Chitungwiza Court Witness Kidnapped & Forced to Withdraw Testimony

Chitungwiza Court Witness Kidnapped & Forced to Withdraw Testimony – A woman who was set to testify in a robbery case was kidnapped on Friday while walking to the Chitungwiza Magistrates Court.

Memory Matanga (25) is a key witness in a robbery case involving Alouis Luciano (28) of St Mary’s. The case, first heard on October 16, is before Magistrate Dennis Mangosi.

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While walking through Zengeza 1, Memory was confronted by four men in a white Toyota vehicle.

“They called her over and she complied,” a police report states.

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The men accused her of being responsible for Luciano’s arrest before two of them grabbed her and forced her into the vehicle. They drove towards Manyame Airbase, stopping in a secluded bushy area.

There, the kidnappers offered her US$200 and told her to withdraw her testimony.

Under threats of unspecified harm, she agreed.

Harare Deputy Provincial Police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Faith Mapisa confirmed the incident.

“Police are actively investigating the kidnapping of a court witness in Chitungwiza,” she said.

“The four suspects involved in this alarming incident have not yet been apprehended.”

After her release, Memory proceeded to court, where a warrant for her arrest had already been issued due to her earlier absence. She narrated the ordeal to court officials.