However, calling on the no more creditable ZANU Regulated Police to sort out his Masowe weChishanu sect sounds like calling a big criminal to control a smaller one. No wonder people on the streets and in the bars cheer those bearded and robed gentlemen who, armed only with sticks, routed heavily armed riot police.
The big bully's bluff had been called. A bully is always a coward, ready to terrorise the defenceless, but inside he is unsure of himself and frightened by anyone who shows him a bit of resistance.
We can all cheer when the bullies meet their match. We can be encouraged to resist their impositions, but that doesn't mean we use sticks or even fists. They have shown they have no moral authority and can only enforce their demands violently. Refusing to submit to them, is more effective if you simply say “No” and stand firm.
If they accuse you of some traffic offence, demand to see the law you are alleged to have broken. If a police officer claims authority over you, demand proof of his or her name, rank and Force number. If you pay a bribe and get a receipt, those important details are probably not legible on the receipt. And did the officer keep a carbon copy?
That receipt is headed “Admission of guilt”, but it still carries the message that, even if you have signed this admission, you can demand a court trial. If a few of us even did that, we would soon find that the courts could not cope, or, more likely, the cops don't know how to frame a charge to put to a magistrate.
And the last thing they want is for you insist on being given a ticket. That is your right. The law allows you a week to pay the required fine at a police station. If you don't do that, then you should get a summons to a magistrate's court where the cops must present the charge and the case against you and you have a chance to speak in your own defence, or get a lawyer to defend you. The cops are allowed to accept spot fines, but as far as I'm aware, the law still allows you to defend your innocence. Or, if it is more convenient for you, to wait a few days before paying a small fine if you agree you are guilty.
Making out a docket for any kind of a trial is more work for the cops, so they will try the easy way and force you to pay on the spot. Many drivers say that they too are taking the easy way by paying, but are they right?
Every time you give in to an unjust demand, know that it will be repeated. Paying up rather than arguing your case might save you some money and expense today, but will it stop the cops from making the same demand tomorrow and the day after? Those inconveniences add up.
On the other hand, how many of us would have to stand up for our rights, wait an hour or two while you face down some uniformed extortioner, and accept the outside chance that you may be called to court more than once, only to hear the case postponed for lack of a police docket before magistrates started to tell the police to stop this nonsense? Some few people may need to undergo minor inconveniences to stop the major inconvenience caused by all these spot checks and spot fines.
If we can't stand up for lesser rights like this, how can we ever expect to tackle the bigger abuses that stand between us and the freedom our heroes (maybe not theirs) died for?
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis