Woman collapses, dies during praise and worship at church conference

Fadelia Gunzvenzve Chinogurei, of the Glenview United Methodist Circuit, reportedly collapsed while serving among the praise and worship team during a prayer meeting at the 2026 Zimbabwe West Annual Conference (ZWAC) revival for women.

“She collapsed while we were leading a worship song. I want to believe that God has glorified her,” said one of the team members.

More than 7,000 women from six districts are gathered for the conference. Church sources said Mai Chinogurei was a dedicated member who consistently gave her best in discharging her duties.

Emergency responders and congregants rushed her to hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bishop Gift Machinga, who was not available for comment, addressed the assembly, offered prayers for the family, and paid tribute to her passion for worship.

*Mnangagwa Faces Global Backlash Over CAA3*
In July, Mnangagwa signed constitutional amendments that extended his term by at least two years and abolishing the system of direct presidential elections.

The extension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term has opened a new front for international actors, who are now urging the West to impose sanctions against the Zanu PF leader for a ‘dangerous’ power grab.

In July, Mnangagwa signed constitutional amendments that extended his term by at least two years and abolishing the system of direct presidential elections.

The Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3 (CAA3) passed through without a referendum, and opposition leaders have condemned the measures as a ‘constitutional coup.’

The government has foiled planned protests against CAA3, while opposition and civic society leaders have complained of being put under surveillance by state security agents.

Mnangagwa’s term of office was initially expected to end in 2028, before the controversial constitutional amendments.

Mnangagwa’s loyalists are now pushing for further amendments to extend his term of office from 2028 to 2037, in a development that has alarmed not only his opponents but also insiders in Zanu-PF.

A visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Washington in the United States, Alexander Noyes, said the United States Congress must threaten Mnangagwa with the imposition of sanctions for his ‘dangerous power grab.’

“A dangerous power grab by Zimbabwe’s sitting president is underway,’ Noyes wrote in a recent article in the Journal of Democracy, the world’s leading publication on the theory and practice of democracy.

Since its first appearance in 1990, the journal has engaged both activists and intellectuals in critical discussions regarding the problems of, and prospects for, democracy around the world.

Today, the journal is at the centre of the debate on the major social, political, and cultural challenges that confront emerging and established democracies alike.

“Because the United States under the Trump administration abruptly abandoned the decades-long, bipartisan consensus on global democracy promotion, Europe and the United Kingdom, in particular, will need to rally Western democracies and threaten the reimposition of the targeted sanctions that were lifted after Mugabe’s fall,’ he argued.

“Supporters of Zimbabwe’s democracy in the US Congress must also apply pressure, tighten existing sanctions, and encourage allies to do the same’.

He argued in the Journal of Democracy that the combination of domestic protests, divided military loyalties, and coordinated external pressure could force Mnangagwa to reverse course or, at least, agree to a referendum.

The international sanctions landscape has shifted significantly in recent months.

In February 2026, the European Council renewed its arms embargo on Zimbabwe until 20 February 2027, while lifting all travel bans and asset freezes. The EU’s restrictive framework now consists solely of an arms embargo.

Meanwhile, the United States, under the Joe Biden administration, terminated the 21-year-old Zimbabwe sanctions programme in March 2024, replacing it with targeted Global Magnitsky sanctions on Mnangagwa and 10 other individuals for corruption and serious human rights abuses.

However, the Donald Trump administration’s return to power has introduced new complications, including an 18% reciprocal tariff on the country’s goods imposed in June 2026.

Noyes cautioned that the military in Zimbabwe remains the ‘ultimate arbiter of power.’

African leaders, supported by the international community, should step up pressure on Mnangagwa, Noyes argued.

“Regional and international actors dropped the ball on their response to Zimbabwe’s 2017 military coup,’ Noyes wrote.

“After decades of Mugabe’s misrule and toxic outside relations, they nearly unanimously refused to call the coup a coup, and did not sanction the coupmakers or push for a transitional government.”

The CAA3 is being challenged in the Constitutional Court.

Mnangagwa once publicly claimed that he is a constitutionalist and would persuade Zanu-PF members to stop the political campaign to have his term of office extended to 2030.

Mnangagwa later said the 2030 agenda was a collective decision of the party.

Observers have linked the constitutional amendments to a wider succession battle within Zanu-PF to stop Mnangagwa’s deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, from succeeding him.
*thestandard*

*Kariba Boat Disaster: Rising Death Toll Exposes RIDA ‘Lies’, Passenger Figures Under Scrutiny as Body Count Hits 84*
THE number of people aboard the ill-fated Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) boat on Lake Kariba appears to have been higher than the 153 passengers previously indicated, with the latest death toll and rescue figures accounting for at least 161 people.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said Sunday that four more bodies had been recovered from the lake, pushing the death toll to 84.

“The ZRP reports that the death toll is now 84 after the recovery of four bodies from the lake this afternoon,” police said in its latest update.

“The Police confirm that search efforts are still under way in a bid to recover victims identified as missing.”

The latest figures raise fresh questions over the number of people who were actually aboard the RIDA vessel when it capsized.

RIDA had indicated that 153 people were aboard the boat, but government officials said 77 people were rescued. With 84 deaths now confirmed, the number of people accounted for through deaths and rescues alone stands at 161, eight more than the 153 figure.

The discrepancy is likely to intensify scrutiny of passenger records and RIDA’s accounting of those who boarded the vessel before it left Kariba for Chalala.

The ill-fated boat, which had a stated capacity of 90 passengers, capsized on Lake Kariba amid rough conditions, triggering a massive search and rescue operation.

The exact number of people still missing remains unclear as authorities continue recovering bodies from the lake.

The police said search operations were continuing “in a bid to recover victims identified as missing.”

The tragedy has become one of Zimbabwe’s deadliest water disasters, with families continuing to wait for the recovery and identification of their relatives. *NewZW*