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| Sheunesu Chiwara |
…victim’s genitals injured, spends several hours without medical care
Moses Ziyambi
A 22-year-old man
is admitted at Gutu Mission Hospital awaiting surgery after being shot in the
groin allegedly by a police officer who was part of a team which had followed him home to
arrest him in connection with an assault case, TellZim can report.
Sheunesu Chiwara
of Farm 351 Dewure East was shot at point blank range on Sunday, October 18, allegedly
by one Constable Mudziro of Bhasera Police station while at home with his
mother and two brothers.
His mother
Stella Mahachi told TellZim News the incident was an act of abuse of power by
the police officers one of whom she claimed shot her son even though he had
neither resisted arrest nor attempted to escape.
“He might not
survive his injuries because he lost a lot of blood and he hasn’t been attended
to by a doctor over 24 hours after being shot. It was abuse of power. I
complained that what they were doing was unlawful as they handcuffed and
assaulted him while ignoring the bleeding,” said Mahachi.
When contacted
for comment, Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Charity
Mazula said she had not received the report and was out of office doing other
duties.
However, Mahachi
said four police officers came to her homestead in the morning looking for
Shunesu and his brother Misheck in connection with an alleged assault case
committed the previous night at Chomungai business centre.
“Shenunesu and
Misheck were not at home but were close by and in no time, they showed up. As
the officers approached Sheunesu where he had sat, Mudziro drew his gun and
fired at him in the groin and the shot also scratched his genitals.
“When I heard
the gunshot sound, I initially thought it was a warning shot as the officer
could have thought Sheunesu might escape but I was wrong. Despite my protests,
they handcuffed him and assaulted him as he lay on the ground bleeding. They
then handcuffed Misheck and tried to march us to the police station. We did not
go far as Sheunesu got exhausted and that’s when they agreed to examine him and
make arrangements for a car to fetch him to Chimombe Hospital,” said Mahachi.
The victim was
then referred to Gutu Mission Hospital where he got admitted but had not been
attended to by a doctor by the time of writing.
