Cops in hot soup over bribe

Three Gwanda police officers were arrested after they allegedly demanded a $30 bribe from a suspect.

Constables Joseph Mazuru, Joe Zacharia Jere, and Matthew Marumisa appeared before magistrate Olivia Mashava Mashaire yesterday facing charges of extortion or an alternative charge of criminal abuse of officer as a public officer.

They were not asked plead and were remanded out of custody to March, 10, for trial.

They allegedly forced a suspect identified as Khumbulani Moyo to pay them money so that they could release him from police holding cells.

The court heard that sometime in February last year, Moyo's donkeys were stolen by an unknown person.

In August of the same year, Moyo recovered three of them but earmarks had been tampered with.

Among the donkeys, there was one he thought was his that belonged to Manager Ndlovu.

Ndlovu recovered his lost donkey from Moyo and reported the matter to the police leading to both of them being summoned to the police station.

Moyo was subsequently arrested, but Ndlovu later withdrew the charges, but the suspect was not informed of the withdrawal of the case.

"The three accused persons then took advantage of that and demanded cash from the complainant, Moyo, who then gave them $30 for him to be freed. The complainant reported the case to Chief Masuku who in turn made a report at Zimbabwe Republic Police Gwanda Rural leading to the arrest of the three accused persons.