A stolen iPhone landed an ex-convict back in prison after he rejected community service, telling the magistrate that cleaning Harare is the city council's job.
Hwete's night out went sideways fast
Bernard Hwete, a.k.a. Liquid Yonke, got busted over a stolen iPhone.
He says a woman he met in the nightlife scene actually swiped it.
Hwete grabbed the phone from her, and everything spiraled.
His US$40 settlement offer got rejected after she learned its value.
Community service was not his vibe
Hwete flat-out refused the magistrate's community-service offer.
His reasoning was that city cleanup is Harare City Council's problem.
That refusal earned him a 12-month sentence instead.
Five months of that sentence got suspended.
Prison is...
Constitutional changes getting rammed through parliament without a referendum could backfire badly on ZANU-PF, according to economist Eddie Cross.
Amendment Bill shakes up term limits
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, 2026 got gazetted on February 16.
Presidential and parliamentary terms would jump from five to seven years.
Local authority terms get the same proposed extension.
Voter-roll management would shift from ZEC to the Registrar-General.
Cross says Mnangagwa is overreaching
Eddie Cross warned that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would stay in power until 2030.
Mnangagwa would be close to 90 by then.
Cross called it the most substantial amendment since 2013.
Forcing it through parliament without a referendum...
Botswana just flat-out denied hosting a US military base, calling the whole narrative misinformation that could damage regional trust.
Thebephatshwa Air Base is fully Botswanan
Spokesperson Tuduetso Mokgosi shut down the US base claims.
Thebephatshwa is owned and run by the Botswana Defence Force.
Mokgosi called circulating reports straight-up misinformation.
The facility serves national defense and emergency-response needs.
Cross-border rumors raised concerns
False claims were spreading through the media and political circles.
Botswana warned that misinformation can fuel misunderstandings between neighbors.
Regional cooperation and mutual respect got specifically emphasized.
Commentators and media were told to verify facts first.
Professional hunters are now on the ground in Beitbridge after elephants kept wrecking crops and threatening communities near major rivers.
Elephant conflict across the Beitbridge district
Beitbridge Rural District Council hired professional hunters for the job.
Elephants keep wandering into communities searching for food.
Crops are getting destroyed, and livelihoods are at risk.
Shashe, Dite, Lukange, and Whunga are among the hardest-hit areas.
BRDC is coordinating with multiple agencies
CEO Kiliboni Mbedzi confirmed the council is actively responding.
Zimparks and safari operators are part of the effort.
Resource constraints are making full coverage tough.
Mbedzi called the herd migratory and hard to track.
Deterrent strategies...
Morocco just got handed the 2025 AFCON title on paper after Senegal's walk-off protest completely backfired through a CAF ruling.
CAF flipped the final result
Senegal originally beat Morocco 1-0 in the final.
CAF's Appeal Board scrapped that outcome entirely.
A 3-0 forfeiture win was awarded to Morocco instead.
The Moroccan Football Federation's appeal got fully upheld.
Senegal's protest triggered the mess
Senegal's players refused to keep playing over a stoppage-time penalty.
That walkout lasted around 17 minutes before play resumed.
Brahim Diaz had his penalty saved after the delay.
Pape Gueye then scored the winner in extra time.
Regulations made the reversal inevitable
Article 82 penalizes any team that refuses to play...
Overgrown trees slamming into power lines have become a top reason for electricity faults across Zimbabwe.
ZETDC wants customers trimming trees
ZETDC is telling people nationwide to cut back branches near power lines.
Overgrown trees are a leading cause of outages.
Regulations under SI 47 of 2017 actually require it.
Section 11.2.4 puts the responsibility on property owners.
Safety rules apply to the cutting
All trimming near lines needs ZETDC supervision.
Electrocution risk is the big concern here.
Customers should contact their nearest Client Service Centre first.
Planting trees under or near power lines is discouraged.
A protection order landed in a Harare teacher's favor after her ex-husband allegedly stormed her classroom and dumped her belongings in front of students.
Classroom confrontation in Harare
Patricia Yusufu got a court order against her ex-husband, Charles Mike.
Mike allegedly rolled up to her school with three sacks of clothes.
Her stuff got scattered across the classroom floor publicly.
Students, fellow teachers, and parents all witnessed the scene.
Their marriage fell apart earlier
Yusufu says Mike booted her from their home on April 2, 2025.
She refused to hand over her car, which he wanted to sell.
Customary dissolution rites wrapped up roughly a year back.
Mike apparently wanted control over her personal vehicle.
Verbal attacks...
A scam operation impersonating Zimbabwe's VP and his wife just got publicly torched by the government's own comms team.
Fake calls targeting Chiwenga's office
Constantino Chiwenga and Col Miniyothabo Baloyi Chiwenga are being impersonated.
Scammers are using South African and Nigerian numbers.
Their goal is to extract cash or personal info.
George Charamba dropped an official warning about it.
Numbers flagged in the scheme
Three phone numbers got specifically called out.
Two carry Nigerian prefixes, and one is South African.
Telecom authorities in both countries are apparently cooperating.
Government agencies want these grifters tracked down.
No legit social media presence exists
Neither Chiwenga nor his wife runs an X account...
An airport cash bust stopped US$80,000 from leaving Zimbabwe after a tip-off put detectives on a traveler's tail.
Victor Magigwana was caught at the airport
Victor Magigwana, 32, got nabbed before boarding his flight.
ZIMRA seized US$80,000 in undeclared cash from him.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport was the scene.
He was headed to Tanzania on a Tanzania Airlines flight.
How the bust went down
CID Commercial Crime detectives got a tip-off on March 14.
Magigwana was placed under surveillance upon arriving.
He cleared security without declaring the money.
Interception happened moments before he actually boarded.
Legal fallout and the rules
Exchange Control Act charges landed on Magigwana.
Harare magistrate Jesse Kufa...
