During the just completed rape trial of Masitara, it was revealed that the towels that Masitara allegedly used to wipe himself with went missing from the Central Police Station. Another exhibit that went missing was a camera film, which captured the alleged crime scene at President Hotel suite where Masitara was renting offices.
A police officer, who gave evidence during the case, told the court that he found the items missing when he returned from sick leave.
In the past, other senior police officers had said they could only comment about missing items once the Masitara case had been completed.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Kapinga said they were not going to conduct any investigations after the case has been completed. He said this was because such investigations did not yield any positive results in the past. He added that since no suspect had been identified "there is nothing we can do".
But Kapinga conceded that it is a major concern that exhibits in police custody should go missing, adding that it was not good for the image of their department.
Meanwhile, when delivering judgement in the Masitara case last week, Principal Magistrate Barnabas Nyamadzabo said the missing exhibits were not significant to the case.
He said the towels disappeared after they had already been taken to the forensic laboratory. He said the tests did not yield positive results to implicate the accused.
As for the film, the magistrate said it was only showing an overview of Masitara's offices. He said even if the film was produced in court, it could not have strengthened the prosecution's case.
Masitara has since been acquitted and discharged of the rape charges.
