HARARE – A Canadian diplomat has filed an unusual complaint with the police in Harare, alleging a break-in at her residence that was reportedly authorised by Canada’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Adler Aristilde, ZimLive has reported.
Jennifer Lee Boudreau, a Canadian official, visited Marlborough Police Station on December 11, after discovering evidence of the alleged incident at her home on Quorn Avenue, Mt Pleasant. According to Boudreau, she arrived at her residence at approximately 4 PM on December 6 and immediately noticed something amiss when she saw her wardrobe door open.
Boudreau summoned her security guard, Last Murapa, who initially denied any knowledge of the matter but later changed his account. Murapa revealed that earlier that day, at about 10:30 AM, while Boudreau was at work, the embassy’s regional security manager, Franis Limbikani, had arrived at the property with a duplicate key.
According to police documents obtained by ZimLive, Limbikani used the key to enter Boudreau’s apartment, targeting the hard drive of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system stored in her wardrobe. After retrieving the hard drive, he allegedly replaced it with a blank one. Limbikani then ordered Murapa not to record his name in the visitor logbook or disclose the visit to anyone.
On December 7, Boudreau confronted Ambassador Aristilde about the incident. To her shock, the ambassador reportedly admitted to authorising the break-in. Aristilde had allegedly instructed Jennifer Jacob, the embassy’s property officer, to arrange for the retrieval of the CCTV hard drive. Jacob, in turn, tasked Limbikani with carrying out the operation.
Boudreau reported the incident to Canada’s foreign office, which acknowledged her concerns and pledged to investigate. Frustrated by delays in the investigation, she turned to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on December 11 to lodge an official complaint.
An internal police memo cited by ZimLive described the case as “unlawful entry in aggravating circumstances” and confirmed that investigations are ongoing.
