Traffic cops continue to defy High Court order

POLICE have vowed to continue demanding red reflective triangles and fire extinguishers from motorists in defiance of a recent High Court order which ruled the regulation as null and void.

Last November, High Court judge Justice Francis Bere ruled against the Road Traffic (Construction and Equipment Use) Regulations 2010 contained in Statutory Instrument 154 of 2010, which, among other things, sought to ban left-hand drive vehicles from Zimbabwe's roads and empowered police to enforce carrying of fire extinguishers on all motor vehicles.

However, national police spokesperson Superintendent Andrew Phiri said the requirements remained in force since the State had appealed against Justice Bere's ruling at the Supreme Court.

"The note of an appeal at the Supreme Court overrides a ruling from a lower court, so because of that the law is still in force and that is our job to enforce the law," said Phiri.

The latest legal wrangle was sparked by a High Court application filed by the Transport Operators' Association of Zimbabwe (Toaz) represented by Bernard Lunga challenging the legality of forcing motorists to compulsorily have reflectors and fire
extinguishers in their vehicles.

In its application, the association argued that the regulation was improperly gazetted.