FAILURE to match police dressing standards led to the arrest of a bogus police officer after he boarded a Bulawayo commuter omnibus clad in police gear.
BY SILAS NKALA
Thembelenkosi Ndlovu of Kariyangwe in Binga was on Monday sentenced to 26 months in jail for impersonation when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya.
Ndlovu (31) apologised to the court saying the uniform had been entrusted to him for safekeeping by his police friend.
“I apologise that I erred your worship. The uniform belonged to my friend I was keeping it. He never gave it to me to wear.”
The court heard that on May 8 this year, Jabulani Mhlanga of Nkulumane in Bulawayo who is a former policeman was driving his commuter omnibus and he picked Ndlovu at Sekusile Terminus who was in a police uniform.
When Ndlovu got into the kombi, Mhlanga observed that he was not properly dressed as per police standards and he suspected that he was a bogus police officer. Ndlovu was putting on a blue police anti- riot trousers with a civilian belt, grey police shirt with ZRP tittles for the ranks of an inspector, black civilian shoes and was not wearing a hat.
Mhlanga then drove his kombi to Drill Hall Police Station to alert the police of the presence of a fake police officer. On arrival, Ndlovu opened the kombi door, jumped over the fence and ran away. The police officers gave chase and arrested him.
