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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
POLICE allegedly opened fire on a vehicle that had failed to stop at a roadblock in Plumtree, severely injuring two passengers.
The Thursday shooting was preceded by a 60km high-speed chase along the Bulawayo-Plumtree Highway at around 8PM. There was more mayhem later as the passengers violently turned on the police officers, forcing them to flee from the scene.
An armed back up team, with police dogs, was eventually sent to the scene to arrest the passengers who were on the vehicle that was carrying smuggled footwear.
Relatives of the injured told of the hair-raising experience in which Plumtree traffic police officers allegedly shot the rear tyre of the Toyota Granvia and allegedly fired two more shots into the vehicle.
One of the bullets went through both of Constance Tshuma’s legs and hit Sharon Mutemererwa who was sitting next to her. The two are admitted to the United Bulawayo Hospitals where they are under armed police guard.
A relative said on Friday that Tshuma could not walk and an expensive operation might be needed as the bullet shattered both her legs.
“They were travelling in a Granvia from Botswana last night (Thursday) and were stopped at a roadblock by police who said they suspected there were smuggled shoes in the vehicle,” said the relative, who added: “We don’t have much detail as we’ve not been able to really talk to her.”
Relatives to both patients said they were only able to glean the palpable terror in the voices of the pair as they tried to recount the gruesome experience.
Police sources close to investigations told Chronicle that the two women had hitched a lift in the Granvia, which had five other passengers, three female and two male.
The driver of the vehicle, Mbonisi Mpofu, was instructed to stop by police who were manning a roadblock at the 98 kilometre peg along Bulawayo-Plumtree Road.
“Three police officers were manning the roadblock and they demanded to search the passengers and inspect their luggage. Some of the passengers refused and the driver sped off heading towards Bulawayo,” said one of the sources.
The source said the police officers commandeered a private vehicle and pursued the fleeing Granvia until they caught up with it at the 40 kilometre peg and ordered the driver to stop.
“The driver pretended to stop but instead sped off for the second time forcing the traffic officers to open fire,” said the officer.
The officer said one of them then fired three shots at the vehicle. One hit the rear tyre while another hit Tshuma on both legs while Mutemererwa sustained injuries on her left foot.
“One of the officers proceeded with the injured women to a clinic and left two officers to guard the vehicle and the group that remained. The remaining passengers became violent and threatened the two officers. One of the cops fled from the scene and left his workmate at the mercy of the smugglers,” said the source.
The source said the remaining officer was detained by the smugglers who then offloaded bags of their smuggled goods and hid them in a bush.
The source added: “A reinforcement team came to the aid of the officer and the remaining six passengers and the driver were arrested.
“Two bags containing 143 pairs of smuggled shoes were recovered.”
The six accused persons are being detained at the Plumtree police cells and are expected to appear in court today.
The source said a team which included the dog section was dispatched to carry out further searches in the area.
The injured were first taken to Marula Clinic then Plumtree Hospital but they were later conveyed to UBH.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele referred questions to national police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi, who could not be reached on his mobile phone.
Online Reporter