POLICE yesterday said they will not leave any stone unturned as they seek to get to the bottom of a suspected corruption case where traffic police officers manning a roadblock in Beatrice nearly lost about $2 000 stolen money to a 10-year-old girl just before the Christmas Holidays.
STAFF REPORTER
In a statement, national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said: “Indiscipline and corruption have no role in the organisation. The organisation would like to emphasise that where acts of corruption are reported, the organisation will swiftly descend on the culprits and sternly take appropriate disciplinary measures.”
Charamba added that police had of late introduced a raft of radical “razor edge” internal disciplinary measures, supervisory and monitoring mechanisms to counter acts of misconduct in the police force.
“The approach in terms of the new measures will be that any proven acts of misconduct involving dishonesty of whatever nature will result in instant dismissal of the errant members. This is unlike in the past where the organisation was constrained by a graduated legal and bureaucratic process,” she said.
Her statement comes amid reports that two police officers linked to the alleged racket had been arrested and locked up at undisclosed locations in Harare.
It is alleged that the girl, Nodia Gozho, picked up the money — believed to be part of a bribe loot from motorists — from a rubbish pit near the roadblock and handed it to her parents who are both labourers at Gilston Farm.
However, police allegedly later made a follow-up and recovered the money from the girl’s parents after threatening to beat them up.
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While making reference to the Beatrice case, Charamba said: “Specifically the case being referred to was already under investigation. The police investigations are certainly not made in the media by playing to the public gallery. It is the organisation’s policy that all information, not only about corruption, but all criminal activities is treated with uttermost respect, transparency and urgency which they deserve.”
She accused some opposition politicians of seeking “to score cheap political points” over the matter, describing them as “highly contemptuous”.
