#Grace Mugabe

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

There are 328 people in the US called Abcde.

Signs saying 'Beware Of Pickpockets' attract pickpockets.

In ancient Rome, women used tampons soaked in opium.

The best time of the day for hand-eye co-ordination is 8pm.

Fear of heights only begins six weeks after a baby learns to crawl.

Half the buyers of vinyl records in the US don’t own a record player.

The average Briton lies about how they really feel 11 times per week.

The happier a bird is, the jazzier and more free-form its singing will be.

Prisoners in California can reduce their sentences by opting to fight forest fires.

Red lipstick boosts waitresses' tips from male customer but not from female ones.

At a food safety conference in Baltimore in 2014, 100 attendees got food poisoning.

Hippos can retract their testicles over a foot into their body to stop rivals biting them.

Until the reign of Henry VIII, kitchen assistants in the Royal household worked naked.

A cyberchondriac is someone who scours the internet looking for details of their illnesses.

There is more toxic nitrogen dioxide in London's Oxford Street than anywhere else in the world.

As a teenager, Sean Paul was on the Jamaican national teams for both swimming and water polo.

Before the invention of colour TV, 75% of people reported dreaming in black and white. Today, only 12% do.

William The Conqueror banned capital punishment. Instead, criminals had their eyes or testicles removed.

Robert Mugabe's wife, Grace, received her PhD from the University of Zimbabwe two months after she enrolled.

King Harold didn't die at the battle of Hastings from an arrow in the eye: he was hacked apart by four Norman knights.

Astronomers at the Allen Telescope Array in California always keep champagne in their fridge in case they discover alien life.

George Orwell named '1984's torture chamber Room 101 after a BBC conference room where he endured countless, boring meetings.

When Stephen Hawking gave a lecture in Japan, he was asked not to mention the possible re-collapse of the universe in case it affected the stock market.

There is no strong evidence that having sex, going for a walk or eating spicy food helps to induce labour in pregnancy. Nipple stimulation, however, has been shown to work.

By the end of her life, Queen Victoria's bust measured seven inches more than her height (5’ 0”). Did the maths for you: 67 inches! Search “Norma Stitz” to see what that looks like!

The oldest known British joke dates from the 10th century. Found in a book of Anglo-Saxon poetry, it reads, "What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before? Answer: A key."

Your dreams get weirder during the night. Shortly after you fall asleep, your dreams are most likely to be about things you did or saw during the day, but as the night wears on they become increasingly detached from reality.

In 1923, a jockey named Frank Hayes won a race at Belmont Park in New York despite being dead. He suffered a heart attack mid-race, but his body stayed in the saddle until his horse crossed the line for a 20-1 outsider victory.

Aphrodite of Knidos was one of the first full-size female nude statues in Greek history. According to ancient Greek historian, Lucian of Samosata, it was so lifelike that a man broke into the temple where it was housed to attempt to have sex with it.

In 1978, Isaac Asimov judged a local limerick contest and deemed this entry to be the best out of 12,000: “The bustard’s an exquisite fowl, With minimal reason to growl, He escapes what would be, Illegitamacy, By grace of a fortunate vowel.”

In 1996, a Hong Kong gangster kidnapped the son of the richest man in Asia and demanded a $130 million ransom for his return. After receiving the money, the gangster later called the billionaire and asked him for advice on how he should invest the money.

French gangster Albert Spaggiari was arrested after his gang stole 60 million francs worth of valuables from a bank. At his trial, he distracted the judge, then leaped out of a window and fled on a motorcycle specially set up for him. He was never caught.

The single biggest expense in the Lego Universe video game was hiring a team of moderators to detect if anyone had built Lego penises. Lego Universe was supposed to be the Lego MMO to rule them all but the PC-exclusive title disappeared from existence not too long after its launch. Despite the team's best efforts, their dong detection software just couldn't keep up with the sheer amount of inappropriate player erections popping up everywhere.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

[beardedmrbean]

A son of Zimbabwe's former President, Robert Mugabe, has been arrested over allegations he damaged property at a party in Harare.

Robert Mugabe junior, who is thought to be 31, is accused of destroying cars over the weekend.

He was arrested following a complaint from his friend, Sindiso Nkatazo, also 31, police said in a tweet.

Mr Mugabe junior, the second child of the former president with his widow, Grace, has not yet commented.

The police say the damaged property was valued at $12,000 (£10,000).

News site ZimLive posted a video of Mr Mugabe junior walking to Harare Magistrates' Court wearing a suit and facemask, followed by a throng of people, as others stood on the sidelines taking pictures of him on their phones.

Former President Robert Mugabe died in 2019 at the age of 95, two years after being forced to resign following 37 years in power.

It is extremely unlikely that his son would have been arrested if his father was still president, analysts say.

Mr Mugabe was replaced by his former right-hand man Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Relations between him and the Mugabe family had been fraught after they accused him of betraying Zimbabwe's long-time leader.

His widow, Grace, had harboured ambitions of succeeding her husband but was sidelined by supporters of Mr Mnangagwa.

However, Mr Mugabe junior has since reconciled with President Mnangagwa and last year attended a rally where he was publicly welcomed back into the ruling Zanu-PF party.

[isbellavidanewsnation]

Zimbabwe: The men of god surrounding President Mnangagwa

Some of the most prominent clergymen in Zimbabwe continue to embrace President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his policies. Who are these men of god?

With economic depression and political repression in Zimbabwe, analysts say one would have expected all the clergymen in the country to emulate South Africa’s fearless cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu – who used the pulpit to fight apartheid – to speak truth to power. Instead, some of the most prominent ones have embraced President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his policies since he came to power.

“Such a rare breed of ecclesiastics with enough moral stamina to warn President Mnangagwa against looting national coffers and brutalising citizens are still to emerge in Zimbabwe,” says a political analyst who prefers to stay anonymous.

Three weeks before the citizen-backed military coup that dethroned the late president Robert Mugabe in 2017, Mnangagwa had been fired for “traits of disloyalty”.

When Mnangagwa took over the presidency in November 2017, he told his supporters that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.

Many church leaders quickly embraced him even though his ascension to power was through a coup. Four months later, a local newspaper, The Herald, published an article saying churches had endorsed the “new dispensation” led by Mnangagwa.

 In the run up to the 2023 elections, the churches rallied behind Mnangagwa under #pastors4ED campaign on social media.

Here are five clergymen who have built close ties with the president:

Angel (born Uebert Madzanire) is a Zimbabwean-British evangelical preacher and the founder of Pentecostal ministry Spirit Embassy, which has a following in dozens of countries across four continents. He presents himself as ‘man of God’ and his followers refer to him by this title.

Mnangagwa appointed him as Zimbabwe’s ambassador at large and presidential envoy, following two weeks of induction and a training programme for diplomats in Harare.

A March 2023 Al Jazeera investigation linked Angel to a global money laundering operation. It showed how funds were illegally channelled to Zimbabwe and traded for gold from local mines. The gold would then be sold again for ‘clean’ money.

The government froze his financial assets and bank accounts, as well as those of others implicated in the documentary, for investigation. But a month later, the authorities reversed the decision saying investigations had stopped as there was no wrongdoing.

Angel resumed his ambassadorial role, representing Zimbabwe in Europe and the Americas, while Parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda blocked legislators from conducting their own independent investigations into money laundering allegations against him.

Angel’s international company, the Billion Group, has interests in several businesses, including a bank, Sam Barkeley Construction, Atom Mobile and Picasso Hotels. Angel is the author of several books on how to make money.

Mutendi, referred to as ‘His Grace’ by his followers, is the leader of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of the largest churches in Zimbabwe. His support for Mnangagwa and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party is no secret.

At a public event in May 2018, Mnangagwa said Mutendi’s late father, Bishop Samuel Mutendi – who founded ZCC — foretold his “rise to power” as far back as 1964. The president and younger Mutendi enjoy cordial relationships.

In September 2020, Mnangagwa toured Mutendi’s wheat farm in Nyika, within Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province, a manifestation of their deepening ties.

With a large following in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique, and other denominations of the church in Europe, Mutendi has used church gatherings as campaign grounds for ZANU-PF since 2017. The church headquarters in Masvingo can accommodate up to 40,000 people.

Mutendi has been making headlines for delaying payment for the company that designed the building. The firm, Empire Designs, is also yet to receive payment of around $800,000 for the design of Mutendi’s schools and wellness centres across Zimbabwe.

Mutendi is not new to controversy. In 2014, he displaced more than 1,000 farmers from their land to construct church properties. The farmers, who had settled there following Zimbabwe’s land redistribution programme, alleged that Mutendi was fraudulently given an offer letter yet the cabinet had been dissolved five days before the 2013 elections.

“His offer letter is dated 26 July 2013. Most of us here got [our] offer letters way back [in] 2009. Now Mutendi wants to take over 500 hectares of Central Estates Farm, particularly the headquarters area,” said a farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Central Estates Farm used to belong to mining and properties magnate Nicholas van Hoogstraten before the government took over the land. At its peak, Van Hoogstraten’s farm used to keep over 60,000 cattle for beef.

Makandiwa (whose real name is Shingirai Chirume) is a controversial pastor in the capital Harare and one of the richest clergymen in the country. His establishment, the United Family International Church (UFIC), has a large footprint in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, with an online presence through his DSTV channel Emmanuel TV.

In 2015, agents from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority visited the UFIC offices in Harare, demanding books of accounts, following accusations that the church was accumulating millions of dollars but not paying tax. Makandiwa’s spokesperson Prime Kufa said his church had no issues with the taxman, claiming that he was a victim of conspiracy theories.

In the run up to the 2023 election, Makandiwa invited Mnangagwa to his church in Chitungwiza Dormitory town. With an audience of approximately 60,000 people, he gave the president and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, an opportunity to campaign during the services.

UFIC sits on a wetland, which according to the by-laws is a no-construction zone. But Makandiwa’s proximity with the first family has deterred the authorities from pursuing the matter.

Last year, Makandiwa’s flamboyant multi-million-dollar mansion sparked heated conversations on social media. The mansion revived the issues of lifestyle audits, which influential clergymen evade while the taxman focuses on smaller churches.

Passion Java (whose real name is Panganai Java) is a famous pastor and leader of Passion Ministries. He is a mentee of Uebert Angel – who he named his son after — and a friend of Mnangagwa, as well as a staunch supporter of the ZANU–PF.

The preacher never shies away from flaunting his wealthy lifestyle online. He does this on a daily basis, praising Mnangagwa while chiding opponents of the ruling party. His late mother was a senator in parliament under the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance.

Java and his church have a larger following in the United States, where spends most of his time overseeing properties that he owns.

Ahead of the 2023 elections, Java hosted Congolese musician Koffi Olomide in Zimbabwe where he produced a song under the pastor’s record label. The song, which praised Mnangagwa, drew criticism from Zimbabweans online as well as members of the opposition.

Java also made headlines in South Africa after he reportedly spent R1.3m ($68,506) at a club in Pretoria to celebrate the birthday of Boss Lashaan, the manager of Passion Java Label.

In March 2022, over 9,000 people signed an online petition calling on the American authorities to deport Java over his alleged role in violation of human rights in Zimbabwe. He is yet to be deported.

Wutawunashe, the founder of the Family of God Church (FOG), is popular for leading national prayer days. His church has a steady following in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries.

Wutawunashe, who has been allied to the ruling party for decades, endorsed Mnangagwa soon after the disputed 2023 elections, telling the opposition’s Nelson Chamisa to “swallow his pride”.

“As you can see, President Mnangagwa is genuinely popular,” Wutawunashe told the press in an interview during the inauguration.

[pressgazettenews]

Zimbabwe: The men of god surrounding President Mnangagwa

Some of the most prominent clergymen in Zimbabwe continue to embrace President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his policies. Who are these men of god?

With economic depression and political repression in Zimbabwe, analysts say one would have expected all the clergymen in the country to emulate South Africa’s fearless cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu – who used the pulpit to fight apartheid – to speak truth to power. Instead, some of the most prominent ones have embraced President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his policies since he came to power.

“Such a rare breed of ecclesiastics with enough moral stamina to warn President Mnangagwa against looting national coffers and brutalising citizens are still to emerge in Zimbabwe,” says a political analyst who prefers to stay anonymous.

Three weeks before the citizen-backed military coup that dethroned the late president Robert Mugabe in 2017, Mnangagwa had been fired for “traits of disloyalty”.

When Mnangagwa took over the presidency in November 2017, he told his supporters that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.

Many church leaders quickly embraced him even though his ascension to power was through a coup. Four months later, a local newspaper, The Herald, published an article saying churches had endorsed the “new dispensation” led by Mnangagwa.

 In the run up to the 2023 elections, the churches rallied behind Mnangagwa under #pastors4ED campaign on social media.

Here are five clergymen who have built close ties with the president:

Angel (born Uebert Madzanire) is a Zimbabwean-British evangelical preacher and the founder of Pentecostal ministry Spirit Embassy, which has a following in dozens of countries across four continents. He presents himself as ‘man of God’ and his followers refer to him by this title.

Mnangagwa appointed him as Zimbabwe’s ambassador at large and presidential envoy, following two weeks of induction and a training programme for diplomats in Harare.

A March 2023 Al Jazeera investigation linked Angel to a global money laundering operation. It showed how funds were illegally channelled to Zimbabwe and traded for gold from local mines. The gold would then be sold again for ‘clean’ money.

The government froze his financial assets and bank accounts, as well as those of others implicated in the documentary, for investigation. But a month later, the authorities reversed the decision saying investigations had stopped as there was no wrongdoing.

Angel resumed his ambassadorial role, representing Zimbabwe in Europe and the Americas, while Parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda blocked legislators from conducting their own independent investigations into money laundering allegations against him.

Angel’s international company, the Billion Group, has interests in several businesses, including a bank, Sam Barkeley Construction, Atom Mobile and Picasso Hotels. Angel is the author of several books on how to make money.

Mutendi, referred to as ‘His Grace’ by his followers, is the leader of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of the largest churches in Zimbabwe. His support for Mnangagwa and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party is no secret.

At a public event in May 2018, Mnangagwa said Mutendi’s late father, Bishop Samuel Mutendi – who founded ZCC — foretold his “rise to power” as far back as 1964. The president and younger Mutendi enjoy cordial relationships.

In September 2020, Mnangagwa toured Mutendi’s wheat farm in Nyika, within Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province, a manifestation of their deepening ties.

His offer letter is dated 26 July 2013. Most of us here got [our] offer letters way back [in] 2009

With a large following in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique, and other denominations of the church in Europe, Mutendi has used church gatherings as campaign grounds for ZANU-PF since 2017. The church headquarters in Masvingo can accommodate up to 40,000 people.

Mutendi has been making headlines for delaying payment for the company that designed the building. The firm, Empire Designs, is also yet to receive payment of around $800,000 for the design of Mutendi’s schools and wellness centres across Zimbabwe.

Mutendi is not new to controversy. In 2014, he displaced more than 1,000 farmers from their land to construct church properties. The farmers, who had settled there following Zimbabwe’s land redistribution programme, alleged that Mutendi was fraudulently given an offer letter yet the cabinet had been dissolved five days before the 2013 elections.

“His offer letter is dated 26 July 2013. Most of us here got [our] offer letters way back [in] 2009. Now Mutendi wants to take over 500 hectares of Central Estates Farm, particularly the headquarters area,” said a farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Central Estates Farm used to belong to mining and properties magnate Nicholas van Hoogstraten before the government took over the land. At its peak, Van Hoogstraten’s farm used to keep over 60,000 cattle for beef.

Makandiwa (whose real name is Shingirai Chirume) is a controversial pastor in the capital Harare and one of the richest clergymen in the country. His establishment, the United Family International Church (UFIC), has a large footprint in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, with an online presence through his DSTV channel Emmanuel TV.

In 2015, agents from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority visited the UFIC offices in Harare, demanding books of accounts, following accusations that the church was accumulating millions of dollars but not paying tax. Makandiwa’s spokesperson Prime Kufa said his church had no issues with the taxman, claiming that he was a victim of conspiracy theories.

In the run up to the 2023 election, Makandiwa invited Mnangagwa to his church in Chitungwiza Dormitory town. With an audience of approximately 60,000 people, he gave the president and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, an opportunity to campaign during the services.

UFIC sits on a wetland, which according to the by-laws is a no-construction zone. But Makandiwa’s proximity with the first family has deterred the authorities from pursuing the matter.

Last year, Makandiwa’s flamboyant multi-million-dollar mansion sparked heated conversations on social media. The mansion revived the issues of lifestyle audits, which influential clergymen evade while the taxman focuses on smaller churches.

Passion Java (whose real name is Panganai Java) is a famous pastor and leader of Passion Ministries. He is a mentee of Uebert Angel – who he named his son after — and a friend of Mnangagwa, as well as a staunch supporter of the ZANU–PF.

The preacher never shies away from flaunting his wealthy lifestyle online. He does this on a daily basis, praising Mnangagwa while chiding opponents of the ruling party. His late mother was a senator in parliament under the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance.

Java and his church have a larger following in the United States, where spends most of his time overseeing properties that he owns.

Ahead of the 2023 elections, Java hosted Congolese musician Koffi Olomide in Zimbabwe where he produced a song under the pastor’s record label. The song, which praised Mnangagwa, drew criticism from Zimbabweans online as well as members of the opposition.

Java also made headlines in South Africa after he reportedly spent R1.3m ($68,506) at a club in Pretoria to celebrate the birthday of Boss Lashaan, the manager of Passion Java Label.

In March 2022, over 9,000 people signed an online petition calling on the American authorities to deport Java over his alleged role in violation of human rights in Zimbabwe. He is yet to be deported.

Wutawunashe, the founder of the Family of God Church (FOG), is popular for leading national prayer days. His church has a steady following in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries.

Wutawunashe, who has been allied to the ruling party for decades, endorsed Mnangagwa soon after the disputed 2023 elections, telling the opposition’s Nelson Chamisa to “swallow his pride”.

[fashionlordchic]

Today would’ve been the 99th birthday of Robert Mugabe, the former President of Zimbabwe.

After graduating from the University of Fort Hare, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa, he began his career as a schoolteacher. Buoyed by the harsh treatment at the hands of the white minority government, Mugabe embraced African nationalism & joined the fight for an independent state with a black majority. His anti-government stance saw him get convicted of sedition and spent a decade behind bars (1964-1974).

Once released from prison, he fled to Mozambique in exile. Once there, he joined the leadership of ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) and this led to the start of the Rhodesian Bush War against Ian Smith’s white government. After more than 15 years of guerilla warfare, Mugabe and other leaders sat down for the Lancaster House Agreement, which helped end the war and usher Rhodesia into independence.

His party won the 1980 general elections and Mugabe was elected Prime Minister. In 1987, his ZANU party was merged with Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU and ZANU-PF was born. On December 31, 1987, he became Zimbabwe’s second State President and abolished the office of Prime Minister. The office was reestablished following the 2008 general elections, in which a power sharing agreement allowed the late Morgan Tsvangirai to be Prime Minister. Mugabe’s regime came to an end in November 2017, after being ousted by members of his party. He was replaced by former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mugabe died on 6 Sep 2019 at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore at the age of 95. He is survived by his second wife Grace, his two sons and a daughter. His state funeral was held at the National Sports Stadium on 14 September 2019. The government had wished to have him buried at Heroes Acre Cemetery but ultimately he was buried in his hometown of Kutama.

It was later revealed that Mugabe agreed to relinquish power after he was promised full diplomatic status and allowed to keep the wealth he had accumulated while in power and a further $10 million in payment. 

[mubashirnews]

Robert Mugabe's son charged in Zimbabwe for damaging cars at Harare party | World News

The eldest son of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s former president, has been arrested over allegations he damaged property at a party. Robert Mugabe Jnr, 31, the second child of the late authoritarian leader and his wife, Grace, is accused of causing $12,000 (£10,000) worth of damage to cars and other property belonging to his friend Sindiso Nkatazo, also aged 31. The allegations relate to a party…

[24deltaideas]

El PP apunta a Calvio en el caso de su marido y pide que comparezca en el Congreso

El PP apunta a Calvio en el caso de su marido y pide que comparezca en el Congreso

En el artículo de hoy, compartimos el artículo sobre El PP apunta a Calvio en el caso de su marido y pide que comparezca en el Congreso. Puede encontrar detalles sobre El PP apunta a Calvio en el caso de su marido y pide que comparezca en el Congreso en nuestro artículo. En 2017, Grace Mugabe se preparaba para suceder a su marido Robert Mugabe al frente del Gobierno de Zimbabue. La maniobra…

[zooterchet]

Three Republicans

The Victorian Hobbesian: Business regulation, determining practice of trade.

Plato’s Republic: Sequester of talent into refusal to cast ballot.

Mugabe’s Ethics: Winning support by returning to grace.

Lincoln, Jackson, Obama.

[geezliberia]

Update: Traditional court fines Robert Mugabe's widow Grace five cows and two goats for 'improperly' burying the Zimbabwean dictator

Update: Traditional court fines Robert Mugabe’s widow Grace five cows and two goats for ‘improperly’ burying the Zimbabwean dictator

The widow of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has reportedly been fined five cows and two goats for ‘improperly’ burying her husband after he passed away. A traditional court met on Thursday morning in the absence of Grace Mugabe, to reach their decision, a source close to the family said. The former first lady, known as Gucci Grace because of her lavish spending lifestyle, is accused…

[newstfionline]

Grace Mugabe accused of smuggling ivory, gold, diamonds from Zimbabwe

By Peta Thornycroft, London Telegraph, 25 March 2018

Harare: Zimbabwe police have launched an investigation into Grace Mugabe, the former First Lady, over allegations that she headed a poaching and smuggling syndicate that illegally exported tons of elephant tusks, gold, and diamonds from the country.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, sanctioned an “urgent” investigation into Grace Mugabe’s activities after “very strong” evidence was uncovered by Adrian Steirn, an Australian photo-journalist.

Grace Mugabe, who wielded significant power in Zimbabwean politics until Robert Mugabe, her husband, was ousted in a soft coup last November, was named as the alleged mastermind of the illegal operation by two suspected poachers who were later arrested in a police sting after trying to sell tusks to Mr Steirn.

She has not yet been charged.

Zimbabwe is home to about 86,000 elephants, the second largest population in Africa, according to a 2016 census. That figure represented a 10 per cent drop since 2005.

Although the population is considered healthy in the north-west of the country, losses have been heavy in other parts. About 900 elephants were lost to poachers between 2013 and 2016, nearly 250 of them poisoned with cyanide or shot.

Grace Mugabe’s name was linked to large scale wildlife trafficking following a four-month investigation by Steirn, who posed as a customer for contraband ivory to infiltrate the smuggling and poaching networks.

Steirn said he decided to launch the investigation after hearing rumours about Grace Mugabe’s complicity in trade during several years reporting on wildlife crime in Africa. Lloyd, a man who spent five years in prison for poaching, provided the initial evidence that triggered the investigation.

“For years I’ve been documenting the front-line poachers who end up serving 20 years for shooting a giraffe. Meanwhile, she was taking billions of dollars out of the country,” Steirn said. “If they charge and arrest her, and she goes to jail for wildlife crimes, that will change the dynamic of the entire perception of wildlife trafficking across Africa,” he said.

Undercover footage filmed by Steirn shows several sources, including suspected poachers and intelligence, wildlife and aviation officials, describing how Grace Mugabe smuggled ivory poached in national parks or looted from government warehouses out of the country by exploiting an exemption from airport security screening as First Lady.

They include Fariken Madzinga, 48, a registered dealer of ivory who describes in the footage how he also runs a syndicate that handles both poached ivory and tusks stolen from the government’s secure stockpiles of wildlife products on behalf of Grace Mugabe.

In conversations with Steirn recorded before his arrest, Madzinga described how he relies on “the president and first lady” to get contraband tusks out of the country. “In order for it to pass through customs, the goods of the First Lady were not searched. She had immunity from the government,” he added. “There is nobody who is going to open this.”

Documents suggest that an airport security loophole also extended to cargo shipments marked as assigned to the First Lady, allowing a much larger scale of traffic than would be possible in personal luggage.

An Airport Security Protocol (ASP), issued by the Mugabe government’s Civil Aviation Authority, and printed on its letterhead, instructs the cargo department and all airport security not to scan or search any consignment connected to the first family or their entourage.

While it is usual practice to exempt diplomats and heads of state, as well as immediate family members travelling with them, from searches, it is highly unusual to extend that waiver to unaccompanied cargo or beyond immediate family members. Christopher Mutsvangwa, a special adviser to Mnangagwa, said the president was aware of the allegations and had sanctioned the investigation based on the information revealed by Steirn.

“We have commenced a full inquiry in addition to ongoing investigations into the recent seizure of a large quantity of ivory that was bound for an overseas destination,” Mutsvangwa, a former leader of Zimbabwe’s powerful association of War Veterans and a long standing critic of Grace Mugabe within the ruling Zanu PF party, said. “The government of Zimbabwe will seek answers from all parties who have been implicated in this matter, including former First Lady Grace Mugabe and former minister of environment Saviour Kasukuwere,” he said in an interview in Moscow, where he was an observer at last week’s Russian presidential election.

Mustvangwa said there is currently no suggestion that Robert Mugabe, who is now 94, is implicated in the smuggling ring.

However, he added that there was mounting evidence that the gang included high-ranking members of Mugabe’s security apparatus and that the systemic smuggling also involved rhino horn, diamonds, and gold. “Ivory is just one part of it,” he said.

In his last five years in office, Mr Mugabe regularly travelled for medical treatment to Singapore using Air Zimbabwe’s only long-haul aircraft, a Boeing 767. He was often accompanied by Mrs Mugabe.

He last visited the city state in December, a month after he left office.

On the same day he flew out of Harare, on December 11, a consignment of 200 kilograms of ivory destined for Kuala Lumpur was seized at Harare international airport.

While Grace Mugabe’s alleged customers have not been named, Mutswanga said the buyers are assumed to be organised criminal groups operating out of China and Malaysia. Such gangs have been linked to multi-million dollar poaching operations across Africa and have a reputation for extreme violence.

In August last year Wayne Lotter, a South African conservationist investigating ivory smuggling networks, was shot dead in Tanzania.

And last month Esmond Bradley Martin, an American, and one of the world’s leading experts on the illegal wildlife trade, was stabbed to death at his home in Nairobi.

The exposure of top Zimbabwean officials in the illegal wildlife trade will come as little surprise to conservationists, who say official corruption, including cooperating with major organised crime networks, has fuelled poaching.

“Corruption is key all along the supply chain,” said Lucy Vigne, a leading researcher into the smuggling of illegal ivory and rhino horn from Africa. “Officials may turn a blind eye for bribes or collude with the criminal traders in illegal wildlife trade activities themselves.”

“There has been a concerted international effort to bring down the high-level trafficking networks of which Grace is an example,” said Frank Pope, chief executive officer of Save The Elephants, a leading charity.

“She is not alone in being a senior figure in this kind of stuff, not alone in this current crisis and not alone in the historical perspective of the ivory trade. There have been other senior figures who’ve lined their pockets substantially from the ivory trade.”

Grace Mugabe did not respond to multiple requests to comment.

Father Fidelis Mukonori, who is close to the Mugabe family, said he discussed the allegations with Mrs Mugabe and she said she was “unconcerned. She said it doesn’t matter.”

[evemiramsx]

The end of an era is sweet

[yahoonewsphotos]

A look back at Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe: 37 years in power

Thirty-seven years ago, Robert Mugabe was feted as a titan who had won Africa’s last great war against colonialism.

On Tuesday, in the twilight of his life, Mugabe resigned, loathed by millions of his citizens for a rule tarnished by despotism, cronyism, corruption and economic ruin.

Deserted by the forces that propped up his power for decades, Mugabe had faced the humiliation of impeachment proceedings launched by the ZANU-PF — the party he had forged into a tool of unquestioning loyalty.

In a bombshell letter read to parliament by the speaker Jacob Mudenda, the 93-year-old said: “I Robert Gabriel Mugabe in terms of section 96 of the constitution of Zimbabwe hereby formally tender my resignation… with immediate effect.” (AFP)

Here’s a look back at 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, the only ruler the country has known in its 37 years of independence.

Photos from top: Louise Gubb/AP, AP, Howard Burditt/Reuters, Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP, Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

See more photos of Robert Mugabe and our other slideshows on Yahoo News.

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What is Behind the Military Coup in Zimbabwe?

By Gregory Elich 

Long-roiling factional conflict within Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF political party exploded last week in a military coup that quickly seized control of the government and state media. The coup was led by Commander of Zimbabwe Defense Forces Constantino Chiwenga, who is closely aligned with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa. 

Emboldened by President Robert Mugabe’s declining mental sharpness and physical health in recent years, Mnangagwa actively maneuvered to ensure that he would succeed the president. Mnangagwa served as one of Zimbabwe’s two vice presidents. From that position, he and his supporters, known as Team Lacoste, became embroiled in a bitter struggle with younger party members who coalesced around Secretary of Women’s Affairs Grace Mugabe, wife of the president, and whose group was known as Generation 40, or G40. 

As early as 2015, Mnangagwa began reaching out to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to discuss plans to implement a five-year transition government, in which both men would play a leading role. The unity government would compensate and “reintegrate” dispossessed former owners of large-scale farms. Reuters obtained hundreds of internal documents from Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organization that revealed the plan. “Key aspects of the transition planning described in the documents were corroborated by interviews with political, diplomatic and intelligence sources in Zimbabwe and South Africa,” reports Reuters. The same sources left open “the possibility that the government could be unelected.” In one report, it was said that Mugabe feared that Mnangagwa would attempt to reverse land reform.