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Woman sues police over shooting

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A CHITUNGWIZA woman, who was shot by a police officer manning a roadblock along the Harare-Chitungwiza Road, is seeking over $17 000 compensation for injuries sustained.

A CHITUNGWIZA woman, who was shot by a police officer manning a roadblock along the Harare-Chitungwiza Road, is seeking over $17 000 compensation for injuries sustained.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Loveness Chiriseri recently issued summons against Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, Home Affairs and Culture minister Cain Matema and the officer-in-charge at St Mary’s Police Station.

In her declaration through her lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Chiriseri said on August 19 this year, she boarded an unregistered private vehicle in Chitungwiza while on her way to Harare.

“At the intersection of Seke and Delport Road, there was a roadblock and a member of the ZRP from St Mary’s Police Station, Chitungwiza, whose particulars are unknown to the plaintiff (Chiriseri), waved down the vehicle to stop, but the driver proceeded without stopping,” Chiriseri said.

The woman said another member of the ZRP from the same police station, whose particulars are also unknown to her, “then fired indiscriminately at the vehicle, while standing in the middle of the road”.

“After the first shot, the driver held his head and the vehicle veered off the road. A second shot was then fired directly at the vehicle and the bullet pierced the plaintiff’s right buttock, causing her severe pain and bleeding,” Chiriseri said.

She was admitted at a local hospital for four days and since her discharge, she has been receiving daily treatment for the wound and going to hospital for the numerous reviews.

“Plaintiff suffered severe medical injuries and permanent disfigurement. She is also suffering from depression and anxiety … as a result of the reckless handling and indiscriminate discharge of a firearm by a police officer,” she said.

The matter is pending.