Cop in trouble over bribe

THE officer-in-charge for boards at Police General Headquarters is now jointly charged with a female subordinate who allegedly gave him a $125 bribe to facilitate her transfer to the force’s traffic department.

The trial of the pair failed to kickoff yesterday and was postponed to October 16.

Inspector Takawira Sigireta (44) is facing charges of criminal abuse of office while Sergeant Sibongile Nyadundu is charged with bribery.

They appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Annia Ndiraya.

The court heard that Sigireta’s duties included convening boards of inquiry, suitability, desertion, general and trial for police officers.

The prosecutor, Mr Progress Maringamoyo, alleged that sometime in September last year, Sigireta approached Nyadundu who was stationed at ZRP Mashonaland East ICT systems administration.

It is alleged that Sigireta advised Nyadundu that he was able to facilitate her transfer to the national traffic section and allegedly demanded a $125 bribe.

The court heard that on September 28, Nyadundu’s husband, Tapiwa Munamato, who is a member of the Zimbabwe National Army, made a ZimSwitch Instant Payment Interchange Technology (ZIPIT) transfer of $75 into Sigireta’s CABS account.

The following day he made another transfer of $50 through EcoCash to Sigireta’s mobile number.

It is alleged that Sigireta failed to facilitate the transfer as promised and Munamato reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

ZACC referred the matter to the police, leading to Sigireta’s arrest.