A former senior Assistant Commissioner with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) who was purged in October last year together with other members of the police force who were forced into early retirement has been summoned to answer to four counts of fraud before a Harare Magistrate on Tuesday.
Robert Masukusa (47) who was the Chief Staff Officer in the Transport and Logistics department operating in the police force will stand trial on March 20 before Harare Magistrate Francis Mapfumo after he allegedly accessed services on his private vehicle, a ML320 Mercedes Benz from ZIMOCO on the ZRP’s tab.
According to State papers, it is alleged that on November 27, 2015, Masukusa being an overall authority of ZRP Transport and logistics department contrary with his duties used his position and took his personal vehicle a Mercedes Benz which he had reportedly bought at an auction in January 2015 to Isoquant Investments Trading as ZIMOCO for repairs under the ZRP account.
The ZRP account maintains that ZIMOCO only caters for repairs on police vehicles and not personal vehicles. In a bid to counter this provision, Masukusa deceived ZIMOCO by using a ZRP 404F number leading the company into believing the vehicle was indeed owned by the police force and carrying out the repairs on ZRP’s tab while in actual fact the ZRP 404F number belonged to a police vehicle that had mechanical problems and was held at Chitungwiza Police workshop since August 2014, it is alleged.
On November 27 2015, Masukusa allegedly had the rear shocks of his motor vehicle renewed. On April 12, 2016, he allegedly took the same said vehicle to ZIMOCO and again had various services carried out including renewal of right rear driveshaft, renewal of all brake pads, camber strut, strut arm, full wheel alignment and carried out value service A, prejudicing ZRP of a total $7 147.56.