For a few tense minutes on Saturday evening, the centre of Bulawayo became a dangerous stage for a high-speed police chase, with gunshots ringing out as officers pursued a blue Honda Fit through busy city streets.
Pedestrians ran for cover shortly after 6pm when several shots were heard along George Silundika Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. The vehicle was being followed after officers tried to stop it near Watering Hole, where witnesses said police opened fire during the attempt to bring the driver to a halt.
Armed officers, some carrying AK-47 rifles, were seen running after the vehicle while police cars joined the chase. At one point, two officers were reportedly picked up by an unidentified gold-coloured Toyota, which then became part of the pursuit.
The chase moved towards 11th Avenue. A white police Toyota pickup, two Honda Fits and the gold-coloured vehicle were seen following the blue car as motorists and pedestrians tried to keep out of the way.
Mtetwa’s escape ended near Famona Fire Brigade when the Honda Fit mounted a curb and crashed. Police arrested him at the scene, bringing to an end a pursuit that had taken place in one of the city’s busiest areas.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said Mtetwa was arrested on September 19 at about 6pm in connection with the unlawful possession of drugs.
“A search of the vehicle, a blue Honda Fit GE6, registration number AHR 7991, allegedly resulted in the recovery of several sachets of dagga and Gorilla Glue, as well as Bronclear and Astra Pain syrups,” he said.
The substances named by police reflect the mix of drugs that has increasingly featured in recent operations across Bulawayo. Cannabis, crystal methamphetamine and illicit cough syrups have all appeared in cases handled by detectives in the city, while residents have accused Mtetwa of distributing Bronco, marijuana (mbanje), Xanax and other substances to young people.
The arrest came as detectives continued a series of operations aimed at disrupting the supply of drugs in neighbourhoods and the city centre.
In Makokoba, police operations on consecutive days placed the high-density suburb at the centre of the latest crackdown. On September 5 at around 5am, detectives arrested 36-year-old Monalisa Sindisiwe Cheche at her home after receiving information that she was in possession of dangerous drugs.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department Drugs and Narcotics Unit found Cheche in her bedroom and identified themselves before carrying out a search. Five transparent sachets containing suspected crystal methamphetamine were found in the pocket of the jacket she was wearing.
“Five transparent sachets containing Crystal Methamphetamine were recovered in the pocket of the jacket which the accused was wearing,” said Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Thandekile Ndlovu.
Cheche was asked to produce a licence or permit authorising her to possess the drugs but failed to do so. She was arrested and the substance was seized. The five sachets weighed two grams and had an estimated street value of ZWG750.
The arrest followed another operation in Makokoba in which 11 people, nine men and two women, were arrested. Among them was former Highlanders, FC Platinum and CAPS United midfielder Joel Ngodzo, the 2019 Soccer Star of the Year.
The suspects were observed smoking dagga inside a barber shop along 7th Street during surveillance by CID Drugs and Narcotics detectives on September 4. They were asked to produce a permit or licence allowing them to smoke dagga, but did not have one.
All 11 pleaded guilty and were fined between US$200 and US$300, with prison terms hanging over them if they failed to pay. Ngodzo was jointly charged with unlawfully smoking dagga.
During the court proceedings, one of the accused, Aaron Phiri, explained his reason for smoking the drug in a statement that drew laughter in the courtroom.
“Dagga makes me run, I feel better and can have a peaceful sleep at night,” he said.
Bulawayo Magistrate Themba Chimiso responded with a stern warning, declaring that Zimbabwe was in a “war against drugs”.
The Makokoba arrests followed a major operation in Tshabalala and Newton West in early August. Detectives arrested Annet Sebele, 38, after receiving information that she was allegedly operating a drug supply business from her home. They recovered four cobs of dagga weighing 1.8 kilogrammes and valued at ZIG28,000, together with empty sachets believed to have been prepared for packaging the drug.
Sebele allegedly implicated Fortune Tshabalala, 42, who was later arrested at a nearby house believed to have been used as a storage facility. In Newton West, detectives keeping watch over another property saw suspects arrive in a white Honda Vezel. When officers identified themselves, the suspects allegedly drove into the yard, locked the gate and escaped on foot by jumping over a perimeter wall into nearby bushland.
A search of the property produced 36 cobs of dagga weighing about 30 kilogrammes, 58 boxes of Broncleer cough syrup containing 50 bottles of 100 millilitres each, and another 447 loose 100ml bottles. Police estimated the value of the recovered drugs at US$26,429.
The August operation showed the scale at which cannabis and cough syrups can move through local supply networks. The later arrests in Makokoba involved much smaller quantities, but the cases have brought attention to the different levels of the drug trade, from alleged supply operations to possession and use in public places.
The government’s response is set out in the Zimbabwe Multi-Sectoral Drug and Substance Abuse Plan 2024–2030, approved by Cabinet in April 2024. The plan covers supply reduction, demand reduction, treatment and rehabilitation, harm reduction, community reintegration and law enforcement. It describes drug and substance abuse as a growing threat to the country’s health, security, economy and social stability.
The health risks behind the police statistics are severe. Crystal methamphetamine can raise a person’s heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Repeated use can lead to addiction, serious dental damage, memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and psychosis. Large doses can cause seizures, stroke, heart attack and death.
Cannabis can impair learning, memory, attention and coordination. Long-term use can lead to dependence and can worsen mental-health problems in vulnerable people. Illicit cough syrups also raise concerns because they can be misused for their codeine content and combined with other substances.
Those risks have made the involvement of young people a central concern for families and authorities in Bulawayo. The allegations surrounding the distribution of Bronco, marijuana and Xanax, together with arrests involving people using dagga in a barber shop, have added to fears that drugs are becoming easier to obtain in ordinary neighbourhoods and social spaces.
For residents who witnessed Saturday’s chase, the immediate memory will be of gunfire, armed officers and vehicles racing through the CBD before the Honda Fit crashed near the fire brigade. For investigators, the arrest has added another suspect and another seized vehicle to a widening list of cases involving drugs in Bulawayo.
Police have appealed for residents to continue providing information about drug suppliers and storage points. As operations move from Makokoba and Newton West to the city centre, the latest chase has shown how quickly a drugs investigation can spill into public streets, placing pedestrians, motorists and police officers at risk.
Mtetwa remains in police custody following his arrest, while the substances recovered from the Honda Fit are expected to form part of the case against him. The pursuit may have ended at a concrete curb near Famona Fire Brigade, but the operations across Bulawayo are continuing.
The city’s recent arrests, court cases and seizures have turned the drug crackdown into a daily policing reality. Each operation brings a new location, a new substance and a new group of suspects into focus. In the centre of Bulawayo on Saturday night, it ended with a crash. In Makokoba, it ended with arrests, fines and a warning from the magistrate. Across Zimbabwe, the campaign is still gathering pace.