Cop acquitted of brutally assaulting teen suspect

A POLICE officer, together with his two accomplices, who were facing charges of brutally assaulting a Msitheli High School student (16) in April, have been acquitted by a Bulawayo magistrate due to lack of evidence.

The three denied the charges when they appeared before magistrate Tancy Dube on Thursday last week.

Dube found the police officer, Munashe Shumba (30), stationed at West Commonage Police Station, together with Millister Shumba (43) from Mpopoma and Manfred Nhemachema (43) from Nyamandlovu, not guilty of the charge and acquitted them at the close of the State case.

The court was told that on April 24 midnight, the three allegedly accompanied Shumba (the police officer) to the juvenile's house to investigate a theft case reported by Nhemachena, of which the juvenile was a suspect.

The court heard that the trio picked the schoolboy and drove to a bushy area near Gampu Primary School, Mpopoma.

They allegedly force-marched the teen to a park near the Mpopoma housing offices, where Shumba is said to have instructed the juvenile to remove his trousers and underwear while he interrogated him over the cash and cellphone theft case.

The schoolboy denied the allegations and the three allegedly assaulted him with clenched fists, open hands and kicked him all over the body. The boy sustained injuries on the left leg and ribs.

The boy told the court that he then admitted to committing the crime under duress.

The court also heard that the police officer threatened the teen not to reveal the assault and dropped him off after nearly two hours of torture.