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 Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, ordered to investigate allegations of torture. By Our Correspondent HARARE, April 30, 2007 - Police interrogators extracted confessions forcefully out of detained MDC activists who were arrested on allegations they were linked to the recent spate of bomb attacks that rocked Harare and other parts of the country. One suspect claimed he was placed inside a metal coffin out of which a dead body had just been removed. The lid was then closed and the coffin placed onto a truck. The law enforcement agents, who have encountered problems in seeking to sustain charges against several opposition members now languishing in remand prison, have allegedly resorted to torture of the suspects in a bid to induce them to confess and implicate certain high-ranking MDC officials in the bombings. Ishmael Kauzani and Philip Mabika, two of the several MDC activists in custody gave a heart-rending account of how they were forced to make false confessions in a bid to buy freedom. They were still not released, however. In his affidavit before High Court judge Justice Alfas Chitakunye during a bail application hearing last week, Kauzani, who faces various allegations of attempted murder and malicious damage to property, related spine-chilling details of ruthless assault at the hands of police officers. He said after his arrest the police had handcuffed his hands at the back. They wanted to know if he knew Better Chakururama, who is also in custody facing similar charges. Kauzani named three police officers, Detective Inspector Muchada and two others named only as Kambanje and Mutisi, all of the Law and Order Section of the Criminal Investigation Department, as his tormentors. "The trio took me to a metal coffin where they removed a dead body," he said. "They then placed me inside. The box had the smell of dead human flesh. They closed it. I began to sweat and suffocate." After the coffin was closed, he could feel that the vehicle on which it had been loaded was moving. He had no idea where they were taking him. After the detectives took him out of the coffin he realised he was in the middle of the bush. They had then asked him questions about Chakururama, Piniel Denga and Ian Makone, a top aide of the opposition MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. He said the detectives accused him of collaborating with the three to seek to cause illegal regime change in Zimbabwe. "My denial invited further assaults," Kauzani said. "They hit me with a bottle on the knees and the pain was unbearable." He said while Mutisi was assaulting him, Muchada threatened him with death saying, "That is the reason why we brought you in a coffin as you are more or less a dead man." He alleged the detectives had told him he would be spared from death if he agreed to implicate Makone as being the leader of the Democratic Resistance Committee which allegedly was behind the spate of bombings, with Chokururama and Denga also being involved. Kauzani said the prospect of meeting his death in this manner weighed heavily on his mind and eventually he implicated the three in the matter. Kauzani said after he made the statement Muchada had ordered the assaults to stop and he was taken back to the police station. There he was ordered to put his confession on paper in writing. He said after this, a senior officer had bought him some food and he was driven to Flame Lily Lodge in Waterfalls where he took a bath and was given "some more good food". Kauzani also explained how he was taken to Mupedzanhamo Flea Market in Mbare where the police bought him some clothes. He wore these clothes when he went to court on April 11 together with Mabika. He also recounted how was asked to rehearse details in support of the police allegation that the MDC sent personnel for military training in South Africa. He said he was then made to implicate several other members of the opposition party whose names were provided by the police. Justice Chitakunye is still to make a ruling in the Kauzani case, in which the prosecution is strongly opposing bail, saying he was likely to evade trial once released on bail. Mabika who was arrested at gunpoint was accused of supplying information to The Zimbabwean, a newspaper which is published in United Kingdom and distributed in Zimbabwe. He narrated how three detectives took him from the cells. He said they blindfolded him and took him to an office where they interrogated him about the bombings they alleged occurred in Chitungwiza. Mabika said when he denied any knowledge of the allegations, the police suggested that he had received training in South Africa. "They handcuffed my hands at the back," he said. "A metal object was placed in between my tied arms and legs so that my body hanged. They started beating me all over the body while I was literally swinging, forcing me to admit to the charges." He said they also placed him in a grain bag and poured cold water on it, saying they had orders to kill him unless he confessed. He said he agreed to co-operate with the police to avoid further torture and he implicated Peter Chikwati and others, whose names were given to him by the police. On Thursday, Mabika remained in the court cells after he failed to walk into the court room for remand. Provincial magistrate Lazarus Murendo was obliged to hold an inspection in loco to assess his condition. The court observed that Mabika had dark swells on the buttocks, cuts on both wrists consistent with tight handcuffing, swellings on both legs and lacerations all over his body. "The court also observed that he was having difficulties in sitting," said Murendo. "I will not comment on what caused the injuries, suffice it to say that they are there. "I will thus order the accused to be immediately taken to a doctor for examination and treatment." Murendo also ordered the commissioner of police, Augustine Chihuri, to direct a unit from the internal investigations or any other unit that is not in the Law and Order Section to investigate the assaults on Mabika and submit its findings to court by May 12. Many of the suspected arsonists, including Glen View legislator Paul Madzore and former journalist Luke Tamborinyoka, who are currently languishing in police cells, have been denied bail with the police saying their investigations are still at an early stage. Send your comments to: letters@thezimbabwetimes.com This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it | |
| Last Updated ( Monday, 30 April 2007 ) |
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