Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – Two police officers, Nothani Nyoni and Moxolisi Ngwenya were forced to travel for almost 150 km aboard a bus after its driver sped away with them in protest at their attempts to impound it.
The case was heard in the Mwenezi Magistrates’ Court where Tafadzwa Shambare (33) of House Number 2080 Overspill, Epworth, in Harare pleaded not guilty to two charges of kidnapping police officers.
Through his lawyer, Shambare said Nyoni and Ngwenya boarded his bus and did not bother to tell him his offence until they reached the tollgate in Chivi.
The complainants, however, told the court that they escorted the bus to Mwenezi Police Station on the orders of their superior but the accused later turned away and sped off with them still on board.
They said they begged the accused to drop them but he refused until they managed to get rescue from a back-up team that caught up with them at the tollgate.
It is the State case that on November 4, 2017, the police officers were manning a roadblock at the 174 km peg along Beitbridge-Masvingo Road when they were tipped off about a Mfazi bus which was carrying chicken cuts and other smuggled goods from South Africa.
At the roadblock, Shambare failed to produce declaration forms of the goods and was ordered to drive to the police station with the two police officers escorting him.
As they reached the police station, the accused tried in vain to persuade the officers to let him go so he sped off towards Masvingo and never stopped until he was intercepted by Support Unit officers at the tollgate, leading to his arrest.
Magistrate Honest Musiiwa postponed judgement to a later date after the defence lawyer proposed to write a submission for discharge.
Willard Chasi prosecuted.local
