Mutare City Council has been ordered by the courts to compensate a nurse who sustained injuries after being assaulted by a municipal police officer during the council’s operation Restore Sanity.
Provincial magistrate Lazarus Murendo ordered Phineas Munyika, and the local authority to pay damages amounting to $9 727 to a local nurse Kumbirai Furusa who was roughed up and assaulted on July 6, 2018.
Mutare City was, together with Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) members and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers, carrying out a joint operation meant to rid unregistered taxi operators and vehicles parked at undesignated places in the city when Phineas Munyika assaulted Furusa.
Furusa was seated on the front passenger seat of a taxi when the police officer dragged her outside the taxi and she fell down sustaining knee injuries.
A plaster she already had on her wrist and was supposed to be removed on July 9 2018, had to be replaced as a result of the fall from the taxi.
Her new plaster was only removed after six weeks although she continued to experience pain on her wrist.
Furusa said because of the injuries she sustained, she could not cook for her family and endured a lot of pain.
Ruling on the matter, magistrate Murendo said Munyika had a duty of care towards Furusa yet he recklessly and out of over-zealousness tried to execute his duties without regard to the safety of the nurse.
Local government police across the country have for years been clashing with commuter omnibus (kombi) operators over parking at undesignated places or unavailability of licences.
Sometimes, loaded kombis, in a bid to run away from police, speed and violate road regulations putting the lives of the public in danger.
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