WATCH: BULAWAYO ITCH INVASION: Insikizi finally sink teeth into City of Kings
Bokang Tlou
THE bloodsuckers have landed, and they are not the fictional kind. Bed bugs have stormed Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb, leaving a trail of red welts, torn bedding, and sleepless, tormented families.
For months, locals laughed at viral Harare memes of people battling infestations. Now, the joke is on them.
Block 46 and the flats behind Patapata Beer Garden have become ground zero. The walls crawl. The beds itch. Residents are scratching in shame and silence, their pride chewed up by the tiny beasts.
“This is hell,” said one woman from Block 46, scratching her arms raw. “My children cry at night. We don’t sleep. We’ve sprayed, boiled water, used paraffin. Nothing works.”
The shame is worse than the pain.
“People think it means you’re dirty,” said Siphiwe Moyo, another resident. “But this can happen to anyone. We’re tired. We’re broken. We need help.”
Residents say they have begged Bulawayo City Council to intervene. The city has responded by asking them to pay US$47 per household for fumigation.
“That’s impossible for pensioners and unemployed people here,” said Ward 9 Residents’ Chairperson, Stanslous Dube. “The infestation is out of control. Block 46 and flats near Patapata are war zones.”
Ward Secretary for Environment Dumisani Moyo echoed the alarm. “People are suffering in silence. This needs national attention before it spreads.”
Councillor Donaldson Mabutho who oversees the ward promised to assess the situation today, while Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart said no official report had reached his desk.
Experts say the bugs thrive in warmth and hide in furniture, clothes, and luggage. With winter offering temporary relief, fears are mounting that summer will trigger a citywide crisis.
Across Zimbabwe, authorities have launched fumigation blitzes in schools and hospitals, but with mixed success. DIY solutions are not working. Neither are whispers and silence.
Globally, the menace is well known. Paris panicked during Fashion Week 2023. New York, London, Mumbai and Johannesburg have all suffered major outbreaks. Once they invade, they rarely leave without professional help, and even then, they come back if communities fail to act in unity.
Health officials warn that the psychological toll is real: insomnia, anxiety, and social isolation. More than an itch, it is a public health red flag.
In Mpopoma, the memes have turned into nightmares. The bugs are real. They bite. They are here.
And they will not leave until someone steps up.
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