Harare City Council Cracks Down on Street Children in CBD

Harare
City
Council
spokesperson
Stanley
Gama
said
the
street
children
had
become
a
“menace
in
the
city,
harassing
residents
and
stealing
from
them,”
with
reports
of
them
targeting
women
and
snatching
food
and
valuables.
He
said:

“Muni­cipal
police
officers
led
by
Chief
Super­in­tend­ent
Mhizha
roun­ded
up
street
kids
in
the
Cent­ral
Busi­ness
Dis­trict.

“The
street
kids
are
becom­ing
a
men­ace
in
the
city,
har­ass­ing
res­id­ents
and
steal­ing
from
them.

“The
street
kids
in
the
city
have
also
become
notori­ous
for
com­mit­ting
hor­rendous
crimes.”

Gama
added
that
all
the
street
kids
were
taken
to
the
police.

The
youngsters,
reportedly
aged
between
5
and
20,
have
created
a
climate
of
fear
by
snatching
mobile
phones,
purses,
and
food,
and
aggressively
targeting
women’s
accessories
such
as
wigs
and
jewellery.

Africa
Unity
Square,
Harare
Gardens,
and
the
areas
around
Town
House
are
among
the
worst-hit
locations,
where
street
children
are
said
to
be
causing
chaos
and
stealing
people’s
belongings.