Police Officer Mistakenly Gunned Down By Colleague in Armed Robbery Crackdown

ZIMBABWE – A police officer was fatally shot by a colleague in an armed robbery crackdown on a suspect carried out by a team of Bulawayo and Chivhu detectives in Zimbabwe.

The incident occurred on Saturday as Criminal Investigations Department (CID) detectives from Bulawayo teamed up with their counterparts in Chivhu to arrest the suspect, Mussa Denge (43).

It couldn’t be established  at the time whether the detective was with the Bulawayo or Chivhu squad.

Denge was then arrested in connection with a robbery of two vehicles in Bulawayo and Kadoma.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the fatal shooting and said investigations are still underway.

“I can confirm that we lost one of our officers  as police officers were carrying out a raid in Chivhu. The officer was shot dead as members were effecting an arrest.

He got injured and later passed on at a local hospital. So basically, we are conducting investigations and we will release more information soon,” he said.

Asst Comm Nyathi said the suspect was on the wanted list in Bulawayo and several cities around the country for armed robbery.

“The suspect was wanted for several cases which include robbery in Bulawayo. He was being pursued by a CID team comprising officers from Bulawayo and CID Chivhu.

It’s really sad but we are conducting investigations. The suspect has since been arrested. ,” said Asst Com Nyathi.

According to sources, the team had followed Denge from Chivhu central business district to a local house

Warning shots were fired by the detectives who had been on Denge’s tail.

One of the detectives who had advanced towards Denge and was about to grab him was then accidentally shot in the pelvis.

Source : iHarare