Source: CIO, police tiff escalates | The Herald June 8, 2017
Tendai Rupapa and Margaret Matibiri
The row between the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and police over alleged corruption investigations of senior officers in both camps has intensified, with one of the senior cops denying that the police are protecting “corrupt” top officials in the force as previously alluded by CIO deputy director Kizito Gweshe.Testifying in court yesterday, Superintendent Nyambo Viera also denied the involvement of CIO deputy director Gweshe in the investigating team set up to look into corruption in the two organisations.
The police and the CIO set up a task force to cleanse the security forces of corrupt activities after a CIO informer, Delish Nguwaya, supplied information to deputy director Gweshe on alleged corruption involving members of the CIO and top police of- ficers.
Addressing the court recently, deputy director Gweshe said as a team which included Supt Viera, a deputy inspector Mandizha and a district intelligence officer Mpengesi, they interviewed Nguwaya and agreed that they wanted to use him as a witness after giving them all the information implicating senior officers, which he did.
Gweshe told the court that Nguwaya implicated Chief Supt Nyaradzai Majachani and a Superintendent Tachiona. Self-incriminating
After getting the information, in some parts Nguwaya giving self-incriminating evidence and recording a statement, deputy director Gweshe said Supt Viera, who was leading the police in the task team, decided to charge Nguwaya.
And for that reason, Nguwaya, who is now an accused person, is making an application for referral of his matter to the Constitutional Court.
Nguwaya is jointly charged with a member of the CIO, Zano Vengayi (33), Clever Gadzikwa (36) and Mbereki Mbizo Nyathi, who is a former member of the CIO.
They are accused of extorting about $20 000 from Baoning Guo, a Chinese national.
Testifying in court yesterday, Supt Viera denied engaging Nguwaya as a State witness, saying only deputy director Gweshe was on his side.
He said because of his rank, deputy director Gweshe was not part of the investigating team, saying that his role was to feed the team with information from the informer whom Supt Viera said he was not aware of at that time.
In his testimony recently, deputy director Gweshe insisted that he was part of the team and accused the police of protecting the rot in their system.
Supt Viera said when they called Nguwaya for an “interview”, the information he supplied was not helpful, adding that prior to the interview on August 25, they already had evidence against him that had been supplied by the Chinese Business Association on August 18.
When asked by the court the kind of information Nguwaya supplied to them, Supt Viera said he implicated Chief Supt Majachani, a Superintendent Tachiona and Asst deputy directors Mangwanya and Ta- chiveyi.
“He told us that $5 000 was extorted from Baoning and part of the money was taken by the mentioned senior officers, with Chief Supt Majachani taking the large chunk of the money and him getting a paltry $500,” said Supt Viera.
“We investigated these senior officers and we found nothing sinister about them, hence we cleared them of any wrong- doing.”
Supt Viera said they deliberated on immunity, but they could not reach a consensus as a team, which led them to seek guidance from Chief Law Officer Mr Chris Mutangadura from the Prosecutor- General’s Of- fice.
They were told that only the Prosecutor-General had the privilege to grant certain status.
This is contrary to deputy director Gweshe’s testimony and Nguwaya’s former lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya, who told the court that Nguwaya in his statement gave self-incriminating evidence after being promised im- munity.
Magistrate Mr Temba Kuwanda questioned Supt Viera why he was saying Nguwaya denied the charges, yet he had admitted that he received $500 from the pro- ceeds.
The case continues on June 21. Nguwaya is being represented by Messrs Jonathan Samukange and Tafadzwa Hungwe.
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