happiness Chikwanha
Herald Reporter
The Zimbabwe Centre For Business Opportunities (ZCEBO) has called on the police to take stern measures against commuter omnibus crews robbing unsuspecting passengers of their belongings.Commuters have lost cell phones, cash and other valuables to robbers.
ZCEBO president, Mr Paddington Japajapa said cases of robbery of passengers by commuter omnibus crews was now on the increase and had reached unacceptable levels.
He said unscrupulous commuter omnibus drivers have adopted some tactics like having few female and male passengers to disguise as genuine passengers.
“We are calling upon the Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri to deal effectively and decisively with commuter omnibus crews who have resorted to unorthodox ways of earning income through robberies.
“The commuter omnibus crews are attacking unsuspecting innocent women during day time and indiscriminating attacking both men and women at night,” he said.
Mr Japajapa suggested that once a commuter omnibus has been used in robbery, the vehicle should be impounded by the Vehicle Inspection Department forever.
“We have since approached the Judicial Service Commission offices through the chief magistrate to register our dissatisfaction with how some of the cases have been handled at magistrate court level,” he said.
At least 3 499 people were kidnapped and robbed by pirate taxi and kombi drivers countrywide in the first half of this year, while 284 others fell prey to armed robbers.
The situation is more pronounced in Harare where at least 1 200 cases of kidnap and robbery by the same drivers were recorded in the past four months, with most of the victims being offered lifts in and around the city.
Online Reporter