adminLiberty Dube
A FORMER Montclair Hotel and Casino security guard successfully sued Minister of Home Affairs, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and the Zimbabwe Republic Police for $3 000 after she was assaulted and injured by two police officers over missing money at the hotel. Tsitsi Chimhutu (42) was in February 2013 assaulted by police officers based at Nyanga Police Station after $2 500 had gone missing at Montclair Hotel and Casino.
Chimhutu, who was represented by Zimbabwe Human Rights Lawyer Mrs Peggy Mapfumo-Tavagadza, had claimed an amount of $7 000 from the four defendants who were Officer Kapfunde, Officer Kambanje, Minister of Home Affairs Cde Kembo Mohadi and Commissioner-General of Police as damages for pain and suffering, transport and medical expenses.
Mutare magistrate Mrs Yeukai Chigodora ruled in favour of Chimhutu and ordered the defendants to pay damages of $3 000.
$2 000 was for pain and suffering, $805 contumelia, $35 transport and $120 for medical expenses.
“No civilised society can treat a witness in the manner the plaintiff was treated. Be that as it may, the compensation to be awarded should be assessed so as to place the injured party as far as is possible in the position she would have been in if the wrongful act causing her injury had not been committed.
“The plaintiff produced evidence showing the money she spent on her medication and how she finally resigned because of fear. The court is cognisant of the fact that the damages are not meant to punish the wrongdoer but to compensate the victim,” said Mrs Chigodora in her judgment.
Chimhutu tearfully told the courts that Kapfunde and Kambanje assaulted her in a manner that was inhuman and degrading.
She stated that when she cried because of the pain, Kapfunde took a dirty rug and put it in her mouth to silence her. She indicated that Kambanje scratched her on the eye and hit her feet with a stick.
She sustained injuries.
She stated that when she was assaulted, she had a one-year-three-month-old baby and she could no longer move around carrying her on her back because of the assault.
She produced a medical report in court.
In an interview this week, Chimhutu, who received the $3 000 compensation earlier this month, said she “suffered a lot” and was now unemployed.
“I was living in fear and decided to quit my job. The environment was no longer conducive for me. During that difficult moment, I got very sick and could not raise enough exam fees for my child. She wrote six subjects instead of eight. I am now unemployed and usually get sick because of the injuries I sustained during the assault.
“I am now living a life of moving around with pain killers. It is sad,” said the visibly dejected Chimhutu.
Online Reporter