HARARE
–
A
police
officer
who
grabbed
national
attention
in
August
after
declaring
himself
as
the
new
police
chief
has
been
indefinitely
committed
to
Chikurubi
Psychiatric
Unit
after
being
declared
mentally
unfit
to
stand
trial.
Harare
magistrate
Tapiwa
Kuhudzai
made
the
ruling
after
receiving
medical
reports
from
two
state
doctors
and
one
private
doctor,
all
confirming
that
Assistant
Inspector
Simbarashe
Mandizvidza
was
not
of
sound
mental
health.
Mandizvidza
had
been
charged
with
transmitting
false
information
with
intent
to
cause
harm,
breaches
of
the
Road
Traffic
Act,
and
causing
disaffection
among
police
or
defence
forces.
The
charges
stemmed
from
a
series
of
viral
recordings
Mandizvidza
made
while
at
his
official
residence
at
ZRP
Hatfield
Police
Camp.
He
made
declarations
giving
all
Chinese
nationals
living
and
doing
business
in
Zimbabwe
a
48-hour
ultimatum
to
leave.
He
had
also
been
accused
of
stealing
a
police
vehicle
after
misrepresenting
to
his
superior,
Fidios
Chiteure
–
the
officer
in
charge
of
Police
General
Headquarters
Pay
and
Records
–
that
he
had
been
sent
by
Commissioner
Makomo
to
use
a
police
Ford
Ranger
for
official
errands.
He
drove
the
vehicle
to
Waerera
Village
in
Bindura,
where
it
was
recovered.
Mandizvidza
will
be
committed
to
Chikurubi
Psychiatric
Unit
for
an
indefinite
period
and
his
prosecution
has
been
formally
abandoned
until
doctors
confirm
his
recovery.