Online Reporter
Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
IN the quiet villages of Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (UMP), far from the watchful eyes of border patrollers and regulators, a dangerous trade is thriving.
An unholy alliance between cross-border transporters and unscrupulous traders has opened a floodgate of unregistered medicines into the district — cheap, accessible and dangerous.
A Zimpapers investigation uncovered how this tightly knit syndicate operates with precision, ensuring that illegal medicines pass through the border undetected.
Once inside Zimbabwe, the drugs are pushed directly into rural communities, where desperate villagers often welcome them as a lifeline.
But behind the cheap tablets and syrups lies a ticking time bomb — unregulated dosages, fake ingredients and the looming threat of drug resistance.
In UMP, some traders have become so daring that they now deliver the medicines door-to-door.
Prescriptions are unnecessary; antibiotics, cough syrups and painkillers, many of which should only be dispensed under a doctor’s guidance, are handed out casually.
For cash-strapped families, the lure is irresistible.
But the risks are deadly.
A growing menace
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi warned that smuggling and illegal medicine trading will not be tolerated.
“There is an ongoing operation targeting smuggling, including that of firearms,” he told The Sunday Mail.
“We have made some arrests and recoveries of prohibited substances, especially lotions and cosmetics.
“We are certainly taking action on these issues.
“We want to warn those involved in smuggling; those involved in selling . . . these lotions, substances, including tablets, that as long as these products are prohibited, police will take action and ensure that the law takes its course without fear or favour.”
The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), the country’s drug regulator, says the problem is increasing.
In 2025 alone, it has received over 70 complaints linked to the illegal selling of medicines, prompting joint operations with the police.
MCAZ spokesperson Mr Davison Kaiyo said it is a criminal offence to sell unregistered medicines to the public.
“In 2025 alone, the authority received over 70 regulatory complaints of this nature,” he said.
“These cases are at various stages of investigation, with some already concluded.
“The reports have led to several enforcement operations, conducted jointly with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), resulting in the arrest of both licensed and unlicensed individuals involved in the distribution of unregistered medicines or selling medicines from unlicensed premises.
“It is a criminal offence to sell unregistered medicines to the public as such practices pose serious health risks.
“The MCAZ cannot guarantee the safety, quality or efficacy of medicines acquired from illicit markets.”
He said obtaining medicines from unlicensed premises or individuals exposes the public to the risk of substandard and falsified medicines. Unapproved dosages, he added, increase the risk of severe side effects, while the sale of antibiotics without prescriptions accelerates antimicrobial resistance.
Exposed
At the Katiyo shopping centre in UMP, Zimpapers witnessed villagers queuing at a so-called “health shop” to buy prescription-only medicines.
The shop, legally licensed to sell herbal remedies, was instead fully stocked with antibiotics, cough syrups and painkillers.
When confronted, the owner admitted that he did not have authorisation to sell such medicines.
“I know what I am doing is an offence, and I am asking for forgiveness,” he confessed.
“I have a health shop licence, but it doesn’t allow me to sell these medicines. They are supplied to me by a man in Mbare called Oscar.”
A Zimpapers reporter who posed as a potential customer later contacted “Oscar”, who brazenly offered to supply medicines for a new shop in Murewa.
Deadly cost
UMP district medical officer Dr Gladman Tendai Mubonani said the consequences are already being felt.
“We are always doing raids targeting these people,” he said.
“We are in a big fight with these illegal drug peddlers and we have also discovered that the same person at the Katiyo business centre was selling cough syrups not registered in Zimbabwe, which includes BronCleer and other banned substances that are causing a menace in our youth.”
More worrying, he added, were malaria patients who were being admitted to hospitals with recurring infections and complications.
Investigations had revealed that many had bought counterfeit drugs or malaria medication with low doses from illegal sellers, said Dr Mubonani.
“Some patients survived after being transferred to Harare, but others died because they had been under dosed,” Dr Mubonani revealed.
He warned that beyond individual tragedies, such practices are fuelling antimicrobial resistance. “As long as people keep self-prescribing or getting medicines from unqualified people, we are adding to the burden of resistance. Soon, even simple infections will become expensive and difficult to treat.”
A national fight
President Mnangagwa has declared the war on drug and substance abuse a national priority, but experts warn that illegal medicine networks are slipping under the radar.
For UMP villagers, the issue is not just about access to healthcare; it is about survival.
A trip to the nearest registered pharmacy can mean hours of travel and costs many cannot afford.
Caught between poverty and desperation, communities continue to take the risk.
But, as fake medicines flow into rural households, how many more lives will be lost before the trade is stamped out?
