MIDWEEK WATCH REPORTER
MASVINGO – Melusi Matshazi (32) a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) will on Monday next week appear at Masvingo Court for leaving a firearm unattended in the toilet at ZRP Masvingo Provincial Armoury where he was deployed for night duty.
Sources who chose anonymity told The Midweek Watch that the accused ditched the duty to attend the Lake October Festival musical show where several top artists were performing that same night.
The accused resides at ZRP Phoenix Camp in Masvingo and is stationed at ZRP Masvingo Central.
It is the State case that on 21 October 2023, the accused was deployed at ZRP Masvingo Provincial Armory for night duty on guard armed with a Fabric Nationale rifle serial number 13461 loaded with a magazine of 25 live rounds to secure the armoury.
On the same day, at around 2030hrs Assistant Inspector Dickson Makarati made a routine check at the armory and discovered that the premises were not guarded.
He searched the premises looking for Matshazi but could not locate him and later found the rifle without a magazine, a police datron handheld radio and the ZRP Masvingo Central Armoury occurrence book in the ladies toilet.
Constable Dennis Zindanga was then deployed at the armoury in place of the accused.
At around 0430hrs the accused reported back on duty only to find the premises being secured by Zindanga and he failed to give an account of why he left the premises and the rifle in the ladies’ toilet and was subsequently arrested.
