In a very depressing incident which portray policing malpractices bedeviling the country, a Harare woman was left bleeding from her private parts and nursing injuries after she was severely assaulted and tortured by apparently heartless Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers last year.
It is reported that 30-year old Zororo Mazhawidza ended up defecating and urinating on herself after the two cops savagely pounced on her after having accused her of stealing a Command Agriculture Prepaid card belonging to a a one Reginald.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who represent Mazhawawidza, the two constables responsible for the assault- a Cst Murwisi and another a Cst Mandeya have since pleaded guilty to the charges.
Read the full ZLHR text below:
Some @PoliceZimbabwe officers have pleaded guilty to torturing Zororo Mazhawidza, a Harare woman, whom they brutalised last year.
The 30 year-old woman was left bleeding from her private parts & nursing injuries after she was severely assaulted & tortured at Harare Central Police Station in the presence of her 1 month-old baby by two ZRP officers identified as Constable Murwisi & Constable Mandeya.
Mazhawidza was assaulted by Constable Murwisi & Constable Mandeya, who arrested her on 10 March 2021 after accusing her of stealing a Pre-paid Command Agriculture Fuel Card belonging to one Reginald & converting the fuel for her own use, a charge which she denied & told the ZRP officers that she was just simply holding onto the pre-paid fuel card as lien to secure payment of her US$1 100 which she had advanced to Reginald.
The torture by Constable Murwisi & Constable Mandeya, Mazhawidza said, entailed placing a wooden plank behind her knees & lifting her in the air such that her head was upside down before they started assaulting her with truncheons just below her backsides which resulted in her defecating & urinating on herself.
The assault & torture only stopped after Mazhawidza produced the pre-paid fuel card. After the torture, Constable Murwisi & Constable Mandeya ordered her to clean up her faeces & to dispose of it.
Later on, Mazhawidza was released without any charge preferred against her. After being dismayed by the dehumanising treatment at the hands of the ZRP officers, Mazhawidza engaged @TinasheChinox of @ZLHRLawyers, who sued both Constable Murwisi & Constable Mandeya in their personal capacity together with @Moha_Zim Minister @KazembeKazembe3 & ZRP CG Godwin Matanga for ZWL900 000 in damages arising from the torture.
In response to Mazhawidza’s summons, Constable Murwisi, Constable Mandeya, Hon. Kazembe & Matanga, who are represented by Luckson Muradzikwa of the AG’s Office wrote to Chinopfukutwa telling the human rights lawyer that his clients were not disputing liability & sought to settle the matter out of court as there is no plausible defence on the merits of the case.
Muradzikwa told Chinopfukutwa that his clients want the damages claim of ZWL900 000 to be revised downwards.However, Chinopfukutwa insisted that the damages sought are justified due to the circumstances of the case and Constable Murwisi, Constable Mandeya, Hon. Kazembe & Matanga should pay the full amount. Judgment on the matter is pending before the Harare Magistrate Court.
