A STATE witness in the trial of the Mbare Police Station traffic officer-in-charge, Violet Sigauke, who is accused of soliciting and receiving a $60 bribe from a commuter omnibus operator, was yesterday declared hostile after retracting his initial statement to the police.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
Lot Muzamendo disowned his initial sworn statement, which he gave to the investigating team at the Police General Headquarters (PGHQ), saying it was given under duress.
Muzamendo, who was in the office at the time of his boss’s arrest, told the court that he was forced by more than 10 police officers from the PGHQ to give the incriminating statement against his boss.
He said he did not see Sigauke receiving the said money from a tout, who is alleged to have brought the trap money, but only saw it when the arresting officer, an Assistant Inspector Mabwe, was now in possession of it.
The witness also attempted to corroborate Sigauke’s defence outline, alleging Mabwe and his team tried to forcibly place the trap money in her breasts.
The witness’s testimony forced the prosecutor, Francisca Mukumbiri, to apply for him to be declared hostile, saying the investigating team had unearthed serious interference by the defence team in an attempt to suffocate the State’s case.
Sigauke’s lawyer, Admire Rubaya, opposed the application, arguing the witness was testifying on what he saw on the day in question.
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Provincial magistrate Lazini Ncube postponed the matter to June 6 for his ruling.
During the trial, Sigauke pleaded not guilty to the charge, arguing the alleged trap was sanctioned in a manner that did not respect her gender, as the arresting officers committed indecent assault on her by fondling her breasts and buttocks, in the process of executing the trap.
She also told court that she was a victim of a well-orchestrated conspiracy to remove her from ZRP Mbare Traffic for effectively executing her duties since she had no sacred cows on the area’s roads.
