IN a shocking incident, three toddlers below the age of five years and their parents were detained overnight at Nkulumane Police Station on Friday after police imposed a “curfew” in a bid to contain rampant crime in the high-density suburb.
Crime has been on the upsurge in Nkulumane with a spate of murders, armed muggings and rape being recorded in the suburb in the past six weeks.
Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube yesterday could neither confirm nor deny the detention of the family but said police had increased patrols in the suburb to curb crime.
“Police are on preventative patrols to curb muggings, robberies, rape and murders in the suburb. They conduct stop and search operations to check on specified weapons. I can confirm that people found with these weapons were made to pay fines after they admitted to the offences,” Ncube said.
However, Southern Eye has it on good authority that the family of Tapuwa Nyandoro and his wife Gladys Phakathi were accosted by police officers on patrol when they were outside the gate of their house en route to church.
The incident happened on Friday night near the Nkulumane Housing Office.
“The family was going to church at around 8pm with their child aged 20 months, who was strapped on her mother’s back and toddlers two and four years respectively. Police on patrol then stopped them just outside their gate and asked where they were going,” said a source close to the matter.
“The family told them that they were going to church and the police asked for their identification particulars which they did not have on them. The police took them to Nkulumane Police Station and detained them overnight,” the source said.
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On arrival at the police station, there were five cops in the charge office, two males and three females.
“The family protested their arrest and one of the three female cops in the charge office slapped Phakathi on the face.
“After their arrest, Nyandoro phoned his sister to bring their IDs which she did but the police officers refused to release them and threw Nyandoro into the holdings cells while Phakathi and the minor children were locked in a room,” the source said.
The source added that the family was only released on Saturday morning around 11am after they were reportedly forced to pay admission of guilt fines of $10 each for criminal nuisance.
