×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Judge blasts police brutality

News
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Ndou yesterday rapped the police for brutality after detectives from Criminal Investigation Department Homicide Section tortured and seriously injured two Homelink employees facing theft charges involving $100 000. Justice Ndou made the attack in his ruling on an urgent chamber application by the two Homelink employees Khumbuzo Gumbo and […]

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Ndou yesterday rapped the police for brutality after detectives from Criminal Investigation Department Homicide Section tortured and seriously injured two Homelink employees facing theft charges involving $100 000.

Justice Ndou made the attack in his ruling on an urgent chamber application by the two Homelink employees Khumbuzo Gumbo and Sydney Ndachengezwa’s lawyer, Munyaradzi Nzarayapenga, seeking to block police from guarding them at their hospital beds.

The pair are admitted at United Bulawayo Hospitals nursing dog bite wounds after police allegedly set dogs on them.

“What you are doing is unlawful,” Justice Ndou said.

“You should not torture suspects and deny them legal representation.

“The Officer-in–Charge Homicide Section as a senior policeman should know better about the law.”

In the application, the suspects’ lawyer cited Detective Chief Inspector Mpofu, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and Home Affairs co-ministers Theresa Makone and Kembo Mohadi as respondents.

Justice Ndou granted the order and ruled that the police pay all costs of the application.

“There is no lawful basis for the applicants to remain under police guard as 48 hours has elapsed without the applicants being taken to court,” the judge ruled.

Gumbo and Ndachengedzwa were arrested on Monday last week in connection with $106 677, which allegedly went missing at their workplace. Gumbo is a security officer while Ndachengedzwa is a teller.

After discovering that they had seriously injured the suspects, police allegedly secretly took them to hospital and kept them under guard. Police also denied them access to a lawyer, prompting the urgent court application.

Gumbo and Ndachengedzwa were on Wednesday remanded by Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Mjanja at a makeshift court on their hospital beds. They were each remanded to May 17 on $500 bail.