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Police brutality at Mabvuku police station
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
January 02, 2007

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) wishes to express its concern over the continued police brutality by the Mabvuku Police against members of the public; specifically their severe assault of such individuals and destruction of their property.

ZLHR is aware that sometime on 29 November 2006 police officers from Mabvuku Police Station, namely Officer Kaumbe and Officer Makona, attended at New Mabvuku with an unidentified man driving a metallic Mercedes Benz to investigate allegations that someone in the neighborhood had received a stolen ring. The police officers attended at the home of Loveness Chapilila at No. 7 Pungwe Street, New Mabvuku, where they requested to see Brian Chapilila. On making inquiries the officers were informed that Brian had in fact gone to Mabvuku Police Station to report his assault by the Mercedes Benz driver and two other men earlier that same morning.

Following the insistence that the driver be arrested, the police officers refused to arrest the man and left together with him. After around thirty minutes the two police officers and around eight other armed police officers driving two vehicles (including one B18 police pick-up truck) descended upon New Mabvuku in the Pungwe Street neighborhood. The police officers began to harass people, with their fist victim being a passerby, Fungai Shumba, whom they stopped while on his way to the shops. Believing that he had no reason to fear the police officers Fungai approached them, only to begin to be assaulted all over his body with clenched fists and a sjambok by three of the police officers. Fungai was ordered into the police pick-up truck where they told him to lie on his back; hand cuffed him and began to assault him all over his body with a sjambok.

The police officers proceeded to attend at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chapangaza at 11 Pungwe New Mabvuku where they broke down the main door and bedroom to get access to Mr. and Mrs. Chapangaza. One police officer descended upon Mrs. Chapangaza and began assaulting her on her face with clenched fists and open palms while two other officers attacked her husband, punching and kicking him all over his body. The couple was taken outside were Mrs. Chapangaza tried to flee for her life but stopped after one of the police officers pointed a gun at her. The couple was thrown into the other pickup truck where they were assaulted further with two other people, with Mr. Chapangaza being beaten under his feet with the handle of the sjambok. While they were being assaulted the police officers stepped on their heads with their booted feet to stop them from raising them.

Loveness Chapilila of 7 Pungwe New Mabvuku was also assaulted after being asked where her nephew, Brian, the accused, had gone. Nine people, including Fungai Shumba and Mr. and Mrs. Chapangaza, were taken to Mabvuku Police Station.

On their arrival at Mabvuku Police Station they were told that because the accused person, Brian Chapilila, had not been found the nine of them were being taken as Brian Chapilila, effectively holding them as hostages. Brian Chapilila arrived at the police station and was detained while the other nine "accused persons" were also detained in the police holding cells. After almost five hours of being unlawfully detained the nine "accused persons" were released from the police cells on condition that they pay fines of $250 each for allegedly "disturbing the peace". When they protested they were threatened with continued illegal detention for a further three days, until the following Tuesday. Eight of the nine "accused persons" paid the admission of guilt fines after which all nine were released. Brian Chapilila however remained in police custody at Mabvuku Police Station.

When the other nine "accused persons" returned to Mabvuku Police Station to obtain a "request for medical report" to allow them to go to hospital for treatment of the injuries sustained at the hands of the police, they were confronted by a police officer identified as Assistant Inspector Banderson who threatened and intimidated them telling them to report to any authority they wanted as nothing would be done in their favour.

On Saturday 30 December 2006, Loveness Chapilila visited her nephew Brian Chapalila at Mabvuku Police Station where she discovered that he was in a very bad condition indicating that he had been severely assaulted and tortured whilst in police custody. Brian’s body had swollen and he could no longer walk or talk and had to be fed and lifted by fellow detainees. When Loveness visited him again the following day, on Sunday 31 December 2006, she was informed that Brian had been taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital, where it turned out that he had simply been dumped at the reception by Officer Chinorinda and Officer Kaumbe.

Brian’s medical report indicates that he was severely tortured while in police custody at Mabvuku Police Station. Brian is reported to have suffered moderate head injuries and multiple trauma. The report further states that "multiple severe" force was inflicted causing "the possibility of permanent injuries."

ZLHR strongly condemns such acts of brutality by the Mabvuku Police against innocent civilians. ZLHR also notes that sometime in April 2005 a police officer, Officer Musowe, at Mabvuku Police station severely assaulted another civilian, Mr. Brian Ncube, at a road block for which unlawful conduct he was convicted in the criminal court at Rotten Row, Harare, on 12 December 2005, and sentenced to fourteen months’ imprisonment (six months suspended). ZLHR further condemns the conduct of the police at Mabvuku Police Station in going into people’s homes without authority and/or a warrant and severely assaulting them knowing that they were innocent and stating so.

Such act of attacking and assaulting people in their homes amount to domestic violence as defined in the Domestic Violence Bill which Bill has passed through the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament and awaits the President’s signature. Further, ZLHR condemns the continues unlawful conduct of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in arresting innocent persons and holding them hostage in order to investigate another accused person and secure their attendance at the police station.

ZLHR calls upon the Zimbabwe Republic Police to stop the torture of accused and detained persons and respect human dignity. The Zimbabwe Republic Police must desist from harassing, intimidating, assaulting and arresting persons they know are innocent. More specifically ZLHR calls upon Mabvuku Police Station to desist from its now growing reputation of severely assaulting and torturing accused persons and innocent civilians. ZLHR points out that according to section 18 (3) (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe all persons are presumed innocent before proven guilty by a competent court of law, and are indeed entitled to the enjoyment of their human rights such as protection from torture or other inhuman and degrading treatment as provided under section 15 (1). The Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Home Affairs have a duty to investigate and sanction officers found to be engaging in such conduct in order to stop the culture of impunity which continues to exist and escalate within the Zimbabwean police force. Thus far, they have failed in their obligation and can be held account if the situation is not immediately and publicly addressed.

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