A commuter omnibus driver has been jailed for three years for attempting to run over a policeman as he tried to evade arrest for picking up passengers at an undesignated point in Chitungwiza.Maxwell Subili (28) of Cherutombo in Marondera and employed by Kadzomba Tours denied attempted murder charges before Chitungwiza regional magistrate Ms Estere Chivasa yesterday.
He was convicted after the prosecutor Mr Tendai Mukariri proved a case against him.
In handing down the sentence, Ms Chivasa said there seemed to be protracted battles between police officers and commuter omnibus crews.
“The record should be set straight that lawlessness has no place in the society,” said Ms Chivasa. She slapped Subili with five years in prison, but conditionally set aside two years for five years.
Circumstances were that on December 20 last year, Subili drove the bus for a distance of more than 5km while Constable Misheck Makosa (24) clung on to the wipers and bumper.
Cst Makosa of Tynwald, Harare, and stationed at Chitungwiza Police Station, was on duty with the district reaction group.
He was in the company of Constables Shainai and Kapfiso at Makoni Shopping Centre when the incident occurred. Cst Makosa spotted Subili loading passengers at an undesignated point near a Marondera bus terminus.
Subili drove towards Cst Makosa who jumped and clung to the vehicle’s wipers without giving him a chance to free himself.
Meanwhile, a cop based at the same police station has been jailed for eight months for severely assaulting a woman accused of stealing money from her employer’s EcoCash account.
Constable Naison Chatembwa (32), who denied the charges, assaulted Clianna Chanetsa (24) with a baton under the feet to force her to admit the offence. The magistrate Mrs Rekina Dzikiti convicted Chatembwa following a full trial.
She sentenced Chatembwa to a year in prison, but suspended four months on condition of good behaviour. Mrs Dzikiti said Chatembwa abused his powers as a police officer.
The woman sustained serious injuries.
She reported the abuse to the police. “You are very ignorant of the law. As a police officer, you should have realised the consequences of acting in such a manner and this should serve as a clear message to would-be offenders in the enforcement,” said Mrs Dzikiti.
The prosecutor Mr Tatenda Mukatera said the incident occurred on October 17 last year when Chatembwa was assigned to investigate allegations that Chanetsa stole money from ecocash which belonged to her employer.
Chatembwa thoroughly assaulted Chanetsa when she denied stealing the money. The woman sustained serious injuries. She reported the abuse to the police.