Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Lawyers have said the taking of the life of suspected criminals by the police before trial is unconstitutional.
This comes after five suspected criminals were gunned down by police detectives during shootouts in December 2023 alone.
Following the increasing cases of fatal shootings of suspects by police officers, lawyers have questioned the use of lethal force by law enforcement agents even during indications.
Speaking to The Standard, lawyer Lawyer Dumisani Dube argued that resorting to lethal force without exhausting alternative measures was unconstitutional. Said Dube:
No one has a right to kill anyone, serve for a few exceptions as governed by law.
Most importantly, the presumption of innocence states that everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after a free, fair, public trial before independent and impartial courts.
So, imagine how many are executed without going through a trial in wanton violation of the law.
He said law enforcement agents have a right to use minimum force in exceptional situations when effecting arrest or in their defence of life while in service.
Lawyer Jacqueline Sande said the use of lethal force should only be a last resort, adding that it is the hangman’s job to carry out the death penalty. She said:
It should only be used as a matter of life and death to preserve the police officer’s life, not as a means of deterring criminals from committing further offences or as a means of apprehending and convicting a criminal.
It doesn’t mean that when a person is suspected to have committed an offence, his or her life is immediately diminished or discarded.
If the court is indeed convinced that you are supposed to die for your crimes, you will then be convicted and sentenced to death.
It should be the hangman’s job to kill, not the police. It should not be the police officer to willy-nilly decide to shoot and kill a person.
Another lawyer Tinashe Runganga, however, said the “shoot-to-kill policy”, was a necessary evil to put a stop to crime. Said Runganga:
These are dangerous armed robbers. If you delay to shoot, they kill you. The policy protects these officers.
I am not condemning their policy because most of these people who are being shot are not innocent, they are dangerous.
As it stands, I think the police are professionally executing their duties.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said that the police do not have a shoot-to-kill policy.
He said police officers only respond in equal measure when attacked by criminals. Said Asst Comm Nyathi:
We have said that the Zimbabwe Republic Police will respond appropriately according to the merits of the particular situation when dealing with violent crimes such as armed robbery cases and that has been our official position.
We have said if criminals decide to be confrontational and be in a gunfight with police officers, appropriate response will be given.
In early 2023, police commissioner-general Godwin Matanga announced that police would not hesitate to shoot armed criminals after Wedza officer in charge Maxwell Hove was shot dead by suspected serial killer Jaison Muvevi.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday News in Bulawayo last week, Acting Chief Director Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Assistant Commissioner Jealous Nyabasa warned armed robbers that “you touch a gun, you die by the gun”.
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
