Man slapped with a $200 fine for insulting police officers

A Zimbabwean man based in South Africa recently got himself into trouble after he called police officers manning a roadblock "dogs."

Shepard Muzambasia Chilaba (36) pleaded guilty to charges of undermining and insulting State security agents when he appeared before Binga magistrate Stephen Ndlovu on Wednesday.

Chilaba had visited his rural home.

The Binga court heard that the incident occurred at the 152-kilometre peg along the Binga-Kamativi Road on May 15 this year.

Two days before the incident Chilaba was stopped at a roadblock and asked to produce an insurance certificate for a Zimbabwean-registered car he was driving.

When he failed to produce the certificate, police asked him to pay a spot fine, but he pleaded for lenience and was allowed to drive off without paying the money.

On May 15, Chilaba was again stopped at the same spot by the same police officers whom he had met earlier and ordered to produce the vehicle insurance certificate.

Instead, Chilaba got out of the car and shouted at the police officers, saying: "Do you know it (insurance certificate) if you see it? You police officers are spoiled, you are dogs."

Ndlovu slapped him with a wholly suspended two-year jail sentence on condition he pays a $200 fine and would not be convicted on a similar offence in the next five years.

David Never Shiku prosecuted.