adminSenior Court Reporter
THREE Bulawayo City Council municipal police officers harassed a freelance journalist before confiscating and damaging his camera for taking pictures as they were rounding up illegal street vendors, a court heard.Bulawayo magistrate Charity Maphosa heard this when Russell Lunga, 44, Lovemore Ndlovu, 32 and Watson Moyo, 34, appeared before her facing charges of theft and malicious damage to property.
The trio was remanded out of custody to January 28 for trial.
Prosecuting, Danmore Kasenza said on November 13 last year, freelance journalist, Chrispen Tabvura, spotted municipal police rounding up illegal street vendors between Fort Street and 10th Avenue in Bulawayo.
Tabvura fished out his digital camera from his bag and started taking photos, much to the chagrin of the trio.
“Lunga, Ndlovu and Moyo turned on Tabvura and they took his digital camera, a high definition broadcasting camera and a cellphone before they bundled him into their truck and drove to Drill Hall,” said Kasenza.
The court heard that the three men then threw Tabvura’s camera into their truck, damaging it in the process.
Tabvura later enquired about his tools of trade valued at $970 from the trio.
He failed to recover his equipment and reported the matter to the police leading to the trio’s arrest.
derick.khumalo