Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
A 31-year-old man from Harare has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing a car from a taxi driver.
Tendai Mubatasango was found guilty of armed robbery following a full trial.
The sentence was handed down by regional magistrate Mrs Letwin Rwodzi, who initially imposed a 12-year sentence, but suspended two years on the condition of good behaviour.
The incident involved the victim, Moses Chibinya, a 54-year-old taxi driver, who was attacked and robbed of his vehicle and personal belongings in a carefully orchestrated operation that included Mubatasango and two accomplices who remain at large.
Prosecutor Mr Loveti Muringwa detailed the events of March 2 this year, when Chibinya parked his Honda Fit at Kuwadzana 2 Shopping Centre. Mubatasango approached him and requested a ride to Kambuzuma Section 2, agreeing on a fare of US$8.
While on the way to Kambuzuma, Mubatasango directed Chibinya to take a detour towards the Red Cross turn-off.
After driving for about five minutes, Chibinya stopped the vehicle, informing Mubatasango that he could not continue to the requested destination.
One of them struck Chibinya on the back of his head with an object resembling an iron bar, while the other used an electric cable to strangle him. When Chibinya resisted, one of the attackers fired a warning shot, compelling him to surrender.
The assailants robbed Chibinya of US$25 in cash, two mobile phones, personal documents, tools and a bag containing his shoes. They tied his hands with shoelaces and abandoned him in a maize field before driving off with his vehicle.
