people who have always trumpeted the impartiality of Zimbabwean courts, especially when members from the other political divide are on the dock facing frivolous charges.

You have to feel no sorry for this guy and his theology that he can get away with anything as long as he invokes the name “Zanu PF!”

Recall when he trained hard punches on the heads of white commercial farmers whose land he expropriated? Where were the courts then? Clown.

Let him have it and perhaps it shall serve as an example to others from the same stock who think they can punch their way out of anything in the name of the “revolutionary party.”

Yeah, we are watching which way the table will turn.

Via The Guardian: Happy birthday to Misao Okawa, the world’s oldest woman, as she celebrates her 115th birthday at the nursing home in Osaka, Japan. Guinness World Records confirmed she was the world’s oldest woman last month. Photograph: Tomohito Okada/AFP/Getty Images

Photo credit: VOA … Mugabe celebrates his 89th birthday

The basic qualification for voting in the Referendum is stated in section 6 of the Referendums Act: “Any person who satisfies the presiding officer of a polling station that he or she is eighteen years or above and is eligible to be registered as a voter on the voter’s roll” is eligible to vote.

It is not necessary to be a registered voter. Eligibility to be registered as a voter is all that is required. Voters’ rolls will not be used in the Referendum.

Documents Needed to Vote in the Referendum
At the polling station a voter must be able to provide proof of eligibility to vote. The new regulations stipulate what documents are needed [Regulations, section 3]. All the voter needs to do is to produce one of the following documents, on which “it is legibly shown that that the person is a citizen of Zimbabwe of or over the age of eighteen [18] years”:

Zimbabwe national identity document [except IDs of non-citizens - see more below] issued in terms of the National Registration Act [metal or plastic]

OR

“Waiting pass” which includes a photograph of the holder. A waiting pass is the document that one gets when applying for a national ID and that serves as proof of registration until the ID itself is received.

OR

A valid Zimbabwean passport.

Source: Veritas

On Friday morning as people were rushing to work I paid a visit to the barbershop. After spending almost a month without getting my hair cut, and also missing the city gossip from my barber man, I made my booking early.

As I was sitting on the bench waiting my turn I could hear whispering coming from two men sitting next to me. So I moved closer so that I could hear their discussion. I remember when I was growing up my mom used to tell me that men should not gossip but here I was eavesdropping and pretending to be reading the newspaper. I was staring at the COPAC draft Constitution summary published in the state-controlled newspaper.  Still trying to position my ears like a satellite receiver, my turn arrived and I grabbed the chair with my ears still attached to the conversation.

“Haa unonyepa haihwine” meaning you lie its not going to win. At first I thought it was a soccer match but later I heard names of political parties being mentioned. Why are these men whispering I asked my barber man?  He replied with a smile and said they are talking politics. They are arguing over the draft constitution, he added. The two gentlemen were in a debate on who will claim victory if the ‘YES” vote prevails in the referendum and does it also mean a certain party can triumph in the coming elections based on the referendum outcome. All I could hear were arguments – not many facts – maybe this was due to self-censorship, or maybe they hadn’t read a copy of the draft constitution.

Since this barbershop is also frequented by Members of Parliament (MPs),  I was told the debate started a week ago when one MP was saying that after the “YES” he predicts a win for his party in the harmonized elections in July. I asked for an opinion from my barber man and all he could say was that it depends on the situation.

Since it was a public place he was self-censoring his opinion.