Zimbos urged public to report police brutality

Staff Writer

A residents lobby group has urged members of the public to file reports with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) on the beatings carried out by police officers during enforcement of the Coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking to this publication Monday, Chitungwiza Residents Trust director, Marvellous Khumalo urged  abuse victims to file reports on all abuses.

“We urge all victimised citizens to approach to approach the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and lodge complaints against any form of such harassment or physical assault,” he said.

He said this comes after numerous reports on the way joint security forces who include the army , Zimbabwe Republic Police and municipal police are harassing citizens through the use of violent means in enforcing the lockdown has led to serious abuse of human rights.

“We have witnessed a number of incidences where some citizens have been beaten up for no apparent reasons all in the name of enforcing the lockdown,” Khumalo said.

Contacted over the developments , Assistant Commissioner , Paul Nyathi said he had not received a formal  update on the allegations.

The joint forces in Zimbabwe have been criticized on numerous occasions for operating beyond the guidelines when dealing with members of the public.

Just after the 2018 elections , the military was involved in shootings of civilians who were staging demonstrations against the delays in the release of presidential results.

A year later , the forces made headlines after aggressively quashing nationwide demonstrations over a 300 % hike in fuel prices.