On June 26th traffic police stopped me for not obeying a Stop sign cnr East and Natal roads in Avondale. I suppose I ‘paused’ and proceeded in a safe manner but whatever … I’m not contesting that. However, two officers on the scene told me I had to pay there and then. The first said if I chose not to I would have to go to the station (Avondale) and be taken to court. The second, a superior, said they no longer issue tickets so if I did not pay on the spot (and be issued with a receipt) I would have to proceed to Avondale police station where a docket would be opened against me and the courts would decide whether to pursue me or not.

I’m confused. I refused to pay on the spot as I felt it was a violation of my rights and opted to go to Avondale police station where a third officer explained that they no longer allow you to pay within seven days as the public (“people like you” were his exact words) were abusing that option.

I just want to know is this true or not? If it’s true why hadn’t I heard anything about it until I found myself in that very uncomfortable situation? Is this common knowledge and I am simply uninformed? Also, can they just do that; revoke that option because it’s convenient for them?

- Kubatana subscriber in Harare

Comment: This is news to us – and according to this statement from the ZRP Public Relations Department in March 2012, it is untrue. Meanwhile, Chihuri reckons they’re trying to get rid of the corruption in ZRP. So when did it become a legal requirement to move around with money on you? The police assume that if you drive a car, you have money in your pocket. Have you had similar experience? Please share it with us and tell us what you think needs to be done: info [at] kubatana [dot] net

This entry was posted on July 5th, 2012 at 11:04 am by Bev Clark 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.