Gweru Man Acquitted of CIO Impersonation

GWERU – A 46-year-old man accused of impersonating a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative and attempting to defraud a prospective gold buyer has been acquitted by the Gweru Magistrates’ Court after the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Severino Rufura was on Monday, 2 February 2026, found not guilty by Magistrate Blessing Makaripe, who ruled that the  witnesses’s evidence were riddled with inconsistencies and fell short of the legal threshold required for a conviction.

In delivering her verdict, Magistrate Makaripe said the case presented by the State was undermined by “material inconsistencies and disparities” in the testimony of its witnesses, particularly the complainant.

She noted that the contradictions were so significant that they could “lead one to reasonably believe that the alleged incident occurred on two different occasions,” thereby weakening the credibility of the State’s version.

Rufura had been facing charges of criminal impersonation and fraud after allegedly misrepresenting himself as a state security officer during a failed gold transaction involving complainant Willmore Mahachi.

Mahachi told the court that Rufura had approached him offering to sell 55 grammes of gold, and that after the parties failed to agree on a price, the accused allegedly claimed to be “a state security officer from the Office of the President and Cabinet” to gain leverage.

However, Magistrate Makaripe found that the complainant’s portrayal of the encounter as having occurred in “a peaceful and comfortable environment” was not supported by other evidence before the court.

Instead, the court accepted Rufura’s version that the situation had turned hostile after negotiations collapsed.

The magistrate ruled that the accused’s explanation — that he was unable to proceed with negotiations after the alleged buyer summoned more than 10 artisanal miners who surrounded his hired vehicle — was reasonably possibly true.

Evidence before the court showed that Rufura attempted to leave the scene but was blocked by the gang, with one of the men allegedly jumping into the driver’s seat ,and part of his gang and driving both Rufura and his driver to the police station, where he was arrested.

“The accused’s conduct, viewed in its totality, does not amount to proof of impersonation,” Magistrate Makaripe ruled, adding that “the State has failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused ever represented himself as a CIO operative.”

She further held that Rufura’s refusal to avail the purported gold  or proceed with the transaction could not, on its own, be construed as fraudulent conduct.

Following the acquittal, Rufura was discharged, bringing the matter to a close.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is however on record, reiterating  the need for members of the public to exercise caution when engaging in mineral transactions and to ensure dealings are conducted through licensed gold dealers and verifiable channels.