Drunk teenagers bring Bulawayo to a standstill

Drunk and rowdy teenagers brought the City of Kings to a hault on Saturday - interfering with traffic as they emptied bins on the pavements while others danced in the middle of the road - the Chronicle reports.

Ugly scenes were witnessed in the afternoon and evening as the teenagers descended on the CBD and shouted obscenities while others urinated on pavements and sanitary lanes.

A group of visibly drunk boys whose ages could be between 14 and 18 years disturbed the flow of traffic along Main Street as they jumped in front of moving vehicles and danced in the middle of the road risking being run over.

The teenagers exhibited improper levels of excitement as they were shouting and screaming all over the streets.

"What those kids were doing especially at Bulawayo Centre was bad. Some of them were emptying litter from the bins onto the pavements.

"They were behaving as if they were possessed by a demon," said a witness.

She said some of the youths were kissing in public while others were consuming alcohol despite the fact that public drinking is an offence.

"What is surprising is that the teenagers did not have any difficulties buying beer from the city liquor outlets. Some of the drunk youths were swearing at passersby," said the witness.

Another witness said one of the teenagers who appeared to have had one too many slept beside the road oblivious of the risk of being run over by passing vehicles.

"He seemed to have passed out and some of his friends had to drag him from the roadside. Some of the girls were half naked as they were wearing skimpy dresses and shorts. They were also smoking and consuming alcohol," said the witness.

She said most of the teenagers were from the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

Others even found their way to night clubs.

A similar incident was also witnessed along Old Gwanda Road where drunk girls and boys were seen lying flat beside the road. It is said they were coming from a party at a nearby house.

There were instances when the teenagers played cat and mouse with the police.

There were similar scenes on the last day of the ZITF last year.

Contacted for comment Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo, however, said there were fewer cases of rowdiness compared to last year.

"The youths were not as rowdy as what we witnessed last year," Insp Moyo.

He said a total of 17 cases of crime were recorded at this year's ZITF, 14 of those being theft.

"There were two cases of assault and one case of indecent assault," said Insp Moyo.