The so-called ‘No-man’s land- the land between the land borders of two neighbouring countries- is a high crime area.
Criminals, out of ignorance, believe that no country has legal jurisdiction to police this area and they make it their haven for carrying out their criminal activities.
However the military or the para-military division of the police force/service has the mandate to patrol and police the ‘No-man’s land.
By convention, the respective authorities patrol their side of this land up to the agreed physical boundary of the two countries. Exceptions occur when joint operations are carried out. These joint operations are carried out in order to wipe any criminal activities being carried out on the whole stretch of land from one end of country A to the other end of country B. If one country patrols its side of the ‘No-man’s land, the criminals will simply move over to the other side of the international boundary where the border patrol agents have no jurisdiction.
Despite all these efforts, a lot of criminal acts are carried out- murder, rape, armed robbery, human and contraband smuggling.
The ‘No-Man’s land provides the roads which give state border patrol agents and other stakeholders such as Immigration and Customs control access to other crime hot spots along the borderline. Other well resourced jurisdictions like South Africa use police helicopters for border aerial surveillance.
A disturbing observation on the Zimbabwean side is the establishment of human settlements and shopping centres near the ‘No-Man’s land. Nxele Shops at Plumtree Border Post or Pagomo Leisure Centre at Beitbridge Border Post comes to mind.
Such locations tempt the business operators to smuggle imported goods without going through the customs importations procedures. Worse still, these centres may be used as temporary transit points for smuggled goods for onward transportation inland.
The notorious criminals called Amaguma-guma (Maguma-guma) at the Limpopo Bridge at Beitbridge have given law enforcements agencies on both sides of the bridge a perennial headache. They use dangerous weapons such as guns or knives during the commission of crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery. They are so daring that they even attack border patrol officials.
Incidences of connivance between border patrol agents and the criminals are common. For example, one cannot reconcile how a CCTV camera was vandalised at an installation which is guarded round the clock at the ‘No-Man’s land at Beitbridge Border post.
The proposed introduction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) commonly called drones will curb such connivance. Since they will provide real time videos of incidences, rogue border patrol agents will be identified and put under disciplinary measures.
Relocation of communities living near the borderline shall be treated as a national security matter. The administrative issues such as compensation for such relocation will then have to be expeditiously carried out.
Those who commit crimes at the ‘No’Man’s land will be liable for prosecution. This matter was settled in the unreported case of S v Zendere HB-19-04. On reviewing the case from a magistrates criminal court, the High Court held that Zimbabwean criminal courts have jurisdiction to try crimes which occur at the ‘No-Man’s land.
The Truth! 