In a crackdown on unauthorized public transportation practices, a staggering 147 individuals have been brought before the Harare Magistrates’ Court for charges related to touting. The accused were apprehended during a concerted operation dubbed “No To Touts”.
The accused persons were arrested during operation “No To Touts”. The offence is committed where “the operator, driver or conductor of an omnibus or any person acting on behalf of such operator, driver or conductor, by troublesome and frequent demands or by persistent following, holds out the omnibus for hire to the public or acts in any way so as to cause annoyance or inconvenience to any other person.”
Anyone found guilty of the offence is liable to a fine not exceeding level four or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
Some of the accused persons pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to a level 3 fine of USD20 coupled with a 2 or 3 months suspended sentence for 2 years as a deterrent measure. More to follow…
