Fraudsters are enjoying brisk business producing fake
exemption letters which they design for those who want to move around in
violation of national lockdown rules, The Herald has established.
Cartels using letterheads of reputable institutions to
produce counterfeit letters are charging between US$5 and US$10 for a document,
taking advantage of the growing pressure at checkpoints as more and more people
are legitimately exempted.
Due to the health threat posed by Covid-19, Governments
instituted a raft of measures to curb the scourge, which among others, include
restriction of movement. Zimbabwe, like other affected countries, introduced
this measure to prevent the spread of the virus.
Under lockdown, only exempted people and organisations who
offer essential services are allowed to travel from one place to another.
Such holders of exemption letters must produce the
documents upon demand by law enforcement agents at checkpoints or at any public
places.
At some checkpoints, people with dubious letters are turned
away, with some police officers going as far as tearing up these letters.
Generally speaking, an exemption letter from an employer coupled with a company
ID card in support is considered good evidence of a genuine letter but careful
police officers look for other clues that suggest a letter is fake or genuine.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi said letters are scrutinised at checkpoints for authenticity.
“Letters produced by people at checkpoints are scrutinised
for authenticity and checked against the particulars of the individual
concerned.
“Some members of the public have been turned back where law
enforcement agents are not satisfied with the authenticity of the exemption
letters produced. The position of the police on fake letters is that offenders
risk being arrested for violating the law,” he said.
However, a private investigator and security expert, Mr
Brian Kashangura, said the police needed capacitation to be able to verify the
authenticity of exemption letters.
“I suggest that the police should be capacitated. There is
need to ensure that at every checkpoint, there is at least a cell phone with
airtime that can be used by officers to make calls to verify with relevant
employers when they are in doubt.
In its quest to unearth the rot, The Herald went undercover
and managed to obtain a fake exemption letter produced in one of Harare’s high
density suburbs for US$5. The person who is into the business of manufacturing
these letters, uses proxies to source clients.
The Herald managed to obtain the exemption letter through
the man’s agent in Glen View.
Appearing on the fake letter, are the full names and
national Identity particulars of the undercover reporter and his fake job
title.
The letter portrays the journalist as a laboratory
assistant in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, stationed at Harare Central
Hospital in Southerton.
It has specific and clear instructions to allow the holder
of the letter to pass through police checkpoints so that he can perform his
duties during lockdown.
Any queries regarding the exemption letter, the document
reads, should be directed to a Mr B Gonga, whose signature appears on the
document in his capacity as “human resources assistant”.
After obtaining the letter, the journalist used it to pass
through several checkpoints in Harare.
Although he is permitted to travel on the basis of a Press
card issued to all newsmen, the journalist had to use the fake letter to prove
the system could find it difficult to distinguish between fake and genuine
exemption letters.
The document had a Harare Central Hospital date stamp but
further investigations revealed that genuine letters use the new hospital’s
name, “Sally Mugabe Central Hospital”.
However, the date stamps used on the documents, look alike. Another fake exemption letter purported to have originated
from Alliance Health was picked up from the streets by a journalist.
A visit to the health institution confirmed that the letter
was indeed fake.
The letter, purportedly signed by the organisation’s
general manager, states that one Samuel Munyenyiwa Munyuki and Getrude Munyuki
should be allowed to visit the Avenues Clinic in Harare, fortnightly, from Gutu
for medical check-up.
Mr Munyuki, according to the document, was said to have
been diagnosed with “Lucania stage 2”, raising suspicion because there is no
such disease. The letter had bad English, raising suspicion.
Further research by The Herald revealed the name of the
general manager of Alliance Health, Ms Millicent Banda, had been abused in the
criminal enterprise.
“I can confirm that the letter you presented to me
yesterday is not authentic and was not generated from my office,” said Ms
Banda. Herald
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