'Dead' man emerges from rubbish dump

A young man allegedly battling drug addiction sparked panic at the Kwekwe City Council dump site after scavengers mistook his legs protruding from a heap of rubbish for those of a dead person.

The bizarre incident occurred on Tuesday night after the man, believed to be in his early 30s, allegedly climbed into a council skip bin at the Kwekwe long-distance bus terminus and fell asleep while heavily intoxicated.

Unaware that someone was inside the bin, council workers arrived the following morning, emptied its contents into a refuse truck and transported the waste to the city's dump site.

It was only when scavengers began searching through the rubbish that they discovered the man buried beneath the waste.

A council employee, who requested anonymity, said the man had climbed into the skip bin at around 9pm.

"At around 6.30am, a Kwekwe City Council refuse truck arrived for its routine collection. The driver lifted the bin and drove to the city's dump site on the outskirts of Kwekwe to offload," the employee said.

Kwekwe Mayor Councillor Albert Zinhanga confirmed the incident, saying scavengers initially believed they had discovered a corpse.

"The man was found buried in a heap of rubbish at the dump site. The people who collect discarded objects such as wood and scrap metal saw human legs protruding from the dump and assumed it was a corpse," he said.

Cllr Zinhanga said one of the scavengers alerted council officials, who then notified the police.

"When the police came, they realised the person was breathing and ferried him to Kwekwe District Hospital for medical care," he said.

The man was later transferred to Amaveni Rehabilitation Centre for assessment.

"This is what drugs are doing to our children. A young man climbs into a bin to sleep and ends up being dumped as rubbish," Zinhanga said.

"We are pleading with parents, schools and churches to talk to our youth. Mutoriro is destroying futures."

The mayor said the incident had highlighted the desperate circumstances faced by some people battling drug and substance abuse.

He said drug users were increasingly turning to public spaces, abandoned buildings and toilets as places to sleep.

Tariro Moyo, 46, who makes a living collecting recyclable materials, said scavengers fled after seeing what appeared to be a human body.

"I make a living from collecting recyclables at the dump site. We were looking for plastic and metal when I saw legs sticking out from under a sack," he said.

"The trousers were dirty and his feet were not moving. We all thought it was a dead person killed for ritual purposes and dumped, and we fled from the scene."

A police officer who attended the scene said the man's condition initially made it difficult to establish whether he was alive.

"When we pulled back the rubbish, we heard a faint snore. He was buried under plastic, cardboard and food waste. He was breathing, but he was very weak and disoriented after spending the whole night in the bin," the officer said.

The man had cuts and bruises on his arms.

The incident has renewed concerns over drug and substance abuse among young people, particularly in mining communities such as Kwekwe.

Queen of Peace Rehabilitation and Crisis Centre founder and executive director Dr Stella Khumalo said prolonged substance abuse could expose users to serious physical, psychological and social risks.

She said people battling drug dependence could suffer mental health problems, malnutrition and injuries, while also being exposed to harsh weather and other dangers.

Some may also resort to petty crime to sustain their addiction, she said.

"We cannot arrest our way out of this problem. We must rehabilitate, we must give young people skills and hope, so that they do not see a skip bin as a bedroom," Khumalo said.

Amaveni Rehabilitation Centre is the only public facility dealing with drug and substance abuse rehabilitation in Kwekwe, while Queen of Peace Rehabilitation Centre provides services in Gweru.

Government and various partners have been implementing rehabilitation, awareness, vocational training and community reintegration programmes to tackle the growing drug and substance abuse problem.

The Angel of Hope Foundation is among organisations supporting affected people through therapy, vocational training and reintegration programmes.

Meanwhile, police in the Midlands province, working with other security agencies and communities, have intensified their crackdown on drug bases.

More than 100 suspected drug bases have reportedly been dismantled, with over 380 suspects arrested across the province.

Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Owen Ncube said Kwekwe and Shurugwi had emerged as hotspots for drug trafficking and abuse.

He said the problem was also spreading into mining and rural communities.

"Drug and substance abuse is no longer confined to urban centres but has, sadly, spread to rural and mining communities. It is disheartening to note that schools have not been spared and are now vulnerable to dangerous substances such as crystal meth and cannabis-laced cakes, among others," Ncube said.

He added that drug abuse was contributing to other social problems, including violent crime and prostitution.