Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Overzealous Green fuel guards assault villagers over sugarcane in Chisumbanje

In  an act of brazen disregard of the law and professionalism, Green fuel security guards have assaulted Lucas Moyana and others over allegations of stealing sugarcane on the 28th of August 2015.Lucas Moyana (55) was severely beaten by security guards armed with sjamboks and guns together with his family members who included a five year old.

The Green fuel security guards working closely with police officers from Chisumbanje station descended on Lucas on the assumption that he and others should tell them or admit to having stolen sugarcane from the disputed land that was grabbed from the community by Green fuel. Lucas Moyana feels aggrieved and dehumanized by this act of beating him at 10pm in the night as if he was a criminal. Lucas just like many villagers with homesteads close to the sugarcane fields were not asked questions but just received beatings in an Ian Smith -policing style aimed at forcing them to accept a crime they are pleading innocent.PYD will file court papers in defence of Lucas Moyana and others who felt their rights were violated.
Platform for Youth Development has been on record complaining about these untrained guards and trigger happy police officers who have no respect for human rights and professional contact. It is worrying that the assault in question was done not only with the hand of police from Chisumbanje station but also with instruction from Green fuel management.

Platform for Youth Development is concerned that the involvent of Chisumbanje police is a retrogression to the relations PYD is trying to build between the villagers and the police.PYD is currently moderating relations between police at Chisumbanje and villagers over the increasing poor relations between the two parties. Police at Chisumbanje are being accused by villagers of receiving bribes from Green fuel to assist the latter from winning the boundary dispute by hook and crook. The use of force to arrest an innocent civilian such as in the case of Lucas Moyana is unwarranted and must be condemned in the strongest terms.

PYD is currently pursuing various complaints presented by the community and targeted at the police officers at Chisumbanje station. Some of the cases received are at the advanced stage with identified police officers being dragged to court by the public for overzealous contact such as the one involving Lucas Moyana.
Inserted by PYD Information Department

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