News / Regional
Man steals from bus disaster fund
01 Apr 2016 at 10:26hrs | Views
A MAN using an expired passport claimed and was wrongly given US$429 from a government disaster fund for victims of a horror bus crash which killed 32 people in Kwekwe on March 3.
Investigators now believe the man could have connived with a police officer and employees at the District Administrator's office to pull off the cruel con.
After President Robert Mugabe declared the-PFochez bus crash a national disaster, the government chipped in with $300 while the bus operator contributed $129 towards the burial and funeral costs of the victims.
"On March 8, a man who said he was Norbert Majoni approached a police officer identified only as Constable Romilio who was stationed at Kwekwe Hospital Mortuary to vet relatives of the deceased so they could get the burial funds," a police source told The Chronicle.
Majoni claimed a body that had been decapitated and was missing a leg, saying it belonged to his niece. The body has still not been claimed from the mortuary.
"Cst Romilio, whether knowingly or out of sheer incompetence, allegedly assisted Majoni to fill in a '231' police form which is used to facilitate the death registration of the deceased," said the source.
Majoni then registered the name of the dead person on the form as Isaac Godfrey Paradza ID number 63-042091N63.
Majoni, said the source, was assisted by the police officer without presenting any form of identification either of himself or that of the deceased.
Majoni went to the Kwekwe Registrar General's office were he was issued with an Order for Burial registration 16/17 on the strength of the '231' form from the police.
"Majoni, using one Shepard Paradza's expired passport, approached the office of the District Administrator and claimed $429 for funeral assistance on March 9 before disappearing and leaving the body uncollected. He should not have been allowed to do so without valid identification."
Midlands provincial administrator Cecelia Chitiyo confirmed that the funeral assistance fund for the remaining body was looted.
She absolved officers from the DA's office of wrong-doing, saying the police cleared the person who collected the money.
"Yes, we understand that some funds from the funeral assistance were stolen and a body is still unclaimed at the mortuary," she said.
"However, please note that it's not the duty of the office of the DA to clear people to collect the body. It's done by the police."
Chitiyo said she had heard that the police had made headway into the matter, adding that the culprit would be brought to book soon.
The police officer commanding operations in Kwekwe, an Inspector Kasamba, confirmed the incident but said he was in Harare and had no information on the matter.
The Chronicle visited Kwekwe Hospital and learnt that Cst Romilio has since been transferred from the mortuary.
Meanwhile, sources at the hospital said there was a sack with dismembered body parts from the accident.
They said some families could have just buried their relatives with missing parts to avoid the trauma of sifting through the body parts.
Investigators now believe the man could have connived with a police officer and employees at the District Administrator's office to pull off the cruel con.
After President Robert Mugabe declared the-PFochez bus crash a national disaster, the government chipped in with $300 while the bus operator contributed $129 towards the burial and funeral costs of the victims.
"On March 8, a man who said he was Norbert Majoni approached a police officer identified only as Constable Romilio who was stationed at Kwekwe Hospital Mortuary to vet relatives of the deceased so they could get the burial funds," a police source told The Chronicle.
Majoni claimed a body that had been decapitated and was missing a leg, saying it belonged to his niece. The body has still not been claimed from the mortuary.
"Cst Romilio, whether knowingly or out of sheer incompetence, allegedly assisted Majoni to fill in a '231' police form which is used to facilitate the death registration of the deceased," said the source.
Majoni then registered the name of the dead person on the form as Isaac Godfrey Paradza ID number 63-042091N63.
Majoni, said the source, was assisted by the police officer without presenting any form of identification either of himself or that of the deceased.
Majoni went to the Kwekwe Registrar General's office were he was issued with an Order for Burial registration 16/17 on the strength of the '231' form from the police.
"Majoni, using one Shepard Paradza's expired passport, approached the office of the District Administrator and claimed $429 for funeral assistance on March 9 before disappearing and leaving the body uncollected. He should not have been allowed to do so without valid identification."
Midlands provincial administrator Cecelia Chitiyo confirmed that the funeral assistance fund for the remaining body was looted.
She absolved officers from the DA's office of wrong-doing, saying the police cleared the person who collected the money.
"Yes, we understand that some funds from the funeral assistance were stolen and a body is still unclaimed at the mortuary," she said.
"However, please note that it's not the duty of the office of the DA to clear people to collect the body. It's done by the police."
Chitiyo said she had heard that the police had made headway into the matter, adding that the culprit would be brought to book soon.
The police officer commanding operations in Kwekwe, an Inspector Kasamba, confirmed the incident but said he was in Harare and had no information on the matter.
The Chronicle visited Kwekwe Hospital and learnt that Cst Romilio has since been transferred from the mortuary.
Meanwhile, sources at the hospital said there was a sack with dismembered body parts from the accident.
They said some families could have just buried their relatives with missing parts to avoid the trauma of sifting through the body parts.
Source - chronicle
