It was quite a gory sight when a police motorbike rammed into a stationary Zesa truck while pursuing a pirate taxi near the Harare Showgrounds last week. The impact was severe, reducing the motorbike to some heap of metal while fatal injuries were sustained. We have quite a sad state of affairs on our roads; police-kombi wars simply won’t end. In the quest to apprehend, the police, it would appear, have also fallen into the same trap of dicey behaviour; risky to themselves and to the public. The fatalities arising from the running battles between police and commuter omnibus drivers are truly worrisome. Many will remember three-year-old Neil Tanatswa Mutyora, who was cruelly knocked down by a commuter omnibus driver fleeing from police last year. There was an outpouring of anger and grief at the death of young Neil and the police were blamed in equal measure.
Learnmore Zuze
And the question comes: do the police have to break the law in pursuit of kombi drivers? Well, a humorous man once said, “If you should swallow a cockroach that is bad enough. In your quest for revenge, do not drink a pesticide to kill the cockroach.” It has often been the case that great truth is contained in humour. That saying, though ludicrous, does well to mirror the story of the death trap that lies before us each day as we walk the streets of Harare. It would appear both the police and the kombi drivers are only mindful of winning the war without due regard to the grave danger their actions pose to the innocent.
The clashes between the police and kombi drivers have become a fertile ground for the loss of precious lives. Hardly a month passes without an injury or death being recorded. On their part, the disrespectful kombi drivers seem to enjoy the cat-and-mouse games. Financial survival seems to be all that matters — with commuters’ lives as collateral damage. How else does a licenced driver extricate himself from such an action as reversing at high speed without checking whether there could be someone behind a vehicle? It really appears like a game to most of the under-age drivers. Suicidal swerving, weaving in-between other vehicles and speeding in gangways have become common scenes in Harare. But it gets ugly when one takes stock of the anguish brought by this perilous behaviour to date. The high-speed chases have left passengers and pedestrians vulnerable to accidents.
There is no doubt, the police have a right to stop motorists and ask for proper documentation as well as fitness papers. However, the errant behaviour of most kombi drivers is shocking to say the least. A number of police officers have been knocked down by these irresponsible drivers as they try to evade arrest.
Sometime ago, in an attempt to avoid spikes, a Harare kombi driver reversed at an incredible speed and rammed into an innocent old man who died on the spot. The behaviour of the drivers is certainly untoward and the agony it has caused has reached intolerable proportions.
While it is indisputable that the mischief has to be stopped, it is a subject of intense debate whether the means being employed by our law enforcers will achieve the desired outcome. Does one fight fire with fire? Does one end trouble by creating more trouble? Should it take a wrong to correct another wrong? These are the questions I found asking myself after witnessing a high-speed chase of a kombi along Samora Machel Avenue. People had to scurry for cover while the hapless passengers could be heard screaming in a futile attempt to stop the headstrong kombi driver who sped as though the devil was after him.
This fleeing behaviour has led to the police resorting to the use of the dreaded spikes to stop the adamant drivers. Now, what happens when a speeding kombi ploughs into a spike? What happens when a police officer smashes the windscreen while passengers are seated in front? Again, one asks: do our law enforcers have to use such excessive force simply to stop an errant driver? Are the law enforcers also not being party to the loss of lives? Honestly, there are better ways to deal with these outlaws than employing violence. Smashing of windscreens and throwing of spikes, in my view, is as bad as weaving through at high speeds. Two wrongs do not make a right. Violence begets violence and this is self-evident. we all know of the mob rule that befell a police officer who threw spikes at a kombi recently. More lives will definitely be lost if they continue on this path and Harare will soon consolidate its place as a death trap.
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Why not record the registration numbers of fleeing vehicles and effectively deal with offenders than endanger breadwinners and innocent people going about their business?
A speedy solution is vital lest we continue to lose lives for, indeed, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Learnmore Zuze is a legal researcher, author, and media analyst. He writes here in his own capacity. e-mail:[email protected]
