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Magistrate orders Chihuri to pay for wrongful arrest
05 Sep 2015 at 08:20hrs | Views
A Zimbabwean Magistrate on Friday 04 September, 2015 ordered Home Affairs Minister and Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri to pay $550 to Zulu Jinya, a Chingwizi villager, in delictual damages for pain and suffering and wrongful arrest.
Jinya, an internally displaced person (IDP) living in Chingwizi in Masvingo province, was arrested in August 2014 together with other villagers and charged with committing public violence following an alleged mutiny at the transit camp.
But he was acquitted of committing the charge in December 2014 and his lawyers Peggy Tavagadza and Blessing Nyamaropa from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights filed a civil claim amounting to $3 000 as compensation for assault during arrest and detention.
In his ruling, Chiredzi Magistrate Tafadzwa Mhlanga condemned the police practice of assaulting suspects in police custody which he said has over the years been treated with impunity and as such the courts should send a clear message that no one is above the law.
Magistrate Mhlanga said he was not satisfied that the police officers who arrested Jinya had reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence.
Jinya, an internally displaced person (IDP) living in Chingwizi in Masvingo province, was arrested in August 2014 together with other villagers and charged with committing public violence following an alleged mutiny at the transit camp.
In his ruling, Chiredzi Magistrate Tafadzwa Mhlanga condemned the police practice of assaulting suspects in police custody which he said has over the years been treated with impunity and as such the courts should send a clear message that no one is above the law.
Magistrate Mhlanga said he was not satisfied that the police officers who arrested Jinya had reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence.
Source - Byo24News
