Michael Mashiri
A police officer and his two vendor partners have appeared in court for extortion of protection fees from illegal vendors on claims of saving them from arrest.
Innocent Chiza, 40, Chakupa Chamunorwa, 26, and Tawanda Chibanda, 40, were before magistrate Dennis Mangosi at the Harare Magistrates' Court accused of extortion, contravening Section 134 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter 9.23.
The state through Zebediah Bofu alleges that, from December 2022, Chamunorwa and Chibanda who are vendors operating at Magaba area and Chiza who is a ZRP police officer stationed at Harare Professional Updating Centre were extorting money from vendors.
Chamunorwa and Chibanda were collecting US$1/2 per table daily from fellow vendors as protection money.
They said that paying the money would protect the illegal vendors from arrest by police deployed in the area.
On March 6, it was discovered that the two were extorting money from vendors and a team from ZRP Commercial Crime Unit.
Some vendors were interviewed and confirmed that they had been giving money to Chamunorwa and Chibanda daily.
Upon arrest, Chibanda implicated Chiza alleging that he would collect the money from the two accused on behalf of the Police Reaction Group.
Chiza was the arrested on the same allegations.
The state is yet to establish the amount of money that was extorted.
Magistrate Mangosi granted the three bail at ZWL$50 000 each and remanded them to May 10, 2023 pending finalisation of investigations.
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