Harare Mayor probes municipal police over assault ...

Harare Mayor probes municipal police over assault allegations

Oscar J Jeke

The City of Harare has launched an investigation into a case of assault of a vendor by municipal police following circulation of the video on social media.

In the video, the Harare City Council police brutally assault a vendor with fists after they had impounded his wares.

In a statement on X, the Mayor of Harare Jacob Mafume said that an investigation is underway to determine if indeed the individuals in the video are council police officers, adding that brutality in council operations is not encouraged.

“We have asked the head of safety or the municipal police to look into it immediately. We can’t have brutality in the operations of the council.

“In the video, a group of men in civilian clothes are captured beating up the helpless individual. We need to be careful in our method, we are the primary police force in our city,” Mayor Mafume said.

He also noted that there are plans to introduce human rights lectures so that the municipal police officers are well-versed and know the conduct in dealing with the public.

“We are the ones who mostly interact with the public. Our policing should work according to human rights. We are going to introduce human rights courses so that our officers are taught how to deal with members of the public.

“We have an image to protect, the institution must be protected, there is need for harmony between municipal officers and vendors,” Mafume added.

Harare City Council Head of Communications, Stanley Gama also added that city authorities have been alerted of the incident with investigations into the matter launched.

“The city authorities have been alerted and the incident is under investigation. Appropriate action will be taken against those responsible,” Gama said.