Midlands Reporter
A SENIOR police officer stationed in Zvishavane who allegedly stole 59 bags of maize from the police mess in Gweru and exchanged some of them with livestock was back in court yesterday for continuation of trial. However, the final hearing could not take place as Assistant Inspector Marowa Nyamande’s defence lawyer failed to attend trial due to illness and the matter was postponed indefinitely.

Nyamande, 39, of ZRP main camp in Gweru, is alleged to have committed the crime between July and December 2008.He appeared before magistrate Mildred Matuvi to answer to six charges of theft.

The matter was still before the courts because the State was struggling to get state witnesses.
Magistrate Matuvi had remanded Nyamande out of custody on free bail for continuation of trial when he last appeared in court in July.

State facts against Nyamande are that sometime during the month of July in 2008, he was working at ZRP Gweru City mess as a manager responsible for the procurement and issuing of foodstuffs.

The state alleged that on 22 July the same year, he took 11 50kg bags of maize from the canteen. He allegedly took four of the 11 bags and exchanged them for some goats and kept the animals for himself instead of slaughtering them for the canteen. The court heard that the goats were recovered in December of the same year.

Nyamande is alleged to have taken 10 more bags of maize from the canteen storeroom on August 6 to village 19 in Tokwe where he traded the maize with a cow which again he did not slaughter. He allegedly claimed the beast as his own. It is also alleged that on October 5 and 15 in 2008, the police officer took 10 and eight bags of maize respectively from the stores to Zhaugwe village in Shurugwi and Boulder Beacon Farm in Somabhula and exchanged them with a cow and an ox which were supposed to be slaughtered for consumption, but he kept the beasts.

On December 20, 2008, Nyamande was at it again as he allegedly stole 18 bags of maize from his employers, the ZRP. However, all the bags were recovered after information was leaked to his superiors by one of the junior officers engaged to load the maize on his behalf.

Nyamande at one time tried to shift the blame to the state witness, Rafael Muganhu, accusing him of stealing from him, the court was told.
However, Muganhu stood trial on an earlier date and was acquitted by the courts.
Chipo Matshe is representing the state.

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