FOUR Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officers were on Thursday arraigned before Harare provincial magistrate Isheunesu Matova in connection with the brutal assault and subsequent death of a 29-year-old man.
The accused persons Nqobile Dube (23), Gladman Faith Makoni (29), Godfrey Damu (24) and Atkins Munashe Zvavambire (20) allegedly assaulted Jeffreys Kandemiiri following an incident at the New Government Complex in Harare earlier this month.
They were remanded in custody on a murder charge and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
According to State prosecutor Nomsa Kangara, the deceased visited the complex on March 6, intending to meet his uncle, who works at the same complex.
However, he was reportedly chased away by ZPCS officers who providing security at the premises.
While descending the stairs, he encountered the four accused individuals, leading to a confrontation that turned violent. The court heard that they assaulted Kandemiiri on the second floor before dragging him to the basement, where the attack intensified.
Witnesses reported that Dube repeatedly kicked the victim in the stomach with booted feet, while Makoni and Damu punched him.
The State further alleged that Dube stepped on the victim’s stomach with force while he lay on the ground, while Damu struck him on the legs with a broomstick.
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Zvavambire reportedly slapped the deceased twice and poured multiple buckets of water all over his body.
The attack only ceased when other security personnel intervened.
Kandemiiri was reportedly forced to leave the premises, but, however, collapsed at the nearby Simon Muzenda Bus Terminus, where he was assisted by Good Samaritans who took him home to Mabvuku.
He allegedly spent the night in excruciating pain before he was taken to a local clinic the following day.
He was later referred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, where he was admitted for a week.
Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries on March 14, with doctors citing severe abdominal trauma as the cause of death.
Kangara told the court that police investigations led to the arrest of the four prison officers.
She added that a forensic post-mortem examination confirmed that Kandemiiri’s death resulted from blunt force trauma sustained during the assault.
