The three Harare police officers who allegedly stage-managed a break-in at Harare Central Stores office and stole about US$45 000 before setting the office ablaze to conceal evidence, will be back in court tomorrow for their bail ruling.
Stanley Musekiwa (46) from ZRP CID Stores, Takaidza Mugwisi
(36) from CID Stores and Masimba Stanley Gwasunda (43) from ZRP CID Stores,
were facing theft and malicious damage to property charges when they appeared
before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.
The State opposed bail on the grounds that the three were a
flight risk.
Musekiwa is an inspector and is the Officer-in-Charge, CID
Stores and Business Harare, while Mugwisi and Gwasunda are his subordinates.
It is the State’s case that on June 23, Mugwisi recovered
cash amounting to US$40 500 from one Carlington Gengezha, who had allegedly
committed unlawful entry and theft in Belvedere, Harare.
The US$40 500 cash and an additional US$ 5 000 that had
been recovered in different cases, was taken into possession by Musekiwa as the
Officer-in-Charge and he handed it over to Gwasunda, who is the exhibit
officer.
Musekiwa and Gwasunda, who were supposed to place the money
in a safe at CID Homicide Harare for safe-keeping after being instructed by
Deputy Director Crime CID Zimbabwe, instead stashed the cash into a four plate
stove oven drawer that was in office 26 CID Stores and Business Harare.
On August 6, Mugwisi was deployed on night duty securing
CID offices, including the exhibit room.
It is said on the same date, at around 1am, the three
police officers allegedly took advantage of darkness after an electrical fault
at Harare Central Police Station and proceeded to office 26, where they
stage-managed a break-in by cutting the padlock keys that secured the screen
gate using a bolt cutter.
It is said the trio actually used keys to open the door and
gain entry, but cut the screen gate to remove any suspicion that they may have
just marched in and stole the money.
Further allegations are that the trio opened the four plate
stove’s oven drawer that had the money, before stealing the cash that was in a
bag.
Other exhibits that have not been quantified, may also have
been stolen, it is alleged.
It is further alleged that the suspects then set the room
alight, and damaged several other exhibits comprising two four plate stoves, a
fridge, a bed, various clothing items, several crates of beer, cell phones,
television sets, radios and gas tanks.
The value of the destroyed exhibits and building is yet to
be quantified.
The fire also caused extensive structural damage to the
building. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment