By Nyore Madzianike
A policewoman based at Harare Central Police Station was critically injured after being shoved off a moving commuter omnibus by a tout along Robson Manyika Road. The case could well culminate into one of attempted murder as the nature of the violent attack was horrendous and gory for all who set eyes upon the injured cop.
Sergeant Vhinia Mutaramusa (36) sustained two deep cuts and fractures on her left leg after the conductor shoved her off the moving vehicle in a bid to evade arrest. The kombi was picking up commuters at an undesignated area known as Pamushika-shika along Robson Manyika when the incident occurred.
The cop was rushed to West End Hospital where she was admitted upon arrival due to the nature of her injuries. Police confirmed the incident although the names of the driver, conductor and owner of the kombi could not be immediately established at the time of going to print.
“It is true that the incident occurred and she was rushed to the hospital. “As of now it is difficult to establish the names of the people involved,” said police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau. When H-Metro visited her at the hospital where she was receiving treatment, she was writhing in pain with medical officers trying hard to give treatment.
She was still wearing her duty uniform. In a bedside interview, Sgt. Mutaramusa said she jumped into the kombi when it was wrongly parked along the road in a bid to arrest the kombi crew. “The driver started moving the vehicle before the conductor pushed me off while it was already in motion.
“I was hit by the door of the kombi which then injured my leg. I have solace in that it is only my leg that was been severely injured. “The doctor told me that I sustained two fractures, meaning I’m going to be admitted here,” she said. She also said that the conductor immediately took to his heels after he realised that he had committed a serious crime.
“I was also in the company of another police officer who then arrested the driver but the conductor ran away. “We were conducting our duties under the new 100 percent Operation that has been put in place. “By the time this incident occurred we had successfully arrested and impounded another kombi, which was already at the police station.
“I think the kombi was picking commuters that were travelling to Seke and other places in Chitungwiza,” she said. She also vowed to get to the bottom of the matter after her recovery. “I know the conductor will be arrested and if he thinks he is clever I will get to the bottom of the matter.
“This is because I heard that the driver of the kombi told the police that he had no contacts of his employer. “How does that happen?” she asked. One of her relatives who preferred anonymity because of the nature of his job blamed commuter omnibus drivers and and conductors for gross negligence.
“These people seem as if they were born to the same mother. “They are now regarding all their wrongs as normal. “The police need to take a tough stance against these people,” he said.
In the run-up to the festive season there has been an increase in the dangerous shenanigans of commuter omnibus conductors who have wreaked havoc on commuters as they harass them and slowly become a law unto themselves. H Metro
