Court proceedings were temporarily halted as top detective Joseph Nemaisa and his crack team wrestled with a self-proclaimed Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) informer Delish Nguwaya who had been due to appear at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts yesterday over allegations of possessing cocaine.
The dramatic incident was sparked by Nemaisa, who swooped on Nguwaya as he waited outside the courtroom for Harare regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa to call him to take the stand.
Nguwaya was recently at the centre of a corruption storm involving CIO operatives and senior police officers, in which he claimed he had been tricked by police to volunteer incriminating information as a witness before tables were turned against him after he “implicated” their bosses.
He screamed as Nemaisa and his team dragged him on the floor — forcing people to rush out of courtrooms to witness the spectacle — a rarity in the functions of both police and Office of the President who share mutual respect for each other’s roles in combating crime.
Nemaisa had pinned Nguwaya to the ground while summoning more manpower to try and subdue the CIO informer who was resisting the handcuffs.
The detectives appeared not bothered by the swelling crowds and howls of disapproval from the public as they dragged Nguwaya down the staircase with his head perilously bumping against the staircase.
Nguwaya was bundled into a waiting truck and taken away to the police station. However, regional magistrate Mupeiwa, who was waiting to hear Nguwaya’s trial on allegations of possession of cocaine, did not have kind words for Nemaisa and his team.
“There is no authority in Zimbabwe that is above the court and police have acted contemptuously. I will not issue the accused person with a warrant of arrest because his absence was necessitated by police,” Mupeiwa said.
Nguwaya’s lawyer Jonathan Samukange asked for his removal from further remand, arguing that the police had shown total disregard for the law.
Mupeiwa concurred with Samukange and removed Nguwaya from remand. Daily News
