A 39-YEAR-OLD man from Harare on Friday appeared in court on allegations of forging a Police General Headquarters dispatch office date stamp to claim a car which he had lost in a court case.
Tapiwa Moses Maswela was facing fraud charges when he
appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Ruth Moyo.
Allegations are that in February 2021, Maswela filed a
criminal case against Bernard Guveya for unlawful borrowing or use of property
(a motor vehicle) under Hatfield CR: 38/02/21.
The matter was later referred to Harare Magistrate Court
where Guveya was found not guilty and acquitted prompting Hatfield Police to
release the vehicle which was kept as an exhibit to Guveya.
The court heard that on June 17, 2022, Maswela hatched a
plan to claim rights to the motor vehicle which he knew had been released to
Guveya by police.
According to the State, Maswela used a forged Zimbabwe
Republic Police General Headquarters Dispatch Office date stamp in stamping a
Court application purporting as if he had served the Commissioner General of
Police whom he cited as the first respondent.
He inscribed Constable Mupakaviri as the recipient of the
court application.
The court heard that Maswela then submitted a certificate
of service to the High Court purporting as if he had served the Commissioner
General of Police.
On July 6, 2022, Justice Webster Chinamora of the High
Court of Zimbabwe in Harare passed a verdict in default of the Commissioner
General of Police and in favour of Maswela.
It is alleged that Justice Chinamora made an Order that the
Commissioner General of Police release a Mercedes Benz E280 registration number
AEC 1840 to Maswela.
The matter came to light on July 7, 2022 when the
Commissioner General of Police received an order which prompted an enquiry to
be instituted on how the determination was passed in default.
Investigations revealed that the accused never served the
police on June 17, 2022 as there were no entries in relevant books to support
his visit to Police General Headquarters.
Due to Maswela’s action, the Commissioner General of Police
suffered prejudice in the good administration of his functions. Herald
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