The Zimbabwe Republic Police in Kwekwe District has banned the carrying of dangerous weapons for a three-month period starting on 19 April 2023.
Speaking during Independence Day Celebrations held in Silobela, the Officer Commanding Kwekwe District Chief Superintendent Ison Chapeta noted that criminal activities by machete-wielding gangs have spiked in the district. He was quoted by NewZimbabwe.com as saying:
Crime rates have surged in Kwekwe. These crimes are mainly committed by people carrying offensive weapons.
As the officer commanding Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Kwekwe District has put in place a prohibition order starting from 19 April 2023 to 19 July 2023, as the regulating authority Kwekwe District, this prohibition order is ordering people not to carry weapons.
Despite your station or statute in life, you are going to be arrested if you are found on the wrong side of the law.
We are going for elections and we don’t want such rogue elements in our midst therefore, we are going to deal with anyone found on the wrong side of the law decisively. We want to have peaceful polls.
If you are to be caught on the wrong side you will be jailed for a period not more than six months or a fine not exceeding level 5.
Chief Superintendent Chapeta said he will personally command a 20-member team to enforce the prohibition order barring people from moving around with weapons. He said:
You are our eyes in the community, notify us of anyone whom you will find carrying weapons and we will deal with that person, not the party not anything but the individual.
We must be peaceful in the district, we want to put an end to this.
I will personally command the team, I want the team to be ruthless, and I want the team to work as expected by the law, forewarned is forearmed.
Dangerous weapons include firearms, explosives, knives with blades longer than 3 inches, machetes, and other items that are deemed to be potentially lethal such as catapults, axes, and knobkerries.
In other news – 18-year-old girl arrested after she accidentally kills one of her boyfriends
An 18-year-old woman who was fighting with her two boyfriends was arrested for murder after she missed one of her lovers and accidentally struck a bystander.
The bystander fell into a drain and was rushed to the hospital while unconscious, where he died.Learn More
