HARARE – The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has issued a statement saying members of the public should not blame them for the sometimes deadly battles with commuter omnibus operators.
Last week an elderly woman was killed by a kombi whose driver was fleeing from police near the Copacabana bus terminus in central Harare. There have been several such clashes which have resulted in injuries or deaths of innocent pedestrians.
Amid growing criticism of the cops’ actions, Harare Acting Provincial Spokesperson Assistant Inspector Tarirai Dube, in a press statement, said members of the public should understand the requirements of the law first before putting the blame on police.
Dube said: “With all these incidents, members of the public should not blame the police. Let’s understand the requirements of the law first before blaming the police. A good example is of the Copacabana incident where a conductor drove a vehicle and hit commuters who were waiting to board a kombi.
“Were the police there? Did they instruct him to drive? No. The other one is where a kombi knocked down a woman who died instantly and the blame was put on the police.
“The police only asked for the driver’s licence and the driver who was aware that he was not in compliance with the requirements for one to be a public service driver. This was witnessed after his driver’s licence indicated that it was three years old,” she said.
She said that a public service driver MUST have five years of driving experience.
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