Police Throw Tear Gas Into Media House, Journalists Injured
Zimbabwe Republic Police officers on Thursday threw teargas into the offices of a private media house, 263Chat in Harare Central Business District.
The officers were involved in running battles with illegal vendors when they threw canisters through the window causing chaos in the offices and forcing journos to escape through a window. Several people were injured in the incident.
Writing about the incident on Twitter, 263Chat founder, Nigel Mugamu said:
I came back from school run to find the @263Chat team outside the building. @cohsunshinecity police & ZRP who were chasing vendors came into our office to disrupt our reporting of the incident & fired tear gas into the office #263Chat.
Our reporter @LJaymut10 was capturing photos and videos of the @cohsunshinecity police & ZRP in First Street. They chased him into the @263Chat office. The officials were in plain clothes & didn’t identify themselves.
The majority of the @263Chat team were in the office at the time. The tear gas canister was fired into the office and the officials blocked the door so the team couldn’t escape. My team escaped via the window.
@263Chat reporter @LJaymut10 was injured in the process and will require medical attention. We can’t get back into the office bc of the tear gas. Part of my team has gone to the @PoliceZimbabwe to report the matter while we make attempts to resolve this issue.
Related:
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WATCH: Coaster From 263Chat Narrates How It All Went Down
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WATCH: Police Throw Teargas In 263Chat Offices In Harare