Another officer nabbed for extortion

Yeukai Karengezeka

Court Correspondent

Another police officer involved in extorting a couple that was coming from a lodge by assaulting them, and demanding money to buy officers’ silence or they would expose their affair appeared in court yesterday.

Luckmore Makwara (39) appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Munashe Chibanda charged with extortion.

He was freed on $200 000 bail and will return to court on July 28.

His accomplices Takesure Magunje, Gift Pfirwe and Jonathan Taurai Dhokwani appeared before the court and are out of custody under the same bail conditions.

The State alleges that on March 7, the complainant was coming from a lodge with a male partner when Magunje, who was in the company of Pfirwe, Dhokwani and Makwara who are members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police stationed at PPU Diplomats and were driving a Toyota Sienta stopped them at the corner of Rekai Tangwena and Tongogara Streets in Harare .

Magunje produced a ZRP identity card and told the complainant that she was under arrest for having a boyfriend while she is married.

The accused persons then demanded US$1 000 from the complainant and her partner so that they would not tell the complainant’s husband about the affair.

They drove to Hatcliffe and along the way, the accused assaulted the complainant twice on the face and forced her to hug her male partner. They took a picture of them hugging

They were given US$80 by the male partner and they left him in Hatcliffe.

The complainant phoned her friend who works at a pharmacy to ask for money.

The accused persons drove the complainant to Kensington Shops where they left her and the accused persons drove to the pharmacy where they were given US$150.

Magunje was arrested after he accidentally added the complainant’s contact in his family WhatsApp group thinking that it was his relative.

The complainant then filed a report to the police and Magunje was trapped by police from PGHQ Internal investigations and was arrested at Fife Avenue.

Magunje then implicated Pfirwe, Dhokwani and Makwara.