News / National
Police arrested 36 children over recent violence
30 Jan 2019 at 07:52hrs | Views
POLICE have confirmed arresting 36 children for allegedly taking part in the recent violence that rocked Harare, Bulawayo and some parts of the country.
Addressing the media Tuesday, national police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba also revealed that over a thousand protesters have since been arrested in the aftermath of the country's worst public disturbances since the 1998 food riots.
"Before we came to this briefing, we inquired with all our police stations across the country. Some children were arrested during the recent civil arrest and so far we are aware that 14 were arrested in Braeside (Harare) and 22 in Chitungwiza.
"All the children arrested were released into the custody of their parents and guardians.
"Probation officers are also involved and all interviews will be conducted in the presence of their lawyers or guardians," Charamba said.
Charamba defended arrests on children saying all citizens, regardless of age, were under the country's laws.
"There is no law here in Zimbabwe that says when children commit crimes, they should not be arrested," Charamba said.
"Otherwise we will inculcate a culture of criminality. Some of these children were arrested for throwing stones at police officers and looting.
"All these children have since been released into the custody of their guardians and the courts are dealing with these.
"We have a partnership with the welfare department as well as probation officers to make sure the rights of these children are not overridden."
Addressing the media Tuesday, national police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba also revealed that over a thousand protesters have since been arrested in the aftermath of the country's worst public disturbances since the 1998 food riots.
"Before we came to this briefing, we inquired with all our police stations across the country. Some children were arrested during the recent civil arrest and so far we are aware that 14 were arrested in Braeside (Harare) and 22 in Chitungwiza.
"All the children arrested were released into the custody of their parents and guardians.
"Probation officers are also involved and all interviews will be conducted in the presence of their lawyers or guardians," Charamba said.
Charamba defended arrests on children saying all citizens, regardless of age, were under the country's laws.
"There is no law here in Zimbabwe that says when children commit crimes, they should not be arrested," Charamba said.
"Otherwise we will inculcate a culture of criminality. Some of these children were arrested for throwing stones at police officers and looting.
"All these children have since been released into the custody of their guardians and the courts are dealing with these.
"We have a partnership with the welfare department as well as probation officers to make sure the rights of these children are not overridden."
Source - newzimbabwe.com
