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ZANU wants to teach Welshman Ncube how to be Zimbabwean
21 Apr 2011 at 18:24hrs | Views
MDC-N leader Welshman Ncube has been accused of "provoking bloodshed" by Senior Assistant Commissioner Veterai. He said Ncube must be taught on how to be Zimbabwean and must respect national holidays."
The officer commanding Mat North was defending police action of bringing National Healing minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu and Roman Catholic priest Marko Mnkandla to court in leg irons and handcuffed to each other to answer charges of holding a political rally without police clearance. He said leg irons were meant to prevent detainees from escaping.
Veterai accused Ncube of trying to facilitate any escape for his MDC counterpart from custody at Lupane Police Station, its alleged Ncube arrived at the police station in a convoy of 10 cars.
Ncube's party spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube told the NewsDay newspaper that the information, Veterai was given was "far from the truth as day is from midnight". Dube said: "When we went to Lupane, we wanted to visit Mzila–Ndlovu. When we got there we were told that it was not yet time for visitors and that we should return at 12:30pm. But when we returned to the station we found two police officers guarding the gate and they told us that the station had been closed for the day."
"We are a law-abiding party which respects all the government institutions in the country including the police. We will never set ourselves on the course where it is said Zimbabwe is an ungovernable country. We never intended to fight with the police."
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights told the court on Tuesday Mnkandla was denied food but was given only water during his six-day ordeal at the police station. Veterai denied the allegations saying it was a chargeable offence for a police officer to deny accused persons food even once and no member of the policeman would risk their job by engaging in such a practice.
On Tuesday, police reportedly detained five lawyers representing Mzila-Ndlovu, Mnkhandla and eight MDC members at roadblocks, but Veterai said: "If being stopped and searched at roadblocks means arrest, then I need to go back to school.
Veterai said police had deployed 1 000 officers in plain clothes with cameras and recorders to flush out perpetrators of violence in Matabeleland North.
The officer commanding Mat North was defending police action of bringing National Healing minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu and Roman Catholic priest Marko Mnkandla to court in leg irons and handcuffed to each other to answer charges of holding a political rally without police clearance. He said leg irons were meant to prevent detainees from escaping.
Veterai accused Ncube of trying to facilitate any escape for his MDC counterpart from custody at Lupane Police Station, its alleged Ncube arrived at the police station in a convoy of 10 cars.
Ncube's party spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube told the NewsDay newspaper that the information, Veterai was given was "far from the truth as day is from midnight". Dube said: "When we went to Lupane, we wanted to visit Mzila–Ndlovu. When we got there we were told that it was not yet time for visitors and that we should return at 12:30pm. But when we returned to the station we found two police officers guarding the gate and they told us that the station had been closed for the day."
"We are a law-abiding party which respects all the government institutions in the country including the police. We will never set ourselves on the course where it is said Zimbabwe is an ungovernable country. We never intended to fight with the police."
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights told the court on Tuesday Mnkandla was denied food but was given only water during his six-day ordeal at the police station. Veterai denied the allegations saying it was a chargeable offence for a police officer to deny accused persons food even once and no member of the policeman would risk their job by engaging in such a practice.
On Tuesday, police reportedly detained five lawyers representing Mzila-Ndlovu, Mnkhandla and eight MDC members at roadblocks, but Veterai said: "If being stopped and searched at roadblocks means arrest, then I need to go back to school.
Veterai said police had deployed 1 000 officers in plain clothes with cameras and recorders to flush out perpetrators of violence in Matabeleland North.
Source - Byo24News
