51 Zimbabwe bus drivers arrested as transport crisis bites

Harare – Fifty-one bus drivers were arrested for overcharging this weekend in the Zimbabwean capital Harare as riot police were brought in to control crowds of desperate travellers, official media reported Sunday.

Thousands of would-be travellers were stranded at Harare’s main railway station, unable to catch trains for the holiday weekend, according to the Sunday Mail.


Fuel shortages and a government directive to slash bus fares have contributed to a critical shortage of transport in Zimbabwe, which is trapped in its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980.

The 51 bus drivers were arrested on Saturday, according to the Sunday Mail.

‘They have been forced to pay 40,000 Zimbabwe dollar fines and some will be prosecuted for repeatedly overcharging,’ a police spokesman said.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur