By Judith Nyuke
A Harare magistrate has acquitted two Warren Park Traffic Section police officers accused of extorting US$60 from an unlicensed Harare driver last year, citing the State’s failure to prove its case.
Solomon Chibhamu, 31, and Zamkele Mlilo, 35, were acquited by Harare magistrate Donald Ndirowei after a full trial.
Chibhamu was represented by lawyer George Manokore, and Mlilo by lawyer Shepherd Kudzanayi Makonde.
The State failed to prove that on the 6th of December 2023, Chibhamu and Mlilo were working in connivance hatched a plan to extort motorists who would have been arrested by Chibhamu who was part of a team manning road block along Harare-Bulawayo Road near National Heroes Acre.
Chibhamu would arrest traffic offenders at the road block and take them to Warren Park Police Station, where they would be made to pay a fee for them to secure their freedom.
Pursuant to their plan, first accused a Police Constable at Warren Park Police Traffic section was on duty manning a road block along Harare-Bulawayo Road near National Heroes Acre.
He stopped a vehicle with registration number AEI 5412 which was being driven by Obey Ruzani who was in the company of his friend, Tavonga Muwani.
Chibhamu then requested Obey Ruzani to produce his driver’s license and Obey Ruzani failed to do so leading to Chibhamu arresting Obey Ruzani and ordered him to pay a fine of US$120.00 for driving without a driver’s license.
Chibhamu then detained Obey Ruzani at the roadside at the roadblock site and took his car keys for failing to pay the spot fine for driving without a driver’s license.
After Obey Ruzani had failed to pay the spot fine, Chibhamu ordered him to go and look for the money from friends and relatives and Obey Ruzani left and went to town, leaving Tavonga Muwani behind, seated in the vehicle.
Tavonga Muwani was later instructed by Chibhamu to drive the motor vehicle to Warren Park Police Station.
Along the way, Chibhamu instructed Tavonga Muwani to call his friend Obey Ruzani and Tavonga Muwani indicated that he had no airtime to call him.
Subsequently, Chibhamu asked for Obey Ruzani’s phone number and he called him telling him to speed up.
Upon arrival at Warren Park Police Station, Chibhamu ordered Tavonga Muwani to park the vehicle inside the Police Station and hand the car keys back to him.
He reportedly further ordered Tavonga Muwani to wait for Obey Ruzani, who later brought USD20.00 which he rejected who detained Obey Ruzani in one of the offices and went back to the road block.
Chibhamu further exerted illegitimate pressure when he came back from the roadblock on Tavonga Muwani informing him that Obey Ruzani will not be released and the vehicle will be impounded if they failed to pay USD300.00 bribe.
Tavonga Muwani called his mother as well as his cousin Patrick Nyamutongohwa in a quest to raise the USD300.00 bribe and she instructed him not to pay anything and promised to engage officers from Anti-corruption.
Tavonga Muwani was later called by Patrick Nyamutongohwa who he met and both went to meet Chibhamu and informed him that they had managed to raise USD60 instead of USD300.00 as previously instructed and that the money was in EcoCash.
He agreed to receive the USD60.00 but told them to first change it into cash.
Chibhamu then told Obey Ruzani that his shift was done and the money was to be given to Mlilo who will hand over the car keys only upon the payment USD60.00 bribe from Patrick Nyamutongohwa.
Acting upon a tip off of what was happening, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officers armed with a trap authority proceeded to warren park police station to conduct the trap.
Patrick Nyatongohwa in the company of Tavonga Muwani handed over USD60.00 comprising of USD40 trap money and USD20 from Obey Ruzani to the second accused person and in return, she released the car keys to Tavonga Muwani.
When Patrick Nyamutongohwa and Tavonga Muwani got out of the office investigators Simbai Dangaiso and Walter Tombo immediately entered the accused’s office, and instructed her to produce the money she had been given.
Simbai Dangaiso saw that the trap money had wrapped in Mlilo’s uniform sleeves and was on top of the table and he recovered it.
When Walter Tombo asked her what the money was for, she indicated that the money belonged to Chibhamu who had instructed her to receive it on his behalf from Patrick Nyamutongohwa and Tavonga Muwani who will be given the car keys after the payment.
