Mbanje and mutoriro-loving police officers in hot soup as Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba breathes fire

HARARE — Police officers whose use of mbanje, mutoriro and other substances affects their ability to work face dismissal from the Zimbabwe Republic Police after Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba warned that addiction has entered the force.

Mutamba delivered the warning in Harare while addressing senior and junior officers at the Commissioner-General of Police 2026 Sports Gala. He said some members had become so dependent on drugs that they were no longer able to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

“It would be amiss if I do not talk of the scourge of drug and substance abuse,” he said.

“This is not only a problem to the country but it has permeated into our rank and file.”

The police chief said the force was expected to pursue drug syndicates, cartels, peddlers and users, making it unacceptable for officers involved in that fight to be users themselves or to be compromised by addiction.

“As the Zimbabwe Republic Police, we are mandated to fiercely fight against drug syndicates and cartels as well as apprehend peddlers and users,” he said.

“It is highly inappropriate and inconceivable to have peddlers and users in our midst.”

He made it clear that officers who could not perform their duties because of drug addiction would not be protected by their uniforms or positions.

“I am informed that some members are no longer able to perform their duties due to drug addiction. We cannot tolerate this as a law enforcement organisation.

“Decisive action must be taken and if it means chucking them out, let it be.”

The warning comes at a time when cases involving police officers and dangerous drugs have continued to emerge. In July, John Mashoko, a 37-year-old police officer attached to the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit in Beitbridge, appeared before a Harare magistrate over allegations that he smuggled more than 40 kilogrammes of mbanje and pharmaceutical medicines containing codeine into Zimbabwe.

The contraband was allegedly brought through illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River. Investigators said Mashoko used a grey Toyota Axio to transport the drugs from the river before the vehicle was placed under surveillance at Buffalo Lodge along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road.

Police later searched the vehicle and allegedly recovered 40.8 kilogrammes of compressed mbanje and 200 bottles of BronCleer cough syrup from the boot. The haul, together with the vehicle and two Samsung mobile phones, was valued at about US$50,960.

Mashoko was facing charges of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of unregistered medicines. A charge of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer was listed as an alternative. The case struck directly at the credibility of the unit responsible for fighting narcotics, because the officer was stationed in a department charged with stopping the movement of drugs across the border.

Earlier this year, Knowledge Maposa, 32, a ZRP officer in Gwanda, was convicted and fined US$300 after mbanje was found in his room at police premises. The search also recovered a J-pipe used for smoking crystal methamphetamine. Maposa was ordered to pay the fine or serve three months in prison if he failed to do so.

The cases have placed renewed attention on the difference between an officer who seeks help for addiction and one who continues to report for duty impaired, mishandles a weapon, leaks sensitive information, interferes with evidence or allows criminal networks to operate from inside the service.

Police officers carry firearms, handle exhibits, obtain confidential information and exercise considerable power over members of the public. Their decisions are often made in tense situations where a moment of poor judgement can have serious consequences. An officer affected by drugs is therefore not only dealing with a private health problem; the impairment can affect the safety of colleagues, suspects and ordinary citizens.

The force is also expected to arrest dealers and dismantle networks that supply substances to young people and communities. That responsibility becomes harder to defend when officers are themselves accused of possessing, transporting or using the drugs they are meant to seize.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police has continued to publicise arrests in the wider campaign against drug and substance abuse. In a February 2025 statement, the force listed 17 people arrested between January 8 and February 11 for offences ranging from possession of mbanje and cocaine to possession of crystal methamphetamine, cultivation of cannabis and the illegal holding of unregistered medicines.

Among the cases listed were the seizure of 251 kilogrammes of mbanje from one suspect, 34 kilogrammes from two people stopped along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road, and smaller quantities of cocaine and crystal meth in Harare, Mutare and other areas. The force urged members of the public to provide information through its National Complaints Desk and WhatsApp line.

The police campaign has also previously involved its own members. In 2021, Support Unit officer Berlin Dombodzvuku was arrested in Marondera after detectives received information that he was carrying mbanje in a Toyota Sienta. He was later jailed for possession of the illicit drug.

Mutamba’s latest intervention links the disciplinary question to the broader fight against drugs. He warned that operational excellence required mental and physical resilience, and said an officer unable to function because of addiction could not remain in a position of trust.

“You will all agree with me that operational excellence requires both mental and physical resilience,” he said.

The remarks were made at a sports gala involving about 2,373 participants drawn from all police provinces. Officers competed in athletics, men’s and women’s football, volleyball, tennis, chess, squash and javelin, among other events.

Mutamba said sport could strengthen fitness, discipline, teamwork and decision-making. He urged police stations, including those in remote areas, to maintain sporting facilities that support wellness and healthy routines.

“In an increasingly demanding policing environment, sports provide an important platform for stress management, wellness and personal development,” he said.

“The qualities revealed on the sporting field are the same required of every police officer in the execution of police duties.”

The sporting programme, however, is only one part of the response required inside the force. Officers battling addiction need access to confidential counselling, rehabilitation and mental-health support before their condition affects their work. At the same time, members who repeatedly endanger the public, compromise investigations or ignore intervention must face firm disciplinary action.

The police service cannot demand discipline from citizens while overlooking serious indiscipline among its own ranks. Nor can it allow an officer involved in the drug trade to use police authority as cover. The message from the Commissioner-General is that uniforms, rank and specialist assignments will not provide shelter for officers who abuse drugs or undermine the work of the service.

For the ZRP, the challenge now is to turn the warning into sustained action: identify officers in trouble, offer help where it can save a career, remove those who remain a danger, and ensure that every member entrusted with a firearm and public authority is fit to serve.

There must be no sacred cows in that process. The same force that hunts down drug dealers must also keep its own house in order.