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

Police bar NCA Constitution meeting in Chipinge. So we can vote in the Referendum 16 March but we mustn’t talk about it before then?

On Wednesday, 20th of February 2013, the nation woke up to the shocking news of the ten year old Tsitsi Stacey Munjoma who was raped and found dead in a Maize/Banana field in Rugare suburb.  In reaction to this tragic news 7 women activists came together and agreed that they would not sit back but do something about it. They decided to call upon the community to actively assist the ZRP in the arrest of the perpetrators. Taking a cue from the Rugare Community who came together uniting against this ordeal, the 7Sisters organized a march to honor Tsitsi Stacey and sensitize the community on the need to assist the police with their investigations.

We are cordially inviting you to this march taking in Rugare.

Date: Saturday, 9th of March 2013
Time: 10 – 11:30am
Route: Exit Road into Kambuzuma from Rugare (close to where the body was found)

Dress code: All black and please bring a white cloth such as a hankie, headdress etc for peace and hope for rape free communities.

Directions: Those travelling by kombis drop off the Rugare bus stop from town after robots. Driving: driving from town, pass the Rugare robots, as if you are going to Mufakose, the left turn into Rugare, come into Rugare.

Tag a Life Inter(TaLI) an organization that exists to ‘Make the World a Safe Place for the Girl Children’, has facilitated the police clearance and coordination for the March.

We hope to see you there.

For further details and on confirmation, LIKE our FB page Justice for Tsitsi Stacey Munjoma now or Call (0)777-549090 or email 7sisters [at] gmail [dot] com / tag.alife [at] gmail [dot] com

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

It’s curious to see a photograph of South Africans protesting outside a police station in response to the murder of Mido Macia. It’s mind blowing to read that “a large crowd of horrified bystanders” were  “looking on” with “some warning police they were being filmed.” Has there been any discussion and investigation into why the public didn’t take action and help Macia? Protesting is far safer than intervention, isn’t it? Being a spectator is core to upholding and maintaining injustice.

A tightly contested battle for the presidential seat is currently underway as vote counting begins in Kenya.  Just like Zimbabwe the previous elections held in Kenya saw over a thousand people killed and hundred of thousands displaced by disputed poll results. One of the presidential candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged role in the ethnic clashes in 2007. Over a third of results counted so far show a lead for Kenyatta and if the outcome remains like that one wonders whether the ICC will come after him and will his supporters allow that to happen.