Eight staff members from Zimbabwe’s Civil Registry Department have been arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for their involvement in a passport issuance scandal at the Harare office.
This follows the interception of four Cameroonian nationals at Beitbridge, who attempted to cross into South Africa with newly issued Zimbabwean passports.
According to ZimLive, the arrested individuals include Romeo Shonhiwa (44), Marrian Roman (40), Lackmore Chinokokora (34), Grace Kapungu (35), Chiedza Hlomani (34), Maureen Natasha Munemo (32), Tanaka Magaya (28), and Edith Moto (38).
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They are being charged with criminal abuse of office for their role in facilitating the fraudulent issuance of passports.
The four Cameroonians, who were arrested at Beitbridge, had passports with Shona names, even though none could speak the language.
The names on their passports were listed as Emile Chingwaru, Christiana Mhereyenyoka, Yvette Maini, and Marvel Chimbwanda, allegedly all from Mount Darwin.
Reports suggest the Cameroonians first obtained birth certificates from Mount Darwin and later claimed to have lost their identification documents, leading to the issuance of replacement passports at the Harare registry.
They paid $170 for ordinary passports, which were processed in just two days instead of the standard seven.
Police suspect a wider racket involving registry officials and general staff, who are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for speeding up the issuance of these passports.
Two general staff members, Neria Sombi and Trymore Chipanga, employed by a company called Andivest, are also under investigation after CCTV footage linked them to the scam. One of the accused, Tanaka Magaya, was allegedly caught on camera receiving money from a woman believed to be part of the scheme.
The Cameroonians reportedly paid $1,500 each for the passports, intending to use them to travel to South Africa, with hopes of eventually reaching the United Kingdom.
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