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Midlands Bureau Chief
An alert Assistant Inspector in Gweru intercepted three police officers manning a roadblock after spotting them receiving bribes from commuter omnibus crews and immediately arrested them. The Asst Insp, Brighton Mutsindikwa, caught the three cops on Tuesday last week and found them with $95 which they could not account for.
Constables Leonard Matende, Takesure Moyo of Nehanda Police Station and Alfred Tswatswa of Mtapa Police Station were arrested at a roadblock along the City-Mkoba (via Mambo route) near Mtapa Cemetery.
The three officers were detained in police holding cells at Mtapa Police Station for contravening paragraph 34 of the schedule to the Police Act Chapter 11:10 as read with section 2 (iii) Part LXXI of the Criminal Penalties Amendment number 22/01.
They were supposed to appear in court yesterday but court officials returned the matter to the police because one of the accused, Cst Matende, was initially not included as one of the accused.
According to the charge sheet leaked to Chronicle, the three constables were manning a roadblock along City-Mkoba road near Mtapa Cemetery at around 10AM. They were in the company of three other police officers as they stopped commuter omnibuses plying the City-Mkoba via Mambo route.
Kombi conductors would disembark from their vehicles and hand over an undisclosed amount of money to Cst Moyo before leaving.
Asst Insp Mutsindikwa, who was in the company of one Misheck Mutindi, suspected that something sinister was going on and proceeded to the roadblock where they confronted Cst Moyo.
Asst Insp Mutsindikwa discovered that Cst Moyo had only receipted cash amounting to $30 in the Z69J book (ticket book) but had an extra $95 whose source he failed to explain.
According to police regulations, officers should declare all their valuables including cash before they are deployed to road duties.
It is alleged that while Asst Insp Mutsindikwa was searching Cst Moyo, Cst Tswatswa and a Cst Marahwi, who were also manning the roadblock, disappeared from the scene but later returned claiming that the $95 that Cst Moyo had had been receipted in another book.
Asst Insp Mutsindikwa informed his superiors who then took the suspects to Mtapa Police Station where Cst Tswatswa confessed to hiding some of the money in the ladies toilet. The three were then detained pending disciplinary hearing.
“The three went for disciplinary hearing on Wednesday and were supposed to be taken to court on Tuesday charged with criminal abuse of office,” said a source.
derick.khumalo