Police break windscreens of defaulting taxis

Zimbabwe Republic Police officers in Harare are reportedly crushing windscreens of all Kombis found loading at undesignated places.

According to reports from the capital police officers claim to be tired of ticketing the offending taxis and so resort to punishing them by breaking their windows.

Senior Assistant Inspector of the ZRP Charity Charamba has warned all police officers involved in the illegal action to stop the act immediately. She urged all operators who have had their vehicles smashed to come forward and report the officers.

The commuter operators however, claim that the officers come soliciting for bribes and when not paid the bribe break the windscreens to spite the operator. Corruption is very rampant in the Zimbabwe Police Force particularly those in the traffic section.

Similar wars between police and operators are being experienced in the second capital of Bulawayo. In Bulawayo, the police officers are clamping the defiant kombis or throwing spikes in front of them on the road to deflat tyres. 16 people survived a near fatal accident in Bulawayo recently when a police officer who was denied a pay off threw spikes at a speeding escaping kombi.