Senior ZRP Officers Arrest 7 Traffic Officers Collecting Bribes From Motorists

A GROUP of senior police officers traveling in a kombi for a covert operation, Tuesday morning arrested seven traffic cops collecting bribes from motorists at a road-block along Harare-Mutare road and just before Marondera town.

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest and disclosed some of the officers broke into tears after realizing they had been arrested.

“We decided to travel to Marondera in a kombi so we could also experience what our clients, the citizens experience from our officers on our highways when we saw a female traffic cop receiving money from a conductor at a roadblock some few kilometres from Marondera just before the ‘Welcome to Marondera’ sign,” said Nyathi.

“She was receiving $18 in between a sheet of paper while one of her colleagues was found with $200 unaccounted for in any of their books.

“DCG (Deputy Commissioner General Stephen), Mutamba is the one who noticed the incident and identified us all before we arrested them, I assure you they are losing their jobs,” said Nyathi.

“They cried and begged because they knew their jobs are gone.”

Other senior officers present during the operation were; Commissioners Elliot Ngirande and Issac Tayengwa.

The arrest comes barely three days after 13 officers including a police Chaplain were arrested in Chakari after extorting cash from artisanal miners they were supposed to have arrested for illegal mining.

Nyathi said they were making deliberate efforts to combat cancer within the force so as to regain public trust.