By Foster Dongozi

Two Air Zimbabwe employees have appeared in court on allegations that they were paid US$1 200 (about $8.4 million) to allow two fugitives from Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, using fake British passports, to sneak into a London-bound aircraft. The court heard that the two, Lindiwe Mugabe and Ephraim Musarurwa, were employed at the check-in-counters at the Harare International Airport where they clear passengers before boarding the plane. Mugabe and Musarurwa are alleged to have been approached by the two foreigners to facilitate their entry into the aircraft. The two foreigners were arrested in the plane after State security agents became suspicious. They implicated Mugabe and Musarurwa. The two were arrested on July 5 and detained at Harare Remand prison under the Presidential (Temporary Measures) Amendments of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act in which suspects involved in corrupt activities are detained for up to 21 days to facilitate investigations. However, police officers bungled their investigations, leading magistrate, Memory Chigwaza, to free the suspects. She refused to further remand them in custody. “The State has conceded that the accused were not properly brought before the court and their arrest was therefore illegal,” ruled Chigwaza. She said police had erred by not following the proper procedure when they effected the arrest without a warrant. Police will now have to proceed with the case by way of summons.

Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com