24/09/2025
The High Court has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police to pay damages of US$42,000 to a Harare woman who lost her one-year-old son in a 2017 traffic incident. Justice Regis Dembure ruled in favour of Patricia Dengezi, finding that police actions during a chaotic chase with pirate taxis created dangerous conditions that led to the child’s death. Dengezi’s baby was fatally struck when a commuter omnibus, fleeing from police spike strips, veered off the road and hit them as she sat on the pavement feeding him. The Police Commissioner General, the Home Affairs Minister, and the driver were cited as defendants in the case.The High Court has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police to pay damages of US$42,000 to a Harare woman who lost her one-year-old son in a 2017 traffic incident. Justice Regis Dembure ruled in favour of Patricia Dengezi, finding that police actions during a chaotic chase with pirate taxis created dangerous conditions that led to the child’s death. Dengezi’s baby was fatally struck when a commuter omnibus, fleeing from police spike strips, veered off the road and hit them as she sat on the pavement feeding him. The Police Commissioner General, the Home Affairs Minister, and the driver were cited as defendants in the case.