Story by Peter Chivhima
HARARE – THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested seven directors of Samina Liquar Company for allegedly manufacturing and distributing illicit brews at their premises in Harare’s Arlington industrial area.
The arrests, carried out this Tuesday, form part of the government’s intensified clampdown on the production of unregulated and harmful alcoholic substances.
ZRP National Spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the arrests during a visit to the company’s site, adding that 25 employees were also taken into custody.
“It is quite sad to be honest, to have a company operating without being properly registered. In the process, they are manufacturing illicit brews which are being offered to Zimbabweans. These illicit brews are dangerous to the public. As we speak, the suspects are in police custody,” he said.
Commissioner Nyathi also revealed that the ZRP is now working with other relevant authorities to establish how the firm was operating.
“The directors are foreign nationals and we are now working with other government departments to establish how the company was operating,” he said.
Recently, the courts convicted the directors of Kombucha for operating without following proper procedures.
Last month, the government gazetted Statutory Instrument 62 of 2025, banning the production of illicit alcoholic brews, including those known as “musombodhiya” or “kambwa.”
