Wilbert Mandinde, the acting director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has criticized the shoot-to-kill “policy” of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) when dealing with armed robbers.
This follows concerns by lawyers and social commentators that some of the incidents now resemble the extrajudicial execution of suspects by the police.
In December 2023, officers from the Harare Criminal Investigations Department’s homicide section shot and killed robbery suspect Godkows Machingura (44) in Harare.
According to the police report, Machingura succumbed to a gunshot wound in the groin after the shootout in Harare’s Arcadia suburb.
However, the family of the deceased music promoter has since disputed the police account of the matter and insists Machingura was a victim of police execution.
Machingura’s family said five bullet wounds were observed on his body during a post-mortem.
The family said he had two shots in the head, one gunshot below the ribs, and two gunshots on his legs.
The NewsHawks reported they obtained the original copy of the autopsy results compiled by a Harare pathologist which confirms the family’s account.
Before Machingura’s alleged shootout case, there have also been several incidents where police said an armed robber was shot dead while fleeing during indications.
Indications are incidents when police, after arrest, take a suspect to the crime scene to understand and gather evidence of the criminal activity.
In an interview with The NewsHawks this week, Mandinde said police must always endeavour to arrest suspects and take them to court. He said:
As the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum we are concerned about the police shoot-to-kill policy.
We want to start by applauding the good work the police do in apprehending criminals; certainly, that’s something which has to be commendable.
And we also are clear that police should also work to protect themselves. That is a use of defence as and when they are under attack. We certainly have no problem with police doing that.
We are however concerned about the high rate of these shootings that are currently happening at the moment.
And there is every scope for us to believe that police are simply executing all suspected armed robbers. We believe that is wrong.
Police do not have the mandate to do that. Police should arrest and take people to court where they could be tried, convicted and sentenced.
We are worried about this particular thing that we tend to hear that people either attempt to escape or grab guns and fight over guns with police.
And we always wonder whether when they take these armed robbers out for incidents, they do not use leg irons, for example, or handcuff them at the back.
Mandinde, who is a former magistrate, said there must be a Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission to carry out proper inquiries into complaints against police conduct.
