Municipal police, kombi crews clash

Harare's central business district yesterday resembled a war zone municipal police and kombi crews fought running battles with the latter allegedly refusing to use the council-controlled holding by located on the periphery of the CBD along Coventry Road.

Shoppers and pedestrians reduced to spectators as the dangerous clashes took place with kombi crews who included touts violently clashing with municipal police officers.

The touts had devised a new strategy where they would stand at strategic street corners and use their mobile phones to call their kombi drivers to drive into the CBD and pick up passengers at undesignated sites.

But commuters said they were the biggest losers in the council-kombi operators' war as they were now forced to pay $1 for a trip which normally cost 5 rand.