HARARE – Four Criminal Investigations Department detectives were charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer on Monday over allegations they stole US$70,000 which had been recovered as evidence.
Edward Mateta, 49, Tinashe Matongo, 32, Princes Mavis Matikiti, 35, and Costa Davison, 32, were remanded in custody to Tuesday for their bail ruling by magistrate Stanford Mambanje.
Prosecutor Ngoni Kaseke told the Harare Magistrates Court that the detectives, all attached to CID Borrowdale, got information that one Viola Mutumbu had stolen a safe containing US$70,000 and jewellery worth US$10,000 from a house on Harvey Close in Belvedere which she handed over to one Chriswell Fainoza for “safekeeping.”
The prosecution alleges that the detectives arrested Mutumbo for the theft and “unlawfully” released her after she led them to Fainoza.
The police officers allegedly approached Fainoza and retrieved the safe which they broke open before taking US$66,000, leaving Fainoza US$4,000 “as his share.”
The detectives were arrested after Fainoza filed a police report.
