Bogus soldier called ‘Harare’ slapped with 6 month jail term in Mutare

MUTARE – The 22-YEAR-OLD Marange man who disguised himself as a soldier and terrorised people near the Forbes Border Post in Mutare has been slapped with an effective six-month jail term.

Talent Harare (22) of Musa Village under Chief Marange pleaded guilty to the charge of impersonating an army officer for criminal purposes when he appeared before Mr Langton Mukwengi on Monday.

He told the court that was the one who designed the fake AK 47 assault rifle which he used to threaten people and make them believe that he was a soldier on patrol along the border.

He targeted border jumpers who usually use illegal points to cross into neighbouring Mozambique and bring banned products into the country.

Mr Mukwengi had slapped Harare with a three-month jail term, but he added an additional three that had been set aside when he was once convicted of the same offence.

Harare was previously convicted of impersonating an army officer and three months of the sentence he received then were set aside on condition that he would not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

Public prosecutor, Mr Sam Chabuka, told the court that Harare was wearing army regalia and brandishing a fake home-made AK 47 assault rifle when he waylaid a cross border in a bushy area near Forbes Border Post last Monday.

He demanded a $100 bribe from the complainant, Solomon Dumbamuromo (29) from Chikanga, failure of which he threatened to arrest him for flouting immigration laws.

However, Dumbamuromo phoned his two friends for assistance. They arrived and wrestled with the bogus soldier and managed to capture him and they took him to Sakubva Police Station.