An inquest into the death of a 23-year-old man who was fatally shot by a police officer while fleeing arrest began at Tredgold Magistrate courts in Bulawayo on Thursday.
The police officer, Assistant Inspector Erwart Zimbeva, stationed at ZRP Luveve, the court heard, fatally shot Thembani Dube (23) while he attempted to flee from being arrested.
According to the State, the incident occurred on January 9, 2023, in Pelandaba West suburb around 4 PM.
The matter was heard by Bulawayo magistrate Musaiwona Shortgame.
Dube was on the police wanted list after he was reported for domestic violence by his girlfriend.
The court heard while pursuing the deceased, Zimbeva fired two warning shots and he then tripped and accidentally fired the third shot which struck Dube leading to his death.
Narrating the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting, Asst Insp Zimbeva said that on the fateful day, he was pursuing Dube with his colleague, Constable Agreement Ncube.
“We received information to the effect that Dube was in Pelandaba where he was visiting his friend. When we arrived he was sitting outside and when he saw us he fled,” the police officer narrated.
“We chased after him. He was about 10 meters away from us. I fired two warning shots into the air while chasing him and as I was about to fire the third one I tripped. I had not seen that there was a platform about 30cm high from the slab of an unfinished house to the ground. The firearm discharged a bullet which hit him on the back side of his neck and went out through his left eye.”
Asst Insp Zimbeva explained that when he fired the first two shots he was holding his firearm at an angle of 90 degrees as per the standard procedure.
Onias Dube, brother of the deceased, in cross-examination, alleged that the neighbours they spoke to said they only heard one gunshot, not three as narrated by the police officer.
Asst Insp Zimbeva dismissed the claims, stating that he had collected ten rounds of ammunition from his station, two were recovered at the scene of the incident and seven were left unused.
Constable Agreement Ncube told the court that he was present when the shooting occurred, and Dube was shot while fleeing from them.
“I was about 2 meters ahead of Asst Insp Zimbeva while Dube was about 3 meters in front of me. He fired twice and on the third shot, I saw Dube stagger and fall to the ground. I was actually shocked that he had been shot. Everything happened so fast,” he said.
“I ran over to him and he was bleeding but he was still conscious. Asst Insp Zimbeva also rushed to where I was and he kept saying it was unfortunate that he had tripped resulting in the shooting.”
Another witness, Edward Ngwena of ZRP Pumula, said he was called to the scene after the shooting had occurred.
“When I arrived there I found Dube lying on the ground being attended to by the ambulance personnel. I also observed that there was a lot of blood that had been lost by Dube.”
Responding to the magistrate on how police officers should handle firearms when firing warning shots, Ngwena, who said he has 19 years of experience as an officer, said Asst Insp Zimbeva could have handled the situation differently to avoid the loss of life.
“There was an issue of negligence, Your Worship. The now deceased was being chased for domestic violence, it is not a grave offence that may have warranted warning shots. They could have just chased him without the use of the firearm.”
Ngwena noted that the law does not offer any immunity to police officers and should they be found on the wrong side of the law they should be prosecuted.
Officer In Charge at Luveve Police Station, Pierce Nyathi, said Asst Insp Zimbeva was armed because they had received information from the complainant that Dube was an armed and dangerous criminal.
In cross-examination, Dube’s sister, Thobekile, inquired if any dangerous weapons were recovered from her brother after he had been shot to substantiate the allegations by Nyathi.
The deceased was not armed at the time, Nyathi testified.
According to the State papers as presented by Patience Dube, the bullet hit Dube at the back of his neck and the cause of death was as a result of a gunshot wound.
“On 9 January 2023 at around 1540 hours, the now deceased was seated at a house which is under construction at slab level. The now deceased was wanted at ZRP Luveve, ZRP Bulawayo Central and ZRP Nkulumane on charges of Domestic violence. Police officers from ZRP Luveve were doing follow-ups with a view to arresting him,” Dube said.
“Acting on their information, they proceeded to the house where upon arrival, the now deceased ran away after noticing the presence of the police officers. One of the police officers was armed with a CZ Pistol, he fired two warning shots in the air whilst pursuing the now deceased, he tripped during the process and accidentally fired the third round which hit the now deceased on the back of the neck and exited through the left eye.”
