Chronicle Editor
Police have since accounted for most of the machete-wielding gangs that have been causing havoc in both rural and urban areas.
This week the police blitz netted more than 1 000 illegal gold panners following raids in Shurugwi and Kwekwe. More than 9 000 illegal gold panners have since been arrested since police launched the massive operation code named Isitsheketsha kasiphele/Chikorokoza Ngachipere/No to Machete Gangs.
The gangs have killed 35 people, raped 15 women, committed 225 robberies and assaulted 382 people. At first the gangs were confined to mining areas but some of them have now moved to urban areas where they are committing murders, robberies and rape.
The upsurge in criminal cases involving machete gangs across the country has prompted Parliament to institute a probe to unearth the origins of these gangs that are now all over the country.
Parliament said it wants to find out how they operate, the impact of their actions and what can be done to stop them. The activities of these gangs, Parliament noted, are having devastating effect on the lucrative mining sector. The machete-wielding gangs’ criminal activities have wreaked havoc across the country.
The operations of these gangs were fast getting out of hand and we want at this juncture to commend the police for launching the blitz that has resulted in the arrest of thousands of these criminals.
According to the Minister of State for National Security in the President’s Office, Cde Owen Ncube, only one gang is yet to be accounted for which should be a relief for both rural and urban citizens who were living in fear of being attacked by these gangs.
We want to implore the police to continue with the blitz until all the machete-wielding gangs are accounted for. The findings of the Parliament’s probe should assist the police in coming up with strategies of fighting such criminal elements as well as take pre-emptive measures.
It is a fact that the police were a bit late in reacting to the machete- wielding gangs hence the many people who were either murdered or injured.
There is an urgent need to establish the origins of these gangs and source of their resources as the gangs’ modus operandi seems to be the same.
Many of them had a lot of resources at their disposal including vehicles to move around which confirms they were being funded by rich individuals who should be made to account.
Police have a mandate to protect the people’s lives and property hence the need to rid society of all the criminal elements that have been causing people sleepless nights.
Online Reporter