A TRAFFIC police officer allegedly stormed a house in
Bulawayo’s Sizinda suburb and locked himself in one of the rooms after being
assaulted by a dreadlocked pirate Honda Fit driver he had tried to arrest.
The incident occurred yesterday at about 10AM along the
Nketa Drive near Ihlathi High School in Sizinda. The vehicle was coming from
Nketa headed towards Entumbane.
The route has become a cash cow for pirate taxis because it
is not serviced by formal public transporters.
Residents said the Honda Fit driver started fighting with
the cop who had pulled the hand brake of his car while it was in motion.
“The vehicle made a sudden U-turn, almost veering off the
road. Before we could even figure out what was happening. We saw a police
officer and the driver tumbling out of the vehicle locked in combat,” said a
resident who declined to be named.
“We were later told the cop tried to arrest the defiant
Honda Fit driver. He pulled the hand brake, almost crashing the car as it
nearly veered of the road before making a U-turn.”
He said a crowd gathered around the fighting men, with some
people carrying metal bars baying for the officer’s blood.
Fearing for his life, the resident said, the officer took
to his heels and barged into a nearby house where he locked himself in.
The Chronicle visited the house where the cop sought refuge
and a granny who identified herself as Mrs Madziembesa narrated how the officer
invaded the house.
Mrs Madziembesa who comes from Zaka in Masvingo had visited
her relatives when the incident occurred.
She said a heavily sweating man dressed in a police
tracksuit shot into the house and locked himself in.
“We were just watching everything from a distance within
our yard. In a split second, he streaked into the house and locked us outside.
He was in a bad shape. He was breathing heavily and was bleeding because he had
been head-butted several times by a dreadlocked man,” said Mrs Madziembesa.
She said his assailants who were armed with iron bars came
after him.
“I’m a visitor in this city so what was happening was
strange to me. I was afraid he would die in the house while its owners were
away. Is that not a bad omen for me or those who live here? What were they
going to say if I told them that someone had died in their house? I shook so
badly as I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Mrs Madziembesa said after the mob had dispersed, the
officer staggered out and asked for water saying he was feeling dizzy.
She said with neighbours’ assistance, she requested the cop
to leave the house.
“He made a phone call to his colleagues who came and picked
him up. I’ve never seen such a thing in my life. The dread-locked man was very
ruthless,” she said.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango
said she had not received a report on the matter.
Last month, an angry mob rained blows on a police officer
who had allegedly caused an accident by grabbing the steering wheel from a
driver whose commuter omnibus he had impounded. chronicle
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