A 17-year-old boy from Kenilworth in Lukona Village, situated between Nkayi and Nyathi in Matabeleland North, has alleged that police officers unleashed four dogs on him and stood by while he was being mauled.
The teenager, identified as Sabelo Dube, was sent to a local shop when he found himself caught in the chaos as police attempted to disperse a rowdy crowd that had gathered following reports of a gold discovery at a nearby claim.
In an interview with CITE reporter Senzeni Ncube, with permission from his guardian before being taken to a medical facility, Sabelo recounted his ordeal.
He is currently in severe pain and struggling to walk. Sabelo said police officers taunted him while he was being attacked by their dogs. He said:
As I screamed for help, the officers taunted me, saying, ‘Yekele zikulume mbinjana’ (let them bite you a bit).
I was sitting at the shop when the police arrived in their vehicle. I didn’t know what was going on until I saw people running.
By the time I started to run, the dogs had already caught up with me and started biting. While I was screaming that the dogs were killing me, the officers told me to let them bite me a bit.
After being bitten, they wanted me to get into their vehicle, but I refused and hid. They kept searching for me, saying they wanted the dogs to bite me again, but they didn’t find me.
His uncle, Tanwell Mpofu, who accompanied him, revealed that the police had confiscated the original police report they had initially written. He said:
When my wife was supposed to take Sabelo to the hospital, they required a police report. The police initially wrote that he was bitten at the mine, even though he was actually at the shops.
When my brother, who was also at the clinic, took the report to Inyathi police station for correction, the officers told him to leave it, promising to correct it.
However, when Mpofu returned the following morning to collect the corrected report, the police began making excuses. He said:
We had to stop at Inyathi police station before coming to Bulawayo. When we called the officer who wrote the report, he said he wasn’t at the station and asked us to come by.
But when we arrived, the other officers claimed they couldn’t rewrite it as they didn’t know what was previously written.
This is truly painful. We are facing challenges even in getting to the hospital because we don’t have money and are unemployed.
We are now borrowing from neighbours to afford the trip to Bulawayo since the clinic back home is too far.
Jessie Majome, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), recently said law enforcement agents involved in unlawful arrests, detention, and brutality against civilians must be held individually accountable and liable for compensating victims.
She said Zimbabwe’s Constitution protects citizens from arbitrary arrests, harassment, torture, and degrading treatment.
More: Pindula News