Zimbabwean Army Attack Police Officers For Not Wearing Face Masks

Some members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) reportedly went berserk in Chivhu over the weekend and assaulted two police officers for not wearing face masks. The military men are said to have stormed a local store in the small agricultural town and assaulted everyone without asking any questions.

iHarare reports that two CID police officers were among those who were assaulted. A scuffle nearly broke out when the law enforcement officers resisted and threatened to hit back.

However, the officers, Detective Constable Austin Chikwinya and Sam Mutausi together with three other civilians have since lodged a report at Chivhu Police Station under RRB numbers 2187968; 2187969; 2187970; 2187971 and 2187972.

A memo seen by the publication reports that the soldiers slapped Detective Chikwinya and Matausi as they tried to identify themselves. At the time of the fracas the pair were buying groceries.

A day earlier, the soldiers are reported to have randomly assaulted people at Zimbabwe Hotel including the owner Kirsty Muzana, 42, and his wife Eva, 32, for not switching off lights at the lodgings.

Efforts to get a comment from National Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Themba Nyathi at the time of publishing the article were unsuccessful.

Earlier this month, the government announced that not wearing a face mask in public is now a level 12 offence which can result in a 1-year jail term. This was shortly after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that the country was now on level 2 of lockdown.

In his address, President Mnangagwa said all citizens are now required to wear face masks in public places, as part of the country’s measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory-related disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The country has been under Covid-19 lockdown since March 30, which was slightly eased and extended indefinitely on May 16. The government enforced the lockdown to help slow the spread of the pandemic.