By Judith Nyuke
The trial for the five police officers who once grabbed the headlines after allegelly extorting US$5 from a truck driver in Ruwa last year has kicked off at the Harare Magistrates Court.
Through their lawyer, Moffat Makuvatsine, the five accused police officers claimed no knowledge of how the US$5 came into their possession, suggesting it might have been planted by the arresting officers.
“The confusion created by the arresting details during the time of arresting and searching us was calculated and meant to give the arresting details a window of opportunity to stash the trap money from where it was finally recovered,” they said.
The truck driver, Hardlife Sithole who is also the State’s first witness, disputed the alleged extortion by the five officers, claiming that other police officers “hired” him and instructed him to hand over US$5 to those manning the roadblock at Sunway City and supplied him with the cash.
He said those who “hired” him stated their intention was to arrest officers at the Sunway City roadblock for demanding money from motorists.
Dennis Tafadzwa Chivaku, 37, Freeway Muninipi, 32, Givemore Mucheka, 39 Sharon Madondo, 33, Getrude Ndenga, 33, appeared before Harare magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka charged with extortion.
The matter was rolled over to 20 May for trial continuation.
The five police officers are all attached to Harare East DHQ Operation coded named “NO TO ILLEGAL SAND POACHING”
The State alleges that sometime during the month of June 2024, the informant Hardlife Verison Sithole reported a report to PGHQ Internal investigations that there were members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in Ruwa area who were demanding money from trucks and sand poachers passing by at a check point they were manning.
The Court heard that on 01 July 2024, PGHQ internal Investigations set a trap to arrest the accused persons.
They proceeded with the informant to Sunway City in Ruwa, where the accused persons were conducting their operations.
The informant was reportedly driving an Iveco 5 tonne vehicle, which had not yet been loaded with sand. He was in his possession trap money US$5-00 serial number QB11870365A.
Along Sunway drive in Ruwa, Harare, the informant was repeatedly intercepted by the five accused persons who were using their personal private vehicle, a Volkswagen brown in colour which belongs to Mucheka.
They were parked along Sunway City at the intersection of an unnamed dust road, which is usually used by sand poachers.
The accused persons demanded what they called passage fee from the informant and the informant produced the US$5-00 trap money which he handed over to Chivaku who then proceeded to their parked motor vehicle and handed over the trap money to Mucheka who was seated in the car on the drivers seat.
Mucheka then hid the money in the glove compartment of the motor vehicle, all in full view of Chief Inspector Tomwe Maxwell of ZRP Internal Investigations.
Other team members from ZRP PGHQ Internal Headquarters who were nearby watching from a distant arrived and identified themselves and their purpose of visit.
The trap money was recovered from the glove compartment of the Volkswagen brown in colour, which belongs to Mucheka, and all the accused were subsequently arrested.
Kodwani Phiri / May 13, 2025
On Sunday around 1400hrs was signalled to stop at Irvine’s roadblock. Behind me was a kombi so I slowed down and had my hazards on. The officer stepped aside and gave me passage but another officer who had finished with another motorists rushed to stop me. He accused me of trying to evade the block.
To my surprise he shouted to the officer who initially stopped me,that l must be pulled out of the road and booked. He actually said uyu mupe 30us for trying to run away.the first officer hopped into the passenger seat while the vicious office reached for my inside windscreen and started to feel the 3rd place sticker.
The first officer said to me he can soften the vicious officer if l pay 20us of which I didn’t have. He asked for my driver’s license and l gave him and he said l should get out of the car and close all windows.
I followed him and he instructed me to open the trunk as he wanted to check for fire extinguisher,jack and reflectors. I had all these things and he said let’s get back in the car. My head was spinning by this time and he said how much do you have and l gave him 9usd and he tucked it in his wallet. What a shame. Something has to be done to free our roads from this disease.
The same game is happening at redcross turnoff in kambuzuma.
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