Zimbabwe prison guards use pick handles to assault two Harare men 'trespassing'

TWO residents of Harare are demanding US$10,650 from the Justice ministry, commissioner general of Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) and two Chikurubi officers who unleashed prisoners on them for allegedly trespassing.

Officers Michael Moses Nduna and Florence Chihambakwe, both stationed at Chikurubi Maximum Prison, reportedly encountered Allen Tendai Gombedza and his colleague, Evidence Kutsawa in January this year as they passed through the prison farm.

Nduna and Chihambakwe, who were supervising inmates, then ordered the two to lie down and started hitting them on their backs with wooden pick handles, accusing them of trespassing a prohibited area.

The officers then ordered inmates they were overseeing to also assault the duo, leading to a 3% disability on Gombedza.

"Sometime in January 2022, Gombedza and Kutsawa were passing through Chikurubi Farm when they encountered Nduna and Chihambakwe, who advised them that they were passing through a prohibited area," reads papers before the courts.

"Nduna and Chihambakwe instructed Gombedza and Kutsawa to lie down on the ground before they started assaulting them on their feet using wooden pick handles.

"After the assaults, Nduna and Chihambakwe subsequently instructed the inmates they were supervising to assault Gombedza and Kutsawa.

"Gombedza sustained severe injuries and had to seek medical attention. He suffered approximately three percent residual disability as a result of the assault."

Gombedza is demanding US$5,250 while Kutsawa wants US$5,400.