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Roselyne Sachiti Deputy Features Editor
WEDNESDAY March 14, 2007 was like any other day. Light came at 5am, roosters crowed to welcome the new day. It was a beautiful morning and the then Constables Pretty Ruswaya, Busani Moyo (26) and Brenda Makamba of Marimba Police Station also welcomed it with a warm bath and hot cup of tea.
The youthful police officers still full of energy looked in the mirror before leaving to correct any make-up and hair imperfections. Such was their routine every other day.
Detective Sergeant Ruswaya and Moyo were stationed at Harare National Traffic and Southerton police stations respectively and they spent the day at work preparing cycle displays for an upcoming Trade Fair exhibition.
“While at work we heard a rumour that some MDC people wanted to petrol bomb police stations. We brushed it aside saying it could be a lie not knowing that we would end up being the victims,” Det Sgt Ruswaya reminisced.
That night, a petrol bomb blew up in three houses, theirs included, turning their life for the worst.
Today, the two policewomen are afraid to look into any mirror or object that reflects how they look.
Their scarred bodies only bear evidence of the nature of the experience they went through – the emotional trauma is still trapped in their bodies.
“The bombing has affected me physically, emotionally, socially and mentally. It is difficult to just wake up from your sleep in an inferno your body burnt,” said Det Sgt Ruswaya.
She suffered 22 percent burns and spent three months in hospital. Her face and hands were burnt and she had to undergo skin grafting.
“It was a difficult time for us. We were injured at a time doctors were always on strike and there was also a shortage of medicines in hospitals. We had to go to South Africa for some of the treatment,” she said.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police met all the medical costs.
“I get upset whenever I recall the tragic night,” she sobs.
“I get emotional when I think about it. It has really disturbed me. It is difficult to accept the fact that I went to bed as usual only to wake in a terrible situation the next morning. My appearance had changed and I was in pain,” she said.
Sgt Ncube was dating a fellow policeman and did not have a child before the incident.
She married the same man in December 2010, is now a mother of one, but finds it extremely hard to explain to her child how she got the injuries.
“My child just looks at me and wonders what happened to me. Even when I wanted to get married some people would say all sorts of things. But my husband understood what had happened to me,” added Det Sgt Ruswaya who is now reading for a Diploma in Public Relations at Bindura University.
Det Sgt Ruswaya sustained serious burns on her face, hands and shoulders.
Were it not for this horrible event, Det Sgt Ruswaya would have wanted to pursue nursing.
“I decided not to become a nurse because the incident really shook me.
“Burns are painful from day one. The treatment is painful especially when they are being washed. As they heal, they become itchy and cause a lot of discomfort. We cannot wear short-sleeved clothes even in summer.
“The skin cannot be too exposed to the sun. I use bio oil, vitamin E and tissue oil on the scars. The clothes I wear have to be 100 percent cotton,” she said.
She said she never tried to find what happened to the people who petrol bombed them since this would not change anything but hope they see what they have done to her.
“We just accepted that we have to live like this. We did not bother to find where they are or what happened to them or what they would do,” she added.
Political violence in her view is extremely bad.
“People should desist from political violence. They have to find other ways of solving differences other than fighting. They end up harming innocent people like me,” she appealed.
Det Sgt Ruswaya added: “It is difficult to find peace within myself. Each time I think of it, I end up crying. It has been six years but whenever I recall that night, it feels as if it is happening over and over again.
“Each time I look at the scars, I say this is not what I was like, I really get affected. Sometimes people pass bad comments and it affects me.”
She says they have not sought any form of counselling.
Detective Sgt Moyo, who was mostly affected by the fire and still bears the scars of the incident, also says she has been living a hellish life ever since.
She suffered 28 percent burns.
She sustained serious burns on her face, hands and shoulders.
“The incident shook me. The fear is still within. I was afraid to remain alone in the house. I would panic even if someone accidentally dropped a plate. I am afraid when I hear a slight noise. My visions of the incident are triggered by that. I would hear noises I did not understand even while sleeping and would wake up scared. The fear is now better though,” she said.
Detective Sgt Moyo said before the incident they wished to do any other duties by a policeman as they grew in the profession.
They wanted to patrol, investigate, do administration work and attend scenes, but only did it partially as they had to be transferred to do light duties after the bombing.
Added Sgt Moyo: “Every time my six-year-old son sees these scars, he keeps asking what happened reminding me about the petrol bombing incident. He now lives in Filabusi with my relatives and does not want to come to Harare because he believes people get hurt,” she said.
She recalled the petrol bombing: “Between 1 and 2am, I felt as if I was dreaming, someone torching me in the face and I woke up.
“I was shocked to see a ball of fire and by that time I felt very weak. I did not know how I got out of the door. I was only wearing a track bottom. I just remember waking up at the hospital.”
She says it has been difficult to cope with her new appearance.
“It is hard for me. My appearance has changed. People who see the scars look at me and I can tell they have a lot of questions. I also wear long-sleeved clothes and apply bio oil. I use up to four large bottles of bio oil every month,” she added.
Sgt Moyo added: “Political violence does not help. People should solve problems amicably. Breadwinners die and children they leave behind suffer.”
She says she does not know if she will overcome the emotional stress for as long as she sees the scars.
Police chief spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said this case is a clear result of political violence.
She said police will counsel them as soon as possible.
“That is why we are always preaching against political violence.
“Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri is on record denouncing political violence.
“We put up posters at all police stations, district police stations and provincial ones also outlining clearly that we do not want violence. All proponents of violence will be brought to book. We are really serious. If you are caught on the wrong side of the law and have committed violence expect that we will definitely have you behind bars once we have all the facts,” she said.
She revealed that there are not many cases of violence now but a few have been reported.
“We had intra-party violence within some political parties during the primary elections, but so far I can safely say we do not have a situation that is alarming, everything is under control.
“It is very peaceful. I know there are some people who exaggerate the situation. We cannot compare with other countries that experience violence even without elections. Zimbabwe generally is a very peaceful country,” she added.
She said people should respect each other adding that fighting is not the solution.
“In this particular case this was actually MDC that did this to these girls. They say they are not violent but this is what they did to young girls who had just come from training. They were very new in the police and look at them, now, they are traumatised for life. No one can live with such an experience, it’s very frightening.
“Let’s not point fingers that some people are violent when you are also violent. We should preach what we do; I am appealing to all participants to desist from violence because police will be wasting resources investigating some of these cases,” she said.
Cst Brenda Makamba escaped with less serious burns on the face, chest, legs and arms.
On the fateful night, the raiders cut the wire along the northern boundary of Marimba Police Camp and lobbed petrol bombs and teargas canisters at three houses, the most serious damage and all the injuries occurring at a house shared by the three women constables.
Between March 15 and 25, 2007, four police stations – in Chitungwiza, Marimba, Sakubva and Gweru – were bombed by suspected MDC-T activists, resulting in serious injury to two women constables and damage to property.
Police suspected MDC-T supporters were responsible for both attacks and arrested five suspects in connection with the Gweru attack.
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