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Police commissioner in love fix

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AN inquisition into four police officers, that are accused of soliciting a bribe, has turned into an ugly personal spat between a male police commissioner and a female constable, NewsDay can reveal.

AN inquisition into four police officers, that are accused of soliciting a bribe, has turned into an ugly personal spat between a male police commissioner and a female constable, NewsDay can reveal.

BY RICHARD CHIDZA

According to court documents gleaned by NewsDay, Commissioner, Rabson Mpofu allegedly had a two-year affair with Rumbidzai Singende, who is based at the minerals squad in Gweru, and when the junior officer decided to end the relationship, all hell broke loose.

Mpofu is said to have “set-up” Singende as a way of “fixing” her for terminating their relationship, revelations made by lawyers representing the junior officer, in a damning letter to Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri.

The letter was also copied to the Human Rights Commission, as well as Prosecutor-General Johannes Tomana’s Office. Singende is said to have solicited for a bribe from a gold miner, while in the company of three colleagues and is now facing a soliciting charge in the court martial.

“The so-called Commissioner Mpofu set-up our clients in order to fix Singende, whom he had an affair with for over two years after he took advantage of her vulnerability on the basis of his rank,” Singende’s lawyers, Mugiya and Macharaga said in the letter addressed to Chihuri.

“When the ‘poor’ constable decided to break-up with Commissioner Mpofu, he told her that he was going to fix her and show that in the police service he is the second most powerful person after the Commissioner-General of Police and that no one could stop him from doing anything except the Commissioner General of Police and the President [Robert Mugabe].” ‘

But Mpofu in a letter, dated September 22, to the officer commanding police mineral and border control unit, detailed the events leading to the inquisition into Singende and her co-accused, identified as sergeants Manobo and Kurete and Constable Mudiwi.

The police commissioner claimed the three stopped Mashonaland West miner, Regional Rose at a police checkpoint, searched his vehicle and recovered 1kg of gold that he could not account for.

The officers, according to Mpofu, then demanded $3 000 as a bribe in order to stop the investigations, which Rose duly paid.

“Rose complained to me that members of the minerals unit based in Gweru had harassed him on his way from Bulawayo, where he had gone to elute his gold. He narrated his ordeal to me, whereupon he indicated that members had extorted $3 000 from him,” Mpofu said, disclosing that he has known Rose since 1997.

Mpofu is former head of the minerals unit. He claimed he then instructed a Superintendent Manhai to investigate the issue.

“On September 20, I woke up to discover that Rose and his wife had tried to call me shortly after midnight. I called them back and learnt that police officers from Gweru Minerals Unit had allegedly visited his house in Kadoma that night intending to return the money they had extorted,” he said.

In the same letter, Mpofu claimed Singende had notified him of Rose’s arrest for possession of gold, which he could not account for.

“Little did I know that in the process of making the so-called arrest, the officers had actually extorted the victim,” he said.

Mpofu said Singende had visited him at Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) on September 21 apparently with the “bribe money”.

The junior officer, Mpofu claims, was then led into a bugged office, where she “confessed to the offence and handed over the loot”.

The money was deposited into Rose’s account by the Commissioner, but not before copies had been made as exhibits.

“I later deposited the cash into Rose’s CABS account The notes consisted of 27 $100 and six $50 notes bringing the total to $3 000,” Mpofu said.

Mpofu, according to Singende, had threatened the junior officer with unspecified action and was now “living in fear”.

“Our client has been sacrificed on a purely personal matter by Commissioner Mpofu, who is abusing his authority and taking advantage of junior officers for his sexual benefit. His conduct is regrettably improper, unconstitutional and clearly barbaric and should be condemned in the strongest terms,” the lawyers said.

Efforts to get comment from the police where fruitless.