5 Harare Airport Officials Arrested With US Dollars, Yuan, Dirhams In Bribes Five officials stationed at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport have been arrested after they were allegedly caught on CCTV soliciting bribes from travellers. The five, who are expected to appear at the Harare Magistrates Court on Thursday, have been identified as Detective Sergeant […]

5 Harare Airport Officials Arrested With US Dollars, Yuan, Dirhams In Bribes

Five officials stationed at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport have been arrested after they were allegedly caught on CCTV soliciting bribes from travellers.

The five, who are expected to appear at the Harare Magistrates Court on Thursday, have been identified as Detective Sergeant Ncube Sithabiso (47) and Detective Constable Mbira Aquisilia (40) from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Norman Chepi (45) an inspector with the Ministry of Agriculture, and Plant Health Assistants Danda Ratidzo (48) and Ngwenya Tafadzwa (44).

They are facing charges of criminal abuse of duty as public officers under Section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

According to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), the arrests came after a tip-off from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) on November 9 that officials at the airport were unlawfully demanding money from returning residents and visitors.

ZIMRA invited ZACC officers to its Command Centre in Harare to review CCTV footage which allegedly showed officials soliciting and receiving money from travellers, particularly those arriving aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Following the review, a joint team proceeded to the airport and apprehended the suspects. A search allegedly led to the recovery of cash in various currencies from their handbags and pockets, including US$1,061, 700 Chinese yuan, 10,000 Tanzanian shillings, 60 United Arab Emirates dirhams, R10, five euros, 10,000 Rwandan francs and 1,000 Congolese francs.

Investigations established that the accused were allegedly giving preferential treatment to foreign nationals by allowing them to enter Zimbabwe without proper documentation or mandatory luggage searches, in exchange for money to bypass immigration and border clearance procedures.