By Staff Reporter
Borrowdale Police Station Scandal: Six Officers Accused in Armed Home Raid as Station Boss Faces Cover-Up Charges
A dispute over a failed chrome shipment has developed into a major case against officers from Borrowdale Police Station, with six police officers now facing charges linked to the alleged armed raid on a Chinese businessman’s home and the station’s acting officer-in-charge accused of trying to suppress his complaint.
The latest officer to appear in court is Phibion Musadha, 45, who faces robbery and criminal abuse of duty charges. He joins Palmer Hotera, Takuranashe Magomba, Rwisai Mazikana, Kings Kasengezi and Patricia Thomas, who are already on remand in connection with the case.
Inspector Farai Gwamure, 51, the station’s acting officer-in-charge, is also facing charges. He appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa on Wednesday charged with extortion, criminal abuse of duty as a public officer, and defeating or obstructing the course of justice. He was granted US$200 bail. Gwamure denies the allegations.
The case centres on businessman Feng Lin, 38, and a commercial arrangement with Nina Zheng to transport chrome from Zimbabwe to Mozambique. Prosecutors say the deal broke down after the chrome was offloaded in Mutare instead of being delivered to Mozambique. Zheng then demanded a refund of US$13,050, according to the State’s account.
Zheng, who is still at large, is accused of enlisting police officers to recover the money by force. On October 13, she and the officers allegedly went to Lin’s home in Borrowdale. The group was travelling in Zheng’s Land Cruiser and a Zimbabwe Republic Police Ford Ranger, and was armed with a Mossberg rifle, the court heard.
The gate was locked when they arrived. Prosecutors say the group called Lin, demanded immediate payment and threatened him. Lin allegedly instructed his driver to take US$3,000 to the group at a service station in Pomona as a part-payment. He later transferred a further US$7,500 into Zheng’s bank account, bringing the amount paid at that stage to US$10,500.
The payments did not end the confrontation, according to the State. The group allegedly stayed outside Lin’s home and threatened to climb over the precast wall if he did not open the gate. Musadha, Hotera and Magomba are accused of later scaling the wall, assaulting Lin’s gardener and forcing their way through a kitchen door.
The three officers allegedly searched the house and found Lin in a bedroom. They are accused of pointing the rifle at him, handcuffing him and assaulting him while demanding the outstanding amount. The court account places that demand at about US$2,500. The officers allegedly then demanded another US$1,000 and threatened to hand Lin over to immigration authorities for deportation if he did not pay.
Lin allegedly produced US$1,000 from his trousers pocket. Hotera is accused of taking the money. The officers then removed the handcuffs and left, prosecutors say. The court allegations describe a sequence in which payments were made first through Lin’s driver and by bank transfer, followed by a forced entry and a further demand inside the house.
Gwamure’s alleged part in the affair reaches beyond the events at the property. Prosecutors say Zheng enlisted him to help recover the money and that he supplied the Mossberg shotgun used by the group. The court heard that Gwamure instructed Fidelis Muyambo, who was working in the charge office, to hand the weapon to Magomba.
After the incident, Lin went to Borrowdale Police Station to report that he had been robbed. The State says he initially reported a loss of US$11,000. Gwamure is accused of turning him away instead of ensuring that the complaint was formally recorded, telling him that he would call him later.
Prosecutors allege that Gwamure later summoned Lin to his office and handed him US$900, presenting it as money recovered from the reported theft. When Lin protested that the amount was only US$900, Gwamure allegedly took a US$100 note from beneath a diary on his desk and gave it to him, bringing the amount to US$1,000.
Lin returned to the station after another officer had become acting officer-in-charge, and the complaint was formally recorded. The State further alleges that, after the report entered the station’s records, Gwamure and other accused officers attempted to create a retrospective entry about a theft of trust property. The move is alleged to have been intended to conceal the circumstances surrounding Lin’s complaint.
The multiple strands of the case have brought the conduct of both officers at the scene and those responsible for handling complaints at the station into focus. The six officers named in the robbery case are accused of using police authority, a service vehicle and a firearm in connection with a private debt dispute. Gwamure is accused of supplying the weapon and then interfering with the complaint after Lin sought help at the same station.
Musadha was released on US$200 bail. He was ordered to live at his stated address, avoid interfering with witnesses and report to the CID Police Anti-Corruption Unit once every fortnight. Gwamure was also granted US$200 bail. The cases are due back in court on November 4.
The Borrowdale case comes months after three traffic officers were convicted of criminal abuse of office in a separate case. The officers, stationed at ZRP Murewa Traffic, were found with US$975 at a roadblock on the Harare-Domboshava Road in December 2025. Investigators found that the money had not been officially receipted as traffic fines, the officers had not declared it before beginning duty and there was no record of their deployment in the official register. On June 24, 2026, each was sentenced to five years in prison.
That case involved a different station, different officers and separate conduct. In Borrowdale, the proceedings now focus on the alleged use of armed force to collect money arising from a failed business deal, and on claims that a robbery complaint was obstructed after the complainant went to police for assistance.
