THERESA ZIBOWA
MIRROR REPORTER

CHIKOMBA— Chikomba Ward 16 villagers are in distress following the closure of a Police base in their area leaving them prone to rampant stock theft cases, robbery and other heinous crimes.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) closed its base at Nharira Business Center mid-May and the nearest Police outpost is now Chivhu Police Station some 30km away.
The post covered farming communities as Banza, Bvumbura, Mudavanhu, and Lancashire which have been hit hard by stock theft cases since the closure.
Mashonaland East Police spokesperson Inspector Simon Chazovachiyi said they had no option except to pullout because the premises were no longer conducive for operations.
“The withdrawal of Police from Nharira was that the environment was no longer conducive since we were now sharing the same premises with Nharira-Lancashire Dairy Co-operative employees. The area was no longer secure for our officers,” he said.
Nharira Police base was established over 20 years ago and was manned by officers from Chivhu Police Station on a rotation basis.
Nharira-Lancashire Dairy Co-operative owns the premises and some of its employees are now staying at the premises. Police was left with a single room that is affected by high traffic of employees.
Efforts to get a comment from the dairy were futile.
Villagers who spoke to The Mirror expressed concern at the closure and called for the reinstatement of the base. They argued that lawlessness is increasing since the base was closed.
Nharira Business Community member and Gwangu lodges manager, Daniel Chidembo said there is need for the Police post to be re-opened.
“It’s a shock that Nharira no longer has a Police outpost. Looking at the rate of crimes that happen in Nharira, we cannot operate without a Police base.
“We recorded high crime rates when Police was stationed here and now that they are gone we fear that crime might increase tenfold. Something needs to be done to make sure that the Nharira community gets a Police base,” said Chidembo.