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‘We just have to brave it’: Women face assault on Zimbabwe’s public buses

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BY MARKO PHIRI

When Zimbabwe’s government started running a bus system earlier this year with fares on average one-third lower than those of private bus companies, Thandekile Gama was excited.

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The 33-year-old hairdresser had grown tired of paying up to $3 (less than 10 U.S. cents) every time she took a trip within Bulawayo, the country’s second-largest city, so the new bus system with fares capped at 50 cents seemed like a gift.

But that gift came at a cost: Gama said the more affordable fares have led to overcrowding on the government-owned buses, putting her and other women she knows at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault as they travel.

“The buses are crowded, as would be expected, but there are creeps who ride the buses to fondle women,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “You just feel a hand feeling you up and then disappearing.”

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Reports of harassment and rape on public transportation are on the rise, said Auxillia Sibanda, an assistant inspector with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), at a public meeting in July.

She did not provide specific numbers, noting that the statistics were still being compiled.

World Bank figures show about one-third of Zimbabwe’s 16 million people live in urban areas, and that its urban population is growing about  two percent  annually.

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Across the country, rapid population growth has led to increased demand for public utilities, including transport, according to legislator and women’s rights defender Tabitha Khumalo.

But authorities did not anticipate the impact of that demand on the safety of female commuters using public transportation such as private and state-run buses as well as unlicensed “pirate” taxis, she said.

The government re-launched the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) buses in January, several years after the state-owned company’s fleet was grounded following a litany of problems that included millions of dollars of debt and allegations of government corruption.

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At the time of the re-launch, information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Zupco was part of the modernisation of the national transport system and assured the nation that there would be “adequate security” to protect passengers.

Zupco’s acting CEO Everisto Madangwa said in a phone interview that those security measures include assigning at least one police officer to each bus, “to ensure passenger comfort and safety”.

Madangwa declined to directly respond to the accusations of sexual harassment on the company’s buses, but said the government regularly adds to the fleet to both meet demand and decrease congestion on the buses.

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He added that the company plans to grow from the current 500 buses to 3,000 countrywide, without specifying a timeline for the target.

FINANCIAL RESPITE

Madangwa could not provide figures for how many passengers use the Zupco buses daily, but noted that the bus system has been popular from the first day it started running.

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Gama and other passengers say much of that popularity stems from the low fares, which provide some financial respite for a population struggling through crippling inflation and shortages of bread, fuel and hard currency. (L8N24G1OY)

Female passengers have long been subjected to whistles, crude comments and groping on buses, Gama explained, but with so many people using the Zupco system, the harassment has become more aggressive and invasive.

“The sexual harassment has become too much, but (these) buses are the cheapest,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation as she stood in a long queue to board a Zupco bus.

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“We just have to brave it.”

A 2018 Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 1,000 women in five of the world’s biggest commuter cities – London, New York, Mexico City, Tokyo and Cairo – found 52 percent cited safety as their top concern while using transport.

For Khumalo, the problem of women’s safety on Zimbabwean cities’ public transport systems is a “recent phenomenon, seen after the entry of government buses and proliferation of pirate taxis”.

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She and a group of other female legislators have lobbied the government to set up a database of sex offenders “as many of these perpetrators are repeat offenders”.

In general, said Khumalo – who also serves as the national chair of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – the government could do more to protect and support survivors of sexual violence.

Figures released in 2018 by the Musasa Project, a women’s rights group, revealed that up to 50% of rape cases in Zimbabwe go unprosecuted.

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Lawmakers are currently drafting a bill that proposes a mandatory minimum of 60 years for the rape of anyone under the age of 12.

FEAR OF REPORTING

Bulawayo police spokesman Abednico Ncube told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that police were doing everything they could to ensure women’s safety on public transportation.

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But the congestion means officers “cannot monitor each and every passenger”, he added.

Ncube advised anyone who experiences sexual harassment while riding on a bus to report the incident immediately after it happens.

“It is important for victims of indecent assault to attract the attention of witnesses as soon as they feel violated so that police can effect arrests,” he said.

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But there is a problem with that advice, said Gillian Chinzete, project director at the Institute for Young Women’s Development, which supports women’s participation in political processes.

Women in Zimbabwe are often reluctant to report harassment for fear of not being taken seriously, she said.

“There must be training of the police on how to deal with cases of public violence against women … as a way of instilling confidence in the victims,” said Chinzete.

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Gama, the hairdresser in Bulawayo, agreed, saying that she and other women she knows have learned to live with being groped on the bus.

Because to go to the police, she said, is to risk being ridiculed for reporting a “petty crime with no known perpetrator”.

“It’s difficult as it is to report rape,” she said.

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“Imagine trying to report being fondled by a hand you did not see.” – Thomson Reuters Foundation

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MPs raise alarm over illegal gold mining threatening Inyathi hospital

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has raised serious concern over illegal gold mining activities taking place directly beneath Inyathi District Hospital in Bubi District, Matabeleland North — warning that the facility’s infrastructure could collapse if the practice continues unchecked.

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The revelation came during the committee’s ongoing verification visits to rural health centres across Zimbabwe, aimed at assessing the state of medical infrastructure, equipment, and essential drug availability. The visits, led by Hon. Daniel Molokele, are being conducted on behalf of the committee chairperson, Hon. Dr. Thokozani Khupe.

Speaking to VicFallsLive, Molokele said the team was shocked to discover that artisanal miners (amakorokoza) had extended their illegal mining tunnels under the hospital grounds.

“One of the things that we found at Inyathi District Hospital is that amakorokoza are now doing their gold mining right under the hospital,” said Molokele. “They used to do it outside, but now they have gone beneath the facility. There is a real risk that the infrastructure might collapse because of the underground pressure. This is lawlessness that the government urgently needs to address.”

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Molokele added that the situation reflects broader governance and enforcement challenges in mining communities, where unregulated artisanal mining continues to threaten both public safety and environmental health.

“Most of the cases that patients come with are physical wounds — largely injuries from violent clashes among the amakorokoza,” he said. “There’s a lot of violence happening there, and it is putting a heavy burden on an already under-resourced hospital.”

The committee, which began its tour on Monday in Inyathi before proceeding to Avoca in Insiza District (Matabeleland South), Gundura in Masvingo, and Mutiusinazita in Buhera (Manicaland), is compiling findings that will inform parliamentary recommendations.

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“We will produce a report that will have clear recommendations,” Molokele said. “The National Assembly will debate it, and the Minister of Health will use it to engage the Minister of Finance, especially in the upcoming budget process. We are hoping for a renewed focus on rural healthcare centres, which have been neglected and underfunded for many years.”

Molokele said the verification exercise — though limited by time and financial constraints — seeks to highlight conditions in at least one rural health facility per province.

The committee’s findings come at a time when Zimbabwe’s rural health infrastructure is under severe strain, with many facilities struggling with drug shortages, outdated equipment, and deteriorating buildings. The situation in Inyathi now adds a new dimension of danger — where illegal mining is not only threatening livelihoods but also public infrastructure meant to save lives.

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Painted Dog Conservation and Uncommon bring free coding school to Gwai Valley Primary

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), in partnership with technology-driven organisation Uncommon, is set to establish a free coding school at Gwai Valley Primary in Lupane District, marking a new chapter in community empowerment and education.

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Speaking during an interview with VicFallsLive, PDC operations director, David Kuvawoga said the initiative stems from the organisation’s long-term work with local schools through its children’s bush camps.

“In our quest to find solutions to the poaching crisis, and building on the work we’ve done with schools over the years, we identified Gwai Primary as a good location to start a coding school,” he explained. “We partnered with Uncommon, which already runs facilities in Harare and Victoria Falls, to bring this opportunity closer to rural communities.”

The school will be housed in container units equipped with computers and other necessary technology. According to PDC, the project will be led by youths from the Gwai community who underwent year-long training in Victoria Falls and are now prepared to teach children — and adults — the fundamentals of coding.

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“This is not just for schoolchildren,” the operations director said. “Anyone in the community with the passion to learn can join. What matters is the interest and commitment, not formal qualifications.”

Importantly, the programme will be free of charge. Both organisations confirmed that tuition, equipment, and running costs are fully covered through fundraising efforts.

“No one is going to pay a cent,” he said. “Just like our bush camps, which host over a thousand children every year without charge, this coding school is fully funded. All the community needs to do is embrace it.”

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PDC has previously supported communities through projects such as boreholes and gardens, but this marks its first major investment in technology. The director said the initiative has the potential to address unemployment, improve education, and give local youth world-class digital skills.

“Coding is a highly sought-after skill across the world,” he noted. “If young people here can learn it, they can secure jobs or even create employment for others. This is a brick in the foundation of uplifting Lupane, Hwange, and beyond.”

The coding school is expected to open in December at Gwai Valley Primary.

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Lupane police officer sentenced for tampering with mbanje evidence

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A 21-year-old constabulary officer in Lupane has been convicted after admitting he tampered with evidence in a drug possession case, effectively helping a suspect conceal part of the stash.

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The officer, Nqobile Mutale, was on duty at Lupane Terminus Base on the 18th of September when he arrested Thulani Sibanda, who had been implicated in unlawful possession of dagga/imbanje. Instead of handing over the full exhibit, Mutale struck a deal with Sibanda and hid part of the recovered drugs behind the police base.

Detectives later uncovered the hidden dagga, with Mutale leading them to the site during investigations.

Standing before the Lupane Magistrates’ Court, Mutale pleaded guilty to obstructing the course of justice. He was handed a 24-month sentence, with nine months suspended. The balance of 15 months was also suspended, provided he completes 525 hours of community service.

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