THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) will institute internal
disciplinary proceedings against six police officers who allegedly brutalised
two women from Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb for allegedly violating lockdown
regulations.
Simbarashe Bvekwa, Tichaona Zariro, Patson Gumoreyi,
Zibusiso Masuku, Elizabeth Denhere and Christabel Munyondo were arrested on Friday
for allegedly assaulting the two siblings aged 30 and 36 years.
The suspects were briefly taken to Western Commonage
Magistrate Court on Saturday but the case could not start as the case was
referrred back for further investigations as prosecution noted contradictions
between victims’ accounts and evidence before the court.
In an interview yesterday, national police spokesperson
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the suspects who are facing criminal
charges will also be subjected to internal disciplinary process.
“Certainly they will be subjected to internal disciplinary
process. I can’t specify when investigations will start because that would be
tantamount to revealing their charges before the officers are served. What is
important is that they will face charges,” he said.
The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC)
last week initiated investigations leading to the arrest of the police
officers.
The commission condemned the alleged police heavy
handedness saying it was unwarranted.
The women detailed how the officers assaulted them and
detained them overnight at Cowdray Park Police Base after refusing to let them
pay fines.
The siblings, names withheld, were arrested on April 16 at
a supermarket in the suburb where they had gone to buy food for their children.
Pictures of the battered and bruised women have since gone
viral on social media.
The women alleged three cops picked them out from a queue
at the supermarket and cuffed their hands behind their backs.
The officers allegedly force-marched the victims through a
bush to Cowdray Park Police Base, making frequent stops along the way to beat
them with the batons.
Commenting on the incident last week, Asst Comm Nyathi said
police officers should be professional while executing their duties. “They
should not get carried away when they perform their duties.
“They should stick to the mandate which the police have in
terms of the constitution of the country, in terms of the deployment which
would have been done by their commanders. So, anyone who goes outside the
deployment order and does their own things will face the full the wrath of the
law,” said Asst Comm Nyathi. Chronicle
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