BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
FORMER Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri allegedly used a Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) account with Mercedes-Benz dealer, Zimoco, to have his fleet of private motor vehicles serviced, a Harare magistrate has heard.
This came out yesterday when Chihuri’s former subordinate, Senior Assistant Commissioner Robert Tendero Masukusa, appeared in court charged with sending his personal vehicle to Zimoco for service under the ZRP account.
Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa heard that Masukusa, who is represented by Tapson Dzvetero, would take his and other top police officers’ vehicles for service using the registration number of a long-broken down police Mercedes-Benz.
He allegedly placed the number, ZRP 404F, on those private vehicles, thereby misrepresenting to Zimoco that they were police vehicles. Investigating officer Thomas Mabwe said it was not ZRP policy to have private vehicles serviced on the police account held with Zimoco, but a clear case of fraud and criminal abuse of office.
“On several occasions, the accused used the ZRP 404F registration number to fix his vehicle and several other private vehicles which belonged to Chihuri. Zimoco acted upon thinking it was the police vehicles,” Mabwe said.
“I tracked the vehicle with the registration number ZRP404F and I found out that the vehicle belonged to CID Harare and was parked at Chitungwiza police workshop since 2014.”
The former top cop was responsible for overseeing all operations of the transport and logistics department, duties which involved repairing, conducting boards of surveys and keeping the records of all police vehicles.
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Allegations are that between November 2015 and December 2016, Masukusa used his position and took his personal vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz ML320, to Zimoco for repairs under the ZRP account.
On November 27, 2015, Masukusa allegedly had the rear shocks of his vehicle renewed. On January 6, 2016, he again took the same vehicle to Zimoco and had the front SAM renewed and the coding carried out.
On April 12, 2016, he allegedly took the vehicle to Zimoco again and various services were carried out, namely renewal of the right rear driveshaft, renewal of all brake pads, renewal of camber strut, renewal of strut arm as well as carrying out full wheel alignment value service. It is alleged ZRP was prejudiced of $7 147 and nothing was recovered.
