The de-duplication hardware and software solution to be supplied by Ipsidy will include an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (“AFIS”) which will be used in Zimbabwe’s upcoming 2018 general elections.

Ipsidy was selected following an international tender to provide de-duplication, adjudication, and voter roll publication services. The contract was awarded and signed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

“We are very pleased to have been selected by the ZEC to provide this critical solution, ahead of all competitors under the tender. This award represents the continued recognition of the efficacy and value of Ipsidy’s identification platform, software, and services in the African election market,” said Thomas Szoke, Chief Technology Officer at Ipsidy.

Ipsidy says its solution is an integrated IDSearch/IMS Biometric Voter Registry solution powered by its AFIS technology and workflow management capabilities.

The solution will now be used in Zimbabwe to produce the required voter rolls from its national biometric voter database that was apparently established during 2017. It will provide automated voter roll publication conforming to Zimbabwe and international election standards.

The integrity of the voter roll will be underpinned by the accuracy of the Ipsidy de-duplication algorithms and the adjudication processes.

The announcement and appointment of Ipsidy come a few months after ex-President Robert G. Mugabe resigned as president in Zimbabwe after several decades in the position. Mugabe had previously been accused of manipulating elections to stay on as president.

Ipsidy has its headquarters in New York and has operating subsidiaries in Colombia and in South Africa.

Its identity transaction platform creates embeds authenticated identity and event details with a digital signature and uses a participant’s mobile device to approve a transaction, in Zimbabwe’s case this will be a voting “transaction.”

–

Source: The Next Web

The post Zimbabwe will use fingerprint ID technology for its 2018 general elections appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The polls will be the first major test of the new leader, who took power in November after a de facto military coup forced the 94-year-old Mugabe to resign.

They will also be the first without Mugabe’s name on the ballot since independence from Britain in 1980.

“As a nation, party and government, we are looking forward to very peaceful, transparent and harmonised elections in July this year,” Mnangagwa told reporters after a meeting with South Africans President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday night.

Mnangagwa, 75, said the elections would be free of the violence that gripped previous polls and which was one of the reasons for strained relations between Zimbabwe and the West.

“I have already invited all political parties in Zimbabwe to a roundtable where we all commit ourselves to non-violence,” he added.

Mnanaggwa will have to announce a date in an official notice. He has said he would invite Western observers, who had been banned under Mugabe’s rule.

The state-owned weekly Sunday Mail said a European Union pre-election team was expected in Harare on Monday.

The EU head of mission in Zimbabwe, Phillipe Van Damme, told the paper it would meet the president, political party leaders, and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Mugabe, in his first comments since he stepped down, said last week that Mnangagwa’s rule was “illegitimate” and a “disgrace”.

–

Source: Reuters

The post Zimbabwe to hold elections in July – Mnangagwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Senator James Orengo and financier Jimi Wanjigi planned to attend opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s burial.

But officials said the pair failed to present a court order overturning an existing suspension of their passports.

Both men support Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who named himself “the people’s president” last month.

There is growing concern that the government is ignoring civil liberties in response to the mock inauguration of Mr Odinga.

Unlike Mr Orengo and Mr Wanjigi, Mr Odinga was allowed to fly to Zimbabwe, without any difficulties, for the burial of Mr Tsvangirai, his long-time friend.

The Zimbabwean politician died of colon cancer on 14 February, and thousands of people are expected to attend his interment in his home village of Buhera.

Kenyan immigration officials had held Mr Orengo and Mr Wanjigi at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport overnight on Monday after they failed to present a court order authorising them to fly.

“When the two arrived at the airport, they were requested to avail copies of the said court orders but they had none,” the director of immigration services said. “Instead, they showed some writings on their phones purporting to be court orders.”

On Tuesday, Mr Kihalangwa tweeted that the court orders had finally arrived and the men had been allowed to travel.

Mr Orengo has disputed Mr Kihalangwa’s timeline, saying that immigration officials received the court order on Monday night.

He and Mr Wanjigi are due to leave for Zimbabwe later on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, the Kenyan government has been cracking down on supporters of Mr Odinga.

Earlier this month they deported his close aide Miguna Miguna, saying that he did not hold a Kenyan passport.

The government also took three television stations off air ahead of Mr Odinga’s mock swearing-in, and kept the channels suspended in defiance of a court order overturning the ban.

–

Source: BBC

The post Kenya allows opposition figures to fly to Zimbabwe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A memorial service for Tsvangirai was held in a packed church in the capital Harare, while outside hundreds of supporters of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gathered.

Tsvangirai died in hospital in South Africa on 15 February at the age of 65.

He will be buried in his home village of Buhera on Tuesday.

President Emerson Mnangagwa visited Tsvangirai’s family to offer condolences ahead of the service.

“Let us all be brothers and sisters, and come together and mourn our former prime minister,” he said after his visit.

“When we write the history of this country, we cannot leave out the participation and role that the former prime minister played in the effort to entrench democratic values in this country,” Mr Mnangagwa added.

The new president, who took over following the military ousting of Mr Mugabe in November, called for “fair, free and credible” elections, which are due to take place this year.

Tsvangirai, the fiercest opponent of Zanu-PF rule, had led the opposition MDC since its formation in 1999.

He gained the most votes in the first round of the presidential election in 2008, but pulled out of the second round after a sharp increase in violence directed at the opposition. Tsvangirai himself was beaten up and jailed.

As a senior Zanu-PF figure, Mr Mnangagwa has been accused of co-ordinating state intimidation of the opposition at the time, though he has not commented on the allegations.

Following an international outcry over allegations of vote-rigging, Tsvangirai shared power as prime minister with Mr Mugabe. In 2013, he ran again against him but lost decisively.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabweans mourn Morgan Tsvangirai appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Local media quoted family sources as saying the 65-year-old former prime minister – who is being treated for colon cancer – is suffering from weight loss, exhaustion and muscle thinning.

During his political struggle against ex-President Robert Mugabe, he has been beaten and imprisoned numerous times.

Mr Tsvangirai heads Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

What is known about Tsvangirai’s condition?

He has been in and out of hospital since June, receiving treatment in a Johannesburg hospital for cancer. He returned to the hospital early last month.

Mr Tsvangirai’s health deteriorated rapidly on Monday, family sources told Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo24 news website on Tuesday.

He had lost appetite and had difficulty eating or swallowing fluids, the sources said. Mr Tsvangirai also reportedly had breathing problems.

Meanwhile, an MDC party source was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that Mr Tsvangirai “is critically ill and we should brace for the worst”.

Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, said the MDC leader was “stable but the nation should keep on praying”.

The hospital where Mr Tsvangirai is being treated has so far made no public comments on the issue.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai ‘critically ill’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Constantino Chiwenga recently retired as army chief, prompting speculation that he would receive a political post.

The appointment is seen as a first step towards becoming vice-president.

Mr Chiwenga retired this week, more than a month after the army intervened in a row over Mr Mugabe’s succession.

The other deputy Zanu-PF leader is Kembo Mohadi, who was state security minister under the former president.

The 15 November takeover came days after Mr Mnangagwa, then deputy president, was fired by Mr Mugabe and left the country.

That move was seen as an attempt to install Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace as his successor instead of Mr Mnangagwa.

But Mr Mnangagwa had strong ties to the military, and following the intervention he was appointed president and inaugurated on 24 November.

Like Mr Mnangagwa, Mr Chiwenga used to be one of Mr Mugabe’s right-hand men, playing a central role in the seizure of white-owned farms and a brutal crackdown on the opposition after elections in 2008.

But he is said to be committed to rescuing Zimbabwe’s economy, which he believes is in such a dire state that it threatens national security.

Mr Mnangagwa has already appointed two former military men as ministers.

On 30 November former general Sibusiso Moyo, who played a prominent role in the takeover, was made foreign minister and former air force chief Perence Shiri was named minister of agriculture and land affairs.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabwe’s leader promotes ex-army chief appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Chombo, who did not appear at the court on Wednesday, was detained after the military seized power in “Operation Restore Legacy” mid-November, which it said was meant to remove “criminals” around former President Robert Mugabe.

The High Court had been due to sit on Wednesday to hear Chombo’s appeal against a lower court ruling last week denying him bail pending his trial on Dec. 8, but the state prosecutor said he needed time to prepare his case.

This is the second time the court has postponed the hearing after an initial sitting on Friday was delayed for the same reasons. His lawyer says Chombo will deny the allegations at his trial.

Chombo was among members of the G40 political faction allied to 93-year-old Mugabe and his wife, Grace, who were also expelled from the ruling ZANU-PF party.

Ousted ZANU-PF Youth League leader Kudzanai Chipanga’s bail hearing was also postponed to Thursday. Chipanga is facing charges of making statements undermining public confidence in the military which helped end Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

Some supporters of new President Emmerson Mnangagwa have called for unspecified action against G40 but the president has urged citizens not to undertake any form of “vengeful retribution”.

Mnangagwa, who was sworn in on Nov. 24, and is under pressure to root out rampant corruption stifling the economy.

Last week, he opened a three-month amnesty window for the return of public funds illegally stashed abroad by individuals and companies. Upon the expiry of the amnesty at end of February next year, the government will arrest and prosecute those who have failed to comply, he said in a statement.

–

Source: Reuters

The post Zimbabwe court postpones former finance minister’s bail hearing again appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Critics said the original line-up showed Mr Mnangagwa had no plans to bring real change to the country despite hailing a “new democracy”.

The education and labour ministers have now been replaced, ostensibly to comply with a constitutional provision.

But military chiefs remain in charge of the foreign affairs and land portfolios.

Ten days ago Mr Mnangagwa returned from exile following the military coup against Robert Mugabe, promising to serve all citizens equally.

There was uproar when instead of creating a cabinet that included opposition figures, he appeared to reward the military for its role in bringing him to power.

On Saturday, the government announced that two positions were being replaced to “ensure compliance with the constitution and considerations of gender, demography and special needs”.

Reports suggest the initial list did not comply with a constitutional provision which limits the number of ministers who are not members of parliament.

Some opposition supporters celebrated the most high profile decision – the removal of the education minister Lazarus Dokora – arguing that he was responsible for the decline in educational standards over the last few years.

He is being replaced by his own deputy, Paul Mavima.

Meanwhile Zanu-PF deputy Petronella Kagonye becomes labour and social welfare minister in place of Clever Nyathi, who becomes a special adviser to the president on national peace and reconciliation.

Following the news, Zimbabwean media mogul and commentator Trevor Ncube tweeted that the quick change meant the president was either “listening to the public” or “he rushed through this important task”.

Mr Mnangagwa’s most controversial appointments on Friday included Sibusiso Moyo, the general who played a prominent role in the recent military takeover. He was given the role of foreign minister.

The head of Zimbabwe’s air force, Perence Shiri, was named minister of agriculture and land affairs despite his notoriety in having led a military operation against opponents of Robert Mugabe in the early 1980s.

Opposition leader Tendai Biti said that until then, Zimbabweans had “given the putsch the benefit of the doubt.

“We did so in the genuine, perhaps naive view that the country could actually move forward,” he tweeted.

“We craved change, peace & stability in our country. How wrong we were”.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa replaces ministers after outcry appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr Mnangagwa has made Sibusiso Moyo, the general who appeared on state TV after the recent military takeover, the new foreign minister.

The head of Zimbabwe’s air force, Perence Shiri, was named the minister of agriculture and land affairs.

Mr Mnangagwa was sworn in last week after Robert Mugabe agreed to resign.

The man who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years stepped down after the military intervened following the sacking of Mr Mnangagwa as vice-president.

Mr Mnangagwa – who had fled Zimbabwe earlier this month only to return to a hero’s welcome – has for decades been part of the country’s ruling elite.

His dismissal as vice-president – after he was accused of plotting to take power – led the ruling party and the army to intervene.

On 14 November, army tanks rolled into Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, detaining Mr Mugabe and placing him under house arrest.

The military denied it that was staging a coup and maintained that it was acting against “criminals” surrounding Mr Mugabe.

It came after a power struggle over who might replace the president, with Mr Mnangagwa and Mr Mugabe’s wife, Grace, on opposite sides.

Despite pledging a “new destiny” for Zimbabwe, Mr Mnangagwa is still associated by many with some of the worst atrocities committed under the ruling Zanu-PF party since the country gained independence in 1980.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa gives key cabinet jobs to military figures appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

New President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to form a cabinet this week.

Mr Mugabe resigned last week after a military intervention and days of mass protests.

The police and army are to stage joint patrols as the country returns to normal, the authorities have said.

They have already received reports of looting and illegal occupation of properties, particularly farms and houses.

Police had not been seen in public until 21 November when Mr Mugabe resigned and they slowly started returning to work. The army had effectively been in charge.

Before the army operation, police officers had been an ever-present sight in the centre of the capital, Harare, and roads around the country, although they were not always welcome as many complained of police harassment.

Calls for the former president’s birthday to be made a national holiday were adopted by the government in August, following intense lobbying by the Zanu-PF Youth League, the Herald reports.

The decision was officially recorded on Friday, it adds.

Last week, President Mnangagwa said the former president needed to be given the respect and recognition he deserved as one of the founders and leaders of Zimbabwe.

“To me personally, he remains a father, mentor, comrade-in-arms and my leader,” he said during his acceptance speech at his inauguration on Friday.

Reports that Mr Mugabe was granted $10m (£7.5m) to ease him out of office have not been confirmed.

Break from the past?

There is speculation as to whether Mr Mnangagwa will select a broad-based government or keep figures from the Mugabe era.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has called for an inclusive “transitional authority” to mark a break with his 37-year rule and bring in reforms to pave the way for free elections next year.

There are fears that President Mnangagwa, who is associated with some of worst atrocities committed under the ruling Zanu-PF party since independence in 1980, will not usher in the democratic reforms that many in Zimbabwe are hoping for.

–

Source: BBC

The post Zimbabwe officially declares Mugabe national holiday appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.