Zimbabwe’s Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri and Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe have been ordered by a magistrate to pay four Shurugwi residents brutalized by soldiers US$40,000 in damages for injuries suffered during a Covid-19 lockdown in 2021.
The residents - Grant Zinyuke of Shurugwi Hospital, self-employed Moreblessing Ncube, and local council workers Batler Jabangwe and Mavhuto Kachepa, represented by attorneys affiliated with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights claimed that they were tortured by members of the ZNA.
Magistrate Patricia Gwetsayi condemned the attack saying their rights were violated by the army.
Gwetsayi ordered Sanyatwe and Muchinguri Kashiri to pay Zinyuke US$10,000, Mavhuto US$12,000, Jabangwe US$8,000 and Ncube US$8,000, as compensation for damages for pain and suffering, trauma and nervous shock and for medical expenses, which they incurred while seeking treatment.
Their attorneys told the court that Ncube sustained severe swelling on his face, forearms and bruises all over his back, when he was assaulted by some soldiers on 1 August 2021, for allegedly being outside his residence buying airtime so as to get an update on the health status of his ailing mother.
They said Jabangwe was assaulted all over his body by soldiers, who saw him while coming from executing his duties of opening water taps at Makusha Shopping Centre and accused him of wandering around.
“As a result of the assault by the soldiers, Jabangwe sustained injuries on the right side of his back and on his left leg, which injury makes it difficult for him to wear closed shoes to date and remains severely traumatized by the incident.”
In the case of Kachepa, the lawyers stated that he was assaulted by soldiers, whom he met when he was on his way home from a beer retail outlet, “who confronted him and without any provocation or warning, used guns and broke his right leg in two spots.
“While he was lying on the ground, some soldiers assaulted him all over his body and he sustained two severe fractures on the right leg, swelling all over the body, lacerations on the arms and some bruises on his body.”
The lawyers argued that the soldiers’ conduct was cruel, inhuman and degrading, which left the four “traumatized, anxious and in shock.”
Both Sanyatwe and Muchinguri Kashiri were unavailable for comment as they were not responding to calls on their mobile phones.
In unclear if they will file an appeal against the ruling in the High Court.