Arrest of vendor with disabilities in Harare sparks public outrage

The arrest of a vendor with disabilities at the corner of First Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue in Harare on Friday has sparked public outrage.

The man was reportedly arrested on the orders of newly appointed Local Government and Public Works permanent secretary Tafadzwa Muguti, who was accompanied by Harare municipal police officers and other council officials during an enforcement exercise.

He is being held at Harare Central Police Station and is expected to appear in court on Monday facing public nuisance charges.

Video footage of the arrest, which has been widely shared on social media, has drawn sharp criticism from members of the public.

One Facebook user wrote: “Those who don’t know this guy celebrated at him being Perm Sec. We who know him and worked with him will tell you he is hard-hearted. Let’s watch the space.”

Another commented: “This doesn’t make sense; seeing that guy vending should mean something. Our systems are failing. In caring societies, even in the 1980s and beyond, those individuals were found in institutions where they were being trained in trades in line with their abilities.”

A third user said: “This arrest and treatment of a vendor with disabilities is deeply concerning and must be condemned. Enforcement must never strip people of their dignity and rights.”

The arrest was made amid a nationwide crackdown on informal trading, but concentrated in Harare, under Operation Chenesa Harare.

The operation was launched by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe and Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume, with enforcement led by council officers and municipal police.

Under the operation, at least three hundred City of Harare municipal police officers have been put on 24-hour duty to stop illegal vending, pushcarts and other unauthorised activities in the city centre.

Informal traders operating from undesignated areas are being removed from the city centre and directed to approved trading sites.

The crackdown began on Wednesday, with enforcement initially focused around the intersection of E.D. Mnangagwa Road, formerly Enterprise Road, and Samora Machel Avenue.

The deployment follows a seven-day Government directive giving vendors operating from unauthorised sites until 9 September to relocate.