Three police officers based at Mbembesi Police Station outside Bulawayo appeared at the Gweru Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing corruption charges after they allegedly demanded bribes from motorists.
Allegations are that on November 23 last year, Washington Mandizha (38), Dennis Tapiwa Marerwa (29) and Randall Joan Brown (23) demanded $10 in bribes from motorists passing through a roadblock they had set up along the Gweru-Bulawayo Road.
An informant, Victor Kwaramba, alerted the police in Gweru who in turn set up a trap.
Armed with a marked $10 note, police detectives in the company of Kwaramba drove to the alleged roadblock mounted at the 118km peg.
When the suspects waved him to stop at the roadblock, Kwaramba produced the trap money and drove off without being given a receipt. The detectives then pounced on their unsuspecting colleagues and demanded the $10 exhibit.
They checked the receipt books and found that the $10 note had not been entered, leading to the arrest of the three police officers.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Gweru magistrate Kudakwashe Canady granted the trio $20 bail each and remanded them to this Friday. Andrew Marimo prosecuted.