AFRICA COMPUTERS STOLENThe Herald - Zimbabwe News OnlineCop gets 22-month jail term

From Noah Pito in Hurungwe
A police constable who, in August this year, stole a computer and accessories worth almost $11 million from the Hurungwe West Constituency Information Centre, has been sentenced to 22 months in prison by a Karoi magistrate.

Paradzai Muzengeza (27) faced two counts, the first charge arising from stealing a computer and accessories from the constituency information centre, while the second allegation stemmed from the theft of a police travel requisition book (warrant book) from Sergeant Morgan Muvazhi of Magunje Police Station.

Karoi magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna last week slapped Muzengeza with an 18-month custodial sentence for theft of the computer and accessories and four months for stealing the travel requisition book.

However, two months were suspended on condition of good behaviour and a further six months was suspended on condition that Muzengeza pays $600 000 for the unrecovered computer accessories.

On August 26 this year around 1am, Muzengeza went to the Hurungwe Rural District Council offices, which house the Hurungwe West Constituency Information Centre.

Muzengeza, who was in full police gear, misrepresented to the guard at the premises that he had been assigned by the constituency’s Member of Parliament, Cde Phone Madiro, to urgently take the constituency computer and accessories to Parliament Building in Harare.

To the guard, the story was believable since Muzengeza had a bunch of keys to the centre and he was also known to him as a member of the police force.

It was only after Muzengeza had taken away the computers and accessories that it was discovered that he had stolen the items. It was also detected that he had stolen the travel requisition book which he used to facilitate his movements.

Police then went on a manhunt for Muzengeza and only managed to recover the computer and some of the accessories at a house in Unit K, Chitungwiza. Muzengeza was on the run until early October when he was cornered by police at a house in Mutare.