Five Harare police constables, who were allegedly trapped after demanding a US$5 bribe from a suspected sand poacher, have appeared in court.
Dennis Tafadzwa Chivaku (37), Freeway Muninipi (33), Givemore Mucheka (32), Sharon Madondo (39) and Getrude Ndenga (32) appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa facing charges of abuse of office.
The accused are all attached to Harare East District headquarters’ operation coded named “No To Illegal Sand Poaching”.
Prosecutor Mr Anesu Chirenje alleged that sometime last month, an informant made a report to Police General Headquarters’ internal investigations that there were police officers in Ruwa who were demanding money from sand poachers in the area.
On Monday, PGHQ internal investigations went to Sunway City in Ruwa, where they set a trap for the police officers.
The informant was driving an Iveco five-tonne truck, which had not yet been loaded with sand, and was in possession of the trap money when he was intercepted along Sunway Drive by the police officers who were using a brown Volkswagen vehicle owned by Mucheka.
The suspects allegedly demanded a passage fee from the informant, who produced the US$5 trap money, which he handed over to Chivaku, who in turn went to the vehicle and gave it to Mucheka who was in the driver’s seat .
Mucheka then put the money in the glove compartment of the vehicle and the team from PGHQ arrived and identified themselves.
The trap money was recovered from the glove compartment and the Constables were arrested.
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