By Patience Gondo
POLICE in Matebeleland South have asked all bar operators to adhere to scheduled closing times as violent crime including murders rock the country.
The police provincial spokesperson Chiratidzo Dube said a surge in late night violence has left several people dead and injured across the province and the country.
Speaking to Ziyah News network Dube said most muders occur at nightspots operating beyond permitted hours, where drunken disputes escalate into fatal attacks.
Her remarks come after the Zimbabwe Depublic Police (ZRP) released a statement expressing concern over a spike in murder cases linked to late night drinking spots across the country.
On December 1 2025, Taurai Hungwe (29) was stabbed once in the chest with an okapi knife at Tropical Night Club in Beitbridge after an altercation with a man only identified as Prosper.
Hungwe was taken to Beitbridge District Hospital, where he died on 3 December. The suspect is still at large.
Three days later, on December 4 Kudakwashe Mudyanevana (27) died after being struck on the head with an axe at a bottle store at Claremont Business Centre in Fort Rixon.
The attacker known only as Tshuks was reportedly drinking with four others when they allegedly began assaulting patrons before fatally striking Mudyanevana, who died while being ferried to Filabusi Hospital.
Police are yet to arrest the group.
Another murder occurred on December 5 at Chibhawabhawa, Battlefields, where Leonard Chidhoma (45) was attacked by two unidentified men while drinking beer.
The assailants accused him of spreading falsehoods about them. His body was later discovered in his room on December 6.
On December 7 in Bulawayo’s Magwegwe North, Mongiwethu Godnows Dube (26) was fatally stabbed after confronting Keith Dube (26) in a revenge dispute stemming from an earlier incident in which Keith had beer splashed on him during a snooker game.
Police say the pattern shows a worrying trend of minor disagreements rapidly turning deadly, especially at drinking spots operating beyond legal hours.