Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Business Correspondent
AN established tour and safari company, Mbira Tours and Travel has partnered former Highlanders Football Club player Njabulo Ncube in an anti-crime operation to curb rising crime incidents in Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb.
This is part of efforts to resuscitate township tourism and is a commitment by residents to create a family-friendly settlement. Ncube, known as “Tshiki” in football circles, made a sterling mark playing as a striker for Highlanders and a number of clubs in Botswana. He has turned a community hero together with a group of men living in Thokozani Flats in the suburb who have formed Mzilikazi Crime Stop.
Mzilikazi counts tops in terms of crime statistics in Bulawayo and this has over the years left the suburb with a battered image. Gang rivalry, muggings at night, alcoholism, drug abuse and youth disobedience was what Mzilikazi was feared for. The area around Thokozani Flats recorded the highest crime rates. Even the police confess that the area was so notorious such that they cowed when called for duty on the streets.
Driven by the need to eradicate all forms of vice, Ncube teamed up with 10 men, including a pastor to create neighbourhood watch committees. Daily patrols are done with assistance from police at Mzilikazi and Barbourfields stations. In a community-business partnership, Mzilikazi Crime Stop worked with leading tourism consultant Engelbert Karombo at Mbira Tours and Travel.
So far, crime levels are on the low and according to Ncube, they want to turn Mzilikazi into a peaceful and business friendly location. In an interview last week, Ncube said Mzilikazi Crime Stop was a community driven initiative meant to rebrand the township.
“We as residents of Mzilikazi’s Thokozani Flats area we became worried as incidents of crime cropped up everyday. It is our responsibility to get rid of criminal elements troubling people here. If it’s not for muggings, thieves pounce of people’s property, break in schools and churches. Mzilikazi cannot be a place where people fear to visit. This is a suburb known for its football and arts fame, so it is wise to maintain a good image. Crime tarnishes the community, it chases away business.”
Despite its tainted crime tag, Mzilikazi still enjoys being on the list of places that tourists to the city of Bulawayo want to visit. The suburb is home to many iconic figures in Zimbabwe. There’s the iconic McDonald Hall, home to township jazz and was a meeting place for black liberation heroes. The township boasts of the Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre. Adjacent to it is the Amakhosi Theatre in neighbouring Makokoba and Barbourfields Stadium, a stone’s throw away.
Mr Karombo said Mbira Tours and Travel will help the community of Mzilikazi to restore its image.
“Mzilikazi Crime Stop is more like a community alarm to crime. It is an initiative that seeks to bring beauty to the township. As tourism players we want to help in cleaning our streets because when tourists visit, we wouldn’t want to give out an image of a place that is not welcoming,” said Mr Karombo.
Mr Karombo recounted incidents when some tourists lost cameras and other valuables to thieves while touring Mzilikazi. Mzilikazi Crime Stop has also made inroads in establishing income generating projects for young people.
Ncube said they wanted to keep the youth busy through opening a car wash centre just next to Thokozani Flats.
Mzilikazi Crime Stop chairman Mr Mockem Mageza told Sunday News that so far they have engaged 45 young people in various community initiatives.
“At night some of us patrol the area and that has put a hold on criminal activity. Over 40 of our young people have joined. Back then young boys would spend the whole day seated by the roadside, now through efforts of the Mzilikazi Crime Stop, they are kept busy and are starting to see value in working for the good of the community,” said Mr Mageza.
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