21 murders in Gwanda

BOTTLE stores in Gwanda which operate outside the stipulated times are a death trap as most of the murder cases recorded in the district occur at the drinking spots, a senior police officer has said.

The district recorded 21 murder cases during the first half of the year, compared to only seven during the same period last year.

Gwanda district police commander, Chief Superintendent Enock Sibanda revealed this at the re-launch of the ZRP Client Service Charter in Mbembeswana in Kezi on Wednesday.

Although he did not give figures of how many deaths were recorded at the drinking spots, he said the majority of the cases were recorded at bottle stores when they were open beyond the stipulated closing times.

“Murder cases in the district are happening at drinking places. We urge the business community to abide by the Liquor Act. If you have a bottle store it has time to open and close. Let’s follow these regulations. We have discovered that most of the cases happen well out of time. Let’s close our bottle stores at stipulated times,” said Chief Supt Sibanda.

“We know that some businesses are cocktails, restaurants, beer gardens but they are governed by the Liquor Act.

“However, other causes of murder are family disputes emanating from love and others blaming each other for practising witchcraft.

“These are small issues which shouldn’t lead to unnecessary loss of lives. Members of the public should seek counselling and desist from taking the law into their own hands.”

He said stock theft was another problem in the district, increasing by 12 percent from 297 last year to 334 this year.

Chief Supt Sibanda said there has been a decrease in cases such as assault, theft and unlawful entry and theft.

“Generally our district has been performing well in terms of crime and we have continuously received a decrease in some prevalent crimes,” he said. — @pamssmup