CIO agents charged with kidnapping, armed robbery

Two Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agents abducted, assaulted and robbed a motorist and a police officer in Harare following an accident involving one of the agents’ wife, a court heard.

Tafadzwa Machona, 33, and Munyaradzi Chanakira, 34, who are both stationed at the CIO’s Chaminuka Building headquarters, were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje charged with kidnapping and armed robbery last Saturday.

They were released on bail and remanded to January 17.

Prosecuting, Ethel Mahachi told the court that on November 30, Oster Svinurai, of Borrowdale, was driving a Toyota Hiace along Sam Nujoma in Harare when he was involved in an accident with a Mercedes Benz.

The female driver seized the Toyota Hiace’s keys and made a phone call, while Svinurai called his friend Talentson Muchererwa, a police officer based at Mkushi Training Academy.

The court heard that Machona, Chinakira and about six other men arrived at the accident scene driving in a Mazda Transit vehicle and accused Svinurai of causing the accident. They demanded money to repair the Mercedes.

Svinurai, Muchererwa and Farai Ngwerume, a passerby who was trying to understand what was going on, were grabbed by the CIO agents who forced them into their vehicle and drove off before stopping at a Close near Chisipite Shopping Centre.

The CIO agents assaulted the three men using baton sticks while Machona allegedly brandished a pistol while demanding money.

They searched the trio and took US$98 from Svinurai, US$30 from Muchererwa and US$800 from Ngwerume, who works at a local hotel. Ngwerume was also robbed of a Samsung A32 phone.

The trio reported their abduction and assault at Harare Central Police Station.

Machona was arrested on December 1 after Ngwerume spotted him in central Harare and called police. Chanakira was nabbed when he followed Machona to the police station where investigators discovered that they were employed by the CIO as security officers.

Zimlive