HARARE – Three Harare men have been dragged to court facing charges assault and kidnapping charges after they allegedly disarmed and shot a police detective on the knee following a quarrel over parking.
The three are Samuel Tinotenda Muronzi, 23, Lionel Rupiya, 34, and Jonathan Paul Chishiri, 30.
They appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi facing charges of assaulting police officers, kidnapping and unlawful discharge of a firearm.
They were all remanded out of custody on US$200 bail each and will be back in court in two weeks’ time for their routine remand.
Appearing for the State, Nigel Chanakira alleged that the three committed the offences on May 28 this year.
The court heard that on the day in question and at 3.20PM, the three were driving a Ford Ranger.
The police detectives parked their Toyota Vigo at a roadside before walking away to conduct some inquiries a few metres away.
“When they returned, the accused persons started complaining that the complainant’s vehicle had blocked their way for too long,” prosecutors alleged.
The detectives introduced themselves as police officers before they started driving away.
Muronzi and colleagues, it is also alleged, followed the detectives and blocked their way.
“The accused persons disembarked from their vehicle and opened the complainant’s vehicle door,” prosecutors told the court.
They went on to drag the detectives from their vehicle.
It is further alleged when they realised the driver was armed, Rupiya tussled and disarmed him before shooting him once on the knee cap.
Muronzi took charge of the firearm and they immediately dragged the other complainant from the back seat and he fell down, sustaining a cut on the back of his head.
His 9mm service CZ pistol, serial number 15236, BSAP 272, loaded with a magazine of two live rounds fell on the tarmac and Chishiri took charge of it.
Fearing for her life, a female police officer who was among the detectives managed to flee the scene.
The three allegedly threw the detectives into their getaway black Ford Ranger double cab and drove towards Glen Norah police station.
Along the way, Muronzi fired five shots using the police’ firearm.
When they got to the police station, it is further alleged, they made a sudden U-turn saying they instead wanted to take the detectives to a different place to assault them.
The under siege detectives alerted a police officer who was manning the gate to the police station, telling him they were being kidnapped.
The officer lowered the boom gate to deny the suspects exit, leading to their arrests.
Zimlive
