Charlotte Dube, a cross-border trader, recently endured a harrowing ordeal at the hands of a Zebra Kiss bus crew after being falsely accused of theft while travelling from Zambia to Zimbabwe.
A fellow passenger on the same bus claimed to have lost a parcel. Without any concrete evidence, the bus crew turned their suspicions on Charlotte and singled her out as the alleged thief.
When the bus reached its destination, Charlotte was ordered by a conductor identified only as Pardy to remain on board while all other passengers disembarked.
Instead of handing the matter over to the police or investigating further, the bus crew took matters into their own hands.
Charlotte was forcibly driven to the company’s garage in Ardbennie, Harare, where she was subjected to a brutal assault by a group of five men.
These men, identified as Marvin, Munashe, Kuda, Roma, and a man who called himself Baba Keketso, took turns beating her with wooden planks.
She sustained serious injuries to her hands, back, and buttocks during the hours-long attack.
Meanwhile, the passenger who had initially reported the missing parcel later informed the bus crew that her item had not been stolen after all. By then, however, the damage to Charlotte had already been done.
Zebra Kiss manager Kudakwashe Mupfukirei reportedly apologised to Charlotte following the revelation, but when contacted for comment by H-Metro, he claimed that the case had not yet officially reached his office.
This contradicts text messages seen by the publication, which show Mupfukirei in communication with Charlotte’s husband, discussing a potential out-of-court resolution to the matter.
Charlotte has since spoken out about her traumatic experience, describing the Zebra Kiss crew who assaulted her as “heartless.” She said:
I have been relying on Zebra Kiss for all my trips as a cross-border but this time they destroyed my trust,” said Charlotte.
Their conductor Pardy engaged five of their staff members who took turns to beat me at their garage.
They confiscated my goods, handed them to the passenger who claimed to have lost her parcel.
I reported the assault. The manager apologised over the false accusations, and pleaded with my husband that they would refund us with US$300.
They wanted us to withdraw the case from the police but they injured me.
Some of the passengers went on to take my photographs and posted them on social media accusing me of being a thief.
This has affected me physically and emotionally, my reputation, family and my business
The case was reported at Mbare Stodart Police Station under RRB 6362618.
More: H-Metro
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