A senior Karoi public prosecutor, Simon Tapiwa, has appeared at the Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court charged with criminal abuse of office after he was allegedly trapped receiving a $400 bribe to facilitate the release of a suspect’s impounded vehicles.
Report by Senior Court Reporter
Tapiwa’s trial was postponed to next Monday after failing to kick off last Friday owing to administrative hitches.
The prosecutor allegedly solicited for $500 from one Onias Shumba, whose vehicles had been impounded by Karoi police after he was arrested in the company of his wife Moreblessing Muzondi and four others on a charge of possessing ivory.
Allegations against the couple are that sometime in September 2010, their vehicles, a Nissan Champ and a Mazda Cappella, were impounded by police after 13 pairs of raw ivory were found concealed in the cars. Shumba and Muzondi were prosecuted by Tapiwa over the matter, but were, however, acquitted by a Karoi magistrate, while their alleged accomplice Obit Shumba was convicted.
The couple’s acquittal then prompted the husband to approach Tapiwa seeking the release of his motor vehicles and the prosecutor allegedly demanded money to facilitate the release.
Pursuant to his demands, on August 15 this year Tapiwa allegedly contacted Shumba and instructed him to bring $500.
Shumba informed his wife, Muzondi, of the deal and apparently this did not go down well with her and she made a police report at the Harare Commercial Crime Unit, prompting the setting-up of a trap.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
On August 24, Superintendent Chitekwe Takaiteyi granted authority to trap Tapiwa. Four days later, Criminal Investigation Department officers from Harare proceeded to Karoi Magistrates’ Court where a trap was set leading to Tapiwa’s arrest after receiving the alleged trap money in his office.
Allan Goche is appearing for the State.
