FOUR police officers and a prosecutor arrested on on bribery charges were on Thursday arraigned before Harare Magistrate Ngoni Nduna facing charges of criminal abuse of office as public officers.
They were admitted to ZWL3 000 bail and remanded out of custody to August 17.
Police Deputy director CID commercial crimes unit Assistant Commissioner Obeylaw Moyo and chief public prosecutor Clement Chimbare allegedly accepted stands as inducements to ensure the freedom of Harare City Council officials who are in court over prejudicing the council of US$1 million.
The Harare City Council officials are in court over illegal sale of stands in Kuwadzana and are said to have paid off the senior police officer, the prosecutor and three other junior police officers to ensure their freedom.
The police officers and prosecutor are said to have been allocated stands in the new middle-income Harare suburb of Westlea.
Apart from Moyo and chief public prosecutor Chimbare, the other named accused are Detective Assistant Inspector Claudious Majonga and Detective Constable Aaron Karuru while a third junior officer is on the run.
On Thursday the court heard that sometime in September last year, Harare municipality through Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango reported a case of suspected fraud in which Edgar Dzehonye, Mathew Marara, Rudo Chigocha, Believer Mpawaenda and Margeth Geroge were the accused persons.
It is alleged that the reports filed were investigated by the two junior arrested police officers, Majonga and Karuru, under the supervision of Asst Comm Moyo, Naboth Nyachega and Joseph Mutipforo.
The investigations led to the arrest of Tapiwa Gona, Rudo Chigocha, Believer Mpawaenda and Margeth George who then appeared in court after the required paperwork was vetted by chief prosecutor Chimbare at the Harare Magistrates Courts.
It is the State’s case that chief prosecutor Chimbare, allegedly corruptly facilitated the release of Dzehonye and Marara and advised the State to proceed by way of summons as there were several others facing the same charges.
The court heard that, this was despite the fact that the other four suspects had already appeared in court on the same charges and had been formally remanded, although released on ZWL1 000 bail each.
The State said the accused attempted to jeopardise investigations and prosecution by corruptly received waiting list numbers belonging to other home-seekers and were selected for consideration of unserviced residential stands in Westlea Township.
The allocation letters dated March 19, 2020, were corruptly signed by Dzehonye, who after being summoned to the CID Commercial Crimes on criminal charges, was only made to sign a warned and caution statement and was released without going to court.
The court also heard that the allocation letters were counter signed by Admore Nhekairo.
It is alleged that in a bid to cover the offence, Dzehonye, Marara and Nhekairo corruptly manipulated council systems and policies to accommodate the four who had been unlawfully and corruptly allocated residential stands in Westlea.
The State further alleged that Chimbare acted contrary and inconsistent with his duties as the chief law officer in charge of prosecution at the Harare Provincial Magistrate Court by showing favour to Dzehonye and Marara by refusing to place them on remand, yet their other accomplices had been placed on remand on a similar offence.
Chimbare is said to have accepted the stand in Westlea as pay back for the unlawful act.
