BULAWAYO - Two police officers are in trouble after they allegedly stole an FN service rifle with a fully charged magazine of 20 rounds of live ammunition from their station and gave it to poachers.The poachers, one of them a game scout, were later arrested before they could use the gun to kill a rhino for its horn. The men were also allegedly provided with a get-away vehicle a Toyota Camry by another police officer attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Chiredzi.
The incident occurred in Chiredzi when the two police officers, Sergeant Chemunoda Nhachi and Constable Jealous Madzunze, were on night duty.
This was revealed when the four poachers, Sam Makombe (30), Ronald Makombe (24), Lameck Chindoza (21) and Oscar Masendeke (26), a game scout employed by the Parks and Wildlife board, appeared before Chiredzi magistrate, Georgina Tsatsawani Ndaba, for charges of being in possession of dangerous weapon and hunting specially protected animals.
They were remanded in custody to 15 February for judgment.
It is alleged that last month Sam, Ronald and Chindoza connived with Masendeke,
who is employed as a game scout at Buffalo Range, to ask the police officers to provide them with a gun. Sergeant Nhachi and Constable Madzunze agreed to steal and secretly release an FN rifle loaded with 20 live rounds of ammunition to the
four poachers under the pretext that they would return it to the station.
Hove further told the court that after getting the gun, the four approached a CID officer who also agreed to give them his Toyota Camry before they proceeded to Ruware Range to hunt the Rhino for its horn.
They were later found and arrested and the loaded FN rifle and a machete were recovered.
Post published in: News