Zimbabwe will have a historic triple national hero burial for the first time ever to bury three senior government officials who died from Covid-19 last week.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to preside over the burials of Foreign Affairs Minister retired Lieutenant-General Sibusiso Busi  Moyo, former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) boss, retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi and the late Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joel Biggie Matiza set for interment at the National Heroes Acre in Harare Wednesday.

The burial of the three men, who succumbed to Covid-19 last week, will be the first of burying more than two national heroes at the same time.

Last week, Mnangagwa also presided over the double burial of Manicaland provincial minister and Ellen Gwaradzimba and former deputy minister Morton Malianga.

Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe announced the triple burial of Moyo, the Foreign Minister who died last Wednesday, Transport Minister Matiza and former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Commissioner General, Zimondi who both died last Friday.

“They will all be buried on Wednesday at the National Heroes Acre. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and all the containment measures will be adhered to. These include limited numbers at the Heroes Acre to curtail the spread of the pandemic,” Kazembe said.

The passing of the senior government officials after testing Covid-19 positive sparked national outrage following accusations by information ministry secretary Nick Mangwana that ‘some medical assassins’ were responsible for the deaths.

The triple national hero burial comes just six days after the double national hero burial of the late Minister of State For Manicaland Province Ellen Gwaradzimba and late nationalist and former deputy finance minister Morton Dizzy Paul Malianga.  

Three staff members were attacked by four gunmen in the evening of Monday when ELLA du Plessis High School in Khomasdal was attacked

Khomas regional police commander, commissioner Joseph Shikongo, who confirmed the incident, said police officers were taking statements from witnesses on Monday.

“We will work through tonight and tomorrow to pursue the men to make arrests,” Shikongo said.

The Principal Jakavaza Kavari on Monday evening said teachers were taking records as students paid their hostel fees in preparation for the school’s reopening on Tuesday.

Kavari said “Men with guns came into the hall when the teachers were collecting money an hour ago, and fired two shots as they demanded money. They also slapped three people, of which two are teachers and one an institutional worker,”

He said the gunmen stole three mobile phones from the teachers at the venue, while their only security guard was unaware of the events.

“We only have one security guard, who was at the gate when this happened. He only got to know what happened after the men drove off through the gate,” he said.

The school was established in 1956 by Richardene Kloppers in Windhoek.

Rugby Africa, one of the six regional associations of World Rugby, will stage five annual competitions across the continent in 2021.

Andrew Owor, the association’s Vice President, in a statement on Tuesday, said that Rugby Africa is gearing up for a potentially exciting year across the continent, he said.

He said that a release of a detailed calendar of upcoming competitions would be made available.

Rugby Africa stages five annual competitions across the continent, including the Rugby Africa Cup.

Other competition are the U20 Barthés Trophy, the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup, Africa Women’s Sevens and Africa Men’s Sevens.

“With the first round of competitions potentially kicking off in March, teams are already preparing, and by all accounts both unions and players are thrilled at the opportunity to participate in the game.

“With the season cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rugby Africa said that they were looking forward to players returning to the field and advancing the sport and their athletic prowess.

“The ongoing pandemic may result in tournaments being postponed or cancelled at short notice, therefore, dates are tentative, and also allocated fall back dates to mitigate any disruptions or delays,”Owor said.

According to the Rugby Vice President, the first highlight on Rugby Africa’s calendar is the U20 Barthés Trophy 2021, which kicks off in Nairobi from March 25 to April 4.

“This will be hosted by the Kenya Rugby Union where all eyes are on the top four ranked teams (Kenya, Nairobi, Senegal, and Madagascar).

“The winner qualifies for the Junior World Trophy tournament organised by World Rugby, set for September. Fall back dates for this Round-robin single tournament are set for June. In 2019, Kenya hosted and won Pool A.

“In May, attention turns to West Africa for the Rugby Africa Cup repackaged, a qualifier for the 12th slot in the Rugby Africa Cup Pools 2021,”he said.

“Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Eswatini, Mauritius, Morocco (pending suspension review) Nigeria and Rwanda are all eligible for the big draw, with a July international window as a fallback option,” he said.

He added that Rugby Africa Cup Pools would kick off in July, with four pools of three teams each playing a Round-Robin tournament at a single venue per pool.

“The best two teams from each pool will qualify for RAC 2022, which serves as the final round of Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier for Africa.

“The Women’s 15s runs at the same time, with each host union hosting a Women’s 15s test match between host union and a visiting or neighbouring country.”

This year, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda and Tunisia are likely to emerge as the host teams, but the real prize will go to the winning teams, who can look forward to a fully revived Women’s 15s in 2022.

The November international window would be earmarked as the fallback option for the RAC Men and Women.

He added that the Africa Men and Women 7s World Cup pre-qualifiers would run through August and September in four regional tournaments, with men and women’s tournaments to be hosted in the same venue, on the same dates.

‘As a safety precaution, the entire months of October, November and December will remain open should tournaments be postponed and re-programmed due to the ongoing pandemic.”

He said that in collaboration with its member unions, Rugby Africa hoped to deliver a successful and safe 2021 competition season.

He said that to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our athletes, officials, and volunteers, would work closely with our Medical Advisory Committee, our Unions, and local authorities to monitor the situation and take appropriate steps.

‘The underpinning principle is to give all Rugby Africa member unions a chance to participate in the qualification process of the Rugby World Cup and 7s World Cup.