Mothers of the night . . .Emakhandeni’s women-led neighbourhood watch take crime head-on with night patrols

WHILE most mothers in Emakhandeni are tucking their children into bed, Fadzai Nzou is preparing for a different kind of night shift. She isn’t heading to a factory or a hospital; she is stepping into the pitch-black silence of Bulawayo’s streets to hunt the shadows that keep her community awake.

At 47, Nzou is a mother of two and a single parent. She is also a veteran of a five-year war against a surge of stabbings, muggings, and armed robberies. Five years ago, her family begged her to stay inside, terrified that her name would end up on a police report. Instead, she became the one filing them.

Today, Nzou is part of a vigilant Emakhandeni neighbourhood watch team that patrols the streets, giving residents peace of mind that their lives and property are in safe hands.

“There was a time when Emakhandeni was going through a serious crime surge and every resident was worried.

“As residents we watched a few individuals risk their lives to keep us safe while we slept at night.

One day, about five years ago, it dawned on me that I could also play my part and reduce the crime rate. I asked the other neighbourhood watch committee members if I could join and they agreed.

“As a single mother I could not just sit back and watch while residents complained about crime, so I’m happy that five years later I have been part of the neighbourhood watch committee that keeps the area safe,” Nzou said.

A few months after Nzou joined, two more women signed up for the residents’ security team. While the work is dangerous, and some residents fail to pay the monthly contributions that fund them, Rebecca Malenga remains undeterred.

“It’s a dangerous job but if we don’t do it then who will? People used to ask themselves why we (women) joined the neighbourhood watch committee and the answer is simple: what men can do, we can also do. We patrol the suburb as a group consisting of two women and a number of men, but that doesn’t mean that as women we can’t confront criminals when we encounter them,” said Malenga.

Of the three women who once formed part of the team, one has since pulled out, leaving Nzou and Malenga to continue the fight. The risks they face are visceral. Nzou recalls a midweek patrol near a stream behind Emakhandeni Primary School around 1:00AM.

“We met two men near a stream just behind Emakhandeni Primary School, and asked them to stop. It must have been around 1am midweek and we were curious to know who they were and what they were doing roaming the streets in the early hours of the morning,” said Nzou.

One man bolted, but the other stood his ground.

“The other one pulled out something from his jacket and pointed it at one of our members. The next thing he fired a shot and that’s when we knew that he had pulled out a gun. Luckily he didn’t hit our colleague and he ran away into the darkness. It was a scary incident but we take that as one of the hazards of the job,” she said.

That hazard turned tragic early last month with the death of member Godfrey Muzanenhamo, who was shot in the head while questioning suspects emerging from a thicket.

“He was a good man who didn’t deserve to die in a tragic manner for simply trying to keep Emakhandeni safe,” Malenga said.

Despite the loss, the women remain on the front lines, though they are now appealing to the public for raincoats and work suits to help them brave the elements.

“Any assistance to help us take care of our children will also go a long way,” Malenga said.