/ 28 October 2001

CHAOS IN ZIMBABWE (1)

SUSPECTED war veterans and the police are impounding maize from travelers from rural areas, and ordering them to sell it to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). Passengers and bus conductors yesterday complained of police harassment, saying the maize they carried was in small quantities and had been given to them by their relatives in the communal areas for their own consumption. “We have dropped hundreds of passengers at roadblocks where they are forced to sell the maize they have to the nearest GMB depot,” said conductor Laston Katungunde, whose bus plies the Harare-Chiweshe route. Police representative Wayne Bvudzijena refused to comment. – The Daily News