A HARARE resident has been acquitted after standing trial for allegedlyresisting arrest by a police officer in a case in which he was prosecuted and yet he was a victim of police brutality.

34 year-old Milton Gandanhamo, who resides in Epworth in Harare, was arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officerson 16 October 2023 and charged with resisting a police officer as defined in section 176 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

During trial at Epworth Magistrates Court, prosecutors alleged that Gandanhamo, who was a victim of police brutality after he was shot by some ZRP officers on 15 October in Sunway City suburb in Ruwa, when he was ferrying a load of bricks, unlawfully and intentionally resisted Celiah Masona, a ZRP officer, by violently blocking her passage using a truck and mobilising a mob to attack the law enforcement agent and her team resulting in him escaping arrest.

Prosecutors charged that Gandanhamo caused damage to land as well as to the ecosystem on Sunway City Special Economic Zone located in the residential suburb in Ruwa by excavating sand and clay from undesignated land for commercial purposes and without permission or authority as defined in section 3(1) as read with section (3)(4) of the Environmental Management Act.

But on 25 June 2024, Gandanhamo, who was represented by Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, was found not guilty and acquitted of both charges by Epworth Magistrate Tafadzwa Miti, who agreed with the 34 year-old resident’s arguments that his arrest by ZRP officers was motivated by the need to cover up for their brutality after they had indiscriminately shot at him.