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Paper short abstract:

The study examines the policing regimes that have emerged in the streets and the various ways that the traders have negotiated and navigated the policing of their trade. I argue, the ban of sex enhancers and the policing thereof, have sustained this illicit trade

Paper long abstract:

Following the ban of the sale of over-the-counter sex enhancers in 2013 by the Zimbabwean government on the grounds that they were dangerous and not authentic, a vibrant illicit street trade in the commodities emerged and was sustained helped by a deteriorating and volatile economy. The sex enhancers were in the form of pills, oils, fluids, tea and coffee, among others. The trade of sex enhancers in the streets also violates city council bylaws. The study examines the policing regimes that have emerged in the streets and the various ways that the traders have negotiated and navigated the policing of their trade. Rather than end or reduce the trade in sex enhancers, I argue, the ban of sex enhancers and the policing thereof, have engendered various layers of fakery while sustaining and entrenching the illicit trade. The various policing regimes have included the Zimbabwe Republic Police and their drug busts (both sanctioned and unsanctioned), policing by municipal police, regimes of self-policing among the traders as well as imposter police. The sanctioned drug busts by the police have themselves become merely performative acts, a catch and release drill which can also be interpreted as ‘fake’ policing. The arena of informal/illicit trade in sex enhancers has become largely a space of economic survival for everyone given the never-ending economic crisis in the country. Using both online and traditional ethnography, this study explores the various ways in which the traders experience policing of their trade in sex enhancers.