Correspondent|A government ballistic expert has alleged that bullets fired during Zimbabwe’s post-election violence were from small arms.

ZRP Officer Commanding Ballistics Superintendent Tsitsi Paradzai was giving testimony to the Kgalema Motlanthe led Commission of Inquiry into Zimbabwe post-election violence.

Paradzai, the ballistic expert who is also the head for the CID’s Forensic Department, told the Commission of Inquiry that from her conclusion the bullets used during the violence were fired from small arms.

“We cannot pick which calibre because all the holes had been tampered with,” she said. After saying that, there were protests from people attending the hearing causing the chairman of the hearings, Motlanthe to appeal for order.

Paradzai, who has been working for CID since 2005, explained that what according to them, small arms includes shotguns, pistols and rifles. She clarified that an AK47 is a rifle and also classified as a “small arm”.

The expert said the cartridge from a small arm falls closer to the person who fired the gun. She said those who claim they found cartridges at ZCTU Offices Second Floor office must explain where they got them from as it might mean that the person who fired the gun was in that office.

Paradzai said evidence, that is, bullet holes, at City Centre car park had been tampered with when they visited the crime scene. They, police, also saw a Barclays bus which had a bullet hole. There was also a victim, Adrian, who was shot but had been operated and healed.