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WHEN the integrity of law enforcement agents and those entrusted with fighting corruption is called to question, the nation has cause for concern. Cases of police and anti-corruption officers being involved in all of sorts of impropriety are on the rise and authorities should be alarmed.

It appears a few bad apples in the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Anti-Corruption Commission are slowly but surely blighting the images of these institutions and it is time something is done to put a stop to their shenanigans. Corruption is a cancer which is gnawing at the very soul of the fabric of society and if allowed to fester, it will surely destroy the moral fibre of the country.

President Robert Mugabe has been at the forefront of the anti-corruption drive and has at some point lamented the high levels of graft in government institutions, particularly those that deal with service delivery to the generality of the population. The most glaring of these abuses of power are evident at our border posts and on the country’s roads where Zimra officials and traffic cops have been accused of demanding bribes from motorists and travellers.

But these are small fish compared to bigwigs in top government jobs including Cabinet ministers who demand kickbacks for contracts from foreign investors. From these examples it is clear that corruption permeates every facet of Zimbabwean society and this calls for a concerted effort to stem the tide. To win the fight against graft, Zimbabwe needs to strengthen its law enforcement agencies because without a strong police force, the battle is lost even before it has begun. Two cases best illustrate the low levels the country has sunk to in terms of corruption and a general lack of moral blameworthiness in the ZRP.

We published on the these pages yesterday, the case of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive Ngonidzashe Gumbo, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for defrauding the commission of $435,000. Gumbo, who is a former Senior Assistant Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, had five years suspended on condition he is not convicted of any case involving dishonesty in the next five years.

An additional three years were set aside on condition that the House Number 20 Northend Road, Highlands that he bought using the tainted money is forfeited to the State. Effectively, Gumbo will serve two years in prison. Retired regional magistrate Rodgers Kachambwa, ruled that paperwork giving effect to the forfeiture of the property must be done by August 31 this year. The magistrate found that Gumbo benefited from the offence and that the amount involved was quite substantial. It was the court’s finding that Gumbo’s moral blameworthiness was high considering that he was a former senior police officer and that he held a high position of authority.

In another report, one person suffered multiple fractures and died on the spot while another was seriously injured when a Mazda B1600 crushed them against a Honda Oddesy that they were pushing along the Bulawayo Gweru Highway on Sunday. Mpilo Mpofu, 32, died on the spot while Pedzisai Mhike, 38, suffered a broken ankle in the accident that occurred near Shangani Business centre, about 90 kilometres from Bulawayo at about 9PM. Relatives said Mpofu’s body was pinned against the car he was pushing and dragged for almost 100 metres. The two were part of four villagers who were asked by a police officer to assist in pushing his vehicle that had run out of fuel just after Shangani Mine turn-off.

Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe spokesperson Ernest Muchena said it was ill-advised to push a car on a highway, especially at night. Gumbo’s case is clear example of the depths the country has plumbed to in terms of corruption. When the head of a body charged with stamping out corruption is himself involved in high level graft, then it’s a lost cause. Gumbo’s predicament is made worse by the fact that he is a former senior police officer who should know better.

In the Shangani accident, it is clear that the police officer owner of the vehicle who asked villagers to push his vehicle in darkness on a busy highway should be held culpable for the death of one of them. Traffic regulations state clearly that a broken down vehicle should be parked on the side of the road with a red triangle placed on both sides to alert oncoming traffic.

The police officer put the lives of the villagers in danger by asking them to push his vehicle. We contend that while the driver of the Mazda vehicle which crashed into the police officer’s car was equally culpable, the officer should take the bulk of the blame and we hope the ZRP will institute internal disciplinary proceedings against him.