Arron Nyamayaro
Police and community groups marched through Borrowdale and Hatcliffe on Saturday, urging residents to report drug dealers and drug bases as efforts to combat substance abuse intensify.
The march involved the Christian Community Policing Network, Business Against Drugs and Substance Abuse Forum, Zimbabwe Bikers Association, Crime Liaison Committees, the University of Zimbabwe and primary schools.
A speech by Police Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba, read by the officer commanding Harare Province, said 9,200 of the 12,000 suspects arrested between January and September were under the age of 35.
Mutamba said the fight against drug and substance abuse required a united community effort, warning residents not to assume the problem affected only other families.
“The fact that the fire has not reached your doorstep does not mean your house is beyond its flames,” he said.
He said drug and substance abuse was linked to domestic violence, theft, robbery and other serious crimes, including murder. It was also disrupting young people’s education and damaging careers, marriages and families, he said.
Mutamba expressed concern that some adults were contributing to the problem by abusing or selling drugs. He also said some people struggling with addiction turned to crime to fund their habits.
“The net is closing in, and the full force of the law awaits you,” he warned drug dealers and their accomplices.
He said police were working to identify and disrupt drug supply networks through intelligence-led policing, investigations and targeted operations at the country’s points of entry and exit. The police would also continue working with communities, schools and other institutions, he said.
Mutamba urged young people to shun drugs, focus on their education and protect their health, saying the country’s future depended on them. He called on parents, teachers, law enforcement officers, civic organisations and churches to work together to protect young people.
