By way of background, I am a duly registered and licensed commuter omnibus operator plying the City-Chitungwiza route.
By Jameson Tadiwa Of late there has been a disturbing trend where some unscrupulous members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Harare Municipal Police have been unfairly treating law-abiding commuter omnibus operators plying the City-Chitungwiza route by wantonly and unjustifiably impounding their commuter omnibuses on the pretext that their drivers have allegedly picked up some passengers from the undesignated pick-up point at the Robert Manyika Avenue/Julius Nyerere Way intersection on occasions prior to the dates when the vehicles are impounded.
It has come to my attention that there is a corrupt and brutal syndicate involving ZRP officers, municipal police officers and some runners who harass and victimise law-abiding transport operators for not giving them bribes. This syndicate shields unscrupulous operators who are willing to pay bribes by ensuring that their vehicles are never impounded even if they pick and drop passengers at undesignated points like the Robson Manyika/Julius Nyerere intersection.
You can actually witness these corrupt police officers docilely standing by this intersection whilst commuter omnibuses belonging to a certain clique of operators are illegally picking up some passengers.
As if that is not enough, these errant operators who breach road regulations with reckless abandon are known to bribe police officers at the various roadblocks on the City-Chitungwiza route, that is Seke Road flyover, at or around Maruta shopping centre, Water Tanks and St Mary’s Police Station bus stop.
The real reason why our commuter omnibuses are being targeted by these rogue elements is that we are not part of their corrupt network. Is it a crime to be a law-abiding citizen? Should this behaviour continue unchecked, we will be driven out of business and adherence to ethics will become a liability.
The police force’s reputation has been irreparably tarnished and I appeal to the powers-that-be to deal with this situation as a matter of urgency.
