Six police officers, who are accused of assaulting a commuter omnibus operator after he failed to pay a bribe, yesterday appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court facing charges of assault and malicious damage to property.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
The six – Munyaradzi Bvukumbwe (23), Vivian Kapaso (25), Herbert Tsiga (25), Eriswort Gazimbi (27), Khululekhani Dale (27) and Prize Mpofu (27) – were not asked to plead when they appeared before magistrate Barbara Chimboza, who remanded them to April 11 on free bail.
Allegations are that on March 11 this year, the six officers arrested the complainant’s commuter omnibus driver and took him to the VID depot in Eastlea.
It is alleged the complainant, who is not named, followed and saw Bvukumbwe, Kapaso, Tsiga, Gazimbi, Dale and Mpofu assaulting the driver, after which he started recording the incident using his phone. However, the six officers are said to have been enraged by the complainant’s action and Bvukumbwe allegedly hit the victim’s phone with his hand and it fell and in the process its screen was damaged.
The State alleges while the complainant was picking up his mobile phone, the suspects started assaulting him using baton sticks, open hands, fists and booted feet several times all over his body.
Bvukumbwe is also being charged separately with malicious damage to property for damaging the complainant’s mobile phone.
Sebastian Mutizirwa appeared for the State.
