By A Correspondent- A City of Masvingo municipal police vehicle allegedly ran over a vendor after a municipal police officer pushed her into the moving council  truck whilst they were raiding vendors along Chesvingo Drive in Mucheke high density suburb on Thursday (July 29).

Moreblessing Mandivanza (36) was displaying her goods along 2nd street in the Sisk area at around 9am when municipal police officers pounced and started to chase after vendors, collecting what they had left behind.

A police report dated July 29, 2021, Form 234 under CR07/21 recorded at ZRP Masvingo Traffic seen by TellZim News reports that Mandivanza was run over by a pick-up truck and sustained injuries on her right foot.

“The victim was run over on her right foot by a pick-up truck,” reads the report.

Mandivanza narrated her ordeal saying she was trying to recover her goods when one of the municipal police pushed her towards a council white pick-up truck which they were travelling in.

“A council vehicle was moving along Chesvingo Drive chasing after vendors and when they reached 2nd street where I was displaying my goods outside the gate whilst I was inside, they started loading my goods in their pick-up truck. When I tried to go and take the few things that was left, that is when one of them pushed me towards their moving vehicle and I was run over on the right foot,” said Mandivanza.

Contacted for comment, City of Masvingo Mayor Collen Maboke said he was not aware of the matter but said the local authority has a duty to bring sanity to the city by confiscating and arresting those selling at undesignated markets.

“I am not aware of the incident you are mentioning where a person was injured. However, it is within the confines of council by-laws that when people are selling at undesignated points, we confiscate what they are selling and arrest them, but I cannot comment on the matter which you are talking about,” said Maboke.

Municipal police officers have for long been engaging in running battles with vendors who are plying their trade at undesignated selling points.

In 2014, an angry mob at Mucheke rank torched a municipal vehicle after it ran over and killed a three-month-old baby in an attempt to confiscate goods from its mother who was a vendor.

Council has also failed to cope up with the demand for vending stalls since informal trading is now the means of survival for many families across the country.

-TellZim