Fake policeman works at police station over a year

A MAN masquerading as a police officer has been arrested at Tsholotsho police station after allegedly operating as a cop from the station for over a year right under the noses of law enforcement agents, Chronicle reported.

Brighton Chamhanga, 29, who allegedly operated in the anti-stock theft unit, duped police officers into believing that he had been sent to investigate corruption within their ranks, hence they were afraid to verify his credentials.

Chamhanga, who operated in civilian attire, was arrested on Monday and is expected to appear in court today.

The Officer Commanding Lupane District, Chief Superintendent Johannes Govo, confirmed the incident.

"The matter came to my attention about a week ago and I assigned officers to monitor Chamhanga's movements and operations, leading to his arrest. I'm just shocked that an individual can have the guts to operate within a police station while committing a crime," he said.

"He claimed to have been sent by the Dispol (Officer Commanding District) to investigate crime by officers. We highly suspect the man could be a habitual criminal who had found a hiding place at this police camp. We suspect there is more to him. Who has the guts to stay in a police camp and use police resources to commit crime?"

It remains a mystery how the police took so long to unmask Chamhanga who reportedly used his new found status to harass villagers and extort money from suspects.

Before a police officer is deployed, correspondence in the form of a radio message is sent to the station where he or she would be operating from.

The correspondence, which is sent from Police General Headquarters in Harare, contains the officer's force number and name, and must be received before the police officer reports for duty.

A police source said in this case no such radio message was conveyed.

The source said senior police officers where the fake cop operated from, felt intimidated as he had told them that he had been sent to investigate corruption at the station.

The source also said Chamhanga was entrusted with and even kept some police files at his house within the police camp.

Another police officer said they worked with him but after operations he would go back to villages to harass people.

He said Chamhanga had become an authority at the police station, accessing any office he wanted and using telephones.

"Chamhanga said he had been delegated all the way from Mutare by the Dispol to investigate crime by the officers at our station.

"The bogus cop got well versed with our operations and the area after moving around with the anti-stock theft team who actually thought he was there to investigate them," the officer said.

"Many people from the community and those in the cattle trade were now asking around about Chamhanga's position. They said they didn't understand how he was operating.

"Most of the cases that he dealt with were later proven inaccurate and most of them were dismissed by the officer in charge."

A Tsholotsho villager, Lines Nyoni, told The Chronicle that two weeks ago, she escorted her friend Muchaneta Mahachi to meet Chamhanga after he had summoned her over a cow she had bought.

"What surprised us was that officer Chamhanga made appointments at the Business Centre and not at the police camp. The issues he was talking about really didn't make sense as everything about the clearance of the cow was clear. He, however, demanded a fine of $30 which my friend paid, "said Nyoni.