Harare Municipal Police acting chief security officer Mr George Dube (right) and acting chief superintendent Mr Ernest Bhariri inspect impounded fish in Harare yesterday.

Harare Municipal Police acting chief security officer Mr George Dube (right) and acting chief superintendent Mr Ernest Bhariri inspect impounded fish in Harare yesterday

Harare Municipal police yesterday confiscated two tonnes of fish from  vendors in Budiriro, Kuwadzana,

Pension and Ingwe farms as part of the fight against the spread of typhoid.

Fish and meat products sold in the open have been identified as the major causes of the typhoid outbreak that has so far claimed two lives in Harare.

More than 2 860 cases of typhoid have been reported in the capital.

The fish, mostly breams, were on display at the Municipal police headquarters yesterday awaiting destruction.

Acting chief superintendent Ernest Bhariri, who heads the environmental patrol section, said most of the fish vendors ran away when approached.

“They disappeared into the night. We, however, managed to recover the fish they were selling. We recovered close to two tonnes,” he said.

He said most of the vendors were now trading from Pension and Ingwe farms where they thought the police would not get them.

He said their work was being hampered by inadequate personnel and vehicles.

“If we had more vehicles, we would be doing much better,” he said.

Acting Municipal chief security officer Mr George Dube said a number of open food joints like KuHuku in Hillside, PamuGumtree and SPCA along Seke Road and PaZindoga will be closed this weekend.

He said Mereki, which had not been officially opened and was operating illegally, will also be closed.

Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda said residents of Hillside complained        over the noise and use of their shopping centre, which has now attracted the name KuHuku because of the “tasty chicken braais” that take place there.

Clr Julius Musevenzi also complained over an illegal car valet at Mereki saying residents did not want the car cleaners to continue operating.

The cleaning garage operates a disco that starts playing around 5pm till 7am, causing sleepless nights for people in surrounding properties.

Addressing the Chitungwiza full council meeting this week, Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo said Harare recorded 2 860 cases of typhoid and two deaths.

He said the number of people being attended to at council clinics of suspected typhoid had gone down from 70 to 30 per day.