Scores of commuter omnibus drivers and touts in Gwanda have resorted to pasting President Robert Mugabe’s pictures on their vehicles and wearing Zanu PF election campaign regalia in a bid to escape arrest by the police.
Albert Ncube Own Correspondent
Some drivers who spoke to Southern Eye said they were wearing regalia and pasting posters to avoid being stopped at roadblocks by traffic officers.
Commuter operators complain that police set up numerous roadblocks so they could demand bribes.
“Most of the time you are allowed to proceed at roadblocks because you have these posters or you are wearing a Mugabe T-shirt. It pays especially when you consider the number of roadblocks on our highway,” a kombi driver, who requested anonymity, said.
A tout who wore a Mugabe T-shirt and cap said he was doing so to avoid being arrested for touting by police who usually raid them.
“These are survival tactics and when its election time like this, we avoid arrest by wearing regalia, but no-one knows how I will vote because my vote is a secret,” he said.
Transport operators have for sometime accused police officers of erecting too many roadblocks, saying this eroded their income as they paid exorbitant fines.