A POLICE officer on Wednesday fled for dear life as an
angry mob bayed for his blood after an illegal money changer he was chasing was
knocked down by a car near Tredgold Building in Bulawayo.
An operation to rid the city of illegal foreign dealers,
especially around Tredgold Building and surrounding areas is underway.
A Chronicle news crew witnessed the incident which occurred
at corner Leopold Takawira and Fort Street at around 11AM on Wednesday.
The siphatheleni who was identified only as, Portia, was
outpacing the police officer from the Foundation College side of Herbert
Chitepo Street.
She was about halfway across Fort Street when she suddenly
realised she was on a collision course with a black Lexus.
Portia fell on the road as she tried to avoid the car and
the car ran over her arm.
Her colleagues who had disappeared suddenly re-appeared and
together with members of the public ran after the police officer.
The officer sprinted towards Bulawayo Central Police
Station and it could not be established what became of him.
Portia, whose left arm appeared broken, was rushed by
ambulance to Mpilo Central Hospital. Some osiphatheleni, who spoke to The
Chronicle, were fuming.
“These police officers are cruel! That woman is a mother of
two and she is trying to fend for her family under these economic
difficulties,” said a woman who declined to be named.
Another forex dealer said the Tredgold area was the
epicentre of all money transactions and they were not prepared to leave the
place despite the raids.
“There is a lot of traffic, we can’t move away because as
people go to board taxis they pass through this place. We target people here so
we can’t move anywhere else,” he said.
The illegal money changers are always playing hide and seek
with the police at this place popularly known as the “World Bank” due to the
availability of cash in different currencies.
Bulawayo acting provincial police spokesperson, Assistant
Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, could not be reached for comment. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment