HARARE – The High Court has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs to compensate a grieving mother US$42,000 after officers’ reckless actions triggered a rush-hour accident that killed her one-year-old son in central Harare.
Justice Regis Dembure said the violent conduct of three traffic officers in April 2017, throwing spikes and smashing windscreens on Chinhoyi Street, was directly responsible for the death of Lesley Chitanda, who was crushed to death in his mother’s arms.
Lesley’s mother, Patricia Dengezi, was vending outside Flexmart supermarket when chaos erupted. Police had targeted commuter omnibuses by hurling spikes into the road and smashing windscreens in an attempt to force drivers to stop.
Panic set in. Around six kombis fled the wrong way down the one-way street. A lawful driver, trying to avoid a head-on collision, swerved onto the pavement, ploughing into Dengezi and her baby.
Lesley died instantly. His mother was seriously injured.
Through tears, she later told the court: “If the police had not thrown spikes, my son would still be alive.”
Instead of accepting responsibility, the police downplayed their role. Their lawyers argued it was not unlawful to use spikes and claimed the kombi driver bore sole responsibility.
“It is regrettable that the life of an innocent child was lost but this cannot be blamed on the police,” lawyers representing the police said during trial.
Dembure dismissed this argument, ruling that the officers’ conduct was both unlawful and reckless. “The use of spikes coupled with the violent shattering of windscreens during peak hour in a crowded street was clearly wrong and unlawful,” he said.
What followed compounded the tragedy. The kombi driver was initially charged with culpable homicide, but police destroyed the docket—including accident reports and witness statements—while a warrant of arrest was still outstanding.
The judge condemned the move as a blatant attempt to shield officers from accountability: “This bizarre act, defeating the ends of justice as it does, could not be shown to be based on any standing orders of the police.”
Eyewitnesses even testified that the traffic officers attempted to slip away from the scene once they realised the devastation their actions had caused.
After years of procedural delays—including a referral to the Constitutional Court and a change of presiding judge—the High Court ruled squarely against the police.
Justice Dembure said the state could not absolve itself by shifting blame to a fleeing kombi driver when the danger had been created by the officers themselves.
The violent, indiscriminate smashing of commuter omnibuses and the use of spike in crowded streets during peak hours can never be justified.
“Such cases are inimical to modern-day policing standards,” said the judge.
He added, “Anyone in that street at that time, when the chaos engulfed the area triggered by the violent and unlawful police conduct, would be at risk of harm.”
He declared the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs liable for Lesley’s death and ordered them to compensate Dengezi with US$42,000 in damages.
For Dengezi, the ruling brings some relief after an eight-year wait filled with anguish and court delays. Yet the kombi driver remains at large, and the destroyed docket means he may never face justice.
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