Police Identify Minors Captured Consuming Alcohol in Harare CBD
By Staff Reporter
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has successfully determined the identities of minors featured in a viral social media video openly consuming alcohol in the Harare Central Business District on Christmas day.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that two minors, aged 13 and 11, have been positively identified, along with the recognition of their separated parents.
“Reference is made to the social media videos that went viral on December 26, 2023, showing minors drinking alcohol in Harare Central Business District and subsequent Police investigations into the incident. The Zimbabwe Republic Police reports that the identities of two minors aged 13 and 11 years are now known.
“Their mother and father have also been identified and located. The father and mother separated in November 2022, with the two minors taken into the custody of their mother in Epworth area, Harare. It is alleged that they later left home and engaged in street begging, vending, and some misdemeanors in Harare Central Business District with other ‘street kids,'” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
He added that the two minors, previously under the custody of their mother in Epworth, Harare, were reported to have left home, engaging in street activities, including begging, vending, and misdemeanors with other “street kids” in the Harare CBD.
“On December 25, 2023, the two minors, accompanied by eight (08) street kids, acquired Mayfair alcohol through a person who is yet to be identified by the Police. The minors sat on the veranda of a cellphone shop along Inez Terrez near a prominent food outlet, openly consuming the alcohol in public. The Zimbabwe Republic Police has also identified a local business person who recorded the viral social media video. He is currently assisting the Police in obtaining full facts on the incident.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police is still pursuing the identity of the other minors who were in the company of the two, and there are allegations that some women seated at the corner of Speke and Inez Terez Street interacted with the minors. It has also been confirmed that the minors were drinking alcohol while eating some chips and chicken,” he said.
