tched to ensure that businesses abide by the government directive to slash prices and cost of services by half.
Scores of conductors and drivers have been beaten and have stopped plying their usual routes in protest.
Justin Makaya, one of the assaulted conductors, told CAJ News that the soldiers were deployed on urban commuter ranks ordering them to charge fares announced by the government.
“They wanted us to charge Z$10 000 and Z$15 000 for the routes which we found unviable and we resisted that. Later they pounced on us and asked commuters how much they had paid and were told we had charged them Z$50 000 and all hell broke loose. I and the driver were beaten so much that we had to be hospitalised,” said Makaya.
A commuter omnibus driver Prosper Ndaziya said he was kicked with booted feet by a soldier after he had told them they had charged Z$15 000 and passenger had told the soldiers they had instead paid Z$50 000.
“Up to now I cannot hear properly as the soldier who stopped us kicked me in the head after head butting me and I fell. At the moment I am not at work and our employer has said we will not work until the fares are reviewed upwards,” he said.
CAJ News observed the soldiers ordering the conductors not ask for top ups along the way.
The soldiers were roped in to work with the police as a joint force, including the Central Intelligence Organisation, after some police officers doing the job were accused of accepting bribes from conductors and their drivers, who then continued overcharging.
The police deny the charge, despite being observed by the commuting public allowing overcharging operators to pass by their checkpoints. Manicaland police spokesperson Brian Makomeke was unreachable this week to respond to the allegations and to reports of army brutality.
The government has said it will seize fleets of protesting public transport operators and hand them to the state-run Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, ZUPCO, but it is yet to fulfil the threat as operators are sticking to their guns. – CAJ News
Post published in: News