News / National
Cop up for extortion
07 Apr 2024 at 05:13hrs | Views
A Harare police officer allegedly fought with a conductor after refusing to pay bus fare and later demanded a Us$60 bribe so that he would not press charges against him.
Learnmore Tavengwa (39) is now facing charges of extortion.
He pleaded guilty when he appeared before magistrate Apolonia Marutya on Friday.
Marutywa remanded him out of custody to May 17.
Prosecutors said the complainant Dylan Katena (27) was a conductor on a commuter omnibus destined for Glen View 1 in the central business district on March 29.
Tavengwa, who was dressed in uniform, boarded the kombi and promised to pay the fare upon disembarking.
However, Tavengwa refused to pay and a verbal exchange ensued.
The verbal exchange degenerated into a physical fight.
Tavengwa was beaten and he threatened to open a criminal docket against Katena.
He promised to drop the case if he was paid a Us$60 bribe.
Katena then reported a case of extortion to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission resulting in the arrest of the police officer.
Learnmore Tavengwa (39) is now facing charges of extortion.
He pleaded guilty when he appeared before magistrate Apolonia Marutya on Friday.
Marutywa remanded him out of custody to May 17.
Prosecutors said the complainant Dylan Katena (27) was a conductor on a commuter omnibus destined for Glen View 1 in the central business district on March 29.
However, Tavengwa refused to pay and a verbal exchange ensued.
The verbal exchange degenerated into a physical fight.
Tavengwa was beaten and he threatened to open a criminal docket against Katena.
He promised to drop the case if he was paid a Us$60 bribe.
Katena then reported a case of extortion to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission resulting in the arrest of the police officer.
Source - The Standard
