FOUR police officers appeared at the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday accused of extorting $200 from a commuter omnibus driver they had arrested over allegations of smuggling.
BY SILAS NKALA
The suspects — Assistant Inspector Lloyd Mazura (38) and sergeants Edmund Magama (36), Manatsa Gwamuri (39), and Justine Mavesere (34), all stationed at the Border Control and Minerals Unit in Bulawayo — were not asked to plead when they were arraigned before senior magistrate Gladmore Mushove.
They were granted $100 bail each and remanded to Thursday next week for trial.
The allegations that led to the quartet’s arrest arose on September 24 this year when the officers pursued Lovemore Mudumo, a transport operator plying the Bulawayo-Beitbridge route, as he was at Emakhandeni delivering his clients’ goods he had brought from Beitbridge.
Mudumo was approached by Mazura, who told him he was under arrest for smuggling and at that juncture the officer called his colleagues Magama and Gwamuri to join him. The three officers were later joined by Mavesere.
Efforts by Mudumo to have the cops release him proved futile and later he was ordered to follow them into town, where he was forced to pay $200 for his liberty.
Mudumo is said to have told the officers he could only afford to pay $50, but Mazura is alleged to have declined the offer, saying it was too little.
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Later, the court heard, the officers held a meeting, where they resolved to proceed to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) yard and at that point Mudumo had been joined by his colleague Bekezela Ndlovu.
The State alleges, the officers held another meeting while at Zimra and Mazura insisted on a $200 payment, after which Mudumo agreed and instructed Ndlovu to hand over the money to the officer.
The officers allegedly ordered Mudumo to pay another $50 to the Zimra security guard for the release of his kombi, but he only had $30 and was told to bring the balance later.
The State alleges Mudumo then drove out of Zimra premises and proceeded to report the extortion to the police.
However, when Mazura heard that Mudumo had reported the matter, he together with his workmate Pasi Mukwashi went to Ndlovu and asked her to call Mudumo to collect his money.
The State alleges, the officers left the money with Ndlovu and Mudumo collected the money in the presence of police detective inspectors, only identified as Maphosa and Nyathi.
The police later carried out investigations leading to the arrest of the suspects.
