adminLovemore Zigara Midlands Correspondent
DEPUTY Officer Commanding National Traffic, Assistant Commissioner Kenny Mthombeni is involved in a fight for the control of taxis in Zvishavane with three of his former employees.
The three, Patrick Zengeya, Tigere Tapera and Janson Makore are accusing the senior cop of backtracking on a rent-to-buy deal they signed with him.
Asst Comm Mthombeni was then a co-director of Eagle Taxis— a company which ran a fleet of taxis in many towns across the country.
He was hauled before an internal police hearing last November after it was ruled that he breached the Police Act.
The Asst Comm was exposed following a labour dispute with the three drivers after he allegedly forcibly took the cars from Zengeya, Tapera and Makore. The trio was supposed to contribute $19,000 towards the taxi company before they could assume full ownership of the vehicles.
The three were summoned to the police boss’s hearing at Morris Depot in Harare as witnesses after the fallout following their reporting of the matter to the authorities.
“You are hereby required to summon Patrick Zengeya, Tigere Tapera and Janson Makore that he/they each of them, appear personally before this Court in number—Court at Morris Depot Model Court, Harare on November 24, 2014 at 0900 hours in the forenoon, to testify and declare all he/they, and each one of them, know concerning a certain charge preferred against Asst Comm Mthombeni K,” read part of the summons.
Asst Comm Mthombeni was charged under the Police Act for operating a transport business in defiance with a directive issued by Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, in January last year.
Comm-Gen Chihuri instructed officers to cease operating transport business following increasing complaints from public transport operators of a conflict of interest between officers running such business and their task of enforcing traffic regulations.
Asst Comm Mthombeni was hauled before a disciplinary hearing under the Police Act for contravening Paragraphs 35 and 37 of the schedule of the Police Act chapter 11:10.
Paragraph 37 of the Act reads: “Without the approval of the Commissioner-General carrying out any trade, occupation or business either directly or indirectly or through the agency of any other person.”
However, the verdict of the hearing still remains unknown, more than two months down the line.
Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba professed ignorance about the matter.
“I don’t remember that case having taken place so there cannot be a ruling,” she said.
Asst Comm Mthombeni confirmed that the hearing took place but refused to divulge its contents.“That hearing took place and it’s in the past now. I’m no longer in the taxi business and I’ve moved on with my life,” he said.
Zengeya, Tapera and Makore are now demanding to be paid for their services or have the cars returned for the services they rendered to the company since 2011 before the cars were taken away from them last year. Asst Comm Mthombeni denied that he entered into any contracts with the three who were plying the taxi business in Zvishavane.
“It’s true that I was a co-director of Eagle Taxis which had other directors and those were the people who had contracts with the people you are talking about because they were the owners of those particular cars.
“If they’re honest enough they should show you the contracts that they signed if there is my name there. They just want to tarnish my image. Those people should talk to Norbert Runganga because he’s the owner of those taxis,” he said.
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu