Prison officer arrested on bribe allegations

Court Reporter
A PRISON officer based at Rusape Remand Prison, who was last week became the second official who operates at Rusape Magistrates’ Court to be arrested on allegations of accepting a bribe was last week granted $200 bail. Clara Dembaremba, who is employed by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, appeared before Mr Shingi Mutiro last Thursday facing charges of criminal abuse of public office.
Mr Mutiro remanded her out of custody on $200 bail.

He ordered Dembaremba to report once fortnightly at CID Rusape, not to interfere with witnesses and to reside at her given address until the finalisation of the matter.
Mr Taurai Khupe, of Khupe Law Chambers, represented Dembaremba.
Mr Tirivanhu Mutyasira prosecuted.

He did not oppose bail.
Dembaremba was expected back in the dock yesterday (Wednesday) for a ‘fast-track’ trial.
Mr Khupe maintained that his client was denying the charges.

It was Mr Mutyasira’s argument that Dembaremba received $450 from relatives of Aleck Maganha to facilitate a favourable outcome, before his conviction on rape charges.
She was arrested after a trap by CID detectives.

Dembaremba allegedly linked up with Maganha during his stay at Rusape Remand Prison.
She allegedly told him that she was able to facilitate his acquittal if he agrees to pay a $550 bribe, having convinced him that she was acting on behalf of court officials handling the matter.

Lucky, however, eluded the ZPCS official when the rape suspect was sent to jail on March 13, 2015, for 15 years by Rusape regional magistrate, Mr Livingstone Chipadza.
Mr Chipadza suspended five years on the usual conditions.

On March 2, 2015, Dembaremba was paid the first installment of $200 by Mr Dzidzai Muganha.
She was paid another $150 a week later, but as fate had it, the rapist was convicted on March 13.

This infuriated Aleck’s father, who confronted Dembaremba, but was sweet-talked and made to believe that she had actually worked hard to have five years of the initial sentence removed.

She promised to subtract more years of the custodial sentence and demanded another $200. Dembaremba was arrested after receiving $100 trap money.