Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
Three Zimbabwe Republic Police Murehwa Traffic officers appeared in court today facing charges of criminal abuse of duty after being caught in possession of US$975 in bribe money received from arrested motorists.
Prosper Muchangani (36), Shelton Masvande (34), and Mercy Makarimai were remanded in custody until Tuesday for bail application.
The State’s case is that on 21 December 2025, police detectives from the CID PACU were deployed to target police officers manning roadblocks who were demanding and receiving bribes from arrested motorists.
The team was patrolling along the Harare-Domboshava road when they reached the 21-kilometre peg, where they spotted the three accused persons conducting a traffic blitz at Nyambirai Farm. One detective was left near the checkpoint to observe activities at the site.
The detective observed that at different intervals, two commuter omnibuses with registration numbers AHA 2282 and AFQ 3791 were being stopped by Masvande, who was halting traffic. The driver and conductor of the two omnibuses disembarked and approached the police officers standing by the roadside, handing over money to Makarimai, who was holding the Z69 book for receipting fines.
It is alleged that Makarimai would hand over the money to Muchangani without issuing a receipt to the conductors of the omnibuses.
The detectives then descended on the roadblock and searched the accused persons. Upon searching them, Muchangani was found in possession of US$975, which was recovered from his trouser pockets. Checks in the Z69 book indicated that they had not receipted any money that day.
The court also heard that checks in the deployment register showed that there was no entry for the accused persons’ deployment. It was further established that the accused had not declared any money in their possession before the commencement of duty.
