Terrence Mawawa | Zvishavane Zimbabwe Republic Police officers were last week exposed in a gold ore scam after nailing an unlicensed dealer they clandestinely worked with in selling the precious minerals.
Stephen Svova(23), a Zvishavane based gold dealer told Magistrate Story Rushambwa that when he appeared in court, Zvishavane based police officers were aware of his movements and they only turned against him after realising the deal had been exposed.
Svova appeared before Magistrate Rushambwa facing charges of transporting gold ore without a license. He said senior officers based at Zvishavane Police Station were behind the gold ore scam. He said the police loaded the sacks of gold ore in his truck and later plotted his arrest after realising their deal had been exposed.
“The police were aware that I had no license.The police officers loaded the gold ore into my truck but they later threatened me because I had refused to follow their orders,”said Svova. However, according to facts of the state case on August 8 2016, Svova was stopped by the police after a tip off from the public that he was carrying gold ore. Nineteen bags of gold ore were found in the vehicle.
Although Svova was ordered to pay $200 fine, the magistrate urged the police to execute their duties in a professional manner, instead of arresting people on trumped up charges.
He also said the police should not cook up evidence against innocent people. Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police have been implicated in cases of corruption and gross incompetence across the country. Legal experts have also slammed the partisan manner in which the police execute their duties.