Zimbabwe News and Internet Radio

Police Reaction Group has case to answer

Harare magistrate Farai Gwitima dismissed their application for discharge at the close of the State case.

File picture of riot police on patrol in Zimbabwe
File picture of riot police on patrol in Zimbabwe

Livingstone Zvimba, Tendai Masungambira, Sunday Nyaude, Khululekani Dale, Evans Mashonganyika — all members of the Police Reaction Group — are answering to assault charges before Harare magistrate Farai Gwitima.

Their main argument was that the victim had failed to identify them as perpetrators of the offence.

However, Gwitima ruled that Zvimba and his accomplices ought to be put to their defence because the State had managed to prove that they were at the crime scene when the offence was committed.

He said it was clear that accused persons were part of a team that had been deployed to control traffic in town and it was questionable that they claim not to have witnessed the assault.

The group argued that they could not be convicted based on the evidence adduced in court because no nexus had been established between them and the assault charges.

“The area of occurrence was dark and visibility resultantly poor as confirmed by all witnesses. The assailants were wearing helmets that covered their faces and so could not be positively identified at the scene,” read the application.

“There were 15 PRG details who came in two groups but were all under inspector White and they all left at once.

“No identification parade was held at least to determine the person in terms of height and accent.”

Prosecutor Dora Moyo had alleged that on March 23, Yvone Magora and Washington Gezana were at the intersection of Kenneth Kaunda and Julius Nyerere in the city when they were approached by Zvimba and his accomplices.

The court heard that the police team approached Magora and asked why she was standing at the junction where they were controlling traffic before assaulting her once with a baton stick.

It was alleged that more police officers joined in and continued assaulting the woman prompting her husband to intervene.

Gezana asked the cops why they were assaulting his wife and they all turned on him and started viciously assaulting him, the court heard.

The court heard that one of the cops used an unknown object and struck Gezani on the right eye before he fell unconscious.

At that moment, his wife had fled from the scene fearing continuous attacks and rushed to make a police report.

When Zvimba and his team allegedly realised that they had injured Gezana, they fled from the scene, leaving him lying helpless on the tarmac in a pool of blood.

Gezana was later rushed to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals where his eye was surgically removed.

His wife was later medically examined and affidavits that were compiled were produced in court. Daily News