Cops crash into house, injure 2

TWO siblings aged 6 and 11 years from Nkulumane were rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital with serious injuries yesterday when a police officer, suspected to have been drunk, rammed his vehicle into a house they were sleeping in.

The police officer, whose name could not established yesterday, was in the company of a colleague when the accident occurred just after midnight.

He is suspected to have lost control of the car after an empty beer bottle rolled underneath the brake pedal while he was negotiating a corner.

When The Chronicle visited the house yesterday, the walls of the room where the children were sleeping were destroyed, while the damaged property had been removed.

Michael Chibaya (11) was treated and discharged while his younger brother Josphat Chibaya, 6 was admitted to the hospital for the injuries they sustained after the accident.

Neighbours said the police officers, who are also from Nkulumane were driving a red Honda Fit and were drunk when the accident occurred.

"I heard a screeching noise outside followed by a loud bang that rattled the windows. The two children who were sleeping in the house screamed and most neighbours rushed to the house. We found the two police officers who are our neighbours trying to move the car from the rubble while the children were screaming in pain.

"We asked them what had happened and we realised that they were drunk. One of them fled the scene and we apprehended his colleague who couldn't even run. They tried to drive the car from the scene but the doors were stuck," said Mrs Nobuhle Ntuli.

She added that the driver of the car told them that his colleague's wife was driving when the accident happened.

"He knew that they were in trouble. So he lied in an effort to conceal evidence that they were drinking and driving. The woman he was talking about was at home sleeping.

"The two were extremely drunk. They behaved strangely and shouted obscenities. They even fought in front of us. One of them only came back in the morning to apologise," said Mrs Ntuli.

Another neighbour, Mr Noel Chizu said they discovered that the driver lost control of the car after one of their empty bottles rolled underneath the brake pedal.

"When the doors were opened the bottle was still stuck underneath the brakes. We're suspecting that it's the reason why he failed to control the car.

"We called the police and they attended the scene. It's embarrassing for police officers to behave like this. And the painful thing is that they are our neighbours. We tried to shoot videos with our cell phones but it was very dark," said Mr Chizu.

The cops, residents told The Chronicle, returned to the scene yesterday around 4PM with a woman that they claimed had been driving.

"We chased them away because we knew they were lying. They obviously paid the woman. We know her as she frequents night spots," said a resident who asked not to be named.

On Tuesday four police officers, two of them in uniform, caused a stir when they threw opaque beer from their private vehicle after being involved in an accident in the Bulawayo city centre.

The officers, who appeared drunk, threw a scud and a super, popularly known as Chibuku batai munhu, in an apparent bid to conceal evidence that they were drinking.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango could not immediately comment on the latest crash involving police officers.

Recently, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Obedingwa Mnguni urged members of the public to record videos of police officers violating the law.

He said evidence gathered will come handy in prosecuting rogue law enforcement agents.