via Police forge signatures, falsify fines – NewsDay Zimbabwe August 28, 2014 by Blessed Mhlanga
KWEKWE — Some traffic police officers are allegedly forging signatures and wrongly interpreting sections of the law to force motorists to pay fines, it has emerged.
Investigations by NewsDay revealed that on July 12, an Assistant Inspector Mutembedza arrested Blessing Maphosa of Bulawayo and charged him with contravening section 7(1) of the Road Traffic Act which makes it illegal to ferry passengers without an operator’s licence.
According to the National Deposit Fines Schedule, Maphosa was supposed to pay a fine of $10 for the offence.
Instead Mutembedza described the offence as “Non-PSV carry passengers x6.” But such an offence is not described in section 7 (1) of the Road Traffic Act.
Maphosa was fined $30 an amount above level three of $20 which police officers are not permitted by law to assess.
Former police officer Tafadzwa Gambiza in an undated letter to the Officer Commanding Kwekwe District, Chief Superintendent Fiona Thlomani, raised complaints on what he termed the illegal operations by police officers which he said amounted to institutional corruption.
“President Robert Mugabe warned police officers about corruption and a nationwide anti-corruption drive was carried out by the ZRP and in line with that campaign we were given posters which prescribed the following,” he wrote.
“Let us all familiarise with relevant sections and corresponding fines: Police only issue Z69 (J) against all fines collected and all deposit fines are prescribed in the National Deposit Fine Schedule.
“Yet your police officers are not issuing Z69(J) receipts and most of the fines they are receipting are not reflected anywhere in the National Deposit Fine Schedule in what I believe is institutionalised corruption by the police.”
Gambiza quoted receipt 7941057 on which Maphosa was fined $10 for contravening section 24(2) of the RTA Chapter 13.11 dangerous tyre.
“This was a false section and the fine was inflated by the arresting officer. The correct fine and section according to the National Deposit Fine schedule is $5 and correct section is 13(4)(a) and not that which was quoted by your officer,” wrote Gambiza.
Confronted with the allegations, Chief Superintendent Thlomani admitted that some officers were making “errors” and were ill-trained for the job.
“With reference to your undated letter of complaint, we carried out investigations and we acknowledge genuine errors by our traffic officers.
“We would like to inform you that we have identified a training need for our traffic officers in your letter of complaint,” she wrote in her response dated August 15.
Gambiza went further to accuse the police of forging other officers’ signatures just to ensure they issued traffic offences receipts which is in contravention of the ZRP standing orders volume one section 22.0.
“On ticket 7341113, a Constable Chikwanda signed his name as the arresting officer noting his force number as 061178X. He then further forged the signature of another police officer with force number 063576R, but erroneously signed his name again as Chikwanda,” Gambiza said.
“Again the traffic officer [Chikwanda], who is attached at VID Kwekwe, forged a signature of his colleague on the ticket and used two force numbers, my understanding of the police force is that one officer has one force number — is forgery not a crime?”
Thlomani, however, did not respond to these allegations in her letter of response.
COMMENTS
You name it all the ZRP is corrupt to the core.
I was recently visited by this trend, which involved a death in my family in Chitungwiza. A constable teamed-up with a certain dubious funeral undertaker to collect the deceased, while I was processing the policy benefits with a reputable Funeral undertaker. In the end I lost $65,00 trying to recover the body from this dubious undertaker.
Keep this in your cars.
VEHICLE REGISTRATION & LICENCEING ACT (CHAP.12:14)
FINESPrinted 10 April 2013
Fail to:
Display current vehicle licence: $5
Produce documents within 7 days to Police:$5
Produce documents within 7 days to VID:$10
Licence vehicle registered vehicle-all classes :$10
Display registration mark and Number OR its illegible:$10
Notify change of ownership – 14 days:$10
No Number plate:$10
No rear Number plate light:$5
No Drivers licence:$20
No Insurance:$10
No white front reflectors :$5
No red read reflectors :$5
No red “T” on rear trailer :$10
Motor vehicle + Trailer longer than 8 Mt –
No amber side reflectors @ 4mt – each :$5
No red triangles :$15
No horn- fail to use or abuse horn$10
No Stopping, No parking, no left or right turn: $5
Proceed against red robot:$20
Proceed against amber robot :$10
Encroach over white line at a robot: $10
Fail to stop at flash lights – Railway crossing :$20
Overtaking over solid white line:$20
Double parking:$5
Stop or park within 7.5 mt. of intersection :$15
Fail to give way to right-uncontrolled intersection :$15
Cut corner when turning right: $10
Fail to:
Signal – slow down, stop turn left or right:$10
Stop – minor accident:$20
Stop – serious accident: court
No headlights, one headlight or no side lights: $5
No headlights or side lights: $10
Headlights causing dazzle: $15
No dip switch: $10
Foot brakes not working: $20
Hand brakes not working at all – max:$15
Unable to keep vehicle staty when brake applied:$15
No windscreen wiper: $5
Windscreen not providing clear undistorted vision:$10
No exhaust silencer:$10
Inefficient exhaust silencer: $5
Causing excessive smoke:$10
Leaks of oil and fuel onto road: $5
Dangerous tyre – canvas showing – per tyre: $5
Axles Loading 1-50: $10
51-200: $15
201-400: $20
+ 400: court
No Safety belt $5
Spit in or from vehicle $5
Discard rubbish fro vehicle $5
Abusive behavior $10
Speeding – kph 6-15: $5
16-25: $10
26-35: $15
36-50: $20
50+:court
Production of documents7 days
Fail to produce:
Documents $5
Drivers licence $20
Insurance $5
Registration book to VID $10
Police Officers must give rank, name and number. Spot fines – Form Z69(j) Admission of Guilt. Form 265 to pay fine at police station within 7 days
S/I PHIRI: Public Relations. Nat. Complaints Line: 04 703 631 (24 hr service)
S/I NCUBE: 077 2719 730 or 071 2769 768
S/I KANGWARE: 071 2415 491
Spokesperson Trafic Inspector CHIGOME 077 2965 030
Thanks Reverand. It will be useful when I come home for Christmas.
Brilliant. I failed to stop completely before turning left at Groombridge. Cop stopped me and asked me to pay $20 fine. I argued the fee and he produced a filthy piece of paper, badly typed, showing the so called number of the law and the $20 fine. Those cops on Alpes Road need watching.
Genuine mistakes….yeah right, no such thing, they have learned from the master looters and are just following their mentors.
The police are a criminal organisation here in Zimbabwe
What police are you talking about? To me they are just a militia for ZANU PF
ZANU uniformed division….thieves, liars and ignorant fools. Otherwise known as ZRP. Just wait them out….7 days to go to your nearest police station. I have my “fine flask and book” – pull over and wait…I will pay at my nearest station within 7 days. Then sip the coffee and read the book. NOT ONCE have they been patient enough to outlast me…..useless oafs. Just want money…not interested in the law one iota. Three years…NOT one fine. Plenty of nice coffee though!
@Reverend-good information but it does not work with these corrupt police who have no respect for the public and the country’s laws.I spent more than an hour at Chegutu road block arguing my case that they give me form 265 for me to pay latter after checking their claims of so-called tampered with third number plate but they refused claiming that The Commissioner of Police had changed the rules for them to insist on spot fines.I told them that the commissioner was just a civil servant who has no power to pass laws, but the sgt and his female police were so misguided that they thought I was being political when I was just standing for my rights.
When I went to complain at Byo Drill Hall they looked at my third number plate and they shock their heads because the damage to it was minor[caused by my grandsons].They even said I should have been advised without a ticket to apply for a new one to avoid misunderstandings in the future,if they took into account my advanced age.These are the type of policemen we have in that part of the country.I am not surprised to get this message from a concerned member of the public.
Hi Mixed Race, Yes it does work, just insist that if they disagree you call the numbers and ask their seniors, and please give me your no,rank and name so I can tell your boss who Im talking to.
Here is another Statutory Instrument.
STATUTORY INSTRUMENT 154 of 2010: ROAD TRAFFIC (CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT & USE) REGULATIONS.
The above regulations, gazetted on 17th September 2010, were declared Null & Void in June 2013, and therefore the following changes which were introduced in S.I. 154 of 2010 are no longer enforceable by authorities. See the list of previously repealed Regulations on page 805 of S.I. 154 of 2010, which would now come back into force. In summary, the following are the major issues that revert to the former regulations:
1. Width of Motor Vehicle (5.1) and Trailer (5.2): The maximum width of a vehicle reverts to 2,5 metres.
2. Left hand Drive Vehicles (10): The ban on LHD vehicles is effectively now Null & Void.
3. Reversing Lamps (27) are no longer mandatory
4. Spot Lights (28) The fitting of these is no longer regulated.
5. Height marker lamps – front & rear & side marker lamps (30): No longer mandatory.
6. Red & White Reflectors (32): White reflectors in front and red reflectors at the rear remain a requirement, but the stipulation of the retro reflective tape is no longer enforceable. The front white and rear red reflectors no longer have to be a continuous strip across the width of a heavy vehicle, but only need to be 300mm in length and extend to within 400mm of the outer edge of the vehicle – S.I. 224 of 1980 as amended, refers.
7. Amber Reflectors (40): the requirement for amber reflectors along the sides of any vehicles or combination exceeding 8 metres in length is no longer mandatory.
8. ‘Breakdown’ Triangle (52): Reflective breakdown triangles are no longer mandatory.
9. Serviceable Spare Wheel, working jack and appropriate wheel spanner (53): are no longer mandatory.
10. Reflective vest: Were only mandatory for cyclists and motor cyclists in S.I. 154, but are no longer mandatory.
11. Fire Extinguishers inside the Cab (53): Light vehicles (750g) and heavy vehicles (1,5kg) – are no longer mandatory.
12. Speed Monitoring and Speed limiting Devices (64): Working tachographs were required on heavy vehicles with net mass exceeding 4,600kg in S.I. 62 of 1988 and record cards had to be retained for possible inspection for no less than 6 months.
13. Motor Vehicle Import – Type Approval (65): The ban on vehicles that are over 5 years old is now null & void.
14. It Must be Noted: A cracked windscreen is NOT AN OFFENCE. A Shattered windscreen is an offence. Over 90 % of windscreens are SHATTERPROOF . You cannot see through a shattered windscreen.
Good. Now I know. I will stand up to them next time. They stop those that look rich enough to affird the bribe yet they let cars in a far worse condition pass because ‘obviously, if he/she cannot maintain the car then they cannot pay’ the bribe.