Prosper Dembedza
Herald correspondent
FIVE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officials have appeared in court on allegations of soliciting bribes from returning residents and visitors at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Sithabiso Ncube (47), Aquisilia Mbira (40), Norman Chepi (45), Ratidzo Danda (48), and Tafadzwa Ngwenya (44) were charged with criminal abuse of duty as public officers when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa. They were granted US$200 bail each.
The court heard that on November 9, 2026, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) received a tip-off from ZIMRA alleging that some of its officials stationed at the airport were unlawfully soliciting money from incoming travellers.
Following the report, ZACC officers went to the ZIMRA Command Centre at ZB Centre, corner First Street and Kwame Nkrumah Avenue in Harare, to review live closed-circuit television (CCTV) feeds monitoring the country’s ports of entry.
While monitoring the airport feed around 13:30 hours, ZACC and ZIMRA officers allegedly observed the five accused soliciting and receiving money from passengers arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Acting on the footage, the officers went to the airport, identified, and arrested the five suspects. Subsequent searches recovered various sums of money in different currencies and denominations from their handbags, pockets, and persons.
The State alleges that the officials accepted bribes to give travellers preferential treatment, allowing them into the country without producing requisite documentation or undergoing mandatory luggage searches.
