Grace Mugabe seeks court interdict barring police raid on her schools

Former First Lady, Grace Mugabe is seeking a court interdict to bar police from raiding her schools in search for stolen property.

The interdict application came after police officers tried a night raid on Grace Mugabe’s schools in Mazowe on Thursday.

The police said they were looking for stolen property, including generators and transformers, a court has been told.

The interdict application cited officer in charge of Mazowe Police Station as first respondent while Assistant Inspector Chinwamaruku, and police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga are second and third respondents respectively.

An accountant at Grace Mugabe Foundation, Jabulani Dumbura, told the court that Chinwamaruku arrived in the alongside of other officers and a person only identified as Danda, who became furious when authorities told to wait for Grace’s lawyers.

“The said Danda who accompanied the police officers became extremely annoyed at this and became flustered. A mild raucous engagement ensued between the two opposite parties, which eventually saw Danda inform Chinwamaruku that he cannot wait for lawyers because he does not operate like that, and apparently commanded Chinwamaruku to leave,” Dumbura wrote in an affidavit.

Chinwamaruku and his search team then left, and when Grace Mugabe’s lawyers arrived around 6 PM, they followed the police officers at their station.

When confronted by the attorneys, the unnamed officer in charge of Mazowe Police Station threw Chinwamaruku under the bus, telling them he had attempted to execute the search warrant without his knowledge.

“Notwithstanding the arrangements made with the officer in charge, no absolute assurances were given to show that the warrant of search and seizure would not be executed. The threat, therefore, remains and is the reason that this application is being made,” Dumbura submitted.

“This is a critical point that as already expressed, there are students that are currently housed in the learning facilities together with orphans at the orphanage. There has to be a check in the methodology of potentially searching into the private space of students and orphans.

“This court must clamp down on such unfettered powers, which will amount to an abrogation of fundamental rights,” Dumbura added, praying for an interdict. The matter is yet to be heard. -Zimlive