Jossam Aarons and Privilege Matibu found themselves in court yesterday facing charges of obstructing justice after daringly towing away a vehicle detained by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officials as evidence.
The court proceedings revealed that in February, ZACC launched investigations into multiple fraud cases involving the scamming of pensioners out of their lump-sum payouts. As a result, Tawanda Matau and Bernard Chizunza were arrested and are currently awaiting trial, while their accomplices, Luckmore Matuku and Precious Sunungurai Muzenda, remain at large.
On February 11, ZACC investigators discovered that Matuku had fled Harare and sought refuge in Matepatepa, Bindura, to evade arrest. Acting on this information, the officers attempted to apprehend Matuku and confiscate a Nissan X-trail, which the group had been using for their illicit activities nationwide.
However, Matuku couldn’t be found in Matepatepa. He was later traced to Gilati Farm in Glendale. Upon arrival, Matuku vanished into the forest, leaving behind the locked Nissan X-trail, registered as AFG 0708, at the farm’s compound. Due to the absence of spare keys, the ZACC team couldn’t transport the vehicle back to Harare.
In an effort to secure the evidence, they removed all the wheels and the computer box from the vehicle and informed the farm occupants that ZACC had seized the car. The vehicle was registered under the name of Shorai Grace Chaora, who stated that she had loaned the vehicle to Matuku. A certificate of seizure was issued, and the vehicle was booked as a ZACC exhibit pending the conclusion of the case.
However, on March 30, one of the investigators received a call from Shadreck Hilimid reporting that Aarons and Matibu had arrived with a wrecker to retrieve the car. ZACC officers acted swiftly, apprehending the duo.