Deserted stalls, silence, emptiness, and few people who were peeping from behind mounds of rubble and broken vending tables or carefully passing by to avoid a close range meeting with anti-riot police officers was the situation at vending sites near Mupedzanhamo Complex, one of the busiest areas in Mbare, Harare, when 263 times reporters visited the site on Tuesday.
The air is heavily laden with the smell of teargas sprayed by police details after the grotesque violence that erupted over the weekend as ruling Zanu Pf and opposition CCC aligned youths battled for control of the Mbare market places.
The violent clashes between marauding main opposition party CCC and the ruling Zanu Pf party youths left a trail of destruction at vending sites near Mupedzanhamo.
Zanu Pf and CCC youths were fighting for control of the area, where they respectively form space baron societies that control the vending stalls, reportedly charging US$5 levy from each vendor for them to operate in the area.
The situation reportedly led to the permanent closure of Mupedzanhamo Flea Market, a popular spot for second-hand clothes and shoes that was closed in 2021. Most traders now occupy the open spaces just outside the closed Mupedzanhamo.
In an interview with 263 times, an anonymous source said the police had closed all operations in the usually bustling area for SMEs as they tried to restore calm.
“We are always running, the police are throwing teargas canisters at us, there is no business, we are worried now. Our operations have been halted by the police, we no longer have money to feed our families,” said the source.
“We don’t know what is happening here, the police just came and started beating up people. We are worried that we can’t do business in a hostile situation like this.” said another trader who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, the battles, the latest having started Saturday, have left many vendors and residents alike afraid of what will happen next year when Zimbabwe holds the crunch 2023 general elections.
The police have confirmed the arrest of 13 people over the skirmishes.