Traffic police, illegal kombi syndicate busted

Nyore Madzianike

POLICE have dismantled a corrupt syndicate involving commuter omnibus operators and traffic police officers manning roadblocks in Harare and surrounding towns.

The syndicate involved traffic police officers who allowed kombis without proper documentation to operate and pass through checkpoints in exchange for bribes. To divert attention from their illicit activities, the officers would target compliant kombis and other vehicles, charging them with contrived offences.

In a crackdown yesterday, police impounded several kombis benefitting from the scam.

Investigations are underway to identify the officers and kombi owners involved.

Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the development, revealing that both operators and police officers had been complicit.

“We have discovered a syndicate of kombis and a group of police officers who were involved in corrupt activities, where they would allow kombis with stickers but did not have proper documentation or that are not registered to pass through their checkpoints,” he said.

“This indicated that there were corrupt tendencies which were going on and that group would then target kombis with proper documentation.

“Police have since impounded kombis that were involved in these criminal acts, and we started with those operating in Chitungwiza.”

Commissioner Nyathi said the crackdown is not limited to Chitungwiza, as falsely suggested by social media reports.

“We are not targeting Chitungwiza, as was being suggested by social media reports, but we are doing this in all parts of Harare and other towns,” he said.

He said statistics from the City of Harare, the Central Vehicle Registry and Zimbabwe National Road Administration show a glaring disparity in compliance.

Of the estimated 16 500 kombis operating on Harare’s roads, only 2 950 are officially registered.

“The gap indicates that most kombis are not registered, and they are the ones that play hide and seek with the police.

“We are now in the process of identifying owners of those with unregistered kombis and those without proper documentation.”

Commissioner Nyathi said the police had arrested more than 10 000 motorists for various offences in recent weeks in an ongoing operation.