Four more ZRP traffic officers appear in court over unaccounted cash
Four Zimbabwe Republic Police officers who were manning a roadblock on the Bulawayo-Harare highway have appeared in court facing bribery and criminal abuse of duty charges after US$237 and P110 were found during a search of the officers and their post.
Moses Chisandawe, 47, Nomson Rwaendepi, 44, Anesu Bruce Chikasha, 36, and Conscience Chihata, 35, appeared before Bulawayo senior regional magistrate Mark Dzira. The case concerns a roadblock at the 397-kilometre peg, where the officers were on traffic enforcement duty on 14 October.
Prosecutor Siphiwe Mhlanga told the court the incident occurred at about 12:20pm. A team from Support Unit Headquarters arrived at the roadblock in a Ford Raptor, registration number AEK 3966. The team comprised Chief Inspector Mutemaringa, Inspector Kufankomwe, Sergeant Chikono, Sergeant Madanhire and Constable Tapedzisa.
“Upon arrival, they observed one of the accused holding cash in his hand. When searched, he was found with US$15 and 110 Botswana Pula, which he failed to satisfactorily account for,” said Ms Mhlanga.
The search then extended to the area around the roadblock. Officers recovered another US$222 from a satchel concealed inside a nearby metal cabin, bringing the total found to US$237 and P110.
The four officers were asked to explain why the money had been kept at the post, but the prosecution said they failed to do so. They were arrested and taken to ZRP Mbembesi. Further investigations found that the cash had not been entered in the official records or receipted as money collected through police duties.
“The recovered money had not been recorded. The ZRP Mbembesi Traffic Site Declaration Book, Occurrence Book and Deployment Register were also recovered and will be produced in court as exhibits.”
The State alleges the officers received money from motorists that was not due to them and acted contrary to their duties as public officers. They face charges of bribery under Section 45 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and criminal abuse of duty by a public officer.
The officers are represented by Kholwani Ngwenya of T.J. Mabhikwa and Partners. A bail application has been made at the Bulawayo High Court. They were remanded in custody to 2 November 2026.
The case follows several other police bribery cases reported in Zimbabwe this year, involving traffic enforcement, roadblocks and officers accused of using their positions to obtain money.
In Harare, traffic officer Pedzisai Nyamakura, 32, was sentenced to 3 years in prison after receiving US$10 from a motorist in the Central Business District. The incident took place in June, when a Provincial Anti-Corruption Team was carrying out an operation targeting bogus officers, unauthorised deployments and other corrupt or improper conduct.
The State’s account was that Nyamakura stopped a Mazda Demio at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Fifth Street, saying the driver had crossed a transverse line at traffic lights. Two female officers who were with him left the motorist with Nyamakura. One of two men in civilian clothes spoke to the officer, left and returned about 10 minutes later with a US$10 note. Nyamakura then released the driver and vehicle.
The anti-corruption team intercepted the vehicle and searched Nyamakura. He had US$24 in cash: US$14 in his right pocket and the US$10 in his left pocket. He was convicted of criminal abuse of office on 6 August and sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment.
Three officers from Murewa Traffic were also sentenced to 5 years each after detectives found them with US$975 at a roadblock on the Harare-Domboshava Road. Constables Prosper Muchangani, 36, Shelton Masvande, 34, and Mercy Makarimai, 37, were arrested on 21 December 2025 at the 21-kilometre peg near Chinamhora Base. They were convicted and sentenced at Harare Magistrates’ Court on 24 June 2026.
Investigators found no officially receipted traffic fines, and the officers had not declared the money before starting duty. Their deployment was also absent from the official register. The US$975 could not be accounted for. The case centred on both the cash and the absence of records showing authorised deployment and properly receipted fines.
A separate investigation in Mutare involved two officers from CID Minerals and trucks carrying mineral ore destined for Mozambique. Taona Zhou, 37, and Observant Tinashe Marodza, 37, appeared in court in March facing extortion and bribery charges. Prosecutors said officers intercepted the trucks on 21 March and took the drivers’ passports and vehicle registration books, citing problems with the consignment documents.
The documents were later returned, but prosecutors alleged that the transport operator had already paid US$15,000 which was not shared with other officials as had been agreed. On 25 March, Zhou allegedly contacted one of the drivers and demanded a further US$5,000. The matter was reported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, which arranged a trap operation. On 26 March, the complainant met the officers in Mutare and handed over marked cash under surveillance. The money was found on the front seat of a vehicle, and both officers were arrested. They were granted bail of US$100 each.
In another case, two Chipinge-based officers, Sergeant Talent Lazarus Tausen and Constable Edwin Dewa, were convicted in internal police proceedings after accepting US$370 from Alice Chikumba, the mother of a theft suspect. Chikumba had paid the money in an effort to secure the release of her son, Sydney Muchongoyo, who had been arrested after a bag was reported stolen from an Inter Africa bus. The officers did not release him, and his mother reported the payment to their superiors. The officers were also convicted of assaulting Muchongoyo and were sentenced to 14 days’ detention.
The new Bulawayo case centres on money allegedly collected while officers were assigned to a public roadblock. Investigators say the records kept at the Mbembesi traffic site, including its declaration book, occurrence book and deployment register, will be central exhibits as the proceedings continue.