adminAbel Zhakata Senior Reporter
VIOLENCE erupted in Mutare’s Sakubva high-density suburb on Tuesday morning after warring groups of touts – armed with dangerous weapons – clashed at various bus termini in the city’s oldest location.
The fracas, which resulted in the deployment of anti-riot police, saw the cheeky rank marshals, who were armed to the teeth with knobkerries, machetes and home-made knives, trading blows in the full view of vulnerable citizens.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that several people were injured in the melee while quite a number of informal traders and vendors lost their wares as thieves took advantage of the chaos to steal.
The violence spread into some houses close to Sakubva Musika market where property was destroyed in the running battles.
Had it not been for the speedy deployment of combative police details from Chisamba Police Station, the scuffle was going to turn bloody.
When the news crew visited the trouble areas as word quickly spread via social media, the warring touts had been dispersed by the police, apparently running away from being arrested over public violence.
In no time, the alleged ring leaders to the skirmishes were summoned to Chisamba Police Station.
A no-holds-barred adhoc meeting was quickly convened at the station and the Officer-in-Charge, Chief Inspector Noah Nyamuzinga, quickly reminded the touts that they were not above the law.
Apparently, the groups that clashed belong to one Martin Chitsinga popularly known as ‘maJapan’ and another led by one Osama that hails from the Green Market.
Although these two groups control different bus termini, the bone of contention emanated from an incident that happened a few weeks ago when the Japanese crew allegedly assaulted a member of the other group and stole his cell phone following a night club misunderstanding.
This culminated in Tuesday’s warfare as the Osama group went on an offensive retaliation onslaught, typical of yesteryear’s kung-fu movies.
“Let me remind you that the groups that you have formed for the purposes of fanning violence are not allowed at law. We are going to arrest all those involved in these skirmishes. Touting is not allowed and we are going to descend on all those who defy the law and think that they can do whatever they want and disturb peace in this suburb. The police have the arsenal to deal with you if you continue to behave unlawfully,” warned Chief Insp Nyamuzinga at the meeting which was also attended by Inspectors Dholoba,Mangunda and Ncube.
He told the leaders of the said warring parties to put their houses in order and stop the violence forthwith.
“If we hear of any outbreak of violence we are going to impound all vehicles that will be used to ferry the touts and we are going to apprehend those who mastermind such attacks. Giving you the chance to iron out your differences and live peacefully does not mean we cannot do anything about it. We don’t hesitate to arrest anyone and be warned,” he said and added:
“Law-abiding citizens cannot be put their lives at risk by the actions of a few people who think that they are above the law. We will clip your wings.”
Interviewed people who witnessed the clashes said they were dreadful.
“I have not seen anything like that. In an instant I was reminded of war time. How can people move around with axes and knives in the city as if they were hunting wild animals? This is unacceptable and the police must act and restore order. People had to scurry for cover as the touts threw stones and weapons at each other. Imagine some had bows and arrows,” said an elderly vendor who requested not to be named.
Vendors said they lost their wares, especially machetes and knives, as some of the touts who were under attack quickly retreated to their tables and armed themselves with the weapons that were on sale. “They grabbed our items and used them to defend themselves. That’s how I lost my wares,” said one of the vendors.
After the meeting Chief Insp Nyamuzinga ordered Osama and Chitsinga to remain behind for another meeting in which the two were supposed to explain what happened and how they were going to put their alleged camps in order to avoid future clashes.
“If you don’t organise yourselves we will force you to as the police,” he said.
Online Reporter