Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
POLICE in Bulawayo last week held a stakeholder engagement meeting with mining and mining equipment business operators to discuss challenges in combating crime affecting the sector.
The meeting was attended by Officer Commanding Bulawayo Province Commissioner Jasper Chizemo and various business operators.
In a statement, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said Commissioner Chizemo, together with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), met the stakeholders at the Senior Officers’ Mess at Ross Camp in Bulawayo.
“The meeting sought to discuss challenges faced by stakeholders, identify security concerns, and develop strategies to prevent crime and promote safety in the mining sector,” he said.
The meeting also comes after more than US$64 000 and R1 000 were stolen in July, during a wave of armed robberies targeting small businesses and cash collection centres in Bulawayo, in one week alone, prompting police and business players to strengthen collaboration in combating organised crime.
The robberies, which occurred in Emganwini, Cowdray Park and Bulawayo’s central business district between July 13 and 17, have heightened concern over the growing targeting of cash collection operators by armed criminal syndicates.
Addressing the stakeholder engagement meeting with business players in Bulawayo, Commissioner Jasper Chizemo described the meeting as a crucial platform for developing practical solutions to curb armed robberies rather than assigning blame.
“This is a monumental meeting meant to share notes on how we can, together, effectively prevent and combat the scourge of armed robberies.
“The meeting is not about apportioning blame, but rather it is about solution generation,” said Comm Chizemo.
“I would like to thank all the agents for heeding our invitation. Your attendance demonstrates your unwavering commitment to work with the police in preventing and combating not only armed robberies but crime in general. Like we always say, policing is a shared responsibility.”
Within five days, armed robbers struck three separate cash collection-related businesses across the city.
On July 13, two-armed suspects raided a mobile money booth at Emganwini Shopping Centre, escaping with US$2 000, Econet airtime worth US$307 and NetOne airtime valued at US$280.
Three days later, armed robbers targeted another mobile money outlet in Cowdray Park as employees were closing for the day, stealing US$8 653, R1 000 and two mobile phones used for transactions before locking workers and a customer inside an office and fleeing.
The biggest robbery occurred on July 17 when four-armed men stormed a cash collection centre along Fort Street in Bulawayo’s central business district while 16 cashiers were reconciling the day’s collections.
The gang reportedly ordered employees to lie on the floor at gunpoint before escaping with approximately US$53 000 in cash.
Comm Chizemo said the incidents reflected a worrying trend in which organised criminal gangs deliberately targeted cash collection agents.
