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Bulawayo is one of the few towns in Zimbabwe resembling some orderliness and we want to believe this is so because the city council is enforcing its by-laws. Vendors in the city are supposed to operate from designated areas hence the constant raids on illegal vendors by municipal police.

When the country was hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1992 Bulawayo recorded very few cases because of its cleanliness. We however continue to have challenges in suburbs such as Makokoba which apart from being overcrowded, has old sewage pipes which constantly burst resulting in raw sewage flowing in the streets thereby posing a health hazard to residents.

Bulawayo has managed to avoid what is obtaining in other cities and towns whereby vendors have occupied every inch of the pavements in the Central Business District because the city council insists that vendors should operate from designated points.

We want to commend the city fathers for this and hope other cities and towns will learn from the City of Kings. It is however regrettable that the Bulawayo City Council’s good intentions of  keeping the city clean and orderly are at times soiled by some overzealous municipal police officers’ high-handedness when removing illegal vendors from the streets.

We have reported numerous cases of brutal assault of vendors by municipal police who are supposed to just arrest the illegal vendors and hand them over to the police. The municipal police have in some cases mistaken innocent citizens for illegal vendors and assaulted them. It is not the responsibility of the municipal police to mete out justice on illegal vendors.

The municipal police’s brief is just to arrest illegal vendors and hand them over to authorities. The latest case of municipal police brutality involved a vendor, Mr Mark Chibanda, who they assaulted and left for dead on Thursday. Mr Chibanda, a fruit and vegetables vendor, sustained injuries following the assault and had to be rushed to United Bulawayo Hospitals in an ambulance.

According to vendors that witnessed the brutal assault, the municipal police handcuffed Mr Chibanda, tripped him before stomping on his head with booted feet. The officers only stopped when they realised that Mr Chibanda was unconscious. This brutality is unacceptable and the culprits should be brought to book.

We have already alluded to the fact that it is not the responsibility of municipal police to punish illegal vendors. At this juncture we call upon the city fathers to punish severely the rogue officers that tarnish the council image by abusing their powers. It is these few bad apples within the municipal police that should be weeded out.

The city fathers cannot continue to ignore reports of brutality against residents by its municipal police officers. We however do not condone disorderliness in the city and as such we fully support the exercise to rid the city’s streets of illegal vendors. The municipal officers should just arrest and not assault vendors. Those goods confiscated from the vendors should not be shared by municipal police officers as is being alleged by vendors but should be given back to the owners once their case has been dealt with.

The vendors on their part should strive to obtain vending licences and operate from designated places to avoid confrontation with municipal police.

It is a fact that most families are surviving on proceeds from vending given that Bulawayo was the worst affected by company closures.