By Walter Mswazie
MASVINGO – Twenty teachers and staff members from Gomba Secondary School in Gutu were detained and quized for eight hours at a local police station after they were found skinning a beast believed to have been stolen.
The teachers say they were force-marched to Bhasera Police Station about 20km away from the school at night – taking the meat with them. A lone police officer confronted them on Sunday at around 9PM and told them they were under arrest.
“He was claiming that the beast we had slaughtered was not properly cleared,” said one of the teachers, who preferred anonymity.
“The overzealous cop accused us of skinning a stolen beast. There was no case but we were just unfortunate because everything was done above board.”
Individuals intending to slaughter a cow must obtain written police permission, according to the law. The teacher said the police officer then ordered them to go to the police station for interrogation.
“We were embarrassed. Although we were not handcuffed, the fact that he force-marched us to the station, about 20km away from the school, has deprived us of our dignity as respected members of the society. I think the officer wanted to fix us for reasons best known to him,” he fumed.
Another teacher said the police officer “emerged from nowhere” and found them busy sharing the beef.
“We phoned the woman who sold the beast to us and she came in the company of a village head and they confirmed the animal belonged to her,” he told Chronicle.
“The woman produced proof of clearance but the officer ignored that and ordered us to go with him to the police station.”
The teachers and their support staff were instructed to pack the meat in plastic bags and head to the station.
“We got there just after midnight and we were detained until the next morning with our meat in plastic bags,” said the teacher.
“We were never charged but only told we were free to leave. Our meat in the plastic bags had already gone bad due to the heat since temperatures were high and we threw everything away.”
The teachers said they walked back to school, starting off at about 7AM the following morning just as pupils were arriving for classes.
“We arrived at around mid-day and found pupils loitering around the school with no-one to control them,” said the teacher.
The school head, Shelton Zingwanda, declined to comment.
“I’m not cleared to speak to the media,” he said through his secretary.
Masvingo deputy provincial education director Andrew Chikwange said his office was yet to receive the report.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said: “We’ve not yet received a report to that effect. I can check and get back to you.”
He had not done so by the time of going to press. The Chronicle
