‘Mashurugwis’ Confusion In Harare, Zimbabwe: Who Are These Guys?

There has been a Mashurugwis’ scare in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe after a machete and gun wielding squad has been spotted harassing some residents in Broadlands, Emerald Hill recently.

A message circulating on WhatsApp dated 15/01/2020 reads “Guys be safe hanzi mashurugwi at Avondale izvozvi attacking people. Those living in Emerald Hill near Broadlands beware.  A gan of machete and gun wielding thieves just attacked a home this afternoon (sic)”

In audio (voice) records accompanying this message circulating on social media, a lady from the same neighbourhood and a gentleman who resides opposite the house where the incident took place can be heard calling for help into the area.

She said that there was an attack happening in the area being undertaken by a gang of people who were using a vehicle that she only identified as a white car.

“Two of my staff have just been attacked, they have been threatened with guns and machetes to come into the yard. They have been strip searched, they have been, and everything that they had was stolen. They were looking for cell phones, whatever they were told that if that if they didn’t come in and lie on the grass they would be shot or whatever and its happening right now…” She narrated.

She ended the voice note (record) with an urgent call for help to the house.

On another voice note, a man who claims he resides opposite the house where the incident happened is heard calling for a meeting to address the issue of break-ins. He said there was need to beef up security in the area.

“It’s a tragic what happened, but I think we need to beef up security especially on Broadlands Road, so I would request if everybody can attend a meeting. We kept an urgent meeting at the same place where the robbing happened, House Number 113, this evening at 6pm. I would urge and I would appreciate if everybody can attend this meeting because this is happening too much, we cannot afford to have more break-ins or more attacks” the gentleman said.

Of recently, there have been negative and gruesome reports of machete carrying people who have been causing havoc in areas where there is rampant illegal gold panning.

An online news platform, 263Chat reported that about 200 people have already fallen victim to these groups whom some people have claimed have serious political connections that have allowed them to continue harassing people for a long time.

It is therefore not clear if the recent said robberies in Emerald Hill can be attributed to the same group that is after gold, the precious mineral or it’s just another offshoot that is now only specialising in the urban areas compared to the Mashurugwis who have been terrorizing mining areas.