The Zimbabwe government says it has launched an investigation into an incidence in which the police fired teargas into the offices of an online publication following skirmishes with vendors in central Harare on Thursday.
The Ministry of Information said it was concerned about the allegations of “mistreatment of members of the media made against the police.”
“These allegations are now under investigation,” the ministry said.
The comments by the ministry came after police officers allegedly fired teargas into the offices of 263Chat after one of the publication’s reporters was seen taking pictures of clashes between the law enforcement agents and vendors in the capital.
The police officers and Harare City Council officials were engaged in running battles with vendors when the incident took place.
A number of journalists were injured following the incident.
The incident has been condemned by media groups, with the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) saying the government should act on police brutality.
Government is also encouraged to set up the complaints mechanism set out in Section 210 of the Zimbabwe Constitution,” MISA Zimbabwe said in a statement.
This section calls for the establishment of an independent body that will receive and investigate complaints of violations committed by members of the security forces.
JN/APA