A HAULAGE truck driver was stopped by traffic cops for speeding along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway and, as the cops processed the ticket, he took a wee behind the vehicle prompting the police officers to slap him with another fine for urinating in public.
A Gwanda magistrate’s court heard that the driver disputed the second charge, arguing he was not in a public place, leading to a row which culminated in a fight with the traffic officers. The cops battered the driver with handcuffs but he managed to wriggle free and pelted them with stones, forcing the officers to run for cover in nearby bushes. The three traffic cops, Show Magaisa, 33, Thomas Nemashakwe, 34, and Thembiwe Makore, 25, last week appeared before Gwanda magistrate Olivia Mashava Mashaire charged with assault over the January 2014 incident. The trial however, failed to take off as the driver Llyod Musonza and his cousin Maximum Musonza of Kadoma, did not turn up. Both are employed by PnR transport company. The magistrate immediately issued warrant for the pair’s arrest. Prosecutors allege that on the 31st of January last year, the three cops mounted a speed trap at the 168km peg along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Highway. They stopped Musonza for speeding and ordered him to pay a fine. The driver obliged and, whilst the cops were writing his ticket, he went behind the truck and relieved himself. One of the cops, Magaisa, then told Musonza that he should pay another fine for urinating in public. An argument ensued with Musonza maintaining he was not at a public place. Officer Makore then allegedly held Musonza by his right hand while Magaisa held him by the belt and started kicking him with booted feet. The third officer, Nemashakwe, hit Musonza with a pair of handcuffs several times on the head. Musonza fell to the ground and picked up some stones and pelted the officers who ran into the bush. He then used the opportunity to get into his truck and drove towards Beitbridge but the cops followed and arrested them at a roadblock in Makhado. The Musonza cousins were last year acquitted on charges of assaulting the three cops. They argued the charges were trumped-up to cover-up their brutal attack. Musonza, who suffered several lacerations on the head, bled profusely following the attack and had to be admitted at Gwanda hospital.
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