Former police officer and private investigator Tafadzwa Chidawa has been arrested after a warrant for his arrest was confirmed. The arrest stems from a five-year-old theft case involving a staged robbery at Blue Ridge Lodge in 2020.
Chidawa is accused of collaborating with accomplices to steal US$20,000 in a fake arrest scheme. Several individuals connected to the case have either been arrested or are currently on the run.
The Deceptive Plan to Steal from a Cheating Woman
According to court documents, the complainant, Melody Matanhire, was in a romantic relationship with a man named Malvern Mutanda. Mutanda deceived her into believing that he possessed US$100,000 in soiled money that needed to be “cleaned.”
He convinced Matanhire to provide US$20,000 in legitimate cash to facilitate the cleaning process, promising her a commission in return for her assistance.
Under the impression that the deal was legitimate, Matanhire withdrew the funds from her home in Glen Lorne and accompanied Mutanda to Blue Ridge Lodge, unaware she was about to be the victim of an elaborate setup.
Upon arriving at the lodge, Matanhire handed over the US$20,000, which was placed in a cooler box. At that moment, Chidawa and his alleged accomplices—Paradza Passmore Matubu, Perseverance Chisango, and Francis Takura—stormed into the lodge, posing as police officers. They apprehended Mutanda and seized the cooler box containing the cash. Pretending to make an arrest, the group released Matanhire and left the scene with the money.
The group later met in private and divided the stolen funds among themselves, believing they had successfully executed their plan without raising suspicion.
The Cover-Up and Unraveling of the Scheme
In a desperate attempt to hide her financial loss from her husband, Matanhire staged a fake robbery at her home. However, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Homicide Division quickly unravelled the truth. Their investigation led to the arrest of Mutanda, which resulted in the recovery of part of the stolen money.
Further inquiries led to the arrest of Takura while he was driving a Mercedes-Benz Compressor allegedly used during the crime. Police discovered an identification card belonging to Chidawa inside Takura’s vehicle, implicating Chidawa in the robbery.
Chidawa, who had previously defaulted on court proceedings in January 2023 alongside Matubu and Chisango, has now been remanded in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow as his trial continues. Meanwhile, his accomplices, Mutanda and Takura, remain fugitives, with authorities actively working to locate and apprehend them.-iharare
