THE 29 suspects accused of burning two police vehicles after riots broke out at Chingwizi Transit Camp in Masvingo over the weekend yesterday claimed they were brutally assaulted by police officers following their arrest.
OWN CORRESPONDENT
The suspects were part of the 300 villagers who were initially picked up and detained at Triangle Police Station in connection with the alleged arson.
Through their lawyers Phillip Maboke, Martin Mureri, Phillip Shumba and Blessing Nyamaropa, the suspects told Chiredzi magistrate Tayengwa Chibanda that they were severely assaulted, denied food and sanitation and had many of their rights breached during their weekend detention.
The lawyers also argued that some of their HIV-positive clients were denied access to their medication and singled out the officer-in-charge of operations for the police crack team, identified as Sergeant Machona, as the main culprit.
To prove their claims, the lawyers paraded two of their clients who took off their shirts to exhibit assault marks and challenged their arrest and detention as unlawful.
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However, the main State witness, Detective Assistant Inspector Victor Chinono, denied that the villagers were assaulted and said the 29 were implicated by their fellow detainees.
The matter continues tomorrow when the magistrate is going to rule whether the arrests were conducted in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, the suspects, who comprised 19 men and eight women, were sent to Buffalo Range Prison for the night with the consent of their lawyers and the State.
State allegations are that on August 1 this year, the suspects turned riotous and blocked government vehicles for transferring medical equipment from a clinic at the camp site to a new site earmarked for the villagers’ resettlement.