Police put on spot over students assault

HUMAN rights lawyers have given police in Masvingo seven days to provide names of law enforcement agents who brutalised protesting students at Gokomere High School.

In a statement yesterday, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said the brutal assault and torture of the students followed protests that broke out on Monday over poor diet and learning conditions.

ZLHR said the students were detained at Masvingo Central Police Station, and were only released following representations made by their lawyer Martin Mureri of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

"He (Mureri) emphasised the need for officer-in-charge to engage the students' parents or guardians instead of keeping them in detention.

"Some students were left nursing injuries after they were assaulted and tortured by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers, who arrested them on Sunday November 7, 2021, and on Monday November 8, 2021, after they were accused of staging a demonstration at the school against unsuitable learning conditions.

"In his letter, Mureri protested against the conduct of police officers who arrested the students and assaulted them and left them in bad shape," the ZLHR said.

"Mureri stated that parents now want the alleged assault and torture to be investigated within seven days, and that the parents must be furnished with the outcome of the probe detailing the names of the law enforcement agents who ill-treated the students."

Allegations were that on November 7, police arrested 40 Gokomere students after they allegedly destroyed dining hall window panes, and a vehicle used by the school head, Acquanos Mazhunga, during a demonstration.