On a busy Thursday morning a police traffic officer tried to stop a commuter omnibus “kombi”. Two heavy strikes on the moving kombi windscreen by the over zealous officer left passengers sitting on the front seat in shock and with serious cuts.  Tempers boiled over when members of the public clashed with one of the police officers who uttered a statement claiming that, “the police have the right to smash windscreens to protect the public and there is nothing the public could do because the officer was carrying out his normal duties”.  What really angered the public is the fact that the kombi driver obeyed the instruction to stop and in the middle of negotiating his way out heavy traffic that’s when everyone was shocked to see glasses flying everywhere. The cheeky officer pounced on the driver and wasted no time in cuffing him turning a deaf ear to passengers’ pleas for help.

The wanton use of excessive force, usually physical, by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police is on the increase in the streets of Harare. From humans to cars, anything moving is now a victim of the police baton stick. Police misconduct usually goes unreported because the victim feels unsafe to report such cases when elements working in law enforcement have developed an attitude and sense of authority over society. Unfortunately nowadays the people who are supposed to protect us and help us when we are in need, can’t be trusted.

Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police usually mount roadblocks at intersections in Harare to assist in directing traffic have increasingly targeted public transport operators which has resulted in high speed pursuits and the smashing of windscreens.

This entry was posted on August 16th, 2012 at 11:14 am by Lenard Kamwendo and is filed under Activism, Governance, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.