BULAWAYO’S western suburbs are under siege. A new virus is sweeping through the streets — one more destructive than Covid-19 — and its name is the sports bar pandemic.Once-quiet neighbourhoods have been turned into non-stop party zones where peace and order are relics of the past. Every weekend, and sometimes every day of the week, music blasts through giant outdoor speakers, loud enough to be heard five kilometres away.
Children cover their ears. Pensioners toss and turn. Families sit in fear as fights spill into the streets.This is no exaggeration.
It is a lived nightmare.The tragedy is that these sports bars were never supposed to exist in the first place, at least not like this. City regulations are clear: no live bands, no blaring outdoor music, and no public drunkenness. The Environmental Management Act is even clearer — no noise that interferes with the health or comfort of others.
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Yet every rule in the book is being ignored, and those tasked with enforcement have vanished like morning dew.Where is the council when residents are choking on sleepless nights and urine stench from shopping centre pavements? Where are the police when women and vendors are being robbed by drunken thugs?The city council hands out licences like confetti, while the police look the other way as chaos reigns. Some residents even believe bribes are at play, a disturbing possibility that must be investigated.The human toll is heartbreaking.
One mother from Emakhandeni was forced to flee her home because the relentless noise was tormenting her autistic five-year-old twins. A man from Gwabalanda relocated his elderly father to escape sleepless nights caused by music thumping like a nightclub at his doorstep. In Luveve, a woman lost a potential buyer for her house because of the racket.And while these stories break hearts, the sports bar owners laugh all the way to the bank, denying everything even as their sub-woofers rattle windows.This madness cannot continue.
Bura chairperson Winos Dube has urged communities to rise up — not with violence, but with petitions, police reports, and documentation. The law gives residents power to revoke licences when valid complaints are made.It’s time to use that power.Every illegal speaker, every unlicensed bar, every drunken fight must be reported. Churches, residents’ associations, vendors, and parents must unite to defend their suburbs.
If you stay silent, the sports bar pandemic will spread unchecked, leaving neighbourhoods in ruins.Bulawayo City Council, the Liquor Board, and the Zimbabwe Republic Police must be held accountable. They cannot hide behind bureaucracy while communities rot.This is more than just noise — it is a slow-motion destruction of families, property values, and moral fabric.The fight starts now. If nothing changes, the suburbs we love will be lost forever, drowned out by a beat that never stops.Leave a ReplyCancel reply BULAWAYO’S western suburbs are under siege.
If nothing changes, the suburbs we love will be lost forever, drowned out by a beat that never stops. A new virus is sweeping through the streets — one more destructive than Covid-19 — and its name is the sports bar pandemic. Once-quiet neighbourhoods have been turned into non-stop party zones where peace and order are relics of the past.
Families sit in fear as fights spill into the streets. This is no exaggeration. Yet every rule in the book is being ignored, and those tasked with enforcement have vanished like morning dew.
Where is the council when residents are choking on sleepless nights and urine stench from shopping centre pavements? The city council hands out licences like confetti, while the police look the other way as chaos reigns. Some residents even believe bribes are at play, a disturbing possibility that must be investigated.
The human toll is heartbreaking. In Luveve, a woman lost a potential buyer for her house because of the racket. And while these stories break hearts, the sports bar owners laugh all the way to the bank, denying everything even as their sub-woofers rattle windows.
This madness cannot continue. The law gives residents power to revoke licences when valid complaints are made. It’s time to use that power.Every illegal speaker, every unlicensed bar, every drunken fight must be reported. If you stay silent, the sports bar pandemic will spread unchecked, leaving neighbourhoods in ruins.
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