The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University of Rhodesia, and adopted its present name upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. UZ is the oldest and best ranked university in Zimbabwe.The university has eleven faculties and one college (with faculties of Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Law, Science, Social Studies, Veterinary Sciences and the College of Health Sciences) offering a wide variety of degree programmes and many specialist research centres and institutes. The university is accredited through the National Council for Higher Education, under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. English is the language of instruction. Although once a very successful university, UZ has been facing challenges since 2008 and now the university is on a rebounding drive. Major work is being done to uplift the status of the university. Refurbishments are being carried out on the main campus and many facilities are being upgraded to make the university an International Academic Brand. The university has faced criticism for awarding fraudulent degrees to members of the Mugabe regime, especially Grace Mugabe.
Land degradation has severely impacted economies and the environment, pushing global efforts to prevent, reduce and reverse the phenomenon. The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) initiative adopted in 2015 under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) framework, has been key to balancing land degradation with sustainable land management and restoration. Significant literature exists on enhancing the success of LDN initiatives, however, limited work has been done on the role of land governance towards achieving LDN outcomes, particularly in river catchment areas, such as the Zambezi basin. The study examines the link between land governance and LDN to establish relations for a sustainable river basin. It employs a systematic literature review, covering the basin’s eight riparian states, examining land degradation through a governance lens. The results show complex challenges relating to policy overlaps, ineffective enforcement of the law, financial and human resources constraints, and land tenure insecurity. Emerging issues relate to the need for policies that provide alternative means of livelihoods so as to relieve pressure on the natural resource base. The paper makes a case for effective land governance through harmonising policies, enhancing land tenure security, ensuring multi stakeholder participation in land use planning and land restoration in support of LDN in the Zambezi basin.
Tick-borne apicomplexan parasites are a threat to livestock health and human life, underscoring parasite significance within the One Health Framework. Advances in sequencing provide vital insights into parasite diversity, genetic composition, and behavior, supporting improved prevention and control strategies. This review synthesizes sequencing approaches applied to Theileria and Babesia, highlighting how evolving technologies are reshaping comprehension of parasite variation and gene function. A systematic analysis was conducted using five databases –Wiley Online Library, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, PubMed, and the Africa Online Journals (AJOL), and Google Scholar. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist was used for managing data bias and the PRISMA guidelines flow diagram summarized the data selection criteria. A total of 127 articles (1995 to 2025) were synthesized, representing the first systematic synthesis of sequencing approaches for Theileria and Babesia. The review highlights three sampling approaches used in sequencing; infected host tissue, parasite culture and questing ticks. Emerging sequencing technologies such as Oxford Nanopore present promising opportunities for direct RNA sequencing, complementing existing platforms. Sequencing advances have revealed hypervariable genetic regions with direct implications for improved variant detection and surveillance, and vaccine target discovery. Whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing have uncovered key gene families essential for host specificity and parasite survival, paving way for potential targets for parasite control strategies in livestock and human health, while reassembly of older genomes has enhanced resolution of genetic variation. Advances in genome sequencing have enhanced our understanding of parasite biology and reshaped parasite detection, surveillance, and vaccine development. Not applicable.
The application of hydraulic modelling for water loss reduction in a water distribution network (WDN) is essential for effective non-revenue water (NRW) management. This study develops a geospatial-based hydraulic model and a pressure-weighted emitter coefficient modelling approach for a section of Mutare's WDN, the Hobhouse Reservoir Water Supply Zone (HRWSZ). The geospatial-based hydraulic model was developed using QEPANET version 2.5.6. Water losses of 22.52 L/s (58.2% of SIV) were distributed based on established pressure-weights among seven selected nodes. The hydraulic model was run using a pressure-driven analysis (PDA) in EPANET version 2.2, for simulating water losses. In two iterations, the proposed leakage modelling method achieved a 6.0% error in total leakage volume between modelled and field-measured water losses. Thus, the proposed method achieves high accuracy in leakage modelling and is not iterative-intensive. It was recommended that Mutare adopts the proposed leakage modelling approach for NRW reduction decision-making.
This article seeks to unpack the nuances of violence in Zimbabwe's artisanal gold mining sector and how it impacts the wider community. Drawing on data gathered from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews, the findings indicate that violence in the artisanal gold mining sector is primarily sustained by economic exclusion, a weak regulatory environment, and corrupt security arrangements. To this end, the study utilizes the rational choice model to demonstrate how situational cost-benefit calculations shape the choices of militant actors seeking to profit aggressively from chaos, leading to an upsurge in violence in the gold sector. In this regard, the study argues that economic exclusion and weak regulation create profitable opportunities that are protected by corrupt local security arrangements, resulting in violence, lawlessness, and instability across Zimbabwe's Midlands gold mining sector. Given the multisectoral nature of this violence, the research concludes by recommending measures aimed at stabilizing the mining sector, thereby diffusing artisanal mining violence.
This article proposes migratuality, a southern-centred theory of mobility grounded in African spiritual and relational epistemologies. Drawing on the Shona concept of kufambira, it explores how migration can be understood not as mere relocation but as a transformative, collective and metaphysical journey. It places African thought at the centre of migration studies. Kufambira, a Shona term, embodies the familial, communal, spiritual and relational disposition of journeying with a transformative quest of the self in relation to family and community, accentuating the social networks, mutual aid and collective responsibility that underpin migratory experiences. The article argues that a journey guided by kufambira is not merely a physical relocation, but a metaphysical exploration of one's place in the world, a search for truths about one's existence and purpose in relation to others in society. Drawing empirical illustrations from Zimbabwe, it proffers insights into the interface between spirituality and mobility.
