Online Reporter
Miriam Tose Majome
Stop, open the door, and drive to the station!”
These words, uttered by a uniformed police officer leaning into one’s car window, are enough to send a chill down any driver’s spine.
Not because they would have necessarily done anything seriously wrong to warrant vehicle impounding, no!
Still the Zimbabwean driver knows what comes next because the unwritten, but well-rehearsed script plays out daily on Zimbabwe’s roads. A traffic infraction, real or imagined, minor or major, is an invitation for police officers to invade private vehicles and demand to be chauffeur driven to the station.
Most traffic officers are hardworking and honest, but a few are rotten to the core, and often prompt the negotiation of a “resolution” in the cramped privacy of the backseat of the commandeered car.
Let us be clear: there is no law authorising the police to commandeer private vehicles as ad-hoc police patrol cars.
Police officers have the authority to arrest motorists if there is due cause. However, they should use their own resources.
The police should not be out policing if no adequate policing resources are available — police vehicles and stationery. Citizens have no obligation to provide resources to the police to do their job.
Imagine this: you want to arrest me, but you need to hire my car and driving proficiency for free to arrest me?
Such twisted logic appears to have been normalised.
The moment an officer steps into your car without consent, they have crossed a line. There is no such thing as voluntary compliance under duress.
No one knows the psychology of fear and situational power like the police. They have studied it well. They know that Zimbabweans are always in a rush somewhere, and that they dread the prospect of being delayed even for 20 minutes, so they will do and pay anything just to be allowed to go.
While checks for licences and vehicle fitness are part of ensuring road safety, the culture of traffic officers entering private vehicles and directing motorists to drive to the police station for minor traffic offences is illegal.
This practice, while perhaps intended to streamline enforcement, raises serious legal and ethical questions, demanding closer scrutiny from both law enforcement authorities and citizens.
Police officers have the power to stop vehicles, demand documentation, and arrest individuals for serious traffic violations.
Impounding vehicles under specific circumstances, such as roadworthiness or suspicion of being used for unlawful activities, is also within their legal mandate. The Road Traffic Act has no provision explicitly empowering police officers to commandeer citizens’ vehicles for every alleged infraction.
For minor traffic offences, cautions and fines can be issued. When a police officer embarks into a passenger seat and dictates the journey, it is a hostage situation.
There is no legal basis for this arbitrary control of private property by State agents.
The implications of this practice are far-reaching and troubling.
Firstly, it erodes the fundamental right of citizens to control their own property and freedom of movement. A private vehicle is just that — private.
Unless there are grounds for arrest or impoundment clearly defined by law, the owner should retain control of their property. Taking charge of a private vehicle, even with the owner behind the wheel, is unlawful.
Secondly, it opens the door to potential abuse of power.
Without clear legal guidelines, the discretion of individual officers becomes paramount. It is an avenue for intimidation and extortion. The lack of transparency and standardised protocols raise concern.
Beyond the legal and ethical considerations, practical issues abound.
What happens in the event of an accident during this forced drive? If the officer causes a collision, or if their instructions lead to an incident, who bears the responsibility?
Standard insurance policies do not cover damages incurred under such shadowy circumstances. Having an unauthorised passenger forcefully directing the vehicle is distracting and dangerous.
Traffic police officers exploit the real and understandable fear of the prospect of losing one’s car for days, paying eye watering storage charges, and navigating through the bureaucracy of Zimbabwean public offices.
The mere thought swiftly induces compliance or paying a bribe, but not without feeling helpless and deeply taken advantage of.
Traffic violations warrant a ticket or notice to appear in court, not being forced to provide the police with a free taxi service or makeshift patrol car.
Isolated alone in your car, the officer becomes judge, jury, and witness: “Saka manga mati toita sei mother? Toenda kunosiya mota? It is up to you, so we can forget this.”
That is not traffic control or law enforcement. It is extortion and driver fear, panic and impatience fuel it.
In the zeal of jumping into private vehicles, police officers are oblivious of the personal hazards and insurance liability minefield.
As we speak, one hapless police officer is ruing the day he enthusiastically jumped into a private citizen’s vehicle.
The car ploughed into a stationary vehicle at Kelvin Corner in Harare. He sustained multiple life threatening facial orthopaedic injuries, which he may not afford to have treated. All the rulebooks are being thrown at him by insurers and his employer alike.
Most motor vehicle policies exclude cover for unauthorised passengers. If they are involved in an accident, their employer will be the first to deny any knowledge of them three times even before sunset.
All actions by State agents, including law enforcement, must be grounded in clear legal provisions. It is time for the law and policymakers to address this unsettling trend.
Clarity is needed regarding police standing orders to define the circumstances under which an officer can direct a driver to a police station and, crucially, to explicitly prohibit the arbitrary commandeering of private vehicles for minor offences.
What practical alternatives are open to drivers in the heat of the moment when they are accused of creating an extra lane on a road without any markings?
That police uniform and the authoritative voice it bestows, even on tiny chaps wearing it, packs jelly into the knees of even the most self-assured people.
Some confidence, even if it is feigned, and a little knowledge of the law can help.
Remember, “No”, is a complete sentence.
Simply refuse to allow any police officer into your vehicle. Insist that it is you and not your vehicle that is under arrest. Be calm and patient!
Tell them you will wait for their police vehicle to take you and arrange for someone to pick yours up.
Call your vehicle breakdown service plan or your mechanic to come and take the vehicle. Be firm, but fully comply with the police. Never let them into your vehicle or allow them to threaten you with impounding your vehicle without just cause.
Politely ask them, which law they are using and the citation and whip out your phone or a piece of paper to note down. Invoke procedure politely.
Tell them that you know they are just doing their work, but you will wait for your ticket there. Tell them that it is not your fault if they do not have the ticket books, but you are not driving them to the station for that.
Have a lawyer on speed dial and call them in their presence. Be prepared to play the long game.
Furthermore, tell them your insurance agreement does not allow you to carry unauthorised passengers. Say it firmly and repeat it.
You should also document everything and record proceedings discreetly or openly. Tell them that it is for both your legal protection. Sound confident, smart and knowledgeable! This easily deflates intimidation.
Also demand the charge in writing and ask the officer to write their name and force number, and insist on seeing their work identity card. Paper trails foil bribes.
Also, have the police complaint number in your phonebook, and use it in the case of illegal detention, extortion or impounding of the vehicle.
The listed Zimbabwe Republic Police complaints number is 0242 703631.
Section 50 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees freedom from arbitrary detention. Forcing someone to drive their vehicle is not a lawful instruction by a police officer. It is unlawful detention and kidnapping.
Until policy stamps out this wanton practice and culture, the burden falls on drivers to protect themselves and push back against abuse.
Push back politely, firmly standing on the law and watch how quickly “standard procedure” changes.
l Miriam Tose Majome is a lawyer and a Commissioner with the Zimbabwe Media Commission. She writes in her personal capacity and can be contacted on [email protected]
