BY OWN CORRESPONDENT A GOKWE man from Nembudziya’s Mutora stands is living in fear after he was terrorised by alleged members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for reporting a case of torture by members of the army. Shadreck Muchena, who was assaulted by uniformed army officials at Nembudziya business centre on February 1 this year, was last week assisted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) to pursue his case after several attempts to have the docket finalised by the police hit a brickwall. Police had been dragging their feet to conduct an identification parade. Muchena, according to a medical affidavit gleaned by NewsDay, sustained injuries to his right ear, nose and throat after an iron bar and the butt of a gun were used to assault him. “I had gone to Nembudziya to buy maize-meal when two soldiers approached us. My cousin managed to escape, but they charged towards me and started beating me, kicking me on the ribs and backside before they took me to a police base where the torture continued,” Muchena said. He said he was later released without charge, but from February 2-8 he tried to pursue the case to no avail. Some police officers allegedly coerced him to withdraw the charges against the army officers citing challenges in investigating such cases. Muchena, a Gokwe ZimRights member, then approached the human rights organisation which helped him to pursue the case — numbers RRB4641695 and CR 07/02/21. Muchena’s lawyer, Kenias Shonhai from ZimRights said an identification parade willnow be conducted. But Muchena alleges that CIO officials (names withheld) were threatening him for seeking help from ZimRights. “We want to remind the State and all its institutions that every citizen has rights, the right to legal representation by a lawyer of choice is one such right. As a human rights organisation we are saying no to impunity, every perpetrators of human rights violations must be brought to book without fear or favour. The police and the army should respect and protect the rights of citizens,” Shonhai said. Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
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