Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national pokesperson Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi on Wednesday told Harare magistrate, Taurai Manuwere that Harare lawyer Fadzayi Mahere lied when she allegeldy tweeted that a baby had been killed by a police officer in 2020.
According to NewZimbabwe.com, Asst Comm Nyathi was called in to testify after the State refused to accept his statement confirming the assault back then.
He told court that police only got to know of the incident on social media and when they were approached by senior government officials who wanted clarification over the matter.
Mahere’s lawyer, David Drury, ask why Asst Comm Nyathi had called his subordinates “errant” in a statement he issued on the incident.
In response, Asst Comm Nyathi said it was because the police officers did not report the incident to their superiors. He said:
We said errant police officers because they did not report to their commanders and that showed they acted in an improper manner, however that does not take away the fact that the child was not killed.
During cross examination by prosecutor Netsai Mushayabasa, Nyathi added:
There was total chaos because of this false information. Even senior government officials were asking why this had happened.
ZRP is a public institution where if anything happened when the public are not clear they can check with station commanders to check if what is circulated is true or false.
The State closed its case in August last year but the matter was postponed on several occasions.
Mahere, who is the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson, is accused of publishing falsehoods.
She allegedly tweeted that a baton wielding police officer enforcing COVID-19 lockdown regulations had fataally struck one Rebecca Musariri’s child in Harare.
The ZRP refuted the claim and said the child was not killed.
A video of the incident went viral in 2020, with the mother clinging to a police officer claiming he had killed her baby.
More Pindula News