By A Correspondent| Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri and Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Sanyatwe, have been convicted for the brutal assault of Muchademba Muponde and ordered to pay him more than ZiG 41 000 as compensation for the ill-treatment, which he endured at the hands of soldiers in 2019.
Muchinguri and Sanyatwe were on Wednesday ordered by Harare Civil Court Magistrate Tamara Chibindi to pay ZiG 41 633 to Muponde, a resident of Harare, who was heavily brutalised by some soldiers on 16 January 2019, when they were deployed to suppress countrywide anti-govt protests, which were held in response to a unilateral govt increase in fuel prices & worsening standards of living.
Muponde was assaulted by soldiers as he accompanied his grandfather to buy a chicken at Glenview 1 Shopping Centre in Harare, where he saw a group of soldiers chasing people around and he also began to flee. One of the soldiers, who was brandishing a gun, spotted him and gave chase and caught him before assaulting him on the back of his body and neck using the back of the firearm.
Muponde started bleeding when the soldier hit him on the back of his head and ran to hide at a nearby homestead. But the soldier followed him & continued assaulting him using the back of the gun at the homestead. At one point, the soldier even lifted his gun threatening to shoot him.
Muponde sustained serious injuries on both legs including internal injuries on his left leg as a result of the assault and he could not walk.
The soldier continued beating him and only stopped after seeing the severity of the injuries sustained by Muponde and instructed him to wash the blood off his face.
Muponde then engaged Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who in 2019 sued Muchinguri and Sanyatwe claiming payment of damages for pain and suffering, nervous shock, contumelia, affront to dignity and humiliation.
During trial, which began in February 2024 at Harare Civil Magistrates Court, Muchinguri and Sanyatwe vainly argued that the soldiers, who assaulted Muponde were not under the control of the ZNA Commander but of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, as they had been deployed to assist the law enforcements agents in restoring law and order.
Out of the ZiG 41 000, Magistrate Chibindi said ZiG 20 816 will be damages for pain, suffering, trauma and nervous shock, which was suffered by Muponde while ZiG 20 816 will be damages for affront to dignity, humiliation and embarrassment caused to the Harare resident.
Muchinguri and Sanyatwe were also ordered to pay interest on the total amount of damages from 2019 until the date when they will make the payment to Muponde.