263Chat - Zimbabwean media organisation focused on encouraging & participating in progressive national dialogue

Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, jailed for killing his girlfriend, is to be freed from prison to house arrest next Tuesday, a South African parole board says. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 after being found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter. He shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door but said he thought she was an intruder. The prosecution has appealed, saying he should instead be convicted of murder. That case is expected to be heard on 3 November.…

Zimbabwe recorded a 7% upsurge in international tourist arrivals, despite a sharp decrease experienced by all other markets. The jump in international tourist arrivals is attributed to the rise of tourist arrivals in mainland Africa. "During the first half of the year, the country recorded 930,276 international tourist arrivals signifying a 63, 000 increase from the number recorded last year during the same period," revealed Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) in a statement. According to statistics released yesterday…

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has described his £50,000 Football Association fine as a "disgrace". Mourinho was given the fine, and a one-match suspended stadium ban, on Wednesday evening after accepting a misconduct charge from the FA in relation to post-match media comments he made in the wake of the 3-1 loss to Southampton on October 3. But, speaking at Waterstones Piccadilly to promote his book MOURINHO, he expressed his displeasure at the punishment he has received. "I'm happy that I don't have an electronic…

Rangers in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park have discovered the carcasses of 26 elephants at two locations, dead of cyanide poisoning along with 14 other elephants which were found last week. Patrolling rangers discovered the carcasses on Tuesday, according to the Bhejane Trust and the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. The Bhejane Trust undertakes joint animal monitoring and welfare work with the parks agency. A parks spokeswoman, Caroline Washaya Moyo, said 14 tusks had been recovered…

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—October 15th, 2015—Mozido Africa, a subsidiary of Mozido, Inc., today announced the opening of its African headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. This represents a key milestone in the expansion of Mozido and the company’s commitment to the continent of Africa. Africa has some of the fastest growing mobile money markets worldwide. Providing African consumers access to Mozido’s innovative platform will change how mobile money is utilized across the continent. “Our mission is to provide…

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and President Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, has had an interview in the state-controlled Sunday Mail to complain about private media coverage of Zanu PF factionalism. He then issued threats that he will “control” media. Here are a few problems we had with his long rant, which has since been widely condemned. “Irritated, not concerned” “I meet the President every day. He is not even worried about those reports. He is irritated by them actually. You get a…

On Friday and Saturday last week (18th and 19th September), I attended a conference in Victoria Falls. The conference theme was Quality Assurance in Student Affairs: Towards Disability Friendly Tertiary Institutions. I delivered a presentation on Reasonable Accommodations at Tertiary Institutions. Following is a list of some of the recommendations for tertiary institutions in this respect: Approach disability as a social phenomenon, and not a medical phenomenon. Treat students with disabilities as individuals, and not…

With 200 million people between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. As the region rapidly develops, youth are critical to catalyzing future socioeconomic growth. Rachel Nyaradzo Adams is the founder of Narachi Leadership, a leadership consultancy aimed at developing deep resevoirs of leaders for the African continent. After years studying and working at elite institutions from Oxford University to McKinsey and Company to Yale University, Rachel recently returned to her native Zimbabwe to help nurture…