Beitbridge Police hits back at whistle blowers

Ellen Mlambo
Two Nations Editor

BEITBRIDGE – Hundreds of passengers are stranded at Beitbridge Border Post after Police and soldiers in the town reacted angrily to the arrest of 18 of their colleagues and impounded 20 busses in the border town last night.
The busses were arrested two days after 18 cops, soldiers and members of the Central Intelligence (CIO) were nabbed at a roadblock outside Beitbridge on Saturday allegedly after receiving R2 000 bribe from Sables Class Bus crew.
The 18 are still in Police cells after their bail hearing was deferred to today.

Bus crew members who spoke to Two Nations said the cops and soldiers who rounded up busses last night made it clear that they were punishing bus companies for getting their colleagues arrested.
This morning the busses were commandeered to the Zimra Port for a thorough search.
A statement just released by the Herald however, says that the busses were arrested by the National Security Taskforce which is on a crackdown on busses transporting smuggled contraband to Mutare, Karoi, Kwekwe and Harare.

Mandeep Bus manager, John Marima told Two Nations that the Police who arrested their busses last night told them that they were being punished for getting their colleagues arrested.
“They said they were arresting us because of Sable Class which reported their workmates and got them arrested for taking bribes. We have passengers that are stranded with nothing to eat. This is bad for a professional Police to be vindictive.
“This move is to deter us from making negative reports against the Police. After setting this example there is no bus that will report Police again for bribe taking. The Police will actually take bribes on a higher scale from now onwards,” said Marima.

“They brought their vehicle loaded with police and soldiers at the terminus last night. We were ordered to go to the Police station and now we are going to ZIMRA for searches,” said a crew member who declined to be named.
One of Urban Connect bus passengers Gibson Ndlovu who had just boarded the bus to go to Harare condemned the move by the Police and Soldiers.https://twonations.co.zw