THREE Harare police officers who allegedly stage managed a break-in at Harare Central Police Station Stores office and stole money before setting it ablaze have appeared in court.
Stanley Musekiwa (46) from ZRP CID Stores, Takaidza Mugwisi (36) from CID Stores and Masimba Stanely Gwasunda (43), ZRP CID Stores were facing theft and malicious damage to property when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.
Musekiwa is an Inspector and is the Officer In Charge of CID Stores and Business Harare.
Mugwisi and Gwasunda are subordinates of Musekiwa.
It is the State’s case that on June 23 2023 Mugwisi recovered cash amounting to US$40 500 from one Carlington Gengezha who had committed unlawful entry and theft in Belvedere, Harare. The recovered cash and US$5 000 which had been recovered in different cases were taken into possession by Musekiwa the Officer In Charge and he handed it to Gwasunda who is the Exhibit Officer.
Musekiwa and Gwasunda who were supposed to place the money in a safe at CID Homicide Harare for safekeeping after being instructed by Deputy Director Crime CID Zimbabwe (name not given) instead stashed the cash into a four-plate stove oven drawer which was in office 26 CID Stores and Business Harare.
On August 6 2023 Mugwisi was deployed on night guard duties securing CID offices that include the exhibit room.
On the same date at around 1 am the three accused persons took advantage of darkness after an electrical fault at Harare Central Police Station and proceeded to office 26.
They stage-managed a break-in by cutting the padlock keys that secure the screen gate using a bolt cutter to cut while in actual fact they used keys to open the door to gain entry. They opened the four-plate stove oven drawer which was securing the cash and stole it and yet to be quantified exhibits before they set the room alight thereby destroying several other exhibits comprising of two four-plate stoves, a fridge, a bed, various clothing, several crates of beer, cellphones, several televisions, radios and gas tanks.
The fire caused extensive structural damage to the building and the value of the destroyed exhibits and building is yet to be quantified.
— Herald
