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WITH the festive season upon us thousands of Zimbabweans based abroad especially in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana will be pouring in to spend Christmas with their families and relatives. Their arrival is now usually met with mixed feelings because of incidents associated with those based in South Africa commonly known as injiva. A majority of them have a penchant for violence.
Only on Wednesday this week, mourners gathered at a funeral wake in Bulilima District ran for dear life when two brothers based in South Africa ran amok and beat up their uncle for burying their father in their absence. The two brothers, Ephraim Tshuma and Alfred Tshuma, also turned on the mourners gathered at their homestead in Chief Gampu area, accusing them of practising witchcraft. The two attacked their uncle with a knobkerrie and an axe.
After committing the shameful act, the Tshuma brothers disappeared and they are now on the police wanted list.
In another incident involving an injiva, an elderly one this time, a 55-year-old woman approached the Plumtree magistrates’ courts this week seeking a protection order against her uncle, 73, who is giving her problems over a piece of land.
While we appreciate the economic benefits the injiva have over the communities especially in Matabeleland South in districts such as Kezi, Mangwe and Bulilima, we are worried about the festive season bad behaviour some of them bring into their communities.
It is during this period when cases of violence, some of them crimes of passion, shoot up.
A number of murder cases and armed robberies are recorded during the festive season when injiva return home. Instead of coming home to enjoy the festive mood, some of the injiva would be coming to settle old scores, in the process committing crimes.
Such bad behaviour brings fear in the usually peaceful communities. It is against this background that we call on the police to come out in full force and stop the smuggling of firearms into the country.
The police should also increase their presence in communities to make sure that peace-loving citizens enjoy Christmas in a tranquil atmosphere.
The police should make sure that liquor outlets operate within the regulated times.
However, while we call on the police to leave no stone unturned in their operations, we plead with them not to be heavy handed. They should deal with the trouble makers only and leave the rest of the community to enjoy itself.
The injiva should also turn a corner and discard this stereotyped behaviour so that they are fully accepted into the communities.
This tendency of carrying around unregistered firearms and specified knives such an Okapis has no place in our communities.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter