News / National
Riot police teargas, indiscriminately beat up people
04 Nov 2014 at 21:34hrs | Views
Unsuspecting residents of Marondera woke up this morning to a surprise attack by riot police in the Central Business District.
Sources on the ground said over 30 police officers besieged the town beating up anyone in sight including a two-year-old child and her father who were shopping. They were beaten with baton sticks and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
The attack could have partly been caused by the tense situation in Marondera and public anger at police following the murder of a kombi driver and owner, Mogove Manonge, 30, by police over a bribe last weekend.
Manonge's body is expected to pass through the town from Macheke to his rural home in Hwedza for burial.
"There is commotion in the town as police are assaulting everybody with baton sticks.
"The attack was unprovoked as the victims were going about their personal shopping and other businesses in the town," said a vendor who chose to identified as Angela.
She said the town was almost deserted as people ran away for dear life.
Chief Sup Albert Nkoma of Marondera Police whom The Zimbabwean was made to believe was in charge, refused to comment as he said he did not run the show.
"Who referred you to me for comment? I am not in charge of the district and neither do I have the authority to comment," said Nkoma.
Snr Ass Com Charity Charamba, the police national spokesperson, professed ignorance about the disturbances in Marondera.
"I have not been briefed of the situation in Marondera, so I cannot help," Charamba told The Zimbabwean in a telephone interview.
According to reliable police sources, Manonge was murdered by three police officers manning a roadblock at Bemba Farm along the Marondera-Murewa road.
Police had accused the deceased of violating some road traffic rules and demanded a 10 dollar bribe from him.
Manonge, the source said, resisted the corrupt demands resulting in the cops bashing him.
He died on the spot.
The three cops two male and one female were arrested and a case report noted (CR05/11/12).
They are in custody and assisting with police investigations.
The source said a post-mortem conducted Monday in Harare showed that Manonge died as a result of strangulation.
Zimbabwe traffic police have turned embarrassingly corrupt and would demand bribe in front of kombi passengers and other motorists.
Afro barometer, a research project which measures public attitudes on socio-economic issues found that Zimbabwe was the third most corrupt African country after Egypt and Nigeria.
The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa a few years ago also found out that Zimbabwe traffic police were the most corrupt in the Southern Africa region.
Sources on the ground said over 30 police officers besieged the town beating up anyone in sight including a two-year-old child and her father who were shopping. They were beaten with baton sticks and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
The attack could have partly been caused by the tense situation in Marondera and public anger at police following the murder of a kombi driver and owner, Mogove Manonge, 30, by police over a bribe last weekend.
Manonge's body is expected to pass through the town from Macheke to his rural home in Hwedza for burial.
"There is commotion in the town as police are assaulting everybody with baton sticks.
"The attack was unprovoked as the victims were going about their personal shopping and other businesses in the town," said a vendor who chose to identified as Angela.
She said the town was almost deserted as people ran away for dear life.
Chief Sup Albert Nkoma of Marondera Police whom The Zimbabwean was made to believe was in charge, refused to comment as he said he did not run the show.
"Who referred you to me for comment? I am not in charge of the district and neither do I have the authority to comment," said Nkoma.
Snr Ass Com Charity Charamba, the police national spokesperson, professed ignorance about the disturbances in Marondera.
"I have not been briefed of the situation in Marondera, so I cannot help," Charamba told The Zimbabwean in a telephone interview.
According to reliable police sources, Manonge was murdered by three police officers manning a roadblock at Bemba Farm along the Marondera-Murewa road.
Police had accused the deceased of violating some road traffic rules and demanded a 10 dollar bribe from him.
Manonge, the source said, resisted the corrupt demands resulting in the cops bashing him.
He died on the spot.
The three cops two male and one female were arrested and a case report noted (CR05/11/12).
They are in custody and assisting with police investigations.
The source said a post-mortem conducted Monday in Harare showed that Manonge died as a result of strangulation.
Zimbabwe traffic police have turned embarrassingly corrupt and would demand bribe in front of kombi passengers and other motorists.
Afro barometer, a research project which measures public attitudes on socio-economic issues found that Zimbabwe was the third most corrupt African country after Egypt and Nigeria.
The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa a few years ago also found out that Zimbabwe traffic police were the most corrupt in the Southern Africa region.
Source - zimbabwean
