By Own Correspondent
A Mutare magistrate has ordered the City of Mutare to pay more than RTGS$9 000 to a nurse, who sustained injuries in 2018 after she was assaulted by the local authority’s municipal police officer, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has revealed.
Mutare Provincial Magistrate Lazarus Murendo ordered Phineas Munyika, who is employed as a municipal police officer the local authority to pay damages amounting to RTGS$9 727 to Kumbirai Furusa, a nurse.
Munyika assaulted Furisa on 6 July 2018 when he was carrying out a joint operation dubbed “Operation Restore Sanity” together with some Zimbabwe National Army members and Zimbabwe Republic Police officers. ZLHR said in its report:
Furusa was assaulted while she was seated on the front passenger seat of a taxi, which she had boarded on her way to Greenside suburb in the eastern border city.
During the trial at Mutare Magistrates Court, Furusa, who was represented by Peggy Tavagadza of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to sue Munyika and CoM, told Magistrate Murendo that the municipal police officer dragged the nurse outside the taxi leading her to fall down and sustaining injuries on her knees.
Two witnesses namely Jonathan Takudzwa Makanya, a soldier and George Mufunda, a municipal police officer testified during the trial of Munyika as they were part of law enforcement officers enforcing the joint operation dubbed “Operation Restore Sanity”.
Furusa suffered some bruised on her knees and a plaster which she already had on her wrist and which was supposed to be removed on 9 July 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.
Because of the injuries which she sustained, Furusa said she could not cook for her family and endured a lot of pain.
