WHY ARMED ROBBERIES ARE ON THE RISE IN ZIMBABWE
Written by Michael Mupotaringa – Armed robberies in Zimbabwe have become worryingly frequent. Reports from the police and civic organisations show an increase in violent crime, especially in cities such as Harare, Bulawayo and Gweru. These are not the petty thefts of old. They are calculated, often involving firearms, and carried out with precision by groups that appear better organised than before.
What makes this wave different is that the country has always known poverty and unemployment, yet this level of violence was rare during the Mugabe years. Poverty by itself does not explain the present situation. The roots go deeper, touching on access to weapons, corruption, drug use and weak institutions.
ACCESS TO WEAPONS
Firearms are the difference between simple theft and full-scale armed robbery. The number of illegal guns circulating in Zimbabwe and across the region has increased. Smuggled weapons, stolen guns from security firms and diverted ammunition now feed criminal networks. When criminals can easily find weapons, they become bolder and more violent.
In the past, robberies often involved machetes or homemade weapons. Today, handguns and automatic rifles are being recovered from suspects. The weapon market has changed the character of crime itself. There is a possibility that the Beitbridge border is compromized.
INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESS AND CORRUPTION
Weak institutions make any country vulnerable. When borders are porous and officials underpaid, smuggling becomes easy. Corruption within law enforcement and customs systems allows traffickers to move both weapons and drugs with little resistance.
Police presence in many high-density suburbs is thin. Investigations take time, and conviction rates are low. Once criminals believe the system cannot stop them, deterrence disappears.
ORGANISED CRIME AND EX-SECURITY PERSONNEL
Recent studies of convicted armed robbers show that some have military or police backgrounds. These are people with training, discipline and knowledge of weapons. They understand security systems and how to outsmart them.
At the same time, organised criminal groups have become more active in southern Africa. They move between gold smuggling, drug trafficking and robbery. The result is a new type of criminal who is networked and skilled, not desperate and random.
RISING DRUG USE AND THE LINK TO GUN CRIME
One major shift in Zimbabwe’s social landscape has been the explosion in drug and substance abuse. A national survey by Afrobarometer found that nearly eight in ten Zimbabweans believe drug abuse is now widespread in their communities, and in cities the figure is over ninety percent. Academic studies show similar trends among young people, with some estimating that more than half have experimented with illegal substances.
Drug markets and gun crime often rise together. Wherever narcotics move, firearms follow. Dealers arm themselves to protect stock, and users who develop dependencies often turn to crime to fund their habits. The same networks that transport drugs are easily adapted to move guns.
This pattern is visible worldwide. From Latin America to West Africa, spikes in drug trafficking are usually followed by increased gun crime. Zimbabwe is now seeing the early stages of that cycle.
URBANISATION AND YOUTH ALIENATION
Cities are magnets for young people chasing opportunity. When those opportunities never arrive, frustration builds. Many of the men arrested for robbery are between twenty and forty years old, educated enough to know what they have missed out on, but cut off from jobs and stability.
They live in environments where small gangs, drug dealers and get-rich-fast culture provide new role models. The robbery becomes not only a crime of survival but also a distorted form of ambition.
WHY POVERTY ALONE IS NOT THE REASON
Zimbabwe has always had poor citizens. During the Mugabe era, unemployment was high and the economy often collapsed, yet armed robberies involving military-grade weapons were rare. Poverty is part of the story, but only as background pressure.
What changed is the mix of weak governance, easier access to guns, the rise of drug markets and the growth of organised crime. These are the ingredients that have turned ordinary crime into something closer to urban warfare.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
Reducing armed robbery will require more than arrests. It calls for a national effort that addresses both supply and demand.
- Strengthen border control and work with neighbouring states to track smuggling routes.
- Audit all legal gun holders and tighten rules for private security companies.
- Deal firmly with corruption in law enforcement and customs.
- Target the networks behind drug and gun trafficking instead of only the foot soldiers.
- Expand rehabilitation programmes and youth employment schemes.
- Bring back active community policing and public awareness campaigns.
If drug markets are left unchecked, and weapons keep flowing, no amount of poverty reduction will stop the violence.
CONCLUSION
The rise in armed robberies in Zimbabwe is not a mystery. It is the result of a chain reaction: drugs bring weapons, weapons bring violence, and weak institutions allow both to spread. Poverty is the backdrop, but the real driver is the collapse of control and the arrival of new criminal economies.
If the country restores discipline at its borders, strengthens policing, rebuilds trust and offers young people better paths to live and work, the cycle can still be broken.
