Zimbabwe Bans ‘Musombodhiya’ in Crackdown on Illicit Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Harare – 9 June 2025 —
By A Correspondent | The Zimbabwean government has outlawed the production and distribution of the notorious homemade alcoholic brews known as musombodhiya and kambwa, under new regulations gazetted this week.

The ban is outlined in Statutory Instrument 62 of 2025, issued by Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe through the Harmful Liquids Act (Amendment of Schedule to Act) Notice, 2025.

According to the new legal amendment:

“The Schedule to the Act is amended by the insertion after item 9 (‘Nipa’) of the following item: ‘Any unregulated, unauthorised or illegally produced alcoholic beverages containing ethanol, colloquially referred to by such names as kambwa, musombodhiya or by any other name whatsoever.’”

The move comes amid mounting public pressure to tackle the widespread consumption of harmful brews and narcotics ravaging communities across the country. The illicit alcohol, often mixed with toxic industrial chemicals, has been blamed for numerous hospitalisations, deaths, and long-term health effects, particularly among vulnerable youth.

The government has also established an inter-ministerial committee to address the broader crisis of drug and substance abuse. The committee’s mandate includes coordinating the construction of rehabilitation centres, expanding public awareness campaigns, and introducing community-level interventions.

“There is a need for urgent and coordinated action,” said a senior official involved with the task force. “The abuse of substances like musombodhiya, mutoriro (methamphetamine), and other toxic brews is not only a public health crisis but also a national security concern.”

Stakeholders and civil society organisations have welcomed the ban but urged authorities to go further by implementing income-generating projects for idle youth and marginalized communities — factors consistently linked to the rise in substance abuse.

The government is under growing pressure to match enforcement efforts with long-term social solutions to prevent Zimbabwe’s drug epidemic from spiralling further out of control.