HARARE – A commuter omnibus fleeing police knocked down an elderly woman, dragging her for more than 100 metres before she eventually died near the Copacabana Bus Terminus last week Wednesday in the morning.
The granny, Enifa Fourpence of Mufakose met her fate while crossing the road. The commuter omnibus was leaving the rank speeding along Cameron Street while she was crossing the road.
Fourpence, who was accompanied by her husband Rolen Fourpence, 77, was on her way to Mtawatawa in Murewa. Aggrieved Sekuru Fourpence could not explain the incident; “Ah muzukuru hameno,” he said with a faint voice.
“Tangatichiburukira mhiri uku, kombi ndobva yangouya ichimhanya saka ini ndazongokwanisa kumira. Handinyatsooni saka kuti nditi… ah chii chanyatsoitika,” he added hardly pronouncing.
Eyewitnesses say the kombi was leaving the rank when two police officers armed with batons stood in front of it and asked the driver for his license which he failed to produce.
It is said the officers struck the windscreen twice and in a bid to evade arrest, the driver sped off from the rank that later resulted in him knocking down the granny and drove away after noticing the tragic incident.
One of the passengers who claimed to have been seated on the front seat when the incident occurred said the screen was damaged to the extent that driver could not see what was in front.
Reports suggested that officers who were involved in the scuffle also disappeared and the scene was attended by other police officers.
“Tanga tavakutobuda when two police officers asked for licence from the driver who did not comply; they struck the windscreen after a misunderstanding,” said one of the passengers in the kombi.
“The driver then sped off ndobva atsika gogo vanga vachicrosser akazvuzvurudza for more than 100 metres kusvika vafa. The driver then drove away after the incident while the two police officers also disappeared,” he said.
It is further said that after threats from passengers, the driver then parked along Jason Moyo Avenue just before Chinhoyi Street traffic lights and disappeared while another police officer who was a passenger in the kombi disappeared.
The conductor was reportedly apprehended by the police as he wanted to escape the scene.
“We told the driver to stop and he then parked along Jason Moyo before Chinhoyi Street traffic lights and he ran away. A police officer who was in the kombi also disappeared while the conductor was apprehended by the police after he also took to his heels,” said the eyewitness.
The body of the deceased was covered with garments on the centre of the road with hundreds of people jostling to get a glimpse of the corpse. Kombi crews and other onlookers blamed police for the incident.
“Wangu kombi yanga yazara yakutobuda mapurisa ndobva asvika vachiimisa but surprisingly murank mamutori nemapurisa waoona and vaisiya ichiloader,” said one the kombi drivers. One of the hairdressers identified as Codza who saw the incident from across the road had this to say:
“They are both wrong; the driver was evading arrest resulting in him running over a pedestrian. He should have stopped since the police wanted to inspect him. Also the kombi was coming from rank and why should they pounce on such a kombi there,” he queried.
Instead of baying for the blood of the killer driver, the public rather confronted the police officers who were present demanding answers. When this publication left the scene, the body was still lying haplessly on the road close to an hour after the tragic incident.
An ambulance arrived for help only to return helpless after realising that there was no life. H Metro
