News / National
Military intelligence takes over Baba Jukwa investigation
25 May 2014 at 07:27hrs | Views
A branch of military intelligence has seized control of the Baba Jukwa investigation from the police in the wake of new evidence linking the syndicate to vigilantes believed to have attacked the Zimbabwean consulate in South Africa last year.
The intervention follows repeated attempts emanating from computers in South Africa and The Netherlands to access information held by a technical unit at Harare Central Police Station.
The files are believed to hold evidence which implicates a number of individuals who collaborated with the Baba Jukwa syndicate. The attempts to access the information are believed to have been motivated by anxiety over exactly how much the authorities know about the Baba Jukwa syndicate.
On Friday evening, a military officer working on the case said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had retrieved material previously held by the police and was now the point agency in directing investigations.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said the ministry had a renewed interest in the case following revelations that a group calling itself the Gunda Nleya Brigade (GNB) was involved in an attack on the Zimbabwean consulate in South Africa.
The Sunday Mail reports that the consulate captured closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the alleged attack. Efforts to view the video last week were unsuccessful.
The military is believed to have been involved in investigations into Baba Jukwa as early as May last year, but had not taken any action as the profiles of the domestic collaborators were not considered national security threats.
Efforts to get a comment from national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba last week were fruitless as she asked this newspaper to call her back later in the day.
Her number then went unanswered. Last week The Sunday Mail reported that a number of individuals in Harare and Masvingo have been short-listed for offences ranging from possession and distribution of pornography to contravention of the Official Secrets Act. sunday mail
The intervention follows repeated attempts emanating from computers in South Africa and The Netherlands to access information held by a technical unit at Harare Central Police Station.
The files are believed to hold evidence which implicates a number of individuals who collaborated with the Baba Jukwa syndicate. The attempts to access the information are believed to have been motivated by anxiety over exactly how much the authorities know about the Baba Jukwa syndicate.
On Friday evening, a military officer working on the case said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had retrieved material previously held by the police and was now the point agency in directing investigations.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said the ministry had a renewed interest in the case following revelations that a group calling itself the Gunda Nleya Brigade (GNB) was involved in an attack on the Zimbabwean consulate in South Africa.
The Sunday Mail reports that the consulate captured closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the alleged attack. Efforts to view the video last week were unsuccessful.
The military is believed to have been involved in investigations into Baba Jukwa as early as May last year, but had not taken any action as the profiles of the domestic collaborators were not considered national security threats.
Efforts to get a comment from national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba last week were fruitless as she asked this newspaper to call her back later in the day.
Her number then went unanswered. Last week The Sunday Mail reported that a number of individuals in Harare and Masvingo have been short-listed for offences ranging from possession and distribution of pornography to contravention of the Official Secrets Act. sunday mail
Source - Sunday Mail
