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BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking an order to compel government to provide a COVID-19 national vaccination roll-out plan. In papers filed at the High Court, ZimRights, represented by Tendai Biti of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, wants the government to present the budget for COVID-19 vaccine before Parliament. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga who is the Health minister, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and President Emmerson Mnangagwa were cited as respondents. ZimRights wants the government to provide the COVID-19 national vaccination deployment plan within seven days of the High Court order. In his founding affidavit filed at the courts, ZimRights national director Dzikamai Bere stated that section 29 of the Constitution obliges the government to take all practical measures to ensure the provision of basic accessible and adequate health services throughout Zimbabwe. In the face of a ravaging pandemic that has claimed lives of over two million people globally and over 1 200 in Zimbabwe, ZimRights is calling for government to act timeously and save lives from the pandemic. “Section 29(3), in particular, obliges the state to take all preventive measures within the limits of resources available to it, including education and public awareness programmes against the spread of diseases. Section 76 obliges the State to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right to healthcare,” Bere said. He also urged government to take a cue from other countries and take the necessary steps and a human rights-centred approach to fight coronavirus. “We are simply asking the government to lead, and save lives.” ZimRights said. “We don’t understand how anyone can fail to agree with us given the far-reaching consequences of inaction.” The World Health Organisation is urging governments to avail factual information on COVID-19 to the public. In its efforts to combat the spread of the deadly virus, ZimRights provided urgent humanitarian support to marginalised communities and institutions reaching out to over 17 000 people and 26 institutions that include rural clinics, schools, quarantine centres and correctional facilities. Follow Miriam on Twitter@FloMangwaya
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
POLICE officers have been implicated in the Zanu PF district co-ordinating committees (DCC) election rigging scandals in Mutoko East with allegations that they were paid to vote as party members. BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA In a WhatsApp audio circulating on social media, a female candidate narrated how some police officers were busted and they eventually admitted that they were ordered to cast a number of ballot papers in favour of Richard Musiyiwa (Mutoko East MP) who is eyeing the Mutoko district chairmanship post. Musiyiwa’s rival for the post is businessman Zano Kahuni. NewsDay was reliably informed that chaos erupted on Monday afternoon as members demanded transparency on how the elections were conducted. “I asked Musiyiwa how the ballot papers totalled 120 while each polling station was allocated 92 of them. A police officer has agreed that he was ordered to manipulate the results. There is need for the Mutoko East DCC election to be declared null and void,” the candidate can be heard saying in the audio. “Zanu PF is being dragged to the dustbin. If President Emmerson Mnangagwa loves us, he must send someone to put order in this area, otherwise in 2023 it will be chaos. About 40 youths were expected to vote in this election, but we are having results of the winner having 77 votes. Moreover, a total of 40 women were expected to vote in the women’s league, but the winner is emerging with 66 votes. This is chaotic.” Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza said he could not comment as he was not on duty yesterday. In Goromonzi, some party officials reportedly fled with ballot boxes while some disgruntled members inscribed the name of their candidate Bornface Mutize on the ballot papers as it was missing. In Wedza district, Zarnet boss Casper Chigwedere, who is the son of party stalwart Aeneas Chigwedere, made it into the DCC team. lFollow Jairos on Twitter @JaySaunyama
THE Zanu PF-led government has continued to violate human rights. Its crackdown on human rights and opposition activists, including the continued eviction of people from urban and rural settlements using State resources and agents such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police is testimony to this. Budiriro residents whose houses were demolished are the latest victims. Zimbabwe should not be considered independent for the following reasons: lAlthough the country is supposed to be governed by the Constitution, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime’s intolerant and authoritarian rule does not adhere to the tenets of the supreme law. An autocratic regime does not guarantee prosperity, poverty reduction and observance of human rights. lThe media, civic groups, human rights activists and ordinary people are not allowed to criticise the government and if they do they are labelled “sellouts” and brutalised as a consequence. lThere are no free and fair elections, freedoms of speech and expression are limited and violence by State security agents is sanctioned by the government on dissenting voices. lElections are won by the ruling Zanu PF party by the use of unfair means as witnessed in 2018. lCivic organisation meetings and demonstrations are declared illegal on the pretext of observing the COVID-19-induced lockdown regulations. lPolitically-motivated violence such as murders and disappearances, intimidation, harassment of opposition supporters and intolerance of dissent are endemic during the run-up to elections. In light of this, it is clear that Zimbabwe does not have a universally acceptable democratic framework and Zimbabweans have had no experience of democracy during and after white minority rule. Viola
