A pregnant vendor was injured last week after being struck by a Gweru Municipal Police vehicle while trying to retrieve her bucket, which had been grabbed and thrown into the municipal truck.
Pauline Njanji, 39, who is eight months pregnant, suffered degloving injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
She told Masvingo Mirror that Gweru City Council has already covered some of her medical bills.
Gweru City Council spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee confirmed the incident but blamed it on vendors, accusing them of obstructing Municipal Police during an operation to clear informal traders from undesignated areas. She said:
“We continue to encourage informal traders to operate only in designated areas to avoid the ongoing cat-and-mouse situation between the council and traders.”
Njanji, however, called the incident tragic and expressed her disappointment, saying the local authority should accept responsibility for what happened. She said:
“I am a vendor, and I was selling potatoes. Municipal Police arrived at my selling point and took away a bucketful of potatoes.
“I tried to retrieve the bucket, but a municipal police officer at the back of the car held me by the hand, and I was dragged as the car moved. I was struck by the rear wheel of the car.”
This incident highlights the harsh struggle for survival in Zimbabwe, where families constantly face confrontations with ZRP officers and municipal police, paying bribes and even engaging in physical battles daily to protect their livelihoods.
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