Over 1,000 Arrested In Harare Mushikashika Crackdown
Police have arrested over 1,000 people in Harare since the launch of its latest blitz targeting pirate taxis (mushikashika), touts, and reckless drivers.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on Saturday said that a total of 1,050 arrests have been made in Harare alone since 22 July 2025.
The ongoing operation is part of a wider effort to restore order on the city’s roads and clamp down on unregulated public transport operations.
According to the ZRP, among those arrested, 479 vehicles operating as illegal pirate taxis were impounded.
Shockingly, police say 10 of these have been confirmed as stolen, with investigations now being handled by the Criminal Investigations Department’s Vehicle Theft Squad (CID VTS).
Police also revealed that some of the impounded pirate taxis were not registered with the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR).
In addition, 308 touts were apprehended during the operation. According to the ZRP, a number of them have already appeared in court and been remanded to 31 July 2025, while others opted to pay deposit fines.
Repeat offenders are being screened for possible tougher legal consequences.
The operation also recorded 551 incidents of motorists fleeing police checkpoints, with officers noting that the registration numbers of these vehicles have been flagged.
The ZRP also announced that it will soon publish a list of the violators’ licence plate numbers to aid in their identification and arrest. *Pindula*
*Operation Dudula Leader Says Zimbabweans Living In South Africa Think They Are Special*
Operation Dudula president Zandile Dabula has criticised Zimbabweans for what she described as a tendency to take offence too easily when South Africans raise concerns about illegal immigration.
Speaking on the “King David Studio Podcast”, Dabula claimed that many Zimbabweans behave as if they are entitled to stay in South Africa, regardless of their legal status. She said:
I don’t know why Zimbabweans think they are special. Every time when you talk of foreigners, they are the first ones to respond.
Immediately, when you talk of illegal immigrants, the first response you will get, even on a social media platform, is a Zimbabwean.
They feel so entitled that they are supposed to be here.
As the head of Operation Dudula, Dabula leads a movement that campaigns against undocumented immigrants.
Although the group enjoys support from segments of the South African public, it has faced persistent criticism for allegedly promoting xenophobia—an accusation its leaders continue to reject.
On the podcast, Dabula and fellow member Ayanda Ndlovu acknowledged that crime is not limited by nationality, but claimed that foreign nationals now play a major role in South Africa’s criminal activities.
They argued that crime levels have worsened since the influx of undocumented immigrants.
*the South African*
