Africa: Roadblocks and Bribes - Zimbabwe Is Africa's Shakedown State

20 October 2017

We had just arrived at Harare International Airport from less troubled and far less corrupt parts of Africa when we came face to face with the daily punishments that Zimbabwe's government metes out to its own hapless citizens.

Our local car was a mere 100 metres beyond the terminal when the vehicle, along with many others, was flagged down at a police roadblock, a.k.a. a police shakedown point. Constable F. Moyo sternly checked for the car's fire extinguisher and its precise placement, for the two emergency plastic triangles with a serial number that all must carry, and for the green fluorescent safety vest that must be available at all times. The fire extinguisher was there, but Constable Moyo did not like the way in which it was affixed inside the car's boot.

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