Inside Vuzu parties

Sandra Tekere, Sunday News Reporter
IT used to take a whole village to raise a child in the olden day but times have changed as pressing economic conditions have seen a lot of parents taking the diaspora route leaving children with no one to nurture and guide them into morally responsible and socially acceptable people as they grow.

The digital era has not helped the situation either as children can now freely tap into age restricted sites where they learn nothing less than things reserved for adults. This has seen the emergence of a disturbing trend in the city where school going teenagers are now attending wild parties now known as “vuzu parties” especially during school holidays where alcohol abuse, sex and nudity are celebrated.

While there is nothing bad with attending parties, it is what takes place at the parties that is appalling. Had there been just parties no one was going to raise an issue socially or morally about these teenage parties.

These house parties are characterised by wild sex orgies, reckless alcohol imbibing, smoking marijuana and stripping activities which were a known Western phenomenon but is permeating the African moral setup at an alarming and generation destruction rate.

This has bred questions on whether such parties should be allowed to destroy the strict African morals as well as the relevance of the church doctrines in moulding a morally responsible and dignified youthful generation that is God fearing.

The parties are usually hosted by teens whose parents live outside the country, and are able to freely engage in such activities unmonitored as most of them are pampered with niceties as parents try to cover up for their absence to show love through money and other gifts.

According to the youths, the vuzu parties are a common way of having fun. They say the parties were stress relievers after a long term at school adding that they were platforms to meet, communicate and get to know each other.

“The parties are just a common way of having fun with friends. We meet, share life experiences and get to know each other better,” said one teenager who only identified himself as Nox.

However, the boy’s description is totally different from what takes place at the vuzu house parties as regrettable scenes are the order of the day as the teenagers close their books and open their zippers and strip themselves of their clothes and dignity.

The parties often result in unwanted teenage pregnancies and STIs while others lose their lives while trying to terminate the pregnancies.

Sunday Life witnessed one of the parties in the leafy suburb of Burnside in Bulawayo. The scenes were scary and to suggest they were done by teenagers all of whom are school going is unthinkable.

The strong smell of alcoholic stuff and marijuana pervaded the serene night as both girls and boys were taking the illicit drugs. Before long they started going to the toilet in pairs while others could be seen in dark secluded places where they were enjoying the camouflage of the tree shades in the big yard.

The young girls were wearing tiny shorts that barely covered their bum-cheeks, tops that could only cover the lower part of their breasts, while the rest of their cleavages hung in the open. Occasionally the teenage boys would slap the girl’s butt and it seemed fashionable as the girls were smiling back instead of being furious at the amount of disrespect that was on display.

Appalling also were homosexuals scenes similar to the popular South African soapie Generations whose cast consists of the Senzos and Jasons that were unfolding right in front of everyone and the youths were not bothered.

Offers of alcohol and cigarettes kept pouring in, drinking competitions were done and some of the drinks,  according to a source, were mixed with an aphrodisiac, a concoction that is used to enhance sexual prowess.

Some girls passed out after having one too many and were lifted to bedrooms where boys took turns to have sex with them.

There was a weed cake, which was a must eat, distributed more like a wedding cake it reached all corners of the house and everyone had to eat the “brownies” that were served. It made the teens get even crazier.

Soon the teens took part in dance competitions and the winning squad was rewarded with more booze. They were playing spin the bottle and there were adhering to all the rules of the game kissing whoever and locking each other in dark bedrooms where many girls came out half dressed.

At around 1am only a few who could not manage to find hook-ups were still on the dance floor but the majority were in bedrooms while the yard and the rooms where the boozing was taking place had beer bottles and cans strew all over the place.

Even the kitchen and cars were turned into bedrooms.

“We do this during holidays and not every weekend, it is usually the first Saturday after schools close and the last Saturday before schools open. It’s very easy to organise, it’s just a matter of finding the right people, the venue that is usually provided by some of our colleagues, whose parents are not in the country, for a nominal fee and some few drinks. A lot of teenagers love partying and our meeting point is usually the Haddon and Sly area and the wild parties are usually done on weekends.

“Of course the parents are not made aware of what really transpires. Otherwise no parent would release their children. As for the police they sometimes pitch up while on patrol but they are not a problem. We know how to deal with them,” said one of the teenagers when asked how they go about it.

He added that usually the venue would be a closely guarded secret known only to a few while the majority would be told on the very day of the party as they would be worried of police raids.

Asked to explain their immoral behaviour, the teenager laughingly said it was part of growing up.

According to a blogger a lot of other night clubs were in the same business of hosting underage drinkers; working with youthful organisers who call themselves “clicks”. They invite fellow young people to come and party, pay entrance fees which the clicks pocket while the club benefits from alcohol sales.