Zim cops’ crackdown on drug users will only ‘worsen’ problem, say anti-drug campaigners

For the past three weeks, Zimbabwe’s police have conducted a countrywide crackdown on drug users and dealers, conducting door-to-door searches and making hundreds of arrests.

But anti-drug campaigners and former drug users say this is no solution to the country’s drug problem.

More than 2,000 drug users have been arrested and have appeared in courts across the country. Most have been denied bail and remain in remand prisons.

Anti-drug campaigner Zimbabwe Civil Liberties Drug Network says rehabilitation is a better solution to the country’s drug problem.

“The police’s programme is great, but mostly they are arresting the small drug users. After arresting these people they throw them in remand prisons and these prisons will be overpopulated ... This will worsen their situation instead of them being rehabilitated,” said the organisation’s Kuda Ziggy Madzima.

In this programme we are not sparing anyone who is committing a crime.

—  Paul Nyathi, police assistant commissioner 

“Let’s build rehabilitation centres for the public which are cheap. This crackdown operation should be taking these people and throwing them in rehabilitation centres to get treated and rehabilitated instead of throwing them in jails.

“Most of these drug users are sick, so they should be thrown in rehabilitation centres and when they come out they will be fine. Let’s help drug users and not punish them,” Madzima added.

Zimbabwe police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the crackdown on drugs would not be stopped.

“We are targeting not only the users and not only the consumers, we are also targeting the suppliers. In this programme we are not sparing anyone who is committing a crime.

People are being locked up daily from this side. Most people in drug dealing I know are in remand prisons after being denied bail.

—  A former addict from Harare

“We are following leads on information on people who are alleged to be supplying drugs to various communities even to colleges, schools and even in churches. We even had some church premises being used as planting grounds for drugs,” he said.

However, former drug addicts, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the police crackdown would not provide a long-term solution.

A man from Mabvuku, Harare, who says he is a former addict, said: “The police are arresting anyone who uses drugs, with the majority being drug dealers.

“People are being locked up daily. Most people in drug dealing I know are in remand prisons after being denied bail.

“But this is not the solution because the drug addicts, after they are released, will resume taking drugs again.”

Another former drug user said: “This crackdown will temporarily stop the drug trading, but it’s not a permanent solution to this drug problem.

“Drug trading has also become a livelihood for some people, and they feed their family through it during this economic meltdown.”

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