BORROWDALE POLICE NIGHTMARE – 6 COPS ACCUSED OF ARMED ROBBERY AT CHINESE BUSINESSMAN’S HOME, BOSS ACCUSED OF COVER-UP

By Shumbayaonda Moyo | The Zim Gossip News Network

The officers are accused of raiding the Borrowdale home of Chinese businessman Feng Lin, 38, armed with a police Mossberg rifle and using a ZRP Ford Ranger, to recover money from a failed chrome deal.

The officers facing robbery and criminal abuse of duty charges are Phibion Musadha (45), Palmer Hotera, Takuranashe Magomba, Rwisai Mazikana, Kings Kasengezi and Patricia Thomas.

Their boss, Acting Officer-in-Charge Inspector Farai Gwamure (51), is also in deep trouble. He is accused of supplying the gun used in the robbery and then trying to cover up the crime when the victim came to report at his own police station.

How a Chrome Deal Turned Into a Midnight Raid

According to court papers, the case started as a business dispute between Feng Lin and a woman identified as Nina Zheng, who is still at large.

Lin was supposed to transport chrome from Zimbabwe to Mozambique for Zheng. The chrome was offloaded in Mutare instead of Mozambique, and the deal collapsed. Zheng then demanded a refund of US$13,050.

Prosecutors say Zheng enlisted the police to recover the money by force.

On October 13, Zheng and the officers allegedly drove to Lin’s house in Borrowdale in her Land Cruiser and a police vehicle. They found the gate locked and allegedly threatened Lin over the phone.

Scared, Lin allegedly sent his driver with US$3,000 to meet them at a service station in Pomona, and later transferred US$7,500 into Zheng’s account. In total, he had paid US$10,500.

But the group allegedly refused to leave.

The State alleges that Musadha, Hotera and Magomba then scaled the precast wall, assaulted Lin’s gardener, broke in through the kitchen door, found Lin in his bedroom, pointed a rifle at him, handcuffed him and beat him up while demanding the remaining US$2,500.

They then allegedly demanded another US$1,000 and threatened to hand him over to immigration for deportation.

Lin allegedly took US$1,000 from his trousers pocket, which Hotera allegedly took before they left.

The Cover-Up at Borrowdale Police Station

What happened next is what shocked the court.

Lin went to Borrowdale Police Station to report that he had been robbed of US$11,000.

Instead of opening a docket, Inspector Gwamure allegedly chased him away, telling him he would call him later.

He later allegedly called Lin to his office and gave him US$900, claiming it was recovered money. When Lin complained that US$900 was too little, Gwamure allegedly took a US$100 note from under a diary on his desk and gave it to him, making it US$1,000.

It was only after another officer took over as acting Officer-in-Charge that Lin’s complaint was properly recorded.

Prosecutors further allege that Gwamure and other officers then tried to create a fake back-dated entry about a “theft of trust property” to cover up Lin’s robbery complaint.

Gwamure is also accused of ordering charge office officer Fidelis Muyambo to hand over the Mossberg shotgun to Magomba for the raid.

Court Update

Musadha appeared in court and was granted US$200 bail. He was ordered to reside at his given address, not to interfere with witnesses, and to report to CID Anti-Corruption Unit every two weeks.

Inspector Gwamure also appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa on Wednesday facing extortion, criminal abuse of duty and defeating the course of justice. He was also granted US$200 bail and denies all charges.

The cases will return to court on November 4.

The Borrowdale case comes just months after three ZRP Murewa Traffic officers were each sentenced to 5 years in prison on June 24, 2026, after being found with US$975 in unreceipted cash at a roadblock on Harare-Domboshava Road.

Developing story. Zim Gossip News Network.