HARARE – Zimbabwean police have instituted investigations after a video of minors drinking alcohol in Harare went viral.
Police said they want to identify the parents or guardians of the minors as well as the liquor supplier.
“The ZRP has taken note of a viral social media video, especially on WhatsApp platforms where minors (young boys) are openly seen drinking beer in a public place in Harare CBD. Investigations are now underway with a view of identifying the place, the young boys, their parents, and the person who might have facilitated the acquisition of the alcohol by the minor,” said the police statement.
In the video, the minors are seen eating fast food while holding different brands of alcohol and when quizzed about where they were coming from they said Mbare.
Media entrepreneur Plot Mhako has warned that the abuse of alcohol by minors will go out of hand if the Government and parents do not take measures to ensure that alcohol is not easily accessible.
This comes after a video emerged on social media in which several young boys are seen openly drinking beer in Harare, with adults seemingly unbothered. Said Mhako:
If the Government and families do not act on the easy access and abuse of alcohol by minors in this country we have a huge crisis looming. What I witnessed in my rural areas shocked me. Young kids roaming around drinking beer.
On Tuesday, 26 December, Police said that they had taken note of a viral video in which young boys, some barely 10, are seen drinking beer in public in Harare’s Central Business District.
In a post on X, the ZRP said that investigations are being conducted to identify the place where the incident occurred, as well as to identify the minors, their parents or the person or persons who gave them the beer. Read the post:
The ZRP has taken note of a viral social media video, especially on WhatsApp platforms where minors (young boys) are openly seen drinking beer in a public place in Harare CBD.
Investigations are now underway with a view of identifying the place, the young boys, their parents and the person who might have facilitated the acquisition of alcohol by the minors.
In Zimbabwe, the sale of liquor, including beer, is regulated by the Liquor Act, which, among other things, strictly prohibits the selling of beer to children.
The legal drinking age in Zimbabwe is 18 years. Individuals who are 18 years or older are allowed by law to buy and consume alcoholic beverages.
