COUPLE ASSAULTED DURING 2019 ANTI-GOVT PROTESTS
Kazembe Kazembe
A ZIMBABWEAN COURT has ordered Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)
Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and Home Affairs and Cultural
Heritage Minister Hon. Kazembe Kazembe to pay more than US$10 000 to a
couple that was roughed up by some law enforcement agents while
claiming to be suppressing an anti-government protest in 2019.Harare Magistrate Winfilda Tiyatara on Friday 25 June 2021 ordered
Matanga and Hon. Kazembe to pay US$5 000 each or its equivalent of
RTGS$450 000 each to Canaan Machando and his wife Sipetangani Machando
as compensation for violation of their fundamental rights and their
property.
In addition, Magistrate Tiyatara ordered Matanga and Hon. Kazembe to
pay RTGS$56 800 to Canaan and RTGS$24 000 to Sipetangani as
compensation for damages to their mobile phone handsets.
During trial, Canaan and Sipetangani, who were assisted by Fiona Iliff
of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to sue Matanga and Hon. Kazembe,
told Magistrate Tiyatara that on 14 January 2019 some ZRP officers
together with some soldiers who had been deployed to quell
anti-government protests held over a unilateral fuel price hike
slapped Sipetangani several times and kicked her in the presence of
her two minor children. The police officers and soldiers ordered
Canaan to lie flat on his stomach, stepped on him before assaulting
him and also directed him to sit in a bucket full of cold water.
The soldiers and police officers also took Canaan to Mharapara Road,
the main road in Unit F high-density suburb in Chitungwiza, where the
protests had been taking place and directed him to remove burning
tyres from the streets and in the process he sustained some burns on
his hands.
As a result of the assault and ill-treatment, Canaan sustained
injuries to his back, thighs, eardrum and had to seek medical
attention and he was unable to work as a result of his medical
condition and suffered loss of income.
The ZRP officers broke Sipetangani’s Samsung mobile phone handset
valued at RTGS$24 000 while one of the police officers threw teargas
canisters inside their house in Unit F high-density suburb in
Chitungwiza and damaged a window pane and the floor valued at the cost
of RTGS$56 800.
The persecution by ZRP officers forced Sipetengani and her minor
children including a visitor out of the house as it was inhabitable
for three days because of the teargas and this meant Sipetengani and
Canaan were unable to work for several days.
In her ruling, Magistrate Tiyatara said Sipetengani and Canaan and
their children suffered emotional pain and suffering, trauma and shock
from the incident and the couple was humiliated and embarrassed by the
indignity of being forced out of their home owing to misconduct by
police officers.
Magistrate Tiyatara said the conduct of ZRP officers complained of by
Canaan and Sipetengani was unlawful and there was no legal
justification whatsoever for them to have conducted themselves in such
a wayward manner.
The Magistrate also ruled that the actions of the ZRP officers was so
indiscriminate, unwarranted and unnecessary and their conduct falls
short of the duty of care that the police service has towards
civilians.
COMMENTS
At last.
God be praised.
But Matanga and Kazembe, while using our money of course, will appeal and appeal and appeal till these two victims of police brutality run out of money and become penniless and surrender.
The usual trick used by tyrant Governments such as ours.
All those abused by these thugs should sue this regime in a class action?? Wonder what the result would be ?