Shootouts have become common in Zimbabwe in recent weeks. The Home Affairs ministry says there has been a worrying sudden spike in the number of violent crimes involving guns.
Addressing media Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister Kazembe Kazembe said they have noted an increase which may be a result of criminal elements that have come back into the country from neighbouring countries in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
He however assured the nation that the police are in a position to effectively deal with the matter.
Last week police in Beitbridge killed a gun wielding suspected armed robber after an hours long shootout which at one point saw the suspect hold 10 people hostage. Earlier in that week police apprehended another group of armed robbers that had been allegedly terrorizing residents in some Harare suburbs.
