The British police reportedly interrogated the Zimbabwe senior national netball team, the Gems in the early hours of Friday morning. The interrogation is said to have followed reports by a London based Zimbabwean journalist that some players were underage.
The Gems are currently in Liverpool for the Netball World Cup. The police reportedly came to their rooms at 0200 hours making follow-ups on reports which are believed to have been made by Simba Chikanza the owner of online publication Zimeye. Chikanza is believed to have reported that the team had underage players who were also being starved in their quarters among other human rights violations.
Zim Morning Post reports that the police spoke to Maimba Mapuranga the public relations manager of the team. Mapuranga reportedly said:
The police came to our lodgings at 0200 hours and I had to collect all the passports from the players for inspection to insure that indeed all the players were of age.
The players were interrogated and it became evident that everything was in order but the encounter with the police shook them a bit as it was an unusual call.
The police were evidently wondering why a fellow Zimbabwean was calling for the investigations of the team.
The journo is reported to have advised the Gems to abandon the World Cup and seek asylum in the UK.
The Gems are performing very well at the tournament with two wins and two defeats. They were considered underdogs when they arrived in Liverpool.
More: Zim Morning Post
The journalist should be ashamed of himself,he should leave our team alone.