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Police launched operation “100 percent decongest the city” on 6 July, which was aimed at eliminating illegal pick-up points in the city centre.
They said the commuter omnibuses were responsible for a majority of accidents in the city through reckless driving at undesignated pick up points.
For more than two weeks, there was order in the CBD as the normally overcrowded areas like 6th Avenue Extension, Herbert Chitepo Street and 12th Avenue, did not have criss-crossing kombi traffic, during the day.
Police had vowed that the operation would go on until every driver complied.
However, on Friday, kombis started trickling back into the city centre after police removed roadblocks that had been erected to block them from proceeding into the city centre.
By yesterday, it was business as usual as the kombis and pirate taxis jostled for passengers at the illegal pick up points.
Kombi drivers who spoke to Chronicle yesterday said the police often go through a period of “persecuting” them which never lasts long.
“We knew it was just a passing phase. Whenever the whim catches them, they set up these funny operations. After sometime, ukuhlanya amanga abakwenzayo kuyaphela, and this operation has come to an end,” said a driver who declined to be named.
Another kombi driver said undesignated pick-up points had been in existence for a long time and police could not hope to eradicate them in one day.
“These points were here before the time some of these officers were born and they will be here, after they die. This is not the first time police have cracked down on them and like all other crackdowns, this one has passed,” boasted the driver.
Contacted for comment, Bulawayo’s acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu warned that the operation was not over.
“We have given them another chance to regulate themselves. If they take it for weakness, they would only have themselves to blame when we take further action,” said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
He said police were aware that in recent weeks, kombi drivers had resorted to using the illegal spots after hours.
“We have re-strategised to come up with a new system to deal with the problem. Those who are celebrating that we have pulled out have not yet been arrested, when we catch them, they will be telling a different story,” he said.
Asst Insp Ndlovu could not be drawn into divulging the new strategy but sources within the police force said it included sending offenders to court, where they were likely to get custodial sentences.
Online Reporter