Bedbugs terrorise Mbare residents

IN 2018, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga promised residents in one of Harare's oldest suburbs, Mbare that their poor neighbourhood would be transformed after the elections.

Amid cheers, Chiwenga promised that the entire infrastructure in Mbare would be modernised with swimming pools for children and kindergartens, adding that those who had relocated to affluent suburbs like Borrowdale would flock back to Mbare.

However, the situation in Mbare has gone from bad to worse as bedbugs (tsikidzi/intwala) are now terrorising residents at Matererini Flats.

Bedbugs are small, reddish brown, flattened, wingless insects that feed on warm-blooded animals, including humans, usually at night.

The residents said the bedbugs have turned their sleeping nights into a nightmare.

"The situation has gone out of control; the past three months have been difficult for residents. The bedbugs are multiplying," said Happymore Kunaka, the Mbare Community Trust spokesperson.

"Every morning we wake up with red skins and small pimples which are itchy. The situation is terrible. We are appealing to well-wishers to assist in fumigating the apartments. We have tried everything to no avail," Retina Gore, another resident said.

Harare City Council, however, said it was not aware of the bedbugs menace.

"We are not aware of the outbreak," council acting spokesperson Innocent Ruwende said.