Own Correspondent
High Court judge, Joseph Musakwa has made a shock decision releasing five police officers who were jailed in 2017 after gouging out a Harare man’s eye accusing him of standing at an intersection they were manning.
The five police officers, gouged a civilian’s right eye after assaulting him with batons at the intersection of Kenneth Kaunda Avenue and Julius Nyerere Way in March 2017 and were jailed for an effective one year and three months each in prison.
Livingstone Zvimba, Tendai Musungambira, Sunday Nyaude, Khululekani Dale and Evans Mashonganyika assaulted Washington Gezana (32)’s wife Yvonne Magora (26).
They were convicted of two counts of assault after a full trial. The then magistrate, Mr Farai Gwitima, sentenced them to 18 months each behind bars before setting aside three months each on condition of good behaviour.
He then effected 15 months. In passing the sentence, Mr Gwitima castigated the behaviour of the five, saying they brought the name of the police force into disrepute. He said assault at the hands of the police constituted violation of one’s rights.
In the latest move, Musakwa ruled that Harare magistrate, Gwitima erred in convicting and sentencing the officers.
“The evidence presented before the court a quo leaves a lot to be desired.
“Evidence led by the State was largely desultory. It does not show any diligence in systematically piercing together the crucial pieces on the part of the prosecutor,” Musakwa ruled.
He added, “That lack of alertness on the part of the prosecutor migrated to the trial magistrate in as far as assessment of evidence went.
“The trial court made an erroneous finding regarding who actually assaulted the complainants.
“The case was compounded by the fact that fellow police officers decided to shield the perpetrators of the assault. They preferred to see no evil in the whole process.
“The trial prosecutor made a mess of it by not seeking particulars that would have exposed the culprits.
“This renders the conviction unsafe. In the result, the conviction and sentence is hereby set aside.”