A fraud accused 23-year-old man from Nemanwa, who was
arrested on August 15, committed suicide while locked up in police cells at the
rural section of Masvingo Central Police Station.
Promise Mberi was found dead in the early morning hours of
August 16 after he was locked up the previous day on charges of defrauding
unsuspecting business owners by purchasing goods through fraudulent EcoCash
transactions.
Recently, President Mnangagwa signed into law the Coroner’s
Office Act after it sailed through Parliament in which heads of hospitals, police
stations and prisons now face a five-year jail term if found guilty of
destroying or tampering with vital evidence on the death of a person under
their custody
They will also be criminally-liable for the death of a
person under their custody should it be established that they were reckless or
negligent.
Mberi is said to have used his trousers to hang himself on
the cells’ burglar bars.
He was buried on August 18 in Chikarudzo.
Surprisingly, Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Chief
Inspector Charity Mazula told TellZim News she was not aware of the matter.
“We do not have such a case here. I do not know where it is
coming from,” said Mazula.
However, sources told TellZim News that the now deceased
was picked up by detectives of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and
Police Internal Security and Investigation (PISI) at Nemamwa after being busted
for allegedly editing old EcoCash messages to make new purchases.
Mberi’s alleged accomplices Muchaneta Dengu and Monica
Sariri were also picked up for questioning but were later released after being
ordered to return for further question the following day.
When Dengu returned the following day, August 16, she was
told that Mberi had died.
Dengu told TellZim News that police officers called to inform
her that Mberi had committed suicide by hanging using his trousers.
“It was really shocking because he never showed any
suicidal thought. I was in denial so I asked to see for myself and I saw him
hanging on the burglar bar window.
“I asked the police for permission to take some pictures to
show the people back home and they allowed me. I then accompanied the body to
the mortuary at Masvingo Provincial Hospital,” said Dengu. Tell Zim News
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