Inside job: Harare policemen on trial for staged break-in, theft, and fire at station
HARARE – Three police officers from Harare, namely Stanley Musekiwa (46), Takaidza Mugwisi (36), and Masimba Stanely Gwasunda (43), have been brought before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa for allegedly orchestrating a staged break-in at the Harare Central Police Station Stores office. The officers are facing charges of theft and malicious damage to property.
Stanley Musekiwa, an Inspector, holds the position of Officer In Charge of CID Stores and Business Harare, while Takaidza Mugwisi and Masimba Stanely Gwasunda are subordinates of Musekiwa.
According to the prosecution, on June 23, 2023, Takaidza Mugwisi recovered a sum of US$40,500 from Carlington Gengezha, who had committed unlawful entry and theft in Belvedere, Harare. This recovered cash, along with an additional US$5,000 from different cases, was handed over to Musekiwa. Musekiwa then passed this cash to Gwasunda, who is the Exhibit Officer, with the intention that it be kept safe in the CID Homicide Harare safe.
Instead of securing the money as instructed by Deputy Director Crime CID Zimbabwe, Musekiwa and Gwasunda concealed the cash within a drawer of a four-plate stove oven in office 26 of CID Stores and Business Harare.
On August 6, 2023, while Takaidza Mugwisi was on night guard duties securing various CID offices, including the exhibit room, the three accused officers took advantage of the darkness caused by an electrical fault at Harare Central Police Station. They proceeded to office 26 and fabricated a break-in scenario by cutting the padlock keys securing the screen gate using a bolt cutter, although they had keys to the door. After gaining entry, they opened the four-plate stove oven drawer containing the hidden cash and stole it, along with other unquantified exhibits. Subsequently, they set the room on fire, resulting in extensive structural damage to the building and the destruction of numerous exhibits, including appliances, clothing, electronics, and gas tanks.
As of now, the value of the destroyed exhibits and the extent of the building damage are yet to be determined.
Inside Job
