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Zvikomborero Parafini
A DARING duo towed away a car that was being held at a farm by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission officials as an exhibit.
Jossam Aarons and Privilege Matibu appeared in court yesterday and are being charged with defeating the course of justice.
The court heard that in February, ZACC investigated several fraud cases in which a number of pensioners were duped of their lump-sum payouts.
Investigations resulted in the arrest of Tawanda Matau and Bernard Chizunza, who are in custody pending trial.
Their accomplices — Luckmore Matuku and Precious Sunungurai Muzenda — are still at large.
On February 11, the investigators found that Matuku had fled Harare and went to Matepatepa, Bindura, in a bid to evade arrest.
Reacting to this information, the officers went to Matepatepa to arrest Matuku and seize a Nissan X-trail, which the gang was using as a mode of transport, when they were committing these crimes across the country.
However, the team could not locate Matuku in Matepatepa.
They were led to Gilati Farm in Glendale where Matuku had fled to.
Matuku identified the team’s vehicle from a distance and disappeared into the forest, but left the locked Nissan X-trail, registration number AFG 0708, parked at the farm’s compound. The team failed to take the vehicle to Harare because there were no spare keys.
They removed all wheels and a computer box from the vehicle and notified the occupants of the farm that ZACC had seized the vehicle.
The vehicle was registered in the name of Shorai Grace Chaora who indicated that she had given her vehicle to Matuku.
The investigation team issued a certificate of seizure and vehicle was booked as a ZACC exhibit pending finalisation of the case.
On March 30, one of the investigators received a phone call from Shadreck Hilimid that Aarons and Matibu had come with a wrecker to collect the car.
ZACC officers reacted swiftly and arrested the duo.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter