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Showbiz Reporter
Bars and leisure spots have been closed for the past three months and with the Covid-19 scourge continuing to ravage Zimbabwe, their opening looks unlikely in the short term.

However, this has not stopped people from looking for fun around Bulawayo as leisure spots have popped up in people’s houses.

The ban on public gatherings was at first adhered to by people, as they were afraid of contracting Covid-19.

But with people being holed up at their homes for the past three months, some of them have come up with plans to unwind and have fun in an environment that has loud music and alcohol.

As such, shebeens that had been quiet for a long time, started having a new lease of life as people started patronising them in their droves for entertainment.

There is one that is being patronised by prominent business-people and socialites in Nketa 7 which has bouncers and a VIP lounge. Due to its exclusivity, it has increased in popularity.

Some have been leaving their homes in the eastern suburbs to party in the western areas on weekends. They have had to contend with police raids with shebeens in areas like Luveve, Gwabalanda, Nketa, Nkulumane, Lobengula and Mzilikazi having the most frequent raids.

With police and soldiers having stepped up lockdown enforcement recently, someone came up with a brilliant idea to have a similar shebeen setting in the low-density areas of Burnside, Matsheumhlophe, Hillside, Morningside and Malindela.

Some houses in these neighbourhoods have been turned into shebeens and have been a hive of activity for the past month and a half or so. To evade police, they have been under the radar.

They have become the nightclubs that people now miss, complete with disco lights and a DJ on the decks, barmen and ladies serving guests. They sell alcohol and even food in some instances.

In the houses, one can get the experience of starting off their night at Smokehouse, then move on to either BAC Leisure or Crystal or even the now defunct Club Eden. There is also some added experiences in the houses of being at Pub Lagondola with its shebeen feel.

During the parties, people are sanitised when they enter, but social distancing is thrown out of the window as people will be packed in the houses dancing close to each other.

The more alcohol consumed, the more reckless people become. Masks become a deterrent and are put in pockets or handbags while others share cups with various concoctions of alcohol.

Neighbours in the often-sleepy suburbs are not impressed with the added traffic and noise that has come with the shebeens. Of late, police have raided some of these places and rounded up the proprietors and some revellers who would have been found there.

Some have toned down the noise completely by removing the DJ and just providing a place for people to drink and enjoy their night while having a chat over drinks.

It is clear that shebeens and house parties where the VIP treatment is second to none, have taken over and when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, it will likely be difficult for bars and nightspots to reclaim their space.