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Noleen Makhurane, Court Reporter
A BULAWAYO woman inadvertently exposed her ex-lover who is a traffic cop when she revealed in the Maintenance Court that he owns two commuter omnibuses and receives extra money from his police duties on the highway.
Adeliah Chitsiga dragged her ex-boyfriend Prosper Nsingo to court demanding an upward variation of her maintenance claim from $80 to $200 claiming expenses for their child had gone up.
Chitsiga pleaded with magistrate Sheunesu Matova to raise the money saying the cop made extra “money on the highway” as well as from his ownership of two kombis.
Traffic police officers are by law prohibited from owning kombis following complaints by disgruntled transport operators who charged that vehicles owned by ZRP members were not stopped at roadblocks while those owned by civilians were targeted as a way of eliminating competition.
In court, Chitsiga said Nsingo had two kombis that operated from the city centre, thus had another source of income.
“I know his income has changed because he bought two kombis that operate daily from TM Hyper (now Pick n Pay). I could show you the kombis now if we could go to Hyper. I also checked with the Vehicle Theft Squad and they told me that he owned the kombis. He will deny before the court because traffic cops are not allowed by the law to own kombis,” she said.
Chitsiga alleged that Nsingo gets “extra cash” as a traffic cop on the highway.
“I know he gets money from the highway since he is a traffic cop,” she said.
The magistrate quizzed her how the cop makes extra money on the highway, but she just insisted that as a traffic cop he got more money there, without elaborating.
Nsingo, however, said he did not own any kombis and did not have extra money as his salary had not been increased.
“I don’t own any kombi because traffic cops are prohibited to own any by the law. It’s public knowledge that civil servants salaries haven’t been increased and I’ve a wife and two kids depending on my income,” he said.
Magistrate Matova dismissed the application for an upward variation saying there was no proof that Nsingo owned two commuter omnibuses.
He ordered Nsingo to continue paying $80 as child support since there was no change in his income.
Online Reporter