Staff ReporterIn a significant development, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has announced its intention to carry out a comprehensive investigation into allegations that police officers deployed dogs against students from St Faith High School in Manicaland. The announcement came in the wake of widespread outrage triggered by a video clip circulating on social media, which depicted a police officer releasing a dog on a male student amid a protest by numerous students on Valentine’s Day.
The ZRP, through an official statement on the social media platform X, acknowledged the incident and pledged to provide detailed findings upon the completion of the inquiry. The statement highlighted, “The ZRP has taken note of a viral social media clip on alleged St Faith High School students and ZRP clashes and use of Police dogs during a purported pupils demonstration. Full details on the incident will be availed once the Officer Commanding Police Manicaland Province conducts a full inquiry and briefs the Commissioner-General of Police on what actually transpired.”
Reports from The Manica Post indicate that the protest at St Faith’s Mission in Rusape, which occurred on Wednesday, was sparked by a dispute between the school’s Responsible Authority, the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland, and parents over the payment of a US$600 mission fund. Following an interactive session with Makoni District Acting Schools Inspector, Mr. Tambama, and Mr. Mukorera from the Public Service Commission, the protesting students were addressed by their school head Arnold Makamba at the Makoni District Education offices in Rusape.
The reasons behind the police’s decision to use dogs on the students and the extent of injuries sustained by the students remain unclear at this stage. The community and the nation await the outcomes of the police inquiry with bated breath, hoping for justice and clarity on the events that led to this disturbing confrontation.
