Police, army must serve public
FOR Tracy Mufudzi, May 23, 2020 was just like any other ordinary night, and with her fiancé, 34-yearold Paul Munakopa by her side, nothing could go wrong.
She had no idea that within an hour, her future husband would be lying in a morgue, shot dead by the police.
Circumstances that led to Munakopa’s death have remained unclear, but what stands out is that the couple, who were in a Honda Fit, endured a high-speed chase from a private vehicle that was carrying uniformed and plain clothes police officers, who, according to Tracy, never identified themselves.
This is a typical case of a life lost in circumstances that could have well been avoided had the police conducted themselves in a professional manner, and with respect to the fundamental right to life as espoused in Chapter 4, Section 48 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Section 219 Chapter 11 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe also gives the police the mandate of “protecting and securing the lives and property of the people”, and in order for that to happen, it is necessary that police practise restraint in dealing with members of the public.
Section 86(3) of the Constitution says that the right to life cannot be limited or violated by any law.
Munakopa’s story comes hard on the heels of a litany of cases where the police have conducted themselves in a worryingly unprofessional and ruthless manner.
Only last month, police in Bulawayo arbitrarily arrested and brutally assaulted two sisters, Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu, and it took pressure from civil society organisations, and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission to get the women released and have the six offending officers arrested and appear before a court of law.
Bulawayo resident Levison Ncube (25) died from “subarachnoid haemorrhage and head trauma” a few days after police allegedly beat him for allegedly violating Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 lockdown rules, during the first week of April and currently, his family is suing Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga.
On May 13, three MDC leaders — Joanah Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova — were arrested after participating in a demonstration, but what they thought was an arrest that was to be handled within the procedures set
The late Paul Munakopa out by the Constitution, turned out to be a nightmare.
The three were allegedly abducted from police custody and they were dumped in Bindura South after being tortured in what raised red flags on the government’s commitment to ensuring public safety and security.
It is worth to note that the Constitution lays out clear procedures to be followed when anyone is suspected of committing a crime, and statements from government and the ruling party insinuating that the three had participated in an illegal demonstration only seeks to justify the unacceptable abduction of and torture, and this has the danger of fomenting a culture of impunity.
This week, police announced they had arrested 40 682 people for violating COVID-19 lockdown regulations, and this raises questions on whether these mass arrests happened lawfully considering the rise in incidents of police not conducting themselves professionally.
What is more worrying is that the recent arrests, torture and killings are just part of what has now become a pattern, where State security agents act unlawfully with impunity.
This comes against a background where a commission of inquiry, led by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe set up to investigate the killing of civilians by the army on August 1, 2018, recommended a set of reforms in the State security sector.
Government acceded to the recommendations and in October 2019, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo reported that Zimbabwe had rapidly begun the task of implementing the commission’s key recommendations.
The Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry called for the retraining of police to be professional and nonpartisan, and to take action against the members of the security forces responsible for the killing of six civilians during the protests.
Moyo even promised that government would begin legal action against the perpetrators and was quoted as saying: “We can expect prosecutions of those responsible to begin next year (2020), after the police and prosecution services have completed their post-inquiry investigations.”
Three months earlier, Matanga announced they had started retraining junior officers “to equip them with the latest policing trends after being exposed by the recent anti-government protests that rocked the country where their crowd control skills were questioned”.
He said the retraining was part of recommendations made by the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry.
To this date, there has been no feedback on the progress, and if at all, what is being witnessed, are more acts of police and army brutality which prove that the elephant is still in the house, and it still needs to be dealt with, not just in accordance with the Mothlanthe commission recommendations, but also in line with the Constitution.
This is against a situation where, historically, the government has been complicit in human rights abuses that include abductions, torture, beatings and killings of civilians, human rights defenders, and political activists.