Moffat Mungazi
Post Reporter
A PUBLIC prosecutor stationed at Mutasa Magistrates Court and two police officers have been arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on allegations of extortion and criminal abuse of office.
The trio allegedly solicited for bribes to influence the outcome of a court case to release an impounded truck.
The accused persons have since appeared before Mutare Provincial Magistrate, Ms Anniah Ndiraya who granted each US$100 bail, with usual reporting conditions.
The matter was remanded to June 5.
ZACC confirmed the arrest of Shephard Chavarika, who is the prosecutor in charge at Mutasa Magistrates Court, along with Constables Liberty Tivafukidze and Sencia Masase, both of Mutasa Police Station.
The three are accused of demanding bribes from two complainants to facilitate the release of a truck and secure favourable outcome in a criminal case.
“The prosecutor in charge of Mutasa Magistrates Court, Shephard Chavarika and two police officers, Liberty Tivafukidze and Sencia Masase, stationed at Mutasa Police Station, have been arrested and charged with extortion and criminal abuse of duty.
“They allegedly demanded bribes from two complainants, to facilitate the release of an impounded truck and to influence the outcome of a criminal case pending before the court,” reads a statement from ZACC.
The events date back to March 2025, when one of the unidentified complainants hired out her truck to transport agricultural produce from Honde Valley to Harare.
“On March 26, the truck was intercepted and impounded by Tivafukidze and Masase at a roadblock in Marara area, under suspicion that it was carrying smuggled goods. The owners of the goods were also arrested, and subsequently taken to Mutasa Magistrate Court, where Chavarika prosecuted the matter.
“On April 3, Tivafukidze allegedly contacted one of the complainants and summoned her to Hauna. She met both Tivafukidze and Chavarika, who reportedly demanded a US$500 bribe to release the impounded vehicle.
The complainant is said to have paid US$170 in cash and sent a further US$100 via Ecocash the following day.”
Despite promises from Chavarika that the truck would be released by April 9, it was instead transferred to the ZIMRA compound at Forbes Border Post. The trio allegedly escalated their demands, requesting an additional US$300 to ensure the acquittal of the arrested individuals.
Suspecting foul play, the complainants reported the matter to ZACC, which launched a sting operation.
The operation culminated in the arrest of the trio at Mutasa Magistrates Court, and US$200 was reportedly recovered from Chavarika at the time of arrest.
Online Reporter