Midweek Reporter
HARARE: Members of Parliament have expressed concern over vicious pitbull dogs which are mauling people to death.
This comes after a 40-year old man, Samuel Machaya was kiĺled by a pitbull dog on the 1st of June 2025 in New Bluffhill, Harare.
Speaking in Parliament this Tuesday, Goromonzi West constituency Legislator, Biatah Karimatsenga Nyamupinga said the pitbull dog is killing people and it does listen to instructions from the owners.
She further asked the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the Government’s policy on the keeping of pitbull dogs.
In his response, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said there are by-laws that require one to have a licence when keeping dogs and he said the pitbull needs a license different from other dogs since its vicious.
“We have a law through the councils which clearly states that when someone is keeping dogs, they must have a licence which indicates that the owner of the dogs is keeping the dogs. That law clearly states the number of dogs which are allowed in each and every household in towns.
“In other areas there are no dogs which are allowed. That is why the individual who kept a pitbull which killed someone was arrested. The police apprehended him because it was against the law. The pitbull needs a licence which is different from other types of dogs because it is a very vicious dog,” said Ziyambi Ziyambi.
In her supplementary question, Karimatsenga Nyamupinga asked the logic behind allowing people to own dogs which lose memory.
“My supplementary question is, yes, the licence can be there but we have that type of dog which loses its memory. What are we trying to say if we are allowing people to keep dogs which lose their memory? What are we trying to say about the lives of people?”
Ziyambi told the Speaker of Parliament that he is unable to answer the question on pitball’s loss of memory, adding that the Veterinary Department members are able to answer that question.
He asked Karimatsenga Nyamupinga to put the question in writing.
Chinhoyi Constituency Legislator Eng. Leslie Everman Mhangwa added his voice saying the pitbull breed pose a danger to people and he called for its banning in Zimbabwe.
“The pitbull as a breed has become a danger to the people of Zimbabwe. Is there anything that stops us from banning the breed within the country? I think this is the direction we need to move to,” said Mhangwa.
In May 2022, John Gavhera from Selborne in Bulawayo was killed by his own pitbulls after jumping over the wall to gain access to the house, having forgotten his house keys.
In March 2023, a nine-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in a pitbull attack in Whitecliffe, Harare.
A 68-year-old security guard also died in March 2023 from a pitbull attack at business premises along Sherwood Crescent in Waterfalls, Harare.
