Zimbabwean police are investigating whether alleged United Kingdom murder fugitive Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma entered Zimbabwe after fleeing Britain, following claims by UK investigators that he crossed into the country before returning to South Africa, where he was eventually arrested.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) confirmed it worked closely with UK authorities, Interpol and South African law enforcement during the international manhunt that led to on Friday.
Visit newsbetsport.bond for more information.
The latest development comes after Bedfordshire Police publicly acknowledged Zimbabwe’s assistance in tracing the suspect, who is wanted in connection with three murder charges in the UK.
UK police say Tshuma travelled through Zimbabwe
Speaking after the arrest, Bedfordshire Police senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Lee Martin said investigators had established that Tshuma left the United Kingdom last Saturday, travelled via Dubai to Johannesburg, then crossed into Zimbabwe before later returning to South Africa.
Martin said authorities from several countries worked around the clock to track the suspect after the Crown Prosecution Service authorised three murder charges.
“I would like to thank the NCA, Interpol, and authorities in both Zimbabwe and South Africa, as well as the rapid work of the Crown Prosecution Service, which has enabled this to happen so quickly,” he said.
He also credited media coverage and members of the public in the UK, Zimbabwe and South Africa for providing information that helped investigators locate Tshuma.
Zimbabwe unable to confirm border crossing
Despite the account provided by British investigators, ZRP national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said Zimbabwean authorities have not yet confirmed whether Tshuma entered the country.
As reported by The Herald Online, Nyathi said police were still verifying the claims because there was no record of the suspect arriving by air.
“It has been clearly established that he moved from the UK to South Africa. When he came to Zimbabwe, if he came at all, it is not clear because he did not fly. That is the issue which we are checking now,” he said.
According to Nyathi, verifying movements by road is considerably more difficult than tracking airline passengers because authorities can rely on flight manifests but not always on bus or road travel records.
“People are checked by their travelling schedules. If someone boards a flight, the flight system assists in checking that person’s movement. But where somebody uses a bus and there are no indications to confirm whether that person was in that bus or not, it becomes very difficult. At the end of the day, it becomes speculation,” he said.
Working with Interpol and UK authorities
Nyathi said Zimbabwe’s involvement in the investigation was part of its obligations as an Interpol member after an international red notice was issued.
“Interpol issued a red notice and the Zimbabwe police is part of Interpol, so we have to comply with the Interpol notices as required in terms of international policing considerations,” he said.
“The Interpol authorities were getting in touch with us. The UK authorities were getting in touch with us, so we were co-operating.”
He added that investigators from Zimbabwe and the UK remained in constant communication throughout the operation, although he declined to reveal operational details.
“We were communicating. We were exchanging notes with them. Of course, we can’t tell the media how we co-operate, but I can safely say we were communicating and exchanging notes with them,” Nyathi said.
The police spokesperson also revealed that investigators had contacted Tshuma’s relatives in Bulawayo, as well as members of his late wife’s family, as part of the investigation.
Tshuma remains in custody in South Africa while British authorities prepare to begin extradition proceedings to return him to the United Kingdom, where he is expected to face three counts of murder.
Leggi l'articolo completo alla fonte
