The overzealous behavior of Police in Masvingo came to the
fore again this morning when a tourist they arrested for having a rubber penis
in his bag was acquitted by a local magistrate after spending 24 days in remand
prison.
Tom Ssekamwa, a Ugandan tourist was acquitted by Magistrate
Isaac Chikura after finding him not guilty of being a criminal nuisance.
Ssekamwa was arrested together with Lukas Slavik, a Czech
tourist who was acquitted on Friday for taking a video outside Backpackers
Lodge in Masvingo where he was booked. Slavik was accused of being a criminal
nuisance for reporting in the video that there were critical shortages of
electricity and water in Masvingo.
The approach by Masvingo Police to arrest in order to
investigate has been condemned by analysts who said this made irreparable
damage to the image of the tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe.
Ssekamwa was initially charged for contravening Section 26
1 (a) with an alternative charge of Criminal Nuisance of Section 46 (2) v. Both
charges were thrown away by the Magistrate.
Giving his ruling, Chikura said the possession of an
artificial penis by the accused person could not compromise the public or cause
any nuisance to the public. He said this in regard to where the penis was found
and added that the accused did not have any intention of using the said penis
in public. Masvingo Mirror
