The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been forced to pay over $142 000 in damages after some reckless police officers threw a tear gas canister inside a commuter omnibus kombi.
The incident occurred in 2019 when four ZRP officers indiscriminately threw the teargas into a kombi. The teargas canister landed on 58-year-old Mavis Muzari’s lap.
Following the incident, Muzari was hospitalised at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, suffering multiple issues.
After being discharged from the hospital, the 58-year-old consulted with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and sued the police, ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe.
Despite losing the case and being ordered to pay $142 170 in damages in 2019, the MInister failed to do so.
This forced Muzari and the ZLHR to file an application at the High Court seeking to have Minister Kazembe, and Commissioner General Godwin Matanga jailed for contempt of court.
Facing the threat of jail, the Minister and the Police Commissioner General finally complied with the court order.
