PP In Musa Abdul's Case Did Not Seek Approval For Bail Concessions - Report

The Public prosecutor (PP) Tapiwa Kusema who consented to bail in Musa Abdul’s case and was later arrested on charges of criminal abuse of office, reportedly did not seek approval from his superiors for bail concessions beforehand, The Herald reports.

The matter came to light in court during his bail hearing when the officer investigating his case Detective Assistant Inspector Collius Mushambi gave testimony in court and said:

There are standard operating procedures, clearly outlining how the accused is supposed to operate as far as consent to bail to accused arrested for armed robberies, firearms or violence is concerned.

There is a memorandum dated November 19, 2020 from accused’s superiors reminding law officers how they were to operate in respect of violent crimes.

The section dealing with bail consents made it clear that “all consents must first of all be approved by your superior. No one should file a consent without the knowledge of your superior regardless of the nature of the offence

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Det Mushambi also said the police are afraid if Kusema is granted bail he will abscond trial:

(The) matter was brought to police on Monday and with a view to arrest the accused, we visited the address which was known to police. Accused did note reside there but it was his parents’ address and we left a message that he was being sought by police

We later managed to obtain the actual address of accused on Tuesday and again a message was left that he was wanted by police. We could not locate him the whole of Wednesday and did not report for work. He came to the police yesterday (Wednesday) accompanied by his defence counsel.

“He said he was consulting legal practitioners when we asked about his whereabouts. We discovered that the coming of accused to police was after he had realised that he could not hide because the matter was on social media. There are submissions prepared by accused consenting to bail for applicants filed at High Court of Zimbabwe, a copy is with police,

He further said if he is granted bail in which he is accused of abusing his office in Musa Abdul’s bail, there might be a public disorder because they have received numerous calls on the issue:

There will be public disorder. There is public outcry over the matter. There were several calls to the police asking what was happening and that alone may cause people not to trust the justice delivery of the country

The hearing will provisionally continue on Monday if the magistrate is available.

More: The Herald