ZANU-PF Youth Leader Calls on Peers to Shun Drugs Amid National Crackdown

By Delicious Mathuthu

Gweru, Zimbabwe - A senior youth official from Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party in the Midlands Province on Sunday, December 14, urged young people in Mkoba South constituency to avoid drug and substance abuse, warning that the vice is destroying futures and claiming lives across the country.

Cde Angeline Manjonjo (pictured), a member of the ZANU-PF Midlands Province Youth League, delivered the message while addressing party members in Mboroma party district in Ward 8.

She emphasized the youth's role as the nation's future leaders and called for disciplined choices to protect their dreams.

"On drug and substance abuse we don't know if our future is secure, we don't know how safe the country that you want to leave in our hands is, if things continue like this," Manjonjo said, adding, "Youths spend their days intoxicated with guka, dombo (Crystal Meth). Today anything can be abused as drugs, we have heard that even cerevita can now be made into intoxicating sunbstances," Manjonjo said.

She highlighted the dangers of everyday items being turned into substances of abuse and stressed the need for vigilance at the grassroots level.

"So the key thing encouraged by the party, because we work with government and we are the ones with the initial steps from the grassroots where we are, is to monitor our children, especially those of school going age, monitor their behaviour, is the child eating properly? Are they sleeping well? Are you seeing your child that you know everyday?" She said.

Manjonjo cautioned that delayed intervention could prove fatal, citing statistics showing rising youth deaths linked to drugs.

"Because sometimes when we realise that the child has been using drugs, it will be too late. If we look at statistics right now, a lot of youths are dying because of drugs.

"The future many youths is being destroyed by drugs. So let's monitor and encourage our children not to take drugs," she said.

Beyond prevention, Manjonjo called for community action against drug dealers, urging residents to expose suppliers to authorities.

"But we cannot only end with discouraging drugs, there those that are coming with them and selling.

"We have bases in our communities, that we actually know," she said.

"So we are saying let's expose those people, because they may not sell to your child, but there is that grandchild of yours that you don't know where they spend their day, that child is vulnerable to being sold the drugs.

"Let's expose these people and have them arrested. Let's find the sources and expose them so that they are arrested," she said.

Manjonjo commended the government under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, referred to as the Second Republic, for its efforts to combat the drug epidemic through crackdowns on syndicates and illicit trafficking.

Recently, one of the chiefs in the Midlands, Chief Cyprian Malisa, speaking during the 2025 Midlands Mega Crime Awareness Campaign at Crossroads in Silobela, Kwekwe District, challenged law enforcement to stop the importation and movement of drugs in the country, saying that systems in such security sectors should start functioning to prevent drugs finding their way to communities.

Meanwhile, Manjonjo referenced a key resolution from the party's recent conference, saying it aligns with national development goals.

She highlighted Resolution Number One, adopted at the 22nd ZANU-PF Annual National People’s Conference in Mutare, which reaffirms a prior decision from the Bulawayo conference to extend Mnangagwa's leadership through 2030.

She described the move as essential for sustaining the country's developmental momentum, in line with the President's mantra, "Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo," which translates to "The country is built by its owners."

Zimbabwe has been grappling with a surge in drug abuse, particularly among the youth, with substances like crystal methamphetamine, locally known as "dombo", and other improvised drugs contributing to social and health challenges.

The government's anti-drug campaign has included arrests and seizures, though critics say more arrests and rehabilitation support is needed.