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Price Controls and Shortages - Index of articles
Third
death reported in Bulawayo sugar stampede
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
August 17, 2007
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news170807/Sugar170807.htm
An injured victim
of the stampede that developed on Wednesday when a huge crowd queued
for sugar in Bulawayo is reported to have died in hospital. No name
has been provided, but the police official attending to the case
told our Bulawayo contact Zenzele that the man had sustained head
injuries and broken both legs when a crowd forced its way into a
Entumbane Shopping Complex to buy some sugar that had been delivered
last week. As we reported, a 35year old security guard died on the
spot and a 15year old injured schoolboy died later at Mpilo Central
Hospital. The death Thursday brings to 3 the number of fatalities
from this tragic incident.
It has been revealed
that the brick wall that was knocked over by the desperate shoppers
was not reinforced. A police official involved in the case told
Zenzele that the bricks were simply cemented, and they fell apart
from the pressure of the surging crowd. Zenzele said another person
is still in hospital with serious injuries.
Questions have been raised
as to why the sugar that was delivered last week was not sold until
this Wednesday. By the time it went on sale a queue had formed that
was so long the Zimbabwe Republic Police could not cope with the
numbers. According to Zenzele, military police had to be called
in to disperse the crowd.
He said the owner of
the OK Supermarket where the incident occurred might be investigated
not only for the sugar incident, but for some bags of rice that
were found in the shop's office as well. Many businesses have had
empty shelves for weeks now after the government initiated price
controls that led to panic buying, hoarding and looting by officials.
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