A POLICE officer allegedly teamed up with five accomplices to rob a passenger in a commuter omnibus of US$300 cash and pump spares worth US$200 in Willowvale, Harare.
Rufaro Mudyariwa, 29, a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, last week appeared in court facing charges of robbery, which he allegedly committed at the end of August this year.
The accused and his accomplices, who are still at large, reportedly used a Honda Fit to intercept the kombi which was dropping off other passengers near a fuel service station along Willowvale road.
The State alleges that after the interception, Mudyariwa and his accomplices disembarked from the Honda Fit and forced the driver off his seat while holding baton sticks.
One of the unidentified accomplices is said to have taken control of the omnibus and Mudyariwa then joined in at the front, putting the complainant, Learnmore Tavengwa, in the middle.
The other accused went on to sit at the back.
The state further alleges that Mudyariwa informed the driver that he was now under arrest.
The police officer allegedly claimed that he was taking the Kombi driver to Harare Central Police Station.
According to the State, Tavengwa then told the accused persons that he wanted to disembark, but his request was denied.
At that point, the accused allegedly began to assault Tavengwa with batons as well as with open hands and fists several times all over his body.
Mudyariwa and his accomplices then allegedly conducted a search on Tavengwa and forcibly took cash from him amounting to US$300 and a satchel containing prime-pump spare parts worth US$200.
After the alleged robbery, the accused persons dropped off Tavengwa near ZCC Church in Belvedere where he was later on picked by police on patrol and was taken to the hospital.
by
Dionne Kanyowa
STAFF WRITER
