Risking all for a pint of beer

WE were sharing lewd jokes and firing barbs at each other at an illegal drinking joint in Kuwadzana Extension, Harare, on Sunday evening when an army truck suddenly pulled up and people scattered in different directions.

“Vanamukoma vauya, mahwani atanga (The boys have arrived; we are in trouble),” one guzzler shouted as he made good his escape.

It was more of an automatic drill as some guzzlers hid in ditches, while others leapt into a nearby bushy area.

The daring ones dashed to safety in nearby houses. Experienced imbibers simply dropped their beer bottles and walked home as if nothing had happened. Unlucky fellows who were caught up in the melee were held by their waist belts and thrown into the truck.

Yours truly feigned car trouble and was told to drive home immediately.

“Iwe mudhara ibva pano nechimota chako (Hey old man, can you go away with your ramshackle vehicle),” shouted a youthful and friendly soldier while affording me time to drive off.

Such is the new normal wrought by the coronavirus.

It is no longer business as usual.

Playing hide-and-seek with law enforcement agents has become a way of life in the ghetto.

Coronavirus is wreaking havoc, yes, but people still want time away from home to quaff their beers and unwind from pressing demands of life like transport challenges and shorter working hours, which translate into reduced revenue. Now that shopping centres are heavily policed to flush out unscrupulous shop-owners, especially those who sell alcohol from the back door, guzzlers have since devised new ways to consume the wise waters.

Beer is now being served on the outskirts of high-density areas like Glen Norah, Highfield, Budiriro, Tafara, Mabvuku and Kuwadzana.

Some “enterprising” businesspeople are now selling chilled wise waters

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