Own Correspondent
Police in Bulawayo have launched a blitz against illegal foreign currency dealers operating in the environs of the Tredgold Magistrate’s Court.
Police said 150 dealers, known locally as ‘osiphatheleni’, had been arrested on Tuesday alone after Chief Justice Luke Malaba last week demanded action.
“We’re going to sustain our raids. We believe Bulawayo people are reasonable and we hope that the message will be heard. Such levels of lawlessness cannot be tolerated,” said Bulawayo police spokesman Abednico Ncube.
Hundreds of illegal money changers operate around the courts at the corner of Fort Street and Leopold Takawira, in front of the Chicken Inn fast food outlet.
Police say the dealers are hampering local businesses by parking their vehicles all day, while also blocking pavements.
Former Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono once referred to the area as the ‘World Bank’.
During a tour of the Tredgold courts in the company of Local Government Minister July Moyo, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Bulawayo minister Judith Ncube last Friday, Chief Justice Malaba asked authorities to crack the whip.
“There can never be a marriage between illegality and justice, so activities of an illegal nature must never be part and parcel of the justice system be it externally or internally,” Malaba said.
“We hope that those activities in the environs or surroundings of Tredgold Building that are not wholesome must be stopped and I don’t think we should have a compromise on that issue.
“I, for one, want to see the resident minister (Ncube) and the powers-that-be of Bulawayo dealing with this illegality once and for all and ensure that this environment is healthy, respects and protects justice.
“I find it difficult to understand that you can have people allowing illegal changing of money outside this building and sometimes inside the building and it’s seen as normal. This is a fountain of justice; a temple of justice and we all know what Jesus said when he got to the temple and found activities that were not healthy. He put a bit of some switch and I won’t do that, but I think my tongue is enough.”
