Opinion / Columnist
Police should come clean on Chiadzwa murder case
29 Sep 2011 at 12:53hrs | Views
The report about a Chiadzwa family demanding justice from Police over the alleged fatal assault of one of their members and serious injury to two others over suspected illegal diamond panning (NewsDay, 29/09/11) deserves urgent attention from the Zimbabwean authorities.
The tabloid's online news says a post-mortem conducted at Mutare Provincial Hospital on Monday by a Dr Kasongo, the alleged victim, Tsororai Kusena (39) succumbed to traumatic shock due to assault.
Kusena, of Betera village in the diamond-rich Chiadzwa area, died on Friday 23 September allegedly in police custody while his two brothers are battling for life at Mutare Provincial Hospital following the alleged assault.
The distressing news comes in the wake of the discovery by a BBC Panorama programme last month of a torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces in Marange diamond fields (BBC, 08/08/11).
Witnesses talked of beatings and dog maulings. A man who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings told the BBC: "They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening."
Although, the European Union which was suspected of pushing for the lifting of a ban on Marange diamonds said it would consider the evidence produced by the BBC programme, it is not clear if it has taken any action, while Zimbabwean authorities were dismissive of the report.
However, Human Rights Watch has condemned Zimbabwe for failing to prosecute killings and torture.
Last week's tragic incident also comes at a time when Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Chairperson, Mathieu Yamba has reportedly expressed disappointment at the civil society's decision to boycott the forthcoming plenary scheduled for Kinshasa, DRC.
Unless human rights abuses committed by Zimbabwean security forces in Chiadzwa and Marange areas are addressed, the KPCS will remain deadlocked on the way forward as far as the certification of the country's controversial diamonds is concerned.
It is hoped that the KPCS will exert pressure on the Zimbabwean authorities to cooperate fully with investigations surrounding the tragic death of Tsororai Kusena and the serious injuries sustained by his two brothers from the alleged police assault at Chaidzwa.
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Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
The tabloid's online news says a post-mortem conducted at Mutare Provincial Hospital on Monday by a Dr Kasongo, the alleged victim, Tsororai Kusena (39) succumbed to traumatic shock due to assault.
Kusena, of Betera village in the diamond-rich Chiadzwa area, died on Friday 23 September allegedly in police custody while his two brothers are battling for life at Mutare Provincial Hospital following the alleged assault.
The distressing news comes in the wake of the discovery by a BBC Panorama programme last month of a torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces in Marange diamond fields (BBC, 08/08/11).
Witnesses talked of beatings and dog maulings. A man who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings told the BBC: "They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening."
However, Human Rights Watch has condemned Zimbabwe for failing to prosecute killings and torture.
Last week's tragic incident also comes at a time when Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Chairperson, Mathieu Yamba has reportedly expressed disappointment at the civil society's decision to boycott the forthcoming plenary scheduled for Kinshasa, DRC.
Unless human rights abuses committed by Zimbabwean security forces in Chiadzwa and Marange areas are addressed, the KPCS will remain deadlocked on the way forward as far as the certification of the country's controversial diamonds is concerned.
It is hoped that the KPCS will exert pressure on the Zimbabwean authorities to cooperate fully with investigations surrounding the tragic death of Tsororai Kusena and the serious injuries sustained by his two brothers from the alleged police assault at Chaidzwa.
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Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
Source - Clifford Chitupa Mashiri
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