A traffic cop walked free after getting blamed for car smuggling he did not do. Constable Ngonidzashe Musiwa drove a Honda Fit through a police roadblock on June 27. Officers stopped him because the blue car had fake license plates. The front plate belonged to a different Honda Fit from Masvingo. Police arrested Musiwa and thought he brought the car across the border illegally.
The real criminal turned out to be Gift Andrew Chaima who admitted his crimes in court. Chaima sneaked the Honda Fit from Botswana through bush paths near Dombodema on June 26. He put fake plates on the car before giving it to someone else. The 37-year-old man told the judge a relative bought the car for him in Durban. Chaima claimed he did not know he had to pay import taxes.
Magistrate Joshua Nembaware fined Chaima 350 dollars or four months in jail. The smuggler must also pay over 1200 dollars in customs duty and more than 33000 ZIG currency. If he fails to pay these amounts before September 30, he faces six extra months in prison. Zimra officials took the Honda Fit which was worth about 2500 dollars.
Prosecutors dropped all charges against Constable Musiwa after learning the truth. The traffic officer returned to his job with a clean record. His fellow officers joked that even cops can end up in the wrong car at the wrong time.
The real criminal turned out to be Gift Andrew Chaima who admitted his crimes in court. Chaima sneaked the Honda Fit from Botswana through bush paths near Dombodema on June 26. He put fake plates on the car before giving it to someone else. The 37-year-old man told the judge a relative bought the car for him in Durban. Chaima claimed he did not know he had to pay import taxes.
Magistrate Joshua Nembaware fined Chaima 350 dollars or four months in jail. The smuggler must also pay over 1200 dollars in customs duty and more than 33000 ZIG currency. If he fails to pay these amounts before September 30, he faces six extra months in prison. Zimra officials took the Honda Fit which was worth about 2500 dollars.
Prosecutors dropped all charges against Constable Musiwa after learning the truth. The traffic officer returned to his job with a clean record. His fellow officers joked that even cops can end up in the wrong car at the wrong time.
