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Chinhoyi Bureau
CHEGUTU district administrator Mr Makanzwei Jecheche has been arrested after receiving trap money as bribe from a land seeker to facilitate allocation of a plot. Jecheche received US$6 000 in marked notes which he stashed in his office desk before police pounced and recovered the money, leading to his arrest.

He has since appeared before Chinhoyi magistrate Mr Felix Mawadze for initial remand and was granted US$400 bail before being ordered to reside at his Concession Hill home and not to interfere with witnesses.

Jecheche was also ordered to surrender his travel documents and to report every Friday at Chegutu Police Station.
Bail was granted by mutual consent as the State led by Ms Barbara Mabika had no objection.

Allegations against Jecheche are that sometime in September a land seeker Mr Honest Mushangwe approached him after hearing that there were vacant plots at Hunyani Estates in Chegutu.

On the day in question, he was told that there were three vacant plots and two of them had already been taken while the last one could be his after viewing it.

After viewing the plot, Mushangwe was told that he should pay $6 000 which was to be shared between Jecheche and other officials.
He was further told that he needed to pay another $3 000 to him as the DA as he facilitated the allocation of land.

However, Mushangwe said he only had $1 400 which the DA allegedly refused saying he would give him a week to bring the money.
The man later consulted senior officials who advised him to report the matter to the police.

A trap was set on Tuesday when he was supposed to bring the money.
He brought the money to Mr Jecheche in an A4 khakhi envelope who told him to put the money in his Nissan Elgrand parked outside.
However, when he got to the car there were some people around the car and he went back to Jecheche who told him to put the envelope in the top left drawer of his office desk and he left.

Soon afterwards police detectives pounced on his office and conducted a search leading to the recovery of the money in the drawer and subsequent arrest of Jecheche.