Elliot Jinjika
25 March 2017, CHIVHU – Two corrupt police officers were last week left shame-faced after Magistrate Fadzai Mutombeni acquitted a First Class bus crew that they had accused of kidnap and strongly reprimanded the cops for fabricating the case after failing to get a bribe.
Magistrate Mutombeni found First Class bus driver Willis Mhandu (47) and bus conductor Courage Munetsi (20) not guilty of kidnapping the duo after strong evidence was presented to the effect that the officers had concocted the case out of disappointment.
Prosecutor Nicholas Mabvongodze failed to convince the court on the veracity of the charges and the magistrate set the accused persons free, criticising the two cops as more of comics than police officers.
It was also discovered in court that the two cops had a fraud case pending against them at the Harare Magistrates Court after they were allegedly caught red-handed receiving a bribe.
It was the State’s case that on November 18, 2016 around 02:00 hrs, a Harare-bound First Class bus driven by Mhandu in company of his conductor Munetsi approached a police roadblock near Chivhu police camp where police officers checked the bus and allowed them to proceed.
However, two other police officers; Detective Constable Austin Chakwenya and Constable Cephas Munyamana stopped the bus for a search but they went on to demand a bribe which the crew could not give.
The cops then went on board the bus and insisted that they be given the money and refused to disembark despite being given several chances to do so.
The bus arrived at Featherstone roadblock where the crew reported the matter to other police officers who failed to deal with the matter and left the bus to proceed with the duo still on board.
On approaching Beatrice, the duo informed Beatrice police that they had been kidnapped and asked the police to stop the bus. The bus crew were then arrested at the roadblock.local
