Norton – Four police officers have been brought before the courts, accused of stealing a substantial sum of money and a quantity of gold from an unconscious driver at the scene of a road traffic accident near Selous, along the Harare-Bulawayo highway.
The accused, Rudo Tafa, Daniel Mujabuki, and Musekiwa Karimanzira from ZRP Saruwe, along with Thomson Brian Chinyani from ZRP Norton Traffic, appeared before Norton magistrate Christine Nyandoro on Tuesday, facing charges related to the alleged theft. They were each granted bail of US$150.
The State, represented by Thomas Chanakira, alleges that the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, at approximately 4am. Tafa, Mujabuki, and Karimanzira were reportedly on a morning raid deployment, patrolling the Harare-Bulawayo highway in a ZRP Mahindra vehicle.
According to the prosecution, the officers were alerted to a road traffic accident near the Selous roundabout by a motorist travelling from Chegutu. The officers then returned to their police station to collect Chinyani, who is based at the ZRP Norton Traffic base at ZRP Saruwe, before proceeding to the accident scene.
The victim of the accident, Nobizita Gatawa, had been driving a Toyota Max when he was involved in a collision near the Selous roundabout. Gatawa was reportedly carrying US$80,000 in cash and 2.16kgs of pure gold in his vehicle. He was unconscious when the four police officers arrived at the scene.
It is alleged that the quartet seized the opportunity to steal US$57,000 and 2kgs of gold from Gatawa’s vehicle while he was incapacitated. The State further alleges that the officers handed over only US$22,500 to Gatawa’s father when he came to check on his son. It was during this handover that the alleged offence was discovered.
The incident has raised serious concerns about the conduct of law enforcement officers and comes against a backdrop of increasing reports of looting at accident scenes in Zimbabwe.
In December last year, a horrific collision between an Inter Africa bus and a stationary truck on the Harare-Bulawayo highway claimed the lives of seven people. The tragedy, which occurred at approximately 3:30 am at the 330-kilometre peg, was compounded by reports of widespread looting at the accident scene.
Opportunistic individuals took advantage of the chaos and distress following the collision to steal goods from the damaged vehicles. This criminal activity not only adds to the suffering of the victims and their families but also undermines the efforts of emergency services and law enforcement personnel.
The police are urging communities to refrain from engaging in such activities and to instead cooperate with authorities in assisting victims and facilitating investigations.
However, the recent allegations against the four police officers suggest that even those entrusted with upholding the law may be engaging in looting at accident scenes. The case is likely to further erode public trust in the police force and raise questions about the effectiveness of internal oversight mechanisms.
