ZANU PF Activists in CID Abduction, Torture Case Denied Bail
The three ZANU PF activists, Including a ZPCS officer, have been remanded in custody by the Gokwe Magistrates’ Court on charges of kidnapping and assaulting a CID detective. The trio were denied bail and referred to the High Court due to the seriousness of the allegations, facing prosecution under Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law [Chapter 9:23], with penalties that may include life imprisonment while two other suspects remain at large as investigations continue.
Dumisani Ndlovu 
Gokwe - Three ZANU PF activists, which include popular party youth leader and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) employee Isheanesu Benjamin Marima (30), were remanded in custody by the Gokwe Magistrates’ Court, after spending the Easter Holidays in cells, following allegations of abducting and torturing a Criminal Investigations Department (CID) detective, Kwedu News has learnt.
Marima appeared before the Gokwe Magistrate Courts alongside Collin Masawi (44) and Edwin Chinogwa (33), with all three pleading not guilty to charges of kidnapping and assault.
The Magistrate cited the seriousness of the allegations as reasons for the bail denial and advised that any bail application be directed to the High Court.
The trio was remanded to today, Monday April 13, 2026, and remain in custody at Gokwe Prison pending further proceedings.
The State stated that Bester Tati, a Detective with the CID Law and Order section in Kwekwe, was targeted on March 31, 2026, while carrying out official duties linked to the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill No.3 public hearings in Gokwe.
Prosecutors allege that Marima and his associates lured the complainant under the pretext of a meeting before forcibly bundling him into a white Toyota GD6 vehicle.
He was allegedly taken to a secluded area near Nembudziya in Gokwe North, where he was subjected to rhythmic foot whipping (falaka, a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person's bare feet) before being abandoned at Mutora Business Centre.
Marima was arrested on April 1 at a constitutional hearing in Somabhula, while Masawi and Chinogwa were later apprehended during follow-up police operations in Gokwe.
Masawi is alleged to have driven a Ford Ranger escort vehicle also used in the incident.
Two other suspects, Erickson Mafuratidze and Wonder Gamba (43) still remain at large as investigations continue.
The accused face one count of kidnapping or unlawful detention as defined under Section 93(b)(ii) and another count of assault under Section 89 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23].
Section 93 provides a broad legal framework protecting personal liberty.
It criminalises the unlawful deprivation of a person’s freedom of movement, whether done intentionally or where the accused realises there is a real risk that such deprivation may occur.
While the law applies to both adults and children, it takes an even stricter stance where minors are involved, extending culpability to situations where a child may appear to go voluntarily but without the consent of a lawful guardian.
Records show that penalties for kidnapping are severe, with courts empowered to impose life imprisonment or lengthy custodial sentences depending on the circumstances.
In cases deemed to involve mitigating factors however, sentencing may be reduced to a fine, a shorter prison term or both.
