Return of Zambian vendors rattles merchants in Victoria Falls

While waiting for customers, Sikhulile Ngwenya, a local vendor at the Mkhosana market, carefully loads her stall with cabbages, carrots, avocados, tomatoes and choumolier, a dark green spinach-like vegetable with slightly crumpled leaves.

The Sound of local music playing on the radio at a shop not too far away reverberates through the market. housed in a red-brick structure, the market — one of two in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls city — is divided into 20 stalls, including Ngwenya’s, all displaying a variety of vegetables and fruit, neatly and attractively packed.

it is a busy area just behind a small shopping centre where taxis drop off and pick up Mkhosana residents.

This has been Ngwenya’s source of livelihood for more than 10 years.

“i have raised my four children from this vegetable stall,” she says.

But today she feels a constant threat and uncertainty looming over her livelihood.

The reopening of the Zimbabwe- Zambia border, more than two years after it was closed in 2020 as a precautionary measure to combat the coronavirus pandemic, paved the way for the return of vegetable vendors from neighbouring Zambia.

And even though the informal crosstrading relationship between Zambia and Zimbabwe has long been mutually beneficial, the return of Zambians has rattled vendors like Ngwenya, who say that their profits plummeted since the opening of the border and that the competition is no longer fair.

The “good business” during the pandemic has made Zimbabwean vendors realise, Ngwenya says, that Zambians are making money illegally “in our territory at no cost” and demand they be brought under the purview of law.

Zambia and Zimbabwe share similar social and cultural practices, making the movement of people between the countries easy.

Zambian vendors cross over from the nearby city of livingstone in their country to sell vegetables to residents of Victoria Falls, a tourism city on the Zimbabwean side.

in the early mornings, the Zambian vendors, popularly known as omzanga,

AN inquest into the death of a 23-yearold man who was fatally shot by a police officer while fleeing arrest began at Tredgold Magistrate courts in Bulawayo last Thursday.

The police officer, Assistant inspector erwart Zimbeva, stationed at ZRP luveve, fatally shot Thembani Dube (23) while he attempted to flee from being arrested.

According to prosecutors, the incident occurred on January 9, in Pelandaba West suburb around 4 pm.

The matter was heard by Bulawayo magistrate Musaiwona Shortgame.

Dube was on the police wanted list after he was reported for domestic violence by his girlfriend.

The court heard that while pursuing the deceased, Zimbeva fired two warning shots and he then tripped and accidentally fired the third shot which struck Dube leading to his death.

Narrating the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting, Zimbeva said that on the fateful day, he was pursuing Dube with his colleague, Constable Agreement Ncube.

“We received information to the effect that Dube was in Pelandaba where he was visiting his friend.

Zambians cross the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zimbabwe to sell their merchandise in Victoria Falls.

a Nyanja term meaning “friend,” cross the Victoria Falls Bridge — the only route from Zambia to Victoria Falls.

The omzangas can easily be identified by the effortless way in which they balance the containers loaded with vegetables on their heads, or the carefully tied merchandise on their backs, wrapped with bright, colourful fabric in bold designs, popularly known as zambias.

When borders were closed like elsewhere globally, cross-border trade was allowed only for the movement of large commercial goods, not for people.

As a result, local vendors enjoyed monopoly over the market because customers had no option but to buy vegetables from them, even if their prices were higher than those of their Zambian competitors.

But local vendors say locals know and understand the reasons for the higher prices.

The farms in Zambia are close by.

As a result, the Zambian vendors always have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

local vendors, on the other hand, have to get their vegetables from places like lupane, 264 kilometres (away; Bulawayo,

“When we arrived he was sitting outside and when he saw us he fled,”he said.

“We chased after him. he was about 10 metres away from us.

“i fired two warning shots into the air while chasing him and as i was about to fire the third one i tripped.

“i had not seen that there was a platform about 30cm high from the slab of an unfinished house to the ground.

“The firearm discharged a bullet which hit him on the back side of his neck and went out through his left eye.”

Zimbeva explained that when he fired the first two shots he was holding his firearm at an angle of 90 degrees as per the standard procedure.

Onias Dube, brother of the deceased, in cross-examination, alleged that the neighbours they spoke to said they only heard one gunshot, not three as narrated by the police officer.

Zimbeva dismissed the claims, stating that he had collected 10 rounds of ammunition from his station, two were recovered at the scene of the incident and seven were left unused.

435 kilometres away; and sometimes as far as harare, 874 kilometres away. This forces them to sell at higher prices because it costs more to acquire the produce.

it doesn’t help that local vendors must operate from their designated spots in the markets, for which they pay rent to the municipality, while the Zambian vendors can move door-to-door.

Ngwenya, who pays the Victoria Falls municipality $16 a month for her stall, says during the first government-mandated coronavirus lockdown, she made US$15 to US$25 a day, but now she makes US$10 to US$15 a day.

“Because vendors sell door-to-door, our customers no longer visit the market,” says Ngwenya.

“This is now a threat to our livelihoods as we no longer sell much because residents would rather wait for the Zambian vendors sitting in their homes.”

The pandemic gravely affected tourism here, and many people were laid off.

With no Zambian vendors in the picture then, many Zimbabweans took up selling vegetables as a means of livelihood.

But after the border opened, and

Ncube told the court that he was present when the shooting occurred, and Dube was shot while fleeing from them.

“i was about two metres ahead of Asst insp Zimbeva while Dube was about three metres in front of me,” he said.

“he fired twice and on the third shot, i saw Dube stagger and fall to the ground.

“i was actually shocked that he had been shot. everything happened so fast.

“i ran over to him and he was bleeding but he was still conscious.

“Asst insp Zimbeva also rushed to where i was and he kept saying it was unfortunate that he had tripped resulting in the shooting.”

Another witness, edward Ngwena of ZRP Pumula, said he was called to the scene after the shooting had occurred.

“When i arrived there i found Dube lying on the ground being attended to by the ambulance personnel,” Ngwena said.

“i also observed that there was a lot of blood that had been lost by Dube.”

Responding to the magistrate on how police officers should handle firearms when firing warning shots, Ngwena,

months later when restrictions were lifted completely, they realised that Zambians were “stealing” the local clientele and they needed to address the issue, says Grace Shoko, vice chairperson of the Zambezi informal Cross Border Traders Association.

Shoko, whose organisation was founded in late 2021 in Victoria Falls to resolve issues between local and Zambian traders, says representatives of the association have spoken with authorities and vendors from both sides of the border to try to find a workable solution.

Naomi, a Zambian vendor who prefers that only her first name be used for fear of being targeted, says when she sells in Zimbabwe, she makes more money than when selling in Zambia because in Zimbabwe she sells in United States dollars, which she converts to Zambian kwacha back in her country, giving her a substantial amount.

“i understand that it is unfair that locals are not allowed to sell door to door, and we can,” she said.

“however … i am also doing what i can to support my family in Zambia.”

exact figures of informal cross-border trade are hard to come by because of its unrecorded nature, but such trade constitutes

who said he had 19 years of experience as an officer, said As st insp Zimbeva could have handled the situation differently to avoid the loss of life.

“There was an issue of negligence, Your Worship,” he said.

“The now deceased was being chased for domestic violence, it is not a grave offence that may have warranted warning shots.

“They could have just chased him without the use of the firearm.”

Ngwena noted that the law does not offer any immunity to police officers and should they be found on the wrong side of the law they should be prosecuted.

luveve Police Station officer in charge Pierce Nyathi, said Zimbeva was armed because they had received information from the complainant that Dube was an armed and dangerous criminal.

in cross-examination, Dube’s sister, Thobekile, inquired if any dangerous weapons were recovered from her brother after he had been shot to substantiate the allegations by Nyathi.

The deceased was not armed at the a major form of informal activity in most African countries.

in fact, in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), which includes Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, cross-border trading has an estimated value of about US$17.6 billion, which accounts for 30% to 40% of intra-Sadc trade.

even though informal cross-border traders carry different types of goods, trade in sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by food, particularly groceries and fresh produce.

Until recently, Zambian vendors coexisted with local vendors, without any large-scale resentment or demands.

But now, as most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, easing the movement of people, some vendors have come together to express this displeasure collectively, with the help of organisations like the Mkhosana vendors association lobbying for a level playing field and an end to what they say is undue advantage for Zambians.

Mercy Mushare, a member of the Mkhosana vendors association, says the group is in talks with the municipality to put in place bylaws that protect local vendors or build stalls for Zambian vendors.

“We are not saying Zambians should not come and sell, but they should abide by the same bylaws which we abide by.

They should not be at an advantage over locals,” says Mushare. (The association has a membership of about 300 vendors.)

The city’s bylaws stipulate that vendors should sell from designated places and not move around the city.

But the laws apply only to local vendors.

Mandla Dingani, spokesperson for the Victoria Falls municipality, says the municipality is well aware of the tension between omzangas and local vendors.

“We are in the process of coming up with a way of ensuring that even Zambian vendors sell from designated stalls and also pay a monthly fee for selling in Victoria Falls,” Dingani says.

Sibusiso Dube, a resident of Chinotimba, worries that strict action against Zambian vendors might eventually hurt the common Zimbabwean. “it is unfair for Zambian traders to have more freedom … but if Zambian traders are barred totally, we will suffer because local vendors will increase the prices of vegetables beyond the reach of many, as we experienced when borders were closed during Covid-19,” he says.

Standing in front of her stall, Ngwenya says what she knows is that she is suffering losses. Despite that, this is the only work she has known over the years, and switching to anything else now is out of the question for her.

— CITE

— Global Press Journal

time, Nyathi testified.

According to prosecutor Patience Dube, the bullet hit Dube at the back of his neck and the cause of death was as a result of a gunshot wound.

“On 9 January 2023 at around 1540 hours, the now deceased was seated at a house which is under construction at slab level.

“The now deceased was wanted at ZRP luveve, ZRP Bulawayo Central and ZRP Nkulumane on charges of Domestic violence. Police officers from ZRP luveve were doing follow-ups with a view to arresting him,” Dube said.

“Acting on their information, they proceeded to the house where upon arrival, the now deceased ran away after noticing the presence of the police officers.

“One of the police officers was armed with a CZ Pistol, he fired two warning shots in the air whilst pursuing the now deceased, he tripped during the process and accidentally fired the third round which hit the now deceased on the back of the neck and exited through the left eye.”