Online Reporter
Mthokozisi Ncube
MAKOKOBA is fast earning a grim reputation as one of Bulawayo’s emerging drug-abuse hotspots, with police operations in the high-density suburb uncovering suspects allegedly smoking dagga and possessing crystal meth within a space of just two days.
The latest bust saw a 36-year-old Makokoba woman arrested after detectives allegedly found her with five sachets of suspected crystal methamphetamine at her home.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Thandekile Ndlovu confirmed the arrest of Monalisa Sindisiwe Cheche, who was arrested on September 5 at around 5am.
The arrest came just a day after 11 people, including former Highlanders, FC Platinum and CAPS United star and 2019 Soccer star of the year Joel Ngodzo (36), were arrested in Makokoba in a separate drug operation.
The two operations have put the suburb firmly under the spotlight as police intensify their crackdown on drug abuse.
Sources told B-Metro that detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics received information that Cheche was in possession of dangerous drugs at a house in Makokoba.
Acting on the tip-off, detectives descended on the house and found Cheche in her bedroom.
They identified themselves and explained the purpose of their visit before conducting a search.
During the search, the detectives found five sachets containing suspected crystal methamphetamine.
“Five transparent sachets containing Crystal Methamphetamine were recovered in the pocket of the jacket which the accused was wearing,” said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
Cheche was asked to produce a licence or permit authorising her to possess the drugs, but failed to do so.
She was arrested and the drugs seized.
The recovered crystal methamphetamine weighed two grams and had an estimated street value of ZWG750.
However, the arrest was not an isolated incident.
Just 24 hours earlier, police had descended on Makokoba as part of a separate operation targeting
drug abuse, resulting in the arrest of 11 people, nine men and two women.
Among those arrested was Ngodzo, who was jointly charged with unlawfully smoking dagga.
The suspects were observed smoking dagga inside a barber shop along 7th Street during surveillance by CID Drugs and Narcotics detectives on September 4.
All 11 eventually pleaded guilty and were fined amounts ranging from US$200 to US$300, with prison terms hanging over them if they failed to pay.
One of the accused, Aaron Phiri, even left the courtroom in stitches when he explained why he smoked dagga.
“Dagga makes me run, I feel better and can have a peaceful sleep at night,” he said.
Bulawayo Magistrate Themba Chimiso delivered a stern warning, declaring that Zimbabwe was in a “war against drugs”.
His warning comes against a national policy drive which has seen Government adopt the Zimbabwe National Drug Master Plan and, later, the Zimbabwe Multi-Sectoral Drug and Substance Abuse
Plan 2024-2030, targeting supply reduction, demand reduction, treatment and rehabilitation, harm reduction, community reintegration and law enforcement.
The scale of the crackdown is stark. In February 2025, police said more than 10 000 people had been arrested and over 50 drug dens dismantled nationwide since the beginning of that year.
Earlier Government figures showed that 6 148 people had been arrested between January and April 2024, including 677 alleged suppliers and 5 471 end-users.
The health danger behind the arrests is equally scary.
Methamphetamine can drive up heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature and, with repeated use, can cause addiction, severe dental problems, memory and brain-function changes, paranoia, hallucinations and psychosis. High doses can cause seizures, stroke, heart attack and death.
Dagga is also not the harmless “sleeping medicine” suggested in court. Cannabis can impair learning, memory, attention and coordination, while prolonged use can lead to dependence and worsen mental-health problems in vulnerable people.
The concern is particularly acute among young people, with drug abuse threatening education, employment, family stability and the productive future of a generation. Zimbabwe’s own policy response recognises drug abuse as a threat to public health, national security, social stability and national development.
Police say the operations are part of relentless efforts to disrupt the possession and distribution of dangerous drugs in Bulawayo.
With two major drug operations hitting Makokoba on consecutive days, the suburb is increasingly finding itself at the centre of the city’s battle against substance abuse.
