By ILYANA Sithole, ZIMBA WAVE MEDIA, Harare
With petty crimes ranging from disorderly contact, wig snatching, trespassing and scams such as “feja-feja”, “chadonha”, shoe polishing and a variety of tricks being used by criminals to steal from unsuspecting victims, the streets of Harare CBD have now become uncomfortable for people to walk freely.
Petty crimes are on the rise as a result of economic hardships. For most criminals, this is their best way out of poverty as they have failed to access the economic opportunities their parents had and the only way to make ends meet according to them is to resort to crime.
Unfortunately for petty criminals in Harare CBD, hurricane #ngwarapatown has hit them. A passionate Tafadzwa Chidawa is at the forefront of a team of trained personnel from different sectors of security, in a storm to expose thugs and how they operate.
Although he was not at liberty to share his status about his affiliation with the Zimbabwe Republic Police, he was able to share his passion of creating a crime free Zimbabwe and what better way to start if not the streets of Harare. He says, “he felt pity after seeing victims of these shenanigans looking hopeless after losing their valuables”.
In one of his post on Facebook and Instagram, the video shows a young man being stopped by him to be assisted after he had lost the $4 he had to a “feja-feja” scam. The team takes the boy back to the culprits to have his money reimbursed and give him advise on how to conduct his business to avoid such petty scams and those at the helm of the scam are taken to Harare Central Police Station.
In the fight against crimes, the police are at the forefront. The streets are full of plain clothes officers and also officers in uniform who are doing their jobs well. The criminal culture is however changing and petty crimes can not be eradicated over night with old school tactics. #ngwarapatown is an initiative that shows faces of criminals and creates awareness of hot-spots where these crimes take place like Market Square, the footbridge adjacent to Town House, Julius Nyerere and Jason Moyo among others.
Obviously a lot still needs to be done to curb the rise in such atrocities. The general public needs to be aware of their surroundings and through this initiative they are being equipped with knowledge on how to handle themselves in public to avoid falling prey. At the very least, Tafadzwa Chidawa is informing the public and educating them of scams to be aware of.
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