A leaked police internal correspondence has exposed how top police fat cats are frustrating criminal investigations by allegedly shielding criminal cartels in return for money and gold.
The letter, which was left at the Police General
Headquarters (PGHQ) for the attention of commissioner general Godwin Matanga,
also exposed how daring officers who busted cartels were victimised, including
being dismissed from the force.
In the signed affidavit dated September 22, a retired
assistant commissioner, Edias Tembo, said several top officers were surviving
from shielding illegal gold dealers, illegal diamond traders, foreign exchange
dealers, smugglers, human traffickers and suspects in externalisation of forex.
He claimed to be one of the victims of the vindictiveness
for daring to arrest a Mutare-based white businessman involved in shady gold
dealings, working with named top cops, among them two commissioners and a chief
superintendent.
Tembo sensationally claimed the two commissioners and the
chief superintendent were part of the top police officers allegedly paid a
kilogramme of gold monthly to protect the Mutare businessman who is accused of
illegally dealing in gold.
The retired top cop said he was deployed to Mutare as
assistant commissioner operations in September last year by the Police General
Headquarters (PGHQ) when his attempt to try to bust some economic saboteurs
backfired, leading to his sacking in March this year.
“I am a retired assistant commissioner, I was attested into
the Zimbabwe Republic Police as a Patrol Officer on 08 October 1986,” Tembo
wrote.
“I was retired on March 27, 2020. I successfully rose
through the rank and file up to Assistant Commissioner with 34 years of
sterling service, and during my tenure, I held the highest post of acting chief
of staff, human resources.”
Tembo was also assistant commissioner operations in various
provinces, officer commanding traffic in Masvingo and Manicaland and senior
staff officer human resources. He also held the positions of assistant
commissioner administration and assistant commissioner crime.
“I am a well experienced and senior officer in the policing
terrain,” he wrote.
Tembo said he discovered there was chaos when he was
appointed assistant commissioner, operations in Manicaland characterised by the
existence of illegal gold deals, illegal diamond traders, foreign exchange
dealers, smugglers, human traffickers and suspects in externalisation of forex.
“I observed that arrests and detention in this sphere were
latent or almost zero,” he claimed. I then made a strategy to minimise this rot
and I officially tabled the matter to the provincial command. I was supposed to
develop a crack team to decisively deal with the menace.”
Tembo said the provincial command agreed to the strategy
and he developed a strong team of work horses and the Police General
Headquarters operations approved the operations.
“The operations started sincerely. A good number of notable
achievements were recorded. Quality arrests and recoveries were registered by
the team. A number of service stations selling fuel registered in forex were
prosecuted,” he claimed.
Arrangements to arrest him, including applying for a search
warrant, were done and a search warrant granted by a magistrate.” Tembo added
that the team proceeded to the residence to arrest the businessman.
“He verified the team’s identity. He professed ignorance on
my team. He needed clarification from CID HQ and PGHQ. Immediately, phone calls
showed from the CID HQ and PGHQ to the members of the crack unit. The crack
unit briefed me of the phone calls they received from CID director,” Tembo
said.
“I personally received a phone call from Chief
Superintendent (name withheld) and CID HQ who indicated that he had been
directed to call me by the commissioner.
“He subjected me to a long and protracted interview
concerning the operations of the crack unit. I briefed the protocol
commissioner about it. He made consultations and advised me to stop the
operation.
“I was discouraged from indulging in such operation
following lengthy telephone calls. I communicated this embarrassment to the
provincial command.
“I was advised to put a halt to the investigations because
some senior police officers had queried the operations. No further
investigations were done on the strength of the complaint by CID HQ and PGHQ.”
Tembo said he later discovered that the Mutare businessman
allegedly gave a select number of CID HQ top officers a kilogramme of gold on a
monthly basis.
“Information at hand indicated that he was a protected
blue-eyed boy who gave a select number of CID HQ echelon a kilogramme of gold
on a monthly regular basis,” he wrote.
“I then fell out of favour with my colleagues. The team was
unprocedurally disbanded by Officer Commanding Manicaland indicating the
discomfort by senior officers from CID HQ and PGHQ.”
Tembo added: “All CID members, especially the Border
nostro, know all economic saboteurs in Mutare but that is their grazing area.
They deliberately protect the saboteurs because they fatten their pockets and
hence they don’t entertain investigations by any unit. At one point in time,
the majority of saboteurs relocated and vacated on a tip-off by security
agents.”
He said it was unfortunate that his dismissal came earlier
than he expected and decried the disbandment of the crack unit. Tembo said the
unit could have been kept intact to achieve a lot in nabbing criminals bleeding
the economy.
“If the status quo is maintained, I doubt if vision 2030
will be achieved,” he said. “A new set of measures are urgently required to
address this menace before the economy collapses. The majority of corrupt
officers survive on protecting the economic saboteurs at a price.”
National police spokesperson assistant commissioner Paul
Nyathi said he was not aware of the document.
“I am not aware of the letter or that document, unless it
was addressed to a particular department,” Nyathi said.
Mnangagwa’s government is battling against corruption and
many observers say the fight against the vice was a lost cause because of graft
within the police force itself and other institutions set up to deal with the
scourge.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has been accused of
fighting political battles after failing to secure convictions on most cases
they deal with, with observers also alleging selective application of the law.
An special anti-graft body in President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s office, the Special Anti-Corruption Unit, has also been accused of
corruption. Standard
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