Cops demand a $3 'daily passage fee' from every kombi

A commuter omnibus conductor has told a court that Nkulumane police officers who man roadblocks along Khami Road demand a $3 "daily passage fee" from every kombi plying that route. The conductor said the police officers harassed kombi drivers who refused to pay the fee by making them pay exorbitant spot fines.

Goodwill Mlambo said this while giving evidence during the trial of five police officers from Nkulumane Police Station who are facing bribery charges. Mlambo told Bulawayo Provincial magistrate Marylyn Muchina it had become the norm for all kombis to pay the $3 bribe.

The five police officers; Assistant Inspector Zodwa Takawira, 29, Constables Zvinoitirwei Masakwata, 29, Severino Mutote, 26, Courage Lice, 27, and Hilda Murombedzi, 24, pleaded not guilty. They were remanded out of custody to November 26.

Mlambo said: "I can't point out the officer who said that but it's well known among the kombi crews that we've to pay $3 every day." The conductor said the "passage fee" was eating into their profits to an extent that he agreed with his brother who is a driver, to complain to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

He told the court that the commission set a trap for the officers. "I gave Takawira P50 and received $2 change from Murombedzi. The Anti-Corruption cops who were in the kombi immediately arrested the five cops," said Mlambo.

Mthandazo Mlambo the second state witness said: "I had a problem with the cops at the roadblock because I hadn't paid the passage fee. Other kombis were paying and were released in a short space of time." He said the police officers issued him a ticket indicating he had no fire extinguisher, yet he had one, just to fix him.

He said when he showed them the fire extinguisher they told him that his vehicle must have two. Mthandazo said he called the Anti-Corruption Commission officers at the Police General Headquarters in Harare. "They called me when they got to Bulawayo and we went around town (city centre) and high density suburbs. When we got to a roadblock, the officers flagged me down," he said.

Mthandazo said his brother disembarked and paid a bribe using a marked bill from the Anti-Corruption team. Prosecuting, Kudakwashe Jaravaza told the court that on October 5 this year the five police officers were on duty. "At around 7AM the five put in place a traffic check along Siyepambili Drive near Nkulumane Complex where they were checking vehicular traffic and motorists who were in breach of the Road Traffic Laws," said Jaravaza.

He said the Anti-Corruption team was at the roadblock pursuing a tip-off that police officers were demanding kickbacks from commuter omnibuses.

"In their quest to arrest the offenders, the team had enlisted the services of a conductor Goodwill and gave him a marked 50 pula note to hand over to any traffic officer who demanded a bribe along the road," said the prosecutor.

He said when the team arrived at the roadblock Masakwata demanded $3 for the kombi to pass without scrutiny. Goodwill, the court heard, handed over the 50 pula note, which he was directed to give to Mutote. An investigation team which was also watching the proceedings disembarked from the commuter omnibus and arrested the five cops, Jaravaza said.

The prosecutor said the team searched Mutote and found the note secured in a plastic paper that was attached to a clip board. "The plastic bag contained $149, R28 and $2,50 bond coins, which he could not account for as it had not been receipted in the police deposit fine books," said Jaravaza.