11 The medical report provided to the trial court noted a number of the physical signs described above. The examining doctor noted “haematomas under the feet. Swollen upper arm and headache”, and also noted that the injuries were consistent with the use of a blunt instrument, such as a sjambok, and also that it required severe force to inflict these injuries. The doctor also concluded that, in this case, there was little likelihood of permanent disability. As was seen above, the body of medical evidence on falanga indicates that there is a probability that the victim will suffer some form of disability in cases where the assault was severe. In this particular case, it may well be that the examining doctor felt that no permanent injury would result, but this is somewhat different to the court reaching the general conclusion that falanga does not ever cause permanent harm. However, the two judges nonetheless concluded that what the police officers did to the prisoner did constitute torture. This is the first case in which this type of assault has been classified as torture by the Zimbabwe courts. However, it is certainly not the first time that falanga has been reported in Zimbabwe. How widespread is falanga? Some of the earliest recorded cases came in the 1970s during the Liberation War. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace [CCJP], in its documenting of torture in the North-East of Zimbabwe, reported 2 cases in which falanga was used by the Rhodesian security forces.28 The Man in the Middle 1975 at p.4 “Antony Dzvinamurungu alleges that following an attack by insurgents on the chief’s buildings in Mudzi District, Mtoko, about 100 miles from Salisbury, soldiers came to his kraal by helicopter and questioned the people. In the course of the questioning his two sisters-in-law, Winnie and Praxedes, were assaulted by the soldiers. Winnie was pregnant at the time and was whipped. Antony immediately went to Salisbury to report the incident to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. At the time he said that he expected more trouble. He alleges that on his return he was picked up before he got home by the police. He was then held at Mtoko police station, where he reports, he was repeatedly beaten on the buttocks and feet with sticks, hair was pulled from his head, and a pair of scissors was placed against his genitals with a threat to cut 28 See CCJP (1975), The Man in the Middle: torture, resettlement and eviction, SALISBURY: CATHOLIC COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN RHODESIA. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. Only bruises on the soles of their feet. The use of Falanga by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.