A Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) senior reporter Tendai Munengwa and an intelligence officer, Henry Kachere, appeared in court over the weekend after they allegedly extorted businessman and ZANU PF councillor Scott Sakupwanya.
Munengwa and Kachere appeared before magistrate Yeukai Dzuda who remanded them in custody to Saturday, 11 February for bail considerations.
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Prosecutors said the two men connived to extort money from Sakupwanya by threatening to expose some sensitive classified information of some illegal gold dealings they allegedly claimed were happening at his company, Better Brands Jewellery.
Better Brands was recently ordered to suspend its operations at Redwing Mine in Penhalonga, by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), following reports of the deaths of scores of artisanal miners.
It is alleged that before implementing their plan, Munengwa approached Sakupwanya and demanded US$25,000 so that he could bring the documents and cause their destruction upon payment.
Sakupwanya is alleged to have indicated that he could afford US$15,000. Munengwa allegedly accepted the money and indicated he was going to bring the CIO officers handling the matter to his offices on 9 February.
On the same day, the police obtained a trap authority and Sakupwanya gave the money to Tozivepi Milward, his security officer, to give the money to the two.
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It is further alleged that Munengwa and Kachere went to Better Brands offices in Greendale where Kachere showed Milward the file, which they claimed contained incriminating information. Milward then handed over the trap money to Munengwa who received it and took possession of the cash.
The police reacted promptly and arrested the two at the scene and recovered the trap money from Munengwa.
