By Fanuel Chinowaita
MUTARE, 13 May 2026– Manicaland’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza, used a press conference yesterday afternoon to lay bare the scale of the province’s drug crisis and rally every sector of society to the fight, revealing that 265 people were arrested in the past month alone.
Addressing journalists at his office, Mugadza insisted the response must match the gravity of the threat. “We must fight this with the zeal and aggressiveness it deserves,” he said.
The minister stressed that government cannot win the battle by itself. “The fight against drug and substance abuse is everyone’s responsibility. Government alone cannot overcome this challenge without the active participation of families, communities, the private sector, faith-based organisations and young people themselves,” he said.
Mugadza issued a direct appeal to parents and guardians, urging them to remain vigilant and engaged in their children’s lives, and called on community leaders to foster environments that reject drugs and support recovery.
The stark law-enforcement figures he then laid out underscored why he was speaking in such urgent terms. In the just-ended monthly reporting period, police made 265 drug-related arrests—an increase from the 249 recorded during the same stretch last year.
Of those detained, 232 were male and 33 female; seven individuals were referred to court (four males and three females) while eleven were convicted. Eight alleged drug suppliers were also taken into custody, signalling an intensifying push to disrupt trafficking networks.
On the rehabilitation front, Mugadza commended the Mutare City Council for availing the Sakubva Psychiatric Unit for drug recovery services and for committing US$300,000 to start works. He also reminded the audience that last year’s anti-drug fundraising campaign in the province saw individuals and corporates pledge a combined US$620,000.
“We appreciate those who have honoured their pledges while urging those who are yet to make their payments to kindly do so,” he said, linking the money to expanded rehabilitation access, restorative care and mental-health training for more frontline workers.
His remarks come amid deepening anxiety over rising drug and substance abuse among young people across Manicaland.