Not necessarily the vice president: no one knows who would take over if sitting President leaves office
CLAIM: The constitution of course says the last to act as president finishes the term in the event of the removal or resignation of the incumbent. Brace! SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: False Presidents get sick and die. Or in some instances they resign or are forced to. So, what next when this happens? This hasn’t always […]
Food security, wheat and fertiliser production: Fact-Checking President Mnangagwa’s food summit speech
On January 25, President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke at the Feed Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal, where heads of state from Across the continent discussed food security. In his speech, President Mnangagwa made three key claims on the state of food production in the country. We fact-check them here. Claim 1: Zimbabwe is now food secure […]
Yes, by March 2022 Zimbabwe was in the UK’s top five skilled visa grantees, and in the top 3 by end of year
CLAIM: In 2020, the UK issued 1,059 skilled visas to Zimbabweans, a figure which jumped to 5,549 in 2022, placing the southern African country among the UK’s top five skilled visa grantees. SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: PARTLY TRUE In a number of tweets in January discussing the welfare of Zimbabwean nurses in the UK, a claim […]
Claim that video shows cattle rustlers caught in Figtree is false since video has previously been used for a South African incident
CLAIM: Cattle thieves were caught in Figtree – video SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: False A video showing two people being assaulted has been circulating on Twitter here and here. It was posted on January 20. It had garnered 308 000 views and 1 208 retweets on just one of the tweets, at the time of this […]
A claim stating that Mauritius had no train in 2018 is correct
CLAIM: Mauritius had no train in 2018 SOURCE: Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa on his social media accounts. VERDICT: TRUE, that Southern Africa island nation reopened its railways in 2019 Claims made by opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Nelson Chamisa on Twitter here and on Facebook here are true. In […]
Not enough data to conclude on claim that 95% of maternal and perinatal deaths are avoidable
CLAIM: Almost 95 % of our maternal and perinatal death cases are deemed to be avoidable SOURCE: Community Working Group on Health VERDICT: Inconclusive The claim was made by Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) director, Itai Rusike, as quoted in the NewsDay newspaper in an article headlined, ‘Zim likely to miss SDG target for […]
Claims video in circulation shows an accident scene involving 7 people mowed down by racing cars in Mt Darwin, Zimbabwe, are false.
CLAIM: Goora Business Centre,Mt. Darwin- Bindura Road. 7 pedestrians mowed down SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: False Reports that two cars racing on a public road struck 7 people shared on Twitter here and here and on Facebook here, are false. The same was also shared on WhatsApp. The Facebook post read, “Multiple people dead after car […]
Reports claiming that Zimbabwe has banned the export of all lithium are misleading
CLAIM: Zimbabwe has banned all lithium exports SOURCE: Africa News and NewsDay VERDICT: False News articles here and here and social media posts claim that Zimbabwe has banned all exports of lithium, one of several minerals that are used in the making of batteries. A report by Africa News said: “Zimbabwe has banned all lithium […]
Of tattered carpets, ceremonial mayors and city CEOs. Whose baby is it?
In recent weeks, a picture of the Bulawayo City Hall circulated on social media with citizens unimpressed by the state of its interior. In response, Bulawayo, Councillor Solomon Mguni, said that councillors are like Board Directors and ‘the mayor is Board Chairman. Ceremonial at that’. Mayors are the face of local urban government in Zimbabwe. […]
Recent data shows that one in six – not three – girls in Zimbabwe got married before the age of 18
CLAIM: One in three girls in Zimbabwe gets married before the age of 18, while 5% of girls are married off before the age of 15. SOURCE: Newsday VERDICT: Inaccurate In an article dated 24 December, 2022, ‘Feature: Child rights get more focus in bid to fight early marriages’, the daily newspaper NewsDay made a […]
There is no evidence showing that Zimbabwe has reduced stunting from 23.5 percent to 17
CLAIM: We committed to reducing stunting and Zimbabwe has made so much progress because we have moved from 23.5 percent to 17 percent. SOURCE: Minister Dr Anxious Masuka VERDICT: Inconclusive Speaking at the Abidjan High Level Meeting on the Theme of the African Year of Nutrition 2022, Zimbabwe’s Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development […]
Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia all part of the AU contrary to claim on Facebook
FIRST CLAIM: Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are not part of African union (AU summit). SECOND CLAIM: They once applied to be part of Europe and not being considered part of Africa but were unfortunately rejected. SOURCE: Facebook VERDICT: False and partly false, respectively The recent Morocco exploits at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar […]
No truth to claims that pre-2021 USD notes will cease to be legal tender
CLAIM: Any US dollar notes below year 2021 will not be acceptable from January 2023. SOURCE: Observers Times VERDICT: False A social media user asked FactCheckZW to check if there is any truth in reports that ‘any US dollar notes below year 2021 will not be acceptable from January 2023’. The user shared a link […]
No, Zimbabwe is not South Africa’s biggest trading partner. Not even in Africa. Or the SADC region.
CLAIM: Zimbabwe is South Africa’s biggest business trading partner. SOURCE: Twitter user VERDICT: False Zimbabweans and South Africans on Twitter never seem to run out of things to argue about or debate over. From whether Zimbabweans know how to use roll on here, here and here to serious issues around xenophobia here. One of the […]
Precocious puberty: not as straightforward as what you put in your child’s plate
CLAIM: Menstruating at seven years has become common owing to the type of food being consumed today. SOURCE: The Chronicle VERDICT: Inconclusive A grim tale In the last couple of months, two grim stories have come out in the media of two minor girls who were pregnant at 9 and 8 years old, here and […]
Choices, choices. Yes, Zimbabwe has achieved a reduction in the unmet need for family planning
CLAIM: Zimbabwe has achieved a reduction in the unmet need for family planning from 14 per cent in 2020 to 10 percent in 2022 for all age groups. SOURCE: Vice President Constantine Chiwenga as quoted in the Herald VERDICT: True The claim was made by Vice President and Health Minister Constantine Chiwenga, who was speaking […]
Almost half at some point, but not quite. No, half of Zimbabweans are not living in extreme poverty.
CLAIM: World Bank found that half of Zimbabweans live in extreme poverty SOURCE: Fadzayi Mahere – quoted in Africa Press. VERDICT: Inaccurate In an October 19 story titled “US$150 Doesn’t Cover Fees For 1 Child” – Mahere Responds To Govt’s Proposed Minimum Wage, Fadzayi Mahere, Citizens Coalition for Change spokesperson is quoted as stating that […]
No, the Anglican Church does not own Zimbabwe’s Parliament building
Does the Anglican Church own Zimbabwe’s Parliament building as claimed on social media? A post on Twitter on October 31 claimed that “the current building used by the government as the parliament is owned by the Anglican Church”. This is not the first time the claim has appeared on social media. But what are the […]
Not so fast, proof of residence still a requirement for voter registration
CLAIM: Voter registration requirements relaxed. SOURCE: The Herald VERDICT: Misleading The Herald on 4 October 2022 carried a story headlined ‘Voter Registration Requirements Relaxed’. Following the publication of this article, a Whatsapp message began to appear on various groups encouraging Zimbabweans living in South Africa to go and register to vote since ‘ZEC canceled the […]
Breast cancer is the second most prevalent for Zimbabwean women. Know the facts.
In 2020, Zimbabwe had 10 339 cancer cases in females. Of these, 29,4% were cervical and 17,9% breast. The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and here is a fact sheet on breast cancer. What is Breast Cancer Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer […]
Two SA women arrested in Zimbabwe for not having their passports on them? The provided evidence was found wanting
CLAIM: Video: Two South African Women Arrested in Zimbabwe for not Having their Passport on Them. SOURCE: Opera News VERDICT: False The claim was made in response to Zimbabwean Hopewell Chin’ono, who had, on October 6, tweeted that a Zimbabwean on a business trip to South Africa had been arrested while he was out with […]
While Zimbabwe is losing forests, the figure is now at 262 000 ha, not 330 000 ha
Claim: The country loses about 60 million trees – some 330 000 hectares of forests – every year. Source: Vic Falls Live Verdict: Misleading – this figure is from 2011, current figure stands at 262 000ha. In an article headlined, “Rising Demand for Charcoal Threatens Matabeleland North Forests’, the Victoria Falls Live publication made a […]
No, 120 000 women have not died giving birth in the last 12 months. The Newsday maths isn’t mathing.
CLAIM: 120 000 women die giving birth SOURCE: Newsday VERDICT: False The Newsday of 21 September 2022 ran a maternal mortality article headlined ‘120 000 women die giving birth’. The headline is in quotes implying that this is a quote from elsewhere. The article then goes on to quote the Zimbabwe Statistics’ 2022 Population and […]
No, King Charles III did not reject President Mnangagwa’s request to attend queen’s funeral
CLAIM: King Charles III rejects Mnangagwa’s request to attend queen’s funeral SOURCE: Social media platforms VERDICT: False Thursday, 15 September Zimbabweans woke up to a letter purportedly from King Charles III rejecting President Mnangagwa’s request to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The letter was shared by prominent people here and some media outlets here and […]
A million? 2 million? 15? The available data on Zimbabweans living in the diaspora can not be substantiated.
The available data gives varying figures from each country’s data sets and can not be substantiated. Only the figures reported for South Africa and Botswana are almost similar to those provided by ZimStat. There are wide margins between figures provided by countries from outside Africa such as the UK, Australia and Canada, with those of ZimStat. While the ZimStat figures can neither be confirmed as true or dismissed as false, the evidence from other countries do suggest that there has been undercounting or underreporting and the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora is higher than reported by ZimStat.
Of small houses, civil partnerships and unregistered customary unions.
No, ‘small houses’, civil partnerships and unregistered customary unions have not become marriages under new Act CLAIM: The new marriage act recognises small houses, civil partnerships and unregistered customary unions as marriages SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: False Background The Zimbabwe Marriages Act was passed into law on 27 May, 2022 and is set to come into […]
Is this a National Youth Empowerment Fund (NYEF) advert? NO, it’s a scam.
CLAIM: National Youth Empowerment Fund Application Form 2022 Is Out. SOURCE: Whatsapp VERDICT: False A circulation purporting to be from the National Youth Empowerment Fund (NYEF) claiming that the organisation is giving out funds is a scam. The message has been forwarded numerous times on WhatsApp leading to much confusion especially among the youths. Once […]
Has Mnangagwa said anything about illegal foreigners in South Africa? No, @eNCA circulating tweet is fake.
CLAIM: Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa breaks his silence “South Africans are soft hence Zimbabweans will keep breaking their laws.” illegal foreigners are criminals and must be arrested, he adds – eNCA SOURCE: Whatsapp VERDICT: FALSE On Thursday morning, a picture of a tweet purportedly from a South African news agency (eNCA) circulated on social media. […]
An Air Zimbabwe plane has tape on windows? False
A Twitter user on August 21 posted a picture of an airplane window that was secured by tape. The post carried a caption that suggested that the picture was taken on an Air Zimbabwe plane. In the many comments on the post, many said that the picture confirmed that the national airline was in crisis […]
Yes, Harare City Council does not build dams
CLAIM: Harare City Council does not build dams: Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume SOURCE: Newsday Newspaper VERDICT: True On August 2, 2022, the NewsDay ran an article headlined HCC does not build dams: Mafume. The article went on to quote the Harare City Council Mayor, Jacob Mafume, saying, : “Blaming City Council is ridiculous. Zimbabwe National […]
How does the Matabeleland region fertility rate compare to other regions? And, no it has not always been the lowest.
CLAIM: Matabeleland has been having the lowest fertility levels, even before the fertility decline in the country – Professor Marvellous Mhloyi, founder of the Demography Teaching and Department of Population Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. SOURCE: The Sunday News VERDICT: False In an article published in the Sunday News of 31 July, 2022, an […]
Yes, there are no females in Matobo’s Ward 20
CLAIM: Matobo District Ward 20 has a population of 85 and no females, in 60 households. SOURCE: Population Census Preliminary Report VERDICT: True Zimbabwe Statistics (ZimStats) on July 26, 2022 released it’s preliminary report on the 2022 Census results. Readers picked up on one glaring figure and it went viral with the majority of Zimbabweans […]
YES, BCC banned the erection of tombstones, two years ago
CLAIM: BCC has banned the erection of tombstones – Northern Granites SOURCE: Northern Granites, Bulawayo VERDICT: True, the local authority banned the use of tombstones two years ago advising the city’s residents to settle for headstones instead. In an article dated July 16th 2022, in the Chronicle newspaper, a Northern Granite representative claimed that they […]
No, the Zimbabwean Government has not built 1200 schools in the last 4 years
CLAIM: 1 200 primary and secondary schools built in last 4 years. SOURCE: The Herald VERDICT: FALSE The Herald Newspaper claimed in an article published on 19 July, 2022 that ‘at least 1 194 primary and secondary schools, averaging 300 per year, were built countrywide in the last four years’. This was not the first […]
