Mukuvisi: The river between

women would perform lewd dance routines, which left those close by spellbound.
Barely an hour later, women carrying bundles of firewood with some children strapped on their backs and others limping along followed suit.
Yours truly was to see bands of unkempt youths staggering down the pathway which has become pronounced owing to over-use.
Fresh urine and human excreta greet those who dare set foot on the pathway, but that does not stop people from using it.
Men donning work-suits, guards and those formally dressed also walked down the dusty patch.
Welcome to the banks of Mukuvisi River which is home to hundreds of people in Harare.
If the river could write or speak, I am sure it would tell of sweet and gory tales of what goes on along its banks.
Kunyarara, kunyarara,
Kunyarara kunokunda kutaura,
Kunyarara, kunyarara,
Kunyarara kunokunda kuhwereketa,
Ini kufarakufara zvangu,
Mumoyo zvizere,
Kuzvitaura kupedza nguva, sang Alick Macheso in his song called Kuhwereketa.
True to the song, silence is golden. It’s actually a blessing that the river will never live to tell what happens near it and whatever it is commissioned to drown.
Kunoitwa zvinorova kwaMukuvisi.
A lot happens along the banks of this river, which stretches from Greendale right up to its confluence with Hunyani River.
Children learning to swim are always seen in the area where some have had the misfortune of having their clothes stolen while they are swimming.
Unongobirwa twumbatya twako uchibhaguja.
It is not unusual to walk along the banks of this river to find people preparing their meals or fighting endless battles of survival.
The law of the jungle applies in its strictest sense in the area where people see nothing wrong in stealing from one another or in fighting just to survive until the next meal.
Prostitutes have set up bases along the banks of the river.
While some clients speak of good treatment, the same is not true for all.
A good number of people have been left ruing their decision to venture into the area after having both dogs and thieves set on them.
There is virtually everything along the banks of this river where some people seem to survive on beer and illicit brews.
Numerous police raids in the area have yielded positive results with kachasu and apparatus used to prepare the illicit brew being recovered.
Vehicle accessories, stolen cheque books, house-hold goods and car radios have been found hidden in reeds in the area.
Some women and girls have had the misfortune of being gagged and dragged by those with a quest to quench their sexual thirst.
As I commit pen to paper gentle reader, some girls of school-going age are living along the river where some elderly women make huge bucks hiring them out to lustful men.
These pimps reportedly provide the girls with the skimpy clothes they wear and frugal meals just to keep body and soul intact.
Backstreet abortions are carried out along the banks of this river where it is folly to dig around for fear of unearthing foetuses.
Young boys usually wander into the Mukuvisi area to access cheap sex, cheap beer and drugs like mbanje.
Members of the police force find it hard to patrol this area because they are viewed as enemies by residents.
Not everyone however, who lives on the banks of Mukuvisi River is a crook. There are countless push factors like poverty and family squabbles which often result in some people seeing it fit to live like animals of the wild there.
So wild are some people who live along Mukuvisi River that they declare the area a no-go area for the police.
“Vakangokoma ereas tinovasota. This is a poor man’s land and no one should disturb our peace. Hatibvume kutyisidzirwa nemapfumo emashanga,” one vagrant who stays in the area said while downing opaque beer.
And the area is not without its kings and police force.
The moment a stranger walks by, he is immediately warned to mind his business or risk being assaulted.
Because people there live in groups, the weaker ones are made to pay protection fees. Women there are exchanged without any problem. If you have no money, these people see nothing wrong in letting the next guy with cash enjoy quality time with her.
“Mukadzi ndewako uinaye. Kana usipo anotorwa nechikwata and hapana yekutamba,” some youths who were smoking pot told this writer straight in the face.
A number of children along the river do not go to school. They survive on hand-outs and selling boiled eggs and sweets in the city centre.
These children also double as thieves, preying on unsuspecting strangers.
Apostolic sects use the banks of the river for their prayer sessions because no one lays claim to the area and also largely because it is cool. The bushy environs also provide confidentiality to what happens at these churches where some leaders have been arrested on allegations of forcing themselves on members of their flock.
The area is also convenient because the free-flowing water is used for baptism and other rituals.
N’angas also love the banks of Mukuvisi River for their wealth in indigenous trees which they use in preparing their magical potions.
The n’angas sometimes run circumcision camps there because very few people are keen to know what happens there.
Thieves feel at home along Mukuvisi River where they can hide their loot with very little or no chances of getting arrested or having the property recovered.
It is in this area where they train each other and share information on how to evade police.
Unlucky people who venture into the area have suffered the misfortune of being used as punching bags and being sexually abused.
Gentle reader, there is urgent need to flush out people in the area to curb vice.
Inotambika mughetto.