The Zimbabwe Republic Police has launched a probe on
officers sitting on warrants of arrest issued against 26 convicts, who lost
their appeals at the High Court, saying corrective measures will be taken
against the culprits.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said police had
discovered that warrants of arrest and correspondences from the courts
regarding the rearrest of the convicts, were not reaching the Police General
Headquarters (PGHQ).
No arrests were being effected, resulting in scores of
convicts who should be serving their sentences, unlawfully enjoying freedom.
This followed an investigation by The Herald which exposed
that at least 26 people convicted of various offences were walking scot-free in
Harare despite having lost their appeals at the High Court.
The scam pointed to corrupt tendencies by some bad apples
in the police service who were defeating the ends of justice by protecting
criminals.
In an interview, Asst-Comm Nyathi said the police service
does not condone corruption and action will be taken against officers found
guilty of the offence.
“As ZRP, we do not condone any acts of misconduct, which
border on criminality.
“As we speak, we have instituted some investigations
against some officers. We have discovered that some officers are receiving
correspondences from the courts, of which PGHQ is not aware.
“It is now clear that those officers are sitting on these
correspondences. I can assure you that corrective action will be taken
against the concerned officers who received correspondences, but do not action
them,” said Asst-Comm Nyathi.
Asst-Comm Nyathi said police were now making a follow-up on
the 26 convicts to ensure they are re-arrested and taken to court for committal
to prison.
“We are now making a follow-up on the 26 convicts, who had
their appeals dismissed and are supposed to be arrested and be brought before
the court,” he said.
Police hailed the media for exposing the rot in a
constructive manner and in line with the President’s stance against corruption.
“We want to thank the media for a job well done. Such an
exposé helps us to make reforms and plug the loopholes in our systems,” said
Asst-Comm Nyathi. Investigations by The Herald showed that police had been
receiving monthly updates on the people who should be arrested and the relevant
police stations dealing with the cases, but no action was being taken.
On May 15 this year, Harare provincial magistrate Mrs Vongai
Guwuriro wrote to officer commanding Harare province briefing him on 17
convicts whose appeals had been dismissed.
The briefing was a follow-up to warrants of arrest that had
already been sent to the police stations.
The officer-in-charge Harare Magistrates’ Court police
post, confirmed receipt of the correspondence through a date stamp on May 16,
but no action was taken.
Not even a single convict has been re-arrested. Eight more
warrants were sent to other police stations last week and the court briefed the
police provincial head through another correspondence dated June 20 this year.
Herald
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