Three police officers from Harare have been accused of faking a break-in at the Harare Central Stores office, stealing approximately US$45,000, and subsequently setting the office ablaze in an attempt to conceal the evidence.
The accused are Stanley Musekiwa, a 46-year-old inspector and the officer-in-charge of CID Stores and Business in Harare; Takaidza Mugwisi (36) and Masimba Stanely Gwasunda (43).
Allegations:
The State alleges that on June 23, Mugwisi recovered US$40,500 from an individual named Carlington Gengezha, who was accused of unlawful entry and theft in Belvedere, Harare. Musekiwa, as the officer-in-charge, took possession of the recovered money, along with an additional US$5,000 from different cases, and handed it over to Gwasunda, who serves as the exhibit officer.
Instead of following the instructions of the deputy director of Crime CID Zimbabwe, who instructed them to store the money in a safe at CID Homicide Harare, Musekiwa and Gwasunda decided to conceal the cash in a drawer of a four-plate stove oven in office 26 of the CID Stores and Business in Harare.
On August 6, Mugwisi was assigned to night duty, responsible for the security of the CID offices, including the exhibit room. The State alleges that on the same night, at approximately 1 a.m., the three officers took advantage of the darkness caused by an electrical fault at Harare Central Police Station. They proceeded to office 26, where they staged a break-in by cutting the padlock keys securing the screen gate using a bolt cutter.
Although the trio had keys to open the door and gain access, they purposely cut the screen gate to avoid arousing suspicion regarding their entry and theft of the money. It is further alleged that they opened the drawer of the four-plate stove, which contained the stolen US$45,000 in a bag, and took the money. Additionally, the State has suspicions that other unquantified exhibits may have been stolen as well.
Furthermore, the suspects are also accused of setting the room on fire, resulting in the destruction of various exhibits, including two four-plate stoves, a fridge, a bed, clothing items, crates of beer, cell phones, television sets, radios, and gas tanks. The exact value of the destroyed exhibits and the extent of damage to the building are yet to be determined.