The court struggled to believe the allegations against Chidawa and his associates after the complainant, Melody Matanhire, admitted to fabricating parts of her story.

It was alleged that Matanhire, who was married, had an affair with Mutanda, who claimed to have US$100,000 in soiled money that needed to be “cleaned.”

He said the process required US$20,000 in clean bills to mix with the soiled money and chemicals, and the person providing the clean bills would earn a commission upon completion.

The court heard that on August 27, 2020, Matanhire told Mutanda she had secured the US$20,000 and went with him to Blue Ridge Lodge to “clean” the money.

She allegedly took the cash from her home in Gen Lorne, Harare, unaware that Mutanda had conspired with Chidawa, Takura, Matubu, and Chisango to steal it.

At the lodge, Mutanda asked for the US$20,000, which Matanhire handed over, and he placed it in a cooler box for the cleaning process.

It was alleged that moments later, Chidawa and his group, posing as police officers, entered the lodge, assaulted Mutanda, and pretended to arrest him.

One of the gang members is said to have taken the cooler box, while the others escorted Matanhire, later releasing her.

Mutanda and his accomplices allegedly shared the stolen US$20,000. The crime was uncovered when Matanhire staged a robbery to cover up the loss to her husband.

Detectives from CID Homicide arrested Mutanda, leading to the recovery of property he had purchased with the stolen money.

However, in her ruling, Chief Magistrate Muchuchuti Guwuriro pointed out that Matanhire’s admission of lying to her husband about the robbery cast doubt on the credibility of the entire case. She stated:

After her admission that she lied to her husband, it was hard for the court to believe if anything of that nature ever occurred.

The inconsistencies in Matanhire’s testimony ultimately led to the acquittal of Detective Kedha and his co-accused.