By A Correspondent- Three pupils at Gokomere High School are set to stand trial at Masvingo Magistrates’ Court this Monday on charges of committing public violence.

They were arrested last November for allegedly protesting against poor diet and learning conditions.

According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the three pupils were recently summoned to appear at Masvingo Magistrates Court to answer to charges of committing public violence as defined in Section 36(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

The trio was part of 40 Gokomere High School students who were left nursing some injuries when they were severely assaulted by some Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers following their arrest on 7 and 8 November last year.

The ZRP accused the 40 pupils of staging a demonstration at the school against unsuitable learning conditions.

The pupils spent time detained at Masvingo Rural Police Station and were only released on 8 November 2021 after the intervention of human rights lawyers.

Last year, ZLHR lawyer Martin Mureri asked the ZRP to investigate the brutal assault of the pupils and give him the names of the police officers who ill-treated the students.

According to ZLHR, the Officer Commanding Masvingo Province only identified as Assistant Commissioner Mbengwa, told Mureri that the pupils were injured because they were trying to evade arrest and that they were very violent.

Mbengwa rejected video evidence and pictures handed over to law enforcement agents by Mureri as inadmissible.

He said the evidence was obtained from an unknown source and do not reveal the identity of any complainant