Police: We can’t just arrest ‘Cashberts’

via Police: We can’t just arrest ‘Cashberts’ 16/02/2014 by Staff Reporter NewZimbabwe

POLICE have rejected allegations of dragging their feet over the ‘Salarygate’ scandal and insisted they cannot take action against executives accused of looting from public enterprises without evidence of criminality.

The scandal has sparked national outrage with struggling Zimbabweans shocked to learn that heads of insolvent State enterprises were earning tens of thousands of dollars while ordinary workers went without pay.

Happison Muchechetere, the suspended CEO of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) was earning about $40,000 while ordinary workers went without pay for seven months and the broadcaster struggled with debt.

At the government-owned health insurer PSMAS, CEO Cuthbert Dube was reportedly earning $230,000 while the company failed to pay service providers resulting in members having to pay upfront for healthcare.

However there have been no arrests at both PSMAS and ZBC although executives at Air Zimbabwe were picked up last week over a $9 million insurance fraud.

ZRP national spokesperson, Charity Charamba said police were waiting for the completion of audit reports and formal complaints.

“Police do not just arrest to investigate but need to gather evidence that link the suspect to the commission of the offence before effecting an arrest,” Charamba told The Herald.

“In the case of Cuthbert Dube, the Ministry of Health and Child Care is the complainant and police are still waiting for the ministry to finalise its audit report. Once the Ministry of Health, as the parent ministry, makes a formal complaint on behalf of Government, we will act on the matter.”

She added: “The same applies to the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services which is conducting its forensic audit, which will eventually assist in compiling the necessary evidence to deal with the ZBC issue.

“Yes, we do appreciate the role of the media in informing and educating the nation but there is no way the media can be complainants in these cases.  As a professional police force, we shall not be swayed by the so- called ‘court of public opinion’ into arbitrarily arresting suspects without establishing facts and the necessary evidence.”

Opposition parties have dismissed the government’s ant-corruption drive as insincere and an attempt to divert public attention from the failing economy.

 

COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 14
  • comment-avatar
    CHINDUNDUMA 10 years ago

    THIS POLICE SPOKESPERSON IDIOT CHARITY CHARAMBA IS ALREADY JUDGMENTAL BY DECLARING THE PUBLIC “COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION”. THIS BUFFOON SHOULD REALISE THAT THE PUBLIC IS COMMENTING ON THE BASIS OF FACTS PRESENTED BY THE MEDIA WHICH HER THIEVES HAVE NOT REFUTED. THIS FOOL IS NOT SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE POLICE FORCE AS SHE IS TRYING TO COVER UP HERSELF. CHARITY THE NET IS CLOSING DOWN ON YOU ASWELL. YOU ARE PAID FROM THE TAXPAYER’S MONEY SO DO NOT BE ARROGANT . YOU NEED TO BE PROFESSIONAL YOU DOG. WE ARE NOT FOOLS.

  • comment-avatar
    roving ambassador. 10 years ago

    Police do not arrest to investigate, my foot. Ask Biti and Mtetwa. Professional ,
    who believes all this rubbish .
    This Charamba ,Lucky girl, she is paid a lot of money to preach this hogwash .

    These civil servants ,you could serve the salary budget by 50%, fire the lot. Useless . Talk about brain drain. No wonder we have imbeciles for MP’s.

    Looord have mercy.

  • comment-avatar
    Doctor do little 10 years ago

    ZRP national spokesperson, Charity Charamba “said police were waiting for the completion of audit reports and formal complaints.””As a professional police force, we shall not be swayed by the so- called ‘court of public opinion’ into arbitrarily arresting suspects without establishing facts and the necessary evidence.”

    Listen to this nonsense from Charity again. They are waiting for instructions from the ones that are pulling their strings. Professional Police force my foot. If they don’t care about public opinion who’s opinion do they care about? I am sorry to say this is looking more and more like a farce. And to confirm to the wise man that said do we limited people copy and paste, I have copied and pasted.

  • comment-avatar
    kutongwa nonjazi 10 years ago

    Kkkkkkk , “police do not arrest to investigate…..” Haunyare kunyepa masikati machena nhai iwe? Ah…wasiirira unless vari ve MDC kunyanya ya Tsvangirai

  • comment-avatar
    John Thomas 10 years ago

    ZRP has a long history of arresting people without evidence or complainants. They will arrest you simply to squeeze money from you. They will arrest you if you speak truthfully to a police officer. They arrested Biti and Tsvangirai for treason without any evidence. They arrested dozens of innocents for the murder of a police officer and held them for years without evidence. They arrest people all the time for no apparent reason. They arrest people to settle private scores. They beat and torture people. Why suddenly are they becoming so shy?

  • comment-avatar
    masvukupete 10 years ago

    Zanu Cosa Nostra at its best!

  • comment-avatar
    easily fooled 10 years ago

    The minister of iinformation said firing him was good enough, precedence has been set, the ministry of health will follow suit, so will the ministry of air transport, the same would apply to the ministry of no electricity

  • comment-avatar

    Why not? If it was any one of us we would have been rotting in chooky by now. We are sick and tired of tis lawlessness, greed, plunder and a one sided judiciary and law.

  • comment-avatar
    Mlimo 10 years ago

    Charity her name says it all . Public charity to zanupf gravy train.

  • comment-avatar
    Doctor do little 10 years ago

    kutongwa nonjazi that is the most shallow statement I have ever heard. What about the MDC supporters that have been held for all this time without a shred of evidence.

  • comment-avatar
    Tongoona 10 years ago

    Hope it will not be “bota rapararira mukanwa”as usual.

  • comment-avatar
    dongondarimwe 10 years ago

    ANOMBORI MUKADZI WAANI IYEYE ANOGARA NEZIMUNHU RAKASHATA MOYO KUDAYI MUMBA MAKE MAPURISA EMUZIMBABWE VANOTOTYISA CHERO KUMUNYENGA CHAIKO AS LONG AS WANGOZIVA CHETE KUTI MUPURISA KANA MANGA MADANANA KARE UNOTOTSVAGA MEANS YEKUMUTIZA .. HAAGARIKE NAVO MUDZIMBA CORRUPTION YACHO ITS TOO MUCH ..IYEYE CHARITY I UNDERSTAND KUTI MUDZIMAI WAGEORGE APA KUPUSHIRANA PAKANAKA PANODYIWA SAKA MUCHIONA CHAKAOMA DZORO KUDZIDZISWA NABABA KUTI UNOFANIRA KUTOOMESA MUSORO ASI ONE THING CHARITY MUCHAMANYA ONE DAY ZVENYU. … IKOZVINO HANDITI DAI IRI MDC YAITA SCANDAL IDZODZO VANGADAYI VAVEKUCHIKURUBI, ZVINO NDEVENYU MAAKUTI MAPURISA HAANGOSUNGI NHAYI? VANHU VANESIMBA KUPFUURA POLICE FORCE AND THAT NOT TRUE WHEN YOU SAID PROFESSIONAL POLICE… KWETE UCHIDA PROFESSIONAL POLICE ENDA KUSOUTH AFRICA

  • comment-avatar
    Wezhira 10 years ago

    She even has the audacity to call ZRP a professional Police force. ZRP and professional should not be written in the same sentence. I hope no one will repeat it like I did otherwise professional loses all its meaning.

  • comment-avatar
    John Thomas 10 years ago

    Thank you, good comment