A HARARE man who allegedly stole money and a mobile phone at a Bulawayo lodge claimed in court that he was severely assaulted under his feet by police and denied food for six days before he was brought to court.
BY SILAS NKALA
Michael Masive (21) made the claims when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Merilyn Mutshina on Tuesday.
He was not asked to plead to the theft charges and was remanded in custody to June 4.
The assault claim came up after he was asked if he had any complainants about police treatment.
Masive was arrested on Thursday last week and claimed to have been denied food while in police custody.
“Police assaulted me under my feet and I was not given anything to eat since Thursday,” Masive said.
Mutshina ordered prosecutor Kudakwashe Jaravaza to inspect Masive’s feet and confirmed to the court that the prisoner had bruises.
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The magistrate then ordered the State to investigate the assault and starvation claims.
Masive is alleged to have on May 9 2015, stolen $200 and a cellphone belonging to Tawanda Mugoni (31) who works at Mugoni Lodge.
He had asked to rest in one of the rooms and was offered a sofa to sleep on next to Mugoni.
After about 30 minutes, Mugoni woke up to discover that Masive had gone and $200 and a cellphone were missing.
On May 21, Mugoni set up Masive through his brother, leading to his arrest.
