A notorious ZRP cop who assaulted a 37 year old man has been slapped with a hefty fine of more than $1000,00 for the hurt he inflicted on the Zimbabwean citizen.
In yet another victory by the Zimbabwe Lawyers Of Human Rights defending the people’s rights, the court today ordered Constable Tafara Depute to pay more than $1 000 as compensation for damages suffered by the man he assaulted last year after he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly disrupting a ZANU PF party rally.
Mutare Magistrate Annia Ndiraya on 25 January 2016 granted a garnishee order against Constable Tafara Depute of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) based at Zimunya Police Station in Manicaland province, entitling the Salary Services Bureau to deduct $1 007 from the police officer’s salary in monthly instalments of $100 and pay Samson Jackson. This means that Constable Depute will forfeit part of his monthly salary to compensate the 37 year-old man.
The granting of the garnishee order came after Jackson, with the help of Peggy Tavagadza of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), issued summons against Constable Depute last year at Mutare Magistrates Court claiming payment of $3 000 being damages he suffered as a result of the assault by the police officer at Zimunya Police Station on 21 January 2015. The summons were issued in Constable Depute’s personal capacity as he was on a frolic of his own when he assaulted Jackson.
Jackson was assaulted on his soles, legs and backsides after he was arrested in January 2015 and charged with contravening Section 46 (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 or alternatively disorderly conduct in a public place as defined in Section 41 (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.
The State alleged that Jackson used abusive or threatening words by uttering the words “ZANU yaora, ibvai ipapo, siyanai nepolitics, Mugabe vave kuda kufa.” The police translated that to mean; “ZANU PF is rotten, it should leave politics, and Mugabe is about to die.”
The State alleged that Jackson continued with his utterances even after being reprimanded by security personnel at a rally held in Zimunya in Manicaland province.
However, Jackson was set free in May 2015 after his lawyer, Tavagadza, successfully applied before the Mutare Magistrates Courts for exception to the charge in terms of Section 171 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07).
This prompted him to file a police report of assault and to sue Constable Depute for $3 000 for damages suffered as a result of the assault by the police officer.
In a ruling handed down on Tuesday 15 December 2015 after a full trial, Mutare Magistrate Yeukai Chigodora, who presided over Constable Depute’s trial, ordered the police officer to pay a total of $1 007 in damages for assault with $607 being compensation for medical bills incurred by Jackson when he was hospitalised for four days after the assault while $400 being damages for pain and suffering.
In her ruling, Magistrate Chigodora castigated the worrying police practice of assaulting some citizens whom they would have arrested, which practice she said has of late been on the increase and that the court must show its displeasure of such conduct. Magistrate Chigodora also proceeded to state that police officers must protect citizens’ rights and not abuse them.
Jackson is the third Zimbabwean who has been assisted by ZLHR in 2015 alone to successfully sue ZRP officers for damages emanating from assault under the human rights organisation’s campaign to fight acts of impunity committed against human rights defenders.
In October 2015, the ZRP agreed to pay $2 000 compensation to a Zimbabwe Elections Support Network staffer, Amon Chitando, who was assisted by ZLHR through its anti-impunity campaign after he was wrongfully arrested and detained in Bindura in 2013.
In February 2015, High Court Judge Justice Mary Zimba-Dube ordered two ZRP officers Constable Muuya and Detective Sergeant Musekiwa to pay damages amounting to $2 168 to 54 year-old Cosmas Nyambara, whom they shot in 2009 after suspecting him of being a robber.
Nyambara, who was assisted by Kennedy Masiye and Bellinda Chinowawa of ZLHR was shot by police officers and forced to endure 14 months in a dilapidated prison before being acquitted of the trumped up charges.