Man claims self-defence after allegedly biting police officer during arrest
A 24-year-old man, Godknows Chingwaru, appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi on Friday, facing assault charges for allegedly biting Constable Mathew Pauta’s finger during an arrest over a traffic offence. The incident took place on March 18 at the 32-kilometer mark along the Harare-Makumbe road.
Chingwaru, in court, denied resisting arrest and instead asserted that he acted in self-defence. He claimed that the police officer had choked him and inserted his fingers into his nose, prompting him to bite the officer’s finger to free himself.
“I was assaulted by the police when I was arrested,” Chingwaru stated, refuting the assault and resisting arrest charges. “I only bit the police officer’s finger because he was choking me and putting his fingers in my nose. So I took the opportunity to bite his finger so that he would let me go.”
Chingwaru was remanded in custody until the following day for his bail application.
