Three opposition legislators are suing the home affairs minister for damages after they were injured when police kicked them out of parliament last month.
The lawsuit by Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MPs Amos Chibaya, Lynette Karenyi and Thabitha Kumalo is the latest manifestation of tensions between the opposition and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration.
The MDC has refused to recognise Mnangagwa as president and continues to dispute his victory in the July 30 election, even after the constitutional court endorsed it.
The political tension has erupted in several face-offs in Parliament. These culminated in opposition MPs refusing to stand when Mnangagwa attended parliament on November 22 for finance minister Mthuli Ncube's maiden budget speech.
Mnangagwa told a Zanu-PF a rally at Murombedzi last month that opposition MPs would continue to be kicked out of parliament for as long as they refused to stand when he entered as a sign of respect.
"I will always go to parliament and if they continue in that behaviour, they will always be sent out," he said.
The MDC trio's notice of their intention to sue was brought under the State Liabilities Act and was filed by a representative of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. The civil division of the attorney-general's office and the speaker of parliament were also informed.
According to legal watchdog Veritas, claims under the act can be brought in any competent court and papers must cite the minister of the department concerned, in this case Cain Mathema.
Veritas said the notice of intention to sue must be served 60 days before the commencement of legal proceedings, and "shall be given to each person upon whom the process relating to the claim is required to be served, and shall set out the grounds of the claim".
The Sunday Times has seen the MPs' notice, which says they were "manhandled and assaulted" when the police were allowed into parliament on the orders of Speaker Jacob Mudenda. Police fall under the home affairs ministry headed by Mathema.
Chibaya wants $10,000 in damages for pain, suffering and medical bills. He claims police used "clenched fists and open hands to assault him", and says he received death threats from parliament's text message portal run by the office of the speaker.
Karenyi wants $10,000, of which $9,000 is for shock, pain and suffering and $1,000 for damages after she was grabbed forcefully by three policewomen. Karenyi claims her clothes were lifted, leaving her exposed, and says her right arm was injured.
Kumalo wants $11,000 for bruises on her right hand and right hip caused by police officers. Of this amount, $9,000 is for shock, pain and suffering and $2,000 special damages for past and future medical expenses.
Tensions between the MDC and Mnangagwa's administration widened this week after Mnangagwa released a report by the commission of inquiry into post-election violence. The seven-member commission was led by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and one of its major findings was that the MDC was responsible for inciting violence. The army and police were also blamed for the deaths of six civilians and injuries to 35 people.
In a statement, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said the Motlanthe inquiry had been a public relations show for Zanu-PF and the opposition rejected the report.
"The MDC is a peaceful organisation which must be applauded for resisting unconstitutional means of redress despite years of suffering," he said.
"While the commission correctly locates the soldiers as responsible for the people's deaths on the 1st of August, the report attempts to put blame on the MDC for organising a demonstration and planning violence while also falsely claiming that the protestors were armed, something that cannot be confirmed using any of the available video footage, including recordings of international media.
"There is a shocking recommendation that the soldiers and the police are supposed to investigate themselves despite the fact that the military personnel who were interviewed by the commission denied any wrongdoing."
Before the report's release, Mnangagwa promoted Anselem Sanyatwe, who heads the presidential guard and was head of the crack army unit deployed in August into the city centre. Sanyatwe, who testified before the commission, was promoted to major-general from brigadier.
MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the party was disappointed by the report but there was no legal route to contest its findings.
"There is no provision to nullify a report under a commission of inquiry, so as the MDC we are not doing anything about this report from a legal point of view. But we have already expressed our position on the matter," he said on Friday...