Harare Deploys 300 Municipal Police in 24-Hour Vending Crackdown

By Staff Reporter | Harare

The City of Harare has deployed at least 300 municipal police officers as authorities intensify a crackdown on illegal vending, pushcarts and other unauthorised activities in the capital’s central business district.

The operation, code-named Operation Chenesa Harare, began on Wednesday, with enforcement initially focused around the intersection of E.D. Mnangagwa Road, formerly Enterprise Road, and Samora Machel Avenue. Authorities say the campaign will see informal traders operating from undesignated areas moved to approved trading sites as Government and council seek to restore cleanliness, order and ease of movement in the city.

The deployment follows a seven-day Government directive giving vendors operating from unauthorised sites until September 9 to relocate. Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said the council was also moving towards 24-hour municipal police patrols to prevent traders and other unauthorised activities from returning after officers finish their normal shifts. “We have noticed that there is a lacuna where our police officers are finishing their work at 5 pm,” Mafume said.

“We are going to institute 24-hour patrols and regular patrols around the city so that there will be continuous policing 24/7.” The mayor said municipal police could not continue operating only during daytime hours while illegal activities resumed after officers had left.

Mafume previously said the number of officers deployed could be increased beyond 300 depending on conditions on the ground. The initial approach, he said, would focus on encouraging vendors to move to designated trading areas before stronger enforcement measures were applied. Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said Operation Chenesa Harare was part of a broader Government programme to improve cleanliness, public order and healthy living standards.

He rejected suggestions that the operation was being conducted primarily to prepare Harare for an upcoming international event. “This programme is not targeted for any major event that is likely to come,” Garwe said. “This is the life that we must now be accustomed to, of cleanliness, of orderliness, of reorganising.”

The minister said the operation would begin in the CBD before extending to other areas, including Samora Machel Avenue, Julius Nyerere Way, Leopold Takawira Street and the Avenues. Pushcarts are also being targeted, with Garwe arguing that they contribute to congestion and obstruct the movement of vehicles and pedestrians. “No to selling mangoes, oranges, clothes or shoes. No to plying trade in the central business district. And no to pushcarts in the central business district,” he said.

The authorities' position has, however, been balanced by acknowledgement that informal trading provides livelihoods for thousands of Zimbabweans. Garwe said Government recognised the economic circumstances that had driven many people into vending and insisted that the operation was not intended as a “declaration of war” against vendors or formal traders. The Zimbabwe National Vendors Association has also urged its members to comply with the directive and operate from designated areas.

Meanwhile, concerns remain over whether alternative trading locations have sufficient customer traffic and facilities to support traders who depend on busy CBD locations. ZBC reported that some designated vending areas remain underutilised, while its reporting also highlighted concerns from traders that moving away from established customer concentrations could affect their incomes.

The council has pointed to existing markets, including Mbare, as evidence that designated trading infrastructure is available. Mafume has argued that vendors should make use of council-provided facilities rather than occupying pavements and roadways. The latest crackdown is therefore not simply about removing vendors from the streets but also about maintaining cleared areas once enforcement officers leave.

The introduction of round-the-clock patrols is intended to close that enforcement gap and prevent vendors from returning to previously cleared locations. The government has indicated that the campaign will eventually extend beyond Harare as authorities seek to establish common standards of cleanliness and urban order across Zimbabwe. For Harare, the immediate challenge will be balancing the restoration of public spaces with the livelihoods of thousands of informal traders who rely on the city’s busiest areas for customers.

The success of Operation Chenesa Harare will ultimately depend not only on enforcement, but also on whether designated markets can provide traders with accessible, viable, and properly serviced alternatives.

Harare has deployed at least 300 municipal police officers and introduced 24-hour patrols to enforce a crackdown on illegal vending and pushcarts.

Operation Chenesa Harare