A suspected drug dealer who tried to escape after a police officer shot at his car and deflated all four tyres has appeared in court in Bulawayo.
Kalusha Makhosi Mthethwa, 23, of Nkulumane, appeared before Bulawayo provincial resident magistrate Themba Chimiso facing two counts of dealing in dangerous drugs. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. The court advised him to apply for bail at the High Court.
The dramatic arrest followed a police operation in the city centre on 19 September 2026, when officers received information that Mthethwa was selling drugs along George Silundika Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenue.
Prosecutor Josiphine Gurazhira told the court that police officers from Bulawayo Central Operations acted on the tip-off and went to the area at about 6pm. They found Mthethwa seated in the driver’s seat of a parked Honda Fit.
When he noticed the officers, Mthethwa allegedly started the car and attempted to get away by driving through the pavement. A police officer first fired a warning shot, but the driver did not stop. The officer then fired at the vehicle, hitting the tyres.
“Acting upon the information, police went to the said place and found Mthethwa seated in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle, a Honda Fit. Upon noticing the police officers, Mthethwa attempted to flee by driving through the pavement. A police officer fired a warning shot in a attempt to stop Mthethwa but he ignored.The officer then fired at the car, deflating all the tyres but the accused continued driving the vehicle with deflated tyres along George Silundika Street,” said Ms Gurazhira.
The damaged Honda Fit continued along George Silundika Street as officers followed. Despite travelling on deflated tyres, the vehicle reached Matopos Road near the Famona Fire Brigade Station, where police managed to apprehend Mthethwa.
Officers then searched the suspect and the car. On the passenger seat, they found 46 sachets of mbanje, US$1 451 in cash and R456.
The cannabis was taken to Bulawayo’s Main Post Office to be weighed in Mthethwa’s presence. It weighed 152 grammes and was given a street value of ZWG4 560. The dagga and money are expected to be produced in court as exhibits.
The search also uncovered a large quantity of cough medicine. Police recovered 20 100ml bottles of Broncleer, two 100ml bottles of Astrapain syrup, 12 empty 100ml Benylin bottles and 14 empty 100ml Broncleer bottles.
The medicines had a combined street value of ZWG3 180, the court heard. Their presence alongside the sachets of cannabis has placed the case within a growing pattern of drug-supply investigations involving both cannabis and codeine-based cough mixtures in Bulawayo.
The arrest came only weeks after separate anti-drug operations in the city led to the seizure of 31.8 kilogrammes of cannabis and nearly 450 bottles of Broncleer. In one of those operations, detectives arrested two people after recovering four cannabis cobs weighing about 1.8 kilogrammes, together with empty sachets used to repackage the drug.
A second raid at a house in Newton West produced a far larger haul. Police recovered 36 cannabis cobs weighing about 30 kilogrammes, 58 boxes of Broncleer containing 50 bottles each and another 447 loose 100ml bottles. The cough syrup was valued at US$26 429.
The Newton West operation also showed how quickly suspected suppliers can try to escape when detectives arrive. People at the property reportedly drove a white Honda Vezel into the yard, locked the gate and fled over a perimeter wall into nearby bushes. The vehicle was left behind as investigations continued.
Police have repeatedly appealed to residents to provide information about drug dealing, with intelligence from members of the public helping officers identify houses, vehicles and street-level distribution points.
Several of those cases involved Bulawayo residents and offences linked to dagga, dangerous drugs and unregistered medicines. The police statement said the force would continue its campaign against drug peddling and urged members of the public to report suspected dealing.
The latest case has also highlighted the increasingly brazen methods used by suspected dealers to avoid arrest. Mthethwa was not accused of simply running away on foot. He continued driving after the warning shot and after the tyres had been deflated, forcing officers to pursue the Honda Fit through the city streets before stopping him near the fire brigade station.
The police operation began in one of Bulawayo’s busy central streets, where pedestrians, motorists and businesses are concentrated. The decision to use a firearm against the fleeing vehicle brought the chase to a swift end, allowing officers to secure the suspect and preserve the car and its contents for investigation.
For now, Mthethwa remains in custody after his first court appearance. The case has placed another suspected street-level supplier before the courts at a time when police operations in Bulawayo are increasingly focused on the movement of dagga, cough mixtures and other substances through homes, vehicles and busy public areas.