POLICE have been accused of trying to cover up the abduction of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists Joanah Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri who were found dumped in Muchapondwa village in Bindura.
This emerged in court yesterday when the activists’ lawyer
Alec Muchadehama was cross-examining State witness, detective Chief Inspector
Morgan Chafa.
Chafa led a team of police officers to the village, where
Mamombe and Chimbiri were found. He told the court that he found the activists
crying, and failing to walk.
Chafa said he recorded their statements after they had been
admitted at the privately-owned Parktown Hospital.
In recording the statements, Chafa said he was doing his
investigations on abduction allegations.
But Muchadehama accused him of wanting to cover up the
abduction allegations as that was the only time the activists ever heard from.
“Are you aware that Kazembe Kazembe (Home Affairs) your
minister issued a Press statement on the accused persons allegations?”
Muchadehama asked.
In response, Chafa said he was not aware.
“You were specifically mandated to make sure that their
statements are regarded as not correct. After the accused persons gave you a
statement, you never came back to them to advise them of the status of your
investigations,” Muchadehama told Chafa.
“Your so-called investigation was to cover up the abduction
and true to your mandate, you found nothing on what happened to the accused
persons and to date, the persons who abducted the accused persons have not been
arrested.”
Muchadehama said police knew the people who abducted the
activists.
Chafa admitted in court that they took statements from
villagers David Masungo and Obert Madzimbamuto who confirmed that the accused
persons were tortured and could not walk.
The court also heard that the doctors who examined the
accused persons concluded that they were terrorised, tortured and had bruises
on their bodies.
The doctors also concluded that the duo, along with fellow
activist Netsai Marova, were sexually abused by their abductors. Chimbiri and
Mamombe face charges of faking their abduction.
They deny the charges. Newsday
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