HARARE-(MaraviPost)-A police officer based at Borrowdale Police Station in Harare has been arrested for allegedly robbing a Chinese businessman at gunpoint and threatening him with deportation following a failed chrome export deal, a case that has sparked fresh debate over corruption and governance within Zimbabwe’s police force.
The officer, Phibion Musadha (45), is the latest to be arrested in connection with the incident, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed.
According to police, the case stems from a business transaction between two Chinese nationals, Feng Lin and Nina Zheng, who entered into an agreement to transport chrome from Zimbabwe to Mozambique. The deal collapsed after the consignment was allegedly offloaded in Mutare, prompting Zheng to demand a refund of US$13,050 from Lin.
Investigators say Zheng then recruited Musadha and other police officers to force Lin to pay.
On 13 October 2026, the group allegedly went to Lin’s home armed with a Mossberg rifle and demanded payment. Lin reportedly paid US$3,000 in cash and transferred a further US$7,500 to Zheng’s bank account.
Police allege that despite receiving the money, Musadha and two other officers broke into the house, assaulted Lin’s gardener, pointed a rifle at Lin, handcuffed and assaulted him, and demanded more cash. Under duress and allegedly threatened with deportation, Lin is said to have handed over an additional US$2,500 and US$1,000.
Musadha has since been arrested and is expected to appear in court. Police said investigations are ongoing and more arrests are possible.
The arrest comes amid reports of other police officers being arrested over alleged corruption at roadblocks and the reported arrest of the Officer-in-Charge of Borrowdale Police Station in connection with an alleged robbery, developments that opposition figures say expose a deeper crisis within Zimbabwe’s policing system.
Reacting to the developments, Togara Fambi, Interim President of the National Progressive Democrats (NPD), said the cases are not simply about individual misconduct but raise fundamental questions about the political direction of the police force and the conditions under which officers serve.
“A police force that is deployed to protect political power at the expense of the people will eventually lose the trust of the people,” Fambi said in a statement.
“For years, Zimbabweans have raised concerns about the use of the police to suppress dissent, disrupt peaceful political activities and enforce the will of those in power. When officers are perceived to be more responsive to political instructions than to the Constitution and the needs of ordinary citizens, the police cease to be viewed as an impartial public institution.”
Fambi argued that the state demands unquestioning loyalty from the police while failing to provide better salaries, working conditions and institutional support, creating a dangerous contradiction where authority can be abused to extract money from motorists, mushika-shika operators and businesspeople, including Chinese nationals.
He said poor salaries do not excuse corruption, extortion or robbery and that officers who commit crimes must be held accountable regardless of rank or political connections. However, he warned that arresting individual officers will not resolve the wider crisis if the political and institutional environment that undermines professional policing remains unchanged.
“Zimbabwe needs a police service that answers to the Constitution and the law, not to the partisan interests of those who hold political office. It needs officers who protect citizens’ rights rather than treat political dissent as a threat to be crushed,” he said.
Fambi added that a failing economy cannot be policed into prosperity and a political crisis cannot be solved through repression, calling for political accountability, constitutional respect, economic reform and institutions that serve the public interest.
“Zimbabwe must be returned to Zimbabweans. Nyika ngaidzorerwe kuvene vayo,” he said.
Police have not yet commented on Fambi’s statement but say investigations into the Borrowdale robbery case continue.
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